I interview successful SaaS founders every week on the Practical Founders Podcast.

Every founder story includes the savvy bets by the founders, the extreme hard work for long years, and the balance of risk-taking and good timing.

I asked them what their best advice was for new SaaS founders.

Most often, they tell me what Matt Watson said on this week’s Practical Founders Podcast interview:

“Finding mentors and advisors is by far the MOST IMPORTANT thing entrepreneurs can do.

“Being an entrepreneur is a lonely place. There are not a lot of people who you can relate to. The key is finding people that have done similar things as you in your industry.

“Just finding advisors and mentors who are willing to give you 30 minutes of their time could be a game changer for your business.”

Matt is a two-time software founder who had two successful exits before he was 40. He’s currently working on his third and fourth businesses.

He started his first company, VinSolutions, in his basement in Kansas City in 2006. In 2011, VinSolutions was acquired by Autotrader.com itself for $150 million.

Getting great advice from experienced mentors and paid advisors is like getting the cheat codes to succeed faster and avoid big mistakes.

This is not to say that you should take all advice from any advisor.

Asking for advice and learning what advice to take is one of the most important skills of successful founders.

And I’ve never met a successful founder who wouldn’t help with advice if they were asked.

Matt gives a lot of great advice in this week’s Practical Founders Podcast interview.

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