What happens when you have no experience and no money, but a mission for peace and the confidence to execute? You create a business that is impacting people across the globe. Matthew Griffin of Combat Flip Flops did just that. On this week’s episode of The Unicorn Perspective he tells me about his journey and his purpose. We also talk about foreign affairs, failures and goods made from materials previously used for war. 

About the guest: 

Matthew Griffin is the co-founder and CEO of Combat Flip Flops, a footwear and apparel company that sells goods manufactured in conflict and post-conflict zones. Griffin founded Combat Flip Flops in 2006, after graduating from West Point and serving four tours of duty as an Army Ranger in Afghanistan and Iraq. The company uses their profits to aid the areas in which they are made as a part of Griffin’s mission to encourage peace through trade and “business over bullets.”

Connect with Matthew on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/combatflipflops.griff

What you’ll learn:

-The importance of fixing the cause rather than the symptom

-How China is making friends with foreign countries around the globe (and how the US is not)

-Why confidence is essential for entrepreneurship

-How to build true joy through purpose

Do you think Facebook will still exist 10 years from now? It’s hard to envision a world without it, but think of how drastically the digital world has changed in the last 10 years. This week on The Unicorn Perspective, my guest Brendan Gahan and I discuss how we think Facebook and other giant players will adapt in the coming years, what social media users are looking for, turning down clients as an agency owner, and so much more.

About the guest: 
Brendan Gahan is Partner & Chief Social Officer at independent creative agency Mekanism.

Gahan has been at the forefront of social & influencer marketing since 2006, developing social campaigns for brands such as Mountain Dew, Unilever, Amazon, 20th Century Fox, and The Olympics. Brendan was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2012 and his agency was recognized as Digiday’s Digital Video Agency of the year in 2017.

Gahan is a regular contributor to Entrepreneur and has recently been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, The Guardian, and Ad Age for his expertise.

Connect with Brendan:
https://brendangahan.com/newsletter/
https://twitter.com/brendangahan
https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendangahan/
https://www.tiktok.com/@brendangahan

What you’ll learn:

• How brands are using audience segmentation now
• Why knowledge gaps are essential for the success of new businesses
• What online “campfires” are and why users seek them
• How your biggest strength is your biggest weakness

You can’t sell to everybody in just one way. So on this week’s episode of The Unicorn Perspective, returning guest Ryan Levesque and I talk about how to truly move the needle by customizing content through using quiz funnels. 

About the guest:

Ryan Levesque is the Inc. 500 CEO of The ASK Method® Company, an entrepreneur, and the #1 national best-selling author of the books Choose and Ask. ... He is also a co-founder and investor in bucket.io®, a leading quiz funnel software for entrepreneurs used by over 30M people each year.

Visit https://www.quizfunnelworkshop.com/notify-me/?affiliate=1871 for details. 

What you’ll learn:

-How to customize the products or content your potential customers see
-The most common mistakes people make in their quiz funnels
-Why you should own your own data

After a career of spending tens of millions on Facebook ads and teaching over 10,000 others how to profitably advertise on the platform while also preaching the power of the ads on the biggest stages around the world this is what I get...a permanent ban without any explanation or warnings leading up to it amid any kind. 

Eventually there will be a tipping point for Facebook or they continue down this path, especially given the increased competition from Apple and governments around the world targeting big tech. 

Let me know if you agree in the comments below and make sure to subscribe for more content like this!

This week on The Unicorn Perspective I had the chance to speak with Andrea Lake about her time on The Apprentice, her successes as an entrepreneur, how she is investing in crypto, her opinions on wages and so much more.

About The Guest:
Early internet maven. First web company in 1999. Andrea has started 14 companies, including: StickerJunkie, YogaJunkie, Delinquent Distribution (which owned the sales rights for merch on Minecraft, World of Warcraft, Call of Duty, The Walking Dead, and more), Quarantini, and Power Chick Mafia. She or her companies have been featured in Wired, Inc., Entrepreneur, Forbes, as well as on television on: Good Morning America and The Oprah Winfrey show, among others. Speaking Credits include Summit, YPO, CU Boulder, and Harvard. She is also known for her deep run as a contestant on The Apprentice.

What you’ll learn: 

-What it was like to be a woman on a famous reality tv show
-How employers views on personal social media content is shifting
-Why patience is essential when it comes to investments
-The benefits of both minimum wage and  living wage

Mentioned during the episode:

https://teeacher.com/

Coupon code: unicorn

On this week’s episode of The Unicorn Perspective, returning guest and performance marketing pro Nick Shackelford and I tackle topics like Apple’s so-called privacy updates, financial literacy, the time it takes to truly be an expert, and more.

Nick has been in the performance marketing world for over 6 years. Before that, he worked with legacy brands like Pepsico and Apple, but he realized his talents lay in marketing directly to consumers with viral products (think fidget spinners). He now has a proven track record of scaling socially focused campaigns consistently past 8-figures through programmatic buying, influencers, e-mail and Adwords. He has a passion for learning and for growing businesses in this ever changing age of customer acquisition.

Connect with Nick:
https://www.instagram.com/iamnickshackelford/

What you’ll learn
-Why you should be more like Ben Franklin
-How both consumers and ecommerce businesses will need to adjust Apple’s new policies
-The benefits of avoiding instant gratification
-Why studying history can help your business acumen

It can be so difficult to keep up with the changes in crypto. On this week’s episode of The Unicorn Perspective, I chat with Sean Kelly about the emotional rollercoaster that is investing, bull markets, changes in taxation of capital gains, the liquidity of Altcoins, and more. Please note: we are not financial advisors and this is not financial advice.

About the guest: 
Sean Kelly is a young and talented entrepreneur and is the Founder and CEO of the company Jersey Champs, an online marketplace which provides unique jerseys that feature interests other than sports. 

Connect with Sean:
https://www.instagram.com/seanmikekelly

What you’ll learn:

• Why it can be valuable to think long term when in comes to crypto and its volatility
• What may be next in the crypto market 
• The benefit of starting to invest when you’re young

Opportunities today are in niche markets & unique value propositions. Marketing genius Troy Osinoff explains how to take advantage of these opportunities on this week’s episode of The Unicorn Perspective. We also cover right place and time successes, looking at the use case behind what you invest in, legacy media adaptations and more.

Troy Osinoff is the Co-founder of JUICE, an NYC-based digital marketing agency credited by Facebook as being a top 1% agency and fastest-growing in NY, where he has helped clients such as Kenneth Cole, Paris Hilton & Illesteva Tommy Bahama and scaled successful multi-platform marketing campaigns. Prior to JUICE, Osinoff helped a bankrupt shoe company reach profitability, grew a Grammy-winning recording studio, created a viral media site called Make A Dare (featured on Dr. Phil), co-founded a media company with 1.7M visitors daily ($0 paid promotion), and created a viral Tumblr that was turned into a nationally sold book (published by Penguin, sold to FOX). Osinoff also lead digital marketing for the largest HVAC company in the world ($4.2B annual sales), created a group of eCommerce stores grossing 7 figures of revenue, and was Head of Customer Acquisition at BuzzFeed.

Get in touch with Troy: 

https://twitter.com/yo

https://instagram.com/troy

https://www.thinkjuice.com/

What you’ll learn: 

• How forced adoption of technology has shifted consumer behavior
• The pros and cons of data collection
• The importance of financial literacy, especially in today’s world of crypto and NFT

In today’s world of influencers and TikTok stars, it seems like every person is just one post away from fame. Why do we as humans seek that? This week on The Unicorn Perspective, returning guest Marc Ensign and I talk about how cancel culture, extreme opinions, the major desire for power, and how all of those issues are affecting our communities. 

Marc Ensign's story began way back when he was a kid who wanted to change the world. Upon realizing that it might take a little longer than anticipated, he got sidetracked and found himself playing bass on Broadway with the Tony Award Winning show Rent. He was completely unqualified (his words, not mine) but had a gift for marketing himself and the rest is Broadway history.  

Fast forward a bunch of years later and Marc is now "The Big Cheese" at LoudMouse, a personal branding agency specializing in making some of the world’s most inspiring speakers, authors, coaches, and entrepreneurs impossible to ignore. Through their 1 in 10 initiative, Marc and his team have a goal of reaching one billion people in ten years through the work of their clients. If you are reading this, they are one person closer. 

Visit https://marcensign.com/ for more info.

What you’ll learn: 

• The difference between content that is worthwhile versus content that others think is worth sharing
• How to overcome an environment that feeds on "overnight success"
• Why people who don’t feel heard end up with more extreme beliefs

As a CEO do you ever get to relax? Is keeping track of income going to be tougher with the increasing popularity of cryptocurrency? Should companies be required to make political statements? All questions I ask returning guest Vinnie Fisher on this week’s episode of The Unicorn Perspective. 

About the guest: 
Vinnie is the founder and CEO of Fully Accountable, which is an outsourced accounting and finance firm for small and medium sized eCommerce and digitally based businesses. Their mission is to provide eCommerce and digital business owners with better data, so they are able to make better decisions. As an extension of your team, Fully Accountable will do the hard work. You will be provided with clear, concise, and easy to understand analysis advice on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.

Get better data so that you can make better decisions. Save time, money, and stay consistent in your business with digital accounting experts!

Connect with Vinnie: 
https://www.linkedin.com/in/vinniefisher/

What you’ll learn: 
-How those who have the gold make the rules
-The importance of controlling the narrative when it comes to doing your taxes
-Why CEOs should develop leadership for the next generation
-How looking to history can improve your business acumen