The Top Entrepreneurs In Money, Marketing, Business And Life

Chris Brisson, the founder of Call Loop website. Call Loop is a voice and text messaging service that’s used by a huge range of clients. Listen as Chris and Nathan talk buying out a co-founder, building a company while working full-time, and how to pivot with an established product. Famous Five: Favorite Book? – Stealth Marketing What CEO do you follow? — James Clear Favourite online tool? — ClickFunnels and ConvertFlow Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— No If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be?—That being young is an advantage - take the opportunity to make mistakes Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:22 – Nathan’s introduction 01:40 – Welcoming Chris to the show 02:00 – Call Loop is a voice and text messaging service 02:22 – Had the idea in 2009; business was founded in 2011 03:00 – It took 3 years to build the software as a side project 03:55 – Put in $10,000 to kick-start the project 04:12 – Bought out his business partners in 2015 04:50 – Two investors put in $90k total for 7.5% equ

Ilias Tsagklis, co-founder of Excelexis. He’s a software developer-turned-entrepreneur who gave up a great salary to found his own company. Ilias blogs about entrepreneurship at Wealth Triumph. Listen in to hear why a developer built an ad company instead of a software company, and just what he’s doing to make 85% net margins. Famous 5: Favorite Book? – Millionaire Fast Lane What CEO do you follow? — Marcus Lemonis Favourite online tool? — Asana Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— Yes If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — That the road to success is only through self-education. Don’t expect anyone else to help you. Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:14 – Nathan’s introduction 01:56 – Welcoming Ilias to the show 02:17 – Trying to monetise platforms like banner display 02:37 – Provided sponsored content for a recent customer - trying to move away from traditional banner displays 03:25 – Own Telecode Geeks, a content site, where they can place adverts 04:02 – Ilias started out as a softwa

Kim Barrett, bestselling author and the founder of Your Social Voice - a marketing and lead generation agency that’s gone to $100k per month in sales in just one year. Tune in as Nathan and Kim talk lead generation, marketing, and building a killer sales team. Famous Five: Favorite Book? –Built to Sell What CEO do you follow? — Gary Vaynerchuk Favourite online tool? — Podio Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— No If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be?— Trust what you think and don’t listen to what other people tell you to do Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:28 – Nathan’s introduction 02:25 – Welcoming Kim to the show 02:35 – Your Social Voice makes money through ‘done-for-you’ marketing services 03:22 – Focus on lead generation - driving traffic to a landing page 03:45 – Offering different packages 04:20 – Company started in 2013 04:40 – Total revenue in 2015 was a little over $450k 05:02 – Currently making around $100k per month in sales 05:30 – Cash received is 50-60% of sales 05:55 –

Madison Wickham, CEO and co-founder of Grandex - a media and content company that’s behind the sites Total Frat Move and Postgrad Problems. Madison’s also created two successful apparel companies, and is generating around $10 million in revenue a year. Listen in to hear Madison talk about the secrets of capturing an audience, quitting his job with a 10-day old baby, and how to turn content followers into customers. Famous 5 Favorite Book? – Zero To One What CEO do you follow? — Jonah Peretti What is your favorite online tool? — Slack Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— No If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? —That I didn’t have to have a definitive plan...I just had to be doing something productive and learning stuff Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:50 – Yuri’s introduction 02:30 – Welcoming Madison to the show 02:50 – Started Total Frat Move as a one-liner comedy website with a fraternity buddy 03:40 – “Our business plan did not exist...we were trying to capture an audience” 04:56 –

Finn Kelly, co-founder and CEO of We Love Numbers, a smartbookkeeping and financial advice site that’s turning financialservices into SaaS. Finn’s been named three times as one ofAustralia’s top 30 entrepreneurs under 30, and is about to launchhis first fundraising round. Listen as Finn and Nathan talk goingfrom service to SaaS, the ins and outs of investment partnerships,and why you are what you think.   Favorite Book? – True North What CEO do you follow? — Warren Rustand Favourite online tool? — Slack Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— No, but pretty close If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what wouldit be?— Look after your body, and focus on your thoughts. You arewhat you think. Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:31 – Nathan’s introduction 02:00 – Welcoming Finn to the show 02:20 – We Love Numbers - smart bookkeeping and advice forentrepreneurs 02:40 – Revenue is generated by a subscription model to 1 of 4different packages 02:49 – Packages cost $395 to $1695 per month 03:10 – Recent client was a

Beate Chelette. Beate went from being a single mother in debt, to selling her image licensing business to Bill Gates for millions. She’s a successful coach and speaker, and the author of Happy Woman, Happy World and The Women’s Code. Listen in to learn why equality and diversity are good for business, how to build a million-dollar company without owning any assets, and the hard story behind success. Famous 5: Favorite Book? – The Compound Effect What CEO do you follow? — Marc Benioff Favourite online tool? — Infusionsoft 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 take it so personally. And it takes time. Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:11 – Nathan’s introduction 02:20 – Welcoming Ilya to the show 02:40 – Biyathe cornered the market in architecture and interiors photography 03:40 – Acquired by Bill Gates’ business Corbis 04:40 – Were at around $1 million in revenue from licensing 05:02 – “You can build a business where you don’t own any assets

Todd Tresidder's a serial entrepreneur who retired at 35 afterbuilding millions as a hedge fund manager. He’s the creator ofFinancial Mentor, a hugely successful financial coaching service,which is soon to become an online course. Listen as Todd and Nathantalk asset allocation, risk reduction, and how to createwealth. Favorite Book? – Essentialism What CEO do you follow? — Steve Jobs Favourite online tool? — None Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— It varies If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what wouldit be?— Buy more income-producing real estate Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:20 – Nathan’s introduction 01:35 – Welcoming Todd to the show 02:18 – Lasted about 6 months at Hewlett Packard - then he wasfired 03:20 – “Everything is quantitative” 03:45 – Invested $20 million through a hedge fund set up with apartner 05:00 – “One of the keys in investing is knowing what you don’tknow” 06:30 – Made a 3% management fee 07:20 – “It’s completely a numbers game” 07:55 – Why move to teaching others? 08:30 –

Kim Kaupe, a Forbes 30 under 30 and co-founder of custompublishing company Zinepak. Zinepak creates fan packs andmerchandise for artists and sports teams. They’ve worked withJustin Bieber, Katy Perry, and the Boston Red Sox. Listen as Nathanand Kim talk googling your way to success, making good investmentdeals, and Kim’s stint on Shark Tank. Favorite Book? – Rework What CEO do you follow? — Jim O’Shea Favourite online tool? — Pipedrive Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— I am If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what wouldit be?— Eat more chipotle and dance more, it’s all going to beokay Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:30 – Nathan’s introduction 02:15 – Welcoming Kim to the show 02:30 – Started Zinepak in 2011 - found a fantastic niche 03:05 – Latest clients include Justin Bieber and Shawn Mendes 04:04 – Work as an agency - they’ll create the product and sell itwholesale 05:00 – Order size varies from 500 units to 200,000 units 05:20 – Average order would be around 5,000 - 20,000 units 05:41 – Packs

Subbu Rama, co-founder of BitFusion, a service that gathers unused processing power to create a decentralised supercomputer. Subbu’s hoping to create something as big as VMware. Listen as Subbu answers the hard questions about splitting equity, raising capital, and building sales at the beginning of a big idea. Famous Five: Favorite Book? – Steve Jobs What CEO do you follow? — Steve Jobs, posthumously. Favourite 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?—I wish I’d started a company Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:45 – Nathan’s introduction 01:50 – Welcoming Subbu to the show 02:35 – BitFusion grabs unused processing power to speed up clients’ processing 03:23 – Started in February 2015 03:36 – Based in Austin, Texas 03:50 – Subbu gave up a $250k salary at Dell to create BitFusion 04:20 – “The world is moving beyond CPUs...big computation is becoming more complex” 04:30 – “I thought - how do we bring hypercomputing to the normals

Ilya Semin, creator of Datanyze - a sales intelligence platform that’s the only thing Hubspot and Marketo will use. Datanyze has reached an ARR of $6 million in just two years - and they’re growing incredibly fast. Listen in to hear why Ilya took his first round of funding, how to have the tough conversations about equity, and why emotional intelligence is crucial for tech entrepreneurs. Famous 5: Favorite Book? – The Alchemist What CEO do you follow? — None Favourite online tool? — Manny [link skyped to Nathan] Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— Yes If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — I wish that I’d started working on my EQ skills and learned how to communicate with people Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:09 – Nathan’s introduction 01:58 – Welcoming Ilya to the show 02:12 – Datanyze is a sales intelligence platform that’s offered as a subscription service. Customers include Hubspot and Marketo 02:30 – 500 customers, with an average annual contract of $20k 02:55 – Founded the bus

Michael Mogill, president of Crisp Video - a company that bridges the gap between video production and video marketing. Michael started the business on his own three years ago, and now has 15 employees and clients including Coca Cola and Red Bull. Listen as Nathan and Michael talk return on investment, finding a marketing edge, and focusing on progress. Favorite Book? – Delivering Happiness What CEO do you follow? — Gary Vaynerchuk Favourite online tool? — Dropbox Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— No If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be?— To stop doubting myself, and not apologise for the standards I hold people to Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:14 – Nathan’s introduction 01:35 – Welcoming Michael to the show 01:45 – Generate revenue from video production and implementation 02:10 – The clients Michael’s most proud of are the small businesses 02:48 – One attorney in Nebraska doubled his business by using marketing videos 03:45 – He went from an average case value of $1,000 to an a

Tim Ray, the founder and CEO of Carnivore Club, a speciality meat subscription business. Tim sold his first company, Foodscrooge, within 4 months of starting it. He’s currently the CEO of two companies and is hoping to double Carnivore Club’s profits this year. Listen as Nathan and Tim talk earning out and buying, bootstrapping a business, and how to get the most from podcast advertising. Favorite Book? – 48 Laws of Power What CEO do you follow? — Elon Musk Favourite online tool? — None Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— Almost If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be?— Swing for the fences. Be bold and swing big. Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:01 – Nathan’s introduction 01:42 – Welcoming Tim to the show 01:58 – Tim started his first company, FoodScrooge, to allow consumers to buy bulk frozen food surplus 02:40 – Revenue in the first year was $150k - they were bought within 4 months 03:07 – Sold for $2.1 million on an earn-out scheme 03:45 – Tim acquired Broquet for $150,000 04:25 – B

Michael Mogill, president of Crisp Video - a company that bridges the gap between video production and video marketing. Michael started the business on his own three years ago, and now has 15 employees and clients including Coca Cola and Red Bull. Listen as Nathan and Michael talk return on investment, finding a marketing edge, and focusing on progress. Favorite Book? – Delivering Happiness What CEO do you follow? — Gary Vaynerchuk Favourite online tool? — Dropbox Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— No If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be?— To stop doubting myself, and not apologise for the standards I hold people to Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:14 – Nathan’s introduction 01:35 – Welcoming Michael to the show 01:45 – Generate revenue from video production and implementation 02:10 – The clients Michael’s most proud of are the small businesses 02:48 – One attorney in Nebraska doubled his business by using marketing videos 03:45 – He went from an average case value of $1,000 to an a

Kenny Hawk, the CEO of Mojio. Kenny made millions from iGo, a company he started in his dorm room in the 1990s. He’s now turning his expertise in wireless technology to good use at Mojio - a company backed by Amazon and Deutsche Telecom that uses cloud-based tech to link your car to the internet. Listen in to hear lessons from the dotcom boom, how Mojio can slash your garage fees, and why Kenny’s expecting to sell almost 2 million units in the next 2 years. Famous 5: Favorite Book? – Built to Last What CEO do you follow? — Larry Ellison Favourite 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? — The most important choice in life is the people you choose to be around you Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:09 – Nathan’s introduction 01:37 – Welcoming Kenny to the show 01:45 – iGo was Kenny’s first CEO gig - he started the business in his dorm room before graduation 02:30 – iGo created universal charging adaptors for mobile devices 02:50

Peter Himler, the man who set up the New York Times’ paywall. Peter’s an experienced PR and media consultant, and the founder of Flatiron Communications. Listen as Nathan and Peter talk subscription vs. native advertising, the growth of content marketing, and the importance of influencers. Favorite Book? – The End of Big What CEO do you follow? — Elon Musk Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— I absolutely do If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be?— How to be more assertive with my boss Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:10 – Nathan’s introduction 01:30 – Welcoming Peter to the show 01:55 – Peter helped the New York Times launch their first paywall 02:45 – What can agencies do to make sure they retain talent? 03:00 – Large agencies have invested in digital strategies 04:00 – Flatiron create content marketing for their clients 04:35 – Content sites with a paywall are a growing trend 04:50 – How did you execute the NY Times paywall? 05:10 – The first paywall was unsuccessful - ‘Times Select’

Khalid Saleh, co-author of the bestselling book Conversion Optimisation. Khalid’s an expert on conversion whose company, Invesp, has grown companies from tiny startups to giant powerhouses. Listen as Khalid and Nathan talk leaving a salaried job, turning a consulting business into an SaaS giant, and running a global fundraising round. Favorite Book? – The Lean Startup What CEO do you follow? — Alex Turnbull What is your favorite online tool?— Evernote Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— Hell, no! If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be?— That I need to be laser-focused. There’s opportunity everywhere - you just have to focus on it. Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:20 – Nathan’s introduction 02:20 – Welcoming Khalid to the show 02:35 – Invesp makes money by consulting on conversion optimisation 03:00 – Companies pay a monthly retainer for ongoing optimisation services 03:45 – Charge a minimum of $8,000 per month 04:00 – Companies stay 15-24 months on average 04:25 – Invesp was founded in

Rob Biederman, founder of HourlyNerd - a platform that bypasses traditional consultancies to help companies hire just the experts they need. HourlyNerd serves more than 4,500 companies, including GE, Microsoft and American Apparel. Listen as Rob and Nathan talk about spotting a market gap, dividing equity, and why you should have studied computer science. Favorite Book? – Only the Paranoid Survive What CEO do you follow? — Jeff Immelt What is your favorite online tool?— Slack 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 some computer science papers Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:15 – Nathan’s introduction 01:40 – Welcoming Graham to the show 01:56 – “Companies use us when they have a pressing need for a solution that can’t be provided by their current workforce” 02:00 – HourlyNerd makes money by taking a small percentage of transactions 02:30 – Example: connected GE to a robotics professor who could educate them about commercial robotics 03:30 –

Preston Lee, the founder of Millo. He’s making $8,000 per month from a website and newsletter that started as a side project. Millo is a business resource and newsletter for creative entrepreneurs. Preston’s built an incredibly engaged community and a list that actually thanks him for sending out sponsored emails. Listen in to hear how to make sponsorship deals that your audience love, how to build revenue from a side project, and why it’s important to think like a business from the start. Famous 5: Favorite Book? – The $100 Startup What CEO do you follow? — Ben Chestnut Favourite online tool? — Trello Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— No If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — How to think more like a business Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:07 – Nathan’s introduction 01:40 – Welcoming Preston to the show 01:43 – Millo is a blog and a newsletter for people who are interested in becoming entrepreneurs, freelancers, or creators 02:30 – Email list of about 30k, and a high level of eng

Graham Williams, one of the creators of Fun Fun Fun festival and head of Transmission Events. The festival’s first year had only 3,000 attendees...now it lasts 3 days and welcomes 20,000 people. Listen as Nathan and Graham talk about building up an event, the economics of festivals, and why you should start building your dream sooner. Favorite Book? – I’ve never read a business book… 1984 What CEO do you follow? — None What is your favorite online tool?— Gmail 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 think I made the right decisions for the most part...I wish I’d started my company a little earlier. Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:15 – Nathan’s introduction 01:40 – Welcoming Graham to the show 02:10 – Started Fun Fun Fun festival in 2006 with the head of Alamo Drafthouse 02:45 – Cost around $100k to produce and sold around 3000 tickets in the first year 03:15 – Left Emo's to start Transmission Events, a booking and promotions company 03:20 – How

Jason Greenspan, the founder and CEO of Whoosh!, a screen-cleaning product that’s on track to make over $5 million in sales this year. Listen as Jason and Nathan talk about creating a start-up with a physical product, what good margins look like, and how to convince people they have a problem. Famous 5 Favorite Book? – Purple Cow What CEO do you follow? — Kevin Plank What is your favorite online tool? — Pipedrive Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— Definitely not If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — To start a business then! It’s much easier before you have responsibilities. Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:20 – Nathan’s introduction 01:44 – Welcoming Jason to the show 01:54 – Whoosh! is a best-selling screen-cleaning spray and wipe 03:05 – Was on the Canadian version of Dragon’s Den 03:40 – Founded in 2009 03:50 – Pivoted in 2012 from making car-cleaning products 04:05 – Knocked a cleaning product onto his iPad by mistake 04:30 – Filled one-ounce bottles and handed them out at CES