Product Launch Rebel

Let's face it, many aspiring entrepreneurs are held back by a fear of selling. In this episode, I interview sales luminary, Mickeli Bedore, where he provides insider tips on strengthening your sales skills, establishing the right mindset and overcoming rejection. Additionally, he reveals the story about when a key person underestimated him when he was a teenager, which drove him to become a sought-after keynote speaker and a sales superstar in some of the world's biggest companies, such as IBM, Verizon and Oracle. http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1136273740 (Leave a Rating & Review in iTunes for the Product Launch Rebel Podcast) Top Takeaways from this Episode: (1) Acquiring and nurturing "emotional intelligence" is an important quality for a successful sales person. (2) To be successful at something, it's important to develop an appreciation for something. Appreciation helps to drive learning, which leads to success. (3) Curiosity is at the root of any successful sales person. The best marketers an

Today's episode highlights the fascinating topic of luck. It explores important questions such as: (1) Do you believe in luck? (2) Have you experienced luck in your life, career or startup? (3) What role does luck play, if any, in a startup? (4) Can luck be created for oneself, or do some people just have more luck than others? http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1136273740 (Leave a Rating & Review in iTunes for the Product Launch Rebel Podcast) Top Takeaways from this Episode: (1) Simply being alive and healthy is, itself, the great foundation of luck. We take much of life and its resources for granted -- and there's so much luck available to us, regardless of our weaknesses or starting point. (2) You have the power to increase your luck in a very simple way. Simply, you can do it by setting a goal. When you set a goal and move towards it, it’s a proven principal that the world delivers more luck to you.  Transcript: John Benzick: Greetings, everyone, John Benzick here, welcome once a

Hear how Mike West, the founder of 686 Outerwear, launched his snowboard brand just out of college, with no formal design experience.  Listen as Mike describes his past mistakes as a “blessing in disguise.” Hear him express the importance of curiosity, listening, and remaining humble, as an entrepreneur.  Additionally, Mike encourages aspiring entrepreneurs to not wait for the perfect time to start a business. http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1136273740 (Leave a Rating & Review in iTunes for the Product Launch Rebel Podcast) Top Takeaways from this Episode: (1)  To become an entrepreneur, put yourself out there and take a chance; be prepared but don’t aim for perfection. (2)  It helps to be a regular customer for the types of products that you’ll sell as an entrepreneur.  This helps you understand the needs and desires of your customer base. (3)  Starting out, you can do a lot with a little. You don’t need much staff to start a clothing business.  Much of what you do can be

Hear how David Barnett, the founder of PopSockets, evolved from philosophy professor to entrepreneur, and quickly grew his smartphone accessory company to 40 million units sold in his fourth year. Listen as he describes how employing “the power of reason” became a key to his success. Learn how his early product assumptions changed based on customer feedback — thereby leading to crucial new product and marketing strategies. Additionally, hear how he overcame early manufacturing challenges to finally achieve massive success. http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1136273740 (Leave a Rating & Review in iTunes for the Product Launch Rebel Podcast) Top Takeaways from this Episode: (1)  Don’t defer to the norm. Don’t defer to what most companies do. Don’t defer to general rules of thumb about how to start a business. Think through every problem on your own. Weigh the pros and cons and reason through it. It will bring you success. (2)   We have an amazing opportunity here in the Uni

Hear this new episode where John interviews entrepreneur Joe Kudla, the founder of Vuori Clothing. Listen as Joe uses fear as an opportunity to grow professionally and personally. Learn how Joe raised capital for his startup, who has influenced him the most as a business owner, and what has brought him the most joy -- and frustration -- since starting his company. http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1136273740 (Leave a Rating & Review in iTunes for the Product Launch Rebel Podcast) Top Takeaways from this Episode: (1)  Experiencing fear could be a way to identify where you need to grow, either personally or professionally.  Let fear be a guide, not a burden. (2)  Lacking experience, in your startup, can often be a curse -- but it also has its benefits. (3)  It's amazing what you can accomplish when you rid yourself of ego, and trust people with their expertise. Transcript: John Benzick:  In today's interview, I talk with Joe Kudla the founder of Vuori, a hot new clothing brand out of southern California.

Hear this inspiring interview of Jim Lamancusa, the founder of Cusa Tea company.  Listen as he describes the joys of starting the world’s first “premium instant tea” brand, along with his advice on partnering with a manufacturer, selling to retailers, proper price strategy and overcoming bouts of self doubt. http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1136273740 (Leave a Rating & Review in iTunes for the Product Launch Rebel Podcast) Transcript: Transcript will be posted within 24 hours.

Hear the spectacular entrepreneur journey of Eugene Alletto, the Founder of Bedgear, a performance bedding company. Learn how overcoming the loss of his father as a teenager, in large part, drove him to eventually succeed as an innovator and business owner. Listen as he shares his wisdom on the topics of perseverance, resilience and utilizing your strengths to overcome life’s obstacles. http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1136273740 (Leave a Rating & Review in iTunes for the Product Launch Rebel Podcast) Top Takeaways From This Episode: (1)  You can teach yourself to not be a victim of your circumstances. Successful entrepreneurs have a key trait of not taking on a victim mentality. (2)  “Being an entrepreneur is not something that you can say you are. Being an entrepreneur is something you become. I had no idea. I wasn’t born to be an entrepreneur.” (3)  “Part of being an entrepreneur is learning every day. And if you’re not learning, you’re not growing personally.

Hear the fascinating story of how Ken Goldman launched his dog gear company, Stunt Puppy.  Learn how he started producing dog leashes and collars by hand, and how he utilized his professional marketing experience to grow the brand. Listen as he describes his number one lesson since starting Stunt Puppy, and who has most influenced him in his career. Hear why he chose to produce his products in the United States, and what has frustrated him the most as an entrepreneur. http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1136273740 (Leave a Rating & Review in iTunes for the Product Launch Rebel Podcast) Transcript John:  Greetings Product Launch Rebels, and welcome to the Product Launch Rebel podcast, brought to you by Venturesuperfly.com, where we help double your entrepreneurial courage, even if you don’t know what you’re doing. Please visit the Venture Superfly website and check out the contact page to join our mailing list. Today we’ll be learning about the pet product industry, which should be a lot of

Learn how young Michael Tierney, the founder of Mikey’s Muffins, launched his company and, within three short years, is selling through major grocery retailers. Hear how he gets motivated, mostly, by failure. Listen as he describes what he’s most proud of along his entrepreneur journey, and what frustrates him the most as a business owner. Learn his advice on raising capital and the importance of surrounding yourself with good people in order to grow. http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1136273740 (Leave a Rating & Review in iTunes for the Product Launch Rebel Podcast)

Hear this exciting interview with Justin Gold, the founder of Justin’s Nut Butter.  Listen as he describes overcoming a deluge of obstacles in starting and growing his company.  Learn where he discovered his entrepreneurial drive, how he raised money and why he still doesn’t know what he’s good at — despite his tremendous startup success. http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1136273740 (Leave a Rating & Review in iTunes for the Product Launch Rebel Podcast)

Hear how Rita Katona followed her passion to launch a healthy food and beverage company called So Good Brands, Inc. Listen as she shares her inspiration to start the company, and her biggest joy as an entrepreneur.  Learn Rita’s biggest challenge of managing multiple business models as well as “getting it all done” on a daily basis. Hear her advice on pitching your product to retailers and surrounding yourself with personal and professional supporters. http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1136273740 (Leave a Rating & Review in iTunes for the Product Launch Rebel Podcast)

Hear the amazing startup story of the wildly successful Roark Revival apparel brand, founded by Ryan Hitzel. Learn how he channeled his experience as an adventure traveler and surfer, as a creative director in advertising, and as an employee at Volcom clothing, to become an apparel entrepreneur.  Listen as he describes his top frustrations as a business owner, and how he overcomes  his occasional feelings of self doubt. Hear him describe how key people have influenced him, and how entrepreneurship has changed him. http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1136273740 (Leave a Rating & Review in iTunes for the Product Launch Rebel Podcast)

Hear how Barry Kudrowitz, a leading authority on design, innovation and new product development, helps people to think more creatively and unleash their imagination to create new products. http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1136273740 (Leave a Rating & Review in iTunes for the Product Launch Rebel Podcast)

Hear the exciting story of how three childhood buddies launched their own bicycle brand, in college. Learn how they first bootstrapped the business with their own startup capital. Listen to Michael Fishman, Pure Cycles co-founder (and our interview guest), describe how he would approach his startup differently if he could do it over again. Hear his core motivations to become an entrepreneur, and how he found his entrepreneurial moxie. http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1136273740 (Leave a Rating & Review in iTunes for the Product Launch Rebel Podcast)

Hear how this young Canadian serial entrepreneur moved to Detroit, USA, to start the largest US-based bicycle manufacturer, Detroit Bikes.  Learn what drove him to start a bike company (it wasn’t primarily about bikes) and the personal and professional obstacles that he faced in his quest.  Listen as he describes how starting Detroit Bikes helped build his confidence and taught him key lessons about entrepreneurship. http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1136273740 (Leave a Rating & Review in iTunes for the Product Launch Rebel Podcast)

Hear how a series of mid-life challenges, and a passion for pickles, drove Rick Field to launch Rick’s Picks, a fancy product line of pickles. Learn how he tweaked his family recipes based on customer feedback from NYC farmers’ markets.  Listen as he describes his biggest joys, and most challenging frustrations, as a food entrepreneur. Hear how he deals with entrepreneurial self doubt and separates work-life from personal-life. http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1136273740 (Leave a Rating & Review in iTunes for the Product Launch Rebel Podcast)

Hear the amazing story of how this young entrepreneur, Scott Norton, and his business partner, sought to disrupt the sleepy food condiment industry. Learn what inspired Scott to see a career in “business” in a whole new light.  Learn how he tested early condiment recipes in a college apartment, raised startup capital and chose influential retailers to drive revenues. Listen as he describes what he’s learned most about himself since becoming an entrepreneur, who has been most influential to him, and what he’s most proud of since starting the business. http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1136273740 (Leave a Rating & Review in iTunes for the Product Launch Rebel Podcast)

Hear how this accomplished surfer started one of today’s hottest surf wear brands — Seea.  Listen as she describes how entrepreneurship has changed her, where she draws her inspiration and where she finds joy as a business owner.  Learn who has influenced her most, and why she thinks launching Seea was her destiny. http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1136273740 (Leave a Rating & Review in iTunes for the Product Launch Rebel Podcast)

Hear the wild story about how Jason Levinthal started and grew Line Skis (the first modern twin-tip ski company) and ignited a youth ski movement and helped save skiing. After a few years of struggle and lackluster sales, learn how another competing brand and the X Games helped boost his fledgling company to the stratosphere. Listen as he describes how he launched his second company, J-Skis, with a smarter business model. http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1136273740 (Leave a Rating & Review in iTunes for the Product Launch Rebel Podcast)

Hear how entrepreneur, Tee Major, expanded his fitness training business by launching a new line of unconventional fitness products, including — of all things — steel maces.  Learn how he went from strained “solopreneur” to relief by choosing to work with co-founders who offered skills that Tee didn’t have.  Listen as he describes how entrepreneurship has enhanced his communication skills — and relationships — in all aspects of his life. http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1136273740 (Leave a Rating & Review in iTunes for the Product Launch Rebel Podcast)