CREATIVE INNOVATORS PODCAST

 

Ask the Right Questions with Isaac Saldana, CEO, Memo

Season 3 · Episode 2

Oct. 16, 2023

Isaac Saldana leans on two core values: asking the right questions and humility. Along with a good friend, he launched several companies. And several failed — until he launched SendGrid in 2009. After learning to hire up with strong CEOs, the company went public in 2018. Since then, he has gotten an Executive MBA, launched Joy Labs, and now is a few years into Memo, which launches with its first 200 users soon. He shares his stories of discovery of his passion through a nudge from his high school guidance counselor and all that he has learned along the way.

Guest: Isaac Saldana, CEO, Memo

Isaac Saldana is an impressive entrepreneur who co-founded SendGrid—a venture acquired for $3 billion in 2018. He is passionate about discussing some unique challenges he had to overcome in order to find success as an entrepreneur, and his advice for others who are dealing with the same issues. Born in the U.S. but raised in Mexico from a young age, Isaac possessed all the traits that could have made him a natural leader – intelligent, decisive, creative – but he struggled with shyness, introversion, and the complexities of self-promotion, which made building a personal brand an uphill battle. Isaac’s immigrant background also meant that he had to confront these challenges without a safety net. This led him to experience firsthand the common struggles faced by countless entrepreneurs and creatives: not knowing how to effectively showcase their talents, lacking the time and resources to navigate the intricacies of personal branding, and feeling that their natural personalities may not fit the mold of traditional influencers. Despite these challenges, Isaac excelled academically and was able to find success, but his story sheds light on an intriguing aspect of entrepreneurship—the current methods of personal branding don’t work for everyone, resulting in exceptional individuals like him remaining relatively unknown, even to this day. Now he’s determined to address this issue with his next venture and find a way to level the playing field for those facing similar struggles. By tackling the barriers of knowledge, time, resources, and natural charisma that often hinder self-promotion, his goal is to help entrepreneurs and creatives who truly deserve recognition navigate the obstacles of personal branding and empower them to leverage their unique talents and expertise.

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Photo Credit: Juan Carlos Ariano

About Creative Innovators Podcast

In the Creative Innovators podcast, innovators and creators share stories of how they create and reimagine.

In each episode, host and change agent Gigi Johnson interviews a different changemaker from a wide range of industries, including creative industries, software, education, sciences, and social innovation. The guests share their stories of how they became passionate about innovation and how they have transformed their businesses and communities.

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Guest

Isaac Saldana
Memo

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Bio

Guest: Isaac Saldana, CEO, Memo

Isaac Saldana is an impressive entrepreneur who co-founded SendGrid—a venture acquired for $3 billion in 2018. He is passionate about discussing some unique challenges he had to overcome in order to find success as an entrepreneur, and his advice for others who are dealing with the same issues. Born in the U.S. but raised in Mexico from a young age, Isaac possessed all the traits that could have made him a natural leader – intelligent, decisive, creative – but he struggled with shyness, introversion, and the complexities of self-promotion, which made building a personal brand an uphill battle. Isaac’s immigrant background also meant that he had to confront these challenges without a safety net. This led him to experience firsthand the common struggles faced by countless entrepreneurs and creatives: not knowing how to effectively showcase their talents, lacking the time and resources to navigate the intricacies of personal branding, and feeling that their natural personalities may not fit the mold of traditional influencers. Despite these challenges, Isaac excelled academically and was able to find success, but his story sheds light on an intriguing aspect of entrepreneurship—the current methods of personal branding don’t work for everyone, resulting in exceptional individuals like him remaining relatively unknown, even to this day. Now he’s determined to address this issue with his next venture and find a way to level the playing field for those facing similar struggles. By tackling the barriers of knowledge, time, resources, and natural charisma that often hinder self-promotion, his goal is to help entrepreneurs and creatives who truly deserve recognition navigate the obstacles of personal branding and empower them to leverage their unique talents and expertise.

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Transcript