Education

Cornell University

B.A., Apparel and Textiles

1990

Podcasts

34:23

51: Mobsters, Monks & Spartans With Joe De Sena, Founder & CEO of Spartan Race [Main T4C Episode]

Joe De Sena, the CEO of Spartan Race, has always been guided by his entrepreneurial drive. Before applying to Cornell University, Joe had already built a multimillion dollar pool business in his hometown New York City in which he cleaned the pools of a Mob boss. After graduating from Cornell,..

Career Path

Interview Highlights

“You need to find out who you are and you need real introspection. And that occurs when you push yourself really hard. When you get to that place of just wanting water, food and shelter. You learn a lot about yourself. You get closer to finding out what your true North is.”

Best Career Advice

“If you don’t know what your passion is, you can’t sit still.”

Career Challenge

“I was able, that first semester at Cornell, to go in as an extramural student, I wasn’t matriculated. They didn’t consider me a real student, but I could take three classes. And then hopefully at the end of the semester, I could show them that I can handle the workload. That was my plan. And I did well, and I reapplied and they didn’t accept me. And I was pissed. Their reason was we can’t let people come in this way, because then everybody’s gonna skirt the normal process. They’re going to want to fake their way in this way. And I said, I understand but I’m going to do it again. So I did a second semester and I reapplied and they did not accept me. After three semesters of doing this, I was broken.”

Skills

Entrepreneurship, Social Media Marketing, Marketing, Sports, Fitness, Sales, Event Planning, Start-ups, Strategy, Business Development, Nutrition, Digital Marketing, Nutrition, Wellness, Small Business, SEO, Leadership, Coaching, Team Building

Professional Interests

Steven J. Thompson, Ralph de la Vega, David L. Katz, Verizon, Ford Motor Company, Cornell University, AAF Dallas, Greater Dallas Area Human Resources Professionals – HR, American Marketing Association, Dallas-Fort Worth Chapter