Your Startup Will Fail If You Skip This Step!

Building a startup can feel lonely. You make decisions with incomplete information, learn things the hard way, and hope you're moving in the right direction. In this episode, I spoke with Chelsea Cooper, Founder & CEO of Approvely, about the lessons that only come from actually building—not from books or Twitter threads. We talked about: Learning the hard way why distribution matters Building in tough, regulated industries like payments and gaming Growing a company without VC money or a technical co-founder Staying focused on revenue, customers, and real problems Trusting the process when things don't go as planned Chelsea's journey is honest, grounded, and incredibly real. If you're building something of your own—or thinking about starting—this conversation will remind you that you're not alone, and that progress comes from showing up every day. Hope this one helps you. 🔗 Connect with Chelsea Cooper LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chelsiemcooper/ Website: https://approvely.com About the Host I'm Abhinav Sinha, host of Funds & Founders—a podcast for Austin entrepreneurs navigating early-stage startups. I explore the highs, lows, and breakthrough moments of local founders through candid conversations, and sit down with VCs to uncover how they evaluate early-stage companies. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abhinavbsinha/ Newsletter: https://newsletter.fundsandfounder.com/ ⏱️ Timestamps 00:00 – Trailer / Hook 00:40 – Intro 01:40 – Where did your entrepreneurial journey begin? 04:19 – Did you ever have a traditional 9–5 job? 06:45 – Why onboarding felt like a problem worth solving 09:30 – Realizing distribution matters more than the product 12:17 – Building a network early & learning from mentors 14:18 – Being a woman in a traditional payments industry 16:18 – Lessons from partnerships: what worked & what didn't 18:35 – Why most founders misunderstand distribution today 20:47 – Starting Approvely (2020): the turning point 25:35 – Validating gaming as a high-risk market 30:05 – From scrappy beginnings to a full ecosystem 36:03 – Why overplanning too early hurts startups 40:01 – VC money: would it help or slow things down? 46:13 – How decisions get made without a technical co-founder 49:00 – Rapid fire: mindset, risk & habits 52:04 – Outro & final thoughts #startup #entrepreneurship #founder #startuplife #businesspodcast #austinstartups #paymentsindustry #bootstrapped #founderstories #distribution