Family IN Business: Recent Episodes
Esther Choy
A podcast that features stories of leaders, their families, and the family enterprises they transformed. Family IN Business is sponsored by the Kellogg Center for Family Enterprises and hosted by storytelling expert, Esther Choy.
Season 3, Episode 3 of the Family IN Business PodcastZack Richner is ambitious, daring, and thoughtful, just like his grandparents who founded Richner Communications and his father who currently leads the family business. Within the story of family entrepreneurship, Zack Richner leverages his family’s assets to create Arrandale Ventures, an innovative startup that creates a new business model for traditional local media.What does Richner’s leadership story tell us about finding your niche within your family business? Listen to Richner’s entrepreneurial journey as he learns about the family business, works for the Obama Campaign and leads the Hurricane Sandy Task Force, and spearheads The Local Journalism Sustainability Act, federal legislation aimed at ensuring the health of the local news industry and civic engagement. Learn what entrepreneurialism and innovation mean for families in a challenging marketplace with the Family IN Entrepreneurship Model.Show Notes: Theme: Finding your entrepreneurial niche by leveraging assets of the family businessYour host: Esther Choy, CEO and Chief Story Facilitator of Leadership Story Lab, author of Let the Story Do the Work (HarperCollins Leadership) Special thanks to:Zack Richner, Founder and Managing Partner of Arrandale Ventures, KSM ‘18Jennifer Pendergast, Executive Director of John L. Ward Center for Family Enterprises, Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern UniversityMatt Allen, Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship, Babson College and Visiting Associate Professor, John L. Ward Center for Family EnterprisesJeremy Gilbert, Knight Chair in Digital Media Strategy, Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications, BSJ ‘00, MSJ ‘00 Contact us: familyenterprises@kellogg.northwestern.eduWardCenter.net Key Moments2:45: The founding of Richner Communications and second generation leadership3:42: Zachary Richner and his informal introduction to the family business4:14: The strategy and hardwork of sustaining a local newspaper business5:44: What is Arrandale Ventures?6:38: The largest problem facing traditional local news media7:30: What does the newspaper industry do well?8:04: How Richner conceived of his idea for new business model for local news media12:04: The idea of in-kind marketing for startups goes national14:28: What family business assets does Richner leverage?15:23: What is family entrepreneurship, with Matt Allen18:14: Richner’s interest in civic engagement and the role of local newspapers19:54: Why Richner spearheaded The Local Journalism Sustainability Act22:21: Markers of success for Arrendale Ventures24:59: How Richner discovered his niche in the family business through politics with the Obama Campaign and The Hurricane Sandy Task Force31:08: Finding opportunities that fit your values, community, and family, with Matt Allen34:38: How Richner marries creativity and legacy to innovate the news ecosystem, with Jeremy GilbertNext Episode: 4. Is This A Story Of A Family Enterprise Failure or The Rebirth Of An Entrepreneur: Ariel Bacal of BLANX
Season 3, Episode 2 of the Family IN Business PodcastWhen Ian Rosen decided to return to the family business in 2018, Harry Rosen Inc., Canada’s leading luxury men's clothing retailer, was only doing 2-4 percent of their business online. In the months before COVID-19 hit, Rosen and his team were creating a thoughtful plan on how to stay relevant in the e-commerce space. When stay-at-home orders shuttered all of Harry Rosen’s retail stores, the launch of their digital platform became trial-by-fire.How did Harry Rosen Inc. stay relevant to the changing marketplace and to the founder’s family? How did the founder’s legacy become a steadfast value of a successful company? Listen to the grandson of the founder, Ian Rosen share his leadership story as he reflects on what changes and what stays the same over the generations in business. Show Notes: Theme: Staying relevant to the family and the marketplace while launching an e-commerce platform Your host: Esther Choy, CEO and Chief Story Facilitator of Leadership Story Lab, author of Let the Story Do the Work (HarperCollins Leadership) Special thanks to:Ian Rosen, President & Chief Operating Officer at Harry Rosen, KSM ’16Jennifer Pendergast, Executive Director of John L. Ward Center for Family Enterprises, Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern UniversityCarter Cast, Michael S. and Mary Sue Shannon Clinical Professor of Entrepreneurship at the Kellogg School of Management, KSM ‘92 Contact us: familyenterprises@kellogg.northwestern.eduWardCenter.net Key Moments3:18 Ian Rosen’s introduction to Harry Rosen4:20 Harry Rosen’s innovative founding with “Ask Harry”5:18 How the second and third generation join the business6:13 Ian Rosen’s professional background7:29 Ian’s career calling: digital consumer strategy7:54 Choosing to launch an e-commerce business, with Carter Cast8:54 Understanding your customer, with Carter Cast, and the example of Walmart9:20 Harry Rosen’s need for an e-commerce11:59 How e-commerce is different from retail including supply chain demands, with Carter Cast13:11 Ian’s journey in understanding the family business before launching a digital plan15:11 The impact of COVID-19 on Harry Rosen16:37 The go-live approach and understanding the vision18:09 Understanding the customers’ journey on the website21:22 The entrepreneurial examples in The Rosen Family22:45 The integration of “clicks to bricks” and direct-to-consumer omnichannel commerce with Carter Cast25:56 What are the markers of success28:42 How did the Rosen family keep the business relevant to the next generation30:25 Staying relevant to the marketplace, with Jennifer Pendergast31:31 Three takeaways on leading a new venture within a family business34:00 Staying true to the original vision of Harry RosenNext Episode: 3. Discovering Your Entrepreneurial Niche Within A Family Enterprise: Zack Richner of Arrandale Ventures
Season 3, Episode 5 of the Family IN Business PodcastWho starts a new family business with a mortgage and kids in college? Entrepreneur Kalpana Waikar of Inspired Indian Cooking, with the support of her husband Sachin Waikar. Listen to the Waikar’s story of familial support systems, pursuing passions, and making strategic goals that fit their expectations of life outside of work.How does Waikar create, scale and finance a business that meets her entrepreneurial and her personal goals? In this episode, the Waikar’s story highlights how family is at the heart of the Family IN Entrepreneurship model and brings to light a new kind of narrative for startups.Show Notes: Theme: A new narrative for entrepreneurialism in family business and choosing life-balance over prestige Your host: Esther Choy, CEO and Chief Story Facilitator of Leadership Story Lab, author of Let the Story Do the Work (HarperCollins Leadership) Special thanks to:Kalpana Waikar, Founder & Owner, Inspired Indian Cooking, KSM ‘06Sachin Waikar, President of Waikar Writes IncJennifer Pendergast, Executive Director of John L. Ward Center for Family Enterprises, Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern UniversityMatt Allen, Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship, Babson College and Visiting Associate Professor, John L. Ward Center for Family EnterprisesContact us: familyenterprises@kellogg.northwestern.eduWardCenter.net Key Moments1:43: Entrepreneurship as writing your own narrative2:09: Who is Kalpana Waikar and the birth of Inspired Indian Cooking: spice kits for Indian cooking6:11: Why did Waikar start a retail store when the online subscription box model was successful7:57: The powerful interaction with retail customers: the joy and positive feedback9:35: Establishing an online customer base without traditional marketing10:39: Managing the risk-return trade-off by bootstrapping a startup with Jennifer Pendergast12:13: How did Waikar finance the business?13:20: Scaling the spice kit business while maintaining her lifestyle outside of work14:35: A behind-the-scenes portrait of a family of entrepreneurs, with Sachin Waikar17:29: The Waikars decide to pursue their passions and support each other’s careers goals19:20: The Family IN Entrepreneurship Model, with family at the center20:34: A more organic approach to entrepreneurship21:46: The choice of everyday happiness, with Jennifer Pendergast22:55: Career goals: Choosing life and freedom over prestige and “being allergic to stress”25:39: Understanding the role of family in startups and entrepreneurship, with Matt Allen27:30: Unquantifiable variables and the untold stories of family entrepreneurship, with Matt Allen29:40: Confirmation bias favors a certain kind of entrepreneurial stories, with Matt Allen
Season 3, Episode 4 of the Family IN Business PodcastAs the third-generation family business leader, Ariel Bacal faced overwhelming obstacles in his footwear manufacturing and retail business in Colombia and Venezuela: an onslaught of cheaper products, a plunge in currency exchange, and ever mounting pressures from the fashion footwear industry. After countless pivots and desperate measures, it became clear that the only option left was to close the family business.Hear Ariel Bacal candidly share his business story: how he decided it was the right time to close the family enterprise and the lessons he learned through failure. And why, only four years later, he resumed his entrepreneurial journey with BLANX, an innovative online shoe company. In this episode, we explore the element of timing in the Family IN Entrepreneurship Model as well as how the stories we tell about ourselves shape our understanding of events and our identity.Show Notes: Theme: Failure, entrepreneurship and timing in family business and the stories we tell about ourselves Your host: Esther Choy, CEO and Chief Story Facilitator of Leadership Story Lab, author of Let the Story Do the Work (AMACOM) Special thanks to:Ariel Bacal, Co-Founder, BLANX, KSM ‘20Jennifer Pendergast, Executive Director of John L. Ward Center for Family Enterprises, Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern UniversityMatt Allen, Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship, Babson College and Visiting Associate Professor, John L. Ward Center for Family Enterprises Contact us: familyenterprises@kellogg.northwestern.eduWardCenter.net Key Moments0:28: The challenge of sharing stories of failure2:48: Who is Ariel Bacal?4:44: The candid story of the fall of the family business in footwear manufacturing and retail8:00: How did Bacal attempt to overcome the challenges in Colombia and Venezuela10:28: Why the entrepreneurial endeavors did not save the family business12:26: The classic financial time bomb13:23: Negotiating bankruptcy after the devaluation of the peso15:13: Announcing the decision to close the factory19:09: The relief and spark of making the decision to close20:43: With the benefit of hindsight, what would Bacal have done differently?21:55: Getting back to business with BLANX, a different kind of footwear business23:55: Why did Bacal start BLANX, just four years after closing the family business25:17: The stories we tell about ourselves, with Jennifer Pendergast26:28: The story of failure and the mindset of family business, with Matt Allen30:21: Considering timing, the third element in the Family IN Business entrepreneurial model31:54: How Bacal frames his own story32:46: How Bacal leverages the his family business assets in the founding of his new venture34:45: Reframing Bacal’s entrepreneurial story Next Episode: 5. Creating Strategic Entrepreneurial Goals Within A Family Business: Kalpana Waikar of Inspired Indian Cooking
Season 3, Episode 1 of the Family IN Business PodcastThough Kartik Wahi’s father started a successful OEM business, Wahi wasn’t ready to work for the family business. In this episode, Wahi takes us on his entrepreneurial journey from his days at Kellogg School of Management to discovering the opportunities in solar and the founding and growth of the social enterprise Claro Energy.Listen to Wahi discover, through trial and error, the wisdom that his father had tried impressed upon him: focus on cash flow, create value for all stakeholders, and try to internalize the wisdom of your elders. Show Notes:Theme: Striking out on your own vs. leveraging the family business Your host: Esther Choy, CEO and Chief Story Facilitator of Leadership Story Lab, author of Let the Story Do the Work (HarperCollins Leadership) Special thanks to:Kartik Wahi, Founder and Director at Claro Energy, KSM ‘10Jennifer Pendergast, Executive Director of John L. Ward Center for Family Enterprises, Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University Contact us: familyenterprises@kellogg.northwestern.eduWardCenter.net Key Moments0:23 Hindsight bias5:00 Understanding entrepreneurship in family enterprises, with Jennifer Pendergast7:43 How Kellogg changed Wahi’s worldview8:12 The path to Claro Energy, a renewable energy social enterprise11:44 Wahi’s requirements for opportunity13:13 How Wahi unlocked different forms of capital14:48 Wahi’s accolades16:11 Wahi’s markers of success become more holistic17:43 How Claro Energy became a social enterprise18:47 Wahi’s family entrepreneurial story21:25 What Wahi learned from his father’s enterprise: value creation & employee retention23:43 Value means for all stakeholders24:14 Most important lessons Wahi’s learned26:22 Why didn’t Wahi join the family enterprise?28:00 Businesses stuck in the Valley of Death and the succession of the second generation29:58 Writing his own glory vs. leveraging what you already have30:46 Increasing relevance in a rapidly changing world, with Jennifer PendergastNext Episode:2. Leading Entrepreneurial Ventures Within A Family Business: Ian Rosen of Harry Rosen Inc.
As the third-generation family business leader, Ariel Bacal faced overwhelming obstacles in his footwear manufacturing and retail business in Colombia and Venezuela: an onslaught of cheaper products, a plunge in currency exchange, and ever mounting pressures from the fashion footwear industry. After countless pivots and desperate measures, it became clear that the only option left was to close the family business.
Hear Ariel Bacal candidly share his business story: how he decided it was the right time to close the family enterprise and the lessons he learned through failure. And why, only four years later, he resumed his entrepreneurial journey with BLANX, an innovative online shoe company. In this episode, we explore the element of timing in the Family IN Entrepreneurship Model as well as how the stories we tell about ourselves shape our understanding of events and our identity.
When Ian Rosen decided to return to the family business in 2018, Harry Rosen Inc., Canada’s leading luxury men's clothing retailer, was only doing 2-4 percent of their business online. In the months before COVID-19 hit, Rosen and his team were creating a thoughtful plan on how to stay relevant in the e-commerce space. When stay-at-home orders shuttered all of Harry Rosen’s retail stores, the launch of their digital platform became trial-by-fire.
How did Harry Rosen Inc. stay relevant to the changing marketplace and to the founder’s family? How did the founder’s legacy become a steadfast value of a successful company? Listen to the grandson of the founder, Ian Rosen share his leadership story as he reflects on what changes and what stays the same over the generations in business.
Though Kartik Wahi’s father started a successful OEM business, Wahi wasn’t ready to work for the family business. In this episode, Wahi takes us on his entrepreneurial journey from his days at Kellogg School of Management to discovering the opportunities in solar and the founding and growth of the social enterprise Claro Energy.
Listen to Wahi discover, through trial and error, the wisdom that his father had tried impressed upon him: focus on cash flow, create value for all stakeholders, and try to internalize the wisdom of your elders.
Who starts a new family business with a mortgage and kids in college? Entrepreneur Kalpana Waiker of Inspired Indian Cooking, with the support of her husband Sachin Waiker. Listen to the Waiker’s story of familial support systems, pursuing passions, and making strategic goals that fit their expectations of life outside of work.
How does Waiker create, scale and finance a business that meets her entrepreneurial and her personal goals? In this episode, the Waiker’s story highlights how family is at the heart of the Family IN Entrepreneurship model and brings to light a new kind of narrative for startups.
Zack Richner is ambitious, daring, and thoughtful, just like his grandparents who founded Richner Communications and his father who currently leads the family business. Within the story of family entrepreneurship, Zack Richner leverages his family’s assets to create Arrandale Ventures, an innovative startup that creates a new business model for traditional local media.
What does Richner’s leadership story tell us about finding your niche within your family business? Listen to Richner’s entrepreneurial journey as he learns about the family business, works for the Obama Campaign and leads the Hurricane Sandy Task Force, and spearheads The Local Journalism Sustainability Act, federal legislation aimed at ensuring the health of the local news industry and civic engagement. Learn what entrepreneurialism and innovation mean for families in a challenging marketplace with the Family IN Entrepreneurship Model.
Anderson Tanoto saw the potential for his family business, Royal Golden Eagle (RGE), to become a leader in sustainability. Through his journey in transitioning the company into more sustainable practices, Tanoto learned that failure, perseverance, and equity are key ingredients to creating meaningful change.
It was a routine activity that led to a life-threatening accident, a coma, and multiple cranial surgeries. Adam Farver, Chairman of the Board and fourth generation of his family enterprise, Pella Corporation, found himself eavesdropping on doctors who doubted his full recovery. Faced with frightening questions about his future, Adam took stock of his life before the accident, consulting his late great-grandfather and grandmother’s wisdom: what would he do now?
Listen as Adam tells the story of his realizations, recovery, and resetting his purpose. We are also joined by experts Dave Whorton and Jennifer Pendergast discussing how family enterprises can—and should—intentionally find their purpose to steel themselves from crisis.
Along with their younger sister Melissa Steiner, Stephanie Jackson and Kimberly Paxton-Hagner are co-owners of their multigenerational family enterprise, Kwik Lok. If you’ve ever bought bread, tortillas, or apples in a bag, you’ve already used their product! Their grandfather, Floyd Paxton, invented the plastic closure tab that keeps food fresh and tracks the supply of many of our favorite foods.
The sisters’ road to family enterprise leadership started as a total surprise: their grandfather and father never intended for women in their family to take over the business. But their father’s sudden passing left a leadership gap, and the Paxton sisters had to ask themselves: What do we do? How will we do it? And why should we do it?
Listen as our guests discuss their trepidation and inspiration finding their purpose within their family enterprise, in roles they never thought they’d take on. We are also joined by experts Rob Lachenauer and Jennifer Pendergast, who offer thoughts on organizational change, defining purpose, and winning employee buy-in.
As the brainchild of Kent Johnson’s great-grandparents, Highlights for Children has been an explicitly purpose-driven company from its inception. A passion for serving, honoring, developing, and educating children informs every decision made in this family business. Purpose is so ingrained at Highlights for Children that the in-house newsletter is called “The Purpose,” and the company even has a Chief Purpose Officer!
But when building up the importance of purpose, how do leaders make sure they and their organization actually walk the walk? How does a commitment to living your values impact your choices at difficult crossroads? Listen as Kent describes steps he and his family enterprise have taken to ensure they serve their purpose in meaningful ways, even in the face of controversy. Experts Brooke Vuckovic and Jennifer Pendergast add insights on what it means to lead well in sticky situations.
Enrico Leta expected to continue to lead and work in his family enterprise, a highly successful regional chain of high end supermarkets started by his Italian immigrant grandfather. But he did not expect that the second generation—Enrico’s father, aunts, and uncles—would decide the best future for their family business rested on leaving the third generation to find their own ventures. Dazed and untethered, Enrico set off to find a new career path and purpose. His story inadvertently illustrates for us what guest expert Dave Evans refers to as “designing your life” with curiosity, community, experimentation, and storytelling.
Join us to learn how Enrico navigated a season of uncertainty and how he found success with his “best doable option.” In addition to Dave Evans, we are also joined by guest expert Jennifer Pendergast, who discusses trans-generational entrepreneurship and the “entrepreneur gene.”
Meghan Juday is among the fourth generation of leaders in her family enterprise, IDEAL INDUSTRIES, an electrical and electronic manufacturing company. Currently the Chairman of the Board, she has faced challenges on a wide spectrum from the isolation of being a lone female Chairman to mitigating the shortage of trades professionals. She has proactively tackled these problems and more while contemplating the legacy of her leadership and of her family enterprise.
Listen as Meghan discusses stewardship, “emotional returns,” and the negative aspects of legacy. Guest experts Jennifer Pendergast and Dave Whorton also lend their takes on sustainability, purpose, and the long view.
Herschend Family Entertainment has a trademark: “Creating Memories Worth Repeating.” As the largest family-owned themed-entertainment company in the United States, you might think running the business is all fun and games. But as Chris Herschend explains, working cooperatively and productively with family can be difficult.
Is it worth it? Absolutely. Chris, his siblings, and his cousins have been able to define a shared family purpose: to live, love, and serve together. Listen as he shares his lessons learned—and points to what we are “wired to do.” We are also joined by expert Jennifer Pendergast with thoughts on the relationship between individual freedom and shared purpose.
Leaders from five different industries share how Professor Emeritus John Ward influenced them and their family enterprises during their time at Kellogg and beyond. These five different impacts provide lessons that all family business leaders can leverage.
Which is better, securing financial stability or building something in the world? For those with the entrepreneurial gene, the answer is always ‘building something.’ Good thing Andreas Kuster inherited this gene when he needed to revitalize Europe’s oldest cookie manufacturing company, Jakob's Basler Leckerly.
Anne Eiting Klamar had not been groomed to succeed her father in the family business. In fact, she embarked on an entirely different career. But when it turned out she needed to run the family business, she stepped into her father’s shoes. And she quickly found out they didn’t fit her.
Through SEED Beauty, the Nelson family has disrupted both the traditional cosmetics company model and the notion of what it means to be a family in business.
It’s extremely rare for a fifth-generation family business to still be in the same industry they started out in. So, how did an 88-year-old family business Schurz Communications leave the traditional communications industry without leaving any of their family members behind?
They have to pivot, but as they did so, how did they make sure none of the family members get left behind? Todd Schurz of Schurz Communications describes his family’s successful transition to a new industry.
No matter how often we hear the phrase “unprecedented times” in reference to the coronavirus, fourth-generation family business Pella Corporation knows that they have seen times like these before. Chairman Adam Farver has dozens of examples of difficult situations and market downturns. Family businesses will lead the way through this not-unprecedented crisis.
Reviewers described Radio Flyer as “Americana on four wheels,” but just because it was beloved didn’t mean it would last forever.
Soon after joining his multi-generational family owned business, Robert Pasin learned the company was in trouble. Though the company hadn’t changed, consumer preferences had. How could they gain a competitive advantage without losing everything that made Radio Flyer an iconic part of Americans’ childhood memories?
Coming June 14 2020 from Kellogg's Center for Family Enterprises and Esther Choy at Leadership Story Lab, Family IN Business features stories of leaders, their families, and the family enterprises they transformed.
Storytelling is a great way to learn and be inspired. The stories you will hear from Family IN Business are the ones you can relate to, they might be battles you’re already fighting. These stories contain practical wisdom so that you don’t have to learn everything alone or the hard way.