Alexis Beechen Drops Some Knowledge From Building Her Wine Empire

Imagine being on a cruise with friends and a good business idea comes to mind, then months later, your idea is now being distributed in Walmart’s around the world! Today’s guest, Alexis Beechen was enjoying her time partyin’ and thought, putting wine in a can would be much easier to casually drink.

You are on a cruise with friends and a good business idea comes to mind. Fast forward a few years later and your idea is now very much real and being distributed in Walmart’s around the world!

Alexis Beechen I Founder of The Drop

Alexis Beechen I Founder of The Drop

That’s what happened to today’s guest, Alexis Beechen. She put wine in a can making it much easier to casually drink and enjoy. Alexis and her team created The Drop, which is now at concert venues, small wine stores, and as of late last year, in Walmart’s all around.

An entrepreneur by heart, Alexis made her first dollar selling her mom’s gently used clothes when she could barely drive. Her dad, an entrepreneur himself, had his own legal firm, and her mom was the first person that talked to her about branding yourself and establishing trust with people. Alexis went to Georgetown for Marketing and eventually landed a job with Havas where she maintained Dos Equis account while helping to create the Most Interesting Man in the World. Although she loved her job with Havas, she decided to go back to Columbia for business school.  During her schooling is when The Drop was born. Today, she is working on another business that she is passionate about, Hunterz.io which helps startups with connections they need to grow their business. Listen in to hear more in-depth about Alexis’ awesome story!

Quote of the Episode:
“You can only make as much money as the hours you build”

Gauntlet:
Listen in for the best tips, tricks, and tools that Alexis used growing her business:

  • Branding/Design - Fiverr

  • Go-to-Market – Hunterz.io

  • Product Development – feedback from customers

  • Hiring - LinkedIn

  • Revenue and Accounting - QuickBooks

  • Fundraising - Carta


The Greatest Piece of Advice:

Join the podcast’s backchannel, The A-List where members can listen to exclusive A-list bonus clips and get the single greatest piece of advice our guests have ever learned!


Links & show notes from this episode:


Ambition Today Is Proudly Independent & Supported By:

Equity Token - Helping early stage companies raise capital faster. Set up your company and fundraising deal once to build your company’s deal room. Then share it anywhere. Let Equity Token take care of the rest.

Audible - Visit www.audibletrial.com/AmbitionToday to download and keep any audiobook for free. Download your free book now!

The A-List - Join the podcast’s backchannel for exclusive access to additional Ambition Today content, deeper guest insights, a community of fellow fans, and much more. Plus, Learn the single greatest piece of advice each guest has ever learned! 

If you are already a member of the A-list then you can easily access your bonus content from right here! 


Listen to Ambition Today now: 


Thank you for listening! 

Thank you so much for listening and applying these useful tips and strategies to your life! If you have a chance, please drop by and leave a review for the show on iTunes by clicking here. Also, who should I interview next? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments. Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review in the comments below. It keeps me going! 🤗

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Automating Indoor Agriculture with Dan Nelson's Grow Computer

Packing for a nice relaxing vacation, you look around, and realize, you have these beautiful plants that you have worked so hard in growing, and you wonder, are they going to be thriving when you get home?

Dan Nelson I Founder of Grow Computer

Dan Nelson I Founder of Grow Computer

Packing for a nice relaxing vacation, you look around, and realize, you have these beautiful plants that you have worked so hard in growing, and you wonder, are they going to be thriving when you get home? Our amazing guest today, Dan Nelson thought just that as he prepared for his honeymoon a few years back. There has to be a better way than having dead plants when you get back from vacation! This is the event that gave him a new chapter in life. After countless hours of studying under his belt, he helped create Grow Computer as it is today!

Dan didn’t always have the ambition to help automate agriculture, he grew up in Long Island where his father and grandfather instilled his great work ethic in him. He would help with the latest house project by wheelbarrowing supplies to them when needed. He had great hardworking role models and followed in their footsteps. Nelson graduated with a Masters Degree in accounting and an undergraduate in Economics at the University of Michigan. Before Grow Computer, he had many jobs, with one of his favorites being a virtual CFO because he has always loved helping people build better businesses. He even created a tool called Start of Economics 101. Tune in to this episode to hear more about Dan and his tips and experience in building his own company.

Quote of the Episode:
“If it [computer system] doesn’t talk to each other, it adds layers, complexity, transaction costs and stress and hassle, and reduces the efficiency in any business”


Gauntlet:
Listen in for the tips, tricks, and tools that Dan shares with us!

  • Branding/Design

  • Go-to-Market

  • Product Development

  • Hiring

  • Revenue and Accounting

  • Fundraising


The Greatest Piece of Advice:

Join the podcast’s backchannel, The A-List where members can listen to exclusive A-list bonus clips and get the single greatest piece of advice our guests have ever learned!


Links & show notes from this episode:


Ambition Today Is Proudly Independent & Supported By:

Equity Token - Helping early stage companies raise capital faster. Set up your company and fundraising deal once to build your company’s deal room. Then share it anywhere. Let Equity Token take care of the rest.

Audible - Visit www.audibletrial.com/AmbitionToday to download and keep any audiobook for free. Download your free book now!

The A-List - Join the podcast’s backchannel for exclusive access to additional Ambition Today content, deeper guest insights, a community of fellow fans, and much more. Plus, Learn the single greatest piece of advice each guest has ever learned! 

If you are already a member of the A-list then you can easily access your bonus content from right here! 


Listen to Ambition Today now: 


Thank you for listening! 

Thank you so much for listening and applying these useful tips and strategies to your life! If you have a chance, please drop by and leave a review for the show on iTunes by clicking here. Also, who should I interview next? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments. Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review in the comments below. It keeps me going! 🤗

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Taylor Jacobson Shares How Focusmate's Virtual Coworking Creates Distraction-Free Productivity

Welcome to Season 3 of Ambition Today! My guest today is Taylor Jacobson. He is the founder of Focusmate, the app that helps you focus and in return be more productive. In this episode, we discuss with Taylor what in his personal life lead him to the idea of needing a solution like Focusmate, as well as his personal take on a lot of procrastination issues.

Taylor Jacobson I CEO of Focusmate

Taylor Jacobson I CEO of Focusmate

After a summer break, we are back with a brand new season of Ambition Today!

Season 3 brings with it some fresh new changes to the podcast, coming to you from our brand new podcast studio in the heart of New York City!

We have some exciting guests coming up and I can’t wait to share all of the great conversations & new questions with you! I hope you enjoy Season 3, now on to the episode!

Who struggles with procrastination? Did you know that studies show up to 95% of people struggle with procrastination!

My guest today is Taylor Jacobson. He is the founder of Focusmate, the app that helps you focus and in return be more productive. In this episode, we discuss with Taylor what in his personal life lead him to the idea of needing a solution like Focusmate, as well as his personal take on a lot of procrastination issues.

As Taylor developed Focusmate, he found three major aspects of being more productive. One, you perform better when you need to complete a task in the presence of someone else. Two, if you commit to another person that you are going to do something, it is highly likely that you will complete it. And three, you are likely to increase productivity if you reflect on your work afterward. You know that you are going to have to review the job that you did, so in the moment of work, your actual focus becomes stronger. Focusmate is now helping thousands of people with all of these aspects! Tune in to hear more about Taylor and his company, Focusmate!


Quote of the Episode:

“These are the people {Co-workers} that have my back to grow into my best self”


Gauntlet:
This is a new section of my podcast for season 3, where I will ask my guest a tip or tool that they recommend for their business in each of the following categories. Listen in to hear Taylor’s answers:

  • Branding/Design

  • Go-to-Market

  • Product Development

  • Hiring

  • Revenue and Accounting

  • Fundraising


The Greatest Piece of Advice:

Join the podcast’s backchannel, The A-List where members can listen to exclusive A-list bonus clips and get the single greatest piece of advice our guests have ever learned!


Links & show notes from this episode:


Ambition Today Is Proudly Independent & Supported By:

Equity Token - Helping early stage companies raise capital faster. Set up your company and fundraising deal once to build your company’s deal room. Then share it anywhere. Let Equity Token take care of the rest.

Audible - Visit www.audibletrial.com/AmbitionToday to download and keep any audiobook for free. Download your free book now!

The A-List - Join the podcast’s backchannel for exclusive access to additional Ambition Today content, deeper guest insights, a community of fellow fans, and much more. Plus, Learn the single greatest piece of advice each guest has ever learned! 

If you are already a member of the A-list then you can easily access your bonus content from right here! 


Listen to Ambition Today now: 


Thank you for listening! 

Thank you so much for listening and applying these useful tips and strategies to your life! If you have a chance, please drop by and leave a review for the show on iTunes by clicking here. Also, who should I interview next? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments. Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review in the comments below. It keeps me going! 🤗

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Bryan Janeczko Is Helping Entrepreneurs Gro

Bryan Janeczko has a colorful portfolio of businesses including: NuKitchen, a food preparation service that helped people eat healthier, which was later sold to Nutrisystem.  Gro Academy, an on-demand startup academy, Loeb, a new-approach to launching startups.  Now, his latest venture that is currently in the seeding stage is Nunbelievable Foods, a baked goods company that turns their profits into feeding the homeless. Bryan was also recently named Top 23 LGBTQ people in Tech.

Bryan Janeczko

Bryan Janeczko

Bryan Janeczko was recently named one of the Top 23 LGBTQ people in Tech, along side other notable figures such as Tim Cook, Peter Thiel, and more. He has built a strong track record for building great businesses including: NuKitchen, a food preparation service that helped people eat healthier. NuKitchen was later sold to Nutrisystem and pioneered the market long before Blue Apron or Plated even existed. 

Now Bryan is the Founder of Gro, an on-demand startup academy. As part of the Loeb.NYC family, a venture studio in the heart of New York City, Bryan is helping founders at all stages. In a new partnership between Tony Robbins and Loeb, they have also launched Nunbelievable Foods, a baked goods company that turns their profits into feeding the homeless.

Bryan grew up in Milwaukee, started a candy selling business in High School where he would at times bribe the teachers with a candy bar in order to sell more candy bars at the beginning of each class to his fellow classmates. It was such a popular business, that he started having distributors, which eventually had the principal pulling the plug on his first entrepreneurial experience. However, that didn’t stop his entrepreneurial spirit! After school, and a summer abroad in England, Bryan decided to make the big move to NY! He had a place to stay for one week and a credit card, and the rest is history! Tune in to hear more of Bryan’s story: 

  • Learning resourcefulness early on

  • His life changing trip to England

  • Starting and selling his company, NuKitchen

  • Co-founding Startout

  • His time as the Director of Founder Institute New York

  • Working with Loeb NYC

  • Founding Gro Academy

  • Working with Tony Robbins and Nunbelievable Foods

Quote of the Episode:
“Every founder brings their unique set of traits and many of us become entrepreneurs because we may not make it in more traditional jobs…”

Ambition Today Question of the Day™ :
”What advice can you give an entrepreneur at the beginning stages of building their first business?”

The Single Greatest Piece of Advice:
Members of the "A-list" can listen to exclusive A-list bonus clips here! If you are not a member yet be sure to join the Ambition Today A-list!

Links from this episode:

Listen to this episode now: 


The A-List

Join the shows A-list backchannel for exclusive access to additional Ambition Today content, deeper guest insights, a community of fellow fans, and much more. Plus, Learn the single greatest piece of advice this guest has ever learned! 

If you are already a member of the A-list then you can easily access your bonus content from right here! 

Thank you for listening! 

Thank you so much for listening and applying these useful tips and strategies to your life! If you have a chance, please drop by and leave a review for the show on iTunes by clicking here. Also, who should I interview next? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments. Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review in the comments below. It keeps me going…

Transcript:

You can find the full transcript of this episode here. 

Ambition Today Episode Sponsors:

Founder Institute

WeWork

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Skip Hop's Michael Diamant Innovates Baby Products

From being forced to layoff his whole staff, to selling his company for $140 million, our next guest, Michael Diamant, has great insight on how he became successful. Michael Diamant created a well-known brand with his wife, called Skip Hop, which was sold to Carter’s for $140 million.

Michael Diamant

Michael Diamant

From being forced to layoff his whole staff, to selling his company for $140 million, our next guest, Michael Diamant, has great insight on how he became successful. Michael Diamant created a well-known brand with his wife, called Skip Hop, which was sold to Carter’s for $140 million. It all started with a diaper bag in 2003. Michael and his wife wanted a diaper bag that was fully functional, however, also appealed to a fashion savvy crowd. The company continued to grow for 15 more years creating several more innovative baby care products before they were bought by Carter’s. Now both Michael and his wife continue to work with Carter’s to help grow the brand Skip Hop.

Before Michael created a very successful brand, he had a great career and started multiple companies. He has a background in advertising and was a happy employee at MTV. Tune in to find out more about how Michael became successful…

  • Growing up

  • The world of advertising

  • Working at MTV, and the impact it had on Michael

  • His first company – T3 Media

  • How he was able to start iClips

  • How it felt to have to lay off 35 employees

  • His Skip Hop Journey

Ambition Today Question of the Day™ :
What advise would you have for other entrepreneurs who are trying to find product market fit?

The Single Greatest Piece of Advice:
Members of the "A-list" can listen to exclusive A-list bonus clips here! If you are not a member yet be sure to join the Ambition Today A-list!

Links from this episode:

Listen to this episode now: 


The A-List

Join the shows A-list backchannel for exclusive access to additional Ambition Today content, deeper guest insights, a community of fellow fans, and much more. Plus, Learn the single greatest piece of advice this guest has ever learned! 

If you are already a member of the A-list then you can easily access your bonus content from right here! 

Thank you for listening! 

Thank you so much for listening and applying these useful tips and strategies to your life! If you have a chance, please drop by and leave a review for the show on iTunes by clicking here. Also, who should I interview next? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments. Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review in the comments below. It keeps me going…

Transcript:

You can find the full transcript of this episode here. 

Ambition Today Episode Sponsors:

Founder Institute

WeWork

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Australia's Benjamin Chong Helps Startups Excel With Right Click Capital

Today, my guest is a fellow Founder Institute Director, Benjamin Chong. Benjamin has been the director of Founder Institute in Australia since 2011 and is also well known as a partner at Right Click Capital.

Benjamin Chong

Benjamin Chong

Today, my guest is a fellow Founder Institute Director, Benjamin Chong. Benjamin has been the director of Founder Institute in Australia since 2011 and is also well known as a partner at Right Click Capital. Right Click Capital is a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage startups. He is an active technology startup community member that has served as a mentor and guest speaker at many different entrepreneurial programs in Sydney, South East Asia, and the United States.

Benjamin Chong grew up in Australia and says his life-changing entrepreneurial moment was when he was in a program called Young Achievement in High School where a few select students from multiple schools got together and created a business, they had to sell stock, and make it profitable, which was a success. He graduated from the University of South Wales and has been unstoppable. Listen in to learn more about Benjamin’s successes…

  • Early years in Australia

  • Young Achievement program in High School

  • Working at PWC

  • Co-founding iMega

  • Directing Founders Institute since 2011

  • Is startup life different in Australia

  • How important mental health is

Ambition Today Question of the Day™ :
What was it like to make the switch from Founder to Investor?

The Single Greatest Piece of Advice:
Members of the "A-list" can listen to exclusive A-list bonus clips here! If you are not a member yet be sure to join the Ambition Today A-list!

Quote Of The Episode: 
“Relationship in businesses are critical, it takes time to build relationships…”

Links from this episode:

Listen to this episode now: 


The A-List

Join the shows A-list backchannel for exclusive access to additional Ambition Today content, deeper guest insights, a community of fellow fans, and much more. Plus, Learn the single greatest piece of advice this guest has ever learned! 

If you are already a member of the A-list then you can easily access your bonus content from right here! 

Thank you for listening! 

Thank you so much for listening and applying these useful tips and strategies to your life! If you have a chance, please drop by and leave a review for the show on iTunes by clicking here. Also, who should I interview next? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments. Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review in the comments below. It keeps me going…

Transcript:

You can find the full transcript of this episode here. 

Ambition Today Episode Sponsors:

Founder Institute

WeWork

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Michael Loeb's New Approach To Launching Billion Dollar Companies

Joining us today is Founder and CEO of Loeb.NYC and Loeb.ATL, Michael Loeb. Loeb Enterprises is an early stage venture investing company and an incubator for startups.

Michael Loeb

Michael Loeb

Joining us today is the Founder and CEO of Loeb.nyc, Michael Loeb. Loeb.nyc represents a new approach to launching early stage startups that pairs capital with the support of experts across a wide range of disciplines. Prior to this, Michael Loeb co-founded Synapse in 1992 with Jay Walker. Synapse then became the largest seller of consumer magazine subscriptions worldwide and now is a subsidiary of Time Warner. Along with Jay Walker, Michael Loeb also assisted with the creation and early stage funding of Priceline.

Although Michael Loeb was born in St. Louis, MO, he has been in New York since the age of one year old. However, it was not until he was fired from Time, Inc that he realized his entrepreneurial potential. Tune in to this episode of Ambition Today to learn more of Michael’s amazing story:

  • Growing up in New York City.

  • Working at Time, Inc.

  • Why being fired can sometimes be important.

  • Creating Synapse.

  • Co-founding Priceline.

  • Expansion of Loeb Atlanta

  • Selling his company for $800 million & becoming a billionaire.

  • Creating Loeb.nyc to help build new companies.

  • Why New York is a unique startup ecosystem.

Ambition Today Question of the Day™ :
I have heard you say that you wish you had bet on yourself earlier in your life. How old were you when you quit Time and how can people bet on themselves earlier in their own life? 

The Single Greatest Piece of Advice:
Members of the "A-list" can listen to exclusive A-list bonus clips here! If you are not a member yet be sure to join the Ambition Today A-list!

Quote Of The Episode: 
“It is hard to be an entrepreneur in your 30’s, if you didn’t have a big win in your 20’s.”

Links from this episode:

Listen to this episode now: 


The A-List

Join the shows A-list backchannel for exclusive access to additional Ambition Today content, deeper guest insights, a community of fellow fans, and much more. Plus, Learn the single greatest piece of advice this guest has ever learned! 

If you are already a member of the A-list then you can easily access your bonus content from right here! 

Thank you for listening! 

Thank you so much for listening and applying these useful tips and strategies to your life! If you have a chance, please drop by and leave a review for the show on iTunes by clicking here. Also, who should I interview next? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments. Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review in the comments below. It keeps me going…

Transcript:

You can find the full transcript of this episode here. 

Ambition Today Episode Sponsors:

Founder Institute

WeWork

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Brian McCullough How The Internet Happened & What Is Happening Today

Approaching two decades later, our guest, Brian McCullough’s company is still going strong. Brian is CEO of ResumeWriters.com which is the longest lasting company for this service, shout out to Brian.

Brian McCullough

Brian McCullough

Approaching two decades later, our guest, Brian McCullough’s company is still going strong. Brian McCullough is CEO of ResumeWriters.com which is the longest lasting company for this service, shout out to Brian. Not only is he a successful entrepreneur, he is also the Author of How The Internet Happened book. In 2016, he became a Ted Talk Resident, and is also known for his podcasts: Internet History Podcast and Techmeme Ride Home, which is a News Aggregator that now gives you a daily dose of tech news.

Brian McCullough grew up in Florida with no entrepreneurial background as his parents were both hard working teachers. Brian went to college to get a degree in Film, which he did, however, it was when he had to write his thesis to graduate, that he ended up becoming an entrepreneur instead. Tune in to hear more about Brian’s story:

  • Life background

  • Interviewing people for his book

  • Internet History Podcast

  • Techmeme Ride Home

  • History of the internet

  • How The Internet Happened book

Ambition Today Question of the Day™ :
With regard to the venture capital industry whose job is to depict that future, what advice would you have for them based on the history of the internet? 

The Single Greatest Piece of Advice:
Members of the "A-list" can listen to exclusive A-list bonus clips here! If you are not a member yet be sure to join the Ambition Today A-list!

Quote Of The Episode: 
“We live in the world where entrepreneurs are rock stars”

Links from this episode:

·         Techmeme Ride Home

Listen to this episode now: 


The A-List

Join the shows A-list backchannel for exclusive access to additional Ambition Today content, deeper guest insights, a community of fellow fans, and much more. Plus, Learn the single greatest piece of advice this guest has ever learned! 

If you are already a member of the A-list then you can easily access your bonus content from right here! 

Thank you for listening! 

Thank you so much for listening and applying these useful tips and strategies to your life! If you have a chance, please drop by and leave a review for the show on iTunes by clicking here. Also, who should I interview next? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments. Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review in the comments below. It keeps me going…

Transcript:

You can find the full transcript of this episode here

Ambition Today Episode Sponsors:

Founder Institute

WeWork

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50 Episodes Later, Ramphis Castro Returns To Talk About Investing In Hard-Tech & Life Science Startups

Ramphis is a serial entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist. He is the co-founder of ScienceVest, a venture capital fund for hard-tech and life science companies. He is an experienced technologist and product strategist that has led and supported venture-backed teams from idea to exit. He is a Kauffman Fellow and co-Chairs the NYC chapter of the Society. As a Fellow, his research focused on the funding gaps for radical science companies in the U.S., collecting interviews of over 200 stakeholders across the research & commercialization ecosystem in the U.S.

Ramphis Castro

Ramphis Castro

Reminiscing on my first podcast is my guest, Ramphis Castro. We sat down for my very first podcast in August of 2015 and he has watched it grow over the years. It was great to have him here with me again. Ramphis is a serial entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist that has impacted several companies across 40 countries. His quote sums him up very well, “I am a Computer Engineer and Lawyer by training, serial entrepreneur by experience, and grass-root ecosystem builder by conviction.”

A Puerto Rican Native, Ramphis grew up by the beach with his dad, mom and three siblings. He is close to his family and had his mom instilling entrepreneurship in his mind from the beginning. The family always had little ways to make some extra spending money outside of their jobs, which taught Ramphis investing and ways to make money from a young age. He was fortunate enough to go to a school that taught English and went to an Engineering school for college. From there he was hired as a Microsoft, which was the hot company to work for at the time. He then started a consulting service company, had to learn from a few mistakes, and get back up. He has now owned several companies and has helped multiple companies by investing. Listen in to hear more about Ramphis and his path to success:

  • World happenings from Episode 1

  • Life in Puerto Rico

  • Early Entrepreneurial experiences

  • Working for Microsoft

  • Starting his own company

  • Learning from bad experiences in owning a company

  • Joining Kauffman Fellows

  • Seeing different Ecosystems around the world

  • NYCIC

  • Venture Capital

Ambition Today Question of the Day™ :
Where is the future of Venture Capital is going? 

The Single Greatest Piece of Advice:
Members of the "A-list" can listen to exclusive A-list bonus clips here! If you are not a member yet be sure to join the Ambition Today A-list!

Quote Of The Episode: 
“You don’t know what you don’t know”

Links from this episode:

Listen to this episode now: 


The A-List

Join the shows A-list backchannel for exclusive access to additional Ambition Today content, deeper guest insights, a community of fellow fans, and much more. Plus, Learn the single greatest piece of advice this guest has ever learned! 

If you are already a member of the A-list then you can easily access your bonus content from right here! 

Thank you for listening! 

Thank you so much for listening and applying these useful tips and strategies to your life! If you have a chance, please drop by and leave a review for the show on iTunes by clicking here. Also, who should I interview next? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments. Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review in the comments below. It keeps me going…

Transcript:

You can find the full transcript of this episode here

Ambition Today Episode Sponsors:

Founder Institute

WeWork

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Understanding Your Habits To Become Indistractable, With Nir Eyal

Author, Blogger, Entrepreneur, Teacher, Investor, and Consultant, also known as our next guest, Nir Eyal. Well known for his blog, Nir & Far, Nir writes about “behavioral design” the intersection of psychology, technology and business. He helps companies with techniques to motivate and manipulate users.

Nir Eyal, Author of “Indistractable”

Nir Eyal, Author of “Indistractable”

Author, Blogger, Entrepreneur, Teacher, Investor, and Consultant, also known as our next guest, Nir Eyal. Well known for his blog, Nir & Far, Nir writes about “behavioral design” the intersection of psychology, technology and business. He helps companies with techniques to motivate and manipulate users. He has successfully founded and sold two businesses in the tech industry and now has his book “Hooked” on the market, with his newest book, “Indistractable” coming in September.

Nir, originally born in Israel, moved to the US when he was just three years old and grew up in Orlando, FL. He received his MBA at Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he has since then taught. He is also an active angel investor as he believes in putting his money where his mouth is and invests in habit forming products. Listen in to learn more about Nir:

  • Growing up in Orlando

  • How Nir knew he would become an entrepreneur

  • Stanford Graduate School of Business

  • Nir & Far – the meaning behind the name of his blog

  • “Hooked”

  • Types of Manipulation

  • Creating Habit Forming products

  • His new book, “Indistractable”

Ambition Today Question of the Day™ :
“What are your thoughts on iPhone addiction? How do we protect ourselves from them?”

The Single Greatest Piece of Advice:
Members of the "A-list" can listen to exclusive A-list bonus clips here! If you are not a member yet be sure to join the Ambition Today A-list!

Quote Of The Episode: 
“It is not the best product that wins, it is the product that captures the monopoly of the mind.”

Links from this episode:

Listen to this episode now: 


The A-List

Join the shows A-list backchannel for exclusive access to additional Ambition Today content, deeper guest insights, a community of fellow fans, and much more. Plus, Learn the single greatest piece of advice this guest has ever learned! 

If you are already a member of the A-list then you can easily access your bonus content from right here! 

Thank you for listening! 

Thank you so much for listening and applying these useful tips and strategies to your life! If you have a chance, please drop by and leave a review for the show on iTunes by clicking here. Also, who should I interview next? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments. Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review in the comments below. It keeps me going…

Transcript:

You can find the full transcript of this episode here

Ambition Today Episode Sponsors:

Founder Institute

WeWork

Read More

Byron Reese Believes Technology Will Bring About A New Golden Age Of Humanity

Fascinated about how things worked and technology from a young age, today’s guest, Byron Reese, makes you question, are you a machine?

Byron Reese, Gigaom

Byron Reese, Gigaom

Fascinated about how things worked and technology from a young age, today’s guest, Byron Reese, makes you question, are you a machine? Today, he puts his fascination into good use as the CEO and publisher of Gigaom, an industry-leading technology research company. Bryon is also an award-winning public speaker and author of “The Fourth Age: Smart Robots, Conscious Computers, and the Future of Humanity.”

Byron grew up in Austin, TX and became an entrepreneur at the young age of 12. He did not have entrepreneurship in his family background, but that wouldn’t stop Byron from becoming a great success today. As a futurist, a forward thinker, Byron helps you think about the good that artificial intelligence has to offer and where we are going in this age of technology. Listen in to hear more about Byron:

  • Growing up

  • Rice University

  • Starting his first company with a can of spray paint

  • Starting Knowingly

  • Santa Mail

  • Talking about Gigaom and AI

  • Are you a machine?

Ambition Today Question of the Day™ :
“450 businesses is a lot. How do you think about playing the long game vs a short one, when it comes to sticking with something for so long?”

The Single Greatest Piece of Advice:
Members of the "A-list" can listen to exclusive A-list bonus clips here! If you are not a member yet be sure to join the Ambition Today A-list!

Quote Of The Episode: 
“What are We in the end?”

Links from this episode:

Listen to this episode now: 


The A-List

Join the shows A-list backchannel for exclusive access to additional Ambition Today content, deeper guest insights, a community of fellow fans, and much more. Plus, Learn the single greatest piece of advice this guest has ever learned! 

If you are already a member of the A-list then you can easily access your bonus content from right here! 

Thank you for listening! 

Thank you so much for listening and applying these useful tips and strategies to your life! If you have a chance, please drop by and leave a review for the show on iTunes by clicking here. Also, who should I interview next? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments. Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review in the comments below. It keeps me going…

Transcript:

You can find the full transcript of this episode here

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Matt Mandell Is Automating Businesses So They Can Focus On Higher Priorities

Starting out young, today’s guest, Matt Mandell, created his first company at the age of 12. Matt grew up with a supportive family full of entrepreneurs, so Matt was very comfortable with entrepreneurship from the start. He attended college in DC, where he spent the next several years developing multiple companies that were selective to college students.

Matt Mandell, GAM Payments

Matt Mandell, GAM Payments

Starting out young, today’s guest, Matt Mandell, created his first company at the age of 12. Matt grew up with a supportive family full of entrepreneurs, so Matt was very comfortable with entrepreneurship from the start. He attended college in DC, where he spent the next several years developing multiple companies that were selective to college students.

Matt is well known for his serial entrepreneurship and has spoken all across the nation teaching students how to become entrepreneurs themselves. He has been publicized multiple times, including New York Times, has helped start up multiple companies, and now is a managing partner with GAM Payments, a payment solution provider for mid-market companies. Interviewing Matt showed that there are different ways to look at being a leader that really make you think. Tune in to hear more:

  • Growing up in an Entrepreneurial Family

  • Creating his first business at the age of 12

  • College experiences in DC

  • The many businesses Matt created while in College

  • Mentoring at Founder Institute

  • Automation and Efficiency

  • Investing in companies instead of creating them

  • Meaning and reasoning for GAM Payments

Ambition Today Question of the Day™ :
“How do you realize when automation is necessary or when you should just do the small task yourself?

The Single Greatest Piece of Advice:
Members of the "A-list" can listen to exclusive A-list bonus clips here! If you are not a member yet be sure to join the Ambition Today A-list!

Quote Of The Episode: 
“If something goes wrong, it is my fault for not setting up the correct system and process for my team”

Links from this episode:

Listen to this episode now: 


The A-List

Join the shows A-list backchannel for exclusive access to additional Ambition Today content, deeper guest insights, a community of fellow fans, and much more. Plus, Learn the single greatest piece of advice this guest has ever learned! 

If you are already a member of the A-list then you can easily access your bonus content from right here! 

Thank you for listening! 

Thank you so much for listening and applying these useful tips and strategies to your life! If you have a chance, please drop by and leave a review for the show on iTunes by clicking here. Also, who should I interview next? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments. Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review in the comments below. It keeps me going…

Transcript:

You can find the full transcript of this episode here

Ambition Today Episode Sponsors:

Founder Institute

WeWork

Read More