In this episode of Lawsuits & Lessons, host John Fagerholm, employment defense attorney and business advocate, and co-host Steve Cooper, comedian and veteran podcaster, sit down with serial entrepreneur CR Celona — a visionary who helped pioneer influencer marketing with his company Speaker and now leads innovation in the AI-powered creative space.

John and Steve dive deep into CR’s journey from early tech startup successes to building CreatorUp, an AI-driven content platform partnered with Google, Harvard, and UCLA. They explore how risk tolerance fuels entrepreneurship, what lessons come from scaling too fast, and how to balance innovation with ethics in the era of AI. The conversation flows from startup war stories to legal insights on liability, employee risk, and even a timely discussion of how CTE and class actions shape today’s legal headlines.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• How risk tolerance defines entrepreneurship — and why failure can be the best teacher
• The rise (and fall) of Speaker and what it taught about scaling responsibly
• How AI is transforming creative industries and where the legal gray areas lie
• What every startup founder should know about protecting their business legally
• When companies are liable for employee actions — and when they’re not
• Why mentorship, relationships, and trust matter more than transactions
• How to “give your lawyer carry” — and why early legal partnerships pay off

Hosts:
John Fagerholm: defendmybiz.com
Steve Cooper: coopertalk.net

Guest:
CR Celona: Entrepreneur, AI innovator, and founder at CreatorUp — find him on LinkedIn or by searching “CR Celona” across platforms.

If you’re an entrepreneur, founder, or just fascinated by where tech and law collide, subscribe to Lawsuits & Lessons on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen. New episodes every other week — and if you enjoyed this one, share it with someone who loves smart conversation and startup stories with real-world legal lessons.