Innovation City: Recent Episodes
SLAM! Media
Innovation City is a podcast featuring the innovators, disruptors and creators behind the innovation movement. Imagine a place where you can break through the status quo of business as usual and realize your life's purpose. A place where you can have an impact and shape the future. This place exists in cities across the world. In this innovation podcast we introduce you to the disruptors, innovators, and creators behind the movement.
Today's guest is Tyler Kelley, co-founder of SLAM! Agency, a marketing agency based out of St. Louis that focuses on helping businesses fulfill their purpose. In this episode, Tyler sits down with Leigh-Ann to discuss his journey from DJ to marketing expert, key foundational marketing principles, and the importance of being strengthened by our failures.
“I don’t think that anybody can look back on the roughest toughest parts of their lives and say that didn’t get me to where I am now.” -Tyler Kelley
Today's guest is Jermar Perry, co-founder of the Village PATH (Programs to Access Therapy and Healing), a space designed to help Black men heal in St. Louis. In this episode, Jermar sits down with the team to discuss how difficult it is for men to be vulnerable, the Village PATH programs available in St. Louis, and the interplay between Black culture, trauma, and mental health.
“Men in general don’t have many spaces to not just talk about sports.” -Jermar Perry
Today's guest is Suzanne Tucker, founder and CEO of Generation Mindful, a global brand that's on a mission to raise an emotionally healthy world. In this episode, Suzanne sits down with the team to discuss the importance of teaching children about emotional health, advice for parents, and her own journey that led to focusing on mindfulness for families.
“The solution comes in the way we raise children without shame.” -Suzanne Tucker
Today's guest is Austin Smith, founder and CEO of Mission Control, a community platform that organizes recreational esports. In this episode, Austin sits down with the team to discuss the tremendous growth in the esports industry, the power of human connection, and the challenges involved in the multi-player video game market.
Today's guest is Cynthia Chapple, founder and CEO of Black Girls Do STEM, an organization offering exploration of STEM career pathways to middle and high school black girls in St. Louis. In this episode, Cynthia sits down with the team to discuss her journey as a black woman in STEM, what her organization is doing to close the gap between women and STEM, and what institutions should be doing to better serve our youth.
“Schools need to become places of innovation, places of noise, and chaos, because that is what learning looks like.” -Cynthia Chapple
Today's guest is Matthew Raithel, founder and Studio Director of Graphite Lab, a video game development company. Matt has brought some of the most famous brands to life through video games including Transformers, My Little Pony, RollerCoaster Tycoon, Dora the Explorer, and much more. In this episode, Matt sits down with the team to discuss the creativity involved in video game development, challenges in the field, and guidance for aspiring video game developers.
“Creativity is building something out of nothing or blazing a path that’s not obvious in front of you.” -Matthew Raithel
Today's guest is Bea Ayala-Muñiz, founder and CEO of Musicasa, an organization that's changing the way people connect through live music in intimate gatherings. In this episode, Bea sits down with the team to discuss what she learned during a year of world travels, how she infuses music into everything she does, and the power of small gatherings for human connection.
“Everything is about how we can add to each other’s lives.” -Bea Ayala-Muñiz
Today's guest is Matt Haggman, Executive Vice President at The Beacon Council, where he leads Opportunity Miami, an initiative to catalyze Miami's economic future. In this episode, Matt sits down with the team to discuss what's next for Miami, how to create a diverse and inclusive economy, and his lessons learned during his recent attempt at running for Congress.
“Miami can stand out by having a diverse and skilled workforce that’s unlike anything else globally.” -Matt Haggman
Today's guest is Arturo Nuñez, Chief Marketing Office at NuBank, the world's largest independent digital bank. Nuñez's impressive career in marketing spans decades of working for the NBA, Nike, APPLE, and other corporate giants. In this episode, Nuñez sits down with the team to discuss the art of storytelling in marketing, building emotional connections, and how to make brands accessible to all consumers. “Great advertising communication is when the customer sees themselves reflected.” -Arturo Nuñez
Today's guest is Kristen Corpion, founder of CORPLaw, an innovative firm providing a space for lawyers to focus on their happiness. Kristen is also a legal advocate, a law school professor, and a mentor. In this episode, Kristen sits down with the team to discuss the need for lawyers to work on their mental health, common challenges faced by startups in the legal realm, and her tactics for making her business stand out in a sea of law firms. “We can’t innovate when we’re unhappy with what we’re doing in our lives.” -Kristen Corpion
Today's guest is Hector Mujica, head of economic opportunity at Google across the Americas. In his work at Google, Hector works to create jobs and access to capital for minority-owned business owners. In this episode, Hector sits down with the team to discuss the challenges of corporate philanthropy, the importance of being a cultural ambassador in philanthropy work, and the momentum that currently exists in Miami.
“Let things break; let balls drop every once in a while.” -Hector Mujica
“Leadership is not one who has all the answers, but is someone who is vulnerable & human.” -Ivan Rapin-Smith
Today's guest is Ivan Rapin-Smith, Managing Director of Watsco Ventures, an incubator company in Miami. Ivan is an empathetic leader with decades of experience in the accelerator and startup industries. In this episode, Ivan sits down with the team to discuss top leadership qualities, the importance of thinking long-term, and the innovative work Watsco Ventures is doing to support hundreds of HVAC businesses.
Today's guest is Gazelle Hashemian, CEO of BluJuniper and co-founder of Blue Turquoise. Gazelle is a seasoned entrepreneur and a force to be reckoned with in all things she takes on in business and life. In this episode, Gazelle sits down with the team to discuss her dedication to investing in female and minority-led businesses, her successes and failures working with startups, and the fulfillment she gets from her nonprofit work. “The road is hard, but unless we try, we can’t overcome it, and we will not be able to achieve a tipping point where it no longer would matter what the gender of the founder is.”-Gazelle Hashemian
“I can’t just be out here making artwork that’s not going to help anybody else or is not going to make me a better person.” -Mojo
Today's guest is Anthony Reed II, better known in the art community as 'Mojo,' a Contemporary Artist and nonprofit leader based out of Miami. Mojo sees it as his duty to use his art to create change. In this episode, Mojo sits down with the team to discuss his transformative trip to Ghana, the pivotal moments in his artistic journey, and how he's working on manifesting his vision for a positive future through his art.
Learn from some of the top Miami entrepreneurs in this season of Innovation City. In Season 4, we discuss everything from achieving a state of flow, disrupting the personal banking industry, and the future of tech in Miami! Tune in to hear these innovative and successful guests give advice, tips, and tricks for achieving success in your business and life.
Learn from some of the top entrepreneurial trailblazers in St. Louis in this season of Innovation City. In Season 5, we discuss everything from setting mental health goals and the power of believing in yourself to creating boozy ice cream! Tune in to hear these inspiring guests give advice, tips, and tricks for achieving success in your business and life.
Learn from some of the top entrepreneurial trailblazers in St. Louis in this season of Innovation City. In Season 5, we discuss everything from setting mental health goals and the power of believing in yourself to creating boozy ice cream! Tune in to hear these inspiring guests give advice, tips, and tricks for achieving success in your business and life.
“I’ve learned to be resilient and to make sure I don’t let the little hiccups or the changes that come my way stop me.” -Muriel Smith
Today’s guest is Muriel Smith, Executive Director at the St. Louis Area Diaper Bank, where they work to end diaper need and period poverty through access, education, and advocacy. Muriel has nearly twenty years of nonprofit leadership experience serving the St. Louis community. In this episode, Muriel sits down with the team to discuss the tremendous need families have for essential products like diapers and period supplies, the attributes of great nonprofit leaders, the challenges to nonprofit work, and much more!
“Over time, I’ve been able to see that the journey does play out without you, so you can either be part of it or not.”-Robyn Rosenberger
Today’s guest is Robyn Rosenberger, the Founder and CEO at TinySuperheroes, a social enterprise that works to empower extraordinary kids- one cape at a time! Robyn founded TinySuperheroes in 2012 and has been working tirelessly since then to help families and kids overcome illness and disability. In this episode, Robyn discusses the story behind Tiny Superheroes, trusting the journey, and seeing the positive in the most challenging times!
Today’s guest is Danny Gula, partner at Redding Creative, a media company specializing in video production. Danny Gula is a well-known digital content creator, a former Vat19 employee, a star in the series Hidden in Plain Sight, a husband and a father. In this episode, Danny sits down with the team to discuss using ADHD to your advantage, creating viral video content, the power of believing in yourself, and much more!
“Mental health has progressed now to where It’s not just about stigma… it’s connecting the dots with access.” -Melissa Douglass
Today’s guest is Melissa Douglass, Founder and Virtual Clinical Director at Goal Driven Counseling, one of the first 100% virtual group practices in the U.S. Melissa is a talented counselor and a savvy businesswoman who built her practice from the ground up. In this episode, Melissa sits down with the team to discuss removing mental health stigmas, normalizing the concept of mental health goals, and business tips for counselors with their own practice!
“I see so much potential and opportunity for women entrepreneurs, and I’m just passionate about supporting women, who the research shows, women entrepreneurs tend to be undersupported.” -Erin Joy
Today’s guest is Erin Joy, CEO at Black Dress Circle and Fuel to Fire, where she works with women entrepreneurs to help launch and grow their businesses. Erin Joy has twenty-five years of experience as a self-employed entrepreneur and is finishing her PhD in Business Psychology. In this episode, Erin sits down with the team to discuss her journey of personal growth, the importance of supporting female entrepreneurs, the intersection of well-being and success, and much more!
“We need to understand that our ability to truly inspire, collaborate, create, innovate, adapt to change, drive change, those are the superpowers of not just the future, but right now.”-Amy Gwin
Today’s guest is Amy Gwin, Director of Client Engagement at Chapman & Co. Leadership Institute. Born from their parent company, Barry-Wehmiller, Chapman & Co. helps businesses worldwide embrace a more human-centered organizational culture. Amy Gwin has a deep understanding of the emerging workforce, which she utilizes to drive change within organizations. In this episode, Gwin sits down with the team to discuss the shift towards conscious capitalism, strategies for infusing values into businesses, and how human-centered models are the key to the future of capitalism.
“Ice cream is the most emotionally-powered food that we have, and it makes people happy.” -Tamara Keefe
Today's guest is Tamara Keefe, the self-proclaimed "Flavor Temptress" and owner of Clementine's Naughty & Nice Ice Cream. Tamara used her tech background and her family's Sunday ice-cream making tradition to create an innovative and award-winning micro-creamery that's changing the industry. In this episode, Tamara sits down with the team to discuss her humble upbringing, Clementine's creative ice cream flavors like alcohol-infused chocolate cabernet, and her undying love for St. Louis.
“If you actually want to be successful you've got to know when to be the guy, and when to step away and let somebody else be the guy.” -Ed Herman
Today’s guest is Ed Herman, attorney and managing partner at Brown & Crouppen, a personal injury law firm in St. Louis. Ed is not your typical lawyer; he’s also the creator and host of “Ed Versus,” an award-winning original tv show on BCTV. In this episode, Ed Herman sits down with the team to discuss how to stand out in a sea of sameness, the importance of being genuine in your advertising, brand affection, and much more!
“I’m going to care about the people that I’m working with as human beings, and if they’re doing well and if they’re really driven in their businesses, that’s what’s going to make for a successful business and turnaround.” -Judy Sindecuse
Today’s guest is Judy Sindecuse, CEO at Capital Innovators, whose top-ranking Accelerator Program provides startups with the resources they need to succeed. Judy Sindercuse is a visionary leader with a proven track record of starting profitable companies. In this episode, Sindercuse sits down with the team to discuss how Capital Innovators went from a small nonprofit to one of the top 5 accelerators in the country, the strength of the St. Louis community, and what it takes for a city to build a culture of innovation!
“I’m going to care about the people that I’m working with as human beings, and if they’re doing well and if they’re really driven in their businesses, that’s what’s going to make for a successful business and turnaround.” -Judy Sindecuse
Today’s guest is Judy Sindecuse, CEO at Capital Innovators, whose top-ranking Accelerator Program provides startups with the resources they need to succeed. Judy Sindercuse is a visionary leader with a proven track record of starting profitable companies. In this episode, Sindercuse sits down with the team to discuss how Capital Innovators went from a small nonprofit to one of the top 5 accelerators in the country, the strength of the St. Louis community, and what it takes for a city to build a culture of innovation!
“Even if you didn’t do it right, you can still be forgiven; you can still move forward.” -Kenny DeShields
Today's guest is Kenny DeShields, a singer-songwriter from St. Louis who recently released his first full-length album, The Real Love Project. Grammy Award-winning artist, Courtney Orlando, produced DeShield's new album, and his wife, Christia, co-wrote the songs. In this episode, Kenny DeShields sits down with the team to discuss his musical journey, the trauma he has overcome to get where he is today, and the faith that got him there.
Nature started to find her balance when we slowed down. I hope we don’t forget those lessons. - Suzanne Jewell
Welcome to Season 4 of Innovation City (The Miami Edition), a podcast featuring innovators, creators, and disruptors to discover how business is changing in the modern world.
Created and produced by SLAM! Agency and Aīre Ventures, Innovation City gives you an inside look at how rapidly business and culture are changing thanks to increasing diversity and inclusion, heightened creativity, and a stronger and better-connected business community.
Today’s guest is Suzanne Jewell, founder of The Mindful Entrepreneur. Suzanne is also a wellness coach, hosts a radio show, Mindful Mornings Miami, and many other hats in the mindfulness/wellness space. Suzanne sits down with the team to discuss Suzanne’s mindfulness journey, the human nervous system evolution, her mindful pocket park practice, and much more!
They discuss:
- Suzanne’s superpower
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- Her capacity to pay attention
- She has hyperfocus abilities
- This applies both for mindfulness and work
- Suzanne’s mindfulness journey
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- It began when she was 11 years old in Grand Rapids, Mich.
- She had ADHD, and was extremely smart
- Spent her 6th grade year going to school at a nature center
- For 45 minutes every day, she had to be in the woods, observe, write about what she was feeling - which she now recognizes as mindfulness
- She had a successful career in the television industry but her soul felt empty
- She discovered she had a rare neurological issue
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wokeupaboveground
- Neurologist recommended mindfulness, and she embraced it
- Mindfulness has become her reason for being
- Climate, communities, communities of color, Earth, our living experience needs our attention
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- She started noticing the disparity in parks in underprivileged communities
- Even the signage is unwelcoming
- How can parks be more welcoming and purposeful?
- Suzanne started researching and found that 20 minutes a day of time spent in nature will lower cortisol levels
- Re-wilding the concrete core of cities
- Mindful pocket park practice
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- “Nature pill”
- 10 minutes of walking park practice
- 10 minutes of sitting practice
- Environmental factors impacting our physiological experience
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- Too much concrete impacts your “chi”
- Types of light
- Proximity to plants
- Circadian rhythms
- The human nervous system is going through an evolution
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- The pause was for a reason
- Suzanne’s greatest challenge at the moment
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- She thought it would be finding space
- In Miami, they have offered her space
- She’s working on financing
- She would love to have a pocket park in Overtown
- Another dream would be to do this as a popup as an art experience
- Bringing mindfulness to different people in different life stages
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- You’re trying to learn how to pay attention
- Mindfulness is like a wheel
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- On the outside is everything vying for your attention
- Come back to the bullseye
- If that’s all you mastered, it would still be a win
- A wandering mind is an unhappy mind
- Get in touch
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- Themindfulpark.com
- On LinkedIn
- @MindfulMorningsMiami on Instagram
- @Suzannejewel and @mindfulmorningsmiami on Facebook
Lightning Round:
What makes you lose track of time?
- Natural beauty
What is something new that you recently tried and loved?
- Kayaking on the Little River
What risk are you happy that you took?
- Putting my “tush” on a “cush” and learning to meditate
What makes you feel loved?
- I feel loved right now. Being in the presence of other human beings. I’ve missed this!
What challenge do you want to overcome?
- The department of judgment that lives in my head. To make peace with that judge.
Where do you feel the most at peace?
- Nature. Any place I can see something not man-made.
I guess I was kind of used to that, I was used to being the only woman in the room, and it didn’t really bother me. I was just like, ‘I’ll just have to try harder, and do better.’ I had a lot of guy friends, and I think I kind of thrived in that atmosphere. - Amy Renshaw
Today’s guest is Amy Renshaw, founder and CEO of Code/Art, a non-profit using art to inspire girls to become future coders and computer programmers. Amy has undergrad and graduate degrees from MIT, as well as an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management. In this episode, Amy sits down with the team to discuss gender disparity in the tech world, Code/Art’s programs and offerings, the future of tech in Miami, and much more!
One of the kind of interesting things about design strategy and the design-thinking philosophy is that you don’t conceive an idea in a vacuum, you conceive an idea with your ultimate end customer. So, you, in a sense reverse-engineer into it based on the needs of the market. - Tony Jimenez
Today’s guest is Tony Jimenez, co-founder and CFO of JOI, which stands for “just one ingredient,” a plant-based food and beverage company. Tony is also managing director for Medina Capital, a growth tech venture capital fund. In this episode, Tony sits down with the team to discuss Tony’s experiences in the entrepreneurial space, the process of bringing JOI products to market, the nutritional value of plant-based food products, and much more!
Quite honestly journalism is all about curiosity, at the end of the day. I think, you do this work again, we consider ourselves part of the ecosystem, and helping to tell the stories. - Sherrell Dorsey
Today’s guest is Sherrell Dorsey, founder and CEO of The Plug, a digital news and insights platform covering the Black innovation economy. Sherrell has also served as marketing manager for companies like Uber and Google Fiber, and has a Master's in data journalism from Columbia University. In this episode, Sherrell sits down with the team to discuss her innovation journey, what she’s learned about the industry, what she’s most proud of, and much more!
“If we could just see each other as equals, regardless of what country you live, what your job is, what kind of house you have. At the end of the day, we love the same things: Our family, and our hope for the future for ourselves or our children. That’s what I see when I travel.” - Nathalie Cadet-James
Today’s guest is Nathalie Cadet-James, founder and CEO at Luxe Fête Social, a luxury dinner-party-in-a-box curation and delivery service. Nathalie is a designer and international event planner. In this episode, Nathalie sits down with the team to discuss her journey to entrepreneurship, how problems are solved over dinner parties, the secret to the lost art of truly connecting, and much more!
If you just continue down the pathway, people will always appreciate hard work, in my belief. - Evan Leaphart
Today’s guest is Evan Leaphart, founder of Kiddie Kredit, the chore-tracking app that helps kids learn real-world lessons about money and credit. Evan combines a passion for financial literacy and innovation with a commitment to solving real-world problems in his community. In this episode, Evan sits down with the team to discuss the reasons kids need to really understand credit early on, how Kiddie Kredit scored a partnership with Equifax, experience as knowledge capital, and much more!
What it all boils down to at the end of the day, it’s all about relationships.Especially when it comes from a sales perspective. People do business with who they know, like and trust. Derrick Miles
Today’s guest is Derrick Miles, founder and CEO of CourMed, an innovative healthcare delivery service. Derrick is also the founder of TMB Equity Partner and a multiple patented inventor. In this episode, Derrick sits down with the team to discuss how CourMed came to be, what’s unique about the CourMed platform, the value of social capital and much more!
Today’s guest is Daniel Uribe, CEO and co-founder of Genobank.io, a digital wallet for genetic data. Daniel combined his cybersecurity and blockchain background with a personal experience to come up with the idea for Genobank. In this episode, Daniel sits down with the team to discuss how he broke with his family and got into tech, his inspiration for Genobank, the potential applications for a DNA blockchain and much more!
The more you put into things, the more you get good out of them. It really is true in all things, and in business, too. - Chris Adamo
Today’s guest is Chris Adamo, chief business officer at WhereBy.Us, an experiential media tech company that creates technology platforms, tools, content and local publication, and their newsletter platform, Letterhead. Chris is a successful investor, and prides himself on his “bridge-building” abilities. In this episode, Chris sits down with the team to discuss the way he connects people, his views on the curation process, what he would do if he didn’t have to work, and much more!
“Don’t start a company with a plan to exit. That’s not what it’s about. Join a company because you want to build something that’s going to have impact.” - Lila de la Chesnaye
Today’s guest is Lila de la Chesnaye, general manager of Hunt Club, a talent recruitment organization leveraging networks and social connection. Lila is a Miami Tech enthusiast who is passionate about scaling mission-driven, tech-forward, customer-centric companies. Lila sits down with the team to discuss her entrepreneurial journey, the challenges facing startups, and how to build meaningful relationships both in person and by email, and much more!
“Don’t start a company with a plan to exit. That’s not what it’s about. Join a company because you want to build something that’s going to have impact.” - Lila de la Chesnaye
Today’s guest is Lila de la Chesnaye, general manager of Hunt Club, a talent recruitment organization leveraging networks and social connection. Lila is a Miami Tech enthusiast who is passionate about scaling mission-driven, tech-forward, customer-centric companies. Lila sits down with the team to discuss her entrepreneurial journey, the challenges facing startups, and how to build meaningful relationships both in person and by email, and much more!
“Sometimes if you have that kind of intense belief, you can sort of make it happen.” - Bill Harris
Today’s guest is Bill Harris, CEO of Nirvana, an early-stage digital consumer financial services firm In Miami Beach. Bill has been in the tech/financial/cybersecurity space for over 30 years, and has started or run 11 companies. In this episode, Bill sits down with the team to discuss his career and story, his new venture in Miami, disrupting the personal banking industry, and much more!
“You have to trust yourself.... Trust your intuition. Perhaps you’re wrong, perhaps you’re right. But I think that you will never regret having listened to your intuition and gone for it, even when you’re wrong.” - Gabriela Sabate
Today’s guest is Gabriela Sabate, Founder & CEO of Health Semantics, which combines digital health and remote monitoring in clinical workflows to prevent chronic conditions like diabetes and hypertension. Gabriela is an entrepreneur with 25 years in venture creation and operations, and she is passionate about innovation. In this episode, Gabriela sits down with the team to discuss how she got into the healthtech industry, the many more things we can do with technology, how to identify the right team members, and much more!
“We believe that the more that people activate their power, the more that we’re all better off. And if we can activate that power toward new systems (education, economic, health and justice systems), we can really create a world where everyone’s thriving.” – Charli Cooksey
Today’s guest is Charli Cooksey, the Founder & CEO of WEPOWER, a social startup that activates community power to re-design education, economic, health, and justice systems to be just and equitable for all. Charli is an accidental educator and a champion of her St. Louis community. In this episode, Charli sits down with the team to discuss colorism and representation bias, the two distinct and disparate parts of St. Louis, finding personal balance, and much more!
“I want people to back away from, ‘Okay well this is the way it’s always been done,’ to ‘We know that the initial thesis was flawed in that it was using a flawed theory,’ i.e structural racism and everything that goes along with that.” – Marvin Wilmoth
Today’s guest is Marvin Wilmoth, Managing Principal & Co-founder at Generation Development Group, a real estate development group which focuses on utilizing the social determinants of health as drivers of the built environment. Marvin also serves as Vice Mayor and Harbor Island Commissioner for North Bay Village, FL. In this episode, Marvin sits down with the team to discuss his community work through local politics, the Generation community model, countering the systematic disinvestment in underprivileged neighborhoods, and much more!
“There’s so many days that can just roll on, with the work, with the day to day toiling. But the real thing is pushing yourself.” - Christian Ethridge
Today’s guest is Christian Ethridge, Chef and Owner at Taco Circus. Taco Circus is a “fundamental taqueria” in St. Louis, serving up authentic Austin-style Mexican street food. Christian worked his way up in the food industry, starting as a dishwasher, and still gets his hands dirty when a job needs to be done. In this episode, Christian sits down with the team to discuss his entrepreneurial journey, economic mobility for his team, making Taco Circus more than your average “margarita mill,” and much more!
“It goes back to my childhood. It goes back to the definition of gratitude. And that’s been I would say the motivating factor that made a difference in what I could have been and where I am today.” -– Galina Russell
Today’s guest is Galina Russell, Managing Director of REEF Technology and COO of REEF Energy Division, a tech startup transforming under-utilized urban spaces into local neighborhood hubs. Prior to REEF, Galina directed projects for multiple Fortune 100 companies. She takes pride in being a self-starter, is fluent in several languages and is active in supporting youth in foster care. In this episode, Galina sits down with the team to discuss how she connects with her work, staying motivated to chase her ambitions, the importance of gathering and understanding data, REEF’s potential to help communities on a global scale, and much more!
“The need to seem perfect. The need to always have to be winning or be successful to be valuable, to be seen, to be important. None of that really matters.” - Danie Spikes
Today’s guest is Danie Spikes, CEO of Beloved, Inc., a fragrance house and body care brand she leads with her husband, Stephen. Danie is a relationship coach, public speaker, and award-winning businesswoman. In this episode, Danie sits down with the team to discuss how her fragrance journey began, the relationship between self and others, learning to let go of control, and much more!
Something that’s very important to us at JOCON is to make sure that our lineup definitely reflects the community that supports us. - J.J. Jones
Today’s guest is J.J. Jones, Managing Partner & Chief Creative Officer at JOCON Media, which currently produces 10 podcasts. J.J. has traveled the world, and his love of business, innovation, and artistry all intersect at JOCON Media. J.J. sits down with the team to discuss going from one podcast to 10, the challenges of managing podcast talent, giving people a voice who have something to say, and much more!
“I know all across the country and neighborhoods, communities, they’re suffering through food apartheid. And my goal is so that we don’t have to talk about that word anymore.” - Tyrean Lewis
Today’s guest is Tyrean Lewis, Founder & CEO of Heru Urban Farming, which aims to provide underserved communities with fresh, local produce, and put an end to food apartheid in St. Louis’ underserved communities. Tyrean is a fourth-generation farmer who began a community garden that became a successful business. In this episode, Tyrean sits down with the team to discuss his family tradition of farming, ending food apartheid in St. Louis and beyond, what’s next for Heru Urban Farming, and much more!
It is clear through the years that inclusion and diversity drive innovation. The more diverse views you have, that’s better for everyone. - Laura Maydón
Today’s guest is business leader, investor and advisor, Laura Maydón, former Managing Director and CEO of Endeavor’s first U.S. affiliate, Endeavor Miami. Laura is currently an advisory board member of NovoPayment and Sustalytics. She’s also Co-president of the Harvard Business School Club of South Florida. In this episode, Laura sits down with the team to discuss her journey from Mexico City to Harvard Business School to Miami, as well as innovation in Miami, the importance of inclusion, and much more!
“We all have the ability to transform our lives. We all have the ability to do and be and have the things that we want.” - Marianna Lopez
Today’s guest is Marianna Lopez, Founder of Wander Not Lost. Marianna is a Catalyst, Healer and Life Coach, and she brings heart and soul to everything she creates. Her services offer a space for others to discover their light, embrace their shadow and find a balanced, joyful life. In this episode, Marianna sits down with the team to discuss being a Catalyst, connecting with your emotions on the deepest level, her advice to others wanting to become a healer, and much more!
“If you can get a book in the hand of a kid, that’s phenomenal. If you can get a book in a kid’s hand, and they get to meet that author, and they get to hear about the book and they get to hear about the process, odds of them picking up that book up and reading it are just tenfold.” – Holland Saltsman
Today’s guest is Holland Saltsman, Owner at The Novel Neighbor, “where people, art and books meet.” Holland opened the bookstore six years ago to fill a need for an independent bookseller, and it ended up being a place for connections. In this episode, Holland sits down with the team to discuss bookstores in the age of Amazon, hidden gems of the book world, creatively interacting with customers and keeping the business afloat during a pandemic, and much more!
If I can come and leave the world a little better than I left it, than when I was here, then my job is done. - T. Moore
Today’s guest is T. Moore, Creative Director at Doer House. Doer House is a brick-and-mortar concept and retail space for Black creatives. T. Moore is an entrepreneur and artist, who specializes in experiential design. In this episode, T. Moore sits down with the team to discuss the Black creative movement, offline vs. online presence, his advice for young entrepreneurs, and much more!
“Don’t just play the game, change it.” - Khalia Collier
Today’s guest is Khalia Collier, Owner & General Manager of the St. Louis Surge, the first women’s sustainable basketball franchise in the Gateway City. Khalia was born and raised in St. Louis, and has turned her lifelong love of the game of basketball into an entrepreneurial journey. In this episode, Khalia sits down with the team to discuss what it’s like being a young, Black, female sports team owner, owning the responsibility of making an impact on her community, what’s next for the Surge, and much more!
“There’s a lot of responsibility around algorithms and we’re just scratching the surface because we are learning.” - Demian Bellumio
Today’s guest is Demian Bellumio, Vice President of Augmented Intelligence at NEORIS, which is creating disruptive solutions to enable the world’s leading enterprises in transforming their data into a strategic, actionable and valuable asset. Demian is a serial entrepreneur, with over 15 years of experience in creating and growing tech companies. In this episode, Demian sits down with the team to discuss his evolution from music to algorithms, the differences between an entrepreneur and an intrapreneur, avoiding algorithmic bias, and much more!
“I think that’s what it’s really about, for innovators, entrepreneurs: Utilize the opportunities that you’re given. Don’t sit there and complain about, ‘Oh, I didn’t get this enough…’” - Michelle McLean
Today’s guest is Michelle McClean, Founder and President at Africa’s Finest Safaris. Africa’s Finest Safaris is a tourism marketing company offering bespoke sales, marketing and representation services to African tourism partners. Michelle, a philanthropist, business owner, and former Miss Universe, is “the ultimate renaissance woman.” In this episode, Michelle sits down with the team to discuss the importance of shifting narratives and changing perspectives, her advice on dealing with stress, her experiences with Nelson Mandela, the characteristics of a strong leader, and much more!
“It’s really about allowing the culture that exists to remain.” - Derek Fleming
Today’s guest is Derek Fleming, managing partner at MSDG, LLC. MSDG is responsible for such community projects as the multi-layered entertainment venue, Red Rooster Overtown. Derek is a real estate developer with a specific focus on hospitality, and he’s known for bridging different worlds and being a mentor to others. In this episode, Derek sits down with the team to discuss different perspectives in real estate development, the “cultural bottom line,” celebrating cultural heritage in development, and much more!
“I just have a belief that there’s always something that we can do. Most of the time when we fail it’s because we give up. We give up way too soon.” - Ernisha Randolph
Today’s guest is Ernisha Randolph, owner and CEO of Sweet Butter Hospitality Group, a firm that manages a number of culinary brands and experiences including, among others, a catering company, soul food restaurants, and specialty food product lines. In this episode, Ernisha sits down with the team to discuss business insights, the non-traditional ways she raised funds for her restaurant, mentoring other entrepreneurs through the coronavirus pandemic, and much more!
“If you’re creating something and there’s no conflict, you’re doing it wrong.” - Riyaad Seecharan
Today’s guest is Riyaad Seecharan, CEO at Tesser Health, which manages prescription healthcare drugs for companies, to help reduce the cost of medications for employees. Riyaad is an entrepreneur with 20 + years of leadership and product development experience, with successful exits to Microsoft, JC Flowers, and Rev360. In this episode, Riyaad sits down with the team to discuss how conflict can be a good thing, relationships in business, the characteristics of an amazing team, and much more!
“I imagine a place where, if you are working, it's not unreasonable to expect that if you have family you could buy a house to build wealth. We have to have ways to improve ourselves.” – Annie Lord
Today’s guest is Annie Lord, Executive Director of Miami Homes For All. Miami Homes For All has worked to end and prevent homelessness in Miami-Dade County since 1985. They believe that everyone in Miami deserves to lead a dignified, healthy, and vibrant life. Born and raised in Miami, Annie has over 15 years of experience in community development. Before joining MHFA, Annie was the Chief Program Officer for CitySquare, where she oversaw all programs, including housing for people and families experiencing homelessness, a food pantry, foster youth services, a health clinic, and a family law firm. In this episode, Annie sits down with the team to discuss the need for stable housing in Miami’s lower income communities, ways her and MHFA are working to solve the housing security crisis, spotlighting some innovative spaces around Miami who are providing better access to resources for low income families and individuals, and much more!
“You feel like there’s no limits when you see other people doing it [following their dreams] and it’s like, “Yeah, I can do this too.”” – Enoch Showunmi
Today’s guest is Enoch Showunmi, Founder of Global Soccer Pathways. Global Soccer Pathways is a resource for players to get education, elite training, and mindset training. Enoch is a former professional soccer player and played for the Nigeria National Soccer Team within just 1 year of becoming a pro player. After playing soccer professionally for over a decade, Enoch started Global Soccer Pathways and is now helping student athletes develop their game and create a SUPERSTAR mindset via his specialty programming. In this episode, Tyler and Leigh-Ann sit down with Enoch to learn more about the sport of soccer, how playing a sport can provide essential exposure for a young athlete’s career, the importance of using education as a tool to get you access to resources, the importance of networking as a new founder, and much more!
"I believe I can always do something better than the way I am doing it." – Brooke Meek
Today’s guest is Brooke Meek, Founder of PLNK Fitness. Her love of fitness and "Big Hairy Audacious Goals" inspired her to turn an innovative design into a full-fledged business. Her studio focuses on a piece of workout equipment called the Megaformer. A need to nurture her mental and physical health combined with a love of learning and a good opportunity was her catalyst for becoming the successful female founder she is today. In this episode, Tyler and Leigh-Ann sit down with Brooke to learn about how she made her vision a reality, how she approaches building great teams, her focus on maintaining a well defined brand, and much more!
“Sometimes what you feel in your gut is what you ignore all the time. You just go from what you’ve learned and what you’ve had programmed in your mind...rather than “what is my heart saying?”” – Pascal Beauboeuf
Today’s guest is Pascal Beauboeuf, Executive Producer and Host of The Pascal Show. Beauboeuf has always had a passion for conversation. Perfecting the art form has helped him discover his authenticity and voice. He believes the most meaningful conversations are heart centered and based on genuine feeling. His "heart over head" approach to people has helped him to amass nearly 100,000 followers on social media. In this episode Tyler and Leigh-Ann turn the tables, putting the host in the guest seat to find out what his idea of good dialogue is, the need for more public discourse on social justice, his process for scoring interviews, and much more!
"It's a matter of bringing out the best of who our clients are and putting the right words around it." – Mich Hancock
Today's guest is Mich Hancock, Founder & CEO of 100th Monkey. Mich started 100th Monkey when she recognized a real need to help older internet users and business owners get acquainted with social media platforms. She was inspired by the opportunity to provide a safe bridgeway to help her clients make social media work for them. A long period of personal hardship was the catalyst that sparked Mich into action. Also the Co-founder at TEDx Gateway Arch, Mich understands the power of stories. She uses her marketing savvy and warm demeanor to empower clients to create compelling and authentic ways of connecting digitally. In this episode, Mich joins Tyler and Leigh-Ann to talk about how personal triumph can lead to breakthroughs, how building more inclusive online spaces sparks new ways of thinking, crafting messages that bring out the best in clients, and much more!
"Venture capital and funding is definitely a game of relationships." — Austin Woods
Today’s guest is Austin Woods, Analyst at Lewis and Clark Ventures. Early into his career, Austin knew he wanted to leave behind academia to pursue a less conventional life as a venture analyst. He made the segue with a desire to build business models that would help improve educational and social outcomes. The possibilities for better economic approaches in different social systems is what inspires his work. In this episode, Tyler and Leigh-Ann sit down with Austin to explore his approach to "getting the boots on the ground" when it comes to solving problems, finding more interesting ways to meet the needs of ventures, producing quality publications, and much more!
"Come with an idea! Come with a collaborative spirit! Come with a bias for action!" - Yvena Atkins
Today’s guest is Yvena Atkins, Strategy Manager for Accenture. Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services in strategy and consulting, interactive, technology and operations. Yvena is the kind of thinker that can and will break barriers. She understands how to make connections to solve hard problems and drive innovation. She works toward meaningful solutions with insight, empathy, and a purpose grounded in personal and professional experience. In this episode, Tyler and Leigh-Ann lean in and listen to Yvena talk about what it really takes to infuse innovation to help companies and communities grow, how intelligent technologies are going to change the way we live and work, the challenges of making a collective impact, and much more!
"If you are curious about things, you are going to learn more, dig more, and figure out ways to make things better" - Tricia Zimmer Ferguson
Today’s guest is Tricia Zimmer Ferguson, owner of Kaldi's Coffee Roasting Company. Coming from a third generation entrepreneurial family, Tricia says running a business is in her DNA. Ferguson says she didn't expect to land herself in the coffee business, but rather stumbled happily upon it. For her, coffee is an experience that brings people together and that is what fuels her passion. In this episode, Tyler and Leigh-Ann sit down with Tricia to get the grind on her drive to create the perfect cup of coffee, her passion for making an impact, how she makes and sustains global connections, and much more!
"I feel most alive when I'm solving problems." - David Lekach
Today’s guest is serial entrepreneur, David Lekach. Lekach inherited the entrepreneurial spirit from his father who is the founder of the well known fragrance company Perfumania. Lekach lives to solve problems and create businesses admitting he has few interests outside the world of start-ups. In this episode, Tyler and Leigh-Ann have a lively talk with David about how Dream Water was conceived, the importance of making connections and being resourceful, how product placement is everything, why experience is the best teacher, and much more!
"My purpose is to be a better person every day that I wake up." - Kenneth "ToJo Bigg Dawg" Gibson
Today’s guest is Kenneth "ToJo Bigg Dawg" Gibson, CEO of Bigg Dawg Entertainment. Gibson is from St. Louis and his hometown connections helped him see the opportunities needed to start his business. He built his business plans while serving an 8 year incarceration. He says he used his time in prison as "training for manhood" skipping card games and hang outs to spend time in the library, taking cues from mentors and learning about accountability and spirituality. In this episode, Tyler and Leigh-Ann invite the "Bigg Dawg" to take the stage on entrepreneurship, lessons learned from the school of life, finding purpose and much more!
"What matters is how we can help each other." - Alexandra Fuente
Today’s guest is Alexandra Fuente, Founder and CEO at Woxer. Woxer is an apparel company that designs boxer briefs for women. The company is still in its infancy and has already enjoyed rapid growth and expansion. Fuente is driven to make a superior product that is sensible and sustainable. She aspires to become a venture capitalist and support other women who want to build businesses. While she has always dreamed of being a CEO her greater motivation is what she can give back to the world. In this episode, Tyler and Leigh-Ann sit down with Alexandra to investigate the seams of her startup, her experiences as a minority business owner, the importance of taking the right risks, hiring the right people, going with your gut and much more!
“Digital inclusion and access to devices or wireless, at this point, is a necessity." - Giovanni Castro
Today’s guest is Giovanni Castro, State and Local Government Manager at Verizon. Verizon is working to improve digital inclusion in Miami and South Florida by working in collaboration with local government and nonprofits to provide improved wireless accessibility. As a Cuban American, Giovanni has experienced first hand the impact that inequality has on lives and communities. He knows how difficult it is to make progress without needed resources. His understanding of the “pulse” of the communities he serves puts him in a unique position to make an impact and gives him a real shot at closing the digital divide. In this episode, Tyler and Leigh-Ann sit down with Giovanni to explore his multifaceted career, the passions that drive him to make a difference, the realities of inequality, how the 5G revolution is making things better, bigger, and faster, and much more!
"We are not here to see through people, we are here to see people through." - Uhriel Bedoya
Today’s guest is Uhriel Bedoya, Florida General Manager at Lime. Lime is a micro-mobility company that is changing how we move in cities. With over a million rides, Lime is one of the first and leading scooter start-ups. In this episode, Tyler and Leigh-Ann sit down with Bedoya to get the juice on how micro-mobility is improving communities, why designing and building products that break barriers create smarter cities, how the start-up is tackling the competition, and much more!
Today’s guest is Rebecca Danta, Managing Director at Miami Angels. Miami Angels is the largest and most active angel network in Florida, which funds Seed and Series A technology companies with early traction across various sectors. At Miami Angels, Rebecca has helped deploy over $4.5 million into 18 deals while building a sustainable, independent business model for the organization. Rebecca is a Miami native and passionate about investing into markets and teams that are often overlooked in traditional venture capital. She serves on the board of the Florida Venture Forum, Refresh Miami, and is a Class XI member of Miami Fellows. In this episode, Rebecca sits down to discuss being a minority investor, the ways she is providing opportunities for women and people of color through investments, what she looks for in a company before investing, and much more!
“Procedures change, principles don’t.” - Jayson Wells
Today’s guest is Jayson Wells, Experience Teller, Author, and Enhancement Coach. Jayson is a former professional basketball player who now travels around the country developing extraordinary winners so they can go inspire and motivate the world. He is the author of “The Things We Know, But Do Not Do”, a book to help educate parents, athletes and coaches about what’s most important during your journey through sports. In this episode, Jayson sits down with the Innovation City team to discuss his “why,” how his years of playing basketball have shaped who he is, his key to being an effective storyteller, and much more!
A good team member is not going to join an idea that doesn’t have traction. A good idea solves everything. - Jimmy Hendricks
Today’s guest is Jimmy Hendricks, General Manager of Lee Labs and Founder of Agency Maestro. Lee Labs is the technology venture group of Lee Enterprises. Lee Enterprises is a leading provider of local news, information and advertising in 50 markets across 21 states. His newest venture, Agency Maestro, is a SAAS platform designed to help any type of agency to manage their clients, track client work, store documents, and assets, create invoices, and bill their clients. Jimmy sits down with the Innovation City team to discuss his entrepreneurial background and journey, St. Louis’ busy and growing entrepreneurial ecosystem, the importance of raising capital after you’ve proven traction, his 2 biggest takeaways from his career thus far, and much more.
“Inclusion allows people to not only be at the table, but to play a role and feel like they are a part of the ecosystem.” - Leigh-Ann Buchanan
Welcome to Season 3 of Innovation City, a podcast featuring innovators, creators, and disruptors to discover how business is changing in the modern world.
Today’s guest is Leigh-Ann Buchanan, Executive Director of Venture Café Miami. Leigh-Ann is the founding Executive Director of Venture Café Miami. Under her leadership, VCM’s innovation programming has attracted over 45,000 innovators, resulting in content partnerships with 1000+ organizations and 1500+ free educational sessions. She is also the founder of the Nyah Project, an author, facilitator and frequent speaker on strategies for inclusive innovation ecosystems, entrepreneurship-led economic development, experiential leadership development and impact models and social justice innovation. We are so excited to have Leigh-Ann joining us not only for this first episode of season 3, but to be joining Tyler as a co-host of the show!
Today’s episode is the last of several highlight shows where we took a look back at our top 20 favorite interviews and conversations of all time. Our last featured guest of this series is Anastasia Mikhalochkina, Founder at Lean Orb. Anastasia is an advocate for sustainability in South Florida. Lean Orb offers food service packaging made from plant-based materials, with a goal of ultimately replacing plastic and styrofoam with greener, more sustainable options.
Today’s episode is the fourteenth of several highlight shows where we are taking a look back at our top 20 favorite interviews and conversations of all time. Today’s featured guest is Ashkan Karbasfrooshan, CEO at WatchMojo. WatchMojo is one of the largest YouTube channels in the world when measured by all-time views (13 Billion) and subscribers (22 Million). Ashkan has a track record of launching, building and scaling content companies with advertising supported models.
Today’s episode is the thirteenth of several highlight shows where we are taking a look back at our top 20 favorite interviews and conversations of all time. Today’s featured guest is Samuel Achilefu, PhD, the Director of the Optical Radiology Laboratory at the Washington University School of Medicine. Dr. Achilefu is a professor of Radiology, Biomedical Engineering, and Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics. He performs groundbreaking research in the field of cancer research, including the invention of cancer goggles, which were developed to help surgeons see and remove cancer in patients.
Today’s episode is the twelfth of several highlight shows where we are taking a look back at our top 20 favorite interviews and conversations of all time. Today’s featured guests are Freddy Sidi, President and CEO of Chargello and Janisse Rosario-Schoepp, M.P.H., Ph.D., the Vice President of Operations and Strategy at Health Foundation of South Florida. Freddy is a serial entrepreneur whose first company (started when he was just 20 years old) quickly became one of the largest CLECs in the entire United States. Janisse plays a critical role in the Health Foundation’s work to improve the health and economic well-being of communities in South Florida. Tune in as both featured guests discuss common challenges around entrepreneurship, business scaling, community engagement, and more!
Today’s episode is the eleventh of several highlight shows where we are taking a look back at our top 20 favorite interviews and conversations of all time. Today’s featured guests are Ben Mizes, CEO and Co-Founder of Clever Real Estate and Miriam Dorsett, Connection Doctor at Chibur. Ben is a serial entrepreneur with experience in business development for institutional homebuyers, working with startups, and raising venture capital raising investments. Miriam is a full-time artist, entrepreneur, and community activator focused on building community, creating connections, exploring how technology can support artists, and highlighting sustainability. Tune in as both guests discuss common themes around the highs and lows of entrepreneurship, growing strong businesses, community engagement, and more!
Today’s episode is the tenth of several highlight shows where we are taking a look back at our top 20 favorite interviews and conversations of all time. Today’s featured guest is Felecia Hatcher, Author & Co-Founder of Code Fever. Felecia is on a mission to rid communities across the globe of innovation deserts by working with community leaders and government officials to create inclusive and diverse tech/startup ecosystems. She is also a White House Award winning entrepreneur, bestselling author, and globally sought-after speaker.
Today’s episode is the ninth of several highlight shows where we are taking a look back at our top 20 favorite interviews and conversations of all time. Today’s featured guest is Rebecca Fishman Lipsey, Founder & CEO of Radical Partners. Radical Partners is an accelerator for social-impact ventures based in Miami, FL.
Today’s episode is the eight of several highlight shows where we are taking a look back at our top 20 favorite interviews and conversations of all time. Today’s featured guest is Greg Hewitt, CEO at DHL Express (U.S.). Greg has over 25 years of experience in the corporate world and has been with DHL for 18 years. DHL is a leading international postal and logistics company with over 10,000 employees in the US.
Today’s episode is the seventh of several highlight shows where we are taking a look back at our top 20 favorite interviews and conversations of all time. Today’s featured guest is Heather Monahan, founder of Boss in Heels. After successfully climbing the corporate ladder for 20 years, she devoted herself to helping women take control of their careers. She is a best-selling author of Confidence Creator, entrepreneur, and keynote speaker.
Today’s episode is the sixth of several highlight shows where we are taking a look back at our top 20 favorite interviews and conversations of all time. Today’s featured guest is Natalia Martinez-Kalinina, General Manager of CIC Miami and Latin America Lead of CIC Global. Natalia is also the Founder of Awesome Foundation MIAMI, a micro-grant leader in South Florida, Co-Founder of Aminta Ventures, and she was appointed by Governor Rick Scott to serve on the Florida Commission on Community Service.
Today’s episode is the fifth of several highlight shows where we are taking a look back at our top 20 favorite interviews and conversations of all time. Today’s featured guest is Pilar Guzman Zavala, CEO at Half Moon Empanadas. Half Moon Empanadas is a serious innovator in the food space, offering 20+ flavors of Argentinian empanadas, and leading the charge to create a whole new food category in the national fast-casual market. Pilar is also a mentor at WINlab Miami, FIU Startup Food Lab, a board member at Venture Cafe Miami, and a Fellow at The Miami Foundation.
Today’s episode is the fourth of several highlight shows where we are taking a look back at our top 20 favorite interviews and conversations of all time. Today’s featured guests are Allison Babka and Lee Broughton from the STLMade movement. STLMade is a movement that wants to help establish St. Louis’ narrative through storytelling and shining a light on the innovators, thinkers, doers, & makers in the St. Louis region.
Today’s episode is the third of several highlight shows where we are taking a look back at our top 20 favorite interviews and conversations of all time. With over 120 episodes and 2 seasons worth of amazing interviews, the Innovation City and Venture Cafe teams have been blown away by the amount of talent and innovation our guests have and are achieving in their local businesses and communities. Today’s featured guests are:
- Brandon Curry, Founding Partner of Moonbase Market
- Sam Abbassi, Developer Relations at Algorand
Today’s episode is the second of several highlight shows where we are taking a look back at our top 20 favorite interviews and conversations of all time. Today’s featured guest is Alejandro Burgana, President & CEO of Brickell Energy and Founder of OBE Power. Alejandro is an entrepreneur working to build up the commercial electric vehicle charging infrastructure in South Florida.
Today’s episode is the first of several highlight shows where we are taking a look back at our top 20 favorite interviews and conversations of all time. With over 120 episodes and 2 seasons worth of amazing interviews, the Innovation City and Venture Cafe teams have been blown away by the amount of talent and innovation our guests have and are achieving in their local businesses and communities. Today’s featured guests include:
- Rodney Bullard, VP of Corporate Social Responsibility at Chick-fil-A, Inc.
- David Karandish, Founder & CEO at Capacity
- Amanda Pizarro, Co-Founder of Salty Donut
Today’s episode is the last of 3 special shows where we are taking a look back at some of the most prominent themes from our 2019 guest interviews and highlighting them in 3 different episodes. In this episode, we are talking about facing your fears and taking the steps forward to face them head on and accomplish your goals.
Today’s episode is the second of 3 special shows where we are taking a look back at some of the most prominent themes from our 2019 guest interviews and highlighting them in 3 different episodes. In this episode, we are discussing inclusivity in our local ecosystems and hearing how these innovative entrepreneurs are tackling the issue in their own communities.
Today’s episode is the first of 3 special shows where we are taking a look back at some of the most prominent themes from our 2019 guest interviews and highlighting them in 3 different episodes. In this episode, we are discussing product-market fit with 3 incredibly passionate entrepreneurs who know the importance of market fit all too well. Today’s featured guests include:
- Mark Young, CTO & Head of Product at The Climate Corporation
- Elizabeth De Zulueta, CEO of Zulubots, Inc.
- Matthew Haber, Co-Founder at CivicPro
“Focus. There are always shiny objects, but right now you need to win one gold metal at a time.” — Richard Lamondin
Today’s guest is Richard Lamondin, Co-founder & CEO of EcoSystems. EcoSystems is a nationwide leader in water and energy conservation. Richard sits down with the team to discuss how he and his brother started EcoSystems, the importance of speaking your customer’s language, educating others about water and energy conservation, the challenges that come with rapid scaling, his advice for business growth success, and much more!
“[During user testing] You have to know how to decipher if it is a one-off feedback or a common feedback when trying to understand how to build your product correctly.” — Yenvy Truong
Today’s guest is Yenvy Truong, Co-founder & CEO of HealthSnap. HealthSnap is a Miami-based health technology company creating a new standard in healthcare by bridging the gap between lifestyle and medicine. Yenvy joins us to discuss her passion for entrepreneurship, how the HealthSnap app works, the challenges of working alongside the medical industry, the benefits of user testing and feedback, helping people easily make lifestyle modifications for preventative care, and much more!
“Take the time to pause, reflect, and be strategic. Have your notebook out and look at today, look at tomorrow, and look at next week, too.” — Carlos Vazquez
Today’s guest is Carlos Vazquez, President & CEO of Miami EdTech. Miami EdTech is an education technology non-profit on a mission to ignite the entrepreneurial spirit within today’s educators. Carlos sits down with the team to discuss his journey into the education and entrepreneurial ecosystem, the systemic issue concerning the lack of people of color in the STEM field, helping Black and Latinx teachers gain support and better access to resources, the impact of positive psychology in the classroom, getting teachers excited about technology again, and much more!
“You have to be haunted by your craft. Which means when you're asleep it’s speaking to you and when you’re awake it’s speaking to you.” — Courtney Orlando
Today’s guest is Courtney Orlando, Artist & Producer. St. Louis native, Courtney Orlando, is an Urban/Soul artist, songwriter and Grammy award-winning producer. He also produced the opening track that is on every Innovation City episode. Courtney sits down with the team to discuss his passion for music and how he got started, what it’s like working in the music industry, his Grammy win in 2013, the importance of business knowledge as an artist, his advocacy for mental health, the new project he’s releasing soon, and much more!
“Before you make any big life decisions, get the people around you, the people you’re going to affect the most by your decisions, to buy in and understand what you want to do.” — Kiley Summers
Today’s guest is Kiley Summers, Founder & CEO of SpenDebt. SpenDebt is a financial technology company designed to assist people to payoff debt leveraging micropayments through every day transactions. Kiley joins the team to discuss taking his “year of faith” and how he became debt free, how SpenDebt can help people with their debts, his startup challenges and how he is overcoming them, the St. Louis innovation ecosystem, the importance of getting your loved one’s support for your new ventures, and much more!
“[When working with startups] I’ll take the guy who hits the single every time he gets up to bat versus somebody that you’re waiting for to hit a home run.” — Mary Louise Helbig
Today’s guest is Mary Louise Helbig, Executive Director at ITEN. ITEN provides programs for rapid development of scalable tech ventures, engaging experienced entrepreneurs to help others build successful, growing companies. Mary sits down with the team to discuss her passion for entrepreneurship, what makes a scalable business and what does not, the importance of the validation and proof of concept processes, what it means to be a successful startup, the future of ITEN, and much more!
“It’s the one-to-one relationships that I have built that sparked it all, because you meet those people and they are the ones who introduce you to everyone else.” — Sarah Schlafly
Today’s guest is Sarah Schlafly, CEO of Mighty Cricket. Mighty Cricket is a cricket protein based food company whose mission is to transform everyday foods into rich sources of sustainable and superior quality protein. Sarah sits down with the team to discuss how she came up with Mighty Cricket, the benefits of consuming cricket protein, her entrepreneurial journey to getting Mighty Cricket to market, the importance of understanding where and when to get funding, the benefits of having mentors as an entrepreneur, and much more!
“Building the right team is one of the hardest lessons [for a startup], but learning how to build the right team is something to focus on [for scaling up].” — Jorge Cortes
Today’s guest is Jorge Cortes, Founder of MIA Ventures. MIA Ventures’ mission is to engage startups to solve urban, social and environmental challenges through an accelerator program and transform Miami into a global hub for social enterprises. Jorge joins the team to discuss his entrepreneurial journey, his passion for tech innovation, organizing Startup SAFARI Miami, the innovation boom in Florida, his advice to Latin American startups, and much more!
“When we talk about STEM, my endpoint is always innovation … it goes beyond just what we think is cool, it’s about how we leverage that science and change systems so that science can change society.” — Kilan Ashad-Bishop
Today’s guest is Kilan Ashad-Bishop, Biomedical Scientist & Advocate. Dr. Ashad-Bishop is a molecular biologist and environmental justice advocate based in Miami, FL. Kilan joins the team to discuss her dual life as a scientist and public advocate, how environmental influences affect our health, the importance of communication in science, today’s complicated health and science systems, the threats of rising sea level in Miami and its effects, and much more!
“Do your homework, it’s simple. Find out what’s going on and get connected. There are too many opportunities [out there].” — Rashad Thomas
Today’s guest is Rashad Thomas, VP, Business Connect & Legacy Projects for the Miami Super Bowl Host Committee. The Miami Super Bowl Host Committee is the liaison between the National Football League, the city of Miami and the local surrounding communities. Rashad joins the team to discuss the Business Connect program and how to get involved with Super Bowl LIV, Miami’s diversity and culture, his work with the city of Miami and the Liberty City community, the importance of networking within the community, and much more!
“There are a lot of people that try to build things so that, at the end, they find the problem. But, it should be the other way around … it’s “we have this problem, how are we going to fix it?”” — Laura González-Estéfani
Today’s guest is Laura González-Estéfani, Founder & CEO of TheVentureCity. TheVentureCity is a new venture and acceleration model that helps diverse founders achieve global impact. Laura joins the team to discuss the momentum of innovation hubs around the world, the importance of working with diverse founders of diverse companies, what makes a good founder and business, her recurring reasons why she would not invest in a company, and much more!
“Ultimately, the more ideas we have that have support and understand what else is out there, the better our community is going to be.” — Lucas Hernández
Today’s guest is Lucas Hernández, Director of Civic Engagement, Miami at Microsoft. As Director, Lucas works with government and civic leaders, and the citizens they serve, to tackle urban challenges in the greater Miami area as part of Microsoft’s broader technology and corporate responsibility efforts. Lucas sits down with us today to discuss the limitless need of resources in local markets, the importance of technology for nonprofits, Miami’s growing and strengthened ecosystems, his commitment to connecting different communities to build a stronger Miami region, and more!
“If I’m not bringing value to you, then I’m not doing you any good and the business is not going to be sustainable.” — Tiara Miles
Today’s guest is Tiara Miles, Founder & CEO of Koki. Koki delivers personal chefs next day to your home to prepare fresh healthy meals. The chefs prepare four entrees, help you set the table to eat one meal same day, while carefully packing away the others. Tiara joins the team to discuss how Koki got started, creating her business out of need not want, her early struggle to get business and decision to pivot, working with a business accelerator, and much more!
“If you’re going to go into business for yourself, you need to go into business for other people too.” — Corey Smale
Today’s guest is Corey Smale, Owner of SUPERGIANTWORLD. With a copywriting background in advertising, Corey has been able to successfully launch two St. Louis restaurants, Strange Donuts and Good Fortune, that have helped to put him on the map in St. Louis’ marketing elite. Corey sits down with the team to discuss his advertising background, how he started Strange Donuts, the importance of consistency and authenticity in brands, St. Louis’ struggle to intersect its communities, giving back through his nonprofit, and much more!
“When we are empowered as human beings, we are conscious creators of our lives. That’s how we change the status quo.” — Alina Ruta
Today’s guest is Alina Ruta, Founder & CEO of Cellvana Biotechnology. Cellvana’s products empower researchers to develop faster, more cost effective, and more accurate rare cancer and stem cell therapies. Alina sits down with the team to discuss her passion and goal to help people live their best lives, the difference between healthy and unhealthy cells, the importance of developing partnerships to find solutions, the struggle of getting funding as a startup in the medical technology industry, the mind + body connection for healing, and much more!
“Start early. Test things out and fail and perform small experiments to learn. Otherwise, if you’re waiting [for the perfect time] you could yield nothing.” — Andrew Glantz
Today’s guest is Andrew Glantz, Founder & CEO at GiftAMeal. GiftAMeal is an app that provides a meal to someone in need each time customers dine at a partner restaurant. Andrew sits down with the team to discuss the importance of removing barriers in the donation process, the value of being a purpose driven organization, his love for the St. Louis startup scene, his advice for startups looking to scale up, and much more!
“What is your “Why?” Why did you start that company? That is your north star. If you deeply understand that...everything else starts to fall into place.” — Angela Betancourt
Today’s guest is Angela Betancourt, Strategic Communications Consultant. Angela is global communications specialist with over 10 years of experience developing, managing, and executing integrated communication campaigns and strategies. Angela joins the team to discuss the ever-changing landscape of business communication, the importance of building relationships through an authentic approach, working in Sierra Leone after the Ebola crisis, taking a step back and remind yourself about your “Why,” and being a “recovering worrier.”
“If you can’t articulate your design decisions, then you might as well stay home.” — Tom Greever
Today’s guest is Tom Greever, President, UX & Design at Bitovi. Bitovi is a front-end design and development consulting company. Tom joins the team to discuss how UX can be expanded outside apps, his book, Articulating Design Decisions, the different types of UX specializations, tips for how to articulate your design choices, and much more!
“Risks, vulnerabilities, and constraints are actually what generate the opportunities.” — Alana Libow
Today’s guest is Alana Libow, Founder & Chief Strategist at Forefront Sustainable Development. Alana works to position entities from governments to global brands at the forefront of Sustainable Development by identifying opportunities, co-design initiatives, bridging innovations to investors, and deploying SDG solutions. Alana sits down with the team to discuss her passion for design thinking, understanding how different cultures operate, translating the common beliefs between the farm and the boardroom, the importance of setting expectations for stakeholders, and much more!
“So many people operate through a paradigm of fear, but if you take a leap (even once), it will make you more successful at anything you choose to do next.” — Adam Hoffman
Today’s guest is Adam Hoffman, CEO of Qstodian. Qstodian is a restroom management system that empowers venues to keep restrooms immaculate and their customers thrilled and coming back for more. Adam sits down with the team to discuss launching his new venture: Qstodian, how to know when it’s time to pivot your company, the importance of listening to the marketplace, being welcomed by St. Louis’ startup community, and much more!
“You can put more creativity in your work, you can be more inspired and have a deeper connection to your purpose, because if you understand what problem you’re trying to solve and what you’re trying to do in the community, then you will feel better about the work you’re doing.” — Michael Sarasti
Today’s guest is Michael Sarasti, CIO / Director of Innovation and Technology at City of Miami. As the city’s first Chief Innovation Officer, Michael has been aiding city government in process improvement to help make the government as streamlined as possible. Michael joins the team to discuss how he is liaising the startup and tech communities, training city employees on the practice of innovation, helping people find more time for creativity in their work, the importance of user-testing, Miami’s surge of innovation and new business, and much more!
“Diversity of thought is what creates innovation.” — Lusnail Haberberger
Today’s guest is Lusnail Haberberger, President of LUZCO Technologies. LUZCO Technologies is an electrical engineering consulting firm offering project management services, engineering design services, and transmission and distribution engineering services. Lusnail sits down with the team to discuss her passion for engineering, the diversity struggle in engineering, breaking down barriers in the engineering industry, the importance of work-life balance, getting access to resources to help your business grow, and more!
“Raising money is hard, but you stumble through it...you work your way through every phase of the [startup] process.” — Jeff Stevens
Today’s guest is Jeff Stevens, Founder of WellBeing Brewing. WellBeing Brewing is a craft brewing company that is solely dedicated to brewing non-alcoholic craft beer. Jeff sits down with the team to discuss how he got started brewing NA beer, the non-alcoholic brewing process, acceptance in the craft beer community, marketing and selling NA beer nationally, the struggle of raising money for your venture, and much more!
“Entrepreneurship is not something just rests within the business schools, it is cross-disciplinary.” — Romi Bhatia
Today’s guest is Romi Bhatia, Executive Director of The Idea Center at Miami Dade College. The Idea Center offers a support network for all MDC students and community members to make creative, innovative, and entrepreneurial ideas come true. Romi sits down with the team to discuss the importance of real-world application in a teaching setting, the center’s main teaching methodologies, his passion for economic empowerment, starting Scale Up Miami, and much more!
“What if instead of a company coming in and giving support, an entire city came in and supported entrepreneurs?” — Emily Lohse-Busch
Today’s guest is Emily Lohse-Busch, Executive Director at Arch Grants. Arch Grants is a nonprofit organization that is building a new economy by providing $50K equity-free grants and pro bono support services to entrepreneurs who locate their early-stage businesses in St. Louis. Emily sits down with the team to talk about Arch Grants' goal for the St. Louis economy, providing support and resources to startups, the process of receiving a grant, the struggle of raising capital in the Midwest, the future of Arch Grants, and more!
“Processes make everything better … Spend time on how to operate efficiently with human capital constraint.” — Aaron Mottern
Today’s guest is Aaron Mottern, Founder & CEO of AGOGIE. AGOGIE designs and manufactures resistance integrated clothing for the sports performance, fitness, and athleisure industries. Aaron sits down with the team to discuss his entrepreneurial journey that led him to his current product, his passion for creating opportunities for others, customer success stories, working within the St. Louis business ecosystem, the importance of internal processes to maximize efficiency, and much more!
“Being candid with other entrepreneurs about your vulnerabilities or places that you want to improve actually enhance the business.”— Aryan Rashed
Today’s guest is Aryan Rashed, Co-owner of JetSet Miami. JetSet Miami is a fitness studio that utilities a modern form of pilates to transform your body and mind. Aryan joins the team today to discuss her passion for fitness and starting JetSet, creating a common purpose bigger than fitness, welcoming competition and learning from one another, the importance of negotiating as a small business owner, giving back to the community, encouraging authenticity, celebrating hard work, and much more!
“Rather than creating a system that is teaching people to be reactive … teach them to be proactive.” — Matthew Haber
Today’s guest is Matthew Haber, Co-Founder at CivicPro. CivicPro is a Miami-based social enterprise focused on making it easier to track and engage with the local policy decisions that affect residents, businesses, and the city. Matthew sits down with the team to discuss why he started CivicPro, simplifying the government - resident interaction process, how CivicPro is working to increase non-electoral civic engagement, the importance of speaking up at the local government level, and much more.
“Do something that moves you … just start with something that gets you excited and see where it takes you.” — Alejandro Cornejo
Today’s guest is Alejandro Cornejo, Leadership Development Trainer at Emerson. Emerson concentrates on challenges facing the process, industrial, commercial and residential markets. Alejandro joins the team to discuss his passion for influencing and impacting people, the importance of goal setting and anticipating roadblocks, how to handle feedback from anyone, doing something that moves you, and the importance of exposing yourself to other communities. Reach out to Alejandro on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter for more insights and info!
“Life is short and if don’t take the chance, you’ll never know.” — Lisa Hu
Today’s guest is Lisa Hu, Founder & CEO of Lux and Nyx. Lux and Nyx is a luxury hand and travel bag company that creates products with a social conscience. Lisa sits down with the team to discuss how she came up with her business idea, the importance of staying organized and creating a business plan, the demands of being a full time entrepreneur, how to network and market a new product, scaling up her business and her next steps for growth, and much more!
“Stop selling, starting helping. What is it that you could do right at the beginning to help me [the user]?” — Mike Grehan
Today’s guest is Mike Grehan, CMO & Managing Director at Acronym. Acronym - Search Agency of the Year - is the largest independent global search engine marketing firm. Mike sits down with the team today to discuss how he got started with search engine optimization, the most important SEO tools, AI’s increasing connection with SEO, understanding the buyer journey, creating useful content instead of just creating content for the sake of it, and more!
“Grow 1% better every single day. That’s it. What is one new tip that I can try out or learn?” — Morgan Ingram
Today’s guest is Morgan Ingram, Director of Sales at JBarrows Sales Training. Morgan is one of the top 50 sales leaders to follow on LinkedIn and his work has been featured in Forbes, Sales Hacker, HubSpot Blog, and Harvard Business Review. JBarrows Sales Training is an online and in-person professional sales training and coaching company. Morgan sits down with the team to discuss the importance of personal branding, learning to effectively communicate with your audience, filling the sales education void on YouTube, the changing ways of selling and how to keep up with it, how to attract a good salesperson, and much more!
“When you get empowered, you get energized. So I say, grow everyone you do business with.” — Tim Sanders
Today’s guest is Tim Sanders, New York Times Best Selling Author & CEO of Deeper Media Inc.. Tim is the author of five books, including the New York Times bestseller, Love is the Killer App: How to Win Business and Influence Friends. His publications have over one million copies in print. Deeper Media is a research and consultancy firm that serves leading global brands, government agencies, and trade associations. Tim sits down with the team to discuss how he started writing his first book, his advice to people wanting to write their own book, the importance of sharing your intangible assets and not becoming scripted in scarcity, and how to feed your favor economy.
“At the end of the day, you live and die by the value you create for your customers.” — Mark Young
Today’s guest is Mark Young, CTO & Head of Product at The Climate Corporation. The Climate Corporation is focused on helping farmers get their data in one place, uncover valuable field insights, and optimize their inputs. Mark leads the development of a unified technical vision, architecture, and roadmap to help Climate deliver an industry-leading digital agriculture platform. Mark sits down with the team to discuss mixing his agriculture and technology backgrounds with Climate, the importance of identifying your customer’s pain points, how ag-tech companies are helping to create better crop yields, new ag-tech that Climate is working on, and much more!
“You need to figure out what are the core steps along your journey to helping you overcome the main challenge and make sure that what you do create really helps somebody.” — David Adkin
Today’s guests are Ben Haefele & David Adkin, Co-founders at Foundry. Foundry is a platform that makes creating apps easy by making the building of software accessible to anyone. Ben and David created Foundry under the belief that anyone should be able to make an app, regardless of technical skill. In this episode of Innovation City, Ben and David sit down with the team to discuss the “Why” behind creating Foundry, the importance of figuring out the buyer journey, knowing when to edit yourself when it comes to user features, the questions to ask yourself before creating an app, and much more!
“We always wait for the perfect time to go do something. There is no perfect time. There is no magical amount of money to have saved in the bank and make sure everything aligns.” — Hajj Flemings
Today’s guest is Hajj Flemings, Founder & CEO of Rebrand Cities. Rebrand Cities is a national civic design and brand project dedicated to helping 10,000 small business get into the digital marketplace. Hajj sits down with the team to discuss his goal of getting 10K small businesses online, the misconception that you have to have everything perfect before becoming an entrepreneur, his challenges in working with so many small businesses, his advice to small businesses for branding, and much more!
"A business without a community is a business of your own. A business with a community is a business for all." — Olamide Adeboye
Today’s guest is Olamide Adeboye, Founder & CEO of Wakava Food & Beverage. Wakava is an organic health conscious company that provides better-tasting, healthier food and herbal drink options by using herbs from Africa. Olamide joins the team to discuss creating Wakava to bring healthier food and drink options from Africa to St. Louis, his challenge of breaking into the St. Louis business community on his own, building a community before building your business, his entrepreneurial drive to always want to work for himself, and much more!
“Even if you love a product or love the idea of a product...you can always go to it later, but the business has to be viable and you have to have the foundation first.” — Elizabeth De Zulueta
Today’s guest is Elizabeth De Zulueta, CEO of Zulubots, Inc.. Zulubots is an engineering company that focuses on robotics and automation systems. Elizabeth grew up having two parents who were engineers. Watching them create new technologies and machines cultivated her own passion for creating something useful from nothing. Elizabeth sits down with the team to discuss how she became passionate about engineering and robotics, learning how to pivot your business in order to keep it viable, helping local businesses and communities, her experience being a part of an accelerator, and her focus to build and manufacture in Miami.
Being perfect is not the goal and it’s actually setting the bar pretty low for yourself. — Junior Lara
Today’s guest is Junior Lara, Host of Auténtico Podcast. Auténtico showcases bilingual Latinx professionals and small business owners through shared stories and lessons learned. Junior sits down with us to discuss starting the Auténtico podcast, creating connections within the Latinx community in St. Louis, the city’s changing view of the Latinx community, using the podcast to help Latino entrepreneurs scale their businesses, how to push through negativity to continue focusing on your goals, and more!
“Discover your own story, because you have one and you’re projecting it whether you think you are or not.” - Lee Broughton
Today’s guests are Allison Babka and Lee Broughton from the STLMade movement. STLMade is a movement that wants to help establish St. Louis’ narrative through storytelling and shining a light on the innovators, thinkers, doers, & makers in the St. Louis region. Allison is a St. Louis-based award winning journalist and copywriter. Lee has 20+ years in brand marketing. Together, Allison and Lee are sitting down with us to discuss what the STLMade movement is all about, using storytelling to demonstrate how individuals are torch bearers in the work they are doing, working towards establishing a discourse for how to project St. Louis’ perception, launching the movement on 314 Day, and much more!
“The only constant in growing an entrepreneurial venture is change. Change is the only constant in a growing business.” — Chad Bernstein
Today’s guest is Chad Bernstein, CEO & Co-Founder of Guitars Over Guns. Guitars Over Guns is a nonprofit that offers students from disadvantaged backgrounds a powerful combination of music education and mentorship with professional musicians. Chad is one of South Florida’s premier Latin, jazz, & funk artists with a doctorate degree in musical arts. Chad joins the team to discuss the limited access to music for students, using your unique skill set towards improving social impact, the value of mentorship and not being afraid to learn from others, music being able to address and bring inequalities in society to light, and much more!
I learned very young how to get creative with very limited resources … if you can channel that same creativity, you can have everything you need to start a business. — Felecia Hatcher-Pearson
Today’s guest is Felecia Hatcher-Pearson, Author & Co-Founder of Code Fever. Felecia is on a mission to rid communities across the globe of innovation deserts by working with community leaders and government officials to create inclusive and diverse tech/startup ecosystems. She is also a White House Award winning entrepreneur, bestselling author, and globally sought-after speaker amongst a plethora of other things. Felecia sits down with Innovation City to discuss how to get creative when you have limited resources, learning to market yourself for what you’re good at, starting Code Fever and Black Tech Week, Miami’s diversity and inclusion issues, and much more!
[The minority deficit] is not necessarily a matter of capacity or smarts...it’s access. And once you start to provide access to people that have had to be more resourceful … they can go to new heights. — Dominick Ard’is
Today’s guest is Dominick Ard’is, Founder and CEO at ACT House, INC. ACT is a 12-month residential accelerator designed to provide entrepreneurs a leg up in team formation. As a self-described facilitator of human potential, Dominick has a passion for helping organizations and the people that empower them to grow. Dominick sits down with the team to discuss the ACT House and its mission, the importance of creating inclusive and diverse teams, the lack of resources minority groups are forced to combat, leaving the corporate world to get back into his community, and much more!
It doesn’t matter whether you’re an entrepreneur or small business owner, you need to know the latest in digital [marketing] and social media. — Perry Drake, PhD
Today’s guest is Perry Drake, PhD, Professor of Digital and Social Media Marketing at UMSL. University of Missouri St. Louis (UMSL) is the largest university in St. Louis, and the third largest in Missouri. Perry has been teaching marketing and digital media at the university level for over 20 years and is also the founder of MDMC, the Midwest Digital Marketing Conference. Perry sits down with the team to chat about the importance of staying up to date on the latest marketing news and trends, what it takes to put on the MDMC event, how A.I., A.R., and voice activation technology will soon take over, and personal data security and regulations in today’s age.
You have to be willing to trust yourself, gamble on yourself, try things, fail publicly and graciously, and then learn from that. — Rebecca Fishman Lipsey
Today’s guest is Rebecca Fishman Lipsey, Founder & CEO of Radical Partners. Radical Partners is an accelerator for social-impact ventures based in Miami, FL. Rebecca joins the Innovation City team to discuss why she started Radical Partners, how they are helping new ventures in Miami, starting projects to help ignite social change, the scarcity mindset in Miami, and how to think about what your business needs to look like to be successful.
Investors (most of the time) will forgive inefficiencies ... but you have to establish interest and you have to be more disciplined. — Allan Daisley
Today’s guest is Allan Daisley, Managing Director at Startupbootcamp Digital Health Miami. Startupbootcamp is a global entrepreneurial support organization that focuses on mentorship, seed investment, scale programs, & innovation programs. Allan sits down with us to talk about what Startupbootcamp does, how to find product-market fit, the crowded healthcare industry, new medical technologies, and Miami’s potential for elevating its prominent industries.
If you fail at something and have a transferable piece of knowledge out of it to take with you to your next gig...that’s a different type of failure- it’s a transferable failure. — David Karandish
Today’s guest is David Karandish, Founder & CEO at Jane.ai. Jane.ai is a technology company that focuses on making all company intelligence accessible to employees. David has worked in the tech industry for over 17 years, but has always had a passion for creating things since his adolescence. Currently, David is on his 8th startup venture. David joins us today to discuss his entrepreneurial journey, his AI company, Jane.ai, helping students to learn about technology, working in the nonprofit sector, and much more!
Art doesn’t change lives, but great art does. — Olga Granda
Today’s guest is Olga Granda, Executive Director at Colony Theatre | Miami New Drama. Olga a is a multi-disciplinary cultural entrepreneur with deep roots to Miami and the art community. Miami New Drama is a non-profit organization that focuses on theatrical excellence and theater-making as a means of social engagement, cultural conversation and human interaction. Olga sits down with us to discuss Miami New Drama and their mission, the use of theater as a tool for storytelling about Miami’s history, working within the community to tell stories of local and national relevance, upcoming shows, and much more.
It’s important to help them [employees] understand the role they play in the company today and in the future. — Greg Hewitt
Today’s guest is Greg Hewitt, CEO at DHL Express (U.S.). Greg has over 25 years of experience in the corporate world and has been with DHL for 17 years. DHL is a leading international postal and logistics company with over 10,000 employees in the US. Greg sits down with the Innovation City team to discuss his involvement with entrepreneurship, using technology as an enabler to grow, finding joy in helping others, and creating a feedback culture.
There is something that causes you to get your butt out of bed and put your feet on the floor ... what is it that causes you to take that next step ... and do it day after day. — Travis Sheridan
Today we are sitting down with President of CIC Venture Cafe Global Institute, Travis Sheridan, to take a look back at all of the amazing and unforgettable interviews from our Miami, FL shows in 2018. From CEOs, to startup entrepreneurs, educators, artists and more, the Innovation City team has been able showcase how people from all backgrounds come together through Venture Cafe.
[As an innovator] When you join a community, your crazy is normalized. — Travis Sheridan
Today we are sitting down with President of CIC Venture Cafe Global Institute, Travis Sheridan, to take a look back at all of the amazing and unforgettable interviews from our St. Louis, MO shows in 2018. From CEOs, to startup entrepreneurs, educators, artists and more, the Innovation City team has been able showcase how people from all backgrounds come together through Venture Cafe.
“Help to be a change agent in whatever it is that you’re looking to get into.” — Latoya Stirrup
Today’s guest is Latoya Stirrup, President & Co-Founder at Digital Grass Innovation & Technology. As a self-described creative solutionist, Latoya is a entrepreneur, producer, and strategist with over 14 years of experience in advertising and marketing. Latoya sits down with us to discuss her background in communications and marketing, her family’s legacy in Miami and how she is building on it herself, using your voice to make a change, and finding your niche in the community.
“In every community that we [Knight Foundation] work in we try to accentuate and catalyze what’s endemic and already happening...it has to be authentic to place.” — Raul Moas
Today’s guest is Raul Moas, Program Director for Knight Foundation in Miami, FL. Knight Foundation is a national foundation that invests in journalism, arts, technology, and in communities at large around the U.S. Raul is a Miami native with a deep knowledge about the community and entrepreneurial scene. We sit down with Raul to talk about Miami’s entrepreneurial history and its strong connection with immigrants, Knight Foundation’s $1 million investment in Venture Cafe, how to expand economic opportunity for all Miamians, and Miami being a city of ascension.
“Instead of staying in that bad zone and staying stuck...you don’t have to, you can figure out why and fix it.” — Bill Donius
Today’s guest is Bill Donius, Author of the New York Times Best-Seller, "Thought Revolution: How to Unlock Your Inner Genius." Bill is also a regularly contributing writer for Huffington Post. Previously Chairman and CEO of Pulaski Bank in St. Louis, MO, Bill has over 20 years of experience in the corporate world. Bill sits down with the team to discuss his best-selling book, the theory and research behind the right-brain approach, his work with global brands and startups to get “unstuck,” and St. Louis’ ever-growing entrepreneurial ecosystem.
“We’re entrepreneurs by blood here, it’s in our system to be testing things, hustling, and grinding...that’s just who we are.” — Luisa Santos
Today’s guest is Luisa Santos, Founder of Lulu’s Ice Cream. Lulu’s Ice Cream is a hand-crafted nitrogen ice cream shop that uses fresh, locally-sourced ingredients. Luisa started her entrepreneurial journey in 2013 by selling homemade nitrogen ice cream as a project for school and quickly became captivated by the process. Luisa sits down with us to talk about how she started her ice cream business, the importance of networking and using advice to help grow yourself and your business, and Miami’s ever-growing entrepreneurial infrastructure.
“Companies need to realize you might not have those years of experience or that traditional degree, but if you can do the job...you should get the job.” — Juha Mikkola
Today’s guest is Juha Mikkola, Co-Founder at Wyncode Academy. Founded in 2014, Wyncode is one of the top coding schools in the country with over 600 graduates and a 91% job placement rate by more than 250 companies worldwide. Juha was born in Finland and moved to the U.S. to pursue his goal of owning his own company. He landed in Miami to be a part of the booming South Florida entrepreneur and tech ecosystem. Juha sits down with us to talk about his entrepreneurial journey, starting Wyncode with his wife, creating a more diversified environment for your company, and tackling the supply problem in the technology industry.
“Kill it, every time. That should be your whole motto. Everything you do, just smash it.” — Steve Ewing
Today’s guest is Steve Ewing, Lead Singer/Songwriter of The Urge and Owner of Steve's Hot Dogs. Steve formed The Urge while he was still in high school, creating music with an eclectic mix of punk, reggae, hip-hop, and ska. Steve’s Hot Dogs was born out of his desire to feed his audiences as well as entertain them, and it’s been a resounding success that quickly resulted in opening a second location. Steve sits down with Tyler and Michael to talk about making music, running two restaurants, and why he works so hard at everything he does, whether it’s killing it at a live show, serving great food, or competing as an amateur bodybuilder.
“You’ve just got to be able to stand back up and keep going.” — Freddy Sidi
Today’s guest is Freddy Sidi, President and CEO of Chargello. Freddy is a serial entrepreneur whose first company (started when he was just 20 years old) quickly became one of the largest CLECs in the entire United States. Chargello is a free phone-charging battery service and advertising platform designed for public spaces like restaurants, hotels, and airports. Freddy sits down with us to talk about being a serial entrepreneur, how Chargello solves three problems at once, and why sometimes you have to listen to yourself and tune everyone else out.
“Corporates and startups, they need each other, but... there’s something about the way they communicate; they just can’t seem to figure out how to do that well.” — Kim Plank
Today’s guest is Kim Plank, Midwest Regional Director at Captains of Innovation, a Venture Cafe Global program. Captains of Innovation helps corporations accelerate innovation by introducing them to emerging talents and startups. Kim has a long history of entrepreneurship and economic development. She is the former General Manager of the Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC) in St. Louis, and prior to that she worked at the St. Louis Regional Chamber as the Directory of Health Sciences & Services. Kim joins the Innovation City podcast today to share her insights on building innovation ecosystems, what corporations and startups can learn from one another, and how to go about starting a business or becoming an entrepreneur for the first time.
“The secret to raising venture capital is long-term relationships… I’ve never received money from someone with whom I’ve had a shorter than six-month relationship.” — Blake Marggraff
Today’s guest is Blake Marggraff, CEO at Epharmix. Blake founded Epharmix the year he graduated from Washington University. Epharmix is a digital health company that provides automatic remote patient monitoring for medically underserved patient groups. Blake joins Innovation City to share his insights on startup culture, cultivating venture capital relationships, quantitative goal setting, the next evolution in healthcare, and setting the standard of care for patient engagement technology.
“I believe that legal victories alone are not going to get us to where we need to be in terms of social change.” — Meena Jagannath
Today’s guest is Meena Jagannath, Co-Founder and Co-Director at Community Justice Project. Meena has been a human rights advocate for nearly 20 years, working in places like India, Guatemala, and Haiti in addition to her work in communities around the U.S. A movement lawyer with an extensive background in activism, Meena also has a Master’s in International Affairs. She sits down with the Innovation City team to talk about her path to co-founding Community Justice Project, how it fits into the public-sector legal services ecosystem in Miami, and how their team supports a growing community of activists and organizers working on behalf of people who are often ignored by the city and other institutions of power.
“Don’t think you’re going to get funded right away just because you have a great idea; you’ve really got to hone it and focus it a lot more before you get to that point.” — David Nicklaus
Today’s guest is David Nicklaus, Business Columnist at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. David has worked at the Post-Dispatch for 36 years, writing three columns per week on business and economic issues. He also appears on The Bottom Line, a weekly video feature covering business topics, and writes other online features as well. David joins the Innovation City team to share his insights on St. Louis’ recent boom in entrepreneurial growth, his vision for the city’s future, and the importance of well-connected, well-resourced local news outlets.
“My role is to go out and find people that are… on fire, doing really good things... and accelerate that.” — Miriam Dorsett
Today’s guest is Miriam Dorsett, Connection Doctor at Chibur. She is a full-time artist, entrepreneur, and community activator focused on building community, creating connections, exploring how technology can support artists, and highlighting sustainability. Chibur is a Hebrew word that means “attachment” or “connection from heaven to earth.” Miriam is also a prolific writer — her first book is titled, “What Should I Caption This Picture?”. Miriam sits down with Michael and Tyler to talk about building communities, figuring out how to build her passion into a business, and creating a space for writers and artists to thrive.
“A person just in their basement working hard is great, and they might have traction and success, but if they do it’s because they’re leveraging past relationships. If you don’t have those relationships, or you need to make new ones, you’ve got to be out in the community doing that.” — Megan McKissen
Today’s guest is Megan McKissen, Director at OPO Startups and Founder and Managing Partner at Clustered Economic Development. As Director of OPO (an incubator focused on technology and design startups in St. Charles, MO) Megan helped create one of the Top 25 communities for startup growth in the entire nation. Clustered works to build inclusive, homegrown startup clusters that create high-paying jobs and attract high-growth companies in small towns and suburban and rural communities. Megan joins Innovation City today to talk about her plans for building economic growth centers in small towns across the country, share stories about fast acquisitions of OPO startups, and explain why we shouldn’t forget about the suburbs when we think about innovation.
“In a 10 year stretch, $1 Billion was invested... No other city in the United States has put $1 Billion into cultural infrastructure for 50 years.” — Howard Herring
Today’s guest on Innovation City is Howard Herring, President and CEO of New World Symphony. Since 1987, the NWS has been a driving force for culture in Miami. Under Herring’s leadership, the NWS has helped revitalize the cultural and architectural landscapes of Miami Beach, delivering cutting-edge performances both inside its captivating, Frank Gehry-designed New World Center venue, and outside, in its state-of-the-art Soundscape park. Howard joins the Innovation City team to talk about the power of a clear creative vision, the importance of investing in cultural infrastructure, and how NWS is creating new opportunities for cross-cultural engagement in Miami.
“There’s a lot of focus for non-traditional financiers to invest in these startups, because, quite frankly, the big banks aren’t really doing it.” — Jamey Edgerton
Today’s guest is Jamey Edgerton. Jamey is the CEO of Nvsted and the Senior Vice President at St. Louis Economic Development Partnership. Nvsted is a St. Louis-centric crowdfunding portal. The Economic Development Partnership, where Jamey is responsible for directing the business development and finance divisions, is the economic and financial engine for St. Louis City and St. Louis County. Jamey joins the podcast today to talk about the power of small investors, St. Louis’ strong entrepreneur ecosystem, and why he believes St. Louis can be competitive with bigger, cooler cities.
“At the end of the day, all of us are people. People want to help each other.” — Uri Fleyder-Kotler
Today’s guest is Uri Fleyder-Kotler, Co-Founder & CEO at Narya Security. Narya helps enterprise businesses solve the damage caused by ransomware with a single click. Uri is an experienced manager and security researcher, previously serving as Manager of the Advanced Threats Research Lab at RSA Security. He also has a top military record from a special technology unit in the Israeli Defense Force, has received three patents, and has another three patents pending. Uri joins Innovation City today to talk about what inspired him to start Narya, the benefits of joining an accelerator program, and the importance of integrity, hard work, and sacrifice in building any business.
“I believe that we’re all constantly telling stories to each other… and if a student is able to refine their storytelling abilities through technology, because they’re using our product, I think we’re having a very positive impact on the world.” — Robin Rath
Today’s guest is Robin Rath, Co-Founder & CEO at Pixel Press. Pixel Press is building the next generation of creation tools for kids to create, share, and play video game-based content by leveraging the integrated power of toys and video games. Robin was recognized as one of Business Journal’s “Upstart 100” in 2015, named “Inventor of the Year” by the St. Louis Bar Association in 2016, and was the St. Louis University’s 2017 Center for Entrepreneurship’s “Entrepreneur of the Year”. He is also a member of Pipeline Entrepreneur’s 2018 Fellowship Class. He joins Tyler and Michael today to talk about bringing his childhood pastime of designing video games on paper to life, the power of technology to amplify storytelling, and the importance of early education exposure to STEM concepts and processes.
“This false notion has developed over the years that there are certain people who are born to code… we approach it as a skill that can be learned and taught, like many other job-focused skills.” — Jeff Mazur
Today’s guest is Jeff Mazur, Executive Director at LaunchCode. LaunchCode is a growing national nonprofit that is building the tech workforce by providing free, high-quality training and job placement to driven individuals who lack typical tech credentials. Jeff previously served as Senior Advisor to Missouri Governor Jay Nixon and as Executive Director of the Missouri-Kansas affiliate of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees. Jeff joins Innovation City to talk about LaunchCode’s goal of bridging the high-skill tech workforce gap in cities across the U.S., the value of being nimble, and the joy he finds in his job.
“VR has been here for 20 years… I think that we are on the brink of the whole worldwide community understanding these technologies.” — Mauricio Ferazza
Today’s guest is Mauricio Ferrazza, Chairperson of Miami Animation & Gaming International Complex (MAGIC) at Miami Dade College. Mauricio has over 25 years of experience working in animation production for film and TV. After a 14 year career at Univision, he founded MIA ANIMATION and launched the MIA Animation Conference & Festival, and then became the inaugural Chairperson at MAGIC. Mauricio sits down with the Innovation City team to talk about building the animation industry in Miami, why animation is important to every single industry, and why he’s excited for our augmented reality future.
“It’s not a business that I’m building for myself. That business builds a community for everybody—it builds a new city—and we’re building it for everyone.” — Anastasia Mikhalochkina
Today’s guest is Anastasia Mikhalochkina, Founder at Lean Orb. Anastasia is an advocate for sustainability in South Florida. Lean Orb offers food service packaging made from plant-based materials, with a goal of ultimately replacing plastic and styrofoam with greener, more sustainable options. Anastasia joins Innovation City to talk about building better single-use products, educating consumers about sustainability, and her goal of helping Miami become a zero-waste city.
“Making entrepreneurship accessible… can be an incredible way of driving economic development.” — Natalia Martinez-Kalinina
Today’s guest is Natalia Martinez-Kalinina, General Manager of CIC Miami and Latin America Lead of CIC Global. Natalia is also the Founder of Awesome Foundation MIAMI, a micro-grant leader in South Florida, Co-Founder of Aminta Ventures, and she was appointed by Governor Rick Scott to serve on the Florida Commission on Community Service. She is also the Co-Creator and Curator of Love Lost, Miami, an annual art exhibit. Natalia joins Innovation City today to talk about the advantages that Miami offers as a major hub for innovation, the power of cross-stakeholder engagement, and the importance of making entrepreneurship accessible at all levels of society.
“Work. Perfect and present your craft. And just keep putting your love into it.” — Mvstermind
Today’s guest is St. Louis Hip Hop Artist, Muhammad “Mvstermind” Austin. Mvstermind is a rapper, producer and songwriter who is about to take the hip hop world by storm. He’s toured over 20,000 miles; opened for Travis Scott, Chance the Rapper, G-Eazy, and Currency; and played at A3C, SXSW, and Brooklyn’s MCA Day. His breakout video, Mali Moolah, brought him his first taste of national attention when it debuted in 2016, and he’s currently gearing up to drop his debut project. He sits down with the Innovation Team to talk about finding himself as an artist and a human being, and how that growth continues to inform his work. Find Mvstermind on Apple Music, Spotify, Pandora, and anywhere you get your music.
“It starts with a why: why are you doing it? Are you actually passionate about doing it, or is it just a job?” — Mark Prendergast
Today’s guest is Mark Prendergast, President of AB Mauri North America. Headquartered in St. Louis, ABMNA is the largest division of AB Mauri, the global yeast and baking ingredients business. AB Mauri is also home to AB Biotek, a yeast innovation startup. Mark has over 20 years in the baking industry and he is also a non-executive director of Bridge Bread Bakery, a St. Louis-based nonprofit bakery that provides job opportunities for people experiencing homelessness or who are housing insecure. Mark sits down with our team to talk about the baking industry at large, his time working at startups in the early 2000s, the importance of developing a passion for your work, and the power of fully-engaged employees.
“The world which women will be leading will look like a harmonious, collaborative, calm, peaceful world.” — Farzana Chohan
Today’s guest is Farzana Chohan, DMGT-ABD, Executive Director at Leadership IN Women. Farzana is a futurist and a global leader in nonprofit development, management, and design. A published author, accomplished Toastmaster speaker, and Doctor of Management, Farzana’s work focuses on Mentorship and Leadership. She shares the story of her professional development, what drew her into the fields of mentorship and leadership, and why women are often better equipped for leadership in today’s world than men.
“If it’s crazy, run for it — do it… You don’t get a lot of crazy visions." — Genera Moore
Today’s guest is Genera Moore, Founder of Motorparts Nation. Motorparts Nation is a U.S.-based company that exports aftermarket auto parts to Africa. Genera also took Lexani Motorcars to dealerships in Dubai through the Deals on Wheels program, and recently launched Tano Travel a travel company for tourists visiting West Africa.
“I always say 95% of companies fail, 75% of companies who go through accelerators succeed. That’s kind of the new way of entrepreneurship.” — Dan Lauer
Today’s guest is Dan Lauer, Founding Executive Director of UMSL Accelerate. Dan is also the founder of Lauer Toys and the inventor of Waterbabies. UMSL Accelerate is working to change the university’s culture by giving students a way to test and grow their entrepreneurial dreams. Dan sits down with Tyler and Michael to talk about his own entrepreneurial path, the power of failure, the best time to take a chance on your dreams, what you can learn from a rejection letter, and much more.
“One of the challenges people face with information and data really is – you kind of don’t know how important things are… and it becomes really difficult to decide where to allocate your attention.” — William MacMillan
Today’s guest is William MacMillan, Ph.D., CTO & Co-Founder of Prattle. Bill joins Innovation City to discuss the development of the field of data science, Prattle’s role in bringing attention to under-researched central banks and large companies in countries all over the world, and the value of statistical reasoning.
“Whenever you find that thing that wakes you up in the morning, that thing that you cannot live without, you have to commit yourself to it.” — Rikki Byrd
Today’s guest is writer, educator, and scholar, Rikki Byrd. Rikki’s academic focuses include Black studies, visual culture, fashion history, and cultural studies. Most recently, Rikki was a faculty member at Washington University, where she created new courses on the intersections of fashion and race. In the Fall of 2018 she will begin her Ph.D. in African American Studies at Northwestern University in Chicago.
“It’s all about developing horizontal relationships and creating an innovation community. The buildings will come if you create the community of innovators.” — Dennis Lower
Today’s guest is Dennis Lower, President & CEO of the Cortex Innovation Community. Dennis has been involved in technology-based economic development since 1995, planning and developing university-sponsored urban innovation districts in Louisiana and New Jersey before coming to the Cortex. Dennis sits down with Tyler and Michael to talk about what makes a good innovation district, how they get built, and how to incorporate a variety of different environments to design a dynamic, porous, vibrant community that sparks ideas and allows entrepreneurs to thrive.
The Cortex Innovation Community is the Midwest’s premier hub for research and innovation in the fields of bioscience and technology. It is also the home of Venture Cafe St. Louis, the largest gathering of entrepreneurs and innovators anywhere in the world, any day of the week. Venture Cafe meets every Thursday from 3-8pm on the 2nd floor of 4240 Duncan Ave., St. Louis, MO 63110.
“It’s kind of the idea of what the internet should have been… but now we’re actually building it.” — Sam Abbassi
Today’s guest is Sam Abbassi, Partner at BUSHIDO Lab. A software engineer with a background in neuroscience and economics, Sam leads blockchain initiatives at BUSHIDO, where he works with a small team to turn Miami into the epicenter of blockchain and cryptocurrency technologies. He joins us to talk about where blockchain technology is now, where it’s going, and the specific struggles of being a small business working in crypto.
“Your heart telling you to do something—and you following through—is an act of building your self-confidence.” — Heather Monahan
Today’s guest is Heather Monahan, Founder of Boss in Heels. Heather’s first career was a successful 20-year stint in media and sales that ended with a surprise termination. As she wrestled with what to do next, she chose to devote herself completely to helping women take control of their careers, taking Boss in Heels to the next level. Heather is the author of the best-selling book, Confidence Creator, which she wrote to serve as the resource for other women that she wished she had as a young professional. A Glass Ceiling Award recipient, Heather is also a keynote speaker and social media influencer. Find Heather on all social media platforms at @HeatherMonahan and find Confidence Creator on Amazon.
“What does ‘success’ mean? If you wake up and you feel happy about what you’re doing in your life; that’s success. That’s how I define it. And I feel happy about what I’m doing.” — Pilar Guzman Zavala
Today’s guest is Pilar Guzman Zavala, CEO at Half Moon Empanadas. Half Moon Empanadas is a serious innovator in the food space, offering 20+ flavors of Argentinian empanadas, and leading the charge to create a whole new food category in the national fast-casual market. Pilar is also a mentor at WINlab Miami, FIU Startup Food Lab, a board member at Venture Cafe Miami, and a Fellow at The Miami Foundation.
“You need to have the right people at the table, because you have to have a shared value and a shared vision. Without that, you’re not going to get the job done.” — Janisse Rosario-Schoepp
Today’s guest is Janisse Rosario-Schoepp, M.P.H., Ph.D., the Vice President of Operations and Strategy at Health Foundation of South Florida. She also recently attended the Young American Leaders Program at Harvard Business School. Janisse plays a critical role in the Health Foundation’s work to improve the health and economic well-being of communities in South Florida. She joins us today to talk about the social determinants of individual and community health, the changing role of foundations in redeveloping communities, how important it is to think about health when thinking about development, the differences between redevelopment and gentrification, and how to build up opportunities in order to eradicate health disparities in minority communities.
“It seems like it’s in the future... but the future is here, the future is now. It’s actually happening. It’s happening in pockets.” — Nicole Denil
Today’s guest is Nicole Denil, GM of Global Channel Sales for Internet of Things at Microsoft. Nicole has extensive experience in both corporate and startup environments, working in marketing, sales, product development and partner development in the fields of cloud computing and IOT. Nicole sits down with our team to talk about building cutting-edge technologies, the power of tech to make the world a better place, and to share some insider examples of next-generation technologies available now.
Sweat equity. It’s the blood, sweat, and tears that you put into a project that really offers the trust and the appreciation of the people that you are doing this for. — Farris Bukhari
Today’s guest is Farris Bukhari, Founder and Creative Director of 10b live arts incubator, Inc. Farris is a multi-disciplinary theater practitioner with over 20 years of experience as a writer, actor, director, producer, coach, and workshop leader. Farris sits down with the Innovation City team to talk about building a unique and vibrant live arts community in Miami, Miami’s incredible cultural wealth, and how his own background growing up in Jordan inspired the development of 10b.
“It took seven years to sell the first million electric cars here in the U.S. But at this rate of growth, it will take only two more years to sell the second million.” — Alejandro Burgana
Today’s guest is Alejandro Burgana, President and CEO of Brickell Energy and Founder of OBE Power Networks. Alejandro is building the commercial electric vehicle charging infrastructure in South Florida. He shares his insights on the rapidly changing economic models of electric vehicles and charging stations.
“I was like, ‘Well, why doesn’t something like this exist? Why don’t I take it upon myself?’” — Mikhaile Solomon
Today’s Innovation City guest is Mikhaile Solomon, Founder and Director of the Prizm Art Fair, which promotes the work of contemporary artists from Africa and the global African Diaspora. Mikhaile received her BA in Theatre Arts from the University of South Florida and her Master’s of Architecture from Florida International University. She joins Innovation City to talk about some of her favorite contemporary artists, how Prizm provides a place for artists who can’t find representation, and how she works to challenge the exclusionary behaviors of art history.
“I wanted to make sure kids knew that they could make it.” — Tina Brown
Tina Brown is the Executive Director of the Overtown Youth Center, a Mourning Family Foundation charity. Tina is also a Co-Chairperson of the Overtown Children & Youth Coalition, Co-Chairperson of the Equity Advocacy Coalition, and a Board Member of both the Commonwealth Institute and Urban Philanthropies. Tina sits down with the Innovation City team to talk about her journey and how she uses her own experience to help disadvantaged youth discover the options that are available to them and improve their lives.
“I know who I was when I was playing video games, and why I was playing them, and that’s the guy I’m rooting for.” — Brandon Curry
Today’s episode was recorded at 39 North at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, and today’s guest is Brandon Curry, Founding Partner of Moonbase Market. Moonbase Market is the first E-sports arena in St. Louis. Located in the Soulard neighborhood, Moonbase provides a physical arena for playing and spectating tabletop and video game competitions. Brandon joins us to talk about the power of video games to help create friendships and build community.
“If you put the time and patience and effort in, you can learn some pretty spectacular things.” — Dr. James Carrington
Today’s episode was recorded at 39 North in the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, and today’s guest is Dr. James Carrington, President of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center. Dr. Carrington is one of the most highly-cited plant scientists in the world, and he was elected as a Member of the National Academy of Sciences in 2008. Dr. Carrington leads the Center’s mission to improve the human condition through plant science. With nearly 250 employees, the Danforth Center is the largest independent plant science institute in the world.
Venture Cafe St. Louis meets at the Danforth Center once a month. The Danforth Center also holds regular events and brings in speakers.
“The bottom line is: there are always going to be challenges, but that’s why you are there.” — Dr. Samuel Achilefu, PhD
Today’s guest is Samuel Achilefu, PhD, the Director of the Optical Radiology Laboratory at the Washington University School of Medicine. Dr. Achilefu is a professor of Radiology, Biomedical Engineering, and Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics. He holds the Michel M. Ter-Pogossian Endowed Chair in Radiology, and serves as Vice Chair of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology. He performs groundbreaking research in the field of cancer research, including the invention of cancer goggles, which were developed to help surgeons see and remove cancer in patients.
“We’ve actually had several students go on to full-time positions with the startups that they worked with through this experience.” — Daniel Ravicher
On today’s episode, Tyler and Michael are at the eMerge Americas conference, recording at the University of Miami booth. Today’s guest is Daniel Ravicher, Director of the Startup Practicum at University of Miami School of Law. Daniel is a patent attorney who has worked on patents, intellectual property rights, and more. He began his legal career in the early 90s during the Dot Com boom. The Startup Practicum serves as an entrepreneurship clinic that connects law students with new ventures in need of legal advice. Find Daniel Ravicher and The Startup Practicum at UMStartup.com.
“Your approach to business has to be about doing the small things right.” — EllenMarie McPhillip
On today’s episode, Tyler and Michael are at the eMerge Americas conference, recording at the University of Miami booth. Today’s topic is the Hyperion Council, which teaches future business leaders how to build strong moral compasses and gives them an opportunity to share business best practices with at-risk communities. Tyler and Michael’s guests today are EllenMarie McPhillip, Kyle Kingma, and Ellen McPhadden. EllenMarie McPhillip is the Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Business Education at the University of Miami Business School. Kyle Kingma is the incoming Secretary General for the Hyperion Council. Ellen McPhadden is the outgoing Secretary General of the Hyperion Council.
“Entrepreneurship has been a little glamorized… there’s a lot of grit and inconvenience in it. You’re delaying pleasure and tolerating pain. I think people need to understand that.” — Chris Nolte
Today’s guest is Chris Nolte of Per'La Coffee. Chris is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Per'La Specialty Roasters, which just celebrated its 2nd anniversary and currently serves over 40 wholesalers. Chris’s background in business development, branding, and marketing made him a perfect fit when his friend Paul was looking for a partner on a new specialty coffee venture. Paul sent Chris a text to see if he was interested (on Chris’s birthday, no less!), Chris said yes, and Per'La Specialty Roasters was off and running. Find Per'La on Instagram at @DrinkPerLa.
“Understand that failure is not something to be afraid of.” — Xavier Gonzalez
On today’s episode, Tyler and Michael are at the eMerge Americas conference, recording at the University of Miami booth. Today they’re talking with Xavier Gonzalez, CEO of eMerge Americas. Xavier is working hard to establish Miami as the technology hub of all the Americas; North, South, Central and Latin. In 2018, eMerge has grown to over 15,000 attendees from over 60 countries, with over 1 Billion impressions worldwide. Find Xavier on Twitter at @XG3.
“Miami is young enough that you can come in today with your amazing idea, in any sector, and leave a mark.” — Monique D. Hayes
Today’s guest is Monique D. Hayes, partner at Goldstein and McClintock LLLP, where she practices business law, focusing on commercial transactions, business litigation, and corporate restructuring. Monique’s honors include 40 Under 40 Outstanding Lawyers of Miami-Dade County, IWIRC Rising Star Award, Top 20 Professionals Under 40 by Brickell Magazine, “Top Up And Comer” by Florida Trend Magazine, “Florida Rising Star” by Super Lawyers Magazine, and most notably, Monique received the Kathryn Heidt Award from the Business Law Section of the American Bar Association. Monique’s professional focus is centered on serving the law, social justice, innovation, economic development, and conscious capitalism.
“Any obstacle that comes my way, I analyze it now, and I’m like, ‘Obviously this is showing up for a reason, I need to fix something or improve something.’” —Amanda Pizarro
Today’s guest is Amanda Pizarro, Co-Founder of the Salty Donut. Amanda opened the Salty Donut, Miami’s first gourmet donut shop, in 2016. She was named to Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2018, The Salty Donut was selected to be part of the South Beach Food and Wine Festival in 2016, and they won The Cooking Channel’s 2016 Sugar Showdown. Find The Salty Donut on Instagram at @TheSaltyDonut.
“Being generous to strangers is the biggest test of our humanity.” — Dr. Julio Frenk
Today’s guest is Dr. Julio Frenk, President of the University of Miami. Dr. Frenk is a 4th-generation physician and the former Minister of Health of Mexico. Dr. Frenk has also served as Dean of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Founding Director-General of the National Institute of Public Health in Mexico, Executive Director of Evidence and Information Policy for the World Health Organization (WHO), and as a Senior Fellow at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He has also written three best-selling novels for kids that explain the functions of the human body.
“‘This is great music and people need to hear it.’ That’s the mentality that I like to take.” — Louis Quatorze
Today’s guest is Louis Quatorze; video artist, music video director, and arts curator. He produces pro bono music videos for St. Louis’ up-and-coming hip hop stars. Big Louis, Louis the Shooter, Mike Roth; he answers to all these names and he is dedicated to building up the arts and hip hop scene in St. Louis. Find him at LouisQuatorze.org and on YouTube.
“Rather than compete to get recognition... with social media, you can collaborate. And that’s how we propose traditional businesses can survive extinction.” — Jonathan Allen
Jonathan Allen is the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of EQ. He is also the President and Co-founder of Longneck & Thunderfoot (L&T), a brand publishing company that incubated at the Columbia University Startup Lab in New York City. He moved to St. Louis in 2016 to open up a Midwest office after L&T won an Arch Grant. Find Jonathan and his companies on Twitter at @jc1000000, @Thundrfoot, and @EQSTL.
“Keep your scope small, and release your first product… that’s really what will get you in the door.” — TJ Hughes
Today’s guest is video game designer and digital artist TJ Hughes, who produces and publishes games as the independent game company Terrifying Jellyfish. Terrifying Jellyfish is “bent on escaping the mediocre and mundane forever through the exorbitant use of color, playfulness, and a e s t h e t i c s.” His current project, the food game Nour, has brought him attention on the national level. InnovationCity.co
“There is strength in vulnerability.” — Jim St. Germaine
“When I was diagnosed with breast cancer I had to figure out who I really was. Because my whole life was dependent on what I looked like.” — Christine Handy
Welcome to Innovation City, powered by Venture Cafe St. Louis and Venture Cafe Miami.
Venture Cafe is the largest weekly gathering of entrepreneurs who are making things happen, with locations around the world.
Tyler Kelley and Michael Johnson of SLAM! Agency, a new media content marketing company, interview innovators, disruptors, and creators to see how business is changing in the modern world.
Innovation City gives you an inside look at how and why business and culture are changing so rapidly, thanks to increasing diversity and inclusion, heightened creativity, and a stronger and better-connected business community.
This episode features two amazing guests; Jim St. Germain and Christine Handy, both authors with new books telling the stories of their personal triumphs over adversity.
Jim’s book, A Stone of Hope, is a memoir of his troubled youth in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights. Jim is the Co-Founder of Preparing Leaders of Tomorrow (PLOT), a mentoring program for at-risk youth between the ages of nine and twenty-one living in Brooklyn, New York.
He’s on the board of the National Juvenile Defender’s Center. He was appointed by former President Barack Obama to The Coordinator Council on Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention. Previously, Jim served as a youth care worker at a juvenile facility where he was once a resident. Jim has worked with countless local, state, and federal officials, advising on matters related to juvenile justice, mentoring, mental health, education, and substance abuse issues.
Find Jim online at JimStGermain.com and on Twitter at @JimStGermain89.
Christine Handy is a wife, mother, and breast cancer survivor. An accomplished model in both the national and international sphere, Christine began modeling at 11 in her hometown of St. Louis, Missouri. Christine’s first book, Walk Beside Me, is a fictional depiction of her illness and her long road to recovery. Christine has devoted her life to sharing her journey and educating and consoling others living with health crises. 10% of all book sales from Walk Beside Me will be donated to EBeauty. EBeauty’s mission is to enhance and strengthen the education, charitable and community support network for women undergoing cancer treatments.
Find Christine online at ChristineHandy.com and on Instagram at @CHandy71.
“We asked, ‘How can we improve the St. Louis tech ecosystem? How do we get more entrepreneurs off the bench?"
Today’s guest is Matt Menietti, one of the big names in the St. Louis startup scene. Matt is the Executive Director of GlobalHack. Before that, he was part of two nationally-ranked accelerator programs; serving first as the Director of Operations for Capital Innovators and then as Venture Partner at SixThirty. A former St. Louis Business Journal 30 Under 30 honoree, Matt is also a former AmeriCORPS VISTA member, and a cofounder of an online resource-sharing tool for nonprofits, GoodMap, that won seed funding through the YouthBridge Social Enterprise Competition.
“I actually make a list of 3-5 things that I need to do, and if I hit those… I know that I’ve won the day. And when I win the day, I just need to win a series of days to succeed. I guess that’s my whole strategy.” — Zach Hatraf
Welcome to Innovation City, powered by Venture Cafe St. Louis and Venture Cafe Miami.
Tyler Kelley and Michael T Johnson of SLAM! Agency, a new media content marketing company, interview innovators, disruptors, and creators to see how business is changing in the modern world.
Zach Hatraf is the Founder and CEO of Anchor Charter Services, which provides pier-to-pier boat charter services, allowing passengers to quick charter on demand rides around Lake of the Ozarks. Boat owners who want to be captains should visit: Anchor Academy. Customers looking to book an experience on the water in Lake of the Ozarks (and soon Tampa, FL) should visit anchorrides.com. Find the Anchor Passenger App on iOS and Android.
“I believe in the power of the pen. I believe crafting stories really does change people and change lives. That’s my favorite part.” — Jennifer Pierre
Welcome to Innovation City, powered by Venture Cafe St. Louis and Venture Cafe Miami.
Tyler Kelley and Michael Johnson of SLAM! Agency, a new media content marketing company, interview innovators, disruptors, and creators, to see through their eyes just how business is changing in the modern world.
Innovation City gives you an inside look at how and why business and culture are changing so rapidly, thanks to increasing diversity and inclusion, heightened creativity, and a stronger and better-connected business community.
Jennifer Pierre is the founder of Melanites, a toy company that designs diverse dolls, toys, storybooks, and games that celebrate brown boyhood. Melanites’ mission is to show positive representations of boys of color to inspire kids to dream big, stand tall, and cultivate curiosity, adventure, and fun! Find them online at @BrownBoyhood on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Jennifer’s years of mentoring, tutoring, and volunteering with countless children showed her first hand the way that many boys of color maneuver through life, and the way that society cultivates children based on race and gender. She created Melanites to break through the glass ceiling society cultivates in the minds of young boys of color about what they can be when they grow up and how they are supposed to express themselves.
“Not everything is going to be sunshine and roses all the time, you’re going to have some hardships and failure along the way, and that’s ok.” — Ben Triola
Welcome to Innovation City, powered by Venture Cafe St. Louis and Venture Cafe Miami.
Tyler Kelley and Michael Johnson, Co-Founders of SLAM! Agency, interview innovators, disruptors, and creators, to discover how business is changing in the modern world. Innovation City gives you an inside look at how and why business and culture are changing so rapidly, thanks to increasing diversity and inclusion, heightened creativity, and a stronger and better-connected business community.
Ben is a serial entrepreneur; he is the Founder and Developer of DogePos, co-owner of Mauhaus Café, partner and Director of Operations at Rampant Interactive (@TheRampant on Twitter), and a producer and game designer for Happy Badger Studio.
“With the platform we have today, the challenge really is the maturity of the AI. The technology itself has not found its maturity yet. Every single disruptive technology starts out this way. If you think about the cloud 5 years ago – nobody had anything on the cloud. I think it will take another 2-3 years to get to that mature level.” — Mallesh Murugesan
Mallesh Murugesan is the Founder and CEO of Abeyon, and Co-Founder and CEO of Chirrp.ai. He’s an innovative leader with a passion for artificial intelligence and design. He’s currently working on several advanced technologies, including cognitive computing, business intelligence, and collaborative solutions. Find Mallesh on Twitter @malleshm.
Chirrp.ai is a multi-channel chatbot platform, powered by cognitive technology. Chirrp uses Artificial Intelligence technology to build automated chat services that respond instantly to customer questions in order to deliver next-generation customer service. Chirrp is currently working to build AI-managed automatic conversations in the healthcare, fintech and retail spaces.
Welcome to Innovation City, powered by Venture Cafe St. Louis and Venture Cafe Miami. Tyler Kelley and Michael Johnson, Co-Founders of SLAM! Agency, interview innovators, creators, and disruptors to discover how business is changing in the modern world. Innovation City gives you an inside look at how and why business and culture are changing so rapidly, thanks to increasing diversity and inclusion, heightened creativity, and a stronger and better-connected business community.
“I realized that if a picture tells a thousand words, than a moving image must tell a million.” — Cami Thomas
Today’s guest is Cami Thomas. Cami is a marketing professional, a blogger, and a documentary filmmaker based in St. Louis, Missouri. She is also the creator of For The Culture TV – “The underground network for ground level culture.” For The Culture TV is an underground video blog that features interviews, freestyle sessions, dance videos, mini-documentaries, and short films from Cami and her team, as well as other creators. Find Cami on Twitter at @CamiCruzThomas and Instagram at @CamiCruzThomas. Find For The Culture TV on Twitter at @FTCTVOfficial and on Instagram at @FTCTVOfficial.
“But a calling is then answering that pain, that discomfort, and doing something about it… I think those are important starting places for a hero.” — Rodney Bullard
Today’s guest is Rodney Bullard, the Vice President of Community Affairs at Chick-fil-A. A U.S. Air Force veteran, Rodney is also a former Assistant United States Attorney, and a former White House Fellow at NASA. Rodney also serves as the Executive Director of the Chick-fil-A Foundation, where he leads the company’s corporate community and philanthropic strategy, which is focused on fostering youth and furthering education.
Rodney’s book, Heroes Wanted: Why the World Needs You to Live Your Heart Out, is available now. Find Rodney on Twitter at @Rodney_Bullard and on Instagram @Rodney.Bullard.
“You should be thinking about, ‘What is the least amount of resources i can spend to get to the point where someone will pay me for what I’ve built?’” — Ben Mizes
Today’s guest is Ben Mizes, CEO and Co-Founder of Clever Real Estate, a full-service real estate agent that homeowners can use to list their homes for a flat fee. He is also the principal investor and Co-Founder of Arch Buyers, a real estate investment partnership. His experience in business development for institutional homebuyers, working at startups, and raising venture capital raising investments—combined with the incredible real estate opportunity he saw in St. Louis, MO—led to the development of Clever Real Estate with his Co-Founder, Jeremy Decker.
“Courage begins with one step. It really does.” — Milka Milliance
Today’s guest is Milka Milliance. Milka has worked with leaderships teams of global companies as a consultant and coach, helping them design and implement strategic initiatives across global organizations. She designs and facilitates learning interventions for busy professionals to help them solve the leadership puzzle. Under Milka’s guidance, leadership teams explore the ideas of power, courage, confidence and collaboration.
Milka is the founder and CEO of We R Artemis Leadership Consulting. She has also written a book, Your Journey to Self-Redefinition: a Woman’s Guide to Transitions, available on Amazon, Barnes&Noble, iTunes, and Books&Books in Coral Gables, FL.
Created and produced by SLAM! Agency in conjunction with Venture Cafe St. Louis and Venture Cafe Miami, Innovation City gives you an inside look at how rapidly business and culture are changing thanks to increasing diversity and inclusion, heightened creativity, and a stronger and better-connected business community.
“I knew that if I wanted to be stronger, I needed to change that mentality in myself.” — Darian Wigfall
This episode's guest is Darian Wigfall—author, activist, arts organizer, DJ, and entrepreneur. Darian is the Co-Director of the St. Louis based FarFetched Collective, an art imprint that produces progressive music and art in St. Louis and beyond, where he runs Artist Development and Management. Darian has published a young adult novel, A Dying Breed, Vol. 1, and is well-known in St. Louis for his direct action during the protests in Ferguson, MO, with a sign he carried during the protests now being exhibited at the Smithsonian National Museum for African American History and Culture.
“In the social change space...we have to first listen… In most cases, the people who are most affected by issues… have a wealth of knowledge about how to fix it.” — De Nichols
This episode’s guest is De Nichols, a St. Louis-based social practice designer, entrepreneur and lecturer. De mobilizes changemakers nationwide to develop creative approaches to the social, civic, and racial justice issues that matter most to them and their communities. She is a creator who uses art to voice dissent and highlight systemic societal issues. She also uses art to bring communities together and build them up.
003: Ashkan Karbasfrooshan - Founder at WatchMojo
“I said to myself, ‘Now is the time.’ There’s no ideal time to take that kind of risk.” — Ashkan Karbasfrooshan
In this episode of Innovation City, Tyler and Michael talk to “content godfather” Ashkan Karbasfrooshan, CEO at WatchMojo, the 10th-largest YouTube channel (youtube.com/watchmojo) in the world when measured by all-time views (10 Billion) and subscribers (16 Million).
002: Brian Brackeen - Founder at Kairos Inc
“When you can give somebody hope… it doesn’t matter what their current situation is.” — Brian Brackeen
In this episode of Innovation City we’re talking with Brian Brackeen, CEO and founder of Kairos, which was selected by The Wall Street Journal as one of 2013’s Top 25 Startups in the U.S. Brian leads Kairos’ senior management team, developing growth strategies that have established Kairos as a major innovator in face and emotion-recognition AI.
Episode 001: Michelle Abbs, Director WINLab Miami
“My answer is really simple—just don’t be afraid.” — Michelle Abbs
Today on Innovation City we’re talking with Michelle Abbs about women entrepreneurs—breaking through the status quo, making a difference, and shaping the future.
This is our first podcast from Venture Cafe Miami, and we really enjoyed sitting down with Michelle Abbs, Director of WIN Lab® Miami.
Welcome to Innovation City!
Created and produced by SLAM! Agency in conjunction with Venture Cafe St. Louis and Venture Cafe Miami, Innovation City gives you an inside look at how rapidly business and culture are changing. Episode 000 explains what Innovation City is all about, where we’re going, and why you should listen.
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Imagine a place where you can break through the status quo of business as usual and realize your life's purpose. Imagine a place where you can make a difference, have an impact and shape the future. This place exists in cities across the world. In this innovation podcast, we introduce you to the people behind the movement.