Ambition Today is a podcast about entrepreneurs, creators, investors, and builders who ambitiously changed the world. Each episode explores the hardships and heroism of everyday life to reveal the key moments which leave behind a lasting legacy. Creating value in the world is hard, but you are not a…
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The Ambition Today podcast with Kevin Siskar is an incredible resource for entrepreneurs and anyone interested in the startup scene. In each episode, Kevin interviews ambitious startup professionals from New York City, providing valuable insights into entrepreneurship, venture capital, and more. As someone who is passionate about startups and building dreams, I have found this podcast to be incredibly inspiring and informative.
One of the best aspects of The Ambition Today podcast is Kevin's interview style. He asks thoughtful questions that delve deep into the guest's journey and experiences, allowing listeners to gain valuable knowledge and advice. Kevin's passion for these topics shines through in his hosting personality, making each episode engaging and enjoyable to listen to. The quality of guests on the show is also outstanding, with a diverse range of entrepreneurs sharing their stories and insights.
Another great aspect of this podcast is the practical advice it offers to both aspiring entrepreneurs and those who have already achieved success. Each episode provides tangible takeaways that listeners can apply to their own ventures, whether it be tips for fundraising, building a strong team, or navigating challenges in the startup world. The episodes are well-structured and focused, delivering valuable content without overwhelming listeners.
While there are few negative aspects to mention about The Ambition Today podcast, one critique could be that some episodes may not resonate with every listener. As with any interview-based podcast, personal preferences will determine which guests and topics are most interesting or relevant. However, given the wide range of entrepreneurs featured on the show, there is bound to be something for everyone.
In conclusion, The Ambition Today podcast is a must-listen for anyone interested in startups and entrepreneurship. Kevin Siskar's passion for these topics shines through in his interviews with ambitious startup professionals from NYC. With engaging interview style and practical advice from successful entrepreneurs, this podcast provides valuable insights into the world of startups while inspiring listeners to chase their ambitions.
This episode of Ambition Today is supported by: Finta, The Capital Copilot In October 2024, Finta hosted a panel for LA Tech Week called “How I Raised - Seed, Series A, Series B.” Featuring founders exploringthe unique challenges and insights of securing capital at different stages of their company. Our incredible panel for this event consists of: David Kervin Proteus Space ($8M Raised) - Revolutionizing satellite design with AI-driven platforms, aiming to reduce the time and cost of deploying satellites through automation and cutting-edge technology. Gaurav Bhattacharya Jeeva ($16M Raised) - Harness AI-driven customer intelligence, helping companies optimize their customer experience and reduce churn through actionable insights. Scott Wayman Kangarootime ($37.5M Raised) - A leading innovator in the childcare management software industry, Kangarootime has risen to the forefront, providing vital solutions for daycares and preschools. Key Fundraising Insights From This Episode: 1. Getting Investor Buy-In: Confidence Over Convincing Founders emphasized that successful fundraising begins with confidence, not just pitching facts. Believing in your mission sets the tone for investor meetings, as confidence drives a stronger, more resonant narrative. 2. Parallel vs. Sequential Fundraising Processes Gaurav shared that sequential meetings can be a trap, leading to prolonged efforts. Instead, structuring outreach as a concentrated, parallel push creates urgency and FOMO among investors, leading to quicker commitments. 3. Navigating Round Dynamics with Clear Milestones For each funding stage, specific milestones are critical. Scott noted that Series B investors expect well-established product-market fit and sales efficiency, while Series A focuses on validating product intent. Seed rounds, by contrast, require strong founder conviction and a scrappy dedication. 4. Leveraging Warm Intros for Better Outcomes Cold outreach has a low conversion rate. David and Gaurav underscored the importance of warm intros, building relationships long before “the ask,” as connections formed early often convert to funding opportunities. 5. Pitfalls in Equity Structure and Term Negotiations Gaurav and Scott highlighted the importance of a clean cap table and an informed approach to term sheets, particularly for liquidation preferences and convertible notes, which can heavily dilute founder control if unchecked. 6. Evolving Pitch Focus: Metrics Over Mission at Later Stages With each funding stage, the pitch shifts. For Series B, Scott mentioned that metrics and market dynamics become critical to justify high-value funding rounds, moving beyond storytelling toward quantifiable business growth. 7. The Role of Timing and Market Trends Market trends, such as the rise of AI, can be powerful, but founders caution to present technology realistically. David shared that aligning milestones with tech waves and managing investor perceptions is essential for positioning within emerging sectors. 8. Finding the Balance in Deal Terms and Equity Retention David noted that while SAFE notes and convertible debt can expedite early funding, they can also lead to significant dilution. Founders should prioritize understanding term sheets and use cap table modeling tools like Carta to project long-term equity impacts. 9. Building and Utilizing Investor Relationships Over Time David emphasized the value of maintaining relationships with VCs who may not invest immediately. Regular updates and casual interactions allow investors to track your progress and feel more comfortable when it's time to commit. 10. Strategic Use of Milestones to Drive Up Valuation Meeting critical operational or revenue milestones before the next round can significantly enhance valuation and interest. Scott's journey highlighted that proving product-market fit and high sales efficiency before Series B can allow for strong, valuation-focused negotiations. 11. Positioning Within Tech Waves for Strategic Advantage Each wave of technology (e.g., AI, blockchain) offers a unique angle for storytelling and market positioning. Scott and Gaurav recommended founders lean into tech trends authentically, showcasing how the wave aligns with their product rather than simply following hype. Hosting this event was a blast! A massive thank you to everyone who helped make this event happen and a success. We can't wait to see you all at the next one! ========== Visit Ambition Today on the Web: www.siskar.co/ambitiontoday Follow Kevin Siskar on Twitter: twitter.com/TheSiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Instagram: instagram.com/thesiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Facebook: facebook.com/kevin.siskar Add Kevin Siskar on Snapchat: snapchat.com/add/krsiskar Kevin Siskar brings you ambitious entrepreneurs inspired by Tim Ferriss Show, How I Built This with Guy Raz, Residual Income, Entrepreneur on Fire, NPR, HBR, TED Radio Hour, the StartUp podcast with Alex Blumberg by Gimlet Media, Pat Flynn, Tony Robbins, The Uncertain Hour, Bigger Pockets, Art of Charm, Dave Ramsey, Planet Money, Jocko Podcast, EntreLeadership, Zigler, APM Marketplace, This Week In Startups with Jason Calacanis, Mixergy, Seth Godin, Joe Rogan Experience, GaryVee, James Altucher, Monocle 24, How to Start a Startup, Crooked Media, and The $100 MBA Show with Omar Zenhom, and Casey Neistat. Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS (apple.co/1NRRPzL), on Google Play Music (goo.gl/LmmciJ), or on Stitcher for Android (bit.ly/1Rn01dy).
During NY Tech Week 2024 we hosted a live panel discussion in midtown Manhattan on the state of fundraising in 2024. Delving deep into the nuances of fundraising from three different perspectives: an investor, a founder, and a lawyer. Hear from 3 different sides of the table when we gather an investor, founder, and a lawyer to discuss what fundraising venture capital in 2024. Our incredible panel for this event consists of: The Founder David Silverstein, is the CEO of Ned, a white label lending platform that makes it easy for lenders to effortlessly deploy capital. The Investor Rachel ten Brink, General Partner at Red Bike Capital, an early-stage VC fund based in New York, specializing in SaaS, Health & Wellness, and Fintech sectors in the U.S. With over 30 years of experience, including founding a Y Combinator-backed startup that reached $100M in revenue and managing $2B in assets. The Lawyer Jack Sousa, is the Partner & Co-Chair of the Emerging Companies and Venture Capital Practice Group at Wiggin. He is also a wiggin(x) Co-Founder and Partner. Jack focuses his practice on venture capital, startup and early-stage companies and their financing needs. Key Fundraising Insights From This Episode: How Should Founders Think About Fundraising David Silverstein kicked off the event emphasizes the importance of focus during a raise. Trying to shrink the amount of time you spend fundraising so you can get back to building the business. Highlighting the importance of relationship building in fundraising, while de-risking and hitting the right milestones to build trust with investors. Rachel ten Brink advises founders to start planning their next round of funding as soon as they close their current round. She emphasizes the need to reverse-engineer the process, understanding how far the current funds will take the company and what metrics need to be hit for the next raise. AI's Influence On Startups AI will fundamentally transform the venture capital landscape. Rachel notes that AI is not just a sector but a foundational technology that will touch every industry. David adds that while AI is important, it is crucial to solve fundamental business problems first. VC Investor Relations with LP's Rachel discusses the current trends in VC strategies and the importance of understanding the dynamics between VC funds and their LPs. She highlights the necessity for founders to be aware of the financial health and commitments of the VCs they are pitching to. Current Market Trends and Company Valuations The discussion centers around the importance of always being prepared to fundraise and understanding market dynamics. David stresses the situational nature of fundraising, advising founders to be ready to adapt to market conditions. Important Fundraising Legal Considerations Jack Sousa recommends involving a lawyer early in the fundraising process to navigate complex legal terms and agreements. He mentions the return of redemption provisions and full ratchet anti-dilution clauses as trends to watch. How Can Founder's Stand Out To Investors To stand out, David suggests focusing on demonstrating real customer traction and needs. Rachel emphasizes the importance of clear, concise pitch decks and consistent communication with investors. Strong Investor Communication Balancing warm introductions and cold outreach is crucial. David recommends building relationships with investors before needing to raise funds, while Rachel highlights the importance of thoughtful signaling and avoiding desperate outreach. Practical Tips for Founders Jack Sousa and Rachel discuss essential legal terms, noting the increasing prevalence of liquidation preferences and full ratchet anti-dilution clauses. They advise founders to keep their cap tables clean and to be aware of the long-term implications of their fundraising choices. Industry-Specific Insights Raising funds for deep tech ventures involves unique challenges compared to traditional SaaS startups. Rachel and David emphasize the importance of understanding sector-specific milestones and investor expectations. The End of Software...? The panel debates whether the software market has matured. Rachel argues that while the market is evolving, there is still significant upside potential for innovative software solutions, particularly those integrating AI. A massive thank you to everyone who helped make this event happen and a success. We can't wait to see you all at the next one! ========== Visit Ambition Today on the Web: www.siskar.co/ambitiontoday Follow Kevin Siskar on Twitter: twitter.com/TheSiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Instagram: instagram.com/thesiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Facebook: facebook.com/kevin.siskar Add Kevin Siskar on Snapchat: snapchat.com/add/krsiskar Kevin Siskar brings you ambitious entrepreneurs inspired by Tim Ferriss Show, How I Built This with Guy Raz, Residual Income, Entrepreneur on Fire, NPR, HBR, TED Radio Hour, the StartUp podcast with Alex Blumberg by Gimlet Media, Pat Flynn, Tony Robbins, The Uncertain Hour, Bigger Pockets, Art of Charm, Dave Ramsey, Planet Money, Jocko Podcast, EntreLeadership, Zigler, APM Marketplace, This Week In Startups with Jason Calacanis, Mixergy, Seth Godin, Joe Rogan Experience, GaryVee, James Altucher, Monocle 24, How to Start a Startup, Crooked Media, and The $100 MBA Show with Omar Zenhom, and Casey Neistat. Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS (apple.co/1NRRPzL), on Google Play Music (goo.gl/LmmciJ), or on Stitcher for Android (bit.ly/1Rn01dy).
We sat down with one of the most influential people in tech, Lorenzo Thione, who shares his very inspiring journey and how that led him to be where he is today. Lorenzo grew up in Milan, Italy and had a technical background at an early age. He completed his studies at the University of Texas at Austin, from which he holds a M.S. in Computer Engineering. He is now the Managing Director of Gaingels, a leading LGBTQIA+/Allies investment syndicate and one of the largest and most active private investors in North America. He is also the co-founding Chairman of StartOut, Chairman of the Board at Social Edge, and previously co-founded Powerset, a natural-language search engine startup sold to Microsoft for $100 million in 2008. Lorenzo is named one of the most influential LGBT people in tech in 2014 and 2018 and his dedication in supporting and elevating leaders of the LGBTQ+ in the venture startup is amazing. As the Managing Producer at Sing Out, Louis! Productions, he is also a Tony-Award winner (Hadestown, The Inheritance). He produced and co-created the Broadway musical, Allegiance starring George Takei and Lea Salonga. He is currently working in a new original musical, Indigo, as well as The Elephant Whisperer. We covered a lot of ground in this episode, including: Topics Discussed: Where his passion comes from and how Lorenzo found entrepreneurship. Helping others to build a diverse company by providing more than just funding. The different companies that he had a part in building. His mark on Broadway. How your descent can make a difference in your future and your thinking. How the model of angel groups is evolving to syndicates and SPV's. The role of a “Platform” strategy to help Gaingels portfolio companies. What does Lorenzo think about the future of Venture Capital. Quote of the Episode: “Strategic Value, what is all being brought to the table” The Greatest Piece of Advice: His mentor told him to, “ be obsessive, about how you can add value, to your own network and relationships” Links & show notes from this episode: Lorenzo Thione on Bio Lorenzo Thione on LinkedIn Lorenzo Thione on Twitter Gaingels StartOut Shearshare Bryan Janeczko episode ========== Visit Ambition Today on the Web: www.siskar.co/ambitiontoday Follow Kevin Siskar on Twitter: twitter.com/TheSiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Instagram: instagram.com/thesiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Facebook: facebook.com/kevin.siskar Add Kevin Siskar on Snapchat: snapchat.com/add/krsiskar Kevin Siskar brings you ambitious entrepreneurs inspired by Tim Ferriss Show, How I Built This with Guy Raz, Residual Income, Entrepreneur on Fire, NPR, HBR, TED Radio Hour, the StartUp podcast with Alex Blumberg by Gimlet Media, Pat Flynn, Tony Robbins, The Uncertain Hour, Bigger Pockets, Art of Charm, Dave Ramsey, Planet Money, Jocko Podcast, EntreLeadership, Zigler, APM Marketplace, This Week In Startups with Jason Calacanis, Mixergy, Seth Godin, Joe Rogan Experience, GaryVee, James Altucher, Monocle 24, How to Start a Startup, Crooked Media, and The $100 MBA Show with Omar Zenhom, and Casey Neistat. Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS (apple.co/1NRRPzL), on Google Play Music (goo.gl/LmmciJ), or on Stitcher for Android (bit.ly/1Rn01dy).
In the fall we sat down with one of the godfathers of Venture Capital, Jordan Levy, who shares his very inspiring founder story and how that led to his career as an investor. Jordan co-founded Software Distribution Services which was acquired by Ingram Micro, before going on to be a Partner on the early-stage investing team at SoftBank Capital (SBNY) for 16 years. Jordan has served on the boards of BuzzFeed, TalkSpace, Work Market, ACV Auctions, and many others. Using his upbringing and religion to pay it forward (Tzedakah) to the community that he grew up in, in Buffalo, New York. Jordy also co-founded Z80 Labs, a startup incubator in Buffalo, and 43North, an accelerator that hosts an annual startup competition, investing $5M per year in Buffalo, NY. We cover a lot of ground in this episode, including: Topics Discussed: Building Software Distribution Services in the early days of venture capital. How to think about the private vs public markets. The intricacies of SPACs vs the IPO. Lessons learned from decades of investments. Betting on the first days of the internet and what has changed since. Investing through the dot com boom and bust. How ACV Auctions re-defined the auto market. The importance of investing in people over markets, trends, and other aspects of the business. Quote of the Episode: “You invest in the people and I will always believe that” and “if you don't think someone can take this company to the promised land, then don't invest in them.” The Greatest Piece of Advice: As his grandmother passed down to him, “never go to bed angry with your wife.” Links & show notes from this episode: Jordan Levy's Bio Jordan Levy on LinkedIn Jordan Levy on Twitter Finta 43North ========== Visit Ambition Today on the Web: www.siskar.co/ambitiontoday Follow Kevin Siskar on Twitter: twitter.com/TheSiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Instagram: instagram.com/thesiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Facebook: facebook.com/kevin.siskar Add Kevin Siskar on Snapchat: snapchat.com/add/krsiskar Kevin Siskar brings you ambitious entrepreneurs inspired by Tim Ferriss Show, How I Built This with Guy Raz, Residual Income, Entrepreneur on Fire, NPR, HBR, TED Radio Hour, the StartUp podcast with Alex Blumberg by Gimlet Media, Pat Flynn, Tony Robbins, The Uncertain Hour, Bigger Pockets, Art of Charm, Dave Ramsey, Planet Money, Jocko Podcast, EntreLeadership, Zigler, APM Marketplace, This Week In Startups with Jason Calacanis, Mixergy, Seth Godin, Joe Rogan Experience, GaryVee, James Altucher, Monocle 24, How to Start a Startup, Crooked Media, and The $100 MBA Show with Omar Zenhom, and Casey Neistat. Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS (apple.co/1NRRPzL), on Google Play Music (goo.gl/LmmciJ), or on Stitcher for Android (bit.ly/1Rn01dy).
Scott Wayman's shares his epically inspiring founder story. His passion for Kangarootime is next level and the company is currently focused on winning the childcare management software space for daycares and preschools. With plans to expand to the larger “care economy” which includes not only early education & childcare but also elder & senior care. A $648B TAM in the U.S. Alone according to Melinda Gate's Pivotal Ventures. The Kangarootime team brilliantly positioned themselves throughout COVID19 as leaders in the space, by taking time to host educational sessions about how their customers can best adapt their centers, as well as quickly shipping new features such as contactless check-in/out, health checks, and more. I have personally watched Scott relentlessly grow this company from their early days at Founder Institute, through several investments from 43North, and was very excited to sit down with him for this episode. ========== Visit Ambition Today on the Web: www.siskar.co/ambitiontoday Follow Kevin Siskar on Twitter: twitter.com/TheSiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Instagram: instagram.com/thesiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Facebook: facebook.com/kevin.siskar Add Kevin Siskar on Snapchat: snapchat.com/add/krsiskar Kevin Siskar brings you ambitious entrepreneurs inspired by Tim Ferriss Show, How I Built This with Guy Raz, Residual Income, Entrepreneur on Fire, NPR, HBR, TED Radio Hour, the StartUp podcast with Alex Blumberg by Gimlet Media, Pat Flynn, Tony Robbins, The Uncertain Hour, Bigger Pockets, Art of Charm, Dave Ramsey, Planet Money, Jocko Podcast, EntreLeadership, Zigler, APM Marketplace, This Week In Startups with Jason Calacanis, Mixergy, Seth Godin, Joe Rogan Experience, GaryVee, James Altucher, Monocle 24, How to Start a Startup, Crooked Media, and The $100 MBA Show with Omar Zenhom, and Casey Neistat. Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS (apple.co/1NRRPzL), on Google Play Music (goo.gl/LmmciJ), or on Stitcher for Android (bit.ly/1Rn01dy).
Pete Kazanjy is Ambition Today’s new guest from Southern California. He is sitting in San Francisco, CA right now as we speak, enjoying Alamo Square. He is a serial founder and seasoned early stage Saas executive, advisor, and investor. Pete has cofounded many companies including TalentBin, Modern Sales, and Atrium. He is also an author of “Founding Sales”. He went to Stanford where he learned English and Philosophy. Pete is still going strong and has a lot to offer his clients, be sure to read his book “Founding Sales”, a Startup Sales Handbook. Topics Discussed: Branding and Design Go-to-Market and Marketing Strategies Product Development Hiring and On-Boarding Sales, Revenue, and Accounting Work-life balance End Game Quote of the Episode: “Three main rules: focus, focus, focus”. The Greatest Piece of Advice: Checkout the podcast’s back channel, The A-List where you can listen to exclusive audio clips containing the single greatest piece of advice our guests have ever learned! Links & show notes from this episode: Atrium Peter’s Bio Founding Sales Connect with Peter on LinkedIn Connect with Peter on Twitter Finta ========== Visit Ambition Today on the Web: www.siskar.co/ambitiontoday Follow Kevin Siskar on Twitter: twitter.com/TheSiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Instagram: instagram.com/thesiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Facebook: facebook.com/kevin.siskar Add Kevin Siskar on Snapchat: snapchat.com/add/krsiskar Kevin Siskar brings you ambitious entrepreneurs inspired by Tim Ferriss Show, How I Built This with Guy Raz, Residual Income, Entrepreneur on Fire, NPR, HBR, TED Radio Hour, the StartUp podcast with Alex Blumberg by Gimlet Media, Pat Flynn, Tony Robbins, The Uncertain Hour, Bigger Pockets, Art of Charm, Dave Ramsey, Planet Money, Jocko Podcast, EntreLeadership, Zigler, APM Marketplace, This Week In Startups with Jason Calacanis, Mixergy, Seth Godin, Joe Rogan Experience, GaryVee, James Altucher, Monocle 24, How to Start a Startup, Crooked Media, and The $100 MBA Show with Omar Zenhom, and Casey Neistat. Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS (apple.co/1NRRPzL), on Google Play Music (goo.gl/LmmciJ), or on Stitcher for Android (bit.ly/1Rn01dy).
From growing up on a dairy farm, to a successful entrepreneur with hundreds of employees, meet our next guest, Jack Greco. Greco co-founded ACV Auctions, an online auction dealer platform, which was last valued at $1.5B. He never thought that he would be the person to co-found Buffalo’s first unicorn startup in 2014. The great part is the story behind his success. He later reveals to Kevin that he has been fired from every job before he became a founder, and what kicked him in gear, was learning that he had a baby on the way. Every success story is different, and I think this is great for our audience to hear, and prove to you, never give up, or think that you are not worth something because you got fired! Pick your feet up and move on! As of 2018, Greco left ACV Auctions and is now an angel investor. To date, he has invested in over 50 companies and is trying his hardest to maintain a quality work-life balance for his son. Topics Discussed: A little background on Jack Greco Unicorn Start-Up Angel investing in 50 companies Working with others Covid effects on the world Work-life balance Mental Health Having a coach is so important Buffalo Bridge Quote of the Episode: “This [ACV Auctions] is a great learning experience, and it will shape who I am going to be as an investor, a mentor, executive, father, for the rest of my life.” - Jack Greco The Greatest Piece of Advice: Checkout the podcast’s back channel, The A-List where you can listen to exclusive audio clips containing the single greatest piece of advice our guests have ever learned! Links & show notes from this episode: ACV Auctions Connect with Jack on LinkedIn Connect with Jack on Twitter Buffalo Bridge Finta ========== Visit Ambition Today on the Web: www.siskar.co/ambitiontoday Follow Kevin Siskar on Twitter: twitter.com/TheSiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Instagram: instagram.com/thesiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Facebook: facebook.com/kevin.siskar Add Kevin Siskar on Snapchat: snapchat.com/add/krsiskar Kevin Siskar brings you ambitious entrepreneurs inspired by Tim Ferriss Show, How I Built This with Guy Raz, Residual Income, Entrepreneur on Fire, NPR, HBR, TED Radio Hour, the StartUp podcast with Alex Blumberg by Gimlet Media, Pat Flynn, Tony Robbins, The Uncertain Hour, Bigger Pockets, Art of Charm, Dave Ramsey, Planet Money, Jocko Podcast, EntreLeadership, Zigler, APM Marketplace, This Week In Startups with Jason Calacanis, Mixergy, Seth Godin, Joe Rogan Experience, GaryVee, James Altucher, Monocle 24, How to Start a Startup, Crooked Media, and The $100 MBA Show with Omar Zenhom, and Casey Neistat. Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS (apple.co/1NRRPzL), on Google Play Music (goo.gl/LmmciJ), or on Stitcher for Android (bit.ly/1Rn01dy).
Kevin Siskar and Tim Shisler are at it again, discussing the current news in our world today. Each person brings one topic to the table and they talk about them both. Kevin’s Topic: The Future of American Cities. Kevin starts by discussing how he lived in NYC for a full decade and how he has seen the cost of living has increased significantly, but at the same time, the storefronts are leaving! This is due to the commercial investors also increasing their rent too much where small shops are no longer able to handle the cost. Kevin found a statistic: 50% of all restaurants in NYC are going to close due to COVID 19, currently being 12,000 being closed already. So many people think the city and other big cities are dying, but looking at the next few years, will the economy be able to come back? Tim’s Topic: Working from home, the rise of remote work! Tim talks about how it was hard to transition for him to remote work once COVID-19 forced a lot of our workforce to remote. It is a lot about having a plan and being diligent about time and how you carve it out. Routine is key. There is a fine line between work life and home life, the separation needs to be balanced. Should you be working at 8pm when you have a significant other? When working in an office, the commute is there to help you shift out of work mode, what do you do when you are working from home. This is also the time where it really shines on the people that really care about their work, vs. the people that were just working to have a job. This is a big topic right now, because working from home is definitely not for everyone. Tune in to hear what Tim and Kevin have to say about this week’s topics! ========== Visit Ambition Today on the Web: www.siskar.co/ambitiontoday Follow Kevin Siskar on Twitter: twitter.com/TheSiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Instagram: instagram.com/thesiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Facebook: facebook.com/kevin.siskar Add Kevin Siskar on Snapchat: snapchat.com/add/krsiskar Kevin Siskar brings you ambitious entrepreneurs inspired by Tim Ferriss Show, How I Built This with Guy Raz, Residual Income, Entrepreneur on Fire, NPR, HBR, TED Radio Hour, the StartUp podcast with Alex Blumberg by Gimlet Media, Pat Flynn, Tony Robbins, The Uncertain Hour, Bigger Pockets, Art of Charm, Dave Ramsey, Planet Money, Jocko Podcast, EntreLeadership, Zigler, APM Marketplace, This Week In Startups with Jason Calacanis, Mixergy, Seth Godin, Joe Rogan Experience, GaryVee, James Altucher, Monocle 24, How to Start a Startup, Crooked Media, and The $100 MBA Show with Omar Zenhom, and Casey Neistat. Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS (apple.co/1NRRPzL), on Google Play Music (goo.gl/LmmciJ), or on Stitcher for Android (bit.ly/1Rn01dy).
Our next guest is so amazing, we had to interview him a second time! He was on nearly 5 years ago on Episode 8! Jeff Wald is an entrepreneur who has started three technology companies, with his latest company, WorkMarket, being sold to ADP. Monday was officially his last day. He is a Board Member on the following boards: Steel Connect, Costar Technologies, TransfrVR, Peerless Systems, and Register.com. But the true reason we brought him on the podcast today was to talk about his book, “The Rise of On-Demand Workers and Agile Corporations”. Tune in to hear all about his book as well as statistics regarding the workforce in 2020: Topics Discussed: What is it like to sell a company? Remote working Social Squads The goal of the meeting Mechanization Electrification Computerization Abusing Powers Quote of the Episode: “Every time {we revolutionize} we ended up with more jobs, at a higher standard of living, with working fewer hours, that is definitively clear through history.” The Greatest Piece of Advice: Join the podcast’s backchannel, The A-List where members can listen to exclusive A-list bonus clips and get the single greatest piece of advice our guests have ever learned! Links & show notes from this episode: The End of Jobs Book on Amazon Jeff on LinkedIn Jeff on Twitter WorkMarket ========== Ambition Today Is Proudly Independent & Supported By: Finta - A secure, deal room platform for early-stage companies. Quickly set up your company and you’ve got a blazing fast tool for organizing your fundraise and securing your sensitive company information. House your pitch deck, secure your legal documents, organize your cap table, notify target investors, and close deals faster! Finta allows you to raise more, save time, and increase your efficiency. The A-List - Join the podcast’s backchannel for exclusive access to learn the single greatest piece of advice each guest has ever learned! ========== Visit Ambition Today on the Web: www.siskar.co/ambitiontoday Follow Kevin Siskar on Twitter: twitter.com/TheSiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Instagram: instagram.com/thesiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Facebook: facebook.com/kevin.siskar Add Kevin Siskar on Snapchat: snapchat.com/add/krsiskar Kevin Siskar brings you ambitious entrepreneurs inspired by Tim Ferriss Show, How I Built This with Guy Raz, Residual Income, Entrepreneur on Fire, NPR, HBR, TED Radio Hour, the StartUp podcast with Alex Blumberg by Gimlet Media, Pat Flynn, Tony Robbins, The Uncertain Hour, Bigger Pockets, Art of Charm, Dave Ramsey, Planet Money, Jocko Podcast, EntreLeadership, Zigler, APM Marketplace, This Week In Startups with Jason Calacanis, Mixergy, Seth Godin, Joe Rogan Experience, GaryVee, James Altucher, Monocle 24, How to Start a Startup, Crooked Media, and The $100 MBA Show with Omar Zenhom, and Casey Neistat. Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS (apple.co/1NRRPzL), on Google Play Music (goo.gl/LmmciJ), or on Stitcher for Android (bit.ly/1Rn01dy).
In this new episode, Kevin Siskar and Tim Shisler discuss the current news in our world today. Each week, each person brings one topic to the table. This week Tim chose to talk about the sad passing of former Associate Judge, Ruth Bader Ginsburg on September 18, 2020. She passed away after complications of metastatic pancreatic cancer. And brought Facebook to the table. There are real issues with Facebook. Everything from the false advertising that Facebook is not taking responsibility for, mental health issues stemming from addiction to Facebook, and now election interference! On September, 3rd Facebook came out with their plan on tackling the Election campaigns on their platform. Tune in to hear what Tim and Kevin have to say about this week’s topics! ========== Ambition Today Is Proudly Independent & Supported By: Finta - A secure, deal room platform for early-stage companies. Quickly set up your company and you’ve got a blazing fast tool for organizing your fundraise and securing your sensitive company information. House your pitch deck, secure your legal documents, organize your cap table, notify target investors, and close deals faster! Finta allows you to raise more, save time, and increase your efficiency. The A-List - Join the podcast’s backchannel for exclusive access to learn the single greatest piece of advice each guest has ever learned! Plus additional Ambition Today content, deeper guest insights, a community of fellow fans, and much more. ========== Visit Ambition Today on the Web: www.siskar.co/ambitiontoday Follow Kevin Siskar on Twitter: twitter.com/TheSiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Instagram: instagram.com/thesiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Facebook: facebook.com/kevin.siskar Add Kevin Siskar on Snapchat: snapchat.com/add/krsiskar Kevin Siskar brings you ambitious entrepreneurs inspired by Tim Ferriss Show, How I Built This with Guy Raz, Residual Income, Entrepreneur on Fire, NPR, HBR, TED Radio Hour, the StartUp podcast with Alex Blumberg by Gimlet Media, Pat Flynn, Tony Robbins, The Uncertain Hour, Bigger Pockets, Art of Charm, Dave Ramsey, Planet Money, Jocko Podcast, EntreLeadership, Zigler, APM Marketplace, This Week In Startups with Jason Calacanis, Mixergy, Seth Godin, Joe Rogan Experience, GaryVee, James Altucher, Monocle 24, How to Start a Startup, Crooked Media, and The $100 MBA Show with Omar Zenhom, and Casey Neistat. Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS (apple.co/1NRRPzL), on Google Play Music (goo.gl/LmmciJ), or on Stitcher for Android (bit.ly/1Rn01dy).
Our next guest on the show, is the amazing Harold Hughes. He is the founder of Bandwagon, which helps companies discover the identity of their fans in order to increase attendance, offer personalized services, and increase revenue. Growing up, Harold made his first dollar selling AirHeads for cheaper than the school sold them at their cafeteria until he got caught! He went to Clemson University where he received a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Economics, before going back for his Masters's degree later. It was then, while he was taking his strategic management course that he realized it was a lot like being a fan at a sports event. Harold loved playing sports when he grew up, and he loved that it didn’t matter your families financial status was or where you lived, you just loved to play the game. That is where Bandwagon all started. Now Harold has expanded Bandwagon from just preventing ticket fraud for fans, too also being a fan identity and data analytics company. Tune in to hear more about Harold’s story and experiences going through the ups and downs of being a CEO. Quote of the Episode: “Service to others is the rent for your time on earth” Gauntlet: Listen in for Harold’s amazing tips from his experience growing his business: Branding/Design Go-to-Market Product Development Hiring Revenue and Accounting Fundraising The Greatest Piece of Advice: Join the podcast’s backchannel, The A-List where members can listen to exclusive A-list bonus clips and get the single greatest piece of advice our guests have ever learned! Links & show notes from this episode: Bandwagon Harold’s LinkedIn Harold’s Twitter Never Lost Again Equity Token Audible ========== Proudly Independent & Supported By: Finta- A secure online, cloud-based, operations center for your start-up. Quickly set up your company and you've got a blazing fast tool for raising capital and securing your sensitive company information. House your pitch deck, secure your legal documents, organize your cap table, notify target investors, and close deals faster! Finta allows you to raise more, save time, and increase your efficiency. Audible - Visit www.audibletrial.com/AmbitionToday to download and keep any audiobook for free. Download your free book now! The A-List - Join the podcast’s backchannel for exclusive access to additional Ambition Today content, deeper guest insights, a community of fellow fans, and much more. Plus, Learn the single greatest piece of advice each guest has ever learned! ========== Follow: Visit Ambition Today on the Web: www.siskar.co/ambitiontoday Follow Kevin Siskar on: Twitter: twitter.com/TheSiskar Instagram: instagram.com/thesiskar Facebook: facebook.com/kevin.siskar Snapchat: snapchat.com/add/krsiskar Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS (apple.co/1NRRPzL), on Google Play Music (goo.gl/LmmciJ), or on Stitcher for Android (bit.ly/1Rn01dy). ========== About: Ambition Today is a podcast about entrepreneurs, creators, investors, and builders who ambitiously changed the world. Each episode explores the hardships and heroism of everyday life to reveal the key moments which leave behind a lasting legacy. Creating value in the world is hard, but you are not alone. No matter where you are in the world Ambition Today, hosted by Kevin Siskar, is here to keep you company you as you create your own incredible story. Kevin Siskar brings you ambitious entrepreneurs inspired by Tim Ferriss Show, How I Built This with Guy Raz, Residual Income, Entrepreneur on Fire, NPR, HBR, TED Radio Hour, the StartUp podcast with Alex Blumberg by Gimlet Media, Pat Flynn, The Uncertain Hour, Bigger Pockets, Art of Charm, Dave Ramsey, Planet Money, Jocko Podcast, EntreLeadership, Zigler, APM Marketplace, This Week In Startups with Jason Calacanis, Mixergy, Seth Godin, Joe Rogan Experience, GaryVee, James Altucher, Monocle 24, How to Start a Startup, Crooked Media, and The $100 MBA Show with Omar Zenhom, Casey Neistat, and Masters of Scale with Reid Hoffman.
Imagine being on a cruise with friends and a good business idea comes to mind, then months later, your idea is now being distributed in Walmart’s around the world! Today’s guest, Alexis Beechen was enjoying her time partyin’ and thought, putting wine in a can would be much easier to casually drink. She got home and decided to research this idea and discovered that there would be a good market for it. She partnered with some amazing people and created her brand, The Drop, which is now at concert venues, small wine stores, and as of late last year, in Walmart’s all around. An entrepreneur by heart, Alexis made her first dollar selling her mom’s gently used clothes when she could barely drive. She grew up with much support from both her parents who were lawyers. Her dad, an entrepreneur himself, had his own firm, and her mom was the first person that talked to her about branding yourself and establishing trust with people. She went to Georgetown for Marketing and eventually landed a job with Havas where she maintained Dos Equis account. Although she loved her job with Havas, she decided to go back to Columbia for business school. During her schooling is when The Drop was born. Today, she is working on another business that she is passionate about, Hunterz.io which helps startups with connections they need to grow their business. Listen in to hear more in-depth about Alexis’ awesome story! Quote of the Episode: “You can only make as much money as the hours you build” Gauntlet:Listen in for the tips, tricks, and tools that Alexis used growing her business: Branding/Design - Fiverr Go-to-Market – Hunterz.io Product Development – feedback from customers Hiring - LinkedIn Revenue and Accounting - QuickBooks Fundraising - Carta The Greatest Piece of Advice: Join the podcast’s backchannel, The A-List where members can listen to exclusive A-list bonus clips and get the single greatest piece of advice our guests have ever learned! Links & show notes from this episode: The Drop Website Alexis’ website Alexis’ Instagram Hunterz.io The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F Fiverr QuickBooks Carta ========== Proudly Independent & Supported By: Equity Token - Helping early stage companies raise capital faster. Set up your company and fundraising deal once to build your company’s deal room. Then share it anywhere. Let Equity Token take care of the rest. Audible - Visit www.audibletrial.com/AmbitionToday to download and keep any audiobook for free. Download your free book now! The A-List - Join the podcast’s backchannel for exclusive access to additional Ambition Today content, deeper guest insights, a community of fellow fans, and much more. Plus, Learn the single greatest piece of advice each guest has ever learned! ========== Follow: Visit Ambition Today on the Web: www.siskar.co/ambitiontoday Follow Kevin Siskar on: Twitter: twitter.com/TheSiskar Instagram: instagram.com/thesiskar Facebook: facebook.com/kevin.siskar Snapchat: snapchat.com/add/krsiskar Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS (apple.co/1NRRPzL), on Google Play Music (goo.gl/LmmciJ), or on Stitcher for Android (bit.ly/1Rn01dy). ========== About: Ambition Today is a podcast about entrepreneurs, creators, investors, and builders who ambitiously changed the world. Each episode explores the hardships and heroism of everyday life to reveal the key moments which leave behind a lasting legacy. Creating value in the world is hard, but you are not alone. No matter where you are in the world Ambition Today, hosted by Kevin Siskar, is here to keep you company you as you create your own incredible story. Kevin Siskar brings you ambitious entrepreneurs inspired by Tim Ferriss Show, How I Built This with Guy Raz, Residual Income, Entrepreneur on Fire, NPR, HBR, TED Radio Hour, the StartUp podcast with Alex Blumberg by Gimlet Media, Pat Flynn, The Uncertain Hour, Bigger Pockets, Art of Charm, Dave Ramsey, Planet Money, Jocko Podcast, EntreLeadership, Zigler, APM Marketplace, This Week In Startups with Jason Calacanis, Mixergy, Seth Godin, Joe Rogan Experience, GaryVee, James Altucher, Monocle 24, How to Start a Startup, Crooked Media, and The $100 MBA Show with Omar Zenhom, Casey Neistat, and Masters of Scale with Reid Hoffman.
Packing for a nice relaxing vacation, you look around, and realize, you have these beautiful plants that you have worked so hard in growing, and you wonder, are they going to be thriving when you get home? Our amazing guest today, Dan Nelson thought just that as he prepared for his honeymoon a few years back. There has to be a better way than having dead plants when you get back from vacation! This is the event that gave him a new chapter in life. After countless hours of studying under his belt, he helped create Grow Computer as it is today! Dan didn’t always have the ambition to help automate agriculture, he grew up in Long Island where his father and grandfather instilled his great work ethic in him. He would help with the latest house project by wheelbarrowing supplies to them when needed. He had great hardworking role models and followed in their footsteps. Nelson graduated with a Masters Degree in accounting and an undergraduate in Economics at the University of Michigan. Before Grow Computer, he had many jobs, with one of his favorites being a virtual CFO because he has always loved helping people build better businesses. He even created a tool called Start of Economics 101. Tune in to this episode to hear more about Dan and his tips and experience in building his own company. Quote of the Episode: “If it [computer system] doesn’t talk to each other, it adds layers, complexity, transaction costs and stress and hassle, and reduces the efficiency in any business” Gauntlet:Listen in for the tips, tricks, and tools that Dan shares with us! Branding/Design Go-to-Market Product Development Hiring Revenue and Accounting Fundraising The Greatest Piece of Advice: Join the podcast’s backchannel, The A-List where members can listen to exclusive A-list bonus clips and get the single greatest piece of advice our guests have ever learned! Links & show notes from this episode: Grow Computer Dan’s LinkedIn Abundance - Peter H. Diamondis Beer School - Steve Hindey and Tom Potter The Captain Class - Sam Walker Equity Token Audible Copper - Fundraising Tool ========== Proudly Independent & Supported By: Finta- A secure online, cloud-based, operations center for your start-up. Quickly set up your company and you've got a blazing fast tool for raising capital and securing your sensitive company information. House your pitch deck, secure your legal documents, organize your cap table, notify target investors, and close deals faster! Finta allows you to raise more, save time, and increase your efficiency. Audible - Visit www.audibletrial.com/AmbitionToday to download and keep any audiobook for free. Download your free book now! The A-List - Join the podcast’s backchannel for exclusive access to additional Ambition Today content, deeper guest insights, a community of fellow fans, and much more. Plus, Learn the single greatest piece of advice each guest has ever learned! ========== Follow: Visit Ambition Today on the Web: www.siskar.co/ambitiontoday Follow Kevin Siskar on: Twitter: twitter.com/TheSiskar Instagram: instagram.com/thesiskar Facebook: facebook.com/kevin.siskar Snapchat: snapchat.com/add/krsiskar Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS (apple.co/1NRRPzL), on Google Play Music (goo.gl/LmmciJ), or on Stitcher for Android (bit.ly/1Rn01dy). ========== About: Ambition Today is a podcast about entrepreneurs, creators, investors, and builders who ambitiously changed the world. Each episode explores the hardships and heroism of everyday life to reveal the key moments which leave behind a lasting legacy. Creating value in the world is hard, but you are not alone. No matter where you are in the world Ambition Today, hosted by Kevin Siskar, is here to keep you company you as you create your own incredible story. Kevin Siskar brings you ambitious entrepreneurs inspired by Tim Ferriss Show, How I Built This with Guy Raz, Residual Income, Entrepreneur on Fire, NPR, HBR, TED Radio Hour, the StartUp podcast with Alex Blumberg by Gimlet Media, Pat Flynn, The Uncertain Hour, Bigger Pockets, Art of Charm, Dave Ramsey, Planet Money, Jocko Podcast, EntreLeadership, Zigler, APM Marketplace, This Week In Startups with Jason Calacanis, Mixergy, Seth Godin, Joe Rogan Experience, GaryVee, James Altucher, Monocle 24, How to Start a Startup, Crooked Media, and The $100 MBA Show with Omar Zenhom, Casey Neistat, and Masters of Scale with Reid Hoffman.
After a summer break, we are back with a brand new season of Ambition Today! Season 3 brings with it some fresh new changes to the podcast, coming to you from our brand new podcast studio in the heart of New York City! We have some exciting guests coming up and I can’t wait to share all of the great conversations & new questions with you! I hope you enjoy Season 3, now on to the episode! Who struggles with procrastination? Did you know that studies show up to 95% of people struggle with procrastination! My guest today is Taylor Jacobson. He is the founder of Focusmate, the app that helps you focus and in return be more productive. In this episode, we discuss with Taylor what in his personal life lead him to the idea of needing a solution like Focusmate, as well as his personal take on a lot of procrastination issues. As Taylor developed Focusmate, he found three major aspects of being more productive. One, you perform better when you need to complete a task in the presence of someone else. Two, if you commit to another person that you are going to do something, it is highly likely that you will complete it. And three, you are likely to increase productivity if you reflect on your work afterward. You know that you are going to have to review the job that you did, so in the moment of work, your actual focus becomes stronger. Focusmate is now helping thousands of people with all of these aspects! Tune in to hear more about Taylor and his company, Focusmate! Quote of the Episode: “These are the people {Co-workers} that have my back to grow into my best self” Gauntlet:This is a new section of my podcast for season 3, where I will ask my guest a tip or tool that they recommend for their business in each of the following categories. Listen in to hear Taylor’s answers: Branding/Design Go-to-Market Product Development Hiring Revenue and Accounting Fundraising The Greatest Piece of Advice: Join the podcast’s backchannel, The A-List where members can listen to exclusive A-list bonus clips and get the single greatest piece of advice our guests have ever learned! Links & show notes from this episode: Focusmate Taylor's LinkedIn Start At The End - Dave Lavinsky Indistractible - Nir Eyal Tim Urban - Inside the mind of a master procrastinator Equity Token Audible Profitwell Stripe ========== Proudly Independent & Supported By: Finta- A secure online, cloud-based, operations center for your start-up. Quickly set up your company and you've got a blazing fast tool for raising capital and securing your sensitive company information. House your pitch deck, secure your legal documents, organize your cap table, notify target investors, and close deals faster! Finta allows you to raise more, save time, and increase your efficiency. Audible - Visit www.audibletrial.com/AmbitionToday to download and keep any audiobook for free. Download your free book now! The A-List - Join the podcast’s backchannel for exclusive access to additional Ambition Today content, deeper guest insights, a community of fellow fans, and much more. Plus, Learn the single greatest piece of advice each guest has ever learned! ========== Follow: Visit Ambition Today on the Web: www.siskar.co/ambitiontoday Follow Kevin Siskar on: Twitter: twitter.com/TheSiskar Instagram: instagram.com/thesiskar Facebook: facebook.com/kevin.siskar Snapchat: snapchat.com/add/krsiskar Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS (apple.co/1NRRPzL), on Google Play Music (goo.gl/LmmciJ), or on Stitcher for Android (bit.ly/1Rn01dy). ========== About: Ambition Today is a podcast about entrepreneurs, creators, investors, and builders who ambitiously changed the world. Each episode explores the hardships and heroism of everyday life to reveal the key moments which leave behind a lasting legacy. Creating value in the world is hard, but you are not alone. No matter where you are in the world Ambition Today, hosted by Kevin Siskar, is here to keep you company you as you create your own incredible story. Kevin Siskar brings you ambitious entrepreneurs inspired by Tim Ferriss Show, How I Built This with Guy Raz, Residual Income, Entrepreneur on Fire, NPR, HBR, TED Radio Hour, the StartUp podcast with Alex Blumberg by Gimlet Media, Pat Flynn, The Uncertain Hour, Bigger Pockets, Art of Charm, Dave Ramsey, Planet Money, Jocko Podcast, EntreLeadership, Zigler, APM Marketplace, This Week In Startups with Jason Calacanis, Mixergy, Seth Godin, Joe Rogan Experience, GaryVee, James Altucher, Monocle 24, How to Start a Startup, Crooked Media, and The $100 MBA Show with Omar Zenhom, Casey Neistat, and Masters of Scale with Reid Hoffman.
Bryan Janeczko was recently named one of the Top 23 LGBTQ people in Tech, along side other notable figures such as Tim Cook, Peter Thiel, and more. He has built a strong track record for building great businesses including: NuKitchen, a food preparation service that helped people eat healthier. NuKitchen was later sold to Nutrisystem and pioneered the market long before Blue Apron or Plated even existed. Now Bryan is the Founder of Gro, an on-demand startup academy. As part of the Loeb.NYC family, a venture studio in the heart of New York City, Bryan is helping founders at all stages. In a new partnership between Tony Robbins and Loeb, they have also launched Nunbelievable Foods, a baked goods company that turns their profits into feeding the homeless. Bryan grew up in Milwaukee, started a candy selling business in High School where he would at times bribe the teachers with a candy bar in order to sell more candy bars at the beginning of each class to his fellow classmates. It was such a popular business, that he started having distributors, which eventually had the principal pulling the plug on his first entrepreneurial experience. However, that didn’t stop his entrepreneurial spirit! After school, and a summer abroad in England, Bryan decided to make the big move to NY! He had a place to stay for one week and a credit card, and the rest is history! Tune in to hear more of Bryan’s story: • Learning resourcefulness early on. • His life changing trip to England • Starting and selling his company, NuKitchen • Co-founding Startout • His time as the Director of Founder Institute New York • Working with Loeb NYC • Founding Gro Academy • Working with Tony Robbins and Nunbelievable Foods Quote of the Episode: “Every founder brings their unique set of traits and many of us become entrepreneurs because we may not make it in more traditional jobs…” Ambition Today Question of the Day™ : What advice can you give an entrepreneur at the beginning stages of building their first business? The Single Greatest Piece of Advice: Members of the "A-list" can listen to exclusive A-list bonus clips here! If you are not a member yet be sure to join the Ambition Today A-list! Links from this episode: Gro Academy Bryan’s LinkedIn Startout Loeb NY Nunbelievable Founder Institute We Work Audible ========== Proudly Independent & Supported By: Finta- A secure online, cloud-based, operations center for your start-up. Quickly set up your company and you've got a blazing fast tool for raising capital and securing your sensitive company information. House your pitch deck, secure your legal documents, organize your cap table, notify target investors, and close deals faster! Finta allows you to raise more, save time, and increase your efficiency. Audible - Visit www.audibletrial.com/AmbitionToday to download and keep any audiobook for free. Download your free book now! The A-List - Join the podcast’s backchannel for exclusive access to additional Ambition Today content, deeper guest insights, a community of fellow fans, and much more. Plus, Learn the single greatest piece of advice each guest has ever learned! ========== Follow: Visit Ambition Today on the Web: www.siskar.co/ambitiontoday Follow Kevin Siskar on: Twitter: twitter.com/TheSiskar Instagram: instagram.com/thesiskar Facebook: facebook.com/kevin.siskar Snapchat: snapchat.com/add/krsiskar ========== About: Ambition Today is a podcast about entrepreneurs, creators, investors, and builders who ambitiously changed the world. Each episode explores the hardships and heroism of everyday life to reveal the key moments which leave behind a lasting legacy. Creating value in the world is hard, but you are not alone. No matter where you are in the world Ambition Today, hosted by Kevin Siskar, is here to keep you company you as you create your own incredible story. Kevin Siskar brings you ambitious entrepreneurs inspired by Tim Ferriss Show, How I Built This with Guy Raz, Residual Income, Entrepreneur on Fire, NPR, HBR, TED Radio Hour, the StartUp podcast with Alex Blumberg by Gimlet Media, Pat Flynn, The Uncertain Hour, Bigger Pockets, Art of Charm, Dave Ramsey, Planet Money, Jocko Podcast, EntreLeadership, Zigler, APM Marketplace, This Week In Startups with Jason Calacanis, Mixergy, Seth Godin, Joe Rogan Experience, GaryVee, James Altucher, Monocle 24, How to Start a Startup, Crooked Media, and The $100 MBA Show with Omar Zenhom, Casey Neistat, and Masters of Scale with Reid Hoffman. Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS (apple.co/1NRRPzL), on Google Play Music (goo.gl/LmmciJ), or on Stitcher for Android (bit.ly/1Rn01dy).
From being forced to layoff his whole staff, to selling his company for $140 million, our next guest, Michael Diamant, has great insight on how he became successful. Michael Diamant created a well-known brand with his wife, called Skip Hop, which was sold to Carter’s for $140 million. It all started with a diaper bag in 2003. Michael and his wife wanted a diaper bag that was fully functional, however, also appealed to a fashion savvy crowd. The company continued to grow for 15 more years creating several more innovative baby care products before they were bought by Carter’s. Now both Michael and his wife continue to work with Carter’s to help grow the brand Skip Hop. Before Michael created a very successful brand, he had a great career and started multiple companies. He has a background in advertising and was a happy employee at MTV. Tune in to find out more about how Michael became successful… Growing up The world of advertising Working at MTV, and the impact it had on Michael His first company – T3 Media How he was able to start iClips How it felt to have to lay off 35 employees His Skip Hop Journey Ambition Today Question of the Day™ : What advise would you have for other entrepreneurs who are trying to find product market fit? The Single Greatest Piece of Advice: Members of the "A-list" can listen to exclusive A-list bonus clips here! If you are not a member yet be sure to join the Ambition Today A-list! Links from this episode: Michael’s Twitter Michael’s LinkedIn Skip Hop Story Follow Right Click Capital Founder Institute We Work Audible ========== Finta- A secure online, cloud-based, operations center for your start-up. Quickly set up your company and you've got a blazing fast tool for raising capital and securing your sensitive company information. House your pitch deck, secure your legal documents, organize your cap table, notify target investors, and close deals faster! Finta allows you to raise more, save time, and increase your efficiency. ========== Visit Ambition Today on the Web: www.siskar.co/ambitiontoday Follow Kevin Siskar on Twitter: twitter.com/TheSiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Instagram: instagram.com/thesiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Facebook: facebook.com/kevin.siskar Add Kevin Siskar on Snapchat: snapchat.com/add/krsiskar Kevin Siskar brings you ambitious entrepreneurs inspired by Tim Ferriss Show, How I Built This with Guy Raz, Residual Income, Entrepreneur on Fire, NPR, HBR, TED Radio Hour, the StartUp podcast with Alex Blumberg by Gimlet Media, Pat Flynn, Tony Robbins, The Uncertain Hour, Bigger Pockets, Art of Charm, Dave Ramsey, Planet Money, Jocko Podcast, EntreLeadership, Zigler, APM Marketplace, This Week In Startups with Jason Calacanis, Mixergy, Seth Godin, Joe Rogan Experience, GaryVee, James Altucher, Monocle 24, How to Start a Startup, Crooked Media, and The $100 MBA Show with Omar Zenhom, and Casey Neistat. Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS (apple.co/1NRRPzL), on Google Play Music (goo.gl/LmmciJ), or on Stitcher for Android (bit.ly/1Rn01dy).
Today, my guest is a fellow Founder Institute Director, Benjamin Chong. Benjamin has been the director of Founder Institute in Australia since 2011 and is also well known as a partner at Right Click Capital. Right Click Capital is a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage startups. He is an active technology startup community member that has served as a mentor and guest speaker at many different entrepreneurial programs in Sydney, South East Asia, and the United States. Benjamin Chong grew up in Australia and says his life-changing entrepreneurial moment was when he was in a program called Young Achievement in High School where a few select students from multiple schools got together and created a business, they had to sell stock, and make it profitable, which was a success. He graduated from the University of South Wales and has been unstoppable. Listen in to learn more about Benjamin’s successes… Early years in Australia Young Achievement program in High School Working at PWC Co-founding iMega Directing Founder Institute since 2011 Is startup life different in Australia How important mental health is Ambition Today Question of the Day™ : What was it like to make the switch from Founder to Investor? The Single Greatest Piece of Advice: Members of the "A-list" can listen to exclusive A-list bonus clips here! If you are not a member yet be sure to join the Ambition Today A-list! Quote Of The Episode: “Relationship in businesses are critical, it takes time to build relationships…” Links from this episode: Right Click Capital Benjamin’s LinkedIn Benjamin’s Twitter Follow Right Click Capital Founder Institute We Work Audible Visit Ambition Today on the Web: www.siskar.co/ambitiontoday Follow Kevin Siskar on Twitter: twitter.com/TheSiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Instagram: instagram.com/thesiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Facebook: facebook.com/kevin.siskar Add Kevin Siskar on Snapchat: snapchat.com/add/krsiskar Kevin Siskar brings you ambitious entrepreneurs inspired by Tim Ferriss Show, How I Built This with Guy Raz, Residual Income, Entrepreneur on Fire, NPR, HBR, TED Radio Hour, the StartUp podcast with Alex Blumberg by Gimlet Media, Pat Flynn, Tony Robbins, The Uncertain Hour, Bigger Pockets, Art of Charm, Dave Ramsey, Planet Money, Jocko Podcast, EntreLeadership, Zigler, APM Marketplace, This Week In Startups with Jason Calacanis, Mixergy, Seth Godin, Joe Rogan Experience, GaryVee, James Altucher, Monocle 24, How to Start a Startup, Crooked Media, and The $100 MBA Show with Omar Zenhom, and Casey Neistat. Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS (apple.co/1NRRPzL), on Google Play Music (goo.gl/LmmciJ), or on Stitcher for Android (bit.ly/1Rn01dy).
Joining us today is Founder and CEO of Loeb Enterprises, Michael Loeb. Loeb Enterprises is an early stage venture investing company and an incubator for startups. Prior to Loeb Enterprises, Michael co-founded Synapse in 1992 with Jay Walker. Synapse then became the largest seller of consumer magazine subscriptions worldwide and now is a subsidiary of Time Warner. Along with Jay Walker, Michael assisted with the creation and early stage funding of Priceline. Although Michael was born in St. Louis, MO, he has been in New York since the age of one years old. He was your typical entrepreneur from early on, mowing lawns, having a lemonade stand, etc. However, it was not until he was fired from Time, Inc until he realized his entrepreneurial potential. Tune in to learn more of his story: Michael growing up Working at Time, Inc Why being fired can sometimes be important Creating Synapse Co-founded Priceline Selling his company for $800 million Creating Loeb Enterprises Helping founders Pros and Cons of being in NY as a founder Ambition Today Question of the Day™ : I have heard you say that you wish you had bet on yourself earlier in your life. How old were you when you quit Time Inc and how can people bet on themselves earlier in life? The Single Greatest Piece of Advice: Members of the "A-list" can listen to exclusive A-list bonus clips here! If you are not a member yet be sure to join the Ambition Today A-list! Quote Of The Episode: “It is hard to be an entrepreneur in your 30’s, if you didn’t have a big win in your 20’s.” Links from this episode: Loeb Enterprises LinkedIn Twitter Founder Institute Audible Visit Ambition Today on the Web: www.siskar.co/ambitiontoday Follow Kevin Siskar on Twitter: twitter.com/TheSiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Instagram: instagram.com/thesiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Facebook: facebook.com/kevin.siskar Add Kevin Siskar on Snapchat: snapchat.com/add/krsiskar Kevin Siskar brings you ambitious entrepreneurs inspired by Tim Ferriss Show, How I Built This with Guy Raz, Residual Income, Entrepreneur on Fire, NPR, HBR, TED Radio Hour, the StartUp podcast with Alex Blumberg by Gimlet Media, Pat Flynn, Tony Robbins, The Uncertain Hour, Bigger Pockets, Art of Charm, Dave Ramsey, Planet Money, Jocko Podcast, EntreLeadership, Zigler, APM Marketplace, This Week In Startups with Jason Calacanis, Mixergy, Seth Godin, Joe Rogan Experience, GaryVee, James Altucher, Monocle 24, How to Start a Startup, Crooked Media, and The $100 MBA Show with Omar Zenhom, and Casey Neistat. Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS (apple.co/1NRRPzL), on Google Play Music (goo.gl/LmmciJ), or on Stitcher for Android (bit.ly/1Rn01dy).
Approaching two decades later, our guest, Brian McCullough’s company is still going strong. Brian is CEO of ResumeWriters.com which is the longest lasting company for this service, shout out to Brian. Not only is he a successful entrepreneur, he is also the Author of “How The Internet Happened.” In 2016, he became a Ted Talk Resident, and is also known for his podcasts: Internet History Podcast and Techmeme Ride Home, which is a News Aggregator that now gives you a daily dose of tech news. Brian grew up in Florida with no entrepreneurial background as his parents were both hard working teachers. Brian went to college to get a degree in Film, which he did, however, it was when he had to write his thesis to graduate, that he ended up becoming an entrepreneur instead. Tune in to hear more about Brian’s story: Life background Interviewing people for his book Internet History Podcast Techmeme Ride Home History of the internet Ambition Today Question of the Day™ : With regard to the venture capital industry whose job is to depict that future, what advice would you have for them based on the history of the internet? The Single Greatest Piece of Advice: Members of the "A-list" can listen to exclusive A-list bonus clips here! If you are not a member yet be sure to join the Ambition Today A-list! Quote Of The Episode: “We live in the world where entrepreneurs are rock stars” Links from this episode: Techmeme Ride Home Brian’s Book Brian’s Ted Talk LinkedIn Twitter Techmeme Founder Institute ========== Visit Ambition Today on the Web: www.siskar.co/ambitiontoday Follow Kevin Siskar on Twitter: twitter.com/TheSiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Instagram: instagram.com/thesiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Facebook: facebook.com/kevin.siskar Add Kevin Siskar on Snapchat: snapchat.com/add/krsiskar Follow Colors of Colleen: www.colorsofcolleen.com Kevin Siskar brings you ambitious entrepreneurs inspired by Tim Ferriss Show, How I Built This with Guy Raz, Residual Income, Entrepreneur on Fire, NPR, HBR, TED Radio Hour, the StartUp podcast with Alex Blumberg by Gimlet Media, Pat Flynn, Tony Robbins, The Uncertain Hour, Bigger Pockets, Art of Charm, Dave Ramsey, Planet Money, Jocko Podcast, EntreLeadership, Zigler, APM Marketplace, This Week In Startups with Jason Calacanis, Mixergy, Seth Godin, Joe Rogan Experience, GaryVee, James Altucher, Monocle 24, How to Start a Startup, Crooked Media, and The $100 MBA Show with Omar Zenhom, and Casey Neistat. Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS (apple.co/1NRRPzL), on Google Play Music (goo.gl/LmmciJ), or on Stitcher for Android (bit.ly/1Rn01dy).
Reminiscing on my first podcast is my guest, Ramphis Castro. We sat down for my very first podcast in August of 2015 and he has watched it grow over the years. It was great to have him here with me again. Ramphis is a serial entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist that has impacted several companies across 40 countries. His quote sums him up very well, “I am a Computer Engineer and Lawyer by training, serial entrepreneur by experience, and grass-root ecosystem builder by conviction.” A Puerto Rican Native, Ramphis grew up by the beach with his dad, mom and three siblings. He is close to his family and had his mom instilling entrepreneurship in his mind from the beginning. The family always had little ways to make some extra spending money outside of their jobs, which taught Ramphis investing and ways to make money from a young age. He was fortunate enough to go to a school that taught English and went to an Engineering school for college. From there he was hired as a Microsoft, which was the hot company to work for at the time. He then started a consulting service company, had to learn from a few mistakes, and get back up. He has now owned several companies and has helped multiple companies by investing. Listen in to hear more about Ramphis and his path to success: World happenings from Episode 1 Life in Puerto Rico Early Entrepreneurial experiences Working for Microsoft Starting his own company Learning from bad experiences in owning a company Joining Kauffman Fellows Seeing different Ecosystems around the world NYCIC Venture Capital Ambition Today Question of the Day™ : Where is the future of Venture Capital is going? The Single Greatest Piece of Advice: Members of the "A-list" can listen to exclusive A-list bonus clips here! If you are not a member yet be sure to join the Ambition Today A-list! Quote Of The Episode: “You don’t know what you don’t know” Links from this episode: Biography LinkedIn Twitter Founder Institute Audible Visit Ambition Today on the Web: www.siskar.co/ambitiontoday Follow Kevin Siskar on Twitter: twitter.com/TheSiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Instagram: instagram.com/thesiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Facebook: facebook.com/kevin.siskar Add Kevin Siskar on Snapchat: snapchat.com/add/krsiskar Follow Colors of Colleen: www.colorsofcolleen.com Kevin Siskar brings you ambitious entrepreneurs inspired by Tim Ferriss Show, How I Built This with Guy Raz, Residual Income, Entrepreneur on Fire, NPR, HBR, TED Radio Hour, the StartUp podcast with Alex Blumberg by Gimlet Media, Pat Flynn, Tony Robbins, The Uncertain Hour, Bigger Pockets, Art of Charm, Dave Ramsey, Planet Money, Jocko Podcast, EntreLeadership, Zigler, APM Marketplace, This Week In Startups with Jason Calacanis, Mixergy, Seth Godin, Joe Rogan Experience, GaryVee, James Altucher, Monocle 24, How to Start a Startup, Crooked Media, and The $100 MBA Show with Omar Zenhom, and Casey Neistat. Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS (apple.co/1NRRPzL), on Google Play Music (goo.gl/LmmciJ), or on Stitcher for Android (bit.ly/1Rn01dy).
Join the A-list backchannel to get "Single greatest piece of advice ever received": https://siskar.me/best-advice-ever Author, Blogger, Entrepreneur, Teacher, Investor, and Consultant, also known as our next guest, Nir Eyal. Well known for his blog, Nir & Far, Nir writes about “behavioral design” the intersection of psychology, technology and business. He helps companies with techniques to motivate and manipulate users. He has successfully founded and sold two businesses in the tech industry and now has his book “Hooked” on the market, with another book coming in September. Nir, originally born in Israel, moved to the US when he was just three years old and grew up in Orlando, FL. He received his MBA at Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he has since then taught. He is also an active angel investor as he believes in putting his money where his mouth is and invests in habit forming products. Listen in to learn more about Nir: Growing up in Orlando How Nir knew he would become an entrepreneur Stanford Graduate School of Business Nir & Far – the meaning behind the name of his blog “Hooked” Types of Manipulation Creating Habit Forming products His new book Ambition Today Question of the Day™ : “What are your thoughts on iPhone addiction? How do we protect ourselves from them?” The Single Greatest Piece of Advice: Members of the "A-list" can listen to exclusive A-list bonus clips here! If you are not a member yet be sure to join the Ambition Today A-list! Quote Of The Episode: “It is not the best product that wins, it is the product that captures the monopoly of the mind.” Links from this episode: Nir & Far LinkedIn Buy Hooked Twitter Founder Institute Audible ========== Visit Ambition Today on the Web: www.siskar.co/ambitiontoday Follow Kevin Siskar on Twitter: twitter.com/TheSiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Instagram: instagram.com/thesiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Facebook: facebook.com/kevin.siskar Add Kevin Siskar on Snapchat: snapchat.com/add/krsiskar Follow Colors of Colleen: www.colorsofcolleen.com Kevin Siskar brings you ambitious entrepreneurs inspired by Tim Ferriss Show, How I Built This with Guy Raz, Residual Income, Entrepreneur on Fire, NPR, HBR, TED Radio Hour, the StartUp podcast with Alex Blumberg by Gimlet Media, Pat Flynn, Tony Robbins, The Uncertain Hour, Bigger Pockets, Art of Charm, Dave Ramsey, Planet Money, Jocko Podcast, EntreLeadership, Zigler, APM Marketplace, This Week In Startups with Jason Calacanis, Mixergy, Seth Godin, Joe Rogan Experience, GaryVee, James Altucher, Monocle 24, How to Start a Startup, Crooked Media, and The $100 MBA Show with Omar Zenhom, and Casey Neistat. Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS (apple.co/1NRRPzL), on Google Play Music (goo.gl/LmmciJ), or on Stitcher for Android (bit.ly/1Rn01dy).
Join the A-list backchannel to get "Single greatest piece of advice ever received": https://siskar.me/best-advice-ever Fascinated about how things worked and technology from a young age, today’s guest, Byron Reese, makes you question, are you a machine? Today, he puts his fascination into good use as the CEO and publisher of Gigaom, an industry-leading technology research company. Bryon is also an award-winning public speaker and author of “The Fourth Age: Smart Robots, Conscious Computers, and the Future of Humanity.” Byron grew up in Austin, TX and became an entrepreneur at the young age of 12. He did not have entrepreneurship in his family background, but that wouldn’t stop Byron from becoming a great success today. As a futurist, a forward thinker, Byron helps you think about the good that artificial intelligence has to offer and where we are going in this age of technology. Listen in to hear more about Byron: Growing up Rice University Starting his first company with a can of spray paint Starting Knowingly Santa Mail Talking about Gigaom and AI Are you a machine? Ambition Today Question of the Day™ : “450 businesses is a lot. How do you think about playing the long game vs a short one, when it comes to sticking with something for so long?” The Single Greatest Piece of Advice: Members of the "A-list" can listen to exclusive A-list bonus clips here! If you are not a member yet be sure to join the Ambition Today A-list! Quote Of The Episode: “What are We in the end?” Links from this episode: Byron’s LinkedIn Gigaom The Fourth Age Twitter Founder Institute Audible Visit Ambition Today on the Web: www.siskar.co/ambitiontoday Follow Kevin Siskar on Twitter: twitter.com/TheSiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Instagram: instagram.com/thesiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Facebook: facebook.com/kevin.siskar Add Kevin Siskar on Snapchat: snapchat.com/add/krsiskar Follow Colors of Colleen: www.colorsofcolleen.com Kevin Siskar brings you ambitious entrepreneurs inspired by Tim Ferriss Show, How I Built This with Guy Raz, Residual Income, Entrepreneur on Fire, NPR, HBR, TED Radio Hour, the StartUp podcast with Alex Blumberg by Gimlet Media, Pat Flynn, Tony Robbins, The Uncertain Hour, Bigger Pockets, Art of Charm, Dave Ramsey, Planet Money, Jocko Podcast, EntreLeadership, Zigler, APM Marketplace, This Week In Startups with Jason Calacanis, Mixergy, Seth Godin, Joe Rogan Experience, GaryVee, James Altucher, Monocle 24, How to Start a Startup, Crooked Media, and The $100 MBA Show with Omar Zenhom, and Casey Neistat. Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS (apple.co/1NRRPzL), on Google Play Music (goo.gl/LmmciJ), or on Stitcher for Android (bit.ly/1Rn01dy).
Join the A-list backchannel to get "Single greatest piece of advice ever received": https://siskar.me/best-advice-ever Starting out young, today's guest, Matt Mandell, created his first company at the age of 12. Matt grew up with a supportive family full of entrepreneurs, so Matt was very comfortable with entrepreneurship from the start. He attended college in DC, where he spent the next several years developing multiple companies that were selective to college students. Matt is well known for his serial entrepreneurship and has spoken all across the nation teaching students how to become entrepreneurs themselves. He has been publicized multiple times, including New York Times, has helped start up multiple companies, and now is a managing partner with GAM Payments, a payment solution provider for mid-market companies. Interviewing Matt showed that there are different ways to look at being a leader that really make you think. Tune in to hear more: Growing up in an Entrepreneurial Family Creating his first business at the age of 12 College experiences in DC The many businesses Matt created while in College Mentoring at Founder Institute Automation and Efficiency Investing in companies instead of creating them Meaning and reasoning for GAM Payments Ambition Today Question of the Day™ : “How do you realize when automation is necessary or when you should just do the small task yourself? The Single Greatest Piece of Advice: Members of the "A-list" can listen to exclusive A-list bonus clips here! If you are not a member yet be sure to join the Ambition Today A-list! Quote Of The Episode: “If something goes wrong, it is my fault for not setting up the correct system and process for my team” Links from this episode: Matt’s Blog Matt’s Website Twitter Founder Institute Audible ========== Visit Ambition Today on the Web: www.siskar.co/ambitiontoday Follow Kevin Siskar on Twitter: twitter.com/TheSiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Instagram: instagram.com/thesiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Facebook: facebook.com/kevin.siskar Add Kevin Siskar on Snapchat: snapchat.com/add/krsiskar Follow Colors of Colleen: www.colorsofcolleen.com Kevin Siskar brings you ambitious entrepreneurs inspired by Tim Ferriss Show, How I Built This with Guy Raz, Residual Income, Entrepreneur on Fire, NPR, HBR, TED Radio Hour, the StartUp podcast with Alex Blumberg by Gimlet Media, Pat Flynn, Tony Robbins, The Uncertain Hour, Bigger Pockets, Art of Charm, Dave Ramsey, Planet Money, Jocko Podcast, EntreLeadership, Zigler, APM Marketplace, This Week In Startups with Jason Calacanis, Mixergy, Seth Godin, Joe Rogan Experience, GaryVee, James Altucher, Monocle 24, How to Start a Startup, Crooked Media, and The $100 MBA Show with Omar Zenhom, and Casey Neistat. Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS (apple.co/1NRRPzL), on Google Play Music (goo.gl/LmmciJ), or on Stitcher for Android (bit.ly/1Rn01dy).
Join the A-list backchannel to get "Single greatest piece of advice ever received": https://siskar.me/best-advice-ever Entrepreneur, investor, public speaker and author are a few titles that Dr. Dileep Rao is known for. He came from India to America in 1973 for his education, and has been a success ever since. While obtaining his PhD, he started working for an Adventure Capital firm one summer that ended up changing his life. He since then has helped invest in hundreds of businesses, which includes four businesses he started himself. He is now a professor at the Florida International University and has been awarded numerous awards for teaching. Dr. Dileep Rao is now a nationally acclaimed author, writing “Nothing Ventured, Everything Gained”. He was able to study many successful entrepreneurs in his time, and he came up with 7 steps that all successful entrepreneurs seemed to follow. His book dives deep into his findings. Learn more about Dr. Dileep in this episode! · Coming to America for Education · Working for his first Adventure Capital Firm · Helping Fund hundreds of companies · His experience writing his book “Nothing Ventured, Everything Gained” · The 7 steps for Entrepreneurs · Where growth opportunities are at · What Dr. Dileep is doing today Ambition Today Question of the Day™ : “Where do you see the future of venture capital going next?” The Single Greatest Piece of Advice: Members of the "A-list" can listen to exclusive A-list bonus clips here! If you are not a member yet be sure to join the Ambition Today A-list! Quote Of The Episode: “Numbers help you monitor where you are going” Links from this episode: · Dr. Dileep’s website · Amazon · Founder Institute · Audible ========== Visit Ambition Today on the Web: www.siskar.co/ambitiontoday Follow Kevin Siskar on Twitter: twitter.com/TheSiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Instagram: instagram.com/thesiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Facebook: facebook.com/kevin.siskar Add Kevin Siskar on Snapchat: snapchat.com/add/krsiskar Kevin Siskar brings you ambitious entrepreneurs inspired by Tim Ferriss Show, How I Built This with Guy Raz, Residual Income, Entrepreneur on Fire, NPR, HBR, TED Radio Hour, the StartUp podcast with Alex Blumberg by Gimlet Media, Pat Flynn, Tony Robbins, The Uncertain Hour, Bigger Pockets, Art of Charm, Dave Ramsey, Planet Money, Jocko Podcast, EntreLeadership, Zigler, APM Marketplace, This Week In Startups with Jason Calacanis, Mixergy, Seth Godin, Joe Rogan Experience, GaryVee, James Altucher, Monocle 24, How to Start a Startup, Crooked Media, and The $100 MBA Show with Omar Zenhom, and Casey Neistat. Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS (apple.co/1NRRPzL), on Google Play Music (goo.gl/LmmciJ), or on Stitcher for Android (bit.ly/1Rn01dy).
Join the A-list backchannel to get "Single greatest piece of advice ever received": https://siskar.me/best-advice-ever Today’s guest grew up with Entrepreneurial spirit surrounding him. All of the men in Greg Alterman’s family for generations owned and operated one of the largest grocery stores chains in the South since the early 1900’s. With all the entrepreneurial passion within him, he started his first successful shirt business while attending college at the University of Florida. Alternate Apparel successfully grew until he sold the company for $60 million dollars nearly 30 years later. In 2015 Greg suffered from a brain hemorrhage that would change his life forever. During his recovery, he noticed that vibrant colors and clutter really were bothersome to his sight which lead him to create his newest business endeavor, m/f people. Alterman wanted to company that didn’t market towards one sex or the other. m/f people focuses on sleek and simple designs for skin care products as well as apparel. Listen in to hear more of Greg’s amazing journey! Family Owned business that started on the side of the road in the early 1900’s Greg’s Entrepreneurial spirit from early on Going to college on a Golf Scholarship What Greg did to create income once his scholarship was no longer there Alternative Apparel Selling a company for $60 million dollars How Brain surgery changed his life His vision behind m/f people Ambition Today Question of the Day™ : “How do you stick to the grind for so long?” The Single Greatest Piece of Advice: Members of the "A-list" can listen to exclusive A-list bonus clips here! If you are not a member yet be sure to join the Ambition Today A-list! Quote Of The Episode: “Listen to your own gut instinct.” Links from this episode: m/f Greg’s LinkedIn WeWork Audible ========== Visit Ambition Today on the Web: www.siskar.co/ambitiontoday Follow Kevin Siskar on Twitter: twitter.com/TheSiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Instagram: instagram.com/thesiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Facebook: facebook.com/kevin.siskar Add Kevin Siskar on Snapchat: snapchat.com/add/krsiskar Kevin Siskar brings you ambitious entrepreneurs inspired by Tim Ferriss Show, How I Built This with Guy Raz, Residual Income, Entrepreneur on Fire, NPR, HBR, TED Radio Hour, the StartUp podcast with Alex Blumberg by Gimlet Media, Pat Flynn, Tony Robbins, The Uncertain Hour, Bigger Pockets, Art of Charm, Dave Ramsey, Planet Money, Jocko Podcast, EntreLeadership, Zigler, APM Marketplace, This Week In Startups with Jason Calacanis, Mixergy, Seth Godin, Joe Rogan Experience, GaryVee, James Altucher, Monocle 24, How to Start a Startup, Crooked Media, and The $100 MBA Show with Omar Zenhom, and Casey Neistat. Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS (apple.co/1NRRPzL), on Google Play Music (goo.gl/LmmciJ), or on Stitcher for Android (bit.ly/1Rn01dy).
Join the A-list backchannel to get "Single greatest piece of advice ever received": https://siskar.me/best-advice-ever NASA made history on August 12, 2018, launching the Parker Solar Probe; their first ever mission to touch the sun. Luckily, I was invited by NASA to come down to Cape Canaveral to have a front row seat to the rocket launch! This was definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity that I am proud to say I was able to witness with my own two eyes. While there, I had the opportunity and pleasure of interviewing Felipe Ruiz, who is the Deputy Lead Mechanical Engineer from John’s Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. He helped directly build the Parker Solar Probe and was kind enough to share his personal journey contributing to such an important advancement in human civilization. The Parker Solar Probe will use seven gravity assist Venus flybys over the next seven years to slowly shrink its orbit around the sun. This will bring the Parker Solar Probe as close as 3.83 million miles to the center of the sun. On the probe’s closest orbit, it will be seven times closer than any spacecraft before it. Eventually becoming the fastest human-made object in existence, at 430,000 mph relative to the sun. The spacecraft will transmit its first science observations in December. ========== Visit Ambition Today on the Web: www.siskar.co/ambitiontoday Follow Kevin Siskar on Twitter: twitter.com/TheSiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Instagram: instagram.com/thesiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Facebook: facebook.com/kevin.siskar Add Kevin Siskar on Snapchat: snapchat.com/add/krsiskar Kevin Siskar brings you ambitious entrepreneurs inspired by Tim Ferriss Show, How I Built This with Guy Raz, Residual Income, Entrepreneur on Fire, NPR, HBR, TED Radio Hour, the StartUp podcast with Alex Blumberg by Gimlet Media, Pat Flynn, Tony Robbins, The Uncertain Hour, Bigger Pockets, Art of Charm, Dave Ramsey, Planet Money, Jocko Podcast, EntreLeadership, Zigler, APM Marketplace, This Week In Startups with Jason Calacanis, Mixergy, Seth Godin, Joe Rogan Experience, GaryVee, James Altucher, Monocle 24, How to Start a Startup, Crooked Media, and The $100 MBA Show with Omar Zenhom, and Casey Neistat. Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS (apple.co/1NRRPzL), on Google Play Music (goo.gl/LmmciJ), or on Stitcher for Android (bit.ly/1Rn01dy).
Did you know that only 17% of all startups have a female founder? Well, we are lucky enough to have a female founder on our show today, Alex Batdorf. Alex is a business coach, co-founder of Zip Fit, a company that delivers a perfect fit denim for every body and now the creator of a YouTube series called Get Sh!t Done. This series focuses on helping female entrepreneurs maintain a balance between pursuing purpose and profit. Growing up in Seattle, Alex had a lot of family support; they always told her the sky was the limit. She was never that kid that knew she would be an entrepreneur, she just knew she wanted to impact the world. Moving to Chicago for her undergrad degree was a big culture shock for her, but taught her a lot. After getting her Sociology degree and seeing all the entrepreneurs from her classes she realized the potential she had to become the great entrepreneur she is today. Tune in for more! · Growing up in Seattle · Culture shock moving to Chicago · Her degree in Sociology · ZipFit · The Ins and Outs of finding Investors · Get Shit Done · Helping other Female Entrepreneurs Ambition Today Question of the Day™ : “How do you know when it is time for a change, and when you recognize it, how do you push it forward?” The Single Greatest Piece of Advice: Members of the "A-list" can listen to exclusive A-list bonus clips here! If you are not a member yet be sure to join the Ambition Today A-list! Quote Of The Episode: “You have to give yourself oxygen first… if you don’t have oxygen for yourself, nothing else can work.” Links from this episode: · Alex Batdorf’s Website · Get Sh!t Done · Instagram · Rivvly · Audible · Founder Institute ========== This episode of Ambition Today is supported by: + Founder Institute New York: goo.gl/RGezjW + WeWork: goo.gl/hyzzuP + Toptal: goo.gl/OObfM9 + Audible: goo.gl/Urjq6k ========== Visit Ambition Today on the Web: www.siskar.co/ambitiontoday Follow Kevin Siskar on Twitter: twitter.com/TheSiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Instagram: instagram.com/thesiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Facebook: facebook.com/kevin.siskar Add Kevin Siskar on Snapchat: snapchat.com/add/krsiskar Kevin Siskar brings you ambitious entrepreneurs inspired by Tim Ferriss Show, How I Built This with Guy Raz, Residual Income, Entrepreneur on Fire, NPR, HBR, TED Radio Hour, the StartUp podcast with Alex Blumberg by Gimlet Media, Pat Flynn, Tony Robbins, The Uncertain Hour, Bigger Pockets, Art of Charm, Dave Ramsey, Planet Money, Jocko Podcast, EntreLeadership, Zigler, APM Marketplace, This Week In Startups with Jason Calacanis, Mixergy, Seth Godin, Joe Rogan Experience, GaryVee, James Altucher, Monocle 24, How to Start a Startup, Crooked Media, and The $100 MBA Show with Omar Zenhom, and Casey Neistat. Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS (apple.co/1NRRPzL), on Google Play Music (goo.gl/LmmciJ), or on Stitcher for Android (bit.ly/1Rn01dy).
We are exploring the marketing world on today’s episode, with our special guest, Mitch Wainer. He is the creative marketing leader with many accomplishments such as Co-Founding Digital Ocean and being the Chief Marketing Officer at Clubhouse, a project management platform for software teams that provide the perfect balance of simplicity and structure. Mitch is an active advisor and speaker on entrepreneurship and growth marketing to the startup community Mitch grew up with a great family support system, that he feels is an important part in his entrepreneurial success. He graduated with a degree in Marketing from Northeastern. Short after graduating college, he found himself sitting in board meetings with seasoned professionals, trying to convince them that Facebook and Social Media is the way of the future. Listen in to find out more about Mitch and his success High school and college years Family Support System Teaching himself how to build websites Mitch’s first start out of college Being a part of the Ask Jason podcast Co-founding Digital Ocean Mitch’s role at Clubhouse Marketing then compared to marketing now Ambition Today Question of the Day™ : “Do you travel often, how important is travel for you, how do you balance time for those new experiences and get shit done as a founder?” The Single Greatest Piece of Advice: Members of the "A-list" can listen to exclusive A-list bonus clips here! If you are not a member yet be sure to join the Ambition Today A-list! Quote Of The Episode: “The support system around you is a key ingredient to being successful” Links from this episode: Clubhouse DigitalOcean LinkedIn Twitter Rivvly Founder Institute ========== Visit Ambition Today on the Web: www.siskar.co/ambitiontoday Follow Kevin Siskar on Twitter: twitter.com/TheSiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Instagram: instagram.com/thesiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Facebook: facebook.com/kevin.siskar Add Kevin Siskar on Snapchat: snapchat.com/add/krsiskar Kevin Siskar brings you ambitious entrepreneurs inspired by Tim Ferriss Show, How I Built This with Guy Raz, Residual Income, Entrepreneur on Fire, NPR, HBR, TED Radio Hour, the StartUp podcast with Alex Blumberg by Gimlet Media, Pat Flynn, Tony Robbins, The Uncertain Hour, Bigger Pockets, Art of Charm, Dave Ramsey, Planet Money, Jocko Podcast, EntreLeadership, Zigler, APM Marketplace, This Week In Startups with Jason Calacanis, Mixergy, Seth Godin, Joe Rogan Experience, GaryVee, James Altucher, Monocle 24, How to Start a Startup, Crooked Media, and The $100 MBA Show with Omar Zenhom, and Casey Neistat. Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS (apple.co/1NRRPzL), on Google Play Music (goo.gl/LmmciJ), or on Stitcher for Android (bit.ly/1Rn01dy).
Growing up in an immigrant family, Brian Pasalich lived in Chicago, Croatia and even a small town in Montana all by the age of 13, which allowed him to have a deeper understanding of the different walks of life that people face. This combined with a passion for helping people led him to his career in financial planning. He is now the founder of Foundational, a consumer-mindset driven platform for financial health and wellbeing Since a young age, Brian’s passion has been helping others. In his career, he has been a volunteer EMT, a flight paramedic with the Army Reserve, serving on two SWAT teams, and a civilian flight paramedic for a trauma center. He majored in Microbiology at the University of Montana before finding his passion for helping people through financial planning and serving as a Mentor with Founder Institute. Listen in to find out about Brian’s unique experiences and how it has helped him help others: Being a SWAT flight paramedic Majoring in Microbiology at University of MT How his failing business was the best thing that happened to him Creating Foundational.co Being a part of MassMutual team Mentoring at Founder Institute New York Being on the board for Marriage Equality Staying active in the LGBT community How health and fitness is a major part of his life Ambition Today Question of the Day™ : “Why does family matter, and how do you balance your personal life with your work life? The Single Greatest Piece of Advice: Members of the "A-list" can listen to exclusive A-list bonus clips here! If you are not a member yet be sure to join the Ambition Today A-list! Quote Of The Episode: “Name one goal you can accomplish without money” Links from this episode: Foundational MassMutual LinkedIn Twitter Toptal Founder Institute ========== Visit Ambition Today on the Web: www.siskar.co/ambitiontoday Follow Kevin Siskar on Twitter: twitter.com/TheSiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Instagram: instagram.com/thesiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Facebook: facebook.com/kevin.siskar Add Kevin Siskar on Snapchat: snapchat.com/add/krsiskar Kevin Siskar brings you ambitious entrepreneurs inspired by Tim Ferriss Show, How I Built This with Guy Raz, Residual Income, Entrepreneur on Fire, NPR, HBR, TED Radio Hour, the StartUp podcast with Alex Blumberg by Gimlet Media, Pat Flynn, Tony Robbins, The Uncertain Hour, Bigger Pockets, Art of Charm, Dave Ramsey, Planet Money, Jocko Podcast, EntreLeadership, Zigler, APM Marketplace, This Week In Startups with Jason Calacanis, Mixergy, Seth Godin, Joe Rogan Experience, GaryVee, James Altucher, Monocle 24, How to Start a Startup, Crooked Media, and The $100 MBA Show with Omar Zenhom, and Casey Neistat. Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS (apple.co/1NRRPzL), on Google Play Music (goo.gl/LmmciJ), or on Stitcher for Android (bit.ly/1Rn01dy).
As a serial entrepreneur, Matt Britton has successfully acquired and sold many companies at the perfect time. He is most known for his important role in creating MRY (Mr. Youth) and Suzy. MRY is a digital and social media marketing agency that helps companies market to the youth, which is tomorrow’s future leaders. His latest venture, Suzy, is a consumer intelligence platform which helps bring the voice of real consumers directly to brands. Now known as America’s leading expert on the Millennial Generation, Britton’s entrepreneurial spirit all started because of parties believe it or not. He ran 5 to 7 parties a week, and local businesses started to take notice. They would ask him to advertise their business during the parties, which led him to create his first business venue, Magma Group. This was just the beginning for Britton, listen to hear more of his great story: How Magma Group came about The meaning behind “Magma” Creating MRY, Mr. Youth How MRY got Microsoft as their customer How Suzy was developed His book, “Youth Nation” Being a serial entrepreneur Being an investor Ambition Today Question of the Day™ : “You have started several companies over the years, what is being a serial entrepreneur mean to you?.” The Single Greatest Piece of Advice: Members of the "A-list" can listen to exclusive A-list bonus clips here! If you are not a member yet be sure to join the Ambition Today A-list! Quote Of The Episode: “Ninety-nine percent of decisions made in business have no data behind it” Links from this episode: Suzy Matt Britton LinkedIn Twitter WeWork Founder Institute Audible ========== Visit Ambition Today on the Web: www.siskar.co/ambitiontoday Follow Kevin Siskar on Twitter: twitter.com/TheSiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Instagram: instagram.com/thesiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Facebook: facebook.com/kevin.siskar Add Kevin Siskar on Snapchat: snapchat.com/add/krsiskar Kevin Siskar brings you ambitious entrepreneurs inspired by Tim Ferriss Show, How I Built This with Guy Raz, Residual Income, Entrepreneur on Fire, NPR, HBR, TED Radio Hour, the StartUp podcast with Alex Blumberg by Gimlet Media, Pat Flynn, Tony Robbins, The Uncertain Hour, Bigger Pockets, Art of Charm, Dave Ramsey, Planet Money, Jocko Podcast, EntreLeadership, Zigler, APM Marketplace, This Week In Startups with Jason Calacanis, Mixergy, Seth Godin, Joe Rogan Experience, GaryVee, James Altucher, Monocle 24, How to Start a Startup, Crooked Media, and The $100 MBA Show with Omar Zenhom, and Casey Neistat. Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS (apple.co/1NRRPzL), on Google Play Music (goo.gl/LmmciJ), or on Stitcher for Android (bit.ly/1Rn01dy).
Do you have to be an expert on a product in order to become a successful entrepreneur? Let’s ask today's guest, Adam Tishman. Tishman is a New Yorker through and through, growing up in Manhattan helped his independence from a young age. He received his Bachelors Degree at Princeton in History before he decided to pursue an MBA where he met his co-founders of Helix Sleep. Tishman knew he wanted to be a successful entrepreneur one day, however, he never thought it would be in mattresses. Knowing that mattress buying was confusing, expensive and hard for a lot of consumers, Tishman and his co-founders knew there had to be a better way. Listen for more details on how they have developed an amazing product, and what lead to Tishman's success: Born and raised in NY Growing up with a metro card Obtaining a BA at Princeton Tishman’s early on careers Meeting his co-founders How Helix Sleep came about The research behind Helix How sleep is innovative and necessary The meaning behind the name “Helix” Ambition Today Question of the Day™ : As an entrepreneur: How important is sleep to you? The Single Greatest Piece of Advice: Members of the "A-list" can listen to exclusive A-list bonus clips here! If you are not a member yet be sure to join the Ambition Today A-list! Quote Of The Episode: As you build your business, it is not just product at the end of the day, it is also the vision that you have and the story that you tell. Links from this episode: Helix Sleep LinkedIn Twitter WeWork Founder Institute Rivvly This episode of Ambition Today is supported by: + Founder Institute New York: goo.gl/RGezjW + WeWork: goo.gl/hyzzuP + Toptal: goo.gl/OObfM9 + Audible: goo.gl/Urjq6k ========== Visit Ambition Today on the Web: www.siskar.co/ambitiontoday Follow Kevin Siskar on Twitter: twitter.com/TheSiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Instagram: instagram.com/thesiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Facebook: facebook.com/kevin.siskar Add Kevin Siskar on Snapchat: snapchat.com/add/krsiskar Kevin Siskar brings you ambitious entrepreneurs inspired by Tim Ferriss Show, How I Built This with Guy Raz, Residual Income, Entrepreneur on Fire, NPR, HBR, TED Radio Hour, the StartUp podcast with Alex Blumberg by Gimlet Media, Pat Flynn, Tony Robbins, The Uncertain Hour, Bigger Pockets, Art of Charm, Dave Ramsey, Planet Money, Jocko Podcast, EntreLeadership, Zigler, APM Marketplace, This Week In Startups with Jason Calacanis, Mixergy, Seth Godin, Joe Rogan Experience, GaryVee, James Altucher, Monocle 24, How to Start a Startup, Crooked Media, and The $100 MBA Show with Omar Zenhom, and Casey Neistat. Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS (apple.co/1NRRPzL), on Google Play Music (goo.gl/LmmciJ), or on Stitcher for Android (bit.ly/1Rn01dy).
We are proud to have Allen Saakyan on our show today. Not only do I get the pleasure of interviewing him, but I also had the privilege of being interviewed for his podcast, Simulation, as well! This episode will be a little different as we go back and forth asking questions for both of our podcasts, you won’t want to miss it! Growing up, Allen knew he was destined to take a different path. He was always curious, which drove him to wonder why so many people always took the same path. His quest became to figure out how could he help people desire to take their own path? Fast forward, and now he is the successful founder of Simulation, a podcast that facilitates humanity’s most thought-provoking questions. He also is the host of World’s Fair, a festival with mind-blowing technology and futuristic talks. Listen in to hear more about: Allen's meaning of Simulation How people are working to make the world a better place Why mentorship is so crucial How Allen is working to bring back the iconic World’s Fair The need to talk about the future and why it is important What is the most beautiful thing in the world The Single Greatest Piece of Advice: Members of the "A-list" can listen to exclusive A-list bonus clips here! If you are not a member yet be sure to join the Ambition Today A-list! Quote Of The Episode: “Value is determined by a person's passion to change the world and make it a better place” Links from this episode: Simulation World’s Fair Allen’s LinkedIn Allen’s Facebook Angel List WeWork Founder Institute Toptal ========== This episode of Ambition Today is supported by: + Founder Institute New York: goo.gl/RGezjW + WeWork: goo.gl/hyzzuP + Toptal: goo.gl/OObfM9 + Audible: goo.gl/Urjq6k ========== Visit Ambition Today on the Web: www.siskar.co/ambitiontoday Follow Kevin Siskar on Twitter: twitter.com/TheSiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Instagram: instagram.com/thesiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Facebook: facebook.com/kevin.siskar Add Kevin Siskar on Snapchat: snapchat.com/add/krsiskar Kevin Siskar brings you ambitious entrepreneurs inspired by Tim Ferriss Show, How I Built This with Guy Raz, Residual Income, Entrepreneur on Fire, NPR, HBR, TED Radio Hour, the StartUp podcast with Alex Blumberg by Gimlet Media, Pat Flynn, Tony Robbins, The Uncertain Hour, Bigger Pockets, Art of Charm, Dave Ramsey, Planet Money, Jocko Podcast, EntreLeadership, Zigler, APM Marketplace, This Week In Startups with Jason Calacanis, Mixergy, Seth Godin, Joe Rogan Experience, GaryVee, James Altucher, Monocle 24, How to Start a Startup, Crooked Media, and The $100 MBA Show with Omar Zenhom, and Casey Neistat. Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS (apple.co/1NRRPzL), on Google Play Music (goo.gl/LmmciJ), or on Stitcher for Android (bit.ly/1Rn01dy).
A successful entrepreneur, TED speaker, and father of seven, Wes Schaeffer is the person you seek when you want to generate more sales. Wes Schaeffer is a marketing strategist and is best known as The Sales Whisperer. He grew up in Houston, TX, served in the Air Force, graduated from A&M and became a successful salesman. Although he had the income and personal life he wanted, he wasn’t happy with his job, which is when he became decided to become the Sales Whisperer. Wes's analogy of being a sales whisperer came to him after some inspiration from the dog whisperer. Some dogs have behavior issues but the reality is that their trainers don’t have the proper training to enable them to be successful pets. Just like how sales leaders come to him with lack of training and sometimes incorrect sales tactics, it is Wes’ job to help them learn a better and more efficient way. Listen to our podcast to hear more about Wes’ insights! Growing up in Houston Life in the Air Force The start of his career and transition to entrepreneurship Common sales leadership do's and do not's How he started The Sales Whisperer Breaking down Wes' Ted Talk Maintaining work-life balance with a big family Ambition Today Question of the Day™ : How do you maintain work-life balance to ensure you get time with your family? The Single Greatest Piece of Advice Anthony Has Ever Learned: Join the Ambition Today A-list to listen now! Quote Of The Episode: “If you have seven priorities, you have none.” Links from this episode: The Sales Whisperer Wes’ Ted Talk LinkedIn Twitter WeWork Founder Institute Topal.com/ambitiontoday ========== This episode of Ambition Today is supported by: + Founder Institute New York: goo.gl/RGezjW + WeWork: goo.gl/hyzzuP + Toptal: goo.gl/OObfM9 + Audible: goo.gl/Urjq6k ========== Visit Ambition Today on the Web: www.siskar.co/ambitiontoday Follow Kevin Siskar on Twitter: twitter.com/TheSiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Instagram: instagram.com/thesiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Facebook: facebook.com/kevin.siskar Add Kevin Siskar on Snapchat: snapchat.com/add/krsiskar Kevin Siskar brings you ambitious entrepreneurs inspired by Tim Ferriss Show, How I Built This with Guy Raz, Residual Income, Entrepreneur on Fire, NPR, HBR, TED Radio Hour, the StartUp podcast with Alex Blumberg by Gimlet Media, Pat Flynn, Tony Robbins, The Uncertain Hour, Bigger Pockets, Art of Charm, Dave Ramsey, Planet Money, Jocko Podcast, EntreLeadership, Zigler, APM Marketplace, This Week In Startups with Jason Calacanis, Mixergy, Seth Godin, Joe Rogan Experience, GaryVee, James Altucher, Monocle 24, How to Start a Startup, Crooked Media, and The $100 MBA Show with Omar Zenhom, and Casey Neistat. Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS (apple.co/1NRRPzL), on Google Play Music (goo.gl/LmmciJ), or on Stitcher for Android (bit.ly/1Rn01dy).
Author, public speaker, and entrepreneur are just a few great titles for today’s guest, Gabe Zichermann. He is the CEO and Founder of Onward, a company that helps you achieve tech-life balance. Gabe is also known for his expertise on the topic of Gamification. Having written three books, “The Gamification Revolution”, “Gamification by Design” and “Game-Based Marketing”. Gabe grew up in Toronto with his two parents that immigrated from Hungary and Romania. He had a passion for games from a young age of 8 when he got his first computer, a Commodore VIC-20, and programmed his first computer game. After college, his first big success was Trimedia, which he sold in 2005. From there Gabe helped define the field of Gamification. In this episode, we get to discuss Gabe's full background, both the ups and downs of life, including: The power of games and their application to the rest of the world What is "Gamification" How to recognize when to change your life Why it can be so important to take a step back The importance of doing the self-work as an entrepreneur His success with building Trimedia Growing his newest company Onward The future of tech-life balance Ambition Today Question of the Day™ : “On the topic of tech life balance, how do you recommend people keep themselves in check?” The Single Greatest Piece of Advice Anthony Has Ever Learned: Join the Ambition Today A-list to listen now! Quote Of The Episode: “The most important thing is to understand who you are and what your strengths and weaknesses are, and be able to name it” Links from this episode: Gabe's Books on Amazon Onward Gabe's Twitter Gamification WeWork Founder Institute Audible ========== This episode of Ambition Today is supported by: + Founder Institute New York: goo.gl/RGezjW + WeWork: goo.gl/hyzzuP + Toptal: goo.gl/OObfM9 + Audible: goo.gl/Urjq6k ========== Visit Ambition Today on the Web: www.siskar.co/ambitiontoday Follow Kevin Siskar on Twitter: twitter.com/TheSiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Instagram: instagram.com/thesiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Facebook: facebook.com/kevin.siskar Add Kevin Siskar on Snapchat: snapchat.com/add/krsiskar Kevin Siskar brings you ambitious entrepreneurs inspired by Tim Ferriss Show, How I Built This with Guy Raz, Residual Income, Entrepreneur on Fire, NPR, HBR, TED Radio Hour, the StartUp podcast with Alex Blumberg by Gimlet Media, Pat Flynn, Tony Robbins, The Uncertain Hour, Bigger Pockets, Art of Charm, Dave Ramsey, Planet Money, Jocko Podcast, EntreLeadership, Zigler, APM Marketplace, This Week In Startups with Jason Calacanis, Mixergy, Seth Godin, Joe Rogan Experience, GaryVee, James Altucher, Monocle 24, How to Start a Startup, Crooked Media, and The $100 MBA Show with Omar Zenhom, and Casey Neistat. Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS (apple.co/1NRRPzL), on Google Play Music (goo.gl/LmmciJ), or on Stitcher for Android (bit.ly/1Rn01dy).
From a small town in Western Kentucky to becoming an entrepreneur on Madison Ave, Terry Young joins us on this episode of Ambition Today. Terry is a successful advertising entrepreneur and the CEO of Sparks & Honey, a company identifying and mapping emerging cultural waves through the use of machine learning systems, algorithms, and human insight. After earning his Master’s Degree in advertising, Terry started working in the digital advertising industry in 1995, when digital marketing was just getting started. A short two years later, he was running the company. Terry got the opportunity to live in China and help start-up initiatives while working for McKinsey. He also lived in Kazakhstan while in the Peace Corp where he helped small business shops with their financing and starting their businesses. Terry brings a great perspective on culture and new trends. On this episode, we also discuss: Growing up in a small town in Kentucky The impact of joining the Peace Corp Rebuilding the traditional advertising model The intersection of being gay and an entrepreneur. How Sparks & Honey maps culture Why predicting the future matters Defining micro signals and macro trends What is happening in the space industry Ambition Today Question of the Day™ : “How do you best recommend that people in organizations ride the waves in a trend?” The Single Greatest Piece of Advice Anthony Has Ever Learned: Join the Ambition Today A-list to listen now! Quote Of The Episode: “I say to every person who was here … that has left, you are also leaving your shape and your mold on the company, because it is a reflection on them too.” Links from this episode: Sparks & Honey Sparks & Honey Facebook Terry Young on Twitter Now, Next App Peace Corps WeWork Founder Institute ========== This episode of Ambition Today is supported by: + Founder Institute New York: goo.gl/RGezjW + WeWork: goo.gl/hyzzuP + Toptal: goo.gl/OObfM9 + Audible: goo.gl/Urjq6k ========== Visit Ambition Today on the Web: www.siskar.co/ambitiontoday Follow Kevin Siskar on Twitter: twitter.com/TheSiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Instagram: instagram.com/thesiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Facebook: facebook.com/kevin.siskar Add Kevin Siskar on Snapchat: snapchat.com/add/krsiskar Kevin Siskar brings you ambitious entrepreneurs inspired by Tim Ferriss Show, How I Built This with Guy Raz, Residual Income, Entrepreneur on Fire, NPR, HBR, TED Radio Hour, the StartUp podcast with Alex Blumberg by Gimlet Media, Pat Flynn, Tony Robbins, The Uncertain Hour, Bigger Pockets, Art of Charm, Dave Ramsey, Planet Money, Jocko Podcast, EntreLeadership, Zigler, APM Marketplace, This Week In Startups with Jason Calacanis, Mixergy, Seth Godin, Joe Rogan Experience, GaryVee, James Altucher, Monocle 24, How to Start a Startup, Crooked Media, and The $100 MBA Show with Omar Zenhom, and Casey Neistat. Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS (apple.co/1NRRPzL), on Google Play Music (goo.gl/LmmciJ), or on Stitcher for Android (bit.ly/1Rn01dy).
Anthony Pompliano is the Managing Partner at Full Tilt Capital, an early stage venture capital firm. Full Tilt Capital focuses exclusively on investing in world-class companies in the blockchain and crypto asset space. "Pomp" was raised in Raleigh, NC, and is one of the first south easterners that we have had on the Ambition Today podcast. He is the oldest brother of five and during his junior year of college, he was deployed to Iraq. During his deployment, he gained a unique perspective on life. His world traveling allowed him to learn about new cultures all around the world in order study human behavior. Once he returned from duty, he jumped into the world of Silicon Valley. He built two small technology businesses and worked for large tech companies like Facebook and Snapchat before starting Full Tilt Capital. Anthony brings us his knowledge, unique insight, and more on this episode of Ambition Today: Life lessons from being deployed to Iraq Building and selling his first technology business What it was like working for Facebook Full Tilt Capital's investment thesis How important a founders self-honesty is Why GPU will beat CPU's in the future The story of Standard American Mining Why Full Tilt is going all in on blockchain companies and crypto assets How to build a successful Angel List Syndicate Ambition Today Question of the Day™ : "How do you think about and manage your personal brand, and also find time to get your day to day operations work done and build Full Tilt? The Single Greatest Piece of Advice Anthony Has Ever Learned: Join the Ambition Today A-list to listen now! Quote Of The Episode: "You don't have to be honest with me. I want you to be, but you don't have to be. You have to be honest with yourself." Links from this episode: Full Tilt Capital Anthony’s Twitter Syndicate on Angellist Audible WeWork Founder Institute ========== This episode of Ambition Today is supported by: + Founder Institute New York: goo.gl/RGezjW + WeWork: goo.gl/hyzzuP + Toptal: goo.gl/OObfM9 + Audible: goo.gl/Urjq6k ========== Visit Ambition Today on the Web: www.siskar.co/ambitiontoday Follow Kevin Siskar on Twitter: twitter.com/TheSiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Instagram: instagram.com/thesiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Facebook: facebook.com/kevin.siskar Add Kevin Siskar on Snapchat: snapchat.com/add/krsiskar Kevin Siskar brings you ambitious entrepreneurs inspired by Tim Ferriss Show, How I Built This with Guy Raz, Residual Income, Entrepreneur on Fire, NPR, HBR, TED Radio Hour, the StartUp podcast with Alex Blumberg by Gimlet Media, Pat Flynn, Tony Robbins, The Uncertain Hour, Bigger Pockets, Art of Charm, Dave Ramsey, Planet Money, Jocko Podcast, EntreLeadership, Zigler, APM Marketplace, This Week In Startups with Jason Calacanis, Mixergy, Seth Godin, Joe Rogan Experience, GaryVee, James Altucher, Monocle 24, How to Start a Startup, Crooked Media, and The $100 MBA Show with Omar Zenhom, and Casey Neistat. Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS (apple.co/1NRRPzL), on Google Play Music (goo.gl/LmmciJ), or on Stitcher for Android (bit.ly/1Rn01dy).
This episode comes to you from the heart of New York City for our first live podcast episode discussing cryptocurrency, ICO, & blockchain law. In late January almost 100 founders gathered at the offices of McCarter & English for our January Founder Institute Meetup! The crypto founders there heard from Joe Daniels, who is the Co-Chair of the McCarter & English's Venture Capital & Emerging Growth Companies practice. Joe has worked on numerous SAFT & token offerings, including San Francisco based Quantstamp, which just raised $30 million in its pre-sale, along with Augmate, The Valorem Foundation, RealECoin, VIMarkets, CoinBoost, and RecylcleGO. During this event, Joe reviewed the current cryptocurrency & ICO laws in 2018. Learn the key things that you need to know about ICO's, the SEC, international business, SAFT agreements, and more. If you are interested in understanding the legalities around cryptocurrencies, tokens, and the blockchain, then you will enjoy this episode. The slides that Joe is going over during his presentation are available below if you want to follow along. They are packed with information, such as: What are Blockchain Tokens (Cryptocurrencies) What is an ICO How much has been raised in ICOs / SAFTs Regulatory Issues w/ ICOs The SEC's response to the emergence of cryptocurrencies Current Best Practices for cryptocurrencies Follow Along With The Slides From This Event on Siskar.co This episode of Ambition Today is supported by: + Founder Institute New York: goo.gl/RGezjW + WeWork: goo.gl/hyzzuP + Toptal: goo.gl/OObfM9 + Audible: goo.gl/Urjq6k ========== Visit Ambition Today on the Web: www.siskar.co/ambitiontoday Follow Kevin Siskar on Twitter: twitter.com/TheSiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Instagram: instagram.com/thesiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Facebook: facebook.com/kevin.siskar Add Kevin Siskar on Snapchat: snapchat.com/add/krsiskar Kevin Siskar brings you ambitious entrepreneurs inspired by Tim Ferriss Show, How I Built This with Guy Raz, Residual Income, Entrepreneur on Fire, NPR, HBR, TED Radio Hour, the StartUp podcast with Alex Blumberg by Gimlet Media, Pat Flynn, Tony Robbins, The Uncertain Hour, Bigger Pockets, Art of Charm, Dave Ramsey, Planet Money, Jocko Podcast, EntreLeadership, Zigler, APM Marketplace, This Week In Startups with Jason Calacanis, Mixergy, Seth Godin, Joe Rogan Experience, GaryVee, James Altucher, Monocle 24, How to Start a Startup, Crooked Media, and The $100 MBA Show with Omar Zenhom, and Casey Neistat. Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS (apple.co/1NRRPzL), on Google Play Music (goo.gl/LmmciJ), or on Stitcher for Android (bit.ly/1Rn01dy).
Today we have the pleasure of speaking with Brian Brault; a successful entrepreneur that has been recognized twice in his career by the Inc. 500 for building one of the fastest growing companies in America. Currently Brian is the Global Chairman of the Board at Entrepreneurs' Organization. He is also the founder of Advanced Facility Services and Pure Rooms which was deemed one of the best companies to work for in western New York and was awarded best entrepreneurial company in western New York. A graduate of the University of Buffalo’s School of Business, Brian is very active on community boards. Being the Global Chairman for Entrepreneurs’ Organization Brian helps grow their network of 12,000 entrepreneurial members in 54 countries. He believes in surrounding yourself with strong people because your success is a product of the five people that you spend the most time with. Today Brian talks about: What got him excited at a very young age to be an entrepreneur How he build Advanced Facility Services & Pure Rooms Why he supports Entrepreneur’s Organization globally Do you need to be in a major market like NY to be successful? His speech at the United Nations The importance of community for founders His 10/10/10 morning routine Ambition Today Question of the Day™: "What routines have you built in your life that contribute most to your success?" The Single Greatest Piece of Advice Brian Has Ever Learned: Join the Ambition Today A-list to listen now! Quote Of The Episode: “Everyone has a little bit of entrepreneurial spirit inside them it's just your tolerance for risk and how that is nurtured in your life will really determine how much you will pursue and build on that entrepreneurial spirit.” Links from this episode: Brian Brault LinkedIn Brian Brault Facebook Entrepreneurs' Organization EO + UN Pure Rooms These Precious Hands - Book WeWork Founder Institute This episode of Ambition Today is supported by: + Founder Institute New York: goo.gl/RGezjW + WeWork: goo.gl/hyzzuP + Toptal: goo.gl/OObfM9 + Audible: goo.gl/Urjq6k ========== Visit Ambition Today on the Web: www.siskar.co/ambitiontoday Follow Kevin Siskar on Twitter: twitter.com/TheSiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Instagram: instagram.com/thesiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Facebook: facebook.com/kevin.siskar Add Kevin Siskar on Snapchat: snapchat.com/add/krsiskar Kevin Siskar brings you ambitious entrepreneurs inspired by Tim Ferriss Show, Founder Psychology, How I Built This with Guy Raz, Residual Income, Entrepreneur on Fire, NPR, HBR, TED Radio Hour, the StartUp podcast with Alex Blumberg by Gimlet Media, Pat Flynn, Tony Robbins, The Uncertain Hour, Bigger Pockets, Art of Charm, Dave Ramsey, Planet Money, Jocko Podcast, EntreLeadership, Zigler, APM Marketplace, This Week In Startups with Jason Calacanis, Mixergy, Seth Godin, Joe Rogan Experience, GaryVee, James Altucher, Monocle 24, How to Start a Startup, Crooked Media, and The $100 MBA Show with Omar Zenhom, and Casey Neistat. Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS (apple.co/1NRRPzL), on Google Play Music (goo.gl/LmmciJ), or on Stitcher for Android (bit.ly/1Rn01dy).
On this episode of Ambition Today we explore Peter Shankman’s journey. Peter is the perfect example of what happens when you combine creativity with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Peter shows us how ADHD can be a gift and a strong advantage in business. He is not only an entrepreneur, but an author and a notable public speaker. Many know him for founding Help A Reporter Out, (HARO). He is also the founder of ShankMinds Business Masterminds and he is the Host of the Faster Than Normal Podcast. Peter was born and raised in Manhattan, and was a New York City public school kid. After graduating from Boston University and going to Graduate school in Santa Barbara, CA, he started his professional career launching AOL Digital Newsroom. Peter is most well known for founding Help A Reporter Out, also known as HARO, which is the worlds largest public group of journalistic sources. In this episode, we talk about how Peter’s ADHD had a great impact on his many successes: Growing up in New York City Launching AOL Digital Newsroom The importance of having incredible mentors like Steve Case What is happening to the media industry today How Peter built Help A Reporter Out, (HARO) Using ADHD as an advantage How to create life rules to optimize your time Importance of self awareness Value of asking everyone "How Can I Help" Ambition Today Question of the Day™: "How do you think about attention management and how do you best optimize your life for it?" The Single Greatest Piece of Advice Peter Has Ever Learned: Join the Ambition Today A-list to listen now! Quote Of The Episode: "You have to put out 10 times the amount of help into the universe that you ask for." Links from this episode: Faster Than Normal Book - Out Now! Faster Than Normal Podcast FasterThanNormal.com Help A Reporter Out, (HARO) Shankman.com Peter Shankman on Twitter Peter Shankman on Facebook WeWork Founder Institute ========== This episode of Ambition Today is supported by: Founder Institute New York: goo.gl/RGezjW WeWork: goo.gl/hyzzuP Toptal: goo.gl/OObfM9 Audible: goo.gl/Urjq6k ========== Visit Ambition Today on the Web: www.siskar.co/ambitiontoday Follow Kevin Siskar on Twitter: twitter.com/TheSiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Instagram: instagram.com/thesiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Facebook: facebook.com/kevin.siskar Add Kevin Siskar on Snapchat: snapchat.com/add/krsiskar Kevin Siskar brings you ambitious entrepreneurs inspired by Tim Ferriss Show, How I Built This with Guy Raz, Residual Income, Entrepreneur on Fire, NPR, HBR, TED Radio Hour, the StartUp podcast with Alex Blumberg by Gimlet Media, Pat Flynn, Tony Robbins, The Uncertain Hour, Bigger Pockets, Art of Charm, Dave Ramsey, Planet Money, Jocko Podcast, EntreLeadership, Zigler, APM Marketplace, This Week In Startups with Jason Calacanis, Mixergy, Seth Godin, Joe Rogan Experience, GaryVee, James Altucher, Monocle 24, How to Start a Startup, Crooked Media, and The $100 MBA Show with Omar Zenhom, and Casey Neistat. Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS (apple.co/1NRRPzL), on Google Play Music (goo.gl/LmmciJ), or on Stitcher for Android (bit.ly/1Rn01dy).
In 2010 Sean Ellis coined the term Growth Hacking and now he joins us on Ambition Today. Sean is the Co-author of Hacking Growth with Morgan Brown and currently the CEO of Growth Hackers. Sean has had quite an impressive career both as a marketer and as an entrepreneur. He was the first marketer at Dropbox, Lookout and Xobni and he has taken companies LogMeIn and Uproar from launch to IPO. Sean is also known for popularizing the term product/market fit. We cover some of Sean's best practices for growing your company, as well as how he thinks of Growth Hacking as it continues to grow into the future. The story of Sean's entrepreneurial journey unlocks numerous insights along the way, including: What is "Growth Hacking" The role of family entrepreneurship on Sean The value of spending time abroad Being the first marketer at Dropbox, Lookout, & Eventbrite How pushing through the fear of failure has lead to success Making the leap from employee to entrepreneur Optimizing for reputation and learning over money How business teams need to be thinking about Growth The value of having a chip on your shoulder Ambition Today Question of the Day™: "What excites you? What motivates you to keep going?" The Single Greatest Piece of Advice Sean Has Ever Learned: Join the Ambition Today A-list to listen now! Quote Of The Episode: "For me, the two big motivating factors were reputation and learning. I wanted to build a reputation because that would open the door to the best learning opportunities." Links from this episode: Growth Hackers Hacking Growth Book Sean on Twitter Founder Institute WeWork ========== This episode of Ambition Today is supported by: + Founder Institute New York: goo.gl/RGezjW + WeWork: goo.gl/hyzzuP + Toptal: goo.gl/OObfM9 + Audible: goo.gl/Urjq6k ========== Visit Ambition Today on the Web: www.siskar.co/ambitiontoday Follow Kevin Siskar on Twitter: twitter.com/TheSiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Instagram: instagram.com/thesiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Facebook: facebook.com/kevin.siskar Add Kevin Siskar on Snapchat: snapchat.com/add/krsiskar Kevin Siskar brings you ambitious entrepreneurs inspired by Tim Ferriss Show, How I Built This with Guy Raz, Residual Income, Entrepreneur on Fire, NPR, HBR, TED Radio Hour, the StartUp podcast with Alex Blumberg by Gimlet Media, Pat Flynn, Tony Robbins, The Uncertain Hour, Bigger Pockets, Art of Charm, Dave Ramsey, Planet Money, Jocko Podcast, EntreLeadership, Zigler, APM Marketplace, This Week In Startups with Jason Calacanis, Mixergy, Seth Godin, Joe Rogan Experience, GaryVee, James Altucher, Monocle 24, How to Start a Startup, Crooked Media, and The $100 MBA Show with Omar Zenhom, and Casey Neistat. Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS (apple.co/1NRRPzL), on Google Play Music (goo.gl/LmmciJ), or on Stitcher for Android (bit.ly/1Rn01dy).
Over the summer we sat down with Adeo Ressi, the CEO of the Founder Institute, a startup accelerator program that operates in nearly 200 cities worldwide. Throughout his time as a founder, Adeo has pioneered innovations in the protection of founder rights, the raising of early-stage capital and the scaling of new businesses. Previous to the Founder Institute, Adeo has helped to create nearly $2 billion in shareholder value by founding or running nine businesses, including TheFunded, Game Trust, Xceed and Total New York. Adeo previously served on the Board of the X Prize Foundation to pursue his interests in space exploration and techniques to motivate human achievement. Throughout this episode it is clear that Adeo is passionate about mentoring Founders, space exploration, inspiring people to achieve their greatness, and more which includes: The best personality traits of the best founders How The Funded improved transparency in the VC industry The role fluid intelligence plays in entrepreneurs Managing your investors and protecting your equity How Adeo helped 2700 plus founders grow How to build startup ecosystems Why maintaining focus and avoiding distractions is mission critical How do you give meaning to your life's work Ambition Today Question of the Day™: "What is the end game? Where do you see Founder Institute and all your life’s work going?" Quote Of The Episode: "There are a lot of shiny things in the sand, that look very appealing to you and may be a cause for you to think about pivoting or adjusting the business model. I can tell you that most of the shiny things in the sand are not diamonds, they are knives waiting to kill you. You have to be very, very, very diligent to remain focused on your core mission" Links from this episode: Adeo Ressi on Twitter Adeo Ressi on Linkedin Founder Institute Founder DNA The Funded Toptal ========== This episode of Ambition Today is supported by: + Founder Institute New York: goo.gl/RGezjW + WeWork: goo.gl/hyzzuP + Toptal: goo.gl/OObfM9 + Audible: goo.gl/Urjq6k ========== Visit Ambition Today on the Web: www.siskar.co/ambitiontoday Follow Kevin Siskar on Twitter: twitter.com/TheSiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Instagram: instagram.com/thesiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Facebook: facebook.com/kevin.siskar Add Kevin Siskar on Snapchat: snapchat.com/add/krsiskar Kevin Siskar brings you ambitious entrepreneurs inspired by Tim Ferriss Show, How I Built This with Guy Raz, Residual Income, Entrepreneur on Fire, NPR, HBR, TED Radio Hour, the StartUp podcast with Alex Blumberg by Gimlet Media, Pat Flynn, Tony Robbins, The Uncertain Hour, Bigger Pockets, Art of Charm, Dave Ramsey, Planet Money, Jocko Podcast, EntreLeadership, Zigler, APM Marketplace, This Week In Startups with Jason Calacanis, Mixergy, Seth Godin, Joe Rogan Experience, GaryVee, James Altucher, Monocle 24, How to Start a Startup, Crooked Media, and The $100 MBA Show with Omar Zenhom, and Casey Neistat. Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS (apple.co/1NRRPzL), on Google Play Music (goo.gl/LmmciJ), or on Stitcher for Android (bit.ly/1Rn01dy).
On this episode Andrew Weinrich sits down with us at his offices in Brooklyn New York. Andrew is the founder of Andrews Roadmaps and the host of the new "Predicting Our Future" podcast. As a serial entrepreneur, Andrew created the first ever social network called, Six Degrees. At its height, SixDegrees had around 3,500,000 fully registered members before being bought by YouthStream Media Networks in 1999 for $125 million. In more recent years, Andrew has sold 2 more businesses including Xtify and Meet-Moi. He is currently the co-founder and Chairman of Indicative, a data analytics startup. He also hosts Predicting Our Future, a podcast about the next revolutions in technology. Andrew shares many incredible lessons from his experience over the last 20 years, such as: How the first social network, Six Degrees, was created What it was like to exit a company for over $100 million How Social Networking has changed over the last 20 years The future of Social Media What ties all of Andrew's companies together How to ride the "wave" of new technologies as they emerge How he is Predicting Our Future Ambition Today Question of the Day™: "What advice do you have for people who are obsessing over getting rich and making a large amount of money to solve all of their problems? Quote Of The Episode: "You want to be a critical thinker. Investors assume first and foremost, that whatever plan you have is wrong. That whatever you launch won't be right, it will require pivoting. The question is are you someone who is capable of pivoting? If you're a critical thinker, you will be capable of pivoting." "Entrepreneurs take advantage of moments in history. They are not determinative of those moments." Links from this episode: Andrew Weinrich on Twitter Andrew Weinrich Linkedin Andrew's Roadmaps Predicting Our Future podcast SixDegrees.com Founder Institute New York Toptal Audible ========== This episode of Ambition Today is supported by: + Founder Institute New York: goo.gl/RGezjW + Toptal: goo.gl/OObfM9 + Audible: goo.gl/Urjq6k ========== Visit Ambition Today on the Web: www.siskar.co/ambitiontoday Follow Kevin Siskar on Twitter: twitter.com/TheSiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Instagram: instagram.com/thesiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Facebook: facebook.com/kevin.siskar Add Kevin Siskar on Snapchat: snapchat.com/add/krsiskar Kevin Siskar brings you ambitious entrepreneurs inspired by Tim Ferriss, How I Built This, Residual Income, Entrepreneur on Fire, NPR, HBR, TED Radio Hour, the StartUp podcast, Pat Flynn, Tony Robbins, The Uncertain Hour, Bigger Pockets, Art of Charm, Dave Ramsey, Planet Money, Jocko Podcast, EntreLeadership, Zigler, APM Marketplace, Mixergy, Seth Godin, GaryVee, James Altucher, Monocle 24, How to Start a Startup, and The $100 MBA Show with Omar Zenhom, and Casey Neistat. Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS (apple.co/1NRRPzL), on Google Play Music (goo.gl/LmmciJ), or on Stitcher for Android (bit.ly/1Rn01dy).
From the brand new Fulton Center in downtown Manhattan we bring you Dennis Mortensen. He is founder and CEO at X.ai, an artificial intelligence driven personal assistant named Amy who schedules meetings for you. Growing up in a family of entrepreneurs in Denmark, Dennis initially strove to be a game engineer at IBM. He soon failed to resist the call to entrepreneurship though as he started and sold three of his first four companies. Dennis is now changing the way people interact with artificial intelligence by pioneering it's future. After raising $30+ million and growing the team to 93 people, he is hyper focused on building X.ai to rescue people's time. It is clear that focus is something he excels at from some of the unique lessons he shared: Growing up in Denmark in a family of entrepreneurs Difference between being a serial entrepreneur and a first time founder The impact immigrants can have creating jobs in the United States Importance of doing one thing really well Keeping a clear mind is one of the keys to success Why this wave of artificial intelligence is different from any before it Where the future of Artificial Intelligence is going Ambition Today Question of the Day™: "As a serial entrepreneur how do you manage your life and prevent burnout?" Quote Of The Episode: "You can start to think again, and really good ideas come with that. I take pride in the mental freedom Inbox Zero provides me every day" Links from this episode: X.ai Dennis Mortensen on Twitter Dennis Mortensen Linkedin Founder Institute New York Audible Toptal ========== This episode of Ambition Today is supported by: + Founder Institute New York: goo.gl/RGezjW + Toptal: goo.gl/OObfM9 + Audible: goo.gl/Urjq6k ========== Visit Ambition Today on the Web: www.siskar.co/ambitiontoday Follow Kevin Siskar on Twitter: twitter.com/TheSiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Instagram: instagram.com/thesiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Facebook: facebook.com/kevin.siskar Add Kevin Siskar on Snapchat: snapchat.com/add/krsiskar Kevin Siskar brings you ambitious entrepreneurs inspired by Tim Ferriss, How I Built This, Residual Income, Entrepreneur on Fire, NPR, HBR, TED Radio Hour, the StartUp podcast, Pat Flynn, Tony Robbins, The Uncertain Hour, Bigger Pockets, Art of Charm, Dave Ramsey, Planet Money, Jocko Podcast, EntreLeadership, Zigler, APM Marketplace, Mixergy, Seth Godin, GaryVee, James Altucher, Monocle 24, How to Start a Startup, and The $100 MBA Show with Omar Zenhom, and Casey Neistat. Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS (apple.co/1NRRPzL), on Google Play Music (goo.gl/LmmciJ), or on Stitcher for Android (bit.ly/1Rn01dy).
Season Two of Ambition Today is happy to welcome Niv Dror, head of social media for Product Hunt. Niv boasts an impressive resume in both startups and finance, stemming from his education at UC Santa Barbara. After moving to Silicon Valley at a very young age, Niv had surprisingly little involvement in the tech world. It surrounded him entirely and thus he never noticed it, as water to a fish. However, after auditing a few hedge funds and VC funds as a CPA, he knew where his skills truly belonged. His taste of the tech community flourished very quickly, landing non-engineering jobs at DataFox, Meerkat, and Product Hunt. He aspired to add value without asking anything in return, and was rewarded with the experience and skills to climb the ranks at multiple organizations, currently aiding the curation of the world's most cutting-edge technology on Product Hunt. Kevin and Niv explore what's behind this drive, the man he gives credit to involuntarily kickstarting his success, and much more: Growing up in Israel and moving to the U.S. at a young age. Pursuing a finance degree and applying it to the startup world. Getting exposure to the tech industry by auditing a successful VC. Building an engaging community around a product. What changes we can see in social in 2017. The war of pronunciation for “gif”. We why all love gifs and how Twitter is the perfect platform. Where Product Hunt is heading. Ambition Today Question of the Day™: "Should people optimize for learning or for earning?" Quote Of The Episode: "Community is everything. Without the community, Product Hunt wouldn't work." Links from this episode: Niv Dror on Twitter Product Hunt Niv's Tattoo in TIME Magazine Kevin's Product Hunt Live Chat Founder Institute New York Audible Toptal ========== This episode of Ambition Today is supported by: + Founder Institute New York: goo.gl/RGezjW + Toptal: goo.gl/OObfM9 + Audible: goo.gl/Urjq6k ========== Visit Ambition Today on the Web: www.siskar.co/ambitiontoday Follow Kevin Siskar on Twitter: twitter.com/TheSiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Instagram: instagram.com/thesiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Facebook: facebook.com/kevin.siskar Add Kevin Siskar on Snapchat: snapchat.com/add/krsiskar Kevin Siskar brings you ambitious entrepreneurs inspired by Tim Ferriss, How I Built This, Residual Income, Entrepreneur on Fire, NPR, HBR, TED Radio Hour, the StartUp podcast, Pat Flynn, Tony Robbins, The Uncertain Hour, Bigger Pockets, Art of Charm, Dave Ramsey, Planet Money, Jocko Podcast, EntreLeadership, Zigler, APM Marketplace, Mixergy, Seth Godin, GaryVee, James Altucher, Monocle 24, How to Start a Startup, and The $100 MBA Show with Omar Zenhom, and Casey Neistat. Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS (apple.co/1NRRPzL), on Google Play Music (goo.gl/LmmciJ), or on Stitcher for Android (bit.ly/1Rn01dy).
In keeping with last weeks' real estate theme, Episode 25 of Ambition Today finds us across the table from Joe Fairless, Real Estate Investor and Host of the Best Real Estate Investing Advice Ever Show. Joe set his roots in advertising after a bit of soul-searching during his undergrad years at Texas Tech. Fighting complacency, he left Madison Ave. for the allure of real estate investing and entrepreneurship, and was met with incredible success, with due credit to his persistence and work ethic. Owing his early sense of drive to his start in landscaping, Joe Fairless has always had an entrepreneurial mindset. After leaving his teenage lawn-mowing business, J&J Landscaping, Joe tried to cling to his high school football career by attending a junior college near his home town of Dallas. After transferring, he went on to graduate with a degree in advertising and quickly rose through the ranks of executive marketing, while investing in real estate as a side project and finding passion in that venture. Joe applied his trademark tenacity to his newfound love of investing and now controls approximately $85 million worth of rental property. Kevin digs into the factors behind Joe's success, and much more: +The seemingly hidden on-ramp of landscaping as a teenage job to eventually invest in real estate. +Exploring passions during college to find what interests you. +Applying lessons from the corporate world to an entrepreneurial startup. +Leaving a comfortable job to pursue your real dreams. +How to break into the shark-infested waters of commercial real estate. +The 75/25 rule of listening/asking when approaching mentors. +Acknowledging your strengths. +Acknowledging your weaknesses and surrounding yourself with people who help make up for them. +The grit of making your ambition come to life. Ambition Today Question of the Day™: "As a thought leader, how does ambition play a role in your life?" ========== This episode of Ambition Today is supported by: + Founder Institute New York: goo.gl/RGezjW + Toptal: goo.gl/OObfM9 + Audible: goo.gl/Urjq6k ========== Visit Ambition Today on the Web: www.siskar.co/ambitiontoday Follow Kevin Siskar on Twitter: twitter.com/TheSiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Instagram: instagram.com/thesiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Facebook: facebook.com/kevin.siskar Add Kevin Siskar on Snapchat: snapchat.com/add/krsiskar Kevin Siskar brings you ambitious entrepreneurs inspired by Tim Ferriss, How I Built This, Residual Income, Entrepreneur on Fire, NPR, HBR, TED Radio Hour, the StartUp podcast, Pat Flynn, Tony Robbins, The Uncertain Hour, Bigger Pockets, Art of Charm, Dave Ramsey, Planet Money, Jocko Podcast, EntreLeadership, Zigler, APM Marketplace, Mixergy, Seth Godin, GaryVee, James Altucher, Monocle 24, How to Start a Startup, and The $100 MBA Show with Omar Zenhom, and Casey Neistat. Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS (apple.co/1NRRPzL), on Google Play Music (goo.gl/LmmciJ), or on Stitcher for Android (bit.ly/1Rn01dy).
Any amount of research into the seemingly eternal-growing market of real estate investment will almost surely make one familiar with Matt Rodak. The 2007 John Carroll grad is the founder and CEO of Fund That Flip, a company which allows anyone to apply for fast and affordable funding in the rehabilitative real estate investment business. The New York based startup had already raised $2 million by April 2016, shortly after graduating from Manhattan's Entrepreneur Roundtable Accelerator in the summer of 2015 and Founder Institute New York prior to that. Fund That Flip finds its niche by bridging the gap between accredited investors and vetted real estate rehab projects in the U.S. On this episode of Ambition Today, Matt Rodak discusses his seemingly inevitable entrepreneurial roots (despite his "best efforts") as the son of a business owner. He explains how his relationship with his father, and him owning his own company before and during college, led to Matt's on-again, off-again kinship with business ownership. Today, Matt capitalizes on the experiences of his youth by taking action to solve the problems he notices in his industry, such as streamlining the loan application process for prospective "flippers". We hear about his journey to where he is, his advice on how to get there, and much more: +Maturing in an entrepreneurial-spirited family. +Paying for college by advancing a teenage lawn-mowing gig to a profitable business that he was able to sell during his sophomore year at JCU. +Being introduced to the real estate market through his early exposure to landscaping. +What to study in college vs. what to leave to education via real-world experience. +Bringing an entrepreneurial spirit to a non-entrepreneurial position at a large business. +Using lessons from upper management to implement starting a business. +Creating a business to streamline and eliminate the fallacies of market norms. +Employing the JOBS Act to capitalize on a brand-new industry. +Ownership vs. Accountability in life. Ambition Today Question of the Day™: "How do you align the ambitions of your team with the ambitions of the company?" ========== This episode of Ambition Today is supported by: + Founder Institute New York: goo.gl/RGezjW + Toptal: goo.gl/OObfM9 + Audible: goo.gl/Urjq6k ========== Follow Kevin Siskar on Twitter: twitter.com/TheSiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Instagram: instagram.com/thesiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Facebook: facebook.com/kevin.siskar Add Kevin Siskar on Snapchat: snapchat.com/add/krsiskar Visit Ambition Today on the Web: www.siskar.co/ambitiontoday Kevin Siskar brings you ambitious entrepreneurs inspired by Tim Ferriss, Entrepreneur on Fire, NPR, HBR, TED Radio Hour, the StartUp podcast, Pat Flynn, Tony Robbins, The Uncertain Hour, Bigger Pockets, Art of Charm, Dave Ramsey, Planet Money, Jocko Podcast, EntreLeadership, Zigler, APM Marketplace, Mixergy, Seth Godin, #AskGaryVee, Monocle 24 and The $100 MBA Show with Omar Zenhom, and Casey Neistat. Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS (apple.co/1NRRPzL), on Google Play Music (goo.gl/LmmciJ), or on Stitcher for Android (bit.ly/1Rn01dy).
Over the last 30 years Howard Love has founded 15 companies and invested in over 50 early stage startups. His new book "The Startup J Curve" organizes his experience into the 6 phases startups go through as they grow. Howard also is the Founder & CEO of LoveToKnow, a digital publishing firm with over 30 million monthly visitors. With Coal Magnates and Aviators as his ancestors, entrepreneurship has been in Howard's bloodline for generations. In this episode, Kevin speaks to Howard about what he has learned from sitting on both sides of the table, both as a founder and an investor. We also discuss the 6 phases all startups go through according to Howard's new book The Startup J Curve. We also hear about the value of getting a formal education versus learning directly from the real world and much more: + Growing up in a family that encourages and breeds entrepreneurial spirit. + Dropping out of college to get real world experience. + Being resourceful in the startup space. + The grit it takes to get your company off the ground. + The knowledge and insight gained from writing a book. + Advancing the dialogue of startup culture through understanding of the J-curve. + The phases of a company: create, release, morph, model, scale, and harvest. Ambition Today Question of the Day™: "When you think about the younger version of yourself, how do you reconcile where you are now, and where you thought you would be?" ========== This episode of Ambition Today is supported by: + Founder Institute New York: https://goo.gl/RGezjW + Toptal: https://goo.gl/OObfM9 + Audible: https://goo.gl/Urjq6k ========== Follow Kevin Siskar on Twitter: twitter.com/TheSiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Instagram: instagram.com/thesiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Facebook: facebook.com/kevin.siskar Add Kevin Siskar on Snapchat: snapchat.com/add/krsiskar Visit Ambition Today on the Web: www.siskar.co/ambitiontoday Kevin Siskar brings you ambitious entrepreneurs inspired by Tim Ferriss, Entrepreneur on Fire, NPR, HBR, TED Radio Hour, the StartUp podcast, Pat Flynn, Tony Robbins, The Uncertain Hour, Bigger Pockets, Art of Charm, Dave Ramsey, Planet Money, Jocko Podcast, EntreLeadership, Zigler, APM Marketplace, Mixergy, Seth Godin, #AskGaryVee, Monocle 24 and The $100 MBA Show with Omar Zenhom, and Casey Neistat. Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS (apple.co/1NRRPzL), on Google Play Music (goo.gl/LmmciJ), or on Stitcher for Android (bit.ly/1Rn01dy).
Kelly Roach is the founder of Kelly Roach Coaching and host of the Unstoppable Success Radio podcast. With a resume of NFL cheerleader, fitness enthusiast, and mother, Kelly doesn’t exactly fit the usual business coach profile. In Episode 22 of Ambition Today Kelly gives us some great insight into how she leverages her unique experience to grow her businesses, how she published an internationally bestselling book, and why she started the Unstoppable Success Radio podcast. Growing up in a financially struggling family, Kelly learned the value of hard work at a very early age while working for the NFL before she was 20. With an unparalleled work ethic she quickly climbed the ladder of success in Corporate America. Soon after she then realized her passion for aiding others in pursuit of their dreams. We cover how Kelly now does just that and more on this episode of Ambition Today: + Going out and working for what you want at an early age. + Applying her degree in Communications to create productive interactions in the business environment. + The importance of travel in shaping a healthy lifestyle mentality. + Lessons learned from holding multiple positions on an NFL team. + Appreciating the value of lesser jobs to build knowledge before having your dream job. + The inherent ebb and flow of startups. + Lifestyle building via business development. + Why building a personal brand is so important now. + Publishing her bestselling book & starting a podcast. + The necessity of human contact in growing your business. Ambition Today Question of the Day™: "What does Ambition mean to you and how do you satisfy your personal ambition each day?" ========== Follow Kevin Siskar on Twitter: twitter.com/TheSiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Instagram: instagram.com/thesiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Facebook: facebook.com/kevin.siskar Add Kevin Siskar on Snapchat: snapchat.com/add/krsiskar Visit Ambition Today on the Web: www.siskar.co/ambitiontoday Kevin Siskar brings you ambitious entrepreneurs inspired by Tim Ferriss, Entrepreneur on Fire, NPR, HBR, TED Radio Hour, the StartUp podcast, Pat Flynn, Tony Robbins, The Uncertain Hour, Bigger Pockets, Art of Charm, Dave Ramsey, Planet Money, Jocko Podcast, EntreLeadership, Zigler, APM Marketplace, Mixergy, Seth Godin, #AskGaryVee, Monocle 24 and The $100 MBA Show with Omar Zenhom, and Casey Neistat. Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS (apple.co/1NRRPzL), on Google Play Music (goo.gl/LmmciJ), or on Stitcher for Android (bit.ly/1Rn01dy).
The godfather of social media, Jonathan Abrams, joins us on this episode of Ambition Today. He is now the founder & CEO of Nuzzel, a new platform to discover the top news from your friends and influencers. Letting users cut through the muddle of content on social media to emphasize only their most relevant content. Previously, Jonathan has founded several other companies; Socializr, HotLinks, Founder's Den and most notably Friendster. He is also a top-rated mentor at The Founder Institute and has been extensively involved in the Silicon Valley entrepreneurial community for over ten years. After growing up in Canada and working for Nortel he became an employee at Netscape during it's prime. Abrams went on to found Friendster in 2002 before the wider adoption of, at the time newcomers; MySpace (2003), Hi5 (2003), Facebook (2004) and other social networking sites. Friendster was one of the first of these sites to attain over 1 million members. In 2012, Abrams recognized a fallacy in the market of social news readers, when the programs of the time weren’t what he was looking for: fast, easy-to-use, and social. Today Jonathan talks about his solution to this problem with his new company Nuzzel, his appearance on Chelsea on Netflix, and much more: + Navigating the seemingly minuscule Canadian computer science marketplace. + Being a first-time entrepreneur during the dot-com boom and bust. + How Friendster competed with Facebook in the developing market of social media. + Using social curation to launch Nuzzel. + Trying to reach a wide audience with relevant information. + The future of Nuzzel. + Why e-mail remains king in the world of social media. + Surviving in Silicon Valley by not getting ahead of yourself. + The future of the social landscape. Ambition Today Question of the Day™: "What does Ambition mean to you and how do you satisfy your personal ambition each day?" ========== Follow Kevin Siskar on Twitter: twitter.com/TheSiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Instagram: instagram.com/thesiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Facebook: facebook.com/kevin.siskar Add Kevin Siskar on Snapchat: snapchat.com/add/krsiskar Visit Ambition Today on the Web: www.siskar.co/ambitiontoday Kevin Siskar brings you ambitious entrepreneurs inspired by Tim Ferriss, Entrepreneur on Fire, NPR, HBR, TED Radio Hour, the StartUp podcast, Pat Flynn, Tony Robbins, The Uncertain Hour, Bigger Pockets, Art of Charm, Dave Ramsey, Planet Money, Jocko Podcast, EntreLeadership, Zigler, APM Marketplace, Mixergy, Seth Godin, #AskGaryVee, Monocle 24 and The $100 MBA Show with Omar Zenhom, and Casey Neistat. Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS (apple.co/1NRRPzL), on Google Play Music (goo.gl/LmmciJ), or on Stitcher for Android (bit.ly/1Rn01dy).
Over the years WeWork has grown to become a $16 billion empire of co-working office spaces that are disrupting the traditional real estate markets all over the world. Our guest today, Jesse Middleton, joined the team as the founder of WeWork Labs, the company’s startup focused community. Since then he has helped the company grow into the giant it is today. Recently he has just joined the venture capital firm Flybridge as a General Partner. Early on with entrepreneurial parents, Jesse learned that he did not have to take the traditional path in life and that he could forge his own future. He started to do just that, as he founded his first company before even going to college. Fast forward to Fast Company magazine once comparing Jesse to Jack Dorsey, then onto his time building WeWork Labs, and now his time as a VC at Flybridge. Jesse has a great story full of many lessons, such as: + Recognizing at an early age the ability to create your own path in life. + The importance of keeping a clear focus at the early stages of a new company. + How Jesse founded WeWork Labs. + Just get started and go. + The lessons from actively helping grow a $16 billion company. + Why long term vision is so important for the founders of companies. + What is next for WeWork Labs. + The intersection of community building and being an investor. + The future of Venture Capital. Ambition Today Question of the Day™: “What does Ambition mean to you and how has it driven you?” ========== Follow Kevin Siskar on Twitter: twitter.com/TheSiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Instagram: instagram.com/thesiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Facebook: facebook.com/kevin.siskar Add Kevin Siskar on Snapchat: snapchat.com/add/krsiskar Visit Ambition Today on the Web: www.siskar.co/ambitiontoday Kevin Siskar brings you ambitious entrepreneurs inspired by Tim Ferriss, Entrepreneur on Fire, NPR, HBR, TED Radio Hour, the StartUp podcast, Pat Flynn, Tony Robbins, The Uncertain Hour, Bigger Pockets, Art of Charm, Dave Ramsey, Planet Money, Jocko Podcast, EntreLeadership, Zigler, APM Marketplace, Mixergy, Seth Godin, #AskGaryVee, Monocle 24 and The $100 MBA Show with Omar Zenhom, and Casey Neistat. Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS (apple.co/1NRRPzL), on Google Play Music (goo.gl/LmmciJ), or on Stitcher for Android (bit.ly/1Rn01dy).
From the CBS EcoMedia office’s in New York City, Serial Social Entrepreneur Paul Polizzotto, who is one of the most passionate and dedicated entrepreneurs I know, joins us for episode 19. Paul is the founder and CEO of CBS EcoMedia, which harnesses the power of advertising and transforms it into a powerful engine for positive social change. Paul’s personal philosophy and actions around social entrepreneurship over his lifetime have created an incredible story thus far. His journey started in California when he was younger and used to surf the then polluted waters of Santa Monica Bay. Paul noticed that the existing companies in the contract cleaning industry were improperly discharging contaminated water into the storm drains, which then drained into the bay that his friends and him surfed in. His first company Property Prep helped to improve those conditions through a solution that properly disposed of the contaminated water. He now works to improve the world through his most recent company CBS EcoMedia, which was acquired by CBS and funds the most effective non profit companies that are taking on the most urgent social issues of our time. In this episode we also discuss: + Seeing opportunity around you in the world everyday. + How surfing and risk taking has influenced Paul as an entrepreneur. + What happens at the intersection of art and engineering. + Difference between working hard FOR an idea and working hard ON an idea. + How to be receptive to the right ideas in your life. + Paul’s 4 criteria for knowing if an idea is worthwhile to pursue. + How Paul created the national Adopt-A-Waterway Program in the United States. + Using existing business models to transform other industries. + The partnership with CBS that led to EcoMedia being acquired. + If you get exactly what you want, will you have to courage to follow through with to meet your goals. Ambition Today Question of the Day™: How should a person take an idea they have and navigate it into reality? ========== Follow Kevin Siskar on Twitter: twitter.com/TheSiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Instagram: instagram.com/thesiskar Add Kevin Siskar on Snapchat: snapchat.com/add/krsiskar Visit Ambition Today on the Web: www.siskar.co/ambitiontoday Kevin Siskar brings you ambitious entrepreneurs inspired by Tim Ferriss, Entrepreneur on Fire, NPR, HBR, TED Radio Hour, the StartUp podcast, Pat Flynn, Tony Robbins, The Uncertain Hour, Bigger Pockets, Art of Charm, Dave Ramsey, Planet Money, Jocko Podcast, EntreLeadership, Zigler, APM Marketplace, Mixergy, Seth Godin, #AskGaryVee, Monocle 24 and The $100 MBA Show with Omar Zenhom, and Casey Neistat. Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS (apple.co/1NRRPzL), on Google Play Music (goo.gl/LmmciJ), or on Stitcher for Android (bit.ly/1Rn01dy).
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