Luke Sophinos's guest appearances

Luke Sophinos

Startup Life Hacks | Business and Life Advice | Founders | Entrepreneurship

Tacos and Tech Podcast

The Reroute

Derek Loudermilk

Laura Roeder

John Green

Robin Zander

Brian Smith

Mike Goncalves

Peggy Johnson

Kevin Hines

Katie Morton

Ashley Nell Tipton

Nathan Resnick

Gary Ware

Lindsay Dahl

Derric Haynie

Zoe Kors

OwlTail

What does it take to be a successful entrepreneur (and under 30 years old, no less!)? Today I’m excited to bring you an epic conversation with Luke Sophinos, a 27 year old serial entrepreneur, CEO and founder of CourseKey, and Forbes 30 under 30 alumni to share his journey and biggest tips with you. In this episode, Luke and I break down what it really takes to be a successful entrepreneur, challenge the societal narratives around college, and share some of his biggest life and business lessons with you.We’re exploring:   The hardest hurdle to reaching your big goals (and to make it happen) How the skills and lessons Luke learned as an athlete translated into entrepreneurship His top tips for putting in the work towards your goals—even when you feel unmotivated Our biggest lessons from mentors in our lives Luke’s nontraditional view on mentorship How his company, CourseKey, is changing the face of vocational education THESE 3 simple words of advice from Luke if you want to become an entrepreneur    I’d be honored if you’d consider donating to the Kasey Altman Research Fund through Rein in Sarcoma: http://www.reininsarcoma.org/donation-form/ (Be sure to select “Kasey Altman Research Fund” in the Named Funds dropdown) A donation size of any amount can make a huge difference! Thank you!Follow Luke on Twitter: https://twitter.com/lukesophinos  Follow me on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@kasey.altman  Follow me on IG:  https://instagram.com/the.reroute    Want to collab? Email me at inquiries@the-reroute.com 

<p>What does it take to be a successful entrepreneur (and under 30 years old, no less!)? Today I’m excited to bring you an epic conversation with Luke Sophinos, a 27 year old serial entrepreneur, CEO and founder of CourseKey, and Forbes 30 under 30 alumni to share his journey and biggest tips with you. In this episode, Luke and I break down what it really takes to be a successful entrepreneur, challenge the societal narratives around college, and share some of his biggest life and business lessons with you.We’re exploring: </p> <ul> <li>The hardest hurdle to reaching your big goals (and to make it happen)</li> <li>How the skills and lessons Luke learned as an athlete translated into entrepreneurship</li> <li>His top tips for putting in the work towards your goals—even when you feel unmotivated</li> <li>Our biggest lessons from mentors in our lives</li> <li>Luke’s nontraditional view on mentorship</li> <li>How his company, CourseKey, is changing the face of vocational education</li> <li>THESE 3 simple words of advice from Luke if you want to become an entrepreneur</li> </ul> <p> </p> <p>I’d be honored if you’d consider donating to the Kasey Altman Research Fund through Rein in Sarcoma: <a href="http://www.reininsarcoma.org/donation-form/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.reininsarcoma.org/donation-form/</a> (Be sure to select “Kasey Altman Research Fund” in the Named Funds dropdown) A donation size of any amount can make a huge difference! Thank you!Follow Luke on Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/lukesophinos" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/lukesophinos</a> </p> <p>Follow me on TikTok: <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@kasey.altman" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.tiktok.com/@kasey.altman</a> </p> <p>Follow me on IG:  <a href="https://instagram.com/the.reroute" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://instagram.com/the.reroute</a> </p> <p> </p> <p>Want to collab? Email me at <a href="mailto:inquiries@the-reroute.com">inquiries@the-reroute.com</a> </p>

S2E35: “Going For It” and Putting in the Work w/ Serial Entrepreneur, Luke Sophinos

Luke is a student entrepreneur from San Diego State University. He has won numerous awards such as winning 1st place in SDSU’s Lean Model Competition and awarded the top student entrepreneur at San Diego State University during the Spring of 2015. His software company, Coursekey, aims to improve the lack of interaction in classes and is currently being used by more than 5000 students in Southern California.   STRATEGIES USED TO FUND BUSINESS We went out and recruited top tier engineering talent at San Diego State. I was able to lock in a couple engineers and bought into the vision and have been with us since. That allowed us to put out software at a very low cost. We got to our alpha version last Spring for around $1200. From that, after proving what we had, we funded ourselves completely off business plan competitions.  FOUNDERS I started a totally different concept with another individual, and that ended up not working out. While that process was taking place, we were in recruiting mode and we brought on some really talented kids that I would consider to be co-founders today because we wouldn’t be where we are without them.  DESCRIBE A MOMENT WHEN YOU FELT LIKE GIVING UP Early on was the most challenging. We had a totally different concept and we stumbled upon someone who was doing the exact same thing. We almost threw in the towel, but fortunately we ended up recruiting and pivoting and recruited a straight hustler, Ryan Vanshur. He really propelled us and helped us all see the value in the idea and got us out there grinding and putting in the work that was required.  HUGE SUCCESS Being able to recruit the team that we had was a huge success. On top of that, one of our favorite memories was when we went down to Brigham Young University for the International Business Plan Competition. There were over 3800 student teams there and we finished in the top 11.  SUPERPOWER My entrepreneurial superpower is being a generalist. I think a lot of entrepreneurs really try and focus in on one talent, which is very valuable, but being able to dive into every aspect of the business (finance, accounting, etc.) is extremely important for a founder.  KRYPTONITE I’m a little bit of a pleaser. I try and make everyone happy and sometimes that’s not how it should be.  IF YOU CAN HAVE ANY SUPERPOWER… I think being able to tell when people aren’t being honest with you would be my superpower.  RECOMMENDED RESOURCE OR APP Sunrise Calendars   RECOMMENDED BOOKS  How to Win Friends &amp; Influence People   ADVICE TO HACKER NATION The idea is less than 1% of the journey and the evolution of the company. Don’t hang so much on the idea. If you can create something that is valuable and you work hard towards it, and you build people that are better than you around you, you’re going to be successful.   FOLLOW thecoursekey.com Thoughts of a 21-year old tech founder Twitter

<p>Luke is a student entrepreneur from San Diego State University. He has won numerous awards such as winning 1st place in SDSU’s Lean Model Competition and awarded the top student entrepreneur at San Diego State University during the Spring of 2015. His software company, Coursekey, aims to improve the lack of interaction in classes and is currently being used by more than 5000 students in Southern California.</p> <p> </p> <h2><strong>STRATEGIES USED TO FUND BUSINESS</strong></h2> <p>We went out and recruited top tier engineering talent at San Diego State. I was able to lock in a couple engineers and bought into the vision and have been with us since. That allowed us to put out software at a very low cost. We got to our alpha version last Spring for around $1200. From that, after proving what we had, we funded ourselves completely off business plan competitions.</p> <h2></h2> <h2><strong>FOUNDERS</strong></h2> <p>I started a totally different concept with another individual, and that ended up not working out. While that process was taking place, we were in recruiting mode and we brought on some really talented kids that I would consider to be co-founders today because we wouldn’t be where we are without them.</p> <h2></h2> <h2><strong>DESCRIBE A MOMENT WHEN YOU FELT LIKE GIVING UP</strong></h2> <p>Early on was the most challenging. We had a totally different concept and we stumbled upon someone who was doing the exact same thing. We almost threw in the towel, but fortunately we ended up recruiting and pivoting and recruited a straight hustler, Ryan Vanshur. He really propelled us and helped us all see the value in the idea and got us out there grinding and putting in the work that was required.</p> <h2></h2> <h2><strong>HUGE SUCCESS</strong></h2> <p>Being able to recruit the team that we had was a huge success. On top of that, one of our favorite memories was when we went down to Brigham Young University for the International Business Plan Competition. There were over 3800 student teams there and we finished in the top 11.</p> <h2></h2> <h2><strong>SUPERPOWER</strong></h2> <p>My entrepreneurial superpower is being a generalist. I think a lot of entrepreneurs really try and focus in on one talent, which is very valuable, but being able to dive into every aspect of the business (finance, accounting, etc.) is extremely important for a founder.</p> <h2></h2> <h2><strong>KRYPTONITE</strong></h2> <p>I’m a little bit of a pleaser. I try and make everyone happy and sometimes that’s not how it should be.</p> <h2></h2> <h2><strong>IF YOU CAN HAVE ANY SUPERPOWER…</strong></h2> <p>I think being able to tell when people aren’t being honest with you would be my superpower.</p> <h2></h2> <h2><strong>RECOMMENDED RESOURCE OR APP</strong></h2> <p><a href="https://calendar.sunrise.am/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sunrise Calendars</a></p> <p> </p> <h2><strong>RECOMMENDED BOOKS</strong></h2> <p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0671027034/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=0671027034&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=stalifhac-20&amp;linkId=KIPQNXHSKF7EF7IA" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a></p> <p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0671027034/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=0671027034&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=stalifhac-20&amp;linkId=R75CSCA7X5MZY52P" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">How to Win Friends &amp; Influence People</a></p> <p> </p> <h2><strong>ADVICE TO HACKER NATION</strong></h2> <p>The idea is less than 1% of the journey and the evolution of the company. Don’t hang so much on the idea. If you can create something that is valuable and you work hard towards it, and you build people that are better than you around you, you’re going to be successful.</p> <p> </p> <h2><strong>FOLLOW</strong></h2> <p><a href="http://thecoursekey.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">thecoursekey.com</a></p> <p><a href="http://lukesophinos.tumblr.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Thoughts of a 21-year old tech founder</a></p> <p><a href="https://twitter.com/lukesophinos" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a></p>

Ep 015: Building A Team That Works w/ Luke Sophinos