Tropical MBA: Entrepreneurship & Founder Lifestyle

Will Roman is a veteran entrepreneur who has worked in a number of different fields including eCommerce, physical products, software, and even cryptocurrency. At the end of last year, Will made the decision to leave his crypto exchange business to start Chisos, a product company that manufactures and sells designer cowboy boots. Will joins us on the podcast this week to talk about his stressful exit from that company, why he decided to start Chisos, what he has learned from his first year of manufacturing boots, and a whole lot more. 

We often talk about the "1,000 Day Principle" or the idea that it will take about 1,000 days to get a new business off the ground before it replaces the income from your 9-to-5. But what happens after those 1,000 Days? Chris Cage's 1,000 Day Journey has been well-documented on previous episodes of this podcast. Chris is the founder of Greenbelly, a company that manufactures high-quality meal bars for hikers. Greenbelly is now over 5 years old, and Chris is facing a whole new set of challenges. Chris joins us this week to talk about how he has handled the "Middle Game" of entrepreneurship. You'll hear about his first full-time hire, how he has created a repeatable process for getting clients, why he is taking time away from the business, and much more.

One of our favorite things to do on this podcast is follow up on some of the entrepreneurial stories that we've covered in the past. This time last year, we recorded a podcast with Tommy Joiner. In that episode, Tommy spoke about the genesis of his productized content generation service ContentPros. Fast forward a year and Tommy has made some massive changes in his life. Not only has he sold ContentPros, but he also chose to part ways with his business partner. In today's episode, Tommy returns to explain why he decided to move on from ContentPros and to share some insights into the exit process as well.

Entrepreneurship is something of a gamble, and perhaps very few people understand that better than today's guest. Mike Jackness is a widely respected figure among the eCommerce community and is the host of a brilliant podcast called ECommCrew. Mike has owned and exited several successful businesses, the most popular of which being ColorIt, which manufactured and sold coloring books aimed at adults. On today's podcast, Mike joins us to talk about the highs and lows of his entrepreneurial career. You'll hear how an obsession with poker turned into Mike's first major foray into entrepreneurship, how he founded and eventually sold ColorIt, and some of the biggest pitfalls that entrepreneurs face in the eCommerce space today.

We here at the Tropical MBA are always fascinated with people who raise questions that challenge the social narratives that most people follow. It's no wonder then that Christoper Ryan caught our attention. Christopher is a New York Times bestselling author, the host of a brilliant podcast called Tangentially Speaking, and is perhaps best known for his 2010 book Sex at Dawn. Christopher recently published a new book called Civilized to Death, which argues that so-called "progress" has actually adversely affected the way we live. He joins us today to talk about his unconventional path to becoming a published author, and why civilization might not represent progress.

Last week, we spoke to Mark Brenwall about why he left his job in San Francisco to move to Asia and start WOD Nation, an Amazon FBA business that sells CrossFit products. Today's podcast is the conclusion of that interview and in it, we speak specifically about Mark's entrepreneurial "code". In this conversation, Mark shares some of his unorthodox business philosophies, as well as some specific insights into the Amazon FBA platform, and why he almost decided to sell his business last year.

Mark Brenwall is the founder of WOD Nation, an Amazon FBA business that sells CrossFit products. A few years ago, Mark joined us for one of our favorite conversations we've had on this podcast in an episode called "The Power of Under Optimization". That episode was all about Mark's unconventional business approach, which prioritizes lifestyle and happiness over aggressive growth. Today's episode is the first in a two-part series where we revisit Mark's story. In this first part, we explore some of the personal and professional circumstances that led Mark to leave a seemingly great life in the United States for the unknown.

A year ago, we kicked off 2019 with a somewhat self-indulgent podcast full of updates on our ongoing projects as well as some of our business goals for the year. As the decade draws to a close, we’re taking stock of the year and asking ourselves “did we meet those expectations”? In today's episode, we are revisiting what we accomplished (and failed to accomplish) in 2019, as well as showcasing some of our business highlights from the year. Stick around to the end of the episode to hear five specific plans and goals that we have in store for our projects in 2020.

As we prepare to celebrate the holiday season, we thought it would be fun to revisit some of our most memorable moments from the podcast in 2019. In this week's episode, you'll hear highlights from some of our favorite interviews, as well as our thoughts on five specific entrepreneurial themes that continue to resonate with us as the year comes to a close. Make sure to stick around until the end to hear some outtakes from recording the podcast in 2019.

Some entrepreneurs have a secret. Adopting a pseudonym, or a "pen name", is a common practice on the internet. Even one of the hosts of this show, Dan Andrews, has been using a pseudonym for many years. Some people do it because their name is difficult to pronounce, others are worried about being stalked, or because they want to improve their Google rankings. We've also spoken to people who regret having taken a "fake identity", and believe it has started to adversely affect their lives. In today's episode, you will hear from several entrepreneurs who have adopted pseudonyms as they share the reasons why they chose to do it, the pros and cons of taking on a pseudonym, and much more.