Day Zero Podcast

We always talk about becoming who we were meant to be, what if we were just being who we were meant to be? Seems a bit deep, but we often don't allow ourselves to simply be ourselves. We touch on that issue in this episode.   On this episode we interview the Founder of Daemon, Steven Escobar.   We talk about how Steven overcame the MEB process, ventured into IB directly from the Army, and how he tied all of these experiences to create his brand.    A key theme of this episode is how closely that the process of self-awareness ties into and influences your entrepreneurial journey.  

On this episode we interview Digital Marketing Expert, Founder of Civilized Cavemen, and New York Times Best Selling Author George Bryant. George's personal journey is a story of triumph through adversity. Specifically, during his career as a marine he overcame a one-year period of rehabilitation after almost losing his legs in Somalia, due to exercise induced compartmental syndrome. After multiple deployments to Afghanistan, he was medically discharged from the United States Marines due to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. However, it's George's journey to overcome this adversity that led to his current success as an entrepreneur. During his transition out of the Marines, George began a journey to achieve his health outcomes and documented it all online. Throughout the process, George attracted a following which would eventually become the civilized caveman community. On his way out of the marines, he sold an e-book to his community which earned more money in that one product than he had made in one year as an E6 Marine. That e-book, "The Paleo Kitchen" was eventually published and became a 22-week New York Times Best Seller (hitting #4 globally). It has been this commitment to radical openness that has allowed George to overcome PTSD, bouts of depression, and handle the many ups and downs associated with launching multiple successful business ventures. Some big pieces of advice that George has for aspiring entrepreneurs, it's important to acknowledge that riding on previous success can give you a false sense of security. There are some aspects of previous successes that may help you during your transition, however, what determines your success is the effort that your willing to put into what you are doing every single day. Additionally, if you bring too much ego into business then you are committing yourself to always needing to be right, meaning that others including your customers and your team are wrong, watch out for ego. Lastly, don't be too romantic over your business model to the point that you string an idea along way beyond it's shelf life, to your detriment. George is not a big consumer of other s' content as he is more of an intuitive experimenter who learns by doing. George states that "the enemy of success is when you consume so much information, that you end up not doing anything". In addition, he has been massively successful in his approach, which has helped translate into marketing and consulting opportunities helping companies like Adidas, Men's health, Women's Health, Titleist, Reebok, and Onnit ethically scale. Furthermore, he is a big believer in Gary Vee's belief that ideas are crap without execution. You can find George Bryant on LinkedIn, but according the George, the best place to keep up with his story is on Instagram @civilizedcaveman where George says he personally answers every single DM that's sent his way.

On this episode we interview Justine Evirs, Founder & CEO of The Paradigm Switch. Justine has commitment issues, as in, she continually finds problems that she feels compelled to solve, a mindset which serves as the foundation of her entrepreneurial journey. Justine joined the Navy after High School, an experience which she says was based out of a desire to explore and travel. While in the Navy, she attended college, becoming the first in her family to graduate from college. As a Sailor, she would go on to work in non-classified jobs which allowed her to realize things that she did not want to do. While serving, she unfortunately ran into medical issues which would eventually lead to her discharge. On her way out of the military, she made the important decision of going to school which led her to two things her eventual post military career in education as well as to meeting her significant other. Justine continued her service after her stint in the military by becoming a military spouse. While being a military spouse, and working in Academia, these experiences prompted her to begin her journey towards starting and being involved with organizations that give back to the Veteran community. Specifically, while working in Academia in Silicon Valley, Justine identified that one of the largest contributors has created the Paradigm Switch to offer Military Spouse with skills based scholarships. Justine discusses that one of the most important things is that if you a problem that is bother you because you feel that you have both the experiences and skillset to solve it, you should go for it. We also talk about breaking out the mold, and how the creative process can allow you to attack a problem as creatively as possible. On a more practical note, aspiring Entrepreneurs should not make the jump too early if they aren't ready. As huge proponent of learning through experience, she says that entrepreneurship is can be best exemplified by the the example that if you think you want to start a bakery but have never worked in a bakery....you should probably go work in a bakery.  Justine is also the regional director of Bunker Labs for the West Region of the United States. A true believer in the Bunker Labs mission, Justine has found a sense of purpose and community while serving veteran entrepreneurs through connecting them to resources that they need to be successful. We discuss the success of Bunker Labs, and also dissect the world of non-profits and how they work. Justine's recommended book(s) is: Traction by Gino Wickman (how to handle all of the crazy variables associated with running a company), Social Startup Sucess by Kathleen Janus (how to create a resilient non-profit). We hope you enjoy this episode. You can find Justine Evirs on LinkedIn as well as https://www.theparadigmswitch.org/. 

The Art of a Comeback: *Note: We had to utilize our PACE plan for this episode, so please excuse the lesser quality audio. Due to some connection and firewall issues, we had to record this episode using our phones. A lesson in perseverance and ingenuity! Sonny Tosco is West Point graduate (Class of 2006), former Air Defense officer, and tech entrepreneur. Inspired by his father, a Filipino immigrant, who was liberated by General MacArthur, Sonny made the decision at a young age to go to West Point and eventually serve his county. Sonny’s best memories from West Point is grinding through the Academy alongside his classmates and friends. He was inspired by his TAC (Tactical Officer) at West Point to commission into Air Defense. Initially Sonny transitioned into the corporate world in order to appease what he describes as the societal pressure that comes along with family expectations of what success and stability look like. However, while attending USC Marshall School of Business and managing accounts for an education company, Sonny realized he couldn’t deny his DNA as an entrpreneur. Utilizing his Army built skills of communication and team building, Sonny took “the leap”. In 2014, he left his corporate role and founded Limelight, a social app. After two years, Limelight failed. However, through this failure, Sonny learned the value of simplicity and listening to customer needs. In regards to Limelight, Sonny shares his insight as to when to know when to call it quits on a failed venture, something that some entrepreneurs struggle with. After Limelight, Sonny founded another company Anvil. Sonny also  took some time to learn coding in order to sharpen his abilities as a tech entrepreneur. Sonny eventually had to walk away from Anville after a falling out with his co-founder. Instead of giving up his dreams as an entrepreneur, Sonny doubled down on Tech by attending a coding academy and learning how to code for four months. This experience led him to learn the skills and make the connections that would form this basis of his current company, Ronin Dev. On the business, side, continued his entrepreneurial path by assisting another West Point grad with an industry product called Anvil. To keep the lights on at home while working on Anvil, Sonny built up Ronin Dev which offers a scalable way for non-technical founders to create Minimum Viable Products (MVPs) for their business ideas/ventures. Thus far, the Ronin Dev team has worked with over 950 companies through the products that they have created and the ideas that they have developed. Sonny’s biggest advice to Veterans leaving the military or Veteran entrepreneurs: Write a business plan that for your life at Age 50. Or, imagine what you want your lifestyle to look like 20-30 years from your transition point, and reverse plan from there. Sonny recommends the book, “The Secret” by Rhonda Byrne. “The Secret” helped him build stronger relationships and live life with a positive attitude. Sonny also uses the app, Calm, to meditate.

On episode 3, "Day Zero" interviews former Drill Sergeant turned fitness executive Vincent Antonuccio. Vince served in the military for 16 years throughout the 80s and early 90s. Post leaving the military, Vince took a series of jobs which eventually led him to join a venture with a group of friends that grew to over 30 locations in the Northeast. Vince's life has taken him from train thief from Boston MA, to co-owner of 30 gyms in the New England area. As any Army person knows, more than a couple of cadences have the lyrics "go to war or go to jail", for Vince, that was almost a reality. After making the decision to join the Army however, Vince never looked back and even built a new life transitioning from a lifestyle of bad habits to one of being a model soldier. Vince served a total of 16 years as a Combat Medic, and ended his career as a Drill Sergeant. From there he took a series of jobs from car salesman, to programmer, to eventually collaborating with a set of business partners to begin what became the chain of 30 gyms they would build together. In this episode, we gain some serious wisdom from a former NCO. First and foremost, Vince's biggest piece of advice to soldiers transitioning out to of the Army is that if you survived the Army, you already have in you the skills you need to be successful in the civilian world. On the business advice, the hardest part of starting a business is often taking the initial leap, you've got to do it. Lastly, Vince discusses a topic that we don't often discuss which is knowing when to make the transition out of the rat race and into retirement, and how to come to terms with what it is that we really need in life. Vince's recommended book is "The Road Less Travelled" by Scott Peck, which can be summed up by the quote: "Life is difficult...once we truly know that life is difficult-once we truly understand and accept it-then life is no longer difficult." His favorite app is the calendar, use it to organize your life. Lastly, Vince's advice to avoid the "Transition Twenty", try to find something that you like doing and keep moving!

On episode 2 "Day Zero" goes international (and a bit Dangerous) when we interview Canadian clothing entrepreneur Jeff Alpaugh, Founder and CEO of Jeff Alpaugh Custom. Please note that this episode is 1 of 2. We leave a lot to be discussed at the end of part 1, which we will cover in part 2 (to be released at a later date). In Part 2, we will go into detail about Jeff's appearance on "Dragon's Den", the Canadian version of "Shark Tank", and how he leveraged some Army skills during the hype phase! Jeff's life has taken him from a kid who didn't know a thing about dressing well, to the creator of "The World's Most Dangerous Shirt." Jeff is no stranger to challenge. After college he served as a Canadian Army Officer where he served in the Infantry and trained with other foreign Armies in South America. Uzi and Jeff met at Ranger School- where they both did a little "extra credit" at Fort Benning. While in college, Jeff became interested in clothing while he worked for high end clothiers in Canada. These experiences inspired him to go on to found his business, Jeff Alpaugh Custom. While still on active duty, Jeff took leave to travel to Vietnam to source the finest materials and manufacturers in the world. He then returned to Canada to market his product to anyone who would listen. Whether on Facebook or the street, Jeff wasn't afraid to roll up his sleeves and promote his product in order to get his business up and running.  In this episode, we dive into the restrictions the military can inflict on creative personalities. While this can be stifling, we learn that Jeff used his Army background in a positive way- by instilling in him: discipline, tenacity, and persistence. Also, we go in to knowing when to be creative, and when to turn on the Army side of skills. As far as business goes, Jeff teaches us how important it is to believe in yourself and your product. This belief needs to be communicated to your customer in order to build a real brand. By overcoming doubt (both your own and others') and never quitting on yourself or your business can be the key to breakthrough and success. Jeff's recommended book is: Shoe Dog by Phil Knight. As you will hear, this book has transformed Jeff's approach to business and life. 

On this episode we interview Dan Kanivas, Managing Partner and Co-founder of Triple Summit Advisors. Dan's personal journey took him from high student at Westchester to Wealth Manager in San Francisco. He discusses his background and how that got him to Harvard, and eventually into the Army. Dan was an Army Artillery officer, a process which takes a long time due to the need to understand a wide array of platforms involved. Dan talks about his transition process from taking the GMAT in Baghdad, to failing to make traction during his 10 month gap from out-process to MBA. We discuss the decision to get an MBA, and factors to consider when making that decision. Dan eventually attended Haas School of Business at Berkeley. If he has one big piece of advice as well as one thing that he would redo during the out-process, he would focus his time on networking and improving on networking skills. On the business side, we discuss the need to understand capitalization and addressable market. Dan recounts his journey from Prudential to Zipline, and eventually starting his own wealth management fund post taking his spouse's advice. From a business lesson standpoint, Dan is a big believer that if you don't truly understand the market you will sell to you, then your odds of failure are high as well as if someone is investing your money, they better have skin in the game. Additionally, we talk about how some business models are tried and true.  Dan's recommended book(s) is: The Intelligent Investor, by Ben Graham, Letters by Warren Buffet, Personal Finance for Dummies by Eric Tyson: Excellent Comprehensive resource, The Richest Man in Babylon. Best resource to get a better understanding of Business: Wall Street Journal. We hope you enjoy this episode. You can find Dan on LinkedIn and his company at: http://www.triplesummitadvisors.com/