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085 Conversations vs Interviews

085 Conversations vs interviews

In this episode, Christopher Lochhead shares some insights about conversations (or dialogue) and interviews. Two gentlemen, a guy who messaged him on Linkedin and actor Tom Hanks, were the inspiration for this episode. Both underscored the difference between real conversation and typical interviews.

Safe, bankable and professional

Tom Hanks is one of the most successful and cleanest, most professional, family-friendly actors of all time. His movies have grossed over $5 Billion. He would unlikely get drunk and urinate in a hotel lobby on a press tour ⁠— which is why Disney hired him.

To shine a light on our topic, Tom Hanks was recently on Jimmy Kimmel to promote the newest Toy Story. He talked about how Disney enforced strict control over what he can and can not say about the movie. 

Ever wonder why you rarely hear a Fortune 500 CEO say anything interesting? Ever wonder why politicians don’t really answer questions? High profile people have been taught by lawyers and PR people to ‘bridge back’ to their talking points.” – Christopher Lochhead 

Everything is Scripted

As Lochhead observed, many politicians, celebrities and even CEOs say the same thing over and over again during interviews. The reason for this is: it is scripted! 

Interviews are almost 100% predictable and inauthentic ⁠— from the host looks, clothes to the shots, content, and substance. The whole interview focuses on PR talking points, legal constraints, predetermined narrative. Further, the whole “conversation” is rehearsed in advance. 

“Interviews are more like classical music. Conversations are different. They are more like rock ‘n roll; they feel a little more exciting and are free form.” – Christopher Lochhead

Conversations are like rock and roll

Conversations are different, as most of the time, the guest and host go off-script. Interestingly, one guy from Linkedin messaged Lochhead and provided feedback. He mentioned things such as “make it shorter, edit it to cut out the non-essential parts and seems not prepared enough in terms of the questions, seems more like an informal conversation.”

Lochhead further explained that that was not the objective of this podcast. However, he does understand that this style of odd-cast is not for everyone.

“People think out loud. They jam. They go beyond well rehearse lines. As a marketing guy, I’ve understood this for a long time. Conversations are way more interesting than interviews.” – Christopher Lochhead 

In this episode, we included some of the feedback we received from listeners about how they would describe the podcast to a friend. 

To hear more about conversations vs interviews and more relevant information from Christopher, download and listen to the episode.

Bio:

Christopher advised over 50 venture-backed startups. He is a venture capital limited partner and a former three-time Silicon Valley public company CMO, entrepreneur. In addition, he co-authored two bestsellers: Niche Down and Play Bigger.

After he flunked school, with few other options, Christopher started his first company at the age of 18.

He was a chief marketing officer of software juggernaut Mercury Interactive. Hewlett-Packard, in 2006, acquired that company for $4.5 billion.

Further, he also co-founded the marketing consulting firm LOCHHEAD. Christopher was the founder/CMO of Internet consulting firm Scient. He also served as head of marketing at the CRM software firm Vantive.

Christopher loves his family and friends. He thinks the Ramones are legendary and loves riding the mountains and waves of Northern California.

Link:

Tom Hanks Revealed the Secret of How He Avoids Dropping Toy Story 4 Spoilers

We hope you enjoyed this episode of Follow Your Different™! Christopher loves hearing from his listeners. Feel free to email him, connect on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and subscribe on iTunes!

084 Security w/ Morgan Wright

084 Security w/Morgan Wright

Today’s fun, informative and somewhat terrifying conversation is with Morgan Wright, Senior Advisor in the US State Department on Antiterrorism. Wright, with 18 years of state and local law enforcement experience, shares pressing stories about China, AI and what Russia did with data from FaceApp and some valuable information about quantum encryption.

An uptight, drill sergeant, with no personality…NOT!

Morgan Wright has 18 years of background with law enforcement and is a National Security opinion writer at TheHill.com. Hundreds of television interviews about security featured Morgan. New York Times best-of selling author has quoted him as well.

He had a background with behavioral assessment and damage assessment⁠—which span from different areas of security such as bomb threats, espionage and illegal importation of dangerous drugs. Amidst these descriptions, one would expect that he is an uptight, drill sergeant with no personality, but he is definitely not. 

What’s up with Russian FaceApp?

In our previous episode with Tom Siebel, he quoted in his book a statement from Vladimir Putin, which reads “AI is the future, not only for Russia but for all humankind. Whoever becomes a leader of this sphere becomes the ruler of the world.” 

Wright agreed with Lochhead on this quote. He said there are two things the U.S. Security is worried about now. The first one is the impact of AI and machine learning and what it can do with this information. The second one is the offensive capability of what is going on with Google, Microsoft, and China and Russia, where they are building their versions of Robocops.  

“I started looking out for deepfakes not so long ago, not for this Scarlett Johansson and how you make porn stuff out of it. What if, I can show a video that appeared to be the Commanding General telling his troops to “stand down, hold on a minute” just long enough for one of our adversaries to launch a strategic attack against us.” – Morgan Wright 

More Security Threat

Wright discusses the real impact AIfrom a psychological standpoint, distant information standpoint and kinetic standpoint. He further tells us facts about quantum encryption and what makes it troubling for national security. 

“We now have to worry about our troops having to fight armies that are supplied with technology by American companies.” – Morgan Wright

To hear more about security issues and more relevant information from Morgan, download and listen to the episode.

Bio: 

Internationally community recognizes Morgan as an expert on cybersecurity strategy, cyberterrorism, identity theft, and privacy.

He is President and Chief Development Officer for RadiusAI.

He currently serves as a Senior Fellow at The Center for Digital Government. In addition

, he is a national security opinion contributor to TheHill.com.

Morgan’s landmark testimony before Congress on Healthcare.gov changed how the government collected personally identifiable information.

He appeared in hundreds of interviews on national news, radio, print, and web. These include CNBC, Fox News, Fox Business, CNN, ABC, NPR, NBC and more. Previously, Morgan was a Senior Advisor in the US State Department Antiterrorism Assistance Program. He is also a Senior Law Enforcement Advisor for the 2012 Republican National Convention.

In addition to 18 years in state and local law enforcement, Morgan has developed solutions in defense, justice, and intelligence for the largest technology companies in the world including SAIC, Unisys, Alcatel-Lucent and Cisco.

He’s a contributing author for the 4th Edition Computer Security Handbook. He has been quoted in 2 New York Times bestsellers⁠—Sharyl Attkisson: Stonewalled and Carmine Gallow: Talk Like TED.

Links:

Website – Morgan Wright

Blog 

Linkedin – Morgan Wright

Twitter: @morganwright_us 

America’s Enigma problem with China: The threat of quantum computing, TheHill.com

We hope you enjoyed this episode of Follow Your Different™! Christopher loves hearing from his listeners. Feel free to email him, connect on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and subscribe on iTunes!

082 Next Time You’re In The Endzone, Act Like You’ve Been There Before

Next Time You’re In The Endzone, Act Like You’ve Been There Before

In this episode, Christopher Lochhead talks about the idea of “faking it till you make it.” He poses a real question about what to do when you finally “make it.” This episode is inspired by Silicon Valley coach Bill Campbell’s quote, “next time you’re in the endzone, act like you’ve been there before.”

Bill Campbell’s Wise Words

On Episode 072, Randy Komisar of Kleiner Perkins joined Lochhead to celebrate the life and lessons of legendary Silicon Valley coach, late Bill Campbell. Guest Randy Komisar, along with colleague Paul Martino of Bullpen Capital, came together to capture Bill in a podcast, called No Bull Podcast. Bill was the coach to Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, and countless Silicon Valley legends.            

Randy shared a story about Bill, back when he was coaching a football team. There was a time when the team hit a touch down and went mental to celebrate the small victory. According to Randy, Bill did not approve of this and gave the team his wise words: “Hey guys, next time you’re in the endzone, act like you’ve been there before.” 

Don’t Do The Victory Noise

Even Lochhead is guilty of celebrating small wins. He recounts a story about surfing as he gets all too excited when he encounters a good wave, often called as “claiming the wave.” His buddy corrected him and told him the message that he sends out to other surfers is that it was “just one” of his best waves. He reminded Lochhead to have the mentality that all of his waves are the best ones.

“You wanna act like you’ve been here before. You wanna act like all your waves are like that” – Christopher Lochhead’s friend, when he does his victory noise

Fake it till you make it

Lochhead candidly shares that he had “faked it till he made it” a number of times in his life. However, Lochhead poses the question, what will you do when you finally make it?

“Act like you’ve been there before, act like it’s something that happens all the time.” – Christopher Lochhead

Further, Lochhead reminds that when we’re pushing ourselves to the next level, we have to act in our own minds and in our behavior. We have to always think that we are the “Whoah-Man or Whoah-Woman.” It’s always nice to celebrate wins, but ideally, it is best to do it privately.

“You have to prepare yourselves so you’ll have the least amount of faking as possible and when in you’re in the situation and something happens, just roll it.” – Christopher Lochhead

To hear more about how to act next time you’re in the endzone and more relevant information from Lochhead, download and listen to the episode.

Bio:

Christopher Lochhead 

Links:

072 Why Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos & many others turned to “The Coach” Bill Campbell 

We hope you enjoyed this episode of Follow Your Different™! Christopher loves hearing from his listeners. Feel free to email him, connect on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and subscribe on iTunes!

081 American Immigrant Dreamer Entrepreneur, Diego Corzo

081 American Immigrant Dreamer Entrepreneur, Diego Corzo

Young immigrant and entrepreneur dreamer Diego Corzo joins us today in an insightful conversation about entrepreneurship, investing and achieving dreams in a different country. This episode takes the theoretical discussion about the immigration debate in the US and makes it real through Diego. 

Being an Undocumented Immigrant

Diego Corzo entered the US with his family when he was nine. He understood the implications of being undocumented when he applied for a driver’s license. He got denied because of his status. These obstacles continued when he found out he was not eligible for any financial grants or student loans.

“I saw the sacrifices that my parents had, from not speaking English to finding work. My mother, from working in a bank, she was cleaning toilets and houses, without having a day off for a long while.” – Diego Corzo

He was a straight-A student at Florida State University and was working part-time and doing some internships with small business and non-profits organizations. He was handpicked by some companies for work after graduation but unfortunately, he does not have a work permit.

Windows of Opportunity

After these obstacles in finding work to fund his schooling, he conducted research on Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and found out he can start a company under LLC set-up. He then registered an IT consulting company with a colleague and took in as clients the small business and NGOs. 

“I always had the mindset that no matter what happens, there is always a way here in the United States. As my dad always says, ‘The US is a land of opportunities and its up to us to find it’.” – Diego Corzo

Back in 2017, Diego also posted a commentary to President’s Trump, as he plans to remove DACA. His post went viral and was able to reach some Dreamers like himself. Dreamers are defined as immigrants who entered the US below 16 years old, have finished high-school and have zero criminal records.

Celebrating the Good Life at Age 28

Part of being viral, he was able to meet some millionaire entrepreneurs from the mastermind group, Gobundance. Although Diego started with 25k net worth, these men saw the potential in him and pledged to mentor him to become a millionaire himself. Diego, at 28 years old, now earns 10x of his initial net worth and owns 19 doors in 13 properties.

“When I shared the story, I’m sort of breaking the paradigm. They think that undocumented immigrants don’t pay taxes. They just take jobs and they dont really support the community.” – Diego Corzo

At present, Diego is into real estate investing and is a financial freedom advocate, especially targeting Dreamers like himself.

To hear more about being an American immigrant Dreamer and more relevant information from Diego, download and listen to the episode.

Bio:

Diego Corzo is a 20-something, Peruvian living in Austin, Texas.

He founded FreeBy26.com to help millennials realize that they don’t have to settle to what society expects.

Diego graduated from Florida State University in 2012 and moved to Austin, TX to work as a software developer for an IT Company.

In his spare time, he started learning as much as I could about financial literacy and the habits of wealthy people.

He became interested in real estate as began to explore different ways to increase his income.

He bought my first property when he was 23. 

Fast forward 3 years, he now owns 8 properties which are the source of his passive monthly income. 

Ultimately, his goal is to be financially free before he turns 27.

He shares more about his struggles, successes, and mindset through his journey, through his website. 

Links:

Diego Corzo

TED Talk: Diego Corzo

FWD.US/DACA 

We hope you enjoyed this episode of Follow Your Different™! Christopher loves hearing from his listeners. Feel free to email him, connect on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and subscribe on iTunes!

080 B2B & B2C Entrepreneur Strava CoFounder Mark Gainey

B2B & B2C Entrepreneur Strava CoFounder Mark Gainey

In this episode, Mark Gainey, a serial entrepreneur with big-time success B2B and B2C, joins us for another insight-packed conversation. He is the co-founder and chairman of Strava, the athlete’s social network. Today, he talks about entrepreneurship and success, despite major setbacks in his life.

The Virtual Athlete’s Locker Room

The Swedish word for strive is strava, which is defined as “to make great efforts to achieve or obtain.” This is perfect for a team of individuals who have the ambition and attitude to achieve more. Strava’s mission is to build the most engaged community of athletes in the world.

Co-founders and former college colleagues Mark Gainey and Michael Horvath dreamt about this company way back in 1995. They had the concept of creating a virtual locker room and they called it “Kana Sports.”

“We had this concept at the back of our minds, how Kana sports morphed into Kana communications, we had a great time building that, no regrets.” – Mark Gainey

From B2B to B2C

Mark was previously the CEO of Kana Communications which went public late 1999. With a market capital of 11 billion USD and an upcoming new CEO at that time, Mark found himself moving to a different chapter in his life after.

“I distanced myself in a pretty meaningful way. I often joked to people, if you give your child up for adoption, don’t stay living in the house.” – Mark Gainey, after IPO of Kana Communications

Mark further shares his experiences working in a B2B setting, as a CEO and now B2C setting, as a stockholder. 

18 Surgeries in 51 years

One of Strava’s irony is they serve the world’s cyclists, but Mark quips that he must have been one of the worst ones on the planet. For one, he had been in a major biking accident which required 11 surgeries. These surgeries are on top of other surgeries from skiing accidents and car accidents.

“Nobody is dying anytime soon but it is a test. You just get back to the saddle. You learn and say okay now I can have three more runs, good to play some other day.” – Mark Gainey

Mark continues narrating his accident and further says that when he is inactive, he feels like he is a different person. Mark shares that ultimately, this is their goal at Strava: to forget trying to push people to go fast and perform well, just encourage them to engage in activities and sweat at least once in a day.

“I think thats the balance. As much as I know that I take the risk everytime to go out there but the idea of not doing that, that is what would kill me.” – Mark Gainey

To hear more about B2B to B2C entrepreneurship and more relevant information from Mark, download and listen to the episode.

Bio:

Mark Gainey is a serial entrepreneur, co-founder, and Chairman of Strava – the social network for athletes.

Mark co-founded Kana Communications Inc. (Kana Inc.), in January 1996 and served as its Chief Executive Officer & President from January 1996 to June 1999.

He has been building successful companies for nearly 20 years. Prior to Kana, from April 1991 to September 1995, Mark Gainey served as an Associate with TA Associates Management, L.P. (TA Associates, Inc.), where he focused primarily on technology and business services investments.

Mark served as President and Chairman of SWK Holdings Corporation. Further, he served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Kana Communications Inc., from July 1996 to July 2000.

In addition to these, he has been a Director of Clari Inc. since April 2014.

Mark serves as a Director of TA Associates, Inc.

He served as a Director of GlobalSight Corporation, AlterG, Inc. and BoardVantage Inc.

He served as a Director of Kana Communications Inc., from January 1996 to June 1999 and SWK Holdings Corporation since January 1996. Mark Gainey holds a B.A. in General Studies from Harvard University.

Links:

Strava.com

Strava: Mark Gainey

Linkedin: mark-gainey

We hope you enjoyed this episode of Follow Your Different™! Christopher loves hearing from his listeners. Feel free to email him, connect on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and subscribe on iTunes!

079 The Power of Unstructured Conversations w/ Podcaster Eric Hunley

The Power of Unstructured Conversations w/ Podcaster Eric Hunley

This is a great episode, with a great guy Eric Hunley, a fellow podcaster and host of Unstructured. He shares his learnings and insights from his guests—whose backgrounds range from FBI, military and law enforcement to entrepreneurs, authors, and thinkers.   

The Unstructured Podcast

Eric Hunley hosts the podcast Unstructured. Although he is well-known for his unstructured-style interview, he admits that he does a lot of research beforehand. Further, he leads the guest to a path by asking triggering questions. 

“By triggering, it’s not to get them upset per se. I wanna know what their passion is, what makes them tick, why they do certain things, I want them to be excited.” – Eric Hunley

Crime and Investigation Podcast Guests

Eric shares some very interesting (and disturbing for some) stories about his guests with a background in military and law enforcement. In particular, his upcoming guest is an ex-FBI agent. He used to handle bombs but then crossed over into the behavioral analysis unit, with a focus on sex crimes.

“He’s gone into a bit about repressed memories and how things can be planted, and things of that sort and cognitive biases and persuasion and influence and things like that, that fits my interests.” – Eric Hunley on his guest at Unstructured

Eric and Christopher shared their common interests with crime and investigation stories. Moreover, they agreed that people have a lurid fascination with monsters—whether fictional or real-life psychopath and serial killers.

“There’s a Southern Californian Daycare, where 300 children were all molested inside tunnels under the schools. Its part of a satanic worship group.” Eric Hunley, as he recounts one of his guest’s stories in his podcast, Unstructured

Dealing with Authors and Entrepreneurs

Eric shares his experiences conversing with authors and entrepreneurs. He admits he has a hard time closing conversations, especially when the guest has a very interesting story.  Christopher shares in response to Eric, that there is a natural arc of conversations, even the sh*tty ones.

“Sh*tty conversations are probably when one or both sides have an agenda. Were not into talking points. I am probably, ironically, a little more interviewing than you are, but still conversational.” -Eric Hunley

Both also exchanged their preparation in dealing with authors and entrepreneurs, which is actually reading their books. 

When you actually read the book, you can get an insight into their personality or the message, that is deeper. A lot of times they get blown away by insightful questions. If I can, I do get that stuff out early. When the guest knows you care or give a shit about then, then it becomes a conversation. -Eric Hunley

To hear more about unstructured conversations and more relevant information from Eric, download and listen to the episode.

BIO:

“Eric Hunley is forging his path in unstructured interview-style podcasts, as the host of the Unstructured Podcast.

It is no surprise that fellow podcasters follow this formula in podcasting.

The unstructured podcast sources a gambit of unique podcast guests, who are based all around the globe.

Eric Hunley has created well over a hundred interview styled podcasts in less than nine months.

His unrelenting professionalism, detail orientated research, and smooth delivery as a host serves as an inspiration to many.

New podcasters and seasoned professionals often seek out his knowledge and advice when it comes to the business of podcasting.

Eric’s previous experience as an instructor at the University of Arizona has helped cement his reputation as an educator.

His position opened many doors for him and has begun to lead to further speaking opportunities. He often draws on his many years of experience as an athlete, marathon runner, coach, and university lecturer.

Eric Hunley is predominantly self-taught and he understands that his students have the ability to absorb any skill with the right kind of guidance.

As such he is beginning to mentor new podcasters who are looking to get on the fast track so that they can successfully build their podcasting careers.

He has also been developing the systems and frameworks needed to deliver a fully comprehensive interview podcast and fast-tracking the guest research process.

Eric Hunley is the author of three books and is currently working on his fourth book. The book is titled “Interview Podcasting: Find Your Voice and Increase Your Authority.”

You can find a list of shows that feature Eric Hunley’s podcast appearances here.

Eric Hunley is married to Leslie Smail and lives in Hampton, Virginia, USA

Links:

Unstructured Podcast

Twitter: @UnstructuredP

Facebook Groups: Unstructured

We hope you enjoyed this episode of Follow Your Different™! Christopher loves hearing from his listeners. Feel free to email him, connect on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and subscribe on iTunes!

078 From Goldman Sachs To Cannabis Venture Capital Pioneer w/ Codie Sanchez

From Goldman Sachs To Cannabis Venture Capital Pioneer w/ Codie Sanchez

Let’s get to know Codie Sanchez in today’s fun and insightful episode as she lives on the leading edge of venture capital and entrepreneurship. She is an investor, speaker and business builder. She is a partner at Cresco Capital Partners, one of the first PE funds in the legalized cannabis space.

From Great To Greater

Codie is a former mutual fund manager at Goldman Sachs and a consultant to Facebook, Apple, and Amazon. She earned her MBA from Georgetown University and received her Ph.D. from FGV in Brazil. Given her credentials, she is upfront about not staying long with her previous company nor working in the marijuana industry.

“After a while, everybody has to graduate from that realm and go do something in the world. I was feeling like it was time.” – Codie Sanchez

She started investing in cannabis privately until she saw the actual numbers and the industry growth potential. Aside from being a Venture Capitalist, she is an active advocate in lobbying for federally funded marijuana use research.

“We do a lot of stuff with Vets and see them come back from the war and have PTSD. You get them on opioids or cannabis and see the changes in their lives. Its kind of contagious at some point.” – Codie Sanchez

Lobbying at Washington

Codie recounts her story at Washington D.C. to Lochhead as she says that Cannabis is categorized as Schedule 1⁠—drugs that have no medicinal benefit and are highly addictive⁠. 

Lochhead also shares his understanding of the issue. He says that since there is no federally funded research on the benefits, risks, problems, applications and use cases on cannabis, the country might be missing out on its potential.

“So many of them don’t know about cannabis. They know what we used to think about it, like in the 70s, the 80s, but they still don’t know the fact that this is a multi-million dollar industry.” -Codie Sanchez, on meeting with legislators 

40,000 Different Uses of Mary Jane

Thanks to people like Codie, more established people are joining the cannabis movement. For instance, there is the UCLA Cannabis Institute, the only research organization branded by a school. They do have to get funding, though, from non-cannabis related companies.

Codie further shares in this episode why she thinks the cannabis industry is a generational wealth creation event. First, its a new industry, but is an overregulated one. Second, there’s no need to create a market for it. Third, the use cases are prolific⁠—with 40,000 different ways to utilize it. Fourth, the audience’s expansion of cannabis is astounding.

Cannabis is definitely not a panacea or a drug that cures everything, but research can definitely back up how it can ease certain illnesses.

To hear more about venture capital in the cannabis industry and more relevant information from Codie, download and listen to the episode.

Bio:

Codie Sanchez is a reformed journalist, turned institutional investor to now a partner at Cresco Capital Partners, one of the first PE funds in the legalized cannabis space.

Throughout her career, she has worked at the intersection of marketing and money, finding contrarian ways to invest and spread the gospel.

She’s always balanced her profession with non-profit service to empower women, veterans and Latinos.

She joined Vanguard ETFs in 2008 ($870B) to build out their ETF business, quite the time, then moved to Goldman Sachs Alternatives group.

Following, she became an SVP at SSGA ($580B) in institutional investing tasked with a $3 billion region, finally coming to First Trust ($63B) to build the LatAm investment business from the ground up. Codie has led global teams in all asset classes, negotiating JV’s, product creation and market entry across the Americas.

Further, she is a board member at The Arcview Group, Magma Partners Venture Fund, Texans for Veterans. She is also a member of the free markets think tank, AEI’s Enterprise Club.

Codie invests in women-led startups through Plum Alley, WAVE and The Vinetta Project and cannabis companies through Cresco Capital Partners.

She received her degree in PR & Journalism from ASU’s Honors School, an MBA from Georgetown University and a Ph.D. from Fundacao Gestulio Vargas. A ballistic vest or bullet-resistant vest, often called a bulletproof vest, is an item of body armor that helps absorb the impact and reduce or stop penetration to the torso from firearm-fired projectiles and shrapnel from explosions. Visit Rotorm.com to find Best Bulletproof Vests on the USA market. Today, buying a bulletproof vest is a serious investment which means that you must carefully weigh many different options when committing to getting a vest. It is vital to choose only the best bulletproof vest and highest quality body armor that will meet all your needs. #bulletproof #vest #rotorm #bullet-proof

Codie was awarded the JFK Award for Print Journalism and the Howard Buffett Grant. 

Links:

CodieSanchez.com 

Linkedin: Codie Sanchez

Twitter: @Codie_Sanchez

Pinterest: CodieSanchez 

Instagram: @codiesanchez 

Marijuana investor insights: Q&A with venture capitalist Codie Sanchez

Top Eight Tips For Finding Startup Funding

We hope you enjoyed Codie Sanchez on this episode of Follow Your Different™! Christopher loves hearing from his listeners. Feel free to email him, connect on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and subscribe on iTunes!

077 Venture Capital, Startups, IPOs & Immigrants Oh My!

Venture Capital, Startups, IPOs & Immigrants Oh My!

In this episode, Christopher Lochhead shares his insights about venture capitalists, start-ups, IPOs and immigrants and how these topics have driven the economy of the United States. Lochhead poses some serious questions and asks why there is not enough discussion on these matters.

Venture Capitalists and The Upcoming Elections

In a study published by Brookings, they claimed that “in recent decades Venture Capital (VC) has generated more economic and employment growth in the U.S. than any other investment sector. Annually, venture investment makes up only 0.2% of GDP, but delivers an astonishing 21% of U.S. GDP in the form of VC-backed business revenues.”Further, Brookings stated that 51% of VCs invested around $45.7B in California.

Lochhead concludes that other states are losing the opportunity of gaining value in this incredible economy.

For Lochhead, the lack of support of government officials might explain the absence of VC in other States. Successful VCs have proven to create a growth dynamic that fosters innovation and creates more start-ups. Unfortunately, seated officials fail to see this.

“Maybe its time for us who care about entrepreneurship and the difference that it makes in the world, to make sure that our candidates⁠—focuses on this topic.” – Christopher Lochhead

IPOs Creates New Millionaires

According to Yahoo! Finance, around 5,000 new millionaires will be walking the streets of Silicon Valley after this year’s IPO. They would surpass the estimated 1,000 millionaires who emerged in 2004 from Google’s IPO and the 1,000-plus millionaires in 2012 after Facebook went public. 

“Tech IPOs not only create wealth, but IPOs are a hot-house flower environment for creating more startups.” – Christopher Lochhead

In addition, Jay Ritter of WSJ claims in one of his articles that “the median age for tech companies going public in 1999 and 2000 was 4 and 5 years, compared with 12 years in 2018.”

Immigrant Entrepreneurs

Forbes reported that immigrants started the top tech IPOs in 2019. Further, an immigrant co-founded four of the five biggest tech IPOs this year, namely Slack, CrowdStrike, Uber, and Zoom⁠are.

 “We need entrepreneurs and start-ups and growth-oriented businesses, cause that’s where the jobs, innovation, and productivity comes from.” – Christopher Lochhead

Lochhead thinks that there is a lack of conversation about immigration⁠—it’s not in mainstream media, not even in this election cycle. Specifically, he points out how the country attracts and supports immigrant entrepreneurs, given the fact that U.S. immigration law does not lean towards them.

“If Americans don’t want to start companies, don’t we need to attract immigrants who will?” – Christopher Lochhead

In the end, Lochhead is encouraging Americans to show support to small and big scale enterprises. He further believes that electing the right candidate who advocates for entrepreneurs is a good start. The dudes have created a huge collection of hentai games, where each game is examined under a microscope https://thebesthentai.com by the way, some broad makes powerful reviews of adult games.

To hear more about Christopher’s thoughts on venture capital, startups, IPOs and immigrants and more relevant information, download and listen to the episode.

Bio:

Christopher Lochhead – About

Links:

Brookings – As the venture capital game gets bigger, the Midwest keeps missing out

Yahoo! Finance – Silicon Valley could have 5,000 new millionaires after this year’s tech IPOs

Statista – Number of IPOs in the United States from 1999 to 2018

WSJ – Mutually Assured Disruption in Silicon Valley

IPOScoop.com – Last 100 IPOs

WSJ – The 2019 IPO Frenzy Is Different From 1999. Really.

WSJ – The IPO Millionaires Are Coming!

Forbes – The Top Tech IPOs In 2019 Have Been Started By Immigrants

Axios – U.S. startups are in a surprising 13-year slump

We hope you enjoyed this episode of Follow Your Different™! Christopher loves hearing from his listeners. Feel free to email him, connect on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and subscribe on iTunes!

076 Billionaire Entrepreneur Tom Siebel on Digital Transformation

Billionaire Entrepreneur Tom Siebel on Digital Transformation

In today’s episode, Billionaire Entrepreneur Tom Siebel shares some thought-provoking insights on new, leading technologies and its impact on businesses and society. He is the founder of C3.AI, a new software platform that harnesses Big Data, IoT AND AI.

Tom covers in this episode the contents of his book, Digital Transformation, as well as some intriguing ideas about huge US Tech companies.

Silicon Valley Entrepreneurial Giant

Listeners might recall Bruce Clevland, author of “The Traction Gap” and guest in episode 033. He used to work with Tom Siebel at Siebel Systems, which was the category king in the 1st wave of CRM.

In the year 1999, Fortune magazine named Siebel Systems “the fastest growing company in the United States.” In 2006, they merged with Oracle for $5.85 billion.

Digital Transformation

Tom has a brand new book entitled “Digital Transformation.” The book covers giant Megatrends and impacts on business and society. CEOs and senior leaders would find this book highly beneficial to their decision-making process.

“The coming two decades will bring more information technology innovation than the past half-century.” -Tom Siebel, Digital Transformation

Further, he discussed that companies who fail to seize this massive technological growth will be extinct in the future. In the last 30 years, companies that didn’t make the necessary transition required in their industry, cease to exist today.

Continuous Learning and Education

Tom Siebel and his company have a real commitment to their employees: to focus on continuous learning and education. Employees can take online classes via Coursera—in relation to AI, Cloud Computing, Machine Learning, among others. Universities such as Stanford, MIT, and the University of Illinois offers these online courses.

“Things are changing more rapidly so to be on top of these, you must be continuously learning”  – Tom Siebel

The company recognizes the employees who completed the courses and awards cash bonuses — ranging from $1500 to $25,000.  At the moment, the company is rolling out new incentives — a 15% increase in compensation and an additional equity grant.

“These people are better equipped to do their jobs and to serve customers. This is to advance their careers professionally. They also do feel more empowered, so everybody wins.” – Tom Siebel

To hear more about digital transformation and more relevant information from Tom, download and listen to the episode.

Bio:

Tom Siebel is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of C3.ai.

He was the Chairman and CEO of Siebel Systems, which merged with Oracle Corporation in January 2006 for $5.85 billion.

Mr. Siebel is also the Chairman of the Siebel Energy Institute, a global consortium for innovative and collaborative energy research for the public domain.

Mr. Siebel serves on the boards of advisors for the University of Illinois College of Engineering and the University of California at Berkeley College of Engineering.

Mr. Siebel is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he received a B.A. in history, an M.B.A, and an M.S. in computer science.

Links:

Digital Transformation: Survive and Thrive in an Era of Mass Extinction

Thomas Siebel – Linkedin

Thomas Siebel – Forbes Profile

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