408. Success Motivated by Enthusiasm & Passion (and not ambition)! An interview with Entrepreneur & CEO Tom Conrad

How does someone land their dream job… right out of college? How does someone position themselves to create some of the biggest breakout products in the tech industry? How does someone walk alongside some of the most successful people in the world?  Well… that’s what we’re talking about in THIS episode… and you might be surprised to find that someone who’s done just that will be quick to tell you that he wasn’t motivated by ambition… but instead… by enthusiasm and passion.

That’s right. Tom Conrad is joining us! 

Tom is living a true DREAM THINK DO life! 

He dreamed of working for Apple as a kid… and pursued that goal.  While going to the University of Michigan… he secured an internship with Apple… and after a bold conversation… he wound up being recruited by Apple after graduating.

In addition to his experience at Apple… Tom’s been a vital part of some significant successes. For example… he was a co-creator and Chief Technology officer and Executive Vice President of Product at Pandora… which he helped take from zero to 80 million users.

He was the VP of Product for Snap… where he worked side by side with Evan Spiegel. (If you don’t know… Evan became the youngest billionaire in the world in 2015.)

Tom’s now the CEO for Zero… a metabolic health app which is on a mission to extend the lifespan and the health span of the human race.  He’s helped the app to grow to almost 14 million users AND… sidebar… they have a 4.8 in the Apple store… with over 435,000 ratings… which is wildly impressive!

Now… along with these big wins… Tom is also quick to point to some setbacks along the way.  And we’ll talk about those as well… and what Tom learned from them!  It’s a great conversation… so let’s get to it!

WHERE TO FIND TOM:

LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomconrad/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tconrad

Zero on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zerolongevity

A recent article Tom wrote on Medium: Click here

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Mitch mentioned EncouragerCON to kick off this episode.

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Check out Mitch’s OTHER PODCAST: ENCOURAGING THE ENCOURAGERS

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LET’S HEAR FROM YOU!

Tom’s living the DREAM THINK DO life!

He’s stayed open and he’s been willing to experiment and learn as he goes… and it’s made all the difference!  It was incredible to learn from his journey!

Okay… let’s get to it!   You KNOW I’m going to ask… because I am ALWAYS curious about YOU and what YOU heard.  

What’s something that resonated with you?  

More importantly… what’s something you’re going to DO (big or small) as a result?

I want to hear from YOU!  

Leave a comment and let me know.

And hey… keep bringing YOUR awesome!!!

Mitch

Minute By Minute:

• 0:31 Mitch introduces Tom Conrad’s impressive career in the tech industry, mentioning his roles at Apple, Pandora, and Snap.
• 1:29 Overview of Tom's journey, from working at Apple to his involvement in creating Pandora and becoming CEO of Zero.
• 2:21 How enthusiasm and passion, not ambition, can guide your career and open doors of opportunity.
• 3:00 How to save at EncouragerCon with a special discount for just Dream Think Do listeners!
• 4:00 Tom reflects on his childhood dream of working at Apple and how it became a reality.
• 5:15 Discussion on Tom's internship at Apple and the bold move he made to secure his dream job.
• 7:06 Tom talks about the impact of that bold conversation and how it led to a job offer.
• 8:09 Mitch and Tom discuss the importance of taking risks and having bold conversations to achieve career goals.
• 10:00 Tom shares his early career experiences at Micro Center, which helped build his confidence.
• 12:00 Tom emphasizes the role of passion over ambition in guiding his career path.
• 13:00 Tom discusses how serendipity and being in the right place at the right time contributed to his success.
• 15:00 Mitch highlights Tom's success in building Pandora from the ground up to 80 million users.
• 18:00 Tom shares the story of joining Savage Beast (later Pandora) after a bold conversation with the CEO.
• 20:00 Tom reflects on the setbacks he faced during his career and what he learned from those experiences.
• 22:00 Discussion about Tom’s work at Pandora and the importance of creating a simple user experience with cutting-edge algorithms.
• 24:00 Tom shares his journey of learning from failures, like his experience with Quibi, and how he turned them into lessons.
• 28:00 Tom and Mitch discuss the importance of perseverance even when faced with setbacks and challenges.
• 30:00 Tom talks about his current role as CEO of Zero and his mission to improve people's health and longevity.
• 32:00 Mitch's Minute: Reflecting on the importance of staying passionate, taking bold steps, and learning from both successes and failures.