This is Capitalism: Inspired, Explained, In Focus

Patricia O'Connell interviews Nick Childs about DIRT. They discuss what the company does, why it was started, how it relates to Nick's earlier careers, and how biometric neuroscientific testing can help you connect deeply with your audience through content that reaches them emotionally.

Listen in to learn more about DIRT and content improved by biometric science for your audience.

[:25] Patricia O'Connell introduces Nick Childs, filmmaker, producer, director, and writer of film and digital experiences, as well as a Co-Founder of DIRT.

[1:19] Nick and three co-founders started DIRT during the pandemic. They built a platform for neuroscientific research for consumer insights. DIRT stands for Discover and Illuminate Real Truth. They dig in the sandbox with their clients to build connecting content and experiences together through a better understanding of their audiences.

[2:42] DIRT research tests the emotional responses of subjects to the things they are observing by measuring their galvanic skin responses. The responses show when people are paying more attention to what they see. DIRT creates a report for the client that helps them focus on what content had the most impact.

[4:31] Why doesn't DIRT use surveys or focus groups?

[6:40] DIRT also uses eye-tracking with galvanic skin response. They measure attention and extrapolate emotional connections based on the content itself. A timeline of the responses with the content shows where the audience's attention is spiking and where it is flagging. This is very valuable knowledge for content makers.

[8:15] The power of infinitesimal improvements over time.

[8:31] Patricia and Nick discuss a hypothetical, concrete example of evaluating a sneaker ad. What is the level of detail they can test? Nick recommends picking at least 50 to 100 people from the client's audience and getting an aggregate test score.[10:50] Almost any industry that connects with an audience through content or an app can benefit from this research.

[12:04] How does DIRT fit into the future of making decisions about content? Neuromarketing growth is compounding at 16% annually over the next five or six years. Nick sees NaaS (Neuroscience as a Subscription) as a growing market. What about costs?

[13:57] Are there privacy issues? DIRT does not need demographic information from people to gather galvanic responses. They invite people to opt-in with some data but testing can be done completely anonymously. People are invited in and compensated for their time. DIRT is open about what they gather and what they do not.

[17:03] Can biometric neuroscience be used for nefarious reasons? Not at DIRT, anyway, as they maintain anonymity from audiences that opt-in to the experience. The goal is a better connection with the audience the client is serving with their offerings.

[18:36] Nick would have loved to have access to this biometric neuroscience research back when he was making content to make better connections with his audiences.

[21:14] Does biometric neuroscience divide the "poets" from the "quants"? Nick has not been in a situation where the quants get it but the poets don't. Everyone gets it. The research bridges the gap and delivers value to all of the stakeholders as DIRT helps the client focus on creating something that connects with their audience better.[23:29] How to make a new translation of Beowulf culturally significant. Understand where your audience is now. Crime author Elmore Leonard followed the rule to try to leave out the parts that readers skip. DIRT tries to leave out the parts of your content that your audience skips. It makes for a better experience.

[24:49] What can a client apply from one study of one piece of content to develop future content? Nick talks through the process. What insights can a client build?

[25:50] Is this research only for large corporations? DIRT is working on how to put this into the reach of more influencers and companies.

[27:46] Contrasting the creator economy and the attention economy, and how DIRT is involved to help build connections.

[28:44] Nick shares his contact links.

[29:09] Patricia thanks Nick for joining This is Capitalism: CEO Stories.

Nick ChildsWeAreDIRT.com

Twitter: @NickChilds

Maria Headley's translation of Beowulf

Seamus Heaney's translation of Beowulf

Elmore Leonard

Patricia O'Connell interviews Nick Araco, CEO of AchieveNEXT, and Tom Stewart, Chief Knowledge Officer, about AchieveNEXT and recent data they have collected from middle-market CHROs and CFOs regarding where they see business heading for the rest of the year.

Listen in to learn more about AchieveNEXT and projected upcoming mid-market growth.

[:28] Patricia O'Connell introduces Nick Araco, CEO of AchieveNEXT, and Tom Stewart, Chief Knowledge Officer.

[1:09] AchieveNEXT helps emerging and middle-market CFOs and CHROs to gather and assemble data, to benchmark, and to share best practices, and do it all better, faster, and smarter.

[1:54] Most of the middle-market companies are private. There is not a lot of benchmarking data on which to rely. AchieveNEXT combines a peer network, data from research with CFO and CHRO alliances, and a suite of human capital and performance solutions that will help CFOs and CHROs improve the performance of their companies.

[2:50] Nick talks about capturing data from CFOs and CHROs of 200 private companies about what they are committing to, how they are doing, and what they project for the next six months. The data shows that optimism abounds for recovery. Top-line and bottom-line performance is up in these mid-market enterprises in 2021.

[4:34] Nick and Tom have spent decades working with mid-market enterprises. For most of that time, CFOs and CHROs made conservative projections of nominal, single-digit growth. Their current projections are for more than 10% growth, which is very different from their past projections.

[5:20] Some hospitality and other businesses are constrained by the impacts of the pandemic; they project negative growth. This group is relatively small compared to the mid-market enterprises that project high growth. The bell curve has shifted to the right. People have more confidence.

[6:22] During Q3 and Q4 of 2020, the mid-market was concerned that even if they were up and running, their customers and vendors would not be financially fit. Now, they are worried about retaining talent and finding new talent to sustain and drive their growth.

[7:35] With the expectation of revenue growth, there is an expectation of employment growth. The data gathered by AchieveNEXT shows that 57% of mid-market enterprises say attracting and retaining top talent is one of their top three challenges. It's the #1 challenge.

[8:42] One of AchieveNEXT's secrets is that the relationship between the finance leader, the HR leader, and the CEO is the trifecta. That relationship and the functions behind finance and people drive the success of the business. Companies that thrive have brought the numbers and acumen of finance together with the people side.

[9:32] At their highest levels, the CFO and the CHRO are responsible for the development of financial and human capital. That's what makes the enterprise a combination of financial and human resources.

[10:47] Most of the enterprises surveyed said they are not shifting their strategy. They are focused on doing what they do well, and it seems to be meeting the market's needs and demands. So they are looking for talent like the talent they already have. It's a battle for talent.

[11:46] Most enterprises are reporting that the supply of talent they are seeking is either not out there, or hard to find, or is not moving. There is not enough talent. They will either have to create or develop new pools of talent, or pay more and steal them from somebody else, or win them with something that doesn't involve money, like culture.

[12:42] Enterprises were surveyed about actions they are taking for all their priorities for the remainder of 2021. The most important was increasing efficiency. Right under that was addressing talent issues. Workplace flexibility was highly regarded among women CFOs. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are also high priorities for expanding talent pools.

[14:08] Mid-market enterprises are investing and doubling down on technology to fill functions that can be automated. Instead of eliminating people, they are working to upskill people to work on higher-value functions that cannot be automated.

[15:05] "Technology is my friend," is the message that middle-market CFOs and CHROs have been telling AchieveNEXT. 78% say that technology is providing a positive benefit. They are not buying new tools and equipment, but focusing on getting the most out of what they have and getting the stacks they have to communicate better.

[16:32] Nick and Tom are hearing almost daily stories of CFOs announcing a deal was done. The Alliance of Merger and Acquisition Advisors (AM&AA) says there is about $1.6 trillion available for M&A. Capital is not particularly hard to find. About 21% of mid-market companies are looking for an acquisition.

[18:39] The private equity timelines are compressed. What was once a five-to-seven-year threshold of buying, developing, and selling a platform has come down to 2.5 years from buying to selling. There's an attitude of bullishness and excitement. Tom sees cyclical and structural issues creating this increasing M&A.

[20:36] Most private companies expect to stay private. When would a company want to go public?

[21:35] Nick mentions some concerns that exist in the mid-market regarding projected top-line revenue performance: capabilities, cost, and COVID-19. These three dark clouds do not cover up the confidence the mid-market has in their companies, industries, cities, and the U.S. economy.

[24:01] Nick shares helpful links and a peek at their upcoming study on mid-market talent acquisition, compensation, and culture.

[25:26] Patricia thanks Nick and Tom for joining CEO Stories on This is Capitalism.

Nick AracoTom Stewart

AchieveNEXT

AchieveNEXT on LinkedIn

AchieveNEXT on Twitter

Alliance of Merger and Acquisition Advisors

Patricia O'Connell interviews Dee Brown, President and CEO of The P3 Group about what a Public-Private Partnership (P3) is, and what impact P3 development projects have on under-served communities. Dee talks about his career in real estate, infrastructure development, and P3 real estate development. He shares his early history and the duty he feels toward the communities he serves. Dee is always learning, always growing, and always getting up at 3:30 a.m. because he always wants to do better at the work he loves.

Listen in to learn more about entrepreneurship in under-served communities in the P3 space with Dee Brown.

[:29] Patricia O'Connell introduces Dee Brown, President and CEO of The P3 Group.

[:34] The P3 Group is the nation's largest minority-owned real estate developer that focuses exclusively on Public-Private Partnerships. Dee has nearly 30 years of experience in real estate sales, development, construction, and management. He is also the host of The Sky's the Limit podcast, produced by Forbes Books.

[1:41] Dee used his "stick-to-it-ness" to move past some challenges and technical difficulties that might have prevented today's episode from being recorded. In business, almost all the time, the first answer is "No," so Dee has always found a way to overcome objections and push forward to get to the goal.

[2:45] Dee describes his response to hearing "No." He tries to understand the reason behind the "No," to determine how to move forward. There are a variety of reasons a person might object.

[4:04] Dee sometimes has to educate agencies and leaders of organizations that The P3 Group's model and execution strategy is a superior delivery method.

[4:36] Dee explains the meaning of a Public-Private Partnership between a private-sector company and a unit of government. Dee talks about the goals of a Public-Private Partnership agreement. The P3 Group provides all the expertise and carries the risk.

[6:33] Dee describes the several risk mitigation tools The P3 Group uses to mitigate their risks as developers.

[8:55] The team at The P3 Group has expertise in business development, business operations, administration, client services, and client relationships. Dee's son has recently been promoted to President of Client Services.

[10:56] Dee has a goal to pass the business along to his son and future generations.

[11:47] Dee shares how he migrated from traditional real estate and real estate development to the P3 world. When the 2008 recession hit, he moved into highway, street, and bridge construction by acquiring a construction company. As his business grew, he started doing work for federal agencies.

[12:50] After working on infrastructure construction projects, Dee began to apply his new knowledge of Public-Private Partnerships to real estate development.

[13:26] Many of the projects The P3 Group executes, such as fire stations, municipal courthouses, public safety complexes, and more, are in under-served communities. Any type of government organization may use its services. The P3 Group has about $1 billion worth of projects in planning or in process in its pipeline.

[14:35] Why does The P3 Group concentrate its work in under-served communities?

[15:26] Dee tells what it means to him to be the largest minority-owned developer in the P3 space and the duty he feels to the communities he serves. These projects are transformational in the landscape of a community.

[16:30] Dee grew up in a very impoverished community in the Mississippi Delta. He beat the odds to get where he is at The P3 Group. In the community where Dee was raised, there is still a lot of need and hopelessness. Dee goes into a community and provides services that bring hope and that inspire.

[17:28] The P3 Group has donated money to community colleges for scholarship programs. Dee and his team try to be good examples of what you can do if you put your mind to it and make good, sound decisions. They try to be visible in the community. They run a math and reading academy for K‒3 through their non-profit organization.

[18:44] The non-profit foundation at The P3 Group has been organized as a 501(c)(3) for two years. The foundation was started in 2014. Dee tells of some of the work the foundation does. Currently, the foundation is partnering with The P3 Group to develop student housing and student unions on HBCU campuses.

[20:05] Dee, from his childhood, always had the mindset that he wanted to be successful. He was always looking for entrepreneurial opportunities to make money. Because of that, he has never punched a clock for anyone. He has always "eaten what he's killed."

[20:56] Why the lion is the king of the jungle: When the lion sees an elephant, he thinks about lunch. When the elephant sees a lion, he thinks about running. Dee has the mindset of a lion. He always looks for ways to succeed. He gets up at 3:30 every morning to work. Some people do not have the discipline to succeed.

[23:12] Dee recommends three habits for highly successful people. Success is not a smooth journey but a series of failures that you have to overcome for some period. You can't start at the end. You start at the beginning. Do more than you get paid to do.

[25:46] Follow your dreams. Find something that you're passionate about, something that you believe in, something that inspires you, and then use that to build your business model around. Dee doesn't have a problem with working every day because he loves what he does. He loves the impact that his business has on communities.

[28:36] Patricia thanks Dee for appearing on This is Capitalism CEO Stories.

Dee Brown

DeeBrownCEO.com

The P3 Group

Brown Foundation Community Development Corporation

HBCUs

Who Moved My Cheese?: An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life, by Spencer Johnson

Patricia O'Connell interviews Kevin Dawidodicz, serial entrepreneur and Co-Founder of CoachMePlus. They discuss the CoachMePlus product in its market, the limitations of fitness apps used alone, and how CoachMePlus developed from a high schooler's workout notebook.

Listen in to learn more about fitness training accountability for athletes and clients.

[:26] Patricia O'Connell introduces serial entrepreneur and Co-Founder of CoachMePlus, Kevin Dawidowicz, to talk about the fitness tool CoachMePlus.

[1:18] CoachMePlus is a tool for coaches and trainers of athletes and exercise program clients to improve fitness outcomes. CoachMePlus started with professional athletes, providing in-person and remote experiences. With the COVID-19 pandemic, the app was used remotely also by personal trainers and their clients.

[3:55] CoachMePlus uses various connectivity tools to manage the relationships of coaches and trainers with their athletes or clients. The tools include texting, fitness programming, nutrition and hydration tracking, weight tracking, and integration of the clients' wearable fitness devices.

[6:44] CoachMePlus is working with the National Guard and the Reserves to embed a culture of fitness in these branches of the military and deliver fitness programming when they are away from the base.

[8:21] Kevin defines fitness as a holistic mindset that includes sleep, nutrition, and mindfulness as well as physical fitness. Coaches can use CoachMePlus to engage the athlete or client in all aspects of fitness and wellness.[9:09] Kevin explains how CoachMePlus is more of a tool than an app. There is no accountability with an app. With CoachMePlus, there is somebody on the other side to hold the athlete or client accountable.

[11:12] Wearable fitness devices constantly stream information into the system and that becomes available to the coach in a usable way. How the coach uses the information depends on how the relationship between the coach and the athlete works.

[12:24] The information collected from the athlete is for the coach and the athlete. CoachMePlus does not mine the data for advertising purposes.[12:53] Kevin tells the evolution of CoachMePlus starting with making training CD-ROMs for Coach Doug McKenney of the Buffalo Sabres.

[16:27] Kevin and his co-founders spent years brainstorming ideas and rapidly prototyping apps for a scalable company. He advises entrepreneurs to get out of the analysis mindset and start doing. Get it into the hands of customers, get feedback, modify, iterate, and repeat.

[18:14] Before CoachMePlus, Kevin tried online retail and a site to track collectibles online. Discovering their limitations in these projects helped them go in a different direction.

[19:54] Kevin has a well of optimism and energy that keeps him going. He's also pragmatic and realistic about his projects.

[21:43] Kevin was surprised when he got into the market space, that within a couple of years, he had three or four competitors that all started right around the same time. If he had delayed launching until his product was "perfect," he would have been behind. Get out there as quickly as possible.[23:07] CoachMePlus with its remote use case had an advantage over the fitness market during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of the fitness market was located inside the gym. The pandemic broke that model. This year, the number of gyms and personal trainers that use CoachMePlus has doubled and is accelerating.

[24:30] Kevin has other ideas percolating in the middle of the night. He's never short of ideas; everything's just a matter of resources. The job is to be nimble enough to accept the new tech as it comes in and make it useful. It's an interesting challenge.

[25:52] Patricia thanks Kevin for joining This is Capitalism CEO Stories.

Kevin Dawidowicz

CoachMePlusTwitter @CoachMePlusApple WatchWhoopBuffalo Sabres

Doug McKenney

Philadelphia Eagles

Stephen Ostrow

Patricia O'Connell interviews Cher Grant, CEO and Founder of software development company Wazzio. They discuss how Wazzio was launched, how it serves schools and parents teaching at home, and how Cher became a technology provider after being a sales rep. Cher stresses the importance of financial literacy for children growing up in a world where spending happens on a keyboard.

Listen in to learn more about providing innovative solutions through cloud services.

[:27] Patricia O'Connell introduces Cher Grant, CEO and Founder of Wazzio, a software development company, and welcomes her to This is Capitalism CEO Stories.

[:48] Cher launched Wazzio in 2013 with cloud software services. Since 2013, the company has pivoted into the educational space to offer technology to help students.

[1:12] Their latest application is Wazzcards, an online virtual interactive classroom. A question is posed by teachers or parents on a card that appears on-screen. Students answer it in real-time as teachers or parents observe how the students answer. It can be used in class or remotely.

[2:07] Wazzcards has many subjects but one of the main purposes of the program is to encourage students as young as possible to learn about financial literacy. Wazzcards is intended for classes from Grade Three through Grade Eight. The subjects are Science, Math, English, Geography, History, and Financial Literacy.

[3:35] Cher talks about the extreme importance of financial literacy and why it should be taught in school. When you buy everything online, how do you keep track of how much money you are spending? It doesn't even seem real if you don't hold the cash in your hand.[5:19] Cher wants children to learn now what happens when you borrow money, what debt means, what it does to your credit score, how interest works, and how debt follows you until you pay it off.

[5:47] Cher markets Wazzcards through social media, Google Ads, and existing partnerships with schools and other companies in the education sector. Wazzcards is marketed both to schools and parents teaching their children at home. The collaborative nature of the cards helps keep the attention and focus of children.

[6:48] Wazzcards presents a complete curriculum that parents can use for teaching at home. Parents select the decks they want to use for their children. Parents can apply motivational treats for the number of questions answered correctly.[7:33] The pandemic gave parents access to how well their children were doing or how they were struggling in school.[9:14] The technology industry is predominantly male-dominated. Cher has met some challenges throughout her career but her love for technology has kept her going. Technology is innovative and always changing. Solving business challenges for customers is what excites Cher about technology.

[9:48] Cher had learned in previous jobs to act like Teflon and not let sexist attitudes and comments stick to her. She eventually left being an employee when she found too many obstacles to innovation in the companies that employed her. She decided to launch a company where she could innovate to meet the needs she saw.[11:05] Cher had always felt a "burning flame" to do something on her own. The fear factor of failing kept her working as an employee for years. When she launched Wazzio, it was profitable in its first year.

[12:00] Cher describes the role having passion for your work plays for people whether working for a company or as an entrepreneur. We don't often hear the phrase, "I love my job. I love what I do." Passion gets you up in the morning to push through the highs and lows of the day. An entrepreneur works many hours to succeed.

[13:34] With a Wazzcard subscription, a school has the opportunity to get a discount on Chromebook devices. So far, Wazzio has neither sought nor needed outside capitalization. They may look for funding later on for growth.

[14:55] By not relying on investors, Cher has been able to control the company as she wants. This has been an advantage so far.

[15:53] The most important thing when you partner with an investor is to align with an investor who has the same vision you have for the company. It's almost like a marriage.

[16:33] Wazzio has also created a company called Riley in Canada as a market for small contractors in the beauty and household service industries. It may expand into the U.S.[18:02] You can purchase a Wazzcards software subscription anywhere in the world. The Chromebook discount is only available in the U.S.[18:35] Cher's advice for female entrepreneurs going into technology fields is not to fear the tech but embrace it. We use it every day, all day. Don't be afraid of getting into this space. There are huge opportunities in different tech areas for providing solutions and services to different businesses. Push forward and take a look at technology.

[19:23] Cher started in the tech space as a sales rep at large American companies. When she saw the possibilities in the technology field, she was very excited. She has stayed in technology ever since.[20:37] Cher received a lot of great training in tech while she worked for those large companies. She received various certifications any time she saw an opportunity to learn more. She also researched to find as much as she could about technology she didn't understand. As she went through different types of jobs, learning became easier for her.[21:10] Cher became a cloud specialist when she saw the industry was moving into cloud technology. Learn while you are earning a salary, then apply your knowledge in a company you launch.

[22:01] Wazzcards is preparing an offering for the corporate space for corporations to teach their employees about the different solutions they offer.

[22:39] Patricia thanks Cheryl for sharing her story and telling us about Wazzio and Wazzcards.

Cher Grant

Wazzio.com

Wazzcards.com

Chromebook

Patricia O'Connell interviews Christina Elson, Executive Director for the Center for the Study of Capitalism at Wake Forest University, and Patrick Reasonover, the lead producer of the movie, They Say It Can't Be Done. They discuss the movie, innovation, and the proper role of regulation in a free market capitalist system.

Listen in to learn more about innovation and regulation and how you can promote innovation in the market.

[:21] Patricia O'Connell introduces Christina Elson, Executive Director for the Center for the Study of Capitalism at Wake Forest University, and Patrick Reasonover, the lead producer of the movie, They Say It Can't Be Done, and welcomes them to This is Capitalism.

[1:34] Patrick discusses innovation, regulation, optimism, and pessimism as themes of the movie They Say It Can't Be Done. Innovators are working on problems that people believe cannot be solved, such as global warming. Regulators use an outdated industrial model and not the digital, innovative model of capitalism we see today.

[3:30] We have to decide between optimism and pessimism. Can these things be done? Should we regulate and stop them from moving forward?

[4:00] Christina addresses the roles of regulation, both positive and negative, in a capitalist free market economy. Regulators do not fully understand the new technology economy they regulate. We need to protect people when it's appropriate without creating issues that are difficult to resolve in our economy.

[6:12] Patrick speaks of the histories of capitalism and regulation since the Industrial Revolution. With industry, came regulation. Regulation trails innovation as the future is unseen. The ultimate decider of an industry's success is when the consumers choose them in the market. When regulation tries to manage innovation, it's a problem.

[7:34] Regulations should not solve problems; they should empower and facilitate the innovators and businesses that are solving the problems.

[8:04] Patrick searched on Google to find the four companies he followed in the film They Say It Can't Be Done. They began by finding the biggest problems everyone shares. When they settled on the problems, they went researching and found organizations that had been working on these problems for years or even decades.

[9:16] Patrick and his team talked to many people in the process. The four companies that the film follows are symbolic of multiple others working on the same problems, such as, how do you solve global warming? One person, Klaus Lackner, has developed a plastic tree to suck CO2 from the atmosphere at thousands of times the rate of a living tree.[10:35] Wake Forest University has been working at the forefront of personalized medicine for over a decade. They are working on growing bones, organs, or other tissues you may need from your existing cells. This works with 3-D printing technology in biomedicine. The medical regulatory system is not based on personalized medicine.

[12:01] A business that builds organs needs to scale its ability for the hundreds of thousands of people that need organ donation. The process of scaling has been extremely complicated because of the regulatory system. The innovators spend many hours trying to work through very complicated regulations, instead of innovating.

[14:31] Most of the regulatory agencies and the acts which created them are decades old. They are outdated. There needs to be a fundamental revisiting of how we regulate any of these businesses, particularly new ones. New businesses are particularly vulnerable at the start. Once they are global, they are not as vulnerable.[16:17] Do we trust that most innovators are devoting their time and resources trying to contribute and do good? Or do we look at the world with fear?[16:48] We need to encourage innovation and new businesses in the US. Patricia talks about Eat Just, one of the businesses in the film, producing chicken meat. They have a great product with some important breakthroughs. They launched in Singapore instead of the US because of Singapore's clear regulatory system.

[19:20] What about the workers displaced by the creative destruction? What happens to the food processing workers when we grow meat from cells? Many companies are heavily involved in retraining workers. Our schools are emphasizing training for the new economy. There are always jobs that will be replaced by other, better jobs.

[22:16] Animal husbandry and slaughter are jobs that are not pleasant. Other jobs will appear that are less hazardous, better paying, and better for the environment as well. The American beef industry is trying to use the regulatory apparatus to delay and shut down Eat Just and its competitors from launching this product.

[23:30] Instead of trying to regulate them, Tyson invested in Eat Just. Tyson has an international distribution system. Eat Just does not. By working together, and producing a better product, they both profit. Eat Just has made meat better and less expensive.

[26:07] We are ready for permissionless innovation. We are responsible for the government we have. We need to have advocacy for the kind of world in which we want to live and take the steps to figure out how to get there. As consumers, we can demand products that we believe will provide us with a better, healthier lifestyle.

[28:20] Advocacy is based on need. If enough people demand 3-D printed organs, the system will eventually provide for them to be made. The first step is awareness. The movie presents real solutions that address real problems.

[29:20] Christina tells why she is an optimist. Optimists believe in a locus of control and are natural leaders. There are a lot of reasons to be optimistic today. Patrick is an optimist but he says we all need to be self-aware. Sometimes, you need to be cautious. The negativity of the media makes people overly cautious.

[31:35] We have a tort system in the US. Why not let this meat go to market? Why does the FDA need to approve foods that we eat? If it is harmful, they will be sued. We are in Innovation Land. Capitalism has freed people to create new things. The future is always going to be different and when people are free, it is going to be better.

[32:33] Be optimistic when it is called for and be cautious when it is called for. There are millions of people all around the world, working on amazingly cool stuff to solve the problems you are worried about, right now. The best thing you can do is to help them.

[32:58] Patricia thanks Patrick and Christina for giving us reasons to be optimistic and for being on the podcast; This Is Capitalism CEO Stories.

Christina Elson

Patrick Reasonover

Wake Forest University

Center for the Study of Capitalism at Wake Forest University

They Say it Can't Be Done

Eat Just

National Cattlemen's Beef Association

Tyson

Patricia O'Connell interviews Tiki Barber, Co-Founder and Co-Chairman of Thuzio, on how his childhood dream of becoming an astronaut evolved into playing for 10 years with the NY Giants, entering broadcasting, and co-founding Thuzio, a sports events and media company. Tiki discusses his varied careers, his family, and what motivates him to succeed.

Listen in to learn more about taking advantage of opportunities and pivoting as needed.

[:25] Patricia O'Connell introduces Tiki Barber, Co-chairman of Thuzio.

[1:10] Patricia welcomes Tiki Barber to CEO Stories on This is Capitalism.

[1:15] As a child, Tiki Barber was so strongly affected by the 1986 Challenger disaster that he wanted to be an astronaut. His mother suggested that he go to a college where he could study to be an astronaut. He studied engineering at the University of Virginia and played college football. In his first semester, he fell in love with computers.

[3:03] Tiki's dream of becoming an astronaut fell by the wayside. He left the engineering school and joined the business school to study management information systems, which is database design and programming. His new dream was to work for Oracle or Microsoft as a tech entrepreneur.

[3:27] In Tiki's junior year, his football skills had become so good that playing for the NFL was a realistic plan.

[4:20] Tiki explains how his 10-year career with the NY Giants prepared him to become an entrepreneur. His first years in the NFL were tough and he was just hanging on. After a coaching staff change, he was used more and he began to excel. In business and entrepreneurship, even with the greatest idea, you will still take missteps and pivots.

[6:10] You will have success when you work with a team and a mentor. Tiki tells how he and entrepreneur Mark Gerson partnered to form Thuzio as a marketplace for athletes to engage with their communities. Kiki believes that partnering with the right person is paramount to success. There has to be collaborative energy that exists between you.

[8:14] Tiki explains how he met Mark during a transitional time. Mark's brother, Rick, was a college friend of Tiki's. Rick reached out to Tiki when Tiki wasn't working, and suggested Tiki and Mark should get together and "figure something out." Six months later, Tiki and Mark launched Thuzio and it is still going strong.

[8:46] Keep up with your relationships. Check in with people just to ask how they are. Tiki has found that being a people person has been extraordinarily beneficial to his entrepreneurial career.

[9:58] What kinds of things have helped Tiki to transition from athlete to entrepreneur? Tiki's twin brother always said they would succeed because they don't believe that they can fail. They don't give up. Tiki has the utmost confidence in himself. If you believe that it's going to be OK, you tend to find the positive and you tend to find the next steps.

[10:44] Tiki shares an anecdote from his brother and his life. While they were in college, their mother developed breast cancer and needed a double mastectomy. She told them, "I have to get busy living or I have to get busy dying. And I'm choosing to live." She is now a 26-year cancer survivor. Her positivity stayed with Tiki.

[12:02] In the early '70s, Tiki's father had left the family and was out of Tiki's life for decades. After Tiki's second marriage and their first child, Tiki's wife sent his father a Christmas card. Tiki's father came to visit the next March and met Tiki's five children. They drank wine together and reconnected after years. Then his half-sister connected.

[12:37] Tiki has a great relationship now with a half-sister he didn't know for most of his life. You never know when reconciliation is the right thing for all. Now Tiki's children have a grandfather. Tiki says his wife Tracy is a wonderful teammate for him.

[14:31] The name Thuzio comes from enthusiasm. They provide events with personalities about whom people are enthusiastic. Besides athletes, they work with authors, actors, musicians, and celebrity chefs.

[15:46] Thuzio started as a marketplace to meet sports figures individually. It turned out to be unscalable. So, they created a membership base that could engage with the athletes in groups. They held 150- to 200-person events once or twice a month in major sports market cities. The events were engaging.

[18:04] Then the pandemic happened. Thuzio had to pivot. As a live-event company, there was the risk of going under. Live events were impractical with social distancing. Then they were asked to host a virtual event. It worked and they realized they had a solution.

[19:28] Now, instead of doing one or two events per market each month, they are hosting three or four events a day through Zoom and other virtual platforms.

[20:00] Thuzio plans for a dual business model when in-person events are more practical. There is a significantly larger margin for an in-person event, while virtual events are more scalable and have a larger reach. Ultimately, having the in-person experience matters to the clients.

[20:50] Troubled times create opportunities. Tiki talks about acquiring a Canadian company, Robin, for their live-event ticketing technology and as a second product offering. While the pandemic damaged the business model of Thuzio, it became an opportunity to expand its business model.

[22:17] Tiki credits Thuzio CEO, Jared Augustine, with a great mind for seeing a business opportunity and making the decision to go after it aggressively.[22:43] Thuzio has been able to pivot in real time to survive another year and get closer to profitability.

[23:16] Tiki describes splitting Julius Works from Thuzio. Julius Works finds influencers for client campaigns. Thuzio became the event company. When that split happened, Thuzio became a startup. They brought on new investors just before the pandemic hit. They created a Kickstarter campaign. Going to a virtual model helped a lot.

[26:02] Tiki talks about when they will reach profitability. He foresees it in a year or so, given their history of innovation. They need to invest in growing their divisions and their clients.

[27:28] Where are the astronaut influencers? Tiki thinks that is a great idea. Tiki talks about his sci-fi passions and natural geekiness. He is doing a visual podcast called Display TV, interviewing experts in certain fields.

[29:46] Tiki talks about the children's books he and his brother, Ronde, wrote, starting with By My Brother's Side. They did a total of three picture books and nine chapter books. He still gets comments on these books from people who read them growing up.

[32:11] What's next for Tiki? He has always been an opportunist and has never been afraid to try something new. You never know when that's going to ultimately be your passion. His friends told him never to be afraid to diversify his income streams. Diversification creates redundancy in success.

[34:19] Patricia thanks Tiki for being on the podcast; This Is Capitalism.

Tiki Barber

Thuzio

Challenger disaster

University of Virginia

Oracle

Microsoft

NFL

NY GiantsToday Show

FoxNews

CBS Sports Radio

Kinky Boots

Mark Gerson

GLG

Zoom

Robin

JuliusWorks.comBy My Brother's Side, by Tiki and Ronde Barber

Patricia O'Connell interviews Alaina Love, CEO of Purpose Linked Consulting, about passion and purpose. They discuss how passions express purpose, the ten archetypes of passion, and about learning your top three passion archetypes. They explore how to link an organization to a meaningful purpose.

Listen in to learn more about your passions and purpose and how to express them in your life and career.

[:22] Patricia O'Connell introduces Alaina Love, CEO of Purpose Linked Consulting, and her message of following passion with purpose, for individuals, companies, and teams.

[1:15] Patricia welcomes Alaina Love to CEO Stories on This is Capitalism.

[1:26] Alaina explores what it means for an individual to have purpose and passion. She begins by sharing her experience of walking away from an executive opportunity at a large organization where she had been climbing the ladder of success.

[3:58] Alaina had to ponder to discover why being successful and being rewarded for the work she was doing was not enough for her. She didn't want to spend the next 85,000 work hours doing work she didn't see as deeply purposeful. Alaina began to realize that purpose and passion are connected.

[5:07] Alaina has interviewed people for 20 years about finding purpose in work. Most people spend their lives trying to find out exactly what their purpose is. Most people believe they will be satisfied sometime in the future, after finding their purpose.

[6:26] Alain found that people who have figured out how to weave who they are into their roles, where their passions can "come out to play every day," are the folks who feel that their roles were aligned to a deeper purpose that they are here to achieve.[6:50] After many years of wrestling with this issue, Alaina realized the passions people exhibit are the outward expression of the deeper purpose that drives them.

[7:43] With researchers from the University of Michigan, Alaina developed The Passion Profiler, which identifies how a person resonates with each of ten passion archetypes that are present to a degree in each of us. It is useful for us to understand what our top three passions are, and how their strengths and vulnerabilities drive our behavior.

[8:27] The ten passion archetypes arose from Alaina's structured interviews with high-potential folks from fourteen industry segments across the globe. Alaina observed that certain patterns of behavior showed up consistently, over and over again, across industries. Alaina had been seeing these patterns throughout her corporate career.

[9:33] Alaina found these behaviors organized themselves into ten categories. Through her research, she identified what each of these passions looked like.

[9:59] The ten archetypes are Creator, Conceiver, Discoverer, Processor, Teacher, Connector, Altruist, Healer, Transformer, and Builder. Alaina describes each archetype.

[11:40] Understanding your passions provides you with a roadmap to understand where you can contribute beyond your skill set alone.

[11:57] Alaina suggests designing our organizations to leverage the passions our team members are wired with, giving them opportunities to utilize their passions in their assigned roles, and putting them in a cultural environment where their values are honored. This extends beyond hiring someone for a particular set of skills.

[12:27] Alaina tells how an individual can benefit from the knowledge of their top three passion archetypes. When an individual applies their passions to the role they hold, their level of engagement becomes higher, and their role becomes an expression of who they are more than a responsibility they have to accomplish.

[13:05] The team leader, with a knowledge of the passion archetypes of their team members, understands each of those team members on a much more intimate level. A leader can put the right people on the team to create the correct passion composition.

[14:05] A Gallup poll found that only about 30% of employees are genuinely engaged at work. Alaina thinks that is directly correlated to a lack of understanding of passion and purpose. Alaina also mentions the Happiness Curve and how it applies to the drop in work engagement. At more mature ages, meaning begins to matter over money.

[17:12] Alaina describes a confluence of self-actualization at both ends of the generational spectrum. Millennials and Gen-Z-ers have been raised to find what their passion is and make a career of that. Older workers have learned that the financial plans of their youth have not worked out, and they are starting to search for meaning.

[19:25] How do you match your passion archetypes to your career? There are myriad ways to express them. A teacher archetype will not always stand in front of a class. Alaina uses Oprah Winfrey as her icon for the teacher archetype.

[20:16] The pandemic has cost millions of jobs, and people are afraid they won't have work. Employers wonder what the new normal will be. Alaina says people she talks with worry about what their lives will be like going forward. They are asking themselves if they are doing what matters, every day, to make the best contribution they can.

[22:26] We may have people in roles that aren't their dream jobs simply to survive. Alaina suggests looking for what they can do to make a contribution to their work that is unique to themselves. How do you bring you to your job? To answer that question, you need to know who you are, and what your passions are.

[23:24] Alaina once worked with a hospital team of people from nurses to foodservice. The goal was to leverage their passions to improve patient satisfaction. As they reviewed patient satisfaction, the scores were highest on the floors where one man mopped the floors. He had a healer archetype. He spoke with the patients and families.

[25:55] How do you figure out passion and purpose? Alaina wrote a book, The Purpose Linked Organization, with a chapter on each of the passion archetypes. The hardcover book has a code that allows you to take an abbreviated version of the Passion Profiler and find your top three passion archetypes.

[26:33] Alaina has also created a public website so others can have access, Mypassionality.com. There you can purchase a code for under $15.00 to take the Passion Profiler and find your top three passions. That will give you the information you need to start sorting out the places where those passions might be applied.

[27:24] How do self-reflection and meaning-making relate to the Passion Profiler, professional version? Work-inspired reflection tends to drive up engagement. Reflection is extremely important. If you understand your passions, as you reflect on your life, you will observe when your passions "came out to play."

[30:08] Patricia thanks Alaina for being on the podcast; This Is Capitalism. Learn more at ThisIsCapitalism.com.

Alaina Love

ThePurposeLink.com

University of Michigan

Gallup

The Happiness Curve: Why Life Gets Better After 50, by Jonathan Rauch

Oprah Winfrey

The Purpose Linked Organization: How Passionate Leaders Inspire Winning Teams and Great Results, by Alaina Love and Marc Cugnon

Mypassionality.com

Patricia O'Connell interviews Howard Breindel, Co-CEO at DeSantis Breindel. Patricia and Howard discuss the meaning of brand, how companies may need help clarifying their brand story, and why brand matters. They also touch on some of the changes the COVID-19 epidemic has forced onto B2B businesses.

Listen in to learn how you can strengthen your company brand in any environment.

[:27] Patricia O'Connell welcomes Howard Breindel to CEO Stories on This is Capitalism.

[:48] DeSantis Breindel is a B2B brand strategy and brand experience firm working with companies going through critical inflection points. They help companies maximize their brand. Brand is the promise a company makes to all of its key stakeholders and the experience it delivers to fulfill that promise.

[2:09] Younger companies may need help to define their value proposition beyond their product to focus on what they enable the stakeholder to reach. More mature companies may need help with business strategy as their offerings evolve.

[3:00] DeSantis Breindel helps companies translate their business strategy into a valuable brand strategy for their partners, influencers, customers, investors, and employees, making sure that everyone understands the value proposition for them.[3:37] Howard studied accounting in college and started in that world. He soon found he was more interested in how companies presented themselves to the world than in their numbers. He saw branding and marketing as a career that would leverage his financial background and his interest in the image a company presents.

[5:05] Howard recalls getting exposure to many different kinds of industries and people from all walks of life and all the countries of the world as he grew up in New York. That exposure gave Howard the sense that everyone is driven by different values and needs. That informs Howard as he helps companies understand all their important audiences.

[6:40] In the branding business, curiosity about businesses is critical. To do the job well, you need to understand deeply and be good listeners. You need to keep asking questions, listen to the answers, and connect the dots. Successful people in this industry have had exposure and experienced diversity, and they apply their knowledge to a complex world.

[7:40] At DeSantis Breindel, a mid-sized company, people wear many hats and are agile. There is not a playbook for everything. They need to be innovative and thoughtful.

[8:07] The stakes are much higher in B2B marketing than in B2C marketing, with more widespread ramifications. For DeSantis Breindel, research across audiences is critical to understand more deeply what drives decision-making and what's on people's minds.

[10:05] Howard tells how branding and marketing are linked. Branding is about an operating philosophy and marketing is about putting all that out there in the world.

[10:59] Howard sees challenges in how companies define and tell their story. Companies need to understand their brand proposition for all stakeholders. The story is really about the brand experience. How companies craft the stakeholder journey with their brand determines how stakeholders will perceive their story.

[12:43] Howard believes culture eats brand for breakfast, especially in B2B. What a company's employees say, think, and feel every day cannot be paid for in marketing. Make sure your employees truly understand your value proposition — what it means to them and the experience you expect them to deliver to your customers.

[13:56] A brand isn't what you say it is, it's what your stakeholders say it is. You might have a "brand gap" between what the employees think the brand is and how the customers perceive it. If you understand the gap, the brand strategy becomes clear.

[14:42] You cannot go through a branding exercise without engaging the employees and listening to what they say. Curiosity and listening are the two most important parts of the exercise.

[15:44] Brand is the one strategic asset that is shared across the C-suite.

[17:44] The COVID-19 pandemic has required companies to become more comfortable with digital interactions within the company and with external stakeholders. It has been a big adjustment. If this pandemic had happened before digital tools were available, it would have been much more devastating to businesses.

[19:26] Creativity is critical in every business. Working remotely, you have to work harder to make creativity happen. DeSantis Breindel has created online workshops to replace workshops that were held in person. They are using technologies to whiteboard things online and share files more quickly and easily for rapid-fire interaction.

[20:40] At DeSantis Breindel, every interaction with clients and each other is held over Zoom. They have no phone calls. They hold regularly-scheduled group meetings. In some ways, people are more engaged because their camera is on. However, everyone misses the casual interactions that happen in a business office environment.

[21:50] Howard looks forward to when they can go back to an office, whenever that will be. When it is deemed safe, they will go back. They surveyed the staff and 95% said they were not prepared to go back to the office before there is a vaccine. Some didn't want to go fully back to the office the same way as they did in the past.

[24:21] Patricia thanks Howard for being on the podcast; This Is Capitalism.

Howard Breindel

DeSantis Breindel

Peter Drucker

Zoom

Patricia O'Connell interviews Cortney Stapleton, Partner at Bliss Integrated Communications and one of the Founders of Exponent Women. Patricia and Cortney discuss why women in the dealmaking community benefit from networking and having a place where their voices are heard and their power is raised exponentially.

Listen in to learn how this networking organization can work for the dealmaking women in your organization.

[:31] Patricia O'Connell welcomes Cortney Stapleton to CEO Stories on This is Capitalism.

[:57] Cortney and nine other women co-founded Exponent Women for senior women in the dealmaking community as a place where they can find content and partner with like-minded women to change the face of dealmaking.

[1:35] They wanted a place for senior women to come together in a trusted environment. The founders had done business with each other. They brought their networks together with trust in each other for deeper, more meaningful networking.

[3:06] Exponent aims to exponentially raise women to a new power within this industry. The dealmaking community is heavily weighted towards men, so they wanted to make sure women have a voice and meet like-minded senior women in these companies.

[3:44] Cortney and the other founders believe we don't see women networking the same way as men. Men network with the same people they knew in college, play golf with, do business with, and go to the gym with. Women have separate networks of friends that don't mix and they don't tend to do business with them.

[4:59] Women often have deeper relationships within their networks and larger networks than men do but are uncomfortable asking their friends to do business. Exponent gives dealmaking women a safe space to talk about things they have a passion for in their careers and do business together.

[6:04] Exponent facilitates dealmaking women to feel comfortable making the "ask." All events, whether in person or online, have the main event and then breakout rooms where a leader, usually a founder, asks the women to introduce themselves, what they do, and what their ask is — what they are looking for.

[7:00] Cortney describes some of the events they have sponsored with authors and facilitators, such as workshops on making the ask. Exponent focuses on bringing women together in inspiring spaces.

[7:58] An early deal in Exponent Women resulted in a $1.5 million commission for one of the members. The Exponent website displays testimonials of women who have made important deals through the network.

[9:05] Cortney's main career is in integrated marketing communications. She has had lots of asks for organizational marketing help and individual marketing for women. Cortney has brought her network into Exponent to their benefit.

[9:55] When Cortney has a virtual "coffee" after an event, she comes away with one to three things to do to help the person she spoke to, such as connecting them with someone. Cortney focuses on strengthening connections.

[10:31] Exponent opens the way for speaking spots, going into companies to help them with executive visibility or marketing.

[10:48] Current Exponent events focus on deals that will be made despite COVID-19. Upcoming areas of focus are healthcare, technology, and the economy.

[12:00] Dealmaking always requires caution in choosing who is trusted around the table. Dealmakers also want to be around the table with people they like. In this virtual environment, it is necessary to have trusted connections because you are not sitting across from the person.

[13:22] Cortney feels more comfortable with her asks, being very overt about what she wants, and asking others about their asks, outside of the Exponent network. Exponent is a catalyst for senior women to make deals in their environment and workplace.

[15:11] Everyone wants to connect as much as possible, including by giving advice. There has to be a clear line for when advice is a service. It's important when you're putting down a specific idea to move a business forward to state that the relationship is moving into a consultative phase and you have a service offering.

[18:39] Exponent Women was formed for East Coast women. Women have flown in from Chicago and California for live events. With the shutdown and virtual tools, Exponent has been able to broaden nationally.

[19:30] Exponent is launching a new sector, Momentum, for junior women looking for mentorship from senior women in the dealmaking spectrum. Junior women have from two to ten years in the dealmaking community. Senior women have been in the industry for a couple of decades. Momentum will focus on topics more valuable to junior women.

[21:36] Every panel, including the annual Exponent Exchange, is very diverse, and includes speakers who are persons of color and LGBTQ persons, talking about investing in deals that are particularly focused on diverse markets.

[22:47] Cortney stresses the importance of diversity of thought, background, skin color, experience, incomes, and more. Clients include every form of diversity. Cortney's firm, Bliss Integrated Communications, has focused on inclusion for years.

[24:16] Cortney notes the difference between lip service and a focus on diversity. It is important to hold brands accountable for their actions, not just for what they stand for.

[25:33] The world has become completely transparent. It's so transparent now that you can see people's living rooms! All of your information is out there. Brands can communicate more easily with their audiences.

[26:42] Cortney wants people to know about what Exponent is doing to bring senior women in dealmaking together. She wants to highlight the whole spectrum of people it takes to make a deal successful. Exponent brings women together to widen their circle of trust.

[27:42] Cortney talks about the role men play in Exponent Women on panels, such as Exchange. You need men to be a part of the change and the dialog.

[28:45] Exponent Women may move into other specialties beyond dealmaking, depending on where the women who are members take it. Right now, dealmaking seems inclusive enough for the women who participate.

[29:45] Cortney shares the website and LinkedIn links for Exponent Women.

[30:04] Patricia thanks Cortney for being on the podcast, This Is Capitalism.

Cortney Stapleton

Bliss Integrated Communications

Exponent WomenExponent Women on LinkedIn

Zoom

Microsoft Teams

Exponent Momentum Series

Black Lives Matter