New Episode: Know Who’s Who — The Most Overlooked Startup Skill

Startups rarely fail due to a lack of effort. They fail because they build for the wrong person—or worse, for nobody in particular.

This week’s episode is a call to slow down and focus on the most critical (and most overlooked) early-stage work: defining exactly who your product is for. It’s based on Chapter Four of Epic Execution and the Know Who’s Who of Your Start-up course at Start With EPIC.

Founders love to move fast. However, when you skip the deep work of customer understanding, speed becomes noise. You might receive early interest, but it won't gain traction: polite nods, but no real engagement. Your message floats past the people you want to serve.

This episode helps you avoid that fate.

We explore the three foundational worksheets from the course—worksheets that every serious founder should complete before building anything.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

Why customer empathy is your startup’s superpower
The best founders aren’t just problem-solvers—they’re emotional translators. They know what their audience is feeling before the customer can name it. They build products that feel like relief, not just features.

How to align your mission with your customer’s struggle
Great products start at the intersection of two truths: what you believe in, and what your customer is desperate to solve. The “Find Your People. Refine Your Purpose.” worksheet guides you to connect your drive with real-world needs.

The cost of skipping real conversations
Most founders rely on assumptions. The ones who win listen. They spend time walking the floor, talking to potential customers, asking questions, and watching behavior. We’ll share examples of founders who made game-changing pivots after just a few honest conversations.

The power of specificity in customer profiles
Vague personas kill momentum. When you use the Avatar Builder in the course, you create a living, breathing snapshot of your ideal customer, with fears, desires, objections, and decision-making patterns. This leads to sharper messaging, better product design, and faster traction.

How emotional connection drives loyalty and product-market fit
When your customer feels seen, they tend to stay. This episode explores how tapping into emotional drivers leads to deeper loyalty, stronger referrals, and real growth. We break down the six emotional drivers from the course that shape buying behavior.

Lessons from successful pivots
Many of the best products didn’t start ideally—they started misaligned. But the founders who paused, listened, and reconnected with the right “who” were able to pivot into powerful, profitable businesses.

This episode is not just about customer discovery. It’s about founder clarity. It’s about building a business that connects so deeply, your audience says, “Finally. Someone gets me.”

Too many founders build for an imaginary audience. You don’t have to be one of them.

Listen now.

Then go deeper by taking the whole course and completing the worksheets at startwithepic.com. This isn’t just a book. It’s a toolkit.