The Entrepreneur Start-Up Series Week 8 -

Entrepreneurs who are passionately curious saw an opportunity!

Ep #36: Lin Dai, CEO of Hooch

Ep #37: Gavin Bell, The Facebook Expert

Ep #38: Dr. Kenneth Brown is an Expert in Digestive Health

Ep #39: Shea Kewin, Founder and CEO of UHWK

Ep #40: Sim Gulati, Founder and CEO of Dropel Fabrics

The Daily Grind Business Podcast interviews successful business owners and people in hopes to inspire the next great entrepreneur.

Welcome to Week 8 of The Daily Grind Business Podcast Weekly Summaries. Each week the interviewees impart their wisdom by sharing their experiences. Learn from them. To connect with them and to receive some free information please click on the links below.

There is a common thread with all successful entrepreneurs and that is the importance of investing in both your business and personal growth. So each week we also share with you titles of books that either these entrepreneurs have written or suggested that you read.

Week 8

1. Lin Dai and his co-founders pioneered the Hooch App, the first membership cocktail app where members pay $9.99 a month and receive One Drink Every Day. Winner of Anheuser-Busch/InBev’s SxSW Startup competition and finalist in Richard Branson’s Extreme Tech Challenge, Hooch is available at 500+ top bars and restaurants in 10 cities around the world.

Previously as Chief Marketing Officer of Keek, a top video app for millennials, Lin grew Keek’s worldwide audiences to 75M, through partnerships with top brands including the World Cup, Formula One, Sundance, MTV VMAs, Emmys, iHeartRadio, Teen Choice Awards, Live Nation, the Kardashians and more. The company was successfully taken public on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

As VP of Digital Programming for Emmis NY, Lin led all digital and television initiatives for the iconic brand HOT97. Lin launched Loud Digital, a premium digital network reaching 61 million viewers, and produced Boost Mobile Summer Jam live streams, the largest live streaming Hip Hop events on the web, Pepsi’s award-winning web series Road to Summer Jam, in collaborations with Vevo and YouTube, and VH1’s comedy series This Is HOT97.

As SVP, Programming & Development for Alloy, Lin oversaw development of original and branded content, digital marketing strategy, and distribution for the Alloy Digital Network, as well as responsible for marketing, social media and digital development for Alloy’s entertainment properties, including Gossip Girl, Vampire Diaries, Pretty Little Liars and more.

In 1999, he founded Kiwibox.com, the first social network and online magazine for teens, and successfully took the company public.

Lin graduated with honors from Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University. He was awarded the Entrepreneur of the Year award, followed by tenure as the youngest adjunct professor at CMU, developing its 1st set of credited courses on Web Publishing.

2. Multi-award winning entrepreneur, Gavin Bell really knows his onions when it comes to Facebook ads. Not only is he a leading Facebook advertising consultant, but he’s also a renowned vlogger with millions of views.

Gavin helps brands across the world to utilise Facebook in a way that not only builds their audience but turns that attention into revenue. His work has been featured on the likes of Virgin.com, Huffington Post, Entrepreneur on Fire, KissMetrics and Social Media Examiner.

3. Kenneth Brown is an expert in Digestive Health. His practice has a special focus on finding solutions to IBS-related symptoms – especially where pharmaceutical drugs have underperformed. He formed KBS Research in 2012 with the goal of creating innovative natural products for digestive issues. His first product, Atrantíl, launched in 2015 and has been clinically proven to relieve frustrating IBS symptoms like bloating and abdominal discomfort.

4. Shea Kewin is the Founder and CEO of UHWK. He played in the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), before taking on a scholarship to The University Of Dalhousie. Shea is an avid inventor, Toronto Maple Leafs fan and prides himself on owning the patent to integrated inflatable bowl

5. Simardev “Sim” Gulati is an entrepreneur in fashion and sustainable technologies. As the Co-founder and CEO of Dropel Fabrics, he’s leading a technology revolution in natural fabrics with Dropel-branded, performance-based natural cotton fibers. Through materials science and nanotechnology they’re creating life proof clothing–preventing spills, stains, odor and other technologies. His work has been featured in Time magazine, The New York Times, Forbes, WWD, Mashable, Bustle and others.

These entrepreneurs created successful businesses based on finding solutions that consumers are willing to pay for. They found a gap in the marketplace and they were determined and persistent to make it work. They tested their ideas and they were not afraid.

“The eco-system is much better than it has ever been. There is a generation of entrepreneurs who do not want a cushy job. They don’t want to work for a major corporation. They want to make something exciting. The new generation of entrepreneurs is all about having an idea that can change the world. It is an exciting time to be in business.” by Lin Dai

“I learned after the 2008 market crash about spending the time to select the right partners, taking the right deals, and having the right investors.” by Lin Dai

“People are the most important thing in your business. Look after your employees and work with integrity.” by Lin Dai

“The guys I like to work with and where we have had the best results are football teams, YouTubers – people that have large brands or large audiences already. I then build the infrastructure on Facebook and turn their audience into a revenue stream.” by Gavin Bell

“If you want to place a successful campaign on Facebook the first step is to know what the mindset is when someone is using Facebook, and that mindset is people speaking to friends and family who do not care who you are and what you are trying to sell them. They have to get to know you so a good idea is to give away a good piece of content. Whoever likes that content then retarget those people watching or listening to your free content and then give them something for free. And then retarget those people. Now you have built a relationship with those people over time.” by Gavin Bell

“Entrepreneurs who understand people or their customers the best are the ones that are going to win.” by Gavin Bell

“If you are an entrepreneur or yet to be because you are still unsure about leaving your job, it is a very stressful time for you and I see so many people like this who have an unhealthy digestive system. Bacteria likes starch and sugar so watch the amount that you eat and back off eating fermented foods for a while.” by Dr. Kenneth Brown

”When bacterium starts to break down the food you eat, it produces methane which can create abdominal discomfort and an uncomfortable bloated feeling. Atrantíl’s three natural ingredients work together to help weaken and remove unwanted bacteria from your gut and return it to its normal, calm environment. Go to lovemytummy.com to learn more.” by Dr. Kenneth Brown

“I stepped back and looked at what I didn’t know. I met with CEO’s before I started my business. I hired a CEO. I went to people I trusted. This is how I built my team.” by Dr. Kenneth Brown

“I had an idea and I created a product. I googled “action camera” to see what was on the market. I wanted to take a product and tweak it to accommodate my hockey game. I found a similar product on‑ line from China and I ordered it. I adjusted the product and taped it to my helmet. I then pitched my idea with its design on a piece of paper to the University of New Brunswick and from there I got a lot of presales and it has grown organically since.” by Shea Kewin

“I look in the mirror every day and realize it is just me. It’s me having the ability to mould and create the life the way I want.” by Shea Kewin

“There will be a ton of challenges when starting out but it is the journey that is the most rewarding thing. It is rebounding from those obstacles that will energize you to keep going and to keep believing in yourself.” by Shea Kewin

“As an entrepreneur one of the most important pieces you need is to be curious about what is happening in the world and try to make sense of it in your own way. This is what I was trying to do. I wanted to understand why this was happening. I was interested in consumer behaviour and the industry’s behaviour. My business started with me being curious.” by Sim Gulati

“I discovered a gap in the industry. For years they – the clothing industry – were working with performance fabrics but no one was innovating with natural fabrics. I saw a hole in the market so I started working with material scientists and chemical engineers to see if they could take the functional properties of polyester and bring it into natural fabrics.” by Sim Gulati

“My biggest obstacle so far was fundraising. It is a painful process and it can be so time consuming. Investors want to invest in someone who is a hustler. They want to know that you are in it for the long term. It is a process and you need to hit your milestones. Investors do make it easy.” by Sim Gulati