Overview
You have to work your ass off. I don't know anyone very successful who doesn't have some talent -- but that's not the differentiating feature -- it's grit and working your ass off.
I'm often asked who I look up to in sports and business. For the latter, Scott Galloway nears the top of the list. I feel fortunate to have booked him as a guest on our show -- actually, I'm feeling somewhat bewildered, but thankful nonetheless he agreed to a sit-down.
Galloway's a 9-time entrepreneur, he's raised close to one $1 billion in venture capital, private equity, and hedge fund capital, he's the head of marketing at NYU Stern School of Business, a New York Times best-selling author for his new book called, "The Four: The Hidden DNA of Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google", he's a YouTuber, and former rower at UCLA.
By accident in 2010, Galloway founded digital intelligence firm L2 Inc., which was acquired in 2017 by Gartner. In 1997, he founded Red Envelope, one of the earliest e-commerce sites, and in 1992, Galloway built Prophet, a brand and marketing consultancy firm that employs over 400 professionals in the United States, Europe, and Asia. He's been elected to the World Economic Forum's "Global Leaders of Tomorrow", where he was recognized as an individual whose accomplishments have had an impact on a global level.
Galloway's served on the board of directors of The New York Times Companies, Eddie Bauer, Gateway Computer, Urban Outfitters, and others.
On October 3rd, he released his first book, "The Four", which studies the impacts and advancements of four behemoths in the business world: Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google.
On our show, Galloway and I discuss how each business appeals to a human organ, emphasizing the psychology and utilities of each -- like why we share our status and photos on Facebook, why people trust Google search more than any other person or figure on earth, how Amazon has capitalized on thin margins and scale, and how Apple became the newest (and baddest) luxury brand.
It doesn't stop there, sports fans. Galloway and I discuss major sports broadcasting rights. He predicts Amazon, Apple and/or Facebook will purchase the rights to the world's largest sporting events like the Super Bowl, World Cup, and March Madness. We also talk about the impact Amazon has on sporting goods, via upward trends in e-commerce and private labeling.
Galloway is an avid proponent of public education. He's donated $4.4 million to UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business, created the Galloway Fellows Fund where he designates scholarships to students from immigrant families, and has announced gifts to both UCLA and NYU.
If you enjoy the show as much as I did, you'll listen to it at least two times through.
Show Notes
3:25 | How L2 surfaced |
8:00 | Spending for creative |
11:45 | Ad spending |
17:35 | Email newsletters |
22:10 | Origin story |
27:30 | Work ethic advice and passion |
34:50 | The Four: broken down |
47:00 | The first trillion dollar company |
52:00 | Why sports are important |
62:30 | eCommerce and physical stores |
76:00 | Starting a company |