Larry Mercado_ A $100M Success Story Goes Back to School & Goes BOLD

In this episode, Hersh Rephun chats with entrepreneur Larry Mercado. They discuss the rise of Mercom, its evolution, and Mercado's transition to the cannabis industry with Bold Biologics. They also touch on expansion strategies, the inception of global digital marketing company Napkin, and lessons learned from business failures. "You have to sort of stop and smell the roses. And then look at the landscape around you. You, you've been moving and you've been looking down at the ground the whole time, right? You need to stop and ask, "Where am I at? How do I adjust? How do I pivot? What do I need to do next?" Serial & Social Entrepreneur, Coach & Mentor Larry Mercado is ALWAYS doing something, and he's always doing something next. Presently, he's taking CBD company Bold Biologix to Ecuador, but before we go there, we have to cover Mercom, which he built into a $100M+ IT firm with his sister and exited, his involvement in Napkin, Lysi, and his role as CEO & Founder of DEI.Fund, dedicated to the creation of generational equity in underserved communities by investing in diverse investment fund managers and early and growth stage businesses. As you can imagine, listener, there's lots to glean from a chat with Larry, who was so gracious with his time and whose deep perspective I share with you here! "Trust but verify…the best way to help young entrepreneurs is to challenge them. No business plan is perfect and we have to assume multiple pivots will happen." Find Larry Mercado: https://www.linkedin.com/in/larrymercado123/ If you enjoyed BRAND VOICE RUNWAY, please go to Apple podcasts and leave a 5-star full review. It's the best way to support us! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/brand-voice-runway-with-hersh-rephun/id1682522757 You can check out Hersh's other Top 2% podcasts at https://www.hershrephun.com/podcast/ and follow us on IG: https://www.instagram.com/hersh4all/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/TruthTstsFunny LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hershrephun/ Or contact us: http://www.hershrephun.com/contact-us/ (0:00) Introduction to Brand Voice Runway and Larry Mercado (2:41) The inception and struggles of Mercom (6:22) Growth and evolution of Mercom: Hiring a CFO and Larry's return to business school (11:54) Transition from Mercom to Bold Biologics: Entering the cannabis industry (14:48) Challenges and strategies in the cannabis industry: Understanding the product and marketing (22:49) Expansion strategies for Bold Biologics: International markets and U.S. wholesale (27:21) Introduction to Napkin: A global digital marketing company (30:08) Lessons learned from business failures: Financial understanding and succession planning (35:20) Key takeaways from Larry Mercado's entrepreneurial journey and future plans (40:07) Closing remarks by Hersh Rephun