Hooked On Startups: Recent Episodes
Matthew Sullivan - Founder of QuantmRE.com
I’m Matthew Sullivan, and this is Hooked on Startups, the show where I chat with some of the most talented, inspiring and successful entrepreneurs who talk about their real life stories, overcoming challenges and failures, and mastering success. Get ready for some of the best business tips, tricks and tactics and some frank, unscripted discussions.
Bacteria are present everywhere, from food services to sports facilities. These germs need to be purified especially with the amount of airborne diseases that can come from it. This is what Ray Edwards, founder of Pūrtec, does for a living. He created a waterless purification method that can prevent the spread of airborne germs and microbes. Join your host Matthew Sullivan as he sits down with Ray Edwards to discuss the science behind Pūrtec. Discover how Ray managed to go to market with his product and find investors. Learn why customer relationship and brand credibility is very important in marketing. Listen in and start purifying your indoor environment today!
What is the most stable real estate revenue model of renting? It’s coliving. Matthew Sullivan’s guest in this episode is Johnny Wolff, the CEO and founder of HomeRoom Coliving. Join in the conversation as Johnny spills the beans on how he overcame the challenges he faced starting up HomeRoom. What is the secret behind doing 500% more than six months before?
He says momentum builds with awareness. If you want your business model to succeed, you need to educate to build trust with your investors. But first, you’ll need an amazing talent base to help you. Need more tips? Don’t miss out on this episode!
Email: johnny@livehomeroom.com
Telephone: (913) 228-0858
Website: http://www.livehomeroom.com
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/johnnywolff/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/livehomeroom
People are so busy and in a hurry that they fail to look at themselves and how it is affecting their business. They fail to look at their own energy, humanity, and sensitivity—all key things you need to take into account if you also want to scale other areas of your life. For Matthew Sullivan’s guest, maybe the reason your business isn't growing is because of a misalignment of energy. Join him as he sits down with prosperity coach, Sheevaun Moran, to talk about the power of energy. Sheevaun helps her clients resolve inner conflicts so that they can take their business to the next level. Learn how to connect spirit with business so you can start scaling!
Email: author@sheevaunmoran.com
Phone Number: 7143741988
Skype: Sheevaun
Website: www.SheevaunMoran.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheevaunmoran/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SheevaunMoran/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sheevaun
Chasing after uninterested leads or writing endless blog posts that don't get read can be pretty tiresome. A good business growth strategy will save you from all these stresses. Ken "Magma" Marshall's primary business goal is to help you reach yours. Ken and his team live by the driving desire for long-term and sustainable business growth for all of their clients. The Chief Growth Officer and Managing Partner at RevenueZen sits with Matthew Sullivan to talk about generating sales for your business without you having to lift a finger. Learn more as Ken shares how RevenueZen Increases the quality and quantity of your pipeline with proven SEO, content, and LinkedIn strategies tailored to your specific needs.
What does freedom mean to you? How do you overcome indecision and become your own boss? Jessica Dennehy, CEO and founder of Pivot and Slay, shares her views on this with Matthew Sullivan. From her role as a Wall Street regulator to being her own boss today, Jessica talks to Matthew about how she left her Wall Street career behind to become an entrepreneur and pursue her passions. Listen in and learn more as Jessica discusses how she managed to integrate her personal brand with her business and why it’s important to do so.
In everything that we do, we must always have a vision. This is true even in the real estate investment realm. In today’s episode, we have Robert Syfert sharing his wisdom as the Co-Founder and Chief Visionary of RealEstateInvestor.com. With over 20 years of experience in the real estate investment industry, Robert has become a specialist in creating software, tools, and services that enable real estate investors to do things better and faster. He has sold and managed hundreds of investment properties and has built three successful startups from the ground up. Tune in as Robert shares the advantages of using the right tools for investors to be the game-changer for growth. Also, learn from all the issues he encountered along the way and how to deal with them.
Building your startup business could be very exciting. However, deciding on different things could result in your downfall or success, especially during the pandemic. In this episode, Amanda Rabideau gives us an overview of what we could expect to start one and how we could overcome challenges. She also discusses her mission of helping startups with her company Arch Collective and carving your path to success through effective marketing, strategy, and sales practices. She has worked with large enterprises like Dell, Microsoft, CoreLogic, and tech startups, including Arturo, AdAdapted, Venteur, Cloudstaff, and OraMetrix.
For all its flaws, the legal system remains good and equitable. Matthew Sullivan’s guest in this episode is Jonathan Rosenfeld, the founder of Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers. Jonathan fills Matthew in about how injury lawyers handle various cases. These can include personal injury, car accidents, home negligence, medical malpractice, and more. Join in the conversation and discover what services you can access with injury lawyers. Jonathan encourages you to educate yourself and get information about your different options. For starters, you can listen to this episode to learn more!
Are you a business owner, investor, or self-employed who wants to earn more? Do you know that you can gain more by learning some of the rules and strategies in tax law? In this episode, Tax Goddess Shauna Wekherlien shares tips and techniques on leveraging tax avoidance and the importance of a tax strategist. In addition, Shauna discusses a brief background in the emerging technology of cryptocurrency and how it is being handled and monitored by the IRS. Shauna is ranked as a Top 1% tax strategist in the US. She works for business owners, investors, and even the self-employed to create custom strategies to maximize deductions and reduce their tax burdens to the legal minimum.
There’s nothing new under the sun. So if you want to attract the right clients, you need to find creative solutions. Matthew Sullivan welcomes Wesley Earp, the Founder of WEInvested. Wesley shares with Matthew about the different creative endeavors he engaged in, from blogging to podcasting. The key is consistency. You need to put energy into your future goals and plans every day. Discover simple strategies on how to find creative solutions for your clients. Tune in!
Well-targeted and crafted digital marketing is key to business success nowadays. It allows you to reach a bigger audience while making sure they get your intended message. But this is more than just being visible on social media and constantly producing engaging content. Matthew Sullivan sits down with JP Clement, CEO of Boomtime, to discuss making digital marketing strategies more holistic and relatable. He explains what it takes to develop the right content that truly resonates with the people and the most important KPI factors to consider. JP also talks about bringing back the human aspect into digital marketing, emphasizing the best approach in choosing the appropriate person to stand as the face of your company.
Video content is a must when you want to promote and market your business. But not everyone has the skills to edit a good quality video. If you’re looking to expand your marketing and content creation but not sure how, then VidChops is the solution you’re looking for! VidChops is a flat rate video editing service for YouTubers, thought leaders, experts, or anyone looking to create videos online. In this episode, CEO Augie Johnston shares just how they’re solving solutions for creators and why you should be investing in your content. Plus, he gives free tips on video content creation you can start applying immediately! Keep your ears glued to learn more!
The most important thing about marketing is trust. That is why marketers need to focus on building trust. No one is going to buy a product that has 1-star reviews or is from a sketchy merchant. With so many fake marketing gurus out there just waiting to take your money, trust is the name of the game. In this episode, Matthew Sullivan brings on Josh Elledge, the Founder of Up My Influence and host of a podcast of the same name. Today, they talk about building high-level relationships with your customers. Trust your customers, and don’t beat them over the head with your marketing. Learn how to market correctly today!
Want to get into the world of e-commerce and launch your own Amazon store? You’ve come to the right place! Kirk Cooper is the CEO at Ecom Automation Gurus, where he helps business owners automate their Amazon store. There are pros and cons to launching your business on a major platform, and Kirk is here to break it all down. He shares his experience going from teacher and coach to making money in the eCommerce space. He gives tips from finding the right product to building a high-performing team. Tune in and get the info on how to optimize and scale your online business through Amazon.
Success never comes in a golden box with a red ribbon. So pay attention! Matthew Sullivan's guest in this episode is Ola Dantis, a real estate investor and entrepreneur. Ola shares with Matthew how paying attention to little things in your business can make you or break you. You have to understand what you're trying to achieve and what you need to get there. For Ola, two things matter most in his business: deals and capital. Join in the conversation to discover more instances when paying attention helped boost Ola's success.
Do you want to grow your existing company fast? Then you need to learn growth through acquisition. Matthew Sullivan's guest today is Kylon Gienger, the President at Acquira and Owner of Black Sheep Holdings. In this episode, Kyle talks with Matt about how you can grow exponentially when you buy multiple related businesses. Acquirers are a must to guide you through the process. You need to know the numbers, integrate yourself into an existing culture, and create positive change. If you want to know more about growth through acquisition, this episode's for you. Tune in!
There's a lot of things you can do to make money. Real estate is probably the most tax-advantaged way to do that. Matthew Sullivan sits down for a conversation with Shannon Robnett about cash flow and using blockchain technologies to bring liquidity to real estate investing. Shannon has been in the real estate industry for over 40 years. He has been involved from start to finish on over $250MM in construction projects covering the gamut from multi-family, professional office buildings to City halls, fire and police stations, schools, industrial and mini storage. He discusses his proven model and the results in considerable passive income streams for syndicate partners. He emphasizes that you've got multiple options for projects on the marketplace. Learn about those and listen to this episode!
Every entrepreneur aims to take a business to another level, providing them with bigger revenues and a wider reach. But achieving rapid growth is another challenge entirely. Doing so will certainly yield much more enticing results. Joining Matthew Sullivan is Alex Machuca, CEO of one of the fastest-growing mortgage broker companies, Lyncrest Media. He shares how thinking beyond logical reasoning and more into psychological solutions put his business to a different league. Alex also talks about his client relationship tactics, expansion plans, COVID-19 strategies, and techniques in working with third parties.
Are you having a hard time cracking the code for eCommerce? Enter Matthew Sullivan's guest, Tim Keen, a digital marketing expert and co-founder of Loop Club. With Tim's guidance and expertise, a skincare brand skyrocketed its business from $40,000 to $1.2 million a month in five months! If you join in the conversation and listen to Tim's advice, you too can elevate your online sales. Tim also discusses fatal mistakes companies make when they try to do marketing by themselves. Tune in and save thousands of dollars by relying on experts who've been there!
Don't wait for your competitors to define what you don't do. Every software has its failings and limitations. Tell your customers what you don't do to establish trust. Matthew Sullivan's guest in this episode is Sean Campbell, the CEO and Founder of Cascade Insights. Sean shares with Matthew how powerful it is to tell people that these are the audiences in specific areas you don't serve. Not only will it make your visitors' lives easier, but it will also attract the right clients. Don't miss out on this episode!
Fashion is more than just about clothes, and being an influencer is more than just having followers. Today's guest is an empowerment influencer who grew her following organically by helping women gain confidence through clothes! Alison Lumbatis is the founder of Get Your Pretty On and the creator of the #1 online capsule wardrobe building program in the world, Outfit Formulas. After going through a rut after leaving the corporate world of engineering, Alison found that having the right formula to piece an outfit impacted her life in more ways than one. Now, she's helping other women realize the same. Tune in as she joins host Matthew Sullivan to discuss how she built a 7-figure business by catering to her audience's needs.
The pandemic completely changed the way that we look at things. A simple cold or cough may not be so simple anymore. We need to be extra careful as simple symptoms may just be signs of underlying chronic disease. In this episode, Noosheen Hashemi shares how her company develops solutions to prevent, predict, and postpone chronic disease. Noosheen is a tech veteran, entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist. She is the founder and CEO of January AI and has excellent exposure to great technologies and startups. In this episode, she joins Matthew Sullivan to discuss how machine learning plays a role in our health. In addition, she shares her approach to address health problems and contribute to society.
How do you make your brand stand out? Matthew Sullivan interviews Amy Anderson, the Co-Founder at Wild Coffee Marketing. Wild Coffee is dedicated to helping your business grow better. Amy discusses with Matthew how customers are hungry for authentic connection. The first step to establishing a real connection with your clients is to know who you are. What do you stand for? Next, understand who your client is. Get into their heart and mind and know what they need. Are you itching for more practical advice to make your brand stand out? Tune in!
Most businesses have gone virtual out of necessity, and many have lost the ability to connect with fellow human beings because of faceless communication. Introducing Darin Dawson, the President of BombBomb, who's on a mission to re-humanize the planet. Darin tells Matthew Sullivan why relationships are the core fundamentals of your business. But it's difficult to establish human connections over text through emails. The solution? Put videos into the mix! When you do so, you will make a massive impact on the overall customer experience. But how do you mix in video messaging to maximize results? Tune in to find out!
How can you create your brand so that you make your customers feel something when they look at it, wear it, buy it, and smell it? Matthew Sullivan's guest today, Kyle Duford, is an expert at crafting outstanding experiences for global brands. Kyle is the Executive Creative Director at The Brand Leader.
Join in the conversation as Kyle explains that what people want to hear is the spirit of what makes you who you are. Therefore, you need to be clear on your core values and mission statement. Doing so helps you nail your messaging and attract the right customers. Are you excited to hear more branding tips? Tune in!
The healthcare industry is very expensive, but Shane Foss wanted to change that. Shane was an outsider going into the healthcare industry. When you're an outsider, you're going to cause some disruption. But that was not Shane's plan. Shane is the CEO of Hooray Health, and his goal is to provide healthcare to people who can't afford it. Join your host Matthew Sullivan as he talks to Shane Foss on how he started his business. Learn why medical bills are so expensive. Find out why urgent care clinics are on the rise. Discover how Shane is expanding in the industry rather than disrupting it. Listen to today's episode for a more affordable healthcare system.
Getting into medical school is hard work, but it’s certainly attainable. That’s why we are giving you this episode as Matthew Sullivan interviews Dr. Shirag Shemmassian, the Founder of Shemmassian Academic Consulting, to discuss how his company has grown over the years in helping people get to the destination they want. Dr. Shemmassian is one of the world's foremost experts on medical school admissions, college admissions, and graduate school admissions. For nearly 20 years, he and his team have helped thousands of students get into medical school and top colleges using his systematic and proprietary approach. Ever since he has enjoyed helping people and seeing them get tremendously successful. In this episode, he shares how his passion grew and continues refining his skills, navigating and ensuring the quality of support to impact people's lives. Learn about the process, and take that step closer to your goal.
What if you can have an affordable house you can bring with you wherever you want? Introducing Paolo Tiramani, the Founder of Boxabl. Paolo discusses with Matthew Sullivan how Boxabl’s main innovation is a patented building construction technology for mass housing production to make houses more affordable. Boxabl delivers to you a beautiful building that's architecturally neutral. Then you can dress that building on the exterior however you want. The set-up is done in a day! If this innovation thrills you, whether as a homeowner or fellow inventor, don’t miss out on this episode. Tune in!
Don't make your clients feel wrong; give them other options. Matthew Sullivan's guest in this episode is Bob Wheeler, the founder of The Money Nerve. Matthew shares with Bob his experiences in dealing with clients over the years. Some clients will never want to listen, while others are eager to know what solutions you can offer. It's a matter of finding the right client and building a long-term relationship with them. Never transact for the sake of making a quick buck off of someone. Keep it relational, and you will find fulfillment. Tune in!
These days it feels like you can’t move without having the right internet connection, so you can’t help but invest in a service provider. But what if there was a way for you to control and customize that service while earning money on the backend? Justin Caswell is the founder and CEO of RevoFi and an advocate for a decentralized wireless infrastructure platform owned and powered by the people. On today’s show, he joins Matthew Sullivan to break down all the moving parts of this multifaceted device and how you, as an owner, can reap the rewards from using it by earning Revos. Utilizing blockchain and other technologies, they’ve found a way to help you mine by simply setting up a hotspot wherever you need it. Want to learn more about this product? Tune in to get to know more about this exciting new launch!
Every great business starts with a great team. With the operational changes that have come along the pandemic, most find having a strong and high-functioning virtual team is not only possible but ultimately advantageous. Robert Nickell is the founder and CEO of Rocket Station, the leading business process outsourcing provider for innovative companies. He joins host Matthew Sullivan to elaborate on how virtual teams are keeping businesses afloat during this volatile period. Robert shares that it’s all about having structure and clarity before getting that first employee on board. They talk about misconceptions people have about outsourcing and the benefits you can reap in acquiring the service. Get tips on how to optimize your team and your processes in this episode of Hooked On StartUps!
What are the secrets of entrepreneurial success, and what do you need to do to learn these secrets? We look into these and more in this episode. Matthew Sullivan sits down for a chat with the founder of Business Lending Blueprint, Oz Konar as they talk entrepreneurship. Oz discusses why focus is an important facet of success, and why you need to have a revenue generating cash cow before you diversify. He also discusses mentorship, passion and why you need both. Tune in and learn the lessons of success from an entrepreneur who has paid his dues.
If there’s one human experience that we all share, it is death. In this episode, Matthew Sullivan talks with David Duford about how he has gained success while helping others through insurance sales. He talks about having to deal with the grim necessity that is final expense insurance and how it has helped him help others. David is the head of the Duford Insurance Group, a virtual insurance agency that offers new or experienced face-to-face and telesales agents nationally to sell final expense and Medicare among others. He also talks about how he has cracked the insurance sales code and shares his experiences as a mentor.
It’s the beginning that’s the most important in both our personal and professional lives. Pivoting to another career can be challenging, but with the right determination, you are set for success. Paul Attaway, the author of Blood in the Low Country, shares with us how he left the business world to become a southern storyteller. He talks about how he created opportunities for himself to continue to grow as a writer and details the challenges he had to face in this journey. Furthermore, he talks about the entrepreneurial mindset, taking risks, and the importance of overcoming battles, reaping the rewards, and taking it into the next stage.
You would think that in a world where almost everyone has access to social media and keeping their own mementos, the work for camera operators would decrease. Howard Zales, Emmy Award-winning camera operator, begs to differ. In fact, he has turned his passion for television broadcasting into several entrepreneurial endeavors. In this episode, he joins Matthew Sullivan to talk about his journey in the industry and why he thinks there is an ongoing demand for his services. He shares what he thinks about training, why there is a lack of it, and how he is helping solve that by providing it to those who want to get inside the industry. As a livestream guru, Matthew then tells us how the changes in technology have impacted livestreaming and what they are doing to adapt.
From working as fishermen in Alaska to running an eCommerce marketing agency. This is the career path of Daniel Stafford and Robby Switzer. Daniel and Robby are the founders of Shopanova. Shopanova helps online stores grow with their top-notch digital marketing strategies. Join your host, Matthew Sullivan as he talks with this remarkable duo. Learn why Daniel and Robby wanted to start to change their lives and start a company. Discover how the pandemic shifted in their favor, how data privacy affects them, and learn their marketing strategies.
How many things come up when you Google “purple tech support”? Just one, and it’s the Purple Guys. Matthew Sullivan’s guest today is Jon Schram, the CEO and Founder of the tech support company known for its unique branding. Jon shares how the color purple came to be their trademark and talks about the company's evolution and how they got to where they are now. He also talks about the impact of COVID on how they operate their business, getting into how their service offerings are similar and different at the same time. Finally, he shares his insight on how the working environment has changed – leaning into remote work - and the need to evolve alongside it.
In a perfect world, people would be able to earn money without working. People would somehow meet financial freedom without putting the work in. They would have the time for their families, friends, and hobbies. Sadly, that is not how the world runs. People have to work to earn income but there are ways to make that work more hassle-free and less time consuming. Join your host, Matthew Sullivan, and his guests Russ Morgan and Joey Mure. Russ and Joey are the founders of Wealth Without Wall Street where they help people earn financial freedom. Join in and learn how to earn passive income so that you can have more time for family and yourself.
Those who are diligent, focused, and able to manage their time accordingly will find great chances of success in note investments. But before jumping into it, one must know how to maintain the success he or she will find here. Matthew Sullivan breaks down the ins and outs of this industry with Martin Saenz, Managing Partner of Bequest Funds. He explains how to navigate the business with all the bank policies and the ever-changing industry trends, as well as his approach to keeping a productive team. Matthew also shares his essential tips in starting a business venture in note investing, detailing how he goes in-depth with this through his mastermind classes.
Most dentists have no idea what a "unique selling proposition" means because they're not in the mindset of selling a product or service, and they shouldn't be. Matthew Sullivan's guest today is Chris Pistorius, the Founder of KickStart Dental Marketing. Chris has over 15 years of experience in dental marketing. He has worked with countless dentists and orthodontists across multiple facets of marketing, consulting, and coaching. In this episode, Chris shares valuable tips and insights on marketing strategies. If you want to learn how to grow your online presence, you're in the right place. Click and tune in!
Football coaches, basketball coaches, or rugby coaches are very different from business coaches. While many people don’t expect business coaches to be as hard or as demanding as those other types of coaches, Robert Clinkenbeard begs to disagree. Robert used to be a rugby player and is a four-time Ironman. He is also the CEO of The Radix Group LLC and the author of Ironman Mindset for Entrepreneurs. Join Matthew Sullivan as he talks to Robert about his business coaching career and how he fits his Ironman triathlon training into his coaching. Learn how Robert balances his career while having time to practice in order to level up his business.
Raw land may not be the most pleasing asset in all of real estate. Undeveloped plots are often full of grass and dirty all over. But for Mark Podolsky, this neglected land can be turned into the best passive income model. Joining Matthew Sullivan, the Land Geek explains the benefits of doing business with raw land, particularly the exemptions one can get from owners’ real estate legislation. Mark talks about the rise of interest in this kind of asset during the height of COVID-19, making 2020 one of his best years in business. He also shares his mission on educating the people about tax liens and land auctions through his book Dirt Rich and his two programs focused on land investing.
Ken is a member of Gensler’s Board of Directors and the Gensler Management Committee and the Co-Managing Principal of Gensler's Southeast Region. Gensler is the largest global architecture, design and planning firm with more than 5,000 professionals networked across Asia, Europe, Australia, the Middle East and the Americas.
Ken Baker is considered a global expert on workplace design and planning, having designed more than 10 million square feet of corporate headquarters and offices for law firms and financial institutions around the world. His background is also fine arts, music, 20 years of piano and voice, acting, and drama.
In this interview we discuss:
How do you create a unified culture across a firm with more than 5,000 international employees?
How do you maintain innovation in the workplace through design?
Why is it important to keep listening to clients and being receptive to new ideas?
1:08 - Introducing Ken and some background on his career.
1:55 - Digging into what makes Gensler so successful.
3:03 - Creating a unified culture across a firm with more than 5,000 international employees.
6:38 - The importance placed on people in the company and how Gensler is innovating on the traditional ideas around architecture and design firms.
9:01 - What drove the move away from older models of architecture businesses and how Ken’s artistic background influenced his approach.
10:55 - Using interior design as a key differentiator in the field.
13:20 - Ken’s memory of his first client meeting and his mindset around the meeting.
15:32 - Getting a perspective on how much Gensler has grown since Ken came on board and how that molded their business model.
17:31 - Understanding the importance of culture in a growing business.
18:44 - Providing a link between design and the bottom line of businesses through the workplace surveys.
21:38 - Wielding the learnings from the surveys to develop the Gensler Experience Index.
23:12 - Maintaining innovation in the workplace through design.
25:01 - Surprising findings from the surveys.
27:07 - When companies began understanding the importance of people and culture.
28:33 - Gensler’s big hairy audacious goals and projecting where they’ll be down the line.
29:53 - How Ken sees people working in 10 years and how offices will evolve to foster productivity.
32:40 - Playing the long game and constantly trying to improve and find new things.
34:44 - The changes that Gensler has been driving through their design and research.
36:36 - Why it’s so important to just listen to clients and stay receptive to new ideas.
39:33 - Clients that Ken has worked with for over 20 years and the importance of accountability.
42:45 - Authentic passion and trust as underpinnings for successful client relationships.
46:40 - The questionnaire.
49:22 - Learning more about Ken and Gensler.
50:31 - Ken’s story about inviting people in to check out the Gensler offices.
Resources and Links Mentioned:
Gensler
Art Gensler
Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill
Gensler Workplace Surveys
Gensler Experience Index
Atari
Apple
Moonshots versus Roofshots
Starbucks
Diane Hoskins
Gensler Research Catalogue Volume 1
Gensler Research Catalogue Volume 2
The man who created Bluefish, the internationally famous company that makes once in a lifetime events happen for the rich and famous reveals his trade secrets for making things happen.
Steve Sims’s day job is to make the impossible possible. With his help and expertise, his clients’ fantasies and wildest dreams come true. Getting married by the Pope in the Vatican, being serenaded by Elton John, and connecting with powerful business moguls like Elon Musk are just a few of the many projects he has worked on.
He rarely reveals how he accomplishes the feats that make his clients so happy. Check out this fabulously fun episode for some wonderful, hard-won insights from a man who is truly larger than life!
1:11 - Welcoming Steve to the show and giving some background on him and his book, Bluefishing.
3:03 - How he got into the line of work that he’s in and his view on failure.
6:06 - The importance of his mindset in terms of how he helps people.
7:33 - How growing up in a working class family in the 80s and 90s has influenced his mindset.
11:24 - Refusing the accept anything as impossible and looking at problems in a different way.
12:57 - Steve’s invincibility complex and pursuing “impossible” things by asking why.
15:38 - Changing perceptions of reality to accomplish seemingly impossible things and people’s tendency to talk themselves out of things they want.
17:54 - Story of a client who Steve helped to meet Richard Branson.
19:36 - Cultural differences in self-worth that Steve has noticed.
21:55 - How and why he winds up being a kind of mentor to some of his clients.
24:40 - Steve’s view on authenticity and his counterpoint: transparency.
28:05 - Advice for being more transparent and his approach.
31:16 - Different approaches to connecting with people and expectations.
34:08 - Effort in conversations versus decisions when it comes to connecting.
35:30 - Things Steve has learned about transparency that have helped his approach to his business; Steve’s “chug test” and deciding who to deal with.
41:58 - The importance of things like the chug test and the possibilities opened up when surrounded by people you work well with.
43:00 - Being more aware of your own definitions of success.
45:21 - Changing your perception and the path that led to Steve’s changes in perception; what he sees as the next steps past a change in perception.
48:07 - Part of the process behind writing Bluefishing and what the next thing he’s working on is.
51:37 - The questionnaire.
53:39 - Getting in touch with Steve.
Resources and Links Mentioned:
Bluefishing: The Art of Making Things Happen by Steve Sims
Bill Gates
Steve Jobs
Elon Musk
Richard Branson
Joe Polish
David Allen
SteveDSims.com
In this episode I speak to Joshua Long - an entrepreneur, strategy and sales guru and a consultant who focuses on helping businesses break through their current revenue plateaus and unlock rapid growth.
He launched BottleneckBreakthrough.com to focus on unlocking sustainable growth for businesses, and has just launched the‘Bottleneck Breakthrough’ book to help entrepreneurs and business owners implement his Bottleneck Breakthrough Method.
1:18 - Welcoming Joshua to the show and some of his background information, including his business, BottleneckBreakthrough.com, and his book, Bottleneck Breakthrough.
2:58 - Looking backwards as a problem for personality types and businesses.
4:22 - The importance of mindsets and why it can be difficult to address.
5:10 - Building credibility with early wins; often not being qualified to run a business when you start a business and Joshua’s experience with that.
6:30 - Venture capitalists investing in teams rather than companies and how that relates to learning as you go and being agile; reaching a ceiling in business and needing outside assistance to continue forward.
8:00 - The counter-intuitive nature of entrepreneurs needing to be aware that they eventually get to a point where they’ve reached the limits of their own ability and Matthew’s example from LinkedIn.
10:48 - Perspective as one of the key things Joshua brings to people’s businesses and seeing things holistically.
12:27 - Working more with established businesses rather than startups.
13:33 - Focusing on outcomes as a way to connect clients to how Joshua can help them.
16:03 - Looking at mindsets and limiting beliefs to figure out why you’re doing something the way you are and how that affects companies.
19:22 - Differentiating Joshua’s services from the shallower approaches to consulting; comparing paying for coaching to buying a gym membership.
25:02 - The effects of working with people like Chet Holmes and Tony Robbins; Joshua’s story from a former colleague in medicine regarding the importance of reps and data.
29:37 - Being able to see through the noise of your business and leveraging your relationships in order to see more clearly.
32:27 - Why intelligent, capable business owners sometimes overlook some of the most simple business principles.
36:24 - The element of fulfillment and how Joshua’s guidance can help clients to get closer to that.
39:09 - The different terms and titles that get thrown around in Joshua’s industry and how he addressed them through his book.
43:00 - Not running people’s businesses, but just giving businesses new ideas and empowering them to make new strategic decisions.
46:35 - Where Joshua sees his own bottleneck.
48:42 - Bringing in coaches for himself and the value of investing in yourself.
54:46 - The questionnaire.
56:52 - Getting in touch with Joshua.
Resources and Links Mentioned:
BottleneckBreakthrough.com
Bottleneck Breakthrough book
Reid Hoffman
Peter Thiel
Chet Holmes
Jim Rohn
Perry Marshall
Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne
In this episode I chat with Hillary Gadsby - an event and marketing dynamo and co-founder of The Boss Box. Hillary is also a best selling author and founder of StilettoGal.com, a multi-media company for women in business.
Check out how Hillary created the buzz for the Boss Box, overcoming the difficulties female entrepreneurs face when starting their businesses and how she found the drive to pursue her businesses and brand to create a movement rather than just a product.
1:30 - Welcoming Hillary to the show, background on her, and background her businesses and how they got started.
3:48 - Personal relationships being key to sales and business connections.
4:54 - The importance of collaboration.
6:13 - Challenges in building A Gadsby Affair, particularly without a professional mentor.
8:20 - The process to bring on partners and contractors.
9:37 - Why she didn’t have a mentor early on and how that led into her passion to mentor other women.
10:36 - The added difficulties female entrepreneurs face when starting their businesses and how Hillary dealt with them.
13:26 - Hillary’s moment of realization that she could leverage her experiences to help others through the Stiletto Gal.
15:30 - The challenge of getting people to open up and be vulnerable in an interview or conversational situation; how Hillary goes about addressing that.
18:23 - How Hillary found the drive to pursue her businesses and brand even through difficult times.
20:27 - More details on The Boss Box and creating a movement rather than just a product.
24:04 - The ways Hillary sees women doing business differently.
25:15 - The level of collaboration in the community that she’s building and what the key point of her mission is.
28:14 - Hillary’s feeling of being called to do this work and some developments coming to the Boss Box.
30:42 - How Hillary’s approach to helping people is different and addressing the “get rich quick” schemes out there.
31:42 - The importance of authenticity in her work and the challenges she’s facing with the Boss Box.
34:23 - Understanding what a position needs to do before hiring someone to do it.
36:42 - The “buzz” you get from creating businesses and feeling a pressure to get better.
38:55 - Continually being a learner and looking to others’ experiences.
40:22 - Deciding to make the Boss Box a quarterly delivery.
42:45 - The questionnaire.
46:34 - Learning more about Hillary and her businesses.
Resources and Links Mentioned:
The Boss Box
Stiletto Gal
A Gadsby Affair
Business Forums International
BDO
The Stiletto Gal Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
The Boss Box Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
Before Dave Goodman was the bearded, apron-wearing Coco-Jack inventor and entrepreneur who received a $125,000 deal from Mark Cuban on Shark Tank, he was a rock-and-roll drummer living in New York City.
Following years of training at Juilliard and the Curtis Institute of Music, Dave began his career as a classical pianist, conductor, and composer, going on to start his own orchestra. “Once you start working for yourself, it’s hard to work for other people.”
For Dave, however, “taking time off” meant immersing himself in fields such as economics, neuro-linguistic programming, hypnosis, mythology, and aviation. As part of his health recovery, he also became a raw food vegan and lost over a hundred pounds. “That’s how I discovered Asian coconuts. I put them in smoothies, drank the water—coconuts became a part of my diet.” The only problem was, there was no easy way to open these coconuts. “As a musician, I didn’t want to throw a knife at my fingers all day.”
Find out more about Dave Goodman and the amazing story behind his invention of the Coco-Jack, a safe, easy way to open Fresh Coconuts, no matter what your size or strength.
1:07 - Background on Dave and his current venture, Coco Jack.
3:40 - Dave’s experience as a classical musician and founding the Wild Ginger Philharmonic.
6:20 - Dealing with burnout from the entrepreneurial pursuit of the Wild Ginger Philharmonic and digging into economics and business as a self-study.
10:13 - How Dave sees the cultural idea of the “suffering artist;” connecting economics to his passion for music.
13:24 - How new payment methods can affect the arts and classical music.
15:20 - Dave’s entrepreneurial ventures as a creative outlet.
17:19 - Why he got into coconuts.
20:23 - Finding the niche for an easier way to open coconuts and the massive scale of the market that unfolded.
21:36 - How he got the ideas together, developed the product, and the initial steps for starting the company.
23:31 - Going into a venture without preconceptions and staying open to bringing in help; building brand loyalty through authenticity.
26:19 - Information on Dave’s experience with being on Shark Tank and getting investment money from Mark Cuban.
28:45 - How they’ve been funding the company.
29:59 - Balancing capital between the various expenses in a new business.
32:10 - Advice Dave would give to people developing a product.
33:36 - Where he’s seen the most sales success and how to get to that success; advice for effectively utilizing Facebook ads.
35:38 - The role of design and Dave’s story of developing his logo and brand.
38:00 - Maintaining an understanding about all the aspects of your business while leveraging other people’s skills to complement your own; the art of entrepreneurship.
42:09 - What Dave’s upcoming plans are and his life as a digital nomad; details on how he runs his business.
50:18 - The dangers of planning too much and not doing; constantly learning, growing, and evolving from failures.
57:00 - Being present with your business in order to pivot and let go of ideas at the right times.
1:00:32 - The questionnaire.
1:08:35 - Getting in touch with Dave.
Resources and Links Mentioned:
Coco Jack (Use promo code “Matthew” to get 10% off)
Wild Ginger Philharmonic
The Great Courses
Timothy Taylor
Shark Tank
Mark Cuban
Facebook ads
Isaac Morehouse - Praxis
Contact Dave at jack@coco-jack.com
In this episode I chat with Nicholas Amato, Founder and CEO of 803Mine. We have a really in-depth discussion on:
What Bitcoin and cryptocurrency mining is
Why Bitcoin is valued the way it is
We put some numbers to the exponentially increasing scale of computing power needed in this industry
We discuss how mining is monetized and the scope of the industry’s growth
1:18 - Introducing Nicholas and his company, the 803 Mine Project.
2:09 - What bitcoin and cryptocurrency mining actually is.
4:27 - The value and importance of a crypto mining company and how mining relates to the block chain.
7:48 - How large the scale of required computing power is now and how it has grown.
9:54 - Nicholas’s career background and how that has influenced his current work.
11:29 - Speculation versus likely use cases for the value of bitcoin; how 803 Mine is looking to aid US national security.
16:13 - Putting numbers to the exponentially increasing scale of computing power needed in this industry; how mining is monetized and the scope of the industry’s growth
20:26 - Integrating the various cryptocurrencies over time.
22:20 - The possibly destabilizing effects of bitcoins in certain hands and the importance of bringing more block chain control on shore.
26:11 - The difference between other token based businesses and 803 Mine’s model.
30:17 - How Nicholas sees legislation evolving around cryptocurrency and mining.
35:29 - Details on the membership offering from 803 Mine and how to learn more about it; the untraditional approach Nicholas is taking to raising money and running his business.
43:28 - Nicholas’s excitement for this space and the work he’s doing.
45:10 - The questionnaire.
1:00:05 - Learning more about 803 Mine and getting involved.
Resources and Links Mentioned:
803mine.com
Satoshi White Paper
Satoshi Nakamoto
Efficient Market Hypothesis
PETAFLOP
The Howey Test
FinCEN Regulations
Focus at Will
(Episodes #050 with John Vitale and #010 with Will Henshall)
Hal Finney
In this episode I interview Josh Kilmer-Purcell and Dr. Brent Ridge, co-founders of Beekman 1802 – a TV Show, Mercantile, bestselling cookbook and memoir, website and tourism destination all inspired by the Beekman 1802 Farm in Sharon Springs, NY.
In 2012, the duo competed and won the grand prize in CBS’s The Amazing Race. Over 10M viewers watched for 12 weeks as Josh and Brent beat 20 other competitors in a 45,000 mile race around the world through 12 cities in 9 different countries.
Check out the full episode to find out how Josh and Brent overcame some huge challenges and how, with determination, persistence and inspiration, they created one of the fastest growing lifestyle brands in the country.
Check out the full episode here:
1:01 - Introducing Josh and Brent from Beekman 1802 as well as how the company got started and some background.
3:30 - Digging into the desperation part of their story.
4:33 - Using your overall vision to push through the desperate times and how Josh and Brent really got their brand launched.
8:14 - How the story of starting a company intertwines into the overall brand.
9:13 - Facing the big challenge of pricing when dealing with a wholesale situation and how they dealt with it.
10:42 - Stages of success and never feeling like you’ve ever truly made it.
11:42 - The differences they saw from their previous career stages and how they utilized social media early on; their anecdote about a celebratory bottle of champagne.
14:20 - Shifting industries in the middle of their careers, but finding the underlying principles and lessons from each stage.
16:07 - Finding the determination to work through the early stages and begin settling into their trajectory towards creating a lifestyle brand and their own ethos.
19:55 - Making truth and transparency core to your business and how social media plays into that.
21:08 - Generational differences in receptiveness to different marketing messages.
23:44 - Challenges Beekman 1802 has faced in maintaining their brand while scaling the company and how they’ve addressed it through transparency with their customers.
28:25 - The purpose that Josh and Brent are pursuing and the responsibilities they feel to their both their customers and the artisans they work with.
32:04 - Connecting the message of their artisanal brand with people who may not always be able to pay top dollar for the higher end products; maintaining their product quality over their profit margin.
37:19 - Creating a high quality, egalitarian experience with an approach similar to Disney.
39:42 - The rapid fire questionnaire.
45:34 - Getting in touch with Josh and Brent and learning more about Beekman 1802.
Resources and Links Mentioned:
Beekman 1802
Martha Stewart
Henri Bendel
Anthropologie
Disney
Target
If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then according to the SEC it’s a duck. Or, more likely, your so-called utility token is more likely a security.
If you don’t know the difference between a security token and a utility token, you should listen to this episode.
Even if you think you do, you should listen anyway.
In this episode I interview Marc Boiron – ICO and blockchain attorney at Rutan and Tucker in Orange County.
Marc has leveraged his strong corporate and securities law background and his near obsession with blockchain technology to build a practice advising blockchain companies on a breadth of issues, including ICOs, smart contracts, and cryptocurrency laws.
Because, after all, nobody looks good in orange…
Check out the full episode here:
1:10 - Marc’s background and focusing his law practice on blockchain technology.
2:22 - Why Delaware is often sought for business incorporation.
3:47 - How Delaware approached the way blockchain relates to the law.
6:07 - Some issues regulators are facing with ICOs so far.
9:23 - How this affects startups, why Delaware is so much the focus of discussions like this and why companies are going offshore to avoid ICO regulations.
13:23 - Looking at the example of Tezos and what it means for the velocity of change in this industry.
15:41 - Points of reference for the scale of cryptocurrency and what kinds of firms Marc sees getting involved with blockchain and cryptocurrencies.
18:00 - How the ICO/TGE markets are maturing and becoming increasingly global.
20:26 - The process that established US companies have to take in order to be seen as an offshore entity and some of the associated costs with ICOs.
26:24 - Where Marc sees the big issues coming from and what he expects to be working on in 12 months.
30:18 - The two-step process for ICOs with startups.
31:21 - How doing a token presale to the public can work.
32:20 - Comparing tokens to a normal regulation D offering and how that could split the capital raising world.
33:51 - The potential for one big, global market for cryptocurrencies compared to all the separate markets that are currently active.
35:41 - Marc’s view of the future of cryptocurrencies in places like the US.
37:23 - The explosion of change in Marc’s field.
39:43 - The questionnaire.
43:38 - Getting in touch with Marc and learning about what he’s up to.
Resources and Links Mentioned:
www.overstock.com
ICOs
Regulation D
Regulation A
Tezos
JOBS Act
Smart Contracts
Howey Test
Coinbase
Tim Draper
Marc’s blog - Blockchains 360
Email Marc at mboiron@rutan.com or call at 714-338-1861
Do you know why Quizzes are the next big thing in Marketing?
- Yes
- No
- Don’t know
In this episode I chat with Josh Haynam, co-Founder of Interact, a company that makes it easy for businesses to generate leads and drive sales using quizzes.
Ever wondered what the real secret to online marketing is?
If you answered yes, no or ‘don’t know’ to any of the above, check out this episode and find out how quizzes can be incredibly effective for building email lists, subscribers, sales funnels, for selling online coaching programs….the list is endless!
Check out the full episode here:
1:22 - Introducing Josh and his company, Interact.
3:04 - How Interact functions and works with clients.
4:13 - Interact’s role in attracting attention from the desired audiences through highly specified content.
7:23 - Filtering audiences through content rather than ad targeting and why that’s a valuable approach.
9:20 - The importance of quality content and how Interact goes about designing their quizzes.
11:16 - What effects come from the amount of data that Interact collects and Josh’s reaction to the scale of the response to Interact’s material.
13:40 - Josh’s experience starting and growing the company.
15:12 - What led Josh to this idea and what gave him the drive to keep going.
18:40 - How Josh used blogging as an education tool for their service; the risks associated with being open with your approach.
20:53 - The attrition Interact has seen in its competitors and their drive to constantly be innovating.
22:47 - How Interact focuses on their innovative approach.
22:58 - Relishing the competition and being pushed to do more and be better.
26:55 - The importance of starting with building good habits and having the success come afterwards.
28:28 - Josh’s advice to those in the building phase of a business and constantly feeling unsure.
30:33 - Using an early win as a “roofshot” and moving to bigger goals from there.
32:51 - Josh’s process for writing the first 100 blog articles to promote Interact.
34:21 - How Josh has recognized and dealt with failures in the business.
38:02 - Advice for reaching out to influencers.
39:36 - The value of personalizing your communications with people and creating meaningful engagement.
42:42 - The secret of online marketing is that there isn’t a secret and that it comes down to doing the work and connecting with people; the analogy between this and fitness.
45:11 - Mentoring and giving back to people in situations similar to ones you’ve been through.
47:04 - Where Josh sees Interact in the next year.
50:06 - The questionnaire.
56:47 - Getting in touch with Josh and learning more about Interact.
Resources and Links Mentioned:
tryinteract.com
Hooked on Startups #026 - Sanyika Street
The Red Cross
Google’s “re:Work - The Roofshot Manifesto.”
Lewis Howes
Tony Robbins
Marie Forleo
Gary Vaynerchuk
Inc. Magazine
Email Josh at josh@tryinteract.com
What makes music so powerful in arousing feelings and emotions?
Why is music so embedded in our memories?
In this episode of Hooked On Startups I’m delighted to be joined by John Vitale - Music Chief and Co-Founder at Focus at Will – a neuroscience based music service that helps increase your focus by reducing distractions, energizing you and helping you hit those critical deadlines.
John has 25 years experience in music, sound, and film production as supervisor, producer, engineer, and remixer.
He has worked for Warner Bros, Sony, BMG, and Universal Music, The B52ʼs, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Filter, Eminem, KD Lang, George Clinton, and The Romantics.
John knows his stuff. Tune in to find out why music plays such an important part in everyone’s lives and how it can be used as an amazing tool to dramatically increase your productivity.
0:50 - Introducing John Vitale, music chief and co-founder at Focus at Will.
1:34 - John’s background in audio and music.
2:16 - Background on how Focus at Will got started and what they do to deconstruct music in order to understand it better.
3:48 - Digging into music’s effect on the brain and how their approach has evolved over time.
6:58 - Comparing John’s current work with his background in entertainment.
7:45 - Applying measurements to music in order to gauge feedback and responses; how that plays into the Focus at Will system.
10:46 - Gauging if the music is working effectively and the individualized approach of Focus at Will; the primal origins of our sensitivity to sound.
13:00 - The links between memories and certain sounds.
14:25 - How far along we might be in learning about how music affects the brain.
15:36 - Looking at why the music industry is so enormous and the importance of music to humans.
16:32 - Music’s effects on humans and plants.
17:55 - The depth that they found in this material while developing Focus at Will.
20:48 - Seeing other potential behavioral effects of music.
22:44 - Crafting an energetic, focus journey.
24:11 - How they are rating and experimenting with their music to generate data.
26:14 - Big moments of reactions and discovery John has encountered.
28:11 - Applying these ideas to augmented and mixed reality.
32:30 - How this will shift the role of music and sound in different aspects of life.
35:40 - Matthew’s experience with Focus at Will’s music and how it differs from normal music.
37:22 - What John is working on now and how it may develop in the near future.
40:04 - Being at the beginning of a huge journey of discovery and the role of AI in this work.
42:49 - The questionnaire.
49:28 - Learning about John and Focus at Will.
Resources and Links Mentioned:
Focus@Will (Free 2 week trial)
Hooked on Startups #010 - Will Henshall
This Is Your Brain on Music by Daniel J. Levitin
Julia Mossbridge
Singularity University
Chris Milk
Chris Milk’s TED Talk - How virtual reality can create the ultimate empathy machine
In this interview I chat with Jim Cirillo – career technologist and recent podcast host.
Find out how Jim found the courage required to leave a steady, well-paying job and what it takes to navigate the digital world when you’re not a digital native.
1:12 - Introducing Jim, what he’s working on, and how he and Matthew met at Podcast Movement.
3:11 - Background details on Jim and whether he ever thought he would have his own podcast.
4:37 - How Jim’s career progressed and ultimately led to starting JimJim’s Reinvention Revolution PodCast; the chaos of the tech world.
8:17 - The effect of the change of pace in technology and how that affected Jim’s career path.
10:55 - Why he didn’t want to be an employee.
12:49 - Starting his entrepreneurial journey as a consultant and making that transition.
13:53 - How the pace of change hasn’t slowed down and leaving his job due to the company not being able to move fast enough.
15:58 - What his approach to staying up to date on technology is and how that works into his podcast.
18:45 - Lifestyle design being the driving force behind Jim’s entrepreneurial journey and where he is on the journey right now.
21:30 - The courage required to leave a steady, well-paying job and what it takes to navigate the digital world when you’re not a digital native.
24:45 - Feeling confined in a corporate career track and that there are more opportunities out there.
26:10 - Taking time to focus on and assess what you’re doing, rather than just being reactive.
28:02 - Creativity as the link between being an artist and being an entrepreneur.
28:42 - The positive aspects of disruption; Matthew’s experience at Block-Con.
31:24 - How different technologies are starting to come together towards a big inflection point.
32:24 - Staying abreast of change and understanding how it may have widespread effects.
33:38 - Using the podcast as a way to stay on top of tech changes.
36:52 - The best advice and education Jim has gotten regarding embracing disruption.
38:34 - Understanding how to react to changes properly by just trying different things in a hands on way.
40:30 - Outcomes Jim has seen so far in his journey.
43:58 - The breadth of possibilities Jim sees in this field.
45:42 - The rapid-fire questionnaire.
52:32 - Contacting Jim and learning more about his podcast.
Resources and Links Mentioned:
JimJim’s Reinvention Revolution PodCast
Podcast Movement
Josh Elledge
Richard Branson
JIMIUM Group
Block-Con
The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
Featured in Forbes, Harper Collins, Gen Z@Work, and Lean Startup, Jeff Boodie is an experienced entrepreneur, consultant, speaker, and Gen Z blogger.
Realizing you can’t write personality into an algorithm, Jeff founded JobSnap – what the lovechild of Tinder and Snapchat would look like - and the hiring voice of Generation Z.
In this episode Jeff and I discuss the problems for both Gen Z and employers and how JobSnap bridges that gap, the shifting attitudes towards entrepreneurship in young people, and how social media is influencing the way Gen Z views brands and companies.
Make sure you listen to the full episode to learn how Jeff has created the Tinder of job creation platforms!
1:06 - Background on Jeff, co-founder of JobSnap, and some of his other accomplishments.
1:52 - Defining “Generation Z.”
2:39 - How JobSnap addresses Gen Z as the first generation to grow up with computers at home, essentially, from birth and their penchant for video content
4:58 - The challenges posed by Gen Z’s computer and information access.
7:38 - Problems for both Gen Z and employers and how JobSnap bridges that gap; the shifting attitudes towards entrepreneurship in young people.
9:39 - How decentralization facilitated by the internet has affected the process of building a business and employment.
12:00 - What is contributing to younger people wanting to work for themselves.
13:12 - Certain things that Gen Z seems to respond to and engage with.
15:01 - The ability of younger generations to see through deceitful brands; the different roles CEOs can play in different brands
17:54 - How social media is influencing the way Gen Z views brands and companies; Jeff’s experience with a consumer panel at Red Bull.
21:33 - Means of engaging with Gen Z as consumers and how Jeff is learning about them.
23:08 - Areas of disconnect between Millennials/Gen Z and employers
27:06 - How JobSnap is differentiating from other job seeking apps and appealing to both Gen Z and employers; why Jeff insists on 30 second videos.
31:25 - Recruiters and managers are often hiring based on people they’d like to work with over people who may have more skills.
32:49 - Reactions Jeff has seen from companies looking into JobSnap
35:26 - JobSnap offering structured videos from people wanting to work and how Jeff sees people potentially getting creative with the videos.
36:16 - How JobSnap’s infrastructure is developing and how it could overlap with other areas.
38:19 - Jeff’s vision for JobSnap in the next three years.
40:02 - When Jeff realized JobSnap could be a business and how he came up with the name; seeking advice from the of CEO Tinder.
45:20 - Jeff accepting the role of being the face of his vision
46:30 - The questionnaire.
54:54 - Contacting Jeff and learning more about JobSnap.
Resources and Links Mentioned:
JobSnap website
Red Bull
SnapChat
Tinder
Steve Jobs
Email Jeff at jb@jobsnap.co
To move on from where you’ve been before, you need to change who you were before..
“If you want to step up and move beyond where you’ve been before, that means you’ve got to be someone you’ve never been before’.
Whenever you step outside of your comfort zone, you’re going to meet your ego. You’re going to meet your fears. You’re going to meet you feelings of inadequacy. You’re going to meet your limitations – which are all self-imposed”
In this episode I chat with Melyssa Moniz - an International Speaker and Social Impact Entrepreneur, a Master Neuro-Linguistic Programming Coach, Master Hypnosis Coach and a certified Sales and Marketing Consultant.
A 4 time author, she has mentored over 10,000 clients worldwide in business and lifestyle strategy.
Check out the full episode and find out how you can move the needle!
1:10 - Background on Melyssa and her career.
3:52 - How she arrived at her current venture, Magnetic Sales Pros, and her background in sales for financial services.
7:14 - Her growing awareness of why she had been effective at selling.
8:43 - The point that Melyssa decided to leave her corporate job and how she did it.
10:23 - The value of having a sounding board when transitioning out of a corporate job and the process for doing so.
14:22 - How much reverse engineering and reasoning is done after the fact with processes like leaving a job and the value of “burning the boats.”
16:32 - Overcoming analysis paralysis by trusting the gut feelings and just doing; finding the one action to take on a daily basis that will make a difference.
19:31 - Taking “inspired actions” every day as a way to build ideas for making her exit from her corporate job; story about her interest in salsa dancing and how it grew from seeing the pain in people’s financial situations.
25:45 - Connecting passion and courage to both formulate and execute ideas; having the courage to ask yourself the hard questions.
27:24 - The value of mentorship in the early stages of taking leaps and what Melyssa’s support structure looked like early on.
31:58 - Magnetic Sales Pros as the culmination of all the things Melyssa has learned in her career.
34:38 - The big takeaway that she would offer; Magnetic Sales Pros’ approach.
37:14 - Connecting natural communication with the realizations Melyssa had when she was 8 years old; the prosperity of human connection and trust.
40:07 - Tapping into your authentic self and the value of that in creating genuine connections.
43:29 - Having recently launched Magnetic Sales Pros, what her approach is now to grow the business; breaking enormous goals down into manageable numbers.
48:20 - The questionnaire.
54:13 - Getting in touch with Melyssa and finding out about her company and message.
Resources and Links Mentioned:
Magnetic Sales Pros
Melyssa’s book, Live Your Passion
Brendon Burchard
Website
“We’re not anti-brand, we’re not not a brand, we’re just reimagining what it means to be a brand”
Following her dream to make it possible for everyone to have access to better stuff for fewer dollars, in July this year Tina Sharkey launched Brandless.
Brandless wants people to live more and brand less, to tell their own stories, and to drop the false narratives sold by Madison Avenue.
“We want to aspire to help people live the lives they want to live”
For Tina, co-founder and CEO of the company, Brandless is about more than any individual product they sell. It is about the true democratization of goodness
Brandless promises to keep prices low by eliminating the BrandTax - the hidden costs you pay for a national brand. Its simple white labeling was designed by a team of product and marketing experts and food scientists, what Brandless co-founder and CEO Tina Sharkey calls the “white box council.” The products are tailored to the conscious urban millennial and other shoppers who are “very connected to their values.”
Brandless – reimaging what it is to be a brand based on community, authenticity, the people it serves.
Is Brandless the future of consumerism? Listen to the interview and you decide!
1:00 - Welcoming Tina to the show, Tina is co-founder and CEO of Brandless.
2:44 - Tina’s approach of being a cultural anthropologist and studying people and behavior.
3:40 - What Brandless is all about.
5:35 - The progression of brands and the democratization of storytelling that led to the idea of Brandless.
10:24 - How this progression is a move away from the idea that brands dictate the narrative and how consumers are responding.
12:44 - The pushback about the premium prices needlessly placed on things like healthy foods.
14:35 - How brands relate to both truth and trust with consumers.
16:55 - Connecting democratization of information to the demise of cigarettes and brands being manipulative; the role of social media in that shift and how Brandless is breaking that down.
19:49 - An examples of how Brandless incorporates their customers’ creativity.
21:02 - Treating consumers as people and how that can enhance a brand and community through conversation.
22:31 - The ubiquity of reviews from the crowd and how that can improve lives.
23:30 - Reactions to Brandless from bigger brands and being an early stage startup, listening to and building with the people in their community.
26:14 - Brandless as more of a movement than simply a retailer.
28:09 - Connecting with brands more personally with the example Tina gives from a morning hike; building that into all their products.
30:22 - The value of the vulnerability from bringing the consumers into the process and community.
31:40 - Brandless’ current scale and what’s coming up for them.
34:05 - Benefits of having a curated selection of reasonable sized products at $3 each.
36:24 - Feedback that Tina has gotten for Brandless.
39:32 - Parallels to blockchain with respect to decentralization and democratization.
42:18 - The rapid fire questionnaire.
45:01 - Finding out more about Tina and Brandless.
Resources and Links Mentioned:
Brandless
Steve Jobs
Apple ‘1984’ Super Bowl Ad
Brandless Tacking ‘Brand Tax’
Tina’s TEDx talk - Unlocking Joy
Tina on The Future of Consumerism at the Worlds Fair Nano
Feeding America
Brandless Instagram
Brandless Twitter
Brandless Facebook
Use promo code “hello” at brandless.com for $1 shipping on first order
Payment systems platforms are continuously changing how individuals and companies are sending money, making payments, and processing in between. And it’s a huge market - well over $1 trillion globally.
Digitzs is a painless, quick and profitable way to build payments into a platform, app or marketplace.
A 20-year proven entrepreneur in the payments space, Laura has compiled an all-star team including PayPal's first CFO David Jaques; Visa's Linda Perry (named Most Influential Women in Payments three years in a row); Ben Way, a world-renowned startup technologist, and Stacey Moore, an award winning technologist, strategist and entrepreneur.
As the first female founded company to reach the number one position since the Crowdfinance 50 Index was launched on CNBC in early 2015, Digitzs holds the number one position for the largest capital raise by a female founded company since Title II of the JOBS Act came into effect in the fall of 2013.
Check out the full episode and find out what makes Digitzs such a success story for its customers, stakeholders and investors.
1:16 - Introducing Laura Wagner, CEO and founder of Digitzs; background on the company and the industry of online payments.
3:43 - Applying the example of charitable giving in disasters and where Digitzs fits into that.
5:24 - Describing more of the difficulties for ecommerce that Digitzs helps to resolve for both companies and platforms.
7:59 - Where the company fits into the overall ecommerce landscape, what the value proposition is, and what their market is.
11:32 - How Digitzs can work with different industries, even local governments for things like paying utility bills.
12:38 - The overall scale of credit card payments and ecommerce; Digitzs business model within the sector.
14:10 - Background on identifying the opportunity for this business and how they’re getting started.
16:11 - The scalability of this process and being a process improvement rather than a disruption.
17:52 - The upcoming crowdfunding round and why they’re pursuing crowdfunding.
19:59 - What Laura sees as the critical thing that built trust with their investors.
21:03 - The importance of both your team and your idea in a startup.
21:47 - Creating businesses that solve a problem with a clear relevance to the market; Laura’s vision and goals for the business.
23:40 - The value that Digitzs could bring to the legacy payment processors.
24:49 - How Laura went about building a great team for her idea; a story from earlier in her career that demonstrates her dogged determination.
28:36 - The importance of sticking to the vision and persevering through being knocked down by being almost relentlessly positive.
29:33 - Laura’s view of the company’s potential from early on.
30:17 - Information on Laura’s upcoming book, Crowdability.
33:08 - The information in book as a way to open up startup funding for more people.
33:38 - The questionnaire.
36:25 - Finding out more about Laura and getting involved with the crowdfunding campaign.
Resources and Links Mentioned:
Digitzs website
TicketSocket
New York City Marathon
Stripe
First Data
GoFundMe
MobileCause
Crowdfunder
Digitzs Crowdfunder campaign
In this episode I meet Bernie Swain - co-founder and Chairman of Washington Speakers Bureau and today's foremost authority on the lecture industry.
Over the past 35 years, he has represented former US Presidents, American and world leaders, journalists, authors, business visionaries, and sports legends
In this fascinating conversation with Bernie we talk about his experiences working shoulder to shoulder with the world’s leaders.
We talk about passion, determination and defining moments, and how that passion can be unlocked in the turning points of your life.
Find out how Bernie risked everything, starting in the stationery cupboard in a friends office, and how, with dedication, passion and pure dogged determination, he built his business to be the best and most respected agency in the country.
1:12 - Introducing Bernie Swain, the co-founder and CEO of the Washington Speakers Bureau.
2:25 - The difficulty of breaking through the public personas of world class interviewees.
5:00 - How he approached the interviews for his book and his expectations.
6:34 - Bernie’s focus on turning points and the big turning points in his life.
8:51 - The process of leaving his dream job to start a speakers bureau with no experience at all.
11:08 - The 14 months of failing in starting the business and recognizing your turning points.
13:43 - How important it can be to fully commit and burn the bridges.
15:15 - The importance of both passion and dogged determination.
17:09 - Starting a speakers bureau with no experience and the role of the small wins.
19:50 - Connecting authentically with clients through identifying with their challenges to tell their stories.
21:56 - Starting the process of his interviews by having a trusting relationship between the interviewee and himself.
23:05 - Advice for recognizing your turning points when they’re presented to you.
24:51 - How important it can be to trust your intuition.
27:40 - Challenges from early on in Bernie’s experience with the speakers bureau.
29:09 - Dangers of being derailed from your goals by outside voices.
31:23 - Advice for people feeling buried in social media.
33:16 - Breaking down the stories of world class people into relatable paths.
34:47 - How Bernie sees his business changing - or not - in the near future.
36:30 - What the people Bernie works with are like, on a personal level, and the role of trust in all relationships today.
39:12 - Living with abundance versus scarcity and how that has affected people Bernie has worked with.
41:36 - The simplicity and interconnectedness of the traits that create great people.
42:42 - The questionnaire.
46:32 - Getting in touch with Bernie and finding his book, What Made Me Who I Am.
Resources and Links Mentioned:
Washington Speakers Bureau
What Made Me Who I Am by Bernie Swain
Bob Woodward
Fortune Magazine
Lou Holtz
Yogi Berra
Liz Murray
BernieSwain.com
In this episode I talk to Jason Best, one of a handful of people who co-authored the JOBS Act and helped legalize equity and debt based crowdfunding in the USA.
Jason has spoken at The White House, South by Southwest, TEDx, the World Bank’s Global Forum on Innovation and Technology Entrepreneurship and the Angel Capital Association.
We discuss how the biggest change to securities laws in over 78 years is already creating billions of dollars of new investments.
Find out how crowdfunding and cryptocurrencies can work together.
0:46 - Introducing Jason, his career, and some background on his role in the JOBS Act.
2:37 - Defining crowdfunding from Jason’s perspective.
4:32 - Differentiating between the types of crowdfunding and how the idea came about for Jason.
5:54 - Getting started and working against a framework that has been in place for decades.
9:29 - How the execution of the JOBS act has developed since it was signed in 2012.
12:02 - Projections for crowdfunding moving forward and the demand Jason has seen from investors.
14:14 - How the SEC has worked through this process with caution with regard to aspects like accredited investors.
15:54 - Details on Title II, III, and IV “flavors” of crowdfunding.
18:31 - Where Jason is focusing with his global advisory practice.
19:41 - Misunderstandings about that a startup really is and expanding the geography of tech centers in the world.
23:34 - Recapping the different portals of crowdfunding and the Fintech industry that’s grown up within that; comparing the regulations on typical stock exchanges with the framework being built for crowdfunding.
25:36 - Important data that Jason has seen emerge.
28:51 - Comparing crowdfunding with the emergence of ICOs.
31:23 - The role of decentralizing the capital raising process and blockchain technology.
33:02 - Using ICOs within the crowdfunding framework.
35:38 - Where Jason sees crowdfunding progressing over the next 5 years.
37:56 - How branding may play into the future of crowdfunding, even for larger companies.
40:02 - The scope of the potential in the Fintech industry and comparing it to the emergence of online stock trades.
42:35 - Speculating on the role of decentralized investing moving forward.
46:52 - Opening the crowdfunding landscape up to a global audience; the rapid-fire questionnaire.
Resources and Links Mentioned:
JOBS Act
Jason’s TEDx talk
Crowdfund Investing For Dummies by Sherwood Neiss, Jason Best, and Zak Cassady-Dorion
SeedInvest
Indiegogo
Kickstarter
Trade Associations
ICOs
Regulation A+
Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council
Stuck at early stages of growth and struggling to build sales ?
In this episode I talk to Alison Arnoff - founder of Unfair Advantage Consulting where she helps tech companies find their unique, unfair advantage to scale their business.
Find out about the typical problems tech startups face and how to solve them.
Get the inside track on what makes a company investible to VCs.
1:20 - Introducing Alison and some background on what she does.
2:55 - Alison’s perspective on sales ability in startups.
3:44 - What she normally sees in the companies that she works with.
5:12 - How many companies get stuck at early stages of growth and struggling to approach sales effectively in a startup environment.
7:14 - What Alison sees as one of the biggest, most common problems in tech startups.
8:30 - Beginning the conversation with the companies she works with.
10:47 - Balancing an incremental marketing plan with having a large enough potential market to become a successful company.
11:58 - Some typical problems that startups have and understanding their market during development; a story about a company who needed to adjust their messaging.
13:44 - Convincing clients that the messaging and marketing is just as important as the product and getting to the companies before it’s too late.
15:01 - What Alison sees VCs looking for in early stage companies and the kinds of teams that she thinks work well.
16:40 - Approaching VCs with enough humility to accept the help and guidance available.
17:42 - The things startups do that make Alison cringe.
19:27 - Approaching sales and scalability through arming your sales team with the right message.
21:18 - Not being able to “see the label from inside the bottle” and being open to inviting in outside help.
22:11 - Describing Alison as a consultant more than a coach; focusing on quality content.
25:26 - These principles apply more broadly than tech companies; differences in business to business and business to consumer.
26:06 - Approaches to changing founders’ mindsets on recruitment for high quality sales teams.
27:14 - The success rate Alison has seen in companies that she’s worked with and commonalities between failed startups.
29:03 - The role of crowdfunding platforms in verifying product demand.
30:04 - Looking at the scope and process for the multi-million dollar fundraising situations.
32:46 - Why Alison is steering clear of blockchain style technologies.
34:08 - A common progression Alison sees in many tech companies.
36:00 - The one piece of advice Alison would offer to people trying to get over the wall.
37:19 - Benefits of asking for help from someone who has done what you’re trying to do.
38:42 - The value of perspective at any stage of a business and the willingness of successful people to share knowledge.
39:45 - Being productively paranoid and Alison’s story about working at Intel during their huge growth period.
41:02 - The questionnaire segment, borrowed from James Lipton.
45:09 - Contacting Alison.
Resources and Links Mentioned:
Unfair Advantage Consulting
Simon Sinek’s Ted Talk, “How great leaders inspire action.”
Marcus Lemonis
Tony Robbins
Email Alison at alison@unfairadvantage.consulting (get in touch for a preview of her upcoming blog series).
What if the users that make Snapchat worth anything at all had been given ownership in it from the beginning?
In this episode I talk to Frank E. Banks, co-founder of ZEN for iOS, a video sharing and communications app for the video editor community and ZENCoin – the cryptocurrency that is the front door to a powerful business model innovation.
There are literally millions of mobile app developers worldwide. And who knows how many video content creators there could be over time.
Find out how ZENCoins will be the currency to knit them all together into a single, infinitely dynamic, market.
1:11 - Introducing Frank E. Banks, cofounder and CEO of Zen; some background on his career and on Zen.
3:02 - Comparing the current landscape of fanart distribution to how Zen will change that; finding this market through working with a video editing app for vine.
3:47 - The scope of this market and some of the specific benefits.
4:45 - How Zen specifically fits into the fanart distribution market.
5:21 - The monetization structure for Zen and how Frank plans to evolve it over time; comparing that structure to Youtube.
9:02 - The shadow market of influencer marketing.
11:13 - Applying this shadow market to how brands use social media marketing.
12:48 - Building a following quickly using these influencer techniques that stay more or less an industry secret.
14:17 - What results could come from turning this into an efficient, structured market through Zen; reposting as the primary attention commodity and how Zen streamlines that.
16:43 - Applying Zen’s functions to how advertisers and influencers can benefit.
17:32 - The global scope of Zen’s market and how they’re solving the currency problem by utilizing their own cryptocurrency, Zen Coin; additional benefits of using a cryptocurrency for this marketplace.
20:21 - What Zen’s decentralization means for users and providing incentives for using Zen Coins more widely.
24:18 - The potential for appreciating value of the Zen Coins and how they want to foster that through creating a strong ecosystem with other complementary businesses.
29:28 - Comparing this value proposition for content creators to using other platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
30:23 - Looking at Zen’s potential for growth, geographically and demographically, and how using a cryptocurrency facilitates that.
32:49 - Zen Coin as an incentive to be an early adopter for the platform and why it’s an added benefit over platforms like Instagram.
33:36 - Why cryptocurrencies can grow in value and looking at trajectories of previous iterations.
34:32 - What Frank is most excited about with the business right now.
35:50 - Frank’s experience at Zynga, having seen the network effects in action, and how something like cryptocurrency could have affected Zynga’s early sustainability.
37:34 - Comparing cryptocurrencies to other huge technology changes.
39:05 - The questionnaire, borrowed from James Lipton.
45:28 - Contacting Frank and learning about Zen - www.zenvideo.co.
Resources and Links Mentioned:
Zynga
Mafia Wars
Cryptocurrency
Farmville
Download Zen
Contact Frank at frank@autozen.tv
In the US, 95% of startups fail.
Is the American dream just for rich boys?
In this episode I chat with Brian Mac Mahon - founder of Expert DOJO, the largest startup high performance center for entrepreneurs in Southern California.
With access to thousands of experts and mentors Brian and his team help entrepreneurs find out whatever they need to know to pursue their small business dream.
Find out what raising capital for startups is really like, and what you need to focus on to make sure your business gets on the path to success.
1:03 - Introducing Brian and his background in startups through Expert Dojo; The big disconnect Brian saw in the way businesses were being funded and how he wants to address that through his company
3:03 - Details on Brian’s love for entrepreneurship and creativity; being a service entrepreneur.
5:14 - How entrepreneurship hasn’t changed much over the past 100+ years.
6:32 - His somewhat contrarian views on companies like Amazon and Uber.
9:25 - Matthew’s counterpoint, using the airline industry as an example.
12:35 - The journey of being an entrepreneur and how the funding landscape has affected that journey; the problem with accountants running companies as opposed to entrepreneurs.
15:13 - Identifying the problems with funding as well as presenting options to fix them; the effects of social media and mindsets on this landscape.
19:02 - How Expert Dojo is addressing these issues; their approach to starting out by studying startups and the conclusions they came to.
23:26 - The community that supports startups in the US versus in other countries; an example of a logistical company that they’re working with.
26:30 - Why he sees the Lean Startup idea as problematic; the importance of branding and business planning.
28:23 - Distinguishing between pivoting/agility and abandoning ideas too quickly.
29:19 - The final piece of information they found in studying startups.
30:05 - What Brian’s days generally look like and how the Dojo operates.
32:10 - The statement that encapsulates Brian’s philosophy on startups and how he tries to help.
35:38 - Managing relationships between the businesses he’s helping and venture capitalists.
37:20 - How Brian’s business also helps venture capitalists as well as the companies he works with.
39:03 - The mission of Expert Dojo and some advice from Brian.
39:41 - How he sees this changing, particularly thinking about crowdfunding.
40:58 - The problems he sees in crowdfunding.
42:21 - Creating an investor club to help educate people on investing.
44:00 - Discussing cryptocurrencies and Brian’s interest in them.
45:38 - Benefits to seeing so many startups in so many different industries; understanding the relevant probabilities.
48:12 - The rapid fire questionnaire.
52:14 - Contacting Brian and Expert Dojo.
Resources and Links Mentioned:
Expert Dojo
Brian’s Tedx talk
Lean Startup methodology
Apple Pay
Google Glass
StartEngine
Expert Dojo Investor club
Cryptocurrency
Contact Brian at brian@expertdojo.com or info@expertdojo.com
Ever wanted to have a Creative Ninja on your team?
Have you ever been just blown away by the graphics from a really cool presentation?
In this episode I talk to Glenn and Kristen Hemanes – co-founders of Glenns Designs, a cutting edge design agency which focuses on developing brand identities, multi-media presentations and variety of creative projects.
Listen to this episode to find out some of the Powerpoint horror stories Glenn has turned into powerful and effective pitch decks.
Find out why visual storytelling is so important to get your message across effectively.
1:02 - Introducing Glenn and Kristen and what their business does.
3:22 - Digging into each client’s specific needs based on their brand messaging and continuing to get outside feedback themselves to hone in on their own message.
5:57 - The importance of storytelling in Glenn and Kristen’s business.
6:58 - Leveraging their experiences with presentations and communications in order to help their clients.
7:28 - Conversation and storytelling as ways to facilitate effective, engaging social media marketing.
10:02 - How that same approach of conversation and storytelling applies to presentation decks.
11:39 - Horror stories that Glenn and Kristen have seen in presentation approaches.
14:09 - Glenn’s 3 part approach to working with clients on presentations.
15:26 - Some feedback they’ve gotten from clients about how much Glenn has helped them and the impact his decks have had on audiences.
17:20 - Differing mindsets regarding having a professionally done presentation deck and tailoring the deck to the client’s preferences; focusing on a “less is more” approach to building the decks and slides.
20:08 - Comparing an effective presentation to an effective advertisement and incorporating the concept of a story arc.
22:06 - The outsized importance of communication, regardless of the quality of the product.
22:58 - How Glenn and Kristen work with brand concepts.
25:44 - The impact of details as small as fonts.
28:30 - Understanding your audience’s concentration and how best to communicate with them via tools like Crystal Knows.
30:32 - Their approach to relationships with clients.
32:12 - Glenn’s early experience working with creating slides and working with it his entire career.
33:02 - The feeling when they get to unveil presentations to clients and when they hear that it was effective.
35:18 - Matthew’s questionnaire.
41:52 - Contacting Glenn and Kristen.
Resources and Links Mentioned:
Simon Mainwaring
John Livesay (Episode #038)
Crystal Knows
Ken Rutowski
Misophonia
Glenn’s Designs website
Email Glenn at glenn@glennsdesigns.com
Youtube
Today’s buyers are crazy-busy and ultra-savvy, which means yesterday’s sales strategies fall flat and leave your salespeople easily forgettable.
How can you stand out with new competitors and new technologies disrupting the marketplace every day?
In this episode I chat with John Livesay – an international sales and marketing speaker known as the ‘Pitch Whisperer’
Find out from John why the sales people who Get To YES are those who become master storytellers with magnetic pitches.
Discover why telling the best story gets the sale, and find out how John crafts irresistible stories for his clients.
1:46 - Background on John, known as the Pitch Whisperer, and what he does.
3:56 - How John started learning about effective communication with different brands.
5:06 - Breaking from the traditional methods of approaching advertising companies by starting with stories rather than numbers.
6:50 - Analyzing approaches that do and don’t work; storytelling addressing each aspect of neurolinguistic programming
8:46 - A story of John working with Gensler to become storytellers in their pitches.
10:10 - Comparing traditional sales training to the methods that John espouses.
13:08 - Overcoming resistance to this idea of storytelling in selling; focusing on genuine stories rather than strictly “selling.
16:09 - People’s willingness to listen to stories as opposed to being resistant to being sold to and how much more memorable stories are than strict pitches.
19:16 - Showing humanity through your pitch and focusing on how you can bring value to the prospect.
21:55 - Finding interesting stories in anyone’s experience and fighting impostor syndrome.
24:21 - Dangers of feeling like you know everything, as it relates to startups pitching VCs.
27:05 - Things to never say or do in a pitch as well as some things to say.
30:16 - John’s experience working with startups looking to get funded and how he helps; training people to communicate, generally, rather than just pitching.
32:26 - How John’s skills translate to existing and larger companies, not just startups.
35:02 - Who John typically works with within companies and the return on investment companies have seen from hiring him.
36:57 - These teachings coming from John’s first hand experiences.
38:25 - Benefits of being able to connect different departments within companies and another story from his work with Gensler.
41:33 - How John encourages potential clients to look ahead at what it might look and feel like if he comes in and has a great impact.
44:17 - John’s thoughts on scaling his business.
46:50 - The questionnaire.
49:26 - Contacting John.
Resources and Links Mentioned:
http://johnlivesay.com/
John’s podcast, The Successful Pitch
Potential date? Handyman to fix your fence? A new babysitter to watch the kids?
Just who are these people, really? And, more importantly, can you trust them?
In this episode I meet Justin Parnell – co-founder of Legitifi, a powerful new tool for consumers that enables you to use your phone instantly to verify and validate the identities of people you interact with.
The Legitifi platform is built on patent pending, proprietary algorithms that leverage machine learning and artificial intelligence to ensure that the person on the other end of a digital connection is who they say they are.
Catch the full episode to find out how Justin and his team developed this remarkable service, and learn about their vision to inspire honest relationships and safe social interactions by putting a halt to catfishing scams and social identity fraud.
1:10 - Introducing Justin, CMO of Legitify, and what he’s sacrificed to be on the show.
2:40 - Background on Legitifi and how it works.
4:30 - What problem Legitifi solves and when Justin got the idea for social verification.
6:55 - Some of the advantages that Justin has found with the software and more details on how it works.
7:55 - How Legitifi helps to sift through the tons of data available online about people as well as how it gives a way to manage your online representation in real time.
11:17 - The ways that Legitifi could change the face of app development and social networking.
13:06 - New opportunities Justin sees given the data that Legitifi presents to users.
14:55 - The challenge of staying focused with all of the possibility around this technology.
16:51 - Justin’s views on online anonymity.
17:20 - Dealing with the people who are found to not be legit online; the role of machine learning in the app.
19:56 - Knowing what questions to ask about people’s online identity and understanding what is important for different people.
20:55 - More details on how machine learning is influencing Legitifi.
22:33 - Applying the technology to different cultures and countries.
24:14 - The role of trust in online interactions and the concept of blockchains.
27:37 - How Legitifi can be a more foolproof identity layer since it’s drawn from so many sources.
30:12 - Creating a fundamentally different way of protecting identities online; the universality of using social verification for identification.
35:19 - The traction that Legitifi has now and how that helps improve the software.
36:44 - Where Legitifi stands with their funding and their approach to finding VCs; being at TechCrunch Disrupt.
38:40 - How this kind of company can boost portfolios for VCs through synergy.
40:37 - What it feels like to be working in Legitifi as a company with such growth and impact potential.
42:40 - The questionnaire.
46:49 - Contacting Justin and finding Legitifi at TechCrunch Disrupt.
Resources and Links Mentioned:
Legitify website
TechCrunch Disrupt
Email Justin at cmo@legitifi.com
Youtube
Ever had that sinking feeling when you’re out to dinner and all your friends are staring at their phones?
Ever felt the world needs more love, more laughter, more creativity – everybody coming together to have fun?
That’s exactly why Edwin Benton created Slang N'Friendz – a brilliantly funny, engaging, unique card game that uses Slang words to bring people together.
Find out how Edwin came up with the idea for this game…
How he overcame countless challenges to bring it from concept to reality..
How he managed to land Hollywood A-lister Ludacris as his partner..
And how you can get a unique version of Slang N'Friendz on Kickstarter…..if you’re quick!
Guaranteed you’re friends won’t be staring at their phones when you bring out this game!
0:56 - Edwin’s background as a creator, director, producer, and many other things including a being a game developer for a game called Slang N’ Friendz; the mission behind the game.
2:22 - How the game development process got started when Edwin was at a dinner party and everyone was on their devices and some details on the app.
4:18 - The compelling business aspect to this game company.
5:35 - Describing the physical card game that’s in development now.
8:02 - The dictionary for the game constantly being updated with new slang terms.
9:29 - The reception and feedback that Edwin has had so far and the process for updating the dictionary with new words.
10:21 - How he got from conceiving the idea to where he is now and some more details on the game.
13:15 - The process for landing Chris “Ludacris” Bridges as the face of the game.
14:56 - More details on the scale of the market that Slang N’ Friendz is in and some of the next steps for the business.
18:14 - Different ways that the game can be adapted to specific niches to expand the audience.
19:13 - Advantages Matthew sees that Slang N’ Friendz has over other similar very successful games.
20:58 - Looking at the breadth of slang and how that can take the game international.
22:34 - How the distribution would grow if they can get in with a major retailer like Target.
24:20 - Details on the Kickstarter campaign Edwin has launched for the card game.
26:40 - Whether or not Edwin has second guessed his idea; some of the challenges from the Kickstarter and how he has used exclusive offerings to overcome some of those challenges.
28:03 - The community aspect of Kickstarter and how that affects strategies for campaigns as well as what a successful campaign says about a company itself.
32:10 - The questionnaire.
34:54 - Contacting Edwin and the Kickstarter campaign for Slang N’ Friendz.
Resources and Links Mentioned:
http://www.edwinbenton.com/
Slang N’ Friendz website
Slang N’ Friendz Kickstarter
Email Edwin at edwin@edwinbenton.com
Want to build reliable revenue into your business using Facebook advertising?
Do you know the difference between likes, shares, viral messages, content and advertising?
In this episode I’m joined by Facebook advertising guru Billy Broas.
Founder of the hugely successful Homebrew Academy, Billy uses his intimate knowledge of his successful Facebook advertising campaigns and years of experience in the trenches of a “real” business to ramp up revenue for his clients.
Discover how good copywriting is critical for the success of your ad campaign.
Find out how the playbook for small businesses is different to the strategy that works for big brands.
Building an audience doesn’t pay the bills. To find out what does, listen to this episode!
1:02 - Billy’s background, his experience within his field, and what he was doing before in a corporate role.
2:23 - Starting a homebrewing blog on the side and how that progressed into a business.
3:24 - Having the entrepreneurial bug from a young age and aspirations to be an inventor; a story about one of his inventions.
6:07 - When Billy decided to start his beer blog and more details on how it developed into a pursuit of marketing.
7:56 - Making the leap from a steady job into an entrepreneurial pursuit and what influenced the decision.
10:03 - Billy’s advice for making the transition into self-employment: starting with a side-hustle.
12:41 - Contextualizing Billy’s education on marketing for his site and course; his dive into copywriting and direct response marketing
15:42 - How copywriting fits into the sales model and why it clicked with him.
17:21 - Finding the gaps in his existing knowledge for marketing and the aha moments he found in the Teaching Sells course.
20:15 - The profile of customers that Billy helps and how he found that niche
21:47 - Applying traffic temperature to prospects and approaching marketing differently at different parts of that spectrum; consequences of marketing in the wrong ways to the wrong people.
26:07 - Digging into the customized experience of Facebook and how to wield that more effectively as a marketer.
29:42 - How research and testing play into marketing on Facebook; which metrics to keep an eye on.
32:29 - Features in Facebook marketing, such as creating custom audiences and events.
33:34 - Helping people to understand the process involved with effective Facebook marketing rather than just guessing at it.
34:12 - Defining retargeting and how it fits into ecommerce today.
35:59 - Fitting copywriting into the Facebook marketing landscape
40:00 - The importance of social proof when it comes to social media marketing; some ninja tips for Facebook ads; pursuing quality data from Facebook ads instead of money, at times.
46:51 - The questionnaire.
Resources and Links Mentioned:
Teaching Sells from Copy Blogger
http://billybroas.com/
Fear makes you something that you’re not. It’s something we all suffer, but it’s also something we can get beyond so we can live our lives full of joy, freedom and vitality.
In this powerful episode I’m joined by Sam Morris, founder of Zen Warrior Training.
In 1999, just after leading a bicycling trip for nine teenagers across the United States, Sam was in a car accident caused by a drunk driver which left him paralyzed from the waist down
Determined to not become the victim of his circumstances, Sam learned and created a system of mental and physical training based in Zen philosophy, meditation and somatic disciplines that healed his mind and body and brought him more vitality and clarity than he had before his injury.
In this episode we discuss how your circumstances do not have to define you, and how you can choose a life based on your intention.
We talk about how truly transformative Sam’s work is for his clients.
Find out how to get outside the habitual thoughts you have about yourself and tap into a deeper truth about who you are.
1:08 - Introducing Sam and his background, including being the founder of Zen Warrior Training and the car accident that put him in a wheelchair.
3:09 - The fear associated with situations like Sam’s, but using the situation as a journey to a more present and mindful place; not being defined by your circumstances, but your intentions.
7:06 - Knowing who you are rather than who you think you should be and how Sam forced himself into knowing who he is through confronting fear.
9:35 - The feeling of discovering a rare understanding and awareness of yourself.
11:42 - The concept of being present and training your mind to be present rather than consumed with busy thoughts; learning to observe the mental noise while being separate from it.
14:02 - Applying these ideas to Sam’s specific situation and examining how he started training his mind.
18:16 - The role of these techniques as they relate to limiting belief systems.
19:25 - Comparing Sam from now to Sam before the accident, mentally and physically.
21:59 - Different ways people go through traumas and how Sam can help unpack that through the Zen Warrior Training; the microtraumas in the unconscious mind.
23:57 - The impact of daily actions and Sam’s analogy of an island being shaped in the way our lives are shaped over time.
26:35 - How perspectives and expectations can shift.
28:18 - The importance of figuring out who you are and how that shapes the trajectory of other goals and decisions; breaking away from ego through being humbled.
30:52 - The concept of neutrality and using that as a way to listen to yourself; describing neutrality as a state of observation and the analogy of making a movie.
35:45 - Separating yourself from the noise and how that can aid in decision making; effortlessness as a result of this process.
38:06 - Embracing the discomfort and quiet of separating from noisy thoughts; the analogy of your mind as a still lake from The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer.
41:28 - Finding stillness as the foundation for tapping into a deep joy of being connected to the authentic self.
43:13 - Contacting Sam.
Resources and Links Mentioned:
Zen Warrior Training
The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer
Remember Tom Cruise’s computer in Minority Report? You ain’t seen nothing yet.
In this episode I chat with Philippe Lewicki – tech visionary, founder and CEO of AfterNow – an augmented reality company and one of the pioneers of developing content for experiences in mixed and augmented reality.
We’re all flat-screeners. Everything we do today with our computers, tablets and smartphones is based on the designs of rectangular screen. Lookout world, because this is all going to change.
The changes that mixed reality and augmented reality will bring to our lives will be seismic. Remember how the mouse revolutionized the way we interacted with the pc? The impact of AR and MR will be like that, but a thousand fold.
Ever dreamed of truly immersive entertainment where you can actually live the experience, rather than just being a spectator or seeing it in third person? How about truly holographic interaction with other people?
Find out how this technology is just around the corner….
This is a truly amazing story of grit, inspiration and pure dogged determination.
In this episode I chat with Mike Paul Hughes. Awarded NASA’s Exceptional Achievement Medal, Mike is a truly exceptional rocket scientist, NASA engineer, music producer, composer, writer and inspirational speaker.
Working in a print shop by day and playing in a rock group at night, the odds were stacked against him. Following his dream of becoming an aerospace engineer was going to be no easy task.
He didn’t have the grades and he didn’t have the money. It could have been so easy just to give up, to abandon his dream, to go back to his day job.
But he knew nothing was going to stop him. After the Challenger disaster, Mike knew that aerospace was his calling. And so, under the dim light of a 40W bulb, reading math books rescued from the trash, Mike began his amazing journey.
1:11 - Mike’s impressive and diverse background information.
3:15 - Dispelling the myth of rocket science being an inaccessible field.
4:04 - The story behind how Mike found his passion for science and engineering.
6:28 - “Advice” from someone whom he worked with about pursuing engineering.
8:48 - Challenges and discouragement he faced before even being able to get started.
10:25 - Where the determination came from in dealing with everyone telling him “no.”
11:38 - Getting started in the program and showing the will to put in the work to learn calculus.
14:43 - Having no clear vision for what he was getting himself into.
15:35 - How Mike fared through his coursework.
17:18 - Proving that you can outwork your competition to achieve what you want and overcome a lot.
17:51 - How Mike differed from most of the other NASA engineers, but also shared similar paths with some.
19:30 - Mike’s technical knowledge and troubleshooting ability being rooted in playing bass and dealing with the PA system.
20:22 - What it was like to walk into NASA for the first time as an engineer and what the working environment was like.
24:40 - Comparing the computing technology from the 90s to now and how that affected the work.
25:48 - The first moment he felt like he’d really found something special.
27:26 - How his experiences as a musician affected the way he approached working in the aerospace field
29:53 - Applying Newton’s laws to be able to effectively perform the math.
31:23 - The impact of artificial intelligence on this kind of work.
32:30 - What Mike is working on now with the Starshade project and how he views his work with exoplanets.
36:55 - Continuing to be in a period of testing in his work.
38:56 - Star Wars versus Star Trek.
40:34 - Tension between discovering life versus finding new planets; disagreements over credit.
43:53 - Comparing the competitive aspects of medicine and science; benefits to working in hierarchical organizations.
45:59 - Potential changes to the landscape due to things like AI; analogous to the internet or electricity.
48:21 - The questionnaire.
51:23 - Learning more about Mike and getting in touch.
Resources and Links Mentioned:
NASA Jet Propulsion Lab
Want to find out some of the critical things you need to know if you want to be a successful real estate investor?
In this episode with Brandon Turner we discuss the approaches that really work if you want to be a real estate investor.
Is it possible to get into real estate investing with very little money? Brandon has some great suggestions about leveraging what you have for the knowledge and information that you want.
We also talk about how having a ton of capital in the bank can actually work against you rather than in your favor.
Brandon is an active real estate investor, author, musician, and entrepreneur.
He is also the co-host of the most popular real estate podcast online, The BiggerPockets Podcast, with more than 40 million downloads.
He's written several popular real estate books, including The Book on Rental Property Investing, the #1 real estate investing book in Amazon.
He lives (and invests) in Western Washington State, alongside his wife Heather and new baby girl Rosie.
1:16 - Background on Brandon and his Bigger Pockets Podcast.
2:06 - How he got into real estate investing and why he pursued active investing.
4:14 - Being raised by a “garage sale mom” and learning to always get the best deal possible
4:44 - What led him into real estate and entrepreneurship.
6:06 - Finding his first real estate deal and how he decided to pursue this long term.
8:59 - The mechanics of raising capital for his first deals.
9:49 - Managing the different mentalities of people who want to get into real estate investing.
12:24 - Looking at some of the times Brandon has been tripped up on deals.
14:08 - Advice for people who are looking to get into real estate and part of the mission of Bigger Pockets.
17:27 - Applying internship and apprenticeship ideas to learning about real estate investing.
19:11 - Revisiting the learning stage at various times when entering new asset classes like mobile home parks.
21:01 - Some of the general business development principles that still apply to real estate investing and how having available capital can be a liability.
22:51 - The tradeoff of knowledge and experience for investment capital; three things Brandon identified that you need at least two of to be successful in real estate.
24:41 - Two analogies to describe Brandon’s philosophy on creative investing.
27:05 - Looking at real estate as a business and finding the parallels between other industries.
30:52 - Talking about Brandon’s books and writing from his experiences.
32:34 - The concept of dead space and how it relates to getting things done through daily consistent action.
36:32 - Advice Brandon would give to his 21 year old self.
37:18 - Some things Brandon and Matthew have gotten out of David Allen’s Getting Things Done.
39:19 - The questionnaire.
Resources and Links Mentioned:
Bigger Pockets Podcast
The Book on Rental Property Investing and The Book on Managing Rental Properties
https://www.biggerpockets.com/
The E-Myth by Michael Gerber
Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
The Lean Startup by Eric Ries
Getting Things Done by David Allen
Hal Elrod
Derek Sivers
Mike Rowe’s podcast
Every aspiring entrepreneur or wantrepreneur should listed to this episode. It’s real life proof that with persistence, drive, motivation and belief in yourself you really can live your dreams.
In this episode I talk to Zac Weinstein - actor, producer, entrepreneur and filmmaker and cofounder of Hollywood based Dynasty pictures. Zac’s story is one that every entrepreneur and wantrepreneur should listen to. It’s a story where there is no such thing as ‘no’ and ‘can’t’. In the interview he walks us through, step by step, how he went from running a contracting company in Baltimore to writing, directing, acting and producing his first short film which won the Silver Award at the Hollywood Film Competition, taking home the award for best cinematography. For Zac, this is just the beginning.
Make sure you listen to the full episode – Zac is hugely inspiring and his enthusiasm is wonderfully infectious!
1:11 - Zac’s background and what he’s working on now.
3:20 - Information on the construction company Zac ran.
4:35 - Getting involved with a champagne and spirits company
5:42 - How Zac pursued finding what he was passionate about.
8:30 - The common thread in successful people: taking action and taking chances, particularly when others are waiting.
10:22 - The book Zac’s writing, Stop Thinking and Leap.
10:50 - Background on some of Zac’s film production and directing projects.
12:43 - The process of taking an idea and turning it into a film project; the idea of specialized knowledge and surrounding yourself with complementary people.
17:07 - Learning the language of the movie business and adapting into a new industry; finding mutually beneficial partnerships.
19:14 - The importance of collaboration and how Zac is working to promote that through things like his event series, IndieWood Media.
22:08 - Applying the networking approaches from the construction industry to the film industry and getting yourself in the right room with the right people.
23:11 - Information on Zac’s new event idea.
25:12 - Background on Zac’s production company, Dynasty Pictures.
26:50 - Acting as the thing that still captivates him in this industry.
28:30 - How his past successes have influenced his acting mindset.
31:10 - Something unexpected Zac has learned in his 7 months in LA.
32:19 - More information on Zac’s book and how it came about.
36:23 - Mindsets of creation versus discovery and approaching the “impossible.”
38:24 - The rapid fire questionnaire.
47:46 - Contacting Zac.
Resources and Links Mentioned:
Zac’s IMDB page
Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
The 10X Rule by Grant Cardone
Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
IndieWood Media events
Dynasty Pictures
http://www.zacweinstein.com/
Louis Ziskin is not your average CEO. He’s the founder and president of West Hollywood-based DropIn Inc., a company that is changing the way the insurance and automotive industries do business by providing on-demand remote video inspection.
DropIn’s technology can be accessed via an app or, like a scene from a futuristic sci-fi movie, it can be paired with video-equipped drones that can remotely inspect and evaluate the damage to residences and commercial buildings.
Louis has had an entrepreneurial spirit his entire life. From his early beginnings when he launched a global supply chain venture, Louis cultivated an international network of suppliers delivering product to a demanding and complex market.
While lucrative, this business model resulted in some unanticipated consequences… a 12-year prison stay.
Louis, now a philanthropist who speaks nationally about causes like anti-recidivism and addiction recovery, was convicted in 2001 for the largest-ever U.S. government seizure of the drug commonly known as Ecstasy.
Released from the U.S. Penitentiary in Lompoc, California in 2011, as well as driving the DropIn business forwards at a relentless pace, he now devotes his time to the Backpacks for Kids Foundation and is a frequent public speaker in support of anti-recidivism.
In this episode I meet Rob Kessler - founder, CEO and chief inventor at Million Dollar Collar. In the last 120 years, there have only been 2 significant, widely accepted enhancements to dress shirt design- Collar Stays & Non-Iron. According to Rob, Million Dollar Collar will be the 3rd because it cures the dreaded ‘sloppy collar’. Listen to the interview where I discuss with Rob how he got the idea and perfected the design after hundreds of different variations. Learn more about the way your shirts are made, how Rob is revolutionizing an age-old design, how he solved the distribution challenge and how he’s on the way to building a multi-million dollar, international organization.
In this episode I chat with Kierstin De West - a leading authority on forecasting, tracking and understanding the monumental global cultural shift to sustainability and social impact in its broadest sense: the underlying trends that drive and characterize it, the influencers within in, the opportunities it presents and its impact on business, society, brands and culture. She is the founder and CEO of research and strategy consultancy Ci: conscientious innovation and the creator of its proprietary insights and data tool, The SHIFT Report.
In this episode we discuss:
Our desire for conscious consumption and how brands can respond
What are catalyst brands?
How do you price for ethics?
What is Sustainable Life Paralysis?
The rise of the empathy movement and the Mindful consumer.
In this episode I have a fabulous conversation with Sanyika Street - a performing artist, songwriter, music producer, keynote speaker and voice of inspiration. With immense presence as an artist and speaker he uses his art of the spoken word to inspire everyday people, everyday, and to positively impact people around the world.
In this episode I chat with with Glen Depke, Traditional Naturopath, Author and Speaker. Based in Newport Beach in Southern California, Glen's Depke Wellness clinic specialises in teaching people how to deal with all of the physical and mental challenges that are thrown at us from our diet choices, the stress we’re under, the habits we have and the environmental factors we’re subject to. If you’re running a business its important that you take the time to understand what you’re doing to your body each day - something that is so fundamental but so often overlooked.
"Get your pricing right and set yourself up for success. Get it wrong and you're bound to fail". In this episode of Hooked On Startups I meet Per Sjöfors - acknowledged expert in pricing and pricing psychology, CEO and founder of Atenga Inc and co-founder and CEO of Sales4 profit. He has managed over 500 assignments with top tier companies and by re-engineering their consumer pricing he has helped CEOs and investors often double their companies’ growth rates. Per is frequently quoted in the press including Fortune Magazine, Inc Magazine, Industry Week and the Financial Times and he regularly speaks at conferences.
In this episode I discuss business breakthrough systems with Christine Perakis - a business strategist, bestselling author and speaker with over 25 years of experience as an advisor, attorney, mentor, and team-builder. Christine, also a professional boat captain, is a strategic business partner for some of the world’s most visionary entrepreneurs, creating 360° transformations and turning creative ideas into profitable ventures.
In this episode I chat with Gavin McGarry, CEO of Jumpwire Media, and we explore the important tricks, tips and tactics that you’ll need to know in order to build an effective social media presence. Gavin is a self-confessed human behavior aficionado, crowd dynamics specialist, data hound, cyclist, and percussionist. Gavin’s also the founder and CEO of Jumpwire media which is based in LA and has been recognised as one of the top ten most innovative companies in media with clients that include Coca Cola, AMC, Yahoo, and Sony Pictures. Before founding Jumpwire Media in 2009 Gavin worked for online video start up Joost and was the Head of Cross Platform Business Development at global television production company Endemol.
1:15 - Information on Gavin’s background and Jumpwire Media.
2:06 - Gavin’s perspective on whether social media is a form of advertising or marketing.
3:11 - Understanding the human behaviors behind social media and some of the shifts in marketing over the years.
6:14 - Competing with the algorithms of giants like Facebook and Google.
7:45 - The ways Gavin approaches working with his clients and human behavior.
10:41 - Social media as not always being honest and genuine.
12:15 - Gavin’s view of how far we are into the life of social media
13:14 - What the internet “level 3” might be if Facebook is the internet “level 2.”
14:00 - Whether or not people and brands are truly figuring out social media optimization.
15:36 - Jumpwire Media is focusing on the opportunities in conversation and community.
16:39 - How Gavin has gained his insights on social media.
18:06 - Possible shifts in engagement and conversations on social media; the potential role of chat bots.
19:03 - Jumpwire’s approach to staying ahead of the curve on social media engagement.
20:10 - The scope of Jumpwire’s client base and how they can tailor to specific needs.
23:37 - The necessity of any business to be on social media and how some businesses don’t understand the need.
26:03 - Knowing where to find valuable, engaging content.
29:30 - Getting in touch with Gavin and Jumpwire; educating people on the current landscape of their industry.
31:07 - How big of a challenge client education is for Jumpwire and their social media system.
33:57 - Dealing with the horror stories and charlatans promising silver bullets to social media success.
36:02 - How clients can react to and embrace the system with Jumpwire to achieve their objectives.
38:19 - The professionalism and knowledge behind Jumpwire and their business approach.
40:19 - Starting with the Jumpwire Blog to get some free content and information.
Resources and Links Mentioned:
Jumpwire Media
Jumpwire Blog
In this episode I speak to Connor Gillivan – a 27 year old serial entrepreneur who started his first drop-shipping company out of his dorm room at Quinnipiac University building it to over $20 million of sales on Amazon.com in just 4 years. After becoming an expert at hiring, he co-founded FreeeUp, an online hiring marketplace bringing together the top 1% of freelancers with growing businesses. He is also the owner of ConnorGillivan.com, where he writes about entrepreneurship and eCommerce.
1:25 - Background information on Connor and how he started his first business.
2:33 - How Connor got started in his business with his business partner.
3:44 - Some of the obstacles in their business early on.
5:30 - What motivated Connor to continue on in the business and not give up; whose advice he sought.
7:06 - Being accepting of advice from mentors.
8:09 - Recognizing and cultivating a long-term vision while still being focused on issues at hand.
9:56 - What mentoring advice he would give himself now if he could go back and talk with himself two months into the business.
11:47 - Expanding the business into dropshipping and learning about that side of the industry.
13:29 - Starting a cash-flow positive business versus starting out without any profit.
16:42 - Challenges that still exist in dropshipping and ways to get started.
22:07 - The most effective way Connor has found to test a business and advertise through social media.
23:18 - Background on Connor’s book, Free Up Your Business.
27:20 - Information on Connor’s venture, FreeeUp and improving on the online freelancing marketplace.
30:11 - The pain point that FreeeUp is solving.
31:53 - Approaching growth in his various businesses and applying that to other businesses.
33:50 - Connor’s view on the importance of a financial plan and how to approach changing circumstances.
35:25 - Story from FreeeUp about staying diversified and how that led to growth.
38:24 - What’s next for Connor and he’s looking into diversification to continue growing into different markets.
39:48 - Background on Amazon’s Mechanical Turk service.
40:36 - Connor’s view for his large scale goals.
42:06 - How his entry to e-commerce is comparable to the online hiring industry now and being driven by empowering other people.
Resources and Links Mentioned:
Free Up Your Business by Connor Gillivan
Amazon’s Mechanical Turk service
https://freeeup.com/
http://connorgillivan.com/
Working with leaders and entrepreneurs since the late 90’s, JP Morgan Jr leverages his scientific background and life experience in a unique way to train entrepreneurs and creative people to take decisive action so they can get their greatest work into the world.
JP has a fascinating background. After his formal studies in Physics and Mathematics, he built a property investing business and then (from a backpack) built a web media company serving local and global non-profits. He has travelled the world and he lived nomadically for three years, coached human rights leaders, recorded and toured as a musician in bands, funded development of a kids library in Cambodia, published travel writing and photography, competed as a black belt and triathlete, performed as a professional magician, studied with Buddhist monks and spiritual teachers, paraglided the Swiss Alps, cycled solo for thousands of miles and has had many other adventures.
I chat with Matt Callinan - a special forces veteran and ex-war correspondent and news anchor for NBC News Channel. Matt is a serial entrepreneur, an expert in out-of-home media and advertising, the creator of the Eyewitness App, and the founder and managing partner of Retail Outdoor Media.
He is also the founder of ‘A Father Forever’ – a unique program that helps maintain the eternal bond between a parent and child. It gives terminally-ill parents a chance to be a continuing part of their kids’ lives and their children get to share and celebrate their most important milestones with the living presence of their parent.
My guest is Ken Dubner, founder and CEO of Mind Training Solutions. Ken is a certified hypnotherapist, an NLP master practitioner and a certified master hypnotist and has dedicated his life to empowering people by guiding them to use their minds more effectively.
As a renowned hypnotherapist, speaker and seminar leader, he has been interviewed by Extra, Armed Forces Network, Discovery Health Channel, HBO documentaries, as well as numerous radio stations throughout the nation.
Listen to the podcast to find out more about Ken Dubner and how he has positively impacted the lives of thousands of individuals over the last two decades.
I chat with Devin D. Thorpe– a renowned social entrepreneur, journalist, Forbes contributor, author, speaker and champion of social good. His books—read over 1 million times—are about using money for good, personal finance, crowdfunding and corporate social responsibility and draw on his experience as an investment banker, CFO, treasurer and mortgage broker. Previously, he worked on the U.S. Senate Banking Committee staff and earned an MBA at Cornell. Devin describes the work he does as ‘helping the helpers’ and he has devoted himself to writing about, advocating for and advising those that do good.
I meet Stephen Schubert – a hugely accomplished artist, polymath, movie buff, judo expert and specialist in neurogastronomy. He started painting at the age of 33 – as Stephen describes in the interview, he literally woke up from a dream and pursued the creation of what he saw in that dream. The result was a fifteen year run of 3 dimensional birchwood wall sculptures which were exhibited in over forty-five galleries nationwide. Listen to the podcast to find out more about Stephen’s fascinating life and his love of creativity.
Kate is an expert at premium domain consulting and representation, specializing in ultra-premium .COMs. She has personally sold over $1.6M in domains in the past year alone. Kate is also an artist and award-winning poet and author and was recently appointed the first Poet Laureate of Laguna Beach. Kate is also a professional coach and keynote speaker, and the founder and principal of Buckley Media Group, a branding and premium domains agency.
I speak to Ryan Tate - founder and CEO of VETPAW – a non-for-profit organization dedicated to ensuring the survival of critically threatened African wildlife. Ryan is a former Marine, Iraq war veteran and diplomatic security officer for the Department of State. VETPAW stands for Veterans Empowered to Protect African Wildlife. Simply put, under Ryan’s leadership and direction VETPAW employs highly skilled post 9/11 US Veterans to help prevent the irreplaceable loss of African wildlife caused by poaching. Find out how Ryan and his team at VETPAW are helping to protect embattled wildlife and support his fellow veterans.
I chat with David Moss - a career technologist, musician, producer, leadership coach, investor and strategic innovator with an outstanding track record across multiple successful startups and established companies.
We discuss a whole range of topics and explore the critical components for the success of any tech company in search of growth or continual innovation.
David is currently the CEO of Exceed.Team, and provides strategic and tactical technology consulting services for startups and fast-growth companies.
I speak to Jay Levin - founder of the LA Weekly, an American journalist, media expert and life, relationship and executive coach. Under his leadership the LA Weekly became the largest urban weekly in the US. In this interview we discuss the important of Emotional Intelligence and Jay’s involvement as the president of the Big EQ Campaign – a grass roots movement to create mass adoption of Social and Emotional Learning in all schools. The Big EQ Campaign intends to be the first-ever mass advertising, marketing and organizing campaign whose sole goal is that every school include in its curriculum the development of students’ and teachers’ social and emotional intelligence and skills
This week I speak to Ryan Crownholm - a serial entrepreneur with a long and successful track record of moving into established, highly competitive industries and transforming them by introducing technology, branding and marketing.
This week I speak to William Henshall - a five times entrepreneur and founder of Focus At Will Labs - a neuroscience based web tool that uses specially composed instrumental music tracks to significantly increase your attention span when working and studying.
As you can see from the sea of platinum discs behind him on the video, Will is a musician, scientist, song writer and technology inventor working with audio to find the right music at the right place at the right time. He was the founder of the British pop soul band Londonbeat and had two Billboard #1 hit records. He went on to found Rocket Network, a Paul Allen/Cisco-funded San Francisco company in 1995. Will has achieved notable global success both as a musical/visual artist and as a technical inventor.
'We choose to go to the roof not because it is glamorous, but because it is right there!'
'Go out there and have huge dreams, then show up to work the next morning and relentlessly incrementally achieve them'
Luiz Barroso wrote about this in an internal Google+ posting in 2014. Taking small, incremental, achievable steps is so important if we are to achieve our dreams. The math works - if you do something 1.3x every quarter, you'll hit 10x within 3 years. Fascinating book if you want to read more about this - 'How Google Works' by Eric Schmidt and Jonathan Rosenberg.
Yoni is the founder and president of MWR Life. He immigrated with his family to Canada at a young age and ever since he can remember he's been an entrepreneur. He started his first company at the age of 17 and has spent nearly 20 years building profitable organizations with a global reach. His experience lies in a wide range of industries, including international real estate sales and development, energy efficiency technology, financial services, extended warranties and the global direct selling industry.
Yoni is an expert in designing and building scalable business infrastructures to market a diverse line of products and services, resulting in extensive long-term growth and profitability for his companies and stakeholders. He is passionate about helping others succeed.
I chat with real estate investor Joe Fairless who controls more than $138,000,000 in real estate assets. He is the author of best-selling book 'Best Real Estate Investing Advice Ever, Volume I' and is host to the world’s longest running daily real estate podcast, the Best Ever Real Estate Investing Advice Podcast.
Hugh advises and invests in startups and is an active practitioner and teacher of Lean Startup Methodologies. He recently concluded a 22-year career at Intuit where his last position was Engineering Fellow and Vice President. During his Intuit tenure, he worked on QuickBooks and several other small business offerings. He has been a serial innovator and helped launch several new businesses at Intuit including Intuit Payments. Hugh is passionate about grassroots innovation and “giving voice to good ideas” wherever those ideas may come from.
I chat with former hit record producer turned real estate mogul Peter Lorimer. Peter is the owner of uber trendy PLG Estates, which fuses together the art of handling incredibly delicate and private VIPs while giving all clients the feeling of being "inside the velvet rope," just like the rock stars and celebs the PLG Estates brand is known to cater to.
Reed Goossens moved to the U.S. in 2012 to pursue a career in structural engineering, however he discovered a passion for real estate investing. With limited funds and no credit, Reed went from purchasing a small duplex to growing his own real estate investing firm, RSN Property Group. Reed now syndicates large multi-million dollar deals across the U.S. Reed Goossens certainly lives up to the ‘never say die’ Aussie attitude when it comes to being a successful entrepreneur. Reed is also the host of the up & coming podcast, Investing in the U.S. An Aussie’s Guide to U.S. Real Estate, where he invites other distinguished real estate investors and entrepreneurs to speak with him about their success and help guide other international investors who want to successfully invest in the U.S.
Murray Newlands is a published author and recognised online marketing and PR guru. He's a regular contributor to Entrepreneur.com, Inc.com, and VentureBeat where he writes on entrepreneurship, tech and social marketing trends and startup advice. In this episode we talk about the challenges of starting a new business, the first steps for an entrepreneur to get their business off the ground, and how to become the Key Person of Influence in your market.
In this episode I chat with Gerry Kelly, the founder and CEO of Sonas Denim - an inspiring entrepreneur who has built an LA based fashion brand that combines unique products with a keen social mission. I talk to Gerry about how he got the original idea for the fashion range, how against massive odds he has managed to build a truly unique fashion brand in a hugely competitive marketplace, and what his vision is for the future.
I chat with Jordan Goodman, America's Money Answers Man - veteran personal finance expert and author of 14 best selling books. We discuss the importance of credibility and leverage in business and Jordan delivers some powerful insights based on decades of experience as a journalist and finance entrepreneur.