From a very young age, it was clear that selling was encoded in Gary Tramer’s DNA. His aptitude for sales emerged early when he was a scrappy little kid riding his bike around the neighborhood with his friends. He and his gang would steal their neighbors’ plants, re-pot them into yogurt containers, and sell them back to the same neighbors. With the money they made, Tramer and company would indulge in Fizz Wiz, Warheads, and other junk from the candy shop. “We were crafting our humble entrepreneu...
Apr 07, 2016•50 min
“Lean Startup” has become a popular concept in the world of entrepreneurship. All founders and founders-to-be have phrases like “pivot” and “fail fast” on the tips of their tongues. But for Martin Hosking, lean isn’t just a fashionable trend. He’s lived it. And after applying and experiencing lean methods over decades of launching and running tech startups, the methodology has gained a more sophisticated meaning in Hosking’s mind. It is not just a clever strategy for testing markets, but rather ...
Mar 29, 2016•45 min
As a full time software developer working for a large company, Rob Walling dreamt of becoming an entrepreneur – and more than a decade later he has obtained serial entrepreneur status. Rob Walling is many things…as a serial entrepreneur he has been at the helm of several tech companies including Drip, Micropreneur, HitTail and DotNetNovice. His personal brand is supported by regular posts to his blog which he forayed into a book, Start Small and Stay Small: A Developer’s Guide to Launching a Sta...
Mar 23, 2016•49 min
It's not easy to admit when you're wrong, but you'll rarely find a better time than when you're filing for personal bankruptcy. That's what Tim Fargo of Tweet Jukebox had to do when he was a young man in 1991 and found himself a little too in over his head. But today he's the founder of one of the most exciting and innovative social media automation engines in the world, right after selling his previous company for $20 million. So how does someone go from bankruptcy to $20 million? Well, you do ...
Mar 16, 2016•50 min
Gary Vaynerchuk is a bona fide Internet celebrity. At last count, he was sitting pretty at 1.21 million Twitter followers, and 226,000 Instagram followers. He’s appeared in the Wall Street Journal , Time Magazine , on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon , Conan O’Brien , Ellen , CNN, and MSNBC. He’s now the CEO of VaynerMedia, a digital agency with more than 600 staff. Vaynerchuk is an entrepreneur, investor, New York Times best-selling author, speaker, and, hailing from greater New York City, a ferven...
Mar 09, 2016•39 min
Every day there’s an entrepreneur out there who believes that they’ve found the golden ticket. The one idea that is so revolutionary that it’s going to change the landscape of their niche and bring them a huge success. Unfortunately, no matter how great of an idea it may be, nothing happens unless you have a brilliant plan to execute it. So where to start in this crazy startup world? Well, according to Gretta Rose Van Riel, it starts off with finding not just the right product idea but the perfe...
Mar 01, 2016•56 min
One type of entrepreneur we don't give enough credit to is the local business owner. While it seems that everyone in the startup world these days is trying to come up with the latest app, or next revolutionary SaaS, we often forget about that entrepreneur looking to create something on the ground. One of the biggest struggles for local business owners is finding a way to get their business out there. When you're running a brick-and-mortar business it can often feel like your options are limited ...
Feb 23, 2016•39 min
One common trait among successful entrepreneurs is a sense of urgency—spotting a need and responding without hesitation in order to address and capitalize on it, even when that means taking a risk. Deonna Monique is a prime example. As a consumer of hair extensions, she had long struggled with finding the right product, and what she saw as a lack of authenticity in the market. But when she realized through social media that the problem was much bigger than her own, she started a company. “I thou...
Feb 16, 2016•55 min
No matter how you crunch the numbers, starting your own business is expensive. In fact one of the first crossroads moments you'll encounter as an entrepreneur, among many, is trying to figure where you're going to get that funding. Do you self-invest and bootstrap it? Or do you start talking to investors? Raj Sheth goes deep on that issue in our interview today, as he openly talks about how he and his co-founders funded their way to the top with Recruiterbox. Nearly five years since its launch, ...
Feb 09, 2016•52 min
In just a few short years Steve Kamb has successfully created a multimillion dollar business by orchestrating one of the most intriguing communities online. As the founder of Nerd Fitness Kamb has positively influenced and empowered thousands of people in the world into living a healthier lifestyle. By looking past the stereotypes and the norm, Kamb has managed to break through the highly competitive fitness market and find a niche that was looking for the answer that only he could provide. Howe...
Feb 03, 2016•48 min
Finding the right startup idea is difficult even for lifelong entrepreneurs. But when it comes down to it, the best approach is to take a long hard look at what you're passionate about and try to figure out a way to share that with the world. By sharing her passion for graphic design to anyone who was interested, Melanie Perkins was able to become a certified tour de force in the entrepreneurial world. Seemingly coming out of nowhere, in just under two years her company has grown to 8 million us...
Jan 26, 2016•35 min
For some, being an entrepreneur is the only life to live, and it means essentially not having a job. For others, working for yourself, always hustling and without a dependable paycheck, sounds insane. Today's guest is firmly in the former camp, and very proud to say that he's never had a job in his life. There have been some part-time gigs, some casual work here and there, but Yaro Starak has only ever seen one side of the fence, and it's always been green. While there are those out there who wi...
Jan 19, 2016•1 hr 8 min
Anyone can have a great idea, any entrepreneur can get lucky and make it big, but it takes something really special to turn your startup into something that lasts . For the past 27 years that's exactly what Darrell Wade has done with IntrepidTravel. It all started in 1988 when two friends went on a trip to Africa and came back with an idea, something that would revolutionize the travel industry forever. Despite the lack of confidence from the banks and everyone telling them otherwise, Wade and h...
Jan 12, 2016•49 min
There is a quintessential moment that every entrepreneur will face at some point in his or her life. It doesn’t matter what kind of business you’re running, or what kind of niche you’re in, there's a particular experience unique to those who dare to try their hands at entrepreneurship. It’s the moment when you look in the mirror and realize that you’re not happy doing whatever it is you’re doing. You decide that the system doesn’t work for you, so instead you’re going to go out there and create ...
Jan 05, 2016•1 hr 13 min
Carlos "Los" Silva is rightfully considered today one of the top business marketing trainers in the world. After a 10-year entrepreneurial journey, he finds himself at the helm of multiple, million-dollar businesses that aim to teach other entrepreneurs different ways they can achieve startup success. His advice is sought after by master entrepreneurs in their own right, with his client list boasting names like Disney, Ryan Deiss, Kent Clothier, and many more. Which is why we're super excited to...
Dec 22, 2015•51 min
During one of Guy Kawasaki’s first marketing assignments in the early 1980s, he would knock on the doors of startup software companies across Silicon Valley armed with a stack of non-disclosure agreements and a prototype computer in a bag. “We would say, ‘If you sign this, we’ll show you what’s in the bag,’” he says. The prototype, Kawasaki explains, was a top-secret project that, if knowledge of it was widespread, would cannibalize sales of their main computer hardware product. It’s name? Macin...
Dec 15, 2015•32 min
There’s a simple rule that all entrepreneurs live by: Aim for disruptive change. Everything you need to know about being an entrepreneur lies in that beautifully simple rule. Yet, as many entrepreneurs will tell you, it’s easier said than done. But that’s exactly what Lisa Q. Fetterman went ahead and did as the co-founder and CEO of Nomiku. Nomiku takes it name from “nomikuii” a Japanese word which means to eat and drink- a perfect name for the revolutionary kitchen appliance that’s finding home...
Dec 08, 2015•41 min
Building a startup is hard, from generating an idea, to developing an MVP, to launching a product, and eventually growing a business. It's just really hard. But what if I told you that it's entirely possible to launch a startup in 7 days and build a profitable business almost instantaneously? Sounds crazy right? Well tell that to Dan Norriss of WP Curve who went ahead and did just that. After seven years of trying his hand at various business, it wasn't until 2013 that Dan struck gold with WP Cu...
Dec 03, 2015•59 min
How can you attract top talent, and create a workforce that goes the extra mile for the company? The answer – surprisingly – isn’t salary, perks or bonuses. It’s culture. Making the effort to build and invest in a positive business culture can drain time, resources and money. But research suggests that the ROI on a happy workforce can be measured in dollars as well as satisfied, secure staff. According to The Journal of Workplace Behavioral Health, good culture-building activities successfully c...
Nov 23, 2015•42 min
Scott Jordan is no wall flower. He is a force to be reckoned with – and when he became frustrated with carrying devices and wanted something better than a man bag or a fanny pack he quit his job as a lawyer at a startup and launched SCOTTeVEST– a travel clothier that specializes in multi-pocket clothing specifically built around the tech gear we all carry. That decision, fourteen years ago, was made based on a philosophy that has guided much of his entrepreneurial journey – anything worth doing ...
Nov 19, 2015•50 min
However great it is, entrepreneurship is hard. It can mean disappointment. It can mean exhaustion. It can mean frustration. It can mean failure. Starting a business is less smooth sailing and more stormy seas, often with waves of worry even as you tack toward horizons glowing with promise. “If you’re obsessed about this product that you want to bring to life, this business that you want to create, you’ll get through it,” Feld says. “If you’re not, you won’t.” He would know. Feld has been open ab...
Nov 12, 2015•40 min
Joanna Wiebe isn't someone that's focused on money, a statement that some of entrepreneurs would be horrified by. However what she is passionate about is words, the power of them, and their ability to inspire, convince, and persuade. It's this passion for writing that has led her to create one of the most premiere copywriting services in the world where her skill as a wordsmith is sought after by hundreds of businesses. She doesn't do this by making good copy, she does it by making GREAT copy. I...
Nov 04, 2015•55 min
If you’re new to the startup space, Steve Blank is the biggest name in tech you haven’t heard of. A serial entrepreneur turned educator, in entrepreneurial circles he’s referred to as one of the “Godfathers of Silicon Valley.” A master of the startup, he was involved in or founded ’s started eight venture-backed Silicon Valley companies, including software company E.piphany, which alone raised $66 million prior to going public in 1999, before being acquired by a larger corporation for $329 milli...
Oct 29, 2015•46 min
Tony Stubblebine was not one of those 22-year-old tech startup CEOs, wearing hoodies and distributing profane business cards. He got his start as a sharp programmer, working alongside people like Ev Williams and Biz Stone, and has been steadily climbing his way up the ladder since. The path to becoming a successful CEO involved a lot of growth and personal development for him, almost like an athlete in training. One thing he could have used much earlier is a good coach. “I didn’t get my first co...
Oct 21, 2015•1 hr 2 min
All the most successful ideas in the world were when entrepreneurs realized that there was something about their current life that they wished could be done a little easier. The only difference between entrepreneurs and regular people though, is instead of just complaining, they go ahead and built it. For founder Chris Strode it all began because he wanted make the lives of small business owners a little easier back in 2002. Today Invoice2go is one of the highest grossing business app on the mar...
Oct 15, 2015•40 min
Today's episode is a little different than most, but as always it is one not to be missed. If you've ever wondered how to harness the power of Email Marketing, this one will not only be an massive eye opener of what's possible, but also a sure fire way for you to quickly understand what you need to do, to sell your products/services on automation with Email Marketing. We sit down with Micah Mitchell who is an Infusionsoft master, co-founder of a popular Membership SaaS (Memberium), and also know...
Oct 07, 2015•52 min
Tony Robbins talks fast. Conversing with him is like riding Space Mountain: You get in, you hang on, and before you know it, it’s over and you’re left feeling bewildered, slightly euphoric, and wanting to smooth your hair. Robbins has become a household name as the man who popularized life coaching. Imagine your client list including Oprah, Princess Diana, and Bill Clinton—all before you hit your mid- 30s. He’s spoken to more than 50 million people in 100 countries. To call Tony Robbins just a s...
Sep 30, 2015•50 min
PAX Labs is changing the way we look at smoking. The beautiful elegance of the product is restoring luxury to the vaping world. But, developing a product that essentially sold itself for the first two years required an innovative approach to need finding. In this episode you will learn: What goes into developing a product so innovative that it is its own category The T-Shaped principle when it comes to building an effective and harmonious team How to use personal experience to develop a product ...
Sep 23, 2015•45 min
Michelle Phan wears many hats. Or more perhaps more aptly; lipstick hues. YouTube pioneer, mega brand boardroom heavyweight, company founder, creative director, global beauty queen. Phan has makeup tricks that will make your eyes pop. But the numbers behind her success could make them water. Approaching 8 million YouTube followers, 1.1 billion video views, and over 1 million subscribers to her online beauty community and sampling service, ipsy. Not bad for a 28-year-old who started touting the p...
Sep 15, 2015•26 min
Founder of Fueled and the Fueled Collective, Rameet Chawla, explains what it takes to consistently build the finest mobile apps, defines the Viral Coefficient and reveals how his need to be creative and independent lead him to leave the world of corporate finance to create a job for himself, which started by building his dream company. In this episode you will learn: What goes into making and developing the right MVP The secrets to getting the best kind of user feedback, when to listen, and when...
Sep 10, 2015•39 min
