Join Marco Ciappelli and Simon Chou as they explore the art of podcasting and the virtue of authenticity in this enlightening episode. Be prepared to immerse yourself in a captivating conversation, packed with laughter, wisdom, and a treasure trove of insights.
Guest: Simon Chou, Simon Chou at Marketing on Mars
On LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/simonchou1/
On Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/marketingonmars_/
On YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@marketingonmars/videos
_____________________________
Hosts:
Marco Ciappelli, Co-Founder at ITSPmagazine [@ITSPmagazine] and Host of Redefining Society Podcast
On ITSPmagazine | https://www.itspmagazine.com/itspmagazine-podcast-radio-hosts/marco-ciappelli
_____________________________
This Episode’s Sponsors
Are you interested in sponsoring an ITSPmagazine Channel?
👉 https://www.itspmagazine.com/sponsor-the-itspmagazine-podcast-network
_____________________________
Episode Introduction
Welcome to another thrilling episode of the Audio Signals Podcast, where Marco Ciappelli lifts the veil on the captivating world of books, music, travel, movies, and more. Today, Marco catapults us beyond the familiar confines of technology and society to navigate the exhilarating universe of podcasting.
Are you curious about the mechanics of podcasting? Perhaps, you've flirted with the idea of becoming a podcaster yourself? Or maybe, you're wondering why someone would venture into the podcasting world to start with? Regardless of where your curiosity springs from, Marco has got you covered. Joined by accomplished podcaster Simon Chou, they dive deep into the heart of podcasting, spilling valuable insights on the technology, styles, and the how-tos of the trade.
In this riveting conversation, Marco and Simon share personal experiences from their podcasting journey, painting a vivid picture of the highs, the lows, the joys, and the occasional jitters. From Marco's audacious, plan-less approach that values genuine, unplanned conversations to Simon's tale of transforming from a script-dependent beginner to a spontaneous podcasting expert - it's an episode brimming with fun, humor, and knowledge.
While this conversation is a treasure trove for aspiring podcasters, it also carries a universal appeal. Marco and Simon delve into the power of authenticity, personal branding, and the importance of embracing your unique self - lessons that resonate beyond the podcasting landscape.
As you listen to this episode, you may find yourself echoing Simon's sentiment, "you can't fake real conversations," and Marco's conviction that "the easiest thing is to be yourself." As we venture into the realities of podcasting, we are reminded of the power of genuine conversations and the magic that unfolds when we let authenticity guide us.
Join Marco Ciappelli and Simon Chou as they explore the art of podcasting and the virtue of authenticity in this enlightening episode. Be prepared to immerse yourself in a captivating conversation, packed with laughter, wisdom, and a treasure trove of insights. Remember, at Audio Signals, we are not just about passive listening. We urge you to think, share, and engage.
So, buckle up and get ready to plunge into the vibrant world of podcasting. Don't forget to hit the subscribe button and ensure you never miss an episode of Audio Signals. We promise you, every episode will be an adventure you don't want to miss.
_____________________________
Resources
_____________________________
For more podcast stories from Audio Signals:
https://www.itspmagazine.com/audio-signals
Watch the video version on-demand on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnYu0psdcllS0aVY7qlwHxX3uiN7tqqsy
Are you interested in sponsoring an ITSPmagazine Channel?
👉 https://www.itspmagazine.com/sponsor-the-itspmagazine-podcast-network
Please note that this transcript was created using AI technology and may contain inaccuracies or deviations from the original audio file. The transcript is provided for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a substitute for the original recording as errors may exist. At this time we provide it “as it is” and we hope it can be useful for our audience.
_________________________________________
voiceover00:15
Welcome to the intersection of technology, cybersecurity, and society. Welcome to ITSPmagazine podcast radio. You're about to listen to a new episode of audio signals get ready to take a journey into the unknown, the unknown and everything in between. record that no specific point in time nor space ITSPmagazine Is co founders Marco Ciappelli and Shawn Martin followed their passion and curiosity as they venture away from the intersection of technology, cybersecurity, and society to discover new stories worth being told. Knowledge is power now more than ever
Marco Ciappelli01:04
All right, everybody this is just a single podcast with me Marco Ciappelli. If you're watching the video, see there is another person who needs a Simon Simon shoe. I hope that that's how I should pronounce I should have asked you before I started actually about how to pronounce mistake. That's fine. I know but when your your first link language is not English, you just say I am sorry. That's That's why I get away with a murder. But anyway, what how you pronounce it was Simon.
Simon Chou01:35
It's Ciao. But I think that's something to think both work but I my family calls it Ciao.
Marco Ciappelli01:43
Ciao. Ciao, ciao. So somebody called you in the street, you're gonna turn either or? Like, it doesn't matter. Alright, sounds good. Yeah. So this is a good way to start. Because as people can probably understand, and they know about me, I don't like to have plan. I don't like q&a. When people ask me, What are the question on the podcast, they freak out? Because I really don't want to do that. I just want to have a cool conversation. And one thing that happened, exactly, that is very easy. It's when you have another person that does podcast, so it's kind of like, you know, who's gonna drive what tonight and you're gonna be the one answering questions, or you're going to be the one asking questions, but I'm excited about. Yeah, right. Now, is this on this planet? Or where's it from?
Simon Chou02:38
So my podcast is from the future is from from a land far away. Now, so So it's funny. I this is actually my second, I have two podcasts. My first podcast started in 2020. Like most people, when COVID When COVID started, it was hard to connect with people. I was at the time, I was the CEO of a job board, local job board in Canada. And they used to run a lot of events, you know, with big compass, stowing out names, Pay Pal, Best Buy, IBM, Amazon, you know, big companies that used to post their jobs on our job board. And we have hundreds of 1000s of job candidates. They used to do a lot of events to connect the two groups together. And then when, when COVID happened, we could all of the events ended. We couldn't meet in person anymore. We tried doing some virtual meetings, but it just wasn't the same. Right. So then I said, Well, how can I? How can I still provide value to job seekers? How can I still get representation and branding from the companies virtually. And obviously, podcasting? It was growing at the time. It was easy enough, I just had to buy a mic. So I just started recording and 80 episodes later, I decided to start my second podcast. That's the one that that you know, marketing on Mars. That's the one where we talk about marketing with CEOs, C CMOs and founders. We can talk more about that later. And I did already 60 episodes of that. So in total 140 episodes of podcasting, it's been crazy three years.
Marco Ciappelli04:18
Does it feel like it? So
Simon Chou04:23
it's, it feels like forever ago, but also feels like just yesterday. I still remember my very first episode, and how freaking nervous I was. I planned every single line to say because I was so nervous. And then it just didn't feel real. So then after after 40 episodes, I decided to say you know what, no more scripts and that's exactly why I really resonate with what you said. Now my podcasts have no scripts, nothing. But just have fun. And I think that's what podcasts are supposed to be.
Marco Ciappelli04:59
You know, I I agree with you. And this is exactly for people that have been following me on audio signals. I already had a few conversation with podcasters, which happened to be people that have a show on ITSPmagazine. So I already know them, but I just want to hear the why and the how and sometimes get geeky if they want to with what microphone you're using and that kind of stuff. But mostly why you do it right. And so I think we do that you also have a background in marketing, we can have some fun with that as well. But again, no script. But I want to start with a you know, this fact that the first few episodes you thought he was going to be one way and then he's like, that's that's not me, right. I mean, I think some people like to follow this script. They like to be very structured. But I don't like to hear myself podcasts for example that are that's tracked. I want people having fun. I want to hear real conversations. I don't know is that what you figure it out? That's, that's what you like?
Simon Chou06:04
Well, look at look at the best. Think about the top. Any podcast, I'm going to talk about business podcast, because I'm in the world of business and marketing. Think about the top marketing and business podcasts out there. You got like the hustle, which got sold to HubSpot for like $100 million, or something like that. You got my first million, my first millionaire, you got digital marketers podcasts. And you got the all end podcast, which is right now the number one podcast, in business in the business, they get like 200 or 300,000 views on YouTube per episode, which is insane, right? And you you listen to them. And none of them are scripted. It's just two friends or four friends. In the case of all in podcasts, two or four friends just talking, totally unscripted. And they're just talking about business and marketing. And that's just so cool. And that's why people want to listen to it. Today. We literally hopped on five minutes before we clicked record. We've said hi, we talked about where, you know, we talked about the weather and everything. It was started recording. And I think that's you know, the the genuine feeling you cannot you can't fake real conversations, you just can't do that. And that's what I love about podcasting.
Marco Ciappelli07:28
I love that. So one thing that I do quite a bit is maybe because of my background as you in marketing and branding, mostly branding, and we could talk about the difference between the two if we want to but your personal branding, people often said, you know, how should I represent my product? How should they represent myself? And I'm like, you know, the easiest, honestly, is to be yourself. So I do the same thing now with podcasts is like, what what should I talk about? And who should I try to be I'm like, don't try to be anyone because you're gonna get bored with that. So I think people can read through the line and feel the passion or both what you're passionate about, and who you are really. So how long can you fake it? That's, that's, I guess, a good point.
Simon Chou08:15
Maybe you can fake it for like thinking tactically fake it forever. Right? It's tiring, you're not going to be able to you're not going to be able to build real relationships that way. Because imagine I'm faking who I am Marco, you meet me for the first time. And you think that I'm one way and then we go out and grab a beer and I'm completely different? Well, what is that going to do for your experience with Simon? Who's the real Simon? And what is your one? If he's faking? There's so much on podcast he might be facing in other areas? Why would I want to do business with someone who's who's just rather just show up as yourself. My style is very casual, chill relaxed. Even when I talk about very complicated topics on my show, on marketing Mars, I only interview cmo CEOs and founders of companies with 30 to $300 million in revenue. So they're all very high level marketers very experienced marketers. We've had like big companies like cmo Stack Overflow come on our show. They're like a $2 billion company. Can we talk about very complicated topics, but I like to break toned things down in the formality. I'm very, very casual when I speak, but I understand all the all the all the you know all the different criteria, all the different areas and all that. You know, I know I know all the lingo and everything, but I like to dumb things down. Because it Mike in my everyday life in this remote world that we live in. I'm just myself all the time. I'm just me. I don't need to be a formal Simon is front of my my colleagues who are halfway across the world, I can just be myself. And I would prefer to show up as myself at work rather than a more formal version of Simon. I'm just going to be Simon, whether I'm at work, whether I'm at home, whether I'm hanging out with my friends, just always just be myself. And I think it's so much easier to live life though.
Marco Ciappelli10:20
It is easier. And I think people really love that, right? I mean, obviously, you watch a movie, there is an actor, that's job, Her job is to be someone else. But in this case, you're learning something you want to know it who really these people are. Now I what I want to know is why the name marketing? Because I like I like NASA, I like space. I like branding. I like marketing, podcasting. And I'm like, why are you? Why are you having this podcast about mining?
Simon Chou10:58
Yeah, that's interest. That's a very good question. And I'm sorry to disappoint you. There's no, there's just no, there's no reason. I'm a big, you know, I'm not paid to say this. But I'm a huge believer in in like, Tesla, SpaceX, and just the future of where we're going, like, potentially, you know, exploration in space. Like, I'm very bullish on that. And I think there's, there's more to life than what we see right now. So I've always been a stockholder for, for Tesla, and I just love everything that they're doing. Maybe that is the reason why it became market on Mars. But also, you know, space and everything is, it's really, it's a hot topic. Right? It's a hot topic right now. So I, honestly, and also, the other thing is I wanted, you know, as marketers, you always want double, I don't know what it's called. But when you have two letters, back to back marketing and Mars, you know, the two ends just look good. And then it turns out, it turns out when you when you take all that when you create an acronym for marketing on Mars, it's mom, and lo M. Mom, podcast. So there's so many things, like it all just kind of came together, literally. And then I'll tell you the kicker about it later. But after after we came up with a name, then we then we found the hook afterwards, everything came afterwards. It wasn't like this master plan that came together. And that's why we grew. It was just like one thing after another, we just kept testing different things. Our team is really, really smart. I'm really happy with my team. And we're constantly testing different things. And yeah, there's no like, there's no like, really smart, brilliant answer that I have for
Marco Ciappelli12:54
you. I like that. Let's talk a little bit about marketing. You don't know how many time I probably actually you've been asked that. I I started my own advertising agency many years ago in Florence, Italy, where I'm from. And you know, at the beginning, this was pre internet, really, the beginning of the internet was like 96, right? I mean, we printed stuff. Right? I know, I'm old. So but the point is, I will have people come in to me and be like, I want a really cool logo. And I was really cool name. It's a creative boutique. It's like I'm like, okay, like, why so? I want a cool logo like Nike. And I would ask, you think is a cool logo? Because it's actually a cool logo objectively a cool logo or is it cool logo because it's a cool company and your system? Right? So what comes first I do like the idea, like, I'm just gonna call it this. I like it and then we will find the reason later. So I don't know you talk marketing a lot that Do you have an opinion on these? Like, do we just build this fantastic brand? Like if it was all like scheduled from day one, perfectly? May thinking everything or just grow as an entity on his own?
Simon Chou14:21
Well, you said it in your in your question, which I really love. Is the Nike logo good because of Nike, or Nike good because of the Nike logo. And I think the answer is it's because of Nike. Because there was a new show that came out recently. And I don't know when you're going to release this episode, but it might be a little outdated by then. But there's a new show that talks about the growth of Nike. It's called air and it's a movie actually and how Nike overcame converse and Adidas. When Nike first came into the scene, they were not the biggest Converse actually dominated the scene. They were like 60% market share. Nike when they first started when they started they were a smaller Much smaller company, they didn't have the huge market share that they have now today. So it wasn't like they were a household name right off the bat. And it's not like the person that designed the logo could foresee the entire, you know, 100 year future of Nike, there's no way a logo is just a logo, it is what you make out of it. And obviously, the logo is important because people recognize you for it. And the check is a brilliant, brilliant logo up and don't get me wrong, it wasn't an awesome logo. But even if you had, even if you had a different logo, like Apple's logo is just an apple. And like, people don't don't remember this, probably, but like Apple wasn't always the biggest computer company in the world. Like they were competing against the likes of IBM and Microsoft. And it was like a battle for Dell was up there as well. But Apple kept innovating. And they kept doing that. They just kept coming up with cool products. And that is what makes Apple's product the way it is not related to the logo. So yeah, I agree with you. Like if you're just starting out, don't worry, don't spend 40 days or 50 days on a logo, just throw a logo on, you can change it over time, your logo might change over time as well. And it's okay. What's important is the value that what is your product? What value are you creating and giving to other people? Or if it's not a product? If it's a service? Same thing? What's what value? Is your service giving to other people? Is it saving people time? Right? Is it helping people make more money? Is it saving people money? Like what are you doing for other people and think about that value? And that matters so much more than your logo?
Marco Ciappelli16:47
Absolutely agree the why behind the company and if you stick with your if you stick with if you if you actually walk in that talk, because if there is one thing nowadays that you can't really hide, and it goes back to are you faking it? Or are you really being yourself is the company I mean, you can tell me who you are, but it's gonna come out. I think we actually just as a self, you know, your brand is what your company what people say your company's when you're not in the room, I think is pretty. Exactly pretty strong. Right? They're so
Simon Chou17:20
hungry for Yeah,
Marco Ciappelli17:22
yeah. So tell me your way. So you, you said you started the podcast, because of the pandemic. And you thought it was a good idea. But you know, what was the reason that inspired just to keep the relationship going to reach a wider audience? I mean, what's your passion that is driving you to record at hundreds Episode One after another and don't get bored with it?
Simon Chou17:49
Yeah, so it changed over time. I guess I didn't, like I said, I didn't have like the logo. I didn't have like, this light bulb moment, three years ago. And I foresaw my whole future for four years. The reason why I did a podcast in day one was very different from when I from why I do podcasting in day 400. And it's very different from why I do podcasting now. So in very briefly, when I first started the Podcast, episode one, the reason was to connect with the employers that poster jobs on our job board and connect and give good advice to the job seekers. That was day one, after 80 episodes. And when I pause the first podcast, I started marking on Mars, I think it was like, call it day. 500. Right of my Jordan, day 500. I've already had 80 episodes under the belt. And I've already and now COVID already ended so we can all meet in person now. So there was my my my wire has changed my why a day. 500 was more to connect with more founders and CEOs, and CMOS, so I can be a better leader myself. That was my wife at that time. Because after 80 episodes, I met so many CEOs and so many founders and so many CMOs and like, they're so smart. What if I can have a podcast where I just interviewed these people so I can be a better leader myself. That was my why. So that was a 500. Fast forward to today. Now we're on episode 60. We've recorded 60 episodes in 10 months. Now my Y is a little bit different as well. My y is still to connect with cmo CEOs and founders. But now I want to now that I've learned so much about how to be a good CFO slash founder. I want to know give back to the community. I want to connect people. So I use my podcast as as kind of like a personal branding exercise. A lot of people are seeing my on my LinkedIn. My LinkedIn gets about 10 or 12,000 impressions per post now, mostly because of my podcast. But because of that because of that I can connect with the community. So I have a community just to connect with other founders locally. Have a community Just connect with other HR people in tech locally and have a community just connect with other tech professionals locally. And then I have a fourth, fourth community just connect with LinkedIn content creators, because LinkedIn has been so good to me in my journey in the last two years that I want to give back to other people that are just starting and help them grow their LinkedIn profile as well. So my journey has changed a lot. Talk to me three years ago, I never even posted a single post on LinkedIn, I didn't have a community or anything I didn't have, my purpose was very different. And your purpose will change over time. But it all started with one thing, which is, I just always wanted to give value to people, that the mission does change over time, but at the end of the day, like provide value, like what you said, like what are you doing for other people, and when you when you when you live life through that lens, it's just, it's just powerful, like the life gives back to you like 20 times what you give to other people. Like, it's been like a huge growing journey. And all started with podcasting. For me. That's why I love I'm like a huge supporter of podcast.
Marco Ciappelli21:09
I love that I agree with you with everything you said. And I think is very humble. And very smart. When people say, look, I can be flexible, like I didn't foresee where I was going, but I'm ready to adapt. Like, especially with technology nowadays. I think like, you have to I mean, you said this, about the logo, like back in the days, people would tell you no, you can't change your logos forever. I mean, just to do a little, a little change of shadow on I don't know, a Coca Cola logo, it would have been like, oh, dare you? Yeah, you spend a lot of money market research, just change a tiny bit, and then they'll screwed up anyway, you know, like, when they do they actually changed their logo was horrible. But But that's, that's reflect I think, who you are, and being like, you know, like, we can we can make mistake, maybe we can grow, we can get better, we can do it better. And I think it's a it's an important thing. So when you have this conversation with your CEO, CMO, founder founders, and people, I guess investors as well. Do you. You say you learn from them, you become a better founder yourself. Anyone that really made a big difference in your life? I mean, you don't need to tell me the name. You don't need to throw name, but I was like some really big revelation or like, damn it. I never really thought that way. Man in the streets. Yeah,
Simon Chou22:46
that's so many. Like, honestly, I learned I learned a little bit from everybody. And II and you know, like, even when you read books, right? When you read books, when you read the book, the first time you learned something, you read the same book. Two years later, you've learned something completely different. It's a completely different, it feels like a completely different book. So I've interviewed 60s, probably over 80. Now over 80 CEOs and CMOs and founders across two of my platform, my podcasts, and
Marco Ciappelli23:17
are they in a specific? Yeah. Are they in a specific industry? I mean, are you focusing on I don't know, tech? Or are they from different walks of life and different products slash services? I'm just curious to know that,
Simon Chou23:33
yeah. Yeah. All over, all over the place. I've interviewed people from, like, I interviewed one of the largest manufacturing companies like, like equipment, manufacturing equipment companies in Canada, I think they do about, oh, my God, I'm gonna butcher this, like over a billion dollars in revenue per year. And they're publicly traded, they're huge, huge company, I interviewed the CEO of that company. So that's like manufacturing, and then go all the way to Stack Overflow, which is a fully tech, remote world workforce. And 50% of developers use more than 50% Like something like 60% of all developers use StackOverflow every single day. It's like, it's like the Google or Reddit for developers. So like, all the way from like, we had allo yoga on the show. And you know, they sell yoga apparel, and then we have event and one of the largest e bike manufacturers and, and sellers in the US. They do $300 million per year in revenue. She the CMO came on our show and and the list goes on like every single time I talk to someone I learned something different. But also the same, but when you learn it, yeah, it's interesting. Yeah, yeah,
Marco Ciappelli24:58
let's go there. Is that like thread, like a line that kind of make you think like, wow, okay, every successful founder has, I don't know, this vision or this way of thinking of, I mean, a common thread that you found? Yeah.
Simon Chou25:18
Yeah, 100% What I found in common with all these ad CXOs, and founders that I've met, they're all very How do I say this? They're all very, the flexible, like, maybe not at the onset, but they're always open to change. And they're always learning, at least the most successful ones. Right. And I'm not saying that I'm interviewing only successful people. That's, that's not what I'm like, that's not what I'm saying that there, there in the beginning, I interviewed a lot of companies that were, you know, zero to $10 million, you know, maybe one to $10 million, like smaller companies. But now, as the podcast grew, bigger companies wanted to come on the show. And so I need to support these, like, at least the most successful people that I've, that I've interviewed on the show. Yeah, all very flexible, and open to change, and just constantly adapting. And then like, just learning, you're always learning, I just interviewed a CMO of a company, I'm not going to name any names or company, but the company is huge, one of the largest providers for like, security, like online security, they, they do $300 million per year in revenue, and I interviewed the CMO,
Marco Ciappelli26:47
you're gonna, maker?
Simon Chou26:50
Yeah. The company has Ping Identity. So I know, so spoke with their CMO. And he says he only goes to two conferences per year. One, if he's lucky. And who will only go to a conference if you can learn something, because he's still wanting to learn. And this is a guy that's like, super experienced, have been around and have done has just like he's so experienced in marketing and sales. And he's still wanting to learn it, which is incredible. So humbling. And, and it makes me think about my life in a different lens. I've always known this already. Like, you know, you. I've always known this, I have a mentor that tells me as soon as you think you know everything, that's when that's when you know nothing. And when I talked to all these people, and they humbled me every single time, and it just, I live my life so differently now versus three years ago, when I when I first first started my podcast journey, because I just know that there's a million things for me to learn.
Marco Ciappelli28:01
I love that I can, I can see myself into that tool, though. I'm older than you. But I every time I talk to someone I I just learned. I mean, even if I throw my opinion, it doesn't matter if you never know. Enough, right about anything. And I like to think everything from a philosophical perspective, which is always make you adopt everything that you actually know. So I think when you go abroad, the example of the mentor that told you that Yeah, you, you can you just learn that you didn't know enough? That's very Confucius to think about. So learning
Simon Chou28:39
from trouble, you've been doing itsp magazine for like, seven, almost, almost eight years now. Podcasting, media, different channels have changed a lot in the last eight years, and you're just constantly evolving, right? Like tic tock didn't exist eight years ago. I mean, it did, but it wasn't so big. And like Instagram was the biggest thing. And now, it kind of went downhill a little bit. Facebook was the number one platform and now it's like nowhere to be seen. like Snapchat came and disappeared. Like it's just constantly changing MySpace.
Marco Ciappelli29:15
You don't even remember MySpace?
Simon Chou29:21
Well, I don't. I don't. I don't remember.
Marco Ciappelli29:25
That's another age. That's completely different age. That's pre stored pre Facebook pre story. No, I think it's this changes again. I mean, I can see like, the the thread the common thread of our conversation, I think everything comes back to change. We're starting with the logo, with you changing the way the why, you know, 500 hours or days or 200 days. And now we're still talking about change and be humble. Being flexible. I think that's that's the key. Here's the thing is a good, good way to be when you do this job. Because if you're interviewing people, what are you gonna go there and just show off that you already know all that shit? Cuz that's not gonna go well with your audience.
Simon Chou30:17
I don't think it's, I don't think it's good. Like, I went to an event and went to several events recently. And you know, you probably go to events as well. And like, there's always these guest panels, expert people that talk in front of an audience. And I'm just like, Man, if I wanted to listen to if I wanted to listen to someone speak, I would have just been on YouTube. Yeah, I would just go on YouTube. And I can, I can listen to really like the best and the best in the world. Like talk. And I can pause it if I want to cook some instant noodles. Or I can pause it and go pick up some mail, I can pause and go use a washroom, but in an in person guest panel, I cannot pause, there's no pause button. And I got to sit and listen to an hour. When there's so many people in the room to meet right? You go to events to meet people. And that's actually one of the reason why I started doing my community events and started doing a lot of networking stuff. I don't know if you've seen my LinkedIn.
Marco Ciappelli31:18
Yeah, actually, I did. I was gonna ask you about that. Like, you know, there is the global stage, which is the YouTube, the LinkedIn, I mean, your connection all over the world. But then there is the community, which I was going to ask you how important it is for you to be out there with everybody in the world that can see you and listen to you, but also still does need to get the local event going at the bar and be I don't know, 25 people, and really come back to one on one. Like, how important
Simon Chou31:52
for you. Yeah, well, look, I do both right, like I do my virtual events I meet with I've met with LinkedIn, LinkedIn content creators once a month, last Tuesday of each month we meet. Last one, we had about 23 people show up. And this one, we already have 4749 people on the guest list. So it's gonna be about 40 people all around the world that create content on LinkedIn, we're just going to meet and just talk about your business, your biggest challenges and why you do what you do kind of like what you did with this podcast, right? Episode. But you're right, the in person stuff. You can't replace it. The in person stuff is like, just bring me brings me so much joy. I started my very first actually it was because of my podcast. Look, everything comes back to my podcast. I interviewed about 20 founders locally, this just do podcast marketing on Mars. And then and then I just messaged about six of them. And I said, Hey, do you want to grab a beer? Because this was like 2022 COVID kind of officially ended and everyone is going back to their normal life. So I'm like, just grab a beer. Six of us grabbed the beer. And it was super fun. We talked about so many different topics. And then we just had this idea like, wait, you know, two founders, you know, two founders, you know, two founders. Why don't we everyone grabbed a couple of founders. And let's do another one. Next next week. We did another one for founders came up. And from 12 founders grew to 2020 grew to 30. And just last Thursday, we did one with 35 founders in a room. And just like no guest panels, no keynotes, no sponsors, just founders, you pay for your own drinks, you pay for your own food, and just founders meeting other founders. And like the best conversations, and I make sure to and I cut it in a way where every single founder gets at least five to eight different conversations with other founders. And I can tell you more of the details later, but and then from that, I'm like, you know, why do I limit myself just with founders? What about all these jobs, candidates that have that have access to on basic jobs, they want to connect with other people and learn how to become a better job candidate. So I did a job candidate, Happy Hour on Tuesday, and about 70 people came up to that. And then just yesterday, we did a HR happy hour, and about 110 people came to that happy hour. And so like the communities are growing. And my whole thing is as a host, I need to make, I need to make the event not about me. I just bring the people together and I have to get the hell out of the way. I'm not going to speak for five minutes or 10 minutes, I'm gonna force you to have to listen to me if you want to learn about me, you can go on my LinkedIn and my LinkedIn. You can learn everything about me that you have to almost, but I just want to bring people in a room and just let them talk mix and mingle. Here, this person you meet this person and just allow people to really connect.
Marco Ciappelli34:46
That's really cool. And I think you need to be some kind of a born connector even to have podcasts because you can't be too reserved. You need to lie to Talk to people, and more often than others. I mean, I like to organize panels where we talk about a topic. Usually, it's people that I've interviewed, or they have been on the show, or I mean, it is, yeah, it's not real life. But again, I'm not sure supported that digital life Israel life. It's. But it's real, big time. I went for the first time back to an event. And it's probably the word one of those that you're the CMO, you talk about being identity was RSA Conference, San Francisco, it was Oh, two weeks ago, and I finally made it back. We were media partner. And it was amazing to finally be back with the community, even if it's people I maybe interview three days before, but there is the feeling, but honestly, I felt like I already knew them, even if I never met them. But after I talked to you for 40 minutes. I mean, there is a connection. It may not be a fist bump. It may be a beer, but I mean, we got to talk as
Simon Chou36:09
we can I have I have a few beers
Marco Ciappelli36:14
have a sparkling water, which looks like a beer. Now listen, I want to ask you the last question, which is, what's going to be your next change? Like you say you your next why your next change? I mean, you have maybe other conversation that you want to start tackling other topics that you're passionate about. And maybe you'll just start another podcast, I don't know, anything in your router, that kind of inspire you. Now.
Simon Chou36:45
Um, my next thing, and I haven't really talked about this publicly too much. I've just been thinking about it a lot. It's just like, I do a lot, virtually, with my co CMOs and founders all over North America. And we build good relationships virtually on my podcast. But I would love to do like a bring everyone together on my podcast in person one day. It would be my dream, and I wouldn't I don't know how I would do it. Where I would get because they're all over the world. But yes, we have c suites and founders in New York, California, San Francisco, Nashville, Phoenix, just all over us. And even Canada, Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal. Where are we going to bring everyone I'll be bringing everyone to Mexico or bringing everyone to Napa Valley? Like, I don't know, I don't know where we're going to bring everyone. But if I can do that, and then next, like 12 months, it would be like, it would just be a dream for me. Because because I've interviewed everyone I've spoken spoken with everyone that was doing such cool things, it would be cool to bring everyone in a room where they can connect and chat. But that will be some miles away, because I've never done that yet.
Marco Ciappelli38:02
All right, well, if you can do it, I think will be pretty big. Cuz it's very hard. It sounds like a conference that is not really a conference, but it's just a get together. I'm going to suggest the metaphors. I'm going to suggest the middle horse, but it's probably not gonna I know. defeat the purpose, right. And I know there
Simon Chou38:27
are so many, there's so many already out there. And if I do that, it will just be another Hey, me too. And my whole thing is like, my whole thing is connecting people with people with other people. So if it's not going to work out, then it's not going to work out. But if there's a lot of interest, then I would love to do it. But we'll have to see.
Marco Ciappelli38:48
Maybe on Mars,
Simon Chou38:50
maybe on Mars. Take us, Elon if you're listening to this.
Marco Ciappelli38:55
Well, first you gotta put the big, big rocket up for real, but it's working on it. Listen, silane I I really was looking for it for this. I know that I had to reschedule with you from last week. This is going to be relatively soon. I mean, publish relatively soon. And it was a pleasure. I wish you the best of luck for anything you do. I mean, I really enjoyed to have this honest conversation completely on script. Again, no, nothing literally, we had no idea. We had no idea. And yet, I really hope that our audience got to listen to it to spend a good 38 minutes having a good time maybe learning something, having some questions in their head. That's what I feel like it's successful. If you have more questions now than when you started listening to this. We did something good. So I'll just sing a podcast, subscribe, share. And of course listen to connect with Simon. There'll be the link in the notes to your podcast. As to your LinkedIn profile, and hopefully you will make this big meeting somewhere in the world or in the solar system become reality. So, thank you so much, very much.
Simon Chou40:14
Thank you appreciate it.
voiceover40:19
We hope you enjoyed this episode of audio signals. If you learned something new in this podcast made you think, then share itspmagazine.com with your friends, family, and colleagues. If you represent a company and wish to associate your brand with our conversations, sponsor, one or more of our podcast channels, we hope you will come back for more stories and follow us on our journey. You can always find us at the intersection of technology, cybersecurity, and society and some even beyond that. You