Al Roker, CEO, Al Roker Entertainment, gets into an insightful fireside chat session with Joe Cohen, SVP of Communications, KIND Snacks, at Techweek New York City. Roker throws light on his entrepreneurial journey, shares his future vision for the digital media space, and provides useful tips for entrepreneurs, journalists, bloggers, and the like, to make the most of the given opportunities.
Some of our key takeaways from the conversation:
- Pursue Your Passion(s):
Passion is what Al feels created his persona of an entrepreneur and tech innovator. He indulged in different kinds of passion, including television, producing shows, social media, live streaming, and did not limit himself to one thing. It was his undying passion that led him to being one of the pioneers on NBC to launch a website, and get a Guinness World Record for Rokerthon! - Be Your Own Broadcaster:
Live streaming is nothing but television without the tapes and records. All it takes is a compelling content/story and an interesting set of viewers for becoming a successful broadcaster. If you are an interesting, polarizing personality, and people want to watch you, you can be successful in the field. - Focus on Your Core, Be True to Yourself:
In multimedia platforms, it is important to focus on your core. It is not possible to be everything for everybody. The changing needs are based on different dynamics that run different programs. It is important to be who you are and be true to yourself—that is all you have! - Don’t be Married to One Thing—Pivot!
All aspiring entrepreneurs should not be stuck on one thing, or one concept, but always be ready to pivot. The tech space is an ever-changing environment and you never know what will come next. So, one always should be ready to move quickly as the scenario demands. - Don’t Be the First, Be Accurate and Right!
Pointing towards journalists and bloggers, Al suggests that it is important to be accurate. Not everything on the web is true; what you publish becomes a reality in many minds. There can be a lot of damage done to people and companies if there is no honesty in reporting. It is okay to not be the first, but it is very important to be right. - Your People are the Most Important:
The biggest takeaway is that the people in your life are more important than anything else. Many entrepreneurs face this challenge of conveying this importance to their families and loved ones, but this is something that should be made very clear.
Below are some of the key points and moments from the conversation:
- 0:02 – Joe Cohen welcomes and introduces Al Roker on the stage for the chat
- 0:42 – Video played on Al’s multifaceted journey
- 4:52 – Al Roker Entertainment launched in 1994, producing shows of different genres, now progressing towards digital TV and live streaming
- 6:18 – America’s first mobile morning show on the Weather Channel app, The Lift, was launched
- 7:00 – Al Roker Entertainment joined hands with Business Wire
- 8:26 – Roker Labs was created to understand the metrics of social media and its trends
- 9:40 – Live streaming originated from a Rokerthon arranged by Al on The Today Show, which highlighted on live weather forecast
- 14:23 – The Lift gets 20M views per day in the USA and has more viewers than a prime-time TV show
- 21:46 – Al Roker’s favorite social media platform is Twitter; he hates emails as they are difficult to understand for their tone and context
- 24:06 – The future of Al Roker Entertainment and Roker Labs looks bright as Al is focused on live streaming and broadcasting
- 26:45 –Al’s long-term strategies is to grow as an entrepreneur by building on the ‘live aspect’
