The Founder's Journey Podcast: Recent Episodes
Greg Moran
Telling the stories of startup founders and creators and their unique journey. Each episode features actionable tips, practical advice and inspirational insight.
In this podcast episode, Greg and Peter are joined by Demian Costa, founder Navy Seal Team Six member and accomplished founder and investor.
Here are five invaluable lessons that emerge from this engaging conversation.
Lesson 1: Navigating Diverse Pathways 🛤️
Embark on a journey through multifaceted careers, from family offices to elite teams. Learn how diverse experiences can mold your approach to business and leadership, fostering adaptability and open-mindedness.
Lesson 2: Overcoming Challenges with Resilience 🛡️
Discover the power of unwavering resilience when facing adversity. Draw inspiration from the belief that challenges can be conquered, and explore how the tenacity to "find a way" can fuel your path to success.
Lesson 3: Becoming a 'Jack of All Trades' 🎭
Explore the advantages of a broad skill set acquired from exposure to various industries. Learn how assessing numerous deals and experiencing different sectors can offer unique insights and innovative solutions.
Lesson 4: Staying Focused on the Present 🎯
Uncover the wisdom of staying grounded in the present moment, rather than becoming overwhelmed by distant concerns. Discover how this mindset resonates in both entrepreneurial endeavors and military operations.
Lesson 5: Crafting Purpose-Driven Culture 🌟
Dive into the art of instilling a shared purpose and mission in your business culture. Learn how aligning goals, fostering passion, and valuing your team can create an environment where success becomes a collective pursuit.
Join us as we navigate these lessons, drawing parallels between military and business worlds. Let the experiences shared in this podcast guide you towards a more resilient, adaptive, and mission-focused approach to your entrepreneurial journey.
In this episode of the Founder’s Journey Podcast, join us as we dive into the incredible story of Gidon Rotteveel, the talent agent behind some of the world’s most influential YouTube creators. Discover how Gidon went from being a Dutch student traveling the world to creating his agency, Delka Talents, and representing the top social media stars on the planet.
Key Takeaways:
- Perseverance and Patience: Learn why overnight success is a myth and how Gidon’s two-year journey taught him the importance of staying committed and embracing the process.
- Embracing Passion: Explore how Gidon’s passion for bridging the gap between traditional talent agencies and the digital marketing industry paved the way for his success.
- Confidence and Expertise: Uncover the power of saying “yes” to opportunities, even without prior experience, and how self-awareness and continuous learning can make you an expert in any industry.
- Focusing on the Big Fish: Understand why Gidon targeted top-tier creators right from the start, leading to long-term partnerships and increased brand opportunities.
- Life Lessons: Gain insights into Gidon’s philosophy of enjoying the journey, embracing self-growth, and becoming the best version of yourself in all aspects of life.
Join us on this inspiring episode as Gidon shares his experiences, lessons learned, and valuable advice for aspiring entrepreneurs and those seeking to make an impact in the talent representation industry. Don’t miss out on this captivating conversation with one of the leading behind the scenes figures in the social media creator space.
Join host Greg Moran for an inspiring episode live from Kingston, Jamaica at the Entrepreneurs Across Borders Beyond the Beach Conference. Special guests Ingrid Riley, the "Caribbean Tech Queen," and Chris Cochran, Executive Director of Entrepreneurs Across Borders, share their insights on driving Caribbean tech entrepreneurship and innovation globally.
Key takeaways from this episode:
- Connect with experienced entrepreneurs for valuable support and connections.
- Embrace cross-border collaboration to expand your network and find potential partners or investors.
- Explore alternative funding models like member-managed seed funds for access to capital.
- Build a strong support system of mentors and advisors for guidance and support.
- Stay informed, give back, and contribute to the growth of your entrepreneurial community.
Tune in to gain valuable insights and fuel your own entrepreneurial journey towards success in the digital economy.
Alex Banks is Founder at Through the Noise, a media brand focused on delivering high signal information on business, finance and growth. His popular twitter account, newsletter and podcast reach millions every week.
In this episode, we discuss:
- What inspired Alex to build the Through the Noise brand platform
- How to separate the signal from the noise in the current financial market turbulence
- The impact of current economic uncertainty on founders and startup leaders
- The disrupted state of the VC world and how it will evolve in the future
Barrett O’Neill is among the most popular voices on Twitter today educating entrepreneurs on using audience building to fuel their business and personal growth.
In this edition of The Founder’s Journey Podcast we dive into ...
- The vast differences between millennial business building vs previous generations
- The future of work and the opportunities that future is creating for aspiring founders
- The role of audience / community building and its impact on long term business and personal development.
Dave Kline teaches leaders how to build great teams & level up their career. His own founder’s journey started in the purchasing and creation of two businesses: MGMT Accelerator (cohort based management training) & SkillScouter.
Prior Dave held senior executive positions at Bridgewater, Moody's Analytics, PwC. Dave is also a highly followed writer on Twitter, discussing management and leadership.
We dig deep in this episode, discussing:
- How Dave got his first job when an alumni of his alma mater passed out on his coach
- Biggest lessons from buying your first business
- Why you need to miss a few business opportunities to be ready when the real one shows up
- How personal audience building is a driver of business growth
- Building a “Serendipity Acceleration Engine”
- Transitioning from a solopreneur into a scalable business
- The power of a daily writing habit
- Community building vs. Networking
- Approaching management skills as a new craft and not a destination
- Building management skills in early stage founders
- How remote work escalates every bad management habit and how to solve them
- Being intentional in your management approach
- How the corporate on-site will be the new offsite
Follow Dave on Twitter @dklineii
Martin Babinec has seen the highs and lows of the founder’s journey like few others. He is the Founder of TriNet which he founded and took public on the NYSE. During this remarkable run, he navigated several near death experiences with the business.
Today, Martin is an investor, author and founder of a non-partisan political party just to name a few. He is the author of More Good Jobs, the founder of Upstate Venture Connect and Upventures Capital and the creator of Unite NY which seeks to change the way politics work in NYS.
In this edition, we discuss:
- Overcoming business near death experiences as a founder
- Why a startup should always be ready for institutional due diligence
- How macro-economics can accelerate or hinder a company
- The importance of community building in all that we do
Follow Martin on his blog at Babinec.com.
The future of work is changing shifting around us. Automation, globalization of talent, the freelance workforce and of course remote work are changing our professional lives forever.
Jeffrey Doucet is founder and CEO of Thrive. Based in Toronto, Thrive is a career advancement platform defining how companies and governments will upskill and reskill their people in the face of a disrupted workforce.
In this episode we discuss:
- The urgent need to focus on retraining talent to compete in a modern workforce
- How frustration with the college placement process lead to a high growth business
- Why focusing on what you can sell, over what you can build, is priority #1 in a startup
- How a startup is the new MBA
Joe Tassone is a serial entrepreneur who bootstrapped his company $25m in revenue and to the Inc. 500. Then the bottom fell out.
Now he is building a successful company and a widely read newsletter to share his lessons learned.
His story is the authentic founder’s journey of winning big, losing even bigger and then doing it again. In this episode, we discuss ...
- Staying optimistic even in the hardest times
- The importance of pipeline and cash flow management in a startup
- The 3-4 decisions that actually matter for a CEO -
- Hanging onto weak leaders for too long
- Why taking a job was never an option
Subscribe and read Joe's Monday Motivation newsletter at joetassonejr.substack.com
Chuck Stormon is a serial entrepreneur with multiple exits. He is now General Partner at Startfast Ventures and CEO of Acumen Detection, a diary focus biotech. In this episode we discuss:
- The value of secondary market investing
- Scalable vs. non scalable businesses
- Understanding your range of competence as a founder
Lisa First-Willis is Founder and CEO of Truvelop.
We all know people don't quit companies, they quit their manager.
Truvelop is a management coaching platform that helps front line managers become leaders, drive increased engagement and develop better relationships with their team.
In this episode, we discuss:
The need for resiliency in a founder
Asking yourself better questions
* The importance of product positioning on day 1.
Greg Moran is has built several companies with several exits along the way. Most recently, he was Founder and CEO of Outmatch (now called Harver), world leader in talent selection technology for the hourly workforce.
In this episode, we cover:
Building a great culture when combining businesses
Growth through acquisition and how Outmatch 4x'ed overnight
Lessons learned from a career in startups.
Why you need to fundraise a round ahead
In this episode, we discuss ...
- Managing macro risks to your company
- Recovering from failure
- Starting by doing what people will pay you for
- How to build your audience and community
- Why narrowing your focus is critical