The James Harrisson Show

Spirituality, success & the dark side of personal development

What you'll learn from this interview:

1) The good and bad of personal development, what Dean learned from reading hundreds of books, spending multi 6 figures on coaches, seminars and going down the personal growth rabbithole

2) His more recent spiritual journey and what he's learned from looking internally rather than externally

3) Why we need to consistently question and challenge everything we believe

IG: @deanblankfield

As the world remains on lockdown, I caught up virtually with one of my friends Tomas Stanford.

We chatted about how the current situation with COVID-19 will change the corporate environment, why this could be the last pandemic the world could see, and the opportunities that come from a period like this.

We also chatted about Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, a journey I've recently started and one Tomas has been on for much longer.

Enjoy!

@1omas

@saintbelford

A few months ago I jumped on the other side of the mic and was interviewed by my good friend Ryan Tan (@ryan_tano).

I really enjoyed the conversation so I wanted to share it here, hopefully you can get some value from hearing my story and thoughts on a wide range of topics including sales, books, 10 day Vipassana meditation plus more!

What you'll learn from this interview:

• How burnout in a job she didn't like led Alex to start her own business
• How her views on "hustling" and work have changed and how she's been able to prioritise her health and wellbeing whilst growing the business
• The challenges of creating and marketing a physical product and how she's been able to address them

My guest today is Alex Phillips. After burning out and reflecting on what was a very unsustainable lifestyle, Alex wanted a planner that would help her prioritise her wellbeing over productivity and she couldn't find it.

It was out of this frustration that Saint Belford was born, a company whose mission is to provide you with the tools and resources that empower you to keep self-care at the top of your to-do list, so that you can design, build and live a life that genuinely fulfils you, without compromising your wellbeing in the process.

IG: @saintbelford

W: saintbelford.com.au

How Carlo Cisco is creating AMEX for the next generation

What you'll learn from this interview:

• What he learned from his time at Groupon Japan, helping turn it into one of the company's largest and most successful international markets in just two months
• The problem with most credit card rewards programs today and how he's filling this gap with SELECT: "The Black Card for Millennials"
• How Carlo solved the chicken and egg problem of a marketplace business model (building up strong merchant partnerships whilst simultaneously growing their consumer user base)

My guest today is Carlo Cisco, he's a serial entrepreneur who launched his first successful business in college, helping bring thousands of customers to local venues throughout Miami. He has helped build or grow startups of all sizes ranging from pre-development stage startups to Groupon. Most notably, he helped build Groupon Japan, turning it into one of the company's largest and most successful international markets in just two months.

He is currently the Founder & CEO of SELECT, a private membership community and concierge service that provides access to exclusive events, insider pricing and VIP perks at thousands of locations. SELECT partners with top-rated local restaurants and nightlife venues as well as premier global brands in travel, retail, entertainment & more. SELECT's 18,000+ members receive exclusive benefits at over 1.6 million partner locations. SELECT works with numerous leading brands across industries including TAO Group, H.Wood Group, SBE, The One Group, Cole Haan, Bose, IHG, Hyatt, Kimpton, Priceline, Hawaiian Airlines and many, many others.

IG: @carlocisco & @theselectcard

W: meetselect.com

What you'll learn from this interview:

• How a parasite she got from a trip to Rwanda led to the founding of Matcha Maiden
• How she knew when the right time to leave her job and go all in on the business was
• The biggest challenges transitioning from corporate to doing her own thing, and how she overcame them

My guest today is Sarah Davidson. She's the co founder of Matcha Maiden, co owner of Matcha Mylkbar and host of the Seize the Yay podcast

She began her career as a mergers and acquisitions lawyer for an international law firm, however she knew early on that the corporate life wouldn't be a long-lasting career as it didn't allow her to tap into her creative side.

When a side project selling Matcha direct to consumers took off, she left her law firm and grew the business to a global brand with stockists around the world. Along the way she also helped bring Australia's first specialty Matcha cafe to life and created "Seize the Yay", a podcast and platform where she discovers how some of the world's most inspiring people find their "yay".

@spoonful_of_sarah

@matcha_maiden

@matcha_mylkbar

@seize_the_yay

Lessons learned from selling supercars, taking a non traditional career path & working in high pressure environments

What you'll learn from this interview:

• His experience working at McLaren and the level of service required when your clients are dropping $1 Million+ on a car
• His experience working in high pressure environments as a Ferrari race mechanic at Bathurst 12 Hour
• How customer service and sales has evolved and how he applies this at his latest role with Mercedes Benz

My guest today is Daniel Prince. He's had a fascinating career as a race mechanic, a technician with McLaren and most recently a product specialist for Mercedes Benz.

I wanted to share Daniel's story because he had a non traditional path and the stories and lessons from his career are fascinating.

LinkedIn

IG: @dannny_prince

Bathurst 12 Hour Doco

What you'll learn from this interview:

• How her own battle with ongoing autoimmune issues led to founding Almo Milk
• Why timing is a big factor in business and how she was able to spot and take advantage of a gap in market
• How she launched and grew the business despite facing huge global competitors

My guest today is Linda Monique. She's been a Private Chef and Food Nutrition Consultant, and most recently founder of Almo Milk, an Australian almond milk company which is now available in 9 countries

Almo Milk won the Melbourne International Coffee Expo Product Innovation Award the day it was launched. It has also won a number of other awards; and Linda herself was named Victorian Young Telstra Business Woman of the Year in 2017

I wanted to bring Linda on the show to find out more about food design, how she launched and grew Almo Milk and what's coming up for her

@almomilk

@fooddesigning

LinkedIn: Linda Monique

What you'll learn from this interview:

• What Chris learned from a 15 year tenure at Microsoft, and his thoughts on working in corporate and startups
• How he helped grow Xero in Australia from 7 staff and 4,500 customers, to 270 staff and 320,000 paying customers in 5 years as Managing Director
• The 3 criteria he uses to assess potential startup investments

My guest today is Chris Ridd, he's a business executive, investor and advisor with 30 years experience in the technology industry. After a long career with Microsoft spanning 15 years, he was appointed Managing Director for Xero in Australia to lead the expansion of Xero's market share in Australia.

Under his leadership Xero grew in five years from 7 staff and 4,500 customers, to 270 staff and 320,000 paying customers.

Today Chris has taken his vast experience and applied it as an investor and advisor in a number of exciting Australian technology startups.

I wanted to bring Chris on the show to find out what he's learned from such a wide ranging career working in challenging and high performance environments, how he thinks about investing and what's next for him

What you'll learn from this interview:

• How Jack went from broke living paycheck to paycheck to creating the life and business he wanted
• How he navigated this transition despite facing negativity from those around him
• Why he decided to shut down his first successful business to focus on new projects

My guest today is Jack Prow. Jack was once a broke tradie who was kicked out of school twice and told he was going nowhere in life.

He then discovered the world of online business and since then has launched a 5 figure a month clothing brand, a marketing agency, a romantic experience marketplace and built a community of other online entrepreneurs.

I wanted to bring Jack on the show to find out more about his journey from broke and unfulfilled, to where he is today, and learn more about some of his current projects.

IG: @jackprow & @theentrehub & @itsjustfortwo & @studiosixgroup