Meet Andrés Zannelli of Zannelli Talks

Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrés Zannelli.

Andrés, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I’ve been told that I’m more business than my artistic friends and more artistic than my business friends. A healthy balance of vision and execution.

I grew up in Southern California. I’m from a small town called Moorpark. 805 stand up.

I’ve been an artist and entrepreneur since a young age. Handling different hustles in and out of school. I started painting graffiti in middle school which opened my mind up to the art world. That consumed a lot of my time actually. Heavily into hip-hop at a young age, too. My uncles introduced to NWA and other Westcoast sounds. A lot of my taste was formed in the early years.

How I got to where I am today? Honestly, by following my curiosity and not giving a shit what anyone else thinks of me. I’m not sure where this way of thinking cultivated from. Perhaps I was just born with it, idk. I’ve just always been me. Now, it’s starting to pay off haha.

Has it been a smooth road?
A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor. There are always challenges and hurdles to jump over for any career you want to pursue. Each career will bring different obstacles but the underlying challenge we ALL face is the person in the mirror.

My biggest obstacle was getting over any doubts or criticism I was creating in my mind that would end up getting in my way of pursuing a dream. I’m not special, we all face this. I’ve seen it with everyone. Our biggest obstacle is our lower self. When you understand that and become aware of which habits, thought-patterns and behaviors you have that affect your production, you have the chance to elevate yourself.

I observed at an early age that having a strong mind will help one make better decisions. So I began building myself, my mind and mastering my emotions so that when I am conducting business, I’m not operating from a weak, volatile position. I started to change habits, create new ones and discard the useless ones. Get your mind right to get your grind right baby.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into your story. Tell us more about the business.
I am an entrepreneur technically. Awesome. So is everyone these days, or so it seems like it haha. But, I like to view myself as a scientist. Because each project I create is approached as an experiment. I don’t know. That’s how I choose to frame it so that it excites me. It works for me, find what works for you.

In the past two years, I managed to grow my first business and sell it in late 2018. It was an online retail shop and an awesome experiment. I learned a lot and gained so much experience. Not just the cool part of growing a brand and what not. But, I learned how to open an S-Corp, work with accountants, pay corporate taxes (ugh) and manage bookkeeping so that everything is measured.

At the moment though my main priority is my podcast, Zannelli Talks. It’s a free formatted show where I speak on different subjects, philosophies, ideas and experiences. Business, motivation, inspiration, etc. Sometime in 2016, I began sharing thoughts I would have as I would drive to the gym in the morning on Instagram Stories. People started tuning in and I began growing a community of listeners. I kept that up through my final years of college as I grew my first e-comm business on the side. I developed experience running and growing this business and would share that on my stories.

I started to receive hundreds of messages over the next two years suggesting that I should start a podcast or have a Ted Talk haha. A little after I graduated, I sold that e-comm company for a healthy amount and had some free time finally. That’s when I decided to dive deeper with this community I started to build and so, Zannelli Talks was born.

The feedback has been great so far. Hundreds of people tune in for every episode and it’s just the beginning. I have plans to scale the podcast and begin interviewing other remarkable people. I plan to build a platform for upcoming talent. I used to want to be on stage, but now my goal is to build, provide and share a stage with other people doing dope sh*t.

What sets me apart from others in this space is that I am me. Okay, what does that mean? I just speak how I would to a friend or family. I don’t try to put on some fake voice or personality for a show. I speak my mind and share my thoughts. In a world where many people live in a bubble and constantly try to be like the person with “clout”, being yourself is a rare occurrence. That is what sets me apart.

Aside from the podcast, I also produce parties with a purpose. Each party is free with a donated item for entry. We partner up with different organizations and figure out which items are needed for them. Our most recent party JUICE was focused on raising school supplies for our friends at Red Eye which were donated to the children of the Watts community in LA. I enjoy organizing those and definitely have plans on scaling and expanding them so we can impact more communities in a positive way.

I have a few other projects I am working on, too. Some e-comm brands and what not. But I won’t get too far into that right now. Those actions will speak soon enough.

Contact Info:

• Website: andreszannelli.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreszannelli/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/AndresZannelli

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