Steve Mandell, chairman and CEO of Game Plan Entertainment, explains why he became an advisor and investor in Swob after negotiating more than 1,000 licensing and brand agreements throughout his career. Drawing on decades of experience in sports, entertainment, and business, Mandell shares how he evaluates founders, why solving real problems matters more than chasing trends, and how AI is transforming restaurant hiring. This episode explores execution, curiosity, hiring innovation, and why the best operators never stop learning.

Great Companies Solve Real Problems – Steve Mandell has evaluated businesses throughout his career as an attorney, advisor, and investor. What convinced him to back Swob was not the technology itself, but its ability to remove friction from one of restaurants' biggest operational challenges: hiring hourly workers.
The Best Founders Listen Before They Build – Mandell believes successful entrepreneurs spend more time understanding customers than pitching solutions. He was impressed that Swob's founders listened to restaurant operators, identified the shortcomings of traditional hiring, and built a platform around those real-world pain points.
Execution Matters More Than Ideas – Throughout the conversation, Mandell returned to one theme: execution. Great ideas are common, but businesses succeed when they consistently solve customer problems. For Swob, that means helping restaurants hire faster through AI-powered matching, QR codes, and a hiring experience designed specifically for today's workforce.

Episode Links:

Steve Mandell LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mandell-steve-08011593/
Steve Mandell Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stevemandellgameplan/?hl=en
Stephanie Florio LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-florio-51397765/
Alexander Florio LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexanderflorio/
Swob: https://www.swobapp.com/
Swob Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/swobapp/
Swob Tik Tok: https://www.instagram.com/swobapp/
Swob LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/swob-inc/?originalSubdomain=ca

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