There are many vices but few things can match when you create a business that changes the world. Our guest today, Corey Holmes Co-Founder of Popup, knows that feeling and has literally been around the globe to chase that high. We caught up with him in Dubai to discuss Popup, a no-code platform designed to empower new e-commerce experiences as well as his addiction to entrepreneurship.
About Corey Holmes:
Corey Holmes is the Co-Founder of Popup. He started his path as an entrepreneur as a flipper on craigslist in his tweens and teenage years.
When he was 22 he dropped out of university a week before class began and launched an Auto and Marine Detailing business. Then he moved to Uganda to start a nutraceutical company and one of the fastest-growing fitness classes in the country at the age of 23. He learned to code, won an app development award, and placed first in a provincial app development competition.
With that experience, he and his wife started building e-commerce stores and joined Shopify together. After that, he started a successful content creation company, and a dropshipping company which turned into an 8-figure commerce portfolio company (Viceroy Group) comprised of several brands selling in over 100 countries.
In this episode we discuss:
(00:01:00) News roundup with John Ruffolo
(00:19:50) Corey Holmes’ early path to entrepreneurship
(00:20:35) The influence of his parents on him
(00:23:21) Advice for people who move a lot
(00:25:11) Why he dropped out of school — twice
(00:27:29) Deciding to start his first business
(00:29:52) How Corey’s fear of failure drives him
(00:31:41) His early days as a Craigslist flipper
(00:34:28) Corey’s time in Uganda
(00:38:40) Is it better to not know what you’re getting into as a founder or to have experience
(00:38:57) Lessons from working at Shopify
(00:45:51) His journey as a content creator
(00:51:41) Co-Founding the Viceroy group
(00:55:21) How Popup became his first Venture-Backed Startup
(00:57:28) What Popup is and the problem it solves
(01:01:21) The long-term vision around Popup
(01:02:21) Popup’s recent $3.5M pre-seed round led by Accel and investors like Seedcamp, Harry Stebbings 20VC, and a group of executives from Shopify, Hopin and others
Fast Favorites:
🎙- Favorite Podcast: The Game
📰- Favorite Newsletter /Blog: Morning Brew
📲- Favorite Tech Gadget: Apple products
📈- Favorite New Trend: Talking to ChatGPT
📚- Favorite Book: How to win friends and influence people
🤔 - Favorite Life Lesson: Define what you value and build your life around that
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Corey Holmes of Popup on Why Entrepreneurship is Such a Powerful Drug!