That Will Never Work

When you look at social media it seems like founders all live like rockstars. But this belies the reality.  The truth is, being a founder can be one of the toughest, loneliest tasks you’ll ever face.  It’s not just the long hours and financial pressures…  studies show three quarters of entrepreneurs are affected by mental health issues.

So why isn’t Start-Up Stress more talked about?  And when you’re facing it, what should you do about it?   Can you ever admit you’re having mental health issues to your investors or to your team?

These important topics are what Marc explores with this week’s guest, Diego Chavez, founder of app Local Contact, along with the guest expertise of therapist and best-selling author Susan Zinn.

Listen in for instantly actionable tips to improve your workday stress and how to approach big questions if you’re hitting the wall – how to know if you should push through or if it’s time to take a break or even quit? 

For more information on Mental Health Awareness, go to NAMI.org.

Want to take a deeper dive into the topics Marc discusses in his shows? Pre-order the paperback edition of international best-seller That Will Never Work here: www.amazon.com/That-Will-Never-Work-Netflix/dp/0316530182 It’s out June 7th.

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Karl is faced with a puzzling subscription problem: he has plenty of downloads of his Cofeesup app – but his conversion rate from free trial to paying customer is surprisingly low.  

His solution to lift up neighborhood cafes over the mega marketers like Starbucks seems like a no brainer – you can get three cups of specialty coffee a week for just $8 a month… and the cafes even get supplied with free beans.  So why isn’t his growth as caffeinated as his product?

Listen in as Marc takes Karl on a back to brass tacks masterclass in how to understand customer behavior… and then goes on to tackle another entrepreneurial biggy… How does Karl know when it’s time to let go of being the CEO?

This episode is so jam packed with advice you won’t want to miss it!

Want to take a deeper dive? Pre-order the paperback edition of international best-seller That Will Never work here: www.amazon.com/That-Will-Never-Work-Netflix/dp/0316530182 It’s out June 7th.

Want to be a guest on That Will Never Work? 

Head to marcrandolph.com/guest to apply.  While you’re there, sign up for Marc’s newsletter: marcrandolph.com/newsletter/

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Is the old adage still true, that it takes money to make money?  That’s what this week’s guests Lauren Arshad and Jen Cefaly are trying to figure out.

They are the co-founders of Los Angeles based Design Hive, an edutainment company that creates hands-on STEAM workshops for both kids and adults. 

The duo are brim full of ideas and are poised to grow but both they - and their capital - are spread thin… Is it the right time to raise?

Listen in as Marc dissects predicaments faced by every early stage entrepreneur… and gives tips on how to find your business sweet spot.

Want to take a deeper dive into the topics on this show? Pre-order the paperback edition of international best-seller That Will Never work here for delivery June 7th. www.amazon.com/That-Will-Never-Work-Netflix/dp/0316530182

Want to be a guest on That Will Never Work? 

Head to marcrandolph.com/guest to apply.  While you’re there, sign up for Marc’s newsletter: marcrandolph.com/newsletter/

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How best to unleash your niche?   That’s what has Paul stumped.

He’s the founder of a company called Cicero Learning, a business that helps families with the problem of global education access on a bespoke basis.

It’s an educational method referred to as “World Schooling” which has become a hot topic thanks to the pandemic when laptop wielding parents realized that certain job types can now be done from literally anywhere in the world.

But how can you best get customers educated on niche products and why the price tag is worth it? 

Listen in as Marc helps Paul think through the most  effective sampling strategies and how to build your funnel.

Want to take a deeper dive into the topics on this show? Pre-order the paperback edition of international best-seller That Will Never work here for delivery June 7th. www.amazon.com/That-Will-Never-Work-Netflix/dp/0316530182

Want to be a guest on That Will Never Work? 

Head to marcrandolph.com/guest to apply.  While you’re there, sign up for Marc’s newsletter: marcrandolph.com/newsletter/

Feeling social? Marc would love to hear from you:

Tw: @mbrandolph

IG: @ThatWillNeverWork 

LinkedIn: Marcrandolph   

Tiktok: @marc_randolph

Is it possible to make big profits from a free consumable product? This week’s guest Josh Cliffords certainly thinks so. By selling ads on the side of bottles he’s been able to establish his brand FreeWater at lighting speed in his hometown of Austin, Texas. His flair for posting viral TikTok videos has sent his message around the world.

Josh has ambitious goals - creating the world’s first free supermarket in which all the products are ad-backed and free-to-consumer, and with charitable giving baked into every unit his team hands out.

But how does he convince advertisers, businesses, consumers… and Marc that this is the right way? 

Listen in to find out…

Want to take a deeper dive into the topics on this show?

Pre-order the paperback edition of international best-seller That Will Never work here: www.amazon.com/That-Will-Never-Work-Netflix/dp/0316530182

Want to be a guest on That Will Never Work? 

Head to marcrandolph.com/guest to apply. While you’re there, sign up for Marc’s newsletter: marcrandolph.com/newsletter/

Feeling social? Marc would love to hear from you:

Tw: @mbrandolph

IG: @ThatWillNeverWork 

LinkedIn: Marcrandolph   

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It’s no secret that the pandemic hammered small businesses - especially those with brick and mortar locations.  But this week’s guest, Angela, wasn’t going to let her thriving math enrichment business close, even when her store had to. 

As a prime example of the power of the pivot, she’s actually managed to more than double her customer base and take her Philadelphia local business Trapezium Math, national by moving it online... 

But all this potential for growth has her at a crossroads - should she keep going slow and steady or is the time ripe to raise funds and expand even faster?   And can she compete with the big franchise players like Mathnasium and Kumon?

That’s what Marc’s here to help her figure out today…

Want to be a guest on That Will Never Work? 

Head to https://marcrandolph.com/guest (https://marcrandolph.com/guest), fill out the form and record the question you’d like Marc’s help with right there on the site. And while you’re there sign up for Marc’s newsletter https://marcrandolph.com/newsletter/

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She’s worked with celebrities like Kendall and Kylie Jenner, brands like Adidas and magazines including Rolling Stone and Teen Vogue… She's even been a judge on Miss USA.   But fashion photographer Sophie Elgort has hit a career juncture faced by many would-be entrepreneurs: how do you scale when your business is you?

She thinks she’s created a solution in her new company ClickHouse, which does  back-to-back portrait photography pop up sessions to create “headshots” - photos that people use of themselves for business purposes.  Her vision is to emulate the success of blow-dry salon Dry Bar and create a repeatable, scalable business that she can replicate all across the US.  She’s had success with her New York local pop up studios, but to make real money she needs to get some big businesses on board to give her the volume of people needed to keep with her vision of keeping the costs affordable but still being able to generate enough revenue for her company to be a success. 

Listen in for some great tips on how to find your scalability sweet spot, as Marc discusses her options in approaching the next phase in her business evolution and even gets some tips on his own headshot in the process.

New episodes every Tuesday.

Want to be a guest on That Will Never Work? 

Head to https://marcrandolph.com/guest (https://marcrandolph.com/guest), fill out the form and record the question you’d like Marc’s help with right there on the site. And while you’re there sign up for Marc’s newsletter https://marcrandolph.com/newsletter/

Feeling social? Marc would love to hear from you here:

Twitter: @mbrandolph

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Army vet Cooper is the founder of SoBet, a new peer-to-peer sports betting and social media platform that targets the elusive Gen-Z consumer.   But it’s a pitch that Marc has heard a thousand times before… and most of those pitches failed to make it.  Can this West Point grad prove both to Marc - and to the market - that his mix of reducing the juice and onboarding influencers is enough to get his platform off the ground?

Listen in for Marc’s tips for trying to find success in a crowded market. 

Want to be a guest on That Will Never Work? 

Head to https://marcrandolph.com/guest (https://marcrandolph.com/guest), fill out the form and record the question you’d like Marc’s help with right there on the site. And while you’re there sign up for Marc’s newsletter https://marcrandolph.com/newsletter/

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How do you support entrepreneurial spirit in your child?  That’s what Marc explores in this week’s episode with the help of the first ever quartet of co-founders to appear on the show.  Elementary schoolers Julianne, Zachary, Maxfield and Mark have created beverage brand Astronade and caught Marc’s attention with their plucky marketing plan that even wound in their local mayor.   Could the kid factor be the secret sauce?  Listen as Marc gives a masterclass in how the youngest of entrepreneurs can get on the launch pad to success.

Want to be a guest on That Will Never Work? 

Head to https://marcrandolph.com/guest (https://marcrandolph.com/guest), fill out the form and record the question you’d like Marc’s help with right there on the site. And while you’re there sign up for Marc’s newsletter https://marcrandolph.com/newsletter/

Feeling social? Marc would love to hear from you:

Tw: @mbrandolph

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James is an adventurer in both life and business.  But when your career is breaking world records how do you turn that into a sustainable business?

He thinks he found his answer when he created his wilderness team building program My Adventure Group… and he’s getting rave reviews.  The trouble is, he’s just not getting enough customers.    Can Marc help James modify his offering and approach to navigate a better path? Listen in to find out. 

Want to be a guest on That Will Never Work? 

Head to https://marcrandolph.com/guest (https://marcrandolph.com/guest), fill out the form and record the question you’d like Marc’s help with right there on the site. And while you’re there sign up for Marc’s newsletter https://marcrandolph.com/newsletter/

Feeling social? Marc would love to hear from you:

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How do you get your creative team on board with using data to help drive their decisions?  That’s the question facing Katie, co-owner of Studio 882, an interior design and furniture showroom out of Glen Mills, PA. 

Katie believes she has found the secret sauce that will grow the business to the next level and enable her to expand around the US.  She’s reapplying airport software, including air traffic control monitoring and facial recognition, to enhance the customer experience and mine valuable information about why one sofa sits and one sofa fits.  It's a potential treasure trove of information… if her team would put it to use.

In this episode Marc shares the secrets to layering creativity, intuition and data to help your business take flight.

Want to be a guest on That Will Never Work? 

Head to https://marcrandolph.com/guest (https://marcrandolph.com/guest), fill out the form and record the question you’d like Marc’s help with right there on the site. And while you’re there sign up for Marc’s newsletter https://marcrandolph.com/newsletter/

Feeling social? Marc would love to hear from you:

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Jordan DeCicco created Super Coffee in his dorm room when he was only 19 years old. He dropped out of college to go full-time on his side-hustle and now, together with his two brothers runs the bottled beverage brand out of Austin, Texas.

With an impressive $125m in annual revenue, the DeCiccos have attracted big name investors including J. Lo and Alex Rodriguez. Their next step is tackling how to scale - not just domestically but also internationally.

But how do you maintain the company culture you created from the ground up when you’re growing at this pace? And how do you lead as Chief People Person when your leadership team is made up of your older brothers?

Listen in for actionable tips on how to scale culture "all the way to the bottom” as you grow around the world.

Want to be a guest on That Will Never Work? 

Head to https://marcrandolph.com/guest (https://marcrandolph.com/guest), fill out the form and record the question you’d like Marc’s help with right there on the site. And while you’re there sign up for Marc’s newsletter https://marcrandolph.com/newsletter/

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Education major Erin has developed a fun new STEM product for kids with her Boeing engineer business partner – a quad drone kit for kids to build and fly. She knows the palm-sized toy drone market is a crowded space, which is why her company Finger Flyer differentiates itself as an educational tool. But why is her strategy of marketing direct to school districts suffering from failure to launch? 

In this episode Marc explores what pivots she can make to help the company take flight. Can an education product start up ever become profitable or is a business to consumer strategy just a better bet?

This episode is part of a two-episode special drop to celebrate International Women’s day, featuring two young female entrepreneurs from High Point University, North Carolina. Be sure to check out our previous episode with grad student Ivana Korankyi who's trying to figure out how much cash she really has to drop to bring her revolutionary lab product Flasky to market.

Want to be a guest on That Will Never Work? 

Head to https://marcrandolph.com/guest (https://marcrandolph.com/guest), fill out the form and record the question you’d like Marc’s help with right there on the site. And while you’re there sign up for Marc’s newsletter https://marcrandolph.com/newsletter/

Feeling social? Marc would love to hear from you here:

Twitter: @mbrandolph

Instagram: @ThatWillNeverWork 

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Tiktok: @marc_randolph  

Grad student Ivana needs Marc’s help to figure out a big decision – should she spend $10,000 on a mold for her time saving lab tool Flasky?  Or is there a better way? 

Her uniquely shaped flask-cleaning tool could save labs everywhere hours in cleaning time and thousands of dollars in drug wastage, benefitting the development of everything from painkillers to cancer drugs.   But how does she convince a sector that has become accustomed to ignoring the problem she’s seeking to solve, to buy in without breaking the bank in the process?

Listen in as Marc shares his strategies on how to become a successful entrepreneurially minded product inventor.

 This episode is part of a two-episode special drop to celebrate International Women’s day, featuring student entrepreneurs from High Point University, North Carolina.  Be sure to check out our second episode with education major Erin Morrow where Marc explores how to get her drone company Finger Flyer onto the flight path to success.  

Want to be a guest on That Will Never Work? 

Head to https://marcrandolph.com/guest (https://marcrandolph.com/guest), fill out the form and record the question you’d like Marc’s help with right there on the site. And while you’re there sign up for Marc’s newsletter https://marcrandolph.com/newsletter/

Feeling social? Marc would love to hear from you here:

Twitter: @mbrandolph

Instagram: @ThatWillNeverWork 

LinkedIn: Marcrandolph   

Tiktok: @marc_randolph         

As entrepreneurs, engineers have an enviable advantage - they can easily build prototypes of the products and services they want to bring to market. But they still need the more fundamental skill that all entrepreneurs require: deciphering what the market wants. And the process to figure that out can take all of us out of our comfort zones. On today’s show, Marc offers Michael, an engineer with a great idea, suggestions on how to put himself in the shoes and mindset of his potential customers before he brings his innovative solution for medicine distribution to the masses. 

Want to be a guest on "That Will Never Work" and get help with your business issues? Head to https://marcrandolph.com/guest (https://marcrandolph.com/guest), fill out the form, and leave a voice message right there on the site. While there, you can also sign up for Marc’s newsletter – or else connect with him on Twitter (@mbrandolph) or on Instagram (@ThatWillNeverWork).

Ahhh the ‘idea stage’: when you’ve identified the problem your business is solving, and you’re ready to bring your vision to life. And what better way to do that than building an app, right? Wrong. On today’s show, Marc takes aspiring entrepreneur Kristen back to the ‘idea stage,’ and asks the key questions she - and anyone - needs to answer before calling dial-a-geek and commissioning a costly app. Tune in and save yourself a world of hurt…and expense.

Want to be a guest on "That Will Never Work" and get help with your business issues? Head to https://marcrandolph.com/guest (https://marcrandolph.com/guest), fill out the form, and leave a voice message right there on the site. While there, you can also sign up for Marc’s newsletter – or else connect with him on Twitter (@mbrandolph) or on Instagram (@ThatWillNeverWork).

As we settle into life in a (hopefully) post-pandemic world, there are a ton of newly launched businesses that are facing a pivot point. These are the entrepreneurs for whom ‘going remote’ was a boon - and now it’s time to figure out if that was a blip or the start of something bigger. In the case of today’s guest, Dustin, a professional drummer with the indie pop band St. Lucia, his drum lesson studio expanded its purview and looks to be poised for success. Marc has some great thoughts on how Dustin should approach his next step in the exploding music education segment, and it's a primer for anyone who’s ready to turn the volume up on their own company.

Want to be a guest on "That Will Never Work" and get help with your business issues? Head to https://marcrandolph.com/guest (https://marcrandolph.com/guest), fill out the form, and leave a voice message right there on the site. While there, you can also sign up for Marc’s newsletter – or else connect with him on Twitter (@mbrandolph) or on Instagram (@ThatWillNeverWork).

Today it’s a crash course in getting your business out of the garage and into the showroom, so to speak. Laurie and PJ, partners in business and life, have already demonstrated the validity of their Van modification business, and attracted a lot of interest through a crowdfunding campaign. Now, it’s time to take it to the big boys, the venture folks. Or is it? Marc walks them through the different scenarios and considerations that come with raising serious funding - and it’s an episode that anyone approaching this stage of their business needs to hear.

Want to be a guest on "That Will Never Work" and get help with your business issues? Head to https://marcrandolph.com/guest (https://marcrandolph.com/guest), fill out the form, and leave a voice message right there on the site. While there, you can also sign up for Marc’s newsletter – or else connect with him on Twitter (@mbrandolph) or on Instagram (@ThatWillNeverWork).

What do you do when the world’s biggest tech players think they’ve already solved a problem - but you think you can solve it better? That’s what today’s conversation is all about. In order to disrupt, you need to pick your spot - it could be a unique feature, an overlooked customer segment, or just better overall functionality, but if you don’t come with something to outshine the industry titans, your slingshot will be shooting blanks.

Want to be a guest on "That Will Never Work" and get help with your business issues? Head to https://marcrandolph.com/guest (https://marcrandolph.com/guest), fill out the form, and leave a voice message right there on the site. While there, you can also sign up for Marc’s newsletter – or else connect with him on Twitter (@mbrandolph) or on Instagram (@ThatWillNeverWork).

It sounds like a great problem to have, really. You’ve stood up your dream business, creating a sustainable and profitable entity that’s delivered on your initial goals. Now, you can take a step back from the day to day as an able staff runs the show. But what’s the best approach for a Founder-turned-Board Member to take? And…what’s next? Marc, who has found himself in this role more than once, has some good insights for today’s guest.

Want to be a guest on "That Will Never Work" and get help with your business issues? Head to https://marcrandolph.com/guest (https://marcrandolph.com/guest), fill out the form, and leave a voice message right there on the site. While there, you can also sign up for Marc’s newsletter – or else connect with him on Twitter (@mbrandolph) or on Instagram (@ThatWillNeverWork).