"Our company mission is to help people experience the joy of food" - Scott Porter What comes to mind when you think about customer service? Do you think about United Airlines and the infamous passenger escort? Do you remember that restaurant server who rolled her eyes when you asked for gluten-free? Or do you think about that grocery store clerk wh…

Throughout this season of SalesFounders we have covered a number of themes that seem to exemplify winning startups: Leveraging domain expertise, validated learning, mentorship, and strategic sales growth. Josh Ellars, founder of Patri, exemplifies all of them. In fact, his startup story is a case-study in how each of these components blend together…

Most entrepreneurs acknowledge the importance of customer validation. Few, however, are as curious or relentless in the pursuit of customer feedback as Whitney Casey. Following her Emmy-winning career as a talk show host and NYC anchor, Whitney created Finery.com, a startup in the Fashion/Technology space. Along with her best-friend and co-founder …

Justin Edwards is the VP of Sales Practice at Mercato partners. His focus is optimizing and accelerating sales performance within each of their portfolio companies. Leveraging his sales experience in startups and Fortune 100 organizations alike, Justin has demonstrated a unique ability to help founders identify sales inefficiencies and develop high…

Knowing why you win and lose deals might be the most valuable information your company can have. Unfortunately, 60% of sales professionals are wrong about why they win and lose deals. Not surprisingly, founders make critical errors when they use such assessments in strategic decisions. My guest this week is Clozd founder, Spencer Dent. Leveraging h…

Michelle Weinstein, also known as The Pitch Queen, has leveraged an exciting sales career, and an entrepreneurial rollercoaster to refine a skill that has become her secret weapon - the Pitch. Michelle has pitched her way into Costco, onto Shark Tank, and into the world of millionaires, athletes and coaches. Michelle joins SalesFounders this week t…

"More than 90% of startups fail, due primarily to self-destruction rather than competition." The Sales Gap is perhaps the most daunting stage of entrepreneurship. Most founders will agree that their primary objective is to leverage product market fit into scalable sales growth as efficiently as possible. However, the majority of startups self-destr…

"Nobody want’s to be sold anymore.” With so many products and solutions competing for our attention, buyers want simple solutions from people they know like and trust. Meet Steve Nudelberg, author, speaker, and “serial salesman” who has built a successful career by being valuable, authentic, and connected. Steve will argue that, for more startups, …

Ace Marks is a brand of handcrafted Italian dress shoes that has leveraged a direct to consumer sales strategy to disrupt one of the most established industries. In the past year alone, Ace Marks have sold in more than 80 countries, and has become the worlds most funded footwear project through Kickstarter. Founders Paul Farago and Julian Gonzalez …

Roy Morejon is the President of Enventys Partners, a full-service product launch agency that has created more than 450 brands, 65 companies, and made over $1 billion for entrepreneurs and corporations. Roy's passion is helping entrepreneurs launch great ideas and Eventys Partners has a comprehensive solution that supports entrepreneurs with everyth…

Traffic & Funnels co-founder, Taylor Welch, joins us to talk about the challenges entrepreneurs face when it comes to lead growth and predictable funnel strategies. On this episode, Taylor walks us through the anatomy of traffic & funnel strategy as well as the secret behind their 6 million dollar webinar. We'll talk about why validation is the key…

Heather Havenwood is a serial entrepreneur, best-selling author, and authority on the subjects of digital marketing and sales coaching. Heather is helping entrepreneurs "break the rules" and implement proven marketing and sales systems. As an Entrepreneur.com contributor, performance coach, and one of Huffington Posts Top 50 Must Follow Women Entre…

Alex Hermozi has perfected the sales launch. What started as a passion for weightlifting and fitness, became a $55k investment in his own gym and a steep learning curve to profitability. In time, Alex figured out how to scale his efforts into 6 highly profitable gyms. Realizing the value of the "system" he had developed, Alex sold his gyms and turn…

Startup Accelerators have become a powerful source of guidance and support for aspiring entrepreneurs all over the world. One of the pioneers of startup acceleration is Robb Kunz, a seasoned entrepreneur and angel investor. Following his seemingly endless struggle to find entrepreneurs with sufficiently validated business models, Robb co-founded Bo…

Following a lucrative exit from the sale of his first company, Shane Cox let it all ride on his second venture that quickly became an unscalable and capital exhaustive business that bled him dry. After liquidated all of his assets, and selling the last of his prized possessions, Shane doubled-down on the one promising component of his solution - th…

More than a third of the US workforce is comprised of freelancers. Freelancing has become a trillion dollar industry that can be challenging for founders to navigate. With so many experts to choose from, it can be hard to know what to look for, and how to integrate hired talent into your organization. My guest this week is Connor Gillivan. After se…

Every entrepreneur needs an occasional moment of honest, personal reflection. How are things really going, and to what extent you are aligning with the needs of your business? The tendency for most founders is to add more process and clutter when they should be finding ways to simplify. Meet Steve Krebs; the accountability coach. His mission is to …

Burnout can be a major problem for entrepreneurs . In spite of a seemingly limitless supply of automation tools, entrepreneurs still over-extend themselves to the point of exhaustion. Every entrepreneur needs help, and specifically, the right help. Meet Nicole Wipp - entrepreneur and small business consultant whose speciality is helping entrepreneu…

On the heels of a failed startup in 2002, Aaron Ross stumbled into a call-center position at Salesforce.com. Looking for sales perspective, Aaron discovered something much bigger. The discovery, covered in his best-selling book Predictable Revenue, was a revolutionary approach to outbound selling that led SalesForce from $5M to $100M in sales. Sinc…

Surviving the early stages of a startup to reach growth is a significant milestone for any founder. It is also the beginning of new chapter of challenges and opportunities. There is a science to accelerating growth, and few who know it better than Greg Warnock, managing director and co-founder of Mercato Partners. Greg is a technologist, innovator,…

Efficient and scalable sales growth is the common goal of every startup. My guest, Trish Bertuzzi, is the best-selling author of the Sales Development Playbook and President of The Bridge Group. Trish joins us this week to discuss account-based marketing, outbound strategy, and how to survive the early stages of sales development. Visit salesfounde…

There is more to a viral marketing strategy than a great product or a clever tag line. With so much noise in market, it has become increasingly difficult to connect your message with your target audience. My guest, Jace Vernon has the solution to this problem. Jace is the founder of both YDraw and MarketingHy. YDraw is a white board video and anima…

LinkedIn has become a powerful platform for entrepreneurship. Whether your objective is exposure or lead generation, LinkedIn should be a key ingredient of your sales growth strategy. My guest this week is nationally recognized linked in expert Yakov Savitskiy. Yakov is the founder of Linked Lead enteprises and joins me to explore 10 ways you can l…

A deep dive into the apparel industry to talk about the massive disruption that is changing the way we interact with brands and apparel. My guest Matt Falcinelli, is the founder of TheDrop.com. Matt has leveraged more than 20 years of industry experience to prepare for what will be the iTunes of the apparel industry. On this episode we talk about t…

These 4 traits are consistent among top performing sales executives and entrepreneurs. A segment taken from a keynote at Armor Pest Defense.

Luis Congdon went from sleeping on couches to making a six figure income through podcasting. This week on SalesFounders, we talk about why podcasting is such a powerful medium to establish authority and trust. We talk about how to leverage podcasting to find and qualify customers and how guest appearances can help you sell product and establish mar…

An accomplished sales executive understands that “closing” starts before the sale begins. Persuasive closing tactics will have little impact if they lack the core tenants of effective communication and rapport. In fact, your level of confidence, product knowledge, and persistence will have more of an impact on performance than the most eloquent clo…

The most expensive capital a founder will ever raise is the first round of equity. An early equity round can be a harsh reality check for a founder considering whether to bootstrap or face dilution. The good news is there are other options to consider. In fact, there are ways for early stage startups to obtain funding without having to sacrafice eq…

As a follow-up to the 4 Pillars of Online Marketing, this week's Mastery episode focuses on how to pick the right marketing and SEO firm for you business, as well as what you should expect for results and costs. Without a background in web development and SEO, it is extremely difficult for entrepreneurs to create a competitive online presence. At s…

Online marketing is one of the most cost effective strategies to attract leads and drive revenue. The challenge is that most entrepreneurs get it wrong as they attempt to develop it themselves. This week, Voxxy Marketing founders, Michael Clark and Justin Taylor join me to explore the 4 key components to your online presence: your website, content,…

When it comes to lead strategy, efficiency is the key to success. On this episode of mastery, we explore the reasons most startups struggle with lead strategy, the key components of a winning lead strategy, and a few cautions and best practices to you develop or refine yours.

A crowdfunding campaign has become one of the most powerful, and competitive, platforms for entrepreneurs to introduce products to the market. The challenge is that less than 20% of campaigns succeed and most of those fall short of reaching their potential. This week, SalesFounders pulls the curtain on America’s leading crowdfunding marketing agenc…

The mentor dynamic is a key component of success, especially when it comes to entrepreneurship. Too many entrepreneurs embrace the "lone-wolf" strategy with a fierce independence and desire to grind it out alone. The reality is that every entrepreneurial success story is built upon a network of relationships, advocates, mentors, and supporters. "No…

Narrowing your startup into a specific niche might seem counter-intuitive in the early stages of development. "What if I get it wrong?" "How can I possibly say no to willing customers?" This is a narrative familiar to most founders, especially during the pivotal stages of validation. The truth is that finding a niche is the only way to differentiat…

This might be the perfect case study on the topic of crowdfunding and the lean startup. My guest is Bryson Hill, co-founder and CEO of Daplie, a startup that offers the internet's first personal at-home cloud server that anyone can set up and use. Their mantra is to "Take back the internet" and Bryson joins us to share the exciting trajectory that …

“More than 90% of startups fail, due primarily to self-destruction rather than competition. For the less than 10% of startups that do succeed, most encounter several near death experiences along the way.” - Startup Genome This week, we take a closer look at the causes of startup failure. Considering that 70% of failures are attributed to premature …

Episode Summary Entrepreneurship seems to be commonly associated with stigma of crazy hours, high stress, and a constant need for multi-tasking. Ironically, these are three of the most devastating forces to your productivity and success. The reality is that most of us misuse the the most powerful asset we have - our brain! James Garrett is the crea…

This week, we take a closer look at the stages of startup growth. Entrepreneurs who discipline themselves to follow proven methods of validation and growth can drastically reduce the threats of premature scaling. In episode 1, Paul Ahlstrom suggested that "premature scaling is often a result of doing many of the right things, in the wrong order." J…

One of the biggest hurdles facing entrepreneurs is raising capital! It's hard enough to decode the red tape and fine print of most investment vehicles, not to mention the unlikely chance you will find yourself in a position where the amount of equity or "skin" required justifies the capital offered. With over $531 billion dollars funding startups i…

Who you are is a direct result of the questions you ask! Asking is at the foundation of every great opportunity. The problem is that most people aren't thinking big enough. There is a limitless supply of success, fortune, abundance, and happiness all around you. The only way to get it, is to ask for it. "Successful people ask better questions, and …

"Passion is powerful," say's Jason Adams when asked about launching Bex sunglasses with only $600. 8-years later, Bex is a multi-million dollar brand that sells hats, sunglasses and apparel throughout the world. This week, Jason joins me to walk through the creation of what started as a passion for design and a belief that he could create a success…

"Knowing thyself is the beginning of all wisdom" - Aristotle How well do you know your strengths and weaknesses as an entrepreneur? Are you aware of your blindspots? Understanding who you are, your natural strengths, and disposition is the only way to truly leverage your potential as both a leader and a founder. On this episode, we explore how you …

What if there was a formula that an entrepreneur could follow to ensure startup success? This week, PrinterLogic CEO, Ryan Wedig shares 7 steps he's followed to transform a tech-founders epiphany into an world-class software company. From messaging and sales strategy, to cap tables and advisors, Ryan explains how PrinterLogic has grown to #141 on t…

It's troubling that so many brilliant entrepreneurs cringe at the idea of selling. Selling is merely an exchange between two parties, and whether you realize it or not, you've been selling since the day you were born. When you break it down, the currency of the exchange is value. The good news is that there is a simpler approach to selling. On this…

Eirini Schlosser is the CEO and Founder of Chuz, a mobile app that is being described as the “Spotify of where to go and what to order.” More specifically Chuz is disrupting lifestyle decision making with the mapping of human emotions. On this episode we are going to break down the business model to learn more about how Chuz is disrupting mass-revi…

Introducing the SalesFounders Mastery series. Each weekly episode takes a step outside of your business to focus on you, the Founder. Join us as we explore the habits, strategies, and mindsets of successful founders and how you can lead your startup to the next level. The root cause of startup failure, or an individual's failure to succeed can be t…

In spite of the obvious stigmas of entrepreneurship, the reality is that most successful entrepreneurs seek to avoid risk. Moreover, companies that have emerged from their humble garages did so NOT by brute force and good luck, but through disciplined learning and calculated risk. Dr. Eric Pedersen joins us this week to discuss strategies to mitiga…

In 2004, David Williams was asked to help close down a startup that had amassed $2.5 million in debt and still had no product to offer. When David arrived on the scene, what he saw was “the opportunity of a lifetime.” On this episode, we explore the power of Social Capital and how 6 employees and 1 strategic partnership helped David transform Fishb…

Entrepreneurs need to constantly be thinking about lead sources and profitable strategies to generate customers. In spite of so many overpriced lead strategies, the most powerful and often underutilized lead source is your own expertise. My guest this week is Brian Horn, a best-selling author, investor and entrepreneur who helps professionals lever…

What does a venture capitalist look for in a winning startup? How does an entrepreneur know when it's time to scale? In this episode of SalesFounders, we explore the playbook of venture capitalist, Paul Ahlstrom, and take a deeper dive into his book, Nail it Then Scale it. Paul shares 4 key strategies that every startup must understand: What is a m…