Francisco Castro is Founder and Managing Partner of AnalytIQ, a financial planning and business analytics firm. He is a business strategist and fractional CFO who likes to work with small businesses specializing in SaaS and professional services. He founded AnalytIQ to support businesses that need analytics, payroll, bookkeeping or CFO services. He enjoys helping guide clients through coaching calls in order to improve their business.
Entrepreneurial Role Models:
Kevin Buckley
When business started difficulties overcame:
“a lot of people try to have a job and the business on the side and that works to an extent but you are never going to really achieve what the business should be until you are fully committed to it. And it didn’t really flourish until I was fully committed to it and just focused on… There was a lot of opportunity cost I was missing being at work”…[Listen for More]
Favourite Books:
- Angel: How to Invest in Technology Startups—Timeless Advice from an Angel Investor Who Turned $100,000 into $100,000,000 Book by Jason Calacanis – Click this link to listen to the Jason Calacanis Podcast on The Entrepreneur Way
- Steve Jobs: The Exclusive Biography Book by Walter Isaacson
Favourite Quote:
“If you look around the room and you are the smartest person in the room change rooms”
Recommended Online Resources:
- Y Combinator – created a new model for funding early stage startups Twice a year they invest in a large number of startups
- Kora Established in 1998, Kora combines its expertise in information technologies with its experience in business processes, developing customized solutions for enterprises and offering expert services through its Oracle certified consultants
- SaaStr is the only non vendor destination where SaaS companies can come together to learn and grow their businesses through content, events, and team training
Best Advice to Other Entrepreneurs:
“this is a marathon, this isn’t a sprint. And so success early could be one of your worst things that could happen to. I think because it’s such a long haul a lot of times I see people starting and like oh we’ve got our clients and we are making this much money, whatever. And then all of a sudden the bottom drops because they’ve gotten too much success too early and they didn’t understand how to really manage their business very well. And so the thing to think about is that this is a long haul, you are going to have ups you are going to have downs and you have got to try and stay in the middle. And if you feel like you can’t stay balanced enough then come back to the middle and it’s going to be a very difficult grind for you”…[Listen for More]
More About Francisco Castro:
Neil’s Quote at the Beginning:
“Find a truly original idea. It is the only way I will ever distinguish myself. It is the only way I will ever matter.” John Nash, A Beautiful Mind
Other Quotes From the Chat with Francisco Castro:
- “I always feel like it’s important to make your own route, your own path”
- “you really got to look yourself in the mirror and see if it is for you”
- “one thing you have to be willing to do if you’re going to do this is willing to have sacrifice. You are going to have up-and-down days and that I think the toughest thing”
- “find a mentor, find someone who is done it or who at least can guide you or understands key components that you want to learn”
- “almost everything you thought of somebody else has done or has tried to do and there is a market for it. With that market means that you have competitors and how are you going to differentiate yourself from those competitors and create a product that people will value and will want to use”
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