No Straight Path

Join us for a thoughtful conversation with entertainment attorney, Thomas Russell. Thomas’ story is all about grit. It’s about resilience. It’s about dreaming. It’s about chasing your dreams relentlessly.

Thomas Russell III is Corporate Counsel at Amazon Music where he advises the tech-giant on its livestreaming, video-on-demand and sponsorship efforts. Thomas was recognized by Variety as one of the Top In-House Entertainment Attorneys for 2023.

Thomas is also committed to championing issues for the BIPOC community. Prior to joining Amazon Music, Thomas represented Post 21, a black-owned online marketplace, in its deal with Disney making it the first black-owned operating partner in Downtown Disney.

He went to Ursinus College in Pennsylvania and Howard University for law school. When he’s not working, you can find him spending quality time with his wife (Ashley) and two sons (Thomas IV and Carter).

Tune in for another inspiring conversation! 

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Thomas Russell on LinkedIn

Ashley Menzies Babatunde

Ashley Menzies Babatunde on Instagram

Ashley Menzies Babatunde on LinkedIn

Hubspot Podcast Network

Sign Up for Ashley's Newsletter

Ashley's Substack

Rate & Review:

If you enjoy listening to No Straight Path, please make sure you write a review and rate the show. It helps other listeners find the podcast. You can rate and review the show here. Thank you! 

Join us for a fascinating conversation with USA Today bestselling author, journalist, and marketing consultant, Amy Shoenthal. Blending her marketing expertise with her formal journalism training, Amy approaches storytelling as sense making. As a top contributor to ForbesWomen and Harvard Business Review, she shines the spotlight on those who have been historically underestimated yet are doing the work to solve society's biggest problems.

Years of interviewing hundreds of leaders from politicians to Peloton instructors, fashion icons to founders just starting their journeys inspired her bestselling book, The Setback Cycle, which offers a framework to help people persevere through and triumph over setbacks.

Tune in for another inspiring conversation! 

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Amy Shoenthal

Amy Shoenthal on LinkedIn

Amy Shoenthal on Instagram

The Setback Cycle

Thank you for Saying No Podcast

Ashley Menzies Babatunde

Ashley Menzies Babatunde on Instagram

Ashley Menzies Babatunde on LinkedIn

Hubspot Podcast Network

Sign Up for Ashley's Newsletter

Ashley's Substack

Rate & Review:

If you enjoy listening to No Straight Path, please make sure you write a review and rate the show. It helps other listeners find the podcast. You can rate and review the show here. Thank you! 

Join us for a thought-provoking two-part conversation with Dr. Feranmi Okanlami as we celebrate the two-year anniversary of No Straight Path. Feranmi embodies all of the things that No Straight Path represents–honesty, vulnerability, compassion, self-awareness, intellectual curiosity, a commitment to excellence, resilience, purpose, and faith. We delve into his fascinating life and career journey. He is a speaker, advocate, and physician leader dedicated to improving diversity, equity, and inclusion and inspired by the belief that disability does not mean inability. He is currently the director of Student Accessibility & Accommodation Services at the University of Michigan.

Tune in for another inspiring conversation! 

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Dr. Feranmi Okanlami

Dr. Feranmi Okanlami on LinkedIn

Dr. Feranmi Okanlami on Instagram

Ashley Menzies Babatunde

Ashley Menzies Babatunde on Instagram

Ashley Menzies Babatunde on LinkedIn

Hubspot Podcast Network

Sign Up for Ashley's Newsletter

Ashley's Substack

Rate & Review:

If you enjoy listening to No Straight Path, please make sure you write a review and rate the show. It helps other listeners find the podcast. You can rate and review the show here. Thank you! 

Join us for a thought-provoking two-part conversation with Dr. Feranmi Okanlami as we celebrate the two-year anniversary of No Straight Path. Feranmi embodies all of the things that No Straight Path represents–honesty, vulnerability, compassion, self-awareness, intellectual curiosity, a commitment to excellence, resilience, purpose, and faith. We delve into his fascinating life and career journey. He is a speaker, advocate, and physician leader dedicated to improving diversity, equity, and inclusion and inspired by the belief that disability does not mean inability. He is currently the director of Student Accessibility & Accommodation Services at the University of Michigan.

Tune in for another inspiring conversation! 

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Dr. Feranmi Okanlami

Dr. Feranmi Okanlami on LinkedIn

Dr. Feranmi Okanlami on Instagram

Ashley Menzies Babatunde

Ashley Menzies Babatunde on Instagram

Ashley Menzies Babatunde on LinkedIn

Hubspot Podcast Network

Sign Up for Ashley's Newsletter

Ashley's Substack

Rate & Review:

If you enjoy listening to No Straight Path, please make sure you write a review and rate the show. It helps other listeners find the podcast. You can rate and review the show here. Thank you! 

Join us for an insightful episode with Phill Agnew, host of Nudge, the UK’s #1 marketing podcast. On his show he interviews experts in psychology and behavioral science to try to better understand how humans make decisions. He has spent over a decade in senior marketing roles at Buffer, Hotjar, and Brandwatch, where he helped launch products in social media, website analytics and AI.  

Today, we learn about his career journey, decision-making processes, and ability to redefine his journey despite labels that were placed on him as a child. Phill also opens up about his purpose in life and career, which he admits is often hard for him to do as Brit. Tune in for an insightful and inspiring conversation! 

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Phill Agnew

Phill Agnew on LinkedIn

Nudge Podcast

Ashley Menzies Babatunde

Ashley Menzies Babatunde on Instagram

Hubspot Podcast Network

Sign Up for Ashley's Newsletter

Ashley's Substack

Rate & Review:

If you enjoy listening to No Straight Path, please make sure you write a review and rate the show. It helps other listeners find the podcast. You can rate and review the show here. Thank you! 

Join us for a a thoughtful conversation with CEO of Vera Jean Media, Jourdan Guyton! She is a visionary entrepreneur with a decade-long immersion in the entertainment industry. Leveraging experience with giants like Meta, Teachable, and Blavity, Jourdan founded Vera Jean Media to empower heart-centered entrepreneurs through authentic social media strategies. Achieving rapid six-figure growth within a year, Vera Jean Media, named after Jourdan's grandmother, stands for compassion, kindness, and innovation. This media powerhouse aims to amplify voices, foster connections, and make a positive impact in the digital landscape, guided by a mission to empower individuals to thrive authentically in the ever-evolving world of social media.

Ashley and Jourdan talk career, grief, marriage, dreams, and so much more. Tune in for another inspiring conversation!

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Jourdan Guyton

Vera Jean Media

Jourdan Guyton on Instagram

Jourdan Guyton on LinkedIn

Ashley Menzies Babatunde

Ashley Menzies Babatunde on Instagram

Hubspot Podcast Network

Sign Up for Ashley's Newsletter

Ashley's Substack

Rate & Review:

If you enjoy listening to No Straight Path, please make sure you write a review and rate the show. It helps other listeners find the podcast. You can rate and review the show here. Thank you! 

We are back with a new season for 2024. It is election season, and the California Primary is Tuesday, March 5th. We have a special guest who is running for office on the show today. Although media coverage often focuses on the political polarization at national level, state and local politics have a direct impact on the lives of Americans. Tune in to hear from a Millennial running for State Assembly, Walter Garcia. Born and raised in the Northeast San Fernando Valley, Walter is the proud son of two Mexican immigrants. Although his family faced economic hardship and adversity, Walter remembers his parents telling him one thing over and over again: — don't give up and help others. Those values have guided him through unparalleled opportunities to serve our country at the local, state, and national levels.

Walter candidly shares his story, offers insights on what it’s really like to run for office, and discusses some of the policy issues he aims to office on if elected to office. He also shares lessons that are applicable to any career. Tune in for another insightful and dynamic conversation! 

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Walter Garcia

Walter Garcia on LinkedIn

Walter Garcia on Instagram

Ashley Menzies Babatunde

Ashley Menzies Babatunde on Instagram

Hubspot Podcast Network

Sign Up for Ashley's Newsletter

Ashley's Substack

Rate & Review:

If you enjoy listening to No Straight Path, please make sure you write a review and rate the show. It helps other listeners find the podcast. You can rate and review the show here. Thank you! 

Ashley provides a quick update about what's in store for No Straight Path in 2024. Although it's a quick message, you'll leave it inspired!

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Ashley Menzies Babatunde

Ashley Menzies Babatunde on Instagram

Hubspot Podcast Network

Sign Up for Ashley's Newsletter

Ashley's Substack

Rate & Review:

If you enjoy listening to No Straight Path, please make sure you write a review and rate the show. It helps other listeners find the podcast. You can rate and review the show here. Thank you! 

Tune into our final episode of this year with Manager of the HubSpot Creators Carly Baker. We cover Carly’s transition from a creative industry to the corporate world and how she let go of one dream and embraced a multi-passionate identity.

Carly's passion for the Podcast Industry can be traced back to her roots as a professional musician, where she spent significant time working in and exploring the facets of the audio industry. As an artist and freelancer, her approach to working with Creators is informed by her own experiences in the creator sphere.

Currently a Creator Partnerships Manager @ HubSpot, she specializes in inspiring, engaging, and supporting Creators across platforms to achieve their goals and drive business impact. When her headphones aren’t in, you can find Carly deep in the racks at your local vintage establishment & local bookstore. 

Carly provides an honest and reflective account of her journey thus far. Tune in for another inspiring conversation!

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Carly Baker

Carly Baker on LinkedIn

Ashley Menzies Babatunde

Ashley Menzies Babatunde on Instagram

Hubspot Podcast Network

Rate & Review:

If you enjoy listening to No Straight Path, please make sure you write a review and rate the show. It helps other listeners find the podcast. You can rate and review the show here. Thank you! 

Tune in today for a dynamic conversation with entrepreneurs Luis and Fonzi Camejo. They are  the dynamic brothers behind BIZBROS and they have spent over seven years mastering the art of content creation that drives opportunities and profit.

As online personalities, owners of Studio Podcast Suites and hosts of the top 0.5% global podcast, Content is Profit, which is in the HubSpot Podcast Network, they’re on a mission: to help companies, business owners, and content creators transform their content into value-packed assets that amplify their message, build trust, and create consistent opportunities.

Drawing from their experiences with industry giants like HubSpot, Orangetheory, Redbull, Chet Holmes International and more, they’ve developed game-changing frameworks such as the MVC (Minimum Viable Content), The Publishing Pyramid, and their unique M2M Content Ecosystem.

These Venezuelan brothers, once on a path to professional soccer, pivoted to entrepreneurship, driven by a passion to support their family back home and make a global impact. But what they cherish most are the invaluable relationships forged through their podcasting journey.

The episode covers a number of interesting topics, including the value of relationships, having honest and difficult conversations, community, and much more. Tune in for a fun and thoughtful conversation!

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Biz Bros

Content is Profit

Fonzi Camejo on Instagram

Fonzi Camejo on LinkedIn

Luis Camejo on Instagram

Luis Camejo on LinkedIn

Ashley Menzies Babatunde

Ashley Menzies Babatunde on Instagram

Hubspot Podcast Network

Rate & Review:

If you enjoy listening to No Straight Path, please make sure you write a review and rate the show. It helps other listeners find the podcast. You can rate and review the show here. Thank you!