S5E7 - Rock Felder
This week’s guest is Rock Felder, Co-founder and CFO of SquadCast. This is the second interview with a SquadCast founder. Zach Moreno was on the podcast previously so check that out too.
Rock grew up in a family that included entrepreneurs. And, when it was time for him to go to college and go to work, he knew he had to be self-sufficient so he chose accounting as a career knowing it was a job that paid well and was always needed. Being a CPA allowed him to work in many industries (agriculture, construction, banking) and laid the foundation for him understanding business from the views of various departments.
Having always wanted to do his own thing and start a business, it was a no-brainer when he was approached by Zach regarding the idea for SquadCast. A wonderful business partnership was born. Anyone who has started a business or is thinking of starting a business will want to hear Rock’s decision to commit to doing that himself as well as how he works with his partner.
Rock is very passionate about his work and helping people solving their problems. In addition to caring about customers, he also cares about those he works with. Trust is a key value of his and we chatted about how that looks at SquadCast. We also chatted about hiring new people onto a team and what happiness at work means.
Rock isn’t all work and no play. For him, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is an activity he enjoys for physical fitness. But it also has the benefit of mentally giving him a chance to escape from the work and personal things for a while. He can just focus on the activity. We talk through what a typical class looks like too!
Note from Rabiah (Host):
Firstly, I’m so glad I chose SquadCast as my recording platform when I started the podcast. There is an amazing community of podcasters that they have created with their community manager Arielle Nissenblatt at the helm.
This chat with Rock was a lot of fun. I say fun a lot with the podcast but I do have fun and learn a ton. I’m so happy to bring this to listeners as he is so positive but also real and I appreciate people who are both. I also am now intrigued by jiu jitsu though honestly sometimes I feel like walking down the street is enough of a physical challenge! What I hope people get out of this episode is what Rock says about trust at work and happiness at work. But also, anything else they get is great too! Don’t forget to leave a review and share if you know someone who will want to hear this too!
West Coast meets West Coast though one of us is in London. Rabiah and Rock talk SquadCast and life while on SquadCast.
Transcript
Rabiah (Host): [00:04:13] This is More Than Work, the podcast reminding you that your self worth is made up of more than your job title. Each week, I'll talk to a guest about how they discovered that for themselves. You'll hear about what they did, what they're doing and who they are. I'm your host, Rabiah. I work in IT, perform standup comedy, write, volunteer and of course podcast. Thank you for listening.
Hi, everyone. I'm back this week with another episode with actually the SquadCast co-founder Rock Felder. So a couple of weeks ago I interviewed Zach Moreno and if you haven't heard that one, check it out. It's actually getting replayed this week on Between Two Mics, the SquadCast podcast. This is really fun for me, and I'm really honored about that.
But, um, I got to interview both co-founders of that company and they both have very different stories and very different ways that they came to be [00:05:13] at the company. And so I think that they just resonate with people in different ways. Um, what was cool about Rock, I mean, we talked a lot about just kind of, well, first of all, he's a CPA.
And what I liked about talking to him about that was that it was similar to jobs I've had where like I've worked in operations. And so you end up knowing lots of parts of the business and different people in the business. And also made me think about where I work, our finance people. They do, they have to get involved in every part of the business.
And so what I like is that kind of, you can be in a part of a business, but not limited to just that part. And you can learn other things and then transfer into other places. And, um, in his case become a co-founder and a CFO of a company. And so I just think it's just, again, really cool to always hear about how people come around to what they're doing now and what they take from different people they know. And we talked a lot about like trusting your teams. Anyone who has ever been micromanaged at all. And I, it it's [00:06:13] triggering for me. I hate being micromanaged. I hate being questioned, um, in a way that's probably unhealthy sometimes so I try to work on when it's like valid questions being asked, but anyone who's been micromanaged knows what it feels like to not be trusted and it feels awful.
And so I think as leaders, or even as colleagues, we need to be trustful of the people we work with so that we can manage our relationships with them properly and manage our working relationships, personal relationships, all that. And so I like how he talks about how trust in people is a big value of his. And, um, just when they were talking about Rock was talking about SquadCast and hiring and their hiring process.
It was also really interesting to me just to listen to more about that, because I just went through hiring where I work and we're hiring people all the time. It's really, you have to be precious about your team and your culture and hiring the right people cause it's not just about skill they have. It's [00:07:13] about them fitting in.
These are the people that you're going to be working with eight hours a day or more sometimes. And they have to be people that fit and aren't going to come in and be disruptive. I mean, people can be disruptive in a way that's good, that provides progress and change, but there's also the disruptive
that's not good that actually just causes strife, and so, that's all tricky. Um, Rock and I talk about, he does Brazilian jujitsu too. And I could say jujitsu this time. I couldn't say that on the podcast episode, but I just, I think this is a really positive chat with a really positive person. Um, I'm really feel like very privileged to get to talk to the people I get to talk to.
And that includes the second co-founder of SquadCast, and, I just hope you enjoy this episode. I'm going to keep it short at the top. There's no reason for me to go on because we have an interview that's awesome that you can listen to. Um, again, like subscribe, email me, get in, touch on social media, all the things just, just do it.
Um, and I really want to know what people think.
[00:08:13]
Rabiah (Host): Alright everyone this week, the guest is Rock Felder. He's the Co- Founder and CFO of SquadCast, which is what this podcast is actually recorded on. You probably heard me mention it a couple of times. So thanks for being on Rock.
Rock Felder: Thanks for having me Rabiah, excited to be here.
Rabiah (Host): Yeah. Glad to have you. So can you just tell people where I'm talking to you from right now?
Rock Felder: Yeah. So I'm in Oakland, California. And yet we're having this conversation via SquadCast, which is it's truly exciting. Not used to being on the other side. I'm usually the, the host in this situation. So it's fun to have the tables turned a bit.
Rabiah (Host): yeah. Good. Good. And you can just see how the experience is, I guess, from that view, which is pretty similar actually, other than who's asking you questions, but cool. So basically just first of all, being a co-founder of a company that's that's your current role, but what led you to that? I guess like what, what was the thing that led you to co found a company?
Rock Felder: I think I've always had just a general interest in business. It's, it's just been one of [00:09:13] those things that just always appealed to me. And I think it's hearing stories of my dad and my uncles. They owned a a bed store, like back in the eighties. And so, when I was growing up as a kid in the nineties, they would always talk about stories about their water bed.
It closed before or right around the time that I was a kid. So I never got to like see them in action as business owners. But I got to hear those stories and it sounded like a fun time. So I think that's where it started. But then just going throughout my life, going from a high school to college, I just realized that
you know, I needed some type of job to pay, pay for my, myself, my living. I wasn't going to be able to depend on my parents unfortunately, and also had to pay for for college too. And so I needed something that was going to pay the bills, but that also had a lot of opportunity for growth and up when I was going through college, it was about 2008, 2009
when I was really figuring out what I wanted to focus on and do with my life. And so, that was a scary time. Like the, you know, it was a lot of fear and uncertainty about the job market and, you know, the ability to get jobs. [00:10:13] So I chose something in accounting just when I did all my research there was, it was almost always in a job that was in demand, what they would call recession-proof.
That's not necessarily true. COVID taught, taught me that, but you know, at the time it did seem true. And also, you know, for someone graduating fresh out of college, it was a pretty high salary. But so that's where I started my career, and so, in accounting. I got all of this exposure to different business leaders, executives, board members, founders.
And I think it just really lit that fire that I already, that I had in me of really being curious and interested in being a business owner and a leader of a business. And it's not because I wanted to be my own boss or I have trouble like taking directions or following people. It's more, so I love being
on the ground level, building something working as a team where all of our experience and unique skill sets come together to build something really remarkable. So that's something that's always been appealing to me. And then when my co-founder Zach, who's a friend of [00:11:13] mine that I've known since high school, approached me about the idea that became SquadCast it was just. It was already like something I was waiting for. I just didn't know where I was going to fit into the entrepreneurial scene if you will. And because it was rooted in podcasting, something that I was already a fan of and big believer in and just was at, at, at the time it was 2016 surprised how unaware people were of podcasting and how few people like listen to the shows.
But I figured it was a matter of time before- it was inevitable that it became more and more mainstream. So it was just really easy to get excited about.
Rabiah (Host): Yeah, for sure. And did you work in technology in any of your other roles?.
Rock Felder: Yeah. it's a great question. So, in accounting, another thing that I forgot to mention is I got exposed to a lot of different business sectors. So our clients worked in agriculture businesses, construction, banking. So a lot of like legacy businesses, very old school deal with. Like actual paperwork and stuff.
But then I did also get the opportunity to work for tech companies [00:12:13] or a client work with tech clients. And they were a lot more interesting in, in so many ways. I mean of course, you know, the, the, the ping pong table and the expression on machines were, were certainly there, but it was just like the culture and just the way.
You know, it just felt like it was more of the future where some of those other clients like providing incredible services. I mean, you know, the agriculture business is fascinating to me but just the way that the dynamics of that business, were it was wasn't as interesting as the way tech was. And so, tech was always something, a direction that I wanted to go into. Um, and so thrilled because now I came into this experience with quite frankly, not a lot of tech understanding or experience, but thankfully having a business partner like Zach, who is well-versed in that realm has really helped me not necessarily build my skillset in the way that I can start coding and stuff like that but I have a much better understanding of software and, you know, not just the business side, but the tech side as well.
Rabiah (Host): Yeah. I mean to me when I look at you and I actually look at it, we [00:13:13] have a VP of finance and you're the CFO, but you guys are both interesting to me in the sense that you have bigger personalities than I would think of for a finance people. Like, I always thought finance people like, "oh, okay, the accountant, like nerd," you know?
But but what I, what I'm thinking about, the guy that I, you know, ultimately worked for, I guess, and then you two is just kind of. People who influence the business in a different way. I'd say then maybe like, say for example, Zach, and we're talking about Zach Moreno who is on the podcast as well. His episode should have been on before this one, so people can refer back, but who's kind of responsible for the tech stack and everything, and then you're responsible for the finances, but there's also like a way that you can impact the business separately from just the money, right?
Like do you take an interest in it outside of just the money aspect?
Rock Felder: Absolutely. So it's, it's less so true today because thankfully we have more team members and [00:14:13] resources to help balance this out. But when we were first getting started, because the, the development of our software of our product was so critical in those early days to, to just make sure that there was a business here.
So I really took it upon myself to try to alleviate Zach from anything non-software, non-tech related. So of course that included the finance and accounting side, which of course I was comfortable with. But one of the other experiences that I got in my accounting job was dealing with different departments.
So I got exposed to HR departments. I got exposed to some more of the executive teams and like I said, board members, I was in on board meetings and stuff. So kind of knowing how an organization functions and the different departments all work together and have responsibilities. It's helped not make me necessarily proficient or an expert in those areas, but familiar and not scared to to, to, you know, take those responsibilities on for SquadCast. So in addition to my [00:15:13] finance and accounting responsibilities, which most of it is outsourced, thankfully I wouldn't, I don't need to be the one doing our books, but I handle a lot of the HR. I handle a lot of the sales and, and like with our enterprise clients and relationships and stuff like that, like that relationships are really what I've been working on my entire life. Like client customer service has really been what I've been doing my whole life, whether it was waiting tables as a, as a food server or uh in a professional services, accounting firm, working with clients and business clients and stuff like that. So, generally that's where my interest is, is just helping people find, solving their problems. And that even includes helping our employees and solving their problems, so, yeah, just thankfully it's, it's, like I said, becoming less so true now that we have like a community manager, a marketing manager, a lot of that stuff. Zach and I were, were really the lead on as well. And so now we're able to do it bigger and better because we have folks that are just frankly more skilled at it.
Rabiah (Host): Well, and that's the thing too, right? Just as a manager of people or [00:16:13] leader of people is identifying people who can do something better than you, and then letting them do it rather than you taking all of it on, which is tricky, right, for someone who's in the fou- founder or co-founder role?.
Rock Felder: It's tricky. And it definitely comes down to trust in my opinion, but there is nothing like seeing a team member try to further our mission. You know, we say stuff or we want things to happen, but then to see them kind of, turn that into reality, it's like, it's an incredible experience from, from someone as my perspective, when in the early days, Itching and clawing and scratching to get any, any customer we wanted and, and trying to hire people to come on this journey with us and them just being like, "eh, I don't, I, you know, you guys seem cool, but I want something more secure, more stable," which I get.
It's not for everybody. So to have folks that are working with us that are, you know, they can spend their time anywhere in where they want, but they choose to spend it with us. And it's, it's the best feeling.
Rabiah (Host): Yeah. I like that point too, that I think [00:17:13] there, well, there's been this whole great resignation thing that's occurring now, right? And I think people don't necessarily look at it that way that the employees, well, people who work for people, don't look at it that way. Sometimes that they have. You know, I think that the whole empowerment's come from realizing they do, but also employers realizing, yes, they have a choice.
They do not have to work here and we need to do things to make this a good place to work. I don't think that a workplace has to be responsible for all of your happiness in your life, but there's that time that you're there per day that's a lot of your life that should be a positive one..
Rock Felder: Absolutely. Yeah, And I think, you know, you hear, why do people generally leave their jobs? It's not because they hate their jobs. It's most likely the people they work with and specifically the person that's their boss, you know, is generally why they leave. And so I totally agree with you. I think in some ways the, the narrative has morphed too much into [00:18:13] providing or being responsible for an employee's happiness, like overall, like comprehensively.
I agree. It's, it's not, but like, because there's so much of their time and energy spent, yeah, I want it to be enjoyable. I don't want them to look at this as a waste of their time, because again, like, you know, the, the trade-off with a startup is yes, you might not have as much security or at least the feeling of security, but there is this opportunity for impact and to, you know, have your ideas kind of come come about in real life. And I think that's really special and that's something that we've been really trying to communicate and show our, our team is like, look, when we do things, it has an impact and we're all going to get, we're all going to share in those winnings. So like being able to give team members like raises and, and and bonuses and stuff like that, like, it's it's an incredible feeling.
Rabiah (Host): Yeah, it has to be. And I think I got ahead of myself. So that's my fault but we've talked a lot about, [00:19:13] about the business, but in case someone didn't hear the episode with Zach and also just because I want to get your side of the story, I guess, in a way, I know you guys have one that you've sorted out probably internally, but for you, Zach asks you to join him on this journey.
So like what's the story of founding SquadCast, really?
Rock Felder: Yeah. I mean, I remember the day so vividly, it was October, 2016. I'm driving in my car for, from a client. And it was like an hour, two hour long drive. Terrible traffic. I was just like exhausted. Right. And it was a Friday. I don't know if I mentioned that. And then Zach called me up, which was You know, we were friends, but we're kind of, not in contact as much.
So for him to call me out of the blue was it was out of the blue, right? And we had a great conversation and he basically just kind of told me how he was trying to create a podcast on his own, ran into these challenges, trying to create the podcast remotely and really maintain a high quality. You know, they were really trying to make a product that they, that they could be proud of.
And so the quality [00:20:13] needed to be up to their standards. When they did some research and finding how podcasters were creating content remotely, it was really fragmented all over the place. It seemed like there had to be this trade-off of ease of use, but you're not going to have great sounding audio and great looking video or you could have.
The high quality, but you had to jump through all these hoops and hurdles, especially for folks that are just starting off their podcasting journey, who aren't the most tech savvy, but for sure, a lot of the guests or team members who are not podcasters and are not tech people, like it was extremely challenging and laborious for them.
So to me, it made a lot of sense that this was going to be a product a valuable product when hearing this from Zach, because. I had, this is another unique thing for Zach and I is that we both got experienced, we got exposed rather to working remotely in our previous jobs so that was not a foreign concept to either of us at all.
So really riding the wave of the growth in popularity of podcasting, but then [00:21:13] also more and more of the ability to collaborate remotely and still have that high quality. Just, it seemed like a no-brainer. And like I said before, it just seemed really easy to get excited about. For me, it was just more so like, I wanted to make sure that this was something that was worth leaving the old, the cushy salary, corporate job behind for something more you know, I guess risky on the surface, but you know, really it was about like, is this something I'm going to be able to commit to for eight to 10 years? Because doing my research, it was like a lot of people think that startups or businesses or, you know, anything is going to be an overnight success.
What's your, what's your growth strategy? "We're going to go viral", you know? And and it's, it's generally not like that. It's like, Years and tons of time and effort and experimentation to have that overnight success. And so, you know, I was really trying to make sure that I, that this was something that I was ready to commit to.
And for me, the easy part though, was, was Zach is the partner. I think I might've taken it for granted at the time, just seeing, you know, how challenging and how demanding things [00:22:13] can be on, on founders, like a relationship. It's very similar to a marriage, you know, where you know, us working together and, and just making sure that we're staying in contact and on the same page is so important.
But that was one thing I never doubted was like him being a good partner, his ability to, and this is Zach Zach's ability to really accomplish anything he sets his mind to. And I just saw that I fancy myself as a similar person. And I thought our skill sets really complimented each other well to, to accomplish this.
I did not think it would work out this well, though. Like it's worked out even better than I, than I expected. And I have seen our relationship transcend from just being high school friends and college buddies or whatever, to. Yes, of course that friendship is still there, but it's even like, deeper than that.
Like it's even, there's just so much more trust and an admiration for, for each other or at least I think it's mutual. I'm pretty sure it's mutual, but I, I certainly think of that of him. So, Yeah.
I, I, it's incredible because he's made me a better leader, a better person. And and I love that [00:23:13] about this journey.
Rabiah (Host): Yeah, that's really cool. And I just, I never, and I've been in startups before for, from a work perspective and knowing people who've founded things, but I've never heard it in the way. You've just kind of said it in the last like 15 minutes or so. Just thinking about like your skillset. Broad as far as just your job as a, it was a CPA, right.
Essentially, or so a CPA, but how much reach that could have, if you're depending on who you are, and then looking at Zach and him being a developer at the time, essentially. Right. And just how those two merge together and how important it is to have all that. Cause to think it's going to all be at one person, a lot of founders do that, right?
Like I'm one person. I'm everything, but I like that there's this dynamic between you two that forms this whole super person, you know,
Rock Felder: I've told him that I've told him that I said together, we make one seriously incredible entrepreneur. [00:24:13]
Rabiah (Host): you're like wonder twins or something
Rock Felder: Yeah, well, and what's great about him is you know, if, if, if he only was a software developer, like that would be amazing, cause he's super talented there. But what I think is really fortunate for SquadCast and for me as his partner is like, he's also you know, got a big personality and very he's a great communicator.
He's he's really good at like, talking about like his vision and why the world needs to go in the direction that he sees it as it pertains to, you know, SquadCast and stuff like that. So, yeah, he is, he is, I don't want to make it sound like he's a one trick pony and I handle everything else. Like he is,
uh, he handles quite a bit.
Rabiah (Host): Yeah. I mean, he's like an excellent product person, really. I did product management for awhile and it's, it's, I have the vision to create and then build on that and be open to things changing is really something because a lot of people think, oh, I built my thing. It's good. And that's not how it works at all, you know?
Rock Felder: It's not, it's [00:25:13] not, and there's a lot of your personality that can be baked into this where, you know, people call it your baby, but then it's also like it's hot. I can appreciate how it's hard to separate something that you've built from, from yourself. And I have a little bit more distance from it, but even I totally get where he's coming from, but that's one area that I will say we and especially Zach of course have
I'm really impressed with our ability to kind of.
Everything is, is up for for for change and reinvent reinvention. And that's what we're doing this year is a lot of significant changes, rooted in customer feedback and just like done in such a bigger and better way than we've ever done it. Now that we have more help to, you know, help us like do the research and stuff for this. For this stuff, excuse me. And so, yeah, it's just, it's really impressive because I have, I'm come from a background where people are very stuck in their ways and don't change. And to be in an environment that's completely different and, you know, mistakes are had, or things are tried out and, you know, it's, we don't focus on that.
We just move forward and trying to figure out [00:26:13] what's the best decision.
Rabiah (Host): Yeah. Yeah, that's really cool. I mean, this is definitely a unique conversation about about a business right now than, than other ones, just because also just being a user of your software as well and part of the community that you guys have created which is amazing it's just, it's really fun. So I do want to ask you about like outside of work brazilian jiu jitsu is your main hobby,
so can you talk a little bit about that and how that kind of just create some balance for you?
Rock Felder: Yeah. Yeah. It's so I'm, I'm, I've always been into like fitness, working out and stuff like that. But jujitsu is part that, like there's, that's, it definitely scratches that itch and it's something that I can you know, get a good sweat in and continue to feel healthy and balanced and all that stuff.
But I think. I like about it is it's, it's very similar to being an entrepreneur in the sense that the, the path [00:27:13] is not Oh, what's the word. It's not a straight line. It's very you know, it's up and down and all around and it's it's not linear is the word that I was looking for, which is very similar I feel like to being an entrepreneur. And it's, it's, it's so easy to like go into training and just like, forget everything that's going on, whether it's with SquadCast or personal life or whatever, because you know, when someone's trying to choke you or, or break your limbs, like that's all you're focused on.
So, it's a good mental break for me. It's a good physical break for me. There's a great sense of community there that you gotta be a special person to kind of want to do this for fun and continue to go back. It's a very strange sport. I, I will, I will fully admit that, but for whatever reason it's been just a huge part of me for, for, because it scratches so many itches. There's like this physical fitness itch and then there's the, the mental itch and, and the community side of it too.
So, Yeah.
it's, it's, it's a, it's a great thing that, that brings me balance.
Rabiah (Host): So if I think about just martial arts in general, I [00:28:13] have an idea of just like probably Karate Kid or something, right? Yeah.
Rock Felder: Yeah.
Rabiah (Host): So how has Brazilian jujitsu, other than being harder to say different than like something that probably most people have an idea of?
Rock Felder: Yeah.
I'm not the biggest fan of the name either. It's a, it's a weird thing to say. All the things I love, people hate the names. Podcasts, people hate that name. People hate jujitsu. I get it. So I don't know. I'm attracted to weird names I guess, but Yeah.
So to break it down, like the typical class and.
Th the way it functions is there's a warmup. That's usually about 10 to 15 minutes. And then we'll have the instructor who's either called the instructor or professor, coach. They never call him sensei in jujitsu. I don't know why. They basically like will teach us a move or a sequence of moves and that's called drilling.
And so we'll partner up and we'll drill that. The coach will come around and help us give us any guidance or tips. And then we'll kind of circle back up and he'll either tell us the next sequence or give us some more tips to, to refine the, the, the technique. And then after [00:29:13] that we do what's called sparring or, or. Yeah.
it's called sparring. So basically, like we kind of fight each other. You're not necessarily supposed to go like a hundred percent as if you're in a competition or if you're in a you know, a street fight situation. But I think that's the big difference with something with jujitsu versus something like boxing or maybe even a more physical contact like kickboxing or, or I met my tie or, or karate is that we can go pretty hard of trying to inspiring and, you know, generally speaking, as long as.
You tap before your arm breaks. So there's like this trust that comes into play where we don't want to hurt anybody. Like we, our trading partners are very important to us and we want, we need them to come back. So nobody wants to break anybody's arm or make somebody go to sleep through choking.
But that's, I think the big difference is you can go pretty hard inspiring and not have any long-term or immediate consequences. Like in boxing, if you go too hard, even with headgear, you can get concussed, you can have brain damage, you know? Getting kicked in the head can't be good for you. But [00:30:13] the, the amount of collateral damage in jujitsu surprisingly is minimized for how intense it is.
Rabiah (Host): Is it more just like bending things out of shape maybe like fingers
Rock Felder: Yeah, it's almost like a wrestling, but the, the goal, instead of pinning, as it is in wrestling, the goal, what you get to do is to make someone submit. So you do like, you know, trying to break arms or legs. It sounds way gnarlier than it is. It's actually surprising how gentle people are.
Rabiah (Host): I'm just like thinking, oh my gosh. Like just thinking about, cause I'm pretty clumsy.
Rock Felder: Oh, yes, we all are at first.
Rabiah (Host): Like someone just trying to break my arm. I'll be like, it's just going to break. So don't go ahead, you know?
Rock Felder: It's it's so crazy though cause you start off like very clumsy and very like things will hurt a lot more, but like after a few months, cause actually Zach trains with me too. And so I've told him this, like, you know, you just keep coming your body. You'd be surprised how much your body adapts. And that's another thing that I love with it is I'm not just in shape.
Like my flexibility [00:31:13] is better than it's ever been. My mobility and balance. Like all these other things that I would never. Like train on, like jujitsu, just trains, all of that stuff. So it's
really feels like a really holistic approach to fitness.
Rabiah (Host): So how often do you do train?
Rock Felder: So I like to get in at least three days a week. Momentum's like a huge part of it. And if I take off anything longer than two weeks, I'm like really out of shape and out of like a rhythm. So three, three days a week is generally I can get enough rest in and then still keep up. However, my preference would be four to five times a week just because I just love it that much. And I mean, I pretty much almost need to do something physical every, every day. I do give myself rest days, but then I like, even if it's just running, even if it's just stretching or lifting weights or, or rock climbing, like I like to do something outside, even throwing the Frisbee.
I love throwing the Frisbee. I just need someone to throw it with.
Rabiah (Host): Yeah, the ones it gets tiring.
Rock Felder: It's tough. [00:32:13]
Rabiah (Host): you're like, all right, well, I guess I'll get it. One thing I've started like working out in the last well few months, I guess. And and did boxing and like trying to commit to, like, for me, it's just get into the gym two days a week cause that before I was doing none for years
and thank you.
And I guess I've had to really realize what it means though, to do that, to like commit to yourself and to stop going, oh, I'm too busy at work. I'm too busy or this. How do you do that? Like in, and when you think about like your role in your company, but also just balance at home and stuff, like how do you, what strategies have you done to make sure you get,
Rock Felder: That's a great question. It's something that I've thought about a lot, because even though exercise fitness has been important to me almost my whole life, I would say it was a process to get to a point where, you know, I think I was the classic person where I would, I had ambitions. I wanted to work out at a certain schedule and cadence, [00:33:13] but it was so easy to just make excuses of not today.
I'll go tomorrow. I'll start next week. Like, whatever, I'm tired, there's school, work, whatever, all the, all the things something changed where it was. It became an, an a non-option. Like I was going to do something. It just mattered like what the activity was and what the time of day was. So it just, I think it was like a mental switch for me of, it's not a matter of if I'm going to work out it's again, when, where, and how, or what I should, I guess I should say.
And I think that just happened over time of building up that habit having consistency. So I think two days a week of boxing is a great schedule too, to keep because you're going to give yourself that that balance, but you're still going in on a reoccurring basis. Like one week is not enough. And then you can, but it is a good start.
Like if it fall, if one, one time a week is all you got, that's great. And then build it up to two and build it up to three. And that's, what Zach's doing with jujitsu. Like right now, he had a, a little bit of a longer off than I did. And he started [00:34:13] with one day a week and now he's moving it up to two. And you just, but I think patience is really the hard part.
It's so easy to come in with a lot of ambitions, similar to podcasting, right? Like pod fade. It's Jim fade. Like it's, it's a very similar type of phenomenon.
Rabiah (Host): Yeah, well, that, that is a thing too. And I guess just, it is like for me. And I'm asking you to, just because it's good to talk to people about balance and stuff, but like, it's just a matter of saying I can make up this hour later if I have to, or just plan for the hour in a way,
Rock Felder: Yeah. Yeah. Budget it in.
Rabiah (Host): hour I'm gone.
Yeah. Plan for it. Right. Yeah. Pod fade, people stopped doing their podcasts, right? That's
Rock Felder: It's unfortunate.
Rabiah (Host): yeah. I can see it. Well, especially during the like lockdown part of the pandemic, there was a lot more time and all of a sudden now things are open and you aren't necessarily your computer all the time so it's hard to like have the time to do it,
Rock Felder: Yeah.
Rabiah (Host): you know, but what are some of your favorite podcasts?
Rock Felder: Yeah. So, the one that got it all started for me was Freakonomics. I thought [00:35:13] that was just like a really fascinating show. And of course the book was great. One that I've been getting into lately is called Huberman Lab, just because I've been getting more interested in health and, and like the science of it all and stuff like that.
So I kind of, I've taken a break the last three years from, from that kind of stuff when I'm getting back into it cause you know, I, I think like all of us, I let certain aspects of myself kind of slip due to COVID, you know, like a soda came back. I hadn't, I drank more soda in the last two years than I have probably the last, the 10 before it or something, you know, my alcohol consumption went up more than, than usual tend to be more of a social drinker.
But you know, on a Friday night when you have nothing to do nowhere to go, I kinda was like, well, I'll just pop up in a bottle of wine, you know? So, so getting back into to being more healthy and, and I'm always listening to like entrepreneurial podcasts. I would say my favorite is one called Acquired.
It's a great independent podcast. Like I love independent podcasts. And this is a great example to two [00:36:13] guys who are in the tech scene. They're both venture capitalists. They're, they're younger. They're, they're probably around my age. So they're not like the old kind of a of VCs that you would come to expect. But like, they're just, they just love tech and they love talking about tech companies.
And so they the show is called Acquired. So they focus on like, the story behind a company's acquisition or go into IPO. And so just hearing the background about it is, is really cool for someone like me to hear, to see. Like the Uber story and how you know, it was a, again, a, not a straight line.
It was linear. And look like there were plenty of times where it looked like it was gonna just you know, go bankrupt or have to close shop or whatever, and to see how see that grit is really encouraging for me.
Rabiah (Host): Yeah. Well, and there's some interesting stuff, I mean, you hear about some of the bigger startups and just like the culture that get becomes very toxic with them and things like that and you guys tend to have a focus on your team that doesn't allow that to happen. But [00:37:13] can you talk a little bit about leaders who inspire you or other entrepreneurs or something that you've maybe looked at and you could learn from them like they did something that wasn't great and then you don't do that or just the other way?
Rock Felder: Yeah, I, I do feel like I've learned a lot from folks that have what not to do my previous experience, the accounting firm that I worked for, there was just like a lot of micro-managing, lack of trust. One of my heroes is, is my uncle because
he's been- he has crazy dyslexia, actually, almost everybody except me and my family has some form of dyslexia.
I don't know how I got lucky, but he's got like legit can't read you know, the past it's, it's, he's got a very tough experience, but what he's been able to do as a, as a business person is like remarkable despite having that. You know, I guess what you could see as a limitation, but in some ways it's, it's definitely not.
The reason why he's my hero is because a business hero is because in like the heat of the financial crisis, [00:38:13] he left his job and started a like a contracting business, building custom homes for people. And I was old enough to see how the reaction was from his peers. They all thought he was crazy.
And I don't know. It just was really inspiring to see someone have so much conviction in something, even though it looked very risky, very uncertain. Why would you do this? And to see where he's at now, he's been you know, prosperous. It was a very prosperous move for him. And so that really gave me the courage to make a jump like I had done.
But I've also learned a lot from him. Like, I don't think he's a great boss. Like he does not trust his employees at all. He doesn't think that they care or smartest him. And so, I think that kind of got my thinking of like, you know, maybe, maybe there is some truth to that, but again, like I've been telling you here, like, I. Love when someone steps up and takes things into their own hands. And it, it further just reinforces why it is important to trust and just let people do what they do. And [00:39:13] is a little scary at first, but it's been, it's the best thing ever in my opinion.
Rabiah (Host): Yeah, for sure. And well, even when they make mistakes, I mean, I'm in a new role, so I'm definitely, I'm not being perfect at it where my other role, I was kind of had it down, you know, but I think too, when I've had people working for me, I'd rather that they'd try, make a mistake that that hopefully we can fix, like they don't bring down the entire company or something.
But then also like, just cause it teaches you how to be a better leader too, because you have to handle that situation and be like kind and compassionate to them and coach them rather than blow up. And I've had, I've had a lot of bosses who just blew up.
Rock Felder: I know it's terrible. Yeah. Yeah. It makes it it's unproductive. And I get it like, you know, situations can get tense and stuff like that, but that was the thing that always bugged me about the accounting job was like, nobody's going to die here. Like, why are we acting like this is like, we're saving the world. So just trying to bring a little [00:40:13] bit more sane of an approach here at SquadCast, like just making it a really fun and thriving place to work.
But what's the crazy thing about culture is you can try as much as you want to direct culture and nudge it in certain ways, but truthfully, it, it, it takes on a life of its own because really the it's much like our community, our SquadPod community. Like Zach and I, and the rest of the early team, like set the tone for that community.
And then someone like Arielle came in and made it even bigger and better than ever. But it's really folks like you, Rabiah, who really make the community something special. So it's very similar, our employees, they make the culture better than I could ever try to.
Rabiah (Host): Yeah, cause they have an well, thank you. First of all. I mean, it's really, it's fun. And I didn't expect when I was going to podcast to not be alone.
Rock Felder: it's a lonely game.
Rabiah (Host): You know, cause it's a very lonely thing and cause you're basically talking to yourself a lot and then you're talking to people. But but yeah, I agree. I mean, and it's just kind of like removing, I don't know if you find this, I'm going to say [00:41:13] something and see if you agree with that, but removing your ego from it too, at some point saying, look like I've set it up, like you said, but I'm going to empower people and that means not having the biggest ego in the room anymore.
Rock Felder: Oh, yeah. Oh yeah. I mean, that's another thing like our, our team members are like so good. They're like pointing out things that need to change. And, and so it's having me having to come up and say, that was my fault, the way th th the way this worked out, or you know, we're, we're dealing with a lot of again, re-invention and so it's, it's great, but to have it driven by our employees and not me is, is is phenomenal, but I am having to admit that like some of the reasons why we're making these changes are due to my shortcomings or, or bad decisions on my part.
Rabiah (Host): Yeah. Or just decisions that maybe were the best of the time, but now you have more information
Rock Felder: probably a better way to, look at it. I
tend to be a little too harsh on my.
Rabiah (Host): Yeah. No, and I, I mean, I'm the same way. And then, but often I'll talk to, like when I'll talk to friends at work or something, it's easy for me to reframe it for [00:42:13] them, but they're never going to get me to reframe it for me, but at least, you know, but I don't want you to feel like, yeah, it could be a bad decision or it was the best you could make at the time.
So, you know,
so that's, that's, that's, what coaching looks like, guys. No, I'm just kidding.
Rock Felder: I feel very coached up right now. Thank you.
Rabiah (Host): Good, good. You're you're welcome. And then that's how not to be gracious about it also, just to demonstrate that yeah.
It's like the bad and good side of it.
Rock Felder: Amazing.
Rabiah (Host): yeah. Like I was very ungracious. All right. Is there anything we didn't cover that you want to cover?
Rock Felder: I mean, I really appreciate the opportunity to share a little bit more about myself. I mean, of course I'm always happy to talk about SquadCast and the awesome. work that we're doing. But it's fun to kind of get a little bit personal here and talk about some of my passions like jujitsu or what podcasts I'm listening to.
So, no, I think we covered it all and just really appreciate the opportunity to be on your show and appreciate you being such a wonderful community member because it wouldn't be the same without folks like you. So thank you, Rabiah.[00:43:13]
Rabiah (Host): Awesome. Well, thanks. So I really appreciate that. And I guess just the last few questions then, do you have any advice or mantra that you'd like to share with people that you just kind of maybe something that you follow that you want to share?
Rock Felder: Yeah. Something that's become a mantra within our team that I don't know where I heard this, but I, it, it kind of started to come from, from me, but the rest of the team has started to take on this mantra themselves. And when we were trying to evaluate folks to hire, new hires and we would connect internally as a team to kind of look through the different applicants and talk about like our, our impressions or how the interview process went and stuff like this. I remember one of them saying I was like, y'all if they're not an F yes. And I'm censoring myself, "if it's not an F yes. It's an F no." And so now, like there's other things where we're like, if we're not into it, if we're not screaming about it and don't, aren't in love with it, maybe it's maybe it's a no,
Rabiah (Host): Nice. I like, I like
Rock Felder: and it's fun seeing them, [00:44:13] you know, kind of pull that. on me where they're like, rock, if it's not enough. Yes. It's an F no. And I'm like, you're right.
Rabiah (Host): Well played.
Awesome.
Rabiah (Host): So, the last five questions are called the fun five and it's just kind of,
Rock Felder: Oh, yay. Five is my favorite number.
Rabiah (Host): Good. All right. Well then, You like this. So what's the oldest t-shirt you have and still wear?
Rock Felder: It's gotta be one of the SquadCast shirts. Like the SquadCast retro from, from 2016. That's gotta be the oldest one. I would hope
Rabiah (Host): that's. Well, that's good. I mean, definitely, some of us have older ones and a lot of people cleaned up during the pandemic. So it was a bummer. This question got to be a real
bummer
Rock Felder: that's true. I did a little cleanup myself, but I can't throw
away squadcast yeah t's for some reason.
Rabiah (Host): Well, no you shouldn't. Okay. So if every day was really Groundhog's Day, like things just repeating them selves what song would you have your alarm clock set to play?
Rock Felder: Ooh. Probably a Candy. I forget the artist's name, but it's like that old school [00:45:13] song. It's like Can-day [sung], that song,
Rabiah (Host): okay. Good. All right. I don't know the artists either, but I'll figure it out. I have a Spotify playlist with all
Rock Felder: I know I should pull it up. It's one of my top tracks,
Rabiah (Host): nice. All right. And coffee or tea or neither?
Rock Felder: Definitely coffee.
Rabiah (Host): Do you take it any certain way or?
Rock Felder: No sugar, a little bit of creamer Oat Milk.
Rabiah (Host): Cool. And can you think of a time you like laughed are yoso hard you cried or just something that makes you do that, like just cracks you up when you think about it?
Rock Felder: Yes, I can remember. Cause it was very recently. So when we were testing, our most recent product update, which was being able to support SquadCast using a Safari browser or iOS devices. That's in beta. it might be done pretty soon here. But when we were going through that testing phase, one of our our, our software engineer lead Jean was basically trying to see if he could use his Oculus, like the Oculus VR goggles and join the session and SquadCast through that. So [00:46:13] we're watching him like in a regular SquadCast session, but then he's also in a SquadCast as the Oculus. And I, if I can find the picture, I'll share it with you. Cause he just looks, so it just looks so funny.
He's like got these goggles on, but then he's got his headphones on and he's talking to us. But then he's in VR and I just couldn't stop laughing. I laughed so hard. I haven't laughed like that in a long time. The picture is really what does it, so I'm not describing it well enough, but he, it just looked like the nerdiest thing ever.
And it was so funny.
Rabiah (Host): Well, anyone who's used VR and I just did probably like two months ago for the first time, it's a weird and cool experience,
Rock Felder: I bet. Yeah, I haven't done it
yet.
Rabiah (Host): do look, you do look weird when you're doing
Rock Felder: Yeah. And he's being
super serious. I think that was what was funny is he's really being serious, but just looks
so silly, you know?
Rabiah (Host): Yeah, it's ridiculous. Oh, that's nice. All right. And last one who inspires you right now?
Rock Felder: Who inspires me? I don't want to sound like egotistical or anything, but a lot of it does come [00:47:13] from within, I would say. Like, I, I don't really look for outside inspiration. Like maybe I, I definitely used to, you know, I definitely got into that Gary V "Hustle Porn" type of stuff, but not so much these days, especially that, you know, like I am kind of have my own thing going on right now.
And so that keeps me focused. So. Really, I think it's the people that I care about it's, it's, it's my, my, my partner, but then also like the employees and Zach, like those are the people that really inspired me the most. I've learned that I do really well with peer pressure, like surrounding myself with people that really inspire me to, to, to bring out the best in myself.
That's what I love. And I, that's one thing I, I do think I've done well is surrounded myself with amazing people that really demand the best out of me, whether they realize it.
Rabiah (Host): Yeah. Oh, that's awesome. All right. Well, that's good. if people want to find you and connect with you, what's the best way to do that?
Rock Felder: Yeah. So Twitter is generally the best way I'm at Rockwell Felder (@rockwellfelder). LinkedIn's another good place Rockwell Felder as well. [00:48:13] And if you're interested in learning more about SquadCast. SquadCast.fm is the best place to find us. We're also at SquadCast FM (@squadcastfm) on all the major social platforms. But I encourage you to check out the site, even if you're not necessarily interested in just remote recording through SquadCast, but we have a ton of content that'll help you be just a better podcaster. Show, a different case studies and customer stories about how folks, what they're doing with their shows, which I think is really interesting and exciting and something we love to highlight.
And just how to be a better podcaster specifically when it comes to recording remotely. We see that as our, our duty, in addition to bringing a premium product is to like, just help folks be a better podcaster.
Rabiah (Host): Yeah, and I totally messed up and didn't even talk about "Between Two Mics", the podcast that you have
Rock Felder: Oh, that's right. Yes. Yes.
Rabiah (Host): yeah, I didn't even ask you, like, how do you like doing that and all that kind of stuff, but you want to say quick what that podcast is?
Rock Felder: Yes "Between Two Mics" is a weekly podcast that Zach [00:49:13] and I both host or co-host I guess is the correct term. Every other week, we do interviews with folks that are pushing the medium forward and doing some new and noteworthy things in podcasting or just content creation in general.
And then the other weeks, it's just Zach and I generally, which we call founders episodes where we kind of riff on whatever's going on in our minds, whether it's like podcast industry focused podcast techniques and tips and tricks that we're, we're thinking about, or just like what's going on with us.
Like, Zach is a new father. So one of the shows that folks really liked was us just talking about what, what, what he's thinking about becoming a father and also taking some time away from SquadCast for a significant time for the first time. And so we cover a lot of stuff like that, but to answer your question, like for me I love having the podcast on its own.
If we didn't have SquadCast cause it's just such a fun thing to talk to people. And I love learning what people are into and hearing their story. And I'm fascinated by hearing people's stories. And so it's, it's a great [00:50:13] opportunity for me to do that. It also helps me get better at my communication skills but really what the benefits are why I think this is such a important thing for Zach and I to do is like now we really truly have empathy for our customers, for their guests because we, we were behind the mic and doing a lot of the things that, that you all are doing.
Rabiah (Host): Awesome. Well, thanks so much, Rock, for being on. I really, really appreciate it. It was nice to chat with you.
Rock Felder: It was great chatting with you too, Rabiah. And look forward to seeing you again soon. That's what's so great about our community is that it ain't ending here.
Rabiah (Host): Thanks for listening. You can learn more about the guest and what was talked about in the show notes. Joe Maffia created the music you're listening to. You can find him on Spotify at Joe M A F F I A. Rob Metke does all the design for which I am so grateful. You can find him online by searching Rob M E T K E.
Please leave a review if you like the show and get in touch. If you have feedback or guest ideas. The pod is on all the social channels at, at more than work pod [00:51:13] (@morethanworkpod) or at Rabiah Comedy (@rabiahcomedy on TikTok. And the website is more than work pod dot com (morethanworkpod.com). While being kind to others, don't forget to be kind to yourself.
