E23: JT McCormick | The American Dream - How The Son of a Pimp & an Orphan Went From Broke to CEO, Speaker & Author

Sam Madani is the Co-founder and CEO of BOMANI Cold Buzz. The son of Iranian immigrants, Sam, has always been driven and motivated by his parents’ struggles and successes. After he graduated from USC and moved to New York to work in investment banking, he realized there was a glaring gap in the market for a delicious drink that had both natural caffeine and low-carb alcohol. 

BOMANI was created by Sam alongside his two best friends, Kai and Amin. One of the key features of BOMANI is that not only does it taste great (speaking from experience) but it somehow only has 110 calories, 0g carbs, and 0g sugar – all while being Kosher, gluten-free, and dairy free. 

In two short years, Bomani has expanded throughout many parts of the US and is now sold in hundreds of retailers. You can also order Bomani online at https://www.bomanicoldbuzz.com/

Sam and I talk about what it’s like starting a company with your best friends, how BOMANI has been able to expand so quickly, how to make key strategic hires and attract top-talent at such an early stage, how to navigate through and actually grow while in a Pandemic, and much more! 

Connect with Sam: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-madani-58b054a1 | https://www.instagram.com/sammadani/

Check out BOMANI: https://www.bomanicoldbuzz.com/

Follow the BOMANI Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bomani.cold.buzz/

Clive Jackson is the Founder and CEO of Victor, one of the fastest growing jet charter companies in the world. Victor has access to more than 7,000 aircraft in 40,000 destinations and offices in London, NY and Santa Barbara.

Clive is a serial entrepreneur who has been at the forefront of the digital revolution developing innovative web services for luxury brands, financial services, technology and media.

Clive founded Global Beach, one of the UK’s leading digital agencies in 1993. In 2001 he spun out Autotorq.com, a new business providing bespoke dealer marketing and services to automotive manufacturers and their dealer networks across 26 countries.

Clive launched his current venture, Victor, in 2011. He wanted to revolutionise the world of private jet charter out of a frustration with the inconveniences of commercial air travel and the antiquated jet charter industry. Clive was on a mission to make aircraft charter easier, faster and more transparent than ever before.

Now, Clive is determined to lead the private aviation industry to a more sustainable future and has just launched an industry first climate action campaign which recognizes that privilege comes with responsibility, whether as a consumer or a business leader. It’s Clive’s mission to influence those that fly privately (CEOS, world leaders, politicians, celebrities) to be accountable for their environmental impact.

We talk about what it takes to be a serial entrepreneur, what it’s like to uproot an antiquated industry, how to build a sustainable business without sacrificing growth, and much more!

Connect with Clive: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clive-jackson-32325/

Check out Victor: https://www.flyvictor.com/en-us/

Use this link to sign up and get $1,000 off your first flight : https://refer.flyvictor.com/s/Ben09 

Jordan Paris is the host of the Growth Mindset University Podcast, the author of Growth Mindset University and the newly released, The Podcast Playbook.  

Jordan’s podcast, Growth Mindset University, was ranked #3 in Apple’s Training category and #5 in the How-To category. In Education, one of Apple’s most competitive categories, the show was ranked #15. On the show, he interviews young up-and-comers and some of the most successful people on planet earth like James Altucher, Kevin Rudolf, Mark Manson, Dan Millman, Naveen Jain, and Dan Lok.

We talk about what steps to take to turn a podcast or any other type of side hustle into a business, how to produce quality content, what it means to have a “growth mindset”, and much more!  

Connect with Jordan: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordantparis

Website: https://www.jordanparis.com 

Growth Mindset University Podcast: https://www.jordanparis.com/podcast

Growth Mindset University Book: https://smile.amazon.com/Growth-Mindset-University-Anything-Control-ebook-dp-B07MNP7HHM/dp/B07MNP7HHM/ref=mt_kindle?_encoding=UTF8&me=&qid=

[New Release] The Podcast Playbook:

https://smile.amazon.com/Podcast-Playbook-Winning-Audience-Podcaster-ebook/dp/B07ZP9TZ6F/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2AY3O0ICJEIAW&keywords=the+podcast+playbook&qid=1580094609&s=digital-text&sprefix=the+podcast+pl%2Cdigital-text%2C140&sr=1-1:

Free Podcasting Course: https://www.jordanparis.com/couse

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/i.am.jordan.paris/

Cindy Kim and Matt Maroone are the co-founders and co-CEOs of Silver Mirror, a facial bar that offers unique and customized facial treatments to help customers achieve their skincare goals. 

Silver Mirror currently has three locations: two in NYC, one in Washington, DC, and is set to grow significantly in 2020. 

Cindy and Matt met while they were both studying in business school at Wharton and each had an entrepreneurial background. Cindy had previously founded a Korean beauty startup, Peach and Lily, while Matt had previously founded multiple entertainment and tech companies, eventually finding his way into the beauty space. 

We discuss what it’s like to build and expand a brick-and-mortar business without giving up any equity, why it’s so important to have creative outlets apart from your main focus, how to have a successful business partnership and effectively delegate responsibilities and more!  

Connect with Cindy: 

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/cindyykim/

Connect with Matt:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-maroone-4223728/

Check out Silver Mirror: 

Website - https://www.silvermirror.com/

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/silvermirrorfacialbar/?hl=en

Upper East Side Location - https://www.silvermirror.com/locations/ues

Flatiron Location - https://www.silvermirror.com/locations/flatiron

Dupont Circle Location - https://www.silvermirror.com/locations/dupont-circle

Artem Mashkov is a repeat founder and investor who currently spends the bulk of his time as the COO of SwagUp.

Artem started his entrepreneurial journey in the cell phone world where he went from handing out flyers to becoming the Principal Franchise Owner of 12 Verizon locations across NYC. In addition, Artem is the founder of Intelligent Ventures, through which he invests and partners with other retail and hospitality businesses like Proper West, Manhattan Proper and Little Choc Apothecary.

Most recently, Artem left his advisor role at SwagUp to join them full-time as their COO. SwagUp is a promotional products company that makes it simple to create custom-branded swag packs for employees, customers, events, and startups.

We talk about how Artem’s background of growing up on welfare developed his entrepreneurial hunger, how Artem identifies good startup and investment opportunities, how SwagUp is transforming its agency-style business into a SaaS model and much more!

Connect with Artem: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/artemmashkov/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artemmashkov/?hl=en

Check out SwagUp:

SwagUp: https://www.swagup.com/

Link to the two-part interview with SwagUp’s CEO, Michael Martocci

E10: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e10-part-1-michael-martocci-swagup-story-how-resourcefulness/id1435678752?i=1000431408859

E11: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e11-part-2-michael-martocci-swagup-story-how-resourcefulness/id1435678752?i=1000431520162 

Daniel and Ben Mardkha are brothers and the Co-Founders of Marke.

Marke makes it easy for men to buy a wedding band. They're reinventing the traditional purchasing experience by simplifying and guiding grooms through the process. With Marke's home try-on-kit, they’ve been referred to as the “Warby Parker” of wedding bands.

Dan and Ben grew up in the jewelry business -- they come from a family of ringmakers with over 30 years of experience and used that knowledge and expertise to launch their own ventures. 

We talk about how failure in their first business led to success in their second, what the experience of starting a startup with family is like, how they focus and analyze feedback to create tailored experiences for their customers, and much more!

Connect with Ben: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-mardkha-5a22ab42

Connect with Dan:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-mardkha-00208152

Check out Marke:

Marke Website: https://markenyc.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/markenewyork/?hl=en

Farbood (Farb) Nivi is a serial entrepreneur and currently the Founder & CEO of Coinmine.

Coinmine One is the first all-in-one crypto miner for everyone. Farb and his co-founder, Justin Lambert, have revolutionized the crypto mining industry by creating a sleek, quiet, and aesthetically pleasing device to mine cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Zcash, Monero, and others. 

Farb has been an entrepreneur since his college days where he ran multiple computer solutions business and later started Grockit, an Edtech startup that raised $17M+ and was sold to Kaplan.

Coinmine was founded in 2018, is growing rapidly, and has raised $4.5M so far from investors like Coinbase and Republic Labs.

We discuss topics like the importance of product design, the future of crypto and what that means for Coinmine, how and why you should trust your gut to make decisions, and much more. 

Connect with Farb: 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/farbood

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/farboodnivi/

Check out Coinmine: 

Coinmine: https://coinmine.com

Use code STARTINGITUP or go to https://coinmine.com/startingitup to get $50 off your Coinmine One

Aditya (Adi) Agashe is a Product Manager at Microsoft and the best-selling author of Swipe to Unlock: The Primer on Technology and Business Strategy as well as his most recent book, Bubble or Revolution: The Present and Future of Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies. 

Alongside his two close friends and fellow PMs, Neel Mehta and Parth Detroja, Adi creates content that provides a thorough, yet understandable introduction to complex topics like how to break into tech and what exactly blockchain is.

Adi got his start in entrepreneurship when he was at Cornell, launching two companies -- Belle Apps and Belle Delivery. 

We talk about topics like how to establish credibility with an audience, the major differences between the public and private blockchain, what the most promising current and future applications of blockchain are and much more!

Alex Boyd is the Founder & CEO of RevenueZen. RevenueZen helps companies build and execute B2B lead generation engines using a powerful, proven blend of inbound marketing, outbound sales, and social strategies. Alex launched his startup a little over two years ago after realizing that he wanted to build out and create a team and culture of his own. Since then he has been able to bootstrap and scale RevenueZen up to a seven-figure ARR organization, with 18 people on the team, and an industry-leading Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 83. We talk about how to know when it’s time to make the leap from employee to founder, why focusing on your customers’ experience is key when building your business, how to create a winning content marketing strategy, and much more! 

Dan Demsky is the Co-founder of Unbound Merino. Unbound Merino sources nature's ultimate performance fiber, Australian Merino wool, to create apparel that can be worn for weeks or even months, without ever needing to be washed. Dan started this company alongside his two best friends, with the goal of minimizing the burdens of travel, so that you can maximize the experience of your trip. Dan had previously founded a digital media agency, and another clothing business prior to Unbound, so we see how those experiences shaped his decisions. Unbound Merino has been doubling revenue year over year and is set to do $4M+ in its 3rd year in business. We talk about how to get a product off-the-ground using crowdfunding, what it’s like to start and run a company with your best friends, how to scale a direct to consumer (D2C) business, and more!