Basement Billionaire

Founding Family Member and Brand Ambassador of Torano Cigar's takes time out of his busy schedule to talk with us.

Jack Toraño is full-time brand ambassador for Toraño Cigars. In this new role, Jack will appear at events in strategic markets as the face of the brand. Along with sharing the history of Toraño cigars, Jack will also help in shaping General Cigar’s event marketing strategy and development of event activations and marketing platforms for the brand.

“Jack began working with us last year to develop Toraño at retail and has made great strides in generating excitement for the brand,” said Régis Broersma, president of General Cigar. “We are pleased to have him as a full-time member of our marketing team and look forward to working with him to deepen retailer and consumer engagement around this important brand.”

Prior to his new position at General Cigar, Jack Toraño lived in Miami, Florida, where he was heavily involved in promoting the Toraño brands. He has history in marketing, working in Chicago within the jingle business. He was involved in the the famous Anheuser Busch campaign “Real Men of Genius.”

General Cigar acquired the Jack Toraño Family Cigar Company brands in September 2014. The Toraño portfolio of brands is best known for having complex blends featuring tobacco from many different countries of origin and taste profiles. In 2016, General Cigar re-launched Toraño’s Vault and Exodus lines.

Founding Family Member and Brand Ambassador of Torano Cigar's takes time out of his busy schedule to talk with us.

Jack Toraño is full-time brand ambassador for Toraño Cigars. In this new role, Jack will appear at events in strategic markets as the face of the brand. Along with sharing the history of Toraño cigars, Jack will also help in shaping General Cigar’s event marketing strategy and development of event activations and marketing platforms for the brand.

“Jack began working with us last year to develop Toraño at retail and has made great strides in generating excitement for the brand,” said Régis Broersma, president of General Cigar. “We are pleased to have him as a full-time member of our marketing team and look forward to working with him to deepen retailer and consumer engagement around this important brand.”

Prior to his new position at General Cigar, Jack Toraño lived in Miami, Florida, where he was heavily involved in promoting the Toraño brands. He has history in marketing, working in Chicago within the jingle business. He was involved in the the famous Anheuser Busch campaign “Real Men of Genius.”

General Cigar acquired the Jack Toraño Family Cigar Company brands in September 2014. The Toraño portfolio of brands is best known for having complex blends featuring tobacco from many different countries of origin and taste profiles. In 2016, General Cigar re-launched Toraño’s Vault and Exodus lines.

Nancy’s passion for food began at a young age. Growing up in a large family, her best memories occurred in the kitchen and around the dinner table. Her parents allowed their children to participate in the kitchen, instilling a lifelong passion for cooking. After graduating from Bucknell University, Nancy enrolled at the New England Culinary Institute in Vermont. She embarked on a career that would explore many facets of cooking. She owned and operated a small restaurant and catering business in Highlands, North Carolina, allowing her to discover the importance of food sourcing and the connection of family farming to a healthy food system. She sold her restaurant in 2008, and has since sought to marry her love of food and deep family heritage with a meaningful business. Reviving her family’s salt enterprise in Malden, West Virginia was the perfect fit. For her, salt is the most essential cooking ingredient, and she particularly loves to experiment with meat and fish curing. She has 2 children, Lisle and Carter, who both love to cook.

A while back, I challenged a budding Rapper named Psyonik to write me a song exemplifying the spirit of the entrepreneur. I think he nailed it. A California vibe appropriate to the grind of Silicon Valley. I still listen to this song at least once a week especially when it seems the world doesn't understand my hustle. I want to share this with you and maybe you can listen to it every now and then to keep you in the zone of your entrepreneurial journey. Enjoy! -MelMan

A while back, I challenged a budding Rapper named Psyonik to write me a song exemplifying the spirit of the entrepreneur. I think he nailed it. A California vibe appropriate to the grind of Silicon Valley. I still listen to this song at least once a week especially when it seems the world doesn't understand my hustle. I want to share this with you and maybe you can listen to it every now and then to keep you in the zone of your entrepreneurial journey. Enjoy! -MelMan

A while back, I challenged a budding Rapper named Psyonik to write me a song exemplifying the spirit of the entrepreneur. I think he nailed it. A California vibe appropriate to the grind of Silicon Valley. I still listen to this song at least once a week especially when it seems the world doesn't understand my hustle. I want to share this with you and maybe you can listen to it every now and then to keep you in the zone of your entrepreneurial journey. Enjoy! -MelMan

Heather "The Heat" Hardy is an American professional boxer and mixed martial artist holding the WBC International Female Super Bantamweight title and a featured athlete for Bellator MMA. Hardy went on to major in Forensic Psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Manhattan.

She's overcome many nightmares—divorce, the pressures of raising a child on her own, losing one home to a fire and another to Hurricane Sandy—to reach her dream.

Through it all, she's remained true to herself and held onto one essential belief: No obstacle is too large.

She is the epitome of Grit, Grind and Hustle. An inspiration to all people regardless of gender of what it takes to be a fighter inside and outside the ring.

Heather "The Heat" Hardy is an American professional boxer and mixed martial artist holding the WBC International Female Super Bantamweight title and a featured athlete for Bellator MMA. Hardy went on to major in Forensic Psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Manhattan.

She's overcome many nightmares—divorce, the pressures of raising a child on her own, losing one home to a fire and another to Hurricane Sandy—to reach her dream.

Through it all, she's remained true to herself and held onto one essential belief: No obstacle is too large.

She is the epitome of Grit, Grind and Hustle. An inspiration to all people regardless of gender of what it takes to be a fighter inside and outside the ring.

Heather "The Heat" Hardy is an American professional boxer and mixed martial artist holding the WBC International Female Super Bantamweight title and a featured athlete for Bellator MMA. Hardy went on to major in Forensic Psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Manhattan.

She's overcome many nightmares—divorce, the pressures of raising a child on her own, losing one home to a fire and another to Hurricane Sandy—to reach her dream.

Through it all, she's remained true to herself and held onto one essential belief: No obstacle is too large.

She is the epitome of Grit, Grind and Hustle. An inspiration to all people regardless of gender of what it takes to be a fighter inside and outside the ring.

18 Year Old Gospel Singer Melody Joy Williams is an online sensation. Her YouTube and Instagram media channels have over 28K followers and her videos have reached over 200K views. Additionally, a music collaboration she wrote w/ Rapper AC has over 1.5 million Facebook views. In the footsteps of Tori Kelly, she was auditioned for American Idol but found more success in connecting with her fans through social media. She has calmly and meticulously put in the work to help create her own exposure while in her humble way taking no credit because of her deep faith and convictions. At 18 she has the maturity of a seasoned pro which she combines with her shining life of gratitude and thankfulness just to share her music. Sometimes you just know when you see someone getting to do great things. This is one of those times. Recorded from Lee Ray's restaurant in West Virginia, Melody is also our first guest to share a song on the program!