The Entrepreneur Ethos

Hello everyone and welcome back to a miniseries I’m doing called A Personal History of Silicon Valley Recessions.

This is a five part series of what it was like to go through two (and now starting three) recessions in Silicon Valley.

This is part five titled Supply Chain Woes + War Spikes Inflation.

If you’re just turning in, I’d highly recommend listening to the first four episodes to get a sense of what I’m talking about.

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Hello everyone and welcome back to a miniseries I’m doing called A Personal History of Silicon Valley Recessions.

This is a five part series of what it was like to go through two (and now starting three) recessions in Silicon Valley.

This is part four titled Global Pandemic Recession and it’s about the recession that the COVID-19 created when the world shut down overnight.

If you’re just tuning in, I’d highly recommend listening to the other three parts so you get the Full Monty so to speak.

Most of you listening know this one since you’re living through a version of it now. More on that in part 5.

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Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hello everyone and welcome back to a miniseries I’m doing called A Personal History of Silicon Valley Recessions.

This is a five part miniseries of what it was like to go through two (and now starting three) recessions in Silicon Valley.

This is part three titled The Great Recession and it’s about the lead up and bursting of the housing bubble that also burst the always sunny in startup land Silicon Valley.

If you’re just tuning in, I’d highly recommend listening to part 1 and part 2 so you get the Full Monty so to speak.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hello everyone and welcome back to this miniseries I’m doing called A Personal History of Silicon Valley Recessions.

This is a five part miniseries of what it was like to go through two (and now starting three) recessions in Silicon Valley.

This is part two titled We’ll Make it up on Volume and it’s about the lead up and bursting of the dot com bubble.

If you’re just tuning in, I’d highly recommend listening to part 1 so you get some context as to my perspective on this.

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Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hello everyone and welcome to a bonus series I’m doing called A Personal History of Silicon Valley Recessions.

This is a five part miniseries of what it was like to go through two (and now starting three) recessions in Silicon Valley.

Part 1 is all about who I am and how I grew up in the most creative place in the world.

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Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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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 for today, Josh Adler, a serial entrepreneur and founder of Convrtx. Convrtx offers help to startups in four ways: through strategic support, help in raising capital, product development, and launch strategy. 

Josh comes from a family of successful entrepreneurs in Canada. He started out as young as eleven in accounting and worked his way through various aspects of business, which has given him unique insights into how to build and run a company. He attended the University of Toronto for business and MIT, where he earned a certificate in cybersecurity. He has launched several other businesses, including Open Advisor, a support network to help startups globally and in particular in developing countries. 

In our talk, Josh shares insights into the ways in which Dubai, where he now lives, contributes to a flourishing culture of entrepreneurship. The government offers financial support for people who go from working for the government to launching a startup. When COVID hit, providing free, regular testing along with tight restrictions around people who tested positive helped the area, which relies heavily on tourism, to stay resilient.  

Now, let’s get better together.

• While Josh had the privilege of starting early by working for his family company, he stresses that ultimately it's about putting in the work and continuing to do so until you see results.

• Though it might not seem like a great time to try to raise money for a business, Josh says it's actually a good time to do so, especially for startups in the early stages. There's a lot of investment to be had for founders in this stage. 

• While not previously an avid reader, Josh now reads two books a week, saying it's important to learn from others as much as possible. Below are the four books Josh recommends for all entrepreneurs, noting that these cover the important areas that entrepreneurs should focus on:

The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation To Create Radically Successful Businesses, by Eric Ries

The Titanic Effect: Successfully Navigating the Uncertainties That Sink Most Startups, by Tood Saxton, M. Kim Saxton, and Michael Cloran

The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future, by Chris Guillebeau

Secrets of Sand Hill Road: Venture Capital and How To Get It, by Scott Kupor

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Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Overcast

Support the Show. Get the AudioBook!

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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 for today, Jordan Wehe, director of marketing at Jade Communications, an internet service and security provider in Colorado.

Jordan's first job was in an obesity prevention program in Denver, where he drew on his background in the sciences. But he found himself more interested in the marketing piece and decided to get a master's in marketing. When his brother asked him for help promoting the family business, he joined him at their father's company, Jade Communications.. 

In just a few years Jordan has helped make Jade Communications the internet service provider of choice for many customers in rural Colorado - despite having seven competitors. The company believes in putting the customer first by engaging in "practical empathy," where they listen to the customers' problems and help them figure out solutions. Jordan believes that marketing needs to be part of the job of every employee, no matter what their role. 

With COVID requiring so many people to start working remotely — and many continuing to do so — having reliable internet is important and invaluable when building a community. Jordan's view of seeing their service as part of community building and making people's lives better is a key part of what makes Jade successful. 

Now, let’s get better together.

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Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Overcast

Support the Show. Get the AudioBook!

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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 for today, Aliza Knox, a "non-executive" director, former executive at financial services and tech companies, and author of Don't Quit Your Day Job: The 6 Mindshifts You Need to Rise and Thrive at Work.

Aliza characterizes herself as "an American with a sense of adventure." She's lived in Australia and now makes her home in Singapore. Aliza explains that she's gone through three stages, which she likens to software upgrades: 1.0 was her work at financial services companies like Charles Schwab and Visa; 2.0 was as an executive in sales and operations at Google, Twitter and Cloudflare, and 3.0, where she is currently, is taking all she learned and helping others while spending time doing things she loves. 

Aliza wrote Don't Quit Your Day Job after experiences mentoring others. People regularly seek her out for advice on their professional lives. She's distilled some of her wisdom and insight into the book, organized around six mindshifts. Using stories from the people she's helped, she illustrates ways ambitious professionals can shift their perspectives in order to get to where they want to go. 

Now, let’s get better together.

Grit can only carry so far. Finding passion for what you're doing will keep you going. 

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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 for today, Fred Joyal, cofounder of 1-800-DENTIST and author of the book Superbold: From Under-Confident to Charismatic in 90 Days. 

Fred started out wanting to be a screenwriter in Hollywood, but instead moved into advertising. While he liked the industry, he didn't like the future he saw in it. He also wanted to start his own business, and took up an opportunity presented to him by a friend who had bought the 1-800-DENTIST number and offered to license it to him. Fred and a stockbroker friend decided to start the business in 1986 using the number for dental referrals. They successfully built and ran the business together for over 25 years and became the largest dental referral company in the country. 

After the company took in private equity and Fred stepped down as CEO, he focused on building his own brand, one that had already started as the spokesperson for the brand, having appeared in their TV commercials. He also built up his authority by writing and publishing two books on dental marketing and became a sought-after speaker. His book Superbold draws from his own journey as an introvert to someone who learned to take risks and try, one who embraces failure for the lessons it teaches. 

As the head of a successful business for so many years, Fred has a lot of insight to share, especially about marketing and the importance of being bold. 

Now, let’s get better together.

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Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Overcast

Support the Show. Get the AudioBook!

AudioBook: Audible| Kobo| Authors Direct | Google Play | Apple

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 for today, Diane Primo, CEO of the award-winning public relations and marketing agency Purpose Brand and author of ADAPT: Scaling Purpose in a Divisive World. 

Before opening her own agency, Diane acquired significant experience working as a marketing executive for corporations, including Pepsi and what became AT&T, and was CEO of an e-commerce home-services company. When she decided to strike out on her own, she sought to combine her passion for purpose-led businesses and her experience and love for marketing. 

In addition to working with a variety of companies, both well-established and startups, Diane is passionate about solving problems and helping others using a business process framework. She's used this strategy in helping address homelessness in Chicago, where she's based, as well as being part of a technology board that provides access to capital and mentoring for black and brown entrepreneurs. 

Diane believes articulating and aligning with your purpose is essential for any business - the earlier, the better. 

Now, let’s get better together.

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