The First Customer
Ever wondered how to use your experience to start or grow a business?
The First Customer intimately dissects successful entrepreneurs journeys to their first customer. Learn from practical real-life examples of regular people transforming into superheroes by starting their own business.
Buckle up … the rocket is taking off!
Episodes
255 episodes
The First Customer - Recognizing the wave and diving in headfirst with CTO & Co-Founder Hesom Parhizkar
Atlanta born-and-raised CTO and Co-founder Hesom Parhizkar cut his teeth in electrical engineering before making the switch over to computer science and the rest was history. His sharpened his skills in strategy, architecture, desi...
The First Customer - Making digital contracts easy with serial founder and entrepreneur Jake Stein
Jake Stein grew up in North Jersey and had the itch for entrepreneurialism early in life. He started creating businesses ("hair-brained schemes") in high school and that interest and passion for business never went away. He learned...
The First Customer - Cracking the code on a universal translator with founder Joseph Roushar
Joe started his journey in Minneapolis, Minnesota and discovered a passion for language at an early age. Then he saw C3P0 and decided to make a universal translator a reality.He's a serial entrepreneur and IT Transformation Architect wi...
The First Customer - An extraordinary journey to being a serial founder and successful entrepreneur with Chris Sprague
Chris started out in the Lehigh Valley but also spent a ton of his youth in Philadelphia. He has an inspiring story of how being adopted helped shape a lot of his entrepreneurial journey and perspective on life. He went on to found...
The First Customer - Civic-minded and social justice focused entrepreneurship with Peter Wight
Peter grew up in quiet Quakertown Pennsylvania. He bounced around a bunch of different non-profits, lived in the nations capitol, but his love for PA couldn't keep him away forever.Pete took his passion for politics and non-profits and ...
The First Customer - Cold calling your way to a successful business with Nick Balée
Born in Brazil, Nick Balee wrote business plans as a kid. He moved to America and trained with international chess champions. After college he pivoted from his history background to start his first business back down south in Brazi...
The First Customer - Serial founder Drew Griffin shares his secrets of success to founding multiple companies
Philly born and raised, Drew Griffin's lessons around starting with the end in mind should serve any future or current entrepreneurs well. A really inspiring, humble, smart guy that shared a lot of how he built his empire. Starting...
The First Customer - Using your connections to pivot into greener pastures with CEO & Founder Damian Jordan
Damian may be one of the nicest, coolest, and inspiring guys you'll have the pleasure of meeting.His experience ranges from representing some of the top NFL and NBA athletes in the world to founding a revolutionary platform to help peop...
The First Customer - Creating a healthy self and a blooming business with founder Dr. W. Soyini Powell
My cheeks still hurt from laughing so much with the absolutely wonderful Dr. W. Soyini Powell ("Dr. Sy"). What should I have expected with someone who calls herself "The Rogue Gynecologist"???Applying the lessons she learned fr...
The First Customer - Unlocking your limitless potential with Limitles AF founder Adam Fiore
There's quite a few people I meet that I think I can outwork. Adam Fiore is not one of those people.From his early days in the Navy to starting multiple successful businesses, Adam has walked his talk. He's currently working on hi...
The First Customer - Creating the next generation of restaurant tech with Matt Wampler
From Jimmy Johns franchisee to co-founder and CEO of ClearCOGS, Matt Wampler (pronounced wham-pler) worked harder, then smarter. Matt took the path of restaurant owner to consulting to founder after identifying a huge gap in restau...
The First Customer - Driving sales with a trusting culture with Quantify cofounder Dave Ashworth
Dave started his business early and learned a ton of lessons along the way. From his first customer to his current portfolio of happy clients, Dave always listened to his employees and clients to build a trusting culture that has s...
The First Customer - Planning unforgettable events with Pink Social founder April Burks
Starting out in South Street in Philadelphia, April Burks based her life around volunteer work and building communities and events. She quickly found her path to creating successful businesses and giving back to her community. Grab...
The First Customer - AI for a Healthier You with Heydai app founder Sean Moir
A slip and fall down the stairs woke Sean up to chase his dream of creating his own AI-powered planner app, Heydai. Heydai learns patterns about your time and the things you need done to recommend a balanced agenda between producti...
The First Customer - A Standup approach to Entrepreneurship with Steve "Coop" Cooper
A standup comedian and standup guy.Steve started his journey in Jersey before setting out west and making a name for himself in comedy.Founder and host of "The Coop Tank" and about a million other things, Steve lives by a simple ...
The First Customer - Creating a successful business consulting firm with Shawn "BlueSky" Richards
Shawn Richard's awesome company hails from equally awesome Eagle Mountain, Utah.His previous life in operations and business development helped kick off his journey into consulting and owning his own business. His passion to help o...
The First Customer - The Power of Powder: Getting Saucy with AWSM Sauce CEO Carl Starkey
From custom made lacrosse sticks to upending one of the biggest industries in the world -- Carl is not your average sauceman.Carl's a tall, big-energy-but-down-to-earth founder with all the ingredients for big-time success. He and his c...
The First Customer - Finding the Beat with Dr. Miles Aron's Path to Audiophile and Entrepreneur
DOCTOR Miles Aron is an extremely cool guy. He's worked at ESPN, NASA, Stanford Linear Accelerator where he worked on Cryogenic Dark Matter Search experiments, and the founder of multiple exciting startups -- just to name a few places.
The First Customer - Creating a rocket ship shaped like a staffing agency with Michael "Hi-Octane" Bertoni
If you live in or near Philadelphia you'll eventually be asked "Do you know Mike Bertoni?" A sales-machine-turned-business-owner, Mike is never short of energy or great advice. He's built an incredible staffing agency laser-focused...
The First Customer - How to be a serial founder with Bob "Probably Founding Something" Cooper
If you want to be inspired by simple goals that turn into big things, look no further than Bob Cooper. Bob has a knack for feeling the undercurrent of technology and marketing before they break the surface. From video kiosks to the ...
The First Customer - Building a world-class business around effective communication with Jessica Corrado
A true gem born and raised in Central New Jersey, Jessica Corrado is professional passion personified. Dedicating a large portion of her career to marketing and Life Sciences, Jessica set out on her own and quickly realized it was j...
The First Customer - Creating a SaaS sales juggernaut with Evan "Keep It Simple" Yudell
Boring. Low-Energy. Lazy. Unmotivated. You won't find a more polar opposite person to that description than Evan Yudell, CEO of Sales Made Simple. He's a smart, driven, passionate leader who saw his opportunity to beco...
The First Customer - Charging the Rhino with Chelsea Craig
Motivated, adventurous, and inspired. Never short on energy, excitement, or alliteration (sorry Chels). Chelsea Craig, CEO of Rhino Reviews, took a personal experience and turned it into a thriving business in the online review management space...
The First Customer - A beautiful way to Begin with Brandon Frisch
From Chicago to Colorado -- Brandon Frisch always took the path less travelled by. He started a tech company as a non-tech guy. He built a powerhouse in the software development space through unconventional means. He's successful and cool and o...
The First Customer - Making your development agency dreams Materialize with Alex Nordlinger
Half man, half machine. Alex is a charming, smart guy who knows how to run a business. He also knows how to program. And surf. He also goes to Italy but just for the food and coffee. Alex takes us on his journey from journeyman to CEO of Materi...
