Behind Her Empire Podcast: Keren Eldad On How To Get Out Of Your Way
On this episode of the Behind Her Empire podcast, hear from Keren Eldad, a motivational speaker, leadership psychology expert and founder of With Enthusiasm Coaching, where she provides world-class personal and professional coaching.
Eldad has worked with notable clients including LVMH, Richemont, Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan Chase and Global Fashion Group. She talks to us about why it's in all of our destinies to achieve greatness, the power of self-love and compassion and what we can do to get over our blindspots. As Eldad highlights, if we limit ourselves, we do not get to participate in the beauty of our lived experience. It's up to us to choose the lens through which we view life: scarcity and fear or abundance and openness.
Key Takeaways:
- Eldad grew up around the world, which led to a lack of attachment to any one nationality and a sense of belonging everywhere. Her pan-world identity gave her the ability to connect with people from anywhere. She also speaks five languages.
- At one point, Eldad had the "insta-worthy" life — a handsome and rich husband, glamorous job, elegant clothes and home — but inside, she knew something was profoundly wrong. Ultimately, her dissatisfaction led to a toxic divorce.
- She hit rock bottom: broke, her belongings burned in a storage facility fire, sleeping on friends' couches -- and realized there was nowhere to go but up. So, she focused on what she still had.
- Eldad says self esteem is useless because it focuses on achievement and fitting in. It's recognizing one's self worth that allows people to start to feel grounded in who they are.
- Eldad says over-achievers' number one enemy is impatience. She says impatience is a sign of lack of faith.
- Daily recognition of things you are grateful for leads to an appreciation of the everyday large and small details of life, which in turn makes you feel like a lucky person. This attitude can create better experiences, personally and professionally.
"I always say to people 'prefer a shitstorm, because that is the turning point'." — Keren Eldad
Want to hear more of the Behind Her Empire podcast? Subscribe on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio or wherever you get your podcasts.
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My, how times have changed.
Five years ago, Eric Yuan, chief executive officer and founder of video conferencing company Zoom, was asked to deliver an insider's look at his business at the influential tech-savvy conference Montgomery Summit in Santa Monica.
But there was a catch: He wanted to show up online, not on the dais.
Yuan wound up giving his presentation at the Summit backed by Jamie Montgomery, who runs March Capital Partners, the Santa Monica-based venture capital firm that invests in breakthrough technology companies in person.
<p>At the time, Montgomery said, remembers his reaction, "What the hell is Zoom?"</p><p>Fast forward to today's world.</p><p>For The Montgomery Summit scheduled on March 3-4, billionaire Yuan will finally get his way – attributed largely because of a surging worldwide pandemic that has taken the lives of more than half-a-million people nationwide.</p><p>He'll dial in to registered attendees of the Summit via Zoom, and deliver the keynote address at The Montgomery Summit's first all-virtual conference. "It is hilarious," said Montgomery of his own ironic about-face on the adoption of Zoom, the lifesaver video conferencing tool tossed to society to keep business and everyday activities afloat.</p><p>The influential Summit, which since 2004 has been held every year at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows in Santa Monica, will go largely behind paywalls next week because of the coronavirus. In Los Angeles County, coronavirus has caused 20,000 deaths and infected 1.1 million, according to public health officials. </p><p>In recent weeks the officials have seen a sustained decline in new cases, hospitalizations and deaths, suggesting the county may be turning the corner from a vicious autumn and winter surge that killed about 12,000 people.</p><p>Still, Montgomery is taking no chances, and began planning for the virtual conference almost as soon as the last annual event wrapped up a year ago. The format is essentially the same, with over 100 hand-selected private companies pitching at an event attended by 1000s of registered founders, top-flight investors, entrepreneurs, and executives.</p><p>Broadcasts will happen on YouTube, LinkedIn or through the Montgomery Summit's website. Private breakout rooms with tech leaders in one-on-one meetings also can be arranged where the suits can talk money, pre-IPO strategies or exit plans.</p><p>The Montgomery Summit is an invitation-only gathering of entrepreneurs, senior-level investors and top executives from private growth technology companies and venture capital firms. The event features presentations from keynotes, panels and salons, and facilitates important conversations and meetings between attendees.</p><p>Founded by March Capital founder Jamie Montgomery, the event was previously known as The Montgomery Technology Conference, and has for 18 years provided unparalleled opportunities to meet a diverse blend of technological visionaries and innovators from all over the world. </p><p>Some of the major themes up for discussion at this year's Summit include:</p><p>· The rise of the female entrepreneur. "There's a new era where women define their own career," Montgomery observed. "It's fantastic." Fireside chats are planned with Alexa von Tobel, founder and managing partner with Inspired Capital, a New York City-based early-stage technology venture fund focused on supporting the next wave of entrepreneurs, and Ruzwana Bashir, founder and CEO of San Francisco-based Peek.com, a one-stop shop for travelers and locals looking for new experiences, ranging from surfing lessons to Hollywood celebrity home tours.</p><p>· The innovation economy. "You really need to think about where the opportunities are in society and what government can do more of to help provide access to these opportunities," Montgomery observed. "It has the highest returns."</p><p>· Future of software. "Corporations can help address a number of real issues in America," said Montgomery, citing how software can help the "unbanked," design job training programs and help in education. </p><p>· Intersection of cloud computing and genomics. Montgomery sees growing investment appetite in the application of cloud computing, artificial intelligence and data sciences to genomics that target therapies and vaccines. "What is the next Amgen?" queried Montgomery of this emerging area of a booming economy focused in Southern California and Boston.</p><p>The conference also includes major keynote speakers from a Who's Who list in the tech world.</p><p>Among the mover and shakers are Darius Adamczyk, chairman and CEO of Charlotte, N.C.-based Honeywell International Inc.; John Chambers, founder and CEO of JC2 Ventures and former long-time head executive of Cisco Systems Inc., a San Jose-based network systems maker; Bill McDermott, president and CEO of Santa Clara-based cloud firm ServiceNow Inc.; Bernard Kim, president of the San Francisco-based interactive entertainment firm Zynga Inc.; Alex Taylor, president and CEO of Atlanta-based Cox Enterprises Inc., a private communications and automotive services business; and, Francis deSouza, president and CEO of San Diego-based life science tool manufacturer Illumina Inc.</p><p><a href="https://cvent.me/mqWNGX" target="_blank">Register for the 2021 Summit here</a>. If you have any questions, contact <a href="mailto:info@montgomerysummit.com">info@montgomerysummit.com</a>.</p>
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Ceres Group Holdings is becoming corporate America's biggest cannabis dealmaker out of its Century City offices.
The venture and private equity firm this week announced that its special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, would take Atlanta-based cannabis producer Parallel public in a merger that will value the Canadian-listed company at $1.88 billion.
Parallel has about 42 retail stores outside of California, but has big plans for a big expansion into L.A. sometime in the next year or two.
<p>The Parallel deal comes just as Ceres is trying to ink a separate deal to raise $100 million in a private fund to make cannabis investments throughout America, with particular focus on L.A. and California-based companies generally, according to Joe Crouthers, CEO of Ceres and head executive of the SPAC that bought Parallel. </p><p>"Parallel realizes that California, especially L.A., is the center of the cannabis universe," Crouthers said. "There's no presence in Southern California, but you will see one in the near future."</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTY4OTgxMC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2OTg0NjIzNX0.YyMgyJlFAg7lVSRpbYdv7k-74h5QCuIl1kcqlQFj-bw/img.jpg?width=980" id="15831" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="47e79fac1223f581ee42eac6fa97b76f" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="984" data-height="1250" />
Joe Crouthers is the CEO of Ceres and head executive of the SPAC that bought Parallel.
<p>The new private fund is called Ceres Harvest II, and follows a prior fund that raised roughly $35 million to make investments in privately held cannabis companies — including Los Angeles-based pre-roll maker <a href="https://www.palmspremium.com/home" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Palms</a>, San Francisco-based edible company <a href="https://roselosangeles.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Rose Los Angeles</a>, and Culver City-based dispensary <a href="https://www.medmen.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">MedMen</a> Enterprises Inc. -- before it went public in May 2018.</p><p>Crouthers declined to disclose potential targets for the second fund.</p><p>The Ceres SPAC, officially known as Ceres Acquisition Corp., began trading last April, joining a wave of publicly traded companies that have moved to Canadian stock exchanges in recent years while they await the easing of U.S. rules on the cannabis sector. "That's the ultimate goal to move to a U.S. exchange," Crouthers said.</p>
<p>The combined Ceres Acquisition Corp. and Parallel, which expects to generate $450 million in revenue in 2021 and report $100 million in earnings before taxes, will bag $430 million in cash when the deal closes in the next 60 to 90 days, Crouthers said.<br/></p><p>Parallel has also received commitments from a group of investors led by Ceres for a $225 million private investment in a public equity – called PIPEs -- transaction when the deal closes.</p><p>The PIPE investment was over-subscribed, and attracted more than a dozen investments from athletes and celebrities, Crouthers said in the interview Tuesday. </p><p>The company, which also named record industry executive Scott "Scooter" Braun as a special adviser, said it currently has license applications pending in Georgia, New Jersey and Virginia. Braun, who is a co-founder of Ceres, is the talent manager for artists Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Kayne West and Hillary Duff.</p><p>Beau Wrigley Jr. who previously led his family's chewing gum business before selling it in 2008 for $23 billion, is Parallel's chairman and CEO.</p><p>Sturges Karban, chief executive officer of Irvine-based ManifestSeven Holdings Corp., noted that the Parallel deal is further confirmation of what looks to be an emerging trend of big deals getting done with cannabis-related SPACs – all being traded on Canadian exchanges.<br/></p><p>U.S. firms that grow or sell cannabis cannot list their shares on the major U.S. stock exchanges as marijuana remains illegal at the federal level.</p><p><span></span>He pointed to completion of last month's deal by Jay-Z backed Californian pot producer TPCO Holding Corp. also known as The Parent Company, which is expected to generate $334 million in revenue in 2021.</p><p>"It [The Parent Company] kind of lit the fuse on what everybody expects to be a catalyst in California," Karban observed. It's been inevitable that in a state this big and fragmented, that it would consolidate."</p><p>Like Jay-Z's company, Ceres Acquisition Corp. also trades on the Aequitas NEO Exchange Inc., or NEO. ManifestSeven, MedMen and cannabis review site Weedmaps — all based in Irvine — trade on the rival Canadian Stock Exchange, in Vancouver.</p>From Your Site Articles
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On this week's episode of the L.A. Venture podcast, meet the one, the only, David Waxman! He's the co-founder and managing partner at the fund I work for, TenOneTen Ventures. There are few L.A. funds that have as much operational experience building and scaling large-scale companies. David talks about lessons learned building three startups, going through an IPO, a litigious board member and a couple of decades in startups. David also talks about why he thinks TenOneTen lives up to its reputation for being the "nice and nerdy" L.A. fund.
<h4>Key Takeaways:</h4><ul class="ee-ul"><li>TenOneTen rounds are generally in the $2 to $2.5 million range. It has a predilection for early-stage companies.</li><li>David's first company was Firefly, which recommended music based on the idea of collaborative filtering. This endeavor also intersected with online privacy because so much user data was collected. Microsoft eventually acquired the company. </li><li>David went on to start two more companies with one of his co-founders, Nick Grouf, who he met on a plane. People PC was founded to get people easy access to the internet when it was tough to do. Then came SpotRunner which was an L.A.-based tech company that worked to change the way advertising was created, planned, bought and sold. </li><li>David says he and Grouf had a harmonious partnership because they had tremendous respect for one another and had complimentary skill sets.</li><li>David says SpotRunner met its demise due to a litigious investor, Martin Sorrell of WPP, who sued the company during the economic meltdown of 2008. </li><li>After such a troubling experience, David started getting into angel investing and advising. He liked it so much, he partnered to turn what was more or less a hobby into a profession.</li><li>David recognizes the enormous and difficult problem health tech attempts to solve, but sees it as an exciting space because it's so important. One example is the value of telemedicine, which, due to COVID, has changed the way care is given.</li></ul><blockquote><strong></strong>"There's this market of founders building great things, and we want to provide what they need right now, like nice techie investors who will lead a round in L.A. That's a hole in the market. And founders really need that, and we can give it to them."<em> — David Waxman</em></blockquote><p>
<strong>David Waxman </strong>has nearly two decades of experience as a technology entrepreneur. After graduating with a masters degree from MIT's Media Lab, he co-founded Firefly, PeoplePC and SpotRunner. Since leaving SpotRunner, David has dedicated his time to helping entrepreneurs realize their goals. He is an active mentor, speaker and investor. David lives in L.A. with his wife, three daughters and a ludicrous number of pets.<br>
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