It Won't be a Straight Line – MicroConf 2018

Too often, business presentations focus on the larger successes with fleeting references to minor road bumps. After navigating a three-and-a-half year health-based distraction with two small children while running a business a sole founder, I wanted to share my slightly less rose-colored experience.

Ultimately, my outcome was positive since I was able to sell the business and move on, but the story focused more on understanding and embracing the curveballs that life invariably throws at us.

You can watch the [full video of the presentation on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aq1n9fFIDCo).

Transcript

1. IT WON’T BE A
   STRAIGHT LINE
   

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2. I’m @garrettdimon
   HELLO
   

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3. View Slide

4. 4.79YEARS SINCE IT
   
   
   ALL STARTED
   

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5. 1.67
   YEARS SINCE
   
   
   AMPUTATION
   

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6. 10
   SURGERIES
   28
   TOTAL HOURS IN HYPERBARIC
   15
   SURGEONS CONSULTED
   16
   WOUND VAC CHANGES
   20+
   PROSTHETIST APPOINTMENTS
   30
   TOTAL NIGHTS IN HOSPITALS
   60+
   DOCTOR’S OFFICE VISITS
   100+
   PHYSICAL THERAPY APPOINTMENTS
   PROSTHETIST APPOINTMENTS 40+
   4
   MRI/CT SCANS
   PAINKILLERS & ANTIBIOTICS COUNTLESS
   

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7. 120DAYS
   
   
   LOST
   

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8. 6.8%
   OF THE LAST
   
   
   5 YEARS
   

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9. 1.63HOURS
   PER DAY FOR THE
   
   
   LAST 5 YEARS
   

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10. ✈
    

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11. View Slide

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13. A new work
    fl
    ow to write, review,
    and ship web applications.
    A fast & reliable transactional-only
    email platform for web
    applications
    A complete work
    fl
    ow to write,
    review & deploy code.
    Instantly build and ship code anywhere
    in one consistent process for your entire
    team.
    Com
    ing
    soon
    Sold in 2017 Coming soon!
    

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17. STARTING & SUSTAINING
    http://startsustain.com
    
    
    @start_sustain
    

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18. SETTING THE STAGE
    Be ready for curveballs.
    
    
    

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20. 😧 🤔 😎
    

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21. Winston Churchill
    When you’re going through hell,
    keep going.
    

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22. 💩
    

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24. LESSON:
    
    
    Responding beats reacting.
    Things will go wrong. Focus on the aspects
    you can affect.
    

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25. Walt Disney
    The way to get started is to quit
    talking and start doing.
    

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27. LESSON:
    
    
    Inspiration doesn’t strike. It has to be
    cultivated.
    Don’t search for ideas. Just start creating
    and always be on the lookout for ideas.
    

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28. VALIDATING AN IDEA
    Payment is your best form of validation, so
    how do you get there?
    

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29. LESSON:
    
    
    Approach everything with baby steps.
    Never go all-in on your
    fi
    rst attempt. Build
    enough to justify payment and learn.Then
    build the real thing.
    

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30. 💉💉💉
    

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32. David Heinemeier Hansson
    
    
    Cofounder of Basecamp
    The greater the uncertainty as to
    whether something will work at all,
    the less excellence you should invest
    before you
    fi
    nd out.
    

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33. V1 Manual Processes
    V2 Somewhat Automated
    V3 Highly Automated
    V4 Hosted Web Application
    Spreadsheet
    Spreadsheet
    
    + Zapier
    
    Spreadsheet
    
    + Zapier
    
    + Stripe
    Hosted Web
    
    Application
    

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34. Tim O’Reilly
    
    
    Founder of O’Reilly Media
    When you have to prove the value of
    your ideas by persuading other
    people to pay for them, it clears out
    an awful lot of woolly thinking.
    

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35. LESSON:
    
    
    Sales is research.
    Talking to potential customers kills two
    birds with one stone. Then use that to
    iterate on your offering.
    

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36. VERSION 1
    Let’s try the simplest solution.
    

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38. ?
    

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39. LESSON:
    
    
    Recurring revenue is an amazing form
    of disability insurance.
    It’s easy to be scared of health issues, but
    recurring revenue makes it easier.
    

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40. PIVOTING
    We learned a little. Some stuff worked.
    Some didn’t. It’s time to get serious.
    

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42. LESSON:
    
    
    Maintain perspective.
    Not “Well. It could be worse.”
    
    
    But rather “I can handle this.”
    

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43. VERSION 2.0
    We feel con
    fi
    dent that the best step is to
    invest in a more ambitious solution.
    

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44. LESSON:
    
    
    Tiny steps are still steps.
    The key is that they’re your steps. Don’t
    compare your rate of progress to anyone else.
    (Or to “past you.”)
    

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45. WHAT IS A FREE FLAP?
    🥓 🍖
    

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46. ⚠
    “THAT’S NOT GOOD…”
    

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47. LESSON:
    
    
    Trust and delegate. Don’t give up when
    your
    fi
    rst attempt doesn’t go well.
    In our personal lives, we don’t hesitate to
    trust experts, but with business, too often
    we try to go it alone.
    

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48. VERSION 2.1
    Any major effort is going to run into issues
    and need some follow-on work.
    

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49. 🏥
    

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50. 🔘
    

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51. 💓
    

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52. 🚨
    

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53. “HOW LONG WILL I BE HERE?”
    ⏰
    

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54. “We’ll keep you here a few
    more days and then we’ll
    move you to the
    fl
    oor.”
    

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57. PROGRESS ISN’T AUTOMATIC
    Growing pains are real. At some point,
    growth will plateau.
    

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58. LESSON:
    
    
    Growth is just a formula.
    You have to look at growth and plateaus as
    simple formulas. Then set goals
    accordingly.
    

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59. Time
    Number of Customers
    Real Growth
    
    
    with Churn
    Ceiling from Churn
    Hypothetical
    
    
    Linear Growth
    Zero
    
    
    Growth
    

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60. LESSON:
    
    
    Work on the right things.
    The likelihood of working on the right things
    correlates closely with what customers are
    telling you combined with your actual
    growth numbers.
    

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61. 1 Reduce Churn
    2 Increase Conversion
    3 Increase Traf
    fi
    c
    

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62. 🏋
    

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63. 👩💼
    👨💻 👩🎨👨🍳👩💻
    👩⚕ 👨🏫
    

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64. LESSON:
    
    
    Pain and discomfort are part of the
    process.
    Go right up to your limit. Push past it.
    Suffer a little. Then do it all over again.
    

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65. STEP BACK AND ASSESS
    How are you doing? Are you meeting your
    goals? Do you need to try something new?
    

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66. 🏃 ⛹
    🚶
    SOMEWHAT TOLERABLE
    🚵
    🏋
    TOLERABLE WITH LIMITATIONS
    🏂
    ONLY WITH PAINKILLERS
    NOPE
    

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67. LESSON:
    
    
    Focus on tangible goals rather than
    long-term dreams.
    Let your dreams light the
    fi
    re, but
    remember that incremental and measurable
    goals are how you really get there.
    

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68. MAKE BIG DECISIONS
    Turning points are never easy, and the
    answer is rarely obvious.
    
    
    

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69. LESSON:
    
    
    Protect your focus for the things that really
    matter, and always work deliberately.
    Don’t avoid big decisions because they’re hard.
    Put your head down, do the research, decide,
    and then execute ruthlessly.
    

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70. 1 2
    

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71. View Slide

72. ⏳
    REGRET?
    

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73. View Slide

74. ❤
    👪
    SAFE &
    
    
    RESPONSIBLE
    FOLLOW
    MY HEART
    VS.
    

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77. LESSON:
    
    
    For some decisions, there’s not an
    obvious answer.
    You may need to make a leap of faith. Do
    your research, and make a decision. Sitting
    still can often be worse.
    

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78. IS IT GOOD ENOUGH?
    After big efforts, launch, and then re-
    evaluate.
    

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79. 🤔
    

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82. 🏂
    

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84. 👋
    

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85. LESSON:
    
    
    Don’t count on data and logic to
    provide the right answer.
    Too often we try to be 100% con
    fi
    dent
    about decisions that require a leap of faith.
    

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86. TAKING THE NEXT STEP
    Once you’ve handled the basics, the real
    work begins.
    

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90. LESSON:
    
    
    It’s ok to let go.
    Just because something is holding you
    back, doesn’t mean you have to hold on
    too.
    

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91. THE JOURNEY NEVER ENDS
    There will be milestones, but there’s never a
    fi
    nish line.
    

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93. “Daddy, can you run yet?”
    😊
    

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94. “You can’t beat me!”
    😛
    

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95. “Daddy, you’re cheating!”
    😡
    

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98. LESSON:
    
    
    It’s about progress—
    not aspirations.
    Focus on how far you’ve come because our
    journeys never end. You’ll never reach a
    fi
    nish
    line.
    

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99. Bill Gates
    
    
    (Probably)
    Most people overestimate what they
    can do in one year and underestimate
    what they can do in ten.
    

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101. LESSON:
     
     
     Find your people so they can nudge
     you along safely.
     When you’re in the thick of it, it’s dif
     fi
     cult to
     know if you’re pushing yourself too hard or not
     hard enough.
     

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102. 🏃 ⛹
     🚶
     NO PROBLEM
     🚵
     🏋
     SIMPLE FOOT CHANGE
     🏂
     ALL DAY
     (JUST A LITTLE SLOWER)
     

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105. LESSON:
     
     
     Don’t adjust too many variables at once.
     With business, you have a ton of dials you
     can adjust, but only a few matter.
     

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107. ⛸
     👡 👢
     👞
     👟
     👠 🎿
     

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108. View Slide

109. LESSON:
     
     
     We’re all adaptive.
     Adaptation is unavoidable, and businesses
     have to adapt and change too.
     

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110. Sir Edmund Hillary
     
     
     First to summit Mt. Everest
     It is not the mountain we conquer,
     but ourselves.
     

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111. 🏔
     

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112. start_sustain
     
     startsustain.com
     
     garrettdimon
     
     garrettdimon.com
     THANKS
     g
     T
     T
     g
     

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