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“With all the things that you aren’t happy about in your life, there’s one common denominator in those occurrences, and that is the presence of you.”
Given the right operating conditions, we all have unique contributions that can be expressed commercially and shared at scale. Founders and their teams serve as a point of conversion between capital and happy, loyal customers. Unfortunately, not all founders in the startup and entrepreneurial ecosystem receive the right support they need.
We are joined by Arjun Arora and Jon Low, advisors at Valence Advisory who help founders address their unique needs by assisting with the strategic application of capital and technology. Arjun and Jon have learned a lot through building their own business and helping others build theirs.
On this episode of Mission Daily, Chad, Arjun, and Jon share some of these lessons. They stress the power of communication, the importance of trust in mentorship, and why it’s so important to build lasting connections with others, plus so much more!
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Key Takeaways From Arjun and Jon:
Jon discusses the power of communication and how it is a tool used to alter the way we and others behave. Over the past couple of years, Jon has used this power as part of his leadership coaching and to help founders better understand themselves.
“The process we use to describe our experience is the exact same process we used to create or recreate our experience.”
“We are helping founders — or emerging fund managers, general partners, and other people who really value personal growth and leadership — learn about themselves to a deeper degree and to develop self-awareness while also teaching them communication techniques to more effectively communicate positive intentions for others.”
On the topic of communication, Jon proceeds to say…
“It aligned people behind the vision and built a trusted and safe environment so that when safety is taken care of, they can access their intelligence center in their mind, so they always perform better.”
Jon and Arjun believe that we are all unique, but not all of us properly express ourselves or value our unique attributes. To help founders lean into their strengths, the advisors help these individuals build a deep awareness of self and a strong connection with others.
“The outcome we want is to strengthen and reinforce trust in the ecosystem between stewards of capital and founder potential. If you get the capital right, you get the strategy right, and you find the right founders, you can create amazing things.”
Arjun takes a moment to share how altering the company’s marketing leads to rapid innovation. Arjun and his team decided to build products and create a foundation. They focused on educating the market on the benefits of their new technology. From this, they were handed multiple contracts and began working with large advertising agencies.
“It is incredibly important to be narrowly focused, operationally efficient, and execute hard, but not to lose general awareness in the ecosystem. I think that created opportunities — by having that awareness.
Jon maintains a fantastic mindset when it comes to finding a mentor. When you are confronted with a great mentor, capitalize on that opportunity. Mentors are there to give hard advice, so be coachable and open to the knowledge that is handed to you. Jon has found many mentors that he put his trust in. For example, his taekwondo instructor who gave him some advice that stuck with him.
“With all the things that you aren’t happy about in your life, there’s one common denominator in those occurrences, and that is the presence of you.”
“You might just be responsible for your experiences.”
Arjun and Jon have an act of looking at their client’s communication patterns and discovering their strengths. Instead of looking at how businesses and organizations grow, they discuss how they can actively stimulate potentially net positive connections.
“One of the things that make the network powerful is, not just the size, but the density.”
Jon proceeds to say…
“Part of adding value to them is, producing thoughtful content that could be useful to our stakeholders.”
“The ability to continue to learn, to continue to learn about yourself, and to be curious.”
