Ever wonder what the connection between being an entrepreneur and a defense attorney might be?  Me neither . . . until I sat down with Sara Yousuf, co-founder of Miami's iconic Sweat Records.

We covered how her roots as a child of immigrants shaped her entrepreneurial journey and led to the launch of Sweat Records, Emerge Miami, and Engage Miami.  We explored her biggest lessons from launching those ventures and even made the connection into what entrepreneurs can learn from a day in the life of a criminal defense attorney.

You can listen to Sara turn the tables on me about launching this Podcast - what else would you expect from an attorney?

Sara has her footprint in multiple parts of our Miami community and we can all learn a lot from her hustle . . . plus her thoughts on Miami's rising startup scene having been witness to it over the past 10 years. 

  Highlights  

Entrepreneurial start

2:15 - Lessons she learned from her entrepreneurial parents

3:30 - Her first entrepreneurial endeavor, selling stuff in a Red Flyer wagon as a kid

4:45 - Turning the tables on me by asking me about the launch of this Podcast

6:30 - How Sweat Records came to be

9:15 - Why Sweat Records was something she only could have done in Miami

13:00 - Advice she'd give to someone looking to start their our endeavor 14:15 - How Emerge Miami and Engage Miami came to be, including how Emerge spawned the Critical Mass bike event 17:15 - What the Sara before launching anything would think of the Sara now

 

Being a criminal defense attorney

19:15 - How she became a criminal defense attorney

21:00 - Times she has felt like she's making a difference

23:00 - How she can defend someone she knows is guilty

25:00 - The connection between entrepreneurship and criminal defense

 

Miami & closing questions

27:00 - Her thoughts on Miami's startup scene

27:30 - Daily habits that keep her on track

29:15 - Book recommendations for entrepreneurs

30:00 - Why she doesn't use social media

31:00 - What she'd do with $500 if she were brand new to Miami and had to start a business

33:20 - Final advice

 

Mentioned in this episode

Sweat Records

Emerge Miami 

Engage Miami

Critical Mass

The Productivity Project

Made to Stick

Wondering how you can get your feet wet in Miami's rising startup scene without having to quit your job or launch a startup?  I sat down with Jennifer Lannon who leads business development at Building.co and has a host of other exciting projects in the works.  We covered some great topics whether you're already immersed in our tech scene . . . or in a 9-5 job and wondering what role you can play in Miami's bright future:

- How Jenny got into the startup scene despite coming from a traditional background

- How the women-focused accelerator she once worked for evaluated founders and helped them get funded

- Exciting opportunities in the "digital health" space here in Miami

- How you can get involved in Miami's startup ecosystem  without having to launch a startup of your own.

 

Highlights: 

How she got into tech

2:30 - Deciding that being a doctor wasn't for her

4:45 - Landing an internship at a top health care innovator

5:45 - Getting a job at a top female-focused accelerator

7:45 - How they evaluated female founders and decided whether to bring them onboard

 

Her path to Miami & startup developments here

8:45 - How she connected to the .co team in Miami

11:30 - Organizations in Miami leading the startup charge

13:45 - How someone can get involved in the Miami tech scene without having to quit a job and launch their own startup

16:30 - Why Miami has a big opportunity in health care

 

Being part of the STRAAT team

18:15 - Her involvement with the STRAAT team

19:15 - How their culture differs from the typical large company

20:00 - Exciting projects in the works

21:00 - Companies that are a fit for being a Building.co

23:45 - Only in Miami moments on Building.co's roof

 

Closing questions

24:15 - Best advice she's received

25:15 - Favorite book

27:00 - What she'd do if she were new to Miami and only had $500 to start a business

 

Mentioned in this Episode 

Springboard Enterprises

Knight Foundation 

Babson WIN Lab

Startup Bootcamp Digital Health Miami

500 Startups

Power Moves Miami

Startup Digest Miami

Accelerated Growth Partners

Building.co

Health2.0 (web) and Health2.0 (Twitter)

Jennifer on Twitter

Wondering whether you should focus on creating a profitable business or getting investors? I sat down with Nathan Heber, Founder & CEO of Boatyard, a mobile app that delivers "happiness on demand" to boat owners by linking them with boat services like fuel delivery, washing, and maintenance.  The company launched in 2014, has catapulted in growth since late last year, and was named Top Product 2015 by Boating Industry magazine.

Nathan is  one of the leaders in our Miami & South Florida tech ecosystem and has valuable lessons whether you're in a full time job and thinking of doing your own thing or already working in or leading a startup of your own, including:

- how his team stood by his side when the company was in trouble and he wasn't sure if he could make payroll

- why getting to profitability almost always beats getting Venture Capital funding (and why he pitched to Venture Capitalists early on even though he knew he'd get rejected)

- why you should spend your money on experiences instead of things and how Boatyard is trying to take a page out of Zappos' book by delivering happiness to boat owners.

Episode Highlights 

Entrepreneurial story

2:15 - Why he's always had the entrepreneurial bug

2:30 - Advice he'd give to someone in a 9-5 job they aren't fulfilled in

3:30 - Why not everyone is cut out for entrepreneurship

4:30 - Challenges and upsides of being an entrepreneur with a family

6:00 - Why nothing is more important than profitability

 

The Business

7:00 - How Boatyard came to be

9:15 - How his team stayed onboard through rough times, even when he couldn't promise payroll

11:45 - How at its core is a people company enabling amazing experiences

13:00 - Why buying experiences will make you happier than buying stuff

14:15 - How Boatyard generates revenue

16:00 - Why many "Uber for ____" businesses are taking a hit today

19:00 - Why they focus on making a small group of people happy versus appealing to the masses

 

Fundraising and approach to Venture Capital

20:15 - Hypothetical reasons why VCs might not invest in Boatyard

21:45 - How his perspective on fundraising has changed since launch

23:00 - How having a strategic partnership has helped grow their business

 

Wisdom for the Hustle

23:45 - Why it's important to have a mentor

24:45 - What the Nathan before launching Boatyard would think of the Nathan now

 

Closing questions

25:45 - Best advice he's received (from a children's book)

26:45 - Why he's a fan of Tony Hsieh and Zappos

27:15 - What he'd do if he were brand new to Miami and only had $500 to start a business

28:20 - Final advice to entrepreneurs

 

Mentioned in this episode

All My Friends Are Dead

Delivering Happiness

Tony Hsieh and Zappos

Wondering how to get that courage to finally get your business idea off the ground? I sat down with Steve Aitken and Jose Manuel Rivera of Miami startup Jarly to talk about how they got the idea for their business, their current traction, and what it’s like to launch a hyper-local business in Miami.  These guys are bringing happiness to Miami, one delivery at at time with fresh, artisan-baked goods from local bakers.

We had a great chat covering:

- How they got the idea for Jarly while living in San Francisco and pivoted their business based on early feedback.

- Insights they’ve gained by making deliveries themselves and how its shaping the evolution of their service.

- Why they’ve chosen Miami to launch their startup and how they hold each other accountable while being roommates AND officemates.

 

Getting started

1:30 - Where they got the idea for Jarly

3:15 - How they started with one model in S.F. and quickly pivoted

5:00 - What gave Steve the confidence to leave his regular job and make the jump

 

The Business

6:45 - How they generate revenue and how they think about evolving the business

10:00 - How they are “bringing happiness” to their customers with a hands-on delivery process

11:00 - Insights they gain by doing deliveries in person and how it informs their business

14:45 - Biggest challenges at the moment

17:05 - How’d they get customers if they had no tech

19:00 - How they keep each other accountable

20:15 - Pros and Cons of doing business in Miami

 

Closing questions

22:45 - Best advice they’ve received

24:15 - Books they’d recommend to aspiring or current entrepreneurs

25:00 - What they’d do if brand new to Miami and only had $500 to start a business

 

Mentioned in this episode

Zero to One

Delivering Happiness

How would you like to be personally mentored by Ralph Lauren? I sat down with Silvia & Jorge Camps and talked about the launch of their Miami-based startup, StowSimple - a great concept that acts like a spare closet on demand.  They pick up all your unused stuff, store it at their modern storage center, and return it on demand when you need it.  They already have big traction from Miami folks living in hi-rise apartments, snowbirds, and frequent back-and-forth Miami travelers, including Dylan Lauren (daughter of Ralph).

We had a great chat and talked about how Silvia got the idea for StowSimple after a breakup with a boyfriend.  Jorge talked about a key lesson he learned during his leadership roles at The Container Store and how he’s using it to bring joy to their Miami customers.  Not only is StowSimple a great business idea that I’m sure all of us can see ourselves using, but there are some excellent entrepreneurial lessons for anyone launching or growing a startup or business of their own - especially those focused on Miami!

 

Highlights

Entrepreneurial story

2:30 - How Silvia landed a job working for Ralph Lauren right out of Duke University

4:00 - How the idea for StowSimple came to be after Silvia broke up with a boyfriend

6:15 - How they validated the idea for Stow Simple

9:30 - What the entrepreneurial life is like for them

 

Business overview

10:20 - Customers who are raving about the product

11:15 - How Silvia feels a special kinship for her “boyfriend breakup” customers 

12:30 - How Dylan Lauren uses StowSimple when she comes into Miami

13:00 - Frequent back-and-forth travelers to Miami using the service

14:30 - How they charge for the service

 

Business deep dive

16:00 - Their most important metric

17:20 - Their intimate relationship with customers and how it’s helping grow their business

18:20 - Reasons why top VCs might not invest

 

Closing questions

23:00 - Pros and Cons of doing business in Miami

24:00 - Help they’ve received from the local Miami community 

24:30 - What Silvia learned being mentored by Ralph Lauren and the best advice he gave her

25:50 - Jorge’s thoughts on how making people feel great is helping their business

26:30 - Books they’d recommend

27:20 - Their “only in Miami” moments

28:40 - What they’d do with $500 if they were brand new to Miami and needed to start a business

 

Mentioned in this episode

Brand Simple

Pour Your Heart Into It

Delivering Happiness

Stow Simple

Wondering how you can capitalize on an opportunity right in Miami's backyard?  I interviewed Nick Cardoza and learned how he took his experience in the yacht industry to create a solution that solved a problem for two parties - boaters looking to rent a yacht and a premium yacht company with idle capacity.  Big lessons here for Miami startups on the principle of leverage - no need to start from scratch in building an audience when you can get traction partnering with an established company with global reach.

We covered some topics relevant whether you’re in a 9-5 and thinking of doing your own thing or already working for or leading a startup of your own, including:

- how taking a job no one else wanted led to him becoming known as Miami’s “boat guy"

- how an insane email chain of 30 messages led to the idea for YachtLife

- why he decided to focus on a niche market instead of pursuing the entire boating industry

- his approach to networking, hanging with ultra-wealthy individuals, and why he’s excited about the future of Miami

Some great lessons here from Nick on starting with what you have and being a tech startup that plays to Miami’s strengths.

Highlights

2:30 - Entrepreneurial background, traveling the world, and becoming Miami’s “Boat guy”

6:30 - How Yachtlife came to be

12:30 - How a strategic partnership has accelerated his launch

19:30 - His approach to networking, including lessons from working with ultra-wealthy individuals

24:15 - Thoughts on Miami’s future in tech & beyond

25:45 - Closing questions

Mentioned in this Episode

Yacht Life

VanDutch Yachts

48 Laws of Power

Four-Hour Work Week

Old Man and The Sea

Ever feel like you might not have what it takes to make that leap and get started with your idea?  In this episode I sit down with Richard Lavina, Co-Founder of Taxfyle, a mobile app that matches people needing their taxes done with affordable CPAs.  Taxfyle has already raised over $1M in seed funding and launched on the App Store earlier this year with a series of #1 Best New App rankings.

Entrepreneur story

2:05 - Perspective he gained in big corporations that apply to being a startup founder

3:00 - How he got the idea for Taxfyle

5:00 - How he ultimately got the guts to “go for it"

6:05 - Support of friends & family

The Business

9:00 - How Taxfyle generates revenue

9:45 - Where he’s spending most of his time

12:45 - How he’d describe his ideal customer

(14:50 - Tim’s ask for guests you’d like to see on MHS)

Hot seat questions

15:35 - What’s preventing another startup from doing the same thing?

18:20 - What he’d do if there was no VC funding

20:15 - What he’d do if VCs passed on funding his next investment round

Closing questions

21:30 - Pros and cons of launching a startup in Miami

24:15 - “Only in Miami” stories

24:50 - Best advice he’s ever received

27:05 - What he’d do if brand new to Miami and only had $500 to start a business

Taxfyle

Ever had a great idea that you thought just had to be brought to life?  Learn how Ed Boland took a problem he saw as a parent and turned it into a startup that's been validated with a successful Kickstarter campaign AND real customers.

Ed is the Co-Founder, alongside his wife, of Whimzy Entertainment, a brand focused on bringing joy, creativity, and learning to children in a way that reinforces positives values.  The company’s first brand is the HeroBoy line of toys and comic books - now, these are physical products, their brands have potential to be scaled into technology products as well.  They recently launched a successful campaign on Kickstarter and were selected as one of 10 startups to join Venture Hive’s recent accelerator class.

We covered a lot of ground Including - how he went from finance & venture capital to launching a startup by tackling a problem that he faced as a parent.

What it takes to launch a successful Kickstarter campaign and how to use that as validation for your idea

What he observed in Will Weinraub and Live Ninja’s culture that led him and his VC team at Scout ventures to invest

What Ed calls the 3 R’s that everyone entrepreneur needs to have

The importance of story when it comes to communicating your business.

Ed has experienced entrepreneurship both as a VC and in the trenches as an entrepreneur himself.  This is one of my favorite episodes to date - I love what his company is doing for the world and in representing Miami - I think you’ll get a lot out of it.

Getting started as an entrepreneur

2:30 - How he first got involved in the Miami entrepreneurship scene

3:30 - How HeroBoys came to be and the internal debate to go out on his own

8:00 - Biggest fears with the startup

Business lessons & challenges

9:15 - How the company generates revenue

10:15 - Why Kickstarter was important to them & how to launch a successful campaign there

12:30 - Why every company now is a tech company

15:45 - Biggest challenges at the moment

Experience as a VC

18:00 - What made startups stand out to him and his VC firm, including Live Ninja

19:15 - What Will has done to build a great culture at Live Ninja

Closing questions

22:00 - Pros and cons of Miami to launch a startup

23:45 - Best advice he’s received

24:15 - Habits/routines that keep him making progress

25:15 - Book recommendations

26:30 - What he’d do with $500 to spend to build a business if he were new to Miami and didn’t know anyone

Mentioned in this episode

The Hard Thing About Hard Things 

Creativity, Inc

Pixar

Will Weinraub and Live Ninja

Brian Breslin and Refresh Miami

Hero Boys - Instagram, Facebook, Twitter

Wondering how you can take a niche skill and turn it into a business?  You might think making leather bags isn’t about tech, but . . . 

Tiffany is the founder of Heist, an artisan provider of handmade leather bags and jewelry, made right here in Miami's Little Havana neighborhood.

We covered how Tiffany taught herself to code so she could make an initial website and how she learned the ins and outs of selling on Etsy.

How she’s handling the challenge of getting traffic to her website and how to price her products premium in a world of cheap competitors.

How she’s thinking about the challenge of growing from a one-woman show to a scalable business.

We covered a broad list of business challenges applicable whether you’re in a 9-5 and thinking of doing your own thing or already working for or leading a startup of your own.  

Her path to being an entrepreneur

1:45 - How Heist came to be and her gradual process of becoming an entrepreneur

5:15 - Times when she thought maybe it wasn’t a good idea

6:00 - Advice to someone looking to do their own thing

The Business

7:30 - How Heist makes money

11:00 - How getting started on Etsy helped her business take off

11:45 - Advice for getting started on Etsy

15:30 - Talking about her hand-crafted bags and how she differentiates them

17:30 - How she decided on her prices and what it would take to double them

19:00 - Selling wholesale vs retail

20:00 - How she has thought about scaling her business

Closing questions

21:30 - Pros and Cons of doing business in Miami

23:00 - Habits & routines

24:00 - Book recommendations

26:00 - How she’d start a business with $500 if she were brand new to Miami and didn’t know anyone

Mentioned in this episode

The E-Myth

Rework

Essentialism

The Miami Flea

Wondering if your business idea will be any good? Let’s say you’re in a 9-5 job and you have a business idea, or you’re about to launch a startup, or you’re just a small business looking to try something new.  One of the questions you probably have is, “is my idea going to be any good?”  Are people going to buy what a I want or am I going to crash and burn?   The purpose of this process is to make sure that you DO have a great idea - that before you spend valuable time, money, and sweat into creating something, you’ve made sure that it’s something people actually want.  Now, you don’t HAVE to go through this process - most people don’t, which is one of the many reasons why most startups and people launching businesses fail.  Namely, they create something that people don’t actually want.  Instead, they created something that they think people want.   So we want to do just a little bit of upfront work to make sure our idea is good.  This Stage 3 is a crucial one.   Be sure to check out the downloadable worksheet at miamihustle.co/resources where you can follow along at each step.