What can 14 startups, six CEO roles, $73 million in venture capital, and more than 35 years in business teach you about entrepreneurship?

For Greg Coticchia, one of the biggest lessons is that there is no formula.

Greg has spent his career building companies, leading teams, coaching CEOs, and teaching entrepreneurs. He also created Carnegie Mellon University’s Master of Science in Product Management program and has worked across industries from robotics and cybersecurity to healthcare technology.

In this episode, Greg shares what decades of experience have taught him about risk, capital, product development, AI, and developing the judgment to know what to do next.

There is No Formula for Building a Successful Company

Greg didn’t originally plan on becoming an entrepreneur. He wanted to be a musician before earning an engineering degree and eventually finding his way into sales, products, and startups.

Fourteen startups later, he’s experienced plenty of wins and plenty of lessons.

One of the biggest? Previous success doesn’t give you a guaranteed playbook for the next company. Markets change. Teams change. Timing changes. Good entrepreneurs have to keep learning and adapting.

As Greg puts it, “If this was easy, anyone would do it. It’s hard. It’s really hard.”

Build Faster With AI, But Don’t Outsource Your Judgment

Greg is actively experimenting with AI and sees enormous potential in what it can help businesses build and accomplish faster.

But faster doesn’t automatically mean better.

As technology accelerates product development, Greg believes human judgment becomes even more important. Leaders still have to decide what to build, why it matters, and how to bring it successfully to market.

Enjoy this episode with Greg Coticchia…

Soundbytes

21:29–21:51 “None of this is easy. I was on the phone with somebody yesterday who said to me, because of AI, technology is easy, and I just about — my jaw just about dropped. I’m thinking, it’s not easy. None of this is. This is all heavy lifting, and understanding and appreciating that is really important.”

34:48–35:09 “Product is hard. Thinking through all the lessons I learned on product, and how to make better product decisions in the age of AI. Right? That is really important, because we can go so much faster. That doesn’t mean our judgment is so much better.”

Quotes

“I’d like to make all new mistakes.”

“Don’t read your own press releases. Sometimes you got lucky.”

“The same recipe ten more times, in ten different businesses, doesn’t work.”

“It is the team that pulls this together and makes it happen.”

“We can go so much faster. That doesn’t mean our judgment is so much better.”

Links mentioned in this episode:

From Our Guest

Connect with Greg Coticchia on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregcoticchia/

Website: https://ceocoachinginternational.com/

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