What do a round leather spalding ball basketball and two Extreme Tour speakers  have in common?

“I moved to California without a plan and was broke for months before I got my big break.” His dream of working on Ferrari’s took many sidesteps including having to work on less expensive cars to make a name for himself. First time speaker Aaron Steed, who was a teenager when he founded Meathead Movers, a moving company that hires college athletes to deliver great service,  openly discussed the pitfalls that burden new entrepreneurs.

“We were a moving company that couldn’t find a ride to our first job, it was nerve wracking.” The company overcame financial scares, and tests of their will to bounce back and become the largest moving company in California.  A full auditorium of high school and college students were buzzing with enthusiasm after both keynotes. ”If I can fall down and get back up, I can be just like Aaron and Ryan, and one day I’ll be the one on the news” said Harley (16).

Quotes like Harley’s are why we here at the Extreme Tour love what we do, because on the ride to the airport the thought  crept in all of our minds,what if one of those students didn’t hear the message today and stopped chasing their dreams and goals  because they didn’t believe. Would the world be robbed of the next Aaron Steed?

'Team Awesome' - Thank you for all the support!

The event was successful in every way possible! This is not just as a result of the Extreme Team (or because more than 300 people attended, doubling the expected attendance – WOW!) but due the wonderful volunteers and staff at Lamar University!

Our speakers: Duane Spires, Steven Washington, Bo Kelley and last but not least, Kathy Reeves, did a great job inspiring attendees to reach for their deepest goals and strive for success.

One of the most rewarding things Extreme Entrepreneurship Tour gets out of each event is to realize the change in attitude of individual students after being a part of the Extreme Tour. It is hard to describe how wonderful it is to see that “light” turn on in each of them. That light which will brighten their way to TAKE ACTION, and to work their way into a better future.

Metropolitan Community College staff graciously treated us to dinner at The Student Bistro a student run restaurant on campus. Never would have expected such delicious dinner and the food was fantastic.

The team had a great time learning about the future plans of the college and business school.  We had the opportunity to learn about the great city we were in and got know part of the team who helped to make the event such a success!

Pre-Event Dinner at the Student Bistro

Main Course

Here was the stacked line up for the day:

• Arel Moodie, Partner, Empact
• Max Durovic, Founder & CEO, AArrow Advertising
• Jose Luis Silva, Minister of Foreign Trade and Toursim, Peru
• Jennifer Kushell, Founder & CEO, Your Success Network
• Duane Spires, Founder & CEO, Extreme Youth Sports
• Jeff Hoffman, Founding member of Priceline.com; Co-founder, Color Jar
• Debbie Jaffe, Director of New Business Development, Latin America, Google
• Helmut Caceda, President, CAPECE
• Brian Tippens, Director, Global Procurement Sustainability and Innovation, Hewlett – Packard
• Gonzalo Velasco, Director of Entrepreneurship, IPECE

Arel Moodie, who may now be “South America’s Top Young Speaker”, kicked off the event with what may have been his best presentation to date.  Yep, it was filled with several “eres lo maximo!” and lots of “chevere!!!”  He may have even thrown a “medusa” in there.  Oh yeah, that happened.   Arel busted the 5 exuses/myths we’ve all come up with that become reasons why we shouldn’t do something.  But here was his secret – we have to be willing to do things others won’t in order to have things others don’t.

Next to the stage was the one and only, Max Durovic.  Max puts the Che in Chevere – what does that mean?  No other speaker came to the stage spinning signs, jumping over them and maybe even doing a triple back flip off of the stage (one of those didn’t actually happen but totally could have).  Max brought up three CRUCIAL points when it comes to being a successful young entrepreneur:

• Just Jump – don’t be afraid to try something new
• Aim High – don’t settle for mediocrity
• Never Quit – if you haven’t ever failed, you don’t know what true success really is

Representing the incredible female entrepreneurs out there, Ms. Jennifer Kushell brought to the stage a vibrant message of the young and successful, what that means, and how to join the club.  Her book, Secrets of the Young and Successful, is being translated to Spanish and she announced that the first place she would release it will be Peru… so cool!  Congratulations, Jennifer!

During an invigorating Q&A panel with Duane Spires, Sarah Green, Max Durovic, Joel Chlimper and Martin Orbegoso, the audience asked fantastic questions to delve deeper into what it means to be young, successful, and an entrepreneur.

After a short break for a little food, the fun didn’t stop there!  Duane Spires brought the crowd back in with a fantastic presentation on how to create a life of success and to do so by starting with setting goals.  He really focused on the fact that you don’t have to be better, you just have to be different.  Another really important point he made was that to be an entrepreneur… you have to learn to sell!  Entrepreneurs sell more than products/services… they sell their vision!  If you can’t sell yourself, how will you sell your product/service?  He ended his presentation with a bang… literally… video will be posted soon!

And now one of the highlights of the event – Jeff Hoffman, one of the founding members of Priceline.com and the co-founder of Color Jar, brought his incredible wisdom and knowledge to the young people of Peru.  Jeff is one of the best story tellers I have ever met and I dare anyone to try to name a person that he doesn’t know.  Not just anyone sits next to LL Cool J at a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction.  Jeff has an incredible heart and a brilliant mind for business.  But he reminded us of an important fact – the world’s most successful people are not smarter than you.  The three main takeaways from his presentation were:

• Get off the couch – start somewhere, do something, and learn by trying and failing
• Validate your idea – spend a day in the life of your actual customer
• Get a mentor – learn to take advice from the right people

Finishing up the afternoon, we had presentations from Debbie Jaffe, talking about the innovation of Google, and Helmut Caceda, who talked about entrepreneurship 2.0 and E-commerce in Peru before bringing in our closing acts of the day.

Brian Tippens focused on a topic that I love and am incredibly passionate about – intrapreneurship and the importance of the entrepreneurial mindset and innovation no matter what career path you choose to persue.  To be an entrepreneur, you do not have to own your own business!  What?!  Yep, that’s right!  The same skills, tools and knowledge that the most successful young people have used to create incredibly successful businesses can be applied no matter what your goals are in life.  Not everyone is cut out to own their own business and that is fine.  But being innovative, creative and taking risks within your own career that you are PASSIONATE about is just as important in your entrepreneurial and life journey.

His three main takeaways  on the core rules of intrapreneurship were:

• Make a measurable, global impact
• Be an “Experience Provider”
• Don’t sleep!

I think we’ve got that last one figured out already

Gonzalo Velasco, our amazing host for the Extreme Entrepreneurship World Tour in Peru finished the event with a bang… more like a gong.  He inspired the entire crowed to “Be unstoppable”  – which is exactly what he is!  He focused a lot on attitude and being positive about what you can accomplish in life.  If you can change your attitude, you can change the world.

This event means big things for Empact.  Our global expansion is about to take the world by force.  Get ready!

~Sarah

I landed safely in Lima late last night and Gonzalo, Jose Luis and I have been working non stop to prepare for the event tomorrow.  The weather here is perfect - approximately 78 degrees, sunny with a light breeze.  We worked outside all morning at the Lima Country Club (yes, I was a little spoiled) and are ready to ROCK THE HOUSE tomorrow!

All of the other speakers start to  arrive tonight at 8:20 pm.  There has been one flight mishap (our worst nightmare) but luckily, it has a solution!  Arel’s first leg of his flight had a mechanical problem and was delayed, causing him to miss his second connection.  This means that he will not land in Peru until 4:30 am.  Yikes!  For those of you who know Arel, you know that he is one of the most positive people in the Universe and he won’t let this hold him back or  disrupt his energy at all… he’s still going to have one of the best events of his life tomorrow.  However, he could use your positive thoughts and comments!

Over the past 24 hours, Gonzalo and Jose have been telling me about the culture of entrepreneurship for young people in Peru.  For many in Lima, they have gotten lazy and accustomed to the life their parents have provided for them and if you asked what their goals are in life, they wouldn’t know how to respond because no one has ever asked them.   They need the inspiration and motivation to see the difference they can make in the world through the entrepreneurial mindset and we are ready to deliver!

As most of you know, the Tour and our message about entrepreneurship is about so much more than just inspiring and helping young people to start businesses and create their own jobs.  The true power of entrepreneurship lies in the fact that it can give young people the motivation and the opportunity to become socially responsible, global citizens who innovate to do something that will make a difference, fulfill their life goals, make a positive impact in the world, and live lives of passion purpose and prosperity.

Exciting Announcement

And now for the exciting announcement: after over 300 events in the United States, Arel Moodie, Sarah Green, Duane Spires, Max Durovic and Jeff Hoffman will be flying to Lima, Peru where they will be speaking at the inaugural Extreme Entrepreneurship World Tour event this Monday, April 16.  Hosted by C.A.P.E.C.E. at the University of Lima, this first event will attract hundreds of young people from the capital city who hold the power to change the future of their country.

Entrepreneurship in Peru

We are honored to be a part of the wave of entrepreneurship that is quickly taking over the country of Peru. Despite a struggling global economy, the entrepreneurial environment and entrepreneurial talent thrives in Peru.  With significant foreign investment attracted in recent years combined with Peru’s geographical and natural strengths, the time is now to create a real opportunity to spur further economic growth in the country via entrepreneurship.

Stay Tuned….

Stay tuned to hear daily updates from all of the speakers about the incredible opportunity we have to play a role in empowering young Peruvians to see entrepreneurship as their vehicle to change the world and use innovation to transition an idea into something that will create exponential positive impact for their country and throughout the world.

Yours in the spirit of entrepreneurship,

Sarah Green
Partner & COO
Empact 

The most popular questions revolve around getting capital.

I know, as young people, we create barriers that stop us from ever starting something we are passionate about. For instance we may believe we are:

• Not good enough
• Not smart enough
• Not old enough
• Not creative enough to come up with ideas

But the biggest barrier we place on ourselves is that we assume that since we do not have any money we cannot start a business.

This is not true.  It scares me to know how many students out there never take action simply because of their financial situation.

Some pretty exciting news happened last Thursday in our government that I think you should know about. It will help you realize that not having money is a poor excuse for not taking any action.

On Thursday, President Barack Obama signed the Jumpstart Our Business Startups  (JOBS Act), a bill that makes it easier for startup businesses to raise capital partially via crowdfunding. The bill makes it easier for startups to stay private or go public depending on the company’s agenda. The JOBS Act shows that our country is looking for entrepreneurs to start businesses and boost the economy.

What this means for you?

The ‘crowdfunding’ piece of the bill is the part that is receiving the most attention and also the part that is most relevant to you.  Now, if you have not already created another tab on your web browser to search what ‘crowdfunding’ means here is little insight…

Crowdfunding allows you to raise small amounts of capital from large pools of non-accredited investors. This is significant because in the past you could only raise money from accredited investors who would of had to make over $200K a year or have over $1 million in assets. This made it challenging for people to raise large amounts of capital if you don’t have accredited investors in your network. Because of the boom in social networks and online marketplaces, the internet can provide any user with more than just friends. They can provide people with financial backing… literally. Websites like Kickstarter.com and IndieGogo.com allow entrepreneurs to raise up to $1 million annually, as sanctioned by the new legislation.

Coffee Joulies, a company on our Empact100 list, created a product that turns and keeps coffee at the right temperature faster and for longer periods of time. They used Kickstarter.com to raise the funds needed to produce this product.  Their goal was to raise $9,500 but because they received attention from the coffee community, they received over $300,000 to start their business. Below is their Kickstarter video. Watch the video to see a great example of how the Crowdfunding process works and can help you raise money.

How can you take advantage of crowdfunding now?

Crowdfunding provides a funding source for you that can help you get out of your business plan stage. Imagine what a couple hundred or thousands of dollars will do for you and your business. It would allow you to start, move to a bigger location, hire another employee, or produce your product/service. Having a crowdfunding arm to your funding strategy is a great way for you to not have to spend money from your own piggy bank.

Crowdfunding is also a great way to test your product idea. If you get a large amount of supporters on your page then it shows that you have something people want. A business that is crowdfunded shows me that the product is viable and will work because it means that people are willing to give you money before the product is even created.

Here are some blogs and tips that you can reference when starting your first crowdfunding campaign.

How to produce a Crowdfunding Video
Crowdfunding Manifesto
Thing to consider when Crowdfunding
10 Crowdfunding Tips

Once you have posted your idea or product to a web-based crowdfunding platform share the link with us by tweeting your page to @roadtour. We would love to support and help. Good luck!

DJ Lil Vegas speaking as an Extreme Entrepreneurship Tour Panelist

On March 30, 2012 Allen Christian (DJ Lil Vegas) returned to the Extreme Tour! This time instead of sitting in the audience, Allen joined us on the panel where he spoke to almost 300 students who sat in the same place he did just one year ago. Allen shared how he began his carer as a DJ and entrepreneur.

Many were inspired by his story!

Check out the interview below! America’s #1 Top Young Speaker, Arel Moodie had the opportunity to interview DJ Lil Vegas after he DJed for the youth at the 6th Annual NC Youth Summit in Greensboro, NC.

Most of the entrepreneurial startup sessions were hosted right next to the Austin Convention Center. This is where we spent most of our time because our goal for the event was to meet as many people in the entrepreneurship space. (Take away-have a goal in mind before attending any event). We spent less of our time in sessions and more time at meet ups and networking functions. Below are the three biggest takeaways we had from attending SXSW.

1.) How Many Young Entrepreneurs Do You Think Exist Right Now?

As an entrepreneur under the age of 30, you may feel like an endangered species in your community. You may feel like you are the only business owner who is not over 45. Before SXSW I thought that we (Empact) knew a good majority of top entrepreneurs but after the festival I realized that there are thousands of entrepreneurs not being celebrated for the value they create! It made me realize the importance of our work here at Empact and why we built the Empact100 awards.

Most of the startups at SXSW that I met were creating iphone or android apps. Surprisingly enough, some of them received some type of seed A funding. Here’s what is interesting about these appreneurs. The apps that had funding said their investors were interested in how many downloads they had rather than how much revenue they created. I think this is interesting because it shows that if you are making an impact and people are using your services funders will consider your as a potential investment opportunity.

What I learned from the app community is that you need to focus on making a product that helps people. After you build buzz from the people who like your app then you either will be able to create a premium app that people can buy or you can create premium services that coincides with the app such as in app purchase.

My biggest takeaway here is choosing entrepreneurship as a viable career path is a realistic option for young people. The attendance at SXSW increase every year and I believe because of the increase in young entrepreneurs.

2. You’d Be Surprised at How Cheap It Is To Start A Business Today/

I also think the number of entrepreneurs are increasing as well because it easier than ever before to start a business and test your idea. Buzz words at the conference included leanand minimum viable product (MVP). In fact, SXSW had a whole day session completely focused on Eric Reis’s Lean Start Up movement. We attended Eric’s session all day because there was so much valuable content and a lot of awesome entrepreneurs young and old. After the Lean Start Up session all of the entrepreneurs were able to collaborate and network over some local beer and grilled cheese. Yes, I said grilled cheese!

What does it mean to be lean?

Lean is a methodology for reducing waste and speeding time to market while burning the least amount of capital. This is accomplished by focusing on work and investment that creates value for customers through a process of multiple iteration release (sometimes several times a day) to test market assumptions.

One of the great ways to stay lean is by using affordable services. Here is a SXSW lean package deal the Eric Reis shared on his blog. I see it being really helpful for startups that need some technical support.

What does minimum viable product mean?

It is a strategy used for fast and quantitative market testing of a product or product feature. To learn more about MVP, Eric Reis wrote a blog last year on TechCrunch about howDropBox started as an MVP.

Today, you can literally build a company by testing your assumptions, create a business model that works, and showing that you have a target market that is interested in your product. Another thing that I learned from SXSW is that most entrepreneurs start out slow and focus on systemizing what they do have and building company that can expand quickly at the right time.

3. There Are More People Who Want You To Succeed Than Ever Before!

You may have heard about Silicon Valley, but have you heard about Silicon Alley (NYC), Silicon Prairie (Midwest), or Silicon Bayou (New Orleans)?

Another popular buzzword at SXSW was startup accelerator. These are companies that help startups obtain funding, office space, resources, and mentorship to make sure their business has a higher chance of success. One of the most interesting things about startup accelerators is that they are popping up everywhere!

It was said that in the next five years all communities over 100,000 in population will have an accelerator program for their community. San Francisco was the first area to really create a strong startup accelerator, which is why you have Silicon Valley.

But because of these accelerator programs you have regions all over the United States building entrepreneurship ecosystems.

The take away here is that there are people willing to help. There are people who have money to invest, and mentors who understand that entrepreneurs are the heartbeat to how our nation’s economy succeeds. There is support out there you just have to find it.

And next year…?

For those of you who are interested an intending SXSW but do not have the funds, there is a lean way to go to SXSW without having to pay for the badge.  What you do is go toEventbrite and search for ‘SXSW events’. There are a ton of free and open events that the public can attend and honestly I did my best networking going to these free meet ups rather than listening to talks.

A lot of companies host parties and meet ups while at SXSW as marketing tactic. Attend these events because they are valuable and not promotional as you may think. The coolest thing about these meet ups is that the CEO and executive team are were very accessible and willing to talk with you over a drink. I look forward to seeing you at the 2013 SXSW festival!

The speakers at this event were entrepreneurial dynamite! David Gardner kicked off the event with great energy and advice.  He shared a message about spreading positivity by encouraging the phrase “Thant’s Awesome!” This theme will stick with the students for some time to come and became the energy of the day. The kids connected with David in a huge way just as they did our next speaker, Duane Spires.

Duane’s message was nothing less than awesome! He encouraged the students to fight their “Little Voice Syndrome” to overcome they nay-sayers and obstacles. There were tears in the audience as some of the students shared their stories of perseverance, facing challenges to find success. It was incredible!

We ended in true EET style and took this event over top with a superstar panel. A successful lawyer, a mega serial entrepreneur and the
local town hero joined our speakers on stage to answer some stellar audience questions. There were great talents and ideas out there. We are so excited to help this area keep up the momentum and bring some more entrepreneurship to West Plains!!

After the event, the EET team rode to charming Springfield and could not get over what a great event this was. One for the books!