The world is absorbed with online connections. Today, in our hyper-connected world, people are focused their social media relationships built on Likes, Follows, Comments, and Shares. But does the number of “connections” you have on LinkedIn or the Followers you have on Facebook translate to the size and value of your network? I would argue that no, while the size and engagement level of your social graph is a powerful tool you can utilize to spread a message, it is not the same as networking or growing a strong personal or business network. No matter how the world changes, true, quality networking will always be about creating relationships by connecting with another individual.

What does networking look like today? Networking is so much more than passing business cards or connecting on LinkedIn. To be the most effective, you must enter every networking situation with a shift from a sales mindset to a relationship mindset. Ask questions. If I am in a room with business people, I ask about who they are and I get to know them in order to build a relationship. I feel that every single person I meet, could help make me a better person. And, that I have an opportunity to make their life better, as well. Relationships are the core of life and relationships create opportunity.

Then, I find something that we both have in common or an intersection of our worlds. This helps build a common bond that will be the spark for the relationship. This commonality could be something as simple as an interest in a sports team, having attended the same school, or any point of conversation that is memorable and unique to your relationship.

Finally, I focus on how I can give, before I focus on what I can get. I find a way to assist them with something they need, a goal they have, a passion, or a business need. Offering to help without expecting return will work to solidify the relationship we are building.

Networking today is the process of

1. Focusing on getting to know the other person,
2. finding a point of commonality, and
3. looking for a way to assist them with something they need. Always give without expecting a return.

I’ll share an example of a great networking experience I had recently. I met a business leader named Jon within a few months of moving to Austin. He has been part of very successful companies throughout his career and was introduced to me by someone who I had met in Austin. I had helped the first person with something and he helped me by introducing me to Jon. Relationships create opportunities!

When Jon and I went to have coffee, I focused on building the relationship, not selling him anything or jumping into shop talk. We talked about who he is what he is interested in. Eventually, we talked about my passions and our enthusiasm for Austin since moving, my desire to get to know the city, and the cash back app company I had founded called Dosh. Based on that interaction, he ended up offering to introduce me to his network. By the end of the day had already introduced me to 6 other business leaders. Within 24 hours, I had scheduled coffee or breakfast meetings with each of them.

Those 6 people have introduced me to a world within the Austin community that has led to tremendous opportunity, new personal relationships, and to new hires of outstanding caliber at Dosh. That one original relationship ended up leading to incredible connections for me personally as well as for Dosh as I work to grow the business. Relationships create opportunities!

The post What Does Effective Networking Look Like Today? appeared first on Ryan Wuerch.

In addition, Dosh provides other services and features that include:

• A streamlined cash back process that includes no UPC scanning, receipt documentation, mail-in rebates, or promo codes.
• The ability to donate to charities or transfer cash earned to a bank account or PayPal directly from the application.
• A hotel-booking service that ensures the lowest prices and provides additional cash back.
• Marketing tools for businesses that include consumer data analytics and insights designed to increase customer loyalty and enable targeted advertising efforts.

For additional information on the Dosh app, visit www.dosh.cash.

The post Dosh Teaming Up With Leading Brands and Retailers appeared first on Ryan Wuerch.

In addition, Dosh provides other services and features that include:

• A streamlined cash back process that includes no UPC scanning, receipt documentation, mail-in rebates, or promo codes.
• The ability to donate to charities or transfer cash earned to a bank account or PayPal directly from the application.
• A hotel-booking service that ensures the lowest prices and provides additional cash back.
• Marketing tools for businesses that include consumer data analytics and insights designed to increase customer loyalty and enable targeted advertising efforts.

The popular blog Tracy’s New York Life recently featured Ryan Wuerch’s Dosh mobile app and provided screenshots that revealed how it works and the cash back it generated on items such as Manhattan hotel rooms and the New York City PASS. In the blog, Tracy Kaler describes her family members as coupon clippers and said she appreciates Dosh for allowing her to get cash back without the hassle of finding specific coupons, cutting them out, and remembering to use them. Once people sign up with Dosh, they can take advantage of the platform by adding any credit cards and debit cards that they want. Each time a Dosh partner business registers a transaction, available offers are converted into cash that appears in the user’s Dosh wallet. The funds can ultimately be transferred into a user’s linked bank account. Tracy Kaler said she uses Dosh to earn cash back when she shops at various businesses. She also mentions Dosh offers at Lord & Taylor, Nike, Macy’s, and Dean & Deluca. The amounts vary: the cash back generated from a single transaction could be $2 or $100, for instance.

The post Dosh Cash Back App Featured in Tracy’s New York Life Blog appeared first on Ryan Wuerch.

In addition, Dosh provides other services and features that include:

• A streamlined cash-back process that includes no UPC scanning, receipt documentation, mail-in rebates, or promo codes.
• The ability to donate to charities or transfer cash earned to a bank account or PayPal directly from the application.
• A hotel-booking service that ensures the lowest prices and provides additional cash back.
• Marketing tools for businesses that include consumer data analytics and insights designed to increase customer loyalty and enable targeted advertising efforts.

The post Dosh – Enabling Travelers to Access Cash Back on Purchases appeared first on Ryan Wuerch.

The post Dosh Gives Consumers a New Way to Shop and Receive Cash Back appeared first on Ryan Wuerch.

I have been honored to raise a family of four boys alongside my wife, Shawntel. Together, we have worked to instill in them the values we believe are most important in life: how to care for others, the importance of hard work, have a positive attitude, appreciation for what we have, and so many others. Beyond being a good person, I believe these lessons have a direct impact on the level of success you will experience in life. As a business leader and serial entrepreneur, my ability to be a strong and effective leader has played a major role in my success.

PUT IN THE HARD WORK

Leadership is one of those skills that is best taught by example. I was lucky to have in my great examples in my parents growing up and have worked to be a positive example for my children throughout their lives. It starts with a lesson my parents taught me from a young age: to have anything in life, it requires hard work. If you are striving for that promotion, saving for date night, or studying to get into your dream college, everything will require dedicated time and effort. But hard work is about more than just the time you put in. It’s about persevering through the setbacks. This includes one of the most difficult things about being dedicated to your dream: embracing the “No.” Learning to look at each “No” as progress instead of a setback is challenging emotionally and logically. However, reframing the “No” into a step closer to the right “Yes” will enable you to eliminate the fear associated with rejection. The “No” is not failure, but a learning moment. It is through these moments that success is possible. This is a vital step in becoming a strong leader.

HAVE A POSITIVE ATTITUDE

The second lesson my parents taught me was the importance of a positive attitude. If you go through work, life, or your relationship looking for the next roadblock, the next reason to quit, the next unfairness, you will find them strewn about your path in abundance. There is no one who can look at the world through this frame of mind and find success. Instead, you must have a positive attitude that appreciates and recognizes the small (and big) wins, the strokes of luck, and the hidden opportunities. Leaders who inspire their teams are able to visualize success and share that optimism to create a contagious positive attitude throughout their company.

When I look back over my career, it was these two foundational leadership lessons that have enabled me to find success. I have learned to exemplify these skills in the face of challenges and the “No.” I have learned to focus on the vision and keep a positive attitude throughout and use that to inspire my team. This experience is what I used to teach my children the same values and leadership skills throughout their lives. In fact, this is not the first time I have written about the specific actions my wife and I take to instill this into our children. I have written in other blogs about our Red Plate Dinners and the importance of individual recognition and appreciation. I have written about the importance of the search for knowledge and desire to know yourself and those around you, through our Dinner Questions tradition. And I have written about the business trips and money management lessons that enable our children to understand business and personal ownership early on.

LIVE IT DAILY

These are just a few of the specific actions that my family has incorporated into raising our children to be strong and moral leaders. However, there are opportunities every day to teach leadership through example and storytelling. That simple question, “How was your day, Dad?” is an opportunity to teach through a true experience that occurred that day, either in business or personal life. Whether a challenge or success, these stories help our children learn about relationships, business, problem solving, and how to have a positive attitude in the face of adversity.

EMBODY OPENNESS AND HONESTY

We believe that a commitment to openness and honesty provides insight to real-life challenges that adults face throughout their careers and lives. It is likely that one day one of our sons will find himself facing a similar challenge and will be able to recall how his parents handled it and use that knowledge to make the best decision. They will learn daily how to deal with difficult life experiences.

We are so proud of our children and the success they have achieved already. I have seen them carry these lessons out in real life, whether it be in school, golf, baseball, work, or with friends. They are able to process and understand and work through complex problems with a positive attitude and a drive for success. My oldest, Braden, has navigated his career path and has stayed committed to his passion for his own life while achieving success, despite unexpected challenges and the “No.” I see it in him in the way he interacts and supports his friends and how he is supportive and loving to his wife.

REMEMBER HUMILITY AND WILLINGNESS TO LEARN

Each of my children will take a different path and each will encounter challenges and successes. I am proud of the paths they have taken so far and excited to see their continued success as they grow. My wife and I will continue to share with them our life experiences and how we will handle each one. And, knowing my children are growing up to be strong leaders, I too, will listen to their stories and experiences and learn from them because, after all, the final lesson in being a strong leader is knowing when to be humble and learn from those who are wiser than you.

The post Vital Leadership Lessons to Teach your Children from a Young Age appeared first on Ryan Wuerch.

Photo by Demi Kwant on Unsplash

How does a company begin? Where does the spark of inspiration originate? For many, the idea is sparked when a need is recognized. But a successful company needs more than just an idea. A company is made from an idea, a researched and proven gap in the market, and a team of people who are passionate and qualified to bring the idea to life and profitably fill that gap.

At times, the spark of a new company comes from a constant analysis of current market conditions and comparing which trends are converging, or are likely to converge in the near future. In the past, I saw the prevalence of social media and mobile service and created Solavei, which drove over 400,000 mobile service enrollments exclusively through social marketing in its first three years. In 2012, I saw a new gap in the market: a need for a discount consolidation program that gets users cash back without them spending hours digging through online coupon sites for discounts or scanning receipts by hand into their phones. Combine this with the fact that 68% of adults in the United States have a smartphone, up from 35% just 4 years ago, and it was obvious the ideal platform for a service like this would be an app. This spark turned into my current project, Dosh, an app that automatically finds cash back for consumers without the hassle of scanning receipts or searching for offers online. This process transfers the money spent on advertising back into the hands of the consumers and allows companies to more effectively reach their target market.

The basic steps I use at the start of a new company are:

1. Determine the details of your idea:
   1. Analyze the current market condition, the convergence of trends, and determine where the gap is.
   2. If filled, would this gap lead to demand, to profit?
2. Build out the company business plan:
   1. Determine exactly what the company will do.
   2. What resources will the company need? Financially? Technology? Expertise?
3. Determine who you need on your team:
   1. What expertise do you need to hire?
   2. How many people will you need to bring your company to life?
   3. What company culture do you want to create?

Once you have these questions outlined, the start of your company is getting close. Still, it is imperative to remember that a company is dependent on the quality of the parts. This means, you need to find not only the right expertise, but the right people with that expertise. I always recommend finding people who are far better than the company founder in each of his/her individual areas of expertise, whether it be finance, marketing, operations, or technology. Then, ensure these people are passionate about the project and are ready to take ownership of their department. I have always found that giving people ownership of their area of expertise results in the best outcome for a company.

One of the most important components of a starting successful business is the necessary capital and the right investors who believe in your vision. Once you have the capital to launch your company and begin identifying your team, empower them to be the “CEO” of their own area. I have spoken in past blogs about the CEO Mentality and I consistently find that this creates better results, morale, and passion for the company. Another important piece is educating each of your team members so they clearly understand what the vision of the company is and know what is necessary to achieve that vision. It is deeply important to ensure that each person has the same understanding of the vision and priorities of the company. Without this clarity, individuals will have a difficult time reaching their objectives.

What other steps do you use when starting a new company? What components would you add?

The post The Art of Starting a New Company appeared first on Ryan Wuerch.

Photo by Jen Light

Quality time with family is so important. When each of my boys reach 10 years old, they know something special will happen. That is when they begin planning a one-on-one trip with me during the summer for 5 to 7 days. This trip is always to accompany me on a business trip to another city or country, sit in each of the business meetings, and get to experience what it is their father does for a living. What’s exciting is this is a trip they get to have every year and always to a different location.

During the day they sit in everyone of my business meetings which gives me an opportunity to see first hand the relationships that I have and what causes business to progress.  These trips aren’t all work and no play. We are sure to plan experiences that are uniquely important to them and who they are. In the past, my sons have chosen to play golf at a course they’ve always heard about or view a great play in London or NYC, or go to a baseball game at Fenway Park in Boston. I try to give them the experience of visiting my favorite restaurants or sites in cities that I often visit as well to share with them my passions, as well.

It is amazing having my boys with me and sharing that time with them. I greatly enjoy sharing with them my passion for the work I do as well as teaching them why I do and say what I do in meetings, how to act professionally and how to present myself. All of these elements are vitally important to success and are applicable no matter what career path they take in life. These are real life moments where I can take the opportunity to teach them important lessons while at the same time watching grow personally and professionally as they develop their own powerful presence.

With sons who are now 23, 20, 11 and 9, I’m looking forward to the trips this summer. Brennan counted down the months until his 10th birthday, as he knew his trip was coming.  And my second son, Barrett, who turns 21 in April just asked me, “Where are we going this summer, Dad?” The tradition will continue with Bryson, our 9 year old, being he’s already naming the places he wants to go.  The countless memories that have been forged and the experience each of my sons have gained from our family and individual trips, is my way of preparing them for the real life situations that they will experience once they are running their own companies or working in their field of choice. They are developing their leadership skills, world view, and business insights that will be tied to our times together.

The memories for me though are worth more than any trophy or any amount of money that I possess.  Sitting on the plane sometimes by myself reliving in my mind the different trips, deep conversations, the laughter and seeing their eyes light up when they do something they’d only imagined.  Memories…..Braden at 11 years old, staying in London at the Lanesborough Hotel, touring history with my son, seeing a play on London’s “Broadway” and walking the streets of London, eating at my favorite Chinese restaurant Hakkasan and talking about the days meetings.  Waking up in the morning on the coast of California with Barrett at 14 years old, driving in the car to our first meeting and talking about our day, seeing him in the crowd as I spoke at an investment banking conference and feeling more pride knowing one of the most important people in the world was watching me, playing golf in the afternoon then feeling so incredible that night as we watched the San Francisco Giants win their first game of the playoffs in the season they won the World Series.  My first trip with Brennan to Puerto Rico where we boarded the plane and I looked to see the amazing smile of happiness, scuba diving with him in crystal blue water and him standing on stage with me as he spoke with such eloquence and price about some of the most incredible people in the world. Memories I’ll cherish for a lifetime!

These trips are designed to expand my son’s horizons and broaden their worldly perspectives, but I find myself constantly learning from my son’s unique vision and dreams. In the end, I may appreciate these trips even more than my sons do. I cannot wait for our next trip together.

The post PART IV – How Business Trips Will Teach Quality in Work and the Power of Relationships appeared first on Ryan Wuerch.

I previously have written about creating meaningful traditions that last, and how in our family, one way to do this is with the special “Red Plate” that symbolizes a special event or achievement from one of us in our home. It can be a birthday, a graduation, special sporting event or accomplishment, or it could even be the day of a doctor’s appointment, but whomever comes to the kitchen table in the morning and sees the Red Plate at where they sit, they know they are going to be celebrated. Every one of us – my four sons, my wife Shawntel, and I – all look forward to seeing the Red Plate.

Our family has another way of creating meaningful traditions.  Another major event happens when our boys reach their 10^th birthday, when they have the opportunity to accompany me to a meeting with my stockbroker, and learn what the stock market is and how it works. And on that special day I place $1,000 into their stock account, and my boys have 100% control what happens to it – I let them manage it as they see fit, as long as they keep the money in the stock trading account. They are in charge of choosing the stocks, researching the companies, which I’ve found provides an invaluable lesson in beginning to understand financial management and develop skills that will serve them well throughout their lives.

My son Brennan made his first stock picks when he turned 10 years old this past July: Facebook, Apple and Amazon. Only 7 months after he picked his first stocks for his account, he’s seen a 21% gain in his portfolio.  I’ll never forget taking his older brother Braden (who is now 22 years old) to open up his stock trading account when was 10 years old.  He sat with my broker wearing a blue sport coat and so eager about what he was getting to do.  Braden bought Coca Cola because it was his favorite drink, McDonalds because it was his favorite restaurant, Best Buy because he thought it was the coolest store, AOL because he loved the internet and Gateway because it was his computer. In his first two years Braden had a 38% return in his portfolio! That included a 6.7% return in his first several months, and his brother Brennan is even showing some of the same return results.

What does this show? That in investing, as in so many other areas of life, it’s good to go with what you know and like! I remember my brokers saying to the boys to not think of the stock market as charts, graphs or newspaper headlines but rather think of it as way to buy a part of the companies you think are great and that you think will be great for a long time, the Warren Buffet philosophy.  The boys were instructed to take two weeks and ask me what companies that they liked were public or private. It was after two weeks that they were to buy companies they like, buy what their friends like, and what they and their friends would like for a long time. None of those things took a computer program to analyze.

This tradition of investing has imparted so much wisdom to my boys, like lessons in money management and sound investment principles. It’s also a good way to impart the values of saving as well has learning how money can be put to work for work, as opposed to spending money on things that don’t provide a valuable return.

The post PART II – Stock Options and Money Management appeared first on Ryan Wuerch.

People often ask me “How do you do it?” How do I spend so much focused time with my family, at work, training for marathons and with philanthropic causes and still manage to make the time high value and high quality? As I’ve talked about in a previous blog, it is all about living with purpose.

We tend to live in a microwave and fast-food society where we want everything immediately and as cheap as possible. But throughout my life I’ve found that enduring results and reward actually come through consistently doing the right thing with consistency over a long period of time. A good family friend, Tommy Thompson, said to me when our eldest son, Braden, was just 6 years old, “You can never really have quality time with your children unless you have quantity time with them, because you never know when the quality moments will sneak up on you.” There is nothing fast or microwaveable about that.

Early on in our sons’ lives, I decided as a father it was going to be important to establish traditions that could be carried through each of our children’s lives and then be passed down through generations. These traditions would build character, intelligence, values and a heritage. The traditions would also foster a high degree of self-worth and create precious moments with our children.

This is the first of a series of blogs that talks about these different traditions my wife, Shawntel, and I have developed and why I believe they have had a positive impact on our children’s lives and our own as parents.

We have a special red plate that says, “You are special today.” It has become a great symbol in our household. This red plate is placed where our sons sit at the table on days we feel are special or significant for them – it can be a birthday, a graduation, special sporting event or accomplishment, or it could even be the day of a doctor’s appointment. When one of our boys is going to be celebrated, he comes to the table and see the plate in his spot. Immediately, a smile brightens his face because he knows that this morning is his morning. He will get his favorite breakfast and everyone in the family will take a turn telling him why he is special to them. Watching our youngest son wait in anticipation as his older brothers talk about how he is important, valued and unique, creates a sense of happiness, confidence and great worth in him. These moments cannot be replaced or overvalued. Even my wife, Shawntel, and I have come to be excited when we see the red plate at our spot on the table. There is rarely a red plate day without tears of joy.

As a parent, it is vitally important to develop habits that will keep you on purpose with your children. The red plate is an easy way for us to focus on the accomplishments and joys of each of our uniquely special children. Over the years, I passed this tradition on to many of my friends and family. They now use it as their own and it has been so rewarding to hear their positive stories that accompany this new tradition that has been established in their family. This tradition has created such incredible reward for both our children and for us as parents throughout the years.

Do you have a tradition like this in your family? Tell me about in the comments!

Next week, I will elaborate on our family’s traditions and what we actively do to make our family time valuable and high quality.

The post PART I – The Red Plate – Creating meaningful positive family traditions appeared first on Ryan Wuerch.