Jarrod Lopiccolo transforms brands through creative digital performance marketing with a strong architectural background. A veteran of 40+ podcasts and 100+ speaking engagements across North America and Europe, he delivers actionable insights for audiences to implement immediately. As CoFounder and CEO of Noble Studios, Jarrod has built an international agency serving Adobe, Google, and Disney while being recognized by Inc. Magazine and Ad Age. His expertise in digital marketing strategy, leadership development, and sustainable tourism makes him ideal for shows targeting CMOs, leaders, and founders. Audiences appreciate his engaging stories, from global business building to adventures like Everest Base Camp, that illustrate practical frameworks for driving revenue and team performance. Jarrod provides strategies for optimizing business growth, building high-performing teams, and creating principle-led cultures in today's digital economy.

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Episode Summary In this inspiring conversation, Michael Levitt welcomes Ciara, founder of Eventist, a leading SaaS company that revolutionized ticketing for dance competitions. What began as a side project for a friend turned into a thriving event management platform serving studios, festivals, and large-scale competitions. Ciara’s story is a testament to resilience, innovation, and the power of solving real problems through technology.

After losing her job, Ciara chose to create something new. What started as a personal favor evolved into a full-fledged software company addressing a gap in the dance competition industry. Michael commends her for transforming a career setback into a successful entrepreneurial journey. Together, they explore how identifying underserved markets can lead to sustainable business growth.

Michael and Ciara dive into the challenge of bridging the gap between developers and industry specialists. They discuss how effective requirement gathering and clear communication lead to better, more intuitive software, especially in niche markets like event ticketing. Ciara shares how this alignment allowed her team to build solutions that meet real user needs rather than assumptions.

Feature requests can pile up fast, but Ciara knows that usability matters most. She and Michael examine why prioritizing user experience is critical, even if it means saying “no” to certain requests. Drawing parallels to healthcare and other sectors, Michael explains how miscommunication between end users and designers can lead to frustration, while Ciara highlights the importance of serving the majority of users who rely on core functions every day.

Listening to customers does not mean building everything they ask for. Ciara explains how her team implemented a feature voting system, giving users a transparent way to influence the product roadmap. Michael suggests that reaching out to clarify feedback can turn casual users into loyal advocates, showing that thoughtful communication fosters trust and retention.

Michael and Ciara discuss the similarities between today’s AI boom and the early 2000s dot-com era. While AI offers immense potential, Michael notes that many tools being created today will not stand the test of time. The future belongs to products that solve real problems with precision, human oversight, and authentic value.

Ciara credits Eventist’s adaptability to a strong infrastructure developed over three years. This solid foundation allowed her team to expand into studio management and festival scheduling without rebuilding from scratch. Michael praises this long-term mindset, explaining that scalable success depends on a stable architecture, not shortcuts.

Ciara shares a golden rule for developers: stabilize your database schema before launch. Her six-month schema freeze policy helps avoid late-night emergencies and production chaos. Michael highlights how this disciplined approach prevents cascading issues and builds user confidence in the reliability of a system.

In closing, Ciara discusses how Eventist empowers dance studios and event organizers with transparent pricing that includes free ticketing software with a flat 25-cent fee per ticket and a 1.9 percent fee for studio tools. Listeners can explore more about her work and updates through Eventist.ca to learn about Ciara’s software.

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Niko shared his entrepreneurial journey, starting with his mother's antique and jewelry store after his father's death, which inspired his interest in business. He worked in sales and marketing before opening his own call center that grew to 150 employees and $12 million in revenue. After becoming bored with the call center business, Niko pursued day trading and eventually crypto trading, starting with a $30,000 investment in Online Trading Academy and later exploring crypto futures markets with up to 100x leverage.

Niko shared his journey of transitioning from trading to creating the Crypto Renegades, a coaching program that grew from a Facebook group to a mastermind of 6,000 members. Michael praised Niko's tenacity and resilience, drawing parallels between his early experiences helping his mother in an antique store and his later success in crypto trading and entrepreneurship. They discussed the importance of education and self-improvement in investing and business, with Michael emphasizing the accessibility of opportunities in the digital age.

Michael and Niko discussed the challenges of entrepreneurship and personal growth. They explored the importance of following one's passion and being willing to change and adapt to achieve success. Niko shared his experience of turning down lucrative job offers to pursue his own business, prioritizing autonomy and long-term growth over immediate financial gain. They also touched on how close relationships can sometimes hinder personal and professional development, as loved ones may resist change or feel threatened by success.

Niko and Michael discussed the challenges of achieving success, with Niko highlighting the hard work required to be among the one percent who achieve certain goals like visible abs or strong relationships. Michael shared an example from Australia about Tall Poppy Syndrome, where people are discouraged from standing out, and emphasized that success often involves long hours and overcoming self-doubt. They agreed that personal growth and discomfort are necessary for achieving significant goals, with Michael referencing Jim Rohn's advice about acting like a millionaire to become one.

Michael and Niko discussed the importance of prioritizing personal and professional growth over passive entertainment like streaming services, emphasizing the need to align daily habits with long-term goals. They highlighted the significance of defining one's ideal future and taking actionable steps to achieve it, despite challenges. Michael and Niko also addressed the topic of entering the cryptocurrency space, emphasizing the importance of a solid mindset and encouraging individuals to educate themselves and make informed decisions based on their personal financial situations.

Niko discussed the importance of understanding risk tolerance and financial stability before investing in cryptocurrency. He emphasized that individuals should have a solid financial foundation and extra income before considering crypto investments. Niko also shared his personal investment strategy, allocating about 20-25% of his investable cash to crypto, with the rest in real estate. Michael agreed with Niko's approach and suggested that listeners read Robert Kiyosaki's books for more financial education.

Niko shared his social media presence and offered to provide his audience with free access to a live trading webinar and a previously sold training course worth $997 by mentioning the podcast on Instagram.

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