Luck Favors The Active - CEO Dan Engel

Dan Engel is a serial entrepreneur. He's currently the CEO of his 6th startup, Mobile1st, not counting the local companies where he was one of the first employees. His talk with host Mark Sylvester takes us all the way back to interning in high school on Wall Street and now, having returned to Santa Barbara after a hiatus, what he's up to now. Treating people like gold is a way of life for Dan. He gives many examples of how relationships and exhibiting genuine interest in people has been a critical success factor in his professional life. Great quote: "What makes a business successful: People." Topics included; • How he got started as an intern in high school and the secret to making an internship make a difference in your life • The story of how he beat out 5,000 other applicants to land a coveted internship at Fidelity • Why you might want to spend time reading biographies of famous people • Putting yourself in a position to be lucky • How Fastspring enjoyed an amazing 1.3% churn - that's a 98.7% renewal rate • Why Mobile1st is poised to take over a segment of the industry • His thoughts on attracting great talent to your venture • The role of the Board of Directors • What Engel Ventures is all about He said that the Board is friendly with you until you need them not to be. Frequent listeners will notice that a theme of 'Luck' has been appearing a lot in recent episodes. Dan speaks specifically to this, hence the title of the show.