Self-made entrepreneur Brad Lea or as people call him “The Real Brad Lea,” is the founder, Chairman and CEO of LightSpeed VT, an interactive experienced based training and communications system that helps leading Fortune 100 brands train and engage.
Photos by Ella Gagiano Studios
With over 25 years in sales and marketing experience, Brad Lea is committed to advancing companies and helping them scale and succeed. Headquartered in Las Vegas, the company boasts a bevy of A-list clients like Tony Robbins, Grant Cardone, and Daymond John amongst many. Brad Lea is also the author of The Real Deal Lease training program, and host of “The Bottom Line” and “Dropping Bombs” podcast, aimed to educate and solve everyday problems for entrepreneurs. Lea’s passion on helping companies improve existing systems and processes has revolutionized the online training world. In our exclusive interview, Lea gives us insight into LightSpeed VT and shares valuable points in attaining success.
Here is what he had to say.
Q: Can you tell us a little about yourself?
I grew up in a blue-collar family, in a small town in Cottage Grove, Oregon. I was the youngest in the family. I moved to Las Vegas July 7, 1991 due to a sequence of events. I had $2900, which I lost in a day and had literally no money left and had to quickly find a job to survive. I got married soon after and Las Vegas became my home.
“Reject ordinary, be legendary.”
-Brad Lea
Q: Can you tell us about your company LightSpeed VT?
I was running a sales team and there was this employee in our sales department, he reminded me of my father. He was only making minimum wage and I felt a need to train him. Under my training he morphed; there was an unbelievable transformation with him. He went from making 5 dollars an hour to making 15k a month. This transformation not only positively affected him, but his whole family evolved for the better. Up to this point,
I had only focused on my personal success. I soon realized when I focus on others success, I am most successful. From that point on, I was hooked. I wanted to help people learn to succeed and make more money. I decided to quit my job making 350-400k and start training and doing the same thing I did for him and his family.
I launched LightSpeed VT, an online interactive video-based training and communication platform to help people achieve success.
Q: How does LightSpeed VT train individuals effectively?
When I launched LightSpeed VT, over twenty years ago, it was not easy as I had imagined. I was charging a lot of money and companies were paying for my service, but it just didn’t work successfully as it did on my first successful training.
I was baffled by the results. I soon realized that in order to train someone effectively you need four ingredients:
1. Good Content
2. Repetition
3. Practice
4. Accountability
The challenge was solved, and the solution was LightSpeed VT. The company was rapidly growing from all the results people were experiencing.
Q: What made you decide to collaborate with big names in the industry over competing?
The list was massive with big names. I thought to myself I can compete or collaborate. I think the universe has a way of rewarding people that add to the world. I decided to collaborate and show my software to my competition and allowed them to take my name off and use my technology.
“Determination is the fuel for success. Without it, you’re not going anywhere.”
-Brad Lea
Q: What is a common problem companies often face when training their team?
Most companies are training ineffectively, lack repetition and accountability. Majority of companies in the U.S. and throughout the world have exposure programs not training programs. They will spend insane amounts of money to draw traffic to their company, but little to no money on training their team to handle that traffic. Ultimately, you are paying for training whether you train your team or not in losses when your team is not trained properly to handle clients.
Q: Can you tell us about your podcast Dropping Bombs?
I created the Dropping Bombs podcast to help people succeed in life and in business. I cover a wide range of topics that educate, inspire and deliver results rooted in real-life experiences and stories.
Q: What do you love most about what you do?
I am passionate about helping people attain success. I get so much knowledge and wisdom from all the people I work with on a regular basis. I tell people the truth even if it is painful that’s why people call me the “Real Brad Lea.”
Q: What do you think is the key to success?
I believe with the right knowledge success is guaranteed. My mission at LightSpeed VT is to get the knowledge from the people who have it, to the people who need it. This technology can help franchises, direct marketing, brands, manufacturers, it literally can help any type of company because it is designed to scale, track and measure interactive content.
I love the attitude… it’s not cocky without cause its not necessarily even cocky just confident with cause it’s refreshing!!