My Top 5 Learnings Running a Startup in 2023

2023 was My Startup's biggest year ever. But it didn't start like that... In fact, at the beginning of this year we were genuinely concerned about going under. Thankfully after much hard work, we were able to persist and 2023 became a year that I will truly never forget.
From the ups of getting our first office and being featured in Forbes 30 under 30, to the downs of our bank crashing and experiencing severe burnout, I will never forget the memories made and lessons learned this year.
My hope for this video is that through my experiences, you can feel better equipped as you embark upon your own startup journey.
Thanks to everyone who made this year incredible, and a special thank you for those who watch till the end ;)
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Connect with me on LinkedIn: / dm me on Instagram: / jayhoovy
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Timestamps:
00:00 - January
02:32 - February
05:30 - April
07:35 - June
09:23 - July
11:04 - September-November
16:41 - 2024?
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Want to start monetizing your content? Check out my company, Stan: stan.store/

[@jayhoovy]

I wanna hear your favorite memory from this year! Reply in this thread and let me know! :)

[@vitaliidodonov2403]

Being in this picture

[@Kevin_Knights]

Visiting San Francisco 🌉 from Panama 🇵🇦, Massive mentality shift, and it got me to realize that most people working in Big Tech or Changing the world for the better are just like me :). They struggle, they learn, they try their best, and they grow.

[@uzorthelma9881]

Hi, John! I've been watching your videos consistently and I love your content so much because it's helping me too as a founder and I really just want to say a big thank you for it.

[@nikolaigrin64]

This video made me so extremely happy. Your smile and your pure passion for life is contagious. I just wanted to say I appreciate all the messages you’re sharing with founders at all different stages. As for the favorite moment of my year. I also thank you for asking this question. The first thing that comes to mind is while I was working a door-to-door sales job this last summer, and I was just having the best week of my life, closing a couple people, a day being able to work on the business at night and coming back from the city where I spent time with friends and family just a few days ago. It felt like the perfect balance of life imaginable. So I just started this job only about a couple weeks ago at this point, and then, one particular day I had 4 Sales in about six or seven doors. I don’t get excited after sale because of course you have to get the next, but after that for sale, I had a long break. I remember the pure joy I had in the middle of Long Island New York, just sprinting down the street with the biggest smile on my face I have ever had. I put my hands out and I just ran and it was absolutely amazing. I’m not sure if it’s because of the sales or because of the balance or because I feel like I found my passion, but that had to have been the best memory of my life.

[@nikolaigrin64]

Year*

[@brandonmarshall6475]

Thanks for sharing the depression/lack of motivation that you went though. Sometimes I’ll go several days in a row procrastinating the work I need to do for my startup and it eats me alive. Makes me feel a little better that I’m not the only one

[@mortazaismailzada807]

This is awesome Jay! you're incredible!

[@viditladha6143]

Hey John! Amazing video as always! Happy holidays!! Also keep the videos coming 😊

[@LamontiaX]

You’re doing great things!

[@felixogdon570]

Keep doing what you’re doing, Jay. You have a lot of good people in your corner ❤

[@wafflepiffle]

the most moving part of your vids is quality and transparency of the insights you share. keep it up!

[@matthuang21]

Love your healthy perspective on how to think about approaching your relationship with your VCs - keep the content coming!

[@cedantarmalabori861]

Thank you so much for this video. This kind of vulnerability is unheard of in startup space imo, especially the moments from doer -> leader. Really appreciate this giving back you do through KZbin

[@Rodrigo_Martins2020]

Really appreciate your work and dedication, John! Big hug from Brazil, wish you and Stan a wonderful 2024 👊🏻

[@jayhoovy]

You rock Rodrigo! Really appreciate your support. Wishing YOU a wonderful 2024!

[@anthonyjohnson2752]

Another awesome video. Thank you for your transparency! ❤

[@jayhoovy]

Thank you for your support Anthony! Excited to take on 2024 with ya!

[@miguelovicjr2753]

Your videos are very inspiring. Thank you for taking us with you on your journey. I'm not a bit young, but I was able to learn so much from your videos 🙌🏽

[@jayhoovy]

Thank you Miguel!!! Your support means a lot :) Happy holidays!

[@shivzz.s]

The transparency in your videos are unmatched. Congrats on a successful year John!!

[@jayhoovy]

2024 is gonna be even bigger for us Shiva! Excited to take on 2024 with ya!

[@VanCin-5]

Thanks for sharing💜

[@AkshatParikhhi]

The 🐐!! been waiting, amazing vid!

[@jayhoovy]

[@AkshatParikhhi]

@@jayhoovy you too! Happy holidays!

[@Khoi_Huynh]

Hey John, been following you for a while now and you're truly an inspiration. Congratulations on closing the year with such great numbers and achievements! I've been working for about 4 years now since graduating Uni, and I've been saving up and plan on starting my own venture sometime in 2024-2025. I was wondering if you could make a video which kind of talks about a general blue print on how you'd build a company starting from just an idea/stratch. My biggest problem now, is i feel like i have analysis paralysis. where I'm always thinking about how everything should function and run, but in reality I have no idea how to even begin. I've been a Product manager for 2 years and my experience has only been about building and growing an existing product that already has a customer base... Whereas starting from an idea alone, I'm completely lost Cheers!.

[@jayhoovy]

Appreciate the kind words Khoi! Yes! I'm working on a video now that I'll release first week of Jan on how I'd start a company from scratch and scale it to your first million $ in 2024!!! Stay tuned...

[@Jalan.January]

Man! My name is Jalan January and I’m currently in my last year of undergraduate at Bowling Green State University in Ohio! I recently just got my second internship at Huntington’s Private bank as a Wealth Analyst, ultimately want to be a wealth manager! Your videos have really helped me get almost my own sense about what it takes to be GREAT in the realm of Buisness! Keep up the good work, I’ll continue to be a supporter. If you have any tips/tricks for me come graduation for me in December, please let me know!

[@MattyBoy]

Really enjoy seeing you film the process brother!

[@jayhoovy]

Really appreciate you supporting the journey and being along for the ride Matty!

[@sputnik8543]

Frank Slootman in his book ‘Amp it Up’ mentions similar, where he believe his purpose as a leader is to get his people (employees) to the next stop in life which is similar to what you describe as feeling rewarded by seeing other people flourish - best wishes for 2024

[@jayhoovy]

Frank is a killer - love it

[@fancyboi2616]

Hey John, this was a really great and inspiring video. As a freshman in college, I was just wondering what your timeline outside of college was like. I know that you were in investment banking and VC industry which are really interesting to me as a Biotech/Economics student at UCLA

[@DaveNash]

jay hoovy on top

[@jayhoovy]

See you there Dave 🤗

[@esse4454]

Hi Jay, thank you for telling your story on youtube! Before, I had self-imposed limiting beliefs and I thought of entrepreneurship as something that isn't for me. You've inspired me to pursue an entrepreneurial endeavor that feels highly meaningful. I have a business idea, but I'm also in the midst of picking an academic route. My question is: how useful do you think a finance/econ degree is when you're building a company in a non finance/econ- domain? More specifically I want to create a niche counselling platform :). I have previous knowledge and university credits in math and CS, and longterm I see myself becoming a generalist of some sort. cheers and best wishes for 2024:)

[@jayhoovy]

I definitely think it can be net helpful! But pretty much any degree you want now you can just learn online for free :)

[@jordan5253]

In the transition from doer to leader how did you manage to maintain the respect from the team that comes from seeing someone in charge who is also capable of doing the things he or she is asking their team to do ? I feel like being able to “do” things at a high level lets especially engineering gains a certain level of creds from your team and people around you that allows them to respect the goals you set . Curious about your thoughts on this ?

[@Leoninhk]

imagine the employee at that Chase branch when Stan becomes a unicorn, all cos they wanted a 4pm snack

[@TomWang]

Great video! When you wanted to quit and transition out of the company, you said you went on a spiritual retreat of some sort. Did you work with a coach to re-ignite your purpose?

[@Snugglelol]

what was the video from the 6:14 clip?

[@haille2282]

🥹🥹🥹