About this episode

In the past month or so, I’ve had a few newer listeners reach out to me asking me when I would share a bit more about my story and how I got to the point of bringing The Startup Story to market. Well, as I responded to each of those listeners, I realized that it has been almost two years since my startup story episode has been released. What I also realized is that, when we did release that episode we were sitting at around 30,000 listeners…well we are now close to 100,000 listeners so it seems like it might be advantageous to replay my story for our newer, and much larger audience.

This is also the only episode of the show where I am not the host. I could not tell my Startup Story without having my wife be part of the telling because so much of what I’ve been through has also been part of her story; and that is just the reality of marriage. There is no compartmentalizing things when you are married. As an entrepreneur, your startup plays an enormous role in your marriage…and that is why I had to have her join the show to ask me the questions that I probably wouldn’t naturally share had she not asked me.

This episode is incredibly raw!

In this episode, you'll hear:

• How I watched my dad grow his side hustle into a multimillion-dollar enterprise, and how it shaped my future


• Some of my early side hustles, dating all the way back to elementary school


• About being kicked out at the age of 16, living on my own, and how my dad delivered discipline in an intentional way


• How learning lessons of hard work and determination affected me as I continued to grow


• My focus and what I wanted to do with my life and how and why I joined the Marines


• About building and growing a promotional product business and recalling on the day I lost it all, and how it affected my wife

Resources from this episode

Grindology Magazine: http://grindologymagazine.com/

Grindology on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/grindology

Larry Namer, founder of E! Entertainment Television: https://www.thestartupstory.co/episodes/larry-namer-founder-of-e-entertainment-television

Ben Chestnut, co-founder of Mailchimp: https://www.thestartupstory.co/episodes/ben-chestnut-co-founder-of-mailchimp

Christina Stembel, founder of Farmgirl Flowers: https://www.thestartupstory.co/episodes/christina-stembel-founder-of-farmgirl-flowers

ExpressVPN: Get 3 Months Free → https://www.expressvpn.com/startupstory

Get Emails: https://app.getemails.com/referrals/newaccount?ref=R18HWW5

The Startup Story Inner Circle: https://www.thestartupstory.co/vip

The Startup Story on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thestartupstory

The Startup Story is now on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/jamesmckinney


The Startup Story on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thestartupstory

My LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesmckinney1/

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The Startup Story community has been so incredible sharing our podcast with others, and we thank you! We do have more stories to tell and more people to reach. There are three ways you can help.

First, the most powerful way you can support this podcast is by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts.