Gary Vee’s Secret To Become A Successful Entrepreneur (The Founder Hotline feat. Gary Vee)

Welcome to yet another episode of the Build In Public Podcast! 🎉

Today's episode features Ariel Renous, co-founder and CEO of Augment.org.  

Augment is a modern online alternative to the traditional MBA program. Augment's approach is to reshape education by leveraging online tools to offer high-quality business knowledge straight from the minds of the brightest business leaders. Partnering with experts in business education and world-class entrepreneurs from companies like Wikipedia, YouTube, Waze, and Shazam, they crafted an innovative MBA program. The fast-growing startup based out of Paris raised a $6 million funding round from top tier investors in 2023.

In this episode, Ariel and KP discuss the founding story of Augment, the evolution of business education over the years, the power of cold emailing influential people in Silicon Valley, lessons from building in public and more. 

The list of topics covered and relevant timestamps are:
00:00  Introduction
03:09  Origin Story of Augment
08:35  Cold Emailing Everyone in Silicon Valley
12:20  The Power of Mission and Storytelling
29:45  The Upside of Building in Public
30:04  Lessons from Fundraising
33:07  Building Augment
36:14  Non-Zero Sum Game
39:45  Finding the Right Idea
45:09  Challenges Before Starting Augment
52:04  Building a Team and Managing Challenges

Relevant links:
Ariel's handle on X: https://twitter.com/ArielRenous
Augment's website: https://augment.org/
KP handle on X: https://twitter.com/thisiskp_
KP's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/KarthikPuvvadaKP

Past guests on the Build In Public podcast include Gary Vaynerchuk (CEO of Vayner Media), Sahil Lavingia (CEO of Gumroad), Alexis Ohanian (co-founder of Reddit), Sheel Mohnot (Better Tomorrow Ventures), Gina Bianchini (CEO of Mighty Networks), Adam Draper (MD of BoostVC), Arvid Kahl (Author of Zero To Sold), Tiago Forte (author of Building A Second Brain), Mariam Hakobyan (CEO of Softr), Kat Cole (COO of Athletic Greens) and more.

Other episodes you might enjoy: 

• Episode 4 with Gary Vaynerchuk
• Episode with Alexis Ohanian (Co-Founder of Reddit and 776 Fund)
• The Must-Have Qualities For You To Become A Successful Entrepreneur (feat. Sheel Mohnot
• Episode 10 with Kat Cole
• Life After One Of India's Biggest Startup Exits (feat. Phanindra Sama)

Welcome to 2024's 1st episode of the Build In Public Podcast! 🎉

Today's episode features Jason Cohen, four-time entrepreneur across 24 years who has built both bootstrapped and VC-funded businesses in his career. He had two exits and two unicorns and has been writing for 17 years on the Internet. You may have seen him on X as @asmartbear or read one of his articles at this blog: asmartbear.com

Jason is currently the Chief Innovation Officer of WP Engine which is a startup unicorn that he started in 2010. The company raised over $300m in funding, has over 1,200 employees globally and serves billions of web requests daily for 200,000 customers as one of the top-ten largest web platforms in the world. 

In this episode, Jason and KP discuss the significance of passion, the role of writing in personal growth, and the story behind Jason's beef with the term "MVP" in startups :) The conversation touches on challenges entrepreneurs face, the difference between missionaries and mercenaries in business, and strategies for finding great startup ideas.

The list of topics covered and relevant timestamps are:

00:00 Intro
05:26 Jason's Writing Routine
08:34 Redefining Product Development: From MVP to SLC
23:25 The Power of Being Mission-Driven in Building a Company
27:48 Finding Great Startup Ideas
30:48 How to Select Between Multiple Business Ideas Effectively
40:48 Finding the Perfect Work Companion: Balancing Strengths and Weaknesses in Hiring
41:38 Tips for Maximizing Productivity and Authentic Engagement on Twitter
51:38 Wrap-Up

Build In Public Podcast is an interview show where KP chats with ambitious startup founders, CEOs, and top Internet creators to unpack their stories, insights, and lessons.

Note: If you loved the conversation or had questions/comments to share, please post on X or DM me directly :) Always hungry for feedback. Thank you!

Links:
Jason's handle on X: https://twitter.com/asmartbear
Jason's blog:  https://longform.asmartbear.com/
KP handle on X: https://twitter.com/thisiskp_
KP's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/KarthikPuvvadaKP

Welcome to another episode of the Build In Public Podcast.

Today's episode features Gale Wilkinson, founder and Managing Partner at VITALIZE, a seed fund and angel community investing in transformative WorkTech software and currently deploying capital out of a $23.4M Fund II and their 500+ member angel community.

Previously founded IrishAngels, one of the largest angel groups in the world. Gale has led $70M+ in early-stage deals across 125+ portfolio companies, and she has made 50 personal angel investments.

In this interview, Gale and KP delve into all-things VC and share their insights on topics such as:

00:00 Intro
03:02 The Work Tech Thesis
04:53 The Kauffman Fellowship Experience
05:47 Traits of a Great Investor
07:26 The Shift in the Venture Landscape
08:54 The Future of Venture Capital
09:46 Investment Strategy and Criteria
11:38 Lessons Learned from Fundraising
13:04 Choosing the Right Problem to Solve
18:32 The Discrepancy in Funding for Underrepresented Groups
25:28 Advice for Founders
34:53 Focus for the Future

Build In Public Podcast is an interview show where KP chats with ambitious startup founders, CEOs, and top Internet creators to unpack their stories, insights, and lessons.

Share your thoughts on this episode. Thanks for listening!

Links:
Gale on X: https://twitter.com/galeforceVC
VITALIZE on X: https://twitter.com/VitalizeVC
VITALIZE Venture Capital: https://www.vitalize.vc/
KP on X: https://twitter.com/thisiskp_
KP's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/KarthikPuvvadaKP

Welcome to another episode of the Build In Public Podcast.

Today's episode features Jess Chan, founder of Backbone, a platform designed to streamline email marketing for small eCommerce teams. She is one of the top retention marketing experts, with expertise in retention marketing through email and SMS.

She previously founded Longplay Brands, a full-service retention & lifecycle marketing agency for DTC e-commerce brands. Jess bootstrapped the agency scaling to 7-figures in revenue in the first 18 months.

In this interview, Jess and KP discuss various topics related to entrepreneurship and e-commerce such as:

00:00 Intro
02:18 Inflection Points and Drive to be an Entrepreneur
05:22 Transition from CMO to Entrepreneur
06:49 De-risking the Decision to Become an Entrepreneur
09:18 The Pressure to Succeed and the Importance of Long-Term Thinking
11:00 The Value of Failure and Learning from Mistakes
12:19 The Perception of Risk in Entrepreneurship
15:16 The Emotional Experience of Being an Entrepreneur
17:12 The Importance of Long-Term Growth and Avoiding Short-Term Thinking
19:20 Building Strong Foundations for Long-Term Success
21:21 The Journey from Agency to Product Business
24:21 Discovering the Opportunity for Backbone
28:21 The Emotional Intensity of Running an Agency
30:39 Appreciating the Malleability of Service-Based Businesses
34:41 The Slow Compounding of Software Businesses
35:56 The Role of Agencies and Services in Cash Flow
36:23 Optimizing for Exit vs. Agency Model
42:02 Retention Marketing Strategies
46:33 Mistakes in Email Marketing
48:27 Building a Strong Foundation for Business
51:50 Ideal E-commerce Business to Purchase
55:05 Rapid Fire Round

Build In Public Podcast is an interview show where KP chats with ambitious startup founders, CEOs, and top Internet creators to unpack their stories, insights, and lessons.

Share your thoughts on this episode. Thanks for listening!

Links:
Jess on X: https://twitter.com/jjesschan

Longplay Brands: https://www.longplaybrands.com/

Backbone: https://www.gobackbone.co/
KP on X: https://twitter.com/thisiskp_
KP's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/KarthikPuvvadaKP

Welcome to another episode of the Build In Public Podcast.

Today's episode features Michael Girdley, CEO of a $100m/yr holding company and a serial entrepreneur for 20 companies over 30 years in San Antonio. Michael is also a partner at the Geekdom Fund, a seed-stage tech venture capital fund that has invested in over 50 high-growth tech companies. He has also built a 195k+ Twitter following and a newsletter with over 20k readers. Now he enjoys teaching and helping founders online and created The Complete HoldCo Course

In this interview, Michael and KP go through a series of interesting topics such as:
●     (00:00) Intro
●     (04:11) How Michael got into entrepreneurship
●     (05:43) Being a geek and its definition
●     (08:33) Web programming with Java - first book Michael wrote
●     (11:11) How it felt after writing a book
●     (12:31) Michael as compared to a young Bill Gates
●     (13:52) Working hard vs Doing what you love
●     (14:58) Maintaining great output simultaneously
●     (17:29) Going all in on one company
●     (19:21) Michael’s experiences and lessons from Silicon Valley
●     (21:39) Community as a necessity for founders
●     (24:29) Michael’s favorite business heroes
●     (27:19) Looking back through decisions and regrets
●     (29:11) Advice to his 18 year old self
●     (32:11) Rapid Fire Round with Michael Girdley

Build In Public Podcast is an interview show where KP chats with ambitious startup founders, CEOs, and top Internet creators to unpack their stories, insights, and lessons.

Share your thoughts about this episode. Thanks for listening!

Links:
Michael on X: https://twitter.com/girdley
Michael’s website: https://girdley.com/

Michael’s Holdco course: https://holdco.girdley.com/
KP’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/thisiskp_
KP's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/KarthikPuvvadaKP

Welcome to another episode of the Build In Public Podcast.

Today's episode features Champ Bennett, co-founder and CEO of Capsule, an AI-powered video editor for content and marketing teams. Previously, Champ also co-founded a startup called “Phhhoto” that was widely used by celebrities like Katy Petty and Beyonce.

In this interview, Champ and KP dive into multitudes of lessons and topics such as:
●     Intro (00:00)
●     One challenging aspect of creative tools (03:36)
●     Picking a great idea to pour your time into (04:32)
●     Adapting to the dynamics of idea execution (06:34)
●     The mindset of an inspiring founder (09:27)
●     Capsule’s Ideal Customer Profile (13:21)
●     Mitigating the challenges of enterprise sales (17:07)
●     Champ’s previous startups (22:47)
●     How a company he built took off by accident (26:42)
●     The framework of making a startup work (30:10)
●     Rapid Fire Round (38:52)

Build In Public Podcast is an interview show where KP chats with ambitious startup founders, CEOs, and top Internet creators to unpack their stories, insights, and lessons.

Share your thoughts on this episode.
Thanks for listening!

Links:
Champ on X: https://twitter.com/doyouknowchamp
Capsule: https://capsule.video/
KP on X: https://twitter.com/thisiskp_
KP on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/KarthikPuvvadaKP

Welcome to another episode of the Build In Public Podcast.

Today's episode features serial entrepreneur Yong-Soo Chung, who has bootstrapped his Personal Holding Company to near 8-figures in annual revenue over the past 8 years.

In this interview, KP and Yong-Soo covered a spectrum of topics, exploring Yong-Soo's journey and providing their insights on:

●     Intro (00:00)
●     Identifying your content niche on X/Linkedin  (04:31)
●     Pit stops along the journey (09:48)
●     Conviction from experience (14:12)
●     Yong-Soo’s founder journey (18:02)
●     Balancing the operations of various diverse portfolio (36:17)
●     The I, We, They Framework of company building (37:49)
●     Letting go of control to be in control (38:52)
●     Rapid Fire Round with Yong-Soo Chung (43:21)
●     Highlight of Yong-Soo’s career (49:38)

Build In Public Podcast is an interview show where KP chats with ambitious startup founders, CEOs, and top Internet creators to unpack their stories, insights, and lessons.

Share your thoughts about this episode.
Thanks for listening!

Links:

Yong-Soo Chung on X: https://twitter.com/YongSooChung

PHC Philosophy on X: https://twitter.com/PersonalHoldCo

First Class Founders Podcast: https://www.firstclassfounders.com/

KP on X: https://twitter.com/thisiskp_

KP's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/KarthikPuvvadaKP

Welcome to another episode of the Build In Public Podcast.

Today's episode features founder of ApplyAll Tal Flanchraych, Co-founder of Engyne AI Sukhpal Saini, Codeless Coach Andrew Tsao and Fermi Fun founder Sangharsh Bhustalimath - four of the most promising fellows from the 3rd Cohort of the Build In Public Fellowship

In this interview, KP, Tal, Andrew, Sang and Sukh delve into their building in public journeys, sharing their insights on:
●     Intro (00:00)
●     Their background and current projects (03:10)
●     Building in public challenges pre-cohort (08:16)
●     Transformational goals in joining BIPF (16:42)
●     The media leverage (29:59)
●     The power of keeping on going on (32:38)
●     What makes Build In Public Fellowship unique (45:12)
●     The aspect of community and being in the right group (48:27)

Build In Public Podcast is an interview show where KP chats with ambitious startup founders, CEOs, and top Internet creators to unpack their stories, insights, and lessons.

Share your thoughts.
Thanks for listening!
 
Links:
Andrew on X: https://twitter.com/atsaotsao

Sang on X: https://twitter.com/10KRotator
Sukh on X: https://twitter.com/thisissukh_
Tal on X: https://twitter.com/TalMahaj
Build In Public Fellowship: https://buildinpublicfellowship.com/
KP’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/thisiskp_
KP's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/KarthikPuvvadaKP

Welcome to another episode of the Build In Public Podcast.

Today's episode features Sachit Gupta - founder of Platforms Media, a company that offers services to help podcasters grow their audiences and monetize their shows

He has worked on campaigns with top podcasters like Andrew Warner (Mixergy), #1 NYT best-selling authors (Tim Ferriss, Seth Godin, Oren Klaff), and international sports stars (Rohit Sharma, Indian Cricket Team) and more

In this interview, Sachit and KP give a masterclass on podcast and marketing, focusing on topics such as:
●     Intro (00:00)
●     What captured Sachit’s interest into doing podcasting (03:46)
●     The great podcast launch playbook (08:41)
●     What works best for podcasting (10:15)
●     Strategies on marketing and launching (11:02)
●     Landing top clients and huge gigs (15:45)
●     Conversations with top creators’ teams (19:02)
●     Story behind Creator’s MBA and lessons from it (23:15)
●     The magic in implementation (27:09)
●     Science of content business model (28:57)
●     AI in content (30:41)
●     Inspirations to draw from (36:40)
●     Lessons from On Deck days (48:24)
●     Advice for beginner podcasters (58:42)

Build In Public Podcast is an interview show where KP chats with ambitious startup founders, CEOs, and top Internet creators to unpack their stories, insights, and lessons.

Share your thoughts on this episode.
Thanks for listening!

Links:

Sachit on X: https://twitter.com/sachitgupta

Platforms Media: https://www.platformsmedia.com/

Creator’s MBA: https://creatorsmba.com/

KP on X: https://twitter.com/thisiskp_

KP’s podcast link: https://www.buildinpublicpodcast.com/episodes

KP's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/KarthikPuvvadaKP

Welcome to another episode of the Build In Public Podcast.

Today's episode features John Weiman, founder of Life Bridge Coaching and a world-class expert in relationship counseling.
Dubbed a 'Miracle Man,' he's helped over 3,000 couples in coaching sessions

In this interview, John and KP discussed their insights and opinions on topics such as:
●     Intro (00:00)
●     John’s WHY as a counseling expert (03:28)
●     The domino effect of work-home relationship (08:21)
●     Elements that affect couples
●     Listening to respond vs to understand
●     Staying neutral as an advisor
●     The masters and disasters in communicating
●     Love maps and making relationships work
●     Bids for connection in relationships
●     Why you should prioritize relationship health
●     John’s advice to his younger self

Build In Public Podcast is an interview show where KP chats with ambitious startup founders, CEOs, and top Internet creators to unpack their stories, insights, and lessons.

Share your thoughts with us.
Thanks for listening!
 
Links:
John’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-weiman-3a109b11/
Life Bridge Coaching: https://lifebridgecoaching.com/
KP’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/thisiskp_
KP's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/KarthikPuvvadaKP