iSmart Podcast

https://secure.acuityscheduling.com/clients.php?action=detailandfirstName=StevenandlastName=Wilcoxandphone=9517196684andbackto=390250682 (Steve started his journey of entrepreneurship with the intention of following in his father and grandfather's steps of trading on the stock market. He can remember as a kid when he would wake up for school, his dad would already be awake and on his computer with multiple stocks pulled up for the day. Steve studied finance in college before later realizing that he did not want the same path as his father or grandfather.)

https://secure.acuityscheduling.com/clients.php?action=detailandfirstName=StevenandlastName=Wilcoxandphone=9517196684andbackto=390250682 (Steve became really interested in branding and started trying out a few jobs as a brand rep. As time has gone on, Steve has used his experience to build PARKIT - a company where he has been using Kickstarter (ASK HIM HOW HE RAISED MONEY- It is very practical) to raise money for their first product - 'The Voyager' an outdoor recreational chair. PARKIT is not just about a chair, however. Steve is using a community he has built to be able to serve them the best way possible and is going to be expanding to other products very soon.)

https://secure.acuityscheduling.com/clients.php?action=detailandfirstName=MayankandlastName=Bhatnagarandphone=8565714005andbackto=394175541 (Mayank Bhatnagar is currently a Senior Product Manager at Lumileds where he manages the product design, development, and delivery of lighting solutions primarily in the automotive industry.)

https://secure.acuityscheduling.com/clients.php?action=detailandfirstName=MayankandlastName=Bhatnagarandphone=8565714005andbackto=394175541 (Mayank is also the Co-Founder of Machaao which is a platform allowing people to predict scores of sports games and earn rewards for some of your favorite stores! Machaao also created MessengerX which is a platform that allows people to host their chatbots and streamline communications with their customers. Facebook considered it one of the top 5 most efficient chatboxes out of thousands that they tested.)

Natasha is in the rebranding process right now, so she thought it would be good to wait until she is done with that process to come on the podcast.

Natasha has always had an interest in marketing and advertising. She started out working for multiple different companies before founding her own company. While working at Burst Media, she started a side hustle doing makeup for weddings and learned about the google ads platform. She eventually convinced her boss at Burst Media to allow her to spend around $500 per month on ads for the company.

This was no correlation to the ad spend or nearly $5 million per year when she started working for Google. She was thrown into the fire and made a lot of mistakes, but learned from them.

She now has her own company - Flowstaq (might have changed now by the time she has rebranded). Her company is focused mainly around the Google Ads platform. Things such as PPC, Google Search, Youtube Ads, and retargeting, and is starting to expand into the multitude of social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok.

Alexandra Watkins is the CEO of Eat My Words. They develop memorable brand names and taglines for companies. They mainly focus on rebranding for companies. She is the Definition of a top noch CEO.

She has also written "Hello my name is Awesome, How to Create Brand Names That Stick" which was listed in the top 3 books in the sales and marketing space by AWOL.

Wayne started out his entrepreneurial journey involved in real estate. He was a sales rep that had to make cold calls and had no prior experience. Over 6 years, he mastered cold calling and became the top rep at the company he worked for.

He eventually left that company to go and work in the solar industry. He used his cold calling skills to make sales there and eventually realized that the company he was working for wasn't running any ads. He took on the task of running the companies marketing and the company exploded.

Over time, he realized he was not making the amount of money that he was worth, so he ended quit and began running his own company - Ledoux Enterprises. They are currently rebranding to Mayhem Digital Media, and they focus on building funnels and running ads for companies looking to increase their sales.

Lee is the CEO and Founder of Ikonic Tonic - a company that provides market insights, integrated applications, research and development, as well as customer utility for other companies looking to streamline the effectiveness of their relationship with their customers. Lee and his team don't only focus on their client's physical in-person relationships with their customers at events like tradeshows, but they also focus on the digital aspect. Due to the current times, they have focused more on the digital touchpoints that companies have with their consumers online.

Lee has used ample years in the consulting space to not only understand what needs to be done to help companies grow and become more efficient but he and his team pride themselves on understanding human behavior. Their knowledge in this area not only helps their relationship between themselves and the company but also the company's relationship with its consumers.

Julie has been involved in the experiential marketing industry for nearly 20 years. She has worked with various suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, and brokers to create, plan, and execute successful promotional campaigns.

By combining her experience as a Teacher, Account Manager, and Information Coordinator with business coaching, Julie has molded herself into a force to be reckoned with.

Starting her company as a side hustle in 2009, she has now successfully grown her company across the nation.

Johann has dedicated herself to using hemp to help improve the world. When many people think about hemp, it is usually about using it for medical or recreational use. Johann is using her platforms to remind people that hemp can be used for many other things other than smoking it. Using hemp for things such as the creation of bio-degradable plastic is an extremely important message to share.

Johann is the founder of Balbuena Consulting where she specializes in license and permit acquisition. She is also the Creator of Cannabis Synergy TV, where they have guests sharing their stories of how cannabis has impacted their wellness, lifestyle and culture.

David is originally from London, but he moved to the United States after studying Film History in college to get involved in the business world. He started out by experimenting with a bunch of different business ideas for a few months as side hustles, and eventually, his business career took off when he founded Uberpong - a company that allows you to use photos to create your own custom ping pong paddles in 30 seconds. The paddles were sold in 30 countries with clients including Coca-Cola, Nike, MTV, Levi's any many more. David told me about how he was able to play ping pong with the LA Dodgers Team and Jimmy Kimmel at an event he hosted. He eventually sold the company in 2017.

David is the Co-Founder of Guardia Medical (With Alex Coverdale who was previously on the show) and has just written his first book 'Blow It Up 21 Ways Your Startup Can Shakeup An Industry And Change The World'

David is very passionate about startups and education. After attending university in London, when David came to the United States, he noticed how poorly run the education system is. A big goal of his is to figure out a way to make education free here in the U.S. just like it is in London.

Aatish is from London but grew up in Kenya. For a school project, he created an app to help people with their speech impediments and help them speak clearly. He ended up selling the app to someone else.

Aatish is also a Freelance Writer at HearLikeMe. He writes about the gaming niche for people with hearing aids (which he wears)

Aatish is the CEO and Founder of Mint Investor where he is building a community that he wants to educate individuals about properly investing and building your portfolio.

Currently, Aatish is the Vice President of Technology at the SDSU Finance and Investing Society, where he is attending school for cybersecurity.