The Hive Life: Storytelling & Entrepreneurship: Recent Episodes
Spiracle Media
The Hive Life is driven by former journalists that run a video content agency in Charlotte, NC, that specializes in storytelling. Our goal is to share some of our experiences from the last 20 years while connecting you with subject matter experts within marketing, entrepreneurship and business. Informative, candid and fun is our preferred delivery.
We would love to hear from you at info@spiraclebuzz.com.
Tim Baier and Jarod Latch recently sat down to reflect on the award-winning documentary Saving Spiracle with director, partner, and chief creative officer, David Kernodle.
In the final episode of our series, we sit down with PeopleSuite owner David Preston. Preston takes us inside the world of recruiting and provides insightful information regarding the current state of the job market. Who has the advantage, workers or employers? When is the best time to hire for sales?
Christine Steiner has faced significant challenges with a portfolio of over 20 restaurant franchises . The already high industry turnover rate has gone through the roof, leading to a new outlook and strategy. Steiner shares her approach and touches on what she hopes will be a recipe for success.
Nick Hernandez has spent a considerable amount of his career in human resources. The last two years have forced him and many others to think a bit differently. Nick elaborates on how his company is looking to attract and retain talent while taking care of people in a hybrid world.
Entrepreneur and author Brittney-Nichole Connor-Savarda shares how her childhood, early professional experience, and a significant life event put her on a path to solving our "People Problems."
Her passion is contagious as she talks about emotional intelligence and her organization, Catalyst 4 Change.
Jay Offerdahl has spent the last 25 years building a business that helps others reach the next big thing in their lives. He shares his personal struggles, triumphs, and continued reason for optimism as a business owner.
This is an entrepreneur conversation with plentiful takeaways and insight.
Brian Harrison can find a story in anything. Getting his start in video production for the Blue Man Group, he now tells the stories behind Truist bank as their VP, Multimedia Content Marketing Manager.
Andy Siegel took a risk when he stepped beyond the world of sports journalism and into the role of Head of Internal Brand Experience for TIAA. In this episode, he shares how leveraging his existing skillset, while also embracing what he didn't know, has led him to where he is.
Jeff Wanner is gifted at bringing people together. He talks about the motivation behind that and how welcoming a daughter has changed the game. He also elaborates on his entrepreneurial journey as the founder of PairPEO and why you might see him at a bowling alley near you.
Writer Hope Rivers shares her journey into copywriting. Hope realized at a formative age that there is great power in writing. In this episode, she also touches on best practices and scripting for video.
One of the founding members of Spiracle Media, Bill Voth, joins the Hive Life for an entertaining take on his current role with the Carolina Panthers and the early days of Spiracle.
Chrissy Reed is leading the charge when it comes to employee relationships at Hylaine. Hylaine is a fast growing software consulting firm headquartered in Charlotte, NC.
Chrissy shares what type of employee engagement works well and how to stay connected in today's interesting work environment.
Blair Primis is a notable name in Charlotte marketing circles and for good reason. He has transformed Orthocarolina's presence in the local community over the last 12 years.
Blair talks about battling the pandemic & learning new lessons, his marketing approach, and giving up on making sure the fridge is organized.
Cities across the country have been some of the hardest hit areas of this ongoing pandemic. Adam Rhew of Charlotte Center City Partners joins us to talk about the state of the city and its prospects for a quick recovery.
Cassmer Ward has started multiple companies in different spaces, walking away with invaluable experience. As a key member of the Spiracle Media team, he serves in the role of CFO.
In 2020, he authored his first book titled, How Much Does it Cost to make a Donut? He discusses the process and impetus behind the book plus much more.
Brad Panovich is one of the most trusted and celebrated meteorologists in the Charlotte market. He has build a strong following across social media by using a personal touch that's matched by few in his profession.
Brad takes us back to his early days while bringing us up to speed on his strategy to stay connected with his viewers when they need him most.
Michelle Jones is a talented web developer and designer. After teaching herself coding at an early age, she followed in her father's footsteps and started her own company. In this episode, she talks about the importance of making your website a sales tool plus some trends for 2021.
Jamey Boiter has been BOLTGROUPS's brand principal for over 25 years. During that time, Jamey has led award-winning strategic brand development and design experience programs with world-class brands such as Kobalt Tools, Coca-Cola, Kraft, Izod, and many more.
John Espey is no stranger to starting a company. He has done it multiple times with his latest creation being Defiance Ventures.
John shares his take on the important connection between brand and culture as well as what fuels his entrepreneurial mindset.
Emir Dukic has been a part of numerous startups and entrepreneurial environments. His latest venture, Rabbu, is thriving within the short-term rental economy.
Emir expounds on why business has accelerated during the pandemic and touches on how his family fled unrest in Bosnia to get to the United States.
Jason Grizzi, Director of Global Marketing for In-Building and Product Brand Strategy at Corning, shares his backstory while hitting on the importance of humanizing your brand.
Charlotte Business Journal publisher TJ Mccullough stops by to talk Charlotte, the transition to virtual events, plus a new partnership to support racial equality.
Robin Hammond joins the Hive Life to talk about the world of rugged cat phones and her ten years as Senior Sales Trainer at one of Charlotte fastest growing companies.
Like many businesses, Skillpop has had to at least temporarily change its model, moving from in-person classes to pop-up style online. Whether you’re learning about watercolors, marketing or anything else, SkillPop classes are designed to stretch you beyond the ordinary.
Founder Haley Bohon joins the Hive Life to talk everything from entrepreneurship to the next big opportunity.
Stratifyd is one of the fastest growing tech companies in Charlotte. According to their website -- The future needs more than AI. It needs a whole new level of data-driven intelligence powered by human creativity, ingenuity and curiosity. We’ll cut to the chase – that’s us.
VP of Marketing & Demand Generation, Taylor Busby, joins Spiracle Media Co-founders Jarod Latch and Tim Baier to talk a number of topics.
In this episode of the Hive Life, Spiracle Media Co-founder Jarod Latch talks to Elise Esasky of Read Charlotte about her background as a journalist, work from home life, the importance of video storytelling and the great work that she is leading at Read Charlotte.
Read Charlotte is a community-wide initiative uniting parents, educators and community partners to improve children’s literacy from birth through third grade.
Partners Jarod Latch, Tim Baier & David Kernodle provide an update on Spiracle Media's approach to this unique time. The guys share the team's plan for operations, communication, safety, marketing and innovation while tackling the challenges of working from home.
The Spiracle team takes you behind-the-scenes of a recent project with the YMCA of Greater Charlotte that combines the worlds of live video and graphics. The video showcased the release of the YMCA's new app.
Greg Campion is a 20 year veteran of the financial industry. As a Managing Director of Marketing at Barings, he is responsible for creating content that reaches a global market.
He joins Spiracle Media Co-founders Jarod Latch and Tim Baier on this episode to talk about what Barings is doing in the storytelling space as well as how podcasting has become a valuable tool.
The Spiracle Media team had the opportunity to tell the story of how Sleep in Heavenly Peace is making a significant impact on kids in Tallahassee, FL.
Creative Video Specialists Thomas Wilson and AJ Chodora join Co-Founder Jarod Latch for a behind-the-scenes discussion on this video project.
The Hive Life takes an introspective look into Episode 110 of Influencing Entrepreneurs. In this episode, the hosts (owners of Spiracle Media) and Cassmer Ward discuss the challenges of leaving a career in sports media to start their own firm.
The Hive Life takes an introspective look into Episode 109 of Influencing Entrepreneurs. In this episode, the hosts (Jarod Latch and Tim Baier) and Cassmer Ward discuss Clean Juice's (Landon & Kat Eckles) meteoric rise into franchise success and how these entrepreneurs built an enterprise based on commercial real-estate experience and their faith.
The Hive Life takes an introspective look into Episode 108 of Influencing Entrepreneurs. In this episode, the hosts (Jarod Latch and Tim Baier) and Cassmer Ward discuss Feetures! footwear(The Gaither Family) and how a season professional salesperson (Hugh) in the hosiery industry found a way to build a brand and presence in the running specialty market. The Gaither's story of how a small company became a large multimillion dollar family business is filled with mistakes made, lessons learned, and the patience it takes to become successful.
The Hive Life takes an introspective look into Episode 107 of Influencing Entrepreneurs. In this episode, the hosts (Jarod Latch and Tim Baier) and Cassmer Ward discuss City Start-Up Labs (Henry Rock) and how a not-for-profit business with a social impact is no different than for-profit business. Henry Rock's story of personal and professional development shows entrepreneurs how vital it is to build one's own "toolbox" of skills, experience, and knowledge.
Video has been a tool for a long time, but how it's being used and where it's going is changing at a rapid pace. Enter Scott Peterson. Scott currently spearheads the business development efforts at Infographics. Infographics is taking information and translating it into high-end animation that is easily absorbed.
With a significant background in marketing and sports branding, Scott has witnessed firsthand how video has changed.
The Hive Life takes an introspective look into Episode 106 of Influencing Entrepreneurs. In this episode, the hosts (Jarod Latch and Tim Baier) and Cassmer Ward discuss Knowmad Digital Marketing (Diona Kidd) and understanding marketing strategy is important than advertising. Diona Kidd shares how Knowmad Digital Marketing spends time with their partners to learn what the expectations, focus, desired outcome, and ability to fulfill are before any resources are used in marketing.
The Hive Life takes an introspective look into Episode 105 of Influencing Entrepreneurs. In this episode, the hosts (Jarod Latch and Tim Baier) and Cassmer Ward discuss AvidXChange (Chris Elmore) and how three failures in the technology sector created one of the fastest growing FinTech companies in the Charlotte area. Chris Elmore's story from religious studies major to entrepreneur and author are filled with life lessons that help develop him into the businessperson he is today.
The Hive Life takes an introspective look into Episode 104 of Influencing Entrepreneurs. In this episode, the hosts (Jarod Latch and Tim Baier) and Cassmer Ward discuss Sugar. Handmade Gourmet Donuts (Kathi Alexander) and how a corporate salesperson left a career in healthcare to pursue her passion of making the perfect donut. Kathi Alexander's story of her journey through healthcare and sales, to becoming a published author, details how it prepared her for this entrepreneurial endeavor.
In this project recap, the team at Spiracle Media looks back at a recent event shoot in which they tested their live stream capabilities. They also talk through how events provide a golden opportunity to capture various types of content.
The Hive Life takes an introspective look into Episode 103 of Influencing Entrepreneurs. In this episode, the hosts (Jarod Latch and Tim Baier) and Cassmer Ward discuss Ex Gratia Brewing (Seth Gibson) and how a not-for-profit brewer with a social impact is no different than for-profit business. Seth Gibson's background as a preacher led him to a mission to start is own non-for-profit brewery to give back to the community.
The Hive Life takes an introspective look into Episode 102 of Influencing Entrepreneurs. In this episode, the hosts (Jarod Latch and Tim Baier) and Cassmer Ward discuss Boxman Studios (David Campbell) and how a downturn in the economy afforded David the opportunity to pursue a new concept/venture. David Campbell shares how he came up with the concept for Boxman Studios while continuously working to develop the firms competitive advantages, key value drivers, and his own leadership skills.
The Hive Life takes an introspective look into Episode 101 of Influencing Entrepreneurs. In this episode, the hosts (Jarod Latch and Tim Baier) and Cassmer Ward discuss Enventys Partners (Louis Foreman) and how a business that was started in a college dorm room set Louis on the path to become one of the foremost experts in innovation, product development, and entrepreneurship.
The Hive Life takes an introspective look into the web-series Influencing Entrepreneurs; interviews and insights of lessons learned from entrepreneurs. In this series overview, the hosts (Jarod Latch and Tim Baier) and Cassmer Ward discuss how Influencing Entrepreneurs was developed and produced. The hosts discuss how the concept started as a class room lecture series that turned into a popular web-series.
The goal of video storytelling is to produce a compelling piece that impacts the viewer. Characters are essential in accomplishing that. Recently, we followed one such character. Mary provides the main voice for why volunteers are essential to Read Charlotte and how they can leave a lasting impact on a child's life.
Creative Specialist Austin Huddy joins Co-Founder Jarod Latch to share the thinking and execution behind the video.
Do you often wonder how to maximize your investment in content marketing? Queens University is a prime example of getting the most bang for their buck, especially when it comes to video. After listening to this conversation, you are bound to learn a few tips and tricks on how to best leverage your content.
Welcome Whitney Combs to the Hive Life podcast. Whitney is a seasoned marketing professional with years of experience in the agency world. She is currently working on the client side as the Executive Director of Marketing & Communications at Queens University in Charlotte.
On this episode of the Hive Life, we check the temperature of the Charlotte entrepreneurial community with Mac Lackey. Lackey, who is a native Charlottean, has built and sold multiple businesses. He is also branching out to use video content to support his personal brand and mentorship goals.
Fresh off their first original series, the team at Spiracle Media does a debrief on what they learned during the process of "Building Charlotte."
They also touch on the value of producing a video series and how there is a new taste for longer digital content.
In this episode, we take a broad brush into our marketing conversation with Danny Decker. Danny is a speaker, author, marketer and entrepreneur.
His enthusiasm is evident as he shares his marketing expertise when it comes to video, social media, and e-newsletters. You are bound to grab a few key takeaways from our conversation.
Gretchen has battled adversity her entire life and is now on the cusp of graduating from Queen's University. Director of Video Service David Kernodle joins Director of Creative Content Jarod Latch for a behind-the-scenes chat about the story.
In Episode 6 of the Hive Life, members of the Spiracle Media team chat about how drones are being utilized within the video production space. They also touch on some of the other ways that drones are being utilized in a commercial capacity as safety and regulations have become more complex.
Creativity is a recurring part of the conversation when it comes to its place within a video project.
What concepts make sense? How should they be applied? Do they make sense? How far do you?
These are legitimate questions you'll face when looking to get "creative." The team at Spiracle Media tackles these questions while pulling from past learning experiences.
Lights, camera, construction ! Two Charlotte-born companies are documenting the homebuilding process in Charlotte with an HGTV-like look at all of the action. From acquisition and demo, to construction and staging, Pike Properties and Spiracle Media are showcasing the process from start to finish in a webisode series launching on Tuesday, September 4th.
This special edition of the Hive Life takes you behind-the-scenes of the seven episode series.
On this Episode:
Jarod Latch, Director of Creative Content at Spiracle Media Tim Baier, Director of Business Development at Spiracle Media Anthony Moore, Co-founder of Pike Properties Matt Connolly, Co-founder of Pike Properties
For more visit: Buildingcharlotte.com
For the latest edition of the Hive Life, we sit down with Jarian Kerekes. Jarian is the Senior Director of Corporate Social Responsibility at TIAA. His experience includes a similar role with the National Basketball Association.
During our episode, we cover multiple topics from his time at the NBA, to TIAA's latest "big" project within a year of celebration plus personal insight into what motivates him. His passion is contagious!
For some marketers and decision-makers, getting a video content strategy off the ground can seem like a daunting task. Where do you start? Who do you include? What type of content is best?
The team at Spiracle Media digs in to answer some of these basic questions that are extra important when getting started.
Video is a tool for professionals in many different arenas. This includes public relations. Molly Thompson, Vice President of PR & Communications at the YMCA of Greater Charlotte, talks about her background, experiences and how she tells stories for one of the largest YMCA's in the country.
In this introductory episode, the partners at Spiracle Media provide a behind-the-scenes glimpse into how things got started. It also touches on the importance of relationships, technology and continued innovation within the space.