Gratitude Through Hard Times

Since 2013, Matt Fiedler has been co-founder and CEO of Vinyl Me, Please, an e-commerce site that, for $29 a month, sends curated records to subscribers, from the vintage The Voice Of Frank Sinatra to the obscure (Watch Out! by 1970s Zimbabwean band Wells Fargo).

Vinyl Me, Please sells $10.4 million worth of records a year and has found itself with a 1,400% 3-year growth rate, landing them at #342 on the Inc. 500’s fastest growing companies in the country.

Just in time for Father’s day, enjoy a wonderful conversation as Matt gives credit and thanks to the man who inspired his love of music.

Ron Carson is Founder and CEO of Carson Group, which serves financial advisors and investors through its businesses including Carson Wealth, Carson Coaching, and Carson Partners. Founded in 1983, Carson Wealth has grown to become one of the largest wealth management firms in the country offering portfolio management and wealth planning services to high net-worth clients. Established in 1993, Carson Coaching has grown to become one of the leading advisor coaching programs in the country empowering advisors to overcome key business challenges through personalized coaching, proven strategies, marketing services, and a passionate community of thousands of advisors. Carson Partners empowers advisors to improve client service, efficiently run their practice, grow their business, and build a legacy through a turnkey integrated partnership. All three organizations are headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska but serve a broad base of advisors and investors across the U.S. and Canada.

Ron first began honing his core principles while working from his dorm room at the University of Nebraska in 1983: a tenacious focus on serving clients’ best interests; a relentless pursuit of excellence across every activity; and a burning desire to learn, grow intellectually, and innovate. These driving principles enabled Carson Group to grow to over $15 billion in assets under advisement, which includes assets under management,* and have led Ron to receive many accolades. He is continually ranked among the top advisors by Barron’s magazine and was one of only two independent advisors inducted into Barron’s inaugural Hall of Fame.* Ron has been named to the Forbes list of America’s Top Wealth Advisors for several years*, included in Investopedia’s list of the Top 100 Financial Advisors (#4), recognized as an InvestmentNews Innovator, and acknowledged as an Inc. 5000 CEO of Carson Group, a two-time participant in the annual list of America’s Fastest Growing Private Companies. He also appears regularly on broadcast media for FOXBusiness and Bloomberg as a leading expert advisor and commentator.
Find more about Ron at: https://www.carsonwealth.com/team-members/ron-carson/

Kimberly Snyder is the founder of Solluna and the #FeelGoodMovement, and the multi-time New York Times bestselling author of The Beauty Detox book series and Radical Beauty, co-written with Deepak Chopra. She is also a nutritionist, renowned speaker, meditation teacher, certified yoga instructor, and holistic wellness expert.

An in-demand worldwide speaker, Kimberly also hosts the top-rated Feel Good with Kimberly Snyder podcast which airs on the Podcast One network. The Solluna by Kimberly Snyder organic juice and smoothie bar is located at the iconic Four Seasons hotel in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles.

A certified nutritionist, Kimberly has worked with the entertainment industries’ top celebrities, including Drew Barrymore, Kerry Washington, Reese Witherspoon, and Channing Tatum, among many others. A highly sought-after lifestyle and wellness expert, Kimberly has been featured in media outlets including Ellen, The Today Show, The Dr. Oz Show, The New York Times, Vogue, Vanity Fair, The Wall Street Journal, Elle, and InStyle. She is a member of the Wellness Council for Well + Good and was named one of the top “results-oriented nutritionists” by Vogue.

Check out what Kimberly is up to at: https://shop.mysolluna.com/

Jeffrey Perlman is the President & Founder of Bright Power. An experienced energy auditor, energy analyst, and solar-energy-system designer, Jeff is as happy in a boiler room or on a rooftop as he is in a corporate boardroom. He has built Bright Power from a single rented desk in a shared office to the substantial enterprise that it is today. Jeff was named to Crain's New York 40 Under 40 Class of 2018.

Check out what Jeffrey is up to at: https://www.brightpower.com/

Mr. Delaney has built a career as a business and community leader for the last decade by his belief in bringing his "blue-collar work ethic" to his daily duties leading various corporate entities and community organizations. Delaney believes in "servant leadership" which means that he does not expect more of any person on his team than he would expect of himself. He believes in working in and among the departments at Good Life and working side by side with the rest of his leadership team. His transparent nature, positive attitude and creative leadership has led to great success in each of the various Good Life Companies.

"I was taught at an early age that the best business relationships happen when both sides win. This win/win philosophy incorporated with surrounding myself with intelligent 'advisers' to me has been the main ingredient to launching community-impacting businesses in more than 25 states around the country."

Mr. Delaney married his college sweetheart, Liz, in 2008. They have three children, Blake Seraphina, Rhys Brian and Elena Rae.

Check out what Conor is up to at: https://goodlifeco.com/

Dom is CEO of Dom & Tom, a digital product agency in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles with his co-founder and twin brother Tom.

With over 18 years of digital product experience, Dom has consulted with enterprise companies including Hearst Communications, Turner Broadcasting, Priceline.com, Coca-Cola, The Children's Place, and Bloomberg L.P. He speaks on emerging technologies such as Blockchain, Augmented and Virtual Reality, Voice and more. He guides the agency's standards in digital product methodologies and services with the company's core values, "Do Good. Be Good."

He received the 2017 Owler Top-Rated CEO award and holds a Bachelor of Computer Science and Bachelor of Arts in Theatre from Loyola University Chicago. He enjoys mentoring developers on Blockchain systems, presenting Lunch & Learns on emerging technologies, and jumping in the ocean with his son Maddox in Asbury Park.

Check out what Dominic is up to at: https://domandtom.com/

Alex Schwarzkopf is the CEO and co-founder of Pillar Technologies. Pillar was recently part of the first Techstars IoT program, won the Forbes Change the World competition and was named best Insurtech startup at Plug and Play. Prior to launching his startup, Alex worked at Tesla Motors in Silicon Valley, and he spent time designing scalable wireless technologies for sub-Saharan Africa.

During this interview, Mr. Schwarzkopf discusses the impact his parents had on him and what it means to "be in the fire." Through tragedy and perseverance, he has developed patience and fortitude and credits much of his success to his mother's guidance.

Check out what Alex is up to at: https://pillar.tech/

During this interview, Mr. Harmeyer speaks upon the influence his dad had on him. He credits his parents capacity for love and caring to his success today.

Before co-founding TiER1 in 2002, Greg spent several years managing large global information technology initiatives for Accenture in the US and in Europe. After Accenture, he was an early leader in a startup consultancy called AFKelly. As a co-founder of TiER1, Greg carried over everything he had learned from both firms about consulting, entrepreneurship, people, and culture in helping create the foundation of TiER1.

In addition to his consulting experience, Greg received an MBA with distinction in finance and strategy from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a bachelor’s degree (summa cum laude) in management information systems and economics from the University of Dayton. He is a member of the Board of Directors for both the American Red Cross (Cincinnati Area chapter) and the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber and has served in similar roles for the Northern Kentucky University College of Informatics, Elder High School, and Mother Teresa Catholic Elementary School.

Check out what Greg is up to at: https://tier1performance.com/

During this interview, Mr. Hyatt discusses the impact his children have made on his life. With so much already accomplished, Mr. Hyatt stresses the importance of keeping an open mind and continuing to learn no matter how high up you are. He credits his children for continuing to teach him new skills and life lessons every day.

Dick Hyatt is the President and CEO of Decisiv. He has more than 25 years of experience building, managing and growing early stage technology companies, including SAGE Systems, Automation Partners, Hayes-Ligon (sold to ADP Dealer Services), and Amteva Technology (sold to Cisco Systems). Prior to his tenure at Decisiv, Mr. Hyatt was a Director of Marketing in Cisco’s Unified Communications business. Mr. Hyatt is responsible for all aspects of building a world-class team of industry and technology experts, and delivering high-quality, profit-improving products and services leading to long-term customer satisfaction.

Check out what Dick is up to at: https://www.decisiv.com/

Babak Hedayati is the Co-Founder and CEO of Tapclicks.

During this interview, Mr. Hedayati goes in depth on how poetry influenced his leadership and parenting style. He specifically recites "On Children" a poem from Kahlil Gibran and compares it to his own life and children. Mr. Hedayati acknowledges the success he has endured but, explains how he wants his children to be even better. He is the CEO of one of the fastest growing marketing companies in the world but is also just a regular father who wants the best for his children.

He has over 20 years high-tech experience in semiconductor, internet, media platforms, video solutions, social networking and software. Before TapClicks, he served as the CEO of DemosOnDemand. Prior to that he was SVP of worldwide marketing, applications and business development at Cypress Semiconductor, was an executive at Xilinx and served in various business and technical positions at Altera, 3DO, Zycad, and National.

Babak has helped grow businesses from $200M to more than $2B.

He is a graduate of Harvard Business School, and holds a BSEE from San Jose State University.

Check out what Babak is up to at: https://www.tapclicks.com/

Check out the Kahlil Gibran Poem "On Children" at: http://www.katsandogz.com/onchildren.html