Why We’re Retiring Drive, Betting Big on IRL, and Hiring Humans in 2027 (w/Exit Five CEO Dan Murphy)

Dave [0:00:01]: You're listening to the Exit Five podcast.

Dave [0:00:02]: Hey on this episode of the Exit Five podcast.

Dave [0:00:14]: I got my guy, my business partner, Dan, the CEO of Exit Five.

Dave [0:00:17]: I got him on for a bunch of questions about what was life like as a VP marketing and now your Running our company, but most importantly, we have a big announcement about our annual event drive, So you wanna listen in and you wanna tune in about what's the future with Drive?

Dave [0:00:31]: What's happening with that event.

Dave [0:00:32]: I've heard rumors.

Dave [0:00:32]: Well, we're gonna address them all in this episode plus a little mail bag, q and A?

Dave [0:00:36]: I get to interview Dan about a bunch of fun topics and what's it been like working together for the last ten years.

Dave [0:00:41]: So I hope you enjoyed this episode.

Dave [0:00:43]: Alright.

Dave [0:00:43]: Ladies and gentlemen live on the podcast.

Dave [0:00:45]: Give it up for the CEO of Exit Five.

Dave [0:00:48]: We let him on the podcast.

Dave [0:00:49]: This is big news.

Dan [0:00:51]: Let me

Dave [0:00:52]: big news.

Dave [0:00:52]: We let him on the podcast folks.

Dave [0:00:54]: He's a long time listener He said it's been years since he's been on the podcast.

Dan [0:00:59]: I think he's been three years.

Dan [0:01:00]: Three since I joined.

Dan [0:01:01]: Oh, roughly three years.

Dave [0:01:03]: Alright.

Dave [0:01:03]: That's crazy.

Dave [0:01:05]: That's crazy by the way Crazy.

Dave [0:01:06]: Okay.

Dave [0:01:06]: So Dan's on the pod brought him on, producer Marissa let him come on the pod.

Dave [0:01:11]: I've have a bunch of things that we're gonna cover.

Dave [0:01:13]: Today say it's a little bit of a different episode.

Dave [0:01:15]: The number one thing though is we have a big update, some big news about Drive, which is our big annual event at Exit Five.

Dave [0:01:23]: And this is a little bit of a breaking news.

Dave [0:01:26]: Pop, pop papa This is a, you know, done bring in Adam Sc, bring in…

Dave [0:01:30]: Who's the other guy?

Dan [0:01:32]: Shane rap rapport.

Dave [0:01:33]: You get bringing in rap port.

Dave [0:01:34]: Bring them all in.

Dave [0:01:36]: We have a little bit of breaking news here.

Dave [0:01:37]: And I think the best way to do this is to read this.

Dave [0:01:40]: Dan and I worked on this announcement the last couple days.

Dave [0:01:43]: And I'm just gonna read it, and then Daniel take us into, like, how we got here in reaction to Sure.

Dave [0:01:48]: So…

Dan [0:01:48]: Yeah.

Dave [0:01:49]: The headline here is why we're retiring drive and hitting the road in twenty twenty seven.

Dave [0:01:54]: After three years of hosting drive our annual event in Vermont, we've made the decision to pivot our strategy heading into twenty twenty seven and retired drive.

Dave [0:02:02]: I know I know Drive was awesome.

Dave [0:02:05]: Drive with summer camp for B b marketers, Drive was Linkedin, but the good version in person.

Dave [0:02:10]: Everyone was super kind, approachable and normal.

Dave [0:02:13]: At a time when we need real human connection more than ever, we made new friends and bonded over career moves, families and life outside of work.

Dave [0:02:21]: Over the past three years, eight hundred people Flew of vermont from places as far as Hawaii, India and Israel for a conference about B marketing.

Dave [0:02:28]: That is not normal, so clear that we have something special.

Dave [0:02:32]: So why walk away from it?

Dave [0:02:33]: What do you guys crazy?

Dave [0:02:34]: Haven't you read the business books double down, keep the main thing the main thing.

Dave [0:02:38]: Well, speaking of business books.

Dave [0:02:40]: Dan and I are always passing these types of books back and forth over the years, and one that has stood out is Ben H is the hard thing about hard things.

Dave [0:02:48]: It's all about the realities of building a startup when there are no easy answers, and this is one of those hard things.

Dave [0:02:54]: Right?

Dave [0:02:54]: We're killing something that is working.

Dave [0:02:55]: Something that's made a real impact on people's lives careers.

Dave [0:02:58]: And selfish has become our team's favorite week of the year.

Dave [0:03:01]: They might be the most disappointed about this, actually.

Dave [0:03:03]: But after drive this year, we realized we were at a bit of a crossroads.

Dave [0:03:07]: Are we building the next giant trade show for marketers is drive the next un bound dream force or faster or should drive be one of those festivals in the desert?

Dave [0:03:16]: Burning man for B marketers looking to find themselves.

Dave [0:03:19]: We should do that.

Dave [0:03:20]: I think.

Dave [0:03:20]: Drive is stuck somewhere between a community meetup and a trade show, and we need to be intentional about the game that we wanna play.

Dave [0:03:26]: So putting on an event like Drive is candidly a lot of freaking work, And I know everybody listening this works in marketing.

Dave [0:03:32]: You can relate to this.

Dave [0:03:33]: This becomes a year round full time job for a bunch of the team Asked Dan, ask Allison and ask Anna.

Dave [0:03:38]: It's basically like planning a wedding for four hundred people every year, navigating speaker sponsors, travel contracts, venues.

Dave [0:03:44]: Dietary restrictions, Av.

Dave [0:03:46]: The crazy Frenchman who wants to bring a local jazz band to his ken.

Dave [0:03:50]: Last minute.

Dave [0:03:51]: True story.

Dave [0:03:52]: We love, Louie.

Dave [0:03:52]: You're not the reason for this, but this is a good story.

Dave [0:03:55]: The point is that the event business is not for the faint of heart.

Dave [0:03:58]: And we carry that stress three hundred days out of the year.

Dave [0:04:01]: So for twenty twenty seven, we're taking a break from the big annual conference feeling.

Dave [0:04:05]: And instead, we're gonna hit the road.

Dave [0:04:07]: For three years, we've asked you to come to Vermont.

Dave [0:04:09]: Next year, we're gonna come to you.

Dave [0:04:11]: We are rebuilding our event strategy around hub cities like Boston, New York, San Francisco, Toronto and Austin and look, I can already hear you in the comments on this future Linkedin post about Chicago and come into the Uk and everywhere else we should go, we'll get there.

Dave [0:04:25]: The good news is that You don't have to live in any of these cities to go if you're up for, if you're down for a trip, you can go to any of them if you happen to be in, you know, New York for work, come to the event.

Dave [0:04:34]: Right?

Dave [0:04:34]: And we're starting to work on planning these events now, but just to give you an idea, here's what this might look like.

Dave [0:04:39]: A happy hour at a fun spot, a picture nice.

Dave [0:04:41]: Spring afternoon in Boston with a hundred marketers from our community.

Dave [0:04:45]: A morning breakfast in New York for CMOs on Ai transformation then an evening meet up with good food content and a big crowd.

Dave [0:04:52]: We did this last week, we were in New York and we kinda looked around it.

Dave [0:04:56]: And we'd like, we should just do this more.

Dave [0:04:57]: We did a live podcast with Var verona CMO Rob Sober.

Dave [0:05:00]: There's was a huge hit.

Dave [0:05:01]: A half day working session in Austin for B marketing leaders.

Dave [0:05:04]: It's off the record, So there's no video, no Ai note takers is just what's really going on inside their companies and where they need help.

Dave [0:05:10]: And then there's our upcoming marketing leadership or retreat, March first through third out Dan's way in Scottsdale with a hundred and fifty in house marketing execs peer led breakouts in small groups that we match by role, company size and go to market motion.

Dave [0:05:22]: I'm breaking some news here, but that's okay.

Dave [0:05:24]: We can do it.

Dave [0:05:25]: It's our company.

Dave [0:05:25]: The keynote are gonna be Alice D course, She's CMO at Zoom info, Ethan Brad, CMO at Texas A and m, and our guy, Dave Kellogg is gonna come back.

Dave [0:05:33]: There's plenty of hiking golf and pools side conversation outside of the conference room.

Dave [0:05:37]: And we're gonna go build it all with everything that we've learned over the last three years working on drive.

Dave [0:05:42]: So we're already cooking up ideas for what's next, but we wanted you to be the first to hear about our plans for drive since I know everyone is planning for next year.

Dave [0:05:48]: To everyone who came vermont.

Dave [0:05:50]: Thank you.

Dave [0:05:51]: Truly.

Dave [0:05:51]: Drive helped us launch a proper company and a global community.

Dave [0:05:54]: I think it It's the thing that made us realize the big opportunity we have and the impact we can make with Exit Five.

Dave [0:05:59]: And most of all got us together in a room in real life and as we know that is where the good stuff happens.

Dave [0:06:04]: So for twenty twenty seven, it's more cities more often, closer to home, same Exit Five energy.

Dave [0:06:10]: Although, I think now that I've written this all out, there's no way this is gonna be less work, but we will figure it out Nico.

Dave [0:06:15]: Thanks for the memories drive, See you on the road next year.

Dave [0:06:19]: This is Dan and I put this together last couple days.

Dave [0:06:22]: Over to you, my friend.

Dave [0:06:23]: Thoughts, comments, reactions, questions, concerns, What are people gonna say about this, why are we doing

Dan [0:06:28]: this?

Dan [0:06:28]: Yeah.

Dan [0:06:28]: It…

Dan [0:06:29]: Well, there's a lot to react to there.

Dan [0:06:30]: Obviously, you know, for me, the biggest thing is the feelings, you know, going through that.

Dan [0:06:34]: Like, the wave of emotions of this was something that we started two and a half years ago.

Dan [0:06:39]: Got pulled into growing it became this amazing feature of what we do every single year.

Dan [0:06:44]: Mh.

Dan [0:06:45]: And so much work.

Dan [0:06:45]: I mean, for people that came and supported it, I can tell you behind the scenes we put a lot of work in every detail of it.

Dan [0:06:50]: And so there's like that.

Dan [0:06:52]: Attachment we have to it, So this is a really hard feeling.

Dan [0:06:54]: You know, of, like, saying goodbye to something that's been such a core thing that we've done.

Dan [0:06:58]: And something that's just like, I know people are gonna be so surprised because most people listening this have seen the reality of this event on Linkedin.

Dan [0:07:05]: And our for we do it.

Dan [0:07:06]: Right?

Dan [0:07:06]: Like, we sold out tickets the first year in twenty four hours.

Dan [0:07:09]: Like, this is our thing.

Dan [0:07:10]: And it's like, it's hard to say goodbye to, but it's also just like, the other big feeling I have is just excitement.

Dan [0:07:15]: Like, we are doing the right thing.

Dan [0:07:17]: We are going to…

Dan [0:07:18]: Create more access for more people in our community to our events to each other, more people want in real life now than ever before.

Dan [0:07:25]: And we've just decided, you know, we don't wanna build a big trade show.

Dan [0:07:29]: Like, we have all the right ingredients to do that with drive.

Dan [0:07:31]: Like, we could.

Dan [0:07:32]: We could go make that six hundred people that could be a thousand a year after, it's kind of the way we've been pulled between our members and our sponsors, but at the same time, it's like, it's not the thing we wanna build.

Dan [0:07:43]: You know, Just made that decision and we're just not gonna go build a trade show.

Dave [0:07:46]: The thing you said two, like, a minute or so ago is so true.

Dave [0:07:49]: That was really well said.

Dave [0:07:51]: We'll obviously pull that.

Dave [0:07:52]: That should be your post, but let's answer this question because I think people will say, well, it's a trade show now because it was four hundred people this year.

Dave [0:07:59]: Why don't you guys just go back and make it two hundred again.

Dave [0:08:02]: Yeah.

Dave [0:08:02]: Would you handle that objection?

Dan [0:08:04]: I would say, well, I wanna keep the door open to all different types of events that we'll do in the future.

Dan [0:08:08]: I don't know what an un conferences and a trade show is by definition, but I know what they feel like.

Dan [0:08:13]: I know what each feels like.

Dan [0:08:14]: Un conference meaning like a smaller hundred two hundred a person event.

Dan [0:08:17]: And a trade show feeling, like, you know, thousand plus people?

Dan [0:08:20]: Like, you can kinda define it by the number of people, but it's, like, the feel of it.

Dan [0:08:23]: You know, what type of sponsors are involved?

Dan [0:08:25]: What level of engagement they have, What types of workshops, you know, what type of talks keynote that you have, you know, the level of caliber of your speaker, for instance?

Dan [0:08:32]: We wanna keep our events smaller.

Dan [0:08:35]: I think more intimate is to used the where people use.

Dan [0:08:37]: Like, that's where we restarted.

Dan [0:08:39]: You know, that's where Drive started as being, like, a two hundred…

Dan [0:08:41]: It actually a hundred percent event the first year.

Dan [0:08:43]: And I want it to be, like, people you're in the room and you get to interact with people multiple times.

Dan [0:08:48]: So you meet someone.

Dan [0:08:48]: It's not something where, like, you know, you meet someone and then it's, like, a trade show where you're gonna lose that person ever gonna see them again.

Dan [0:08:53]: Like, a lot of our business is a community business is a people business.

Dan [0:08:56]: And so you gotta be in the room, be able to, like, interact with people.

Dan [0:08:59]: And so we want to be that kind of definition where it's like, if you're part of an event at Exit Five, you get someone interact, meet someone nearly get to know them, get to learn from them.

Dan [0:09:07]: Like, that's our whole mission.

Dan [0:09:08]: And so I think, like, the feel of, like, a four hundred six hundred thousand person plus event, like, you kinda lose that intimacy.

Dan [0:09:14]: And so I wouldn't rule out, you know, would we do an event of two hundred people in Vermont again in the future Sure.

Dan [0:09:21]: That could happen.

Dan [0:09:21]: It's not gonna happen next year because we realize, like, bringing everyone to Vermont is not the same as, like, us showing up New york City like we did last week or us showing up in San Francisco or Austin or Toronto or Boston or Chicago or any these other places that we're looking at doing events.

Dan [0:09:35]: And so I think it's possible we'll do something in Vermont again, like, of that size, but I think really what we wanna focus on is bringing our our event, bringing our community on the road and bring it to more people, making it more accessible.

Dave [0:09:45]: Yeah.

Dave [0:09:45]: I think it's great.

Dave [0:09:46]: You wrote something today on Linkedin is about the power of, like, el liberating is to be able to change your mind, and I think one of the reasons I think we wanted to do this on the podcast in addition to sharing the announcement is There is a lot of nuance here.

Dave [0:09:58]: Right?

Dave [0:09:58]: I think yeah.

Dave [0:09:59]: People might see it and be like, what?

Dave [0:10:00]: All they do is post about how great drive is and how great could it be.

Dave [0:10:03]: If you're not doing it anymore.

Dave [0:10:04]: And I think well…

Dan [0:10:05]: Yeah.

Dave [0:10:05]: This is a big boy, big girl.

Dave [0:10:06]: This is what life is about, man.

Dave [0:10:08]: Like, just because something works doesn't it mean you should sign up and continue to do it.

Dave [0:10:11]: And I think a lot of people in our audience.

Dave [0:10:13]: The everyone's marketers.

Dave [0:10:14]: Right?

Dave [0:10:14]: You're planning for twenty twenty seven right now.

Dave [0:10:16]: There might be things that you've done in the past that you're gonna decide not to do for whatever reason, and I think we're just feeling like we're ready for a change.

Dave [0:10:23]: We're gonna try something new, especially going to New York last week and doing that event there was like, oh, this is amazing.

Dave [0:10:30]: Like, why do we not do this like, five or six times a year.

Dave [0:10:32]: Yeah.

Dave [0:10:33]: And achieve the same type of result, but we can't do it all.

Dave [0:10:35]: And so we're making us important decision to stop doing something that's working, which is painful.

Dave [0:10:41]: And obviously, you know, people are gonna be like, what the heck?

Dave [0:10:44]: No drive, but I think that's a better position to be in versus, like, we tried to do this four hundred person event and, like, seventeen people showed and the event blocked and now we're out of the business, You know?

Dan [0:10:54]: Yeah.

Dan [0:10:54]: I want everyone to understand the benefit.

Dan [0:10:56]: I think that's part of why we wanna to do the podcast.

Dan [0:10:58]: So, like, understand the benefit beyond just…

Dan [0:11:00]: We're gonna do more events around the country.

Dan [0:11:03]: It's we have for the last six months, we've really invested a lot in our content.

Dan [0:11:09]: And, like, if you haven't been to an Exit Five live session recently or you haven't subscribed to the newsletter or I haven't read the news newsletter you're probably all subscribed.

Dan [0:11:19]: I hope you are.

Dan [0:11:19]: But if you haven't read it recently.

Dan [0:11:21]: Like, we're investing a lot in those types of resources too.

Dan [0:11:24]: And so, like, part of this decision of not making drive a huge focal point of our team.

Dan [0:11:29]: You know, we didn't raise ten million dollars or twenty million dollars and we're gonna, like, you know, do everything.

Dan [0:11:33]: Right?

Dan [0:11:34]: We have to pick and choose.

Dan [0:11:35]: We don't have to work deciding consciously who pick and shoes the things you wanna invest in.

Dan [0:11:38]: And if you haven't engaged recently in our content, Like, I'm biased but I would say it's night and day.

Dan [0:11:42]: No offense to you and me who are writing the newsletter ourselves and formatting ourselves six months ago.

Dan [0:11:47]: But, like, we've invested so much in those resource, and that's also part of the benefit you're gonna get from this change.

Dan [0:11:52]: Right?

Dan [0:11:52]: We're gonna invest more.

Dan [0:11:53]: We're gonna have more newsletters coming.

Dan [0:11:54]: We're gonna have more live sessions.

Dan [0:11:56]: Those have been a fantastic like, our mission is to be the number one resource for Beauty marketing teams and CMOs.

Dan [0:12:01]: And so, like, if that's our mission, like, we need to make our content more accessible and not just through a three day event in Burlington Vermont or Stove vermont.

Dan [0:12:09]: And so we're gonna be investing in more newsletters, more live session more podcasting.

Dan [0:12:12]: We have a new amazing c stash who's been involved with that.

Dan [0:12:15]: You'll see more stuff like that from us next year.

Dan [0:12:18]: That's also part of the big benefit here is being able to to invest in those areas of the business that we just see as, like, a really important place to invest.

Dave [0:12:25]: Yeah.

Dave [0:12:25]: Last thing on this, really, if you just boil this all down to, like, we asked ourselves the question, which is, So obviously, we're doing more events.

Dave [0:12:33]: So this will still have to be true some way, But we asked ourselves the question of drive is so much work to put on, what if we applied that same level of effort to our current business to things like our newsletter, our webinars, our podcast.

Dave [0:12:49]: And then when you think of it from that lens, it's like, oh, man, That would be that would be amazing.

Dave [0:12:52]: So…

Dave [0:12:53]: Yeah.

Dave [0:12:53]: Okay.

Dave [0:12:54]: That's it.

Dave [0:12:55]: Drive.

Dave [0:12:55]: Thanks to everyone who's come to drive.

Dan [0:12:57]: Thanks for you Like, I for your service.

Dan [0:12:59]: I don't know who

Dave [0:13:00]: thank you for your service.

Dave [0:13:01]: And I for this event that we created, and now we're taking away.

Dave [0:13:04]: The best part is it's a free market?

Dave [0:13:07]: Go to a different event.

Dave [0:13:08]: Go to one of our events another city.

Dave [0:13:10]: Go to Dream force.

Dave [0:13:12]: It's okay.

Dave [0:13:13]: There's plenty of events out there, And hopefully, we can still get, like Lindsay O'brien to drive up from Pennsylvania, come to our events in New york.

Dave [0:13:20]: Okay.

Dave [0:13:20]: Alright.

Dave [0:13:21]: Now, I'm a big content guy as Dan said, part of the content team here at Exit Five.

Dave [0:13:25]: And so figured if we're gonna do this podcast.

Dave [0:13:27]: Let's make it a two for one, I'm gonna put Dan and the…

Dave [0:13:30]: This is so fun when I don't…

Dave [0:13:31]: Know, have to have, like, a yeah.

Dave [0:13:33]: To.

Dave [0:13:33]: I don't know and don't have good chemistry where Actually have some months.

Dave [0:13:35]: I'm put Dan in the hot seat right here.

Dave [0:13:37]: And I have a bunch of questions prepared for you.

Dave [0:13:40]: So you were about to turn the corner four years at Exit Five.

Dave [0:13:43]: You actually showed me last night was yesterday, or today is the three year anniversary of my cold email to you.

Dave [0:13:50]: I asked you if you'd come work at Exit Five for one year.

Dave [0:13:54]: If we've achieved that milestone.

Dave [0:13:55]: This is we're turning the corner into year four.

Dan [0:13:59]: Yeah.

Dan [0:13:59]: I got a major contract extension there.

Dan [0:14:00]: Didn't.

Dan [0:14:01]: I went from, one year contract to one my I'm my you're three.

Dan [0:14:03]: Am I getting in renewed for next year or two or you're ten year…

Dave [0:14:07]: Yes.

Dave [0:14:07]: I gotta talk to the board tonight, but I think we'll renew it.

Dave [0:14:10]: If you'll come back, I'd love to have you for another year four years, you know, fully vested.

Dave [0:14:14]: That's a it's

Dan [0:14:15]: a big deal.

Dan [0:14:16]: It's a myself.

Dan [0:14:17]: Off your people have our agents talk and go figure it out.

Dan [0:14:20]: Know.

Dave [0:14:21]: Okay.

Dave [0:14:21]: What's been the biggest surprise taking this job looking back.

Dave [0:14:24]: And I I, like, ten questions?

Dave [0:14:25]: So Don't do the Dave thing.

Dave [0:14:26]: Give me twenty minutes on each of these, But What's been the biggest surprise taking this job did you expect to be here doing this, loving it.

Dave [0:14:33]: This is a career change.

Dave [0:14:34]: You were a VP marketing.

Dave [0:14:35]: This is totally different.

Dave [0:14:36]: So what's your reaction to that question?

Dan [0:14:39]: Mean probably the biggest surprises is I'm somehow the CEO of this business now.

Dan [0:14:42]: That was not…

Dan [0:14:43]: My Bingo card as they say, was not part of the plan.

Dan [0:14:46]: Obviously, We just made that decision about a Year ago and just reflected how we were gonna scale the business.

Dan [0:14:52]: And look, I, being a CEO that, a ten person business isn't being the CEO of Google or Microsoft.

Dan [0:14:56]: Right?

Dan [0:14:56]: Like, I wanna confuse anyone.

Dan [0:14:58]: It's not like a a huge change to what we were already doing, but I didn't expect that to happen.

Dan [0:15:02]: It's been a nice thing where, like, you would reach out to me three years ago to the day, which is amazing that we happen to be recorded this podcast on that.

Dan [0:15:08]: And I wasn't doing anything.

Dan [0:15:10]: It was funny they email because you were like, hey, don't feel pressured to respond or, like, you know, and I'm like, why would I not respond?

Dan [0:15:16]: We've already worked together for, like, six years and have been through, like, two exits and a ton of stuff events and conferences that we've built before.

Dan [0:15:23]: Like, why would I not answer?

Dave [0:15:24]: But I do this all of time.

Dave [0:15:25]: It's like, a Dave, like, copywriting thing because like, I think I'm good at sales, but I'm also uncomfortable by it at the same time.

Dave [0:15:31]: And so it works for copywriting.

Dave [0:15:32]: Like, I did.

Dave [0:15:33]: I was trying to cold email someone to speak at our event.

Dave [0:15:35]: I was like, Yeah.

Dave [0:15:36]: Hey, here's the offer.

Dave [0:15:37]: Like, no pressure.

Dave [0:15:37]: I'm not offended if you don't respond to this.

Dave [0:15:39]: But I think that's why I did that.

Dave [0:15:40]: But it was

Dan [0:15:42]: like, I mean I was literally sitting in my couch watching football when I got there.

Dan [0:15:44]: Mind nothing else coming on.

Dan [0:15:46]: And I knew was not doing anything else.

Dan [0:15:47]: That was, like, my…

Dan [0:15:48]: You thought I was gonna go seek out something else.

Dan [0:15:50]: But anyways, this thing has just become a really good partnership and just, I don't wanna spoil any questions you have coming, but I didn't expect to become the CEO of this business and suddenly, you know, have ten people working here and have a team it's so great.

Dan [0:16:01]: You know, that's really the big thing.

Dan [0:16:03]: So…

Dave [0:16:03]: Yeah.

Dave [0:16:03]: I think if I go back to like, the reason for reaching out, and, again, like, to me, I don't care about the job title whether it was you know, president CEO own whatever…

Dave [0:16:11]: Well, like, head of whatever.

Dave [0:16:13]: I think the reason that I wanted you was your skill set as, like the figure it out guy.

Dave [0:16:19]: We worked together in marketing, but I've written about this before is, like, I've always trusted you, and I just have felt that.

Dave [0:16:25]: I think people in your personal life will feel this.

Dave [0:16:27]: Like, if the power goes out in your house and need to figure out how to get something back up, like, dan's the guy that you wanna call and, like, figure that shit out.

Dave [0:16:33]: And I think that's what you want out of a business partner, and I think, like, what we've learned through this business is that actually ends really nicely into the CEO of a company like this?

Dave [0:16:42]: And so I think it been great for that reason.

Dave [0:16:43]: Were you ever nervous did this ever feel like a big risk or a big career change or, like, did you ever think, like, what if this doesn't work out?

Dave [0:16:50]: Like, what the hell I gonna do?

Dave [0:16:52]: You ever have that thought?

Dan [0:16:53]: No.

Dan [0:16:53]: I mean, I really didn't.

Dan [0:16:56]: I mean, I again, I don't think I was coming from a position of power where I was like, you know, running some big marketing team and felt, like, you know, I felt like…

Dan [0:17:03]: Okay.

Dan [0:17:04]: I was running my own little consulting business.

Dan [0:17:06]: It was not…

Dan [0:17:07]: Going great.

Dan [0:17:07]: It went really well really fast and then I didn't know what to do with it.

Dan [0:17:10]: And it was really lonely, and I didn't wanna work by myself and I knew that really quickly.

Dan [0:17:14]: I started interviewing for more roles, trying to go back in house to be VP marketing didn't really…

Dan [0:17:19]: Like, even an interview I could feel like bane energy wasn't there.

Dan [0:17:22]: You reached out and it was, like, I remember saying my wife right after Everything I was like, I know I'm doing next.

Dan [0:17:26]: Recently instantly, Like, it was just like, did do the exhaust

Dave [0:17:29]: to the bank account and stripe, and we were we were off to the race.

Dan [0:17:32]: It took a minute to get bank access from you.

Dan [0:17:34]: But because we had such an archaic that's fine.

Dan [0:17:37]: But right.

Dan [0:17:38]: We had to…

Dan [0:17:38]: But yeah.

Dave [0:17:40]: At Mercury, if anyone the team at Mercury is listening, We'd love you ours our future.

Dave [0:17:44]: Yeah that's to mercury.

Dave [0:17:44]: We're using Town small bank because small local bank and Vermont that required…

Dan [0:17:48]: But even like the the initial deal we made was basically, like, just You and I.

Dan [0:17:52]: This just gonna be you and, We have this a nice little lifestyle business.

Dan [0:17:54]: I mean, if I'm gonna go back and try to reinsert answer my first question because I wanna re record it, My first answer is the biggest surprise is, like, you started this, but I joined this as, like, a lifestyle business.

Dan [0:18:03]: I was about to have my first kid.

Dan [0:18:04]: You know, my mother I was really sick with cancer at the time.

Dan [0:18:07]: Like, this was a nice little life cycle business that we were gonna, you know, run and not making it a big thing.

Dan [0:18:12]: And so that isn't true as much anymore.

Dan [0:18:14]: Right?

Dan [0:18:15]: We've been pulled to this point where we have a bigger team.

Dan [0:18:17]: We're at a higher revenue tier.

Dan [0:18:18]: We have a lot more customers, a lot more sponsors, lot more members.

Dan [0:18:21]: We have events that we're starting.

Dan [0:18:23]: We've have events that we're shutting down.

Dan [0:18:24]: You know, it's like, we're at a different Caliber now.

Dan [0:18:26]: And so probably my biggest surprise is, like, you know, how fast we've grown over the last couple of years.

Dan [0:18:30]: And that we've been able to do it our way in our terms, like, not raise a bunch of money not be behold into a venture capital firm that wants us to be at this, you know, growth rate, we'd be able to make decisions like, what we made today, that feel right for the business that feel right for our members that feel right for our team.

Dan [0:18:45]: That's probably the biggest surprise.

Dave [0:18:47]: Book the Vc.

Dave [0:18:48]: Now I I'm kidding your lives kidding.

Dave [0:18:50]: No look, if someone wants to write

Dan [0:18:53]: a check.

Dave [0:18:54]: Like if someone wants to invest like thirty to fifty million email us.

Dave [0:18:56]: Dan and Dave at exitfive.com

Dan [0:18:58]: you go.

Dave [0:18:59]: Okay.

Dave [0:18:59]: What from your experience in marketing has translated to CEO and running the Exit Five business today.

Dan [0:19:05]: Yeah.

Dan [0:19:05]: I would say one thing you always pushed me on when we were at Drift was one thing we always were pushing on was internal marketing.

Dan [0:19:12]: You know, like, as marketers we think all the time about how we market to our customers, but you gotta think about how you markets the rest of the team, how you get buy in, how you get leadership buy in, how you get sales product, Everyone bought into what you're doing because you're just much more powerful is the as a brand if everybody's bought into what you're doing in marketing.

Dan [0:19:27]: That is true for I think, how I…

Dan [0:19:29]: I'm a marketing CEO.

Dan [0:19:31]: That's product CEOs, their sales, CEOs.

Dan [0:19:33]: I'm a marketing CEO, like, everything we do.

Dan [0:19:35]: I try to give a name to everything.

Dan [0:19:37]: So to give you an example.

Dan [0:19:38]: We have a Claude Code.

Dan [0:19:39]: Right, a little social media campaign we started, but we made it, we gave it a name became powerful became a thing,

Dave [0:19:44]: the five card.

Dan [0:19:45]: The five card, Like, we try to name everything.

Dan [0:19:47]: I think that's a big part of, like, you know, that internal marketing muscle that we built over the last eight or nine years.

Dave [0:19:52]: So people listening at home.

Dave [0:19:54]: Like, this is, like, Instead of doing, like, here were this year's, you know, Kpis, like, Dan was like, no, let's give him a name.

Dave [0:20:00]: So we call it the five card.

Dave [0:20:01]: Right?

Dave [0:20:01]: It's like, yeah.

Dave [0:20:02]: We're doing a off site in Miami next month, and we wanna have a little, like, shark tank pitch style competition and Dan called it the five fund, Like, just you know, naming things to make it more real as a good lesson.

Dan [0:20:13]: Yeah.

Dan [0:20:13]: For sure.

Dan [0:20:13]: I think that applies across the board, everything we do.

Dan [0:20:16]: Is it's just like, how do we…

Dan [0:20:17]: I spend more time marketing our team and employee brand.

Dan [0:20:19]: Right?

Dan [0:20:20]: Employer.

Dan [0:20:20]: I guess is what you call it.

Dan [0:20:21]: Marketing our team, marketing our culture, That makes hiring a lot easier.

Dan [0:20:24]: So that's probably the biggest thing that's translated for my marketing days.

Dave [0:20:28]: What's something people might not know about you as it relates to Exit Five and what you do here, like, taking out the trash ash.

Dave [0:20:34]: I don't know something.

Dave [0:20:35]: Something you do, people might not know for from…

Dave [0:20:37]: I mean,

Dan [0:20:38]: if we

Dave [0:20:38]: were in

Dan [0:20:38]: an office, I think that's probably one task.

Dan [0:20:40]: I'd give my myself to taking the trash just to get outside and get some pressure.

Dan [0:20:44]: I wanna tell

Dave [0:20:44]: us her, there's a scene at drive where Tim and Ta, I was doing a podcast interview with them, and it was, like, thirty mile an hour winds.

Dave [0:20:50]: And I'm sitting there, you know, like, this handsome little prince being interviewed about B b marketing

Dan [0:20:56]: to your great.

Dave [0:20:57]: Tell me how great you are, and Dan, I got the headset mic on.

Dave [0:20:59]: Tell me wow.

Dave [0:21:00]: You're do you have so many followers or you're so smart.

Dave [0:21:02]: And, like, Dan, like, running around, like, picking up trash in the background because it was everywhere, and I was like, this is a perfect j position of…

Dave [0:21:09]: And that's what I mean.

Dave [0:21:10]: Figured it out.

Dave [0:21:11]: But no.

Dave [0:21:11]: Me something.

Dave [0:21:12]: I want something deep operationally, like, do you manually sign paychecks.

Dave [0:21:16]: Do you pay the Canadian employees manually.

Dave [0:21:19]: Give me something.

Dan [0:21:21]: I think a lot of what I do is is not super surprising.

Dan [0:21:23]: I mean, I live in spreadsheets in Slack all day.

Dan [0:21:25]: I am the number ones user at our company.

Dan [0:21:28]: I don't know if that's fun or not.

Dave [0:21:29]: Is that You have

Dan [0:21:30]: more send more than you me?

Dan [0:21:31]: But you know why that is, you send more paragraphs.

Dan [0:21:33]: I send more one line messages.

Dan [0:21:35]: If it's word volume you probably win because you send more substantive of things, but I send more individual messages, I guess than than you do.

Dave [0:21:42]: Back Yeah.

Dave [0:21:42]: You're probably busy in the Dm.

Dave [0:21:43]: You're right?

Dan [0:21:44]: Yeah.

Dave [0:21:45]: Yeah.

Dave [0:21:45]: Also shout it to ramp Dan's a big ramp guy, ridiculous that they haven't sent us any money yet for whoever's listening.

Dan [0:21:51]: Ridiculous said they sent you Swag.

Dan [0:21:53]: They sent you mister two hundred k followers.

Dan [0:21:55]: Not even use your own ramp No.

Dan [0:21:58]: I gotta put this on the record.

Dan [0:21:59]: You don't even use your own ramp card.

Dave [0:22:01]: Why would

Dan [0:22:01]: they send you, like, a box of stuff.

Dan [0:22:03]: I'm the one like, bought it about the whole team on board, give everyone a ramp card uses it every week.

Dave [0:22:08]: I gotten an the podcast influencer marketing.

Dan [0:22:11]: I can if you could pork, You

Dave [0:22:12]: could send gifts to the guy with two hundred thousand followers or you could send gifts to the guy with twenty thousand followers?

Dave [0:22:17]: I'm going the big

Dan [0:22:18]: twenty five day?

Dan [0:22:19]: Was a twenty five My

Dave [0:22:20]: bad My bad is standard.

Dan [0:22:22]: Oh, what

Dave [0:22:22]: does a typical week look like?

Dave [0:22:24]: How do you spend your time at Exit Five?

Dave [0:22:26]: Where do you work?

Dave [0:22:26]: Are you at home?

Dave [0:22:27]: Do you go to the office?

Dave [0:22:28]: What does a rough schedule look like?

Dan [0:22:30]: Yeah.

Dan [0:22:30]: So I'm at home now in my home office.

Dan [0:22:32]: I have a c working space.

Dan [0:22:33]: You have a c working space.

Dan [0:22:34]: We found that that's really helpful.

Dan [0:22:36]: I have two small kids, two years old and ten months old.

Dan [0:22:40]: So getting out of the house and being able to focus as a priority.

Dan [0:22:43]: So I'm there eight to five every day.

Dan [0:22:46]: It's pretty typical, you know, day for the most part at a c working space.

Dan [0:22:51]: We'd spend a lot of our time as a team meeting on Monday.

Dan [0:22:54]: So Mondays are a big meeting day.

Dan [0:22:55]: We do a metrics meeting.

Dan [0:22:56]: We do some individual meetings at a editorial meeting.

Dan [0:22:58]: I don't believe in recurring one of ones.

Dan [0:23:01]: They don't think they're helpful.

Dan [0:23:02]: So we kinda get the bulk of the week to all do deep work, including myself.

Dan [0:23:05]: So Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursdays a lot of that.

Dan [0:23:07]: And then Friday, we meet again as a team.

Dan [0:23:09]: And I'm at the office.

Dan [0:23:10]: I'll work out in the morning as much as I can try to get up early do that, try to read before bed.

Dan [0:23:14]: In some ways, I think I just followed a lot of the habits that you've given me over the years, You know, working out early.

Dave [0:23:19]: You work at home and that Jim.

Dan [0:23:21]: Yep.

Dan [0:23:21]: I have a a garage gym.

Dan [0:23:22]: It's…

Dan [0:23:23]: I work at home where I get out, and I have a nice neighborhood, a nice trail right It's outside of my house and go for a run and

Dave [0:23:28]: go for a rock.

Dave [0:23:28]: Nice.

Dave [0:23:29]: Yeah.

Dave [0:23:29]: I don't.

Dave [0:23:30]: I just talked about that on the pod before.

Dave [0:23:31]: That's why…

Dave [0:23:33]: Yeah.

Dave [0:23:33]: I don't.

Dave [0:23:33]: I'm not gonna say the this shit.

Dave [0:23:34]: I'm gonna say right now.

Dave [0:23:35]: Feeling real confident right now.

Dave [0:23:37]: I don't say anything stupid.

Dave [0:23:38]: Okay.

Dave [0:23:39]: And why are you home today?

Dan [0:23:40]: So I could record this and I'm actually having wi wifi f issues in my office.

Dan [0:23:44]: So the real reason is it's just easier to record here.

Dan [0:23:47]: I don't wanna…

Dan [0:23:47]: I wanna screw this up.

Dan [0:23:49]: There's my one podcast in three years, I don't want Wifi to be the the issue.

Dan [0:23:52]: You know?

Dave [0:23:53]: We'll have you back.

Dave [0:23:54]: We'll have you back.

Dave [0:23:54]: We'll see.

Dave [0:23:55]: We'll measure that Mer will measure the N mps of this episode.

Dave [0:23:58]: And we'll look forward to.

Dave [0:23:59]: Okay.

Dave [0:23:59]: If you had a magic wand and solve any challenge in the Exit Five business what would it be?

Dave [0:24:05]: Like, if I was a Genie, and we could solve anything?

Dan [0:24:08]: I think we have the same one.

Dan [0:24:08]: I think if I asked you this question, you'd give the statements answer I'm about to give, which is I put everybody in office.

Dan [0:24:14]: I move everyone arizona, that's my preference.

Dan [0:24:15]: Right?

Dave [0:24:17]: That's I know.

Dan [0:24:17]: You know, I know what everyone would, but I would bring everyone Arizona.

Dan [0:24:20]: I'd rent out a nice big space for us.

Dan [0:24:23]: No c working spaces.

Dan [0:24:24]: We get our own space.

Dan [0:24:25]: I'd build you a beautiful podcast studio and live for you in Dash.

Dan [0:24:29]: We…

Dave [0:24:29]: Are you convincing me to move Arizona right now in the pod.

Dan [0:24:32]: We'd get Dash Matt Maria all to commit to moving from Canada and coming down here.

Dan [0:24:36]: We'd have a ton of space because it's Arizona.

Dan [0:24:39]: We get lunch together every day.

Dan [0:24:41]: We all, you know, get to spend time, you know, beyond our drive, or we have an off site in two weeks in miami.

Dan [0:24:46]: We get to spend more time together.

Dan [0:24:48]: We like each other I think.

Dan [0:24:49]: I don't know Maybe I'm wrong, but I…

Dan [0:24:51]: I'm pretty sure everyone likes each other and the team be like hanging out, and we work really well together.

Dan [0:24:54]: So you and I would say we'd be at dish revenue right now.

Dan [0:24:57]: If we all were in an office together, so if I had a magic wand.

Dan [0:25:00]: Not that that's the only reason.

Dan [0:25:01]: It would just be fun to work together, but I just think life would be even better and more productive and more fun if we were all in the same office.

Dave [0:25:08]: Arizona has much better taxes in Vermont for nearly every better golf tax.

Dan [0:25:11]: Way better golf.

Dan [0:25:12]: Vermont.

Dave [0:25:13]: I you just can't have there.

Dave [0:25:14]: And, by the way, if this was not evident by every time we hang out, I don't even really drink, and I, every time we're around the team, I'm, like, send Dan like, a late night message like, dude.

Dan [0:25:24]: I wish

Dave [0:25:24]: we just all lived together, man.

Dave [0:25:25]: And then we felt it last week, man, we got…

Dave [0:25:28]: We rented, like, this shitty we work for, like, eight hours.

Dave [0:25:31]: And it was like, on Canal Street where they were, like, selling, like, the fake Louise and, like, the cops would come and they have to like, hide all that stuff real quick.

Dave [0:25:39]: And we got so much done in eight hours.

Dave [0:25:41]: It was just was like, oh, my gosh.

Dave [0:25:43]: This is ridiculous.

Dave [0:25:43]: The the boom, call someone else.

Dave [0:25:45]: Alright.

Dave [0:25:45]: Hey.

Dave [0:25:45]: List all this problem.

Dave [0:25:46]: And I was like, oh, gosh.

Dave [0:25:47]: This would be ridiculous.

Dave [0:25:49]: We would probably would have raised fifty million if we'd be in an office so.

Dave [0:25:52]: And then I don't know.

Dave [0:25:54]: I want people here.

Dave [0:25:55]: You want people there.

Dave [0:25:55]: People who knew with, you know, mom and dad.

Dan [0:25:58]: Your idea.

Dan [0:25:58]: It was draft, Let's just draft the team reach kidding me.

Dan [0:26:01]: Get we're a draft.

Dan [0:26:03]: Get the big board, and everyone just washes and figures out where they're gonna happen Oh

Dave [0:26:07]: my god.

Dave [0:26:07]: Months.

Dave [0:26:08]: Like, Anna, Anna, you've been selected.

Dave [0:26:10]: Well moment if you're going vermont.

Dave [0:26:13]: You'd kill me if I took Anna.

Dave [0:26:15]: Are you getting what are you talking about.

Dan [0:26:17]: Well, Anna is tech so be more logical that you wanna be or so.

Dave [0:26:20]: Just be more culture shock to go here.

Dave [0:26:22]: I feel like from first sure.

Dan [0:26:24]: This was Culture shock is going to New York for me?

Dan [0:26:25]: You know, that's such a different place.

Dan [0:26:26]: Yeah.

Dan [0:26:27]: Yeah.

Dave [0:26:28]: Okay.

Dave [0:26:28]: What do you think about marketing?

Dave [0:26:29]: So you're a marketer still, it's in your Dna.

Dave [0:26:32]: So But, you know, you talked to all of our members, You read all of our stuff.

Dave [0:26:35]: You listen to the podcast, Wink wink all the time.

Dave [0:26:38]: You know what people are talking about in marketing, probably not as much as me, thought leaders, my job to interview people, but I wanna get your opinion.

Dave [0:26:46]: What do you think?

Dave [0:26:47]: What's the reality of, like, where is marketing going in twenty twenty seven?

Dave [0:26:50]: Are all these marketing jobs gonna be replaced by Ai?

Dave [0:26:53]: Like, what do you feel Dan?

Dave [0:26:54]: What do you see happening?

Dave [0:26:54]: What's over hype?

Dave [0:26:55]: What's…

Dave [0:26:56]: You know getting at?

Dan [0:26:57]: Yeah.

Dan [0:26:57]: I think one, you're gonna have a pain this than I will because division labor where I'm focused.

Dan [0:27:02]: You got dog.

Dan [0:27:03]: That's okay.

Dan [0:27:03]: I gotta run the business.

Dan [0:27:04]: And I feel like three years ago, I'd have…

Dan [0:27:06]: If I was VP marketing Dan and Ai came a lot or, I guess, it's five years ago, I would have so many good hot takes for you, better I think the part I wanna answer is like, will all jobs were replaced by Ai.

Dan [0:27:16]: I think we said this, like, you know, we've been paying close attention for the last twenty four months in particular.

Dan [0:27:20]: And maybe eighteen months ago, we had a conversation.

Dan [0:27:22]: I was like, I just don't think…

Dan [0:27:24]: And it was really the time where It felt like, everybody marketing was starting to get really bummed out.

Dan [0:27:28]: And everyone was starting getting really nervous because it felt like Ai was coming, it was coming it's, like, progress moved so much slower and especially in a B business.

Dan [0:27:36]: I'm just gonna be honest than you think.

Dan [0:27:37]: And so that was…

Dan [0:27:39]: Eighteen months or twenty four months ago whatever.

Dan [0:27:41]: And it's like, I think at that point, we're all saying within two years within eighteen months, everyone's gonna be replaced.

Dan [0:27:45]: And I just wanna point out our job boards is more popular than the hiring channel and our executive community is more popular than ever.

Dan [0:27:51]: We have more post going on there.

Dan [0:27:52]: Like, I'm sorry.

Dan [0:27:53]: It didn't happen yet.

Dan [0:27:54]: There will be change.

Dan [0:27:55]: I change I wasn't gonna happen as quickly as you think.

Dave [0:27:59]: I wanna myth bust something.

Dave [0:27:59]: Actually, I think, like, on Linkedin and social media, yes, like, in those companies, like, the ramps.

Dave [0:28:05]: Rex, rip ant philanthropic, like the Saas, like the true Saas, darling companies, there's a insane amount of change.

Dave [0:28:12]: But I think one of the cool things about how we've shifted and grown our business is like, our Ic actually now is, like, the CMO of, like, a seven hundred million dollar bank in Ohio or like…

Dave [0:28:23]: Yeah.

Dave [0:28:24]: Marcy Ko, who's has become, you know, one of our friends and just awesome member.

Dave [0:28:27]: She's is the CMO of a three d aerial imaging company.

Dave [0:28:31]: Right?

Dave [0:28:32]: It's like, those companies are gonna I talked about this a lot.

Dave [0:28:35]: Like, they're not just gonna implement the craziest Ai thing and, like, change their business overnight.

Dave [0:28:39]: So…

Dave [0:28:40]: And to you, you always push me, like, dude people business.

Dave [0:28:42]: People business.

Dave [0:28:43]: People, people…

Dave [0:28:44]: It's like, yeah.

Dave [0:28:44]: That is the key.

Dan [0:28:45]: Well, and also just look at us.

Dan [0:28:46]: We've doubled their team this year.

Dan [0:28:47]: You know, like, I don't the brand year before

Dave [0:28:52]: almost every problem.

Dave [0:28:52]: And then now, yeah.

Dave [0:28:53]: Almost all of our problems been so.

Dan [0:28:54]: I would rather work with our team and our people then I work with a bot.

Dan [0:28:57]: I would…

Dan [0:28:58]: It's the same thing about why I wanna be together in an office together.

Dan [0:29:00]: Right?

Dan [0:29:01]: Like, I think there's a personal choice where all gonna start making two to around like, do you wanna work with people and like, fulfill your life and have relationships with people, because, by the way, the people we work with is a spend the most time within your life

Dave [0:29:11]: of this something Something is not as fulfilling.

Dave [0:29:13]: I know it can sell it.

Dave [0:29:14]: I don't know if you still use Chat Or up.

Dave [0:29:16]: I've been using it more lately.

Dave [0:29:17]: It has this thing like, I use it in voice mode a lot, and it's trying to be a human if I ask chad A question.

Dave [0:29:24]: It goes, yes.

Dave [0:29:26]: Good question.

Dave [0:29:27]: Hold on.

Dave [0:29:28]: Let me check it for you And it feels so ic.

Dave [0:29:30]: Like, I want a banter.

Dave [0:29:31]: Right?

Dave [0:29:31]: Yeah.

Dave [0:29:32]: I don't know who wrote this question, but coming up on ten years of working at a company with Dave.

Dave [0:29:36]: What's he really like to work with?

Dave [0:29:37]: Some people describe him as a bit of an en, tough to read and understand changes his mind a lot.

Dave [0:29:42]: Seems like a huge dick, knife.

Dave [0:29:44]: He's up and down a lot.

Dave [0:29:46]: He can be very emo and his feelings up and down.

Dave [0:29:48]: What's your experience pin.

Dave [0:29:49]: How do you work with Dave and stay man.

Dan [0:29:52]: I thought this was, like a twenty minute of podcast.

Dan [0:29:53]: I'm gonna need a sixty minute podcast to answer this one.

Dan [0:29:55]: This is…

Dan [0:29:56]: Give me a where…

Dave [0:29:57]: I I've ten questions left, like Rapid to answer, like the short person of this one?

Dan [0:30:02]: I mean, there's, like, six questions in this question.

Dan [0:30:04]: What you mind do you want me to?

Dan [0:30:06]: What does it like working with Dave?

Dan [0:30:07]: I mean, I completely biased.

Dan [0:30:08]: We are nine years together.

Dan [0:30:10]: You're, like, my big brother at this point or we're buyers work wives or whatever it is you call it.

Dan [0:30:14]: Like, we have an insane amount of trust that I don't have with certain my personal life people, but like, in the workplace, I have no one else I trust as much as you, and I think it goes two ways.

Dan [0:30:22]: Working with you.

Dan [0:30:23]: I mean, I guess you're an.

Dan [0:30:24]: I don't know.

Dan [0:30:25]: I don't I don't know.

Dave [0:30:26]: I didn't write this.

Dave [0:30:26]: I'm just asking.

Dan [0:30:27]: I don't know where to go with this question.

Dan [0:30:28]: There's just so much to answer here.

Dan [0:30:30]: I feel like I'm like, I don't wanna say the…

Dan [0:30:32]: I'm not we're posting the wrong thing, but I've worried about not covering enough material here.

Dan [0:30:35]: I'm being too snarky or two.

Dave [0:30:37]: Yeah.

Dave [0:30:37]: Welcome to being in a funny podcast numbers have an opinion say something.

Dan [0:30:41]: I mean, I think for people that don't really know you that just know you as David Podcast.

Dan [0:30:45]: I think you have a this is so lame.

Dan [0:30:49]: You have a big heart, dude.

Dan [0:30:50]: You would do.

Dan [0:30:50]: You care a lot about all the people on our team, all the people that listen to our podcast that come in our events.

Dan [0:30:55]: Like, I think you care more than the average thought leader influencer because I've met those other people.

Dan [0:31:02]: I know those people too.

Dan [0:31:03]: And I think we come from a similar upbringing similar background similar like, parenting style.

Dan [0:31:07]: Our parents raised a similar way.

Dan [0:31:09]: Like, at similar values?

Dan [0:31:10]: I think you care so much about the people, and I think people don't know.

Dan [0:31:14]: I think people would be questioning that?

Dan [0:31:16]: Like, is this a facade?

Dan [0:31:17]: Is this who he is?

Dan [0:31:18]: Like, you care very deeply about everybody and our team.

Dan [0:31:20]: We care very deeply about you know, our customers, our members.

Dan [0:31:23]: We spent so much time writing this press release and trying to get the communication.

Dan [0:31:26]: Right?

Dan [0:31:26]: Because you care a lot about so.

Dan [0:31:28]: Yeah.

Dan [0:31:28]: This is not my usual stick Linkedin.

Dan [0:31:30]: You I'd like to try

Dave [0:31:31]: to you

Dan [0:31:32]: be funny, but I have to give the real answer, which is, like, you a huge heart and care a lot about people and that's what makes me wanna work with you for another…

Dan [0:31:39]: What we be just sign for a ten year deal?

Dan [0:31:40]: Contract.

Dan [0:31:42]: But…

Dan [0:31:42]: Or whatever lifetime contract.

Dan [0:31:43]: Yeah.

Dan [0:31:44]: Married.

Dan [0:31:44]: We're married to this business for sure.

Dave [0:31:46]: That's a good one.

Dave [0:31:47]: I'll take that.

Dave [0:31:47]: Thank you for saying that.

Dave [0:31:48]: And it's something that I be clipped

Dan [0:31:50]: and this becomes the…

Dan [0:31:50]: That segment becomes the clip on Linkedin, and that's it's like, Dan Por is har out for Dave.

Dave [0:31:58]: Yeah.

Dave [0:31:58]: Like no, I think I'm glad you said that.

Dave [0:31:59]: I think something that working here has made me realize is, you know, that's a gifted occur comments get me upset sometimes and they shouldn't.

Dave [0:32:06]: And you talk me off the ledge and I think there's pros and cons of that.

Dave [0:32:08]: Yeah.

Dave [0:32:09]: I'm learning that.

Dave [0:32:09]: Do funny thing, Dan, Dan messaged me all the time as I used to be, like, I wanna be in my house by myself.

Dave [0:32:15]: I don't wanna team.

Dave [0:32:15]: I hate work with people.

Dave [0:32:16]: I hate meetings.

Dan [0:32:17]: Yeah.

Dave [0:32:18]: All the time.

Dave [0:32:18]: Now He's, like, Dude, you didn't let anybody fucking talk in that meeting.

Dave [0:32:21]: You love meetings.

Dave [0:32:22]: Don't you How much do you love meetings?

Dave [0:32:23]: And I'm like,

Dan [0:32:24]: you love having a team.

Dan [0:32:25]: Don't

Dave [0:32:25]: you you

Dan [0:32:26]: love Yeah.

Dave [0:32:26]: That's what you says.

Dan [0:32:27]: You you're your banter.

Dan [0:32:27]: You use our…

Dan [0:32:28]: We have like a random channel we called fun You use that channel more than anyone.

Dan [0:32:30]: You're sharing more about your life You're chewing more updates talking r.

Dave [0:32:35]: Does is so or no anyone else.

Dan [0:32:37]: Turning red.

Dan [0:32:38]: Is the embarrassing.

Dave [0:32:39]: Right?

Dave [0:32:39]: I care.

Dave [0:32:39]: I Yeah.

Dave [0:32:40]: I didn't realize how lonely I was.

Dave [0:32:42]: There you go.

Dan [0:32:43]: Or as our parents would say you a big hat.

Dave [0:32:45]: I got.

Dave [0:32:45]: You got a big hot my mama.

Dave [0:32:46]: She's reading a book to my kids and they start laughing because they're were like, what She's, like, I packed my car.

Dave [0:32:51]: They, like, the what?

Dave [0:32:52]: The what?

Dave [0:32:53]: Alright.

Dave [0:32:54]: Rapid fire.

Dave [0:32:54]: We got five minutes.

Dave [0:32:55]: I'm having learned in a minute.

Dave [0:32:57]: I think.

Dave [0:32:57]: So we gotta go.

Dave [0:32:58]: Okay.

Dave [0:32:58]: How's does your work life changed since having kids

Dan [0:33:01]: just less time prioritize what you gotta prioritize.

Dan [0:33:03]: I focus on in the early in the morning, trying to work out, get my body moving, Try to be healthy.

Dan [0:33:07]: Mornings most of the time, you know, work, evenings are all about my kids.

Dan [0:33:11]: You just gotta prioritize.

Dan [0:33:12]: You gotta be focused and someone give me the advice wherever your feet are be there.

Dan [0:33:15]: If you're at your desk working, in the Gym working out.

Dan [0:33:17]: You're playing with your kids Just be here there.

Dan [0:33:19]: Don't try to be in multiple places at once.

Dave [0:33:21]: I do that, but I also send a thousand slack message because I'm addicted it's a video game that we have.

Dave [0:33:26]: What do you need for breakfast?

Dan [0:33:28]: I don't need a lot of breakfast I do like the fast, but if I do eat breakfast, it's gonna be a big protein smoothie with, like, seventy grams.

Dave [0:33:34]: You answered this question wrong.

Dave [0:33:35]: I asked you this question because you told us, you know, we all the fun questions at dinner, you're like, I have black coffee.

Dan [0:33:41]: This…

Dan [0:33:41]: Well, I wanna give you something because I…

Dan [0:33:43]: Well, here's the reason I had to say this movie is because I made the video.

Dan [0:33:45]: Right?

Dan [0:33:46]: The Linkedin video, my five nine I mentioned Yes.

Dan [0:33:48]: I don't people call me out on.

Dan [0:33:49]: Yes.

Dan [0:33:50]: Movie sometimes.

Dan [0:33:50]: Abroad.

Dan [0:33:51]: And if you wouldn't

Dave [0:33:52]: change your mind.

Dave [0:33:52]: It's a black coffee

Dan [0:33:54]: is it's basically it.

Dan [0:33:54]: Yeah.

Dave [0:33:55]: Best book you read lately.

Dan [0:33:57]: You know, I did reread the hard thing about hard things.

Dan [0:33:59]: We did that this year, or I did that not too long ago You referenced it earlier this that I just think that's a really important book for every.

Dave [0:34:05]: I just gave you a.

Dave [0:34:05]: If you don't dunk this home and shut out your boy.

Dave [0:34:08]: I'm gonna hang up on you right now.

Dave [0:34:09]: What's the book you've been sending the thousands

Dan [0:34:13]: photos.

Dan [0:34:13]: Eddie.

Dan [0:34:14]: I'm sorry, Eddie.

Dan [0:34:15]: I should've have led with that.

Dan [0:34:16]: Very good copy.

Dan [0:34:17]: I think it's two hundred fifty micro lessons about writing copy from our guy, Eddie.

Dan [0:34:22]: The sc.

Dan [0:34:23]: I'm saying minutes later.

Dan [0:34:24]: Yeah.

Dan [0:34:24]: Just sc.

Dan [0:34:25]: That's shocking that I got…

Dan [0:34:26]: That says actually, if you know me, and I got your last name right?

Dan [0:34:29]: Yeah.

Dan [0:34:30]: That says a lot about how much I care about you.

Dan [0:34:31]: It's an amazing book.

Dan [0:34:32]: We just sent it to everyone the team.

Dan [0:34:34]: Go get that book.

Dan [0:34:35]: It's yeah the best thirty dollars I've spent this year on my education.

Dave [0:34:38]: What's one of your biggest pet peeve in life.

Dave [0:34:40]: What gets dan, like, When you're at home, is it like when someone doesn't put their shopping cart away at Lowe's?

Dave [0:34:44]: Like, what is it?

Dan [0:34:45]: Can I say that people speeding down Meyer street?

Dan [0:34:47]: Yes.

Dan [0:34:47]: For like, we have an elementary school in our neighborhood and we have a high school.

Dan [0:34:51]: And it's always these parents are always late to drop off their kids and the, like, irony of it is like, they're speeding down we've a lot of kids live in our street including my kids.

Dan [0:34:59]: And after I go for my ru, you were gonna laugh at this and I can't believe in mistakes publicly.

Dan [0:35:03]: After I go I rock, I got my little body Am on, I got my little needed hat on.

Dan [0:35:06]: I got my sunglasses glasses on.

Dan [0:35:08]: I'll just stand in my driveway and just stare at.

Dan [0:35:10]: I won't yell.

Dan [0:35:11]: I won't be conversational any other way.

Dan [0:35:12]: I'll just stay there.

Dan [0:35:13]: And I'm not…

Dan [0:35:13]: You're looking at it right now.

Dan [0:35:15]: I'm not the most intimidating looking person, but I put on my little body here Right

Dave [0:35:18]: Right now.

Dave [0:35:18]: You set five eleven best thought you're like, it's gotta blow.

Dave [0:35:21]: It's this gonna blow us up right now.

Dan [0:35:23]: And I see their white dog, My dog who is the sweetest dog.

Dave [0:35:25]: Here.

Dave [0:35:25]: You But your dog like a German shepherd mix.

Dave [0:35:27]: Like.

Dan [0:35:27]: She looks like a, like, a police dog.

Dan [0:35:29]: And so, like, we kinda just…

Dan [0:35:30]: I'll just sit stand there for a minute after a run or whatever after a rock where I've been, like, sweating.

Dan [0:35:34]: I'll just stand there for minute to drink my water and just look at everybody.

Dan [0:35:36]: It's driving by too fast, cutting around.

Dan [0:35:38]: And it works.

Dan [0:35:40]: They look at me, and, maybe I'll do a little this, like, slow down, and they will do it.

Dan [0:35:43]: It works.

Dan [0:35:44]: What was my answer, but what professional would I do if I wasn't doing this.

Dave [0:35:47]: Yeah.

Dave [0:35:47]: You said you did I love that.

Dave [0:35:48]: Yep.

Dave [0:35:48]: I don't if you're ever an Nba guy, but Ama S meyer is now.

Dave [0:35:51]: He just went through police training and he's now certified to be seven feet tall.

Dave [0:35:55]: Yeah.

Dave [0:35:55]: Yeah.

Dave [0:35:56]: He's like, gonna be a cop in the Miami, like, police system and he's gonna go and

Dan [0:36:00]: maybe we'll see as a cop.

Dan [0:36:01]: Hopefully not.

Dan [0:36:02]: If we do see two weeks, something went wrong with our off site, but maybe we'll see me…

Dan [0:36:05]: Won't we'd be hard to miss.

Dave [0:36:07]: Alright.

Dave [0:36:07]: My other question in here is, like, self, obviously, how much do you love Drake May a lot.

Dave [0:36:12]: End of podcast.

Dave [0:36:12]: Dan, give it a great job, Ladies and gentlemen, thank you.

Dave [0:36:15]: Dan's gotta get back to work.

Dave [0:36:17]: The business has slowed down in the hour he's given me for this pod.

Dave [0:36:20]: So Thank you for coming on the pod, Dan.

Dave [0:36:22]: Look, I want you to do me a favor.

Dave [0:36:23]: I wanna feel this podcast.

Dave [0:36:25]: If you like this interview.

Dave [0:36:27]: I want you to reply to us, tell us how you feel whether it's about us being evil people and canceling Drive or You love Dan's answers to something or you like our little banter here or is very heartwarming to find out that I actually have a big heart.

Dave [0:36:41]: Go to exitfive.com slash newsletter to get out newsletter, reply to us there.

Dave [0:36:44]: Find us on Linkedin.

Dave [0:36:46]: Dan's got twenty five thousand followers.

Dave [0:36:47]: Someone should be ramped.

Dave [0:36:48]: Do a thought lead.

Dan [0:36:50]: I might round it up.

Dan [0:36:50]: I'm it might be more like twenty four, but whenever really it's a heated competition.

Dave [0:36:55]: Too many years of working with me roundup up the nearest number of just send that thing up.

Dave [0:36:58]: Alright.

Dave [0:36:59]: We're out of here at Ladies and gentlemen.

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