LA Business Podcast with Robert Brill

Please welcome Alexander Melton, CEO & Founder of Wyrmix, a creative technology engineering studio based out of Dallas, TX that that leverages their partnerships to create physical and digital products, connected experiences, and interactive environments.

Please welcome Emilia M. D'Anzica and Sabina M. Pons, Authors of "Pressing ON as a Tech Mom: How Tech Industry Mothers Set Goals, Define Boundaries & Raise the Bar for Success." This book is not just about women in tech. It's about technology moms and the struggles and triumphs that they experienced throughout their careers, as well as allies of tech moms who want to support this movement.

Jason White is an expert in the federal contracting process. He has nearly 13 years' experience helping businesses succeed with government contracts. Jason is the AUTHORITY in formulating strategies to increase APPROVAL in Federal Government contract bids. He equips entrepreneurs, business owners, 9-5ers, and anyone who desires to supply products and services to the Federal Government with the knowledge and resources to make it happen.

Please welcome Benson Tsai, CEO of Stellar Pizza. Stellar Pizza uses cutting-edge technology and advanced robotics to create an automated, touchless machine, offering a one-of-a-kind technology-driven culinary experience that bakes and serves pizza from scratch in under five minutes.

Please welcome Ron Rudzin, Founder & CEO of Saatva. Saatva has been the fastest-growing online brand in the bedroom category over the pandemic, growing to over $420M in revenue in 2021. 

Please welcome Kwini Reed, Owner of Poppy + Rose and Poppy & Seed. Kwini's path to becoming a renowned restauranteur has been untraditional, as she started her career in the entertainment industry, singing in venues throughout the country and writing music for film and TV shows.

Please welcome Dr. Chandler Sims Chang, Clinical Psychologist and CEO of Therapy Lab and Therapy Lab Kids. Therapy Lab Kids aims to address the mental health challenges families in America face by providing accessible therapy. On this episode, we will be discussing culture in the virtual workspace and avoiding burnout.

Please welcome Pavel Stepanov, CEO of Virtudesk. When he was still working as a real estate agent, hiring his first VA made him realize that virtual assistants can help save time and money, which contributes to increasing business productivity and growth.    He has been able to grow Virtudesk to over 700 employees without funding, since the cost-effectiveness of virtual assistants allows him to reinvest revenue back into the business to grow it. Now, Virtudesk has been included in this year's Inc. 5000's fastest-growing companies in the US, ranking #1068.

Please welcome Kim Estep, Founder of Women Nation, a soon to be released podcast. Kim Estep has worked in the commercial finance industry for over 22 years and attributes her success to understanding and adapting to the male professional psyche.

Please welcome Amy McCord Jones, Owner of Flower Moxie. Flower Moxie is an online business that sells flowers to DIY brides and helps them put it all together using recipes and tutorials. Flower Moxie's success shows that you can absolutely create something brave and unrepresented from scratch, keep the daily operations small, but scale the impact nationwide.   

Please welcome Kerry Siggins, CEO of StoneAge and host of the podcast Reflect Forward. StoneAge is engineering and manufacturing company of industrial cleaning equipment; and is also employee owned.   Named CEO of StoneAge at the young age of 29 years old, grown StoneAge from $8M to $60M in revenue through 3 downturns and in the process of transitioning the company from manufacturing to more of a tech company.  

Please welcome T.K. Pillan, Founder and Executive Chairman of Veggie Grill, a growing chain of plant-based restaurants. Veggie Grill is the largest 100% plant-based restaurant company in the United States. Since founding Veggie Grill in 2006, T.K. has been helping people advance their conscious food journey in an approachable and attainable manner. T.K. Pillan is also the Founding Partner of PowerPlant Partners, which invests in purpose-led companies dedicated to improving humanity and the planet. PowerPlant Partners investments include Beyond Meat, Thrive Market, Ripple Foods, REBBL, Beanfields and Vive Organics.  

Please welcome Vinayak Mahajan, Founder & CEO of GiftAFeeling Inc. - the only gifting company in the world that educates people on how to find a gift based on research done on human psychology.  

Please welcome Michael Coughlin, CEO of Apparel Company TheBlueOceanLife.com. The Blue Ocean Life Co. is a lifestyle clothing brand designed for people seeking natural ways to improve their wellness. From dealing with the devastating effects of childhood tragedy to struggling with anxiety, Blue Ocean Life Company's founder Mike Coughlin's pursuit to live a happier and healthier life has been relentless. Whether in his personal life or in his career, Mike was forced to adapt to difficult circumstances all in pursuit of a better tomorrow for himself and others while keeping the memory of his deceased older brother as his source of inspiration.  

Innovation Ecosystem is an organization offering practical tools and support to deliver a step change in innovation effectiveness. Jennifer is a leader in System Innovation, enabling organizations to solve challenging problems, and find the right solutions to build high impact change.

Please welcome Brett Cramer, Co-founder and President of The Spice Lab. The Spice Lab was developed to encourage creative cooking and make meals more flavorful. Many hours of research have gone into finding the finest salts for cooking, finishing and seasoning, and bringing them to your table.

Please welcome Myong Lee. Myong Lee is the President, Chief Operating Officer, and Co_Founder Clever Care Health Plan. With 14 years' experience in health care leadership, Myong has a proven track record in launching health care organizations. His leadership focus is in building provider relationships and contracting. Prior to founding Clever Care, Myong was instrumental in building Clover Health's provider network and overseeing claims operations. He also served as COO of Satellite Healthplan and as  CFO/COO at Inspira Health and Vice President of Payer Contracting at Agilon Health. Myong earned his Master's degree in Business Administration from Arizona State University  and his Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Finance from Franklin & Marshall College.  

Please welcome Jesse P Gilmore, CEO of Niche in Control. Jesse is an agency growth advisor for marketing agency and creative firm owners. Niche in Control gives you a blueprint for turning your marketing agency or creative firm into a growth machine. Niche in Control has taken clients that are going from $15k/month to $100k+/month within a 12 month period.   

Please welcome Lattice Hudson, Owner of Lattice & Co and a business coach, leadership mentor, and social sales expert at latticehudson.com. Lattice helps coaches start, grow, and scale profitable 6-7-figure businesses online. Lattice was born and raised in Chicago, IL and now resides in Scottsdale AZ. Lattice graduated with her Bachelors of Arts. Degree in Human Resource Management in 2015, and went on to work for multiple Fortune 50 companies in various Human Resource Leadership roles.   

Please welcome Dragos Badea, CEO of Yarooms. Yarooms is hybrid work management software that allows companies to digitize offices via an easy to use meeting room booking tool. One thing led to another and the team evolved it into a fully fledged workplace management solution that is recognized as an industry leader according to G2. Over the past 10 years he has helped multiple companies across the globe in their workplace digital transformation journey.

Please welcome J Haleem, an award-winning, nationally published commercial photographer turned bestselling author, motivational speaker, and corporate trainer. J Haleem has worked with national brands providing them with the imagery needed to market and promote their businesses. He is an Amazon bestselling author of two books, I Won't Starve and U Won't Starve: Key Principles of Entrepreneur Development. As a motivational speaker, J Haleem uses his inspirational and empowering message to help transform, inspire, and expose the minds of audiences nationwide.

Please welcome Craig Dempsey. Craig is the co-founder and chief executive officer of Biz Latin Hub Group, Integrated accounting, law and recruitment firm an organization dedicated to assisting investors in Latin America and the Caribbean via the likes of company formation and tax advisory, as well as through recruitment and payroll outsourcing. Craig holds a degree in mechanical engineering, a master's degree in project management, and other certifications covering logistics, personal management and government administration. Craig is an Australian military veteran and has been deployed overseas on numerous occasions.

Please welcome Ismael Wrixen, Executive Chairman of FE International. Ismael comes from a background in large-cap M&A investment banking, where he executed several high-profile deals, namely in the technology sector. He has grown FE International into an award-winning global M&A advisor of SaaS, e-commerce, and content businesses, completing acquisitions for thousands of founders, owners, and acquirers and advising on over $1B in lifetime acquisitions.

CEO and Co-founder at DMarket, a cross-chain marketplace to trade all possible NFTs and technology for building metaverses.

Please welcome Adam Malovani, Founder of World of Sound Productions, providing unforgettable outdoor headphone experiences. Adam is a Serial Entrepreneur with a successful track record of founding, building and selling companies.

Please welcome Anthony Zhang, Co-Founder and CEO of Vinovest. Anthony Zhang recently turned 26 but has already successfully built and sold two companies, secured funding from Mark Cuban and Mark Burnett, and received a Thiel fellowship grant. Not only that, but he has worked hard to come back from a devastating accident that left him paralyzed from the neck down. Anthony is now the founder and CEO of his third company: Vinovest, a platform that has been described as “the Robinhood of wine investing” and is making it easier for people around the world to access this wealth-building asset class.

Please welcome Doug Brown, CEO of Business Success Factors and Sales Revenue Growth Expert. Doug is a nationally recognized business revenue growth expert and former President of Sales and Training at Chet Holmes and Tony Robbins companies, and he helps companies optimize their sales processes and increase their sales by over 850%.

Please welcome Gabe Gottlieb, Co-Founder and CEO of Pathmatics. Pathmatics is a digital ad intelligence platform that tracks and analyzes online ad strategies.

Please welcome Gene Deyev, CEO and Founder of Stobox, a company that provides technological tools and consulting services to streamline all operations with digital assets and tokenized securities. The package of the services they provide serves the ultimate goal to revolutionize the private securities market and drastically simplify the investment process.   

Please welcome Nancy Duitch, CEO & Founder of Sera Labs. Nancy is an entrepreneur, and tell us about Sera Labs      She was able to generate eight figures in revenue and was able to broker the sale of the company to CURE Pharmaceutical.  Most recently she's been able to partner with actress Nicole Kidman and Nicole has become a strategic partner in the company. Together, they just launched a new skincare line called SeraTopical Revolution and they've also launched Seratopcial earlier this year (available in Bed Bath & Beyond and other major retailers). 

Please welcome Michelle Lewis, a Visibility and Publicity Expert who helps entrepreneurs skyrocket their visibility, launch their unique show strategy, and start landing press for their brand with Hollywood techniques found in the Visibility Lounge.   "The Queen of Visibility", founder and CEO Michelle is a leading authority on color psychology, brand positioning, and publicity strategy. She's helped thousands of entrepreneurs land their dream features and impact their ever-expanding audience with her techniques.

Please welcome Miki Reynolds, Co-founder and Executive Director of Grid110, an LA-based early stage startup accelerator and community development non-profit. She has a unique perspective on what equitable, inclusive paths to entrepreneurship can look like.

Please welcome Gila Kurtz, Co-Founder of Dog is Good. Gila is the #1 international best-selling author and serial entrepreneur who found her deepest passion for working with dogs and their people. She co-founded the award-winning lifestyle brand for dog lovers, Dog is Good.  Along with her husband Jon, Gila took the brand from start-up to multiple seven-figures.  

Please welcome Michele Harrington, Head of Strategic Partnerships at Foria (Fouria) CBD. Michele helped her husband, retired NBA star, Al Harrington launch Viola (cannabis pre-rolls), the largest Black-owned multinational cannabis brand in the world. During the pandemic, she pivoted her career to focus on CBD. She lead the partnership between Viola and Foria to educate more minorities about the benefits of CBD for intimacy.

Please welcome Sener Korkusuz, CEO and Co-Founder of American 7s Football League (A7FL)- 7-on-7 football without helmets or hard shell pads. There are 28 teams in 4 divisions based in New Jersey, Maryland (Baltimore), Florida (Orlando) and Southern California (San Diego).  Founded in 2014 by CEO Sener Korkusuz and President Ryan DePaul, the league recently added UFC Co-Founder David Isaacs to its ranks.

Please welcome Deborah Haile, CEO of Tiny Global Footprints. Deborah has spent the last several years building a profitable publishing business with her eight-year-old son, Jonah. Deborah and Jonah are bestselling co-authors who love to share their world adventures and educate through travel.

Please welcome Dr. Barbara Paldus, Founder of Codex Beauty. By creating Codex, Barbara has brought biotech to beauty and bringing data driven transparency to the beauty industry. https://codexbeauty.com/

Please welcome Irfan Sadiq, Founder of Blue Gem Hemp. We discuss the how his previous background in IT digital transformation informs the operations of growing his fully integrated CBD company.

Please welcome Olga Bortnikova and Ivan Bortnikov, Co-Founders of YouTravel.Me, an algorithm-powered online marketplace for booking multi-day small group adventure tours organized by travel experts. www.youtravel.me

Please welcome Partha Unnava, CEO and Founder of Lasso Compression. Partha started Lasso Compression with the goal to help improve the way you move. Partha is a Forbes 30 under 30 recipient who was invited to the White House to recognize his past innovations in healthcare.

Please welcome Blagica Bottligliero, Co-Founder & Head of Marketing and Partnerships at Bottles Nation. Bottles Nation is one of the first companies offering virtual tastings for wine, craft beer, cocktails and spirits. The co-founder, Michael Bottligliero, is a certified sommelier who has run wine events for over a decade in Chicago and nationwide.

Please welcome Aaron Hsu, Founder and CEO of Blerp. Blerp has grown to over 30,000 creators on Twitch and helped them generate over $500K in donations through their integrations. www.blerp.com

Please welcome Kate Duchene, CEO of RGP, a global human capital firm helping clients match the right professional talent needed to tackle change and transformational initiatives. www.rgp.com

How does this COO's company deliver fresh food in 15 minutes? We talk about logistics of his innovative service and the nature of operating a startup in San Francisco. www.foodrocket.me

Our guest, CEO Mike Ward, talks about technology innovation and adoption by the marketplace and commercial real estate trends and projections for the next 10 years.

Learn how this entrepreneur competes in the marketplace and works on his product becoming relevant through Tik Tok. He also shares how he integrates learnings from Amazon into their e-commerce business.

Discover how this week's guest uses rapid problem solving and gets rid of the fear of failing. Allen Brooks talks about taking the first step in developing great products and services by using what you have at your disposal. www.buildmo.com

Nellie Akalp is a serial entrepreneur in the online legal document filing space. She and her husband started their first business together in 1997, and eight years later it was acquired by Intuit for $20 million. Her current company CorpNet is on the Inc. 5000 list.

Learn how this entrepreneur identified an opportunity in the tech space and built innovative technology for businesses to communicate to the masses through text messaging.

Are you a marketer having deliverability issues with your email campaigns? Check out this week's interview with Adrian Savage, Founder of Deliverability Dashboard. His innovative software gives you the power to fix deliverability issues quickly.

Learn about the metrics this entrepreneur analyzed when he was in the market and looking for an opportunity to buy a business, which led him to Green Knight Metal Roofing in Austin, TX.