Every founder is the principal investor in their own business, yet very few think like one. In this mini-series, Jo Parker and business designer, turnaround specialist and author Tim Meadows-Smith work through the 10 ceilings where businesses tend to slow down. For each one, they ask what a professional investor would ask: what permanent capability should you invest in now so the next ceiling never slows you down?

We start at the beginning. Ceiling 1 covers £0–60K revenue and one to three people. At this stage you have an idea looking for evidence that strangers will pay.

In this episode:

• The difference between a founder operator and a founder capitalist, and why it comes down to spending versus investing
• What Tim has learned from meeting more than 1,500 would-be founders through Startup Britain, and why he talked around a third of them out of quitting their jobs
• The redundancy-money trap: why laptops, IT upgrades and websites are the wrong first investment
• Why people buy what they want, not what they need
• Investing in evidence before product: managing risk, and failing cheaply and often
• The homemade wine problem and “ugly baby syndrome”: why friends and family can’t give you the feedback you need
• Borrow, rent or beg before you buy: you need the use of things, not ownership

Your Monday morning question:
“What evidence would convince me if I were investing my last pound?” Every time you’re tempted to spend, ask what the alternative to spending is.

00:00 Introduction: founder operators vs founder capitalists
02:30 Where your redundancy money should really go
04:54 Problems vs solutions, and investing in evidence
07:18 The homemade wine test and ugly baby syndrome
09:39 The Monday morning question: alternatives to spending
12:04 Why your mum isn’t proof