Impact Michigan

Richard is the CEO of JOURNi, an organization dedicated to bridging the diversity gap in tech.

JOURNi is an organization dedicated to equipping urban communities with the skills and resources necessary to jumpstart their local economies. We strive to build an authentically inclusive tech ecosystem in the city of Detroit, by tapping into the heart and spirit of its residents. To achieve this goal, we will provide immersive courses, youth-centered programming, beneficial employment opportunities, start up education, and socioeconomic resources.

Links:

JOURNi: http://www.journi.org

Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/leannabad

David has over twenty-five years experience in the high-tech arena as a senior executive and has had extensive involvement in the field of cybersecurity throughout his career.

Trillium Secure keeps your connected and autonomous vehicles safe and your private information confidential through a cybersecurity platform as a subscription service. Trillium’s software products are used by automotive OEMs, aerospace and defense organizations, insurance companies and ride-share services to form a multi-layered defense against cyber-attacks.

Links:

Website: https://trilliumsecure.com/

Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/leannabad

Chris Thomas is a man on a mission. The former co-founder of Fontinalis Partners, he invests in and mentors companies in the fast-growing space of mobility.

I think the most impressive part of his story is how he put himself in a position to cofound Fontinalis, especially as he planted the seed early on in his career at Ford Motor Company.

Check out the episode as we chat about the future of transportation, how young people can be thoughtful about their own success and what it takes to set up Michigan as the City for Mobility.

Links:

Website: http://detroitmobilitylab.org/

Support us on Patreon!: www.patreon.com/leannabad

Graduating from Harvard as part of the "Facebook class," you could say Nathan Labenz is one smart guy. Which would be an understatement.

As CEO of Waymark, he's helping democratize video marketing for all businesses. They recently launched their new online store where you can purchase personalized video ads perfect for Facebook and Instagram.

Waymark combines art and technology to build agency-quality videos for your business with just the click of a button. Designed by Hollywood producers and customized by their Content API, you can have a ready-to-run video in seconds. Big business campaigns, small business pricing.

Check out our interview where we chat small business marketing, the impact Facebook had on Harvard's campus and the responsibility marketers have on society.

Links:

Website: www.waymark.com

Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/leannabad

A culturally curious thinker, Marcus Collins is one of the worlds' premier minds in marketing. As Chief Consumer Connections Officer for Doner, he's pioneering a new role to help Doner's clients "get a deeper, more scientific understanding of consumers."

Recently, Doner and their client, Farmland, were recognized as AdAge's #1 Most Creative Brand Idea You Need To Know About Now for their response campaign against Supreme. You can read about that here: http://adage.com/creativity/work/farmland-supreme-lookbook/55333

Check out our interview with him as we chat about network-based marketing (not network marketing), who influences us the most and Kanye West's shenanigans.

Links:

Website: www.marctothec.com and www.doner.com

Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/leannabad

"When internet security specialist Dug Song found out the company he worked for got hacked by a 17-year-old high school student, he didn't alert the authorities.

Instead, he hired him."

That's how Dug met Jon, his eventual co-founder of Duo Security, which recently was acquired by Cisco for $2.35B in cash...

"As an active person in SE Michigan's startup community, I can say Dug is hands down one of the most impactful people in our ecosystem." - Leann

Check out our interview with him as we talk about building a statewide inclusive startup ecosystem in Michigan, creating a culture where everyone uplifts each other and what the future of Michigan's economy looks like.

Links:

Website: www.duo.com

Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/leannabad

As the CEO of Nutshell, Part owner of The Blind Pig A2, and Cofounder of Cahoots, Joe is likely one of the busiest people in Ann Arbor.

With 3 degrees from the University of Michigan, he started his career at GreenOrder. After getting his MBA at The Ross School of Business, he worked at DTE Energy as Senior Associate before eventually leaving to start his own investment firm, CKM Partners.

Recently making news waves with his move to buy The Blind Pig (in order to save it) and opening Ann Arbor tech hub, Cahoots, he's not one to shy away from being the face of a movement.

Links:

Website: www.nutshell.com

Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/leannabad

Drug Abuse. Addiction. Recovery.

These are real problems and issues we face in our country, and we have to find scalable, equitable solutions to them.

That’s why we interviewed Workit Health, an Ann-Arbor based private online service to help people break addictions.

Powered by science and backed by experts, their Workit Care™ program delivers evidence-based recovery programs and courses designed specifically for you.

Workit's Website: https://www.workithealth.com/

Support us on Patreon!: www.patreon.com/leannabad

Being both a creative and an entrepreneur can seem contradictory in some ways, but Justin Mast seems to have found the perfect way to combine the two.

Taking over his family business over in 2006, he began to learn the operational expertise needed by an entrepreneur and founder. Now, in his role as Founder and CEO of Bloomscape, he combines the creative design skills he learned at the Taubman College of Architecture + Urban Planning with the firsthand entrepreneurial experience he's gained over the years as a serial founder and entrepreneur.

Fittingly, he comes from over 5 generations of Dutch greenhouse growers and floral industry experts, so you could say he has Founder - Market - Fit.

Tune in as we chat about the business of design, the learning curve of a creative entrepreneur, and how Bloomscape is using the growth of their plants to help grow Detroit and Michigan's entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Jason's approach to life is simple:

Get rid of Monarchy; Implement a Doerarchy.

As Founder and CEO of Benzinga.com, he lives and breathes this mentality all throughout his organization, and it shows up in their success.

Benzinga is a dynamic and innovative financial media outlet that empowers investors with high-quality, unique content that is coveted by Wall Street's top traders.

Seeing hundreds of investments a week is a difficult task to get right, but Jason seems to do it with ease.

Tune in as he explains what a "Doerarchy" is, how he, along with Mark Cuban, passed on investing in Twitch.tv, and how Benzinga's presence in the financial industry is creating Impact for the city of Detroit and the state of Michigan.