Adam McGraw, co-founder and CEO of Crew, shares his journey of finding his passion and purpose in life and how it led him to create a support ecosystem for leaders. He emphasizes the importance of defining success for oneself and not relying on external indicators like titles and awards. McGraw discusses the challenges of monetizing one's passion, pivoting from a stable career, and avoiding burnout. He highlights the need for a judge-free zone where leaders can be their authentic selves and find meaning and fulfillment in both their personal and professional lives. In this conversation, Adam McGraw and Jason P. Carroll discuss the importance of trying new things and making intentional mistakes in order to learn and grow. They emphasize that it's okay to pivot and prioritize stability and well-being if a chosen path becomes unsustainable. They also highlight the value of patience in achieving long-term success and fulfillment. Adam shares insights about his startup, Crew, and the importance of building a diverse and supportive leadership community. The conversation concludes with a fun rapid-fire round of questions.

In this episode of the Work Cultured podcast, Jason P. Carroll interviews Jeff Helfgott, CEO of Boardroom Styling Lounge. Jeff shares his journey from a career in computer programming to the military and eventually becoming a multi-unit operator and investor. He also discusses a mistake he made in leadership and the importance of emotional intelligence. Jeff emphasizes the value of relationships in business and the challenges of building a strong leadership team. He recommends the book 'The Comfort Crisis' by Michael Easter and highlights the unique experience offered by Boardroom Styling Lounge.

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I talk to Evan Erdberg, co-founder of Proximity Learning, a virtual education company. Erdberg discusses his background in education and how he started the company to address inequities in the education system. He talks about the challenges of starting a virtual education company and the company's growth over the years. Erdberg also shares some of the mistakes he made while growing the company and some of its biggest wins, including providing access to education for under-resourced schools. 

Evan Erdberg has over 16 years of online K-12 and Higher Education sales and Human Capital Management experience. He is the President and founder of Proximity Learning Inc., an industry leading K-12 virtual teacher staffing company that acts as the HR backup plan for over 100 school districts nationwide placing thousands of teachers in vacant classrooms. Prior to joining PLI, Evan held a Director level position at Teachscape, managing one of the largest implementations in the country of principal certification and teacher evaluation systems that incorporated student data.

Jeffery has built a company with a “serve others first” mentality at its core. Putting the right people in the right seats is key. We talk about the audition method as a primary tool for finding the right fit since a majority of his employees are developers. Then we talk about transitioning those folks into the company’s culture, vision, and values. 

Through DevOps & Azure, he likes helping .Net teams be their best. High quality, short cycle time. The development team should be a place of joy, not a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth. Resources: blog @ jeffreypalermo.com - podcast @ www.AzureDevOps.show - company @ www.clear-measure.com

Travis’s mantra is “two is better than one.” We talk about how that overarching theme came about and how it impacts the culture of 49 Financial in a profound way. Oh, and he almost died and had brain surgery…that also played a small role in his story! 

The financial industry has been in need of a major revolution for quite some time now. Somewhere along the way the deep care for another person and their finances was replaced by greed and inflated egos. Today, new advisors are thrown into a career with one of the lowest retention rates in the United States due primarily to being isolated and abandoned as they begin their practices. 

Finances are one of the most important pieces of people's lives. They have the ability to bring overwhelming joy and peace while also enormous amounts of stress and discomfort. For something this important, it is our belief that walking through life with people and their finances is one of the most needed and rewarding ways to live out one's professional calling.

In this Work Cultured podcast episode, I interview Howard Baker, President and CEO of Greater Texas Credit Union and Aggieland Credit Union. Baker discusses his background in the financial industry, managing risk, work culture, and leadership mistakes. He emphasizes the importance of valuing people as more than just assets in the workplace and creating a positive work culture. The conversation also touches on the competitive and fragmented nature of the financial services industry and the benefits of credit unions.

A 29-year credit union veteran, Baker brings with him 15 years of experience from Security Service FCU in San Antonio where he held various leadership positions including 11 years as EVP & Chief of Staff.  Prior to that, he worked for the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) in various high-level examiner and analyst positions for over 14 years.

Baker graduated from Texas State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Finance & Economics.  He served as chairman of several boards, including the North San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, LeadSA, New Braunfels Christian Academy, and Seton Home.  He is a member of the McCoy School of Business Advisory Board at Texas State University, and former treasurer of the Greater New Braunfels Economic Development Foundation.

Penny Rychetsky, Board Chairman for Greater TEXAS Federal Credit Union said, “Howard brings a wealth of leadership, knowledge and a strong commitment to GTFCU and to the credit union philosophy. The credit union is fortunate to find a candidate with Howard’s experience and talent to lead us into the next chapter.”

Eric’s startup, Onramp, is a unique way for eCommerce companies to get to the next level with focused funding. They take great care of their employees, even to the point of giving stock options right off the bat. All that and plenty more covered in this episode.

Startup executive with a proven record of success exceeding business goals in multinational and start-up technology companies and a leader in early-stage software startups that have since generated more than $400M in shareholder returns through successful exits.

Proven ability to conceive and build revenue-generating businesses from the ground-up across the consumer, SMB, and enterprise markets. Expertise in each aspect of the product life cycle from strategic direction, product concept and development, marketing, business development, and operational implementation. Demonstrated success in building creative solutions and developing teams to penetrate new markets that transform P&L results.

Leader in creating innovative business models and products that support enterprise and SMB markets with private-label, OEM capabilities, and direct-to-consumer markets with compelling service and value propositions.

In 2014, Ty found himself paralyzed in a hospital bed and wasn’t sure if he’d ever walk again. The experience of not knowing how to make the best decision was overwhelming, so as he healed, he made it his mission to change the way consumers interact with healthcare. Listen in for his inspiring story.

He started as a Sales Manager in SocialClimb Working with industry groups including AAOE, AOC, AAOS, and OrthoForum to understand practice needs and deliver the marketing features and solutions they want.

Ty says: I enjoy the process of building innovative products, validating them with customers and delivering real value that moves a business into a strong position in its market.

I am a positive person with an abundance mentality who enjoys working with customers and partners. I enjoy learning and being challenged in the process of building businesses and helping others.

My wife and daughters are the center of my world and I love spending time with them. I aspire to become a better golfer and love to mountain bike.

Upswing is on a mission to change higher ed in profound ways. Even though the mission alone gets employees on board, Melvin puts culture at the forefront of his thought. Whether it’s a dedicated culture committee, all-hands offsites, or equipping employees for promotion…even if it’s outside of the company, he’s got a winning formula.

“Advocate for Nontraditional Students”

Melvin Hines, the co-founder of Upswing, sat on the steps of the classrooms his parents were in taking college classes at night as non-traditional students. Many years later he sat down with The Chronicle of Higher Education's Goldie Blumenstyk to talk about founding Upswing and why we're on a mission to create Real Results for Real Students.

These guys have revolutionized restauranting with state-of-the-art technology and a people-first foundation. They put their money where their mouth is and truly take care of their employees in a unique way. They each share tons of insights in one of the most unique episodes yet.

Previous to being the CEO and Co-founder of Tso Chinese, he was a member of the board of the “Greatest Austin Asian Chamber of Commerce” referring to a leading partner for driving local economic growth for businesses with ties to Asia and Asian Americans.

He also hosted the 2nd Annual Keep Feeding Austin Golf Tournament. With his friend, Jae Kim of Chi'Lantro, they have donated over $400,000 worth of food since the Covid pandemic started in 2020. Through their charitable initiatives, #tsogiving, and #chilantrocares they are planing to continue to feed and support the community.