On this mini-episode of How I Got Here: 5 Years Later, host Dave Fiore catches up with Episode 15 Guest Rachel Pienta.

At the end of each original episode, Dave asks his guests the same question: Where do you think “here” will be for you in three to five years?

Rachel and Dave listen to her answer from 2020, and she thoughtfully shares how her predictions compare to life today.

Spoiler alert: Things rarely go exactly as planned!

If you have not already, please also listen to Rachel’s original episode. It will put some context to this conversation and add additional insight into her journey.

Thank you for supporting this podcast and connecting with your community.

Host Dave Fiore returned to Access Tallahassee’s Young Professionals Summit for a live recording of the podcast featuring three successful women entrepreneurs representing the local brewing scene. Dave spoke with: 

• Shannon Smith from Ground Ops Roastery and Bakehouse;
• Michaela Teasley from Tally Kombucha; and
• Alison Denny from Amicus Brewing Ventures.

Guests shared their unique journeys and the obstacles they overcame along the way and then gave some practical advice for women entrepreneurs pursuing their dreams.

On this mini-episode of How I Got Here: 5 Years Later, host Dave Fiore catches up with Episode 13 Guest Keith Bowers.

At the end of each original episode, Dave asks his guests the same question: Where do you think “here” will be for you in three to five years?

Keith and Dave listen to his answer from 2020, and he thoughtfully shares how his predictions compare to life today.

Spoiler alert: Things rarely go exactly as planned!

If you have not already, please also listen to Keith’s original episode. It will put some context to this conversation and add additional insight into his journey.

Thank you for supporting this podcast and connecting with your community.

Host Dave Fiore speaks with Darius (Doc D) Baker, music producer and founder of Tallahassee Nights Live. Doc has been launching music careers since middle school, producing up-and-coming artists and creating a platform for local entertainers of all experience levels to hone their craft in front of grateful and enthusiastic audiences around the world. The Havana native is a married father of four boys who remains committed to providing opportunities for anyone with a love of music and a willingness to put in the work to achieve their dreams.

On this mini-episode of How I Got Here: 5 Years Later, host Dave Fiore catches up with Episode 12 Guest Elizabeth Emmanuel.

At the end of each original episode, Dave asks his guests the same question: Where do you think “here” will be for you in three to five years?

Elizabeth and Dave listen to her answer from 2020, and she thoughtfully shares how her predictions compare to life today.

Spoiler alert: Things rarely go exactly as planned!

If you have not already, please also listen to Elizabeth’s original episode. It will put some context to this conversation and add additional insight into her journey.

Thank you for supporting this podcast and connecting with your community.

Host Dave Fiore speaks with Carrie Zimmerman, co-founder and former CEO of The Zimmerman Agency. Carrie is a native Tallahassean whose family has been in the Capital City for more than 100 years. She grew up in a competitive, sports-oriented environment, but it was rolling on the mats of the Tallahassee Tumbling Tots that sparked a passion that would lead to exploring gymnastics, training full-time in Oregon at age 15 and earning a coveted spot on the 1976 U.S. Olympic team – a memory that still elicits great emotion.

After graduating from the University of Georgia, Carrie worked with her husband, Curtis, at an ad agency in Atlanta, before moving to Tallahassee to be near her family. Starting with no clients but a considerable Rolodex, the couple started The Zimmerman Agency, which today has more than 130 employees and competes with New York agencies (and often wins) for the right to represent some of the most prestigious brands in the world. Recently retired, Carrie now focuses on travel, FSU sports and enjoying being a grandmother.

On this mini-episode of How I Got Here: 5 Years Later, host Dave Fiore catches up with Episode 9 guest Danny Shrine.

At the end of each original episode, Dave asks his guests the same question: Where do you think “here” will be for you in three to five years?

Danny and Dave listen to his answer from 2019, and he thoughtfully shares how his predictions compare to life today.

Spoiler alert: Things rarely go exactly as planned!

If you have not already, please also listen to Danny’s original episode. It will put some context to this conversation and add additional insight into his journey.

Thank you for supporting this podcast and connecting with your community.

Host Dave Fiore speaks with Emily Saras, CEO and data scientist with Knowli Data Science. The self-described overachiever with a nerd persona loved field hockey in high school and was her class valedictorian in her hometown of Hopedale, Massachusetts.

Emily entered prestigious Wellesley College with plans to be a doctor, only to make a significant pivot to study anthropology and opera singing. Wanting to connect with her family heritage, she earned a scholarship to study ethnomusicology and opera performance in Lithuania under the nation’s top soprano. Emily spent two more years studying in Europe before returning home as an AmeriCorps fellow, where she worked with underserved Boston teens. It was there that Emily was recommended for a position at Florida State, which she took thinking it would be a short-term stop on her life journey. She was wrong.

Emily would go on to earn her Ph.D. in sociology from FSU, fall in love with Tallahassee and get connected to Knowli, a women-owned company that translates big data for policy makers in a variety of fields, including health and human science agencies and educational institutions across the Southeast.

Emily says her journey to CEO has been a “joyful challenge,” and she greatly appreciates the opportunity to serve as the company’s cultural ambassador.

On this mini-episode of How I Got Here: 5 Years Later, host Dave Fiore catches up with Episode 8 Guest Jami Coleman.

At the end of each original episode, Dave asks his guests the same question: Where do you think “here” will be for you in three to five years?

Jami and Dave listen to her answer from 2019, and she thoughtfully shares how her predictions compare to life today.

Spoiler alert: Things rarely go exactly as planned!

If you have not already, please also listen to Jami’s original episode. It will put some context to this conversation and add additional insight into her journey.

Thank you for supporting this podcast and connecting with your community.

Host Dave Fiore speaks with Brad Buckenheimer, co-founder and CEO of Canopy Road Cafe. The Tampa native got his first taste of the hospitality industry as a country club cabana boy at age 14 and says he always had a job. His path to entrepreneurship, which includes owning 13 Canopy Road locations and being a partner in several other concepts including the popular Lemon & Thyme in Midtown, has had some unexpected twists. An internship in Los Angeles led to touring as a fill-in drummer for a popular band. Brad was a bartender, corporate trainer for a major restaurant chain and developed leadership skills that would unknowingly come in handy later in life. But it was a call from his former FSU roommate and best friend saying that he had just purchased Jenny’s Lunchbox, a small restaurant where they both worked in college, that would put his future in motion. And while Brad is proud of all that he has accomplished, he acknowledges that none of it would have been possible without the love and support of many others – most importantly his parents and wife, Allison.