Podcasts about Benchmark

This week's Misfit Entrepreneur is Sharon Grossman. Sharon Grossman is a psychologist, success coach, and keynote speaker who's an expert in Emotional Intelligence. She's also the author of the best-selling book, the 7E Solution to Burnout and hosts the podcast, Decode Your Burnout. She's helped hundreds of high performing entrepreneurs learn to be more product and avoid or even recover from burnout. Through her simple and effective methodology she teaches how to have a competitive advantage that wins in business, minimizes stress, and helps you experience life on your terms because winning is non-negotiable. Burnout and taking on too much affects most entrepreneurs at some point in their journey and I've been looking for an expert to come on and help us in learning to recognize it, better manage it, and if possible avoid while still making it happen for our businesses – so I was excited to get Sharon on. www.DrSharonGrossman.com Sharon is a clinically trained psychologist who practiced therapy for 20 years. She noticed a common theme with clients being highly stressed and started to do more research on burnout which is chronic stress. She listened to her clients with a different ear recognizing burnout. And in sharing this with them, it would create “aha moments” helping them to understand their challenges. When we understand what we are experienced in life, it helps to diagnose it to help us solve challenges in front of us. At the 6 min mark, Sharon tells a story about when she was grad student and hearing a speaker talking about solo practitioners burning out in the field. When she go into her own business, she remembered the talk and vowed not to be a statistic, so she set up her business around the life she wanted to have. “You have to think about what you need in order to sustain yourself.” It is about mindset and believing it is important enough to make it happen when it comes to stopping burnout. How does someone psychologically break out of their bad habits and “comfort” with the state of burnout that they live in? James Clear said, “We build habits to solve the repeated problems we have in life. And what do you think the odds are that the solutions we come up with are the optimal ones?” It's unlikely. We get into patterns and so much of what we do in the world is on auto-pilot from our subconscious, but it comes back to our fundamental believes. These believes are shaped by our early life experiences and influences. If you find yourself in a loop or stuck, you really have to get under the hod, understanding what you believe and making meaningful changes to it to help yourself. You then have to start showing up and aligning with the identity you want to have. Even if it is just a little bit a day. You must state who you are. If you want to exercise more – you need to state that “I am a person who exercises for 30 mins daily.” And let's say you have a day where you don't want to do or you don't have 30 mins – you still do 10 mins if that is all you have because “you are someone who exercises daily.” When you keep showing up day after day, you are reinforcing the identity. At the 15 min market, Sharon and I have a discussion on our conditioning and subconscious. A lot of people like clarity and don't know what they want. Many don't know who they are. It starts with defining who you want to be and building the identity and habits that support that. What should we know about burnout? What are the signs?  Burnout is chronic stress. The main thing is mental and emotional exhaustion. It is distinct from depression. When you are burned out, if you take time away from the source burning you out – you won't be exhausted anymore. This versus being depressed is that when depressed, the change doesn't make the difference. People who experience burnout not only feel it at work, but at home. It can compound between running a business, family, household, etc. Initially, you will notice exhaustion and less motivation. Productivity can then go down and then this can affect your confidence. It can be a snowball effect.  If it goes on long enough, the body can start to break down as well. You must listen to the signs when your body is talking to you. 3 Different Burnout Profiles. What are they? (Sharon give great detail, so it is good to listen) Burnout shows up for different reasons. The first type is the thinker. These are people who are very much in their heads and tend to overthink things. Their brain tends to worry. The second type are the feelers. These are people that tend to be people pleasers, have a hard time setting boundaries and even experience guilt because their underlying belief is that they need to serve other people and it is selfish to focus on themselves. They give away too much and then become resentful that they aren't getting enough back in return. The third type are the do'ers. The type A, workaholic, super over-achievers. They don't have much time for themselves and are very driven with a strong work ethic. They overload themselves both at work and at home. People can be more than one of these, or even all 3 in some instances. Once we realize which of the types we are, what do we do about it? Once you understand your type, create customized solutions to help you. As an example, Thinkers might need to focus on letting go of the need to control and the fear of failure. They also need to increase their self-compassion and trust their instincts to make decisions. Self-compassion is where we are kind to ourselves instead of beating ourselves up. It is treating ourselves better…like we treat others. For all types, it is good to level set and ground themselves. Feelers have to be careful to create more boundaries and learn to shift their believe about their own importance. Additionally, learning to managing their emotions Do'ers equate their value with their productivity. They will work until they physically can't because of burnout. They need to slow down, take time off, and tuning into themselves to understand when they are going too far. In the end, you must change what you believe to truly make meaningful changes to help yourself. You wrote the 7-E Solution to Burnout. What are the 7 E's? Emotional Intelligence. This is the most important one. You must take one step back and learn to manage your mind. There is a link between your thoughts and emotions. Empowerment. This is about your personal power and controlling your energy drains. It is becoming aware on what you need to empower yourself. Engagement. Engagement goes down when we are burned out. This can also create brain fog and less productivity. You get dis-engaged. People can also be burned out due to boredom and not being challenged. Self-Efficacy. Your belief in your ability to do your work. It's how you respond the results you get. When you get results you want, it boosts self-efficacy, but if we get over-confident or don't get the results we want or expect, it can build up and cause issue. Energy. Learning to recharge and removing the stress. Getting the mental obstacles to self-care out of the way. We know what to do and need to action doing it. Effort. This is about working smarter not harder and making the most of your efforts. Enlightenment. Lightening your load by looking at your mindset, getting our of your own way, and using practices to help you center your mind to be your best.   Best Quote: You must change what you believe to truly make meaningful changes to help yourself.   Misfit 3: For thinkers. Trust yourself. Our minds can derail us. For feelers. Self-care is not selfish. You must take care of yourself to be your best for those you want to serve. Emotional intelligence is the #1 skill people must focus if they have negativity in their mind, stress, and burnout. Learn to navigate your thoughts and build better habits.   Show Sponsors: Benchmark Email (Free account): www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com/Benchmark 5 Minute Journal: www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com/Journal  

Brought to you by Protekt's REST sleep supplement, Athletic Greens's AG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement, and Shopify global commerce platform providing tools to start, grow, market, and manage a retail business. Bill Gurley (@bgurley) has spent more than 20 years as a general partner at Benchmark. Before entering the venture capital business, Bill spent four years on Wall Street as a top-ranked research analyst, including three years at Credit Suisse First Boston.Bill also maintains a blog on the evolution and economics of high technology businesses called Above the Crowd.Over his venture career, he has worked with such companies as GrubHub, Nextdoor, OpenTable, Stitch Fix, Uber, and Zillow. Bill has a BS in computer science from the University of Florida and an MBA from the University of Texas. He is also a chartered financial analyst. Bill is a board trustee at the Santa Fe Institute, a research and education center focused on the study and understanding of complex adaptive systems.Please enjoy!*This episode is brought to you by Shopify! Shopify is one of my favorite platforms and one of my favorite companies. Shopify is designed for anyone to sell anywhere, giving entrepreneurs the resources once reserved for big business. In no time flat, you can have a great-looking online store that brings your ideas to life, and you can have the tools to manage your day-to-day and drive sales. No coding or design experience required.Go to shopify.com/tim to sign up for a one dollar per month trial period. It's a great deal for a great service, so I encourage you to check it out. Take your business to the next level today by visiting shopify.com/tim.*This episode is also brought to you by Protekt's REST supplement! Protekt's REST is a new take on getting deeper, more restorative sleep. Protekt's REST supplement helps provide consistent, restful sleep without any habit-forming ingredients or groggy side effects. Simply add it to your last glass of water before bed, and it goes to work.REST has no added sugars, artificial sweeteners, or artificial ingredients. Protekt is veteran-owned, and they make all of their products right here in the USA. Protekt is offering you 30% off both flavors of their REST formula! Visit Protekt.com/Tim to claim this special offer today and use code TIM at checkout.*This episode is also brought to you by Athletic Greens. I get asked all the time, “If you could use only one supplement, what would it be?” My answer is usually AG1 by Athletic Greens, my all-in-one nutritional insurance. I recommended it in The 4-Hour Body in 2010 and did not get paid to do so. I do my best with nutrient-dense meals, of course, but AG further covers my bases with vitamins, minerals, and whole-food-sourced micronutrients that support gut health and the immune system. Right now, Athletic Greens is offering you their Vitamin D Liquid Formula free with your first subscription purchase—a vital nutrient for a strong immune system and strong bones. Visit AthleticGreens.com/Tim to claim this special offer today and receive the free Vitamin D Liquid Formula (and five free travel packs) with your first subscription purchase! That's up to a one-year supply of Vitamin D as added value when you try their delicious and comprehensive all-in-one daily greens product.*For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsorsSign up for Tim's email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday.For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.Discover Tim's books: tim.blog/books.Follow Tim:Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss Instagram: instagram.com/timferrissYouTube: youtube.com/timferrissFacebook: facebook.com/timferriss LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timferrissPast guests on The Tim Ferriss Show include Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh Jackman, Dr. Jane Goodall, LeBron James, Kevin Hart, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jamie Foxx, Matthew McConaughey, Esther Perel, Elizabeth Gilbert, Terry Crews, Sia, Yuval Noah Harari, Malcolm Gladwell, Madeleine Albright, Cheryl Strayed, Jim Collins, Mary Karr, Maria Popova, Sam Harris, Michael Phelps, Bob Iger, Edward Norton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Neil Strauss, Ken Burns, Maria Sharapova, Marc Andreessen, Neil Gaiman, Neil de Grasse Tyson, Jocko Willink, Daniel Ek, Kelly Slater, Dr. Peter Attia, Seth Godin, Howard Marks, Dr. Brené Brown, Eric Schmidt, Michael Lewis, Joe Gebbia, Michael Pollan, Dr. Jordan Peterson, Vince Vaughn, Brian Koppelman, Ramit Sethi, Dax Shepard, Tony Robbins, Jim Dethmer, Dan Harris, Ray Dalio, Naval Ravikant, Vitalik Buterin, Elizabeth Lesser, Amanda Palmer, Katie Haun, Sir Richard Branson, Chuck Palahniuk, Arianna Huffington, Reid Hoffman, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Rick Rubin, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Darren Aronofsky, Margaret Atwood, Mark Zuckerberg, Peter Thiel, Dr. Gabor Maté, Anne Lamott, Sarah Silverman, Dr. Andrew Huberman, and many more.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Escucha martes y viernes la opinión de Jorge A. Meléndez.

Join us for week 3 of 8 as Mary Lyons, the Wealth Woman, and Eric Alexander of Benchmark Income Group talk with Ian Cron about the Enneagram system and how they it relates building wealth. The first two episodes were really a primer on the enneagram system. Today we get into some of the key motivations and drives for each of the types and how those motivations affect the choices we make about money and the future. Ian Morgan Cron is a renowned teacher of the Enneagram, the bestselling author of The Road Back to You and The Story of You, an Episcopal priest, a speaker, and a trained psychotherapist.   Assessment: iEQ9 Couples Assessment or iEQ9 Individual Assessment. Discount code:  BENCHMARK to receive 20% off any assessment. 

On this episode James welcomes Josh Heller back to the show! Josh, a current CrossFit Level 2 Trainer, is embarking on a journey of study to someday sit for the Level 3 Certified CrossFit Trainer examination. As a L3 Hopeful, Josh needs to hit the books and study CrossFit Methodology in addition continuing to spending time coaching athletes in the gym. To kick off the study James and Josh read "Benchmark Workouts" written by Greg Glassman for the September 2003 edition of the CrossFit Journal. The two breakdown the article talking about their main takeaways and discussing topics such as coaching standards, "The Girls," metabolic demands of these benchmarks, exploiting weakness, and coaching strategies. Read the article and join the study: Benchmark Workouts Instagram video discussed during the episode: Click Here Thank you for listening! Song: The Mandalorian Theme (Metal Version) | Music provided by Mat Graham of Artificial Fear | Listen to Artificial Fear on Spotify & iTunes | Subscribe & Watch: https://youtu.be/Wa6j9QqkaQE

This week's Misfit Entrepreneur is Jay Haleem Washington. Jay went from working for $8.00 an hour at the Hampton Inn to earning 6 figures as a Commercial Photographer in just a few years. He was able to accomplish all this while being a convicted felon. While working for $8.00 an hour he developed his mantra #IWon'tStarve, which was the catalyst for him to leave his job after only one year. he has become pardoned, and now is a best-selling author 4 times over and motivational speaker. Over his career, he's been able to work with the following international brands, Nike, Save The Children Foundation, NFL, Amtrak, and The WNBA. He focuses on strategic development of public sector business, management and administration of client contracts, and client protection via compliance oversight, resulting in growth through government contracting. But, it's not so much what Jay does that was the reason I asked him to come on the show as much as it was his message of “I won't Starve” and how he persisted through to success. www.Iwontstarve.com ​ www.JHaleem.com Jay says it was a long journey. He was raised in a crazy home in New Jersey with people on drugs, etc. He was raised by his grandmother and was on the streets early on in life. He got into a lot of trouble but was also a great student. He was smart but using it for the wrong things. He graduated with honors from college, but also committed a white-collar crime that was felony trying to make money in college. After graduating, he was unable to get a job because of his record, so entrepreneurship was the answer. He started a successful cleaning business and did well, but during the 2008 recession, his wife lost her job on Capitol Hill, and he sold the business moving back down south to focus on raising their kids. He took an $8 job to have something, but new he could do much better and less than a year later started his commercial photography business. An in a short time the business climbed into 6-figures and then grew tremendously as he got into doing government contract work. He then started helping other minority businesses get approved for contracts and has now helped/consulted for over 600 helping them get contracts. He then went on to write his books, start speaking, etc. What are some of the success principles you've learned to succeed in business? Early on, it is all about heart and having the guts to do what needs to be done. You must personally develop. You can learn to do anything, and you must constantly learn. You must learn about the different types of people and how to work with them. You have to take your skill set and match it with others to create a beautiful picture. Perseverance. Building a business requires flexibility, endurance, and going through the challenges, learning curve, and progression of building a business. Talk to us about being persistent and what you learned about keeping going to succeed… Jay has seen a lot of people quit and decided it would not be him. Knowing he had good skillsets that no one could take away from him, that he could learn, and he was willing to hustle and do what was needed to succeed kept him going. Having children gave him the why he needed to continue driving forward. He also had seen what happened to people when they gave up and did not want that. Tell us about I Won't Starve. What does it mean? It came about from spending a lot of time being judged. Having to pay back 6-figures for his felony and the other costs made him have to hustle and find a way. When he made the decision to leave the $8/hr job, he basically said, “Screw it. I won't starve.” He embodied and started preaching it to anyone who would listen and it resonated. “The platform you leap from is more important that the platform you land on.” If you build the right platform, you won't starve! You have a workshop called UWon't Starve based on 5 principles, take us through them… #1: Hustle while you work. Strive to constantly learn from all those around and look for what you can use to help you succeed. Develop your skills. This works well if you are building a business on the side while working a job. #2: Market research. People jump into businesses all the time without understanding the market and how to succeed in it. Who needs your service? Where are they? How often are they buying? And so on. Take the time to have a decent understanding of the market before you leap. Start where you are, but be smart about it. #3: Be the one selling the cheese. This is metaphor. If you go to a wine festival, you will see some people like white wine and buy that, others buy only read, but both customers like to have cheese with their wine. Be the one selling the cheese, because then you get both customers instead of just one. Is your solution, the cheese? #4 and #5: Use strategic partnerships and JV's to grow. Partnerships are a great way to grow because you can create scenarios where 1 + 1 = 3. You both can benefit in a larger way that just on your own. Talk to us more about how to create great partnerships… We have to watch our egos are they can stop us from creating great partnerships. We can only get so far on our own. What does your business do that can complement other business's needs? What are you willing to do that other businesses are not? How can you help others become more successful? The more you help others get what they want, you will find you will get what you want and more. Partnerships are a business strategy and should be treated and planned for as such. What are some of the most consistent challenges you see entrepreneurs have and how do you help them overcome them? In the government contract space, it is paperwork and time. There is a lot of hoops to jump through and they don't move fast. You have to find your way into their system and once you get in, you are in good shape. But, you have to break through that barrier to get your first contract. It is networking and getting in front of the right people. Additionally, you need to build the right systems and teams in your business, so you can focus on the bigger picture and work on the business – not in it. Businesses are like a baby. At some point most people have to get a babysitter or day care of their baby so they can go to work. That is what it is like when you build systems and a team – they are the babysitter for your business, so you can truly go to work on it. Any other advice from your journey? Partner and teaming is the name of the game. Entrepreneurship is tough, so find others going through the same type of journey and network with them. Help each other. If it makes to have a partner in your business, do it.   Best Quote: The platform you leap from is more important that the platform you land on...   Jay's Misfit 3: You don't have as much time as you think, so go hard early going after what you want. Find people that will support you whole-heartedly. People with support systems go so much further in life than those that don't. Get your Amen Corner! Be unapologetically authentic. It hurts being someone else. Be you. Show Sponsors: Benchmark Email (Free account): www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com/Benchmark 5 Minute Journal: www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com/Journal  

Escucha martes y viernes la opinión de Jorge A. Meléndez.

My guest today is Miles Grimshaw. Miles is in his early thirties and is a General Partner at Benchmark. His experience and success belie his age. He was an early investor in Segment, Benchling, and Airtable, all before they had 30 employees. I have learned a ton from Miles about software investing and that's why I was excited to have him on the show. We discuss his biological approach to investing, whether pure API companies can be good businesses, and what most has his attention right now. Please enjoy this conversation with Miles Grimshaw.   Listen to Founders podcast   Founders Episode #136 A Success Story: Estee Lauder    Invest Like the Best with David Senra: Passion & Pain   For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.   -----   This episode is brought to you by Tegus. Tegus streamlines the investment research process so you can get up to speed and find answers to critical questions on companies faster and more efficiently. The Tegus platform surfaces the hard-to-get qualitative insights, gives instant access to critical public financial data through BamSEC, and helps you set up customized expert calls. It's all done on a single, modern Saas platform that offers 360-degree insight into any public or private company. I've been so impressed by the platform that my firm, Positive Sum, recently made an investment in Tegus. We did so because we feel that Tegus will be the gold standard platform for investing research for decades to come. As a listener, you can take Tegus for a free test drive by visiting tegus.co/patrick.   -----   Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.    Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.   Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.   Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus   Show Notes [00:02:57] - [First question] - His notion of the investor as a biologist or a physicist [00:05:24] - Why he seeks out new companies with unique business models [00:07:53] - How his investments are based on present and future needs in the market [00:11:55] - Evaluating the genetics of a nascent or small company [00:13:38] - The half-life of information as it flows through a company or platform [00:17:26] - Unpacking how software companies can survive re-evaluation periods [00:21:03] - The power of environment creation and facilitation [00:25:10] - The importance of user conferences [00:25:45] - A company's potential for a differentiated second act as a sign of good genes [00:30:21] - Product quality, timing, and reinvention in tech startups [00:33:10] - Why it's crucial for companies to avoid copying their heroes [00:37:41] - Breaking down market perspective on pure API companies [00:41:29] - His views on software targeted to vertical versus horizontal markets [00:44:29] - Carefully leveraging relationships with core customers [00:48:06] - Operational lessons from his experience with the companies he's invested in [00:50:26] - His maxim that software development is as much an art as a science [00:51:12] - His idea of a product magician in the software industry [00:52:19] - Effects of new products and categories at the forefront of the space [00:58:21] - How software founders should prepare for 2023 [01:01:41] - How both market structure and product shape the genetics of a business [01:04:32] - The challenge of pricing and packaging for SaaS companies [01:06:42] - Cardinal sins in software investing [01:07:42] - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him

There's No Need To Be So Toxic! This week's episode is about a potentially disruptive group of thruster technologies that are already being used by space agencies and on U.S. Space Force, DARPA, and other Department of Defense space missions. These thruster technologies are green - better for the environment and humans - and give more real bang for the buck. Could they displace highly toxic gas fuel Hydrazine, which may soon be banned in Europe, but upon which an entrenched thruster industry relies? Laura Winter speaks with Benchmark Space Systems' Executive Vice President For Business Development And Strategy Chris Carella; Dawn Aerospace Co-Founder Jeroen Wink; and Benchmark's Propulsion Chemist and Propulsion Engineer Sammy Graham.

Escucha martes y viernes la opinión de Jorge Meléndez Ruiz

Join us for week 2 of 8 as Mary Lyons, the Wealth Woman, and Eric Alexander of Benchmark Income Group talk with Ian Cron about the Enneagram system and how they it relates building wealth.  Today's episode is a break down of what “healthy and unhealthy” looks like for each of the 9 Enneagram types and how that can impact our choices.  Ian Morgan Cron is a renowned teacher of the Enneagram, the bestselling author of The Road Back to You and The Story of You, an Episcopal priest, a speaker, and a trained psychotherapist. Assessment: iEQ9 Couples Assessment or iEQ9 Individual Assessment. Discount code:  BENCHMARK to receive 20% off any assessment. 

This week's Misfit Entrepreneur is Jess Stewart. Jess was raised by a marine corps pilot on a cattle ranch where she learned the keys to running an entrepreneurial company; grit, hard work, and no complaining. Using her experience, years later, she grew up to create a massive medical billing company from her kitchen table that grew internationally. She sold the company for a 20x multiple allowing her to secure her financial freedom. She now devotes her time to sharing what she's learned with other entrepreneur and coaching companies to success. She was recently highlighted in Kevin Harrington's book, Cracking the Rich Code. I've asked her on to share how with no experience she built her company and to share how others can follow her footsteps as well her biggest lessons learned during her journey. www.Jess-Stewart.com Jess was raised on a cattle ranch and left when she was 18 to play Volleyball in college. She graduated and became a schoolteacher. But when she moved to a new town with her husband, she found there were no open teaching positions. So, she decided to start a business – a medical billing company out of her house. She didn't know anything about medical billing, but she was good at solving problems, so she went to work learning. She grew for the first few years in her house, then opened her first office and things took off over the next 10 years growing nationally, then internationally until she sold the business. At the 5 min minute mark, Jess explains why she chose to go into the medical billing space. Jess wanted to find a way to work from home and be with her family. She started the company with a few friends that were already going down the path. Ironically, 6 months in her partners could no longer continue and she was left to build it by herself. What are some of the best lessons you learned growing up on a cattle ranch that helped you succeed as an entrepreneur? She had great parents and a great childhood. From the time she could walk, she worked on the ranch and was expected to pull her weight. The first lesson was grit. It's not about how many times you fall, it's about how you get back up and keep going. If were going to do the job it had to be done right. If it was not done right, it had to be redone until it was right. “Don't just get it done, get it done right.” Take us through the journey of how you took your business from your kitchen table to international and ultimately a 20x exit. It came down to differentiation. Medical billing is a red ocean. Fierce competition. She realized early on that there was more to offer the client because of the industry being antiquated. There was a lot of opportunity for technology. She decided that her company would offer a total solution instead of parts of the solution. The niche was to offer and host the full practice management solution. (Cloud didn't exist at the time). She pioneered getting medical offices off of doing things on paper to using practice management software and doing things electronically. She borrowed $75k from her parents to buy servers and build the network to work point to point with medical offices. In doing this, she was able to offer a solution that no one else was doing and be a first to market. At the 16 min mark, Jess talks about how she got to a point where she was tapped out and how to build a team and what she went through to do so. She learned a great lesson in that even though great talent may be making more elsewhere, they may not have what they want. This is how she got her first and most important employee. He left a job pay 3x more than she could offer because he was looking to build something and find true meaning in his work. As an entrepreneur, learn to ask for what you want and who you want on your team, then find/figure out a way to make it happen – because it can! Jess also shares how she created an advisory and got the help she needed to develop as a leader. At the 28 min mark, Jess talks about how being ahead of the times put them in perfect position to be the solution when government mandates to go electronic came along. Jess shares how the growth was a blessing and a challenge, because things broke down and they had to figure out how to keep up and build their processes and systems to accommodate client needs and growth. She shares how she saw a new niche to help in and flew to Nashville to knock on hospital doors. She thought they would be excited about it, but was told no by every company, but one and they were skeptical. She left Nashville with no takers and later she got a call from the “one” who gave them a shot in a rural hospital. Jess did it basically for free and proved to be such a success, that she overwhelmed them. That company was the one that eventually came knocking on the door to buy her business at 22x! ​ At the 40 min mark, Jess and I discuss what it takes for entrepreneurs to endure and make things happen and how Jess how to deal with burnout and find an operating system for the business.   Best Quote: Don't just get it done, get it done right.   Jess's Misfit 3: Walk your own path and enjoy the journey. Don't hesitate. Follow your gut. Never stop seeking mastery in education. Stay humble.   Show Sponsors: Benchmark Email (Free account): www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com/Benchmark 5 Minute Journal: www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com/Journal ​  

Escucha martes y viernes la opinión de Jorge A. Meléndez.

In January, many of us like to take stock, reflect on the last twelve months, and make plans for the year ahead. In this spirit, we're kicking off 2023 with a few early insights from our Learning Performance Benchmark. On the podcast this week, Ross D is joined by Gent Ahmetaj and Anna Barnett from our Insights team to discuss the state of the profession, and what this means for L&D practitioners. We cover: what the Learning Performance Benchmark is, and the value benchmarking offers organizations early insights from this year's Benchmark report, with a focus on capabilities, barriers, and strategy To learn more about the Learning Performance Benchmark, or to start benchmarking your organization's L&D capabilities, head to: mindtoolsbusiness.com/solutions/learning-performance-benchmark In WILTW, Anna recommended the game ‘Settlers of Catan': catan.com/ Gent described how he was led astray by a fake research paper, cited by ChatGPT. You can generate your own A.I. truths and lies at: chat.openai.com/chat Looking for help designing digital learning experiences in 2023? Why not contact our Custom team at custom@mindtools.com We're offering 10% off your first custom project if commissioned in January 2023. Terms and Conditions  Offer only applies to new custom learning customers  Work must be commissioned before midnight, January 31 for discount to apply.  For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit mindtoolsbusiness.com. There, you'll also find details of our award-winning performance support toolkit, our off-the-shelf e-learning, and our custom work.   Connect with our speakers    If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with our speakers on Twitter:    Ross Dickie - @RossDickieMT Gent Ahmetaj - @GentAhmetaj Anna Barnett - @DrAnnaBarnett

EP300 - GoodwillFinds CEO Matt Kaness In this interview, we cover the sale of ModCloth to Walmart, Matts's subsequent work at Lucky Brand and Afterpay, and his new role as CEO at Goodwillfinds. Goodwillfinds.com is an e-commerce site, which sells previously owned merchandise, which has been donated to Goodwill. We cover many of the tactical challenges (onboarding SKUs, product content, fulfillment, and curation), as well as the opportunities of this new "CircularCommerce" space. We also get some of Matt's predictions about what's coming next in digital commerce. Episode 300 of the Jason & Scot show was recorded on Wednesday January 4th, 2023. http://jasonandscot.com Join your hosts Jason "Retailgeek" Goldberg, Chief Commerce Strategy Officer at Publicis, and Scot Wingo, CEO of GetSpiffy and Co-Founder of ChannelAdvisor as they discuss the latest news and trends in the world of e-commerce and digital shopper marketing. Episode 300 is an interview with Matt Kaness, CEO of Goodwillfinds.com. Matt was formerly on episode 79, when he was CEO of Modcloth, which later sold to Walmart. Transcript Jason: [0:23] Welcome to the Jason and Scot show this is the much-anticipated episode number 300 being recorded on Wednesday January 4th, 20:23 I'm your host Jason retailgeek Goldberg and as usual I'm here with your co-host Scot Wingo. Scot: [0:41] Hey Jason and welcome back Jason and Scot show listeners Jason not only is this the first show of 20:23 it's a big milestone for us with episode what better way to celebrate than having one of our oldest friends for both you and I personally but also to the show back for an update Matt kaness he was last on the show back in episode 79 I think many listeners will remember that one and certainly your mom who's one of our biggest fans and back then he was CEO of ModCloth, a lot has changed since then so we're looking forward to getting an update some of the highlights Matt help sell ModCloth to Walmart he was exact chair and interim CEO at Lucky Brand he's on several boards yeah I've been advisory to several companies and since September of 2022 he has been CEO of goodwillfinds.com Matt welcome back to the show. Matt: [1:35] Great to be here guys thanks for having me. Jason: [1:38] Oh my gosh Matt we are really excited to catch up it seems like if you factor in the pandemic your last episode was about 15 years ago if I'm and so happy I'm happy to report we've added a bunch of listeners since then so before we jump into it can you kind of remind the listeners about your background and how you got in e-commerce. Matt: [2:02] Yeah have you too I like to think about my career or having two careers to date the first one was, very foundational for what I'm doing now but very quantitative, process-oriented mechanical engineering patent law Manufacturing, Ops Consulting things that had nothing to do with retail or fashion or e-commerce and then I. [2:32] Fell into the category when I was a full-time consultant at Burton Snowboards about 16 17 years ago, and fell in love with lifestyle Brands and have, try to stay in that lane for the majority of that time period since, from Burton Snowboards I went onto Urban Outfitters was there for close to eight years up sensibly and I had a growth roll my last title there was Chief strategy officer and then from there I went to ModCloth, where I was the CEO for three years and was running the company when we sold it to Walmart I will say that, I've been in hindsight found myself attracted to these amazing consumer lifestyle brands, that are experiencing inflection points either in their business or in the industry when I was at Burton snowboarding was really for the first time finding a mass audience crossing over into, the Olympics the next games and, when I was at Urban it was the rise of Web 2.0 and I got to ride that wave my entire time there and really, I'll be on the Forefront of pioneering you know what everybody know of calls omni-channel. [3:59] ModCloth the founder of their Susan Koger was one of the pioneers of inclusive fashion and so I felt personally accountable to try to scale that and I think we, if once the industry specifically plus size women's fashion and you know today you look around and it's become pretty normative, for Brands to design into extra extra small to 4X and I'm really proud of the work we did at ModCloth being on the front end of that and then. I do some Consulting work at after pay where buy now pay later was really just becoming a thing, we're younger consumers were focused more on debit versus credit products so with really fortunate to get connected with that team and enjoyed, partnering with them and being an advisor and then you know what I'm doing now at Goodwill where secondhand is really having a moment, in the culture and getting a chance to come in and lead a ground-up startup for the Goodwill Network and helping them to. It's a digitized so to speak and you bring this new Marketplace into the world, it's just for me it's like the next chapter in that really fortunate career second career that I've had. Jason: [5:23] Very cool and I know some of those roles were Bay Area based but you are a Philly guy correct. Matt: [5:29] Philly guy born and raised I'm probably on the short list of people who have moved back to Philly twice. I was in Boston the first time when my wife became. Preggers with our oldest and we wanted to be closer to family and then the second time was when we were in the Bay Area after I left Walmart, we had a break in the action and our oldest was about to start high school and we decide we want to be back here. For the high school years but we've lived all around and I'd obviously travel a lot for work so I have an affinity for the bay area as well as some other places around the country but but Phillies the hometown. Jason: [6:14] Yeah but I'm assuming it's Philly sports teams most importantly. Matt: [6:18] I have been an eagle season ticket holders 2000 yes. Jason: [6:23] Awesome and for people that don't know Philadelphia and Pennsylvania as a whole is a is is a weird e-commerce concentration Point like there's a lot of e-commerce kind of was born or gravitated in the area so I think of like Mark Rubin and Dick's Sporting Good and in Pittsburgh and urban obviously was a huge player there was Urban your first like hardcore e-commerce experience or were you doing a lot of e-commerce at Burton. Matt: [6:56] I was not at Burton Urban is really where I started to cut my teeth on e-commerce. Direct to Consumer more than e-commerce it was really about this when I got there this billion dollar Consolidated Enterprise across there are three main brands, Urban Outfitters anthropology and Free People and the business had started as a catalog, division of what was you know let's call it 95 percent of the sales came through their store Channel. For retail versus direct to Consumer and so when I got there or there was a there was a. [7:43] 100 million Consolidated direct-to-consumer business which was split between catalog and e-commerce, but it was nascent it was not a strategic focus and then you know the founder of their dick ain't really had. This put a natural understanding of consumer behavior and where the industry was going and he had a vision for how to scale the business multi-channel and so we were all, trying to make that that future reality every day for the eight years I was there and we had a lot of success going back to your point about Pennsylvania and Philly first round capital, one of their there I believe their original headquarters and then one of their major offices, is in Philly and so I think I think a lot of it stems from their presence as well not just decaying and Reuben and some others, but also Philly from a talent perspective is kind of like a six suburb or borough of New York, where you get a lot of folks in New York and then they realize that. It's just the standard of living the cost of living is so much better in Philadelphia and so you get a lot of transplants to come down to Philly as well working in e-commerce. Jason: [9:11] Yeah and I want to say I met you I think we all met on the shop dot-org board when you were at Urban later in your your tenure Urban and some of my Fondest Memories another good friend of the show Billy met who at the time was at Abercrombie is the two of you like heckling each other about like your two brands. Matt: [9:34] Yeah like that was that was really fun for me because you know Urban. Um was pretty insular you meaning that we were so obsessively focused on the customer, and on the fashion trends and on what we were doing internally, that we never really thought about competition so we didn't spend a ton of time looking around the industry, so for me that was that was kind of a an introduction to what else was happening across the industry and then Billy occasionally would call me and say. Hey you guys make me look bad because you just had another great quarter ecomp rowing and you know your your results are now The Benchmark that I have to deliver against. But you know what I what I found in that shop or Community which is now part of NRF, is that it was not very competitive it was very collaborative I couldn't believe. [10:46] How much everybody support each other and wanted to share strategies and ideas and Etc and I think that's one of the things that really drew me into this career path on the digital Commerce side, versus pursuing merchandising or. We're kind of the brick-and-mortar offline space is it's just how, how great that the digital Community has been in the US that I've experienced so that's one of the one of the things that I try to do now is to make sure that. Making myself available I'm kind of giving back and spending time with folks and helping them along and sharing ideas because I know that you guys and others certainly do that for me way back in the day. Jason: [11:32] Yeah I feel like we all have done that for each other and I feel like we've all obviously benefited greatly from that community, and so then you leave the Eagles behind and you go join what at the time was a Founder led a venture back pure-d to see is that, a fair characterization for Vermont cough if when you. Matt: [11:58] Yes my father my father is a pure pointy Taylor yeah. Like 10,000 uniques on the site all third party. The company was vertically integrated so homegrown Ruby on Rails codebase e-commerce. Order management system warehouse management system all the way down to the call center and the warehouse it was, um pretty pioneering on the web services side as far as. [12:35] Look it was an early social commerce player as far as leveraging Pinterest and things that you could do with. Facebook and some of the other platforms Tumblr to engage customers and get them to participate in the shopping experience we were one of the first to integrate, ugc from customers into the shopping experience into the carousels on the website, um we had personalization that was driven by customer reviews that were captured in the website versus outsourced to a bizarre Voice or the like so it was the technology is pretty pioneering, the business was was very underdeveloped and the brand I felt was. Had a lot of opportunity to broaden its appeal when I got there so it was a little bit of a turnaround, financially what I'm joined which having now done this a few times there's always a reason they bring in an outside CEO. Jason: [13:44] It's not because things are just going awesome and they just want to share the awesomeness. Matt: [13:47] Yeah I can't I can't think of a single time that CEO in a business that's humming and doing great he says you know what let's bring in somebody else to do this so I. Jason: [13:57] I think Andy jassy is saying that about Amazon right now by the way. Matt: [14:02] Yeah yeah yeah what I mean there's there's a there's a lot of chatter about looking at. It was on the Facebook and Tesla and what those Founders were doing the last couple years selling stock so I think they kind of all knew what was about to happen. But you know just quickly on ModCloth I'll say that you know we were able to quickly come in. [14:32] Turn around the business financially but more importantly we pivoted it to what then was called a DM BB model, a digitally native vertical brand model which was just meant that the vertical piece that you were procuring designing selling your own product or exclusive product versus, third party which you know in the world of Amazon it's really hard to scale a business that you know what you're selling you can find on Amazon or other larger marketplaces, so we build out a design studio and sourcing operation weary platform the entire Tech stack we developed, a showroom concept similar to what we're being bonobos had developed and tested that and rolled that out and had a really aggressive growth plan against that we went out to raise money and her wound up, getting an offer from the team at jet.com that 6-month previous had, I've been sold to Walmart and they came in and made an offer and the board accepted it and so we sold it. And and I stayed on at Walmart for a year and oversaw our integration into that that ecosystem. Scot: [15:51] Cool the that was kind of a chain reaction right where you guys several companies they Acquired and did you play a role in kind of that roll up. Matt: [16:01] We were like the third or fourth of six or seven Acquisitions and they did within a year and a half two year period. And then as part of my year there I did get involved in some of their business development MMA, conversations and and I did spend a little bit of time helping them, on one of the further Acquisitions but you know they what I learned about Walmart when I was there is. They have such a strong culture they have a real clear view of who their customer is and why they're serving them and you know I would tell you that. The Acquisitions that spray that they went on those two years was really a catalyst for. Something that W Mellon said at a meeting that I attended where he talked about convenience. [17:03] Being valued as much as low-cost in the kind of the online or multi-channel retail environment versus pre-internet, and so they had to find a catalyst under Mark Lori to accelerate their the cultural change, to understand how customers writ large were valuing convenience as much as low-cost when their Heritage had been, Yoda Point technology to make improvements in supply chain and sourcing and Merchandising so that they could always win on price now they had a win on price and convenience, and so though the individual Acquisitions You could argue whether there was an Roi on them or not against the purchase price. I would say that. Internally it was a massive success in creating that kind of cultural change that Doug. Mandated from. Mark and and then you know I was only there a year and I left but just watching what progressed and if you look at the moldable on Walmart stock I think it's hard to argue that it wasn't a success. Scot: [18:18] Yes tricky with Acquisitions you can't just look at the you know the interior ModCloth business you have to look at the whole halo effect and the stock price yeah there's a multi-faceted way to look at these things that's kind of complicated. Matt: [18:32] Yeah I think any business that they could grow if you could grow organically in definitely I think most businesses would do that there's a reason why companies you know use MMA to your point. Scot: [18:46] Did some point I think I saw a ModCloth working to the stores where you there for that. Matt: [18:53] No no that I left before any of those kind of process integration initiatives occurred. Scot: [19:03] Yeah and then didn't they do they sell it back out do they spin it. Matt: [19:08] Yeah they sold it back out there were some after I left there were some further leadership changes that occurred and and they wound up the best thing it and selling it to I want to say it was a fermented New York. Scot: [19:23] Like a private Equity Firm or another. Matt: [19:24] Yeah I think so yeah. Scot: [19:28] Did you didn't want to jump in there and take it over again usually they call the previous CEO I bet there's an 80% chance you got a call. Matt: [19:37] No comment. Scot: [19:41] All right we found something you don't want to talk about good it's part of my goal on this show is to see if we can we can find that you have any family safe Mark Lori stories I've spent a fair amount of time with him he's a he's a pretty wacky dude. Matt: [19:56] I mean I didn't spend that much time working for him but I mean man like talk about somebody who just has total belief in himself and the team and what's possible, and so much energy for. For Commerce for startups for Innovation so I mean it's it was contagious working for him, um working for his team's I wanted to takeaways I had for my time at Walmart and my time working with. [20:32] With Mark and his jet team is I just didn't have that kind of passion for the mass-market the way that, you had to have to be successful working at a Walmart or working at a jet before the acquisition, yeah I love the specialty space I love you know the Branded premium space I love, Yoda kind of the Middle Market where it's not based on price and it's not luxury it's somewhere in between. I just find that that it's super creative there's lots of opportunities for differentiation. There's always new things that you get to learn but you know Walmart I got there was a camera don't quote me on the exact number but. [21:27] Like there was a conversation about like how many millions of American flags are they going to sell between Memorial Day and and. And Fourth of July. [21:38] On one of their promos and I was just like I couldn't even fathom the scale of having to move that many units and so, yep so for me it was kind of a validation of the lane that I've been in and and enjoyed being in and so when I left. Eventually wind up going to Lucky that was kind of part of the calculus on my part was to get back into the into that that category that Wayne of specialty. Scot: [22:07] My one of my first Mark Laurie experiences I was at Jet and he was telling us how the Company motto was billions or body bags and I was like that's kind of a weird way to motivate, and then I talked to several employees I was like how do you like it here and there like billions of body bags that like they were just like it was a mantra like you know that they were just so focused on it was either going to be 0 or this huge outcome and sure enough it was billions. Matt: [22:31] Yeah there's there's definitely I mean I think think he was a successful High School athlete so there's definitely a lot of rah-rah with with him in the team it's that's not my personality I. ModCloth one of the investors accused me of being two column in the boardroom. They said you know Matt if you had slammed on the table a little bit more you know and I'm sitting there like like. That's the that never crossed my mind trying to make an argument to do something required me slamming my hand on the table. Scot: [23:14] A tantrum yeah. Matt: [23:15] My voice yeah but maybe that's Versa tween you know a founder and yeah an operator. Jason: [23:23] Scot was definitely a table Slammer. Matt: [23:25] I don't believe you. Scot: [23:26] Like man I have an engineering background and they drummed that out of us in those four years. Matt: [23:33] Totally yeah I think you're right I think the scientific method does not allow for that that level of emotion that come into into the argument. Jason: [23:44] Yeah but I will say a lot of mechanical things can be fixed by hitting them with a hammer I will, the so I'm super grateful that you guys didn't throw Mark Glory under the table because I at the moment have to totally pandor to him because his new business he has Starbucks trucks that will drive to your house and deliver coffee to your house, so I like I feel like I need to stay in his good graces, but so so the sale happens you transition out of ModCloth you've you've got kids in college and or in school and no source of free clothing so I'm guessing that's what drove the, you're interesting lucky brands. Matt: [24:28] Yeah well I got to say. When I worked at Urban my wife definitely took advantage of the anthropology discount. [24:43] And I act funny funny and true story, when I was considering the opportunity at ModCloth I was having a couple other conversations in the in the fashion space. And I showed my daughter who at the time was probably about seven or eight I showed her the apps for the shopping apps for, the three businesses that I was talking to and I won't say who but there was one in particular based in La that she was like Dad no way she was like you cannot work selling that fashion. But she approved of ModCloth and so so I got her endorsement so yeah when I went to Lucky it's really I wasn't necessarily looking. You're back into fashion as much as I really thought that there was this route there's a unique opportunity with lucky they were. Over a billion in gmv which is to say the direct to Consumer wholesale and the value of their licensing business in the market was over a billion dollars. So brand revenues and net revenue is like call it 650 million and it was independent. [26:08] And there were not a lot of businesses at that scale. In the u.s. that still were independent versus part of a conglomerate. [26:21] And we're had already gone public and so I had been friendly with one of the partners at Wintergreen. Who called me about the opportunity and after spending some time with them talking about it I said. You really need somebody in LA full time in the arts district where they were headquartered and I'm not moving to LA and moving actually back east and they said. Hey would you come in and manage the company to get us through holiday while we won for somebody. And also give us a strategy like a like a financial model a business case three-year strategy. And so that's how I initially got involved there was more as like a board advisor interim manager and then. By January of twenty I'd really seen this amazing Lane. For an older Millennial younger Gen-X. That we could reposition Lucky Brand to be a cause marketer the company did a tremendous amount of good work in Downtown LA taking. Old Denim and. [27:50] Giving it. Nonprofits that work with the homeless population there for clothing to for installation. And then other other efforts to help that population, and so I felt like we could reposition lucky to not mean like going to the casino getting lucky but meaning gratitude. Like I feel lucky I made it I have the ability to spend a hundred dollars in a pair of jeans and I want to support. [28:27] This this amazing company that does all this good work and so. That I had this vision for how you could reposition the brand the business was running like it was 2005 as far as. Go to market so there was a lot of heavy lifting that had to be done around digital transformation around merchandising around. Rationalizing the stores there was way too much discount so there's a lot of work to do, but I got really excited about the opportunity and wound up agreeing to stay on as exact chair in January 2020. And part of my remit would have been to hire a CEO and partner with that individual and I had to kill people in my network that I thought would be great for it who be willing to move to LA. But two months later the covid walk down start. And then it turned into something you know completely different than we were just trying to survive we lost ninety percent of our revenue and that April. And we wound up. [29:43] Making it through to July August that summer but at that point yeah the damage had been done and the private Equity Firm decided to. Sell it to a party that had been interested in the business for a number of years which was authentic Brands group out of New York so I stayed on to oversee that process and then once the deal is done I. Said that was a lot of work I'm exhausted and wound up turning down the opportunity to stay on with a b g and left but, I got to say I'm really grateful thankful for the team that I had there because they were amazing, to work with during such a difficult period that that Q2. And early summer of 2020 it was it was really really challenging to be in the market and I learned a lot about myself as a leader from it. Jason: [30:46] Oh my gosh I I am sure you did I'm laughing though because you think about all the work involved there and so you decided to do something easier in your next gig like oh I don't know like starting from scratch business in the middle of a really old non-profit. Matt: [31:08] Well I gotta say you know after after the lucky experience. Um I really felt drained I didn't have. The passion for retail for e-commerce digital for. Brands for fashion like I had for the previous you know well 15 years and. I was fortunate that I have the ability to do this but I basically gave myself 2021 off. I've been sitting on a few boards I did some Consulting work I had been Angel Investing for a few years so I had a number of startup Founders and CEOs that I was mentoring and Advising, and I just said to myself I really need to get re-inspired I need to like, get back out in the market broadly see what's happening see where the Innovation is occurring and and, get excited but also get lucky because a lot of these things from a career perspective is based on timing I was really fortunate that. [32:27] I went to Urban when I did I was really fortunate to be part of, ModCloth the journey during the years that was there the year that I was at Walmart was a really critical year in the Amazon the Walmart Battle. Um amazing timing too. Be available to do Consulting work with the after pay the exact summer that the founder moved from Australia to San Francisco. So you know I'm acutely aware that you can't control timing and, and yet the kind of put yourself out there so that was my plan last year and in doing so what I realized was I'm like I get the most energy and I do my best work when, back in the phase of a company where it's. [33:22] Focused on growth and Innovation and so no more turnarounds the end of Lucky business was a turnaround. ModCloth was a pseudo turn around, so I just said you know I want to get back to you know that stage where it's really about solving for customer needs and Market positioning and Prague service Innovation and deploying technology, and then a couple that with also wanted to get in a part of retail where I can learn. And you know secondhand what's happening right now the this whole cultural phenomenon around thrifting, and you're the pioneering work of a thread up and a real real Poshmark deep op-ed see ya the last decade, that was the that was the heavy lifting you know those Founders you know basically creating the category, but now there's a critical mass now there's a consumer acceptance so I don't see it as it as a, as hard as maybe it looks like from the outside it's I think it's the timing is great for the Goodwill Network to Rally around this new platform for us. As a separate entity to stand up this new company to launch this new Marketplace. [34:48] There's definitely engineering challenges to figuring out how do you successfully profitably scale. Um second-hand and vintage when you know every item is unique and we have a distributed model where our sellers are. Various. Goodwill members across the u.s. so we're not centralized so there's definitely some some challenges but to me that's part of the fun that's part of the learning. Jason: [35:18] I can imagine I want to take just half a step backwards to make sure the listeners are tracking with exactly what you're doing now because I think it's super interesting so, formal title is CEO of goodwillfinds and goodwillfinds is a new offering from Goodwill that is selling Goodwill Merchant previously owned Goodwill merchandise via a website is that the in my clothes. Matt: [35:44] Yeah yeah so I think it's worth kind of spelling out the context a little bit because it took me a little bit honestly to fully understand it and grasp it. Goodwill has been around for over 100 Years everybody knows Goodwill it's an amazing nonprofit franchise. There is a I call it a holding company I don't know that that's the right. Firm but there is a parent company that owns the Goodwill Master license in Metro DC and they have. License out the brand to I believe the numbers 155, individual territories across the u.s. and each of those territories have, Goodwill organization with their own leadership team their own operations around treasury their own board of directors obviously they vary in. Size and location and specification and you know mix the revenue and all those things but they all share the same Mission and the mission a Goodwill is. [36:57] To enhance lives for the Dignity of work, and it's my older brother was born with a disability and I've watched him go on and off disability a few times in his life and I tell you, that he's his best self when he's working. So when I first got connected with the folks at Goodwill earlier last year it really touched my heart like I really. I wanted this to be successful for them because I know how important their mission is but as I got to learn more about the network. [37:37] Of 155 Goodwill's and more about the opportunity and there are six founding. Good we'll see EOS that came together to organize this new separate entity called goodwillfinds where a virtual Delaware company. And those six are the ones that are the board that I report to and they've been working on this for years they were, ready to watch this last year and decided that they needed to hire a CEO, to come in build a team set up the company oversee the launch so I joined pre-revenue and we're now in our fourth month of selling, the consumer response has been. Unbelievable sales are more than doubling month-over-month it's it's really. A unique opportunity to build something that is not only. [38:39] In a part of retail that is innovating and growing and scaling rapidly but it's also doing it for this amazing Mission and you know really trying to redefine what does. Nonprofit in the circular economy look like to deliver social impact at scale so I feel like that's the Mandate that I signed up for and the team that I'm building. And the business model that we're designing right now to go with the marketplace are the is the execution of that but the bigger Vision here is to create this platform that not only. [39:24] Overtime all 155 Goodwill members will have access to be on as sellers but that. For the first time we'll have decentralized marketing funnel brands. Strategy content messaging 1p data and then. [39:48] But technical roadmap that were able to deploy that will integrate with the store operations and the back of house operations that will allow for scared investments in technology that all the good wolf can take advantage of. On the consumer side I think all the players and secondhand have the same goal which is to make the. [40:10] The option to buy second-hand versus new so compelling and so convenient and so exciting and cool. That more and more consumption dollars go towards second hand and move away from New and by, doing that, it has this incredibly measurable impact on the environment in creating sustainable. Impact and then in our case you add to it. The fact that every net dollar that we collect from our sales go back to the location where the Goodwill was the item was donated to fund the Goodwill programs I mean it's I feel like we're pioneering, this new this new kind of business model for circularity and so all that to me is like super compelling super interesting, and I'm really fortunate that this opportunity found me. Scot: [41:19] Cool hearing you talk about it I can tell you like to build stuff the channel visor we had a lot of customers that were kind of in this General space the challenge with this use Consignment World Is You Gotta you know I'm sure these Goodwills are getting, they're only going to sell online a fraction of what comes in so you got to figure out what what things do you want to sell in the store versus online you gotta create digital assets which are the descriptions and the pictures and then you gotta you know imagine you're not going to send them to a central location so then you've got to create a shipping method that works down at the store level how are you guys solving all those problems at scale. Matt: [42:00] Yeah well I'll tell you a couple of things and you're exactly right there's a ton of operational challenges we have a couple things going for us one. These Goodwills already have the physical infrastructure they already have, donation centers they already have Micro warehouses that are already selling online as a three-piece seller through Amazon and eBay and some other Regional marketplaces, so they have a lot of these physical operations setup, so we're leveraging that and we're not having to deploy Capital to do it. That's 12 there's a there's a maturity in the technology vendor Market you'd be surprised at how many. Providers are in the space to automate. We have a partner that we work with that leverages Google Lens technology and Leverage is the Einstein a I was Salesforce that allows us to, take a lot of the heavy lifting out of item creation we have vendors that we work with that. [43:15] Take images of items three-dimensional scans that send it to and Outsource in India where descriptions are being written for these items you know so there's, and I'm learning this right but you'd be shocked at how much software deployment automation deployment already exists. [43:38] So we're managing that to deploy in a way that integrates into these existing operations at and. The other thing that we have an advantage of is because we are nonprofit. [43:53] We're selling primarily me exclusively right now but overtime will be primarily selling donated items which have. Is this not a zero cost of goods but it's a near zero cost of goods. So we have room in the margin line to play with value-added services on each item, if we feel like there's a lift that we can justify with that you know with respect to photography with respect to. Metadata on each of the items with respect to Howard thinking about tagging, there's a lot there's a lot of players out there that we're evaluating right now and we watched with. [44:42] Over 100,000 unique items back in the first week of October. Mid-December we were at nearly 200,000 items. And our roadmap is to have a million unique items in our active. Catalog by October of this year so this entire endeavor. Has been from the start designed for scale. So we feel like that's giving us an advantage because we're able to do some things that, other startups that are venture-backed that are having to start from scratch with a lot of that infrastructure that have a cost of sourcing and and Supply acquisition that we don't, it would be financially prohibitive for them to make some of the Investments that we're making right now. Scot: [45:43] Yeah it's interesting to hear you say you're using some of the AI Jason's not a believer in AI but I'm a big proponent. Jason: [45:50] Haha I haven't said a word on this whole podcast I've just been using my AI Avatar. Scot: [45:57] Ugh. Matt: [45:58] For the record this isn't Matt talking this is Matt's chat TPT talking. Jason: [46:04] Yeah we tested both in the shed she'd Beatty was much more Salient so we went with that. [46:17] Yeah so it's interesting to me mad because, you mentioned a lot of the early Pioneers in our e-commerce and by the way just from buzzword Bingo like are you re Commerce person or you like do you have a favorite label for what you're doing now. Matt: [46:34] Yeah I'm. I'm back in the the interview circuit right now trying to get the word out about what we're doing and promoting the Goodwill Mission so I'm still trying some phrases on I mean yeah RI Commerce is definitely. [46:50] What. The buzzword but I think what we're doing at goodwillfinds and and in partnership with the Goodwill network is really about circularity you know in my mind's eye. Getting a Marketplace standing up a new Marketplace from the zero. You know it's the old Beezus flywheel the back of the napkin that I think about every day and in my version of it their supply demand admission and without the mission we don't get supply. And the better job we do partnering with our members sellers in acquiring the right Supply and and listing it. In a high-quality way, you know then that allows us to be able to meet demand in the market which the proceeds from those sales go right back to the Goodwill where we got the donation and there's the kind of the flywheels complete, and one of the stories around that and this is what we have to do a better job. [47:52] This year versus last year's to get these stories these amazing stories about the Goodwill Network out into the world, the more successful we are Google finds meaning the more that we're able to sell and scale demand. The more people each of the Goodwill sellers have to hire in their e-commerce operations. Because they're doing the listings they're doing the pick pack and ship on the on the outbound but those jobs are higher skill and they and they pay better. And so it actually accelerates the local mission. [48:27] The more successful we are because they have to hire more people and bring more people and train them into these higher value jobs that then they go get placed somewhere else they can go work within. The digital economy you know the digital retail industry and so we really I really think about what we're doing as pioneering circularity. We also are talking to some retailers and Brands you want to partner with us on they're both on the demand and supply side and part of it is because we're a nonprofit that there's a tax, right up Advantage for them but it's there's also this, PSG component to the large corporates that they have to think about especially in, in apparel where they had to think about you know what is their end to end environmental impact and. [49:27] It's it's really I can't believe the timing of this but it's really a moment right now not just with consumers but in the industry and so that's another aspect of circularity where you have. Yeah it's not Nike so but I'll just use them as an example to speak of Austria of Lee imagine Nike telling their full price customers. That they can buy second-hand Nike at goodwillfinds.com. Or imagine a Chanel it's not Chanel so I'll just use them electrically but imagine them. [50:04] Wanting to use us as their authentication partner so that when you find second-hand should now at goodwillfinds.com versus a real real or somewhere else, you can you can you know that you have this objective third-party authenticator that you can partner with to control, the the brand experience in the second hand market so it's, I'm really excited about the possibilities and and we have a really big vision for what we're doing I don't I think we Commerce to me feels, like a term that soap a little bit Limited. Jason: [50:41] Totally fair so maybe circular Commerce its, it's interesting to me though like so we've had a bunch of those Founders from the circular Commerce. Brands on and like their fundamental problem is not your fundamental like their biggest problem is sourcing, the goods by getting people to send them stuff and then when they curate it they're mostly interested in, luxury designer so they end up with a relatively poor yield and they don't have. [51:13] Any monetization or you know frankly like a ecologically redeeming way to deal with, all the goods they get that aren't they don't meet their criteria so it's like you you seem like they're like through the Goodwill Network you've got all these stores to put Goods in you've got a bunch of you do have luxury consumers that are searching for vintage and value but you also have more pure value consumers you it just seems like it's a really interesting fit because you saw some of the, problems that are endemic to the re Commerce guys you've got the first gen, Val you guys like the you know the fast fashion guys who are you know of course making stuff cheap but it's a psychological disaster and they only sell like half of it and the other half ends up in a landfill and all that and then you've got the, discount guys who I think is the funniest of all I don't know if you follow this but Burlington Coat Factory, right before the pandemic shut down their e-commerce and they shut it down because they fundamentally couldn't solve what you're doing like they couldn't figure out how to cost effectively make, product detail pages for all the super thin inventory that they had and so it just interesting like, because you built this business on top of the Google Network it feels like you got a nice sort of Head Start in the in all three corners of that problem if you will. Matt: [52:36] Yeah Jason so first off I know a lot of the players the founders execs at those other places and, again I want them all to be successful because the more successful the category is it's a tide that will lift all boats and I think we're all being led by the consumer who is voting yes yes yes, I also think that the consumer, um is not just the the deal Seeker the value Seeker but it really is a trend ribbon, style driven younger consumer who if you think about you know the. [53:19] Tick Tock and Instagram and this this viral social world that we live in where you nobody wants to look the same, wearing the same things that shopping vintage and second-hand is actually a way to differentiate yourself and show your, your individual style so it's there's a really interesting marriage there between second hand and kind of social morality, and what's happening there and then there's also a tell you a more affluent customer or aspirational customer who could Shop full price and does Shop full price but they really care about, about the impact in the narrative and they want to talk about the story, where they bought it not just what they bought and so there's it feels like there's this really. [54:15] Great timing of all three customer segments and then the last thing I tell you is compared to the Discounters. Do I have read about some of them struggling, with figuring out e-commerce and I think I've read the rational rationalization was that it's hard to do Discovery online versus in the store. What I would tell you is that what we're doing augments the in-store thrifting experience at goodwillfinds, now if you're shopping Goodwill at your local store. The assortment is very limited it's what just showed up that week or that month as far as donations go but, you can do that because there are certain categories of people like to touch and feel or try on because fit matters or Texture and finish and, and material matter you know how home goods and furniture and the like one of those big bulky items that you know are easier to buy and store but to be able to couple that with. [55:29] Now shopping you know I don't want to say the best but the that e-commerce. Assortment of other Goodwills across the country. We're now you're getting access to donations from New York to LA Seattle to Miami, Chicago to Austin and I mean wow like what a treasure Trove to be able to shop your Goodwill store and go online and get access to all these thrift stores in one place, in our case I think it's a massive value add and. Given the fact that the Goodwill brand has been around for 100 years and already has tens of millions of customers shopping their stores you know our primary focus to start is how do we, how do we complement the in-store shopping experience to those tens of millions of customers to convert them to be multi-channel customers with the brand, and at the same time how do we compete in the market too. [56:38] Solicit this this these other two audiences that I mentioned the style and Trend driven younger consumer that's looking for vintage that's looking for. For differentiated as well as this this aspirational and more affluent customer who loves the loves the purpose loves the mission loves the story of circularity and wants to participate. Scot: [57:03] Cool sounds like your you're fired up and it's going to be exciting to watch the progress we're running up against time but while we have you you've been that this over 15 years the whole e-commerce retail thing what are some of the other Trends you're watching other than this circular kind of recycling element anything anything interesting on your radar for example do you think the digitally native vertical brand thing has played out or is that still got legs any other trends that are interesting to you. Matt: [57:36] Yeah well on DM BB which just a an iteration of DTC. Did you see to me was always a go to market strategy was never a business model. Scot: [57:47] Yeah. Matt: [57:49] The the early players the first movers in that space who did the, you know go to the source and sell an item at the wholesale price versus the retail price because you're cutting out the middleman Zappos is kind of one of the one of the pioneers of that, um That was a momentum thing I've always viewed and again kind of sticking to my knitting here in this specialty premium you know Market space. I've always viewed, yeah the brand equity which is what we're all striving to create and grow and maintain. It gets generated by picking an attractive customer, that you want to obsess about and I don't and attractive I mean somebody that you think is a viable there's enough of them and they're viable to have a long-term relationship with. [58:56] And obsessing about them to the point where you understand their needs better than they and you can create differentiated product and service, where, they fall in love with your Solutions with your customer experience and they want to tell their friends and then you couple that with the right distribution, so that you can find more people like them which allows you to scale in an efficient manner and direct-to-consumer now going back 15 years, was just the new go to market to find more like-minded customers to ones that you already had so urban urban already had amazingly strong brands with a lot of brand equity, so what we did writing the Web 2.0 wave was really just figuring out you know how do we, how do we reach the same or similar customers and give them a better experience a different experience online than what they experience in store, and then Mark what was the opposite I got there and we had no physical experience and so the exercise was how do we take this brand love that exists. [1:00:07] At this website and and translate it into a three-dimensional experience that, the existing customers would love but would allow us to expand our market and introduce the brand and more people so I yeah so I don't I never saw DM BB by itself as a sustainable business model. [1:00:27] As far as other Trends in the market today I when I left Walmart I did a talk. [1:00:37] Where I said I felt like it was an amazing time, to start a brand and I really meant it and I really believe that the market was was so like there's so much sameness in the market that. That there's a huge opportunity for four new brands coming to the market Leverage The technologies that have matured and and really differentiate against the incumbents I tell you sitting here right now after. I feel like consumers. [1:01:12] Have now accepted the fact that their multi-line store is where they shop for everything. The whole idea of this retailers essential and that one's not and those shutdowns for a year plus I think really changed consumer. Perception of where's viable to shop the where it's not and I and so I think the bigger players, have a massive advantage in this market especially this year with inflation continuing going into a recession I think it's I think this year is going to be really hard, for smaller players to differentiate and survive so that's more from a consumer lens. From a technology lens I'm sorry to say Jason but I'm a big believer in AI, and I think it's early days and what I counseled a lot of folks who are earlier in their career is find a mega technology trend, in the market that you can get passionate about learning that you think is early Innings and ride it. [1:02:17] I certainly did that with e-commerce I was. They're early with the that whole Social Mobile Local, moment you know that was existing after the iPhone and Facebook launched, I'm I feel like marketplaces are like halfway up the s-curve I feel like there's still a lot more room to grow and so I'm working on that technology curve right now with goodwillfinds. But I would say that I don't I'm not a Believer it in web 3.0 today it feels like, the.com in the late 90s where it was five years too early, there just weren't enough participants to make it viable I think web 3.0 in whatever form it takes is five years out before becomes something that you could commercially work on. And then you know I'd say I think the subscription in. In a lot of categories is having a lot of success right now which is less about technology and more about, business model but that's that's that's an area as well that I think is worth exploring for a lot of businesses that are trying to figure out ways to monetize Their audience. Jason: [1:03:40] Matt that is awesome, basically we're mostly aligned I'm 100% with you on a I I'm also with you on web 3 / metaverse being too early the one thing I'm gonna just for the record disagree on is I I can't public admit that marketplaces are thing because that'll that'll go to Scott said too much if we admit that. But, it's going to surprise no one mat that has happened again we've used slightly more than our allotted time so we're gonna leave it with those words of wisdom from you as always if listeners found value from this show we sure would love it if you'd jump on iTunes and leave us that five star review but Matt, so awesome to reconnecting and congrats on everything you're doing it's it's fun to watch and and put your point like it's also adding a heck of a lot of value to the world. Matt: [1:04:33] Guys I really appreciate the time always great to reconnect congrats on the pot I'm a huge fan and let's do it again at number five hundred. Scot: [1:04:44] Sounds good Matt if folks want to find you online or you on the on MySpace where do you hang out. Matt: [1:04:52] Yeah have you heard of Tumblr no. Um yeah I would just say if anybody needs to get ahold of me reach out through Linkedin and my contact information is there. Scot: [1:05:06] Sounds good we really appreciate taking time and good luck with the new Venture sounds really exciting. Matt: [1:05:11] Thanks guys. Jason: [1:05:12] And until next time happy commercing.

Escucha martes y viernes la opinión de Jorge A. Meléndez.

On this episode, Lauren Salanitro, Co-Founder of Women of Customer Success, and Partnerships Lead at Vanta, an organization that helps companies achieve compliance quickly and easily, talks about laying the foundations of a partnership program. She also expands on identifying strategic partners, the important questions to ask when vetting partners and measuring the effectiveness of strategic partners. Lauren offers advice for SaaS businesses wanting to start a partner program. She recommends the following for the foundational stage: a deep understanding of their niche, laying out the lifecycle of customers, identifying when a customer needs their solution and determining partner categories. She elaborates on identifying the first strategic partners and provides a partner discovery question formula, sharing how Vanta vets strategic partners. Lauren explains the metrics that matter and talks about what has really worked for them, treating partners like customers and how to do it. Lauren Salanitro - https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-salanitro-4a7aa99a Vanta - https://www.linkedin.com/company/vanta-security/ Note: SaaS Connect 2023 will take place in San Francisco April 19th and 20th. If you would like to be a sponsor, please contact us at admin@cloudsoftwareassociation.com for information. Thank you to our amazing podcast team at Content Allies. Want to launch your own B2B revenue-generating podcasts? Contact them at https://ContentAllies.com. #cloud #software #saas

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Over the next 8 weeks Mary Lyons, the Wealth Woman, and Eric Alexander of Benchmark Income Group talk with Ian Cron about the Enneagram system and how they relate to finance and building wealth.  Today's episode is an overview of each of the 9 Enneagram types as well as their core motivations and fears.  Ian Morgan Cron is a renowned teacher of the Enneagram, the bestselling author of The Road Back to You and The Story of You, an Episcopal priest, a speaker, and a trained psychotherapist. Assessment: iEQ9 Couples Assessment or iEQ9 Individual Assessment. Discount code:  BENCHMARK to receive 20% off any assessment. 

To start the year off right, we're revisiting the most popular episode we released in 2022. We're talking about the levels of focus, how to wrestle with internal distractions, what anxiety feels like, and more. GET A QUESTION IN THE QUEUE: Send Patrick a DM with your Five Factors questions! ABOUT US:

Escucha martes y viernes la opinión de Jorge A. Meléndez.

We explore inflation, retail investors, precious metals, and Bitcoin. We're joined by Luke Gromen, Founder of The Forest for the Trees. We cover Luke's perspectives on inflation, investing in alternative assets, and interpreting investment data. “My sense of where we are is... we're basically in the first bursting global sovereign debt bubble in 100 years.” – Luke Gromen EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED) https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/perspectives-data-analysis-inflation-fftt-luke-gromen-ig-show-notes FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/perspectives-data-analysis-inflation-fftt-luke-gromen-ig-transcript  CHAPTERS This episode is our definitive guide to inflation, retail investors, precious metals, and Bitcoin. In it we cover: 00:00:00 – Introduction 00:02:02 – Luke's experience as an analyst at investment research firms 00:09:37 – Interpreting and presenting investment data 00:12:05 – How Luke started The Forest for the Trees 00:17:22 – Luke's take on the current financial climate 00:20:34 – The importance of owning assets in today's climate 00:23:58 – Perspectives on inflation 00:41:15 – Investing in alternative assets 00:50:54 – Gold and Bitcoin 00:54:53 – Recommended books and resources ABOUT THE FOREST FOR THE TREES Luke Gromen publishes a weekly macro research report read by institutional and individual investors alike, called Tree Rings. And he's also the author of Mr. X Interviews volume one and two. After working as an analyst for 20 plus years, Luke founded the Forest for The Trees in 2014. Luke is known as one of today's best macroeconomic thinkers. His view is that as data becomes increasingly commoditized, free thinking becomes priceless. And that's exactly why I wanted to have him on the show. After an incredibly tumultuous 2021, I wanted to sit down with Luke to get his thoughts on the last year, the road ahead, and some of the toughest challenges we're facing today, from a multi decade high in inflation to shifts in how we collectively think about money. 

We deconstruct Luke Gromen's peak performance playbook—from his favorite book to the tiny habit that's had the biggest impact on his life. Luke Gromen is the CEO and Founder of The Forest for the Trees. We cover cognitive dissonance in today's economy and the benefits of early morning writing. “The ability to make the data useful, to interpret the data, to make music out of the data, if you will, I think you're seeing that dynamic across a lot of different sectors and in the economy.” – Luke Gromen EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED) https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/fftt-luke-gromen-20mp-show-notes  FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/fftt-luke-gromen-20mp-transcript  CHAPTERS In this episode, we deconstruct Luke Gromen's peak performance playbook—from his favorite book to the tiny habit that's had the biggest impact on his life. In it we cover: 00:00:00 – Introduction 00:01:44 – The cognitive dissonance in today's economy and connecting the dots 00:04:07 – Moving too quickly to the second derivative 00:05:35 – Daily walks and early morning writing 00:10:30 – Learning from Grant Williams and Kiril Sokoloff 00:12:02 – Architecture school and f*ck you money ABOUT LUKE GROMEN Luke Gromen is the CEO and Founder of the Forest for the Trees. Luke publishes a weekly macro research report called Tree Rings, and he's the author of the world renowned Mr. X Interviews Volume 1 and 2. After working as an analyst for 20 plus years, Luke founded the Forest for the Trees in 2014. Luke's Gromen as one of today's best macroeconomic thinkers. His view, which I love, is that as data increasingly becomes commoditized, free thinking becomes priceless. And he's a regular guest on real vision and has been published in a number of newspapers, including the financial times. As someone who's followed Luke's work for years, it was a thrill to finally have him on the show.

EP 100:  Benchmark numbers can be simultaneously arbitrary while also holding significant personal meaning, and today is such a day!  We are celebrating episode 100 of this podcast and I have all of you to thank.  Beyond that, I'm going to leave you with my 2023 motto and hopefully inspire you to follow your own!This episode is brought to you by Bay Photo Lab. For all your professional photography printing services, go to bayphoto.com for 25% off your first time order! Support the show

We explore why and how to invest in gold. We're joined by Simon Mikhailovich, Co-Founder of The Bullion Reserve. We cover cycles of financial euphoria, the three ways to get out of debt, and whether people should invest in gold ETFs. “The most important thing is that technology evolves, but people don't. That's the biggest lesson of history—humans don't change.” – Simon Mikhailovich EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED) https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/simon-mikhailovich-outliers-show-notes  FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/simon-mikhailovich-outliers-transcript  CHAPTERS This episode is our definitive guide to why and how to invest in gold. In it we cover: (00:00:00) – Introduction (00:01:32) – Simon's thoughts on gold's role in the current financial market (00:08:37) – Why gold is important at this moment in time (00:15:48) – Cycles of financial euphoria (00:20:33) – The three ways to get out of debt (00:26:31) – Why holding physical gold is different and better than savings in other forms (00:32:12) – Gold is the ultimate insurance for bad financial outcomes (00:38:42) – Gold vs. other precious metals, and how gold is nature's Bitcoin (00:46:42) – Gold has no impairment risk or counterparty risk, and making money vs. preserving wealth (00:59:01) – How Simon has maintained an outlier point of view over time ABOUT THE BULLION RESERVE The Bullion Reserve enables investors to hold physical gold in secure locations all around the world. 

Jonathan Ebert of Benchmark Physical Therapy joined Josh Ward on Josh and Swain for this week's edition of Benched or Battle Ready!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We explore becoming a better writer. We're joined by Verlyn Klinkenborg, author and Yale professor. We cover learning from farm life and work, finding rhythm in writing, and debunking writing cliches.  “So what I do now is essentially help students escape from their education. That's my enterprise every year. And it's always fun, because they escape quite readily. They all know that what they're making in their classes is an artificial product that doesn't actually have any particular interest for anyone except them.” – Verlyn Klinkenborg  EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED) https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/verlyn-klinkenborg-outliers-show-notes  FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/verlyn-klinkenborg-outliers-transcript  CHAPTERS This episode is our definitive guide to becoming a better writer. In it we cover: (00:00:00) – Introduction (00:01:54) – Rural life and the “home place” (00:04:50) – Raising animals and eating meat (00:11:07) – Learnings from farm life and work (00:15:35) – Verlyn's reading habits (00:28:40) – Verlyn's book Several Short Sentences About Writing (00:34:49) – What is academic prose? (00:40:08) – Why people should use shorter sentences in writing (00:44:43) – Finding rhythm in writing (00:48:49) – Self authorization and noticing the world around you (00:55:26) – Writing cliches that are untrue (01:06:43) – Writing is rooted in experience more than language ABOUT SEVERAL SHORT SENTENCES ABOUT WRITING Verlyn Klinkenborg teaches creative writing at Yale University, and was a member of the editorial board of The New York Times for 16 years. His work has been featured in The New Yorker, Harper's Magazine, Esquire, and National Geographic, and he has authored several books, including Several Short Sentences About Writing. This book aims to debunk general cliches about writing and creativity and remove obstacles keeping us from clear self-expression.

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Jonathan Ebert of Benchmark Physical Therapy joined Josh Ward on Josh and Swain for this week's edition of Benched or Battle Ready!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We explore investing in buy-and-build compounders in public markets. We're joined by Dan Roller, Founder and CIO of Maran Capital. We cover how building investment knowledge is like training for the Ironman, the value vs. growth debate, and investing in SPACs. “What you need to do, I think, is constantly update your thesis as you go, which can allow for longer holding periods, because things do change. And at the same time, I go into investments with a multi-year horizon—but my thesis might be disproven fairly quickly.” – Dan Roller EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED) https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/dan-roller-outliers-show-notes  FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/dan-roller-outliers-transcript  CHAPTERS This episode is our definitive guide to investing in buy-and-build compounders in public markets. In it we cover: (00:00:00) – Introduction (00:01:50) – MOI Global and Dan's start in the investment world (00:11:20) – The formation of Maran Capital (00:14:59) – Choosing your hunting ground and creating structural advantages  (00:21:21) – Researching and choosing companies to invest in (00:28:27) – How building investment knowledge is like training for the Ironman (00:32:17) – Examples and basics of buy-and-build companies (00:41:04) – How buy-and-build can go wrong (00:51:40) – The value vs. growth debate (00:54:57) – Investing in SPACs (00:58:06) – Thesis drift and mental models (01:02:21) – Resources for learning about investing ABOUT MARAN CAPITAL Dan Roller is Founder and CIO of Maran Capital Management, a boutique, values-driven investment manager that I've been following intently for the last few years. I love the way that Dan sees the world, and I never miss reading one of his investor letters. In this episode, we go deep on how becoming a better investor is similar to training for an Ironman competition, why Dan focuses on what he calls buy and build companies and some of his favorite historic and recent examples there, his approach to investing in special situations and what defines a good or bad opportunity. I get his thoughts on SPACs and why he sees some interesting opportunities in the world today. Dan is a remarkable investor. Before he founded Maran Capital management in 2015, he worked as an analyst for over a decade at firms like Credit Suisse First Boston, Impala Asset Management, Avesta Capital Advisors, and Scopus Asset Management.

We explore the world's least sexy $500M business. We're joined by Carey Smith, Founder of Big Ass Fans. We cover the importance of humor in business, receiving and listening to feedback, and Carey's investment philosophy with Unorthodox Ventures. “I think in some ways it's trite, but you really do learn an awful lot from failures. And the other thing you get from a failure—or certainly I did—was the fear of completely wasting my life. That was a much greater fear—to imagine that you wouldn't accomplish much of anything was just more than I could bear and what it moved me to was looking for other opportunities.” – J. Carey Smith EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED) https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/carey-smith-outliers-show-notes  FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/carey-smith-outliers-transcript  CHAPTERS This episode is our definitive guide to building the world's least sexy $500M business. In it we cover: 00:00:00 – Introduction 00:01:17 – Carey's childhood and first forays into business 00:06:24 – What Carey learned from the failure of his first company 00:11:42 – How Carey started Big Ass Fans 00:21:00 – Why humor is so important in business and customer service 00:32:46 – Focusing on excellent quality when selling a higher-priced product 00:36:51 – Receiving and listening to feedback to constantly improve a company 00:45:40 – Carey's investment philosophy with Unorthodox Ventures 01:01:41 – Inspiration from one of Carey's first supervisors ABOUT BIG ASS FANS AND CAREY SMITH Carey Smith is the Founder of Big Ass Fans, a business that he built from the ground up and scaled for nearly 20 years before selling for $500 million in 2017. Since then, he's founded Unorthodox Ventures, where he backs extraordinary founders and helps them scale their companies faster, using all of what he learned building Big Ass Fans. We go deep on a bunch of interesting topics, including lessons learned scaling Big Ass Fans, why it's important to deeply understand the people purchasing your product, not just those enjoying it, and building lucrative businesses in unsexy markets.

Escucha martes y viernes la opinión de Jorge A. Meléndez.

In Episode #16, we explore The Chemistry of Fire: Essays with the author, Laurence Gonzales. We cover an adventure story of ice climbers on Mount Washington, the importance of rules and systems for decision making, and Laurence's work with the Santa Fe Institute. “There's no way to stop these accidents from happening, but there's a way to stop them from happening to you.” – Laurence Gonzales EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED) https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/laurence-gonzales2-outliers-show-notes  FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/laurence-gonzales2-outliers-transcript  CHAPTERS This episode is our definitive guide to The Chemistry of Fire. In it we cover: (00:00:00) – Introduction (00:01:32) – The concept of the chemistry of fire (00:05:06) – An adventure story of ice climbers on Mount Washington (00:06:57) – Why people keep going when they know they should turn back (00:15:54) – The importance of rules and systems for decision making (00:21:32) – The survival of a cross-country skier after a major mishap (00:27:32) – Laurence's work with the Santa Fe Institute (00:34:02) – Words of wisdom for 2021 ABOUT THE CHEMISTRY OF FIRE Laurence Gonzales is the author of The Chemistry of Fire: Essays. In our previous conversation, we discussed Laurence's best selling book, Deep Survival, on who lives, who dies, and why. It's an incredible book, and it's filled with so many parallels to the worlds of business, investing, and peak performance. So when Laurence told me that he had a new book coming, I couldn't resist the urge to pick his brain one more time.

We explore Deep Survival: The Incredible Neuroscience of Survival, Who Lives, and Who Dies. We're joined by Laurence Gonzales, best-selling author. We cover habits during emergencies, practicing for disaster, and safety in the airline industry. “All accidents are the same. You kind of have to put them together from pieces. They don't just happen. You have to assemble them.” — Laurence Gonzales EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED) https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/laurence-gonzales-outliers-show-notes  FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/laurence-gonzales-outliers-transcript  CHAPTERS This episode is our guide to Deep Survival by Laurence Gonzales. In it we cover: 00:00:00 – Introduction 00:01:49 – How Laurence's father's survival of a World War II plane crash inspired his interest in survival themes 00:06:18 – How habituation and the brain-body complex work together 00:20:57 – Laurence's views on arming police with military gear 00:24:26 – The concept of hot cognition in times of stress 00:31:28 – PTSD minus the D 00:51:35 – Safety in the airline industry 01:01:48 – The human brain on the “night shift” 01:06:07 – The Santa Fe Institute and Laurence's work there ABOUT DEEP SURVIVAL AND LAURENCE GONZALES Laurence Gonzales started his career as a journalist and earned a Distinguished Service Award from the Society of Professional Journalists. He then went on to become an editor for multiple magazines, including Playboy back in the day. And he won two national awards from the American Society of Magazine Editors for his work on National Geographic's Adventure magazine. He's the bestselling author of multiple award winning books. He was awarded the Montaigne Medal from the Eric Hoffer Society in 2018, and won the prestigious Eric Hoffer Award in both 2018 and 2019. He has also been a Miller scholar at the illustrious Santa Fe Institute.

We explore building the Apple Design Award-winning apps Halide and Spectre with Sebastiaan de With, Co-Founder and designer at Lux. We cover bridging the gap between visual design and product design, growing from one camera app to a photography company, and advice for those interested in creating and selling an app. “We will see the landscape littered with the burnt out husks of people that love their passions, but burn so bright that they burn out. And it is so, so valuable to give yourself time, to take a break, to reflect and to realize, ‘these are my passions—how can I healthily pursue them?'” – Sebastiaan de With EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED) https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/sebastiaan-de-with-outlier-academy-show-notes  FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/sebastiaan-de-with-outlier-academy-transcript  CHAPTERS This episode is our definitive guide to building Apple Design Award-winning apps. In it we cover: (00:00:00) – Introduction (00:02:03) – Sebastiaan's early introduction to designing icons with HP, Apple, and doubleTwist (00:09:23) – Apple as a workplace of incredible learning, punishingly hard work, and in depth design processes (00:17:35) – Bridging the gap between visual design and product design (00:19:53) – The making and success of Sebastiaan's first camera app, Halide (00:29:28) – How passion relates to success (00:31:36) – Growing from one camera app to a photography company (00:33:34) – Physicality and attention to detail in digital design (00:45:04) – Advice for those interested in creating and selling an app (00:48:08) – Whether we should follow our passions in business, and how to nurture them (00:54:48) – Sebastiaan's favorite failures and the definition of success  ABOUT SEBASTIAAN DE WITH AND LUX Aside from being an incredible designer, Sebastiaan has built one of the world's most successful, independent iOS app businesses with Lux. And it all started in 2017 when Ben Sandofsky and Sebastiaan launched their first app Halide, which went on to top the charts in the App Store and win Apple's App of the Year Award. Halide makes it incredibly easy to capture and edit beautiful, raw photos, right on your iPhone and now your iPad. They followed that up with the release of Spectre, which makes it easy to take long, exposure photos, which also topped the App Store and won them a second App of the Year Award. All of Lux's apps are centered around photography, and they're building a next-generation camera company. 

We explore finding, owning, and loving your voice. We're joined by Jessica Hansen, In-House Voice Coach at NPR. We cover finding and honing the perfect NPR voice, techniques for finding your best voice, and Jessica's voice coaching practice. “Your voice is your instrument and you are a professional voice user. — Jessica Hansen EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED) https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/jessica-hansen-outliers-show-notes  FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/jessica-hansen-outliers-transcript  CHAPTERS This episode is our definitive guide to finding, owning, and loving your voice. In it we cover: 00:00:00 – Introduction 00:01:30 – How Jessica became interested in voice through theater 00:04:29 – Jessica's work at NPR 00:09:13 – On finding and honing the perfect NPR voice 00:21:55 – Techniques on controlling your nerves before speaking, including breathwork 00:26:47 – The building blocks of voice 00:30:02 – Jessica's voice coaching process, from beginner to advanced levels 00:38:47 – Simple but effective tips for finding your best voice 00:51:02 – Recommendations for resources on the voice ABOUT JESSICA HANSEN As an actress, Jessica Hansen has appeared on hit TV shows like Parks and Rec and Veep. And as a vocal coach, she works at NPR, where she helps all of NPR's on-air talent to sound incredible. In the lead-up to launching Outlier Academy, I was lucky enough to work with Jessica, and she helped me finally get comfortable and confident with my own voice. And that's exactly why I wanted to have her on the show. We go deep on how to find and own your voice, overcoming your fear of speaking publicly, why the best voices are often the quirkiest, and how to sound interesting, as well as why that's important. If you've ever struggled with your own voice, this episode is for you.

Being sold as a cure for climate change, sustainability, equity and all the other perceived troubles of society, the 15 minute is the new solution. It's here, being implemented now and coming very soon to your urban city. But, what exactly is it? How is it a good thing? There is something very disturbing about this development and we explore it on this weeks episode. Email us at: downthrh@protonmail.com SHOW NOTES: https://www.15minutecity.com/ https://www.c40knowledgehub.org/s/article/Benchmark-15-minute-cities?language=en_US#:~:text=This%20resource%20gives%20an%20accessible,design%20of%20their%20own%20approaches. https://cities-today.com/programme-launched-to-expand-15-minute-cities-globally/ https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/03/15-minute-city-stickiness/ https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/23073992.traffic-filters-will-divide-city-15-minute-neighbourhoods/ https://www.spiked-online.com/2022/10/25/the-madness-of-the-15-minute-city/ https://www.arlnow.com/2022/12/20/fifteen-minute-cities-gaining-traction-in-a-post-pandemic-world-are-already-here-in-arlington/ https://ti.org/antiplanner/?p=19736 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-02/the-downsides-of-a-15-minute-city https://twitter.com/backtolife_2023/status/1601850000698671104 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/nwczradios-dtrh/message

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We explore managing $1.8 billion in wealth, investment philosophy, and teaching kids about money. We're joined by Brandon Johnson, CEO of JFG Wealth. We cover keys to successful family wealth management, the spectrum of risk and returns, and diversification and recency bias. “Once we have a starting point and a target, we can start to evaluate, do we turn left, do we turn right? How do we measure success? Then that dynamic process never stops." – Brandon Johnson EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED) https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/brandon-johnson-outliers-show-notes  FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/brandon-johnson-outliers-transcript  CHAPTERS This episode is our definitive guide to investment philosophy and wealth management. In it we cover: (00:00:00) – Introduction (00:02:27) – History of the Johnson Financial Group (00:10:19) – Brandon's path to wealth management (00:14:39) – What is a family office? (00:23:16) – Keys to successful family wealth management (00:38:08) – Teaching kids about saving, investing, and giving back (00:48:05) – JFG's process for working with new families (01:01:13) – The spectrum of risk and returns (01:09:40) – Diversification and recency bias (01:17:10) – Defining success ABOUT JFG MULTI-FAMILY OFFICE Brandon Johnson is the CEO of JFG Wealth, where Brandon and his team manage over $1.8 billion for ultra high net worth families across the United States. Before taking a hard left turn into the world of investing, Brandon first trained as a chef at Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Institute in Paris. He also serves on the board of trustees for the University of Denver and the Children's Hospital of Colorado.

Escucha martes y viernes la opinión de Jorge A. Meléndez.