[quote style=”boxed”]Learn to enjoy the journey.[/quote]
Todd Vatalaro has experience as a Sales Executive, with Million-Dollar quota carrying, direct and in-direct sales achievements: Cloud, SaaS, BI, CRM, Social & Mobile, ERP and more. In 1992 Todd Vatalaro, joined Apple Inc. As a MA (Manufacturing Associate). During this time he attended UC Davis and completed his Network Admin certificate. He continued working at Apple Inc., and going to school. He worked many jobs at Apple Inc. and advanced and took on the titles like World Wide Test Engineer Systems Engineer, Account Manager. His first project as a test engineer was the iMac. Todd Vatalaro left Apple 10 years to the day and went on to work at Oracle and then got the start-up bug! He assisted startups like Inspironix, Taptera, BookItGlobal, DivingGlobal and MobileNation. His professional background also includes; Sports Agent, Actor, and charity work. In his spare time, Todd enjoys golfing, sailing, hunting, fishing, and snowboarding. Todd has a BS Degree from the University of San Francisco in Organizational Behavior. Certificate at the University of California Davis, in Computer Network Administration & Management and multiple Sales Force certificates. He has also started working on his MBA, from Saint Mary’s College of California.
What are you working on right now?
I’m currently working at MobileNation attempting to secure our series A funding
How do you make money?
It’s a Saas based model. We also have a “freemium” business model.
What does your typical day look like?
I try to contact as many people as I can in any given day. Checking in, returning calls, setting up meetings, meeting commitments. Doing what I say I’m going to do.
How do you bring ideas to life?
Lots of meetings with very smart people. Setting out a plan and then pivoting as needed. Bringing in early adopters for feedback.
What’s one trend that really excites you?
SaaS and the cloud. Also renewable energy. Solar is going to be huge!
What was the worst job you ever had and what did you learn from it?
Working at a Bingo Hall. They all smoked, and gambled their money away. I learned not to smoke, and gamble.
If you were to start again, what would you do differently?
Learn to enjoy the journey.
As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?
Know that you are as never as good or as bad as you think you are. It’s ok to fail. And it’s ok to succeed.
What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?
Learning how to scale. I learned that you need others to succeed. So partner up! Get a channel plan together, build alliances.
What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?
Create a way to share your iPhone’s battery life with other iPhone’s. You could also charge. I will sell you 25% of my battery for X. Imagine your at a meeting and your iPhone is about to die! How much would you spend? Get it?
If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be and how would you go about it?
Education. Educating parents on how to educate their children. Grass roots efforts. The child should be raised at home not in the class room.
Tell us something about you that very few people know?
I love movies. I have been in several indie films. You can find me on IMDB.
What are your three favorite online tools or resources and what do you love about them?
LinkedIn, Google, Facebook. I love information and being social. These sites allow me to check in, touch base, grow my contacts and research.
What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?
Inside Silicon Valley: How the Deals Get Done. If you are looking for capital this is your book to learn and expect what you will encounter.
The Lean Startup. This is the start-up bible.
Three people we should follow on Twitter and why?
Aaron Winsor Levie, Young ambitious smart guy, with lots of ideas. Very down to earth. Great all around guy. I know him, he is very fun.
Jeffrey Preston “Jeff” Bezos This guy has been called out 100 times, and yet keeps coming. He has taken on WalMart, NetFlix, Chegg Apple, eBay, and all other Brick and mortar and on-line book stores. King of e-commerce, Jeff is just getting started.
Sir Jonathan Paul “Jony” Ive. I spent 12 ½ years at Apple. I personally have met Steve once. (once is enough) and Tim Cook twice. I have read all the books on Steve and on Jonathan. I am 100% confident the Apple’s pipeline of new products are going to be fantastic under Jon’s vision. Steve hand picked Jon. Steve Job’s DNA lives inside of him and Tim Cook.
When was the last time you laughed out loud? What caused it?
When my best friend opened his new Tesla’s windows to let in some fresh air and a garbage truck pulled in front of us, as garbage stated to fall of the back of the truck is was sucked into his new car. I cried!
Who is your hero?
Steve Jobs.
What technology will dominate the next decade?
Renewable energy, Cloud based technology, Software as a service (SaaS), and mobility.
Connect:
www.linkedin.com/in/toddvatalaro/
Mario Schulzke is the Founder of ideamensch, which he started a decade ago to learn from entrepreneurs and give them a platform for their ideas.