Getting paid

Yep.

Did you make yourself a brand first?

My first time getting paid, no. My first paid speaking engagement was a result of random opportunity.

Now I have a "brand" or better put I have an online presences and/or established audience, which sometimes results in speaking engagements.

If you are looking to get paid to speak, the first step is figuring out what knowledge you believe you have that people will want to pay to hear. Why can't they hear it from someone else or get the knowledge in some other manner? What makes your knowledge so unique that people will spend time/resources listening to you?

Once you figure out the above first step, you can move forward with creating an identify or brand.

I am a startup CEO from Silicon Valley and I have, but wasn't much. Why do you ask?