Jesse Itzler: From Making Jingles To A Creating a $5-Billion-Dollar Company | E172

Want to learn how I got my big break? DM me the word “LETTER” on Instagram for a guide on how to get any job you want:   / randallkaplan   Welcome to another episode of In Search of Excellence! My guest today is the amazing Jesse Itzler.

Jesse is a serial entrepreneur who has built and sold five companies, including Marquis Jet and Zico Coconut Water. He is an Emmy Award winner, a former rapper and former manager of Run DMC, a globally recognized keynote speaker, and a part-owner of the Atlanta Hawks NBA basketball team.

He's also a passionate endurance athlete who has run more than 35,000 miles over the last 25 years, including 50+ marathons. Jessie is also the author of two awesome best-selling books, Living with the Seals 31 Days: Training with the Toughest Man on the Planet and Living with the Monks: What Turning off My Phone Taught Me About Happiness, Gratitude, and Focus.

Time stamps:

01:54 The influence of Jesse’s parents

They showed up for everything
They let him explore
They didn’t over-schedule him
Didn’t teach him about hard work, he watched them doing it

04:12 How much is his personality a part of his success?

He has problems with memorizing things
He is great at storytelling
His personality was essential for his success

05:58 The entrepreneurial gene

Jesse’s grandfather was born in poverty in Russia
He immigrated to America and came with nothing
Jesse’s grandfather and father worked very hard
Jesse grew up middle-class

07:42 Should kids go to college?

College gave him some important skills
He went to everything and was exposed to knowledge and people
His mom encouraged him to be curious and take every opportunity
He was aware of the time and urgency

12:50 The start of Jesse’s career – getting a foot at the door

Jesse wanted to have a record deal
His approach – go to every door until someone says yes
He got a deal from a record label called Delicious Vinyl
It’s essential to get a foot at the door and get into the system

16:47 The ridiculous offer and believing in yourself

Started the music business doing commercial jingles
He lived on his friend’s couches
Someone offered him $10,000 for 10% of his future earnings
Can you? vs. Will you?

20:32 The advice to young entrepreneurs

Some businesses require capital
Taking money comes with responsibility and pressure
Selling out equity to employees, friends, and family
Under-promising and keeping things simple is a better strategy
Take advice, go through the pros and cons, and think through the worst-case scenario

24:39 How to bounce back from a failure?

Sold his business for $1 million
Tried many different things and failed
Extremely enthusiastic about trying fun things and projects
Failures didn’t bother him
Sold celery and carrot sticks and loved it even without the profit
In business, three strikes and you're not out

29:30 Is there a time to stop trying?

Jesse kept going despite failures
He never stopped
The tolerance of embarrassment
Never got embarrassed by his failures

31:51 The value of relationships

Wanted to start a private jet company but didn’t have jets
Met with the president of the largest private jet company in the world – Net Jets
Got his daughter onstage with Christina Aguilera, a year prior
He presented him his idea
Brought his own focus group rather than pitching on a PowerPoint
If you have one chance, you have to be prepared and stand out
Got the deal and built a $5 billion company

Sponsors:
Sandee – https://sandee.com/
Bliss: Beaches – https://www.amazon.com/Bliss-Beaches-...

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