​I sat down with Kimbal Musk last year to talk about the enthusiasm that drives his personal and entrepreneurial success. 

​While his brother Elon is focused on space and energy, Kimbal is crusading against industrialized food and its negative impact on health and the environment, and social media has been invaluable for generating support for his efforts. ​

Almost a year ago I interviewed Phil on the Handshakin Video Series in San Francisco.  

As I prepare to head out to SF to host Start SF's Pitch Battle (think mini shark tank event), I revisited my interview with him and wanted to share one of the best things a mentor has ever told me.

When I asked him about what makes a successful entrepreneur he mentioned three things:

Management

Focus

Execution

This week, I interviewed Paul Jamil, with the startup Vibbi,  to learn more about quickly growing a genuine, real Instagram following.  

Our services help clients find  up to 10k real followers, so I raise an eyebrow on companies like his that say buying followers is an alternative.  

​I always worried that buying followers might hurt my profile's engagement due to fake followers.  So I asked him all about it...

Ironically, this is also the most common advice we learned from interviewing 60+ of today's top entrepreneurs on the Handshakin Video Series.  But David Cohen, the Founder of Techstars phrased it best:

"It always produces unexpected results when you give first, it's a secret weapon of the best entrepreneurial communities," I heard David Cohen say in an interview with Startup Grind.  

Give First.  

​If you are an entrepreneur who thinks that staying holed up in your office glued to your computer or phone will grow your business, think again!  

​ Here are four great lessons from Handshakin Guest Phil Weiser, Dean of CU Law School and Executive Director of Silicon Flatirons Center in Boulder, Co.

For those of you don't know, JP DeJoria is the founder of Paul Mitchell and also Patron Tequila. He was also the first billionaire to join the Handshakin Video Series. I've shot about 45 interviews and there's been some common conclusions from interviewing today's most successful entrepreneurs here at the Handshakin Video Series.

Today, I want to share with you everything we've learned thus far.  JP realllllly nailed some key takeaways for aspiring entrepreneurs...

For those of you who know me, you know Brad is one of my favorite past Handshakin Guests on my video series.  But, not everyday do you get to hear Brad's story as the CEO of Colorado Technology Association asked about it (he's smarter than me and should have his own video series, too).  Here's some fun facts and takeaways I've summed up for you :)

Brad Feld Fun Facts:
-His first successful company was actually his fourth company.
...