#352: Julien Smith of Practice, on Optimizing for Long Value, Driving Emotion When Raising Venture Capital, and Inside Tips for Building a Better Business
Release Date: 01/09/2023
How Delphi Raised $16M from Sequoia to Build Digital Minds with Dara Ladjevardian (Just Go Grind Episode #369)
Just Go Grind
Episode 369: Justin Gordon interviews Dara Ladjevardian, Founder and CEO of Delphi, a company that creates a digital you - available 24/7 for coaching, Q&A, education, and more. Learn more about Delphi: Watch this episode and others on . Thank you to our sponsor, Relay Human Cloud! Find your next team member in minutes with Relay Human Cloud. Offshore talent, in Relay Human Cloud's offices, dedicated to you. Save up to 75% on labor costs while improving the quality of life for your team. Use code LAGRIND for $500 off every resource every year. Learn more about Relay Human...
info_outline
How Boardy Raised $8M on Its Own Platform with Founder Andrew D'Souza (Just Go Grind Episode #368)
Just Go Grind
Episode 368: Justin Gordon interviews Andrew D'Souza, Founder and CEO of Boardy, an AI Super Connector that helps you get the right introduction at the right time. Boardy raised an $8M seed round early in 2025, just months after announcing a $3M pre-seed round. Learn more about Boardy: Watch this episode and others on . Thank you to our sponsor, Relay Human Cloud! Find your next team member in minutes with Relay Human Cloud. Offshore talent, in Relay Human Cloud's offices, dedicated to you. Save up to 75% on labor costs while improving the quality of life for your team. Use code...
info_outline
0 to $9.5M Series A: Inside Guidesly’s Journey with David Lord (Just Go Grind Episode #367)
Just Go Grind
Episode 367: Justin Gordon interviews David Lord, Founder of Guidesly, the platform for booking the world's best outdoor trips and activities. Learn more about Guidesly: Applications now open for 43North, the accelerator David went through with Guidesly: Watch this episode and others on . --- Connect with Justin: Twitter: Instagram: LinkedIn: --- What Justin is working on: Just Go Grind Newsletter: The LA Grind Local Newsletter: Newsletter Founder Course & Community: Running (Strava): Hiring: Scouting:
info_outline
How 43North Built a $5M-Per-Year Startup Accelerator in Buffalo (Just Go Grind, Episode #366)
Just Go Grind
Episode 366: Justin Gordon interviews Colleen Heidinger, President of 43North, a pioneering startup competition and venture program focused on building Buffalo into a thriving center for innovation and entrepreneurship. invests $5 million annually in companies that relocate to Buffalo through its immersive accelerator program. Applications now open: Watch this episode and others on . --- Show Notes: 00:00 What’s coming in the episode… 00:23 Introduction 01:01 What is 43North? 03:27 The early days of 43North 07:08 Covid days at 43North 09:14 Admission process 16:02 Getting the...
info_outline
How Mehul Nariyawala Built Matic, the Smartest Home Robot Vacuum (Just Go Grind, Episode #365)
Just Go Grind
Episode 365: Justin Gordon interviews Mehul Nariyawala, Co-Founder of Matic Robots, about his experience building two successful venture-backed startups, Flutter and Matic. Learn more about , the world’s most advanced floor cleaner. Watch this episode and others on . --- This episode is brought to you by . With Rho, founders get: A single pane of glass they can use to run and scale their business from Day 1: Bank account, corporate cards to start running – and expense management, bill pay automation, and accounting to help you move fast as you scale. Rho is...
info_outline
How to Actually Scale a Startup, From a Founder Who Did It 3x (Just Go Grind, Episode #364)
Just Go Grind
Episode 364: Justin Gordon interviews Waseem Daher, Co-Founder of Pilot, about his experience as a 3x founder building a startup that's raised $150M+ in venture capital. Check out the . Watch this episode and others on . --- This episode is brought to you by . With Rho, founders get: A single pane of glass they can use to run and scale their business from Day 1: Bank account, corporate cards to start running – and expense management, bill pay automation, and accounting to help you move fast as you scale. Rho is trusted by thousands of companies ranging from...
info_outline
How Abdul Al-Asaad of Basic Capital is Building a New 401(k) (Just Go Grind, Episode #363)
Just Go Grind
Episode 363: Justin Gordon interviews Abdul Al-Assad, co-founder and CEO of Basic Capital, about how he created the startup solution to finance investments and close the American ownership gap. Check out . Watch this episode and others on . --- This episode is brought to you by . With Rho, founders get: A single pane of glass they can use to run and scale their business from Day 1: Bank account, corporate cards to start running – and expense management, bill pay automation, and accounting to help you move fast as you scale. Rho is trusted by thousands of companies...
info_outline
Building a $100M+ home services empire with Jeremy Yamaguchi (Just Go Grind, Episode #362)
Just Go Grind
Episode 362: Justin Gordon interviews Jeremy Yamaguchi, founder of Lawn Love and Cabana Pools, about how he built and grew several “high-suck” companies in the home services industry. Check out Jeremy's company, . Watch this episode and others on . --- This episode is brought to you by . With Rho, founders get: A single pane of glass they can use to run and scale their business from Day 1: Bank account, corporate cards to start running – and expense management, bill pay automation, and accounting to help you move fast as you scale. Rho is trusted by thousands of...
info_outline
Zero to $80M in 4 years with John Andrew Entwistle of Wander (Just Go Grind, Episode #361)
Just Go Grind
Episode 361: Justin Gordon interviews John Andrew Entwistle, Founder and CEO of Wander, about how he built a luxury travel business at the age of 23. Book a Wander with inspiring views, hotel-grade amenities, dreamy beds, top-tier cleaning, and 24/7 concierge service. It’s a vacation home, but better: Watch this episode and others on . --- This episode is brought to you by . With Rho, founders get: A single pane of glass they can use to run and scale their business from Day 1: Bank account, corporate cards to start running – and expense management, bill pay automation, and...
info_outline
How Nick Huber Built a $100M+ Empire with "Unsexy" Businesses (Just Go Grind, Episode #360)
Just Go Grind
Episode 360: Justin Gordon interviews Nick Huber, entrepreneur, investor, and author of "The Sweaty Startup", about how he built three thriving companies and a well-known online brand. Link to buy Nick's book on Amazon: --- This episode is brought to you by . With Rho, founders get: A single pane of glass they can use to run and scale their business from Day 1: Bank account, corporate cards to start running – and expense management, bill pay automation, and accounting to help you move fast as you scale. Rho is trusted by thousands of companies ranging from two-person YC...
info_outlineJulien Smith is currently the Co-founder and CEO of Practice, a world class tool to help coaches build their businesses entirely on their own. He has started many companies, including Breather, for which he raised $150M and got to Series D before handing it to a hired CEO.
As a coach, he takes on a few select first time CEOs who he coaches on finding customers, building a team, running a business, and raising venture financing. He has coached founders who have been funded by the world's best venture firms, including A16Z, General Catalyst, Craft Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Y Combinator, and more.
Julien is also a New York Times bestselling author of business and marketing books. He and his co-author were among the first to write books about social media and how to use it for business purposes, and many of the best practices you see in the field were put on paper by them first.
The first book, Trust Agents, was written with Chris Brogan, and became instant New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller, winning awards including Amazon and 800 CEO-READ's best books of the year. They also collaborated on another book, The Impact Equation, published in 2012. His second book, The Flinch, edited by Seth Godin, has remained one of the top downloaded and highlighted books on Kindle since the day it was published.
Website: Practice
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/juliensmith/
Twitter: @julien
Second Time Founders podcast
Topics Covered by Julien Smith in this Episode
- The background behind Julien’s company Practice
- Why Julien decided to start Practice after his success starting Breather
- How Julien runs and structures his practice coaching founders
- How founders can build better businesses
- Julien’s tips for fundraising
- Driving emotion in fundraising pitches
- Identifying true value when building your cap table
- Julien’s big vision for growing Practice and what he’s doing differently from his first company
- How the Second Time Founders podcast was born
Listen to all episodes of the Just Go Grind Podcast: https://www.justgogrind.com
Follow Justin Gordon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/justingordon212