YouSaid · the spoken record

Damon John

lines on the record: 38
first: 2022-03-22
most recent: 2022-03-22
sittings or episodes: 1
sources: podcast

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“I'm Reid Hoffman. Thank you for listening. Master of Scale is a weightwater original. Our executive producers are June Cohen and Darren Triff. Our senior producer is Jordan McLeod. Our supervising producer is Jay Punjabi. Our producers are Adam Skeuse, Catherine Clark Gray, Haile Bondi, Marie McCoy Thompson, and Christina Gonzalez. Our editor at large is Bob Saffey. Our music director is Ryan Holliday, original music and sound design by Eduardo Rivera. Audio editing by Keith J. Nelson, Stephen Davies, Andrew Nalt, and Mike Gallagher, mixing and mastering by Brian Pugh. Special thanks to Chrichier, Elisa Schreiber, David Sanford, Saida Sapieva, Greg Beato, Adam Heiner, Emily McManus, Kelsey Capitano, Tim Cronin, Anna Pizzano, Ben Richardson, Mina Kurostawa, Sarah Tartar, Charlie Manessis, Chename Ezequena, and Colin Haworth. Become a member of Masters of Scale to get access to a year's worth of courses and content on the Masters of Scale courses app. Find out more at masterscale.com.”
2022-03-22 · Masters of Scale · Daymond John, Part 2: How to partner like a shark · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“That's exactly right. Good partnerships transcend the transactional. They can take on unconventional structures, they can be unexpected. They can last for years or as long as a single event. What's important is that all parties are aligned on mission and pulling in the same direction.”
2022-03-22 · Masters of Scale · Daymond John, Part 2: How to partner like a shark · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“At essence, this is what makes for an ideal strategic partnership an authentic alignment of mission is what guides it, more than checking off one or two specific boxes. In fact, you might say the more aligned the partners are, the less the actual structure matters, which doesn't mean you shouldn't legally define that structure, only that it shouldn't come first. Instead of the contract driving the partnership, the partnership dictates the contract.”
2022-03-22 · Masters of Scale · Daymond John, Part 2: How to partner like a shark · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Within a year of that first meeting, Damon became a spokesperson for Tranuel, a content contributor, and, eventually, an investor.”
2022-03-22 · Masters of Scale · Daymond John, Part 2: How to partner like a shark · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Think back to part one of Damon's episode when he and his partners stood outside LL Cooljay's house, hoping he'd wear their logo. In a way, the stories come full circle with a new partnership forming around a shirt and a shared mission.”
2022-03-22 · Masters of Scale · Daymond John, Part 2: How to partner like a shark · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“It comes to showing a guest your respect and love of their work. It's hard to get more authentic than a twenty year old picture showing yourself wearing the brand.”
2022-03-22 · Masters of Scale · Daymond John, Part 2: How to partner like a shark · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Krist and his team wanted a way to align with Damon before he started his keynote address. So they surfaced a moment to share with him from deep in Chris's past.”
2022-03-22 · Masters of Scale · Daymond John, Part 2: How to partner like a shark · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“After being an entrepreneur in need of a strategic partner, Damon is now being that partner to the startups and scale-ups he's invested in, as well as to anyone whose read his books watch his show, or taken his advice. And recently, Damon has been partnering with other platforms whose mission is to empower entrepreneurs, and we invited one of them to tell their story.”
2022-03-22 · Masters of Scale · Daymond John, Part 2: How to partner like a shark · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I love this idea of reverse mentorship and it doesn't get enough attention. The best mentor partnerships aren't just one way. Almost every thinking VC has experienced this at least once, investing in a founder that is so sharp and insightful they end up teaching you. What Damon learned from working with new founders on Shark Tank was he needed to create a scaffolding to help them doing what he did best, so he created a brand management and consulting firm. He called it the Shark Group.”
2022-03-22 · Masters of Scale · Daymond John, Part 2: How to partner like a shark · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Startups who went on Shark Tank didn't just need financing from their investors. They also needed mentorship and support, and something that's unique to Shark Tank. For founders, the active fundraising is also the act of building a network. Every source of finance you approach will have valuable knowledge, resources, and networks of their own, and all of these resources are just as valuable to your growth as the money itself. The investing moment is a moment of crystallization. You're constantly articulating to anyone who will listen why you and your mission are a great bet, and you waste that moment if all you get out of it is the money. The partnership is just as necessary, if not more so. As Shark Tank progressed, Damon and the other sharks starter recognized just how important this aspect was to their aspiring entrepreneurs, and the more expertise they shared, the more the Shark Tank deal started to yield.”
2022-03-22 · Masters of Scale · Daymond John, Part 2: How to partner like a shark · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Once again, it was time for an honest evaluation of core competencies, whereas Damon and the other sharks had clear expertise as investors. That expertise wasn't necessarily translating over to casting, because casting directors have very different core strengths. They know how to find people who are engaging and tell their story well, but they would need to learn from the investment experts on their show how to also select contestants on the viability of their businesses. Another relationship that needed to evolve, the one between the sharks and the contestants. In the beginning, Damon remembers a focus on simply how much they were choosing to invest.”
2022-03-22 · Masters of Scale · Daymond John, Part 2: How to partner like a shark · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“If you're a regular shark tank viewer, you already know the answer. Several contestants can win on Shark Tank over the course of a single episode. What's more, the shark wins too. But to Damon's eye, in the beginning there were some inefficiencies in how entrepreneurs got booked on the show.”
2022-03-22 · Masters of Scale · Daymond John, Part 2: How to partner like a shark · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Chloe Kardashian fired Damon to release him to this other bigger opportunity. Such was the authenticity and strength of their partnership. In fact, a great test of strategic partnerships is would you be happy if only your counterpart found success? This isn't about one side winning at the expense of the other. Rather, it's about taking the long view of asymmetric growth. If you gain a little but your partner gains ten x more, that's still a win on both sides. A healthy partnership cannot only tolerate uneven growth, it can celebrate it. When one partner succeeds, the other is often soon behind. It's this spirit of mutually beneficial partnerships that would drive shark tank to its success, because of course Damon did eventually accept the show's terms. But in the beginning, success was not guaranteed.”
2022-03-22 · Masters of Scale · Daymond John, Part 2: How to partner like a shark · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Now, of course, we know that many, many people would come to learn the name Kardashian, and Damon's bet on them was massively prescient, to say the least.”
2022-03-22 · Masters of Scale · Daymond John, Part 2: How to partner like a shark · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“You heard that right. Daemon turned down his shark tank offer to honor his commitment to this family business. News of his choice travelled fast.”
2022-03-22 · Masters of Scale · Daymond John, Part 2: How to partner like a shark · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“This is a natural alignment of Damon's partnerships. He got exposure for Kuji, the brand he co-owned, and he got his young client's designer clothes to wear. As with the best strategic partnerships, each side helped the other amplify what they could do for each other. But this partnership didn't end with product placement. Damon was committed to this family and wanted to help them succeed as entrepreneurs, and when Damon was tapped for Shark Tank in two thousand nine, his partnership with her show became a sticking point.”
2022-03-22 · Masters of Scale · Daymond John, Part 2: How to partner like a shark · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Just as when they had first scaled Fubu, Damon John and Company brought their scrappy marketing instincts to bear, armed with the knowledge of what they actually did best. They knew how to create inspired and unexpected partnerships that would elevate a brand, even when that brand bore a name that wasn't Fubu. Take Kuji, the brand Damon just mentioned. Kuji had a truly unique road to revitalization, thanks in part to one inspired partnership. The story begins with Damon mentoring a female led family startup. Three young women had a clothing boutique with ambitions to open another. They also had a reality cable show. Damon co-managed the young women and would appear on screen from time to time. He also handled product placement for the show”
2022-03-22 · Masters of Scale · Daymond John, Part 2: How to partner like a shark · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Back with part two of my conversation with Damon John. If you're enjoying this episode and want to share it with friends, send them the link on masterscale. com slash Damon two That's DAY MOND and the number two and to hear my full conversation with Damon become a member at masterscale dot com slash membership There you'll hear about even more partnerships we couldn't get to in this episode like Damon's Work with Shopify You'll also learn Damon's signature approach to branding in two to five words You won't want to miss it Before the break we were talking about unexpected partnerships that accelerate scale and in the early two thousands that's what Damon came to specialize in as a response to market saturation Fubu started to withdraw from the US markets in the early two thousand concentrating abroad and stateside they leaned into acquiring new brands whose names hadn't had a chance to dominate the street.”
2022-03-22 · Masters of Scale · Daymond John, Part 2: How to partner like a shark · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Hey listeners, Bob here. If you listen to rapid response on Masters of Scale, you may be missing half the show because every Friday we release a second rapid response exclusively in the rapid response feed. The guests and topics are just as compelling and timely from Ford CEO to NASA's administrator to the lessons from the Devilware's product. It takes about 10 seconds to find just search rapid response wherever you listen to podcasts and hit follow to make sure you never miss an episode. I hope to see you there.”
2022-03-22 · Masters of Scale · Daymond John, Part 2: How to partner like a shark · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“For all of the partnerships, Fubu discovered they didn't do so well, for example, making women's clothes with nuanced sizing. This was a collaboration they were able to pull off with Pinach. Because of their creative partnership's innovations with artists and cultural leaders, Fubo was able to stay true to their name and motto. They made things for us, by us. Their partnerships with artists only deepened based on authentic alignment and a dash of the unexpected. This new understanding of win win partnerships would soon guide Damon as an investor and a shark.”
2022-03-22 · Masters of Scale · Daymond John, Part 2: How to partner like a shark · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“The song was produced by an early career Pharrell Williams and features ludicrous and LL Cooljay, with Damon John himself popping up in an uncredited cameo. The lyrics feature Fubu and Jeans, as well as the first documented use of the word Badonkadunk. In the strictest sense, this is branded content, but it plays well, like a hit song.”
2022-03-22 · Masters of Scale · Daymond John, Part 2: How to partner like a shark · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“This compilation album called The Good Life Album was produced with Universal Records. It featured artists you heard mentioned in part one like LL Cooljay, as well as ludicrous, Naz, India Ari, and others”
2022-03-22 · Masters of Scale · Daymond John, Part 2: How to partner like a shark · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“This was a critical piece of self-discovery Damon and his partners made. Knowing your own strengths is not always easy, but it's the necessary bedrock of a solid strategic partnership. Once Fubu fully absorbed that lesson, they leaned into their expertise, namely creating refreshing partnerships with artists.”
2022-03-22 · Masters of Scale · Daymond John, Part 2: How to partner like a shark · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Not only had Damon and his team misdiagnosed their core competencies, they had started to take key partnerships for granted. Fubu had once been in tune with their retailers. Now their respective interest had become deeply misaligned. Rather than the win win scenario you want in a partnership, they were making decisions that were lose lose, and Fubu ended up paying the price. So then where did that all then lead to? What was the consequence? How did you learn those lessons and correct?”
2022-03-22 · Masters of Scale · Daymond John, Part 2: How to partner like a shark · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“But whatever it is, if you forget which specific expertise led you to victory, you may end up generalizing back to because we're geniuses. And that tends not to be the best attitude for partnerships, as Damon found out.”
2022-03-22 · Masters of Scale · Daymond John, Part 2: How to partner like a shark · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Fundamentally, Damon and his team had misdiagnosed their shrinks. This is actually a common mistake at scaled companies. You can find the evidence in the failed product launches of otherwise successful organizations. Think Crystal Pepsi or the first iteration of Google Glass. In fact, it's more common for entrepreneurs to misdiagnose the root of their successes than the root of their failures. Why? Because when you're failing, it's hard to fool yourself about why. You might not know which of the five or six possible reasons is the one that's causing you to struggle, but ultimately the right answer is probably on that list. When you've enjoyed massive success as a company, it's easy to tell yourself, well, it's because we're good at everything. And that's rarely actually true. You might owe your success to your marketing genius, or maybe your edge is in predicting market time.”
2022-03-22 · Masters of Scale · Daymond John, Part 2: How to partner like a shark · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“On the surface, this acquisition of Heathert made all the sense in the world. Fubu's streetwear styles had focused on male and unisex fashion, partnering with Heathert could potentially double their customer base. Their goals were totally aligned. There was just one flaw in this plan, and it was a big one.”
2022-03-22 · Masters of Scale · Daymond John, Part 2: How to partner like a shark · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“This partnership between Fubu and these local shops was both unconventional and inspired, and this was exactly the kind of strategic alignment Daemon and his partners sought as they scaled. You may also remember that Fubu's first major scale partner was Samsung Electronics, an unusual choice for an up and coming apparel brand, but it worked and it led to Fubu scale. By nineteen ninety eight, sales of Fubu reached over three hundred fifty million, and that's more or less where we left Amon at the end of Part one. Now, if this was a Hollywood story, this would of course be the riot in the sunset, and it's kind of all clean sailing from here. But instead, you really started expanding and all of a sudden it was kind of like, oh shit, I'm getting over my skis. Say a little bit about those experiences.”
2022-03-22 · Masters of Scale · Daymond John, Part 2: How to partner like a shark · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Pairings leave room for incredible opportunity across your networks so long as each party is actually aligned on goals. Damon John understands this, both as an entrepreneur and as an investor forging partnerships in front of millions of yours, and will be getting back to his Shark Tank trajectory in a moment. But first, let's reflect on a story Damon told us in part one. You may remember this story he shared from Fubu's early days when he and his co founders Fubu wanted free advertising with local shopkeepers, and shopkeepers had problems keeping Rust and Graffiti off their security gates”
2022-03-22 · Masters of Scale · Daymond John, Part 2: How to partner like a shark · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“This is Emreried Hoffman, co founder of LinkedIn, partner at Greylock, and your host. And I believe the best partnerships are built on authenticity and alignment, even when that alignment isn't initially obvious. Leaving room for unconventional opportunities means each partner has space to learn and expand their networks. In part one of my conversation with Damon John, you may remember that I likened strategic partnerships to certain delightful combinations of food, because some partnerships really do go together like chocolate and peanut butter, or chicken and waffles. But what about those other pairings that may seem like more of an acquired taste? Think pickles and ice cream. Lots of mutually beneficial partnerships look unlikely at first, and for that matter some partnerships that seem like no brainers end up collapsing. Not every odd couple partnership is a good one, but”
2022-03-22 · Masters of Scale · Daymond John, Part 2: How to partner like a shark · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Okay, so the exact partnership Damon had planned for didn't work out, but to his surprise Shark Tank did. Fact, it became a world-class TV show bringing entrepreneurship lessons to aspiring founders and families alike. Damon himself would become known as the People Shark. Gain a national platform not just as an investor, but a mentor. Business lead In short, it would become one of the defining partnerships of his career, and it happened because Damon and the other sharks eventually found alignment between their goals and the goals of the show. Even though that alignment wasn't immediately obvious. That's why I believe the best partnerships are built on authenticity and alignment even when that alignment isn't initially obvious. Leaving room for unconventional opportunities means each partner has space to learn and expand their networks.”
2022-03-22 · Masters of Scale · Daymond John, Part 2: How to partner like a shark · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Damon's hopes for the pilot were modest at best. What he really wanted was to pitch some show ideas of his own to Mark Burnet”
2022-03-22 · Masters of Scale · Daymond John, Part 2: How to partner like a shark · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“This was also at the start of the Great Recession, which was wreaking havoc on Damon's portfolio along with everyone else's”
2022-03-22 · Masters of Scale · Daymond John, Part 2: How to partner like a shark · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Understandable why Damon thought this partnership made no sense. It sounded like paying a million dollars for the dubious privilege of going on television.”
2022-03-22 · Masters of Scale · Daymond John, Part 2: How to partner like a shark · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Dragon's den had been a big hit outside the US, but Damon was a bit skeptical when he heard the pitch for the American version called Shark Tank.”
2022-03-22 · Masters of Scale · Daymond John, Part 2: How to partner like a shark · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Burnett was and is one of the founders of modern reality television, and he was calling to talk to Damon about a new idea he had creating an American version of a show about entrepreneurs.”
2022-03-22 · Masters of Scale · Daymond John, Part 2: How to partner like a shark · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Every time Damon made a TV appearance, it tended to generate some calls. But one day, there was a call Damon wasn't expecting.”
2022-03-22 · Masters of Scale · Daymond John, Part 2: How to partner like a shark · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Welcome to part two of my conversation about authentic partnerships with Fubu co-founder Damon John. If you missed part one, go back and listen. It's in your Master's of Scale Feed. Previously, Damon told us about the rise of Fub From a one man operation to an iconic streetwear brand. But Damon has another claim to fame. As one of the founding cast members of ABC's Shark Tank. To think of part one as Damon's journey to becoming a shark. Part two as the story of how he learned to operate like one. It's a journey that will take us far from his hometown of Hollis Queens, TA, to Hollywood, even to a memorable collaboration with the Kardashians. This chapter begins in two thousand eight By this time Daemon had not only scaled Fubu, but had become an author, investor, and occasional presence on cable TV.”
2022-03-22 · Masters of Scale · Daymond John, Part 2: How to partner like a shark · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT