"The odd thing about being a startup founder is it requires probably the broadest set of skills of almost any job out there. You need to know a little bit about marketing, operations, everything. Yet despite the fact that it has this huge requirement for different skill sets, it's one of the very few jobs on the planet that requires absolutely no prior experience.

You can't get a job in a restaurant as a waiter unless you waited someplace else. You can't get a job most places unless you have experience. Here we have a complex job with dozens of skills needed, and you can just wake up one day and go, I'm a founder. That's when the hard work starts."

I love this quote by our guest and fellow Startup Founder Coach Tony Clemendor!

Tony entered the startup ecosystem straight out of Harvard Business School and has loved startups ever since. For over 25 years, he's been a founder, an investor, an advisor, a mentor, a teacher, and now a founder coach who works primarily with early stage founders and first time CEOs.

Tony became a coach because during his early startups, he'd wished that he'd had frequent access to someone who could help him accelerate his startup education and reduce his "rookie mistakes".

Having learned the ropes, Tony is happily serving the next generation of founders.

Tony works and lives in the heart of Silicon Valley where in addition to coaching founders and volunteering as a mentor at WeWork Labs, Tony also serves as the Silicon Valley Chair for The Founders Network, a peer to peer support and networking group.

Tony shares actionable advice and a deep understanding of the Startup Founder's journey, including tips for:

* what you need to know when presenting to investors
* which investments will further the business vs. wasting money
* why customer inertia is the most underestimated challenges facing a founder
* aspirin vs. vitamin litmus test
* understanding the difference between "end of the world events" and a not so bad problem
* dissolving chokeholds on the business and the founder's mindset
* managing isolation

Please connect with Tony via:
Website: http://getfoundercoaching.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tclemendor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tclemendor

Please leave questions in the comment section or email me ande@andelyons.com.

If you have a startup story you’d like to share on the Startup Life Show podcast, please reach out to me via email – ande@andelyons.com.

To receive an alert whenever I post a new episode, please subscribe to the podcast on your favorite platform... Stitcher iTunes Spotify or Google Podcasts… and let’s connect on social media, too! @AndeLyons

You'll find tons of curated DIY startup advice on my YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/user/AndeliciousAdvice and my Pinterest Boards: https://www.pinterest.com/andelyons/boards/.

Are you ready for startup mentoring or some delicious DIY advice for your new business? Then please visit my website, http://andelyons.com where you’ll find all the ways I can add value to your startup journey: strategy calls, pitch deck and one page business snapshot coaching, WBENC application support for women business owners - I’d be honored to mentor you through whatever you’re going through – so please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Listeners - thank you so much for tuning in - I am genuinely grateful for your time and presence. Stay strong, stay focused – and please remember – you’ve got this – Cheers!

Ande ♥