Interview on Milestone Hackers

Episode Summary

Executive Summary: Noah Labhart discusses leaving a stable corporate IT career to build TouchTap, then co-founding Variable, an on-demand labor marketplace for manufacturing and distribution. He reflects on the financial and emotional strain of entrepreneurship, lessons from early mistakes, the importance of a supportive spouse, and the need to balance faith, family, and work. The conversation closes with advice to aspiring founders: take the leap, but don’t let fear prevent action.

Main Topics: Leaving Corporate America for Entrepreneurship (Priority: 5/5): Noah explains why he exited a comfortable corporate role at Alcon to pursue a more meaningful entrepreneurial path, despite the risk to family income. Early Startup Mistakes and Lessons Learned (Priority: 5/5): He recounts an early agency project that went off track, forcing him to refund a client and pay developers out of pocket, which taught him to avoid overcommitting and to grow incrementally. Technical Background and Product Building (Priority: 4/5): Noah describes his computer science and applied math education, early .NET work, and later self-taught mobile development that positioned him as a technical founder and builder. Co-founding Variable and Founder Fit (Priority: 4/5): He outlines how he met co-founder Mike Kinder, why their manufacturing expertise aligned, and how shared trust and complementary roles strengthened the partnership. Variable’s Business Model and Market Growth (Priority: 5/5): Noah explains Variable as a flexible, on-demand labor platform for manufacturing/distribution, contrasting it with temp staffing and full-time labor while highlighting expansion across multiple states and markets. Balancing Family, Faith, and Work (Priority: 4/5): He emphasizes that family and faith come first, credits his wife for support during the transition, and describes boundaries, solitude, and outdoor time as essential to staying grounded. Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs (Priority: 4/5): Noah encourages listeners not to let fear stop them from building ideas, arguing that risk and failure are part of discovering one’s capabilities and contributing value.

Key Arguments: A meaningful career change can require sacrificing income and comfort, but strong family support can make the transition sustainable. Entrepreneurs should start small and avoid taking on more than they can realistically deliver; overextension can damage trust, finances, and momentum. Technical founders benefit from hands-on experience building real products, not just consuming tutorials or theory. A strong co-founder relationship is built through shared domain expertise, repeated trials, and clearly divided responsibilities. Variable’s model helps employers match labor to demand while giving workers more scheduling flexibility and faster pay. Faith, family, and clear personal boundaries are necessary to avoid burnout and maintain effective leadership. Fear prevents people from acting on ideas that could benefit themselves and others; trying is better than withholding potential. Being willing to take responsibility for mistakes, including refunding clients and protecting developers, is part of ethical leadership.

Data Points: Years at Alcon Laboratories: about 8 years - Noah worked in corporate America before founding his agency. Pay cut after leaving corporate job: about 50% - He describes the financial hit when starting his own business. TouchTap launch year: 2015 - He founded his digital solutions agency in April 2015. Year he met co-founder Mike Kinder: 2016 - Noah says he was introduced to Mike in 2016. Variable team size: nearly 60 - He says the company has grown to nearly 60 employees. Projected team size next year: 80 - Noah says Variable is on its way to 80 employees. Code Story episodes at time of interview: 17 - He mentions the podcast had reached 17 episodes. Children: 3 - Noah says he is father to an eight-year-old, a five-year-old, and a three-year-old. Marriage length: 10 years - He identifies himself as a husband of 10 years. States Variable operates in: 6 - He says the platform is in six states. Markets Variable operates in: 9 - He says the platform is in nine markets.

Pivotal Quotes: "I just wasn't making the difference that I wanted to. I wasn't seeing the fruit of my labor." — Noah Labhart: Explaining why he left a stable corporate role to start his own company. "I bit off way more than I could chew." — Noah Labhart: Reflecting on his first major agency project and the lesson it taught him about overcommitting. "Don't be afraid, get out there, jump out. If you've got an idea, give it a shot." — Noah Labhart: His closing advice to aspiring entrepreneurs considering taking the plunge.

Implications: Listeners get a practical founder playbook: start small, protect relationships, build trust with co-founders, and treat failure as data. For the industry, Variable reflects the rise of flexible labor models and demand-driven staffing.