The Next Best Thing

Have you really given yourself space to dream and execute a life that allows you to show up fully, grow and enjoy financial abundance? It’s not just a hope, it can also be a reality. Ariane Hunter is a lighthouse for dreamers. Her coaching company helps clients buck the status quo, shift to an abundance mindset and muster the will to leave toxic environments. It’s not a theory for Ariane, she operates from personal experience. This episode breaks down how Ariane found her NEXT and the ways in which she is guiding others to follow their own path.

Join our community on Instagram @thenextbestact
Watch our conversations on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MountainCourtMedia/videos

About Ariane:
Ariane is a speaker, author and career equity consultant. Backed with over fifteen years of career and business strategy expertise, she works with businesses to address workplace solutions impacting the advancement of BIPOC communities.

She has appeared in local television media networks including CBS and NBC and has been featured in CNBC, Business Insider, Diversity Inc. and Fast Company. She's been published on Time.com, is a contributor at Thrive Global, Her Agenda and The Muse. She is a subject-matter expert on BIPOC representation in the workplace and has spoken for Evernote, General Assembly, Women of Renewable Industries and Sustainable Energy (WRISE), Ladies Get Paid, NYU Stern Women in Business, Cancer & Careers, Dress for Success, Savvy Ladies, Advancing Women in Tech, Karen Millen, ABC Home, Emerging Leaders for NY Arts, and has been a featured guest on numerous empowerment podcasts.

Ariane is currently writing her first book, Dreaming on Purpose: A Manifesto for Black Women on Taking the Leap in partnership with Indigo River Publishers.

To learn more visit www.arianehunter.com or get in touch at [email protected]

Layoffs can trigger anxiety, make you question your abilities and threaten your financial stability. But if you let it, it can also create the disruption your life needs to take you to the next level. That was the case for Dawn Kelly. A seasoned public relations veteran, Dawn was a Vice President at a large financial services company when she was blindsided by a layoff.
Her optimism wasn’t immediate. In fact she says she cried for months. But Dawn found her NEXT right in her neighborhood, all because of the urging of her daughter and by following a still small voice. This episode candidly discusses the pain and fear layoffs often bring, and the ways it could also lead to much bigger blessings.

Join the community at @thenextbestthingact on Instagram!

About Dawn Kelly:

Instagram @prmaven17 + @thenourishspot

Dawn Kelly is the Founder and CEO of The Nourish Spot Inc., is a healthy juice, smoothies and salad bar in Jamaica, Queens. Since opening in September 2017, Dawn has earned her MWBE & WBE certification from New York City and New York State. She also has certification as a DBE & ACDBE from The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
In addition to its physical location, The Nourish Spot serves as a concession at Citi Field, The US Open and Forest Hills Stadium. The company also fulfills catering contracts for Wall Street firms, events at the Jacob Javits Convention Center, and York College/CUNY just to name a few.

Venture capital can do more harm than good. The best founders are the ones who figure out how to get funding. Rudy Cline-Thomas (my brother) returns to break down all things entrepreneurship, scaling a business and finding the RIGHT funding. Rudy is the co-founder of MASTRY Ventures with a portfolio that includes Coinbase, Robinhood, Dapper Labs, Uber, PagerDuty, Zoom, Cloudflare, Qualtrics, DataDog, Marqeta, GOAT, Carta, and others.

Join the community on IG @thenextbestthingact Check out our website: http://thenextbestthingact.com

About MASTRY Ventures:

MASTRY Ventures is an early stage tech venture capital fund, built on the team’s track record of investing in iconic tech companies including Coinbase, Robinhood, Dapper Labs, Uber, PagerDuty, Zoom, Cloudflare, Qualtrics, DataDog, Marqeta, GOAT, Carta, and others.
In 2023, MASTRY Ventures acquired a majority stake in Athletes First, the number one NFL agency representing superstar athletes such as Aaron Rodgers, Dak Prescott, Aaron Donald, and Justin Herbert. Rudy serves as Chairman of Athletes First.
MASTRY Properties is a real estate investment fund which invests in developments that seek to empower the communities in which they are located. The first portfolio investment is a $1B joint venture with Tishman Speyer to develop the first phase of the Harvard Enterprise Research Campus (ERC), located in Allston, MA. Harvard ERC is a 900K square foot future hub of innovation comprising a science lab, apartment units, hotel, and a conference center.

They say you can’t be what you can’t see. Good thing I didn’t have to look far to see success modeled in my family. I also saw the intense strategy and sheer work that it takes. To you, Rudy Cline-Thomas is the co-founder of venture capital firm MASTRY Ventures. He’s transforming the sports landscape and has graced the covers of the financial industries biggest magazines. To me, he’s just my big brother. I’ve had a front row seat to his meteoric trajectory. In this very personal conversation I share the 5 things he taught me, not by his words but through his consistent actions.

Join us on the journey: https://linktr.ee/aundreact

About Rudy Cline-Thomas

Rudy Cline-Thomas is the Founder and Managing Partner of MASTRY, an alternative investment platform which counts world-class institutions, CEO’s, and athletes as limited partners. Rudy founded MASTRY with a mission to create outsized returns through the advancement of diverse communities and culture. He has leveraged a network of relationships and an opportunity set built over his two decades in sports, media, and investing. Named after the works of renowned artist Kerry James Marshall, who reframed the presentation of the African American experience through fine art, today MASTRY intends to reframe impact investing with four uniquely structured investment platforms: Venture Capital, Private Equity Sports Ownership, Real Estate, and Media.

Leveraging his deep relationships in the worlds of sports and entertainment, Rudy was the mastermind and Executive Producer of the 2021 Sports Emmy nominated “The Scheme,” HBO’s riveting look at the underbelly of college basketball and the federal government’s three-year investigation into college basketball corruption.

Rudy began his career in the sports agency practice of the Washington Law Firm, Williams & Connolly, and later founded The BluePRINT Advisors, a leading athlete-focused wealth advisory business, which he ultimately sold to Royal Bank of Canada in 2015.

Rudy currently serves on the Salesforce Global Advisory Board (NYSE: CRM), is a strategic advisor to Gucci, and is a board advisor for Jumia Technologies (NYSE: JMIA), and Zuora (NYSE: ZUO). He also sits on the Board of the Fifteen Percent Pledge, the Advisory Board of Global Communities and is a member of the Board of Trustees for Providence College, where he earned his college degree.

Rudy is co-owner of the Leeds United Football Club of the English Premier League, Plymouth Argyle F.C. of the English Football League One, and Hapoel Tel Aviv Football Club of the Israeli Premier League.

How can you do what you love without it requiring you to be watered down? Does passion and purpose have to come at the high cost of your personal identity? As a master storyteller, those are the questions Jenna Hanchard is on a journey to answer. Jenna spent years as a local news reporter, setting herself apart by centering marginalized communities with depth and context. But after earning various accolades and spearheading transformative projects, she quit. Jenna explains how she’s healing from the emotional toll, seeking liberation and continuing her pursuit to create art authentically.

http://thenextbestthingact.com

About Jenna:
IG: https://www.instagram.com/jennahanchard/
Lola’s Ink Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lolas-ink/id1517240721
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenna-hanchard-a43bb119/

Jenna has more than a decade of professional experience in multimedia journalism and communications with a focus on social justice and DEI content development and strategy. She spent more than a decade as an Emmy Award-winning journalist for television stations and media companies across the United States.
Her expertise includes multimedia storytelling including audio production, digital strategies, multi-stakeholder communications plans, group facilitation and public speaking. She has worked cross-functionally with various team members including leadership executives to develop integrated external and internal content development and communications plans.
She is deeply passionate about building an equitable and antiracist world.

Are your metrics of success even leading you to a life that honors what you value? What happens when your identity is rooted in your job title? These are the questions Janet Kim had to grapple with as a successful on air news reporter who knew she wanted more. In this episode Janet shares how motherhood put her priorities into perspective, and the advice she gives to others who are trying to navigate a career transition.

Check us out at http://thenextbestthingact.com/ or @thenextbestthingact on IG

About Janet Kim:
IG: @janetkimtv
Website: https://janetkimtv.com/

I’ve reported for every major news affiliate in the U.S. – ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX. I’ve covered stories from across the country and made stops in Oregon, Kentucky, Tennessee and Washington state. My mission as a reporter was to share stories that would inform, impact and improve communities. After retiring from my news career, I realized I didn’t have to work for a news organization to continue to tell stories and help people! Now I work in public relations at one of the most impactful and recognizable technology companies in the world. When I’m not working for my day job though, I’m a busy mom who loves exploring my city and beyond with my husband and two boys. It’s not always easy traveling with young children but with some planning and a good itinerary, I believe it’s possible! After moving around a lot over the years, we’ve made the Seattle area home. I hope I can share tips and/or inspiration for your family’s next adventure in Seattle and beyond!

After spending her career in medical device sales and therapuetics, Nia Watenza had enough. She quit in November 2019 with plans of exceuting a career transition the following year. But first she wanted to create some breathing room by taking voice over lessons for fun. We know what happened in 2020. With a pandemic, no job prospects and a dwindling bank account Nia turned to the only thing she had left, and it's changed her life in ways she could not have ever imagined.

Join The Next Best Thing Community on IG: https://www.instagram.com/thenextbestthingact/
Check Out Our Website: http://thenextbestthingact.com

About Nia:
Nia Watenza brings her versatile style and professional experience into everything she does. As a former brand manager for Fortune 500 companies, she is no stranger to campaign strategy and helping brands make meaningful connections with customers. This comes through in her voiceover work, as she understands the big picture of what you’re trying to achieve, who you wish to target, and how they want to be spoken to. Her vocal style spans the range of warm, soothing, authoritative, relatable, upbeat, and professional. She has a Bachelor of Science in Allied Medicine and is also proficient in medical and technical terminology.

Website: https://www.niathevoice.com
IG: https://www.instagram.com/niathevoice/