Dr. Jay Feldman is an osteopathic medical doctor, speaker, and serial entrepreneur.
He has founded multiple successful companies, including Otter Public Relations, Instelite, and Rex Fitness. In addition to leading several businesses, he hosts the Mentors Collective podcast, on which he discusses the keys to unlocking business success and achieving financial freedom. He continues to develop an already impressive social media presence with over 200,000 followers and counting.
Dr. Feldman was also named one of International Business Times “Top Entrepreneurs to Watch in 2020.”
Jay Feldman attended Florida Gulf Coast University, where he received an Associate Degree in Pre-Medicine. After this, Feldman enrolled at the University of Florida to work on a Bachelor of Science in Pre-Medicine/Pre-Medical Studies. While in medical school, he was elected as the American Medical Association President, and eventually earned his doctorate in osteopathy in 2019.
From early on, Jay Feldman showed a propensity for entrepreneurship. While still a student, Feldman founded Instelite, a social media marketing agency that brings success news to Entrepreneurs, Business Leaders, and Top Influencers. The company currently has a network of over 20 million Instagram users and has served more than 2,500 clients worldwide. He, along with Scott Bartnick, co-founded Otter Public Relations, which serves clients in a variety of fields, from fitness and health to technology and e-commerce. Otter PR makes sure that its clients consistently get featured in the world’s top publications and platforms, such as CNBC, Forbes, The New York Times, and HuffPost.
Jay Feldman, DO has started other ventures with the aims of connecting people and offering resources to those who might not otherwise have access. For instance, he founded and hosts the Mentors Collective podcast. He started the podcast for the purpose of connecting people with mentors and other industry leaders from whom they could gain knowledge about their businesses and careers. Feldman has provided his listeners with access to some of the top names in healthcare and entrepreneurship. One of his most recent and most exciting endeavors has been the launch of REX Fitness. The goal of REX Fitness is to bring good health and fitness to people from all different backgrounds. Through the REX Fitness Club it provides the support needed to be successful by connecting a community of fitness enthusiasts who offer motivation and encouragement. Combining the REX Fitness Club with the REX Home Gym, a portable and affordable home gym, members have all the resources needed to achieve good health and fitness. Through his non-profit organization, Food Equality Corp, he is trying to provide better access to healthy foods for every citizen. Recently, Feldman’s company helped Penta Prosthetics to donate masks all around the world in an effort to combat Covid-19. Whether it is through his business ventures or by means of non-profit organizations, Dr. Jay Feldman aims to help people of all sorts to live prosperous, healthy, and meaningful lives.
Why did you become an entrepreneur, speaker, and author, in the first place?
Each of those paths I’ve taken have some specific reasons why I wanted to take on that challenge. The one thing that has driven me to work hard and constantly try to improve myself and my businesses was the experience I had during the 2008 housing crisis. I had to go to work as a collections agent to make ends meet. I decided I would never do something like that again. I like being a part of businesses that help people and help make the world a better place. There are lots of things that you can do to be wealthy while helping others at the same time. That’s why I got into businesses that focus on health, fitness, and helping others become successful in business.
Tell us, how do you deal with fear?
Everyone feels afraid at times. It’s only human. Overcoming obstacles and adversity isn’t about not feeling fear, but about having the courage to keep going. What I’ve found to be most effective is to write down how I see the situation or problem. By putting it into words, I accomplish a few different things. For one, whatever the problem is becomes far less intimidating. I get a more accurate idea of what needs to be done, what might arise, and also what will probably never happen—that is, what I don’t need to waste time and mental energy being afraid of. From there, I start formulating a plan of action. By the time I have put the problem into words and started working on a plan, those initial fears have disappeared because now I’m fully focused on what I’m about to accomplish.
Tell us, how do you deal with rejection?
Rejection is simply a part of the business world—entrepreneurship in particular. I have honestly never taken rejection personally. I take it as a chance to improve myself, my business, or my product. The most honest criticism you will get usually comes in the form of a rejection. I ask what it was about our service, product, or pitch that didn’t win the client over, and use it as a chance to get better. If you think of a rejection as an opportunity to increase your chances of success in your next meeting or venture, it takes away the sting. Once the sting is gone, it’s feedback, it’s data to be used to your benefit.
What’s the name of your company? What exactly does your company do, how do you help people?
I have multiple businesses. Otter Public Relations helps our clients from a wide variety of fields to get recognition and publicity by getting them featured in top publications and platforms. Instelite is a social media agency that I founded at a young age that has continued to have great success. REX Fitness is my most recent venture. We offer a platform called REX Fitness Club to connect fitness enthusiasts with each other and to deliver free training content, and that pairs with our affordable home gym system, REX Home Gym. The goal of REX Fitness is to help fight fitness inequality by providing affordable, high-quality equipment; creating a platform for a community of fitness lovers; and delivering free content to our users. I also started Food Equality Corp, which is a non-profit organization aimed at helping people of all backgrounds get access to healthy foods.
What piece of advice do you wish someone had given you at the start of your career?
I wish someone had told me early on that no one else is going to do your work for you. Maybe that sounds overly simplistic, but what I mean is that there is no substitute for hard work and that there is no success in a job 90% complete. When a person talks about being only interested in the “idea” or “planning” phase, what they’re really saying is that they will never run a business or create a product. You have to be 100% invested in your idea or project and see it through to completion. I had some ideas when I was young that never turned into anything. But I have had far more ideas and plans that were the foundation of what I have built today. The difference between them was perseverance.
Name a person who helped you along the way?
Without a doubt, Scott Bartnick has been a big help and good partner to me. We founded Otter Public Relations together, and he is the engineering mind behind the REX Home Gym. His strengths and mine have melded together well. He has helped me to further develop my own strengths—for example, my skills in public relations and media—while also expanding into new areas like e-commerce. Scott is always positive and focuses on solutions rather than problems. Everyone should look for a partner like him.
What business books have inspired you?
The 4-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss. It speaks to some of the same ideas I had been mulling for a while. For instance, not working grueling hours for someone else with the goal of eventually being able to enjoy your wealth. I liked the idea of using technology to my advantage to cut down on the amount of time I spend completing tasks that are necessary but not generating more business or wealth.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?
The best strategy for growing any of my businesses has been to surround myself with people smarter than I am. Someone told me once that it is never the wrong time to hire the right person. The time investment that I have made in interviewing and finding the right people has generated great returns. By finding people who are passionate and excited about our businesses, I’m able to spend my time considering the big picture and long-term plans while they are working at growing the business without my constant tendance.
What does the future hold for your business? What are you most excited about?
I’m going to continue to work on growing all of my businesses, but what I’m most excited about right now is REX Fitness. I’m excited about the product, the REX Home Gym, and about the platform and community we are building, REX Fitness Club. It’s not just that the business model is good or that we can certainly generate good profits. What I really look forward to is seeing how it will affect people’s lives. I studied to become a doctor because I wanted to help people, and all my businesses have that same spirit. With REX Fitness, I want to help specifically those people who don’t have access to gyms, fitness equipment, or wellness training.
Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.
The idea that philanthropy does not have to be something wholly distinct and separate from the commercial world. You can run a business that aims to make the world better and improve the lives of others and still be highly profitable. For some reason, it has become a commonplace and accepted idea that goodwill and profitability cannot co-exist. My businesses are examples of how helping others and generating income can work hand-in-hand.
As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?
Ask for honest feedback and new ideas from a wide variety of people within and without my company. Sometimes, a great idea or a great insight into my own work has come from a person I never would have predicted. Always looking for ways to improve myself and always being open to new ideas has been a cornerstone of my success. We all have blind spots as to our own weaknesses or our business’s inefficiencies. Acquiring knowledge from a wide variety of sources, and at no cost other than the time necessary to listen, has been hugely beneficial to me.
What is the best $100 you recently spent?
A full-body, deep tissue massage. It gave me a chance to hit the pause button on all the thoughts racing through my head. Even when it’s all good thoughts and new ideas, we all need a break from our thoughts and a chance to breathe and relax. I got a good massage, and just enjoyed being in touch with my physical side. Afterwards, I felt recharged and ready to get back working hard.