INspired INsider Podcast

Jeremy Smith cofounded SpotHero with Mark Lawrence and Larry Kiss. SpotHero is an on-demand app that makes parking easier for the daily driver. They have disrupted the traditional parking industry.

He has helped build the company from zero to 73 team members, their app has helped over 2 million cars park, there are over 1000 parking facilities that have partnered with them and. Spothero has raised over 27 million to date and has grown to over 13 cities.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

• [0:24] Jeremy’s introduction of his guest, Jeremy Smith.
• [1:20] Jeremy’s experience traveling for 4 months and why he did it spontaneously.
• [4:43] Where Jeremy wants to go personally and in business in months and years to come.
• [5:50] How Jeremy thinks people should think about entrepreneurship.
• [7:05] What Jeremy advises for those hesitant to take the risk of entrepreneurship.
• [9:36] Uncomfortable things Jeremy has done to push himself forward.
• [12:45] The decision Jeremy made to do an extended silent meditation.
• [14:42] Daily meditation practices in the midst of a busy life.
• [15:57] What Jeremy wanted to do when he grew up: Be a business owner.
• [16:40] Early entrepreneurial efforts in Jeremy’s life: sales in his early teen years.
• [18:10] How Jeremy used his early experiences building his current company.
• [20:13] The leap from corporate to SpotHero: what it looked like and how he did it.
• [23:45] Cubs games, social media promotions, negotiations with parking garages.
• [25:11] The early days without the technology.
• [28:17] How Jeremy met his cofounders.
• [31:42] Supporting himself while working on a startup company full time.
• [33:28] Could Jeremy write his own future?
• [36:22] Hiring the first employees the summer of 2012.
• [38:06] The decision to take outside money.
• [40:18] The best advice Jeremy received, from a past girlfriend.
• [43:31] Expanding the company into other cities.
• [45:42] The logistical nightmares involved in expansion.
• [47:00] Lesson learned: Have a clear conversation about roles very early on.
• [49:00] Things Jeremy will do differently in his next company.
• [53:27] How Jeremy’s team went about attracting good talent.
• [59:27] The milestones of SpotHero from Jeremy’s perspective.
• [1:01:10] Things to watch out for when raising money for your company.
• [1:02:29] Challenges faced building a tech company.
• [1:05:50] Why Jeremy is glad the business was not only “his baby.”
• [1:07:30] Jeremy’s proudest moments with SpotHero.
• [1:09:45] How to connect with Jeremy.

In this episode…

How badly do you want success? It's an important question to ask yourself when starting a company. Jeremy Smith, co-founder of Spothero.com wanted his companies to succeed badly. He was willing to sleep on couches for two years, attend social functions just for the food, and ride his bike everywhere in order to save money so that he could make the company thrive. Jeremy doesn't see them as sacrifices, he sees them as opportunities.

In this great conversation with Dr. Jeremy Weisz, Jeremy Smith shares his journey as a co-founder of spothero and tells the difficulties, the adventures, any exciting milestones that passed as the company expanded across the nation. You'll learn lots of great insights from Jeremy's lessons learned.

Writing his own future.

The attitude Jeremy Smith brings to his company is the same attitude he has in all of life. He sees it as an adventure, something to be lived in the moment that shouldn't be too scripted. He's proven that in the adventures he's taken to live a kind of life that he wants to live. One of those adventures was a four month backpacking trip that started in Russia and ended in Australia, and he didn't plan any of it ahead of time. A one way ticket, and he was on his way. That attitude of courage, boldness, and adventure, is part of what makes him a successful entrepreneur.

Jeremy got bitten by the entrepreneurial bug when he was still an early teenager. He took on the role of a salesman, going door to door to support a local fundraiser and was very successful. He also knocked on neighborhood doors to get work shoveling driveways, and asked his customers to pay what they thought his service was worth. It's that kind of hustle that has made him successful all the way through the start-up phases of his new company.

Spothero.com is not your ordinary company. It integrates technology, a practical human need, and the resource of spare parking spaces in cities across the nation, to give people exactly what they need, when they need it. The challenges have been huge, but the rewards have been equally huge. This is one of those conversations that is so full of practical help that you'll want to listen to it again.

Resources Mentioned on this episode

• www.SpotHero.com
• Jeremy (at) SpotHero (dot) com

Josh Dorkin started BiggerPockets.com from scratch 10 years ago and now has over 435K members. They have grown to be one of the largest and most reputable real estate community on the Internet with a forum that has over 900,000 posts! and they hold the #1 real estate podcast on iTunes. They attract more than 1k new members a day and help change people's lives to gain their own financial freedom through real estate!

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

• [0:00] Preshow Banter: Joshua’s story and things he enjoys talking about.
• [6:10] Jeremy’s introduction of Josh Dorkin and this episode.
• [7:35] The lowest point in Joshua’s entrepreneurial journey.
• [10:00] The impact of Joshua’s wife on the times he was ready to quit.
• [11:27] Joshua’s highest points with Bigger Pockets.
• [14:02] How you can connect with Joshua.

In this episode…

There are many people out there who espouse the benefits of building what is called a lifestyle business. It’s a great concept - when it works. But today’s guest, Joshua Dorkin tells the story of how he build an amazingly successful online business that by all rights should have been supporting his lifestyle, but instead left him no room for any kind of life at all.

The pain of overwork is well known, but it’s only when you feel it firsthand that you realize that there’s great wisdom in setting boundaries and learning to delegate. Joshua Dorkin tells how he’s still learning to let go of the business details so that he doesn’t kill himself or neglect his family.

If you’re guilty of overworking, you’ve got to take the time to listen to this episode. You’ll hear Josh Dorkin’s own story of how the BiggerPockets empire was built on the back of his own overwork, and how he’s taking steps now to get some relief from that burden.

Be sure you stick around until the end of this episode so you can get the free book offer from BiggerPockets, the Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Real Estate Investing. It’s right here on this episode of Inspired Insider.

Resources Mentioned on this episode

• www.BiggerPockets.com
• www.BiggerPockets.com/podcast
• Get the book Josh mentioned: www.BiggerPockets.com/UBG

Zvi Band is the Co-founder of Contactually,which is a relationship marketing platform. Contactually ensures that you stay top of mind with the relationships that matter to help you grow your business. Zvi helped bring Contactually from idea in his Evernote to 52 employees (and counting), millions in revenue, 12M+ in venture backing, and thousands of paying customers. Zvi is active in fostering the tech community in D.C. and has been named a Tech Titan 3 times.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

• [0:24] Jeremy’s introduction of this episode and his guest, Zvi Band.
• [1:19] What is a Tech Titan?
• [1:42] Why doesn’t Zvi ever wear the color “green?”
• [3:06] The hardest part of Zvi’s journey with his company, Contactually.
• [5:01] How Zvi manages his internal battles as fear and doubt creep in.
• [6:66] Where Zvi grew up and the family that raised him.
• [9:30] What Zvi wanted to be when he was in High School, and why he followed that dream.
• [10:17] Why Zvi is the CEO and not the CTO (Chief Technical Officer).
• [11:36] Influential company and work experiences in Zvi’s life.
• [12:58] How Contactually came about.
• [14:37] The phases of an evolving company.
• [15:05] The idea phase: what Zvi did in the beginning.
• [17:00] The pain points that motivated Zvi to create his software.
• [18:58] A customer experience that helped shape the future of Contactually.
• [20:00] Iterations on the original idea that have been employed over time.
• [21:30] How to make the decisions about what integrations to create.
• [21:57] What excites Zvi about Contactually right now?
• [23:18] The Main Point of Contactually: a newbie’s guide.
• [24:33] Future plans for Contactually.
• [26:01] One of the “failed experiments” that happened inside the company.
• [28:42] How Zvi found and connected with his co-founders.
• [30:42] One of the biggest myths in startup land: Keep your ideas secret.
• [32:52] Raising funds and adding team members.
• [34:02] The hiring process: How to know it’s time to hire.
• [36:52] How to train sales representatives.
• [39:29] The skills needed in order to scale a company larger.
• [40:29] Lessons learned in hiring team members.
• [44:15] The first conversions to paid customers.
• [45:33] Lessons learned when developing the pricing model: cost VS value.
• [47:59] Why Contactually doesn’t require a credit card and gives a 30 day trial.
• [49:28] Raising funds: the chronology of Contactually’s financial base.
• [50:40] What investors are actually investing in.
• [52:35] Good advice received from investors.
• [54:49] The most important things about building a business.
• [56:07] The structures that are in place that allow the Contactually team to execute.

In this episode…

Contactually is one of those SaaS companies that you’ve likely seen around the internet. But being familiar with the company is much different than seeing the power and value behind what they do. Contactually is a Customer Relationship Management software that is web-based. The company’s moniker is “Turn the People You Know Into the Business Results You Need.”

Stop for a moment and imagine what possibilities might open up for you, if the people you know could ACTUALLY be turned into business results. It’s an audacious goal, and one the Contactually team delivers on customer after customer.

On this episode of Inspired Insider, Dr. Jeremy Weisz chats with Zvi Band, co-founder of Contactually about the journey from startup to multi-million dollar company, the skills it takes to start and then scale a business, how to find and hire the right people, the challenge of determining pricing of products and services, and the biggest lessons he’s learned from his time as CEO of such a rapidly growing company.

One of the gold nuggets from this conversation is the differentiation Zvi makes between the skills needed to start a company and the skills needed to grow it to a much larger place. There are a whole new set of skills that either have to be learned or hired onto the team if the company is going to reach its fullest potential, and Zvi shares his thoughts about how to approach both of those options.

And before you’re done listening, be sure you catch the point at the end where Zvi talks about the most important thing he’s learned as a startup founder and entrepreneur. In his words, “It doesn’t matter how smart you are or how skilled you are, what matters is whether you execute on the ideas you have.” It’s a lesson learned that Zvi and his team at Contactually have put into practice, with tremendous results. You’ll love this conversation, so be sure to listen.

Resources Mentioned on this episode

www.Contactually.com

Zvi’s website - www.ZviBand.com

James Ledoux

Mark Suster

Aaron Batallion

Wim Hof is known as "The Iceman" for his ability to withstand extreme cold and control his autonomic nervous system .Wim holds 21 world records, including one staying immersed in ice up to his neck for 1 hour and 52 min.He reached the top of Mount Kilimanjaro in his shorts within two days and taught a group of 27 people to do the same. He climbed Mount Everest wearing nothing but shorts and shoes He completed a half marathon above the arctic circle in Finland, in temperatures close to −20 °C (−4 °F) dressed in nothing but shorts. He even went to the opposite extreme and ran a full marathon in the Namib Desert without water.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

Pre-show banter (this is interesting stuff!)

• [0:01] Wim doing some yoga atop a mountain.
• [1:23]Wim’s viewpoint of conditions and control of the environment.
• [3:01] Breaking mountain climbing records with untrained groups of people.
• [8:42] The last group’s toughest challenges climbing Kilimanjaro.

Outline of the interview

• [13:50] Jeremy’s introduction of Wim Hoff, the Ice Man.
• [15:11] What drives Wim to do what he does.
• [17:30] The loss of his wife and how he pushed through it.
• [20:08] The proudest moments Wim has experienced.
• [25:33] Why Wim believes that we must change the world.
• [

In this episode…

Wim Hof is an amazing man. He’s accomplished some of the most incredible feats in the world within the realm of extreme endurance, especially in cold temperatures. But even Wim found himself battling the heavy weight of grief when he was faced with the loss of his dearly loved wife. But he battled through, applying the first forms of the breathing exercises and mindset practices he’s developed and is teaching today.

Grief, pain, and emotional struggles are hard for anyone to handle, even the “Ice Man” Wim Hof. Wim’s story of how he focused on helping his children navigate the trail of grief and how he used his breathing practices and techniques to find a place of peace in spite of the grief is an inspiring story. You’ll want o hear this episode. It’s full of Wim’s buoyant personality and zest for life.

Resources Mentioned on this episode

Mark C. Winters coauthored with Gino Wickman the business best seller Rocket Fuel: The One Essential Combination That Will Get You More of What you want from your Business.

He has been a leader and entrepreneur for over 25 years and has worked with companies ranging from multi-billion dollar enterprises like Procter & Gamble and British Petroleum, to raw startups originally drawn up on a napkin.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

• [0:35] Jeremy’s introduction of Mark C. Winters.
• [1:05] Mark’s story of what it’s like to do a “raw startup.”
• [5:27] Cyber Explorer, a startup Mark pioneered, why he quit his job at Proctor and Gamble to start it.
• [10:05] A Starbucks rejection, cybercafes, and the creation of a business plan.
• [18:58] Lessons learned from a crazy startup.
• [27:31] One of Mark’s biggest successes in business.
• [31:00] Building a SaaS business in the 90s.
• [35:11] The leadership growth Mark’s gone through over the years.
• [37:22] Mark’s unique abilities and how they’ve come to the forefront.
• [39:04] Why Mark decided to write his book, Rocketfuel.
• [41:12] Your invitation to fill out an online assessment from the book.
• [41:43] The essential visionary / integrator combination that will skyrocket your business.
• [43:15] The 3 sections of the book and how to use it.
• [44:16] The traits of the integrator VS the visionary.
• [45:56] A stereotypical pair that represents a visionary and an integrator.
• [46:45] Mark’s personal scores on the assessment.
• [48:00] What should a person do with the results they get from the assessment.
• [50:07] How does the tension between these two traits show up and what can be done about it?
• [52:10] A sample interaction between a visionary and an integrator.
• [54:32] How these traits impact family relationships.
• [56:11] Why are there more people who are integrators than visionaries?
• [1:01:00] Mark’s reaction to Dan Kuschell’s scores on the assessment.
• [1:02:50] The rarity of being both integrator and visionary.
• [1:05:05] How to handle “end runs” within the team.
• [1:08:15] Mark’s lowest point in business.
• [1:11:16] One of Mark’s proudest business moments.
• [1:15:30] Mentors who have invested in Mark’s life.
• [1:18:47] How to get in touch with Mark’s resources.
• [1:20:21] The influence Mark’s Dad had on his life.
• [1:23:59] The things Mark is excited about in the future.

In this episode… How do you move your company from a small, one man show, to a company of 5, 10, 50, or even 100 successfully?

Very few people know the real answer to that question, but today’s guest, Mark C. Winters has studied the ins and outs of business growth and with his co-author Gino Wickman, has written a book that explains the vital leadership combination that enables any business to grow not only through those stages of team growth, but also into a highly profitable state as a company.

What is that combination? It’s the pairing of two uniquely gifted people who Mark and Gino have labeled the visionary and the integrator. These two, when rightly paired and taught to work together effectively, can take any company into the stratosphere like they were running on rocket fuel, which is the name of the book these two incredible entrepreneurs have written together.

So which are you? Integrator or visionary?

Mark and Gino believe in the power of this leadership combination so much that they’ve gone to great detail in their book about the strengths and weaknesses of each, and the differences between the two. But they don’t stop there. You’ll also find resources to teach a leadership pair how to best work together, delegate tasks to their team, lead the greater group toward larger goals, and keep the infrastructure of the business healthy and vibrant at the same time.

On this episode Dr. Jeremy Weisz gets the backstory on how Mark got into the creation of businesses in the first place, how he stumbled through his first few businesses and learned powerful lessons along the way, and how he’s wrapped those hard-learned lessons into the covers of his most recent book.

You’re going to get so much insight into the integrator / visionary combination of leadership, and find out how you can take a free assessment to see which of those leaders you are. Once you know, you’ll discover a newfound freedom as you assess your current role in light of your strengths, make adjustments, and come alongside a complementary partner to lead your company to greater heights.

Resources and People Mentioned on this episode

• Mark’s Books on Amazon
• Mark’s YouTube Channel
• Mark’s Webiste: www.RocketFuelNow.com
• Gino Wickman (Mark’s co-author)
• Dan Kuschell
• www.GeniusNetwork.com
• www.Experian.com
• Dan Sullivan
• Walt Disney and Roy Disney
• Joe Polish

Sol Orwell cofounder of Examine.com they have over 41,000 scientific research references on nutrition and supplemantation. The first two years generated no revenue and he bootstrapped Examine.com from 0 to over $1 million. Examine.com is his 6th entrepreneurial venture. He also founded audienceowl.com.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

• [0:24] Jeremy’s introduction of Sol Orwell.
• [1:04] How Sol started Examine.com because of his own experience.
• [2:47] Examine.com is a premium domain name… how did Sol get it?
• [5:30] The mindset Sol had to have when the site didn’t gain any revenue for 2 years.
• [7:59] How Sol got started in such a huge niche (supplements and nutrition)
• [10:33] Points in the journey when Sol considered pulling the plug.
• [12:37] How user feedback impacts the design and verbiage of the website.
• [15:49] What matters most on a conversion page?
• [17:57] The point when Sol recognized the need for a professional copywriter.
• [21:10] How Sol determines the price for his products.
• [22:37] Why a monthly subscription and how it came about.
• [25:22] Sol’s philosophy on life balance and work.
• [31:50] Why Sol changed his name and how it came about.
• [33:55] How Sol utilizes automation to make his businesses work.
• [36:20] Hiring staff while maintaining positive cash flow.
• [37:26] The positions where Sol has hired people to replace him.
• [38:52] Software used to automate.
• [40:05] How Audience Owl came about.
• [42:10] The process of creating stellar, useful content.
• [45:06] How Sol manages all the writers who work for him.
• [47:56] The one article that research proved something very different than Sol.
• [48:29] Sol’s first entrepreneurial venture.
• [50:13] What “harvested gold” has to do with Sol.
• [51:25] Popular directory sites Sol has created.
• [53:04] Sol’s first big win and how it came about.
• [56:12] Sol’s lowest point and how he pushed through it.
• [59:50] Sol’s biggest triumph
• [1:01:00] Heroes and mentors Sol admires.
• [1:05:40] Sol’s advice about why to pursue business… and it’s not the money.

In this episode…

What do you believe hustle and a willingness to learn can really provide for you? Are there any limits to what you could achieve?

On this episode of Inspired Insider Jeremy is chatting with Sol Orwell. Sol is a truly inspiring example of a guy who’s been working hard to create his own life, according to his terms, since he was very young. His first entrepreneurial venture came at 19 years of age when he started a website focused on web games and he hasn’t looked back since. A handful of failures and a load of successes have proven to Sol that anything he wants to achieve can be achieved with the right kind of hard work and attention to learning the things needed to get it done.

You’ll not only hear Sol’s journey from beginning entrepreneur to skilled businessman and website developer, you’ll also get to hear him share his philosophies on things like site layout, utilizing user feedback, what matters most on conversion pages, determining pricing on products and monthly membership subscriptions, life work balance, and much more. The practical tips he shares on the addition of staff while keeping a positive cash flow are worth the time it will take you to listen to this episode, no doubt.

And be sure to stick around until the end where Jeremy asks Sol to share his lowest point as an entrepreneur - which turns out to be one of the most dreaded things that could happen: A business partner defrauded him. Jeremy and Sol chat about what it takes to push past something like that, and how he thinks about it today. Sol’s journey out of that dark time and into a better place is inspiring. You won’t want to miss it.

As usual, Jeremy’s got a great guest with loads of expertise and a generous heart. Sol unpacks so much on this episode, there’s no way this short post can do it justice. You’ll just have to listen, won’t you?

Resources and People Mentioned on this episode

• www.Examine.com
• www.SJO.com
• Dr. Oz
• Arnold Swarzeneger
• www.Reddit.com
• Segment
• Qualaroo
• Mixpanel
• Mailchimp
• Ontreport
• AudienceOwl
• MasterMindTalks

Dr. Joe Vitale is also known as MR FIRE. He is Founder of Hypnotic Marketing with clients like the Red Cross, PBS, and many more. He is the author of many bestselling books..over 50. Including The Attractor Factor, Zero Limits and my personal favorite and you will see Joes hypnotic marketing style in the title alone - The Power of OUtrageous Marketing - Using the Time Tested Secrets of Titans, Tycoons, and Billionaires to get rich in your own business. He's been on Larry King Live, Donny Deutsch's “The Big Idea,” CNN, and many more soon to be HBO and he was a star in the hit movie THE SECRET.

Anyone who’s spent any time in the copywriting and marketing arena knows the name of Joe Vitale. Dan Kennedy says, "Joe Vitale is a true marketing, sales and promotion genius…. Just when you think you understand how the world works Joe Vitale comes along and takes you to a whole new place. He's engaging, entertaining, enlightening and - oh boy - does he ever stretch your thinking."

According to Success Magazine, Dr. Joe Vitale is one of the five top marketing specialists in the world today. Joe is also a hypnotherapist, metaphysical practitioner, Chi Kung healer, Reiki Master, and an ordained minister.

On this “One Question” episode of Inspired Insider you’re going to hear the dramatic story of how Joe overcame his worst moment, the proudest moment he’s had in his entire life, and the amazing story of what he experienced when he visited the grave of legendary circus great, P.T. Barnum. It’s a short interview that’s packed with unbelievable content. Make sure you make time to listen.

In this episode…

• [0:33] Jeremy’s introduction of Joe Vitale.
• [1:33] The lowest moment in Joe’s life and career - homeless and desperate.
• [3:08] The proudest moments Joe has experienced.
• [5:37] Joe’s discovery at the Barnum gravesite.

Resources Mentioned on this episode

• BOOK: Attract Money Now
• www.JoeVitale.com
• www.MrFire.com

Dr. Joseph Michelli is a New York Times #1 Bestselling Author of Books including: The Zappos Experience, Leading the Starbucks Way, The New Gold Standard about Ritz Carlton, and When Fish Fly and many more...His newest book is Driven to Delight ---delivering world class customer experience the Mercedes-Benz Way.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

• [0:36] Jeremy’s introduction of Dr. Joseph Michelli.
• [1:40] How did this book about the Mercedes Way come about?
• [4:50] A glimpse into Dr. Michelli’s discussion with the Mercedes Benz leadership team.
• [8:20] Working on the book in spite of personal struggles and tragedy.
• [10:32] The hardest parts of writing a book for Dr. Michelli.
• [10:56] Joseph’s approach to interviewing staff, leadership, etc. for one of his books.
• [12:00] Eye opening things Dr. Michelli discovered speaking with staff members.
• [12:58] Getting Mercedes employees to drive a Mercedes for a number of days.
• [15:22] Interesting discoveries from speaking with Mercedes customers.
• [16:25] The main reason people did NOT buy a Mercedes when shopping for a luxury car.
• [18:13] Technologies implemented by Mercedes Benz for customer experience improvements.
• [22:33] What is the “Best for Nothing” slogan and where did it come from?
• [23:23] When Mercedes admitted failure in achieving their customer service ideals.
• [25:31] How do large companies like Mercedes handle communication between thousands of staff?
• [29:17] A great lesson Joseph learned from one of the Mercedes leadership team.
• [30:29] The most important aspect of delivering phenomenal customer experiences.
• [32:16] How to infuse a customer service obsession to a team.
• [33:23] Insights from the daily lives of top CEOs.
• [35:55] The differences between the companies Joseph has profiled (Mercedes, Zappos, Starbucks, etc.)
• [37:40] What’s most exciting to Dr. Michelli about his newest book, “Driven To Delight.”
• [38:48] The most rewarding moment for Dr. Michelli so far in his career.
• [39:41] How to best practice gratitude in daily life.
• [43:15] What even the smallest business should implement immediately.
• [44:11] What’s next for you, Dr. Michelli?

In this episode… How do big companies that are known for their customer satisfaction do it so effectively and what lessons can smaller companies, entrepreneurs, and startups learn and apply their practices?

If anyone can answer those questions in a definitive way, it’s Dr. Joseph Michelli. Joseph has spent his career investigating, profiling, and highlighting the business practices of some of the world’s most influential and successful companies - especially companies that have excelled in providing an exceptional customer experience.

In this conversation Jeremy Weisz asks Dr. Michelli a number of questions surrounding the writing of his latest book, “Driven To Delight: Delivering World Class Customer Experience, the Mercedes-Benz Way,” but also delves into the insights he’s gained from talking with staff, CEOs, and customers of the world’s largest and most influential companies.

You’ll get to hear the most surprising things Dr. Michelli heard from the people he’s interviewed, including the areas of weakness these companies discovered through his investigations and the steps they took to shore up those deficiencies.

Dr. Michelli also highlights the methods that large companies use to engage in effective vision casting and communication with thousands of employees, and takes the time to translate those practices into a smaller scale for everyday entrepreneurs and business owners. That section alone is worth the time it will take you to listen to this episode of Inspired Insider.

You’ll also be exposed to Dr. Michelli’s insights into the 6 things it actually takes to become a leader in delivering excellent customer experiences, and why he believes that “obsession” is the most important of the bunch. If you’re eager to take your company to the next level, you need to hear what Joseph shares in this section, gleaned from years of profiling these phenomenal companies and drawing out the similarities between them.

This is a great conversation, so grab a drink and something to write with, because you’re going to get a wealth of great, actionable information on this episode of Inspired Insider, with Jeremy’s guest, Dr. Joseph Michelli.

Resources Mentioned on this episode

• Dr. Michelli’s previous interview about the Starbuck’s Way
• Dr. Michelli’s book at a DISCOUNT: www.D2DBook.com (use the code “VIP” for a discount and bonuses)
• www.DrivenToDelight.com
• www.JosephMichelli.com
• Dr. Michelli’s blog post with infographic: How To Become A Leader In Customer Experience

People Mentioned on this episode

• Garreth Joyce

Mark C. Winters coauthored with Gino Wickman the business best seller Rocket Fuel: The One Essential Combination That Will Get You More of What you want from your Business.

He has been a leader and entrepreneur for over 25 years and has worked with companies ranging from multi-billion dollar enterprises like Procter & Gamble and British Petroleum, to raw startups originally drawn up on a napkin.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

• [0:35] Jeremy’s introduction of Mark C. Winters.
• [1:05] The hardest business moment Mark has experienced.
• [4:02] One of Mark’s proudest business moments.
• [8:16] The mentors who have invested in Mark’s life.
• [11:30] How to connect with Mark.
• [13:10] The influence Mark’s father had on him.
• [16:44] Mark’s plans for the future.

In this episode…

Hardships in business are not uncommon, but some hit a founder harder than others. Mark C. Winters had a very promising, profitable, popular business idea rolling but it got shut down because of an investor who had the prerogative to say “no” to any initiative through a naive agreement Mark had made at the outset. The investor didn’t want to seek an additional round of funding from investors and Mark and the other team members couldn’t convince him differently.

The result was disastrous and Mark had to come up with a clever way to liquidate all the assets and get out of the company that was his brainchild to begin with.

Mark also shares his proudest moment, a time when he was able to sell one of his companies for a great profit. He was working out the sale of the company while he was at Disney with his family. The celebration he was able to have after the consummation of the sale was two-fold: once with his family while on vacation, then again with his team once he returned. It was an exciting time that came about through the crazy hard work his team put in toward the end of the company’s run.

Resources Mentioned on this episode

• Mark’s Books on Amazon
• Mark’s YouTube Channel
• Mark’s Webiste: www.RocketFuelNow.com
• Gino Wickman (Mark’s co-author)

Farbod Deylamian and Kyle Lewis are cofounders of Sriracha2Go, a company catering to the needs of Sriracha fans worldwide. they make keychain togo bottles so you can carry your srircha sauce with you everywhere. They sold through their initial order of 20K units in 2 weeks and they sold over 10k 3 packs on groupon in a week and received investment from Mark Cuban’s investment company.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

• [0:35] Jeremy’s introduction of his guest, Farbod and Kyle.
• [1:38] Farbod’s “rap” stage when he dominated the scene.
• [3:24] Kyle’s slicked-back hair as a kid.
• [4:46] How Kyle and Farbod meet in San Francisco.
• [5:59] Lessons learned working at a startup.
• [8:10] Commitments they made to do some things differently in their company.
• [11:05] Business culture lessons.
• [17:07] Coming up with innovative ideas to spread the word about their product.
• [18:02] What led up to their product idea?
• [22:36] Advice they received as they were starting their business.
• [25:41] Mistakes made in manufacturing and lessons they learned from them.
• [29:45] The hardest step before launch.
• [36:00] A 2 stage launch plan.
• [43:04] Infrastructure choices: shopping carts, shipment handling, etc.
• [48:10] The Buzzfeed incident and how it skyrocketed product sales.
• [53:56] Finding a connection to a new manufacturer that changed everything.
• [55:29] Packing and shipping the first massive orders by hand and with friends.
• [58:59] The buzz about their product after the Buzzfeed article.
• [1:03:00] The impact of Twitter on their product awareness.
• [1:05:05] Huy Fong Foods reaches out to the guys and they quit their jobs.
• [1:09:06] The course of the licensing conversation: the legal part and the business part.
• [1:15:30] Getting sriracha sauce into every person’s hands.
• [1:16:00] Reaching out to Mark Cuban: what they said in the email to get his response.
• [1:20:04] Structuring the deal with Mark Cuban’s organization.
• [1:22:56] The best advice Mark has provided so far.
• [1:24:06] Invaluable advice and help that’s come from Mark’s team.
• [1:25:36] Retail sales are rocking.
• [1:27:30] Finding the right people to get the packaging design right.
• [1:32:43] The online strategy: word of mouth and more.
• [1:36:10] Advice about navigating Amazon as a distribution channel.
• [1:37:45] What’s keeping the guys up at night now?
• [1:41:56] The product development and ideation process the guys use.
• [1:44:55] The lowest and proudest moments the guys have experienced in their business journey.

In this episode…

What’s the craziest roller coaster you’ve ever ridden?

Whether you’re a fan of roller coasters or not, you’ll get the comparison when you listen to his episode. That’s because the entrepreneurial journey has been likened to a roller coaster, and in this episode you’re going to hear exactly how true that has been for two ordinary guys who didn’t know what they were getting into.

Farbod Deylamian and Kyle Lewis are the founders of a product based company, Sriracha2Go, a miniature, refillable Sriracha dispenser that has rocked the retail world. Their journey begins in the form of a running joke between the two of them that morphed into a product idea. As they pursued the idea, iterated, took another step, then tweaked things a bit more, they finally reached the top of the first big hill and the company has rocketed around the track ever since.

In this conversation you’re going to hear their very honest and open answers to Jeremy’s questions regarding how their business started, how the product idea came about, the things they’ve done to move it forward, and the unexpected blessings and hurdles that have come all along the way. Those include running out of product in a matter of days after launch, getting their product licensed by the world’s largest sriracha distributor, sending an investment pitch email to Mark Cuban and getting a response within 2 hours, and much, much more.

These two guys have been on the ride of their lives and both feel that there’s still a lot more ahead. Listen in to get the details on their product development, how they chose their software solutions for ecommerce, email, shipping and fulfillment, and lots of other practical, actionable tips. Once you hear this chat, you’ll glad you listened to this episode of Inspired Insider.

Resources Mentioned on this episode

• www.Siracha2Go.com - find them on all social media as well.
• www.Skubana.com - Ecommerce platform
• http://www.extol.com/ - the startup where Farbod and Kyle met.
• www.Oracle.com
• www.Shopify.com
• www.BigCommerce.com
• www.Volusian.com
• www.WooCommerce.com
• http://goshippo.com/fresh/
• www.MailChimp.com
• www.Slack.com
• www.Asana.com
• Google Analytics
• Amazon
• www.BuzzFeed.com
• Huy Fong Foods
• Shark Tank
• Mark Cuban
• Inc. Magazine Article
• www.MarkCubanCompanies.com