I chatted with Habib Fanny, sock connoisseur, Quora top-writer, and author of A Gazelle Ate My Homework, and we discussed: 3:10 - What originally drew him to Quora, and how he got started contributing to that site.7:37 - How writing about atheism helped him build his initial following. 12:33 - How writing consistently has forced him to adjust his writing style and made him a more compelling storyteller. 16:45 - His process for finding questions and topics to write about. 25:11 - The story behind his first book, Let’s Talk Politics. 31:58 - How he used stories that he shared on Quora in order to develop his memoir, A Gazelle Ate My Homework. 35:56 - The process for translating short stories and posts on Quora into much longer, memoir-length pieces. 43:52 - Who should be using Quora (and who shouldn’t be). 48:12 - Why he doesn’t think he could repeat his success today. 51:54 - On his strange infatuation with socks. 53:18 - Why Quora is perhaps his favorite investment of time and energy over the years. Items we chatted about:Follow Habib on Quora. https://www.quora.com/profile/Habib-FannyHis book, A Gazelle Ate my Homework on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0849Q463D/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1His answer, What were the main reasons for the American Civil War? https://www.quora.com/What-were-the-main-reasons-for-the-US-Civil-War/answer/Habib-Fanny?ch=10&share=b5411a7a&srid=dMmV** If you enjoyed the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It’ll take you approximately 37-seconds, and is a HUGE boost for us in terms of landing hard-to-reach guests. For a curated list of my favorite episodes, go to mikekilcoyne.com/podcastAnd sign-up for my newsletter at mikekilcoyne.com for weekly emails and insights on how to leverage creativity in this post-pandemic world.

Talklaunch with Ryan Estes

Habib Fanny - How to create a massive audience of readers through Quora, with writer and author Habib Fanny.

I chatted with founder and CEO of McSquares (mcsquares.com), Anthony Franco, and on this episode, we discussed: :21 - The importance of creating a culture of employee empowerment. 3:54 - How he originally got involved in Effective UI and grew that to become one of the largest UI agencies in Colorado. 8:06 - His views on luck, and why it’s critical to have an ‘Opportunity Radar’. 11:03 - The importance of finding the ‘Hells yes!’ in opportunities that might not be an immediate ‘Hells yes!’16:37 - Making the transition from UI design to manufacturing whiteboards. 18:00 - The failed app that would eventually inspire the creation of McSquares. 21:57 - How getting “fired” from Effective led to the creation of McSquares. 25:26 - Why he poured his own money into funding the initial concept. 29:59 - His approach towards inventing new ideas. 32:18 - Why he thinks that most people shouldn’t become entrepreneurs. 40:23 - The most brilliant marketing idea he had that didn’t work. 43:18 - A huge risk he took early-on that almost cost the company. 47:00 - His process for deciding whether or not to give up on an idea. 52:23 - The best advice he gives to new entrepreneurs. Items we chatted about: Effective UI: The Book. https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/effective-ui/9781449380465/Connect with Anthony Franco on LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonyfranco/**If you enjoyed the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It’ll take you approximately 37-seconds, and is a HUGE boost for us in terms of landing hard-to-reach guests. For a curated list of my favorite episodes, go to mikekilcoyne.com/podcastAnd sign-up for my newsletter at mikekilcoyne.com for weekly emails and insights on how to leverage creativity in this post-pandemic world.

Anthony Franco - Why you shouldn't become an entrepreneur with founder and CEO of McSquares, Anthony Franco.

I chatted with Olympic gold medalist and leadership expert Breeja Larson, and on this episode we discussed: :28 - What an Olympian does when they don’t have an olympics to compete in due to a global pandemic. 3:49 - How she first got into swimming. 7:48 - Why picking the right (or wrong) mentors can make or break your success, and how she chose hers.10:13 - The importance of optimism in high-performance pursuits. 14:30 - What her schedule typically looks like during a regular Olympic season. 19:30 - Her technique for visualizing success. 21:27 - A high-stakes false-start during an Olympic competition that cost her a race, and how she recovered. 29:50 - Her plans for life post-retirement, and what she’s looking forward to. 33:43 - How she breaks down her goals into small, achievable chunks. 37:56 - Why having an accountability partner is powerful for making significant progress with your goals. 40:51 - Her favorite investment in time and energy over the last 5 years. Items we chatted about: Goal-setting with Breeja Larson on AirBnb experiences. https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/1658318Breeja’s accidental false start. https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/olympic-games-2012-accidental-buzzer-false-start-16893262Breeja in Swimming World Magazine. https://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/breeja-larson-pro-swimmer/**If you enjoyed the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It’ll take you approximately 37-seconds, and is a HUGE boost for us in terms of landing hard-to-reach guests. For a curated list of my favorite episodes, go to mikekilcoyne.com/podcastAnd sign-up for my newsletter at mikekilcoyne.com for weekly emails and insights on how to leverage creativity in this post-pandemic world.

Breeja Larson - How to pick mentors that will prepare you for success with Olympic gold medalist Breeja Larson.

I chatted with author and writer J.B. Lion (https://www.jblion.com/), and on this episode we discussed: :04 - Intermittent fasting, and how that’s helped boost his energy (and creativity). 5:19 - How to initially developed the idea for his first novel, and the creative process behind that. 9:54 - His note-taking process, and how he captures ideas for stories. 16:38 - Why magazines are a great tool for creative inspiration, and what you can learn from how they capture a reader’s attention. 18:30 - What his ‘Book on Acid’ concept looks like. 20:41 - How he draws inspiration from choose your own adventure books. 25:01 - What he did to validate the initial concept of what would become the Seven Spark series. 32:11 - Why you should look for your critics when validating new concepts (and how friends are actually a bad barometer for whether or not your idea is any good). 34:40 - The importance of asking people what they don’t like about what you’ve created. … Items we chatted about: The Seventh Spark Series. https://www.jblion.com/seriesinfoThe beginner’s guide to intermittent fasting. https://jamesclear.com/the-beginners-guide-to-intermittent-fasting**If you enjoyed the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It’ll take you approximately 37-seconds, and is a HUGE boost for us in terms of landing hard-to-reach guests. For a curated list of my favorite episodes, go to mikekilcoyne.com/podcastAnd sign-up for my newsletter at mikekilcoyne.com for weekly emails and insights on how to leverage creativity in this post-pandemic world.

J.B. Lion - Why you should look for your critics, with author and writer J.B. Lion.

I chatted with Matt Giovanisci, the creator behind the brilliant MoneyLab (moneylab.co), Lasso (getlasso.co) and a ton of other amazing brands and we discussed: 2:22 - How he lost almost $180,000 in revenue overnight and what he’s doing to fix it. 4:14 - Why he thinks meditation is simply a short-term fix and symptomatic of a much greater problem. 9:07 - How he used the DayOne app to reflect on his days and look back on everything he’s accomplished. 15:57 - Why he doesn’t believe in ‘Goals’, and how he stays focused on the now. 18:50 - Matt’s struggles with anxiety over the years, and solutions he’s found for dealing with it. 26:38 - The latest ‘Amazon’ commission cut and how that’s impacted his business. 32:22 - How he accidentally created recession-resilient businesses. 36:05 - Why he chooses business niches and topics that he’s interested in learning and writing about. 39:50 - The importance of focusing on ‘long-term’ marketing tactics. 42:28 - His process for developing the initial concepts of brands and websites he develops.46:30 - How he grew a website to 100k+ visitors a month with zero social media. 50:39 - A breakdown of his approach towards writing articles that attract tons of traffic. 54:03 - His process for researching and writing his epic blog posts.57:28 - Why MoneyLab articles often take 3+ days to write. 1:05:16 - How he originally came up with the idea for his SaaS, Lasso, by scratching his own itch. 1:11:04 - Their process for iterating Lasso and how they’ve adapted user-feedback into a kickass product. 1:15:04 - Building for what people want NOW.1:18:08 - Why he believes that 90% of your time and energy should be spent on making a GREAT product. 1:24:11 - How he spent an ENTIRE MONTH on one sales page, and why that’s been critical for sales. 1:32:32 - On the importance of getting people to an ‘Aha!’ moment when building a SaaS product.1:35:27 - How Jason Zook shamed Matt into quitting ‘cream + sugar’ in coffee. Items we chatted about: Matt’s MoneyLab site. https://www.moneylab.co/Matt’s pool care brand SwimUniversity. https://www.swimuniversity.com/Lasso, the SaaS for affiliate marketing. https://getlasso.co/**If you enjoyed the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It’ll take you approximately 37-seconds, and is a HUGE boost for us in terms of landing hard-to-reach guests. For a curated list of my favorite episodes, go to mikekilcoyne.com/podcastAnd sign-up for my newsletter at mikekilcoyne.com for weekly emails and insights on how to leverage creativity in this post-pandemic world.

Matt Giovanisci - What to do when your revenue TAKES A S**T and dealing with anxiety with Matt Giovanisci of Lasso and Moneylab.

Cody WannerI chatted with YouTuber Cody Wanner and on this episode we discussed: 5:27 - How he turned the COVID-19 shutdown into massive creative inspiration. 12:28 - Becoming a YouTuber, and challenges he overcame in his year of daily vlogging and building an audience.21:02 - Dealing with ADHD as a creative, and things he’s done to turn that into a superpower. 33:05 - How Cody first got into the business of creating video. 37:11 - Collaborating with massive YouTubers like Peter McKinnon, Jesse Driftwood, and dozens more. 42:25 - A simple Final Cut Pro X editing hack that will shave hours off of your edits. 44:39 - His process for collaborating with awesome people. 48:11 - How he captures and turns ideas into videos. 50:51 - One approach anyone can start using to get unstuck, and to start creating great video content today. This was such a fun interview, and I know you’ll absolutely enjoy it. Items we chatted about: Cody’s original collaboration with Peter Mckinnon.How to edit faster in FCPX.@codywanner on Twitter.**If you enjoyed the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It’ll take you approximately 37-seconds, and is a HUGE boost for us in terms of landing hard-to-reach guests. For a curated list of my favorite episodes, go to mikekilcoyne.com/podcastAnd sign-up for my newsletter at mikekilcoyne.com for weekly emails and insights on how to leverage creativity in this post-pandemic world.

Dealing with ADHD as a creative, and how to still get s**t done with YouTuber Cody Wanner.

This is a podcast about founders of business ⚡️ what it took to launch ⚡️ and what keeps them on top. talklaunch.net/podcast

Matt

Breeja

Caleb

Anthony

Cody

Habib (2)

J.B Lion

Chapter 1: Dispatches from Japan with Mike Kilcoyne

You tell us your technology needs and we'll do all the heavy lifting. We've spent thousands of hours evaluating the best technology providers so you don’t have to. Our team of product engineers will bring you quotes from the top carriers and provide you with behind-the-scenes product comparisons and information that you will not get from any direct provider.Best of all, you don’t have to pay a cent. selectcommunications.com__A Talklaunch podcast with Ryan Estesinstagram.com/talklaunchThis episode is sponsored by:kitcaster.com - Hire kitcaster to manage your podcast appearances. Get on-demand podcast placements scheduled for you by professionals, for a flat monthly rate. samanafloat.com - WHAT IS FLOATING? The remarkable experience in which one floats weightlessly on his or her back in a dense saline solution at body temperature. At Samana Float Center you have the choice of floating in either a pod or a cabin—both provide a zero-gravity environment void of external stimuli and full of potential.

279 - Select Communications - Jason Price

The Talklaunch podcast features founders, CEOs, and entrepreneurs. Here we discover how they build their business, and what keeps them on top.

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Talklaunch with Ryan Estes

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