Travels from Newport Beach, California, USA
Scott Duffy's speaking fee falls within range: $20,000 to $25,000
Scott Duffy is the author of Breakthrough and business strategist, who transforms companies with a direct approach to revenue, scale, and exit. He started his career with Tony Robbins, played key roles at CBS Sportsline, NBC Internet & FOXSports.com, before selling his company to Richard Branson’s Virgin Group.
Today’s Scott’s passion is to help change the world through entrepreneurship. He has been listed as one of the “Top Influential People To Follow in 2021” by Yahoo! Finance and a “Top 10 Speaker” by Entrepreneur. He has spoken at the NYSE, and provided commentary in numerous media outlets including CNBC, FOX News, and CBS Radio. He is the Author of two best-selling books on entrepreneurship, “Breakthrough” and “Launch!”. He is Host of “Business & Burgers” Presented by Microsoft and “What Now? with Scott Duffy”. His online academy teaches entrepreneurs “what to do NOW and what’s coming NEXT to build a great business.
Entrepreneurship keynote speaker, Scott Duffy shares how he learned his most important business lesson from none other than 80's rapper, M.C. Hammer. While at conference on the big island of Hawaii, Duffy was placed on a team with former Twitter CEO, Dick Costolo; Silicon Valley icon and technology journalist, Sarah Lacy; and famous venture capitalist, Bill Tye. The group had to spend a day traversing the island and solving different written "clues" that they found along the way. "With all of this brain power there is absolutely no way that we can't win," Duffy recalls thinking to himself - before he discovered that the last person on their team was M.C. Hammer.
When Duffy and most of the team were racking their brains over the first clue, Hammer stayed mostly on the sidelines enjoying the beach and chatting on his phone. The team politely asked him for help, so Hammer casually read the paper one time and gave the group a set of instructions that turned out to be the solution. The scene repeated itself for every clue: the group members would agonize over details for 20 minutes and then Hammer would step in, solving everything after a single read through.
Later that night back at the hotel, Duffy asked Hammer how he'd manage to figure out every clue so easily. Hammer laughed, noting that "all entrepreneurs are the same." "'This is where you start and your goal is over here,'" the rapper illustrated. "'Somehow you figure out a way to make everything so complicated in the middle. I live my way by one very simple philosophy. I always find a way to the simplest path first.'"
Serial entrepreneur, Scott Duffy gives you a holistic look at what it takes to thrive in business today. Working with legends like Sir Richard Branson, Tony Robbins, and others, Duffy has had the unique opportunity to learn from some of the most brilliant innovators the best practices for building vibrant businesses in the current marketplace. From a race car track to Richard Branson’s island, Duffy uses his experiences to craft an entertaining road map that makes launching new products and business ventures a simpler, more effective, and more fulfilling process.
FROM TONY ROBBINS TO RICHARD BRANSON
“Keys To Building An AMAZING Business”
A behind the scenes look at how to think big, build amazing products, increase revenue and profits, and build a great business. Scott shares his personal experience launching businesses inside big brands and as a bootstrapping entrepreneur.
DAVID IS THE NEW GOLIATH
“What Big Businesses Must Do To Compete in an Entrepreneur Economy”
Big business used to have every advantage. Barriers to entering a market were often too high for many would-be entrepreneurs. But those days are over. Today’s entrepreneur can move faster, get closer to customers, and build better products. In DAVID IS THE NEW GOLIATH, Scott will share what it takes for big business to succeed in the entrepreneur-based economy.
LUCK!
“How To Be More, Do More, Have More Than You Ever Thought Possible”
Is the secret to success being smarter than everyone else or just plain lucky? LUCK! Is the story of Scott’s personal journey – from pawning his possessions to pursue his dream, to sleeping in his car, to selling his business to Richard Branson’s Virgin Group. LUCK! Is an inspirational and straight from the heart conversation about what it takes to “get lucky” and create the life of your dreams.
SPEAKING.COM: What do you want people to learn/take away from your presentations?
DUFFY: I started speaking to companies representing best-selling author and speaker Tony Robbins over 25 years ago. Ever since that time, I’ve wanted my audience to walk away highly motivated and equipped with very clear action items that they can put into place immediately to get results. I hope my audiences are so inspired that they don’t wait until the end of my presentation to get started. I actually want them to be on their phones making things happen while I’m still speaking!
SPEAKING.COM: What kind of special prep work do you do prior to an event? How do you prepare for your speaking engagements?
DUFFY: I have always been a very hands-on speaker, since that’s how I was trained. Before any engagement I carefully study the industry, event, and/or company. I like to conduct interviews with the event organizers or people inside the company. I always like to get to a venue one day before an event so that I can walk the venue, meet people prior to the event, and gather more information for my talk. The day of the event, I try to be the first person there and meet as many people as I can in order to build rapport with the audience.
An interesting bit of trivia about me – I always bring a bag of original Lay’s potato chips to a speech. One of the challenges of being a speaker is that the constant traveling tends to dry your throat out. A mentor of mine, the legendary Harvey MacKay, recommended eating a small bag of chips before giving a talk since the oil coats your throat and the salt activates salivary glands, a combination that creates great voice quality!
Finally, I always say a prayer, asking for God to work through me and help me have a positive impact on everyone in the room.
SPEAKING.COM: Have you had any particularly memorable speaking engagements / unusual situations arise while on the road?
DUFFY: I don’t even know where to start! When I worked for Tony Robbins, we would speak up to 5 times a day and travel up to 50 weeks in a year speaking and promoting his programs. Sometimes, we ended up in the craziest places! I’ve spoken on boats, in barns, and on top of tables.
This crazy experience taught me how to adapt and be comfortable in any environment. As I got older, combining that adaptability with my real world business experience has enabled me to adjust to an audience, think on my feet, and make everyone feel comfortable.
SPEAKING.COM: What types of audiences would most benefit from your message?
DUFFY: SMBs & Entrepreneurs: I have walked in their shoes. The stories I share regarding the business and personal sides of being an entrepreneur are authentic, relatable, and highly engaging. That’s why I am able to have an impact.
Internet Companies & Technology Companies: I have experience from early stage through exit in technology companies that became big brands like CBSSports.com, NBC Internet, FOXSports.com, and my last company, which was acquired by Virgin.
Both Sides of The Digital Divide: When I was in grammar school, the class behind me was required to take typing. When I was in high school, the cohort behind me was required to take “computer class.” When I was a freshman in college, I bought a rockin’ electronic typewriter. The following year’s freshman class entered school with Macs, giving them a HUGE advantage. Due to my life experience, I’ve always felt I lived right on the “digital divide”. As a result, I am just as comfortable talking to Millennials as I am Boomapreneurs, and can relate to both.
SPEAKING.COM: Which of your keynote speaking topics are your favorites and why?
DUFFY: Personal Side of Entrepreneurship: I love this subject because nobody talks about it. I share the good and the bad and the highs and the lows. My talk is 100% authentic and based on personal experiences we all have as business leaders. These topics range from inspiration to environment, from managing our personal finances to managing our personal relationships, and from putting the right people around us to what to do when things go sideways.
Innovation/Taking Products To Market: I love talking about how to take ideas to market and then scaling what works. It doesn’t matter if the business is starting up or if it is well established and looking for growth. I enjoy sharing a step-by-step approach that is customized for the audience and ranges from topics including business planning, team building, raising capital, product/market fit, go to market strategies, leveraging partnerships to scale, marketing and sales tools, how to compete in an entrepreneur driven economy, and building raving fans.
SPEAKING.COM: How do you keep your audience engaged and actively listening during your keynotes? Do you use case studies, personal stories and/or in your speeches?
DUFFY: What makes me unique as a speaker is that I have lived in the trenches both as a struggling entrepreneur starting my own business and as an intraprenuer starting companies inside some of the world’s largest brands.
My talks are not academic. Instead, they are filled with stories based on my own experience and tied to big brands like Tony Robbins, Richard Branson, Howard Shultz, and others. I leverage the stories and brands as metaphors to connect with the audience, keep them engaged, and then tie in a message they can apply immediately. I try to create a sense of “If that person has experienced what I have, then I can get through it also”.
SPEAKING.COM: What are some of the successes you’ve helped clients achieve?
DUFFY: I have worked with several small companies at an early stage that became big brands like Quote.com (Lycos/acquired), Sportsline USA (CBSSports.com/acquired), Xoom.com (NBC Internet/acquired), FOXSports.com (NewsCorp), and Smart Charter (Virgin/acquired). For these companies, I have done a variety of things ranging from business planning, team building, raising capital, identifying target customers, product/market, go to market strategies, leveraging technology to scale, leveraging partnerships for distribution and scale, market and sales development, marketing and PR, plus exit.
Over the years I have helped clients in the same areas. Most of my clients are referred to me by investors or investor groups, who hire me to try and protect their money. They ask me to go into a business that is stuck or is having trouble scaling. I help those companies re-establish their vision, put together a step by step plan, and hold them accountable for execution.
“Scott inspires you to LAUNCH! And take your life to a whole new level!” – Les Brown, Best-Selling Author & Speaker
“Scott’s ability to connect with his audience is unparalled. His passion and genuine drive to help others grow is infectious.” – Nicole Hurd, Founder National College Advising Corps Brian-Tracy
“Modern day fundamentals for building a great business.” – Brian Tracy, Best-Selling Author, Speaker Gene-Landrum
“One of the most impactful speakers you will ever hear.”
– Gene Landrum, President & Creative Force, Chuck E. Cheese Kalika-Yap
“There are few people in this world that are as passionate about Entrepreneurship as Scott Duffy. His authenticity and enthusiasm resonated through the entire room.” – Kalika Yap, CEO & Founder of Citrus Studios, Inc.
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Launch!: The Critical 90 Days from Idea to Market WANT TO GET YOUR BIG IDEA TO MARKET? In 90 days, you can successfully launch a new business, product, or service by following the steps in this playbook.
Ninety-seven percent of a rocket’s fuel is used in the first three feet of its launch. The same is true when launching a new business. These first few steps are absolutely critical and help determine which ventures will take off and which will fail.
Scott Duffy has developed a practical approach for turning your big idea into a thriving venture by focusing on the crucial period of 90 days immediately before, during, and after starting your business. Based on his own experiences as a successful serial entrepreneur who has worked with Richard Branson and Tony Robbins—and true stories of other big names in business—Duffy has collected all of the lessons you need.
Duffy also emphasizes the personal side of entrepreneurship, including balancing finances, relationships, and your health. Successful business endeavors depend on preparation and execution of these two key sides—and Duffy provides real-life examples and practical guidance for both.
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