How We Got Here - Career Stories

In this special edition episode, Matt and I spend the next 4 minutes talking about how he took his company from idea to reality. It’s always tricky for start-ups, and especially healthcare start-ups. Do you get funding first? Do you build the product first? How do you do either of those activities without the other in place? Matt and I talk about that, and more!

Enjoy!

In this special edition episode, Matt and I spend the next 4 minutes talking about how he took his company from idea to reality. It’s always tricky for start-ups, and especially healthcare start-ups. Do you get funding first? Do you build the product first? How do you do either of those activities without the other in place? Matt and I talk about that, and more!

Enjoy!

In today’s episode, I’m joined by Matt Buder Shapiro, co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer at Medpilot, a 40-person healthcare technology company based in Cleveland, Ohio.

Matt shares his career journey from early entrepreneurial aspirations to landing his first advertising internship with no experience, which helped him realize he had a passion for sales and marketing, to founding a technology company focused on easing the burden of billing for healthcare providers, patients, and insurers.

We talk about Matt’s interviews at big marketing firms in New York City - some went well, some didn’t.

We talk in detail about how his company got initial funding, found their first client and built their first product.

We also dive into what marketing activities he leads as CMO that are specific to healthcare to help build awareness and trust for his company.

Matt talks about how mentors sought him out, why he thinks that happened, and how it can help you attract mentors in your own career.

We also talk about honest signals to look out for to figure out if you are truly passionate about something or if it just sounds cool / is trendy.

As a bonus, Matt talks about some of the political campaigns he worked on for familiar faces - Elizabeth Warren, Andrew Cuomo, and Rahm Emanuel.

Enjoy!

In this special edition episode, Matt Buder Shapiro, co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer at Medpilot, and I spend 4 minutes talking about how Matt discovered his passion for advertising and marketing. We talk specifically about what behavioral changes occurred that validated his realization of the skill-set he wanted to pursue.

Matt's example should give you some practical examples to understand what actions to look for in yourself if you are truly passionate about something. Sometimes we get caught in a false positive - thinking we like doing x, y or z because it's trendy, sounds cool, or that it will impress our parents, peers, and teachers. 

Staying honest with yourself will make you happier in the long-term and I think this will help you more clearly see the signals of honesty in your life. 

Stay tuned for Matt's full episode next week where we talk about his journey founding and growing a healthcare technology start-up.

Enjoy!

In today’s episode, I am joined by Alex Litwin. This episode is an hour in length, but I promise you, it’s worth every single minute.

Alex embodies two really important qualities young people should strive for:

Listen to, and be honest with, yourself.

Give yourself permission to pursue your honest intentions.

Throughout this story, you’ll hear a lot about Alex listening to himself and not being afraid to share his goals.

Whether it was choosing his major, taking time off from school, wanting to live in San Francisco over New York City, or recognizing burn-out, Alex stays true to himself and lets others know in a professional way.

Alex started his career at VaynerMedia and received mentorship from both CEO Gary Vaynerchuk (look him up if you don’t know him) and now Chief Heart Officer Claude Silver.

We talk about how he got there, what the conversation was like to ask to live in SF and not company headquarters in NYC, and what it was like to move on from the amazing opportunity to a bigger calling.

He moved to Israel for some time and took on a demanding job, where he learned why doubling down on your strengths is important.

He now works at one of the biggest tech companies you’ve never heard of.

Enjoy!

Time Stamps (a few highlights for easy reference): 

23:35 minutes - getting a job at VaynerMedia, sitting down with Gary Vaynerchuk, and expressing wanting to move to San Francisco instead of New York City 

27:23 - Alex talks about a mentor at Vayner Claude Silver Chief Heart Officer - she helped Alex realize to pursue what he loved

29:24 - How Gary’s advice helped me and why Google founder Larry Page looked for passions in people

31:15 how the Chief Heart Officer at Vayner Media became Alex’s mentor

32:31 - Alex Gary’s authenticity and receiving mentorship from the CEO 

In today's special edition episode, I'm featuring a clip from a previous episode with Christopher Sikora, MD '11 who now works in sales. 

Christopher was a biology major at UVM and went on to get his Medical Degree. 

He made a career pivot into sales and we talk about how he did that, starting back with his experiences recruiting for a fraternity while in college. 

We break down some of the core tenets of what sales is and how you don't necessarily need a sales job initially to learn the ropes and be successful at it in the future. 

Enjoy! 

In this short clip, Sara talks about how she landed an internship in college at WCAX, a local news station. It wasn’t only landing the job that set her on a path toward becoming a reporter in Michigan, Connecticut and eventually Los Angeles, but what she did when she got there.

Sara’s story is interesting because she was a Political Science major, but her internship and early career experiences were effectively like a grad school for her, teaching her the skills to make it in broadcast journalism.

You’ll learn valuable lessons about how to make the most of your internship and other career positions.

Enjoy!

In this short clip, Sara talks about how she landed an internship in college at WCAX, a local news station. It wasn’t only landing the job that set her on a path toward becoming a reporter in Michigan, Connecticut and eventually Los Angeles, but what she did when she got there.

Sara’s story is interesting because she was a Political Science major, but her internship and early career experiences were effectively like a grad school for her, teaching her the skills to make it in broadcast journalism.

You’ll learn valuable lessons about how to make the most of your internship and other career positions.

Enjoy!

In this short clip, Melanie and I discuss the Catch-22 of applying and interviewing for a job that requires experience but you need that job to get experience.

Melanie talks specifically about what she did in this situation, how she succeeded and what you can start doing today to have some success.

She did two really important things that can help you, even if you haven’t had any internships: she looked back at the experiences she had (going back to high school), repositioned those experiences to fit the job she applied for, and practiced interviewing so she came across as sharp and prepared.

Enjoy!

In this special 4-minute preview episode of the show, Alex and I talk about the mentorship he received while at VaynerMedia from CEO Gary Vaynerchuk (look him up if you haven’t heard of him) and now Chief Heart Officer Claude Silver.

We talk about finding a mentor, what’s important in mentorship, and whether or not you should formally ask someone to be your mentor.

I’ll be doing more snack-size podcast clips like this going forward!

Be sure to look out for the full episode airing next week.