Something Like That | Podcast on Podbay

Something Like That

David Oates

I'm David Oates, twenty-something dropout and founder/CEO at Curtsy, the sustainable way to shop and sell clothes online. This is Something Like That, my new podcast where I share hot-off-the-press learnings from growing up and building Curtsy. The phrase "something like that" celebrates lack of precision in speech, aka, not sweating the details. On the show, stories are usually paraphrased, names of things often forgotten, and opinions certain to change. Join in the conversation @slt_pod and get notified about new episodes at https://sltpod.com.

Pivots / when your startup isn't working

Listen... shit happens. Even the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. And when they do, we have a choice to make: do we shake things up or call it quits? Both have merits. In this episode I tell the story of an early encounter with failure at Curtsy and how we eventually survived it. The experience taught me a lot about the nuts and bolts of the "shake it up" option. Let's unpack.

Sep 27, 2022

35 min

Intuition & making hard decisions

In this episode I talk about intuition and making hard decisions. Not like, what should I have for dinner tonight but like, should I quit my job and move to New York? You know, those decisions where pro-con lists, endless thinking, and convos with well-meaning friends tend to leave us more confused. What gives? Let’s unpack together.

Jun 13, 2022

23 min

Raising money: strategy

In this episode we go over how venture capital works, what motivates investors, and what kind of companies they go nuts over. Why do some startups appear to raise money with zero effort while others try unsuccessfully for months? Has raising money become easier over time? What can we do as founders to maximize our chances of success?

Mar 1, 2022

1 hr 1 min

Managing your time

Hey y’all, ⁣ ⁣ In the last year I’ve been way more intentional about how I spend my time, at work and in life. In this episode we go over my journey from being a bit of a lost cause to actually making some impact (#WIP). ⁣ ⁣ I attempt to answer the age-old question: do founders need to work 80 hour weeks in order to succeed? If not, what’s a more scaleable system that we can start with before falling back on the “brute force” approach? ⁣ ⁣ I cover the perils of productivity, why flow state is...

Jan 26, 2022

41 min

How to hire

In this episode we go over strategy and tactics I've learned over the last year of building the Curtsy team to 30 people: Why you can ignore inbound in the early days. The real reason to do reference calls. Two ways to get replies on LinkedIn. Why you don't really need to "sell." Interview questions that aren't boring. Why your job is not done after the offer letter is signed. Why projects suck. Enjoy!

Jan 12, 2022

1 hr 4 min