The Journey

Latest Episodes:

Cultivating an Increadible Network with Elizabeth Gore, President and Chairwoman of Alice Apr 25, 2019

Show notes

Throughout her career, Elizabeth Gore (Twitter, LinkedIn) has worked closely with decision-makers in some of the most impactful institutions in the public and private sectors. No, she wasn’t born into royalty. She has deliberately cultivated meaningful relationships by creating value for everyone around her, from the most remote communities to billionaire titans.

“I do believe your network is your greatest asset over the life of your career and that you have no idea when and where that network might serve you.”

Today Elizabeth is President of Alice, the AI-driven business advisor for entrepreneurs. Her startup is helping those outside centers of power build their own amazing networks, by catering resources for people of marginalized gender, ethnicity, sexual identity, and more. As she sees it, traits that are often seen as disadvantages can actually be incredible strengths and untapped opportunities.

Learn more about The Journey at mission.org/thejourney.

The Journey is sponsored by our friends at Salesforce Essentials. We use Salesforce Essentials every day and it’s part of our own business journey. Essentials combines sales and service tools in a single app to help small businesses win customers and keep them happy. See how Salesforce Essentials can help you be your best business at salesforce.com/thejourney.

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Building True Partnerships with Bryce Maddock, CEO of TaskUs Apr 19, 2019

Show notes

Bryce Maddock (LinkedIn) was lucky enough to find a business partner in his best friend, Jaspar Weir. And while that may sound like fun — who wouldn’t want to work every day with their BFF? — it hasn’t always been easy.

I've heard so many horror stories of close friends, best friends whose relationships had been torn apart by failed business ventures or sometimes actually torn apart by successful business ventures. Jaspar and I have had our fair share of challenges because we are both hyper competitive, and while we love each other's company, we also both want to be in the spotlight. And, when you're co-founders and you're two people who are in the business, that can be a really big challenge.

Bryce and Jaspar failed in their initial attempt at business. And when they took a second shot at business ownership together, they had to do hard, humbling work to learn how to communicate effectively. The end result was a successful business, TaskUs, and many lessons learned including that communication is the core of any true partnership.

Learn more about The Journey at mission.org/thejourney.

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Starting Where You Are with Greg Becker, CEO of Silicon Valley Bank Apr 17, 2019

Show notes

Greg Becker is the CEO of Silicon Valley Bank. Silicon Valley Bank is a huge bank that services some of the greatest and most innovative companies all over the world. But the company Greg joined was nothing like that.

The market value of Silicon Valley Bank was only 50 million dollars. Publicly traded, 50 million dollars. Today we're about $55B AUM so back then, if I'd probably known as much as I should have known, I probably wouldn't have joined them.

So how did he help transform a shrinking real estate bank to one of the most important financial institutions in the world? By taking initiative. Divine discontent. He always pushed for change and pursued new opportunities and on this episode of The Journey, you’ll learn that sometimes, it’s not about building something completely new or unexpected. It’s about doing what you can with what you have, making smart choices, taking key risks and working hard to make sure they pay off.

Learn more about The Journey at mission.org/thejourney.

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Analysis Paralysis with Rahul Gandhi, Co-founder and CEO of MakeSpace Apr 12, 2019

Show notes

The son of an entrepreneur, Rahul Gandhi (Twitter, LinkedIn) saw how unstable that life was and wasn’t interested in living with the uncertainty and doubt that went along with it. But entrepreneurship was in his blood, and despite how much he ran from it, Rahul was eventually led back to the path of small business ownership. Even still, though, Rahul resisted, and he had to find within himself the courage to finally say yes and choose the entrepreneur’s path. How did he find that courage? Well, life has a funny way of putting you in situations that test your toughness, inspire you to build things, and prepares you for challenges you didn’t know you were going to face.

“If you've ever had dreams of starting a business whether, even if it's not starting a business or just taking a risk, you know, just do it. Like life is short….if I have to look back on my career and where I started in corporate, in banking, in venture capital, and all these turns and angles that I took, I wouldn't trade the last six years for anything because I've grown so much as a person. I've met so many challenges that I never thought I'd even encounter. It's changed my perspective on life.”

Rahul took a long road to the entrepreneur’s life, but when he finally found his path and started MakeSpace, his destiny became clear. This is his journey and from it, you’ll learn the decision to commit to action is the most important decision you can make.

Learn more about The Journey at mission.org/thejourney.

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Pushing Through Panic with Adi Arezzini, Founder of Teami Apr 11, 2019

Show notes

Adi Arezzini (LinkedIn) had a military career that was professionally empowering but left her personally, and physically, in a bad place due to certain health and wellness issues. When she left the armed services, Adi spent her time looking for a cure for her ills — and in finding a solution, she also stumbled on a good idea for a business. But after a couple of years of growth and success, there was a point when it seemed like everything was falling apart.

“The whole year was like this up and down year where we would have one month that was a really good month, and one month that was a bad month. I was like, "What is happening?" I felt really out of control and I started having very illogical panic attacks, where I couldn't sleep at night. I wasn't eating and I would call my husband and I was like, ‘Alex, I think I'm going to be an ice cream truck driver.’”

Adi had to push through panic attacks, doubts, and tough business problems to keep her company, Teami, alive. But in doing so, she became a stronger person and leader and learned some valuable lessons about what it means to run a small business.

Learn more about The Journey at mission.org/thejourney.

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Community Building with Gina Bianchini, Founder and CEO of Mighty Networks Apr 04, 2019

Show notes

Building a company is like building a small community, and that takes passion. There is a power that comes from finding likeminded people to bond and build with. No one knows this more deeply than Gina Bianchini (Twitter, LinkedIn), who has spent her entire life in search of community and connection.

In this episode, you’ll learn about Gina’s company, Mighty Networks, and how she has been able to do what she loves all by using the skills she’s learned along the way.

Learn more about The Journey at mission.org/thejourney.

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Following Your Fear with Laura Sandefer, Co-founder of Acton Academy Apr 02, 2019

Show notes

When her two young children were old enough to begin their traditional schooling, Laura Sandefer and her husband Jeff were at an inflection point. They didn’t want the traditional path for their kids but they didn’t believe they could do classic homeschooling either. What that left them, was the idea to start a school of their own school and create a radical new way for children to learn. The two launched Acton Academy and it has grown into a collection of one-room schools around the world.

It was a big mess to be perfectly honest. We didn't know what we were doing, and we had no grand plan. We didn't have a strategic plan, we didn't have anything, and we definitely did not have a plan that this would expand beyond our own small community.

But changing the way children learn is not an easy task, and the style of learning is not for everyone. And so, despite wanting to change the world for everyone, Laura had to do what all small business owners do — find the right market, learn to identify who to target, and who to let go of, accept rejection and grow slowly and steadily in order to make a lasting impact.

Learn more about The Journey at mission.org/thejourney.

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Creating Balance with Y’vonne Ormond, CEO of 5P Consulting Mar 30, 2019

Show notes

As a small business owner, so much responsibility falls to you to make your business work. You have to be willing to take on many various roles. Juggling these roles can be a challenge, but the ability to create the systems and processes that works for you is also one of the greatest joys of small business.

Y’vonne Ormond (Twitter, LinkedIn) spent many years working in the corporate world where she learned the ins and outs of business. But at a certain point, the corporate world became unfulfilling on a personal level. Y’vonne decided to go out on her own, and in doing so create a work-life balance that worked for her.

But the journey wasn't easy. And along the way Y’vonne had to deal with personal hardships while learning how to juggle the many tasks small business owners are required to take on.

“The thing about being a small business owner is, I’m the CEO, the COO, CFO, the project manager and HR… There's no “off”. That's the other challenge — I feel like I have 200 bosses because it's my role to serve my employees, to serve my children, and to serve my clients.”

Being a small business owner and a single mom all at the same time is a lot of work and it’s not a path many people can handle. But for those like Y’vonne, who work hard and figure it out along the way, the benefits and rewards are worth all the sacrifice.

In the end, she realized that by preparing herself, leaning on others and taking failure off the table as an option, she could mitigate the risks that had scared her before and succeed in ways she was never expecting.

Learn more about The Journey at mission.org/thejourney.

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When Risks Pay Off with Krystal Carter, Founder of Danny Kay Cloud Mar 27, 2019

Show notes

Krystal Carter (Twitter) not only wasn’t planning to own a small business, but she also wasn’t even aiming to be in the world of technology. A self-described risk-avoider, Krystal was comfortable working for various other companies and doing a good job … until she wasn’t anymore. When a series of events opened the door for her to start her own business, Krystal had to decide if she was willing to take the risk to go out on her own, and then once she did, she had to decide what kind of leader she wanted to be.

“What allowed me to take the risk was really... an amazing coalescence I guess of happenings in the universe.”

Learn more about The Journey at mission.org/thejourney.

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How to Create a Positive Company Culture with Sander Daniels, Co-founder of Thumbtack Mar 22, 2019

Show notes

For more than a decade, Thumbtack has been steadily carving out a niche for itself. As one of the co-founders, Sander Daniels (Twitter, LinkedIn) worked day and night in the early days to get the company off the ground. He was powered by a belief that everything would work and that what they were building would be great, and he spread that message to all he encountered. But was that messaging actually undercutting him as a leader?

“If I were ever under any illusions previously about what I was good and not good at, well, then in that moment they were entirely shattered.”

It turns out that the way you communicate is deeply important, and learning to do so effectively — including how to give and receive feedback — is paramount in scaling a company. Sander learned this lesson the hard way, and his journey provides helpful lessons to anyone trying to navigate their way through building a healthy company culture and strong leadership team.

Learn more about The Journey at mission.org/thejourney.

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