Startup Life Show With Ande Lyons

Ok Founders, time to put on your smarty pants hats and sharpen your pencils because our guest, Troy Wendt, is going to raise your founder game exponentially!Troy has been a growth consultant since 2010, and is passionate about predictive modeling that drives revenue growth. His work includes business modeling, metrics, pricing strategy, process development, dataset design, and cross-functional revenue growth optimization.Prior to founding Bell Rock Consulting, Troy led product management, sales operations and growth at Aruba Networks from $6M to $100M+ in revenue and IPO. In 2016, Aruba was acquired by HP for $2.7B.He previously managed Cisco’s largest product line during hypergrowth as product family revenues grew from $500M to $3B annually in 3 years. Troy has also worked in corporate marketing at Intel, and designed information systems at Accenture.You'll want to take notes because Troy drives us deep into pricing concepts using "back of the napkin, bottoms up" tactics to identify an Avera

A problem shared is a problem halved.Our Guest, David Greer, is an entrepreneurial coach, professional speaker and author of Wind In Your Sails: Vital Strategies That Accelerate Your Entrepreneurial Growth.One of David’s core skill sets is helping folks build resiliency, especially during extremely difficult situations like the one we’re in now with COVID19. He's also a sailor and understands how to weather challenging storms!He was the first employee of Robelle Solutions Technology where he became a co-owner and President. After successfully exiting Robelle, David has been an angel investor, director, and senior executive, always working 1-on-1 with entrepreneurs to define strategy, increase the value of the company in their markets, and defining formalized processes to drive outcomes.Today, David works directly with entrepreneurs to coach them to their next level of success or with entrepreneurs and their senior management teams to create high growth strategic results.David shares excellent advice to h

In 2018, our guest, Tara Williams tried to find a weighted blanket her six-month-old son could safely wear to help soothe him and extend his one hour sleep windows. Shocked there was nothing available for this age group, she decided to create her own blanket, and the idea for Dreamland Baby was born. In 2019, Tara launched a successful Kickstarter, and a few months later launched an e-commerce store. Prior to Dreamland Baby, Tara spent 10+ years in the medical device industry in business development, and held marketing and sales positions at several startups. Tara graduated from Bentley University with a bachelor's degree in finance in 2009 and she now resides with her husband and FOUR children in Danville, California.Tara takes us step-by-step through her bootstrapped journey to launch her eCommerce business, sharing outstanding tips and advice for anyone considering this business model.To learn more about Dreamland Baby, please click here: https://dreamlandbabyco.com/Follow Dreamland Baby via:Instagram

"You have to be able to weather the startup storms, and nothing's going to do that for you unless you have the passion for the solution that you're providing... and a passion for what you're working on."Our guest, Andrew Lee Miller, also known as Andrew Startups, has spent over 15-years growing early-stage startups including 5 years in Dubai and 5 years in San Francisco. Since his third exit as Head of Marketing, he’s launched and grown tech projects in over 15 countries, driving traction for over $22,000,000 in funding rounds as a consultant via his company, GrowthExpertz. WOWZA!Andrew has also lectured in over a dozen countries about low-budget growth hacking strategies, he’s worked with both 500 startups and YCombinator projects, and he’s written for StartupGrind, StartupNation and INC magazine.You are going to learn so much from this extraordinary startup marketing man - and he is offering Startup Life Show listeners these awe*mazing discounts on his growth hacking services:1) Her

Our guest, Ben Jen, is a serial entrepreneur and investor who is actively involved in the Boston & New York City communities, and has been involved in numerous startups in the capacity of a co-founder, founder, executive, strategist, investor, and mentor. He is also a mentor and adviser for youth entrepreneurship startups and individuals, and he serves on the Board of Directors of several Boston-area nonprofit organizations. Ben shares terrific advice on what you DON'T want to do when pitching to Angel Investors, along with some tips to help you have a more successful experience when raising capital.Please visit https://www.benjenholdings.com to learn more about Ben Jen Holdings, and please connect with Ben via:Instagram: https://instagram.com/benjenholdingsLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/benjenonlineTwitter: https://twitter.com/bjen07921If you’d like to receive an alert whenever I post a new episode, please follow the Startup Life Show wherever you listen to podcasts, including: Stitcher, Spotify

"We teach you what school is NOT teaching you to become future ready."Founders - get ready for a delicious ride with our guest, live streaming host and EduPreneur Dr. Ai Addyson-Zhang! Dr. Ai is the founder of Classroom Without Walls, an independent and progressive school to help young adults become future ready. As an Adobe Education Leader, Dr. Ai is passionate about incorporating social media and creative technologies to enhance student learning and to acquire skills that help them become ready to soar in life. Dr. Ai hosts two weekly live streaming shows, where she interviews thought leaders in social media and education such as Seth Godin, Mark Schaefer, and Neil Patel. She's also a HubSpot Academy instructor, and frequently speaks at academic and industry conferences around the world.She received her Masters and Ph.D. in Communication from Syracuse University and the University of Maryland, and you will love hearing her "side-hustle to full time business owner" startup story!&q

"Make sure you solve a real problem and you have a real solution."Heini Zachariessen is the founder and CEO of Vivino , the world's largest online wine marketplace, powered by a community of millions of wine drinkers who use the Vivino app to scan and rate more than 2 million wines every single day. During his tenure, Vivino has grown into a community of 42 million users, raised $66 million in funding and rolled out a worldwide wine marketplace. Let’s take a moment to check out these stats: The Vivino app has over 52 million reviews, 151 million ratings, and 42 million users! YOWZA!Prior to starting Vivino, Heini co-founded several startups, including global internet and mobile security company BullGuard. Heini leads the team from Vivino headquarters in San Francisco, where he resides with his wife and three children.I discovered Heini from his popular YouTube series called Raw Startup – where he shares the BEST advice for all founders.To learn more about Vivino and download the app, please vis

"Raising money is hard. And one of the most important things investors look for is passion. That passion has to come from you as the entrepreneur. Nobody can raise capital for you except for you. You are the best at selling your own equity."Our guest, Jason Frishman is the founder and CEO of Netcapital, an equity crowdfunding platform enabling friends, family, and customers to invest in startups without being an accredited investor. Jason founded Netcapital to reduce the systemic inefficiencies he saw in the way early stage companies access capital. In his role at Netcapital, Jason has been mentoring, advising, and investing in early stage companies to help them raise their first round of capital.Here’s an interesting fact about Jason: he has a background in the life sciences, where he conducted research in medical oncology at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and cognitive neuroscience at the University of Miami, where he graduated summa cum laude with a B.S. in Neuroscience.How Jason transitioned f

"Anyone launching a business should already have their dream team: their attorney, their accountant, their business insurance provider, and their banker."Sankeetha Selvarajah is the Principal Shareholder and Managing Attorney of Selvarajah Law P.C., a Boston law firm focusing on general business law and mergers & acquisitions. She is also the Founder of Bizto.Co, a business educational platform designed to assist small businesses and startup founders with short and long-term strategic planning through subject-specific seminars, and corporate coaching. Sankeetha is a favorite friend and mentor of the Boston startup community, and you can find her sharing her brilliance at many of the local startup venues, including the one I co-host every month, Founders Live Boston.You'll hear Sankeetha share valuable business advice for new business owners to help them create a sustainable, profitable business, along with explanations of typical legal documentation, including:* Entity decision: DBA/LLC/Sub

"We're a family business. We have three kids - a teenager, middle schooler and a kindergartner - we're all involved, and we're all learning."Our guest, Dawn Cordeiro, is the Co-Owner of Holyoke Hummus Company, a cafe, an award-winning food truck and a catering company based in Western Massachusetts serving falafel, hummus and other Middle Eastern treats. Dawn is also the Founder of DMC Consulting where she helps small businesses run successful crowdfunding campaigns and digital marketing strategies. Dawn has been highlighted at local Facebook and Google summits for her successful branding and storytelling, and she feels strongly that everyone should have access to this knowledge!Dawn dives deep into digital marketing strategies for newbie founders and small businesses, sharing:* Crowdfunding tactics* the BEST pricing beta test* small business growth strategies* digital brand stories* testimonial content postsPlease connect with Dawn on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dawn-cordei

Our guest, Edwin Alvarez, has 14 years’ experience working within the finance industry in roles ranging from internal operations, external client facing sales, and procurement. Three years ago Edwin became co-founder and CFO of CathWear, a cutting edge medical device accessory and garment producer, providing a comfortable experience for folks who need catheters. He’s been instrumental in working with CathWear’s original inventors to guide CathWear from patented idea, to developing its business model, to successfully securing equity and debt funding for the company. None of the co-founders has any prior experience in medical device or apparel product development, and they all work full time and have families! Edwin shares insights and advice they have learned through launching and building their medical device and apparel company, including:* managing a 9-5 job, family and a startup* sourcing manufacturing* smart money strategies* how to leverage supplier diversity programsBeing able to serve society for a g

"I care so much about what I'm putting in my body and all these other factors of wellness, but I never considered what's in the beauty products I'm using every day."Our guest, Krysta Lewis, is the CEO and founder of Aisling Organics, a revolutionary high-performance organic makeup brand. With a focus on both purpose and profit, Krysta was originally inspired to launch Aisling Organics when realizing the unregulated chemicals in our cosmetics were causing chronic illness and there were no effective alternatives on the market. In short order, she led a team of dedicated, industry experts to develop and successfully launch Aisling Organics.Within two years of launch, Krysta has grown a successful e-commerce start-up and landed extensive distribution to earn her the recognition of one of Entrepreneur Magazine’s Most Influential Entrepreneurs of 2018 and Young Entrepreneurs of the year.I first met Krysta when she was in the Babson Women in Innovation Lab here in Boston, and have been in aw

"Then it just hit me - did this really happen? Am I able to teach a machine to diagnose individuals? If that's a possibility, what else can I do in this space? And I thought, I'm going to use this technology to enable every individual to receive world-class healthcare no matter where you are in the world. That really became the central point of my mission with Vastmindz."After graduating with a mathematics degree, our guest, Nik Sehgal, joined Wall Street, spending most of his time working within algorithmic trading teams where he developed his passion for algorithmic science and artificial intelligence. He worked at Nomura and then joined Cowen & Company, a US based investment bank, where he was eventually made one of the youngest directors at the tender age of 25 and given the responsibility of managing an entire regional division. Despite his progression on Wall Street, Nik always had a passion for applying AI for social good and therefore decided to leave Wall Street to start his o

Our guest David Lowe had a sensational successful outcome with his first startup Uberpong, a company providing custom made ping pong paddles, where he partnered with major clients like the LA Dodgers, Nike and Red Bull before successfully leading the company to an exit. Now David is working on his second startup: Qwerky, a micro co-living brand that attracts like minded people to live together in co-living communities. In his recently-launched book 'Blow It Up: 21 Ways Your Startup Can Shake Up An Industry and Change The World' David looks at the entire life cycle of a startup from pre-launch to sale."If you are too proud to pick up the phone or email people, contact people for advice and actually get out there and go to networking events and ask for help, you're never going to succeed." During our delicious conversation, David shares:•His successful kickstarter campaign•How to ask for help•The best time to exit/sell your business•Why co-living is the next shared economy movement•How

Our guest, Walt Brown, believes that, like a waterwheel, a good organizational operating system captures the source of an organization’s energy and direction, and then focuses that energy to power the organization.Walt is very familiar with launching businesses – in fact, he is seven for seven – woo hoo!During the last decade, Walt has helped transform the culture of more than 150 organizations across the country as an Implementer of the Entrepreneurial Operating System®. This process helps you, the business owner get everyone in the organization 100% on the same page with where you’re going, and how you plan to get there.Walt shares:* his entrepreneurship origin story - he comes from generations of entrepreneurs!* how to navigate a business's first 3 years using the Entrepreneurial Operating System* how to create the best culture for your business* best practices for hiring the right talent for your business - especially when you can't pay market rate salaries* a deep understanding of how to manage

"The difference between success and failure is your perspective." Even with great ideas and passion, it's difficult to navigate the murky waters of entrepreneurship. Our guest, Michael Dermer, is an entrepreneur, lawyer, speaker, coach, author, and founder of The Lonely Entrepreneur – a one stop shop that understands the entrepreneur’s struggle and provides solutions to the business and personal issues we all face as entrepreneurs.Michael founded his first company, Incent One, in 1998. It was a pioneer in the health rewards industry, and Michael survived the harrowing experience of watching the company he built from the ground up almost get destroyed overnight by the financial crisis of 2008. Fortunately, there’s a happy ending to this startup story - Michael sold IncentOne in 2013. Whew and Woo Hoo!Today, Michael’s mission is to help unlock the potential of entrepreneurs worldwide by turning their passion into success through The Lonely Entrepreneur Learning Community. Click the play button t

As a startup, you need your target customers to find your business online. One of the top tactics you can use is search engine optimization (SEO), but it’s highly unlikely your customers are going to be searching for your brand name. That’s why having a strong SEO strategy in place the day you launch is so important for early-stage startups. While it’s a long tail game (at least 12 months!), it will more effectively and cost-efficiently promote your products or services to your target audience.Growing up in a lower-middle class family as the oldest of seven, and after spending seven years on-air in radio in Salt Lake City, Utah, our guest Damon Burton founded an internationally successful search engine optimization agency in 2007 called SEO National. I’m thinking seven is Damon’s lucky number!A husband and father of 3 kids, Damon has been featured on Forbes, Entrepreneur, BuzzFeed, USA Weekly, he’s spoken at conferences, and has optimized websites for INC5000 companies, NBA teams, and businesses featured on S

It was not Bobbie Carlton's plan to launch a business. But it was the Great Recession. There were no jobs, and she was the primary revenue generator for her family. It was an "unexpected" decision to launch her PR and Marketing firm in 2008, followed by Innovation Nights in 2009, and she's never looked back!Bobbie is a Greater Boston startup community favorite! She is the founder of Carlton PR & Marketing, a boutique integrated marketing agency focused on efficiently delivering marketing results for startups and small companies. She’s also the co-founder of Innovation Women, an online speaker bureau for entrepreneurial, innovative and technical women. With more than 4500 members on the platform, Innovation Women makes dozens of connections every month, and it helps event organizers avoid the embarrassing all male, all pale, all stale panels. Bobbie is also the founder and host of the BEST monthly startup event in Greater Boston called Innovation Nights. It’s a free monthly product lau

Would you like to leverage proximity marketing and mass personalization strategies for your startup product/service? And learn how to build a startup team where everyone embraces and respects each other’s styles and talent, while bringing a mission and vision to life?Our guest, Dean Hantzis, founder of Tapple, shares his best marketing practices and how he uses Ubuntu to create synergy and cohesion with his startup teams.Dean has over 18 years of web, mobile and cloud development experience. Having held leadership positions including CTO at three start-ups reaching public exits, Dean is primed for a fourth startup success with his latest endeavor: Tapple - the first real-world conversion platform built to drive higher engagement through instant access to mobile experiences.You’ll feel like a member of the Tapple Team as Dean takes you on delicious journey from his initial ah-ha moment for Tapple, and into the conception, implementation, and monetization of this dynamic startup. His insights include:•Proximity

How do you transition an online dating site for foodies into a consumable products brand? Our guest, Luvafoodie.com founder Michelle Mazzara, shares her spicy startup story! In 2014, Michelle decided to follow her dream and launched Luvafoodie.com, a brand for single foodie folks to meet.While Michelle had strong marketing and branding skills from her 20+ year career in product marketing, she was definitely challenged to figure out how to build a website and create an online community.As many founders experience, once Michelle launched luvafoodie, she saw opportunities to include consumable brands and began adding products to her marketing strategy. She quickly realized sharing products and brands was more in alignment with her core skills, and so she shifted the website from a dating website to a social website for all people who want to share in their love and passion for food and beverage. In 2016 Michelle was diagnosed with heart disease and due to complications from surgery, she suffered a heart attack.