Startup Grind

Today we have Co-founder of VaynerMedia and venture capitalist Gary Vaynerchuk. Gary first step as an entrepreneur was when he helped grow his family liquor store into a multimillion dollar enterprise and launching winelibrary.com, one of America’s first wine e-commerce sites. Gary then went on to found VaynerMedia with his brother which today is one of the biggest social media focused digital shops aiding Fortune 500 brands in their marketing. Recently Gary launched VaynerRSE, a a $25 million seed fund that will invest in and launch the next generation of world-changing technology companies. Gary has written three New York Times bestselling books as well.

In the interview, Gary discusses the importance of as a VC sticking to your instincts on what you know will be a big hit and why certain investments are worth the risk when the gains are so high.

Gary is interviewed in LA by Startup Grind LA chapter director Joe Famalette.

Today we have the CEO and co-founder of OfferUp Nick Huzar. OfferUp is a platform that aims to create the simplest and safest marketplace to buy and sell locally. OfferUp has grown rapidly to become the largest peer to peer mobile marketplace in the country. Previously, Nick was co-founder and CTO of Konnects, Inc, an early social networking startup where he raised $6M in capital and scaled to over 1M users within 18months. Earlier in his Career Nick held positions at T-Mobile and Microsoft.As a new father with a pile of unwanted things, Nick Huzar realized that there was no easy way to buy and sell locally. With that motivation, OfferUp was born with one mission in mind: to make buying and selling locally as easy as taking a photo. In this interview Nick discusses the importance of company culture and how being a good leader involves hiring the right people and getting out of their way.Nick is interviewed in Seattle by Startup Grind's Seattle chapter director Mike Grabham

Today we have the CEO of Spirit Airlines Ben Baldanza. Spirit Airlines is the largest Ultra Low Cost Carrier in the western hemisphere. Prior to joining Spirit, Baldanza held executive positions at other airlines including US Airways, Continental Airlines and American Airlines. Baldanza earned his BA in economics from Syracuse and an MA in transportation and economics from Princeton.

In the interview, Ben discusses the importance of knowing your product and marketing exactly the service you offer. Spirit airlines has been able to distinguish themselves by unbundling their services and offering only the essentials allowing them to provide significantly lower fares, thus they also transformed their branding to demonstrate to customers what makes them different. 

Ben Baldanza is interviewed in Miami by Startup Grind's Miami chapter director Jason Ibarra.