June 04, 2019

Michael Alvarez Jr., founder of Vision Media

48 minutes

About this episode

I’d like to introduce you to Michael Alvarez Jr., founder of Vision Media. Vision Media is a fulfillment and logistics company that services movie studios and television networks. In fact, if you walk into almost any movie theater today, I am confident that all marketing collateral you see has come through one of Michael’s warehouses. Vision Media has experienced some tremendous success, but Michael’s journey in bringing it to its current state was not without incredible trials.

In today’s episode, you’ll hear how important it is to not allow traumatic events in your life to define your future. You will also hear just how critical it is to have a support system in your life when traveling the road to entrepreneurship. Finally, you will discover how powerful having a deep-rooted self-belief can be to achieve success.

All of our Startup Stories begin with our featured founder unpacking their childhood because I truly believe it plays a role in how we handle the entrepreneurial journey. What I love about Michael’s startup story is how much he values the lessons his parents taught him as a child and how critical those were to his entrepreneurial journey. This is Michael Alvarez’s startup story.

In this episode you’ll hear

How and when he realized he wanted to be an entrepreneur and his early childhood

His desire to do something great with, to play on a major league baseball, or own a major league baseball team.

Michael’s experience getting drafted by the Saint Louis Cardinals, how it changed his life

His baseball journey, plus his experience with a career-ending injury and what he did next

How he got his start in the movies and marketing industry and his early days in fulfillment

The early days of his business, how it was a grind, figuring out what the heck they were doing and realizing his company was really an extension of marketing departments within the studios

How he went about balancing entrepreneurship and raising a young family

Growing his fulfillment company in the 90s, the growth pattern for you, plus selling it in 2002

Being urged to buy his company by his wife and working hard to not let traumatic events define his future

The importance of realizing we are all flawed and how that realization allows you to be more successful

“The greatest gift my dad gave me was the importance of respect, and this gift allowed me to get into doors many couldn’t.”

—Michael AlvarezJr. , Vision Media

Resources from this episode

Connect with Michael on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-alvarez-6a981476/

Vision Media website: https://visionmedia.com

Donate to: http://www.varietysocal.org

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Full Episode Transcript

Special Guest: Michael Alvarez.