We were lucky to catch up with Sathvik Vasam recently and have shared our conversation below.

Sathvik, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you come up with the idea for your business?

The idea took root when I was still running my previous company, as it steadily and surely ran out of cash. It was hard to see past the fact that we had failed, that we couldn’t raise a follow-on round of funding before blowing through our runway. Our seed investors, of course, gave us the ability to pay ourselves, to do this full time, to invest in a full-time developer, a sales team, our own office space, and of course, imbued in us the credibility that comes with running a funded startup. There was just no comparison to what we could do funded vs what we were doing bootstrapped.

But when the clock struck midnight on our startup, I just couldn’t accept the reality of the situation. What I had given my everything, for years, was now going to be shuttered, with pretty much nothing to show for it. Of course, I’m being dramatic – I learned so much, gained so many lifelong relationships, and fulfilled a dream of mine – but in that moment, I couldn’t believe this was happening. The advice to diversify my risk and give myself a Plan B and C – yea I had put all my eggs into just Plan A and, for all intents and purposes, I felt I had nothing but egg on my face as I decided to move back and live with my parents.

My passion for the business didn’t fade, though, and I was thinking – why does the current system not allow for me to continue working on what I knew was a good idea, something that could genuinely move the world ahead? Did our investors not believe in us to re-infuse cash? What more traction did we need to show? We didn’t have a bad idea, we just ran out of time. Of course, looking back, I now know we just didn’t have the right leadership and mindset, including myself, in place to really sustain elevated and prolonged success. Yet the seed was planted – I’d like to be on the other side, enabling entrepreneurs as an investor.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

Thank you for this opportunity!

Go All In Agency is a business identity and growth coaching agency. We work with founders, executives, artists and other high performing individuals and teams to help them achieve results by going within first and foremost.

Our mission is to inable and incourage dreamers and doers to create a deeply connected, resilient and awe-inspiring world.

I created Go All In Agency because, far too often, the business of coaching has taken precedence over the ethos of coaching.

Now, to be clear, business isn’t all bad. In fact, a sustainable and scalable business can be beautiful to build and witness, and can empower the ethos of that business even more.

But it became clear the longer I worked as a coach that I would play by my own rules ;)

1. Instead of looking at coaching strictly transactionally, I realized I am able to show up most effectively – and enjoyably – when I can go all in and co-create with my clients towards a shared, larger vision.
2. Instead of charging first-time entrepreneurs what little free cash flow they have to work with me, I realized that a longer-term and results-based payment structure could be a win-win for everyone.
3.  Instead of simply scaling up from coaching individuals to groups and effectively diluting my impact, I could offer self-paced courses with commitment incentives to work with me 1-on-1.

And so as I worked with more clients, I started to look at myself not just as a coach but more as an investor. I would not only come in with the mindset work, which is like laying the foundation, but also help to craft a Blueprint of the business’ intention in alignment with core values and then carry the work all the way through strategy and execution. Everyone goes through a different process and that’s what I genuinely enjoy is to collaboratively meet the challenge that each business and client present and do so holistically, methodically and lovingly. When the commitment to the work is there, which is the most important thing I look for when I work with my clients, it’s like a cascading effect and to be witness to this transformative work that unfolds, it’s really quite amazing, sacred and life-affirming.

Over time, I’ve been able to also test and solidify my 4 business Pillars, which guide everything that I do, and how I evaluate everyone I work with:
• Spirit of Service – Give, without expectancy. It is the most sustainable way to build a movement.
• Thirst for Transformation – Expand, or die. There is always an opportunity to grow and be more.
• Indomitable Integrity – Align every intention. Unite and master your thoughts, words and actions.
• Radical Responsibility – Everything is your creation. Look within – what you seek is already there.

With those in mind and heart, I am absolutely certain that our tribe can STIR the world! What a time to be alive!! So come join us :)

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

As with running any successful operation, you quickly learn – you don’t just do your best, you do what is required. Well it was no more apparent than in this story. While working to get my business off the ground, I needed to make extra income. I decided to look into selling solar as that was something I had done successfully before and I saw that there was a big opportunity in Illinois, where I am based. So I got plugged in with a local solar company on a commission-only role. We would be responsible for our own lead-generation; the recommended approach – door knocking. I had not done any sustained door-to-door sales and was skeptical that I could be successful at it. But the best way to know for sure was to do it myself. So while I spent the weekdays coaching full-time, I spent the weekends selling solar. On one of these weekends, I met up with James, one of the other local independent salespeople I got acquainted with online and who had started his own company. We had shared our journeys and goals and thought we could maybe help each other. On this specific day, we started knocking in a selected neighborhood. We would usually split up the street and make a plan to rendezvous at an intersection or landmark. This specific time, though, James said he wasn’t feeling so well and wanted to rest in the car for a bit. So we agreed that I would come back to that location after I knocked on my side of the street. After about an hour or so, I had made my way back and found him still in the car. I got in and asked him if he was doing ok. Well, he wasn’t and I could tell as well. So I offered to do what I do – a hypnotherapy session to get a pulse on what’s happening and maybe even heal it. I don’t usually offer to dive right in with a deeper hypnotherapy session until I have built rapport with a client; but we had been working for a few weeks at that point now selling together and I sensed he would be receptive. At the very least, I thought it was worth trying if he was up for it. He agreed. It takes a lot of courage to do what James did that day – to be honest about his feelings and be vulnerable with a relative stranger to allow the session to work its magic. We never know, as coaches, what might happen during a session. If we do it right though, the emotions will find the outlet and acknowledgement they were seeking. That’s exactly what happened and soon after, we had reached a beautiful and powerful denouement. James credits this session to helping him restore his inner strength and before long, it became a no-brainer – with our complementary skillsets and shared values, we officially became business partners and launched NXT Solar Solutions which is transforming the way home solar is sold and financed. And my dream of working with founders for equity, something which I thought was still years away, became a fast and fruitful reality.

Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?

It was one of those Saturdays when I was selling solar, before I had decided to go into business with my now solar business partner, James. I had gotten to the neighborhood I had picked out where I would knock door-to-door and was just getting my mind ready at a local Starbucks before heading out. I had at least one follow-up home meeting scheduled later that afternoon and I was anxious but ready. I had my laptop put away in my drawstring bag and went to use the bathroom at the Starbucks. I came back out and as I proceeded to put my notebook and presentation material into my bag, I noticed that it was a bit lighter. I checked inside and I couldn’t believe it – my laptop was gone! There’s no way – I thought – is this really how the day’s going to go?! I paused for a second and remembered that a guy who looked homeless wearing a red jacket had walked in earlier but was not there anymore. Not to be stereotypical, but that was my best lead and I had to find out more. So I walked up to one of the other patrons who was sitting close to where I was to see if she had noticed something. She did indeed notice him as well and thought it was unusual that he seemed to have hung out near my desk but didn’t see much. It was confirmed – that indeed was my best lead! I asked her if she had seen him walk down a certain street – she wasn’t sure but we both noticed the McDonald’s on the other side of the street. So I excused myself and took off across the street and into the McDonald’s, breathlessly asking patrons who were waiting for their order if they had seen a guy in a red jacket with a laptop. Nothing – just blank, unamused faces. I checked the bathroom – also nothing. I went back out and checked the sidewalks up and down that street – again, nothing. A thought came up – that I had just done some important work earlier that week that I had not backed up to the cloud and I would now have to re-do it all! But I was not about to give up. I thought, let me ask the patron from Starbucks again and check which direction I could have the best chance at finding him. She was gracious enough to be of help and told me that she was pretty sure she hadn’t seen him go down this street – which left me with just one direction remaining! Again, I took off out of the Starbucks, across the street and came across a strip mall. The first store I saw was a smoke shop. I waltzed right in and asked the person behind the counter – by chance had he seen someone in a red jacket with a laptop? The guy – improbably! – said yes, that a guy had just come in minutes earlier asking if he could sell a laptop. The smoke shop guy said that’s something he would not do, even for pennies on the dollar, and so the guy in the red jacket left. The smoke shop guy, also graciously, came out from behind the counter to see if he could help me locate him. He said the guy went down the street I was already going down. We walked out into the parking lot and as my eyes looked into the distance, I saw a pawn shop. No way – I thought – that’s where I’ll go next! But right then, our smoke shop friend, who was taller than me, interjected – he’s right there on this side of the street, standing at the bus stop. I couldn’t see over the fencing, but as was the theme so far, I trusted my guidance. I walked briskly down the street and after about 5-10 seconds, he appeared into my view. No freaking way! Almost reflexively, I slowed down my pace to a casual walk as I didn’t want to tip him off that I was after him. I also pulled out my pocket knife and got it ready in one hand, just in case. I just didn’t know what to expect but I was ready! Maybe it was my adrenaline, but I felt in control. As I approached closer, I noticed in his hand – a black Thinkpad! This is absolutely crazy – I thought – what am I about to do?! As I pulled up to him, I noticed that he wasn’t quite in his senses and was mumbling to himself. In a split second, I reached out, firmly yanked the laptop out of his hands, and wheeled back around. I could hear him saying something and I turned around to make sure he wasn’t following me – thankfully, he wasn’t. What just happened!? I hadn’t asked him to do this at all, but I saw our smoke shop friend was still there on the sidewalk, probably wanting to make sure things didn’t get too out of hand. As I neared him, I could only smile and shake my head. What. A. Story! I thanked him generously, made a purchase of course, and left a review as well. I then went back inside the Starbucks to show my first helper my retrieved laptop. Just like me, she couldn’t believe it! I thanked her for her help, however little she thought it was. I returned to my table and with all my stuff out in front of me now, I sat down to take a breather. I had no words – just gratitude! And would you believe it – what makes this day even more out-of-this-world is that I ended up having two in-home solar appointments that afternoon, and on that very same laptop I had just brought back into my life, I helped a homeowner, whom I had just met while knocking on doors, finalize the paperwork for installing solar on his home! As an entrepreneur, dealing with uncertainty is well…a certainty. I had been getting shown through many experiences that the best way, at least for me, to deal with uncertainty is to stay vigilantly present, do your very best and trust the rest. “You have angels watching over you,” one of the homeowners said when I recounted the story at his appointment. Whatever it is, I am grateful for that experience and lesson – It’s never over until I decide it’s over, and even then, there is always another path!

Contact Info:

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