Hooked On Startups

Do you know why Quizzes are the next big thing in Marketing?

• Yes
• No
• Don't know

In this episode I chat with Josh Haynam, co-Founder of Interact, a company that makes it easy for businesses to generate leads and drive sales using quizzes.

Ever wondered what the real secret to online marketing is?

If you answered yes, no or 'don't know' to any of the above, check out this episode and find out how quizzes can be incredibly effective for building email lists, subscribers, sales funnels, for selling online coaching programs….the list is endless!

Check out the full episode here:

1:22 - Introducing Josh and his company, Interact.

3:04 - How Interact functions and works with clients.

4:13 - Interact's role in attracting attention from the desired audiences through highly specified content.

7:23 - Filtering audiences through content rather than ad targeting and why that's a valuable approach.

9:20 - The importance of quality content and how Interact goes about designing their quizzes.

11:16 - What effects come from the amount of data that Interact collects and Josh's reaction to the scale of the response to Interact's material.

13:40 - Josh's experience starting and growing the company.

15:12 - What led Josh to this idea and what gave him the drive to keep going.

18:40 - How Josh used blogging as an education tool for their service; the risks associated with being open with your approach.

20:53 - The attrition Interact has seen in its competitors and their drive to constantly be innovating.

22:47 - How Interact focuses on their innovative approach.

22:58 - Relishing the competition and being pushed to do more and be better.

26:55 - The importance of starting with building good habits and having the success come afterwards.

28:28 - Josh's advice to those in the building phase of a business and constantly feeling unsure.

30:33 - Using an early win as a "roofshot" and moving to bigger goals from there.

32:51 - Josh's process for writing the first 100 blog articles to promote Interact.

34:21 - How Josh has recognized and dealt with failures in the business.

38:02 - Advice for reaching out to influencers.

39:36 - The value of personalizing your communications with people and creating meaningful engagement.

42:42 - The secret of online marketing is that there isn't a secret and that it comes down to doing the work and connecting with people; the analogy between this and fitness.

45:11 - Mentoring and giving back to people in situations similar to ones you've been through.

47:04 - Where Josh sees Interact in the next year.

50:06 - The questionnaire.

56:47 - Getting in touch with Josh and learning more about Interact.

Resources and Links Mentioned:

tryinteract.com

Hooked on Startups #026 - Sanyika Street

The Red Cross

Google's "re:Work - The Roofshot Manifesto."

Lewis Howes

Tony Robbins

Marie Forleo

Gary Vaynerchuk

Inc. Magazine

Email Josh at [email protected]

What makes music so powerful in arousing feelings and emotions?

Why is music so embedded in our memories?

In this episode of Hooked On Startups I'm delighted to be joined by John Vitale - Music Chief and Co-Founder at Focus at Will – a neuroscience based music service that helps increase your focus by reducing distractions, energizing you and helping you hit those critical deadlines.

John has 25 years experience in music, sound, and film production as supervisor, producer, engineer, and remixer.

He has worked for Warner Bros, Sony, BMG, and Universal Music, The B52ʼs, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Filter, Eminem, KD Lang, George Clinton, and The Romantics.

John knows his stuff. Tune in to find out why music plays such an important part in everyone's lives and how it can be used as an amazing tool to dramatically increase your productivity.

0:50 - Introducing John Vitale, music chief and co-founder at Focus at Will.

1:34 - John's background in audio and music.

2:16 - Background on how Focus at Will got started and what they do to deconstruct music in order to understand it better.

3:48 - Digging into music's effect on the brain and how their approach has evolved over time.

6:58 - Comparing John's current work with his background in entertainment.

7:45 - Applying measurements to music in order to gauge feedback and responses; how that plays into the Focus at Will system.

10:46 - Gauging if the music is working effectively and the individualized approach of Focus at Will; the primal origins of our sensitivity to sound.

13:00 - The links between memories and certain sounds.

14:25 - How far along we might be in learning about how music affects the brain.

15:36 - Looking at why the music industry is so enormous and the importance of music to humans.

16:32 - Music's effects on humans and plants.

17:55 - The depth that they found in this material while developing Focus at Will.

20:48 - Seeing other potential behavioral effects of music.

22:44 - Crafting an energetic, focus journey.

24:11 - How they are rating and experimenting with their music to generate data.

26:14 - Big moments of reactions and discovery John has encountered.

28:11 - Applying these ideas to augmented and mixed reality.

32:30 - How this will shift the role of music and sound in different aspects of life.

35:40 - Matthew's experience with Focus at Will's music and how it differs from normal music.

37:22 - What John is working on now and how it may develop in the near future.

40:04 - Being at the beginning of a huge journey of discovery and the role of AI in this work.

42:49 - The questionnaire.

49:28 - Learning about John and Focus at Will.

Resources and Links Mentioned:

Focus@Will (Free 2 week trial)

Hooked on Startups #010 - Will Henshall

This Is Your Brain on Music by Daniel J. Levitin

Julia Mossbridge

Singularity University

Chris Milk

Chris Milk's TED Talk - How virtual reality can create the ultimate empathy machine

In this interview I chat with Jim Cirillo – career technologist and recent podcast host.

Find out how Jim found the courage required to leave a steady, well-paying job and what it takes to navigate the digital world when you're not a digital native.

1:12 - Introducing Jim, what he's working on, and how he and Matthew met at Podcast Movement.

3:11 - Background details on Jim and whether he ever thought he would have his own podcast.

4:37 - How Jim's career progressed and ultimately led to starting JimJim's Reinvention Revolution PodCast; the chaos of the tech world.

8:17 - The effect of the change of pace in technology and how that affected Jim's career path.

10:55 - Why he didn't want to be an employee.

12:49 - Starting his entrepreneurial journey as a consultant and making that transition.

13:53 - How the pace of change hasn't slowed down and leaving his job due to the company not being able to move fast enough.

15:58 - What his approach to staying up to date on technology is and how that works into his podcast.

18:45 - Lifestyle design being the driving force behind Jim's entrepreneurial journey and where he is on the journey right now.

21:30 - The courage required to leave a steady, well-paying job and what it takes to navigate the digital world when you're not a digital native.

24:45 - Feeling confined in a corporate career track and that there are more opportunities out there.

26:10 - Taking time to focus on and assess what you're doing, rather than just being reactive.

28:02 - Creativity as the link between being an artist and being an entrepreneur.

28:42 - The positive aspects of disruption; Matthew's experience at Block-Con.

31:24 - How different technologies are starting to come together towards a big inflection point.

32:24 - Staying abreast of change and understanding how it may have widespread effects.

33:38 - Using the podcast as a way to stay on top of tech changes.

36:52 - The best advice and education Jim has gotten regarding embracing disruption.

38:34 - Understanding how to react to changes properly by just trying different things in a hands on way.

40:30 - Outcomes Jim has seen so far in his journey.

43:58 - The breadth of possibilities Jim sees in this field.

45:42 - The rapid-fire questionnaire.

52:32 - Contacting Jim and learning more about his podcast.

Resources and Links Mentioned:

JimJim's Reinvention Revolution PodCast

Podcast Movement

Josh Elledge

Richard Branson

JIMIUM Group

Block-Con

The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle

Featured in Forbes, Harper Collins, Gen Z@Work, and Lean Startup, Jeff Boodie is an experienced entrepreneur, consultant, speaker, and Gen Z blogger. Realizing you can't write personality into an algorithm, Jeff founded JobSnap – what the lovechild of Tinder and Snapchat would look like - and the hiring voice of Generation Z.

In this episode Jeff and I discuss the problems for both Gen Z and employers and how JobSnap bridges that gap, the shifting attitudes towards entrepreneurship in young people, and how social media is influencing the way Gen Z views brands and companies.

Make sure you listen to the full episode to learn how Jeff has created the Tinder of job creation platforms!

1:06 - Background on Jeff, co-founder of JobSnap, and some of his other accomplishments.

1:52 - Defining "Generation Z."

2:39 - How JobSnap addresses Gen Z as the first generation to grow up with computers at home, essentially, from birth and their penchant for video content

4:58 - The challenges posed by Gen Z's computer and information access.

7:38 - Problems for both Gen Z and employers and how JobSnap bridges that gap; the shifting attitudes towards entrepreneurship in young people.

9:39 - How decentralization facilitated by the internet has affected the process of building a business and employment.

12:00 - What is contributing to younger people wanting to work for themselves.

13:12 - Certain things that Gen Z seems to respond to and engage with.

15:01 - The ability of younger generations to see through deceitful brands; the different roles CEOs can play in different brands

17:54 - How social media is influencing the way Gen Z views brands and companies; Jeff's experience with a consumer panel at Red Bull.

21:33 - Means of engaging with Gen Z as consumers and how Jeff is learning about them.

23:08 - Areas of disconnect between Millennials/Gen Z and employers

27:06 - How JobSnap is differentiating from other job seeking apps and appealing to both Gen Z and employers; why Jeff insists on 30 second videos.

31:25 - Recruiters and managers are often hiring based on people they'd like to work with over people who may have more skills.

32:49 - Reactions Jeff has seen from companies looking into JobSnap

35:26 - JobSnap offering structured videos from people wanting to work and how Jeff sees people potentially getting creative with the videos.

36:16 - How JobSnap's infrastructure is developing and how it could overlap with other areas.

38:19 - Jeff's vision for JobSnap in the next three years.

40:02 - When Jeff realized JobSnap could be a business and how he came up with the name; seeking advice from the of CEO Tinder.

45:20 - Jeff accepting the role of being the face of his vision

46:30 - The questionnaire.

54:54 - Contacting Jeff and learning more about JobSnap.

Resources and Links Mentioned:

JobSnap website

Red Bull

SnapChat

Tinder

Steve Jobs

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

Email Jeff at [email protected]

To move on from where you've been before, you need to change who you were before..

"If you want to step up and move beyond where you've been before, that means you've got to be someone you've never been before'.

Whenever you step outside of your comfort zone, you're going to meet your ego. You're going to meet your fears. You're going to meet you feelings of inadequacy. You're going to meet your limitations – which are all self-imposed"

In this episode I chat with Melyssa Moniz - an International Speaker and Social Impact Entrepreneur, a Master Neuro-Linguistic Programming Coach, Master Hypnosis Coach and a certified Sales and Marketing Consultant.

A 4 time author, she has mentored over 10,000 clients worldwide in business and lifestyle strategy.

Check out the full episode and find out how you can move the needle!

1:10 - Background on Melyssa and her career.

3:52 - How she arrived at her current venture, Magnetic Sales Pros, and her background in sales for financial services.

7:14 - Her growing awareness of why she had been effective at selling.

8:43 - The point that Melyssa decided to leave her corporate job and how she did it.

10:23 - The value of having a sounding board when transitioning out of a corporate job and the process for doing so.

14:22 - How much reverse engineering and reasoning is done after the fact with processes like leaving a job and the value of "burning the boats."

16:32 - Overcoming analysis paralysis by trusting the gut feelings and just doing; finding the one action to take on a daily basis that will make a difference.

19:31 - Taking "inspired actions" every day as a way to build ideas for making her exit from her corporate job; story about her interest in salsa dancing and how it grew from seeing the pain in people's financial situations.

25:45 - Connecting passion and courage to both formulate and execute ideas; having the courage to ask yourself the hard questions.

27:24 - The value of mentorship in the early stages of taking leaps and what Melyssa's support structure looked like early on.

31:58 - Magnetic Sales Pros as the culmination of all the things Melyssa has learned in her career.

34:38 - The big takeaway that she would offer; Magnetic Sales Pros' approach.

37:14 - Connecting natural communication with the realizations Melyssa had when she was 8 years old; the prosperity of human connection and trust.

40:07 - Tapping into your authentic self and the value of that in creating genuine connections.

43:29 - Having recently launched Magnetic Sales Pros, what her approach is now to grow the business; breaking enormous goals down into manageable numbers.

48:20 - The questionnaire.

54:13 - Getting in touch with Melyssa and finding out about her company and message.

Resources and Links Mentioned:

Magnetic Sales Pros

Melyssa's book, Live Your Passion

Brendon Burchard

Website

LinkedIn

Instagram

"We're not anti-brand, we're not not a brand, we're just reimagining what it means to be a brand"

Following her dream to make it possible for everyone to have access to better stuff for fewer dollars, in July this year Tina Sharkey launched Brandless.

Brandless wants people to live more and brand less, to tell their own stories, and to drop the false narratives sold by Madison Avenue.

"We want to aspire to help people live the lives they want to live"

For Tina, co-founder and CEO of the company, Brandless is about more than any individual product they sell. It is about the true democratization of goodness

Brandless promises to keep prices low by eliminating the BrandTax - the hidden costs you pay for a national brand. Its simple white labeling was designed by a team of product and marketing experts and food scientists, what Brandless co-founder and CEO Tina Sharkey calls the "white box council." The products are tailored to the conscious urban millennial and other shoppers who are "very connected to their values."

Brandless – reimaging what it is to be a brand based on community, authenticity, the people it serves.

Is Brandless the future of consumerism? Listen to the interview and you decide!

1:00 - Welcoming Tina to the show, Tina is co-founder and CEO of Brandless.

2:44 - Tina's approach of being a cultural anthropologist and studying people and behavior.

3:40 - What Brandless is all about.

5:35 - The progression of brands and the democratization of storytelling that led to the idea of Brandless.

10:24 - How this progression is a move away from the idea that brands dictate the narrative and how consumers are responding.

12:44 - The pushback about the premium prices needlessly placed on things like healthy foods.

14:35 - How brands relate to both truth and trust with consumers.

16:55 - Connecting democratization of information to the demise of cigarettes and brands being manipulative; the role of social media in that shift and how Brandless is breaking that down.

19:49 - An examples of how Brandless incorporates their customers' creativity.

21:02 - Treating consumers as people and how that can enhance a brand and community through conversation.

22:31 - The ubiquity of reviews from the crowd and how that can improve lives.

23:30 - Reactions to Brandless from bigger brands and being an early stage startup, listening to and building with the people in their community.

26:14 - Brandless as more of a movement than simply a retailer.

28:09 - Connecting with brands more personally with the example Tina gives from a morning hike; building that into all their products.

30:22 - The value of the vulnerability from bringing the consumers into the process and community.

31:40 - Brandless' current scale and what's coming up for them.

34:05 - Benefits of having a curated selection of reasonable sized products at $3 each.

36:24 - Feedback that Tina has gotten for Brandless.

39:32 - Parallels to blockchain with respect to decentralization and democratization.

42:18 - The rapid fire questionnaire.

45:01 - Finding out more about Tina and Brandless.

Resources and Links Mentioned:

Brandless

Steve Jobs

Apple '1984' Super Bowl Ad

Brandless Tacking 'Brand Tax'

Tina's TEDx talk - Unlocking Joy

Tina on The Future of Consumerism at the Worlds Fair Nano

Feeding America

Twitter

Instagram

Brandless Instagram

Brandless Twitter

Brandless Facebook

Use promo code "hello" at brandless.com for $1 shipping on first order

Payment systems platforms are continuously changing how individuals and companies are sending money, making payments, and processing in between. And it's a huge market - well over $1 trillion globally.

Digitzs is a painless, quick and profitable way to build payments into a platform, app or marketplace.

A 20-year proven entrepreneur in the payments space, Laura has compiled an all-star team including PayPal's first CFO David Jaques; Visa's Linda Perry (named Most Influential Women in Payments three years in a row); Ben Way, a world-renowned startup technologist, and Stacey Moore, an award winning technologist, strategist and entrepreneur.

As the first female founded company to reach the number one position since the Crowdfinance 50 Index was launched on CNBC in early 2015, Digitzs holds the number one position for the largest capital raise by a female founded company since Title II of the JOBS Act came into effect in the fall of 2013.

Check out the full episode and find out what makes Digitzs such a success story for its customers, stakeholders and investors.

1:16 - Introducing Laura Wagner, CEO and founder of Digitzs; background on the company and the industry of online payments.

3:43 - Applying the example of charitable giving in disasters and where Digitzs fits into that.

5:24 - Describing more of the difficulties for ecommerce that Digitzs helps to resolve for both companies and platforms.

7:59 - Where the company fits into the overall ecommerce landscape, what the value proposition is, and what their market is.

11:32 - How Digitzs can work with different industries, even local governments for things like paying utility bills.

12:38 - The overall scale of credit card payments and ecommerce; Digitzs business model within the sector.

14:10 - Background on identifying the opportunity for this business and how they're getting started.

16:11 - The scalability of this process and being a process improvement rather than a disruption.

17:52 - The upcoming crowdfunding round and why they're pursuing crowdfunding.

19:59 - What Laura sees as the critical thing that built trust with their investors.

21:03 - The importance of both your team and your idea in a startup.

21:47 - Creating businesses that solve a problem with a clear relevance to the market; Laura's vision and goals for the business.

23:40 - The value that Digitzs could bring to the legacy payment processors.

24:49 - How Laura went about building a great team for her idea; a story from earlier in her career that demonstrates her dogged determination.

28:36 - The importance of sticking to the vision and persevering through being knocked down by being almost relentlessly positive.

29:33 - Laura's view of the company's potential from early on.

30:17 - Information on Laura's upcoming book, Crowdability.

33:08 - The information in book as a way to open up startup funding for more people.

33:38 - The questionnaire.

36:25 - Finding out more about Laura and getting involved with the crowdfunding campaign.

Resources and Links Mentioned:

Digitzs website

TicketSocket

New York City Marathon

Stripe

First Data

GoFundMe

MobileCause

Crowdfunder

Digitzs Crowdfunder campaign

In this episode I meet Bernie Swain - co-founder and Chairman of Washington Speakers Bureau and today's foremost authority on the lecture industry.

Over the past 35 years, he has represented former US Presidents, American and world leaders, journalists, authors, business visionaries, and sports legends

In this fascinating conversation with Bernie we talk about his experiences working shoulder to shoulder with the world's leaders.

We talk about passion, determination and defining moments, and how that passion can be unlocked in the turning points of your life.

Find out how Bernie risked everything, starting in the stationery cupboard in a friends office, and how, with dedication, passion and pure dogged determination, he built his business to be the best and most respected agency in the country.

1:12 - Introducing Bernie Swain, the co-founder and CEO of the Washington Speakers Bureau.

2:25 - The difficulty of breaking through the public personas of world class interviewees.

5:00 - How he approached the interviews for his book and his expectations.

6:34 - Bernie's focus on turning points and the big turning points in his life.

8:51 - The process of leaving his dream job to start a speakers bureau with no experience at all.

11:08 - The 14 months of failing in starting the business and recognizing your turning points.

13:43 - How important it can be to fully commit and burn the bridges.

15:15 - The importance of both passion and dogged determination.

17:09 - Starting a speakers bureau with no experience and the role of the small wins.

19:50 - Connecting authentically with clients through identifying with their challenges to tell their stories.

21:56 - Starting the process of his interviews by having a trusting relationship between the interviewee and himself.

23:05 - Advice for recognizing your turning points when they're presented to you.

24:51 - How important it can be to trust your intuition.

27:40 - Challenges from early on in Bernie's experience with the speakers bureau.

29:09 - Dangers of being derailed from your goals by outside voices.

31:23 - Advice for people feeling buried in social media.

33:16 - Breaking down the stories of world class people into relatable paths.

34:47 - How Bernie sees his business changing - or not - in the near future.

36:30 - What the people Bernie works with are like, on a personal level, and the role of trust in all relationships today.

39:12 - Living with abundance versus scarcity and how that has affected people Bernie has worked with.

41:36 - The simplicity and interconnectedness of the traits that create great people.

42:42 - The questionnaire.

46:32 - Getting in touch with Bernie and finding his book, What Made Me Who I Am.

Resources and Links Mentioned:

Washington Speakers Bureau

What Made Me Who I Am by Bernie Swain

Bob Woodward

Fortune Magazine

Lou Holtz

Yogi Berra

Liz Murray

BernieSwain.com

Facebook

LinkedIn

In this episode I talk to Jason Best, one of a handful of people who co-authored the JOBS Act and helped legalize equity and debt based crowdfunding in the USA.

Jason has spoken at The White House, South by Southwest, TEDx, the World Bank's Global Forum on Innovation and Technology Entrepreneurship and the Angel Capital Association.

We discuss how the biggest change to securities laws in over 78 years is already creating billions of dollars of new investments.

Find out how crowdfunding and cryptocurrencies can work together.

0:46 - Introducing Jason, his career, and some background on his role in the JOBS Act.

2:37 - Defining crowdfunding from Jason's perspective.

4:32 - Differentiating between the types of crowdfunding and how the idea came about for Jason.

5:54 - Getting started and working against a framework that has been in place for decades.

9:29 - How the execution of the JOBS act has developed since it was signed in 2012.

12:02 - Projections for crowdfunding moving forward and the demand Jason has seen from investors.

14:14 - How the SEC has worked through this process with caution with regard to aspects like accredited investors.

15:54 - Details on Title II, III, and IV "flavors" of crowdfunding.

18:31 - Where Jason is focusing with his global advisory practice.

19:41 - Misunderstandings about that a startup really is and expanding the geography of tech centers in the world.

23:34 - Recapping the different portals of crowdfunding and the Fintech industry that's grown up within that; comparing the regulations on typical stock exchanges with the framework being built for crowdfunding.

25:36 - Important data that Jason has seen emerge.

28:51 - Comparing crowdfunding with the emergence of ICOs.

31:23 - The role of decentralizing the capital raising process and blockchain technology.

33:02 - Using ICOs within the crowdfunding framework.

35:38 - Where Jason sees crowdfunding progressing over the next 5 years.

37:56 - How branding may play into the future of crowdfunding, even for larger companies.

40:02 - The scope of the potential in the Fintech industry and comparing it to the emergence of online stock trades.

42:35 - Speculating on the role of decentralized investing moving forward.

46:52 - Opening the crowdfunding landscape up to a global audience; the rapid-fire questionnaire.

Resources and Links Mentioned:

JOBS Act

Jason's TEDx talk

Crowdfund Investing For Dummies by Sherwood Neiss, Jason Best, and Zak Cassady-Dorion

SeedInvest

Indiegogo

Kickstarter

Trade Associations

ICOs

Regulation A+

Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council

Stuck at early stages of growth and struggling to build sales ?

In this episode I talk to Alison Arnoff - founder of Unfair Advantage Consulting where she helps tech companies find their unique, unfair advantage to scale their business.

Find out about the typical problems tech startups face and how to solve them.

Get the inside track on what makes a company investible to VCs.

1:20 - Introducing Alison and some background on what she does.

2:55 - Alison's perspective on sales ability in startups.

3:44 - What she normally sees in the companies that she works with.

5:12 - How many companies get stuck at early stages of growth and struggling to approach sales effectively in a startup environment.

7:14 - What Alison sees as one of the biggest, most common problems in tech startups.

8:30 - Beginning the conversation with the companies she works with.

10:47 - Balancing an incremental marketing plan with having a large enough potential market to become a successful company.

11:58 - Some typical problems that startups have and understanding their market during development; a story about a company who needed to adjust their messaging.

13:44 - Convincing clients that the messaging and marketing is just as important as the product and getting to the companies before it's too late.

15:01 - What Alison sees VCs looking for in early stage companies and the kinds of teams that she thinks work well.

16:40 - Approaching VCs with enough humility to accept the help and guidance available.

17:42 - The things startups do that make Alison cringe.

19:27 - Approaching sales and scalability through arming your sales team with the right message.

21:18 - Not being able to "see the label from inside the bottle" and being open to inviting in outside help.

22:11 - Describing Alison as a consultant more than a coach; focusing on quality content.

25:26 - These principles apply more broadly than tech companies; differences in business to business and business to consumer.

26:06 - Approaches to changing founders' mindsets on recruitment for high quality sales teams.

27:14 - The success rate Alison has seen in companies that she's worked with and commonalities between failed startups.

29:03 - The role of crowdfunding platforms in verifying product demand.

30:04 - Looking at the scope and process for the multi-million dollar fundraising situations.

32:46 - Why Alison is steering clear of blockchain style technologies.

34:08 - A common progression Alison sees in many tech companies.

36:00 - The one piece of advice Alison would offer to people trying to get over the wall.

37:19 - Benefits of asking for help from someone who has done what you're trying to do.

38:42 - The value of perspective at any stage of a business and the willingness of successful people to share knowledge.

39:45 - Being productively paranoid and Alison's story about working at Intel during their huge growth period.

41:02 - The questionnaire segment, borrowed from James Lipton.

45:09 - Contacting Alison.

Resources and Links Mentioned:

Unfair Advantage Consulting

Simon Sinek's Ted Talk, "How great leaders inspire action."

Marcus Lemonis

Tony Robbins

LinkedIn

Email Alison at [email protected] (get in touch for a preview of her upcoming blog series).