Startup founder, community builder
and cyber security investor
I’m here to help you win
Hi, I’m Scott Handsaker
I’m a founder, startup coach, board member, venture partner and amateur drummer.
I’ve been in startups since 2008. I’ve built them, mentored them, invested in them, and even had a few of my own. I’ve had the pleasure of mentoring over 100+ founders.
Company building is life
My experience includes:
Created an event registration startup, raised VC. Struggled and pivoted into a new one that worked, until we ran out of emotional runway.
Took over a meetup group called Lean Startup Melbourne. Growing it from 1,500 members to 12,000 in 12 months. Hosted Brad Feld, Steve Blank, Dave McClure and others. Pivoting that meetup into StartUp Victoria (now The Startup Network under new leadership).
Lead mentor for Melbourne’s first accelerator, Angelcube. Mentoring at Startmate.
Lead CyRise, the Asia Pacifics leading cyber security startup accelerator for six years.
Made 39 investments with CyRise across Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, India and the US. I left with a portfolio investment multiple of 3.2x and a gross IRR in excess of 50%.
Venture Partner at Black Nova venture capital.
I am now back to building another startup. It’s very early days but we are running hard and building for a global audience. If you are awesome and want to join us in 2024, reach out.
Sound interesting? Book a free 45 minute call and we can work through one problem you need help with. If after that you’d like to work with me regularly, we can design a schedule that works for both of us.
About you
Founders and executives come in all shapes and sizes. Some are stepping into the role of a manager for the first time, while others are on company number 10. If you’re thinking about working with me, your role and company will look something like this:
A team who reports to you and who rely on you for leadership and guidance
A keen desire to build a high-growth company that grows globally
A willingness to course correct, take feedback and be better
Funding by external investors or with decent revenue
You’re a good human
How we’ll work together
I’ll coach you to make better choices. I will have opinions, but the hard work of execution is for you to do. I won’t design your strategy, build your GTM or tell you who to hire, but I will ask the questions that matter to help you make those decisions.
I am here to help you win, and to do that I coach you in four main areas.
Individual Operating Model
Over time I have crafted a strategy that helps me be as productive as possible. A method that focuses on reducing the cognitive load of leadership. All my techniques have been copied from others and nothing I teach is original. I stand on the shoulders of giants, and now you can copy from me.
Group Operating Model
What does the operating rhythm of a well-run company look like? Why are most board meetings a waste of your time and how can you get more out of them? What does a great one-on-one look like? How much time should you spend focused on making your people better? How do you get everyone to buy into the vision and is it even important?
Let’s discuss what these questions mean for your business and leadership, and what the answers might be.
Sounding Board
What is your most pressing problem and what should you do about it? Should you hire a new SDR or save money for additional runway? Your investor is asking you to hit growth targets that you don’t feel resourced for – how should you respond? Your biggest competitor has just raised $250 million and Masayoshi Son has joined their board. Should you throw in the towel?
Running a company as a founder is an endless stream of situations you have never faced before. My job is to ask the questions that get you to the best available answer. You will leave with a concrete action to take.
Manager
If you’re the CEO, you don’t have a manager. Which means you have no-one to give you feedback, keep you accountable and drive you to higher performance. The board will not do this for you.
I will be your outsourced manager that 100% believes you can build this company, but that also knows that without feedback and course correction you risk leaving a hole the size of the Chicxulub crater.
My values
I believe strongly in fundamental principles that guide behaviour. These are mine and if you work with me, you will get sick of hearing about them.
Give before you get
If you give up your time and experience without expecting anything in return, good things happen. (You might recognise this as a Techstars philosophy. It is and I shamelessly stole it.)
Radical transparency
Those who have worked in an enterprise will have received feedback via the classic “shit sandwich”. Positive insights, then the actual feedback, followed by another positive insight. What a waste of an opportunity to deliver feedback. I prefer radical transparency. Direct feedback is delivered with honesty and kindness. No sandwich.
Team before individual
You cannot build a company by yourself, and the higher you go and the bigger the company gets, the more you rely upon others. If you work for a company then you are in service to the group, not to yourself.
Seek truth
I prefer robust debate over feeling comfortable. I want to know if I’m wrong as quickly as possible. Truth is my highest personal value.
Raise your standards
I spent many years thinking I was a high performer until I worked with someone whose standards of execution were off the charts. It was a deeply painful lesson. I’ve never been the same since, and now I think about what ‘great’ looks like almost every day.
If you’d like to see if we’d work well together, book a free 45 minute call and we can work through one problem you need help with. If after that you’d like to work with me regularly, we can design a schedule and quote that works for both of us.