Action and Ambition

Welcome to another episode of Action and Ambition. Today's guest is Bam Azizi, the founder and CEO of Front, the first investment platform to give investors beyond Wall Street access to smart investing insights with powerful FISCO risk scoring technology. Bam is a serial entrepreneur with a background in cybersecurity. After his most recent successful startup exit in the identity and data security space, he launched Front with the mission to empower every investor, big and small, with the insights and technology to build a financially secure future.Bam Azizi is the founder and CEO of Front, the first investment platform to give investors beyond Wall Street access to smart investing insights with powerful FISCO risk scoring technology. Bam is a serial entrepreneur with a background in cybersecurity. After his most recent successful startup exit in the identity and data security space, he launched Front with the mission to empower every investor, big and small, with the insights and technology to build a financially secure future.

Welcome to another episode of Action and Ambition. Today's guest is Dennis Cunningham. He serves as current President and Chief Executive Officer of Perfect Brands Importing, Inc., Perfect Vodka, and Airtab which he founded. AirTab, the leading social network app that connects people to trending dining and entertainment experiences, launched a “$25 Million Dollar Cocktail Giveaway,” in December 2020 and has been going viral ever since. You're going to love this episode!

Welcome to another episode of Action and Ambition. Today's guest is Howard Panes. Over the past three years, Panes has been building a new fitness brand called “Stealth.” Stealth combines fitness and gaming in a proprietary software platform, which turns boring exercise into a fun, motivating experience. The first Stealth product, called “Stealth Core Trainer,” was launched via a very successful Kickstarter in late 2016. The product began shipping in mid-2017 and has become a huge sensation. Stealth Core Trainer turns the boring plank exercise into a fun gamified experience. You focus so much on playing the game that you “forget” you’re working out. That’s why it’s called Stealth - sneaking fitness into your day without even thinking about it. The innovative design of Stealth Core Trainer moves in 360 degrees and is connected to your phone, so you plank while you play games. Stealth has exploded in popularity in 2020 because people are looking for at-home fitness solutions due to the coronavirus pandemic closing down gyms. There are now over 200,000 Stealth users, with a growing online community called “StealthNation.” Panes is, once again, in the process of building another billion-dollar brand.

Welcome to another episode of Action and Ambition. Today's guest is Darren Rude. As Founder and CEO of Youtheory, Darren oversees the team company’s Southern California headquarters that handles all of its manufacturing, packaging, and shipping needs. He is personally involved in all aspects of the company, including sales, marketing, product development, and distribution. Darren grew up in the grocery industry within a 3rd generation family business. Darren’s grandfather, Concetto Guiliano, joined his cousin Giuseppe Uddo to help create the Progresso Quality Foods brand before creating the family bakery and deli, Guilianos. After years in the family business, Darren decided he needed to manufacture a different type of food, supplements. Using the knowledge that he had, Rude worked for three leading manufacturers before he launched Nutrawise in 2010. You're going to love this episode.

Welcome to another episode of Action & Ambition.

Today's guest is Angus Taylor. Angus is the CEO of Infused Products International (IPI). A long-time entrepreneur, Angus has brought his focus on business development, strategy, innovation, and new market development to a variety of industries over his career. He devoted himself fully to the cannabis industry in 2015, well in advance of the legalization of Canada's recreational cannabis market, and went on to found NewLeaf Cannabis, one of Canada's most successful retail cannabis brands to date with 23 stores operating in Alberta, the most competitive Canadian market. Since the successful launch of NewLeaf, Angus has been working with both local and international businesses to help them understand and strategize the best path to success in the incredibly competitive cannabis landscape.

With markets opening around the world to CBD and to cannabis products, Angus co-founded IPI, the parent company of Infused Amphora, to bring his deep understanding and experience in brand building, innovation, and product formulation to the creation of a category redefining inhalable vape line. Launching in the UK in September 2020, Infused Amphora products source the highest-quality CBD distillate, and are formulated with tailored terpene blends designed to deliver specific experiences such as athletic recovery, sleep, inspiration, and tranquillity. Under Angus's leadership and with the insight and experience of an expert-led team, Amphora is set to grow from six products to 24 by Q1, 2021.

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Welcome to another episode of Action & Ambition with your host, Andrew Medal.

Michael Steinmetz is the founder and CEO of Flow Kana, California’s largest distributor of sun-grown organic cannabis from small craft farmers. The company aims to transform cannabis into the world’s first fully sustainable agricultural product, advancing a farming ecosystem rooted in transparency, integrity, and shared equity. Originally from Caracas, Steinmetz built and sold a Venezuelan national food marketing and distribution company, and worked as an investment analyst at Merrill Lynch and a data analyst at NASA’s jet propulsion laboratory.

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Welcome to another episode of Action & Ambition with your host, Phillip Lanos.

Founder of Past Life the Collective- a sustainable clothing brand. Berkley is focused on climate change issues and is passionate about her innovative business. After learning that the fashion industry is one of the largest pollutants in the world, Berkley was inspired to create a different business model, one that focuses on people and the planet before profit. At Past Life, the Collective, 100% of the product is made from recycled fabrics, and everything is hand sewn ethically and locally in Denver, Colorado. Past Life the Collective is committed to zero waste production, ethical treatment, supporting the local economy, and educating consumers about living a more eco-friendly life. 

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Welcome to another episode of Action & Ambition with your host, Andrew Medal.

Renowned Miami Plastic Surgeon Dr. Adam Rubinstein is an award-winning, board-certified plastic surgeon well regarded for his outstanding work and cutting edge non-invasive and surgical plastic surgery procedures for women and men. He is a well-known and outspoken patient advocate and is not afraid to speak out about botched plastic surgery, unsafe conditions, and questionable clinics related to patient deaths.

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Welcome to another episode of Action and Ambition. Today's guest is Paul Adrian. Paul is the founder and CEO of Mojo Skin & Haircare, the British premium hair styling and grooming brand which has innovated & disrupted the men’s hair category within the FMCG space in the UK & internationally. It is the private challenger brand in the category taking on the major global players in the FMCG space.

A career advertising veteran, he set up the company at the age of 49. Prior to setting up the business, he spent several years in the lifestyle and beauty industry including at King of Shaves (a men’s skincare brand) to scale the brand.

The genesis for the company was a gap in the FMCG sector for affordable but premium hair care product range. Paul blended science and beauty and created a pro-salon styling product with a luxurious fragrance and so started the Mojo journey.

You're going to love this episode, let's get to it!

Welcome to another episode of Action & Ambition with your host, Philip Lanos.

Chef Ming Tsai, a world-renowned Chinese-American chef, restaurateur, cookbook author, James Beard award winner, Emmy Award winner, and host of the longest-running cooking show on PBS, today announced the highly anticipated launch of his first consumer packaged food product, MingsBings. MingsBings are vegan, gluten-free, food allergen-friendly, contain 6 grams of protein per Bing, and are available for purchase nationwide.

You’re going to love this episode. Let’s get to it!

How is it going in the world of restaurants these days? (0:21)

• Ming states that the restaurant industry has disseminated. COVID hit the restaurant industry particularly hard. The statistics are horrible, with 50 to 75% of moms and pops in the country will not reopen. 
• Ming says that he has been one of the casualties; he had to pull back into downtown Boston, a proud food pantry, through May 30. For three months, all they did was feed all unemployed restaurant employees, especially the Latino and African American demographics in Boston. 
• These communities have a lot of people working in the restaurant industry under the radar, and that means they don’t receive unemployment checks or bailouts. This is the worst crisis caused by COVID aside from the deaths and effects. There are about 20 million people in the restaurant industry.
• They can go into doing takeout, but it is not enough to sustain restaurants. They have to have the government step in, and Ming is not sure the new government will do so soon enough.  Ming says they need upwards of billions of dollars to help restaurants right now. 
• Ming states that he was lucky his entire livelihood does not rely on one restaurant, but that is not the case for most common moms and p[ops owners. It’s the mom in the front, the dad in the back with the kids working the dishwasher, so when you take that away, you are taking away their whole life. 

How big is MingsBings at the moment? (11:04)

• Someone once told Ming that hard work brings good luck. He is not sure it is true, but so far, it has worked out for him. He says it is why he launched MingsBings. He had established the company about a month before COVID hit. 
• Ming was not aware at the time that restaurants would be closed down. He says it was just serendipity. He had been working on the project for a couple of years already, and he was lining up people for the positions, and finally launched just 30 days before COVID. 
• The idea came from the belief that food is medicine always being in Ming’s DNA and that you indeed are what you eat. It also comes from the Asian diet. Ming is Chinese. He took a ribeye steak as an example, which would feed one in America. In China, one steak could provide eight people because they would add a bunch of plants and garlic and ginger, and suddenly the meat is not the center of the meal anymore. 
• Everyone knows that vegetables are better for you and the earth. No one can argue that a plant-based is not better than a meat base. Ming stresses that we have one world and global warming is a real thing. Ming considerers himself a science guy and therefore believes in all these scientific facts. 
• Ming considers it like Gravity; just because you don’t believe in it does not mean it is not there. Eating more plant-based meals is a path to enlightenment. Ming is not telling people not to eat meat, but rather try and have plant-based meals a few times a week to help sustain the earth. 

Where do Ming’s values and philosophy come from? (18:41)

• Ming states that it comes from his parents and grandparents and that he is blessed that he got to know all four of his grandparents. His paternal grandparents are Chinese, but they lived in Dayton, Ohio. 
• Ming and his parents used to go to them at 5:30 every Friday night to have dinner. It was ming’s highlight of the week. They would make homemade dumplings, they grew their chilies to make their hot sauces, and they even did their own hand-pulled noodles. 
• It is one of the biggest reasons why Ming decided to be a chef because he is still and will always be hungry. He has always hung around the kitchen, and he would always have scraps thrown at him. 
• He liked the fire, smoke, and knives and thought about how he wanted to do it too. He remembers an expression his father and grandfather always used to say and which Ming practices religiously is if you are the right person, you will have good fortune. 
• But you cannot expect good fortune for being the right person. You need to be a good person only without expectations, and the rest will follow. You cannot be a good person if you are only doing it for the fortune. It is about your intention. 

Mings Bings

Ming's Bings tell many stories. Not only are they delicious, but they are a true superfood. They are loaded with everything nutritious and in the hands of a real chef, the meal which families cannot stop eating.

Resources

Connect with Ming: Instagram

Ming’s Bings: Website

Connect with Phil: LinkedIn1