Will Pearson

He's the co-founder of mental_floss, the quirky magazine that teaches you everything you should have learned in school but didn't, and wunderkind behind the fast-growing mental_floss brand that now includes a series of books, a trivia board game and popular Web site.

Whether your audience is corporate executives, small business owners or MBA students, they're sure to profit from Will's reality-tested insights on achieving business success.  Unlike many consultants or academics who have never met a payroll or actually managed a  business in their lives, Will draws on the real-world lessons that he's learned over the past five years as he built his rapidly-growing media company:  Mental Floss LLC.      

In addition to the magazine, Mental Floss has created a series of best-selling books (Condensed Knowledge, Forbidden Knowledge, and Instant Knowledge) with HarperCollins, and a new high-octane trivia board game. Will's practical tips are borne out of taking a dorm room idea and growing it into a multimillion dollar business in just a few short years.  His presentation is perfect for any business that's looking for a competitive edge.      

A magna cum laude graduate of Duke University, Will is smart and firmly rooted in the real world.  In 2001, while still a student at Duke, Will and co-founder Mangesh Hattikudur launched mental_floss magazine, which has quickly become a "must-read" for anyone who wants "to feel smart again."  Since its launch, the magazine has received rave reviews from national media, including Newsweek, Entertainment Weekly, The LA Times, and Washington Post.  A frequent guest on CNN Headline News with more 100 appearances, Will has also become a highly-sought after radio personality.      

In his presentation, Will gives many practical tips that will touch key elements of business success, including:

-How to raise money

-Choosing the right advisory board

-Picking partners and forming joint alliances that are win-wins

-Guerilla marketing that works    

-Growing your brand:  what works and what doesn't work

-Delivering outstanding customer service

-Why a good law firm must be part of your business plan

-Developing an exit strategy for your business

-Ignore the internet at your own peril

-Can a virtual company approach work for you

-The challenges of managing rapid growth      

Will's presentation style is pure mental_floss:  often irreverent, frequently terribly funny and always chock-full of solid information in bite-size chunks.  He, of course, can tailor his message to the individual needs of your audience, but he can't do boring.  Or too self-important.