Season 2 - Episode 35: "New York Detective Veteran to Entrepreneurial Veteran" with Greg Demitrou

07/14/21 • 41 min

Mark Edwards has a lively and engaging conversation with seasoned US entrepreneur and former NYPD detective, Greg Demitrou.

Background

Greg is CEO of Lorraine Gregory Communications and Greg’s Corner Office. A retired NYC Detective, he rebranded himself in the marketing space, where he's been for almost 30 years.

Greg says being a detective was an ‘interesting ride’ that gave him many skills, including ‘good ears’, so when he's talking to marketing clients those skills help him listen and understand what they really want.

They started the business in a little shop back in 1992 with no fax machine, no computers - just 3 ladies stuffing envelopes. Fast forward 30 years and they’re a fully-integrated marketing company with 30 employees. The agency is front of house and they have a print & mail factory at the back of the house. They’ve recently added two television & film studios.

Greg says his company takes customers on the complete marketing journey: all the necessary skillsets are in-house so they very rarely need to send work out

Detective Greg Demetriou.

He joined the Police force just before his 18th birthday in a clerical trainee position but they sent him over to the detective squad in East Harlem by mistake - These were the days when detectives had tattoos, wore Fedoras and smoked cigars. They taught him how to be a detective and he loved it.

One sunny August day, a suspect was being pursued by officers so Greg joined the chase. As the youngest and fastest, Greg was first through the door and he was shot. The suspect also shot & killed the uniformed officer Greg was with.

This was a life-changing event in Greg’s life. It ended his Police career and set him on a different path.

After that, he worked with his brother for a while but when his brother passed away suddenly, the business was closed down. So, again, Greg was out of a job.

Top Marketing Tips for Software Companies

It’s all about the audience - Who is the audience? - What does the audience need? Software companies create solutions to address a need - How deeply did they interrogate that need?

It's important software companies communicate their “Why” - Why do people need their software? - Can it save them money? - Can it get them more business? - Can it make their lives easier? It’s not about the features of the software; it’s all about the benefits. "If I buy your software, what is it going to do for me?” This needs to be communicated.

Greg finishes almost with an aside that neatly epitomises the essence of what marketing is all about: “What is a brand? A brand is a promise of an experience.”

Thanks for your detailed insights and amazing story, Greg. We appreciate your time.

Links & Contact:

Greg Demetriou:
https://gregscorneroffice.com/index.php/ask-ceo/greg-demetriou-2/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregdemetriou/
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/ask-a-ceo/id1519848446?utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=bcast&utm_campaign=ask-a-ceo
https://twitter.com/gregscorneroff
https://www.lorrainegregory.com/greg-demetriou
Tel: +1 631-694-1500

Mark Edwards:
https://www.bossequity.com/resources/podcasts
https://www.linkedin.com/in/markledwards/
https://www.bossequity.com/

Mark Edwards has a lively and engaging conversation with seasoned US entrepreneur and former NYPD detective, Greg Demitrou.

Background

Greg is CEO of Lorraine Gregory Communications and Greg’s Corner Office. A retired NYC Detective, he rebranded himself in the marketing space, where he's been for almost 30 years.

Greg says his company takes customers on the complete marketing journey: all the necessary skillsets are in-house so they very rarely need to send work out

Detective Greg Demetriou.

This was a life-changing event in Greg’s life. It ended his Police career and set him on a different path.

After that, he worked with his brother for a while but when his brother passed away suddenly, the business was closed down. So, again, Greg was out of a job.

Top Marketing Tips for Software Companies

It’s all about the audience - Who is the audience? - What does the audience need? Software companies create solutions to address a need - How deeply did they interrogate that need?

Greg finishes almost with an aside that neatly epitomises the essence of what marketing is all about: “What is a brand? A brand is a promise of an experience.”

Thanks for your detailed insights and amazing story, Greg. We appreciate your time.

Links & Contact:

Mark Edwards:
https://www.bossequity.com/resources/podcasts
https://www.linkedin.com/in/markledwards/
https://www.bossequity.com/

Previous Episode

Season 2 - Episode 34: Entrepreneur Lifestyle with Ben Ivey

Next Episode

Season 2 - Episode 36: "Team Alignment" with Minter Dial

Mark Edwards has an animated, all-encompassing chat with award-winning, published author, strategist and brand expert Minter Dial

Background

Minter is a welcome and lively guest on BOSS-it. He introduces himself as 56 years old, living in London, an American citizen with a French passport, married to a Spanish lady

He's changed profession & moved country 15 times, worked at L’Oréal cosmetics company for 16 years and also at an investment bank. He started a travel agency for musicians, taught tennis, worked in a zoo and an aquarium.

Minter has also written a novel, a biography and 3 business books and produced a World War II documentary.

On Ageing and Staying Curious

Change things up - When you put on your trousers or underwear, change legs - 97% of what we do every day is the same every day. We are creatures of habit - Can we “unwire” ourselves?

Locked away in the ivory tower that is HQ, leaders become isolated from reality, because nobody has the courage to tell the boss what’s going on.

Leaders need to do more learning to experience things first hand - Not just read about stuff in the Financial Times.

Keep on “checking out the new stuff” and that’s how you’ll stay young at heart and be able to contribute longer-term to the business. Older people have experience and there’s value in that.

What personal achievement are you most proud of?

The journey I was on for 25 years to discover who my grandfather and grandmother were. My grandfather was killed in a Japanese Prisoner of War camp - To understand what they went through and to give thanks for the freedoms they fought for. Minter interviewed 130 WW2 veterans for the film, and it made him realise how truly privileged we are to be living the lives we do. Minter bellieves we can learn from the values they espoused, that they had a higher sense of honour and levels of courage and love that ran very deep.

Minter's film, “The Last Ring Home” outlines some of the challenges of having a father who didn’t return home and coming to terms with it. Through this journey, Minter and his father were able to understand themselves better and allow themselves to cry.

Final Thoughts...

Life is short - We need to cherish it; cherish the people we love and accept our emotions and imperfections.

Thanks so much, Minter for a really interesting and enlightening conversation.

Links & Contact:

The Last Ring Home
Film: http://www.thelastringhome.com/
Book: http://www.thelastringhome.com/book

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow%27s_hierarchy_of_needs

Minter Dial:
https://www.minterdial.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/minterdial/?originalSubdomain=uk
https://www.facebook.com/minterdial/

Mark Edwards:
https://www.bossequity.com/resources/podcasts
https://www.linkedin.com/in/markledwards/
https://www.bossequity.com/