Outlier On Air | Founders, Disruptors, & Mavens (business)
195: Suzanne Paulinski Interview- Starting a Movement

"Don't worry about everybody else. Don't worry about how long it's taking you. Don't worry about if someone is coming up behind you. Stay in your lane." - Suzanne Paulinski

About: Suzanne Paulinski- Founder of The Rockstar Advocate

Overview: Suzanne has a passion for music that started at a young age. After traveling down the entrepreneurial road in the music scene, she saw the need for artists to have a "career coach," or someone who would be their advocate for success. Now, she is attempting to start a movement with her new-found company, The Rockstar Advocate.

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Highlights:

Entrepreneurial Journey: Suzanne always knew she wanted to be in the music industry. She said even though she wasn't an artist herself, she knew that she wanted to work with them. In college, she attempted to create a record label with her roommate, and became a paralegal to learn how to write contracts. After trying to do work long distant with her business partner, they decided it wasn't working quite how they wanted it to and called it quits. A couple years later, she started a consulting firm, but ended up pursuing her passion helping independent music artists further their career.

The Rockstar Advocate: Suzanne started The Rockstar Advocate about a year ago. Because it can be difficult to be heard in a business that is flooded with talent, Suzanne saw the need to aid artists in their career. As an advocate, she is there to teach musicians how to brand themselves, and how to connect with their fan base in a more genuine way. Her goal is to help them find clarity and do what they need to do to stay on track and achieve their goals.

Services Offered: Most of the programs that Suzanne offers are 3 month programs. Within that time frame, Suzanne is able to build strong relationships with her clients and teach them how to improve. Suzanne also helps artists go through contracts and negotiate what they want. However, her main focus is her 3 month program. In order for Suzanne to give her artists the amount of attention that they need, she only takes on about 10-12 people at a time. Because Suzanne's niche is so new, she offers free consultations to explain to her clients what she is really there for. Her purpose is solely to coach and train independent artists to achieve the ultimate potential. 

Challenges: Suzanne has found that it is difficult to get people to understand that she is not the manager and to break the compartmentalize barrier. It's also proven a challenge to get the word out there about what she does and how she can help.

Goal: Overall, Suzanne truly wants to make the music industry more about self-care, rather than a hustle. She'd love to bring more of a compassion to the music industry that she feels is lacking. She does not want to build an empire, but to help artists help themselves. As long as she can pay her bills, and see the results of her work, she is happy to continue working this business on her own. However, Suzanne would love to start a movement, to speak at seminars, podcasts, etc, to increase awareness for the need of her services. Eventually, she'd love to have her own weekly show on YouTube.

Advice for Entrepreneurs: The most important thing she shares is not to worry about what others are doing. Stay focused on what you're doing and pace yourself. Your way is what works for you, and no one else. Take the opportunities that you want to take. Get rid of "should,", and do things the way you want to do them. Trust in the process.

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Connect With Suzanne:

Website | Facebook @RockStarAdvo | Youtube | Instagram | Pinterest 

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Category:Business -- posted at: 11:45pm MDT

194: JobPiper Interview - The Science of Hiring

"We help companies build legendary teams, and we help individuals build legendary careers."

About: Derik Krauss, Ryan Harmon, & Adam Wilson - Founders of JobPiper

Overview: JobPiper helps employers find the right employees for their company. During this interview, we learn about the founder's story along with the ups and downs of starting JobPiper.

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Highlights:

What is JobPiper: JobPiper is a young company that helps other companies hire with science (hiring the right person for the right position). Employers sign up with Job Piper (a software platform) and they then "clone" your top employees. They use assessments to determine what the qualities are of your top employee/s to help figure out the type of people that will fit best with your company. If you are a start-up that does not have an employee or employees yet, Job Piper will use information from research to put together a profile of what you should be looking for depending on your company and the position type.

Revenue: There are 2 main streams of revenue. When you sign up as an employer- it's free, and then there are up sales offered- one is called Candidness (a more in depth application a potential employee would fill out).

Challenges: It can be difficult to build something that everyone can use. JobPiper is striving to make this application available to everyone.

Staying Strong: JobPiper actually entered an accelerator program in Provo, and did not receive the funding they were hoping to receive, but were still very determined to make JobPiper happen. They will continue to work towards this company whether investors invest or not. Right now, as bootstrappers, they have a little bit of money to continue progress- but only have a few months left until the bank runs dry. So, they are trying to reduce the sale cycle, and work on website development. They've also become involved in another pitch competition.

End Game: The guys at JobPiper would love to see this company explode and continue to grow 20-30 years down the road.

Advice for Entrepreneurs: (From the JobPiper team) Hire with science- it can save your startup company. Be passionate about what you're doing. Show up and network- go to events, do anything to meet people. And lastly, start doing what you love.

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Website | LinkedIn

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Category:Business -- posted at: 11:42pm MDT

193: Ceci Johnson Interview - Building a Luxury Empire

"Punch fear in the face. Fear is the only thing that keeps people from trying. If you don't try, you'll never know."

"Love doesn't pay the bills."

About: Ceci Johnson- Founder of Ceci New York

Ceci Johnson’s story started with an invitation she created for a coworker’s wedding combined with the realization that a truly customized graphic design experience in wedding invitations was not available at that time. Armed with a clear desire to create the best invitations in the world, she started her business out of a shared office space NYC. Ten years later, her love of paper, design and innovation still drives her to create beautiful and completely original pieces every day.

Ceci was named “Woman to Watch” by Tory Burch, “Invitation Innovator” by WeTV and garnered Modern Bride magazine’s trendsetter award and New York magazine’s prestigious Expert Stationer award. Her designs and expertise have appeared in the New York Times, USA Today, InStyle, W Magazine, Town & Country and on the Today Show, VH1 and Gossip Girl among many others. Notable clients include the President of the United States, International Royalty, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Sarah Jessica Parker, Katherine Heigl, Dylan Lauren, Rosie O’Donnell, the Empire State Building, Cole Haan, Hugo Boss and the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

Overview: Ceci is a graphic designer that was born with the entrepreneurial gene. After seeing the need for custom wedding invitations 16 years ago, Ceci paved the way and eventually started Ceci New York- a luxury invitation and corporate design company. During this interview, Ceci shares what it took for her to start her own company, and also offers great advice on how to stand behind your brand with clients.

New York wedding photographer Sofia Negron CeciStyle Ceci New York orchid Invitation L'Olivier Floral Atelier

Click to Tweet: Ep 193:

Highlights:

Background: Ceci obtained a degree in graphic design and got her first job working as a the designer for the bridal registry for large department stores. She then had a co-worker ask her to design a wedding invitation for her, which ignited the spark. From there she moved to New York City and joined the corporate world doing web design, but missed paper design. She went to the CEO of the corporation she was working for and asked if she'd let her design her wedding invitations. It was all downhill from that point on, and before Ceci knew it, she was meeting with referral after referral. Six months into launching her website, Ceci received the trendsetter award from Modern Bride Magazine. Ceci spent a lot of time working long days to get her name out there, she knocked on a lot of doors in her industry to showcase her portfolio, and was constantly revamping her site.

What is Ceci New York: Ceci launched Ceci New York in 2004 without any investors and completely on her own. It's a luxury brand that designs invitations for any event from weddings to non-profit organizations. (From website)- "Our design atelier is driven by a groundbreaking concept that unites the custom and service of couture with the tactile elements of stationery and branding, creating a new niche in the design industry for visual styling. We strive to create a superior experience for each client, offering an incomparable range of couture services and outstanding ready-to-order products that boast flawless craftsmanship and the utmost attention to detail. From one-of-a-kind bespoke designs to original ready-to-order that discreetly bears Ceci’s signature, our creations possess a coveted commissioned quality that lends to the magic we invent. Ceci’s signature is the hallmark of authenticity and never-before-seen originality, ensuring that you receive a true work of art."

About Ceci New York: The company currently has 20 employees that all work at the main showroom in New York City. Ceci says if you want to grow your company, you need employees. And with that, you have to learn how to let go of having control over everything to be successful. However, she is a very hands-on CEO that enjoys being a part of the design process and leading the way with her vision of the company. Their main target audience started out as brides and weddings in general, but now they help anyone who is looking to elevate their events through design.

New York wedding photographer Sofia Negron CeciStyle Ceci New York orchid Invitation L'Olivier Floral Atelier

Goal: Eventually, Ceci would love to be a part of different markets and use her designs for bedding, phone cases, jewelry, etc.

Work-Life Balance: Ceci is the proud mother of a little boy and feels that having him in her life has really helped her prioritize her time at work. She strives to stay focused and be effective while working so that she can spend the time she'd like with her son.

Challenges: Ceci shares that it can be difficult to deal with certain clients and stick up for what you know needs to be done in order to accomplish their project. There have also been times when Ceci has been afraid to tell her clients what the prices were for their order. However, she realized that when she confidently explained to her clients the extent of work that goes into their project, they appreciate her time and effort.

Advice for Entrepreneurs: When reaching out to others, show them how invested you are in their company and how you can solve potential problems. When creating a sales plan, look at how much you want to make on an annual basis and break it down by month, then by project or amount. It's important to educate your audience and pave the way for what you're offering. Lastly, stand behind your work.

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Connect With Ceci:

CeciNewYork.com | CeciStyle.com | @CeciNewYork | Instagram | Facebook |Pinterest

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Category:Business -- posted at: 11:23pm MDT

192: Sarah Kathleen Peck Interview - Finding Balance

"One minute is enough."

About: Sarah Peck- Director of Communications at One Month, Founder and Writer of It Starts With

Sarah Peck is the Director of Communications at One Month, an essayist, a speaker, and an open-water swimmer. One Month is an online school for accelerated education that teaches people business and coding skills in as little as 30 minutes a day. Based in Brooklyn, Sarah is an intuitive relationship builder, a philosopher, and a deep lover of mind-body integration. She is a 20-time NCAA All-American swimmer who escaped from Alcatraz nine consecutive times, a yoga instructor, and a beginning dancer. She believes that communication is about finding the roots of our power and owning our deeper narratives and stories. With more than a decade of graphic design, marketing, and writing experience, her work has been featured in The Huffington Post, Fast Company, 99U, Psychology Today, Life Hacker, Thought Catalog, and she has spoken at Berkeley, Penn, Harvard, the University of Virginia, Alive in Berlin, WDS, and more. When she’s not writing, creating, or teaching, you’ll find Sarah teaching yoga, doing open-water ocean swims, practicing her handstands, or hosting themed dinner parties for quirky, philosophical, compassionate groups of people.

Overview: Sarah is a well-rounded entrepreneur who is not only a certified yoga trainer, but is working on a book, has her own blog- It Starts With- and is also the Director of Communications at One Month. Each of these activities compete for her time, and throughout this interview, Sarah shares her secret to finding the balance.

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Click to Tweet - Ep 192: Sarah Kathleen Peck Interview - Finding Balance

Highlights:

Background: Sarah attended school in Palo Alto, CA where she studied Architecture and Design. It was an opportunity for Sarah to look at how the physical world around us influences our daily decisions. After school, she launched her own publication, started a magazine, and eventually broke away to become a consultant. While being a consultant for a firm, Sarah worked for a lot of amazing companies and with her experience, decided to start her own company online. She was able to build a number of digital products and online classes. Most recently, Sarah started working with One Month- an online education company.

It Starts With: After wanting to join the online blogging scene for some time, Sarah took the plunge and started her own blog- It Starts With. In the beginning, she made it a point to publish something at least once a week and has been able to do that pretty steadily for the last 4 years. Now, her site has over 300 essays, and Sarah enjoys the connections she is making with her readers.

One Month: One Month is an accelerated education site that mainly teaches coding. About six months ago, Sarah was contacted by One Month and was asked to be their Director of Communications. Sarah focuses on all of the ways people find out about One Month. She writes blog posts, coordinates content strategies, works with social media, and has even taught a class. Currently, One Month offers 9 classes. They have already had over 30,000 students from 70 different countries. Some of their students have included individuals from Apple, Google, Harvard, and Duke. These students are hungry for knowledge, and One Month is excited to help educate in a different way.

Cost of Attendance: One Month recently turned to a subscription model. A student can take any single class for $49 for 1 month. If you wanted to take it over a slower period of time, then you can. Everything is taught via video and there are 5 different video speeds students can choose from.

Challenges for One Month: Sarah shared that One Month is trying to figure out the best way to do enterprise sales (B2B), and are in search of good team members, especially for their customer support system.

Work-Life Balance: Sarah understands that it's not humanly possible to do everything at once. Her main focus is One Month right now. She'd rather give her all in one area of her life at a time, and then give small amounts of time to other projects that will slowly build up. She often tells herself that one minute is enough. Instead of feeling discouraged about not doing all of her morning routine, Sarah will do 1 minute of yoga, 1 minute of meditation, 1 minute of journaling, and that's enough to trigger calm and peace for her.

5 Year Goal: Sarah hopes that in five years she will have a toddler, have her first book published, and continue on the path that she's on right now. She loves being around the people in her life and feels lucky to be learning all that she is.

Advice for Entrepreneurs: Get out there and be uncomfortable. Even though there may be others out there who look like they know what they're doing, odds are, they don't either. Everyone has insecurities and weaknesses, just do your best with where you are.

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Connect With Sarah:

Website | One Month | @SarahKPeck | @OneMonthEdu | FB SarahKPeck | FB One Month

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Category:Business -- posted at: 11:50pm MDT

191: Keith Humphrey- Soaring Above the Competition

"If you come against a brick wall, don't be afraid to take a right turn."

About: Keith Humphrey- President and CEO of Jet AirWerks and Jet AirParts

Keith Humphrey, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Jet AirParts, LLC, is a commercial aviation veteran with over 30 years of worldwide experience, including expertise in CFM56 overhaul; on-wing maintenance; aftermarket sales and component repair; strategic planning; and sales and marketing.

Humphrey, who also serves as the President and CEO of Jet AirWerks, LLC, an FAA Part 145 Repair Station and sister company to Jet AirParts.

Overview: From the military, to jet engine mechanics, to politics, and acting, Keith has been involved in just about everything imaginable. During this interview, we learn about the various jobs Keith has had, how he started his company in 2007, and what advice he has for those stepping onto the entrepreneurial path.

Highlights:

Background: Right out of high school, Keith enrolled in the navy and became a jet engine mechanic. (And although it wasn't planned, Keith has spent the last 40 years working in the jet engine mechanical field.) After the military, Keith took a job in Maryland for a year, and then obtained a 2 year degree so that he could work for GE. Four years into working for GE, Keith felt he had learned what he needed to learn and moved on. Overall, Keith worked at several different companies all over the map- from California, Manilla, to Europe, and Florida.

Jet AirWorks: Prior to starting Jet AirWorks, Keith was working for a French company in Miami that fixed jet engine components. It was while working there that Keith finally decided upon what niche he wanted to focus. Keith then took his family and moved to Kansas to launch his company. He started small, paid himself small, and only focused on things that would help bring in revenue. Because Keith started the company during the economy crash, he had a hard time finding lenders.

Customers: Part distributors (brokers), engine shops, and airlines.

Jet AirParts: In August 2011, Jet AirParts was organized to meet a specific demand of low-cost, high-demand aviation material. It was also a way to make money on the side for Jet AirWorks.

Managing Employees: It's a difficult aspect in any company, but especially when you start your own. Keith has created an employee handbook for his 26 employees and felt that has helped dramatically. They are in a very small town in Kansas (about 15,000 people) and so to prevent high turn over, Keith decided from the beginning to offer 100% healthcare for their employees. And starting this year, he his also implementing 401(k)'s. Keith is grateful that he's had the opportunity to provide people with jobs who haven't had work in over a year, or are even recently released from prison. It makes him happy to know that he can help others get back on their feet and feel good about their life again.

End Game: This year, they will be obtaining Chinese certification, and once they have that, it will allow their customers to sell those parts into China. Within in a few years, Keith hopes this company will expand tremendously and become much larger than where it is today. But for right now, he's just taking it one step at a time.

Advice for Entrepreneurs: Go all in. Pay yourself enough just to get by in the beginning- don't go overboard. Learn your business from the ground up, and know every aspect of your company that you can, but know that you'll learn even more as you go. Don't be afraid if you come against a brick wall to take a right turn. Do not let fear run your life, just work past it.

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Connect With Keith:

Website | About.me

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Direct download: keith_humphrey.mp3
Category:Business -- posted at: 11:48pm MDT

189: Luz Rivas - Providing Tech Programs for Young Women

"You're never going to have everything you need in place to get started, but think about what you do have." Luz Rivas

About: Luz Rivas- Founder of DIY Girls, and Co-Founder of KitHub

Overview: Luz Rivas inspires us with her desire to help change the upcoming generation of Latinas in LA. During this interview, Luz shares her road to success in the tech space and how she started her company, DIY Girls, and co-founded KitHub.

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Highlights:

Background: Luz grew up in LA with a single mother and her sisters- they moved quite often because of finances. From the beginning, Luz and her sister felt the need to help financially and learned at a young age how to go out and make a little money. Luz always had a love for school and was in 5th grade when her passion for technology began. There weren't any specific engineering programs for Luz to join, but she did look for opportunities to expand her knowledge and took advantage of them as often as she could. 

In high school, her math teacher told her about MIT and told her there was an admissions officer coming to their school. Luz decided to meet with this recruiter. In her senior year, Luz was looking at hometown schools to apply to but decided to apply to MIT just to see if she could get in. To her surprise, she was accepted. 4 years later, Luz graduated from MIT, moved to Chicago and worked for Motorola for 3 years. From there, Luz attended graduate school at Harvard, moved to New York where she worked for a time, and then decided to come back to LA. Upon her return, Luz worked at CalTech and at other educational jobs then finally started DIY Girls.

About DIY Girls: DIY Girls is a non-profit organization that runs after school programs, summer camps, and workshops for mainly lower-income, Latina girls to learn about technology and engineering. The activities are related more to the maker movement (meaning, they're able to make certain things with tools that they normally wouldn't have access to). This program came about because Luz saw the need for something to help prepare these young girls for the tech world like she wished she'd had as a child. Their focus is on girls because studies have shown that around 4th and 5th grade, more girls tend to lose interest in math and science.

About KitHub: After receiving numerous calls from parents asking Luz and her co-founder Tara where they were purchasing all these unique parts for their DIY projects, Tara and Luz decided to create KitHub. It's a site for parents to purchase everything they need to build a project with their children all in one kit. Right now, consumers pay a monthly subscription and are sent new projects to their home each month. Eventually, KitHub will be moving toward simply providing kits for anyone to choose from- instead of just focusing on a monthly subscription.

Why Start DIY Girls: Luz shares that she's always wanted to make her own choices and do what she loves most. Because LA is her hometown, she always felt that if she was going to start something it had to be there.  She feels jealous of these young girls, and tells her team that if she's not jealous, improvements need to be made.

Attendees: This year, they are expecting to serve about 550 girls. By the end of 5 years, they are hoping to serve over 3,000 girls in Southern California. Although she has received inquiries for starting DIY Girls in other states, they are going to focus on building it in LA first, and then maybe expand down the road.

Cost: The after-school program is $15 per girl per session, which covers all the materials and staff help. DIY Girls receives funding from individual donors as well as organizations. They actually had an indie go-go campaign about a year and half ago and were able to raise $16k.

Advice for Entrepreneurs: Get started. Don't be so focused on having a perfect plan or all the funding to start working on your dreams. You're never going to have everything you need in place to get started, but think about what you do have.

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Website | KitHub | @LuzRivas | LinkedIn |

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Category:Business -- posted at: 12:52am MDT

188: Fraser Patterson - An Innovative Approach to Remodeling

"If you have a great idea, shout it from the rooftops and convince everyone it does work." - Fraser Patterson

About: Fraser Patterson- Founder and CEO of Bolster

Bio: He’s been a carpenter and award-winning general contractor in the U.K.; a guest lecturer in entrepreneurship and business incubator executive at Centro, an architecture and design university in Mexico; a mentor to various startups for Endeavor, a global non-profit that supports high-impact entrepreneurs in emerging markets and the founder and C.E.O. of OnisVida, a company that helps homeowners manage their remodeling projects with finance from Infonavit, Latin America's largest mortgage lender.

Overview: Fraser is an innovative carpenter who is transforming the home remodeling space. With a background in math and physics, Fraser is changing the lives of homeowners and contractors for good.

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Highlights:

Background: Fraser began working as a carpenter in Scotland, while also studying math and physics. During this time in his life, he continually thought there had to be a better way to remodel. Eventually, Fraser became a general contractor, grew very quickly, won Ikea as a strategic partner, won numerous awards, and then the economy crashed in 2008. From there, Fraser moved to Mexico and was offered a position teaching entrepreneurship at the Architecture and Design University in Centro, Mexico. While there, Fraser suggested starting a business venture for these students and met with the head of endeavor at Mexico who then got involved in helping Fraser start this business venture. Then, one day, Fraser got a call from the Mexican government asking if he could help solve the remodeling process. With the help of Infonavit (Latin America´s largest mortgage lender) Fraser was able to implement Mexico’s first home remodeling insurance platform in partnership with Infonavit , HSBC Mexico and Aserta. After proving to be successful, Fraser decided to take this idea to the U.S. and started Bolster with his co-founder Ana.

What is Bolster: Bolster is a start up company in the home remodeling space. They've invented the first affordable performance bond for small construction projects. They provide the consumer with the contractor who has been vetted by them, and backed by an insurance company that literally guarantees they will finish the project according to the terms of the contract. And if, for any reason, that contractor fails the insurance company will find another contractor and make up the financial difference of bringing on another contractor. The process to vet a new contractor only takes about 24 hours. Bolster is completely in charge of handling all the paperwork/contract for the consumer's project.

Challenges: It has been tough for Fraser's company to acquire the market here in the U.S. He's had to heavily educate the market (contractors and homeowners) because Bolster is such a new idea. Consumers tend to think that the idea of their contractor being backed is almost too good to be true.

Acquiring the Market: Initially, what the company did was partner with the American Institute of Architects, but it didn't produce the results that Fraser was looking for. Then, they tried going through real estate agencies, which was mildly successful. Bolster did receive a lot of press but there were complications with the overflow of people reaching out and they struggled with capturing and nurturing their audience. They soon came to realize that by helping the contractor sell the product themselves, it gave Bolster and the contractors a great advantage in competition.

Team Size: There are about 5 people who work closely with the company, but Fraser does not want to grow the company size until he is confident in scaling it successfully. He's been there before: believing in a solution to the problem, but then finding out that the market/sales approach was wrong which caused them to back-pedal. Fraser is more focused on helping the market first and winning contracts before he increases the company size.

End Game: Fraser really sees Bolster as the remodeling solution for the contractor from end-to-end. He wants to help contractors market themselves, give them back-end tools, measure their performance, and essentially turn them into super contractors. He also wants to be able to set up individual sites for contractors with a back office to help manage their customers. Fraser wants to become the brand for the contractor more than a brand for the consumer.

Advice for Entrepreneurs: Assume your idea is wrong. Go out, analyze your market, and gather the data for your product. If you can test your assumptions in a light way (more than just surveys, and talking to people) you will have a much better idea of the potential of your company. It's important to go out and help your potential customers, figure out what their pain points are, learn how you can help them, and then help them create a service from it.

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Website | @GetBolster | @FraserPatterson | LinkedIn | About.me

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Category:Business -- posted at: 12:41am MDT

187: Peter Gould- Branding at a Deeper Level

"Spend time with an agency who will help you creatively connect and engage emotionally with your audience." Peter Gould

About: Peter Gould- Founder and CEO of Creative Cubed

BIO: Peter Gould is a designer, creative entrepreneur and digital artist. Over the last ten years he has been involved in the design and launch of many international brands and creative projects through his studio Creative Cubed, based in Sydney, Australia. His team loves to work with startups and entrepreneurs who dream big and are passionate about launching their ideas into the world. He has won several creative awards, launched his own apps & games, teaches branding workshops internationally, and reaches over 150,000 people from his Facebook page.

Overview: Peter Gould is an influential, innovative, and award-winning creative graphic designer who is highly sought after globally. Peter has touched many international audiences and throughout this interview, inspires us to travel the world and incorporate our findings into our work.

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Highlights:

Background: Peter has always been the creative type, and when he got to high school he was very interested in graphic design. He ended up really enjoying it and decided to start his own graphic design company during college which proved to be an intense and challenging time of his life. However, it gave him some hands on experience in learning what works and what doesn't. Peter married at 21, and on his honeymoon, he was able to travel quite extensively through Europe. During that time he felt inspired to travel more and experience the world. He has been able to incorporate graphic designs inspired by his travel.

What is Creative Cubed: Creative Cubed is a branding and design studio located in Sydney, Australia that's been in business close to 10 years. They help people take their ideas/products and turn them into campaigns. They use a strategic design process to help them launch something that is going to be beautiful and achieve the results they are looking for. Their team is only about 5 people, and they prefer to keep it that way to really be hands on and give clients the time that they need.

What Sets Creative Cubed Apart: They've been able to use tools like Strategizer and Business Model Canvas to understand at a fundamental level what their clients want. Creative Cube believes that a company's brand is much deeper than just a logo. A company must think about what emotional response they want from people. It's an experience that is created over years of marketing and solid branding. Although the logo is a factor in getting consumers' attention, clients must focus on establishing some kind of relationship by thinking about the messaging, images, language, and the kind of personality they portray to their audience. All of those elements are delivered through social media, trade shows, emails, etc. Peter shares that this is where the brand process starts.

Process: Peter works with entrepreneurs by opening up Strategizer to discuss with his clients what their unique value proposition is, what their potential consumer's pain points are, how they plan to solve those problems, etc. Creative Cubed really wants to establish a deeper level of branding from the start.

Challenges for Creative Cubed: Peter feels that his challenges as an entrepreneur are like many others out there. He has to balance his work life, manage numerous responsibilities, and have the mental energy to work long days/weeks.

Goals: Creative Cubed has started to launch internal apps, books, and more. Peter would also like to work with people and their brands that are doing positive things like reaching out to other communities or providing service.

Advice for Entrepreneurs: You need to have people around you that support you and keep you inspired. Those kinds of people can direct you to helpful tips, sites, and other educational information. Make the effort to get out and network with other people. Peter also encourages you to pay particular attention to the design process of your brand. It's better to spend time with an agency who will help you creatively connect and engage emotionally with your audience. Read some great branding books or listen to some branding podcasts.

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Website | Facebook | @PeterGouldArt | Instagram | LinkedIn | Google+

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Direct download: Peter_Gould_.mp3
Category:Business -- posted at: 1:29am MDT

186: Eliana Salvi - Creating a Community for Women

"You don't have to wait for the perfect platform, you can start with something simple and then change and improve later." - Eliana Salvi

About: Eliana Salvi- Founder of PinkTrotters

Overview: Eliana is an Italian native with a degree in International Management from Bocconi University. She has an insane love for traveling, getting to know new cultures, and internet products. Throughout this interview we learn what drove Eliana to start her entrepreneurial journey and what her company (PinkTrotters) is all about.

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Highlights:

How PinkTrotters Started: Eliana was a marketing finance manager for a large corporation prior to starting this company and would work abroad (mainly in: Greece, Denmark, the Netherlands, etc) but soon realized that this was not her future. She was not interested in being involved in the corporate world for the rest of her life. Eliana really wanted to start something online, and do something that incapsulated the passions and talents she possesses. After traveling extensively with her previous job position, Eliana felt there was a need for a place specifically for women to meet up and get together no matter where they are. And so, together, with a friend, Eliana decided to start PinkTrotters.

What is PinkTrotters: (Founded at the end of 2013, and currently incubated by H Farm Ventures.) PinkTrotters is a global online and offline community of contemporary women who meet and share exclusive event and trip experiences, powered by brands. PinkTrotters focuses on fashion, food, arts, and wellness. Women who are interested in these fields of work can network with other women, and share their talents to promote their business at these events.

Challenges: Eliana shares that it has been tough to break into the entrepreneurial world and is much harder than she thought it would be. She has to deal with the bureaucratic and technical side of it. And she also has had to learn how to manage her partnership, and her team. She also has to make a great effort at putting herself out there along with her company. Eliana states that until a company becomes very successful, you are constantly focusing on testing your market, solving problems, and readjusting. It has also been difficult for Eliana to balance her private life with her ever-constant work life.

Getting Funds: Finding investors, especially as a woman proved to be a challenge for Eliana. In Europe, the majority of the investors are men and tend to have an old-school way of thinking when it comes to business. It's been easy for Eliana to pitch her business to brands and partners, but much more difficult to sell her company to investors.

Goals for 2015: During the first year of PinkTrotters, Eliana's company made around 60,000 euros, and she hopes to double her amount for 2015- or make close to 150,000 euros. Eliana also hopes to take more of this company online- she is currently building a platform that will include all of the services offered at their events. It will allow brands and travel partners to directly engage with the PinkTrotters community, and be able to receive funds for those services online.

Advice for Entrepreneurs: Form a team with people who are 100% committed, whether it's a size of only 2 or 3 people, they need to be wholly committed. If not, it's easy to lose a lot of time, energy, and faith in your company. You don't have to wait for the perfect platform, you can start with something simple and then change and improve later.

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Website | @ElyPinktrotter | Instagram | About.me

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Direct download: Eliana.mp3
Category:Business -- posted at: 11:42pm MDT

185: Steeve Bois - Creative by Nature

"The best way to get a good idea is to not look for it." - Steeve Bois

About: Steeve Bois - Founder and CEO of Social Symphony App

Overview: Steeve has always had a love for being creative and believes that we are all creative by nature. He saw the need to create an application that would help others find happiness through music. The app is called Social Symphony. Thanks to this project and to the talented people Steeve has worked with, he hopes he will be able to make the planet a better place.

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Highlights:

Background: When Steeve was 16, he used to create music on his computer (or with pen and paper) and he would play with his friends at bars in Paris. He's not sure why he has a passion for it, but assumes it is because music has sound and vibration, like emotions have vibrations. Because of this love for music Steeve has had throughout his life, he decided to create an app that would provide others with those same strong emotions he has felt.

What is Social Symphony: The purpose of this app is to help people express their creativity. Steeve believes it's very important to be happy in life and a good way to do that is to express your creativity. Social symphony helps people create amazing music in a few seconds without any knowledge (basically, a music maker app for non musicians).

How it Works: Currently, it is only available in private beta. So, you have to subscribe to download. Once it's downloaded on your iPhone, there is a simple interface that allows you to choose from high quality sounds to mix with, etc. You can select different instruments to mix with and you can also sing along into the app and record everything together to make your own song. Right now, they are working on the legal issues to be able to use what you have created commercially, but it will be possible eventually. The application will be free, but the user will be able to purchase premium music for a small fee if they'd like to expand their options.

How it Started: For Steeve, the best way to get a good idea is to not look for it. He was happy, and living a good life, but he felt like he was missing something. He wanted to find a way to help other people find happiness without doing it for them. He started working on this application the end of August of last year with his mentor. His mentor found a student in India to help them with the development of the app, created some prototypes, and finally in December they had the wow effect to continue actual work on Social Symphony which is still in beta. They have plans to launch the app by August of this year.

Goal for Social Symphony: Once the app launches, Steeve hopes to make money to expand the applicatios. And to make partnerships with musicians around the world to help promote these musicians. He plans to push the application through social media.

Steeve has an hour long commute to work each day, and while traveling on the train he listens to Outlier Podcasts, as well as other informational apps. He also spends that time meditating- it's important for Steeve to have stimulation and silence. He feels that that kind of balance is extremely important for you and for the world.

Advice for Entrepreneurs: Follow your intuition- it's more than thoughts, it's an instinct. But you cannot listen to this inner voice, if you are too busy focusing on other things. If you want to make a business, build a website, make a podcast, you need information, but if you're not able to be effective with that information, it means you cannot hear your intuition. Steeve encourages us to take time to be calm, and then act on our intuitions.

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Website | @esthete | Instagram | LinkedIn | Google+

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Direct download: Steeve.mp3
Category:Business -- posted at: 12:02am MDT