Ep. 014 Interview series: John Ladaga on Finding Success by Embracing Failure

Business Breaks - All Things Business

In this episode, John Ladaga talks about his journey from working in sales at IBM to consulting at Accenture, then venturing into entrepreneurship, which led to the creation of his current company, Sturppy.

Sturppy aims to solve the problem of complicated financial models for startups by providing an easy-to-use software that doesn't require expertise in Excel or finance.

Sturppy uses a template ID component approach and a node system to provide a balance between speed and flexibility in building financial models.

John also talks about the challenges he and his co-founder faced in creating a platform that is robust and flexible enough for different types of businesses.
Key interview points:

· Running out of funding is the top reason why startups fail, making it crucial to stay on top of financial management and frequently update the financial model to reflect changes in the business.

· CFOs are recognizing the benefits of Sturppy, but old-school investors may still prefer Excel models, so Sturppy allows for one-click export to Excel.

· Failure is common among startup founders, but it's important to learn from it and apply lessons to the next idea. Successful entrepreneurs persevere and jump back on the horse after facing setbacks.

· Being willing to put oneself out there and be vulnerable is crucial for success as an entrepreneur, and getting early feedback from potential customers and acting on it is important to improve the product or service.

· Entrepreneurship can be learned through trial and error, rather than just reading textbooks or consuming resources. Listening to feedback from customers is important, but it's also important to look for trends rather than creating a new feature for every customer.

· Act on trends in customer feedback to create something applicable to a mass audience.

· Financial modeling can become challenging with interconnected cells and dozens of tabs, but Sturppy provides an easy way for early-stage founders to create financial models without needing Excel or finance experience.

· Sturppy takes a horizontal platform approach, allowing anyone to build a financial model regardless of their business type, and its node system allows for customization of templates to meet specific needs.

John's LinkedIn profile

https://hi.switchy.io/john-ladaga

Sturppy:

https://hi.switchy.io/sturrpy

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