Going Deep With Aaron Watson

Brad Kriel wants construction firms and Do-it-yourselfers to get projects done more efficiently. His company is dedicated to leveraging modern technology to help save builders time.   At Velocity Robotics he used lean startup methods, developed an MVP application, hired graphic designers to optimize UI and UX of mobile apps and website, and managed legal and accounting team to handle company formation and complexities of bringing in initial startup capital.   In this episode, we discuss finding product-market fit and Brad’s core values.   Brad’s Challenge; Set a date and finish one of your incomplete projects.   If you liked this interview, check out episode 8 with Jason Miller where we discuss developing a website as his side hustle.

Aaron Martinez is a Snapchat storyteller, YouTube personality, and professional voice actor. A lot of people know him as "AaronFPS" or "That Snapchat Guy from YouTube" and he has been blowing up recently.   He has been on YouTube scene for almost 5 years now and focuses on keeping his audience up to date with everything in the technology world! Be it social media like Snapchat, unboxings/reviews on technology, or different giveaways, Aaron brings it.   He has recently risen to prominence as a Snapchat influencer and you need to be following him if you are serious about learning this social media platform.   Aaron’s Challenge; Experiment with Snapchat. Watch “How to Use Snapchat” on Aaron’s channel.   Connect with Aaron on Snapchat; Aaronfps Add me on Snapchat; aaron_watson   If you liked this interview, check out episode 88 with Sunny Lenarduzzi where we discuss why she loves Snapchat, how she built a YouTube audience, and social media development.  

Sunny works with entrepreneurs, personal brands, and corporations to help them bring their business online through social media and video marketing. After reporting at the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, she had an ‘a-ha’ moment and followed her heart into starting a business that serves people who desperately want to live life on their own terms.   She has a decade of experience as a video, social media, and brand strategist. She has created video campaigns for Hootsuite and made history with Applebee’s – earning over 1 billion impressions in 1 day. She has been featured on national radio, television and online platforms like Entrepreneur.com and The Huffington Post.   Sunny’s Challenge; Write down 5 things in a journal every night that your are grateful for.   Connect with Sunny on Snapchat at; sunnylenarduzzi   If you liked this interview, check out episode 84 with Todd Tresidder where we discuss building an online brand and reinventing your business.  

Pay attention, because Snapchat is going mainstream. The former sexting app is coming straight for Twitter, Facebook,andInstagram.   I've got two huge interviews coming this week where we will be talking Snapchat and how to make moves on this new platform.   Add me on Snapchat; aaron_watson

Chris Hill is a podcast host at the Motley Fool. One of his shows, Motley Fool Money, airs every week on radio stations across America, including top-10 markets Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Boston and Washington, DC. Its companion podcast is consistently ranked as one of the top business & investing shows on iTunes. Chris joined the Motley fool in 1997 and has helped the company build out their podcast network.   Chris’s Challenge; Find time to get space from business and social media to be alone with your thoughts. You can figure things out in the quiet of your own mind.   Connect with Chris Twitter LinkedIn Website   If you liked this interview, check out episode 55 with Morgan Housel where we discuss investing philosophy and cognitive biases.  

Sean Ammirati joined Birchmere Ventures in 2012 to as the partner leading Birchmere Labs, a seed and studio fund focused on community driven commerce start-ups. Prior to that, he had over 12 years founding, building and selling businesses in the media and software industries. Sean was previously Chief Operating Officer of ReadWriteWeb, one of the most influential sites about the future of technology and innovation. In December 2011, the company was acquired by SAY Media to strengthen its technology channel. Sean was previously co-founder and CEO of mSpoke, which was the first acquisition of LinkedIn.   Sean is currently an Adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurship at Carnegie Mellon University. He also was a founding advisor to Innovation Works’ AlphaLab accelerator. He holds a B.S. in computer information systems from Grove City College and was a research fellow at Carnegie Mellon’s Sloan Software Industry Center.   Check out his new book about how lean startups can find growth; The Science of Growth: How Facebo

Todd Tresidder got a B.A. in Economics from University of California at Davis and is a member of the Economics Honors Society and Dean’s List. A serial entrepreneur since childhood, Todd has built many businesses and retiring at age 35 from his position as a Hedge Fund Investment Manager responsible for a 20+ million dollar portfolio.   Through hard work, Todd raised his net worth from less than zero at age 23 to self-made millionaire 12 years later by using the same personal finance and investment strategies taught on his web site. He has been financially independent since age 35 through investing – not marketing – unlike many other financial gurus who made their money through marketing courses and books.   His mission now is to teach personal finance and investing based on real experience.   Todd’s Challenge; Embrace the adventure. Go out and live it.   If you liked this interview, check out episode 65 with James Osborne where we discuss the future of financial services.

Kristi is the Creative Environments Lead at Maya Design consultancy and innovation lab. She pulls together interdisciplinary teams to think deeply about the interaction between physical and virtual space, and explores the widest possible definition of “environment” in service of our client’s desired outcome.   Prior to joining MAYA, Kristi worked in Washington, DC as a management consultant, facilitating culture change tied to physical change for federal agencies. She has worked in California and Arizona as a behavioral strategist creating the workplace, mixed use development, and hospitality strategies. Kristi was also the CEO of her own firm that provided consultative services for architecture, interiors, FF&E (furniture, fixtures, and equipment), and construction.   Additionally, she was on the faculty at Arizona State University teaching in both the Colleges of Architecture and Business, with research focused on the impact physical environment has on human behavior.   You can also find her speaking ab

Russ Roberts has taught at George Mason University, Washington University in St. Louis, the University of Rochester, Stanford University, and the University of California, Los Angeles. He is a regular commentator on business and economics for National Public Radio's Morning Edition and has written for the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.   Roberts also blogs at Cafe Hayek with Donald J. Boudreaux at George Mason University in Fairfax County, Virginia. He published the novel The Invisible Heart which conveys economic ideas in the context of a narrative. In 2008, Roberts released another novel, The Price of Everything, which addresses concepts such as spontaneous order, price gouging, and market economics in crisis situations.   Roberts’ podcast EconTalk is carried by The Library of Economics and Liberty and is a weekly talk show features one-on-one discussions with an eclectic mix of authors, professors, Nobel Laureates, entrepreneurs, leaders of charities and businesses, and people on the street.

Have you ever wanted to get into real estate? Jason Hartman thinks that’s a great idea.   Jason Hartman is the Founder and CEO of Platinum Properties Investor Network, The Hartman Media Company and The Jason Hartman Foundation. Starting with very little, Jason, while still in college at the age of 19, embarked on a career in real estate while brokering properties for clients, he was investing in he own portfolio along the way. Through creativity, persistence and hard work, he soon joined the ranks of the top one-percent of Realtors in the U.S..   Hartman is a self-made multimillionaire entrepreneur, author, investor, lender and developer. He has owned properties in 11 states, had hundreds of tenants and been involved in several thousand real estate transactions. He is the host of 20 podcasts with about 3,000 episodes where he shares powerful strategies for business, investing and living the good life.   He has visited 78 countries, enjoys adventure, fitness and lifelong learning.   Jason’s Challenge; Give som

Chris Guillebeau is a New York Times bestselling author and modern-day explorer. During a lifetime of self-employment that included a four-year commitment as a volunteer executive in West Africa, he visited every country in the world (193 in total) before his 35th birthday. Since then he has modeled the proven definition of an entrepreneur: “Someone who will work 24 hours a day for themselves to avoid working one hour a day for someone else.”   Chris’s first book, The Art of Non-Conformity, was translated into more than twenty languages. His second book, The $100 Startup, was a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller, selling more than 300,000 copies worldwide. His latest book, The Happiness of Pursuit, was published in September 2014 and was also a New York Times bestseller.   Every summer in Portland, Oregon, Chris hosts the World Domination Summit, a gathering of creative, remarkable people with thousands in attendance. Chris is also the founder of Pioneer Nation, Unconventional Guides, the Trave

Jonathan Abrams is an award-winning journalist who has covered the NBA for ESPN’s Grantland, The New York Times and Los Angeles Times. He is a graduate of the University of Southern California.   His first book, Boys Among Men, chronicles the generation of NBA players that jumped directly to the pros from high school and the struggles they faced along the way.   Jonathan’s Challenge; Buy Shea Serrano’s book, The Rap Yearbook.   Check out Abrams’ book; Boys Among Men  

Steve Patterson is a rationalist philosopher and author who works outside of the academic establishment. He believes the internet is revolutionizing every industry, including the world of ideas and that the future of intellectual progress belongs to independent scholars, not ivory tower professors.   He also believes truth can be discovered through a deep enough understanding of anything, as every pursuit ultimately points back to philosophy. He laments that the culture is stuck in an era of irrationalism, which glorifies blurry thinking and imprecise theories and his work is trying to change that.   Steve’s Challenge; Go out and try to break apart your worldview.   Steve’s Suggestion Closer to Truth   If you liked this interview, check out episode 46 with Taylor Pearson where we discuss the decline of traditional jobs around the economy and rise of small entrepreneurs.

Neil’s site, Above Avalon, originated from a Tumblr blog about Apple in 2010. At the time, he was a Wall Street analyst focused on the financial sector, while all things related to Apple and technology were his evening and weekend projects. After being disappointed with the lack of relevant Apple analysis from both a financial and business point of view, he decided to begin building a new kind of Apple analysis site based on his financial background and critical thinking skills. By examining Apple from both a Wall Street and Silicon Valley perspective, he has positioned Above Avalon to provide unique insight into how Apple functions and its worldview.   Along with weekly Above Avalon posts and podcast episodes, Neil publishes exclusive daily updates for Above Avalon members. Members range from Wall Street experts to weekend hobbyists.   Neil’s Challenge; Try saying “No” to things that you can’t put your whole self into. No one has enough time to do everything.     If you liked this interview, check out episo

Jessica Strong was engaged in the world of freelance work for years. She knew all about the never-ending to-do list of client requests, paperwork, social media updates, billing, tracking down receipts, fighting with WordPress plug-ins, and answering a million emails. So she founded Whetstone Workgroup to help freelancers, consultants, and “mompreneurs” succeed in three specific ways. She created a physical space where freelancers can work more efficiently, with drop-in daycare available for attention-craving children. She also provides administrative services and software so Whetstone members can get through their monster to-do list more easily. And finally she offers consultations, trainings and workshops so her members can keep learning and growing as professionals. Jessica’s Challenge; Create a cross section of things you are good at and things you enjoy doing. Execute on the things that qualify for both. If you liked this interview, check out episode 28 with Emily and Kate from Propelle, where we dis

John Beck leads the development of TrueFit’s human-centered design methodology and his team’s design research, information design, product interaction, and user interface design. Through John’s leadership, Truefit helps clients create innovative web, mobile, social media and commercial software products that have positive practical impact.   John is part of Truefit's business development team and is skilled at helping clients understand the impact of good user experience and the best practices for success drawn from years of experience working with several of the world’s most distinguished health and technology brands including Samsung, Precor, Rolls-Royce, Kodak, and BodyMedia.   Prior to joining Truefit, John served as a Co-Founder and President of Gist Design, acquired by Truefit in 2013. John has also served as a Senior Interaction Designer at wearable body monitoring pioneer, BodyMedia, which was recently acquired by Jawbone.   John’s work has been cited in many industry and commercial publications inclu

Mike Dariano is a writer, an educator, and a creator. He writes about productivity and better work at Productivityist and edits the site 27GoodThings.com which features good things to read, watch, and use. He also writes at The Waiter’s Pad – a blog that shares in depth notes from podcast interviews around the web.   He has written a few books including; My Meditations: What a Roman Emperor Taught me About Parenting, Read More Books: Hijack your Habits, Tame your Time, and Find Better Tools for Reading More Books, and Children’s Poems for the Couch on a Sunday Afternoon.   Mike’s Challenge; Read more books.   Mentioned Media Helsinki Bus Station Theory Gary Vaynerchuk on Rich Roll podcast Venkatesh Rao on the Tropical MBA podcast   Check out Mike’s Book; 28 Lessons from Startups that Failed     If you liked this interview, check out episode 46 with Taylor Pearson where we discuss entrepreneurship and the future of the economy.  

Robert P. Seawright is the Chief Investment & Information Officer for Madison Avenue Securities, a boutique broker-dealer and investment advisory firm headquartered in San Diego, California. At Madison, Bob’s role is a thought leader for the firm’s independent advisors, providing counsel and guidance with respect to the latest industry trends, research and best practices. In September of 2014, The Wall Street Journal published a list of fifteen smart people for investors to follow that included Bob, along with Warren Buffett, Howard Marks, William Bernstein and the CFA Institute.   Bob is a columnist for Research magazine, a Contributing Editor at Portfolioist as well as a contributor to the Financial Times, The Big Picture, The Wall Street Journal’s MarketWatch, Pragmatic Capitalism, and ThinkAdvisor. Bob’s blog, Above the Market, has received “best of” recognition from a wide variety of sources, including The Wall Street Journal, Financial Planning, the CFA Institute, Insider Monkey, Financial So

Michael Port has written six books, including Book Yourself Solid and Steal the Show, the latter which—according to the former President of Starbucks—“might be the most unique and practical book ever written on the topic of public speaking.” He's been called an “uncommonly honest author" by the Boston Globe, a "marketing guru" by The Wall Street Journal, a “sales guru” by the Financial Times, “a public speaking phenom” by Jonathan Fields and “the best public speaking coach in the world” by Lewis Howes.   The founder of MastermindTalks, Jayson Gaignard, declared, "Michael Port is the best speaker I've ever seen." His books have been on the bestseller lists of the NY Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today and Publisher's Weekly.   He was once a professional actor, having received his MFA from NYU's Graduate Acting Program, guest starring on shows like Sex & The City and Law & Order, and in films like The Pelican Brief and Down to Earth. These days, Michael can be seen on MSNBC, CNBC, and PBS as an on air

Colin is a professional author and international speaker, and co-founded a publishing company. He travels full-time, moving to a new country every four months or so, with the country being determined by the votes of readers of his blog.   In the six years since starting his blog, Colin has lived in New Zealand, Thailand, Iceland, India, Romania, and Czech Republic, visited the 48 contiguous US states twice, road tripped through South America, rode the rails through Southeast Asia, and visited about 30 other countries.   Since hitting the road, he has pivoted from building brands for other companies, to consulting on branding, to building brands for himself. He has run nearly a dozen medium- and small-scale endeavors, in industries ranging from sustainable product design to subscription-based publishing technologies. He currently makes a living by publishing books through a publishing company called Asymmetrical Press, which he also co-founded with two fellow authors, Josh and Ryan from The Minimalists.   He a