Interviews with CEOs and Entrepreneurs about the frameworks they are using to build and scale their businesses.
Episodes
Monday Dec 14, 2020
Monday Dec 14, 2020
Charles Read is a serial payroll entrepreneur and the CEO of GetPayroll. He is also the founder of Custom Payroll Associates and Payroll On A Budget and has over 40 years of experience in the industry. Charles is a US Tax Court Practitioner and a United States Marine Corps veteran.
Time Stamps
[01:14] Charles’ professional background and why he started his own company
[03:05] Charles’ entry into the payroll industry
[04:34] The move from Payroll On A Budget to GetPayroll
[06:52] The appeal of the payroll business
[08:38] How Charles helps businesses beat the IRS
[14:36] The difference between employees and contractors
[18:28] The true expense of using PEOs
[20:32] How the pandemic is changing how employees and businesses think about work
[25:08] Advice for new entrepreneurs incorporating a business
[27:35] Major mistakes that businesses make
[29:45] The tax implications of skipping W-2 income
[32:36] Charles’ tips for avoiding employment tax penalties
Links and Resources:
Charles Read’s LinkedIn Profile
Charles Read's The Payroll Book: A Guide for Small Businesses and Startups (Amazon)
https://StevePreda.com
Monday Dec 07, 2020
Monday Dec 07, 2020
In this episode, I interview Justin Goldston, a senior managing director at Nestell and Associates, a strategy consulting firm, and a five times TEDx speaker on emerging technologies. He is a Professor at Penn State University on Project Management and Supply Chain Management. We discuss how you can harness emerging technologies to grow entrepreneurial companies of any size.
Time Stamps
[01:02] The importance of technology in small and medium size enterprises
[02:05] How technology can help you make better decisions in your business
[03:52] The tools to use during business process automation
[07:42] Defining digital transformation maturity
[10:10] The augmented intelligence age
[11:09] The Agile mindset
[12:47] Why the Agile method works best in startups
[18:28] The difference between the Agile and the Waterfall approach
[20:15] The Hybrid project management approach
[20:40] The downside to the Agile approach
[22:06] Implementing Lean Six Sigma in a privately owned business
[25:03] The DMAIC approach
[27:15] Blockchains as decentralized computers
[32:37] Why blockchains are easy to implement
[34:50] How AI is used in predicting future trends
[38:08] How to harness the power of AI to make your business better
[39:40] How the chat box works and how to incorporate it into your business
[43:06] The chat box as a machine learning tool
Links and Resources
Justin Goldston’s LinkedIn Page
TractionEquity.com
https://StevePreda.com
Monday Nov 30, 2020
Monday Nov 30, 2020
In this episode, I interview Mike Lander, CEO of Piscari Limited and Chairman of Re:Signal, a consultancy agency that drives organic growth for ambitious brands, in the UK.
Time Stamps
[01:16] Mike's entrepreneurial journey
[02:25] Mike's transition from freelancing to entrepreneurship
[04:49] How Mike managed to buy his first company
[07:48] Why timing is an integral part of every company's success
[08:50] Mike's first managerial steps in a new company
[11:44] How to implement a diversification strategy
[12:43] The importance of investing in sectors you completely understand
[17:47] How Mike sold his school business
[19:43] How to grow an ambitious brand
[21:38] Why you need to manage your emotions during negotiations
[23:18] Things to watch out for at the negotiation table
[25:09] Delivering quality while driving value
[27:55] Mike's business strategy model and how he ran his business
[29:52] Coaching versus mentorship
[32:10] The most invaluable framework in Mike's business toolkit
[38:01] Why finding your niche makes it hard for people to compete against you
[39:53] Mike's advice to his younger self
[42:40] The importance of having mentors
Links and Resources:
Mike Lander’s LinkedIn profile
TractionEquity.com
https://StevePreda.com
Tuesday Nov 24, 2020
Tuesday Nov 24, 2020
In this episode, I interview Steve Anderson, publisher of a leading industry newsletter on how to maximize your technology in investment and insurance. He recently published a best-selling book titled, The Bezos Letters: 14 Principles To Grow Your Business Like Amazon.
Time Stamps
[00:55] How Steve utilized his insurance expertise to successfully write a book about Amazon
[01:29] The biggest risk businesses take is actually not taking enough risks
[03:18] What makes Jeff Bezos unique
[04:33] Taking calculated risks while protecting your downside
[06:10] How Amazon employees get more focus by being obsessed with their customers
[08:56] Jeff Bezos’ long-term thinking
[10:20] Amazon’s business management blueprint
[13:09] Growth principles that can really help grow small to medium-sized businesses
[15:17] What Amazon does to create Jim Collins’s “flywheel effect”
[18:51] The four key growth cycles that every successful company is constantly moving through
[21:30] How to simplify complexity
[25:33] The high-velocity decision-making process
[27:53] The essence of having small teams
[28:34] The two types of decisions in Amazon
[30:45] Amazon’s hiring process
[32:35] The main idea behind the customer experience pillar
[35:40] Jeff Bezos’ commitment to zero emissions and driving change
Links and Resources:
The Bezos Letters: 14 Principles to Grow Your Business Like Amazon
TractionEquity.com
https://StevePreda.com
Thursday Nov 12, 2020
Thursday Nov 12, 2020
In this episode, I interview Ben Feferman, the CEO and co-founder of Amuka eSports which is Canada’s leader in esports venues, leagues and tournaments. His firm also raises capital for fast growing esports businesses, and Ben is the co-founder of Canada's first and only incubator for esports-related companies.
Time Stamps
[01:20] Ben’s professional background and why he started his own company
[03:00] The evolution of esports: how video games became a competitive spectator sport
[05:42] Building community through esports
[07:24] Gamifying the workplace as a team building practice
[08:26] What an esports-facilitation business model looks like
[09:45] How the pandemic has reshaped the esports industry
[15:06] The upside of transitioning to virtual operations
[16:13] Trial and error in the esports business model
[17:47] How Ben divides his time between his ventures
[19:01] Using acquihire to build a team
[22:10] The size and potential of the Esport market
[24:14] Ben’s forecast for mobile gaming and VR esports
[25:42] Next steps for Amuka Esports
[26:45] Celebrity investments in esports teams
[29:16] Professional esports league models
[30:46] The challenges of transient popularity in esports
[32:10] Fostering creativity through lateral organisation at Amuka Esports
Links and Resources:
Ben Feferman’s LinkedIn profile
Ben Ferferman’s Twitch channel
https://StevePreda.com
Thursday Oct 08, 2020
Thursday Oct 08, 2020
In this episode, I interview Steve Deller, Founder and CEO of Virid, a business that helps retailers navigate ecommerce best practices.
Time Stamps
[01:00] Steve’s professional background and why he started his own company
[03:40] How his company has evolved in the past 20 years
[04:36] The unique features of a company that offers both professional services and technology products
[06:36] Combining consulting and software implementation
[10:46] How might ecommerce evolve in the future
[12:36] How retailer websites can compete with Amazon
[14:57] The main challenges Virid faced, and how they overcame them
[18:11] Overhead challenges when transitioning from services to software
[19:14] Steve’s role models and what he learnt from them
[20:41] Why Virid implemented the Entrepreneurial Operating System
[23:52] How EOS helped Virid’s business
[28:04] Advice that Steve would give to his twenty-year-old self
[31:08] How to diagnose issues with clients’ ecommerce platforms
Links and Resources:
Steve Deller's LinkedIn profile
Join a webinar with Steve Preda
Book a free consultation with Steve Preda
https://StevePreda.com
Thursday Sep 24, 2020
Thursday Sep 24, 2020
In this episode, I interview Debbie Tyler, Vistage Chair and CEO Coach who is a former CEO of TakeCharge Technologies and holds several board positions, including at Arcitell, the Center for Innovation and Development, and MindShare, a network of technology companies in the D.C. area.
Time Stamps
[00:53] Debbie’s childhood business and her journey to becoming a CEO and coach.
[01:39] Why its people are the most critical asset for a company
[05:21] The importance of strong leadership in tech companies
[07:14] The challenge of finding customers and how companies can overcome it
[10:49] The importance of finding employees who fit the culture of your business
[16:46] Why Debbie transitioned from running a business to helping other people run businesses
[21:22] Why difficult conversations are welcome among high-performing people
[23:51] Why curiosity is the key to good coaching
[26:28] How to set goals with people that you are coaching
[30:06] How having a common shared goal and alignment can help a company succeed
[36:45] Advice that Debbie would give to her 20-year-old self
[37:51] The importance of being in the moment
[41:46] Lessons that Debbie learnt from her parents and grandparents
[45:38] Famous leaders who inspired her
[47:40] How her parents would describe what she does for a living
[48:33] How to reach out to Debbie
Links and Resources:
Lincoln on Leadership: Executive Strategies for Tough Times
Book a free consultation with Steve
https://StevePreda.com
Tuesday Sep 15, 2020
Tuesday Sep 15, 2020
In this episode, I interview Heinan Landa, Founder and CEO of Optimal Networks, an IT firm that serves law firms and associations in the Greater DC Area. He is the author of the bestselling book, The Modern Law Firm: How to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Technological Change.
Time Stamps
[01:48] Heinan’s education and family background which led to him founding Optimal Networks
[04:08] How the people on your team strongly impact client satisfaction in a professional services firm
[07:15] The importance of retaining employees for longer periods of time
[09:41] Determining how many people to employ and what proportions of people at different levels to employ
[11:12] Overcoming the tendency to say yes to clients without thinking through the ramifications
[13:01] Heinan’s initial struggle to run Optimal Networks and how he overcame it
[18:05] His joy and pride from completing acquisitions
[19:06] How Optimal Networks not only serves clients, but has created a community of like-minded individuals
[21:12] Why Heinan enjoys the company of the people that he works with
[23:19] Heinan’s mentors and his posture of perpetual learning
[27:33] How the Entrepreneurial Operating System has helped Optimal Networks
[31:14] The benefit of serving a niche market
[33:39] Heinan’s mother describes what he does for a living?
[35:27] How to learn more about Heinan and Optimal Networks
Links and Resources:
Book a free consultation with Steve
https://StevePreda.com
Tuesday Sep 08, 2020
Tuesday Sep 08, 2020
In this episode, I interview Olessia Smotrova, the CEO and owner of OST Global Solutions, a consulting firm that helps you win government contracts. She is the author of the book: How to Get Government Contracts. Have a Slice of the 1 Trillion Dollar Pie.
Time Stamps
[01:15] Olessia’s initial struggle to find employment and her first job as an elite concierge with American Express
[04:49] How she got hired by Lockheed Martin, even though on paper, they were not sponsoring visas
[07:16] Olessia’s stint at Raytheon and what she learned there
[08:37] Why she left Raytheon to start her own consulting business
[11:55] Who are the main competitors of consultants (it’s not what you expect)
[13:19] The struggles of hiring when scaling a consulting business
[17:48] The importance of establishing a company mission, and good processes.
[19:20] How Olessia’s mentality shift resulted in her greatest entrepreneurial success
[24:04] Her financially and emotionally taxing divorce, and how she got through it
[28:04] How Olessia models others
[30:36] Why she decided to implement the Entrepreneurial Operating System at OST Global Solutions
[33:04] The EOS tools and principles which stand out to Olessia. How the Right People - Right Seats principle and the Accountability Chart helped OST Global Solutions
[37:00] Advice that Olessia would give to her twenty-year-old self
[38:35] Tips for developing your confidence as women entrepreneur
[41:23] Olessia’s challenges in immersing herself in EOS and how she can overcome it
[43:58] How to learn more about Olessia
Links and Resources:
Book a free consultation with Steve
https://StevePreda.com
Tuesday Sep 01, 2020
Tuesday Sep 01, 2020
In this episode, I interview Matt Clark, the president and CEO of Corcentric — a Fintech company that helps companies to purchase, pay and get paid. We talk about Matt’s origin story, his successes, his setbacks, and how he overcame them. Why Corcentric implemented EOS and their “Traction experience.”
Time Stamps
[01:15] How Matt learnt the ins-and-outs of running a business by watching his dad, a serial entrepreneur
[04:26] Corcentric’s size differentials when Matt took over and Corcentric’s subsequent development into a steady growth business, and eventually a successful tech business
[06:58] The main difference between running a traditional business versus a tech business. How the shaping of Matt’s mentality by both types of business contributed to Corcentric’s success
[09:42] Matt’s greatest successes and the efforts and challenges related to those successes
[12:52] How Matt’s fear of failure drives his success and eliminates doubt
[14:29] Matt describes the potent fear that he experienced after landing the Daimler account
[15:59] Matt’s primary failures, and the lessons that he learnt from them
[17:09] The people who inspired Matt and why
[19:46] The lessons that Matt learnt from his father’s response towards their family’s bankruptcy
[23:18] How Matt discovered the entrepreneurial operating system (EOS) and why he decided to implement it
[26:09] How EOS accelerated the Concentric-Ameriquest merger, and made the merger more seamless
[27:44] The EOS principle which stands out to Matt. How the principle of “rocks” helped Corcentric.
[30:03] The gaps in EOS which Matt had to supplement for the sake of Corcentric’s development
[32:20] Advice that Matt would give to a past version of himself
[34:55] How to contact Matt
Links and Resources:
Book a free consultation with Steve
https://StevePreda.com