Fans First

I'm very fortunate to be joined by Michael Breen for this episode on Fans First. It's been a pleasure getting to know this brilliant marketer since we both started living in Toronto in early 2019. He drops dimes for students, brands, marketers, salespeople and beyond. The level of thinking that goes into his work and projects, is simply world-class. Michael is an Entrepreneur, Digital Marketer & Designer with expertise in Advertising, Brand Development & Content Strategy. Having graduated with a B.Sc. Marketing, Innovation & Technology and shaping strategies for some industry-leading digital media companies, he joined bold. studios, an award-winning creative production studio as Digital Director in 2017. Over the past 25 years, bold has helped create + launch some of the world’s most successful brands. Michael’s role at the studio involves assisting clients in defining their core objectives, mission + value propositions, understanding the forces influencing consumer decisions within the marketplace and shaping stories that resonate with target audiences through creative content. Working with bold’s incredible production team, +5,000 pieces of video content have been produced in the last 3 years for major global brands including Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Jameson, Allianz, Red Bull & many more. Michael’s latest venture ALLSORTS_ is a new world cultural consultancy which leverages strategic think, a proprietary technology stack + global network of creative consultants to help brands form meaningful connections with the sub-cultures to aspire to live within. Launching in Spring 2020 the new project is aiming to disrupt the advertising industry and redistribute wasted advertising budgets into the communities brands are striving to connect with. You can find out more about Michael by checking out his LinkedIn, http://boldstudios.ie, or http://allsorts.io

James Rankin is a serial entrepreneur from Ottawa, Canada. He started his first company, RM Lawn Care, at just 16 years old, which he sold and has gone on to start 2 more companies, North Brew Coffee, which sells fair trade, organic coffee, and SmileyBars, selling simple ingredient, nutritious health bars. He has been featured as a guest on various podcasts, and has spoken at many schools and universities as a motivational speaker, including Algonquin College, University of Ottawa and the University of Toronto. James grew up with a passion for charity and making a difference in the world, which is why part of every purchase from North Brew and Smiley Bars goes towards local homeless shelters and food pantries. He believes that entrepreneurship should not just be about making money, but it should also serve a greater purpose in the world. Follow James on Social Instagram YouTube

Tyler Culbertson is a social media marketing professional for the world's top business influencers and lifestyle brands. With over 10 years of experience, Tyler has built and managed a social following of more than 30 million followers across all major social networks and has consulted for 40 different industries. He's had the privilege to work and consult for his hero's in business and skateboarding: Tony Robbins, RVCA, Jay Abraham, Toy Machine Skateboards, Ed Templeton, David Meerman Scott, and Joe Polish. Tyler is most passionate about his family, skateboarding, creativity and all things social media marketing. He lives in Carlsbad, CA with his wife and three kids. Interviewing Tyler was an exciting moment for me as someone who's grown up loving board sports. Huge fan of him and the creative culture it's created. We talk a lot about the sport and it's growth - he's grown up around it and been exposed to a perspective that few have. He's also had so much to do with the growth when those sports started exploding on social media. Truly a privilege to talk to him - we talk tactical and go into some awesome moments in his work and life. Follow or Connect with Tyler: LinkedIn Twitter Instagram

Rachel David is a thought leader in the influencer marketing space. Working with the biggest online talent in the world she has been able to bring some of the most innovative brand campaigns to life. Rachel has over 10 years corporate experience working in the media industry. Today she is a frequent speaker at digital marketing conferences such as Vidtalks, Influencethis and Playlist live. She just gave a TED talk on the topic of influencers. Rachel is also the director of the Buffer Festival board, one of the world's largest YouTube film festivals. When Rachel is not running the business she is a LinkedIn creator and angel investor in a handful of tech startups. Thank you Rachel for taking the time for this podcast (this was the 2nd ever podcast I recorded as a host and we started with technical difficulties that delayed the start a fair bit). If you're a listener and still reading this, Rachel offers a free course to listeners near the end of the podcast... may or may not be around the 48 minute mark and all it involves is a DM. Let me know what you, the listeners, think of the episode - this one was a lot of fun! LinkedIn Twitter Instagram Youtube 2019 Ted Talk

David Meerman Scott is a New York Times best selling author who recently came out with a brand new book title, ‘Fanocracy’. It details examples and strategies that can turn fans into a powerful marketing force for your business. David Meerman Scott spotted the real-time marketing revolution in its infancy and wrote five books about it including The New Rules of Marketing and PR, with more than 400,000 copies sold in English and available in 29 languages from Albanian to Vietnamese. Now David says the pendulum has swung too far in the direction of superficial online communications. Tech-weary and bot-wary people are hungry for true human connection. Organizations have learned to win by developing what David calls a “Fanocracy” -- tapping into the mindset that relationships with customers are more important than the products they sell to them. He is a massive live music fan, having been to 790 live shows since he was 15 years old, is passionate about the Apollo lunar program, and he loves to surf but isn’t very good at it. Buy Fanocracy Fanocracy - Passionate Fans Video Follow David Meerman Scott Instagram LinkedIn Twitter For more of David’s books, including The New Rules of Marketing & PR, click here.

Not everyone accomplishes what Buster has before the age of 20, in their life. Still, he remains an incredibly humble, unsuspecting sports fan who's simply following his passion. Buster is the 19-year-old founder of HoopsNation! He's an entrepreneur, host for the NBA, award-winning broadcaster and influencer. The team at Trufan is very grateful to have him on board as an advisor. Buster has a new podcast called The Buster Show and I'd highly recommend checking that out on his YouTube page below. Not only does he plan to host more podcast episodes, but he also plans to be featured as a guest on 365 podcasts in 2020 so I strongly suggest reaching out to him if you host a podcast. Follow and connect with Buster on Instagram @Buster, LinkedIn or Twitter. You can text him at (917) 970-2200. Follow the Buster Show on YouTube or Instagram @thebustershow Follow HoopsNation on Instagram @hoopsnation

Davon Reed is a professional basketball player who’s currently playing for the Miami Heat’s G League team and is also a Trufan investor. Davon grew up in New Jersey and he now hosts an annual basketball camp at his old school. After finishing his high school years, he went down to play ball and study at The University of Miami, formally known as ‘The U’. His NBA career began after bring selected 32nd overall by the Indiana Pacers in the 2017 NBA draft. After starting his career there and dealing with an injury, he had a brief stint with the Phoenix Suns before landing back in Miami this past off-season. Davon and I caught up during the 2019 off-season just after NBA Summer League had finished in Vegas and we were both in LA for a week. Can’t thank Davon enough for his time and support! Follow Davon Reed on Instagram and tag him in a story if you enjoy the episode. The Fans First Podcast is presented by Trufan. Trufan is a social intelligence platform equipping brands with the data they need to activate grassroots communities of super fans and micro-influencers. Trufan also recently acquired SocialRank, the most powerful audience segmentation platform in the world of social media. Check out our website or send Scott a message on Instagram or LinkedIn to learn more. Podcast produced by Now Content Studio.

Steven Sazant tells people he first discovered his love for business development at Salesforce, figured out his style at Google, and now gets to make some serious magic happen with Slack. BUT before that, he was a major sports fan and pursued that as a career path very intentionally. Steven Sazant currently works in enterprise business development at Slack, where he is responsible for bringing Slack's mission, "To make people's working lives simpler, more pleasant, and more productive", to life within the largest enterprises in North America. Steven has previously worked at some of the most prominent companies in tech, including the likes of Google and Salesforce. He just happens to have graduated from Brock University's Sport Management program, hoping that he would become a future General Manager in the National Hockey League. This did not happen, but nonetheless, Steven is and will forever be a die-hard sports fan. Follow Steven Sazant on LinkedIn and connect with a personalized message if you want to get in touch after listening. You can also find him on Instagram @stevensazant. The Fans First Podcast is presented by Trufan. Trufan is a social intelligence platform equipping brands with the data they need to activate grassroots communities of super fans and micro-influencers. Trufan also recently acquired SocialRank, the most powerful audience segmentation platform in the world of social media. Check out our website or send Scott a message on Instagram or LinkedIn to learn more. Podcast produced by Now Content Studio.

How does a serial entrepreneur from Canada eventually disrupt the VC industry by creating a business that will invest over $1B by the end of 2019, funding over 2000 companies? Just ask Michele Romanow when you see her. Tech titan Michele Romanow is an engineer and a serial entrepreneur who started five companies before her 33rd birthday. A "Dragon" on CBC's hit show Dragons' Den, Michele is the co-founder of Clearbanc, which will invest $1 billion in startups this year. She previously co-founded SnapSaves, which was acquired by the American tech giant, Groupon. Michele was also the Co-Founder of Buytopia.ca, which acquired ten competitors including Shop.ca and WagJag and was ranked 3rd on the Profit Hot 50 list of fastest-growing companies. She's ranked as the "100 Most Powerful in Canada" by WXN, is the only Canadian on Forbes "Millennial on a Mission" list and a “Young Global Leader” by the World Economic Forum. Michele has created digital solutions for many of the world’s leading brands, including P&G, Netflix, Starbucks, and Cirque du Soleil. Michele is a prolific angel investor through Dragons’ Den and the winner of Angel Investor of the Year award. She co-founded the Canadian Entrepreneurship Initiative with Richard Branson to encourage entrepreneurship. Michele is a director for Vail Resorts, Freshii, League of Innovators, Queen's Business School and Shad International, a transformational program that develops the entrepreneurial potential of exceptional Canadian youth. Follow Michele on Instagram or connect with her on LinkedIn. The Fans First Podcast is presented by Trufan. Trufan is a social intelligence platform equipping brands with the data they need to activate grassroots communities of super fans and micro-influencers. Trufan also recently acquired SocialRank, the most powerful audience segmentation platform in the world of social media. Check out our website or send Scott a message on Instagram or LinkedIn to learn more. Podcast produced by Now Content Studio.

Life isn't easy but David Cairns has managed to navigate plenty of difficult professional situations at a young age including life as a pro poker player coming out of university and climbing the ladder as an executive with little experience. David Cairns joined CBRE Limited in 2012 in the Toronto Downtown Office Leasing and works on the Cairns/Bethell/ Calcutt team which is consistently one of the top 10 leasing teams in the city of Toronto. The team focuses on the exclusive representation of tenants for the relocation, renewal or disposition of their office premises in Toronto and across multi-markets as the single point of contact for corporate real estate. David leads a partnership with Deloitte on their Technology Fast 50 program, advising many of Canada’s fastest-growing technology companies on their real estate requirements. Companies within the tech ecosystem are further supported by CBRE Forward, a platform Co-Founded by David Cairns. Forward showcases the fastest growing tech companies in Canada. Pioneering this client-first approach to commercial real estate enables David to be uniquely positioned to contribute to the growth of one of the most promising sectors of the Canadian economy. Follow David Cairns on LinkedIn and connect with a personalized message if you want to get in touch after listening. The Fans First Podcast is presented by Trufan. Trufan is a social intelligence platform equipping brands with the data they need to activate grassroots communities of super fans and micro-influencers. Trufan also recently acquired SocialRank, the most powerful audience segmentation platform in the world of social media. Check out our website or send Scott a message on Instagram or LinkedIn to learn more. Podcast produced by Now Content Studio.