“Even if you’re not trying to be a high-growth company, it’s hard [being an entrepreneur], it’s a roller coaster. You go through crazy highs and crazy lows.” - Bradley Joyce

About: Bradley Joyce- Founder of Velocis , SocializerHQ, and Launch DFW

Overview: Bradley Joyce is the true definition of being an Outlier. During this interview, he shares with us all about the different companies he started and what it’s like balancing so many responsibilities in the entrepreneurial world.

Highlights:

Velocis: It is a company Bradley started in 2008 as a way to get into the web development world. It was the entity under which he did all of his work. He spent a lot of time helping small companies build their businesses, and eventually got into bigger build-up applications. It’s a team of 13 people- designers, developers, marketers, and sales people. They act as an incubator for a lot of the smaller companies. Up to this point, they have about 5 companies and have equity stake in most of them while helping them build their sites, and platforms.

Application Process: If you’d like to become a partner, get on AngelList and set up your profile. For the equity base deals, they are looking for a few companies to work with later in the Spring. Feel free to reach out directly to Bradley as well.

About Socializer: Is a spin out from Velocis. At the time, Bradley and his co-founder worked full-time on this company for about a year and a half. They raised some money, and really pounded the pavement building product. It’s been on the shelf for the past 12 months. It’s been through just about everything a startup can go through.

What is Socializer: A predictive analytics for social media. They would use specific algorithms to help increase clicks and re-tweets.

Why the Hold on Socializer: Money was the biggest reason. They needed a lot more investment for infrastructure. They had a hard time sustaining the monthly fees, and their customers at the time were not ready for the cost required to help pay for the business itself.

Plans to Revive Socializer: Bradley and his team have been thinking about moving forward with Socializer- but are waiting on funds to come through. It’s not necessarily off the table, they may sell it, but they’re not quite sure yet.

Apps Created: Previously, Bradley worked for a company, and during that time, the company built a product called Tweet Saver. It was back during the time when Twitter was open to companies building upon it. It essentially archived all of your tweets. Another app they created was called Quitter- and it tracked all of those who unfollowed you on Twitter. Bradley didn’t originate Quitter, but it was given to him by a client. He grew it from 50,000 users to 200,000 users. Quitter was somewhat profitable, but not something that made large amounts of money. Eventually, Bradley didn’t have the time to run all these apps, and so he listed the apps on a site and sold them to another Twitter app-like company.

Learning Mistakes: Bradley admits that selling these apps were some of the biggest mistakes in his entrepreneurial career. Bradley feels that if he had the patience, he would have worked more on these apps, and grown them in different ways to get them into a niche area.

What is Launch DFW: Bradley started the company in 2010. It’s an online community that started off as a very simple blog. From there it grew into hosting network events, happy hours, meetings, etc. The best way to think about what Launch DFW is a TechCrunch for the Dallas area. They try to aggregate as much information as possible for the Launch DFW community. Right now, they have about 20,000 visits a month. They have around 200 people at their events, and about a 100 people to their happy hour. It started out as a passion project, but within the last 6 months, they’ve really focused on making it a successful business because of its role of importance in helping the community. They have a lot of goals around making sure it’s a sustainable business for 2015.

Unique about Bradley: He is really into sports, and played water polo from 3rd grade through college. And he shares that sports prepare you for business in so many ways: dedication, hard work, teamwork, etc.

Advice for Entrepreneurs: From Bradley’s experience, the more you share your ideas, and the more you talk to other people to get feedback, the more you grow and become better. It’s so important to be open and honest with everyone around you. Being an entrepreneur is hard work, and you need that support. For those who are dipping their toes into the entrepreneurial world, talk to a lot of people about what you want to do. Try and get as much validation with potential customers that you can do up front to get a feel for what’s out there. Once you do it, be 100% committed. . Don’t straddle the line too long.

Take Away: Bradley teaches us that the sky is the limit when it comes to starting a business. Although, there are many highs and lows to being involved with so many different companies, the rewards are worth the risk.

Connect With Bradley:

Website | @BradleyJoyce | @Velocis | @SocialyzerHQ | @LAUNCHDFW | AboutMe

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"Once you get into early stage companies, it’s hard to imagine doing anything else.”

“It’s a hard road, there’s a lot of days when I wake up and think, "Man I wish I could just go work for a big company and cash a check and I’d be fine," but it’s just not the way I’m wired.” - Andrew Dumont

About: Andrew Dumont- Entrepreneur in Residence at Betaworks

Overview: Andrew is a determined and intelligent young man who has a passion for building businesses. He shares his experiences with starting the company Stride, and what he is doing now at Betaworks to prepare for future entrepreneurial work.

Highlights:

Background: Andrew is originally from Seattle, but now living in New York working at Betaworks. He came to NY to elevate his entrepreneurial game and be surrounded by people who are always on the go.

Betaworks: It's essentially like a startup studio and is structured by 2 sides. The first side is an investment side. They are currently involved in about 15-20 seed investments with about $100-$250k  per investment. Some of the companies Betaworks has invested in are: Kickstarter, Tumblr, and many others. Right now, they are investing in ProductTime. The other side of the company is the studio portion. Betaworks hires entrepreneurs to help with the media business and with what new media will look like. They build new products that will be compelling in that space. Some of those products include: Chart B, Dots (iPhone game), and Dig. It’s not a traditional type of company- they like to start their employees from scratch. They go out and find talent within the community they’ve built. They’re going to start a new program called “Hacker” where they work with a creator that builds a new thing within 3 months. This new program is very much like the film studios in Hollywood.

Daily Workload: Andrew went out to New York because a good friend was an investor with Betaworks. Andrew was very interested in the business model. He was ready to do his own thing, and by coming to Betaworks, was given a good opportunity to do his own thing at a great company. When he started there, Andrew spent a lot of time on helping platforms like Insta Paper, Dig, and Pancho. His role was to solve some of the problems that those applications were experiencing.

Andrew’s Goal: His next step is to determine if Betaworks will be the right fit for helping him start his own company.

Previous Startup (Stride): Stride was a company/app that Andrew co-founded. It was built it in about 3 weeks. Andrew and his team built Stride as a light weight CRM application. The idea behind Stride is that salesforce was a really complicated tool,  so they wanted an app that focused more on the simple- more about the stages of where the sales were at. Stride was a completely bootstrapped company. It made about $20k in revenue in about year and a half (side project). Once it started getting bigger, they were trying to determine if it was something they wanted to pursue, but Andrew felt like the market was completely capped, so they decided to sell the growing company to Neil Patel and Heaton Shaw. Andrew is good friends with Neil Patel, and he really trusted in their ability to scale and build products. It was a very smooth process selling it to them, which Andrew was grateful for,  because they already had customers using their application. He wanted to make sure that those customers were taken care of and knew that Neil and Heaton would be the right fit.

Andrew’s Passion: Out of all the things there is to do in the entrepreneurial world, Andrew really enjoys businesses over consumer products. He states, "They aren’t as sexy but they capture my interest." In the future he'd like to do something similar to Stride but a little more aggressive.

Work-Life Balance: Andrew says that you have to understand that you’re sacrificing a lot of the work-life balance in the early stages. It takes more than 40 hours a week. You have to do certain things each week that make it so you don’t burn out. To keep a balance, Andrew tried to shut off and be unplugged on the weekends. Every year, he makes sure to do at least a week or two of being completely unplugged from the world. He says, "There’s no doubting the fact that it’s [being an entrepreneur] hard work, but it’s just part of the deal."

Common Mistakes: Andrew has made plenty of mistakes through his own journey, but says that’s how you learn. "You need to fail to really understand things." Every single company he’s been apart of started small. Many of them failed, but some of them did grow into large, successful companies. Seismic was a great example of company that had too much cash, and pivoted too often. There’s a right time to pivot and a wrong time to pivot. When things aren’t working, a companies' natural inclination is to pivot, which can ultimately destroy what is trying to be built. Andrew shares that it's important to have a hunch as an entrepreneur. You have to believe in something that others may not. There’s a lot of reasons why a company can fail, and it’s usually more than just one element that causes the fall.

Advice for Entrepreneurs After They Fail: It’s hard not to get down on yourself when things don’t work, but you have to understand that it’s part of the anomaly. You have to reclassify your definition of success. It’s a constant battle to readjust. Depression in startups is a real thing. So, a lot of it is making your mind stronger. For Andrew, preparing his mind means putting things in perspective and setting very clear goals. Don’t get distracted by what’s going on in other companies around you.

Take Away: In order to be a successful entrepreneur, you have to be willing to put in overtime. 40 hours a week isn't going to cut it. Like Andrew, you may even have to start something on the side while working a mainstream job until you can launch. Even though it's not going to be easy, it's worth it.

Connect With Andrew:

Website | @AndrewDumont | AboutMe | Blog

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“If you don’t believe in all your heart and soul, that the thing you are offering, is the right thing, then it’s going to be hard for you to ever ask for the sale.”

“Don’t fake it ‘til you make it, believe until the world catches up to where you are.” - Chris Brogan

About: Chris Brogan- CEO of Owner Media Group

Overview: Chris Brogan is a successful and approachable entrepreneur. He has consulted for large firms all over the world, including Disney, Google, Microsoft, etc. Chris provides education and tools to help you make your life and your business thrive, by teaching you how to own the game you most want to win. Throughout this interview, we learn some great tips on how to be a powerful salesman, and how Chris has become successful.

Highlights:

Why Meet with Outliers: We asked Chris why he was so willing to meet with us, and he responds by saying that he is always willing to help others, no matter what stage of work they are in and was excited to help you, Outliers. He states that everyone has started at some point and he was at the starting point at a stage in his life too. Chris wants to connect with others and see how he can help them.

Newsletter Strategy: The easiest way that Chris explains it, is he’s always made it a point to talk to people the way he’d want someone to talk to him, and/or even to his mother. Chris is always trying to sell something- it’s business. But what he considers a sale is a transaction of value. 90% of the stuff he does is free, and the other 10% is where he creates his revenue.

Sales: “If you don’t believe in all your heart and soul, that the thing you are offering, is the right thing, then it’s going to be hard for you to ever ask for the sale.” If you’re selling something that doesn’t work, then you’re not going to do so well. You have to believe that what you’re selling is truly going to help that person. When you are worried about making rent, or paying the bills, then you are selling with the wrong perspective and those that you are selling to will feel it as well.. Sell from love. It’s easier to sell value than anything else.

Mistakes Outliers May Be Making: You cannot share, or sell something that you have not experienced. The secret sauce is that people want to know that you’re just like them. Chris hates the phrase “fake it ‘til you make it.” He says, “Don’t fake it ‘til you make it, believe until the world catches up to where you are.” Sometimes people don’t see it the way you do because they can’t see the vision that you do. Entrepreneurship and a lot of our journey can be tough, sometimes you have money and sometimes you have no money. The trick is to just be really good about where you are.

What is Success: Chris believes that success is being able to say no to the things that he wants to say no to. He feels that he’s “made it,” according to the world, but he still has new goals and new heights he wants to reach. The people who fail the most in life are the people who let up on the gas petal once they reach a certain goal. Chris really admires people like Warren Buffet who work until the very end. Richard Branson is also a great example of continuing success. Richard has over 400 companies and still runs at full speed. He works hard and he plays hard.

Biggest Challenge: Getting people to understand the story that he’s trying to tell. With all sales and marketing, Chris believes that he has something to offer to those around him and he truly wants to help them.

Revenue: Since 2008, his company revenue has always fluctuated. In 2010, he lost $400,000 in investments. His goal for revenue this year is to beat the $1Million mark. Chris shares that when someone is thinking about their revenue goal, they need to think about what it’s going to take to achieve that and if it’s really worth it. Each goal depends on who you are and what works for you.

End Game for Chris Brogan: He's not sure what it is, but he hopes that he’ll get that one idea that will allow him to create a company that will live on past him. He eventually wants to build a product he can sell that he won’t be the face of.

About Chris’s latest book - The Freaks Shall Inherit the Earth: Chris considers himself a “freak.” He defines freak as someone who has almost a tattoo like obsession of doing the kind of business they want to do with the people they want to do it with, and doing it the way they most want to do it. Tony Hawk, Mark Echo, and Kate White are great examples of being “freaks” of their business. A freak is the people who are tired of trying to fit in, and are just trying to find out where they belong. You can definitely have a day job and be a freak. The whole concept doesn’t require that you set off on your own and do your own thing; it’s simply owning what you do.

Take Away: Chris has an authentic approach to sales that teaches any of us entrepreneurs to be true believers in what we’re selling. Like his most recent book, Chris shares that we need to become “freaks” in whatever business we are doing and we will be successful.

Connect With Hasan:

OwnerMag.com | ChrisBrogan.com | @ChrisBrogan | Facebook

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“A failure is a failure when you fail and you don’t get up again.” - Hasan Mirjan

About: Hasan Mirjan- Founder of SpherePad, &  SphereMail

Overview: Hasan shares with us the struggles of immigrating from Iraq to America and the ups and downs of doing what you love. He had to be very patient along the way until he could create the company he was so passionate about. We learn all about SphereSpace and their sister companies, and how a co-working space can help any entrepreneur.

Highlights:

Background: Hasan’s story goes back 25 years or so. He comes from a family of entrepreneurs. The first business that he started was a chicken farm located in Iraq. The chicken business didn’t do so well, so he opened up a stationary store, but due to circumstances in the country, it ended. When he came to America, he worked for a company in the tech industry, but wanted to start something of his own. Once he got residency in the country- he quit his day-to-day job to finally start his own company. The company was called capture.com that was related to artists and photographers. However the company soon failed. So, in 2010 Hasan launched SpherePad despite negative criticisms about the company being successful.

Struggles: Throughout the 9 years of working at his tech job in the US, he wanted to leave and start his own company but he couldn’t quit do so because he didn’t have residency. Hasan shares how he had to be completely patient until he could start the company of his dreams. Despite his anxiousness, Hasan shares that his experience at his 9-5 job taught him about corporations, human management, and finances.

What is SpherePad: A co-working space that provides startups with the type of connections and community that a new company needs. Hasan has met many different types of people through SpherePad that has provided him and others with assets at their disposal. It’s not about high revenue for SpherePad, it’s meant to be more like a compliment to a secondary company. Currently there are co-working spaces in the US, the UK, France, and Australia.

Importance of Being Involved in a Co-working Space: You know a lot about the people around you and your community. When you see a company come to your space and become very successful, it’s good to know that they started in your co-working space. You maintain strong connections with many people all across the board.

What is SphereMail: The space at SpherePad was being used, and people using the space wanted an email that they could use while there. It’s a white label application, that SpherePad gives a link to those using the co-space. SphereMail is not a flat monthly fee, it’s all free. They only take 10% of whatever the revenue is for that user in the co-working space. It has been up and running for 2 1/2 years now. It was completely bootstrapped by Hasan himself.

Why is it All Worth It: Hassan shares that he loves building things and being responsible for something great. His passions have allowed him to push through the struggles.

What’s Next: SphereTrack is a mail tracking application and expense reporting for companies.

The Advantage of Being in San Francisco: It's all about having access to startups and funding. If you want to go fast, and be around the right kind of people, this is the place to be. There’s always room for more startups here. Based on his experience of opening their co-working space, they filled up fast.

Advice for Entrepreneurs Immigrating to the US: Stick with it. Even though it is gut wrenching and can throw you for a loop, just stick with it. Don’t take negotiations personally. It’s important for you to understand the US system and how it works. Strive to learn the language, especially if you want to start a large-scale business.

Take Away: Although being an entrepreneur can be a long road, it's worth the wait. Even if you have companies that fail, you are never a failure by continuing to pursue your dream.

Connect With Hasan:

Website SphereMail | Website SpherePad | @HMirjan

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“Technology is the most extensible and scalable thing that you can leverage to build almost any type of idea.”

“We were the black sheep of startups… in an industry that a lot of guys in tech just didn’t get.” - Melody McCloskey

About: Melody McCloskey - Founder of StyleSeat

Overview: Melody is a young, technology driven entrepreneur. She started StyleSeat to help provide hairstylists and salons a successful platform that will increase their business by 70%.

Highlights:

Background: Starting in her early 20's, Melody has been involved in the tech for the past 10 years- which began on the product side. After working for a TV network started by Al Gore where she was brought on to focus on helping monetize the network online, she decided to start her own company. Melody felt that after being in the entrepreneurial world for so long, it was time for her to venture off and do something that she was extremely passionate about.

Starting StyleSeat: Melody sat on the idea for a couple of years before launching because she felt that the platform she wanted to develop was almost too obvious of a need that there was sure to be some competition. Eventually, it got to the point that Melody was so obsessed with her idea, that her fears faded away. Finally, she didn't care if the idea didn't succeed, She just had to do it. Despite the hard times, she shares how rewarding it’s been for her to start this company.

What is StyleSeat: The beauty industry is one of the fastest growing industries out there. StyleSeat is a business platform and tool for hairstylists and salons. StyleSeat grows their clients' revenue by about 70% in the first month just by helping things run smoother. It's a great resource to help discover, book, and pay for online beauty appointments.

How is StyleSeat monetized: There is a premium package that StyleSeat offers that does more than just help with small tasks. Currently, StyleSeat has 3 Millions users. Loreal is now using StyleSeat as their preferred partner and is really excited about the free services they offer and the easiness of the platform.

How it all got Started: The first thing Melody did was build a working prototype with an engineer she found on craigslist, based on designs that a good friend of her’s created for equity in the company. Melody then bootstrapped the company for the first year and a half. After that point, their numbers started to show that the business was becoming successful. Since then StyleSeat has received funding and has raised a total of $14 million. StyleSeat has now been in business for 3 ½ years.

How StyleSeat Secures Users: Word of mouth is by far their most successful way of adding users to their platform. They made sure that the experience for each new user was one that they wouldn’t forget. They continually focus on better supporting their users, and expanding their platform.

Future for StyleSeat: For the first couple years, StyleSeat spent their focus on being a valuable business tool for stylists and salons. Now, that they have created just that, they've launched their first consumer app that consumers will be able to use for booking their appointments, etc. In the coming months they are focusing on becoming a true marketplace for their clients and consumers.

Success on the First Try: Melody states that even though this is her first startup, she had some great mentors that taught her life lessons that have shaped the way she’s created this company. She felt that by having such influential mentors, she had a leg up on what to do to create success. Each piece of advice she was given motivated her to keep going and take risks. She was taught to have the right kind of attitude and be positive.

Advice for Startups: Don’t let what’s out there, or the rules; stop you from doing what you’re passionate about. Don’t be afraid to ask people for help, and seek out those who have the knowledge that will help you go further. Figure out your distribution as fast as you possibly can. When you can figure out how to speed up that wheel as it turns, you’ll be more successful. Having a co-founder that you have a great relationship with is also one of the most important things you can have when you’re starting a company. Melody and her partner have set long term and short term goals that have helped them come to where they are now. Melody also states that having good friends that you really trust and will support you no matter how many bad days you have has been helpful. She says it’s important to have an outlet outside of the company.

Take Away: Melody teaches us to take action on our good ideas, even if we're afraid of the competition or what might already be out there. During the interview she said she knew that if she didn't start this company, and someone came out with her idea months later, she would have hated herself for it. Don't wait around- just start it now!

Connect With Melody:

Website | @MelodyMcC

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“Technology doesn’t create new behaviors, what it does is it facilitates and accelerates behaviors people already have.”

“Technology changes fast, and people change slowly.”

“The only reason we succeeded, is because no one took us seriously.” - Peter Horan

About: Peter Horan – Founder of Horan MediaTech Advisors

Peter C. Horan is an entrepreneur with a history of building successful media and internet businesses. He has played a role in five major revolutions in media and technology including: home video games; personal computers; cell phones; Windows computing; and the internet.

Overview: Throughout this interview, Peter walks us through his entrepreneurial journey and how he became involved in the tech world. He discusses the ups and downs of technology, what is valued today, and how he learned to spot potential even when it seemed dim.

Highlights:

History: Back when Peter got involved in technology, it was very risky to do so because of the unknown. In the early days, Peter was selling kit computers and at the time the general population was uninterested in personal computers, but he was determined to see all of these technological innovations through. Peter was never afraid to ask questions. Throughout the interview, Peter walks us through all the changes that he was apart of over the years. He explains how he was able to grow and how the knowledge of technology has become widespread.

Definition of Disruptive Technology

Changing Environments: Since technology is rapidly evolving, we must learn to adapt and change with it. Peter says that people have a hard time envisioning what a new type of technology is going to do for them. He explains that when something new is coming to the market, that it must be presented in a way that people can relate to. They must show how technology is going to help them accomplish that thing in a much simpler way.

What Peter Looks For in Technology: How something is accomplished, from daily tasks, to others finding information with that technology. Peter states that in the last 10 years a lot of value in technology has been created from what used to be the fact section in the newspapers. For example, finding out what’s playing at the movie theaters, looking for a house, buying/selling a car- all of which made a lot of money in the newspapers. There must be value in what each new piece of technology offers.

How to Work a Niche Business: Starting a niche business can be tough, there are a lot of ups and downs involved with doing so. Peter uses Starbucks as a good example of starting something niche. Starbucks did more then just sell coffee, they sold an environment where people could sit down, talk, listen to music, and eventually added food to their menus. Every couple of years, they come up with something else to add to their business for their consumers. Peter explains that whenever you’re starting something new, especially niche, you need to know your consumers. You need to know what you can do to add to your business every couple of years to engage those loyal customers.

What Peter Does Now: Peter sits on the board of directors of several companies, and also advises tech companies on how to excel. He is also an avid blogger where he shares thoughts and insights, and educational information for his followers.

Advice for Tech Entrepreneurs: Let’s not learn all the wrong lessons from the history of Silicon Valley. For Peter, he started in the tech industry because it was fun and interesting, and so he could change the world even though it seemed like a dodgy career at the time. He says often times for tech entrepreneurs, the future is always number 8 on the list of top priorities- be willing to be part of that future even when it’s not obvious. The why, the how, and the what next is what’s valuable to people.

Take Away: Peter is an excellent example of believing in something small. He has been apart of the tech world since the 1970’s and has grown immensely with it. He teaches us that as entrepreneurs, the future needs to be top on our priority list.

Connect With Peter:

Website | @PeterCHoran

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"The most rewarding experience that I've had is the chance to know some of the young people when they started in their first year working for us [DDD], and to see them through the 4 years of work, and to have them go on to better things." - Michael Chertok

About: Michael Chertok- Co-Founder and Chief Business Development Officer of Digital Divide Data

Overview: Michael shares his experiences with DDD, which is a technology company that focuses on providing high quality services to companies large and small. He discusses with us the benefits of having employees in developing countries and how DDD is helping these young people become better educated and self reliant.

Highlights:

Background: Michael's drive started when he was in college. He was struggling to figure out how to pay for college, and over the summer, he got a job doing back office work for a medical supply company. It was tedious work, but it was his first job in an office that taught him great communication skills with his co-workers, and managers. When the opportunity came to do work in Cambodia, he saw the need to help and eventually DDD evolved.

What is DDD: Digital Divide Data provides a set of outsource business services to all sorts of businesses from small startups to Fortune 500 companies. They mainly focus on content conversion, digitization, and research services. For example, if your company has a data base of client prospects with multiple errors, DDD can go in and clean things up. DDD strives to provide a very high quality service to their customers. In 2001, DDD started with 40 young employees in Cambodia, and now has 1,200 people working for them around the world. DDD's current earned revenue is $5.5 Million.

Labor Force: Currently, DDD has a workforce in Kenya that will provide services all over the world. They are able to help these young people attend college, and typically these employees can work for DDD for about 4 years. They require their employees to be high school graduates. DDD's goal is to provide a stepping stone for these young employees to attain a higher level income and eventually be able to support a family. Many times, these employees go on to be involved in other tech companies, in non-profits, become teachers, and even work in government.

DDD's Mission Statement: Provide an opportunity for young people, particularly from very low-income families in developing countries.

Type of Business: Hybrid organization- U.S. Non-profit that owns a set of for-profit organizations.

Michael's Role: He is there to support DDD with marketing and financing. Most of the partners are based in San Francisco, which is why Michael is there, but the majority of the work for DDD happens overseas.

Technology Providers: DDD has partnered with Cisco systems and Microsoft to provide reliable technology for their employees overseas.

Most Rewarding Experience Working at DDD: Seeing these young, employees growing exponentially from start to finish. And to see these people become leaders in their own countries.

Challenges: Michael states that one of their greatest struggles at DDD is the need to balance their goal of serving their clients and providing opportunities for their young employees. DDD focuses a lot on providing a high quality product and educating those that work for them.

Advice for a Company Wanting to Give Back: One of the things DDD offers is an opportunity for entrepreneurs to be able to leverage their resources to help them grow their businesses. Right now, they offer a back office to help these entrepreneurs have quality infrastructure. Michael suggests that by giving a part of your resources to help others is a great way to give back.

Take Away: Although there is a lot of back and forth about work done overseas, we learn that when it is done right, it can be a great opportunity for families in developing countries, and a helpful resource for clients here in America.

Connect With Michael:

Website | Facebook | Google+ | Youtube | @DigDivData

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 “There are no losers in innovation.” -Kym McNicholas

About: Kym McNicholas - Emmy Award Winning Journalist

Overview: Kym is a feisty go-getter and long-time broadcaster. She has worked as a journalist for Forbes and PandoDaily. Currently, Kym is involved as the Executive Director for the Extreme Tech Challenge.

Highlights:

Kym’s Background: Kym has quite the resume, from professional water skier, to executive director of the Extreme Tech Challenge, Kym takes the cake on diversity. She graduated with a Communication Studies degree from Sacramento State University. Kym grew with a love of sports, and originally went to school for sports, but got a taste of broadcasting and ended up heading towards that direction. Throughout her life, she has been involved in many different types of broadcasting positions.

What is the Extreme Tech Challenge: Kym has been involved with many entrepreneurs and has worked with Richard Branson on the Extreme Tech Challenge. To learn more about what the Tech Challenge is and all those who have contributed, you can find it HERE.

Bucket list: Watch to find out what's on Kym’s bucket list. Hint: It includes Richard Branson

Struggles: Kym shares an experience where she drove out of her way to a TV station that asked her to come out, and upon arrival was denied in a big way. She’s also had other experiences that have attacked her personally. Kym has learned to have thick skin and to not let what people say get inside of her head. Through her trials, Kym has learned that everything always works out the way it is supposed to.

Advice for Entrepreneurs: Just do. Don’t listen to the naysayers. Don’t go to media too soon, because they often times rip apart your ideas. Don’t rely upon the media to promote your business. If your business can’t stand on its own, then it’s not a good business. Create a community, get on TV, and pay for advertising. Look for people who are going to offer positive criticism. You don’t have to get investment, you can bootstrap! You don’t always have to go the conventional route to be successful.

Take Away: Kym is an inspiring individual who hasn't let negativity drag her down. She teaches us that with will power, and a strong determination you can do and become whatever you want.

Connect With Kym:

Website | @kymbee

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“For me, the health benefits of doing training, vs not doing training have been tremendous, both in terms of confidence and how I carry myself. If I could get half of that to people who train with us, I think it’s a successful business.” – AJ Shewki

“Working for someone is nice, but creating something from scratch can be a roller coaster, but at the same time it is very exciting.” - Yorgos Stavropoulos

About: AJ Shewki, Yorgos Stavropoulos, and Bjorn Wanbo - Co-Founders of FYTNS.

Overview: FYTNS is currently a locally based company in San Francisco. The goal at FYTNS is to connect people to great personal training. It’s also a platform for personal trainers to find a pool of clients who are looking for trainers. FYTNS allows trainers to become their own entrepreneurs where they don’t work for "the man" at the gym who takes a large percentage of their revenue. With FYTNS, these trainers get to structure their own workouts, and create their own schedules.

Highlights:

What is FYTNS: A platform for personal trainers. Specifically, AJ & Yorgos are testing their platform in San Francisco because they feel that if they can get a startup off the ground in the bay area, then they will be able to take it anywhere.

Monetization: Currently: FYTNS simply takes a percentage of what clients pay to their personal trainers through the platform. Eventually, they’d like to have a monthly subscription fee that clients can pay to be involved in a variety of sports as well.

Funding: Private funding has been provided to FYTNS through close friends and family.

Background: Yorgos is originally from Greece and came straight to San Francisco where he met AJ. He enjoys the open community in America. AJ was born in a refugee camp in Sweden and later moved to the UK to work on his Bachelors degree. He then came to San Francisco to work on his Masters degree. For AJ & Yorgos, immigration has proved to be a major challenge in their quest to become entrepreneurs in America, but they're not giving up.

Advice for International Entrepreneurs in the US: If you’re not pushing the business forward, no one else will. As an entrepreneur, you are the only one accountable. So, make sure that you are constantly pushing your company forward.

Take Away: Although there have been challenges for AJ & Yorgos along the way, they are very passionate about fitness as a lifestyle. Their platform, Fytns, is here to help personal trainers become better entrepreneurs, and for those seeking a great personal trainer, to find the right match.

Connect With FYTNS:

Website | @FYTNS | Facebook

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“The best part about my job is bringing ideas to reality, and being able to see that manifestation.” - Kalin Kelly

About: Kalin Kelly- “Founders Broker”- Founder of The Connector Habit

Overview: Kalin Kelly is a talented young woman with a strong background in sales, communication, startups, and real estate. She shares the relationship between landlord brokers and what the commercial real estate is willing to give them. Kalin explains the troubles behind real estate in San Francisco and how having a “founders broker” can help so many young companies. Ergo- The Connector Habit.

Highlights:

Kalin’s Experience: She graduated from Berkley College and became a part of two startup companies that have given her the knowledge to know what founders actually need to begin. In her second startup, she became a marketing director, but later became interested in really changing the commercial real estate world. She realized there really is a disconnect and wanted to help solve the problem.

How It Works: Kalin’s job is to help tenants find the right space, negotiate a flexible lease, and make sure her clients are not going to be taken advantage of by the landlord.

Why You Need Kalin’s Help: Not only to not be taken advantage of, but to be educated on the market and to manage your expectations. She works with founders, non-profits, and more. She is determined to help her tenants find what fits their specific needs.

Cost: There is no cost to her clients. Her fee is actually paid for by the landlord.

Future Goal: Kalin has a passion for connecting, and is currently working on connecting people very humanly, in a disconnected social world. She is still working on the platform, so stay tuned for more information on that.

Guidelines for Entrepreneurs Choosing a Space: Start early! Focus on your team, don’t focus on your space- grow your idea. Be aware of the environment you’re looking to be a part of. Call a tenant rep.

Take Away: Choose to have a tenant rep, or a "founders broker" like Kalin, when searching for the perfect space for yourself, or company. There is more out there than what a landlord broker might be advertising. Kalin can help you find what best fits your needs, especially in a hard area like San Francisco.