Making payroll, raising capital and the adrenaline rush of being a HealthTech CEO, with Ludi’s Gail Peace

Editor’s note: Trevor P. Schmidt is an attorney with Hutchison PLLC.

RALEIGH – As an intellectual property attorney working with startup companies, I get a lot of people telling me about the idea they have for an invention or a new business. Everyone from the woman cutting my hair, to the waiter at lunch, to old high school classmates; everyone has an idea. I love hearing these ideas. I love the enthusiasm and creativity of people and the desire to solve new and old problems.

But here’s the thing: the big idea is only the first step of thousands that you need to take to run a successful business—let alone create a market-altering company.

Listening to the stories of the founders and CEOs I have had the pleasure to interview on the Founder Shares Podcast, you hear all the little steps, the unseen struggles and the mental fortitude required to take an idea and turn it into something real. While ideas may be everywhere, it takes something more to be a successful founder or CEO.

Just look to our most recent guest, Gail Peace, CEO of Ludi. When discussing her experiences, Gail notes that the reality of running a business:

“It’s 99.5% grit and 0.5% idea.” Gail said. “It is about having the stamina, finding the attorneys, finding the people to help you set it up, finding the customers, finding the employees, figuring out how to file your taxes, figuring out how to pay to do payroll, figuring out how to set up your business license. Everything you do for the first two years is new.”

Don’t get me wrong, the great idea is important too, which Gail had. Ludi is a software for physicians to help them track time and get paid easier, solving a problem in healthcare and filling a gap in the market. Having worked with doctors for over a decade, she had the background knowledge to know what they needed and the sales skills to get her foot in the door, but running a business, and truly becoming a CEO of a company, that was totally different.

“An entrepreneur is somebody who takes the risk and this is bungee jumping every day,” she said. “It’s that kind of adrenaline rush when you don’t know how you’re going to make payroll in two weeks.”

And that adrenaline, that uncertainty, is what can make being a founder so rewarding. Being a founder means taking a leap of faith in your company, your idea and yourself and fighting like heck to find stability and success along the way.

After eight years and growing from 1 to 20+ team members, Gail has moved past the initial plunge. To hear how she found the courage to take the initial leap and move on to enjoying the ride of leading her teams and continuing to grow the business, you’ll have to check out the full interview with Gail.

And if you would like to talk intellectual property or share your new invention/business idea with me, or are an entrepreneur who has a story you’d like to share with our Founder Shares audience, connect with me on LinkedIn or Twitter.