"Knowing that it is supposed to be hard is oddly freeing because it kind of alleviates that feeling of, oh, so and so makes it look so easy."
About Soona soona is a self-serve content creation platform and home of the virtual shoot. create high-quality photo and video content from anywhere.
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Liz Giorgi:
One thing that has really helped me, not just in fundraising, but just in the journey of being a founder CEO over the last four years, but realistically, this is my second business, so this will be 10 years since I became a founder full time. I've been thinking a lot about this decade, and this is such a silly, simple statement, but I think the statement that helps me the most is to just constantly remember it is supposed to be hard. If it was supposed to be easy, everyone would be doing it. Everyone would be trying. Everyone would be quitting their day job. It is supposed to be hard. And knowing that it is supposed to be hard is oddly freeing because it kind of alleviates that feeling of, oh, so and so makes it look so easy. Or, you know, how come that founder is succeeding and I'm not. If you remember that it's supposed to be hard, you understand that. Oh, it's been hard for them. I just can't see that there's hard things they're overcoming that I just can't see. There's hard things they're doing that I don't have exposure to, but if I ask them, they tell me those hard things. Knowing that it's supposed to be hard is also an invitation. I never miss during a lunch with a founder friend to say what's hard right now. Because if you can just say what's hard right now, it's an invitation to share the things that are truly weighing on you. That truly are making this feel impossible. And at times that can be paralyzing from taking the next step. Acknowledging it's hard sharing. It's hard and then giving yourself permission to talk about it, releases a lot of the tension around the expectation that it should be easy, cause it ain't ever going to be easy. There might be things that are easier for you than other founders. There might be tasks that are easier to delegate. There might be wins that come a little bit easier. But in the aggregate, the journey is not supposed to be easy.
Rich:
That is a beautiful message, and one, we should all take to heart. I also love Liz's rigorous fundraising process: four to six weeks of prep before even taking a first meeting. And this exercise. What is every shitty question your partners have asked about Soona. I love that. Go back and ask your investors every shitty question that they've been asked internally. Thank you, Liz for sharing your wisdom this week. And thank you AVL for being a great partner to the VC minute. Why go fractional? Picture this: a CFO with an average of 19 years of senior finance CFO experience, alongside controllers and accountants with 15 years under their belts. This isn't just bookkeeping. It's the expertise your company needs to navigate economic challenges. If you want to take your company to the next level and need the experience required to make it happen. Visit AVL growth.com right now. Time is our most precious asset and thank you for spending some of it with us today.