Scott Kitun, a Chicago-based media investor and entrepreneur, co-founded personalized music marketplace Songfinch.
SongFinch allows anyone to collaborate with thousands of professional musicians to create unique songs.
Scott founded Technori before joining and co-founding a music marketplace Songfinch.
This popular media platform featured podcast interviews with founders of startups and investor newsletters that provide access to private market data online.
Scott was also an early investor on Republic.com, the nation’s premier equity crowdfunding platform.
What is the story of the Songfinch?
My co-founders, Rob Lindquist, Josh Kaplan, and John Williamson, built the most extensive B2B music catalog globally.
They paired musicians with commercial brands. While exiting the business, the original idea to use similar marketplace effects to bring music creation closer to the masses was born.
How do you stay productive?
Your primary responsibility as a founder is to raise capital and hire talent.
It’s a great privilege to work with inspiring companies that constantly change the industry.
Songfinch is a company that disrupts the way artists and creators make money from their music.
I spend most of my time with our executive team, helping to secure partnerships with brands and investors to accelerate our growth.
Technori is my company. I interview some of the most successful investors and founders globally and review investment opportunities for a large audience of retail investors. I am working to make investing more accessible.
How do you bring ideas to life?
Rapid deployment and rapid dismissal are two of my favorite things.
My idea is to write down a great idea and then whiteboard it quickly.
Then I push out a beta version or a concept for content such as podcasts or newsletters.
I’ll iterate several times based on the feedback to ensure it’s viable. If it doesn’t, I won’t mind killing it.
What’s your favorite trend?
The future is in using technology, such as blockchain, tokenization, web3, or whatever you call it, to monetize talent, assets, and time.
Cameo created an entire economy (1-1 vs. 1-to-many) to support celebrity types.
Web3 allows this for everyone. It is exciting to see the creator and the retail investor making a profit the same way the top 5% have done for years.
What habits make you productive?
Distractions can be eliminated both professionally and personally.
It allows me to make more decisions, making me more decisive and less tired.
You can have a family or multiple businesses if you are serious about maximizing your time and opinion.
This is a line that I discovered years ago (probably Steve Jobs’s). 70% of people spend their mental space on less than 10% of their output.
If that doesn’t make sense, I try to reverse that trend and only pay 10% of my mental space on things that 70% of people spend 70%.
What’s your advice for the Noob?
Don’t listen to anyone you wouldn’t trade places with.
Young founders often grasp straws and will gravitate to anyone who can help them get there quicker.
I discovered very early that advisor shares should not be given away.
What is one thing we can all agree on?
It is a great idea to have mentors. It’s not a bad thing to have mentors.
I’ve enjoyed relying on many experienced people throughout my career.
However, I believe that too much dependence on external voices can distract from your decision-making and cause you to make poor decisions.
What do you recommend as an entrepreneur?
Prioritize the thing that you are best at. The key to success is to focus on your strengths and spend more time doing what you love.
As you progress, you will learn new skills, and you may have to use other powers.
What’s your rich strategy?
The fastest route to revenue is the one you should follow.
There are exceptions to the rule. Sales are the cure-all.
You can generate revenue, even if it is not your core business or scalable.
This will allow you to buy time. In the case of the most successful startups, timing is everything.
How do you overcome Failure?
There were many misses. Technori is a standout. Technori is a great example.
We were always focused on events and podcasts, and as the WeWorks of this world began to pop up towards the end of 2017, anyone could host events.
And similarly, with tech, anyone who wanted to host a podcast could.
It was difficult to sustain, sponsorship became more complex, attendance fell, and the market saturated our best work.
Instead of competing, we created alternative revenue streams such as referrals and even selling technology as a service.
Although it was against my better judgment, I decided to continue making better margins and higher prices.
It almost cost us our reputation and business. After receiving enough feedback against investors’ wishes, I decided to pull the plug.
I listened to our audience and assessed our competitors.
This allowed me to see something I didn’t know: people constantly return to what they love and need.
We may take some hits as everyone flocks towards the newcomers in the short term, but if your skills are as strong as you think they are, then there is nothing to worry about.
Focus on what you love, and you will win, regardless of who is in the field.
I went back to the drawing boards and retooled our content offering.
Now, we are focusing on niche digital offerings that require less overhead but can be shared more easily.
It worked perfectly with the help of a global pandemic. Events disappeared, and people had more time for their interests.
By creating niche digital experiences, we could 10x our audience base and become something they would pay again.
Can you share a business idea?
Sports trading cards are exciting to me. It’s nostalgic, fun, and very profitable.
Despite the rise of excellent companies such as OnlyAlt.com or Rally, it’s still very low-tech.
There are many frauds, and the authenticators and grading companies are slow, costly, and inconsistent.
I would love to see tech companies automate and digitally grade value, and list cards, so everyone was operating on an equal playing field.
This business would be a key component to the fast-growing market of near $50 billion.
What’s your recent best buy?
Speaking of cards, two years ago, I spent $100 on a Bo Jackson rookie card — it was random.
Since I was 12 years old, I hadn’t purchased a card. However, I did buy a card, and I don’t know why.
It was fun. The card’s value soared, and the market for cards was exploding.
And I was right there in the middle of it all. Soon, I was back in the card community, also known socially as The Hobby.
It has been the most enjoyable experience I have ever had in I don’t know how many years.
It has dramatically impacted my other businesses, as I have met tons of intelligent and attractive collectors.
Even though I bought that fateful item, I think I was still a little lost.
Now I’m found, and I have a renewed passion and purpose for what I do.
What are your favorite Softwares or Apps?
Hey.com is an excellent email service from Basecamp. It has been incredibly helpful in managing my inbox, eliminating spam, and it also comes with a lot more secure and collaborative tools.
Which book would you recommend?
I love autobiographies. It gives me perspective and even inspires me to read autobiographies about successful people.
There are many, but I believe that Total Remember is the best way to remember Arnold Schwarzenegger’s incredible life story.
What’s your favorite quote?
World Wide Wes taught me this in Milwaukee as a child. The point was that nothing good happens after midnight.
It applies to everything in life, so don’t chase. If you don’t achieve what you set out to do, shut down your business and start looking for another opportunity.
When we chase too many opportunities, we make unwise concessions.
TL;DR; Scott Kitun could offer to Enterprenuer readers?
You should be patient and don’t chase success, let the business, startup, or company nurture by the time. Your job is to cultivate.
Instead, you shall concentrate on the things you love with your business and keep taking feedback.
Never lose sight of your potential and let anyone ruin your confidence in any circumstance. Limit your distractions.
Remember to keep something for yourself when an emergency strike.
You never know “why” and “what.”