Growing Valqari with Ryan Walsh

In this episode, of How I'm Building This, Prateek interviews Ryan Walsh, the founder of Valqari, who shares his journey from being an airborne ranger to starting his own business. Valqari provides a practical solution for the last inch of the last mile in the delivery industry. They focus on solving the inefficiencies and challenges of the last mile logistics network by using drones and their infrastructure. Ryan discusses the challenges of raising capital for a hardware startup and the importance of finding investors who share the same vision. He also emphasizes the need for founders to have a deep understanding of various aspects of their business and the importance of maintaining mental health in the entrepreneurial journey.

Takeaways:

• The journey of a founder is challenging and requires resilience and grit.
• Raising capital for a hardware startup can be expensive, and finding investors who share the same vision is crucial.
• Drones have the potential to revolutionize last-mile delivery and solve the inefficiencies of traditional logistics.
• Building a feedback loop with customers and providing excellent customer service are key to iterating and improving the product.
• Founders need to have a wide range of skills and be willing to learn and adapt in various areas of the business.
• Managing mental health is essential in the startup journey, and having a support network of fellow founders can be beneficial.

Sound Bites: 

• "When I realized I can use the technology that I had interacted with in the military to better people's lives instead of, you know, take people's lives, it was a no brainer for me."
• ''It's almost coincidental how many things self-reinforce when you're looking at two different things."
• "One of the biggest areas I've worked on for myself is vetting and hiring process."
• "I've always seen drones as an extension of our last mile that we don't currently have."
• ''Over communication, over communication."

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In this episode, we cover:

00:00 Introduction and Background

01:09 Transition from Military to Startup

05:25 Revolutionizing Last-Mile Delivery with Drones

08:40 Building a Feedback Loop and Providing Excellent Customer Service

13:08 Challenges of Raising Capital for a Hardware Startup

18:28 Inbound Sales and Marketing

21:29 Lessons Learned from Hiring Mistakes

25:01 The Importance of Wide-ranging Skills for Founders

28:28 Managing Mental Health in the Startup Journey

32:33 Future Plans for Valqari

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Where to find Ryan:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan--walsh

Valqari: https://www.valqari.com

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Where to find Prateek:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/prateekmathur

Activated Scale: https://www.activatedscale.com

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For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email prateek@activatedscale.com