Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health and fitness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Dan Giuliani, Co-Founder and CEO of Volt Athletics, located in Seattle, WA, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

At Volt, we use adaptive AI to deliver hyper-personalized workout programs to coaches and athletes in the sport, tactical, and fitness markets. Our customers are individuals around the world, as well as schools and sports teams, military groups, gyms, and enterprise companies. Our goal is to enable as many people as possible to access safe and effective training to help them perform better, be more resilient to injury, and live healthier, better lives.

Tell us about yourself

I have a pretty eclectic background, having spent several years building both a broadcasting and a coaching career before starting Volt. But my parents were risk-takers, and I grew up in a family that didn't shy away from taking on big challenges and trying to solve hard problems. So you could say startup life was in my blood.

My co-founder and I first started working on Volt as a side project before we took the plunge and went full-time. We saw a problem (poor accessibility to high-quality fitness guidance) and had the conviction that we could solve it with innovative technology. We started building and testing prototypes, and we were off and running.

These days, I'm motivated by our customers. With over 1 million Volt Family members worldwide counting on us, our team wakes up each day and comes to Volt HQ with an overwhelming passion for solving problems and delivering value. We love helping people, and we believe that we're only scratching the surface of what Volt can become.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

In the early days of Volt, we launched a six-month free beta with ten high schools and colleges to gather feedback and work out the bugs in the software. At the conclusion of the beta, we asked each of the ten schools to start paying for continued access to their Volt platform. Nine of the ten schools signed up without hesitation, and the first check came in the mail not long after. That was a huge accomplishment for us and gave our team a lot of confidence that we were delivering real value to our customers.

What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?

Balancing your time. Especially at the beginning, there are seemingly unlimited things to do and very few hands with which to do them. At first, you and your co-founders have to do everything, so prioritizing is essential. Your time and energy are finite. Focusing on the most mission-critical projects gives you the best chance to succeed. And as your team grows, your role evolves, but putting your energies and efforts where they are most needed is a perpetual challenge.

It's also easy to work so hard and so much that you burn out, which isn't good for you or your company. Learning how to balance your time at work with time resting, recovering, and rejuvenating is pivotal to long-term sustainability as a business owner.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Find yourself a great co-founder. That person is going to be by your side (ideally) for years, so choose them carefully. You want a co-founder who has complementary skills and whom you trust without reservation. Many exciting projects crash and burn due to founder in-fighting or lack of trust.
  2. Be clear and honest about your own personal financial runway. Many of the early decisions you make when building your business will depend on your own time horizon. Can you invest a month of your time without significant compensation? Three months? A year? These answers matter.
  3. Consider THE WHY behind your interest in starting/running/growing the company. I built Volt because I wanted to bring better training to more people worldwide. That mission continues to drive me today, and the decisions we make at Volt HQ are in service of furthering that mission. Having a strong WHY will give you direction and clarity when things inevitably get hard.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.voltathletics.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drgiuliani/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DanGiuliani
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dangiuliani/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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