Q&A with Glen Wakeman, CEO of LaunchPad Holdings LLC

UPDATE!! Glen Wakeman has recently released a new video that breaks down the key factors to succeed in any business. For the full video visit https://www.glenwakeman.com/video

In the course of his career, Wakeman has become known for his mentoring, entrepreneurial spirit, and as a business revolutionary. His work includes the development of M&As, guidance for startup companies, and creating new performance methodologies. LaunchPad Holdings LLC is a SAAS corporation founded in 2015 ). Glen Wakeman holds an MBA in Finance and BS in Economics. During his early career, Wakeman successfully held positions as the founder of Nova Four. His roles included a wide range, including various P&L, business development, President, CEO, and Board of Directors administrative positions.

Glen Wakeman is most well known for his proven 5 step performance methodology focusing on risk management, human capital, leadership power, and execution in business. Being a successful investor and writer enabled Wakeman to inspire others on everything from fiscal economics to administrative strategies. His experience with emerging markets, corporate management, and divestitures makes Wakeman a keen market strategist, offering insightful counsel to executive level groups like Sitter Bees and Dreamfunded. Few corporate executives have developed the reputation for accurate methods that apply to various industries like Wakeman has in recent decades.

Glen Wakeman is an active participant in transformative business opportunities so that his experience with leadership in global affairs is invaluable. He provides strategic advice for capital raising, angel investing, and international financing platforms. He is passionate about all aspects of business innovation, development, and growth in the changing global marketplace. Having been a resident of six different countries and running business operations in 30 regional areas globally, Glen Wakeman is a significant force deserving recognition for his extensive career accomplishments (Angel.co).

How did the idea for LaunchPad Holdings LLC come about? 

Matching ideas with money is something I like doing. Many good ideas come from talented startups, and I didn’t understand why so often find failure rates are really high. When I looked into it further, it basically came down to a lack of structure around the individual ideas. People don’t always understand, an idea is not a plan itself. So we decided to make plan building easier and more intuitive by designing a simpler software platform. That was the beginning of LaunchPad Holdings.

Describe what your typical day is like and how you achieve productivity?

For me, the typical day begins with reviewing the numbers from the prior day. This includes service performance, sales, and cash totals. Next, I take conference with my partners and divide up the daily duties, such as sales meetings, design revisions, management of administrative tasks, and paying the bills. After that we start researching things like current customer trends, reviewing inquiries, responding to communications, seeing what the competition is doing, and making plans for our general world takeover. My day usually ends with getting coffee or tea, or possibly a margarita (depending on the day was like). When it comes to productivity, I think trust, no backtracking, and division of duties are the keys.

What one new trend really excites you?

I am getting really excited by the application of machine learning to business problems. With a large amount of data that is now available, we are just beginning to make sense of it all. Machine learning allows us to generate insightful improvements on decision making, speed, and overall quality. These resultant solutions and offerings are a great enabler for modern democracy. My only concern is related to how it relates to losing our privacy, but I hope to see political and philosophical advancements that will offer effective guideposts to help preserve our humanity.

How do you bring new ideas to life?

I bring new ideas to life by engaging myself in explaining them to others around me. This forces me to make an outline of my thoughts, take the time to think them through, take the steps to make them real, and more importantly, know how to defend them. Not every idea we have is a great one. Sometimes when you say an idea out loud, it becomes clear how bad an idea it is. But every once in a while, you get a really good idea. You know because just explaining it gets everyone motivated to make it a reality. You have to seek people that don’t just agree with you. They should be able to explain why, and I want them to go past what is wrong. Answering the why a question is what helps me bring an idea to life.

What one habit makes you more productive?

I have a high curiosity. It is my most productive trait. Curiosity enables me to persevere through my problem-solving method. It also allows me to think innovatively and achieve true customer satisfaction. I want to know why things are like they are, so I can better know how to change them.

What is one web service or piece of software do you recommend for productivity? And how do you utilize it? 

I have several applications to help increase my productivity. Each being something that saves me either time or money, or both. Live chat is a way service customers with more flexibility while looking professional, and inexpensively. Doodle is great for organizing meetings, calendars, and general time management. Doodle allows us to keep administrative costs lower and does so consistently. Fiver allows business access to resources from around the globe. It is one of the fastest ways and cheapest methods of resource acquisition, also the reviews are helpful for making better choices on a variety of levels.

What was your worst job and what did it teach you? 

My worst job was cleaning bathrooms for an automobile parts factory. It was dirty, sweaty, and filthy, but it was the only job I could get during a long summertime recession. I needed that job to pay for my college time. I learned that there is dignity in all types of labor, and I never again took any opportunity for granted.

If you were to start all over again, what would you do different?

If I were to start my career all over again, I would keep better records of my friends and acquaintances. I wish I had records of everyone I met on my way here, and I would do my best to stay in contact with them better. In the age of social media, this has become much easier. As an entrepreneur, your connections make the difference between finding funding or not, gaining customers or having none. Your connections are the real difference between success and failure in the business world.

What is the one book you think everyone should read and why?

I strongly recommend reading “The Art of War”, a text written by Sun Tzu. Not only is it a timeless classic, but it remains the best strategy book ever written. It breaks life down into lessons that can be learned concerning teamwork, discipline, and preparation that are invaluable. There are dozens of concepts that are worthwhile in the pages of this book, and everyone one of them is applicable as real-world wisdom. I find every page makes me want to read more, a true page-turner. Everyone should give it a chance.

What is the best $100 you ever spent? 

Honestly, the best $100 I ever spent was investing in a Berlitz Spanish language course. It opened my perspectives on other cultural influences, other styles, and expanded my mind about how the rest of the world thinks. That language course made me want to see more of the world. Plus it helped me find the confidence to ask my beautiful Argentine wife to go on our first date. I think it was worth every dollar I spent.

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