159: The $100 Million Dollar Blueprint w/ Mike Danner of Ancient Nutrition

Mike Danner is the VP of Digital Marketing for Ancient Nutrition (formerly Dr. Axe) the largest natural health website in the world with over 20M visits a month.

Last year, they landed at #35 on the Inc. 500 Fastest Growing Companies in America list and was the #1 fastest growing company in Tennessee in both 2016 and 2017. To top things off, in March of this year they received a $103M investment for a minority share of their business. To say they are “scaling quickly” is an understatement.

I had the pleasure of getting to know Mike last year when I hosted a Private Intensive Workshopat their headquarters in Tennessee. He is razor sharp and very practical, which is on full display during this interview. He’s become an expert on hiring (out of necessity), and shares the inner workings on how they’ve managed to keep the business powering through unprecedented growth.

This is an interview I’ve wanted to bring you for a long time. Enjoy!

Episode Highlights

• 7:12  How scaling your business will lead to your role in the business changing over time.
• 11:36 Why Dr. Axe was able to scale so quickly and overcome their failures quickly.
• 17:20 Here are the tactics that Mike is thinking of as he looks to 2019 and beyond.
•  21:10 The two reasons why you should be connecting/staying connected with thought leaders.
• 26:28 The one quote (of many) that Mike uses as a guide for success.
• 27:49 Mike's process for hiring incredible talent in places you'd least expect to find it.
• 30:37 The two hacks Mike uses (and you can too) to hire incredible talent.
• 37:46 The one question you should asking people in your network to find the right talent for your job opening.
• 45:40 The one thing you can do now to see results by the end of the week. 

Links and Resources

• Ancient Nutrition
• Dr. Axe
• Drive (book) By Daniel Pink
• Drive (Ted Talk) By Daniel Pink
• Brand Growth Experts
• Foxwell Digital

Become a Member

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If you want to make sure you’re growing as quickly and sustainably as possible, click here to learn more. Hope to see you on the inside!