“Realistic Rick” & Tough Love Consulting?!? (www.RealisticRick.com?!)
It’s not what you WANT to hear — it’s what you NEED to hear!


Spoiler Alert: *YOUR* “Startup” Will FAIL!
Now, let’s discuss WHY!

What about Positivity?? Confidence?? Optimism??”
— SORRY, but “Realistic Rick” prefers Honesty, Objectivity, & Realistic Assumptions (based on Data, Probability, Statistics, and LOGIC!)

Our typical “Realistic Rick” Consulting Sessions look something like this:
- Let’s hear your elevator pitch.
- What’s your biggest priority/target/goal right now? (Short-term? Long-Term?) — X number of users? Y dollars in revenue? Z dollars in funding?
- How close do you think you are [to that] milestone and/or what are the key steps on the path to getting there?
- One of these:
a) Tell me why you think you’ll hit your target/goals
b) Tell me why you think an investor should give you money
c) Tell me why you believe your startup will succeed…

“Oh, you’ve identified a market need / gap / opportunity?? …and nobody else is doing this?? …and all the feedback you’ve gotten has been positive??
You’ve got the passion, hustle, and drive to do whatever it takes to succeed?? There’s no competition?? Or they’re just missing [X improvement/feature] that you will provide??
5. What percentages of startups/entrepreneurs do you think would have similar answers to the last few questions? the same confidence, passion, belief, as you?
6. What are you really F***ING GREAT at? (Or, if it’s someone I don’t feel comfortable swearing in front of, “What’s your competitive advantage?)
7. I don’t want to see any financials; but, from 10,000 feet…
What do your projections show? [X dollars in revenue in (Year 1? 2? 3?)? Y customers by (date?)? Z% profit margin? Customer Acquisition Cost of $qq.qq and Customer Lifetime Value of $QQQ.QQ?]
8. What are some of the key assumptions that get you there? (to one/some/all success indicator(s) from prior answers)… ? [I can explain/elaborate more on what I mean]
9. I’m getting in a time-machine tonight and going (3? 5? 10?) years into the future to talk to “Future You”…
A) IF your startup is a success, can you tell me what that “success” actually looks like?
B) If, IF, *IF* your startup should fail, can you give your best guess (now) and imagine WHY/HOW that would be most likely to happen? (Which assumptions did you end up being wrong about?) [When/how did you decide to recognize that and what did you do then?]

10. a) WHY? (You will be asked several times about several of your responses)
10. b) Do you KNOW that, THINK that, or HOPE that? (You will be asked several times about several of your responses)
10. c) Is that based on a “Reliable OBJECTIVE Indicator” or an “Optimistic Assumption”? (You will be asked several times about several of your responses)
***Contact info@StartupWhatever.com for more info on working with us…. or, for a FREE “Realistic Rick” Consulting Session — via the new CommonGenius consulting platform, click here:
https://commongenius.com/expert-consultant/jeff-goldblatt
P.S. Real testimonials:
- Welp, that was a kick in the nuts
- Every potential founder should be required to talk to you before they start!
- … never would have thought that 15 minutes with [“Realistic Rick”] would be better feedback than my 150 customer discovery surveys [that I had done over] the past 30 days
- This totally made me see how fake all my [friends/family] had been with encouragement [of my idea]… I went back to all of them, asked the right questions this time and [convinced them that] I wanted them to be totally honest, [and that I would take] no offense to whatever they said. [Expletives Deleted] — totally different feedback. Those fake@ss motherf***ers made me waste a year of my life…



- … realized I had never actually thought about why I wanted to be an entrepreneur in the first place or why I had picked [this idea] to start… he definitely gave me a lot to think about! Would not recommend if you don’t take criticism [well] or [if you] get easily offended

***Contact info@StartupWhatever.com for more info on working with us…. or, for a FREE “Realistic Rick” Consultation — via the new CommonGenius consulting platform, click here:
https://commongenius.com/expert-consultant/jeff-goldblatt
P.S. If your business/idea is an area outside my comfort zone — like blockchain, A.I., or many B2B SaaS models, — I’ll probably have to decline so I’m not wasting your time (or mine).

