Category: Business

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30 Steve Blank

Steve Blank

What’s it like to be a drive-by teacher?

Although he grew up in a home environment that was more out-patient clinic than family fortress, Steve Blank found his passion for technology blossomed in the military. He also discovered the value of volunteering and honed the skill of troubleshooting. Now, as a writer and teacher, he shares the principles underlying entrepreneurism. And one lesson he has is that starting a business requires a different skill set than working in one. It’s an act of creation, and needs to be viewed in those terms. For Steve Blank’s website click here.

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20 Wil Harris

Wil Harris

What’s it like founding a company?

Wil Harris says that online advertising is quite different than you’d think. Advertisers think locally and are quite slow to adopt new methods. Wil should know. He is the founder of UK-based ChannelFlip, which presents professionally-produced short-form videos (less than 5 minutes) that people want to see. Apparently even after you prove the concept, it’s not easy to get convince advertisers to become sponsors. Fortunately, Wil learned arguing and persuading in law school. But now days, he spends more time doing financial modeling than beating the bushes. You deserve a break. To check out ChannelFlip click here.

 

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12 Jay Carstenbrock

Jay Carstenbrock

What’s it like to work for a large company?

Here’s the story of how Jay Carstenbrock went from tree-hugger to paper-pusher. He explains how the weather can change your career path, why the highest position is not always your favorite job and what it’s like to work for British Petroleum.  He compares individual and team accomplishment, and explains how politics is just out of sync collaboration. Jay also has a suggestion of what to do when your boss suggests you turn down a promotion.

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06 Kevin Jessip

What’s it like to love selling?

Kevin Jessip went from selling burgers at MacDonald’s to selling jewelry at Zales to selling marketing solutions to the Fortune 500. The secret to his success: making strong relationships with the people you meet. You probably have him to thank for getting a free plane ticket for buying a computer, or a free cruise for buying a car. Selling is a life-long passion for him.  And he gives us the short course of how to sell.

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05 John Loken

John Loken

What’s it like being a marketing executive?

You know how it is. You start out studying civil engineering at UC Berkeley and the next thing you know you’re marketing records internationally for Motown. It happens to everybody…everybody named John Loken. His has seen the music industry change and die. But the principles of marketing remain. He not only uses terms like demand generation, D2C, end cap positioning and site analytics; he knows what they mean. He’s the kind of guy who decides to do a triathlon (bike, run, swim) before knowing how to swim.