Just Go Grind

Eric Martell is a founder at Pear Commerce, which simplifies retail marketing by connecting CPG advertisements directly with retailers. Their mission is to provide complete transparency from the click of an ad to the purchase of a product. Eric is also a Venture Partner at Gener8tor, and was Managing Director of Gener8tor Minnesota until September 2018. Gener8tor is a nationally ranked accelerator, with 76 investments to date. Before Gener8tor, he co-founded EatStreet, a startup that powers the online ordering for 15,000 restaurants nationwide and feeds millions of hungry people. Early in the company, he led product and engineering with Alex Wyler, and spent his last several years leading business intelligence, analytics, and metrics. They have raised $40 million and their team has grown to 150 full time employees. Eric was named Ernst and Young "Entrepreneur of the Year" finalist in 2015 along with Matt Howard and Alex Wyler. Connect with Eric Martell Pear Commerce Facebook LinkedIn eric@pearcommerce.com Some of the Topics Covered by Eric Martell in this Episode What is Pear Commerce and how it got started Evolving an idea into a business The mistake of creating a business in a vacuum How to utilize "learning meetings" Falling in love with the problem instead of the solution How Eric got the idea for and started EatStreet Why they decided to target smaller markets with EatStreet The early growth of EatStreet and mistakes that became learning opportunities How they approached expanding into new markets with EatStreet Winning the University of Wisconsin student business plan competition Becoming Gener8tor's first investment and fundraising for EatStreet Eric's advice for fundraising Leaving EatStreet and starting with Gener8tor The challenge of raising 1.5M in investment capital for Gener8tor Fundraising for Pear Commerce What's next for Pear Commerce Eric's book recommendations Links from the Episode Gener8tor EatStreet Spotted Cow beer Y Combinator pitch deck Techstars pitch deck The Brandery Blitzscaling by Reid Hoffman

Ish Jindal is the co-founder and CEO of Tars, a company that helps marketers increase their PPC and paid ad conversion rate by 50-200% using chatbots and conversational landing pages. On a Conversational Landing Page, visitors are greeted with an automated chatbot which starts a more human-like conversation on text, gives them only the relevant information about your product/service and asks them for their contact information at the right time. With this approach users don't get overwhelmed by all the information listed on a typical static landing page and they are focused on having one conversation with the chatbot. This increases the chances of the user giving their information and turning into a lead for you. Ish co-founded Tars with Vinit in 2016. He's been passionate about entrepreneurship since his college days. He enjoys building, scaling and connecting the dots between sales, marketing and customer success at Tars. He can also be heard on podcasts, talking about conversational marketing and chatbots. Connect with Ish Jindal Tars LinkedIn Facebook Twitter YouTube Tars Conversations (podcast) Some of the Topics Covered by Ish Jindal in this Episode How Ish and his co-founder Vinit Agrawal started Tars and the problem they set out to solve How Tars works How they went about early testing of Tars and getting their first customers while still experimenting with its functionality The customer outreach process for Tars and how it changed through early growth How they approached funding What Ish learned about pricing through building Tars and his advice for other entrepreneurs pricing SaaS Value-based pricing and the importance of adjusting pricing throughout the growth of the company Tars' customer acquisition strategy Content marketing and how they prioritize content to create credibility throughout the customer journey Creating traction and Tars' growth trajectory How Ish and Vinit built out their team and their original reluctance How Ish and Vinit determined roles and responsibility during the first two years The biggest challenges Ish has faced over the past year Ish's big vision for Tars Ish's resources for ongoing education Links from the Episode Notion

Olivia Owens is the Creator & General Manager of IFundWomen of Color, the platform for women of color to raise capital through crowdfunding, grants, coaching, and the connections needed to launch and grow successful businesses. This funding ecosystem is designed to empower early-stage, women entrepreneurs and bridge the funding gap for women of color. Olivia was a founding team member of IFundWomen and managed Business Development and Partnerships. IFundWomen launched in 2016 and continues to help women raise millions of dollars in capital. Before launching IFundWomen of Color, Olivia's leadership brokered critical partnerships to help scale the business (GirlBoss, adidas, Visa). She supported the creation of IFundWomen's proprietary coaching program and helped build-out one of the nation's largest connected communities of women business owners through the platform. Olivia previously held positions at Under Armour in People & culture. She received her Bachelor's degree in Journalism from the University of Maryland. Connect with Olivia Owens IFundWomen of Color IFundWomen LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube OJ: We Got The Juice (Olivia's Podcast) The Discomfort Zone Newsletter Some of the Topics Covered by Olivia Owens in this Episode What is IFundWomen Why Olivia launched IFundWomen of Color The variety of companies and projects IFundWomen supports The first steps IFundWomen uses to coach its entrepreneurs The funding gap for women founders, particularly women of color, and why crowdfunding is an essential tool The services IFundWomen provides Launching IFundWomen of Color and the particular challenges women entrepreneurs of color face How they are spreading the word about IFundWomen The ultimate vision and business model of IFundWomen of Color What lessons Olivia has learned since launching IFundWomen of Color in January 2020, and particularly navigating the COVID-19 pandemic What's next for IFund Women and IFundWomen of Color Who IFundWomen serves Getting entrepreneurs to understand the value of crowdfunding How crowdfunding can be used at different stages of a business What entrepreneurs should be thinking about as they launch their business Books and resources Olivia recommends How Olivia manages her time day to day How Olivia recharges away from work Olivia's advice for entrepreneurs Links from the Episode Girlboss Visa and IFundWomen Adidas and IFundWomen IFundWomen Workshop Library Teachable Mighty Networks The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho Three Feet from Gold, by Sharon L. Lechter and Dr. Greg S. Reid Do Less, Kate Northrup OJ: We Got The Juice The Discomfort Zone Newsletter The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer

Chad moved to the DC area for school, attending the University of Maryland, College Park, where he was a D1 collegiate decathlete in their Track & Field program. He began his post-collegiate career in the residential remodeling industry, and noticed that it typically took 6 people and multiple touches from each person to help one customer renovate a bathroom. He understood what may have worked 70+ years ago, just doesn't work today. The renovation process needed, well…a renovation. At LivingSocial, Chad experienced the drive and pace of an internet startup environment firsthand. He was now ready to combine his knowledge of the remodeling industry, his experience in the online marketplace, and his vision for a more efficient customer journey. Thus he founded and is now CEO of Remodelmate, a managed marketplace for bathroom renovations. Homeowners get plans, permits, materials, and book labor through their site and the entire process is managed by a project concierge to make sure renovations finish on-time and on-budget. Backed by Revolution's Rise of the Rest, CoVenture and prominent angels. Connect with Chad Hall Remodelmate LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Pinterest Twitter Some of the Topics Covered by Chad Hall in this Episode Why and how Chad started Remodelmate How Chad went about finding his target market Why he made the decision to stay local to Washington D.C. for now How Chad used Remodelmate's first bathroom to prove his concept Mistakes Chad made as he navigated digital marketing How Chad and his co-founder managed funding as they started the business Raising half a million dollars through angel investors and how they spent those funds How they decided what positions they needed to hire for Mistakes and challenges as Remodelmate grew and how to beat the competition Figuring out what to standardize and which elements to make customizable How Chad approached pricing strategy Growing the company revenue 4x How Remodelmate is faring through COVID-19 Chad's book and software recommendations Chad's biggest lesson for entrepreneurs, about making decisions Links from the Episode Living Social Uber Postmates Long Fence Stripe HubSpot Academy Keynote Casper Warby Parker Brooklinen Italic The Hard Thing about Hard Things by Ben Horowitz Zero to One by Peter Thiel Venture Deals by Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson Hooked by Nir Eyal The Upstarts by Brad Stone Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek Simon Sinek Purple Cow by Seth Godin The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick Notion HubSpot Contactually

Max de Melo is a real estate entrepreneur based in Scottsdale, Arizona. After moving to the U.S. from Germany, Max and his business partner and friend Patrick Niederdrenk started from humble beginnings in the real estate industry with the first home they flipped and from there have grown an empire of real estate, as co-owners and managing partners of America One Luxury Real Estate, in addition to doing remodels and rebuilds of multi-million dollar homes in the Paradise Valley area. America One Luxury Real Estate is Arizona's most reliable source for full-service property management and brokerage services since 1988. With many choices throughout Scottsdale and the East Valley for full-service property management, they take pride in their commitment to personal service, responsiveness, direct communication, and their experience and expertise in real estate. Each of their employees are seasoned real estate professionals, providing services for homeowners, investors, and lenders. Connect with Max de Melo America One Luxury Real Estate LinkedIn Instagram YouTube Some of the Topics Covered by Max de Melo in this Episode What America One Luxury Real Estate does in the Scottsdale and Paradise Valley area How Max and his business partner Patrick got involved in real estate and why they chose Scottsdale Max's self-proclaimed German approach and advice for finding your first property to flip How Max and Patrick did their first flip, from discovering the property to finding a general contractor to furnishing, renting and eventually selling Max's advice for networking The journey of getting an investor visa and buying into the brokerage they are now co-owners of Their unconventional method of getting into the luxury market What makes a great business partner How Max and his partner find opportunities and add value to the properties The importance of "understanding the numbers" and how to do so How they approach and carry out a typical flip Strategies for selling luxury properties How they plan to expand their business The biggest lessons Max has learned on this journey Links from the Episode Zillow Grant Cardone Ryan Serhant Million Dollar Listing

Saurav Agarwal is an entrepreneur and engineer. He is currently the founder, CEO & CTO at his second startup, SIERA.AI, which uses AI-driven solutions to boost compliance, prevent accidents, and fill labor shortages in logistics through digital inspection software, forklift collision prevention, and automated material handling. Saurav got his start in robotics during his undergrad at IIT Bombay. He went on to do an M.S. and Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M University in the EDP Lab and garnered several awards including the Qualcomm Padovani Fellowship. His research work is within the field of Motion Planning Under Uncertainty and SLAM for mobile robots. In 2013 he founded an online travel marketplace for finding local guides called GuideBuddy. Over the past 12 years he has developed self-driving cars, autonomous drones and computer vision systems. In his free time, he enjoys making music with his wife, cooking, reading and writing. Connect with Saurav Agarwal SIERA.AI LinkedIn Saurav's Blog Some of the Topics Covered by Saurav Agarwal in this Episode How Saurav started SIERA.AI Getting a grant from the National Science Foundation and the customer discovery process Defining their initial product and building the first prototype How they got connected with their first customer How the company began to grow Networking and fundraising through Dorm Room Fund and angel investors Saurav's experience as a POC entrepreneur in Texas SIERA.AI's current traction and team How Saurav balances the roles of both CEO and CTO and the division of work with his co-founder Suhas How Saurav approaches hiring The why, what, how approach SIERA.AI's product offerings How they approach growth and customer acquisition SIERA.AI's response to COVID-19 and its affect on the business and team SIERA.AI's pricing model How Saurav views competition The biggest challenges Saurav has faced as an entrepreneur How Saurav approaches short term versus long term planning by being impatient with action and patient with results Saurav's advice regarding fundraising Saurav's grand vision for SIERA.AI Saurav's book recommendations How Saurav manages his time daily What Saurav does to recharge Saurav's advice for entrepreneurs Links from the Episode National Science Foundation Zoox Dorm Room Fund Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Principles by Ray Dalio Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss Malcolm Gladwell High Output Management by Andrew S. Grove Jeff Bezos Paper Raven Books Just Go Grind Podcast #77: Morgan Gist MacDonald, Founder of Paper Raven Books, on How to Successfully Write, Publish, and Promote a Book

Peter Peng is the founder and CEO of Jetson, the Shopify of voice commerce. It is voice-first marketplace technology that adds true commerce capabilities to voice assistants such as Alexa and Google Home by enabling multi-step conversations, which allow you to explore a menu or catalog, customize products, and transact them in a natural and unconstrained way. Jetson also enables businesses of any size to easily sell products and services through voice interfaces using Jetson's end to end platform. Jetson is the only voice commerce platform today that has full on turn-key capabilities. Peter has worked at a number of IoT startups, and led the 2014 Google Glass integration into a smart lock platform and as well as the Alexa integration into the same platform. Peter has a passion for taking companies to the next level with artificial intelligence. Connect with Peter Peng Jetson Invest in Jetson with Microventures Facebook Instagram LinkedIn Some of the Topics Covered by Peter Peng in this Episode What is Jetson? How COVID-19 has re-invigorated the Jetson team Why Peter created Jetson Why they started with food ordering and what other industries they have since moved into Figuring out their target customers and creating different types of accounts Where Peter got direction and guidance as he started Jetson The process of getting pre-revenue funding and getting investors through regulation crowdfunding and MicroVentures How Peter views growth and customer acquisition for Jetson Why Peter focuses on being product- and brand-centric Peter's advice for successful sales What's next for Jetson The story behind Jetson's logo How Peter sees the future of AI A typical day for Peter How Peter finds a work-life balance and why it's so important to him Peter's book recommendations What Peter would have done differently looking back Links from the Episode Brandable Square Shopify Delivery.com Amazon Pay Cognitive Code MicroVentures Good to Great, Jim Collins Crossing the Chasm, Geoffrey A. Moore Traction, Gino Wickman

Christian is the Co-Founder and CEO of We Are No Code, an educational platform that empowers non-technical founders through No-code technology. WeAreNoCode prepares startups for accelerators, investment, and revenue growth through an 8-module guided course. Christian is a serial entrepreneur and digital strategist with over 12 years experience building startups, running accelerators and consulting for fortune 500 companies and celebrities. As a trainer, he served as the co-director of a startup program that has helped over 100 startups go on to raise over 40M in funding and get into accelerators like Techstars, YCombinator and 500 Startups. He is also a specialist in no-code and workflow automations. Connect with Christian Peverelli We Are No Code LinkedIn Some of the Topics Covered by Christian Peverelli in this Episode What is the No-code movement? How Christian discovered No-code and the impact it's had on him as an entrepreneur What We Are No Code does and its potential for changing the game for creators Navigating the immense variety of No-code tools available and how We Are No Code provides guidance The reality of being your own worst critic and leveraging the human element in your favor We Are No Code's target audience and what they can achieve The importance of becoming tech-literate in today's world A breakdown of We Are No Code's 8-module educational program, from 0 to revenue The three avenues of funding: investors vs. accelerators vs. bootstrap The importance of discovery calls and avoiding "the mom effect" How Christian and his co-founder Eddy started We Are No Code How they are lowering the learning curve and making entrepreneurship accessible even to those with full time jobs Christian's own journey as an entrepreneur How Christian is also using his business to make the world better We Are No Code's plan for growth Christian's recommendations and advice for entrepreneurs Links from the Episode No-Code development platform Visual programming WEM Airtable Zapier Webflow Memberstack Adalo Bubble The No-Code Startup Career Karma Defy Ventures Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, Carol S. Dweck Impact Theory with Tom Bilyeu Gary Vaynerchuk Akimbo with Seth Godin (podcast)

Sabena was born on Long Island and raised in the Bay Area. She realized her heart was in SoCal and traded in the City by the Bay for the sunnier skies of Los Angeles. Ever the USC over-achiever—student government chair by day and leadership fraternity by night—she was selected as a USC Global Fellow, earning a 3-month summer fellowship in Hong Kong with Burberry and graduated magna cum laude with a BA in PR. In 2014, Sabena and her two co-founders, Chelsea Moore and Jenni Olivero, were inspired to create BOXFOX, an LA-based e-commerce gifting company, with a clear mission: to create stronger relationships through beautiful and personal gifts, enabled by simple user experiences. The three women identified the need for a comprehensive gifting service that lets both consumers and corporations send high-quality, personalized gift boxes for any occasion. At BOXFOX, Sabena wears many (designer) hats, namely managing their Corporate Concierge program, driving B2B business development, and working closely with developers on site enhancements and solutions that are constantly improving their offerings. Sabena and her two co-founders were named on the 2019 Forbes 30 Under 30 list in the retail and e-commerce category. Connect with Sabena Suri BOXFOX Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Some of the Topics Covered by Sabena Suri in this Episode How and why BOXFOX got started The brainstorming phase and the original idea that Sabena and her co-founders Chelsea and Jenni came up with Defining their target audience and figuring out how to reach them How they launched and their initial marketing strategy The importance of using the connections and resources close to you as an entrepreneur Creating growth by turning their product into a shareable moment The process of coming up with their name and logo Establishing the clear pillars of their brand early on Establishing the roles of each of the three co-founders and how those have evolved over time The process of making BOXFOX their full time gig and how it was different for each of the co-founders How turning into a multi-million dollar business affected the company and the challenge of maintaining company culture The importance of PR and figuring out how to best leverage it for their company The B2B side of the business Customer acquisition and how they shifted their strategy The importance and value of rewarding loyal customers and how they developed a loyalty program that works for their business How they decide on which products to include in their boxes The challenges of offering diverse products and what makes their company unique How their view of the competition has changed over time How customer feedback affects their product selection Turning products into gifts and anticipating customers' needs, especially amidst COVID-19 How the pandemic has affected BOXFOX How corporate gifting changed their business How Sabena views growth for her company moving forward Where BOXFOX is at today and the element of growth with existing corporate customers Sabena's long-term vision for BOXFOX Expectations versus reality as an entrepreneur Sabena's podcast and book recommendations A typical day for Sabena Strategies Sabena uses for maintaining a daily work-life balance What Sabena does to recharge Sabena's advice for other entrepreneurs Links from the Episode 2019 Forbes 30 Under 30 How I Built This (podcast) Shoe Dog by Phil Knight Radical Candor (management philosophy and book) Google Sheets Keynote

Loren Brill is an entrepreneur with a mission to make clean food delicious and more accessible. After overcoming cancer after college, she cut out most dairy, artificial and highly processed ingredients. When she couldn't find anything to satisfy her sweet tooth with, she made up her own recipes. Sweet Loren's was born. Loren is the CEO & Founder of Sweet Loren's, a clean food CPG company transforming what is means to be convenient, insanely tasty, and more sustainable. Their first product line is a first-of-its-kind place & bake and edible cookie dough. Sweet Loren's ranked #114 in the 2019 Inc. 500 fastest growing private companies in the U.S. and Loren was picked as part of the 2019 Inc. Female Founders 100, building America's most innovative and ambitious businesses. She is a graduate of the Annenberg School of Communication, University of Southern California and a certified Hatha Yoga instructor. She completed the master class in cooking at The New School and studied at The Natural Gourmet Institute. She loves good food, health & wellness, female entrepreneurship, and turning negatives into positives. Connect with Loren Brill Sweet Loren's Cookie Dough Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Some of the Topics Covered by Loren Brill in this Episode What is Sweet Loren's and what makes their product unique How Sweet Loren's got started How surviving cancer at 22 re-framed Loren's life Seeing food as fuel and what clean eating means to Loren How Loren began testing her cookie dough and got her big break with Whole Foods before she even had a packaged product The challenges of her first year of business How Loren recommends to test market How Loren gathered data and refined her product as she got her company off the ground How Loren grew from having her product carried in a few New York Whole Foods to over 10,000 supermarkets across the country How taking a course helped Loren formulate her business plan How Loren got her first big meeting with the head buyer at the Columbus Circle Whole Foods and the push that gave to her business Figuring out how to not be afraid of opportunities and to just show up and do her best The whirlwind between that first meeting and getting her product onto the shelves The challenges of finding a factory to work with, scaling up her recipe, distribution, and sampling What growth looked like during the first few years of building her business Winning the Next Big Small Brand Contest The importance of branding and packaging in food Getting on the Today Show and getting voted Top Entrepreneur in Marie Claire How networking led to meeting her mentor Hamdi Ulukaya, founder of Chobani How getting launched nationally by Publix and Kroger supermarkets made Sweet Loren's into a multi-million dollar business overnight How Loren knew she was ready to bring on a full team The food service side of Sweet Loren's and diversifying the business What the e-commerce side of the business looks like for Sweet Loren's as a perishable product How COVID-19 has affected her business and the baking boom during this time Why they have stuck to cookie dough for five years and why they are now evaluating the market demands for potential new products Loren's advice about identifying and focusing on your strengths as you grow a business What Loren would have done differently if she could go back in time and her biggest advice for entrepreneurs How Loren avoids burnout Loren's book recommendations and what she learned from them How Loren manages her time day to day Links from the Episode 2019 Inc. 5000: The Most Successful Companies in America 2019 Inc. Female Founders 100 Whole Foods Market The Next Big Small Brand Contest 2012 Marie Claire Women on Top Awards: The Transformers The Today Show Natural Products Expo West Hamdi Ulukaya, founder and CEO of Chobani Publix Kroger Shoe Dog by Phil Knight Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson