Episode Summary
David Desharnais is the CMO and Senior VP at TraxPay and an advisor for several different investment companies. David has won a number of awards including the International Funding Deal of the Year Award and the Business Excellence Award. David explains how he and his team fixed a major problem in the finance industry and how he even turned his competitors into avid investors for the company.
Key Takeaways
- 01:50 - Why is David a 'geek who can speak'?
- 03:45 - How did David go from being an engineer to an advisor?
- 09:10 - David talks about the team aspect in a company.
- 12:00 - How did David win the International Funding Deal of the Year award?
- 20:20 - TraxPay's first round was $4m and on the second round raised $15m.
- 23:55 - David and his team got his competitors to be his investors.
- 25:00 - The difference between a first round pitch and a second round pitch?
- 27:15 - How did David win the Business Excellence Award?
- 29:45 - The same day David's team announced TraxPay, Apple Pay was also announced.
- 31:25 - David highly recommends The Hard Thing About Hard Things book by Ben Horowitz.
- 33:20 - You can follow David on Twitter @DaveDesharnais.
Tweetables
Practice the pitch and Research your investors.Co-branding is key to marketing success.From near death to success.
A Geek Who Can Speak.
Links Mentioned
The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz
TraxpayDavid Desharnais LinkedIn
David Desharnais Twitter
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Episode Summary
David Howitt is the CEO of the Meriwether Group and is also the author of Heed Your Call. Dave shines a new preservative on the role of a guide or mentor. He says that not all mentors make you feel good, but they can always teach you a very profound and important lesson about yourself and about the world. He also explains why the story of Wizard of Oz and the entrepreneur's journey are very similar to one another.
Key Takeaways
- 02:35 - David talks a bit about his background and why he decided to leave his high-level position.
- 06:20 - We're taught that leaving your miserable job is the equivalent of failure.
- 07:30 - David touches on his book, Heed Your Call.
- 09:30 - David shares an important lesson he learned from his grandfather.
- 12:00 - When bad things happen to us, we tend to go into a victim mentality. Instead, try to turn it around by asking yourself positive questions like what can you learn from this experience.
- 13:15 - The problematic people in your life are there to teach you important lessons.
- 15:30 - What is the Meriwether Group's process?
- 19:30 - The single biggest regret people have when they're dying is that they didn't do what they wanted to do, they did what they were told to do or what was expected of them.
- 19:45 - David explains why the Wizard of Oz is so closely linked to the entrepreneurial journey.
- 25:20 - What kind of pitches does David look for?
- 30:35 - There needs to be a perfect balance of right brain and left brain to make a pitch really work.
- 32:45 - David recommends two books every entrepreneur should read.
Tweetables
Profit AND Prophet
When we let go creativity shows up
Thinker and dreamer
Equal parts passion and presentation
Links Mentioned
Ogilvy on Advertising by David Ogilvy
Seeking Wisdom: From Darwin to Munger by Peter Bevelin
Metaphorically Selling by Anne Miller
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Episode Summary
Todd Herman comes to The Successful Pitch podcast with an impressive background. He has successfully exited two companies and he has the Spanish royal family and billionaires as clients. He won the award for The World's Greatest Salesperson in 2010 and he is also a coach for professional and Olympic athletes. Todd talks to the audience on the importance of creating an alter ego to achieve your goals, why it's important to take care of the little things, and so much more on today's show.
Key Takeaways
- 00:02:20 - Athletes and Entrepreneurs have a high risk tolerance.
- 00:05:00 - Todd shares a story about his dad.
- 00:07:15 - Little things add up to big things. Take care of the little things.
- 00:08:25 - How did Todd win The World's Greatest Salesperson award?
- 00:15:20 - Why should you create an alter ego?
- 00:21:15 - Why do high achievers often battle with depression?
- 00:27:20 - Meditation is key to keeping yourself in check and handling the extra pressure.
- 00:28:50 - Todd recommends a couple of books.
- 00:31:20 - Final piece of advice? Keep taking action.
Tweetables
Win at life by taking care of the little things.
High performers can handle pressure.
Keep taking action.
Heighten version of yourself boosts performance.
Links Mentioned
Ogilvy on Advertising by David Ogilvy
Seeking Wisdom: From Darwin to Munger by Peter Bevelin
Metaphorically Selling by Anne Miller
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Episode Summary
Charles Michael Yim is a successful serial entrepreneur and has appeared on Shark Tank and other news outlets. Charles was the first one in the history of the Shark Tank show to get funding from all of the sharks. Charles also came in first place out of 10.000 startups after competing for Sir Richard Branson's startup contest. Charles talks on his success with Breathometer, the differences between Sir Richard Branson and Mark Cuban's business style, and his upcoming book.
Key Takeaways
- 00:01:40 - Charles is not an overnight success.
- 00:03:20 - What was the inspiration behind Breathometer?
- 00:07:45 - Charles was the first person on Shark Tank to get all five Sharks to invest.
- 00:09:10 - How did Charles prepare for Shark Tank?
- 00:11:00 - What kind of questions do investors ask when trying to raise $20 million?
- 00:14:00 - Charles still uses the same team from when he started his first company.
- 00:17:20 - Charles talks about Sir Richard Branson's startup competition.
- 00:18:50 - Mark Cuban versus Sir Richard Branson?
- 00:20:20 - Charles talks about his upcoming book and what it's about.
- 00:23:20 - How do you validate an idea?
- 00:24:40 - What's it like working with the Stanford StartX Accelerator?
- 00:26:50 - Charles recommends a couple of his favorite books.
- 00:28:30 - You can follow Charles on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Tweetables
Teamwork is respect and collaboration.
See your idea thru the lens of what problem do you solve.
Mark Cuban is all about getting it done.
Richard Branson wants authentic value.
Links Mentioned
The Art of The Start by Guy Kawasaki.
The Four Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss
The Lean Startup by Eric Ries
Charles Michael Yim Twitter
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