This is Capitalism: Inspired, Explained, In Focus

Kait Hill faced a tough decision in 2021 — finish college or start her own business after two years of doing corporate sales. She chose to start her own business, and thus was born Rock City Digital. The digital marketing agency leverages its young staff's familiarity with new ways of creating and consuming content to help companies and individuals build brands and create identities that resonate in today's dynamic market. Kate joins us on This is Capitalism to share her journey from working in politics to going into sales to being her own boss, and why the future will belong to content creators of all kinds.

Listen in to learn about digital marketing.

[:22] Patricia O'Connell introduces Kait Hill, Founder and CEO of Rock City Digital, and welcomes her to This is Capitalism.

[1:23] Kait started working when she was 15 years old. At age 20, she had her first corporate position. She saw a lot of issues with how things were run and cultures weren't tended to. When she was mistreated at the agency at age 21, she saw she could run a company better, so she started one.

[2:05] Before starting her business, Kait was going to school online and working. She wasn't learning a lot and wasn't giving her all at work, so she made the decision to quit school and the job to start a business. She had the passion and drive and knew what she wanted to do so she decided to start the company.

[2:51] No one ever told Kait she had entrepreneurial traits, but she has been finding ways to make money since she was eight years old, so she sees she has always wanted to be an entrepreneur. Her first "job" was a lemonade stand. She also helped her neighbor with their garage sales on commission.

[3:35] Kait explains how she went from political science and politics to digital media. She had convinced a man in the media to sign a petition. In their conversation, the man introduced Kait to digital media and later helped her get into it. Kait had wanted to get paid for being a high performer, and digital media sales was a good way to do it.

[4:44] Kait put out applications and one agency didn't reply to her. Her new friend advised her to find out who was the person in charge, call them, and ask for an interview. She did and ultimately got a job with that agency.

[5:13] Kait has been running Rock City Digital for about seven years. The most surprising thing to her is how much time you spend handling problems. There's always something you have to learn. The biggest lesson she has learned is that developing yourself is your best investment. With training, you can handle anything.

[6:10] COVID-19 was an unsettling time, not knowing if they would lose clients. Kait's clients decided how they would work, which also meant how Kait would work with them. Kait worked on the finances, and if anything needed to be cut, she got rid of it. She met with other business owners and compared notes. Everyone was willing to share.

[7:09] Rock City Digital has always been a remote office, so that was a leg up that was extremely helpful during the pandemic.

[7:38] Kait started developing herself after reading The Miracle Morning, by Hal Elrod. Following the practices listed in the book, she started meditation, exercise, reading, affirmation, visualization, and journaling. These practices helped her find clarity to handle hard conversations and see the root causes behind problems.

[8:41] Kait finds the time for her morning practices by waking up early. These practices improve the way she lives her life. Her clarity helps her move forward and not return to old routines and old ways of thinking that are not beneficial.

[9:31] Kait talks about current conditions in B2B marketing, including TikTok. Which led to YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, and Facebook growing more videocentric. TikTok has niched down how video is offered to you. Their algorithms show you what you want to see before you know that you're interested in it. They build niche communities online.

[10:33] You are seeing a change to personal brands becoming the next cornerstone of marketing. Kait is starting to build a community around her personal brand on LinkedIn. If you can build a community around your brand, and tie it to your business, it will follow you "for life."

[11:08] Kait tells how the influencer space is changing. The number one thing is authenticity. Instagram is known for beautiful content. TikTok is known for more casual and natural-looking content that adds value to the users. Creators will be the new influencers. Software solutions will make it easier to connect with creators and brands.

[12:25] It's important to be active as a brand on social media. If you are not on social media, you are not going to be a credible brand for Millennials and younger generations. People are now searching for businesses on Instagram and TikTok. That's how Kait searches, because the results are visual.

[13:10] Building a brand personally applies not only to the CEO or owner but also to employees who can post on their personal brand on behalf of their company brand.

[14:11] The way people consume content has shifted. The type, length, and content of videos have changed dramatically. If you're not leading the changes, your brand will not get a lot of exposure. The algorithms are not chronological but are based on what the viewer watches and the comments they post.

[15:17] Some of Kait's clients are interested, while some do not get it yet. As long as they are on social media, that's what matters. When Kait is on a business website and clicks out to their Facebook page, if they haven't posted in a couple of years, she thnk's they're probably not operating.

[15:54] Kait grew up poor. She had no resources, connections, or college degree. What helped her was seeing what successful people were doing, and doing as they did. She heard you need a mentor. So she found a businessperson she enjoyed talking to and asked him to be her mentor. They met up for dinners and talked business.

[16:29] In those chats, her mentor gave her life-changing advice. Having him there helped her stay focused on her business without being distracted by new ventures. That made Rock City Digital grow a lot better. There's always somebody above you that you can learn from. Mentors have played a massive role in Kait's life.

[16:52] Books have also helped Kait tremendously. Some of the greatest thinkers, operators, and business owners have written books telling what they've learned and how they do it. She reads a book and extrapolates the information to her business.

[17:35] Kait's initial drive was not wanting to struggle as her family did. She decided she would provide for herself. Besides wanting to earn money, Kait always had the drive to help people succeed. She wanted people to be treated fairly and right. She tried to be good to people at work, and it didn't make sense to her when she was mistreated.

[18:29] In one job, Kait was working in politics, seven days a week, over 80 hours a week.She was sick one day and had to go to the doctor. She called in, and was 20 minutes late for the morning huddle and got yelled at. She quit not long after that. A month or two later, she got into marketing.

[19:30] In her marketing job, Kait was mistreated by an older man. She made a sale and he bullied her about her commission. Kait went to an executive who told her he couldn't do anything because the man was a high performer. So she decided if they could run a company, she could, too. She quit within a month or two to start Rock City Digital.

[20:52] Kait's advice is to ask yourself "What's the worst that can happen?" If the worst that can happen is you failing, that's OK, because you're going to learn something from that to take to your next venture. Also, ask a person you admire to be your mentor. Kait was shocked by how readily people help. What's the worst that could happen?

[21:51] Kait says Rock City Digital's biggest goal is spreading workplace and culture awareness. They treat people with the respect and autonomy they deserve. In turn, the people help build an amazing business that everyone wants to be a part of.

[22:09] Find Rock City Digital at Rock City Digital on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and LinkedIn and find Kait Hill on LinkedIn.

[22:25] Patricia thanks Kate for joining This Is Capitalism: Extraordinary People, Extraordinary Stories and thanks the listeners. She invites you to join us again.

This is Capitalism

Kait Hill on LinkedIn

Rock City Digital on LinkedIn

Rock City Digital on Facebook

Rock City Digital on Instagram

Rock City Digital on TikTok

The Miracle Morning: The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform Your Life (Before 8 AM), by Hal Elrod

A couple walks into a real estate office in Napa Valley, looking to buy a second home. If you guessed the next sentence would be, "And instead, they bought a winery!" you'd have the story of Laura Swanton, owner of Laura Michael Wines. Laura, a former high-tech exec, knew nothing about producing wines back in 1999 but she did know what it took to make and sell a product. And that's what she's been doing ever since, with her award-winning cabernet and zinfandel. In this episode of This is Capitalism, Laura talks with Patricia O'Connell about her journey from wine lover to wine producer. She shares the mistakes she made on the way, and how she arrived at the sweet spot in the volume of sales for Laura Michael Wines.

Listen in to learn about running a small winery and producing premium wines.

[:24] Patricia O'Connell introduces Laura Swanton, owner of Laura Michael Wines.

[:39] Laura, a former high-tech exec, knew nothing about producing wines back in 1999 but she did know what it took to make and sell a product.

[1:03] Patricia O'Connell thanks Laura for joining This Is Capitalism, the podcast, extraordinary stories of extraordinary people.

[1:33] Laura shares how she got into the wine business. She and her second husband purchased a winery on an impulse, then added a second property! Laura continued in tech while her husband quit his job to run the winery. After three harvests, her husband left so Laura bought him out. She left her career to become a winery owner.

[3:10] Being a single woman winery owner was unique at the time. Laura married again, and they run the winery as a couple. Self-funded winery owners, as opposed to a multi-generational business, are also rare.[4:09] When Laura was working in tech in San Francisco, she only got involved in the business on the weekends in the tasting room. When her second husband left, in August of 2002, the first harvest was coming in "like a freight train," and she had to be there full-time for that.

[5:09] Laura's high-tech career of 17 years, with manufacturing, had taught her about product distribution. Her college degree in organizational management taught her how to run a company. The big difference for Laura was that it was wine.

[5:53] Her first hire was a consulting winemaker, through a local winery. He taught Laura all about growing grapes and making wine. Laura has been training on the job for 20-plus years.

[6:20] In the world of wine, mastery is something you hope to achieve, but there is so much to it, you are always learning. Laura manages the relationships and farming practices of the places she purchases fruit from, while her husband manages their vineyard. They produce wine and sell it directly to consumers, not to distributors.

[7:57] Only one of the producers Laura buys from is 100% allocated to her. Laura contrasts the competition in the high-tech world to that in the winery world. Napa Valley growers believe that helping each other and maintaining a high level of product quality benefits the entire valley. Patricia comments that a rising tide lifts all boats.

[9:16] For eight months of the year, Laura is a farmer, and she shares workers, soil, air, water, and intelligence with everyone around her. If you've got a blight or pest, it's not going to stay in Napa. It's going to travel to the neighboring counties. Everyone needs to be very cooperative with each other to maintain the health of the industry.

[10:09] Laura talks about the humility and hard work that both sets of her grandparents showed. Her paternal grandfather was also a farmer who kept a large garden. Laura helped her grandfather in that garden. That background has helped her stay humble.

[11:04] Laura explains how she deals with natural problems. She tries not to worry about things she can't control. She mitigates as much as she can any negativity that comes because of drought, wildfire, or a bug. The plants are resilient enough to get through the weather. It just causes major fluctuations in your yield.

[12:01] Lower yields can produce higher quality fruit.

[12:26] The quantity of production is legislated and requires a use permit. Laura has a small permit for 5,000 gallons. Laura is doing 1,600 cases a year, as opposed to the 15 million that others produce. Some producers only make a few hundred cases yearly. Laura is making a living at it; some wineries are passion projects.

[14:30] Laura tells how she started in distribution according to the conventional wisdom of the time. Distribution meant she could not sell to stores, restaurants, or stores in other states but only to a third-party distributor. It's an expensive model to follow. Laura would bear most of the risk and little monetary benefit.

[16:18] It took Laura 10 years to realize she was not going to make the volume of product to make up for the low margin. Her husband, Michael, pointed her toward setting up a tasting room and selling directly to the consumer. That's when the winery became profitable.

[16:59] It had become so ingrained in Laura that she wanted to be successful at running the winery that failure wasn't an option. She had been building inventory (which takes years) for distribution and there's a lot of cash involved in making inventory happen. Her biggest challenge as a business owner was managing cash flow. She was cash-poor.

[18:11] It's not easy even now that she is selling direct, but she's gotten better at managing the cash flow and the winery has gotten a little smaller. They were not selling the product fast enough to justify making as much inventory as when she was in distribution so they reduced volume by 25%.

[18:40] Now she concentrates on relationship-building with their wine club members and their extended families. They have been on Highway 29 for 20-plus years, so the visibility draws people to the winery. Laura makes friends with every concierge, limo driver, and hotel person that she can so they will send customers to the winery.

[19:29] Laura is a Calistoga Chamber member and her marketing is word-of-mouth. They are members of other industry groups, as well, with programs Laura Michael Wines participates in for more visibility. Being a community player is an important part of marketing, too.

[20:11] Laura Michael Wines has found its sweet spot and is not looking for a lot of growth. It would be very expensive to grow past the use permit they have. They would have to re-outfit their winemaking facility at a cost of millions of dollars with financing. They are living comfortably and enjoying life. Bigger is not necessarily better.

[21:09] Laura tells how the sales territory training she received in the high-tech world served her in the winemaking world. Only the product was different.

[21:59] Laura advises if you want to learn a new industry that the best thing you could do is to find a job in that industry. Laura would have learned a lot more and learned faster if she had been part of a winery administrative team or sales team before buying a winery without industry knowledge. Study and immerse yourself in the industry.

[22:40] Laura didn't make the best financial decisions in the first years of her winery ownership. She's thankful she was able to survive that lesson and get out of the financial sinkhole of distribution. She notes that in the last 15 years, most states' laws around the industry have changed, to the benefit of tiny wineries like hers.

[23:57] The national recognition that premium wine could be shipped directly to homes was a game-changer for the industry. The larger wineries have to be in distribution. They cannot ship directly to consumers so she does not have to compete with them. The laws for the bigger wineries are different than for the smaller wineries.

[24:38] Laura's succession plan is not in the family. Laura will sell the winery when she and Michael are ready to retire. Today, you can't build what they have, so it will be a very interesting sale when it happens. Laura and Mike hope to find someone who loves the industry as much as they do. But there is a lot of consolidation happening.

[25:48] Outside of her product, Laura loves sparkling wine, whether from France or down the road. She and Michael also visit the neighboring wineries and take advantage of some of the varietals they don't grow themselves. Laura has a California palate. Her ongoing mastery is in trying different wines from different countries.

[27:08] Patricia thanks Laura for joining This Is Capitalism: Extraordinary People, Extraordinary Stories.

This is Capitalism

Laura Swanton

Laura Michael Wines

Napa Valley

Yountville

Calistoga

San Francisco

California State Route 29

Calistoga Chamber of Commerce

Patricia O'Connell interviews Mac Gardner, CFP®, Founder and Chief Education Officer at FinLit Tech about teaching children financial literacy to help eliminate the wealth gap. Mac shares his vision of financial literacy for elementary school students, and how parents can teach it in the home. He describes new technology parents can use with their children. Mac shares what he learned growing up with a father with an MBA in Finance.

Listen in to learn more about the link between financial literacy and financial wellness.

[:25] April is Financial Literacy Month in the United States. Fewer than half the states require any economics or financial literacy. According to Mac Gardner, we are missing a huge opportunity to help close the wealth gap.

[:45] Patricia O'Connell introduces Mac Gardner, CFP®, Founder and Chief Education Officer at FinLit Tech. Mac joins the podcast to talk about why financial literacy matters, how to increase awareness in children about the power of money, and the relationship between financial knowledge and financial wellness.

[:56] Patricia welcomes Mac to the podcast.[1:11] Financial literacy plus financial capability — the tools — equals financial wellness.

[1:50] Mac founded FinLit Tech to build a bridge between financial literacy and financial technology. Financial technology tools allow people to utilize financial education to achieve financial wellness.

[2:23] Florida has just announced a requirement for a half-credit in economics or financial literacy for high school seniors to graduate.

[3:29] There are 23 states that offer or require a class in financial literacy by the senior year in high school. According to a Cambridge study, a child's connectivity with money starts as early as age seven. That leaves ten years without teaching financial literacy.

[4:24] If a child has no access to financial literacy technology, most of their financial education comes from what they observe among their family members and peers.

[4:42] If parents never learned financial literacy, how do they teach their children to use money? This is why Mac wrote the book, The Four Money Bears. Mac teaches about three "Rs" of money: First, you realize what money is; second, you recognize the function of money in your life; and third, you rationalize how to use this tool in your life.

[5:34] If your only awareness of the function of money is about spending and saving, you're limited in what you believe it can do for you. The idea behind The Four Money Bears is to open up the minds of young people that you have four options: you can spend it, save it, invest it, or give it away.

[6:16] Children often identify with one type of Money Bear, more spending, saving, or giving than investing. Mac tells about an Investing Bear kid. If we start kids thinking about investing and growing their money long-term, we can see good things happen.

[8:18] Will children resonate more with their parents' behaviors with money or with what they read in The Four Money Bears? Mac gives his thoughts on the new Berryville app. It uses the TAT method to teach, analyze, and track.[9:03] Financial wellness is developed over time by things you do regularly. Most young people absorb how their parents talk about money. They see how they shop at the grocery store. Are they looking for the better price?

[10:04] Our society shies away from talking about finances. You need to be intentional about having the conversation. We live in one of the strongest economies. We need to teach our children how to use the tools that got us here.

[10:38] Mac addresses parents who have different money personas. One may be a Spender Bear but the other is a Saver Bear. The important principle of The Four Money Bears is making young people aware they have options. When you invest, your money works for you. Giving harnesses the power of altruism.

[12:04] The four rules of The Four Money Bears are Spend Cautiously, Save Diligently, Invest Wisely, and Give Generously. Mac explains. The big issue in our country is overspending!

[13:14] Do parents have to agree in terms of teaching their children about money? Who teaches children about money? Why isn't financial literacy talked about in society?

[14:58] How do you teach young people about money in a digital world where they may not even hold physical money? Most elementary school children still get money, because they don't have credit. Mac's older children use a Greenlight account for their allowance, debit card spending, and more.

[16:00] It's so important to start the educational process early. If you have a debit card instead of cash, you'd better know how to use it! With the technology, young people can even buy fractional shares of stocks.

[17:39] Mac talks about FinLit Tech's Berryville app in development. It will provide an on-ramp to a child's ongoing financial education journey into the four options they have with money. What if we could get children to start investing at age seven?

[19:37] Mac shares what he learned about money at home. Mac grew up in Antigua. His grandmother didn't have a lot but she was able to make the dollar stretch. His dad had an MBA in Finance and taught him young about assets, liabilities, and balance sheets.[20:51] Where's the Earning Bear? Mac hears that question a lot. The Berryville app teaches both sides of the personal finance fence, including how to earn money and run a business. Look at TheFourMoneyBears.com to learn more about the mission to teach kids money. You can download the demo of the app from Apple or Android.

[22:03] Patricia thanks Mac for joining This is Capitalism, the podcast, during Financial Literacy Month.

National Financial Literacy Month

FinLit Tech

Mac Gardner

The Four Money Bears

Greenlight

Patricia O'Connell interviews Tom Stewart, Chief Knowledge Officer at AchieveNEXT® about the 2022 CFO-CHRO Sentiment Study. They discuss the top concerns of middle-market companies.

Listen in to learn more about middle-market company plans for 2022.

[:36] AchieveNEXT® specializes in helping businesses grow by sharpening their focus on human capital.

[:58] Patricia O'Connell introduces Tom Stewart, Chief Knowledge Officer at AchieveNEXT®.

[1:18] Tom describes AchieveNEXT®'s CFO-CHRO Sentiment Study. AchieveNEXT® surveys CFOs and CHROs at the beginning and end of each year. As 2022 began, CFOs and CHROs looked back on 2021; 40% said their performance was very much better than the year before. Looking forward, 46% expected 2022 to be even better.

[1:41] A total of 77% of CFOS and CHROs surveyed said that they expected 2022 to be much better or better than 2021. Of course, businesses fell off a cliff in the Spring of 2020 from pandemic issues. Many of them rebounded in late 2020. Businesses entered 2021 with confidence in a good year; 2021 turned out to be better than expected.

[3:16] At the beginning of the year, AchieveNEXT® asked CFOs and CHROs what their biggest challenges and concerns were. The number one risk was talent and the number one obstacle was talent. They were looking at the Great Resignation and wondering where the people would come from to execute the companies' growth plans.

[3:47] AchieveNEXT® has just completed 10 roundtable meetings of CFOs and CHROs from New York to Orange County. Talent remains the number one issue, with two nuances: Can they get the talent, and how much will it cost to get the talent?

[4:30] Some of the CFOs are worried more about the cost of talent. Others are worried about how to get critical technical employees that are hard to find. The power in the labor market has shifted to the employee. Tom addresses the reason employers think employees leave vs. the reason employees leave.

[7:49] Companies are starting to think about succession planning, and leadership development to improve retention. They are also working on diversity, equity, and inclusion issues to build a sense of belonging.

[8:32] The question of diversity that came up a few years ago has expanded into a larger question of does the employee have a feeling of belonging and a voice and is the company listening to that voice? Do employees have a sense they can learn and grow, and that there is a career path for them?

[10:09] Money matters, but it's not the deciding factor in recruitment and retention. A sense of belonging matters more. Before the pandemic, employers were competing with each other for talent. Now they are also competing with life choices such as flexible hours, working from home, or part-time work.

[11:27] Tom shares some of the thoughts he hears from mid-market companies at the roundtable meetings. There is concern about competing with large corporations and their pay packages but that is balanced by a better quality of life and personal attention. They don't have to be rigid and bureaucratic.

[12:48] Tom discusses supply chains and supply chain disruptions. A lot of the middle-market companies are tier-one and tier-two suppliers to large companies. Going with supply chain disruptions are concerns about costs of talent, fuel, materials, and components. CFOs have to change their budgets dramatically.

[15:00] As the pandemic sent everyone home, officers couldn't walk down the hall to talk to everyone. Suddenly, processes were needed to catch up with people. Processes and structure are now needed at mid-sized companies to recruit and retain talent.

[15:56] Tom talks about the training offered by AchieveNEXT® in sales, sales and relationship building, customer experience, and the alignment of the employee experience and the customer experience. Tom says that fast-growing companies are 25% more likely to say that they had a formal customer experience process.

[17:35] People are still expecting a strong 2022, but are looking to the second half of the year and thinking maybe it's going to be a bit tougher, especially the cost issues. Tom is hearing from CFOs that they have a Plan B budget for "tougher sledding." Most of them are on plan or ahead of plan but see headwinds coming up.

[18:49] Tom Stewart gives the link to find more about the survey.

[19:10] Patricia thanks Tom for being on This is Capitalism, the podcast.

Tom StewartAchieveNEXT

AchieveNEXT 2022 CFO-CHRO Sentiment Study

McKinsey & Company

Patricia O'Connell interviews Drew Russell, EVP of Sports Properties & Media Assets at Intersport about how the recent rulings that permitted Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals directly between collegiate athletes and sponsoring brands have affected college sports and individual branding for collegiate athletes. They discuss the legal background, the choices athletes have now, and any effect NIL deals may have on how collegiate games are played.

Listen in to learn more about this exciting development for college athletes.

[1:13] Patricia O'Connell introduces Drew Russell, Executive Vice President of Sports Properties & Media Assets at Intersport, a Chicago-based sports and entertainment marketing company.

[1:35] Drew is a big-time fan of college sports.

[2:12] Court cases opened the door for collegiate athletes to monetize themselves, starting with the lawsuit brought by UCLA player Ed O'Bannon over an EA Sports video game that used his likeness and the likenesses of other players in its NCAA games.

[3:01] The courts allowed the institutions and the states to determine monetization opportunities for college athletes. For the first time, college athletes can monetize their name, image, and likeness (NIL) in various ways. College athletes cannot be paid for performance or paid to play.

[5:28] Each athlete is their own brand. There's a female gymnast at LSU with four million followers. This rule has been very helpful for Olympic athletes and female athletes.

[6:26] The average of athletes' NIL deals has been in the range of $2,000 as social media influencers to amplify a local or national brand's message.

[7:23] A lot of brands jumped in right away. A number of deals were struck at midnight the day NIL became legal for college athletes. The brands were looking for PR value more than an immediate return on their investment.

[8:53] A variety of brands are getting involved. Footwear and apparel companies and sports beverage companies, that have long been linked with collegiate sports are now starting to jump into NIL deals, not just with the star quarterback or the center.

[9:59] The larger brands that go for the professional athletes have been strategic with their approach to collegiate NIL deals.

[10:51] Collegiate athlete NIL deals present a great opportunity for local businesses that might not be able to afford to buy a sponsorship campaign with the university.

[13:51] Drew talks about how the athletes benefit from this NIL initiative. They are being educated about brand-building and opportunities and with whom they want to align. What are their social causes? What do they advocate? NIL is part of the recruiting pitch, so the universities are assisting the athletes in the area of branding.

[14:52] The universities are getting assistance from third-party consulting companies and collectives.

[15:43] For some athletes and some sports, college playing is the pinnacle of their sports career. The ability to build a social media presence and content offerings is a great benefit to their growth.

[16:44] Drew discusses the positive sides of athletes' NIL campaigns. Athletes have learned to be selective in choosing where they want to be aligned.

[18:37] Are there downsides to allowing college athletes to participate in NIL campaigns? They have to be sure they are generating a return for their investors. Drew is not aware of any situations that have gone South, relative to either the brand or the athlete, after almost a year of campaigns.

[20:04] The disparity in resources for universities is the biggest downside for schools. There are only a small number of universities that are making money from college athletics. Only the larger institutions are going to be able to supply support resources to NIL programs. This is no different from the past differences between schools.

[21:35] Drew discusses his experience as a college sports fan. The NIL campaigns have not affected his enjoyment. It's an opportunity for the athletes and the institutions to perform on the biggest stages. It may even encourage the athletes to perform to their best ability.

[23:00] Old-school thinkers may object that this is not the college sports they grew up with. It's true that we're living in a different world. This is not the downfall of college athletics. It hasn't had the negative impact that some predicted would occur. It's been good for everyone involved.

[24:52] Patricia thanks Drew for being on This is Capitalism, the podcast.

Drew RussellIntersport

Ed O'Bannon

EA SportsEd O'Bannon vs. NCAA

Patricia O'Connell interviews Ron Jaworski, the CEO and Co-Founder of Trinity Audio about how a website can be "audified," how audio increases the stickiness of a website, and some of the other use cases of audio powered by AI.

Listen in to learn more about engaging your audience with a new channel for consuming your content.

[:26] Patricia O'Connell introduces Ron Jaworski, the CEO and Co-Founder of Trinity Audio.

[1:45] Ron describes the audience for audio content; particularly audio content converted from print through AI.

[2:47] Ron says AI voices are being created to sound more human, while human ears are becoming more tolerant to AI voices. He shares how people were given eight separate voice samples to rate between mechanical and human, and only 25% rated them all correctly as AI. Half could not be certain and 25% rated them all incorrectly as human.

[5:54] Men tend to prefer female AI voices; women are split between a preference for male and female accents.

[7:11] Localization of accents is a developing issue. Trinity Audio has just one U.S. accent, not separate accents for U.S. regions. The U.S. accent is separate from the U.K. and Australian accents. There are several Spanish accents, by country.

[9:11] What is the business case for content creators to use AI to create audio content from print? There is a boom in audiobooks, which can be consumed while doing another activity. Everybody is looking to consume audio. You should give them an audio option.

[11:49] How does Trinity Audio work? Ron gives a short explanation of how Trinity Audio can "audify" the written content on your website. Trinity also offers other robust products to deliver a larger audio experience. The basic building block is having the option to listen to an article.

[13:14] Ron describes how monetization and ads work with Trinity Audio.

[16:13] Before AI, hiring a narrator was the easiest way to convert text to audio. Ron estimates AI could audify the New York Public Library in a couple of weeks, rather than the years it would take for narrators to read all the content.

[17:59] The business case for periodical publications to audify their content is that it provides a channel to engage their audience with a new option to consume content and stay significantly longer on the page. Audio is about stickiness.

[20:09] There are use cases beyond audifying websites. Ron shares examples of sending audio messages and memos.

[24:00] Content that relies heavily on graphs and charts does not turn easily into audio form. But the audio portion can refer to visual components to be considered separately.

[25:22] The use of audio content will increase but there will continue to be a need for written content. Ron shares another use case of AI live interactivity in a classroom.[27:38] Ron reveals the genesis of the name Trinity Audio.

[29:34] Patricia thanks Ron for being on This is Capitalism: CEO Stories.

Ron JaworskiTrinity Audio

MIT

WhatsApp

Patricia O'Connell interviews Beverly Behan about boards. They discuss Beverly's books, her work with boards and directors, and her advice for newly recruited directors who want to become stars in the boardroom. Beverly's experience with boards and directors has given her the knowledge of what makes a board run and what makes a star director, and she shares bits of that knowledge in this interview.

Listen in to learn more about reaching your potential as a boardroom star.

[:26] Patricia O'Connell introduces Beverly Behan, a governance expert and author of several best-selling books on the subject, including Great Companies Deserve Great Boards and Becoming a Boardroom Star.

[:46] Patricia welcomes Beverly to This is Capitalism: CEO Stories.

[1:03] Boards have evolved since the fall of Enron around 20 years ago. Before the Enron scandal, being on a board was considered an honor. Boards, whether in private or public companies, were more decorative than functional. Beverly was shocked at the country club nature of boards when she got interested in boards as a young attorney.

[2:17] Directors have never worked harder than they are working today. Being on a board is not only a privilege but also an important job to protect the company, its employees, and its investors and to leverage their expertise to guide the company through tough times.

[3:07] The board sets the tone and culture of the company. They choose the CEO. They approve the strategic direction of the company.

[3:41] A board member brings value by fulfilling two roles: a watchdog, raising tough and important questions, and a sounding board, bringing expertise to guide management through the challenges the company faces. That second role is where Beverly would like to see boards add more value even than they do today.

[5:24] Board composition is the single most important factor in board effectiveness. You want people with experience relevant to the issues they will confront on the agenda. A company needs one or two board members with industry expertise at the table but not all board members should be from the same industry.

[6:29] Bev offers suggestions for the types of experience that would be important to have on a board, depending on the size and type of company. Someone with a lot of industry experience has the credibility to challenge management. You want people who have run comparable-sized organizations. Expertise in finance and tech is important.

[8:40] On top of the various areas of expertise, consider diversity.

[9:28] In the past 12 to 18 months, there had been unprecedented recruitment of diverse board candidates, many of whom had no board experience. Bev started getting calls from women who were being recruited to a board for the first time. They all wanted to be great directors and wanted help to know what to do and what pitfalls to watch for.

[10:26] Bev drew on her thousands of interviews of directors and boards around the world to come up with things that make a difference for the new directors who were calling her for help. What do boards hold in high regard, and what detracts from a director's credibility? This is how Bev came up with Becoming a Boardroom Star.

[11:07] What does it take to become a boardroom star? Bev shares a few ideas. The first thing is to learn as much as you can about the business. Go beyond the "Executives on Parade" meeting with each of the C-Suite members. After the director orientation, do site visits. Be diligent in your preparation; your work ethic shows.

[14:02] Injecting new people into a board with new and better behaviors can change the norms of the board in a good way.

[14:42] New directors often struggle with learning the line between governance and management. Directors don't run the company, they oversee the people who run the company. A board may have a "Board Buddy" program where a new director is paired up with an incumbent director to review board materials together before the meeting.

[17:31] Bev lays out a case where the best choice for a director is to resign from the board! If a board votes differently than a director advocated, the director can either support the board's decision or resign from the board. It is no use trying to revisit the decision and becoming a problem director.

[19:46 How long will it take for "new blood" to have an influence on the board? Bev shares her thoughts. It depends on the director. The better the director prepares for the role, the sooner the influence of that director will be felt. Credibility is key.

[21:59] Bev discusses how virtual board meetings have worked. She brings up the value of board evaluations, a tool to take a board from good to great and keep great boards vibrant. How is a board evaluation done by video conferencing? As boards return to meeting in person, what will change? What about board committees?

[25:36] Patricia thanks Bev for sharing her great insights with This is Capitalism: CEO Stories.

Beverly BehanGreat Companies Deserve Great Boards: A CEO's Guide to the Boardroom, by Beverly Behan

Becoming A Boardroom Star, by Beverly Behan

Enron

Sarbanes-Oxley Act

Patricia O'Connell interviews Ramy Gafni about Ramy Cosmetics, LLC. They discuss how he began in law school but realized his heart was in beauty school, how he started his career in photoshoots and retail and moved to an upscale salon until cancer and chemotherapy changed his appearance and cost him his job. Ramy discusses the steps he followed to continue receiving an income, including opening a private studio, creating a product line for cancer patients, and writing two books on beauty, how he won over a manufacturer and landed his first cosmetic client.

How did Ramy become the "go-to guy" for brows?

Listen in to learn more about Ramy Cosmetics LLC and the surprising path to becoming a cosmetics entrepreneur.

[:29] Patricia O'Connell introduces Ramy Gafni, makeup artist, author, and CEO of Ramy Cosmetics, LLC, a company that uses cosmetics to bring out your best eyebrows.

[:52] Patricia welcomes Rami to This is Capitalism: CEO Stories.

[1:21] Ramy dropped out of law school and moved to Australia, where he went to beauty school. His parents were hoping he would go back to law school. He wrote a letter to his parents about going to a beauty school. He talked to his parents after sending the letter and they were very supportive. He took his studies seriously.

[2:11] Ramy returned to New York to pursue a career as a makeup artist in photoshoots and retail. He got hired as makeup director at a Fifth Avenue salon. That was the job that put him on the map. He started doing eyebrows and working on celebrities. He developed a makeup line for the salon.

[2:45] Vogue wrote Ramy up in a story about eyebrow obsession. The article dubbed him the "go-to eyebrow person" in New York. Other articles linked him to eyebrows, so he went with it.

[3:24] Then Ramy developed Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. He worked every day during five months of chemo. He was about to start radiation when the salon fired him because of his changed appearance. Another top salon called him. He went to meet them, but having gone through chemo, he didn't look like his picture. They didn't hire him.

[4:33] Ramy realized no one was going to hire him while he looked like a cancer patient. He had taken his Rolodex of clients with him and started mailing to his clients to come to his private studio. Many of them came.

[5:45] Ramy kept getting written up in different magazines and newspapers as the eyebrow guy. That sent new people his way. His business was thriving; he was never busier. Ramy was also working as a freelance makeup artist and he got a gig for ABC Television doing makeup for a PSA for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

[6:17] Ramy decided to create a makeup line, using his experience of creating a makeup line for the salon that had hired him. He started with 12 products, selling them to his brow clients. He called the department stores, and Bergdorf Goodman returned his call. They called him in for a meeting every three months.

[7:03] Ramy was doing the eyebrows for the editor-in-chief and the staff at InStyle magazine and they gave a placement to his product line in the "What's Hot Now" feature of the September issue. Ramy took it into Bergdorf Goodman and asked for a counter. They gave him one.

[7:45] Ramy talks about spending a year of his life going through cancer. You have to forge ahead, one day after another. He felt that if he could get through cancer, he could get through anything. He was happy to be alive; he was happy to be working and have an income.

[8:05] The buyer at Bergdorf Goodman asked about his numbers. Ramy didn't know what she was talking about. Bergdorf was good to him and gave him an education about running a counter.

[10:02] Ramy talks about Ramy Beauty Therapy. It began with a concealer he used to hide the effects of his chemotherapy. This led him to write a book to address the appearance of the physical effects of chemotherapy.

[11:49] Cosmetics are often superficial, but for a mother to be able to make her skin look healthy for her children while she is taking chemotherapy is incredibly empowering. Beauty Therapy came in to meet that need. When you look good, you feel good.

[13:20] Ramy.com is what saved Ramy during the pandemic. Ramy has always been known for eyebrows; his top seller is the Perfect Brow Wand. The online sales never slowed down for that product. Ramy also sells a mask gel to prevent acne from masks. It was featured on the Today Show and was a big hit for his business.

[14:50] Ramy has been in business for almost 25 years. He was sometimes torn between continually working with clients and focusing on his product line. A collision where he was run over by a moped required therapy and surgery for him; for some time he was unable to work with clients. So he relied heavily on the product line.

[17:18] As a diabetes patient, Ramy is also nervous about getting COVID-19 from a client, as it is very close work. He has caught the flu several times from clients who assured him they were "not contagious anymore."

[18:27] Ramy started his business on a frayed shoestring budget. There was no capitalization. Ramy tells how he sold his plan to a Canadian manufacturer. It was a husband-and-wife team and the husband was also a cancer survivor. After three solid days of negotiation, they had a deal if Ramy didn't come back tomorrow!

[21:15] On the same trip to Toronto, Ramy also landed his first client, an upscale hair salon, that dropped a high-end product for Ramy Cosmetics! They threw a huge launch party for Ramy Cosmetics, which was amazing! It was a nice beginning for his business!

[23:02] Ramy comes up with the clever names for all his products, except for two names he got from a close friend when he was having a creative block.

[25:48] Ramy's business began as something to do until he could find another salon job. Eventually, he found his business was his job. Ramy never had a business plan, but a lot of "dumb luck"! As he started with Bergdorf Goodman, the salon that had fired him went out of business. Ramy is the last man standing!

[27:24] Patricia thanks Rami for joining This is Capitalism: CEO Stories.

Ramy GafniRamy Cosmetics LLC (Ramy.com)

Vogue

InStyle

Ramy Beauty Therapy

Ramy Gafni's Beauty Therapy: The Ultimate Guide to Looking and Feeling Great While Living with Cancer, by Ramy Gafni

How to Fake Real Beauty: Tricks of the Trade to Master Your Makeup. By Ramy Gafni

Patricia O'Connell interviews Mac Gardner about FinLit Tech. They discuss Mac's two books, and how his career in financial planning led him to write these educational books and start FinLit Tech to promote financial literacy for children. Mac discusses the lack of financial education in the American education system, the tremendous cost to society of financial illiteracy, and the role parents can play in providing financial literacy for their children. He explains the educational offerings he has in place and planned roll-outs for children and adults.

Listen in to learn more about FinLit Tech and teaching financial literacy.

[:22] Patricia O'Connell introduces Mac Gardner, Founder of FinLit Tech, a company that uses the four money bears (Save, Spend, Invest, and Give), to teach children financial literacy.

[:50] Mac Gardner's first book was Motivate Your Money! The book shared wisdom Mac had gathered in over 20 years in the financial industry. One of Mac's clients then asked him to write a similar book for elementary school children. He did so and called it The Four Money Bears, using bears to teach about spending, saving, investing, and giving.

[2:28] The book is about a family of bears, Papa, Mama, and the Baby Bears, with Papa teaching his children the four functions of money. It is the story of Mac teaching his children to manage money.

[4:40] To introduce investment to students, Mac holds up a $100 bill and asks how they would use it. After the students talk about what they would buy, Mac asks if they knew they could use it to buy the companies that make the things they buy. He introduces the concept of reward and risk and the potential of growth by investing in stocks.

[6:38] A child's first concept of giving may be of giving to a family member. Parents may teach children about giving to a church. Mac placed worksheets in the back of the book giving examples of giving money to different places and people. There will always be someone in need, and we can give money or give time to help them.

[7:39] Mac talks about the example his businessman father was to him growing up, and how he learned about the uses of money. Mac has worked with many people who had plenty of money but little understanding of personal finance, including the difference between permanent insurance and term insurance.[8:44] Only 22 states require students to be taught financial literacy by high school. Mac saw a lot more could be done and wrote The Money Bears to help meet that need. The curriculum requirements vary by state.

[9:28] A Cambridge study shows that a child's connectivity with money starts by age seven. A child of seven can understand the conversations Mom and Dad are having about money. The first habit a child picks up is their parents' spending habit. If schools aren't teaching financial literacy until late in high school, that's a 10-year gap.

[10:32] It has been very challenging trying to get this book into public schools. Most of Mac's success with the book has come from grassroots efforts. A few years ago, eMoney, a large fintech company, connected with Mac to collaborate on CFP® CE courses for financial advisors across the country.

[12:01] Elementary teachers and students are using technology. There is tech available to help you use your money, but not a lot of tech that teaches you what to do with your money. FinLit Tech builds a bridge between financial literacy and financial technology. They consult with different fintech companies interested in educating their clients.

[13:09] Mac is working on developing a multimedia financial education platform from his book, Motivate Your Money, incorporating videos, interviews with fintech and financial services leaders, and gamified options for financial education for adults.

[14:42] Mac is working on The Four Money Bears Go to Bank, introducing additional characters and principles of banking, credit, and the hierarchy of financial needs.

[16:23] A 2018 statistic showed that the cost of financial illiteracy to our society is in the billions. There are so many people in our society that aren't getting this education, and it perpetuates their sad financial states. If a parent never learned financial literacy, how can they teach their child? The Four Money Bears is a way to start the conversation.

[18:25] Mac likes to hear about children starting to connect with specific bears because of their own habits with money. Parents tell Mac they like the worksheets and how they help teach the principles.

[20:00] Mac expects to have the children's app with the Bearberry Farms entrepreneurism platform, online by the end of 2021.

[20:35] Mac shares links for more information.

[21:03] Patricia thanks Mac for joining This is Capitalism: CEO Stories.

Mac GardnerFinLit Tech

Motivate Your Money!: Plan, Spend, Save, Invest, Gift, by Mac Gardner

The Four Money Bears, by Mac Gardner

TheFourMoneyBears.comHabit Formation and Learning in Young Children, by Dr. David Whitebread and Dr. Sue Bingham, University of Cambridge

eMoney