“Failure isn't what happens when you don't succeed, failure is what happens when you don't try in the first place.” 

Did you ever have a business as a kid? I remember selling lemonade in front of my house and the excitement when someone actually bought a glass. As a shy introvert, I had a hard time selling cookies. When I became a Brownie, and later a Girl Guide, my mom sold a lot of cookies that’s for sure. I never really learned the art of selling. In Episode 30 I chat with Brian Weisfeld. Brian has been building businesses his entire life. As a kid, he bought 95 pounds of gummy bears and hired his friends to sell them. As a teen, he sorted baseball cards, babysat, and sold mixtapes (remember those?). As an adult, he helped build well-known, billion-dollar companies including IMAX Corporation and Coupons.com. Brian is the Founder and Chief Squad Officer of The Startup Squad, an initiative dedicated to helping girls reach their potential, whatever their passions, and is the co-author of the new children’s novel series The Startup Squad. Brian lives in Silicon Valley with his wife and two daughters.

Topics covered in this episode:

• The what and the why of a minimum viable product
• Finding inspiration
• How we can explicitly teach kids to be entrepreneurial
• Skills of the entrepreneurial mindset 
•  Getting comfortable with risk 
• Seeing opportunities where others see issues
• Learning how to sell
• The process of selling for shy kids and introverts 
• Taking feedback and removing the emotion 
• Being inspired by social and community needs
• The writing process
• The 3 components of The Startup Squad: Inspirational, Information, and Aspirational 

Links and Resources

Buy the book: www.thestartupsquad.com/books 

Checkout resources including an incredible list of girl entrepreneurs: www.thestartupsquad.com 

Check out Brian’s TedX Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeQ0kpzOhzA