Thanks for reading my first blog post!
As mentioned in my previous LinkedIn post, I sold my company earlier this year after working on it since 2015. After a busy summer of transitioning out of Yardly, travelling with family, and catching up with everyone updating them about the exit, I finally find myself with a bit of time. So I want to write this personal update to share what I have been up to and my next step.
Leaving Yardly
It has been an interesting couple of months post-exit. While I did enjoy having more time travelling and hanging out with family and friends, there were also a few things to deal with:
- Completely transition out of the company
- Tax and financial planning
- Consider relocation
- Get used to my “new identity”
In summary, I have continued to learn that it is crucial to have a great team by your side. My legal team and accounting team has been tremendous in helping me navigate this process. Let me know if you need an intro.
My next startup
I got asked many times whether I wanted to start another company. The answer is a firm yes. I am very eager to begin another startup journey right away. Regardless of what is going on in the financial and startup world, I believe the downtown economy we are experiencing now is a great time to start building companies. You get to make sure you have a solid foundation of the company that is “recession-proof.”
I started formulating my next company idea when I signed off on selling my last company. Within days, I decided Fintech was the next industry I wanted to work in. Weeks later, I narrowed the list of problems I wanted to solve down to consumer lending and credit. Soon after, I decided on the name of my next company. While I have experienced a bit of fatigue in the last couple of years, I feel more energetic than ever. The prospect of utilizing everything I learned to start building something completely fresh is more than exciting. I can almost feel my finger on the launch button.
But wait, am I actually ready now?
When I think back on the seven years of building Yardly, it felt like I dived head into the water for a long swim and rarely took my head back up for a breath. Seven years later, I am a father of 5 and 8, but my wife has taken up most parenting duties at home. I felt like I missed so much of their growing up when I was not there, even at times when I was physically present.
If I start another company now, I know I will be compelled to the company for another extended period. One year? Five years? Or ten years? Do I wake up and find my children already heading to college?
I have decided to hold back for a while before starting my next company, at least for another six months, to give myself a proper break to focus on other important matters in my life.
That said, I am looking for a Co-founder for my next company. If you know someone who is a COO or CFO type of entrepreneur with experience in banking or lending. Please reach out or send an intro:)
A new side project: Zalis Ventures
Okay, while I decided to hold back from starting my next startup immediately, I stumbled across some opportunities to do some impactful work in the meantime.
I have been approached by many founders in the past couple of years about some common issues a first-time founder faces: How do I approach investors? How much should I spend on marketing? How do I hire the right CTO?
I often get asked questions that I faced myself not long ago, and usually would be able to provide some fresh experience to help tackle the issues.
I started to realize something.
Since we were unable to grow Yardly in a supercharged manner for various reasons, we were forced to look at the fundamentals of the business over and over again. Using an elementary school analogy, because we could not fast-track from grade one through graduation in a row, it took us many tries to get through grade 1(pre-seed stage) and grade 2(seed stage). While I have much to learn in grade 3 and beyond (series A +), the painful iteration of the business model, pivoting and restructuring, and bootstrapping to make every dollar count made me an early-stage expert.
Looking back at my early years, while I got lots of advice from seasoned advisors in the ecosystem, it was hard to get help from anyone who had recently experienced a similar challenge because most were still busy building something. As a matter of fact, knowing what I know now, if I were able to send myself back in time, I think I was able to significantly reduce the time it took to take the company to the next level.
Based on these observations, I have decided to dedicate some time next year to create a new venture, Zalis Ventures, my strategy advisory service that focuses on helping early-stage founders with strategy development and resource allocation. While it is not my primary focus, I would also be willing to invest in the company when there is the right fit.
Developing the marketing strategy by honing in on the target customer, competitive landscape, and pricing strategy will allow the company to maximize their revenue potential. On the other hand, disciplined resource allocation can help the company better utilize their resources to reduce wasted energy and money and accomplish more with less funding. Both strategies aim to shorten the “Trough of Sorrow” and get investment-ready faster, which I wish I had learned sooner in my entrepreneurship journey.
Since this is a side project, and I want to make sure I work with projects I am passionate about, I am only planning to help 3-6 companies in the next year. To maximize my impact on the business, I want to make sure that if I need to be very selective and specific on who I can help:
- First-time, product/technical/operations-focused founders who have worked on the business for a minimum of 2 years
- Company annual revenue between $100k to $1 million
- Raised none or minimal amount of investment, but are trying to get investment-ready
- B2C industries in e-commerce, marketplace, retail, subscriptions or fintech spaces.
If this sounds like you are someone you know, feel free to reach out, and I would be happy to have a chat.
Thanks for reading my first blog post.
Best,
Sheldon
Sheldon Zhang 