Zap's Wrap January 21st

hi friends,

I didn’t get this email out yesterday because I was feeling pretty down and I wasn’t sure what to write about.

9/10 days are amazing- I love the process of what I’m building, I’m motivated by my mission, I get to spend all my time on things I care about. But I find that there is always that 1/10 day where it feels the opposite- the process is overwhelming, I doubt my mission, and I feel like nobody cares about what I’m doing.

The bad days are when I find that I need to lean on the founders I work with the most. They inspire me to keep going and remind me of what it’s all about.

Startup house updates

I really need to find phone booths!!! Whether to lease, buy, borrow, whatever. If you have any leads or recommendations, please let me know. In the meantime, we are getting very creative with transforming closets, but eventually will need more dedicated phone call space.

I am incredibly grateful to be physically capable enough to spend most of my weekend holding up heavy light fixtures while Mr Zap wires them into the ceiling!! lol

I am tracking toward doing a soft launch next week and then a big launch in March!

Startup stuff that’s cool

• I met Ben who moved to Nashville 2 weeks ago and is building a startup in healthcare backed by 25M. He’s going after a niche space with a big pain and about to ink his first couple of health system customers! He came to town to be a part of the healthcare community and is looking for folks to connect with.

• I met Geordan who is the real deal. He runs a business called Moving Muscle that is the gig economy platform for moving labor. They get their customers through killer SEO + reviews and get their movers through college campuses. They provide help for the missing middle- folks who don’t need to spend thousands on a full service move, but want an extra hand to load a uhaul or go up and down stairs. As someone who just moved, I love his concept. They’re already in 3 markets and earn more than half a million in revenue w/2 employees and he’s only 24.

• I caught up with Deanna, who is one of the most entrepreneurial folks ever. While she’s started several businesses, her main focus right now is being CEO of Couture Technologies. They are a b2b saas with customers in fashion and uniform distribution helping the industries with virtual try-ons and 3D product visualizations.

• I met Spencer, who is thinking about what’s next as the current startup he’s with, Bunches, recently announced they are winding down (post here). Spencer is looking for another startup, ideally something slightly later stage, that needs his partnerships and revenue expertise!

• I’m hiring for an SDR for a startup. If you have SDR experience, hmu. Especially if you have ever sold to HR departments before.

• Last week I hosted a workshop on how to get started as an angel investor with Peter and Tommy and over 45 folks showed up to our virtual and in-person session!! I’m thinking about turning the content into a blog and I hope to do it again.

Events

• I’m hosting a hangout for product leaders (CPOs, Directors of Product, etc) on Wednesday, January 22nd at a house near Belmont. Shoot me a note if you fit the bill and want to come (:

Personal stuff

My dad visited last week and reminded me that I am not the first ‘Zap.’ He’s actually been called Zap for decades at work. Thought others might appreciate this fun fact.

to the moon,

zap