Westrive

John Tabis has been at the top of the floral industry for quite some time now...but it wasn't always that way. After moving on from his first startup, John started working at Disney (not the worst career move lol) and after several years he decided he wanted to get back into the startup world. John felt like he could take the floral industry by storm and he did just that. After years of steady growth and hard work, he appeared on Shark Tank (where I first saw him). He didn't get a deal on the show but he's actually one of the first people ever to get a deal years AFTER the show aired (I don't want to spoil the story so you'll just have to listen). I hope you enjoy the story of how a brand new CEO created one of the most successful floral/shark-tank companies in history!

First off, I want to congratulate Chase on having his first kid

Erika Lucas is the Co-Founder of the StitchCrew Accelerator program based out of Oklahoma City, OK.  Growing up in Mexico with 'bootstrapping' entrepreneurial parents, Erika learned early on what it takes to be successful. After moving to Oklahoma, she realized there were so amazing startups in her area that were leaving for big cities like LA, San Fran, and NY. She and her partner created StitchCrew to help fight this problem. They have already made a huge impact on their state through their investment/effort/time and their partnership with the Oklahoma City Thunder,  They have seen nearly 100 startups flourish under their guidance throughout the five cohorts in their program thus far and they are just getting started

This week I had the privilege of interviewing Laurent Grill with Luma Launch and I'm excited to tell his story. Laurent has been involved with the startup world for years. When the opportunity to become the Lead Investor at Luma Launch presented itself, he took full advantage. He now runs one of the best early-stage VC's in California out of their office in Santa Monica. Keep in mind, the beginning of this interview was included in last week's episode involving Pitch Decks. We dive into pitch decks, what it's like to be a VC, his early life, and all of his future plans. Enjoy! Lead Investor: Lumalaunch.com @laurentgrill on twitter @lumalaunch on Instagram WeStrive: Be sure to check out the WeStrive App on IOS, Android, and if you're a personal trainer check us out at WeStriveApp.com to see if you want to sell your fitness plans or train privately with your clients through WeStrive.

Pitch Decks, Pitch Decks, Pitch Decks...that's pretty much all I've heard since I entered the entrepreneurial world years ago. How they look, what pages go where, what investors like what...it goes on and on. That's why I wanted to have an episode to pull three unique perspectives from three incredible entrepreneurs/investors. Farhaj Mayan is the founder of Kanna and has won several pitch competitions with his amazing presentation skills and pitch decks. Laurent Grill is the lead investor at Luma Lunch, has been involved in several startups of his own, and has years of pitch deck experience under his belt. Finally, Vik Sasi is one of the main partners at Dreamers VC (Founded by Will Smith and Keisuke Honda) and he brings a very unique perspective to the pitch deck conversation. Farhaj Mayan: 2:38 - 19:43  Farhaj's Current Deck: docsend.com/view/75xpx4q CEO - hirekanna.com Laurent Grill: 19:48 - 37:17 Lead Investor: Lumalaunch.com @laurentgrill on twitter @lumalaunch on Instagram Vik Sasi: 37

Shortly after graduating from Clemson, Harold realized he wanted to rewrite the ticketing space. He was upset that so many home fan tickets were sold to opposing teams, so many fake tickets were being sold, and he was just frustrated with the ticketing industry as a whole. After years of work, bandwagonfanclub.com is now flourishing and Harold himself has embraced the startup world. His company now has two offices in the US and he has personally invested in multiple startups (one of those startups being Farhaj Mayan - WeStrive episode #52). I hope you enjoy hearing about his journey and all his tips on how to build/grow a startup. WeStrive: Be sure to check out the WeStrive App on IOS, Android, and if you're a personal trainer check us out at WeStriveApp.com to see if you want to sell your fitness plans or train privately with your clients through WeStrive.

Daron Roberts has an incredible story. He went from being the Student Body President at the University of Texas (which at the time had over 50,000 students and was the biggest school in the country), to applying to Harvard Law 4 times before finally getting in, to finally getting his law degree...only to go coach at the NFL. Sounds crazy right? But as we discuss on the podcast, life isn't a straight line and when he realized coaching was his true passion, there was nothing going to stop him from pursuing his dream...plus, having a Law degree from Harvard in your pocket isn't exactly a bad thing. Listen in to hear how he went from being a rookie coach in the NFL to now doing 55 professional speaking engagements per year. WeStrive: Be sure to check out the WeStrive App on IOS, Android, and if you're a personal trainer check us out at WeStriveApp.com to see if you want to sell your fitness plans or train privately with your clients through WeStrive.

Martin Rowinski is the CEO of boardsi.com (Pronounced Board-Z) which is a platform that connects top-level executives with startups looking to fill out their advisory board. Martin has spent years in the tech industry advising countless companies and founding a few of his own. Over the course of the podcast, we cover his early life, his experience with running a real estate company during the stock market crash, having an exit, and so much more. How to get ahold of Martin & Boardsi: schedule@boardsi.com (916) 542-9379 WeStrive: Be sure to check out the WeStrive App on IOS, Android, and if you're a personal trainer check us out at WeStriveApp.com to see if you want to sell your fitness plans or train privately with your clients through WeStrive.

Vadi Efe was the co-founder and COO of Dekatlon Buzz which was based out of Istanbul, Turkey. After years of working in the media and tech industry, he decided to create his own media empire. After close to 7 years of working with some of the biggest companies in the world, they finally had an offer they couldn't refuse. Over the course of this podcast, we'll cover the companies Vadi worked for, the way they approached their multi-million dollar exit, his nomination into Fortune 40 under 40, and so much more. WeStrive: Be sure to check out the WeStrive App on IOS, Android, and if you're a personal trainer check us out at WeStriveApp.com to see if you want to sell your fitness plans or train privately with your clients through WeStrive.

This week we have Charlotte Hodgson and basically everything she touches turns to Gold. She grew up with loving parents who she later found out were addicted to hard drugs. At an early age, she was responsible for taking care of her siblings, eventually joined the army, got her Masters in Education, and eventually joined a Charter School. When she joined, the school had 250 students and by the time she left the school had over 35,000. After seeing an opportunity with her friend's company, Holistapet (holistapet.com), she decided to invest and become a Co-Founder. The company was doing $6,000/month and after 6 months of Charlotte, they were doing around $500K/month. This past year they did $5 Million and are on track to do $10 Million in 2020. Once Charlotte was brought on the team, they also expanded into the human version of their CBD company, Cheef Botanicals (cheefbotanicals.com). I hope you enjoy the episode and can learn something from Charlotte's experience and lessons! WeStrive: Be sure to check out t

Stephen George has been an entrepreneur his entire life. In his early 20's, he was one of the Co-Founders of the company Groupon and managed hundreds of employees at the age of 21. After Groupon's multi-billion dollar IPO, he decided to leave the company and traveled around the world for several years. After 3+ years of traveling, he returned to the US and became the founder of Surkus - https://surkus.com/ Surkus offers members exclusive access to paid events and offers from brands in exchange for engagement. It's an amazing app that's transforming the fan-to-brand relationship. I hope you enjoy the episode and can learn something from his amazing journey. WeStrive: Be sure to check out the WeStrive App on IOS, Android, and if you're a personal trainer check us out at WeStriveApp.com to see if you want to sell your fitness plans or train privately with your clients through WeStrive.

Kevon Cheung grew up in Hong Kong and at just 15 years old he flew by himself to Boston so he could attend school. He ended up staying in the US for 8 years before heading back to China to pursue entrepreneurship. Kevon has been involved with countless companies over the years. He helped launch/grow First Code Academy (a coding academy that has helped over 15,000 students learn how to code) and now he is the CEO/Founder of his networking software company, Toasty (toasty.ai).  When I was first approached by someone on Kevon's team, I was excited and eager to hear more. As a networking event host myself, it's always hard to find ways to break the ice among attendees...and Kevon's new company does just that! Listen to the episode to find out more! WeStrive: Be sure to check out the WeStrive App on IOS, Android, and if you're a personal trainer check us out at WeStriveApp.com to see if you want to sell your fitness plans or train privately with your clients through WeStrive.

Cory Levy (@Cory on Instagram)  is the founder of First Text, Internapalooza, After School, and is involved in countless additional projects. In his younger days, Cory was smart enough to start his career out by interning at incredible companies like Techstars. This is one of the best ways to enter into the tech/startup world and learn as much as you can before creating your own startup. Throughout the episode, we talk about doing things that don't scale when your company is just starting out, different types of growth marketing techniques, what it's like to run a platform with millions of users, and so much more.  I hope you enjoy the podcast. Don't forget to subscribe and be sure to check out Cory's company firsttext.com WeStrive: Be sure to check out the WeStrive App on IOS, Android, and if you're a personal trainer check us out at WeStriveApp.com to see if you want to sell your fitness plans or train privately with your clients through WeStrive.

Forrest has been an entrepreneur his entire life. He started working on his own business when he was just a kid and now he's only 23 and has run multiple companies. He' has a great understanding of what it takes to grow a business and his current business, Marketli, is growing rapidly in the eCommerce world. He sold his first company just after his 21st birthday and he's on his way to becoming one of the world's top CEO's. Enjoy the interview! WeStrive: Be sure to check out the WeStrive App on IOS, Android, and if you're a personal trainer check us out at WeStriveApp.com to see if you want to sell your fitness plans or train privately with your clients through WeStrive.

Maeve Garigan is an extremely successful entrepreneur who holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University. Her company, Roper, is Leading the development and commercialization of high-value technology for smart and sustainable beef production. In other words, they've created a high-tech ear-chip for cattle that allows ranchers to track their whereabouts and vitals. This leads to a much higher quality of beef and makes the rancher's job much easier. Over the years she has held many incredible roles including a role with the NAVY in which she was working on exoskeletons...AKA the coolest job of all time. Enjoy the interview! WeStrive: Be sure to check out the WeStrive App on IOS, Android, and if you're a personal trainer check us out at WeStriveApp.com to see if you want to sell your fitness plans or train privately with your clients through WeStrive.

Smriti & Jacques Zaneveld are two of the most brilliant minds that I've ever had the privilege of speaking to, let alone interviewing. Combined, they have about 40 awards, degrees, masters, PhD's, etc. and they have brought their powers together for the greater good. They currently run Lazarus 3D which is a 3D printing company that creates body parts (blood vessels, tissue, and all) to enable surgeons to master their surgical abilities. Right now, your surgeon more than likely practiced their surgeries in school on fruits and vegetables...it's 2020 and your surgeon practiced on FRUITS AND VEGETABLES. That's just crazy to me. What Smriti & Jacques are doing will definitely save countless lives and I couldn't be more excited for them. Head to laz3d.com to learn more! WeStrive: Be sure to check out the WeStrive App on IOS, Android, and if you're a personal trainer check us out at WeStriveApp.com to see if you want to sell your fitness plans or train privately with your clients through WeStrive.

For the past 10+ years Heather Pink has worked in the world Sports and now she's moved on to create her own company. Heather spent years as a reporter and editor for Fox Sports & Time Warner until she was hired by the NFL. Heather quickly rose the ranks and became a producer for NFL Fantasy Live and was put in charge of social media for the NFL Fantasy Football accounts. She realized she wanted to work for herself so she and a colleague left and started pinkdearllc.com Listen in and follow her journey as she goes from sideline reporter to NFL Media Producer to CEO. WeStrive: Be sure to check out the WeStrive App on IOS, Android, and if you're a personal trainer check us out at WeStriveApp.com to see if you want to sell your fitness plans or train privately with your clients through WeStrive.

Brian Hoang is a master of VR and AR technology....so much so that in college he founded the Society for VR and the Society for AR. During his college career he also got started on his first VR company and the rest is history. Since then, Brian has worked at multiple VC firms (soaking up all the information he needed for fundraising), created a new company VR company, and then pivoted to create what is now Survivr. Survivr is the ultimate VR experience for law enforcement and first responders to train virtually in life-like scenarios to help improve their effectiveness and save lives. Listen in as we break down Brian's journey to get where he is today. Enjoy! WeStrive: Be sure to check out the WeStrive App on IOS, Android, and if you're a personal trainer check us out at WeStriveApp.com to see if you want to sell your fitness plans or train privately with your clients through WeStrive.

Neil Thanedar graduated from college and immediately got to work. His company, Labdoor, is arguably the best company on the planet when it comes to independent research of the supplement industry. I actually purchased a pre-workout off of their website before recording this interview (and if you can get a broke startup-founder like me to spend $40+ on something online, then you know you have a quality product). They have made millions of dollars, raised $7M in funding from notable investors like Mark Cuban, and have transformed the supplement industry. Some great lessons for founders that he speaks on: Every time customers give you feedback, write it down and analyze it Create a company you're passionate about Send monthly email updates to investors As a founder, you have to understand every aspect of your business, even if it's just a little bit. Everything from marketing, coding languages, business law, etc. Enjoy the episode! WeStrive: Be sure to check out the WeStrive App on IOS, Android, and if yo