Today’s podcast dissects the inspiring story of Saeju Jeong, co-founder and CEO of Noom, arguably the most important weight loss app on the market. Saeju is a witty, soulful, exceptional leader. It was such a pleasure talking with him and hearing about his humble beginnings, from coming to NYC from South Korea and selling 99¢ trinkets on the streets, to meeting his co-founder and building Noom.

Today we’re sitting down with Jim Van Stone, who is President and Chief Commercial Officer at Monument Sports – Jim oversees the Washington Wizards, Capitals, WNBA Majestic, several venues and e-sports properties.

There's a lot of lessons on leadership and tenacity from sports, which is why I love talking with and interviewing sports execs. Out of all of them, Jim Van Stone might have the most diverse experience – he’s worked at five teams in four leagues over his 30-year career.

You’ll hear Jim’s thoughts about why connecting with such a wide range of people across his career has informed his own management style, how he enters new markets / businesses, negotiates large deals and makes him a better leader. His boss is Monumental Sports founder Ted Leonsis (co-founder of AOL) and we hit on some of the great things he’s learned from Ted and his son, Zach, too.

We also cover Esports – Monumental is placing some strategic bets on Esports and it has me super excited to dive deeper into the space. Keep an eye out for a future podcast on the topic.

We’re covering a topic today that has been getting a lot of press attention – online voting. The media often presents either the left or right view, but as it turns out the majority of citizens don’t fall squarely into one camp or another. As with a lot of things in life, most people just want to collect as many data points as they can to make an informed decision. That’s what we hope to accomplish with our guests today, Larry Moore and Kahlil Byrd. Larry is Co-Chair of Civic Engagement and Voting Rights at the National Council for Independent Living and Kahlil (KB) is the founder and CEO of Invest America.

Peter J. Solomon is a prominent banker and founder of PJ Solomon, one of the country’s first independent investment banks. But, I bet very few of you know him as a keeper of bees, an avid birder, or as a collector of children’s books. At risk of being called an “underachiever”, Peter recently authored the book, “Wasting Time Constructively: A Guide to a Balanced Life”, in which Peter documents his journey to success, the obstacles and failures encountered along the way, and his never-ending quest for a balanced life. Peter shares his insights around a variety of topics ranging from daily personal fulfillment to idiosyncrasies and how developing them is a sign of an evolved mind. We discuss the importance of sharing honest opinions with customers and (gasp!) developing friendships them. Plus, we cover Peter’s risky departure from his Vice Chairman role at Lehman Brothers to work for NYC Mayor Ed Koch and subsequently, President Carter. 

If you've ever tried to secure a student loan, you know all too well how frustrating it can be. After experiencing the trying process firsthand, David Klein, CEO of CommonBond, set out to change things. His goal was simple - - launch a digital startup to automate the archaic student loan industry. Fast forward eight years, and CommonBond has facilitated more than $6 billion in student loans via their platform. David spent his first semester of grad school writing a business plan, ultimately dropping out to make his dream a reality (he was able to convince his co-founders to drop out, too!). 

St. Louis Blues CEO, Chris Zimmerman, discusses what lessons in storytelling, trust and how you behave can be gleaned from running a sports team (Tim cut his teeth in advertising and c-level roles at Nike and Saatchi & Saatchi). We also cover the amazing ‘story’ of how the Blues came all the way from last place and won the Stanley Cup, his time as a player and coach at the collegiate level, the importance of being coachable regardless of your stage of career, why today's pro athlete is a "specialist," how Chris re-engaged Tiger Woods while at Nike...and much more.

The head of the first venture fund dedicated to investing in the Space industry discusses getting the typical citizen-tourist to space in just a few years from now, the partnership between SpaceX and NASA (and NASA's suddenly-sexy brand), why the early days of human space flight resembles the early days of humans in airplanes...the roughly $400 billion being invested in Space-related startups, and more.

I was lucky enough to riff with Zeel CEO, Samer Hamadeh, and tennis great, Venus Williams. Zeel provides health and wellness services (both in person and virtually), to consumers and businesses. Venus, in addition to being one of the world’s all-time greatest athletes, is a Zeel board member. We covered a lot of topics ranging from what they each do to keep a calm head during times of crisis, to keeping employees fit using virtual environments. How can you combat “tech neck” (if you’re spending too much time hunching over your device like the rest of us!)? And, how can you keep yourself fit using virtual environments? Plus, you’ll hear a whole lot more around the entrepreneurial mindset. 

Atlanta Falcons CEO, Steve Cannon, discusses his leadership style and approach, serving as CEO the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United soccer, plus his days at West Point (and why it breeds leaders). We also discuss his living and working in Germany, military lessons in leadership, working for the Arthur M. Blank Group (owner of Falcons) and, last but very much not least...having 9 kids!

Seattle Storm's CEO Alisha Valavanis talks leadership, reimagining the team the past several years which led to a WNBA championship in 2018, the force of Force 10 (her sports management firm), coming fro ma family with two identical sets of twins (of which she is one)...and lots more!