Dane Maxwell shares tips for creating a business “out of thin air” (Video)

Dane Maxwell set out Oct. 10 at Thinc Iowa to impress upon the audience how to, as he put it, “create a business out of thin air … even if you have no idea, no money and no credibility.” How, one might wonder, did Maxwell acquire that know-how? “I learned how to do this,” he…

Dane Maxwell set out Oct. 10 at Thinc Iowa to impress upon the audience how to, as he put it, “create a business out of thin air … even if you have no idea, no money and no credibility.”

How, one might wonder, did Maxwell acquire that know-how? “I learned how to do this,” he said, “because I had no money, no idea and no credibility.”

Down on his luck and running low on money, Maxwell founded Zannee.com, a company that provides web-based tools for recruiting and retaining real estate talent. He built that into a lucrative business that offers several products and has since co-founded The Foundation, an organization designed to help entrepreneurs create their own successful software businesses.

During his time on stage at Thinc Iowa, Maxwell shared the story of the dramatic shift in his professional fortunes and shared with conference-goers tips for engineering similar turnarounds in their own careers.

“Instead of making my passion a specific industry or niche, I made my passion simplifying problems for people,” Maxwell said, “and with that passion I can go anywhere and do anything.”

To hear Maxwell’s Thinc Iowa talk in its entirety, see the video above. For more from Maxwell at the conference, see our story: “Dane Maxwell: ‘How you treat your wife is how you treat your business’

About Dane Maxwell 

Maxwell is the founder of Zannee.com, real estate tools used for recruiting and retention. He also teaches entrepreneurs at The Foundation how to build a business backwards, even if they don’t have any idea, any money, or any experience in the industry. At age 22, after being scammed for $12,000, humiliated, broken, defeated, and left with $123 to his name, Dane created a six-figure software product in less than 12 months from nothing. He didn’t come up with the idea on what to build, he didn’t spend any money on development, and he didn’t create the product himself. Fast forward seven years and Dane has repeated this formula and created multiple successful products without any initial ideas, funding or development skill.

About Thinc Iowa

Thinc Iowa is now Big Des Moines, part of The Big Series, a trio of events produced by Silicon Prairie News. The Big Series in 2013 will include the inaugural Big Kansas City in March, Big Omaha in May and Big Des Moines in October. Stay tuned for announcements regarding all three.

 

Credits: Video by Event1 Video.


Thinc Iowa 2012 Video Series presented by Iowa Economic Development

Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) is dedicated to supporting innovation by connecting entrepreneurs with resources and development opportunities in Iowa. It salutes the founders of today and tomorrow; encouraging ideas that will invigorate a new economy. Please visit iowaeconomicdevelopment.com for more information on how IEDA can help your business ideas come to life.

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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