MENTOR dna

Have you ever met a recent college grad and immediately knew they’d be a rockstar? That’s how I felt with Alli Hillgren Warner. She was an intern at my husband’s company, Beacon Pointe Advisors, and I knew that her collegiate volleyball career at USC, zest for life, and collaborative, can-do attitude would lead her into the c-suite quickly. 

Alli is now CMO of Beacon Pointe, a Newport Beach-based registered investment advisor with 22 offices across the US. She shares great lessons and how they’ve led her where she is today. All this on MentorDNA!

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Have you ever met a recent college grad and immediately knew they’d be a rockstar? That’s how I felt with Alli Hillgren Warner. She was an intern at my husband’s company, Beacon Pointe Advisors, and I knew that her collegiate volleyball career at USC, zest for life, and collaborative, can-do attitude would lead her into the c-suite quickly. 

Alli is now CMO of Beacon Pointe, a Newport Beach-based registered investment advisor with 22 offices across the US. She shares great lessons and how they’ve led her where she is today. All this on MentorDNA!

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Dan Smith and I served together on the board for the Wharton Club of Southern California for many years. He's a consummate connector and now runs Marketing Mondays for Wharton SoCal as a way to give back to the community. Dan's a former executive at Playboy, Fox and American Gladiators and honed his digital marketing expertise as one of the last executives of the old Playboy regime. He's parlayed his learnings from his TV days into consumer product ventures like JimmyCase and a digital marketing consultancy ALT-CMO. 

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Dan Smith and I served together on the board for the Wharton Club of Southern California for many years. He's a former executive at Playboy, Fox and American Gladiators and is a digital marketing expert. He's parlayed his learnings from his TV days into consumer product ventures like phone case/wallet company JIMMYCASE, and also advises companies on digital marketing through his venture, ALT-CMO. Dan's a consummate connector connector as he leads Marketing Mondays, a flourishing networking group  for Wharton SoCal. 

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Grad school can often feel intimidating and competitive, so when I met Matt Laessig, it was clear that I’d met my long-lost 13 year old twin brother. He affirms my silly side and instinct that levity and fun are important in a working environment. He was Chief Marketing Officer for my start-up, snacki, in the late 90s and I was there with him at Venice Beach when he tried out for the very first season of American Ninja Warrior where he subsequently competed for 8 additional years!

Entrepreneurs often have non-linear and seemingly disjointed paths, and I think Matt’s in the exact place he should be as COO of data.world as the Austin tech scene explodes. Tune in as we take a walk down memory lane on MENTOR dna. 

explicit notice: mild language

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Grad school can often feel intimidating and competitive, so when I met Matt Laessig, it was clear that I’d met my long-lost 13 year old twin brother. He affirms my silly side and instinct that levity and fun are important in a working environment. He was Chief Marketing Officer for my start-up, snacki, in the late 90s and I was there with him at Venice Beach when he tried out for the very first season of American Ninja Warrior where he subsequently competed for 8 additional years!

Entrepreneurs often have non-linear and seemingly disjointed paths, and I think Matt’s in the exact place he should be as COO of data.world as the Austin tech scene explodes. Tune in as we take a walk down memory lane on MENTOR dna. 

explicit notice: mild language

mentordna.io
LinkedIn

Dan Beldy and I went to business school together after he served as a Navy fighter pilot for 8 years. During our 2nd year in the late 90s, we both had a sense that something big was about to happen with the internet and found our way into the early tech scene after graduation. He went into venture capital starting at Hummer Winblad in Silicon Valley, then led Disney’s Steamboat Ventures. He’s now running a variety of funds through Powerplant Ventures (focused on good for you foods), Airwing Ventures (focused on high growth companies), and Canapi focused on fintech). Dan is part of my inner circle for potential investment opportunities. 

Dan’s a dynamic leader and he even shares a funny story about his first tech investment buying an 8-track stereo system. All this, on MENTOR dna! 

mentordna.io
LinkedIn

Dan Beldy and I went to business school together after he served as a Navy fighter pilot for 8 years. During our 2nd year in the late 90s, we both had a sense that something big was about to happen with the internet and found our way into the early tech scene after graduation. He went into venture capital starting at Hummer Winblad in Silicon Valley, then led Disney’s Steamboat Ventures. He’s now running a variety of funds through Powerplant Ventures (focused on good for you foods), Airwing Ventures (focused on high growth companies), and Canapi focused on fintech). Dan is part of my inner circle for potential investment opportunities. 

Dan’s a dynamic leader and he even shares a funny story about his first tech investment buying an 8-track stereo system. All this, on MENTOR dna! 

mentordna.io
LinkedIn

In 2007, I was working long hours in a new industry that didn’t inspire me and my stress levels were through the roof. So I start my own consulting business to have more control over my schedule. Liz Leung was my first client, hiring me for a new printer launch at Epson. She turned out to be such an incredible mentor and team leader, teaching me the importance of the meeting before the meeting, seeking out all perspectives prior to big decisions, and authentically building consensus and buy-in across an organization. 

I loved working with Liz so much that I worked until the day I gave birth to my first son! Liz shares important team management insights and I know you’ll appreciate her perspective on MENTOR dna.  

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Fred Croshal is one of the most positive, encouraging and charming people I know. He led the sales team at the WORK Group at Sony Music while I was an assistant for the Product Management team. He graciously wrote my business school reference letters and then he went on to be General Manager at Madonna’s Maverick  Records. During my 2nd year at school, he spoke at the Media & Entertainment conference I produced and blew peoples’ minds when he gave a sneak peek at Madonna’s new song, Music. 

Fred and I discuss sports, leading teams vs. telling teams, and thoughts on long-term mgmt and innovation effects due to the pandemic. You’ll love this behind-the-scenes conversation on MENTOR dna! 

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