Dave Shultz, founder and visionary of NextLinks, left his 20-year corporate career with General Electric to pursue a new more purposeful life journey. States Dave: "We are going to bring golf to life in ways for all to enjoy it on their own terms...in a social, beautiful, unintimidating, and interactive way."
An accomplished product development engineer and global operations leader, Dave changed his trajectory with a sudden awareness that he had the hunger and capability to create a new global economy from his idea.
A.G.E (Alternative Golf Experiences) are setting a new standard for how people will engage with golf. These solutions will socialize the golf experience in ways previously not considered, breaking down traditional barriers to entry.
Technology will play a significant role in the success of new and innovative golf endeavors, and NextLinks (www.nextlinks.com) was formed to develop software and hardware solutions required to deliver success, both indoors and outdoors.
This YouTube video is a good place to learn more about NextLinks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYVqLw8BdL4
On his episode Dave and Colin talk about:
• finding "Product Market Fit" by listening to your customers to reveal where you can add real value.
• "Pivoting" your business offering as you travel along your startup journey. Dave made the difficult but informed decision regarding which products to build and which ones to abandon, as he discusses the shift from building the entire entertainment experience with REALiTEE http://realiteegolf.com/ to focusing on the technology platform with NextLinks.
• Finding an idea that's so core to you that gives you that sense of purpose. They talk about Simon Sinek's famous TED Talk "Start With Why" and how is has influenced them both professionally and personally. If you haven't seen this YouTube video, we highly recommend it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4ZoJKF_VuA
• Dave refers to how the book "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill has shaped his approach to business. Here's a link to a PDF version of the book: https://archive.org/details/ThinkAndGrowRichPDF
• The concepts of "Lean Startup Methodologies" and creating a "Minimum Viable Product" or MVP are discussed as they apply to NextLinks as a way to build better products and services. To learn more, check out https://leanstartup.co/