Book Is the Hook

"It's painful to watch yourself on camera or listen to yourself interview someone on a podcast... but it's the single best way to get better."

Jason Nellis had dreams of stardom on the big screen as a theatre major in college... but it took a little while (and many twists along the way) to land him on the screen as the host of Unboxed TV and head of marketing at Packagd.  His career in tech began as a bit of an accident when he got his first job at Hulu long before people really knew that it would be THE Hulu and then to his own agency as an entrepreneur.

Along the way, Jason became the ultimate "learner" - but he learned by doing:

- Launching a podcast

On our fun conversation we talk about the power of "learning out loud" -- trying things, getting it out there for feedback and improving.  And I loved hearing how he got past the 'I hate watching myself' and 'I hate listening to myself' to learn how to improve his performances.

#creatorinstitute #entrepreneur #content #podbean #podcast #spotify #itunes #podcasting #soundcloud #youtube #podcasts #stitcher #podcastlife #applepodcasts #radio #podcaster #radioshow #radiopersonality #googleplay #podcasters #music #tunein

"I realized I learn differently."

Dale Stephens has already had an incredible journey in his 20s, dropping out of elementary school (it's a great story), dropping out of college, becoming a Thiel Fellowship winner, launching a company, raising millions in venture capital and writing a book along the way. 

You may look at that and think: "He's unique" or "That's not something I could do."

But the interesting thing about Dale is his belief that all of us learn differently, and we just need to find the *best* way for each of us whether that's how we learn in traditional colleges or universities, how to learn on our own through new methods or how we dive into experiences that'll open our eyes in new and surprising ways. 

Creation events are just another way to learn -- and in our conversation we talk about the power of 'meaty' and 'meaningful' experiences like books, podcasts, events, and others to really force us to learn and level up.  Link to full episode in the comments.

#creatorinstitute #entrepreneur #content #podbean #podcast #spotify #itunes #podcasting #soundcloud #youtube #podcasts #stitcher #podcastlife #applepodcasts #radio #podcaster #radioshow #radiopersonality #googleplay #podcasters #music #tunein

In my today's podcast you have the chance to hear story of Alana Muller - a networking coach, consultant, workshop facilitator, keynoter and lecturer.

"Do things with no right answer."

Tina Seelig is an award winning Stanford University professor, serial author and speaker focused of creativity. And for her this "problem" was one that she didn't  truly discover until she was a doctoral student working in the field of Neuroscience. Like most of us, she'd been learning how to find the right answer - and excelled at each step of the way.

But she quickly realized that the most powerful way to learn is when things *don't* have a right answer. Discovering is where we are the most vulnerable and experience the most growth.

In this intriguing discussion, Tina shares her insights and experiences teaching creativity (yes it can be taught and learned) and offers a unique look into the emerging science of creativity, discovery and learning.  She offers a powerful framework to unlock our creativity - something that had me pondering for days after our chat.

#creatorinstitute #entrepreneur #content #podbean #podcast #spotify #itunes #podcasting #soundcloud #youtube #podcasts #stitcher #podcastlife #applepodcasts #radio #podcaster #radioshow #radiopersonality #googleplay #podcasters #music #tunein

What are you waiting on?

Jeff Morris Jr. is one of the top voices on building products as the director of product revenue at Tinder and investing in them through his own VC fund. But less than five years ago he couldn't get high potential startup companies to give him a second look.

So he decided he'd learn to code through a General Assembly program.Only issue was the program didn't start for a few months... so he needed something to do. He thought he'd put this extra time to work and try to build a few things *without* knowing how to code. Over the next two months, those little mini-experiments resulted in him launching three #1 rated products on Product Hunt. Oh and he never wound up taking that coding bootcamp.

On our fascinating conversation (as you'll hear, I am a huge huge fan of him), Jeff and I talk about our time together at Zaarly, Inc, his transition through the startup ecosystem and how through it all he's found a way to create his own path rather than waiting for someone to give him permission. 

#creatorinstitute

hashtag

#product

hashtag

#vc

hashtag

#dating

hashtag

#producthunt

I royally screwed up the start of my interview with Scott Gerber. Thankfully he's a friend and a nice enough guy that he used it as a teaching lesson.

My gaffe?  I called him "the ultimate networker."

He politely corrected me... "Does anyone *want* to be known as networker?"

And he's right.  On our fascinating conversation we dive into the very question -- how you can build real connection and collaboration today, something Scott has done with The Community Company.  Today more than ever before it's about rising above the noise, being authentic and trying to judge your 'network' on the number of people who'd really go to bat for you based on what you've done together, not how many tweets they retweeted. 

#creatorinstitute #entrepreneur #content #podbean #podcast #spotify #itunes #podcasting #soundcloud #youtube #podcasts #stitcher #podcastlife #applepodcasts #radio #podcaster #radioshow #radiopersonality #googleplay #podcasters #music #tunein #networking

Startup Weekend legitimately changed my life.

Yes, a single weekend did that. (I *did* just happened to do many many of these weekend events because I loved the experience so much). The experience was powerful because of the people and community I met.  Startup Weekend let me truly collaborate with people who changed my entire trajectory - Scott Case, Shane Mac, T. A. McCann, Brad Feld, Bo Fishback, Ian Hunter, Greg Gottesman, Steve Case, Mary Grove, Nick Seguin, Adam Hofmann, Franck Nouyrigat and many more.

At the center of the experience was a way to create and build something with others - in a safe, collaborative & educational way. And for me it's what actually inspired my goal to teach through creation (like books, podcasts and more). 

In this conversation, I chat with Marc Nager who lead the charge to transform entrepreneurship around the globe by building Startup Weekend into the force it is today.  We talk about why creating something *together* is at the core of this DNA. (Full conversation linked in the comments.)

#creatorinstitute

hashtag

#creators

hashtag

#community

hashtag

#entrepreneurship

hashtag

#startups

Tiffany Norwood is a global serial entrepreneur with a career spanning 30 years, seven start-ups, two IPOs and a patent. In her 20s, she raised $670 million to fund a global satellite radio start-up called WorldSpace, within a couple of years XM Radio was born and still exists today as part of Sirius XM.

"I basically wrote a children's book so my kids could meet Elon Musk."

Evan Loomis is the definition of an entrepreneur in everything he does. From founding multiple companies, investing in emerging startups and being a leading voice in Austin's startup scene, he's committed to the entrepreneurial life.

When his kids began to get old enough to read bedtime stories, Evan realized that there weren't enough stories of real people that could inspire his children.  And in particular he found there weren't any stories about entrepreneurs to teach his kids to dream bigger.

So he decided to write one about Elon Musk, the ultimate big-dreamer. "Elon Musk: This Is a Book About Rockets" has received tons of praise and excitement from parents, plus gave him a project to collaborate on with his kids.  Hear how it turned out to be WAY more work than he thought, what Elon said (or didn't) and what he learned along the way.  Find the link to our conversation below.

#creatorinstitute #entrepreneur #content #podbean #podcast #spotify #itunes #podcasting #soundcloud #youtube #podcasts #stitcher #podcastlife #applepodcasts #radio #podcaster #radioshow #radiopersonality #googleplay #podcasters #music #tunein #elonmusk #rocketman 

On today's show I talked with Katherine Waldock - she's an Assistant Professor of Finance at the McDonough School of Business and holds a courtesy joint appointment with the Georgetown Law Center. She and Luigi Zingales are co-hosts of Capitalisn't, a podcast about what's working (and what isn't working) in capitalist societies. She received a Ph.D. in Finance from the NYU Stern School of Business and a B.A. in Economics from Harvard University.