Episode 004: Powering Forward – Elton Brand

You might know him as the Power Forward for the Atlanta Hawks or one of Duke’s most memorable alums, but off the court, Elton Brand is a serial entrepreneur, who joined me during a recent visit to Chicago to share his keys to winning in the business game.

Elton Brand is an alum of Duke University and the #1 Draft Pick of the 1999 NBA Draft class. He has garnered an impressive 16 year career in the NBA and currently plays as a power forward for the Atlanta Hawks.

He is also the CEO of Milk Media Studios and owns several tech startups.

In this podcast, Elton dispels some common entrepreneurial myths regarding what it really takes to get your vision off the ground and offers some wise words for entrepreneurs struggling with self-doubt.

You might know him as the Power Forward for the Atlanta Hawks or one of Duke’s most memorable alums, but off the court, Elton Brand is a serial entrepreneur, who joined me during a recent visit to Chicago to share his keys to winning in the business game.

About Elton

Elton Brand is an alum of Duke University and the #1 Draft Pick of the 1999 NBA Draft class. He has garnered an impressive 16 year career in the NBA and currently plays as a power forward for the Atlanta Hawks.

He is also the CEO of Milk Media Studios and owns several tech startups.

Overview:

In this podcast, Elton dispels some common entrepreneurial myths regarding what it really takes to get your vision off the ground and offers some wise words for entrepreneurs struggling with self-doubt.

Elton’s Action Steps:

-Do your research before partnering with others

- Use the momentum of one success to build another

- Bootstrap if you can; Big Investors = Big Expectations

- Start Small; Show the Potential of Your Vision

Top Quotes:

“There’s a lot of sharks out there; it’s their job to take your money.”

“I was still learning the business, but I believed in myself; believed in my brand.”

“Trust the system; Set a goal, execute, but be prepared to walk away”

“I’ve gotten a lot of good pitches on LinkedIn. It’s a place for serious entrepreneurs”

Resource Links:

Business Insider (http://www.businessinsider.com/)

From Good to Great by Jim Collins (http://ow.ly/MSwwQ)

The Long Tail by Chris Anderson(http://ow.ly/MSwCb

Key Timestamps:

01:13 A Leap of Faith into the World of Film

01:48 Before Christian Bael was Batman

02:45 You Don’t Have to be an Expert to Start

03:30 A Gamble Pays Off

04:45 Building Momentum

05:20 Becoming a Parallel-preneur

06:00 Having impact with limited resources

07:05 Polishing your Pitch

8:00 Assessing Risks & Moving Past Adversity

9:30 Bootstrapping your startup

10:15 Finding the right people for your team

10:50 What Sharks Really Do

11:55 Trusting the System

13:37 Good Reads for Entrepreneurs

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