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Questions w/ Shane Mac

Questions w/ Shane Mac

By Shane Mac

A podcast about questions. Questions people ask me and questions I ask other people. Mostly trying to figure out shit I don't know. Hosted by founder and investor Shane Mac.
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Brad Feld with Shane Mac

Questions w/ Shane MacSep 18, 2019

00:00
07:06
Haley "Zap" Zapolski Interviews Shane Mac About Nashville, Startups, Investing and How To Build Global Companies From Nashville, TN

Haley "Zap" Zapolski Interviews Shane Mac About Nashville, Startups, Investing and How To Build Global Companies From Nashville, TN

This was a private conversation hosted by NashTech with founders, journalists, and investors in Nashville, TN. The conversation is about how Nashville can keep growing its technology ecosystem, better support founders locally, and be connected to a global startup community and network. 

NashTech is a grassroots community of founders and investors on a mission to build the startup ecosystem in Nashville.

Haley "Zap" Zapolski is an active startup community organizer and the Manager of Employer Engagement at Nashville Software School. Follow Haley on Twitter https://twitter.com/haleyzap or join the NashTech newsletter here: https://share.hsforms.com/14Th9lnAhR-WMW7-iTWsVxgcpei4

Follow Shane Mac on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/shanemac


Jun 29, 202216:35
A Live Conversation about Nashville Tech & Venture w/ Logan Mulvey & Shane Mac

A Live Conversation about Nashville Tech & Venture w/ Logan Mulvey & Shane Mac

This was a conversation hosted at Richland Country Club in Nashville, TN. 

A group of entrepreneurs, real estate developers, investors, and others got together to discuss what's changing in the Nashville tech ecosystem and how does Nashville ask the right questions to be a switchboard city that is connected to all the other great startup cities and hubs.

Shane Mac is interviewed by Logan Mulvey and they discuss questions & topics like:

  • What can Nashville do to compete with other cities?
  • The Capital Isn't What It Is on Coasts
  • What Do you think of the VCs here?
  • A controversial tweet about Nashville VC
  • What should we do or be thinking about in Nashville?

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Links to people and other things mentioned:

  • Shane Mac https://shanemac.com/
  • AJ Capital https://ajcpt.com/
  • Nashville Warehouse https://www.nashvillewarehouseco.com/
  • Logan Mulvey https://www.linkedin.com/in/loganmulvey

Here's the host Logan's bio:

Logan Mulvey is a serial entrepreneur and proven operator. His ability to identify and create categories has led to healthy revenue growth and multiple nine figure enterprise valuations. His knack for developing talent and building relationships has led to him becoming a sought-after trusted advisor and mentor.

As a founding leader at Strivr, Logan established the company vision for content creation and customer success. He built scalable processes and teams to sustain rapid growth across Strivr’s customer base while maintaining best in class experiences. Today he oversees Strivr’s Customer Organization which encompass Customer Solutions, Customer Success, Pre-Sales, Professional Services, and Customer Support.

Logan co-founded his first company, GoDigital Media Group (GDMG), in college out of a deep curiosity for media and visual technologies. GDMG is a media and technology company focused on intellectual property rights management and distribution though its multiple operating subsidiaries. Logan ran and successfully sold one of GDMG’s subsidiary companies Amplify Releasing to Millennium Entertainment in 2014. After the sale, he served as the company’s SVP of Digital Distribution, where he led growth strategies for sales, marketing and acquisitions.

Logan thrives in ambiguity while always driving for clarity.

Apr 15, 202218:00
A Conversation at Alfred Williams & Company's annual sales meeting

A Conversation at Alfred Williams & Company's annual sales meeting

This is a conversation from an annual sales meeting with a dealer for one of the leading furniture companies in the world. We discuss everything from work-life balance and how it is just "life," hiring all-star teams, changing how you think about company culture, to changing our language to make a better workplace and world. 

This was one of my favorite and most vulnerable talks that I've ever given, I hope you enjoy. 


May 06, 202001:20:27
David Marquet with Shane Mac (Part Two)

David Marquet with Shane Mac (Part Two)

🎖️ Special Guest:

Former US Navy Captain @ldavidmarquet (Part Two)

🗣️ Talking Points:

- David’s new book “Leadership is Language” (out TODAY)

- Why leaders never say THEY and the WE/THEY boundary

- Why THINKING is

>>> than doing things FAST Follow David: @ldavidmarquet

Feb 04, 202027:22
David Marquet with Shane Mac (Part One)

David Marquet with Shane Mac (Part One)

🎖️ Special Guest:

Former US Navy Captain David Marquet (Part One)

🗣️ Talking Points:

- David’s path to the Navy

- Internal versus external mindsets

- Why REAL leadership means giving others control

Follow David: @ldavidmarquet

Jan 30, 202034:05
Chase Jarvis with Shane Mac

Chase Jarvis with Shane Mac

"What's ultimately at play here is the loudest voice, the strongest cultural narrative. That's where culture orients around risk or reward or safety. The hope that I have is that (people are) looking around for a little bit, pressing pause and saying, wait a minute. The things that used to be couched as safe are arguably now riskier than ever before. That's true for employment, relationships, identity, so many things. The thing that's going to overpower that is inside us. It's not out there. And that's the part to get people to lean into."

Oct 16, 201901:03:56
Simon Sinek with Shane Mac

Simon Sinek with Shane Mac

why start with the why?

Simon's bio: Simon Sinek is an optimist. He believes in a bright future and our ability to build it together.

Described as “a visionary thinker with a rare intellect,” Sinek teaches leaders and organizations how to inspire people. With a bold goal to help build a world in which the vast majority of people go home everyday feeling fulfilled by their work, Sinek is leading a movement to inspire people to do the things that inspire them.

A trained ethnographer and author of Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action, Sinek has held a life-long curiosity for why people and organizations do the things they do. Fascinated by the leaders and companies that make the greatest impact in the world, those with the capacity to inspire, he has discovered some remarkable patterns of how they think, act and communicate. He has devoted his life to sharing his thinking in order to help other leaders and organizations inspire action.

Sep 27, 201920:49
Brad Feld with Shane Mac

Brad Feld with Shane Mac

how to not pitch a VC?

Question everything. Asking questions to world leaders in art, business, music, and technology.

Brad's bio: Brad Feld has been an early stage investor and entrepreneur for over 20 years. He lives in Boulder, Colorado and Homer, Alaska with his wife and is on a quest to run a marathon in every state in the US. Brad has been an early stage investor and entrepreneur since 1987. Prior to co-founding Foundry Group, he co-founded Mobius Venture Capital and, prior to that, founded Intensity Ventures. Brad is also a co-founder of Techstars.

In addition to his investing efforts, Brad has been active with several non-profit organizations and currently is chair of the National Center for Women & Information Technology and co-chair of Startup Colorado. Brad is a nationally recognized speaker on the topics of venture capital investing and entrepreneurship and writes the widely read blogs Feld Thoughts, Startup Revolution, and Ask the VC.

Brad holds Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Management Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Brad is also an avid art collector and long-distance runner. He has completed 23 marathons as part of his mission to finish a marathon in each of the 50 states.

Sep 18, 201907:06
Tammy McSimov with Shane Mac

Tammy McSimov with Shane Mac

how do you love your work, be happy, and take care of yourself first?

A conversation with my mom, Tammy. We discuss everything from work before computers, being a great leader, how to make sure you are happy before anything else and more.

I hope you enjoy.

Oct 04, 201744:54
Ashley Wellington-Fahey with Shane Mac

Ashley Wellington-Fahey with Shane Mac

how do you change the sports industry and follow your dream?

Ashley is the CEO of The Relish, a new media sports company for female fans. She has an inspiring story and shares her love for sports, women in business and serving an underserved market: women sport's fans.

Hope you enjoy.

Mar 08, 201701:27:38
Tanya Khakbaz with Shane Mac

Tanya Khakbaz with Shane Mac

In this interview with Tanya, we cover many topics from harnessing your passion to start a business, identifying “the magic” of your product that will lead to scale, and managing the work/life/parent balance, and the global shift towards a “skills-based” economy.

Jun 15, 201648:04
Robert Stephens with Shane Mac

Robert Stephens with Shane Mac

where's offline going?

Question everything. Asking questions to world leaders in art, business, music, and technology.

Robert's bio: Founded GeekSquad, CTO of Best Buy.

Nov 11, 201523:30
T.A. McCann with Shane Mac

T.A. McCann with Shane Mac

what past experiences led to your success?

Question everything. Asking questions to world leaders in art, business, music, and technology.

T.A.'s bio: I am a founder of Rival IQ - the best way to analyze and monitor your competitive landscape.

Focused on active online marketers who want to get ahead, Rival IQ saves you time and delivers key insights about your competitors across their key marketing channels (web, search, social…).

Try a sample “landscape” here for major car brands. I was previously

VP of Product Strategy at Blackberry (formally Research in Motion), focused on BBM (Blackberry Messenger), social applications (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Foursquare…) as well as the native Contacts apps after Blackberry bought my last company, Gist. I was the founder of Gist.com, a social address book sold to Blackberry in February 2011, as well as Jump2Go and 3 other web based companies.

I am on the board of Full Contact and Guidant.

I am an active advisor to startup companies including Creative Live,

Zooppa and EveryMove.

I also spent 4 years at Microsoft in various roles on Exchange and Mobile Service Delivery Platforms.

I like B2B and mobile stuff! I am a new, but active angel investor and have made investments in Creative Live, Inside Social, Everpath, Heapsylon, Skedadle as well as Founders Co-op, FG Angels and SKV.

I am looking to do more so connect with me here. I like sharing my experience and ideas, so I spend lots of time at

Startup Weekend (on the board) and Techstars (active mentor), Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Washington (on the board) as well as

Lake Washington Girls Middle School. I learn by mentoring, coaching and teaching. Prior to my startup activity, I was a professional sailor and competed in 2 America’s Cups (won one, lost one) and the Whitbread Round the World race (now called the Volvo Ocean Race).

I am married to Teresa, a wonderful and creative woman and father of Ray, a smart, caring and active daughter!

When I am not working, I like to run and bike long distances and swim at 1/2 the pace I did in college.

Aug 05, 201546:45
Ryan Carson with Shane Mac

Ryan Carson with Shane Mac

why's culture matter?

Ryan's bio: Ryan is the CEO and Co-Founder of Treehouse an online technology school that teaches you how to make Apps.

Previously Ryan founded Carsonified (acquired 2011) and DropSend (acquired 2008). You can see interviews of Ryan on The New York Times Foundation with Kevin Rose This Week in Startups with Jason Calacanis Mixergy Founders Talk Ryan was born in 1977 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He graduated from Colorado State University in 2000 with a degree in Computer Science. He then moved to the United Kingdom to pursue a bit of adventure and fun and ended up meeting Gillian, getting married and having two wonderful boys. He and his family now live in Portland Oregon. Feel free to follow him at @ryancarson.

Jun 23, 201517:02
Lewis Howes with Shane Mac

Lewis Howes with Shane Mac

what is your passion?

Question everything. Asking questions to world leaders in art, business, music, and technology.

Lewis's bio: Hi there.

My name is Lewis and I want to get real with you for a minute.

I’ve always dreamed big, strived for greatness and deeply cared about people.

My dream growing up was to be a professional athlete and be an Olympian.

After getting injured while playing professional football, I immediately thought about how to achieve the next dream.

Broken, broke, and clueless on how to make money or get a career, my obsession for learning about business, marketing, and adding value to influential people (when I had no value to give) began.

Since then it’s been a powerful journey for me – becoming a New York Times Bestseller, building up a multi-million dollar online media company,

speaking all over the world, advising for billion dollar brands, receiving media praise from places like Details Magazine, being one of “5 Internet Gurus Who Can Make You Rich” and much more.

I’m a firm believer that how you feel every moment is more important than what you do or what you have.

I got a taste of being a pro athlete for a short amount of time. Knowing what is possible in life when I commit to my vision and pursue it with 100% passion… anything is possible.

Living my ideal lifestyle is important to me instead of working to survive life.

It’s hard to think that without having any business experience I went from sleeping on my sister’s couch to running a seven figure business in a couple years.

Hustle comes to mind when people ask me how I did it.

Lot’s of hustle, passion, focus, and consistent vision.

May 17, 201105:54