Unscripted Bears

ProductivityBears
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We feature early-stage entrepreneurs sharing the real, unscripted journeys of building businesses from nothing. Hear about the wins, the losses, and the lessons learned from first-time founders. Join the community and get the blueprint through the stories of those doing the work.

Episodes

  1. Oct 25

    How To Take Over A Business As An Employee | Unscripted Bears Ep 2

    Lucas was an employee at a dessert brand. Four months later he was effectively running it. Then he woke up to a message saying there was one week of payroll left and everyone had to go. What he did next is something few would think to do. He and his partner took out a personal loan to save a company he didn’t own a single share of, and within a month he owned all of it aged just 26. In this episode he takes us through the QSR years, the 17 hour kitchen shifts, the record label that died because the funding arrived in instalments, and his future of working with artists through Hekta Music Group. Joel and I also get our own thinking pulled apart along the way, which is the part of recording this we enjoyed most!If you’re in your first few years of building something, this one is worth your time! Guest: Lucas, founder of Hekta Music Group Hosts: Damian Sirso, founder of ProductivityBears, and Joel, founder of MetaMortgages This episode was recorded in January 2026, so many things will have changed by the time of posting. We also experienced an audio challenge then, hence the lower quality audio in this episode. Hope you still enjoy it! 0:00 - Intro3:04 - Taking over the food brand Lucas worked for5:46 - Asking for equity, then taking a loan to save the company8:53 - Reality of running a restaurant business10:03 - How virtual franchising and brand licensing work13:51 - Where the entrepreneurial instinct came from17:36 - When being busy starts reading as arrogance19:24 - Managing energy instead of time22:18 - Four hours of real focus, and working with ADHD25:50 - The two kinds of people in any conversation27:43 - How he diagnoses a business, and why he named it Mercurium31:09 - A million spent on IP and still no investor replies34:03 - How to define your ideal customer profile41:35 - What he looks at first in any business46:54 - The hardest metric to measure, and the Domino’s lesson48:27 - What investors want to see pre-seed53:19 - How being conservative with your numbers can cost you a VC57:05 - Why your business is an extension of you1:00:09 - Rejection as a vaccine1:02:51 - Why work-life balance is never really balanced1:05:09 - The future, and advice for an early stage founder

  2. Sep 27

    What Actually Works In Your First Year | Unscripted Bears Ep 1

    Everyone has an idea. Almost nobody starts. Damian Sirso, founder of ProductivityBears, and Joel, founder of MetaMortgages, on what it actually took to get going and what they'd tell anyone still thinking about it. Two completely different routes in. Damian went from a genetics lab to building a community for young entrepreneurs. Joel trained inside the mortgage industry, then left to set up his own brokerage. In this episode: Why a wrongdoer gets further than a right thinkerHow to validate an idea without writing a 50 page business planQuality versus quantity in sales, where the two of us completely disagreeWhy marketing too early damages youThe art of showing up, and why broken promises to yourself compoundRetention over churn, and the mistake of chasing new customers Made for first time founders and young entrepreneurs building something now, not one day in the far and uncertain future. Chapters list: 0:00 - Intro1:06 - Who we are and what this show is about9:56 - Why doing it badly beats planning it perfectly10:55 - Changing industries: from a genetics lab to a community17:02 - The one thing that compounds: mindset20:18 - The part of entrepreneurship nobody glorifies23:34 - Choosing your path at 16, and changing it later31:07 - Betting on yourself, and knowing when to leave35:35 - What to learn before you make the jump40:45 - Lead quality vs quantity in sales46:52 - Getting over the fear of the first sales call49:58 - Stop perfecting your brand, go and sell55:41 - Advice for overthinkers58:00 - How to start when all you have is an idea1:01:21 - MVP, traction and funding your first version1:05:05 - Standing out in a crowded service market1:08:44 - Why marketing too early backfires1:12:14 - The art of showing up1:14:21 - Keeping customers, not just winning them1:15:44 - Why we made this podcast

  • 2 Episodes

About

We feature early-stage entrepreneurs sharing the real, unscripted journeys of building businesses from nothing. Hear about the wins, the losses, and the lessons learned from first-time founders. Join the community and get the blueprint through the stories of those doing the work.

Information

  • Creator
    ProductivityBears
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    2
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © ProductivityBears
  • Show Website
    Unscripted Bears