Gregory Galant is the co-founder and CEO of Muck Rack, a platform enabling PR teams to work together to find the right journalists for their stories, send customized pitches, build meaningful relationships with the media, monitor news and quantify their impact. It’s used by thousands of organizations, including Taco Bell, Pfizer, Golin, International Committee of the Red Cross, Knight Foundation, Kauffman Foundation and Penguin Random House. Muck Rack is also the solution of choice for journalists, who use Muck Rack’s free, automatically updated portfolios to showcase their work and provide information about what stories they’re looking for.
Greg’s also the co-creator and executive producer of The Shorty Awards, which honor the best of social media. Past winners include Lizzo, Ricky Gervais, Rebel Wilson, Trevor Noah, Conan O’Brien, Issa Rae, Marques Brownlee, Sesame Street, Neil Patrick Harris, Mike Bloomberg and NASA.
Greg is a frequent speaker and writer on topics related to social media, marketing, PR, entrepreneurship, remote work and journalism. He’s presented at SXSW, Web Summit, Harvard Business School, Le Web and The International Journalism Festival, and his columns have appeared in Fortune, Forbes and Business Insider.
Along with his companies, Greg has been cited in and interviewed by numerous media outlets, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Associated Press, Business News Daily, Editor & Publisher, Entrepreneur, Fast Company, Inc., Poynter, PR News and PRWeek. BusinessWeek named him one of the “Best Young Tech Entrepreneurs,” and Crain’s honored Muck Rack as one of the “100 Best Places to Work in New York City.”
In this episode, Greg shares why he decided to bootstrap instead of taking VC money, the constant state of change his job is as a CEO, and why he’s become grateful to sit around and be bored.
[1:33] Early Days of Greg's Entrepreneurial Career
[3:22] Greg's Founding Story
[11:04] Greg's View on Failure
[15:45] Greg's Opinions on VC Money
[19:39] Downsides on the Decisions Made
[24:38] Greg's Journey as a Leader
[33:00] What Greg Felt When He Gave Way
[40:13] Setting Learning Goals
[42:27] Working Remotely – The Remote Culture
[52:22] Greg on Firing People
[57:56] Self-doubt in Greg's Entrepreneurial Journey
[1:07:42] Final Remarks
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