Tropical MBA: Entrepreneurship & Founder Lifestyle

One of the silver linings to the strange times that we've been living through in the past few weeks, is that we've been able to reach out to some of the brightest minds in our community and get a sense of how they have been responding to the crisis. Travis Jamison is no stranger to longtime listeners of this show. Travis is a bonafide SEO expert and the founder of Smash Digital. He has also succes...

As we've been practicing social distancing, the majority of our discussions about business and entrepreneurship keep coming back to the COVID-19 outbreak. In this week's podcast, we've invited one of the most prescient minds about this topic on to the show. Taylor Pearson is a long time friend of the show and has been sounding alarms about the coronavirus for much longer than most. Like us, Taylor...

The topic of today's podcast is unavoidable. We simply have to address one of the biggest stories of our lifetime, the global shutdown brought about by Coronavirus, or Covid-19. The impact that this pandemic has had on businesses around the globe, including our own, has been enormous. In today's podcast, Dan and Ian are talking about their decision to cancel DC Austin, which would have brought 150...

In today's episode, we are reaching into the TMBA mailbag yet again and responding to some interesting questions and comments we've received from our listeners. There is a word that gets tossed around in the entrepreneurial community, and it's actually something that is worn as a sort of badge of honor. We see it on t-shirts and social media, and it's usually represented by entrepreneurs who have...

One of the biggest challenges of running a remote team is communication. After all, "watercooler conversations" rarely happen when your team is scattered across the globe. Joe Magnotti is the co-founder of Empire Flippers, a marketplace for buying and selling online businesses. Together with his partner Justin Cooke, they have built a team of over 70 people who are entirely location independent an...

We've recently been revisiting some of our favorite business books on this podcast as part of a series we like to call "The Re-Readables". What makes this week's installment of that series so special is that we have been joined by the author of the book himself. M.J. DeMarco wrote The Millionaire Fastlane in 2010, and since then, the book has continued to grow in popularity. The basic premise of t...

Will Roman is a veteran entrepreneur who has worked in a number of different fields including eCommerce, physical products, software, and even cryptocurrency. At the end of last year, Will made the decision to leave his crypto exchange business to start Chisos, a product company that manufactures and sells designer cowboy boots. Will joins us on the podcast this week to talk about his stressful ex...

We often talk about the "1,000 Day Principle" or the idea that it will take about 1,000 days to get a new business off the ground before it replaces the income from your 9-to-5. But what happens after those 1,000 Days? Chris Cage's 1,000 Day Journey has been well-documented on previous episodes of this podcast. Chris is the founder of Greenbelly, a company that manufactures high-quality meal bars...

One of our favorite things to do on this podcast is follow up on some of the entrepreneurial stories that we've covered in the past. This time last year, we recorded a podcast with Tommy Joiner. In that episode, Tommy spoke about the genesis of his productized content generation service ContentPros. Fast forward a year and Tommy has made some massive changes in his life. Not only has he sold Conte...

Entrepreneurship is something of a gamble, and perhaps very few people understand that better than today's guest. Mike Jackness is a widely respected figure among the eCommerce community and is the host of a brilliant podcast called ECommCrew. Mike has owned and exited several successful businesses, the most popular of which being ColorIt, which manufactured and sold coloring books aimed at adults...

We here at the Tropical MBA are always fascinated with people who raise questions that challenge the social narratives that most people follow. It's no wonder then that Christoper Ryan caught our attention. Christopher is a New York Times bestselling author, the host of a brilliant podcast called Tangentially Speaking, and is perhaps best known for his 2010 book Sex at Dawn. Christopher recently p...

Last week, we spoke to Mark Brenwall about why he left his job in San Francisco to move to Asia and start WOD Nation, an Amazon FBA business that sells CrossFit products. Today's podcast is the conclusion of that interview and in it, we speak specifically about Mark's entrepreneurial "code". In this conversation, Mark shares some of his unorthodox business philosophies, as well as some specific in...

Mark Brenwall is the founder of WOD Nation, an Amazon FBA business that sells CrossFit products. A few years ago, Mark joined us for one of our favorite conversations we've had on this podcast in an episode called "The Power of Under Optimization". That episode was all about Mark's unconventional business approach, which prioritizes lifestyle and happiness over aggressive growth. Today's episode i...

A year ago, we kicked off 2019 with a somewhat self-indulgent podcast full of updates on our ongoing projects as well as some of our business goals for the year. As the decade draws to a close, we’re taking stock of the year and asking ourselves “did we meet those expectations”? In today's episode, we are revisiting what we accomplished (and failed to accomplish) in 2019, as well as showcasing som...

As we prepare to celebrate the holiday season, we thought it would be fun to revisit some of our most memorable moments from the podcast in 2019. In this week's episode, you'll hear highlights from some of our favorite interviews, as well as our thoughts on five specific entrepreneurial themes that continue to resonate with us as the year comes to a close. Make sure to stick around until the end t...

Some entrepreneurs have a secret. Adopting a pseudonym, or a "pen name", is a common practice on the internet. Even one of the hosts of this show, Dan Andrews, has been using a pseudonym for many years. Some people do it because their name is difficult to pronounce, others are worried about being stalked, or because they want to improve their Google rankings. We've also spoken to people who regret...

For the first time in a decade, Dan and Ian are recording a podcast from one of their favorite places in the world, the Philippines. The Philippines has been an integral part of their business for many years, and it continues to have a strong influence on the lives of so many entrepreneurs in the location-independent community. On today's podcast, they'll be discussing their history in the Philipp...

We've seen a lot of conversations recently in the location independent lifestyle space about something we like to call "The Digital Nomad Lie". The general concept is that being location independent is not everything that it's cracked up to be, and that the idea that you can have it all while sipping coconuts on the beach is simply a myth. It's not surprising then that we've seen a rise in blogs a...

So many people listening to this podcast are looking for the kind of freedom that allows them to travel the world. It's no wonder then that Recreational Vehicles or "RVs" have become increasingly popular in the entrepreneurial space in recent years. If you recall, last year we spoke to Ian's friend and mentor Corey Reueth on this podcast about his experiences buying and selling cars and recreation...

Today's podcast is another installment of our ongoing series called "The Re-Readables", where we revisit some of our favorite business books to see if they stand the test of time. This week, we've invited author and online entrepreneur Kyla Gardner back on to the show to talk about the classic marketing book Purple Cow by Seth Godin. Kyla joins us this week to discuss which ideas from Purple Cow h...

We first spoke to Kevin Graham on this podcast two years ago in what ended up becoming a somewhat controversial episode about building generational wealth on Amazon. Since then, it has become a sort of annual tradition for Kevin to return to the show and update us about his entrepreneurial journey. Last year, he shared his thoughts on "The Helsinki Bus Theory" and his decision to start a web hosti...

A few weeks ago, we hosted hundreds of listeners of this podcast in Bangkok for our eighth annual DC BKK event. Every year we learn more about the entrepreneurs that join us in Thailand. We get to have conversations with some extraordinary people, hear about their successes and their struggles, and get an inside look at the way that internet businesses are being run. On this week's episode, we are...

A few weeks ago, we shared a conversation about "Sweaty Startups", and how we can use internet business skills to compete and win in traditional, physical services industries. This topic really struck a chord, and we've received a ton of feedback from listeners who want to hear more about these kinds of opportunities. Enter Eric Gilbert Williams, an entrepreneur who grew his Canadian-based roofing...

In last week's episode, we took a look at the early days of Dan and Ian's relationship and the circumstances that led to their business partnership. Today's podcast is the second part of that series, and it's all about the next chapter. In this episode, you'll hear how Dan and Ian bought their business partner out of their product company, the origins of this podcast, how they started their member...

In the ten years that Dan and Ian have been recording this podcast, the number one thing that they hear from listeners is that they want to know more about their story. Today's episode is the first part of a two-part documentary series where Dan and Ian open up about their own personal history. In this episode, you will hear why they each decided to move to San Diego, California, the circumstances...