Start With A Win - Jon Marashi: How He Built a $1 Billion Company

Starting point is 00:00:00 And I think that is the number one detriment of all entrepreneurs and all people who, you know, have a dream or a vision. Perfection is the enemy of greatness. There's a point where you just have to do. And people wait until, oh, until this will be perfect or until I get to this or until I do that. You go out to California, back up the car, head out out. And you're like, where do we start? How do you start a business from scratch that way?

Starting point is 00:00:29 You've got a skill, but you have zero customers. Nobody knows who you are. What did you do? Welcome to Start With a Win, where we unpack leadership, personal growth and development, and how to build a better business. Let's go. How can you make it big in your space and still maintain the lifestyle you want? Talk about that and Start With a Win.

Starting point is 00:00:48 Coming to you from Area 15 Ventures and Start With Win headquarters, it's Adam Contos with Start with Win. Get ready to find out how to accomplish that. We've got the acclaimed Dr. John Marashi and, the house today. Based in the exclusive Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, Dr. Marashi isn't just any dentist. He's the expert that movie stars, musicians, CEOs, and influencers from all over the globe trust to craft their perfect smiles. With over two decades of experience and a reputation for absolute precision and remarkable natural-looking aesthetics, Dr. Marashi has truly

Starting point is 00:01:22 elevated the art of cosmetic dentistry in this very tight group of highly proclaimed people. Get ready to learn some winning insights from the man behind the world's most famous smiles and how he built this business and still rides his skateboard around Los Angeles. Dr. Marashi, welcome to start with a win. Hey, Adam, thanks for having me on this morning. I appreciate it. We've been talking offline here, and we have so much in common, you know, Star Wars fans and really kind of geeking out over that.

Starting point is 00:01:53 But also, we enjoy life and what we do. And I want to really get into that on this conversation, because you went from a relatively saturated space of, you know, just kind of dentistry, if you will, and then rose to dealing with this deep, deep niche in that, working with some of, and the top talent in the world, the top people in the world, I want to kind of peel back the onion and hear how you built the business that you've built. And you still go to work with a smile on your face, riding your skateboard and just enjoying life. So, Let's take us back to the early days.

Starting point is 00:02:30 Decided to go to dental school. Why did you do that? Yeah, I was the kid in junior high who was just obsessed with smiles. And the first girls that ever caught my eye, you're going to die laughing. They all had braces. And for me, I grew up in a lower middle class family. And braces was not on the plan for us. And I think so there was some, there was definitely some want and some jealousy.

Starting point is 00:02:58 with it because I didn't have the greatest teeth and I wanted to have a nice smile. And, you know, when I saw these girls with braces, I just knew it was work in progress and it was going to be something fascinating. And it was at that point between having this deep love and appreciation, you know, quasi-weird obsession with smiles and loving being a tinkerer. You know, I was a Lego kit and working with my hands and putting things together and taking things apart. It was very obvious to me at such a young age that dentistry was going to be in my future. What I'd say is that I didn't know anything about cosmetic dentistry. So I just knew that somehow, some way, you know, this is what I was put on the planet to do. So you went to dental

Starting point is 00:03:43 school first, I'm assuming. I mean, you have to start there. Is that correct? So, I mean, the traditional path is, you go to high school, you go to, you know, college for an undergraduate, then you go to dental school and then, you know, you have the option to do a residency or specialty training and then out into the real world. Okay. So when did you get into cosmetic dentistry or did you start cleaning teeth and things like that? Is that? So I got into cosmetic dentistry as a dental student. I went to NYU and at New York University just by sheer dumb luck. One of my professors is the guy who invented porcelain veneers. And he's the guy. He's the guy. who figured out how to get these things to stick to teeth, Dr. John Kalamia.

Starting point is 00:04:28 And I actually just flew back to NYU a few weeks ago to present him with his Lifetime Achievement Award because in that school, he developed the first cosmetic dentistry program for dental students. And I was student number one in that program. Wow. Well, I'll tell you, as a customer, tell them, thank you for me. And I mean, I've crashed my face a few times into things and have had. to have that repaired. So you get into cosmetic dentistry, which really seems to be one of those

Starting point is 00:05:02 higher level aspects of the industry. Isn't it hard to break in as a rookie in that? Yeah, it is especially now because everybody wants to do it. But at the time that I was getting into it, so we're talking 1997 now, it was just this, oh, it's this thing, but it wasn't mainstream and there was not a mainstream awareness of it. So it was just what I had grabbed. to. And by the time I was in there doing it, you know, I was, you know, from my generation of dentists, I was really sort of one of the first in, you know, trailblazing with it and getting, you know, getting my reps in, if you will, to become a proficient cosmetic dentist that early in my dental career, you know, as a student, as a resident, and as a young dentist,

Starting point is 00:05:50 I was already doing more of these procedures, getting my reps in, developing my skill, and building my reputation as someone who does these procedures. So there's some early adopter risk going on here. Huge. So how did you deal with that? Oh, you know, I was so laser focused. You know, I was the kid in demo school where, you know, after a test, if friends were out, you know, getting a beer, I was back in the lab late at night trying to build tea.

Starting point is 00:06:19 and I had this undying passion that I needed to get better. I just couldn't get enough of it. I'd find teeth models in the garbage can and find expired, you know, uh, dental materials and I'd give myself 20 minutes to do it. And that would help me with speed. And then I'd spend two hours doing one for accuracy because I knew if I wanted proficiency, I had to have this combo of speed and accuracy.

Starting point is 00:06:44 And they merge slowly over time. So it's funny, I had a dinner. with several of my classmates a couple years ago that I graduated with, and one of them actually brought that up. He's like, I always remember that you were doing this, and we all kind of laughed at you for it, and look where it took you. So when you mentioned the early adopter risk, I think anyone who does that, whether you know, you're a dentist getting in or you're starting into a new field or technology or business adventure, you have to have a passion and undying belief of what it is that you're doing and some thick skin and an ability to block out the background noise because

Starting point is 00:07:23 no one thinks you're genius until after you did all the hard work and it became, you know, and it's, and it's much harder to break in at that point because you're so far ahead. So you talk about the background noise. You know, we all start creating this self-doubt in these particular situations. Did you face some, some headwinds, some flak, some people criticizing what you're doing going, oh, that's not going to work. That's not going. Oh, absolutely. you know, starting from the time of dental school and in my residency and earlier in my career, because once again, when you're doing something that is not the norm, that's not professionally or socially acceptable or just, you know, embraced is maybe a good way to

Starting point is 00:08:06 say it. You know, then you, you know, it's interesting. I think where the naysay comes from is people think that, oh, that'll never work. Or if I can't do it or I'm not doing it, then there must be something wrong with it. Or if someone is doing something off, then there must be something wrong with it. It's an unfortunate part of human nature, and a lot of people do carry self-limitations and self-doubts, which is unfortunate because, you know,

Starting point is 00:08:33 our brains didn't come with a playbook of how to get past that stuff. So I just didn't care because what I was chasing after was so exciting to me. I knew that in order for me to get there, I'd take some bullets along the way. But also, it made me realize that you ever hear that saying about you become the average of the five people you hang out with the most? Yes. I realized that the folks who were throwing rocks at my glass house weren't the people that I needed to be hanging around.

Starting point is 00:09:06 I needed to find people who were doing what I was doing and people who were better than me and more successful than me. And that's how I have treated my entire professional career, but basically trying to be the dumbest guy in the room, because that's where the growth occurs. And, you know, when that happens, the saying about when the student is ready, the master will appear,

Starting point is 00:09:33 you'll be shocked how many people show up. And you don't need very many. You know, you only need like maybe two or three at best, even one really good one is enough to change your life. This is interesting. I've got a couple of questions from what you just talked about. First of one, I want to back up to this speed and accuracy balance that you worked on while you're in the lab, really building your craft.

Starting point is 00:10:00 How do we know when good enough is good enough to roll something out? Or are we just, are we lowering our standards or are we overdoing it and going for perfection that we never. You know, perfection is the enemy of greatness. You know, there's a point where you just have to do and people wait until, oh, until this will be perfect or until I get to this or until I do that. And I think that is the number one detriment of all entrepreneurs and all people who, you know, have a dream or a vision. You only learn by doing. At some point, you just got to jump in the pool and test the water. You can't just keep dipping your toe in and wondering if it's going to be warmer or not.

Starting point is 00:10:45 I, that's interesting. I had a coach of mine tell me, he was telling me to, you know, put out more videos. And I'm like, well, I want to make them right. I want to make them right. He goes, well, my crappy video is better than your missing video. Exactly. And I thought, oh, there's something to that. And you're really reinforcing that point.

Starting point is 00:11:02 So, so thank you for that. And then I love the Jim Rohn quote. One of those that I live by the, you know, you're the average of the, five people you spend the most time with. So, you know, my mentor has always said, choose wisely. How did you know which those, which people were the right ones that you should be spending the time with? To me, it was very obvious because I saw people who were doing what I wanted to do. And, you know, once I saw that person because there wasn't many, I'm like, that's who I need to talk to. This is who I need to get help from. And, you know, it was,

Starting point is 00:11:37 I think when you show up with a genuine. passion of what it is that they're doing and, you know, and genuine respect for, you know, the work that they put in to get to where they are. Most people really do gravitate towards that and are willing to give you their time. You know, in, in the dental school setting, I would say it's much easier because the people that are there are instructors, teachers, professors, that's their job. So they're delighted when someone comes up to you. In the professional world, it is harder for sure because people are busy. And when I was in dental school and I saw the first practicing dentist come in, who was the big fish of cosmetic dentistry in New York

Starting point is 00:12:24 City, first thing I did after that lecture is walk right up and I offered to clean the guy's toilets if I could just come in and be a fly on the wall. And I said, please, you know, can I just come on. I won't say anything. I'll stand in the back of the room. I just have to see how this works. And, you know, the guy gave me the opportunity. And I got to go in and watch and see how this practice work. It was mind-blowing. And at the end of the thing, it was like, okay, well, it's good meeting. You kids. It was great. When can I come back? And remember, you know, Charlie Sheen on Wall Street, and he just keeps going and going and going back. I mean, that was me until I finally got my foot in the door. So there's a lot of persistence that comes with it as well. You know, you can't be

Starting point is 00:13:03 afraid of a no answer because the no answer, I always thought of it, and I think this might have been a Tony Robbins thing too. You know, no just means no at that moment from that person, but it doesn't mean it can't turn to a yes later or get a yes from someone else. I love this desire, this hunger to learn and you're willing to do anything for it. That ask is incredible. And it seems like we don't see people willing to do that. They're just kind of standing on the sidelines going, gosh, I hope I get picked, instead of I'm going to stand up front and say, pick me. So this is, this is fascinating.

Starting point is 00:13:42 And I love your approach to this mentor type relationship. Talk to me about that. Coaches and mentors are critical. I mean, that is, you know, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's cuts to the front of the line is what it is. You know, having coaches and mentors where you can get immersion learning will accelerate your growth faster than anything else. I love that.

Starting point is 00:14:06 Obviously, we don't pay a mentor. We pay a coach. A coach is someone we pay to hold us accountable and give us feedback. But we don't pay a mentor. How do we make that a mentor want to help us? I think the best way to find a mentor to want to help you is to show them their genuine, the genuine passion that you have for what it is that they do. And there has to be a way for you to establish rapport with that person and build a personal

Starting point is 00:14:39 connection to where they're actually going to want to spend that time with you. And that's going to take some persistence and it may take some, you know, one might have to build their interpersonal communication skills to be able to, you know, to get hook that person in, if you will. I love that. So you've, you start perfecting your craft or working on your craft for that manner. and you're trying to break into business. Did you start by assisting somebody in business and then graduate to starting your own business?

Starting point is 00:15:09 Or did you go out and say- Exactly what I did. Okay. So one of the private practice dentist that became a mentor for me in dental school, that's the same gentleman that I convinced to hire me after I finished my residency program. So, you know, I started out standing around watching to being able to assist with the procedures to finally being able to do the procedures, you know, in conjunction. with them. And after spending almost a couple years in that practice, man, let me tell you,

Starting point is 00:15:37 I have gratitude beyond belief to have that opportunity. And, you know, I wasn't there for the money. I was there for the learning. And, you know, so after my time spent there, I said, you know what, it's time for me to do this on my own. And I was a kid who was always California dream in. So, you know, once I said, hey, you know, thanks. And it's time for me to go. You know, within 30 days, You know, my wife and I packed up and started a whole new life in Southern California. And that was actually 21 years ago. Wow. Okay.

Starting point is 00:16:09 Let's start from that point then. So you go out to California, you know, pack up the car, head out out. And you're like, where do we start? How do you start a business from scratch that way? You've got a skill, but you have zero customers. Nobody knows who you are. What did you do? Yeah.

Starting point is 00:16:28 So this is one of the gems for a lot of business owners. And I think it's not exclusive to dentistry in any capacity. So you're right. You know, if you, if you, you know, start a practice and, you know, get a loan and build it out and now you're open for business, unless you got warm bodies sitting in your chair, there's no revenue coming in and you got bills to pay. And so what I does, I look for a dentist who was retired. hiring. I said, you know what? There's already warm bodies in the chair. There's a history of business. There's recurring revenue coming in. There's people who go there because of the reputation of the practice. And that's not an uncommon approach to getting into business and

Starting point is 00:17:16 dentistry. And what I looked for was for someone who had been there for an exceptionally long time. I found a gentleman who'd been there for 30 years and he didn't do any cosmetic dentistry. I wanted someone who was just good for like crowns and billings where I could sit down with a population of patients that knew nothing about this and would be first timers because if the practice already did all the cosmetic dentistry, there's no veneers to do. So that was that was my gamble and it worked really well. But that was my first business. I stayed there for five years and it was in South Orange County in San Clemente, California, which is. There's a little sleepy surfer town, and it was a good run. And a few years in, I started getting the itch.

Starting point is 00:18:04 I'm like, okay, I've done well with this, but what next? And I decided that I wanted to move to Los Angeles and have more of a robust cosmetic dentistry practice and try to attract the high-profile patients. So basically what I did is I did the same formula. I found, my lawyer actually found this for me. A dentist who was looking to retire. And man, this place just looked like 1970. 72 on the inside. I mean, there was like, you know, blue carpet and green wallpaper. But I felt

Starting point is 00:18:35 it had the guts, meaning that, you know, guy had been there a long time, loyal patient base. And if you're practicing dentistry in Los Angeles, California, statistically, you have a high probability of attracting people from entertainment because it's the epicenter of it. You know, wasn't getting that down in San Clemente, California. So my friends thought I was nuts. They're like, you're going to leave this other practice. You already built it. You have a reputation. And, you know, what I believed was this. And I think this is true for anyone in business is that, look, if the worst thing that could happen in my life, I go to L.A., I sell my other business, and this thing just crashes in burns, okay? And I have to declare bankruptcy.

Starting point is 00:19:18 If the worst thing that happened in my life is now I got to move from La La Land to the Midwest, middle of nowhere, and work for someone else as a dentist. And maybe my family now, we live in a little studio apartment and I drive a used car. I'm still living better than 99% of the world. Because they can't take away what I know and what my hands can do, and I can always build back. And people think that risk and failure is a bad thing. and I think that's problematic because risk means, is it high risk? Is it low risk? Is it calculated risk? And failure is just a way of how we get our rep set. So, you know, I was willing

Starting point is 00:20:05 to bet on myself and what my abilities were. You know, maybe that's more than what a lot of folks want to do. But when you frame it like that in your mind, it became a very easy decision. Yeah, let's go for it. I love that. I mean, it's so inspiration. and the story makes so much sense. You actually take, when you're telling it, you take some of the fear out of doing this. I know doing is fearful in itself with these things, but just the way that you've described it,

Starting point is 00:20:35 you make it seem okay. It is okay. I mean, that's, this crazy story. Side note, friend mine in New York City calls me, he's a dentist. And he goes, you know what my real dream is? He was getting burned out. I said, what?

Starting point is 00:20:49 He goes, I want to practice dentistry in Aspen. and so I can ski all the time. And this is on a Friday. I said, well, what's stopping you? Monday he called. He said, he's moving to Aspen. Right on. And so sometimes it's just, you know, how do you process it in your head?

Starting point is 00:21:03 Yeah. As a skier in Colorado, I can really appreciate what he's saying. So that's awesome. You started getting into philanthropy. Tell me about that and, you know, why. You seem like you were busy. You were doing really well, but you wanted to give back. What drove that?

Starting point is 00:21:19 you know dentistry as a profession has been so incredibly good to me and i believe that as you have more levels of success in your life it is um it's a moral and ethical responsibility to help people it's just i think it's a it's uh it's it's how we should be as humans and in my life There's only two things that were ever important to me. I either wanted to be a dentist or a professional skateboarder. I started skateboarding when I was 12 years old and I still do to this day. I'm 51 years old and I'm very thankful that my body can still do things that a middle age guy isn't supposed to be able to do.

Starting point is 00:22:05 Skateboarding, which is also part of the reason why I moved to Southern California, it teaches you about perseverance. You know, you're trying this trick that you know you're not going to love. the majority of the time and you're probably going to get hurt. That's a life lesson to get up and do it again and do it over and over and over until you can get mastery with it. And I felt, hey, you know what? What if there was an opportunity to help kids, to help skateboarding grow?

Starting point is 00:22:36 And by being in Southern California, I had the opportunity to cross paths with Tony Hawk. And now I proudly serve on his board of directors with the skate park project, which is his foundation in which we help build skate parks in underserved communities and we do skate park programming and we help supply equipment to, you know, large concentrations where, you know, oftentimes in lower socioeconomic areas or where there's concentrations of at-risk youth to provide a safe place and allow people to enjoy skateboarding. I love it. I love it. Everybody, make sure you check out the skate park project from Tony Hawk, an incredible project serving a great deal of our communities around the U.S. So we really appreciate you participating in that. So many great things that Dr. John Marashi has done. Let me ask you this. What is one of your most favorite, proudest things that you've done in your business that, You just look at it and you go, wow, great job, self. Thank you for doing that. I really enjoy that. I think what I have been most proud of in my business, so coming from the business owner's side is that I was able to take my knowledge and skill set in dentistry.

Starting point is 00:24:03 And I got to this level now where, you know, I've been blessed. I'm Dr. Fancy Pants with all these people. And I start thinking about how could. I, well, what about everybody else? How could I help people that couldn't afford what I do or have access to care because how do you go to a dental appointment one in the afternoon? You need to take time, commute, spend money at the dentist and then commute back home. It's like half a day just to get your teeth clean. I mean, it's kind of insane if you think about it. So I was very fortunate that with two of my neighbors and friends, we built a direct

Starting point is 00:24:39 to consumer dental company that provided clear liners, you know, kind of like what Envisaline is. Yep. And this was actually during the pandemic where we thought things were going to crash and burn. And we built this company. It was bootstrapped and took a year to go from idea to launch two years in the marketplace. And we were acquired by a dental company that was the market leader in a $1 billion

Starting point is 00:25:06 cash deal. Wow. Amazing. Congratulations on that. I mean, that's, not only are you helping people, which, by the way, you know, a smile is one of the, the proudest things that people have, you know, their ability to display that, that happiness and share it with others. So that's incredible. So, Dr. John Marashi, make sure you check him out at Dr. Marashi. That's D-R-M-A-R-A-S-H-I.com online. He's on all. the socials. He's doing a great deal of wonderful things. It's a lot of great information all across his websites, as well as if you need some of that aesthetic dental work done. I mean, it's second to none. I mean, just ask the movie stars. You've seen a lot of the key people on the silver screen with Dr. Marashi's smile. So thank you for sharing that with all of us. Dr. Marashi, I have a question I ask all of the great leaders on Start with a Win, and that's how do you start your day with a win?

Starting point is 00:26:08 When I drive to work and I have a pretty short commute going to work, I have a mantra that I repeat literally from the second I get into my car to the second that I get out of my car. And it's a nine minute commute. So it's not that long. And it goes like this. I, John Marashi, see, hear, feel, and know that the purpose of my life is to be the smile maker, enjoy the gift of my family and give love and compassion to myself. others. And I repeat it over and over and over. And I'll say it with different intonations and different rates and different word emphasis until I just feel it in my core. And man, I'll tell you, it just puts a smile on my face. When I walk out of the car, I'm ready and I'm in the right

Starting point is 00:26:57 frame of mind to make good things happen for people. Wow. That felt good hearing it, John. So thank you for sharing that with us. Thanks for all you do. I mean, you're your incredible giver in the community. and also you're an incredible servant that's doing wonderful things for people, helping them share that smile as a smile maker. So thanks for what you do and thanks for being on Start with a Win. That's an honor and privilege to be with you this morning.

Start With A Win - Jon Marashi: How He Built a $1 Billion Company

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.