Never Be Afraid to Win (wsg Amos Schwartzfarb)

During this episode, You Me and Your Top Three host, Gregg Garrett, speaks with Amos Schwartzfarb an expert in scaling sales who is a six-time entrepreneur, is currently the Managing Director of Techstars Austin and is a very recent author of Sell More Faster: Ultimate sales playbook for startups. As an avid climber and biker who truly lives life as an adventure, Amos credits his success to having learned how to not be afraid to fail. Additionally, Amos discusses how to sell more, faster and how the principles can apply to startups and enterprises with some nuances for each. Of course he talks about his “Top Three” and how advice from his current business and investment mentors mesh with earlier “in the trenches” experiences with startup colleagues. He even shares advice his mother and high school wrestling coach gave him which changed his trajectory on the mat, and maybe in life. About Amos Schwartzfarb Amos is the Managing Director of Techstars in Austin. He has more than 15 years of sales leadership and strategy experience in software, digital, advertising and entertainment. Before joining Techstars, Amos served as co-founder and Head of Customer Development at Joust. Prior to Joust, Amos served as Vice President of Customer Development for BlackLocus, which was acquired by The Home Depot in 2012. Amos was also Co-Founder and served as COO of mySpoonful, which was acquired in 2011. Prior to mySpoonful, Amos served on the Executive team of Business.com, as Vice President of Sales and Client Services, which was acquired by RH Donnelly in 2007. Prior to Business.com, Amos spent 5 years at HotJobs.com during which time went through both an IPO and acquisition by Yahoo!. Amost has lived in Austin since 2008 with his wife and two daughters. When you can’t find him at home or work, you can usually find him on one of his 5 bikes. Show Highlights Segment 1: Overview 1:00        Market Facing Functions: Among the necessary capabilities to compete in the Connecting World 4:10        Amos Schwartzfarb: An expert in sales and business development who understands products, service value Segment 2: Identifying Mentors through Life Experiences & the “Top Three” 5:50        A kid from Jersey fell into interesting situations, sought adventure and eventually landed at Techstars 6:53        Amos’ “Top Three”: When your mom asks, “are you afraid to win?” 10:40      Amos’ “Top Three”: Bridging hobbies and interests into working relationships and confidants (Rob Taylor -  BlackLocus) 13:22      “Ability to be my most authentic self” 13:33      Vulnerability: Understanding the “why” to various mentors 14:19      Amos’ “Top Three”: A teacher, a cousin and influencer named Neil 16:23      “Are you reapplying lessons learned outwardly back?” 17:22      What is Techstars? 19:22      Amos’ “Top Three”: “At light speed, Mark has become one of the most special and important people in my life.” (Mark Solon - Tech Stars) 22:02:    Amos’ “Top Three”: His bike a.k.a. him 23:27      Do your mentors know they are your mentor? Segment 3:  The birth of a book: Sell More Faster 25:28      Becoming the author of “Sell More Faster: Ultimate sales playbook for startups” 28:53      “Serendipity is an interesting thing” 31:07      “Everyone told me I was crazy.” 31:50      The W3 Model: Who is the customer, what are they buying and why are they buying it? Segment 4: Don’t hire a sales person too soon 33:00      “Is sales, sales?”  35:27      Hire Customer Development people to bridge the gap between product marketing and sales 36:42      “How do we act like a startup?” 38:24      It’s all about who you surround yourself with 40:30      Can a head of sales also be an operator?   Segment 5: Wrapping Up 42:38      Disruption in industries to pay attention to 45:43      Firm Transformation: “Pivot worn as a badge of honor in startups” 48:46      The importance of starting small to figure out if you’re right: “Have big vision but be humble in the process” 49:23      Rapid Fire Questions 50:58      Monday Morning Hack 51:24      How to get the book and how to connect with Amos Additional Information Contact Amos Schwartzfarb: Amos’ LinkedIn Amos’ Twitter Amos’ email Contact Techstars: Website LinkedIn Contact Gregg Garrett: Gregg’s LinkedIn Gregg’s Twitter Gregg’s Bio Contact CGS Advisors: Website LinkedIn Twitter

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You, Me, and Your Top Three is a podcast focused on exploring leadership in the connecting world. Specifically, the podcast invites leaders to tell stories, reflect, and discuss their views on: - disruptions in industry and society; - how they are leading transformations considering these disruptions - brave leadership to drive transformation. It is this last point where we focus most of the discussion, asking our guests to share their insights into the relationships they have with their “Top 3” closest advisors. It is our observation and experience that as the world connects, the importance of a diverse set of counselors is increasing in value. For some this may be a formal advisor who has been contracted on behalf of the company. For most this will be deep relationships in which they have been invested and nurtured. Through stories and discussion, we strive to celebrate the art of giving and receiving advice. The stories that are told are heartfelt and real. At the root we are exploring the process of knowledge building, relationship building, and perhaps most importantly, confidence building. After all, it takes a brave leader to battle the inertia that exists in industries, our organizations, and in ourselves. It is our hope that as successful leaders open up about around the subjects and the way in which they interact with their closest confidants, that our listeners will, in turn, reflect on their own “virtual board of advisors.” Over time they will then surround themselves with those who help them stretch toward greatness and lead bravely in the connecting world.