Pomp is a partner + co-founder of Morgan Creek Digital.
He hosts a top 10 podcast, has an audience of ~400k followers on Twitter + writes a daily letter to 80,000 investors.
Watch + subscribe on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/stlcZjTawvs
Let us know what you think on Twitter:
@bzaidi @creatorlabfm
@apompliano
Five Things You'll Learn:
Timestamps:
Dr. Emily Anhalt is a psychologist, co-founder + chief-clinical officer of Coa, a mental fitness platform + community.
She’s conducted research with prominent psychologists + entrepreneurs on how leaders can improve their emotional fitness.
She's collaborated with companies like Google, Asana, TEDx, NASDAQ, Bloomberg, + True Ventures
Watch + Subscribe on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/8n4F_mS79gs
Let us know what you think on Twitter:
@bzaidi @creatorlabfm
@dremilyanhalt @joincoa
FIVE THINGS YOU'LL LEARN:
(1) how to be proactive about your mental health + emotional fitness
(2) identifying + dealing with anxiety
(3) actionable tips to deal with imposter syndrome
(4) dealing with co-founder breakups
(5) survivor guilt, sublimation + other psychological concepts that may impact your life
TIMESTAMPS
Sam Parr is the founder & CEO of The Hustle, an 8 figure media business. They have 1.5mil people subscribed to their daily email newsletter + are on track to hit 8 figures in revenue with their paid newsletter, trends.
Sign up for trends here: https://trends.co/?ref=11694
Five Things You'll Learn:
Let us know what you think on Twitter:
@bzaidi @creatorlabfm
@thesamparr
Timestamps:
Jack Butcher is the founder of @VisualizeValue, a Twitter/Instagram account he's grown to 100k+ followers in less than 2yrs.
His business brings in $100k+ month with 99% profit margins.
Five Things You'll Learn:
Let us know what you think on Twitter:
@bzaidi @creatorlabfm
@jackbutcher @visualizevalue
Timestamps (YouTube)
Who is Josh?
Josh Clemente is the founder of Levels. He’s a mechanical engineer, CrossFit L2 trainer + previously leads teams at Hyperloop + SpaceX where he developed life support systems for astronauts going into space.
In this conversation, we discuss the importance of optimizing your metabolic health, how software can drive behavior change + the future of health tech.
Full video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/3B1RJvlff74
Topics We Discuss
Full Time Stamps (YouTube)
Subscribe + watch on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/42U2VfWp2Go
Let me know what you think on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/bzaidi
Who is Jim?
Jim McKelvey is an entrepreneur, glass-blowing artist + philanthropist.
He’s most well known as the co-founder of Square, the financial payments company he started with Jack Dorsey (founder of Twitter). Jim also co-founded the non-profit “Launch Code” and he’s an independent Director of the St. Louis Federal Reserve
Jim’s book, The Innovation Stack, is available for purchase. Or sign up to the email list at the bottom of this post to win 1 of 5 copies we’re giving away to listeners
Topics We Discuss:
Book Giveaway
We’re giving away 5 copies of Jim’s book to email subscribers, details here:
https://www.creatorlab.fm/jim-mckelvey-square-co-founder/
Timestamps (YouTube)
Ryan Begelman co-founded Summit Series, described as “TED meets Burning Man” & “The Davos of Gen Y” by Forbes
They’ve become known for hosting incredible events with thousands of leading creators like Richard Branson, Jeff Bezos & Jessica Alba. Summit acquired Powder Mountain, America’s largest ski resort after pre-selling the opportunity to their community.
Ryan also bought into Bisnow Media, became CEO & sold for a reported $50mil+, all without venture capital.
SUMMARY:
In this episode, we discuss the world of micro private equity, buying existing companies with little money down & the philosophy of becoming an owner.
Ryan has a growing portfolio of 7 products, including fomo.com, a popular SaaS Shopify app. He’s doing 7-figures in revenue, all while living a nomadic life traveling the world, coding on-the-go & making music.
SHOW NOTES:
https://www.creatorlab.fm/ryan-kulp-fork-equity/
WATCH + SUBSCRIBE ON YOUTUBE:
https://youtu.be/yEaKaxRgjlQ
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:
TIME STAMPS FOR VIDEO:
https://youtu.be/yEaKaxRgjlQ
Emily is a true branding expert.
She's helped to build brands like Allbirds, Casper & Boxed from the ground up & paved a new path for entrepreneurs building in the direct-to-consumer (D2C) space.
We're giving away 5 free copies of Emily's new book: Obsessed: Building a Brand People Love From Day One
Sign up here for details:
https://bit.ly/2Xxh58X
The approach Emily and her team use to create brands that people love from day one.
Real-world examples from brands like: Apple, Nike, Warby Parker, TOMS, Allbirds, SoulCycle, Everlane, Thinx, and more.
You’ll learn:
Time Stamps:
00:00 intro
1:24 who is emily?
2:00 equity vs agency fee
3:09 branding book
4:15 what is the importance of brand?
5:05 defining brand
9:08 3 parts to brand strategy
14:40 customer interviews
20:33 beyond functional benefits
22:51 casper + core brand idea
25:30 airbnb + the why test
29:50 evaluating brand idea
30:30 boxed + comparing to competition
32:30 allbirds examples
37:40 nike + laddering up value
38:10 apple + green text
41:35 soulcycle brand juxtaposition
42:50 breaking the rule of consistency
44:30 thinx
47:40 non-profits + cause
50:50 toms shoe
53:10 warby parker
53:37 bombas
54:55 everlane
59:40 cancel culture + consumer expectations
Full show notes:
https://www.creatorlab.fm/hassan-yassine-gaia-interview/
Landing In Mexico City
There’s an energy that radiates through Mexico City that is unique to this part of the world. Colorful buildings paint the streets next to food carts full of locals trading stories from their day. Innovative design, delicious food & a rich culture is at the heart of this mega-city.
“Emerging Mexico” as I would learn, is alive and well. I could see why The New York Times named it the #1 place to visit in 2016.
But when I first visited in 2015 to hang out with my old friend Hassan, I knew little about what was bubbling under the surface. That was the halfway point of our now 10yr friendship, meeting as young, ambitious employees in Google’s EMEA headquarters in Dublin.
Bonding over Arsenal games, Fifa marathons & long chats in Slattery’s Pub, we talked about one day building companies that we would be proud of. And Hassan has stayed true to that vision ever since.
Finding Opportunities In Emerging Markets
Hassan co-founded GAIA, one of Mexico’s leading startups that is disrupting the furniture business. They’ve re-imagined what a vertically integrated player could look like: from designing & producing their own products, bringing technology to create new retail experiences & even having their own GAIA trucks to control the delivery experience for their customers – they’ve been a shining light of what the future of retail should look like.
In just over 5 years, they’ve grown to 18 stores, 350+ employees & built a multi-million dollar e-commerce business that has a healthy mix of online to offline revenue.
Hassan forged his own path. Leaving his safe job at Google in Europe, to move to Brazil to learn about startups in the region, before planting his own seed in Mexico.
It’s his ability to get up and run towards the action that I was most fascinated to dig into. In an age of endless debate around luck vs skill – Hassan shows what it looks like to take control of the decisions you have agency over.
But what I love most about this convo, is that we talk through some of the challenges that many of us face when trying to go down the entrepreneurial route.
Where do you start? What should you focus on? When is it safe to leave your job? What skills do you need to build & who are the people you need to look out for to turn your idea into a reality?
Five Things To Listen Out For:
(1) Emerging Markets – why he thinks there’s so much opportunity in emerging markets like Mexico
(2) Knowing When To Leave – how he thought through leaving his safe job, to move twice & settle into countries where he didn’t speak the language
(3) Preparing For Entrepreneurship – the skills you can develop in a job to become a better entrepreneur
(4) The evolution of the CMO role – how marketing is changing
(5) Growth Debt – and how to avoid making mistakes when growing so quickly
Subscribe and watch on:
YouTube.com/creatorlabfm
Full show notes:
https://www.creatorlab.fm/hassan-yassine-gaia-interview/
Links:
https://www.gaiadesign.com.mx/
https://twitter.com/ompaloempa
Connect with Bilal on social:
Instagram @bzaidi212 @creatorlabfm
Twitter @bzaidi @creatorlabfm
Thank you to our sponsors, who help make this show possible:
SquareFoot, where growing companies find their place, check out SquareFoot.com/creatorlab to find your next office space
“Silicon Valley’s buzziest start-up” - The New York Times
Rahul Vohra is no novice to the startup world. He previously built and sold Rapportive to Linkedin before setting out to build “the fastest email ever made” for the power users who fell out of love with Gmail, Outlook, and others.
You can’t argue with their results. Superhuman have 220k+ people on their waitlist, which costs $30/month and they’ve raised north of $50mil at a $260mil valuation from elite investors like First Round Capital & Andreessen Horowitz.
But what stood out most to me while meeting Rahul was his focus on the long term. We discussed “building a company that can last for 100yrs” while convincing his co-founders to “do their life’s work” with him. At one point, Rahul described sitting in front of his computer in tears because he realized he hadn’t built what he had set out to.
A Unique Approach
Sometimes, their unique approach can feel counter-intuitive. For example, what if I told you they are happy to turn away paying customers if it would distract them from their “high expectation customers”.
Or their mandatory human onboarding where a Superhuman employee takes a new user through a 30-60mins call to get them setup, understand how they personally use email & customize their experience vs a more scalable online experience that would save money in the short term.
Superhuman have turned paying customers into their biggest fans – on average, every new user of Superhuman brings in one new user down the road.
In this episode, we go deep into the engine they’ve built, how they design their product using video game dynamics and learning how to listen to the right customers.
Five Things To Listen Out For:
(1) Building a product-market-fit engine – we discuss several product-market-fit definitions and the approach Rahul took to understand when they had hit this point
(2) High Expectation Customer – what this is and why it’s important to find
(3) Turning Email Into A Video Game – how to design products to make you feel a certain way by taking principles from video game design
(4) Following Your Passion – is this misguided or good advice?
(5) Preparing For A Recession – is this something Rahul is thinking about and how he thinks this might impact the business world
Subscribe and watch on:
YouTube.com/creatorlabfm
Full show notes:
https://www.creatorlab.fm/rahul-vohra-superhuman-product-market-fit/
Links:
https://twitter.com/rahulvohra
https://firstround.com/review/how-superhuman-built-an-engine-to-find-product-market-fit/
Connect with Bilal on social:
Instagram @bzaidi212 @creatorlabfm
Twitter @bzaidi @creatorlabfm
Thank you to our sponsors, who help make this show possible:
SquareFoot, where growing companies find their place, check out SquareFoot.com/creatorlab to find your next office space
Hiten Shah has built multiple SaaS companies including Crazy Egg, KISSmetrics & FYI. In this conversation, we discuss the future of remote work and lessons learned from building, investing and advising 120+ companies.
63% of US companies now have remote workers and 96% of remote workers would recommend working remotely to a friend.
But what does “remote work” actually mean?
Many people think of digital nomads galavanting around tropical islands while fitting in some Wifi work time. Or freelancers working out of trendy coffee shops…
But as Hiten and I discuss, most of us are already participating in some form of “remote work”.
Whether that’s a remote meeting we have with external partners, flexible work schedules or simply, “working from home” – this is an important macro trend that is going to impact all of us as the nature of work continues to evolve.
Five Things To Listen Out For:
You can check out the full analysis Hiten and his team published here. Hiten on Twitter @hnshah.
Subscribe and watch on:
YouTube.com/creatorlabfm
Full show notes:
https://www.creatorlab.fm/hiten-shah-future-of-remote-work/
Connect with Bilal on social:
Instagram @bzaidi212 @creatorlabfm
Twitter @bzaidi @creatorlabfm
Thank you to our sponsors, who help make this show possible:
SquareFoot, where growing companies find their place, check out SquareFoot.com/creatorlab to find your next office space
I met Christophe when I first moved to New York.
I was drawn in by his infectious energy, French charm and distinct sense of humor. He had started multiple companies and our friendship grew over chats about life in America & the world of entrepreneurship.
One evening after an epic meandering night out, we landed in Koreatown to chow down on plates of bibimbap & bulgogi.
It was a few days before his life was about to change with the birth of his daughter and I asked Christophe about any regrets he had from the past…he started to share this story:
“This one time, I had a call from the CFO of Groupon and they had made an $80mil offer on our company, Totsy! It would have been a 10X return for our investors and it was going to be a life-changing moment for me”…
The table went silent as we crept towards the edge of our seats…
“But then my board blocked the deal, we had to say no! A short while after, we got crushed by Zulily and had to sell for much less. I made nothing from the sale.”
It was the sort of honest conversation you could only have with real friends. And yet, it was a familiar outcome that 90% of founders face when starting a company. The type of story that hasn’t been perfectly crafted by a PR machine or used as the tee-up to the inevitable “but look at me now!”
It was just plain, honest, truth.
In this episode, we revisit that story in more detail to share the stark reality of entrepreneurship – the high highs and the low lows, what it takes to bounce back and move on to a new adventure.
We also get into how his world has changed since having a baby daughter, why he thinks being a parent can make you a better entrepreneur and what his new company, UpFlex, is focused on.
I hope you enjoy the honesty that Christophe shares in this revealing conversation – if so, shoot me a note, I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Five Things To Listen Out For:
Subscribe and watch on YouTube.com/creatorlabfm
Full show notes:
https://www.creatorlab.fm/christophe-garnier-totsy-spark-labs-upflex/
Social:
Instagram: @bzaidi212 @creatorlabfm
Everywhere else: @bzaidi @creatorlabfm
Thank you to our sponsors who help make this show possible:
SquareFoot, where growing companies find their place, check out SquareFoot.com/creatorlab to find your next office space
Full video on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/KCjMwDpDm7g
Steve Schlafman is a Partner at Primary Venture Partners. He’s been an investor in the NYC startup ecosystem for the last decade. Prior to his roles in VC, he was the Director of New Ventures at The Kraft Group, owners of the New England Patriots. He’s worked at startups like Turntable FM & began his career at Microsoft.
Steve has worked on investments in companies like TheSkimm, Bowery Farming, Breather, Giphy, Percolate & SmartThings (sold to Samsung). He also works with founders & CEOs as a qualified leadership coach.
In this revealing conversation, we discuss how he thinks about personal + professional growth, building healthy habits, navigating your career, the fear of death, dealing with anxiety, overcoming “functional addiction”, sobriety & why the best performers – people like Eric Schmidt & Lebron James, all work with coaches.
Five Things To Listen Out For:
Subscribe to watch the episode on YouTube here.
Steve:
Bilal:
@creatorlabfm
@bzaidi212 (Instagram) & @bzaidi everywhere else
Full show notes:
https://www.creatorlab.fm/steve-schlafman-primary-venture-partners/
Thank you to our sponsors who help make this show possible:
SquareFoot, where growing companies find their place, check out SquareFoot.com/creatorlab to find your next office space
Oz Pearlman is an Emmy award-winning mentalist & magician. He captivated millions across the world as the runner up & finalist on America’s Got Talent.
In this episode, listen carefully as Oz baffles the senses by performing mentalist tricks live on air.
From reading Bilal’s mind, to elaborate tricks that you have to see with your own eyes to believe (youtube.com/creatorlabfm) & an epic conversation discussing human psychology, non-verbal communication & turning your side-hustle into a lucrative business – there’s so much to take away from this revealing conversation.
Five Things To Listen Out For:
Subscribe to watch the episode on YouTube here.
Social:
@OzTheMentalist
@creatorlabfm
@bzaidi212 (Instagram) & @bzaidi everywhere else
Full show notes:
https://www.creatorlab.fm/oz-pearlman-mentalist-magician-interview/
Thank you to our sponsors who help make this show possible:
SquareFoot, where growing companies find their place, check out SquareFoot.com/creatorlab to find your next office space
Nigel Eccles is best known for being the co-founder of FanDuel, a company that pioneered the daily fantasy sports market in the US.
You may have seen their high impact commercials on TV, heard of them becoming one of the few unicorn $1bil startups to come out of Europe or their eventual sale to Paddypower/Betfair for $465mil. You may have even seen him featured in the infamous John Oliver “This Week Tonight” episode covering the industry he helped to create!
It’s safe to say – there are not many people on the planet that have the experience that Nigel has – after starting & selling multiple companies – he’s been around the block & back as a serial entrepreneur.
At Fanduel his experience includes raising $400mil+ in venture capital, competing with their closest rival, Draft Kings who raised over $1bil+, to investing hundreds of millions of dollars in customer acquisition on channels like TV, radio & paid digital.
In this revealing conversation, he opened up to share his perspective on:
Subscribe to watch the episode on YouTube here.
Join the Creator Lab group on Nigel's new app, Flick:
https://flickchat.page.link/emPvGZnT7XwKGgz76
Thank you to our sponsor who helps make this show possible -SquareFoot, where growing companies find their place, check out SquareFoot.com/creatorlab to find your next office space
How many times have you heard bitcoin, crypto, blockchain and thought to yourself – “what the hell are they talking about?”
Well, you’re not the only one. This is a topic that has a lot of value but too often you’ll find so-called “experts” using complicated jargon to make things sound more complicated than it is.
In this conversation with Ali Hassan, an ex-Goldman Sachs banker & venture capitalist, turned entrepreneur – we try our best to simplify and discuss what bitcoin and blockchain is in simple terms and explore the practical applications of this technology.
Going beyond definitions – we discuss real use cases, why the value of bitcoin fluctuates so much, if bitcoin is a direct alternative to the traditional money supply system, comparing it to other assets like gold, and how his team has developed one of the leading passive index funds for investing in cryptocurrency
Watch the full episode on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/SGPMfHxFmgo
<br>
Fabrice Grinda has been called the most prolific angel investor in the world, even being ranked #1 in Forbes based on investment volume + number of exits.
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He’s exited hundreds of millions of dollars from 500+ investments in companies like Alibaba, Viagogo, Tencent, Airbnb, Betterment, Uber, Fanduel & Palantir.
<br>
Before setting up his “startup studio” & investment fund, he started and sold multiple companies including OLX, the leading “Craigslist” marketplace of countries like India, Brazil & Pakistan.
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But things weren’t always so rosy.
<br>
Fabrice shares stories of living on $2/day, living in his office because he couldn’t afford an apartment & missing payroll 27 times!
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We also discuss the future of marketplaces, how he’d think of business ideas if starting today, the science of happiness, minimalism, and why we’re still at the very beginning of the tech revolution.
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Here are five things to listen out for:
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CONNECT ON SOCIAL:
https://www.instagram.com/creatorlabfm
https://www.instagram.com/bzaidi212
<br>
Full show notes:
https://www.creatorlab.fm/fabrice-grinda-fj-labs-interview/
<br>
Thank you to our sponsors who help make this show possible:
SquareFoot, where growing companies find their place, check out SquareFoot.com/creatorlab to find your next office space
Instasleep Mint Melts, the drug-free sleep aid that melts in your mouth. Use the code “creator8” to get 20% off your order on Amazon.
Watch the full episode on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/Lc07mxx3CII
<br>
Nathan Latka is making more than $100k/month from 30+ revenue streams. We go into all of the details documented in his book: “How To Be A Capitalist Without Any Capital”
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From his approach to building systems that scale beyond himself, growing his podcast to 10+mil downloads, investing in real estate, food trucks, buying software companies, building teams around the world and even landing a TV show – there’s so much packed into this conversation!
<br>
We also go into why someone should be a capitalist in the first place, the pros, and cons of capitalism and the many creative ways he's finding success in many different areas.
<br>
Nathan is a true capitalist in every sense of the word & a savvy entrepreneur that likes to break the rules.
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You can check out his WSJ bestselling book, “How To Be A Capitalist Without Any Capital”, on Amazon here
<br>
Five things to listen out for:
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CONNECT ON SOCIAL:
https://www.instagram.com/creatorlabfm
https://www.instagram.com/bzaidi212
<br>
Full show notes:
https://www.creatorlab.fm/nathan-latka-capitalist-book-interview/
Thank you to our sponsor, Instasleep Mint Melts, the drug-free sleep aid that melts in your mouth. You can check them out on Amazon here
Watch the full episode on YouTube:
<br>
Faraz Zaidi, is the founder & creative director of Profound Co, a multi-million dollar fashion brand that sits at the intersection of streetwear and high fashion.
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Profound has built a loyal following over 10yrs+, with celebrity fans like Rihanna, Kendrick Lamar and Justin Bieber wearing their clothes. They’ve been featured in Time, Fast Company & Forbes and have collaborated with leading musicians & major brands like Pepsi.
<br>
In this in-depth conversation, Faraz shares the full backstory of their humble beginnings, scaling their business and how he would approach building a fashion brand from scratch if he was starting again today.
<br>
Five things to listen out for:
<br>
CONNECT ON SOCIAL:
https://www.instagram.com/creatorlabfm
https://www.instagram.com/bzaidi212
<br>
Full show notes:
https://www.creatorlab.fm/profound-aesthetic-co-faraz-zaidi/
Subscribe and watch the full video interview on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/GZAgTCFPxxk
<br>
Tyler Riewer (head of creative at charity: water) shares 5 principles that can make you a better storyteller. We discuss the concept of the "hero's journey" and how the best brands, writers & politicians use this idea to tell effective stories.
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Five Things To Listen Out For:
<br>
SOCIAL:
https://www.instagram.com/creatorlabfm
https://www.instagram.com/bzaidi212
<br>
TYLER:
http://tylerriewer.com
https://twitter.com/tylerriewer
<br>
charity: water
Watch The Spring: https://cwtr.org/2lJhZix
Nora's story: https://www.charitywater.org/world-wa...
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Full show notes:
https://www.creatorlab.fm/where-do-good-stories-come-from-tyler-riewer-charity-water/
Thank you to our sponsor, Instasleep Mint Melts, the drug-free sleep aid that melts in your mouth. You can check them out on Amazon or instasleep.us
Watch the full video interview & subscribe on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgDgNfvm4qY
<br>
Jane Lu has been named “Cosmopolitan’s Girl Boss of the Year”, “Forbes 30 under 30” and her company, Showpo, was crowned Australia’s “Online Retailer of the Year” in 2018.
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But rewind a few years and Jane was struggling for motivation in her accountancy career. We discuss what it took to take a risk to go all in on her business while having to hide it from her parents while living in their house!
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We dig into the details of how she took her first steps, grew the company with zero investment, built an audience on social with millions of followers, and how she would approach starting an e-commerce business from scratch today.
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Show Notes
Here are five things to listen out for:
<br>
Thank you to our sponsor, Instasleep Mint Melts, the drug-free sleep aid that melts in your mouth. You can check them out on Amazon or instasleep.us
Watch full interview on video:
https://youtu.be/3BHdnOiYym4
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Full show notes & timestamps:
https://www.creatorlab.fm/ronnie-madra-1oak-earos/
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Ronnie Madra is the co-founder of the Butter Group which has an extensive portfolio of brands including legendary nightclubs 1OAK and Up and Down.
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They’ve hosted after-parties for events like the Oscars, Met Gala & Cannes Film Festival attracting A-List celebrities along the way. Alongside business partner, Richie Akiva, they’ve developed properties in NYC, LA, Las Vegas, Tokyo, Dubai & Maldives – building one of the leading food & beverage (F&B) brands around.
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However, after 25+ years in nightlife – Ronnie developed a severe hearing issue which causes constant ringing in his ears. To address this issue for the 1.1bil people who will develop hearing issues in their lifetime – he created, EAROS, an in-ear protection system & an acoustical filter.
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Ronnie shared stories he has never shared before. He opens up about growing up on a coconut plantation in Guyana, landing in NYC as a minority amongst minorities, personal stories about dealing with bullies as a kid, running into trouble with a gang & landing on his feet into nightlife in NYC.
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FIVE THINGS TO LISTEN OUT FOR:
TIME STAMPS:
Erika Alexander is an actress, writer & co-founder of Color Farm Media. She’s well known for her role as the iconic character Maxine Shaw, Attorney-at-Law in the 90s sitcom Living Single. She was a regular as Cousin Pam in The Cosby Show & appeared in the Oscar-winning film Get Out (2017).
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Full show notes & timestamps:
https://www.creatorlab.fm/erika-alexander-actress-get-out-cosby-show/
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Time Stamps: