I applied 150th times to TEDx events before I received my first YES | Steven Dossou

How do you go from living in a $20-a-month shack surrounded by mice to generating $50M+ in sales and standing on global TEDx stages?

In this explosive, high-energy episode of The Public Speaking Podcast, hosts Lucas Reuterstig and Alexander Grabner Jarlung sit down with international speaker and investor, Steven Dossou.

Steven shares his personal story where he went from hawking vacuum cleaners door-to-door in South Africa to scaling multi-million dollar organizations and building a global public speaking business.

Steven pulls no punches when breaking down the reality of getting booked. He opens up about applying to over 150 TEDx and also explains the critical differences between getting booked in Europe versus the US, and breaks down his daily routine for unbreakable confidence. Plus, he introduces Real Speaking Gigs, an AI-powered tool trained on a decade of outreach data to help speakers connect directly with event organizers and land paid stages.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro

02:18 - The Speaker Agency Dilemma: Exclusivity vs. Freedom

05:58 - 10 Tough Thoughts with Steven Dossou

07:08 - Growing Up in a $20 Shack in Togo

08:54 - Door-to-Door Vacuum Sales to $50 Million in Revenue

11:13 - Losing Everything & Finding His True Calling in Speaking

13:49 - Cold-Pitching Directors to Build a Career

15:57 - The Truth About TEDx

18:31 - How Credibility Precedes Paid Gigs

19:11 - Getting Booked in Europe vs. The US (Market Realities)

22:07 - Finding Your "Touchstone Message" & Signature Speech

24:51 - In-Person Stage Energy vs. Digital Speaking

28:02 - 3 Daily Habits for Unstoppable Confidence & Resilience

32:59 - Guest Recommendations

35:03 - How "Real Speaking Gigs" AI Helps Speakers Land Bookings

37:30 - Where to Connect with Steven Dossou & Outro

Connect with Steven

Linkedin: https://fi.linkedin.com/in/steven-dossou-action-man-3623b5106

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/steven_dossou/?hl=en

Website: https://stevendossou.com/

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