14 JUL 2022 · Nick is a mental health advocate, not because he runs a cool company that sells cool T-shirts online to people struggling with mental health and mental illness, but because he’s running numerous companies and has grown personally, and has struggled himself with mental illness. I hope this interview is a slight departure from previous episodes where we can focus more on the struggles of what’s going on in your head as opposed to the exterior struggles and difficulties that business leaders face. I myself struggle with mental health and I hope you enjoy and gain something from this episode today. Struggling with anxiety and depression 1:07 It’s scary to share this issue with others 4:12 How to respond when people open up 10:36 The first time is the hardest 14:23 What things look like now 16:14 “There’s also a fear when you’re dealing with these things of telling someone and having that person A) judge you, B) feel panic, like ‘Well I have to be the one to fix the problem,’ or C) retreat from you because they don’t know how to fix the problem, so they just remove themselves, and then you on the other end feel like you’re a leper.” 8:13 wearemind.org @wearemind_

12 JUL 2022 · Every company has a weak spot. Needs, things they need to accomplish, whether that is needing to secure more funding, being outside and defining their market more effectively, executing on sales and marketing, or simply hiring the right people, every company is struggling or trying to gain the upper hand in some way. We often get so myopically focused on our own company, whether that’s establishing a mural on the wall or getting something cool for our team, we often forget about the needs of our customers and how intimately we need to understand them. Today, I talk to Tori Dundas who has seen this, felt this, and made a fantastic company surrounding a very important need. Breaking away from the pack 1:04 Coming up with the idea 3:22 Getting through the hard times 7:10 Her tactics for gaining people’s trust 12:06 “The industry will tell you that this is what you should buy, but this is as much as you’re going to see with the naked eye. So is it more important to you that something is microscopically beautiful? Or just do you want something that you can maybe get a bit bigger of a diamond or clearer of a diamond and the clarity to the naked eye is good enough. Having those conversations is how I’ve been able to build that trust as myself, as my brand.” 13:07 truecurateddesigns.com

26 APR 2022 · Today’s interviewee, Jesse Parent, is a fantastic example of what it means to be able to understand who you are, understand what you are trying to accomplish, and then articulate that in a fashion that is not only impactful, but also is poetic. “I think good communication is about listening and adjusting, and not catering, but honoring. It’s one of those things where you have to work with what you have, recognizing who you are.” Jesse’s wife was diagnosed with cancer and he shares how initially it was one of the worst things to deal with, but then he and his wife saw it as something that really helped them grow and strengthen their relationship between each other. Sorenson Media and deaf videos 1:07 Origin of communication skill 5:09 Handling the hard conversations 6:54 Coping with his wife’s cancer diagnosis 12:21 Emerging from sorrow 18:00 “I always say, ‘How can I keep you? Let’s have conversations about how we can work on you.’ And sometimes people just don’t want to do that work or they can’t. It’s one of those things where like, ‘Hey look, I think we both realize or both understand that we’ve tried, and we didn’t make it. So it’s time to say goodbye and move on to other things.’ It feels like the worst thing in the world, but sometimes it’s just the best thing for that person.” 8:07

21 APR 2022 · On January 24th, 1884, the Gold Rush started in Coloma California. The news of gold brought about 300,000 people from the rest of the United States to California to find their fortune. This particular gold rush caused a surge among the population and created entire industries surrounding them. Not only these prospectors, but their families, the people carrying shovels and sifters, or the people just making the machinery, or the hats and clothes that you needed to go and prospect for gold in the mountains. In the same method, today’s interviewee, Brian Sather’s father experienced a similar type of gold rush, what happened after the gold rush when people stopped visiting, and the lull that accompanied it. In entrepreneurship and starting a company, there are many things that involve the huge spike with the low valleys that we all experience and today’s interview highlights the ebb and flow of entrepreneurship with my wonderful guest, Brian Sather. Seeing and learning how business worked 1:22 Be OK with the evolution of things 7:13 A darker moment in Brian’s career 8:59 Persevering in Blacksmith 15:42 “I would say the darkest [ebb] for me was really early on when my dad lost everything, and that’s not my entrepreneurial career, but that felt really, really dark, but then I saw him pop out of it and the thing that I’ve learned from that life comes at you in waves. No matter how hard you try, you can be on top of the world, life is gonna find a way. The Universe is gonna find a way to knock you back on your heels because that’s how you grow. And that’s how you get better.” 9:00

19 APR 2022 · It’s in this podcast that I get the opportunity to speak with somebody my own age. I’m 30 and I’ve run this company, Launchpod Media, for a little over 3 years. Today I interview another fantastic, successful entrepreneur, Alexander Szul. He’s a fantastic leader, speaker, and he runs a fantastic company called Rome BlockChain. In our interview I just wanted to highlight how impressed I am at Alex’s ability to learn from failure and not be afraid of failure moving forward. I think we’re often boxed into our role or responsibility, or what we don’t know and what we do know. He was able to break out of that and encourage his team to break out of that as well, and I wonder if more people lead with that mindset and that type of leadership, how much more satisfied we would be as leaders, and our employees would be in moving the needle forward in their job. I invite you to tune in and enjoy this interview with my new friend, Alex. About Rome Blockchain Labs 1:32 Fear is a beautiful thing 7:16 One of Alex’s most impactful failures 12:42 The feeling of fear when you’re a child 18:42 “What IS fear? Practically speaking, what actually is fear? It’s sweaty palms, cold hands, it’s a tightness in the chest, it’s quick breathing, it’s perhaps a couple uncomfortable memories or thoughts in my mind, and Johnny that’s it. That’s all fear is actually. So when you can sit with that and actually let that entire process play out in your body and your mind, and you just watch it… the next time you’re afraid, it’s gonna be astronomically less. You’re actually gonna laugh at yourself because you’re thinking how funny it is that you were afraid of that in the first place.” 8:32 https://romeblockchain.com/

14 APR 2022 · Today’s interview with Laura Patrick is a fantastic conversation on what it means to be able to balance small expenses and big expenses, understanding the balance between employees and customers, and adhering to rules even if we don’t like them. Laura ran into the issue of Covid-19, which created all these additional, unforeseeable changes and rules she had to deal with and comply with in order to stay in business. No matter how prepared you might be, anything can happen that will throw your business off balance or make things a lot harder than you anticipated. The hard beginning 4:04 Excitement and anxiety of reopening 7:49 Family challenges during Covid 14:13 Speed questions 16:18 “Instead of thinking it’s gonna go perfectly, embrace the fact that it will not go perfectly, and that could be to your advantage in some ways, but I would say for us, you know we prepared as much as we possibly could, but you’re never totally ready and you never know if you’re going to crush it. You have no idea.” 18:17

12 APR 2022 · Eric is a polymath, and I don’t say that about a lot of people. He has done science, math, art, and he somehow finds a way to make all of those things work. Whether it’s being a master in engineering or being able to mix a music track, whether he’s handling Krado, or he’s handling his music studio, Eric finds a way to help things make sense. Being able to pivot, adapt, and adjust his business based on what his market looks like and what’s happening in the world has helped him experience growth and success, which he shares with us in this episode. Where Eric started 0:49 You have to be willing to adapt 4:23 Mental health struggles 8:01 Reacting to competition and diversifying 13:05 Final questions 20:53 “I’m just gonna let the data kinda tell me which way to go and it’s really about the adaptability and ability to pivot, right? That’s the thing I saw in the science world and the thing I see in the entrepreneurial world where people get so stuck on their original idea, like ‘No, this is how I want it to be.’ OK, but you pretty much have all this data saying it doesn’t work that way. So you have to pivot, right? And those are the ones that die. You can’t survive, and the ones that survive are the ones that pivot.” 11:21

7 APR 2022 · In this episode we’re going to hear from a close friend of mine, Steve Candland. I think we can all relate to the aspects of Steve’s story and whether that’s coming up with a great idea, dealing with the opinions of others, or the rush of joy after the first sale, it’s not often we get to hear from someone so genuine in the entrepreneurial space. Please sit back, grab a soda (hopefully a Traveler’s Soda near you, and enjoy this wonderful, inspired story by my friend, Steve. Where the idea started 0:46 What people don’t understand 4:54 Wanting to quit 8:47 The Scottish festival and his burning the ships moment 12:51 Having to build it himself and final questions 14:56 “So I make a beverage, but there’s a million different products. People that don’t really understand that there’s a lot of up front costs to even get to that point, like ‘Oh Steve, you just gotta have a big social media presence.’ I mean great, but what happens if I get a lot of social media presence and I can’t handle the volume? I have to actually deliver something to someone.” 4:54

6 APR 2022 · Today’s interview with Sean Spencer dives into an emerging, amazing community and what it means to make a community through content and actual growth, and what it means to not take business too seriously in hopes of building that community. Building his business was definitely more difficult than he expected, but join us to hear how Sean has been able to face the challenges of business and leadership head on. Sean tells about how he used to struggle a lot with mental health and refused to get on medication, but eventually was able to get into meditation and therapy, leading to him improving upon these issues. Building a community 1:06 The AI foundation 4:07 Some more stark challenges Sean has had to deal with 7:22 Dealing with depression and anxiety 12:19 Going to a therapist and getting help 15:39 Final questions 17:26 “The thing that I’ve really tried to avoid as I’ve grown throughout my career and found success, is letting any of that become too serious or affect me, or create an ego. Coming from Los Angeles, that’s sort of the land of egos.” 7:40

31 MAR 2022 · A lot of entrepreneurs out there will relate with Jesse’s story. Stories like these inspire us to keep going, even when failure is imminent. In every entrepreneur’s story, there is a point of no return. For some it happens quickly and for others it might not happen until the end of their business journey telling them to be done. A point of no return can happen in times of financial difficulty or a wide variety of struggles and problems. It’s important to learn from those who have gone through this journey already, which is why in today’s episode I interview my friend, Jesse Randall. If there’s anybody who knows what it’s like to fail and get back up, it’s Jesse. He tells about his earlier business ventures and the harder parts of them, and then how he was eventually able to learn from his mistakes and get his current venture, Sweater, to where it is now. Who is Jesse Randall? 1:35 Learning the game on his business path 5:17 Solving the idea that he was a failure 12:51 Final questions 16:27 “You wonder why that ball goes in the net at the end and you don’t realize what’s going on until you step off the field and you go up in the stands and you look down, and you can see a scoreboard now, and then you figure it out. It was like I was missing all that context about what it would take to raise money and what was required. In retrospect I shouldn’t have been raising money, that’s one of the big “Aha’s” that I had, and one of the biggest components of what I screwed up on was being able to take care of myself, and that’s why I failed.” 7:47 https://www.linkedin.com/in/deviantstrat/detail/profile-cover-story/?enableAutoPlayWithoutMute=true https://www.sweaterventures.com/