Today, we’ll sit down and hear from Jacob Peters, co-founder of Launch House and Commsor, two community-led and data-driven startups. As a frequently uprooted army brat, Jacob prioritized fitting in with his peers. So, he dumbed himself down and hid his genuine interests, including math and LEGOs. He led a double life playing the part of a “cool kid” at school while secretly running a LEGO empire with the help of his family.

After suffering a traumatic brain injury, Jacob finally dropped the facade and followed his authentic passions. Jacob immersed himself in the world of data science and started creating internal incubators at JP Morgan. In his role, he used the networking skills he’d developed as a LEGO mogul and the emotional intelligence he’d gained as an undercover nerd to build an authentic data science community. This authentic community served as rocket fuel for Jacob’s entrepreneurial endeavors and would ultimately lead to his startup today: Launch House.

Relevant Links

Community Club

https://www.community.club/

Commsor

https://www.commsor.com/

Commsor Twitter

https://twitter.com/commsor?lang=en

Launch House article on TechCrunch

https://techcrunch.com/2020/10/15/founders-hacker-hype-homes-remote-work/

Launch House Twitter

https://twitter.com/launch_house?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Brain Injury Association of America

https://www.biausa.org/

Brainline

https://www.brainline.org/people-brain-injury/community-support

LEGO’s Adult Fandom

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/lego-60-anniversary-afol-community-adult-lego-fans

LEGO – Turning Your Customers into Your Community

https://hbr.org/2020/01/turn-your-customers-into-your-community

LEGO and Community Building

https://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/what-lego-taught-me-about-community-building

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Today, we sit down with Johnny Harris, an international multimedia generalist based in Washington DC. Johnny was born in Ashland, Oregon in 1988 and attained a BA degree from BYU. His passion and career focus aims at connecting high quality media arts with foreign affairs. He utilizes media in making complex world issues more relatable and easier to understand. Johnny’s work with vox.com in reporting on interesting trends and domestic and global stories pioneered their series, Vox Borders. He is the co-founder of Bright Trip, a video-based educational platform.

Johnny is an Emmy-nominated video journalist who has spent the last 5 years reporting on and sharing human centered stories of borders around the globe. He has a passion for taking the overwhelming and the complex – and using his visual style of motion graphics and cinematic visuals to distill it into a comprehensive, relatable, and understandable message.

This is an exposé on self-discovery, feeling — but not seeking validation, and exploring ones unapologetic experimental creativity.

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Today we tell a story of how Dollar Shave Club turned a viral video into a billion dollar company. This video would usher in a new era of businesses built off of engaging sales videos. And to figure out a little more of how it all works, we talk to Jospeh Wilkins, founder of FunnySalesVideos.com. He tells us how viral videos have changed, and how we can create a viral video today.

findingfounders.co

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Many founders love the feeling of being able to work for themselves. Today, we sit down with Maxwell Nee, founder of online coaching service High-Performing Coach, who felt that working for himself was the only option. With Malaysian Chinese parents, Maxwell recalls that high standards for himself were always present, whether he achieved them or not. After suppressing his dreams for the sake of a stable career, Maxwell came face to face with the realization that he had to take the steps to do what he loves. Join us as we learn how Maxwell explored what he truly needed from his career, and networked with people around the world to make what he wanted a reality.

High-Performing Coach Website: https://highperforming.coach/

Socials:

Instagram: @maxwellnee

LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxwellnee/?originalSubdomain=uk

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MaxwellNeeCoach/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/maxwellneecoach?s=20

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Today I talk with Eric Twiggs about procrastination and a simple trick to combat it. Eric Twiggs, is your procrastination prevention expert. He's conducted 20,000+ hours of procrastination consulting, and in that time has learned the tricks of the trade. In this episode of Founder Wisdom we give you the tools you need to get more done and be more successful.

findingfounders.co

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Let's face it, you aren't inspired when you hear about success. Real inspiration, comes from hearing someone's lowest moments, the point where they almost broke, and then rising with their success. I'm your host Samuel Donner, and on each episode of Finding Founders we interview the founders behind companies, movements, and even drug cartels. We tell their whole life story to reveal vulnerability so you can learn from victory.

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Update: So last week, we finished our drug dealer series and wow what an incredible experience. It was so interesting to dive into this underground world and it was awesome to see so many new listeners come to the podcast. Finding Founders is growing more and more every day and if you’d like to support us, just share with a friend or post a screenshot to your socials. It really helps.

Anyway, finishing up this series reminded me of first one that we ever did. I actually traveled over to Puerto Rico to interview leaders in the community and hear how the entrepreneurial community recovered after the 2017 hurricanes. Today I wanted to do a rebroadcast of the 1st episode in a three part series on Puerto Rico. I hope you enjoy.

Puerto Rico Series Part 2

Puerto Rico Series Part 3

When all is smooth sailing, community is something that we often take for granted. But when the waves get rocky, there’s truth in the saying “it takes a village” -- after all, difficult times are made easier when we know we have others to lean on.

Today, we sit down with Nelson Colón, CEO of the Fundación Comunitaria de Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico Community Foundation) and Honorary Recipient of the 2014 Martin Luther King and Ernst & Young “Entrepreneur of the Year” Awards for his work in social responsibility and justice. In his 20-year role as President of the Puerto Rico Community Foundation, Nelson has effectively spearheaded disaster-relief strategies throughout Puerto Rico, from community restoration in the aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and María, to providing critical medical response during COVID-19.

Tune in now as we have a candid conversation with Nelson about the racial and socio-economic challenges he faced growing up as a black Puerto-Rican; how his upbringing in a protective, tight-knit family inspired a lifelong dedication towards helping others in need; the experiences that continue to mold his passion for community-service-oriented projects in afflicted, at-risk areas of Puerto Rico; and personal advice on how we can each foster stronger communities in times of trial through continual provisions of compassion, support, and hope.

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Today we tell a story of a battle between Microsoft and Apple. This incident would start a war between the two computer giants that would rage for years to come. After the story, I'll ask business lawyer, Asha Wilkerson, what we can learn from this and how we can apply these lessons.

findingfounders.co

http://www.ashawilkerson.com/

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In the last episode of the drug dealer series, we sit down with Frederick Hutson, founder of Pigeonly, a platform that helps people connect with incarcerated loved ones. Of course, such an idea was not created without due experience.

Growing up around the world of drugs, Frederick knew that the biggest money makers in town were drug dealers. However, Frederick did not turn out to be your average "small town hero" drug dealer. After working in the Air Force, he grew an underground marijuana operation that would move $22 million dollars of product a year. His knack for fine-tuning and calibrating a business ended up taking him much farther than he ever anticipated.

Join us as we learn how Frederick’s journey through culture shock, intense contemplation, and a desire to problem-solve led him to founding Pigeonly.

Links From the Episode

Pigeonly Site: https://pigeonly.com/

Socials:

Twitter: @IAMFastFreddy

Instagram: @iamfastfreddy

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/frederickhutson/

Long-Term Recidivism Studies Show High Arrest Rates (Prison Legal News, 05/2019): https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/news/2019/may/3/long-term-recidivism-studies-show-high-arrest-rates/#:~:text=Two%20reports%20on%20long%2Dterm,over%20an%20eight%2Dyear%20period.

The Social Order of the Underworld by David Skarbek: https://www.amazon.com/Social-Order-Underworld-Prison-American/dp/0199328501#:~:text=David%20Skarbek's%20The%20Social%20Order%20of%20the%20Underworld%3A%20How%20Prison,tapestry%20of%20first%2Dhand%20accounts.

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This episode has a little update on the Finding Founders community and then goes straight into a rebroadcast of Founder Wisdom #001 -- You’ve probably been giving your team the wrong criticism. This is the Founder Wisdom. Where we’ll answer that question by distilling advice from our founders and the books they recommend. I asked MasterClass founder David Rogier what book I should read if I’m trying to manage people more effectively. He recommended “The Man Who Lied to His Laptop" by Clifford Nas.

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