Category: salt lake city

Beyond the Prompt: Scaling Lore and Logic with Agentic AI:

I didn’t just launch a lifestyle brand; I built an Agentic GTM Framework. In Part 1 of the Apres Leisure build, I reveal how I moved from ‘Generative Noob’ to ‘Agentic Architect,’ scaling a 0-FTE brand from concept to launch in under 90 days. If you’re ready to move beyond ‘using AI’ and start running an AI workforce, the signal starts here.

How the principles of Finding Your True North fueled a 90-day, 0-FTE brand launch for Apres Leisure (P1).

I. The Call: Incorporating the Philosophy of Finding Your True North

Every successful venture starts with a clear signal. In my book, Finding Your True North, I explore the necessity of aligning internal purpose with external execution. While continuing to search for my great next career fit, I took on a challenging consulting project. Launching Apres Leisure was the ultimate “stress test” for these themes. I had to move from a self-described “Generative Noob” (using AI for ideas and copy, probably the average use case) to an Agentic GTM Architect (using AI for execution), ensuring that the brand’s “True North”—the transition into the Modern Myth—was never lost in the automation.

II. The Struggle: Addressing Laundry List of Challenges

Moving from speaking about and pitching connected technology to implementing it firsthand (read: front-to-back-of-house) requires some real strategist-to-operator-level commitment. In addition to time management, here are a few of the top hurdles faced in the process:

  • Education Rabbit hole – transitioning from generative to agentic via certifications, video tutorials, prompt education, social platform feedback, tons of trial-and-error.
  • Resources – versed in The Lean Startup methodology, I played a very key role in standing up and scaling a bootstrapped company, new category, etc. Finding free ways to grow vs. using the magic bullets is a job in itself. Vendor choices can be extensive.
  • Feedback – driving advisor and peer opinions, pressure-testing, doing the research to build out the strategy + LOTS of generative AI prompts.
  • Uniqueness – pressure-testing the category, building out the brand accordingly with comps and differentiating factors in mind.
  • Dedication – going from non-technical to self-taught “vibe coding” Agentic GTM technical skills isn’t for the faint of heart. If you hit a wall 1000 times, you have to make sure to get up 1,001. When the Make.com scenario failed for the 10th time, I leaned on the ‘Navigating the Fog’ chapter of Finding Your True North to recalibrate the logic.

III. The Solution: O-FTE with an Agentic Workforce

To maintain a 0-FTE overhead, I originally deployed seven agentic workflows tied to key roles, which evolved. These weren’t just prompts; they were digital employees executing the “True North” strategy:

  • To launch with 0 FTE, along with a few key exec roles, I architected multiple ancillary agentic roles within the “Apres Brain” to handle the heavy lifting of a traditional GTM team. Here are a few of them:
  • The Lore Master (Brand & Philosophy)
    • Function: Synthesizes the core principles from Finding Your True North into the brand’s narrative.
    • Output: Developed the “Apres Access” Legend Ledger loyalty framework and the “Modern Myth” identity of the LeisureVerse, catering to those who want to take that feeling from the special/sacred “Third Place” with them.
  • The GTM Strategist (Market & Finance)
    • Function: Conducts competitive analysis and financial modeling.
    • Output: Engineered a pricing strategy that secures a prescribed margin while maintaining “leisure-class” accessibility.
  • The Automation Architect (Logic & Handshakes)
    • Function: Bridges the gap between disparate SaaS tools.
    • Output: Built the Legend_Ledger_Entry scenario in Make.com to automate data flow between Shopify and the Ledger.
  • The Product Designer (Iterative Creation)
    • Function: Translates lore into physical aesthetics using generative design tools.
    • Output: Rapidly prototyped and synced 67 unique products initially for V1.
  • The Logistics Lead (Operations & Flow)
    • Function: Manages the complex logic of print-on-demand fulfillment and shipping tiers.
    • Output: Structured the Standard Signal Shipping hierarchy with automated free-shipping thresholds at $80+.
  • The Wordsmith (Conversion Copy)
    • Function: Generates high-fidelity product descriptions and marketing assets.
    • Output: Created the conversion-focused copy for the Apres Leisure Store and the automated communication triggers for new customers.
  • The Efficiency Auditor (Overhead Control)
    • Function: Monitors the “Team of One” tech stack to ensure 0-FTE sustainability.
    • Output: Optimized the modular API strategy to prevent “tool bloat” and ensure the business remains bootstrapped and profitable.

IV. The outcomes: Streamlining Ops & Results

By streamlining operations through this agentic stack and getting more refined in the approach, I saved easily $250k+ in traditional CAC and OpEx while increasing velocity to reach launch week in under 90 days. The product is a scalable, lore-driven brand with a community-first loyalty protocol that gives back in multiple ways.

workflow example built out at Make.com
A key part of agentic strategy is connecting APIs amongst services.

As for the results, stay tuned for Part 2.

Building the Future: I am currently seeking my next high-impact role as a Full-Time Employee and/or Growth Consultant. If you want to move your organization from “using AI” to “running an Agentic Workforce” with 0-to-1 velocity, let’s connect.

Join the Cycle

1. Equip Yourself: Become part of the Founding 100, explore the First Cycle of gear and lore at Apres Leisure, enter the LeisureVerse and act on the Signal for gear at The Shop.

2. Read the Playbook: To understand the methodology behind the Forge, grab your copy of Finding Your True North on Amazon and make sure to leave a review if you find it helpful. It is the guide for any leader looking to find their signal in the noise of this complex generative age.

“Shock the World” – Big Blue Did & You Can Too!

Michigan basketball just changed the game, rewrote history and won the school’s first title in 37 years. It’s a story of pain and resilience applicable for me and us all.

Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan's star celebrates with the Shock the World banner.
Yaxel Lendeborg, who didn’t have the grades for college back when, celebrates Shocking the World after the Finals win.

The Michigan Wolverines just wrapped up one of, if not the most dominant college basketball seasons in history, cutting the nets down in Indianapolis after beating the UConn Huskies in the Final 4, 69-63.

Despite a historically dominant regular season, Michigan lost it’s third game of the year, to a motivated Purdue game in the Big Ten Tournament Finals. Duke and Arizona became the hot, popular picks as champions.

Michigan took that loss to heart and went on a mission as the only team to score 90+ for 5 straight in the NCAA Tournament.

However, the UConn Huskies were hungry for a third title in four years. UConn hadn’t lost a final. That kind of experience is invaluable in crunch time, which was evident by all the close games they won in the tourney.

UConn had it’s way slowing down Michigan and muddying up the Final. No team had ever scored under 70, shot under 40%, shot under 15% on 15+ threes, gotten outrebounded and won.

0-50. Until Michigan did it last night, bringing it home despite the star player’s injury. Statistically, this Michigan team finished the season as the #2 team ALL-TIME in KenPom’s offensive and defensive efficiency ratings with an argument for most dominant – period(.)

______________________________

Personally reflecting: as a kid growing up, I loved playing basketball. I put in the work shoveling the driveway at night by myself in the cold dark winters of Michigan to get shots in. I went against the grain to the enemy Duke’s basketball camp twice around the 2001 championship, when Carlos Booker got stacked ((by the way, if you missed it: his sons were the tourney darlings going in to March Madness, featured on a commercial every break, leaving the tourney as the only #1 seed up 15 points at halftime out of 135 to blow the lead and lose. Cayden (the “other” twin) inexplicably turned the ball over before the 10 seconds ran out, as UConn’s Braylon Mullins hit a 35 footer in a finish no one will forget to advance to the Final 4)).

It’s crazy to think that at Michigan while I was there, we had former Duke star Tommy Amaker coaching a team with a bunch of notable talent that we’d see nearby walking around on campus. The team played well 3 of those 4 years but there were still ongoing sanctions in place for much of that stretch from the Ed Martin era sanctions tied to illegal gambling money and gifts going to players as loans, etc., which tainted 13 years of history, most famously the Fab Five team that lost to UNC in the Final because of the end-of-game timeout Chris Webber called that the team didn’t have.

I didn’t make it to Crisler for one game in college. Volleyball, hockey, baseball, women’s field hockey, softball, men’s and women’s soccer and each football game but not 1 for men’s basketball. The pulse was that low…

Then John Beilein arrived and restored hope, grit and spirit to the program. Everybody started showing back up.

I was there with my old roommates, classmates friends (and then some) in Atlanta at the 2013 Final 4, our first trip back since back when. A controversial Trey Burke block was called a foul and Louisville finished us off (although had to vacate the Championship for Pitino-era scandals of its own).

celebrating a semifinal win over Syracuse in the 2013 Final Four in Atlanta.
Celebrating a 2013 Final 4 semifinal win at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta over Syracuse.

We made it back to the ‘ship in 2018, but Villanova, who had the experience of winning it two years previous, took us down 79-62 to cut the nets.

Fab Fiver Juwan Howard took over coaching after Beilein went to try his hand at the Cleveland Cavaliers of the NBA, which didn’t last. Howard started hot and advanced to an Elite 8 in 2021, but he lost his cool on court and his teams faded to the lifeless 8-24 last place finish in 2024 and was shown the door.

Name Image and Likeness (NIL) became legal, players could now get paid and Howard cited not being able to keep up with the resources Michigan offered.

Star frontcourt player Tarris Reed transferred to UConn. Glue-guys Will Tschetter and Nimari Burnett stuck around, along with Jace Howard (Juwan’s son).

In came Dusty May, a former Indiana student manager under Bobby Knight, who made his way up the assistant ranks before getting a shot to lead at Florida Atlantic, leading the 9 seeded underdogs to an unheard of Final 4 and near championship appearance.

Michigan committed to upping resources available and with Champion’s Circle help behind the scenes (Michigan’s official Collective group, a small scrappy group of hard working folks I’ve gotten to know), May and staff mobilized quickly.

Michigan quickly fielded one of the quickest turnaround stories in history. But “we are all a bunch of outcasts” he said after finally smiling and cutting the net down back in Indy near where it started, bringing home Michigan’s first hoops championship since 1989. It’s true. Pretty much every guy had been counted out at some point, suffering anguish, lack of confidence and defeat.

May studied what the OKC Thunder did to go from doormat to dominant champ, stockpiling the right young guys. He met each player where they were at personality-wise and just asked them to be coachable and gritty. The team gelled, adjusted unlike any others at the half, went wild when walk-ons got stats at the end of historic blowouts. They just re-wrote the book on success in the NIL era, where fragmentation, the open transfer portal and dollars make continuity a challenge for everyone.

The “Fab 5” sat together on TNT’s altcast near courtside during the vaunted semifinal matchup against a dominant Arizona team that it dominated. They laughed, joked and carried on like it was 1993 all over again when they were going against the grain and changing the game, despite all the haters and doubters. 5 star combo guard Brandon McCoy committed to the Wolverines at halftime while talking the Fab 5 notably – what a moment.

Glen Rice held the “Shock the World” sign up when Michigan team last won in Seattle. Last night, 37 years worth of redemption songs came to fruition. But it’s not just the Fab 5 and ’26 champs that got redemption from the Martin scandals, it was everyone. All the players, the students, the parents, the fans – way too many to list.

Beyond that, it’s a story of hope when it feels like there isn’t much.

No one believes in you.

Your passive aggressive team thinks they can soullessly send you packing despite your loyal contributions. You got that email that you’re out, most recent casualty to a coding agent. Your elected officials have left you hanging, prioritizing themselves. Your family, partner or your health fails you. Whatever the (fill in the blank) reasons may be, it all feels hopeless. Why keep trying when the well is dry and it’s futile??

They don’t see or care that you’ve done the work, made the sacrifices and kept getting off the ground, pulling yourself up and back in motion.

“Those who stay will be champions.”

This is a story for you.

You can beat all the odds, reinvent yourself and become a champ in your own right too.

Go “Shock the World.”

celebrating the 2026 championship win
Celebrating the redemption story and 2026 Championship win with SLC Spirit Group friends and members.

The Silicon Slopes Tech Conference Didn’t Give Me Answers — It Gave Me Direction

Mark Cuban and Chris Klomp sparring on drug transparency issues

I didn’t leave last week’s Silicon Slopes with a tidy list of takeaways. I left with tension. And that mattered more.

Because when you’re building anything meaningful — a company, a career, a body of work — creation has a real cost. If there’s no friction, nothing new emerges. That idea threaded through nearly every conversation, keynote, and side hallway exchange I had over the week.

This wasn’t a conference about hype. It was about reckoning.

Tension Is the Point

One of the most grounding moments came during a deep‑breathing and reflection session led by Eric Espinosa of DeepLife. The prompt was simple and uncomfortable: What have you been carrying that’s holding you back — and are you ready to let it go?

I gave myself 48 hours after the conference to sit with that question. No productivity theater. No pretending I could out‑optimize it.

Just honesty.

Super hard in practice but that set the tone for everything else.

The Resume Is Dead. Values Aren’t.

We talked a lot about resumes — not as documents, but as signals.

Not titles. Not credentials.

Values. Behavior. Decision patterns.

The people who stood out weren’t optimizing for the next role. They were acting like the CEO of their own career — clear on what they stand for, how they work, and what kind of problems they’re willing to own. Author and LinkedIn editor Lorraine Lee spoke to this movement.

That framing is transformative. Especially now.

AI Isn’t Taking Jobs — It’s Exposing Them

There was no sugarcoating the AI conversation.

We’re in a 3–10× acceleration cycle for software change. Horizontally, there’s almost no defensibility anymore. Vertically — chips, semiconductors, infrastructure — everything is being reconstituted. The stock market collectively plummeted this week as a result of AI investments among FAANG companies and software was put on notice – if AI isn’t driving it forward.

A few things landed hard:

  • Salesforce was one of many stocks to slide this week but Salesforce Ventures’ Rob Keith detailed that its Agentforce augmentation service is already producing over $1 trillion and there’s more happened behind the scenes on the AI front.
  • Founders are becoming more technical again — not because they want to, but because learning velocity is the product.
  • Individual contributors who can think, build, and iterate are outpacing managers of process.
  • Product management as a standalone role is shrinking.
  • Customer success is becoming AI‑native.
  • CRM key functions are quickly being reinvented
  • Workforces will be half human, half agents — sooner than most companies are ready for. Right now you can build an agent-workforce to fill roles across the typical role spectrum for a cost fraction.
  • Humanoid robots in 5 years will be 95% there physically emulating movements.

“This year feels like the GPT‑3 moment — but for everything” (Ethan Choi, Khosla Ventures).

That’s not doom. It’s a filter.

Tools Are Table Stakes. Judgment Is the Edge.

Yes, we saw the tools:

  • Image‑to‑video workflows outperforming text‑to‑video.
  • Voice cloning and speech‑to‑speech becoming trivial.
  • AI music generation that’s already “good enough” King Willonius gave us a live demo on how he made music videos that have churned up massive virality.
  • Agent‑based coding environments changing how software is built.

But tools don’t win markets. Judgment does.

Domain understanding. Taste. Context. Ethics. Soft skills.

That’s the real defensibility now.

Soft Skills Are the Hard Advantage

Here’s the quiet truth that kept resurfacing: the more technical the world becomes, the more human the winners are.

  • Teaching your team how to talk about their work matters.
  • Storytelling isn’t fluff — it’s trust‑building.
  • Transparency plus aligned self‑interest is credibility.
  • Sales isn’t manipulation. It’s clarity.

You don’t get to opt out of selling — your ideas, your vision, or yourself.

And authenticity isn’t aesthetic. It’s operational.

Doing Well by Doing Good Isn’t Optional Anymore

Some of the most powerful conversations centered on healthcare, transparency, and human suffering. Mark Cuban of Costplusdrugs.com battled Chris Klomp, Director of Medicare on this principle and stage.

65% of people live with a chronic condition.

Healthcare remains the #1 cause of bankruptcy.

Pricing opacity is morally offensive and brought on by big insurance.

And yet — we now have the tools to fix parts of this system in days, not decades.

Not because it’s profitable.

Because it’s necessary.

Help human suffering. Help one another. Do well by doing good.

That wasn’t a slogan. It was a challenge.

So Where I Landed

Silicon Slopes didn’t make me more certain.

It made me more clear.

Clear that:

  • Speed matters, but direction matters more.
  • Specialists will struggle. Integrators will thrive.
  • Learning velocity beats pedigree.
  • Building things — and selling them — is still the path.
  • The future belongs to people who can learn, connect, and serve. There were so many great vendors and individuals represented who were trying to live that Silicon Slopes motto. Highlighting one in Keep the Adventure Alive for those battling arthritis.

And clear that the work ahead isn’t about chasing trends.

It’s about choosing problems worth solving — and having the courage to stay with the tension long enough for something real to emerge.

If any of this resonates — if you’re building, re‑building, or re‑thinking where you’re headed — I’m always open to thoughtful conversations. Not pitches. Not noise.

Just real work, done with intention.

The Next Life Chapter: No Pain No Game

Shutting a door with a bang and opening a new one going into 40.

I was embarking on a monumental life chapter on paper. A confluence of factors had me push myself on my New Year’s Resolution going into my turn going “over the hill.” I set out to step up and make it a transformative turn and it sure proved itself as the most difficult, challenging stretch of my life.

Immediately after the Cuba trip in mid-June, I tore the achilles lunging playing pickleball for the first time. It felt like a weight dropped on the back of my leg and I immediately felt a pop, yelled and looked around for someone that kicked me. I’m lucky it didn’t happen before the trip as it well could’ve. Sad moment for a proud athlete who prides himself in skiing 50+ days a year and never getting a real injury to date.

After limping around doing yard work hoping it was maybe a high ankle sprain, icing and sleeping on it hoping the issue would subside, I was proven wrong: this turns into a key metaphor for life and the moment. I woke up, the swelling moved down my league and bruising of the “cankle” was significant. A little Googling had me worried for the worst – a torn achilles. Urgent care got me a quick MRI that I ultimately didn’t need, but it showed a clear rupture. Because I got in early to my doctor, I got the option to not do surgery and just do physical therapy. Doing the research (re-injury rate is 3x less via surgery ) and my father-in-law felt like his ankle came back stronger after surgery and I flipped.

A friend recommended the new “speed bridge” surgery that Aaron Rodgers famously came back from, but that wasn’t readily available locally. I (half) jokingly had my screened and validated OSU grad doctor mark the correct leg to operate on to avoid the accidental procedure on the wrong leg. Luckily the surgery went well, I was wheeled home and fighting the pains trying to minimize the opioids for recovery as much as possible. In short, I’m very thankful for all the help from my father in law Peter, who pushed me to stay on regiment to the exact rep, not put weight on it and helped with chores. I can thank U of Utah’s Dr. Dave Carter (PhD. in achilles recovery), who Peter swore by, Peter and my wife for the support. I hit a flooring low point hope-wise early on knowing my summer and fall were shot, but I was focused on skiing come winter and I sucked it up, worked hard on my PT, hit the weight room hard to build the strength (and then some) and somehow in just under 6 months, worked my way back on the mountain and wrapped up a ski season skiing 54 days and nearly 800k vertical feet. To date, it’s no Rodgers story of non-field heroics, but I’ve just passed a year since surgery (about the date you can said to be recovered) and I’ve had no setbacks aside from sporting a purple, scarred bulge and the humbling life moment escapade that came with it.

A lot of mental work also brought me to forcing myself to step up, realize my needs and what I believe in and take a stand instead of quietly taking the easy way out. Just like hobbling on a leg I knew in my gut was shot and possibly extending the damage and thinking I could “sleep it off,” I had a tendency to internalize. What do I believe in? What breaks the code?

I needed to learn a key lesson when it comes to self-actualization and speak up for what and whom I believe in. Over the course of the year, I transparently called out my closest friends, family and coworkers. I stated my piece instead of allowing the status quo or playing both sides and it led to a ton of pain, heartache and feeling alone with a number of my closest relationships feeling very much in limbo.

I forced myself to start instituting and enforcing boundaries. I’ve realized that you can only control yourself and that people won’t change unless they are open to it. This is a work in progress. The truth is that many of those relationships will never be the same, people come and go and show their true colors. ‘Tis life – stay true.

The world has drastically changed dramatically politically, economically and socially. Many are feeling hopeless and forgotten and it’s easy to get sucked into deep despair following the news: I sure did. It’s ok to not be ok, just know what outlets are available.

While/when it may seem hopeless on a macro scale, it’s okay to tune out and focus on the micro. I just read “Go-Giver” and “Infinite Game” in my summer hammock. I’m a firm believer that karma is real, providing “glimmer” moments – small periods of joy and striving to find ways to give back can help lift spirits. Those can include dropping messages of goodwill, making random people laugh, compliments, gifts, giving time or feedback (transparent) pay dividends in “life purpose equity.”

Give and live! Take stock in what you have with gratitude and not the social comparisons – what a decade and chapter. Stand up for yourself and what you believe in.

You may feel ripped to shreds and alone in the world, but work the process and come out of it a new person; epic comeback story in the making.

Closing Out 2017 with a Blockchain Bang.

2017 will go down big in the record books.

On the personal side, I took the plunge to get engaged we just closed and moved into our 1st home, a life-changing ordeal in itself. I also personally learned that a country doing everything it can to self-destruct that’s $20 trillion in debt sorely needs software to help the drastically under-equipped IRS manage operational claims to chip away at (separate post in itself).

Sponsorship Buddy is rebranding within the next few weeks to encapsulate the force it has become, now directly optimizing workflows for thousands in the brand, agency and rights holder/property space (recently including the San Francisco Giants, who I could’ve garnered multiple rings based on a different life choice made (another post of its own). With a valuation now in the 9 figure range, one could ask how I could entertain usage of my full-time hours going to something else?

The answer? The blockchain.

I also passed up an equitable opportunity with a software behemoth fast approaching IPO and an executive spot with the most elite membership and concierge program in the world involving curation of the most customized VIP global personalized experiences.

After a few weeks spent volunteering, negotiating and absorbing, I signed on to become the #2, C.O.O. & Head of Fundraising for what we believe could be the most compliant blockchain solution in the exploding ICO market. By the way, ICOs (initial coin offerings) have overtaken traditional venture capital funding means and skyrocketed to over $5 billion in funds raised for 2017.

Everyone’s now heard of Bitcoin (the Amazon of the cryptocurrency world), but most don’t understand it or the blockchain. This distributed ledger system promises to change the world by decentralizing everything, from global monetary policies to how transactions are recorded.

There are innumerable roadblocks in the way before that happens, however.  Many early ICOs were launched by the likes of 19-year-old Ukrainians arming a cartel without as much as a business or legal backing.  While due diligence, transparency and sound legal business principles are on the rise, there is an impending fear of the unknown, especially the SEC coming down to ban and punish those deemed outside of the legal limits.  A day of reckoning is in order in today’s new age Wild West.

At OMINEX, sister-company CrowdEngine has the SEC & FINRA compliance nailed.  OMINEX plans to offer a wallet to manage such security and other crypto tokens and provide the portal to launch the buttoned-up ICO, funding your dream, world-changing blockchain project.

But first, we need believers to take a chance with us and invest in the most compliant fundraising solution seen to date (while benefitting with us along the way). We could use great Advisors, referral partners and investors to help us build out the vision before we can draft the team.

It’s been quite the heroic comeback story, 2017 vs. 2016 that is.

Who’s ready to take the world by storm in compliant fashion!? Blockchain and ICOs are possibly the most world-changing phenomenon we’ve seen, can you afford to miss the boat (more about ICOs as the new gold rush – biggest wealth transfer in human history)?

ominex pic

Happy New Year 2018!

Lessons in Rejection

Screen Shot 2017-08-29 at 3.12.59 PM.png

The Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Red Wings, Baltimore Orioles, Sporting Kansas City, Indiana Pacers, New Orleans Saints & Pelicans (among others pictured above): what do these represent?  All, the latest and greatest clients of Sponsorship Buddy Inc.  I, as the lead hunter, should be out celebrating in the streets to land these huge, globally embraced and recognized team brands as clients of our disruptive new platform, right? Not so fast, my friend.

Early entrepreneurial life is not glamorous (nor is the sports industry).  Over the past 20 months, I’ve had to learn all kinds of new skills, competencies, and levels of resiliency and discipline.  I set out with a goal of transforming the sponsorship industry in much-needed fashion for the better to help create more transparency, streamlined communications, a better client experience and improvements in quality of life.   In doing so, I hoped to make my mark as an innovator, disruptor, and difference-maker and put it all on the line to do so (personal life, relationships, financial stability).

Full disclosure, it’s been the most challenging period I’ve had in life and there have been some big ones.  While persistently searching out believers in my network, I’ve been aggressively pursuing careers and been so close on fantastic opportunities in sports or tech in Denver, San Francisco and here in Salt Lake City, only to be passed up on at the finish line.  My closest contacts have seemingly written me off while it’s been impossible to fight off bouts of despair, depression and not feel like a failure.

One of my key strengths is my resiliency, persistence, and aversion to quitting.  I thought the industry would snap up this relatively inexpensive tool but learned that it was going to take completing the marathon to change the game.

Back when we were looking for our 1st major league client after the Utah Jazz (beta customer of ours), I leaned on my former group in the Memphis Grizzlies, who have been notably innovative.  In speaking with Mya Donald, activation lead for the team, I said something along the lines of, “I know this is new and daunting, but this can not only put the Grizzlies on the map as a leader in the space, but do great things for your careers.” The Grizzlies bought in, embraced the tool, and four weeks ago, Mya was on-stage as a finalist at NBA league meetings citing us as a key piece to the team’s peer-nominated Relationship Management Program of the Year.  To add validation, the winners of the award, the Cleveland Cavaliers, known not only for being runner up in the 2016-2017 NBA Finals, but also for a notable Goodyear Jersey Patch Campaign and innovative 365-day activation approach have followed suit as our 5th client in the most innovative of all sports leagues (NBA).

Taking excerpts like these to market, we’ve now established ourselves as an industry-recognized brand with success stories throughout the major and minor leagues, not to mention being in the process of signing our 1st brand and agency clients.   We accomplished our set growth and vesting goals a year ahead of time and have solidified our brand and platform as a force with huge upside from here while maxing out my equity shares in the company.

As we look to solve the sponsorship industry’s communication issues one client at a time, I’ve realized that I have a long ways to go to become a great communicator myself.  I realized that my emails, like everyone’s texts or emails from time to time, can be misinterpreted and come off the wrong way.  Instead of leaving tone, reasoning, and objectives up for interpretation, I insisted on a face-to-face meeting to speak my mind, and after a 2nd fishing trip meeting to close out the summer and further collaborate on ownership stake and employment terms. I’m now about to be in a much more secure place while being in control of day and destiny.

Lessons learned: don’t take rejection to heart.  It only takes one (you).  Even when everyone else loses faith in you, what you believe in and set out to do, you can accomplish anything with determination.  Be mindful, self-reflective and don’t be afraid to ask for constructive feedback, advice or someone else’s time to hear you out.

Making History with Your Help

Are you fed up with the feeling that your vote won’t account for any positive change? Are you over the stodgy NFL or sick of fantasy football after losing because of weather during 1 freak game or an injury that made all those hours for naught? Are you in need of an exciting last minute Christmas gift idea?

If you’re like me and you’ve answered YES to any of those questions than consider this a call to action.

Meet the Salt Lake Screaming Eagles, the 1st sports team ran by you the fan.

Whether you’re in Utah or not, this is your chance to actually play a role in managing and running a pro sports team. From the city (SLC over OKC) to the team name (after 101st Airborne in a nailbiter over Teamy McTeamface), to the plays ran on the field chosen through a state-of-the-art app, you Joe Fan are in the driver’s seat.  It’s Madden meets a Hollywood reality show meets the pigskin meets the future of tech.  The voices of fans who have signed up to participate in an industry that is incredibly hard to break in and stay in are being heard loud and clear. In 21 countries and all 50 states, they’ve secured their dream spot as Assistant GM or Analytics Department or as an inaugural Season Ticketholder.

Now it’s your turn to answer the call.  If you’re believer in freedom of choice, democracy, technology and football, we need you tuned and ready to make history.

February 16th, 2017. The Maverik Center.

ESPN, GQ, Esquire and other very notable national entities will be there. Can we count on you?

Success in revolutionizing the game requires churning up good companies to sponsor that believe that the fan comes first, groups and true fans and individuals who believe in the “democracy” mission depends on your participation.  Unite with me, you believers who nowadays can’t agree on 1 Godforsaken thing. Like which beer the Mav should serve. Together in this and be there with me as it could ultimately in crazy fashion help me fulfill a lifelong dream of running a pro team of which with success, will extend to a a rebranded, democratized league level in due time (2018).

Your Super Bowl hangover will long be over as will the holidays. What next?

Why not join me in staking your claim to be a part of history, giving the power of making decisions in unbeknownst fashion to you. Yes, your voice has now been heard – you make the calls.

But will you answer the call?

#TalonsUp

If you’re interested in becoming a Brand Ambassador, please connect with me, young patriot, and we will get you suited up.