Finding Your Niche

In today's episode of Finding Your Niche, I shared a conversation with Mike Arnold, the CMO of Flo Water, a brand on a mission to share clean, cool water with everyone across the United States. In the show we primarily discuss what Flo Water is and how its marketing strategy has shifted away from B2B and towards B2C because of COVID-19. To get in touch with Mike you can do so below: Mike's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-s-arnold/ ----- Our Website: Willowcreekmedia.com Jake's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakekranz/ Subscribe to Finding Your Niche: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/finding-your-niche/id1513604181

In today's episode of Finding Your Niche, I shared a conversation with Jordan Lundell and Tyler Webb, two freelance creatives from the Twin Cities that are on a similar path as me. In the show, we discuss our lives, careers, fears, strengths, and weaknesses, and explore what we're all up to right now as we head into 2021. To get in touch with Jordan and Tyler you can do so below. -- Jordan's Instagram: @jordanlundell Tyler's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylermwebb/ ----- Our Website: Willowcreekmedia.com Jake's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakekranz/

In today's episode of Finding Your Niche, I shared a conversation with Eric Lee O'Brien, the Co-Founder and CEO of Snowledge, the only app you need on the mountain. Eric started his career interested in law, but always had a passion for the outdoors and being on the slopes. In 2013 he stepped into Snowledge full time and has been building its brand and their following ever since. To download Snowledge, visit Apple's App Store, the Google Play Store, or click below: Apple App Store: https://apple.co/2HytyE4 Google Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=co.snowledge&hl=en ----- Our Website: Willowcreekmedia.com Jake's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakekranz/

In today's episode, I had the pleasure of sitting down with a well-known name in the CPG space. His name is Justin Gold and he is the founder of the famous brand Justin's which makes high-quality nut butter that you can find just about anywhere you shop. In the show, we talked about his founding story, what he's done to find his people out in Colorado, and what the future holds for him and his brand. This is his story… ----- Justin's Website: http://www.justins.com/ Buy some nut butter here: https://shop.justins.com/ ----- Our Website: Willowcreekmedia.com Jake's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakekranz/

In today's episode, I took another step in my journey to find my niche and did an overview of what I've learned about marketing in the last few months / years. Let me know what you think! Here's a link to a good video I did a while ago with Scott Paul from Wooly about Word of Mouth and referral marketing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZiXdz1VLaI&t=2s ----- Our Website: Willowcreekmedia.com Jake's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakekranz/ Subscribe to Finding Your Niche: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/finding-your-niche/id1513604181

In today's episode of Finding Your Niche, I was joined by a friend of mine, Mick White, who is the founder of 100 Year Manifesto, his life and business coaching business. Mick is one of the most humble, disarming people I know and today we did a deep dive into what it means to find your niche in life and what you can do if you haven't found it yet. Be sure to go check out his son Macallister's YouTube channel at Macallister Ultimate. I hope you enjoy ----- Mick's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/100yearmanifesto/ 100 Year Manifesto: https://www.100yearmanifesto.com/ Macallister Ultimate: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvZHQUodk8tQsnJLkzdg2YA ----- Our Website: Willowcreekmedia.com Jake's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakekranz/ Subscribe to Finding Your Niche: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/finding-your-niche/id1513604181

In today's episode of Finding Your Niche, I was joined by Brian Bosché, the co-founder of Slope a collaborative marketing software that was acquired by SmartSheet in 2019. He's also the host of CreativeBTS, a podcast that goes behind the scenes with marketing and creative leaders to discuss their campaigns, strategies, and projects. Thanks for listening and I hope you enjoy :) ----- Brian's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianpbosche/ Brian's Twitter: https://twitter.com/BrianPBosche Brian's Podcast: https://creativebts.com/ ----- Our Website: Willowcreekmedia.com Jake's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakekranz/

In today's episode I wanted to try something a little different and share some things that I've been learning and what I'm doing to find my personal niche in life. Today I wanted to talk about introversion and extroversion and how those two seemingly opposite ends of a spectrum have played out in my life. I hope you enjoy… Link to good video about introversion and extroversion from ASAPScience: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfjN15zsPyQ ----- Our Website: Willowcreekmedia.com Jake's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakekranz/ Subscribe to Finding Your Niche: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/finding-your-niche/id1513604181

In today's episode of Finding Your Niche, I shared a conversation with Nick Lamothe, the Chief Marketing Officer at Legends, a fashion-forward athletic apparel brand based out of California. Nick has worked for brands like Reebok and Adidas and ran his own e-commerce agency for a while with some business partners. In the show we discuss the differences between branding and direct marketing as well as what brings them together. I hope you enjoy :) ----- Nick's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-lamothe-b687a6a/ Legend's Website: https://thelegendsbrand.com/ ----- Our Website: Willowcreekmedia.com Jake's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakekranz/

In today's episode of Finding Your Niche, I shared a conversation with Mark Lewis, a multi-company CMO that was most recently at Tres Agaves, a Tequila company based out of California. Mark is an incredibly experienced marketer having overseen analytics and marketing for brands such as Mitsubishi Motors, Blue Shield of California, NBA 2k, Premier Protein, adn several others. In today's episode, we shared a conversation about what truly goes into a company's marketing strategy and what can be measured to ensure it's successful. Thanks for listening and I hope you enjoy. ----- Mark's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sfmarklewis/ ----- Our Website: Willowcreekmedia.com Jake's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakekranz/

In today's episode of Finding Your Niche, I shared a conversation with James Carbary the Founder of Sweet Fish Media, a podcast agency based out of Central Florida. James and his team founded Sweet Fish Media in early 2015 and transitioned a few times before becoming a podcast agency focusing on helping B2B brands, especially SaaS products, connect with their customers through content-based networking. James is one of the main reasons I started my podcast and it was my absolute pleasure to have him on the show today. I hope you enjoy :) ----- James's Info: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamescarbary/ Website: https://sweetfishmedia.com/ ----- Our Website: Willowcreekmedia.com Jake's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakekranz/ Subscribe to Finding Your Niche: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/finding-your-niche/id1513604181

In today's episode of Finding Your Niche, I shared a conversation with Mike Fogarty, the founder, and CEO of Choice, a better for you food market with 3 locations in Colorado. Choice has placed a strong emphasis on technology and innovation since its inception and because of this, they've developed a strong brand and have been able to rapidly grow in the over-crowded brick and mortar retail industry. This is their story… ----- Our Website: Willowcreekmedia.com Jake's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakekranz/ Subscribe to Finding Your Niche: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/finding-your-niche/id1513604181

In today's episode of Finding Your Niche, I shared a conversation with Matt Baxter, the Founder and CEO of Wedge, an asynchronous video solution for HR firms and large organizations. Matt is an entrepreneur through and through and is the host of the Matt Baxter show which focuses on helping people find their purpose. His SaaS product, Wedge, is an asynchronous video solution that prospective employees use as a part of the hiring process to introduce themselves to recruiting teams. I've been getting really curious about asynchronous communication recently following my chats with Chris Joyce and Scott Paul, so this was an interesting conversation for me today. Here's his story... ----- Our Website: Willowcreekmedia.com Jake's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakekranz/

In today's episode of Finding Your Niche, I shared a conversation with Connor Griggs, the Founder of Tropical Tundra, a clothing brand on a mission to save the world's nature from the tropics to the tundra. Connor started his career after graduating from the University of Minnesota at Mankato in 2014 and was initially a consultant working with medical device companies. Later he started his own consultancy and after a set of unfortunate events in his life he decided to take a trip down to South America where he had a spiritual awakening and has since been on a mission to save the Earth's forests and the animals within them. Here's his story... ----- Connor's Info LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/connorgriggs/ Website: https://tropicaltundra.com/ ----- Our Website: Willowcreekmedia.com Jake's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakekranz/

This episode of Finding Your Niche was an absolute vibe from start to finish. I sat down with Xander Kazanowski the Founder and CEO of Wurk an early stage Odd Jobs staffing firm based out of Chicago. Xander dropped out of college last year and starting connecting two ends of the odd job market, people with wurk, and wurkers. It was a blast sitting down with him and some of the other boys on their team in today's episode as they navigate the early stages of their company. Here's their story… ----- Our Website: Willowcreekmedia.com Jake's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakekranz/ Subscribe to Finding Your Niche: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/finding-your-niche/id1513604181

In today's episode of Finding Your Niche, I shared a conversation with Chris Joyce, the Founder, and CEO of Gusher. This episode is a super dense, value-packed interview of Chris's takes on some questions centered around entrepreneurship. I hope you enjoy -- Chris's Contact Info: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dealrules/ Website: https://gusher.co/

In today's episode, I shared a conversation with Josh Fedie, the Founder of SalesReach, a buyer enablement interface built for B2B Brands. Josh spent several years of his career working for agencies and later started his own. Unfortunately a few years into his journey at his agency he simultaneously lost several major clients and was in the process of closing down shop when he revisited the buyer enablement tool that he built and started thinking about how he could turn it into a business. Flash forward to now and Josh and the team over at SalesReach have raised over 2 million dollars in Venture Capital and are very much so on their way as a company. This is his story… -- Josh's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshfedie/ SalesReach Website: https://www.salesreach.io/

In today's episode of Finding Your Niche, I shared a conversation with Alex Varouhas, the Co-Founder and CEO of Avocadish an avocado bar that recently launched in Dinky Town. Alex started his “career” and work-life as a professional gamer playing Halo when he decided to drop out of high school. A few years later, without a high school degree, he moved to Minnesota and attended a community college before ultimately going to the U of MN. In 2018, Alex took a bus trip while traveling in Portugal where he met his business partner and the idea of Avocadish was born. This is his story...

In today's episode of Finding Your Niche, I shared a conversation with Bret Caretsky the CEO and Co-Founder at Unicorn Drinks Bret is a former lacrosse player from the University of Maryland and U-Mass Amherst. Coming out of college he jumped into a career in consulting and in 2014 he launched the Montauk Juice Factory in Montauk New York. It was here while working on the launch of The End in Brooklyn that Bret and his business partner came up with the idea of The Unicorn. -- Bret's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bret-caretsky-86043617/

In today's episode of Finding Your Niche, I shared a conversation with Liz Tunheim Sheets, the CMO at Tunheim. Liz is a University of Minnesota graduate and started her career working as a freelance marketer while working for Destination X Television back in the early 2000s. From there she worked in experiential marketing for Best Buy and later worked as a Social Media Manager at Spyder Trap before ultimately coming back to work for Tunheim, the communications company that her mom, Kathy Tunheim, founded 30 years ago. -- Liz's Contact Info: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liztunheim/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/liztunheim?lang=en Website: https://tunheim.com/

In today's episode of Finding Your Niche, I shared a conversation with Alex French, the Co-Founder and CEO of Bizzy a cold brew coffee brand based out of the Twin Cities. Alex started his career working as an investment banking analyst at Lazard, then spent a few years working as an analyst for two of Minnesota's largest companies, Best Buy and General Mills. In his time at General Mills, Alex shifted into a role working for 301 Inc. General Mills's venture capital arm and brand elevator. While working at General Mills, Alex began home-brewing cold-brew with his Co-Founder Andrew and in a few years they were working together full-time on a mission to brew the world's best cup of coffee.

In today's episode of Finding Your Niche, I shared a conversation with Steve Pacinelli, the Chief Marketing Officer at BombBomb a software service that enables companies to build better business relationships with video messaging via email. Think about receiving an email as a video instead of simply words on a screen. BombBomb is a pretty fascinating product and Steve is a great and was a pleasure to have on the show. I hope you enjoy :) -- Steve's Info: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenpacinelli/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/stevepacinelli Website: https://bombbomb.com/c/

In today's episode of Finding Your Niche, I shared a conversation with Dan Slagen, the Chief Marketing Officer at ClimaCell a Weather Intelligence Platform which enables businesses to forecast weather, so they can proactively optimize their business plans. Think companies like Uber, the United States Air Force, and Delta. Dan is a super interesting guy with a ton of marketing knowledge, and I personally got a lot out of this one... I hope you enjoy :) -- Dan's Info: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-slagen-718675a/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/danslagen?lang=en His Book: Understanding Start-Up CEO's

Allison Phillips is the current President and CEO of the National Podcast Association. Her career started in Hollywood following her graduation from college and she slowly found her way back to Milwaukee where she launched EDGE Sports and began building her media company, EDGE Marketing and Media which is home to the EDGE Podcast Network and soon to be EDGE radio. Her team has most recently launched the Wisconsin Podcast Association and is in the process of launching the National Podcast Association as well. Allison is a fearless leader with expertise in marketing and media and she was a pleasure to have on the show. I hope you enjoy :) -- EDGE Marketing and Media - https://edgemke.com Wisconsin Podcast Association - http://wisconsinpodcast.com Allison's LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/allison-phillips-a84b2170/

Today's episode of Finding Your Niche is a fun recording from a live event a few weeks ago hosted by the Wisconsin Podcast Association. In the show, I sat down with Ross Overline, the Co-founder and CEO of Scholars of Finance to discuss the founding of Scholars of Finance and all of the great work that the rest of the SOF team is doing across the country right now. Connect with Ross below: Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rossoverline/ Website: https://scholarsoffinance.org/

In today's episode of Finding Your Niche, I sat down with Scott Paul the founder and CEO of Wooly inc., a marketing software company based out of Utah, to discuss his theory behind C-Commerce, and the digital word of mouth platform that he and his team are building right now called Wooly. -- Scott's Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottpaul2/ Website: https://www.wooly.com/

Welcome to the very first episode of Finding Your Niche!! I wanted to start by thanking everyone that's supported me so far as I've been preparing to launch this show and Willow Creek Media and I'm excited to get this show going with a bang. In today's show, I had on one of the highest energy people I know, Mark Samuel, the Founder, and CEO of IWON Organics a plant-based protein snack company out of California. In the episode, we dig into Mark's story and the big things that are happening over at IWON organics and we have a fruitful discussion around the future of plant-based foods. -- Mark's Contact Info: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markalansamuel/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarkAlanSamuel Website: https://iwonorganics.com/

Hello and welcome to Finding Your Niche! I'll be your host, Jake Kranz, and in this podcast, you will find a mix of interviews, conversations, and wonderful stories about how individuals and companies found or are finding their niches. If this sounds interesting to you, I encourage you to follow or favorite this podcast and in the meantime, I'm looking forward to creating these for all of you.