[00:01] Justin McCullough – What do you do when it's your turn to lead? Well, that's a great question. The Vision, Values and Velocity podcast is all about a better way of thinking.
[00:09] Justin McCullough – And how to get you where you.
[00:10] Justin McCullough – Are now to where you want to be as quickly, confdently and intentionally as possible so you can make an impact at work, home and life. Hey.
[00:21] Justin McCullough – What a day.
[00:22] Justin McCullough – This is Justin McCullough and this is my show. Thanks for being here. My goal is to give you the encouragement, clarity and confdence you need to tackle whatever your next big thing is, whether that's leading a team, running a business, starting a big new project.
[00:35] Justin McCullough – I'm certain stories like these are going.
[00:37] Justin McCullough – To help you along the way. And what I'd love for us to do today is take a look at the leadership traits of Cory McDermott. He's a professional speaker, emcee at trade shows and conferences, and founder of the Level Up Institute. So take a listen and I'll see you on the other side of this interview.
[00:55] Justin McCullough – Hey, so this is Justin McCullough with Small Business Festival, and I've got Koy here. Koy, how are you? Tell us a little bit about who you are and what your business is.
[01:03] Koy McDermott – I am doing absolutely great and I've got the pleasure of actually sitting down with you, Justin. So a little bit about me. I am a frst generation American. My entire family's from Jamaica and I love speaking and I have a professional speaking business. But today I'd really love for us to focus in on something that we're doing for the community. And as I said, being a frst generation American, I'm also a frst generation college student. We saw that there was a need in the market for frst generation college students to learn the skills that they needed so that they could become employable. Because the college market here in the United States is roughly about 20 million 500. But Justin, I did not graduate with a math degree. So we'll use 20 million as a nice round number. Half of that 20 million.
[01:50] Koy McDermott – So 10 million are frst generation college students and only 11% of them are graduating with a degree. And that's over six years, not the traditional four. So we're really focusing in on the 89% or the 8.9% million that are in limbo. And we're teaching them the skills that they need to become irresistible to future employers.

[02:09] Justin McCullough – Well, this is great. So you didn't mention what the organization name is, but it sounds like you're cultivating an early relationship with a future workforce and you're empowering them to be awesome in the future. Is that right?
[02:20] Koy McDermott – That is correct. We are empowering them to be awesome. We are empowering them to immediately create value for the companies and organizations that they are going to be working for. And we're also empowering them to really begin to take ownership of their life, their destiny, and be able to adequately move forward.
[02:39] Justin McCullough – That's amazing. So a lot of the folks here are seeing you emcee from the stage, right. And you're keeping us all in check. And you're telling me now, I didn't know this. I mean, it just. It sounds wonderful. So you're seeing, obviously you're successful as a speaker. It's what you love. Your passion comes through. We totally see that. And now I'm seeing this new side about this passion with your business. This Level Up.
[02:58] Koy McDermott – Yes. Yeah, it's the Level Up Institute.
[03:00] Justin McCullough – There you go.
[03:01] Koy McDermott – Yeah. So the way that I like to think about it is right now we're starting to see that degrees are starting to almost devalue. Right. Because millennials are highly educated. And because they're highly educated, so many individuals are coming out into the workforce with degrees. So it really now depends on where you go. It also depends on the type of degree that you might have. So with that, continued education is something that is so vitally important. And with the Level Up Institute, we are really focusing in on helping frst generation college students level up in every area of their life.
[03:34] Justin McCullough – This is great. So, you know, we've got now an explanation about your business and who you're serv. It's clear you're doing it with a lens of a customer frst perspective. You understand this audience. You have the metrics. You say 10 million of them the frst time. So clearly you know who you're serving and how you're serving them. Tell us a little bit about some of the challenges of getting this business going. Like, it's clearly a business, right?
[03:54] Koy McDermott – Yes, yes.
[03:55] Justin McCullough – So can you tell me more like you had the idea, you saw the opportunity, you know, the audience, what next? I mean, how did you do it?
[04:01] Koy McDermott – Yeah. So what's really next is actually building partnerships, right? Because one of the things that is at the core of small business and just really success in general is actually building partnerships, right? Relationships, equal resources. And the stronger the relationships that you can build, the more resources you have at your disposal. So building partnerships was actually what was next for us. And working with colleges and universities, their continuing education arm, so these students could actually end with the certifcation. So when they go in front of these particular employers, they now have A piece of paper that they can say, hey, listen, I have dedicated some time here. You can see that I actually start something and I follow through. I now have the skill set that I need to become employable. And I love the fact that we can do that through partnerships.
[04:48] Justin McCullough – That's great. So, you know, I've got some folks on the other end right now that I know are thinking, I know partnerships would be great for my business. I know that's what I need. But, I mean, I'm not a dynamic speaker like you are. You know, I don't have the network.

[05:01] Justin McCullough – Right.
[05:02] Justin McCullough – So, you know, let's walk them through that. What's some knowledge you can really drop on them that will help them understand, how do you. How do you form a partnership? How do you create interest? Where they see it's I guess, a win opportunity.
[05:12] Justin McCullough – Right.
[05:13] Justin McCullough – Like, can you walk me through that? So some of these guys who are asking that question of partnerships could be good for me, but I don't even know what to do next.
[05:18] Koy McDermott – Yeah, yeah. So frst and foremost, Justin, you don't have to be a great speaker to be absolutely frank with you. And this is kind of me diving a little deep. I wasn't always a great speaker. When I was younger, I actually had a debilitating stutter to the point of where I couldn't even articulate my thoughts. I remember a time when I was in the fourth grade and I had some friends of the family actually taking me to a socce. My mom, single mother, I've got an older sister, 12 months, three days apart. And my mom is now working so many jobs to, of course, keep food on the table. And I had a friend of the family take me to a soccer game. And I remember we won that game. And he took us out to Cici's Pizza, which is a large chain.
[06:00] Koy McDermott – And back then they had games and arcades and stuff like that. And he took me with the family there to celebrate the win. In the entire ride home, all I wanted to do was say thank you. And I couldn't say it right. Like, I was counting in my head, you know, 1, 2, 3, and nothing would come out. And I remember getting out of that car and crying. And it didn't happen until the seventh grade when I was nominated by my English teacher, who happened to be the wife of the pastor of the church that went to, and she nominated me to give the Martin Luther King Jr. I have a Dream speech in front of the entire seventh grade class.
[06:35] Koy McDermott – And I stuttered and I stammered and I Struggled my way through, but I realized that I was able to overcome that and accomplish something. And from then on, I then began to say, hey, you know what? You can do this. So when it comes to the actual partnerships themselves, you don't have to be a great speaker. But just as you were saying a bit earlier, you do need to make sure that you're focusing in on something that's going to beneft the partner. Right. What's. What's in it for them? Right. How can what you're doing also help them in their business? And I think the moment that you begin to kind of take yourself out of it and you put them in it is the moment that you now have an opportunity to be able to blossom and grow because you're focusing in on them.
[07:20] Justin McCullough – So, you know, from the stage, we talked a little bit about emotional intelligence and some empathy, and that sounds exactly like the application of that, right?
[07:26] Koy McDermott – Defnitely.
[07:26] Justin McCullough – What happens whenever small business owners are so used to thinking about the thing they're building. Right. How do they get in the other person's point of view so they can have empathy if they're not used to doing that? That's a little bit of a skill, right?
[07:38] Koy McDermott – Yes.
[07:38] Justin McCullough – How can I start thinking through the other person's point of view and how to do that?
[07:43] Koy McDermott – Sure. Well, one of the things that I had to learn is that you can't fall in love with the product. You have to fall in love with the problem. Right. Because it's really the problem that you're solving that is going to make all of the difference. You've got so many individuals who kind of live by this thought process of, oh, if I build it, they will come. But I'm here to tell frsthand, they don't just come. I mean, I remember the moment I left Apple. I had an opportunity to put something together, and I was like, oh, cool, now I've got a business. I went down to the Secretary of State, I paid my fling fee, and I've got a business on fle. They're going to come, and that's not how it happened.
[08:19] Koy McDermott – I rifed through a 401k, I rifed through portfolios of stock options, and that's not how it happened. And I don't want other individuals who want to start businesses to have to do that. So don't just fall in love with your product. Fall in love with the problem. And the moment you fall in love with the problem, now you have an opportunity to be able to ask insightful questions, to build a product that individuals.

[08:43] Justin McCullough – Want this is great. So when we're talking about where a person goes on this journey to fall in love with the problem, they start to tease out how they can actually solve that problem and be a beneft to the customers. This is really where you're going, right?
[08:57] Koy McDermott – Yes.
[08:57] Justin McCullough – Then tell me just a little bit about. As we sort of close out this, it sounds like you've brought something very big to life, a very big vision. You know exactly what you want to do. No doubt. There are a lot of folks with a very big vision who have probably already gone through the 401, who've probably already gone through the stock, and they're really saying, like, I know this is perfect, but there's a gap between idea and execution on that vision. Do you have any last things you might share through how you achieved that, how you went from idea to execution that could help these folks?
[09:26] Koy McDermott – Yes. Don't be afraid to pivot. That is something that I had to certainly learn. Right. There's a lot of times where we're birthing a business and we have this vision and we have this dream, and it's almost like birthing a baby. Right. No disrespect to any mothers out there, you know, mom, hi, I love you, but you've got this baby and you're holding onto that baby, and sometimes you need to go and ask questions about that baby and fnd out that your baby is a little bit ugly and fgure out ways that you can kind of fx things up so that it is going to work for the market. Right. Because when it's all said and done, individuals tell you that you have the right product with your wallet. Right. They tell you that with their wallet.
[10:08] Koy McDermott – And if they're not paying for it, then the product isn't right for them. And a lot of times we fnd individuals who want to solve a pain, but that pain really isn't something that people are willing to. To pay to get fxed. So make sure that you're asking questions and make sure that you're getting yourself around mentors and coaches who can actually take a look at your business, the problem that you're solving, and the pain that is actually there in the market.
[10:31] Justin McCullough – That's great. So in a real quick, quick manner, tell us how you did that pivot. Because everything you just explained was a touch point to something you experienced directly.
[10:39] Koy McDermott – Yes.
[10:39] Justin McCullough – Tell us about that pivot and we'll go ahead and close out.
[10:41] Koy McDermott – Sure. So the pivot. We actually started the. When we originally started the Level Up Institute, were focusing on the same demographic Right. First gener college students and me and my co founder, we're both frst generation college students. So again, we have the understanding about the sensitivity there and some of the myriad of issues that could be going on and happening for these particular students. And as were going through, we originally were focusing in on just entrepreneurship and teaching self reliance. Right. And leadership and self efcacy and you know, do things where you are now in control of your. Of your life. Right. And starting a business.
[11:19] Koy McDermott – But we found that through more research and actually going through and putting this product out and vetting it, that frst generation college students needed more of a Runway because were teaching them how to build the plane, so to speak. Right. With entrepreneurship. But they didn't have a great Runway to take off. So now with the Level Up Institute, we've pivoted to focus in on building the Runway for these frst generation college students, getting them into great careers where they have 401ks, they have health benefts, they now have education reimbursement so that they can go back and get their degree. And then from there, we're still teaching them through the tools of entrepreneurship. So when they're ready and their Runway is paved, they have the ability to build that plane and take off a whole lot smoother than they would have before.
[12:11] Justin McCullough – That's great. Thanks a ton, Koy. So you know what I heard right? There was same vision, same core understanding, same value. Right. But you had to start seeing what the market was responding to and what was really empowering them the best. And you made some shifts inside that. And the result of that, no doubt, was a little bit of change, struggle, challenge. But on the other side, things started clicking, right?
[12:32] Koy McDermott – Started clicking.
[12:33] Justin McCullough – That's great. Well, thanks a ton for sharing with us. This is Justin McCullough and this is the Small Business Festival. Where can we learn more about you and the Level Up Institute?

[12:42] Koy McDermott – Sure. So you can go to levelupinst.com and I'll spell that for you. That's. That's L E V e L U P I-N-S-T.com thank you.
[13:01] Justin McCullough – Wow, what a great interview there with Koy. Can you believe as a young person, he had a debilitating stutter? That's just such an amazing thing to hear him talk today and to see his performance on the stage as a speaker and as an emcee and to realize that part of how he grew up and what his experience was like was challenging. And I'm sure in many ways we've all had our tough and challenging experiences. But it sure was inspiring and encouraging to hear Koy talk about his. And you know, one of the things that really sticks out to me in this particular interview is around the idea of vision and really being completely interested in targeting to a very specifc group of people that, you know, you want to help, that you identify with, that are like you, that, you know, are challenged.
[13:47] Justin McCullough – And you know, you can see his empathy and his desire to lift others up.
[13:52] Justin McCullough – And you know, the little bit of.
[13:53] Justin McCullough – Discussion we had around Pivot really, I think just shows the challenge of sometimes when we have a vision in mind, the way in fact that it comes forward isn't always really clear. But perhaps the easiest part to understand is the North Star and who you're helping. And I think Koy does a great job in his story to tell us what that can look like and how to be useful and targeted through that process. And of course, you know, he didn't talk much about it, but he did say it was really important to have people around him who understood him and where he was trying to go and what he's trying to do and to have mentors. And I think that's an important part of the process of bringing your vision to life, is to have a community around you relationally that can help you.
[14:34] Justin McCullough – And of course the idea that building partnerships is a big part of resources. I think his exact words were relationships, equal resources. And that's something really powerful and that's certainly necessary when you're talking about bringing together the resources to follow through with your vision. So I really enjoyed today's show and I hope you did too. I want to remind you that this show is really about vision, values and velocity. The idea that we could have a single minded idea with our vision and it could be attainable, compelling and sustainable and that we could use our values as guardrails to drive us in the direction we want to go with velocity.
[15:12] Justin McCullough – So thanks a ton to Koy for his time with me on the interview and to Matthew Pollard, who created the Small Business Festival and let me use this audio and of course our good friend Brakemaster Cylinder for theme music of this podcast. I enjoyed it. I hope you did too. And I will see you in the next one. Bye.
[15:31] Justin McCullough – Oh hey, I almost forgot.
[15:33] Justin McCullough – If you are interested in more of this, go to visionvaluesvelocity.com of course you can connect with me on Twitter ccjustin and go to my website, justin mccullough.com.