In this episode of pitchology™, host Steve Distante is joined by Akira Chan, director and founder of Rare Media. Chan discusses the company’s focus on producing videos that tell human stories and highlights the demand for this type of content. He also talks about how he met Steve at the Abundance360 conference and how their meeting led to the creation of this podcast.

Akira also shares his belief that video is an essential part of marketing, as it is an easy way to share information with a large number of people. It is also an effective way to communicate, as it can convey a lot of information in a small amount of time, and how Rare Media produces videos for investors who tell the story of the founder, the business, and the impact it is having on the world.

Who’s The Guest?
Akira Chan is a documentary filmmaker and also the founder of Rare Media, a production studio creating videos for organizations, entrepreneurs, and authors such as Mindvalley, Chopra Global, Abundance360, and more. Akira’s recent film on art and addiction was awarded Audience Choice Short at the Illuminate Film Festival 2018, where the festival’s film screening + art auction distribution model raised half a million dollars for addiction recovery.

Living his best life in Puerto Rico, Richard Harmon, together with the host, Steve Distante, discusses the pros of living in another country, including the tax benefits it entails. Richard moved to Puerto Rico in 2018 after a client of his expressed interest in doing the same. He found that, compared to the mainland US, Puerto Rico has much lower taxes (4% after a reasonable salary is deducted), no capital gains taxes, and is a great place to live overall. They also talk about raising capital and how to extract money from a business. Richard discusses how he helped to structure Tony Robbins’ ESOP deal and how entrepreneurs can start using it for their businesses.

Who’s The Guest?
Richard Harmon began his CPA career at PwC. He was a top financial systems implementation specialist tackling numerous assignments for Fortune 500 companies. He founded TeamAlliance, a technology staffing company, opening offices in 30 states, and after a successful exit, started building several start-ups.

Richard Harmon’s experience in public accounting, as a CFO, and as an entrepreneur, allows him to bring unique strategic insights and practical solutions to his investment banking activities as a Managing Director at CSG Partners.

In the conversation, Peter Diamandis talks about his work with XPRIZE and his mission to help entrepreneurs achieve their dreams. He discusses his work with building a coaching program for entrepreneurs. Peter also talks about three different mindsets that he believes are important for people to have in order to be successful in the future.

Who’s The Guest?
Peter H. Diamandis is an international pioneer in innovation, incentive competitions, and commercial space. He is a three-time best-selling author, public speaker, and philanthropist. He is the founder and executive chairman of the XPRIZE Foundation, which leads the world in designing and operating large-scale incentive competitions. Peter is recently named one of the world’s 50 Greatest Leaders and continues to counsel the world’s leaders on growing technologies.

Steve welcomes Ken Laroe of First Climate Bank. Ken shares his story of how he got involved in the industry and has seen firsthand the difference that green initiatives can make. He talks about the importance of making a profit while also doing good, and how few people in the industry are actually doing that.

Who’s The Guest?
After graduating from Florida State University, Ken LaRoe’s banking journey started in 1982 at the Flagship Bank in Tavares, Florida. In 1996, he joined the Colonial Bank as the President of their Lake County operations. He founded the Florida Choice Bank in 1999 which grew its assets to $400 million before being sold to the Alabama National Bankcorp in 2006. Ken was inspired by Yvon Chouinard’s autobiography and his experience in the cannabis industry after selling the First GREEN Bank. In the summer of 2020, he began working on a business plan and application for the Climate First Bank. After overcapitalization at $44.2 million, the bank was granted a charter by the State of Florida and the FDIC. The bank opened on June 1, 2021, in St. Petersburg, Florida to a huge reception as the only Benefits Corporation bank in the State of Florida. Additionally, the bank was Net Zero on day one as well as a member of 1% For the Planet and a provisional B Corp.

Steve Distante welcomes Franz Hochstrasser of Raise Green to talk about SAFE or the Simple Agreement for Future Equity, which is a security that is often used in early-stage investments. The conversation discusses the rise of private investment through crowdfunding portals, which has been a democratizing force in the securities market. The focus is on mission-driven companies, which have historically struggled to access capital. They also share the challenges that exist in the space, such as companies that take in money and don’t pay anything back.

Who’s The Guest?
Franz Hochstrasser is the CEO and co-founder of Raise Green. He is the former Obama appointee on energy and climate for the White House, the US State Department, and the United States Department of Agriculture. He was also part of the core team that negotiated the Paris Agreement.

A new, creative business idea caught your eye? Perhaps you can become an angel investor to look things over. As an angel investor, you’ll not only provide support for the budding startup, but you can also have more direct access to a company with high growth potential.

Talking about angel investors, Steve Distante invites David S. Rose as he talks more about his experiences as an entrepreneur and as an angel investor. He recalls how he founded New York Angels and how he helps make the process of angel investing easier for startups and investors.

In this conversation, David Rose discusses his experience as an angel investor, including how he got started in the industry and his work to organize and manage angel investor networks. He also talks about his book on angel investing and his active involvement in answering questions about startups and angel investing online.

Who’s The Guest?
David S. Rose is an Inc. 500 CEO, real estate developer, financial technology investor, and serial entrepreneur. He founded or funded more than 100 pioneering companies. He has been described by Forbes as “New York’s Archangel”, by BusinessWeek as a “world conquering entrepreneur”, by Crain’s New York Business as “the father of angel investing in New York”, and by Red Herring magazine as “patriarch of Silicon Alley”.

David is the New York Times best-selling author of both Angel Investing: The Gust Guide to Making Money & Having Fun Investing in Startups, and The Startup Checklist: 25 Steps to a Scalable, High-Growth Business.

A company without a system is one without a compass in a jungle. Implementing processes and systems within your business can help ensure success and allow for continuous growth. In this episode, Steve Distante welcomes Verne Harnish to discuss how you can build systems in a business, even for startups. Verne talks about how having a system in place can help businesses scale and grow. He shares his own experiences in scaling successfully. Additionally, he narrates how he founded his companies, the world-renowned Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) and Scaling Up, and how they have progressed over the years.

Who’s The Guest?
Verne Harnish is a world-leading speaker, author, entrepreneur, and expert in the field of business growth and scaling. He founded the world-renowned Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) and Scaling Up, a global executive education and coaching company with over 180 partners on six continents. With his experience and expertise in high demand, he chairs annual Growth Summits in North America, Europe, and Asia and continues to teach in the MIT-based executive program he founded. He is also a private investor in many scale-ups.

Is cryptocurrency the future of banking and currency? Why are more and more companies, including big ones like Tesla and Apple, now treating bitcoin as the currency of the future?

In this episode, Steve Distante welcomes bitcoin Expert Don Weidner, the founder of Formidable Ventures, an investment business built upon exponential technologies and aggressive growth. Don talks about how he invests in things that excite him and how cryptocurrency, in particular, helped his career and investments take off. He also shares the benefits of bitcoin for entrepreneurs, and why more and more companies are making the big switch and investments to cryptocurrency.

Who’s The Guest?
Don Weidner is the founder of Formidable Ventures, an investment business built upon exponential technologies and aggressive growth. He’s actively consulting for a $30B financial exchange company and has been asked to speak about cryptocurrency, FinTech, and Bitcoin at different events such as the Global Investors Virtual Summit, World Economic Forum, and Seattle’s Columbia Tower Club.

Don has been interviewed about his expertise in the field by the IEEE Spectrum, International Business Times, and Seattle Times to name a few. He has been quoted by Investors Business Daily and appeared in Luxe magazine and Seattle Metropolitan magazine.

In this episode, Steve Distante interviews Tripp Baird, co-founder and managing partner of The Builder’s Fund. The Builder’s Fund is a growth-stage private equity fund that invests in high-growth businesses that are trying to solve social and environmental problems. They also discuss the Impact Classification System, a tool used to help align a portfolio based on the business models within it and the sustainable development goals that they contribute to. Additionally, Tripp highlighted the vision of The Builder’s Fund, which is to help solve the environmental and social challenges of our time through the profitable deployment of capital into more conscious businesses.

Who’s The Guest?
Tripp Baird is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Builders where he also sits on the investment committee. Previously the founding principal of Partnership Capital Growth (PCG), he helped create top-quartile returns across four funds at PCG and North Castle Partners. His prior experience includes NCP, a leading consumer middle market private equity firm focused on the health/wellness markets, Bain & Company, and Goldman Sachs Global Equities Management.

As an entrepreneur, you’re always looking for new challenges and ways to grow your business.

However, in the first few years, as business owners start their business, they come up against different challenges. Some even harder than others are overcoming, resulting in almost 77% of new companies going out of business every year.

In this episode with Michael E. Gerber, we explore his journey as an entrepreneur. We also discuss the different transformations happening in business now and why entrepreneurs are creating equity, not income. Additionally, we examine the four different personalities of an entrepreneur and what a great result should be. Michael also shares more information about his book, The E-Myth Revisited, and how it provides insights that can help you transform your business and achieve success.

Who’s The Guest?
Michael E. Gerber is a legend of entrepreneurship. He is the author of the mega-bestseller “The E-Myth Revisited” and 28 other business coaching books. Michael is also the co-founder and chairman of Michael E. Gerber Companies, a group of highly unique companies that is dedicated to creating world-class entrepreneurs and start-ups from every economy and industry. They help transform the way small business owners are growing their businesses for nearly three decades.