Learning Life with Jon Tota: Recent Episodes
Syntax + Motion
Take your skills to the next level! Learning Life talks to experts with the newest ideas and valuable insight to help you improve your business and your brain. Elevate your team and your work. Learning is as easy as tuning in.
Born and raised in Vermont, Ashley Reynolds is the President and Co-Founder of Elmore Mountain Therapeutics. Ashley and her husband Colin founded EMT 2017 after Ashley’s personal struggle with postpartum anxiety. Finding relief through the use of CBD, Ashley saw a need for cannabis advocation to all. With a deep understanding of the science behind it, she dispels misconceptions and educates others on the use of CBD for promoting moisture, reducing wrinkles, and brightening dark spots. Ashley believes in the power of stories to connect with others and is determined to bring CBD skincare into the mainstream.
People choose EMT over other CBD brands because it is more than product, it’s a way of life, it’s culture. Learn more about EMT at https://emtcbd.com and try it for yourself today!
This week, Jon speaks with C.J. Knudsen, Senior Vice President for the Vermont Lake Monsters.
C.J. graduated from Rice Memorial High School in 1992 and served as the Lake Monsters Assistant General Manager from 1997-1999 and the team's General Manager from 2000-2009.
C.J. returned to the Lake Monsters in 2021 as Senior Vice President and has helped the team navigate the transition from MLB's minor league system to the Futures Collegiate Baseball League.
By all accounts, it's going well. In 2021, Knudsen was named Executive of the Year following the Lake Monsters' massively successful first season in the league, capped off with them winning the Futures League Championship.
The Lake Monsters are having tons of success on and off the field as they deliver a uniquely local Vermont sports experience right here in Burlington. Learn more from C.J. and catch a game at Centennial Field soon.
Visit the Lake Monsters online and get your tickets today: https://vermontlakemonsters.com
In the previous episode, we delved into the fascinating world of Synchronicity with Dr. Tom Myers and Dr. Rob Williams. Now, in Part 2 of our series, we invite you to embark on a transformative journey through a profound meditation session led by Rob himself, the co-founder of Peak Flow.
Prepare yourself by finding a peaceful spot, turning off your devices, and allowing Dr. Rob to guide you into an awakened state, enabling you to discover the magic of Synchronicity in your life today.
To learn more about Tom and TriSync Impact, please visit https://trisyncimpact.com.
To learn more about Rob and Peak Flow, please visit https://thepeakflow.com.
Dr. Tom Myers is a Synchronicity Researcher, Educator, and Coach, dedicated to helping individuals and businesses discover the power of Synchronicity and implement it in their lives. Having had a distinguished career as a professor and faculty chair at Champlain College, Tom now focuses on assisting people in understanding the concept of Synchronicity, recognizing its occurrences, and learning how to activate and operate in synchronistic harmony with those around them. In this episode, we dive deep into the topic of Synchronicity with Tom and Dr. Rob Williams, exploring how a breathwork practice can awaken our senses and guide us into a state of greater synchronicity.
After the discussion, we invite you to enjoy a 20-minute exclusive meditation session led by Dr. Rob Williams, Co-Founder of Peak Flow.
To learn more about Tom and TriSync Impact, visit https://trisyncimpact.com.
To learn more about Rob and Peak Flow, visit https://thepeakflow.com.
Doug Lewis is a 2-time Olympian, 8-year member of the US Ski Team, and in 1985 won the first ever World Championship medal for an American in downhill. And he grew up right here in the Green Mountains, cutting his teeth at Middlebury's Snow Bowl, then honing his skills at the GMVS Ski Academy at Sugarbush. After a great run on the US Ski Team, Doug returned to Vermont to attend UVM and to later co-found ELITEAM, a sports camp hosted at Killington Mountain School, that helps young athletes reach their highest potential.
Listen to a great conversation with Doug on his journey through his excellent early career in ski racing, followed by decades of experience as an entrepreneur and performance coach teaching young athletes the value of grit, resilience and becoming a well-rounded competitor.
Learn more about Doug and how you can claim one of the last available spots at this summer's ELITEAM World Cup Camp here.
In this episode, Jon sits down with Alex Hernandez, President of Champlain College, who was recently inaugurated as just the 10th President in Champlain's long history. Alex's vision for the college is centered on a theme of “readiness,” as he outlines plans to build a better future for students, the college, and Vermont. Jon talks with Alex about how education creates opportunity and what he thinks our institutions must do to get students ready for their future. Learn more about Champlain College here: https://www.champlain.edu
In this episode, Jon sits down with Jason Lorber, the Founder and President of Aplomb Consulting, where they help people facilitate change in their lives and businesses. Based in Burlington, VT, Jason is also a standup comedian who served four terms in the Vermont state legislature. We talk about change, how comedy can help through the process, and why everyday citizens should get involved in politics now.
Learn more about Jason and Aplomb at http://aplomb.com/
In this episode, Jon sits down with Bridget Conry, founder of High Fidelity and host of the new High Fidelity podcast show. Bridget is an herbal practitioner and cannabis industry educator, advocate and entrepreneur based in Burlington, VT. High Fidelity intends to explore the intersection of cannabis, wellness, culture and the arts through insightful conversations with industry experts and thought leaders from all disciplines. Learn more at http://hifivt.com We discuss the history of cannabis in Vermont and the current events around adult use legalization just this fall. Bridget brings her passion and unique expertise about wellness and its intersection with cannabis and culture to this insightful conversation with one of the leading voices on Vermont cannabis today. Listen to Bridget's new show High Fidelity wherever you get podcasts. Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/high-fidelity/id1653015767 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6XwJyhPAuLemrnMyjuQ0Yl?si=db6aa59c3cfd45bb
This week, Jon sits down with Beth Hill. Beth is the President and CEO of Fort Ticonderoga, the historic 2,000 acre destination overlooking Lake Champlain and educating visitors since 1909. Beth has a passion for history and a long career in the development and management of historical sites. In this episode, we discuss the importance of learning from our history, why sense of place matters today and how legendary historical sites like Fort Ticonderoga can scale into the digital age. There’s so much we can learn from Beth about our own local history and the value of understanding our past. Find out more about Fort Ticonderoga at www.fortticonderoga.org
This week, Jon sits down with Will Raap. Will is a pioneer in sustainable, regenerative farming in Vermont and the entrepreneur who founded Gardener’s Supply Company, spearheaded the start of the Intervale Center and, most recently, is transforming the Nordic Farm in Charlotte into Earthkeep Farmcommon. In this week’s episode, we discuss Will’s entrepreneurial journey as well as his latest innovation in agriculture, Earthkeep Farmcommon — a regenerative agricultural ecosystem that is organic, carbon-negative, sustainable and educational. You can learn more about Will and his work at https://earthkeep.farm
This week, Jon sits down with Sarah DeGray, founder of REV Indoor Cycling. REV is a place of community and wellness, and is a no-judgment zone that helps you achieve your fitness goals through supportive coaching and an uplifting environment. Sarah founded REV Indoor Cycling 10 years ago in Burlington, Vermont, and has some excellent advice to offer entrepreneurs.
In this week’s episode, Sarah discusses her experience with indoor cycling, and how her passion for music, as well as being an athlete, inspired her creation. She also explains how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted REV, the creative solutions that arose as a result, and how in-person cycling can be reimagined. Her beat-driven indoor cycling studio creates an immersive fitness experience that is truly unique and innovative.
Listen in and discover how music, cycling, and community come together to create the unique fitness experiences offered by REV Indoor Cycling.
You can learn more about REV at https://www.revindoor.com/
This week, Jon sits down with Kimberly DuBrul, a certified business, life and mindset coach who has been coaching for almost 20 years. Kimberly is a Founding Member of the world wide John Maxwell Team of coaches, speakers and trainers and was one of 12 people chosen to make up the very first President's Advisory Council (PAC). She has also received the PCC title through the International Coach Federation (ICF), which is one of the top credentials available in the world of life coaching.
In this week’s episode, Kimberly takes listeners along her journey of coaching and how her experiences have led her to helping others be successful. Kimberely helps her clients to identify areas of happiness within their lives, and promotes personal growth, personal development, and mindset as modes to align your life with your values.
Listen in to learn about Kimberley’s business planner, The Successful Coach’s Business Development & Planning Calendar: 2022, and pick up some great insights into how shifting your mindset can change your life.
You can learn more about her business planner at https://kimberlydubrul.com/my-book/
This week, Jon sits down with Cassie Polhemus, CEO of the Vermont Economic Development Authority. VEDA helps provide financing solutions to Vermont businesses in order to keep companies running and growing, and support the vitality of Vermont’s economy.
In this week’s episode, Cassie talks about her journey to Vermont, how VEDA works daily to help Vermont businesses reach their goals and the unique challenges and advantages to being a Vermont entrepreneur.
You can learn more about VEDA at veda.org
In this week's episode, we have Vermont serial entrepreneur, Professor, and friend of the show Dr. Rob Williams. Whether you know him from the Yak it to Me Burger stand, teaching at University of Vermont and Champlain College, or as a major voice on Vermont Independent Radio, Dr. Rob always shares something new and interesting.
Rob sits down with Jon to discuss Peak Flow, a course to teach the Wim Hof Method, a breathing, cold exposure, and focus technique designed to help you live a better life.
You can join an exclusive Peak Flow course in Burlington on Saturday, July 9th at https://www.wimhofmethod.com/instructors/robwilliams
Check out Rob's last interview on Learning Life at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/135-just-breathe-with-dr-rob-williams/id1342795377?i=1000528715498
This week Jon sits down with Adam Hergenrother to discuss how business can be a conduit for personal growth. Adam is the founder and CEO of Adam Hergenrother Companies, which became a $1 billion organization in 2019 and has been a five-time winner of the Vermont Best Places to Work. In this episode, Adam shares his journey to acquire the skills that have made him a great leader and offers advice for young entrepreneurs.
Listen in to learn how health, wealth, spirituality, and leadership can be understood to achieve sustainable self-improvements within your professional and personal life, and discover how incorporating spirituality into business can further self-growth and business development.
Adam also provides free downloads and trainings that are easily accessible through his website https://adamhergenrother.com/resources/
Visit https://adamhergenrother.com/ to learn more.
This week, Jon sits down with Jenna Sereni, a pioneer in influencer marketing as the VP of Marketing and Creative Services at WHOSAY, the first ever influencer marketing agency. Today, Jenna is the visionary co-founder and CEO of HandsDown, the social commerce platform that allows users to share what they “hands down” can’t live without and discover what they’ve been missing, from the people they trust most — their inner circle.
After WHOSAY was acquired in 2018, Jenna continued to work for her new parent company ViacomCBS as the VP of Branded Programming and Influence at CBS Interactive, When the pandemic hit, Jenna, her husband and young son left their stomping grounds in New York City to move up to the Green Mountains, knowing Burlington from her college years visiting her brother at UVM.
Now Jenna is taking her 15 years’ experience in marketing and social campaigns to bring some old-school Vermont trust and humanity to the digital marketing world. HandsDown promotes peer-to-peer discovery, and the platform boasts a “no sponsored content” model that is sure to lend much needed transparency to the commerce space.
Visit itshandsdown.com to learn more.
This week, Jon sits down with Jeff Weaber, founder and CEO of the famed Kombucha brewery Aqua ViTea, based in Middlebury Vermont.
Jeff started as a brewer at Lucky Labrador in Portland Oregon, before discovering the health benefits of Kombucha. He moved to Salisbury VT in 2005 with the goal of helping people sustain a healthy lifestyle.
AquaViTea began in a farmhouse in 2007 and is one of the first kombucha brewers in the nation, and the largest on the east coast. The AquaViTea team was the first to introduce of the kombucha-on-tap model to encourage sustainable practices.
Listen to hear the story of an entrepreneur who moved to Vermont and built one of the most well-known sustainable farm-based businesses on the east coast.
Visit www.aquavitea.com to learn more.
This week, Jon sits down with Duane Peterson, Co-Founder and Co-President of SunCommon, a benefit corporation powering Vermont and Hudson Valley homes, schools, and businesses with solar. Duane is also a member of the board for both VBSR and VPIRG, organizations pushing for social responsibility and environmental protection across the green mountain state.
Duane began his career in politics in California, before moving to Vermont where he spent 12 years as "Chief of Stuff" at Ben and Jerry's, hired directly by Ben Cohen to use the business as a force for social change.
Duane's commitment to using businesses for positive change has continued since then. SunCommon is a certified B-Corp, with rigorous standards for social and environmental performance, as well as public transparency and legal accountability. SunCommon goes far beyond a profit-driven model, and has helped over 10,000 homes, farms, and businesses go solar!
Visit https://suncommon.com/ to learn more.
This week on Learning Life, Jon talked with Kai Cook about Deep End Fitness. Kai Cook is a lifelong swimmer and when she discovered Deep End fitness in California, she felt it was important enough to bring back to Vermont and became one of the founders of the Vermont branch.
Deep End fitness was originally developed by Don Tran and Prime Hall after they started water survival training for marine raiders. Join in and listen to Kai explain how this military survival training, has become a fun but high intensity workout.
Kai shares her story of how she came to be a part of Deep End Fitness, how she brought it to Vermont, and how she is building the community.
Check out:
The Deep End Fitness Website:
https://www.deependfitness.com/
The VT Branch’s Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/deependfitness_vt/?hl=en
This week Jon sits down with Riley Seith, co-founder of the Laces App, and student entrepreneur. Laces is a platform for runners to find and share safe running routes when traveling or moving to a new city. After you’re done running, you can report incidents or obstacles. Think Waze for runners.
Riley and her co-founder Makenzie started their business from Champlain college. The idea started as a way to help women identifying people, particularly in college, to find a more safe way to run.
As the Laces App gets ready to launch, Riley shares the difficulties they faced in developing this app without the technical skills to build it herself and building a business while in college.
Check out:
The Laces App Website:
https://www.lacesapp.com
The Laces App Instagram:
https://instagram.com/thelacesapp?utm_medium=copy_link
Sign up to Become a Beta Tester:
https://linktr.ee/lacesapp
This week Jon sits down with Lousia Schibli, co-founder of the Northern New England Women's Investor network, and co-founder and CEO of Milk Money Vermont. Milk Money is a platform for Vermonters to discover local investment opportunities, get tips on how to evaluate those opportunities, and then make an investment.
Louisa has also recently joined RuralWorks Partners as Chief Engagement Officer. RuralWorks Partners is an impact investment firm that supports growth stage and transitioning rural businesses and the communities in which they operate. RuralWorks is currently raising a $100 Million impact fund for these businesses and communities across the Northeast and Upper Midwest.
Listen in for Louisa's lessons about raising capital in rural Vermont and being a female entrepreneur in the Green mountain state.
Check out:
Vermont Women's Investor Network www.nnewin.org
Milk Money Investing www.milkmoneyinvesting.com
RuralWorks Partners www.ruralworkspartners.com
Learn more at https://milkmoneyvt.com/
Matty Benedetto solves problems that don’t really exist by creating products that no one is asking for.
Benedetto is the inventor, serial entrepreneur and evil genius behind the wildly popular Unnecessary Inventions based right here in Burlington, Vermont. Matty grew up outside New York City, got his marketing degree at St. Michael’s then settled here in the Green Mountains funneling his passions into product development and startup businesses along the way.
Now with over 6 million followers across YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, Matty is a full-time content creator making “Unnecessary Inventions” and the satirical product launch videos that have made him an Internet celebrity.
Listen to learn the story behind Vermont’s most notorious inventor and how creativity, passion and a helpful 3D printer have thrust him into the spotlight.
Learn more at https://unnecessaryinventions.com
This week Jon sits down with Will Read, CEO and founder of CannaPlanners, a marketing agency that helps cannabis retailers with their branding, identity, and digital presence.
After graduating college, Will moved to Burlington with his band as a musician before moving down to New York City to work for sales at Apple. As many Vermonters will understand, he felt the Green Mountain State calling him back and he returned a few years later to work in digital marketing.
With Vermont legalizing adult-use cannabis in 2022, many farms and businesses are transitioning from CBD to THC and seeking ways to promote their branding, especially as on-site farm tours and live events are restricted by the ongoing pandemic.
Read decided to hone in on the Cannabis Industry and now seeks to normalize and elevate these new businesses through beautiful branding, thoughtful websites, and data-driven digital marketing strategies.
Learn more at https://cannaplanners.com/
This week Jon sits down with Cairn Cross, co-founder of FreshTracks Capital in Shelburne VT.
FreshTracks is a venture capital and private equity firm focused on investments in Vermont-based growth companies. Cross sits on the board of multiple Vermont companies including Native Energy, Faraday, and Vermont Teddy Bear, as well as Mamava (previously on Learning Life,) and a board observer for ThinkMD.
Cross is also a lecturer at UVM, teaching at the cutting-edge Sustainable Innovation MBA program.
Listen to learn about opportunities abound in the Green Mountain State and the capital behind many of the great businesses you see in Vermont every day.
Learn more at https://www.freshtrackscap.com/
This week we're excited to have Lindsay DesLauriers, the co-owner and President of Bolton Valley Resort.
A mountain legacy, Lindsay's father Ralph founded Bolton Valley back in 1966 and developed it into an iconic indie ski mountain in the Northeast. In 1997, her family had to sell the resort, but recently bought it back in 2017 with a group of local investors to restore and modernize Bolton Valley while maintaining its nostalgic charm.
With its broad terrain, back country connection, night skiing, and tight community, Bolton is a one of a kind world to explore in a small ski resort. Lindsay's family is also set on bringing Bolton back to a four season operation, with its mountain biking trails, disc golf, and weddings.
Listen to Lindsay's journey from her childhood on the slopes to the public and non-profit sector, and how that experience brought her right back to her "mountain island."
Learn more at www.boltonvalley.com
Our guest this week is Kevin Pellon, the founder and CEO of raisedVT, live in our studio!
Listen in as Kevin Pellon explains what it means to him to be raisedVT and what it means to be a proud Vermonter, even if you weren't born in the Green Mountain State. This retail clothing brand focuses on what makes Vermont, Vermont, with unique imagery from ski to farm culture, and from the Champlain valley to the top of Mount Mansfield.
Listen to learn about a great local entrepreneur building a brand for anyone who's proud of where they were raised, regardless of where they live.
Learn more at www.raisedVT.com
Our guest this week is Byron Batres, a wealth management advisor and financial planner in the Burlington area who is the founder and CEO of EZ-Probate.
After realizing the trials and tribulations of dealing with the court system for the probate process of wills and estates for families, he set out to build a turbo-tax like system to avoid the hassle during an already emotional time. Now EZ-Probate helps families prepare legal documents themselves and get through the process quicker.
Listen to learn about a great Vermont entrepreneur, the importance of estate planning before you need it and starting your own business in the Green Mountain State.
Learn more at https://ez-probate.com/estate-planning/
Happy New Year! This week, Learning Life is talking innovation for moms with Mamava co-founder Sascha Mayer.
A certified B corp, Mamava was founded in 2013 by Mayer and Christine Dodson, now COO. Mamava has over 2000 lactation pods across the country, providing mothers privacy and security while breastfeeding or pumping, as well as digital resources, community, and advocacy.
Sascha began her career as a staffer for then-congressman Bernie Sanders after graduating from UVM. Moving on to working for a design firm, Sascha, a new mother at the time, frequently traveled to meet clients or go to conventions and realized there were no places to pump privately.
The first Mamava pod was launched in the Burlington Airport in 2013, built with design in mind, a product to solve a real-world problem and bring the conversation out in the open.
Listen in to learn how Mamava is disrupting the status quo and scaling up their business in Vermont.
Learn more at https://www.mamava.com/all-products and https://www.mamava.com/mobile-app
This week Jon gets down with Jason Levinthal, who founded LINE in his parents' garage back in 1995 and is known for creating some of the first twin tip skis.
After selling LINE to K2 sports, Jason was longing to get back into the industry, with the lessons he learned about scaling and the new prospects of online selling. In 2013, he founded J Skis with a direct-to-consumer business model with limited edition runs and a community focus. On top of all that, Jason medaled in the first-ever Winter X Games slopestyle skiing event in 1998.
Today, J Skis is known for its limited run ski designs, gear and clothing with frequent Vermont collaborations, including Stowe Cider Apres All Day skis and Ski the East Ice Lightning skis.
Learn more at https://jskis.com
This week Jon sits down with Cyrus Schenck, CEO of Renoun and co-founder of Mission V Sports. If you're a skier or snowboarder in Vermont, you've surely seen Renoun skis all over your favorite mountain, but many people don't really know what makes these skis so special.
A graduate of Champlain Valley Union High School, Cyrus went on to learn about material sciences in college. There, he got the idea to put a non-newtonian substance, a material that changes properties under stress and strains, in the core of a ski. The result was VibeStop, a technology that stops 300% more unwanted vibrations than a regular pair of skis.
After changing the game in ski materials, Cyrus realized that VibeStop technology has applications across the sporting world and even across industries.
Listen to how a Vermont entrepreneur went from washing windows in college to changing the ski industry and building a technology used across surfing, boating, and even flooring.
Learn more at https://renoun.com/ and https://missionvsports.com/
This week Jon sits down with Vermont’s favorite weatherman, Tom Messner. After 31 years at NBC5 serving Northern New York and Vermont as Chief Meteorologist, Tom is retiring from our televisions and moving on to a new chapter as a media consultant, early stage investor and advocate for the Vermont entrepreneurial community.
Messner may be leaving TV, but he’s invested right here in Burlington. Between the beautiful state and the people of the community, Tom says Vermont is the perfect place to build a business.
After decades of finding sunshine for the community, Tom is ready to help local businesses and startups find opportunities. His advice to entrepreneurs, “Don’t be afraid to reach out! People in this community are so willing to help and they want to see what you’re trying to do succeed.”
Get in touch with Tom at https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-messner-49146414b/
Check out our full video interview recorded at Syntax Studio on Pine St: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOhBEfPX7aQ&t=2s
This week Jon sits down with Ryan Nakleh, founder and CEO of Local Maverick, a sales and marketing platform that makes it easier to discover, shop, and support local businesses.
Listen to the story as Ryan got a local business off the ground during the pandemic, and how he aims to bring the Amazon buying experience to communities and help them buy local.
Learn more at https://www.localmaverickus.com/
This week Jon sits down with Sophia Rabe, founder and CEO of Olive and Milo Social. Olive and Milo is a digital marketing agency that focuses on social media, offering services such as consulting, strategy, management, and measurement.
Rabe grew up in the Mad River Valley and is a Champlain College alumni, choosing to set up her business right here in Burlington. Rabe chose Vermont over big city life after trying out a year in New York, finding the smaller towns less isolating and a better work and social environment, including a more personal way to build a business.
Olive and Milo is named after Rabe’s pet pig and cat, respectively. While the agency serves clients nationwide, today much of Rabe’s client base is here in Vermont, helping businesses navigate the web of social media platforms and pinpointing where to focus efforts; be it Facebook, the “modern-day phonebook”, or Tik-Tok, the world’s fastest growing hyperactive engagement platform.
Learn more at https://oliveandmilo.com/.
This week Jon sits down with Barry Finette, founder of ThinkMD. ThinkMD is an innovative healthcare and technology company, seeking solutions to expand quality healthcare coverage across the globe. Barry is also a professor in pediatrics, microbiology, and molecular genetics at the University of Vermont.
ThinkMD aims to put physician-based decision logic into the hands of anyone, so areas underserved by physicians can be aided by technology. The technology is distributed by government and NGO partners, rather than directly by the company.
Listen as Barry and Jon discuss the future of healthcare, the role of big data in fighting diseases and stopping pandemics, and disrupting the healthcare industry.
Learn more at https://thinkmd.org/
This week we have a UVM student entrepreneur with a firey new idea - all natural fire starters that are sustainably sourced and safe for the environment. Meet Adam Liszewski, CEO and founder of Stokes Firestarters. After making fire starters as holiday gifts as a child with egg cartons and dryer lint, Adam has moved on to production models using food-grade paraffin and recycled sawdust from East Thetford Vermont. Stokes are now available in stores across the northeast and beyond, and on Amazon! Learn more at https://www.stokesfirestarters.com/
This week we are excited to have Mieko Ozeki and Bethany Andrews-Nichols, the co-founders of Vermont Womenprenuers, an organization driving the mission of helping women entrepreneurs build their businesses in the Green Mountain State.
In addition to helping other women start up their businesses, the duo are small business owners of their own.
Mieko owns and runs Radiance Studios, a website, digital marketing, and event production business. Bethany is the owner of Beenanza graphic design, and licenses her pattern work internationally.
The organization was hatched when Mieko began holding monthly networking meetings, and met Bethany who suggested creating a showcase of the products and services of women-owned businesses in Vermont.
Womenpreneurs has held in-person and virtual summits since 2018 and helps collaborate with women to build better businesses.
Don’t miss the upcoming Vermont Womenpreneurs Summit, “Navigating the Unexpected” — a 4-evening virtual event focused on navigating change in uncertain times. The Summit runs November 1-4, 6:30-8:00pm nightly. Get your ticket at https://vtwomenpreneurssummit.com
This week we have Scott Finn, President and CEO of VPR and Vermont PBS.
With the recent merger of Vermont Public Radio and Vermont PBS, Scott is now leading the green mountain state’s largest media organization with a reach of over a million people each month and the goal of expanding to a broader and more diverse audience.
Modern public media is more than just TV and Radio. Scott is looking to democratize media, with outreach through Youtube, podcasts, and more online content with shows like “Brave Little State,” “The Frequency” and the children’s educational show “But Why?“.
We’re excited to see VPR and Vermont PBS support independent podcast shows like ours.
Learn more at https://www.vpr.org and https://www.vermontpbs.org
This week we have Matt Murray, founder and CEO of Widewail. A Vermont native and Navy veteran, Matt has worked through numerous tech and automotive companies before starting his company to help businesses with their online reputation.
Widewail provides a suite of management tools for online product and service reviews, helping businesses invite their customers to review and engage with reviewers.
Learn more at https://www.widewail.com/
This week’s entrepreneur story goes back more than 100 years! We are excited to have Sarah Morris, a fifth generation host and concierge at Basin Harbor, the historic 700-acre resort in Vergennes, Vermont.
Basin Harbor began as a working farm back in the 1800s, and in the 1920s, Sarah’s great-grandfather was inspired by the tourism boom in Miami and began to build out cottages on the beautiful Lake Champlain waterfront. Today, the resort features over 77 cottages, dining, golf, and tons of maritime activities.
Learn more at https://www.basinharbor.com/
This week we have Peter Miller, owner of Mini Golf on the Go and a student at the Stiller School of Business at Champlain College.
Peter is another great Vermont entrepreneur story with a miniature twist - his company designs and rents mini golf courses at any event, indoor and outdoor, complete with clubs and balls.
Peter puts his Vermont-grown woodworking skills to the test building each hole of a course on a unique 2-by-8 foot board that's easy for his team to transport and setup anywhere.
Learn more at https://www.minigolfonthegovt.com/
This week we have Ryan McDevitt, co-founder and CEO of Benchmark Space Systems.
Based right here in Burlington at HULA Lakeside, Ryan is looking to go from Vermont to space with micro-satellites that will change space systems as we know it. After working at Pratt and Whitney as a jet engineer, Ryan returned to Vermont with his wife and he began working on propulsion systems at UVM. With a spark grant from the university, Ryan began to build out Benchmark.
Listen to Ryan's vision of the future where earth jumps from a few thousand to 70,000 satellites in orbit; making up a complex system of imaging, communications, and "space-station" type satellites with refueling and clean-up crews for orbital debris.
Learn more at https://www.benchmarkspacesystems.com/
This week we have Dawn and Sarah Lancaster, mother and daughter co-founders of Pure Energy Apothecary, focused on healthy and accessible skincare and home fragrance products. A graduate of Champlain College, Dawn is acting CEO and owner, while Sarah is a current student at Champlain and a fellow at the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, headed up by our previous guest Dr. Kylie King.
After the passing of Dawn's mother, the Lancasters were inspired to find healthier solutions to the skincare products people use every day. Now, the pair, along with their cousin Michaela are expanding the brand nationally while Sarah focuses on e-commerce and getting Pure Energy certified as a B Corp, a corporation with verified high social and environmental performance.
Learn more at https://pureenergyvt.com/
This week we have Benny Boas, CEO of Burlington Code Academy and Upright Education. Benny began teaching coding and software development with online courses and bootcamps through BCA right here in Vermont.
Now, he's going national. Upright Education partners with colleges and universities to prepare adults for software-based work with rapid re-skilling courses, teaching a wide range of skills from Javascript to UX/UI design.
Learn more at https://www.uprighted.com/
This week we are excited to have Dr. Kylie King, Academic Director of the Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship and Assistant Professor of entrepreneurship and analytics at Champlain College.
Jon and Kylie sit down to discuss the connection between Champlain College and the Burlington community, fostering entrepreneurship in students and young adults, and looking ahead to Champlain in 2030.
Learn more at https://www.champlain.edu/centers-of-experience/center-for-innovation-and-entrepreneurship
"That is a big rallying cry for us–– how do we engage more entities, businesses, and people in seeing how, and feeling clear about how they can give to the environment broadly defined to drive positive change."
This week we have Kate Williams, CEO of 1% for the Planet.
1% for the Planet is a global network of businesses, individuals and nonprofit organizations tackling our planet's most pressing environmental issues, headquartered right here in Burlington VT. 1% operates through memberships, where businesses and people can commit to giving 1% of their sales or revenues to environmental causes, in exchange for certification. 1% creates pressure for big businesses to truly pay the cost of doing business- cleaning up the earth in the wake of human pollution, and has given over $295 million to date.
Jon and Kate sit down to discuss management structure, remote and hybrid work, and giving back to the community.
Learn more about 1% by visiting https://www.onepercentfortheplanet.org/
This week we have Vermont entrepreneurial success story, Rich Tarrant. Tarrant founded what would become IDX Systems Corporation back in 1969, later acquired by GE Healthcare.
His latest company is Marathon Health, based right off the Winooski Circle. Tarrant sits down with Jon to discuss his basketball career at St. Mikes, and how it led to being a pioneer in healthcare technology. Tarrant also talks about the function of health insurance in modern healthcare and his educational philanthropy.
Learn more about Marathon Health by visiting https://www.marathon-health.com/
This week we have Vermont serial entrepreneur Sas Stewart. You may know Sas as the co-founder of Stonecutter Spirits and creator of the sought-after popup Adventure Dinner events.
Sas sits down with Jon to discuss making things special - from food and drink to experiences for customers and employees alike. Sas has been running Adventure Dinners since 2014, providing a bespoke experience of locally-sourced food and wine, and one-of-a-kind surprise adventures around the beautiful state of Vermont, including secret island getaways and a Shelburne Vineyards residency.
During the COVID Crisis, Sas helped co-found On The Fly, a grassroots collective of business, finance, and marketing experts assisting hospitality businesses through the pandemic. In 2020, On The Fly helped over 50 businesses, totaling about $40 million in economic activity and 640 full time employees.
Learn more about On The Fly by visiting https://www.ontheflyvermont.com/
Book your adventure dinner today at https://www.adventuredinner.com/
"So the goal with peak flow is to figure out how to coach humans in multiple breathwork modalities and to become aware of how you can change your breathing and change your life moment. By moment, it's the most fundamentalist, the most elemental thing we do is to breathe."
In this live episode, we have Vermont serial entrepreneur, Professor, and friend of the show Dr. Rob Williams. Whether you know him from the Yak it to Me Burger stand, teaching at University of Vermont and Champlain College, or as a major voice on Vermont Independent Radio, Dr. Rob always shares something new and interesting.
This week, Rob sits down with Jon to discuss Peak Flow, a course to teach the Wim Hof Method, a breathing, cold exposure, and focus technique designed to help you live a better life.
You can join an exclusive Peak Flow course in Burlington on Friday, July 30th at 1:30pm at the Burlington Surf club. Book now to experience a life-changing practice at www.wimhofmethod.com/
"I guess I've always had a sense of wanting to involve everybody into the brewery from the very beginning. I was kind of well-known in the early days, when I was out on the floor working right next to everybody and if anyone asked, "why are we doing this?" they learned to maybe not ask those kinds of questions because they'd get about a half hour a conversation with me explaining that particular ingredient or that particular temperature on the mash profile for the beer."
What makes Switchback Brewing Co special? From the classic Ale to the Karsten Lager, Citra-Pils and the IPA, and now their first Double IPA and Smoked Beers, it's not just the hops, it's the process, and more importantly, the people.
This week Jon sits down with Bill Cherry and Craig Wilkinson, the president and production manager of Switchback, to talk about the Flynn Ave-based brewer's 100% employee ownership setup, running for five years now, via an Employee Stock Ownership Plan.
Listen to learn how a passion for beer and a passion for people has guided this local business through it's nearly 20-year history.
This week we have special guests David Bradbury and Sam Roach-Gerber, fellow podcast hosts and President/Vice-President of VCET, the Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies.
VCET offers programs, capital, and business mentoring for Vermont entrepreneurs. Through VCET, David and Sam co-host the Start Here podcast, showcasing business success stories across the state and the Vermont Startup Collective, a community of entrepreneurs to help start conversations and build better businesses together.
Learn more at https://vcet.co/
Join the Vermont Startup Collective: https://www.vermontstartupcollective.com/
Listen to the Podcast: https://vcet.co/start-here-podcast/
Based in Burlington Vermont, Ben Krueger is the founder and CEO of Cashflow Podcasting, where he helps industry advocates reach more people, change more lives and move entire industries forward.
Having collaborated on hundreds of podcasts since 2012, he has developed 8 Podcast Principles that when applied, lead to highly effective business podcasts. Built on these principles, they've developed a proven system for leaders to host their own world-class podcast in a fraction of the time. In this episode, Ben and Jon discuss how to make a truly great podcast and engage your audience.
Learn more at https://cashflowpodcasting.com/
Follow Ben Krueger on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/benkrueger1544/
This week we rewind to congratulate good friend of the show, James Lawrence, on completing a journey he started 100 days ago - The Conquer 100. That’s a full distance triathlon every day since March 1st… Yes, we’re talking a 2.4 mile swim, 112 miles on the bike followed by a marathon. Every day. For 100 days. Congratulations to you, James!
Back in September, James joined Jon on the podcast to talk about how he accomplishes these world record feats, the value of teamwork and his family and how each of us can push our own limits by taking on new experiences.
Check out James in his TWO Amazon Prime Originals: Iron Cowboy | The Story of the 50-50-50 and World’s Toughest Race: Eco-Challenge Fiji.
Follow James Lawrence on Instagram @ironcowboyjames
Learn more at www.ironcowboy.com/conquer-100/
"For Localvore, we're a technology company that focuses on really connecting local consumers and regional consumers to businesses that are creating a more sustainable agricultural economy sourcing locally and making an impact."
Dan White knows what it means to go local. He likes to think of Localvore as the "Patagonia of tech," dedicated to sustainable practice and reinvestment in community. What better way to do that then with food? And where better than Burlington Vermont?
White chose Burlington to start Localvore because of Vermont's similarly aligned values and farm-to-table agricultural focus. Localvore and it's mobile app, the Localvore passport, connect community members to eateries, including the hungry with its Everyone Eats program. The ultimate goal is to create a great, sustainable, local food scene in every city.
Visit Localvore and Localvore Passport to learn more.
Connect with Dan on Linkedin.
And follow Localvore on Instagram.
"I'm very bullish on Vermont, in general, because I think the quality of life here is absolutely incredible. And I think as people start to prioritize that, and, you know, keep their business and their personal life and kind of hold it to the same high expectations, I think we'll see a lot more people moving here and a lot more interesting things happening."
Jackson Latka is a Vermont entrepreneur with a family-first photo app: Notabli. Built right in Burlington, Notabli is a scrapbook for parents that keeps photos, videos, audio, notes, quotes and more in a privacy-first library with printing and sharing capabilities.
Learn more at Notabli.com
Connect with Jackson on Linkedin.
Or follow Jackson at @jacksonlatka on Twitter and Instagram.
"We definitely leverage Burlington and our values here in order to build a national brand. " Michael Ly has been a Vermonter for 10 years, and an entrepreneur his whole life.
Ly is the CEO of Reconciled, the cloud-based virtual bookkeeping and CFO advisory service. He has previously worked as a controller, consultant, and CFO. On top of all that, he's the co-founder of Humnly on-demand HR.
Listen to Michael Ly's story on building his businesses, remote work. and scaling up in a small city like Burlington.
Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelly/
Get started with Reconciled: https://getreconciled.co/
Check Out Humnly: https://www.humnly.com/
Russ Scully’s wife Roxanne might say that her husband’s favorite word is “Yes.” After all, he’s always looking for the next great story. Growing up in New Jersey, Russ knew a typical metropolitan area wasn’t for him. So after years of living and surfing in California, he and Roxanne settled in Vermont. Once here, the Scully’s started to realize just how much can happen in the Green Mountain State. From windsurfing and paddleboarding on Lake Champlain to create a lifestyle brand and one of the hippest Spots on the lake to building a one-of-a-kind incubator designed to keep Vermont’s most innovative businesses thriving here in-state, Russ has no shortage of stories to share. Hear who inspires Russ & Roxanne, how they decide which industries to invest in, and the impact they hope to have on the Burlington business community.
Scully Interactive http://www.scullyinteractive.com/ WND & WVS https://www.wndnwvs.com/ The Spot https://www.thespotvt.com/ Hula https://www.hulalakeside.com See Change Sessions https://www.seechangesessions.com Stand Up Journal https://www.standupjournal.com/ Follow Russ on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/russscully/ Invest in Burlington alongside Hula. Email rob@hulalakeside.com
What do you get when you combine innovation strategy, creative facilitation, human-centered design, and improv comedy? A modern creative consultancy that helps to transform organizations guided by an inventive and ardent leader.
Coonoor Behal is the founder and CEO of Mindhatch, where they help companies create the conditions for innovation and for employees to thrive. By utilizing a unique combination of design thinking, innovation, facilitation, organizational improv, and diversity and inclusion, Behal and the Mindhatch team are able to assist organizations transition from stagnant to innovative all while building an inclusive and exciting place to work.
Get Coonoor's book: I Quit! The Life-Affirming Joy of Giving Up
Follow Coonoor on LinkedIn
Get to know Mindhatch at mindhatchllc.com/
Harnessing FOMO and his love of live events, Evan Samet founded Ticket Insider - a secondary ticket reselling platform established in 2013. Juggling the rigors of undergraduate academia with growing and maintaining a business can be difficult, but Samet is here to tell you it's worth it!
"The best time to found a business is in college. You don't need to worry about how you are going to make a dollar tomorrow; you don't have a family to support. Take the risk!"
Samet sold Ticket Insider to a company that cannot be named in 2018, and is now the vice president of purchase and market analysis for Key Investment Group.
In this episode, Evan and Jon discuss the future of the live entertainment industry, the challenges of running a business centered around in-person events, and how college is the best time to try to start a business.
Connect with Evan Samet on LinkedIn.
Julia Pimsleur went big. After building her multimillion-dollar language learning business Little Pim, she set a goal to help 1 million women reach $1 million in revenues. Now she wants to help you get out of your own way and go big now!
Learn the number 1 mindset technique needed to bust your limiting beliefs and achieve your biggest goals. Her new book, Go Big Now, launched last week. Check it out at juliapimsleur.com/gobignow
Humans aren't designed for prolonged periods of stress. Our bodies have manifest this stress into various ailments and discomforts.
Nicole Mixdorf is the founder and chief wellness office of Balance by Nature, an award-winning corporate health and wellness consulting firm. Previously a high-level executive, Nicole experienced first-hand the challenges of balancing a professional career with personal wellness. She launched Balance By Nature to help companies design wellness programs to support their employees. Balance by Nature has won numerous industry awards and has been recognized as a top 10 employee wellness company in the US for the past two years! Nicole was also named the most influential woman in corporate wellness services in the US in 2020.
Nicole shares quick tips for dealing with stress, finding your body's weakest link, and a special giveaway offer just for you - get your Blueprint to a Balanced Life and start structuring your day to success!
Visit the Balance by Nature website
Connect with Nicole on LinkedIn
The most successful people in America didn't necessarily go to the best school, but they certainly worked the hardest and gave everything to be where they are. These are the entrepreneurs.
Lewis Schiff helps entrepreneurs go from moonshot takers to moneymakers. He's developed several programs, workshops, and workbooks to guide entrepreneurs to true wealth and long-term success. He shares his advice on becoming successful, his love of entrepreneurs, and tells us what the top trait for success is.
Lewis Schiff is a prolific author, serial entrepreneur, and advisor to hundreds of very successful business owners over the years. You've probably seen or read at least one of Lewis's many successful books, a list that includes The Armchair Millionaire, The Middle-Class Millionaire, Business Brilliant, and The First Habit: The One Technique That Will Change Your Life. Beyond his own entrepreneurial success, Lewis has spent the second part of his career creating organizations and education programs to support entrepreneurs through the various stages as they grow their businesses to new heights. I met Lewis almost a decade ago when I was part of his business owners council. Since then, he's gone on to chair The Birthing of Giants fellowship program, and most recently launched Moonshots and Moneymakers, a week-long workshop in collaboration with Ryder University and Oxford University.
Review the Perfect Business Plan here.
Connect with Lewis on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Follow the Birthing of Giants on LinkedIn.
Get Lewis's books on Amazon here.
Read a transcript of this episode at www.learninglifeshow.com
"I just want to be involved with promoting education, good quality content, making it fun, but making it stick and making kids enjoy it and really kind of stoking the fire of curiosity."
Rene Gadelha is the Chancellor of VictoryXR Academy, providing fully immersive virtual reality education. XR is a combination of both Virtual and Augmented reality, making a fully encompassing experience for learning in a virtual space.
Seeking something better than the boxed-in setting of a Zoom classroom, Rene and VictoryXR are working on creating "Digital Twin" campuses for schools and universities and even fully immersive VR field trips.
Rene believes that the ultimate way to distill learning and reduce distractions is to bring the in-person learning experience seamlessly anywhere. High quality AR and VR will be more engaging than the Zoom lessons of today.
Learn more at https://www.victoryxr.com/.
Build healthy habits and create positive changes in your life.
Andrew Kap is the founder and CEO of Awesome Marvelous, Inc., a content publishing and marketing agency, and the best-selling author of The Last Law of Attraction Book You'll Ever Need To Read. With all of his strategies and techniques, Kap helps people separate themselves and stand out through all the noise. His book offers over 18+ ways to manifest the life you want to live so there's something for everyone.
Kap put these techniques into practice during a dark time in his life. After seeing such great success with them, he's now inspired to help others create a genuine, sustainable impact in their lives.
In this episode, Kap shares a few techniques that you can start using right now to change your trajectory and discusses how he came to believe in the secret of the law of attraction.
Learn more about Andrew Kap's book here - The Last Law of Attraction Book You'll Ever Need To Read: The Missing Key To Finally Tapping Into The Universe And Manifesting Your Desires
Andrew Kap's YouTube Channel
The Law of Attraction in 60-Seconds video
With 500+ keynotes in 33+ countries, two best-selling books, and 4 world records, Ryan Avery is THE keynote speaker. He's an expert on communication skills and shows leader and their teams how to accelerate their achievement, maximize their potential, and, as his trademark teaching states, go from A to THE in their industry.
In this episode, Ryan talks with Jon about making your perfect day a reality, how communication will never change, and the trends he sees in THE leaders of today.
Ryan became the youngest World Champion of Public Speaking in history at just 25 years old. Soon afterward he quit his job with the Special Olympics, moved back in with his parents (with his wife, Chelsea), and pursued his dream of public speaking for a living. Now Ryan Avery is one of the Millenial generation's most profound speakers on strategic communication, negotiation, and leadership. Avery is also an Emmy-winning journalist, two-time best-selling author, and world record holder.
ryanavery.com
Speaker. Leader. Champion. by Ryan Avery
Motivating Millennials by Ryan Avery
Mentioned in this episode:
Ego Is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday (find it here)
Have you grown out of your job? Angela Yeh specializes in strategic career placements and evolutions, both for companies filling a role and for individuals looking to change their career trajectory.
Angela is on both sides of the fence in the creative industry, helping companies understand how to identify and attract the right talent to grow their business and culture, but also coaching individuals on how to take their careers to the next level and evolve both personally and professionally.
She is the founder and chief talent strategist at Thrive by Design and Yeh IDeology. Yeh IDeology is a talent strategies consultancy specializing in executive coaching and recruitment in the design, strategy, and innovation space. Thrive by Design is a coaching program focused on helping creative professionals navigate their career path and reach their highest potential.
Reach out to Angela Yeh for freebies and giveaways on her site thrivebydesign.today
Howard Shore is a serial entrepreneur who bought and sold his first company by the age of 21. After selling his first business and attending college, Shore went on to work his way up in a few prominent fortune 500 companies. He tired of the corporate scene and decided to return to his entrepreneurial roots. Shore has mentored executives and entrepreneurs of all sizes personally and professionally. He’s also best selling author of Your Business is a Leaky Bucket and his most recent book, Leadership Launchpad, in which he outlines actionable plans to help you increase your profits and scale your business. (We think it’s the best strategic guidebook available today!) His current business is called Activate Group, where Shore helps to develop c-level leaders both personally and professionally.
In this episode, Howard Shore talks with host Jon Tota about why leaders are struggling, overcoming the adversity of the new working world, 5 facets of business to master for wild success.
Learn more about Howard Shore here: howardmshore.com
See extended show notes on our website for even more episode information: learninglifeshow.com
Chris Yonker is a recovering high achiever. After years in sales for 3M, Yonker was left unfulfilled. There had to be more to life than a job. Now he and his team work with high achievers like executives, entrepreneurs, and athletes to expand their consciousness and capacity for fulfillment. Chris Yonker is a vision alchemist, NLP practitioner, author of Soul Intention, and speaker.
Learn more about Chris Yonker.
You only have one life. Design it your way. Get Chris's free vision workbook here.
Check out Chris's book, Soul Intention: An Executive's Guide to Building a Life by Choice, Not by Chance.
For extended show notes, visit us at learninglifeshow.com
Prospects falling through the cracks?
Losing fantastic employees and talent?
You need to expand your leadership team. But how?
This is Mike Goldman's specialty - expanding and developing your leadership team so that your organization can grow and scale to the next level.
Mike Goldman has been a leadership team coach and consultant for over 30 years. He's helped dozens of businesses of all sizes scale by developing their leadership teams. Mike has recently published his second book, titled Breakthrough Leadership Team: Strengthening the Heart and Soul of Your Company- and it's all about investing in the development of your most important people, your leadership team.
Learn when the right time to expand your leadership team is, what personality tests should be used for, and creating a great culture virtually.
Visit Mike Goldman at https://www.mike-goldman.com/
Get his book https://www.mike-goldman.com/break-through-leadership-team
Check out the course: https://www.breakthrough-growth.com/breakthrough-growth-sales-page-1-1
We are living in a time of extreme disruption, there's no denying it. In this episode, we hear from a woman who has centered her life around extremes: Ebony Smith. She specializes in training and coaching in Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous (V.U.C.A.) work environments. Previously, Smith achieved a Masters in operational safety, worked for BP and Sunoco, before pivoting her career to leadership.
Ebony Smith talks with Jon Tota about the importance of creating a coaching culture, how VUCA translates to traditional businesses and the significance of tree bathing and self-care.
Interested in Ebony's company? Learn more about Ebenum Equation
Follow Ebony on LinkedIn for more insights.
Scott Miller is Franklin Covey's executive vice president of thought leadership and the best-selling author of "Management Mess to Leadership Success," which is the first book in the multi-volume Mess to Success series. He's also the co-author of another recent bestseller: Everyone Deserves a Great Manager. Scott is the host of the highest subscribed-to weekly leadership podcast show on the air right now, Franklin Covey On Leadership with Scott Miller podcast show. In this episode Scott talks with Jon about vulnerable leadership, finding your smallest viable market, and his drive to be a thought leader.
Listen to Scott's podcast here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/franklincovey-on-leadership-with-scott-miller/id1391164389
Read Scott's books:
https://managementmess.com/
https://everyonedeservesagreatmanager.com/
Anthony Vaughan is the host of the popular E1B2 podcast show, a strategic advisor to multiple companies, and he recently launched the E1B2 Collective, where his team is focused on helping startups, improve their employee experience and put their people first by launching people operations divisions. Vaughan joins Jon Tota to discuss the post-COVID working world, the focus on a return to work, a new working normal, and how to make the employee experience even better than before.
Learn more about the E1B2 Collective
Listen to the E1B2 Podcast on Apple Podcasts
Follow Anthony Vaughan on LinkedIn
Neal Taparia might have saved you in high school or college when you needed to quickly format the citations on your term paper. While in high school in 2001, Neal Taparia and his friend created EasyBib to make citing their sources well... easier.
After gaining popularity, Taparia and his partner sold EasyBib to Chegg (another lifesaver) and stayed on to help Chegg scale their business operations and the company 10x.
Taparia then founded SOTA Partners where they incubate new businesses and invest in and advise startup teams.
In this episode, Taparia and Tota discuss the challenges of growing a business through high school and college; the marketing strategies that worked; and the benefits of a CEO mentor.
Check out his latest investment endeavor Solitaired at solitaired.com.
Trent Howell is the vice-president of marketing at eLearning Brothers and has over 25 years of experience in information technology and the training industry specifically. But he's not here to talk about that - Trent is here to talk board games!
Trent's family love board games so much they have a day of the week dedicated to playing them. They decided to turn their love of board games into a knowledgebase for everyone else with The Board Game Family (theboardgamefamily.com). They rate and review all types of board games so you can make the right decision when looking for something non-screen-related to do with loved ones.
Check out their 10th annual holiday gift guide to get the board game lover in your circle the best present!
https://www.theboardgamefamily.com/2020/11/board-game-gift-guide-2020/ The most popular post over the years on The Board Game Family site has been Mom's favorite games: https://www.theboardgamefamily.com/2015/10/favorite-board-games-mom/ And the Family Favorites is: https://www.theboardgamefamily.com/family-favorites/
Faith Jones is back with a new book and valuable insight into human rights and the intersection of morality and legality.
Faith's new five circle framework, called I Own Me, is a result of the first 22 years of her life spent within a religious cult called The Family. You own the rights to your own body. She encourages us to find the true power in owning yourself.
This framework applies to every facet of daily life. Whether someone is harassing you at the gym or someone is defaulting on your contract, the I Own Me framework can be applied.
Get Faith Jones's book and learn more about her at faithjones.com or search for her on LinkedIn or Instagram.
Watch Faith's I Own Me TEDx talk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18oDUTQ14ME&t=266s
This episode is sponsored by eLearning Brothers.
Visit www.learninglifeshow.com/elb for more information.
Ryan Mason is a savvy entrepreneur and author who is making waves as one of Yahoo's top 12 entrepreneurs to watch in 2020. He's the founder and CEO of Luxe Brand, a leading luxury shoelace provider featured on Good Morning America, the NFL, and with over 30 athletes and celebrities. Ryan also founded and runs Bizbuzz Digital, an award-winning marketing automation software company. And he just authored his first book called The Digital Playbook where he shares proven processes to increase your visibility, grow awareness, and supercharge engagement and conversion.
Get to know Luxe Brand at https://luxe-brand.com/
Take your digital marketing to the next level with https://bizbuzzdigital.com/
Pre-order The Digital Playbook: Proven Methods for Using Digital Marketing on Amazon today: https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Playbook-Marketing-Advertising-Visibility-ebook/dp/B08LF3KN9S
This episode is sponsored by eLearning Brothers. Check out the Virtual Onboarding Handbook to make sure you're setting your employees on the road to success. http://elb.learninglifeshow.com/
Tom Frank is a lifelong culture engineer who works to help local and national companies create a better world for their employees - all by asking employees what they want!
Previously Frank co-founded the popular restaurant chain PF Chang's as part of the original development team and helped develop the foundation to grow into a global chain. For the past 15 years, Tom has served as the culture engineer and modern elder at Round World Management, where they're developing leaders in both the hospitality industry and many other markets and helping people represent their belief systems as a foundational piece of the business culture. In his most recent project, Frank created the I'm Essential project as a response to the COVID 19 pandemic and the impact it's had on all of our small businesses.
In this episode Tom and Jon discuss the four ingredients to a perfect company mission; how to create, maintain, and measure culture; and the essentialness of all employees.
Learn more about the I'm Essential Project at imessentialproject.com
This episode is sponsored by eLearning Brothers. Learn more about their Virtual Onboarding program here: http://elb.learninglifeshow.com/
Big Tech Companies are making money off of your personal data, why shouldn't you? Erik Rind is the founder and CEO of ImagineBC, where they're committed to helping individuals secure their personal data online and control when to share that information as well as their creative content and get paid for it. Think of Youtube but with the security of blockchain and more opportunities to profit from your personal data or creative content.
Erik is a seasoned entrepreneur and HR technology executive with a very unique vision for how to control personal information online and help creatives get paid for their content in a new kind of marketplace. In this episode, Erik and Jon discuss how blockchain works, how they've put creators first, and how COVID will change the workforce forever. Hint: there are lots of robots.
Check out ImagineBC here: https://imaginebc.net/
This episode is sponsored by eLearning Brothers.
As a musician-turned-learning-designer, Adam Larson brings his critical eye for entertainment to eLearning and instructional design at the Institute for Management Accountants (IMA). Striving to create engaging learning and events, Larson embraces chaos, learns from his mistakes, and keeps improving. You can catch Adam making moments for guests to tell their stories on the Count Me In Podcast and delivering just-in-time learning that is worth your time. In this episode, Larson discusses the keys to getting people to webinars, maintaining engagement, and the ideal length of a learning session.
Keep up with Adam's podcast Count Me In. Connect with him on LinkedIn.
Learn more about the Institute of Management Accountants here.
Sponsored by eLearning Brothers. Learn about the Virtual Onboarding program to ensure the success of your new employees: http://elb.learninglifeshow.com/
John Blackmon created an LMS and authoring tool before the world even knew what those were. Founder of LMS Trivantis and authoring tools Lectora and Cenario VR, Blackmon has spent his entire career focused on one principle: you shouldn't have to be a technologist to use technology.
In this episode, John discusses how he started Trivantis, Lectora, and Cenario VR; the acquisition by eLearning Brothers; how virtual reality is the future of elearning; & his prediction on what it will take for VR to be an industry standard.
Keep up with John Blackmon on LinkedIn here.
Start your 30-day free trial of CenarioVR here.
Read his articles at cenariovr.com or tune in to one of his webinars with eLearning Brothers at elearningbrothers.com
This episode is a Syntax + Motion Production, sponsored by eLearning Brothers. Learn more at elearningbrothers.com
Christa Peters is a strategic learning and development director. She has worked with companies to scale their training programs and build a learning program and culture where one did not exist before. In this episode, Christa talks with Jon about what it’s like to build a training program from the ground up, convincing leadership that investing in e-learning is beneficial; the challenges of a fully remote program vs an in-person one; the benefits of gamification; and her training content wishlist. Keep up with Christa Peters on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christapeters/ Sponsored by eLearning Brothers: Visit www.elearningbrothers.com
Your startup has a 50/50 chance of getting to 5 years… and the odds only get worse the longer you stay in business. Bill Flynn takes the guesswork out of growth. With more than 30 years of experience working for and advising hundreds of companies, Bill Flynn has had 5 successful outcomes, two IPOs, and seven acquisitions (including a 2008 turnaround!). He is the guy you want on your team while building your business! In this episode, Bill discusses his advice for startups, strategies for post-startup businesses, and how he got started. Get his book Further, Faster: The Vital Few Steps That Take the Guesswork out of Growth on Amazon here. You can also download his book for free and get additional resources on Bill’s website at www.catalystgrowthadvisors.com Keep up with Bill on LinkedIn, Twitter (@whfjr), and Instagram (@billflynn01776) Sponsored by eLearning Brothers: Visit www.elearningbrothers.com
Dr. Christian Weibell is the creator of the Principles-Of-Learning Framework, laying out the seven principles on which all learning is based. Weibell sits down with Jon to talk Computer Science education before the dot com bubble, getting his PhD in Instructional Psychology, developing effective learning experiences, and creating good UX and UI for learning environments.
Find out more at principles-of-learning.com
Sponsored by eLearning Brothers: Visit www.elearningbrothers.com
The Iron Cowboy is back! James Lawrence joins Jon Tota on the podcast to talk about the transition to remote work, bringing the same passion and energy to virtual conferences, and what determination and hard work look like. Since he's last been on the show, Lawrence has starred in TWO Amazon Prime Originals: Iron Cowboy | The Story of the 50-50-50 and World's Toughest Race: Eco-Challenge Fiji (adventure racing from the creator of Survivor!).
Key Take-Aways:
You won't know what you love until you try it. Go experience things!
Follow James Lawrence on Instagram @ironcowboyjames
Sponsored by: eLearning Brothers www.elearningbrothers.com
What can you do with a passion for technology and a background in social science to make an impact on the world? Become a futurist! At least that’s what Trond Undheim did. Futurism isn’t about predicting exactly, but about project long term potential outcomes and deciding what kind of future we want to optimize for. Futurism and futuristic thinking have a place in business, politics, government, and medicine. Making predictions and optimizing for the future are Trond’s specialties. He’s an internationally renowned strategy, tech, and innovation executive; the former director of MIT’s Startup Exchange; futurist, author, speaker, and entrepreneur. In this episode, Trond discusses his five predictions for the future of the world after the COVID-19 pandemic, his books, how to survive on serial failure, and where futurism can be applied. Futurized podcast https://www.futurized.co/ Trond Undheim website https://trondundheim.com/ Pandemic Aftermath http://pandemic-aftermath.com/ Disruption Games https://trondundheim.com/disruptiongames/ Amazon profile: http://amazon.com/author/trondundheim
Shay Lynch is the founder of Future State with a mission to help Business Owners, Directors, Department Managers, and their teams solve their biggest problems so they can focus on what is important to them: their customers.
Shay talks scaling your business without scaling your costs, systems thinking, helping businesses achieve their potential, and the power of remote operations.
www.futurestate.ie
https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaylynch/
Kate DeGon is in the business of change. She is the founder of ChangeSync - a software that helps organizations of all sizes implement and track organizational change. Change can be intimidating if you don't have the right tools in your kit. Her inspiration for ChangeSync came from her work at Phoenix University. Trying to keep up with the constant organizational change without a thorough tool was impossible, so Kate set out to fix it. Learn about executing successful organizational change from the expert!
https://changesync.com
John A. Dues is the director of the School Performance Institute, the learning and improvement arm of United Schools Network (USN), and the Chief Learning Officer of USN, a network of public charter schools in Columbus, Ohio.
John is dedicated to closing the achievement gap in urban areas, and under his leadership, USN schools are some of the highest performing urban schools both across Ohio and nation-wide. Now heading up The School Performance Institute, John is using Improvement Science to help schools accelerate performance.
Find out more about the United Schools Network and the School Performance Institute:
https://www.unitedschoolsnetwork.org/
https://www.schoolperformanceinstitute.org/
Connect with John on Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/johnadues
Ray Kung is the founder of Tech Learning Pros; they help global technology companies build out world-class technical learning systems. In this episode, Kung speaks about his career journey, technical learning patterns, and how to accelerate learning programs with engineering teams and other tech groups.
https://www.raykung.me/
Connect with Ray on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raykung/
Eileen Pease is the president of Dynamic Learning Inc and an expert on the 'brain at work.'
Eileen teaches people how to lead and manage more effectively by understanding their brains and minds. Listen to learn the ways our brains deplete without us even realizing and the external factors that affect our mental state.
Follow Eileen's updates at https://eileenpease.com/blog/
Follow her on Linkedin or Facebook at the links below.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/eileenpease/
facebook.com/eileenpease
"Influence is the art of finding out what the other person wants, understanding what you want, and connecting the two."
Owen Fitzpatrick is an influence expert. The author, speaker, and consultative trainer joined Jon Tota to discuss how we can achieve influence over ourselves and others to be successful. Listen to the full episode to learn the three main elements to influence, how you can make each of those elements cause your success, and the authenticity of political figures like Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders.
NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programing)
Visit Owen's website: https://owenfitzpatrick.com/
Follow him on Twitter: https://twitter.com/owenfitzp?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor And Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/owenf23/?hl=en
Get to know Owen on YouTube (including his TedX Talk!): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFtgqFoZoPE7vVFKKXRJxVw
Check out his books on Amazon (He recommends The Charismatic Edge): https://www.amazon.com/Owen-Fitzpatrick/e/B00AJR2U8O/ref=ntt_aut_sim_1_1
From the early days of instruction designing to modern-day parenting, Tyler Small talks about it all with host Jon Tota on this week's episode of Learning Life. Get Tyler’s book, “The 5-Star Approach” Buy it here on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/5-Star-Approach-Parenting-Cooperation-Attitudes/dp/B087SCDKJM/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1595541686&sr=1-1 The book that inspired Tyler: Marshall Goldsmith’s “What Got You Here Won’t Get You There” Buy here: https://www.marshallgoldsmith.com/product/book-2/ Check out the 5-Star Approach website: https://5starapproach.com/
Welcome to Season 6!
"What are you doing to invest in YOU?" This weeks guest is Robert Barber, Fortune 100 high performance executive coach and founder of ROYI, the Return on You Investment® Academy. Robert wants you to see yourself as the CEO of your life, and wants you to put your best effort into your personal and professional life.
Catch Robert on Season 2 of The Social Movement: https://redknight.tv/title/socialmovement/
Want to learn more about Robert Barber? Find him on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertleebarber/
Lawline CEO and entrepreneurial speaker David Schnurman has a new book, ‘The Fast Forward Mindset: How to Be MoreFearless & Focused to Accelerate Your Success.’ Schnurman sits down with Jon to talk online learning and COVID-19, and the inspiration for The Fast Forward Mindset.
Want to learn more about David Schnurman?
Find him on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidschnurman/ Or on his website: www.fastforwardmindset.com
Founder and CEO of The Bowery Common and host of the Digital Irish Podcast, Patrick McAndrew comes on the show to talk growth mindset and change management. The Bowery Common is a professional development organization helping high-performing individuals to maximize their mental performance.
Want to learn more about Patrick McAndrew? Reach out to him on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickmcandrewonline/
From an early age, Apple Crider has been an entrepreneur. Now, after a few business ventures, Crider is co-founder of Podblade, a service that edits podcast episodes for $20. In this episode, Jon Tota and Apple talk about how to leverage other people’s platforms and how to FOCUS (follow one course until successful). Crider asks, ‘Why are you doing this? What is your purpose?’ www.podblade.com www.applecrider.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/applecrider/
Alexander Salas is an award winning Learning Experience Designer, Chief Creative Officer at eLearningLaunch.com, and a US Navy Veteran. Alexander sits down with our host Jon Tota to talk about the basics of eLearning authoring, teaching the skills to create your own eLearning courses, and how allowing for failure can lead to better results. Alexander offers free video resources to learn from on Youtube on his channels StyleLearn and eLearning Launch!
Want to learn more about Alexander Salas?
Find him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stylelearn/
Or at his website: www.elearninglaunch.com
And be sure to check out StyleLearn and eLearning Launch on Youtube!
Matt Confer is the VP of Strategy & Business Development at Abilitie. He specializes in team-based training simulations. Working with clients like Coca-Cola, Marriott, and Nokia, he is also the lead facilitator at Abilitie and a public speaker. Today, he sits down with host Jon Tota to talk about competition, both live and virtual, as a driver for team engagement and process improvement.
Want to learn more about Matthew Confer?
Visit https://www.abilitie.com/
Or find him on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewconfer/
2008 USA Memory Champion and International Man of Memory Chester Santos speaks on techniques to retain information for employees and entrepreneurs alike. Now an international speaker, Chester tells our host Jon Tota how memory can make you a master networker, remembering people and helping you build connections, and help you become a better worker with tasks and project plans.
Want to learn more about memory skills expert Chester Santos?
Visit https://www.internationalmanofmemory.com/
Or find him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chestersantos/
They say it takes 10,000 hours to master a skill, and skillset adoption is one of the most difficult things to achieve, especially from eLearning courses. Experience is key! Today’s guest has discovered how to track those experiences that lead to mastery. In this episode, Jon sits down with TREK Creator Marty Rosenheck. TREK, part of eLearning Brothers, is a learning experience manager: it is designed to lead users down tailored learning paths to maximize the usefulness of training. “My life's work is to apply cognitive science and cutting edge technology the development of skills and expertise. That involves designing learning experiences and ecosystems that support intentional learning in the workflow.” Want to learn more about TREK? elearningbrothers.com/trek
In today’s episode, Jon sits down with an e-learning pioneer: Andrew Scivally. His company, eLearning Brothers has been on the Inc 5000 List five times over! As the co-founder and CEO, Scivally pushed against industry naysayers in the early days of the supposed “e-learning fad” to become one of today’s major industry players. As the lines blur between educational and entertainment content, Scivally and his company maintain their edge; not as instructional content designers, but as experience developers.
Scivally and his brother founded eLearning Brothers in 2009 and have worked to enable eLearning rockstars with every piece of amazing content they work on.
Want to learn more about eLearning Brothers? Visit the links below.
https://elearningbrothers.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/elearning-brothers-llc/
Mo Fathelbab, founder and president of the Forum Resources Network and co-founder of Harvard BusinessSchool Alumni Forums is out with a new book, The Friendship Advantage. Hear from an expert how vulnerability is the key to building relationships, both personal and professional.
Get a FREE copy of Mo's book, The Friendship Advantage: https://amzn.to/2L8fFLy
Want to learn more about Mo?
Find him at: Mofathelbab.com
Or on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mofathelbab/
Sales Enablement, Training, and Talent Leader Bill Ball talks his career story at DISYS and Vorsight and his newest endeavor as a founding member of the Sales Enablement Society.
Find Bill Ball on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-ball-se/
Find the Sales Enablement Society
On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sesociety/
Online: https://www.sesociety.org/default.aspx
Jason Forrest is an author, speaker, and CEO of the Forrest Performance Group. On this episode he shares with us the Performance Formula: Performance = Knowledge - Leashes. Get your copy of his new book, The Mindset of a Sales Warrior, for FREE here: http://bit.ly/38mnY0S Want to learn more about Jason Forrest? Find him on Social Media: * Facebook www.facebook.com/jforrestspeaker * LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/jasonsforrest
After hosting Your Business on NBC News for 13 years, entrepreneur, TV host, and author JJ Ramberg co-founded Goodpods, The Social Podcasting App. JJ sits down with Jon to talk about her entrepreneurial journey, finding inspiration in lockdown, and how Goodpods’ social interaction feature is not just great in quarantine, but revolutionary for the industry.
Check out GoodPods: www.goodpods.com
Find JJ on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jj-ramberg-6b7976/
Gabriel Friedlander is a Cybersecurity expert and founder of Wizer Free Security Awareness Training. Friedlander sits down with Jon and explains Zoombombing, password phishing, and even IRS scams affecting us during quarantine, and talks best practices to stay secure when working at home. According to Friedlander, the most insecure part of a computer is the habits of the user behind the keyboard.
Find more about Cybersecurity from Gabriel Friedlander:
On LinkedIn
On the Wizer website
Claudia Reuter is a work-life balance expert, author, managing director at Techstars private equity, and fellow podcast host. Claudia sits down with Jon to talk about the future of working from home: setting boundaries, switching to distributed work, and being goal-oriented.
Find Claudia at her Website, and Linkedin:
https://www.claudiareuter.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/claudia-reuter-6ba4635/ Listen to the 43 Percent Podcast: https://www.the43percent.com/
Entrepreneurial Soul Coach Rha Goddess talks about finding inspiration in your work, and creating opportunity from within. Rha sits down with Jon to talk about using our time at home to find self-reflection, find our calling, and be the change we want to see.
Find Rha Goddess on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rhagoddess/
And her website:
https://movethecrowd.me/
And find her book The Calling: 3 Fundamental Shifts to Stay True, Get Paid, and Do Good on Amazon.
Dr. Elia Gourgouris has been happy since the day he was born. How does he do it? In this episode, Dr. Gourgouris shares with host Jon Tota practical ways to find happiness and joy even in the midst of all this uncertainty and fear.
Visit https://www.learninglifeshow.com/covid19 for more.
1:38 Becoming a Happiness Expert 5:00 Leah’s Royal Transformation 8:04 The University of Adversity 11:55 The Optimists Solution & Weathering the Storm 18:36 Advice for Parents 23:42 Seven Keys to Navigating in a Crisis Dr. Elia Gourgouris is on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/askdrelia/
Check out his website: https://www.dreliagourgouris.com/
The Happiness Center: https://www.thehappinesscenter.com/
Get his book 7 Paths to Lasting Happiness here on Amazon
Ann Dolin, president of Educational Connections talks with Jon Tota about maximizing your kids' education while minimizing stress during quarantine. She's compiled helpful resources to help teach your kids online and keep them engaged.
Visit https://www.learninglifeshow.com/covid19 for more.
Ann Dolin is on Linkedin:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ann-dolin-8877a011/
And find these resources to help your kids learn at home:
https://www.ectutoring.com/cv
https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome.html
https://www.ixl.com/
https://www.brainpop.com/
Generational expert Anna Liotta talks the difference in generational response in our time of crisis, based on the way our generations were raised and how the different channels of communication used. She also foresees a paradigm shift in day-to-day life on the other end of the COVID crisis, with this unprecedented situation opening the eyes of the different American generations to new ideas.
Visit https://www.learninglifeshow.com/covid19 for more.
Anna Liotta is on Linkedin:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaliotta/
And be sure to check out https://annaliotta.com/
Randy McNeely is an author, teacher, and speaker. Randy is "The Kindness Giver" and he wants us to know that the best way to get through this time of physical isolation is to reach out socially to the people we love. The good thing about 2020; we have phones, computers, video chat and more to get in touch with the people that mean the most to us. Remember that "this too shall pass." Together we are strong, and we can succeed with Kindness.
Visit https://www.learninglifeshow.com/covid19 for more.Randy McNeely is on Linkedin:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rdmcneely/
And be sure to check out https://www.randymcneely.com/
In response to the ongoing global epidemic, we have decided to put our usual season on hold. We will be doing a special series to help our listeners with working from home and overcoming disruptive challenges. We hope that our experts will help you manage through these tough times spark new ideas while we wade through this crisis.
Visit https://www.learninglifeshow.com/covid19 for more.
Liz Kislik is a management consultant and executive coach, as well as a TEDx Speaker, and contributor to the Harvard Business Review and Forbes. Her story of managing disruptive change is important and relatable in today's situation, and she is available for those who are seeking more help.
Reach out to Liz Kislik on Linkedin:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lizkislik/
Or find her on https://lizkislik.com/
Martha Lopez is the SSOE Training & Enablement Manager at Amazon Web Services. She began her career in education at just 13 years old, teaching students in areas in need in Miami. She has four years experience as a Spanish Teacher, and over seventeen years in corporate L&D, including roles at Emory University, BioIQ, and Brown Bag Marketing.
This week, Martha sits down with Jon to talk about the path from traditional education to corporate education, how to leverage an educational background to move onto instructional design, and earning respect as a training leader.
Want to learn more about Martha Lopez?
Find her on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/marthaflopez/
Jessica Jones is the Learning and Development Manager at CivicPlus. CivicPlus provides an integrated technology platform for local governments to help streamline work and better connect with citizens. Based in Kansas, Jones heads up training for the company’s 300+ employees, working to educate employees on the platform and initiatives, and helping civilian employees truly learn about the local governments they’re working with.
This week, Jessica sits down with Jon to talk about her career story and the cross-section of private L&D and public service.
Want to learn more about Jessica Jones?
Find her on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-jones-cptm-ks/
Find CivicPlus on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/civicplus/
Kiri Masters is the founder of Bobsled Marketing and The Marketplace Institute, an author, and a fellow podcast co-host of the eCommerce Braintrust Podcast. Kiri’s businesses aim to help consumer product brands grow their sales on Amazon.
This week, Kiri will sit down with Jon to talk about doing global business in the modern online world. After leaving JPMorgan to start a craft Lamp supply shop, Kiri maps her journey into Amazon marketing: from Australia to New York to Colombia, building businesses along the way, all online.
Want to learn more about Kiri Masters?
Find her on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kiri-masters/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-marketplace-institite/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bobsled-marketing/
Find Amazon for CMOs and the Amazon Expansion Plan on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Amazon-CMOs-Achieve-Success-Economy-ebook/dp/B07VRV4T2K
https://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Expansion-Plan-skyrocket-international-ebook/dp/B07DTL1PNF
And check out the eCommerce Braintrust Podcast:
https://www.ecommercebraintrust.com/
Diana Hill is the Director of Digital Learning for SAFARI Montage. She works with school districts to set up the LOR, a Learning Object Repository, an interoperable system for digital learning resources and media streaming.
After working as a teacher in Florida for six years, she became the Innovative Learning Specialist for her school district, and moved to the business side of education operations after working to implement SAFARI montage for the school system.
Diana sits down with Learning Life host Jon Tota to talk about what the corporate world could learn from the education field.
Want to learn more about Diana Hill?
Find her on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianaryanhill/
Twitter:@Dianaryanhill
Find SAFARI Montage on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/safari-montage/
And their website:
https://www.safarimontage.com/
Check out www.learninglifeshow.com to learn more.
Marketing is like cheesy covered broccoli; it can taste good and be used for good too.” Amanda Slavin is the engagement innovator. While writing her thesis for her accelerated Masters program at UCONN, Slavin was inspired by her formal teaching education and her event organizing side-hustle to develop a framework for engaging a brands' customers at the highest level. Cue The Seventh Level, the product of Slavin’s radical thinking and the system that has helped her brand consulting firm, CatalystCreativ, rise to the forefront of the industry.
The Seventh Level, a recently published book and long-standing framework for engagement, focuses on how brands can turn passive consumers into active participants. It’s been adopted by Google, NPR, CocaCola, the Oakland Raiders, the Nature Conservancy, and many, many more!
In this episode, Amanda Slavin sits down with Learning Life host Jon Tota to discuss brand acupuncture (and many more of her redefined phrases), the effect of digital experiences on human engagements, and truly connecting with a target audience.
Want to learn more about Amanda Slavin?
Find her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amslavin/
And her personal website: https://amandaslavin.com/
Check out CatalystCreativ here: https://www.catalystcreativ.com/
Check out The Seventh Level: https://the-seventhlevel.com/
And buy the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Seventh-Level-Transform-Meaningful-Engagement-ebook/dp/B07YL59HPT
Visit www.learninglifeshow.com to hear more!
Blaire’s debut on Learning Life comes at an important time- the start of Black History Month.
Blaire G. Hervey is the Director of Training and Sales Enablement at ZoomInfo powered by DiscoverOrg, a B2B database and contact directory. She is also a change management leader, making history of her own, paving the way for Diversity & Inclusion initiatives to focus on the advancement, empowerment, and visibility of underrepresented employees at ZoomInfo.
Championing inclusion, she works to enhance the culture of learning with a “Build the People” mentality developing relevant, engaging, interactive programs to delight customers and shape tech professionals into thriving high-performers who can accelerate their careers.
She speaks to Jon about her experience in launching a company Diversity Day introducing their first Global Inclusion & Diversity Initiative (GIDI) and the launch of their employee resource groups: ZoomInColor, ZoomInfo Womens' Initiative Network, Zoom Around the World, ZoomInfo Pride and ZoomInfo Military & Family. ZoomInfo's dedication through these initiatives has built new relationships with their recruiting team identifying diversified talent and diversifying teams at record speed!
To Blaire, working towards diversity, equity and inclusion is a labor of love– with real work, real people and real emotions. Blaire is all about building meaningful connections between people + data.
Want to learn more about Blaire G Hervey? Find her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/blairehervey/
Jamie Schroder is the Manager of Client Training at Sunquest Information Systems, an Air Force Veteran, and has 25 years of experience in the L&D and medical laboratory spaces. Sunquest provides a full suite of software and services for scientific laboratories, which requires very specific training that varies by user type.
This week, Jamie sits down with Jon to talk about training from a military standpoint and a corporate standpoint, the importance of LMS usability, what it’s like to work at a company during times of change, and tailoring learning to the learner’s needs through media, social, and micro-learning.
Visit learninglifeshow.com to hear exclusive episodes of Learning Life!
Want to learn more about Jamie Schroder?
Find her on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamielschroder/
Find SunQuest online:
https://www.sunquestinfo.com/
Keiko Borkenhagen is the Senior Program Manager for Education and Training at LiquidPlanner. A "boomerang employee," she left and returned to the project management SAAS company to head up training for employees and customers alike.
This week, Keiko sits down with Jon to talk about the balance between technical training and coaching soft skill development, and how to gear up power users.
Want to learn more about Keiko? Find her on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/keiko-borkenhagen/
Checkout LiquidPlanner and her blog at the company site:
https://www.liquidplanner.com/
https://www.liquidplanner.com/blog/author/keikobork/
Visit https://www.learninglifeshow.com to hear more!
Dr. Jane Tornatore is a recovering perfectionist, therapist, speaker, and author, who has spent the last 20 years building her private practice and conducting Alzheimer's related research. Her current work focuses on improving brain health, boosting memory and reducing stress by converting outdated patterns and unnecessary stress into authenticity and wisdom.
Tornatore makes a lasting impact by incorporating compassion, curiosity, and heartfelt optimism, along with powerful shots of playfulness, into her teaching. This week, Jon sits down with Dr. Tornatore to talk about self-acceptance in the age of social media and how our relationship with ourselves can lead to success or failure in our work-life. Want to learn more about Dr. Tornatore?
Dr. Jane's latest book, Everything is Perfect, Just not Me! provides tools for you to change your thought patterns so you can make your mind your ally instead of your enemy.
Check out her website:
https://www.everydaylove.me/
Find her on Social Media:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/janetornatore/
https://www.facebook.com/everydaylove.me/
https://www.instagram.com/drjanetornatore/
Find Everything is PERFECT, Just not ME!: A Roadmap to Self-Acceptance here:
http://doctortornatore.com/book/
Visit www.learninglifeshow.com to hear more!
Welcome to Season 3 of Learning Life, and welcome to our Women in Learning series! Each week, we'll dive into the successes and struggles of powerful women making an impact on learning and organizational business.
Dr. Marina Theodotou is the Director of Operations and Analytics at the Defense Acquisition University, a training university of the US Department of Defense. She is also an author, a former leader in computer science K-12 education, and a whole lot more. Seriously, just read her Linkedin.
This week, she sits down with Jon to talk about the three pillars of a sustainable culture of learning and her work at the DAU. With over a million online courses completed every year, and 10 million visitors, Dr. Theodotou is piloting an AI-powered course to increase information retention.
Want to learn more about Dr. Theodotou?
Find her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marinatheodotou/