The Changeup: Recent Episodes
Keith Hernandez
The Changeup sits down with leaders, innovators, and entrepreneurs to learn about doing a big career switch from being a high-rising employee at a larger company to starting your own thing. It's about the excitement of taking risks, following your passion, and building something new.
This week's guests are the Founders of Weiss Ferments, Erica and Brian Weiss. Weiss Ferments is a family-owned farm, brewery and sourdough bread bakery in Schoharie County, New York. We talk about their past lives working as sommeliers and bartenders at Michelin-rated restaurants, the decision to leave New York City and build their farm, and how they both found their passions in brewing and baking respectively.
Weiss Ferments
This week's guest is the founder and CEO of Partake Foods, Denise Woodard. Partake is a Black-owned, women-led company that offers delicious allergy-free cookies, baking mixes, pancake and waffle mixes that are certified gluten-free, non-GMO, vegan, and free of the top nine allergens.
We talk about the very personal story of her daughter's allergies that led to her founding the company and how she scaled her kitchen to over 9,000 stores nationwide.
This week's guest is the CEO and founder of Treeline Cheesemakers, Michael Schwarz. Treeline Cheesemakers is a dairy-free vegan cheese made in upstate New York. We talk about his decision to become vegan in 2011 and how that compelled him to leave his job as a lawyer and build Treeline.
Often business leaders speak in platitudes, but this is not one of those interviews. Michael brought conviction, clarity of our moral obligations, and a convincing rationale for why we all should be vegan. We talk about the science behind cashew cheese, how he landed his first clients, and how we all can do our part to stop animal cruelty.
This week's guests are the founders of Outsiders Kitchen, Julie and Austin Landes. Outsiders Kitchen is a gourmet pretzel bite that needs to be tried to be understood. Trust me, it's that good.
We talk about their journey from Pennsylvania to upstate New York, starting a cafe business that turned into a pretzel business sold in over 1000 stores, and how even with that growth, each bag is still packaged by hand.
This week's guest is the founder of Jack and Friends, Jessica Kwong. Jack and Friends is on a mission to make snack foods you can feel good about eating, regardless of your lifestyle or diet. Made with jackfruit and pea protein, Jack and Friends jerky is not only vegan and top nine allergen-free, but a good source of protein and fiber with no added sugar.
We talk about the science behind snack foods, how she developed the idea for Jack and Friends, and how she has scaled the business in a really tough vegan and vegetarian competitive market.
This week's guest is the co-founder and CEO of Finger Lakes Cider House, Garrett Miller.
Finger Lakes Cider House is a diversified organic farm that specializes in making some of the best hard cider from New York apples. We talk about the origins of the company initially being a farm with friends to now being one of the top cider houses in New York, how he grew the business and what he wants to give back to the land, and the community with this project.
This week's guest is the co-founder and CEO of Wandering Bear Coffee, Matt Bachman. Wandering Bear makes big strong coffee with a smooth side delivered on tap to offices and homes nationwide.
We talk about how he and his co-founder started the concept while in grad school, how they scaled it from their apartment kitchens to a nationwide business and how they compete in the super competitive coffee business.
This episode's guest is the CEO and founder of Bokksu, Danny Taing. Bokksu delivers authentic Japanese food and lifestyle products to customers around the world.
I was so impressed with his story that I bought a box for my daughter, and it's awesome. We talk about the inspiration behind Bokksu, how he evolves the company in a competitive subscription box market, and how his decision to come out has influenced his leadership style.
This week's guest is the founder of Phoenicia Diner, Mike Cioffi.
If you have ever been to the Catskills or ever had a friend go to the Catskills, you have surely heard of Phoenicia Diner. It's a time warp to classic diners and yesteryear. It almost feels like you pulled up in a wood-paneled station wagon. And the food is really good. Actually, it's fantastic.
We talk about his choice to change careers, how it became a social media phenomenon, some mistakes along the way, and why it has such a lasting power in a frantic fickle world.
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This week's guest is Matt Gallira, the Founder and CEO of Big Mozz. Big Mozz is just that... Big mozzarella sticks, and they are delicious.
We talk about his journey from creating the recipe, to entering the Brooklyn Shmorgasboard, to scaling the business to be in over 1000 grocery stores across the country. If you can find them at a store near you I highly recommend snagging a few to chew while listening to his story.
This week's guest is the Co-founder of TALEA Beer Co., LeAnn Darland.
Leann and her co-founder Tara Hankinson have built an amazing brewery with 2 locations in Brooklyn and 2 in Manhattan. I am lucky enough to have one two blocks from my office so I visit it pretty frequently.
We talk about her journey from the Navy, to Google, to startup land, to finally going all in on building her own company. We discuss how they are bucking the trend of the Bearded Beer Bro, which I'm one of, and created spaces for people of diverse backgrounds to enjoy great beer. Not only is their beer amazing, they have some of the best designed spaces in the game. This was recorded at their brewery in Williamsburg while the team was brewing, so you will hear the lively reality of a brewery in the background.
TALEA Beer Co.
This week's guests are two of the founders of Wayward Lane Brewing, Andrew Rowles and Kyle Bergen.
Wayward Lane is an amazing farm, brewery, and taproom located in a restored 1800's hophouse in the town of Schoharie, New York. They were crowned 2023 New York Brewery of the Year and since opening my shop they have become one of my favorite breweries as they make some amazing IPAs, crisp lagers, and dense porters- They're just crushing it!
The interview was done at their brewery so you'll hear some hustle and bustle in the background. We discussed how they came together and decided upstate New York would be home, how they grew from selling out of the taproom to distributing across the state, and what excites them most about the beer industry in 2024.
https://www.waywardlanebrewing.com/
This week we talk to the founder of Glidelane, Chris Genteel.
Glidelane is an advisory firm with a mission around economic equality to marginalized communities. By supporting founders of color, they are rooting bias out of products, services, and go-to-market stories.
We talk about how his career at Google evolved as he grew into leadership roles, his transition from the corporate world to startup life, how growing up as the black child raised by a single white mom formed his view on sexism, racism, inequality and how leaders of color can navigate the DEI roller coaster of today.https://www.glidelane.com/blog
This week we talk with Bharani Rajakumar, the CEO and Founder of Transfr.
Transfr aims to provide every person an opportunity to acquire the skills needed for employment. Through their VR coaching platform, prospective employees get hands-on training at real technical jobs.
We talk about how growing up working class shaped his vision for what entrepreneurship could be, how he scaled his company, and how VR and AI will play a pivotal role in the future of the workforce.
This week's guest is the founder of More Lake, Erzsi Sousa.
More Lake is a brand consultancy focused on working with climate companies. We talk about her decision to leave the marketing tech world of Google, Microsoft and Stripe to focus on companies making an impact on our climate emergency.
She shares how her family ended up moving from San Francisco to Portugal, finding the right fit with prospective clients, and how a love of the outdoors led to the company's founding.
Interested in learning more about climate change? Check out these resources:
- If you want to start with the basics: The Science of Climate Change Explained from the New York Times
- If you like learning on Youtube: Climate Science Translated and Climate Town, and The Big Misconception About Clean Energy from Huge if True
- If you’re the New Yorker long reads type: Annals of a Warming Planet
- If you like great journalism with personality: Heated
- If you want a great primer in book form: How to Avoid a Climate Disaster (Bill Gates)
This week's guest is Peter Corbett, the Founder, CEO and Coach at Still Rush, a mindful leadership coaching practice.
We talk about his decision to sell his agency and retire from advertising, his volunteer work as a spiritual caregiver, life, love, loss, and death, and the motivations that moved him to his new life.
This week's guest is the Co-founder and CEO of Unlock, Jared Cozart.
Jared and I met as fellow agents for the Management Leaders of Tomorrow program and became fast friends as I gravitated toward his high empathy for others, strong leadership, and his ability to just be real.
We talk about his path to entrepreneurship the struggles and hurdles along the way, how adversity on the baseball field helped sharpen his focus, and how he found the true balance between friendship and work with his co-founders.
This week's guest is the Co-Founder of HUDSY TV, Angel Gates.
HUDSY TV is an award-winning streaming television platform rooted in the community of Upstate New York. Their goal is to highlight and elevate the incredibly diverse voices and spirit of the Hudson Valley through the power of film and storytelling.
We talk about their decision to move from a co-op to a nonprofit, his decision to leave the Bronx and move to the woods upstate, and how producing original work for communities has helped strengthen his bonds to it.
This week we talked to the founder and CEO of C-Suite Coach, Angelina Darrisaw.
We discuss how she has scaled her business to include 40-plus coaches and works with partners like Google, Major League Baseball, and Wayfair.
We learn the adjustments needed to go from being a solo coach to being CEO of a thriving business, how our early experiences in the corporate world share her vision for C-Suite coaches, and why everyone should have a board of directors for their career.
www.csuitecoach.com
This week we talk to the co-founder of Third Act, Jesse Samberg.
We learn how Jesse initially started this business with one of his best friends, the difficult decision to go out on his own, and how mentoring small business owners propelled him to create Third Act.
This week's guest is the co-author of Do Remember!!: The Golden Era of NYC Hip-Hop Mixtapes, Dan Isenberg.
Dan and I grew up together in White Plains, New York, where he was obsessed with hip-hop and hip-hop culture. This book comes from his passion for the music, the people, and the culture around mixtapes, and is a must-read for any hip-hop fan.
We talk about his journey from rapper to teacher, to creative agency director, to writer, and all of the fun in between.
This week's guest is the co-owner of See and Be Kitchen, Chrissy Traore.
Chrissy is a Chef with food-based business experience and her husband and partner Ben is an amazing Baker, having worked at some of the most prestigious places in New York City, including Bien Cuit, The Dutch, Saraghina, MaPeche, and Corton.
We talk about their decision to leave the city behind and build a farm bakery in the Catskills, the joys and hurdles of running your own business and we try to figure out which one of the breads is her favorite.
See and Be Kitchen
Welcome to Season 4 of the Changeup. Our first guest is the Co-Owner and Treasurer/Secretary/Writer at Baseball Prospectus, Rob Mains.
While we did not predict the devastating early exits of the Braves and Dodgers, we did talk about the changing landscape of what next-generation teams like the Diamondbacks, Orioles, and Rangers are doing to lead the way moving forward.
If you like baseball, you will love this episode as we go deep on the numbers and history of sabermetrics, advanced statistics, and why the Mets and Yankees blundered so hard this season.
This week's guest is the EVP and CMO of the New York Mets, Andy Goldberg. He is a seasoned marketing executive with prior leadership roles at American Express and GE before embarking on this new challenge.
We talk about the major differences in marketing baseball teams versus a global corporation, how building a Super Bowl spot in less than three weeks came to fruition and the growing success baseball is having with the new rule changes. Also, listen to me try my hardest not to freak out about wins and losses- I need to have Andy's calm demeanor!
This episode will also be our season finale. It's hard to believe that what started out as a way to pass time during the height of Covid has turned into three seasons with over 75 episodes. Thanks for listening and we will be back in August with the new season!
This week we welcome the founders of Latinx Healthy Minds, Sarah Romero and Patty Alvarado.
Latinx Healthy Minds is on a mission to eliminate the stigma associated with mental health and provide professionals with the tools they need to live healthy, productive lives at work and in the community.
We talk about why mental health is such a difficult topic in the Latinx culture, how leaders can help forge a path for a more open conversation around mental health, and the amazing story of how Sarah and Patty linked up to bring this company to life.
This week's guest is the founder of With it Girl, Marialidia Marcotulli.
With it Girl is a multifaceted, multi-generational platform with a goal to amplify the voices, work, visions and ideas of women in skate, surf and active lifestyles. The With it Girl community engages in conversations that further the narrative around action sports, prioritizing community, diversity and creativity.
We talk about the important decision to relaunch With it Girl nearly 20 years after shutting it down originally, the differences and similarities between generations of young adults and how she approaches every new opportunity with curiosity.
This week we talk with the Co-Host of "Am I on Mute?", Katrina Craigwell.
Katrina is a marketing digital transformation leader who has had leadership roles at Meta, JP Morgan Chase, and General Electric where she spearheaded marketing programs at the intersection of storytelling and technology. Katrina has been named to Business Insider's "Most Creative Women in Advertising", Digiday's "Changemakers" and Adweek's "Most Influential Women in Media and Marketing"
We talk about leading teams in the hybrid world, whether the promise of technology maps to its use for marketers and how experimentation is key to innovation.
This week's guest is the founder and CEO of KERV Interactive, Gary Mittman.
KERV is a patented interactive video platform that drives deeper user engagement, boosts creative performance, and increases time spent with brands.
We talk about the genesis of the patent that led to the company, his very insightful thoughts on artificial intelligence and machine learning, breaking into the infomercial business, and what the future holds for interactive advertising.
This week's guest is the Co-Founder and CEO of Restore Hyper Wellness, Jim Donnelly.
Restore Hyper Wellness is a system of total balance, energy and proactive healing. It is their belief that the holistic approach to wellness is what is missing from conventional health care.
We talk about the path that led to creating Restore Hyper Wellness, his five-year theory on building new companies and shifting careers, his approach to leadership, and how alligators were key competitors in one of his early businesses.
This week's guest is the owner of Alphabet City Beer, Zachary Mack.
ABC Beer Company is a beer bar and store located in the lower east side of Manhattan.
We talk about how he built the business in 2012, the evolution of the beer industry over the last decade, and how he will help anyone, and I mean ANYONE, find the right beer.
This week's guest is the founder and CEO of TechFides, Jacques Jean.
TechFides is an IT company that helps other businesses with enterprise digitization, IT performance management, and IT merger acquisitions and divestitures.
We talk about how the genesis of his company came from his son at the dinner table, how building a company with friends and family adds another layer of strength, and the importance of community in giving back locally as the business grows.
This week's guest is the founder and CEO of Loop, Nick Gallo.
Loop is a new creative studio that just launched, working with companies across brand marketing, social media, video production, live interactive videos, and stunts.
We talked about how he broke into media with The Onion newspaper, how he was an integral part of the pop culture phenomena that was HQ Trivia, and what virality looked and felt like on Vine- remember Vine?
This week's guest is the founder and CEO of The Value of a Veteran, Lisa Rosser.
The Value of a Veteran is a women, veteran, and minority-owned small business that provides Human Resources consulting and training for organizations that are seeking to improve support, recruitment, and retention of military veterans.
We talk about the insight that led to the company's formation, how she helps companies hire and retain veterans, and where companies go wrong with hiring diverse staff.
This week's guest is the founder of Human Factor Media, Zack Slingsby.
Human Factor Media is a video production and creative shop that makes videos people want to watch. They work with brands and clients to create original work that doesn't get skipped or scrolled by.
We talk about his journey from writer to founder, the creative process, balancing family and work, and so much more.
This week's guest is CEO and Co-Founder of Cognitiv, Jeremy Fain.
The media and marketing world has recently become obsessed with artificial intelligence and deep learning, marking it as the future of the business as a whole.
Cognitiv has been applying these practices for years to help predict consumer behavior and drive marketing performance for their clients. We talked to Jeremy about the genesis of Cognitiv, the importance of ethics and AI, and how emerging technologies will revolutionize advertising.
This week's guest is the CEO and founder of Reimaginez, Therese Gedda.
Reimaginez specializes in designing, redesigning, and scaling culture successfully. They help founders, CEO's and leaders keep, attract and lead high achievers while living as high achievers themselves.
We talked about how growing up in Sweden building her own company was always going to be her path forward, her connection to weightlifting and sports led her to focus on high performance in the workplace and reimagine company culture.
This week's guest is the CEO and Founder of De Kabeza, Alana Kalin.
De Kabeza is a tech platform with gamified communications and live interactive trivia and games, based in Mexico City.
We talk about her decision to move herself and the company from New York to Mexico to refocus on a Mexican audience, the evolution of gamification, the differences in startup culture and finally how for some of us, wishing to be an Oscar Mayer Weiner is where the dream ends. She shares what it takes to actually drive the Weinermobile.
This week's guest is the CEO and Founder of Malida Advisors, Natasha Kehimkar.
Malida Advisors is a strategic advisory firm, focusing on areas of diversity, equity, inclusion, organizational change, and scaling your HR function.
We talk about her career journey in the Pharma world, to tech start-ups, to building her own thing. She also shares how during the pandemic she recorded her family's life story, interviewing her mom and dad daily for posterity.
This week's guest is co-founder and CEO of Curacubby, Steven Khuong.
Curacubby is a next-generation, fin-tech, SAS platform that helps education, recreation, and family service programs save time and money by optimizing finance and business workflow functions.
We discussed how a very personal family hurdle led to the creation of Curacubby, how his family moved from Hong Kong to Grand Rapids, Michigan, and his incredible stories about being a Bay Area hip-hop DJ and producer in the 1990s.
This week's guest is the founder of Farmer Nick, Nick Cutsumpas.
I met Nick when he was a sales executive at Thrive Global, where we hit it off due to his empathy and creativity and his love of baseball didn't hurt either.
Nick bet on himself and has grown a small empire focused on urban farming. His Farmer Nick Instagram account has over 169,000 followers, his plant coaching business is booming in both LA and New York and his new book "Plant Coach: The Beginners Guide to Caring for Plants and the Planet" is out now.
This week's guest is Career Strategist, Executive Coach, and Consigliere, Jill Griffin.
Before going out on her own, Jill was a senior executive at massive media agencies like Publicis, overseeing Fortune 500 branding, strategy, and media partnerships.
We talk about how what was initially going to be a few months of consulting turned into a 6+ year career, her ongoing mission to help workforces build inclusive teams and embrace those with disabilities, and how she built her podcast "The Career Refresh".
This week's guest is the Founder of Press 2 for Espanol, Carmen Diaz.
We talk about her journey from teaching in schools in Texas to teaching Spanish online. We discuss how she took her love of language and passion for helping others and turned it into a business, and her plans for growth to help her home country of Guatemala.
This week's guest is Co-Founder of Bumper, Dan Misener.
Bumper is a podcast growth agency that helps organizations reach their business goals through the power of audio.
Dan is one of the sharpest minds in audio. We talk about the Faustian bargain some audio companies took to garner scale, what it means to focus on engagement versus download numbers, where he thinks the industry is headed, and how critical podcast strategy will be to it.
This week's guest is the author and executive performance strategist, Laura Garnett.
At Laura's firm, Garnett Consulting, Laura and her team work with highly driven, industry-leading executives and teams to achieve the impact and fulfillment they desire.
We talk about her decision to leave one of the biggest companies in the world, executive burnout, and our psychology at work, as well as some key insights from her book "Find Your Zone of Genius".
This week's guest is the founder of Schlaf & Co, Steve Schlafman.
Steve was a venture capitalist who made the decision a few years back to leave the industry to focus on building his boutique leadership company that focuses on helping early-stage founders and VCs.
He is also an avid reader and writer and something we explore during our conversation together is how he made it an intentional part of his life. We talk about leadership, forging your own path, and most importantly, creating a space to be present for your family while running a company.
This week's guest is the Founder and CEO of Sparkfly, Catherine Tabor.
Sparkfly is a retail technology solutions company that helps innovative retailers and merchants like Chipotle, Texas Roadhouse, and Great Clips leverage technology to create a meaningful connection to their customers
We talk about how she was able to win her first big client and turn that into her business, how vital consumer privacy is in the age of digital, and her awesome business perspective of if you can't get in the door, climb through a window.
This week's guest is the creator of Shameless Acquisition Target, Laura Mayer.
Laura and I worked together at the Slate group, where she was a producer at Panoply, also known as Megaphone, prior to its sale to Spotify. She has had a front-row seat to the podcast acquisition boom and helped launch dozens of award-winning shows. It has not punched her ticket to podcast millions, like some lucky people we know have.
That's where Shameless Acquisition Target comes in. It's a smart, funny and incisive examination of the internal machinations of the podcast industry, and it's one of my favorite shows of the year. We talk about its creation and its culmination with her sharing if the company was sold or not.
This week's guest is the Chief Learning Officer at Weill Cornell Medicine, Dr. Ruth Gotian.
Dr. Gotian is also the author of The Success Factor – Developing the Mindset and Skillset for Peak Performance, where she researched CEOs, Nobel laureates, and Olympic and NBA champions to find out how we can all optimize our success.
Last year, she was among the 30 people worldwide to be named to the Thinkers50 Radar list, dubbed the Oscars of management thinking. Get ready to get motivated as we discuss peak performance, becoming aware of and managing your strengths, and how we all can apply these lessons to our daily life.
This week's episode is with the Founder and CEO of SalientMG, Mack McKelvey.
SalientMG is a strategic marketing firm, focused on accelerating market position for growth stage tech companies.
We talk about leveraging digital tools to better share your skill set, why being a Chief of Staff is the ultimate pipeline to becoming a CEO, and the discrepancy she sees in how founders are able to raise money.
Season 3 Premiere!
So excited to welcome the CEO and Co-Founder of Mojo, Vinit Bharara.
Mojo is a sports stock market, where fans can literally invest in their favorite players' careers. Along with Vinit, there are some pretty big names as co-founders, Bart Stein, Mark Lore, and a baseball player turned businessman, you might have heard of Alex Rodriguez.
Vinit has founded and sold multiple companies prior to this. Quidsi to Amazon, Some Spider Studios to Bustle Digital Group, and CAFE Media to Vox Media, so it's safe to say he knows a thing or two about building companies.
We absolutely nerd out about sports in general, and we talk about the vision for Mojo.
Mojo is now live in New Jersey, check it out!
We took the month off of interviewing and while on break, we put together two special episodes with some of our incredible past guests to highlight some themes that were recurring.
This week we focus on diversity and race.
These entrepreneurs have firsthand experience with the disparities within the corporate and business world and offer insight into their own stories and possible solutions.
During our short break from interviewing, we decided to reflect back on some of our great past guests.
This week we’re highlighting some of our female entrepreneurs from seasons 1 and 2 to reflect back on their experiences in the male-dominated business world.
This week we welcome the CEO and Co-Founder of Quantified, Noah Zandan.
Quantified is the leading firm in combining behavioral science, AI, and experiential learning technology to help people enhance their impact, improve their interactions and establish a greater human connection.
We talk about how a former Wall Street guy got into behavioral science, what it’s like to prepare for and give a Ted Talk and we learn some of the small ways we all can be better communicators.
This week we welcome my friend and my mentor, Andy Wiedlin.
Andy is the founder of the VERY creatively titled Andy Wiedlin Consulting, an advisor to many startups and publishers, and the host of the marketing podcast, Backstage with the Brand.
We talk about what it takes to be a great sales leader, the differences in the advertising world now versus when he started and I try to get him to be the commissioner of Major League Baseball for a day.
Phluid launched initially as a physical and online store that makes gender-free, non-binary apparel and accessories. It has grown into a movement committed to challenging the dated practices that inhibit freedom and self-expression.
We talk about building a community by being a listener and always learning, creating a place where people can freely express themselves and how he bucked the “don’t quit your job after your first burning man” advice and created Phluid.
This week we welcome the CEO and Founder of SquadLocker, Gary Goldberg.
SquadLocker is innovating the athletic apparel market by making it easier for coaches and league administrators to manage purchasing for sports teams.
We talked about the thousands of hours he had in the textile business, how he applied that to build his own company and the real-time moment when he saw how his customers were actually using the platform.
This week we welcome Winnie Sabbat, Managing Partner of Sabacica Capital.
Sabacica Capital is a women-led venture fund that focuses on exceptional women and people of color-led startups.
We talked about how they are changing the game with funding, their unique approach to partnering with startups, and her passion for global travel.
This week's guest is Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer of ExecOnline, Julia Alexander.
ExecOnline is an enterprise, leadership development platform built to create a diverse pool of future-ready users.
We talk about the importance of finding mentors not just in your field of work, building a mission-driven company, and the importance of identifying diverse leaders and creating leadership opportunities.
This week's guest is Co-Founder at Imagen Insights, Cat Agostinho. Imagen Insights is a company that helps agencies and brands get direct crowd-sourced ideas and insights from the Gen Z community.
We talk about the differences between this upcoming generation and the ones before, the spark that got the company going, and how to be prepared to hire people who think wildly different than you.
This week’s guest is Founder and CEO of Playmaker, Brandon Harris
Playmaker is a next-generation sports media and athlete management brand.
We talk about the early lessons learned building his own media company, his refreshing take on the power of sports gambling, and why we both agree that having a chip on your shoulder leads to success.
This week’s guest is the founder and CEO of Hype Dance Community, Liza Brody.
Hype Dance Community is a virtual and outdoor dance lesson company for all kids of all abilities.
We talk about her decision to leave the advertising events world to start her own business during the pandemic, why movement is so important for everyone, and why the focus of her company is on having fun, not technique.
This week’s guest is CoFounder and CEO of Squared Away, Michelle Penczak.
Squared Away is a team of trusted assistants who span across the nation. They help businesses and people scale by offering virtual assistance to get busy executives organized. They also have a really compelling hook: they are all military spouses.
We talk about the origination of the concept, her journey from executive assistant to CEO and how she scales the team.
This week’s guest is Co-Founder and CEO of Tumble Media, Lindsay Patterson.
Tumble Media is an educational children’s audio company that has been a pioneer in the kids’ podcast space since 2015. Their mission is to inspire curiosity and discovery through accessible storytelling.
We talk about how Lindsay’s part-time project turned into a full-time business, the educational benefits for children in listening to podcasts, and how becoming a science journalist and interviewing kids about science was the catalyst for Tumble Media.
This week’s guest is Founder and CEO of Wave Sports and Entertainment, Brian Verne.
We talk about the expansion and evolution of WSE and their move into sports personality driven content, how Brian’s leadership style allows others to thrive and how he has grown the team from a handful of people in a San Francisco loft to a global sports + media phenomena.
This week’s guest is CoFounder of Mondo Brewing Company, Todd Matteson. Mondo Brewing Company is one of the most celebrated craft breweries in London.
We talk about his decision to leave advertising sales and pursue a life in brewing, the cultural differences in the craft scene between the UK and the United States and what style of beer every brewer tastes to judge a new brewery.
One additional note: Todd recorded this session at Mondo’s London brewery so the audio is slightly different than other episodes.
This week’s guest is Co-Founder of Think Now, Mario X Carrasco.
ThinkNow is the research company for the America we live in today - a multicultural, nuanced landscape. Through their diverse research panel set, ThinkNow helps brands better understand and communicate with their audiences.
We talk about growing up aware of the two cultures in his life - Mexican and American, being a mentor to the next generation and hiring with intentionality.
This week we sit down with the Founder of PositiveHire, Michele Heyward.
PositiveHire is a tech company which helps to recruit and retain experienced Latina, Black and indigenous women STEM professionals into management positions. Our software assists these women in finding the best fit employer for them to advance their careers. This in turn helps employers retain diverse STEM talent longer.
We talk about her career as a Civil Engineer, growing up in a family where her curiosity was encouraged and why it's more important for people to be a co-conspirator than an ally.
***Thank you to BetterHelp for sponsoring this episode. Take charge of your mental health and get 10% off of your first month of therapy at: https://BetterHelp.com/changeup
This week’s guest is founder and CEO of IV Bioholdings, Marty Keiser.
IV Bioholdings is on a quest to radically improve the detection, diagnosis and treatment of disease. Listen as I try to keep up with Marty as he shares their bold innovations that are radically improving patients ability to detect diseases like cancer earlier and potentially save lives.
This week’s guest is the host of Off the Cuff, Christian Palma.
We go deep into manifesting your dreams, reflecting on what matters most when making really tough career choices, giving people their flowers and how his grandmother was the inspiration for him to start his own podcast, Off The Cuff.
This week’s guest is the founder of Evergreen Strategic Communications, Emily Heck.
Evergreen is a marketing agency specializing in nonprofit, education and small business services. We talk about her decision to leave the corporate side of academia and non profits to strike out on her own, what it means to be an accidental entrepreneur and the healthy startup community she has been able to cultivate
This week’s guest is Founder and CEO of Team Friday, Michelle O’Grady Caballero.
Team Friday works at the intersection of communications, culture and community helping brands deploy new strategies to reach diverse audiences.
We talk about her decision to leave the corporate marketing world to venture out on her own, how she uses her company’s insights to change brand behavior and a real talk on what it means to be Latina.
This week’s guests are Jackie Hernandez, Co-founder of New Majority Ready and Jack Rico, Managing Partner of New Majority Storytelling.
New Majority Ready helps businesses and brands connect with the increasingly multicultural world. We have a frank discussion about the continued lack of diversity in executive leadership, media and entertainment. And we talk about what companies can do to be more intentional on the hiring front to become a more inclusive place to work.
The purchasing power of the Latinx community has grown substantially in the past 30 years, from $213 billion in 1990 to over $1.9 trillion in 2020. Yet, venture capital funding for businesses started by Latinx founders still sits below 2% year over year.
Brittany Chavez is here to change that. She built Shop Latinx to create a shopping experience around all the passionate, talented Latinx creatives and makers in the world. Her vision is to amplify the work of Latinx and BIPOC business owners by curating a marketplace that speaks directly to our community. We talk about how she turned a brilliant Instagram handle into a business, raising the first $1MM from VCs of color and her personal growth as a founder.
This week on The Changeup, we sit down with the CEO and Founder of Atlas Solutions, Ansley Fender. Atlas Solutions is a software as a service (SaaS) company that streamlines grant management.
We talk about the limitations of a typical 9 to 5 job, how the "American Dream" concept is perfect for those that are more entrepreneurial-minded, and she shares her thoughts on failure and entrepreneurial success. Ansley also discusses some of the difficulties of being a woman in a majority male world, when all you want to do is blend in, be equal and have a seat at the table.
This week we sat down with Partner and CEO of Open Seat Direct, Michael Collazo.
Open Seat Direct empowers anyone to organize events easily, get paid instantly and connect with customers directly. We talk about Michael's growing up in the live event space, from Minor League baseball to the NHL, and how that helped him formulate the idea for Open Seat Direct.
We learn about his growing up in Philly and having your dad be a local celebrity, how music and politics has influenced his life and we nerd out on baseball. I mean really nerd out on baseball and why our Puerto Rican shortstops are the most electrifying athletes in the game right now.
C.J. Toledano is the Founder of Follow Through Studio, a creative sports studio is at the intersection of sports and comedy. We worked together at Bleacher Report, where he was pivotal in building and scaling the Social Moments team that fueled B/R's social growth and then was the creative director for House of Highlights.
We talk about why pop culture, comedy and fashion are so integral to sports fandom experience these days, how he broke into comedy and how excited he is to be a father super soon.
We recorded this about a month ago when the Lakers were medium trash and kinda washed. Sadly, C.J's team has fallen even further since our conversation.
Brian Morrissey has been fascinated with how sustainable media businesses scale for quite some time. Amidst the pandemic, he left Digiday Media, moved to Miami and started to build a newsletter and podcast called The Rebooting to examine what makes a modern media company hum.
As a big fan of Brian's works, especially his interviews, it was extremely fun to have him on the other side of the microphone answering questions about building his own business.
We talk about the rise of niche (or is it neeeesh), how long it takes for him to realize someone is full of shit and serving a growing audience as a solo practitioner.
This week’s guest is principal and cofounder of Sparrow Digital Holdings, Ana Milicevic.
Sparrow advisors is a digital advisory firm that works with companies across ad tech, mar tech, e-commerce and media to generate and grow revenue.
We talk about the disconnect ad tech has with it’s intended value, our own perception of advertising, working with CMOs to get digital ready and building a business with a sibling. She is one of the sharpest in the game and a trusted voice of what’s happening in marketing.
Digital advertising was built on a false promise: the ability to track everything would lead to the right ad being served to the right customer at the right time. In reality, what it created was a massive multi-billion dollar arbitrage ecosystem where disinformation and bad actors pull money from advertisers who are unaware they are even running on these bad sites.
Nandini Jammi and Claire Atkin created Check My Ads to shine a light on the dark, dirty world of ad tech and to help brands build a cleaner advertising mix. Their brave work is met with vicious attacks by ad tech founders who were making bank on the status quo. We talk about all this and more on this week's episode.
The business of sports is bigger and more integral to the game than ever before. And for athletes that means they have the chance to share their personal journey and personality outside of the field, on their own terms.
Walt Brock started his company, CrossOvr Collective, to help with just that. Working with athletes from all sports, his production team has built a stable of great, made for digital shows. We talk about his own journey from climbing the corporate ladder of college athletic departments to the ah-ha moment where he realized his passion was in video production.
Nick Demos is a Tony and Olivier Award winning producer, filmmaker, business coach, as well as a yoga and meditation instructor AND he hosts his own podcast. We talk about growing up in Montana, his decision to leave dance and theater when from all outward appearances he was at the top of his game and how important the beginner's mindset is to his life journey.
This week we talk with the founder and partner of agency Marcy Avenue, Benjamin Aziz.
Marcy Avenue is a creative collective of designers and strategists united by a common goal: to bring people together through art and culture. We talk about how his career has traveled from law to sports to politics back to sports and now helping some of the most innovative brands rethink art and culture. We learn about his decision to leave law, how he got his first break in the sports industry and what it's like building a professional soccer club from scratch.
What does fandom look like now? For Drop Party, it's the emotional relationship between brands and fans. Founder Marco Marandiz has been obsessed with how we obsess and build his company to further deepen that bond. With partners like Will Smith, Patrick Mahomes and the Mars 2020 initiative, Drop Party is creating culture with some of the coolest experiences.
We talk about how hurdles at a prior startup strengthened his resolve (and his relationships with investors), how he wants to bring back a bit of serendipity into the shopping experience and how crucial those first few hires are to building the right team.
This week's episode is brought to you by Athletic Greens.
Athletic Greens is going to give you a FREE 1 year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase. All you have to do is visit athleticgreens.com/changeup. Again, that is
athleticgreens.com/changeup to take ownership over your health and pick up the ultimate daily nutritional insurance!
The world of audio continues to grow and Steve Pratt has been at the forefront of the emerging medium. In 2014 he left a job at the Canadian Broadcast Company with a few colleagues to build Pacific Content, one of the first branded content audio studios.
We talk about the energy and excitement of hitting on an idea you love, finding the absolute best first client ever (they sold their first deal in their first meeting!) and how they get clients to agree to creative bravery and commitment.
This week we are interviewing some of my favorite podcast companies and we start with Shira Atkins, Co-founder and CMO of Wonder Media Network.
Wonder Media Network is an audio-first media company focused on women at the intersection of politics, business and culture. They have created hit shows like Womanica, The Brown Girls Guide to Politics and The Growth League. Shira and I talk about what it takes to build your own audio company, her love for the business side of things and their unique approach to developing programs with underrepresented voices.
This week's episode is brought to you by Athletic Greens.
Athletic Greens is going to give you a FREE 1 year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase. All you have to do is visit athleticgreens.com/changeup. Again, that is
athleticgreens.com/changeup to take ownership over your health and pick up the ultimate daily nutritional insurance!
What do you do when the industry you love seemingly has no job opportunities for you? If you are Kevin Jones, Founder and CEO of Blue Wire Podcasts, you create your own opportunity and shake up the industry. We have an open conversation about how losing his father was a driving force to build Blue Wire, how they are changing the sports audio game and how to find the right advisors/investors to complement your strengths.
In the season premiere, we talk with CEO and Founder of Just Women's sports. 4% of sports media coverage is provided to women's sports. 4%. That paltry number is something Haley is dead set on changing by building her own media empire. We talk about her professional soccer career, why more need to invest in women and the early Instagram success that nearly derailed the company.
This week's episode is brought to you by Athletic Greens. Athletic Greens is going to give you a FREE 1 year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase. All you have to do is visit athleticgreens.com/changeup. Again, that is
athleticgreens.com/changeup to take ownership over your health and pick up the ultimate daily nutritional insurance!
New episodes every Monday starting Feb 21!
The Changeup is back for another season, featuring deep dive interviews with founders, innovators and those who made the brave leap from the corporate world to starting their own thing.
In the season finale of Season 1, we have the pleasure of talking to the legendary broadcast journalist Soledad O'Brien about her decision to leave the cable news world and create her own company, Soledad O'Brien Productions. We also discuss her new HBO docuseries "Black and Missing", the phenomenal work done by her organization PowHERful Foundation, and the growing difficulties of caring for your elder parents.
In this episode we talk with all around force of nature Tara McGowan, the CEO and Founder of Good Information, Inc, which owns Courier Newsroom. She shares her mission to help battle disinformation in media and increase civic engagement through trusted local journalism in critical local markets. We also talk about the gutting news coming from the Supreme Court in the Roe vs. Wade hearings and how important it is for us to vote in every election, not just the Presidential ones.
In this episode, we sit down with the founder of Third City Advisory, Michael Miraflor. We talk about how his curiosity keeps him energized in an ever evolving advertising world, how the agency world is still not diverse enough and he helps me wrap my head around Web3, NFTs and DAOs.
Melanie, the Founder of Story Fuel, is a keynote speaker, author, award-winning branded content creator, and lifelong storyteller. In this episode, she talks about how she figured out what she was worth as a speaker, why marketing is essentially just building a relationship, and how she ended up living in Raleigh of all places.
In this episode, we sit down and chat with Akeelah Kuraishi, the Co-Founder of the subscription box service, Little Global Citizens. Akeelah discusses how her later in life "gap year" ended up being one of her most profound experiences that ultimately led to her creating her own company. She shares her thoughts on the commonalities of people across the world, how exposure to others fosters compassion and understanding, and most importantly, how we can teach these things to the next generation.
Little Global Citizens
In this episode, we sit down with Co-Founder of Toolkits, Shareen Pathak and discuss her transition from being a journalist and editor to a business owner, how to build up a good BS radar when interviewing people and how having a friend as a business partner makes even boring tasks seem fun.
In this episode, we talk with the CEO and Founder of Spikeball, Chris Ruder. He talks about what Spikeball is and why no one is good at it to start with, what it takes to get on and win on Shark Tank, the foreignness of getting to make all your own decisions as a CEO, and the difference between a calculated risk and just being stupid.
Check out Spikeball
Today we sit down with S. Mitra Kalita and she shares her thoughts on how the pandemic shaped lives, the importance of diversifying media content, and the subtle but important differences between local and community media
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and on this episode of The Changeup, we have the honor of sitting down and talking with Jeri Millard, CEO & Founder of In The Pink.
Jeri is a two-type cancer survivor who is using her experiences to better help other cancer patients with their durable medical needs. Her non-profit boutique offers wigs, breast protheses, post-mastectomy bras, swimwear, scarves, hats, skin-care products and most crucially, counseling, for those battling cancer. In The Pink currently has a community of over 12,000 people in the Jacksonville, Florida area, with a goal of reaching many more in the years to come.
In this episode of The Changeup, we talk to the co-founder of an organic Tequila company, the founder and CEO of the startup Eliment & Co., a consultancy that focuses on how business can design culturally-relevant products and campaigns, the founder of Latinas Who Brunch and a Le Cordon Bleu trained Chef. The wild part? This is all one guest- the incredible (and energetic) Eliana Murillo.
In this episode, Emily explains how business and comedy intersect in her improv group- Four Day Weekend. She discusses how improv is not a talent but rather a skill that needs to be practiced, and how imperfect moments are really just opportunities in life and on stage.
Keith Stoeckeler joins The Changeup to share his thoughts on needing to "make it" before turning 40, the importance of Twitter when you're unemployed, and why starting something new isn't always a financial thing if you really believe in it. We also talk about the Mets. The underachieving, super frustrating, but we still love them, Mets.
In this episode, Ray discusses his path led him from the music industry to brewing beer, how he was able to create an inclusive homebrew club in Southern California and why turning 40 is way better than anyone thought.
In this episode, we talk with Jenna Porcelli, the director of Infant Swimming Resource, Lower Bucks PA. She shares some of the shocking statistics about childhood drowning, why floaties are dangerous, and what steps parents can take to protect young kids around water. She also discusses the intensive training that is involved in becoming an ISR instructor and what makes ISR such a uniquely safe and effective swim program.
The craft beer industry has historically been mostly white. Beny Ashburn and Teo Hunter have made it their mission to disrupt it by creating amazing locally crafted beers and cultivating a diverse community. We sit down with the founders to learn about the initial spark that turned into the brewery, how they left the marketing world to focus full time and the unique fundraising strategy that encourages the community to invest.
Today we sit down with Claire Mazur, the Co-Founder of Of a Kind and author of Work Wife. In this episode, she shares the importance of female relationships, how a relationship should work when building a business and how running is the best anti-anxiety medicine out there.
Mestizo Coffee is on a mission to bring dope, high-quality Mexican American coffee to the masses. Started by Carlos Aguilar as a side project he blends top shelf craftsmanship with sharp brand creative. We talk what it was like to bootstrap a DTC brand during a pandemic, how he finds time to pursue all his creative passions and how a great cup of coffee cleanse your mind, body and soul.
We sit down with founder and CEO of The Kinship Advisors, Alexys Feaster. Alexys shares with us what it was like to build a new business during the pandemic, her plans for global expansion and how the NBA bubble was a focal point for social justice.
This episode's guest is the CEO and Co-Founder of Therify. James Edward Murray talks about the transformative experience that therapy can have when you find the right therapist, how it isn't always easy to find a culturally aware therapist, and what Therify is doing to fix the problem.
Today we get to hear from the Co-Founder of Chief, Lindsay Kaplan. In this episode, she walks us through the importance of finding people who balance you, how a focus on poetry for a creative writing degree is the best idea, and why you should never bring a kazoo to a parade.
On this episode of The Changeup, we get a chance to hear from "The Funny Indian", comedian Rajiv Satyal. He shares his thoughts on the surprising benefits of an engineering degree, what made him leave his corporate job and life during the pandemic.
This episode's guest is CEO and Co-Founder of Another Lane, Adena Jones. Another Lane is an exclusive marketing place for premium sneakers. We talk about what it means to be a sneaker enthusiast, how they started the business and the changing landscape of sneaker culture.
The Changeup sits down with leaders, innovators and entrepreneurs to learn about their big career switch - from high-rising employee at a large company to starting their own thing.
This episode, we talk with Bo Han, founder and CEO of Buzzer.