#191: How Army/Navy Pranks Sharpen Business Strategies with Mike Nemeth, USMA ‘04

<p style="text-align: center;"><em><span style= "font-weight: 400;">“Abandon the fantasy of, hey, I’m going to get to this level and have everything figured out. That’s a dangerous mindset to have because you should always be trying to get better and learn more and keep pushing yourself...don’t have the grass is greener mentality. The comparison game will kill you. It’s always a grind and I have utmost patience and respect for anybody putting themselves out there and trying to build something. It’s not easy and it takes support and it takes a whole team of people (peers, team members, family).”</span></em></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">- Mike Nemeth (USMA ‘04) </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mike Nemeth (USMA ’04) is an SABM podcast regular, best known across the Service Academy community for his hilarious pranks that capture the spirit of the Army/Navy rivalry.  We’re excited to talk with him again this year during Army/Navy week. In addition to his role as the community prankster, Mike is also a very successful entrepreneur who has built Emblem Athletic, a very successful apparel business from the ground up.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In this episode, we discuss:</span></p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">How Mike made it onto the INC 5000 list in 2021</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">What led to Emblem Athletic’s 1400% growth rate</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Why it’s important to define your sales cycle</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Mike’s latest Army/Navy pranks </span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mike also shares how Emblem Athletic’s data-driven decision to focus on military fire and police helped him expand the business and survive the pandemic. We loved hearing about his first job out of the military as a door-to-door insurance salesman in New York City