Norman Crowley is a serial entrepreneur who founded and sold three companies for over $750 million before the age of 40 including Inspired Gaming Group – the world’s largest company in the server-based gaming domain and The Cloud – Europe’s largest WiFi operator. Today Norman is on mission to cool the planet (CoolPlanet) and he helps businesses such as Google, Johnson & Johnson and GE Healthcare lower their carbon emissions and energy use.  

He is also the founder of high-end electric car brand AVA. AVA creates the world’s ultimate electric cars, with the world’s greatest car designers, so you can have a great car and help the planet at the same time.   

Resources:

https://www.coolplanet.io/ - Check out CoolPlanet

https://www.studioava.com/ - Check out Ava Cars

Actionable Take-aways:

1. To find a real billion dollar idea, find one that can make an impact on 1 billion people.

2. Share your ideas as soon as you can and do not be afraid of people copying your idea. People are too busy to copy your idea and if you are successful, people will copy your idea anyway.

3. No matter who you are, your health and how you lead others will shape how far you can go with your business.

Daryl Gormley, the CEO of Aquamar Inc, the second largest Surimi producer in North America shares his passion for the food industry and how he is bringing Surimi to more consumers with innovation and sustainability. 

Resources:

https://www.aquamarseafood.com/ - Check out Aquamar’s offerings!

Actionable Take-aways:

1. The way you brand your product will have a big impact on how others view it. If it no longer serves you, work towards a rebrand that showcases your product in a better light.

2. Different consumers have different needs. Make sure you cater to their palettes to maximize chances for success.

3. The best innovation pays close attention to what are the problems that consumers face.

Daniel Nicholson, President and CEO of Nadamoo, shares Nadamoo’s journey spearheading the diary free ice cream movement in North America and how it took him 10 years before he eventually found success. 

Resources:

https://nadamoo.com/

Actionable Take-aways:

1. Success doesn’t come over night, like Daniel it can take up to 10 years. Focus on building your foundations so that you are ready for the explosive growth when it comes.

2. Understand who your core demographic of clients is and cater your message to them. You cannot cater to everyone and expect to resonate as strongly with them.

3. You don’t have to be a Founder to be a success entrepreneur.

Curtis Morley is a seasoned entrepreneur, educator, thought leader, patent holder, and innovator. He is the Founder and CEO of The Entrepreneur’s Paradox and is the author of the best selling book with the same name where he shares 16 pitfalls that companies make in their startup journey.

From fear and imposter syndrome, to ripping out one’s identity and draining the swamp, Curtis shares his stories and walks us through how to apply the principles in his book in this interview.

Resources:

https://www.EntrepreneursParadox.com – Check out Curtis’s work       

https://www.entrepreneursparadox.com/SuccessFormula – Check out the success formula Curtis discussed in the interview

https://www.amazon.com/Curtis-Morley/e/B08L8G6WFJ?ref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share – Grab a copy of The Entrepreneur’s Paradox.

Actionable Take-aways:

1. Fear and imposter syndrome are common problems that all entrepreneurs face. Release yourself from these limiting emotions and beliefs by understanding that no one can be an expert at something new.

2. If you are always spending time on “wrestling alligators” by working on the day to day problems in your business instead of working on growing your business, you will be the limiting factor in your business.

3. Goals that are not tangible are not goals, but mere hopes and dreams instead. Find out your goal and whether it is reasonable with the help of the  success formula (how much, by when, for what and why).

Jordan Bass, Co-Founder and CEO of Hop Wtr, shares how he set out to create a calorie-free beer-alternative that consumers can look forward to enjoying that still offered a functional benefit beyond what sparkling waters and non-alcoholic beers deliver today. As the previous head of Ecommerce of Fiji Water, Jordan shares how he leveraged Ecommerce and various partnerships to grow his brand to be in over 1,000 retail stores in less than 2 years.

On today’s business audio masterclass, Jordan shares the exact gap in the market he noticed and has filled with Hop Wtr, his process behind formulating and validating his new product and his best growth strategies.


https://hopwtr.com/ - Check out Hop Wtr.

 
Actionable Take-aways:

1. When conducting product surveys (especially with friends and family), avoid asking for feedback when you are directly in front of them to get more honest feedback (nobody likes to hurt your feelings!)

2. Creating digital assets early before your official product launch can not only allow you to start capturing the emails of customers who are interested and invested in your product, but can also help you fine tune your marketing and message for your official launch.

3. Running out of product is dangerous for any business. You may lose you customers and shelf space, and replacing any product on short notice will cost you more.

Kison Patel is the Founder and CEO of M&A Science and Dealroom, and is an M&A industry veteran having acted as an M&A advisor for ten years in which he sold larger companies such as commercial banks and hotel chains. Through developing technology, educational content, and industry training, Kison aims to bring better practices to an industry with growing market pressures, transaction values, and competition.

In today’s business audio masterclass, we cover tips on maximizing your M&A exit price and how this will differ depending on whether you are looking to make an exit in the short term or long term.

Resources:

https://www.dealroom.net/ - Check out Dealroom!

https://www.mascience.com/ - Check out M&A Science!

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kisonpatel/ - Connect with Kison on LinkedIn!

Actionable Take-aways:

1.  To maximize your sale price when you are looking to exit with a long term view, put yourself out there and start communicating with potential buyers to get an understanding on what a potential exit may look like and navigate it to get your best price. 

2. If you are looking to sell with a short view, run a competitive process with investment banks to and choose one that is most experienced for achieving exits for your companies in similar industries and deal sizes as yours. Auction bids can help to also increase the sale price.

3. Entrepreneurs tend to neglect the integration process that comes after a sale. Avoid this by asking questions and getting clarity at the start of the negotiation process to make sure that there is a good fit between you and the buyer, especially if you want to see your company being acquired by someone who you can trust to grow it.

Christina Lenkowski, the Founder of PublicityXChristina, is a podcast pitch pro who helps entrepreneurs get the visibility they need to build their businesses. With hundreds of successful placements and bookings, Christina shares the entire process that goes behind a successful podcast pitch. From choosing the right podcasts, to crafting the perfect pitch, Christina breaks down what are the important considerations that you need to be aware of to help the podcast host you are pitching to say yes.

Resources:

https://www.publicityxchristina.com/ - Check out Christina’s Podcast Booking Agency.

https://publicityxchristina.mykajabi.com/services - Check out Christina’s services.

https://www.instagram.com/publicityxchristina/ - Connect with Christina on Instagram.

Actionable Take-aways:

1. To find out which podcast shows to appear on, talk to your current audience and ask them who do they listen to. Reach out to these hosts and start building a relationship with them. 

2. Systematize your podcast pitch by preparing a template. The first paragraph of your pitch should be personalized to the host you are pitching to. Next provide a paragraph of credibility markers so people can recognize they can understand that you know what you are talking about. Next add 4 to 6 solid topic ideas that you can speak about that will resonate with listeners and this makes it easy for the host to say yes.

3. Don’t let imposter syndrome or the fear of public speaking hold you back from speaking on podcasts. Shift your mindset to have an attitude of gratitude and look to provide service instead of promotion.

Sara Raymond is a trained hypnotherapist, pilates, yoga, and meditation teacher. As Founder of The Mindful Movement, she has become an oasis for those looking to tap into their inner calm, develop a positive mindset and heal from the stress that’s blocking fulfillment. Sara has discovered that simply knowing what you want isn’t enough and has committed her life to helping others break free from the inner turmoil that is keeping them stuck.

In today’s business audio masterclass, we learn what it means to be mindful and why this is important for any entrepreneur, and how Sara utilized social media to build the Mindful Movement into a successful online business.

Resources:

https://www.youtube.com/c/TheMindfulMovement - Check out the Mindful Movement’s Youtube Channel which has over 600,000 subscribers!

https://www.instagram.com/themindfulmovementpodcast/ - Check out the Mindful Movement’s Instagram page!

https://www.facebook.com/themindfulmovementpodcast- Check out the Mindful Movement’s Facebook page!

Actionable Take-aways:

1. Being mindful means become aware of what your mind is thinking and what your body is feeling and connecting them. Connecting your mind and body will give you clarity in your thoughts to help you make better decisions.

2. One easy technique you can incorporate is intentional breathing. Take 30 to 60 seconds of slow and deep breathes when you are in a stressful situation before you react.

3. Anyone can grow on social media, but the best way to do so is to be consistent on one single platform before diversifying.