Going Deep with Aaron Watson

Wes Kao is the cofounder of Maven, the world’s first digital platform for cohort-based courses. In just one year, the Maven team launched over 100 cohorts, saw dozens of instructors make $10K, multiple made $250K+, and raised a $20m Series A from Andreesen Horowitz.

Their course creators include Anthony Pompliano, Li Jin, Sahil Lavingia, Shaan Puri, and Sahil Bloom.

Prior to starting Maven she was the co-founder of the altMBA, which launched the modern cohort-based education movement with Seth Godin. She’s led over 150 launches for Fortune 500 brands and startups, and is recognized as a leading expert in B2C marketing. 

In this episode, Wes and Aaron discuss how to go from being and outside to an insider, why MOOCs fail, and how Wes got a job with Seth Godin.

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Wes Kao’s Challenge; Figure out how you can turn bugs into features.

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Wes on Twitter

Maven on Twitter

Maven.com

WesKao.com

If you liked this interview, check out episode 422 with Pomp.

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​​Aye Moah is the co-founder and CEO of Boomerang, the most popular extension for Gmail and Outlook which enables millions of people to email more effectively with artificial intelligence.

Aye has over a decade of experience in bringing category-creating products to market. She is an innovator with multiple patents and has scaled revenue with a consumer freemium model and a bottoms-up B2B SaaS motion. 

In her experience as a Chief Product Officer, Moah has grown her product lines’ revenue from 0 to $8M profitably, on $400k total investment. 

In this episode, Moah and Aaron discuss how she helps her team improve productivity, the product development challenges of a Gmail extension, and how they have defended their patents.

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Aye Moah’s Challenge; Evaluate how much of your day is “I have to” vs “I get to”. 

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Boomerang App Website

Mentioned

Mohinga Catfish chowder

Tea leaf salad

Coconut curry noodle

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Jesse Pujji currently serves as Founder & CEO of Gateway X and as Executive Chairman of Ampush and MySubscriptionAddiction.com.

Prior to GX, Jesse co-founded and was CEO of Ampush. He grew Ampush to over 100 Ampushers, managed over $1BN of digital media spend, and partnered with brands such as Dollar Shave Club, Uber, Birchbox and Hulu. 

Prior to Ampush, Jesse started his career with short stints at both Goldman Sachs and McKinsey.

Gateway X is a holding company that builds, buys and invests in market-leading direct to consumer companies. 

In this podcast, Jesse and Aaron discuss experimenting with TikTok ads, lessons from joining the Red Ventures portfolio, and the DTC companies Jesse has launched.

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Jesse Pujji’s Challenge; Remove the bottom 5 things on your to-do list.

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Links

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Happiest Baby on the Block

Jesse's Baby Sleep thread

Jesse on Invest Like the Best

If you liked this interview, check out our interview with Marshall Haas about building a holding company of profitable businesses.

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Colin Huwyler is the CEO of Optimus Technologies, a firm that designs and builds EPA compliant biodiesel conversion systems (“Vector Systems”) with integrated telematics to allow medium and heavy-duty diesel engines to operate on up to 100% biodiesel in temperatures to -20F. 

Colin founded the company in 2010 after previously founding Fossil Free Fuel, a renewable fuel company. 

Optimus Technologies’ Vector System seamlessly integrates with existing engines or as a ship-through option on new commercial vehicle purchases. They focus on the highest efficacy solutions to carbon emissions by focusing on diesel (and biodiesel) over other forms of renewable energy.

In this conversation, Colin and Aaron discuss misconceptions about renewable energy, the Optimus Technologies business model, and how Colin retrofitted his old Volkswagen to run on vegetable oil.

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Colin Huwyler’s Challenge; Take five minutes and assess your personal energy balance.

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Optimus Technologies Website

If you liked this interview, check out our interview w/ Cetin Mericli about self-driving trucks.

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Ricky Stanzi is a professor and coach within the GOATA (Greatest Of All Time Athletes) system. GOATA’s goal is to hone in the most effective transfers of energy in the body and make those muscle movements second nature.

Ricky was formerly a football quarterback in the NFL, CFL, and Big Ten. He was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the fifth round of the 2011 NFL Draft and played college football at the University of Iowa.

Ricky and the GOATA team have studied slow motion video of crawling babies, indigenous tribes, super athletes that avoided non contact injuries, and the 55-60 year old marathon runner who still runs at a high level pain free to develop their system.

Now, they’ve built a business helping normal people recode their movements, certifying coaches to use their system, and coaching top athletes pursuing a professional career.

In this episode, Ricky and Aaron discuss the origins of the GOATA system, which athletes are the best to study, and quick wins that anyone can implement to improve their movement.

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Ricky Stanzi’s Challenge; 1) Get your feet straight, fist width apart, Inside Ankle Bone High. 2) Watch 100 non-contact ACL tear videos on YouTube.

Ricky’s Instagram

Coach Gil

GLS_training

Load the Bow

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GOATAmovement.com Website

GOATAcoaches.com

Recode225.com

GoataShop.com

If you liked this interview, check out our interview w/ Dr. Timothy Wong where we discuss seeing patients without insurance, for just $35.

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Sara Mauskopf is the CEO and co-founder of Winnie, a marketplace for child care built on powerful data systems and backed by a trusted community of parents and providers.

Parents use Winnie to research and uncover high-quality daycares and preschools in their geography with detailed information about licensing, tuition, and photos. Sara started Winnie in early 2016 after she experienced the frustration of researching daycares first-hand as a new mom.

She has called upon her experience in product management at Google, YouTube, Twitter, and Postmates to catapult Winnie to success. 

In this episode, Sara and Aaron discuss the origins of the company, the evolving market for daycare, and the business model behind the platform.

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Sara Mauskopf’s Challenge; If you have children in childcare, talk to the care provider/teacher about how you can help.

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Winnie Website

If you liked this interview, check out our interview w/ Luke Skurman where we discuss building a platform for researching schools & neighborhoods.

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Matt Dayton is the cofounder of Pure Air Nation, a company that focuses on mold remediation and air quality around the greater Pittsburgh area.

In just two years in business, Matt and his cofounder Jake have raced to serious business success with a full calendar and loads of 5 star reviews. Beyond mold remediation, they also offer air quality testing, duct cleaning, and preventative care.

In this episode, Matt and Aaron discuss how he got started in the business, why the demand for mold remediation is growing, and the challenges in hiring blue collar talent.

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Matt Dayton’s Challenge; Grow yourself personally and give back to your community.

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If you liked this interview, check out episode 419 with J.D. Ewing where we discuss scaling his family’s office furniture business.

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Tom Galluzzo is the founder and CTO of IAM Robotics, a mobile robotics platform to automate manufacturing and warehouse facilities. In 2018, IAM Robotics raised a $20 million Series B to build their platform.

Tom founded the company back in 2013 after developing and nurturing his robotics technology within Carnegie Mellon University and military research. He has over 15 years of experience in autonomous robotics with Carnegie Mellon University, Harris Corporation, the Air Force Research Laboratory, and Boeing.

In this episode, Tom and Aaron discuss GPT-3 technology, the IAM Robotics business model, and the skillset of being a technologist and an entrepreneur.

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Tom Galluzzo’s Challenge; Find a task that you can offload to a robot.

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IAM Robotics Website

If you liked this interview, check out our interview w/ Cetin Mericli about self-driving trucks.

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Steven Van Metre is a certified financial planner, the inventor of the Portfolio Shield™ trading strategy, and a financial media personality.

Steven transitioned from IT to financial services and found that he had an especially capacity to automate the systems of running a financial practice. In conjunction with producing a regular YouTube series, Steve has built a dynamic and highly-profitable practice.

The extra time he has been afforded by his commitment to automation has allowed Steve to research market structure deeply and come to some fascinating conclusions about deflation and the policies of central banks.

In this episode, Steve and Aaron discuss the risk of deflation, how small businesses can prepare, and how Steve has built his practice.

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Steve Metre’s Challenge; Find something you do repetitively and automate it.

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Steve Van Metre Website

Portfolio Shielf website

If you liked this interview, check out our conversation with Brent Johnson about his Dollar Milkshake Theory and our conversation with Jeff Booth about the impact of deflation.

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Diane Danforth is the founder and CEO of Americat Company, a cat products company that manufactures all of its goods in the United States.

Diane’s business blends her entrepreneurial ambition, corporate experience, and love for cats into a single company.

In this discussion, Diane and Aaron discuss how she’s built out her products SKUs, what lessons from large corporate marketing she has brought with her, and how she engages with her customers.

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Diane Danforth’s Challenge; Create something and ship it.

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Americat Company Website

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If you liked this interview, check out episode 443 with Blake Dube where we discuss selling oxygen tanks for pets, how to find a product manufacturer, and long-term use of compressed oxygen.

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