Podcasts by Recruit Rockstars Podcast

Coffee, Anyone? (Recruit Rockstars 467) from 2022-12-16T14:28

As a rule, I don’t have many guests back on the Podcast.

(I like to keep it fresh.)

But in this case, I made a rare exception.

Because Jonathan Treble, Fou...

He’s Driven to be Mission-Driven (Recruit Rockstars 466) from 2022-10-28T21:01

You don't meet many people like Tony Huang.

After graduating from Harvard, he pursued education as a fourth grade teacher outside of Boston.

He then transitioned to a b...

How This Founder/CEO Hired His First 30 (Recruit Rockstars 465) from 2022-08-26T12:30:31

Akshay Krishnaiah is CEO & Founder of Line, the fast-growing fintech company.

After a successful career at Paypal & eBay, he stepped out on his own. And he personally interviewed hu...

How to Hire for DNA Fit from 2022-08-22T20:10:43

How does a startup with a dozen people change a monolithic industry?

Simple (but not easy): Hire for DNA Fit

And Brian King does it consistently. Listen

How They Assess Candidates for Culture Fit from 2022-08-17T19:34:37

The only thing better than talking culture & leadership with a progressive talent leader? Talking with two of them.

Aparavi helps organizations that desperately need...

Transitioning from VC to PE Backed from 2022-08-17T19:18:10

There's a SaaS platform for everything... And everyone.

Including SimpleLegal, the fast-growing SaaS platform for in-house counsels. It's part of Onit, the leading p...

Lure Them to the Office with Free Food (Recruit Rockstars 461) from 2022-07-29T19:55:59

Jeff Grass knows how to get your hesitant employees back to the office. 

This serial entrepreneur is Co-Founder & CEO of Hungry Marketplace.

Based ...

And You Thought Your Team Was Complex? (Recruit Rockstars 460) from 2022-07-28T14:46:55

Whether your team is hybrid or distributed or global, you’ve got nothing on Chad Mattix.

He’s CEO & Founder of Kinettix, the leading IT field service support company...

How CNBC’s Careers Expert Nabbed the Job She Wanted (Recruit Rockstars 459) from 2022-07-10T14:23:09

(Hint: She didn’t click “Apply” on some job board)

Morgan Smith is Work Reporter with CNBC and its industry-leading careers website “Make It”

Previously, you’ve read her pieces in ...

How She Brings Lofters Aloft (Recruit Rockstars 458) from 2022-06-16T19:51:12

Growth-stage companies don’t get much hotter than Salesloft, the leading platform for sales reps to execute their day to day selling tasks. 

Put simply, they enable sales teams to drive m...

They Put the Tech in Foodtech (Recruit Rockstars 457) from 2022-06-10T14:07:36

Few early-stage companies combine as many distinct components as Tovala.

Based in Chicago, the company pairs a smart oven with a meal subscription service. It truly makes foolproof food.<...

5 Questions to Unleash Your Company’s Hidden Power (Recruit Rockstars 456) from 2022-05-19T21:14:48

Few things wag my tail like meeting with a CEO who puts talent at the top of their agenda.

Here’s one.

Matt Hulett is CEO of publicly-held PetMeds, America’s most trusted pet pharm...

2 to 80 employees in just 2 years (Recruit Rockstars 455) from 2022-04-26T16:22:31

In business, few missions are more vital than protecting & improving the health of Americans. 

Sadly, 89M of us are pre-diabetic.

Dan Zavorotny & his team are out to change that. <...

How He Went from Startup ➡️ IPO ➡️ $4.5B Revenues (Recruit Rockstars 454) from 2022-03-27T20:13:26

So few entrepreneurs “go the distance” from startup to IPO.

Most are “promoted to Chairman” at some point by their board of directors, because they fail to scale their personal skills as ...

How Talent Experts Clean Up Talent Problems (Recruit Rockstars 453) from 2022-03-21T10:21:49

The bigger a company becomes, the bigger its organizational challenges become.

Liz Steblay saw it over & over at the large companies she joined.

Now, she’s Founder & President of ProKo Ag...

How he invented the ‘Functional Healthwear’ category (Recruit Rockstars 452) from 2022-03-11T19:48:21

Healthcare fashion used to be horrid.

But Chat Razdan is rapidly changing that. 

He’s Founder & CEO of Care+Wear. Based in New York, they combine fashion & function to take people from ho...

He’s Behind the eCommerce Brands You Love (Recruit Rockstars 451) from 2022-03-07T16:29:57

Whew! I finally finished paying off all my Amazon holiday gifts.

Guess I’m hooked on eCommerce.

Turns out I’m not alone. 

And I have proof…

I just interviewed Dusty H...

Our Spiciest Episode Ever (Recruit Rockstars 450) from 2022-02-18T22:19:03

Sir Wellington? An amazing mustard, mushroom and shallot blend

Smashing Salmon? The mystical miso, soy and Shiitake blend

Vampire Killer? Garlic parmesan blend, of course.

Yum.

Compare Hiring Notes with a CEO (Recruit Rockstars 449) from 2022-01-27T23:57:52

Isaiah Bollinger is Co-Founder & CEO of Trellis, the fast-growing full service eCommerce digital agency.

Based in Boston, Trellis creates eCommerce businesses on Magento, BigCommerce, and Shopif...

How He Reached Near-Perfect Employee Retention (Recruit Rockstars 448) from 2022-01-22T19:49:41

How’d you like to build a company with a 90% offer acceptance rate? With near-perfect employee retention? And with 50% of employees comprised of under-represented minorities?

Sean Byrnes ...

Miserable Apple Employee ➡️ Successful Amazon Entrepreneur (Recruit Rockstars 447) from 2022-01-15T23:48:39

Seth Kniep has a remarkable entrepreneurship origin story.

He found himself working at Apple, leading a 20-person team of tech support advisors.

But he was miserable, working as a ...

The Real Skinny on Writing Your Résumé (Recruit Rockstars 446) from 2022-01-07T23:15:59

There are a gazillion ways to write your résumé (or LinkedIn profile).

Because everyone has advice: “Do it this way.” “No, do it that way.”

But what if you want to do it the best w...

How a Husband&Wife Built an 8-Figure Business in 3 Years (Recruit Rockstars 445) from 2022-01-03T17:39:29

“I now pronounce you successful entrepreneurs.”

Nothing brings out the romantic in me like a New Year. The fresh possibilities, the clean start.

And a super-cool online business. Listen

How Smart VC’s Give Their Companies an Edge (Recruit Rockstars 444) from 2021-12-24T16:59:30

The smartest Venture Capital firms invest heavily in talent for their portfolio companies. After they cut the check, the hard work just begins.

Here’s an example.

Jason Felger is H...

2 IPO’s ➡️ 8x Midas Venture Capitalist (Recruit Rockstars 443) from 2021-12-22T13:39:15

If you’re like most business leaders, you spend plenty of time designing your company’s business model.

Mike Maples warns that you need to spend as much time designing your team, based on...

What He Learned by Interviewing 2,000 CEO’s (Recruit Rockstars 442) from 2021-12-21T20:53:51

Like you, I’m just too busy to listen to cruddy podcasts.

So, very few survive on my Podcasts app for more than an episode or two.

Mixergy is one of them. I never miss it.

I...

How He Built an Inc5000 MarTech Company (Recruit Rockstars 441) from 2021-12-19T20:43:59

Charleston, South Carolina might seem like an unlikely place to find one of the nation’s fastest-growing tech companies.

But it’s home to Digital Ignite.

Mike Samet leads this roll...

How He Earned Inc5000 by Dominating His Niche (Recruit Rockstars 440) from 2021-12-12T23:24:11

They say that “the riches are in the niches.”

Well, Jason Hennessey proved them right. He’s built a highly-successful SEO firm within the legal vertical (a niche of a niche?)

He’s ...

How He Built a 2-Time Inc500-ranked Company (Recruit Rockstars 439) from 2021-12-05T16:01:58

Based in Golden, Colorado, Scott Lewis is CEO of Spartan Investment Group.

Spartan syndicates investor capital to develop & operate real estate assets. Under Scott’s leadership, the busin...

Top-Rated Software VC Reveals The People Part of Startups (Recruit Rockstars 438) from 2021-12-03T16:19:51

Few VC investors have seen more than David Hornik.

He’s Founding Partner at Lobby Capital, which he co-founded after 20 years as General Partner of the legendary VC firm August Capital. Listen

How He Became “The Student of Startups” (Recruit Rockstars 437) from 2021-11-27T14:22:54

Before Disrupt & TechCrunch, there was Technori, the original startup showcase.

Its Co-Founder is Scott Kitun.

Based in Chicago, Technori helps promising upstart companies secure v...

Burnt-out Attorney ?? Private Equity CEO (Recruit Rockstars 436) from 2021-11-22T21:50:19

Digital publishers in every field are trying to figure out how to best monetize their website.

Kurt Donnell, CEO of Freestar, shows them the way.

Combining industry-leading tech, d...

How to Build One of the Nation’s Fastest-Growing Companies (Recruit Rockstars 435) from 2021-11-14T22:19:29

He’s not just some tech CEO.

Jason Schubert is CEO of inBrain.ai, ranked as one of the fastest-growing companies in the US according to the Inc5000.

inBrain.ai is a people-based in...

How This LA Dodger Became an Inc5000 CEO (Recruit Rockstars 434) from 2021-11-10T21:01:33

Brian Nickerson’s story captivated me.

He began his career playing on the Los Angeles Dodgers. 6 knee surgeries and 1 Harvard Business School degree later, he found himself as an unlikely...

3 Must-Do’s to Put a Rockstar in Every Seat (Recruit Rockstars 433) from 2021-11-04T21:03:14

This episode rocks, because it combines 3 of the hottest themes in the venture world:

Fintech + Outdoor power sports + Talent

Adam Redlich is VP Talent Acquisition of Octane, the s...

How he built an Inc5000 company (Recruit Rockstars 432) from 2021-10-31T19:15:09

Josh Watts is Co-Founder of one of the nation’s fastest growing companies.

Recently ranked as an Inc5000 company, MedTrust Medical Transport is a private EMS company providing emergent & ...

How she makes Fintech fabulous (Recruit Rockstars 431) from 2021-10-30T19:21:36

Supply Chain is the topic of the day. Covid has turned it upside down & inside out.

Fortunately, a wave of novel companies have come to the rescue & straighten things out.

Includin...

From Nuclear Sub Engineer to Inc5000 CEO (Recruit Rockstars 430) from 2021-10-22T22:53:20

Andrew Amann wasn’t always CEO & Founder of one of the nation’s fasting-growing companies.

He started as a Nuclear Sub Engineer.

And taught himself business.

...And hiring.<...

Meet the Guru of SaaS&Leadership (Recruit Rockstars 429) from 2021-10-15T17:42:22

If you lead a SaaS company, you likely know Dan Martell, as the Founder & CEO of SaaS Academy.

But even if you’re in a different industry, Dan has a ton to teach about how to scale your b...

CEO with 4 Startups&3 Exits. How he hires (Recruit Rockstars 428) from 2021-10-11T21:49:30

Joseph Ansanelli makes leadership look deceptively easy.

Perhaps it’s because he’s done it more times than most. Or because he brings the humility to know that it’s a lifelong journey. Listen

The Inc5000 CEO Behind The Swag (Recruit Rockstars 427) from 2021-10-09T14:19:42

These days, if you’re not sending swag to your candidates & new hires, you’re missing out.

I’ve been doing it for years… Books. Wine glasses. Electronics. Shirts.

Anything to tip t...

How He Predicts if Your Candidate Will Bomb (Recruit Rockstars 426) from 2021-10-02T21:09:50

If you’re like most leaders who hire, you’ve experimented with using online assessments to see if your candidates have the right stuff.

You’ve probably also wondered how accurate they are...

How She Leads 200 People... Remotely (Recruit Rockstars 425) from 2021-09-28T22:09:29

Tracy Tobin is Chief People Officer of Denver-based Adswerve, the leading Google Marketing Analytics & Cloud Partner.

Following a 13-year career leading HR at The Integer Group, she was r...

How She Built a Culture of Authenticity (Recruit Rockstars 424) from 2021-09-23T16:55:57

Ten years ago, Jilliene Helman was working in Union Bank’s wealth management group. She couldn’t help but notice that the bank’s wealthiest clients earned their fortunes in real estate.

W...

VC Brad Feld Gets Philosophical (Recruit Rockstars 423) from 2021-09-18T13:46:03

Brad Feld is one of the nation’s most prolific Venture Capital investors & business authors.

He’s been investing in early-stage companies since 1995, with dozens of successes to his credi...

How This CEO Built a Unicorn Team (Recruit Rockstars 422) from 2021-09-16T13:49:59

Nothing lights me up more than a meaty conversation with a successful entrepreneur.

I just bagged the elephant (You can thank me later.)

Godard Abel is one of the most successful S...

How P.E. Investors Really Hire (Recruit Rockstars 421) from 2021-09-14T13:42:41

Private Equity is so mysterious to so many people.

But it doesn’t have to be.

With billions of capital sitting on the sidelines, P.E. funds are making investments & recruiting tale...

How He Went From VC to CEO (Recruit Rockstars 420) from 2021-09-10T21:48:48

Few people make the transition from being a Venture Capitalist to running an operating company.

Even fewer do it successfully.

I just met one of them. His name is David Wald, CEO &...

How She Makes Board Meetings Un-Boring (Recruit Rockstars 419) from 2021-09-04T15:34:15

If you’ve never served on a Board of Directors, you may envision it as a country club day filled with palm fronds & chardonnay.

The reality is that most Board meetings are …well… boring. ...

How a Real VC Really Hires (Recruit Rockstars 418) from 2021-09-03T19:04:03

Venture Capital is booming. Everywhere.

…Yes, even in Iowa.

With $80M assets under management, Des Moines-based Next Level Ventures originally invested in early-stage Midwestern ag...

She’s Building The Team That’s Building Your Team’s Mental Health (Recruit Rockstars 417) from 2021-08-31T20:51:13

There’s nothing like a once-in-a-lifetime global pandemic to instill stress, uncertainty, and fear into people’s lives.

And that includes your employees.

Jan Bruce is out to change...

Have You Met Jerry? (Recruit Rockstars 416) from 2021-08-26T13:55:56

Car insurance isn’t exciting.

Unless you’re the Silicon Valley company turning this enormous industry on its head.

That’s Jerry.

Thanks to machine learning, Jerry finds its ...

When You’re Promoted to CEO (Recruit Rockstars 415) from 2021-08-23T23:51:32

After a successful career with Wayfair building its B2B division, Joel Stevenson had a random chance meeting with the team at another Boston-based company, Yesware.

(He points out that th...

3-Exit CEO Predicts if Cultures Will Mesh (Recruit Rockstars 414) from 2021-08-19T14:46

M&A is on fire.

Which means not just combining companies, but merging cultures.

And there’s where so many deals fall apart or fail to live up to expectations. (Some research shows ...

Trading Up on Talent (Recruit Rockstars 413) from 2021-08-18T19:03:55

Based in Chicago, Akuna Capital is an innovative derivatives-based trading firm. With a team of over 400, the firm continues to scale rapidly.

Akuna’s core competency is providin...

Building the Team That’s Turning Mortgages Upside-Down (Recruit Rockstars 412) from 2021-08-17T19:51:45

During his years leading the residential lending division of a major bank, Patrick Boyaggi closed over $11B in residential mortgages.

Yet, he knew there had to be a better way.

Did...

Scaling a Business Against the Grain (Recruit Rockstars 411) from 2021-08-13T15:20:28

If you’re like most people, you think that printing things on paper has gone the way of the Dodo Bird.

You’re be wrong.

Combined, we still print over one Trillion pages in the US a...

How&Why to Say Goodbye to Rockstar Employees (Recruit Rockstars 410) from 2021-08-01T12:18:40

_{I just interviewed one of the top Growth Capital investors around.
Listen}

How to Build a Team That Grabs the Gold Medal (Recruit Rockstars 409) from 2021-07-26T13:37:10

Being on an Olympic team is a life-changing event.

From what I’ve heard (You don’t wanna see me on those Rings)

But there’s one thing even better. More gratifying…

And that’...

How a Talent-Savvy VC-Backed Company -Actually- Hires (Recruit Rockstars 408) from 2021-07-16T02:49:57

Just had a chance to interview Jon Stross.

He’s President & Co-Founder of Greenhouse Software, the smart recruiting SaaS platform used by over 4,000 companies including Cisco, Airbnb, and...

Hiring Secrets of a Top Growth Equity Investor (Recruit Rockstars 407) from 2021-06-29T17:32:26

Scaling a company from $5M revenues to $50M to $250M isn’t just about a great product.

In fact, that’s the easy part.

Scaling a great team, which enables the business to scale, is ...

Raise the Venture Capital. Lose the Weight (Recruit Rockstars 406) from 2021-06-26T20:34:39

Obesity is America’s #1 underlying health issue.

Because it causes or increases the likelihood of over 100 other health conditions.

Now, Isabelle Kenyon is out to change the way th...

How a VC-Backed CEO Sleeps 9 Hours (Recruit Rockstars 405) from 2021-06-24T13:04:05

Food. Activity. Sleep.

If you’re not doing all 3 properly, you’re far less likely to scale your business successfully.

In fact, we’re getting less sleep than ever. And, with today’...

From real estate to real Venture Capital (Recruit Rockstars 404) from 2021-06-15T18:30:05

8 years ago, Casey Berman worked in real estate when he had an “A-Ha” moment.

He began searching for tech companies to help automate the real estate workflow. There weren’t many.

S...

How PE-Backed CEO Rolled Up 9 Companies (Recruit Rockstars 403) from 2021-06-07T11:59:20

Shawn Boom, CEO of Vanco, is crystal clear about the companies’s “Why” - Serve those who enrich communities

Based near Minneapolis, Vanco delivers online payment processing solutions & so...

This VC says “The team is the #1 factor” (Recruit Rockstars 402) from 2021-06-04T00:41:13

Based in Silicon Valley, Rashmi Gopinath is General Partner at B Capital Group, the global VC firm that specializes in equity investing in growth-stage companies that have achieved traction with...

How To Beat Silicon Valley In The War For Talent (Recruit Rockstars 401) from 2021-06-02T01:40:05

How can you beat Silicon Valley in the war for talent?

(…or if you’re in Silicon Valley, how can you compete for talent with Apple, Tesla, Google, and Facebook?)

A few years back, ...

Great Leaders Know When Its Time to Step Aside (Recruit Rockstars 400) from 2021-05-25T22:20:22

You only turn 400 once.

So for this special 400th episode of Recruit Rockstars Podcast, I knew you were counting on me to land a very special guest.

I think I bagged the elephant.<...

How She Built the Leading Women’s Telehealth Platform (Recruit Rockstars 399) from 2021-05-16T15:50:05

Treating 300,000 patients per month, NURX has rapidly become the leading Telehealth platform with a female focus.

CEO Varsha Rao has led NURX to deliver remote treatment of specific condi...

How Upfront VC Mark Suster Hires (Recruit Rockstars 398) from 2021-05-14T13:58:34

You may not know Mark Suster, Managing Partner at LA-based Upfront venture capital firm.

But you know the companies in which he’s invested (…early!)

They include Bevy, thredUP, Bir...

Harvard&Oxford Scientist Turns Capitalist (Recruit Rockstars 397) from 2021-05-13T12:39

I rarely meet a tech entrepreneur whose background is firmly grounded in science.

Jacob Sattelmair is a public health scientist turned technologist.

He’s CEO & Co-Founder of Wellfr...

Software Company Growing Like a Weed (Recruit Rockstars 396) from 2021-05-11T14:53:17

Spring is here….

…Which means lawn care.

(Blech!)

Ken Davis set out to change that.

He’s CEO of TaskEasy, based in Salt Lake City.

TaskEasy simplifies life by ...

Private Equity + Paper Towels = Profits (Recruit Rockstars 395) from 2021-05-10T14:56:50

I’ve long been fascinated by unique business models.

And here’s one.

NYC-based Public Goods is a one stop shop for healthy, sustainable, everyday essentials you can trust. They sel...

How Fintech Hires the Best (Recruit Rockstars 394) from 2021-05-07T14:50:25

New consumer investment platforms are all the rage.

As are women leaders in fintech.

This episode puts it all together. Maria Selvaggio is VP People at M1 Finance, one of the natio...

Smart Team Makes Software That Make Cities Smarter (Recruit Rockstars 393) from 2021-05-06T17:00:18

As businesses reopen, you should be thinking about your employees’ commutes.

For their benefit, and yours. Not to mention your city’s.

TransitScreen makes software that makes citie...

How To Recruit Generation Z (Recruit Rockstars 392) from 2021-05-01T16:43:12

The up & comers in Generation Z (Gen Z) are now aged 5 to 25.

And you’ll soon be hiring them.

But they’re unlike any people who came before them. In fact, they have little in commo...

Marines —>McKinsey —>VC-Backed Startup (Recruit Rockstars 391) from 2021-04-18T16:13:26

Frank Furman was destined to lead. First, as an Infantry Officer in the US Marine Corps. Then as a strategy consultant with McKinsey & Company

And now, he’s Chief Operating Officer of the...

Already a Startup Virtuoso. He’s 25. (Recruit Rockstars 390) from 2021-04-16T12:29

Nothing inspires me more than a brilliant young company founder with a huge vision.

Such as Sam Walder.

He’s CEO & Co-Founder of Chicago-based Trala. And he intends to make world-c...

This VC Doesn’t Just Invest. She Connects. (Recruit Rockstars 389) from 2021-03-23T22:47:35

In this overheated market, it’s become relatively easy to land a Venture Capital investor.

But finding one who adds real value post-investment remains tricky.

I found one.

C...

How DocSend’s Founder Learned to Hire…and Fire (Recruit Rockstars 388) from 2021-03-05T22:39:15

After spending time at Facebook and Dropbox, Russ Heddleston saw the need for a secure document sharing platform.

So he created the SaaS platform DocSend, where he’s now CEO.

Based...

The master class on how MasterClass hires (Recruit Rockstars 387) from 2021-01-29T19:33:37

If you’re like me, you’re always out to pick up a new skill. So, you’ve likely heard of MasterClass, one of the fastest-growing VC-backed companies around.

With over 100 high-quality onli...

In a New York State of VC (Recruit Rockstars 386) from 2021-01-25T21:55:38

In case you missed it, Venture Capital is booming everywhere… not just in Silicon Valley.

New York is one of those places. And Primary VC is one of those firms.

So I wanted to find...

How He Leads 50 Employees in 28 States (Recruit Rockstars 385) from 2021-01-21T17:13:49

Think your company has embraced being remote or virtual?

Meet John Jahnke, CEO of Tackle.io

Based in Buffalo NY, John leads a team of 50 employees located in 28 states.

Tack...

What Poker Teaches Us About Hiring (Recruit Rockstars 384) from 2021-01-17T23:30:19

How do you make your hiring decisions?

If you’re like most people, you probably make a pro & con list, spend a ton of time obsessing about hires that didn’t work out, get caught in analys...

Entrepreneur Builds an Actual Ironman (Recruit Rockstars 383) from 2021-01-14T12:56:23

Love the movie Ironman?

Or your childhood tv show The Six Million Dollar Man?

Well, I recently met an entrepreneur who’s building a futuristic technology by recruiting a genius tea...

Recruit Rockstars 382: How to Lead Without Authority from 2021-01-12T13:57:21

You don’t become a leader just because of your job title or your location on the org chart. (And even if you do have the Chief title, you shouldn’t rely on it to show your people the way.)

Recruit Rockstars 381: Started 12 companies ? Acquired 35 more from 2021-01-09T18:37:16

Start a company.
Raise funding.
Purchase an add-on company.
Go public or sell it.

These are no small feat.

But fruitless, unless you also build a Rockstar team. Listen

Recruit Rockstars 380: Grow Your Company Faster by Experimenting More from 2021-01-06T20:09:27

Small experiments often lead to ginormous breakthroughs for your business. Including revenue increases.

So, why do most of us get stuck in a rut?

I wanted to find the answer. So, I...

Recruit Rockstars 379: Ready to Ride the Gazelle? from 2021-01-05T16:16:35

CEO’s often ask my favorite book.

Right near the top of the list is “Scaling Up: How a Few Companies Make It…and Why the Rest Don’t” by Verne Harnish.

Verne is Founder of the world...

Recruit Rockstars 378: From Car Wash to VC-Backed CEO from 2021-01-03T15:00:37

Great tech startup ideas can come from anywhere.

This one came from the waiting room of a high-end car wash.

Following a successful career in sales with med device maker Medtronic,...

Recruit Rockstars 377: How a Chicago Attorney Founded a VC-Backed Rocketship from 2021-01-02T17:58:21

You don’t find many attorneys running VC-backed tech startups.

But here’s one.

Jacob Babcock is Founder & CEO of NuCurrent, which recently raised another $11M.

With over 100...

Recruit Rockstars 376: Unicorn Founder Shares His 2021 Talent Strategy from 2021-01-01T18:02:40

Even if you don’t live in his hometown of Chicago, you should know Chris Gladwin.

Because he’s a 6-time Founder… including at least one Unicorn.

Chris is CEO & Co-Founder of Ocient...

Recruit Rockstars 375: How to Change Your Luck in 2021 from 2020-12-31T16:12:21

Your luck is about to change.

And after 2020, we could all use some of that.

But it doesn’t just happen… You need to make it happen.

Even the most successful business leader...

Recruit Rockstars 374: The Nicest VC-Backed Tech CEO? from 2020-12-28T13:25:48

Humble. Soft-spoken. Not your typical tech CEO.

That’s Mike Gamson, CEO of Relativity and one of Chicago’s most seasoned tech executives & investors.

Relativity’s software helps us...

Recruit Rockstars Podcast Episode 373: How He’s Scaling the Team 6x in One Year from 2020-12-27T15:38:19

Talk about a rocketship…

Fishtown Analytics, named for Philly’s hip namesake neighborhood, started this year with 16 employees. Next year, it’ll have over 100.

I wanted to find out...

Recruit Rockstars 372: He Raised $35M VC so that You Can Hire Remotely from 2020-12-23T17:20:48

Here’s the perfectly-named & ideally-timed company of 2020:

Remote.

Its CEO & Co-Founder, Job van der Voort, is based in Portugal.

And he just raised $35M in Venture Capital...

Recruit Rockstars 371: His Software Might be the Most Important You’ll Ever Own from 2020-12-21T16:35:38

Hopefully you haven’t had to deal with it.

I’m talking about employee ethics breaches. Not fun. But unfortunately, one day you will.

So I tracked down J Rollins, CEO & Founder of E...

Recruit Rockstars 370: The Joy of Leading a Distributed Team from 2020-12-20T22:58:28

During 2020, the majority of companies began working remotely or virtually.

But Evan Walden, CEO of Getro, was one step ahead. Because he’s been doing it since before we’d heard the word ...

Recruit Rockstars 369: Startups Needn’t be a Grind from 2020-12-06T20:17:36

Startup Grind is the legendary community of 600 Chapters in 125 countries that educates, inspires, and connects entrepreneurs.

Since 2012, it has hosted 10,000 events for over 250,000 ent...

Recruit Rockstars 368: This VC-Backed CEO Saves You From Ransomware from 2020-11-25T23:50:36

When Joshua Motta’s dentist was attacked by ransomware, demanding $200K to open the files, he found it was cheaper to just shut his practice & retire.

Sad.

So Joshua’s doing someth...

Recruit Rockstars 366: 2-Time VC-Backed CEO Does It Again from 2020-11-18T23:24:30

Few things are as painful as the home buying process. And in particular, the closing day.

Max Simkoff started States Title in 2016 after personally experiencing the friction & labor cause...

Recruit Rockstars 365: How to be the Ninja Sales Leader of Your Industry from 2020-11-16T17:05:16

Few industries are more competitive & commoditized than real estate.

If you can succeed in Sales there, you’ve got something.

Larry Kendall’s got something.

He is one of the...

Recruit Rockstars 367: How His VC-Backed Team Made Drug Development Faster from 2020-11-15T19:16:02

When creating new drugs, it’s often difficult to find enough patients for clinical trials.

And that limits the number of trials you can run.

Which slows down drug development. And ...

Recruit Rockstars 363: The Future is Faster Than You Think from 2020-11-13T17:02:39

Your company can’t operate at peak performance until you do.

But how?

Steven Kotler is one of the world’s leading experts on human performance.

He’s a New York Times-bestsel...

Recruit Rockstars 362: How a VC-Backed CEO Turned a $38B Industry Upside-Down from 2020-11-06T17:07:50

Industries don’t come much larger than self-storage. It’s $38 billion a year.

And disruptors don’t come much more determined than Rahul Gandhi, CEO & Co-Founder of MakeSpace.

Based...

Recruit Rockstars 361: Are you doing Agile right? from 2020-11-03T19:00:32

Sad but true. Bain & Company rejected my application to join the firm… twice.

But I’m still a fan.

They hire one Rockstar after another. And I just had the chance to meet one.

Recruit Rockstars 360: Covid Hurts. How this VC-backed CEO Helps. from 2020-11-01T14:57:31

It’s been a rough year.

As the pandemic grows, so have all sorts of unhealthy behaviors… including alcohol abuse.

Fortunately, there’s Mike Russell.

Mike is Co-Founder & CEO...

Recruit Rockstars 359: From Glassblower to Square Co-Founder&Billionaire from 2020-10-30T15:25:31

Jim McKelvey had trouble selling a $2,000 art piece from his glassblowing studio.

So, he co-founded the now-legendary payments firm Square with Jack Dorsey.

Jim remains on Square’s...

Recruit Rockstars 358: How to Size People Up for Your Company from 2020-10-28T14:43:51

Sizing people up is hard.

It takes getting under their skin to see what makes them tick. And deciding whether they’d be a good match with your company’s unique culture.

In fact, ge...

Recruit Rockstars 357: A Top Private Equity Firm’s Secret Weapon from 2020-10-27T17:10:40

When a leading Private Equity firm has 50 portfolio companies & 100 consolidating acquisitions, continuing to attract the best talent is crucial.

Period.

So, Boston-based Great Hil...

Recruit Rockstars 356: How to Tackle Your Bottomless To-Do List from 2020-10-24T13:43:15

Do you have a To-Do List a mile long of all the things you need to accomplish for your business?

Some days, I look at mine & feel stuck. (And hopeless.)

Because I have no idea how ...

Recruit Rockstars 355: Yes, You’re a Genius (…But What Type?) from 2020-10-22T18:05:54

Long before he became legendary business speaker & bestselling author, Pat Lencioni was my executive coach.

It was late 90’s in Silicon Valley. I was building my first startup, leading pe...

Recruit Rockstars 354: How the Pandemic Set this Healthcare Company on Fire from 2020-10-20T16:51:56

Amongst other things, 2020 has been the year of Telemedicine.

And Heal.com is proof … With a twist.

The LA-based company provides house call doctors for grownups & kids. You can ge...

Recruit Rockstars 353: Intelligence is Highly Overrated in Hiring from 2020-10-18T14:40:37

Raw intelligence is one of the most highly-overrated qualities in hiring.

I’m not going to tell you that high IQ doesn’t help in business.

But without EQ, or Emotional Intelligence...

Recruit Rockstars 352: How to Turn Around a Sinking Ship from 2020-10-15T22:40:14

Want to empower your team to make better decisions & take greater ownership?

Tired of micromanaging & babysitting them?

Former US Navy Captain David Marquet is the author of 2 outs...

Recruit Rockstars 351: How a Data-Driven CEO Scaled His Team from 2020-10-14T17:31:19

Companies have more data than they know what to do with.

Kendall Clark, Founder & CEO of Stardog, helps them do something with it.

Based in DC, his 65-person company has created an...

Recruit Rockstars 350: Telemedicine is Alive & Well (…And His New IPO Proves It) from 2020-10-11T16:01:03

It took me a long time to finally book this guest. And it was worth the wait.

Dr Roy Schoenberg is Co-Founder and CEO of Amwell, the transformative telemedicine company that IPO’d last mo...

Recruit Rockstars 349: Growing the VC-Backed Team That’s Growing Crops Faster from 2020-10-10T15:07:02

In case you missed it, breakthrough discoveries about plant & environmental interactions have led to cutting-edge tools that tackle some of today’s biggest agriculture challenges.

Which m...

Recruit Rockstars 348: How He Scaled from $0 to $100M SaaS Without VC or PE Funding from 2020-10-03T19:46:38

You may not know the name Russell Brunson.

But you know his brainchild, the company ClickFunnels.

Anyone who says you can’t build a $100M SaaS business in Boise Idaho - without fun...

Recruit Rockstars 347: She’s Not Bluffing from 2020-09-30T16:40:35

You can’t master your business until you first master your mindset.

My first mentor taught me that.

And I was reminded of it again during my interview with Maria Konnikova. Her sto...

Recruit Rockstars 346: What Happened When Facebook Bought Instagram For a Billion from 2020-09-26T16:35:52

You’ve probably seen Sarah Frier, since she’s been an award-winning tech reporter with Bloomberg News for 9 years.

But have you read her thrilling new book “No Filter” ?

It’s the i...

Recruit Rockstars 345: 2 Founders+2 Continents=1 Booming eCommerce Biz from 2020-09-19T18:20:36

This episode is guaranteed to help you sleep more soundly.

Because ettitude (with offices in LA & Melbourne) is selling so much of its bamboo-based bedding, it’s landed on the Inc5000 lis...

Recruit Rockstars 344: Why Hiring Sales Reps Can Make You Weep from 2020-09-12T16:04:39

If ever there was a role that’s a nightmare to hire, it’s the Rockstar salesperson.

Most companies try. But fail.

And for good reason.

Salespeople are good talkers. So the t...

Recruit Rockstars 343: What You Can Steal From Amazon’s Culture from 2020-09-08T15:22:37

At Amazon, “Day One” is code for inventing like a startup, with little regard for legacy.

Day Two is, in Jeff Bezos’s own words, “stasis, followed by irrelevance, followed by an excruciat...

Recruit Rockstars 342: Why VC’s Drilled Intro the Dental Market from 2020-09-05T17:32

Last year, the SaaS company Curemint was just 1 person in Los Angeles. Now, it’s 15 people in Durham North Carolina.

Brandon McCarty is CEO & Co-Founder.

Curemint is the procuremen...

Recruit Rockstars 341: How the Pandemic Forever Changed Career Paths from 2020-09-03T20:06:30

Clearly, there’s a movement afoot.

The more companies announce they’re going virtual/remote, the more it doesn’t matter where you live.

So, companies can now hire the best talent i...

Recruit Rockstars 340: CEO Turns His Industry Upside-Down from 2020-08-30T16:25:46

There’s a whole new way to increase your customers’ loyalty, and it’s called product protection.

You know what this is. When you check out at Apple, they offer you AppleCare. When you buy...

Recruit Rockstars 339: He Leads the First Data-Driven Winery from 2020-08-28T14:02:28

Geoff McFarlane is turning the $72B wine industry upside-down.

He’s CEO of Winc Wines, which he co-founded 8 years ago. Now, annual revenues exceed $40M

Geoff spent years in the ho...

Recruit Rockstars 338: Scaling a VC-Backed Company in the Windy City from 2020-08-25T15:08:40

Founded in 2013, Raise changed the way the gift card marketplace worked, with a goal to help others give themselves a raise.

Based in Chicago, Raise has partnerships with over 500 nationa...

Recruit Rockstars 337: Meet the first Anti-VC from 2020-08-22T14:34:04

You’ve likely met some Venture Capitalists.

But you haven’t met the Anti-VC. He’s Sammy Abdullah, who heads Dallas-based Blossom Street Ventures.

He considers himself the ‘Anti-VC’...

Recruit Rockstars 336: Investor in 120 Startups Spills His People Secrets from 2020-08-20T15:35:28

Hiten Shah has built a reputation as one of the nicest guys in tech.

But don’t be mistaken.

He’s competitive, successful, and insightful. You may not know Hiten, but you’ve likely ...

Recruit Rockstars 335: From VC-Backed to Acquired in 3 Years from 2020-08-19T13:46:54

In just 3 years, Mike Schneider co-founded, funded, and sold First to the mega-real estate player ReMax.

In this 20 minute conversation, he reveals how.

Plus, how he scaled the tea...

Recruit Rockstars 334: Veteran CEO Rides Private Equity Rocketship from 2020-08-11T15:15:10

Ralph Dangelmaier has seen this movie before.

He’s CEO of fast-growing BlueSnap, the Inc5000 ranked company based in Waltham MA.

And he’s done it before.

So he’s successfull...

Recruit Rockstars 333: How She Lands Rockstars for a Top VC Fund from 2020-08-02T02:35:48

It’s hard to imagine anyone more qualified to find & land top talent for a Venture Capital fund than Amanda Mulay.

She leads Talent Management for Lerer Hippeau, the New York-focused earl...

Recruit Rockstars 332: New VC Investor Shares His Secrets from 2020-08-01T16:48:38

Just last week, Zach Coelius successfully announced his first Venture Capital fund, Coelius Capital with $45 million in new assets.

Based in San Francisco, Zach has been an angel investor...

Recruit Rockstars 331: 3-Time CEO Rides Another Rocket Ship from 2020-07-29T18:40:31

If you’re not outsourcing your company’s IT, you soon may be.

Ryan Denehy, CEO & Founder of Electric AI, is on a mission to make that possible.

He’s successfully scaled 3 technolog...

Recruit Rockstars 330: Raining Cats & Dogs in Private Equity from 2020-07-26T18:13:36

Half of us have a cat and/or dog (including my Winnie, an adorable Morkiepoo.)

And even if you’re not a pet parent, you know that we spend a fortune on our besties. That spells opportunit...

Recruit Rockstars 329: 2,600-Mile Hike Prepared Her to Become C.O.O. from 2020-07-22T17:37:36