Reach Or Miss

The biggest failure vs. the biggest success - what leads successful entrepreneurs to the highest breakthrough?   It was September 15th, 2008. I was in Zurich, on my way to a big annual exhibition with one of my startup clients. I got a call from my bank’s manager. A big payment of 25,000$ that was to be deposited into my bank account that day had been canceled. It was the day of the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy; the financial landscape changed forever that day. Over the next few days, two of my biggest clients cancelled their contracts. My company was less than nine months old. I carefully built it step by step with clients I knew and could trust. It was my first year of being independent after more than 20 years of executive marketing roles in international brands. The situation was totally new to me. It was a painful failure and the next few months were incredibly difficult, however, looking back, this was exactly what allowed me to grow so fast in the following years. In 2010, we closed the first

Ovi Negrean Show Notes After 10+ years of experience working in various firms, ranging from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies, having also some entrepreneurial ventures in between, Ovi jumped full time into the startup world with nugget (acquired) and is now focused on https://socialbee.io/ (SocialBee). He has experience in building and managing software development teams; building SaaS and mobile products; creating ROI-positive social media; marketing and product launches. He is passionate about helping startups succeed in building great products, finding the appropriate launch sequence, and the best levers to grow. He’s also an idea machine and can really help with brainstorming. His imaginary friends say he’s a fun guy. Most passionate about My passion lies in building the company and the machine behind what we are creating; we have this combination of the tool and of the services. It’s almost like running two separate businesses, and that requires a lot of moving parts that we need to fine-tune, e

“...Being hungry and wanting to win is important. But all that ambition should be equally balanced with patience... and patience is hard.” I just couldn’t stop watching this DailyVee 061 short video advice: https://twitter.com/garyvee?cn=ZmxleGlibGVfcmVjcw==&refsrc=email (Gary Vaynerchuk's advice DailyVee 061) Being more patient means playing the long game. It means being customer focused, not to mention listening and reacting to markets’ needs and changes. It’s a chaotic world, the journey is hectic, and many entrepreneurs just jump on any new opportunity or challenge. One of the first questions I ask my guests on the Reach or Miss podcast is 'what would be their best advice to entrepreneurs regarding customers’ focus, marketing, and sales?" In this episode, I collected five of the best tips from my guests, market leaders, and successful entrepreneurs. Raoul Davis Raoul Davis is CEO of Ascendant Group Branding, which helps CEOs, retired athlete

Ep. 83 Show Notes Hi, Reachers, In a fascinating and thought-provoking interview with Mark Schafer, whom I see as the leading marketing experts today, he said: “The question I’m wrestling with now is that everywhere I go, marketing seems to be stuck. There are a few symptoms: People are overwhelmed by technology in marketing They are overusing technology in marketing They’re stuck in ineffective patterns Many of the companies today, either big or small, have social media departments that were established in 2010 to 2014, and I can assure you that almost none of the output these teams are producing have been updated. So much has been changed with social media during the last years. Marketing is too tech-centric instead of human-centric. We don’t want to talk with our customers anymore; we just want to monitor them on Twitter. We automate everything and we are losing our hearts, our souls, and our way. Marketing is sick right now!” Longtime readers and listeners know that I, and this podcast, is all

Mitch Joel Show Notes Mitch Joel is Founder of Six Pixels Group – an advisory, investing and content producing company that is focused on brands, commerce and community. He has been called a marketing and communications visionary, interactive expert and community leader (he prefers the title “Brand Hacker”). He is also an entrepreneur, author, journalist, investor, trusted advisor, and passionate speaker who connects with people worldwide by sharing his insights on business transformation and marketing innovation. He has been named one of the top 100 online marketers in the world, and was awarded the highly prestigious Top 40 Under 40. Prior to Six Pixels Group, Mitch spent close to two decades building, running and (eventually) selling his business. He was President of Mirum – a global digital marketing agency operating in 25 countries with close to 3000 employees. Mirum is owned by WPP. Most passionate about Right now is an interesting time for me. I had been building and running wit

Andy Crestodina Show Notes Andy Crestodina is a co-founder and CMO of Orbit Media, an award-winning 38-person digital agency in Chicago. Over the past 18 years, Andy’s provided guidance to 1000+ busi-nesses. He speaks at national marketing conferences, writes for big marketing blogs and hosts a little podcast. Andy has written hundreds of articles on content strategy, SEO, in-fluencer marketing, conversion and Analytics. Top 10 Online Marketing Experts, Forbes Top 50 Marketing Influencer, Entrepreneur Magazine Top 25 Content Marketers, Express Writers/Buzzsumo Top 10 Social Media Influencers, Social Media Explorer He is also the author of Content Chemistry: The Illustrated Hand-book for Content Marketing. Most passionate about I love the human side of being an entrepreneur, marketing, and business in general. So, I’m really excited about live events, especially since yesterday was our annual conference, called ContentJam, which is kind of a mini version of some of the other conferences that you a

Jeremy Liddle Show Notes Jeremy Liddle: Entrepreneur for 16 years. Co-founder & Exec Director of CapitalPitch. President, G20 Young Entrepreneurs Alliance (YEA) Aus-tralia for 5 years. Represents Australia in youth employment and entre-preneurship at the United Nations. Published author on startups and TEDx speaker. “I’ve been an entrepreneur since before I knew what the word meant. Af-ter 17 years of founding and growing businesses, I realized that entre-preneurs solve the world’s problems but a lack of access to capital inhib-its too many from changing the world. I cofounded CapitalPitch to solve this problem. CapitalPitch is a Digital In-vestment Firm that accelerates founders for impact on the world by helping Pre-Series A tech companies and sophisticated, professional and institutional investors; providing a capital raising platform, Venture Capital investment funds and advisory services from Seed to IPO or acquisition.” Most passionate about What I’m most passionate about is helpin

Justin Wu Show Notes Justin is a co-founder of Blocknauts, a blockchain growth advisory & me-dia group. Justin is a keynote speaker & advisor for over 12+ blockchain companies, tokens & Dapps. Prior to founding Blocknauts, Justin has been content creator in the growth marketing space. He has collaborated with the Wall St Journal, CES, NASA, NASDAQ & been sponsored by Samsung, Intel, New Balance. Most passionate about Today I’m focusing on organizing educational events on Blockchain and Cryptocurrency to developers, business consultants and other professionals that want to learn more about this fields. Our most recent, and biggest event right now is called Blockchain Northwest. We had 800 people come to the first ever Seattle, Washington conference. We had people from Microsoft, Amazon, T-mobile, Starbucks, Bedtracks, R-chain, Storm Token and Unicorn Gold, just to name a few; so, we had a lot of local Seattle companies come through, enterprises and enterprise decision makers, and also a lot

Lee Odden Show Notes Lee Odden is a digital marketing strategist, author, international speaker and CEO of TopRank Marketing. His work integrating search, social, content, and influencer market-ing has been recognized by the Wall Street Journal, The Economist and Forbes. By combining a “best answer marketing strategy” together with “do well by doing good” values, he’s attracted top industry talent and clients including SAP, 3M, Dell, LinkedIn, Oracle and GE Digital. Odden is a prolific writer as the author of the book Optimize and as editor of TopRankBlog.com where he has published over 1 million words on digital marketing topics. Most passionate about It’s funny; I didn’t start out to create an agency necessarily. It’s my passion for marketing and the chase of solving difficult problems is really what got me into the role I have now. Obviously, I’ve had to learn to be a CEO, but technology plays a role in all of that. You can’t be efficient, or effective, especially these

Is there one key success factor most successful entrepreneurs have? Or is the key success factor is unique to each entrepreneur? At the end of every interview on the REACH OR MISS podcast, I ask my interviewee what their key success factor is and what works for them. You will be amazed at what I found. Hi Reachers. So happy you are here! Today is the final episode in a three part series, where I talk about three main things we can learn from successful entrepreneurs. Over the last ten years I’ve worked with over 120 startups and entrepreneurs, and met with thousands more in meetups, conferences, and the like. I decided to start this podcast one and a half years ago in order to help entrepreneurs and startup founders increase their chances of business success by learning from most successful entrepreneurs and opinion leaders. This podcast is focused on entrepreneurial marketing and how being a customer-focused entrepreneur will pave your way to success. The last two episodes were all about how success

Entrepreneurial marketing and sales are incredibly challenging. How do you find the biggest market opportunity and need for an unfamiliar product in a market that probably doesn’t exist yet? Successful entrepreneurs and opinion leaders Joe Pulizzi, David Beebe, Vladimer Botsvadze, and Tomas Laurinavicius tell us about their experiences and beliefs about reaching the business breakthrough.   Since we’re talking about the marketing and sales of an entrepreneurial business, now is a perfect time to debunk one of the greatest myths in the startup world. In a recent conversation with the marketing manager of a startup that develops and sells enterprise software, I was informed of one of the most common, yet false, axioms regarding marketing: “You need to spend big on marketing if you want to bring in the big bucks.” Wrong! The truth is marketing is all about looking at the problem your product or service solves from the point of view of your potential customers and helping them solve that problem or struggle.

Many people are dreaming of leaving their 9 to 5 jobs and becoming entrepreneurs. But how do you make that first step? Being an entrepreneur means finding what will work for your unique skill set. Aiming to gain income and profits as fast as possible and grow your entrepreneurship quickly from a one-person show to a substantial 6 or 7 figures company within a few years. In this episode, I bring you the stories about the first steps of the most successful of this new breed of entrepreneur. Who is the new kind of entrepreneur? John Lee Dumas (JLD) is the founder and host of the leading entrepreneurship podcast, Entrepreneurs on Fire, and is one of the founding fathers of this new age of entrepreneurship. John established his podcast after finding himself unhappy with traditional 9 to 5 jobs and frustrated with the weekly podcasts he listened to on the road because there wasn’t enough content. So, he decided to create a daily podcast for entrepreneurs. It quickly grew into a huge success and John, along wi

Tony Hughes has thirty years of corporate and sales leadership experience with unbroken personal and team sales records. He is: Currently ranked #1 sales blogger globally by both Top Sales Magazine and Best Sales Blogger Awards Rated as the most influential person in professional sales within Asia-Pacific by Top Sales World Currently ranked #3 sales expert and thought leader globally by LinkedIn Tony is also a bestselling author and the most read person on LinkedIn on the topic of B2B sales leadership. He has more than 400,000 followers on his blogs. The American Management Association published his most recent book, COMBO Prospecting. He teaches ‘modernized selling’ within the MBA program at the University of Technology, Sydney; sits on a number of boards; and is Chair of a CEO mentor group with The Leadership Think Tank. Tony speaks at conferences internationally and his consulting clients include some of the best-known brands in the world. Most passionate about The thing I’m most pa

James Arthur Show Notes James Arthur Ray is considered one of the world’s foremost leadership and performance advisers, coaches and consultants. James’s company has been on the INC. 500 LIST as one of the fastest growing businesses in the industry. He has taught over 1 million individuals in 145 countries over the course of 20 years. Then in 2009, in what began as a very routine sweat lodge-like ceremony outside of Sedona, Arizona, 3 of the 53 participants lost their lives from complications. The incident was deemed an accident and James was found to be negligent. He spent the past 4 years creating and refining a new set of teachings that we have listed above. Each of his talks has a detailed curriculum that audiences both learn from and enjoy. He emphasizes gaining personal clarity, recognizing each person’s unique gift, and better understanding about how to avoid the mistakes that are avoidable. James is high- energy and truly inspirational. Most passionate about I have some big intentions and goals.

42% - No Market Need! This is the top reason startups fail, for according to a comprehensive research of entrepreneurs with failed companies. Hi Reachers, The REACH OR MISS podcast is all about being a customer focused entrepreneur. One and a half years ago, I decided to create this   podcast after I realized that most entrepreneurs failed because they didn’t understand what I call the magic of marketing. Marketing is magic; it’s all about being able to look at the market from the eye view of the potential customers. Entrepreneurs fail for two reasons; both of which are part of not finding the     biggest opportunity in the market: They didn’t find their most potential customers, those who will be the initial and secondary audience to adopt the new product. They didn’t manage to clearly define their new, unfamiliar product. Let’s face it; this is a huge challenge. Among the 120 startups and entrepreneurs we worked with over the last ten years, only in one company did the two founders define their product

Gary Loper Show Notes Gary Loper is a Twitter expert, teaching people to use Twitter in relationship marketing. He is also is a motivational speaker, life and business coach, and a highly respected entrepreneur. He has enthused and empowered individuals in all walks of life. Gary has a strong background in marketing and sales, and his 30+ years of customer service and 15 years of direct sales ads show in more depth who he is. With his diversity in spiritual studies, relationship building, life and business coaching, marketing, customer service and sales, his background is a perfect blend to help others to be their best, in life and business. Most passionate about I’m passionate about creating more things about social justice, inclusion, and equality. It’s not just a today problem; how we treat other groups of people horribly has been going on throughout history. And I really think that needs to stop. There is so much we could learn from each other, we should be able to hold onto our heritages, and blend

Trevor Crane Show Notes Trevor Crane is an 11 time #1 international bestselling author and the founder of Epic Author Publishing. He is also the host of the GreatnessQuest.com podcast and co-founder of SuperKidsBooks.com. Trevor’s mission is to help publish 1000 new authors and help people take their LIFE and their BUSINESS to the next level – no matter how successful they already are. He helps his clients generate MILLIONS OF DOLLARS in bottom line profits. Trevor is also a sought after speaker, trainer and coach. His unique commonsense approach, along with his humor, wit, and infectious energy, allows him to connect with any audience. Most passionate about I’m most passionate about helping you tell your story. I struggled to publish my first book for over 20 years. I finally broke down and hired my first mentor, who helped me write my first book. Using his guidance and help, I was able to 10x my income within 12 months of publishing my first book. Learning to tell your story and turn it into a story t

Allen Ganett Show Notes Allen Ganett is the founder and CEO of TrackMaven, a marketing analytics service whose clients have included Microsoft, Marriott, Saks Fifth Avenue, Home Depot, Aetna, Honda, and GE. He has been on the “30 under 30” lists for both Inc. and Forbes. He is a contributor for FastCompany.com and has a new book, The Creative Curve, on the disciplined pursuit of creativity, from Currency, a division of Penguin Random House. He was also once a very pitiful runner-up on Wheel of Fortune. Most passionate about So, where I get really excited is this intersection between the left brain and the right brain; between our neurological selves and our creative selves. My company helps big brands find patterns in their marketing data, so they can figure out what their audience cares for, what stories they should tell, how they should resonate with their audience. My book is all about intersection; my argument is that creativity is something that’s learnable, something that’s nurture-ab

Roy Sutton Show Notes Roy Sutton is an experienced C-Level executive, board director, and former CEO with a broad knowledge base and understanding of business, as well as telecommunications and digital media. Based in London, Roy is currently a business consultant, blogger, public speaker and entrepreneur using his skills and experience to help people make the most of their lives. His objectives are achieved by creating digital products designed to offer people solutions to the many common problems they face. Roy holds an MBA Degree in International Business from Cass Business School, London, and the Certified Diploma in Accounting and Finance from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA). He also holds a BEng Degree in Electronic Engineering from the University of Liverpool and a BA Degree in Spanish & Latin American Studies from the University of London. Roy is a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute. He is also a Chartered Engineer and a Fellow of the Institution of Engineeri

Pascal Guyon Show Notes Pascal Guyon is a multi-platinum music producer who contributed to 3 Grammy nominations. He’s also a programmer, a social media strategist, and a speaker. 3 facts about Pascal: I am proud to have contributed to 3 Grammy nominations and to over 15 million albums sold worldwide I have served as a mentor to 10,000’s of artists and business owners worldwide, through my video game, speaking en-gagements and education programs I have also helped some of the most disruptive brands in transportation, cryptocurrency and food dominate social media Most passionate about Most people are known to be specialists in one field, and that’s about it. I’m more like a polymath if you will; I get bored extremely quickly. So basically, I have different specialties. Of course, my first specialty is music. I ended up doing a lot of live music, playing with bands, but I figured out that I prefer to create; so that’s how I became a music producer. So actually, my passion for computer science cam