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Can you build a successful business in 4 months? Get new episodes to your smartphone instantly for free   Listen to this episode and discover: How to know if you are an Entrepreneur or not What you need to do to create a successful business in 4 months How to contact local entrepreneurs Founder Institute, a "pre-accelerator" startup program, is launching soon in Iceland. Founder Institute has created founders of successful companies all around the world, like uDemy and Zassle. The success ratio? 89.5% of companies that graduate from Founder Institute are still alive and kicking. Bala Kamallakharan wanted to increase the opportunities that Icelandic entrepreneurs have to launch successful businesses so he decided to apply to start a "Reykjavík" chapter of Founder Institute. Already, Bala has recruited several successful founders to speak and help the new founders to create their successful businesses. Are you tired of the 9-5 grind? Then you should seriously consider figuring out if you are an entrepreneur or not. Entrepreneurs that have gone through the process of quitting their jobs, starting a business and growing it to success all say the same thing: "This was the best decision of my life" If you want to find out if you're an entrepreneur or not, you can find out by applying to become a founder in Founder Institute Reykjavik chapter. After you sign up, you'll get an e-mail that includes a survey that will figure out if you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur or not. Who is in this week's episode? Bala Kamallakharan Connect with Bala on LinkedIn Say Thanks to Bala on Twitter Add Bala to your Google+ circle Siggy Gudbrandsson (Sigurður Guðbrandsson)   Mentioned in the episode Founder Institute Live event in Solon on September 18th (Thursday) Apply to become a founder in Founder Institute

Is it possible to get more sales by using your existing customers? Get new episodes to your smartphone instantly for free   Listen to this episode and discover: The first thing you should do if you don't know how to market your startup How to short-circuit the sales funnel by using your existing customers How getting a baby girl changed everything for Thoranna Why Thoranna DOES NOT work with big companies From an actress to a marketing jedi Thoranna Kristin Jonsdottir went from being an actress in the UK to becoming one of the TOP marketers in Iceland totally by accident! When a friend told her that she HAD to become an MBA, she immediately signed up without knowing what it was. Initially she believed that marketing and sales were sleazy but was pleasantly surprised that it really wasn't sleazy at all. Becoming pregnant changed it all Thoranna joined the account management team at Publicis in London, working for Renault, after finishing her MBA. But after she became pregnant, she decided to take a short maternity leave in Iceland. She really didn't expect to stay in Iceland, but she loved it so much that she and her husband decided to stay. Consulting entrepreneurs and startups After setting up an incubator and consulting entrepreneurs about marketing, Thoranna found her true calling in life. She absolutely LOVES consulting entrepreneurs because they have such passion, a "fire in their belly". She was no longer going to get an office job in a corporation .. she says that it gives her rashes! It wasn't scary for Thoranna to go out on her own Upon deciding to go out on her own, she wasn't scared at all. She loved the fact that she could control her own destiny and not rely on others to do their job properly. People don't know what they don't know about marketing Most people (myself included) believe that they know all about their marketing and their competitors, but all of Thoranna's clients end up realizing that they did not know their competition at all! Not knowing what you don't know in marketing can become the leverage your competitor uses to drive you out of business. Today Thoranna mentors startups about their marketing When you have a startup, having the proper knowledge about your marketing can be driving factor that makes your startup successful. That is why Thoranna loves to mentor startups about their marketing strategy in incubators and accelerators around Iceland. It's all about the follow up afte

How does a broke, failing company turn into a $27.7 million dollar success? Get new episodes to your smartphone instantly for free Plain Vanilla Games spent nearly a year in bootstrapping a mobile game failure, called The Moogies. Thor Fridriksson, the CEO and Founder of Plain Vanilla Games, put everything he had into the development, including taking loans for many million ISK. Thor hadn't taken any wages for months so everything was riding on a successful launch of the game. On the day The Moogies was released, Thor immediately knew it was a colossal failure with only 1200 downloads despite being in the "Featured" section of the app store. One of the most Anti-Climactic moments in his life When Thor realized that his game was a failure, he sank to the low-point of his life. He and his girlfriend had split up, the game was a failure, the business was broke and he was looking at declaring himself bankrupt. But in this low-point, he became so desperate that he get the stroke of brilliance and drew up a rough sketch of the game QuizUp. He had nothing to lose, so he decided to make one last attempt Armed with nothing more than a game sketch on a piece of paper, a one way ticket to Silicon Valley and two engineers, he decided to make one last attempt at software entrepreneurship and get funding in San Francisco. Listen to how he made his success in the episode. Listen to this episode and discover: The #1 tip all software entrepreneurs must know to be successful Why it isn't enough to have a high quality app to be successful An ancient secret to getting great employees to work for your startup Why over-analyzing your idea is a bad thing Who is in this week's episode? Thor Fridriksson Connect with Thor on LinkedIn Say Thanks to Thor on Twitter Thor on Facebook Siggy Gudbrandsson (Sigurður Guðbrandsson) Mentioned in the episode QuizUp The Moogies Seed Forum Iceland David Helgason at Unity Gunnar Holmsteinn Flappy Bird

Why does a successful businesswoman sell an established 18 year old company to become a personal branding expert? Runa Magnus is a leadership and personal branding coach that helps people identify what makes your business and products unique, and why people should do business with you and not your competitors. Listen to this episode and discover: Why branding yourself will help your business get more customers and grow The 10 minute "Brand Yourself" hack The two things Rúna will NEVER do. The one thing all women that want to go into business should do. Who is in this week's episode? Rúna Magnús Rúna's website Connect with Rúna on LinkedIn Say Thanks to Rúna on Twitter Rúna on Facebook Siggy Gudbrandsson (Sigurður Guðbrandsson) Mentioned in the episode Zappos BrandIt Small Business Branding Day event Andrea Pennington Sukhi Wahiwala Thoranna K. Jonsdottir Edda Björgvins Deri Llewellyn-Davies The original Intel Business Plan Auður Capital Association of Business Women in Iceland

Can you "cut in front of the line" and be picked by Startup Accelerators and investors? Yes, you can. Stefán Þór Helgason tells us the inside story of how Startup Accelerators (like Startup Reykjavik, Startup Energy Reykjavik, TechStars and YCombinator) decide what startups are accepted and what startups are rejected. Stefán went from a temporary project manager of Snilldarlausnir Marel to a leading project manager for Klak Innovit, leading accelerator projects like Startup Reykjavik, Startup Energy Reykjavik, Gulleggið and many more. In addition to managing projects for Klak Innovit, Stefán is also a co-founder and the CEO of Entrio. Entrio is a startup that is focused on taking advantages of new and upcoming technologies to disrupt the payment card industry. Listen to this episode and discover: The 70/30 rule of startups How to "cut in front of the line" and get your idea picked out by investors and accelerators Why you should apply to Startup Reykjavik The Top 2 things Startup Reykjavik looks for in the applications What successful Icelandic businesses have come out of the Startup Accelerators Why applying to Gulleggið can help you get an investor, even if you aren't in the top 10! Who should be an entrepreneur, and who shouldn't Why entrepreneurs are not the best people in the world What Stefán recommends starting entrepreneurs to do before they start building their business Who is in this week's episode? Stefán Þór Helgason Connect with Stefán on LinkedIn Say Thanks to Stefán on Twitter Siggy Gudbrandsson (Sigurður Guðbrandsson) Mentioned in the episode The "Golden Egg" made out of Styrofoam Klak Innovit Startup Reykjavik Startup Energy Reykjavik Startup Weekend Reykjavik Startup Weekend Tehran Gulleggið Innovation Lunch BMJ Energy Seed Forum Iceland Meniga Interview with Bala Kamallakharan Little Yellow Hen 3D Verk - Styrofoam manufacturer Eski Tech GuitarParty

Do you want to get lucky in business? Listen to this week's episode and discover the story behind how Bala Kamallakharan went from being a marketing consultant in the US to becoming a serial-investor and growing the Startup foundation for Icelandic Entrepreneurs. Bala now has a lot of experience in investing in startup companies, growing them to becoming a huge success and selling the company to bigger investors. Bala went from a management consultant in the US to creating Startup Iceland, a leading conference on moving your business from an idea to a success. In the episode you will discover: How an unexpected event in Bala's life forced him to make a big life choice for him and his family What happened inside Glitnir in the banking crisis of 2008 How to become a VC founder without knowing what a VC is How an open letter to a big VC investor took Bala from not knowing anything about investing to a leading expert in the field of investing What new VC funds are opening in Iceland   Who is in this week's episode? Bala Kamallakharan Connect with Bala on LinkedIn Say Thanks to Bala on Twitter Add Bala to your Google+ circle Siggy Gudbrandsson (Sigurður Guðbrandsson)   Mentioned in the episode An open letter to Brad Feld Startup Iceland Startup Reykjavik Founder Institute - Reykjavik Chapter Boomerang - a book with a unique view on the 2008 financial crisis by Michael Lewis