El Toro Podcast

Buckle up, El Toro is back for Season 2! On this episode, we welcome back El Toro CEO Stacy Griggs. Stacy is a high energy technology executive with strong leadership skills. Stacy has built and managed high-performing teams of sales professionals, engineers and software developers while working in Internet Advertising, Cloud Computing, Managed Hosting and Shared Hosting for over a decade. This episode's featured spirit is Smoke Wagon Bourbon Whiskey out of Las Vegas, ringing in at 114 Proof.   Hosts: David Stadler Ari Kruger Jeremy Ficklin

On this edition of the El Toro Podcast, we welcome Ricky Mason to the studio. Ricky has an amazing history. Beginning with an interest in robotics as a child, he found a path that lead him through working for the United Launch Alliance (NASA), the CIA, real estate investment, agricultural technology and founder of BrAinSTEM, a startup offering STEM-based learning for students. Join us for another round! This episode's featured spirit is Old Grand Dad 114 Proof Straight Bourbon Whiskey Hosts: David StadlerChris McConnellJeremy Ficklin

Ben Smock is a Louisville, Kentucky native. As Director of Development for Canopy, the nonprofit organization making Kentucky first in Good Business, he leads by integrating social consciousness with organizational success, and is committed to a compassionate and thoughtful approach to state-wide economic development. Ben holds an MBA from the University of Louisville, and B.S. degree in Business Management from the University of Kentucky. Ben has an abundance of experience in the nonprofit with years of experience from Norton Hospital Foundation, Metro United Way, and now Canopy. Ben is also a graduate of Leadership Louisville's Ignite Louisville program, working alongside Kentucky Refugee Ministries to win the Ignite Louisville Challenge. Ben is proud to be a Louisvillian and help make big things happen for our community.   This episode's featured spirit is Old Forester, 86 proof Hosts: David Stadler Chris McConnell Jeremy Ficklin

This week, comedian and outlaw tequila tycoon Alex Reymundo breaks agave with us. While we're at it, we talk business. Tequila business, comedy business, technology business, branding business. You get it, so hit play and find out where the party's at. This episode's very special featured spirits are Number Juan's Blanco, Reposado and Extra Anejo   (...that's right, we've cheated on bourbon, thricefold) Guest: Alex Reymundo, Number JUAN Tequila Hosts: David StadlerChris McConnellJeremy Ficklin

On this, the 28th installment of The El Toro Podcast, we welcome James Breeding to the party. James discusses his time as a referee, his experiences with the Louisville Bats baseball team, his involvement in bringing Louisville Slugger stadium to life, balancing work and family and wisdom he has earned along the way. This episode's featured spirit is Maker's Mark Hosts: David Stadler Chris McConnell Jeremy Ficklin

It's derby week in Louisville, "Decadent and Depraved" as described by Hunter S. Thompson, and to celebrate, Louisville-native and entrepreneur Matt Case leans back on the El Toro Podcast to discuss his path, his business ventures, disruptive products, failing fast, and, of course, reckless optimism. This week's featured bourbon is Four Roses Single Barrel

This week, we are joined by El Toro developer Dustin Doom, aka Dr Doom. We talk about his background in explosive ordinance disposal, heroism, life choices and his experience here at El Toro, as well as his past career as super-villain. Join us for another great El Toro Podcast!

Episode 25, the Silver El Toro Podcast! We keep it in the family this time, bringing in members of the El Toro team to share a snapshot of their lives with you, the fans. Spend a double-shot hour-and-a-half with us talking bourbon, meat, self-destructive hot sauce and pepper consumption, table tennis, a top five movies rundown, COGNATES and, believe it or not, some of the best work-life advice you will hear all week (We promise!) with a cross section of the El Toro elite. This episode's featured bourbon: 2016 Jim Beam Double Oak Hosts: David StadlerChris McConnellJeremy Ficklin Guests: Chris McConnellJeremy FicklinJonathan KaplanQuint HeadyMaurice WilliamsMariana Humburg

This week, we are joined by Louisville comic, promoter and manager Jamie Utley, sharing behind-the-scenes insights into the world of stand-up comedy, owning and managing comedy clubs, street team marketing, & the realities of being a touring comic. Do you need jokes, anecdoes and bourbon? Join us for one of our most enjoyable hours!

El Toro Podcast #23

Tenacity, Discipline, Control, Determination, Zen…Is this episode featuring an expertly trained ninja? An especially ascetic monk? You're not even warm, and neither is Kiara Loucks—our own future bobsled hall-of-famer. One of El Toro's newest additions pardons her abstemious Olympic lifestyle to partake in libations and conversations. What does it take to become an Olympic hopeful? What does it even take to get considered? Hard work, planning, and a little bit of adversity to start. Grab the bottle that tastes just right but can also clean a wound to keep up with the hot takes on this gold medal dialogue.  

John Mayer, Dave Matthews Band, Lukas Nelson, Rachael Yamagata, Jason Mraz...Is that enough name drops, because John Alagia has more in the chamber? World renowned producer John Alagia swung by the studio and just happened to have Earl Bud Lee, Grammy award winning writer (including the song "Friends in Low Places"), tag along. Unfortunately, the Grammys were too heavy to lug with, but they made up for it with tales of the tape and scribbled hits on the back of napkins, as they've both lost count of the millions of records sold and streams accounted for. How do you get started turning your passion into a career? What's sync licensing look like in 2019, and how can a person in the recording arts even make a dime? Is client experience really that important if you're the best at what you do? Wash down all those answers with a nice highball or something a bit more neat. Stads and Auz throw down with two of the heaviest hitting titans in the entrepreneurial world of music.

JK Freakin' McKnight, enough said...But, more deserves to be said. The bourbon flowed, and a Patagonia dudded-up former Captain (Yes, we said former) told the El Toro crew a tale of where his ship finally docked. The Artist formerly known as Captain McKnight and the only two-time guest of the show will surely endear you to the current revolution between business and philanthropy. Social entrepreneurship ventures and B-corps are popping up all across the nation, and JK, through Man of the Land (manoftheland.org), is at the crest of the movement. Drop a splash in your cup, subscribe, and take a listen to the Art of Impact.    

“If you look good, you feel good, If you feel good, you play good, If you play good, they pay good,” Deion “Primetime” Sanders so effectively articulated the importance of confidence and perception. Jordan Yocum, Top 5 clothier for Tom James to some but haberdasher to Stadler, dropped by the eltoro.com studios to ditch the measuring tape in exchange for some of that liquid gold, going by the name of Eagle Rare. Enhanced by a bourbon “epitomizing the bald eagle”, the adtech guys pick a true salesman's brain about relationship selling, outsourcing, time management, and tips for both business and life. Pour yourself a glass of freedom, hit the subscribe button, and listen to how you can create an independent lifestyle of your own.

Clay Cook swung by the eltoro.com studios and told the tale of how he went from bank overdraft fees to climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro to paraglide off—all provided to him by his consistent drive and undying work ethic behind a lens. Crafting metal band logos, punching sharks, embracing your hometown, and creating custom designed gifts of bourbon are all fair game on this week's episode. Pop the synthetic cork off a well-aged Evan Williams, and join the boys for another hour of power.

It's not every day that the El Toro crew sits down with a former CEO, and definitely not one that was at the helm of a company founded in 1854. Claire Alagia details how she balanced legacy management practices with moving Bittner's, a world-class furniture company producing handcrafted heirlooms, into a more modern environment. Plus, we dig into how Claire adapted the skillset she honed at Bittner's for the real estate world. The secret...it has to do with people. Listen in, and hear how you can lift the personnel around you today.

The El Toro crew sits down with John Timmons to talk about the rise and fall of one of the top music stores in America. We find out that sometimes the best way to succeed is to just look around and see what else is working. Emulate the leaders, but try to improve on what's missing or what's wrong with the model.    

Gender does nothing to affect a person's motivation and resourcefulness when exceling in business and tech, at least as far as National Sales Rep and Ad Operations savant Crystal Norman is concerned. If there ever is an obstacle that presents itself, Crystal always has the knack to contort what would be a roadblock turned excuse of others into a historical landmark on her trail to the upper echelon of a male-dominated industry. Her chat with the El Toro podcast team went down as smooth as the Weller wheated bourbon poured throughout. Bruise your drink with a bit of ice and listen to a new perspective of the adtech and sales industry.  

Chief Data Officer of El Toro, Richard Teachout, explains how chainsaws, zombies, and escape rooms helped push him to take an entrepreneurial leap of faith. With everything on the line, Rich put his money where his passion was and never looked back. Fostered by his love of PC booter text quest games (and his need to hack them), his systemic approach to puzzle solving has led to ever-evolving iterations of whatever challenges he takes on, whether it's widening niches in a $9 billion Halloween market or helping steer the development behind the most hyper-targeted ad tech company in existence. Listen in and be ready to take over the world by the end of this eltoro.com production.   533115    

While sippin' some Black Saddle Bourbon with Stadler and Auz, Bob Bailey lays out not only how to get your brand out there, but he paints a picture of how to frame the most memorable image possible. What will your friends, employees, and colleagues remember when you leave the room? Tune in, and learn the secrets straight from an entrepreneurial problem solver, who's turned his thirst for solutions into a business and a way of life.

What does Paris Hilton, Ashton Kutcher, Nicholas “Loki” Jacobsen, T-Mobile, and the United States Secret Service have in common?…Everything. Pour yourself some Johnny Drum Private Stock from Willett Distillery, and hang with the El Toro crew while they pick the brain of a master hacker. In under an hour, you'll learn how less than 20 lines of code can compromise an entire business and how your company can avoid those security pitfalls.

A well-mannered, southern business titan pulled up a chair to teach the El Toro gang how to lead, manage, succeed, and pretty much how to live life in general. When Jude Thompson isn't being named CEO of massive companies, he's starting new ones. He sips a whiskey blend and reflects on what's really important about life and business--people. We never found him a white glove, but he's still got his white Bronco. Listen in to unravel the secrets of the 4-wheeled approach of a simple, but fulfilling, legacy.

A longtime El Toro friend, Andy Huenefeld, stops by bearing gifts, so the crew sits down and talks shop with one of the owner/operators of Sour Mash Tours, Louisville's first and only provider of guided, walking Bourbon tours. Grab a glass and hear how an entrepreneur can discover a niche, the future of bourbon, and the lavish exploits of Kramer when he's not on the mic.  

The team sits down with JK McKnight, the founder and captain of Forecastle Music Festival in Louisville, Kentucky. An event marketing and promotion expert, JK gives the history of Forecastle and what it takes to promote a music festival in this day and age. Sit back, grab a bourbon and learn all the tips and tricks of event marketing on the eighth episode of the El Toro Podcast.

Taking a break from strictly business, the El Toro Podcast team interviews Dusty Bo and Luke Powers, two musicians from Louisville, KY and friends of El Toro. The two share their stories of moving to LA to start their careers and the similarities of entrepreneurship. The team plays some music, shares an Angel's Envy Rye and talks shop on the seventh episode of the El Toro Podcast.

The El Toro Podcast team discusses branding and storytelling with Jason Loehr from Inspire Brands. Jason is a branding expert who has worked with companies like Brown-Forman, Humana, Arby's and Buffalo Wild Wings. Jason provides his top tips for startups breaking into the digital space and gives storytelling tips on this episode of the El Toro Podcast.

The El Toro Podcast team interviews CEO of El Toro, Stacy Griggs. Discussions are around the recent allegations by President Donald Trump that Google is suppressing conservative news organizations, recent laws regarding political reporting and more politics!

The El Toro Podcast team sits down with former Senior Associate Athletic Director for Development at University of Louisville and founder of the Jurich Group, Mark Jurich. We discuss sports marketing, the use of GeoFraming technology, and the decline in game attendance among millenials in this episode of the El Toro Podcast.

The El Toro Podcast team discusses the use cases of blockchain technology in digital advertising with in-house cryptocurrency, blockchain expert Jared Paris. With the cost of Bitcoin and Ethereum dropping dramatically, what does that mean for the future of cryptocurrency? How will tokens and cryptocurrencies affect us in the future? All that and more in this episode of the El Toro Podcast!

El Toro, the only cookie-free IP Targeting solution, is super excited to release the first episode of the El Toro Podcast! The first episode gets our team's feet wet and is an introduction to the topics that will be discussed on the podcast. Kramer Caswell and David Stadler discuss the largest private bourbon bar in Kentucky located at El Toro. Austin Whitely showcases his radio and sound engineering skills. The team investigates vanity metrics, ad fraud and more on the first episode.

The El Toro Podcast team interviews Co-Founder Sean Stafford in the second episode. Discussions include the history of El Toro, domaining, advertising technology, and viewability!