In this special edition of the podcast, I spoke to Jon Ebner. He gave me three bands that represented different moments in his life. Where have you been? Eminem - Not afraid - “been through the wringer”Where are you now? One Republic - Good lifeWhere are you going? Imagine Dragons - ThunderLinks:wefunder.com/hooncolinkedin.com/in/jonebnerThanks Jon!The Talklaunch Podcast is brought to you by kitcaster.com. Kitcaster books the world's top-performing entrepreneurs, on the worlds top podcasts.

Talklaunch with Ryan Estes

Jon Ebner: Eminem, One Republic, Imagine Dragons

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.

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

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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