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GE #5: a Champion of Creative Professionals on Artful Living, Big Ideas, and Compromise
Toni is a rockstar. A thoughtful entrepreneur who has built her life around Art and championing artists, or as she and the team have coined such people, creative professionals. We met at a coffee shop over a borrowed piece of paper and little did I know how wonderful she is. After learning more about Toni, I realized she was my first Tim Ferriss-esque guest. A real-life kickass doer who also knows how to express her vulnerability, both on and off the air.
In this episode, Toni and I talk about, well talking, and why we must give it a shot even if we don't know what to say. We also discuss how the word Art has evolved in her life and throughout history, dropping the overwhelming need for balance, how to turn big ideas into small strategic steps, and so much more.
On Toni:
Toni Sikes is a successful entrepreneur with 30 years of operational, fundraising, and investment banking experience. She is the founder of three art companies and currently serves as the co-founder and CEO of CODAworx, the global leader in commissioned art, serving as a professional network for a wide variety of artists, design professionals, and industry resources.
Sikes has spent her 30-year career connecting artists to their best markets. As the founder of The Guild, a pioneering e-commerce company that brought the work of artists directly to consumers, she raised over $50 million from leading venture capital firms.
Toni is also General Partner in Calumet Venture Fund. Previously she was a Senior Advisor at Gruppo, Levey & Co., a New York investment bank, where she led their technology practice focused on helping technology companies in their financing and M&A strategies. While serving on the boards and advisory board of several technology companies. She is active in Wisconsin and national economic development organizations. She is the Past Chair of the Wisconsin Technology Council, the Advisory Board of MERLIN Mentors, the Board of Advisors of the UW Weinert Center for Entrepreneurs, and the Board of Directors of Healthy Minds Innovations and BuildingBrave.
She holds a B.S. in Mathematics from the University of Alabama and an M.S. in Market Research from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Connect with Toni:
Website: https://www.codaworx.com/
If you listened to this podcast and are up for it, I'd truly appreciate a review & any feedback on Apple Podcasts. At a minimum, it is a chance for me to connect with you, at a medium, your feedback could convince just the right person to give Good Explanations a listen (or avoid it), and at a maximum, it can help influence the future, harder-to-get guests to join us for a discussion on Life.
Connect with Christian:
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/goodexplanations
Website: https://christianscorner.org
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Chrisalfaro1017
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chrisalfaro17
Newsletter: https://christianscorner.substack.com/p/growing-up
SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/goodexplanations
Affiliate Brands:
Float Milwaukee
MUD/WTR
YogaSix Milwaukee
Meat on the Street
View all episodes
By Christian AlfaroToni is a rockstar. A thoughtful entrepreneur who has built her life around Art and championing artists, or as she and the team have coined such people, creative professionals. We met at a coffee shop over a borrowed piece of paper and little did I know how wonderful she is. After learning more about Toni, I realized she was my first Tim Ferriss-esque guest. A real-life kickass doer who also knows how to express her vulnerability, both on and off the air.
In this episode, Toni and I talk about, well talking, and why we must give it a shot even if we don't know what to say. We also discuss how the word Art has evolved in her life and throughout history, dropping the overwhelming need for balance, how to turn big ideas into small strategic steps, and so much more.
On Toni:
Toni Sikes is a successful entrepreneur with 30 years of operational, fundraising, and investment banking experience. She is the founder of three art companies and currently serves as the co-founder and CEO of CODAworx, the global leader in commissioned art, serving as a professional network for a wide variety of artists, design professionals, and industry resources.
Sikes has spent her 30-year career connecting artists to their best markets. As the founder of The Guild, a pioneering e-commerce company that brought the work of artists directly to consumers, she raised over $50 million from leading venture capital firms.
Toni is also General Partner in Calumet Venture Fund. Previously she was a Senior Advisor at Gruppo, Levey & Co., a New York investment bank, where she led their technology practice focused on helping technology companies in their financing and M&A strategies. While serving on the boards and advisory board of several technology companies. She is active in Wisconsin and national economic development organizations. She is the Past Chair of the Wisconsin Technology Council, the Advisory Board of MERLIN Mentors, the Board of Advisors of the UW Weinert Center for Entrepreneurs, and the Board of Directors of Healthy Minds Innovations and BuildingBrave.
She holds a B.S. in Mathematics from the University of Alabama and an M.S. in Market Research from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Connect with Toni:
Website: https://www.codaworx.com/
If you listened to this podcast and are up for it, I'd truly appreciate a review & any feedback on Apple Podcasts. At a minimum, it is a chance for me to connect with you, at a medium, your feedback could convince just the right person to give Good Explanations a listen (or avoid it), and at a maximum, it can help influence the future, harder-to-get guests to join us for a discussion on Life.
Connect with Christian:
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/goodexplanations
Website: https://christianscorner.org
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Chrisalfaro1017
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chrisalfaro17
Newsletter: https://christianscorner.substack.com/p/growing-up
SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/goodexplanations
Affiliate Brands:
Float Milwaukee
MUD/WTR
YogaSix Milwaukee
Meat on the Street