How to Handle Rejection - Jason Anello

In Chapter 16 of 20 in his 2012 interview, creative director Jason Anello answers "How Do You Deal With Rejection?" Anello shares how he has learned to be creative when facing adversity and rejection.  He uses an example from his college experience and shares how what he learned in that experience has been useful managing rejection in his career.  Jason Anello is a founding partner and creative director at marketing services agency Manifold Partners.  He is also the co-founder of the Forking Tasty Brooklyn supper club.  Previously, Anello held creative leadership roles at Yahoo! and Ogilvy & Mather.  He graduated from the University at Albany.

How to Convince Clients to Try New Creative Ideas - Doug Jaeger

In Chapter 14 of 17 in his 2012 interview, entrepreneur Doug Jaeger answers "How Do You Create Hope and Dispel Fear When Introducing New Concepts and Ideas?"  Jaeger makes it a point to create a comparable to ease resistance and help the audience better connect with the idea.  This complements industry experience and establishing a business build upon independence, experimentation, and flexibility.  Doug Jaeger is the co-founder of JaegerSloan, a multimedia design services firm in New York City.  His street front office doubles as the JS55 Gallery. Jaeger is also an adjunct professor at the School of Visual Arts (SVA).  He graduated from Syracuse University.

Doing More With Less to Achieve Personal Best - Phil McKenzie

In Chapter 8 of 21 in his 2011 interview, Phil McKenzie answers "When Are You At Your Best?"  He finds he is at his best when he needs to be resourceful.  He compares his time working at Goldman Sachs and having deep investment bank resources at his disposal to becoming an entrepreneur and needing to create opportunities where they may not be readily available.  McKenzie is the founder of Influencer Conference, an international event series bringing together tastemakers across the arts, entrepreneurship, philanthropy and technology.  He is also managing partner of influencer marketing agency FREE DMC.  Previously he worked in Domestic Equity Trading at Goldman, Sachs, & Co.  He earned his BA from Howard University and MBA from Duke University. 

When Can an MBA Degree Help an Entrepreneur - Julie Hession

In Chapter 9 of 21 in her 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, food entrepreneur Julie Hession answers "Where Has Your MBA Been Most Useful in Your Career as an Entrepreneur?"  Hession shares how her MBA coursework in marketing and entrepreneurship provided foundation experiences she could build upon as she created her own business.  Over time, experience teaches Hession not to rely on business plans and to more openly embrace change.  Julie Hession is the founder of Julie Anne's All Natural Granola Company.  Passionate about food since childhood, Hession has developed her career by food blogging, cooking contests, and starting fine food companies.  Hession earned an MBA in Marketing from Duke University and a BA from UNLV. 

Jullien Gordon on How to Make Great Products

In Chapter 15 of 16 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, motivation teacher Jullien Gordon answers "What Have Your Experiences Taught You About What Makes a Product Great?"  Gordon explains how he has refined his products by listening to how users are using the products each day.  This allows him to iterate the products and tailor them to core user needs.  Additionally, he looks for multiple product uses that fit into an ecosystem.  He offers an example from one of his books, "Good Excuse Goals" and the learning programs that connect the book content into his other products.  Gordon is the founder of the Department of Motivated Vehicles, a personal and professional development company that helps clients identify purpose and map it to successful outcomes. Gordon has written five books and speaks regularly to college students across America.  He earned masters degrees in education and business from Stanford University and an undergraduate degree from UCLA.

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen:  What have your experiences taught you about what makes a product great?

Jullien Gordon:  The number one thing for a great product is knowing that it’s never done and that there’s constant iteration that needs to occur. So for instance, the Innerview is actually an iteration of the career change challenge, 101 things to do before you graduate is an iteration of what I experienced on the Route 66 tour but the only way you can iterate properly, because you can constantly iterate, but the only way you can iterate properly is by listening very carefully to the people who are using your product on a daily basis and seeing how they’re using it and what issues that they’re having in order to make it constantly better. 

So there’s constant improvement in regards to a product development.  The next thing is I think creating an ecosystem.  When you look at for instance iPod, right?  You have iPod and then you have iPod speakers, you iPod cases, you have iPod this, headphones etcetera.  You create an ecosystem around a product so that people can use it in different ways.  I like to use the notion of the snowball and ice cream scoop, right?  So a snowball scoop sells in the winter.  Ice cream scoop sells in the summer but when you look at their physical definition they’re actually the same device and so you can figure out how to use this one device and actually create multiple use cases for it kind of like baking soda as well.  Baking soda is used for toothpaste, to clean things, to keep your refrigerator smelling good. So when you think about all the uses of your products I think and build an ecosystem that allows people to use it and access it in different ways I think that that’s what makes a product great.  So iteration and an ecosystem.

Erik Michielsen:  Give me an example of how an ecosystem works for one of your products.

Jullien Gordon:  So I have my book, Good Excuse Goals, right?  And it’s not just a book there’s actually a community of people who are in 30-day do-it groups around the country who are using this methodology in their lives.  So the 30-day do-it groups work kind of like alcoholics anonymous which I talked about last year where you get in a group of people, you set one goal for the month, it’s called a new month resolution and you hold each other accountable to that one goal that you set.  So that’s an ecosystem that’s built as another layer beyond just the book, right? 

The Innerview is not just a book there’s also videos and at Indiana University and at Cornell there’s actually a class that I come and help teach in order to deliver that curriculum.  So it’s constantly layering on value to the base product which is the book or the formula but you know a lot of people write books, self-help books but what’s the next layer, what do people need after they’ve read and digested the information that’s gonna support them to actually integrate those insights into their lives on a daily basis.  So constantly layering, which is the iterative process, and then ultimately once you continue to iterate that creates an ecosystem of other things to use.

How CEO Manages Investor Expectations for Long Term - J.T. Allen

In Chapter 5 of 17 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, education entrepreneur J.T. Allen answers "How Do You Manage Investor Expectations for the Long Term?"  He notes the importance of casting vision, setting timeframe, and adjusting for the unexpected.  As a company that has done three iterations - or revolutions - on its strategy, he shares lessons on managing investor expectations and relationships while shifting company strategy after raising money.  J.T. Allen is the CEO and co-founder of myFootpath, a company that provides higher education online resources and call center services to help high school and adult learners choose academic programs in line with career goals.  Before myFootpath, Allen worked in strategy consulting for Ernst & Young.  He earned his BBA and graduated cum laude from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business.

Author Nina Godiwalla on How to Pitch a Book More Effectively

In Chapter 5 of 22 in her 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, author Nina Godiwalla answers "What is Your Advice to More Effectively Pitch a Book?"  She notes how pitching is but one element and that aspiring authors must embrace the process.  The process includes advice and feedback and learning how to filter this by staying open-minded, especially when statements repeatedly come up.  Godiwalla is the author of "Suits: A Woman on Wall Street". She is also a public speaker on workplace diversity and founder and CEO of Mindworks, where she teaches mind-based stress reduction techniques to help organizations improve employee wellbeing.  Godiwalla holds an MBA from the Wharton School of Business, an MA in Creative Writing from Dartmouth University and her BBA from the University of Texas at Austin. 

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen:  What’s your advice to aspiring authors in how to more effectively pitch a book?

Nina Godiwalla:  Pitching is just the beginning of it.  You have to love, love, love your topic, really enjoy it, because the process is quite extraordinary.  It’s so long and you have to live behind it.  One of the things I see with some authors is they’re very stuck on, ‘this is exactly what I want to do and I’m not going to budge at all’ and I found when I was pitching my book initially I started – I pitched it as fiction because I didn’t want to deal with the whole non-fiction aspect of it.  There are real people in there, my family was in there.  People I worked with that I still talk to, they were in there.  I didn’t want to deal with the whole ramifications of it but I was very open-minded about the process and when I pitched it, a lot of people would come back to me and say, “You know this doesn’t look like fiction to me, it reads like a memoir.  It reads like its non-fiction.”  And it was.

And I, you know, the first few people that said it, I was like whatever you know it’s – I'm not going to put it out as non-fiction so and I kind of ignored the advice that I was getting and my advice to people is you’re going to get an incredible amount of advice when you’re pitching and you don’t need to listen to all of it but certain things I heard probably about 20 times, you know, I heard it a lot.

And in the end I had to sit with myself and decide, is what they’re saying true or not true and the reality is, is yes, the whole book that I’ve written reads like a memoir.  It reads like a memoir because it is a non-fiction book and I think for people being a little bit more open to taking some feedback from people actually can make you more successful.  There are certain changes I made along the road to make the book a little bit more marketable but they were not things that I couldn’t – that were killing me.  They were things I felt comfortable with.

How to Set Expectations in a Marriage - Nina Godiwalla

In Chapter 22 of 22 in her 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, author Nina Godiwalla answers "What Has Your Marriage Taught You About Sacrifice and Teamwork?"  She shares how she and her husband blend fiercely independent attitudes with a deep support for one another.  Godiwalla is the author of "Suits: A Woman on Wall Street".  She is also a public speaker on workplace diversity and founder and CEO of Mindworks, where she teaches mind-based stress reduction (MBSR) techniques to help organizations improve employee wellbeing.  Godiwalla holds an MBA from the Wharton School of Business, an MA in Creative Writing from Dartmouth University and her BBA from the University of Texas at Austin. 

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen:  What has your marriage taught you about sacrifice and teamwork?

Nina Godiwalla:  Teamwork is important.  I definitely think teamwork is important. My marriage is very independent.  My husband and I, we pretty much do whatever we want whenever we want and I – we're both like incredibly stubborn people, we’re very like fiercely independent at the end of the day there’s nothing he could die without me for, there’s nothing I could die without having him for.  We just love being with each other and doing things together. 

People talk a lot about compromise and things you have to do and I feel like the compromises for us have not been huge at all.  We go out of our way for each other to make things work. The teamwork is, is wanting that other person to succeed in what they want in life at all times.  So we don’t have – one of the things is lifestyle.  We talk about all the time about lifestyle and part of it is, “Hey do we want this—do we want a big house or do we want that apartment down the street,” because right now maybe we both want to start up our own companies or we both want to do this and we’re so flexible.  There’s not – there’s no expectation, there’s no big expectations in our marriage other than I’m looking out for you and you look out for me.  There’s no expectation of you were supposed to bring in this much money this year.  There’s no expectation of you know I spent six hours with our son today so now you need to spend six hours.  It’s hey, what’s going on with you? Can we make this work? And when you have that other person always looking out for you there’s not a lot of threat of you know this is unfair or this didn’t happen and it does happen sometimes with us but we’ll just you know we’ll you know say to the other person like “Hey, I actually don’t think this is working out this way.” 

And when I hear people talk about like the difficulties of marriage or things like that it’s like, “Well, you know I have to cook every night, I have to do this every night.”  And we don’t even have that. Like nobody – if nobody cooks, nobody cooks.  If there’s no food I mean there’s – a lot of times there is no food.  It’s like you get your own food if you want to eat, you want to eat.  If we want to eat together then somebody might make something but there’s just – those expectations are so limited in my marriage that it just works for us.

Why Standup Comedians Need a Short and Long Game - Matt Ruby

In Chapter 18 of 18 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, standup comedian Matt Ruby answers "Why is It Important Standup Comedians Develop Both a Short Game and a Long Game?"  Ruby notes how the two approaches differ.  Short games get comedians into festivals, contests, and late night programs.  It is essential standup comedians have a short game, however does not necessarily mean they are great comedians. 

Matt Ruby is a standup comedian based in New York City.  He co-produces the weekly show "Hot Soup", co-hosts the monthly show "We're All Friends Here", and manages a comedy blog "Sandpaper Suit".  Ruby graduated from Northwestern University.

How to Write Better Stories About Food - Scott Gold

In Chapter 19 of 20 of his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, author and writer Scott Gold answers "What Elements Do You Look for in Good Food Journalism and Story?"  First, Gold looks for good writing, specifically those who have a command of the language.  Second, good food writers develop a clear and distinct voice.  He shares how despite getting into trouble after criticizing the New Orleans food scene after Hurricane Katrina, Alan Richman remains a great food writer with a distinct voice and vocabulary.  Scott Gold is an author and writer based in New York City.  When not writing, Gold moonlights as a bartender at Char no. 4 restaurant in Brooklyn.  He earned a BA in Philosophy from Washington University in St. Louis. 

How to Adapt Creativity From Project to Project - Lulu Chen

In Chapter 8 of 10 in her 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, fashion stylist Lulu Chen answers   "How Does Your Creative Freedom Vary from Job to Job?"  Chen notes the challenge of finding balance between structured projects and those offering more creative license and open-endedness.  She compares her outlook to artists who accept commissioned work to pay bills and creative projects with limited financial reward.  Lulu Chen is a New York City based fashion stylist.  Chen earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree studying design and art history from the University of Michigan.

How to Be Flexible in a New Marriage - Conrad Doucette

In Chapter 1 of 21 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, musician and Takka Takka drummer Conrad Doucette answers "Since We Last Spoke a Year Ago, What Has Been the Most Exciting Thing to Happen in Your Life?"  Conrad shares how getting married tops the list.  A day after the wedding celebration, Doucette, his wife, and the band embark to Paris for a Takka Takka European tour.  Doucette and his spouse navigate the challenges, making the most of the adventure.  Doucette is the drummer for the Brooklyn-based band Takka Takka.  He also performs with The National, Okkervil River, and Alina Simone.  When not performing, Doucette works as a copywriter, blogger, and digital media producer.  He has worked at Blender, Fuse TV, and Heavy.com.  Doucette earned his BA in History from the University of Michigan. 

Downsizing as a Small Business Growth Strategy - Hattie Elliot

In Chapter 12 of 16 in her 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, The Grace List founder and entrepreneur Hattie Elliot answers "Why is It Important to Be Able to Both Scale a Business Up and Scale a Business Down?"  Elliot creates a very personal business where friends and clients are often interchangeable.  She decides to scale down the business and cut losses on nationwide expansion.  This allows her to lean up her business, distill its focus and allow the brand to blossom across not only a singles event service but also a television show and book deal.  Elliot is the founder and CEO of The Grace List, which is redefining the dating world by creating opportunities for singles to revitalize personal interests and find intriguing people who will influence their lives.  Before founding The Grace List, Elliot worked as a social entrepreneur and business development consultant.  Elliott graduated from the University of Cape Town in South Africa, where she studied economics, philosophy, and politics.

How Successful Entrepreneurs Build Business Networks - Ben Hallen

In Chapter 18 of 21 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, business school professor Ben Hallen answers "What Elements Most Affect the Strength of an Entrepreneur's Network?" Hallen notes entrepreneurs inherit networks from previous experiences - education, religion, social, etc. This leads to a large and diverse network that can be valuable. Entrepreneurs can also be building networks while managing inherited networks. He details how great entrepreneurs use "casual dating" to build new network ties. Hallen is an Assistant Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at London Business School. Previously, he was Assistant Professor of Management and Organization at University of Maryland. Hallen earned his PhD from Stanford University and its Stanford Technology Venture Program (STVP). He has been a startup CTO and graduated from the University of Virginia with a BS in Electrical Engineering and a Masters in Computer Science.

Stacie Bloom on Science Career Options for PhD Scientists

In Chapter 13 of 19 in her 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, Stacie Grossman Bloom answers "What Have Your Experiences Taught You About the Range of Options Available in a Science Career?" She finds her experiences allow her to use her science skills in very interesting ways. Many scientists find themselves narrowly focused on a linear academic career - PhD, post doc, research lab, professorship - however Bloom learns there are many possibilities as long as you are willing to think creatively about what you can do.

Stacie Grossman Bloom is the Executive Director at the NYU Neuroscience Institute at NYU Langone Medical Center. Previously, she was VP and Scientific Director at the New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS). She earned her PhD in Neurobiology and Cell Biology at Georgetown University and did a post-doctoral fellowship at Rockefeller University in New York City. She earned her BA in Chemistry and Psychology from the University of Delaware.

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen: What have your experiences taught you about the range of options available in the science career?

Stacie Grossman Bloom: My experiences have taught me that you can use your science background in very creative ways and create a career for yourself that may be a little unorthodox or doesn’t follow a typical career path but can still be really fulfilling, interesting and important. A lot of scientists are not trained in entrepreneurship or -- you know, scientists are very smart but not everyone knows how to think outside the box. So, unless you are on this very linear tenure track position, it’s a little bit hard to figure out what else you can do. So, you’re a graduate student, you do a post doc, you get a professorship in some lab, you get tenure, you stay in that lab, you make a career for yourself at that university. It’s sort of being trapped in the ivory tower. You know, one thing that leaving that has shown me is that there is a place for PhD scientist in almost every sector, if you can think creatively about what you can do.

Stacie Bloom: How Interdisciplinary Collaboration Benefits Science

In Chapter 19 of 19 in her 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, Stacie Grossman Bloom answers "Why is Interdisciplinary Collaboration So Important to Creating the Global Nutrition Program?" Grossman Bloom notes the overlapping issues, for example malnutrition and infectious disease. By inserting interdisciplinarity into the conversation, scientists can have more informed conversations using the most cutting edge laboratory research data and techniques.

Stacie Grossman Bloom is the Executive Director at the NYU Neuroscience Institute at NYU Langone Medical Center. Previously, she was VP and Scientific Director at the New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS). She earned her PhD in Neurobiology and Cell Biology at Georgetown University and did a post-doctoral fellowship at Rockefeller University in New York City. She earned her BA in Chemistry and Psychology from the University of Delaware.

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen: Why is interdisciplinary collaboration so important in creating the global nutrition program?

Stacie Grossman Bloom: I think inserting interdisciplinarity into the conversation of global nutrition is really key. There is a lot of overlap in nutrition issues and, for example, infectious disease. Not only scientifically is there a lot of underlying commonality, but in the field when you are talking about a community that’s suffering from great malnutrition, they are also often suffering from infectious disease. So inserting interdisciplinarity into the conversation allows those two groups of scientists to have, you know, a conversation that also probably doesn’t normally happen. A lot of what we were told from stakeholders when we were planning the institute is that there isn’t a lot of interdisciplinarity in the conversations of nutrition science. And, that by introducing that, you are also bringing nutrition scientists up to date with the most cutting edge research that is going on in the lab, not just the data, but the techniques.

What Makes a Good Business Partner - Audrey Parker

In Chapter 10 of 21 in her 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, entrepreneur Audrey Parker answers "What Makes a Good Business Partner?" She notes a good business partner combines instinct, trustworthiness, a sense of humor, commitment to success, and an ability to be flexible. She enjoys being around a positive-minded person who is optimistic who also can inspire and unify teams across different environments. Parker is currently on a one-year sabbatical. Parker co-founded CLEAResult, an energy management consulting firm. In 2010, CLEAResult ranked #144 in the Inc. 500 list of fastest-growing private companies. In late 2010, CLEAResult was sold to General Catalyst Partners. Parker graduated from Wake Forest University.

How Entrepreneurial Skills Enhance Personal Wellbeing - Audrey Parker

In Chapter 13 of 21 in her 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, entrepreneur Audrey Parker answers "Where Do You Find Business Skills Most Transferable to Life, Relationships, and Family?" Parker shares how she has learned to roll with life and its changes in her entrepreneurial business experience. She is currently on a one-year sabbatical after selling her company, CLEAResult. Looking back on what she learned, she finds her entrepreneurial experiences very transferable into her personal life. She learns her limits and how to manage actions, decisions, and relationships in high pressure, fast paced situations. Parker co-founded CLEAResult, an energy management consulting firm. In 2010, CLEAResult ranked #144 in the Inc. 500 list of fastest-growing private companies. In late 2010, CLEAResult was sold to General Catalyst Partners. Parker graduated from Wake Forest University.