Productized or Software as a Service? A hot topic often discussed on TMBA. Of course, there’s no right or wrong answer but on today’s show Brian Casel talks to Dan about the factors that contributed to him changing from one to the other by selling Audience Ops and starting ZipMessage and also the different challenges of the two:

For our first episode of the New Year Dan talks to one of our favorite writers in the investment space, Sam Dogen, author of Financial Samurai. Started in 2009, just as he was trying to dig his way out of losing 35% of his net worth due to the global financial crisis, Sam has been discussing investment strategies on his blog ever since.

But ‘Financial Samurai’ is about so much more than that. In this episode Dan and Sam cover the importance of ‘parlay’ in your career, the downsides of ‘Financial Independence, Retire Early’, how he chooses topics to write about, and much more.

2021 has been a landmark year for this show, and for entrepreneurs all around the globe.

Though the Covid pandemic has lingered on, we have seen borders slowly start to open up and digital nomads finally start to become nomadic once more.

We even closed out the year by connecting with listeners of this show at our Dynamite Circle Holiday Party in Austin last week, the first event of its kind in the United States in more than two years.

Through it all, we have been fortunate to talk to some incredibly captivating entrepreneurs on this podcast in 2021 and to hear their stories of resilience, innovation, turmoil, and triumph.

This week’s guest has done something that so many entrepreneurs aspire to do: they have turned a bespoke creative shop into a truly successful internet business.

Lisa Norman is the co-founder of Authentic Leather Patch Co. Together with her partner Ian, they have been manufacturing custom leather patches for clients around the US, which they stitch onto a variety of products.

We personally love their hats, which are consistently the most sought-after swag at our Dynamite Circle events.

Their story is not your typical “4-Hour Workweek” startup tale. What started in a small shop in California, has turned into a business that generated over 2 million in revenue last year.

We know agencies don’t usually get a lot of love on the show but they can be a great way to get started, and an incredible stepping stone in your career.

Jodie Cook describes herself as an “athlete, writer, and entrepreneur”, and when she says athlete, she means it.

She has represented the UK internationally, and she built her agency as a lifestyle business with the intention of complimenting her career as a professional powerlifter.