The Jason Croft Show | What drives your business‪?‬ Media Leads

My guest on the show today, Ali Mirza, runs his company like a lab, constantly testing what’s working and what’s not on social media and beyond. 

And his clients and audience get to benefit. 

Ali does an amazing job of not only getting great results for his clients, but in constantly teaching what he’s learned through speaking engagements, his own social channels, and numerous online courses he’s put together which have reached thousands of students already. 

And the icing on the cake here is that Ali is an awesome guy, as well. 

I’m thrilled to bring you this episode, where we dive into how Ali got started running his company the way he does, what you should be doing as a business owner on social, and some specific examples of how it’s being done. 

This episode is brought to you by Raj Daniel’s book, For You, From Me. 

And make sure you stop in for our in-person Meetup Group, Strategy + Action, where we talk tech, business, and marketing every Tuesday morning at 8am at Coffee House Cafe. 

My first interview with Ali Mirza on Startup Dallas: 

https://youtu.be/Lfcf9O1jhbg

I have the good fortune to continuously meet people who inspire me and push me to be better at business and at life.

My guest on the show today is definitely one of those people. He is someone who has taken his good fortune and maximized the impact he can make in this world through his hard work and talents.

George Makaye literally won the lottery to end up here in the United States.

He and his wife have spent the last twenty years building GXA, an IT solutions company that was started from day one to allow them to help people locally and around the globe. From helping food banks and providing school supplies to neglected children in Dallas, to providing medical camps and fresh water for a new region in the world each year, the co-founders and their employees have affecting thousands and thousands of lives.

With all of the amazing philanthropy George and his wife are doing around the world, I can't skim over the fact that they have built a world-class IT company, staying at the forefront of cyber security to keep the backbone of the United States - its small businesses - up and running.

We dig into some of the resources, tools, and best practices for securing your company from an IT standpoint, as well as what it looks like for your clients and employees when you build a company with a powerful purpose.

Thanks so much to Tony Fleo of Social Venture Partners Dallas (Ep50) for the introduction to George.

And thank you to Raj Daniels for sponsoring this episode with his book, For You, From Me.

It’s so amazing to sit across from someone who has worked so hard on their business day after day for years as the accolades and financial rewards come pouring in.
I had the privilege to do just that with the cofounders of ShearShare, Dr. Tye and Courtney Caldwell.

A few of those accolades:
Google Demo Day - first Texas company to win this.
L'Oréal Women in Digital Next Generation Award
Startup Grind
Capital Factory - Inclusion and Diversity Award
FreshBooks and Fidelity Labs - Reshape the World Challenge
Steve Case, Founder of AOL and Rise of the Rest came in and closed their investment round.

Oh…and they are in the middle of a pilot program with L'Oréal.

ShearShare is a first-of-its-kind B2B app that matches licensed beauty professionals to unused salon space.

Salon and barbershop owners make money on their empty chairs. Licensed cosmetologists and barbers lease professional suites & booths by the day! In 330+ cities, 11 countries.

They’re transforming an industry. And they’re the perfect example of great people working hard, solving a huge problem, and riding the momentum they’ve created for themselves.

They have an incredible story and they’re just getting started!

Check out the full episode at the links below.

Ep62 of The Jason Croft Show

To say that running the largest no-kill animal shelter in North Texas is a massive undertaking…well, that hardly does it justice.

My guest on the show today, Jim Hanophy, is the CEO of Operation Kindness, which has saved the lives of nearly 100,000 homeless animals since its founding in 1976.

It’s amazing how even a non-profit organization, in order to be successful, needs to consider the “customer experience” aspect of what it does.

It’s also incredible how much what they have to accomplish on a daily basis mirrors that of a for-profit corporation, from having efficient systems in place to marketing and hitting certain daily metrics of people coming through their doors. All of this keeps the wheels turning for this organization and it's incredible to learn about and see firsthand.

Jump in to see the full episode and hear about some of the amazing success stories they’ve had recently.

Ep61 of The Jason Croft Show

One of the smartest and most driven people I know, who has also made it her mission to do great, socially beneficial work in this world, Kimberly O’Neil once again impresses me during her appearance on today’s episode.

She’s a professor at Collin College teaching government, which is noteworthy enough. But what we dig into here is her non-profit incubator, Cause Studio.

With Cause Studio, she has become a major force for good in this world, touching the lives of so many non-profit founders, guiding them on their journeys to improve the world.

Fearless is a word that comes to mind when I think of Kimberly. She’s not afraid to push through and make sure that the right things get done for those she’s helping. And that includes having the tough conversations with those same people. Like whether or not they should be a non-profit at all. Sometimes more good can get done by joining forces with an organization that already exists. Or by becoming a for-profit company with a strong mission.

Jump in and check out the full episode here with Kimberly O’Neil. You will be impressed.

Thank you to Raj Daniels and his book, For You, From Me for once again sponsoring this episode. Jump on Amazon and grab a copy today.

I had some pivotal jobs growing up that really shaped who I am today.

From mowing lawns and taking care of horses as a teenager to waiting tables in college, I’m still using the skills that I developed during those early experiences.

My guest on the show today, Scott Bennett, is the Co-Founder and CEO of Skratch, an app that connects teens with individuals looking for affordable help with tasks.

Scott and his Co-Founder, Ronen Akiva, saw a problem in their own households as their kids struggled to find work in the traditional ways.

Scott and Ronen believe in young people and that they deserve the chance to learn to earn. Their vision is to leverage technology while offering flexibility to help give teens the same opportunities that so many adults have today, meaning - being able to work when, how and for who they want to while meeting the demands of their busy lifestyles.

Scott walks us through getting this amazing platform off the ground and some of the real-world success