Jess Thomas is the Co-Founder and CEO of True Jerky, a consumer brand of protein snacks. Thomas discusses the challenges and rewards of a start up in the food space including: What it’s like to start a business with friends; how to survive in a competitive market with a few large incumbents and a lot of local boutique brands and how to stand out. True Jerky, which was founded by college friends in 2015 and based in San Francisco. makes bold & delicious protein snacks inspired by regional or global flavors, made with 100% domestic meats. Their products can be found in over 2000 stores nationwide, as well as on Amazon and the True website.

How 3 College Friends Started A Jerky Company

Best-selling author, and branding and marketing strategist Karen Tiber Leland, has engaging conversations with today’s thought leaders from the worlds of business, art, technology, science and entertainment.

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Bant Breen is the Founder and Executive Chairman for Qnary, an award-winning executive reputation management and talent branding company. As more people appear online, it’s become clear that their name searches need to be cleaned up and more professional. Qnary’s company grew dramatically during the pandemic because your online presence matters more than ever, and executives understand this.   In this episode, Bant talks about what executives should be thinking about when it comes to their online reputation, how to best reduce “bad” instances in your online presence, and why how you show up online really does matter more than you might think.   Tips on improving your online presence    Do an analysis on how you show up today in the search results. Are you happy with the results?  Executives might not think it matters. It does. Future recruits are looking you up! How do you want future employees to see you?  Reporters want to cite you as a source, but you need a strong and respectable presence to do that. Do you have your credentials? Do you look reliable? Are your articles/thoughts properly linked?  Executives can take advantage of mini videos (which rank more quickly in Google) to improve trustability. These videos can be just 2-3 minutes long.    About Karen Tiber Leland   Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter.   She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others.   Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah.   Get in touch with Karen on Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook   About our guest   Bant Breen was inducted into the Advertising Hall of Achievement in 2010 and has a global marketing and communications background steeped in digital and innovation. Prior to launching Qnary, Bant served as CEO at IPG’s Reprise Media. Bant had previously been President of Worldwide Digital Communications at IPG’s Initiative.   Before joining Initiative, Bant served as the Executive Director of the IPG Emerging Media Lab, created Ansible (IPG’s Mobile Marketing Agency), and led Universal McCann’s global digital communications offering. Bant also led IPG’s acquisition of Reprise Media in 2006 and managed IPG’s investments in Facebook, Radian6, and several other digital enterprises.   Before joining IPG, Bant was the Founder and President of a strategic marketing and communications consultancy affiliated with Dentsu Inc. Prior to that, he worked at Leo Burnett Worldwide leading their European digital operations and then integrating the Leo Burnett global digital network now known as Arc Worldwide. Bant started his career as a WPP Fellow. Bant also serves as a board member, advisor, and strategic investor to publicly traded companies and startups. Bant has worked and lived in Asia Pacific, Europe, and the U.S. but now lives in New York City with his wife, Carmen, and two sons, Alejandro and Nico.   Resources   Karen’s book The Brand Mapping Strategy was just produced and released on Amazon’s Audible as an audiobook. You can now get an audio version of the book read in its entirety by Karen.    The Brand Mapping Strategy, Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand   Tweetables and Quotes to Share   “In the beginning, Google was the first place and last place to look executives up, but it’s not the most important channel now. LinkedIn is the most important.” PODCAST: Thought Talk @KarenFLeland   “Companies jump to PR quickly. Now, it’s really important to get that foundation set before you make a big PR investment.” PODCAST: Thought Talk @KarenFLeland   “Writing is artistic, but it’s also quite mathematical. AI systems can read that and be able to understand it and mimic it.” PODCAST: Thought Talk @KarenFLeland   “The remote work, due to COVID-19, really accelerated social media’s significance. Thirty percent of people viewed social media presence as more important during the pandemic.” PODCAST: Thought Talk @KarenFLeland  

Reputation Management and Online Clean Up

Mushrooms, alternative alcohol, digital health and merch have been four of the fastest-growing sectors for startups and small businesses in the past year. Here 99designs by Vista CEO Patrick Llewellyn talks to Karen Tiber Leland about some of the global trends that have emerged on the design platform and among its customers and community.     Trends among fastest growing sectors for startups and small businesses    A platform like 99Designs by Vista reaches communities far and wide and it has given people new opportunities that they otherwise wouldn’t have had in their small town. People with disabilities have also found a new purpose.  There’s been a surge in design requests from the wellness sector, plant-based alternative foods, and mushrooms!  Local businesses are taking opportunities to create merch (which means more need for creative designs!) to increase revenue in their business.  Personalized designs that incorporate the brand’s personality are on the rise. People want to see the “who” behind the brand.    About Karen Tiber Leland   Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter.   She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others.   Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah.   Get in touch with Karen on Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook   About our guest   Patrick Llewellyn is CEO of 99designs by Vista, the global creative platform that makes it easy for small businesses to work with professional freelance designers online. 99designs has paid out more than US $400m to its creative community to date, working across brand and logo design, packaging, web design and more. Founded in 2008, 99designs has grown from a small, online forum into a worldwide community of talented designers that is now part of Vista, which includes VistaPrint and VistaCreate.   Resources   Karen’s book The Brand Mapping Strategy was just produced and released on Amazon’s Audible as an audiobook. You can now get an audio version of the book read in its entirety by Karen.    The Brand Mapping Strategy, Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand

Upcoming Design Trends and The Future of Design

Today’s guest is Peter Winick, the Founder and CEO of Thought Leadership Leverage and the podcast host of Leveraging Thought Leadership. In this episode of Thought Talk, Peter talks about, you guessed it, thought leadership! Since it’s easy to have an opinion on social media, it’s so hard to get something good and worthy of substance in today’s fast-paced world. Intentional thought leadership changes that.   Thought leadership is a hot topic right now, but it can get a little cloudy on what it really is. Peter shares examples of what thought leadership is, what it is not, and how you can get the most out of it through authentic connections and putting your stake in the ground.   Tips on making thought leadership work for you    Thought leadership means you have the courage to say something meaningful, profound, and different from the norm. You know you’re doing something right when 20% of the population disagrees with you.  A classic mistake thought leaders make — They don’t have a strategy. Thought leadership is a business, at the end of the day.  Want to be consistent in your thought leadership? Create an editorial calendar.  Collaborate with experts who are also serving similar client demographics. They’re not really competitors!  Consider writing a book. It is a great business card for your ideal client.  The marketing strategies you do to put your work out there have to make sense for your ideal target market. Are your clients listening to radio? No? Then don’t do radio.    About Karen Tiber Leland   Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter.   She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others.   Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah.   Get in touch with Karen on Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook   About our guest   Peter Winick is the founder and CEO of Thought Leadership Leverage. For the past two decades, he has helped individuals and organizations build and grow revenue streams through designing and growing their thought leadership platforms as well as acting as a guide and advisor for increasing business to business sales of thought leadership products.   His clients come from a diverse set of backgrounds and specialties. They include New York Times bestselling business book authors, members of the Speakers’ Hall of Fame, recipients of the Thinkers50 award, CEOs of public and privately held companies, and academics at prestigious institutions such as Yale, Wharton, Dartmouth, and London School of Business.   Peter has built his career and Thought Leadership Leverage to serve the needs of these individuals and others like them. Get in touch with him through his website Thought Leadership Leverage.   Resources   Karen’s book The Brand Mapping Strategy was just produced and released on Amazon’s Audible as an audiobook. You can now get an audio version of the book read in its entirety by Karen.    The Brand Mapping Strategy, Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand

How to Become a Thought Leader in Your Field

As I head into my 79th episode of the Thought Talk podcast, I’ve decided to take a break, step back, and do a bit of reworking.  The Thought Talk podcast will be back by the end of March and better than ever.      So for this episode I wanted to share with you four tips I learned decades ago that can help you ensure that your brand stays crazy ahead of your competition.  In all honesty, they are so simple, it’s easy to toss them off. But don’t - they can truly transform your career and business.    These four simple things almost certainly ensure your personal, CEO, business, or executive brand will be successful. Tune in today and see you again at the end of March.    4 ways how you show up that matter most     #1. Show up — whether it be on social media, a webinar, a conference, or even just being where you say you will- showing up makes the difference between your brand shining or you being forgotten.     #2. Show up on-time — whether it means getting on a webinar when it starts, delivering something when you promise, or just plain old being on time for an appointment- showing up when you say you will can elevate your brand.       #3. Show up prepared — Taking the time to understand the people, situation, context, and objectives of the situation you are talking to says you have a brand that cares.      #4. Do what you say you will. Ultimately, brands are built on trust, trust is built on credibility, and credibility is built on promises kept.  The brand bottom line - do what you say you are going to do, when you say you are going to do it.  Sounds simple doesn’t it? Think how many people you interact with who don’t do this and how it makes you feel about them.     About Karen Tiber Leland   Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter.   She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others.   Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah.   Get in touch with Karen on Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook   Resources   Looking for more tips? Karen’s latest book, No-Nonsense: Time Management: 50 Tips to Hack Your Time and Get Everything Done, offers a practical approach to tackling the kinds of productivity issues we face in today’s technological world.   You’ll find practical ways of assessing your relationship with time, avoiding interruptions and distractions by goal-setting, multi-purposing versus multitasking, delegating, managing online and offline meetings, maximizing to-do lists and minimizing unfinished business, embracing personal productivity habits, and right-sizing your social media and email, as well as many more readily actionable tips and tricks to hack your time.   Tweetables and Quotes to Share   If you just show up for something, you will be more successful than 90% of the people out there. If you want your brand to shine, you have to be visible; you have to show up. PODCAST: bit.ly/3rM17FQ @KarenFLeland   Think about the people around you that are never on time or arrive unprepared… how much credibility do they have with you? PODCAST: bit.ly/3rM17FQ @KarenFLeland   Brands are built on trust, trust is built on credibility, credibility is built on kept promises: always do what you say you’re going to do. PODCAST: bit.ly/3rM17FQ @KarenFLeland   

Four Foolproof Ways to Stay Crazy Ahead of your Competition

Today’s guest, Lynette Sheppard is also known as the iPhone Diva. Lynette joins the show from the highly photographic island of Molokai in Hawaii to give us some insight on how we can best use our phones to practice creativity through photography.    Lynette Sheppard has taught iPhoneography throughout Europe, Canada, and the United-States. She is known for her out-of-the-box imaginative uses of taking photographs and making images with an iPhone.    When you take a photograph, is the app doing all the work? Does it still count as art? Our discussion covers what makes art, how art can help you know yourself better, and some of the best apps for making great images with your phone.      Tips for better photos    Taking a better picture with your phone:   Train your eye, look at tons of pictures to find out what you like Use the native camera: on the iPhone it’s great; take tons of pictures Learn about composition   What’s in the frame When do you push the button   Editing — use the right tools       Managing your photo collection — sort through your pictures quickly after having taken them, for multiples, pick one and delete the rest. If you want to show photos to people, pick your 10 or 15 best.     Creativity — We are all creative, even if we don’t believe it. The iPhone allows us to play and all art starts as play.     Feeling intimidated? Try Snapseed     Printing — certain apps save at high resolution (Snapseed) but some others cut down on resolution (Diana Photo). The Big Photo app can let you know what kind of resolution you may have lost after editing.     Unsure about intellectual property rights? Begin with found objects. Lynette touches on how she will use details of a painting to use as an overlay in a way that makes it unrecognizable. If it is recognizable and modern, she says that artists are generous, and often asking for permission is enough.    About Karen Tiber Leland   Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter.   She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others.   Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah.   Get in touch with Karen on Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook   About our guest   Writer, artist, and blogger, Lynette’s first published work was a terrible little poem. She was ten years old. She didn’t publish again until she became a registered nurse, but she never stopped wanting to tell stories. Now she makes up stuff all the time and occasionally tells the unvarnished truth.   Lynetteshepperd@me.com Get in touch with Lynette through her website|Facebook|Steller   Mentioned  Foolproof  Diana photo Distressed Fx  Touchretouch Photo Manager pro Snapseed  Color Thief  Big Photo  Anne Lamott — Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life   Resources  Karen’s book The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand was just produced and released on Amazon’s Audible as an audiobook. You can now get an audio version of the book read in its entirety by Karen.    The Brand Mapping Strategy, Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand 

How 3 College Friends Started A Jerky Company

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