Robbie Page, Managing Partner at Ad Valorum and Professional Athlete, Shares His Best Entrepreneurial Advice

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Robbie Page is a Managing Partner of Ad Valorum, Chief Marketing Officer of Tenzo Tea, and plays Professional Beach Volleyball on the AVP.

City where you’re from: Rochester, NY

Hobbies: Reading, Volleyball, Guitar, Adventuring and Exploring Nature

Favorite quote:

“Vision is the source of leadership, the expansive dream state where everything begins and all is possible” – Phil Jackson

IG / Twitter : @robbie_page

Website: robbiepage.co

Hey Robbie, great to have an athlete + entrepreneur on the site. Given your track record with Volleyball, why did you decide to become an entrepreneur?

I became an entrepreneur to control my own destiny and make a lasting positive impression on the world around me. The ability to work relentlessly on something that holds an unlimited potential is an incredibly powerful feeling. Immediately I was hooked.

To become an entrepreneur you need to have a unwavering vision for the future and an ability to confidently dive into the unknown when you know the time is right. When Steve O’Dell came to me with the idea to build a Matcha Green Tea company – I saw the vision. Building a healthy lifestyle brand while playing a professional sport creates a perfect platform for unlimited potential and growth. I would be able to live in shoes of the brand that we were creating and effectively reach the perfect healthy demographic where a Matcha Green Tea company could provide value.

Was there a defining moment in your life?

My path for life was defined when I visited UCLA in 2008 and received an offer to play volleyball at the greatest institution in the world. It felt like home the second I began to explore campus. The surging energy, ambition and dedication of all the students and athletes blew me off my feet. It is truly evident that you become the average of the people you spend the most time with. If you want to do great things, surrounding yourself with like minded individuals. UCLA taught me how to pursue competitive greatness in every aspect of life and the importance of building a strong foundation for a team. It also opened the door to the fast moving world of business.

What are you working on?

My time is currently split between two full time jobs – 1) Professional Beach Volleyball on the AVP Tour and 2) Building Tenzo Tea. Mornings are spent training at the beach preparing for battle this summer, and the rest of my day is spent adding value to Tenzo Tea.

How do you feel about your participation on the AVP tour?

The AVP is the premier professional beach volleyball league in the United States. I teamed up with the legend Avery Drost for this summer and we plan to dominate.

I like your determination and clear goals. How is your Tenzo Tea different and unique?

Tenzo Tea is building a place where people of all ages can find useful information, resources, and inspiration to better physical health and mental wellness. We pride ourselves on sourcing and providing the best Matcha Green Tea on the Planet!

I actually tried the blueberry Matcha and loved it. How do you find your potential customers?

Our customers include a wide range of aspiring healthy individuals. Our Matcha Tea is a great addition to yoga, meditation and mindful practices and also makes for the perfect energy boost before an intense workout. Matcha has such a variety of great uses! Some of our customers sell Matcha Pies, some add a scoop of Matcha to the best Acai Bowl in Newport Beach, but the vast majority of our customers drink a daily cup of Tea in the comfort of their home. Healthy people tend to flock together. Our entire team lives the life of the ultimate Tenzo which helps us uncover new and exciting ways to increase exposure and spread the word.

Value-add questions

Give the readers the best entrepreneurship advice you have.

A personal connection is the best connection you can make. Collaboration is key. Surround yourself with people that hold similar values and piece together your personal strengths with the strengths of your allies to create something great.

Teach us how to structure our efforts when building a website. What metrics should we measure?

Numbers are sweet. Numbers allow you to track progress, set goals and learn from the past. A book called “Content Chemistry” by Andy Crestodina does a great job at quantifying E-Commerce conversions and sets the framework to create a plan to build an online presence and increase online sales.

The goal of any website is to generate a lead. A lead is an opened ended term for a customer that interacts with a website and provides information for future contact (Ex -placing an order, social media following, subscription to an email newsletter). An optimal website has a high flow of user traffic and a high lead conversion rate. Traffic can be maximized through proper SEO strategies, marketing campaigns, content creation and content promotion. A website’s conversion rate can be improved by building trust, providing value, optimizing UI / UX and gently urging a visitor to take action.

((User Traffic)(Lead Conversion Rate)) x (Avg Value of Lead) – Cost of Managing and Promoting the Site = Expected Website Profitability

Goal: Increase traffic and conversions while minimizing cost and time in any way possible.

What should an entrepreneur focus on?

One word – Learning. The hardest part of entrepreneurship is obtaining all the necessary information to make the best possible decision for your company. Every book you read, every person you talk to, every good and bad experience you have will help you make decisions for the future.

What are some of your favorite books?

Mindset – “Relentless” by Tim Grover

Entrepreneurship – “Shoe Dog” by Phil Knight

New Age Marketing – “Content Inc” by Joe Pulizzi

Fiction – “The Art of Racing in the Rain” by Garth Stein

Future

Where do you see yourself and your product in a couple years?

In a couple of years I see Matcha becoming the healthy drink of choice in the United States and Tenzo Tea being the brand behind the trend. I hope to be dominating in Professional Beach Volleyball and growing Ad Valorum’s business investment portfolio.