Season 2 | Life on Brand

Episode 13: Fake It Till You Make It Applies to Those with Morals with Joe Malcoun

by lifeonbrand | Aug 10, 2020 | Podcast Episodes, Season 2

Fake it until you make it when pursuing professions and exploring intrapreneurism. Do the hustle—from watering plants to managing millions of dollars.

Today’s guest is Joe Malcoun, CEO of Nutshell, a sales automation customer relationship management (CRM) platform. Also, Joe is the co-founder of Cahoots coworking space, founder and president at CKM Capital Partners, and co-owner of the Blind Pig music venue.

Episode Highlights:

2:50 Path to Success: Pre-entrepreneurial part and experiences of Joe’s early career.
4:25 Entrepreneur vs. Intrapreneur: What’s the difference? Move the needle from within.
8:20 Right the Wrongs: Fake it till you make it, when possible to deliver substance.
12:16 Joe had the job that people wanted. But he wanted to be confident and in control.
15:19 Who do you want to work with? Seeking partners to learn from and get deals.
16:51 Firing Customers Concept: Abuse, harassment, and language not acceptable.
21:18 Big Fish, Small Pond: Career suicide to move back to Ann Arbor, Michigan?
23:54 Motivation: Make an impact and hold yourself accountable in the community.
30:33 Too busy? Joe can’t do it all, not enough resources, but willing to offer support.
33:20 Just Say No: Focus and find discipline to filter responsibilities at front and center.
35:55 Educational Mistakes: Get good at hiring good people to build a strong team.
38:02 Win or Lose: Preach self-awareness to accomplish what you want to accomplish.
40:58 Signs of Burnout: Feeling anxious, irritable, disengaged, and recurring dreams.
44:15 Positive Reputation: Joe earns success earnestly from those in his community.
45:50 Self-Doubt: You’ll make mistakes. How do you handle them? Own and fix them.
49:21 Easiest and Hardest Parts: Celebrate small wins, focus, and hire great people.
51:45 Sleep, See Kids, Go to Work, Free Time: Non-negotiable parts of Joe’s day.
53:03 Life’s Plans: Fortunate in many ways; surprised to be CEO of tech company.

Links and Resources:

Joe Malcoun on LinkedIn

Changing Your Company from the Inside Out: A Guide for Social Intrapreneurs by Christopher J. White and Gerald F. Davis

Episode 11: Rebrand, Rename to Communicate Authentic Culture with Pete Baker of Duo Security

Episode 12: Destroy Dreams and Do Something w/ the King and Queen of the Shrooms, a.k.a. Chris Carrier and Deana Wojcik

Huck Finch

Life On Brand Webpage

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Episode 12: Destroy Dreams and Do Something w/ the King and Queen of the Shrooms, a.k.a. Chris Carrier and Deana Wojcik

by lifeonbrand | Aug 3, 2020 | Podcast Episodes, Season 2

Sick of Silicon Valley? Shift from being an engineer to a dirtbag for less responsibility. Choose a lifestyle of mangos and mushrooms. But the no-brainer idea of growing mushrooms being easy became idiotic.

Today’s guests are Chris Carrier and Deana Wojcik from The Mushroom Factory. Wanting a break from their software and education careers, they started something unique by making creative reuse of available resources.

Episode Highlights:

2:15 Hit the Road: Failed startup journey from Silicon Valley to Michigan-made business.
4:19 Adventure Index: What do we want in the next phase of life? What boxes to check?
4:58 Detroit: Interesting, less expensive with access to outdoors and friendly people.
6:38 Livin’ the Life in Hawaii: Why live out of a truck? Money doesn’t drive happiness.
8:15 Growth Opportunity: Grand adventure being Ill-equipped, homeless, crisis of faith.
10:29 Why mushrooms? Dive deep into dreams and hobbies only to suffer from burnout.
11:23 Fungus and Mold: Mushrooms are beautiful, but forever strange.
14:30 The Mushroom Factory: Evolution of planting seeds, putting roots down in Detroit.
17:29 Urban Farming: Grow by addressing food injustice and unconventional reuse.
19:20 Marrying Skills/Backgrounds: Clinging to what’s familiar out of fear, fight through it.
23:05 Ask for Help: Being just stupid enough, supportive, and willing to share.
27:55 First Sale: Shuffle in and shove a shoebox of mushrooms over the counter.
30:58 Worth the Money: Shift from stressful struggle to ask for money for food.
32:00 Starting a Business: An assault on your ideals and hard to be humble to survive.
35:10 For Better or Worse: You’re your own boss and need to be fully engaged.
36:43 Open Source/Closed Loop: Put something out in the world but remain responsible.
43:00 Social Media Role: Presence matters to attract and educate customers.
44:30 Food Safety: Tech rules, tools, and problems associated with growing mushrooms.
46:33 Defining Success: Experience and recognize it; not a destination but mindset.
47:55 Moment of Doubt: Spent savings on warehouse to deal with environmental issue.
50:37 Lessons from Failures: Simple answer is to ask for help before you’re in too deep.
54:55 Easiest and Hardest Parts: Selling niche product and managing finances.

Links and Resources:

The Mushroom Factory

DO Something Conference

Build Institute

Rose’s Fine Food

Janelle Monáe’s Dirty Computer Album

Grown in Detroit

Episode 11: Rebrand, Rename to Communicate Authentic Culture with Pete Baker of Duo Security

Huck Finch

Life On Brand Webpage

Call us! 734.219.3827

DM on Instagram

Episode 11: Rebrand, Rename to Communicate Authentic Culture with Pete Baker of Duo Security

by lifeonbrand | Jul 28, 2020 | Podcast Episodes, Season 2

Design is inherently a communication art. If you’re not trying to say something or make a point, it’s art open to interpretation. However, designers are often not given the credit that they deserve for making a business impact.

Today’s guest is Pete Baker, Director of Brand, Creative, and Digital Strategy at Duo Security in Ann Arbor. Before Duo Security, Pete ran his own brand studio, established a photography business, and to top it off, he has an amazing beard—better than most and the host.

Episode Highlights:

2:08 Despite Duo Security’s success and passion for architecture, Pete’s a brand guy.
4:50 Design and Photography: Differences and similarities—communication or art.
6:00 Sophie’s Choice Moment: If Pete had to choose, more or less, which wasn’t a job.
7:20 Wildly Disparate: Growing up in a small town lacking creative outlets.
11:00 Catalyst: Do your own thing, do it all yourself, and start your own legit business.
16:12 Freelance to Full-time: Moving back to Michigan to dispel in-house design stigma.
19:58 Ann Arbor’s first ‘Unicorn’ of Silicon Valley-type success and sudden validation.
28:25 What brand means? It’s not just the logo, but the gut feeling about a company.
30:31 Product, People, Process: Everyone plays a role in positive customer service.
32:33 Duo Guidelines: Internal and external brand match—easy, effective, trustworthy.
34:50 Cultural Niceness: Duo Security brand authentically influences culture, vice versa.
39:50 Scio to Duo: Rebrand/rename company to communicate security and useability.
44:43 Brand Principles and People: Marty Neumeier on what a brand is and is not.
46:22 Pete paraphrases Steve Jobs to define brand and the biggest marker of success.
47:33 Doubtful Moments: Pete suffered from imposter syndrome around security space.
51:00 Lessons Learned: Designers deserve credit for making a business impact. Stick to your point of view and sense of self. Don’t compromise.
52:30 Easiest and most difficult parts of starting businesses? Management experience is necessary to know what to do and be responsible for building a successful team.
56:16 How to identify real vs. doppelganger Pete in alternate universe? Gray hair.
58:46 Ann Arbor Art Center: Creative people can have careers, not just a studio.

Links and Resources:

Episode 10: Why Rishi Narayan is a Jack of all Trades, Master of None—or is he?

Huck Finch

Life On Brand Webpage

Call us! 734.219.3827

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Episode 10: Why Rishi Narayan is a Jack of all Trades, Master of None—or is he?

by lifeonbrand | Jul 21, 2020 | Podcast Episodes, Season 2

While friends worked at Little Caesars, there was no free pizza for academic kids in the chemical engineering lab!

Today’s guest is Rishi Narayan, founder and managing owner of Ann Arbor-based Underground Printing, a national, custom apparel and swag company with more than 35 locations. Even if Rishi’s only been an entrepreneur for a hot minute, he’s a Jack of all Trades, Master of None by being an angel investor, lecturer, mentor, board member, and co-owner of AFC semi-pro soccer team. It’s good to be a generalist.

Episode Highlights:

2:34 Rishi’s educational background—from chemical engineering to custom T-shirts.
3:51 Engineering to Entrepreneurship: Once again, Rishi followed in father’s footsteps.
5:50 Side Gig: What Rishi studied in college, didn’t always matter or define his career.
8:05 Rashi learned about lean startups to grow business and pay for his own education.
12:40 Embarrassed: Engineering not right thing for Rishi. Entrepreneurial path felt right.
16:18 Rishi’s motivation to become an angel investor was to help friends with startups.
17:14 Core Philosophy: Rishi learns by putting money where his mouth is and support.
20:00 Success Model: What equals success as an investor? Help others and find value.
22:12 Jack of all Trades, Master of None: Rishi puts positive spin on being a generalist.
38:37 Soccer Club Backstory: Rishi’s involvement in merchandise and game.
43:20 Ann Arbor: Who we are? A great place for friends and families.
45:27 How does Rishi define success? Sustainability, not size.
47:18 Rishi describes first time experiencing doubt of success and lack of confidence.
50:24 Lasting Lessons from Failures:
- Never bet on the horse, always bet on the jockey.
- Passion and Execution—People are always the difference.
52:32 Technology and Traction: Easiest and most difficult parts to starting a business.