24: Get tons of feedback and stay open minded (UCLA Anderson Venture Accelerator Edition)

It’s far too easy to fall into the trap of only bouncing your ideas off of people you know will either agree with you, or be supportive no matter what. This is great for short-term confidence, but potentially detrimental to achieving long term success by building a sustainable business. The more feedback you get from all types of people, the better you can hone in on the true value proposition of your product, and thus understand who your customer will eventually be. Rob implores you to get as much feedback as possible in the IDEA stage, before you spend a dime, micro-failing over and over until your idea is undeniable. And then never stop getting feedback through every subsequent stage. This doesn’t mean that you need to please everyone, but commonalities will emerge that will give you crucial insight into how to evolve next. On this episode, we once again welcome two fantastic entrepreneurs from the UCLA Anderson Venture Accelerator program: John Dalsey started working in a brewery in New Jersey, earning his keep from the bottom on up through hard work and dedication. Through that process, he learned the alcohol business. It was later that he and his best friend became bored with the limited flavor selection in the hard seltzer craze and decided to create the first Asian-inspired flavors in the category. Thus, Nectar was born, with a focus on not only taste, but content creation. https://nectarhardseltzer.com/ Emily Smith put TASTE over everything for her pea-based protein powder, nuFYX. Launched during the pandemic, nuFYX became the #1 selling plant-based protein at Erewhon market in Los Angeles (which if you don’t live there, is a VERY fancy health-focused grocery store with six locations around the city). Besides tasting great, it incorporates aminogen, an enzyme to help break down protein, making it easily digestible. https://nufyx.com/ Learn more about this episode.

Om Podcasten

Build With Rob is a show about building amazing companies while building an amazing life. Whether you’re a seasoned or aspiring entrepreneur, climbing the corporate ladder, or seeking to live an optimized, balanced life, Rob Dyrdek’s advice will help propel you toward your goals. Rob Dyrdek builds & invests in startups, takes them to multi-million dollar exits, and shares lessons along the way. His one-of-a-kind venture creation studio, Dyrdek Machine, is a company that builds companies by systematically fusing art, science and magic to manufacture amazing through a process called The Machine Method. In each episode, Rob provides mentorship to entrepreneurs looking to grow their companies and achieve the best version of themselves. With each guest laying out their visions for life and business and following up with questions for each, Rob gives actionable advice in his two greatest areas of mastery: building businesses and deep life optimization. On occasion, Rob sits down with his portfolio partners to discuss how the company was created, how the partnership took shape, and share valuable lessons they have learned along the way. It’s all about being the best version of yourself, doing the things that give you energy every day, minimizing those that take energy from you, and creating harmony to live an extraordinary life. Rob is here to help you achieve that dream. Listen to Build With Rob on Apple, Spotify, and most podcast platforms. To be a guest on the show and talk to Rob about your life and business visions, go to dyrdekmachine.com/guest and submit a video.