The Founders Live Podcast: Recent Episodes
Founders Live
The Founders Live Podcast tells stories of unique and inspiring entrepreneurship from around the world.
Nick and Luis catch up with a US Tour update with Nick again joining in from San Diego, CA where Nick is visiting for the week.
They talk about his experience in San Diego, the Founders Live San Diego event, and then Get Real. This week's word is a gut check for all who are in business and have been directly or indirecly affected by the recent economic turmoil from the Tariffs and other things. Nick describes how it has affected him and Founders Live. Maybe you can relate?!
Nick and Luis catch up with a US Tour update with Nick joining in from San Diego, CA where Nick is visiting for the week.
They talk about their short excursion over to New York City earlier in the week for a special invite-only conference and meeting that could lead to a potential business deal. This is where the word of the week comes in - Show up. By simply working through the challenges and showing up in a room, you are setting yourself up for great things to happen. Listen to how it played out in NYC.
Nick and Luis catch up with a US Tour update with Nick joining in from Santa Monica in Los Angeles, CA where Nick was visiting for the week. He provides his perspective and update staying close to the beach, and then this week they talk about the idea of Go Deeper. Deeper in your commitment, in your vision, in your company, in your 'tour' like Nick is doing. This is all about the value of going much deeper and farther than you initally expected. Listen up!
Nick and Luis catch up live in person with a US Tour update from Reno, where Nick was visiting for the week - and Luis was visiting for a few days for the launch of Founders Live Reno. And then they get into the word of the week: Re-Commit. Why was this on Nick's mind? Why is it so important for the success of any founder? Listen in.... what a great conversation!
Nick and Luis catch up with a US Tour update from Portland. And then then get into the words of the week: Get Moving. Why is this so important to founders? Listen up, lots of wisdom here.
In this conversation, Luis and Nick jump into a fun conversation about all things Prime Time Global competition and re-telling the experience of flying up a recent winner to Seattle for a few days.
In the final Season 1 episode of Exploring Greatness, we have a bonus segment which showcases the fun experience of flying the 2023 Prime Time Global winner Elizabeth Arnold to Seattle to meet the Seattle team, enjoy some sunshine and join Nick on stage as the guest of honor at a Founders Live Seattle event.
Nick and Luis remember the experience, share fun thoughts about days Elizabeth was in Seattle, and go back in time and detail how and why Prime Time was started in the first place.
It's fun to see the world come together to celebrate entrepreneurship, and it's fun to hear Nick and Luis describe bringing a global winner to their home town to see where it all started!
Exploring Greatness Season 1, Episode 22
Watch: Episode 22 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Qr1fTWvdmQ
In this conversation, Luis and Nick take a slightly different angle and dive much deeper in how the Exploring Greatness docuseries came to be. You will hear Nick describe how he was not excited about creating content a few years ago, and even as he was touring various continents around the world, was reluctant to turn on the camera and describe his experience.
What changed? You'll have to listen to this podcast to find out, but one thing is clear: Nick started to understand he had the interest to create this art, the unique life circumstances of traveling and meeting talented founders, and most importantly the will to fail, learn and improve his skills over time.
This fun conversation goes deep in FEAR, UNCERTAINTY, BELIEF and PERSONAL RISK TAKING to illustrate anyone can do almost anything if they put their mind to it.
Exploring Greatness Season 1, Episode 21
Watch: Episode 21 - https://www.founderslive.com/exploring-greatness
In this conversation, Luis and Nick talk all about the fun he had on the Europe Tour visiting stadiums, watching soccer games, and getting outside and enjoying recreation.
In the 20th episode of Exploring Greatness Nick details how he releases himself from the stresses of running a company - through sports and recreation. And in this podcast conversation Luis asks Nick many different questions around what it was like to travel Europe and take in all the sporting events - especially during the Euro 2024 tournament happening across Europe at the same time Nick was there - as well as his views on exercise and recreation as a way to destress yourself and stay healthy. When you are on the road for as long as Nick was, you must find ways to detach and clear your head!
Listen up, there are many fun and untold stories hidden in this conversation.
Exploring Greatness Season 1, Episode 20
Watch: Episode 20 here - https://youtu.be/BeRRsj6xxyA
In this conversation, Luis and Nick dive into the topic of traveling and go behind the scenes of episode 19 of Exploring Greatness.
In the video episode, Nick showcases challenges and the joy of traveling. So in this podcast Luis takes the opportunity to ask Nick more indepth questions around what Nick was thinking and experiencing as he traveled through Europe. Why is travel so impactful to Nick? Why does it seem like it will make you a stronger and more complete person? What are the joys, the challenges, the mistakes, plus the tips, tricks and secrets of traveling as an entrepreneur?
Listen up as Nick tells all about his Agony and Ecstasy of his world travels.
Exploring Greatness Season 1, Episode 19
Watch: Episode 19 here - https://youtu.be/4pFOnA6ZM5w
In this conversation, Luis and Nick talk all about music, and why it inspires creativity and entrepreneurship.
Nick describes how he would stumble upon incredibly talented people playing music all over the streets, so he started to capture the essence and feeling of the moment, knowing it would make for great content within the Exploring Greatness series.
In this podcast conversation, Nick and Luis touch on all the aspects encountering Music within the Tour, including why he chose to include these clips, as well as the intersection of talent, entertainment, and entrepreneurship. If you watch the video episode and then listen to this podcast episode to the very last segment, you will grasp the scale of Nick's view on the hidden gems of talent all around the world.
Exploring Greatness Season 1, Episode 18
Watch: Episode 18 here - https://youtu.be/yDtkkk1Ri0s
In this conversation, Luis and Nick discuss the importance of mental health and wellness throughout the entrepreneurial journey.
Nick opens up the conversation by describing the opening scene of the Exploring Greatness video episode, finds him sitting on a rock overlooking a sunrise and ocean water. How did he get there? Why was he sitting there? And what was he thinking? Nick describes being at the tail end of the tour (having gone through quite a bit himself over the 4+ months on the road) and thinking about how important monitoring your state of mental wellness, and taking measures to improve it where you can.
Luis and Nick review the episode, discuss why Nick felt it was important to place this topic within the tour and Season 1 of Exploring Greatness, then cover a number of easy ways Founders can work to maintain and improve their mental wellness.
Exploring Greatness Season 1, Episode 17
Watch: Episode 17 here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iikpfC5GokI
In this conversation, Luis and Nick dive into one of their favorite topics of Founders Live - the five Core Values.
Hear Nick go back to a fateful conversation with a Coach at the beginning and the transition from Feature Friday to Founders Live, where he asked him probably the most important and impactful question Nick has ever been asked.
What was it? You have to listen to the episode and watch the video to find out. But you hear Nick describe the answer(s) to the question ultimately lead to the Core Values which have touched many people in 50+ countries across the world.
Lastly, Nick and Luis announce a major new development around the Core Values, one which will have even more connection and impact to entrepreneurs over the coming years.
Exploring Greatness Season 1, Episode 16
Watch: Episode 16 here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qbZ8ouB-sg
In this conversation, Luis and Nick jump into all things Scotland! This episode accompanies Episode 15 of the Exploring Greatness show titled The Sweet Sights and Sounds of Scotland. Nick shares his experiences in both Edinburgh and Glasgow, the incredible sights, sounds and fun aspects of each city. Listen as Nick details the immence architecture and how it can inspire creativity and uniqueness in entrepreneurs. He tells a few fun stories from each city, and also relays how Founders Live events got started during the weeks he visited. Watching the epsidode and then listening to this conversation surely will awaken the travel bugs!
Exploring Greatness Season 1, Episode 15
Watch: Episode 15 here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5JIVaL0dI4
In this conversation, Luis and Nick dive into everything about the Founders Live City Leaders, and discuss how important they are in the growth and success of the overall global movement. First, Nick talks about how Founders Live got started, and identifies the moment where it was clear the need for people in various cities leading the city events and growing the community. How would you do it? How would you build out such a system that empowers people to step up and change their communities? And you'll hear why they are called LEADERS versus managers or other titles.
Nick and Luis then discuss the various aspects of what is involved in the position, what and who Founders Live looks for when they interview and onboard new city leaders. If you are interested in an opportunity with Founders Live, this is a perfect episode for you!
Exploring Greatness Season 1, Episode 14
Watch: Episode 14 here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlM7_NQ00do
In this conversation, Luis and Nick jump into a fun conversation of all things Copenhagen, Denmark, and the story behind how Nick found Wonderland in the magical area of Christiania in Copenhagen. He details how simply walking around the special area, taking in the uniqueness and free-thinking culture is such an inspiration for creativity. Luis asks many questions around why Nick chose to visit the area, and what EXACTLY is it about travel that challenges people so much. They also chat about the rest of Nick's visit in Copenhagen and the takeaways from the Founders Live Copenhagen event.
Exploring Greatness Season 1, Episode 13
Watch: Episode 13 here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DF00gqZrlWg
In this conversation, Luis and Nick get into an engaging conversation around the importance of being "one-of-one" and where Nick first observed this in the world. Music? Entertainment? How is it that simply observing the great one's from our past in the music industry could influence and impact entrepreneurs around the world to think and be different? Listen carefully, Nick breaks it all down with Luis. They also talk about Nick's time in Dublin, his thoughts of the city and country of Ireland, and what he thinks about the weather. We hope you enjoy this inspiring podcast that goes along with Episode 12 of Exploring Greatness.
Exploring Greatness Season 1, Episode 12
Watch: Episode 12 here - https://youtu.be/iu_7pznqIUE
In this conversation, Luis and Nick jump into a fun discussion on the backstory of how and why Nick determined 99 Seconds was the exact time limit for his new pitch competition emerging out of Seattle. This seemly small detail and decision in 2014 has reverberated all over the world, and forced tens of thousands to ask themselves "What do I put in this short time period? and what do I leave out?" You will learn how Nick came up with the number 99? Listen in, you will be surprised at his answer! Nick and Luis also dive deep on the numerous benefits to founders who step up and give their 99-Second pitch during Founders Live events. Listen to the end, there are a ton of golden nuggets in here!
Exploring Greatness Season 1, Episode 11
Watch: Episode 11 here - https://youtu.be/3M4DQxE8xmk
In this conversation, Luis and Nick discuss his time in Oslo and why it was this city he circled around the 10 Year Vision concept. Nick details what was going through his head at the time, how he originally discovered the methodolgy of thinking and planning in decades, and why he renews these views each year. "Year One is much different than Year Ten, before you know it you are there!" Also, Luis and Nick discuss Olso, Norway, and why it is one of Nick's favorite cities in the world. If you find yourself early in your startup and entrepreneurial journey, this is the perfect episode for you.
BOOK - Scaling Up - https://scalingup.com/book/
Exploring Greatness Season 1, Episode 10
Watch: Episode 10 here - https://youtu.be/rOkHu7DOjTY
In this conversation, Luis interviews Nick on the transition and how Feature Friday turned into a global movement called Founders Live. Nick details how he intuitively knew this little pitch competition that was happening each month in Seattle was going to grow into something much bigger. Here is the story how one day he opened a Google Document, started typing, and came up with the plan of how to expand to other cities and countries. Nick always says "Never underestimate how an idea can spread... " and the details shared here should give you inspiration of how you too can create something in your city and take it all around the world.
Exploring Greatness Season 1
Watch: Episode 8 here - https://youtu.be/G8scll0PodE
In this conversation, Luis interviews Nick all about his experience in Athens, Greece during his 2024 Europe Tour, and filming this specific epsiode of Season 1 of Exploring Greatness. Nick describes what it feels like walking around the historic city, what it was like to tour these anicent ruins, and the story of staying in an Airbnb right at the foot of the Acroplis. We have so much to be thankful for the old Greek society, and how much they have shaped our modern world and economies. Enjoy!
Exploring Greatness Season 1
Athens 2,500 Years of Influence and Greatness - Exploring Greatness: Season 1, Episode 8
Watch: Episode 8 here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9oiwtwRC7Y
In this conversation, Nick and Luis dive into Nick's experience interviewing Founders across Europe during his 2024 tour. Out of the gate, Nick shares a surprise insight of where the episode voiceover actually originated. Hint, it was written many years ago, even before Founders Live was created. Then the conversation shifts to the biggest insights and observations resulting from the founder interviews across Lisbon, Zagreb, Florence and Amsterdam. These backstories are fun and paint a picture of what it was like to sit down with the pitching founders before the Founders Live events in these specific cities.
POST: The Agony And Ecstasy of Entrepreneurship
https://soentrepreneurial.com/2015/12/22/so-what-is-entrepreneurship-again/
Exploring Greatness Season 1
The #1 Reason Europeans Choose Entrepreneurship - Exploring Greatness: Season 1, Episode 7
Watch: Episode 7 here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RleAm6dLqiY
In this conversation, Nick and Luis get very personal about the beginnings of what eventually became Founders Live. Luis shares his experience of attending one of the first Feature Friday events (that was the name of the event in the beggining) and why he decidied to check it out. Then Nick discusses his previous startup failures and how they led to starting the fun networking event. Lastly, Nick gets vulnerable in sharing how he lost his relationship, and how it led to him discovering his greatness and the vision of Founders Live.
Exploring Greatness Season 1
Welcome to the Journey Across Europe - Exploring Greatness: Season 1, Episode 6
Watch: Episode 6 here - https://www.founderslive.com/exploring-greatness-episodes/v/s1-e6-the-day-founders-live-feature-friday-was-born
In this conversation, Nick and Luis chat about the stories and behind the scenes energy of Episode 5 of Exploring Greatness, which is mostly set in Amsterdam, Netherlands. "Wait, you floated around the city?!" Hear the story of how Nick jumped on a boat to catch a unique view of the city from the canals of Amsterdam. Also, Nick shares what he was thinking and feeling when filming these scenes of helpful insights and thoughts on Greatness.
If you haven't visited Amsterdam yet, this conversation and episode might just be the push you needed to book that trip!
Exploring Greatness Season 1
Welcome to the Journey Across Europe - Exploring Greatness: Season 1, Episode 5
Watch: Episode 5 here - https://www.founderslive.com/exploring-greatness-episodes/v/s1-e5-greatness-floats-around-amsterdam
In this conversation, Nick and Luis discuss behind the scenes of episode 4 of the new series Exploring Greatness. Nick describes why he climbed to the top of a mountain to watch a sunset and share some emotional words with the viewers. He then goes into more detail about the main topic of Entrepreneurial Equality, why it is important to the global community, and how he came to the concept in the first place. Most of the episiode takes place in Edinburgh, Scotland, so Nick and Luis dive into what it was like visiting the Scotish city. Enjoy!
Exploring Greatness Season 1
Welcome to the Journey Across Europe - Exploring Greatness: Season 1, Episode 3
Watch: Episode 4 here - https://www.founderslive.com/exploring-greatness-episodes/v/s1-e4-entrepreneurial-equality
In this conversation, Nick and Luis talk all about Cambridge, the historic and innovative city in the UK. Nick shares his experience visiting the city during his 2024 Tour, and we go behind the scenes on why he captured so much of the University, what it felt like walking through the city, and the importance of Founders Live Cambridge. When you listen to this, can feel Nick's excitement for his experience in England.
Exploring Greatness Season 1
Welcome to the Journey Across Europe - Exploring Greatness: Season 1, Episode 3
Watch: Episode 3 here - https://www.founderslive.com/exploring-greatness-episodes/v/s1-e3-cambridge-love-from-the-uk
In this discussion, Nick and Luis cover the backstory of Episode 2 of Exploring Greatness including Nick's experience in Tallinn, Estonia, what he thought of the city and why the episdode was titled Carpe Diem. It's fun to hear Nick describe his experience in the small European country. Listen to the end, there are some gems in here!
Exploring Greatness Season 1
Welcome to the Journey Across Europe - Exploring Greatness: Season 1, Episode 2
Watch: Episode 2 here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzqhSL4hIhg
How do the most recognizable brands find their voice and establish an unforgettable brand experience? Brian Button of Your Business Needs a Brand joined us to walk through the steps the best brands in the world take to identify their unique value propisition, as well as build out the full scope of their brand experience. He's here to help you and your startup do the same
You will learn:
- What is a brand?
- Why your brand is your most powerful asset
- Crafting a powerful brand message
- Finding your brand voice & tone
- Turning features into emotional benefits
- and any other questions you may have.
https://www.yourbusinessneedsabrand.com/
In this discussion, Nick and Luis talk about how they concieved of the idea for the travel show, Nick's experience as he and professional videographers shot scenes across the 23 cities in 17 countries during 2024 Europe Tour. They also touch on what to expect from the 25+ episodes during Season 1 of Exploring Greatness.
Exploring Greatness Season 1
Welcome to the Journey Across Europe - Exploring Greatness: Season 1, Episode 1
Watch: Episode 1 here - https://youtu.be/Gqj_piV9dK8
During his Exploring Greatness tour stop in Dublin, Ireland sat down with local founder Saransh Hasija of Envo. Nick and Saransh discuss his background, interest in entrepreneurship, why he started Envo, the biggest challenges in sustainability, what we can do about it, and his advice to early-stage founders. It's a fun conversation which we hope helps you today!
Envo is a B2B software solution that helps companies track and reward their employees' sustainable actions. It includes a mobile app for employees and a web dashboard for HR and Sustainability Managers. Employees can learn about climate action and sustainable lifestyle choices in small, easy steps, and they can earn and redeem rewards with eco-friendly brands.
https://www.envo.club/
Hosted by Nick Hughes and Matt Luensmann from MJL Recruiting & Consulting, this conversation covers the basics of how to think about your recruiting and hiring process, what to look for in early candidates, and how to land high-quality talent for your early-stage stage startup.
You will learn:
- Matt's approach to the talent industry
- What things to consider when you are creating job descriptions
- How to best incentive your early employees
- The Do's and Dont's of attracting talent in today's social media landscape
- What tools and AI products might help or hurt the process
- How and when should startups think about working with a recruiting agency
- and much more
In this Founders Live Conversations episode, Nick Hughes interviews Bohdan Yatsyna of Stane, in Edinburgh, Scotland during Nick's 2024 Europe Tour for the new show Exploring Greatness.
https://stane.io/
In this Founders Live Conversations episode, Nick Hughes interviews Alexander Fahie of Taisk, in Edinburgh, Scotland during Nick's 2024 Europe Tour for the new show Exploring Greatness.
https://taisk.com/
This Founders Live Conversations was Hosted by Keith Harrison “Coach K” from CF Closers, and the conversation covers the basics of how to think about sales, and how your sales process directly impacts your close rate, aka the amount of business you win!
You will learn
- What is a Sales Process and why does it matter?
- The Sales Process Formulae to Win More Business
- Where you can multiply your Close Rate
- Sales Processes vs Sales Skills
- How your Sales Process can be used to Recruit Top Closers
- AI for Sales Teams
Learn more About CF Closers “Come Find Closers”
In this Founders Live Conversations discussion, Nick Hughes and Thane Ringler talk about the main skill of emotional intelligence and how it will elevate any leader and your team. They also touch on quality communications, healthy organizational cultures, and leadership through influence. We hope this conversation helps you today!
https://www.appellopartners.com/
Weston Baker of Morphic joined us for a discussion about how founders can use the latest tools and resources to create awe-inspiring websites and apps.
You will learn:
Trends in low and no-code apps to build new websites
What does a great website need to include?
What do visitors really care about in today's world?
Which AI tools help with automation?
How early-stage startup founders get a new website started quickly and affordably
Your questions about creating apps and websites quickly and efficiently
https://www.getmorphic.com/
Hosted by NOW CFO, this online conversation covers financial tips, strategies, and best practices for startups looking to evaluate their year so far and tips on how to adjust mid-year.
You will learn:
How to utilize a year-long financial projections approach
How to compare the first 6 months' results to your projections
Steps and measures to re-align and recalibrate if you are off pace
How to approach your startup's accounting practices
Advice when preparing to raise money in 2024
Any of your questions...
You can ask any financial or fundraising questions in this interactive session.
https://nowcfo.com/
Nick Hughes interviews Grid Raven CEO, Georg Rute, in Tallinn, Estonia, during Nick's 2024 Europe Tour for the new show Exploring Greatness.
https://gridraven.com
Nick Hughes was interviewed by Founders Live Tallinn city Leader Jaanika Umalas in a fireside chat at Lift99 in Tallinn, Estonia on May 27. They cover topics such as the 99-second pitch, how Founders Live started, the ultimate vision for the company, his Europe Tour experience, the creating of the new travel show Exploring Greatness, and a number of other questions answered. We hope you enjoy the conversation.
In this Founders Live Conversations episode, Vasco Magellan of Altar discusses how founders can prepare for the constant mutating landscape of AI, trends and new paradigms, the evolution of the web, and many other exciting topics.
You will learn:
What are the key trends in AI right now?
How can startups involve aspects of AI into their products and services?
What does the near term future involving AI look like?
What aspects of AI excite Vasco and his team?
What aspects of AI worry Vasco and his team?
What should startups be focused on with the AI landscape changing so rapidly?
Any other questions you may have
About Altar
Altar is an award-winning product and software development company.
Formed by ex-startup founders, they know how to bring new innovative products to market. The startup ecosystem is in their DNA.
At our core, they design and build high-quality, user-centric software products for entrepreneurs and business leaders. But their entrepreneurial experience also allows them to add extra layers of value. They are closer to an extended team of co-founders than a supplier.
This work means they have an enviable track record of helping two-thirds of their clients achieve VC funding in an ecosystem where only ~0.05% of startups ever see that landmark.
This Founders Live Conversations episode about how founders learn to best deal with challenges of the entrepreneurial journey.
Can you guarantee success and fulfilment in life and in your startup journey?
As we’re busy chasing after money, achievements, and other “prizes” in life, we easily get lost. Are you confusing achievement with fulfillment? Are you chasing material things that are not bringing you the desired effect over the long term? Are you trading fulfilling experiences and relationships for image, status, or even insatiable need to acquire more “security”?
Author and leadership coach Dr. Teri Baydar joins us to take a deep dive into the world of uncertainty, personal and professional leadership, and how to best understand our mind and how to "Flip The Switch" as we work toward fulfillment.
- What is fulfillment anyway?
- The Egg of Personas
- Self actualizion
- Inside out view
- Striving to fit in vs striving for fulfillment
- What does it mean to "Flip The Switch" and how does that relate to success in life and business?
- How do you deal with the ups and downs of the startup experience?
Love Conscious Human
Teri's New Book: Flip Your Switch
While Founders Live CEO Nick Hughes travels through Europe, he stopped in Florence for a quick stay and to launch Founders Live Florence, as well as interview a few of the founders.
In this conversation Nick and Albano talk about both his startup journey involving a few different startups, as well as what Dresso is building and looking to change the world of apparel, as well as his awesome advice to early stage founders.
In this conversation Gary Malcolm and Marcos Baiadori of Fewep talk about his startup journey, as well as what Fewep is building in Portugal. You will hear more about his experience as well as his advice to early stage founders. We hope you enjoy the conversation!
While Founders Live CEO Nick Hughes travels through Europe, he stopped in Florence for a quick stay and to launch Founders Live Florence, as well as interview a few of the founders.
In this conversation Nick and Pabla talk about both her journey, as well as what Binocle is building and her advice to other entrepreneurs.
Nick Hughes is joined by Adam McAbee, who is cofounder and COO of StadiumDrop from Dallas / Fort Worth, Texas. StadiumDrop is a Peer-to-peer in-seat delivery service for stadiums and venues serving fans their favorite food, beverage and merchandise.
The episode starts with Nick and Adam talking about his background and journey into entrepreneurship and startups, we hear why he chose entrepreneurship, and why startups? Then they talk about why he started his company, and we learn what is StadiumDrop? What issues did he experience and observe as a sports fan, and why did him and his team decide to fix them? Adam discusses the user experience in the stadium as well as Location and availability currently and over time where they believe this could go. Nick asks about his vision of 5 or 10 years. They quickly chat about Adam's experience pitching at Founders Live Dallas, winner and his tips on pitching and they end with his advice for founders and early stage startups. This is a fun interview with an emerging startup leader from Dallas with a amazing vision for the sports fan, we hope it helps you today.
https://stadiumdrop.com
Nick Hughes is joined by Shivi Singh founder and CEO of Legacy from San Diego. Legacy automates advance care planning for better patient outcomes. They help doctors deliver patient-centric care.
The episode starts with Nick and Shivi talking about her background and journey into entrepreneurship and startups. Why did she decide entrepreneurship was her path? They then talk about her experience pitching at Founders Live San Diego, winner and her tips on pitching at the event. Then, we hear about why she started her company - what is Legacy, and why is it so important to improve the current patient experience? We hear about the future of patient-centric care, what and how is patient care changing today, as well as how does AI and other technologies impact it? Lastly, Shivi shares her vision of 5 or 10 years and her advice for founders and early stage startups. This is an amazing interview with an inspiring startup leader from San Diego, we hope it helps you today.
https://www.legacytheapp.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by John Christopher Ilano (JC) who is head business and brand development of Kloudtech, from Balanga in The Philippines. Kloudtech is a startup company that focuses on creating and building innovative solutions to emerging urban challenges. Kloudtrack is a 3D-printed, hyper-local and real-time weather and coastal flood monitoring system with a web application
The episode starts with Nick and JC discussing his background and journey into entrepreneurship and startups, beginning with startup weekend! Nick asks JC "Why entrepreneurship?" and it's exciting to hear his answer. We then learn more about his experience learning about Founders Live and pitching at Founders Live Manila, winner and his tips on pitching. Then, they talk about why they started their company, Kloudtech, and what they are doing in the real time weather space. We hear what shifts and changes are we seeing in the real time data space, with weather, flooding etc.. and their vision for the next 5 or 10 years as things expand with AI. Lastly we hear JC's advice for founders and early stage startups, what he has learned so far. This is a fun interview with an emerging startup leader from The Philippines, with a amazing vision for weather data for cities, we hope it helps you today.
https://kloudtechsea.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Julia Arpag, CEO and cofounder of Aligned Recruitment. They make Recruitment easy - Instantly scale your tech company with their senior-level recruiters. They exist so you can bring your organization's vision to life.
The episode starts with Nick and Julia chatting about her background in the corporate world and then her journey into entrepreneurship and startups. We hear why Julia now chooses entrepreneurship. Next, they talk about why she started her company, and we learn what is Aligned Recruitment? What is so unique about recruiting and why is Julia drawn to it? Nick and Julia talk about what startups need to understand about attracting talent, how to get the best people at the earliest stages. Julia discusses how to put together comp packages, what to think about when hiring, and creating a results based work environment vs time based environment. We hear her vision for the next 5 or 10 years of Aligned Recruitment and then they finish the conversation with her advice for founders and early stage startups. This is a great interview with an recurring expert and we hope it helps you today.
https://www.alignedrecruitment.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Sergio Nunez, CEO of Fixi from Austin Texas. Fixi connects stranded drivers with everyday people that have the skills to provide roadside assistance.
The episode starts with Nick and Sergio talking about his background and journey into entrepreneurship and startups. Why did Sergio choose entrepreneurship? Why create a startup? We then hear about his experience pitching at Founders Live Austin, emerging as the event winner, and his tips on pitching at the Founders Live event. They then go into why her started his company, which has an interesting backstory involving his family. We learn about Fixi, and how it builds on the gig economy. But is it Safe? Can it scale? Where is Fixi available now? We then hear Sergio's vision for the next 5 or 10 years, and where he sees the industry going. Lastly, Sergio shares his advice for founders and early stage startups. Take Notes! This is a fun interview with an emerging startup leader from Austin with a amazing vision for local help, we hope it helps you today.
https://getfixi.app/
Nick Hughes is joined by Matthias Neumayer, CEO and Cofounder of Oscar Stories from Vienna, Austria. Create Personalized Bedtime Stories for your children. Oscar Stories goal is to make bedtime storytelling enjoyable for both parents and children. Using AI technology, Oscar generates unique stories based on user input, resulting in an infinite universe of storytelling possibilities. Their team worked closely with parents to ensure that
The episode starts with Nick and Mattias chat about his background and journey into becoming a lawyer, and then an entrepreneurship and startups. Nick asks: Why entrepreneurship? Why the artistic approach? We love the answer! Next we hear about his experience pitching at Founders Live Vienna - where he was winner - and Mattias shares his tips on pitching at the event. Then, we hear why he started his company, and what is Oscar Stories? They are bedtime stories, and Mattias shares why these stories important in general, to both children and adults. They talk about other directions planned for the company, entertainment angles they plan to take. Mattias shares his vision of 5 or 10 years for the company and the industry as we enter a new era of entertainment. Lastly, we hear his advice for founders and early stage startups. This is a great interview with an fun startup leader from the Vienna with a amazing vision for entertainment, we hope it helps you today.
https://oscarstories.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by John Starke, Founder and CEO of MyMatR from Raleigh, North Carolina. MyMatR is an affordable and customizable automatic sorting waste container that creates a cleaner recycling stream at the source of disposal.
The episode starts with Nick and John discussing his background and journey into entrepreneurship and startups. We hear, Why entrepreneurship? And why John wanted to go out on his own. We then hear about his experience pitching at Founders Live Raleigh-Durham, where he was the winner. John shares his tips on pitching and how to best prepare for the experience. Then, they talk about why he started his company and what exactly is MyMatR? We learn how recycling is challenged and not as much is getting to the final destinations. John talks about climate sustainability and importance of cleaner recycling, his vision of 5 or 10 years and where he sees the industry going. Lastly, we hear his advice for founders and early stage startups. This is a great interview with an up and coming startup leader from the East Coast of US with a powerful vision, we hope it helps you today.
https://mymatrcorp.com/
This conversation is from a recent Founders Live Conversations session, Nick Hughes talks with Founders Live Prime Time 2023 Global Winner Elizabeth Arnold of FLIP from Ventura, CA. FLIP app connects users based on sports & hobby interests.
The episode starts with Nick and Elizabeth talking about her background and journey into entrepreneurship and building a startup. We hear why she chose entrepreneurship and what she likes about creating her own startup. Then we hear about Elizabeth's experience particpiating in both the Founders Live Pitch Challenge and Prime Time 2023. She ended up the global winner! Next, Nick and Elizabeth talk about FLIP, why they built it and what challenges they are trying to solve getting local people to connect offline. Lot's of lessons here! Lastly, we hear her advice for founders and early stage startups when just starting out. This is a great interview with an awesome startup founder from California, we hope it helps you today.
https://goflipapp.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Haley McClain from Long Beach, CA who is the founder of TORCH Warriorwear. TORCH Warriorwear is a subscription direct to consumer military apparel and lifestyle brand that celebrates, empowers, and serves current and future generations of military warriors.
The episode starts with Nick and Haley talking about her background and journey into entrepreneurship and building a startup. After the military and some corporate experience, why entrepreneurship?! Next she shares her experience pitching at Founders Live Minneapolis, and winning! Haley also provides a few helpful tips when preparing to pitch at a Founders Live event. Then, they about why she started her company - TORCH warriorwear. We hear what problems she experienced in the military and what pushed her to start a clothing brand. They talk about how to create a brand and unique marketing strategy in this crowded and loud market, and Haley shares here vision 5-10 years out of she sees with her company. Lastly, we hear her advice for founders and early stage startups when just starting out. This is a great interview with an awesome startup leader from California with a powerful vision, we hope it helps you today.
https://torchwarriorwear.com/
https://www.instagram.com/torch_warriorwear
Nick Hughes is joined by Felix Ochefu, founder and CEO of Kahana from London, UK. We're building the world's first Superapp for Group Travel. Kahana brings together all the separate parts of organizing and booking your group trip into one place.
The episode starts with Nick and Felix talking about his background and journey into entrepreneurship and building a startup. Nick asks, Why entrepreneurship? You will enjoy Felix answer! They talk about how to balance freedom to explore and focus on startup results, which is not easy. Felix then shares his experience pitching at Founders Live London, and winning! He also provides tips for others when pitching at a Founders Live event. Next, we hear why Felix and his team started your company - Kahana. What problems did they see in the group travel experience? Why is it so hard to book group trips and multiple people at once? We also here where Felix sees the travel market going and what the vision of Kahana is 5-10 years out. Travel will not be going away! Lastly, we hear Felix's advice for founders and early stage startups and why you just need to get started. This is a great interview with an awesome startup leader from the UK, we hope it helps you today.
Join Kahana Here.
Nick Hughes is joined by Meg White, CEO of To The Mountain Shuttle from Seattle, WA. To The Mountain Shuttle provides private charters and public transportation to event and recreation in Washington State.
The episode starts with Nick and Meg sharing about her background and journey into entrepreneurship and startups. We hear why she chooses entrepreneurship, rather than a typical job. Next, we hear about her experience pitching at Founders Live Seattle, she emerged as the winner, and her tips on preparation and pitching at the event. They then shift to talk about why Meg started her company - To The Mountain Shuttle - and why she is so passionate about outdoor recreation. They want to Connect people to nature, climate sustainability and emphasis the importance of Recreation - active lifestyles. We hear about her Vision for the next 5 or 10 years and how to improve sustainable transportation not just in Washington State build around the country. Lastly, we hear her advice for founders and early stage startups and what she wished her earlier self would have been told. This is a fun interview with a startup leader from Seattle, we hope it helps you today.
https://tothemountainshuttle.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Sean Gigremosa founder CEO of Claritiv from Las Vegas, Nevada. Claritiv.ai is a product management platform powered by LLM and AI.
The episode starts with Nick and Sean jumping into his background and journey into entrepreneurship and startups, where he started by building websites in the early internet. We hear why he chose entrepreneurship, why build startups? Next, they talk about his experience pitching at Founders Live Las Vegas, he was the winner and his tips on pitching at the event. Next we hear about why they started their company, what problems did he and his team see in the market, and how AI is helping automating documentation process. The areas they focus on are Distractions which Amplify Challenges in Remote Meetings, Slow Decision Making, andThe Blind Spots of Manual Documentation. We hear how they improve team communication and execution and Sean's vision 5 years from now. Lastly, he shares his advice for founders and early stage startups for validating their ideas. This is a great interview with an awesome startup leader from Vegas, we hope it helps you today.
https://claritiv.ai/
Nick Hughes is joined by Martha Santos, CEO of Ryōken Instinct from Seattle, WA in a recent Founders Live Conversations episode. Ryōken Instinct is a community-driven brand on a mission to inspire owners to chase after outdoor experiences by fueling them with their four-legged best friends with high quality, sustainably sourced canine energy bars.
The episode starts with Nick and Martha talking about her journey into Entrepreneurship, why she chose this lifestyle, some tips of pitching, and the background on why she started Ryōken Instinct. Nick and Martha talk about the current pet industry, why it's so important to keep your pets healthy with proper food, and what she sees into the future growth of the entire industry. This is a great interview with a startup leader from Seattle, we hope it helps you today.
Learn more at https://www.ryokeninstinct.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Jeff Wickert, who is CEO of Quoala from Seattle, WA. People are quitting their jobs and companies don't know why. That's a problem for businesses, but when these people are essential workers, it's a problem for society. Essential workers like Nurses and Police don't sit at a desk and they don't have time to write reasons why they are ready to quit. We know employees are talking, so Quoala makes it easy to listen. By listening regularly, Quoala customers will establish a baseline based on words, track movement in employee attitudes, and take action to retain essential employees.
The episode starts with Nick and Jeff discussing his background and journey into entrepreneurship and startups. Nick asks, Why entrepreneurship?! His answer is very interesting. They then talk about his experience pitching at Founders Live Seattle, winner and his tips on pitching at the event. Next, Nick and Jeff talk about why he started the company, and what is Quoala? We learn how AI is helping this, and what are the biggest challenges with employee engagement. Looking forward, Jeff and his team have some interesting ideas of how to improve employee experience and engagement! The end with his advice for founders and early stage startups. This is a great interview with an emerging startup leader from Seattle, we hope it helps you today.
https://quoala.co/
Nick Hughes is joined by Mostafa Dawoud, cofounder and CEO of Dentolize from Cairo, Egypt. Dentolize: You & Your Patients, Deserve a Better Experience. The Dental Practice Management Solution that can be customized to suit any practice method.
The episode starts with Nick and Mostafa talking about his background and journey into entrepreneurship and startups. We hear Why Mostafa chose entrepreneurship rather than a traditional career path. He then shares his experience pitching at Founders Live Cairo, emerging as the winner, and his tips on pitching at Founders Live. Next, we hear about Dentolize, and what problems he and his team see in the market. Why dentistry? And what other industries are they looking to change with their new software solution. Mostafa shares his vision 5-10 years out, along with AI and other technologies included. Lastly, Nick asks for his advice to founders and early stage leaders. Listen up everyone, these tips are good. This is a great interview with a startup leader from Cairo, we hope it helps you today.
https://dentolize.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Joshua Leavitt, founder and CEO of Intagley from Las Vegas, Nevada. Simplifying 3D Printing - Intagly is a two-sided marketplace that provides a platform for people that need 3D printing to folks in their community that have 3D printers.
The episode starts with Nick and Joshua discussing his background growing up in Vegas, and journey into entrepreneurship and startups. We hear why he chose entrepreneurship over other career paths. They talk about his many projects such as Tech Alley, a community organization that has grown out of Vegas to other cities. Joshua then talks about Pitching at Founders Live Las Vegas where his startup won, and provides some tips to other founders thinking about pitching as well. We then hear about Intagly, what is it and how are they impacting the Las Vegas community with access to 3D printing technology. We hear his vision for the next 5-10 years and the massive impact they want to make around Nevada and beyond. Lastly, Joshua shares his advice for founders and early stage leaders. Listen up! This is a great interview with a startup leader from Las Vegas, we hope it helps you today.
https://www.intagly.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Maggie Olson, owner and founder of Nova Chief of Staff from Lincoln, Nebraska. Nova Chief of Staff offers Chief of Staff services to CEOs / Founders looking to maximize their time and impact, remain focused on large-scale initiatives rather than tactical execution, improve business planning and preparedness, elevate their executive team, and drive major process improvements and efficiencies across their organization…without full time labor costs or specialist hiring.
The episode starts with Nick and Maggie discussing her background and journey into entrepreneurship and startups. We hear what she learned when working with major companies and corporate leaders and then why she choose entrepreneurship. They then talk about why she started her company, and learn what is a chief of staff. A Chief of Staff allows you as a CEO or Founder to stay focused on your vision— the “what,” while we step in to focus on the execution—the “how.” Then they discuss when a leader knows it’s time to bring someone on and what are the biggest challenges CEOs and founders face and how can a chief of staff help? They end the conversation with Maggie's advice for founders and early stage leaders. This is a great interview with an inspiring lead and Chief of Staff, we hope it helps you today.
https://www.maggieolsonconsulting.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Walter Brown, CEO and owner of Aware Strategies LLC, from Washington, DC. Aware Strategies LLC is a company that provides technical, program or consulting solutions to address the challenges facing our society today.
The episode starts with Nick and Walter talking about his background and journey into entrepreneurship - from government and the military to the world of startups. Walter then describes his experience Pitching at Founders Live DC in Apr 2022 and his awesome tips for pitching at the event. They then talk about why he started his company and what actionable intelligence really is? Aware Strategies has a very interesting vision of how to make our world a safer place, and Walter touches on the vision, and what he sees 5 to 10 years from now, including AI enhancements. Lastly, we hear his advice for founders and early stage startups, how to market your business. This is a great interview with an inspiring founder from Astana, we hope it helps you today.
https://awarestrategies.net/
Nick Hughes is joined by Alexander Allin, CEO and founder of Trales from Stockholm Sweden. Trales lets travelers experience their destination through immersive audio and location based stories.
The episode starts with Nick and Alexander discussing his background and journey into entrepreneurship and startups. We hear his passion for travel. And why start a company? We then hear about his experience Pitching at Founders Live, he was the Stockholm winner. Next, they talk about why Alexander started the company Trales. Why travel? How does it work and what is the user experience? Where is Trales available and who can use it? We hear the vision, and what Alexander sees in 5 to 10 years from now, including AI enhancements and data security. Lastly, Alexander gives his advice for founders and what to do when getting started with a team. This is a great interview with an inspiring founder from Stockholm, we hope it helps you today.
https://trales.io
Nick Hughes is joined by Fernando Corral CEO of Gabu from Guadalajara, Mexico. Where children have fun safely on the internet, Gabu is a safe online platform for children where they play Roblox, Minecraft and Fortnite supervised by adults.
The episode starts with Nick and Fernando giving bit of background and his journey into entrepreneurship and startups. Why did he go from a full time job to jumping into starting his own company? We then hear about his experience Pitching at Founders Live, as he was the Guadalajara winner - and Nick was also at the event in Mexico as well. They then talk about why he started the company Gabu, and why he feels its so important to improve the safety of children when they are online gaming. Fernando shares the status of the company, where they are going and some good news about being accepted into an accelerator. Lastly, we hear about the vision, what does Fernando see in the next 5 to 10 years from now, including AI enhancements to the gaming experience. To end the conversation, Fernando shares his advice for founder and early stage entrepreneurs. This is a great interview with an inspiring founder from Mexico, we hope it helps you today.
https://playgabu.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Chingiz Dauletbayev, CEO and founder of TrustContract from Astana, Kazakhstan. TrustContract helps you Sign contracts in 90 seconds via SMS.
The episode starts with Nick and Chingiz covering his background and journey into entrepreneurship and startups in Kazakhstan. What is it about entrepreneurship that keeps Chingiz going? We then hear about his experience Pitching at the first Founders Live Astana, and coming out as the winner of the event. Chingiz shares a few tips for pitching and preparing for the experience. Then, they shift to talk about why he started the company TrustMe. We hear about what a TrustContract is? How does it work and how do they help people digitally sign agreements and contracts in less than 2 minutes. Chingiz shares his vision, what does he see in 5 to 10 years from now, including AI enhancements and usage of the blockchain for smart contracts. Lastly, Chingiz gives his advice for founders and early stage startups, and how to know your mission! This is a great interview with an inspiring founder from Astana, we hope it helps you today.
thesafecontract.com
Nick Hughes is joined by Saul Tarazona, cofounder and CEO of eJet Aerospace from Miami, FL. eJet Aerospace revolutionizes aviation with our patented proven technology, enabling 100% electric, affordable, and high-performance air transport.
The episode starts with Nick and Saul discussing his background and journey into entrepreneurship and startups. Saul shares his passion for flight and aviation, and how he couldn't help but start this company. We hear how he went about starting such an ambitious concept, why build electric transportation, and why he believes it is the future of aviation. We next hear about the status of the company, what they have built thus far and what's next. Saul shares with Nick his vision, what he sees in the next 5 to 10 years from now for personal travel. Lastly, Saul gives his advice for founders and what to do when getting started. This is a great interview with an inspiring founder from Florida, we hope it helps you today.
https://ejet.tech/
Nick Hughes is joined by Joseph Terrell founder and CEO of Eat Unbound from Phoenix, AZ. Find your next meal. Local, Tasty Food. Eat Unbound helps restaurant-goers with dietary restrictions take the guesswork out of finding menu items they can safely eat.
The episode starts with Nick and Joseph uncovering his background and journey into startups, and we hear why he chose entrepreneurship. They then talk about Joseph pitching at Founders Live Phoenix, where he was the winner of the event. Next we hear more about why he started the company Eat Unbound, and the unique story that led to the founding of the company. We learn how people use it, why, and how this fit into the evolution of local commerce over the next 5 to 10 years from now. It's interesting to think about how people will search for food around them in the coming years. Lastly, we hear Joseph's advice for founders and what to do when getting started. This is a great interview with an exciting up and coming founder from Arizona, we hope it helps you today.
https://eatunbound.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Martin Richter, founder and director of Inegy from London, UK. Inegy helps you test investment strategies based on alternative data in minutes.
The episode starts with Nick and Martin diving into his early journey into entrepreneurship and why he started Inegy. Next they talk about the Founders Live London event, and how Martin ended up the winner in Nov 2022, and Martin shares tips for putting together a 99 Second pitch! We then hear about Inegy and what Martin and his team is building and why. Martin describes what types of business uses and cases can be found with Inegy. Nick and Martin discuss how to go about building early products, with Martin detailing out proper development and deployment strategies. Lastly, we hear Martin's advice to early stage entrepreneurs and his best founder tips. This is a great interview with an exciting founder from the UK, we hope it helps you today.
https://www.inegy.io/
Nick Hughes is joined by Mia Raman, CEO and one of the Founders of Aikra Med from Seattle, WA. Discover the future of telehealth with AikraMed—an AI-powered solution. Designed to enhance patient access and streamline care delivery. Our secure, HIPAA-compliant platform empowers patients to upload images, provide symptom details, and share medical history, ensuring comprehensive care even during busy times.
The episode starts with Mia describing her background and journey into entrepreneurship. Nick asks his famous question: Why choose entrepreneurship? Why startups and healthcare? Listen in, there are golden nuggets in this conversation! We then hear about her experience Pitching at Founders Live Seattle - Mia was the winner of the event, and she shares her pitching tips and how to approach the Founders Live event if you are interested. Next they talk about why she started her company Aikra Med, what problem did they see in the world and how are they going about solving it. We learn how this fits into the healthcare experience, and what is the future of AI in healthcare and personal medicine. The conversation concludes with Mia's advice for finding cofounders and what to do when getting started with your startup. This is an great interview with an exciting founder from Seattle, we hope it helps you today.
https://www.aikramed.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Eli Herrick, who is Cofounder and CEO of Statstak, from Nashville, Tennessee. StatStak is a sports engagement network. We run on a rankings AI, over 2-million recruiting data points, and a scheduling engine designed for sports.
The episode starts with Nick and Eli jumping into his story and how he went from a college baseball player into entrepreneurship. We learn why entrepreneurship? Why startups and sports? Why now? They then talk about why Eli and his friends started the company Statstak, and what problem they saw during the pandemic they just couldn't help but solve. We also hear how they starting in one direction, experienced some growth but ultimately needed to adjust and pivot to a more sustainable model. We hear what Eli has to say about how he sees the company 5 to 10 years from now, and where they want to take it. And the conversation ends with his advice for finding cofounders and what to do when getting started. This is an great interview with an exciting founder from Nashville, Tennessee we hope it helps you today.
https://statstak.io/
Nick Hughes is joined by Viktor Orlov, who is the CEO of Asapty from Helsinki, Finland. Asapty helps you get the most out of Apple Search Ads. Make your Apple Search Ads fast, easy and profitable with Asapty.
The episode starts with Viktor introducing himself and detailing his background and journey into startups. Nick asks him Why he choose entrepreneurship? Listen in, his answer is very interesting. They then talk about his experience pitching at Founders Live Helsinki in Finland, and how he ended up the winner of the inaugural event. He shares pitching tips for other founders, and including a storyline for the pitch. They then jump into Asapty, what is it and why him and his team decided to start the company in the first place. How does the App Store search work and why do companies need to pay attention to it? We hear his 10 year visions for what they are creating, with AI involved. Lastly, Viktor shares the biggest and best tip for startups getting installs - and to get quality installs. This is an great interview with an exciting founder from Finland, we hope it helps you today.
https://asapty.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Tino Prosenik, founder of Gruntek from Zagreb, Croatia. Gruntek is your weekly basket full of vitamins. Choose from more than 30 vegetable crops!
The episode starts with Tino describing his background and journey into entrepreneurship, noting that this is his fourth startup and providing some lessons learned along the way. Nick asks his big question - Why entrepreneurship? Why create startups? Tino has amazing responses to those questions. Next, we hear about his opportunity to pitch at Founders Live Zagreb - he was the winner and his amazing pitching tips and the value of the entire Founders Live experience. Next, they talk about why him and his team started the company Gruntek, where he talks about the food supply chain and the problems they saw on the environment. Tino walks through the user experience - a virtual garden, and how people can subscribe to get high quality food and create a circular economy in their community. The conversation ends with his 10 year vision, how they will expand around the world and his advice for other founders. This is an great interview with an exciting leader from Croatia, we hope it helps you today.
https://mojgruntek.hr/
Nick Hughes is joined by Tara Wear who is founder, owner and coach of Powerful Connections Now from Spokane, WA. Tara equips leaders, teams and organizations with the tools needed to excel in today's most difficult climates both inside and out of work. She is a transformative coach, trainer and facilitator who provides practical and actionable content and skill development that empowers business professionals to be their best.
The episode starts with Tara sharing her background and journey into entrepreneurship. We hear Why entrepreneurship? Why start something on her own? it's an interesting question and we always enjoy the guests unique answers Then, we hear about Tara's experience pitching at Founders Live Spokane - she was the winner! She shares how she discovered the event and why she decided to take the leap. Then, they talk about why Tara started her company Powerful Connections Now - what problem did she see in the world? Why Leadership? Tara and her company are all about understanding ineffective communication and how it negatively affects companies large and small. Tara shares more about Thrive Circles and how she pivoted and evolved her business starting in the pandemic and now going forward. Lastly, we hear advice for women and leaders… for balancing the dynamics of leadership and growth of business. This is an great interview with an exciting leader from Washington State, we hope it helps you today.
https://powerfulconnectionsnow.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Anuja Murugesan, Founder and CEO of BuddyAid from Columbus, Ohio. Wouldn't it be great if we could utilize anybody according to their own strength? Introducing the new platform BuddyAid, which connects people and can avail service from the best person.
The episode starts with Nick asking Anuja about her background and founder journey. Why did she choose entrepreneurship? And why now? We then hear about her Pitching experience at Founders Live Columbus, where BuddyAid was the winner of the event. Anuja shares a few pitching Tips for other founders, and the importance of including a storyline for the pitch. Next we hear how they started the business, we learn more about BuddyAid. How did the team develop the first version of the product? We learn more about why they are building a local / neighborhood service business and then the eventual 10 year visions for what they are creating. Lastly, Anuja shares some great tips and advice to early stage entrepreneurs. This is an great interview with an exciting up and coming startup entrepreneur from Columbus, we hope it helps you today.
https://buddyaid.us/
Nick Hughes is joined by Blake Granner, who is founder and CEO of Service Pro Community, from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Service Pro Community is company that performs website design services from small businesses and entrepreneurs; with a focus on our service providing application.
The episode starts with Nick asking Blake about his background and journey into entrepreneurship. He's still quite young, and we hear why he left university and chose entrepreneurship. It's an amazing story and Blake shares some very inspirational wisdom. Then they talk about how Service Pro Community was born and we learn what he is building and why? Blake shares his 10 year visions for what you are creating and what he wants to see in the world. They also talk about his experience Pitching at Founders Live Minneapolis, he won and how he found out! He shares some itching tips for other founders as well as his advice and the challenges overcome and their advice to early stage entrepreneurs. This is an inspiring interview with an exciting up and coming young startup entrepreneur from Minneapolis, we hope it helps you today.
https://serviceprocommunity.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Zac Graber, CEO of Opendemia from Liberty Center, Ohio and now living in Columbus. Opendemia is a website designed by students, for students, to assist throughout the entire research and writing process in a simple way.
The episode starts with Nick asking Zac about his background and journey, and the ever popular question, why entrepreneurship? Why start a company today? Zac is a recent Founders Live Columbus winner and he describes his experience and some quick tips for 99 Second pitch! Next they talk about Opendemia, what are they building and why? We learn how it works and why students need this help. We also learn more of his views on ChatGPT and AI and the other interesting developments in automation and intelligence. They end with Zac providing some great advice to early stage entrepreneurs. This is an inspiring interview with an exciting up and coming startup entrepreneur from Ohio, we hope it helps you today.
https://www.opendemia.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Brian Reznik, CEO and cofounder of Nanotransfer from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Nanotransfer is developing the next generation gene delivery system for gene therapy applications.
The episode starts with Nick and Bran discussing is background and journey into entrepreneurship. They then go into his experience pitching at Founders Live Buenos Aires and emerging as the winner Nov 2022 and shares his tips for a 99 second pitch. The conversations shifts to talk about Nanotransfer. What problem did they see in the world and how are they solving it? Brian shares his vision of where this gene therapy is heading over the next 10 years. The conversation ends with Brian sharing his advice to early stage entrepreneurs. This is an inspiring interview with an exciting up and coming startup entrepreneur from Argentina, we hope it helps you today.
https://www.nanotransfer.bio/
Nick Hughes is joined by Beverly Price, a Life transition coach, podcast host at Her Self Expression and designer of Nastava Jewelry from Pawleys Island, SC. Beverly is an intuitive designer er whose custom creations reflect the journey of self-empowerment, self-expression, and beauty.
The episode starts with Nick and Beverly discussing her background and journey into entrepreneurship. She describes her early personal growth and struggles and why creativity and entrepreneurship was the answer. She helps people to find the feeling empowered to step into their own passions and take the risk of leaving a secure job to pursue dreams. This is how she stepped away from a toxic corporate culture to pursue her true passion. Nick and Beverly touch on how she worked through her own Impostor syndrome in corporate america and into her own businesses. They then shift to Nastava Jewelry, her fun jewelry business and why it brings her passion and joy, how jewelry can reenergize women! Lastly, Beverly talks about her coaching business and a podcast - helping people going through change. They end with her tips and advice for early stage entrepreneurs and people going through career transitions. This is an amazing interview with an insightful coach, we hope it helps you today.
https://herselfexpression.com/
https://nastavajewelry.com
Nick Hughes is joined by Estelle Giraud Co-Founder & Ceo at Trellis Health. Health support as unique as you & this journey. Trellis Health is a complete picture of your health, at your fingertips in minutes, with tailored software tools that empower you to be an owner of your health.
The episode starts with Nick and Estelle jumping into her journey into starting her own business and entrepreneurship. We discover if there is a story of how she discovered this path into genetic testing? They speak about the science and technology of healthcare and genetics, and where it’s at and why start a company now? Estelle talks about the state of medicine and women's health and pregnancy, aslo what excites her about genetics, and what concerning too. Estelle is excited to share her vision 10 years out, what does Trellis Health look like in the future. They finish with her Lifelong learning / growth mindset as well as her advice to early stage startup founders. This is an inspiring interview with a very promising entrepreneur, we hope it helps you today.
https://www.jointrellishealth.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Taryn Watts founder The Mind Rebel Academy and Shawn Watts founder and CEO of Corfix from Ottawa, CAN. Taryn Watts and Shawn Watts truly want their kids to see the hard days where they're sad or when they have negative emotions. They don't want their children to think life is easy, so that whenever they become adults, they'll be able to move through fears in a healthy way because they've seen their entrepreneur parents do it while crafting their dreams.
The episode starts with Nick asking the couple about their background and journey into entrepreneurship. We learn why they started down this path and their frustrating thoughts of mediocrity and just a stable paycheck. They also talk about both being entrepreneurs within the couple and the pros and cons of that experience. They then shift to parenting in today’s world, and Encouraging entrepreneurship? How do they raise mindful children and show them the realities of the ups and downs of entrepreneurial life. They talk about how it's normal to feel like an imposter sometimes, but also showing them now to move past that and into truth will set them up for success in the future. We then hear a bit about each other's businesses and then they end the conversation with their Advice to early stage entrepreneurs. This is a fun inspiring interview with a hard charging family of entrepreneurs, we hope it helps you today.
Mind Rebel Academy https://www.themindrebel.com - helps people develop the skills and tools it takes to step into their life's work as a world-class coach.
Corfix https://www.corfix.com/- Project management, timekeeping, and health & safety documentation – united in one easy-to-use software.
Nick Hughes is joined by Christy Serrato who is the founder of Pair Anything from San Francisco, California.PairAnything is the WOC-founded technology company helping businesses connect customers to the right food and beverage pairings to increase sales.
The episode starts with Nick and Christy chatting about her background and journey into startups, and why she chose entrepreneurship. We (founders) are unique and every entrepreneur chooses this path for a different reason. Christy has a very touching story of how she ended up founding her startup. They then talk more about her experience Pitching at Founders Live SF, and winning the event! Christy shares Pitching Tips for other founders and how to go about preparing for the event experience. Next up, we hear about how Pair Anything was born and what problem Christy saw in the word that needed to be solved. "PairAnything provides the only recommender on the market that can pair wines for any dish from any cuisine." Nick asks about the Pandemic impact and how they navigated things during that time, as well as the Future of local commerce and the 10 year visions for what Pair Anything is creating. They end the conversation with challenges to overcome and her advice to early stage entrepreneurs. This is an inspiring interview with an exciting up and coming startup entrepreneur, we hope it helps you today.
https://www.pairanything.com
Nick Hughes is joined by Eddy Connors who is cofounder and CEO of Goodie Bag and who joins us from Boulder, CO. Goodie Bag is a marketplace solution for retail food shops' surplus food; connecting customers to perfectly good food at a discounted price for pickup.
The episode starts with Nick and Eddy talking about his background and journey, with some interesting early experiences learning the value of travel. Eddy discusses his experience in Indonesia and the lesson of 'Being different" which still greatly influences him and his businesses today. We learn Why is he drawn to entrepreneurship and why did Eddy choose to start a company?
Also, Eddy is the Founders Live Denver winner from Dec 2022. We hear about his Founders Live event experience and his tips for 99 Second pitch! Then they talk about what problem did he see in the world, and why he started Goodie Bag. Eddy and his team are tackling Food waste and food insecurity, and we hear about the vision of the company of how they see improving food waste and food insecurity not just in the US but around the world. Closing out the conversation Eddy describes the challenges they have overcome and their advice to early stage entrepreneurs. This is a fun inspiring interview with an exciting up and coming startup entrepreneur, we hope it helps you today.
https://www.goodiebag.co/
Nick Hughes is joined by Nick Hill, Cofounder of MyCoversation, from Birmingham, England. Nick Hill is a sales & marketing expert, consultant, and co-founder of MyConversation - a managed service paired with software that effectively starts more authentic conversations with new prospective customers.
The episode starts with Nick asking Nick Hill about his journey into startups and entrepreneurship. They discuss "Why entrepreneurship?" and we learn how Nick Hill became an entrepreneur & business coach. The discuss how Life/Business Coach Mentorship, why is this so important to the personal development - and the difference between the two? They also touch on the Problems that Nick see's right now that have been around for a while in B2B marketing, as well as where the future of B2B marketing heading as we look out 5-10 years. As the conversation winds down they talk about how to leverage partnerships to quickly scale your business as well as closing thoughts and advice to early stage entrepreneurs like yourself. This is a very interesting conversation with an knowledgeable entrepreneur and business coach, we hope it helps you today.
https://www.myconversation.ai/
Nick Hughes is joined by Alane Boyd, who is cofounder of Arvo from Nashville, TN. Arvo is a software platform for creating visual documentation for teams and their customers.
The episode starts with Nick and Alane discussing her background and journey into entrepreneurship. Alane was the Founders Live Nashville winner Nov 2022. She her experience pitching as well as some tips for others who are considering pitching at a future Founders Live event. Then they talk about Arvo, and what problem did Alane and her team see in the world. They saw challenges around how companies document their processes and people, and went about fixing them! Alane suggests when i’s time to replace things like Google Docs or other free resources and how to get started with Arvo. This conversation ends with Alane and Nick sharing advice to early stage entrepreneurs. This is a fun and enjoyable interview with an exciting up and coming entrepreneur, we hope it helps you today.
https://askarvo.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Irina Gheorghiu of ZIM Connections from London, UK.
ZIM is an eSIM marketplace where you can browse and purchase affordable eSIM data plans from over 120 countries.
The episode starts with Nick and Irina talking about her background and journey into entrepreneurship and how she started the company. We learned about ZIM Connections, an eSIM marketplace where you can browse and purchase affordable eSIM data plans from over 120 countries. We hear how she discovered the challenge of travel and connectivity in different countries and the ultimate vision of the company. Irina is also a Founders Live London winner, and her and Nick talk about
the event and pitching experience Founders Live London. She shares her pitching tips as well as other pieces of advice to early stage entrepreneurs. This is a fun conversation with an very inspiring entrepreneur , we hope it helps you today.
https://www.zimconnections.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Becca Gardner, who is the founder and CEO of NKD LDY from Louisville, Kentucky. ALT Distilling (ALT) is an innovation company that makes really good beverages. Our Product Is “Naked,” Stripped Of Alcohol, Leaving A Pure Drink That Allows You To Pursue Whatever The Night Might Hold, Without Compromise. The idea for ALT Distilling (parent company to NKD LDY) came from Becca's own experience as a non-drinker; her frustration with the alienation that resulted from making a strong decision for herself and the seeming absence of exciting substitutes in spaces of socializing and celebration.
The episode starts with Nick and Becca discussing her journey into starting her own business, and WHY start her own business? We learn how she walked away from a successful corporate career to address the stigma around "sober culture". They then shift into how she created an authentic experience for non-alcoholic drinkers, and why she named it such a name as NKD LDY. Becca and Nick point to the branding, and why it is so important when differentiating your company from so many others in the market. Along with many other lessons and tips, we hear Becca's advice to early stage entrepreneurs who are just starting out. This is a fun and entertaining conversation with an up and coming entrepreneur, we hope it helps you today.
Instagram - NKD LDY
https://www.drinknkdldy.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Edwige Gilbert, founder of New Life Directions from West Palm Beach, FL. Edwige is a transformation guide and founder of New Life Directions, reinvents lives and creates fresh starts driven by a purposeful vision and habit transformation. As an international speaker and author of The Fresh Start Promise and Victim to Victorious, Edwige turns stress into success by clearing unwanted habits and behaviors, creating self confidence and exuberant enjoyment of life, or as she calls it in French, “Joie de Vivre.” Edwige's secrets to living, loving and aging with grace and style are the keys to recapturing vitality, embracing your sensuality and living life to the fullest, at any age.
The episode starts with Nick and Edwige discussing her journey into starting her own business and entrepreneurship. Nick wonders, is there a story of how she discovered this path? She points to Mindfulness - and how can leaders be more mindful as they lead their organizations. We know the entrepreneurial life can be stressful, so Nick and Edwige review suggestions to best deal and overcome it. She points to how to take your stress and move it into Strength. They talk about what you focus on - expands - and how to use "I can, I create, I manifest…" everyday to lead you to fulfilment. Edvige ends with sharing the first steps to take if someone is ready to change and take action. Check out her books and courses at http://newlifedirections.com. This is a fun and informative conversation with an amazing person, we hope it helps you today.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/edwige-gilbert-3331162/
http://newlifedirections.com
Nick Hughes is joined by Waseem Daher CEO and Cofounder of Pilot, from San Francisco. Waseem is the CEO and co-founder of Pilot, which specializes in bookkeeping, tax, and CFO services for high-growth technology startups. He is a three-time entrepreneur with two successful exits: his first company, Ksplice, was acquired by Oracle in 2011 and his second, Zulip, was acquired by Dropbox in 2014. He has a degree in computer science from MIT.
The episode starts with Nick and Waseem talking about his journey into startups and entrepreneurship. They touch on his previous acquisitions and what things he learned from those previous startups. Waseem shares how they situated the startups for an attractive exit and what he learned in the proces. They then discuss how to best work with your cofounding team and as a technical founder, what did he most have to invest in/uplevel to gain success in the position. They then shift to talk about Pilot and illustrate the differences with Pilot from more traditional back office accounting and CFO services. The conversation ends with Waseem mentioning what the biggest mistakes he sees startup founders make and general advice to startups and how should we be navigating this downturn. This is a fun and informative conversation with an very experienced entrepreneur, we hope it helps you today.
https://pilot.com/offer/founderslive
Nick Hughes is joined by Michelle Kulp Book Launch Expert, from Annapolis Maryland. Michelle Kulp is a Book Launch Expert, Publishing Specialist, 20x #1 Bestselling Author, and USA Today Bestselling Author. Since 2012, she has been teaching entrepreneurs, consultants, coaches, and thought leaders how to elevate their expertise, attract their ideal clients, and increase their income and opportunities — with a Bestselling Book! To date, Michelle has launched over 300 books for clients and has helped them hit numerous #1 Amazon bestseller lists as well as Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestseller lists. Michelle's Bestseller program is a one-stop shop for authors who don’t have the knowledge, expertise, desire or skill-set to publish and market their own books.
The episode starts with Nick and Michelle jumping into her journey into entrepreneurship… and what it takes to be a writer. Can anyone write a book a month? What is a book exactly? These questions are dissected by Michelle to illustrate how to you write and publish a book in one month. She details out her advice on how to start your writing career, how to create passive income with writing, how to break down your ideas and topics into chunks of content and how to do the best marketing processes - outside of Amazon. The end with Michelle's advice to writers and early stage entrepreneurs. This is a fun and informative conversation with an amazing author and entrepreneur, we hope it helps you today.
https://bestsellingauthorprogram.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Gabriela Pulido, founder and partner of Scalto from Miami, Florida. At Scalto, they know how hard it is for service-based businesses to attain real scalability; exponentially increasing revenues without incurring significant costs. They are here to help Hispanic and Latin American B2B service businesses design truly scalable business models to grow over time. Their focus is enabling firms to jump ahead of the competition by designing all aspects of a truly scalable business: the offering, the client experience, the brand and the communications and lead generation process.
The episode starts with Nick and Gabriela talking about her journey into starting her own business and what entrepreneurship mean to her. They then dive deeper into Scalto, talking about real scalability and Scalex Program. Gabriela describes how to Define Your Scaling Mindset - what can you achieve and growth options. How to Create Your Story - and determine the narrative. She helps listeners understand the whole customer journey. They then discuss the biggest mistakes she sees in branding today and the first few steps with marketing/communications for early stage startups. The conversation concludes with some advice to early stage entrepreneurs. This is a fun and inspirational conversation with a passionate leader, advisor and entrepreneur, we hope it helps you today.
http://www.scalto.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabriela-scalto/
Nick Hughes is joined by John DenBoer, a TEDx Speaker, Author and Startup Founder from Wisconsin. John is a former clinical neuropsychologist and founder whose startup journey has been a wild ride of fame, defeat and lessons learned.
The episode starts with Nick and John discussing his startup journey as a pioneer - his successes, failures & what he learned in business from raising funds for a high growth startup, plus his painful mistakes that cost dearly. John points to the power of PR - how his team got featured on Netflix and how this impacted the outlook for his startup. He shares his reflections on how to find your cause - in John's case Disrupting Dementia - and what he learned through it. John helped create the NETFLIX documentary called “This is Dementia” by Bosch Films. They then talk about what he has learned as a sports neuropsychologist and high performance, how to achieve peak performance as an athlete and entrepreneur. They end with John sharing his lessons learned and painful mistakes that cost dearly, and shares his advice to early stage entrepreneurs. This is a fun and informative conversation with a passionate and purposeful entrepreneur, we hope it helps you today.
https://thisisdementia.com/
https://linkedin.com/in/drj/
Nick Hughes is joined by Rich Goldstein, a patent attorney and founder of Goldstein Patent Law from New Jersey. Rich is a patent attorney, entrepreneur, author, and speaker who specializes in assisting others in protecting and monetizing their ideas. He is passionate in helping entrepreneurs to better understand how patents may help them grow their businesses.
The episode starts with Nick and Rich discussing his journey into law and entrepreneurship, including his lessons of 28 years of entrepreneurship - and sales. They then talk about protecting your brand and how to keep Competitors from getting too close to your territory. Rich details how to understand the difference between a patent and a trademark, how to market your concept and when to be more public about it, and how to navigate the situation if you encounter trouble or others in the market. Nick and Rich talk about when it's not best to patent your concept, or weighing the pros and cons to making the investment in legal protection early on in the startup process. Rich ends with his tips and lessons for early stage entrepreneurs. This is a fun and educational conversation with a IP and Legal expert, we hope it helps you today.
https://www.goldsteinpatentlaw.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Allie Martin, CEO and Founder of Fame and Fortune from Shelbyville Kentucky. Allie is a visibility expert who uses proactive public relations with her clients through her framework The Publicity Stair Step™. Fame and Fortune® was opened by Allie Hembree Martin in June 2019 with a mission to support female entrepreneurs by integrating new and traditional marketing tactics to grow their visibility. The Fame and Fortune® team has been able to achieve top-tier media placements for clients, with clients appearing on Forbes, Martha Stewart, The Rachael Ray Show, CNN’s Anderson Cooper, Apartment Therapy, Better Homes & Gardens, and more. Social media strategy is another major emphasis of the business, bringing to life the stories and messages of the client in creative and engaging ways.
The episode starts with Nick and Allie discussing her journey and how she survived numerous layoffs at larger companies. We learn how Allie got into PR and then decided to start her own company - and what's in the name?! Allie walks through the first few steps of getting started in her publicity business and then details The Publicity Stair Step™ approach, plus the 6 Tips to crafting the perfect PR pitch and how to get the coverage you deserve. She finishes it off with ideas on steps to take this week to gain momentum and get discovered. Lastly, we hear her advice for early stage entrepreneurs and how to outreach PR and media outlets. This is a fun and informative conversation with a PR and Visibility expert, we hope it helps you today.
https://www.iwantfamefortune.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Dave Dickert, CEO and Cofounder of Branded Bills who is located in Mesa, Arizona. After Selling more than 2.5 million products nationwide, Branded Bills has grown into one of the most successful headwear brands on the market, changing the way customers, employees and businesses think about the retail space.
The episode starts with Dave giving a bit more information on his background and journey into entrepreneurship. We hear how he went from athletics into business.. and does he love to win or hate to lose? Next we hear how his experience in food and beverage industry and how that led him to start Branded Bills. What did Dave observe throughout the pandemic in retail? And what are his current thoughts and observations of retail landscape and thoughts of future of retail. They then dive deeper into Branding, Company Culture and creating an awesome organization to work for. Lastly, we hear Dave's advice for early stage founders and what he'd suggest you consider as you start your company. This is an great conversation with a purpose driven leader, we hope it helps you today.
https://www.brandedbills.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Darren Winterford, CEO and Founder of Edapp.com from Sydney, Australia. Darren Winterford has extensive experience building mobile apps and pushing the boundaries of innovation. As a pioneer in the microlearning space, EdApp's teams are established in Sydney, London, Manila, and New York. Today, the EdApp platform has a wide reach, where around 50,000 lessons are completed every day in over 90 countries around the world. With the current focus on the democratization of learning, EdApp, together with the United Nations, have launched Educate All: An initiative to increase access to free, high-quality and impactful education around the world.
The episode starts with Darren describing his journey from marketing into entrepreneurship as Nick asks why he chose entrepreneurship? Darren provides his insights / lessons from growing the business from startup to established company. We then hear more about Edapp and what problem he saw in the world that needed to be solved. Darren describes how he thinks that the smartphone can really change the shape of global education and what he sees as thee future of learning. The conversation ends with Nick and Darren talking about distributed/remote team and leadership, the best tools and software for leading distributed teams as well as Darren's lessons and advice for early stage founders. This is an great conversation with a leader in the remote education space, we hope it helps you today.
https://www.edapp.com/
This conversation took place during a Livestreamed Founders Live Center Stage event. Founders Live CEO Nick Hughes talks with Luis Antezana to give updates and an overview of his 2022 World Tour which takes him to various SE Asia countries. He will spend most of his time in Indonesia, but will also visit the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand. Hear his thoughts on travel, how it challenges you and makes you a better leader and human.
In this Founders Live Conversation with a live audience, Nick and Julie cover Julie's journey into entrepreneurship, why she decided to go out on her own, the purpose behind her new book The 7 Forms Of Respect and lessons of how to work 7 Forms of Respect into your own company. They also take questions from a small group of viewers.
Julie Pham, Ph.D. is the Author of the #1 Amazon Best Seller 7 Forms of Respect and the CEO of CuriosityBased, which fosters curiosity in the world, starting in the workplace. She is an award-winning leader who applies her community-building experience to strengthening teams. Dr. Pham earned her PhD as a Gates Cambridge Scholar and her “real-life MBA” by running her family’s Vietnamese-language newspaper, Người Việt Tây Bắc, in Seattle. She has worked as a journalist, a professor, a researcher, a marketer, and nonprofit executive.
The 7 Forms of Respect is a practical guide for any team leader and team player in the American workplace. Dr. Julie Pham offers thought-provoking questions and exercises that will transform your communication and relationships with the people you work with in lasting and surprising ways. Available on Kindle now and in paperback by May 31.
Find the book here - https://formsofrespect.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Scott O’Neil, one of America’s most admired sports executives, author and investor. Scott is one of the most recognized, connected and dynamic executives in the sports and entertainment industry today. He has more than 25 years of experience leading NBA, NHL and NFL teams and leagues, including the National Basketball Association, Philadelphia 76ers, New York Knicks, New Jersey Nets, Philadelphia Eagles, New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils. His mission to build innovative, inspiring, socially impactful and high-performing teams and business organizations has earned him a reputation as a “leader of leaders.” A Harvard Business School-educated CEO, O’Neil contends that fostering a corporate culture founded in respect, diversity, employee development and corporate social responsibility is what drives the success of the award-winning sports teams and businesses he oversees.
The episode starts with Scott describing his background and his early journey into the sports industry. We hear about why or why he didn't choose entrepreneurship early on, and why he chose leadership as a lifestyle and profession. Scott shares his biggest take away from his time with the Sixers and New Jersey Devils organizations. Then Nick and Scott dive deeper into what culture and leadership mean to each, sharing insights and thoughts on the ups and downs. They then shift to Scotts book - Be Where Your Feet Are: Seven Principles to Keep You Present, Grounded, and Thriving. Nick asks "Why now? Why write this book?" And Scott shares the deep purpose and reason for the book, as well as covers a few of the principles found in the book. The conversation concludes with Scott’s lessons and tips for early stage entrepreneurs. This is an incredible conversation with a purpose driven leader who is making impact and helping others maximize their own leadership in the world, we hope it helps you today.
Book
Be Where Your Feet Are: Seven Principles to Keep You Present, Grounded, and Thriving
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1250769876?tag=macsupaduinstalpa-20
In this episode, Mindset Coach David Nurse Joins Founders Live Center Stage Live from Houston, Texas to talk about optimal mindset for success in business and athletics. Founders Live CEO Nick Hughes, special guest host Rob Turbin from Turbo Talk along with David discuss how athletes as well as entrepreneurs can find the optimal mindset, realign with things fall down, and other success and leadership tips.
David Nurse - NBA Mindset Coach, 2x Best- Author and Motivational Speaker
David Nurse has been transforming the way hundreds of NBA stars play on the court for most of his career. In fact, his method was dubbed as training “athletes of the future” because of his ability to teach them how to tap into different mindsets and become unstoppable. He has written two bestselling books, runs a successful motivational coaching business and is a highly-sought-after speaker—hired by companies like Dell, Salesforce, ESPN and The NBA—to help thousands of employees and athletes develop unshakeable mindsets. In fact, he was recently named as one of the top 50 keynote speakers in the world by Real Leaders and ranks as the youngest speaker on the list.
As a former professional basketball player, David’s ability to get into the zone and master his mindset led him to two Guinness World Records for shooting—a huge accomplishment on its own. In 2016, the Brooklyn Nets hired him as a coach to help players improve their shooting—they went from being 28th in the league to 2nd overall in 3 point shooting. In total, David has worked with over 150 NBA players whose contract earnings amount to 3.2 billion.
Today, Fortune 500 companies, professional athletes and aspiring entrepreneurs hire David for his award-winning strategies and infectious positivity. His two books, Pivot & GoandBreakthrough, have helped thousands develop confidence and find success; and its teachings are also at the very core of his virtual coaching business, online workshops and corporate speaking. He resides in Marina del Rey with his incredibly talented wife, actress Taylor Kalupa. When he’s not traveling the world inspiring thousands to have breakthrough moments, he loves going on long walks on the beach with his wife.
As one star NBA player put it: “David is the guy that everyone needs to hire.”
Nick Hughes is joined by Fred Joyal, a speaker, author and executive coach from Los Angeles, CA. Fred co-founded the most successful dentist referral service in the country, 1-800-DENTIST, which, in his 30 years as CEO, generated over $1 billion in revenue. Along with this achievement, he has also been awarded the Conrad Hilton Distinguished Entrepreneur Award by Loyola Marymount University. He has written two bestselling books for his industry, and also written and appeared in over 200 television and radio commercials. Fred Started started as an extremely shy person, too timid even to make a phone call, and transformed himself into someone who has done stand-up and improv comedy, spoken to audiences of 5,000 or more, met dozens of celebrities, and, just by being bold, found love, joy, passion, and success.
The episode starts with Nick asking Fred about his entrepreneurial journey and building the 1-800-DENTIST business. Why he chose entrepreneurship? And then we hear his insights / lessons from growing that business to such a large level. They then jump to his Book - Superbold: From Under-Confident to Charismatic in 90 Days. Fred talks about his lack of confidence originally and how he learned to be more bold and confident in his life. He describes what is happening inside most people. How does one Unleash the Boldness Inside themselves, as well as he touches on the difference between Boldness, confidence and then overconfidence. Then Nick asks, "Will Being Superbold Have A Positive Effect On Our Whole Life?" as well as "What are ways we can relax ourselves in any situation?" Ending the conversation Fred shares his advice on how early stage founders can leverage boldness in their businesses. This is an incredible conversation with a leader who is set on making impact and helping others maximize their confidence, we hope it helps you today.
https://fredjoyal.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Andy Paul, who is an author, speaker and podcast host from San Diego, CA.Andy's hit "Accelerate Your Sales" podcast was acquired by Revenue.io in 2020. Since re-named "Sales Enablement with Andy Paul", the show continues to inspire thousands of sales professionals each week. Andy has also written two award-winning sales books, "Zero-Time Selling" and "Amp Up Your Sales". And he has consulted with some of the biggest businesses in the world including Square, Philips, Grubhub and more, making him one of the leading voices in the sales industry today. His new Book - SELL WITHOUT SELLING OUT - A Guide to Success on Your Own Terms is a proven framework to increase win rates and shorten decision cycles without the salesy behaviors buyers hate.
The episode starts with Nick and Andy talking about his entrepreneurial journey and we learn why he chose entrepreneurship. Andy shares the personality types of entrepreneurs and common thread he sees with the ones he works with. They then dive into the new Book - SELL WITHOUT SELLING OUT - A Guide to Success on Your Own Terms. Nick asks "Why write this book?" and "What is selling out vs selling in" Andy then talks about quickly developing empathy, credibility, and trust with buyers and Four pillars of Selling, plus the six types of questions that unearth buyers’ deepest challenges. These are golden nuggets! We also learn What to do when a sale goes south or stale and then Andy leaves us with his advice to early authors and entrepreneurs. This is an amazing conversation with an author who has literally written the book on how to sell with purpose and effectiveness, we hope it helps you today.
https://www.andypaul.com/
https://www.amazon.com/Sell-Without-Selling-Out-Success/dp/1989603572//
Nick Hughes is joined by Chris Maeda is currently the CTO and co-founder of the chatbot company Botco.ai, from Toronto, Ontario in Canada. Botco.ai, a conversational marketing platform that helps marketers convert prospects into customers by engaging them in authentic, helpful and informative conversations. While he’s got a PhD from Carnegie Mellon, Chris’s knowledge of AI, ML and NLP goes way beyond the classroom. He has served as CEO of the mail deliverability platform MailMonitor, CTO of the analytics provider Broadbase Software, CTO of the marketing automation platform Rubric Software, and others.
The episode starts with Nick mentioning Founders Live previously had his co-founder Rebecca on the podcast - 006 episode - one of the first episodes for the Founders Live podcast. We then hear about his journey and how he came to discover and become a cofounder of the startup. He shares how timing is everything and a chance meeting at a conference changed his life. They then shift to learn more about Botco, why chatbots are good for way more than just customer support and how they contribute to the field of marketing. Chris shares the latest challenges in AI, ML and NLP and how to make NLP more “human”, as well as the ethical and moral implications of AI. Nick then inquires more about the Botco team, how they found each other, and how they function as a remote team including remote work tools that rock. They end with a few pieces of advice Chris gives to early founders. This is a great conversation with a startup leader who has sights on changing the way we interact with techonolgy, we hope it helps you today.
https://botco.ai/
Nick Hughes is joined by Liam Martin, CMO and cofounder of Time Doctor and runningremote.com, from Montreal Canada. Liam is a co-founder of a remote-first company that grew 8 figures with people in 43 different countries and no office. Remote work has been our way of working for more than 10 years, yet Liam observed that almost 99% of new remote companies during the pandemic could not figure out one thing common to all successful remote-first companies. Essentially, it's asynchronous communication, the bedrock of every successful remote business.
The episode starts with Nick and Liam talking about his early years and how he got started. Then we hear how remote working, as opposed to working from home, was before the pandemic and effects of the pandemic has had on it. We hear what Liam see as things moving forward out of the pandemic and Asynchronous work effectiveness. He specifically talks about Collaboration and the effect remote work has on effectiveness of teams. We then hear about charismatic leaders are not required; in fact, charisma is one of the biggest barriers to business growth regardless of whether the company is remotely located or not. Liam follows up with his Leadership principles when leading a remote team and interesting thoughts on the rise of the Introverted leader. Lastly, he shares the best Tools for remote teams - communication, collaboration and documentation, as well as his lessons learned in his journey of entrepreneurship. This is a great conversation with a leader who has created amazing tools for all of us as we work more remotely and asynchronous. We hope it helps you today.
Liam has also co-authored a book - Running Remote - focused on remote work methodology. In this revolutionary guide, Liam and his co-founder, Rob Rawson, have unearthed the secrets and lessons discovered by remote work pioneering entrepreneurs and founders who've harnessed the async mindset to operate their businesses remotely in the most seamless, hassle-free, and cost-effective manner possible.*
https://www.timedoctor.com/
https://runningremote.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Alec Hanson, SVP Production Loan Depot, from Orange County, CA. Alec has funded countless mortgages over his 17-year career, in 2010 alone, he lent over $1 Billion to customers. He has received several awards & achievements, but most recently he received HouseWire's Rising Star award in 2017 and 2019, and has been named to the Top 40 under 40 achievers for the National Mortgage Professional Magazine for the past three years. He is also the author of his own book namely, "Bypass" and LoanDepot's Modern Lending Playbook.
The episode starts with Nick and Alec jumping into his early days and why he has chosen
entrepreneurship as a lifestyle. We hear his thoughts on building a Dynamic Personal Brand, and why reputation matters. Nick asks, "why is a Personal Brand Important?" Alec responds with pulling from his Seven things you need to do to develop a personal brand. He touches on why going “All in” on Social Media and grow organically is the best approach to improving your personal brand. We hear why he started a podcast and his experience writing a book - Bypassed. Lastly Alec gives his advice to other entrepreneurs and how to continually up your branding game. This is a great conversation with an entrepreneur who is helping others level up their personal and company branding , we hope it helps you today.
https://alechanson.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Sarah Miller, CEO Of Axis Entertainment and host of Media Mavens Podcast who joins us from Los Angeles, CA. Sarah has over 15 years of experience creating leaders and defining markets through strategic public relations and marketing within the Tech, Entertainment, Sports, and Lifestyle Industry.
The episode starts with Nick and Sarah jumping right into a dynamic and fun conversation ranging from PR to Leadership to startup advice. We hear about her journey from working for a PR firm to choosing to leave and start her own company. Nick asks Sarah "Why choose entrepreneurship?" What does it mean to her? We also hear what Leadership means to Sarah and her advice on how startup founders can grow their leadership. Sarah then shares her 3 W’s and her foundations of leadership. Next they shift a bit to understanding talent and what Sarah looks for in her clients and leaders. You will hear how to build quality PR from the early stages and how important perception is to establishing one's PR and Leadership. They end the conversation around thoughts of how the pandemic shifted us and since we are now coming out of it, what Sarah is excited about going forward from here! This is a great conversation with a leader who is set on making impact and helping others improve their own leadership qualities, we hope it helps you today.
www.axis-entertainment.comhttps://mediamavenspodcast.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Jesse Harless, an author, professional facilitator and coach, and founder of Entrepreneurs in Recovery, LLC from Concord NH. Jesse started Entrepreneurs in Recovery® in 2017 to transform the lives of 5000 men and women in addiction recovery through one-on-one coaching, facilitation and speaking. He's expanded his work into communities, certified addiction recovery coaching, workplaces, and sober living residences throughout the United States. He's also an XCHANGE certified guide and faculty member with a deep passion for facilitating meaningful conversations to bring out the best in people, the community and the world.
The episode starts with Nick and Jesse discussing how they met through mutual connections, and how Nick listened to his interview on Hal Elrod’s podcast and determined to have Jesse on this podcast. We then hear Jesse detail his early life experience with serious addiction, which tremendously influenced his work and company today. Jesse says we all are addicted to things - good and bad - and they then discuss some warning signs of trouble. If people are ready to make a change, Jesse discusses what steps he would you suggest someone takes to get help. They then dive deeper into the intersection of entrepreneurship and addiction, why they think entrepreneurs are susceptible to it and what the options are for help. They both wonder how we push hard to achieve our goals and yet balance the ‘neurotransmitters’ of ups and downs of the founder's journey. Lastly, they discuss a few topics from Jesse's latest book - IF NOT YOU, THEN WHO? This is an incredibly touching conversation with an entrepreneur who has set out to help many other people with options and advice on how to overcome addiction in their own life, we hope it helps you today.
https://halelrod.com/jesse-harless-addictions/
https://www.jesseharless.com/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1733531610
Nick Hughes is joined by Nik Tsoukales, founder and chief strategist of Realtop, from Boston MA. Nik is a 3-time inc. 5000 winner and the founder of Realtop, one of the fastest-growing digital marketing agencies in North America that currently has $30 million in marketing dollars managed.
As the episode starts, Nick and Nik jump into the conversation around his founder journey and why choose entrepreneurship. They discuss nature vs nurture of entrepreneurship, and we hear how he grew up with parents as entrepreneurs and learned the lifestyle from an early age. We then hear more about Realtop and the creation process and of how he started his Agency. More specifically, we hear Nik's thoughts on how startups should approach using Google search ads, why using Google Forecast is smart, and why Nik prefers google ads over social media ads. They end with lasting Advice to early startup founders and some fun tips. This is a great conversation with an entrepreneur who has clearly made an impact in his industry, we hope it helps you today.
https://www.realtop.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Dr. Chandler Chang , a clinical psychologist and the Founder of Therapy Lab from Los Angeles, CA. In her effort to rethink how we access and utilize therapy, Dr. Chandler became an entrepreneur to change the way we look at mental health by developing new systems for receiving mental health support. She realized that she’d need to dive into her entrepreneurial side and develop new systems for accessible therapy by starting Therapy Lab and offering something new: evidence-based therapy with a plan. The episode starts with Nick and Chandler discussing how she started her journey and why she choose entrepreneurship as a lifestyle. Nick asks why she decide to start the company and what is the a story behind it. We then hear more about Therapy Lab Kids and what problem Chandler saw in the market, especially for families. They talk about the current times… and what are we dealing with globally as to mental health crises. Nick and Chandler then dive into mental health for entrepreneurs. They wonder, what happens when entrepreneurs push too hard? And what are the new systems for receiving mental health support, especially as a high achiever. Lastly, we hear about her biggest obstacles she has overcome and her lessons and tips for early stage entrepreneurs. This is a very important conversation with an entrepreneur who has set out to help many other people improve their mental and emotional wellness, we hope it helps you today.
https://therapylab.com/kids
https://www.linkedin.com/in/chandler-s-chang/
Nick Hughes is joined by Tiffani Higgins, Founder of Stay at Home Bookkeeper Academy from Houston, TX. Tiffani started her career out as a CPA working 60 hours a week during tax season, feeling guilty for “choosing” her career over her family. She realized 80% of what she was doing in bookkeeping data entry could be done from anywhere, so why was she working for a corporation away from her family? Now, she works for herself for 10 hours a week, makes nearly the same pay with no more long days, no stress, and, most importantly, she gets to spend valuable time with her sweet family. She started the Stay at Home Bookkeeper Academy to teach thousands how to make money while pursuing the freedom in life they desire, whether working from home or on the road in an RV.
As the episode starts, Nick and Tiffani get to know each other by talking about her background and journey into entrepreneurship, how she started her own booking business and hear why she is ultimately attracted to Entrepreneurship. They then talk about what is the mindset needed to go from employee to entrepreneur. Tiffani talks about time management and allocation - how to work balance during working remote and flexible hours. We then hear about the company, The Stay At Home Bookkeeper Academy program that will walk you through the process of setting up and running your own bookkeeping business from home. Tiffani shares the secrets to gaining clients as an early entrepreneur and her lessons learned , and why she believes done is better than perfect!. This is a great conversation with an entrepreneur who has set out to help many other people into a life of entrepreneurship, we hope it helps you today.
https://www.stayathomebookkeeper.com/start-a-virtual-bookkeeping-business
Nick Hughes is joined by Bryan Clayton, CEO and co-founder of GreenPal from Nashville, TN. GreenPal an online marketplace that connects homeowners with local lawn care professionals, and has been called the “Uber for lawn care” by Entrepreneur magazine with over 200,000 active users completing thousands of transactions per day.
As the episode starts, Nick and Bryan quickly jump into the conversation starting with Bryan's journey into entrepreneurship and how he learned what Agency over our life really is. We then hear the insight for GreenPal and what challenges did Bryan face building the company and what was the hardest part to overcome. Bryan shares his thoughts on how to get started on your business when you have little money, why one would move forward self funded vs VC funding, and how did they grow and expand to additional markets/cities/states? Next, we hear the plans for expanding GreenPal and what’s is Bryan's ultimate vision for the company. Lastly, we hear Bryan’s advice to early stage entrepreneurs, which is great! This is an awesome conversation with an entrepreneur who has made significant impact and created a high growth company, we hope it helps you today.https://www.yourgreenpal.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Bobby Marhamat, CEO of Raydiant from San Francisco. Bobby is the co-founder and CEO of Raydiant — a brick and mortar technology startup that helps brands manage and deliver experiences at their physical locations. To date the company has raised over $20M from investors such as 8VC, Atomic, and actor Mark Walhberg.
As the episode starts, Nick and Bobby jump into the discussion around his background and why he chose entrepreneurship. We hear about his early experience and lessons of scaling with Revel systems, a high growth startup he had the opportunity to work at earlier in his career. Bobby discusses how to hire A people into your team and how to look for and attract the best talent possible. Then they shift to Raydiant - what problem are they solving, and what is an experience platform? Given Raydiant is operating in the retail space, Nick wonders how did the company endure through the Challenges during the pandemic? They end with Bobby's lessons learned from raising his $13M Series A in the middle of a pandemic, and his advice to early stage startups and entrepreneurs - as well as how he connected with the actor Mark Wahlberg and brought him in as an investor. This is a fun, inspiring and interesting conversation, we hope it helps you today.
https://www.raydiant.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Julia Arndt of Peak Performance Method from Lake Tahoe, CA. Julia Arndt is a stress management trainer, sought-after international speaker, and the founder of the Peak Performance Method. Julia is a perpetual high performer— top of her class and having landed her “dream job” at Google. Long hours, long drive and too many cups of coffee later, Julia found herself experiencing burnout. She wants to share her story to help others learn what she wishes she had known at the beginning of her career.
As the episode starts, Nick and Julia get right into her background and journey into entrepreneurship, how she was working at Google but then dealt with burnout. They talk about what anxiety actually feels like and how one can identify if they are trending that way. Nick then shifts the conversation to why Julia chose Entrepreneurship, we hear how she started Peak Performance Method and they discuss the mindset needed to go from employee to entrepreneur. The crux of the conversation is around what does Peak Performance Actually Feel Like. They touch on limiting beliefs & ideas of breaking the habits holding people back, how mental health is just as important as physical health, strategies on how to avoid & overcome burnout. They end the conversation with lessons learned, what would Julia tell her younger self just starting this journey. This is an incredible conversation with an entrepreneur who has set out to help all of us understand burnout and mental health, we hope it helps you today.https://www.peakperformancemethod.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Brianna Dickey, founder and CEO of CropConex from San Francisco, CA. CropConex connects agriculture supply chains on the all-in-one platform for collaborative commerce. List your products and services on CropConex and develop lasting customer relationships on the platform that’s humanizing global trade.
As the episode starts, Nick and Brianna start by talking about Her journey into entrepreneurship resulting from her travels around the world. We hear the latest from CropConex, how they have made it through the pandemic, and how they dealt with (and helped with) supply chain issues as we as adjusting through rough waters of the pandemic. Brianna details how she started with an idea, worked to an MVP and tested her early products in the wild, with real customers. Nick and Brianna then discuss having a large impact on the world and building toward the ultimate vision of the company. Brianna shares some of her lessons learned, how to operate globally with various partners and customers in many different countries , and ultimately what she has learned over the last few years as a startup founder. This is a very inspiring conversation with strong entrepreneur in the supply chain industry, we hope it helps you today.
https://cropconex.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Ansley Fender of CEO and Founder Atlas Solutions of Bloomington, Indiana. Atlas is building seamless and collaborative funding management software to disrupt the $4T grant funding and federal contract industry.
As the episode starts, Nick and Ansley start with hearing more about her background and early days / journey. Ansley talks about humble beginnings and how she got started in Entrepreneurship. We hear the origin story of how she started Atlas Solutions, and what problems in the world she wanted to fix. Ansley walks through the first few steps they took from Idea stage to get into early product stage, and shares her thoughts on being a non-technical founder, and her advice and how to build with little coding experience. They then shift into what she learned around balancing Mental Health as an Entrepreneur and how to maintain your sanity while you work towards growing a successful company. Lastly, Ansley gives advice on how to approach relationships and being a Mom while building a startup, raising money and answering investors questions, and what advice she would give her younger self. This is an fun and inspiring conversation with a clearly talented entrepreneur, we hope it helps you today.
https://www.getatlassolutions.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Ashleigh Wilson, Founder and CEO Auditmate from San Francisco. AuditMate has raised over 2.5 Million in funding and is managing hundreds of elevator portfolios for clients like Nuveen, CBRE, JLL, Stanford Health, and more. Ashleigh is on a mission to educate and empower building owners and managers to get the most of their elevator contracts while keeping passengers safe.
As the episode starts, Nick and Ashleigh open with their approaches to planning and goal setting as the new year begins. Ashleigh shares how the New Year allows for you to visualize where you want to go and ‘what’s your story?’ We then hear about her background and why she chose entrepreneurship. They discuss ideas around Permission To Be Human - allowing space for our whole selves and they talk about human centered leadership and how to balance empathy and performance standards. Next, we hear more about Auditmate, what problems did they see in the market and how are they solving them. They discuss how to bring fundamental change to old traditional industries, which can be difficult. Lastly, we hear where Ashleigh wants to take AuditMate and the lessons and advice she gives to early stage entrepreneurs. This is an incredibly inspiring conversation with an up and coming leader in our industry, we hope it helps you today.
https://auditmate.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Jimmy St Louis, Founder of Franchise123 joining us from Tampa, FL. Jimmy is the founder of Franchise123 and just released a new book. He's also a former tight end for the NFL's Tennessee Titans and a member of the 2016 United States Rowing Team. Franchise123™ is your start-to-finish platform for franchise success! You’ll find everything you need to discover the right franchise opportunity for you all in one place, right here.
Nick and Jimmy get right into the conversation starting with his background and early days / journey and learnings of an athlete. Jimmy shares his thoughts about being an athlete turned entrepreneur - and they discuss the similarities and how the experience of high level performance translates over to business performance. We then hear what drew him into the entrepreneurial path, and why Jimmy considered the franchising as a business model. We hear more in depth on he franchising model and what types of businesses are a good or aren’t a good fit for franchising. They then talk more about Franchise123 and Jimmy's ultimate vision of the future of the company and franchise industry in general. Jimmy shares his thoughts and recommendations if someone is thinking about franchising and then offers advice to early stage entrepreneurs. This is a jam packed conversation full of wisdom, tips and lessons to inspire entrepreneurs around the world, we hope it helps you today.
https://franchise123.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Yael Joffe, Founder and Chief Science Officer of 3X4 Genetics from Seattle, WA. 3X4 Genetics is a venture-backed genetics testing company that helps doctors and dietitians integrate genetics into their practice. As the episode starts we hear Nick and Yael quickly jump into an engaging conversation first learning her background and why she chose entrepreneurship. What was it about running her own business she could not get away from? Was there a turning point in her life that shifted how she approached life? We then hear more about Genetics, and Yael's founding story and how she managed to raise over $4m in funding from investors across the world. She breaks down the elements of Genetics she saw that needed to be fixed as well as her outlook on the industry and the ultimate vision for the industry and company. Also, we hear how to adapt and survive when your business changes, as Covid happened, forcing her to totally rethink the entire business plan. Finally, Yael shares her lessons for other female founders — especially those starting a business in health and science as well as her view as the biggest personality traits of successful entrepreneurs. This is an incredibly packed conversation full of wisdom and tips to inspire entrepreneurship globally, we hope it helps you today.
https://www.3x4genetics.com/
The Future of Health Will Be Personalized. And Genetic Testing Is The Tool That Will Make It Possible.
Nick Hughes is joined by Rodwell Tambade of Two Brothers Inn from Harare, Zimbabwe. Rodwell is a long time supporter and member of Founders live. He also has been busy growing Two Brothers Inn, which is a fast food outlet in Zimbabwe. Nick and Rodwell quickly dive into a fun conversation around entrepreneurship and what it means to two people on different sides of the world. We start by hearing about Rodwell's discovery of Founders Live, his path as a student at Chinhoyi University of Technology and his experience and story of getting going with his business. We learn more about Two Brothers Inn and why he decided to start the company in the food business. Rodwell shares his lessons of what he learned from entrepreneurship. Then Nick and him went back and forth asking each other questions and advice, with Rodwell asking Nick a few questions that were on his mind as well. Finishing off the conversation, we learn more about how to find and pitch investors and how to develop and hire a team of great employees. This is a fun and touching conversation of inspiring entrepreneurship both from perspectives in the United States and in Zimbabwe, we hope it helps you today.
Nick Hughes is joined by Genevieve Brazelton, a Portland, OR native and the CoFounder and CMO of The Bitter Housewife where the best drinks are made with real ingredients, exactly how you like them, regardless of the rules. Nick and Genevieve jump into a very fun and engaging conversation starting with the start to her journey and how she dove into entrepreneurship. We ask her, "why jump into entrepreneurship and start her own business?" We learn the importance of Storytelling? And Why it's so important to startups. The talk about the art of branding and setting yourself apart from the rest. They then shift to the origin story of The Bitter Housewife, and cover the coolness of the birth of a brand and the product. Genevieve notes "It's Okay, Your idea Is Not Going To Appeal To Everybody!" We hear why they choose to offer non-alcoholic beverages as well as spirits. Closing the conversation we hear the experience and lessons of the pandemic in the food and beverage industry as we as her quick advice to entrepreneurs. This is a fun and enjoyable story of unique and inspiring entrepreneurship, we hope it helps you today.
https://thebitterhousewife.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Brian Will, an entrepreneur and author from Atlanta, Georgia. Brian is a serial entrepreneur who has spent the last 35 years building and operating 6 different companies across 4 different industries. Now he is a high-performance sales and management consultant and owns a growing chain of restaurants in Atlanta, Georgia. He also just released a new book called The Dropout Multi-Millionaire. Nick and Brian start this conversation with hearing more about his journey, as he dropped out from school and jumped into business. We learn his definition of success and why he choose entrepreneurship. Brian shares what is the most important thing a founder should know, what’s the difference between being self-employed and being a business owner, and what are the different personalities in a successful business. They then get into more details on Brian's thoughts on the biggest mistakes startups and entrepreneurs make as well as his tips and advice to early stage entrepreneurs. Lastly, we hear a bit about Brian’s experience of writing his books. This is a fun and educational conversation of inspiring entrepreneurship, we hope it helps you today.
Find Brian's Book Here:
https://www.amazon.com/Dropout-Multi-Millionaire-Business-Lessons-Education-ebook/dp/B093Y3BFCF
Nick Hughes is joined by Craig Goodwin, COO and cofounder of Cyvatar and joins us from the UK. Craig is the co-founder of Cyvatar.ai, a game-changing cybersecurity firm that makes cybersecurity simple for businesses by providing fully managed, customer-centric security solutions. Cyvatar is the first member-based cybersecurity as-a-service provider (CSaaS) in the industry. Craig also leads Cyvatar’s product strategy, product management, and engineering functions. Nick and Craig quickly jump into a conversation that startups with his experience as an entrepreneur + how he became successful. They start with his background in military and defense space, why choose entrepreneurship and what really is entrepreneurship? They then talk about experience in pandemic and challenge traveling. We hear Craigs lessons learned creating a new company during a pandemic, how they are managing the remote/virtual team operations. The conversation shifts to what they are building, the danger of ransomware and what can be done to prevent it, what are the basics of cyber security? You will hear what is a checklist of basic cyber security for your organization, the different cyber risks that can prevail in any type of business, and how to stop them. Craig says, its not a problem to be fixed, it's a condition to be managed. They then shift to advice for early stage entrepreneurs, how to have better balance in life and business, being comfortable with uncertainty and enjoying the journey. We hope this episode helps you today! Find Craig on Twitter, linkedin, or email him - craig @ Cyvatar.ai.
https://cyvatar.ai/
Nick Hughes is joined by Wentao Xiao, cofounder and CEO of Cactivate and who joins us today from Boston, MA. CACTIVATE is a result-driven AI system to automatically manage and optimize Facebook and Instagram ads for maximum return at the lowest cost. You can Supercharge your online store's Facebook ads for $99/month! Nick and Wentao quickly get into a fun conversation all around entrepreneurship and how to embrace the ups and downs of the experience. We start by hearing about his early life with entrepreneurship, where he started early with his businesses. He viewed entrepreneurship as creating value from chaos, and they dive into the value of starting startups early in life. We then hear more about how Cactivate started, their startup experience in the Accelerator called Mass Challenge, and Wentao explains a bit more on how to approach accelerators, why to join one or not. We hear about Wentao’s experience pitching at Founders Live Boston and how it impacted their growth and confidence, which led to them successfully raising a pre-seed round in the middle of the pandemic. Wentao shares his tips on fundraising and pitching investors. We then hear more about Cactivate and what problem are they solving, the biggest mistake companies make with FB ads, and how to validate and take your idea to the next level. They end the conversation with a few tips/advice for early stage founders. This is a fun conversation and we hope it helps you today!
https://www.cactivate.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Kordel France, the CEO and Engineer of Seekar Technologies from Dallas, Texas. Seekar Technologies is a technology startup that builds artificial intelligence products for a variety of industries. Kordel founded Seekar on four principles: to make AI mobile, ethical, explainable, and dynamic. He is working towards setting a standard for AI, in being explainable and mobile, trying to really branch out to industries that aren’t getting a lot of attention with AI. Kordel's goal is to democratize AI and facilitate adequate attention and investment in the industries such as agriculture, security, medicine, recreation, and energy. Nick and Kordel jump into an interesting and informative conversation that starts with them talking about Idaho, Washington and the Pacific Northwest. They then get into why Kordel chose Entrepreneurship and we learn how did he get started down this path. Nick asks "Why did Kordel start Seekar Technologies, why he is wanting to set a standard for AI - to make AI mobile, ethical, explainable, and dynamic? We learn What excites him about AI and what concerns does he have? The end with talking about the ultimate vision for Seeker Technologies and Kordel’s Advice to early stage founders. This is a very interesting conversation around new technologies and the way to ethically innovate for the betterment of society. We hope it helps you today! The connectivity in this conversation was a bit spotty at times, we apologize for any audio issues.
https://seekartech.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Craig Clickner & Carrie Bohlig, side hustle experts and entrepreneurs from Madison, Wisconsin. The willingness to embrace the adventure that is side hustling has revolutionized the way they live, allowing them to step away from their traditional careers and become full time parents and entrepreneurs. Nick, Craig and Carrie start off their conversation asking about entrepreneurship and learning how and why they started their journey into entrepreneurship. They talk about how there is not only one way to make money, and we hear how they discovered creating progressive passive income in their lives. They also describe the term - being time wealthy - and the mindset shift needed to achieve it. They call it "A Lifeset" - having a mindset about your life and how you live. We also hear what they learned when writing their book So You Want To Start A Side Hustle? and give advice for first time authors. Lastly, we hear their thoughts on how one gets started creating side hustles - how to go from idea to execution and some examples of great side hustles today. We end the conversation with tips and advice, especially as married business partners. This is a fun and helpful conversation around how to discover and live the life you actually WANT. We hope it helps you today!
https://www.tandemconsulting.co/
Nick Hughes is joined by Sara Shokouhi, founder of b.WEAR from Los Angeles, CA. bWEAR is breathable and soft af underwear made from sustainable bamboo focused on prioritizing your sexual health as seen in Buzzfeed, AskMen, Athlesiure. Nick and Sara enjoy a very touching and important conversation around what Sara says is humanizing the uncomfortable. We hear about how she decided to start a company through what she experienced with clothing and fashion, and the challenges she saw in the world in which she decided to just fix herself! Sara shares how and why to build an inclusive B2C brand, how they are creating inclusion within underwear and intimate apparel industry, and the core values she has infused into the company. We also hear about her experience building the company and working in tech within e-commerce, supply chains challenges, sustainable fabric and the process building out the business. They end with discussing her experience as female founder and her advice to other early stage founders. This is a great conversation between two leaders within our industry who view their importance in creating change. We hope it helps you today!
https://wearbwr.com/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/b.wrco/
Nick Hughes is joined by Ryan Staley, founder and CEO of WhaleBoss and host of the Scale Up Show Podcast from Chicago, IL. Ryan has built his entire career by delivering results in the corporate world, but now is building a business based impact. Ryan has coached and mentored Sales Executives to 2-4x their income while working 10-15 hours less a week, created an enterprise team from scratch to reach $30M annual recurring revenue in 6 years (in a declining market with no lead generation) and closed over $125M in net new sales. Nick and Ryan jump into a fun conversation all around podcasting. They start by talking about why and how he started his podcast - specifically how he got started, how to improves, his ideas on how to find your voice and ask great questions, as well as some amazing memories from his podcast guests. Nick and Ryan discuss why Podcasting will change your life and business, the secrets they have learned, and how to best market your podcast and episodes for best reach. We then learn more about what Ryan does within his business, learn about his services - how he helps set up sales and marketing strategy and processes and his sales operating system - how to double your sales each year! Ryan asks, "What’s your dream 100?" They end with a bit of advice and a nod to additional conversations in the near future! This is a very fun and educational conversation with a podcast host who will help you find your voice. We hope it helps you today!
https://omny.fm/shows/the-scale-up-show/
Nick Hughes is joined by Simon Muzariri, Founder and CEO of Omorfo Tech Labs from Harare, Zimbabwe and Founders Live Prime Time Africa finalist! Omorfo Tech Labs is a company that focus on design, manufacturing and distribution of digital technologies. Nick and Simon have a really enjoyable conversation about his journey and lessons learned along the way. They first talk about Harare, Zimbabwe and how Simon discovered Founders Live, plus we hear about his Founders Live pitching experience and the value it created for him and the Harare Community. They then shift to discuss what problem he saw in the world and why he started Omorfo Tech Labs. Simon shares his experience outsourcing to china and working through supply chain issues, the power of having a big vision (Simon shares his vision for his company). They end by discussing the opportunities and challenges for Zimbabwe startups and technology in general, as well as his advice to early stage founders. This is a very inspiring conversation with a founder who is emerging as a great leader in Africa. We hope it helps you today!
https://omorfotechlabs.co.zw/
Nick Hughes is joined by Rachit Dayal, Founder of Happy Marketer / Chief Marketing Officer APAC at Merkle from Singapore. Nick and Rachit jump into a really engaging conversation around entrepreneurship, empathy, business, and what to expect during an exit or acquisition! They start by discussing entrepreneurship and why did he choose it. Then Nick asks: Marketing and growth - how did you consistently grow your business? From there we learn about the importance of choosing the right founding team and co-founders, and partners. Rachit then dives into the acquisition and exit experience, and shares how he managed the ups and downs of the sale of his startup to Merkle. He touches on maker mode vs manager mode, and when to know which position you as a founder should be working in, and then he shares some lessons/tips for startups - how to start/ideation/creation and then scaling up from there. This is a very fun and educational conversation with a founder turned Chief Marketing Officer from the APAC region. We hope it helps you today!
Rachit's Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachitdayal/
Nick Hughes is joined by Pawel Paczuski, who is the CEO of Upmedic from Warsaw, Poland. Upmedic provides an intelligent system of reports created for medical clinicians. Nick and Pawel start the conversation by learning how Pawel got started working with computers in Kindergarten as a youngster. We then hear how he got started in entrepreneurship and creating his own company. Nick inquires about how his team discovered Founders Live Gdansk and they eventually won the event, and Pawel provides his pitching tips and lessons learned from the experience. We then shift to discovering what problem they saw in the world and how they solved it with their product, how they launched their MVP and tested - playing a concept of feedback ping pong with your users to improve your early product using the feedback!We end with Pawel giving a few lessons learned and advice to early stage entrepreneurs. This is a very fun and interesting conversation with a founder who is emerging as a great leader in Europe. We hope it helps you today!
https://www.upmedic.io/en-us/
Nick Hughes is joined by a good friend Julia Freeland who is an author, change strategist and coach from Seattle, WA. Julia is a passionate educator and change coach, who has spent most of her life working to help people break through limiting beliefs and seemingly impenetrable barriers to become better versions of themselves. Her fascination with change started as she emerged from university equipped with a mechanical engineering degree and zero desire to work as an engineer. Fast forward through 6 career reinventions, including 10 years as a full-time mom, and several monumental ass-kickings which forced her to evolve, and she can confidently say now, she is an expert at reinvention and teaching people to dance through change. Nick and Julia jump into an incredible conversation around her new book Take Your Shoes Off First: A story about a simple idea with the power to change everything. They talk about her journey into discovering patterns of change and adversity, and why she ultimately decided to write the book. They touch on why parables are so powerful and why the story of the shoes brings readers into why taking your shoes off first - remove your narrow lens of life - is so important for us to change and evolve. They end by turning the tables where Julia asked a few questions to get Nick's personal perspectives and experience reading the book. This is an incredible episode, and Julia's knowledge around change and 'removing our shoes to allow different perspectives into our lives' is going to be helpful to any entrepreneur. We hope it helps you today!
Book - Take Your Shoes Off First: A story about a simple idea with the power to change everything - https://www.amazon.com/Take-Your-Shoes-Off-First/dp/1737439026
Find it on Indibound as well
https://www.revolveyou.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Alex Salinsky, founder of En Blazes, who also serves as a fractional COO joining us from Medellin, Colombia. Alex says: you are a founder of a Technology organization ready to scale. I help leaders install the right systems, routines, and people - Ask him today! Nick and Alex jump into a very entertaining and educational conversation all around scaling your startup. They start by chatting about his journey to entrepreneurship and startups, and what he learned early on that led him to start his own company. We learn what a Fractional COO is and how En Blazes helps early stage startups get mission aligned as a team. Alex details out the common growing pains and biggest challenges he sees early stage founders make, why founder/CEO transitions are needed and beneficial for the individual AND the team, what non- technical founders can do to find the right tech talent and team members. We end with what Alex sees that separates the great founders/entrepreneurs from all the rest as well as some resources that he has for startups, which you can find the links below. This is an incredible episode, and Alex's thoughts and messages for early stage startups will be helpful to any startup team. We hope it helps you today!
Find Alex's Guides and Mini-course here:
https://scale.enblazes.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Jeff Pugel, Founder at Ignition from Cleveland, Ohio. Jeff says: EVERYTHING You Know About Marketing Your Small Business Is WRONG! He's here to fix it. Nick and Jeff jump into a really fascinating conversation around marketing, messaging and getting your communications aligned with your target market. They start with hearing about his journey into entrepreneurship and creating his own company. Then they talk about going from idea to established business and what are the three biggest steps to getting started. Jeff then talks about the importance of messaging and whay early stage startups need to do to change their messaging NOW. Nick asks about the biggest factors behind struggling businesses, what’s the best way to position a business as a problem-solver in the market, and with marketing - is there a secret since things are changing so fast… how do startups approach it? We end with Jeff giving his younger self advice on how to approach building a company today. This is a fun episode, and Jeff's thoughts on messaging and marketing will be helpful to any early stage startup. We hope it helps you today!
https://ignition.llc/
Nick Hughes is joined by Rosalinda Mendoza ,CEO and cofounder of Mocel from Seattle and Mexico. Mocel crafts artisanal spirits that inspire connection and deliver to your home to create a shared tasting experience. Nick and Rosalinda start their conversation learning how both of them grew up in the same town of Yakima in Washington state. We then get into Why Mezcal, why Mexico and what the vision is for her new company to offer drinks and spirits in a social experience. We hear what it's like starting company with sister and how to best approach cofounders who are family members. They end the conversation with her experience pitching at Founders Live Seattle, and Rosalinda's lessons learned so far - and if it is ever too early to get started with your first startup! This is a very fun and thought provoking conversation with a founder who is emerging as a great leader in our industry. We hope it helps you today!
https://www.mocelmezcal.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Ed Vincent, Founder and CEO of FestivalPass from Austin, Texas. FestivalPass - We know you miss live events, but they are back! Start earning credits now to use toward future live entertainment. They offer a flat rate, monthly subscription live event marketplace that allows members credits to access festivals and experiences. Nick and Ed jump into a fun and exploratory conversation around entrepreneurship and events. We start by hearing more about Ed's startup journey and how came to start FestivalPass. They talk about what’s unique about the community surrounding music. Live events…music festivals in particular. They then get into the vision of the company, the future of live experiences, Pandemic impact - will it be a net positive or negative over time - and even talk about the new concept of NFT’s and how they can improve the experience. They end with his lessons of entrepreneurship and tips for early stage startups. This is a great episode, and Ed's leadership in this new world of events and experiences shines through. We hope it helps you today!
https://www.festivalpass.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Richard Brion, Founder and CEO of Revolution Agriculture (RevoAg) from Seattle, WA. They are All Produce Local Everywhere - Produce shouldn't have to travel thousands of miles or be controlled by large, monopolistic farms. It should come right from our own communities, and you can be a part of it! Nick and Richard have a very interesting conversation that starts with both of their perspectives and lessons and tips as they discover both have an appreciation for world travel. We then hear why he chose entrepreneurship and why he started Revolution Agriculture. Nick asks "What is the future of growing and agriculture? How do we grow it sustainably and respectfully of the climate and economics?" They end the conversation with Richards lessons learned, thoughts and tips. This is a very interesting and thought provoking conversation about how to change the agriculture (and economics and sustainability around it) so we don't negatively impact the globe any more than we are now. Take some notes and enjoy!
https://www.revolutionagriculture.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Cam Kashani, Sacred Queen Embodiment Guide and inspirational speaker from Los Angeles CA. Cam works with individual clients, is building out new products for her offerings, as well as hosts her own Podcast - The Cam Kashani Show. Nick and Cam have a very deep and insightful conversation starting with her own powerful journey into entrepreneurship and then the take a leap into the abyss! They cover how to work through the dark times, how to deal with previous trauma - how can we harness it for strength and move forward, as well as what she is excited about right now such as a new Sacred Queen Community - an academy she will be rolling out very soon. Also, Nick asks about how to find our inner power and voice, and the biggest thing that holds entrepreneurs back. They then finish with what is Cam's WHY and what imprint does she want to leave behind? This is a special episode, and Cam speaks the truth of how to grow as a leader and human being, and we hope it helps you today!
https://camkashani.com/
https://podcast.camkashani.com/ About Cam Kashani:Cam Kashani is a four-time Award-Nominated Sacred Queen Embodiment Guide, Awakened Leadership Expert, and Inspirational Speaker, leading women to their true, authentic, core power — allowing them to embody their inner Queen.
She hosts a popular podcast called “The Cam Kashani Show”, focused on ‘Redefining Beauty, Body, and Self’, has worked with 5000+ people, and was named one of the most "Inspirational Women" by Inc. Magazine, and has been featured in Forbes, Entrepreneur, LA Magazine, The Los Angeles Times, Delta SKY Magazine and more. She is also a single mom of twin boys.
She is a 3-time founder and has been an expert speaker with the US State Department in a program proven to ward off extremism by empowering the women and youth overseas.
Previously, she cofounded the first coworking space in Los Angeles for technology startups and entrepreneurs in 2010, Coloft. During her four years there, Coloft had over 1800 alumni, including Uber LA, Instacart, Fullscreen and others. Earning her the title the “Godmother of Silicon Beach”.
Cam has her MBA In Entrepreneurship and Marketing, in addition to a degree in Advanced Spiritual Psychology.
Cam has a deeply rooted passion for working specifically with women as she believes that when women embrace their deeply rooted power, we can collectively shift the energy, and ultimately create a more harmonious environment for us all.
Nick Hughes is joined by Surbhi Rathore who is the CEO and cofounder of symbl.ai from Seattle WA. Symbl.ai natively integrates conversation intelligence into your voice or video applications without building machine learning models. Nick and Surbhi jump into a fun conversation that starts with Surbhi's early days and how she entered into the technology industry and discovering her desire to be an entrepreneur. We hear about her early experience as an engineer in telcos where she learned insights on the industry and customer intelligence applications. She then decided she could do it better and set out to build automated conversational intelligence software. The team has grown incredibly fast and Surbhi shares her lessons of leading a fast growing team - even through the pandemic and working remotely - as well as her experience as a woman in tech, raising money and the challenges therein. The conversation ends with her tips and lessons learned so far. This is a very inspiring and educational conversation with a founder who is emerging on the technology scene destined for greatness and success. Take some notes and enjoy!
https://symbl.ai/
Nick Hughes is joined by Erin McCune, cofounder and CEO of Easeenet from Portland Oregon and recent winner of Founders Live Portland. Easeenet effortlessly organizes and preserves your digital estate, making your online life easy to see for you today, and your family tomorrow. Nick and Erin start the conversation around her journey and why she choose entrepreneurship. Then they cover how she discovered FL and her experience pitching and winning Founders Live Portland. Next, they dive into the company and the challenges she experienced in her own life with a estate planning and especially the digital properties and online life we live, struggling to figure out how to unwind those assets once someone passes away. We live most of our lives online and digitally, but have you ever wondered what happens once we are gone? It takes 570 hours on average to settle an estate of a family member who has passed. Erin and her team aim to reduce challenges and confusion of that experience. They aim to help with people's digital rights after life ends and give individuals a voice of what they want to happen after their life ends. This is a very interesting and thought provoking conversation with a founder who - although in a challenging industry - has discovered a very large opportunity. We hope it helps you today!
https://easeenet.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by John Naughton who is the CEO of GoContractor from Brisbane, Australia. GoContractor is built to help construction general contractors move their worker onboarding and subcontractor safety management online. Nick and John jump into a fun conversation that covers a variety of different topics including how he ended up downunder and what he loves about Australia, how he discovered his entrepreneurial path, and why he choose entrepreneurship. They also cover the origins of GoContractor, the foundations of a great company and what was the biggest hurdle early on for him and his team to get over. John Naughton speaks the truth of how to grow a great company and lead a team to success, and we hope it helps you today!
https://gocontractor.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Artin Nazarian, Author and executive in LA who recently released the book Side Venture: The playbook to leverage your corporate job, pursue a side venture, and find happiness and fulfillment. Nick and Artin have a very interesting and engaging conversation around how to launch the side venture or hustle you have always dreamed of through simple hacks, tests and steps. They cover how to leverage your corporate job and current experience and connections, ideation and how to find that idea that moves you, to developing your prototype, finding developers to help build the app/website and how to best launch it successfully. They also touch on working to discover what makes you happy and the experience in self publishing the first book. Artin Nazarian is full of helpful tips and wisdom in launching your dream side venture, and we hope it helps you today!
Book - Side AdventureThe playbook to leverage your corporate job, pursue a side venture, and find happiness and fulfillment
Nick Hughes is joined by Hrish Lotlikar, Co-Founder & CEO of SuperWorld who joins us from Europe but the company is from San Francisco. SuperWorld is a virtual world where users can buy, sell, collect, and curate over 64 billion unique plots of virtual land. The SuperWorld virtual real estate platform is mapped over the entire surface of the globe, allowing users to purchase — literally — any place on Earth. From skyscrapers and stadiums to historical monuments and iconic structures including wonders of the natural world, when you step into SuperWorld, you’ll truly make a world of your own. Nick and Hrish jump into a mind-bending and exciting conversation around all things metaverse and SuperWorld. They start the conversation off with thoughts around nomadic living - pros and cons of it, and how to separate the person from the position/startup for holistic healthy living. We then hear about how Hrish and his team conceived of the concept, how they got started, and the vision of where this new Virtual World metaverse is headed, including Virtual Real estate, NFT's, and other aspects of the new world. Hrish truly sees a different and unique human experience in the blending of virtual and physical spaces, and what is possible in commerce and tokenization once more people start to explore these spaces. This is a unique and interesting conversation between two industry leaders who inspire large communities and are in their own ways building the next thing around the world, and we hope it helps you today!
https://www.superworldapp.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Diana Muturia, Founder and CEO of Clyn from Phoenix, AZ and recent winner of the Founders Live - Emerging Black Founders event. Clyn is a mobile applications that connect homes to home service providers and vice versa. Clyn is here to optimize the cleaning industry. For far too long, consumers have been overpaying and cleaners have been treated as second class citizens. Here at Clyn, we pride ourselves on outperforming the established market players in operating efficiency and levying the human touch. Nick and Diana have a great conversation that starts with her experience discovering Founders Live in Phoenix and then pitching at Founders Live - Twice - and the second time she emerged as the winner. She shares some tips on preparation and pitch practice, and then we get into the conversation around how she started Clyn and what impacts and improvements she wants to have on the cleaning industry. We hear her pandemic challenges and excitements around the potential of the startup, plus lessons she has learned along the way. This is a really great conversation with an up and coming startup leader who will make an impact in the cleaning industry for sure, and we hope it helps you today!
https://clynapp.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by David Berkowitz, founder of Serial Marketers from New York City. Serial Marketers is an inclusive community based in Slack, the 2,500+ Serial Marketers members share job opportunities, get recommendations for who to work with and what technologies to use, post event invites, showcase their latest projects, and support each other in countless ways. Nick and David have an amazingly refreshing and uplifting conversation around building community and what it really means to grow a purposeful community today - especially during and post-covid. We hear the origins of Serial Marketers and why he decided to start the group, and what shifted and changed when the world went into lockdown and continues to struggle with gathering in person. They both share insights and thoughts on the foundations of communities and the unique core values that bind people together. Lastly, they share tips and lessons of success along the way. This is a unique and fun conversation between two industry and community leaders who inspire large communities around the world, and we hope it helps you today!
https://serialmarketers.net/
https://within.co/
Nick Hughes is joined by Debbie Garcia who is the founder and CEO of Virsitour from Nashville, Tennessee. Virsitour is an online platform for event planners to venue source virtually utilizing virtual site tours. It is the only marketplace for meeting and event planners to source hotels and venues virtually. You can tour, add to list and send RFP’s all in one visit. Nick and Debbie jump into a fun founder conversation starting with their thoughts about Nashville, as Nick was visiting the city for a few months and attended the Nashville launch event (in-person) where Debbie emerged as the winner (we also hear pitching tips and lessons from Debbie). They then shift into talking about Virsitour, the problems she discovered in the Event Planning industry and how she and her team determined to fix them, even before the pandemic began. Once the world was shut changed due to the global pandemic, it became even more important to blend the virtual and physical worlds to improve the event planning industry. This is a fun conversation with an up and coming leader who will make an impact in her industry, and we hope it helps you today!
https://www.virsitour.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Stephanie M. Hutchins, founder of Serotinous Life, and author of the book Transformation after Trauma.Stephanie's mission is to help clients start living their life on purpose by breaking the chains of yesterday that keep holding them back from a life that is meaningful to them. To stop going through the motions of day-to-day life, wishing for Friday to come, for the weekends to be longer and for Monday to never come. Nick and Stephanie step into a very moving and meaningful discussion around Trauma, how humans naturally deal with it and how we can use it to transform our life. We get to hear about Stephanie's entrepreneurial path, where they talk about starting a business when still working in a full time career and how to best balance life when there are numerous demands. And they dive into trauma, what is it exactly, why we experience it, as well as suggested coping strategies to using self care and healthy approaches to dealing with the trauma so we can turn it into positive lessons and changes in our lives and business. This is an amazing conversation with the potential to educate and heal those who are currently struggling, we hope it helps you today!
https://www.serotinouslife.com/ Transformation After Trauma: Embracing Post-Traumatic Growth
https://www.amazon.com/Transformation-After-Trauma-Embracing-Post-Traumatic-ebook/dp/B095RZQCQ7
Nick Hughes is joined by Clinton Anani, CEO of Quick Buy Online from Accra Ghana. Quick Buy Online is a centralized online marketplace on college campuses, that is putting product and service vendors onto one platform, making the market readily available to students. Nick and Clinton jump into an engaging conversation which starts by getting to know Clinton a bit more, his background, and hearing more about Clinton's experience pitching at a recent Founders Live Accra event online. We then hear about the vision of Quick Buy Online, how they are powering local ecommerce marketplaces and purchases starting with college campuses in Accra and how Clinton sees the vision of expanding to more cities in Ghana and beyond. Clinton and Nick then finish with some thoughts, tips and lessons of entrepreneurship. This is a great conversation with an emerging African business leader and we hope it helps you today!
https://linktr.ee/quickbuy_online
Nick Hughes is joined by cofoudners Kesha Rodgers and Sara So of The Ally League from Seattle WA. The Ally League's mission is to combat racism by helping allies move from empathy for those affected by racism to action to dismantle it. Our initial goal is to make an impact on our community by supporting and amplifying Black-owned businesses. We bring great products from Black entrepreneurs to allies who might not otherwise know about them. This gives allies an opportunity to act toward change by including more Black-owned businesses in their buying behaviors. And that, in turn, helps stimulate the economies of our communities. Nick, Kesha and Sara have an incredibly important and informative conversation around what they are bringing to the world, with the conversation starting around their backgrounds and how they met at work, then choosing to start a company together after the pandemic and the George Floyd events in 2020. They had seen enough and knew it was time to bring change to their world. We then hear about their Black Boxes which have different products and information from black owned businesses, as well as what they see as the future of The Ally League. Very important work is being done by these leaders and we appreciate bringing this amazing conversation between a few leaders whose main focus is to improve the world we live in. We hope it helps you today!
https://www.theallyleague.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Bryan Rutberg, Founder and CEO of 3C Communications from Seattle WA. 3C Communications helps companies build relationships that are more profitable and last longer with great communications and targeted programs geared to win with your greatest asset, your customers. The Customer Connection Company – delivers the right combination of a communications firm and a laser-focused customer advocate. We help brands communicate effectively and build the right programs and culture to win more deals, get more referrals, and turn customers into fans. Nick and Bryan jump into a fun and very enjoyable conversation which first starts with them figuring out when they met and how Bryan discovered Founders Live (a small Seattle event called Feature Friday back in the day) and then how Nick and Bryan partnered to bring pitch coaching to founders who were presenting at the event. We then hear why Bryan believes communications, relationships and loyalty of customers is the foundation of great business, as well as how Bryan and 3C serves companies large and small in helping them achieve success. This is an amazing conversation between leaders whose main focus is to improve people's lives. We hope it helps you today!
https://3ccomms.com/
This was a recording of a Founders Live Conversations live video interview. We talked with entrepreneur Ryan Frederick on the journey of entrepreneurship, how he has built his companies, and tips and lessons from his book the Founders Manual. Ryan talks on the principles in this book that are based on his experiences starting companies, building products, & advising others over 20 years. We hear about principles around being a Founder, building a product, and starting a company to increase the odds of success. What will you learn? Each section of the book focuses in different principles to achieve FLOW in being a Founder, creating a product customers value, and building a successful company. This was a group discussion so you will hear Nick mention other questions from the audience.
https://www.thefoundersmanual.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Ihsan Salleh, CEO and founder of Zestefy from Los Angeles. Zestefy is a financial wellness startup building a life planner for shopping and goals using automated financial planning, powered by AI. Nick and Ihsan get started in a very intriguing and thought provoking conversation initially learning where Ihsan grew up, how he discovered he was different, and how he got started on his entrepreneurial path. They then jump into what he is building and why. They touch on how to look at your market positioning, and Ihsan points to consumption and financial problems as the main issues they are looking to solve for people. Lastly, the conversation takes a turn as Ihsan asks Nick about his "why" and the origins of Founders Live mission! This is a very interesting, through provoking and enjoyable conversation with many tips and entrepreneurial golden nuggets and hope it helps you today on your journey.
https://zestefy.com
This is a special episode recording of The Inspired Ones show, with special guest Just Isaac, a six-time Canadian boxing champion (Including 2-time Golden Glove Champion), actor, recording artist & motivational speaker and now author. In this discussion, Nick and Just Isaac talk his journey as an athlete turned entrepreneur - the similarities, differences, what makes some exceptional at each, and why we are seeing a convergence of the two professions. What is it about high performance? And can anyone tap into that space within themselves? They also dive into the concept of “Think Fearlessly” - addressing the fears, isolation and uncertainty of entrepreneurship, that which the existing pandemic has impacted affected us to an even larger extent. It’s important to step outside ourselves and know there is something bigger than ourselves, to cope. A very personal choice, but one that allows us to move forward. Just Isaac believes, “We are free to be the best we can be, whatever the circumstance.” Pay attention to the difference between negativity and support. “Think Fearlessly” helps readers through the noise and leads them to the peace. This was a group conversation and you will hear audience members join in the discussion.
Nick Hughes is joined by Chike Nwoke who is Founder of Klippit in Atlanta, Georgia. Klippit provides a platform for local businesses to create special offers and promotions, and then enable their customers to discover, redeem, and share these offers; and receive monetary rewards. Nick and Chike jump into a fun and enjoyable conversation which starts off with both of them finding out they are in the same city (Atlanta) where Nick is visiting for the current month. We learn about where Chike grew up, and how he decided to follow the path of entrepreneurship. They then go into what problem Chike and his team see in the world, what the future of influencer marketing looks like especially for local merchants, and how they intend to bring it to market. Lastly Chike gives early stage founders some advice and tips for getting going and building a startup. This is a very fun conversation with many tips and entrepreneurial golden nuggets and hope it helps you today on your journey.
https://getklippit.com/
https://primetime.founderslive.com/pitches/atlanta-klippit
Nick Hughes is joined by Vikrant Shaurya, CEO and Founder of BestsellingBook.com from Pune, India. BestsellingBook.com - Fully personalized services to write, publish, and market your book — all professionally DONE FOR YOU. Nick and Vikrant start this conversation by getting to know each other a bit better, talking about the current state of India and the Covid crisis, as well as learning about where Vikrant grew up and how he discovered the path to publishing and entrepreneurship. His journey starts like a lot of us - staring at a screen and searching within the internet as well as within ourselves on how we are going to survive. He then figures out that he wants to write and publish books. After accomplishing that, he discovers others want to as well and finally creates a platform to help others share their words with the world. This is an incredible story of not only discovering a business, but one that will give to others and help them with their journey as well. Nick and Vikrant end the conversation with a few tips and words of encouragement for those of us who are just getting started on their entrepreneurial path. This is a very inspirational conversation with lessons and helpful thoughts, and hope it helps you today on your journey.
https://bestsellingbook.com/
https://bestsellingbook.com/checklist/
Nick Hughes is joined by Mike Venturi from Jakarta Indonesia. He is an Ecosystem Builder and Founders Live Indonesia leader and helping grow Founders Live around the world. Nick and Mike jump into a enjoyable conversation where we first get to know Mike, and how he discovered Founders Live. He attended a livestream event (we think it was Seattle) and then went into the networking room to meet people. That's how he met Nick. Following the event, he simply asked the question "can I expand Founders Live into Indonesia?" and the rest, as they say, is history! We also hear about what Mike would like to do with Founders Live to expand and spread throughout APAC, as well as what he sees in his future of helping fund and grow startups around the world. Founders Live is very pleased with Mike's leadership and vision and we are blessed to have him a part of the Founders Live leadership team. This is a very enjoyable and inspirational conversation with many thoughts and entrepreneurial tips and we hope it helps you today on your journey.
Nick Hughes is joined byShawn Flynn, an investment banker and host of the Silicon Valley Podcast. Shawns podcast unlocks the secrets of top Entrepreneurs, Venture Capitalists and Business Leaders, was labeled the "#1 Silicon Valley Podcast You Must Follow in 2020" and in this conversation you can tell why! Nick and Shawn quickly step into a funny, enjoyable and wide ranging conversation which starts by getting to know Shawn a bit more and then we hear how he gets established in his conversations and podcast. Interestingly, Shawn and Nick have many things in common - from early experiments in filming interviews, to their podcast pursuits as well as their love of traveling. They spend most of their time breaking down what goes into a great podcast, how to ask the right questions, how to keep conversations going and to get the most interesting tidbits out of guests. They then shift to the amazing joys of traveling and what its so addictive to certain people. They end with their thoughts and predictions on the new drop-in audio apps like Clubhouse and Facebook Hotline. This is a very fun and entertaining conversation with two podcast hosts who just want to learn from people, we hope the podcasting tips help you today on your journey.
https://thesiliconvalleypodcast.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Sheila Kogo - Malinga who is CEO and founder of Lodge Solutions from Kampala, Uganda. Lodge Solutions is the first reliable and professional ‘one-stop-shop’ for tourism and hospitality products and services in Uganda. Nick and Sheila have a wide ranging and enjoyable conversation around Sheila and her vision to help make her country more tourist friendly. We first get to know Sheila, where she grew up and how she found herself in the position to start her own company. We also get an idea of how she discovered Founders Live, how she decided to pitch (and ultimately win) Founders Live Kampala, along with her tips of how to prepare and deliver a 99-second pitch. They then shift to Sheila's vision of providing more support for hospitality and tourism companies through her Lodging Solutions Service company, and where she thinks it will go in the future. You can just hear and feel Sheila's energy and her heart to improve the hospitality in her country of Uganda. This is a very enjoyable and helpful conversation with many thoughts and entrepreneurial tips and hope it helps you today on your journey.
https://www.lodgesolutions.net/
Nick Hughes is joined by Rey Mungai, who is Cofounder and Chief product officer of Lukhu from Nairobi, Kenya, and who also has qualified for the Founder Live Prime Time Africa event taking place in late 2021. Lukhu is an African peer-to-peer marketplace for second-hand clothing. Nick and Rey jump into a fun and informational conversation around the dynamics of creating a startup in the retail clothing space. We first hear about his experience with Founders Live, pitching at Founders Live Nairobi and then winning the Prime Time Africa region in Q1 to go on and be included in the larger event later in 2021. He shares his pitching tips to other founders who might be interested in pitching at an event. We then hear more about Rey's vision of a more sustainable and equitable retail clothing experience, not just in Kenya but across Africa and beyond. Rey and his team see a big future to power the logistics and fulfilment to help people find great 2nd hand clothing and help others drive revenue by selling the clothes they don't need anymore. This is a very fun conversation with many tips and lessons learned and hope it helps you today on your journey.
https://lukhu.co.ke/
This was recorded as a live Founders Live Conversations session.
We interviewed Sean and Carrie Beth McGarry to get an in depth look at both of their journeys as entrepreneurs and life partners, how they created and build his their gallery, survived and thrived through the pandemic, how they approach working together in their business as well as a couple, and talk about how to create unique environments for creativity and exploration of our own greatness plus many more tips for early stage entrepreneurs. This was a group discussion so you will hear some audience members ask questions as well.
https://9thegallery.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Alexandra Reynolds, who is the CMO and cofounder of Metrolla, from Seattle, WA. Metrolla brings new voice and vision to LiDAR technologies to help achieve automation. Nick and Alexandra jump into a fun and lively conversation that starts with her experience pitching and winning a recent Founders Live Seattle event, along with some prep and practice tips for founders thinking about pitching. She tells us how the Founders Live experience has influenced her to go out and pitch at other events and participate in other talks. We then get into her path to join as a founding member of Metrolla, and the vision of what they are bringing to market in the automation and LiDAR industry. Lastly, we hear a few founder tips and lessons learned and Alexandra's thoughts on he female founder experience thus far . This is a very fun conversation with many tips and lessons learned and hope it helps you today on your journey.
https://www.metrolla.com
This was a Founders Live Conversations we held online. We interviewed David and Dawei from Aloa in a general discussion on outsourcing, when you know you are ready to bring on a development partner, how to find the best talent possible and the most affordable pricing, how to work with outsourcing companies and what to expect from the entire experience and much more! This was a live group discussion so you hear a few questions from the audience.
https://aloa.co/founders-live
Nick Hughes is joined by Anthony Torres, CEO and Cofounder of BitHippie from New York. Reusability fuels innovation, BitHippie is a tech startup offering Authorization as a Service to those building software for themselves or others. Nick and Anthony start their conversation by talking about Founders Live NYC and Anthony's experience pitching and winning the event. Then they dive into Anthony's story and journey to create BitHippie, what problem did he see in the world that needed to be solved, where he thinks the automation and authorization industry is headed, and where he thinks he can take the company. Lastly, we hear a few founder tips and lessons learned from Anthony. This is an enjoyable conversation with many tips and lessons learned and hope it helps you today on your journey.
https://www.bithippie.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Joe Altieri, President and Founder of FlexScreen from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. FlexScreen is the world's first and only flexible window screen. Their patented, simple, problem-solving design is turning heads in the industry, earning multiple awards, and selling millions. A paradigm-shifting product, FlexScreen is revolutionizing the window industry. Nick and Joe jump into a fun and wide-ranging conversation starting with his background and how he got into entrepreneurship in the first place. As Nick usually points out, it starts with a problem and in this case we hear how Joe discovered an unmet need in the window screen niche market. We then hear about Joe's Shark Tank experience, what it was like to prepare and pitch in the studio and how the resulting deal goes down. Lastly, Joe shares his quick tips for early stage entrepreneurs on how to stay focused and in the game. This is an great conversation with many tips and lessons learned from a veteran founder, and we hope it helps you today on your journey.
https://flexscreen.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Jason Cavness, who is CEO and Founder of CavnessHR in Seattle, WA and also a very early Founders Live member who Nick refers to him as a Founders Live OG. "At CavnessHR, our goal is to help small business owners save both time and money. We offer different solutions based on the number of workers."Nick and Jason jump into a interesting and exciting conversation starting with how they met and Jason's early memories of Founders Live when it was still called Feature Friday in a small basement in Seattle. Nick learns this was the place where his advice to Jason led to him starting his startup and naming it CavnessHR. We then hear more about Jason's past in the military and the lessons he learned during his service which influence him as a professional, then into how and why he started his HR company. The conversation ends with some tips and lessons for other early stage entrepreneurs. This is a very interesting conversation and we hope it helps you today on your journey.
https://cavnesshr.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Cooper Wechkin, Founder & CEO of RyeStrategy from Seattle, WA. RyeStrategy is Accurate Carbon Footprinting, Simplified. Supported by a strong network of industry professionals, we offer carbon neutrality solutions tailored specifically for companies within the software and professional services sectors. Our services include annual carbon statements, mitigation strategies, custom offset portfolios, and advice on leveraging carbon neutrality for optimal business outcomes. Nick and Cooper have a really engaging and truthful conversation about the status of the world's climate and the immense challenges we are facing with the rising CO2 levels and the resulting effects. They start with a bit of background on Cooper, how and why he started RyeStrategy as a college student, and what the vision is for the company. We learn more about what they services they are offering as well as the Software & Professional Services Carbon Neutrality Pledge, one in which Nick and Founders Live have signed and are encouraging other startups take a stance on this issue as well. This is an incredible conversation with many facts and aspects which will make you think twice, and we hope it helps you today on your journey.
**https://www.ryestrategy.com/
Software & Professional Services Carbon Neutrality Pledge
https://www.ryestrategy.com/neutrality-pledge**
Nick Hughes is joined by Gianender Khanna of Brain Racers from Toronto, Canada who was also a Founders Live Prime Time Global Finalist back in 2020. GK is the CEO of Brain Racers - The world's first massive multiplayer cognitive race - their goal is to create a platform to celebrate brain athletes, like we do physical athletes in the world. Nick and GK have another fun conversation (their first conversation you can find earlier in the podcast episodes when GK was a Global Prime Time Finalist) that starts with GK's background, upbringing and youth lessons which have influenced his approach to entrepreneurship today. They then dive into Brain Racers and how GK sees a new world of brain competitions similar to how we celebrate athletic competitions, and how these challenges will help people of all ages improve their intelligence and stay sharp. Nick and GK really get into what this could mean for the future of learning, intelligence and cognitive abilities as we continue in a tech advanced world. So much good stuff in this podcast, this is a very interesting conversation and we hope it helps you today.
https://brainracers.gg/
Nick Hughes is joined by Ty Stiklorius, the Founder and CEO of Friends At Work, a management, entertainment and social impact company that partners with leading creators, influencers and brands to elevate important voices and help their vision thrive. Ty manages world class artists such as John Legend, Lindsey Stirling, and Raphael Saadiq among many others who have influenced her unique view identifying and amplifying emerging talent and creativity around the world. Nick and Ty take a deep dive into her entrepreneurial journey, evaluate how to identify talent, how she uniquely sees creativity, her thoughts on the evolution of entertainment industry, the importance of core values and how to lead a purposeful company, and we hear more on how both are working to advance entrepreneurial equality around the world. This conversation was recorded live on Facebook in front of a live audience.
Ty Stiklorius is the Founder and CEO of Friends At Work, a management, entertainment and social impact company that partners with leading creators, influencers and brands to elevate important voices and help their vision thrive. Ty manages world class artists such as John Legend, Lindsey Stirling, and Raphael Saadiq among many others who have influenced her unique view identifying and amplifying emerging talent and creativity around the world.
Nick Hughes is CEO of Founders Live, the global startup marketplace connecting talented and emerging entrepreneurs to the people, resources, capital and global exposure they need for success. His keen ability to inspire greatness and positive change in people is reverberating around the world and poised to impact millions of new creative entrepreneurs.
About Ty Stiklorius and Friends at Work
Ty Stiklorius is the Founder and CEO of Friends At Work, a management, entertainment and social impact company that partners with leading creators, influencers and brands to elevate important voices and help their vision thrive. Founded in 2015, LA-based Friends At Work supports the careers of artists including John Legend, Lindsey Stirling, and Raphael Saadiq among others. Friends At Work also partners with corporations and individuals on social impact strategy, business development, and creative storytelling and production. Ty’s work with John Legend began in 2006 with JL Ventures, where she created and developed artist-focused strategies for content innovation and social impact. Ty is a principal alongside John Legend in the Get Lifted Film Co. production company. She served as Executive Producer on the Oscar-winning film La La Land, WGN’s hit series Underground, A Legendary Christmas with John and Chrissy and most recently won an Emmy for Outstanding Variety Special (Live) for Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert on NBC. Ty and Legend have started multiple non-profit partnerships including the Show Me Campaign and #FREEAMERICA to influence the national conversation regarding mass incarceration and prosecutor integrity. Their work strives to tackle many issues within the criminal justice system, specifically advocating to end the practice of life without parole for children, amplifying the voices of those impacted by the criminal justice system, and breaking down stereotypes to end the era of mass incarceration in America. In 2017, Fast Company included Ty on their Most Creative People list and Billboard named her as one of the most powerful women in music. Ty earned an MBA from The Wharton School and a BA from The University of Pennsylvania. She serves various non-profit and private company boards, including Penn Law's Advisory Board for the Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice, LIFT-Los Angeles, and Americans for the Arts.
Friends At Work
https://friendsatwork.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Christina Brennan, a Communication Consultant & Coach from Seattle, WA. Christina helps entrepreneurs communicate their value and build key relationships by improving their messaging development, storytelling, and presentation skills. You can learn in her Patreon community: Soft Skills That Go Hard. She is also the first real pitch coach Founders Live had and greatly influenced how we view preparing our Founders who pitch at Founders Live events. Nick and Christina have a really engaging and wide-ranging conversation, which starts by learning more about Christina and them rehashing the early days of Founders Live when Christina was brought in to help prepare the Seattle founders who were to pitch at the upcoming events. We hear her biggest tips and lessons for entrepreneurs who are preparing not only for a Founders Live event, but other pitching and presentation experiences - especially now virtually. The conversation then moves to what Christina is doing now and how she expects to evolve her own business, and then ends with Nick and Christina chatting about remote working and the amazing experience of traveling the world and building your business at the same time. This is a really great conversation between two people who really just hope to help and improve people's lives. We hope it helps you today!
https://linktr.ee/_cbrennan
https://www.linkedin.com/in/brennanchristina/
Nick Hughes is joined by Nick McCullum, Director of Growth at Passiv and resides in Canada. "Autopilot for your Portfolio, Passiv turns your brokerage account into a modern portfolio management tool. Build your own personalized index, invest and rebalance with the click of a button, and seamlessly manage multiple accounts." Nick and Nick M jump into a great conversation that first starts with a bit of background on himself and how Passiv was started. They then go into much more detail on what Nick McCullum does for the company as Director of Growth, what he's learned along the way, and growth and marketing lessons, such as treating all things as experiments, and the only failure is when you don't learn from your failures and unsuccessful experiments. Lastly, they get into more detail about fintech, and how Passiv helps retail investors better auto-manage a portfolio - and we even learn more about the GameStop saga and why that might be important for the future of investing. This is a fun and interesting conversation around finance, marketing, and growth, and we hope it helps you today!
https://passiv.com/
We interviewed David Plunkett of BugSplat in front of a live audience online to get an in depth look at his journey as an entrepreneur, how he built his company BugSplat, as well as talk about how to grow a unique and impactful brand to stand out in a crowded market. We also took many questions from the viewers on topics such as fundraising strategies, finding cofounders, how to delegate, how to build the team, and many more. We hope this help you today!
https://www.bugsplat.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Melissa Reaves of Story Fruition, founder and Executive Storytelling Coach from Seattle, WA. "Storytelling is an essential business skill. Humans are storytelling creatures. Stories drive, define, and inspire us. The best salespeople, executives, and leaders tell impactful, compelling stories. Do you?" Nick and Melissa dive into an incredibly entertaining but also touching conversation that covers many topics, including pitch coaching in Seattle, her tips for a proper 99-second pitch, as well as her projects Story Fruition and Melanin Stories Matter. We start by hearing a bit more about Melissa's background, how she discovered her acting and improv interests, and then her path into the business world. It was here she noticed successful executives and businesses all were able to use words, messages and emotions to move people to take action. That is what she now helps others do! The conversation then shifts to her new project Melanin Stories Matter, which is elevating BIPOC voices & magnifying their stories. This is an anti-racist movement that time has come, so let's listen up. We all have melanin, so let it unite us! This is a very inspiring, emotional and educational episode with a great coach and even better person. We hope it helps you today!
https://storyfruition.com/
Storytelling is an essential business skill
https://melaninstoriesmatter.com/
Elevating BIPOC Voices & Magnifying Their Stories
Nick Hughes is joined by Thane Marcus Ringler, a Development Coach from Denver, Colorado. "Are you stuck, in a transition, or wanting to level-up? Thane Marcus is dedicated to helping us: take ownership and never settle through coaching, online courses, blogs, books, and podcasts, Thane Marcus has the resources you need to live and work better." Nick and Thane jump into a great conversation starting with Thane's athletic career which took him to the professional levels of Golf, where although he enjoyed the sport, he discovered he wasn't fully utilizing his talents and gifts. Then then move into talking about struggles and taking ownership and never settling which he applied to his own life to find his next career path in coaching and speaking. Thane shares is insights and wisdom around how to identify and discover the greatness we all have within us, as well as using some solid frameworks to drive actionable results. They end touching upon the resources, courses, books and coaching Thane offers. This is a very helpful and inspiring story of someone who made a significant shift in his life, and shows how you can too!
https://www.thanemarcus.com/
Book - From Here To There - https://www.thanemarcus.com/book
Nick Hughes is joined by Marcus Smith, cofounder of Axon Collective, and host of the podcast Founders Forge from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Axon Collective is an idea sounding board + full-stack development teams for entrepreneurs and startups. Whether integrating tech solutions or curating partnerships, Axon empowers entrepreneurs & innovators to actualize their vision. Nick and Marcus jump into a really interesting and educational conversation around podcasting. They start by chatting a bit about Marcus and Axon Collective but then get deep into why podcasting is such a great experience for entrepreneurs and founders. They talk about how to approach setting one up, what resources and tools Marcus chose to use to get it started, how to flow into conversation with their guests, what they both find is challenging but also the rewards of running a podcast, and an all around fun convo between two podcast hosts. We hope it helps you on your journey and maybe is just what you need to get your podcast launched!
Nick Hughes is joined by Emmanuel Chukwuebuka of CEO Softwork from Lagos, Nigeria. Softwork is an educational learning platform that delivers tutorials in audio-visual format for courses offered by students in Nigeria universities. Nick and Emmanuel start this conversation by talking about Emmanuels experience and thoughts about pitching at Founders Live Lagos in late 2020 and his quick tips and lessons on the 99 second pitch. Then they get into how he used his own challenges in university and college learning to develop a new solution for online video and audio learning. They end with a few stories about how the team came together and Emmanuel's advice to early entrepreneurs. This conversation is a great conversation with an up and coming leader in Africa and we hope it helps you on your journey.
Softwork Twitter
https://twitter.com/Softworkng
Softwork pitch video
https://www.youtube.com/embed/LDuYV3-heXQ
This interview was filmed as a Founders Live Conversations video.
Nick Hughes sits down with Ash Bhoopathy of Lab Ventures and FriendlyFace to talk about his journey as an entrepreneur, how they originally met, Ash's thoughts on creating an innovation Labs/Studio and when to pivot. We also hear about their newest project FriendlyFace, which is a personalized mask people can from a selfie they upload so you can sport a more friendly face as you wear a mask. We hope this is a helpful conversation for you in your own entrepreneurial journey.
https://www.friendlyface.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Paola Ortega from Mexico City, Mexico who is the Founders Live Prime Time 2020 Global winner and cofounder of Air. They provide employee-centered decisions in Real time and an AI tool to assist transformation within your company based on your employee characteristics. Nick and Paola have a great conversation that starts back where Paola grew up in Mexico, her early education and her path into entrepreneurship. We then her a bit more about her Founders Live Experience 0 from Mexico City, to Prime Time Latin American and then onto Founders Livefest 2020 and winning the final event. They end the conversation touching on various thoughts and Paola's lessons learned. This is a very inspiring conversation and it's an opportunity to get to know more about one of the most promising startups and talented founders coming out of Founders Live today. Check it out!
https://airesearch.global/
Nick Hughes is joined by Emily Cheng, CEO and cofounder of MedVenture from Seattle. MedVenture is a mobile app designed to unite all traveling healthcare professionals. Nick and Emily have an incredibly touching and real conversation around Emily's history and her experience in the pandemic as a traveling nurse. She shares very real and painful perspective of what health care professionals are experiencing on the front lines of the Covid-19 health pandemic. They then get into why her and her cofounder created MedVenture, what problems and challenges they are solving, and what she envisions as the future of the community. They end with tips and lessons learned from an early founder who is still working a profession as she and her cofounder start their company. This conversation is incredibly inspiring and at the same time a very real glimpse into the life of a healthcare professional, so we hope it helps you on your journey.
https://www.medventurefortravelers.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Priyanka Raha, Founder and CEO of PopSmartKids from Seattle, WA. PopSmartKids transform screen-time into a learning adventure for kids. They give you powerful tools to mentor the future generation. In a time where we have more intimate relationships with our devices than our loved ones, PopSmartKids was built with a mission to transform screen time into making a human connection - a time for children to explore and share their creativity with educators and parents. Nick and Priyanka have a really interesting conversation around the place technology and all our screens have in the development of our youth. They start by talking about Priyanka's experience pitching at Founders Live Seattle which was in-person back in the good ol' days of 2019, and then they dive into what challenges PopSmartKids is looking to solve with their platform that helps educators and parents work in technology appropriately for children's development and learning. They end with some great lessons and tips from Priyanka . This is a fun conversation full interesting tips to help you as you work with the youth in your life, we hope it helps you today.
https://popsmartkids.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Daniela Applegate, who is cofounder and VP of marketing at rThreat from Seattle, WA. rThreat is a cybersecurity breach and attack simulation platform that tests the effectiveness of your cyber defenses. They validate across the entire spectrum of cybersecurity, including an organization’s security staff, processes, and controls that are protecting critical assets. Doing so ensures that organizations are protected from known cyber threats and stay up to date on newly released zero-day threats. Nick and Daniela jump into a very intriguing conversation around the state of technology, data security and the future of cybersecurity around the world. They start by talking about rThreat's recent experience pitching and winning at Founders Live Seattle in late 2020, including tips and lessons from the virtual pitch experience. Then they dive deeper into the main challenges organizations currently experience with cyber security and how rThreat helps them continually test their strengths and weaknesses. This conversation is a wake up call to organizations of any size to understand the security of their operations need to be constant top of mind. This conversation is both inspiring and frightening, so we hope it helps you think more about the protection of your organization.
https://rthreat.net/
This interview was filmed as a Founders Live Conversations. Nick was joined by Jeroen Corthout, co-founder and CEO of Salesflare who is from Belgium. Salesflare - Less work, more sales. A simple yet powerful CRM for small businesses selling B2B. In this interview we got an in depth look at his journey as an entrepreneur, how he built his company, as well as discover what it takes to stand out from the crowd and become a top rated app and business. Jeroen brings his A-Game and leaves us with many great tips and lessons learned for up and coming founders. This was a group conversation so you will hear a few people join in and ask some questions. We hope it helps you in your journey today!
http://salesflare.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Ariel Lipschutz, CEO, and Martin Kaler, COO of PoolPo from Buenos Aires, Argentina. PoolPo - in spanish means octopus or a word for play - is a digital insurance broker. Using artificial intelligence, analyze the insurance policies of the users and look for offers in the best companies, selecting the best options. Nick, Ariel and Martin have a fun conversation starting with talking about Argentina and the beautiful country they live in, as well as Nick giving a bit of his perspective on the country when he visited in late 2019. They then jump into a discussion about how Ariel and Martin met and started their AI intelligence company, why they choose insurance as the entry into a much larger market, as well as many other tips and lessons learned which are perfect advice for up and coming entrepreneurs. This is a fun conversation full of nuggets of wisdom and founder tips for you to take and run with, we hope it helps you today.
https://poolpo.in/
In this Founders Live Conversations video interview, Nick Hughes is joined by Destiny Njoki from Nairobi, Kenya who is founder and CEO of Lamazi Tribe, and also a Founders Live Prime Time Global Finalist and one of five presenting Founders at the Founders Livefest 2020 event on December 2nd, 2020. Lamazi Tribe means Beautiful Community and they are on a mission to provide environmental content to help you, the consumer, live a sustainable lifestyle. Nick and Destiny start the conversation by getting to know her a little better and hearing about Destiny's experience pitching at Founders Live events, plus she shares her tips and advice on how to prepare and deliver a quality Founders Live Pitch. Next they talk about why Destiny chose to start her company and why Entrepreneurship is the way of life for her. Then we hear about Lamazi Tribe and how they are quickly becoming a leader in the circular economy with their sustainable activewear made from recycled materials. This is a very inspiring conversation and it's an opportunity to learn more about one of the most promising startups and talented founders coming out of Founders Live today.
lamazitribe.com
In this Founders Live Conversations video interview, Nick Hughes is joined by Amanda DoAmaral of Milwaukee Wisconsin, founder and CEO of Fiveable, is a Founders Live Prime Time Global Finalist and is one of five presenting Founders at the Founders Livefest 2020 event on December 2nd, 2020. Fiveable is a social learning network where students and teachers create and curate content while building community. Nick and Amanda jump into the conversation of how Amanda has pitched at a number of Founders Live events this year, and she shares her tips and advice on how to prepare and deliver a quality Founders Live Pitch. Next they talk about Entrepreneurship and why Amanda chose to start her company, then we hear more about Fiveable, what problems is they are solving and the future as she sees it in community based virtual learning spaces. This is a very inspiring conversation and it's an opportunity to Learn more about one of the most promising startups and talented founders coming out of Founders Live today.
http://fiveable.me/
In this Founders Live Conversations video interview, Nick Hughes is joined by Irene Velasco of helKi from Guadalajara, MX, founder of helKi, who is a Founders Live Prime Time Global Finalist and is one of five presenting Founders at the Founders Livefest 2020 event on December 2nd, 2020. helKi has created eli, a virtual AI assistant for working parents and helping busy families make better and more effective decisions. Nick and Irene start the conversation by getting to know Irene a little better and hearing about Irene's experience pitching at Founders Live events, plus she shares her tips and advice on how to prepare and deliver a quality Founders Live Pitch. Next they talk about Entrepreneurship and why Irene chose to start her company. Then we hear more about helKi, what problems they discovered busy parents were having and how they could bring technology and AI into the experience to help them be more effective and efficient. This is a very inspiring conversation and it's an opportunity to Learn more about one of the most promising startups and talented founders coming out of Founders Live today.
https://www.helki.org/
This is a special Founders Live Conversations episode which was recorded as a video interview. Nick Hughes is joined by Gianender Khanna of Brain Racers from Toronto, Canada who is a Founders Live Prime Time Global Finalist and is one of five presenting Founders at the Founders Livefest 2020 event on December 2nd, 2020. GK is the CEO of Brain Racers - The world's first massive multiplayer cognitive race - our goal is to create a platform to celebrate brain athletes, like we do physical athletes in the world. Nick and GK have a fun conversation that first starts with GK's experience pitching at Founders Live and his tips that helped him win both the Toronto event as well as a recent Founders Live Prime Time North America event. They then dive into Brain Racers (originally called Quiklee) and how GK sees a new world of brain competitions similar to how we celebrate athletic competitions, and how these challenges will help people of all ages improve their intelligence and stay sharp. They end with some solid tips and advice for up and coming founders to follow. This is a very inspiring conversation and it's an opportunity to Learn more about one of the most promising startups and talented founders coming out of Founders Live today.
Nick Hughes is joined by Tendai Mupaso, cofounder of Yaita, from Harare Zimbabwe. Yaita is an incredibly user friendly and clever application that helps traders in Africa fulfil their orders with great efficiency. Yaita is building an infrastructure for the future of commerce in Africa. Nick and Tendai have a fun conversation starting with talking about Zimbabwe and Tendai's experience pitching at a recent Harare event. They then talk about Yaita and how he and his team discovered the issues and challenges of the shift from offline non-digital commerce towards mobile and ecommerce in the local business and consumer markets and then the solutions they are bringing to market to power the digital side of commerce and fulfilment. Keep an eye on this company, it seels Tendai and his team see a path towards powering commerce across the continent of Africa. This is a fun conversation full of nuggets of wisdom and founder tips for you to take and run with, we hope it helps you today.
https://yaita.co.zw/
Nick Hughes is joined by Christopher Lawrence of Founder and CEO Natural Based Supplements, in Portland Oregon. Natural Based Supplements create supplements to support your body’s health. Their first product is CRESCENT - Fall asleep relaxed & wake up feeling refreshed. CRESCENT is a sleep supplement that promotes healthy sleep habits that help you relax, drift off into sleep and wake up feeling refreshed for the day. Nick and Christopher jump into a fun conversation covering many aspects of Christopher's vast founder journey. First, they talk about Portland and the unique dynamics they have seen with Covid, the social unrest and the environmental chaos this fall. They then talk about Christopher's latest venture - Natural Based Supplements - how he discovered the issues around sleep deprivation and determining to solve these challenges with healthy, natural and organic solutions. They end with a few thoughts from Christopher on tips and lessons for other entrepreneurs out there. This is a fun conversation full of nuggets of wisdom and founder tips for you to take and run with, we hope it helps you today.
https://www.naturalbasedsupplements.com/
This is special Founders Live Conversations episode which was recorded as a video interview. Nick Hughes is joined by Paola Ortega from Mexico City, Mexico who is a Founders Live Prime Time Global Finalist and is one of five presenting Founders at the Founders Livefest 2020 event on December 2nd, 2020. Paola is founder of Air - Employee-centered decisions in Real time and an AI tool to assist transformation within your company based on your employee characteristics. Nick and Paola have a fun conversation which first touches on her experience pitching and winning two Founders Live events, one in Mexico city and then the Founders Live Prime Time Latin America event. She shares her thoughts and tips of how to approach the pitching experience with listeners. Then, they get into Paola's journey as a professional and how she and her team discovered the challenges of employee retention and engagement, and the solutions they are now bringing to market. This is a very inspiring conversation and it's an opportunity to Learn more about one of the most promising startups and talented founders coming out of Founders Live today.
Nick Hughes is joined by Rasia Noelle, who is Global Event Program Lead of Women in Cloud. Women in Cloud is a community-led economic development organization, and has a massive mission: to take action with global leaders, corporations and policymakers to help women entrepreneurs create $1 billion in economic access and opportunity by 2030. And they won’t stop until we get there. Nick and Raisa start off the conversation talking about the Founders Live and Women in Cloud connection and partnership and how they both are excited to make change. Raisa has an extensive background in large events and community engagement so they dive into the dynamics of holding purposeful and impactful events, what seems to be working currently, even during covid times. Lastly they touch on creating purposeful and meaningful communities, core values such as Open The Door, connecting people and doing great things for people each day, and realizing how much good can be created in the world! This is another inspiring conversation to help drive you to make generational change and we hope it helps you on your founder journey today.
Women in Cloud - https://www.womenincloud.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Chaitra Vedullapalli, Cofounder and President of Women in Cloud. Women in Cloud is a community-led economic development organization, has a massive mission: to take action with global leaders, corporations and policymakers to help women entrepreneurs create $1 billion in economic access and opportunity by 2030. And we won’t stop until we get there. Nick and Chaitra start off this conversation talking about how they have partnered in support of female founders and executives around the world before we hear the backstory of how Chaitra discovered the massive challenges facing women professionals when she worked in traditional corporate America. They then dive into Women in Cloud, what the organization is all about, what they offer to the community, and how people can best get involved. This is a very inspiring conversation between two industry leaders who are on the front lines of generational change and we hope it helps you on your founder journey today.
Women in Cloud - https://www.womenincloud.com/
Meylah - https://meylah.com/home.html
Nick Hughes is joined by George Wauchope of GiftGoat from the Cayman Islands. Gift Goat helps you never forget to send a card again! Customize your cards. Schedule them to be sent throughout the year. We take care of the rest! Nick and George jump into a fun conversation first talking about The Cayman Islands, what people might not know about them and how the pandemic created massive drop in tourism and economic activity in the Caribbean region. George actually pitched at a recent Founders Live Phoenix and won, so they touched on the experience and George's tips on how to prepare for Founders Live Pitching. Then, they get into how George pivoted to GiftGoat once he saw acceleration of Ecommerce, especially with Covid-19. His lessons are multifold, but the main one is to look at your company and make sure you can protect it from a global pandemic! This is interesting conversation with many tips and lessons learned from an emerging leader, we hope it helps you on your founder journey today.
https://www.giftgoat.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Derek Ricciuto who is the founder of Gaggle, which helps you meet friends nearby. Reliable local activities, delivered. Nick and Derek start off the conversation talking about Boston and how much both of them think about the New England area. They then dive into Gaggle and how Derek managed to launch an app to help people connect with others around them - during the pandemic! This is no small feat, and Derek and his team discovered they could still connect people locally in a safe and distanced manner. Derek ends the conversation with his tips and advice to early stage entrepreneurs. This is a very fun and engaging conversation with many tips and lessons learned from an emerging leader, we hope it helps you on your founder journey today.
Gagglefriends.com
Nick Hughes is joined by Daniel Salinas and Juan David from Bogotá Colombia who are the cofounders of TREELIFE. TREELIFE is a non-profit organization which is in charge, through new emerging technologies and the capacity for action of citizens based on their ecosystem, as well as with the control of sustainable economies to preserve and increase forests in the different regions of Colombia. Nick, Daniel and Juan David start off the conversation talking about Bogotá and learning a bit more of what life is like in Colombia. They then get into the Founders Live experience and what it's like to pitch during an event. Next we get into how Daniel and Juan David founded TREELIFE, how they are approaching reforestation, why it is so important to our earth, and how you can get involved. They end with some lessons and tips from these two great entrepreneurs. This is a fun and inspiring conversation and we hope it helps you on your founder journey today.
https://www.treelife737.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Mel Blatt of Phoenix Arizona, Founder and CEO of indipop. Indipop is Affordable Healthcare for the Independent Population such as Freelancers, Independent Contractors, and Solopreneurs. You get corporate health benefits without the corporate rates. Nick and Mel start off the conversation with Mel talking about her early experience growing up, getting into in corporate/entertainment world, how she discovered the challenges of health care for freelancers and entrepreneurs. They then dive into how she made the leap to get started with her own company offering affordable health care through indipop and how entrepreneurs can get started with their health care benefits. The conversation ends with some tips from Mel on how to take the leap. This is a very inspiring conversation with many tips and lessons learned from an emerging entrepreneur, we hope it helps you on your founder journey today.
https://www.indipop.co/
Nick Hughes is joined by Nicholas Zeisler, Principal of Zeisler Consulting from Denver, Colorado. Zeisler Consulting moves you beyond simply surveying. You interact with your Customers in diverse ways throughout their journeys with your brand. We’ll tailor a program of listening and learning to find genuine insights into what your Customers want from your brand, and where you can improve what you’re doing to beat those expectations. Nick and Nicholas quickly jump into a fun and engaging conversation first touching on how Nicholas first discovered Founders Live in Denver, and how that led to him connecting with Nick and recently joining the internal Founders Live team to help with growth and customer experience. Then they get to what exactly CX (Customer Experience) is, why it is so incredibly important to your company's success, and what steps to take to improve it inside and outside the company walls. This is a very educational conversation with many nuggets and lessons from an emerging expert in CX, we hope it helps you on your founder journey today.
http://zeislerconsulting.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Allie Reitz Founder and CEO of Good Elephant from Denver. Colorado. Good Elephant is a family of teachers and local businesses who believe in making a mindful lifestyle inclusive and affordable for everyone. Nick and Allie start off this conversation with their thoughts on one of the most beautiful places in the world - Denver and Boulder Colorado - and then jump into Allie's fun experience pitching at Founders Live Denver. Then, they talk in much more depth about Good Elephant and how they are working to bring yoga and mindfulness to a much broader audience by making it more affordable and accessible for the general public. We really appreciate Allie's vision, spirit, and energy, and we hope this conversation helps you on your founder journey.
https://goodelephant.co/
Nick Hughes is joined by Katie Diasti, Founder and CEO of Viv from Boston Massachusetts. Viv's goal is to build an educational brand that empowers all womxn to live healthier and more sustainable lives. They are dedicated to offering safe and eco-friendly menstrual products delivered straight to your door, and they aim to remove all stigmas and shame in talking about our V’s! Period should no longer be a dirty word. Nick and Katie first get into a conversation about Boston, how much Nick has enjoyed the New England area over the last few years throughout his travels, then they discuss Katie's recent experience pitching and winning Founders Live Boston - along with some helpful tips for anyone looking to pitch at an event. Getting into the business, Katie details how she and her team are approaching improving a health issue most women (and men) do not want to talk about - female menstrual cycles - and how important sustainability is to the products used everyday around the world. This is a very inspiring conversation with many tips and lessons learned from an emerging entrepreneur, we hope it helps you on your founder journey today.
https://vivforyourv.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Rebekah Bastian of Seattle who is the CEO and cofounder of OwnTrail. OwnTrail is reimagining and scaling mentorship to serve all women. Nick and Rebekah start off this conversation with Rebekah talking about her experience pitching at Founders Live and tips for other founders thinking about pitching at a future Founders Live event. They then dive into her vision of OwnTrail and why she created the platform and community for women to share their own trails. She shares how it can be used and what the future looks like with OwnTrail in it. The world is experiencing massive change and it is a perfect time for something like OwnTrail to bring more confidence and mentorship to today's female population. This is a very inspiring conversation with many tips and lessons learned, we hope it helps you on your founder journey.
https://owntrail.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Alison Bell, a strategy advisor from Phoenix, Arizona. Alison works with startups and companies to figure out their unique strategy and their Why. Nick and Alison jump into a fun and engaging conversation that starts with her 5 things she learned from her dad on how to uniquely live and be independent, which has influenced her path into entrepreneurship. They then dive into Founders Live, why she recently decided to join the internal team to help with growth and enhancements of the city leader team, as well as what she envisions for the future of the company. They finish but talking about the Why and how to create a truly human Brand. This is a fun conversation full of useful thoughts and tips, and we hope it helps you on your founder journey.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/alison-bell/
Nick Hughes is joined by Shadrach White, CEO and founder of cloudPWR from Tacoma Washington. cloudPWR - ON A MISSION TO SIMPLIFY COMPLEX PROBLEMS AND HELP ORGANIZATIONS ADOPT CLOUD BASED SOLUTIONS. They help public agencies make the shift towards better software and processes and works to bridge gaps between systems and deliver results you can measure. Nick and Shadrach jump into a great conversation first talking about his experience pitching at Founders Live South Sound which took place in February 2020 right before the world changed. They then get into what cloudPWR aims to do in the cloud computing space, helping customers navigate the transition to the cloud and more efficient cloud data solutions. Lastly, they then move on towards more entrepreneurial lessons learned and tips for other founders to consider as they go about building their company. This is a fun conversation full of wisdom from an experienced entrepreneur and we hope it helps you on your founder journey.
https://cloudpwr.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Valentine Shoti of Harare, Zimbabwe who is the Founder of Organut Manufactures. Valentine is also known as Mai Dovi (which translated means Ms Peanut Butter) in her native city of Harare.They are manufacturing Organut butter which is herbal and flavored with 40 varieties formulated to enhance nutrition normally brought by ordinary butter with aid of naturally nutritious plants used to a healthy butter. Nick and Valentine have a very inspirational and touching conversation that talks about How she lost her parents at age of 14, and she had to lead her household and find a way to make her own food natural, organic, healthy to survive. They also touch on her experience at Founders Live Harare when Nick was there in Nov 2019 as well as what she sees as the future of her company to bring natural and healthy food to Zimbabwe and hopefully the rest of the world. You can find Valentine's GoFund me page below if you'd like to help her and Organut Manufactures continue their growth and success so they can have their own manufacturing facilities. This is a very inspiring conversation full of wisdom and insights from a promising African entrepreneur that we hope helps you on your founder journey.
Orgunat Manufactures GoFundMe page.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/Help-sustain-a-livelihood-of-a-female-entrepreneur
https://www.facebook.com/Organut-herbal-and-flavored-peanut-butter-407648410067572
Nick Hughes is joined by Amanda Doamaral of Milwaukee Wisconsin, founder and CEO of Fiveable. Fiveable is a social learning network where students and teachers create and curate content while building community. Nick and Amanda jump into the conversation of how Amanda got started with teaching online and using videos, which led to her discovering how they could scale it to many more students. They touch on the challenges of yesterday, today with covid and what it will be like once things 'get back to a new normal.' They end with some of Amanda's tips on pitching at Founders Live. Amanda is a perfect example of just getting started, testing ideas and building upon what is working. This is a very inspiring conversation full of wisdom and insights that we hope helps you on your founder journey.
http://fiveable.me/
Nick Hughes is joined by Qingqing (QQ) Han and Huina Mao of Wissee who are both from Seattle. Wissee powers your investment with reliable data analytics. First, Nick talks with QQ and Huina about their Founders Live Seattle experience and the tips they have around preparing and pitching at the event. Then, they jump into how the two met and developed a data analytics engine to power investments in the finance industry. We hear about where they see the industry going and also how they approach building in the ML and data analytics space. The conversation ends with some thoughts about their experiences as female founders and some suggestions on how we as an industry can help improve that experience. We hope it helps you on your journey.
https://www.wissee.ai/
Nick Hughes is joined by John Fanning CEO of Zelgor Games from Boston MA. Zelgor is a mobile game company building an army of aliens to take over the world. Nick and John take a deep dive into what that means, who are these Aliens and should we be scared of them, and what it takes to build a truly great brand in today's world. They also get into what the pandemic has brought to the media, games and entertainment industry, and how a few great companies always come from challenging and transformative times. They end with great startup tips and lessons, touching on John's thoughts on equity crowdfunding plus some pitching tips sprinkled in as well. We hope you enjoy this fun conversation.
https://www.zelgor.com/
https://netcapital.com/companies/zelgor
Nick Hughes is joined by Shelly Bell, Founder of Black Girl Ventures from Washington DC. Black Girl Ventures is Creating Access to Capital for Black/Brown Women Founders and Entrepreneurs. Nick dives deep with Shelly around the challenges underrepresented entrepreneurs are facing, specifically around ethnic and gender issues. The main point Shelly brings to light is how we must first look at social capital - or making sure all are "in the network" for all populations so they can even have a seat at the table or in the call - before we talk about funding equality (which is equally important). Then, they talk more about Black Girl Ventures and the vision of the organization, as well as what they offer for their members and how people can get involved. This is a very important conversation full of wisdom and insights some might not be fully aware of and we hope it helps enlighten you of how much more work needs to be done to achieve entrepreneurial equality.
https://www.blackgirlventures.org/
Nick Hughes is joined by Stephani Lucas who is co-founder and CFO, and Bradford Scott Walton who is co-founder and CEO of Spiritual Masochist, both are from Austin Texas. They are building an incredible transformative brand that focuses on stylishly tangible evidence of all the shit you’ve been through, resources for new ways to bring the pain (of growth) or interviews with people who know how to take you through it. Nick dives deep with Stephani and Bradford on their backgrounds, how they got started and what the concept of Spiritual Masochist represents. They then dive a bit deeper into why personal growth is so important to not just the advanced entrepreneur, but the human in general. They end with great startup tips and lessons. This is a very touching and incredible conversations full of great nuggets of startup wisdom in here and we hope it helps you on your journey.
https://spiritualmasochist.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Farouk Daher, co-founder CEO of Bizzy.co in Boston Massachusetts, who is building the goto marketplace for services by creating a centralized platform for freelancers to run their business, offer their services, and grow using tools and resources. Nick and Farouk quickly get into how they both were sitting in Boston at the time of the recording, and how Farouk got started in his startup journey. They then dive into how they discovered the challenges of Freelancers and how they struggle to grow their businesses, so how him and the team decided to build out a new platform to serve the needs of the side hustle and freelancer economy. They end with great startup tips and lessons. Lots of great nuggets of startup wisdom in here and we hope it helps you on your journey.
https://bizzy.co/
We interviewed Johnathan Buell, who is passionate about activating & empowering people and businesses to drive Social Impact through community and technology initiatives, and who has previously worked with Founders Live to guide us in deploying our social impact initiatives. The lead discussion focuses on what social impact really means, how to approach it as a founding team, why it's important to start as early as possible, and the best next steps if a company is ready to launch their social impact strategy. So many great nuggets for early and mid stage companies to think about.
This was recorded as part of our online Founders Live Conversations Series, watch the video here.
We were joined by Mel Blatt, Founder and CEO of indipop, where she led a talk on The Most Affordable Health Care Options For Entrepreneurs to help shed some light on health memberships vs. traditional health insurance. Each year the number of people leaving their job to go out on their own increases. In many cases that means leaving behind health insurance. Currently there are over 57 million freelancers and solopreneurs in the US. And due to the effects of Covid 19 there is a rise in lay offs from full time employment, as a result there is a loss of health benefits. It can be a confusing and stressful time trying to access and afford benefits with no one helping navigate this unchartered road, thus why she created indipop. We also talk about how Founders Live and indipop have partnered to bring this option to many entrepreneurs around the US.
https://www.indipop.co/
This was recorded as part of our online Founders Live Conversations Series, watch the video here.
Nick Hughes is joined by Roland Ndowa of Bulawayo Zimbabwe, cofounder of AllMart Marketplace, an online shopping platform that enables users to buy or sell groceries or food and get them right at their doorstep. Nick and Roland start off the conversation talking about Zimbabwe and how they are dealing with the global Covid Pandemic, and then get into a discussion about AllMart Marketplace, and how they envision building the future of food delivery in the country of Zimbabwe. Roland and his team have a very forward thinking view of how to use mobile technology to aid in bringing quality nutrition to the people who need it - and in turn helping improve lives through empowering local business. Lots of good nuggets of wisdom in here and we hope it helps you on your journey.
http://www.allmartzim.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Yohanna E. from Seattle, a Eritrean American international recording artist, who performed during a Founders Live Seattle event in early 2020. As a Seattle based artist, Yohanna E. is making her mark in the music industry by sharing her story and the stories of many through her music. As a first generation Eritrean American, she focuses on using music to inspire and motivate others to live a purpose driven life. Nick and Yohanna start off by recalling how she got started in the music industry, how she has gone about building her brand - artists are entrepreneurs as well - how she is dealing with the covid challenges in the music industry, her thoughts on the future of the industry post-covid, as well as tips for others just starting out. This is a very inspiring story and we hope this helps you on your founder journey.
https://www.yohannae.com/
Founders Live Seattle in April 2020 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96q2lxlfPDs
Nick Hughes is joined by Ford Baker of Dallas Texas, CEO and founder of Baco Tech. Baco Tech is a revolutionary way of handling your accounting. They provide proactive reporting, optimized bottom lines, and work life balance. Nick and Ford start off the conversation with a deep and touching story of how Ford discovered problems with his health and how his approach to life and business were making them even worse, therein which he made significant changes to his lifestyle and diet. All of this improved his health AND his business. They then dive deeper into the world of accounting and how Baco Tech is changing the game to make it more automated, simpler and more efficient for accountants (and you as the owner!) This is a very inspiring story and we hope this helps you on your founder journey.
https://www.bacotech.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Rita Anthony Parker from NYC, founder of Genesis Home. Rita is a longtime Founders Live member who has recently made the leap into real estate. Nick and Rita have a fun and engaging conversation starting with how she discovered Founders Live years ago, what motivates her to keep coming back each day/week, and how she sees it fitting into the world of entrepreneurship. They then dive into her business, how she got started as in real estate, what she sees changing in the industry due to Covid-19 and the overall recession. Lastly, they touch on some thoughts on how to best support underrepresented founders. We hope this helps you on your founder journey.
https://thegenesisgrind.home.blog/
https://the-genesis-home.mn.co/
This Learning Series #2 - Finding An Open Playground is led by Michael Dermer of The Lonely Entrepreneur. We had a group conversation about how to evaluate an ecosystem and find the open spaces to build a new brand around, with the goal to "define" and "own" the mind share and market share. Nick and Michael dive deep into what makes a brand, how you define it, how you claim your corner of the market, and how you differentiate your brand from all others. Then Michael covers how people can utilize resources and educational material to help them stay informed on the best decisions to make at this time.
This was recorded as part of our online Founders Live Conversations Series, watch the video here.
Nick Hughes is joined by Peter Ghiorse of New Jersey, cofounder CEO and GiveTide.They are changing the tide of giving through their program that rounds-up spare change and allows users to donate to any charity with a tap. Nick and Peter jump into a great conversation with first touching on how they connected in 2018 when Nick made a trip to the east coast to launch the New Jersey event. They then get into the overall GiveTide concept, how they aim to change the industry using spare change, how Covid-19 has actually been a blessing to their business, and ending with what Peter advises early stage entrepreneurs to consider and think about at this moment. Lots of good nuggets of wisdom in here and we hope it helps you on your journey.
https://www.givetide.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Wesley Maraire, who holds the position of Business Development with Tiritose in Harare Zimbabwe. Tiritose: Experience Zimbabwe - responsible and ethical travel programmes, including tours, educational, volunteer and internship placements offer participants with a unique, immersive, learning experience. Revenue from our programme fees directly helps support the development of Zimbabwe’s medical and educational institutions and frontline resources. Nick and Wesley have into a very fun and thoughtful conversation starting with them recounting how they met when Nick visited Zimbabwe in late 2019, then they dive into how the travel industry is changing and the position Tiritose holds in ushing in more purposeful and responsible travel. Wesley also provides some great pieces of advice for any up and coming entrepreneur. This is a very interesting conversation, we hope it helps you on your journey.
https://tiritose.com/https://tiritose.org/
Nick Hughes is joined by Esteban Varela of Guadalajara Mexico, who is CFO of Linc. Linc is the academic success digital platform for higher educational institutions to provide tutoring and coaching in-person or online with real-time analytics for better decision-making. Nick and Esteban jump into a very engaging conversation around the future of education - especially after the Covid-19 pandemic has put much more emphasis on remote learning. They talk about how the shutdown has affected the Guadalajara community, and then they get into Esteban's journey into entrepreneurship, how he and his team came together to start Linc, what problem they are solving and how they are uniquely solving it. Lots of good nuggets of wisdom in here! This is a very fun conversation, we hope it helps you on your journey.
https://linc.io/
Nick Hughes is joined by Lori Most from Minneapolis who is founder and CEO Binary Bridge. Their Offline Network Enables and Powers Full Clinics in Any Remote Location around the world. BackpackEMR will instantly share your patient’s data securely from your Registration station to Vitals, Labs, Exam Rooms, and through to Pharmacy with a custom-built, offline, data-sharing network. Nick and Lori have and interesting and insightful conversation including her perspectives on Covid and the racial tensions in the US which started in her city, as well as her journey as an entrepreneur, how she identified the challenges of remote healthcare, and the next steps in building their solution. This is a great conversation, we hope it helps you today.
https://www.backpackemr.com/
This was recorded as part of our online Founders Live Conversations Series, watch the video here.
We interviewed Sharen Eddings of CodewithSharen, a Interactive Text-Based Programming Language STEM E-Learning Solution. "Schools hire us to teach teachers how to code, so teachers can teach their students how to code too." We had a conversation in front of a live virtual audience who submitted questions and comments in real time as Nick and Sharen talked about STEM education and how schools are missing out on a great opportunity and how Codewithsharen is on a mission to solve this problem, as well as the racial challenges specifically in the tech industry. Enjoy the conversation.
http://www.codewithsharen.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Pradnya Desh from Seattle, CEO of Advocat Technologies, CONVERSATION-DRIVEN LEGAL RESEARCH AND DRAFTING FOR ATTORNEYS. Nick and Pradnya have an enlightening conversation starting first with her perspective and experience with Covid-19 in Seattle and beyond. Then they get into her journey as a founder, Advocat Technologies, what she is building and why, and the future of legal technologies as AI develops and becomes more prevalent in our world. This is a very fun conversation, we hope it helps you on your journey.
https://advocattechnologies.com/
This was recorded as part of our online Founders Live Conversations Series, watch the video here.
We interviewed entrepreneur and investor Dave Parker, who has founded numerous companies, advised and mentored many founders and who also a spent some time as venture partner for Seven Peaks Ventures. Nick Hughes and Dave have an engaging conversation online about the current global situation, what he is seeing right now as the opportunities in the early stage market. We also hear about his background, his experience in the startup and technology industry, lessons learned and address questions from you, the audience.
https://www.gettrajectory.com/
SHOW LESS
Nick Hughes is joined by Joel Carben from Port Townsend, WA of Carben Ventures - Our mission is simple. We are here to help you build and grow the best companies in the world. Nick and his good friend Joel have a great conversation hitting many different topics starting with how they met, how Joel started IdealSeat, the experience building and pivoting the business and ultimately exiting during early Covid-19. He then dives into his lessons learned and talks about is next act - how Carben Ventures will help entrepreneurs grow world changing companies. You can feel Joel's desire to help founders through this podcast. This is a very fun conversation, we hope it helps you on your journey.
https://www.carbenventures.com/
(Note: the reception and data connection on this episode was faulty at times)
Nick Hughes is joined by Sharad Mittal, founder and CEO of Teracube, of Redmond, WA. Teracube is the world’s most reliable and sustainable smartphone. Nick and Sharad have an interesting conversation starting with his experience with the pandemic, what he is doing personally, and how their team is continuing through it. They then dive into Teracube, the issues of waste that plague the technology industry and how Teracube is building a sustainable solution for smartphones. This is a great conversation - a bit choppy at times - but will be useful for you nonetheless!
https://myteracube.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Jordan Peacock from Minneapolis, Minnesota CEO and cofounder Becoming Machinic - which integrates existing IT infrastructure and business processes for enterprises. Nick and Jordan have a wide ranging and intriguing conversation starting with his thoughts on this Covid-19 outbreak and how you shouldn't waste a time for rebooting. This is a time for opportunity, reflection and personal and business transformation. They then go into his projects, how he grew his businesses - both the IT business as well as Yak Collective, which is a group of people who have come together to create insightful writings of current issues and events. This is a very interesting conversation, we hope it helps you today.
https://www.becomingmachinic.com/
https://yakcollective.org/
https://yakcollective.org/projects/yak-wisdom
Nick Hughes is joined by Ernanda White from Dallas Texas, founder and CXO of Black Girls Drone -Taking flight in pursuit of STEAM equality, education and visibility for underrepresented women and girls from underserved communities as they become FAA Certified UAV aeronautic drone pilots. Nick and Ernanda have an engaging conversation starting with her experience in Texas during the Covid-19 outbreak and how it has affected daily life. They then dive into her journey as an entrepreneur and how she discovered the issues of underrepresentation in the aviation industry, and how she determined to solve them with drone and aviation education and community for black girls. This is a very uplifting conversation, we hope it helps you today.
https://www.blackgirlsdrone.net/
Nick Hughes is joined by Ana Romero of Mooch (Moch) from Guadalajara, Mexico. Mooch offers everything you need for your pet. We are a platform that makes people who have a pet in their care the best owner, through a directory of services, a market and a fun social network. Nick and Ana have a fun conversation starting with a bit more description of Mexico and what entrepreneurship is like in Guadalajara, they touch on the latest challenges due to Coronavirus and then dive into Mooch and what problem Ana found in the world around having pets. This was such an enjoyable conversation, we hope it's helpful to you too.
https://mooch.com.mx/inicio
Nick Hughes is joined by Claudius Mbemba of Seattle, who is the CTO of Neu. Neu is the hassle-free cleaning solution for vacation rentals. Nick and his good friend Claudius have a fun conversation starting with his background as a collegiate athlete and his views on how success in athletics influences entrepreneurship. They then dive into Neu, how they came up with the business, and what challenges and new opportunities the founding team is seeing now due to Covid-19 outbreak, as well as some amazing tips and advice for early stage founders especially with fundraising. This was such an great conversation, we hope it's helpful to you too.
https://www.neucleans.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Dan Kihanya, Entrepreneur and creator Founders Unfound - Exceptional founders of African Descent, stories of entrepreneurs from underrepresented backgrounds. Nick and Dan have a very engaging and emotional conversation around a few topics such as the current covid outbreak, Dan's background in past downturns, as well as diving into the topic of his new Podcast about underrepresented founders. This topic is very important to Nick and Founders Live as we strive to bring equality to entrepreneurship around the world, and the wisdom and insights Dan shares with the audience are invaluable and very important in today's divided world. We hope it's helpful to you as well.
https://foundersunfound.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by AJ Rice in Portland OR, Founder and CEO of Privo Mobile. Privo Mobile is a dumb phone designed for kids with a modern user experience and interface with a safe and private data experience. Nick and AJ have a very interesting conversation around a few topics such as the current covid outbreak, how AJ came up with the concept for a dumb phone, the current mobile industry standards around data collection and where AJ see's things going in the future, as well as some tips and advice for early stage founders. This was such an enjoyable conversation, we hope it's helpful to you.
https://www.privomobile.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Ryan and Munya of Zimbabwe of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe who are the founders of FarmHut, which is Agricultural Investment Made Easy. Nick, Ryan and Munya have a great conversation firstly around how the covid-19 pandemic is brining major challenges to their life and business in Zimbabwe. They then jump into the agriculture business and what FarmHut is doing to improve the lives and access to quality local food in Zimbabwe, as well as their experience pitching at Founders Live Harare! This was such an enjoyable conversation, we hope it's helpful to you.
https://farmhut.co.zw/
Nick Hughes is joined by Laura Clise of Seattle, WA who is the Founder and CEO of Intentionalist. Intentionalist is your local guide to diverse small businesses and the people behind them. Nick and Laura have very intriguing conversation around how the covid-19 pandemic is brining major challenges to the local business sector. They then dive into Intentionalist, what they envision is the future of local business and intentional spending, as well as her experience pitching at Founders Live Seattle! This is an important conversation helpful to any early stage entrepreneur.
https://intentionalist.com/
This conversation was recorded live on Founders Live with audience participation.
A conversation about entrepreneurship and the journey in the startup world. We interviewed Elizabeth Scallon of WeWork Labs in front of a live virtual audience as Nick and Elizabeth have an engaging conversation online. We hear about her background, her experience in the startup and technology industry, lessons learned and address questions from the audience.
Nick Hughes is joined by Amy Woidtke, owner and chief operator of Making Space For You from Seattle WA. Making Space For you is a Time Saving, Clutter Busting, Move Wrangling Organization service for Growth-oriented LGBTQ & Allied Professionals & Entrepreneurs. Nick and Amy dive into the conversation talking about Seattle and her Covid-19 experience, how it is changing the nature of travel and moving during this time, and also get into her entrepreneurial journey of how she discovered her talent to help people organize their lives, especially during stressful times like these. This great conversation will help any person who is dealing with challenges and stress in their own life right now.
https://amywoidtke.com/
Amy’s Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/amywoidtke/
Nick Hughes is joined by Femi Oloruntoba of Founder and CEO Esta Technologies from Toronto, Ontario in Canada. Esta is an on-demand home services platform for any project. Take photos and videos of your home issues, and match with a local contractor. Everything home services at your convenience. Nick and Femi have a great conversation first touching on his experience up in Canada with the Coronavirus, how it has impacted his industry. They then dive into his company Esta Technologies, what they envision is the future of empowering employment for people with unique talents locally and abroad, as well as his experience pitching at Founders Live Toronto! This is a fun conversation with many nuggets of wisdom for early stage entrepreneurs.
https://www.estalinks.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Todd Edman of Eugene, OR Cofounder and CEO of Bitcork. BitCork Helps Restaurants Buy Artisan Wine One Bottle At A Time. Nick and Todd jump into the conversation talking about Portland, and his Covid-19 experience, then they talk about his company BitCork, what they were initially doing in the local restaurant space and how that is being affected during the current affects of the crisis. Check out this great conversation which will help any entrepreneur who is dealing with challenges in their own business right now.
https://bitcork.io/
Nick Hughes is joined by Preeti Suri from Seattle, WA, who is the founder and CEO of AdventureTripr. AdventureTripr powers adventures for everyone, connecting you directly with local businesses to book extraordinary experiences. Nick and Preeti enjoy an engaging conversation that starts with them chatting about Seattle and her experience during the initial Covid-19 outbreak, then they talk about her vision of building a travel company and how that is shifting and possibly changing with the current affects of the crisis. This is great conversation full of nuggets of startup wisdom. Check it out.
https://adventuretripr.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Rachel Kois from the Denver CO area, who is founder and CEO at simpleswitch.org, which powers Ethical and impactful purchasing with cause impact. Nick and Rachel jump into a very interesting and inspiring conversation around how Rachel identified the current issues with commerce and sustainability, how she started SimpleSwitch, the impact of Covid-19 on her startup (some positive!), as well as a few pointers and tips from her early startup experience. This is fun and informative conversation and we hope it helps you in your startup journey.
https://www.simpleswitch.org/
Nick Hughes is joined by Auxicillia Rabwi Business Dev associate and Tadzoka Pswarayi CEO of the Impact Hub Harare, who both are also the Founders Live Harare, Zimbabwe City Leaders. Nick, Auxi and Tadzoka have a fun conversation on how they first met, their decision to launch Founders Live Harare, Nick's experience in Zimbabwe when he visited in the fall of 2019, their experience growing Founders Live in Harare and some tips on what makes a quality pitch. This is another incredible conversation full of many tips and pointers for early stage founders.
http://impacthubharare.net/
Nick Hughes is joined by Grace Tolley-Smith from London, UK who is head of product at Bippit.com, which empowers employees to take charge of their finances with expert guidance from a dedicated financial advisor. Nick and Grace enjoy an engaging conversation around the challenges and issues individuals have with personal finances, how Bippit got started and more on their vision in helping improve financial well being. This is fun and informative conversation and we hope it helps you in your financial and entrepreneurial life.
https://www.bippit.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Gopal Swamy from New York City who is the CEO of Conductiv, which increases approval rates on credit card and loan applications for banks. Nick and Gopal open the conversation touching on his experience living in NYC as it has become the new epicenter of the COVID-19 crisis and how he has been dealing with it. They then dive deeper into discussion on Conductiv, what they originally built and how that might be shifting due to the changes our world is going through currently. This is a great conversation full of insights and empathy. Check it out here.
https://conductiv.co/
Nick Hughes is joined by Lorena Soriano from Seattle, WA who is Founder and CEO of Every.1, which aims to change the stats to ensure the technology & products currently being designed are representative of the overall population. Nick and Lorena jump into an engaging and educational conversation around the status of equality (or inequality) in the employment, design and functioning of our technology today. Then they talk about the vision of Every.1 and how they aim to change the industry, as well as her female founder experience and other entrepreneurial tips. This is fun and informative conversation and we hope it makes impact with you! Check it out.
https://everypointone.com/
Nick Hughes and Coach Joia Houheneka hosted this virtual group event on a Zoom call. They talked about tools, tricks and tips people are you using to make this time easier for yourself and your team. It's a useful group conversation on how to best approach this downturn as startup founders and offers some ideas on how to keep your momentum going.
(This audio was pulled from a recent Founders Live Conversations interview with Kaitlin Christine. You can watch the interview here.)
Nick Hughes is joined by Kaitlin Christine of Portland, OR who is the founder and CEO of Gabbi, which helps women take steps to take control of their health and be the expert on their bodies. Nick and Kaitlin have an extremely engaging and emotional conversation around the touching story of how she came to found the company, the vision of Gabbi and how they aim to change the health space, as well as her female founder experience and other entrepreneurial tips. This is an incredible conversation and well worth your time! Check it out.
https://www.begabbi.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Melanie Kong from Seattle WA, a High School STEM Teacher and CEO of Floop, aweb app that saves teachers time and helps students see the value in feedback. Nick and Melanie dive into a great conversation that starts with her sharing about how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected her high school teaching experience, how they are dealing with it as a district and what to expect going forward. Then they jump into her new startup Floop, how she discovered the problem in providing quality feedback to high school students and what she and her co-founders did to solve it! So cool. This is full of lessons any founder can take and apply to their life. Check it out!
https://www.floopedu.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by James Gray of Boston, MA who is CEO and cofounder of Tapple, an extremely powerful yet wonderfully simple marketing platform, and can deliver nearly any kind of message you can imagine, anywhere your audience is located, instantly. Nick and James have an engaging conversation around today's marketing, what's working today and what's not working, and how him and his team at Tapple are creating a whole new experience for our data rich world. He also gives his perspective on Founders Live and being there as he and his cofounder pitched at a recent Founders Live Boston event. This conversation is full of golden nuggets for any founder out there. Check it out!
https://tapple.io/#/home
Nick Hughes is joined by Enoch Olisa of Lagos, Nigeria who is Founder of Edsofta, which publishes past questions and study materials to secure offline apps that helps users to prepare for exams. Nick and Enoch start into an interesting conversation about his founder experience in Lagos, Nigeria. They begin by touching on how Nick wasn't able to make the flight from Zimbabwe to Nigeria due to Visa issues, and then get into why Enoch started Edsofta and what his experience has been thus far growing the edtech company. Check it out!
https://edsofta.com/home
Nick Hughes is joined by Mladen Gajic of Denver Colorado co founder and CEO of Plasticscore, a mobile app to help diners reduce single-use plastic waste at restaurants through collective feedback. Nick and Mladen jump into a very intriguing and educational conversation that starts with Mladen describing the current state of plastic and waste in our world - the tragic nature of it all - and then they dive into how his startup is creating a way for consumers to score local restaurants on how green and re-usable they are with their operations. This is full of lessons any founder can take and apply to their life. Check it out!
https://www.plasticscore.co/
Nick Hughes is joined by Brianna Dickey from the Bay Area in California who is Founder and CEO of Coffee Conex. Nick and Brianna jump into a really interesting and educational conversation which starts by learning how Brianna discovered the challenges in the coffee industry and how it is hindered by lack of transparency and coordination. Her experience starting Coffee Conex has been quite the journey and full of lessons any founder can take and apply to their life. Check it out!
https://cafeconex.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Joy Langley of Washington DC who is the Founders Live DC City Leader and a founder of her own startup as well. Nick and Joy have fun conversation that starts with them meeting in grade school and growing up together in Yakima, WA, how Joy discovered Founders Live, what attracted her to be the city leader in DC and some pitching tips. They then dive into the interesting projects Joy has going on, and how they have the potential to save lives! This is another must listen conversation full of many tips and pointers for early stage founders.
Nick Hughes is joined by Mikaela Kiner from Seattle, WA who is Founder and CEO of Reverb and author of the book Female FireBrands. Nick and Mikaela jump into a very inspiring and engaging conversation which starts by talking about how she went from her corporate career into starting her own HR company. They then go on to not only talk about her new book Female Firebrands, what she learned from it but they also talk about how to lead appropriately during times of crisis, such as now during the Coronavirus outbreak. Check it out!
Indiebound Book - https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781626346734
Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Female-Firebrands-Stories-Techniques-Workplace/dp/1626346739
https://reverbpeople.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Josh Barinstein of Portland Oregon who is the owner and Producer of Zenergy Films and Founders Live Portland City Leader. Nick and Josh have a fun conversation first on the story of how he and Nick got to know each other and talked about launching Founders Live in Portland, what attracted him to be the city leader and some pitching tips. They then dive into what Josh has built for many years which is Zenergy Films. You most likely have seen Josh and his team's work with many of the official Founders Live introduction videos and Founders Live Conversations interviews. This is another incredible conversation full of many tips and pointers for early stage founders.
https://www.zenergyfilms.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Gregarious Narain of Denver, Colorado who is a founder of a number of startups and is also the Founders Live Denver City Leader. Nick and Gregarious have a fun conversation which opens with how he discovered Founders Live and how he and Nick first met when Nick was on his 2019 World Tour. They then dive into the Founders Live event, what goes into a quality pitch, and how founders should approach building their companies. It's a great conversation loaded with many founder golden nuggets. Check it out!
https://www.foundercraft.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by David Ezell of Dallas, Texas who is the creator of FireBrand and the Lanyap Group, and is also the Founders Live Dallas City Leader. Nick and David have a fun conversation on how he and Nick first talked about launching Founders Live Dallas, what he has learned so far leading the Dallas event, his tips on what makes a quality pitch. They then dive into what David has been building lately called The Lanyap Group - The Toolkit For The Modern Entrepreneur, which includes FireBrand, a 4 week online workshop for the modern entrepreneur. This is another incredible conversation full of many tips and pointers for early stage founders.
https://thelanyapgroup.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Genevieve LeMarchalfrom Portland, Oregon who is an early stage venture capital fund partnerand a former founder of her own previous businesses. Nick and Genevieve jump into a very inspiring and engaging conversation which first touches on what Genevieve originally thought success had to look like in her life, the disappointments she endured, and then the realization and pursuit of a more fruitful life. They then go on to talk about fundamental aspects of raising money, pitching investors and why venture capital is not for most companies, and what those companies should do immediately. Check it out!
Connect with Genevieve:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/genevievelemarchal/
Nick Hughes is joined by Alex Resnick of San Diego, California who is comes from the sales and leadership consulting world and is the Founders Live San Diego City Leader. Nick and Alex have a fun conversation that opens with how he discovered Founders Live, how he and Nick first talked about launching Founders Live San Diego and his perspectives of the event and what makes a quality pitch. They then dive into what Alex has learned about leadership, quality communications and how that can mean the difference between success and failure in an early stage startup. Check it out!
Nick Hughes is joined by Amber Christian from Minneapolis, Minnesota who is the founder of Wonderly Software Solutions, which helps individuals and teams gain perspective and clarity to focus on the work that’s most important. Their first product Bella Scena- helps you to meet well, plan well, and live well. Nick and Amber have a great conversation which first touches on traveling and how getting and staying uncomfortable is one of the secrets of success. They then go on to touch on Amber's experience pitching, how Wonderly got started and why they value human centered design. Check it out!
https://wonderlysoftwaresolutions.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Linh Ho from Seattle, Washington who is the founder and CMO of Condati, which is an AI-driven SaaS offering built to increase revenue generated from digital marketing campaigns by using data ingested from platforms like Google Analytics, Google Ads, Facebook, LinkedIn, Bing, Salesforce, HubSpot and Marketo. Nick and Linh have a wide ranging conversation on how Condati got started, how she built the initial team, created the first product and launched it, as well as her founder lessons and tips she has learned along the way. Check it out!
https://www.condati.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Tariq Farooq from Dallas, Texas who is the CEO of Sell4Bids, which is building a marketplace to help people safely buy and sell things online. Nick and Tariq have a wide ranging conversation on how they got started, what problems did he see in the world of online marketplaces, how they initially built and launched Sell4Bids, as well as founder lessons and tips he has learned along the way. Check it out!
https://www.sell4bids.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Michael Goulden from London who is the CEO of Pinga, which is building a platform to help people get what they want in 15 mins or less. Nick and Michael have a fun chat on the state of the local delivery and logistics industry, what the implications are for future of local commerce as well as security and safety, and the solutions Pinga is bringing to the market to help! Michael also touches on some of his founder lessons and tips he has learned thus far. Check it out!
https://pinga.co.uk/
Nick Hughes is joined by Nirit Rubenstein, CEO from Phoenix AZ who is the CEO of Dovly, which is building a platform to help people improve their financial well being. Nick and Nirit have an incredibly informative conversation on the state of the personal financial industry, why it is so hard for people to improve their personal financial situation, and the solutions Dovly is bringing to the market to help! She discusses how they got started and the lessons she has learned thus far. Check it out!
https://www.dovly.com/home
Nick Hughes is joined by Leslie Feinzaig from Seattle, WA who is the Founder and CEO of Female Founders Alliance. Longtime friends Nick and Leslie jump into a wide ranging conversation on the backstory of Female Founders Alliance dating back to when she first pitched a different startup concept at Founders Live Seattle (called Feature Friday at the time!), what she learned from that experience and how it led into identifying a larger issue she could not help but fix: driving more funding and growth of women and non-binary led companies. She discusses how they got started and the lessons she has learned thus far, with some strong tips on how you can help out. Check it out!
https://femalefounders.org/
Nick Hughes is joined by Gonzalo Erize and Tomás Mendez Trongé of Buenos Aires, Argentina who are the Founders of Saun, which is building a platform to change the lives of people who are vulnerable and in need all around the world. Nick, Gonzolo and Tomas have an amazing conversation about how Gonzolo discovered he could have significant impact in one young boy's life who was close to death, and upon aiding him, he realized the impact it could create around the world if they built a platform to allow other people to do the same thing. They discuss how they got started and the lessons they have learned thus far. This is a tremendously touching conversation and not one to miss. Check it out!
https://saun.org
Nick Hughes is joined by Molly Fuller of Minneapolis, Minnesotawho is the Founder of Molly fuller Design, who has a simple passion to make clothing and products for specific medical conditions look and feel, less medical. Nick and Molly have a very inspiring discussion around how she discovered this amazingly frustrating problem, how she started her clothing and products company and how she navigates both her startup and her full time job. This is an incredible conversation and we hope you find value and inspiration from it!
https://mollyfullerdesign.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Shayne Hickey from Dallas, Texas who is the CEO of Happd, which is a new startup driving local commerce through its innovative search and discovery app. The app was called Instahap at the time of this discussion. Nick and Shayne have a wide ranging conversation on Shane and his team got started, what he sees as the future of local commerce, and some entrepreneurial tips and tricks he's learned along the way. It's a fun conversation, we hope you enjoy it!
http://www.happd.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Zach Robb from San Diego, CA who is the Founder of Nsiight, which is building a platform to change the way local products and services are discovered. Nick and Zach have a fun conversation which starts with them both identrying they have a similar background in the fitness industry before they launched their own startups. Zach shares his own story of starting Insight as well as some advice to founders just starting out. Check it out!
https://nsiight.com/web/
Nick Hughes is joined by Ike Christian-Ezeofor from Portland, OR, who is the Founder of HQ Demand, which helps people Buy and sell quality and verifiable products online. Nick and Ike have a great conversation on how Ike got started, why he chose to go against the typical giants who power online marketplaces, his experience as an entrepreneur, and what it's like to grow up in Africa and then make the trip to live in the US. This is a great discussion and hopefully it helps you as well!
https://www.hqdemand.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Roberto Inetti from Dallas Texas, who is the Founder of Roboamp, which is a small amount of code that when plugged into your website helps it load lightening fast. Nick and Roberto have a wide ranging conversation on how roberto got started, why fast loading websites are important, what he likes about Dallas, and some founder tips and tricks he's learned along the way.
https://roboamp.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Daniel Nuske from Buenos Aires, who is the Founder of Tribe Monotributo, which helps people and businesses make taxes easy and efficient. Nick and Daniel have a wide ranging conversation on how Daniel got started, why he chose to improve taxes, his experience as an entrepreneur, and what it's like to grow a startup in Buenos Aires. This is a great discussion and hopefully it helps you as well!
http://tribumonotributo.com/
In a special short episode, Nick Hughes shares his thoughts and emotions as he enters the 12 month mark of his year long Founders Live World Tour. Here are a few lessons and experiences after traveling more than 50,000 miles and living in more than 30 cities around the globe. He touches on his time In Africa, Argentina, further understanding what white privilege really is and that its still present in our world, and being uncomfortable in foreign places. Hope you enjoy it.
Nick Hughes is joined by Bill Fox From Tallinn Estonia, who is the author of The Future Of The Workplace - Insights and Advice from 31 Pioneering Business and Thought Leaders. In this episode, Nick and Bill have a wide ranging conversation on his book, the future of the workplace, leadership, how to lead in a changing world, as well as what it's like to live and work in Estonia. Given Bill has interviewed now hundreds of leaders from around the world on the subject of workplace inspiration and leadership, you will walk away with much to ponder and consider for your own teams.
Nick Hughes is joined by Vikash Gupta of Norecibo from San Antonio, Texas, founder of NoRecibo. NoRecibo is a free receipt management designed to simplify your life. Nick and Vikash chat about how Vikash discovered issues with tracking receipts and making it simple to record them and track them for personal finances. What did he do? Well, he simply decided to learn to code and build the product himself. You will also hear his experience as an entrepreneur balancing his time with family obligations, and some of his tips and lessons he's gained along the way.
https://norecibo.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Petter Andreassen from Guadalajara, Mexico, founder of Subastaway. Subastaway is a platform to help people in Mexico more safely and efficiently buy and sell their automobiles. Nick and Petter cover how Petter discovered the major inefficiencies and safety issues in the Mexican market, and how he went about solving them with his new company. You will also hear his experience as an entrepreneur in Mexico, and some of his tips and lessons he's gained along the way.
https://subastaway.com/
Nick Hughes is joined by Alex Stephany from London, founder of Beam. Beam is a community platform to Help a homeless Londoner for the long-term through training, education and employment opportunities. Nick and Alex talk about how Beam provides a mechanism for people to give to the people who need it, but for the money to go towards improving the areas of their life so the individual can actually move forward out of poverty. This is a very interesting conversation, and at times challenging to reconcile how some people are actually experiencing the world.
https://beam.org/
Nick Hughes is joined by Rebecca Clyde who is from Phoenix, AZ and is the CEO of Botco.ai. They are a conversational marketing platform that enables intelligent chat between businesses and their customers. Nick and Rebecca have a wide ranging conversation on the entrepreneurial life, more detail on Botco.ai, how Rebecca got into entrepreneurship and her lessons to first time founders. This is a can't miss conversation!
Nick Hughes is joined by Stephon McCoy who is from Boston and is the CEO of QuicWit, the world’s most impulsive trivia game. They ask users up to four questions randomly throughout the day and the first user(s) to answer wins a premium prize, no strings attached! Nick and Stephon cover how and why he came up with the trivia concept, how to overtake HQ Trivia, what his entrepreneurial experience has been like thus far, and his advice to other founders just starting out.
https://www.quicwit.com/
Nick Hughes talks with Kim Defiori CEO of Badges United Foundation. Kim's emotional and inspiring story of going from the brink of suicide to creating a community platform for first responders is truly magic. Kim and Nick talk about how The Badges United Foundation enhances First Responders' overall wellness through exercise, nutrition, and sleep education to prevent the rising suicide rates, as well as her experience pitching at Founders Live and other tips for first time founders.
https://badgesunitedfoundation.org/
Nick Hughes talks with Christopher Damitio, CEO of Iwahai. Christopher is building his mapping startup from Honolulu, Hawaii. This engaging conversation covers Christopher's interesting audio mapping concept, the Ups and Downs In The Land of Paradise, what it's like living and working in the Hawaiian Islands, and Christopher's thoughts about how the Hawaiian startup ecosystem can improve.
https://iwahai.com/
*The audio quality in this episode is at times a bit low but still a great conversation*
Nick talks with Sam Lillie, CEO of Vinder, an Austin based startup powering the resurgence of Neighbors feeding Neighbors, where people buy, sell and trade local commerce. They touch on how Sam fought to get things started in Washington and how he and his team ended up in Texas.
https://www.vinder.com/
Nick Hughes talks with AK Ikwuakor of Elete Styles about startup life, his new company Elete Styles, transitioning from Athlete to Entrepreneur and under-represented founders.
AK was the winner of a recent Founders Live Boston event.
https://www.eletestyles.com/