#8 Jeff Wald, Co-founder of Work Market, talks Harvard, NYPD, Venture Capital, Startups, and Mentors

11/26/15 • 47 min

Ambition Today, Startup Stories with Kevin Siskar

On episode eight Jeff Wald, Co-founder and President of Work Market joins Ambition Today. "The only thing I know with 100% certainty is that it ain't going down like this." - Jeff Wald Jeff's background is nothing short if impressive. He started at Cornell University and then went to J.P. Morgan. He then went back to school at Harvard for an MBA. After Harvard Jeff spent time at Glen Rock Group before going on to Co-found Spin Back. The wild ride of Spinback, his first startup, took Jeff to almost moving back home after coming close to running out of money. The answer was to rebuild the business which later ended up getting acquired. After acquisition Jeff went to Barington Capital Group, and finally to his current company where he is the Co-founder and President of Work Market. Did I mention he was also an auxiliary member of the NYPD as well? This is an episode packed full of insights: + Is getting a Master's of Business Administration worth the return on investment? + Should you start a company or get an MBA? + The value of spending time with Entrepreneurs. + How to break into Venture Capital. + Leaving a job in Venture Capital to start a new company. + How to attract high quality investors in your startups such as Fred Wilson from Union Square Ventures, Spark Capital, and Softbank. + The one question you should start every meeting with. + The four different types of conversations. + Differences between Advisors and Mentors. + The importance of giving back to others The Ambition Today Question of the Day: Who would win in a fight, Batman vs Superman? Follow Kevin Siskar on Twitter: twitter.com/TheSiskar Visit Ambition Today on the Web: www.siskar.co/ambitiontoday Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS (apple.co/1NRRPzL) and on Stitcher for Android (bit.ly/1Rn01dy). Kevin Siskar brings you ambitious entrepreneurs inspired by Tim Ferriss, Entrepreneur on Fire, NPR, HBR, TED Radio Hour, the StartUp podcast, Pat Flynn, Tony Robbins, The Uncertain Hour, Bigger Pockets, Art of Charm, Dave Ramsey, Planet Money, Jocko Podcast, EntreLeadership, Zigler, APM Marketplace, Mixergy, Seth Godin, #AskGaryVee.

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An Ambitious Prequel

Ambition Today started as something out of nothing. It has since grown and evolved over time to explore how people build their legacy throughout their lives. With this special “prequel” I wanted to provide some background on why Ambition Today exists as well as some direction on where to start with the show for those who were new to Ambition Today. I really hope you enjoy all our episodes and find them helpful in your own life. Thank you for being here. I really appreciate it and hope to be with you during all the future episodes of Ambition Today! ========== Follow Kevin Siskar on Twitter: twitter.com/TheSiskar Add Kevin Siskar on Snapchat: snapchat.com/add/krsiskar Visit Ambition Today on the Web: www.siskar.co/ambitiontoday Kevin Siskar brings you ambitious entrepreneurs inspired by Tim Ferriss, Entrepreneur on Fire, NPR, HBR, TED Radio Hour, the StartUp podcast, Pat Flynn, Tony Robbins, The Uncertain Hour, Bigger Pockets, Art of Charm, Dave Ramsey, Planet Money, Jocko Podcast, EntreLeadership, Zigler, APM Marketplace, Mixergy, Seth Godin, #AskGaryVee, Monocle 24 and The $100 MBA Show with Omar Zenhom, and Casey Neistat. Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS (apple.co/1NRRPzL), on Google Play Music (goo.gl/LmmciJ), or on Stitcher for Android (bit.ly/1Rn01dy).

Next Episode

#9 Rob Principe, Founder & CEO of Scratch on Partnering With Jam Master Jay of Run-D.M.C. & More

Episode nine of Ambition Today finds us with the King of the DJ's, Rob Principe, the Founder & CEO of Scratch Music Group. Growing up on Long Island as a child Rob loved music, especially Run D.M.C. One day the popular music group happened to sit down next to him on a plane as he was traveling to a tennis tournament. Afterword he took a picture with the group. Fast forward years later Rob had founded Scratch Music Group and after some hustle, Rob would show this very picture to Jam Master Jay of Run-D.M.C. in a greenroom at the Letterman Show in New York City while pitching him his vision. Jam Master Jay was in and together they co-founded the Scratch DJ Academy. I found Rob's story to be pretty incredible. During this episode we go over the history of Scratch as well as: + What is it like meeting your childhood hero's. + How Rob and Jam Master Jay of Run-D.M.C. co-founded the Scratch DJ Academy. + The importance of building credibility when building your initial startup's team. + Recognizing that defining inspirational moment in your life that changes the path your on. + How Aerosmith and Run-D.M.C. came to collaborate on "Walk This Way". + The moment when your startup becomes and feels real to you as the founder. + Converting your initial traction into a paid business model. + The importance of moving the chains over and over during the early years of your startup. + The future of DJ'ing and Music + How Music Festivals became so popular. Ambition Today Question of the Day: Do you think childhood plays a role in defining who people become? ========== Follow Kevin Siskar on Twitter: twitter.com/TheSiskar Visit Ambition Today on the Web: www.siskar.co/ambitiontoday Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS (apple.co/1NRRPzL) and on Stitcher for Android (bit.ly/1Rn01dy).