Looking Beyond With Michael Sikand

#152: Our Future To The Moon: Podcast Status Update From The Founder

July 30th, 2021  |  17 mins 4 secs

I haven't released a podcast in nearly a month, and in this episode I offer a comprehensive status update, discussing why I paused production on the podcast and why I'm going full-time on TikTok and how I've done 1.7M views in the past 28 days. Get ready for Our Future to become a household name!

#151 The Young NFT Mastermind & Future of The Creator Economy w/ Everett Kohl, Founder of Dbillia

July 2nd, 2021  |  25 mins 36 secs

In #151 futurists learn from Everett Kohl, the 22-year-old founder of Dbillia, a platform that provides digital memorabilia & collectables for influencers and the emerging creator economy. The platforms allows artists and influencers to create a limited edition "Dbilia" for their new album, video, merch, project or even one of yourself. Fans can keep Dbilias in their collection, trade them with other users or resell them on our marketplace. Dbillia is like a hybrid between Patreon, Discord, and traditional NFT marketplaces, and sits squarely in the middle of the emerging creator economy and hot trends underlying fandom, blockchain, and alternative investments. In this podcast, Everett discusses the "why" behind NFT's, how he first started thinking about them way back in 2017, the challenges in building his company, and his advice to other aspiring entrepreneurs.

Connect with Everett on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/everett-kohl/

Apply for Michael's upcoming podcast course on July 9-11: https://learntogether.world/how-to-build-podcast/https://learntogether.world/how-to-build-podcast/

Subscribe to Our Future Newsletter: https://www.ourfuturehq.com/

Purchase Our Future Merch: http://bit.ly/ourfuturemerch

Follow us on IG: http://bit.ly/ourfutureig

Follow us on TikTok: http://bit.ly/ourfuturetiktok

#150 The Billion Dollar Video Game w/ Charles Huang, Co-Creator of Guitar Hero

June 25th, 2021  |  18 mins 13 secs

In #150, Michael Sikand sits down with Charles Huang, co-founder of Red Octane, the company behind the legendary Guitar Hero franchise. Starting the company alongside his brother Kai in the early 2000’s, the gaming startup began by designing hardware for music and dancing games like “Dance Dance Revolution” and “In The Groove”. Soon however, the brothers realized a massive opportunity in delivering music games to an American audience (they were primarily popular in Asia) that were deeply rooted in culture. Despite having to re-mortgage their houses to make it work, the brothers launched Guitar Hero in November 2005. The game was an instant success and within a year of launching the game, Red Octane was acquired for $100M by Activision. Guitar Hero went on to be the second-ever game to reach $1B in sales, being the world’s best-selling game in both 2007 and 2008. In this episode, Charles shares lessons, stories, and insights from an entrepreneurial journey building a product that rocked the world. He also explains why Guitar Hero faded away from its massive success and provides career advice to young entrepreneurs. This is a must listen!

You Can Now Watch Interviews on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3hAS9IE

Subscribe to Our Future Newsletter: http://bit.ly/ourfuturenewsletter

Purchase Our Future Merch: http://bit.ly/ourfuturemerch

Attend Our Weekly Entrepreneurship Events: http://bit.ly/ourfuturecommunity

Follow us on IG: http://bit.ly/ourfutureig

Follow us on TikTok: http://bit.ly/ourfuturetiktok

#149 Two Edtech Startup Exits at Age 16?! w/ Calix Huang, Founder of Hours, Product Lead at Fiveable, and CEO at Launch Tech

June 18th, 2021  |  18 mins 1 sec

In #149, Michael Sikand interviews Calix Huang, a 16-year-old entrepreneur, high school student, and engineer who has built and sold two startups in the edtech space! His most recent startup, Hours, was a virtual study tool that allowed students to join rooms and do school work together in real-time, setting timers for different work sprints and exchanging messages. Through a crazy user acquisition strategy, Calix grew the platform to over 20k users from high schools and universities around the world, and in 2021, Hours was acquired by venture-backed edtech company Fiveable, where he currently serves as a lead of product. In this podcast, Calix inspires you with his startup story, from idea to sale, and will help you think about building your own exciting product that people will love. No matter what you want to build, this interview will fuel your ambition, so don't miss it.

Connect with Calix on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/calix-huang/

You Can Now Watch Interviews on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3hAS9IE

Subscribe to Our Future Newsletter: http://bit.ly/ourfuturenewsletter

Purchase Our Future Merch: http://bit.ly/ourfuturemerch

Attend Our Weekly Entrepreneurship Events: http://bit.ly/ourfuturecommunity

Follow us on IG: http://bit.ly/ourfutureig

Follow us on TikTok: http://bit.ly/ourfuturetiktok

#148 Raising $6M at Age 21 to Revolutionize Personal Finance w/ Sheridan Clayborne, co-founder of Lendtable (YC S20)

June 9th, 2021  |  19 mins

In #148, futurists learn from Sheridan Clayborne, a 21-year-old entrepreneurial sensation and the co-founder of Lendtable, a YC backed fintech startup tackling the retirement savings crisis that's raised over $6M from investors like Josh Richards, Bryce Hall, and SoftBank. The mission of Lendtable is simple: make everyone a millionaire, regardless of income level. They do this by giving no-interest loans to employees across America to help them take FULL advantage of their 401(k) match (or ESPP pools). In exchange, they take a small (5-10%) cut of the match. Some background on Sheridan: he was the youngest person to get into Northwestern at age 15, started his first million-dollar company when he was was 17, has worked at Dropbx and Goldman Sachs, and has done over $10mil in sales across his startups. I think Lendtable is the next unicorn and it's obvious that Sheridan is extremely passionate about the massive problem they're solving: people are not taking advantage of free money! Lendtable is a genius idea and an awesome interview, don't miss this crazy Gen Z founder story.

Connect with Sherdian on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheridan-clayborne-77723a119/

You Can Now Watch Interviews on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3hAS9IE

Subscribe to Our Future Newsletter: http://bit.ly/ourfuturenewsletter

Purchase Our Future Merch: http://bit.ly/ourfuturemerch

Attend Our Weekly Entrepreneurship Events: http://bit.ly/ourfuturecommunity

Follow us on IG: http://bit.ly/ourfutureig

Follow us on TikTok: http://bit.ly/ourfuturetiktok

#147 The High School Startup Making $500K!? w/ Sims Wilson and Daniel Greenberg, co-founders of ViralLEDS

June 1st, 2021  |  11 mins 23 secs

business, entrepreneurship, howto, startup

In #147 futurists tune into a conversation with high school students and soon to be graduates Sims Wilson and Daniel Greenberg, the co-founders of ViralLEDS, a startup they founded in 2020 which sells an array of in-home lighting products through social media. After Sims posted a TikTok showing how he made LED light strips for his bedroom and it went viral, he and Daniel decided to turn a hobby into a business that to date has cleared more than $500,000 in revenue, with almost 100% of their sales coming through TikTok! It's insane to see entrepreneurs building businesses out of the immense reach afforded by TikTok's platform, and Daniel and Sims share an awesome story about how they built their business, how Addison Rae discovered and reposted their product, how they both got into Ivy league schools (Sims is going to Cornell and Daniel is going to Brown), and their career advice to young entrepreneurs.

Go buy some ViralLEDS: https://viralleds.com/

You Can Now Watch Interviews on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3hAS9IE

Subscribe to Our Future Newsletter: http://bit.ly/ourfuturenewsletter

Purchase Our Future Merch: http://bit.ly/ourfuturemerch

Attend Our Weekly Entrepreneurship Events: http://bit.ly/ourfuturecommunity

Follow us on IG: http://bit.ly/ourfutureig

Follow us on TikTok: http://bit.ly/ourfuturetiktok

#146 The Nike of Skincare!! w/ Matthias Metternich, Co-Founder & CEO of Art of Sport

May 26th, 2021  |  23 mins 12 secs

In #146, futurists learn from Matthias Metternich, Co-Founder & CEO of Art of Sport, a CPG skincare brand he co-founded alongside the late Kobe Bryant and Brian Lee in 2018. Art of Sport produces a range of daily essentials from body wash to deodorant to soap optimized for the lifestyles of athletes and has consistently ranked as the fastest growing men's skincare brand in the country since it was founded. In just three years, Matthias and the team have scaled Art of Sport from 0 to 15,000 retail locations and have partnered with some of the world's biggest and best athletes including: James Harden, Juju Smith-Schuster, Javi Bayez, Sage Erickson, and Ken Roczen. In this podcast, Matthias breaks down the company's vision to be the "Nike of Skincare", his learnings as a business builder (this is his 5th business), how he convinced Kobe Bryant to help start the company, the truth about working with influencers, and his career advice to the young and hungry. Don't miss this one!

You Can Now Watch These Interviews on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3hAS9IE

Subscribe to Our Future Newsletter: http://bit.ly/ourfuturenewsletter

Purchase Our Future Merch: http://bit.ly/ourfuturemerch

Attend Our Weekly Entrepreneurship Events: http://bit.ly/ourfuturecommunity

Follow us on IG: http://bit.ly/ourfutureig

Follow us on TikTok: http://bit.ly/ourfuturetiktok

#145 The Student Startup Acquired in 7 Months?! w/ Kenan Saleh, Co-Founder of Halo Cars and Head of Product at Lyft Media

May 20th, 2021  |  29 mins 3 secs

In #145, futurists learn from Kenan Saleh, co-founder of Halo Cars (acq. Lyft) and Head of Product at Lyft Media. As a 19 year-old at UPenn, Kenan and his co-founders set out to create a digitally connected, rooftop display for rideshare drivers to capture a massive outdoor advertising opportunity and provide drivers with supplemental income. Within 7 months of launching the product, the company was acquired by Lyft and became the basis for what is now the rideshare giant's advertising division–which Kenan now leads. Kenan shared some amazing insights about entrepreneurship, his love for "The Social Network" movie, how he found his first supplier in China, the story of the Lyft acquisition, and why we will see more and more of advertising-subsidized-transportation in the future. This one is epic don't miss it!

Follow Kenan on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kenansaleh/

You Can Now Watch Interviews on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3hAS9IE

Subscribe to Our Future Newsletter: http://bit.ly/ourfuturenewsletter

Purchase Our Future Merch: http://bit.ly/ourfuturemerch

Attend Our Weekly Entrepreneurship Events: http://bit.ly/ourfuturecommunity

Follow us on IG: http://bit.ly/ourfutureig

Follow us on TikTok: http://bit.ly/ourfuturetiktok

#144 Hollywood Legend Takes Us Behind The Scenes?! w/ Jon Glickman, Former President of MGM Studios, Founder & CEO at Glickmania

May 14th, 2021  |  39 mins 6 secs

In #144 futurists tune into an EPIC podcast diving deep into the film industry with Hollywood legend, producer, and entrepreneur Jon Glickman, who is making his second appearance on Our Future since first coming on the show last summer. Glickman is the former President of MGM Studios, where he guided a bankrupt company into a thriving studio amd oversaw production on Eon’s Skyfall and Spectre, the two highest grossing installments of the James Bond franchise, as well as the forthcoming No Time to Die, Daniel Craig’s final outing in the series. Other notable highlights of his tenure include overseeing the production of the Rocky spinoff Creed, and the sequel Creed 2, starring Sylvester Stallone and Michael B Jordan, as well as the 2019 animated hit recreation of The Addams Family. Notably, during Glickman’s term at MGM, he was ahead of the industry’s diversity hiring initiatives, with 24% of his slate featuring female filmmakers and 27% featuring directors of color, far exceeding the industry average.

Jon is now the Founder & CEO of Glickmania, where he is on a quest to build out a formidable library of IP in the entertainment world through myriad forms of content. He describes his current company as a next generation incubator focussing on established and emerging storytellers across all platforms – including franchise films, television, music, podcasts, comics and new media – in order to make high quality productions while creating an IP rights library.

DO not miss this episode–it's full of gleaming takeaways like when Jon convinced Joe Roth to give him an internship in an elevator when he was at USC Film School. He talks everything from nearly getting blown up on the set of James Bond to how young people can break into entertainment.

Follow Jon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/glickmania?lang=en

Check out Glickmania: https://glickmania.com/#about

Get 50% off Verb Energy's caffeinated energy bars, which have just 90 calories and pack the same punch as a cup of coffee, coming in delicious flavors like Vanilla Latte, Double Chocolate, and Peppermint Mocha. You, the Our Future listener, can get 16 Verb energy bars for just $12 by purchasing through our unique link here: https://www.verbenergy.com/ourfuture

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2htIc3-njRI5BKTJ2QqNfA

Subscribe to Our Future Newsletter: https://www.ourfuturehq.com/

Follow us on IG: https://www.instagram.com/ourfuturehq/

Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ourfuturehq

#143 The $1.6B Dog Subscription Box SPAC?! w/ Henrik Werdelin, Co-Founder of BarkBox (BARK)

May 6th, 2021  |  28 mins 33 secs

In #143, futurists learn from Henrik Werdelin, Co-Founder of BarkBox (now referred to as BARK), the $1.6 billion dog subscription service company that recently announced its plans to go public via SPAC with Northern Star Acquisition (STIC). In the past pandemic year, people have spent over $99B on their pets, a trend that has powered BARK to historic heights, with over 1.7M paying subscribers and FY2020 revenues of nearly $400M. The company maintains several monthly dog product shipments, ranging from toys and treats to food and even health/wellness products, all of which contribute to a 60% gross margin. BARK is a fascinating business and there is so much to learn from Henrik on this podcast–he discusses everything from how breaking the law at MTV resulted in him getting a promotion to how he and his co-founder met on a cruise while sharing the same bed. Henrik dives into why young entrepreneurs should ask for money to test products, how to be confident as a young person in business, why BarkBox was able to succeed, his advice to young entrepreneurs, and so much more.

Get 50% off Verb Energy's caffeinated energy bars, which have just 90 calories and pack the same punch as a cup of coffee, coming in delicious flavors like Vanilla Latte, Double Chocolate, and Peppermint Mocha. You, the Our Future listener, can get 16 Verb energy bars for just $12 by purchasing through our unique link here: https://www.verbenergy.com/ourfuture

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2htIc3-njRI5BKTJ2QqNfA

Subscribe to Our Future Newsletter: https://www.ourfuturehq.com/

Follow us on IG: https://www.instagram.com/ourfuturehq/

Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ourfuturehq

#142 SPECIAL: Our Future's One Year Anniversary - Reflecting on The Journey of This Podcast!

April 30th, 2021  |  24 mins 12 secs

In #142 futurists celebrate Our Future's 1 year anniversary and join a group of Michael’s closest friends, family, and team members to reflect on an idea that went from quarantine podcast to a full-scale media brand producing business content for young people.

A huge thanks to all of you who come out and listen to Our Future every week, you mean the world to me and this brand.

Here are the guests on this episode in order that they appear:

1. Catherine Dunne, Michael’s Mom, reflects on seeing her son find his passion and build something from nothing during COVID-19
2. Shiv Sikand, Michael’s Dad, reflects on what he enjoys most about Our Future and the second-ever episode of the podcast he recorded with Michael
3. Jonah Rubin reflects on when Michael first told him about his podcast idea and being the first and only producer of the show.
4. Matt Kocsis, remembers when Michael first started running with the idea and how he has seen him grow as a person building up Our Future
5. Peyton Cahn, discusses the inspiration of seeing Michael do something different and how when you find something you love it doesn’t have to feel like work
6. Sia Anand, Head of Communications at Our Future reflects on sending Michael a DM to join the team in the fall and what she sees for the future of the platform
7. Jimmy Sikorovsky, Digital Product Manager at Our Future reflects on how his skills have grown working for a startup and why flexibility is key

At the end of this episode, everyone shares their favorite episode of the pod, so stay tuned for those recommendations! Here's to one year everybody!

Get 50% off Verb Energy's caffeinated energy bars, which have just 90 calories and pack the same punch as a cup of coffee, coming in delicious flavors like Vanilla Latte, Double Chocolate, and Peppermint Mocha. You, the Our Future listener, can get 16 Verb energy bars for just $12 by purchasing through our unique link here: https://www.verbenergy.com/ourfuture

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2htIc3-njRI5BKTJ2QqNfA

Subscribe to Our Future Newsletter: https://www.ourfuturehq.com/

Follow us on IG: https://www.instagram.com/ourfuturehq/

Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ourfuturehq

#141 Raising $4 Million and Managing a Team of 30 at Age 23 w/ Swish Goswami, CEO & Co-founder of Trufan

April 21st, 2021  |  17 mins 59 secs

In #141, futurists hear from Swish Goswami, CEO & Co-founder of Trufan, an audience engagement platform that helps brands and influencers generate segmented first and third party data. Basically, it's a social intelligence platform that helps identify one's valuable followers by going through the world's largest database of social profiles: Social Rank. Trufan services businesses of all sizes, many of which you've heard of, such as VaynerMedia, NBA, Sony Music, Now This, FC Dallas, and more! By teaming up with large brands, Trufan offers a value exchange to users for their data, such as the ultimate gaming experience from Bud Light or free G Fuel for a year. Swish believes people should be compensated for their data and that Google, Opera, and Mozilla should take note of the way Trufan's customers are being rewarded.

Check out Trufan: https://www.trufan.io/

Get 50% off Verb Energy's caffeinated energy bars, which have just 90 calories and pack the same punch as a cup of coffee, coming in delicious flavors like Vanilla Latte, Double Chocolate, and Peppermint Mocha. You, the Our Future listener, can get 16 Verb energy bars for just $12 by purchasing through our unique link here: https://www.verbenergy.com/ourfuture

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2htIc3-njRI5BKTJ2QqNfA

Subscribe to Our Future Newsletter: https://www.ourfuturehq.com/

Follow us on IG: https://www.instagram.com/ourfuturehq/

Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ourfuturehq

#140 Revolutionizing Search with Privacy ft. Sridhar Ramaswamy, Co-founder of Neeva, Venture Partner at Greylock

April 16th, 2021  |  18 mins 36 secs

#139 Making Millions Selling Sports Cards at Age 21 w/ Luke Breon, Founder of Banger Sports Cards

April 14th, 2021  |  20 mins 49 secs

in #139, futurists hear from Luke Breon, a 20-year-old Nebraska-based entrepreneur who has built a multi-million dollar business flipping sports card packs through social media. Luke, who's been an entrepreneur since he was 11, previously ran a marketing agency which he started in his junior year of high school, helping local Nebraskan businesses target customers and understand social media. In this podcast, Luke discusses why sports cards have made a massive resurgence, unpacking the alternate investments trend, and explains how he makes money on collectibles. He's also expanding his warehouse and plans to recruit a team. Don't miss this one!

Check out Luke's website: https://bangersportscards.com/

Get 50% off Verb Energy's caffeinated energy bars, which have just 90 calories and pack the same punch as a cup of coffee, coming in delicious flavors like Vanilla Latte, Double Chocolate, and Peppermint Mocha. You, the Our Future listener, can get 16 Verb energy bars for just $12 by purchasing through our unique link here: https://www.verbenergy.com/ourfuture
​
Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2htIc3-njRI5BKTJ2QqNfA
​
Subscribe to Our Future Newsletter: https://www.ourfuturehq.com/
​
Follow us on IG: https://www.instagram.com/ourfuturehq/
​
Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ourfuturehq

#138 From Fighter Pilot to Founding JetBlue, Dr. Mike Barger, Co-Founder of JetBlue Airways, Former Chief Instructor at Navy TOPGUN, Professor at Michigan Ross

April 12th, 2021  |  18 mins 53 secs

In #138, futurists tune into an epic conversation with Dr. Mike Barger, a former fighter jet pilot, co-founder of JetBlue Airways, and a professor at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business. Dr. Barger began his career in the military, recieving his commission as an Officer in the United States Navy and serving for thirteen years, completing three, six-month deployments as a pilot and TOPGUN flight instructor flying the F/A-18 Hornet aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt and USS Dwight David Eisenhower. Dr. Barger left the US Navy in 1999 to be founding member of JetBlue Airways. He created JetBlue University, the award-winning corporate training function that provides learning and development to all members of the JetBlue workforce. He received his Master’s Degree in Learning Leadership in 2008 and his Doctor of Education degree in 2009. In this conversation, Mike and I discuss his learnings from flying fighter jets and how they apply to business, his experience helping to start JetBlue and explaining why the airline startup was able to succeed in a crowded market, and his career advice to young people. Don't miss this one!

Get 50% off Verb Energy's caffeinated energy bars, which have just 90 calories and pack the same punch as a cup of coffee, coming in delicious flavors like Vanilla Latte, Double Chocolate, and Peppermint Mocha. You, the Our Future listener, can get 16 Verb energy bars for just $12 by purchasing through our unique link here: https://www.verbenergy.com/ourfuture

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2htIc3-njRI5BKTJ2QqNfA

Subscribe to Our Future Newsletter: https://www.ourfuturehq.com/

Follow us on IG: https://www.instagram.com/ourfuturehq/

Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ourfuturehq

#137 $5M UCLA Startup is Revolutionizing Delivery w/ Rob Dong, CMO of Duffl

April 9th, 2021  |  19 mins 12 secs

In #137, futurists learn from Rob Dong, a UCLA junior and the CMO of Duffl, a Y Combinator backed e-scooter delivery company that claims to be the world's fastest delivery service. On college campus, e-scooter riding "racers" deliver their fellow college students everything from gatorades to snacks to vapes in less than ten minutes. Since starting in 2019, Duffl now serves two college campuses (UCLA) and is quickly expanding to a third, leveraging a unique model where the company buys wholesale products and owns a warehouse to delivver them around the local area through their network of racers. Rob and the CEO of Duffl, David Lin, have raised over $1.3 million since starting the business and are now gearing up for another round of funding to beat out the competition. Listen to learn about this crazy student startup, don't miss it

Get 50% off Verb Energy's caffeinated energy bars, which have just 90 calories and pack the same punch as a cup of coffee, coming in delicious flavors like Vanilla Latte, Double Chocolate, and Peppermint Mocha. You, the Our Future listener, can get 16 Verb energy bars for just $12 by purchasing through our unique link here: https://www.verbenergy.com/ourfuture

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2htIc3-njRI5BKTJ2QqNfA

Subscribe to Our Future Newsletter: https://www.ourfuturehq.com/

Follow us on IG: https://www.instagram.com/ourfuturehq/

Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ourfuturehq