Building While Flying

When Stacy Tuschl started teaching dance classes in her parents' backyard at age 18, she wasn't planning on starting a business. Within three years, she had 100 students, and the Academy of Performing Arts was born. It's now grown to hundreds of students, two locations, an entire team, a consulting business, and a 2019 Wisconsin Small Business Person of the Year award.

Stacy's small business journey is anything but ordinary. In her conversation with Mickey, Stacy tells how her businesses got started and shares some challenges of experiencing early hyper-growth and forcing herself to slow down. After successfully navigating the 2008 recession, she thought she could handle anything. The 2020 pandemic brought more challenges than she imagined—like losing 25% of her business's income—but in the end, she said the pandemic was "the best thing" that could have happened for her.

In-flight topics:

• Experiencing early growth (3:05 - 6:55)
• Navigating the 2008 recession vs. the 2020 pandemic (7:05 - 9:00)
• Pandemic pivots that worked (9:15 - 12:50)
• Transitioning out of the brick-and-mortar business (15:45 - 17:10)
• Building a consulting business (17:18 - 20:30)
• Stacey's "in-flight checklist" (22:48 - 24:08)
• ...and more!

Relevant Links:

APA Website: https://academywi.com/

APA Insta: https://www.instagram.com/theacademy2005/

Stacy's website: https://stacytuschl.com/

For Gary Sheng, the year 2016 kicked off a deep exploration of civics, leadership, and the future of democracy—which ultimately led him to his calling.

Gary Sheng is a Co-Founder and the COO of Civics Unplugged, a platform and movement focused on empowering the next generation to build the future of democracy. Its three-month civic leadership fellowship for high school students provides a civics foundation, teaches problem solving and effective dialoguing with others, and helps them build their "civics muscles." With partnerships with National Geographic, Georgetown University, The Smithsonian, the Ethereum Foundation and more, the future for Civics Unplugged is bright.

In this week's episode of Building While Flying, Gary shares his personal journey from Google developer to nonprofit co-founder, and discusses why civics education and leadership development for Gen Z matters. He says that learning is a lifelong process, and being a good citizen is a lifelong exercise. He also discusses the role companies and corporations can play in civics, and how they can support organizations like Civics Unplugged to help build a better future.

Other in-flight topics:

• How Civics Unplugged was born
• Impacts of the 2016 election
• Building community around a movement
• The role of corporations in civics
• The future of Gen Z
• What's next for Civics Unplugged
• ...and more!

Relevant Links:

• CU website: https://www.civicsunplugged.org/
• CU Fellowship: https://www.civicsunplugged.org/fellowship
• CU Insta: ​​https://www.instagram.com/civicsunplugged/
• Gary's website: http://www.garysheng.com/
• Gary LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garysheng/
• Gary's Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@garysheng

Jess Tillyer is the Chief Brand and Experience Officer at re—inc., an eco-conscious fashion and lifestyle brand. re—inc. was founded in 2019 by U.S. Women's Soccer superstars Christen Press, Tobin Heath, Megan Rapinoe, and Meghan Klingenberg to empower people to reimagine the status quo and the world around them.

In this week's episode of Building While Flying, Jess joins Katie to tell re—inc's story and dive into why reimagining the status quo matters. She discusses the distinction between purpose as a tactic and purpose as a meaningful part of business. She also describes what it was like to launch an NFT project, and how she believes NFTs will change how companies and brands engage with their audiences. Lastly, she offers a mindset shift that is "an absolute game changer." Tune in to hear all of this and more!

In-flight topics:

• How re—inc. was born (4:00 - 7:34)
• Building a brand with purpose (11:50 - 14:50)
• Launching an NFT project (20:40 - 24:02)
• Challenges while building the brand (24:05 - 29:28)
• ...and more!

Relevant Links:

Website: https://re-website.com/

Re-Inc insta: https://www.instagram.com/re__inc/?hl=en

Jess LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicatillyer/

Sports fan apparel has gotten a major facelift recently, thanks to Whitney Bansin and The Wild Collective. In 2016, Whitney founded The Wild Collective, a fashion-forward lifestyle and apparel brand that sits at the intersection of sports and fashion. They are licensed across the nation's biggest sports leagues, including the NHL, NBA, WNBA, MLB, and MLS, as well as select collegiate teams.

Whitney joins the Building While Flying podcast this week to talk about her journey and share some of her biggest wins and learning experiences along the way. She tells Katie about her early career days in Las Vegas when she founded One Luv Agency, and how she landed her first partnership with the Las Vegas Golden Knights hockey team. Whitney talks about the challenges the pandemic brought, and how she and her team adapted and found their path forward. The Wild Collective is disrupting the sports apparel industry—and they're only just getting started.

*Whitney Bansin and The Wild Collective are clients of The Sasha Group.

In-flight topics:

• Whitney's early career in Las Vegas (2:18 - 7:25)
• Growth and partnering with other leagues (7:32 - 9:17)
• What drives design decisions (9:53 - 13:16)
• Pandemic pivots (13:18 - 20:21)
• Shifting to ecommerce (20:25 - 24:27)
• What's next for The Wild Collective (25:50 - 28:22)
• ...and more!

Relevant links:

TWC website: https://www.wearethewildco.com/

TWC Insta: https://www.instagram.com/wearethewildco/

TWC LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-wild-collective/

Whitney LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/whitneyurichuk/

Whitney Insta: https://www.instagram.com/wildwhit/

Storytelling has been in Alex Kushneir's blood since birth. After studying film and television (and playing football) at Baylor University, Alex cut his teeth in the production world working for companies like CNBC, Huffington Post, Cheddar, and more. After just eight years in the industry, Alex and colleague Jay Shetty co-founded Icon Media, a full-service content studio that helps brands create purpose-driven content and emotionally connect with their audiences.

In this episode of Building While Flying, Alex joins Mickey to talk about Icon Media's origin, the differences between television and digital-first production, the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and more. He discusses the challenges he faced in the early days of Icon Media—like learning the business side of things and managing a wide variety of clients and asks. Most importantly, Alex emphasizes the need for purpose-driven content, and how brands aligning with a cause leads to deeper, more impactful storytelling.

Other in-flight topics:

• Alex's background in storytelling, film, and production
• The birth of Icon Media
• Differences between television production and digital-first
• Working with Arianna Huffington
• Building a startup production company
• How COVID-19 impacted productions and content
• ...and more!

Not everyone can say they co-founded and built a brand while navigating business school. This week's Building While Flying guest did just that—and this is only the beginning of her entrepreneurial journey.

Libie Motchan co-founded Fulton with her business school classmate Daniel Nelson, after they bonded over shared foot pain and a lack of a reasonable solution for it. Between their classes and homework, they researched materials, found their production partner (in Portugal, no less), began building their brand, and networked with their target audiences.

In her conversation with Katie, Libie shares some of the challenges she and Daniel have faced so far: finding a material that's comfortable and sustainable, educating their customers, navigating multiple customer cohorts, digging into customer psychology, building their retail roadmap, and more. Libie also offers advice for fellow early-stage entrepreneurs: know yourself, know your goals, and follow your gut.

Other in-flight topics:

• How Fulton was born
• Innovating their own products
• Finding the right materials for their insoles
• Challenges of building a brand from the ground up
• Educating your consumers
• Being present where your customers are
• ...and more!

Relevant Links:

• Fulton website: https://walkfulton.com/
• Fulton IG: https://www.instagram.com/walkfulton/?hl=en
• Libie LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/libiemotchan
• Fulton TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@walkfulton

College athletics are going to look a lot different this year, thanks to the Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) rules that were signed into effect earlier this year. Joining us this week on Building While Flying is Mike Neligan, CMO of VaynerSports, to answer the question we're all asking: what does all this mean?

Mike joined VaynerSports two years ago, after 15 years in sports management at places like Excel Sports Management and BSE Global. He's worked with household names like Peyton Manning, Tiger Woods, Derek Jeter, and Danica Patrick. At VaynerSports, he leads all things sales, marketing, and PR across baseball, football, e-sports, and combat.

In his conversation with Mickey, Mike discusses the importance of athletes building their personal brands. Many want careers after their time in sports, so, Mike says, they're starting to think like entrepreneurs. Mike stresses the importance of authenticity in partnerships with athletes, and cautions against hiring a big-name athlete just to make a quick buck. Most importantly, Mike dives into NIL: what it means for college athletes, the opportunities it presents for brands and SMBs, how athletes can leverage it for professional experience, and much more.

Other in-flight topics:

• History and evolution of VaynerSports
• How VaynerSports differs from traditional sports management agencies
• Why authenticity matters
• The difference between sponsorships and partnerships
• What the new NIL rules allow college athletes to do
• Opportunities for brands and SMBs
• ...and more!

Relevant Links:

VaynerSports website: https://vaynersports.com/

VaynerSports Twitter: https://twitter.com/vaynersports

Mike LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-neligan-70a54a1/

We're keeping it short and sweet this week on Building While Flying. Mickey and Katie announce a hiatus from new episodes for the month of August. We've tested and learned—as is in our DNA—and it's time to optimize. There's a lot of awesome work happening behind the scenes, with exciting new guests and improvements coming. We look forward to sharing them with you all in our first episode back on September 2nd.

In the meantime, hit us up on social if you have a question, want to be a guest, or know someone who'd be a great guest: @thesashagroup on all platforms.

For this week's podcast guest, almost every relationship, opportunity, and experience can be tied back to the sport of basketball. He now uses lessons from his own experiences and from some of the all-time greats to teach and lead others to success.

Welcome to Building While Flying!

This weekly podcast is brought to you by the Sasha Group. We're the small-to-medium-sized business arm of the VaynerX family of companies. We help ambitious companies build strong brands that flex with the times through strategy, branding, media, and marketing.

In ever-changing times, businesses and brands have to shift and adapt. And across all sectors, there is an air of experimentation. Business owners are trying new things out in the wild; building the plane while flying.

Our pilots, Katie Hankinson and Mickey Cloud, will be talking to a diverse range of business leaders and founders. They'll explore how these guests tackle various challenges while staying resilient and committed to growth. Through these real-life examples of strategies put into practice, we hope to inspire you to experiment and develop your own strategies as we all navigate these uncertain times together.

Alan Stein, Jr. found the intersection between his biggest passions: basketball and helping others be successful.

As a basketball performance coach for 15 years, he worked with high-performing athletes to help them reach their highest potential. Now, as a keynote speaker and workshop leader, he applies many of the same principles to the corporate and business world. He teaches proven strategies to improve organizational performance, create effective leadership, increase team cohesion and collaboration, and develop winning mindsets, rituals, and routines.

This week, Alan joins Mickey to dive into each step of his career: from his college basketball days at Elon University, to coaching at Kobe Bryant's academy, to mentoring teams at Fortune 500 companies across the country. Alan shares some of the biggest lessons he's learned from the biggest names in the NBA: like Kobe's dedication to the basics, and Steph Curry's desire for excellence. He also shares how he's carried experiences from one career to the next, and how his college basketball days shaped his career and life more than he could have imagined.

Other in-flight topics:

• Lessons learned from playing college basketball
• Giving yourself grace
• The importance of preparation
• Taking skills and lessons from one career to the next
• Lessons learned from NBA superstars
• His "speaker's checklist"
• ...and more!

One last note: if you've ever wanted Gary Vaynerchuk's business advice, now's your chance. We'd love for you to join us for our next virtual 4Ds on August 19!

4Ds - also known as Digital Discovery & Deep Dive - is for entrepreneurs, marketers and leaders. We'll dissect the current state of social and digital marketing and how to harness it to strengthen your career and business. You'll hear from VaynerX experts and Gary himself as we help you unlock explosive growth for your business. Send us an email to [email protected] to learn more and book your seat.

Links:

• Alan's Twitter: https://twitter.com/AlanSteinJr
• Alan's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alan-stein-jr/
• Alan's Website: https://alansteinjr.com/book/
• Raise Your Game book: https://strongerteam.com/raiseyourgame/

Building a brand for your clients is one thing. Building your own brand and company—with your husband, no less—is a whole different adventure. But it's one adventure that this week's guest embarked upon head on. And their story is quite magical.

Welcome to Building While Flying!

This weekly podcast is brought to you by the Sasha Group. We're the small-to-medium-sized business arm of the VaynerX family of companies. We help ambitious companies build strong brands that flex with the times through strategy, branding, media, and marketing.

In ever-changing times, businesses and brands have to shift and adapt. And across all sectors, there is an air of experimentation. Business owners are trying new things out in the wild; building the plane while flying.

Our pilots, Katie Hankinson and Mickey Cloud, will be talking to a diverse range of business leaders and founders. They'll explore how these guests tackle various challenges while staying resilient and committed to growth. Through these real-life examples of strategies put into practice, we hope to inspire you to experiment and develop your own strategies as we all navigate these uncertain times together.

Margaret Wishingrad and her husband Ian developed and founded Three Wishes Cereal when they wanted a new breakfast option for their young son.

After starting their own agency in New York, they took on the ultimate challenge of building and designing their own brand, together. They co-founded Three Wishes Cereal, a high-protein, low-sugar, grain-free cereal enjoyed by kids and adults alike. They worked with food scientists to develop the recipe, and leveraged their own expertise and network to build and grow the brand.

In this week's episode, Katie and Margaret dive into everything about building the Three Wishes Cereal brand, from the first concept to dream brand collaborations. Margaret explains how she applied her agency expertise to her own process, including market research and sampling, and who her toughest critic was along the way. She shares the hardest part of building the brand, and gives us a peek into what's next for Three Wishes Cereal.

Other in-flight topics:

• The origin story of Three Wishes Cereal
• Building brands for clients vs. building your own brand
• Sampling during the pandemic
• Standing out in a crowded category
• Cereal as a "feel good" food
• Building and running a company with your partner
• ...and more!

Links:

• Website: https://threewishescereal.com/
• Store locator: https://threewishescereal.com/pages/store-locator/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/threewishes/
• Margaret's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/margaretwishingrad/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/3wishescereal