How to Be a Better Communicator with Prokit's Co-Founder David Swain

The Sonya Looney Show

I'm pretty excited about today's guest. The best thing about podcasting is I get to learn even more about a person's story, even when they are a friend! I first met David Swain when we connected over Prokit. Prokit celebrates adventurers and the athletic experience, whether you’re just getting started or breaking world records. The platform is designed to help cut through the noise, learn from the best, and find the community you need to reach your potential.

David Swain is the co-founder of Prokit along with Angela Zaeh. The idea first popped in his head in 2013 when he signed up for his first cyclocross race. Just like all of us when we start new things, David wondered how to train, what gear to use, where to race, what to eat, what events his friends are doing and the idea of Prokit was born. But David is so much more than the founder of Prokit.

His experience in communication and team building is unparalleled. David's story is interesting and a wild ride- from driving cross-country to San Francisco, to traveling the world, and eventually landing at FB in 2008, he has had a lot of diverse experiences. He's written speeches for Mark Zuckerberg, fought massive international communications fires, and launched the Like button to the world. And in 2013, David joined the leadership team at Instagram and worked on everything that went into building the company, the brand, and the approach to growing it internationally. He had a team of 23 people in nine countries and did everything from meeting with Pope Francis to navigating how Instagram created its internal culture, goal setting, and more. You can imagine the challenges of working in such an intense environment as we all have experienced the birth and growth of Instagram!

In this podcast, we talked about communication strategies as individuals, in teams and relationships, the power of a whiteboard, the importance of diversity when building a team. We talked about how to give and receive feedback, how meditation has been a gamechanger for David, the difference between meaning and happiness and so much more.

Wahoo Fitness

This podcast is supported by Wahoo Fitness who have been a great partner during my journey as a pregnant athlete and new mom!

Topics Discussed in the Podcast

• the importance of communication
• decision making: how to narrow down your idea
• diversity, vulnerability, and creating a space for constructive feedback
• power of meditation
• the momentum of ProKit
• avoiding burnout in startups
• how to celebrate success
• the difference between meaning and happiness

Listen Now

Resources

• Sign up for ProKit
• David's article on Building a Meaningful Career
• Common Threads Podcast
• When David interviewed me on the Common Threads Podcast

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