Troublemakers

Jessica Wolf has had six jobs. All of them were focused on community building. She is a great example of finding a career path you like and sticking to it. Her latest is Skye, a platform for coaching and serving leaders and their teams. A 2022 paper from Statista found the  United Kingdom and the United States spending the least on e-learning or business or life coaching.  (source) This fact and and Jessica's focus on growth prove she and Skye are in the right place at the right time. In this podcast, Jessica opens up about some difficulties she had, opportunities to get her around the problems, and how much she depended on her very capable team members.By carefully listening to their growing members, the Skye team heard a need that would make their businesses more successful and free them up to chase more clients. You'll like this approach.One of my favorite moments in this podcast was when Jessica breezed past the fact that she was honored as a Forbes 30 Under 30. For such an accomplished CEO, she is incredibly modest. 

When troublemaker CEOs find ways to disrupt sleepy business sectors there's always a lot they can teach us. Founder and CEO of Bunafr, Anjani Annumalla, set his sights on a business sector 200 years old - the coffee industry.For centuries, coffee enthusiasts had no control of the part of the process that gives coffee its taste - the roasting. This from an interview with Anjani - “Home coffee roasting can revolutionize the way each cup is personalized and consumed. And on top of that, it also starts to solve some deeply rooted problems of the coffee world – farmers' inequity/poverty and the carbon footprint of coffee on the environment. Today, 80% of coffee farmers (25M farmer families) live below the poverty line because the coffee index gates the price paid to them, which is taken advantage of because farmers do not have the means to sell coffee directly to consumers. At Bunafr, our vision is to disrupt that practice by democratizing coffee roasting. “ Anjani Annumalla spent nearly 8 years at Amazon. He was in 3 leadership roles at Amazon during their most aggressive buildouts. These experiences prepared him to be ready for the difficulties many startups experience.The page on https://www.TroubleGroup.com shows the brilliant and beautiful Bunafr machine. Be sure to visit https://bunafr.com/

The more I do these podcasts, the more optimistic I am that opportunities are all around us entrepreneurs. If you have the instinct to see them, and the bravery to jump in, you can be like my next guests.Perry Griffith and Harry Dubke spotted, a gap in the three-to-four month rental market for student and intern housing – not just in DC, but world-wide.  Their company is Cortado, which means "stripped down" or efficient. And that's how they run their company.You're going to enjoy this one.

We who are comfortable with technology, navigating social media, and working the web naturally think everyone else is just as adept. But that's not the case. All across America, HVAC installers, restaurants, and fashion stores are trying to survive post Covid and keep the lights on. Many don't even have a website and most don't have time to understand social media - much less to use it to grow their businesses.My next guest, Rolan Reichel, has recognized just how lucrative this underserved market is.  He and his team think there could be up to $100B sitting on the sidelines and they want to help put it to work to help small businesses.They launched their solution as a a browser extension.  If you've used Grammarly, then you know how easy it is to launch Arrow. It simply starts and the GUI is super friendly. 

The consumer loyalty market worldwide is valued at more than four billion U.S. dollars and it's expected to surpass 18 billion by the end of 2028. - Statista I remember when customer loyalty programs meant airline miles and credit card rewards. When Generation Z came along the rewards programs had to adapt to the demands of instant gratification. Denis Huré, entrepreneur, disruptor, and Founder / CEO of Reward the World, followed a path of marketing and  One thing you'll learn about Denis is his ability to shift and stay ahead of the competition. For instance, when he decided to dedicate 25-30% of his time, every week moving forward, working on innovations that will keep him on the top of the sector. As Denis said, “If only one idea out of a hundred comes to fruition,  then it's a win.” Some of my favorite Denis Huré quotes -  “Marketers tend to forget that the main point of marketing is to differentiate.  So if they're all doing the same, where's the differentiation?” “As far as I remember, I was never interested in being like everyone else.” “People need to follow their dream. But they need to understand, the cemeteries are full of people with great ideas. But at the end of the day, execution is key.”

Confidence isn't binary. It manifests in degrees. Doug Standley, CEO of niolabs is 100% confident. Deeply driven. Yet, humble. Most of his career was at Deloitte, helping companies not get too spun up about all the new digital solutions out there. Instead, Doug's team helped companies understand digitization and building successful implementations. They earned a ton of money and the trust of their clients by simply telling the truth, with none of the hype. He wrote the first 3 articles in Deloitte's first annual trends publication. He was the first Deloitte Fellow. The list goes on and on. Now Doug is aiming his team to take on a problem of global scale and extreme importance. The world's water infrastructure is falling apart, and  management of this vital resource is a disaster. Doug and niolabs are just the people to fix it. There is a ton of information in this podcast. But more importantly, I think what you'll pick up on is his scud missile approach.  Doug may be living proof that being a troublemaker is binary. And he's 100%.

618 BCE - The toothbrush was invented during the Tang Dynasty.2021 CE - After 3 years of research and invention, Dr. Keith Arbeitman launched the SymplBrush. It cleans more effectively, and it's safer (and faster) than any other toothbrush.Dr. Arbeitman - "As a dentist, a lot of the work I do is the consequence of people either brushing too hard and hurting their teeth and gums, or not brushing hard enough to clean their teeth, causing cavities and gum infections," says Keith Arbeitman, DDS, a dentist in New York City and founder of SymplBrush. "It's really hard to get it just right. There's even research that suggests that brushing too hard can cause an increase in gum inflammation for some."  Source SymplBrush attacked a series of issues around the poor results of at-home oral care:Plaque builds up and hardens, especially near the gum line.The ADA says the minimum time to brush to get plaque off teeth is 2 minutes. Surveys show that most people only brush for 45 seconds on average and a significant number don't brush twice a day.Modern toothbrushes don't help users to position their brush exactly at the right angle to get up to the gum line, but not to damage the gums.Since so many are brushing far too briefly, Dr. Arbeitman decided to brush a wide number of teeth at once with their patented "Living Hinge" bristle design. The the Forsyth Institute, an affiliate of The Harvard Dental School in Cambridge, Massachusetts was shocked at the improvement in oral health in their study of SymplBrush.From the SymplBrushwebsite - “SymplBrush delivers 5-7mm of bristle movement and up to 900 strokes per minute. This mechanical design allows the bristles to contact each tooth surface for 5-10 seconds when used in the 30-second guided mode, as opposed to just 1.5 seconds when using traditional toothbrushes as directed for two minutes.”   Source 

When I imagine the Security Services sector, I think of tough guys with muscles bulging through their black suits. The reality of the industry is quite different. Statista reports that the North American Security Services market is $32 Billion Dollars.Martin Randolph is a serial entrepreneur. Interviewing him led me to think that staring into money-making ventures as children or teens might be common amongst troublemakers. Martin started his first business at age 11 with an aftermarket skateboard business. That drive led him to many different ventures. Osmond was started to solve a major gap in the sector. There's a hole in the Managed Security Services Industry – and Osmond is solving it with a more preventative, prepared approach versus a passive approach. They're signing up SMBs, especially those who need both physical and digital protection. And that's the big difference for the security sector. Keep your eyes on Martin Randolph and Osmond.

In this podcast, Ralf Kaiser CEO of Integrated Compliance Solutions and their subsidiary Greenlight Payments will provide a different perspective on hemp and cannabis – the business side, especially as regards helping cannabis companies succeed in full compliance with the law.Hemp cultivation for fibre was recorded in China as early as 2800 years ago and was practiced in the Mediterranean countries of Europe early in the Christian era, spreading throughout the rest of Europe during the Middle Ages. The first “businesses” cultivating hemp were in China as early as 2800 years ago. The fibers from the plant were worked into clothing, baskets, rope, paper, and a medicine. The seeds were a food source.  Cannabis was criminalized in various countries beginning in the 19th century. The U.S. first restricted the sale of cannabis in 1906 in Washington DC. In 1970, federal law has classified cannabis as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act.  "To date, a total of 47 states have reformed their cannabis laws, with 36 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam now permitting legal access to cannabis for medical purposes; and 15 states, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands having adopted laws legalizing cannabis for adult use. Legal cannabis (marijuana) sales are projected to reach $23 billion by 2022."   Source

Greg Kerber has been a troublemaker pretty much since birth. He started off in the world of finance, solving complex problems. Then, when the Internet started, he was one of the early innovators, building the first block chain on a peer-to-peer network. After that, he helped his family launch a company called Rad Soap, selling all kinds of natural body care products. His ex-wife and two sons run the company. The sons got Greg's DNA for aggressive marketing. The latest highly disruptive adventure is Greg's Gnome Serum – full spectrum hemp extract.Like many companies, their website differentiates the company by talking about the products. Check out my blog post about Gnome Serum and you'll see what I think the real differentiators are. In the podcast, Greg explains the shakeups happening in the hemp industry. Barriers to entry are low, so naturally the market if flooded with products. But Greg is busy differentiating his company and positioning to win. 

Software companies have had an easy ride for decades. They come up with good solutions. The companies who subscribe get almost all of the expected benefits. But the Internet turns just about everything into a commodity, and after that it's just a matter of who lowers their prices  faster. Phil Newmoyer, CEO of PROVOSO, has a refreshingly different approach. The best way I can sum it up is his very strong EQ. For those companies who haven't heard of EQ, it's Emotional Quotiant.As you look through the PROVOSO website, you'll agree they've developed an impressive solution. Most tech companies would stop there. What makes Phil and PROVOSO different is their focus on more than the tech side.I advise my listeners to start at PROVOSO.com first and get a sense of how even software companies can differentiate themselves by adopting a more service-oriented approach.

This paragraph from Appalachian Investors Alliance (AIA) perfectly clarifies how they are bringing hope to the determined ingenious, and gritty entrepreneurs in small towns all over this part of the country."The Appalachian region is known for tough, blue collar people who for generations have beaten the odds to overcome unforgiving landscapes and harsh conditions using grit, determination, and ingenuity. As it looks to re-invent for the next chapter of the region, Appalachia is collectively harnessing the power of the entrepreneurial mindset to re-imagine the future while paying homage to its rich history."My guest, Scott Ewing, Co-Founder and Principal Business Analyst at Appalachian Investors Alliance, talks through the opportunities and challenges of operating this unique angel investing group. The AIA has applied serious best practices and deep business acumen to the process to give Appalachian innovators an edge up. As you will hear, this one is near and dear to my heart.

In this episode you'll meet Tommy and Gwen Mitchell, Founders of LogHeads Home Center and stars on the DIY and GAC networks' show LogHeads for two years. The show had top 3 viewership on these networks, and if you get to know Tommy and Gwen you'll understand why. They're honest, trusting, hard-working, and brilliant at their careers.I think the theme to this episode is perseverance. The team was at the top of their game, with EBITDA in the 7 figures. The TV show was a great marketing vehicle. And then their main wood shop, a huge building, burned down. That didn't stop Tommy and Gwen. They began building back and are now on course with renewed energy, new furniture designs coming out, several huge building opportunities on the horizon, and an aggressive marketing approach that's brand new.

There are certain sectors who are often late to embrace technologies that could make their lives easier and their bank accounts more bloated. Retail is one of them. There are several areas in retail that have needed re-thinking as far back as 40 years. My guest for this podcast has tackled one of the most critical ones.John Ricci of Danavation is re-inventing signage on shelves and throughout stores using the IoT. Danavation Technologies Corp.™ is a leading provider of micro e-paper messaging in North America.  Their Digital Smart Labels™ give companies the ability to automate labeling, pricing, product information, and promotions in seconds – and that's just the retail sector. Danavation is moving into many other companies as John explains on the podcast. The industries they can streamline with this technology are wide ranging.John's 25+ years of experience in retail gives him a high-level view of the industry; and it  gave me a lot of great quotes. Here's my favorite: “What defines you as a company is not what you brag about. It's what happens when something goes wrong. Are you able to fix it? Are you willing to fix it? And are you there to support your customer?”

Pam Gunther of Fit and Fun Playscapes wanted to build a business selling inventive active learning solutions into schools. She didn't rush the launch of Fit and Fun Playscapes. Instead, she used the time to embed herself into the education world, talking to physical educators, principals, teachers, occupational therapists and health professionals, learning about their struggles and the important multi-faceted connections between physical activity, the brain and learning.  10 years later, Pam credits that scientific approach as a major factor of Fit and Fun's success.  Anyone can produce stencils or stickers and sell them into school systems; and plenty do. However, most of Pam's competitors don't build science into their products. Then COVID-19 hit and school buildings were off limits. Being an entrepreneur is tough enough but, as you'll learn in this podcast, using difficult times to re-focus and execute careful pivots will position you for future success. There are lessons in this podcast for any size business owner.

In this podcast, I was surprised to learn so much about the mental health industry and those trying to navigate it. Then again, I was learning from someone accustomed to dropping boldly clear statements like this - The mental healthcare system is broken.Trusst is how we start fixing it.As you'll learn in the podcast, Dr. Bill Hudenko is CEO of Trusst, a company that's going to greatly improve delivery of mental healthcare. Mental disorders are an overlooked part of the medical sector, in part because they have a long history of being misunderstood.  A glaring example - in 2008 (merely 13 years ago) a law was passed because health insurance issuers and group health plans were imposing less favorable benefit limitations on mental health patients than they were on medical/surgical patients. In other words, mental disorders had been "all in your head" for a very long time. That stigma still lingers.One of the major obstacles for those needing care is the difficulty in getting appointments, mostly because there's an alarming shortage of psychiatrists. Between 2003 and 2013 there was a 10% decline in the number of practicing psychiatrists in the U.S.Now, finally some good news: Trusst is here. Learn more about their brilliant solution on this Troublemakers podcast episode featuring Dr. Bill Hudenko.

Where most people put their job title on their LinkedIn profile, Candice Crane has this - "People Strategist, Transformation Leader, Speaker. "  Her focus is on strategic organizational development. She can reduce turnover and engage employees in challenging environments. The retail side of the auto industry is certainly challenging. As you'll hear in the podcast, many of the leaders in dealerships came to the industry straight out of college, or worked their way up from the Sales side. Most were never around best practice in professional business environments. Candice Crane is looking to change her industry from the inside out. While she's doing that, some of the more aware auto retailers are beginning to accept certain changes. Selling process - buying a car can take an entire day. That's not consumer friendly.Technology - the smart dealers realize that parts of the car buying process can happen before they come to a dealership, if they have to come to the dealership at all. Generational changes for employees - Auto Dealers who started their career in the “Go-Go 80s” must adapt to the changing views of work/life balance. 

Meet Dusty Bonner, Senior VP of Distribution and Field Sales at Trupanion, a highly innovative pet insurance company. Trupanion has been shaking up their business sector since 2000. Veterinarians didn't open their practices to sell pet insurance. But they know the value Trupanion can bring to ease their clients' worries when injuries or illness strike. As Dusty points out, Trupanion is continually looking for ways to help Veterinarians help their clients.

Amit Chandarana is Senior Vice President, Sales & Business Development at Roadster, a company that is transforming the automobile sales experience. Crunchbase says: Roadster is transforming the way that dealerships sell new cars by bringing the end to end car buying process completely online. This is a $1 trillion industry which had yet to be disrupted.Amit says, "We're laser focused on modernizing the auto industry." But Amit's focus, indeed obsession, is on the entire auto industry ecosystem. He and Roadster want everyone involved to have healthy businesses, in part from modernizing to meet the car buyers' expectations. This includes the experience of the younger, web savvy new generation buying cars.Business leaders will enjoy Amit's calm, yet focused approach to the business and his own career.

Executives like Brian White, Herschel Supply's new Senior Vice President of Global Sales, bring a huge amount of experience and energy to the companies they work with. At the same time, the kind of companies who seek out people like Brian give them the freedom to bring their A game. As Brian says, "My job was to represent the brands, but in a lot of ways, they helped to define me. My reputation is really driven by the strong brands that I've worked for."The fashion industry is notoriously fickle, yet Brian has worked for companies who had incredibly strong brands with a real and lasting sense of themselves:Ride SnowboardsGlobeHurley ClothingNixonNow, he's joining the hugely successful Herschel Supply based in Vancouver, Canada. Brian said, “It's my perfect scenario - a strong brand widely recognized and positioned for growth. We are already doing amazing things.” Knowing Brian and now getting a good sense of Herschel Supply, I have no doubt they'll set the bar high as Troublemakers in their industry.

Bridget Molloy is CEO of Bridget's Botanicals. She's selling solutions in a category with standards that range from the highly scientific to the completely fanciful. Since 2014, Bridget has formulated and manufactured over 40 products and developed 30 community classes, 2 courses, and an online course portal. Each health product she launches is formulated based on current scientific research combined with traditional global healing practices and manufactured in small batches in Colorado, from sustainably sourced organic botanicals. In other words, she's highly credible and very serious.In this podcast, you'll hear the challenges she's overcome, a unique way she came to understand the needs of her audience, and some of her brilliant pivots.

Shipping adds millions of dollars to our nation's growing healthcare costs every year. In our latest podcast, Lori Jones, Vice President of Sales and the VPL team are shaking up their industry to change that, and their solution is perfect for these COVID-19 times. Hospitals need supplies to do what they do. They order those supplies from vendors. Those vendors add freight charges to get those supplies from their factories and warehouses to the hospitals. But those freight charges often hide substantial profit. "Our software solutions provide choice, transparency, and control to the providers,” Jones said.Lori goes on to say that by using VPL's software solutions, the providers gain visibility into the movement of products throughout their supply chain network. “We're capturing millions of data points, enhancing supply chain visibility, while saving them significant dollars.”Learn how VPL saves hospitals significant money on shipping costs.

Matt Weber, Fit For Work's National Director of Sales, takes us through a rapid-fire story of a company who's been innovating in their business sector since 1998. This simple statement is sending shock waves through their business sector: “We prevent people from getting injured.”Here's another: "Fit For Work achieves a 50% reduction in injuries and the accompanying costs."  If those statement don't seem earthshaking to you, it's because you're not a Safety Manager, Plant Manager, or a CFO. Fit For Work has shaken up their industry by changing the "injury equation," as Matt calls it. The old model is what I call “Break/Fix.” The successful model from Fit For Work is to      forecast the next injury before it happens because they go to the source of the injuries - the work place.

Kirsten Potenza is Co-Creator and CEO of POUND®, a fitness phenomenon taught by over 25,000 instructors in over 100 countries to hundreds of thousands of participants every week. POUND® is the world's first cardio jam session, inspired by the energizing, infectious, sweat-dripping fun of playing the drums! This from their YouTube page - "Fusing cardio, Pilates, isometric movements, plyometrics and isometric poses all in a 45-minute session, this workout burns 600-900 cal/hour while rocking to your favorite music!"This podcast is packed full of gems for entrepreneurs and business leaders. Here's one of my favorites from Kirsten, “You have to be so incredibly passionate about something that a certain type of blinders go up and nothing can stop you."

Dr. Skow, Chief Medical Officer of Avera eCARE, and his colleagues are experts in telemedicine. But not the kind of telemedicine that we've heard about recently in the face of the Coronavirus pandemic. Rather, these practitioners in all fields of medicine are experts in providing myriad services to critical access hospitals and their patients across the country. Avera eCARE has a full virtual hospital that is staffed 24/7 with physicians and other medical professionals who can collaborate with ease.Avera eCARE makes it easy for those who need the services by removing all of the barriers to connectivity. “Imagine that you're in a small, critical access hospital; a three-room emergency department. There's an e-Emergency button on the wall. At the push of the e-CARE button, in about 15 seconds, you'll see the faces of an emergency medicine physician and a critical care nurse. At that point is when the collaboration starts,” Dr. Skow explains.

Rob Neuner, CEO of Boost Oxygen has a knack for being in the right place at the right time. For entrepreneurs, that's a skill that comes in handy. It certainly helped Rob and his team navigate the many challenges of bringing a new concept to the U.S. market.You think your startup experienced bumps in the road? One of Rob's first ones was the United States Department of Transportation. They didn't like the canister design Boost Oxygen was shipping and shut things down for about 6 months. The key to handling such setbacks is (1) taking a deep breath, (2) a mix of resilience and possibly good old-fashioned stubbornness. Listen in as Rob explains the challenges of selling something in an entirely new category, Boost Oxygen's lucky breaks like meeting Mr. Wonderful, and the importance of believing in yourself.

For Chris Brownridge, the anonymity of the job search process needs to change and he's working to do just that. Starting simply from a spreadsheet of employee names and qualifications that he shared on LinkedIn, Chis has created a community – Silver Lining – designed to help the recently unemployed know that they're not alone.Chris pointed out how dehumanizing it can be for those looking for work, or as he puts it, people are forced to “Throw resumes and applications into the abyss,” and never get any kind of response. Rather than furthering that faceless process, Silver Lining is designed to foster connection.

Most of us know what to look for generally when selecting a doctor or a pharmacy, but once we get into the more technical aspects of healthcare, like choosing the best physician or hospital for a surgical procedure, we need technical manuals and masters to advise us.That's what BridgeHealth does. “It's really about guiding the member to the best possible location and physician for their personal needs,” said Jon Montenero, Vice President of Enterprise Sales.

Ken Bombace and Global Threat Solutions are in the protection, investigation, and due diligence industry. The company is 100% veteran owned and 100% on point when it comes to doing even the smallest, seemingly menial parts of their job. I got several great quotes from Ken during this podcast and these two are my favorites: "Perseverance. Never quitting is the number one attribute for any successful entrepreneur.”"No matter how busy we have become, I monitor all communications threads for every protection detail we have going, all the time."The extreme nature of their work provides a great comparison to more mundane industries like marketing. Imagine if we all approached our industries like our lives depended on it.

Steve interviews troublemaker Sean Weisbord, Director of Sales at BurnAlong.Online workout offerings typically don't keep users for long. BurnAlong has identified two key experiences that work in gyms, and built them into a dynamic online health and wellness platform:An inspiring and relatable instructor - BurnAlong has partnered with 100s of across 45 categories, for unparalleled choice.Social motivation - members can take classes alone or live online with others they  invite.These health and wellness platforms are used by municipalities, universities, hospitals, and companies of all sizes – and they're getting 5X the engagement levels. Once signed up, members can choose from thousands of classes across more than 45 categories taught by hundreds of instructors. People can take classes on their own on demand or invite friends to join them live online.

You think your industry throws difficulties your way? Meet Karma Tenzing. He's a social entrepreneur up against tremendous odds in Nepal. Three of the world's major religions believe in Karma: Buddhism, Sikhism, and Hinduism. 81% of the population of Nepal practice Hinduism. 9% practice Buddhism. Those who believe in Karma think their past deeds determine their present circumstances and present deeds determine future outcomes. So when things go wrong, like a major earthquake that hit Kathmandu in 2015, there's no accountability or ownership...no way forward. They just accept it. That's when Karma decided it was time to leave a successful life in New York City and go home to help. This is a story of incredible drive, patience, and kindness.

Danny Nelms, President of the Work Institute, can tell you more about the health of your company just by talking to your people than any spreadsheet or financial report ever will. Danny and his team at the Work Institute believe that the employees of any organization are foundational to its success. Why are companies failing to understand this simple fact? That's what we asked Danny in our interview as we met to discuss the latest publication from the Work Institute, “EmployeR Engagement: The Fresh and Dissenting Voice on the Employment Relationship.” (click to order)Danny has an interesting take on the employer – employee relationship, even in these troubled times. And he often finds himself telling employers not what they want to hear, but what they NEED to hear.

James Eves is the Yoda of graphic arts. I first met him in Richmond Virginia. I knew he was a troublemaker right away. We've been friends and associates ever since.James found his way through the flotsam and jetsam of the sinking marketing industry. He did it thanks to his extremely high standards, his bravado, and his honesty. There are several quotes in this podcast that will inspire any entrepreneur, and especially those who came up in the era of craftsmanship in marketing.

The cold press juicer category had no serious advancements in the last 50 years. Then David Feinberg began re-thinking everything. His energy and inventiveness resulted in a far superior cold press juicer, healthier juice for his customers, and an amazing journey for David. And he's just getting started.