222: Daymond John - Shark Tank SHARK

**Summary:** In Episode #222 Ari and Nick interview [Daymond John](http://daymondjohn.com/), a former Shark Tank SHARK who built his first business on $300k in clothing orders that he had no capital to fill. After convincing his mother to mortgage her house to get the cash required, Daymond has turned that initial investment into multiple businesses, TV engagements, and speaking appearances. Tune in to hear why you need to fail small, fast, and often; why being broke drives your creativity; and why you need to be setting hard goals. **Time-stamped Show Notes** - 13:35 - Welcoming Daymond to the show - 13:50 - How Daymond got started in design - 15:31 - Growing up in New York meant he engaged with the clothes people were wearing as part of street culture - 16:20 - He started selling on the street in Queens - 17:00 - “People in New York are very blunt...you get a lot of feedback” - 17:30 - Daymond was funded by asking his mother to mortgage her house - 18:00 - Failed several times because of evaporating capital - and picked up again and again - 18:20 - Placed his T-shirts in rap videos - around 20 videos in 2 years - and started building up the brand - 19:20 - He didn’t have money to finance his orders initially - 19:55 - Daymond had $300k in orders before his mother mortgaged the house - 20:50 - “She was putting a lot on the line...but she felt that her risk was not that great” - 21:45 - How did Daymon start understanding the financials of business? - 22:25 - Took out an ad in the New York Times looking for strategic partners - and had a reply from Samsung - 22:57 - “I made big mistakes” - 23:40 - It all goes back to proof of concept - you need to show people that you’re consistent - 24:30 - “The power of broke” - Nick decided to limit his money in order to push himself to make Calvin work - 25:45 - Daymond’s current mentor is [Jay Abraham](http://www.abraham.com/) - 26:43 - What can you do for your mentors? Ask yourself how you can serve the people you want to connect with - 27:25 - Mentors can be people younger than yourself - 27:55 - How does Daymond channel the power of broke now that he’s successful? - 30:10 - How’s Daymond spending most of his time right now? - 30:35 - Shooting and promoting Shark Tank takes around 3 months of a year - the rest of the time Daymond spends speaking or running his own companies - 32:05 - “The reason we buy into a company of Shark Tank is first of all the people” - 33:00 - Daymond recently invested in food products - a total departure from his usual technology or fitness interests - 34:50 - The [Pavlok](http://www.pavlok.com/)’s recent appearance on TV - 37:45 - “I’ve seen some sharks purchase things that I would never touch in my life” - 38:40 - It takes the right person at the right time with the right vision - 41:03 - What’s the biggest lesson that Daymond’s learnt in business? - 41:28 - “Fail quick, fail small, and fail fast” Take small steps, get proof of concept, and learn - 41:50 - _Top 3 Tips For Being More Effective_ - Trust your gut - Surround yourself with like-minded people; find mentors - Set goals - 43:15 - Find out more about Daymond at his [website](https://dranthonygbeck.com/) Key Points: 1. Your mentors don’t have to be flashy - connect with people around you who know what they’re doing 2. Fail fast, fail small, and learn from your mistakes 3. Set hard goals and hold yourself accountable 4. Ask yourself how you can serve the people you want to connect with **Resources Mentioned:** - [Omni](http://www.beomni.com) - On-demand storage and delivery - [FOMO](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2016/06/fomo/) - Why FOMO comes from sadness - [Is Popcorn Good For You?](http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2016/06/06/is-popcorn-good-for-you.aspx) - [Tracks](http://tracks.today/us/?ref=producthunt) - Stories that make you run - [The Art of Less Doing on Thunderclap](https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/42931-support-the-art-of-less-doing?locale=en) -