217: Mastering the Messy Middle and Finishing Strong, With Scott Belsky of Behance

The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan

Nathan Chan

Marketing, Business, Entrepreneurship

4.8 • 662 Ratings

🗓️ 18 September 2018

⏱️ 35 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Scott Belsky, Behance founder, investor, and author of the new book The Messy Middle, is a strong believer in putting in the hard work and then finishing strong. His nine-figure exit from Behance is a testament to this tenacity and determination. Behance came with its own set of challenges, but Belsky learned over the years that when it seems like things are falling apart, it could mean victory is right around the corner. Your near-meltdown might just be your “messy middle," and sometimes being successful simply means sticking together as a team long enough to figure it out. A labor of love will often work out in the end, even if it's not how you expect. In this thought-provoking interview, Belsky shares his own “messy middle" from his time with Behance, and some of his best wisdom on product-market fit, perseverance, and startup culture. We were thrilled to get the chance to talk to Scott. There’s a ton of gold in this interview, so don’t miss it! Key Takeaways Two guiding principles on whether to stick it out or shut it down Why Belsky is wary of the MVP craze, and how to balance perfectionism with action Three tips for finding true product-market fit How to create a startup culture that attracts and retains the right people Why Belsky started Behance and what inspired his progress

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is episode number 217 with Scott Balski of the Founder Podcast.
0:06.9	What you need is thirst.
0:08.8	You need to be a thirsty human.
0:10.6	Who is intent on learning.
0:12.9	It's a really fascinating exploration of human potential.
0:18.7	The Founder Podcast.
0:21.0	Even the greatest entrepreneurs had help. If you. Now, now, now, now. The Founder Podcast.
0:24.2	Even the greatest entrepreneurs had help.
0:29.6	If you want to learn from the most successful founders on the planet, you are in the right place.
0:36.9	Branson, Mark Cuban, Tony Robbins, Tim Ferriss, Arianna Humphington, Steve Case, Gary V, Sophia Amoroso, Barbara Corcoran, Damon John.
0:47.4	Learn from the greatest minds in business today with interviews hosted by Nathan Chan. This is not your average entrepreneur podcast. The Founder Podcast.
1:13.3	Hey guys, thank you so much for tuning in. Before we start today's episode, I just want to let you know that our goal at founder is to help entrepreneurs succeed however we can by giving away high quality content in the form of interviews, blog posts, podcasts, YouTube videos, you name it. We put out so much content to help you.
1:18.5	And another interesting project that we're working on right now is partnering with world-class founders like Damon John, Alexa von Tobel, Greta Van Riel, and so many more to teach crucial skills
1:25.1	like negotiation, finance, e-commerce, and so much more.
1:30.3	So if you'd like to get access to these free trainings with founders like this, which is
1:36.2	100% free, just go to founder.com forward slash free. Okay, so now let's talk about today's
1:43.3	episode. What's going on? Founder Family? Welcome to another
1:48.3	episode of the Founder podcast. My name is Nathan Chan. I'm the CEO of Founder Magazine and also the
1:54.5	host of this podcast. And I'm coming to you live from hometown, Melbourne, Australia.
2:00.9	Hope you're having a great day wherever you are around the world.
2:03.3	I just want to say thank you so much for taking the time to share your earbuds with me.
2:08.3	If you are new to the podcast, we interview some of the greatest entrepreneurs of our generation
	...

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