The Changeup

This week's guest is  Co-Founder at Imagen Insights, Cat Agostinho. Imagen Insights is a company that helps agencies and brands get direct crowd-sourced ideas and insights from the Gen Z community. 

We talk about the differences between this upcoming generation and the ones before,  the spark that got the company going, and how to be prepared to hire people who think wildly different than you. 

This week’s guest is Founder and CEO of Playmaker, Brandon Harris 

Playmaker is a next-generation sports media and athlete management brand. 

We talk about the early lessons learned building his own media company, his refreshing take on the power of sports gambling, and why we both agree that having a chip on your shoulder leads to success. 

This week’s guest is the founder and CEO of Hype Dance Community, Liza Brody. 

 Hype Dance Community is a virtual and outdoor dance lesson company for all kids of all abilities. 

We talk about her decision to leave the advertising events world to start her own business during the pandemic, why movement is so important for everyone, and why the focus of her company is on having fun, not technique. 

This week’s guest is CoFounder and CEO of Squared Away, Michelle Penczak.

Squared Away is a team of trusted assistants who span across the nation. They help businesses and people scale by offering virtual assistance to get busy executives organized. They also have a really compelling hook: they are all military spouses. 

We talk about the origination of the concept, her journey from executive assistant to CEO and how she scales the team. 

This week’s guest is Co-Founder and CEO of Tumble Media, Lindsay Patterson. 

Tumble Media is an educational children’s audio company that has been a pioneer in the kids’ podcast space since 2015. Their mission is to inspire curiosity and discovery through accessible storytelling.

We talk about how Lindsay’s part-time project turned into a full-time business, the educational benefits for children in listening to podcasts, and how becoming a science journalist and interviewing kids about science was the catalyst for Tumble Media. 

This week’s guest is Founder and CEO of Wave Sports and Entertainment, Brian Verne. 

We talk about the expansion and evolution of WSE and their move into sports personality driven content, how Brian’s leadership style allows others to thrive and how he has grown the team from a handful of people in a San Francisco loft to a global sports + media phenomena. 

This week’s guest is CoFounder of Mondo Brewing Company, Todd Matteson. Mondo Brewing Company is one of the most celebrated craft breweries in London. 

We talk about his decision to leave advertising sales and pursue a life in brewing, the cultural differences in the craft scene between the UK and the United States and what style of beer every brewer tastes to judge a new brewery. 

One additional note: Todd recorded this session at Mondo’s London brewery so the audio is slightly different than other episodes. 

This week’s guest is Co-Founder of Think Now, Mario X Carrasco. 

ThinkNow is the research company for the America we live in today - a multicultural, nuanced landscape. Through their diverse research panel set, ThinkNow helps brands better understand and communicate with their audiences. 

We talk about growing up aware of the two cultures in his life - Mexican and American, being a mentor to the next generation and hiring with intentionality. 

This week we sit down with the Founder of PositiveHire, Michele Heyward.

PositiveHire is a tech company which helps to recruit and retain experienced Latina, Black and indigenous women STEM professionals into management positions. Our software assists these women in finding the best fit employer for them to advance their careers. This in turn helps employers retain diverse STEM talent longer.

We talk about her career as a Civil Engineer, growing up in a family where her curiosity was encouraged and why it's more important for people to be a co-conspirator than an ally. 

***Thank you to BetterHelp for sponsoring this episode. Take charge of your mental health and get 10% off of your first month of therapy at: https://BetterHelp.com/changeup