In this episode we talk to Cliff Hudson, former chairman of the board and CEO of SONIC, a company founded in Shawnee Oklahoma by Troy Smith that ultimately evolved to be one of the largest chain of drive-in franchises in America. Now Sonic is owned by Inspire Brands, the parent company of Arby's and Buffalo Wild Wings.  

Since his departure from Sonic, Cliff has moved on to help others embrace life as masters of none. Sharing his philosophy on the freedom of being comfortable with uncertainty and variety, allowing yourself to thrive in unfamiliar environments, and seizing opportunities that we often don’t see coming. 

Join us as we talk to Cliff about the need to appreciate flexibility as the foundation for success in both work and in life.

Find Cliff Hudson on:
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More about Cliff Hudson, Author, "Master of None" (Published by Harper Collins)

Clifford Hudson spent 35 years of his career at Sonic Corp., an Oklahoma City-based, publicly held company that owns, operates and franchises SONIC Drive-In restaurants.  Most recently, he was Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of this public company with more than 3,500 franchised and company-operated drive-in restaurants.  He left the company upon its sale in December 2018 and joined the law firm Crowe & Dunlevy as Of Counsel in the firm’s Oklahoma City office. 

Hudson graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a B.A. in History, from which he also received in 2011 an honorary doctoral degree in humane letters.  He holds a J.D. from Georgetown University, where he served as Chair of the Board of Visitors from 2013-2016.  In 2014, Georgetown University awarded him the John Carroll Award, its highest alumni recognition.

Hudson served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), a presidential appointment, from 1994-2001.  He served as Chairman of the Oklahoma City School Board from 2001-2008, a position created in 2000 as part of a $530 million turnaround of a 40,000 student, inner-city Oklahoma City Public School system, for which he received the 2012 David T. Kearns Award for Excellence and Innovation in Education.  He served as Trustee of the Ford Foundation (New York) from 2006-2017 and is a past Chair of the Board of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. 

In 2020, Harper Collins published Cliff’s first book entitled Master of None: How a Jack of All Trades Can Still Reach the Top.  In addition, he has been the guest on numerous national television, radio and podcast programs, including his own podcast, “Master of None”.

In March 2020, the live event industry shut down overnight, shuttering growth plans, jobs, and some businesses. There was a mass exodus of talented artists, entertainers and event professionals. But others managed to stick around, pivoting to virtual events and shifting their businesses online while betting that the industry would in fact, bounce back. 

In this episode we talk to Stephen Tyler, one of the operating partners at the historic Tower Theatre, which originally opened in 1937 and is one of Oklahoma City's last original movie houses with an intact auditorium and iconic neon marquee. After many years of movie premieres and historic runs of classic films, the Tower Theatre closed in 1989. In 2017, Stephen, along with Chad Jabee, the Pivot Group and other partners re-opened Tower Theatre as a live music, movie and event venue in the heart of OKC's Uptown 23rd district. 

Join us as we listen to how they pivoted during the pandemic and what they are predicting for the future of the industry. 

For time reference, this episode was recorded in March 2021.

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Follow and connect with Stephen:
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According to the Department of Homeland Security, our daily life, economic vitality, and national security depend on a stable, safe, and resilient cyberspace.

In fact, the global cyber security market size was valued at USD 167.13 billion in 2020 and is expected to register a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.9% from 2021 to 2028. This growth can be attributed to the growing sophistication of cyberattacks and the frequency and intensity of cybercrimes that have increased over the last decade and have resulted in huge losses for businesses. As a result, businesses and governments worldwide are channeling their spending to strengthen their in-house security infrastructure, creating a pool of opportunities for industry participants.

Join us as we talk to Marcus J. Carey, a cybersecurity advocate and startup founder with more than 25 years of protecting government and commercial sensitive data. Marcus started his cybersecurity career in the U.S. Navy and the National Security Agency (NSA). After his service, Marcus founded a cybersecurity startup Threatcare which he later sold to Reliaquest. Marcus is also the author of Tribe of Hackers, a series of books providing cybersecurity advice from the Best Hackers in the World.

Find Marcus on
Twitter: @marcusjcarey
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcuscarey/
Check out Tribe of Hackers

In this new series we go behind the scenes of some of the billion dollar industries we often hear about but don't necessarily know exactly how they work and how they impact the way we live, work and play.

Prior to the pandemic, the global box office and home entertainment industry surpassed $100 billion dollars for the first time in history according to the Motion Picture Association. Yet, despite being a massive industry there is still a lot of mystery around how the industry actually works.

When we think of the film or motion picture industry, we tend to think of California, production companies, animation, film studios, actors and film directors and we fail to recognize the full commercial and technological spectrum. Particularly as the industry moves outside of traditional film hubs.

In this episode we talk to Emmy nominated Film Director Lance McDaniel who has worked in 21 feature films, including Oscar winning "Million Dollar Baby." Until recently Lance was also the Executive Director of the Deadcenter Film Festival. Join us as we talk to Lance about the different layers of the industry and its potential impact in emerging film hubs like Oklahoma.

Find Lance on
Twitter: @lancemcdaniel
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lance-mcdaniel
IMBD: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1590373/

Almost 60 million Latinos account for $2.3 trillion in economic activity and are projected to make up 30% of the U.S. population by the end of this year.

In addition, the number of Latinx businesses grew 34% over the past 10 years, making them the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs in the country. Despite these numbers, when it comes to Venture Capital, less than 2% of venture led companies and venture capitalists are Latinx. Fortunately there are several new fund managers emerging and challenging the status quo.

To wrap up Hispanic Heritage Month, we invited one of the most badass investors in venture, Samara Hernandez, Founding Partner of Chingona Ventures. 

As an immigrant struggling with english as a second language, Samara fell in love with numbers, the universal language as she describes it, and became an engineer. Prior to launching her fund, Samara was a partner at MATH Venture Partner and before that she worked at Goldman Sachs where she continually ranked top 5 in her field. 

As one of less than one percent of Latinas in Venture, Samara actively recruits more women and people of color into STEM fields, venture capital and entrepreneurship. She also co-founded the Latinx Founders Collective, an organization bringing together Latinx founders, investors, and community leaders. Join us as we talk to her about her fund, the story behind the name and her passion for early stage investing. 

You can find Samara at:

www.Chingona.Ventures
Twitter: @SamaraMHernandz
Linkedin: @samaramejia

Last year, a report to Congress based on data from 2017, found that almost 60 million Latinos already account for $2.3 trillion in economic activity and are projected to make up 30% of the U.S. population by the end of this year.

Another study from Stanford University found that over the past 10 years, the number of Latino business owners grew 34%, compared to 1% for all business owners, making them the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs in the United States. 

Despite these numbers, when it comes to Venture Capital, Latinos represent less than 2% of venture led companies and venture capitalists. How do we change that?

In this episode we talk to Marcos Gonzalez, Managing Partner at Vamos Ventures. 

A son of Mexican immigrant parents, Marcos was the first in his family to graduate from college and is now a Brown University and Harvard Business School alumni. Marcos began his career at IBM pre-business school, and the Boston Consulting Group. He then joined the private equity industry as an Investment Officer. Somewhere in between, Marcos also co-founded a venture backed e-commerce company, grew it, and sold it before founding Vamos Ventures, a $25mm fund seeking to invest in companies led by diverse founders. Join us as we talk to Marcos and learn more about what led him to invest in early stage startups. 

You can find Marcos at:

https://www.vamosventures.com/
https://twitter.com/MarcosCGonzalez
https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcos-gonzalez-b567042/

In this episode we talk to Brian and Candice Brackeen, Partners at Lightship Capital. Prior to becoming investors and co-founding their venture firm, Brian and Candice were entrepreneurs with first hand experience building, financing and raising funds for their respective companies. 

Join us as we talk to them about their latest $50 million dollar fund, which is considered to be the largest-ever VC fund to invest in Midwest in underrepresented founders including BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color), LGBTQ+, and people with disabilities working on artificial intelligence (AI), consumer packaged goods (CPG), sustainability, e-commerce, and healthcare. 

You can learn more about the fund and pitch Brian and Candice at www.Lightship.Capital and and by following them on twitter @brianbrackeen and @candicebrackeen.

Show Notes and Links:
The Grit by Angela Duckworth, Candice book reference.
Undock, instantly schedule, host and document meetings with your network.
FreshFry, Lightship Capital first investment under new fund. 

If you enjoy the show please leave us a review on iTunes and let us know which was your favorite part of the show.

Cannabis sales in the U.S. alone are estimated to reach more than $30 billion dollars by 2023. This growth is only going to accelerate as more and more governments legalize the industry’s medicinal and recreational use, prompting entrepreneurs and investors to jump into the opportunity. 

In addition to recreational and medicinal use, there is a broad range of cannabis-related consumer products including edibles, topical creams, soft drinks, coffees, sleep-inducing teas, and even infused non-alcoholic beers and wines. 

Yet, challenges continue. Similar to our democracy, the legalization of marijuana is an ongoing social experiment, imperfect and undone, as we’ve failed to discuss the practice of disproportionately imprisoning people for buying, selling, and cultivating the product. 

In this episode we talk to Farhaj Mayan, the Founder of Kanna, a startup providing the Cannabis industry a platform to hire, train and manage their workforce. Join us as we talk about the stigma and systemic racism behind what is now a lucrative, not yet fully bankable industry, and the mental and physical toll of building a startup. 

Venture Capital is still very much a closed network. By design, the sector is exclusive. Legally, to be an LP or a Fund Manager, investors have to be able to carve out their own capital, or benefit from having an established elite network with enough personal wealth to tolerate the risk. 

The vast majority of VCs, come from very similar and privileged educational backgrounds from institutions like Harvard or Stanford. In fact, most LPs still look for that stamp of approval as a way to de-risk their fund investments. Although there has been progress in recent years, with more women and people of color joining venture firms or starting their own VC funds, the lack of representation is still staggering with males still representing 85% of all senior investors. 

In this episode we talk to Marie Rocha, General Partner at Realist Ventures, a VC Firm in Connecticut investing in startups at the development, seed, and early stage. Marie knew there was a gap in funding years ago, and without a background in Venture or an established network of ready to invest LPs, she set out to raise her first fund to invest in promising startups. Join us as we talk to Marie about her investment strategy, what led her to launch a VC Fund and her experience as one of only 1% of Black Women in Venture. 

Eighty percent of all venture capital is spent on three coastal states. Unfortunately, this statistic often leads founders to think they have to move to places like California or New York to build a high growth company. 

There are many reasons why fund managers and venture capitalists have concentrated in certain regions, luckily new fund managers are emerging in the middle of the country to close the funding gap and help support early stage entrepreneurs. 

Today we talked to one of those fund managers. Michael Basch is the Managing Partner at Atento Capital, a new Venture Capital Fund in Tulsa, Oklahoma backed by the George Kaiser Family. Prior to moving to Tulsa from NY, Michael founded and invested in startups, ran for Mayor of NYC and even helped in the Hillary Clinton campaign in 2016. 

Join us as we talk to him about what led him to move from NY to Oklahoma, his views on today’s environment and vision for growing the innovation economy in Tulsa.