Uncertain Times

Have you seen a good movie lately? Probably not. COVID-19 has forced movie theaters across the globe to shutdown and studios to delay the releases of their big budget films. This week Joe talks to Emily Best the founder and CEO of Seed&Spark, a company that helps filmmakers crowdfund and raise money to produce films. Joe & Emily talk about the current state of the film industry and how Seed&Spark is helping creators during the pandemic.

Caregivers are needed now more than ever and on this episode, Joe chats with the CEO of Wellthy, Lindsay Jurist-Rosner.  Wellthy is a caregiving concierge service helps families navigate the often complex world of caregiving.

Nearly every media outlet has struggled during the COVID-19 pandemic, but Joe found one that is actually thriving: The influencer marketing sector.  On this episode Joe talks to Evan Morgenstein, the CEO of The Digital Renegades, and a pioneer in the social media influencer industry.

We're all in this together and people from all walks of life have been inspired to help others during the COVID-19 pandemic. In April, Alex Iskold and Minda Brusse launched the $1k Project. Their mission is to connect families in financial need to families that are willing to sponsor the family by providing $1k for three months. On this episode, Alex and Minda tell Joe how families are able to receive funding immediately as a bridge before government funding comes in and folks can go back to work.

Luckily for us, big business has stepped up to help during the COVID-19 pandemic.  And one of those companies is the Verizon Business Group. On this episode, Joe talks to TJ Fox , the SVP and President of Verizon Business Markets.  TJ tells us how Verizon has helped small businesses with private grants, their partnership with American Express for #StandForSmall, and their Feed the Frontlines program.

The onset of the coronavirus outbreak took place at the beginning of festival season and all of those festivals were forced to be cancelled or postponed.  What do the people who put together music and food festivals do now?  On this episode, Joe talks to Kate Levenstien, the CEO of Cannonball Productions, the company known for the Bacon and Beer Classic.

Many Americans are starting to declare bankruptcy because of the coronavirus, but for many people it was nearly impossible to file for Chapter 7 protection even before social distancing. On this episode, Joe talks to Rohan Pavuluri, the CEO + Co-Founder of Upsolve, a startup nonprofit that offers a free online tool to help people declare bankruptcy.

The restaurant industry has been ravaged by the pandemic, but one business owner is trying to help the only way he can. This week, Joe chats with the Sam Mustafa, CEO of the Charleston Hospitality Group, who is spearheading the  “Full Belly, Full Hearts” initiative.  “Full Belly, Full Hearts” is a Nationwide movement to provide free hot meals daily to hospitality workers, their families, and frontline first responders during the COVID-19 health crisis.

All sorts of industries have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, and one of those that felt the sting the fastest was the fitness industry. This week, Joe talks to the President of Pure Barre, Sarah Luna, and discuss the lockdown has effected her company and her franchisees.

Call centers and sites have been overwhelmed as over 20 million people across the country try to file for unemployment benefits while the COVID-19 pandemic destroys the job market. And now...there's an App for that.

This week, Joe talks to Joshua Browder the founder of DoNotPay, the world's first robot lawyer. The App allows drivers to appeal their parking tickets automatically, but now DoNotPay will help process your unemployment claim for free.