#35 - John Rondi (AKA "Johnny Drinks")

John Rondi is a TikTok Influencer, Technologist, Alcohol Connoisseur, & Tech Entrepreneur. He is known for his TikTok Page, “Johnny Drinks,” (@johnrondi) and his app, Stunited.

John and his dad are behind the JD TikTok account, where they make extravagant cocktails, answer questions from fans about different drinks/alcohol, and promote fellow brands in the space. They also have their own line of bourbon called “Burning Chair Bourbon –– The Johnny Drinks Edition.”

Back in 2017, John founded the Stunited app as a platform for college students to barter each other’s skills “under-the-table.” The app has had unprecedented active user growth over the past 6 months.

***TIMESTAMPS***

5:27 - Discussion on the conversational podcast style; The Clubhouse app; Talking on the phone in 2021

21:01 - The Stunited app; The concept of “cheating”

38:39 -  Collaboration as innovation & Challenging traditional norms; “Nothing is ever used for 100% good”

44:44 - The danger Stunited was in when Corona hit and how John pivoted; Foreign Data Servers & TikTok

56:46 - Selling “Happiness”; Staying present in life and balancing it with optimizing your time as an entrepreneur

1:07:21 - TikTok in early 2019; TikTok’s brilliant marketing strategy; Snapchat Spotlight; Revisiting Vine; Paying creators; How the For You Page (FYP) on TikTok works; The TikTok Creator Fund

1:23:50 - The Johnny Drinks TikTok Page (@johnrondi on TikTok); How John and his dad launched the page and the first video that went viral; their line of Burning Chair Bourbon; How the TikTok algorithm works

1:41:58 - The Airbnb story and its parallels with John’s story; How Stunited has exploded in the wake of fresh funding; “People are great at pretending to be busy”

1:52:32 - Being honest with yourself about your value; Entrepreneurs vs. Intrepreneurs; Talking Anthony Fenu (from TRENDIFIER #30) , Riley Horvath, Justin Baker and their company Soar; the problem with only spending time around “like-minded individuals”

2:09:33 - How the entrepreneur term is now a dirty word; Why John always saw himself as “different”; The danger of wins turning into losses; The highs and lows of building a company

2:16:59 - Elon Musk’s recent quote on founding a startup; How to know who to listen to and who to ignore; The difference between “this is going to happen” and “this is happening”

2:27:56 - A business does not live inside of everyone; John’s mentality of always thinking there’s an easier way; The lack of empathy in society; Revisiting the early days of Stunited and how “it wasn’t ready”; Arrogance vs. Expertise

2:45:15 - The two sides of the phrase “fake it til you make it”; Discussing the podcast style of TRENDIFIER and true conversations; Being a true connector; What a true conviction sale looks like