Vertical Podcast

Episode 15’s guest is my cousin Stacey Adamczyk. Stacey has dedicated her life to service others by sharing the sacred teachings of Yoga as a certified Yoga Teacher. Stacey has taught over 1,000+ hours of lessons to her students across the world, including the prestigious Blooming Lotus Yoga School in Bali.

Stacey shares her journey to becoming a Yoga teacher, as well as some lessons she has learned along the way - including the different types of yoga, the power of meditation, and the importance of knowing everyone’s path in life is different and surrendering to that path will allow you to better trust in society, others, and yourself, key lessons that can especially be applied in today’s uncertain times.

Dr. Martin received his doctor of osteopathy from the Kansas City University of Medicine and specializes in infectious diseases. Jon speaks with Justin about how Covid has changed the very nature of his job, saying that no other disease has changed his job the way Covid-19 has. Jon and Justin also discuss topics such as why this strain of coronavirus is worse than anything we’ve seen, the effectiveness of antibodies, the importance of using science to make decisions, how bad things could really get, and when life will return to “normal”. If you want to hear about this disease from an expert combating it on the ground day to day, you will not want to miss this episode of The Vertical Podcast.

My guest for Episode 13 of The Vertical Podcast is Seth Levine a graduate of Macalester College and co-founder of the Foundry Group, a VC fund investing in tech companies throughout North America.

Seth and I speak about his journey to becoming a VC and some of the trails and tribulations he went through along the way. But mainly we speak about the current Covid-19 pandemic, specifically, the importance of making calm, collected decisions and having optimism during a time of crisis and high anxiety.

We also speak about the effect the pandemic will have on the economy and what macro trends may change in the short and long-term.

Cornelius McGrath is an entrepreneur, storyteller, and founder of Everyday Entrepreneur, a new media collective that helps visionary brands, organizations and visionaries tell deeper stories. Cornelius has been published in such publications as the Financial Times and The San Francisco Chronicle. He was also named a LinkedIn Top Voice in 2016.

In this conversation, Justin and Cornelius talk about his background, the arduous journey he took to America, how his love for storytelling has grown and transformed over time, and his vision for what’s next.

In Episode 11, Justin speaks with Libie Motchan and Daniel Nelson, co-founders of Atlas, a shoe insole company that creates an insole from sustainably sourced cork. Justin speaks with Daniel and Libie about their journey to Wharton Business School - including Daniel’s first venture into the startup world and Libie’s entrepreneurial desires. The Atlas co-founders also speak of how they met, their mutual interest in starting a business with a vision of helping consumers, and how they have tackled the challenges and obstacles of being entrepreneurs thus far.

Nathan is the founder of Millennial Politics - a digital media company highlighting progressive candidates, causes, and organizations. Nathan and Justin speak about the role politics has played in Nathan’s life and how that role has morphed into leading one the most popular digital political media platforms in the country (over 120k Twitter followers).

Nathan also discusses his opinions as to why Millennials - as a generation - have lacked as much political activity as other generations (hint: it’s not a lack of enthusiasm). Next, Justin asks Nathan about his book (which he co-authored with his father) Boomers to Millennials: Moving America Forward, where he points out the importance of taking action and a first step, not only in the political process, but in all aspects of life.

Elio Sabo is the founder of Stax Agency - a digital agency aimed at producing top digital and social media content production for sport brands and athletes - and the co-founder of Athlete’s Stance - a short form content YouTube channel which he founded with his friend and business partner Johann Djorou.

Elio and Justin sit down to talk about the different role athletics have on European v. American culture, as well as the different viewpoint both societies have on entrepreneurship. Elio then discusses his path towards founding Stax and partnering with Johann, including all of the free work he needed to do to gain Johann’s trust.

The conversation finishes off with Elio talking about how he has dealt with doubt and hate from others, as well as the top pieces of advice he’d give to those looking to venture into the world of entrepreneurship.

In this episode, Justin speaks with John Dewan, the co-founder of STATS Inc. and Sport Info Solutions, two of the most influential companies in the world of sports analytics. John founded STATS Inc. in 1981 and worked alongside Sabermetric legend, Bill James. After selling the company in 2000, John, along with his wife Susan, co-founded The Dewan Foundation (www.dewanfoundation.org), which aims to help people dealing with poverty and homelessness with case management, education, job training, and much more.

John and Justin speak about his journey from humble beginnings all the way to becoming one of the pioneers in the world of sports, and the goals John has for the foundation moving forward.

Eddie Grochowiak sits down for Episode 7 of The Vertical Podcast. A born and raised Chicagoan, Eddie discusses his journey from Chicago to the University of Dayton, and back to Chicago to co-found two companies - Go Empire (a full-service sport agency firm) and Groho Group (a Chicago-based real estate company co-founded w/his sister). Eddie first speaks about his leap of faith - leaving law school and the more traditional path towards becoming a sport agent and co-founding a company of his own. Eddie also speaks to how he overcomes self-doubt and outside haters, the importance of relationships with others and (more importantly) yourself, and much, much more, including advice for young people making the leap or thinking about entering the world of entrepreneurship.

Casino. You think of slot machines, blackjack, and losing money. But when talking to Paarul, casino doesn’t remind of Las Vegas, but a relatively unknown dancing art form originating from Cuba. Paarul and Justin talk about this art form and how it’s shaped her life since moving the U.S. The pair also discuss how moving a lot as a child in India has taught her how to easily adapt to new people and situations, a skill that led her to the discovery of casino and starting her Facebook blog “Humans of Casino” - where she has written about the diverse and interesting stories of others that participate in the Florida casino scene. A beautiful conversation that will surely interest you and teach you something new.