Expert Insight Founder Brandon Adams Talks Business
Coaching has been a norm in the poker industry for the past few years, largely because of the growth of the online poker-playing community. However, coaching in other industries including finance, publishing, and business has not been the norm. The term, “time is money” has been given a whole new meaning by the website Expert Insight which was founded by high stakes cash game player Brandon Adams, and the whole premise of the business is to offer up hourly coaching by experts in a variety of trades.
For $400 an hour, Jeff Miron, a senior lecturer on economics from Harvard will be at your service to inform you of the latest policy conflicts worldwide. Or, for an unpublished fee, you can discuss marketing secrets with Daymond John, CEO and founder of FUBU. As for poker, you can pick the brains of some of the most accomplished players in the world. Patrik Antonius charges $6,000 an hour, while Tom Dwan's price is a bit steeper at $6,500 an hour. The unique website is quickly gaining interest. PokerNews spoke with Adams about Expert Insight.
When and how did you come up with the idea for the site?
I came up with the idea for the site in April 2010. I was doing some one-to-one coaching myself, and it struck me that the way these calls were set-up was pretty primitive. I envisioned a web platform such that every aspect of an expert call - the scheduling of the call, the payment for the call, and the actual audio-video conference itself - could be handled on a single site.
The benefits to the expert would be assured payment, minimal back-and-forth time in scheduling calls, and privacy (no need to give out email/phone/Skype info, as everything is done within site).
Expert Insight is always looking for more "experts." What is the application and approval process like?
Many of our experts are actively recruited by the Expert Insight team. But it is possible for anyone to go to www.expertinsight.com and create an expert profile. Every couple of days, we look at the new expert profiles that have been created and we decide which ones we'd like to add to the site.
For someone who is an expert on your site, how is his or her price calculated?
The experts choose their own schedule and price. Most experts choose a price that is too high. I am always encouraging my experts to lower their price. I think everyone would be happier if all prices were halved. The users would find more value in the site, and the experts would do a lot more business.
If I were to book you for an hour, in general, what could I expect from our appointment?
I do a lot of calls. At first, about half the calls were related to poker and half were related to economics. Now I'd say 80 percent of my calls relate to economics or finance. The market for poker calls is largely dead.
I've taught economics and finance via Skype to a lot of top poker players like Tom Dwan, Brian Hastings, Ben Sulsky, Chris Sparks, and many others. The word has spread that I'm good at that, and that is a lot of my business now. Usually the first lesson is exploratory. We talk about a little of everything, and I gauge their area of interest. At the end of the first session and every subsequent session, I'll usually recommend a book that we'll use that book to frame our next conversation.
For those who have booked an appointment with an expert, what advice could you give them to get the most out of their experience?
An hour can go by quickly. It's a good idea to have a list of four or five items for discussion. The user should feel free to move the expert along to the next item when he's ready.
Is there anything else you want readers of this article to know about Expert Insight?
On the poker side, I'm shocked that we don't do more calls. I feel like we have the best poker coaches in the world, by far. It's stunning. Our site includes Tom Dwan, Patrik Antonius, Matt Hawrilenko, Ben Sulsky, Cole South, Brian Hastings. The most under-priced poker coach on our site, in terms of value provided, is probably Phil Newall, author of The Intelligent Poker Player. Patrik and Tom are overpriced, but users can shoot us an email through the site, and if we are not busy we will relay bids to Patrik or Tom that are lower than the ask price.
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