Gerard Adams
Elite Daily Co-Founder, investor and mentor
Discussion
M
Gerard Adams
@gerardadams · Entrepreneur & Angel Investor
Hey! I'm Gerard Adams. I've been a serial entrepreneur for 13 years. I'm also an angel investor, a millennial thought leader, and a mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs. I'm the co-founder of Elite Daily, known as The Voice of Generation Y, and my passion is connecting forward-thinking young creators with resources to make their dreams a reality. My mission is simple: to inspire other Millennials to leverage their passions for success. I'm currently building a unique mentorship program for early stage entrepreneurs, and launching an epic YouTube series focused on the truth of what it means to be or become a successful entrepreneur. I look forward to connecting with everyone on Product Hunt!
upvotesharetweet・
Justin Amoafo
@justingq · Creative Director, Photographer
Many businessmen and investors choose to give back to the world after they have hit their peak, and can no longer be as active in the community. Some call it "burning out". You, along with the many other thought leaders of our generation have flipped the script and bombarded the world with inspiration, motivation, tips & tricks. How do you balance giving back to the world and working on your own journey towards more success and bigger projects? Do you believe there's an ideal percentage of time that should be invested in giving back / focusing on yourself, or do you have faith that the more you give, the more you'll receive?
M
Gerard Adams
@gerardadams · Entrepreneur & Angel Investor
@justingq I just have faith my friend. I give as much as I can to the world and believe when you put the desires of others in front of yourself then opportunity just manifests in your life. We don't know how much time we have on earth so focus on making an impact on peoples lives not "success" and watch how fulfilling it will be and how much kore successful you will become. I have a lot to give to this world. God willing.
Justin Amoafo
@justingq · Creative Director, Photographer
@gerardadams Great way to look at it. Thank you for that outlook!
Matt Alexander
@mattalexand · Person on the Internet.
What's next for you, my friend? You're involved in some amazing projects, companies, and concepts around the U.S., so I know your time's limited. Nonetheless, I have to imagine you've got some big plans in the pipeline? (Which you may not want to share, but I'm still asking.)
Justin Amoafo
@justingq · Creative Director, Photographer
@mattalexand haha at "I'm still asking"!
M
Gerard Adams
@gerardadams · Entrepreneur & Angel Investor
@mattalexand MATT! For full disclosure everyone, I invested in Matt and his team at NEED. One of the best curators of content and fashion of our generation. He understands what it takes to build a great product and do it well. You know me always pushing forward and collaborating. I continue to love to co-create and collaborate with entrepreneurs so Im doing just that. Near term projects I am focused on right now is launching my youtube series, Leaders Create Leaders on March 1st. It will be showcasing my entrepreneurial journey, leaders/innovators/founders/philantropists/gamechangers from around the world. Plus it will have me narratijg lessons within each episode. I am also having the grand opening of my Startup Lab in Newark, NJ. It will be a non-for-profit live/work creative space for the next generation of entrepreneurs and founders. Lots more just email me GA@GerardAdams.com for anyone interested in getting involved!
Ben Tossell
@bentossell · Community Lead, Product Hunt
Hey! What are your favourite questions to ask founders?
M
Gerard Adams
@gerardadams · Entrepreneur & Angel Investor
@bentossell Ben, What is their story. Every one of us has a story and since I invest in people not ideas I want to know a persons journey that brought them to this point. Why are they passionate about their business? What happens if their initial business model is flawed, when do they make the decision to pivot? Is it growth capital they are looking for or startup capital... and why? I like to know about their team. What values do they stand for personally and what are the companys values. What is the outcome they are looking for as a founder? These are some off top.
Justin Amoafo
@justingq · Creative Director, Photographer
@gerardadams @bentossell Those are really awesome things to wonder about founders, because these aspects reveal those who are true to themselves and their craft, versus those who just want to make money. Sure, making money is awesome but it's beautiful when a company or idea has a bigger purpose.
Nik Sharma
@mrsharma · Stealth Ad Agency CEO
Hey Gerard! When you were first starting Elite Daily, what were the top 3 qualities you looked for in the early entrepreneurs you brought on board?
M
Gerard Adams
@gerardadams · Entrepreneur & Angel Investor
@mrsharma I get this question a lot. Truth is, I have a big heart so it took me awhile to realize not everyone is cut out to be an entrepreneur. I constantly try to inspire people to create their own destiny through the principles of entrepreneurship BUT that doesn't mean everyone is cut out to be an entrepreneur. AND that is okay. Sometimes starting off working for a great startup and gaining experience is better move. I look to see if you can let go of ego and take constructive criticism. A lot of early stage entrepreneurs I realized don't realize this shit is hard, very hard and takes a lot of patience. Nothing overnight. You have to be resilient, determined, team oriented, a great communicator, FISH "first in, still here". Just some thoughts!
Nik Sharma
@mrsharma · Stealth Ad Agency CEO
@gerardadams I agree. There are people that are a better "second in command" versus being the entrepreneur themselves, and vise-versa the entrepreneur may not be the best person for the other role. Thanks for the response, and the time! Hope to work with you one day!
Ben Tossell
@bentossell · Community Lead, Product Hunt
What would you tell your 20 year old self?
M
Gerard Adams
@gerardadams · Entrepreneur & Angel Investor
@bentossell Don't focus on the money G, all those rari's, penthouses, clubs, trips etc mean shit if you aren't building sustainable viable value-driven businesses. -- This makes sense if you knew more about where I was at when I was 20.
Ben Tossell
@bentossell · Community Lead, Product Hunt
@gerardadams happy for you to elaborate :)
Dillon Morgan
@dillonmorgan22 · UNUM - Design Perfection for Instagram
Wow soo stoked that you're doing this!! You're such a boss! You have built, invested, advised, and influenced so many successful companies, but ignoring the varying levels of success, which 1)company 2)team do you personally value the most and why?
M
Gerard Adams
@gerardadams · Entrepreneur & Angel Investor
@dillonmorgan22 Dillon! Thanks homie for following the journey. Crazy even though it's been 13 years as an entrepreneur and a rollercoaster ride, my ambition and passion is stronger then ever. Good question...1) I admire so many of the teams I have worked with but Elite Daily was the most special to me 2) We were up against these media giants like buzzfeed that have raised $100s of millions yet we had this grit about us that nothing would stop us and that culture was infectious within the company. Everyone became family. I am so proud of each and every one of them... because of them we were successful.
Zameer Ansari
@xameeramir
Can you please share the most difficult thing you faced when starting as an entrepreneur. How did you overcome it?
Also, thanks for coming live @gerardadams
M
Gerard Adams
@gerardadams · Entrepreneur & Angel Investor
@xameeramir My pleasure Zameer! This is awesome, I can't wait to get my youtube series out and start connecting more! I def wanna do a tour later this year and have meetups in each city. As entrepreneurs we can change the world, we have the power. We have to unite and come together. The most difficult thing I faced was when I lost it all. I became an self-made millionaire by 24 and then a couple wrong moves and poof gone... I was rock bottom. I never told anyone... I never let it change who I was. But holding all of that pressure inside knowing I had the shirt off my back and had to build it all back again was very stressful. I work well under pressure though and knew NOTHING would stop me. That ambition and determination brought me to where I am today. Mindset is everything.
Brandon Rubinshtein
@brandonshtein · Founder & CEO of @Verrehere
How impactful was timing to building Elite Daily? Do you believe it could be replicated today or did it succeed because of time and place?
M
Gerard Adams
@gerardadams · Entrepreneur & Angel Investor
@brandonshtein Timing plays a huge role. I've been very early on investments and sometimes late to the party. Elite Daily I believe was time perfectly and this did play a role in our success but was just one variable. There were a hundred other variables that then led us to our success. Most of all, hard work, consistency, versatility, and team culture. Anything is possible but I believe it would be MUCH more difficult today looking at the media landscape especially with Facebooks new instant article. Media is changing before our eyes... hence, there is huge opportunity if you can keep up and adapt with the changes.
Snah Desai
@s_haverford · Operations Analyst, ServiceTitan
When will be the launch of your mentorship program?
M
Gerard Adams
@gerardadams · Entrepreneur & Angel Investor
@s_haverfordI want my mentorship program to be different than anything that is out there today. I am still studying the landscape of available mentorship programs and the educational system as a whole. Btw, I'll have an article out tomorrow about how I feel about college on Medium.com. Stay tuned... In the meantime, I have a mentorship program launching this summer out of my non-for-profit building in Newark "FOWNDERS". Also, I have a competition for the next millennial apprentice being announced end of this month. To stay updated sign up to www.GerardAdams.com and my snapchat HELLOGERARD