The Journey

Latest Episodes:

Where Success Comes From with Brian Scudamore, CEO of 1-800-GOT-JUNK? Jan 03, 2020

Show notes

Think back to your high school graduation. You’re wearing your cap and gown and all around you, your friends and family are buzzing with excitement.

Your name is called and you walk up to accept your diploma. You shake the principal's hand, wave to the crowd, and head back to your seat. It’s over in what feels like the blink of an eye.

But after the buzz dies down, a big question hits you: What does the future hold? Maybe you’re planning on college? Maybe a job? If you’re lucky, maybe you’ve saved up and have a year in Europe in mind.

But for Brian Scudamore, the next step was very off the beaten path… and into a beaten old pickup.

“I have built a company that started with one truck back in 1989 and 30 years later we're… a $370 million business in Canada, the United States, and Australia… By 2022, we will be a billion dollar business. This year, we’re at $444 million.”

Brian is the entrepreneur behind 1-800-GOT-JUNK?.

Brian saw opportunity where others saw drudgery. From that unglamorous beginning, he’s built an empire by always seeing the opportunity in every circumstance, even in the midst of his own mistakes.

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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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Live from Dreamforce with Meggie Palmer and Ali Sabeti Dec 19, 2019

Show notes

Welcome to Season Four of The Journey!

Today’s episode is a special changeup from our usual format. Recently, Mission co-founder Ian Faison was at Dreamforce, the annual gathering of Salesforce customers, partners, and developers to share and learn how to better create and capture value in their business. While there, Ian moderated a discussion with Ali Sabeti, CEO of ZeroCater, and Meggie Palmer, founder of PepTalkHer; you may remember Meggie from Season 3 of The Journey, and we’re exited to talk with her again in Season 4.

Without further delay, enjoy this live recording from Dreamforce 2019!

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

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After Show with Austin Craig and Hilary Giorgi Nov 20, 2019

Show notes

Join host Austin Craig and producer Hilary Giorgi as they discuss some of their favorite takeaways from Season 3 and give a sneak peek into Season 4!

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

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The Value of Community with Amy Nelson, CEO of The Riveter Nov 13, 2019

Show notes

Everyone’s had the experience of being in a group where you don’t feel like you belong. Maybe it was a class at school, a temporary job, a party you got dragged to. It might even be your own family reunion. Finding a tribe of kindred spirits isn’t always easy, or even possible.

But even if you feel like you don’t belong somewhere, there may still be good reason for you to be there, to stay there, and to make a place for yourself. That’s what Amy Nelson did in her life as a lawyer on Wall Street. She asserted herself and made sure others noticed her presence and value.

“What I learned pretty quickly is that if you choose to belong somewhere, you will belong. I think the bigger thing for me was to figure out how to take up space, to kind of square my shoulders and be very present and use my voice.”

Amy learned to use her voice, and today, people are listening. She launched The Riveter in 2016 as a home and community for women in business. We all want to find our tribe. And for everyone, especially entrepreneurs, creating a network of people you can lean on may be the difference between building something that lasts — whether it’s a business, a team, a life — and one that crumbles.

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

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Playing Well With Others with Marcus Cobb, CEO of The Jammber Nov 05, 2019

Show notes

From a young age, Marcus Cobb had always been pretty clear about his strengths. He was bright, creative, a quick learner, and always had his eyes open for opportunity. Teachers in grade school called him a genius.

But he’s also never shied away from his shortcomings and learning from setbacks. He had to learn the mechanics of teamwork by losing a great job. In leading his own startups, he’s learned the value of delegation and relying on other people.

In short, he learned that genius alone wasn’t enough.

"I don't look at failure and success as separates. I think that it's a yin and yang — that failure is success in its early stages."

Today at Jammber, Marcus relies on that team ethos to build a great company. He’s focused on growing headcount while preserving and improving company culture. And for their customers, they’re making teamwork easier by simplifying the notoriously complex world of music royalties.

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

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Perfection is the Enemy of Progress with Amanda Bradford, CEO of The League Oct 31, 2019

Show notes

The road from idea to product to launch is an emotional one full of twists and turns. It’s even more nerve-wracking if what you are launching isn’t even close to what you hope to be the finished project.

But for a lot of new products and services, this mindset of launch quick and iterate in real-time is a necessary one. Amanda Bradford would agree, and it’s a philosophy she’s embraced in her company since day one.

“I believe that perfection is the enemy of progression. Just getting something out the door is super inspiring to then start polishing it.”

Amanda is the Founder and CEO of The League, a dating app built for overly ambitious people looking to find their long term partner. In just six months, Amanda conceptualized, then launched, then iterated, and then found funding for the app. Pay attention, because that order of execution matters... and it may just be the difference between a successful product and one that never even hits the shelves.

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

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Lessons Learned from a Life in SaaS with Jason Lemkin, CEO of Saastr Oct 22, 2019

Show notes

Software as a Service is so ubiquitous today that it's hard to remember that CDs were once shipped in physical packages. But Jason Lemkin has been a leader in SaaS from virtually the start. His Startup EchoSign was one of the first in the digital signature space, and after an acquisition from Adobe, he started SaaStr to learn about, educate, and connect the entire SaaS world. With two decades in the space, Jason shared many insights in our interview, more than we could fit into our regular episode. "You have to think in decades for these customers and you have to go as long as you possibly can because you'll never lose them if you treat them right." We hope you enjoy and learn from this packed conversation between Mission cofounder Ian Faison and Jason Lemkin. 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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Serving Customers for Life with Jason Lemkin, CEO of Saastr Oct 16, 2019

Show notes

The life of an entrepreneur can take founders to elevated peaks of accomplishment, and deep valleys of desperation. And the time to go from one to the other can be surprisingly short. Jason Lemkin has seen both several times. He’s learned that what matters more than skill or personal network is the individual determination to keep going.

Looking back, most entrepreneurial journeys look more like a roller coaster than a well marked trail, and it’s only over when you decide it’s over.

“For me, in the early days of both my startups, and on some level in everything I’ve done, I refused to fail. It was just not acceptable to fail.”

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

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Self-Care with Jesse Draper, Founding Partner of Halogen VC Oct 08, 2019

Show notes

Jesse Draper has venture capital in her blood. Her father is famed VC Tim Draper. Her great grandfather started the first venture firm in the Western US. So you might assume she’s always planned on being in venture capital. But Jesse originally set out to be an actress. She hadn’t even considered a life in VC, because growing up, she’d never seen other women in the space.

Today she leads Halogen Ventures aimed directly at investing in female-founded startups. She’s learned there’s no shortage of incredible talent in the field. And despite incredible deal-flow and work to be done, it’s essential for her and the founders she works with to decompress and take care of themselves along the way.

“That was an interesting moment for me where I realized that, oh yeah, I have to make sure I feed myself and hydrate, like very basic things for a human. And I think that's something for everyone to remember. We get caught up in work and life and you forget to look up and take care of yourself.”

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

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Following Your Gut with Christine Volden, CEO of Soulful Selling Oct 03, 2019

Show notes

Christine Volden may not fit the salesperson stereotype. She doesn’t like fast-talking and has no desire to create high-pressure situations. Her method is quite the opposite; she helps entrepreneurs become great salespeople by teaching them to listen to their gut and find their true purpose. She learned those lessons herself through many experiences — both good and bad — and shares that hard-won confidence through her sales coaching at Soulful Selling. If you ask Christine, the moment a salesperson believes in themself and knows why the sale matters to the customer, they’re already most of the way there.

“When I worked in the corporate world, I was so busy and I was so disconnected from what my gut and my intuition were saying. And a bunch of people I talk to are like this. That's such a common entrepreneurial mistake. They just stay stuck in their head and they're over analyzing everything and there's just no amount of analysis that's going to get you to make certain decisions.”

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

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