The Top Entrepreneurs In Money, Marketing, Business And Life

Rob Nelson, founder and CEO of Grow – a business intelligence platform. Nathan came across Rob when he was doing research in the intelligence space and Grow provided a lot of good feedback. Rob is a listener of The Top and happily accepted Nathan’s invitation to be a guest on The Top. Famous Five: Favorite Book? – The ONE Thing What CEO do you follow? –  Aaron Skonnard Favorite online tool? — Calendly Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— No If you could let your 20-year old self, know one thing, what would it be? – “Don’t ever quit”   Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:25 – Nathan introduces Rob to the show 02:00 – Grow is a powerful business intelligence platform and made specifically for SMBs 02:13 – Rob founded Grow in 2014 02:25 – Rob had a software company which was bootstrapped 02:34 – Rob struggled pulling up data from different platforms 03:29 – Rob sold the company and had a great exit 04:10 – Grow is a SaaS model and has subscription based pricing 04:20 – Grow doesn’t charge based on the number of users

Tommy Sowers, who worked for McKinsey & Company and was the youngest senate confirmed assistant secretary in the Obama administration. On top of this, he is the founder of GoldenKey. Famous Five: Favorite Book? – Getting Things Done What CEO do you follow? –  Yvon Chouinard Favorite online tool? — Evernote Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— I try to If you could let your 20-year old self, know one thing, what would it be? – “There is no risk and don’t wait for it to be easy”   Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:40 – Nathan introduces Tommy to the show 02:01 – GoldenKey is a no-commission real estate network 02:30 – Tommy didn’t want to commission a real estate agent 2 years ago 02:50 – “People hack real estate agents in a lot of different ways” 03:49 – GoldenKey’s revenue model is a marketplace 03:55 – Consumers pay on the services that they need 04:22 – “When you buy or sell your home, the commission rebate will go to you” 04:44 – In GoldenKey’s platform, the supply are agents 04:50 – Agents offer unbundl

Mike Doyle, CEO of Rent Like A Champion, a vacation rental platform for sporting events. He has hosted 50 thousand travelers and made over $12 million in sales. Mike is a Shark Tank survivor who received an investment from Mark Cuban and Chris Sacca and both Mark and Chris are still very involved in the business. Famous Five: Favorite Book? – The Hard Thing About Hard Things What CEO do you follow? –  Elon Musk Favorite online tool? — Trello Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— Not now If you could let your 20-year old self, know one thing, what would it be? – “Start earlier and take advantages of those resources”   Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:30 – Nathan introduces Mike to the show 02:00 – Mike took a total of $200,000 from Mike and Chris for 10% of the company’s equity 02:10 – Shark Tank was their first round of funding 02:27 – Mike wanted to get the deal and the exposure 02:38 – Rent Like A Champion’s valuation during Shark Tank 02:52 – Rent Like A Champion is currently in the market for raising 02:59 –

Adam Robinson, CEO and co-founder of Hireology where’s he’s on a mission to help business owners make better hiring decisions using data and processes. He’s known in the recruiting industry, an expert speaker, and author with over 20 years of experience in the field of hiring and selection management. Famous Five: Favorite Book? – Crossing the Chasm What CEO do you follow? –  Phil Knight Favorite online tool? — Evernote Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— No If you could let your 20-year old self, know one thing, what would it be? – “Take more risks”   Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:35 – Nathan introduces Adam to the show 02:03 – Hireology is a talent technology platform built specifically for owner/operators 02:14 – Hireology helps the owner with the technology they need in their hiring and employment process 02:30 – Hireology has a monthly subscription plan 02:36 – Hireology is a SaaS business model 02:46 – Hireology is different from Toptal and Upwork 03:03 – Hireology was founded mid 2010 and the product

Dan Golden, a veteran digital marketing executive and speaker who still spends time diving into analytics and making strategic recommendations for his clients. He has spent a lot of time on the client side with large agencies. Dan co-founded the digital agency “Be Found Online (BFO)” and has led the BFO team from his roots as a paid search agency to a full service performance digital marketing agency. Listen as Dan talks about how he turned his side project, BFO, to a now, successful agency, making a 6-figure revenue. Famous Five: Favorite Book? – The Great Game of Business What CEO do you follow? –  N/A Favorite online tool? — Nudge Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— No If you could let your 20-year old self, know one thing, what would it be? – “Enjoy the journey”   Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:28 – Nathan introduces Dan to the show 02:30 – Be Found Online is a digital marketing agency 02:36 – BFO’s focus is to drive traffic and help their clients make money through that traffic 02:45 – BFO’s processes have

Ali Salman who heads Rapid Boost Marketing where they exclusively work with professional service providers. Rapid Boost has grown to over $2 million in annual sales over the last 2 years with a goal of $25 million by 2020. They have generated over 120,000 ideal client inquiries for service firms and practices in the last 12 months. Famous Five: Favorite Book? – Nonsense: The Power of Not Knowing What CEO do you follow? –  Elon Musk and Nathan Latka Favorite online tool? — Ninja Outreach Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— Sometimes more than that If you could let your 20-year old self, know one thing, what would it be? – “Get out of school faster”   Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:38 – Nathan introduces the show 02:09 – Rapid Boost Marketing is an agency 02:17 – Average contract size is anywhere between from $1500 to $6000 and majority of the contracts are from $2000 - $3000 02:28 – Rapid Boost Marketing has a big lead generation 02:53 – The revenue for 2015 is $800,000 and end of 2016 is more than $2 million 03:1

Dr. Dan Margolin, a practicing Podiatrist with over 27 years of experience and a practice that ranks from the top 3% in the country. Dan’s second and current practice is widely successful compared to his first. Listen as Dan talks about podiatry and his new business which he co-founded, Effective Management. Famous Five: Favorite Book? – The 10x Rule What CEO do you follow? –  Tony Hsieh Favorite online tool? — Testing Academy Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— No If you could let your 20-year old self, know one thing, what would it be? – “I wish I knew to look for mentors a little bit more”   Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:35 – Nathan introduces Dan to the show 02:15 – A podiatrist deals with health issues concerning the feet including sprains 02:32 – Dan generates revenue from his patients and sometimes, from insurance companies 02:39 – Dan’s ultimate goal is for the patients to be well 02:51 – In the long-term, Effective Management will be the bigger stream of revenue 03:10 – A podiatrist earns $ 300,000 to $

Ron Miller, CEO of StartEngine,who was in Episode 40 of The Top and Chad Newell, CEO and founder of Snapwire. Listen as Ron and Chad explain how the new rule of SEC in equity crowdfunding helped their companies.  Famous Five: Favorite Book? – Ron: The E-Myth  What CEO do you follow? –  Chad: Sean Malarkey Favorite online tool? — Ron:  Internal Email / Chad: Google Sheet Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— Ron: No If you could let your 20-year old self know one thing, what would it be? – “It’s all about confidence.” – Ron Miller   Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:40 – Nathan introduces Ron and Chad to the show 02:30 – StartEngine is the nation’s leading platform that allows entrepreneurs to directly connect with potential investors to raise capital 02:45 – The new law opened up the possibility for everyone to become an investor 03:11 – It allows companies to advertise broadly 03:24 – StartEngine was launched in June 2015 03:30 – Total amount invested is $20 million 03:42 – 60,000 unique users have joined their

Timo Rein, CEO and co-founder of Pipedrive, a provider of sales CRM software that gives sales teams control over their selling processes. After spending $15,000 on a CRM for his own business that ended up being a total waste of money, Timo brought together a few engineering friends to create a better CRM solution for his own needs. This was the genesis of Pipe Tribe, which now has over 30,000 small business users worldwide and has reached $13.4 million in VC funding. Famous Five: Favorite Book? – Turning Pro What CEO do you follow? –  Stephen Curry and Gregg Popovich Favorite online tool? — Slack and Viber Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— “No, still trying.” If you could let your 20-year old self know one thing, what would it be? – “Take action. It is important to work hard first. Discover who I am and know where my energy flows.”   Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:47 – Nathan introduces Timo to the show 02:31 – It was in 2002 when Timo spent $15,000 on a business 02:41 – It turned out that the business wouldn

Michael Cheng, co-founder of Sniply, an innovative new marketing tool that helps companies caption the value of content sharing in social media. Sniply links has generated over 150 million clicks and is used by notable brands such as IBM, Salesforce and Greenpeace. Famous Five: Favorite Book? – Steve Jobs Biography What CEO do you follow? –  Steve Jobs Favorite online tool? — Google Translate Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— Yes If you could let your 20-year old self know one thing, what would it be? – “Don’t rush it”   Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:39 – Nathan introduces Michael to the show 02:09 – Sniply is a content marketing platform 02:11 – It allows people to generate ROI from the links they share 02:30 – It is a SaaS subscription model 02:32 – Premium has a customized ability on call to action and other features 02:49 – Sniply was launched in 2014 02:59 – Sniply generates money from the subscription 03:20 – Price range is $39 per month to $3000 per month 03:29 – Monthly RPU is $70-80 03:45

Nathan interviews Tanner Larsson, co-founder of 80/20 Media, CEO of e-commerce brand incubator BuildGrowsSale.com. He’s also the founder and facilitator of an exclusive e-commerce syndicate called Black Label – composed of the best and brightest marketers, CEOs, and entrepreneurs in the e-commerce space. He recently published his first book called Ecommerce Evolved which offers readers a box view of how successful e-commerce brands build, grow, and scale. Famous Five: Favorite Book? – Rocket Fuel What CEO do you follow? –  Ed O’Keefe Favorite online tool? —FastStone Capture Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— Not even close If you could let your 20-year old self, know one thing, what would it be? – “You don’t have to fund everything out of your own pocket, there are other options available”   Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:27 – Nathan introduces Tanner to the show 02:15 – Tanner’s ecommerce world started in 2001 02:20 – Started in eBay and Tanner became a powerseller 02:31 – Tanner was doing $ 50,000 - $ 100,

Brandon Foo, co-founder and CEO of Polymail (YC S16) – an email platform making businesses and companies more productive. Previously, he co-founded CTRL LA Collective, a co-working space in LA. He graduated from UCLA where he co-founded Bruin Entrepreneurs which is now the biggest entrepreneurship organization at UCLA. Listens as Brandon shares how he built Polymail and why entrepreneurs prefer it over Gmail. Famous Five: Favorite Book? – N/A What CEO do you follow? –  Aaron Levie Favorite online tool? — Asana Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— 7-8 If you could let your 20-year old self, know one thing, what would it be? – “Spend more time with side projects and less on school work”   Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:35 – Nathan introduces Brandon to the show 02:08 – Polymail is a super-powerful email platform designed for business users 02:18 – With just 1 app, you can do a lot with your email 02:37 – It is a complete stand-alone email client 03:15 – How are you convincing people to make the switch? 03:20 –

Rey Grainger, founder and CEO of Mavenlink, where he’s leading a mission to re-invent the way businesses do work. Ray brings over 25 years of experience in software and technology consulting to Mavenlink. He also invests in several technology companies through Accenture technology ventures including enterprise knowledge manager vendor InQuira. Famous Five: Favorite Book? – Good to Great What CEO do you follow? –  Marc Benioff Favorite online tool? — Evernote Do you get 8 hours of sleep?—  I don’t If you could let your 20-year old self, know one thing, what would it be? – “That I would actually end up achieving what I have setup to do”   Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:24 – Nathan introduces Ray to the show 02:28 – Ray likes corporate world more 03:00 – How Accenture invested in AI Technology 03:20 – Ray left Accenture in 2005 when InQuira started to get into the market 03:48 – Ray already had an idea for Mavenlink 04:45 – Mavenlink is SaaS business management solution 05:09 – Mavenlink is a subscription base

Ben Dobyns, CEO and founder of Zombie Orpheus Entertainment. He’s started giving the company’s films away for free ever when he started the company—a tradition he’s proud to continue today. Famous Five: Favorite Book? – The Art of Game Design What CEO do you follow? –  Jamie Wilkinson Favorite online tool? — Slack Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— Yes If you could let your 20-year old self, know one thing, what would it be? – “Take the time to pursue the dream. Shortcuts will disempower you and empower other people”    Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:33 – Nathan introduces Ben to the show 01:57 – Ben had a terrible experience with Hollywood distribution in 2008 02:10 – Ben didn’t get paid for the film they made 02:18 – The company owed Ben $ 30,000 03:23 – “Independent films will lose your money if you invest in them” 03:34 – Ben launched his new company in 2010 and paid their investors back after a year 03:47 – Zombie Orpheus Entertainment was launched in 2010 03:59 – “We’re going to give people free films

Debbie Johnston, recognized as Entrepreneur of Richmond and the founder of Care Advantage – a dynamic and compassionate care company that is devoted in giving back to the community. She’s the author of The School of Heart Knocks. Listen as Debbie shares her inspiration in starting Care Advantage and her experience in Secret Millionaire. Famous Five: Favorite Book? – Think and Grow Rich What CEO do you follow? –  Steve Jobs Favorite online tool? — Facebook Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— Never If you could let your 20-year old self know one thing, what would it be? – “Start your business earlier, you know more than you think.”   Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:54 – Nathan introduces Debbie to the show 03:10 – Adoption is close to Debbie’s heart 03:28 – Care Advantage is a full service care company 03:54 – Care Advantage has a special care division 04:30 – Care Advantage is all over the country 04:50 – Payment for the services is by the hour 05:12 – Care Advantage reimbursed in the state they’re in 05:44 – C

Matt Kepnes of NomadicMatt.com, the man who went from everyday worker to travel writer. Matt grew up in Boston and he didn’t take his first trip until he was 23—a cruise to Montreal. After he started a life as a young professional, he decided to travel the world, so he headed to Costa Rica in 2004, Taiwan in 2005, and never looked back. Listen as Matt talks about the success of his blog and how he grew it from a simple online journal. Famous Five: Favorite Book? – Influence What CEO do you follow? –  N/A Favorite online tool? — N/A Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— No If you could let your 20-year old self know one thing, what would it be? – “Value eating healthy”   Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:40 – Nathan introduces Matt to the show 02:53 – Matt was working in administration 03:16 – Number of unique website users on average per month is 1.2 million 03:27 – Matt started the blog in 2008 after 14 months of traveling 03:50 – Matt built the blog as an online resume 04:17 – Matt is getting more visitors in 2010 0

Chris Bruznicki, CEO of Vaystays, which is a vacation rental marketplace tool used by propriety manager like Wyndam. He has been featured in Entrepreneur and was awarded the bronze star. Listen as Chris tells us how Vaystays is earning and what made him decide to raise capital.  Famous Five: Favorite Book? – Good to Great What CEO do you follow? –  Steve Jobs Favorite online tool? — DocuSign Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— No If you could let your 20-year old self know one thing, what would it be? – “Networking is super important and consider raising capital”     Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:40 – Nathan introduces Chris to the show 02:20 – Vaystays is used by professionals managing a vacation companies 02:27 – People who have houses in Tahoe and the like will have the vacation companies manage their properties 03:44 – Vaystays gives them a marketplace for distribution 03:55 – Vaystays provides open cable like service 04:17 – Team size and location 04:26 – Vaystays is making 5 million transactions and Ch

Patrick Ambron, co-founder and CEO of BrandYourself.com, which helps people look better online. He’s an instructor at General Assembly and was included INC’s 30 under 30 list. Listen as Patrick talks about his experience on SharkTank and how it boosted his company’s revenue. Famous Five: Favorite Book? – Made to Stick What CEO do you follow? –  Reed Hastings Favorite online tool? — X.AI Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— No If you could let your 20-year old self know one thing, what would it be? – “I wish that when I was building my business, I knew how important it was to have people who don’t have your strengths”   Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:40 – Nathan introduces Patrick to the show 02:00 – Patrick got a $ 2 million deal on SharkTank but didn’t take it 02:11 – Patrick didn’t take the deal because they wanted 25% 02:30 – Patrick’s episode was aired 2 years ago and it was a good exposure 02:40 – Patrick did over $ 1 million in revenue while they were on SharkTank 03:10 – Patrick said No on-air 04:07 – B

Renee Zau, co-founder and CEO of DonationMatch, a product donation network for school and charity events that works similarly to match.com. She’s obsessed with increasing a win-win partnership between brands and non-profit that don’t cost money but can generate more for everyone involved.  Famous Five: Favorite Book? – E-myth Revisited What CEO do you follow? –  Craig Newmark Favorite online tool? — Streak and Asana Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— Almost If you could let your 20-year old self know one thing, what would it be? – “Believe in yourself and talent even if it is different from someone else’s’ idea on what you should do”   Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:40 – Nathan introduces Renee to the show 02:08 – It takes 300 hours to secure in-kind and other donations from a benefit event 02:31 – DonationMatch streamlines the product for companies and reduces the work for school and charities 02:50 – Sahara Sam’s receives 100s to 1000s requests of tickets a year to raffle off at charity events 03:26 – Doing

Ash Kumra, an award-winning entrepreneur, author, public speaker, and talk show host recognized twice by the White House as an entrepreneur making an impact. Listen as Ash shares how he runs Youngry, a media company he co-founded that informs, inspires, and elevates young and hungry minded entrepreneurs to thrive. Famous Five: Favorite Book? – Inside Steve’s Brain What CEO do you follow? –  Mark Benioff Favorite online tool? — Lead.com Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— Yes If you could let your 20-year old self know one thing, what would it be? – “To not be worried about other people’s things”   Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:44 – Nathan introduces Ash to the show 02:10 – Youngry is an entrepreneur media company 02:27 – Youngry provides helpful information from successful entrepreneurs 02:38 – Youngry’s business model provides e-commerce product 03:40 – Youngry provides a community for early stage entrepreneurs to get the best content to help them thrive 05:04 – Ash and his team decided to launch Youngry wi