Parents Making Profits

In this episode, Mario and James share answers from three prominent venture capitalists (Brad Feld, Foundry Group, Elizabeth Yin, Hustle Fund VC, and Neal Sáles-Griffin, Techstars Rising Stars Fund) to the question of what they think is more important when making an investment, the team or the idea? And how important is the passion of the entrepreneur for their idea? Some of the answers are not what you think. If you like this episode, please subscribe and tell your ParentPreneur friends about us. Let's go! 🚀

As a parent, being an entrepreneur hits differently. If you don't have support it can hurt. But does more support come from strangers or family and friends when starting your business? And which helps us be better entrepreneurs? We take some calls and your thoughts on this hot-button issue. Plus Mario goes off and catches James by surprise with his aggressive opinion.

Mario and James give you tips to be an effective ParentPreneur. Why? Because juggling parenting and entrepreneurship can be a little nuts. The guys give tips for how you can: Be more present with your children. Turn your customers with problems into advocates. Not get sucked into the toxicity of hustle culture. Improve your mental health.

In this episode we give you the tactics to get PR without a publicist. And James reads the email he sent to Mark Cuban that Mark responded to.

Get tips from James and Mario on how you can get PR for your business and brand without a publicist. Getting publicity the right way can accelerate your credibility in the marketplace, bring you new customers and create bigger opportunities.

Build a brand by creating a community of like-minded customers and advocates of you and your business. Community is deeper and better than just posting on social media. In this episode we speak with the CEO of Mighty Networks, Gina Bianchini to learn the right ways to launch a successful community. Gina has raised over $60 million in funding and we uncover 3 main tactics: top ways for you to launch a community the easiest way to get members engaged the framework for charging to build a profitable community

Neal Sáles-Griffin is an entrepreneur, teacher, and non-profit leader. He co-founded the first beginner-focused in-person coding bootcamp, and most recently ran for mayor of Chicago. He's currently the Managing Director of Techstars Chicago Powered by J.P. Morgan and the Techstars Chicago Accelerator, and is an Adjunct Professor at Northwestern University's McCormick School of Engineering where he teaches entrepreneurship. On this episode we speak about the color of entrepreneurship, investing in Black women, and other underrepresented founders.

Brand sponsorship deals is a way to generate revenue for your business or idea. It's non-dilutive and you don't have to take out a loan or pay money back. Companies are looking for new ways to get their message out there and many entrepreneurs are in a position of influence and/or have an audience/customer base. That audience/customer base is important to brands and their marketing efforts. This episode is part 2 of the conversation on paid brand deals to grow your business. In this episode you will hear: How Mario got FedEx office to find an extra $38k for a pitch he delivered How to negotiate and close deals effectively The number 1 mistake many people make when pitching their ideas What goes into the pitch And why the 11 minute discovery call with the right questions is the best way to begin the pitching process

Special guest Jason Feifer, Editor in Chief, Entrepreneur Magazine, Podcaster and Author of "Build For Tomorrow." We discuss pitching the media, how to get on the TODAY show, how not to pitch him for articles for your business and we get into why being unique and knowing what truly makes you unique is a super power for growing your business and building your personal brand as an entrepreneur.

Daymond John of FUBU and Shark Tank talks mental health, entrepreneurship, the metaverse, self-doubt and his regrets. Connect with other show listeners and be an active member of the "Parents Making Profits" community: https://www.parentsmakingprofits.com/