I am happy to have Mike Zisman, the founder and Executive Chairman of Golf Genius Software, the leading tournament management platform serving 11,000+ golf clubs across 62 countries

In this episode, Mike Zisman, founder of Golf Genius Software, shares insights on building a capital-efficient tech company, forming game-changing partnerships, and navigating today's exit landscape. Discover how a single USGA deal transformed the company's trajectory, why raising less capital can make a startup stronger, and what it really takes to build resilient remote teams that stick around.

Learn

• What did it actually take to build enough trust with the USGA to replace their entire tournament management system?
• Michael targets 20% EBITDA margin and reinvest the rest - how did he land on that number specifically
• Michael runs acquired brands as separate brands rather than folding them in. What's the actual criteria for when to keep a brand alive versus absorb it?
• What's your favourite business book ->innovator's dilemma
• What's your favourite business tool ->gmail
• If you could go back, what would you do differently ->understand how a golf course operates

Timestamps

00:00 From MIT Professor to Software Entrepreneur

03:04 Leaving Academia: The Leap Into Building Companies

06:13 The Birth of Golf Genius and Its Early Struggles

09:08 Why Trust and Relationships Win Deals

12:12 The USGA Partnership That Changed Everything

15:13 Raising Less: The Case for Capital Efficiency

18:21 Employee Ownership and Building a Real Culture

21:09 Remote Teams and the Retention Playbook

24:05 Where AI Actually Fits in Business Today

27:05 The Future of Programming and Productivity

28:25 The Brutal Job Market Facing New Graduates

32:16 Why Interpersonal Skills Still Beat Technical Ones

34:19 The Golf Industry's Shifting Strategies

36:24 Reading Market Dynamics and Growth Levers

39:52 Exit Strategies in Today's Market

41:55 How Company Ownership and Investment Are Evolving

43:56 The Future of Venture Capital and Private Equity

49:13 Resilience: The Entrepreneur's Real Edge

Mike's Links

LDN/ X – https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-zisman-51528/

Website – https://golfgenius.com/

My Links

Podcast: https://lifeselfmastery.com/itunes

Newsletter: https://partner-grow.beehiiv.com/subscribe

YouTube: youtube.com/lifeselfmastery

Twitter: https://twitter.com/rohitmal

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rohit857/

Course: https://www.udemy.com/course/outbound-sales-mastery/