🎙️ Global Startup Investment: Jonathan Wallace's Expert Dojo Success Story

In this fascinating episode, Jonathan Wallace, Partner at Expert Dojo, shares his remarkable journey from living in his car for three months while building his startup to becoming a key player in one of Southern California's most active international early-stage accelerators. Through candid stories of resilience and strategic vision, Jonathan reveals how Expert Dojo has invested in over 300 startups across 70 countries, pioneered celebrity-athlete investment partnerships, and created unique value beyond capital by leveraging vast networks to help founders succeed in underserved markets worldwide.

✨ Key Insights You'll Learn:

• How Expert Dojo finds overlooked founders in untapped international markets

• The evolution from $50K early investments to million-dollar Series A follow-ons

• Building authentic relationships vs. transactional sales approaches with founders

• Why most startups fail at understanding their true competitive landscape

• Celebrity and athlete investment partnerships: Beyond just brand endorsements

• The critical importance of sales validation before seeking major funding rounds

• Identifying founders with the "hustle factor" that can't be replaced

• Geographic arbitrage in venture capital: Finding deals others miss

• Creating sustainable growth strategies for pre-seed and seed stage companies

🌟 Jonathan's Key Mentors:

• Brian (Expert Dojo Co-Founder): Taught him the power of network effects and giving back to startup communities

• Steven Zmikowski (Celebrity Fund Co-GP): Brought sports world connections and athlete relationship expertise

• Brad Feld: Through his book, provided fundamental VC knowledge and market understanding frameworks

• The Startup Community: Early founders and operators who showed him the realities of entrepreneurship

• His Own Struggle: Three months living in his car taught him resilience and what true hustle means

👉 Don't miss this inspiring conversation about authentic entrepreneurship, global venture capital, and how personal adversity can fuel both professional success and a mission to help underserved founders worldwide.

🔗 Connect with Jonathan Wallace:

• Email: [email protected]

• Company Website: expertdojo.com (open application page available)

• LinkedIn: Jonathan Wallace, Partner at Expert Dojo

📄 Transcript Available: Transforming Early Stage Investment: Jonathan Wallace's Expert Dojo Innovation

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