For every 10X Growth Conference, the 10X Team prides itself on bringing out the best names in business and entertainment…

At 10X Growth Con 2019, entrepreneur, author, and rapper Jesse Itzler shared his unique path to success. His estimated net worth of $200 million is proof that his “unconventional works” approach has some credibility. This is Itzler’s wild “life resume” — from marketing major to hip hop artist to innovator in private aviation… 

Today, Jesse Itzler is married to Sara Blakely, the founder of SPANX, with whom he has four children. Together, they are part of the ownership group of the Atlanta Hawks basketball team. 

On his own, Jesse is co-founder of one of the largest private jet card companies, Marquis Jet, with Warren Buffett’s aircraft fleet. 

However, it wasn’t always that way… 

Born and raised in Roslyn, New York, Itzler was once a normal student at American University. Despite the $40k a year tuition, the future business giant claims to only remember one thing… 

The $160,000 Lesson Jesse Itzler Shared at 10X Growth Con

In Jesse Itzler’s senior year of college, he was at a crossroads — either become an investor in a friend’s brownie company or pursue a rap music career. Two completely different paths, but a hard decision to make nonetheless. 

Jesse Itzler decided to leave it to fate. 

For a business class project, Jesse was tasked with creating a full business plan, marketing campaign, and presentation. He chose to present the brownies for the assignment with a caveat in mind…

If he presented the chocolate treats and passed, he’d go into the baked goods business. But if he failed, he would put all his efforts into music. 

A couple of minutes into his pitch, his professor stopped him and asked what made his brownie different. After rattling off some ingredients, his instructor said, “Thousands of brownies are made every day. You need to have something actually different. Sit down.”

Needless to say, Itzler fully committed to music. He knew he had something different built into himself… 

Record Deals from Answering Machine Bars and Cold Calls  

From there, Jesse Itzler rearranged his college schedule so he had the entirety of Fridays free. He’d take the five-hour bus ride into New York City to hand out his demo…

A rap music demo that he recorded on his answering machine. 

After sending the tape to every record label, personally delivering it to DJs and other rappers, he gathered his courage. And he decided to cold call the Delicious Vinyl record label. 

By researching the owner of the label’s favorite artist, he was able to secure a lunch meeting and play the executive his music for him….

He was offered the deal on the spot. 

Sadly, his relationship with that label was unable to be sustained… 

But Jesse didn’t give up on music. He quickly had to pivot with the only standout job on his resume being “rapper.” 

So, he wrote a song for the New York Knicks for $4,000. And he formed his own music company, Alphabet City Music, specializing in arena songs…

Jesse Itzler sold that company to SFX for $4.3 million dollars. 

Nevertheless, Itzler couldn’t keep his feet off the ground once he had the first taste of entrepreneurship…

Jesse Itzler Name-drops at 10X Growth Con

Where does a former hip-hop star who made sports theme songs go next? 

Apparently, private aviation, if you’re Jesse Itzler. 

Jesse had never flown private before going on a business trip with his partner in Alphabet City Music. After which, he never wanted to go back. There was just one problem… 

He couldn’t afford his own plane at the time. 

Then, he and his partner had an idea on that flight. A business concept where you paid ahead of time to rent private aircraft time. 

Somehow, Itzler got in front of the decision-maker behind 650 of these jets and was at first turned down. 

However, he changed his mind once Jesse brought in a laundry list of celebrities in front of the administrator who said they’d definitely buy the product. 

That is how one of his most profitable ventures to date, Marquis Jet, was born. 

Building a Life Resume — One Venture at a Time

In conclusion, this entrepreneur, author, and rapper is a risk-taker, trailblazer, and go-getter.

During his 10X Growth Con speech, Jesse Itzler explained there are two themes that have been true throughout his “life resume”: 

1. He had no experience in anything he did — because experience takes too long. 
2. No experience guaranteed he would be unique and have different results. 

The 10X family can definitely agree with this “commit now, figure out the rest later” energy.

How will you build your life resume in 2023 and beyond? 

Disclaimer: This content is intended to be used for educational and informational purposes only. Individual results may vary. You should perform your own due diligence and seek the advice from a professional to verify any information on our website or materials that you are relying upon if you choose to make an investment or business decision. Investment, real estate, and business involve great risk and there is no guarantee of performance or results.

We are not attorneys, investment advisers, accountants, tax professionals or financial advisers and any of the content presented should not be taken as professional advice. We recommend seeking the advice of a financial professional before you invest, and we accept no liability whatsoever for any loss or damage you may incur.

Long before he was the “Billion-dollar Man” or an original “Shark,” Kevin Harrington was an entrepreneurial pioneer. At the first-ever 10X Growth Conference in 2017, the trailblazer talked strategy, marketing, and inventions… 

Over this OG Shark’s storied career, he has launched over 500 products. Through those products, he has generated over $5 billion in sales across 100 countries. 

Despite these impressive numbers, Harrington’s early life in Cincinnati foreshadowed his ultimate success…

Before Entrepreneurial Superstardom

During his Growth Con presentation, the Billion-dollar Man shared that his father was his hero. He then recalled learning his business acumen from working with his dad in the family’s Irish pub. 

As a result, by the time Kevin Harrington reached his mid-twenties, he’d built and sold several companies. 

However, he claims his journey to the top didn’t truly begin until one night when there was nothing to watch on television… 

Kevin Harrington Decided to Fill the Dead Air

The younger 10X’ers reading this may not believe it, but there was a time when there weren’t TV shows scheduled 24/7…

One sleepless night, Harrington wanted to watch the Discovery Channel on his new cable subscription. Unfortunately, he found nothing but vertical bars when he turned to the station. 

Since he thought something was wrong, he called the cable provider who told him simply that during those hours, the Discovery Channel was off the air! 

Kevin knew he couldn’t be the only person frustrated by this. So, he began looking for a solution to fulfill this opportunity. He had no idea he would find his answer when he saw a man cut a Coke can in half with a kitchen knife… 

A Eureka! Moment — and a Set of Free Steak Knives

After the Discovery Channel disappointment, Kevin Harrington was attending a trade show when someone caught his attention… 

There was a gentleman loudly claiming he was selling the best quality kitchen knives money could buy. 

The product presenter demonstrated how the knives could cut paper-thin. They were strong enough to slice through an aluminum can like butter. Plus, the first handful of customers got a set of steak knives for free. 

Harrington was one of the first to jump up and buy the phenomenal cutlery. But he also was struck with an idea… 

He decided to film an entertaining, informative, long-form sales program to fill those empty cable hours. 

The first star he hired was, of course, the knife salesman. 

Shortly after, they filmed the flagship infomercial for $2,000. The program went on to make $500 million in revenue. 

The Rest Is History

In the end, Kevin Harrington’s story embodies what we want our 10X Growth Conference attendees to walk away with…

New perspectives. Ingenuity. Eyes open to opportunity… regardless if it can slash a soda can. 

Keep looking for your Eureka! moments — and be great. 

Disclaimer: This content is intended to be used for educational and informational purposes only. Individual results may vary. You should perform your own due diligence and seek the advice from a professional to verify any information on our website or materials that you are relying upon if you choose to make an investment or business decision. Investment, real estate, and business involve great risk and there is no guarantee of performance or results.

We are not attorneys, investment advisers, accountants, tax professionals or financial advisers and any of the content presented should not be taken as professional advice. We recommend seeking the advice of a financial professional before you invest, and we accept no liability whatsoever for any loss or damage you may incur.

While it is true that we’re proud of the celebrities we bring on for our attendees, 10X Growth Con is all about business expansion at its core. So, it makes sense that we would invite some of the wealthiest entrepreneurs for their insight, which raises an interesting question…

We could give a short answer to the question of who is the RICHEST restaurateur in the world, but this entrepreneur is so much more than that… 

(more…)

The “Dirtiest Man on TV” never expected to find his ticket to stardom in the sewers of San Francisco…