Founder Series: Alex Batdorf, Founder & CEO of GET SH!T DONE
Icebreakers:
Coffee/Tea Order: English Breakfast Tea straight up
Currently Listening to on Spotify: Succa Proof — Nipsey Hussle
Currently watching on Netflix: Big Mouth
Favorite City: Tokyo
Team Pizza or Team Tacos: Tacos
Interview:
In a few words can you describe what your business does?
Superpower scaling sidekick for female entrepreneurs building $1M+ profitable businesses.
What inspired to you start GET SH!T DONE?
While scaling my last business I became infuriated by the lack of representation of female entrepreneurs successfully scaling businesses and even more frustrated by the lack of solutions being offered. Instead, we were telling women (and still are) that our “savior” to scaling would be venture capitalist, which is bullshit. Less than 1% of entrepreneurs will gain access to institutional capital but that doesn’t mean you can’t scale successfully without it. Once I discovered that nearly 90% of female-founded companies generate less than $100k annually and the primary reason was linked to the lack of traction they were able to gain, I became obsessed with creating a solution.
What drives you to be so passionate about helping other female founders?
Being an entrepreneur is the only career I know. I started my first company at 19. For a decade, I’ve experienced and watched female peers experience the challenges of scaling a business as a woman. The thing that boggles my mind is the fact that female entrepreneurs are one of the topmost untapped economic resources that we continue to neglect in favor of chasing “unicorns”. We literally have the receipts to prove it! Yet we have created a toxic atmosphere that limits resources to a very select few, many of which who have similar backgrounds. I’m passionate about helping female entrepreneurs, not just because I’m a woman, but because I believe in equitable outcomes that benefit many. In order for that to happen, we have to scale access to many instead of concentrating it on a few.
What are some ways we can all help female founders?
Traction is Power. This isn’t just for women-led businesses, this is for ANY business. What is traction? Anything that allows her business to produce the necessary results to grow sustainably. The best investors in any business are its customers. If it’s a B2B company, you can help the female founder gain meaningful traction by introducing her to potential clients or becoming one. If it’s a B2C company, purchase her products and spread the word about the product that she’s selling if you’re a believer in it. Word of mouth is one of the most powerful growth drivers for any company. Other ways you can help? Introductions to meaningful connections, whether that be potential mentors, advisors, services, investors, etc. Behind every successful founder is a badass tribe that helped them get sh!t done.
You recently finished the 1st cohort of the GET SH!T DONE Accelerator. What has been the most surprising thing you have learned from the experience?
When we created the accelerator, the goal was to test our theory that traction is more powerful than just a check from investors because it gives founders optionality and the power to choose. It wasn’t until the receipts started rolling in from founders that the theory became a reality. I was actually surprised by how quickly the founders were able to turn around results such as increasing revenue by 40% MOM, increasing user sign-ups by nearly 500% to closing hundreds of thousands of dollars in investor checks during the program based on the progress they were able to make and how we helped them to frame that progress to be appealing to the investor.
Being a 3rd-time founder, how is this journey of building GET SH!T DONE different or the same as your past companies?
As a 3rd time founder, the journey has been different this time around because in my first two companies, my intention was to secure institutional capital, which I successfully did in my 2nd business.
However, in Get Sh!t Done, we’re bootstrapping. However, the skeleton for scaling, whether you’re bootstrapped or venture-backed, isn’t all that different and it’s been kind of cool to translate some of the things I learned in my last 2 companies to this one.
How do you keep yourself motivated?
The top two things that make me tick as a human are my ability to grow and contribute, if those two things are missing, I’m not motivated. That’s why I’m very clear on our mission and the Northstar of Get Sh!t Done, as well as, the impact that it would make for many. I don’t believe in luck. I believe every moment and experience happens for a reason that leads us down the path specially created for us. Our job is to learn and leverage each experience and choose to carry the light we were given or not. I truly believe that each of my experiences I’ve had as an entrepreneur, the resources I’ve been able to gather along the way, and the vision that was planted in me for this business, led me here to light up the ecosystem for female entrepreneurs. That motivates me.
How do you avoid burnout?
My stamina comes from sprints not marathons. I’m not wired to work for long hours on end. I’m personally not effective that way. Therefore, I have to force myself to take breaks that don’t include work such as reading a book, watching funny videos, Facetiming a loved one, etc. I also force myself to take one day off a week from my business. When I do that it feels like a metabolism boost because when you operate in one speed for too long, you aren’t as effective. Other than that, the common things that any human needs like 8 hours of sleep, working out, connecting with family and friends, etc. However, I think it’s important for founders to avoid falling into the trap of comparison. What works for me to avoid burnout may not work for you because we’re all wired so differently. My advice to you — listen to your body and optimize for how you’re wired. No one knows that other than you.
What was the best lesson you have learned from other founders?
Why fix what’s broken when you can create something new?
What advice would you give to someone who wants to start their own business?
Understand why you should exist, who you’re serving, and get focused. It’s disheartening when I meet “entrepreneurs” or wantrepreneurs that have started a business or want to without understanding why it matters on a deep level and who should care about it. If you don’t know you’re why, you’re DOA. If you know it. Great! Now get focused on testing and measuring what works and doesn’t to drive traction. From there, narrow down what works for you so you can invest your energy and optimize for what works to scale that growth.
Learn more about Alex:
Alex Batdorf is the Founder & CEO of Get Sh!t Done, the superpower scaling sidekick for female entrepreneurs building $1M+ profitable companies. Prior to founding Get Sh!t Done, she was co-founder & CMO of ZipFit Denim, a multi-million dollar, venture-backed eCommerce company helping you find your best fitting designer denim. She’s been featured in Forbes and has spoken around the nation at Harvard, Turner Broadcasting, Fear Paradox, etc.
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