On one of the podcasts I used to listen to (Open for Business hosted by John Henry) there was a particular episode that really inspired me. In it, he tells the story about 2 fishes swimming along their day. A big fish swims by and greets them “hows the water?” He says as he goes by. Afterwards, the 2 fishes, stunned, turn to each other and ask “what’s water?” That story pained a clear picture for me of the immigrant's advantage. Because they’re put into an entirely new situation and way of livin...
Feb 13, 2019•31 min•Ep. 31
Starting this season, I’ve decided to add solo episodes every other week, in between interviews, where I’ll be answering your questions, sharing insights and lessons from my own journey. On today's episode, I was joined by my business partner, producer, and wife, Alexandra, and we talk about the top three lessons we learned from our first year in business in 2018. Some of these perspective shifts were uncomfortable, and they really showed us that being adaptable and open to learning would be a t...
Jan 30, 2019•14 min•Ep. 30
Sitting down for this interview I had only one objective: to understand how this guy makes it his duty to make as many luxury cars disappear out of the lot as possible. I wanted to break it down in a way that anyone listening - myself included - could replicate, raise their prices and get more customers. I got that, and a lot more. As you'll hear on this episode, Sloane is knowledgable (don’t take my word for it), and his competitive spirit has led him to break records for luxury car sales, incl...
Jan 23, 2019•36 min•Ep. 29
It’s easy to take things for granted once they start to feel like the norm. We forget that they weren’t always there and that they could actually be gone one day. Louis CK makes this joke about travelling by plane. He says it’s one of the most marvellous inventions of the last century (* I know the first flight was 1903, this sounds better *), yet we’re totally over it when the Wi-Fi on our flight doesn’t work. We’ve come to accept as the norm, the increased focus and transparency on entrepreneu...
Sep 05, 2018•34 min•Ep. 28
If you have a great corporate job, and you’re on an upward path, making excellent money, would you leave it all and risk getting nothing? Scott Dunn’s “dream” was too big to ignore, and he’s getting paid massive dividends for jumping off into the deep end. Scott is the Managing Director of Dream Entertainment, masterminds behind the renowned Dream Weekend event, Xodus Carnival Band, stalwart parties like Twisted Spiritz, Yush, Daydreams and tons more to mention. In this episode, he shares how a ...
Aug 14, 2018•47 min•Ep. 27
How do you organize huge events and connect with high-impact influencers like Mark Cuban and Gary Vee all while being under 20 years old? For the Managing Partner of Disrupt Ventures, Ja’dan Johnson (@officialjadan), it’s by being the type of person you don’t underestimate. When most of us were thinking about girls, games and exams, Ja’dan was enrolling in Wharton Business School - he was on a quest for knowledge. Through shutting down his business and dropping out of university, twice, he disco...
Jun 25, 2018•38 min•Ep. 26
John Henry ( @johnhenrystyle ) is an entrepreneur, speaker and Venture Partner of Harlem Capital Partners, a minority-owned, diversity-focused early-stage investment firm on a mission to change the face of entrepreneurship. John also hosts the #ChopItUpShow on YouTube and the Open For Business podcast from eBay and Gimlet Creative. At the age of 18, John left college to pursue what became his first company, an on-demand laundry service. John quickly carved a niche out in Film and Television Prod...
Jun 07, 2018•41 min•Ep. 25
Andre Burnett ( @dre.notnice ) is a Brand Strategist, Creative Director, Copywriter, you name it - he probably does it, and Managing Director of Muse 360 Integrated. Andre & Muse are behind many of Jamaica’s most creative ads around today. We get into a lot of his journey to starting his company, his philosophy for melding creativity and business and the mistakes he's had to overcome along the way. One unusual tidbit: we recorded this episode at the sanctuary, which you’ll hear more about. I...
May 01, 2018•44 min•Ep. 24
Marcia Forbes (@marciaforbes) co-founded her company Phase 3 Productions over 35 years ago. She is now the Executive Chairperson and has transformed it into a strong family business, where her son, Delano is CEO. It’s interesting how they’ve been able to reinvent and renew the business each decade by building on the principles of technology & empowerment. She's a Senior Lecturer at Caribbean Institute of Media & Communication (CARIMAC), Chairperson of The United Way of Jamaica, author of...
Apr 12, 2018•44 min•Ep. 23
Jason Resnick ( @rezzz ) sits in the podcast today! He has been making a living and a life that he loves purely from his freelancing for multiple years, and he now helps people to do it the right way with his community and course called “Live in the Feast”. What is the right way you ask? How about working less, charging more, and doing only on the projects that you love? We get into it today! In this episode, you’ll also learn about everything from: How to get started the right way in setting up...
Mar 21, 2018•48 min•Ep. 22
I have known Craig Powe for some time now, months before he started Adtelligent, and it really has been exciting to witness his transformation into his role as CEO of this company. Don’t sleep on this episode folks, he dives into a lot and he literally pulled the curtain back on Adtelligent and uncovered a ton of what makes it continue to grow month over month. I wanted to show a different perspective this week, what it looks like at the very start of a promising business. I hope you learn a lot...
Feb 28, 2018•46 min•Ep. 21
This week I sit down with Kell-Dawn Hamilton! She and I spoke to a group of young aspiring entrepreneurs late last year in the parish of Clarendon and the moment I heard her speak at the lectern, I knew I needed to have her share her message on this podcast. Kelli-Dawn is a serial entrepreneur. She is the founder of Let’s Assist, a virtual assistant company and iCourage, a motivational speaking company. She is also the Director of Investor Relations of Jamaica’s Special Economic Zone Authority, ...
Feb 21, 2018•48 min•Ep. 20
Paul Brunson is a TV host, a matchmaker, an entrepreneur and a board member of BAU, which you’ll learn more about in this episode. In this episode you’ll learn about: - The quality that makes true entrepreneurs confidently face any risk, even financia
Feb 07, 2018•35 min•Ep. 19
Ray-St. Michael is a long-time lecturer and the founder and CEO of two companies - Discovery Technologies and Y Smart Data - both centred around his passion for data and analytics. He has done a lot of impactful work in Jamaica in the almost 10 years his company has been around, building transformative teams and transforming Jamaica through data. In this episode we talk about: - The top 3 values every entrepreneur should have; - How to build an autonomous team that can take your company to new h...
Jan 31, 2018•41 min•Ep. 18
Conrad Mathison ( @conradmathison ) is the CEO of It’s Pixel Perfect, a digital marketing agency here in Kingston, Jamaica. He has done branding, social media and multiple campaigns for many of the top businesses in Jamaica and has recently walked away with the Prime Minister’s Youth Award for Entrepreneurship. In this episode you will learn: Why is life bigger than success; How do you rally after hugely unfortunate losses; What you need to strip away to achieve growth; and so much more!...
Jan 24, 2018•46 min•Ep. 17
Michael Dann is the founder of Fusion Professional Solutions, an I.T. professional services firm working with credit unions, insurance companies and small businesses to develop successful web solutions. He is also a Senior Consultant and Technical Manager at RealDecoy and Tutor at the UWI Open Campus. With over 15 years as a Technology Professional, Michael is driven and passionate about technology development, technical training and project management; he’s a solutions finder and problem-solver...
Nov 20, 2017•34 min•Ep. 16
Yanique Grant ( @yaniquewagrant ) is the Managing Director and founder of Professional Training and Occupational Services Inc., a customer experience training company here in Jamaica. She has worked with companies internationally to craft their customer experience to create raving fans and customers. Since starting her business in 2007, she has trained over 25,000 people in Jamaica and across the world. She is also the host of the Navigating The Customer Experience podcast, where you’ll find mor...
Nov 13, 2017•52 min•Ep. 15
Entrepreneurship is cool now, but it’s still one of the toughest experiences we could have in life. And failure is a big part of it, they kind of go hand in hand. But what is failure really? Is it something we experience only when we give up, or can we have dozens of micro-failures as we’re growing our business? And, is failure a bad thing, or something we should embrace, or even celebrate? That’s what we’re exploring in today’s episode: Overcoming Failure .
Nov 06, 2017•11 min•Ep. 14
Kenia Mattis ( @keniamattis ) is a founder of ListenMi, a creative design studio that helps companies, communities and NGOs create messages that excite and connect with their audiences through non-traditional brand-driven storytelling. ListenMi specializes in visual storytelling, illustration, animation, voice-over and music scores and reinvests part of its profits into producing its own content such as digital graphic novel series and improving the lives of our indigenous people and children. K...
Oct 30, 2017•52 min•Ep. 13
Tyrone Wilson ( @CallTyrone_W ) is the President and CEO of eMedia Interactive Group Limited, a digital media and advertising company. Tyrone is also Founder & President of iCreate Institute, a partnership with the University of the Commonwealth Caribbean that prepares students for jobs in the creative industry. Tyrone is on the board for several institutions such as the GraceKennedy External Innovation Council, the Jamaica College Old Boys' Association, as well as the Academic Advisory Boar...
Oct 23, 2017•46 min•Ep. 12
Jason Clarke ( @jasonmoc ) is a serial entrepreneur and the CEO and co-founder of Idea Lab, a startup incubator and co-working space here in Kingston Jamaica. He is a very intelligent and capable business developer and you hear a lot of that come out in this episode and in the way he coaches businesses at Idea Lab. In this episode, we talk about: How to solve complex problems; The critical centre of ethical selling; The ins and outs of power negotiation; and Using continuous learning to gain a c...
Oct 16, 2017•36 min•Ep. 11
Ryan Sterling is the CEO and founder of Vertis Technology Solutions, a company which offers IT solutions in Jamaica, the region and Europe. He’s passionate about helping everyone from mom and pop shops to government agencies to leverage technology and education to take Jamaica to the next level. In this episode, we talk about: How Ryan used courage and drive to grow his company from just $8,000 – from his parent’s couch; How to identify the right business partner for your startup; How to extract...
Oct 09, 2017•45 min•Ep. 10
Giovanni Rimann is an expert in solar energy and is the founder of Rimann Renewables and Renewable NRG Incorporated, serving Jamaica, the region and internationally as a leading contractor for renewable energy projects. At only 23 years old, he has been involved in several high profile solar projects in the country, including the first utility-scale solar energy power plant in Jamaica. In this episode, we talk about: How to gain the most from your team and your customers; What are the benefits o...
Oct 02, 2017•48 min•Ep. 9
Kemal Brown is the founder and Creative Director of Digita Global Marketing Limited, a digital media agency and Accume International, a personal development company which has trained, motivated and guided several top companies and organizations in Jamaica. He was selected as one of the Caribbean Leaders to represent Jamaica at the 19th Annual Global Youth Leadership Forum in Sochi Russia and was recently awarded the Top Performer award in the ScotiaBank Vision Achiever Programme for 2017. In thi...
Sep 25, 2017•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 8
Heneka Watkis-Porter is the founder of Patwa Culcha International and the clothing brand Patwa Apparel. She’s published three books on topics ranging from entrepreneurship to religion and motivation and she is the host of The Entrepreneurial You, a short-form podcast created to highlight global, high-impact go-getters who are crushing it as entrepreneurs. And in this episode, we talk about: How to find your life's purpose; How to make the transition from your 9-5 into your own business; How to l...
Sep 18, 2017•55 min•Ep. 7
Christopher Reckord ( @chrisreckord ) is an Executive Director with leading IT support organization tTech Limited – Jamaica’s only publicly traded IT Outsourcing & Managed Services provider. He has over thirty years of experience in the IT industry and is a regular speaker on Technology in Jamaica. Chris is Vice President and Council Member in charge of Membership at the Jamaica Computer Society. He is a chairman of the PSOJ leading their membership committee as well. He also serves on the N...
Sep 11, 2017•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 6
Stacy Kirk is a software QA architect, coder, speaker and CEO of QualityWorks Consulting Group, an international firm that enables businesses to accelerate their software delivery at a fraction of the cost. She has been a champion for quality and process innovation in software development for over 20 years. Her passion for diversity in technology led her to be a First Lego League Robotics coach as well as an advisor to youth-focused non-profits on technology integration. She is a graduate of Sta...
Sep 04, 2017•54 min•Ep. 5
Kirk-Anthony Hamilton is a master architectural designer turned entrepreneur, investor and CEO of the Infiniti Partnership, a company formed based on his love for collaboration and turning ideas into reality. Through his company's community driven approach, he has been able to create opportunities by connecting high net worth individuals to the transformative ideas and teams that need them. In this episode, we talk about: How to leverage your experiences in your current field to help you be a hi...
Aug 28, 2017•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 4
Melarka Williams (@melarka.williams) is an electrical engineer turned tech founder and CEO of Ingenuity Technologies, a bespoke software engineering and quality assurance firm right here in Kingston Jamaica. He left the corporate world 5 years ago, after working with top international brands like Ericsson, to focus on helping the Jamaican tech ecosystem. He was awarded by Development Bank of Jamaica for his innovation in the creation a mobile survey and business analytics tool. In this episode w...
Aug 21, 2017•1 hr•Ep. 3
Jeffrey Azan ( @jj.azan ) is an award-winning public speaker, currently competing on the world stage for Toastmasters champion for impromptu speaking. He has a business called Select’N’Start where he uses his experiences and expertise to motivate and develop everyone from teenagers to business leaders to “change their game, to change their lives”. And for the entire time I have known him, he has been a student of martial arts, levelling up to compete at the highest levels. Here are a few of the ...
Aug 14, 2017•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 2
