Adapt and Scale: Manny Larcher's Insights on Resilience and Automation in Business Ventures

Join us on the Beyond Normal Podcast as we dive into a dynamic discussion with Manny Larcher, the entrepreneurial force behind two thriving businesses. In this episode, Manny shares his journey of founding Stopwatch Creative and Collab, revealing how resilience and strategic automation have been crucial to his success. Learn how he transformed challenges into opportunities during the pandemic by productizing services and focusing on what truly matters to his clients.

Manny opens up about the power of simplifying business models to enhance efficiency and customer satisfaction. Whether you’re a startup founder or a seasoned entrepreneur, Manny’s insights on leveraging technology and fostering meaningful connections will inspire you to think differently about scaling your ventures.

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This description highlights the main themes discussed in the episode, offering listeners valuable lessons on business adaptation and growth.

Transcript

Kenny: 0:33

Welcome, welcome everybody to another great episode of The Beyond Normal Podcast. I'm your host, Kenny Groom. we are in the middle of season seven. Can't believe it. We have a very special guest who has not won, but two, incredible businesses, that they're bringing to the world. our next guest goes by the name of Manny Larcher. He has an incredible, background in the, Angel investing space, but he started two companies, the first of which is, collab, which is a data intelligence, platform that connects businesses, the resources. Really invaluable tool. I checked that one out. And then his second company that we'll touch on a little bit as well is Stopwatch Creative in his role at Stopwatch. He says he's the CEO and the janitor. So he does all things at that company. He's wearing multiple hats. Love to hear that. and at that company, they transform brands through strategic campaigns, awesome design, seamless experiences for their customers. We have. We haven't really had a guest yet who has come on to explain how they're able to run, two businesses at the same time. So I'm, I'm, I'm really excited to have Manny on today. So without further ado, Manny, how's it going?

Manny: 1:47

Hey. It is going well. Going well. yeah. Thank you for, for having me on. so. Probably will help to clarify some things. in terms of stopwatch. So stopwatch was started in 2017, with a co-founder Lenny. and essentially, you know, we were, we're a consulting agency. We could also build tech and we could also run marketing campaigns, and have had great success. we've worked with professional athletes, you know, some well-known, you know, from Colbus, Ohio, like Michael Red. And, we've helped people sell their companies. Protean software, Michael Holstein. and essentially, during, and we also did events called Collaborate and Elevate. and we had, we still owned Collaborate and elevate.com. really for us, the pandemic changed a lot. So when the pandemic happened, we essentially productized our service. And we, and over, over time, we've pivoted the, and changed the name to collab, C-O-L-A-E-V. so, I do have two companies up and running, but, for the most part, everything really funnels through collab.

Kenny: 3:06

Appreciate that distinction there. and it sounds like, you and your team, did something during the pandemic that many businesses had to do, which is pivot, and you were at, at least able to, to, to stay alive. Right. In terms of the, the business moving forward in a new format, it it, it's exciting to hear that you were able to take. something that was working, prior to the world, stopped for many people and then pivot into that new thing. I'm, I'm curious, you, you, you brought up the word like productize, like what did that, what, what all went into, making that pivot? to where the company collab is right now? I.

Manny: 3:44

Yeah, great question. And, so I think we realized during the p during the pandemic quickly that we, you know, we lost a lot of clients. but the other thing really was, we were really appreciated by a select few, So then we realized that, you know, lessons more, you know, for, we, we had two offices. We also had, you know, employees on staff, you know, multiple interns. So very tough. You know, we had to make a lot of, you know, tough cuts and, essentially. I was listening actually to a podcast, which is why I love what you're doing.'cause you know, you just hear it was a random podcast. I don't even know who said this, I think it was a businessman in India, but he said, creates, they were talking about his business. He was definitely from India, but he said on the podcast, create something that everyone could afford. If you're lucky, you know, you'll be able to help, you know, a few people. But if, if you're really doing good work, you know, if you're blessed, you'll be able to help hundreds and thousands. And then so. During the pandemic, there was a combination of we had clients willing to pay us, you know, really top dollar, amount, but then there's an overwhelming demand for, support. so that's really where collab came in. and at and over time, you know, you know, you're just, it's, it's a, it's a beautiful thing. But, and I could go into that more, but that's really where, where, where it came from. I think it's. How can you help more people and put system systems in place to, to automate yourself and automate really well? Just really automate, obviously automate yourself, but automate the services that, your customers want. so that way your time is spent focused on the most important, important thing.

Kenny: 5:39

Yeah, I love to hear that. that really sounds like where the world is headed, Manny, with many of the, the new solutions that are out there. Right. In terms of, you know, automating as much as the process as you can to, to bring value to your customers. I'm curious'cause we met at a really, great event, in the Ohio area where your, where your, home base is. Talk a little bit about, what your experience has been like, in that, in that, in the Ohio market, some of the bigger cities, the Cincinnati's of the world, and the, and the reason why I asked that is because, when I went to Ohio last year. I was a little bit, I was a little shocked around just the conversations around innovation and I, and that's where I met you. And so I met some, some, some, some great black founders, some really great black talent out there. So talk a little bit about how that, you know, being in that sandbox at is Ohio, what that did, what, what that's done for, the things that you're building now.

Manny: 6:47

Yeah. so I, you know, that's where I was born. My, my mom and dad are both, from the country of St. Lucia's. my dad was a musician and, my older brother and sister were both born in New York, but kind of fell in love with Ohio and, and really decide to, you know, raise, raise us there. So, I think, you know, I, I think it, I really think you have to focus on building skills, and, and, and really putting yourself out there. and I do think Ohio is very rewarding if you do that, you know, but hard, you know, I, I, there are a lot of challenges and a lot of

Kenny: 7:36

Man, talk about it. Talk about it, Manny.

Manny: 7:38

Probably just like most places, that, that you have, you know, I think, one of my good buddies, he said, you know, Ohio has an invisible glass ceiling. so I I think that, you know, as an entrepreneur, you really have to. Really kind of put yourself out there and, and, you really have to put your best foot forward. If I'm just being full transparent, I think Ohio, it's not a, it's a very, It's It's almost like when you go to a bank and you have to buy a house. Like if you don't have a good credit, if you don't have a job, if you didn't do your taxes right, they're not gonna give you a house. So I almost feel like everything in Ohio almost sometimes has that level of difficulty, like. so I think that's the, and I don't think, I don't, I don't know if people really know that, you know, and honestly, that's probably why a lot of young people end up leaving. but I do think if you just focus on building something, showing your value, I. and you, I think I most, some people might say I'm annoying at the end of the day. Yeah.'cause I promote how I'm helping people. Right. They might say, Hey, he's egotistical, you know? but if you go on any of my websites, I don't even think, you know, I know my faces not on collab. Right. And look how many people are on collab. Right. So for me it's, you have to, have to, it's like the why again is really, you know, two immigrant parents from a small island of. Under 250,000 people that, you know, try to give their kids their best life. You know, so that's who created me, right? So I have to make sure that's, I have to make sure I take care of them. And then what about their parents? What about their siblings? What about, so I think that's really what I keep the main thing, you know? And, and then I think it's so rewarding when you have, you know, people that. Wanna compensate you for your time, for your product, for your service. You know, it's up to you as a founder to listen to them and to get better and improve the product. I have customers that have been paying, who are literally since 2016, before I even had a company they were paying me, you know, when it was 10 99. Right. And, you know, so I think it's, there's a level and they're not even in Ohio. They're in, you know, So, yeah, I'll keep in clarification, you know, but, I just think it's. It's, you know, you have to really, again, it's focus on your product, focus on why people are paying you and how you can make that better. Because someone will try to, it's not, we all have competition, right? At the end of the day, right? So one day your customer is going to say, Hey, I wonder if I could get this better. We

Kenny: 10:26

Mm-hmm.

Manny: 10:27

right?

Kenny: 10:28

Mm-hmm.

Manny: 10:28

that's why we all shop on Amazon and then we act like we don't. It's

Kenny: 10:31

Mm-hmm.

Manny: 10:35

yeah.

Kenny: 10:35

love, yeah. I, I love that you, you know, that candid response around, your experience in, in Ohio, right? But then you, you, you definitely talked about the skills and like the way that you like, think about your business and like solving problems for customers. I'll be honest, my experience. the, the bar for me, I was really unsure about what I could find in Ohio. So me being there and then seeing incredible talent, incredible founders that looked like me. For me, it just was a little bit eye-opening because I probably went in. thinking a little bit of what you just stated, and I like how you, how you set it, where you really have to focus on your skill, like your craft. because the people I met at Black Tech Week, which was the event I believe, was it? Yeah. was it Black Tech Week or was it,

Manny: 11:36

Oh,

Kenny: 11:37

yeah. Okay. Okay.

Manny: 11:38

I think it was like a dinner, but I don't know if it was Black Tech

Kenny: 11:40

No, it wasn't Black Tech Week.

Manny: 11:42

Con? The

Kenny: 11:43

yeah, it was Midwest Con. Sorry for that confusion, but that,

Manny: 11:47

Yeah.

Kenny: 11:48

yeah, with Rob Richardson and his team. But the thing was, when I, when I met everybody I met there, I felt was sharp, if you know what I mean?

Manny: 11:58

no,

Kenny: 11:58

If.

Manny: 11:59

Look, I think, I think anyone in like any environment like the Midwest that has to deal with four seasons every, you know, a new season, every three months, and we're dealing with people's mood change all the time. I.

Kenny: 12:11

Yes.

Manny: 12:12

there's all history. We all know the history of America, so we all have the same issues. So it's, I think it makes you grit, right? So in terms of talent, man, Ohio is incredible. I mean,

Kenny: 12:25

Mm-hmm.

Manny: 12:26

I'm in Miami right now. Last night I had dinner a random tech event that I went to. to find out it's six of us sitting at the table. Four of us are from Ohio. And

Kenny: 12:37

Mm-hmm.

Manny: 12:37

that. So I just think Ohio, like the, there's incredible talent. I think really what I'm saying is presentation. I think we

Kenny: 12:47

Yeah.

Manny: 12:47

to, I. It's all about presentation. You know, are your financials in place? Do you have a

Kenny: 12:52

Mm-hmm.

Manny: 12:53

you're raising, you have a solid deck, are you explaining the capital access plan? Are you ready to have conversations about this for 45 days if you're trying to raise, you know, institutional capital? It's just, really, you know, and at the end of the day, that's the process, right? I think it's just, I think it's just the process, right? So, you know, I think, you know, that's the, the, the challenge. And then also. Statistically, there's not as much capital right. Available if you look at the size of the three cities. Right. So then look at, know, I mean, again, there and, and, and the surrounding, there are opportunities, right? So you just gotta, you know, I mean there are a ton of opportunities, tons of businesses coming, you know,

Kenny: 13:37

I appreciate, I appreciate that perspective and real quickly,'cause I think you're touching on the experience that you've been going through the last few years where now you're, an angel investing, like you're, you're on the other side of the table, right? You're not necessarily just thinking from the business owner perspective, but the companies that, and the companies or the individuals that at times could be writing. Sizeable checks that help businesses grow. Like what was your. What was your, your, your curiosity about being on that other side of the table?'cause not very many founders. I, I see actually, you know, take that seat at the table. They typically, I'm a founder, I want to go, I want to live this life. But that, that, that venture capital, that angel investing route is a, is another place that they can go. Like, why did you decide to go that route in addition to being a founder?

Manny: 14:31

Yeah, no, great question. So I think that there's just curiosity really. in 2015, I was a part of a startup team called arina. We raised VC funding, just 500 k from Rev and Ventures and Carne Health. And then two years later, that company was strategically acquired really for the, Ip, it was more of like an acquihire situation, so not a big liquidity event there. and then really what did I do in 2017? I started, you know, my company. So, I. I mean, yeah, there's, you know, a term kind of called a scout where you're essentially, you know, helping founders raise capital. and you could do that through, you know, you could do that just out of the kindness of your heart. you could do that, you know, if they hire you as a consultant, you could do that. If you are investing in the company, you could do that if you're getting advisory shares in the company. So I'll say since 2017. you know, I looked at myself as I, you know, in terms of that relationship where you're just working with a bunch of companies and trying to see how you could help them in, in a capacity grow. primarily really more from a, trading hours for, for, for advisor equity shares. Right. and I think that, in 2022 when I joined, jpstart Ventures, it was. Really, again, curiosity. And Jpstart is in, essentially one of the most active VC firms in Ohio. They're in year 21, over 180 investments. so, and, and a hundred active portfolio companies. It's a C through series A investment firms. So it was just a really good opportunity to just kinda learn from, you know, really, you know, kind of one of those. of the, the oldest and, and most active institutions. and it's, you know, been a great experience there. it is a state funded organization, so there's, you know, we only invest in Ohio founders. so from going back to what I was doing and, and you know, I'm talking to you in Miami right now, I think that was, you know, that, that's the interesting thing. But me being from Ohio, it's obviously, Has helped obviously since I have a, a pretty, pretty great network here, in Ohio. So, um, yeah, all that to say, I think it's, I think, you know, investing this asset class, you know, you could invest in stocks, you could buy homes, right? Angel investing, it's typically anywhere from, you know, I mean, you could write, you could write, you know, a hundred dollars checks. Obviously you're right. Obviously the more, for more say.

Kenny: 17:11

Mm-hmm.

Manny: 17:12

typically under 50,000 maybe, or you know, at least under a hundred thousand, is angel investing. Typically, some people do SPVs special purpose vehicles sidecars, right? you could use Angel List to, to, to gather up 250 k. a, in a, in a formal docent and invest in any company if you want. so a lot of this is really being, you know, just available to the mass public. and it's, yeah, I'm excited for it. I think it's just language and for us to understand the opportunities. You know, one of the most famous angel investors, J Cal, notoriously was like one of the first people in Uber. I think it was 20 5K in for, you know, a nine figure exit. so I think that's, obviously those are the, the home runs. But, you know, I think it's, I think that's really what venture capital about, you know?

Kenny: 18:07

Yeah, I don't, I don't even think I need a home run. I just need a,

Manny: 18:13

Yeah.

Kenny: 18:13

a, a double.

Manny: 18:14

Yeah. A double or triple would be nice,

Kenny: 18:16

Yeah, it would be nice. Right. So through your, through your work with, stopwatch, I. And collab. You work with brands like, like Red Bull, like GrubHub. Those are just some of the, the, the, the, the bigger brands that you work with. I'm, I'm curious as you, as you've worked with these really, like globally recognized companies, now we look at startup founders or just founders in general. I'm curious, like, like do you find that, like do you find commonality, like how much separation is there between. CoLab and a company like Red Bull or GrubHub in terms of the way that they execute, like I'm, I'm curious, like what do you see, as that separation to get to that level?

Manny: 19:03

Yeah, it's a very great question. and I, and I, and I still enjoy, being able to go in both worlds, but you know, these companies are massive. I. They have offices in nerous cities, employees that focus on certain

Kenny: 19:19

I.

Manny: 19:20

they're paying up to date, you think they have it. In terms of top talent from engineering, from, from, from development, you know, so in terms of anything that I've done with any big company in stopwatch and collab, in most cases, obviously executive teams approve the budget, but. I report to, you know, that individual at that, you know, small business department, that individual at, you know, creative marketing or digital marketing, you know, so these companies are, are just, just massive, right? And, and their processes, they're, you know, JP Morgan has 300,000 employees. they sponsored our innovation conference for collab. know, that's the, I mean, these are just massive companies, so I think it's so, so they, they take their time and how they, make decisions. and you I think from a founder perspective, you know, I think the benefit that you have is, is the speed. You know how quick you could. to a customer. for example, for collab, we had a customer send us such a nice email about how they believe they work with many vendors, and they said, you're the best SEO vendor that we have. And that was interesting. so it just just gave us some more insight and more knowledge to kind of double down on some things. Immediately, right. No meetings. No, no, right. No. Having to, to approval processes. so I think that's really the main difference. you know, everyone has different aspirations, especially if you start a company. Do you want to go public? Do right. Do, do you wanna, you know, raise a ton of, or, you know. Institutional Capital. Capital. Do you want to just bootstrap? Right? I think you as a founder really, really, really need to that because then you might just be end up wasting a lot of people's time. You know, if you.

Kenny: 21:31

Yeah, for sure. I could see, h spending most of my career in corporate, a lot of time does get wasted. So to your point, I definitely see the value in, like you said, you're a founder, you make these decisions really quick and there's less waste. And I think the, where the world is headed now, we see some of these big institutions, like you mentioned, like the banks and things like that. Like they're saying, Hey, we have 300,000, but maybe we can do it with two 50 and a couple, you know, some, some ai, right? And so I do see like there's like this shift for. The bigger businesses, they almost get a little bit like the little guy, right? They're, they're trying to pull some of that into what they're doing at the scale. The scale is just different. Like, like you said, the scale is on another level. You probably, in most cases, can't compete with that, as a small business owner.

Manny: 22:25

Yeah.

Kenny: 22:26

but I'm really excited to see even big companies being like, Hey, how can we make a decision faster without, you know, so much,

Manny: 22:34

Yeah,

Kenny: 22:35

so many hands in the, in the, in the pot, right?

Manny: 22:37

for sure and I think, I think like how, how founders should think about it. Is, if you are a startup, your goal isn't to like, have runway. Your go goal should be to, to get traction to take off, right? To leave the, the, the airstrip. So, these companies, you know, like they're in, they're in every single market, you know, so. We, we probably should look at markets and, and you know, that's

Kenny: 23:05

Hmm.

Manny: 23:05

that's why investors really say, Hey, what's your go to market strategy? You know, like, how are you going to get customers, you know, you know, are, are you going to have to run insane, you know, marketing campaigns or do you have, some knowledge in the industry or the word of mouth is coming. So I think that's the, the, that's the nber one thing. I think people, founders should think about it, but it's such a massive, you know. You know, there are opportunities, so, o obviously too, you have to figure out, you know, you get traction, figure out what you're doing before you, you know, kind of go everywhere, obviously. So, yeah,

Kenny: 23:44

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. I see, I see. let's talk a little bit about. I noticed the pricing on, I

Manny: 23:56

it.

Kenny: 23:57

think it was stopwatch creative, and, the pricing got me excited. Manny, I. and the reason why is because I often see, business models in our community where they say, Hey, we're just gonna go with the bare minim. We're gonna do 9 99, because it's a nice even nber that people probably won't bulk at. Like, how do you get to the point where you can charge somebody$10,000?$5,000 or even a custom package where there's more value that needs to be unlocked for them. Like, talk a little bit about that, because I think, and specifically for Black founders, pricing is often a, an area where there's, there's, there's pressure on both sides, right? There's pressure from your, your, your, your end customer, and maybe even internally in your mind you're thinking, Hey, how do I give somebody. How do I get somebody the right product for a deal? Talk a little bit about pricing.

Manny: 25:01

yeah, no, great question. I, I think that there, like, you know, we're, hey, we're in the marketing business, so it, it was always important, you know, what happens after you kind of Google us and for us to really highlight and what we're doing and, and, and telling our story there. and then, so I think it. Really, so the, all of the, the public pricing started during the pandemic. and, you know, we were inundated with, with more, with, with, with, with work essentially. and then, so then the, the, what what I realized is that I, like, you know, I literally had someone call me and like. Someone referred him, Michael Holstein, who we helped sell this company. He referred him to us. He was like, Hey, look, I heard you did this with Mike. how much you charge? And then I, and then I threw, like, I threw in the number you said 10,000. And he literally was like, that's it. After working with me, you're gonna be able to triple your prices. Right. And then, so then I was like, okay, well, like. You know, so two things. I was annoyed with the other side of all of this where it's like, Hey, we meet and then we pitch and then we go back and forth, then we go back and forth and back and forth. So then it was like, okay, I, I really was annoyed with that. And then I had people like this kind of calling me and, and I mean, that guy stole his company two years later. so, that's when the public pricing, it was like, Hey, let's eliminate sticker shock and then let's put, the demand out there. And then I just think it's a, it's a consistency and a revolving loop. working with people, highlighting what you're doing. I think what happens in my case is that the people who didn't have a budget didn't call. And the people that did did right

Kenny: 26:45

Ah, that's,

Manny: 26:46

yeah.

Kenny: 26:46

that's fire. Mandy, like you said, keep working and then promoting what you're doing like that is like, that's a cheat code. Is so simple, Manny.

Manny: 26:58

And you never know. You never know. Like I've been to Belgrade, Serbia, I've had, you know, clients in the Philippines, r you know, just all over the place. It's kind of wild, you know? So

Kenny: 27:12

Mm-hmm.

Manny: 27:13

that it's all about, you know, being unique. And, and, and again, you know, I think every business wants to grow. So it's about do they trust you? Do they think they could get value outta your service? You know, so, I think that's it. And I think if you show the value, I think, you know, why wouldn't they to continue to work with you? Why wouldn't they tell their. Other business owners that you could help them. So that's kind of like my viewpoint on everything and, and not letting the highs get too highs. And, you know, during the lows, you know, know that everything happens for a reason, you know.

Kenny: 27:50

Yeah. I love it, man. So, lastly, I appreciate you. This has been a dope, insightful conversation. Your, your, your background is definitely, you've done a lot. just the market you're in. I got to see you in action networking and doing certain things at, at, at the, event Disrupt Now event. And so, lastly, just a, a couple quick things.'cause your customer base is B2B. You're in a B2B model. Like what does it look like for, like, when should some, when should a business reach out to you? And then on the back end of that, like how should somebody reach out if they wanted to start, working with, collab or stopwatch.

Manny: 28:37

Yeah, so I think it's, so we have entrepreneurs, we have, you know, one, two, you know, person teams. It's, I would say it's, you know, maybe micro consulting, maybe we could amplify their, their business. We now, you know, are sur are surpassing over 50,000 followers across socials. active on all channels and, and only, you know, that nber, just only continuing to grow. So, You know, so yeah, they joined for that access to experts on a micro consulting basis. That's super affordable. Right. The cheapest, you know, most affordable plan is$35. Right. So collab is really meant to kind of cater to anyone. I think it's, and so yeah, we have one, two person teams. We have small businesses, restaurants, we have, Scaling, you know, companies who want maybe, again, micro consulting on their investment materials or maybe they want connections and, and their matchmaking is a core feature in our, in our network. So, it's a combination of, of doing that and it a, from a large corporation perspective, I think it's initiatives. you know, that we align with, you know, and if, if you want to work with the vole of customers, then you know, essentially we have that opportunity that we could do creative campaigns. so, but also I would say too from, there's just a pure. Consulting aspect, right. as well that, that we, that we have as well too, and insights that we have, that we work with a lot of companies too. so, you know, data intelligence. so that's really the, the kind of funnel. And then I think if you want the hands on, you know, I look at stopwatch again, as, as that. Kind of hands-on support. and we still kind of, you know, work with a, a small nber of clients on an annual basis. but our, our primary focus is, has really been CoLab for the last five years.

Kenny: 30:50

Got it. I love to hear, you're servicing business owners, like you're meeting them right across, collab and stop wash, and so that's awesome to hear. definitely pushing, more, business creation. I. for a black founder, specifically B2B, I don't think there's enough founders that are doing the type of work that you're doing. Not that, Manny is, scared, is scared of the competition, but I just think that there's so much opportunity. and I, I got, I got excited seeing the prices. just the different options of pricing and I feel like you're definitely giving the whole market something no matter the size of their business. appreciate you for, you know, just sharing a little bit. And so just to clarify, how, how's the best way for folks to connect with you and then like tapping with the services.

Manny: 31:42

Yeah. I'm, I'm on LinkedIn. I'm on Instagram. Manny Archer, you can search for me. I'm, I'm, you know, public open. Try to be responsive as possible, and CoLab, C-O-L-A-E b.com. you can go there. If you go to the very bottom of CoLab, you'll see that the site is managed and maintained by Stopwatch Creative. So you could go there. And then that's, essentially our consulting company. we try to have, um, you know, a bunch of testimonials on there. And, look, we're. All about improving. So we're open, completely open to feedback. You know, someone once said, competition is for losers, right? So I think it's, you know, how can we build together? and how can we, really, again, it's a very massive world. so how can we partner to, and collaborate and elevate? Let's go. Yeah.

Kenny: 32:35

I love it, Manny, for those, tuning in, tapping with, Manny's brand, his websites, they're amazing. He's worked with some incredible companies. without further ado, thank you for tuning into another great episode of The Beyond On My podcast. Peace.

Manny: 32:52

Thank you.