Mike Smerklo is an experienced entrepreneur, investor and business leader driven by the desire to turn ideas into reality. Having bought and scaled a small business into a publicly traded company worth nearly a billion dollars in value, he has a deep understanding of the hard work, dedication and grit that truly powers successful entrepreneurship. Today, as the co-founder and managing director of Next Coast Ventures, Smerklo is a champion for a new generation of entrepreneurs building disruptive companies in big markets. His new book, Mr. Monkey and Me (Scribe Media, Oct. 6 2020), is a "real talk" guide for entrepreneurs who want to cut through the noise to cultivate a mindset that supports greatness. "first and foremost, understand that it is going to be hard and you are going to be met with a rollercoaster of experiences… The world desperately needs you now more than ever. I think we are in a fascinating place in the world where we need innovation, we need entrepreneurs to come up with ideas to the toughest problems that are facing the world. And we need as broad and diverse a set of entrepreneurs as possible… If you have something you are passionate about and you are thinking about it stress test it with some folks that you trust but please take the risk. Know what you are getting into but we as a world and as a planet I think need entrepreneurship now more than ever"…[Listen for More] Click Here for Show Notes To Listen or to Get the Show Notes go to https://wp.me/p6Tf4b-7Ij