Kim Perell: 5 Execution Traits That Transform Ideas Into a $100M Business | Entrepreneurship | E374

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Speaker 2 I honestly never wanted to be an entrepreneur. So both my parents are entrepreneurs and I thought, I'm going to get a real job and I'm just going to work the corporate ladder.
And I was so excited.

Speaker 2 I'm like, this is it. This is like job security.
It's going to be amazing. And then I was fired.
Looking back, the worst thing that ever happened to me became the best thing that ever happened to me.

Speaker 1 Today we're joined by Kim Perrell. She's a powerhouse serial entrepreneur who turned a $10,000 loan and a kitchen table idea into a $100 million empire.

Speaker 2 93% of self-made millionaires have mentors. And even if you have a job, you're five times more likely to be promoted if you have a mentor.

Speaker 2 It's the easiest thing to do to increase the chances of your success.

Speaker 1 And what's your advice to actually getting a mentor?

Speaker 2 I say three special words. So easy.
Let's have

Speaker 2 everyone can have a good idea. I get pitched ideas all the time, but taking that idea and making it a reality is so difficult.

Speaker 1 What are some of the things that entrepreneurs get wrong about execution?

Speaker 2 I've found that there's five key traits in order to master execution, and the first one is

Speaker 1 Young and Profiters, get ready for an episode packed with entrepreneurial gold. Today, we're joined by Kim Perel.

Speaker 1 She's a powerhouse serial entrepreneur who turned a $10,000 loan from her grandma and a kitchen table idea into a $100 million empire. Kim is a nine-time founder.

Speaker 1 She's now an angel investor that has invested in more than 150 startups. And she's a three-time best-selling author.

Speaker 1 Today, she's here to talk about her latest book, Mistakes That Made Me a Millionaire, where she shares the tough lessons every entrepreneur needs to know.

Speaker 1 In this episode, you'll hear how Kim bounced back after getting laid off in her 20s and how she became a self-made millionaire by 30 years old.

Speaker 1 We'll also talk about turning failure into fuel, the execution habits that separates doers from dreamers, and how you can embrace risk before you feel 100% ready.

Speaker 1 Gapam, if you're an entrepreneur, you won't want to miss this one. Kim, welcome to Young and Profiting Podcast.

Speaker 2 Thank you so much for having me. I'm so happy to be here.

Speaker 1 I know. I'm so excited.
I can't believe that you've never been on Young and Profiting Podcast, even though I've known you, I think, for like three or four years now.

Speaker 1 And I'm just so excited that I finally have you on.

Speaker 2 Me too. Me too.
Thank you so much. I'm really excited to be here.

Speaker 1 Before we dive into your new book and everything that you got going on with entrepreneurship, I did want to get a little bit of background from my listeners because it's the first time that you've been on.

Speaker 1 So I know that you started a company called X Drive when you were in your 20s. You actually got laid off from your dream job and you were broke, 23 years old.

Speaker 1 And you had this idea to start a company and you actually got a loan from your grandmother.

Speaker 1 So talk to us about what your vision was and how you got the confidence to start a business at such a young age and what that process was like for you.

Speaker 2 I honestly never wanted to be an entrepreneur. So both my parents are entrepreneurs and I thought, I'm going to get a real job and I'm just going to work the corporate ladder.

Speaker 2 And I went and I got that. That was that X drive.
And we raised $100 million in funding. It was right at the the dot-com boom.
And I was so excited. I'm like, this is it.

Speaker 2 Job security is going to be amazing. And then I learned there is no such thing as job security.
And the company spent the $100 million.

Speaker 2 And then I was fired. And I had no savings.
I was broke. I honestly wasn't sure what I was going to do.
But I did learn the lesson that. you know, the best bet you can make is a bet on yourself.

Speaker 2 And I had this idea for an internet company that wanted to create. I didn't have any money.
So I had to ask my 82-year-old grandma for a loan because everyone else told me, Kim, you're crazy.

Speaker 2 The internet's a fad. You have no experience starting a company and you should just get a normal job.
And I was like, I just had a normal job and that didn't work out.

Speaker 2 So I might as well bet on myself. And my grandma had no idea what the internet was at that time.
And I told her, it's going to be really, really big someday, grandma.

Speaker 2 And she gave me the $10,000 loan, which is amazing. And that's how I started.
And I think looking back, you know, I didn't choose to do it, but sometimes things happen.

Speaker 2 It was the worst thing that ever happened to me became the best thing that ever happened to me.

Speaker 1 So you scaled that company from what I read to $100 million by the time you were 30. Was that $100 million in annual revenue?

Speaker 2 Annual revenue. Yes.
Wow. Started at my kitchen table.
So anyone out there that's got a kitchen table or garage or a basement, doesn't matter. You can start anywhere.
And that was 20 years ago.

Speaker 2 So I started at my kitchen table and I worked there for three years alone. But I had this vision, like so many people out there, they wanted to create something.

Speaker 2 And I think eventually after enough time and enough determination, you know, I maxed out all my credit cards. And at some point, you think this is not going to work.
And then you have a turning point.

Speaker 2 And the company, you know, it grew when the internet started to rise because this was before. TikTok and Instagram and LinkedIn.
This is before everything.

Speaker 2 I mean, it was basically Yahoo's search engine.

Speaker 1 What did the company do exactly?

Speaker 2 Internet advertising. It was basic buying and selling internet media.
So I would contract with an advertising company and put their ads on the internet.

Speaker 2 It was really displacing traditional forms of media, but really early on.

Speaker 2 So you're trying to convince someone that the yellow pages weren't going to work anymore and that it was much more efficient to do online advertising.

Speaker 1 Yeah, that's so amazing.

Speaker 2 People know that now, but at that time, it wasn't as easy to convince someone.

Speaker 1 Yeah, it was groundbreaking technology that you were working on because people weren't familiar with it. And you got in really early and became one of the biggest companies to do it.

Speaker 1 So did you spoil your grandma for believing in you? How did grandma make out out of all of this?

Speaker 2 I sold that company in 2008. So that was the first company I sold.
So yes, I went and knocked on her door and I was like, grandma, I got something I had to tell you. And she's like, what is going on?

Speaker 2 You know, like, why are you here? Is everything okay?

Speaker 2 And I was like, we just sold the company for at that point, $20 million plus like another 20 on the back end. And she just couldn't believe it.
I'm like, 10,000 goes to, you know, 20 million.

Speaker 2 She couldn't even believe it.

Speaker 1 So that's amazing.

Speaker 3 I love that.

Speaker 2 But grandma, best angel investor there is, right?

Speaker 1 I know. Everybody just knock on grandma's door if you've got that business idea.

Speaker 1 So for all the 30-somethings out there tuning in, I think it's quite an ambitious goal to get a company that's $100 million in revenue by the time you're 30 years years old.

Speaker 1 I don't even know if that's really a possibility for most people out there.

Speaker 1 But if we were trying to get a company to scale to 100 million, whether we're 20 years old, 30 years old, 40 years old, what is your best insight in terms of how to actually do that?

Speaker 2 Yeah, I think it's two things. I invest.
So I've invested in probably 150 different companies now, co-founded nine. I definitely understand the entrepreneur and what it takes to scale.

Speaker 2 And I've scaled all the way to a billion dollars. So I really know on an annualized basis what it takes to scale.
I think number one is you need a great team. You will not be successful alone.

Speaker 2 So really looking at

Speaker 2 who you can get to join your team to make sure and to complement your weaknesses, right?

Speaker 2 And for me, and that's in any business that I start, that I scale, really looking for that team that can scale because I tried at my kitchen table and then eventually I had to make room at the kitchen table for a CTO and a head of sales and the finance.

Speaker 2 You have to be able to have a really great team. The second thing I think people need is really great partnerships.
You can't scale to 100 million or a billion or even 10 million one by one by one.

Speaker 2 So I love a sales channel strategy. And that's just partnering with someone else who has already built in the sales infrastructure that you can put your product through or partner with.

Speaker 2 And so really trying to figure out where there's leverage with other companies that are complementary that can give you the opportunity to sell through their sales channel, especially when you're bootstrapping it.

Speaker 2 You can't afford to hire a huge sales team. It's so expensive.

Speaker 1 Could you give us some examples of companies that you've invested in and maybe how they've leveraged somebody else's sales channel so that we can kind of put that together?

Speaker 2 Oh my goodness. Even just something I'm doing right now.
I have a beauty company and right now we sell through Sephora.

Speaker 2 So obviously if I wanted to sell D2C, that's one way, but I could also partner with a retailer who has doors all over the country that I can use their infrastructure to sell my product for me.

Speaker 2 Obviously, I have to give them a cut, but it makes more sense than me trying to do it myself. So that's in a retail example of how do you find a partner to bring your product to market.

Speaker 2 If you're, you know, I'm a beverage company, we also partner with all of the retailers to bring our product to market, whether it be Sprouts or Costco or Target, doesn't matter, but trying to figure out who else can bring your product to market.

Speaker 2 You know, it's interesting if you look at any, because I get approached all the time for mentorship and entrepreneurship and trying to look at any business that you can think of, they could find someone that's complementary to them that could help offer their products and services.

Speaker 2 It's usually the first thing I say. I talked to an entrepreneur the other day that's launching an AI consulting business.

Speaker 2 I was like, okay, well, who can you partner with that can offer that to their community and give them a cut? Because you can't go one by one. Again, the sales team is so expensive to build.

Speaker 2 So trying to find ways to help sell, you know, you have to sell once, but it's one to one to many.

Speaker 1 That makes a lot of of sense because then you can actually focus on creating the best product rather than worrying about the tech to sell it, the team to sell it, and so on.

Speaker 1 So you can just focus on the actual product. So let's talk about your general entrepreneurship advice.
I know you've written a book on execution.

Speaker 1 So what are some of the things that entrepreneurs get wrong about execution?

Speaker 2 I look back at all of the companies that I have invested in and started, and I honestly believe that execution separates the best from all the rest.

Speaker 2 And what that means is everyone can have a good idea. I get pitched ideas all the time, idea, idea.
But taking that idea and making it a reality is so difficult.

Speaker 2 So really understanding how do I actually bring that to life? And I've found that there's five key traits in order to master execution.

Speaker 2 If you master these five traits, I guarantee your success by tenfold. And the first one is vision, really understanding, have a crystal clear vision of what you want to achieve.

Speaker 2 Because if you don't know where you're going, how do you expect to get there? And so so many people are like, oh, I have kind of an idea. When I'm building, I know exactly where I'm going.

Speaker 2 I know exactly the revenue I'm trying to hit. I know exactly the KPIs, the key performance indicators of what I want to achieve.
So really having that very clear vision. Second is passion.

Speaker 2 Passion is not what you love. It's the Latin root word for pain or suffering.
So what are you willing to suffer for in order to achieve your dreams, right?

Speaker 2 And that might be long nights, early mornings, taking the weekend, doing things you don't want to do because you love it so much.

Speaker 2 And I think it's a different mindset of what makes successful companies and successful entrepreneurs than other people. It's like, what are you actually willing to give up?

Speaker 2 You know, like, what do you love more than anything else? And the third is action. So it's taking that first step because we can get so overwhelmed and not do anything.
I've experienced this before.

Speaker 2 And I mean, I don't know about you, Halla, but just analysis paralysis. You just keep overthinking things and never move forward.
So learning to take that first step, taking that first action.

Speaker 2 It's about having those relationships, whether that's your clients, your team, your peers, and making sure you have great relationships and a solid foundation.

Speaker 2 And then it's about resilience because everything's going to go wrong all the time.

Speaker 2 And so how do you make sure that you have enough tenacity and grit to keep moving forward after you hit setbacks and roadblocks and dead ends? Because it's going to happen. It's inevitable.

Speaker 2 And if you can master these five traits, you will be able to achieve success.

Speaker 1 I love that. And I think the fifth one is relationships, right?

Speaker 2 Yes. Oh my gosh.
And relationships for sure. I mean, you cannot do anything alone.
I tried.

Speaker 2 And I remember really early on in my career, I was at my kitchen table and obviously my grandma had funded me.

Speaker 2 And I had this lone wolf mentality, which meant I'm going to do it on my own because I'm going to prove to everyone that I can do this. And I'm sure people can relate to that.

Speaker 2 I'm going to prove to everyone that telling me I can't do do it, that I can do it. But the reality is you're not going to get very far very fast.

Speaker 2 And so until I came to that realization, because I was overworked and I was sick and I didn't know what I was going to do, you know, at some point you're going to hit a breaking point, a burnout where you have to ask for help.

Speaker 2 And at that point, hiring the team and getting the mentor and finding the peers was like a game changer in my business. So those relationships are foundational.

Speaker 1 Yeah. Execution is just so important.

Speaker 1 To your point, it's what makes or breaks entrepreneurs, people who just can't take consistent action and don't have the resilience to just keep going when things are tough.

Speaker 1 I feel like that's what really makes or breaks it because entrepreneurship is a long game. It's not going to happen overnight.

Speaker 1 It's going to take a couple years, two, three years until things really get off the ground for most startups. So I totally agree there.

Speaker 2 Oh my gosh. And I hear so many ideas, but the thing is, I'll hear an idea and then they'll pitch me.
And then a year later, I still, they'll pitch me the same idea. I'm like, well, what have you done?

Speaker 2 Have you gone to

Speaker 2 get to market? Listen, I'm not saying like dream big, start small. Go to the farmer's market.
Go anywhere.

Speaker 2 Just tell me you've done something. But usually people just get stuck in the idea because it's easy.
I get it. That's the fun part to ideate.
But to actually do it is hard.

Speaker 1 So you said that you've actually invested in 150 companies now and you've probably gotten pitched like thousands of ideas over the years. So what do you actually look for?

Speaker 1 Like, are there key things that you look for when you decide I'm going going to invest in this company or not?

Speaker 2 I mean, number one, I'm a startup investor. So I like to invest early.
And so I always invest in the founder. Like I'm investing in people, right? Just like my grandma made a bet on me.

Speaker 2 I want to make a bet on individuals that I think can execute and they're going to have to. And I know whatever they pitch me today likely is going to change.

Speaker 2 There's probably one out of 150 companies that has pitched me the exact same thing that they actually built. And that's okay.

Speaker 2 I just want to know that you're going to be able to adapt when the market changes.

Speaker 2 So the ability to adapt, especially in, let's just say today with AI and everything's changing, the only thing we know is change is the only constant.

Speaker 2 And the only thing I need to know as an investor is that when it changes, you will change too. The challenge is a lot of people are like, no, I'm so, I will not change.

Speaker 2 And that is a huge mistake because the world's going to pass you by.

Speaker 1 Yeah, you've got to be adaptable. I noticed that you also invest in a lot of influencers.
So you've partnered with Jay Shetty. You've got, I think Willow, her name is the model.

Speaker 1 So what is it about influencers that make you excited?

Speaker 2 I love their huge microphone. And I think they've got their own media channel, which has been really amazing.

Speaker 2 Obviously, I love investing in women founders, underrepresented founders, and people that are authentic. It's really important, especially in like a celebrity type.

Speaker 2 partnership making sure the authenticity of the founders truly why they wanted to create it So in my partnership with Jay, we created a tea. It makes sense.
He doesn't drink. He grew up drinking tea.

Speaker 2 He associate tea with love. Okay, well, that's awesome.
Can we disrupt? Because I always look for opportunities where I can disrupt. Can we disrupt the tea market, right?

Speaker 2 And so, yeah, the tea market hasn't been disrupted in hundreds of years. Why don't we make a cool, fun, functional tea? that's not your grandma's tea, right? And that's what we created.

Speaker 2 And I think it's really authentic to him, which is really important because authenticity matters.

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I read that you started doing AI product launches.

Speaker 1 And so I'm curious, what does that even mean? And what's the difference between an AI product launch and a regular product launch?

Speaker 2 Well, it's a predictive intelligence. So we're using data to decide, like in the case of a T or in the case of a beauty product, we can see what's trending.

Speaker 2 We can use data to make informed decisions on what will be a success in market. So using data and intelligence and analytics to make decisions.

Speaker 2 And I think making sure you're making data-driven decisions is so important. I mean, I come from a tech background, so it makes sense for me to want to prove it with data.

Speaker 2 And making data-driven decisions is so much easier for me as a investor to invest in because you're showing me the data. For me, I love a good idea, but again, substantiate it with the actual data.

Speaker 2 And then I'm much more likely to invest.

Speaker 1 So you've got a new book and it's called Mistakes That Made Me a Millionaire.

Speaker 1 And there's 10 mistakes that you highlight. Is there a mistake that you want to cover with us in terms of what we need to know as entrepreneurs tuning in?

Speaker 2 Well, I think the biggest mistake, If you make this mistake, you won't even get to the other nine. So the mistake goes through 10 mistakes.

Speaker 2 And the biggest mistake that I think people make is waiting to feel 100% ready. And I think you'll never feel ready.

Speaker 2 And early on, I learned this rule by Marine Corps general, and it was called the 70% rule. So in battle, you have to make decisions without 100% of the information.
And so they use the 70% rule.

Speaker 2 And I was like, hey, if you guys are using that, I can use that too, which gave me a great opportunity to be able to balance analysis and action. So if I get to 70%,

Speaker 2 I go, right? And I think using that in my website, my product, my marketing, my social media, whatever it was at 70%,

Speaker 2 anything over that, you're just perfecting it. And you don't actually know if it's going to work till you get to market anyway.

Speaker 2 So the sooner you can get to see and meet the customer, the better you'll be. And so it gave me a great framework that allowed me to take action with uncertain information.

Speaker 1 It's funny that you mentioned that 70% rule. I actually had a revamp of our team's core values.
And my company is about to hit 10 million in annual revenue this year.

Speaker 1 And I've noticed I needed to do something different in terms of our culture because we were really scrappy in the beginning and flying by the seat of our pants, building this ship while we ride it.

Speaker 1 And now I really needed to make it clear that we needed to make better decisions and do things more perfectly. And scrappy doesn't mean sloppy and things like that to just button the team up.

Speaker 1 And one of the things that I put out was this 70% decision-making framework. Basically, in order to keep the team still moving, even though I'm putting all this quality criteria on everything,

Speaker 1 if you think you're 70% right, just go for it. We can still make some mistakes.
If you feel like you know 70% for sure, you should do this and just move forward.

Speaker 1 But if you're not sure, that's when you got to check in with your manager and so on and get to that 70%. So it's really, really good guidance, even for teams in terms of their decision making.

Speaker 2 Right. I love that you implement it because it still gives autonomy to people to move as opposed to just waiting for someone to come tell you you're again, it's never going to be 100%.

Speaker 2 Right. And as a startup and just, I mean, to be honest, in any company, no matter size, you have to have the courage to move and make mistakes.

Speaker 2 If you're not making mistakes, you're not trying hard enough.

Speaker 1 As I build my company, something that seems to be one of the hardest things to do is just to get the right talent.

Speaker 1 It's kind of like you go through the interview process and sometimes you feel like somebody's going to be so great and then they're terrible. And the opposite can happen.

Speaker 1 Somebody has like a mediocre interview, but then they end up being like a great, great hire.

Speaker 1 So are there any interview questions that you like to ask or frameworks that you have for new hires to make sure that we're not wasting time in terms of this hiring and we're hiring the best people possible for our teams?

Speaker 2 Yes. Honestly, I've hired thousands of people probably in my career.
I've managed over a thousand people in my last company. So I definitely have hired a lot of people.

Speaker 2 And I write in the book about picking the wrong people to exactly your point. I picked a lot of bad people, like a lot, right? So trying to make sure I don't.

Speaker 2 Number one, the reason I picked it, because you know the people that look perfect on paper, I call them the POP. Perfect on paper.
They look so good, right? Their resume looks great.

Speaker 2 They came from the right jobs. They have everything.
And then you get them in and they're terrible.

Speaker 2 What happened? And I talk about in the book, I come up with different frameworks of how to make better hiring decisions.

Speaker 2 So I don't get biased towards either the resume that looks good, but number one, and I think we overlook this so many times because you think the paper looks good.

Speaker 2 I, in the past, like I've neglected to really do thorough reference checks. Now I do that religiously because usually I'd have someone that says, oh, my boss left.

Speaker 2 You can't really do a reference check anymore. Red flag, obviously.
But I was like, oh, it's okay.

Speaker 2 Now, No, I actually want a reference of someone that's worked for you and someone you've worked with because relationships are key, right?

Speaker 2 So, if you don't have someone that actually liked working with you, probably not good for me to hire you.

Speaker 2 And the second, in terms of interview questions, I actually list out 10 in the book, but one of them is:

Speaker 2 what would I learn about you in three months from now that I will not learn about you in this interview process? Something that I couldn't learn there.

Speaker 2 And then the second one I like is: what would your last manager say they wanted to change about you?

Speaker 2 It takes people a second, like, what would change? And then what would your teammates want to change about you?

Speaker 2 You're really trying to get to things they didn't like about them because that's the same thing you're not going to like about them.

Speaker 2 They're thoughtful questions that you really have to start asking to try to double click on understanding if they're going to be the right. person for you.

Speaker 2 So I've done it so many times terribly and it's, you know, I'm still trying, but I definitely have come up with a process that I talk about because hiring the wrong person costs you millions of dollars.

Speaker 2 I mean, in time and productivity and rehiring, there's so many challenges, as you know. But if you get the right people, game changer, right?

Speaker 1 I know. It's like basically sometimes two or three employees and one person in terms of their output.

Speaker 1 If you get a really great talent in the door, are there any like red flags where if somebody does this in the interview process, that's it. No more interviews.

Speaker 2 You know, I definitely could tell you for investing. So if I put my investor hat on, that's how you're hiring.

Speaker 2 Investing, if you come in and you say in your five, it's a hockey stick and we're going to make a ton of EBITDA and wild growth. I know you have no idea what you're talking about.

Speaker 2 I don't know why people do that all the time. They want to show, oh, eventually you're going to get this perfect plan.

Speaker 1 That's just going to happen.

Speaker 2 Yeah, we're going to be hugely profitable and tons of growth in your five, but you're investing in one. It's like, I want to see what is the actual plan.

Speaker 2 So when someone shows me their pitch deck and that's the hockey stick, I actually pass.

Speaker 1 What about personality? Is there something about somebody's personality that you look for?

Speaker 2 Ego, if you have a huge ego, I definitely do not hire you. I want a team player, I need an all-star team, I don't need an all-star player, and I think it reflects the values.

Speaker 2 What you were saying, Holland, every one of my companies, I have very clear values. And if your behaviors, even in an interview process, don't match my values or my company's values, I won't hire you.

Speaker 2 For example, if my value is collaborative and you're just, you want to play it by yourself, that is not going to work in my organization.

Speaker 2 And so I think really being clear from a company perspective on your values and then ensuring every hire reflects those behaviors of your values.

Speaker 2 And you're doing the same thing, which is great, right? I think every company has to have those values. And I think it's really important.

Speaker 1 So we've implemented a new hiring process because we're trying to just get the best talent in the door possible.

Speaker 1 And one of the things that we've done, which is like a sneaky way to try to see if we've got the right hire, is we give these really detailed directions for a cover letter, just very specific in terms of how you have to actually write and submit your cover letter.

Speaker 1 And if they can't follow those directions, they don't even get an interview. So it's like a way for us to just check to see if people are detail oriented, if they can follow directions.

Speaker 1 And if they can't even do that or they're too lazy or we're like, you either don't want this bad enough or you don't know how to follow directions.

Speaker 2 Yeah, that's a great idea. Usually Usually now, to your point, I make people do a project, some project, so I can really evaluate the work before I get you in the door.

Speaker 2 Cause else once you're in the door, I have to train you. Then if it doesn't work, I have to try to help you.
Then, you know, there's so much chaos.

Speaker 2 So if you can try to find up front, to your point, the cover letter, that's great. If they can't follow the details, probably not the person you want.

Speaker 2 I mean, it's interesting just thinking about it because you get so many resumes. We make it so you actually have to email in if you actually want the job.

Speaker 2 Like if you click on the button, like I'm not even interviewing in literally.

Speaker 2 No, because there's so many people, right?

Speaker 1 Who's going to go the extra mile and actually do it? Yeah. So we do the cover letter.
We do a cultural interview, a project, and a technical interview, and then the final interview.

Speaker 1 So like we've got like a really, really, really strict process these days. So you've got this awesome metaphor in the book, and it's be the buffalo.
Tell us about that.

Speaker 2 Well, when there's a storm coming, right? Usually everyone's running away from the storm, right? And I think that is true in nature.

Speaker 2 People are running away from the storm, but the buffalo runs through the storm and it actually gets through the storm faster because it's not running with it.

Speaker 2 And I think the metaphor for people is to take action that probably you're scared to take.

Speaker 2 You know, it might look bad or hard or it might scare you, but that's actually where the opportunity and the success and the growth really happens. So encouraging you to be that buffalo.

Speaker 2 Let's go into the storm as opposed to running from it. But I'd love that actually.
And it's a really good way to think about life. Like, am I the buffalo or not?

Speaker 1 Yeah.

Speaker 1 And especially with new things like AI coming out, a lot of people can shy away, but really, it's all about leaning into these new changes and being adaptable, like you were saying before, rather than being like a cow and running away from

Speaker 2 the water. You're just going to keep getting wet, right? But you have to take that initiative.

Speaker 2 And I think it's really important because to your point on AI, everything is going to change, especially if you're looking at people with inside companies.

Speaker 2 You know, the only thing I know is that I have to adapt. And my ability to adapt is going to be what makes me successful.

Speaker 1 I want to play a game called Buffalo Wisdom. I made it just for you.
So I'm going to throw out some common business sayings. And I want you to say, do you line to it?

Speaker 1 Why do you think it's right or wrong? And quick fire your two cents on the saying, okay?

Speaker 2 All right.

Speaker 1 First prompt, follow your passion and the money will follow.

Speaker 3 Oh, well.

Speaker 2 I think you have to be passionate, but that doesn't mean you're going to make money.

Speaker 2 So I would say it's good if you're passionate about it, but it could still be a hobby. The only way it makes money is actually making money.

Speaker 1 You've got to have the demand. It's got to solve a problem that people actually want to pay for.
Okay, the customer is always right.

Speaker 2 Yes. I actually think the customer is always right.
Again, we're selling. So they might not be your customer, but they are always right.

Speaker 1 If it ain't broke in my business, I don't fix it.

Speaker 2 No, it depends. If you're firefighting, I would say, let's focus on actually what needs the most improvement, but there's always opportunities to improve.

Speaker 2 Like I'm constantly trying to level up every area of my business, every area of my product, packaging. So constant improvement before you need to is really important.

Speaker 1 Yeah, or else you could get disrupted because you're just sitting on your laurels. Okay.

Speaker 1 Fake it till you make it.

Speaker 2 Oh, love that. Yes.
Fake it till you make it. 100%.

Speaker 1 Why?

Speaker 2 I mean, I did that my whole life.

Speaker 3 I don't know.

Speaker 2 I mean, I was 23. I had no idea what I was doing.
But, you know, I showed up with tenacity and like confidence.

Speaker 2 And I think, listen, your confidence in yourself has to be greater than anyone else's doubt in you. And if you don't believe in yourself, who else is going to? So fake it till you make it.

Speaker 1 Timing is everything. Wait till the perfect moment.

Speaker 2 I think timing matters a lot, but I also would not wait. Timing does matter in terms of the grand outcome and success, but I think you should not wait to the perfect moment.

Speaker 2 You should wait till you're 70% and then go.

Speaker 1 Okay, last one. Business is not personal.

Speaker 2 Oh, chapter 10, chapter 10. Business is always personal.
That is the number 10 biggest mistake. Business is personal.

Speaker 2 And I think after 20 years in business and having a lot of company, it's always personal. And if anyone tells you otherwise, it's a lie.

Speaker 1 I know that related to that, you've got this eye care framework. Can you tell us about that?

Speaker 2 Yeah, it's really about how when you're looking at businesses and relationships and how to build relationships on a very personal level, because based on my experience and I've had companies I talk about in the book that I've acquired in Tel Aviv and I've had companies in Tokyo and Australia.

Speaker 2 There's cultural differences. There's a lot of change across all these companies.
And at the end of the day, we're all people. And I think that's the biggest thing that I learned.

Speaker 2 And so the ability to really eye care, which is invest in those relationships, right?

Speaker 2 And I talk about a story when I acquired a company in Tel Aviv and it took me literally flying to Tel Aviv and meeting with these individuals, great leaders in person and developing that personal connection that changed everything.

Speaker 2 And I think going that extra mile, investing in the relationships that really matter will pay off dividends in the long run because It takes time to build trust.

Speaker 2 And so you're always looking for in business, how do I speed up that time?

Speaker 2 how do i make it so we can develop that foundation of trust faster so when i leave and i go back to california and you're still here you trust i will look out in your best interest and so in the book i talk about this framework the i care framework that starts with investing investing time and then really understanding how can i deepen these relationships because most of my companies and the people I invested, like I've invested in people that work for me.

Speaker 2 I mean, it's amazing, right?

Speaker 2 So people that work me over time, like if you leave and you work for me, you should go and start your own company and i will be the first one to fund it i love the entrepreneur like i'm here to help other people rise but it's about relationships it's about trust it's about knowing that you trust me i trust you we will be a great team i i cannot underemphasize that i'm sure holla you've seen that as well those relationships are key to success and every deal that i've ever done i've done a lot back to all these companies that you invest in.

Speaker 1 You do so many different industries, right?

Speaker 1 So I think that's just so awesome because I I feel like a lot of investors they might focus on one specific industry, but you really do a lot of different products and things like that.

Speaker 1 So, are there similarities when you first invest in terms of what is kind of wrong with everyone's business or like the mistake that everybody kind of makes?

Speaker 1 Can you go over some of those things that you see across industry?

Speaker 2 Failing to pivot is one thing that everyone makes. Failing to pivot.
If you look at YouTube started as a dating site, Twitter started as a podcast platform.

Speaker 2 Shopify started by selling snowboards online, you know, Netflix, DVD by mail. Every company I look for, if your growth is slowing or you're not successful, you need to pivot.

Speaker 2 And that's so important and embracing that pivot. And so when I look at companies, I look at, and again, it goes back to the founder.
Are you okay with making that change?

Speaker 2 Are you okay with adapting and adopting new technology? And that's really important. You can adopt technology in any business.
It doesn't matter if you're in consumer packaged goods.

Speaker 2 It doesn't matter if you're in beauty. It doesn't matter what type of industry you're in.
How are you using AI right now?

Speaker 2 Like if I came in and you told me you're not, well, I obviously wouldn't, I would not invest in you

Speaker 2 because we're trying to leverage it to make us smarter and more efficient, right? And the more efficient we are, the more time we have to create and use our true talent.

Speaker 2 So, because I invest across so many categories, which is so fun. But at the end of the day, business is business.

Speaker 2 And that's why I wrote the book because, I mean, listen, business is all based on people at the end of the day. People are still running the show.
They're still making those decisions on deals.

Speaker 2 They're still making decisions on investment, on hiring. It's still a people business, which is why business is still personal, right?

Speaker 1 Yeah, totally. When it comes to these businesses that you're investing in, my boyfriend is also an entrepreneur and we're very different.
I bootstrap my company. I've been profitable since year one.

Speaker 1 I've been profitable since month one, right? I've never not been profitable. He has investors and his goal is not to be profitable.
His goal is to grow.

Speaker 1 How do you think of profit when you invest in companies? Do you care if the company is profitable or is it more just about 3xing your growth every year or whatever it is?

Speaker 2 I think it depends. So I've had both, right? And I raise a lot of money actually too.
So I'm on like every side, right? I invest, I raise capital.

Speaker 2 I've started, you know, with the $10,000 loan and I focus on profitability. Me as an investor, listen, most of the...
digital companies I have, the technology companies, they're not profitable at all.

Speaker 2 And that's okay because I'm an investor investor and I know there is a path to profitability.

Speaker 2 So as long as you can show me your path to profitability, regardless of industry, regardless of company, I'm okay with that.

Speaker 2 And I think it's also a choice because with fundraising also comes dilution where you're giving up equity, right?

Speaker 2 So as the owner, you have to decide how much equity am I willing to give up in order to grow.

Speaker 2 There's so many different choices you have to make, but as long as there is a path to profitability, I'm good with that.

Speaker 2 If there's no path to profitability ever I'm definitely out if you say profit I love it if you showed up and you're like hey I've a profitable business great I'd love to see it because not a lot of them to be honest

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Speaker 1 as we close out this interview i want to talk to you about family because you are one of the most successful businesswomen that I know. And you also have a big family.
You've got four kids.

Speaker 1 And I remember hearing a story. We used to do your social media back in the day.

Speaker 1 And I know that one of the questions your dad used to ask you at the dinner table was like, what's the worst thing that happened to you today?

Speaker 1 And it kind of got you used to like talking about failure and things like that.

Speaker 1 What are some of the things that you do with your kids now to prepare them for the real world, to prepare them for entrepreneurship if you want them to take that path and so on?

Speaker 2 Growing Growing up, obviously my parents were entrepreneur. Honestly, now I think he asked us at the dinner table, we never talked about school or sports.

Speaker 2 We only talked about failure and the worst thing that had happened to us each day. And now I think it was like his own therapy and we were just having therapy at dinner, I guess.

Speaker 2 My kids, now we've come up with a new practice. So I have four kids, two, six, and two and 11 now.
And we use this, which is called pow, wow, bow.

Speaker 2 Pow, which is the worst thing that happened to me today. So they tell us, okay, this is the the worst thing.
Wow, which is the best thing that happened to me.

Speaker 2 So, mom, this is the best thing that happened. And bow, one thing that you're grateful for.
So it gives a balance to my dad's, which is only the worst thing.

Speaker 2 It balances it out for my kids, which is really nice. And I think really important.

Speaker 2 And something that's really fun to do. And it's a consultant named Abby Ziv had came up with this.
And so we. implemented that in such a great dinner time ritual with my kids also.

Speaker 2 They know, I mean, they were there.

Speaker 2 We took them to New York for the book launch and they were there and they know that it's okay to make mistakes and that's why to be honest i wanted to write the book i want them not to strive for perfection but to strive for growth and learning and knowing that you don't have to be perfect I know that.

Speaker 2 And I think it's hard today's world in a picture perfect world. We want them to be okay with that messy middle, the challenges and the struggles and being okay to talk about them because we,

Speaker 2 and I mean, me too. And that's why I wrote a book.
It's like, usually we're like, we're just going to tell you when I make $235 million on my sale of my company.

Speaker 2 I don't tell you the struggle that happened in order for me to get there, right? You're usually just talking about the end. You're like, oh, you killed it.
I'm like, no, you don't understand.

Speaker 2 It was hard, right? Like it was struggling. So I really try to.

Speaker 2 make it okay to talk about mistakes and to have those conversations with my kids so that when they do make mistake and I know it's okay and I love them regardless of what happens.

Speaker 1 It's funny. I don't have kids yet, but as you say this, I'm like, I want to do this with my team.

Speaker 1 I want to start every meeting with pow, wow, bow, because we do like one word opens and what are you grateful for for the start of our daily meetings that I have.

Speaker 1 But I like this framework too, because it lets them say like what actually went bad so that we can acknowledge it, talk about it, and not just what only is good.

Speaker 1 So I think that's also a really great team activity, honestly.

Speaker 2 Yeah, I like that. I like, yeah, and you want to know.
Actually, in my team meetings, we talk about the like the biggest road like what's the biggest challenge.

Speaker 2 So to your point, I want to know because my job as a leader is to help you solve for that. And if you don't tell me what's your challenge, I can't help you solve for it.

Speaker 2 And usually we only talk about the highlight, but as the leader, actually,

Speaker 2 it's nice and you can share the highlights, but I actually want to know the lowlights. Like what actually are you facing challenges? Because my best skill will be in helping you overcome them.

Speaker 1 So, Kim, I end my show with two questions that I ask all my guests. The first question is, what is one actionable thing our young improfiters can do today to become more profitable tomorrow?

Speaker 2 Listen, 93% of self-made millionaires have mentors. And even if you have a job, you're five times more likely to be promoted if you have a mentor.

Speaker 2 It's the easiest thing to do to increase the chances of your success. So get a mentor.

Speaker 1 And what's your advice to actually getting a mentor? How can somebody get in touch with somebody who they think they should be their mentee? And how do you actually pick the right mentor?

Speaker 2 First, again, it's having clarity of what you're trying to achieve. So in I have mentors in each of my business.
So if I have a beverage business, I have a mentor. I call him Obi Wan Kenobi.

Speaker 2 I'm like Luke Skywalker over here. And he's 20 years ahead of me.
He doesn't have to be. He could have been two years ahead of me, but he has experience in the vertical that I want to learn about.

Speaker 2 And so the easiest way to get a mentor, so first know who you want to mentor you and why. Because if you call me and you say, Kim, I want you to be my mentor.
I said, why?

Speaker 2 And you can't tell me exactly why you think I can help you. I'm not going to obviously take the meeting or your mentor.
The second is, how do you get the mentor? I say three special words. So easy.

Speaker 2 Let's have coffee because it's so easy to ask me. And I do this all the time with everyone.

Speaker 2 So if you're listening, and we have like three meetings every week, at least me asking people, do you want to go to coffee? So easy. And you can do this with mentors.
15 minutes, they could reach out.

Speaker 2 Can I have a 15 minute coffee? Virtual coffee, and then show up prepared.

Speaker 2 When you show up for my 15 minutes, I want you to know what are the questions that you want me to answer for you because I'm trying to judge if I actually want to have another coffee, right?

Speaker 2 Like, this is a conversation that goes two ways. So, if you show up prepared, you show up with your questions, and I actually feel as a mentor that I can add value to you, I'm stoked.

Speaker 2 I'm happy to have another coffee. That's how you start building that relationship, but you have to invest the time and the person has to want to invest back.

Speaker 2 I also think if they don't answer, don't take it personally because just assume it's not you. People are busy.
And so making sure that you know that it's not you and that just keep going.

Speaker 2 Like you're going to get rejected. Find a mentor that has the time and the space to give you what you need.

Speaker 1 Yeah. I also think it's important to be realistic.
If you're just starting, Gary Vee is not going to be your mentor. Like, you know what I mean?

Speaker 1 Like you need to be realistic in terms of where you are. And then as you level up in in your career, you might need to actually level up your mentors over time.

Speaker 2 I've had so many. I mean, it's amazing and I feel so blessed, but that was the game changer for me because then I have someone that I can call that has experience.

Speaker 2 And to your point, it doesn't need to be someone with 20 years experience. One year experience more than you have will get you far, right? You don't need someone.

Speaker 2 with so much experience that they're actually too far away from where you are today. Actually, you could have too much experience.

Speaker 1 Yeah, that's a really good point. Okay, Cam, last question.
What is your secret to profiting in life? And this can go beyond just business and financials.

Speaker 1 Like, what is your secret to having a really successful life?

Speaker 2 I think consistency, the day-to-day consistency of relationships, of prioritization of my family, of loving what I do, of making sure I'm not doing things I don't want to do. I'm quite consistent.

Speaker 2 And I think that others would say that. And I think that leads to a lot of joy and happiness.
You know, I'm very clear on what I want and what I don't want.

Speaker 1 Are you the breadwinner in your family? Like, how's your family dynamic set up? And does that matter with your ability to be this awesome female entrepreneur?

Speaker 2 Oh, my gosh. Well, at this point, well, I sold in 2008.
So I'm basically retired. So I don't think there's a,

Speaker 2 we have so many companies now, to be honest.

Speaker 2 That's so amazing.

Speaker 1 Do you guys like basically work together?

Speaker 2 Well, yeah. I mean, now we do a lot of investment.
Like I'm so operational because it's fun and I sit on a lot of boards, but we're not doing it for the money, which is an amazing place to be at.

Speaker 2 We're doing it for the love of the game. And I think that's a different place to be.
But my husband is incredible. And I think I could not have done this without him.
I mean, now we have four kids.

Speaker 2 So now it's like a balance of, it's like a team effort. Life's a team sport.
If you can find an amazing person to do it with, you will be so much more successful. So that is the one thing I do know.

Speaker 2 And our 22 anniversary actually is this weekend.

Speaker 1 You guys are the cutest family.

Speaker 2 Thank you. But I think knowing that and knowing you can't do it alone and having the right partner makes such a difference in happiness and success.

Speaker 2 And it's hard to find it, but if you do like hold on, right? I also think really being really grateful for what you have.

Speaker 1 Well, Kim, this was such an awesome interview. I feel like people are going to learn so much from your entrepreneurship wisdom and advice.

Speaker 1 Thank you so much for joining us on Young and Profiting Podcast.

Speaker 2 Oh, thank you so much for having me. I loved it.

Speaker 1 You know, I have to say, I had such a great conversation with Kim. This conversation was long overdue, and I learned so much from her.

Speaker 1 Kim is one of those female entrepreneurs that I greatly look up to, and she had so much wisdom to give about entrepreneurship.

Speaker 1 And one thing that really stood out to me is Kim's clear belief that execution is the real secret of success. It's what separates dreamers from doers.

Speaker 1 And she broke execution down into five traits: vision, passion, action, resilience, and relationships.

Speaker 1 I want you to think about which one comes most naturally to you and which one of these traits you need to really work on, that you still need more growth.

Speaker 1 Because Kim made it clear, when you master these five traits, you massively increase your odds of winning in business and in life. So how are you going to execute better?

Speaker 1 Another powerful insight was mistake number one from her book, waiting until you feel 100% ready. Kim reminded us that if you wait for perfection, you're just going to wait forever.

Speaker 1 Instead, apply the 70% rule. When you're about 70% confident, take that leap.
That's how you avoid analysis paralysis and actually get into the market where real learning happens.

Speaker 1 I also loved Kim's metaphor of being the buffalo. When the storm rolls in, most people just run away.
Buffaloes charge straight into the storm and get through it faster.

Speaker 1 That's such a powerful way to reframe any challenges that you encounter, whether it's AI disrupting your industry, market changes, or any personal setbacks that you have.

Speaker 1 The people who succeed are the ones who are willing to face the storm head on. You've got to charge into the storm and be the buffalo.

Speaker 1 If you want to dive even deeper into Kim's hard-won lessons, make sure you grab her new book, Mistakes That Made Me a Millionaire.

Speaker 1 It's packed with the kind of insights we cover today and so much more. Thanks for listening to this episode of Young and Profiting.

Speaker 1 If you listened, learned, and profited from this conversation and you feel like somebody else needs to hear this entrepreneurship advice, then share it with somebody who you think will find it valuable.

Speaker 1 And if you did enjoy this show and you learned something new, then take a couple minutes to drop us a review on Apple Podcasts, Cast Box, Spotify, or wherever you listen to the show.

Speaker 1 We love a good review. I read my reviews every single day and it keeps us motivated to keep putting out great content like this every single week.

Speaker 1 If you want to watch this podcast on video, you can, of course, find us on YouTube. All of our episodes are published on there.
Just look up Young and Profiting.

Speaker 1 If you want to connect with me personally, you can find me on LinkedIn. Just search for my name.
It's Hala Taha. You can also find me on Instagram at Yap with Hala.

Speaker 1 And of course, I've always got to shout out my production team at the end of the show. I've got an amazing team at Yap Media.
They are all such rock stars.

Speaker 1 Thank you guys so much for all your hard work. Jareen, thank you for all the amazing scripting that you've been doing lately and the research.
Paul, thank you for coordinating our growth programs.

Speaker 1 Hasham for Khan. Joshua, thank you for all the guest bookings.
Nina for leading the team. Maxie for editing.
Ravi for your awesome videos. Jaden for publishing on social media.

Speaker 1 It takes a village to put on this show. So thank you guys so much for all that you do.
This is your your host, Hala, aka the Podcast Princess, signing off.