Building While Flying: Recent Episodes
The Sasha Group
The Sasha Group is the small to midsize business arm of the VaynerX family of companies. Through strategy, branding marketing and media, we help ambitious companies build strong brands that flex with the times.
Right now, those times are full of volatility and ambiguity. And businesses and brands are having to shift and adapt. Across all sectors, there is an air of experimentation: brands are trying new things, testing and learning, and “building the plane while flying.”
Building While Flying is a new, weekly podcast from The Sasha Group that will tackle uncertain times by adopting an uncertainty mindset - we can’t predict the future, but we can listen, learn, apply and share as we all navigate complex times together. We’ll be speaking to a diverse range of business leaders and founders about how they tackle challenges, stay resilient and grow - with real-life examples of how these strategies have been put into practice.
Tanya Perkins is the founder of The Refig. The Refig is a plant-based hair care company without compromise. After finding out about an auto-immune condition, she needed hair care that didn’t have certain chemicals. She ended up making her own formula after being unable to find any. Once one of her college friends found out, she discovered there was a huge demand for her innovative hair care.
In this episode of the Building While Flying podcast, Tanya joins Maribel Lara to talk about her journey to creating this company. She gives insight into its birth, finding the right partners, and encouraging change in behavior.
In-flight topics:
- Birth of the company
- Creating accompany off a need
- Waiting for the right partner formulation
- Changes that were part of her journey
- How she makes time for this with all her other endeavors
- …and more!
Connect with Tanya:
Tanya’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tanyaperkins
The Refig Website: https://therefig.com/
The Refig Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_refig/
Abby Dubois is the founder of EACH Jewelry. After years of designing for world-renowned brands, like Kate Spade and Coach, Abby set out to forge her own path and build her own jewelry brand. Her mission is to make ethical fashion fun, accessible, and empowering. Since starting the company six years ago, they’ve sold over half a million units.
In this episode of the Building While Flying podcast, Abby joins Katie Hankinson to talk about her journey as a first-time founder. She gives insight into her background, shifting to hair accessories, and her big breaks.
In-flight topics:
- Why she chose to start her own company
- Creating a brand around her values
- The shift to hair accessories
- Using brand partnerships to grow
- Her dreams for what’s next
- …and more!
Connect with Abby:
Abby’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abby-dubois-a463b132
Abby’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sparkleplentysparkleoften/
EACH Jewelry Website: https://www.eachjewels.com/
EACH Jewelry Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/each_jewels/
“We are able to have something that’s super profitable while still being super accessible.” - Abby
Tania Kottoor is the Founder and CEO of West X East (pronounced “West by East”). Tania has effectively married tradition with innovation. She’s led her team in building the world’s first AI-powered design platform for custom-fit cultural clothing and re-envisioned the process of shopping for weddings and special events.
In this episode of the Building While Flying podcast, Tania joins Maribel Lara to talk about how she uses AI to help you make the right choice for your big events and where her inspiration came from. She gives insight into her background, how she’s received so many grants, and what’s next.
In-flight topics:
- Her background and what led to West X East
- Using AI to help you make the right choice
- How she keeps track of everything
- The secrets to receiving so many grants
- Their soon-to-launch two-tiered rebrand
- …and more!
Connect with Tania:
Tania’s Website: https://www.taniakottoor.com/
Tania’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taniakottoor/
West X East Website: https://www.westxeast.com/
West X East Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/westxeast/
Longevity expert Kas Bordier's story is one of tenacity and determination. As a biotech and medtech entrepreneur, Kas is commercializing the latest health innovations. She is making health and vitality not only the coolest but also an attainable thing.
In this episode of the Building While Flying podcast, Kas joins Joe Quattrone to talk about how to take control of your own health and shape the future of proactive healthcare, aiming to move from reactive "sick care" to sustainable "healthcare."
In-flight topics:
- Kas' journey from communist Poland to leading a health tech revolution
- Her interest in longevity and the importance of proactive health management
- Reflections on the similarities between traditional health practices and modern biotechnology
- The role of Gen Z in shaping the future of health and wellness
- …and more!
Connect with Kas:
Kas LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-ross-6bbaab2/
“My body is the most important fuel that can either fuel my dreams or stop my dreams” - Kas
Adam Ross is the CEO and co-founder of Heyday, which launched its first skincare shop in New York City’s nomad neighborhood in 2015, with the belief that everyone should have access to professional skincare services, ultimately taking the facial out of the spa and into local communities across the United States.
In this episode of the Building While Flying podcast, Adam joins Mickey Cloud to talk about how Heyday is making skincare and facials more accessible. He gives insight into the evolution of their business model, franchising, and innovation within the industry.
In-flight topics:
- How he went from investment banker to the skincare industry
- The evolution of their business model
- Deciding to franchise and how to choose the right franchise partners
- The Wild Wild West that is skincare regulations
- The next challenges and how he stays calm under pressure
- …and more!
Connect with Adam:
Adam’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-ross-6bbaab2/
Heyday Website: https://www.heydayskincare.com/
Heyday Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heydayskincare/
“Scale is the magic of the consistency of the experience.” - Adam
Natalie Maxey is the CEO and co-founder of Winky Lux. From working in fashion, finance, and e-commerce, Natalie decide that the self-serious beauty business was ready for an overhaul and to bring fun to everyday beauty rituals. Winky Lux is a joyful clean makeup and skincare line that proves you can do really beautiful special stuff that is a lot less expensive and also has an award-winning formulation factor.
In this episode of the Building While Flying podcast, Natalie joins Maribel Lara to talk about how Winky Lux is making makeup more fun. She gives insight into product innovation, the balance between making great new products and getting them out as quickly as possible, and saucy gloss.
In-flight topics:
- Getting product ideas from everywhere
- The balance between making great new products and getting them out quickly
- How AI is changing how we do business
- Partnership with Applebees (BBQ Lip Gloss!)
- Instagram Live Shopping
- …and more!
Connect with Natalie:
Natalie’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natalie-mackey-15169370/
Natalie’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/natmack1/
Winky Lux Website: https://www.winkylux.com/
Winky Lux Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/winky_lux/
Devin Lars is the Founder and CEO of Kurieo Media, a creative agency specializing in fusing digital marketing with the physical world to bring unique solutions to their clients. Kurieo has worked with some of the biggest brands in the world, like Tesla, Cisco, and Nike, and A-list celebrities in the transportation, technology, music, and film industries. Although Kurieo is a relatively young company, Devin has spent more than a decade building the foundation that led to Kurieo’s success. Before even graduating high school, Devin built a successful screenprinting business out of his grandfather’s garage, selling customized t-shirts in his neighborhood and beyond.
In this episode of the Building While Flying podcast, Devin joins Joe Quattrone to talk about how he started his agency and the future of creativity and business. He gives insight into his personal journey, merging storytelling with production, and the importance of therapy.
In-flight topics:
- Devin’s journey to starting his own agency
- What makes his agency unique
- How AI is changing how we do business
- Growing out of the small business mindset
- His upcoming podcast and personal healing
- …and more!
Connect with Devin:
Devin’s Website: https://devinlars.com/
Devin’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devinlars/
Kurieo Website: https://kurieo.com/
Kurieo Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kurieoagency/
Nancy Rhodes, the founder of Alternew, is a veteran in the fashion industry. Her years of adding to the wasteful overconsumption of goods led her to a Master’s degree in sustainability and eventually to founding Alternew, a brand that’s designed to be inherently sustainable by promoting a re-fashion economy. Alternew is an on-demand clothing alteration and repair service with a strong mission of sustainability, positive body image, and accessibility.
In this episode of the Building While Flying podcast, Nancy joins Maribel Lara to explain her vision to make the fashion industry more sustainable. She gives insight into her journey, shifting the mindset of fashion haul to fashion care, and why this creates an opportunity for experience and storytelling.
In-flight topics:
- Nancy’s fashion journey and where the idea came from
- What her business is and who her customers are
- Returning to a former time of tailoring
- Reframing fashion hauls into fashion care
- What keeps her going
- …and more!
Connect with Nancy:
Nancy’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancyrhodes/
Nancy’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/partycaptainnancy/
Alternew Website: https://alternew.com/
Alternew Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alternew_official/
Dale Dupree is the co-founder of Sales Rebellion, which provides sales training and personal development. He is audacious with his outreach, intentional in his sales walk, and driven to create a community of sales professionals that cause undeniable curiosity and true impact. The rebellion believes in people over products, community over commission sales, fellowship over negotiations, and experiences over performing a pitch. Dale’s sales background dates back to his childhood when he wandered the halls of his father’s business.
In this episode of the Building While Flying podcast, Dale joins Maribel Lara to explain why he is rebelling against the typical canned approach to sales and creating a place that offers freedom from it. He gives insight into his sales journey, why sales should be more personal, and why he focuses on connection and community, not numbers.
In-flight topics:
- Dale’s Sales Journey
- Building the rebellion
- Evolving the way you sell
- Finding mutual ground with your customer
- What his father taught him about entrepreneurship
- …and more!
Connect with Jared:
Dale’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/copierwarrior/
Sales Rebellion Website: https://www.thesalesrebellion.com/
Sales Rebellion Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/salesrebellion/
Jared Kleinert is the founder of Offsite, a company that plans retreats that can save you time, money, and stress. Jared is also a TED speaker and is recognized as USA Today’s most conceptual millennial. He has written 3 books and his insights on entrepreneurship, networking, remote work, and offsites have been featured in major media such as Forbes, Time, Harvard Business Review, Fortune, NPR, Fox Business, and more.
In this episode of the Building While Flying podcast, Jared joins Mickey Cloud to explain how he scaled his business. He gives some insight into its beginnings, why he prioritized service before software at first, and the unconventional ways he keeps calm under pressure.
In-flight topics:
- The origin story of Offsite
- Their business model and how it will evolve
- Prioritizing service over software
- Choosing the right clients to work with
- Could Offsite be a leading indicator of the health of the economy?
- …and more!
Connect with Jared:
Jared’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaredkleinert/
Jared’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jared.kleinert/
Offsite Website: https://www.offsite.com/
Offsite Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/joinoffsite/
Welcome to Building While Flying: a weekly business podcast from Gary Vaynerchuk’s agency The Sasha Group. We are the small- to medium-sized business arm of VaynerX, the most contemporary independent holding company in the industry. At The Sasha Group, we teach, guide, and execute modern-day brand building and marketing for ambitious businesses looking for meaningful growth.
Building a business isn’t linear. The journey is wrought with turbulence, delays, and re-routes. Those who win are resilient, unafraid of challenges, and willing to flex in order to reach their destination. We get it; entrepreneurship is in our DNA, and we’re built of people with entrepreneurial experience and empathy.
Right now, times are volatile and ambiguous. Across all sectors, there is an air of experimentation. Brands and businesses are investigating new methods, exploring new paths, testing and learning, adapting, and, well, building the plane while flying. By adopting an uncertainty mindset, we can navigate the ever-changing skies of entrepreneurship together by listening, learning, applying, and sharing.
On Building While Flying, we hear from a diverse range of business leaders about how they face challenges head on and stay calm under pressure. Their stories are riddled with the unexpected and share how their strategies have been put into practice and changed their business.
Past episodes have featured stories of turning side hustles into main hustles, building businesses inspired by their families’ needs, dealing with rejection, selling the company they built, innovating better-for-you foods and products, and above all else, following their dreams and navigating the trials of entrepreneurship.
Thanks so much for flying with us. We’re glad you’re on this journey, too. Make sure you subscribe so you don’t miss our weekly episodes.
Dr. Michele Forbes is the founder of Compassionate Care Animal Hospital, which is a Fear-Free certified practice, and an AAHA (American Animal Hospital Association) accredited hospital, which only 15% of animal hospitals are. She worked as an emergency veterinarian for 12 years prior to opening CCAH as well as founding Spirit’s Legacy Fund in 2015. Dr. Forbes is passionate about caring for patients and clients. She enjoys making a difference in helping patients live their best lives. Outside of veterinary medicine, she shares her life with her husband, three kids, two dogs, two cats, and a variety of wildlife who mostly stay out of the garage.
In this episode of the Building While Flying podcast, Michele joins Joe Quattrone to explain why the US is about to be in an animal care crisis. Michele gives some insight into the statistics, how this happened, and what makes her animal hospital unique.
In-flight topics:
- The bleak statistics of where animal care in the U.S. is headed
- The cash flow of animal hospitals
- Small independent vet vs. big corporations
- Why her hospital is unique and wants to change vet culture
- Is being a vet the right way scalable?
- …and more!
Connect with Michele:
Michele’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michele-forbes-a99773202/
Michele’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drforbeez/
CCAH Website: https://www.ccahpetvet.com/
CCAH Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ccahpetvetina2/
“I started Compassionate Care with the one goal of I want these amazing vet professionals to show up at work, love the team, love what they’re doing even though it’s hard. And even though there are challenges, I still want them to walk away feeling like I am part of something really special and amazing and we’re accomplishing really special and amazing things.” - Michele
Cate Luzio is the founder and CEO of Luminary, a global professional education and networking platform created to uplift and up-skill women through all phases of their professional journey. Members are comprised of a multi-generational and intersectional community of individuals, entrepreneurs, corporations, and organizations including JP Morgan Chase, Unilever, Verizon, Indeed, MasterCard, Spotify, Power Map, BlackRock, Yelp, and more. Before starting Luminary, Cate spent two decades in financial services leading global multi-billion dollar businesses.
In this episode of the Building While Flying podcast, Cate joins Maribel Lara to share more about Luminary and her experiences as an entrepreneur. Cate gives some insight into her professional journey, adapting to her environment, and why being an entrepreneur is so hard.
In-flight topics:
- How banking made her entrepreneurial
- The evolution of Luminary’s vision
- Being a business fueled by its members
- The isolation and constant mental struggle of an entrepreneur
- Why hearing stories from members makes it worth it
- …and more!
Connect with Cate:
Cate LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cluzio/
Cate Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cateluzio/
Luminary website: https://www.weareluminary.com/
Luminary Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/weareluminary/
“While everyone likes to use the word pivot for us, we didn’t pivot… pivot means we changed directions, we didn’t change directions. We adapted to the environment and what was happening. Our core mission never changed, how we delivered it evolved.” - Cate
Sehreen Noor Ali is the Co-Founder and CEO of Sleuth, a search engine for parents to help with their children’s health and development. Sleuth originally began as a solution for her own family’s needs, and Sehreen quickly realized it would help more than her own family. After meeting her co-founder Alex in an incubator, they got to work building Sleuth into what it is today.
In this episode of the Building While Flying podcast, Sehreen joins Maribel Lara to share more about Sleuth and her experiences as an entrepreneur, mother, and caretaker. Sehreen gives some insight into how she came up with the name and what it means to her, and talks about meeting her now co-founder and how they best work together.
In-flight topics:
- What inspired Sleuth and how it works
- Finding her co-founder
- Lessons learned in entrepreneurship
- The story behind Sleuth’s name and logo
- Advice for maintaining relationships as an entrepreneur
- …and more!
Connect with Sehreen:
Sehreen LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sehreennoorali/
Sehreen Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sehreennoorali/
Sleuth website: https://hellosleuth.com/
Sleuth Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hellosleuth/
In honor of our 100th episode, we thought it would be a great time to check in with previous guests and see what’s happened since we last spoke to them. Listen to our guests share exciting new updates like viral TikToks, exciting partnerships, launching NFTs, and more! We hope you are encouraged by how far our guests have come!
Thank you for listening to and supporting our podcast! Subscribe to Building While Flying so you don’t miss out on future episodes.
Updates From:
- Alice Kim, Founder and CEO of PerfectDD
- Anita Laney, Founder and CEO of DataLou
- Anouck Gotlib, CEO of Belgian Boys
- Giovanni Vaccaro, Co-Founder and CBO of Glamsquad
- Kyra Peralte, Creator of The Traveling Diary Tour
Connect with our Guests:
Alice on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alicekim007/
PerfectDD Website: https://perfectdd.com/
Anita on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anita-laney-8a76699/
DataLou Website: https://www.datalou.com/
Anouck on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anouck-gotlib/
Belgian Boys Website: https://www.belgianboys.com/
Giovanni on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/giovanni-vaccaro-b4137a90/
Glamsquad Website: https://www.glamsquad.com/
Kyra on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyra-peralte-aa227917/
The Traveling Diary Tour Website: https://www.thetravelingdiarytour.com/
“Since our podcast in February, so much has happened, where do I start? With the support of The Sasha Group and Gary Vee, I finally launched on TikTok in April and we went viral! Our highest viewed video was watched 7.5 million times and that one video alone generated over $30,000 in sales.” - Alice Kim, Founder and CEO of PerfectDD
Nicholas Stone is the founder and CEO of Bluestone Lane, the fastest-growing premium café brand in the United States. Almost a decade ago, Bluestone Lane reset the coffee scene, introducing New York to the flat white and its Australian-inspired café experience. Now with over 65 locations across 8 markets, Bluestone is committed to providing great café experiences that are focused on human connection.
In his conversation with Katie Hankinson, Nick shares how getting coffee in his home in Australia felt more like a communal experience whereas in America it was all about convenience. He started Bluestone Lane to try to recreate the Australian experience in the US. He discusses the challenges of COVID, human connection in a digital world, scaling, and adjusting to a hybrid workforce.
In-flight topics:
- His origins and the cultural coffee differences in the US and Australia
- Getting through COVID
- The power of hospitality and making people feel special
- Choosing the right brand partnerships
- Adjusting to the hybrid workforce
- …and more!
Connect with Nicholas Stone:
Bluestone Lane Website: https://bluestonelane.com/
Bluestone Lane on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bluestonelane/
Bluestone Lane on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BluestoneLane
Nicholas on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholas-stone-49465767/
Nicholas on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicholas_j_stone/
Matt Higgins is the CEO and co-founder of RSE Ventures. Matt is a noted serial entrepreneur and growth equity investor. He is also an executive fellow at the Harvard Business School where he teaches the course “Moving Beyond The Direct Consumer.” His first book “Burn The Boats: Toss Plan B Overboard and Unleash Your Full Potential” was published by Harper Collins William Morrow and became available on February 14, 2023.
In his conversation with Joe Quattrone, Matt shares his personal journey from humble beginnings to now writing his first book. He discusses the hardships along the way and the lessons he learned from them. He hopes his book will encourage others dealing with their own traumas and teach them how to remove the things that are standing in the way of fully committing to the things they care about.
In-flight topics:
- Why everyone can do personal branding
- How 9/11 shaped him
- What gets him to invest
- Life lessons from having cancer
- His new book and being vulnerable to encourage others
- …and more!
Connect with Matt Higgins:
Get “Burn The Boats”: https://www.amazon.com/Burn-Boats-Overboard-Unleash-Potential/dp/006308886X
Matt on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-higgins-rse/
Matt on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mhiggins/
Matt on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mhiggins/
We love taking questions from our listeners and answering them in our episodes. In this episode of Building While Flying, Joe Quattrone, SVP at The Sasha Group, is back to answer some of YOUR questions!
Topics in this Q&A include:
- Best approaches for a merger or buyout of competitors
- Attracting donors for your non-profit on social media
- How to gradually scale your media team
- Content marketing is hard work, there’s no cheat code
- Finding the best practice for scheduling posts on social media
- …and more!
Like what you heard? Want to have YOUR questions answered on the podcast? Connect with us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and/or Linkedin, and tell us what you want to know.
Subscribe to Building While Flying so you don’t miss out on future episodes — including more Q&A’s!
Connect with Joe: LinkedIn / Twitter
We love taking questions from our listeners and answering them in our episodes. In this episode of Building While Flying, Joe Quattrone, SVP at The Sasha Group, is back to answer some of YOUR questions!
Topics in this Q&A include:
- Content recommendations to make your business more interesting
- The impact of AI on influencer marketing
- Quick hacks for creating content when you’re an introvert
- How to tell a manager they aren’t manager material
- Where Joe would invest $5,000 if he had a very small business
- …and more!
Like what you heard? Want to have YOUR questions answered on the podcast? Connect with us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and/or Linkedin, and tell us what you want to know.
Subscribe to Building While Flying so you don’t miss out on future episodes — including more Q&A’s!
Connect with Joe: LinkedIn / Twitter
SHOW NOTES:Ken Moskowitz, aka Spanky, is the founder and CCO of Ad Zombies, while also being the founder and business coach of the podcast EntreGrow. Spanky started his creative career in New York City and quickly rose to the top of the broadcast creative industry. He’s led rebranding efforts over the last three decades for many major and smaller brands such as the Indy 500, FritoLay, Samuel Adams, Coca-Cola, and M&M’s (Mars).
In his conversation with Joe Quattrone, Spanky shares his creative journey and how he started his business by accident. Throughout the episode, he explains why he thinks human-written copy sells better than AI, what AI can be used for, and how storytelling is still the key to writing copy that sells.
In-flight topics:
- Starting a business on accidents
- Human vs AI, who wins?
- Why the moment matters when choosing between human and AI
- What’s his ideal zombie?
- His book and learning from Gary Vee
- …and more!
Connect with Ken Moskowitz:
Ad Zombies Website: https://www.adzombies.com/
Ad Zombies on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adzombies/
Ad Zombies on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/adzombies/
Ad Zombies on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adzombies
Ken Moskowitz on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/spankymoskowitz/
Maggie Love is the founder of SheFi, a decentralized finance company and broader crypto educational initiative and community aimed at onboarding more women into the new financial economy enabled Web 3.0 and blockchain technology. Its goal is to empower more women into financial freedom.
In her conversation with Joe Quattrone, Maggie shares how she got inspired to help women learn about the new wave of financial literacy. Throughout the episode, she explains why she thinks this is important, what goes on in their boot camps, and how she’s built her company in the midst of so much adversity in the world.
In-flight topics:
- Her background and inspiration
- Helping people left behind catch up on financial literacy
- How her boot camps take women from zero to crypto confident
- Stitching together the educational and experimental components
- Building in the midst of adversity
- …and more!
Connect with Maggie Love:
SheFi Website: https://www.shefi.org/
SheFi on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shefi.crypto/
SheFi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/She__Fi
SheFi on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/shefi/
Maggie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/love.maggie_/
Sam Patil is the founder and CEO of Well Traveled Club, a members-only platform designed to reduce the pain of planning for travel and replace it with enjoyment. It is described as a home for a new generation of travelers, foodies, and adventure seekers. Well Traveled Club offers community perks and more to its growing membership.
In her conversation with Katie Hankinson, Sam shares how she got into the travel space, especially during the pandemic. Throughout the episode, she explains why travel should be about people not features, the core pillars of the membership, and how it’s building a community.
In-flight topics:
- Her background and starting in the pandemic
- Lack of women leaders in the travel space
- Travel is about people, not features
- Creating a home for middle-level travelers
- People are spending more on experiences than physical goods
- …and more!
Connect with Sam Patil:
WTC Website: https://www.welltraveledclub.com/
WTC on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/welltraveledclub/
WTC on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/welltraveledclub/
WTC on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@welltraveledclub
Victoria Kennedy and Isabelle Seale are the co-founders of Seed to Harvest Ventures, a pre-seed and seed-stage fund that invests in software companies that are founded by women of color. They are product and design professionals with 10+ years of experience scaling products and teams for early to mid-stage startups. Now they are supporting founders who are historically overlooked by providing them with education, resources, and connections to scale their businesses.
In their conversation with Katie Hankinson, Victoria and Isabelle share how they started partnering together and the goals of Seed to Harvest Ventures. Throughout the episode, they explain why they chose to focus on women of color, how to fundamentally change the tech ecosystem, and the future of investing.
In-flight topics:
- Their backgrounds and how they started partnering together
- The unprecedented financial opportunity of women of color
- Fundamentally changing the tech ecosystem
- Being a different VC and changing the landscape
- The future of investing
- …and more!
Connect with Seed to Harvest:
STH Website: https://www.seedtoharvestvs.com/
STH on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sthventures/
Victoria on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoria-kennedy-10/
Isabelle on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/isabelleseale/
Yasmin Nouri and Kaya Purohit are co-founders of Beeya, a wellness company helping women overcome hormonal imbalances using natural, food-based solutions. Inspired by their own struggles and seed-cycling journeys, Beeya is a simple way to support hormones and help women revolutionize their own health.
In their conversation with Maribel Lara, Yasmin and Kaya share how Beeya was born and how their mission to support and educate women drives them each day. They discuss why education is such a huge pillar of their brand, and why it’s important for them to not be “gatekeepers” of their knowledge. They also share a look ahead for Beeya and talk about what excites them as they continue to grow their business.
In-flight topics:
- Differentiating your business in a crowded landscape
- The value of education in your brand
- Strategies for a successful product launch
- “Showing up” in your business content
- Being open to pivoting in business
Connect with Beeya Wellness:
Beeya website: https://beeyawellness.com/
Beeya on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beeyawellness/
Beeya on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@beeyawellness
Yasmin Nouri on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yasminnouri/
Bridget Hilton is founder of LSTN Sound, an eight-figure social impact business that creates social change through the power of sound through the purchase of audio products via their website and retailers like Nordstrom and Whole Foods. Since its founding in 2012, LSTN has funded 20 missions to help more than 50,000 people around the world receive hearing aids through their partnership with the Starkey Hearing Foundation.
In her conversation with Mickey Cloud, Bridget shares her journey from the mailroom at a record label to finding her purpose and founding LSTN with her co-founder. Throughout the episode, she emphasizes the cause behind her business and why she chose to pursue this path: her desire to help people hear music. Building a cause-based business isn’t an easy path, and Bridget shares important lessons she’s learned along the way.
In-flight topics:
- Breaking into the entertainment industry
- Building a cause-based business
- Choosing DTC and partnerships over retail
- Selecting the right non-profit partner
- Having a strong support system
- …and more!
Connect with Bridget Hilton:
LSTN Website: https://lstnsound.com/
LSTN on Twitter: https://twitter.com/LSTN
LSTN on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lstnsound/
Bridget on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bridgetlhilton/
Bridget on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bridgethilton/
Danielle and Jelani Jackson are owners and operators of Richie’s Chicken & Soul, a fast-casual soul-food restaurant based in the Cincinnati, Ohio, area. Danielle’s family originally started Richie’s in 1986, and she and Jelani joined the business in 2015 to understand the ropes of owning and growing a restaurant.
In their conversation with Joe Quattrone, Jelani and Danielle share how they’ve evolved Richie’s over the last seven years, and what “Richie’s 2.0” looks like. They emphasize hospitality and authenticity both in-store and on their social media channels, and aim to create a memorable brand experience as well as delicious soul food. Above all, what makes Richie’s stand out, Danielle says, is their focus on their people and building an environment where people feel safe, supported, inspired to work hard, and are happy to be there.
In-flight topics:
- Owning and operating a family business vs. a funded startup
- Learning curves from corporate to small business
- Supporting your team as humans
- Building hospitality in person and online
- Incorporating your values into your business
- …and more!
Connect with Jelani and Danielle:
Richie’s Chicken & Soul website: https://www.richieschicken.com/
Jelani on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jelani-jackson-6b534013/
Richie’s Chicken & Soul Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/richieschicken/
Simmone Taitt is the Founder and CEO of Poppy Seed Health, an on-demand telehealth platform offering support with doulas, midwives, and nurses for pregnant and postpartum birthing people. After cutting her teeth in retail and working for startups for over a decade, Simmone founded Poppy Seed Health in 2019 after her own experiences with pregnancy loss and lack of support afterward. In a year and a half, Poppy Seed Health has logged over 3 million minutes of chat time between doulas, midwives, nurses, and patients.
In her conversation with Maribel Lara, Simmone shares her own heartbreaking story of pregnancy loss, and how that experience led her to become a doula and start Poppy Seed Health. She describes their in-depth beta testing process and how she and her team developed Poppy Seed Health to fill the gaps in mental and emotional healthcare during and after pregnancy.
In-flight topics:
- Saying “yes” to opportunities
- How beta tests informed product development
- Leveraging technology to bring healthcare to rural areas
- Making accessibility a hallmark of your business
- What the future looks like for Poppy Seed Health
Connect with Simmone:
Poppy Seed Health website: https://www.poppyseedhealth.com/
Poppy Seed Heath Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/poppyseedhealth/
Poppy Seed Health on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/poppy-seed-health/
Simmone Taitt on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simmonetaitt/
Simmone Taitt on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simmone_taitt/
Michael Sharon and Kal Freese are co-founders of Taika, a new-wave beverage company that’s creating better coffee drinks that are better for you. Their goal with Taika products is to fuel creativity and reinvent the experience of drinking coffee. They met four years ago after long careers in other industries, and Taika was born shortly thereafter.
In their conversation with Joe Quattrone, Michael and Kal share their stories of how they got connected and started building Taika together. Michael and Kal emphasize the importance of their community in building the brand, and how vital the feedback loop has been to Taika’s development. They also discuss the immense opportunities that exist with coffee and the beverage space, and how Taika can make an impact by fueling creativity around the world.
In-flight topics:
- How Taika was born (1:10 - 5:00)
- What it means to be a “destination” company (5:35 - 6:50)
- Innovating through ingredients (7:00 - 9:55)
- Caffeine as a commodity (11:10 - 20:40)
- Pioneering a new category (20:45 - 21:57)
- Sourcing R&D through customers (25:55 - 27:55)
- Integrating Web3 and NFTs into the brand (29:22 - 33:32)
Connect with Taika:
Taika website: https://taika.co/
Taika Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taika/
Michael on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelsharon/
Kal on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kalfreese/
Gesche Haas is the Founder and CEO of Dreamers & Doers, a community and agile PR team amplifying extraordinary entrepreneurial women. As of this episode’s recording, Dreamers & Doers boasts a carefully curated membership of 35,000 entrepreneurial women globally.
In her conversation with Maribel Lara, Gesche shares how her childhood and upbringing shaped her into the human and entrepreneur she is today. She explains how Dreamers & Doers was born and why their human-first approach has helped them grow into a global community of extraordinary female entrepreneurs. Gesche also provides insight into how they’ve curated their community over the years, and how that curation translates into growth.
If you’re a woman entrepreneur and feel you might be a good fit for Dreamers & Doers, you can learn more and apply on their website.
In-flight topics:
- Approaching “crossroads” in life and business
- Following your own path in business
- Choosing which business idea to pursue
- What growth looks like for Dreamers & Doers
- Strategically curating a community
- …and much more!
Connect with Gesche Haas:
Dreamers & Doers website: https://www.dreamersdoers.com/membership
Dreamers & Doers Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dreamersdoers/
Dreamers & Doers LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/dreamersdoers/
Gesche Haas LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gesche/
Alison Cayne is the founder and CEO of Haven’s Kitchen, a CPG brand that’s making home cooking more accessible and enjoyable. Haven’s Kitchen started as an in-person cooking school, and now includes a line of packaged sauces, tools, and apparel for home cooks. Over the last several years, Haven’s Kitchen has evolved based on customers’ needs and in response to the world at large.
In her conversation with Katie Hankinson, Alison shares how she combined her passion for food and cooking with her desire to make people’s lives better into her career. She shares how Haven’s Kitchen transitioned from a fully in-person kitchen classroom to a direct-to-consumer CPG brand, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. Lastly, Alison and Katie dive deep into content and how a strong content strategy can build your brand and engage your audience.
In-flight topics:
- Shifting to DTC during the pandemic
- Knowing your customers and audience
- Using content to educate your audience
- Developing an effective content strategy
- Knowing when it’s time to pivot in business
- …and more!
Connect with Ali:
Haven’s Kitchen website: https://havenskitchen.com/
Haven’s Kitchen YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/HavensKitchen/featured
Haven’s Kitchen Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/havenskitchen/
Haven’s Kitchen TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@havenskitchen
Alison Cayne on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alison-cayne-223b0b14a/
Isabelle Steichen is the CEO and co-founder of Lupii, a plant-based, sustainable food brand known for its protein bars and newly launched pastas. Lupii uses the lupini bean as its main ingredient and source of plant-based protein, and to create simple, sustainable, and delicious food to keep you going. After becoming “obsessed” with lupini beans and in-depth research, it became Isabelle’s mission to introduce this protein-packed bean to more people worldwide. She and her co-founder Allie Dempster then launched Lupii in January 2020.
Isabelle’s conversation with Katie Hankinson is absolutely loaded with value and insights for entrepreneurs in all industries. Isabelle shares tons of advice on finding the right business partner with complementary skills and why she and Allie work so well together. She also discusses lessons she’s learned throughout her entrepreneurial journey: early R&D with actual customers, benefits of working with influencers, not rushing growth, and the “retail playbook.”
Feeling snackish after listening to this episode? Lupii products can be found in 400 retailers nationally. You can locate your nearest Lupii products on their website.
In-flight topics:
- Finding a business partner
- Refocusing on DTC during the pandemic
- Importance of transparency in building a brand
- Educating your customers through marketing
- Building authentic relationships with influencers
- Developing sustainable packaging
- Having a growth mindset as an entrepreneur
- …and so much more!
Connect with Isabelle:
Lupii website: https://getlupii.com/
Lupii on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/getlupii/
Isabelle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/isabelle-steichen-she-her-1523b969/
The Plantiful Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-plantiful-podcast/id1157229959
Kara Hill is the founder and CEO of My Recruiting Solutions, the nation’s leading expert in recruiting for girls’ volleyball. Kara offers recruiting services and consulting for athletes and their families to help them better navigate the college recruiting process. She also runs VBallRecruiter, a website full of resources for prospects, coaches, and scouts.
In her conversation with Mickey Cloud, Kara focuses largely on how technology, NIL, and social media have significantly altered how the recruiting process works. From the start of the process through the athletes’ time in school, recruiting looks nothing like what Kara experienced. She discusses what she and her team are doing to better educate and prepare athletes: teaching them social media, preparing them for potential NIL partnerships, and most importantly, developing their personal brands. Kara is also a 4Ds alumnus and speaks about the value and knowledge she gained from the program—so much so that she’s going back for round 2!
In-flight topics:
- How My Recruiting Services helps volleyball athletes and their families
- Differences in recruiting now vs. 20 years ago
- How NIL impacts the recruiting process
- The role of social media in recruiting
- Adapting your business as culture and technology change
- …and more!
Connect with Kara:
My Recruiting Solutions website: https://myrecruitingsolutions.com/
Kara Hill on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vballrecruiter/
Kara Hill on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrskarahill/
Kara Hill on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@vballrecruiter09
Sarah Apgar is the Founder and CEO of FitFighter, a global fitness brand and transformative strength training system that’s accessible, unintimidating, and good for everyone of all fitness levels. It’s rooted in the training firefighters go through and Sarah’s own innovation of a steel hose at its core. Before starting FitFighter, Sarah served in the Iraq War, spent five years at Warby Parker, and is a volunteer firefighter, athlete, and mother of two.
In her conversation with Maribel Lara, Sarah shares how FitFighter got started, her early “steel hose” innovation, and her vision for the company moving forward. In the beginning she had no expectations of building a global fitness brand. After nine years, FitFighter shows no signs of slowing down. Sarah talks about facing challenges head on, always having a “stubborn curiosity” as an entrepreneur, choosing where to focus in your business, building a successful brand, and much more.
Topics in this episode include:
- How FitFighter got its start
- Important qualities in entrepreneurship
- What it means to be “strong”
- Standing out in a crowded industry
- How FitFighter pivoted in response to challenges
- Choosing where to focus
- …and more!
Connect with Sarah:
FitFighter website: https://www.fitfighter.com/
FitFighter Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/fitfighter/
FitFighter YouTube channel
Sarah on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahapgar/
Sarah on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarah.apgar/
This week we are absolutely privileged to share an episode from the Business For Builders podcast featuring our own Joe Quattrone, SVP, Head of Education at The Sasha Group. The Business for Builders podcast provides business-building information and insight for general contractors looking to remove deficiencies and vulnerabilities in their businesses.
Joe and host Max Peterson cover a wide range of topics, from how Joe’s career got started, the earlier days of VaynerMedia, building a strong company and team culture, The Sasha Group’s education products, and of course, marketing your contracting business.
This episode is jam-packed with value and insights from an industry veteran, including:
- Working for money vs. love
- Patience in business
- Work-life balance
- Prioritization and delegation in leadership
- Building for the next generation
Connect with Joe and Max:Joe on LinkedIn
Joe on Instagram
Business for Builders on Instagram
Max on LinkedIn
Learn more about the 4Ds
Learn more about STORK
Antonio Ramirez is the founder of Pixel506, a boutique digital innovation agency offering nearshore creative and digital solutions and technology services. Its combination of services and locations in Brooklyn, Peru, and Costa Rica offers a unique perspective to Pixel506’s clients and partners. Antonio is a client of The Sasha Group’s Mentors program, a 3-year partnership aimed at helping small businesses unlock strategic growth.
Recently, Pixel506 was purchased by 10Pearls, a monumental achievement in Antonio’s career and life. In this episode, Antonio opens up about building Pixel506 to sell, the process of selling, what’s changing, and what he’s learned throughout the process.
In-flight topics:
- How Pixel506 was born
- Dealing with rejection as a business owner
- Knowing when to sell your company
- Making the best decisions for your business and team
- Advice for business owners looking to sell
- What’s ahead for Pixel506
Connect with Antonio:
Pixel506 Website: https://pixel506.com/
Pixel506 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pixel506official/
Pixel506 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pixel506/
Antonio Ramirez LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/antonioramirezcr/
Antonio Ramirez Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/antonionyc506/
Rachel Connors is the Co-Founder and CEO (Chief Enthusiasm Officer) of Yellow Leaf Hammocks, a social enterprise dedicated to defeating global poverty through sustainable artisan job creation. Yellow Leaf was born after Rachel’s husband met a group of women in a small village in Thailand making what he dubbed the world’s most comfortable hammocks. It then became their mission to share those hammocks with the world—and help those women and their families overcome poverty through artisan work.
In this episode of the Building While Flying podcast, Rachel joins Katie Hankinson, SVP at The Sasha Group, to dive into what it means to be a social enterprise. Rachel says, “You can’t only be focused on doing good, because if you aren’t running a sustainable business, the opportunity goes away.” Rachel also talks about how microfinance organizations like Kiva.org are helping businesses like Yellow Leaf make a difference for women around the world.
In their conversation, Rachel and Katie discuss:
- Yellow Leaf’s origin story
- Scaling an early-stage business
- Defining a “social enterprise”
- Balancing messaging in content
- Product innovation at scale
- Diversifying marketing channels
- Balancing strengths among leadership
Connect with Rachel and Yellow Leaf Hammocks:
Yellow Leaf Hammocks website: https://www.yellowleafhammocks.com/
Yellow Leaf on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yellowleafhammocks/
Rachel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelconnors/
Kari Warberg Block is the Founder and CEO of EarthKind, an eco-friendly pest control product that keeps bugs and critters at bay without harming or killing them. She started EarthKind with just some seeds and a powerful vision for a kinder world—for people and critters.
In this episode of the Building While Flying podcast, Kari shares her founder’s story: from growing up poor to a near-death accident, to building EarthKind into an 8-figure company and making the Earth a better place. Her biggest message to listeners is, “With a lot of passion and tenacity, and dog-headed discipline, you can make some amazing things happen.”
Want to try EarthKind products in your home? Browse their products here or find them in a retailer near you.
NOTE: EarthKind is a client of The Sasha Group.
In-flight topics:
- Kari’s founder’s story
- Working with government bodies to change policy
- Leading a company with purpose
- Listening to your customers
- Growing up on a farm
- Treating the Earth better with better products
Connect with Kari & EarthKind:
EarthKind on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/earthkind.living/
EarthKind on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@earthkind.living
EarthKind website: https://www.earthkind.com/
Kari on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kariwarbergblock/
Kari on Twitter: https://twitter.com/KariWBlock
Gracie Poulson is the Co-Founder of Grace Rose Farm, one of the biggest suppliers of fresh, garden-grown roses in the United States. They’re committed to ethically growing and harvesting more than 90 varieties of roses. Grace Rose Farm started as a flower farm and supplier to florists around the country, born purely out of Gracie’s love for growing roses. But when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, they found themselves needing to pivot quickly. And they did, by shifting to a direct-to-consumer model. Now they’re continuing to grow their brand, spread joy via roses across the country, and working towards their Series A funding.
In this episode, Gracie Poulson and Katie Hankinson discuss:
- Transitioning to direct-to-consumer
- Partnering with bigger flower farms
- Finding joy in your work
- Building connection on social media
- Sustainability in the flower industry
- Challenges with hiring and turnover rates
- Wins and challenges marketing a seasonal business
- …and much more!
If you want some beautiful Grace Rose Farm roses in your home, you can shop their collections here: https://www.gracerosefarm.com/collections/our-favorite-bouquets
Connect with Grace Rose Farm:
Website: https://www.gracerosefarm.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gracerosefarm/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gracerosefarm
We love taking questions from our listeners and answering them in our episodes. In this episode of Building While Flying, Joe Quattrone, SVP at The Sasha Group, is back to answer some of YOUR questions!
Topics in this Q&A include:
- When to add staff at your agency
- When to start your own company
- Increasing engagement on your content
- KPIs for evaluating creative effectiveness
- Business vs personal account on TikTok
- …and more!
Like what you heard? Want to have YOUR questions answered on the podcast? Connect with us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and/or LinkedIn, and tell us what you want to know.
Subscribe to Building While Flying so you don’t miss out on future episodes—including more Q&As!
Connect with Joe: LinkedIn / Twitter
Miguel Leal says he was “destined” to work in the food industry. He’s an industry veteran who’s served as CMO and executive vice president with brands like Cholula, Kind Snacks, Diamond Foods, and more. He and his co-founders started SOMOS Foods with the mission to “share the best of Mexico with the world.” Somos products are plant-based, nutritionally dense, gluten-free, and can be used to create a meal in 10 minutes or less.
In his conversation with Maribel Lara, Miguel shares how SOMOS Foods was born, and how family recipes play a role in their product development. He also discusses the “ownership mentality” they practice at SOMOS and how that impacts the culture they’re building.
If you’re feeling hungry after this episode, you can browse and order SOMOS products directly from their website.
In-flight topics:
- Breaking misconceptions in the food industry
- Building a brand that’s true to heritage and culture
- Innovation in the CPG food industry
- Developing plant-based food products
- The meaning of the name “SOMOS”
- …and more!
Connect with Miguel and SOMOS Foods:
SOMOS website: https://eatsomos.com/
SOMOS Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eatsomos/
Miguel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/miguelleal/
Max Greb, also known as Max the Meat Guy, has a passion for meat and grilling, and shares his passion with more than 8 million followers across various social channels. After spending the last 10 years in China, Max returned to the U.S. in 2020 and has spent the last few years growing his personal brand and sharing his passion for grilling good food.
In this episode of the Building While Flying podcast, Max and Joe Quattrone talk about the differences between building a personal brand and a business, what it takes to be a content creator, going into business with family members, and even some beginner tips for grilling at home.
In-flight topics:
- Balancing a day job and content creation
- Building a personal brand vs. a business
- Sustaining your career as a creator
- Trusting the people you work with
- Making money as a content creator
- …and more!
Connect with Max:
YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/MaxtheMeatGuy
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maxthemeatguy/?hl=en
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@maxthemeatguy?lang=en
Website: https://www.maxthemeatguy.com/
Jess Flack is the Co-Founder and CEO of Ubiquitous, an influencer-managed marketplace that specializes in matching influencers and brands on TikTok. Her previous job at a moving startup helped her realize the power of TikTok and creators as a new marketing channel for brands. Now, she and her team at Ubiquitous help brands run their best influencer campaigns, instill the importance of opportunities within TikTok in their clients, and are building tech that will power and run the influencer marketing industry as a whole.
In her conversation with Mickey Cloud, Jess talks about how Ubiquitous was born and how it’s evolved since its inception. She talks about the future of influencer marketing, and how a managed marketplace like Ubiquitous can make the process easier and more effective for everyone. And the conversation wouldn’t be complete without talking about the impact TikTok has had on marketing for the last two years.
In-flight topics:
- How Ubiquitous was started
- Benefits of working with influencers
- What works on TikTok vs. other platforms
- Influencer opportunities for B2B brands
- The future of influencer marketing
Connect with Jess Flack:
Jess on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jess-flack/
Jess on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/__flack/?hl=en
Ubiquitous website: https://www.ubiquitousinfluence.com/
Ubiquitous Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ubiquitousofficial/
Ubiquitous TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ubiquitousofficial
Sehreen Noor Ali is the Co-Founder and CEO of Sleuth, a search engine for parents to help with their children’s health and development. Sleuth originally began as a solution for her own family’s needs, and Sehreen quickly realized it would help more than her own family. After meeting her co-founder Alex in an incubator, they got to work building Sleuth into what it is today.
In this episode of the Building While Flying podcast, Sehreen joins Maribel Lara to share more about Sleuth and her experiences as an entrepreneur, mother, and caretaker. Sehreen gives some insight into how she came up with the name and what it means to her, and talks about meeting her now co-founder and how they best work together.
In-flight topics:
- What inspired Sleuth and how it works
- Finding her co-founder
- Lessons learned in entrepreneurship
- The story behind Sleuth’s name and logo
- Advice for maintaining relationships as an entrepreneur
- …and more!
Connect with Sehreen:
Sehreen LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sehreennoorali/
Sehreen Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sehreennoorali/
Sleuth website: https://hellosleuth.com/
Sleuth Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hellosleuth/
Ashley Thompson is the Co-Founder and CEO of MUSH, healthy, ready-to-eat cold oats that are plant-based, gluten-free, dairy-free, wholesome and delicious. Ashley and her co-founder launched MUSH in 2015, with the conviction that easy, delicious, nutritious food can elevate the world in powerful ways. MUSH products are sold in stores around the country, and directly through their website.
In her conversation with Mickey Cloud, Ashley shares how MUSH got started and what inspired her lifelong journey of nutrition. She also discusses their split between retail and DTC, how they partner with influencers, and how an appearance on a popular TV show changed their business.
In-flight topics:
- Choosing retail over DTC
- Solving health issues with food
- Finding the right messaging for consumers
- Leveraging influencers in marketing
- Learning experiences from Shark Tank
- Navigating relationships with mentors and investors
- Opportunities for growth
Connect with Ashley:
Mush website: https://eatmush.com/
Mush store locator: https://eatmush.com/pages/store-locator
Mush on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mush/?hl=en
Ashley on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashley-thompson-50888626/
Rajesh Sinha is the Chairman and Founder of Fulcrum Digital, a business platform and solution engineering company that helps with rapid digital acceleration and scaling. He started Fulcrum at 27 years old, with the goal of making the world a better place to live and work, through smarter digital platforms. Rajesh is also the author of the book Digital Operating Model: The Future of Business, which comes out early next year.
In this episode of Building While Flying, Rajesh talks with Katie Hankinson about his entrepreneurial journey, early influence from his father, the birth of Fulcrum Digital, and the future of work.
You can pre-order Rajesh’s book on Amazon here.
Book Link: https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Operating-Model-Future-Business/dp/1119826837/ref=sr_1_1?crid=Q51HLIVG538M&keywords=rajesh+sinha&qid=1657113835&sprefix=rajesh+sinha%2Caps%2C135&sr=8-1
In-flight topics:
- Defining “digital transformation”
- Fulcrum’s “digital doctor” mindset
- The power of strategic platforms
- Early mistakes in business
- How the pandemic framed the future of work
- Data, emotion, and culture to scale your business
- …and more!
Connect with Rajesh:
- Fulcrum website: https://fulcrumdigital.com/
- Fulcrum on Twitter: https://twitter.com/fulcrum_digital
- Fulcrum on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fulcrum_digital/
- Rajesh on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajesh-sinha-162975/
Joel McCauley is the owner and founder of Freedom Fit Gym, a fitness and training gym in Ashland, Virginia (outside of Richmond). They serve working professionals, athletes, and anyone looking to make a change in their fitness and health. Joel opened Freedom Fit Gym in 2015 in an old warehouse, and has grown it through two expansions, more services, more staff, and many happy clients.
Joel joins the Building While Flying podcast this week with Joe Quattrone, SVP at The Sasha Group, to share his journey from frequently injured high school athlete to gym owner and certified strength & conditioning specialist, and all-around entrepreneur and hustler.
In their conversation, Joel and Joe discuss:
- A family history of entrepreneurship
- Knowing when to expand
- Influence of “warehouse fitness”
- Survival tactics during the pandemic
- Developing an internship program
- …and more!
Connect with Joel:
- Freedom Fit Gym on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freedomfitgym/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FreedomFitGymVA
- Joel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joel-mccauley-cscs-26bb02ba/
- Website: http://www.freedomfitgym.com/
Edgar Carreon is the Founder and CEO of dree, a peer-to-peer laundry marketplace based in Salt Lake City, Utah. His family immigrated to the United States when he was young. He shares some of the challenges his family faced when moving to the U.S., and that his mother is a large reason and inspiration behind why he started dree. In this week’s episode of Building While Flying, Edgar joins Maribel Lara for a vulnerable, honest conversation about his journey as a founder and entrepreneur and what inspires him along the way.
In this episode, Edgar and Maribel discuss:
- How dree was started
- The purpose behind dree
- How his mom inspires his business
- Finding the right co-founder
- The future of dree’s leadership
- Why he chose Utah for his business
- …and more!
Connect with Edgar:
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edgaricarreon/
- Email: edgar@dree.com
- dree website: https://dreenow.com/
- dree Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joindree/?hl=en
Modernizing an Old Industry
Jessica Warch is CEO and Co-Founder of Kimai, a sustainably made, respectfully sourced lab diamond company. Kimai uses 100% recycled gold and lab-grown diamonds that are chemically and physically identical to their mined equivalents, without the environmental consequences. Jessica and her partner Sidney started Kimai after growing up around the diamond trade in Antwerp, Belgium, and wishing for more sustainability and transparency in the industry.
In this episode of Building While Flying, Jessica joins Elizabeth Cates, VP at The Sasha Group, to share their business journey and discuss what creating sustainable jewelry means to her, the industry at large, and the environment.
In-flight topics include:
- How Kimai was born
- How to make jewelry more sustainable
- The future of the jewelry and diamond industry
- Advice for aspiring entrepreneurs
- Strategies for investors and partnerships
- …and more!
Connect with Jessica & Kimai:
Kimai website: https://kimai.com/
Kimai on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kimai.co/
Jessica on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-warch/
Jessica on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessicawarch/
It all started when he got fired. David has amassed over 2.5 million followers combined through his social media channels where he offers career tips, resources, and job search help. While experimenting with a bunch of different ideas, David decided to make a TikTok account to share his perspective on navigating careers and what worked for him to land jobs. Turns out, that it worked for others too.
In this episode of Building While Flying, David joins Joe Quattrone to talk about his journey from insurance to career advisor. Driven by the passion to make education accessible to everyone, he’s built a business out of execution instead of monetization, never accepting money for his advice. David shares why he gets down in the dirt with DMs and urges us all to pursue what you believe fundamentally needs to exist.
In-flight topics:
- How David got started pursuing his passion
- Using Twitch to learn how to sustain attention
- Sharing his career perspective instead of expertise
- Pivoting from Twitch to Tiktok to grow community
- The magic of sharing information for free
- …and more!
RELEVANT LINKS:
- TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@davidpaykin
- YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/davidpaykin
- Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/davidpaykin/
- LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidpaykin/
- Community - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/9018999/
- Resources - https://beacons.ai/davidpaykin
We Answered Your Questions
Our Building While Flying Q&A is back! In part 2, Joe Quattrone, SVP, Head of Education, answers more questions submitted by our listeners across our social channels.
Topics include:
- Creative thinking for big brand activations
- Book recommendations for business owners
- Creating relevant organic content
- When to use paid media
- Usable audio on TikTok
Like what you heard? Want to have YOUR questions answered on the podcast? Connect with us on Instagram, Twitter, and/or LinkedIn and tell us what you want to know.
Subscribe to Building While Flying so you don’t miss out on future episodes—including more Q&As!
Connect with Joe: LinkedIn / Twitter
We answered your questions
You asked, we answered! Our Building While Flying Q&A is back with Joe Quattrone, SVP, Head of Education. In this episode, he answers more questions submitted by our listeners across our social channels.
Some of the topics discussed include:
- Direct to consumer (DTC) marketing
- Scaling a personal brand globally
- Making NFTs mainstream
- Advertising best practices
- Moving fast as an entrepreneur
Like what you heard? Want to have YOUR questions answered on the podcast? Connect with us on Instagram, Twitter, and/or LinkedIn and tell us what you want to know.
Subscribe to Building While Flying so you don’t miss out on future episodes—including more Q&As!
Connect with Joe: LinkedIn / Twitter
Denise Woodard is the Founder and CEO of Partake Foods, a food and snack brand that offers delicious, allergy-friendly snacks and baking mixes that everyone can enjoy and feel confident sharing. Denise started Partake after her daughter was diagnosed with multiple food allergies, and she wanted more options that met their allergy needs, and tasted good.
In addition to offering delicious snacks and mixes, Partake fights food insecurity through partnerships and education, and offers an annual fellowship program that mentors HBCU students and helps with job and internship placement.
In this episode of Building While Flying, Denise joins Maribel Lara to talk about her journey from the corporate world to entrepreneur and founder. Denise shares the challenges she faced along the way, and offers guidance for aspiring entrepreneurs.
In-flight topics:
- How Partake Foods was born
- Pitching and working with investors
- Leaning into strategic partnerships
- Expanding their retail presence
- Representation in the food industry
- …and more!
RELEVANT LINKS:
- Partake website: https://partakefoods.com/
- Locator: https://partakefoods.com/pages/find-us
- Partake Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/partakefoods/
- Denise Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/denisegwoodard/
- Denise LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/denisegwoodard/
In this episode of Building While Flying, we talk with Jacquelyn Rodgers, Founder of Greentop Gifts. Greentop Gifts is a gift wrap and apparel brand that brings diversity to celebrations by featuring diverse faces and characters in their products and designs. Jacquelyn originally started Greentop Gifts in 2016 for her son, but as interest grew, she took the opportunity to pursue it further.
In-flight topics:
- How Greentop Gifts was started (and what it’s named after)
- Working with your spouse
- Strength of networks
- Deciding to leave a full-time job
- Meeting a need within a community
- Importance of representation
- How to handle feedback about your product
- …and more!
Relevant links:
Greentop website: https://greentopgifts.com/
Greentop Instagram: https://instagram.com/greentopgifts
Jacquelyn LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacquelyn-rodgers/
Jeremy Hill is the Founder and Managing Partner of JB Capital, an alternative asset management firm investing in areas of the market underserved by traditional banks. He is known for creating innovative solutions to complex situations, providing more than $500 Million in capital to privately held companies across the United States.
In this episode of Building While Flying, Jeremy joins Joe Quattrone to talk about what makes Jeremy a different kind of investor? They also discuss the origin story of JB Capital, seeking a path less traveled, and why debt is like dating.
In-flight topics:
- Perfectly imperfect paths
- A “bug” to do something more
- Growing a wireless phone business
- Following a road less traveled
- Growing a business by default
- Equity is like getting married; debt is like dating
Connect with Jeremy:
- JB Capital website: https://jb-capital.com/
- Jeremy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremy-hill-a0350a3/
- JB Capital on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jbcapital/
- JB Capital on LinkedIn:: https://www.linkedin.com/company/jb-capital-management/
Adam Mizel and Chris Swanson are two of the founders of US United. They’re working to become the voice of unity and spark action in the process. US United is a not-for-profit whose mission is to build the brand to rally all who share their belief in unity as the path forward. US United provides the infrastructure necessary to disrupt discord and build movement.
In this episode of Building While Flying, Adam and Chris join Mickey Cloud to talk about what it means to build a brand for unity, the early stages of building an US United platform and the importance of brand. They also dive into the power of simple ideas, capitalizing on a viral moment, and which skills transfer across all industries.
If you’re looking to be the change you’d like to see, head over to the US United Website.
In-flight topics:
- Simple Ideas
- Standing up in a moment
- Capitalizing on virality
- Creating a roadmap to ignite action
- Getting people to care about a cause
- Skills that transcend industry
Connect with US United:
- US United website: https://www.us-united.org/
- US UnitedInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/US_United_Org/
- US United on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/USUnitedOrg
- Black & Blue Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/black-blue-podcast/id1532617483
Adam Mizel and Chris Swanson are two of the founders of US United. They’re working to become the voice of unity and spark action in the process. US United is a not-for-profit whose mission is to build the brand to rally all who share their belief in unity as the path forward. US United provides the infrastructure necessary to disrupt discord and build movement.
In this episode of Building While Flying, Adam and Chris join Mickey Cloud to talk about what it means to build a brand for unity, the early stages of building an US United platform and the importance of brand. They also dive into the power of simple ideas, capitalizing on a viral moment, and which skills transfer across all industries.
If you’re looking to be the change you’d like to see, head over to the US United Website.
In-flight topics:
- Simple Ideas
- Standing up in a moment
- Capitalizing on virality
- Creating a roadmap to ignite action
- Getting people to care about a cause
- Skills that transcend industry
Connect with US United:
- US United website: https://www.us-united.org/
- US UnitedInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/US_United_Org/
- US United on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/USUnitedOrg
- Black & Blue Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/black-blue-podcast/id1532617483
Anouck Gotlib is the CEO of Belgian Boys, a woman-owned sweet treats and snack brand on a mission to turn up the happy one sweet moment at a time. Belgian Boys offers a delicious assortment of breakfasts, sweet treats, and desserts, including stroopwafels, crepes, pancakes, and cookies.
In this episode of Building While Flying, Anouck joins Katie Hankinson to talk about Belgian Boys’ unique origin story, and how she and her team are bringing their favorite treats from Belgium to the U.S. She also discusses the differences between American and European consumers, and how building a strong brand foundation has led to their success.
If you’re craving something sweet after listening, see where you can find Belgian Boys products near you.
In-flight topics:
- How Belgian Boys was born
- Going into business with your partner
- Developing authentic products
- Making an impact during the pandemic
- Building a strong brand foundation
- Differences between American and European consumers
Connect with Anouck:
- Belgian Boys website: https://www.belgianboys.com/
- Belgian Boys Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/belgianboys/
- Belgian Boys on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@belgianboys?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc
- Anouck on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anouck-gotlib/
This week on Building While Flying, we’re sharing a special peek into the 4Ds. Jessica Morgan, Executive Content Producer at The Sasha Group, leads a session on personal branding and why it matters for your business.
Topics include:
- Benefits of investing in your personal brand
- Adopting the right mindset for personal branding
- Mistakes to avoid in personal branding
- Interactive exercise to think more deeply about your personal brand
Learn more about the 4Ds and book your spot in a future session here (https://4ds.thesashagroup.com/).
Connect with us!
- Jessica Morgan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicamorgantv/
- The Sasha Group on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thesashagroup
- The Sasha Group Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheSashaGroup
- The Sasha Group Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesashagroup/?hl=en
Molly Fienning is the Co-Founder and CEO of Red Clay Hot Sauce, a modern Southern hot sauce company based in Charleston, SC. Prior to Red Clay, Molly co-founded Babiators, the leading sunglasses brand for babies and kids.
Molly joins Katie on the Building While Flying podcast to talk about her journey from Harvard Business School to silent investor to CEO of Red Clay. She shares lessons learned from each step of her journey, and how each experience informed the next. She talks about what it means to be a good CEO and leader, and shares a potentially surprising opinion about public relations!
In-flight topics:
- How to be an effective CEO
- Difference between goals and journeys
- Lessons from one business to the next
- Scaling a brand during the pandemic
- The importance of traditional public relations
- …and more!
Connect with Molly Fienning:
Babiators website: https://babiators.com/
Red Clay website: https://redclayhotsauce.com/
Molly LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/molly-fienning-32789237/
Molly Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mollyfienning/
Red Clay Insta: https://www.instagram.com/redclayhotsauce/
In part 2 of our Building While Flying Q&A, Joe Quattrone, SVP, Head of Education, answers more questions from our listeners.
Topics include:
- Creating content efficiently
- Working with small ad budgets
- How to market on LinkedIn
- Marketing trends to know
- OOH media
Like what you heard? Want to have YOUR questions answered on the podcast? Connect with us on Instagram, Twitter, and/or LinkedIn and tell us what you want to know.
Connect with Joe: LinkedIn / Twitter
In this special edition of Building While Flying, James Orsini, President of The Sasha Group, and Joe Quattrone, SVP, Head of Education, answer questions from our listeners.
Topics include:
- How to make successful career pivots
- Mentorship as a two-way street
- Ageism in the marketing industry
- How to prioritize tasks and projects
- Buying and selling SMEs
Like what you heard? Want to have YOUR questions answered on the podcast? Connect with The Sasha Group on Instagram, Twitter, and/or LinkedIn and tell us what you want to know.
Connect with James: LinkedIn / Twitter
Connect with Joe: LinkedIn / Twitter
Jes Wolfe is the CEO of Rebel Girls, an entertainment-driven, global empowerment brand dedicated to inspiring and instilling confidence in girls around the world.
In her conversation with Maribel, Jes shares her journey from the finance world to CEO. She talks about what makes Rebel Girls so special: the opportunity to inspire girls and children everywhere and instill confidence from a young age. She emphasizes the importance of creativity and diversity on teams, and why honoring intersectionality makes your business better.
In-flight topics:
- Jes’s background
- Rebel Girls’s mission
- Growth of Rebel Girls
- Advice for business leaders on intersectionality
- How Rebel Girls will impact the futures of girls everywhere
Bruce Smith is the Founder and CEO of Hydrow, an at-home full-body rowing experience that connects the user with the natural world through Hydrow’s patented design and technology. Bruce is also an accomplished rower and coach himself; he led the U.S. National Rowing Team to a bronze medal in the 2015 world rowing championships.
In this episode, Bruce shares where his journey with rowing and water began, and how it led him to Hydrow. He talks about how rowing isn’t just great fitness for the body—it also has a profound impact on the mind and human behavior. Bruce also emphasizes Hydrow’s dedication to water quality and safety, and the connection between rowers and keeping waterways around the world in good condition. All of this fuses together in a unique brand and experience that offers something to everyone around the world.
In-flight topics:
- Hydrow’s unique technology
- Hydrow’s mission
- Water quality and safety
- Challenges building up to launch
- Lessons learned in leadership
- …and more!
Relevant Links:
Hydrow website: https://hydrow.com/
Hydrow Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hydrow/
Hydrow Twitter: https://twitter.com/hydrow_by_Crew
Hydrow YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/HydrowRower/featured
Bruce LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bruce-smith-aa756b1/
Alice Kim is a fashion industry veteran with more than two decades of experience. She’s now the Founder and CEO of PerfectDD, a sustainable clothing brand made specifically for mid-sized women with size DD and up.
In this episode, Alice chats with Maribel about every step of her journey: from starting her career in finance to leading PerfectDD today. Throughout their conversation, Alice shares lessons she learned along the way and offers advice for fellow entrepreneurs. She also emphasizes the importance of staying focused on your audience and incorporating your values into how you run your business.
In-flight topics:
- Finding a product-market fit
- Importance of data in brand building
- Focusing on a specific audience
- Building a sustainable business
- Living your values through your business
- …and more!
Kyra Peralte is a serial creator and entrepreneur who understands human needs and emotions, and creates products that meet those needs. Her most recent project is The Traveling Diary Tour, which connects women around the world through written entries in a shared journal. She’s also the creator of Mermaid Quest, a fantasy game for kids with a focus on representation.
In this episode of Building While Flying, Kyra joins Maribel Lara, SVP of Consulting at The Sasha Group, to talk about her journey, where she started, and the stories behind her work. Kyra shares how challenges she faced inspired her products, and how adjusting to the pandemic lifestyle inspired The Traveling Diary Tour. She truly draws on human connection and emotions to create solutions for challenges faced by humans around the world.
IN-FLIGHT TOPICS:
- Kyra’s background
- Adjusting to pandemic lifestyle changes
- Creating products that solve problems
- Origin of The Traveling Diary
- Vision for the future of The Traveling Diary
- Creation of the Mermaid Quest game
- …and more!
Doron Petersan is President of Sticky Fingers Sweets & Eats, a beloved vegan bakery in Washington, DC—and soon-to-be national e-commerce powerhouse. Doron has played a huge role in paving the way for vegan options in the mainstream that actually taste good. She’s also a two-time champion of the Food Network competition “Cupcake Wars.”
In her conversation with Katie, Doron shares the challenges she’s faced throughout her career: from breaking into the vegan food industry, to creating vegan food that tastes good, to changing people’s behaviors, and learning the business side of running a vegan bakery. She also emphasizes the important role her mission plays in growing her brand and business. Lastly, Doron talks about shifting from brick-and-mortar bakeries to e-commerce and wholesale, and what that means for the future of Sticky Fingers.
IN-FLIGHT TOPICS:
- Challenges of breaking into the vegan food industry
- Learning the business side of a bakery
- Running a mission-based brand
- Why shifting to e-commerce is the right move
- Lessons learned from shifting to e-commerce
- …and more!
Tony Samadani is the Co-Owner and Head of Strategic Partnerships at The Good News Network, a platform founded in 1997 as an antidote to the barrage of negativity experienced in the mainstream media. Tony joined the team in 2016 after a Google search for good news amidst a tumultuous, stressful time led him to the Good News Network website. The “plethora” of good news stories hooked him almost immediately.
Tony’s conversation with Mickey touches on more than just the benefits of consuming good news. In this episode of Building While Flying, Tony dives deep into how passions, purpose, and time are all related: if something fits within one of your three passion categories, then it’s worth your time. He shares how purpose and passion can guide your life decisions, and discusses why time is the most important currency.
There’s a lot coming down the Good News Network pipeline, too! Tony talks about Good Currency, a brand they’re launching soon to “gamify good” and help others experience the impacts of good news in whole new ways.
In-flight topics:
- History of The Good News Network (0:48 - 3:55)
- What does “Social Good Entrepreneurship” mean? (4:15 - 6:15)
- Time as currency (6:40 - 10:45)
- Launch of the Good Currency brand (12:20 - 17:00)
- Tony’s in-flight checklist (22:20 - 24:50)
- ...and more!
Relevant Links:
Good News Network: https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/
Good News Network Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thegoodnewsnetwork
Insta: https://www.instagram.com/goodnewsnetwork/
Tony LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonysamadani/
Farah Allen is an accomplished leader in the media technology space. Her career spans more than 20 years, from management consulting to founder and CEO. She currently serves as CEO of The Labz, a no-code-required digital design platform that creates high-end, communication-rich websites for virtual experiences.
In her conversation with Mickey, Farah opens up about her journey from consulting to founder, and shares some lessons from consulting that helped her as a founder. She talks about how the pandemic inadvertently helped direct her strategy and path forward in building The Labz. She shares some of her challenges in pivoting the business and building the right team to build The Labz into what she knew it could be. Farah even dives into Web3 and the metaverse, and shares some of her predictions for adoption and how it will impact technology moving forward.
IN-FLIGHT TOPICS:
- Building a business during the pandemic
- Recreating events online in an engaging way
- Using The Labz tech in education
- Building the right team for the business
- Lessons from her consulting career
- Planning for Web3 and the metaverse
- …and more!
RELEVANT LINKS:
Farah LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/farahallen
Farah IG: https://www.instagram.com/ceofarah1/
The Labz: https://www.thelabz.com/
The Labz IG: https://www.instagram.com/thelabzlive/
Aly Wente is the VP of Marketing and Customer Experience at Wente Vineyards. Wente is the country’s longest, continuously operated family-owned winery; Aly is the fifth generation of the Wente family to lead the business.
In this episode, Aly shares the history of Wente Vineyards, what drives their success, the respect the current team has for past generations, and how they build upon past generations’ work to keep the brand thriving. She talks about balancing the retail and hospitality sides of the business, and how they pivoted to keep the brand top of mind for customers during the pandemic. Lastly, Aly discusses the “new wave of wine drinkers” and how Wente Vineyards can still fit into their lifestyles.
IN-FLIGHT TOPICS:
- History of the Wente family and business
- How Aly joined the family business
- Pandemic pivots and what will stick
- Dynamics of a multi-generational family business
- Balancing family and work
- Trends in the new wave of wine drinkers
- The future of Wente Vineyards
- …and more!
RELEVANT LINKS:
Wente website: https://wentevineyards.com/
Wente Insta: https://www.instagram.com/wente/?hl=en
Aly LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alywente/
Aly Insta: https://www.instagram.com/alywenteoneal/?hl=en
Jon Levy is a behavioral scientist who uses science to meaningfully connect brands and people. He works with Fortune 500 companies and startups to help them apply the latest research to their marketing and sales efforts, engagement, and culture. His book You’re Invited: The Art and Science of Cultivating Influence debuted at #2 on the Wall Street Journal’s best-seller list. The book guides readers through the art and science of developing meaningful connections, and demonstrates how to gain trust, develop influence, and build community.
In his conversation with Katie, Jon dives into building community and human connection, and what it means to have influence. He describes a phenomenon he calls “the IKEA Effect” and how that impacts our relationships. He shares the origin of his Influencer Dinner series, and what he’s learned from hosting those events for over a decade. Through all of this, Jon says the biggest thing we can offer people these days is a sense of belonging.
If you’ve read and enjoyed You’re Invited, check out Jon’s first book The 2AM Principle: Discover the Science of Adventure.
In-flight topics:
- Why networking stinks
- Creating community and human connection
- Origin of the Influencer Dinner
- What it means to have influence
- Fostering community as a brand
- A peek into Jon’s latest book
- ...and more!
Relevant Links:
Jon Twitter: https://twitter.com/JonLevyTLB
You’re Invited book: https://www.jonlevytlb.com/you-re-invited
Jon Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonlevytlb/?hl=en
TED Talk: https://www.jonlevytlb.com/ted
Wes Felix is CEO and co-founder of Saysh, a lifestyle brand that creates products by and for women. He’s also the founder and managing partner of boutique sports management agency Evolve. He created and launched Saysh with his sister, Allyson Felix, the most decorated Olympic track and field athlete in the world—and who’s faced many challenges of her own throughout her career.
In this episode of Building While Flying, Wes breaks down how he sees customers and community differently, how each is valuable to their business, and why their membership community is such a large pillar of Saysh. He also shares what it was like launching Saysh in the lead-up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and why it was crucial for Allyson to run in her own brand’s running spikes for her events. Throughout the conversation, Wes emphasizes the importance of understanding the challenges women experience, and making sure Saysh is a brand and community that helps all women feel seen and understood.
In-flight topics:
- How Saysh was started, and how they came up with the name
- Customers vs. community
- Balancing family and business
- Launching products in time for the Tokyo Olympics
- Importance of their membership community
- ...and more!
Relevant Links:
Wes LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wesfelix/
Wes Insta: https://www.instagram.com/pwesley22/
Wes Twitter: https://twitter.com/wesfelix
Saysh Twitter: https://twitter.com/BySaysh
Saysh website: https://saysh.com/
Saysh Insta: https://www.instagram.com/bysaysh/
Scott Rogerson is the CEO of UpContent, a SaaS content curation platform built to help its users power up their content strategy and save time in their operations. UpContent spun out of Rogerson’s former agency after it was created to solve internal problems. Now it helps hundreds of companies worldwide curate content, increase thought leadership, and build deeper trust with their customers.
In this week’s episode of Building While Flying, Scott shares how UpContent was born, how it’s evolved over time to meet customers’ needs, and how he sees it continuing to grow in the future. At the heart of the conversation is the belief that content curation and creation can (and should) live together within a business’s strategy; as he says, it’s a “yes, and” situation, not “either or.” Scott also stresses the importance of knowing your customers and their needs, and how UpContent continues to deliver solutions for teams of all sizes around the world.
In-flight topics:
- How UpContent was born
- Content curation vs. content creation
- Choosing the right business model
- How to use UpContent in your business
- How the COVID-19 pandemic affected their growth and offerings
- The importance of knowing your customers
- ...and more!
Relevant Links:
Website: https://www.upcontent.com/
UpContent Twitter: https://twitter.com/getupcontent
UpContent LI: https://www.linkedin.com/company/getupcontent/
Scott Twitter: https://twitter.com/scottarogerson
Scott LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottarogerson/
Anita Laney currently serves as President and CEO of Professional Partnering Solutions, a full-service supplier diversity consulting and technology firm, where she and her team also developed DataLou, a supplier diversity SaaS product and business. VaynerX’s Chief Diversity Officer, Vanessa Vining, previously worked under Anita at a previous position. We were fortunate to hear from Anita at the VaynerX Diversity Summit on November 4.
This value-packed episode begins with Anita’s career journey: from full-service travel agency, to supplier diversity in construction and utilities, to her first forays into advertising, to launching Professional Partnering Solutions and founding DataLou. She’s honest about the challenges of transitioning to a new industry, learning how to teach others about her roles and supplier diversity, and scaling a fast-growing company. Lastly, she looks toward the future and offers advice for solving supplier diversity for the next generations.
In-flight topics:
- What is supplier diversity?
- Career changes in a new industry
- Challenges of scaling a fast-growing company
- Keeping up with industry changes and trends
- Anita’s “in-flight checklist”
- ...and more!
Relevant Links:
Anita LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anita-laney-8a76699/
Anita Twitter: https://twitter.com/AnitaLaney_PPS
PPS website: https://professionalps.com/
PPS LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/professional-partnering-solutions-inc-/
PPS Twitter: https://twitter.com/PPSCreativeSupp
Michelle Wiles is the Head of Brand at Son of a Tailor, a DTC “clothing tech” company that delivers made-to-order men’s clothing at scale. Their garments are custom fits to provide the best wearing experience, and reduce waste in their production process. Michelle joined Son of a Tailor after starting her career at Proctor & Gamble, VaynerMedia, and MBA school. As Head of Brand, Michelle leads the charge of infusing brand ethos at all levels of the company.
In this episode, Michelle and host Katie dive into sustainability in the fashion industry and maintaining a strong brand—and how both of those impact a brand’s marketing. Michelle describes how Son of a Tailor’s unique ordering system and algorithm allows them to keep production waste low and customer loyalty high. She stresses the importance of transparency in brand, especially when you’re trying to be sustainable: if you’re going to talk the talk, you’ve got to walk the walk.
Tune in to the episode to hear more from Michelle about sustainability, fashion, ecommerce and supply chain challenges, the future of Son of a Tailor, and more!
In-flight topics:
- Sustainability in the fashion industry
- Son of a Tailor’s unique ordering system
- Importance of a strong brand in marketing
- Driving customer loyalty
- Navigating ecommerce challenges
- What’s next for Son of a Tailor
- ...and more!
Relevant Links:
Website: https://www.sonofatailor.com/
Insta: https://www.instagram.com/sonofatailor/?hl=en
Michelle’s Insta: https://www.instagram.com/michellewiles_/?hl=en
Maryam Banikarim currently serves as the CMO of Nextdoor, the popular hyperlocal neighborhood and community app. She’s no stranger to finding her own communities; as her family moved around the world, she found purpose in stepping in and being useful wherever her family lived. These experiences serve her well as she leads marketing at Nextdoor and keeps the brand’s purpose at the helm of their efforts.
In this episode of Building While Flying, Maryam talks with Katie about the importance of purpose for brands—a popular topic on our podcast! Maryam says, “Purpose was never just about marketing. It’s about the north star of an organization and its business strategy.” She dives deep into what community means to her and Nextdoor, how Nextdoor helps cultivate community for its users every day, and how Nextdoor served as a crucial resource during the hardest times of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In-flight topics:
- Finding and cultivating community
- Why purpose matters for brands
- How the pandemic changed the way people use Nextdoor
- How small businesses can successfully leverage Nextdoor
- ...and more!
Relevant Links:
Nextdoor website: https://nextdoor.com/
Nextdoor Twitter: https://twitter.com/Nextdoor
Nextdoor Insta: https://www.instagram.com/Nextdoor/?hl=en
Maryam Twitter: https://twitter.com/maryamb
Maryam Insta: https://www.instagram.com/mbanikarim/?hl=en
Maryam LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maryam-banikarim-737671/
Giovanni Vaccaro left his family’s restaurant business at age 18 and went straight to cosmetology school. He says he was the worst beauty student they’d ever seen. After years of learning and hard work, Gio became one of the most well-known and respected beauty professionals in New York. He then parlayed his expertise with his passion for innovation by co-founding the mobile beauty app Glamsquad. For 8 years, this disruptive beauty brand has allowed their clients to get ready in the comfort of their own home with top Glamsquad artists, helping them look and feel their best.
In this week’s episode of Building While Flying, Gio shares how Glamsquad was born and the challenges he’s faced while building and scaling the business. He shares the most important aspect of his business, discusses the qualities he looks for when hiring new team members, lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the importance of maintaining brand values. Throughout the conversation, he offers some advice for aspiring business owners—some of which might surprise you!
Other in-flight topics:
- How Glamsquad was born
- Scaling the business
- Building a memorable brand experience
- Hiring the right people
- Maintaining brand values
- Challenges while building and scaling Glamsquad
- ...and more!
Relevant Links:
Glamsquad website: https://www.glamsquad.com/
Glamsquad IG: https://www.instagram.com/glamsquad/
Gio IG: https://www.instagram.com/giovannivaccaro/
Hal Andrews is a lawyer turned entrepreneurial healthcare executive. He’s currently the CEO of Trilliant Health, an analytics and data science company that provides market analytics, predictive analytics and market research for healthcare providers. It’s the fifth healthcare startup for which he’s served as CEO.
On this week’s episode, Hal joins Mickey to talk through each step of his career, and how his experience as a lawyer helped prepare him to lead healthcare startups as CEO. He shares a surprising move his team made amidst the early days of the pandemic, and how it helped them help their customers better. Hal also shares his first steps when he joins a new startup and emphasizes the importance of pattern recognition in business. Lastly, Hal discusses company culture, and how his “daily updates” provide direction and grounding for himself and his team.
In-flight topics:
- Trilliant Health’s services (1:00 - 2:18)
- Challenges and pivots during the pandemic (5:30 - 8:40)
- Tech services for healthcare vs. typical consumer tech (8:45 - 10:40)
- Applying attorney experience to startups (11:05 - 15:12)
- Company culture and the Daily Update (16:00 - 20:25)
- Hal’s in-flight checklist (20:45 - 23:15)
Relevant Links:
Trilliant website: https://www.trillianthealth.com/
Trilliant LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/trillianthealth/
Victoria Garrick is not only an accomplished collegiate athlete. She’s a speaker, TED Talk host, nonprofit founder, and mental health advocate who shares her story and message of support to millions. After struggling with her own depression and mental health in college, she gave her now famous TED Talk, “The Hidden Opponent,” in 2017, which explored mental health challenges for student athletes. Now her nonprofit The Hidden Opponent aims to raise awareness for mental health issues in teens and student athletes and provide support and resources.
Victoria joins Katie in our latest episode of Building While Flying to share more about her journey: from USC to the TED Talk stage to nonprofit founder. She’s open about her own struggles, not just with mental health, but with branding for her personal content versus nonprofit content, running a nonprofit, and dealing with burnout. She discusses the importance of a supportive community, vulnerability, listening to your gut, and growing the conversation around mental health for everyone—athletes and non-athletes alike.
In-flight topics:
- The TED Talk that started it all
- Real realness and vulnerability
- The current conversation around mental health
- Nonprofit branding vs. personal branding
- Building community around shared experiences
- Dealing with burnout
- ...and more!
Relevant Links:
TED Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sdk7pLpbIls
The Hidden Opponent website: https://thehiddenopponent.com/
Hidden Opponent IG: https://www.instagram.com/thehiddenopponent/
Victoria LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoria-garrick-546459123/
When Stacy Tuschl started teaching dance classes in her parents’ backyard at age 18, she wasn't planning on starting a business. Within three years, she had 100 students, and the Academy of Performing Arts was born. It’s now grown to hundreds of students, two locations, an entire team, a consulting business, and a 2019 Wisconsin Small Business Person of the Year award.
Stacy’s small business journey is anything but ordinary. In her conversation with Mickey, Stacy tells how her businesses got started and shares some challenges of experiencing early hyper-growth and forcing herself to slow down. After successfully navigating the 2008 recession, she thought she could handle anything. The 2020 pandemic brought more challenges than she imagined—like losing 25% of her business’s income—but in the end, she said the pandemic was “the best thing” that could have happened for her.
In-flight topics:
- Experiencing early growth (3:05 - 6:55)
- Navigating the 2008 recession vs. the 2020 pandemic (7:05 - 9:00)
- Pandemic pivots that worked (9:15 - 12:50)
- Transitioning out of the brick-and-mortar business (15:45 - 17:10)
- Building a consulting business (17:18 - 20:30)
- Stacey’s “in-flight checklist” (22:48 - 24:08)
- ...and more!
Relevant Links:
APA Website: https://academywi.com/
APA Insta: https://www.instagram.com/theacademy2005/
Stacy’s website: https://stacytuschl.com/
For Gary Sheng, the year 2016 kicked off a deep exploration of civics, leadership, and the future of democracy—which ultimately led him to his calling.
Gary Sheng is a Co-Founder and the COO of Civics Unplugged, a platform and movement focused on empowering the next generation to build the future of democracy. Its three-month civic leadership fellowship for high school students provides a civics foundation, teaches problem solving and effective dialoguing with others, and helps them build their “civics muscles.” With partnerships with National Geographic, Georgetown University, The Smithsonian, the Ethereum Foundation and more, the future for Civics Unplugged is bright.
In this week’s episode of Building While Flying, Gary shares his personal journey from Google developer to nonprofit co-founder, and discusses why civics education and leadership development for Gen Z matters. He says that learning is a lifelong process, and being a good citizen is a lifelong exercise. He also discusses the role companies and corporations can play in civics, and how they can support organizations like Civics Unplugged to help build a better future.
Other in-flight topics:
- How Civics Unplugged was born
- Impacts of the 2016 election
- Building community around a movement
- The role of corporations in civics
- The future of Gen Z
- What’s next for Civics Unplugged
- ...and more!
Relevant Links:
- CU website: https://www.civicsunplugged.org/
- CU Fellowship: https://www.civicsunplugged.org/fellowship
- CU Insta: https://www.instagram.com/civicsunplugged/
- Gary’s website: http://www.garysheng.com/
- Gary LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garysheng/
- Gary’s Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@garysheng
Jess Tillyer is the Chief Brand and Experience Officer at re—inc., an eco-conscious fashion and lifestyle brand. re—inc. was founded in 2019 by U.S. Women’s Soccer superstars Christen Press, Tobin Heath, Megan Rapinoe, and Meghan Klingenberg to empower people to reimagine the status quo and the world around them.
In this week’s episode of Building While Flying, Jess joins Katie to tell re—inc’s story and dive into why reimagining the status quo matters. She discusses the distinction between purpose as a tactic and purpose as a meaningful part of business. She also describes what it was like to launch an NFT project, and how she believes NFTs will change how companies and brands engage with their audiences. Lastly, she offers a mindset shift that is “an absolute game changer.” Tune in to hear all of this and more!
In-flight topics:
- How re—inc. was born (4:00 - 7:34)
- Building a brand with purpose (11:50 - 14:50)
- Launching an NFT project (20:40 - 24:02)
- Challenges while building the brand (24:05 - 29:28)
- ...and more!
Relevant Links:
Website: https://re-website.com/
Re-Inc insta: https://www.instagram.com/re__inc/?hl=en
Jess LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicatillyer/
Sports fan apparel has gotten a major facelift recently, thanks to Whitney Bansin and The Wild Collective. In 2016, Whitney founded The Wild Collective, a fashion-forward lifestyle and apparel brand that sits at the intersection of sports and fashion. They are licensed across the nation’s biggest sports leagues, including the NHL, NBA, WNBA, MLB, and MLS, as well as select collegiate teams.
Whitney joins the Building While Flying podcast this week to talk about her journey and share some of her biggest wins and learning experiences along the way. She tells Katie about her early career days in Las Vegas when she founded One Luv Agency, and how she landed her first partnership with the Las Vegas Golden Knights hockey team. Whitney talks about the challenges the pandemic brought, and how she and her team adapted and found their path forward. The Wild Collective is disrupting the sports apparel industry—and they’re only just getting started.
*Whitney Bansin and The Wild Collective are clients of The Sasha Group.
In-flight topics:
- Whitney’s early career in Las Vegas (2:18 - 7:25)
- Growth and partnering with other leagues (7:32 - 9:17)
- What drives design decisions (9:53 - 13:16)
- Pandemic pivots (13:18 - 20:21)
- Shifting to ecommerce (20:25 - 24:27)
- What’s next for The Wild Collective (25:50 - 28:22)
- ...and more!
Relevant links:
TWC website: https://www.wearethewildco.com/
TWC Insta: https://www.instagram.com/wearethewildco/
TWC LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-wild-collective/
Whitney LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/whitneyurichuk/
Whitney Insta: https://www.instagram.com/wildwhit/
Storytelling has been in Alex Kushneir’s blood since birth. After studying film and television (and playing football) at Baylor University, Alex cut his teeth in the production world working for companies like CNBC, Huffington Post, Cheddar, and more. After just eight years in the industry, Alex and colleague Jay Shetty co-founded Icon Media, a full-service content studio that helps brands create purpose-driven content and emotionally connect with their audiences.
In this episode of Building While Flying, Alex joins Mickey to talk about Icon Media’s origin, the differences between television and digital-first production, the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and more. He discusses the challenges he faced in the early days of Icon Media—like learning the business side of things and managing a wide variety of clients and asks. Most importantly, Alex emphasizes the need for purpose-driven content, and how brands aligning with a cause leads to deeper, more impactful storytelling.
Other in-flight topics:
- Alex’s background in storytelling, film, and production
- The birth of Icon Media
- Differences between television production and digital-first
- Working with Arianna Huffington
- Building a startup production company
- How COVID-19 impacted productions and content
- ...and more!
Not everyone can say they co-founded and built a brand while navigating business school. This week’s Building While Flying guest did just that—and this is only the beginning of her entrepreneurial journey.
Libie Motchan co-founded Fulton with her business school classmate Daniel Nelson, after they bonded over shared foot pain and a lack of a reasonable solution for it. Between their classes and homework, they researched materials, found their production partner (in Portugal, no less), began building their brand, and networked with their target audiences.
In her conversation with Katie, Libie shares some of the challenges she and Daniel have faced so far: finding a material that’s comfortable and sustainable, educating their customers, navigating multiple customer cohorts, digging into customer psychology, building their retail roadmap, and more. Libie also offers advice for fellow early-stage entrepreneurs: know yourself, know your goals, and follow your gut.
Other in-flight topics:
- How Fulton was born
- Innovating their own products
- Finding the right materials for their insoles
- Challenges of building a brand from the ground up
- Educating your consumers
- Being present where your customers are
- ...and more!
Relevant Links:
- Fulton website: https://walkfulton.com/
- Fulton IG: https://www.instagram.com/walkfulton/?hl=en
- Libie LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/libiemotchan
- Fulton TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@walkfulton
College athletics are going to look a lot different this year, thanks to the Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) rules that were signed into effect earlier this year. Joining us this week on Building While Flying is Mike Neligan, CMO of VaynerSports, to answer the question we’re all asking: what does all this mean?
Mike joined VaynerSports two years ago, after 15 years in sports management at places like Excel Sports Management and BSE Global. He’s worked with household names like Peyton Manning, Tiger Woods, Derek Jeter, and Danica Patrick. At VaynerSports, he leads all things sales, marketing, and PR across baseball, football, e-sports, and combat.
In his conversation with Mickey, Mike discusses the importance of athletes building their personal brands. Many want careers after their time in sports, so, Mike says, they’re starting to think like entrepreneurs. Mike stresses the importance of authenticity in partnerships with athletes, and cautions against hiring a big-name athlete just to make a quick buck. Most importantly, Mike dives into NIL: what it means for college athletes, the opportunities it presents for brands and SMBs, how athletes can leverage it for professional experience, and much more.
Other in-flight topics:
- History and evolution of VaynerSports
- How VaynerSports differs from traditional sports management agencies
- Why authenticity matters
- The difference between sponsorships and partnerships
- What the new NIL rules allow college athletes to do
- Opportunities for brands and SMBs
- ...and more!
Relevant Links:
VaynerSports website: https://vaynersports.com/
VaynerSports Twitter: https://twitter.com/vaynersports
Mike LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-neligan-70a54a1/
We’re keeping it short and sweet this week on Building While Flying. Mickey and Katie announce a hiatus from new episodes for the month of August. We’ve tested and learned—as is in our DNA—and it’s time to optimize. There’s a lot of awesome work happening behind the scenes, with exciting new guests and improvements coming. We look forward to sharing them with you all in our first episode back on September 2nd.
In the meantime, hit us up on social if you have a question, want to be a guest, or know someone who’d be a great guest: @thesashagroup on all platforms.
For this week’s podcast guest, almost every relationship, opportunity, and experience can be tied back to the sport of basketball. He now uses lessons from his own experiences and from some of the all-time greats to teach and lead others to success.
Welcome to Building While Flying!
This weekly podcast is brought to you by the Sasha Group. We’re the small-to-medium-sized business arm of the VaynerX family of companies. We help ambitious companies build strong brands that flex with the times through strategy, branding, media, and marketing.
In ever-changing times, businesses and brands have to shift and adapt. And across all sectors, there is an air of experimentation. Business owners are trying new things out in the wild; building the plane while flying.
Our pilots, Katie Hankinson and Mickey Cloud, will be talking to a diverse range of business leaders and founders. They’ll explore how these guests tackle various challenges while staying resilient and committed to growth. Through these real-life examples of strategies put into practice, we hope to inspire you to experiment and develop your own strategies as we all navigate these uncertain times together.
Alan Stein, Jr. found the intersection between his biggest passions: basketball and helping others be successful.
As a basketball performance coach for 15 years, he worked with high-performing athletes to help them reach their highest potential. Now, as a keynote speaker and workshop leader, he applies many of the same principles to the corporate and business world. He teaches proven strategies to improve organizational performance, create effective leadership, increase team cohesion and collaboration, and develop winning mindsets, rituals, and routines.
This week, Alan joins Mickey to dive into each step of his career: from his college basketball days at Elon University, to coaching at Kobe Bryant’s academy, to mentoring teams at Fortune 500 companies across the country. Alan shares some of the biggest lessons he’s learned from the biggest names in the NBA: like Kobe’s dedication to the basics, and Steph Curry’s desire for excellence. He also shares how he’s carried experiences from one career to the next, and how his college basketball days shaped his career and life more than he could have imagined.
Other in-flight topics:
- Lessons learned from playing college basketball
- Giving yourself grace
- The importance of preparation
- Taking skills and lessons from one career to the next
- Lessons learned from NBA superstars
- His “speaker’s checklist”
- ...and more!
One last note: if you’ve ever wanted Gary Vaynerchuk’s business advice, now’s your chance. We’d love for you to join us for our next virtual 4Ds on August 19!
4Ds - also known as Digital Discovery & Deep Dive - is for entrepreneurs, marketers and leaders. We’ll dissect the current state of social and digital marketing and how to harness it to strengthen your career and business. You’ll hear from VaynerX experts and Gary himself as we help you unlock explosive growth for your business. Send us an email to 4ds@vaynermedia.com to learn more and book your seat.
Links:
- Alan's Twitter: https://twitter.com/AlanSteinJr
- Alan's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alan-stein-jr/
- Alan's Website: https://alansteinjr.com/book/
- Raise Your Game book: https://strongerteam.com/raiseyourgame/
Building a brand for your clients is one thing. Building your own brand and company—with your husband, no less—is a whole different adventure. But it’s one adventure that this week’s guest embarked upon head on. And their story is quite magical.
Welcome to Building While Flying!
This weekly podcast is brought to you by the Sasha Group. We’re the small-to-medium-sized business arm of the VaynerX family of companies. We help ambitious companies build strong brands that flex with the times through strategy, branding, media, and marketing.
In ever-changing times, businesses and brands have to shift and adapt. And across all sectors, there is an air of experimentation. Business owners are trying new things out in the wild; building the plane while flying.
Our pilots, Katie Hankinson and Mickey Cloud, will be talking to a diverse range of business leaders and founders. They’ll explore how these guests tackle various challenges while staying resilient and committed to growth. Through these real-life examples of strategies put into practice, we hope to inspire you to experiment and develop your own strategies as we all navigate these uncertain times together.
Margaret Wishingrad and her husband Ian developed and founded Three Wishes Cereal when they wanted a new breakfast option for their young son.
After starting their own agency in New York, they took on the ultimate challenge of building and designing their own brand, together. They co-founded Three Wishes Cereal, a high-protein, low-sugar, grain-free cereal enjoyed by kids and adults alike. They worked with food scientists to develop the recipe, and leveraged their own expertise and network to build and grow the brand.
In this week’s episode, Katie and Margaret dive into everything about building the Three Wishes Cereal brand, from the first concept to dream brand collaborations. Margaret explains how she applied her agency expertise to her own process, including market research and sampling, and who her toughest critic was along the way. She shares the hardest part of building the brand, and gives us a peek into what’s next for Three Wishes Cereal.
Other in-flight topics:
- The origin story of Three Wishes Cereal
- Building brands for clients vs. building your own brand
- Sampling during the pandemic
- Standing out in a crowded category
- Cereal as a “feel good” food
- Building and running a company with your partner
- ...and more!
Links:
- Website: https://threewishescereal.com/
- Store locator: https://threewishescereal.com/pages/store-locator/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/threewishes/
- Margaret's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/margaretwishingrad/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/3wishescereal
Earlier this year, Mickey and Gary joined Matt Hunckler for the Powderkeg Unvalley Conference. Powderkeg is a network of local communities with global reach for tech entrepreneurs, investors, and top talent. Unvalley is a two-day virtual event that explores the untapped potential beyond Silicon Valley.
In this special bonus episode, we’re bringing their keynote session to our listeners, so you all can learn more about how The Sasha Group landed in Chattanooga, attracting talent in new cities, the value of community, and much more—directly from Mickey and Gary themselves.
In this special bonus episode, you’ll hear Mickey and Gary discuss:
- How Mickey met Gary
- Trusting your intuition
- How VaynerMedia was recruited to come to Chattanooga
- Building a team for a new office hub while maintaining Vayner culture
- The birth of The Sasha Group in 2019
- Adapting business offerings to meet market needs
- Building the Vayner/Sasha brand in a new, mid-sized market
- ...and a whole lot more.
Helpful Links:
- Stork: https://4ds.thesashagroup.com/stork/
- 4Ds https://4ds.thesashagroup.com/
- Mickey LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/mickeycloud/
- Gary LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/garyvaynerchuk/
- Matt LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/hunckler/
- Matt Twitter https://twitter.com/Hunckler
- Powderkeg Twitter https://twitter.com/powderkegco
- Powderkeg Instagram https://www.instagram.com/powderkeg/
Some things just run in the family. Such is the case for this week’s guest. What started with a $2,000 investment and a dream is now one of the world’s most popular barbecue brands that people enjoy in restaurants and their own homes.
Welcome to Building While Flying!
This weekly podcast is brought to you by the Sasha Group. We’re the small-to-medium-sized business arm of the VaynerX family of companies. We help ambitious companies build strong brands that flex with the times through strategy, branding, media, and marketing.
In ever-changing times, businesses and brands have to shift and adapt. And across all sectors, there is an air of experimentation. Business owners are trying new things out in the wild; building the plane while flying.
Our pilots, Katie Hankinson and Mickey Cloud, will be talking to a diverse range of business leaders and founders. They’ll explore how these guests tackle various challenges while staying resilient and committed to growth. Through these real-life examples of strategies put into practice, we hope to inspire you to experiment and develop your own strategies as we all navigate these uncertain times together.
Chef Duce Raymond grew up in and around the culinary world and food service industry.
After working in restaurants with his dad and uncle, and attending culinary school, Duce and his Uncle Dave opened the first Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ restaurant in 2005. Since its inception, they have grown their restaurant and catering business, sold millions of bottles of their famous Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauces, rocked the barbecue competition circuit, and grown Sweet Baby Ray’s into a $650 million brand.
In his conversation with Mickey, Duce shares how Sweet Baby Ray’s got started, and what it was like breaking into the restaurant industry, especially for barbecue. Duce breaks down the nuances between working in the restaurants vs. the catering side of business, and offers some catering advice to brides. He shares some of the biggest lessons he’s learned in his years of business, from menu offerings to impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. And of course they discuss the best kind of barbecue—and Duce’s answer might surprise you!
Other in-flight topics:
- The story behind Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ Sauce
- The best kind of barbecue
- Breaking into the restaurant industry
- Differences between restaurant work and catering
- Catering advice for brides
- Lessons learned from pandemic changes
Relevant Links:
- Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce: https://www.sweetbabyrays.com/
- Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Restaurants: https://www.sweetbabyraysbbq.com/
- Duce on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/duceraymond/
What's your favorite style of BBQ?
The restaurant industry is not for the faint of heart, especially if you’re operating in college towns. When the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on the industry, many businesses closed and let their staff go. This week’s guest did the exact opposite.
Welcome to Building While Flying!
This weekly podcast is brought to you by the Sasha Group. We’re the small-to-medium-sized business arm of the VaynerX family of companies. We help ambitious companies build strong brands that flex with the times through strategy, branding, media, and marketing.
In ever-changing times, businesses and brands have to shift and adapt. And across all sectors, there is an air of experimentation. Business owners are trying new things out in the wild; building the plane while flying.
Our pilots, Katie Hankinson and Mickey Cloud, will be talking to a diverse range of business leaders and founders. They’ll explore how these guests tackle various challenges while staying resilient and committed to growth. Through these real-life examples of strategies put into practice, we hope to inspire you to experiment and develop your own strategies as we all navigate these uncertain times together.
Bret Oliverio is the owner and CEO of Sup Dogs, a high-energy college town restaurant, with two locations in Greenville and Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Sup Dogs was the pipe dream of Bret’s older brother Derek. But after Derek passed away after a sudden accident in 2011, Bret and his wife quit their jobs to carry on Derek’s legacy. After several years of growth, challenges, and success, they faced their toughest challenge yet: the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020.
In this week’s episode, Bret tells Katie the origin story of Sup Dogs, and shares what it’s like going into the restaurant industry with no background or experience. Most importantly, Bret breaks down the impact of the pandemic, beyond just the shift to takeout and delivery. He talks about his focus on his employees and staff, and making sure they were taken care of during this difficult time. He says that current staffing problems across the country are multifaceted and not due to just one factor. Lastly, he talks about what he sees in the future of the restaurant and service industry, and shares what other owners can do to stand out and retain great staff.
Other in-flight topics:
- Sup Dogs’ origin story
- Operating a restaurant in college towns
- Maintaining a strong brand
- How a background in radio helps in the restaurant industry
- Taking care of your employees during the pandemic
- Treating and paying your employees fairly and “better than ever”
- Challenges of hiring after the pandemic
- The future of the restaurant and service industry
Links:
- Website: https://supdogs.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/supdogsrestaurant/
- TikTok: @supdogsrestaurant
It’s easy to tell when a company has become “truly digital”—especially in the financial services industry. This week’s guest discusses why being “truly digital” in fintech matters, and the best ways to get there while building trust with your customers.
Welcome to Building While Flying!
This weekly podcast is brought to you by the Sasha Group. We’re the small-to-medium-sized business arm of the VaynerX family of companies. We help ambitious companies build strong brands that flex with the times through strategy, branding, media, and marketing.
In ever-changing times, businesses and brands have to shift and adapt. And across all sectors, there is an air of experimentation. Business owners are trying new things out in the wild; building the plane while flying.
Our pilots, Katie Hankinson and Mickey Cloud, will be talking to a diverse range of business leaders and founders. They’ll explore how these guests tackle various challenges while staying resilient and committed to growth. Through these real-life examples of strategies put into practice, we hope to inspire you to experiment and develop your own strategies as we all navigate these uncertain times together.
Eric Fulwiler is the Chief Marketing & Commercial Officer at 11:FS, a leading global fintech consultancy in London.
As he says in his conversation with Mickey, “you can tell when a company is modern, and when it’s not.” Through their consulting work, Eric and his team at 11:FS help traditional financial service companies navigate the evolving fintech landscape and bring their businesses into the “truly digital” world.
In this episode, Eric breaks down what it means for a company to be “truly” digital, compared to analog and digitized—and the importance of doing so. He and Mickey also discuss impactful content marketing in a B2B setting, and how it can be used to consistently deliver value to your customers and partners. Eric also shares some advice for growth-stage entrepreneurs, and says one of the best things a growth-stage entrepreneur can do is be hungry for change and be comfortable figuring things out as you grow.
Other in-flight topics:
- Moving from analog to digital
- Digitized vs. Truly Digital
- Building the right team for your business and needs
- Effective content marketing for B2B
- Building relationships through content marketing
- The importance of people and culture
Links:
- Eric's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericfulwiler/
- Eric's Twitter: https://twitter.com/EFulwiler
- 11:FS website: https://11fs.com
- 11:FS YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3eVdgT1EHwIxG5ynO42XXg
Non-profit owners, employees, donors, supporters—this week’s episode is for you! There are a lot of assumptions and stigmas surrounding non-profits and what it’s like to run them. This week’s guests debunk many of those, and show what has made theirs so successful for the last seven years.
Welcome to Building While Flying!
This weekly podcast is brought to you by the Sasha Group. We’re the small-to-medium-sized business arm of the VaynerX family of companies. We help ambitious companies build strong brands that flex with the times through strategy, branding, media, and marketing.
In ever-changing times, businesses and brands have to shift and adapt. And across all sectors, there is an air of experimentation. Business owners are trying new things out in the wild; building the plane while flying.
Our pilots, Katie Hankinson and Mickey Cloud, will be talking to a diverse range of business leaders and founders. They’ll explore how these guests tackle various challenges while staying resilient and committed to growth. Through these real-life examples of strategies put into practice, we hope to inspire you to experiment and develop your own strategies as we all navigate these uncertain times together.
Shawanda Mason-Moore and Jennifer Holder launched The Chattery in 2014 to fulfill a community need—and one of their own.
As friends who were both new to Chattanooga, they sought a community, a place where adults could learn, grow, and connect. In 2014, they launched The Chattery, a non-profit that makes adult learning accessible, affordable, and fun. Over the last seven years, they’ve hosted thousands of classes led by hundreds of community members, fostered countless relationships, and created a welcoming, safe space for everyone to learn and grow. And they’re just getting started!
In this week’s episode, Shawanda and Jennifer share The Chattery’s origin story and mission, and explain how their mission drives everything they do—from the classes they offer to the grants they apply for. They also explain how they run their non-profit like a for-profit business (and why that’s okay), and why you should be picky when choosing grants. They also discuss how they pivoted during the COVID-19 pandemic, and which of their pivots will be sticking around.
Other in-flight topics:
- Starting a business as a non-profit vs. LLC
- Building friendships and community for adults
- Staying true to your mission
- Transitioning to online and at-home programming
- Opportunity costs of applying for grants
- Preparing for a hybrid model future
Links:
- Website: https://www.thechattery.org/
- Browse classes: https://www.thechattery.org/classes
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thechattery/?hl=en
Agency life is packed full of lessons and experiences you’ll take with you on every next step of your career. For this week’s podcast guest, those lessons helped him build a multi-million dollar brand that’s now a household name and has made a difference in wellness for thousands of people.
Welcome to Building While Flying!
This weekly podcast is brought to you by the Sasha Group. We’re the small-to-medium-sized business arm of the VaynerX family of companies. We help ambitious companies build strong brands that flex with the times through strategy, branding, media, and marketing.
In ever-changing times, businesses and brands have to shift and adapt. And across all sectors, there is an air of experimentation. Business owners are trying new things out in the wild; building the plane while flying.
Our pilots, Katie Hankinson and Mickey Cloud, will be talking to a diverse range of business leaders and founders. They’ll explore how these guests tackle various challenges while staying resilient and committed to growth. Through these real-life examples of strategies put into practice, we hope to inspire you to experiment and develop your own strategies as we all navigate these uncertain times together.
Mike Grillo is the CEO and co-founder of Gravity Products, home to the world-famous Gravity Blanket.
He’s an advertising and marketing industry veteran who began his career in crisis communications before pivoting to social and digital media. In 2011, he became an early member of Gary Vaynerchuk's eponymous agency, VaynerMedia. It's through his time at Vayner that he developed his love of brand building and fostered his entrepreneurial spirit. After founding Gravity Blankets in 2017, Mike and his team sold the brand to the WIN Brands Group in 2021 for its next phase of growth.
In their conversation, Mike and Mickey dive into the birth of Gravity Blankets—from product design to a successful Kickstarter campaign to getting retail space in a large department store. They discuss branding on a budget and embracing the “scrappy” agency attitude to build a successful brand. Mike also discusses the balance of retail and DTC, stressing that people shop in different ways and the consumer journey is often complex. Lastly, Mike shares why WIN Brands Group felt like the perfect fit to acquire Gravity Blankets—and why that decision is so important.
Other in-flight topics:
- Transferable skills from agency to brand side
- Product design and production
- Retail vs DTC
- Importance of strong retail presence
- Branding a new product on a tight budget
- Product expansion and testing what your audience likes
- Finding the right partner to sell your brand
Links:
- Website: https://gravityblankets.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gravityblankets/?hl=en
- Mike's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mikegrillzmadeit/?hl=en
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeljgrillo/
Thanks so much for tuning in this week. Before you keep scrolling, we wanted to let you know about a Sasha Group offering that may be relevant to those of you who handle your own digital and social marketing. STORK is a weekly delivery of insider knowledge and strategy, straight from our team and industry experts. We’re moving into our second year of STORK, and are really excited to continue helping our community of entrepreneurs, start-ups, and small businesses to step up their social and digital marketing game. If this sounds like a good fit for you, you can learn more here. (link to thesashagroup.com/stork).
There’s a nuance between networking and relationship building. While the former can feel superficial and, at times, self-serving, our podcast guest this week explains how the latter can impact your career and life, and how it has helped her grow as a professional and human.
Welcome to Building While Flying!
This weekly podcast is brought to you by the Sasha Group. We’re the small-to-medium-sized business arm of the VaynerX family of companies. We help ambitious companies build strong brands that flex with the times through strategy, branding, media, and marketing.
In ever-changing times, businesses and brands have to shift and adapt. And across all sectors, there is an air of experimentation. Business owners are trying new things out in the wild; building the plane while flying.
Our pilots, Katie Hankinson and Mickey Cloud, will be talking to a diverse range of business leaders and founders. They’ll explore how these guests tackle various challenges while staying resilient and committed to growth. Through these real-life examples of strategies put into practice, we hope to inspire you to experiment and develop your own strategies as we all navigate these uncertain times together.
Raleigh Anne Gray is the founder and CEO of Must Love Sports, an organization that empowers and educates current and future industry professionals.
She also is the Director of Business Development at DraftKings, following time spent at Wasserman, The Players' Tribune, Twitter, and ESPN. Her career has been a continual intersection of media, technology, and sports. When the COVID-19 pandemic forced companies to cancel summer internships for college students and graduates, Raleigh Anne saw a need and opportunity to pivot. She changed Must Love Sports from an LLC to a 501c3 organization and launched a 10-week online summer internship program for sports industry students impacted by the pandemic.
In her conversation with Mickey, Raleigh Anne breaks down how each step of her career—and the people she’s met along the way—influences her work with Must Love Sports. She talks about making side hustles successful and the positive changes she sees coming for women in the sports industry. Most importantly, Raleigh Anne breaks down the nuances between networking and relationship building, and how getting to know people can make a difference in your networking efforts.
Other in-flight topics:
- Networking vs Relationship building
- Being a woman in the sports industry
- Pivoting your business based on need
- Balancing a side hustle with a full-time career
- Applying learnings from your career to your side hustle/passion project
- Emerging female sports broadcasting voices
Links:
- Website: https://www.mustlovesports.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/must-love-sports/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mustlovesportsllc/
If entering the spirits industry—as rookies, no less—were easy, everyone would do it. Childhood best friends JD Recobs and Chris Buglisi are tackling this challenge head on with a unique product: whiskey for everyone.
Welcome to Building While Flying!
This weekly podcast is brought to you by the Sasha Group. We’re the small-to-medium-sized business arm of the VaynerX family of companies. We help ambitious companies build strong brands that flex with the times through strategy, branding, media, and marketing.
In ever-changing times, businesses and brands have to shift and adapt. And across all sectors, there is an air of experimentation. Business owners are trying new things out in the wild; building the plane while flying.
Our pilots, Katie Hankinson and Mickey Cloud, will be talking to a diverse range of business leaders and founders. They’ll explore how these guests tackle various challenges while staying resilient and committed to growth. Through these real-life examples of strategies put into practice, we hope to inspire you to experiment and develop your own strategies as we all navigate these uncertain times together.
JD Recobs and Chris Buglisi are two of the most unpretentious whiskey guys you’ll ever meet.
They created Misunderstood Ginger Spiced Whiskey with one goal in mind: to make the whiskey for whiskey newbies, connoisseurs, and everyone in between. It began as a passion project that they worked on tirelessly after their corporate jobs, and has grown into a strong brand with big plans to keep growing.
In their conversation with Mickey, Chris and JD talk about the early days of Misunderstood Whiskey: experimenting with blends and infusions late at night after working corporate jobs, and many not-great tastings. After landing on the right batch, they took it to market. They discuss the challenges of entering an old, traditional industry with lots of history, and how they discovered their ideal target audience. Mickey asks them about the tension between eagerness to grow and the need to stay patient (spoiler alert: it keeps them up at night). And lastly, Chris and JD give a sneak peek into what’s coming up next for Misunderstood Whiskey - including breaking into some new markets!
Other in-flight topics:
- Passion projects
- Entering the spirits industry as rookies
- Breaking into a traditional industry with a new, unique product
- Importance of knowing your audience and customers
- Challenges of national distribution
- Tension between eagerness to grow and patience
- Building and running a business with a friend
Links:
- Website: https://misunderstoodwhiskey.com/
- Locator: https://misunderstoodwhiskey.com/locations
- Insta: https://www.instagram.com/misunderstoodwhiskey/
What experimentation led to becoming your main business?
Live events were one of the biggest casualties of the COVID-19 pandemic. But Daniel Curtis and his teams saw this as an opportunity to slow down, reflect, and find their next path forward.
Welcome to Building While Flying!
This weekly podcast is brought to you by the Sasha Group. We’re the small-to-medium-sized business arm of the VaynerX family of companies. We help ambitious companies build strong brands that flex with the times through strategy, branding, media, and marketing.
In ever-changing times, businesses and brands have to shift and adapt. And across all sectors, there is an air of experimentation. Business owners are trying new things out in the wild; building the plane while flying.
Our pilots, Katie Hankinson and Mickey Cloud, will be talking to a diverse range of business leaders and founders. They’ll explore how these guests tackle various challenges while staying resilient and committed to growth. Through these real-life examples of strategies put into practice, we hope to inspire you to experiment and develop your own strategies as we all navigate these uncertain times together.
Daniel Curtis learned a lot from the COVID-19 pandemic—about entrepreneurship and himself.
Daniel Curtis has his hand in multiple companies, all dealing with events, community building, and entrepreneurship. He’s the Chief Strategy Officer of EMC3, a creative agency specializing in live and virtual event production and speaker management. He’s also a co-founder and CSO of Dependable Forces, a company that provides safety, health, and security services for live events; and he’s theCSO and co-founder of 5%, an event and education company and community for early-stage entrepreneurs. Those last two companies were born out of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In his conversation with Katie, Daniel describes the best gift the pandemic could have given him: the gift of time. It’s with this time he was able to slow down, focus, and start two new businesses. He addresses the importance of community for entrepreneurs and the need for a safe space to fail and learn without fear of judgment. Most importantly, Daniel discusses the future of events, post-pandemic, and why the “hybrid” virtual and live will be the way to go. If you’re itching to go to events again, this episode is just what you need.
Other in-flight topics:
- How the COVID-19 pandemic impacted live events
- Importance of mentorship and community for entrepreneurs
- Shifting from live events to virtual events
- Balancing your role across multiple companies
- Surrounding yourself with a strong, smart, supportive peer group
- The future of events, post-pandemic
- Defining your purpose as an entrepreneur
Links:
- EMC3 website: https://emc3.com/
- Daniel on LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/danielemc3
- DF website: https://dependable-forces.com/
What event are you looking forward to attending as we come out of pandemic times?
Fixing the broken food system is no piece of cake—but one brand believes they can do it, one bowl of soup at a time.
Welcome to Building While Flying!
This weekly podcast is brought to you by the Sasha Group. We’re the small-to-medium-sized business arm of the VaynerX family of companies. We help ambitious companies build strong brands that flex with the times through strategy, branding, media, and marketing.
In ever-changing times, businesses and brands have to shift and adapt. And across all sectors, there is an air of experimentation. Business owners are trying new things out in the wild; building the plane while flying.
Our pilots, Katie Hankinson and Mickey Cloud, will be talking to a diverse range of business leaders and founders. They’ll explore how these guests tackle various challenges while staying resilient and committed to growth. Through these real-life examples of strategies put into practice, we hope to inspire you to experiment and develop your own strategies as we all navigate these uncertain times together.
Sara Polon and her team have a bold mission: to make the world better with soup.
Sara Polon is a former standup comedian turned self-taught soupmaker. She and her mother started Soupergirl in 2008, with a mission to fix the broken food system, and share everything they’ve learned along the way. Their soups are truly one of a kind—made with seasonal ingredients, kosher, vegan, gluten-free, and radically delicious.
In their conversation, Sara and Mickey first dive into Sara’s background in comedy, and how those skills help and impact her as a business owner. Then Sara goes deep on the current food system, people’s different approaches to food, and how Soupergirl is making a difference, and will continue to do so. Sara also talks about meeting your consumers where they are, and shares how the COVID-19 pandemic forced her and her team to refocus their vision and channel strategy from retail to DTC. At the end of the day, Sara says, as long as they remain focused and understand their vision, we will get there.
If you’re craving some soup after listening, head to the Soupergirl website to find where you can buy some near you, or to order some for delivery right to your door.
Other In-flight Topics:
- Standup comedy in New York City
- Starting a business with your mother
- Infusing comedy background as a business owner
- Defining your approach to food
- Fixing the broken food system
- How the COVID-19 forced them to refocus their channel strategies
- How to meet your consumers where they are
- The challenges of communicating a values-focused brand story
- The importance of listening to your consumers
Links:
- Website: https://thesoupergirl.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesoupergirldc/
- Store locator: https://thesoupergirl.com/find-in-stores/
- Order soup for delivery: https://thesoupergirl.com/enter-zip-code/
What previous career did you have to being an entrepreneur and what lessons did you carry over?
What is modern fatherhood? How do you build an authentic brand, and remain true to it over time? How do you pitch a show to Food Network? Is being in reality TV worth it? All these and more are answered in this week’s episode of Building While Flying—so buckle up, it’s gonna be a ride!
Welcome to Building While Flying!
This weekly podcast is brought to you by the Sasha Group. We’re the small-to-medium-sized business arm of the VaynerX family of companies. We help ambitious companies build strong brands that flex with the times through strategy, branding, media, and marketing.
In ever-changing times, businesses and brands have to shift and adapt. And across all sectors, there is an air of experimentation. Business owners are trying new things out in the wild; building the plane while flying.
Our pilots, Katie Hankinson and Mickey Cloud, will be talking to a diverse range of business leaders and founders. They’ll explore how these guests tackle various challenges while staying resilient and committed to growth. Through these real-life examples of strategies put into practice, we hope to inspire you to experiment and develop your own strategies as we all navigate these uncertain times together.
Ryan Fey and his best friend Mark Anderson are redefining what it means to be modern dads.
After growing up in rural Ohio, Ryan Fey moved to New York City after college to start his career in PR and advertising. When burnout hit, Fey and his friend and work partner Mark Anderson turned to their creative side hustle, a pilot for a series about defining California barbecue. A whirlwind crowdfunding campaign and off-the-cuff email to a Food Network producer later, they met with Guy Fieri and landed a spot on Guy’s Big Project to bring their show Grill Dads to life. Several years later, the Grill Dads brand is stronger than ever—and there’s more where that came from!
In this week’s episode, Mickey and Ryan dig into each step of Ryan’s career, and how it led him to the next. From PR agencies in New York to Thanksgiving in the back yard with 60 friends in California, each step brought him closer to his goal of building a lifestyle he knew he would be happy living. Ryan breaks down each intentional phase of building Grill Dads into a platform to bring levity to others through food: from their Food Network days to exciting new developments coming later this year. Most importantly, though, Ryan says their mission of reinventing what it means to be a modern dad is what drives them and keeps their brand strong. Staying true to your brand (and yourself) isn’t always easy, but when you’re strong in your mission and vision, the results speak for themselves.
Other in-flight topics:
- Starting a career in New York City
- Pitching a show idea to Food Network
- Authenticity and staying true to your brand
- Importance of intellectual property (IP)
- Reinventing the modern dad
- Doing business with your best friend
Links:
- Website: https://www.thegrilldads.com/
- Instagram @thegrilldads
- Food Network: https://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/the-grill-dads
The beauty industry is often seen as shallow, and it’s not often taken very seriously. One entrepreneur is out to change that stigma and make a difference. Real-estate investor turned beauty entrepreneur Arah Sims brings her passion for purpose to the industry, while empowering people everywhere to explore a new form of self-expression.
Welcome to Building While Flying!
This weekly podcast is brought to you by the Sasha Group. We’re the small-to-medium-sized business arm of the VaynerX family of companies. We help ambitious companies build strong brands that flex with the times through strategy, branding, media, and marketing.
In ever-changing times, businesses and brands have to shift and adapt. And across all sectors, there is an air of experimentation. Business owners are trying new things out in the wild; building the plane while flying.
Our pilots, Katie Hankinson and Mickey Cloud, will be talking to a diverse range of business leaders and founders. They’ll explore how these guests tackle various challenges while staying resilient and committed to growth. Through these real-life examples of strategies put into practice, we hope to inspire you to experiment and develop your own strategies as we all navigate these uncertain times together.
Arah Sims is turning something she grew up with—nail art—into a vehicle for self-expression and activism.
Arah began her entrepreneurial journey in real estate and property management after college. Then when COVID-19 hit in 2020, she, like the rest of the world, had to pivot. After realizing how much she and others missed their self-care routines, Kyutee Beauty was born. Kyutee is a trail-blazing beauty brand that inspires and empowers people to expand the canvas of self-expression to their nails.
In her conversation with Katie, Arah shares each step of her journey thus far. She talks about the initial support from Michelle Obama’s When We All Vote organization and early influencer partnerships, and how those opportunities set Kyutee up for later success. Kyutee Beauty is also part of Cantu Elevate, a program created in partnership with The Sasha Group to help Black female beauty entrepreneurs navigate today’s marketing landscape and grow beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. Arah stresses the importance of “passion with a purpose” and emphasizes her desire to do her part to share her message with people across the country. Arah also discusses the importance of mentorship, especially for Black female entrepreneurs, and how having support systems and sounding boards make a difference in her business and life.
Other in-flight topics:
- Real estate investment
- Identifying opportunities during hard times
- Working with influencers and partners that align with your goals
- Developing a strong foundation for young brands
- The entrepreneurship skill set
- Importance of mentorship as entrepreneurs
- Role as a mentor for fellow Black female entrepreneurs
- Entrepreneurship out of necessity
- Cantu Elevate, a program created in partnership with The Sasha Group to help Black female beauty entrepreneurs navigate today’s marketing landscape
Links:
https://www.instagram.com/kyuteenails/?hl=en https://kyutee.com/ TikTok - @kyuteenails
In-flight Question: What do you want the next collab for Kyutee to be?
What does it mean to be a “conscious entrepreneur” and lead a purpose-driven business and brand? This week’s episode of Building While Flying answers that question (and more!) and addresses the need for more companies to start doing the same.
Welcome to Building While Flying!
This weekly podcast is brought to you by the Sasha Group. We’re the small-to-medium-sized business arm of the VaynerX family of companies. We help ambitious companies build strong brands that flex with the times through strategy, branding, media, and marketing.
In ever-changing times, businesses and brands have to shift and adapt. And across all sectors, there is an air of experimentation. Business owners are trying new things out in the wild; building the plane while flying.
Our pilots, Katie Hankinson and Mickey Cloud, will be talking to a diverse range of business leaders and founders. They’ll explore how these guests tackle various challenges while staying resilient and committed to growth. Through these real-life examples of strategies put into practice, we hope to inspire you to experiment and develop your own strategies as we all navigate these uncertain times together.
Kevin Shelhamer’s business is driven by one big question: “Is what we’re doing, doing good?”
Kevin Shelhamer is a marketing and branding executive turned conscious entrepreneur, and Co-Founder of Rescue Plastics, a new startup dedicated to removing plastics from waterways and transforming it into high-performance fabric for active and leisure wear clothing. After working in startups and agencies, Rescue Plastics was born with the idea of leveraging something bad for good.
In this week’s episode, Katie and Kevin unpack “conscious entrepreneurship” from all angles. Kevin shares the Rescue Plastics origin story and the questions that drive his team and business every day. He and Katie discuss the differences between branding a more traditional, non-purpose-driven business and a purpose-driven business. At the end of the day, Kevin says, it’s about doing good and making people’s lives better, and challenging other companies to do the same.
Other in-flight topics:
- What is “conscious entrepreneurship”?
- How Rescue Plastics was born
- Leading a purpose-driven company and brand
- How can brands and companies help people live better lives?
- Accountability and integrity in sustainable businesses
- Branding for a “traditional” business vs. branding for a purpose-driven company
Entrepreneurship looks different for everyone, and the definition often changes throughout your career and life—and that’s okay. Everyone is entrepreneurial to a degree, and embracing that entrepreneurial spirit will only open unimaginable doors.
Welcome to Building While Flying!
This weekly podcast is brought to you by the Sasha Group. We’re the small-to-medium-sized business arm of the VaynerX family of companies. We help ambitious companies build strong brands that flex with the times through strategy, branding, media, and marketing.
In ever-changing times, businesses and brands have to shift and adapt. And across all sectors, there is an air of experimentation. Business owners are trying new things out in the wild; building the plane while flying.
Our pilots, Katie Hankinson and Mickey Cloud, will be talking to a diverse range of business leaders and founders. They’ll explore how these guests tackle various challenges while staying resilient and committed to growth. Through these real-life examples of strategies put into practice, we hope to inspire you to experiment and develop your own strategies as we all navigate these uncertain times together.
Jon Troutman and Nate Scherotter’s entrepreneurial paths have been anything but ordinary.
As two VaynerX OGs, they’ve worked with Gary in many different ways—from Wine Library to Office of the CEO to most recently, Empathy Wines. Now they’re both VPs at Constellation Brands, a Fortune 500 wine, beer, and spirits portfolio company which bought Empathy Wines in 2020.
In their conversation with Mickey, Jon and Nate break down each step of their careers, from getting in the door at VaynerMedia in the early 2010s, to founding Empathy Wines, a direct-to-consumer wine brand with Gary (in 2019), to joining Constellation Brands last year. They define what entrepreneurship means for themselves; dive into the mindset shift from working for an entrepreneur (like Gary) to being one yourself; share how Empathy Wines is making waves in a traditionally wholesale-based industry; the advantages of a one-to-one customer-brand relationship; and much more.
Other in-flight topics:
- How Jon and Nate both landed in the wine world (and working for Gary)
- How entrepreneurship varies from person to person
- Entrepreneurship vs. Intrapreneurship
- The mindset shift from working for an entrepreneur to being one
- The origin story of Empathy Wines.
- Standing out as DTC in a wholesale-based industry
Links:
Follow Jon on Instagram @trouty - https://www.instagram.com/trouty
Follow Nate on Instagram @nscherot - https://www.instagram.com/nscherot
@EmpathyWines
https://empathywines.com
Being a female entrepreneur and business owner is no piece of cake—between breakdowns of all magnitudes, funding struggles, burnout, a pandemic, and anything else the universe throws their way. But with the right guidance, support, and a heavy dose of empathy, you can Build Like a Woman with intention and firepower.
Welcome to Building While Flying!
This weekly podcast is brought to you by the Sasha Group. We’re the small-to-medium-sized business arm of the VaynerX family of companies. We help ambitious companies build strong brands that flex with the times through strategy, branding media and marketing.
In ever-changing times, businesses and brands have to shift and adapt. And across all sectors, there is an air of experimentation. Business owners are trying new things out in the wild; building the plane while flying.
Our pilots, Katie Hankinson and Mickey Cloud, will be talking to a diverse range of business leaders and founders. They’ll explore how these guests tackle various challenges while staying resilient and committed to growth. Through these real-life examples of strategies put into practice, we hope to inspire you to experiment and develop your own strategies as we all navigate these uncertain times together.
Kathleen Griffith’s path to entrepreneurship was full of “happy accidents.”
She says herself in her conversation with Katie: “There’s a greater plan than the one you can devise for yourself.” Her hunger for entrepreneurship appeared in childhood. It eventually led to her founding Grayce & Co, an agency which helps Fortune 500 brands speak and market authentically to women, and Build Like a Woman, a global platform providing inspiration, tools and community for women to rise and thrive in all aspects of their businesses and lives.
In their conversation, Kathleen and Katie dive into the realities of entrepreneurship for women. They share some staggering statistics—like how two-thirds of women bootstrap their businesses—discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected women, how “Big B” and “little b” breakdowns impact your business, and the importance of empathy in your marketing approach. Kathleen also shares some signs of optimism and opportunity for women entrepreneurs coming out of the pandemic. This is just the beginning; we’ll be seeing a lot more if her predictions are on target!
If you’re feeling inspired after listening to this episode of Building While Flying, here are some ways you can support women-owned businesses:
- Shop from women-owned businesses.
- Tell your friends and family about your favorite women-owned businesses.
- Follow them online to hear more of their perspectives.
- Share their content.
- Check on your business-owning friends.
- Ask how they’re doing and how you can support them.
Other in-flight topics:
- How Kathleen started her businesses
- Surprising stats about women-owned businesses
- Challenges and opportunities for women entrepreneurs
- How breakdowns lead to breakthroughs
- 3 key patterns we can see in female consumers
- The best advice for brands on marketing to women
- The future of women-owned businesses post-pandemic
As entrepreneurs and business owners, pivoting and adapting is in our DNA. But that doesn’t mean it’s always a breeze. Determination, hard work, and grit can help us navigate and overcome even the most difficult pivots in our careers—and lives.
Welcome to Building While Flying!
This weekly podcast is brought to you by the Sasha Group. We’re the small-to-medium-sized business arm of the VaynerX family of companies. We help ambitious companies build strong brands that flex with the times through strategy, branding media and marketing.
In ever-changing times, businesses and brands have to shift and adapt. And across all sectors, there is an air of experimentation. Business owners are trying new things out in the wild; building the plane while flying.
Our pilots, Katie Hankinson and Mickey Cloud, will be talking to a diverse range of business leaders and founders. They’ll explore how these guests tackle various challenges while staying resilient and committed to growth. Through these real-life examples of strategies put into practice, we hope to inspire you to experiment and develop your own strategies as we all navigate these uncertain times together.
Matt Brown is an expert in pivots.
His career has been full of them—from leaving college to work as a technical recruiter, to keeping up with the platforms that literally drive his business, to adapting to the remote working environment, and much more. After realizing the disconnect between manufacturers and the retailers that sell their products, Matt launched ThumbStopper, a SaaS social media marketing company, to help bridge the gap between online and IRL inventory and retailers’ and brands’ social media presences.
In this episode of Building While Flying, Mickey and Matt unpack the macro and micro pivots at each step of his career. Matt explains how ThumbStopper came to be, and talks about how adapting to new data and updates constantly changes the dynamics of conversations he has with his clients and partners. He revisits a career nightmare involving a Craigslist terms and conditions update that made nearly half of his revenue disappear overnight, and how his team persevered to quickly build a solution. Lastly, Matt and Mickey discuss the importance of company culture and team building, and how those impact talent retention over time.
What's a moment in your business where you've been too reliant on a platform and something shifted, and how did you navigate that?
Other in-flight topics:
- Matt’s career path
- Adapting your business based on new data, statistics, and platform updates
- Grit and determination during challenging times
- Impacts of remote work
- Importance of culture and team-building
- Advice for entrepreneurs
Links:
@thumbst0pper - https://www.instagram.com/thumbst0pper/
Youtube.com/c/Thumbstopper
https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewbrown23
We often put the tech world in one lump category. But the truth is, there are niches upon niches when it comes to tech. Sports tech is a little-known sector that doesn’t come with a playbook. You have to find your zone as you go.
Welcome to Building While Flying!
This weekly podcast is brought to you by the Sasha Group. We’re the consultancy meets agency arm of the VaynerX family of companies. We help ambitious companies build strong brands that flex with the times through strategy, branding media and marketing.
In ever-changing times, businesses and brands have to shift and adapt. And across all sectors, there is an air of experimentation. Business owners are trying new things out in the wild; building the plane while flying.
Alex Wu is finding his zone within the sports tech world with HomeCourt.
From marketing to startups to presidential campaigns, Alex has had quite the career. Now a Founding Team member of NEX Team, Inc., a mobile AI company, he gets to combine his love of sports and tech. Alex’s small talented team consists of former Apple, Google and Facebook employees navigating the primarily untapped market of sports apps. HomeCourt is the first smartphone app built with NEX Team’s core tech. It allows you to use your phone camera to count, track and chart your basketball shots in real-time. It then provides instant video review and stats analysis to challenge yourself and improve your game.
In this episode, Mickey gets the opportunity to relive his UVA days a bit with his old friend Alex. Besides the basketball talk, they get into the nuts and bolts of what it takes to start a project like HomeCourt. Like everything else, a pivot was required when the pandemic hit, so they dive into the logistics of “building while flying” in the sports tech world. When creating such an innovative product, it’s essential to find your zone and not expect a slam dunk right out of the gate. It’s all about patience, adapting, and serving your community of users.
Other in-flight topics:
- Alex’s diverse career background
- Working on the Obama campaign
- Forcing yourself to learn
- Pivoting in unprecedented times
- Alex’s in-flight checklist
Links:
Connect with Alex on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwuming/
Follow Alex on Twitter - https://twitter.com/awu85?lang=en
HomeCourt - https://www.homecourt.ai/
Building your personal brand doesn’t have to be complicated. Taking the path of least resistance by making small authentic moves is a great way to start.
Welcome to Building While Flying!
This weekly podcast is brought to you by the Sasha Group. We’re the consultancy meets agency arm of the VaynerX family of companies. We help ambitious companies build strong brands that flex with the times through strategy, branding media and marketing.
In ever-changing times, businesses and brands have to shift and adapt. And across all sectors, there is an air of experimentation. Business owners are trying new things out in the wild; building the plane while flying.
Our pilots, Katie Hankinson and Mickey Cloud, will be talking to a diverse range of business leaders and founders. They’ll explore how these guests tackle various challenges while staying resilient and committed to growth. Through these real-life examples of strategies put into practice, we hope to inspire you to experiment and develop your own strategies as we all navigate these uncertain times together.
Brittany Krystle is a personal branding expert.
Before Brittany began her journey of personal branding and podcasting, she was part of the VaynerX family. In fact, helping Gary Vaynerchuk build his brand made Brittany realize she had a knack and a passion for this sort of thing. Besides her successful business, she is also the host of the top-rated podcast Beyond Influential. In both her business and her podcast, Brittany emphasizes that your personal brand is your business. And the most effective way to build your brand is by being authentic.
You don’t have to have a giant personality to build a successful brand. In this episode, Katie and Brittany explore personal branding at its core. Brittany explains that influence isn’t about talent or luck; it’s about strategy. And being strategic in your branding will be a constant work in progress. But it doesn’t have to be an overwhelming, complicated burden. Taking the path of least resistance is always Brittany’s advice to apprehensive business owners. You don’t have to jump into personal branding full force. Just take baby steps to put yourself and your business out there, authentically.
Other in-flight topics:
- Brittany’s journey to personal branding
- Being authentically yourself online
- Who are you? Who do you serve?
- Repurposing Content
- The 3 C’s
Links:
Check out Brittany’s Website
Connect with Brittany on LinkedIn
Follow Brittany on Instagram
Listen to Brittany’s Podcast Beyond Influential
Unfortunately, coming up with a brilliant idea or inventing a life-saving product isn’t enough to launch a successful business. Sometimes learning to network is just as important as your business model.
Welcome to Building While Flying!
This weekly podcast is brought to you by the Sasha Group. We’re the consultancy meets agency arm of the VaynerX family of companies. We help ambitious companies build strong brands that flex with the times through strategy, branding media and marketing.
In ever-changing times, businesses and brands have to shift and adapt. And across all sectors, there is an air of experimentation. Business owners are trying new things out in the wild; building the plane while flying.
Our pilots, Katie Hankinson and Mickey Cloud, will be talking to a diverse range of business leaders and founders. They’ll explore how these guests tackle various challenges while staying resilient and committed to growth. Through these real-life examples of strategies put into practice, we hope to inspire you to experiment and develop your own strategies as we all navigate these uncertain times together.
Felicia Jackson invented the CPR Wrap to save lives. Now she’s learning how to network.
In a moment of sheer terror, Felicia Jackson, an experienced healthcare worker at the time, realized that even CPR-trained individuals could freeze in a life-threatening situation. When her 2-year-old son was choking, Felicia found herself panicking while her husband took over CPR to save her son’s life. Then shortly after, Felicia had a dream about a way to prepare for those exact moments. That’s how the CPR Wrap was born. This life-saving product gives you a template and instructions on how and where to do CPR so that you can grasp a bit of much-needed clarity in a terrifying moment.
As impressive as her product is, Felicia is still learning how to grow her reach, and ultimately her company. In this episode, Mickey and Felicia discuss all things networking and what she's learned along the way. She gives us some great tips for finding networking opportunities in your local entrepreneurial ecosystem. And she shares some of her biggest challenges in her journey to make the CPR Wrap successful. It’s not every day we get to chat with an entrepreneur that is literally saving lives, so we enjoyed every minute of this one.
Other in-flight topics:
- The terrifying story of how CPR Wrap was born
- Creative ways Felicia networks
- Finding help in your local entrepreneurial ecosystem
- Being transparent as a business owner
- Chatting with Gwyneth Paltrow
- Chronicles of a Female Founder
- Felicia’s pre-flight checklist
Links:
CPR Wrap - https://cprwrap.com/
Connect with Felicia on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/felicia-jackson-42b29a59/
Watch Felicia’s TedX Talk: Three Dynamics to Life-Saving Success - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWCfABs1g0o
Final Thought: In your business, what is that one piece of advice from a mentor that stuck with you over time and helped move your business forward?
Reinvention is about looking at your current situation and seeing the possibilities for more. This can apply to your personal life, or in your business, brand or company.
Welcome to Building While Flying!
This weekly podcast is brought to you by the Sasha Group. We’re the consultancy meets agency arm of the VaynerX family of companies. We help ambitious companies build strong brands that flex with the times through strategy, branding media and marketing.
In ever-changing times, businesses and brands have to shift and adapt. And across all sectors, there is an air of experimentation. Business owners are trying new things out in the wild; building the plane while flying.
Our pilots, Katie Hankinson and Mickey Cloud, will be talking to a diverse range of business leaders and founders. They’ll explore how these guests tackle various challenges while staying resilient and committed to growth. Through these real-life examples of strategies put into practice, we hope to inspire you to experiment and develop your own strategies as we all navigate these uncertain times together.
Kathi Sharpe-Ross is the queen of reinvention.
Kathi is the owner and founder of The Sharpe Alliance, an agency that builds businesses and brands through corporate and entertaining marketing, sponsorship, new media initiatives, strategic and tactical campaign development, event production, public relations, and so much more. Covering so many different kinds of clients through so many different platforms may seem a bit much for some. But not for Kathi. She’s used to going her own way and carving her own path.
Kathi’s new book Reinvent Your Life: What Are You Waiting For? is full of all the “power tools” you need to let go of your fears and launch your adventure. Kathi’s a pro at reinvention. And she gives businesses, brands and people the confidence they need to take on the scary prospect of change and evolution.
This interview was recorded in the early fall of 2020, so you may notice some differences from our regular format. Friendly reminder: we’re so focused on the concept of “building while flying” that we tend to do it a bit with this podcast! In this episode, Katie chats with Kathi about how her outside-the-box thinking and perspective has propelled her career. She also touches on why it’s so important to bring aspects that you love about your life into your business. Kathi is such a positive force, this conversation left us feeling so inspired to reinvent.
Other in-flight topics:
- Kathi’s early career
- Starting a business while in college
- The power tools Kathi values most
- Business curveballs
- Reinvention in business
- Creating a business roadmap
Links:
The Sharpe Alliance - https://www.sharpealliance.com/
The Reinvention Exchange - https://www.thereinventionexchange.com/
Reinvent Your Life Book - https://www.thereinventionexchange.com/inside
Kathi’s Podcast The Power of Reinvention - https://open.spotify.com/show/6Vm4JPKBszuW6xoCrHTrlA
The career world is not how it used to be. The idea of picking one job after college and sticking with it for a lifetime is no longer sustainable. Nor should it be. Having a community where you can learn new skills, familiarize yourself with tech, and get advice from others is priceless in today’s world. The rapid reskilling movement is the wave of the future, and we should all jump in.
Welcome to Building While Flying!
This weekly podcast is brought to you by the Sasha Group. We’re the consultancy meets agency arm of the VaynerX family of companies. We help ambitious companies build strong brands that flex with the times through strategy, branding media and marketing.
In ever-changing times, businesses and brands have to shift and adapt. And across all sectors, there is an air of experimentation. Business owners are trying new things out in the wild; building the plane while flying.
Ruben Harris wants everyone to have a space to learn new skills and build new careers.
As CEO of Career Karma, Ruben Harris sees the incredible need for reskilling. He describes Career Karma as “an alternative LinkedIn for blue-collar workers.” And with over 55 million Americans filing for unemployment since the pandemic hit, it’s a much-needed platform for those looking to reshape their careers moving forward.
It’s not hard to see how Ruben was able to see the gaps in online job platforms. With a career background as diverse as his, he was able to see the needs of those who may not be in the corporate ladder-climbing category. As an accomplished musician, former investment banker and startup enthusiast, Ruben noticed a trend. There was a gaping lack of platforms for those looking to reskill and shift directions in their career.
In this episode, Ruben enlightens Katie on the rapid reskilling movement and why it’s so incredibly essential at this moment in time. He shares his brilliant ideas for Reskill America: The Great Rehiring Initiative, a program dedicated to providing resources like laptops to communities that need them. And he gives us a bit of his background that gives context to his incredible passion for this type of work. Tune in, and then you can say you knew of Ruben back before his company were the category kings of the rapid reskilling movement.
Other in-flight topics:
- The diverse career background that gave birth to Career Karma
- What to expect when you join Career Karma
- The skill gaps in America
- The power of tech skills
- Ruben’s brilliant WW2 tie-in
- Reskill America
- Mickey’s thoughts in the Sasha Sidebar
Links:
Career Karma
Reskill America: The Great Rehiring Initiative - https://careerkarma.com/reskill-america/apply/
Announcements - https://www.crunchbase.com/funding_round/career-karma-series-a--c59b9d2a
As an entrepreneur, the world of social media marketing can seem incredibly overwhelming. When do you post? What do you say? How do you keep up with it without it conflicting with other business tasks? The key to effective social media marketing is authenticity, honesty and accountability.
Welcome to Building While Flying!
This weekly podcast is brought to you by Sasha Group. We’re the consultancy meets agency arm of the VaynerX family of companies. We help ambitious companies build strong brands that flex with the times through strategy, branding media and marketing.
In ever-changing times, businesses and brands have to shift and adapt. And across all sectors, there is an air of experimentation. Business owners are trying new things out in the wild; building the plane while flying.
Our pilots, Katie Hankinson and Mickey Cloud, will be talking to a diverse range of business leaders and founders. They’ll explore how these guests tackle various challenges while staying resilient and committed to growth. Through these real-life examples of strategies put into practice, we hope to inspire you to experiment and develop your own strategies as we all navigate these uncertain times together.
Jasmine Star told her story authentically on social media, and people paid attention.
More than a decade ago, Jasmine Star decided to quit law school and pursue a career as a photographer. She had no idea what she was doing, but she shared the entire process on her blog and eventually her social media. People paid attention. She wasn’t sure of her abilities as a photographer, but she grew more confident with her ability to effectively market herself online. Today, Jasmine empowers entrepreneurs and businesses to do the same.
Social Curator, founded by Jasmine, is a monthly subscription service that gives businesses photos and templates to use on their social media platforms. This innovative service specializes in amplifying business creativity, sparkling conversations through social media and captivating ideal clients.
In this episode, Jasmine tells Katie all about the unique career journey that led to Social Curator. Jasmine passionately explains that it's not necessarily about being the best at what you do, but instead, it’s about being honest about what you do. That vulnerability and openness can connect with potential clients and customers in a way that no corporate ad could ever touch. Jasmine has learned so much through her own social media. She loves sharing her knowledge with entrepreneurs who may be a bit timid about the social marketing landscape. If Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and TikTok feel like another planet to you, time to tune in!
Other in-flight topics:
- Jasmine’s origin story
- Her journey with photography
- Why it doesn’t matter if you’re good at what you do or not
- The 3 main pressure points of social media marketing
- Managing business and marriage
- The Taylor Swift quote you need to hear
- Jasmine’s pre-flight checklist
Links:
Social Curator - https://socialcurator.com/
Jasmine’s Website - https://jasminestar.com/
Follow Social Curator on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/socialcurators/?hl=en
Follow Jasmine on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jasminestar/?hl=en
Just because we’re living through the most tumultuous time in human history doesn’t mean we can’t still do some good. In fact, it’s all the more reason to. It’s so refreshing to see those that have seen success with startups give back to their communities.
Welcome to Building While Flying!
This weekly podcast is brought to you by the Sasha Group. We’re the consultancy meets agency arm of the VaynerX family of companies. We help ambitious companies build strong brands that flex with the times through strategy, branding media and marketing.
In ever-changing times, businesses and brands have to shift and adapt. And across all sectors, there is an air of experimentation. Business owners are trying new things out in the wild; building the plane while flying.
Ted Alling is doing so much good in Chattanooga.
A big part of the reason why there’s a VaynerX office in Chattanooga is Ted Alling. This guy has so much pride for his town, you can’t help but fall in love with it from his passion alone. As co-founder of Chattanooga Prep, he demonstrates this passion in the most admirable way. This school for boys prepares tomorrow’s entrepreneurs and leaders by giving them a strong, solid and loving foundation.
Ted is the co-founder and former CEO of Access America, a $500 logistics startup company. Access America eventually merged with Coyote Logistics, a UPS subsidiary. So obviously, Ted is a perfect example of massive startup success.
The driving force behind much of what Ted does is a desire to build Chattanooga into a destination for young businesses. This is why he helped co-found Lamp Post Group in 2010, a venture capital firm. They have invested $36 million into the local entrepreneurial ecosystem, all in an effort to turn their beloved city into a landscape ripe for the entrepreneurs of tomorrow.
In this episode, Mickey and Ted, who happen to be close friends, chat all about startups and the good you’re able to do with their success. They discuss navigating personal relationships when they also involve business, and how Ted’s been able to beat the odds of mixing friendship with startups. Ted is such a caring, thoughtful guy. And it’s so amazing to hear all the work he’s doing with the boys’ prep school and the Chattanooga community as a whole. This is a feel-good episode for sure.
Other in-flight topics:
- Ted’s upbringing
- The early stages of his career
- Partnering with friends
- The challenges of logistics startups
- All things Chattanooga
- The reasons behind the prep school idea
Links:
Connect with Ted on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tedalling/
Dynamo Ventures - https://www.dynamo.vc/
Lamp Post Group - https://www.lamppostgroup.com/
Chattanooga Preparatory School - https://www.chattanoogaprep.com/
It wasn’t just the pandemic that shook things up in 2020. The civil unrest triggered by horrible racial injustices left emotions raw. In some ways, this rawness has allowed us to be less delicate when making business decisions that reflect specific values. Being fiercely unapologetic while changing the world, especially the business world, is 100% necessary.
Welcome to Building While Flying!
This weekly podcast is brought to you by the Sasha Group. We’re the consultancy meets agency arm of the VaynerX family of companies. We help ambitious companies build strong brands that flex with the times through strategy, branding media and marketing.
In ever-changing times, businesses and brands have to shift and adapt. And across all sectors, there is an air of experimentation. Business owners are trying new things out in the wild; building the plane while flying.
Our pilots, Katie Hankinson and Mickey Cloud, will be talking to a diverse range of business leaders and founders. They’ll explore how these guests tackle various challenges while staying resilient and committed to growth. Through these real-life examples of strategies put into practice, we hope to inspire you to experiment and develop your own strategies as we all navigate these uncertain times together.
Tai Beauchamp is fiercely unapologetic as an entrepreneur and in life.
As a recognizable media personality, public speaker, style authority and creative director, Tai Beauchamp is all about empowering women. No matter the medium, Tai’s purpose has always been clear. She wants to provide a space for women, especially women of color, to be inspired to contribute in every sector to the fullest of their abilities. Her first loves, beauty and fashion, were behind her early career as a magazine editor for publications like Harper’s Bazaar and Good Housekeeping. At 22 years old, she was one of the first fashion and beauty editors at O, The Oprah Magazine.
But above all, Tai is an entrepreneur. Her newest venture, BROWN GIRL Jane, co-founded along with sisters Malaika and Nia Jones, has already smashed expectations in a short nine months. This innovative company offers a line of Broad-Spectrum CBD products designed to “support the wholeness of our sisters through internal balance and external beauty”.
In this episode, Katie and Tai have a candid chat about powering through the uncertainty of the present while acknowledging the divides we still have to bridge. Tai, by her own account, has always approached business differently. But it’s that very difference that has led her to such a distinctly unique undertaking like BROWN GIRL Jane. Tai describes the instances and career experiences that have prepared her for this moment in time, and the challenges she’s faced thus far. She also spills some of the ingenious ideas she’s come up with for her new company. Ideas so brilliant that she was able to score partnerships with major brand names in a matter of days. This woman is a force, and her passion for not only creating successful businesses, but evoking systemic change while doing so, is incredibly inspiring. We promise you’re not going to want to miss this one.
Other in-flight topics:
- How Tai describes herself
- What it’s like to grow up surrounded by educators
- Tai’s amazing start to her career right out of college
- The opportunity to create new movements
- The Brown Girl Swap
- Being fiercely unapologetic
- What is most important and where can you maximize outcomes?
- Tai’s pre-flight checklist
Links:
Tai’s Website
Tai on Instagram
BROWN GIRL Jane
Tai’s TEDx Talk
Podcast: How I Built This (referenced by Tai)
Over the last couple of decades, digital media and personal technology like smartphones, has completely changed the way we do business. This is true for marketing, for selling and for customer communication. And it’s even more true for the healthcare sector. So how do you continuously adapt without missing a beat? Listening, learning and never being afraid to pivot could be the key.
Welcome to Building While Flying!
This weekly podcast is brought to you by the Sasha Group. We’re the consultancy meets agency arm of the VaynerX family of companies. We help ambitious companies build strong brands that flex with the times through strategy, branding media and marketing.
In ever-changing times, businesses and brands have to shift and adapt. And across all sectors, there is an air of experimentation. Business owners are trying new things out in the wild; building the plane while flying.
Our pilots, Katie Hankinson and Mickey Cloud, will be talking to a diverse range of business leaders and founders. They’ll explore how these guests tackle various challenges while staying resilient and committed to growth. Through these real-life examples of strategies put into practice, we hope to inspire you to experiment and develop your own strategies as we all navigate these uncertain times together.
Gary Bisbee has been learning and listening throughout his entire career.
Gary Bisbee, Ph.D., is the Co-founder, Chairman and CEO of Think Medium. This innovative company provides personal insights to healthcare leaders. Gary’s vast career spans executive positions in healthcare organizations from Wall Street to academia. His passion for what he does is extremely evident and he prides himself on using his platform to inspire thoughtful leadership. Gary’s done a little bit of everything (including professional Opera singing!), and he is so amazing at articulating what he’s learned from each experience.
In this episode, Mickey asks Gary about lessons he’s learned about the healthcare industry during this incredibly volatile time. With steadiness and infinite wisdom, Gary imparts how crucial it is to listen and learn always. And he gives us plenty of examples and stories of how he’s done just that throughout his career, and throughout the pandemic. The healthcare sector may seem a bit foreign to us in other areas of business, but Gary’s insights remind us of the universal similarities. He is one cool cucumber, and it’s obvious from this conversation that we all can learn so much from each other. So take a minute to listen and learn with us.
Other in-flight topics:
- A brief explanation of Think Medium
- Gary’s super interesting backstory
- Gary’s thoughts on the “building while flying” metaphor
- Knowing when to hold em’ and when to fold em’
- Is pivoting a bad thing?
- Lessons of the healthcare world
- The power of convenience
- Data, data, data
- Learning and listening
- Why understanding how your customers learn is everything
- Gary’s pre-flight checklist
Links:
- Gary on LinkedIn
- Think Medium
- Fireside Chat (Gary’s Podcast)
- Book - n=1: How the Uniqueness of Each Individual Is Transforming Healthcare
This pandemic has hit businesses across all sectors in different ways. But something we can all agree on is that brick and mortar retail stores have taken some of the biggest blows of all. Of course, resilience comes into play. But are there ways to adapt in such trying times? Can you come back from a setback of this size?
Welcome to Building While Flying!
This weekly podcast is brought to you by Sasha Group. We’re the consultancy meets agency arm of the VaynerX family of companies. We help ambitious companies build strong brands that flex with the times through strategy, branding media and marketing.
In ever-changing times, businesses and brands have to shift and adapt. And across all sectors, there is an air of experimentation. Business owners are trying new things out in the wild; building the plane while flying.
Our pilots, Katie Hankinson and Mickey Cloud, will be talking to a diverse range of business leaders and founders. They’ll explore how these guests tackle various challenges while staying resilient and committed to growth. Through these real-life examples of strategies put into practice, we hope to inspire you to experiment and develop your own strategies as we all navigate these uncertain times together.
Ken Giddon wants shopping at Rothmans to be efficient and rewarding for his customers.
Rothmans Men Clothing is one of those archetypal New York landmarks that we all recognize when we’re in the city. As the owner of this cherished retail spot, Ken Giddon has seen his fair share of catastrophes. His store survived 9/11, Hurricane Sandy and the financial crash of 2008, so a pandemic is no big deal, right? Well, actually, according to Ken, nothing has compared to what he’s seen this last year. But that doesn’t mean the end for Rothmans. It’s quite the opposite.
In this episode, Ken gives us the incredible backstory of how Rothmans came to be. His grandfather’s advice, “We’re just selling pants,” is always at the forefront of Ken’s mind. This is entirely evident in his cool, calm, laid back approach to pretty much everything. He gives us the lowdown on the incredible ways he’s adapted the business during the pandemic. And he gives us some hints about the funky ideas he has for the future. Don’t let Ken’s zen persona fool you. His company had to close its doors and sit on millions of dollars worth of inventory when Covid hit. And, of course, there was that million-dollar NYC rent price tag to worry about. What he’s been able to do is no easy feat. This was such an uplifting conversation and Ken had some amazing insights. If you find yourself at a crossroads with your small business right now, you’re going to want to listen up.
Other in-flight topics:
Rothmans backstory
What it’s like to mix family and business
What’s so gritty about NYC
Weaving and bobbing
What makes the buying experience different at Rothmans
Negotiation during a pandemic
A Roth Truck?
Some hilarious advice our James Orsini gave Ken
Ken’s pre-flight checklist
Links:
Ken on LinkedIn
Rothman’s - https://www.rothmansny.com/
Customer behavior is changing. We’re not running to the store anymore to pick up milk after work, or popping in the gas station for a candy bar. Our office is at home, and our groceries get delivered. So how do businesses handle the ever-evolving customer behaviors of the pandemic? How do you adapt your eCommerce strategies to not only cope with the times, but thrive?
Welcome to Building While Flying!
This weekly podcast is brought to you by Sasha Group. We’re the consultancy meets agency arm of the VaynerX family of companies. We help ambitious companies build strong brands that flex with the times through strategy, branding media and marketing.
In ever-changing times, businesses and brands have to shift and adapt. And across all sectors, there is an air of experimentation. Business owners are trying new things out in the wild; building the plane while flying.
Our pilots, Katie Hankinson and Mickey Cloud, will be talking to a diverse range of business leaders and founders. They’ll explore how these guests tackle various challenges while staying resilient and committed to growth. Through these real-life examples of strategies put into practice, we hope to inspire you to experiment and develop your own strategies as we all navigate these uncertain times together.
Rachel Tipograph has been kicking a in the industry since her early 20s.**
As CEO and founder of the enterprising and marketing eCommerce platform MikMak, Rachel has watched customer trends like a hawk. In fact, she always has. Rachel started her career thinking she’d become a Hollywood agent, and even had a stint as an intern at SNL. But her entrepreneurial streak and flair for commerce led her a different direction. Long story short, Rachel ended up at GAP, increasing their profits by 70% and knocking a decade off their average customer age. She did all this at 22 years old.
This savvy spirit and keen eye led to the creation of MikMak at a pivotal time for eCommerce. She eventually had to do quite the pivot herself, and revamped her entire business model. The big guy, our very own Gary Vaynerchuk, was one of her investors. His confidence in her and her plan helped make that risky pivot possible, and it paid off big time. MikMak is now one of the fastest growing companies in America.
In this episode, recorded near the end of 2020, Rachel breaks down how the pandemic has completely shifted customer attitudes and behaviors. She tells us what people are buying now that they haven’t bought for decades. And she explains how she accumulates and tracks that data and how you use those same trends to adapt your current business model. She also lays ways she’s adjusted to a fully remote workforce while keeping everyone motivated and seen. This leader knows her stuff. No wonder Goldman Sachs named her one of “The 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs.” We were intrigued indeed, and this flight was a fun one.
Other in-flight topics:
- The many lists Rachel’s been featured on
- How Rachel transformed Gap
- Why corporate America isn’t so bad
- 2020 Consumer Demand
- How to know where to spend your media dollars
- Replenish, replenish, replenish
- Nostalgic buying
- Rachel’s hilarious meeting with Gary
- Rachel’s podcast Brave Commerce
- What’s on Rachel’s Pilot Checklist
- Two Words: PIZZA TIME
Links:
Rachel on Instagram - @racheltipograph
Rachel on LinkedIn - racheltipograph
MikMak - https://www.mikmak.com/
Brave Commerce Podcast - https://www.mikmak.com/brave-commerce-podcast
Pizzatime - Arrange a pizza party for your remote team! https://www.pizzatime.xyz/
The Sasha Group is the small to midsize business arm of the VaynerX family of companies. Through strategy, branding marketing, and media, we help ambitious companies build strong brands that flex with the times.
Right now, those times are full of volatility and ambiguity. And businesses and brands are having to shift and adapt. Across all sectors, there is an air of experimentation: brands are trying new things, testing and learning, and “building the plane while flying.”
Building While Flying is a new, biweekly podcast from The Sasha Group that will tackle uncertain times by adopting an uncertainty mindset - we can’t predict the future, but we can listen, learn, apply and share as we all navigate complex times together. We’ll be speaking to a diverse range of business leaders and founders about how they tackle challenges, stay resilient and grow - with real life examples of how these strategies have been put into practice.