Building Fires

John Tabis has been at the top of the floral industry for quite some time now...but it wasn't always that way. After moving on from his first startup, John started working at Disney (not the worst career move lol) and after several years he decided he wanted to get back into the startup world.

John felt like he could take the floral industry by storm and he did just that. After years of steady growth and hard work, he appeared on Shark Tank (where I first saw him). He didn't get a deal on the show but he's actually one of the first people ever to get a deal years AFTER the show aired (I don't want to spoil the story so you'll just have to listen).

I hope you enjoy the story of how a brand new CEO created one of the most successful floral/shark-tank companies in history!

First off, I want to congratulate Chase on having his first kid 👶Chase started off by being a key part of a business that scaled to 300,000 students. After this accomplishment, he created one of the most successful 'email travel series' lists in existence and he did it all from scratch. This is when he realized that he had become a master email marketer. Fast forward to today and he runs an email marketing agency, focusing on e-commerce brands, called boundlesslabs and they are working with some of the top brands from around the world. If you're looking to partner up with an amazing email marketing specialist, you can get ahold of Chase below.

The best way for people to connect with Chase: Twitter (here's his profile) and LinkedIn (here's his profile).

WeStrive: Be sure to check out the WeStrive App on IOS/Android for 100's of amazing workouts from certified trainers. If you're a personal trainer, check us out at WeStriveApp.com in order to save time managing your business, to make more money selling fitness plans on our marketplace, and to provide a 5-star mobile experience for your clientele.

Erika Lucas is the Co-Founder of the StitchCrew Accelerator program based out of Oklahoma City, OK. 

Growing up in Mexico with 'bootstrapping' entrepreneurial parents, Erika learned early on what it takes to be successful. After moving to Oklahoma, she realized there were so amazing startups in her area that were leaving for big cities like LA, San Fran, and NY. She and her partner created StitchCrew to help fight this problem. They have already made a huge impact on their state through their investment/effort/time and their partnership with the Oklahoma City Thunder, 

They have seen nearly 100 startups flourish under their guidance throughout the five cohorts in their program thus far and they are just getting started 💪Click the link below to be a part of the live Demo for Cohort-5 at StitchCrew! Enjoy the episode.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/demo-day-spring-batch-2020-tickets-104666739034

This week I had the privilege of interviewing Laurent Grill with Luma Launch and I'm excited to tell his story. Laurent has been involved with the startup world for years. When the opportunity to become the Lead Investor at Luma Launch presented itself, he took full advantage. He now runs one of the best early-stage VC's in California out of their office in Santa Monica. Keep in mind, the beginning of this interview was included in last week's episode involving Pitch Decks. We dive into pitch decks, what it's like to be a VC, his early life, and all of his future plans. Enjoy!

Lead Investor: Lumalaunch.com

@laurentgrill on twitter

@lumalaunch on Instagram

WeStrive: Be sure to check out the WeStrive App on IOS, Android, and if you're a personal trainer check us out at WeStriveApp.com to see if you want to sell your fitness plans or train privately with your clients through WeStrive.

Pitch Decks, Pitch Decks, Pitch Decks...that's pretty much all I've heard since I entered the entrepreneurial world years ago. How they look, what pages go where, what investors like what...it goes on and on. That's why I wanted to have an episode to pull three unique perspectives from three incredible entrepreneurs/investors. Farhaj Mayan is the founder of Kanna and has won several pitch competitions with his amazing presentation skills and pitch decks. Laurent Grill is the lead investor at Luma Lunch, has been involved in several startups of his own, and has years of pitch deck experience under his belt. Finally, Vik Sasi is one of the main partners at Dreamers VC (Founded by Will Smith and Keisuke Honda) and he brings a very unique perspective to the pitch deck conversation.

Farhaj Mayan: 2:38 - 19:43 

Farhaj's Current Deck: docsend.com/view/75xpx4q

CEO - hirekanna.com

Laurent Grill: 19:48 - 37:17

Lead Investor: Lumalaunch.com

@laurentgrill on twitter

@lumalaunch on Instagram

Vik Sasi: 37:18 - End

Partner: dreamers.vc

LinkedIn Profile

Email: [email protected]

Pitch Decks references in episode:

Guy Kowasaki 10-Slide: https://guykawasaki.com/the-only-10-slides-you-need-in-your-pitch/

Front - Series A Deck: https://www.slideshare.net/MathildeCollin/front-series-a-deck-64596550

Front - Series B Deck: https://www.slideshare.net/MathildeCollin/front-series-b-deck-91172575

Shortly after graduating from Clemson, Harold realized he wanted to rewrite the ticketing space. He was upset that so many home fan tickets were sold to opposing teams, so many fake tickets were being sold, and he was just frustrated with the ticketing industry as a whole. After years of work, bandwagonfanclub.com is now flourishing and Harold himself has embraced the startup world. His company now has two offices in the US and he has personally invested in multiple startups (one of those startups being Farhaj Mayan - WeStrive episode #52). I hope you enjoy hearing about his journey and all his tips on how to build/grow a startup.

WeStrive: Be sure to check out the WeStrive App on IOS, Android, and if you're a personal trainer check us out at WeStriveApp.com to see if you want to sell your fitness plans or train privately with your clients through WeStrive.

Daron Roberts has an incredible story. He went from being the Student Body President at the University of Texas (which at the time had over 50,000 students and was the biggest school in the country), to applying to Harvard Law 4 times before finally getting in, to finally getting his law degree...only to go coach at the NFL. Sounds crazy right? But as we discuss on the podcast, life isn't a straight line and when he realized coaching was his true passion, there was nothing going to stop him from pursuing his dream...plus, having a Law degree from Harvard in your pocket isn't exactly a bad thing. Listen in to hear how he went from being a rookie coach in the NFL to now doing 55 professional speaking engagements per year.

WeStrive: Be sure to check out the WeStrive App on IOS, Android, and if you're a personal trainer check us out at WeStriveApp.com to see if you want to sell your fitness plans or train privately with your clients through WeStrive.

Martin Rowinski is the CEO of boardsi.com (Pronounced Board-Z) which is a platform that connects top-level executives with startups looking to fill out their advisory board. Martin has spent years in the tech industry advising countless companies and founding a few of his own. Over the course of the podcast, we cover his early life, his experience with running a real estate company during the stock market crash, having an exit, and so much more.

How to get ahold of Martin & Boardsi:

[email protected]

(916) 542-9379

WeStrive: Be sure to check out the WeStrive App on IOS, Android, and if you're a personal trainer check us out at WeStriveApp.com to see if you want to sell your fitness plans or train privately with your clients through WeStrive.

Vadi Efe was the co-founder and COO of Dekatlon Buzz which was based out of Istanbul, Turkey. After years of working in the media and tech industry, he decided to create his own media empire. After close to 7 years of working with some of the biggest companies in the world, they finally had an offer they couldn't refuse. Over the course of this podcast, we'll cover the companies Vadi worked for, the way they approached their multi-million dollar exit, his nomination into Fortune 40 under 40, and so much more.

WeStrive: Be sure to check out the WeStrive App on IOS, Android, and if you're a personal trainer check us out at WeStriveApp.com to see if you want to sell your fitness plans or train privately with your clients through WeStrive.