How Three Entrepreneurs Started On The Fast Track
Every entrepreneur’s journey starts with a big problem. That first hurdle—and hopefully, that first solution. Small and sometimes simple as it may be, this first moment contains so much ingenuity and inspiration, and captures just how resourceful entrepreneurs must be to continue along their path. Today, we’re telling three mini-stories of first-time challenges: how the creator of the Butterie butter dish cracked its market research problem, how GrowSumo found the right customers (and avoided the wrong ones), and how American Rhino created an apparel brand within weeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
12 Mars 201819min
The Entrepreneur’s Identity Crisis: “Am I My Company?”
Glenn Kelman thought of himself as a software guy. Then he became CEO of a real estate company called Redfin, but insisted on seeing it as a software company. Confusion reigned. Cultures clashed. For Glenn, it would come to highlight an often-unspoken business challenge: Entrepreneurship means exploring unknown paths, sometimes leading entrepreneurs to a very different place from where they started. The result can challenge not just their business philosophies but their very sense of identity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
5 Mars 201819min
How Do You Find Your First Customers?
How do you find your first customers? It’s a question first-time founders are often flummoxed by. But Keith Krach has developed a tried-and-true strategy—starting during his days at Ariba (which sold for billions), and extending into his current time as chairman of Docusign. In this special live edition of Problem Solvers, taped at Entrepreneur Live in Los Angeles, Keith explains how to turn a company’s first customers into valuable ambassadors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
26 Feb 201822min
Tripping.com's Problem: Their Popular Service Wasn't Making Money
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19 Feb 201818min
The Danger of Profitability: It Masks Deeper Problems
From the outside, Cogent Entertainment Marketing looked like a success: It got early into the influencer marketing game, quickly signing big clients and making good money. And because profits were high, founder Mark Zablow was afraid to make any changes—even as major leadership problems in his company began wreaking havoc. In this episode, we explore how Mark finally fixed his culture (while still making a profit). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
12 Feb 201823min
Going From B2C to B2B: Why Poppin Transformed Itself
What happens when you’re trying to sell to consumers, but your best customers are actually other businesses? Furniture-maker Poppin’s answer: It radically transformed itself to meet this new customer. That meant changing its brand voice, marketing, products, and supply chain. In this episode, we explore how and why it made the switch—and became the go-to furniture maker for Facebook, Snapchat, Google, Warby Parker, and others. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
5 Feb 201819min
How Transparent is Too Transparent?
Beck Besecker believes in transparency. So much so, that he calls Marxent, “aggressively transparent.” That means everyone can talk to everyone else. Everyone has a voice. Everyone has access to management. Most important, everyone is trusted. There’s an assumption that the employees of Marxent are professional, responsible, mature adults, and thus they’re completely capable of taking bad news and rolling with it. But what happens when the news is really bad? Can employees still be trusted to handle it? Besecker found out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
29 Jan 201814min
How A Young, New, Female Boss Took Over Her Male-Dominated Company
Chrissy Monaco was basically raised at Monaco Ford, her dad’s car dealership. Then in January of 2017, she took over as co-owner and new boss—now in charge of men she’d known all her life, some of whom weren’t immediately comfortable with it. She knew her task: New leaders have limited time to set a company’s culture and get people on board with their vision, before doing so becomes far harder. In this episode, Chrissy takes us through her first, critical year—and the tough decisions it required. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
22 Jan 201818min
