Big Omaha Backstage Pass – Dan Martell: Work on something bigger

“I guess the one piece of advice I would give anybody,” Dan Martell, co-founder of Flowtown, said, “is that no matter what you’re gonna to decide to work on – whether it be a million-dollar idea or a 10-million-dollar idea or a 100-million-dollar idea – you’re gonna spend the same amount of time doing it.…

This summer, you heard their speeches in our Big Omaha Video Series. Now, in partnership with our photography and moving images partner Malone & Company, we’re giving you exclusive access to backstage interviews with the entrepreneurs and innovators who presented at our Big Omaha event in May.

For one week only, the Big Omaha Backstage Pass will feature 10 of our Big Omaha speakers in 15 previously unreleased video interviews. We hope these interviews, with topics ranging from the importance of mentoring to the quest to change the world, will engage, encourage, enlighten and excite you to follow your passion, a message at the core of Big Omaha. 

To kick it off, here are two backstage interviews with Dan Martell, co-founder of Flowtown, a San Francisco-based startup focused on helping social marketers deliver real ROI.

Work on something that’s bigger

Transcript:

I guess the one piece of advice I would give anybody, is that no matter what you’re gonna to decide to work on – whether it be a million-dollar idea or a 10-million-dollar idea or a 100-million-dollar idea – you’re gonna spend the same amount of time doing it. So if you believe that, and it’d pretty evident to think that, I don’t care if it’s five years to get to that point, people have done it. You might as well work on something that’s bigger, that’s going to have a bigger impact. So hopefully it’s perspective.

I just think that starting off my career if somebody would’ve sat me down and explained to me like, ‘You know, you could build this 30-thousand-dollar a year website or you could work on a venture backed company. It’s the same amount of energy and time. Why? Just choose. Really perspective would be the lesson I’d hope to convey.

Hustle to help

Transcript:

In my talk, I talk about hustle to help.

And after the talk, this guy came up to me, he goes, ‘You probably don’t remember, my name’s Anton, six months ago I shot you an email because I watched this other interview you did and you wrote back within eight minutes and you gave me these three bullets – I was asking about what I should do – and you gave me these three steps to do it, and I was so impressed with you replying so fast I felt obligated to do them and I’m now living in the U.S.’ So he liked moved his company and he came to Big Omaha just to like thank me, which was funny because it was totally the context of what I was talking about onstage.

That really rang true. I mean you never know when you help other people, other than you know it’s the right thing to do, if it ever has an impact. So it was really nice to have somebody kind of circle back and kind of acknowledge that.

To watch Martell’s Big Omaha presentation, see our post: “Big Omaha Video Series: Dan Martell of Flowtown“.

About Big Omaha and Thinc Iowa, our two premier events:

Big Omaha, a Silicon Prairie News premier event, is held each May to inspire, educate and connect entrepreneurs, especially those with an interest in the tech industry. Visit BigOmaha.com to learn more.

Thinc Iowa, a Silicon Prairie News premier event, will take place for the first time October 20-21 in Des Moines, Iowa. Its mission: Provide a common ground for startups and corporations to explore partnerships, examine innovation and share lessons learned. Visit ThincIowa.com to learn more (tickets still available).

This story is part of the AIM Archive

This story is part of the AIM Institute Archive on Silicon Prairie News. AIM gifted SPN to the Nebraska Journalism Trust in January 2023. Learn more about SPN’s origin »

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