Brian Mac Mahon, Leading with Purpose – the Key to Startup Success – InnovaBuzz 365

Brian Mac Mahon, Expert DOJO

In this episode, I’m really excited to have as my guest, Brian Mac Mahon of Expert DOJO, the largest International startup accelerator in Southern California. In 2018 & 2019, Expert DOJO brought 400 companies through their startup programs and made 42 investments. They are planning to bring 2,000 companies through their program this year and make 50 more investments.

In our discussion, Brian talked to me about:

• Building a growth strategy with a vision that has clear milestones
• Going from laboratory to “Dojo”
• Setting expectations of and for yourself, including learning from failure and being adaptable

Listen to the podcast to find out more.

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Show Notes from this episode with Brian Mac Mahon of Expert DOJO

Key points and takeaways from this episode include:

• We are all the same. We all want the same things. We all want to live with purpose and happiness.
• Startups continuously look for ways to create new things that can make the world a better place.
• There are no shortcuts. Shortcuts deteriorate quality. 
• A vision is the most central part of everything.
• Entrepreneurs need to think like world-class athletes. Every single day is a marathon sprint. 
• Foundation, mindset, and building the right team are the fundamentals of building a successful startup.
• A vision is not something that you get at the beginning. It is something that you realise as you go along. You have to build milestones that you believe in and milestones that you can see as far as that point. 
• Your vision expands as you start to look at how far and how high your mind can think.
• Every single citizen on this planet has an equal opportunity to start a successful company.
• Strive for a huge vision. If you don’t have a huge vision that is game-changing and world-changing, none of it matters.
• There are milestones to every vision. Milestones are part of the vision and they help you get to that overarching goal. 
• When you have a world that fundamentally changes, then, you have to have a vision that is a part of that fundamental change.
• Mindset comes from a place of expectation. The world is ironically a tough and inhumane place. You have to acknowledge that at the very beginning and prepare yourself to make sure that you can win against the world. You have to learn how to be happy and fulfilled by setting your expectations at an early age that things are going to happen.
• You have to program your mind to be in sync with the world that we live in and with what is expected to go forward.
• You are either a world-class startup or you are not. And if you’re not, that’s OK, but don’t pretend that you are.
• You have to work hard. That is the reality of life. Anybody who has been successful in life has really worked hard for it. 
• If you want to push yourself beyond everyone else, prepare, train, be in shape, and get your mind right. Make sure that when you get up in the morning, you are not thinking of surviving, and you’re not coming from a place of fear but from a place of aggression and attack.
• Different people have different journeys. Living with what you do every day is a privilege and a pleasure. If something goes wrong, then, it is supposed to go wrong and it is something that you can learn from. 
• You can’t do everything perfectly. Some learnings are bigger than other learnings, but you have to take them all and adopt them. Great people are not the ones who have failed a lot and neither are they the ones who failed a little. Great people are the ones who have learned from every single thing that happens, and they apply what they have learned into their execution the next time. 
• Part of mindset is your outlook and how you face every single day.
• Give yourself a dose of reality to how things are happening. A little bit of adversity is not a terrible thing.
• It was never the survival of the fitest. It has always been the survival of the most adaptable. It’s not the biggest, strongest, and smartest wins, but the people who get to evolve and look at the environment thinking “how can I thrive?” It’s all about finding what is it that can make you more adaptable so you can thrive in this particular environment.

The Buzz – Our Innovation Round

Here are Brian’s answers to the questions of our innovation round. Listen to the conversation to get the full scoop.

1. #1 thing to be more innovative – Open your eyes in the morning. Look at what’s wrong in the world. There’s a lot of things that needs to be fixed. Notice what’s happening and seek out change.
2. Best thing for new ideas – The DOJO. Surround yourself with genius people. Hang out with people that you want to become.
3. Favourite tool for innovation – LinkedIn. 
4. Keep project/client on track – Setting specific milestones. Set daily goals as opposed to monthly goals. Be intentional about them and make sure that you are doing the activities that will help you reach your goals first. 
5. Differentiate – Have a proper WHY. Build a brand of something that is really important to people. Don’t just sell a load of features. Have a phenomenal brand that people love.

To Be a Leader

Stop building somebody else’s dream. Build something of quality and value. Have purpose in your life. There are so many great ideas that haven’t come out yet and haven’t even been started. It could easily be you who brings that out. So, open your eyes and look around you. Look at what’s happening in the world today. Find your unique you and look for a path with really phenomenal milestones to help you go there. 

Reach Out

You can reach out and thank Brian through their website and his email. 

Links

• Website – Expert DOJO
• Podcast – The Art of Startup War
• Twitter – @Expert_DOJO
• Linkedin
• Facebook
• Instagram
• YouTube

Cool Things About Brian

• He has consulted and coached in over 35 countries. 
• He’s built 3 to 4 companies in each country that he lived in. 
• He speaks Spanish.

Listen to the Podcast