E19 Navigating the Challenges of Starting a Business with Dave Phelan

Today my guest Dave Phelan shares his entrepreneur journey from working in the corporate world, to starting his own startup app, to pivoting to a successful consulting business. Dave is an entrepreneur who grew up outside Philadelphia and studied business at Susquehanna University. After college, he started working at an engineering firm but always had a desire to start his own business. Together with his college friend Phil, they came up with the idea for an app called Loople. The app aimed to provide users with information about daily specials offered by bars and restaurants. They left their day jobs to focus on building the app, which gained over 50,000 users, but after two years the app didn't achieve their desired monetization goals, so they decided to pivot in a new direction.

Dave and his partner Phil used what they learned developing their own app to help other small businesses do the same. Founders Approach combines US-based project managers & talented global developers to bring businesses ideas to life without compromising on quality or value. Dave also opens up about the difficulties of quitting his job and the extreme highs and lows of entrepreneurship. Join us as we dive deep into Dave's inspiring story and uncover the lessons he learned along the way.

Topics we cover:

• Quitting a corporate job to pursue building a startup app
• Navigating the emotional and financial challenges of starting a business
• Balancing stresses and inconsistent salaries
• Excitement and fulfillment in the startup experience
• Extreme highs and lows, financial struggles, and moments of fulfillment in entrepreneurship
• Importance of a supportive co-founder and spouse
• Relying on referrals and building strong client relationships
• Choosing a lifestyle business approach with a small team
• Power of networking and genuine self-promotion
• The Journey of starting the podcast to support your business

Connect with The Dave:

• Founder Approach
• Listen to his podcast Why I Quit (listen to the episode I was on!!)
• Connect with Dave on LinkedIn

Connect with me:

• Subscribe to my Substack
• Follow me on IG
• pleasantpodcasts.com
• If you would like to start your own podcast you can download my free Podcast Launch Roadmap to help you get started