#8: Launching A Business From His Dorm Room To Buy A Wedding Ring, Surprising Tales From Building Companies That Own The Internet, & Saving A Failing A Business With A Napkin w/ Ryan Deiss

The Innovative Founder

In this episode, we are joined by Ryan Deiss, the Founder, and CEO of Digital Marketer. He is also a bestselling author, founder of multiple companies collectively employing hundreds around the globe, founder and host of the Traffic & Conversion Summit, and one of the most dynamic speakers on marketing in the United States today. Ryan introduced and popularized many digital selling strategies that modern companies now take for granted.

For more information on Ryan, visit https://www.ryandeiss.com/.

Key Takeaways:

• [0:50] Ryan went to a mastermind in Baltimore for his first investment. He was very scared because it was the only shot since he didn’t have a lot of money in the first place. It ended up being one of his top five best investments ever.
• [07:28] If you are just starting out in business and investing, you first need to figure out who you are talking to, who you are serving, and their specific problem.
• [13:06] Ryan tells the story of losing around a million dollars because he didn’t immediately realize that nobody wants what he is offering.
• [16:15] Digital Marketer was started because they needed to figure out how to teach marketing to all of their different portfolio companies
• [24:06] Ryan stays in touch with his customers even though he has staff that can easily handle them because he realized that, after 15 months of doing it the wrong way, it’s actually his job to do.
• [27:48] Ryan was one of those who didn’t immediately have a direction in life. But he decided to start a business because he desired to marry his then-girlfriend and pay for college dues.
• [39:08] A story about one of Ryan’s failed businesses because of an employee he brought in and his own abdication of responsibility
• [45:06] Ryan talks about the napkin story