Feb 17, 2018
IamNOTaCEO.com: One Entrepreneur’s EPIPHANIES & LESSONS Learned…
1. Like most entrepreneurs, I put “CEO” on my first business card. Also like most entrepreneurs, I once believed in The Tooth Fairy. In both cases, it took me years to realize my mistake… […]
2. “I’m Fired?!?” — After YEARS of losing money, I made the (scary) decision to “fire myself” as CEO of my own startup. [#BestDecisionEVER] 3 months later, we had raised $950,000 in funding; 9 months later, we were a profitable 7-figure company… […]
3. Strengths, Weaknesses, and #SelfAwareness — I’ve recognized that I’m great at A FEW things… I’ve recognized that I SUCK AT MANY THINGS… and I’ve realized just how extreme the differences are (progress levels, success levels, stress levels, etc.) between the years I’ve had a team (co-founders, employees, interns) with skills complementary to mine vs. the years I haven’t! […]
3B. Wait… Time-Out… Who ARE You Anyway?!?
Oh, right… Hi, my name is Jeff. I was born in a small town in…
(actually, maybe I’ll skip ahead to more relevant parts)
As creator of The Rejection Hotline® , 300+ Humor Hotlines, National “Get Over It Day”… and 50+ viral ventures (each individually reaching over a million people — and collectively engaging audiences of HALF A BILLION), he became a nationally-recognized authority on viral media and content creation. He feels awkward writing about himself in the 3rd person, so he will now switch to 1st person (and so will I)…
EXPERIENCE & EXPERTISE: ~15 Years of Creating “Viral Whatever!”
My (relatively unique) experience/expertise includes:
A) Creating and analyzing potentially-viral concepts and content that will resonate with large/diverse audiences, intuitively recognizing/evaluating MANY factors (the art, science, math, psychology, mechanics, etc.) that impact virality, and differentiating an “idea” from an “IDEA+++” (idea + Vision + Viability + Viral potential + … [more at ViralWhatever.com])
B) Identifying #StatusQuoBias problems (and corresponding opportunities for improvement) — in startups, in products, in content, in marketing, pretty much everywhere. I estimate I’ve asked “But, why…” roughly 10,000 times. It makes me a better entrepreneur — but probably also partly explains why I’m single. [Sorry, TMI?]
4. From a small JOKE to a Million-Dollar Startup — The Rejection Hotline / Humor Hotlines / RH Brands… #MyStartupStory
5. The Stomach-Punch Feeling of Losing 4.75 Million Dollars…
Some PERSONAL Epiphanies:
6) My INTP Epiphany
7) My A.D.D. Epiphany
8) My Battle with BURNOUT!
9a) My Entrepreneurial A.D.D. — Curse or Gift?
9b) 80% Done… (I’ll typically get 80% done — with almost anything I’m working on — and then my brain literally stops me from finishing after the challenging part — and the dopamine-rush(!) — of solving a complex problem, conceiving a creative new concept with unique premises and innovative strategies, and working through multiple versions or drafts until the pieces all fall into place, the puzzle is solved, and… that dopamine-rush!!! Wait, what was I talking about?? Oh yeah, “80% Done”…
80% Done? → 80% D → 80-D → I am 80-D → I am AD-D → IamADD.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ATLANTA, Georgia — For the 4th consecutive year, this Atlanta-based entrepreneur has received the JD Power & Associates Award for “America’s Most A.D.D. Entrepreneur.”
Dubbed “The Forgetful Founder” (by someone whose name he now can’t remember), he has now written 279 articles (on startups & viral marketing) that he has yet to publish, he owns 327 domain names for potentially-viral concepts he has yet to launch, his office is cluttered with boxes of inventory for 100+ products he has yet to release, and…
He has the memory of a dented ping-pong ball… the organizational skills of a pile of leaves on a windy day… the time-management skills of an hourglass filled with peanut butter… and an overly-sensitive aversion to illogical reasoning, aimless small talk, and cilantro.
He possesses the most extreme traits (good & bad) of being extraordinarily INTP & ADD, resulting in a nasty habit of getting ~80% DONE* with [whatever], then getting bored or distracted (after the dopamine-rush of the initial challenge fades), often just stopping in the mi
ANYWAY…
Back to my core premises/philosophies for the “Master Plan” (that I will probably still be talking about launching from my nursing home when I’m 90)
info@StartupWhatever.com / Jeff@StartupWhatever.com
