Lessons via Leaders

Mark Crofton is Global Vice President and leads the Sales Coaching team at SAP SE. 
 
Prior to his current role, Mark led the SAP Academy for Sales, the flagship SAP sales training program for Early Talent. Previously, he was VP Sales, Latin America, launching and leading the Mobility business in that region. He has also held positions in the North America Sales and Corporate Development organizations. His expertise is in leading sales teams and implementing Go-to-Market strategy with a focus on attaining revenue targets.
 
I’ve had the privilege of working with Mark at my previous company LiveNinja when we pivoted to a B2B model, and we didn’t know the first thing about selling into enterprises. Mark came in, taught us how to build a salesforce from the ground up, and ever since then I consider him one of the most knowledgable people in software sales.

Ana Paula González is Head of Managed Funds at 500 Startups, a Silicon Valley-based, early stage tech VC fund whose mission is to discover and back the world’s most talented entrepreneurs, help them create successful companies at scale, and build thriving global ecosystems. To date, 500 Startups has invested in over 2,500 companies in 80+ countries around the world, and ran 60+ accelerator programs in 15+ countries around the world.

At 500 Startups, Ana leads the efforts to raise dedicated investment vehicles to complement corporate and ecosystem development programs around the world. Previous to that, Ana led the development and implementation of innovation and ecosystem development programs with partners around the world, including sourcing investment opportunities for the 500 Startups family of funds. Previously, Ana launched the 500 Startups Miami with the goal of supporting Miami to become a global hub for tech and innovation.

Find Ana on Twitter: https://twitter.com/anapauglez

I'm really excited about this week’s episode as we have Alex Taub, CEO of Upstream on the show.

I’ve recently had a chance to connect with Alex after he and his family moved to Miami in the this past find him to be one of the most thoughtful, approachable, and knowledge people in the tech scene.

Before coming to Miami, Alex was a fixture in the NY tech community working at companies such as Aviary and Dwolla before then going off to start his own company SocialRank. After SocialRank was acquired, he’s back at it again with a new company called Upstream, which is an incredible platform that is changing the way people connect and build professional communities.

On this episode Alex and I talk about a variety of topics including his background, what led to him creating Upstream,  his plans for the future, how he thinks about building community, his biggest lessons learned, and much much more.

Check out Upstream: https://upstreamapp.com/

Find Alex on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ajt

Keith Rabois is a serial entrepreneur and investor working and investing in companies such as Airbnb, Lyft, YouTube, Wish, Yammer, DoorDash, Stripe, and Affirm (among many others) and has worked at companies like PayPay, LinkedIn, and Square. 

Keith is one of the most respected people in the tech industry so I was very much looking forward to sit down with him to talk about a variety of topics including:

• The recent tech migration to Miami
• Miami's rise as a tech scene and where it's heading
• The qualities Keith looks for in founders/entrepreneurs 
• The rise of SPACs and how companies might think about choose between SPACs, IPOs, and Public Offerings
• An overview on OpenDoor and what it offers to home sellers
• Advice to anyone deciding between a career in VC vs being an entrepreneur 
• Some of the biggest lessons/takeaways he's learned in his career
• and much more

Find Keith on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rabois
Learn more about Founders Fund: https://foundersfund.com/

I’m really excited for today’s episode because we have Mike Marotcci from SwagUp on the show. Michael is the CEO of SwagUp - a company that makes it simple to create high quality branded swag for companies to give as gifts to employees and clients.

SwagUp is an incredible company that is growing like crazy so I was stoked to have Michael on the show to discuss the origins of SwagUp, how he’s been scaling the company, lessons learned along the way, what’s next for the business, and much much more.

For more on SwagUp, check out their website: https://www.swagup.com/

Reach out to Michael on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MichaelMartocci

“How can I help?”: a simple tweet that Miami Mayor Francis Suarez sent out on December 4th, which has since gone viral, has put Miami into the spotlight on a global stage as one of the top emerging tech hubs in the world. 

Since that time, Mayor Suarez has front and center leading the charge on bringing more talent, attention, and capital to the 305. 

That's why I was very grateful when the mayor invited me to City Hall to sit down in his office and talk about everything that has transpired since he sent that tweet and how he is turning this moment is turning into a movement. 

Follow Mayor Suarez on Twitter: https://twitter.com/FrancisSuarez

Rebecca Danta is the Managing Director of Miami Angels, the largest angel network in Florida, which funds Seed and Series A technology companies with early traction across various sectors. 
 
 Miami Angels has deployed $13.6M into 33 companies since 2014, and Rebecca built a sustainable, independent business model for the organization.
 
 Prior to joining Miami Angels, Rebecca managed global campus operations for General Assembly in New York City, the first accelerated learning provider, and the "Top Most Innovative Company in Education" per Fast Company. General Assembly had a successful exit in 2018. 
 
Rebecca is a Miami native and passionate about investing into markets and teams that are often overlooked in traditional venture capital. She serves on the board of the Florida Venture Forum and is a Class XI member of Miami Fellows.

In this episode, Rebecca talks about:

- Why now is a great time to get into angel investing
- Why it may be more accessible than most people think it is
- How Miami Angels can help you get started as an investor
- How the investment landscaped has changed in the past year
- Tips for startups raising capital
- and much, much more….

Find Rebecca Danta:

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

Miami Angels: https://www.miamiangels.vc

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: https://twitter.com/rebeccadanta

I am really excited for today's episode because we have my guy Miles Varghese, CEO @ Cargologik on the show. 

Miles and I go way back. He and I worked together at my previous company, LiveNinja where Miles where our very first sales hire and really was an intricate part of shaping the culture of our company. We consider him a founding team member and over the years as we built the company he very much felt like family so I’m really excited to now have him on the show to talk about his new company Cargologik and what they’re doing there.

Prior to joining Cargologik, Miles served as employee #3 at Octopi where he lead sales, growth, and go-to-market them as the first true SaaS TOS in the industry. Octopi was the “Gmail of Terminal Operating Systems,” and the first modern web-based platform.  In under 2.5 years, the company was acquired by Navis and now Miles is doing his thing with his new business Cargologik, which you’ll hear about here.

In this episode, Miles and I talk a lot about sales and what it takes to be a great salesperson in today’s modern era. Miles breaks down the importance of human-to-human interactions in the digital space and how to effectively do that and he shares a TON of great tips along the way that you can implement today to make your sales process more efficient. 

Megan O’Connor is an entrepreneur that enjoys solving complex problems with a societal impact, especially related to education or the future of work. As the founder of Clark (acquired by Noodle), Megan set out to provide educators with the economic opportunities they deserve by giving them tools to start tutoring businesses. Under her leadership as CEO, Clark served thousands of educators and raised funding from Lightspeed Ventures Partners, Winklevoss Capital, Rethink Education, Foundation Capital and more. 

Before Clark, Megan was a founding partner of New York-based startup studio Human Ventures and Director of Development at the nonprofit Pencils of Promise. Currently Megan is serving as an Entrepreneur in Residence at Kaplan, one of the world’s largest and most diverse education providers.

In this episode, Megan reveals what inspires her work in the educational realm. Stay tuned as we discuss how higher education is changing because of COVID. Plus, Megan predicts the future of online education and how college will evolve.  

Find Megan O’Connor

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

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meganmoc/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/meganmoconnor

Boost by Kaplan: https://boostbykaplan.com/

Today on the show we have Matt Pack, the Owner and Head Coach at Primal Fit. Since 1999, Matt has been accompanying others on their health and fitness journey. 

His undeniable passion for helping others has helped him grow not only his brick and mortar personal training business but also his online coaching program The Primal Fit Pros. 

In this episode, Matt shares a lot about overall health, nutrition and well-being including his own unique catered approach to fitness and how he guides his clients to live their best live possible.

This was a really great episode. I had a great time having this conversation with Matt and I know you’re going to love it as well, so without further ado, let’s get right into it!

Find Matt:

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

Website: https://www.primalfit360miami.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/primalfitmiami/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNx9SdFMjnhHCr-bihdo4lA