An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

Always think with the end in mind. I think this one is pretty self-explanatory.

As a part of our series called “Making Something From Nothing”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jerry Deluca.

Deluca respects the details; he makes a finite plan and executes it with tenacity, patience and, moreover, by surrounding himself with skilled people to help bring it to life. With the support and input of many people and a personal investment of time and energy, Deluca is able to produce this idea as a television show. He’s more than just an idea guy, though — he has made this concept tangible and testable.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you.

I was raised in the Greater Toronto Area and have a European background. As a young boy, I was influenced by my friends and family; I developed a passion for motorsports, with a particular interest in motorcycles. I’ve enjoyed buying, restoring or modifying, and selling several. My other interests include music, photography, and later, video editing. Later in life, I realized I wanted to create something that was an interesting blend of my interests and passions.

Can you tell us a bit about your “childhood backstory”?

I was born and raised in Toronto and, to be completely honest, has a perfect childhood. I am very lucky. Dad and Mom always encouraged my imagination and dreams.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

Dream Big. Then make it realistic! Be resourceful. My passion project has gone through many iterations. Think Tanks with peers, testing through the development of pilots…adjusting the process until it was a polished presentation.

Is there a particular book, podcast, or film that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?

As for films, Pulp Fiction or any body of work from Quinton Tarantino tops my list. The genius of storytelling, the brilliant direction and production. He sees the end game. As for other content, in ‘Soft White Underbelly,’ Mark Laita brilliantly produces video content with everyday people talking about their extraordinary challenges. In my work, I strive for that same level of excellence.

Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. There is no shortage of good ideas out there. Many people have good ideas all the time. But people seem to struggle in taking a good idea and translating it into an actual business. Can you share a few ideas from your experience about how to overcome this challenge?

Test pilot or prototype it. Earlier, I spoke about building a prototype that you must present to the market. Whatever it is you do, it must deliver value to your end user, your customers.

Often when people think of a new idea, they dismiss it saying someone else must have thought of it before. How would you recommend that someone go about researching whether or not their idea has already been created?

With all the available soft tools available, exhaust your efforts to learn what is out there, anywhere in the world. Network with people in the know. Go legal and trademark your brand; law firms have unique ways of learning about the markets you’re selling to.

For the benefit of our readers, can you outline the steps one has to go through, from when they think of the idea, until it finally lands in a consumer’s hands? In particular, we’d love to hear about how to file a patent, how to source a good team to help distribute it.

In terms of your idea: write it down, draw it out. Make a plan, draw it out. Prototype. Test it. Constantly refine your prototype. Don’t present your idea to the consumer until it’s absolutely ready to be shared — you’ll know when that is. Finalize your prototype. Get a lawyer in your industry. Then, finally, deliver it to your consumer.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Started Leading My Company” and why?

1. Associates’ and partners’ characters. Work with attitudes first, as skills can be learned. Work with the best.
2. Your timeliness of success is highly dependent on your Network of Characters. You must build a network of people that need and want your value.
3. Face-to-face, belly-to-belly. Meet people and listen to their stories.
4. Remember that developing big ideas is a shared process. Your original idea is not polished; it must go through evolutions of development.
5. Always think with the end in mind. I think this one is pretty self-explanatory.

Let’s imagine that a reader reading this interview has an idea for a product that they would like to invent. What are the first few steps that you would recommend that they take?

Do you have the resources to produce a prototype? Be resourceful! Make a prototype and test the idea.

There are many invention development consultants. Would you recommend that a person with a new idea hire such a consultant, or should they try to strike out on their own?

Consultants are very important! Find leaders and peers that you respect. Listen to their experience. Test your idea.

What are your thoughts about bootstrapping vs looking for venture capital? What is the best way to decide if you should do either one?

If your idea does have value, you’ve done your prototyping and testing, and you think you’re ready to go to market…use other people’s money!

Ok. We are nearly done. Here are our final questions. How have you used your success to make the world a better place?

I provide fascinating people’s stories through exciting and entertaining videos. I help deliver stories of a world that so few people get to experience first-hand.

You are an inspiration to a great many people. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

Learn how to ride a motorcycle and enjoy motorcycle riding.

We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.

Keanu Reeves would be my pick, for sure. He is a modest and humble person who loves riding, racing, and building motorcycles. That’s all the stuff that I love, too! I’d love to have lunch with him, for sure.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.

This interview served me well, as it challenged me to think profoundly about what it is that I do. Learning about oneself is something no one should shy away from!

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Making Something From Nothing: Jerry Deluca Of Motorcycle Wars On How To Go From Idea To Launch was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.