Kevin Siskar 7/28/17 Kevin Siskar 7/28/17

Andrew Weinrich Is Predicting Our Future

On this episode Andrew Weinrich sits down with us at his offices in Brooklyn New York. Andrew is the founder of Andrews Roadmaps and the host of the new "Predicting Our Future" podcast.

As a serial entrepreneur, Andrew created the first ever social network called, Six Degrees. At its height, SixDegrees had around 3,500,000 fully registered members before being bought by YouthStream Media Networks in 1999 for $125 million. In more recent years, Andrew has sold 2 more businesses including Xtify and Meet-Moi. He is currently the co-founder and Chairman of Indicative, a data analytics startup. He also hosts Predicting Our Future, a podcast about the next revolutions in technology. Andrew shares many incredible lessons from his experience over the last 20 years, such as:

How the first social network, Six Degrees, was created
What it was like to exit a company for over $100 million
How Social Networking has changed over the last 20 years
The future of Social Media
What ties all of Andrew's companies together
How to ride the "wave" of new technologies as they emerge
How he is Predicting Our Future

Ambition Today Question of the Day™:
"What advice do you have for people who are obsessing over getting rich and making a large amount of money to solve all of their problems?

Quote Of The Episode:
"You want to be a critical thinker. Investors assume first and foremost, that whatever plan you have is wrong. That whatever you launch won't be right, it will require pivoting. The question is are you someone who is capable of pivoting? If you're a critical thinker, you will be capable of pivoting."

"Entrepreneurs take advantage of moments in history. They are not determinative of those moments."

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Thank you so much for listening and applying these useful tips and strategies to your life! If you have a chance, please drop by and leave a review for the show on iTunes by clicking here. Also, who should I interview next? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments. Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review in the comments below. It keeps me going…

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Kevin Siskar 6/1/17 Kevin Siskar 6/1/17

Dennis Mortensen Is Hyper Focused On The Future Of Artificial Intelligence With X.ai

From the brand new Fulton Center in downtown Manhattan we bring you Dennis Mortensen. He is founder and CEO at X.ai, an artificial intelligence driven personal assistant named Amy who schedules meetings for you.

Growing up in a family of entrepreneurs in Denmark, Dennis initially strove to be a game engineer at IBM. He soon failed to resist the call to entrepreneurship though as he started and sold three of his first four companies. Dennis is now changing the way people interact with artificial intelligence by pioneering it's future. After raising $30+ million and growing the team to 93 people, he is hyper focused on building X.ai to rescue people's time. It is clear that focus is something he excels at from some of the unique lessons he shared:

Growing up in Denmark in a family of entrepreneurs
Difference between being a serial entrepreneur and a first time founder
The impact immigrants can have creating jobs in the United States
Importance of doing one thing really well
Keeping a clear mind is one of the keys to success
Why this wave of artificial intelligence is different from any before it
Where the future of Artificial Intelligence is going

Ambition Today Question of the Day™:
"As a serial entrepreneur how do you manage your life and prevent burnout?"

Quote Of The Episode:
"I take pride in the mental freedom Inbox Zero provides me every day. You can start to think again, and really good ideas come with that"

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Kevin Siskar 12/20/16 Kevin Siskar 12/20/16

Joe Fairless' Journey From Madison Avenue To An $85 Million Real Estate Portfolio

Ambition Today Kevin Siskar Joe Fairless

In keeping with last weeks' real estate theme, Episode 25 of Ambition Today finds us across the table from Joe Fairless, Real Estate Investor and Host of the Best Real Estate Investing Advice Ever Show. Joe set his roots in advertising after a bit of soul-searching during his undergrad years at Texas Tech. Fighting complacency, he left Madison Ave. for the allure of real estate investing and entrepreneurship, and was met with incredible success, with due credit to his persistence and work ethic.

Owing his early sense of drive to his start in landscaping, Joe Fairless has always had an entrepreneurial mindset. After leaving his teenage lawn-mowing business, J&J Landscaping, Joe tried to cling to his high school football career by attending a junior college near his home town of Dallas. After transferring, he went on to graduate with a degree in advertising and quickly rose through the ranks of executive marketing, while investing in real estate as a side project and finding passion in that venture. Joe applied his trademark tenacity to his newfound love of investing and now controls approximately $85 million worth of rental property. Kevin digs into the factors behind Joe's success, and much more:

The seemingly hidden on-ramp of landscaping as a teenage job to eventually invest in real estate.
Exploring passions during college to find what interests you.
Applying lessons from the corporate world to an entrepreneurial startup.
Leaving a comfortable job to pursue your real dreams.
How to break into the shark-infested waters of commercial real estate.
The 75/25 rule of listening/asking when approaching mentors.
Acknowledging your strengths.
Acknowledging your weaknesses and surrounding yourself with people who help make up for them.
The grit of making your ambition come to life.

Ambition Today Question of the Day™:
"As a thought leader, how does ambition play a role in your life?"

Quote Of The Episode:
"Don't get caught up trying to be everywhere at once, find the platform that makes sense for your skill sets and what you enjoy doing. Then own it." - Joe Fairless

“Be different before being incrementally better.” - Joe Fairless

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Kevin Siskar 12/9/16 Kevin Siskar 12/9/16

How Matt Rodak Plans To Fund Every House Flip In America with Fund That Flip

Any amount of research into the seemingly eternal-growing market of real estate investment will almost surely make one familiar with Matt Rodak, Founder and CEO of Fund That Flip.

Any amount of research into the seemingly eternal-growing market of real estate investment will almost surely make one familiar with Matt Rodak. The 2007 John Carroll grad is the founder and CEO of Fund That Flip, a company which allows anyone to apply for fast and affordable funding in the rehabilitative real estate investment business. The New York based startup had already raised $2 million by April 2016, shortly after graduating from Manhattan's Entrepreneur Roundtable Accelerator in the summer of 2015 and Founder Institute New York prior to that. Fund That Flip finds its niche by bridging the gap between accredited investors and vetted real estate rehab projects in the U.S.

On this episode of Ambition Today, Matt Rodak discusses his seemingly inevitable entrepreneurial roots (despite his "best efforts") as the son of a business owner. He explains how his relationship with his father, and him owning his own company before and during college, led to Matt's on-again, off-again kinship with business ownership. Today, Matt capitalizes on the experiences of his youth by taking action to solve the problems he notices in his industry, such as streamlining the loan application process for prospective "flippers". We hear about his journey to where he is, his advice on how to get there, and much more:

Maturing in an entrepreneurial-spirited family.
Paying for college by advancing a teenage lawn-mowing gig to a profitable business that he was able to sell during his sophomore year at JCU.
Being introduced to the real estate market through his early exposure to landscaping.
What to study in college vs. what to leave to education via real-world experience.
Bringing an entrepreneurial spirit to a non-entrepreneurial position at a large business.
Using lessons from upper management to implement starting a business.
Creating a business to streamline and eliminate the fallacies of market norms.
Employing the JOBS Act to capitalize on a brand-new industry.
Ownership vs. Accountability in life.

Ambition Today Question of the Day™:
"How do you align the ambitions of your team with the ambitions of the company?"

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Kevin Siskar 11/9/16 Kevin Siskar 11/9/16

Lessons Howard Love Learned While Sitting On Both Sides Of The Table

Over the last 30 years Howard Love has founded 15 companies and invested in over 50 early stage startups. His new book "The Startup J Curve" organizes his experience into the 6 phases startups go through as they grow. Howard also is the Founder & CEO of LoveToKnow, a digital publishing firm with over 30 million monthly visitors.

With coal magnates and aviators as his ancestors, entrepreneurship has been in Howard's bloodline for generations. In this episode, Kevin speaks to Howard about what he has learned from sitting on both sides of the table, both as a founder and an investor. We also discuss the 6 phases all startups go through according to Howard's new book The Startup J Curve. We also hear about the value of getting a formal education versus learning directly from the real world and much more:

Growing up in a family that encourages and breeds entrepreneurial spirit.
Dropping out of college to get real world experience.
Being resourceful in the startup space.
The grit it takes to get your company off the ground.
The knowledge and insight gained from writing a book.
Advancing the dialogue of startup culture through understanding of the J-curve.
The phases of a company: create, release, morph, model, scale, and harvest.

Ambition Today Question of the Day™:

"When you think about the younger version of yourself, how do you reconcile where you are now, and where you thought you would be?"

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Kevin Siskar 10/23/16 Kevin Siskar 10/23/16

Kelly Roach, From NFL Cheerleader To Million Dollar Brand

Kelly Roach is the founder of Kelly Roach Coaching and host of the Unstoppable Success Radio podcast. With a resume of NFL cheerleader, fitness enthusiast, and mother, Kelly doesn’t exactly fit the usual business coach profile. In Episode 22 of Ambition Today Kelly gives us some great insight into how she leverages her unique experience to grow her businesses, how she published an internationally bestselling book, and why she started the Unstoppable Success Radio podcast.

Growing up in a financially struggling family, Kelly learned the value of hard work at a very early age while working for the NFL before she was 20. With an unparalleled work ethic she quickly climbed the ladder of success in Corporate America. Soon after she then realized her passion for aiding others in pursuit of their dreams. We cover how Kelly now does just that and more on this episode of Ambition Today:

Going out and working for what you want at an early age.
Applying her degree in Communications to create productive interactions in the business environment.
The importance of travel in shaping a healthy lifestyle mentality.
Lessons learned from holding multiple positions on an NFL team.
Appreciating the value of lesser jobs to build knowledge before having your dream job.
The inherent ebb and flow of startups.
Lifestyle building via business development.
Why building a personal brand is so important now.
Publishing her bestselling book & starting a podcast.
The necessity of human contact in growing your business.

Ambition Today Question of the Day™:

"What does Ambition mean to you and how do you satisfy your personal ambition each day?"

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Kevin Siskar 10/18/16 Kevin Siskar 10/18/16

Pioneering The Social Media Frontier With Jonathan Abrams, Founder & CEO of Nuzzel

The godfather of social media, Jonathan Abrams, joins us on this episode of Ambition Today. He is now the founder & CEO of Nuzzel, a new platform to discover the top news from your friends and influencers. Letting users cut through the muddle of content on social media to emphasize only their most relevant content. Previously, Jonathan has founded several other companies; Socializr, HotLinks, Founder's Den and most notably Friendster. He is also a top-rated mentor at The Founder Institute and has been extensively involved in the Silicon Valley entrepreneurial community for over ten years.

After growing up in Canada and working for Nortel he became an employee at Netscape during it's prime. Abrams went on to found Friendster in 2002 before the wider adoption of, at the time newcomers; MySpace (2003), Hi5 (2003), Facebook (2004) and other social networking sites. Friendster was one of the first of these sites to attain over 1 million members. In 2012, Abrams recognized a fallacy in the market of social news readers, when the programs of the time weren’t what he was looking for: fast, easy-to-use, and social. Today Jonathan talks about his solution to this problem with his new company Nuzzel, his appearance on Chelsea on Netflix, and much more:

Navigating the seemingly minuscule Canadian computer science marketplace.
Being a first-time entrepreneur during the dot-com boom and bust.
How Friendster competed with Facebook in the developing market of social media.
Using social curation to launch Nuzzel.
Trying to reach a wide audience with relevant information.
The future of Nuzzel.
Why e-mail remains king in the world of social media.
Surviving in Silicon Valley by not getting ahead of yourself.
The future of the social landscape.

Ambition Today Question of the Day™:

"What does Ambition mean to you and how do you satisfy your personal ambition each day?"

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Kevin Siskar 10/12/16 Kevin Siskar 10/12/16

Jesse Middleton Talks Building WeWork Labs And Investing With Flybridge Capital

Over the years WeWork has grown to become an $16 billion empire of co-working office spaces that are disrupting the traditional real estate markets all over the world. Our guest today, Jesse Middleton, joined the team as the founder of WeWork Labs, the company’s startup focused community. Since then he has helped the company grow into the giant it is today. Recently he has just joined the venture capital firm Flybridge as a General Partner.

Over the years WeWork has grown to become a $16 billion empire of co-working office spaces that are disrupting the traditional real estate markets all over the world. Our guest today, Jesse Middleton, joined the team as the founder of WeWork Labs, the company’s startup focused community. Since then he has helped the company grow into the giant it is today. Recently he has just joined the venture capital firm Flybridge as a General Partner.

Early on with entrepreneurial parents, Jesse learned that he did not have to take the traditional path in life and that he could forge his own future. He started to do just that, as he founded his first company before even going to college. Fast forward to Fast Company magazine once comparing Jesse to Jack Dorsey, then onto his time building WeWork Labs, and now his time as a VC at Flybridge. Jesse has a great story full of many lessons, such as:

Recognizing at an early age the ability to create your own path in life.
The importance of keeping a clear focus at the early stages of a new company.
How Jesse founded WeWork Labs.
Just get started and go.
The lessons from actively helping grow a $16 billion company.
Why long term vision is so important for the founders of companies.
What is next for WeWork Labs.
The intersection of community building and being an investor.
The future of Venture Capital.

Ambition Today Question of the Day™:

“What does Ambition mean to you and how has it driven you?”

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Kevin Siskar 8/16/16 Kevin Siskar 8/16/16

Paul Polizzotto Transforms Advertising Into Real World Positive Social Change With CBS EcoMedia

Serial Social Entrepreneur Paul Polizzotto, who is one of the most passionate and dedicated entrepreneurs I know, joins us for episode 19. Paul is the founder and CEO of CBS EcoMedia, which harnesses the power of advertising and transforms it into a powerful engine for positive social change.

*Paul Polizzotto (Eric J. Smith / CBS EcoMedia)*

From the CBS EcoMedia office’s in New York City, Serial Social Entrepreneur Paul Polizzotto, who is one of the most passionate and dedicated entrepreneurs I know, joins us for episode 19. Paul is the founder and CEO of CBS EcoMedia, which harnesses the power of advertising and transforms it into a powerful engine for positive social change.

Paul’s personal philosophy and actions around social entrepreneurship over his lifetime have created an incredible story thus far. His journey started in California when he was younger and used to surf the then polluted waters of Santa Monica Bay. Paul noticed that the existing companies in the contract cleaning industry were improperly discharging contaminated water into the storm drains, which then drained into the bay that his friends and him surfed in. His first company Property Prep helped to improve those conditions through a solution that properly disposed of the contaminated water. He now works to improve the world through his most recent company CBS EcoMedia, which was acquired by CBS and funds the most effective non profit companies that are taking on the most urgent social issues of our time. In this episode we also discuss:

Seeing opportunity around you in the world everyday.
How surfing and risk taking has influenced Paul as an entrepreneur.
What happens at the intersection of art and engineering.
Difference between working hard FOR an idea and working hard ON an idea.
How to be receptive to the right ideas in your life.
Paul’s 4 criteria for knowing if an idea is worthwhile to pursue.
How Paul created the national Adopt-A-Waterway Program in the United States.
Using existing business models to transform other industries.
The partnership with CBS that led to EcoMedia being acquired.
If you get exactly what you want, will you have the courage to follow through with it to meet your goals.

Ambition Today Question of the Day™:

How should a person take an idea they have and navigate it into reality?

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Kevin Siskar 5/10/16 Kevin Siskar 5/10/16

Patrick McGinnis Tells You How To Be A 10% Entrepreneur And How He Coined The Meme F.O.M.O.

You are not going to want to miss out on this episode! Patrick McGinnis, Author of the 10% Entrepreneur joins Ambition Today for episode fifteen. We talk about the unique ways in which people can engage in entrepreneurship on the side, how to travel the world, and how Patrick coined the term F.O.M.O. (Fear of Missing Out) on the internet. Patrick went from growing up in the small blue collar town of Sanford in Maine to visiting over 70 countries, investing in several companies with AIG Capital, co-founding his company Real Influence, and now publishing his book.

Leaving Maine, Patrick went to Georgetown for International Economics which eventually lead to an entire year being paid for to live in Argentina. After his time abroad he came back to work in Latin American investment banking on Wall Street in New York City. When his position was dissolved he then re-evaluated his role in finance and went on to Harvard Business School before joining AIG Capital. At AIG Capital Patrick focused on investing in early stage startup companies. He later founded, Real Influence, a company which enabled branded video partnerships for early Youtube stars. That experience taught Patrick the lessons he shares now in the 10% Entrepreneur. From Patrick’s life we also explore:

Overcoming the local hometown mentality when leaving your hometown.
The value of traveling the world and living abroad.
What to do when you find yourself in a life threatening situation.
How Patrick went from Wall Street analyst to Venture Capitalist.
The impact being at AIG during the 2008 financial crisis had on Patrick’s life.
What stress can do to the body long term when you let it build up.
Overcoming Turrets syndrome and what other people think.
Making the leap from investor to founder.
Selling something for the first time.
What does it mean to be a 10% Entrepreneur.
How partnering with people can expand yourself outside your comfort zone.
How do you get a book deal.
Coining the word term F.O.M.O. (Fear of Missing Out) on the internet.
Learning resilience at an early age.

Ambition Today Question of the Day:

What was the gold standard “norm of jobs” when you were growing up that your friends and family accepted as a good job to have, but you didn’t?

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Kevin Siskar 3/30/16 Kevin Siskar 3/30/16

Ambition Today: Adam Besvinick Teaches The Art of Hustle and How To Break Into Your Dream Role

Venture Capitalist Adam Besvinick explains the value of pure hustle in pursuing his dreams of breaking into the Startup and Venture Capital industry. Recently named to the Forbes 30 Under 30, Adam has invested in several startup companies as Principal at Deep Fork Capital.

Adam Besvinick, Principal VENTURE CAPITALIST aT Deep Fork Capital

In episode 14 we explore where Adam came from and how that connects to where he is now. Adam started blogging on VentureMinded.Me years ago and created his own track record through taking ownership of his brand. He has always strived to be continually helpful and add value to others. Through that hustle he previously worked his way into a role at Lowercase Capital to learn from Chris Sacca. Afterword Adam was one of the early employees at Gumroad while going to Harvard Business School. Now Adam is Principal at Deep Fork Capital and has invested in several companies across the country, with a focus on New York City and Silicon Valley. We go over what he looks for in great startups, how he used self-marketing to break into venture capital, and also cover:

The influences of growing up around entrepreneurship.
The value of experiencing life abroad.
How to demonstrate your expertise in a given field.
Why self-marketing is important.
How Twitter can create real world connections.
How constantly being helpful to others, leads to opportunity.
His experience at Duke and Harvard.
The differences between Silicon Valley and New York City.
How being an Investor in New York City is beneficial.
What Adam looks for in startups today.
Exploring some of the Deep Fork Capital portfolio companies.

Ambition Today Question of the Day:

How important is networking?

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Kevin Siskar 3/16/16 Kevin Siskar 3/16/16

Ambition Today Is Now On Product Hunt

Ambition Today is on Product Hunt today! The latest episode of Ambition Today #13 is being featured on the podcast section of the website. Thanks to the incredible support of you and other listeners of the show we can make sure Ambition Today rises to the top as the best podcast of the day. If you have a moment visit Episode thirteens page on Product Hunt here. Take a listen if you haven't already and if you like the episode please support it with a simple up-vote. This is a great episode with Alex Konrad of Forbes joining the show.

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Product Hunt is a curation of the best new products, every day. Letting you discover the latest mobile apps, websites, and technology products that everyone's talking about. To check out all the episodes of Ambition Today that are on Product Hunt there is a collection to make it very simple. You can check out the collection here. Thank you again for your constant support of Ambition Today.

Kevin Siskar 2/2/16 Kevin Siskar 2/2/16

Tim Ferriss And Daymond John On The Power Of Being Broke

Every once in awhile I hear an episode of a show that is so good I feel compelled to share it. That happened last night when I listened to Daymond John of FUBU and Shark Tank interview Tim Ferriss on how to turn weaknesses into strengths. Daymond turned the tables on this episode of The Tim Ferriss Show and interviewed Tim about the power of being broke.

I listen to a lot of podcasts. Every once in awhile I hear an episode of a show that is so good I feel compelled to share it. That happened last night when I listened to Daymond John of FUBU and Shark Tank interview Tim Ferriss on how to turn weaknesses into strengths. Daymond turned the tables on this episode of The Tim Ferriss Show and interviewed Tim about the power of being broke. How to capitalize on a lack of resources and turn that into success.

The power of being broke forces people to be scrappy, which could possibly be the best single word to describe the best entrepreneurs. Some nuggets of wisdom to absorb from this episode include:

Using empathy to attract mentors.
How Tim overcame 27 rejections on his first book before getting his book deal for 4 Hour Workweek.
Making sure you don't over burden potential mentors.
Who makes the best business partners.
How to separate yourself from the crowd.
Why you should be nice to EVERYONE.
Don't be afraid to admit what you don't know.
Importance of putting yourself close to the action.
Always keep your sleeves rolled up.
Maintaining your Time, Health and Nutrition.

Listen To Tim Ferriss And Daymond John