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Karim Marucchi (of Crowd Favorite) joins Jean to guest host, as they touch on a myriad of topics, from exits, to mergers, acquisitions, and much more.
Karim exudes charisma; being a service focused individual, he provides a unique perspective away from the usual product focused interviews Mastermind.FM has had in the past.
Topics Include:
- How Karim’s upbringing, heritage, and travels played a role in shaping his business philosophies.
- His history with architecture and studies in Rome.
- How a curious phone call, while working for an ISP, lead Karim into helping build a website for Nissan.
- Selling METNET to USWeb.
- How USWeb turned Karim’s life upside-down.
- Website Production vs Strategy
- Bridging the gap between American, European, and Asian culture.
- How Karim’s architecture roots fortified his need to build things that last.
- His small business experience.
- “If you are going to fail, fail fast.” – Karim
- Testing the waters of agency work.
- Services: Cultural vs Institutional
- Cultivating a small agency.
- How running a lifestyle business allowed Karim to step away from his company for the year leading up to his father’s death.
- Mourning and moving on.
- The dynamics of exiting & acquisition.
- Adapting/transitioning client culture.
- On closing Veloware.
- Which lead to Karim finding his business partner.
- “Finding the right companies that aren’t exiting for the wrong reasons.”
- The value of partnering with a company you have no intention of acquiring.
- Structure & having the right team.
- Be an icebreaker; striking up a conversation with those you don’t know, be it in your business or personal life.
- A philosophy that lead to Karim having a pleasant random conversation with the lead guitarist of Los Lobos.
- Attending conferences outside of the WordPress community.
- “Have fun!” & “Partner and hire for your weaknesses.” – Karim
- Looking forward, and the intent to return for a round 2 interview with Mastermind.FM!
