Vision Pros Live Podcast
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What's your vision? Veena Jetti. Podcast Session 2.
3,626 words · 3 speakers
Why do you think leaders hide from funding their vision? And then how can those leaders lean into funding that vision?
Um, so I think the reason that founders, myself included, when I am looking to start something new, I don't always jump in at a hundred percent. Um, a part of that is I'm a little bit jaded from being in business for so long, right? I know that not every idea I have is going to be a home run idea. I know not every idea is going to be great. Um, and I have built businesses from zero. Um, I have a company right now that we built from zero and now it's probably worth like seventy or eighty million dollars. Um, over four years. But it took a lot of investment, right? Not just sweat, blood, tears, all of the things.
Um, but it also took a lot of intentionality of how we were going to business, build this business, that we were going to build this business. Um, and so it's hard because one, you're trying to do something that you maybe have never done before. So it's uncomfortable. Two, you are doing something that you don't really know you're going to have a full payoff from it. Uh, which is funny because I was just on a call with my mindset coach before this call. And I was talking to her about what my twenty twenty five goals are, my vision board, et cetera. And, um, she's shared with me, she's like, look, I noticed, I've noticed a shift in how you're showing up. And I want to ask you more questions around that.
And where we kind of got was that I need to make some changes that I know I need to make, but haven't yet made. And one of the changes are, one of the things I want to lean into is something that I feel excited about. But she's not yet convinced because I do, I'm not putting all of my energy and effort into it. And part of the fear that's holding me back is I don't want to fund something with time, energy, effort, or dollar. If it's not going to be successful. And I think that that is a common fear that new entrepreneurs have and serial entrepreneurs have.
It's the fear of the unknown. It's the fear of putting something into building this and then having it not be successful. It's the fear of needing to pivot. It's the fear of what will people think if I try something new that I've never done before? So it's like all these are fear-based. But I just share this because it's very timely because I'm definitely in the middle of that too. And I think that it's important that as leaders, especially once you've reached success, that you talk about these things. Because these are real and these are things that, you know, you think of at many different stages of many different types of startups and businesses.
Thank you for sharing that. I think that's exactly on point with your thoughts. Because there's so many times, like for my business, for example, I started it and then I found my partner. And then my partner was doing 10 times bigger and better things I was doing. And I realized if I grow his business, then my business just fades away. So there's no point of me putting money, time and energy and effort into that. Because it encompasses the bigger picture of other things. I'm like, do I want to do this or do I want to build this?
Yeah.
Do I want a $50 million company? Do I want a $5 billion company? Which one do I want to choose? So, yeah.
You know, the $50 billion company isn't for everybody and that's okay. Companies not for everybody, that's okay too. But I think it's more about being in alignment with what you're choosing to do.
And what tips do you have for leaders?
Oh, gosh. Okay, this is maybe, I don't know if it's the blind leading the blind or the partially seeing leading the blind here. But here's what I can say.
Work with somebody who can give you outside perspective. Because it wasn't until I was on this call with Rosie today that I realized that I had a lot of fear around this and a lot of resistance around this. Because I couldn't see it while I'm in the middle of the storm, right? Like when you're in the middle of the storm, you just cannot see the perspective of everything. But when you have someone like a Rosie who's outside and looking at you from the outside. They see things differently. They can compartmentalize differently. It doesn't feel personal to them the way it does for us. So my first tip is find yourself a Rosie. Her name's Rosie Noel. She's fantastic.
So I'd say find yourself a mindset coach that aligns with you that can help you see your vision and gain clarity. Um, second is you are going to come up against new challenges all the time. And one thing Rosie always says to me is it is going to be uncomfortable for you to stay the same exact person as you are right now. And it's also going to be uncomfortable for you to grow. You have to choose which discomfort you want, which one is less uncomfortable because both are going to be uncomfortable. And when I think about it like that, and when it's framed like that, then I'm always thinking, okay, what's the worst thing that can happen to me? Okay, if this is the worst outcome, can I tolerate, recover, or live with that outcome?
There are very few things that I can think of as outcomes, especially in business, that I'm just unwilling to go down that path. Um, and I think one that most people find surprising about me is a lot of people go, oh, you're going to be a billionaire. And I go, yeah, probably not. And they go, no, but you can do it. And I go, I could, I fully believe that this is within reach.
Except I don't want to do the things that you have to do to become a billionaire.
Exactly.
And I don't think people really grasp how much money that is. That's a lot of money. I've transacted on a billion dollars of real estate. I know what this number means. I just don't think I have a need for a billion dollars. I like if someone's going to hand it to me, I'm not going to be mad. So you can definitely gift me a billion dollars. But I don't think I want to do the work. I don't want to take advantage of the opportunities that I would need to in order to be a billionaire. It's not a priority for me. Instead, I want to have enough. I want to leave a legacy. I want to leave an impact. So I think, I think that's the kind of my other tip is
as entrepreneurs, it can be really hard when we're in these spaces to not get carried away with more and the next thing and bigger and better. And I think it's really important for us to consider like, how much is actually enough? Like, what is enough? What is the thing that makes you feel happy, that makes you feel fulfilled? What do you need to live a great life? And aim for that instead of choosing arbitrary number, like when someone says, I want to build a billion dollar company in the next six months, I go, why? What's the goal? And a lot of times they can't articulate and I go, okay, then why not a ten billion dollar company? Why not a five hundred billion dollar company?
Like, these are just arbitrary numbers that you're not really, you don't really have an understanding of what they are.
Yeah. And that on a micro scale is so much more prevalent than you can see. Like, in the entrepreneur world, we can see so many people just either under calculating how much effort that needs to be put in something to be successful. Hey, I wanna work for myself, I wanna not have a boss and all these things. I'm like, do you know what that takes to do it?
Not as easy as it seems.
Yeah. It's, I think Alex Hermosy calls it the, what's it called, the, he calls it the depth of something, I forgot. Wait, like, yeah, where he has this term for it, where like, you try something, it's exciting and getting new, then you get to the bottom of it. My gosh, it's actually very, very hard. So you start climbing it, then you think it's super hard and most people leave it at there.
Yes.
Instead of going toward the other side. And that's what, yeah, that's what entrepreneurship has and has been. And that's a great point you made, like, do I really want? And for some people, it's gonna be like ten thousand dollars or maybe fifteen thousand dollars. Like, do you really want fifteen thousand dollars, ten thousand dollars a month? And am I willing to do the work that needs to be done for that?
And that's exactly said right.
And I, I think I hear, and I'm curious if this is true for you too, but I hear it the most with a billion. Like, this is the hot button number that I hear all the time. And I'm countless panels on countless stages where they do an open Q and A and I always get asked, how do I become a billionaire?
Okay, let's start with why do you need to be a billionaire? Like, do you really need a billion dollars to do what you need to? Like, what are the things you're trying to do that you can't do with ten million or a hundred million? Or five hundred million? Like, why a billion? It's just, I think it's just a number people throw out and I don't think that they really comprehend what it means.
Yeah. Exactly. I, I have not come more with these experiences, but you probably have, where people actually say, I want a billion dollars.
Oh, yeah.
I don't, I, like, so, let me tell you the thing about my billion dollars. Like, some, it's, it's my friend's vision. Uh, the-
Then I think that might help other people see what it could do. So first class business on the top rack. And if you see the the the logo, he created this company as a way of growing and helping businesses and helping businesses scale. At the same time, it's a way to bridge gaps between the financial disparity between the world. So like if you go like so he started it in Latin America where he hires virtual assistants and trains them, makes them learn and pays them at the same time to help them become a virtual assistant or provide for their family. Where like I know like in America, a lot of people pay like V is like very less amount of money, more than they deserve and they treat them like crap.
But we help them see what they're capable of. We obviously can't hire everyone and anyone. But we find people who align with their values and we can help them grow in their skills. And then once they get to a certain point, um, they work with us and they they have opportunities to grow and get more and more money. It's not limited to something. Uh, one of few of the V is are actually owners of the company. They own percentage of the company. It's crazy. Yeah. So that's his vision of billion dollars, like five billion dollars. I don't know what it's gonna be. But that's why he want to make billions. And like that inspired me. I'm like, that's that's awesome.
Yeah. I mean, I would still challenge him though, is is it really a billion dollars that you need for the things you want to do? I don't think it is. For most people, it's not.
Yeah, you're right. And and him for him, though, he's competing uh against Ernest and Youngs and Mackenzie and company.
Wants to leave like a very specific legacy that requires that. So like
And it's well thought out. It makes sense. Ninety nine percent of the time when someone says, I want to be a billionaire. Okay, tell me what you're doing now, why you want to do this, what your vision is, what's the goal? Because without understanding what you're working toward, it's very hard to get there. I'm getting to a billion is hard in general, but. Getting there with no roadmap or vision. I don't know. I'm sure it's possible and I'm sure there's people that have done it, but that is like hoping for lightning to strike.
Yeah, but for him, there's a difference, though. He he does not put a cap on how big the company can get.
Sure.
And he doesn't even know how to control if he doesn't get it within his lifetime. Like he he might come to a point where it's self sustaining. He just goes on the board and then things to survive itself.
And then it can grow farther and further. He does not cap that. There's no cap to it and there's no under cap to it. You know what I mean? So, yeah, so I'm glad you said something of that sort.
Um, one more question for you. Throughout your journey, we know what held you back all these years or I mean, I bet there's a gazillion things you can talk about. Uh, but something that you think would be impactful or obvious?
Fear.
Fear. Tell me more about that.
Yeah, I fear of the unknown, fear of failure is probably one of the biggest ones. Um, imposter syndrome, which I think has like a fear component to it. Um, not being sure if the juice is going to be worth the squeeze, not being sure if I can actually do the thing I'm setting out to do, not being sure if other people will see value in my work. Um, yeah, a lot of fear has held me back. I, which is why I do so much mindset coaching, right, is because I'm trying to overcome that. I'm trying to
make changes intentionally and making sure and it's honestly, it's even being able to recognize and understand my own thoughts and feelings as they come up, being able to identify them and name them has been a much more powerful tool than I thought I ever needed. And so I'm really grateful for those experiences so that I can identify fear when it is popping up and understand why I have fear and if I should have fear or should I be changing something here? Um, should I be thinking about it differently? Do I need to reframe or is this like a legitimate concern that I should be addressing?
Would you like to share some stories that relate to the scenarios?
Oh gosh, I have countless, countless stories. Um, well, I'll give you, I'll give you a fear story and then I know the outcome of it. So I'll share that too. That is maybe helpful, but back in 2020, this must have been probably like August 2020. I had um, my current JV partner, Ellie Pearlman, um, she reached out to me and she said, hey, Veena. Um, and I just left my old partnership. I just started my own company in June and I hadn't done a deal yet. Um, and my old partnership was just really out of alignment with who I was and how I wanted to show up and operate.
So it became toxic very quickly and she called me and she said, hey, um, I know you have a lot going on. I also had like a personal situation with one of my daughters had a medical diagnosis that at the time was pretty significant. Um, all's okay with her though, um, but she reached out to me. She said, I don't know how to say this, but I know you have a lot going on, but I wondered if you would be interested in working on this massive deal with me. This was the largest deal I had ever bought at the time. It was 80 million dollars. Before that, the largest deal I'd ever bought was 52 million dollars. So it was a big job. And it was in the middle of COVID. There was no vaccine. I was going through so much on the personal side.
I had a lot of turmoil on the professional side and she said, do you want to do this deal with me? I was like, and who? She's like, just us. And I was like, okay, uh, this feels terrifying. We have to raise like 29 million dollars in the middle of COVID. We don't even know if real estate is going to recover at this point. How are we going to do this? Like I had so many unknowns and I remember being so scared when I agreed to do this deal. And I agreed to do it and we bought it and it has been the single most successful deal I've ever done on the multifamily side. Um, what I mean by that is we bought it for 80 million and sold it for a hundred and 10 million dollars just 18 months later.
So it was because I had that fear holding me back, but was able to overcome it and do it anyway and do it scared. I had a 30 million dollar profit in 18 months. That's. Such a strong case study that even now when I'm feeling resistance and it's because I'm just scared of the unknown, not because there's a legitimate concern. I always think back to that deal.
Yeah, it's awesome. Thank you for sharing that with us. For some people, it just blows their mind like, my gosh.
I mean, I look, it blew my mind too. So there's no, now I'm, I'm more used to it because I've done it more.
Yeah, that's so, um, a bet in those times though, when you were, you were going through that, you were like, did I make this right decision? Should I be put more partners out? Yeah, there's a lot went on with it.
I still have those thoughts. I know that leaving my last partnership was absolutely the right move without question. I'm still, I still find that like intrusive thought creeping in, right of, wait, should I have done that? Am I missing something? Maybe I made a mistake, but I know when I think about it logically, I know without question, I made the right choice and I would make it again today. I would made it sooner actually with the information I have today. But it, it is hard when fear is holding you back.
So what did you do in that case? Like, so I mean, I feel like it's incomplete answer without, without the solution. So yes, the fear holds you back and then you went and did it anyway. What? So what was the solution to you doing it anyway?
I think it is the unwavering belief that I might not win, but I'm definitely not going to quit. And I knew that about myself and I knew that the one thing that makes entrepreneurs successful is perseverance. So I know even as I go through various hard moments, yes, I might be in a storm, but that storm isn't going to last forever. And so again, it goes back to mindset, right? Like this is all mindset work. This is also being around people who can elevate you, who can help you think through this, right? Who can say, hey, I've been there too. I know that this is hard. Here are some things that I did. This is how I reframed it. Or they can give you a different perspective, which can really help you.
So staying curious is probably the number one tip I could give someone. If they're facing fear or any kind of resistance to what they're doing is be curious then. Be curious about why your body is telling you this, why your mind is telling you this. Be curious about what other people think. Be curious about how other people have solved these same problems. What have the people that have come before you done? Be curious about what potential possible wins there are, right? You can also counterbalance fear because fear is really just the fear of the unknown, right? It's uncertainty. But if you can look at certainties, then it's much easier to counterbalance that.
Thank you for being here today. I'm really happy that you tuned in to Vision Pros Live. I'm looking forward to seeing your reactions as these episodes continue to move forward. It's going to get more and more fun. We'll have more and more engagement as well. We'll invite people to participate in the show and thank you for giving us your time and attention. Have an excellent time building out your vision and becoming a vision pro yourself.
Page updated November 13, 2026 · transcript and summary are machine-generated
