Just Go Grind

Velocity Group provides top-tier executive coaching to startup founders, venture capitalists, and corporate executives with the goal of building lasting companies that impact the world in positive ways. Velocity helps leaders learn to tackle a range of issues that keep them from scaling even faster. These include building & sustaining high performing teams, hiring more effectively, founder chemistry & communication, leadership style and developing a corporate culture that reliably delivers bottom-line results. Their data-driven approach to coaching, training, and facilitation gives startup founders and corporate executives practical strategies for scaling their organizations. Velocity has 15 coaches in San Francisco, New York, & London who have worked with over 2,000 CEOs and executives at some of the most successful companies in history and at some of most promising start-ups of today. Edward has been coaching and advising start-up founders, Fortune 100 executives, and heads of state for over 15 years. His clients include executives from Google, Salesforce, Slack, and dozens of other fast-growth companies. He holds an MBA from Wharton and an MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School. John Baird is the Chairman of Velocity Group. He has been considered one of the premier executive coaches in Silicon Valley for over 25 years, and built his career coaching in the C-Suite at companies ranging from Apple and Nike to start-ups like DoorDash and MasterClass. He earned a PhD in Organizational Leadership from Purdue University. Some of the Topics Covered by Edward Sullivan and John Baird in this Episode What Velocity is and the intention with which they started it Edward and John's background before Velocity and how they got into executive coaching Guiding founders from building products to building companies The value of authenticity, particularly in leadership How they help their clients understand their own leadership styles How they approach blind spots The danger of false harmony Velocity's 360-degree feedback approach Investor and board management Introverts vs. extroverts Navigating the co-founder relationship Growing Velocity organically John and Edward's upcoming book The Power of Insight How John and Edward invest in themselves Sign up for The Grind, for actionable insights and stories from successful entrepreneurs delivered to your inbox once per week: https://www.justgogrind.com/newsletter/ Listen to all episodes of the Just Go Grind Podcast: https://www.justgogrind.com/podcast/ Follow Justin Gordon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/justingordon212 Follow Justin Gordon on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justingordon8/

Zack Teperman is the Founder and President of ZTPR, a full-service public relations agency representing every type of person or business with a passion for what they are doing.  Originally from Toronto, Canada, and now based in Los Angeles, California, Zack studied marketing and broadcasting at Seneca College. Upon graduating, Zack turned his talents to becoming an on-air radio disc jockey, working across the country from Miami to Yellowknife to Toronto at such stations as the Fan 590, KISS FM, Y100, and Mix100. After leaving radio, Zack focused his expertise on public relations, helping lead many Canadian and American high-profile PR campaigns for fortune 500 companies, start-up/lifestyle brands, and celebrity talent. After making the move to sunny Hollywood, California, Zack served for years as the Operations Manager and as a Senior Account Executive at Lexicon Public Relations, helping to guide and advise many celebrities and companies to where they are now. With his years of media experience, social media / marketing strategies and his straight-to-the-point attitude, Zack founded ZTPR in 2014 and is bringing his personal touch and results to each client along with his diverse public relations team of hungry go-getters. Some of the Topics Covered by Zack Teperman in this Episode What ZTPR began as and what is has developed into today Why Zack started ZTPR in 2014 How and why Zack got his start in PR How Zack got his first clients From acquiring clients and customer discovery to long-term contracts to crisis management Some ways Zack goes about promoting his different types of clients The relationship-building element of PR and how Zack hustled early on in his PR career Why Zack manages his contacts the old fashioned way--on pen and paper PR 101 according to Zack and his advice for what goes into a good pitch How Zack manages his clients' expectations Growing ZTPR into different markets How Zack has approached building the ZTPR team and what he looks for in an employee How Zack manages his time day-to-day How Zack is trying to find a better work-life balance Zack's advice for outside the box PR How Zack approaches crisis management and avoiding crises to start with What's next for ZTPR Sign up for The Grind, for actionable insights and stories from successful entrepreneurs delivered to your inbox once per week: https://www.justgogrind.com/newsletter/ Listen to all episodes of the Just Go Grind Podcast: https://www.justgogrind.com/podcast/ Follow Justin Gordon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/justingordon212 Follow Justin Gordon on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justingordon8/

Chris Hulls is the Co-Founder and CEO of Life360, the world's leading platform for keeping loved ones connected and protected outside the home. Founded in 2008, Life360's mobile app now provides millions of families in over 140 countries with services such as private location sharing, location history, drive details, crash detection, roadside assistance and help alerts through our free and paid membership subscription. Life360 has raised +$200M in funding from Bessemer Venture Partners, DCM, Fontinalis Partners, BMW iVentures, Allstate, Bullpen Capital, Founders Fund (FF Angel), Launch Capital, Kapor Capital, and 500 startups. They are currently publicly listed as 360 on the Australia Stock Exchange (ASX). Chris holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with Highest Honors from the University of California, Berkeley. He was previously an angel investor in or an advisor to a number of technology companies including Tile, Credible, Ring, Automatic, Honk, and Zendrive. He is also an Air Force veteran and served in Afghanistan. About Our Partner This episode is brought to you Varia Search. Varia Search is a boutique legal recruiting firm that uses a bespoke approach to fill legal department roles from general counsel to paralegal. They have a particular focus on startups and growing tech companies. They are a boutique firm which allows them to provide individualized, in-depth attention to both their clients and to their searches. They focus solely on placing in-house candidates which allows them to give their clients a bespoke experience in filling their legal needs. Their matchmaking approach ensures that clients are paired with candidates who not only have great credentials but who are also a good cultural fit for a growing company. Learn more at variasearch.com. Some of the Topics Covered by Chris Hulls in this Episode What Life360 is and the big vision for the company How the idea for Life360 was born and how Chris developed it and pivoted early Chris' lifetime journey in entrepreneurship Early customer acquisition for Life360 The challenges of being the first ever location sharing app How they leveraged a big news story into a growth hack that kickstarted the app's success How Chris and his co-founder navigated the early lack of traction The importance of customer retention From borrowing money from family members to raising a Series A How Chris has approached building and managing the Life360 team How Chris approaches hard conversations and having to let go employees Adapting the business model to create revenue Chris' professional growth and his experience with YPO and an executive coach The decision to go public in Australia and how Chris has leveraged the secondary market What fuels Chris and how he navigates the challenge of work-life balance Sign up for The Grind, for actionable insights and stories from successful entrepreneurs delivered to your inbox once per week: https://www.justgogrind.com/newsletter/ Listen to all episodes of the Just Go Grind Podcast: https://www.justgogrind.com/podcast/ Follow Justin Gordon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/justingordon212 Follow Justin Gordon on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justingordon8/

Jack Hughes is the Co-Founder and COO of Syncify, a social podcasting app that is reimagining the digital landscape of connection. Syncify is reversing the current nature of social media. Instead of creating media about ourselves, they encourage connection around media by enabling users to listen together live with friends or easily catch up on the same content and then discuss it. Syncify is a great way to reduce isolation and loneliness and to learn more from what you listen to. Jack and his co-founder Sam Harris formed part of Techstar's London 2020 cohort. Some of the Topics Covered by Jack Hughes in this Episode What the Syncify experience is and the social media problem they're trying to fix How and why Syncify acquired the competition early on Jack's relationship with his co-founder Sam Harris and how they decided to start Syncify Bootstrapping Syncify Their experience applying for and participating in the Techstars accelerator How the COVID-19 pandemic played into the building of Syncify How Jack has approached customer validation, feedback and product-market fit for Syncify Jack and Sam's unique approach to hiring and building the Syncify team The business model and big vision for Syncify Jack's book recommendations Sign up for The Grind, for actionable insights and stories from successful entrepreneurs delivered to your inbox once per week: https://www.justgogrind.com/newsletter/ Listen to all episodes of the Just Go Grind Podcast: https://www.justgogrind.com/podcast/ Follow Justin Gordon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/justingordon212 Follow Justin Gordon on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justingordon8/

Ebere Anosike is the Founder and CEO of ThankYouKindly, a company surprising & delighting your employees, clients, prospects & partners with unforgettable gifts on your behalf, sparking tears of joy with each & every one of them. The ThankYouKindly team is made up of a resourceful group of former Customer Success Directors, Sales Strategists, and Account-Based Marketing Enthusiasts who set out to build the service they always wished they had. Ebere identifies herself as scrappy, joyful, and passionate about AI, creating livelihoods & giving unforgettable gifts. Some of the Topics Covered by Ebere Anosike in this Episode What led Ebere to found ThankYouKindly and how she originally tested the idea and got the business off the ground The choice to go full time with ThankYouKindly Ebere's experience with Transparent Collective Ebere's fundraising journey with ThankYouKindly ThankYouKindly's business model and determining pricing How Ebere has approached identifying use cases and customer acquisition How the COVID pandemic affected ThankYouKindly How ThankYouKindly personalizes and sources their gifts Building out the ThankYouKindly team and how Ebere views technology and creativity How Ebere's role as founder and CEO has changed with the growth of the company Ebere's advice for scaling yourself and resources for first time founders Ebere's experience with the On Deck Fellowship Ebere's journey to becoming a founder What's next for ThankYouKindly Ebere's most impactful books Ebere's approach to separating her personal and professional lives Ebere's experience as an underrepresented founder Sign up for The Grind, for actionable insights and stories from successful entrepreneurs delivered to your inbox once per week: https://www.justgogrind.com/newsletter/ Listen to all episodes of the Just Go Grind Podcast: https://www.justgogrind.com/podcast/ Follow Justin Gordon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/justingordon212 Follow Justin Gordon on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justingordon8/

Blanca is the co-founder and CEO of BB Imaging & Consulting. Over the course of 15 years, she has cultivated relationships with healthcare providers in Texas, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma by delivering premium ultrasound services at their respective offices. Now, she is solely focused on making healthcare more accessible to women in rural communities around Texas using technology. BB Imaging allows her to follow her passion for increasing accessibility to healthcare.  Ms. Lesmes is Austin-educated, having completed her undergraduate degree at St. Edward’s University and later receiving her Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Texas.   In her free time, Blanca serves on the Board of DivInc, a pre-accelerator focused on diversity in tech.    She also acts as an Entrepreneur in Residence at UT and she is on the Advisory Council for Women@Austin.    But at home, she is most well-known for her caldo de pollo by her husband, and two kids, Squeaky (age 18), and Geena (age 16) and she even is willing to share some scraps with her Labradoodle, Luna.   Some of the Topics Covered by Blanca Lesmes in this Episode What BB Imaging & Consulting is and what led Blanca to found it 15 years ago BB Imaging's original business model and how they've adapted it How they approached entering new markets and the slow growth process The importance of trust in the healthcare industry How Blanca navigated the 2008 recession with BB Imaging and how it made them more resilient Blanca's experience getting her MBA at UT and how she applied her growing knowledge to her business How they navigated having to layoff employees during the recession and the COVID pandemic How Blanca approaches company culture and the role it plays in difficult conversations What enabled BB Imaging to kickstart significant growth over the last 5 years and how they are approaching growth moving forward Shifting from bootstrapping to fundraising and the process of building an advisory board Transitioning from a service-based business to a technology solution The big vision for BB Imaging & Consulting How Blanca finds work-life balance and recharges How the mission of BB Imaging energizes and fuels Blanca Sign up for The Weekly Grind, for actionable insights and stories from successful entrepreneurs delivered to your inbox once per week: https://www.justgogrind.com/newsletter/ Listen to all episodes of the Just Go Grind Podcast: https://www.justgogrind.com/podcast/ Follow Justin Gordon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/justingordon212 Follow Justin Gordon on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justingordon8/

Shubhra Srivastava is the Co-founder and CEO of GaragePlug, a cloud-based easy-to-use software providing an end to end digital platform for auto repair workshops and detailing centers. Shubhra started her career as a software developer in 1999 and worked for almost 18+ years in various multinational companies in different roles, starting as a developer and eventually leading various Global Programs and platform launches. She has worked in various domains such as telecom, engineering, cybersecurity, and instrumentation. In her 18 years of experience, she has learned the art of problem-solving and developing strong teams and organizations. Shubhra's journey with GaragePlug started in 2018 with little knowledge about business and industry, but she is now very confident about their business and the value they are generating, helping hundreds of automotive workshops to manage their entire business and customer journey on a single mobile-based platform. Some of the Topics Covered by Shubhra Srivastava in this Episode What GaragePlug is and how its 3 co-founders started it in 2017 GaragePlug's original MVP, getting their first customers, and early growth Shifting from the Indian market to going global Navigating pricing for GaragePlug's product GaragePlug's business model and customer acquisition Shubhra's current role in the business Transitioning into enterprise sales Deciding to join Upekkha and their experience in the program Expanding product features and managing customer feedback Building out GaragePlug's team and their onboarding process Shubhra's advice for SaaS founders How Shubhra recharges outside of work How the COVID pandemic has affected GaragePlug Sign up for The Weekly Grind, for actionable insights and stories from successful entrepreneurs delivered to your inbox once per week: https://www.justgogrind.com/newsletter/ Listen to all episodes of the Just Go Grind Podcast: https://www.justgogrind.com/podcast/ Follow Justin Gordon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/justingordon212 Follow Justin Gordon on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justingordon8/

Andrew Jamison is the Co-Founder & CEO of Extend, a company that enables credit card sharing amongst non-cardholders via a simple and ubiquitous P2P platform. Extend enables banks, and their customers to capture more business spend on their existing card accounts by connecting account holders and their workforce. Some of the Topics Covered by Andrew Jamison in this Episode What Extend is doing today and why Andrew decided to start it The discussions in the earlier days between Andrew and his co-founders around creating Extend The go-to-market strategy for Extend How Andrew went about establishing strategic partnerships Bootstrapping for 6-8 months and getting the first money from institutional investors including Point 72 and FinTech Collective The initial product for Extend How Andrew has grown Extend over time How Andrew has invested in himself as a founder and how the experience compares to what he expected The unique team happy hours Extend does and the types of games they play each week How Andrew recharges The big vision for Extend Sign up for The Weekly Grind, for actionable insights and stories from successful entrepreneurs delivered to your inbox once per week: https://www.justgogrind.com/newsletter/ Listen to all episodes of the Just Go Grind Podcast: https://www.justgogrind.com/podcast/ Follow Justin Gordon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/justingordon212 Follow Justin Gordon on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justingordon8/

Mehdi Maghsoodnia is the CEO of 1health, the leading testing as a service (TaaS) company. He is passionate about personalized healthcare and increasing access to testing in the U.S.  1health launched TaaS earlier this year by bringing to market the first FDA Emergency Use Authorized COVID-19 saliva test, in partnership with IBX (Previously RUCDR). Through these at-home saliva tests, 1health is responsible for the deployment of 1% of COVID-19 testing across the United States.  Instead of asking people to go get tested in laboratories that are often crowded and have delayed results, Mehdi is driving his businesses to bring affordable, simple testing to the people, wherever they are. 1health partners with hospital systems, telehealth companies, corporations and government agencies, school systems, consumer brands, as well as public health departments around the country. Through its lab network, centralized platform, and health partnerships, now more than seven million Americans have access to the 1health COVID-19 saliva test.  Mehdi is on the board of SpineZone and MedCorder, and previously served as CEO of Rafter, BookRenter.com, SVP of products at CafePress, COO at Actiance and SVP at Intellisync. He is also an industry fellow at UC Berkeley, where he teaches innovation and entrepreneurship. He holds a Master’s of Science in EECS from Stanford, and a Bachelor of Science from UC Berkeley. Some of the Topics Covered by Mehdi Maghsoodnia in this Episode What 1health is doing and how it got started Why Mehdi chose to work on this particular problem and get involved in the healthcare industry What the initial product at 1health consisted of How Mehdi funding 1health Mehdi's thoughts around building a team Acquiring customers for 1health and how Mehdi looks at testing different channels How Mehdi thinks about pricing and GTM strategy The competitive landscape 1health is operating in Educating the market when you're creating a whole new market The ideal customer for 1health today Mehdi's experience investing in companies and some of the things he's looking for in companies he invests in How Vitagene came about from 1health What Mehdi's schedule looks like today Learning to say no and how to delegate The magic of exercise to improve your thinking Sign up for The Weekly Grind, for actionable insights and stories from successful entrepreneurs delivered to your inbox once per week: https://www.justgogrind.com/newsletter/ Listen to all episodes of the Just Go Grind Podcast: https://www.justgogrind.com/podcast/ Follow Justin Gordon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/justingordon212 Follow Justin Gordon on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justingordon8/

Ethan Austin is the Chief Strategy Officer at Gig Wage, former Managing Director at the Techstars Western Union Accelerator, and the Founder of GiveForward. Gig Wage, a company that's raised more than $10M in venture capital, is a platform designed for innovators who want a simplified way of managing contractor payments so they can recruit and retain world-class 1099 talent and power modern contractor commerce. Some of the Topics Covered by Ethan Austin in this Episode What Ethan's role is at Gig Wage and what the company is doing Why Ethan decided to join Gig Wage How Ethan first got involved with startups Ethan's experience starting GiveForward How Ethan found his co-founder for GiveForward and his experience bootstrapping for 2 years Ethan's Techstars experience as a Founder and his fundraising experience Getting Naval Ravikant as an investor in 2012 The team behind GiveForward and how Ethan built a great culture at the company What Ethan did to grow GiveForward in the early years and after they raised funding How Ethan went from GiveForward to Techstars after losing 75% of their Facebook traffic in a year Why Ethan took a year off after GiveForward What Ethan's role entailed as the Managing Director at Techstars The experience of going through Techstars for a founder How Ethan thinks about being an investor vs. running a company Sign up for The Weekly Grind, for actionable insights and stories from successful entrepreneurs delivered to your inbox once per week: https://www.justgogrind.com/newsletter/ Listen to all episodes of the Just Go Grind Podcast: https://www.justgogrind.com/podcast/ Follow Justin Gordon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/justingordon212 Follow Justin Gordon on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justingordon8/