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The Launching Point with Mike O'Toole

Mike O'Toole, inspired by the podcasts of John Lee Dumas, Pat Flynn, and Tim Ferriss, chats three days a week with successful entrepreneurs.

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The Launching Point is a three-day a week interview-based podcast designed to uncover the transformative nature of launching into entrepreneurship through the telling of successful entrepreneurs' before and after stories of what it’s really like launching into the world of entrepreneurship. Each episode features a different entrepreneur weaving a narrative of who they were as a person before making the life-changing decision to launch into entrepreneurship, what obstacles they had to overcom ...
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Kim Kaupe, the co-founder of ZinePak, was a naturally curious, outgoing, and gregarious child that had no intentions of becoming an entrepreneur. She met her co-founder right as she was becoming disillusioned with corporate life and they began to innovate in the physical products space as CD sales were declining rapidly. Today, she is more confiden…
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Brian Clark, the founder of Copyblogger and Rainmaker Digital, was in law school when he already started thinking of an exit strategy. After spending a few years as a lawyer, the emergence of the Internet sparked his curiosity and he began spotting opportunities for making money. He quit being a lawyer and pursued entrepreneurship full-time. Today,…
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Lindsay White, the owner and designer of Lot801, got a 9-to-5 job right out of college and worked her way up in the company. After her boss told her that he was going to retire soon and would like to pass the business down to a few employees including her, she ultimately came to terms with the fact that she hated what she was doing. When she was lo…
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Swami Tirtha, owner of The Hip Guru's Guide, started as a regular guy from the suburbs, but when he was a freshman in college, both of his parents were killed in a car accident. He discovered meditation as a way to help move forward and it ended up being the beginning of his entrepreneurial journey. Today is is a speaker, educator, monk, shaman, an…
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Jason Treu, an author and business and executive coach, was in law school when he observed that most lawyers were not happy with their career choice. He decided to pivot and pursue the life that he loved, but was faced with the death of his father and a girlfriend that tried to commit suicide. In the midst of these obstacles, he persevered and grew…
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Lea Pica, an analytics, data visualizations, and presentations consultant, always found herself as an unconventional round peg trying to fit herself in a square corporate hole. After having her first child and returning to the corporate world, she couldn't ignore the feeling that time spent away from her family should be towards something meaningfu…
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Joshua Dorkin, creator of BiggerPockets.com, started his entrepreneurial journey in college when he built an online directory for colleges and universities around the world. Later, he became a real estate investor and, when he couldn't find information online to help solve his problems, he started his own website to share what he was learning and b…
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Agie Sundaram, the co-founder of Span Enterprises, spent 11 years as a cruise ship photographer before starting his own photography business. After having an epiphany at a photography conference and seeing his future should he stay on this path, he put everything on the line to grow a software business. Today, his company offers a variety of tax re…
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Yoram Baltinester is the founder of Decisive Action Workshops. Born and raised in Israel, he chose to go down the corporate IT path before he was laid off in 2001. Seizing an opportunity to start an IT consulting business with a coworker that had also been laid off, Yoram build it into a profitable business and sold it several years later to focus …
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In honor of ADHD awareness month, Eric Tivers, the owner of Tivers Clinical Specialties, shares his journey of launching into entrepreneurship despite being diagnosed with ADD in college. He was able to overcome that as an obstacle and launch a successful business helping those with ADHD and with high-functioning Autism.…
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Jacob Cramer, the founder of Love for the Elderly, was only 13 years old when he came up with an idea to send letters to the residents of nursing homes after volunteering in a nursing home. Today, he has grown it into a global organization that has delivered over 10,000 letters to nursing homes all over the country and he's only 15.…
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Sahara Wright, CEO of The CEO Effect, graduated from law school and went to work in family law. After she discovered she hated it, she tried to look for a job in business law. But after not being able to land a job in that area, she decided to make her own way and started her own law firm. Today, she helps small business owners think more strategic…
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Rueben Wood is a celebrity journalist, media icon, and chef. He graduated from high school and got a taste of the music industry, but through a series of events brought on by bad management, he found himself homeless on the streets of Atlanta. He had a vision to start a media magazine for independent artists and launched the idea with no money in h…
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Jan Spence, a professional speaker, sales trainer, one-on-one coach for small businesses, and business consultant, got her first taste of entrepreneurship when she was just 15, but it was after her husband had been laid off for the second time in two years from his "secure" job that they decided it was time to take the risk and make the move fully …
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Dre Baldwin, an athlete, entrepreneur, author, publisher, speaker, and marketing and branding expert, played basketball for a division III school, but had a goal of playing professionally. He became an accidental entrepreneur after posting a tryout video on YouTube and people started commenting and asking him questions. Today, he has over 4000 vide…
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Maura Sweeny, an author, podcaster, international speaker, and Huffington Post contributor, was brought up to be an attorney in New Jersey, but realized that she was on a trajectory for a career path that she had no passion for. It wasn't until she was 50 that she had the courage and confidence to step out on her own and be who she was always meant…
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Dean Roberts, author of I'll Fix My Head Before I'm Dead and a serial entrepreneur, was kicked out of school at 16 and went into the Navy. After a short corporate career, he went into the family business, began to find his way, and turned it into the largest doll house manufacturer in the world.
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Chris Burns, owner of Burn It Up business coaching, graduated from college with a degree in electrical engineering, but it wasn't his passion. He got caught up in the party scene and eventually ended up getting arrested and spending the night in a jail cell. It was at that low moment that he realized he needed to be using his gifts and talents to h…
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Janelle and Rob Alex, Relationship and Intimacy Experts, both started at a young age down the entrepreneurial path. After getting married, they bought a business that all they owned was tied to. The recession hit and they lost everything including their home. They clawed their way back and took all they learned in their marriage and today have foun…
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Allen Vaysberg, owner of Amiveris Entreprises, Inc, started his career in IT to go after the money, but quickly realized his passion was in marketing and working with people. He founded an IT company that collapsed after 9/11 and left him in $300K in personal debt. He picked himself up and started a second business that was very successful, but he …
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Vance Morris, the founder and CEO of Deliver Service Now Institute, started a franchise after getting laid off for a second time. But just two weeks after signing the paperwork, his wife nearly died. They decided to go forward and today, his business is very successful and he has taken all that he has learned and spawned a second business.…
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Gene Robinson is an author and the owner of Positive Concepts Publishing Company. After growing up being told he would never amount to anything and struggling with obesity for the better part of his life, he took control. changed his thoughts, and wrote a book to help others do the same.
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Brian Hills is the owner of a tech support company for computers and mobile devices and started his business on the side while he had a full-time job working in the wireless industry. He eventually took the leap and quit his job. Today, he is looking to expand his offerings and find ways to monetize online.…
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Rachna Jain is the owner of PopularPopulariy.com considers herself an accidental entrepreneur after helping build a psychology practice, asking for and receiving a raise, and four weeks later having that raise retroactively rescinded. That happened on a Thursday and by Monday she had her own practice.…
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Rick Goodfriend is an author and public speaker that has endured a lifelong battle with ADHD and recently had a stroke that has changed the trajectory of his life. Even through his personal struggles, Rick has become a successful entrepreneur even if he is unable to stay focused on one idea for too long.…
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Michael McManus talks about turning his passion into a successful photography business after nearly hitting rock bottom financially. Through the kindness of his in-laws during this time, it inspired and motivated him to start Gethrr whose mission is to improve, inspire, and impact positive change in the world.…
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