February 11, 2020

Sean Cannell, founder of Think Media

1 hour 12 minutes

About this episode

I’d like you to meet Sean Cannell, founder of Think Media. Sean Cannell is a best selling author, YouTuber, and speaker centered on helping entrepreneurs and creatives build their influence with online video. Sean’s YouTube channels have over one million subscribers, his videos have been viewed over 43 million times and he has been featured as one of the “20 Must Watch YouTube Channels That Will Change Your Business” by Forbes.

The Think Media team is on a mission to help 10,000 people create a living, doing what they love to do, utilizing online video. That is what I love about Sean’s story, is that it is grounded in helping others achieve something more for themselves.

In this episode, we take a deep dive into how Sean made it out of a rough season with a new vision for what he could have in this life. While most of us might not be able to directly connect with a journey that includes a myriad of drugs or multi-day bingers, we can definitely relate to the idea of hopelessness or the absence of vision or direction. Even more importantly, we should be able to relate to the idea of being surrounded by people who help when we need it most. Entrepreneurship is not a solo journey. Sean unpacks elements of his story that, he will admit himself, have never been told before. This is Sean Cannell’s startup story.

In this episode, you’ll hear

His early childhood, not seeing himself as becoming an entrepreneur, and his upbringing by two fathers; his biological father John (a creative) and later, by his stepfather

About his rough teen years, being expelled from high school, getting into hard drugs; Sean shares his story of hitting rock bottom (which he has never shared anywhere before) and how this led to the most transformational time in his life

Enrolling in Bible College and how by getting his faith in order it sparked his vision for a future beyond the fleetingness of pursuing pleasure

His struggle with imposter syndrome (while in Bible College) and feelings of undeserving of his opportunity; and later how being immersed in the church community changed everything

How an invitation by his youth pastor to start shooting videos for the church was the beginning of his career as a video creator

Going from intern to working within the church and leveling up his skills and entrepreneurial aspirations

The story of how he got into creating videos specifically for YouTube and YouTubers, which includes known YouTuber Benji Travis

How and why he made a shift to move to Vegas to take a position as a Communications Director for a church and what happened next

Some encouragement from Sean to capitalize on the part of your journey you are currently in, whether that season is as an employee and delivering for that employer and figuring out, what are the things that are going to work for your future state

Moving away from his Director of Communications position at the church and moving forward towards his early path to creating Think Media

In October of 2015, Sean lost 90% of income due to clients ending contracts; and while he was very worried about making ends meet, a mentor urged him on, “It seems to me that you just got kicked off the cliff and now it's time to fly.”

Building Think Media and where the company is today

“At some point, as an entrepreneur, you have to jump off the cliff and go all-in.” – Sean Cannell, Think Media

Resources from this episode

Creedon: Legal partners you want as you build your business and brand. Listeners get a 30-minute brand consultation + $200 discount on a trademark application. Visit http://creedonpllc.com/startupstory

Brex: The credit card specifically for startups. Visit http://www.brex.com.

Listeners, use code StartupStory and get fees waived for life!

Think Media on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGxjDWAN1KwrkXYVi8CXtjQ

Sean Cannell on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seancannell/

The Startup Story is now on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/jamesmckinney

The Startup Story on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thestartupstory/

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EPISODE CREDITS

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world.

Contact him today at https://emeraldcitypro.com/startupstory

Special Guest: Sean Cannell.

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By James McKinney