Strategy Chain

We're well into the quarantine. It's a dynamic, anxiety-provoking environment. Business is decidedly not as usual. I've been reflecting on opportunity and timing. I want to share my thoughts in case they are helpful to even a small degree.

The essential question of strategy is "what should we do?" Uncertain times fraught with danger (perceived or real) are good times to revisit our most basic assumptions and explore our personal strategies.

To that end, I want to do three things: (1) talk about the cyclical, dynamic nature of opportunity, (2) suggest a good framework for strategic analysis, and (3) make some observations about times similar to the present.

Links:

Tim Ferriss' 17 questions: https://tim.blog/2016/12/07/testing-the-impossible-17-questions-that-changed-my-life/

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Dylan Lipari toured the nation as his band's drummer from age 13 to 23. His band ended things on a high note: opening for Bon Jovi at MetLife Stadium. Dylan transitioned into a successful career in corporate retail before joining his brother at the Superare Fight Shop, helping lead the expansion from Long Island to Manhattan and (most recently) LA.

Dylan is a master salesman. You can't help but like the guy--he can connect with anyone. His story highlights the tenacity, hustle, and optimism required to be successful in any pursuit. And his story is incredible.

0:04:00 – Intro to Dylan and his background 0:10:03 – How Dylan first got involved with Superare 0:21:00 – The top of the funnel: getting people into combat sports 0:40:55 – How Dylan's band started 0:46:12 – Selling out venues across the country 0:51:02 – #1 unsigned band on Myspace for 6 years 0:53:25 – Sneaking onto Warped Tour 1:04:38 – First musical instrument to play at MetLife Stadium (opening for Bon Jovi) 1:10:12 – Lessons on selling, marketing, and employee retention 1:43:05 – Granular dive into Superare 2:11:25 – Customer service best experience 2:31:35 – "Say 'yes' and figure it out" ... making heavy bags for Jay Glazer 2:41:09 – Expanding to the LA Superare location 2:55:14 – Guerrilla Marketing 3:02:00 – Experiences with licensing (Muhammad Ali and Bruce Lee) 3:04:47 – Collaborations 3:17:38 – A connection to Mohnish Pabrai's P/E of 1 3:26:35 – Closing questions (and some crazy theft stories) 4:08:03 – When Dana White's Looking for a Fight came to Superare 4:17:58 – Favorite books

Review Strategy Chain at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/strategy-chain/id1492935567 Find Amazon affiliate links at http://strategychainpodcast.com/support Send me (Michael Roberson) questions at http://strategychainpodcast.com/contact Sign up for the email list at http://strategychainpodcast.com/ Social Media @strategychain (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Medium)

This episode explores the difference between step-wise and incremental progress. We'll discuss thoughts from startups, venture capital, established tech companies, politics, combat, grappling, investing, marketing, and the movie Zoolander.

We'll discuss thoughts from Gabriel Weinberg's Traction, Bill Gates, Tim Ferriss, Newt Gingrich, Sun Tzu's The Art of War, Peter Thiel's Zero to One, wrestling, Jiu Jitsu, strength training, Jocko Willink, the Navy SEALs, the Green Berets, the CIA, the US Government, Mohnish Pabrai's Dhandho Investor, W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne's Blue Ocean Strategy, Richard Branson, Al Ries and Jack Trout's The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing, Charlie Munger, and Derek Zoolander.

Here's the point: anyone who is great focuses on moving the needle.

Review Strategy Chain at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/strategy-chain/id1492935567 Find Amazon affiliate links at http://strategychainpodcast.com/support Send me (Michael Roberson) questions at http://strategychainpodcast.com/contact Sign up for the email list at http://strategychainpodcast.com/ Social Media @strategychain (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Medium)

Today we discuss the laborious, painful processes that make and break competitive advantages. To illustrate this concept, this episode is going to feature: Paul Graham (of Y Combinator), Mike Posner (a prolific singer, songwriter, rapper, poet, and record producer who received a Grammy nomination for song of the year), Gary Gulman (a stand-up comedian), Charlie Munger (a legendary investor), the Green Berets, and the New England Patriots.

And as a bonus, we'll explore how Marcelo Garcia provides an example of when to break the principle—and why.

Calvin successfully exited two businesses without raising dilutive equity funding before turning 28. While building them, he and his co-founders lived in China, South Africa, Mexico, and Chile for fun and geo-arbitrage. Calvin also tells an UNBELIEVABLE story about how he and his team ended up in jail in Beijing.

Here, Calvin gives us a sense of what he's learned, what works well for him currently at Trivago, and what he'd say to a younger version of himself. I found it really insightful. Very simple, but very powerful. I suggest listening to what he has to say.

0:01:34 – What happened between joining Start-Up Chile and selling the company to Trivago 0:03:58 – Getting contacted by Marriott 0:04:21 – Marketing their B2B concept by promoting their consumer-facing site 0:05:23 – Joining Trivago 0:06:16 – What it means to be a product owner at Trivago 0:11:32 – Small changes that have big impacts 0:12:30 – Calvin's first experience launching a "losing" set of tests and shifting revenue down 3% 0:12:59 – Asymmetric risk & reward 0:17:25 – Game theory, OODA loops, Howard Marks, & connections to wrestling 0:23:10 – Important books: The 4-Hour Workweek, Traction, and biographies 0:26:15 – Valuable lessons from failure & doubt; importance of co-founder team 0:27:46 – Important skills: brutally honesty about your skill set, choosing what NOT to do, & transparency 0:31:20 – Important beliefs: forgiving yourself, focusing on what you did right, and making quick decisions 0:35:18 – What he would whisper to himself: you'll make a lot of mistakes Review Strategy Chain at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/strategy-chain/id1492935567 Find Amazon affiliate links at http://strategychainpodcast.com/support Send me (Michael Roberson) questions at http://strategychainpodcast.com/contact Sign up for the email list at http://strategychainpodcast.com/ Social Media @strategychain (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Medium)

Calvin successfully exited two businesses without raising dilutive equity funding before turning 28. While building them, he and his co-founders lived in China, South Africa, Mexico, and Chile for fun and geo-arbitrage. Calvin also tells an UNBELIEVABLE story about how he and his team ended up in jail in Beijing. Listen in for details on Soul Ceramics (the Tim Ferriss style automated cash flow business they sold to an individual investor) & TripHappy (the tech company they sold to Trivago).

0:02:00 – Transitioning their focus from Soul Ceramics to TripHappy in 2015 0:04:22 – The infamous Chinese jail story 0:17:50 – What is TripHappy? First iterations and pivots of the company. 0:21:26 – We have a useful product: now what? 0:22:14 – First attempt at content marketing: using travel bloggers 0:23:04 – Second attempt at content marketing: writing automated travel guides 0:24:30 – Third attempt at content marketing: hitting the front page of Reddit 0:28:31 – Finding the real "problem" that TripHappy solves 0:30:28 – Focusing on viral content & hitting Reddit's front page … again! 0:32:18 – Seeking funding through Start-Up Chile 0:34:28 – Traction by Gabriel Weinberg and Justin Mares 0:43:00 – Start-Up Chile experience 0:46:22 – Learning from other entrepreneurs: what did you try, what worked, and what didn't? Review Strategy Chain at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/strategy-chain/id1492935567 Find Amazon affiliate links at http://strategychainpodcast.com/support Send me (Michael Roberson) questions at http://strategychainpodcast.com/contact Sign up for the email list at http://strategychainpodcast.com/ Social Media @strategychain (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Medium)

Calvin Hawkes successfully exited two businesses without raising dilutive equity funding--before turning 28. While building them, he and his co-founders lived in China, South Africa, Mexico, and Chile for fun and geo-arbitrage. Calvin also tells an UNBELIEVABLE story about how he and his team ended up in jail in Beijing (in the next episode). Listen in for details on Soul Ceramics (the Tim Ferriss style automated cash flow business they sold to an individual investor) & TripHappy (the tech company they sold to Trivago). 0:04:23 – His first online business, Maple Cheats 0:06:23 – Starting his career at Deloitte 0:10:05 – Making a pact with his future co-founders to quit their jobs in a year 0:10:57 – Enter The 4-Hour Workweek 0:13:23 – Their first attempted automated cash flow business: SnackShackSupplies.com 0:19:41 – Lessons learned from failure & their next attempt: Soul Ceramics 0:27:38 – Things that didn't carry over & getting a cease and desist letter 0:30:17 – Marketing dynamics and economics using Google Shopping 0:35:37 – The importance of emotions and motivation in entrepreneurship 0:39:31 – The importance of selecting the right co-founders: trust  0:47:37 – Transitioning from Soul Ceramics to TripHappy 0:49:45 – A step back: Soul Ceramics' economics and mechanics 0:55:35 – Moving from a working business model to an automated cash flow business 0:59:30 – Content marketing to hedge against an ad inventory auction "race to the bottom" 1:04:00 – Selling Soul Ceramics through EmpireFlippers.com

Rate and review the podcast at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/strategy-chain/id1492935567 Find Amazon affiliate links at http://strategychainpodcast.com/support Send me questions at http://strategychainpodcast.com/contact Sign up for the email list at http://strategychainpodcast.com/ Social Media @strategychain (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Medium)

Walmart's founder and an NCAA wrestling champion born with one leg used the same strategy to dominate their competition: local advantages. Sam Walton founded Walmart and grew it from a single discount retail store to well past 4,000 locations. Anthony Robles, born with one leg, developed a strategy that culminated in an undefeated senior season and achieving his dream: an NCAA title. 0:00:00 – Local advantages and asymmetry 0:03:00 – Competition Demystified and Sam Walton introduction 0:06:15 – Anthony Robles introduction and discussion 0:15:59 – Robles vs Gardner: overtime during the 2008 NCAA Division I Wrestling Tournament 0:27:21 – Robles vs McDonough: the detail that completed an undefeated season 0:29:15 – Strategic and tactical changes 0:32:13 – Summary of the Robles example 0:34:57 – Zooming out: context 0:35:16 – Sam Walton and the Walmart story 0:35:41 – Connection to Risk strategy: entry / pre-emption games 0:37:24 – Sam Walton's 3 density advantages 0:41:42 – Conclusions and takeaways 0:43:30 – Gratitude and support Rate and review the podcast at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/strategy-chain/id1492935567 Find Amazon affiliate links at http://strategychainpodcast.com/support Send me questions at http://strategychainpodcast.com/contact Sign up for the email list at http://strategychainpodcast.com/ Social Media @strategychain (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Medium)

Today Colin Keeley ( www.twitter.com/colinkeeley, www.colinkeeley.com, and www.techinchicago.co) joins us to talk about venture capital, continued education, networking, and how to optimize learning. Colin has a super interesting story that ultimately culminates in the venture-capital field. He also runs an amazing podcast called Tech in Chicago. I think Colin's superpowers include: masterful genuine networking, appetite for taking calculated risks, and taking perpetual, non-stop steps toward his lofty goals. Listen for these themes as you make your way through podcast, and I think you'll see them all over the place. Time Stamps0:00:00 – Introduction to the episode 0:03:00 – Introduction to Colin Keeley 0:03:13 – My favorite episodes of Tech in Chicago: Jeff Carter ( https://www.builtinchicago.org/blog/tech-chicago-episode-8-jeff-carter-vc-hyde-park-angels-west-loop-ventures ), Ezra Galston ( https://www.builtinchicago.org/blog/tech-chicago-episode-6-ezra-galston-vc-chicago-ventures ), and Troy Henikoff ( http://www.techinchicago.co/episodes/2017/1/13/troy-henikoff-techstars-md-vc-math-vp ) 0:04:18 – Macalester College to Inveni 0:04:55 – Seth Levine of the Foundry Group gave a talk 0:05:38 – Cold email into a job 0:07:05 – First start up hire: "athletes" 0:08:30 – Experience with Geneva Denim 0:09:40 – University of Chicago MBA & starting in venture capital 0:15:07 – Bevy Post-Mortem ( https://colinkeeley.com/blog/bevy-post-mortemmy-sharing-economy-startupnbspfailure ) 0:16:57 – How Colin met Paul Lee https://www.builders.vc/people.html#cbpi=paullee.html from Builders VC 0:18:25 – Starting Tech in Chicago 0:20:00 – The vision for Avocado Audio 0:22:44 – Venture Capital 0:34:14 – Continued education 0:36:23 – How to learn without doing in a start-up context: "Why now?" 0:37:38 – Answers to the "why now" question 0:41:57 – Importance of persuasion, sales, and storytelling 0:44:42 – Networking 0:54:00 – Reading text and retention   0:56:56 – Audio and retention 1:00:30 – Podcast analytics lagging behind video platforms 1:02:34 – Books (American Kingpin, eBoys, The Design of Everyday Things) 1:05:41 – Skills (communication, writing, selling, public speaking, producing content) 1:07:56 – Beliefs (improved at letting trivial matters go) 1:09:25 – Strategies for learning (reading, listening to podcasts, writing, meeting with people) 1:09:50 – What he wishes younger Colin knew (make yourself uncomfortable, ask for what you want, start at a larger start-up so that you have a network if things don't work out) 1:12:10 – Support & Closing Gratitude

Give Strategy Chain a 5-star rating and leave a review at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/strategy-chain/id1492935567 Amazon affiliate links at http://strategychainpodcast.com/support Send me questions at http://strategychainpodcast.com/contact Sign up for the email list at http://strategychainpodcast.com/ Social Media @strategychain (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Medium)

In this episode, we're going to explore some themes and connections surfaced by a book called The Four Agreements. This book was recommended by Olivia Roberson from episode 002, and Katina Mountanos from episode 005.

This book is about managing fear and suffering by identifying and destroying bad beliefs that hold us back. It offers a very simple message, yet one that is very difficult, and very-very important, to implement: we can live without suffering and fear.

Time Stamps

0:00:00 – Intro 0:02:00 – Connections 0:02:25 – What are you struggling with? 0:02:50 – Themes 0:04:30 – Framework: common perceptions 0:06:15 – The judge and the victim 0:07:50 – The Joker and how people respond to "the plan" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0AXgaFqEas 0:09:30 – The First Agreement 0:15:00 – The Second Agreement 0:16:05 – The brain is like the South Park manatees https://southpark.cc.com/clips/103666/idea-balls 0:17:03 – The Third Agreement 0:18:19 – The wisdom of Michael Scott 0:19:06 – The Fourth Agreement 0:19:32 – Parable of the man seeking transcendence 0:22:02 – Implementing these strategies 0:25:49 – Connection to Game of Thrones https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i82rrVzQ4sM&feature=youtu.be&t=235 0:27:20 – Other quotes on fear 0:28:46 – Principles by Ray Dalio 0:27:20 – Seeking Wisdom from Darwin to Munger by Peter Bevelin 0:29:08 – Striking Thoughts by Bruce Lee 0:30:10 – The 50th Law by 50 Cent and Robert Greene (quotes from 50 Cent, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Frederick Douglass) 0:32:50 – Support & Closing Gratitude

Give Strategy Chain a 5-star rating and leave a review at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/strategy-chain/id1492935567 Amazon affiliate links at http://strategychainpodcast.com/support

Send me questions at http://strategychainpodcast.com/contact

Sign up for the email list at http://strategychainpodcast.com/

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