Summary: Episode summary: Mark goes deep detailing his entrepreneurial journey and the many insights he has picked up along the way. He talks about how his past work experiences facilitated his success as an entrepreneur and takes listeners through his meticulous and thorough thought processes. About our Guest: Mark Smukler is the co-founder and CEO of Bixby, a tech company that works with real estate professionals to improve their relationship with their tenants and the living experience of the tenants. Bixby created a cloud-based app to facilitate more efficient and sustainable relationships between tenants and property managers. His past experience includes work as a business consultant and web developer. Insights from this episode: How to vet your potential future employees The secret to sticking through the first six months of your startup How to use your past experiences to propel current success Secrets about the endurance it takes to start your own company Insights on the different skill sets needed for a founder vs a CEO Success hacks for startups How to build a great team Quotes from the show: “Entrepreneurship is building something from nothing.” - Mark Smukler, Episode #150 “Just because you’re passionate about travel or music doesn’t mean you’re the right person to start a business in that industry.” - Mark Smukler, Episode #150 “It’s really tough to start a company, not to mention starting it on your own.” - Mark Smukler, Episode #150 “We’re not hanging around playing ping pong all day. We’re not playing ping pong at all.” - Mark Smukler, Episode #150 “The best no is a quick no.” - Mark Smukler, Episode #150 “Not only do I not want to celebrate success by myself, but I’m also not likely to find success by myself.” - Mark Smukler, Episode #150 “You don’t learn the skills and processes of starting a company in your curriculum at school.” - Mark Smukler, Episode #150 “Feed your ambition...It will be worth it only when you’re doing what you want to do.” - Kevin Y Brown, Episode #150 “On those days when it’s no for breakfast, no for lunch, no for dinner its having a call and somebody saying you are doing a great job don’t give up” - Mark Smukler, Episode #150 Resources mentioned: Slack Favorite book: The Lean Startup Favorite quote: “Everything will be okay in the end, and if it’s not okay, it’s not the end.” - attributed to various people throughout history, this quote may have originated as an Indian proverb, maybe from Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. In contemporary writing, it has been attributed to Brazilian writers Paulo Coelho and Fernando Sabino and more recently, it is often attributed to John Lennon. 3 keys to Create Your Best Life: Believe in yourself Find a community that can support you Don’t stop until you’ve reached your goal Stay Connected: Show Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/cylseries/ https://www.instagram.com/cylseries/ Kevin Y Brown: www.kevinybrown.com www.instagram.com/kevinybrown www.twitter.com/kevinybrown www.facebook.com/kevbrown001 Mark Smukler: www.twitter.com/smukleberry www.instagram.com/smukleberry mark@livebixby.co Bixby:Livebixby.co – property managers can take a free tour of the app and access free app trials; tenants can download and use the app even if their property management company doesn’t use Bixby to send rent checks easier and access discounts from their favorite brands. Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on itunes, google play, stitcher and www.createyourlifeseries.com/podcast.
