The Entrepreneur Ethos

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Hey everyone. Stay tuned to the end of the interview where I’ll give you some actionable insights that I learned from my guest. These insights are also in the show notes. As always, thanks for listening.

Now on to my guest today, Santi Bibiloni, CEO and founder of COR, a project profitability solution for creative and professional services. 

Still in his 20s, Santi already had built a successful advertising agency in Argentina when he started to think about how to help make service agencies like his be more profitable and able to pay their employees more. Not one to give up after one no from 500 Startups, a startup accelerator in San Francisco, he went to work raising money and then moved to the Bay Area, where he finally got his yes and started building COR. 

Like any business with potential, Santi identified a problem that nobody has yet found a solution to and went to work. COR harnesses the power of AI and machine learning to help service-based businesses track their hours more efficiently and be able to create better cost estimates. Since service-based businesses mostly provide human labor, estimating time is a hugely critical task, and one that is often problematic. By using AI to help with this process, Santi says, service-based businesses will be better positioned to charge with more accuracy as well as better compensate their employees. 

Now let’s get better together.

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Hey everyone. As always, stay tuned to the end of the interview where I’ll give you some actionable insights that I learned from my guest. These insights are also in the show notes. As always, thanks for listening.

Now on to my guest today, Mark Kerzner,  who is cofounder of Scaia-Scalable AI and Elephant Scale, which offers training in using artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and more. 

Mark emigrated to Texas from Russia after earning a degree in computer systems in the late 1970s and started working in computer applications with oil companies. He became an independent consultant, specializing in AI and machine learning because he knew he needed a special skill to offer. He also started offering training and co-authored a book on Hadoop. 

Mark offers insight into the evolution of AI and machine learning and explains why Facebook’s facial recognition program was a turning point, leading to a huge leap in how we search and interact online and the implications for the future. Mark is now applying similar principles to helping lawyers more quickly find what they need for discovery while continuing to write and teach. 

Now let’s get better together.

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Hey everyone. As always, stay tuned to the end of the interview where I’ll give you some actionable insights that I learned from my guest. These insights are also in the show notes. As always, thanks for listening.

Now on to my guest today, Devin Miller, an attorney who practices intellectual property law and who is also an entrepreneur.

Some people learn by doing; others learn in school. Devin has done both, having earned four degrees, starting out in engineering, where he quickly realized he didn’t want to be a “cog in the wheel.” He went on to earn an MBA and a JD, graduating with both degrees in the same year. As a business student, he regularly competed in business competitions and he has founded several companies. He was also an intellectual property attorney, working for such big companies as Apple, Amazon, and Intel. It’s no surprise that Devin decided to strike out on his own and start his own law firm, Miller IP, where he focuses on helping startups and entrepreneurs with intellectual property issues.

Navigating the terrain of patents can be tricky for an entrepreneur. When do you file? Devin offers some insight into the process, including why you don’t want to wait too long, and when you might want to think about applying for patents in other countries. Since his primary focus is on helping startups, he’s also developed a less expensive alternative for businesses and entrepreneurs who need a more affordable option but don’t want to risk just doing it themselves. Snap Legal offers a bridge between the do it yourself legal solution and hiring an attorney. Always looking to be of service, Devin also offers free strategy sessions to help companies determine if hiring an IP attorney is the right step for them. 

Now let’s get better together.

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Hey everyone. Stay tuned to the end of the interview where I’ll give you some actionable insights that I learned from my guest. These insights are also in the show notes. As always, thanks for listening.

Now on to my guest today, Brandon White, whose first venture, Worldwide Angler, was an early internet success, grew into Tidal Fish Ventures, and sold to a publishing company in 2013. He’s been involved with various projects since and currently hosts the podcast called Build a Business Success Secrets. 

Brandon’s idea for a fishing magazine began when he was a graduate student in psychology living on the Chesapeake Bay. He enjoyed fishing and wanted to share information about the sport. When he found out how much it would cost to put out a magazine, he turned to the internet, which was just emerging in the mid-1990s, hiring a programmer and working on a spinach farm to pay for it. He eventually drew the attention of the major investment firm Sequoia Capital. Things took off from there, and he built it into a successful online subscription site.  

Since then, Brandon’s been involved with various projects, starting other companies and investing in others. He’s used his expertise in business to create a 13-slide business plan he teaches to aspiring business owners. Most recently, he started a podcast, going back to his roots in media, this time sharing his insight and expertise in how to build a successful business. 

Now let’s get better together.

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Summary

Hey everyone. Stay tuned to the end of the interview where I’ll give you some actionable insights that I learned from my guest. These insights are also in the show notes. As always, thanks for listening.

Now on to my guest today, Zac Stern, founder of Official, a different kind of “dating app.” 

Zac started working in the world of venture capital while still a college student at NYU. He was promoted to associate after he graduated and also started investing on his own. A chance conversation allowed him the opportunity to share his idea for a new kind of dating app, and he’s just launched Official. Even though he’s young, Zac has a lot of insight to offer. 

Zac’s idea for Official started with a desire to “gamify” dating apps and to also serve people already in relationships. The main problem with dating apps, he explains, is that once someone has found someone, they don’t need the app any longer. He wanted to create something for people already in relationships. The app provides a way for couples to deepen their connections, providing ways for them to come up with things to do, communicate better, and build community as a couple. 

What started out as an idea in a pitch deck on his computer has taken off in a big way; in the beta launch, the app got so many users that the server shut it down. 

Now let’s get better together.

Actionable Insights

As someone who has been on both sides of the venture capital game, Stern has some suggestions. 

Links to Explore Further

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Summary

Hey everyone. Stay tuned to the end of the interview where I’ll give you some actionable insights that I learned from my guest. These insights are also in the show notes. As always, thanks for listening.

Now on to my guest today, Jon Scott, cofounder of ScopeStack.

Jon started out as an engineer working in IT services, providing configuration and installations for businesses. He moved into presales, where he became intimately acquainted with not only the sales process but also the preparation of documents providing the scope of work. This is a time-consuming process full of potential problems, and Jon set out to solve this. He cofounded ScopeStack, which provides a SaaS solution for statements of work for IT services companies, helping streamline the process and thus saving a lot of money and time in the sales process. 

Now after over three years since starting his own business, Jon believes his success so far is due to his understanding of the problem his product solves. As someone who was in the industry, he can go to potential clients and explain how he was in their shoes, and how their software helps. He calls this “earning the secret.” He became a “nerd who can talk to people,” pushing himself further to do what he needed to do to close the sale. 

Now let’s get better together.

Actionable Insights

Scott recommends: 

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Summary

Hey everyone. Stay tuned to the end of the interview where I’ll give you some actionable insights that I learned from my guest. These insights are also in the show notes. As always, thanks for listening.

Now on to my guest today, Peter Goldstein of Exchange Listing, who helps companies go public. 

Peter admits that what he does now isn’t something he could have planned out. He started out in the restaurant industry in New York, but, he says, has always been an entrepreneur, picking up odd jobs when he was a kid to earn money. He bought his first business at the age of 24 when, seeing an opportunity, he took it. Now Peter draws on his decades of experience in helping emerging growth companies enter public markets. For entrepreneurs who are at this stage of growth, you may want to find someone like Peter to help you navigate this complex process. 

Peter explains that there are a lot of opportunities right now for companies to access capital on public markets. His task is to evaluate whether or not a company is ready to go public, analyzing it from a number of angles both qualitative and quantitative. At times he works with companies for a year or more to help them prepare for this step. And just as a company needs to know its ideal customer and how to tell their story, so too does a company need to craft its story for potential investors. 

Now let’s get better together.

Actionable Insights

Here’s some advice from Goldstein for rising entrepreneurs: 

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Hey everyone. Stay tuned to the end of the interview where I’ll give you some actionable insights that I learned from my guest. These insights are also in the show notes. As always, thanks for listening.

Now on to my guest today, Author Bruno Cignacco. 

I asked Bruno on my show because I was intrigued by his book, The Art of Compassionate Business: Main Principles for the Human-Oriented Enterprise. After years as an accountant, Bruno moved to business consulting, helping companies navigate strategies and processes and also teaching courses. His book came about, after he read an article that prompted him to think about the importance of people and relationships in business. He argues that businesses should not be just concerned with profits; that they should also be concerned with people and the planet, and that by focusing on the latter two, businesses will grow and be sustainable as a result. 

According to Bruno, research demonstrates that in companies where stakeholders are valued and relationships are given priority, rather than the bottom line, businesses do better. Employees, customers, partners, and community members will go the distance to support and reciprocate when they see a company respecting and valuing them. Similarly, a company that cares only about profit at the expense of people and the community, will ultimately suffer, and it will impact their profit margins. Empathy, compassion, gratitude, generosity, and, above all, love, all have a part to play when building a business. 

Now let’s get better together.

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Hey everyone. Stay tuned to the end of the interview where I’ll give you some actionable insights that I learned from my guest. These insights are also in the show notes. As always, thanks for listening.

Now on to my guest today, Indiana “Indy” Gregg of WeDo.

Indy has built a career as both a tech entrepreneur and a singer. She made a name for herself in tech when she set out to fight music piracy. As a musician, she believes musicians and other artists should be remunerated for their work. As a result, she founded kerchoonz, a platform that paid musicians when their music was downloaded, a forerunner of today’s streaming music platforms.

Indy’s most recent venture is WeDo, a neo-bank for the freelance economy. Consistent with her mission to ensure people get paid for their work, she sees WeDo as a platform that breaks down barriers for entrepreneurship and freelancers by providing access to the tools today’s online knowledge workers need, like platforms that help them deliver their services and get paid to do so. 

Now let’s get better together.

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Hey everyone. Stay tuned to the end of the interview where I’ll give you some actionable insights that I learned from my guest. These insights are also in the show notes. As always, thanks for listening.

Now on to my guest today, Cory McKane, founder of WeStrive, an app for personal trainers.

Cory first got interested in developing an app for personal training while he was in college in Washington State, where he worked on it with a roommate. After a few iterations, he’s now the sole founder of WeStrive, having taken the idea from being an app for consumers to a tool for personal trainers to help them grow their business. 

Cory has a background in personal fitness, but it’s his commitment to talking to trainers and finding out what they need that has most helped shape the app. He’s continually honing the platform based on input from his current and potential customers, and seeks to make the app the all-in-one solution for personal trainers. Finding the right people to work with is also clearly important to the growth of his business; Cory describes his journey through working with different development teams and talks about how he’s had to learn to delegate and let go of other tasks, once he’s put the right people in place. 

Now let’s get better together.

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