Jeffery: Welcome to Impact Investing, brought to you by the Supporters Fund, home to the first Tim Hortons. Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. I’m your host, Jeffrey Potvin. JP, let’s please welcome from the food truck capital of the world, Miami, Florida Shawn Gold from OpenVC. Welcome, Shaun It’s really good to have you here today.

Shaun: Wow. Thank you for having me. Food truck capital of the world. I would have said it’s the cereal capital of the world because everyone here is a flake.

Jeffery: You’ve got the best line, Shaun That’s why I love everything you post. You’re witty. You’ve got the right words, I love it. The actions are good. Did you enjoy the Tim Hortons?

Shaun: I did, I did, let’s.

Jeffery: I went outside.

Shaun: Let’s take it a step further. For all those in Canada, especially in the Ontario area, we’re coming on the weekend and weekends belong to club seven. That’s right. If you’re going to be in the Niagara region, make sure to check out club seven. I get I get my friend who wants to open a night club with me a plug. Yeah. No, he’s got plenty of spaces and I love Niagara. And it’s for all of Ontario’s sexy people. Part Saturdays belong to seven, baby. That’ll take care of my my ticket that he’s going to get for me.

Jeffery: That’s awesome. Yeah. Maybe there’s a little plug there. Everybody gets. Yeah. It’s a good way to segment and way to start this off. But unfortunately Tim’s was not sponsoring us today. Just happened to be in my hand. And I thought what a great way to segment this into the into the show. But regardless, Sean, it’s a real pleasure having you here today. I’m excited because I love all the things that you post. You really keep the venture world on its toes. And I think you also keep entrepreneurs always second guessing what they’re doing, because I’m sure you found every single thing that makes a lot of sense and a lot of no sense in what they’re doing. And, you really call it out. So that’s why I’m a big fan of everything that you post. And of course, all the conversations we’ve had, it always drums up around this startup community. So it’s going to be a great discussion today. But the way we like to start our show is we want to get one thing about you that nobody would know. And let’s go back to your University of Miami days, where you came from and all the great things that you’ve done.

Shaun: All right. Well, one thing about me that nobody would know, That’s a tough one because I’m pretty. I’m pretty transparent. I have a I hear here’s one. I’m taking one of my unproduced screenplays, and I’m considering doing a Kickstarter for it, not an equity crowdfunding campaign. So before everyone gets all excited, it’s a simple Kickstarter if I decide to do it. And yes, you get an actual finished graphic novel based on one of my screenplays, it’s it’s a science fiction, you know, it’s a set in Miami when when Miami was affordable and Trask actually moved to complete fantasy. So it’s going to be a little, little hard to digest. But it’s true. So that’s one thing nobody knows. But, taking it back to the old school, literally. Yes. So, went to the University of Miami solely to for my business. Okay. I got into far better universities and I turned them all down because I wanted to throw parties and I wanted to hang out with celebrities, and I wanted to go my own path. And that’s why I chose the University of Miami. Everyone said I was crazy, and as usual, they were wrong and I was right. You know, best, best choice I ever made, gave me, not only a degree in entrepreneurship from the university, and I paid those parking tickets, so I do have my degree. Thank you. But secondly, working in hospitality and nightlife with celebrities with high net worth individuals, with athletes, it teaches you a doctorate in psychology and philosophy and interpreting how people understand information and how they think. And it provided a strategic advantage and core competencies that apply to venture that apply to startups. A lot of times I don’t want to say I’m hard on startups. It’s just that there’s a dose of reality that I bring to the table, because when we were doing nightlife, it was very simple. The place was packed or it was empty. There were no excuses. There were no I needed investor. There was no oh, I need to get a strategic partnership. That’s either you were able to do what your business is supposed to do or you weren’t. It’s that simple. No, there’s no middle ground. So that kind of, you know, gave me a competitive edge to what I do now. But it was so much more than that because nightlife opened up a bazillion doors. I mean, because it built out a massive network of people from everything from entertainment to startups to Wall Street. You know, I wrote my books because of it. So it opened the doors, for, for publishing. I got into screenwriting, I got into lecturing, and I’m now up to almost a dozen universities, real universities, not new Jersey Turnpike Community College, or, as they call it, the point. You know, the real ones, like Georgetown MBA program and whatnot. So yeah, it all stemmed from being just 16, 17 years old and wanting to start something and not really taking any excuses and not really listening to what other people had to say. And also not really kind of, you know, being focused on what most founders and entrepreneurs are today. That’s like getting investor money. And it didn’t even occur to me at the time that somebody would give me money, whereas I feel like now it’s like, oh, just easy. I’m a founder. I have a pulse. I’ll just ask for $10 million. Pre-Seed no problem. And it just doesn’t work that way. And I feel like no matter how many times I write about it, because I’ve written a ton of articles which you can read on open VC, that app, on how venture capital works and, you know, what do people do with venture capital all day? How does a pre-seed round work and as a seed round work, what the metrics to have and everything? Just people just still don’t get it. It just here’s my deck. Where’s my meeting? Where’s my money? Like like that’s it. There’s no no thought is given to it. Especially now in the age of AI, the AI generates the deck. The text is generated by ChatGPT, a the founders are pretty lazy or they don’t even sell in the brackets. You know, if you want to use AI, fine. But where it says insert company name, insert the company name. Okay, it’s that’s for you. It’s a prompt for you. So yeah, it’s just the experience in Miami or as I call it, Silicon Swamp. It really, you know, changed the trajectory of my life. And it was, you know, I did not anticipate going into venture. I didn’t anticipate working with startups. And it was just being an entrepreneur. It’s me. It was just hustling. To me, it was just making money and it was just being self-reliant. It was just, you know, it was also kind of embarrassing to ask somebody, I don’t know, for money. And I feel like there’s we should startups should make shame great. Again. I think that’s kind of what I do. I’m like, that makes shame great again, because, like, you’re reaching out to complete strangers to essentially ask them for money and you’re not even preparing for it, and you’re not even testing it out, and you don’t know if it’s going to work yourself other than the usual, trust me, it’s going to work, whatever that means. And you could say, trust me, it’s going to work. If you have a track record and if you know what you’re doing, that kind of helps. I mean, whenever I used to do these parties and events and I worked with huge clients, you know, absolute sense to go Grandma Day, iHeart radio, the CW, all these things like whenever I talked to them and I made a statement, I did back that up because I had enough experience and they had a network and a Rolodex to know that it’s going to work. And if it did it, I would tell them straight up, I appreciate it, but it’s not going to it’s not for me. It’s not going to work. I don’t want to do it because I could gauge if I could deliver. It wasn’t just something ethereal. It wasn’t just a hope and a prayer. It was like, okay, I’ve been doing this for years. I know who’s going to love this. I know who I can bring in, and I know how I can help you achieve your objectives, because it’s not. It’s kind of like we’re all going to look bad, we’re all going to lose money. And it’s not so much a money thing. It’s also a reputation thing. You want to have that reputation as someone that’s remarkable, reliable, can be counted on, for whatever business you’re doing. Even after doing a business, you’re just an employee. You want to be known in the organization as this is the person that gets it done and doesn’t make excuses, and we can count on because they’re an executer.

Jeffery: Super valuable. And I’m going to peel back all of that and dive into a couple parts that you shared about and what I love about how you started and where you’ve kind of, directionally gone today is that you started as a hustle. You started as I want to be X, I want to be somewhere, and I want to be this. And these are the people I’m going after. And you knew that at a young age and maybe the, you know, the nightlife was kind of that spot you were in at the time and you thought, you know what, I can drive. Oh, great value. In exchange, these people are going to give me money for this experience, and I’m going to learn how to get those people in this shop. And you mentioned it right away. You’re either packed or you’re empty and packed is driving you money empty driving you nothing. So how do you promote and get those things moving? And I want to dive into the book side because what I think huge value and amazing that you were able to take your learnings and put that into a book. I’m sure a lot of people would love to do that, just never understood how to do it. And you were able to do that now once, four.

Shaun: Times, four times.

Jeffery: Now you’ve got a bunch of things you’re doing. So it just keeps going and growing, which I think is phenomenal. And again, it’s how do you change your mindset around what value do I have and what can I push out to everybody? So to go back to that unpacking of the nightlife side, you mentioned a couple of things around getting to work with celebrities and high net worth, and everywhere from Merrill Lynch is everywhere across all of these people that have one thing in common. They’re all looking for a great time, and they’ve got money to spend. And because you go into this promoter side, what was one of the things that you started to learn that drew attention to your business, that founders maybe need to look at when they’re trying to drive attention to themselves or to their business? You obviously became really good at it. 20 plus years of driving out high volume, into your organization, in your business. What was those attractions? What were the things that you learned that high net worth individuals were looking for, that you were able to resolve and get it to them in an impactful way, that they kept coming back and wanting to spend money.

Shaun: So here’s the thing, and it applies to every business, is that in venture, as you know, we have the term called the unfair advantage. What’s your unfair advantage? Why are you going to win over your competition? My answer advantage was that one. I was educated, both self-educated, and I was actually getting a degree, whereas everyone I was working with was just like a crackhead, right? So it’s that people want a seamless experience. They want to have that trust. You know, I always mention that I never ran a social media ad, like, I don’t even know how. I don’t know how to go to, like, Facebook and set up an ad and what’s going to happen. I just think it’s a waste of money. My everything was built on referrals. So my mentality was that every single person that put their trust into me, the trust of their night, of their experience, that person is a client and we have to go above and beyond. And what happens is those people then tell their friends, or, hey, you’re going to Miami, or you need a guy to go out. So it was really get, you know, giving them that service. And most people again, in nightlife, it was always and this is before social media. Social media only made it worse and that exacerbated it. But nightlife everywhere that works, it gets into their head that they’re like the rock star, right? That they have. I mean, and why not? Because you have beautiful women all the time around you. You have these celebrities, you have these high net worth individuals. They’re all talking about how awesome you are. So it tends to like, warp your mind. And the problem is that all those people are only talking about, like, being nice to you because they want to use you to get into that club. And when that club is not hot, they’re going to go to somebody else. And that’s what always happens with me. I was always establishing the relationships where I was always trying to go the extra mile so that even if the club wasn’t hot, even if it was an unknown place, they were going to take a chance because they knew I drove that value. You know, it was very minor things, very minor things that can apply to startups today. Because whenever I work with startups, I just see things that they’re terrible. We’ll go down the list, okay, being reliable. If I send an email or a text message, I don’t need an instantaneous reply, but within 24 hours is kind of normal, right? I had to be on point. You know, I was always near my cellphone. I was always on it because I didn’t want to lose a client. I didn’t want to. People can make different plans. They can slack out. They can cancel a trip. They can decide to stay in. So I had to be on point. So answering right. And then I’m going to deliver a product or service. In the case of the nightclubs it was you will arrive at this time and I will get you in free and I will get you in it with no weight or minimal weight. You have to understand that South Beach nightclubs back in the day were notorious for not having lines. They had crowds, and you’d have a selector and a doorman pick who would come in based on who they were, how they looked or whatnot. So I would always show up and I would get chosen and be like, who are you with? And I just walk them right in. And it was like a giant experience because you have all these people went out there and they’re like, well, how are they walking in over me? What, what, what makes them so special? So like people just felt like they were celebrities, right? And then those are just normal people and college students. And what happens is that your crowd tend to grows with you. So as I wander, I did it all the college kids and high school friends and, you know, recently graduated people or people in their early 20s or late 20s, they grew up in their careers. So the referrals started being, instead of my friends coming for spring break and wants to party is my boss is coming, my manager is coming, my director is coming, my CEO is coming. So it’s just, you know, the referrals because they knew they could trust me. They knew I wasn’t a crackhead. They would get on a phone call. They knew I knew how to talk. I could carry myself. I could speak on their industry. I could do the research and understand, and I could deliver. You know, that’s the thing. You have to be able to execute and deliver whatever your product or services. And a lot of people just can’t deliver. So, you know, by being, you know, one, communicate, you know, having, being able to communicate text calls, emails relatively fast, being honest and seeing what you can and can’t do and just delivering on that. And as we call it, the value proposition, that’s all it is. It’s really that simple. But it’s that hard because, you know, you have to actually do it. And a lot of people couldn’t pull it off. And I had some situations that were reputation destroying, but that I use, you know, my wits and I live within the moment to get it to, to make it right. And all the situations I ever had in that whole time doing it, I maybe had a few things that went wrong, but I made it right and I made amends and there was maybe only 1 or 2 people that were just like, I’m never dealing with you again out of tens of thousands. So chalk it up to the law of large numbers. But I always made amends. Even when the parties were terrible or something happened or, you know, was always something. And, I mean, that’s what you have to do. You’re, you’re if you’re doing a startup or just being an entrepreneur or just being in an organization, you have to drive value to your clients. You have to deliver it. You have to give people a reason to trust you and give you their business. It’s despite what social media might show. It’s extremely hard to convince people to spend thousands of dollars on dip bottles and tables. Okay? Especially in this economy. I can only imagine it now. Back when the stuff was booming, it would. People were annoyed with it and it’s very hard. And I would have, you know, nice people spend tens of thousands of dollars. I wasn’t even like the sales, like VIP guy. I was a person guy. But I built that network out where, you know, I was doing over six figures in sales every year. And again, this isn’t sales of like a product, it’s a sales of an experience. You get nothing from this money. You get the experience. But you probably are going to be too drunk to remember. So it’s like and it’s something that we had to, you know, create this market for. And yes, you know, like hip hop helped the pop culture help because everybody wants to be in a VIP, but not everyone wants to pay for VIP. So it’s about finding these people that can afford to drop $2500 or $5000 or $10,000 for essentially three hours, four hours. If you get there at midnight, you’re done by 330. Club was size, so you know that that’s what that’s what the game was every weekend. Sometimes it was almost every night. It just depended on the year and the time and what we had.

Jeffery: Now that’s a it’s a great way to break out and share kind of a few things that really stood out. Obviously, in your experience and how you guided people through this. And when you’re delivering experience, I think that end to end white glove solution really does win people over, not for the night, but for a lifetime, because they remember how you took care of them. They remember how far you went when they had an issue where you had to clean something up. And to your point, you may have had 1 or 2 people drop off, but you always went in with the ability to correct everything. So if there was a problem, how do I make up for this? Let me get you in here tomorrow night. This guy is going to be here and it’ll be a great connection. It’ll be a great night, whatever that might be. You’re able to find ways to help alleviate some of the pressure that may have been created. And to your point, a lot of times startups don’t really understand how to correct things or don’t go above and beyond to figure out how can I appeal to this customer if it’s an investor or if it’s, someone on their team or it’s a customer buying their product? How do I make sure that everybody wins in this? And sometimes as the founder, you’re going to take the loss because you want to win that reputation of getting things done, completing stuff. And, you know, just to unpack the other one, I think to your point is that, you mentioned there’s really, I guess, four things trust, execute, deliver, communicate. And I guess you can rounded off with the last one, which is be honest and share what you kind of you can’t do. So taking those five points on how you learned over the duration of operating with high net worth individuals in a four hour period who were drinking, who were doing these other things that kind of change your mindset. There’s a lot of value you’re going to gain from being in a fast, dynamic pace on how to move your way through this ecosystem and how to get people to rely on you because they’re going to this instance of gratification that you’re solving and they’re leaving with a smile. They’re leaving with a good impression that they’re going to come back. So you’ve built that repetitive MSR over time, if you will, because those people found that they had a great experience with you and that in future they probably came back for other things you did. They wanted to grab your first book. They wanted to support this because they believed in all the great things that you did for them at the time. And the last thing I would throw in there that really kind of set in my mindset. When you were sharing this, is that when you’re working with people and you’re finding them solutions, they’re starting to trust you more because you’re willing to do what it takes to to win them over. But you’re building a real friendship, like, so these people start to get behind you, part of your team, part of your community, part of your network. And you’re finding ways to build in these tens of thousands of people, over time, that started to network into your ecosystem. So you really build a strength of community. With people that have, money and value, and you’re learning what they’re really looking for and experience. What are they really good. Why did this person spend $10,000 tonight with me versus spending $100? How did I get them to see the value in us? That they were willing to go that far and do it again multiple times over? You start to learn what investors are looking for. You threw yourself out there, you were communicative, you were promoting, and vice versa for yourself, for the business. And it drove a lot of value. So I guess in that experience, can you share today a bit more about what that type of interaction was with your clientele that you see you use today in the venture world, when you’re working with high net worth individuals and investors, are you still catering the same way to learning what their real problem is and what they’re trying to solve, and delivering that for them, and that kind of help support your ecosystem you’re building? Or is it more of it’s just intrinsic. You already know what’s happening. You’ve been doing it so often that you just maneuver so easily through the ecosystem that you’re able to bind quickly to these individuals, help them solve their needs, and move on to the next one.

Shaun: Well, it’s it’s kind of both. But at the same time, like when I was getting into like venture and whatnot, whenever I was networking with venture capital, I mean, like with GPS and whatnot, I never asked them what they were investing in or asked to share my stream. My question always like, what’s the dumbest thing you heard this week? You know, like, what’s what’s the worst idea that you’ve seen? Like, I just laughed about it and then kind of find out, like, all right, well, what do you how can I help you? Because obviously, if you have a specific fund thesis or you’re looking for specific things, you’re not looking for anything at all, then that’s that’s helpful for me to know, because I don’t want to bug people or annoy people. I want to help them. So I work with a ton of startups and I know, you know, sort of investors want certain startups. So if the startup is actually has some sort of promise, I have no problem making an introduction to investors. I have no problem sharing with that because I know they might be interested. And if they’re not, you know, they all know how I preface it. My ugly face isn’t in the deck. I’m not an advisor. I have nothing to do with it outside of helping almost a deck or advising them. It’s like I’m in a paid capacity for like this past. I’m not a long term. I don’t have any equity. So like, if it’s horrible, just tell me, you know, like I don’t care. So yeah. And it just it’s about what do you guys have looking for like, we’re doing some stuff with secondaries right now. So it’s like, hey, if you need some liquidity, we might be able to find some buyers. Or hey, if you want to get exposure to these late stage companies, we might be able to find you some sellers. So it’s really just, again, the relationships with people, respecting boundaries, not annoying people and being able to deliver and being honest, you know, I mean, I see people, especially on LinkedIn that, you know, they’re dealmakers. They helped start up, start up. I don’t know what any of that means. It’s just like, what is it you do? What is it that you do? Because like the venture market is right now, it’s not so easy to make a deal, especially for pre-seed companies. I don’t know if you’re like, you know, charging them to boost their ego and give them meaningless value, because I see a lot of them are. But it’s kind of like ethically, I wouldn’t do that. I have a very like this is what the deliverables are going to be on my end. And that’s as far as I’m going to take it. Like, I don’t promise that you’re going to raise money. I don’t promise that that this is going to happen. What I promise is these three things, and I know I’m going to deliver on it, and you’re going to have the value and you’re going to be better off. And if I can’t deliver on it, I can’t. I mean, listen, I’ve through the night was I would turn down tons of money because we were sold out painful amounts of money. Okay. Because there was no table to sell. I am not going to have somebody of that kind of caliber show up when there’s no hope of them getting in, and it has them get mad at me and other people for, you know, with the usual, do you know who I am? Do you know what I can do? I could buy this whole thing. I mean, like, it’s not worth it. Okay. I’m just being honest. And people would, if they appreciate the honesty. One story I always tell, I’ll just tell talk real quick because it applies to this. Is that one of my largest clients I ever had was the result of me getting screamed at and insulted, like everything in the book. Right. And instead of me responding back in that way because I understood their position, I booked them a table and someone else came in and tried to spiel them to book them. Another table, which again, I work on honesty. So I was like, this is where the table is going to be. That’s it. And of course they told me, oh, we’re going with another direction. I kept the reservation in there because when that, when that happens, I know that just means someone is like, I’m going to get you the best table in the house next to LeBron James. Like, trust me, it’s not going to happen. So they get there and then they’re pissed. Episode the guy that promised it. And then he comes to get me. And then he they’re yelling at him. They’re yelling at me. And this one guy just tears in the me telling all like I’m the worst person ever. I don’t know what I’m doing. This never would have happened in Vegas. And I dropped someone’s name in like, Vegas and I work with someone in Vegas. Trust me for not doing it right. And he’s like, yeah, you don’t know anybody. Who do you know? And the name I dropped was his, like, best friend in Vegas. He was completely humbled, completely humbled. They had to take a break. And so that’s what happened was all the people who actually like, we’re spending the money. We’re like, they just, you know, they were so impressed that I could take those kind of insults and remain professional and just remain cool headed, that they became my biggest clients. And the guy that was screaming at me like a, you know, he came to the next event like six months later, he gave me a hug. He’s like, I was so out of line. I’m so sorry. I did it like so. Again, you have to be professional. You have to, you know, be honest. You have to tell them straight up, well, this is what it’s going to be like. I don’t know who told you. I mean, I knew who there was this whole bracket next to me, but like, I don’t. Who told you it was going to be here? Because it’s not. I never told you that. I said it did you a table and I did. You know I did not over promise and promise the moon and deliver a crater. And that’s what I see happening just with a lot of start ups. I just feel like there’s there’s no honesty. There’s just a lot of vultures that are going to be like, here, I’m going to do this and I’m going to show you. And nobody does any due diligence. No one does a simple Google search to find out this person’s real, to have a track record. And I tell like people all the time, like, listen, I get it. You want to raise, but like, I don’t Shepherd raises. I’ll make introductions for you, no problem, but I don’t I’m not going to take money that you can’t afford to spend. So the 15 to 20 months the round is going to last. And like I promise you, something’s going to happen. It just doesn’t work that way, you know? And they want to tell you different, you know, run for the hills. So you want to spend ten, 20, $30,000 where they justify. But once you raise 5 million it’s less than a percentage, blah, blah, blah. Like there’s no guarantee that’s going to happen. So, yeah, I’m just always I just try to be ethical and honest in all my dealings and entertaining, of course, but but honest and ethical.

Jeffery: Now I love that. And I think you kind of have to be in a space that’s seems to be getting more cutthroat every day and more scams coming along. I think you do have to be direct, honest, and execute to your point, everything. Yeah. Execution. If you’re not a business, if you can execute, if you don’t have revenue, you’re not a business. So really, at the end of the day, it’s all about finding that balance. And you mentioned something of course, quite a few times. And you’ve got a book that’s based around this. But around the promoter side of things. So you said it’s word of mouth and execution delivers this word of mouth value. So can you share a little bit about the promoter side? Because I think this is quite a fascinating approach that we’re all afraid of. I have to get myself out there. People have to know who I am, people have to see my face, you know, and as you mentioned earlier, you know, here’s my pitch deck, I built it here’s this, I built it, where’s my money? Where’s my meeting? And then they don’t show up to any conferences. They don’t show up to the meetings. They don’t go anywhere where there’s networking or ways to connect with people. They’re basically sitting at home or wherever they are. How do you get people to understand the power of promotion? And you have to be an extrovert to be a promoter. Can you be a promoter and get out in the public as an introvert or as someone that’s just not comfortable around people? How do you recommend? Like, I’ve read so many things where they say, you know, from every person out there that’s a celebrity. They’re all extroverted, they’re all people. They get out there, know how to hustle. You may not be comfortable with it, but they’re good with people. They’re good with connecting. How do how does the rest of the world, including these types of, extroverted people, fight in this battle for, you know, face time and getting in front of people when there’s fears of, you know, rejection or whatever it might be. How did you overcome those? How did you get people to believe that you were the guy and that you were trustworthy and that they could take a cartoon?

Shaun: So P.T. Barnum has has a famous quote that says, without promotion, something terrible happens. Nothing. Okay. You have to be out. When I was doing nightlife, it was like I was out all the time. Okay. While I might have only worked three nights a week, I was out. I mean, the only nights I took off depending on the year were like Mondays and Wednesdays, to be honest, I was always out, I was out, I had happy hours. I was out of the house parties. I was out on campus. I was out at the bars. I was just I had a presence so that everyone knew who I was. Right? And I always had like VIP passes, which, which became my business cards. I had my business cards, and I was always taking numbers and I was always doing it. So you have to be out now. Do you have to be, you know, like extroverted? No, because in this day and age, you can build a brand from your computer. Okay. You can go on LinkedIn and, you know, start creating content. I don’t know, I ghostwrite for a lot of friends and executives, but like you, you post content, you can go to slack channels, discord channels, you know, whatever the case may be, I just start having people take zoom meetings. Whatever you need to do. But you have to be real about it. I mean, when the pandemic, after all, on lockdown, that was like probably one of the greatest periods as I wanted it to be of networking and of learning because, you know, we miss perfect opportunity and no distractions. So I was constantly on calls. I was constantly going to like events. I was constantly speaking. I was always there. I was in the chatter stuff. I supercharged my networking, because you would have hundreds upon hundreds of people at an event in a zoom. So, hey, here’s my LinkedIn. This is what I do. You get like 50, 60, 70 connections, right? And then those people all want to talk. So you didn’t want to leave the house or do anything. But if you’re just going to sit there and hope somebody discovers you like no one’s ever going to discover you, it’s the hardest thing ever. Just to sit there and like, you get discovered. I found that all my greatest times of being discovered is because I was out there. I was talking to people, I was, you know, stating what I was going to do. I just there was there was just so many times that I turned every experience into a networking opportunity, you know, what? Am I by the greatest doors being opened? Okay. Is that after when I was 17, I first did my first parties in the Bahamas. Okay. We’re just I came back from the Bahamas and I had this dilemma because in the Bahamas I was the king. I was like, discovered I had this super power to pack these clothes and be a celebrity. And everybody fawned over me. I come back to reality and reality show is not the king right? Reality. I’m just, you know, I don’t have any of that experience. So I’m stuck with this dilemma of having this talent and having this ability to market myself and having this ability to influence others and get them to do what I’m selling, to get them to go where I wanted to go. And, I was always I’ve always been a fan of working out. I was in the gym. I was talking to one of my friends who was older. He was a bouncer. As as we’re talking, this one guy says, hey, can you spot me? I said, sure, go back. I go back to cytochrome. So yeah, that’s my dilemma. Just what I told you. And he goes, okay, see that guy you just spotted? That guy’s like the main nightlife guy here. I’m going to go introduce you so you can have a conversation. That’s how it happened. That one little instance opened the door to all my Miami connections and started everything. Right. So it wasn’t like. I mean, it wasn’t like I went to a networking event. It was just I was talking to who I knew, and I didn’t know who they knew. But by stating my intent, what I was looking for, it just was like, here, meet this person and that’s kind of how you know how it kept happening. I mean, doors kept opening because I kept going after what I wanted, you know, and the book, The Hero’s Journey, Joseph Campbell defines this as following your bliss right? If you follow your bliss, then invisible hands come to help you. So I was going after what I wanted to do. And every time I was gone after what I wanted to do, it just seems that like doors open because someone knows someone, because I help somebody out unintentionally. I mean, I’m, I’m involved in Hollywood, right? I had a big break, not a major break, but I had a big door opened in Hollywood. They got me dinner with one of the biggest movie stars on the planet and got me introductions to studios and all this stuff. How did I get that fit? Because when I was a sophomore in college, I did a favor for a professor that I didn’t even have the class with, but his class recommended me as the person to help them with how to do an event. So I did it for him. I met with them. I said, no problem, professor, whatever you need, just help them out. And, you know, over a decade later, you know, he saw I posted something on Facebook about a screenplay and he became, a partner at the leading entertainment firm in Hollywood. Okay, so he opened the door, and I mean, literally, he said, you’re on speakerphone, I’m opening the door. And he opened the door to one of his partners in the office, and I pitched right. That’s not what happens. It happens because, like, you’re out. You’re constantly out there. You’re being able to deliver. You’re helping people out. I mean, there’s a limit to the help I get. If somebody that I know needs something, I will do it. If a complete stranger that I’ve never met wants 50,000 things done for free, I’m not going to do it. But the vast majority of the relationships I had that have been in person that have been helpful, like I’ve always helped people out, has it always led to something? No, but sometimes it does. And you just you have to be out there. You have to have a presence. And if that presence is video on social media or if it’s written content, or if it’s going to startup events or it’s going to happy hours at a professional networking event, whatever the case may be, I can promise you that doing nothing will always lead to nothing, but doing something might lead to something. So you always want to be doing something, and it’s not overnight. It is a constant process and it just you get lucky, you get enough people.

Jeffery: And you get lucky. Now, I think that’s great. And what I love about your journey of discovery and figuring out how these pieces all work is that as you continue to focus and push your way through solving problems, helping people. But always it sounds like, and I’m paraphrasing, but it sounds like you always had one problem that you were trying to solve. So in your mind you were like, hey friend, buddy, you. I have this problem trying to solve. And then you ask and then they would talk about it. Then you’d ask the next person, they talk about it. It’s being vulnerable to a point, but it’s opening up and saying, I got this problem. I can’t figure it out. What do you think? And then everybody seemed to have some input and it would drive you to the next thing. Well, on the other side, you’re also giving away. You’re asking for one problem to be solved, but you’re also solving one problem. And that problem you solve was ten years ago, and that favor came back ten years later. Not that you were looking for it or that you requested it. And it reminds me of a story. I worked with a founder 15 years ago and sat down and had a coffee, and we chatted through some stuff, and then I got a phone call. 15 years later, hey, I’m building a company and I’m looking for investment, and, you helped me 15 years ago. And I said, oh, that’s amazing. Great. Well, awesome. And then you went into the details and shared, hey, I’m looking for this. This is what you helped me with. So I’m willing to help you get this. And at the time when we were talking, I couldn’t remember who the person was. I did remember sitting down, but I had offered. And then he shared what I’d offer, and I was like, oh, now I remember the person. The idea was that I was just out there meeting and helping people move forward one step, and we felt I could offer some ability to help that one step, which they took as helping them move that step forward and then years later, they came back and said, hey, I want to help you. You’re raising a fund. I’m going to connect you to this person. So what I found is that, you know, you’re not looking for a return in the investment of helping and support. You’re offering your own abilities of understanding and with the space you’re in. And if that can move someone else forward, one step. Awesome. Then push away at it. Like you said, you’re not going to do 50 of them. But if you can do one for that person and maybe it benefits their step forward, awesome. And then in the future, maybe something comes around the corner and they reach out and help you. So I think it’s kind of a good give and take. You’re offering a lot more, even if you only get one back in ten years, that one could be a big door opened, as you mentioned, which sounds like it was, and it was well worth the journey of of offering,

Shaun: All of that. Yeah. And, I mean, it doesn’t even have to be like, a lot of offering of value. I mean, again, my next biggest break in Miami.

Jeffery: Came when.

Shaun: This was probably one of the biggest ones. I mean, and I didn’t anticipate this was I was doing this party and this is when Facebook first launched. So I was DMing everybody personally, copy and paste and doing it, and the party failed. Okay. But one person got back to me and said, listen, this part is not going to work, okay? He pulled the classic future me startups. He said it’s not going to work. No one goes here. It’s not good. And I just I was like, all right, thanks. I understand you’re not coming. I was like, thanks for letting me know, I appreciate it. So this was in October or November. Then I get a call in like January and say, hey, you know, this guy, you know, told me to parties that were looking for somebody. And I know he was talking about. What are you talking about? I don’t know who it is because his name on Facebook was a nickname, so I only knew him by his nickname. So who’s that? Like, who the hell is Dan you talking about? And I go, Dan like to get the full name because, oh, like, I knew about his nickname. So that one like message, that one DM when he projects not going to work, he introduced me to his friend that was looking for someone. That introduction changed my life. Okay. Because that introduction, these guys I didn’t realize at the time were looking for me as much as I was looking for that. And I did one party with them. And you have to understand, I was coming from the mentality of throwing parties in the Bahamas or the Bahamas. It’s like we need a thousand people, right? So I had like 50 people show up and I felt like I was a loser. I was like, never going to do this. This is horrible. And I just like I laughed, I didn’t say anything, and then I just felt like depressed. What am I doing with my life? I get a call that’s like, why did you leave? Where’d you go to that? I was like, oh, I thought they were going to yell at me or something. And they were like, they’re like, di I, I’m like, I apologize. I was like, listen, it wasn’t what I expected because, Sean, you brought like 50 people like, oh, I know it’s horrible. And he goes, you don’t understand. He’s like, everyone we’ve hired either has not shown up or has brought like two people or has brought a date. Okay? No one has come through. It’s like, that’s amazing. We want you to do stuff. And with them it’s like, that opened everything because they gave me access to all the hot clubs. They knew that, like, okay, here’s this guy that is bringing a ton of people and they come early and they’re attractive and they’re fun, and they spent money and it’s like, this is a dream. So again, that that literally opened the doors to South Beach. And that’s how I got the big break in South Beach and doing all that stuff with all the brands and everything was because I sent the DMs and someone got back to me and said it wasn’t going to work, and I was polite with it. So you never know what’s going to happen. It’s as long as you feel that someone is cool. I got it takes me 10s to make an introduction to somebody. You know, I had someone I worked with that’s doing something really cool for startups. You know, they hired me to do an article content piece. No problem. They said they really want to work with me. They have to raise whatever. No problem. But they’re just really cool. So I introduced them to a bunch of people. They said, have fun. And they said, oh my God, I owe you so much for like, listen, it’s cool if something happens, fine. But I’m not like keeping a scorecard of like, this person definitely is going to owe me like a just fine. Like if the person is professional, if they’re cool, if they if they just have a good vibe, I have no problem helping them out because it takes 10s it’s not a giant lift and then they just take it from there. So, yeah, it’s you have to keep this kind of open mind when it comes to like just the networking and you never know who you’re going to meet. And one connection can change your life, and one connection can be part of, like, interlocking connections. And that’s kind of what happened with South Beach, how it became like this, got this, this presence was because I had all these people that, you know, recommended me to other people because it was always every club and every brand and every lounge had the same need. Nobody wants to be empty, even if you’re not, even if you’re half full, it’s not the same. You don’t. You want to go someplace that’s jumping where there’s you, you you want to. You’ll spend more money and you won’t leave because it’s good. If you walk into a place and it’s empty. I don’t want to go, okay? I’m gonna go somewhere else. Right? I want to go with the girls, or I want to go to a celebrity center. So everyone just, you know, it was all referrals. People just kept calling me. I mean, I remember, again, I remember how I got my next big break. I’ll take real quick. Was that this one guy I had that I met at a house party that I started training with at the gym, who I didn’t realize lived ten like five minutes away from my hometown, from where my parents lived. And we were just hanging out. He was not a club guy. He was not a promotion guy. He literally just like working out and going to house parties. But his friend’s sister was like the Queen of South Beach at the time and brought me out to one of her parties, introduced me. I didn’t feel worthy to be there because I was 19, but yet a year and a half later, I didn’t realize she remembered me. She called me direct and said, hey, I’m putting something together and I need you and I. It’s great. And it’s like, okay, I literally I didn’t even talk with her. I just shook her hand and said, thanks for having me. I love your partners. I’m a big fan. That was it. I don’t even have her number two have mine. So, yeah, it’s really, you know, you have to just be genuine and you never know who, who knows who. And there is there’s the phrase that everybody uses, and I hate the phrase where it’s not what you know, it’s who you know because it’s wrong, okay? It’s who knows you, okay, who knows you. You’re going to come to mind when people are talking about what they need. It’s not, you know, it’s not who you know. It’s that they know you. So it’s been a big thing. And it’s also, you know, those have been like the best relationships of just being like, okay, Sean’s the person you got to talk to for this. And as soon as they make the introduction and some people ask for the permission or that’s what I always get back, I always, you know, try and see if I can help with that. That’s how I’ve done everything my whole life. I’ve never spent money on the ads. I’ve never done sponsored this, never done any of that. Just because to me it’s better to do it. You know, it’s more tedious, but it’s better to do one by one for the relationship.

Jeffery: No, I think that’s, it’s pretty exciting. And to paraphrase, it sounds like you really just say take a chance.

Shaun: Every day is a chance. And every day it’s one after another. Everything is a chance. If a thousand things don’t work, what one does, and it’s that giant one thing that works out and changes your life, it’s worth it. I’m not haunted by the failures. I’m not haunted by the bad. I’m not haunted by the losses. I do more haunted by. If I didn’t make the attempt.

Jeffery: I love it, I love it, I, before we switch into the 62nd rant, I did want to touch base on your promoter. Mine, the book, your book that you you created. And there is a couple things that really stood out. And, you know, we talked about a few of them. Right. So, you know, of course, networking relationships, we’ve talked a lot about that. And then of course, actioning and getting things done, I think are pretty important, of course. And you just basically touched on the, you know, if you weren’t looking at the failures, you were just figuring out how to keep moving forward. But there is one that I think kind of ties together, which is, you know, confidence building, you know, and getting confidence in yourself to do these things. And you just said this person invited you somewhere, and you were like, oh, my God, what am I doing here? I don’t belong here yet. You did belong there. And they wanted you there. So maybe kind of fold up on the way. Your book kind of emphasizes this, but how do you gain confidence in a space that you’re building something new in that you’ve never done before? And, you know, we just talk about take a chance, you’re taking chances, but you’re getting a lot of Heisman. So you’re getting a lot of punches down and you’re not really getting where you want to go. You don’t feel you belong. How do you keep fighting forward? Like where do you get the confidence from? Where do you find that nugget that you can hold on to? That 10% that keeps you in the business, keeps you running and motivated versus, say, you know what, I’ve spent six months trying to raise a can’t get any dollars, and you have a company that’s making money and you’re still not seeing that as a win, and you’re beating yourself up, and then you decide to fold and walk away. What do you do as motivation? How do you get people to see that they’ve got something?

Shaun: And so personally, I think a super competitive advantage is to read, okay. And I don’t mean stupid business books with people’s face under cover if they have their face on the cover. Run for the hills. Okay? It’s not going to tell you what you need, especially build confidence. I cannot understate the value of psychology books of mythology books. You know, there’s a pedagogical function of mythology that we’ve forgotten as a society, and that’s the ability to live under any circumstances. Right. And as far as the confidence, I mean, it’s the more stuff you do and the more failures you have and the more you put yourself out there, the easier it becomes, the easier it becomes. But if you’ve never done anything before, it’s going to be impossible. It’s going to feel impossible. You have to keep moving forward. I mean, again, I came from the thing. Where? In the Bahamas. I just was like, you know, I was just like, I’m going to do this. Like, hey, I can help you with these parties. And they loved it because in the Bahamas, you had a bunch of locals that the spring breakers don’t want to talk to you. You got a kid from South Florida that knows New York and all this stuff. They’re going to follow that kids. And it was like a perfect relationship. So, you know, I had that confidence from that. It seems the ability when I came to Miami was a whole different ballgame, though. And it was very difficult because, you know, you’re like, who’s this idiot? You know, who’s this? You’re, you know, and I remember, I mean, I just what am I favorite stories is that, I used to get paid for VIP pass when I was 18, and every VIP pass came in with money. So I would always try to get hundreds of those bad boys. So I’d stand on the street in front of, like, the complex, like the outside mall where the club was at, and it’d be like this big area there. They’d have the the university, have the shuttle busses drop, dropped students off, you know, the drunk bus. And, I’d give the badges up because I can get 20, 30, 40, 50 people going up there, you know, every 4 to 5 minutes. Awesome. So this one girl looks at me, laughs in my face and drops the basket by seat. Right. That’s a blow to the confidence to have someone do that next year. I’m in the Bahamas spring break, right? I’m walking around. I’m promoting that same group of girls. Is there same girl? They look at me and go shower a spring break. What are you doing? Why are you working? Like, why are you here? You know, it’s like I throw a party started here and it just like, yeah, whatever. Like, you know, I don’t know that I’m not a Gen Z now, but back then and it’s like, okay, as if stop trying to make it happen, you know, whatever. It was very it wasn’t it wasn’t a blow to the confidence. But I was just like, okay, like, I don’t I don’t get it. There must be something about me. Next semester rolls around. I’m a junior now. I remember the first. The first time happened was a freshman and sophomore junior. So now I have established myself. Now everyone knows to come to me. So I’m sitting in a bar, hanging out and promoting whatever. And she comes up to it, puts her arm around me. It’s like I remember when he started, I came to his very first parties. I knew he was going to make it and I took her arm off me. I was like, oh, you did it.

Jeffery: I was like, I.

Shaun: Remember you didn’t want to come to the party. He threw the passes. Now you don’t want to come in the Bahamas. So, you know, you just you get to that point, you literally get to the point of, …, you know, having this confidence. But you have to start somewhere and you have to, like, not beat yourself up on it. And you’re more cruel to yourself than the outside world is to you. And, you know, we’re we want to compare ourselves to others, but you want to compare yourself to the to the billions of other people that aren’t doing what you’re doing. Okay? It takes guts to go your own way. It takes guts to have a backbone. You know, if you if you see the past laid out before you, you’re probably on somebody else’s. Okay. So you really need to be able to be defeated. There’s a quote from German poet, Ranier Marie Victor. Okay. I love this quote. It says the goal of life is to be defeated by greater and greater things. Okay, so you’re not growing. If you’re not being defeated, you’re not becoming the person you’re supposed to be. If you’re not facing challenges, if you’re not overcoming the obstacles, if you’re not climbing the mountain whereas everyone else sees a wall. So you have to keep going. And that’s where the confidence comes from. Nobody’s naturally confident. I just, you know, I’ve been doing stuff for so long that I’m not going to get nervous. I mean, I still get nervous doing anything before, say, a lecture or speech, going on TV or whatever. The case may be. But I’m able to do it. You just you get over it and you know that if you if you’re not able to do it, you’re not going to forgive yourself. And you don’t want to have that on your conscience. So you, you, you want to keep going, you want to keep moving. And it takes time. It’s not overnight. They say it takes 15 years to be an overnight success and they’re wrong. It probably takes 20. It does. No it takes it takes much longer. So you and you have to face the blows of your peers, of investors, of the market, of fortune, of fate, of all that stuff. And you have to keep going. No, it’s well shared. And I think, to from your quote, it’s success is doing. So I think you, you really just summarized that, that you really have to just get out there, push yourself. You have the guts to build it, stick behind yourself. You know, as much as it might be a little bit or a lot of confidence and then utilize the little wins that you can find and use those to keep pushing you forward. But just know that when you’re in the path that you think you’re doing the right thing and you’re doing it in an honest, in, a way that you feel you can support, just keep pushing it, and eventually you’ll start to gain those little wins and you’ll turn other people’s minds around to, as you did with, the female friend.

Jeffery: She eventually came around to believing that you were a great.

Shaun: Yeah, she was clout chasing. Come on. And she’s like, oh, now that now that he’s made it, it’s kind of like everybody. I mean, that’s what everyone says. It’s kind of like, you know, everybody wants to be part of the success when you’re the success that that’s what it is. And if you look at, you know, it’s like,

Jeffery: If you look at Elon Musk, it’s the same, right? He, he was no one cared for what he had to say until, you know, they beat him up, kept doing it. And then when he became famous then everybody supported him. So everybody hated him until he became the number one top moneymaker in the world. And then once he got to the top, it was only there for him to screw up. And then eventually he was able to screw that up because he said the wrong things, you know, went against the grain of everything. And and not because it was how he was. The got him there. It was just he was saying the things that were pushing against the grain. So, you know, there is of course, people want to fight against you becoming successful. There are going to be the odd supporter. If 99% of people are against you, the 1% are the ones you want to find that support you. But the thing is, you believe in yourself. So because you believed in what you were doing, eventually you were going to make traction. Eventually in year 2 or 3, people were going to start to see you and promote. You were promoting yourself. Well. So it time it starts to come around full circle. But you got to put in the legwork and you got to put the time in. You got to do all those things because it’s not going to come, as you said, sitting in your room doing nothing. It’s all the spots you got out to. It’s all the house parties you went to is everywhere you went. And that’s what obviously helped you build up a lot of value, write a book for books, write screenplays, movies. All of these things came because of the network you built, which is you put the time and you put the effort in. You made sure you were there. You’re recognizable. And that’s what gets people going, like outside of bad ski and in a few other people. There’s not many people out there that are able to build a value that the whole world is dying Bitcoin. They don’t know who the person is, but the value they’ve offered back to the world, supersedes any person is because it supersedes it. They’ve left the unknown, which is who is this person. And everybody’s still trying to figure it out. Take Bitcoin as an example. Satoshi. They’re actually now pulling FBI records to figure out who this is person because it’s grown so big and so value. They’re that now they want to know who the founder is. Whereas before it wasn’t as important as it is today. And the same thing with Badescu, they still try to solve the mystery. So, you know, there’s a very few and rare opportunities where someone’s brand can become bigger than the image themselves, but they had to go through the the kicks and the punches and it sounds like, as you said, it was, you know, you have to have the guts to do it, but stick to your vision and your drive and you’re going to get there, and you’ll find the right people with the right amount of information.

Shaun: You 100%.

Jeffery: So we’re going to switch over now to the 60s.

Shaun: Only 60s and only one.

Jeffery: 60s. One rad 60s. I’m going to put it on a timer. You start when you’re ready to go and I’ll rebuttal as best as I can.

Shaun: Okay. We’re going to sing as I work with founders, we’re going to talk about we’re going to talk about, the, the core incompetency. That’s what this rant is called, core competency. So you ready for me? All right, hit it. Founders. Your team slide is used to list your core competencies as it relates to your startup, not your dating profile. The following are not core competencies that make you investable under any circumstances. Ready? Here we go. Loves to travel or travel to X countries. Is family oriented as a mother or father to children or pets. Loves outdoor activities. Is a fan of ex sports teams. Is a strong supporter of ex political policies as a high school, college, or GPA that isn’t relevant because they’ve been out of college or high school for decades, is a technology enthusiast. Is IT industry advocate, is a volunteer for X, is a startup evangelist for X, is it trendsetter for X and has an award winning for X that has nothing to do with the business they’re building. Dot there you go. Is that in 60s?

Jeffery: Actually that was if you timed it all together would be over 60s. But if you put it with just where you started the ranch, you’re under 60s. So well done my friend.

Shaun: Well done. Rebuttal.

Jeffery: So I’m going to I’m going to pack this and I’m going to share that, to your point, a pitch deck is a purview of where you want to go with your business. How does this thing make money? And if you do it right, it’s all about 90% of it is how do you make money in this business? So your job is to get people interested in you and your business in this very first pitch deck, perhaps in the larger two hour, three hour deep dive, some of these other facts that you just brought up may come out because they might be of use to build trust with the investor into you, into your, your business. And again, they have to pertain to the business model. To your point, a lot of the things you said had nothing to do with the business or building trust. So I would rebuttal by saying how, as a founder, do I relate to investors so that they can tell that I’m human and that I’m trustworthy in my 62nd pitch deck or whatever it is that can be relatable and valuable to get you to the next steps.

Shaun: Do I get a rebuttal? The rebuttal? Yes. Okay, I mean it. Show your core competencies. That’s it. If you’re building in a syntax, then you’re laser. For butterflies. It’s not going to be a core competency. Your experience at JPMorgan, which probably will your experience working for this startup, building out their systems and processes or with this service provider probably will. You just want to be able to showcase that there’s a right set that the team can relate to the business and can deliver on the executable goals. So, you know, again, just because you love hamburgers and you’re building an eye for hamburgers, I don’t think it’s a core competency. Okay. But it might help if you were in the hamburger business and you understand that maybe their process has been I get sued. But if you just love eating hamburgers and you want to get rich quick as AI is trending, it’s not going to happen and it shouldn’t be in there.

Jeffery: I love it. Well, sir. No, it’s, it’s it’s very valuable, and I agree. I think you have to really trim down the. What you’re offering and just put the bites that support the business because you’re trying to attract them. You’re not looking for friends, or dates, as you mentioned. So really. Well shared.

Shaun: All right. Thank you, thank you.

Jeffery: All right. We’re going to move into we’re going to move into our business section, which is you pick one or the other as an investor, as a supporter, as a way of helping founders move them along in the network ecosystem. You pick which one you’re more interested in, one.

Shaun: Okay, smash or pass guy, let’s do.

Jeffery: Exactly founder OR co-founder,

Shaun: a co-founder.

Jeffery: Unicorn or a four year,

Shaun: ten zero four year.

Jeffery: I. First money. Our series a.

Shaun: It’s a tough one. Is there an answer? Is there another one in between? If I had to choose. If if I had to choose between those two. That’s a trick question. That’s a haunted dilemma. Either one you choose because it’s hard.

Jeffery: All right. Fair, board. Cedar observer.

Shaun: Board. See?

Jeffery: Safe, safe. Leader. Follow.

Shaun: Follow.

Jeffery: Favorite part of investing?

Shaun: That’s a that’s a tough one. There’s no A or B to choose from. Let’s just, the money. Simple.

Jeffery: Fair vertical is the focus.

Shaun: There’s no more A and B now it’s just my, It’s just me talking. Okay, okay. I was I was confused, I was waiting for all of the above. Okay. So I’m a partner in venture, you know, my partner of one of. I’m Olga Duca. Yeah. So we focus on our fund in emerging markets. We’re sector agnostic, but we like things that are scalable for those not in the. No. Emerging markets are sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia. I’m sorry, but a tobiko is not an emerging startup market for those in Toronto. As much as if as much as you want to claim it, it’s, it’s it’s it’s it’s not. And neither is Scarborough. Sorry. Most of us not in emerging market. So, yeah. And then also, like I said, I’m involved with secondaries in late stage deals. So usually these are series B companies and but so yeah those are and right. They’ve been this year this month mostly. And I. Okay.

Jeffery: Number of companies invested per year.

Shaun: Just going off secondary deals has been to so far this year with a pending third one.

Jeffery: I love it. Two qualities for a startup to stand out to you.

Shaun: Competence and exciting idea.

Jeffery: I like it. Okay. We’re, a couple of quick questions here. What are what is a piece of advice you would give nine out of nine out of ten times?

Shaun: The founders only weighs when you’re ready. And don’t start a company just to raise.

Jeffery: Their. Who is your hero mentor and why?

Shaun: I don’t have one. I have multiple mentors, multiple heroes. I just I don’t have one off the top of my head.

Jeffery: If you could change one thing about venture, what would it be?

Shaun: Only one. I wish it was more approachable from the, from both the founder side and the Sunder side. I would I would remove the, the hierarchy of B.S., I would remove the, I just did a post about on LinkedIn on this today, but I would remove, the need for a translator. Right. I wish it would just be honest and upfront. That’s it. You know, it’s just it’s too much garbage. It’s the whole point of this is to find exciting companies that have a chance of succeeding and invest in them. That’s the whole point. And it’s become a clout driven braggadocious. Everyone’s a thought leader, whatever that means. Trying to be an expert in something they’re not. This is, for example, this is the worst venture market I’ve seen in all my years of doing this. Chad, intern at Sequoia since 2023. You know, like it’s like, come on, you know, it’s it’s it’s just like, I wish it was more simple that that’s what I think it was just, hey, you invest in this, and I’m doing this. Take a look and let’s do it, okay? No bullshit. No fill out the form. No. Our fill out all these things. But, like, here’s a few questions. And if you don’t qualify, don’t submit. Do you have revenue? If so, how much? What stage are you at? Have you raised before? What are you looking for? Boom! That’s it. Let’s get going.

Jeffery: I love it, it’s chat.

Shaun: It’s always chat or Cody or Bryce. It’s always someone giving you no such venture. And AI is going to be the most transforming technology we’ve seen in decades. Bryce I enthusiasts since graduating every 2024.

Jeffery: I love it. All right, we’re gonna move the personal side. Here we go. Favorite movie? And what character.

Shaun: Would you again? Can’t answer if there’s way too many, you know, it’s.

Jeffery: Pick one. I gotta know what your favorite movies. I want to know one movie and,

Shaun: Mad fight, mad Max Fury Road, and I’ll play mad Max. Very simple. I mean, it’s it’s, er, could be like Red Dawn, and I’ll play Patrick Swayze, who’s character, just like there’s so many to choose from.

Jeffery: But those are a that’s a great insight I love that. All right.

Shaun: Again, very hard. I cannot answer those because there was not one single one I can give you a book that I, that I enjoy, but it’s it’s just one of my favorites.

Jeffery: What book did you enjoy recently that you think is.

Shaun: All right. So recently I’ve been reading novels of key competitive advantage is to not read constant business books, agitated, stupid stuff. So I’ve been reading novels as the Dusk John Johnson say, a book that no one’s ever heard of. But it’s great. Real, real literary enthusiasts know it. John Johnson franchise as the dust. I just finished Fire and Blood because I was annoyed with House of the Dragon. I kept reading the John. I said, I’m not going to wait to find out what happens. So I read that. Quite enjoyable. It’s so if you’re tired of the show, because that’s what it is. House of the Dragon, then just read the book. It’s 250 pages. Fire and blood. You’ll enjoy it. It’ll close all the gaps. And you don’t have to wait two years to have your to have the show room for you again, like I did. And then I guess a business book, not recent for a business book that I’ve always enjoyed is lucky or smart Bible Peabody.

Jeffery: I love it. All right. These are rapid fire again, real quick. Can’t take. Super power. Marvel or Marvel? Football or football?

Shaun: Football with the with with the. With the kicks.

Jeffery: I love it. Elon Musk or Oprah. What is your your superpower?

Shaun: My photographic memory and my ability to network. I’d say those are like the two biggest ones.

Jeffery: Sean, I would agree with you. I’d say that, outside of those who are also a great communicator, and I love your satirical approach to life and the space.

Shaun: Oh, thank you, ladies and gentlemen.

Jeffery: 100%. I think it’s amazing. And, I love the color you bring. So, I want to say thank you very much for joining us today and sharing with us. It’s been a great conversation, lots of great notes, and the way we love to end our podcast is we’d like to give you the last word. So anything you can share back to investors, to founders, I turn it over to you and please let people know how they get Ahold of you. But thank you.

Shaun: Again. Thank you for having me. Is there going to be a link at the bottom that I can? I can do the influencer thing and be like, click the link below. LinkedIn LinkedIn is always the best way because one you can connect in two. You can see my daily insights Monday through Friday. My misery is your comedy. You’ll be entertained and you’ll learn. So yeah, LinkedIn. And then I guess the last word is, okay, I’m Sean Golden for as long as, you’re an entrepreneur and investor, keep learning how to be an entrepreneur, an investor.

Jeffery: I love it. Well, shared.

Shaun: Learning never does.

Jeffery: Keep reading. Thanks, Shaun Perfect. Great conversation with Shaun I guess a couple of, great things that we’ll share that, you brought up in our conversation and I recommend highly recommend connecting with him on LinkedIn. He shares a lot of great, content that is, really pushes you to think, especially when it comes to the venture space. So always look for what the unfair advantage is and then diving into those trusts execute, deliver, communicate and be honest. I think those are really huge. Take a chance. See what happens. Success is doing. So again big fan of of how he articulated all of those, you know, P.T. Barnum without promotion. What’s the worst that can happen is nothing. So learn to promote yourself. Learn to promote your business. As hard as it might be, it’s, the outcome is always going to find value and stick to your drive. Stick to your goals and keep pushing forward, and you’ll keep growing. Thank you for joining us today. If you enjoyed this conversation, please feel free to share with your friends, subscribe to our YouTube channel, and or please follow us on Spotify, Amazon or Apple. You can find us on social platforms including LinkedIn. Its supporters. Fun your support. The comments are truly appreciated. Please visit us at Supporters fund.com or startup events at Open People network.com. Thank you and have a fantastic day.