Transcript of a short YouTube conversation featuring Neal Bloom offering practical advice for entrepreneurs. Key themes: using forced change (job loss or career pivot) as an opportunity to explore new industries or skills, carefully vetting business partners (alignment of timelines, values, and exit expectations), and treating failure as a learning opportunity to improve future attempts.
Hi, I'm Neil Bloom. I'm an entrepreneur, angel investor, community builder.
And mentor at the Wayfinder program. I've also started a tech blog focused on the Orange county tech and startup.
Community called Fresh Squeeze Tech. So in the environment where someone loses.
A job or needs to remarket for.
Either a career pivot or career change, this is a moment of change. This is a moment where whether you wanted to or not, your mind is.
Having to adapt to a new reality.
This is actually an exciting opportunity for someone because usually we're very resistant to change.
And so you often find when change is forced upon you, you're actually open to a lot of possibilities. This is often times where you see startups all of a sudden come to fruition. Someone was forced into change and said.
Now'S the time to take the leap.
This is also a great time for someone to make laterally to a whole.
New industry or even to a whole.
New skill set that they thought they were weakened before.
This is the time where you can.
Reach out to other people, ask for advice and say, you know, I'm thinking.
About making this change. Could you spend some time with me.
Understanding the role that I'd like to get into? And people are not, are not shy from helping out as well as they're not going to judge you for saying you want to make a change. So don't be afraid of that.
Going into business with someone is really important. Very close to getting married, you are.
Embarking on a long term relationship that has the potential for not working out. And so when you want to work with someone, you want to think through what could happen if there's a breakup.
People have very, very different timelines and time frames.
So getting to know someone in terms of what they think they want from.
1 year, 5 year, 10, 20 years, and seeing if you are on the.
Same timeline, it's really important. Does one person want to start a.
Company and sell it within five years.
While someone else wants to work on.
It the rest of their life as.
Well as what do you value in terms of what do you want your.
Company culture to be like?
Talk about it. Talk with professionals who know how to document it.
The value of failure is the opportunity to learn to be retrospective. When something is failing is a great.
Time to kind of look around and.
Say, how am I acting right now? Am I reactive?
Am I defensive? Why is that?
Failure is going to happen multiple times for sure. Especially if you're an entrepreneur.
Just know that failure is okay. It won't be the last time and.
Next time you'll be even better because you went through it.
Sam.
