Austin Fire Show

As the Austin Fire Show wraps up, I was asked by a few to field some questions myself, and we had some great questions. So, without further ado, here’s my friend, Chad Stith.

Today, I’m sitting down with Cam Doody, CEO of BellHops, and Andy Tryba, CEO of RideAustin. These are two separate interviews in one episode, and the common theme is the pressure and ambiguity you have to deal with in a startup.
My biggest take-away from this: You will mess up. You will be stressed. You will not know what you’re doing, but that’s the price you must pay while pursuing something worthwhile. And it is worthwhile.
If you like or hate this episode, please leave a review on iTunes, because apparently that’s what I’m told I should ask you guys for. If you want to yell at me, I can be reached at [email protected]
As always, enjoy.

Today, I’m sitting down with Gordon Walton, President on ArtCraft Entertainment Inc and a pioneer in the video game industry, who;s worked on games such a Sims Online and Star Wars: the Old Republic. His company, ArtCraft, is currently working on Crowfall, which is MMO breaking many of the rules in the MMO industry. MMO are massively multiplayer online games, such as World of Warcraft.

I love doing this episode because I learned a ton:
How a veteran looks at an industry and assesses a product, consumer, and market risks in order to make a strategic decision.
The bonds and relationships that are made by sharing experiences virtually, whether those experiences are joyful, sad, angry, or stressful
And then, an idea I’m curious about since it drives a lot of ambition I see in myself is, the idea of personal heroism and how we think we perceive ourselves as the protagonist in our stories.

As always, enjoy.

Whenever most think about freelancing, the image that pop up in their mind is someone on a beach, sipping a Corona (this is not an ad😉), and generally having the time of their lives. That’s really not the case. Being able to monetize a rare and valuable skill independent of location is difficult, and doesn’t begin on Day 1. But how does one get to that point?
Today, I’m sitting down with Emily Leach, a freelancer for 20+ years and Founder/CEO of Freelance Conference, to talk about that very topic, and more. She’s one of the pioneers in the US Freelancing community, having founded The Freelance Conference, where she helps freelancers get educated on the business side of the work, get connections with companies and other freelancers looking for someone to work with.

Also, if you’d like to attend the Freelance Conference, it’s in Austin on Sep 7-Sep 8, and you can use the code austinfireshow for a $60 discount.

Enjoy.

Today, I’m sitting down with Sujan, one of the people I know who I consider operate their life, business, and relationships at a fast, high-performing, yet thoughtful, level.
Sujan’s an entrepreneur - suprise! - marketer and friend. He is a growth marketers who runs multiple SaaS business, writes for Inc Magazine, and, from what I’ve seen, lives life to the fullest he can.I really enjoy conversations like the one you’re going to listen to, and I get to record them and push them out as a podcast.

In this conversation, we’re talking about the levels one must go through in life to get to where one wants, how work-life balance works when you’re hustling, and staying at the top of your field.

You can reach out to Sujan on Twitter @sujanpatel.

Enjoy.

As you know, Amazon bought Whole Foods recently. If you don’t, I’d love to get you on the show and learn how you develop such a low-information diet, especially if there is an organic option that can be delivered in two hours - no, I’m not kidding.

Back to the skin of the matter. Why did Amazon buy Whole Foods? What are the strategic implications of the purchase? Is Amazon close to having monopolistc power on online retail?

Today, I’m sitting with Patrick Badolato, an accounting professor at the University of Texas McCombs school of business, and a few more things:
PHD in Accounting from Duke
Teaches in the MBA, MSTC, MPA and MSF programs at UT
Worked with and consulted for Harvard Business School and Harvard Business Publishing on various accounting materials
His teachings focus on Financial Accounting, and Financial Statement Analysis, and he was actually my professor at the MS Tech Commercialization this summer.
We’re discussing:
Performance of Whole Foods over the years
Whole Food’s First-Mover Advantage vs. Sustainable Competitive Advantage
How has Amazon changed over the years?
How would you weigh the convenience of online vs. the experience of online shopping?
Disclaimer: This is not stock recommendation. This is a conversation.