Million Dollar Relationships

What if the hardest part of your business has nothing to do with people?

Kerri Roberts spent more than twenty years in corporate human resources before founding Salt & Light Advisors, a consulting firm built for businesses that never built an HR foundation. She is also the host of Don't Waste the Chaos and the author of The HR Easy Button.

Her career was built on people who said yes before she had the resume to justify it. A distribution company hired her with no HR experience. A boss taught her to read HR through the P&L. And the firm she served as COO became her first client when she asked to go out on her own.

[00:03:40] Who She Serves

• Salt & Light Advisors focuses on HR consulting and advisory work.

• Her clients are not defined by size or industry.

• The common thread is a missing HR foundation.

[00:04:37] Why Smaller Firms Stay Stuck

• Most HR firms are large and well-known.

• Smaller businesses fear the cost and time commitment.

• Without an HR person, someone in the office inherits the work.

[00:05:22] One Pitch, One Yes

• She sat on the idea for six or seven years.

• She pitched it to a single business as a concept.

• They said yes within 24 hours, so she formed an LLC.

[00:06:00] The Fractional Model

• As a COO she heard "we need a you, but we can't afford it."

• Fractional and project-based work closes that gap.

• Owners get to hand off the HR worry entirely.

[00:07:19] The Comprehensive HR Audit

• Engagements open with a month-long audit.

• She reviews hiring, payroll technology, compensation, and benefits.

• A gap analysis shows what exists and what should.

[00:08:06] Compensation Data Studies

• She benchmarks every employee against percentile data.

• The results expose overpay, underpay, and wrong job titles.

• Misclassification often surfaces too.

[00:10:19] The Indeed Trap

• A competitor's hourly rate tells almost nothing.

• That employer may offer remote work or paid leave.

• Matching a range is not a compensation strategy.

[00:12:56] Flying Blind

• People start businesses because they are good at a craft.

• A solid business foundation rarely comes with it.

• Without a partner who knows that piece, the road gets harder.

[00:13:30] The Law Firm That Felt Misread

• The CEO sensed low energy but could not name the cause.

• Rather than guess, Kerri surveyed the employee population.

• The survey revealed low trust in leadership.

[00:15:37] An 18% Jump

• Satisfaction scores rose 18% in twelve months.

• No large pay raises were involved.

• Clear communication and expectations did the work.

[00:17:54] A Process Problem in Disguise

• Clients often say managing people is the hardest part.

• To Kerri that signals broken processes.

• Clarity and accountability make management easier.

[00:20:30] The Company That Took a Chance

• The hospital HR department turned her away for lack of experience.

• A distribution company interviewed her anyway.

• They hired her, and she has been in HR ever since.

[00:21:20] The Boss Who Taught Her the P&L

• Her first job was insurance billing reconciliation.

• Her boss framed it as a major line item on the P&L.

• That lens shaped how she has practiced HR since.

[00:24:53] Her Former Employer Became Client One

• She proposed moving from W-2 to hourly contractor.

• They called back within 24 hours, open to it.

• Three and a half years later the business is flourishing.

[00:27:28] Six Clients From One Talk

• A near-stranger invited her to a low-budget women's event.

• She said yes and brought her A game anyway.

• Six clients, new speaking dates, and an audit followed.

KEY QUOTES

"I think you get into business because you're a really good attorney, or a really good contractor, or a really good dermatologist. It's not necessarily because you have a really solid business foundation. And if you don't bring a partner in or hire someone that knows that piece, you're just kind of flying blind" - Kerri Roberts

"Making data-driven decisions instead of emotional, fear-based decisions around compensation is huge. And it's usually the largest line item on the P&L" - Kerri Roberts

"If someone opens something up for you, you've got to give it your very best. Bring your very best self to it, because you just never know what's on the other side of it." - Kerri Roberts

"You have to have those doors open to you, and you've gotta be a person worth opening the doors for. You have to be there for people just as much as they're there for you." - Kerri Roberts

CONNECT WITH KERRI ROBERTS

Website: https://www.saltandlightadvisors.com

Personal site: https://www.kerrimroberts.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kerrimroberts

Email: [email protected]

Podcast: "Don't Waste the Chaos" - https://open.spotify.com/show/0nmxuIYEmqpbqZxzoxgiMY?si=b4560375dcf54b1b

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What if a stranger who had no idea what you did decided to introduce you anyway, purely on a feeling?

In this episode, Aaron Vaccaro, President of Singularity University and Managing Director at West River Group, shares how a lunch he asked for in a college cafeteria led to a five minute phone call that shaped his entire career.

Aaron helped take Topgolf from $90 million to over a billion in revenue as chief of staff to the CEO. He now leads the organization he first heard about on a podcast in college, teaching executives, governments, and militaries how to think clearly about AI and frontier technology. This conversation covers why most companies grab the wrong tool, and why the man who introduced him to his mentor did not even know what business the guy was in.

[00:04:55] What He Does and Who He Serves

• President of Singularity University, where he has been for three years

• Founded almost 20 years ago by Peter Diamandis and Ray Kurzweil

• Delivers executive education for corporate, government, nonprofit, and military leaders

• Covers 17 technology areas including AI, quantum, biotech, and space

[00:06:35] What Inspired Him Originally

• First heard about Singularity on a podcast in college in 2012

• The insight was that leaders learn finance and strategy but not frontier technology

• The goal was teaching the best and brightest to solve global grand challenges

• Not building another app, but building companies that address hunger, water, and poverty

[00:08:16] Why the Idea Fit Him Perfectly

• Was a physics then math major who also ran an investing club

• Originally wanted to study nuclear energy

• Loved entrepreneurship and the power of science to make breakthroughs

• Singularity seemed to combine both into the best of all possible worlds

[00:08:40] From Investor to President

• Joined venture capital firm West River Group straight out of college

• Years later Singularity came across their desk raising capital

• At about 25 he pushed the firm to invest because he already knew the organization

• After the pandemic restructuring, West River became majority owner and he was drafted to lead

[00:10:00] What Inspires Him Now

• Technology can create as many problems as it solves if not guided well

• Points to social media, misinformation, and cheaper fossil fuel extraction

• Still believes in the possibility technology creates

• Now focused on helping leaders implement it wisely and avoid leaving people behind

[00:12:30] The Surreal Part

• Read Bold, Abundance, and The Singularity in college and saw the authors as celebrities

• Those same people are now on his speed dial and on the board he reports to

• Compares it to a Lakers fan ending up working in the front office

• Twenty-two year old Aaron would not have believed the path was possible

[00:14:00] Why He Got Those Opportunities

• Every organization needs people willing to show up and run things

• Sometimes it is as simple as raising your hand and saying you care

• He volunteered for investments, capital raising, financial modeling, and the COVID restructuring

• He was learning most of it for the first time but was willing to do it

[00:15:45] Be Genuinely Nice

• If you are smart, willing to solve problems, and people like working with you, it is not complicated

• Authenticity comes through, especially online where anyone can position themselves as anything

• People sniff out authenticity quickly

• Better to actually care about people than to perform caring

[00:16:51] Client Impact: Bringing Executives to Silicon Valley

• Brings executive teams from the US, Spain, London, and Chile to the Bay Area

• Combines lectures and workshops with visits to Nvidia, Amazon, Microsoft, and startups

• First goal is awareness of what is actually happening on the cutting edge

• Second goal is foundational understanding of what these technologies can and cannot do

[00:20:17] Start With the Problem, Not the Tool

• When you have a hammer, every problem looks like a nail

• AI is the big shiny hammer right now

• First figure out whether you are dealing with a nail, a screw, or a staple

• Use a hammer on a screw and you will get there, but you will damage a lot on the way

[00:21:37] The UK Financial Firm

• Brought their entire executive team out for a few days

• Paired them with startups building agents for wealth managers

• The CEO believed they would be gone in five or ten years without change

• His leadership team believed everything was fine, so he brought them to be shaken up

[00:23:31] Culture Change Down the Layers

• Now building an education program for the entire company

• The culture has both resistance to change and a lack of awareness

• Teaching principles of exponential change and how to look ahead

• With exponential technology you cannot know exactly where the puck is going

[00:25:36] Ask What Is Not Going to Change

• Borrows a framework from Jeff Bezos

• Amazon assumed customers would always want better selection, fast delivery, and low prices

• No future customer will ask for slower delivery or less selection

• Optimize for the constants and let everything else evolve

[00:28:12] Why Foresight Stays Flat

• Change accelerates every year on an exponential curve

• But at any point on that curve, our forward view remains linear

• People recognize the pattern behind them and still fail to project it forward

• We overestimate one year and underestimate ten

[00:29:22] The Opposite Problem: The AI Happy CEO

• Working with an energy company whose new CEO is gung ho on AI

• They invested in an AI startup without knowing what they would do with it

• The incoming head of technology brought Singularity in to separate hype from noise

• The energy and willpower are there; it just needs direction

[00:31:41] Building the Scariest Program Possible

• Works with branches of different militaries focused primarily on risk

• Technology companies now rival or exceed governments in cybersecurity capability

• He could build a program that leaves you optimistic or one that terrifies you

• For national security clients, he deliberately builds the frightening one

[00:33:50] The $1.3 Million Phishing Scam

• A friend's business lost $1.3 million to social engineering

• Their bookkeeper was convinced the callers were the FBI and Treasury Department

• Money was wired out through a fraudulent account

• They recovered roughly $400,000 through the bank and FDIC

[00:37:02] The Relationship That Changed Everything: Eric Anderson

• Aaron asked a university board member to lunch during his senior year

• That man said he knew an investor in Seattle but did not know what he did

• He made the introduction purely on a feeling that they would get along

• That investor was Eric Anderson, founder of West River Group

[00:39:12] Five Minutes in the College Library

• The first call lasted less than five minutes

• Eric asked directly whether he needed money, a job, or an internship

• Aaron said an internship and Eric said come work with me this summer

• Two weeks later someone called to arrange it

[00:40:44] The Call That Turned Into a Career

• After the summer he went to a master's program and was recruiting elsewhere

• Eric called in October offering a job as his right-hand man

• He had taken over Topgolf as CEO after a major investment

• Aaron worked part-time until graduation, then joined full-time in Seattle

[00:41:50] From $90 Million to Over a Billion

• Served as chief of staff for about six years

• Covered finance, strategy, operations, and growth

• Topgolf grew from $90 million in revenue to just over $1.1 billion before being sold to Callaway

• Eric gave him agency to make mistakes, join boards, and get his hands dirty

[00:43:00] Luck Paired with Work

• Says the people who influenced him most are his parents and then Eric

• They still speak nearly every day

• Calls it a crazy lucky break of meeting the right person at the right time

• But he worked 60 to 80 hour weeks for five-plus years to take advantage of it

[00:44:47] Final Word: Step Away From the Chat Window

• There is enormous pressure to be on top of every new AI tool

• You will never keep up, and he calls that pressure total crap

• Tools are a means to an end, not the end themselves

• Go touch some grass, read a physical book, and think about the problem you are actually solving

KEY QUOTES

"We should be teaching the world's best and brightest not to be building apps like Twitter, but instead building companies that leverage these technologies to solve bigger problems in the world." - Aaron Vaccaro

"Technology has the capacity to create as many problems as it solves if not implemented or guided correctly." - Aaron Vaccaro

"When you have a hammer, every problem looks like a nail, and right now we have this big shiny hammer in AI." - Aaron Vaccaro

CONNECT WITH AARON VACCARO

Website: https://www.su.org

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaronvaccaro

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What if the person who could not take your call was reachable through the person sitting beside him?

In this episode, Elana Frank, founder and CEO of the Jewish Fertility Foundation, shares how a conversation in a baby pool at her local Jewish community center in Atlanta led her to build an organization that now operates 11 offices and grants over a million dollars a year in fertility assistance.

Elana went through IVF in Israel, had two sons, and then spent five years struggling to have a third. Her path to building JFF ran through hundreds of coffee meetings and one board member who knew exactly whose wife to introduce her to.

[00:04:20] What She Does and Who She Serves

• CEO and founder of the Jewish Fertility Foundation

• Helps intended parents on their path to parenthood

• Pays for fertility treatments and provides free emotional support

• Runs educational trainings in the communities they serve

[00:05:05] Her Own Infertility Journey

• Has three boys born through various fertility treatments

• Her journey started about 18 years ago after moving to Israel

• Took a year and a half to understand what was happening with her body

• IVF was free in Israel, so cost was never the obstacle it is in America

[00:07:15] The Conversation in the Baby Pool

• Sat with two other moms at the Jewish community center in Atlanta

• They compared the emotional toll of IVF, which was identical

• Then they started talking about their $60,000 twins and their $30,000 daughter

• She was genuinely shocked; she had no idea what treatment cost in America

[00:08:02] Starting with Coffee Dates

• Got out of that pool 11 years ago and started talking to anyone who would listen

• Was still flying back and forth to Israel transferring embryos and failing

• Asked people directly: I have an idea, maybe it is crazy, will you have coffee with me

• Talked to fertility doctors, philanthropists, therapists, and attorneys

[00:09:30] Building the First Board

• The people drawn to the idea became her first board of directors

• Most had been through their own path to having children

• Officially got going in May 2015

• The organization is now 11 years in

[00:10:14] What Inspires Her Now

• Nearly a 20-person staff, all of whom she describes as badass women

• Proud of building a culture at a place she actually wants to work

• Will offer over a million dollars in fertility grants this year

• Most inspiring today is watching her team excel and run their own departments

[00:11:54] From a Program Organization to a Fundraising One

• They have figured out how to run the programs well

• The focus now is empowering everyone who touches the organization

• Staff, board, and volunteers all participate in fundraising

• Anyone can be part of transforming someone's life

[00:12:42] The Story of Her Third Child

• The first part of her journey was hard; the five years for her third were hell

• She and her husband tried to adopt and faced a three-year wait list in Georgia

• She had once helped a single intended mother find sperm

• Years later that woman called to say she had two extra embryos

[00:13:56] Embryo Donation and Nine Babies

• She asked whether she could be considered for those embryos and the answer was yes

• Her seven-year-old came from that process

• She carried him but he is not biologically related to her

• Because she speaks about it publicly, JFF has helped bring nine babies into the world

[00:16:03] Why Infertility Is Not Only a Women's Issue

• Roughly 25% female, 25% male, 25% both together, and 25% unexplained

• Women carry the physical burden but men are very much part of it

• JFF offers free men's support groups and a men's Fertility Buddies program

• They also support intended grandparents, who experience their own loss

[00:17:50] The Vision Going Forward

• Just opened their 11th office in Houston two weeks before recording

• Currently in conversation with 14 more US communities

• Financial assistance is still community-based, so saying no is painful

• A $3.3 million organization today aiming for $4.5 million by 2030

[00:19:54] The Relationship That Changed Everything

• People kept telling her to talk to Jay Kaminsky, CEO of the Marcus Foundation in Atlanta

• He was not ready to take her call in the early days; JFF had not proven itself yet

• After about a year, a board member suggested reaching out to his wife instead

• Elana listened, acted, and took her to coffee

[00:21:05] Sleeping on the Couch

• She shared the vision and the concrete steps they had already taken

• His wife said she had the same dream and thought the work was awesome

• Then she said Elana was ready to talk to her husband

• They still joke that she threatened to make him sleep on the couch until he called back

[00:21:47] What That One Call Made Possible

• She got to pitch the concept to a major mission-aligned philanthropist

• The foundation allowed her to quit her job and become the first full-time CEO

• They recently funded a $3 million gift covering the next three years

• Elana credits that relationship with creating the Jewish Fertility Foundation

[00:25:30] Final Word: The Services Are Free

• Emotional support groups are open to anyone regardless of faith or background

• You can get a fertility buddy no matter where you live

• The goal is making sure nobody feels alone on the journey

KEY QUOTES

"People always think infertility is a woman's issue, but it's only actually 25% female, 25% male, 25% the male and female together that isn't working, and then 25% is unexplained." - Elana Frank

"Relationships are everything, and I'm a person who really can listen and then take action." - Elana Frank

CONNECT WITH ELANA FRANK

Website: https://www.jewishfertilityfoundation.org

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elanafrank

Instagram: https://instagram.com/jewishfertilityfoundation

Facebook: https://facebook.com/jewishfertilityfoundation

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What if the people who change your life are the ones who put you somewhere you have not earned yet?

In this episode, Ethan Giffin, founder and CEO of the B2B eCommerce Agency, shares how losing every penny on a failed nightclub in his early twenties led to a chance encounter at a bar that relocated him, employed him, and changed his career trajectory entirely.

Ethan now helps mid-market manufacturers and distributors build private buyer portals and open digital revenue channels that did not exist before. This conversation covers why customers quietly quit rather than slam the door, why he reports back to everyone who gives him advice, and what happened when he realized he had let himself get stuck.

[00:05:54] What He Does and Who He Serves

• Founder and CEO of the B2B eCommerce Agency

• Helps manufacturers and distributors build private buyer portals

• Clients arrive either not knowing where to start or frustrated their portal underperforms

• Moves organizations off spreadsheets, Post-it notes, phone calls, and text message orders

[00:08:01] You Cannot Be Amazon, But You Must Think Like Them

• Amazon has more innovation in an hour than a $100 million manufacturer may have in a decade

• The average 23-year-old graduate was five years old when the iPhone launched

• Soon that person becomes the director of purchasing

• Roughly 80% of B2B buyers want a direct-to-consumer style buying experience

[00:09:30] What Inspires Him

• Started as a DJ in the 80s and 90s and learned desktop publishing to make flyers

• That led to building websites and eventually falling in love with ecommerce

• Loved being able to buy a penny ad, drive the click, and watch the transaction fire

• The mix of technology, psychology, and direct response is what hooked him

[00:10:27] The Pivot into Manufacturing

• Existing direct-to-consumer clients kept asking for wholesale ordering systems

• Those projects blend CRM, technology, psychology, and sales

• The agency was already well set up to deliver them

• Pivoted significantly into that focus over the last 18 months

[00:11:29] The Backstory

• His father brought home an Apple computer when he was in fourth or fifth grade

• Fell in love with computers, graphic design, and marketing

• An uncle in the Sears executive training program flew around the country in suits

• Ran yard sales for his grandmother and learned to negotiate over 25 cent items

[00:13:30] Client Impact: Opening a Revenue Channel That Did Not Exist

• Pushes organizations to run 10 to 15% of top line revenue through the digital channel

• A call center order can cost $50 to $70 once every manual touch is counted

• An ecommerce order might cost around five dollars

• Some clients hit five or six million dollars in orders very quickly

[00:15:00] Why Activation Matters More Than Building

• Has heard horror stories of million dollar builds that sold only $150,000 to $200,000

• Pilots the system with a small set of customers first

• Then activates the entire customer base to place first orders

• The target is 10% of revenue flowing through within 18 months of launch

[00:15:53] Quiet Quitting by Customers

• Longtime clients rarely slam the door; they drift

• Friction builds slowly until buying elsewhere becomes easier

• Ethan has watched it happen inside his own business with vendors

• Buyers now expect transparency on stock, warehouse location, and shipping

[00:17:02] The Five Cent Bag Story

• A Baltimore grocery store carries the specific pepperoni he wants for homemade pizza

• Their self-checkout cannot process the five cent bag surcharge without staff intervention

• An employee has to scan a card and unlock a cabinet just to hand over a bag

• A joyful purchase became something he now dreads

[00:20:08] The Relationship That Changed Everything: Neil

• Grew up in a small town about 70 miles outside Baltimore

• Opened a nightclub in his early twenties, lost every penny when it closed

• Ran into an old friend at a bar the night before Thanksgiving

• Neil got him hired, moved him to Baltimore, and put him up in corporate apartments

[00:21:17] Ron Germack and the Rooms He Should Not Have Been In

• Ron was Neil's boss and a VP at Aerotek, a multibillion dollar company

• He was the fifth employee hired there many years earlier

• Took Ethan on trips during the early internet heyday

• Brought him into conversations at 24 and 25 that he had no business being in

[00:22:28] Why He Always Reports Back

• He is not needy when he asks for someone's time

• He wants a sounding board and an answer to what he might be missing

• He always circles back to tell them how the advice played out

• People appreciate knowing the impact their time actually had

[00:23:00] Gary Salzman and the First $100 Steak Dinner

• Met Gary at a random DJ convention as a young man

• Gary was one of the top agents in music production and DJing at the time

• He invited Ethan into a cab to keep the conversation going

• That led to a steak dinner and a room he never expected to be in

[00:25:16] Client Impact: The Hard Conversation

• Recently met an entrepreneur stuck for three or four years

• Told him directly he did not have a viable business as it stood

• Either move it forward or move on to something else

• Gave him specific gaps to fix and a book to read before coming back

[00:26:23] Admitting He Got Stuck

• Transitioning from an in-person office to fully remote left him isolated post-COVID

• He stopped talking to people and meeting people

• Joined Entrepreneurs' Organization about 18 months ago

• Realized he had let himself get stuck in a room

[00:27:20] Traveling for the Company Versus Traveling for Yourself

• Attended industry events as a thought leader or in a sales capacity

• Those trips were for the company, not for him

• COVID ended many of the events he used to recharge with annually

• Joined EO specifically because it exists for the entrepreneur, not the business

[00:28:30] Building the Room He Wanted

• Runs a flagship event each spring called the B2B eCommerce Summit

• Invite only, 30 people, for heads of marketing and IT at manufacturers and distributors

• Built it because trust is eroding in an all online, all AI world

• You have to create spaces for learning and for trust

[00:30:08] Where AI Helps and Where It Does Not

• As an entrepreneur with ADHD, AI helps him organize thoughts and communicate clearly

• It acted as a sounding board for the themes in his book

• The agency uses it to analyze data and enrich online catalogs

• But you should not be writing your wedding vows with ChatGPT

[00:32:04] Where to Find Him

• His book is Closing the Digital Revenue Gap

• It covers 10 revenue blind spots costing companies more than they think

• Free copies available at b2becommerceagency.com

• Also active on LinkedIn under Ethan Giffin

KEY QUOTES

"Quiet quitting basically is the concept. There wasn't some big slamming of the door. Over time we just slowly started buying from other people where it was easier." - Ethan Giffin

"When somebody gives me time of theirs, I like to report back. Let me tell you how this advice you've given me has helped me to evolve and grow." - Ethan Giffin

"People are generous with those that are generous with them." - Ethan Giffin

CONNECT WITH ETHAN GIFFIN

Website: https://www.b2becommerceagency.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ethangiffin

Email: [email protected]

Thanks for tuning in!

If you liked my show, please LEAVE A 5-STAR REVIEW, like, and subscribe!

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What if one unsolicited demo, sent to an artist you had never met, set the direction of your entire career?

In this episode, John Petrocelli, founder and CEO of Bulldog DM, shares how encrypting a copy of Purple Rain and sending it to Prince's organization led to building the first direct-to-consumer music service for a major artist, and eventually to one of the most experienced livestream studios in the world.

John has powered livestreams for Coachella, the Masters, the Royal Wedding, the Grammys, and the Oscars. He has been in the industry for 20 years, almost as long as it has existed. This conversation covers the mentors who shaped that path, including Prince and Mark Cuban, and why he believes there has never been a better time to enter the space.

[00:04:13] What He Does and Who He Serves

• Founder of Bulldog DM, the world's most experienced livestream studio

• Provides turnkey services and strategy for clients mastering live video

• Clients range from AT&T and Coca-Cola to ad agencies, social platforms, and sports teams

• Just celebrated 14 years in business

[00:05:39] Why Live Video Exploded

• The pandemic made live video a globally adopted behavior almost overnight

• Grandparents used Zoom, students took distance learning, trade shows went virtual

• The market corrected coming out of the pandemic

• Netflix has since gone heavily into live with NFL games, the Home Run Derby, and WWE

[00:07:12] Where the Industry Is Now

• Netflix reports roughly 250 million people consuming ad-based video

• Amazon, YouTube, and Hulu are all cranking out live content

• Paramount announced a seven-year, seven billion dollar UFC deal days after the Skydance acquisition

• Every major platform now has live capability built in

[00:08:43] The AEG and YouTube Years

• Sold his boutique livestreaming company into AEG

• AEG owns Coachella, a third of the Lakers, the Kings, and venues worldwide

• Pitched YouTube on entering live and ran a proof of concept with Alicia Keys in Times Square

• American Express sponsored it and the results opened the door

[00:10:00] Starting Bulldog DM Too Early

• Powered Coachella, Bonnaroo, Rock in Rio, product launches, and movie premieres on YouTube

• Spun out believing this was clearly the future

• Without the AEG and YouTube anchors he had to start over

• Realizes now he started the business a little early

[00:10:21] What Being Early Actually Gave Him

• Sat down with brands and agencies on Madison Avenue and just listened

• Kept hearing the same challenges: cord-cutting, brand safety, and ad blocking

• Brands also needed to reach a generation that values experiences over possessions

• He built the business specifically to address those problems

[00:11:00] Why Watch Time Matters So Much

• Advertising is one of the most disintermediated industries there is

• Done properly, they can unlock 5 to 30 minutes of watch time for a brand

• Human attention span has fallen from about 12 seconds to below eight this century

• Live, collaborative, participatory experience is what counteracts that

[00:12:22] How He Got Into Streaming

• Entered during the format wars between Windows Media, QuickTime, and RealPlayer

• Worked in content delivery, supporting every format as neutral ground

• His LA clients were broadcasters, studios, record labels, and sports entities

• That vantage point gave him an early look at where things were headed

[00:13:00] The Call from Apple

• Apple approached him about their happiness with his QuickTime work in music

• An artist wanted to do direct distribution themselves

• That artist was Prince, and John was a massive fan

• He was already thinking about how content would need to be monetized and protected

[00:13:45] The Purple Rain Demo

• Pulled a copy of Purple Rain off a file sharing network

• Had an engineer encrypt it so playback required authorization

• Non-members paid 99 cents; fan club members paid 77 cents

• Prince replied in the middle of the night: this is exactly what I want to do

[00:14:27] Building for Prince

• Built the first direct-to-consumer music service for a major artist

• Prince filled it with audio, video, unreleased material, and live footage

• He then asked for a ticketing platform so fan club members got the best seats

• Fans signed up for both the content and premium access to the comeback tour

[00:15:15] The Night the Light Bulb Went On

• Saw two back-to-back warm-up shows at the House of Blues in Las Vegas at 2am

• Both nights had completely different set lists

• Realized there would come a day when this became a shared experience

• An amplified audience tuning in together alongside the people in the room

[00:16:04] Surviving the Industry's Early Failures

• The industry was remembered more for failures than successes early on

• The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show famously crashed the internet

• An Oprah livestream faced the same problem

• The industry only rose once bandwidth became ubiquitous

[00:17:39] The First Mentors: Rob Hale and Tim Leiweke

• Worked for Rob Hale at a Boston telecommunications company in his twenties

• Hale is now a self-made billionaire and minority owner of the Boston Celtics

• He famously gives graduates two stacks of cash, one to keep and one to give away

• Tim Leiweke at AEG was the other major leadership influence

[00:18:33] What Prince Taught Him

• Fearless in trying, always wanting something new and different

• Wrote two songs a day and left a vault of roughly 4,000 unreleased pieces

• Played 23 instruments and produced hits for many other artists

• Was a major philanthropist who deliberately kept it private

[00:19:30] Why Mark Cuban Is the Godfather of Streaming

• Wanted to hear his college basketball games from out of market in Dallas

• Friends would hold phones up to radios on speakerphone so he could listen

• He worked out how to encode and distribute that audio feed

• AudioNet became Broadcast.com, which Yahoo bought for $5.7 billion

[00:20:38] The Lessons He Took from Cuban

• Read everything Cuban wrote and followed every interview

• Sales cures all, whether you are starting a company or running one

• No customers means no company

• Watched a Delta in-flight masterclass twice and emailed him afterwards

[00:22:38] Client Impact: Winning AT&T

• Called on AT&T repeatedly before finally getting a meeting

• Won the chance to livestream the Masters through AT&T's sponsorship

• Delivered multiple camera feeds including Amen Corner plus a layered leaderboard

• Persistence was the Mark Cuban voice in his head

[00:24:00] Assertive, Not Aggressive

• Aggressive puts people off and passive gets you put off

• Assertive sits in the middle and leads with value and information

• AT&T came back asking how to tell their 5G story away from market noise

[00:24:30] The 5G Fan Zone

• AT&T signed major partnerships with the NBA and NCAA

• Tentpole events have multiple brand nights leading up to the main event

• Built a 5G fan zone streaming performances over a pop-up network at the venue

• Viewers could switch camera perspectives, including cams that were Samsung Galaxy phones

[00:26:20] Twenty-Two Executions and Counting

• Deployed across NBA All-Star concerts, the Final Four, and college football playoffs

• Streamed audio in stereo when most social platforms were mono

• The digital audience was far larger than the in-room audience

• Roughly 22 executions across the AT&T portfolio with strong results

[00:28:30] Final Word: There Has Never Been a Better Time

• Livestream e-commerce is roughly a $500 billion business in China

• TikTok Shop launched in the US in September 2023

• It is predicted to do about $26 billion this year, more than Target, Lowe's, and Best Buy combined

• Live shopping has lowered return rates by about 40% because buyers can ask questions

KEY QUOTES

"The general human attention span at the beginning of the century was about 12 seconds, and now it's fallen to below eight." - John Petrocelli

"If you're aggressive, you're gonna put people off. If you're passive, they're gonna put you off. But if you're assertive, and you're providing value, that can lead to success." - John Petrocelli

CONNECT WITH JOHN PETROCELLI

Website: https://www.bulldogdm.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnpetrocelli

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jjpetrocelli

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What if talent was never the problem, and the only thing missing was someone willing to fund it?

In this episode, Christie Garton, former attorney and founder of 1,000 Dreams Fund, shares how a bestselling college guidebook series turned into a national nonprofit that has now granted close to $2 million to students chasing dreams they could not otherwise afford.

Christie started her first nonprofit at 19 after reading a magazine article about an opera singer. Ten years into running 1,000 Dreams Fund, the model has grown from microgrants into mentorship and direct employment pipelines with companies like Riot Games and Harman. But none of it would exist without a Kansas City businessman named Bob Cutler.

[00:03:52] What She Does and Who She Serves

• Former law student who practiced at a firm in the Washington DC area

• Now runs 1,000 Dreams Fund, a nonprofit that turned 10 this year

• Supports young people who have a dream but lack access to one specific resource

• Has granted close to $2 million since launching

[00:05:12] The Three Ways They Serve Students

• Microgrants for things like study abroad, devices, or training

• A virtual one-on-one mentoring program that has served thousands globally

• An apprenticeship program connecting students directly to employment

• Beneficiaries range from high school through graduate school and early career

[00:05:56] How Students Actually Find Them

• Funding opportunities are hard to find and often require the right database or school

• That access barrier is what they set out to remove

• They meet students where they are, on their phones and online

• A student advisory board works with them weekly through the academic year

[00:07:44] Where the Funding Comes From

• Most support comes from corporations investing in next generation talent

• Partners include Harman, Colgate-Palmolive, and TIAA

• Each partnership creates a targeted scholarship, mentorship, and employment program

• Programs usually launch as a pilot focused on one industry

[00:09:30] The Board Built by Former Beneficiaries

• Grants, individual donations, and year-round fundraising fill out the model

• An active board of directors is supported by a junior board

• That junior board is made up of previous beneficiaries now working

• They came back specifically to make a difference

[00:10:00] What Inspires Her: Stories

• Stories have always motivated her to get up and do something

• At university she read an article about opera singer Denise Graves

• Graves described how music had literally saved her life

• That article sparked her first nonprofit at 19

[00:11:04] Music Mentors and the Olympic Ski Jumper

• She recruited fellow symphony students to give free private music lessons

• The organization continued after she graduated

• 1,000 Dreams Fund now publishes the stories of every student it supports

• One student was a top ski jumper who competed at the Sochi Olympics with 1DF as her only sponsor

[00:13:22] Full Circle: The Junior Board

• Two high school students supported in 2016 emailed to ask how to pay it forward

• Those conversations became the idea for a junior training board

• It is now an annual program for early career professionals

• The group is highly engaged and has raised significant funds

[00:16:39] The Personal Inspiration: Her Grandmother

• Deeply involved in the community outside Kansas City where Christie grew up

• Taught herself to sign because Christie's aunt is deaf

• Went to college around 35 and taught at the state school for the deaf

• After retirement she helped create a museum

[00:17:30] From Guidebooks to a Nonprofit

• Published a bestselling college guidebook series across five editions

• The books reached major bookstores and checkout counters nationwide

• By the fifth edition she wanted to do something bigger than content and advice

• That is where the idea for 1,000 Dreams Fund started to take shape

[00:18:28] The Relationship That Changed Everything: Bob Cutler

• Her Marketing to Millennials co-author Jeff Fromm made the introduction

• Bob Cutler runs a successful marketing agency in the Kansas City community

• He made a significant investment in Christie and her idea

• She credits that investment as the reason 1,000 Dreams Fund exists

[00:19:39] Why That Kind of Belief Matters

• Someone saying they see you and believe in you drives you forward

• Community programs that back entrepreneurs make a real difference

• That support matters especially for women in venture and startups

• Fewer women are in those rooms, which makes the commitment more consequential

[00:21:30] The Olympian She Met in Park City

• Was touring to meet board members in person and visited the Olympic training facility

• Met ski jumper Abby Ringquist, who was struggling to fund her training

• Recognized immediately that Abby was exactly who the organization was built for

• Got her board on board to make a special sponsorship commitment

[00:23:29] The Riot Games Apprenticeship

• Gaming and esports offer great careers but are difficult to break into

• There is no on-ramp available to everyone; connections matter

• 1DF handles recruitment to reach communities outside existing hiring channels

• Riot pays, relocates, and trains selected candidates for three months before hiring

[00:24:30] Going Global

• The first year of the program was based in Dublin, Ireland

• 1,000 Dreams Fund launched in 2016 focused only on the US

• Recruitment was targeted across Europe and the Middle East

• Both delivered candidates received full-time jobs

[00:26:12] The Vision Going Forward

• Sees this as a moment of transition driven largely by AI

• Focused on preparing next generation talent and workers who need retraining

• Many high-demand roles do not require a four-year degree

• Manufacturing technician roles represent a decade-long need for many companies

KEY QUOTES

"When someone says, hey, I see you, and I think what you're doing is outstanding in some way, and we're gonna make an investment in you, that stays with the individual." - Christie Garton

"I have always been inspired by stories. And that has motivated me to literally get up and do something." - Christie Garton

"Reaching where you should be in life isn't always the easiest journey, and if our organization can be any inspiration and kickstart in some way, that to me is why I do this." - Christie Garton

CONNECT WITH CHRISTIE GARTON

Website: https://www.1000dreamsfund.org

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christiegarton

Email: [email protected]

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What if you could reach the top without leaving your health, your relationships, and yourself behind to get there?

In this episode, Ariana Hall, executive coach to CEO founders, shares how a three-year-old asking for violin lessons led to a professional singing career in front of a million audience members, and eventually to coaching leaders of billion dollar companies.

Ariana's path ran from art school to a conservatory program to world tours backing Rod Stewart and Adam Lambert. Then a career she never planned started chasing her. This conversation traces the long line of teachers who made that possible, beginning with a violin teacher who told her mother never to interrupt her daydreaming.

[00:04:02] What She Does and Who She Serves

• Executive coach for CEO founders

• Believes you do not have to lose your sanity, health, and relationships to succeed

• Learned that lesson experientially before turning it into her work

[00:05:02] The Unexpected Route Here

• Studied performing arts, theater, and music at an art school as a kid

• Went on to a conservatory program in college and became a songwriter

• Sang for roughly one million audience members over her professional career

• Backed Rod Stewart, Adam Lambert, and Engelbert Humperdinck

[00:06:59] The Hospital Room in Laughlin

• Ended up in an emergency room at 24 with a kidney infection from touring dehydration

• Was given morphine without explanation and lost an entire day

• Missed a show and assumed she had lost her touring job

• A boyfriend broke up with her by phone in the same window

[00:08:29] The Voice She Heard

• Reached deep to figure out where she had miscalculated

• Heard a clear voice say she was here to empower the voices of others

• It scared her because as a singer she did not want to empower her competition

• She later learned the phenomenon is called clairaudience

[00:09:03] Standing at the Piano

• Years later, between voice students, she realized the words had come true

• Understood that focusing fully on this could become something significant

• The very next session was not a voice lesson but a voice activation

• She began working underneath the vocal problems rather than only on technique

[00:10:17] From Voice Lessons to Executive Coaching

• Built an internal almanac of how self-expression works across people

• Moved into public speaking coaching in her thirties

• Clients were CEO founders who needed to speak well about their businesses

• They started asking for help with dating, marriage, kids, and direct reports

[00:11:30] The Career That Chased Her

• She kept insisting she was just a singer while people kept hiring her

• Eventually turned toward it and accepted this was her career

• Realized she had amassed enough material that it was no longer public speaking

[00:12:00] What Her Coaching Actually Covers

• Focuses on emotional intelligence rather than strictly business coaching

• Works on how leaders navigate their primary and key relationships

• Most clients are eight and nine figure business owners, some ten figure

• Currently works with a founder running a billion dollar company

[00:13:30] The Inside and the Outside High-Fiving

• Her orientation is making sure a person's inner and outer life line up

• Much harder to achieve than it sounds

• She experienced the opposite while touring, successful but depressed

• Clients often arrive stuck despite appearing to have everything

[00:15:50] What Impact Really Means to Her

• Defines impact as understanding your effect on others and being responsible for it

• Discovered that music could shift the emotional and physical state of thousands

• Realized that effect is powerful but short-lived, often gone within 24 hours

• Wanted to find something more lasting to do with the same skills

[00:17:29] Giving the Tools to the Person With the Biggest Reach

• Asked who is positioned to make the biggest impact imaginable

• Took ten years to identify exactly what she is doing now

• Developed the underlying skills over roughly 20,000 hours

• Modern CEOs cannot wing it; messaging, culture, and hires all have to align

[00:20:01] Client Impact: Craig Clemens

• Co-founder of Golden Hippo, a billion dollar company

• Came to her before that success as a single guy wanting to be more interesting

• They worked together about five and a half years and transformed every key area

• He told her he would tell his future children they would not exist without her

[00:22:45] The First Relationship: Mrs. McClung

• At three years old Ariana asked her mother for violin lessons

• Mrs. McClung taught her the Suzuki method and how to make sense of vibration

• When her mother mentioned constant daydreaming, Mrs. McClung called it a sign of genius

• She told her mother never to interrupt it, which changed how Ariana was raised

[00:24:44] The Teacher Who Spotted the Singing

• At about 11, a teacher told her mother she had real vocal talent

• Her mother started looking at art schools

• Ariana auditioned and got into the Palm Beach County School of the Arts

• She credits her mother for being available to hear all of it

[00:25:32] Rachel LeBon and the First Day of Class

• Rachel had toured professionally before becoming a professor at University of Miami

• She opened the very first class by asking who would like to sing a song

• Ariana volunteered while the rest of the room stayed silent

• Rachel then told them a singer must be able to sing any time, anywhere, in front of anyone

[00:27:42] The Call That Sounded Like a Prank

• A music director called offering her a world tour with Engelbert Humperdinck

• She thought it was fake and waited days before calling back

• They were leaving in six days and asked her to pick the other backup singer

• She gave the job to her best friend and toured about 250 shows a year for two and a half years

[00:28:37] Lise Maria and Learning Who She Really Is

• Went to a small apartment in Santa Monica every week for a year and a half

• Never missed a single week and cried through nearly all of them

• Learned there are different parts of the self and how they connect

• Says the work went further to the core than therapy could reach

[00:29:45] Joel and Moving Through the World Powerfully

• Worked with a mentor named Joel for about a decade

• Learned how humans think and operate across emotions, psyche, and personality

• Gained the ability to handle herself in any situation

• She credits him with the poise she carries now

[00:34:36] You Make Your Teachers Proud

• Someone once told her that phrase and she asked where it came from

• She understands it as a Native American expression

• Whoever showed you how to do something well, you are making them proud

• There is only so far an ego can carry itself; guidance is necessary

[00:35:30] Dawn Cartwright and Human Intimacy

• Dawn is an expert in human intimacy who is still alive and teaching

• Her work closed the remaining gaps in Ariana's understanding

• Ariana now coaches couples and individuals through intimacy issues

• Every one of her teachers loved her in a way that left a beautiful mark

[00:37:44] Final Word: Highlighting the People Behind the Superstar

• She gives a great deal and is often not glorified for it

• She is the behind-the-scenes person who helps the superstar get there

• She was the superstar in her former career and understands the pressure

• She appreciates a show that highlights people who helped others

KEY QUOTES

"I believe that you don't have to lose your sanity, your health, and your relationships in order to be successful." - Ariana Hall

"Impact is understanding the effect you have on another, or many others, and being responsible for that, and that's not something a lot of people pay attention to." - Ariana Hall

"I would not be the person that I am and help these leaders at the level I'm helping them if I hadn't been touched by each of those people along my path." - Ariana Hall

CONNECT WITH ARIANA HALL

Website: https://www.arianahall.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arianahall

Email: [email protected]

Thanks for tuning in!

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What if the empire you built became the thing you got lost inside?

In this episode, Michael Fineman, author of The Authority Drift and co-founder of the Les Brown Prodigy Program, shares how a kid who was on his own at 15 taught himself to be an adult by listening to Les Brown cassettes in a beat-up car, and later found himself sitting across the table inking a deal with the man himself.

Michael's work centers on one idea: high achievers build remarkable things and then mistake those things for their identity. When the business sells or the market shifts, they go down with it. This conversation is about catching that drift before it costs you everything.

[00:05:27] What He Does and Who He Serves

• Spent years in corporate marketing and sales before breaking out

• Co-founded a supplement company helping brands create innovative products

• Launched clean, ethical consumer brands and later stepped back from daily operations

• Now focused on speaking, coaching, and his new book The Authority Drift

[00:06:49] What Inspires Him

• Loves watching people find their true identity

• Many professionals do something remarkable and then become it

• When you are attached to a product, you go down with it if it fails

• Helping someone take the mask off produces joy, peace, and freedom

[00:08:34] Why Masterminds Can Make It Worse

• Best-practice rooms create pressure to always be crushing it

• People feel they must show up performing rather than asking for help

• Entrepreneurship is ebbs and flows and every solved problem invites the next

• Michael jokes that constant whining is the real tell

[00:09:44] What Authority Drift Actually Means

• People build a mask based on other people's expectations

• They construct an amazing life that does not agree with their center

• They build an empire and then get lost within its walls

• Founders who exit after 20 years often end up completely lost

[00:11:58] The Working Dog Analogy

• His daughter has a highly trained Belgian Malinois that needs work to survive

• Without a job to do, the dog becomes agitated and directionless

• Remove the work entirely and a dog like that would not make it

• People are the same, but purpose cannot be attached to what you do

[00:13:00] Where Real Identity Comes From

• Michael is faith-based and describes himself as a completed Jew

• For him identity came down to whose he was, not what he did

• Without that anchor, the path is stillness and returning to childhood dreams

• At six he wanted to make TV commercials and today he makes ads

[00:14:53] Walking His Son Through It

• His son was on a serious basketball track before an injury ended it

• Performance anxiety had already been building beforehand

• Michael brought him back to his faith and to the difference between doing and being

• His son found Christian rap and is now writing again in a new form

[00:15:52] The Question Most People Cannot Answer

• He asks people what they would do if money did not matter

• Most cannot answer because they buried that dream years ago

• The answer requires being genuinely alone and undistracted

• Make it a practice for a couple of weeks and it surfaces

[00:18:30] The Tactical Way to Show You Are Not Taking

• On a first Zoom, ask the person how you can serve them

• People physically pull back because nobody has ever asked

• It immediately signals you are there to give, not extract

[00:19:00] Client Impact: Jose G. Lopez

• Met Jose pre-COVID when he was 16 or 17 and nobody took him seriously

• Jose had met Les Brown but could not close anything with him

• Michael re-engaged the conversation and they started a company with Les together

• It catapulted Jose's career

[00:20:03] Connecting for the Sake of It

• Currently connecting a hip hop producer with a triple platinum credit to a major clothing industry contact

• Has never charged for making introductions

• Feels like he participated even when he makes nothing from it

• The end users will never know he was there, and that is fine

[00:22:58] The Relationship That Changed Everything: Les Brown

• Was on his own at 15 teaching himself how to be an adult

• Listened to Jim Rohn, Zig Ziglar, and Les Brown on cassettes in his old car

• Years later got Les on the phone and told him directly he was the guy to build his program

• They launched the Les Brown Prodigy Program together pre-COVID

[00:24:49] The Compliment That Changed What He Thought Was Possible

• Coached side by side with Les through COVID to thousands of people online

• The day they inked the deal in Miami, Les said the meeting was for Michael, not himself

• Les's son told him what he liked was that Michael was not trying to be Les Brown

• Those words sent him to the moon and he never looked back

[00:26:20] What Came Next

• Found the guts to quit corporate and take off the golden handcuffs

• Started the supplement companies that funded the next stage

• That funded the speaking, the courses, the funnels, and the book

• Now building high-level coaching around The Authority Reset program

[00:27:03] The Cohorts and the Experiential Events

• Six men come through a nine-week online program together

• Between weeks three and four they meet Michael for something outside their norm

• Options include flying a fighter jet or following the Iditarod by helicopter

• The point is to break the pattern and then go deep on identity

[00:28:49] Blake's Story

• Blake was building a concierge wellness practice for high achievers

• He was snapping at his kids, his wife, and his employees from constant stress

• The cohort helped him separate who he is from what he is building

• He became more loving at home and more present with his team

[00:30:18] Impact That Runs Generationally

• One participant was 65 and another mentor figure was 70

• The 70-year-old is a high-achieving minister who shifted his life direction

• The program is a relatively new launch and still early

• Michael wants to make an impact that helps others make generational impact

KEY QUOTES

"My identity is not rooted in what I've achieved or what I've done. My identity is rooted in who I am and whose I am." - Michael Fineman

"They find out that they've built this amazing empire, but they get lost within its walls because it doesn't really align with who they actually are." - Michael Fineman

"We all have the drive that we're headed towards this place, this destination, and at the end, guess who's there with you? You are." - Michael Fineman

CONNECT WITH MICHAEL FINEMAN

Website: https://www.authoritydrift.com

Book: https://www.authoritydriftbook.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-n-fineman-the-dot-connector-2a844b13

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mike.fineman.7

Thanks for tuning in!

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What if the highest use of a CEO's time is the one thing that never shows up on a balance sheet?

In this episode, Shane Pliska, president and CEO of Planterra, shares how a film school graduate who wanted to make movies ended up running his family's 53-year-old interior landscape company and turning its legacy greenhouse into one of the most sought-after wedding venues in Michigan.

Shane serves Fortune 500 brands across the country with plants, greenery, and living walls. But the conversation goes far deeper than horticulture. It covers why grocery stores greet you with flowers, what Steve Wynn understood in the 1970s, and the three duties Shane learned that reshaped how he spends his time as a CEO.

[00:03:12] What He Does and Who He Serves

• Runs a national interior landscape company serving Fortune 500 brands

• Provides tropical plants, greenery, and ongoing maintenance on a recurring revenue model

• The business is 53 years old and Shane is the second generation

• Locally known for converting the legacy greenhouse into a wedding venue

[00:04:27] The Venue That Draws People Across State Lines

• About half of their couples live outside Michigan

• Most have a family tie, but more are choosing Michigan purely for the venue

• The Instagram photographs are the proof

• The space delivers both an experience and images worth traveling for

[00:05:46] How He Got Here

• Grew up watering plants in the family greenhouse as a toddler

• Left for film school in Boston and then Los Angeles

• Came back not because film failed but because he knew he was an entrepreneur

• He and his father agreed to give it ten years and build a national company

[00:06:30] Where Show Business Meets Horticulture

• Producing a wedding runs on a production mentality

• The bride is the star and the show must always go on

• He could not have run weddings straight out of film school

• He first had to learn how plants change an environment

[00:07:33] What Steve Wynn Understood

• Planterra opened a Las Vegas office serving the casinos

• Shane later saw a clip of Steve Wynn naming his secret to success

• It was sunlight, water, and plants and flowers

• Hospitality and show business converge on one thing: how people feel

[00:10:14] Biophilia and Why It Is Not a Trend

• Humans are biologically hardwired to be attracted to nature

• The term biophilia has been trending in architecture in recent years

• Casino operators understood it long before architects were discussing it

[00:10:39] The Grocery Store Order

• A grocery store greets you with plants, then flowers, then produce, in that order

• A store leading with processed foods and chips is a convenience store

• That order resets the brain and influences how much people spend

• Every square inch of a grocery store is valuable real estate

[00:12:00] Why a Plant Makes You More Trustworthy

• The gaming industry measures how much people put at risk, not just what they spend

• What you risk depends on how you feel

• For lawyers and advisors selling trust, a plant makes you appear more human

• Studies show a bare desk with no personal photographs reduces trust

[00:15:39] The Ocean View Argument for CFOs

• Two identical buildings, same construction, same zip code

• One has an ocean view and the other does not

• Everyone knows the ocean view sells for more per square foot

• That is a universal human value, not a regional preference

[00:16:34] Why Nature Analogies Beat Sports Analogies

• Nature analogies land harder because they reach more people

• Business people default to sports analogies constantly

• That only works if the audience follows the sport

• In a global and diverse business environment, that is a risky assumption

[00:17:55] Client Impact: Bringing It to Main Street

• The results he values most are in ordinary businesses people visit daily

• Helps customers make good choices between live and faux foliage

• Takes a design concept and makes it realistic, affordable, and maintainable

• The real question is how a credit union makes you feel when you walk in

[00:20:44] The Relationship That Changed Everything: YPO

• Joined the Young Presidents Organization and has a small inner circle

• The group solidified relationships as a top three CEO duty

• The three duties: do not run out of money, right people in the right seat, build relationships

• Once he understood that, the doors opened incredibly

[00:21:41] What His Father Taught Him

• Credits his father with teaching him creative visualization as a young child

• The skill is seeing where you want to go in order to get there

• He still uses it every single day

[00:22:19] Turning Dreaming into Action

• The conservatory itself began as a dream

• Currently expanding into a fully layered botanical garden experience

• Vision plus execution is a muscle that has to be exercised

• If you can visualize something that cannot be benchmarked, you are a true entrepreneur

[00:24:10] Inspiration Is Abundant, Not Scarce

• Has travelled to more than 45 countries and goes abroad several times a year

• Builds a personal catalog from what he sees, hears, and tastes

• Borrows a phrase from an artist friend: creative people are never bored

• If you feel there is nothing out there for you, you are not being creative enough

[00:25:54] The MGM Grand Living Wall

• Chef Joel Robuchon's contract required a terrace for his first US restaurant

• The problem was a hotel sitting above the space, so no windows and no natural light

• The solution was a curved living wall, built in 2005

• No living wall systems or companies existed yet, so they created it from scratch

[00:29:12] Final Word: Plant the Garden

• Returns to the human connection at the heart of relationships

• Nature never goes out of style and will never be dated

• No one gets tired of a forest, a tree, or a flower

• Plant the garden and the trees because future generations will appreciate them

KEY QUOTES

"Don't run out of money, right people, right seat, and most importantly building relationships. Those are the three main duties for me as a CEO." - Shane Pliska

"If you can creatively visualize something different that can't quite be benchmarked, then you're a true entrepreneur." - Shane Pliska

"Nature never goes out of style. No one's ever gonna be tired of a forest or a tree or a flower. So plant that garden, plant those trees." - Shane Pliska

CONNECT WITH SHANE PLISKA

Website: https://www.planterra.com

Conservatory: https://www.planterraevents.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shanepliska

Thanks for tuning in!

If you liked my show, please LEAVE A 5-STAR REVIEW, like, and subscribe!

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What if the most sustainable thing you could build started with the smallest thing you could give?

In this episode, Gina Gabel and Priscilla Heffelfinger, co-founders of Thrive, share how two mothers living in Bangladesh for their husbands' work started delivering bananas to one school once a week and built a feeding program that now serves almost 4,000 children every school day.

Thrive has missed only three days of school meals in thirteen years, through a terrorist attack, floods, fires, and a global pandemic. That consistency is possible because of three women in Bangladesh who walked up after a focus group and said they wanted in.

[00:05:00] How Thrive Started

• Both moved to Bangladesh with their families in 2012 for their husbands' work

• Saw children the same age as their own begging on Gulshan Circle

• Went to a nearby school and asked how they could help

• Teachers said bring food, so they started with one banana, one school, once a week

[00:05:47] Why It Grew So Fast

• People in the US and in Bangladesh immediately asked to join in

• Both locals and expats wanted to be part of it from almost day two

• Gina and Priscilla instigated it but never owned it alone

• A simple school meal gets kids to school and keeps them healthy

[00:06:36] What Inspires Gina

• Witnessing that level of poverty in person is nothing like seeing it in a film

• Children the same age as her own looked at her with hope for food

• No one with a kind heart could sit with that and do nothing

• Ten dollars a month feeds a child school meals every single day

[00:08:19] What Inspires Priscilla

• Thrive now pays local mothers to cook the meals

• One mom used her first steady paycheck to buy a washing machine

• She had been walking to the river to wash clothes

• She turned the machine into a laundry business for her neighborhood

[00:09:55] The Vision Going Forward

• Unlike many feeding programs, Thrive serves every single school day

• Once they partner with a school, they stay with that school

• Thousands of children remain on the waiting list

• A hungry kid is a hungry kid, but the need where they already serve is enormous

[00:11:31] Looking at It Through a Parent's Eyes

• Parents also carry the weight of knowing food is there

• With each meal comes the opportunity to go to school

• Attendance and enrollment both rise from a simple meal of protein and vegetables

[00:12:37] From 66% to 99% Attendance

• One school had roughly a 66% attendance rate

• Children were helping their parents in the seaweed farms instead

• Once parents heard Thrive was providing daily meals, they made sure the kids went

• That school now averages 99% attendance every day

[00:14:22] The Relationship That Changed Everything: The Bangladesh Rock Stars

• A businessman named Arsalan invited them to share about Thrive at a focus group

• Three women, Amna, Sadia, and Khanwal, came up afterwards and said they wanted in

• All three still live in Bangladesh and drive the work forward

• They introduced Gina and Priscilla to a culture neither of them came from

[00:15:16] What Those Three Women Built

• Currently planning a major Bangladesh fashion show with the country's top designers

• Ambassadors and dignitaries will walk the runway alongside the designers

• Priscilla jokes she was more accustomed to bake sales

[00:15:47] Why Thrive Survived When Others Left

• A terrorist attack shortly after they started sent many expats out of the country

• Without a strong local base the whole operation would have stalled

• The same thing happened again during COVID

• Thirteen years in, they have missed only three days of school meals

[00:17:12] The Advice That Keeps Them Going

• Amna says if you do things pure of heart, good things come out of it

• Thrive has faced terrorist attacks, floods, fires, and a pandemic

• Stay honest and clear to the mission even when money pulls you elsewhere

• One foot in front of the other, one step at a time

[00:18:39] The Boiled Egg

• In week three the menu was a boiled egg and local vegetables

• Many children were not eating their eggs and the team could not work out why

• A little girl explained through a translator that she wanted to take it home

• She wanted to share it with her family

[00:19:18] Why They Have Never Stopped

• If one boiled egg is that treasured to a five-year-old, stopping is not an option

• Gina calls it a one-sided relationship since the girl likely has no idea who she is

• She keeps a picture of a child from Bangladesh holding an egg in her home

• It sits there as a reminder of how precious food is

[00:20:17] Priscilla Honors Gina

• Gina's answer to every reservation was let's just do something

• People raised concerns that the plan was not well thought out

• Gina said they would catch it as they went and start small

• Without her yes to that first banana, Thrive would never have started

[00:21:39] Final Word: It Is Easy to Make a Difference

• Businesses of every size support the work in different ways

• Ten dollars a month feeds a child every single day

• Paying mothers to cook the meals changes entire generations

• Supporters can join Zoom calls with the kids or visit in person

KEY QUOTES

"We'll catch it as we go. Let's just start small. Let's start simple." - Gina Gabel, as shared by Priscilla Heffelfinger

"If you do things pure of heart, good things come out of it." - Amna, as shared by Priscilla Heffelfinger

"If one tiny little boiled egg is so treasured to a little five year old girl, there's no way that we can stop delivering those school meals, because those kids are counting on us." - Gina Gabel

CONNECT WITH GINA GABEL AND PRISCILLA HEFFELFINGER

Website: https://www.thrive-global.org

Gina LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gina-gabel-ab428b1a4

Priscilla LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/priscillaheffelfinger

Email: [email protected]

Email: [email protected]

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