Philly Who?

Nicole Purvy is the founder of Better Than Success, a multi-faceted business which includes a digital marketing agency, a real estate investment league, and a podcast. She’s also the founder of Philly Real Estate Week, an annual citywide summit that celebrates real estate planning, development, and wealth building. Before founding Better Than Success, Nicole was a rising star investment banker. But she felt restless in the corporate world, and when she started a YouTube channel making financial education videos, she got fired. 

In this episode you’ll hear how she would spend a decade bouncing between different careers and businesses, and while each one found success, she would finally find her true calling in building a community around real estate through the Better Than Success Real Estate League.

And, you’ll hear how, even though she grew up in Philly, at first she swore off of living here. But eventually, she’d come back, and find it to be exactly what she wanted.

Support Philly Who?

Donate via Paypal,

Venmo: @podphillywho,

Become a Monthly Patron,

Purchase a T-Shirt or Hat,

Become a Sponsor

Emily Smith is the Executive Director of Philly’s Magic Gardens, an immersive art environment on South Street that receives over 150,00 visitors per year and showcases the mosaic work of Isaiah Zagar. After spending her early 20s as an artist in New York, Emily came to Philadelphia in 2009 just one year after the Magic Gardens opened to the public. She would get a job there working the front desk, stay for about a year, then move on to North Carolina. But, it wasn’t too long until Philly and the Gardens called her back.

She became the Executive Director of the gardens in 2011, and since then the mosaic labyrinth has become one of Philly’s top tourist destinations. In this episode, we’ll talk about how, for the first few years as the gardens soared in popularity, Emily’s personal art career fell by the wayside. But, in 2015, she was violently assaulted, and she turned to painting to cope.

And, we’ll talk about her mission to protect the art of Isaiah Zagar, who over the past 50 years has created over 220 public art pieces across the city, and how many of which are in danger.

phillymagicgardens.org

Support Philly Who?

Donate via Paypal,

Venmo: @podphillywho,

Become a Monthly Patron,

Purchase a T-Shirt or Hat,

Become a Sponsor

Michael Lerman is the Artistic Director of the Philadelphia Film Festival, and has been for the last 8 years. He’s also the Artistic Director of the Palm Springs Film Festival, and is a Programmer for the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). In this episode, you’ll hear how Michael, who was born and raised in Philly, got his start in film curation as a college student who just really loved movies.

He’ll share the story of how he worked his way into programming at the world’s biggest film festivals, including one of the most prestigious ones in Toronto.

And, we’ll talk about how, in the new world of Netflix, there’s still nothing quite like seeing a film in a sold-out theater.

Support Philly Who?

Donate via Paypal,

Venmo: @podphillywho,

Become a Monthly Patron,

Purchase a T-Shirt or Hat,

Become a Sponsor

Keith Wallace is the founder of the Wine School of Philadelphia, which for almost 20 years has offered wine education courses for casual drinkers and seasoned sommeliers alike. In this episode, you’ll hear how Keith started his adult life as a journalist in Baltimore, but one seemingly average morning commute with his fiancee would change his life forever. After spending a few years recovering, he decided to abandon journalism and move to Napa to pursue his passion of winemaking, all while keeping his condition a secret. He would become a renowned wine expert, consulting clients in California and Italy, and one day, he was asked to teach a class. He would fall immediately in love with teaching, and thus the Wine School of Philadelphia was born.

Support Philly Who?

Donate via Paypal,

Venmo: @podphillywho,

Become a Monthly Patron,

Purchase a T-Shirt or Hat,

Become a Sponsor

Judy Wicks is the founder of the White Dog Cafe, a restaurant in University City that she started in the first floor of her house in 1983. What started as a muffin shop quickly grew into a renowned 200-seat restaurant that was among the first to feature farm-to-table local food. 

In this episode, Judy will share how before starting White Dog, she and her then-husband opened Free People, a general store specifically for people under 30.

The store would find quick success, but, as a woman, she wasn’t being taken seriously, so she left the business and her marriage and literally crashed the restaurant industry.

She would become a community and sustainability leader for four decades, and here she’ll share what we can do to ensure a happy, healthy Philadelphia.

Judy's Memoir: Good Morning, Beautiful Business

judywicks.com

@jwicks333 on Twitter

Support Philly Who?

Donate via Paypal,

Venmo: @podphillywho,

Become a Monthly Patron,

Purchase a T-Shirt or Hat,

Become a Sponsor

Steven Grasse is the founder of Quaker City Mercantile, a Philly branding agency that focuses on spirits. He and his company have invented tons of products and brands, including Hendrick’s Gin, and Sailor Jerry Rum, Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.

In this episode, you’ll hear how before settling down in Philadelphia, Steve started out in the advertisement industry by creating ad campaigns while living all over the globe. Not long after that, he would create Gyro Worldwide, an ad agency that would quickly establish itself with in-your-face, controversial campaigns that garnered national attention.

And, we’ll talk about how some of Quaker City’s biggest spirits brands came to be, and how they made their way into pretty much every bar of the western world.

Support Philly Who?

Donate via Paypal,

Venmo: @podphillywho,

Become a Monthly Patron,

Purchase a T-Shirt or Hat,

Become a Sponsor

Nick Stuccio is the President and Producing Director of FringeArts, and the creator of the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, an annual city-wide celebration of thought-provoking progressive performance arts. In this episode, you’ll hear how Nick started his performance career as a ballet dancer, and how despite the fact that he didn’t take ballet seriously until he was 18, he quickly found himself thrust into a dance career.

He’ll share the moment his perspective on performance was totally turned upside down, and how he went from valuing tradition and technique to becoming obsessed with contemporary art .

And, you’ll hear the story of how FringeArts went from a small weekend of performances in 1997 to one of Philadelphia’s biggest and most well-known art organizations, featuring a 3-week festival, world-class performances, and a year-round beer garden.

Support Philly Who?

Donate via Paypal,

Venmo: @podphillywho,

Become a Monthly Patron,

Purchase a T-Shirt or Hat,

Become a Sponsor

Christopher Wink is the Publisher and CEO of Technically Media, which publishes local tech news network Technical.ly and nonprofit news site Generocity.org. He’s a lead organizer of Philly Tech Week and Baltimore Innovation Week, and in 2017 Folio magazine listed him as one of the 100 most innovative media leaders in the country.

In this episode, you’ll hear how in 2008, right as the economy collapsed, Technically started as a tech blog between 3 friends who were looking to get experience in an industry that wasn’t hiring. Chris will share how they would weather the storm, and how over the past 10 years they’ve built a company that not only reports but also offers events, conferences, and a hiring platform.

And, we’ll dive into the mindset of an entrepreneur, and how the line between huge success and catastrophic failure is often invisible.

Support Philly Who?

Donate via Paypal,

Venmo: @podphillywho,

Become a Monthly Patron,

Purchase a T-Shirt or Hat,

Become a Sponsor

Chrisostomos Argerakis is the head of the music program at Andrew Jackson Elementary school, a K-8 public school in South Philly. With no curriculum and no funding in place when he took the job, Chris managed to crowdfund enough money to purchase 30 guitars. The kids loved it so much that some started coming to school early to play. It wasn’t too long until this group started to evolve into something bigger.

That group would become a real-life School of Rock band, which plays shows year-round, has been featured in a documentary, and has even played cover songs alongside the original band.

Stay tuned for the story of how ‘Home,’ an elementary school rock band, became internet famous and gave an invaluable musical outlet to inner city kids.

Support Philly Who?

Donate via Paypal,

Venmo: @podphillywho,

Become a Monthly Patron,

Purchase a T-Shirt or Hat,

Become a Sponsor

William Tyrone Toms is the Founder and Head of Strategy at REC Philly, a creative agency and incubator for local artists and creative entrepreneurs. In this episode, you’ll hear how Will and his cofounder, Dave Silver, would make a name for themselves throwing concerts as Broad Street Music Group. That is, until Will started to see a bigger need: artists could put on a great show, but had no idea how to network and market themselves.

What follows is the story of how REC Philly would be born to provide creatives with the tools and network they need to build a business around their creative craft. The community quickly grew to serve over 200 creatives, some of whom would immediately find life-changing opportunities. 

And, for the first time, you’ll hear how Will has recently opened up about his troubled family past, and how he looks to set an example for those like him who are born into adversity.

Support Philly Who?

Donate via Paypal,

Venmo: @podphillywho,

Become a Monthly Patron,

Purchase a T-Shirt or Hat,

Become a Sponsor