Michael Jaconi: Share Your Passion and Vulnerability

Michael Jaconi is the CEO of Button, with a long career including executive roles at Rakuten and a stint as a presidential campaign aide to John McCain. Authentic, meaningful relationships have been a throughline across his expansive career—and he offers a load of helpful tips on how to build them. Check out this episode for nuggets including the best jobs to get out of college, the three strongest paths to connecting with a VC, and how to avoid a major networking mistake the first time you meet someone.

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"I think that a lot of times people just let life go by with their usage of time, and the most finite thing we've got is time. So how you can spend it and who you value is really important." -Michael Jaconi

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Episode Timestamps:

*(01:37) - Sharing your passions and vulnerability

*(04:11) - How Micheal’s fishing passion lead Don Garber to join the board of the Billion Oyster Project

*(06:16) - Securing a connection with Mickey (Hiroshi Mikitani), Founder & CEO of Rakuten

*(11:03) - Why grit is paramount, and the best transferable skill

*(16:20) - How Mark Lore provided a valuable introduction for Michael

*(18:18) - Why working for presidential campaign or startup gives you opportunity to ascend ranks 

*(26:25) - Finding a more intimate way of staying connected 

*(35:41) - Why its important to listen, be curious, and understand the passions of people

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Sponsor:

Who Got Me Here is brought to you by Connect The Dots, mapping professional relationships so you can find the strongest connections to the people and companies you want to reach. Visit ctd.ai to learn more.

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Links

• Connect with Michael on LinkedIn
• Connect with Annie Riley
• Learn more about Button
• Learn more about Connect The Dots
• www.caspianstudios.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit whogotmehere.substack.com