Podcasts about startout

In Part 3, Waverly Deutsch steps into her latest role: founder of Wyseheart, a coaching firm designed to help the most overlooked founders build ventures that last. Focused on meaningful business, not unicorn exits, she brings her full career of coaching, teaching, and hard-won insight to early-stage leaders across age, gender, race, and identity. For Gen Xers who aren't ready to “retire,” this is a playbook for doing your best work—on your terms, with your values, and no need for external approval.>>What Retirement Really Means to Her“Retirement means you no longer have to work to cover basic necessities… but you work because you want to.”Waverly explains why Wiseheart was never about building a high-growth company, but creating space for meaningful work in the next chapter of life.>>Who Wiseheart Is Really For“I might have a session with you and turn you down as a client.”She describes her ideal clients: early-stage founders with strong ideas and potential—but she's selective, because she coaches from belief, not obligation.>>Opening Access Where Systems Don't“I want to make myself available to people who don't always have access to someone like me.”Waverly shares how Wiseheart is designed to serve women, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, rural, and underestimated founders who often face systemic barriers.>>LGBTQ+ Advocacy Through Data and Action“You can ask: do you choose to publicly identify as an LGBTQ+ founder?”She calls out the data gap and cultural risks still facing LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs—and how her work with StartOut aims to help change that.>>Advising Older Entrepreneurs With Realism“You may have to go back to the work that got you there.”She offers grounded advice to Gen X and Baby Boomer entrepreneurs who face ageism and cost-cutting—and encourages them to translate wisdom into flexible, consulting-based careers._________________________Connect with Us:Host: Vince Chan | Guest: Waverly Deutsch  --Chief Change Officer--Change Ambitiously. Outgrow Yourself.Open a World of Expansive Human Intelligencefor Transformation Gurus, Black Sheep,Unsung Visionaries & Bold Hearts.EdTech Leadership Awards 2025 Finalist.15 Million+ All-Time Downloads.80+ Countries Reached Daily.Global Top 3% Podcast.Top 10 US Business.Top 1 US Careers.>>>150,000+ are outgrowing. Act Today.

Australian MMA Fighter Kitt Campbell takes on Chinese Fighter Tai  Yi Lake in Shanghai China as part of the Road to UFC Promotion. After years in the trenches Kitt hopes to get a good win and his chance to fight in the UFC. Interview details below:00:00 Introduction - Road to UFC call up00:50 The opportunity01:32 Opponent02:49 Showcase fight03:47 First international fight05:08 Fighting in the PI05:47 Australian Elite team and Tosca Petridis07:58 Fought big names from NZ and Oz08:44 Growing up on Phillip Island09:37 Startout as Judo player11:33 Conclusion

On this episode of the Invest In Her Podcast, host Catherine Gray welcomes Irene Tang, Director of Data and Insights at StartOut, an organization dedicated to empowering LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs. Irene brings a wealth of experience from her past roles at Google and CBS Interactive, now using her expertise to advance data-driven initiatives that highlight the unique challenges and successes of LGBTQ+ founders. Based in Houston, Texas, Irene is a passionate advocate for creating opportunities and visibility for underrepresented entrepreneurs, particularly in communities where support systems may be limited. Catherine and Irene discuss StartOut's groundbreaking research, which revealed that LGBTQ+ founders receive just 0.5% of startup funding, despite making up approximately 7-10% of the population. They explore the impact of StartOut's initiatives, including mentorship programs, investor introductions, and their Growth Lab accelerator, which has helped founders scale their businesses and secure significant funding. Irene shares inspiring success stories, such as Avocademy, a UX/UI education platform that dramatically increased its revenue after joining the accelerator, and Carbon Reform, a startup revolutionizing air purification that has raised over $5 million. This episode sheds light on the importance of financial inclusion and the role of LGBTQ+ investors in fostering innovation. https://www.startout.org/ www.sheangelinvestors.com    Follow Us On Social Facebook @sheangelinvestors Twitter (X) @sheangelsinvest Instagram @sheangelinvestors & @catherinegray_investinher LinkedIn @catherinelgray & @sheangels  

Join us in this episode as we talk with Peter Kovacs, a top Silicon Valley executive coach, who empowers entrepreneurs and executives to maximize their global impact. With clients like Nvidia, Amazon, and Bain & Co., Peter offers invaluable insights into leadership and business growth. As a seasoned entrepreneur who successfully exited V12 Software, Peter understands the entrepreneurial journey's highs and lows. He also mentors at Singularity University, StartOut, and the NASDAQ Entrepreneurial Center, sharing his expertise with the next generation of leaders. In this episode, Peter discusses transformative journeys, strategies for positive behavior development, and essential grooming for success in new environments. He shares experiences with founders worldwide, offering insights into building bridges between cultures.

Join us for a powerful conversation with Jennifer Laurie, Founder of Equitable HR Guild and Chief People Officer at StartOut. Jennifer's work to create a more equitable future of work and her lived experience as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community make for an important and actionable conversation on equity in the workplace and beyond. Follow Jen on LinkedIn and find the amazing resources from Equitable HR Guild here.

AI is at the forefront of work, tech, and global development – and it's here to stay. While there are ongoing dilemmas and fears surrounding the future of AI, renowned neuroscientist Vivienne Ming sees it differently. For over a decade, she has harnessed AI to enhance human potential, designing systems to treat her son's diabetes, predict manic episodes in those with bipolar disorder, and reunite orphaned refugees with extended family members, among many other initiatives. Vivienne has emerged not only as a leading scientist in the field but also as a passionate advocate for using AI as a powerful tool to unlock human ability.Vivienne Ming is a renowned theoretical neuroscientist and AI expert. She is the co-founder and CEO of the think tank Socos Labs, as well as chief scientist at Dionysus Digital Health and The Human Trust. Her research has been showcased on TEDx, The Financial Times, The Atlantic, the New York Times, BBC Radio 4, and NPR. In this episode, Dart and Vivienne discuss:- Vivienne's diverse background in AI and research - AI's qualitative advantages over humans today- How AI can predict and influence individual success- Metalearning and perspective taking- Building stronger teams and social networks with AI- The moral limits of markets- How minority opinions can reshape collective market intelligence - And other topics…Vivienne Ming is a renowned theoretical neuroscientist and artificial intelligence expert. As the co-founder and CEO of the think tank Socos Labs, she consults on AI, neuroscience, and education reform, exploring the future of human potential. She also serves as chief scientist at Dionysus Digital Health and The Human Trust. Her AI inventions have launched multiple companies and nonprofits, all centered on unlocking human potential. Vivienne's research has been showcased on TEDx, The Financial Times, The Atlantic, the New York Times, BBC Radio 4, and NPR. Vivienne received her B.S. in cognitive neuroscience from the University of California at San Diego and her M.S. and PhD in Psychology at Carnegie Mellon University. She then held a postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford and UC Berkeley, where she later joined as a research scientist and visiting scholar. Vivienne sits on boards of numerous companies and nonprofits including StartOut, The Palm Center, Cornerstone Capital, Platypus Institute, Shiftgig, Zoic Capital, and HUMM.Resources mentioned:How to Robot-Proof Your Kids, by Vivienne Ming: https://academy.socos.org/ Geek Heresy, by Kentaro Toyama: https://www.amazon.com/Geek-Heresy-Rescuing-Social-Technology/dp/161039528X Connect with Vivienne:www.socos.org www.dionysushealth.comwww.optoceutics.comwww.thehumantrust.org “The Tax on Being Different” video: https://glginsights.com/videos/decisions-in-hiring/ Work with Dart:Dart is the CEO and co-founder of the work design firm 11fold. Build work that makes employees feel alive, connected to their work, and focused on what's most important to the business. Book a call at 11fold.com.

In this episode of The Security Podcast of Silicon Valley, a YSecurity production, Host Jon McLachlan talks with Lorenzo Thione, a philanthropist, LGBTQ advocate, and investor. As the co-founder and chairman of StartOut, the only LGBTQ incubator, and managing director of Gaingels, Lorenzo shares his unique insights into the intersection of AI and security. They explore the ethical implications of advanced AI technologies, the importance of diversity in the tech industry, and how inclusive investment strategies can drive innovation. Tune in for a thought-provoking conversation on shaping a more equitable future in tech.

Joey is the global CEO of Barry's Bootcamp, which has 88 high end fitness studios across 14 countries. Barry's was started in 1998 when the founder needed a place to go and have fun without drinking. So how did Joey Gonzalez go from Barry's client to CEO? We unpack it all. We discuss:-How to balance a demanding professional and personal life-Building and maintaining a top tier brand -Organizing meetings to optimize output -The biggest risks he's taken "I always say, there's no such thing as balance. You just have to wake up and choose who you're gonna disappoint." -Joey "You have to take control of the journey and hold your own reins and not lie in idea of being a victim, but actually go out and figure out, like, how to be empowered and how to make the most of your life." -JoeyWhether you're a fitness enthusiast, an aspiring entrepreneur, or someone looking for a dose of motivation, this episode is packed with valuable lessons and heartfelt moments.Take a listen and let me know your takeaways! Feedback & Sponsorship Opportunities: andrew@permissiontoshine.orgJoey's Complete Bio: Joey Gonzalez is a change agent, global strategist, entrepreneur, son of a Cuban refugee, gay parent, and the Global CEO of Barry's, the original cardio and strength interval workout that revolutionized fitness and began the boutique movement.His Barry's journey started in 2003 as a client in the iconic Red Room. He became an instructor soon after working his way up the ranks before finally taking the helm of the business as CEO in 2015.Since then, Gonzalez has dedicated his life to expanding the brand around the world, fostering diverse communities across 14 countries including US, Europe, Mexico, Australia and South East Asia.Under Gonzalez's stewardship, and after the business grew exponentially between the years 2015- 2020, COVID-19 took hold and forced studios around the world to shut down. Gonzalez spent the next 18 months innovating, investing in new modalities, launching dozens of outdoor studios, developing a robust digital product (Barry's X) and the brands first ever loyalty program, The Academy. His leadership through the pandemic set Barry's apart from other fitness organizations and is documented in a Harvard Business School case study written in 2021.In 2018, Gonzalez was named to Fast Company's Most Creative People in Business list and received CEO Award of the Year from North Castle Partners. In 2020, Gonzalez was named EY Of The Year Greater Los Angeles' Entrepreneur of the Year and in 2022 was honored with STARTOUT's leadership award.Gonzalez recently earned his OPM degree from Harvard Business School. In 2021 he moved Barry's HQ from Los Angeles to Miami where he currently resides with his husband, daughter, and son.@PermissionToShine_

Are you interested in writing on issues that you are passionate about? Kari Porter writes about issues she is passionate about, regarding Women's Health and issues affecting the LGBTQ+. Join us for this episode, and learn about activism in communications, and why representation matters so much! Kari Porter is an Associate Director of Communications Strategist at Scout, a creative communications agency working with purpose-driven brands. In this role, she works with startups and challenger brands in human and planetary health, travel, CPG, and more, leading communications and media relations strategies. Kari is an expert communicator and strategist with success launching companies, positioning startup founders as thought leaders, and placing features in outlets including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Tech Crunch, and Cosmopolitan. Before Scout Lab, she worked at a full-service agency in Kansas City with B2B clients in agriculture, animal health, and manufacturing. Kari is a published writer on topics including LGBTQ+ representation and communications strategy and an advocate for survivors of intimate partner violence. She also serves as a mentor with StartOut, advising LGBTQ+ startup founders on their communications and marketing. While born and raised in the Midwest, Kari is currently traveling the country with her physical therapist partner and their two dogs. Connect with Kari: Kari's Blog: https://rootedwords.substack.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karilporter/

Lorenzo Thione, Managing Director at Gaingels, shares his journey from Italy to the U.S. and the pivotal life event inspiring his advocacy for inclusive venture capital representation. He delves into Gaingels' investment philosophy, emphasizing its focus on supporting diverse founders and investors. Lorenzo also offers insights for today's founders, spotlighting game-changing technologies like artificial intelligence.In this episode, you'll learn:[3:50] Underrepresented communities of founders and investors significantly influence the growth of the venture capital ecosystem[9:26] How Gaingels provides universal access to the wealth creation potential of venture capital[16:59] Cloud technology revolutionized starting companies in the last decade, while artificial intelligence is the current game changer[24:09] Principles behind Gaingels investment approach[28:53] Why founders should establish relationships with investors before pitchingThe non-profit organization that Lorenzo is passionate about: StartOutAbout Lorenzo ThioneLorenzo Thione is a Managing Director at Gaingels. He is a serial entrepreneur and investor, known for his diverse contributions at the intersection of technology, art, commerce, and social impact. A Tony Award-winning Broadway producer for "Hadestown" and co-creator/producer of the George Takei musical "Allegiance," he also directed/produced its record-breaking 2016 film. Lorenzo co-founded Social Edge and previously co-founded Powerset (acquired by Microsoft in 2008) and Artify. A prominent LGBT advocate, he co-founded and is board chair emeritus of StartOut, a leading non-profit fostering LGBT entrepreneurship. Lorenzo is an active investor, board member, and advisor to numerous startups.About GaingelsGaingels is a Vermont-based LGBTQIA+/Allies private investment syndicate, dedicated to fostering diversity and inclusion within the venture capital ecosystem. With over 2000 individual members, including accredited investors, Gaingels actively supports innovation economy companies committed to building diverse and inclusive leadership. Their unique approach involves members contributing beyond financial investment, providing introductions, advice, and connections to portfolio companies. Some of the companies it has backed include: Shimmer, Leap AI, Base Operations, Overplay, Abbey Cross, Zette, Magma, Cambium, kinship among others.Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

Follow your interests, even if the path is nonlinear.Lorenzo is the Managing Director of Gaingels and a co-founding chairman of StartOut, two of the leading groups dedicated to support and elevate LGBTQ+ leaders in the venture startup ecosystem.In this episode, Lorenzo shares his fascinating career path full of unexpected opportunities, benefits of building strong relationships, how he measures success beyond money, and psychology-backed insights on growth mindset shifts that helped him turn unexpected opportunities into massive growth moments.Lorenzo's wisdom will open your mind to new possibilities and empower you to bring your truest self to everything you do.- - -On the growth mindset podcast with Sam Webster Harris, we explore the psychology of happiness, satisfaction, purpose, and growth through the lens of self-improvement. Success and happiness is a state of mind unique to ourselves and is our responsibility to create.Through a process of honest self-reflection of what is holding us back and what is driving us forward, we can lose the ego and build awareness of how to be the best we can be.- - -Connect with Lorenzo:Gaingels (https://gaingels.com/)StartOut (https://startout.org/)Allegiance (https://allegiancemusical.com/)LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorenzothione/)Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/lorenzosfnyc)Twitter (https://twitter.com/thione)Connect with Sam:Sam's newsletter on creativity - Explosive ThinkingWatch the pod - YouTube (Growth Mindset)Twitter - @samjamharrisInstagram - @SamJam.zenYoutube - @Samjam- - -Show: Growth Mindset, psychology of self-improvementEpisode: The Serendipity of SuccessChapters:0:00Defeating the Fear of Failure01:30 Be Open to Unexpected Opportunities and Follow Your Interests03:24 Importance of Being More Present and Living Authentically12:59 Framework of Learning and Evaluating Opportunities 19:19 Lorenzo's Pillars in Helping Companies He Invests In26:53 Kindest Thing28:18 Maintain Work-Life Balance Through Routines30:37 Don't Rigidly Plan - Be Ready to Adapt.31:40 Send Off Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/growth-mindset-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People who belong to the LGBTQ+ community experience a number of health disparities, including a lack of access to culturally competent care and worse health outcomes. Join Kate Steinle, chief clinical officer of FOLX Health — the first digital healthcare provider designed by and for the medical needs of the LGBTQ+ community — and Brian Richardson, CEO of StartOut — a national nonprofit organization empowering LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs — as they discuss the health needs of the LGBTQ+ community and tactical steps we can take to make healthcare more inclusive.Learn more about FOLX Health.Learn more about StartOut.About Advancing Health EquityMATTER's Advancing Health Equity podcast series focuses on unpacking the complexities of health inequities impacting the healthcare system and the health and well-being of individuals and their communities. These 20-30 minute interview-style sessions are meant to take quick dives into critical areas of health equity and answer questions like:What does health equity mean today?Where do current gaps exist in the various areas of healthcare?Where do we see intersections in care?How can technology and innovation be leveraged strategically to positively make a change?For more information, visit matter.health and follow us on social: LinkedIn @MATTERTwitter @MATTERhealthInstagram @matterhealth

As creatives, there is no dearth of inspiration and new ideas for us to pursue. And that can often lead to us feeling a bit untethered. So in this episode, I am asking the question, what is your anchor?  For me, it is the concept and vision of a project that help me stay on track. Very recently, I have started the process of nailing down my branding, and it is having a ripple effect throughout my business.  Learn more about StartOut here.   Where to find me: Connect with me on Instagram Check out my website Sign up for a free consult

“I volunteer at a safe sober space. I serve on the board of a retreat for healing that happens once a year. I serve on the Board of StartOut which helps LGBTQ + entrepreneurs gain access to mentorship and resources and fundraising to increase our representation as founders of companies. I will always do this work, because these are the same kind of organizations that empowered me to have the life I lead today.” Jugal Patel Throughout this special series on covid-19's impact on our nonprofits, small businesses and local governments we have heard from numerous voices who continue to show up in a pandemic to support our unhoused community members. They have shared with you all the wonderful solutions that our nonprofits and local governments are working on to help reduce the number of our neighbors who find themselves un-housed.As we enter 2023 and the third year of the covid-19 pandemic we wanted to hear from one of our government departments about the housing and wrap around support services they are providing to our unhoused neighbors. In this episode we feature the voices of the executive director of the  Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing for the City and County of San Francisco, Shireen McSpadden, the Manager of Housing Subsidy Programs at the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing, Alan Guttirez along with a participant in the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing Flex Housing Pool program Jugal Patel as well as the Executive Director of Episcopal Community Services of San Francisco, Beth Stokes.To find out more about the flex housing pool program along with other housing and wrap around support services that the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing for the City and County of San Francisco provides please go to h s h dot org And for more information about all of the wrap around services that the Episcopal Community Services of San Francisco provides and to make a donation please go to e c s dash s f dot orgPlease consider donating to Voices of the Community - Voices of the Community is fiscally sponsored by Intersection for the Arts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, which allows us to offer you tax deductions for your contributions. Please consider making a donation to help us provide future shows just like this one.

Leonard M. Lanzi has over 30 years of organization management and fund development experience. He served as the Executive Director of the Los Angeles Venture Association from 2007 to 2020. In his capacity at LAVA, Len worked with the LAVA board of directors to direct the strategic plan and organize educational and informational programs within the venture funded startup ecosystem in the greater Los Angeles region. Len brings a well-rounded knowledge from such diverse human service organizations at the Community Kitchen of Santa Barbara, Court Appointed Special Advocates, Junior Achievement of Southern California and the Boy Scouts of America. Leonard graduated from the University of Rochester with a bachelor's degree in psychology. He has professional certification from Pepperdine University on Private Capital Markets. He is an active member of the Rotary Club of Santa Monica where he served on its Board of Directors as VP Programs. Leonard also serves as Board Chair for Meals on Wheels West, Board Treasurer for the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce and the Board of Governors for StartOut, a nationwide entrepreneurial organization for the LGBT community.

This episode features Sarah Burgaud who leads Programs and Partnerships at StartOut, a national US 501c3 organization supporting LGBTQ+ founders. StartOut's mission is to accelerate the growth of the LGBTQ+ community to drive its economic empowerment, building a world where every LGBTQ+ entrepreneur has equal access to lead, succeed, and shape the workforce of the future. After 5 years with the not-for-profit, Sarah shares her insights on building lasting partnerships and what has made the pandemic an accelerator to the far-reaching systems change work StartOut is leading in the U.S. and globally.

Neste episódio, você vai conhecer mais sobre o programa StartOut Brasil, ação da ApexBrasil voltada à internacionalização de startups que já gerou mais de 16 milhões de dólares em negociações e fez mais de 220 atendimentos a startups interessadas em conquistar o mercado internacional. Conheça startups brasileiras que fazem negócios nos mais promissores ecossistemas de inovação do mundo com apoio da ApexBrasil e seus parceiros. O episódio traz os relatos de duas das 15 startups que participaram do ciclo do Startout realizado em Santiago do Chile em junho de 2022. Locução e Produção: Lorena Quintas. Edição: Carolina Antunes.

We sat down with one of the most influential people in tech, Lorenzo Thione, who shares his very inspiring journey and how that led him to be where he is today. Lorenzo grew up in Milan, Italy and had a technical background at an early age. He completed his studies at the University of Texas at Austin, from which he holds a M.S. in Computer Engineering. He is now the Managing Director of Gaingels, a leading LGBTQIA+/Allies investment syndicate and one of the largest and most active private investors in North America. He is also the co-founding Chairman of StartOut, Chairman of the Board at Social Edge, and previously co-founded Powerset, a natural-language search engine startup sold to Microsoft for $100 million in 2008. Lorenzo is named one of the most influential LGBT people in tech in 2014 and 2018 and his dedication in supporting and elevating leaders of the LGBTQ+ in the venture startup is amazing. As the Managing Producer at Sing Out, Louis! Productions, he is also a Tony-Award winner (Hadestown, The Inheritance). He produced and co-created the Broadway musical, Allegiance starring George Takei and Lea Salonga. He is currently working in a new original musical, Indigo, as well as The Elephant Whisperer. We covered a lot of ground in this episode, including: Topics Discussed: Where his passion comes from and how Lorenzo found entrepreneurship. Helping others to build a diverse company by providing more than just funding. The different companies that he had a part in building. His mark on Broadway. How your descent can make a difference in your future and your thinking. How the model of angel groups is evolving to syndicates and SPV's. The role of a “Platform” strategy to help Gaingels portfolio companies. What does Lorenzo think about the future of Venture Capital.   Quote of the Episode: “Strategic Value, what is all being brought to the table”   The Greatest Piece of Advice: His mentor told him to, “ be obsessive, about how you can add value, to your own network and relationships” Links & show notes from this episode: Lorenzo Thione on Bio Lorenzo Thione on LinkedIn Lorenzo Thione on Twitter Gaingels StartOut Shearshare Bryan Janeczko episode   ========== Visit Ambition Today on the Web: ​www.siskar.co/ambitiontoday Follow Kevin Siskar on Twitter: ​twitter.com/TheSiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Instagram: instagram.com/thesiskar Follow Kevin Siskar on Facebook: facebook.com/kevin.siskar Add Kevin Siskar on Snapchat: snapchat.com/add/krsiskar Kevin Siskar brings you ambitious entrepreneurs inspired by Tim Ferriss Show, How I Built This with Guy Raz, Residual Income, Entrepreneur on Fire, NPR, HBR, TED Radio Hour, the StartUp podcast with Alex Blumberg by Gimlet Media, Pat Flynn, Tony Robbins, The Uncertain Hour, Bigger Pockets, Art of Charm, Dave Ramsey, Planet Money, Jocko Podcast, EntreLeadership, Zigler, APM Marketplace, This Week In Startups with Jason Calacanis, Mixergy, Seth Godin, Joe Rogan Experience, GaryVee, James Altucher, Monocle 24, How to Start a Startup, Crooked Media, and The $100 MBA Show with Omar Zenhom, and Casey Neistat. Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS (apple.co/1NRRPzL), on Google Play Music (goo.gl/LmmciJ), or on Stitcher for Android (bit.ly/1Rn01dy).

There are verified stories of LGBTQ+ members who have been ignored and singled out by potential investors because of their gender identity.Our guest, Ben Stokes, is on a mission to help create a world that's built on radical inclusivity, where diversity of knowledge and experience is celebrated.He's the Founding Partner of Chasing Rainbows, an early-stage investment fund focused on investing in founders who come from underrepresented backgrounds - particularly those from the LGBTQ+ community. Ben previously founded and ran the virtual networking platform SocialTable, with customers on all 7 continents.Using his own experience as an LGBTQ+ founder of color, he has been an active angel investor in companies led by diverse founders and has fostered them through an exit or next investment phase.Please join me on Tuesday, May 31st at 7pm ET to meet Ben and learn how he's changing the investment landscape for our LGBTQ+ community.AMPLIFY YOUR STARTUPWhile tuning in live, be sure to share your business name, one liner and website in the comment threads during the live show - Ben and I will showcase and celebrate your work in the world !To learn more about Chasing Rainbows, please visit: https://www.chasingrainbows.vc/Please connect with Ben via social here:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bpstokes/ and https://www.linkedin.com/company/chasing-rainbows-vc/Twitter: https://twitter.com/rainbows_vcVenture Capital University: https://venturecapitaluniversity.com/Elizabeth Yin, Hustle Fund How to Raise A Seed Round: https://docs.google.com/document/d/14N9R1ZNervLjIR4bi5VjfEDkOSDAFclkGMT06kHwbPI/editThank you for carving out time to improve your Founder Game - when you do better, your business will do better - cheers!Ande ♥https://andelyons.com#diverseinvestor #lgbtqfriendly 00:00 - Andelicious Announcements04:00 - Founder Circle Hug07:00 - Meet Ben Stokes10:00 - Ben's first business SocialTable 12:00 - four ingredients that make a founder successful18:00 - how one single act of kindness saved Ben's life - Stitch That On A Pillow21:00 - the best measures of success for your founder journey24:15 - why Ben created Chasing Rainbows41:00 - Chasing Rainbows' investment criteria48:00 - Startout - building a world where every LGBTQ+ entrepreneur has equal access to lead, succeed, and shape the workforce of the future: https://startout.org/45:53 - the person who added the most value to Ben's founder and funder journey56:00 - Ben's mindset advice for founders and investorsCONNECT WITH ME ONLINE: https://twitter.com/AndeLyonshttps://www.facebook.com/StartupLifew... https://www.linkedin.com/in/andelyons/ https://www.instagram.com/ande_lyons/ https://www.pinterest.com/andelyons/ https://angel.co/andelyons TikTok: @andelyonsLINKS FROM SHOW:Arlan's Academy: https://arlansacademy.com/Elizabeth Yin's How to Raise a Seed Roundhttps://docs.google.com/document/d/14N9R1ZNervLjIR4bi5VjfEDkOSDAFclkGMT06kHwbPI/editANDELICIOUS RESOURCES:JOIN STARTUP LIFE LIVE MEETUP GROUPGet an alert whenever I post a new show!https://bit.ly/StartupLifeLIVEAGORAPULSEMy favorite digital marketing dashboard is AGORAPULSE – it's the best platform to manage your social media posts and presence! Learn more here: http://www.agorapulse.com?via=ande17STARTUP DOX Do you need attorney reviewed legal documents for your startup? I'm a proud community partner of Startup Dox, a new service provided by Selvarajah Law PC which helps you draw out all the essential paperwork needed to kickstart your business in a super cost-effective way. All the legal you're looking for… only without confusion or frustration. EVERY filing and document comes with an attorney review. You will never do it alone. Visit https://www.thestartupdox.com/ and use my discount code ANDE10 to receive 10% off your order.SPONSORSHIPIf you resonate with the show's mission of amplifying diverse founder voices while serving first-time founders around the world, please reach out to me to learn more about making an impact through sponsoring the Startup Life LIVE Show! ande@andelyons.com.STREAMYARD OVERLAYS AND GRAPHIC DESIGNNicky Pasquier – CANVA EXPERThttps://www.virtuosoassistant.co.uk/Visit Nicky's CANVA Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhUDgDHkkma3YhOf7uy8TAbt7HdkXhSjO

Moving to the United States from Milan in 2001—mere months before September 11—Lorenzo Thione was quickly forced to reckon with life's lack of guarantees. The only life worth living was an authentic one. Coming out was a must, and he never looked back. Lorenzo Thione is an entrepreneur, technologist, venture investor, and producer making an impact across several organizations: Gaingels, Sing Out, Louise! Productions, The Social Edge, and StartOut. He is a resolute LGBTQ community advocate and dedicated to amplifying underrepresented voices and stories. In this episode, Lorenzo discusses co-founding StartOut and managing Gaingels, and their respective commitments to LGBTQ entrepreneurs. He reflects on the significance of receiving funding and value from a diverse source and the immense impact of representation. In addition, Lorenzo shares insights into selling a company and assembling a diverse board of directors and leadership team. A true multi-hyphenate, Lorenzo speaks with Eric about his journey developing a Broadway musical alongside George Takei. Weaving his theatrical pursuits alongside his entrepreneurial advice, Lorenzo shares the profound inspiration for Allegiance and an exciting announcement about the future of the musical. (0:39) – Entrepreneur at heart (5:13) – Computer science (7:53) – Feeling different (11:27) – The power of representation (14:59) – LGBTQ advocacy and StartOut (19:18) – Gaingels (26:44) – Going beyond VC (28:46) – Diversifying a board of directors (34:20) – The road to Broadway with Allegiance (47:24) – What's the hardest thing about being an entrepreneur? (49:54) – Selling a company Eric Satz—entrepreneur, serial investor, lover of hot peppers—is the founder and CEO of Alto. The idea behind Alto was born out of a problem. Eric found a clear need to give people more control over their investments (and investment opportunities) in a simple, streamlined way and created Alto to make these opportunities available to all investors, not just the ultra-wealthy or institutional investors.  If you'd like to receive new episodes as they're published, please subscribe to The Altogether Show with Eric Satz in Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review in Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It helps others find the show. Podcast episode production by Dante32.

Moving to the United States from Milan in 2001—mere months before September 11—Lorenzo Thione was quickly forced to reckon with life's lack of guarantees. The only life worth living was an authentic one. Coming out was a must, and he never looked back. Lorenzo Thione is an entrepreneur, technologist, venture investor, and producer making an impact across several organizations: Gaingels, Sing Out, Louise! Productions, The Social Edge, and StartOut. He is a resolute LGBTQ community advocate and dedicated to amplifying underrepresented voices and stories. In this episode, Lorenzo discusses co-founding StartOut and managing Gaingels, and their respective commitments to LGBTQ entrepreneurs. He reflects on the significance of receiving funding and value from a diverse source and the immense impact of representation. In addition, Lorenzo shares insights into selling a company and assembling a diverse board of directors and leadership team. A true multi-hyphenate, Lorenzo speaks with Eric about his journey developing a Broadway musical alongside George Takei. Weaving his theatrical pursuits alongside his entrepreneurial advice, Lorenzo shares the profound inspiration for Allegiance and an exciting announcement about the future of the musical. (0:39) – Entrepreneur at heart (5:13) – Computer science (7:53) – Feeling different (11:27) – The power of representation (14:59) – LGBTQ advocacy and StartOut (19:18) – Gaingels (26:44) – Going beyond VC (28:46) – Diversifying a board of directors (34:20) – The road to Broadway with Allegiance (47:24) – What's the hardest thing about being an entrepreneur? (49:54) – Selling a company Eric Satz—entrepreneur, serial investor, lover of hot peppers—is the founder and CEO of Alto. The idea behind Alto was born out of a problem. Eric found a clear need to give people more control over their investments (and investment opportunities) in a simple, streamlined way and created Alto to make these opportunities available to all investors, not just the ultra-wealthy or institutional investors.  If you'd like to receive new episodes as they're published, please subscribe to The Altogether Show with Eric Satz in Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review in Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It helps others find the show. Podcast episode production by Dante32.

Invest In Her host Catherine Gray talks with Lorenzo Thione is a serial entrepreneur with a passion for the intersection of technology, art, design, communication and social value. He's the Managing Director of Gaingels and a co-founding chairman of StartOut, two of the leading groups dedicated to supporting and elevating LGBTQ+ leaders in the venture startup ecosystem. As the Managing Producer at Sing Out, Louise! Productions, Lorenzo is also a Tony-Award and Drama Desk winning Broadway producer (Hadestown, The Inheritance) and the co-creator and lead producer of Allegiance, the Broadway musical starring George Takei and Lea Salonga, of which he also directed and produced the 2016 film. His current theater projects include a new original musical, Indigo, as well as the stage adaptation of The Elephant Whisperer. Join us on Facebook LIVE every Wednesday at NOON PT @SheAngelInvestors. Subscribe on Apple Podcast https://apple.co/3citN1I, Spotify https://spoti.fi/2ZUrFZc, or wherever podcasts are available!

Do you want to find ways to make money and help society? Try social venture entrepreneurship to make more impact. It's when people use business as a force for good in the world. The big news is because we live in such an interconnected society these days, social entrepreneurs have access to more resources than ever before.  This has made them one of the most economically powerful groups on earth - with billions of dollars invested into their ideas every year! But why should you care? Well, if you're like me, you're interested in making your money work for something bigger. In this episode you'll discover a powerful strategy to build your business network, along with some incredible examples of how our guest has done this with Tony Robbins, Sarah Jessica Parker, Matthew Broderick, and former CEO of PepsiCo Indra Nooyi. Enter my interview with social venture entrepreneur and CEO and Co-Founder of Nunbelievable, Bryan Janeczko. Nunbelievable is a better-for-you baked goods company. This is a social impact venture with a give-back model to combat food insecurity that's backed by Tony Robbins and others. Their mission is to create incredible snacking opportunities while ending hunger in the most delicious way. He makes a big announcement in this episode where they've just crossed a HUGE social venture threshold. Bryan is a pioneer in the now $1 billion on-demand meal delivery industry beginning with NuKitchen, the novel prepared meal delivery service that he co-founded and ultimately sold to Nutrisystem, paving the way for the online meal delivery industry. He's also a  member of the Advisory Board at Sparks & Honey, the cultural intelligence agency; and he works alongside industry luminaries such as Indra Nooyi to help identify what's new and next in culture, particularly as it relates to startup food innovation. Business Insider and Pitchbook named him one of the most influential LGBTQ entrepreneurs for co-founding StartOut, which now is the world's leading non-profit fostering entrepreneurship in the LGBTQ community. Bryan's LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryanjaneczko/  Website: https://nunbelievable.com/ WHAT YOU WILL DISCOVER FROM THIS EPISODE: The big role that Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick played in his career. Why he left Morgan Stanley to start his own business. The company he founded, NuKitchen, and how it pioneered meal delivery. The importance of discovering your own “super powers” and how he's learned to leverage his.  An essential lesson to learn BEFORE starting your business. How Wayne Dyer inspired him in one of his darkest moments. The role that Tony Robbins played in launching his current company. Becoming the “Bombas of Baked Goods”. A 'great product + a great mission' opens up stores for your business. Donating 1 million meals through their sales! The three people who inspire him most. Social venture entrepreneurship and why you should consider it The employee retention secret from Bryan and former show guests  Bryan, Seth Goldman (Honest Tea, Eat the Change, Tom Szaky (TerraCycle), and TK Pillan (Veggie Grill). How meditation and manifestation have played in his career. What Tony Robbins taught Bryan about meditation. QUOTES: “I'm driven by relationships.” When it comes to starting your own business… “Get your experience before quitting your day job or hitch your wagon to someone who does.” “I welcome ideas, but what I welcome even more is a practical solution for implementation.” RESOURCES: Kundalini Yoga https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kundalini_yoga (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kundalini_yoga ) Traction https://www.amazon.com/Traction-Get-Grip-Your-Business/dp/1936661837 (https://www.amazon.com/Traction-Get-Grip-Your-Business/dp/1936661837)  Tony Robbins https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Robbins (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Robbins)  Sarah Jessica...

StartOut is a community of LGBTQ+ founders, professionals and  their Allies with a national membership of over 17K. StartOut began in 2009 and has been the champion for LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs, promoting the successes of the LGBTQ community, as well as researching the economic impact of LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs.

Lorenzo is the Managing Director of Gaingels and a co-founding chairman of StartOut, two of the leading groups dedicated to support and elevate LGBTQ+ leaders in the venture startup ecosystem. He is also a Tony-Award and Drama Desk winning Broadway producer and the co-creator and lead producer of Allegiance, the Broadway musical. He previously co-founded startups Powerset, which was acquired later on by Microsoft. He is also an investor, board member, and advisor for startups such as Figure Eight (now Appian), Weights & Biases, CrowdMed, Famo.us, Gobble, Just, and Lucid, and many more. He's an outspoken LGBT advocate and was named one of the most influential LGBT people in tech in 2014 and 2018 by Business Insider. CONNECT WITH LORENZO Gaingels (https://gaingels.com/) StartOut (https://startout.org/) Allegiance (https://allegiancemusical.com/) LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorenzothione/) Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/lorenzosfnyc) Twitter (https://twitter.com/thione) ABOUT THE HOST My name is Sam Harris. I am a British entrepreneur, investor and explorer. From hitchhiking across Kazakstan to programming AI doctors I am always pushing myself in the spirit of curiosity and Growth. My background is in Biology and Psychology with a passion for improving the world and human behaviour. I have built and sold companies from an early age and love coming up with unique ways to make life more enjoyable and meaningful. Connect with Sam: Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/samjamharris/) Twitter (https://twitter.com/samjamharris) LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharris48/) Wiser than Yesterday (https://www.wiserpod.com) ReasonFM (https://reason.fm/podcast/growth-mindset-podcast) Sam's blog - SamWebsterHarris.com (https://samwebsterharris.com/) Support the Show - Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/growthmindset) Subscribe! If you enjoyed the podcast please subscribe and rate it. And of course, share with your friends! Special Guest: Lorenzo Thione.

Happy National Coming Out Day! Danielle recently sat down with AJ DeLeón, Co-Founder of Innovare, to discuss how to market yourself as an out entrepreneur and how our identities are our superpowers in business. This podcast episode is a recording from that panel, hosted by StartOut, a nonprofit whos mission is to increase the number, diversity, and and impact of LGBTQ+ founders and amplify their stories to drive the economic empowerment of the community.Get the Shownotes: https://darnroberts.com/startout/ Connect With Me: instagram.com/darnrobertshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/danielleroberts/Give me ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Less than 1% of U.S. Venture Capital (VC) deals go in favor of LGBT+ founders, according to VC firm Backstage Capital, and 37% of LGBT+ entrepreneurs choose not to “out” themselves to investors, according to StartOut, a non-profit for LGBT+ entrepreneurs. (Reuters, 2020)Starting a business is a process, and it's no easy feat for underrepresented entrepreneurs from the LGBTQ+ community.In this week's episode, Coach Kirsten Franklin speaks with queer Founder and CEO of Play Out Apparel, Abby Sugar on how investors and venture capitalists can better support underrepresented founders and diversify their investment opportunities.Learn how she started Play Out Apparel, the challenges she faced with funding and rolling it out to the public, the most important thing investors need to prioritize when supporting businesses like Play Out Apparel, and the one thing that gives her hope for the future.Here is the link to her recent feature in the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/25/us/gender-equal-underwear.html You can connect with and follow Abby Sugar below:Website: https://www.playoutapparel.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abbysugar/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/aesugar30 ; https://twitter.com/playoutnyc Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/a.n.other.sugar/ ; https://www.instagram.com/playoutnyc/ Abby Sugar is the Founder and CEO of Play Out Apparel, an omnichannel gender-equal streetwear and underwear brand. She graduated from The Founder Institute and is proud to be an FI Select Portfolio company, the top 2% of their companies. As an outgoing, unapologetically queer startup founder, she strives to be a leading voice in and for the LGBTQ+ community. Abby's entrepreneurial spirit and unique personal style give her an outsider's advantage in the world of fashion and DTC startup ecosystem.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Você sabe o que é uma Smart City, ou uma Cidade Inteligente? Augusto Archer nos explanou os conceitos que tornam as Cidades Inteligentes. Augusto Archer é Co-Founder Cit4Life, Gerente Utilities da Sonda, Professor da FGV em Cidades Inteligentes e sustentáveis, Mentor associado da ABMEN, Startout e InovAtiva, Vice Chair do Chapter RJ da Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), Diretor de Novos Negócios e Inovação da Câmara de Comercio Brasil-Chile. Atua no Mercado de tecnologia a mais de 25 anos já tendo participado do board de grandes Empresas atuando com projetos relacionados a IoT, Telecom, Utilities, Smartcity, Smartgrid. Bacharel em Administração de Empresa com pós-graduação em Análise de Sistemas, Administração de Sistemas de Informações Gerenciais e MBA em Logística empresarial. Nos siga no instagram: @wslopes - @grupowbioenergy - @augusto_archer LinkedIn: Wagner Lopes / Grupo W Bioenergy / Augusto Archer Apoio: Bravosul Quer nos apoiar? Mande email para gwb@gwb.eco.br e nos ajude a chegar em mais pessoas.

Lorenzo Thione is the Managing Director of Gaingels and a co-founding chairman of StartOut, two of the leading groups dedicated to supporting and elevating LGBTQ+ leaders in the venture startup ecosystem. There is a negative business impact when a gay person is uncomfortable being open about their orientation. The time and attention dedicated to that issue takes away from time building out an idea or company without fear. Gaingels and StartOut help support that movement by increasing awareness and highlighting members of the LGBTQ+ community who hold top tech positions. As Apple CEO, Tim Cook famously came out publicly, after some hesitation, in support of this mission. “He came to the realization that the value of representation is the power of giving people an idea of what's possible for them and seeing themselves reflected as a source of strength and diversity as opposed to just a reason to be called other.” ————————————————————————— To learn more about this episode, including podcast transcripts and show notes, visit *salt.org/talks* ( http://salt.org/talks ) Moderated by Anthony Scaramucci.

Welcome to Episode 22 of the Asian Hustle Network Podcast! We are very excited to have Mikkoh Chen and Megan Ruan on this week's episode. We interview Asian entrepreneurs around the world to amplify their voices and empower Asians to pursue their dreams and goals. We believe that each person has a message and a unique story from their entrepreneurial journey that they can share with all of us. Check us out on Anchor, iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play Music, TuneIn, Spotify, and more. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave us a positive 5-star review. This is our opportunity to use the voices of the Asian community and share these incredible stories with the world. We release a new episode every Wednesday, so stay tuned! Mikkoh Chen is a Taiwanese-American entrepreneur and diversity champion. The Los Angeles native turned New Yorker is driven by building scalable platforms that aim to shift societal norms and create greater equity across all mediums. Given his firm belief that growing diverse talent and matching it with premier opportunities engenders stronger leadership, Mikkoh has always had a passion for the intersection of recruiting and technology. Outside of Gold House, Mikkoh leads marketplace operations at Trusted Health, a digital employment platform that optimizes the healthcare workforce, and advises Mathison.io, the first diversity talent marketplace. In addition, he is a passionate member of the LGBTQ+ organizations StartOut and Out in Tech. Outside of his professional career, he co-leads Gold House’s success arm, including the top accelerator for Asian-led businesses, Gold Rush. Mikkoh has made it a mission to unite all types of entrepreneurs and inspire the next generation of community and business leaders. Megan Ruan is a Chinese-American entrepreneur, investor, and advocate based in New York City. Born and raised in the Midwest, she is passionate about building communities in which women and minorities have equal access to mentorship, funding, and media representation. Megan co-heads Gold House’s initiatives for founder and investor success. Over the past 18 months, her team has built Gold Rush (the nation’s leading Asian accelerator) from the ground up, creating a program that provides 1:1 advisorship, networking, and educational seminars to hundreds of founders. To date, Gold Rush companies have raised over $250 million in funding. In addition, Megan leads Gold House’s efforts to build a network of influential Asian angel investors that invest in high potential early-stage companies. Outside of Gold House, Megan is an investor at the Johnson & Johnson family office. Megan began her career as an analyst at Morgan Stanley and earned dual degrees with distinction from Yale University in Economics and Psychology. About Gold Rush Gold Rush is an accelerator for the most promising Asian-led companies. Twice a year, Gold Rush selects two cohorts of Asian founders to participate in a 12-week program encompassing 1:1 mentorship from a slate of industry icons and investors, a growth-focused curriculum, and a complimentary professional PR and marketing package culminating in our signature Gold Rush sale. The accelerator is a venture of Gold House, the largest nonprofit collective of Asian leaders dedicated to forging stronger bonds that deliver more authentic and successful lives for Asians and multicultural communities. Learn more about Gold House: https://goldhouse.org/ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/asianhustlenetwork/support

In this episode of OutBüro Voices featuring LGBTQ professionals, entrepreneurs, and community leaders from around the world, host Dennis Velco chats with Lorenzo Thione, Managing Director of Gaingles (https://www.gaingels.com), an LGTQ equality centric venture capital syndicate. Lorenzo is a serial out gay entrepreneur, venture capitalist, writer, Broadway producer, and LGBTQ non-profit founder. Born and raised in Italy, he moved to the United States to attend college in Texas focusing on computational linguistic artificial intelligence. He co-founded his first start-up business right out of college and it's been the entrepreneur's path ever since. Lorenzo Thione is the Managing Producer of Sing Out, Louise! Productions, the co-founder and CEO of The Social Edge, and a Managing Director at Gaingels (https://www.gaingels.com), a venture investment group based in NYC focused on investing and supporting LGBT+ founded/led startups, and socially responsible companies focused on supporting LGBTQ equality. In addition to his work as an entrepreneur, technologist and venture investor, Lorenzo is the co-creator/co-book writer and the lead producer of Allegiance, the 2015 Broadway musical starring George Takei and Lea Salonga. In developing Allegiance, he developed and deployed social-media viral strategies that led to the astounding growth and unprecedented awareness and audience engagement for both George Takei and Allegiance's social media platforms, and – in turn - to the founding of The Social Edge, a social media management and marketing firm based in NYC. His producing credits include The Inheritance, Slave Play, Hadestown (Tony Award), Cher Show, The New One, Catch Me If You Can (Tony Nomination), and American Idiot. Additional IMDB credits: George Takei's Allegiance (Director, Executive Producer), Bandstand – The Boys Are Back (Director, Executive Producer), Allegiance To Broadway (Executive Producer) Besides being an active investor in the LGBT+ startup ecosystem via his position in Gaingels, Lorenzo is a founding board member and Chair Emeritus of StartOut, a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering and developing entrepreneurship within the LGBT community. A native of Milan, Italy, Lorenzo holds an M.S. in Computer Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and has co-authored several publications in Software Engineering and Computational Linguistics. He is an active investor, advisor, or board member, in over 80+ startups and a named inventor on over 30 pending and issued patents in the US and worldwide. Connect with Lorenzo on OutBüro at: https://www.outburo.com/profile/lorenzothione/ Join Myles on OutBüro, the LGBTQ professional and entrepreneur online community network for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, allies and our employers who support LGBTQ welcoming workplace equality focused benefits, policies, and business practices. https://www.OutBuro.com Would you like to be featured like this? Contact the host Dennis Velco. https://www.outburo.com/profile/dennisvelco/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/outburo/message

Dr. Vivienne Ming is a theoretical neuroscientist, entrepreneur, and author. She co-founded Socos Labs, her fifth company, a “mad science incubator.” The think tank is far from “mad” however, as she and her wife provide guidance to clients on how to use AI and neuroscience to enhance hiring practices, the treatment of employees, and better ways to support students. In her free time, Vivienne has invented AI systems to help treat her diabetic son, predict manic episodes in bipolar sufferers weeks in advance, and reunited orphan refugees with extended family members. She sits on the boards of numerous companies and nonprofits, including an Out Entrepreneur favorite, StartOut.

Dr. Vivienne Ming is a theoretical neuroscientist, entrepreneur, and author. She co-founded Socos Labs, her fifth company, a “mad science incubator.” The think tank is far from “mad” however, as she and her wife provide guidance to clients on how to use AI and neuroscience to enhance hiring practices, the treatment of employees, and better ways to support students. In her free time, Vivienne has invented AI systems to help treat her diabetic son, predict manic episodes in bipolar sufferers weeks in advance, and reunited orphan refugees with extended family members. She sits on the boards of numerous companies and nonprofits, including an Out Entrepreneur favorite, StartOut.

Founded in 2009 to promote LGBTQ+ equality and fight discrimination in the business world, StartOut has emerged as a leading champion for the LGBTQ+ entrepreneurial community, providing the resources entrepreneurs need to succeed, promoting success, and providing critical research on the economic impacts of LGBTQ+ discrimination. Join Chris Fraley, Board Member of StartOut, as we discuss the evolution of the organization and its work; the state of LGBTQ+ entrepreneurship in the U.S. and in our region; and also the Supreme Court’s recent landmark ruling that federal law protects workers from job discrimination based on their sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression, and its impacts on LGBTQ+ entrepreneurship. To learn more and get involved, please visit http://www.StartOut.org For more information, please visit www.CivitasLA.com And, we hope you’ll rate and review our show; and stay in touch with us on Facebook (@CivitasLA), Instagram (@Civitas_LA) and Twitter (@Civitas_LA).

Hello everybody and welcome to a new episode of our #CreativityWillSaveUs Podcast series! This special project is a video and podcast series http://creativepoisn.com/creativity-will-save-us/ where prominent figures from the international world of art, culture and entertainment come together to reflect on the central value that art brings to all humanity during these challenging quarantine times of the global COVID-19 pandemic. The initiative is also designed to support the global community of artists who are seeing all of their venues temporarily shutting down to safely prevent the spreading of the Corona Virus. I invite you all to go check our Web Series on the Official Creative Pois-On Youtube Channel. And today we have a very special guest: Lorenzo Thione https://thione.me/ Lorenzo is a Tony-Award winning Broadway producer and the co-creator and lead producer of Allegiance https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegiance_(musical), the Broadway musical starring George Takei https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Takei and Lea Salonga https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lea_Salonga , of which Lorenzo also directed and produced the 2016 film. He previously co-founded startups such as Powerset (acquired by Microsoft in 2008, which is the tech heart of Bing) and Artify.it; he is an investor, board member, and advisor for startups such as Figure Eight (now Appian), Weights & Biases, CrowdMed, Famo.us, Gobble, Just, and Lucid, and many more. Lorenzo is also the co-founder and board chair emeritus of StartOut, https://startout.org/ leading non-profit dedicated to fostering entrepreneurship within the LGBTQ community and is an outspoken LGBT advocate who was also named one of the most influential LGBTQ people in tech in 2014 and 2018 by Business Insider. He is also the co-founder and CEO of The Social Edge https://www.the-social-edge.com/ , a social media marketing and consulting firm with a focus on Broadway theater and nonprofit communications. His production company - Sing Out, Louise! https://www.playbill.com/person/sing-out-louise-productions-vault-0000126856 -recently co-produced several successful plays on Broadway, from Slave Play https://www.playbill.com/production/slave-playjohn-golden-theatre to the Inheritance https://www.playbill.com/production/the-inheritanceethel-barrymore-theatre-2019-2020 and he is part of the producers of the musical Mrs. Doubtfire which, due to the current state of emergency, has been suspended and we all hope it will reopen soon!Ready for this amazing interview?

Hello everybody and welcome to a new episode of our #CreativityWillSaveUs Podcast series! This special project is a video and podcast series where prominent figures from the international world of art, culture and entertainment come together to reflect on the central value that art brings to all humanity during these challenging quarantine times of the global COVID-19 pandemic. The initiative is also designed to support the global community of artists who are seeing all of their venues temporarily shutting down to safely prevent the spreading of the Corona Virus. I invite you all to go check our Web Series on the Official Creative Pois-On Youtube Channel. And today we have a very special guest: Lorenzo Thione Tony-Award Winning Broadway producer and the co-creator and lead producer of Allegiance , the Broadway musical starring George Takei and Lea Salonga , of which Lorenzo also directed and produced the 2016 film. He previously co-founded startups such as Powerset (acquired by Microsoft in 2008, which is the tech heart of Bing) and Artify.it; he is an investor, board member, and advisor for startups such as Figure Eight (now Appian), Weights & Biases, CrowdMed, Famo.us, Gobble, Just, and Lucid, and many more. Lorenzo is also the co-founder and board chair emeritus of StartOut, leading non-profit dedicated to fostering entrepreneurship within the LGBTQ community and is an outspoken LGBT advocate who was also named one of the most influential LGBTQ people in tech in 2014 and 2018 by Business Insider. He is also the co-founder and CEO of The Social Edge , a social media marketing and consulting firm with a focus on Broadway theater and nonprofit communications. His production company Sing Out, Louise! recently co-produced several successful plays on Broadway, from Slave Play to The Inheritance and he is part of the producers of the musical Mrs. Doubtfire which, due to the current state of emergency, has been suspended and we all hope it will reopen soon! Ready for this amazing interview?

In this pigisode, Brian is hungover from partying like a rock star at Industry Bar in Hell's Kitchen. Rick talks about the letters of the letters of the LGBTQ Community - LBTQ parties. Rick also talks about attending StartOut, a queer not-for-profit to help queer entrepreneurs, Demo Day with six companies competing for funding in front of four investors. Brian and Rick share their favorite bars in New York City for dancing and drinking or doing both. Rick talks about parties in other cities and Horse Market SF in Chicago which leads to topic of Fickstutenmarkt, the horse fair style sex party. You have to listen to understand. Make sure you subscribe to our podcast as well as our Late Night Cruisin YouTube channel.  

Max Thomas is an advisor to start-ups and growth companies on executive leadership, business development & sales, digital analytics, and mergers & acquisitions. Max is a serial entrepreneur who has built, sold and transitioned several companies in the fields of digital marketing, online retail, and publishing. Max is a member of the angel-investor syndicate Gaingels, a mentor at StartOut, and an advisor at ERA NYC and Innovation Norway. He holds a BA from Columbia University and an MBA from Yale University. Max lives in NYC and Amsterdam. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxthomas/ Web: https://www.maxthomas.co/ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/paul-kimmerling/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/paul-kimmerling/support

Bryan Janeczko was recently named one of the Top 23 LGBTQ people in Tech, along side other notable figures such as Tim Cook, Peter Thiel, and more. He has built a strong track record for building great businesses including: NuKitchen, a food preparation service that helped people eat healthier. NuKitchen was later sold to Nutrisystem and pioneered the market long before Blue Apron or Plated even existed.  Now Bryan is the Founder of Gro, an on-demand startup academy. As part of the Loeb.NYC family, a venture studio in the heart of New York City, Bryan is helping founders at all stages. In a new partnership between Tony Robbins and Loeb, they have also launched Nunbelievable Foods, a baked goods company that turns their profits into feeding the homeless. Bryan grew up in Milwaukee, started a candy selling business in High School where he would at times bribe the teachers with a candy bar in order to sell more candy bars at the beginning of each class to his fellow classmates. It was such a popular business, that he started having distributors, which eventually had the principal pulling the plug on his first entrepreneurial experience. However, that didn’t stop his entrepreneurial spirit! After school, and a summer abroad in England, Bryan decided to make the big move to NY! He had a place to stay for one week and a credit card, and the rest is history! Tune in to hear more of Bryan’s story:  •  Learning resourcefulness early on.  •  His life changing trip to England •  Starting and selling his company, NuKitchen •  Co-founding Startout •  His time as the Director of Founder Institute New York •  Working with Loeb NYC •  Founding Gro Academy •  Working with Tony Robbins and  Nunbelievable Foods Quote of the Episode: “Every founder brings their unique set of traits and many of us become entrepreneurs because we may not make it in more traditional jobs…” Ambition Today Question of the Day™ : What advice can you give an entrepreneur at the beginning stages of building their first business? The Single Greatest Piece of Advice: Members of the "A-list" can listen to exclusive A-list bonus clips here! If you are not a member yet be sure to join the Ambition Today A-list! Links from this episode: Gro Academy Bryan’s LinkedIn Startout Loeb NY Nunbelievable Founder Institute We Work Audible ========== Proudly Independent & Supported By: Finta- A secure online, cloud-based, operations center for your start-up. Quickly set up your company and you've got a blazing fast tool for raising capital and securing your sensitive company information. House your pitch deck, secure your legal documents, organize your cap table, notify target investors, and close deals faster! Finta allows you to raise more, save time, and increase your efficiency. Audible - Visit www.audibletrial.com/AmbitionToday to download and keep any audiobook for free. Download your free book now! The A-List - Join the podcast’s backchannel for exclusive access to additional Ambition Today content, deeper guest insights, a community of fellow fans, and much more. Plus, Learn the single greatest piece of advice each guest has ever learned!  ========== Follow: Visit Ambition Today on the Web: www.siskar.co/ambitiontoday  Follow Kevin Siskar on: Twitter: twitter.com/TheSiskar Instagram: instagram.com/thesiskar Facebook: facebook.com/kevin.siskar Snapchat: snapchat.com/add/krsiskar ========== About:  Ambition Today is a podcast about entrepreneurs, creators, investors, and builders who ambitiously changed the world. Each episode explores the hardships and heroism of everyday life to reveal the key moments which leave behind a lasting legacy. Creating value in the world is hard, but you are not alone. No matter where you are in the world Ambition Today, hosted by Kevin Siskar, is here to keep you company you as you create your own incredible story. Kevin Siskar brings you ambitious entrepreneurs inspired by Tim Ferriss Show, How I Built This with Guy Raz, Residual Income, Entrepreneur on Fire, NPR, HBR, TED Radio Hour, the StartUp podcast with Alex Blumberg by Gimlet Media, Pat Flynn, The Uncertain Hour, Bigger Pockets, Art of Charm, Dave Ramsey, Planet Money, Jocko Podcast, EntreLeadership, Zigler, APM Marketplace, This Week In Startups with Jason Calacanis, Mixergy, Seth Godin, Joe Rogan Experience, GaryVee, James Altucher, Monocle 24, How to Start a Startup, Crooked Media, and The $100 MBA Show with Omar Zenhom, Casey Neistat, and Masters of Scale with Reid Hoffman.  Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS (apple.co/1NRRPzL), on Google Play Music (goo.gl/LmmciJ), or on Stitcher for Android (bit.ly/1Rn01dy).

Millions of Americans battle and fight to understand their Medicare & Medicaid access and coverages every year. But as Jo Schneier explains, the difficulty falls upon Americans that are 65+ and have a very low success rate. Learn more about Jo's startup: https://trusty.care/ Shout Out: Jo and MinnoTank were connected through an amazing network called https://startout.org/ StartOut is a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating great business leaders by fostering lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer entrepreneurs.

Rick and Brian caught up on their Summer vacation and discuss upcoming events. Brian shares his adventures in P-Town Carnival, Rick discuss gay business network, Startout, Ootem Markeing, Musl App. Brian and Rick discuss pansexual parties, Scum NYC and NYC Inferno and sex party culture at these events. Rick talks about Maspalomas Fetish Week 2018 in Gran Canaria, Canary Island, Spain. Rick talks about the upcoming Halloween Parties including Brut Possession, MEAT NYC, Ghostship and more. Rick also discuss Afterhour parties in New York City where men can go cruising for sex. Closing out Rick and Brian share their favorite Netflix shows, Big Mouth, Insatiable, Atypical and American Vandal.

John Graham is the CEO & co-founder of iObjx (i-objects), a NEW entertainment lifeform. His company utilizes artificial intelligence to automatically assemble an event's photos and videos into an automatic cinematic experience during a live event. As a seasoned start-up founder, John started and self-funded his first business from 1994-2005, and as a marketing guru he has led the national marketing for brands including McDonald's, Sony, M&M Mars, and DeVry University. I had the pleasure of meeting John through the StartOut online network for LGBTQ entrepreneurs, and I'm thrilled to share his entrepreneurial journey.

John Graham is the CEO & co-founder of iObjx (i-objects), a NEW entertainment lifeform. His company utilizes artificial intelligence to automatically assemble an event's photos and videos into an automatic cinematic experience during a live event. As a seasoned start-up founder, John started and self-funded his first business from 1994-2005, and as a marketing guru he has led the national marketing for brands including McDonald's, Sony, M&M Mars, and DeVry University. I had the pleasure of meeting John through the StartOut online network for LGBTQ entrepreneurs, and I'm thrilled to share his entrepreneurial journey.

Paul Grossinger is the Founder of Gaingels, the first investment network backing LGBTQ founders, which has 120 members, and has led to $10 million in investment for LGBTQ founded companies worldwide. He has served as a Board of Governors member for StartOut, advisor to Out in Tech, and Board Member for Marriage Equality USA. A regular speaker and panelist, Paul has spoken for a wide range of organizations including Slush, International CES, and CTIA Wireless. He writes regularly for Inc.com, and is a graduate of Columbia University's School of Journalism and the Johns Hopkins University.

Paul Grossinger is the Founder of Gaingels, the first investment network backing LGBTQ founders, which has 120 members, and has led to $10 million in investment for LGBTQ founded companies worldwide. He has served as a Board of Governors member for StartOut, advisor to Out in Tech, and Board Member for Marriage Equality USA. A regular speaker and panelist, Paul has spoken for a wide range of organizations including Slush, International CES, and CTIA Wireless. He writes regularly for Inc.com, and is a graduate of Columbia University's School of Journalism and the Johns Hopkins University.

Ajay Bam is an accomplished serial entrepreneur, educator and innovator with 13+ years of experience building startups with successful exits and launching products with world class brands in areas of e-commerce, digital payments and mobile marketing. He currently serves as the co-founder and CEO of Vyrill.com, and I had the pleasure of meeting him through StartOut, a vibrant network of dedicated LGBTQ entrepreneurs and supporters who care deeply about expanding economic opportunities to LGBTQ people. On this episode, Ajay offers insights of how he has brought his authentic self to his work, and how he is committed to building an inclusive workplace for his colleagues. Be sure to check out a very special offer Ajay is providing for listeners to this episode in the show notes!

Ajay Bam is an accomplished serial entrepreneur, educator and innovator with 13+ years of experience building startups with successful exits and launching products with world class brands in areas of e-commerce, digital payments and mobile marketing. He currently serves as the co-founder and CEO of Vyrill.com, and I had the pleasure of meeting him through StartOut, a vibrant network of dedicated LGBTQ entrepreneurs and supporters who care deeply about expanding economic opportunities to LGBTQ people. On this episode, Ajay offers insights of how he has brought his authentic self to his work, and how he is committed to building an inclusive workplace for his colleagues. Be sure to check out a very special offer Ajay is providing for listeners to this episode in the show notes!

Jacob Levine is the founder of a software startup called Chorus Connection, a company that builds technology making it easy for choirs to manage all aspects of their organization in a single place, from their membership directory and calendar to attendance and dues. I was fortunate to connect with Jacob through StartOut, a vibrant network of dedicated LGBTQ entrepreneurs and supporters. During this conversation, Jacob shares why he established his business values centered around passion, fun, and authenticity. He also talks about the importance of finding mentors further along the entrepreneurship path to offer support and guidance.

Jacob Levine is the founder of a software startup called Chorus Connection, a company that builds technology making it easy for choirs to manage all aspects of their organization in a single place, from their membership directory and calendar to attendance and dues. I was fortunate to connect with Jacob through StartOut, a vibrant network of dedicated LGBTQ entrepreneurs and supporters. During this conversation, Jacob shares why he established his business values centered around passion, fun, and authenticity. He also talks about the importance of finding mentors further along the entrepreneurship path to offer support and guidance.

Laura Laban is the Co-Founder & CEO of Flying Development Studio. After six years of working in the tech industry, she broke out on her own and turned her side hustle into her full time job – developing a flight simulator software program, called Infinite Flight. I was fortunate to connect with Laura through StartOut, a vibrant network of dedicated LGBTQ entrepreneurs and supporters. During this conversation, Laura shares how she developed a successful business enterprise all while managing coming out as transgender last year. On this episode, Laura gets vulnerable and shares some valuable insights on how to navigate the challenges of transitioning on the job, all while maintaining a thriving business.

Laura Laban is the Co-Founder & CEO of Flying Development Studio. After six years of working in the tech industry, she broke out on her own and turned her side hustle into her full time job – developing a flight simulator software program, called Infinite Flight. I was fortunate to connect with Laura through StartOut, a vibrant network of dedicated LGBTQ entrepreneurs and supporters. During this conversation, Laura shares how she developed a successful business enterprise all while managing coming out as transgender last year. On this episode, Laura gets vulnerable and shares some valuable insights on how to navigate the challenges of transitioning on the job, all while maintaining a thriving business.

Ron is a funding strategist, specializing in helping startups, early stage firms, and businesses of every size build strong foundations for growth and funding success. He is passionate about supporting LGBTQ business owners, and those aspiring to take the entrepreneurial leap. I was fortunate to connect with Ron through StartOut, a vibrant network of dedicated LGBTQ entrepreneurs and supporters. During this conversation, Ron offers sage advice about how to build a thriving business without compromising your values or covering aspects your authentic self. Give it a listen, and consider connecting with Ron if you are in the early stages of building your own business.

Ron is a funding strategist, specializing in helping startups, early stage firms, and businesses of every size build strong foundations for growth and funding success. He is passionate about supporting LGBTQ business owners, and those aspiring to take the entrepreneurial leap. I was fortunate to connect with Ron through StartOut, a vibrant network of dedicated LGBTQ entrepreneurs and supporters. During this conversation, Ron offers sage advice about how to build a thriving business without compromising your values or covering aspects your authentic self. Give it a listen, and consider connecting with Ron if you are in the early stages of building your own business.

#98: Finding Your Niche & Brand in Consulting With Rhodes Perry   Jenn T Grace:              You are listening to the Personal Branding for the LGBTQ Professional Podcast, episode 98.   Introduction:              Welcome to the Personal Branding for the LGBTQ Professional Podcast; the podcast dedicated to helping LGBTQ professionals and business owners grow their business and careers through the power of leveraging their LGBTQ identities in their personal brand. You'll learn how to market your products and services both broadly, and within the LGBTQ community. You'll hear from incredible guests who are leveraging the power of their identity for good, as well as those who haven't yet started, and everyone in between. And now your host. She teaches straight people how to market to gay people, and gay people how to market themselves. Your professional lesbian, Jenn - with two N's - T Grace.   Jenn T Grace:              Hello and welcome to episode 98 of the podcast. I am your host, Jenn Grace, and as this is airing we are right around Thanksgiving time here in the US. And we're at the end of November of 2016, and I'm shocked really at how fast this year has actually flown by. I feel like the first part of the year felt kind of slow and sloggish, and now- I don't know, since September it's just really whizzing by. So I'm excited to be in episode number 98, and it has been multiple years in the making to get here, so this podcast will be turning four at the I guess beginning of January in 2017, it'll be four years that I have been doing this which seems a little bit crazy, but all good nonetheless. I have been keeping up with the promise of having interview, after interview, after interview, and today is no different. And the interview I have today for you is with Rhodes Perry of Rhodes Perry Consulting, and we had just a really kind of awesome conversation about personal branding; shocking since that is indeed the title of the podcast. It was really just kind of being an LGBT advocate, and a change maker, and a change agent, and really how that can be something that you can utilize as a benefit to yourself as you grow a business, or continue to grow your career in whatever avenue that might look like.                                     So rather than blabber on unnecessarily, I'm just going to dive right into the interview with Rhodes. I really think you're going to love it, and if you would like an introduction to him personally, feel free to reach out to me via LinkedIn, on Facebook, Twitter, go to my website, contact me however it is easiest for you to just reach out and get in touch with me. That would be awesome and I would love to put you in touch with him. So without further ado, please enjoy this interview.                                     Okay so let's just start off with telling the listeners just a little bit about who you are, what you do, how you came to be in your business as it looks today.   Rhodes Perry:             Sure. So my name is Rhodes Perry and I'm an LGBT strategy assistance guru. Basically what that means is I'm a management consultant, coach and speaker, and I work largely with clients who are in executive, HR, or diversity positions. And I really help clients transform their organizations into ones where LGBTQ people know that they're valued, and they know that they belong in the workplace. And I work all across the country, most of my clients are based in New York City. I'm actually living on the west coast so I also have a number of clients in the Bay area. And I've been fortunate, and much of the work that I do is informed by my time working in the LGBTQ movement as an advocate and building alliances with other social justice leaders. And I center a lot of that work around improving the lives for LGBTQ people and really focusing on raising awareness around the specific needs of transgender and gender nonconforming people, and as an advocate I help secure a number of victories, most importantly allowing same sex couples to marry. I also helped increase the number of states that prohibit LGBT workplace discrimination. And one thing that I'm really, really proud of during my time in the LGBT movement was starting the conversations with the Department of Education and protecting transgender and gender nonconforming students, which now if your listeners are aware of, there's federal guidance that basically mandates that most schools- schools receiving public dollars protect transgender and gender nonconforming students while there's a number of states that are putting forth lawsuits to protest that. And that work really inspired me to take the jump to work for government in an executive type position to take policies that have been passed at the state and local level, and take a look at them and implement them. So I had the opportunity most recently to work for New York City. I helped the systems that focus on foster care and juvenile justice look at these policies and from soup to nuts really take the spirit of these policies and develop a plan to basically implement them, to bring them into life, and to really make sure that staff are set up for success in understanding how to respect their LGBTQ peers as employees, but also to deliver services that are respectful for LGBTQ people that are dependent on them. So that's just a little bit about kind of my background and how it led me to recognize that there's a huge need for supporting many of these systems that aren't necessarily Fortune 500 companies which are absolutely ahead of the curve, at least in terms of developing policies and having staff to drive and implement them. But in smaller businesses, a lot of startups, and especially in government settings there's- I would say that actually looking at policies but in particular laws in states that mandate protecting LGBTQ, both employees and then folks dependent on receiving government services. There's not a lot guidance and there's definitely not a lot of support in making sure that these systems are compliant with the law. And so my business really helps fill in these gaps, and it's a lot of fun to really inspire people that want to do the right thing, just aren't sure where to start. I'm getting them started but also making sure that these policies are being implemented and sustainable over the long term.   Jenn T Grace:              Okay I feel like you've said so much already, so in thinking about you as just kind of an individual contributor in so many ways to policy and advocacy, and just kind of your career, and now founding your business; do you think that some people are naturally born to play an advocacy type of role? Or do you think that it's something that you have to consciously recognize of 'this is something that I really want to pursue and I'm going to kind of dedicate myself to doing it.' Because I think that there might be a couple of schools of thought to that, so I'm just curious how your path kind of came about to recognizing that your voice is really an important voice to be heard to eventually get to the place now where you're kind of filling those gaps in the marketplace.   Rhodes Perry:             Yeah, I think that's a great question, and I don't know if it's being an advocate or just a change maker. Maybe those are one in the same, but really I think when I look back on my career, most of my work has been entrepreneurial in nature, and that seems to have been coupled with being an advocate, and just trying to- whether it was working for government and trying to improve either employees treating each other with respect, and letting each other know that they value one another, or looking at the service delivery side of things and just kind of saying, 'We could be doing better, especially when looking at serving LGBTQ populations.' I see a lot of opportunities. In the past I certainly tried to take advantage of those opportunities and help those systems. But I think part of myself is identifying as an advocate absolutely, but looking at my business now it's really taking some of those skills and thinking about people that want to do the right thing, they want to be able to retain discerning LGBTQ talent, they want to be able to develop products that will appeal to LGBTQ markets. It's looking at those folks who definitely want to be identifying as- or they don't identify as an advocate most likely, they definitely don't want to be seen as pushing an agenda, but they need help in making a business case, or they know it's the right thing to do and they need some support around how to approach their leadership to get buy-in and to both do the right thing, but also to help their businesses out in performing better and having a competitive edge. And so I don't know if that answered your question necessarily but that's kind of how I see my role right now, is that I absolutely gained some skills as an advocate and I'm trying to translate those for businesses that are interested in having that competitive edge.   Jenn T Grace:              And from a personal brand standpoint- so many of the things that you were talking about in your kind of opening introduction of who you are in terms of different types of- whether it's the Department of Education, or whether it's working with the city of New York, or wherever it might be; in those settings you were still yourself, right? So you're still Rhodes Perry and people know you as your name. Did you consciously think about the advocacy work or change making work, however we're calling it because I think it is all kind of the same as you alluded to, did you look at that as you were doing those individual things in thinking about like, 'Okay here's just another kind of notch in my belt of things that I can do and things that make me a strong leader and a strong thought leader in this particular space.' And then as you kind of created your company, and calling it Rhodes Perry Consulting, obviously you're putting a big stake in the ground of this consulting is based on you as an individual. Was that kind of a conscious thought process? Did you model it after others that you kind of saw in the marketplace? What was just kind of going through your mind? And the reason why I'm asking is just thinking about people who might be in similar situations right now where they're thinking, 'Really this whole personal branding thing here, there's something to it and I should probably be pursuing this.' And I'm just trying to give them some guidance from people like yourself who've already done it.   Rhodes Perry:             Yeah I think that that's a great question. I think that why I chose my business name to be my name in terms of personal branding is so much of my past work has been about building relationships, building coalition, and building trust. And I think that my work in the past speaks for itself, and the folks that I had the pleasure of working with really benefited from what they learned. In starting my business many of my clients are those folks that I have worked with in the past, and so that's just a huge benefit for me. Also as I was making the jump I knew I wanted to focus in on equity in diversity and inclusion work, and I wasn't quite sure that time- how that could continue to evolve. In just this past week I had my first business anniversary so I've been in business for a year, and even over that period of time a lot of things have changed, but my name and my brand have absolutely attracted my dream clients I guess to work with who were specifically looking for support on doing the right thing, and either wanting to develop a policy, more taking a policy and actually implementing it and sustaining it over time, that that's really where I see a niche in providing this kind of mentorship, and accountability even more so than delivering skills. Because a lot of the folks that I do work with I've known for some time, they have the skills to do this work, they really need that kind of support and role modeling, but especially just kind of knowing the work that they need to do, but basically being held accountable, and having those kind of frequent check-ins. So I think that [Inaudible 00:12:00] thinking about maybe starting their own businesses, I think it's always good to- if you're not sure on a killer name that will be super clear on what you do, starting out with your own name and you can always kind of build off and build a 'doing business as' name later on down the road when things become a little bit more clear with who your niche market is, and what specifically you are doing.   Jenn T Grace:              And your website URL is Rhodes Perry, so I think that there's a lot to be said about just having your name rather than having the consulting on it because if at any point in time you chose to pivot and go in a different direction, then the URL always remains the same, and for the most part our names don't change. For the most part.   Rhodes Perry:             Right, for the most part.   Jenn T Grace:              Of course there's exceptions.   Rhodes Perry:             For your viewers, I am transgender and that's something that I talk about openly with my clients because a lot of the work that we're focusing on right now is how to support transgender and gender diverse employees, or people that businesses might be serving. So that's something that I am open about, and so I have changed my name, but that was a long time ago. But yes, there are times where if you are someone who's transitioning, or maybe you're thinking about getting married, maybe before you buy your URL, if you are planning to change your name, maybe hold off on that before you do.   Jenn T Grace:              I ended up buying all- everything I could before I got married, and thought that I was going to change my name, and then I was like I wasn't sure, and then I was going to hyphenate, so I ended up with probably 25 URLs that all cost like $10 a piece, and then eventually over time I'm like, 'Alright I'm just going to stick with the one.' And then just as a random side note is that the reason why it's just not www.JennGrace.com is because there's a photographer I believe who has that- or a videographer who has that already. So I was like, 'Well I'm just going to have to put the T in there reluctantly.' But it is what it is and at least I know that I'm not changing my name anytime soon so it does allow for that kind of pivot as we were talking about, because you never know- especially as entrepreneurs and I think as the landscape- especially as it relates to LGBTQ, the landscape is always changing, and we really have no idea what- we could predict, but we really have no idea what's on the horizon and how that is going to impact what type of consulting we're doing, or coaching, or what topics we're speaking on, and I think that that's kind of a- to some degree a fool proof way of just kind of protecting your brand over the long haul.   Rhodes Perry:             Absolutely.   Jenn T Grace:              So in looking at just kind of the many facets of what you're doing. I was poking around on your website before, and I'm curious on a couple of things. Like the first thing I'm thinking of is how people find you, and then recognize that they need your help, especially as like the individual change maker. Because there are opportunities- like you were saying, the Fortune companies are definitely ahead of the game in so many ways, but at the same time they're so not ahead of anything in terms of just- kind of like the changing landscape of business. So it takes- they're like moving a Titanic versus I think entrepreneurship where you're kind of navigating a speed boat on a day-to-day basis. But how do you get in front of those individual people who really need your help, and they're really going to be that internal champion, and that internal voice that's really going to make change in their respective industry, or organization, or wherever it happens to be?   Rhodes Perry:             I think that that's a great question. A few ways. One, I've been fortunate, as I had mentioned just having a lot of rich relationships from previous jobs. So many of my clients come to me word of mouth, and looking at business models over the long term I'm looking at other ways to market as well. So I also get a lot of referrals through online advertising. I do basic Google Ads. But one of the main ways of actually reaching out to newer audiences is locally I go to a number of different chamber of commerces in the Portland metro area, and also in Seattle just to build my network here because I recently moved from New York City out to Portland as I was starting my business. And so that's a really important way of just connecting with a number of businesses, but especially smaller businesses that haven't necessarily been thinking about the culture of their organization, or just want to be more competitive in reaching out to discerning diversity candidates proudly. So those are some of the ways that I get my name out there. Also through collaboration. I've been working with a number of other diversity and inclusion leaders here in the Portland area, and just looking at different projects where we can collaborate. By doing that I've had the opportunity of establishing newer relationships, both with the county and city government here, but also with a number of larger businesses in the area. So that's been helpful. But I do work across the country, so I try as often as possible to go to conferences, and when there's an opportunity to speak just to share a little bit more about the work that I do. So those are just some of the few ways that I try to get out there.   Jenn T Grace:              Yeah and so I feel like on your website you have supplier diversity highlighted as something that you are educating around and helping people with. It is something that I have certainly brought up many, many, many times in the past on this podcast, but never- maybe actually it was probably episode six or something, and we're on- I think this is episode 98 probably. So it was a long time ago.   Rhodes Perry:             Congratulations.   Jenn T Grace:              Thank you, it's been many years in the making. But one of the things that I feel like is a missed opportunity, and I'm sure from a supplier diversity standpoint you might be coming from a different direction, but as a diverse supplier yourself. Somebody listening to this, who the majority of listeners are part of the LGBTQ community in some form or another, what are they missing by not really kind of having an understanding of what supplier diversity is, and what that can mean to them as a business, but also for just kind of the community at large?   Rhodes Perry:             Yeah I think- well one was supplier diversity, and one of the things that I do is educate my clients that I work with. So- and this is especially important for some of the county and local governments that I work with. So when folks are wanting to implement LGBT specific policies, they want to provide better services, one of the first questions that I ask is looking at contracts that they issue to diversity suppliers. So woman owned businesses, minority owned businesses, and sure enough with most government agencies they have set asides for those diverse suppliers. And so one of my first questions that I ask is encouraging them- well one, asking them if they know about the NGLCC, the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce certification that certifies LGBT owned businesses, and almost 100% of the time most people aren't aware of that, most of my clients are not aware of that certification so I do a little bit of education around that. And then I've had success in New York with some of the agencies there of doing set asides for LGBT certified businesses. So there's education happening on that side with my clients, I also work volunteering for the chamber of commerce here, and just supporting some of the LGBT certified businesses, and those businesses that are owned by LGBT people but aren't yet certified. And I explain a little bit about the work that I do largely with local and county government agencies around encouraging them to do these kind of set asides, also letting them know that many Fortune 500 companies have diverse supplier offices, staff that are looking specifically for LGBT owned businesses for a wide variety of services. Everything from printing, to professional services like I do, and just letting them know that one, the NGLCC is a great resource. They offer certification, they provide a ton of information to help you grow a business that's thriving, and I think with that- I've at least encouraged a few to go through the certification process because it does give LGBT owned businesses a competitive advantage, and if you're lucky enough to live in a state like Massachusetts and you do contracting work with state, there are set asides for those LGBT owned businesses, and I think that that's a trend thanks to the great work that the NGLCC is doing that I think more and more states will be trying to either pass executive orders through the governor's office, or legislation to actually provide the economic opportunities for LGBT owned businesses, which historically have been disadvantaged because of discrimination. So maybe that's a little bit more than you wanted, but I know that you talk about this a lot. So did that answer your question?   Jenn T Grace:              Yeah, yeah and it kind of leads into my next question a little bit. So we met through a mutual friend, and Jill Nelson has been a guest on this show as well, and I don't remember it but I will put it in the show notes of what episode that actually was. But we met at the NGLCC national conference in Palm Springs just a couple months ago, and one of the things that I wonder from your perspective is being an LGBT certified business, there's a lot of advantages to that from a business development standpoint. But in your perspective, how or how not do you feel like it maybe it is helping or not, just from a personal branding standpoint to be able to say that you are a- because you can say that you're an LGBTQ owned business, and that's got its benefits in and of itself for people who want to work within the community, but having that additional credibility of saying that you are a certified LGBTQ owned business. Where or how are you kind of using that, leveraging it? Is it part of your kind of daily conversation with people? I know that you're part of the local chamber so that kind of adds like another element to it. But just from a branding standpoint is it helping you in terms of attracting the right type of clients?   Rhodes Perry:             Yes, I think for the nature of the work that I do it absolutely helps me, it brings more credibility to the work that I do, it opens up a number of new doors that I wouldn't necessarily have had access to. Because of the work that the NGLCC is doing and continues to do, they're really expanding their reach, and I think for corporations that are aware of the certification, and for some of the government agencies that I work with, they're becoming more aware of it, maybe more because I'm constantly talking about it. But it is helpful. I would say though that if I were in a different industry- I grew up in the state of Florida, so if I was in a different industry and I still lived in the state of Florida, I think that there's still a long way to go. One in having this be an advantage, because stigma and discrimination still exist, there's a lot of education that professionals like myself have to continue doing to break down some of those barriers. And so I'm aware and I'm conscious that it's not always an advantage for every business owner, and that there could be challenges with that. One of the things that did give me hope and inspiration though is that when we were at the conference in Palm Springs, which was wonderful and it was great meeting you there, is- and I can't remember the business owners' names, but they are from Georgia and they were honored- I think they were the premier business at the conference, they're a pet store, right? And so they're in Georgia which as a state- it's a state that lacks a number of protections for LGBT folks. They're very out about who they are, it's a gay couple, and they're having a really positive and profound impact on the community just for holding that space, and they give back to the community, I think that they give back to a youth LGBT youth center there. So I digress a little bit but I do think that even when you are in a state or even a region of the country that might not be so LGBTQ friendly, there's still a power to certification, and being an LGBT owned business, and showing the possibilities for other emerging LGBT entrepreneurs that being out can be an advantage, and that there's strength in numbers. So I'm a huge proponent of the certification, but I do recognize that there can be or still are limitations to it as well.   Jenn T Grace:              Yeah, absolutely. So I was looking it up while you were talking, it's Tailspin and they are in Savannah, so they're even in a more conservative area than maybe Atlanta would be. So yeah, and they were awarded an SBA award for like the best small business owner or something like that. So I think that you bring up a good point of depending on where we are geographically. So I'm in a really progressive state being in Connecticut, you're in a complete- especially going from like New York to Portland, I feel like there's so much differences even though New York is fairly progressive I would say. But how do we make it attainable? Because I have listeners in all fifty states, I have listeners in many different countries; how do we make it something that feels attainable to the person who might be in Savannah, or might be in Little Rock, who maybe they feel like they're alone, or they don't have a chamber of commerce that's really kind of focused on business impact, but maybe they have a pride center that they can go and be involved in. Is there something that you would say as kind of a natural step that they could take to just kind of finding their community of people that are looking to build companies and businesses even if that formal structure doesn't exist?   Rhodes Perry:             Yeah I think that that's a great question, and the first thing that came to mind is an online organization. Though they are based in San Francisco you probably know of them StartOut. So they provide- they're in the process of launching a virtual space for LGBT entrepreneurs to connect, and that certainly isn't a silver bullet in solving the kind of actual face-to-face connections that folks in certain parts of the country may be desiring just because they feel isolated. But I do think that at least online it's an excellent resource to start and just kind of building connection, talking about some of the challenges that they may be experiencing because of where they live. And chances are they may be- I grew up in Palm Bay, Florida so they can be in Palm Bay, Florida and maybe they're connecting with someone in Missoula, Montana which is actually a pretty progressive place. But they're able to span the distance and just have the commonalities of talking about some of the challenges of being in a less progressive part of the country, and kind of weighing the benefits and the costs of whether it's getting certified as an LGBT owned business, or if they're providing a service, and it's a place where people are actually going to a physical brick and mortar location, do you put a rainbow flag on the front of your door? These are things that I think as LGBT owned business owners we have to consider, but I do think StartOut is a good place to start.   Jenn T Grace:              Yeah I feel like that's definitely some good feedback and tips there. So going back to kind of looking at the national landscape, since you do have experience kind of looking from a very high top down level, from a national perspective, in looking at the different fights for equality that are occurring kind of all over the place, I do find it shocking especially when I run into an LGBT person who isn't aware of just the level of discrimination that's just completely justified and fine by people in terms of workplace discriminations. So if we look at different states and different cities even within states. So you have Massachusetts where they're including LGBT suppliers in government contracting, which is the only state still, right? I think they're working on it in New York but it's not there yet. So that's happening in Massachusetts but then meanwhile you hear from people in Nashville who are still being fired because they came out, and this is somebody that I absolutely should have her on the show at some point, Lisa Howe who received an award at the NGLCC conference in August, and was commenting on how the second she came out after being an NCAA coach for like sixteen years, they fired her promptly thereafter. So- and that wasn't that long ago, that was only a couple of years ago. So if we're looking at the differences in each individual state, if somebody's just trying to figure out how can I make a name for myself because they want to grow their personal brand, they want to maybe establish a business, and make that kind of natural leap that seems very natural that you made in terms of like doing all this great work in different types of pockets and then you kind of created a company around it. Is there any kind of words of wisdom that you can provide them that would vary because if you're in California the fight there is way different than Tennessee versus Connecticut. Like I think of Connecticut being the second state with marriage equality in 2008, and I remember going to NGLCC conferences in 2009 and 2010 and talking to people who were in far less progressive areas thinking, 'Marriage equality is so not even on our radar. We are focused on economic opportunities because we don't have to focus on our basic rights to get married.' So what might be just a- I don't know, some advice or something that you might have learned along the way to kind of provide inspiration to people regardless of where in the US that they might fall, and how non-progressive or progressive that area might be.   Rhodes Perry:             Yeah I think that if folks are interested in starting a business, if they have the entrepreneurial spirit and they're LGBT, absolutely look into it and take action because by simply holding space, by creating your own business, you are creating economic opportunities for many people, and especially our own communities, our own LGBTQ communities. And I think that so many of us have had experiences of discrimination, or at least perhaps being treated differently as employees in the workplace, and knowing that if we had the opportunity of having our own businesses, or when we are creating our own businesses, or even for many of your listeners in our own businesses, that we have values that are embracing a spirit where we want everyone to bring their whole selves to work. And I think that because of the economic disparities that still exist for LGBTQ communities, one of the most powerful things we can do is if we have the ability to start our own businesses, and prioritize looking at folks within our own LGBTQ communities who have historically been disadvantaged and trying to prioritize ways of bringing job opportunities to folks in our own communities. I just think it's a real game changer for us to look at this aspect of the next era of the LGBT movement, and I think entrepreneurship should be a part of it. In my past I worked with a lot of LGBTQ youth, and so many young people that I had the pleasure of working with are entrepreneurial in spirit. Every day is a day of surviving and just to- we prioritize ways of translating those skills into skills where young people can at one point be their own bosses, I mean again I just think it's a real game changer and we should be examining aggressively ways to add this as a part of the work that the LGBT movement continues to do for the next era. Because I think just looking back over the past twenty years we have as a movement accomplished so much and so quickly, and yet I still look at the work that so many national and state and local LGBT groups are doing, and it's almost as looking at the young people who are protesting and resisting police at Stonewall, so many of those challenges still exist today when you look at family acceptance, or just trying to get an education in school, and dealing with things around bullying. We still have a long way to go and I think that the work that we do as business owners can help absolutely extend economic opportunities to more folks within the LGBT community.   Jenn T Grace:              So in looking at kind of a what's next, or what's on the horizon for you personally and for your business, like especially since you're just celebrating your first year which is so exciting. If you looked at what you were expecting to accomplish in your first year versus what you did accomplish and what you hope to accomplish in the next couple of years, how does that all kind of line up with what your vision was when you set out to do this?   Rhodes Perry:             Yeah I surprised myself in the first year. I've met many of my goals in terms of working with a number of clients that I didn't imagine working with, at least in my first year. So I'm happy with that. I really do over the next few years want to pivot more into offering services online, and so I'm starting to do that now with webinars, and I'm looking at next year having more of a master class available for executive HR diversity professionals that are doing the work but need additional support. And so I'm just looking at ways right now of creating more virtual communities, and I'm most excited about that just because there's only one of me and there's only so many hours of the day that I can make available for clients, and so I think this is another opportunity of just expanding my platform and really helping those folks that they already understand the importance of doing this work and they need that additional support. So I think that that's going to be- at least for my business, a real game changer and so I'm excited about that. And I also think making more time in my schedule to speak and go out to a number of different communities, especially- I'm really excited about going to more colleges and universities over the next year and talking more about entrepreneurship for LGBTQ folks, and I'm very, very excited about that.   Jenn T Grace:              That's awesome. I feel like the sky is the limit. I would love for you to reference back to this a year from now. Like throw it on your calendar and say a year from now to come back and listen to this, because my question is what do you perceive- and I don't want to deflate us at all, but in thinking about all of what you're setting out to accomplish, and I think that this is a question that the listeners are interested in, is what do you see as the potential kind of big hurdle, or some kind of road block that you feel like there's a chance that you're going to have to overcome in order to get to that next stage of what you're hoping to accomplish? Because I would imagine that there's probably a lot of similarity with what you think yours is and those who are listening. It makes us all human.   Rhodes Perry:             Yeah I think that a road block for me is I get excited by all of the opportunities, and I think as entrepreneurs we want to do all of the things all of the time. And so one just for me is finding my 'no' when it could be working with another great client, but to build in the time to- like I said, like really trying to expand more of my virtual presence. That takes time on the front end to do that, and so I think the biggest challenge is to kind of build in the time where I could be working with more clients right now doing that one-on-one engagement, but trying to just find my 'no' sometimes so that I can have that space to imagine and dream how to grow my business in a way that can help more people. And I think that having talked with other entrepreneurs early on in the journey, I know that that's a challenge for many of us, and so maybe offline we can talk more about how you kind of navigated that as well, because I know that you're doing such awesome work for so many folks trying to do a better job with marketing to LGBT people, and so I would love to chat with you about that.   Jenn T Grace:              Yeah I feel like it's an ever evolving thing that everyone goes through, and if I look at- go back and listen to the first episode of this podcast which was in January of 2013 I think, it is a very, very different animal. And they're all available for people to listen to and laugh because it just takes time to kind of refine your message, and really I think learning to say no is probably one of the hardest things, especially as very stereotypically ADHD type of entrepreneurs where we're all chasing shiny objects every day, and especially when we're all coming from a place of truly trying to serve and really trying to help as many people as we can. I think that's where it becomes difficult to say no, because if you're looking at it from a purely dollars and cents standpoint of 'I have a threshold that I need to make $10,000 to go speak here, and if they don't meet it, then I don't do it.' That is not how at least the people that are on my show, and myself included, that's not how we operate. It's a matter of like, 'How can we accommodate? How can we make sure they still hear our message? How can we-' and then it just- it's a struggle and I think that we all kind of go through it even if it does look more polished on the outside. I think most of us are still kind of struggling with that day-to-day behind the scenes. At least for me anyway.   Rhodes Perry:             Yeah absolutely.   Jenn T Grace:              Yeah and I think the audience kind of needs to hear these things and just kind of hear of the struggles that lie ahead as they're kind of figuring out what their voice is, and what platform they should be on, and how they should go about growing their personal brand because I think that personal branding, it's been around forever, but I feel like it just becomes more and more important in this day in age, even more so as an LGBTQ person because there's so much more at stake, and I think that all of us whether we want to or not, we're all kind of representing the community in our way. So if you do something stupid, or I do something stupid, suddenly it's the LGBTQ community that's stupid because of something ridiculous that you or I may have done. Even though that is so not what it should be, ultimately unfortunately that is just kind of the reality of it. So we all kind of have to navigate that tricky landscape as well.   Rhodes Perry:             Right, absolutely.   Jenn T Grace:              Oh good stuff. So if you could go back in time and maybe give yourself one piece of advice. Not necessarily the audience as a whole, but just really thinking of yourself. Is there kind of something that you would say or do that you think might have shortcutted some of the challenges that you've unnecessarily faced?   Rhodes Perry:             Yeah I think absolutely for me is- for my younger self to trust myself, to trust my entrepreneurial spirit. In looking back I'm glad that I had all of the experiences that I had leading up to the point of starting my own business, I think if I trusted myself and knew what was on the other side of having my own business, I probably would have done it maybe ten years earlier. You know? And it was really a fear of what the 'no' was, and I think going to college kind of slowed down the process of having my own business, because I actually- I had my own business before I went off to college, and then it just was the programming of getting a good job, and contributing to the workforce, and I didn't realize that I could be doing that as a business owner. So I don't know if that resonates with any of your listeners, but I definitely- I think for myself could have used that kind of pep talk maybe a decade ago.   Jenn T Grace:              Yeah I would imagine that hits home for many people.   Rhodes Perry:             Yeah.   Jenn T Grace:              So in kind of parting here, anything that you would like to share in terms of how people can get in touch with you, how they might work with you, just kind of any number of ways just to make sure that we get a good kind of plug here for people to contact you.   Rhodes Perry:             Yeah thank you. Well my website is www.RhodesPerry.com so there's the personal branding there. And on December 1st I'm offering a webinar for my target audience which is executive HR and diversity professionals on setting vision for- a diversity and inclusion vision that's inclusive of LGBT employees and folks that are served by businesses or government agencies. So that's December 1st and if you go to my website, on my blog there's more information on how to register for that, and you can also just contact me at Rhodes@rhodesperry.com and I can share more information that way. And I also offer a free quarterly newsletter that just kind of keeps people in the know of what I'm up to, I offer a ton of free information there on just strategies on how to engage LGBT employees, how to develop an LGBT policy, how to sustain change over time; all of that stuff is included in my quarterly newsletters. And I just love to hear from folks, so if people have questions I'm available to just provide value and help people kind of get started on that path of building more inclusive workplaces.   Jenn T Grace:              That is awesome. And so for anyone listening, this is episode 98. I'm pretty sure I screwed it up earlier when we were talking, so you can go to the website at www.JennTGrace.com/98 and that will get you a transcript for today's interview, and then all of the links that Rhodes was just talking about. And I feel like it might be important to note that Rhodes is spelled R-H-O-D-E-S, not like Roads like a road. Just because I feel like- I want to make sure it's clear and people can find you, so that's good. Awesome.   Rhodes Perry:             Thank you so much, thank you for having me on the show.   Jenn T Grace:              You are very welcome, it was a pleasure chatting with you. Thank you for listening to today's podcast. If there are any links from today's show that you are interested in finding, save yourself a step and head on over to www.JennTGrace.com/thepodcast. And there you will find a backlog of all of the past podcast episodes including transcripts, links to articles, reviews, books, you name it. It is all there on the website for your convenience. Additionally if you would like to get in touch with me for any reason, you can head on over to the website and click the contact form, send me a message, you can find me on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter all at JennTGrace. And as always I really appreciate you as a listener, and I highly encourage you to reach out to me whenever you can. Have a great one, and I will talk to you in the next episode.

#86 - Insider PR Tips with Communications Expert, Jonathan Lovitz [Podcast] Jenn T Grace:              You are listening to the Personal Branding for the LGBTQ Professional Podcast, episode 86.   Introduction:              Welcome to the Personal Branding for the LGBTQ Professional Podcast; the podcast dedicated to helping LGBTQ professionals and business owners grow their business and careers through the power of leveraging their LGBTQ identities in their personal brand. You'll learn how to market your products and services both broadly, and within the LGBTQ community. You'll hear from incredible guests who are leveraging the power of their identity for good, as well as those who haven't yet started, and everyone in between. And now your host. She teaches straight people how to market to gay people, and gay people how to market themselves. Your professional lesbian, Jenn - with two N's - T Grace.   Jenn T Grace:              Well hello and welcome to episode 86 of the podcast. I am your host, Jenn (with two N's) T. Grace, and today I have another interview for you. So fortunately in the last episode, episode 85, we had a phenomenal interview with Jacob Tobia who taught us about all things genderqueer, nonbinary, non gender conforming, all kinds of just great information. So that was an awesome interview, but today I have an equally as awesome interview with Jonathan Lovitz who is the VP of External Affairs for the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. If you are a long time listener of this podcast you will know that there's certainly a theme with having a lot of folks from the NGLCC on this show. Today's interview is just fantastic because Jonathan's background is in communications and he has a ton of knowledge around personal branding. So for those of you who are listening to try to figure out how to improve, or start, or amplify your personal brand, the content that we talk about in this episode is just straight up tactical, as well as just really informative to be honest. So I'm so excited to bring today's interview with Jonathan Lovitz, and he has a lot of different ways to get in touch with him, but if you go to www.JonathanDLovitz.com, that's his personal page. And yeah I'm so excited about this interview so if you have any questions for me as a result of listening to this episode, or if you have any for him feel free to hit us up on pretty much any of the social media outlets. If you are interested in hearing more about what we talked, or looking for the links from today's episode, if you go to www.JennTGrace.com/86 for episode 86, that will give you a page with the transcript of the interview, as well as links mentioned in today's show. So without further ado, please enjoy this interview with Jonathan Lovitz.                                     So let's start off with having you just tell the audience and the listeners a little bit about yourself, and your background, and how you became to be doing what you're doing right now.   Jonathan Lovitz:         Sure, well hi Jenn, and to all your listeners. I'm thrilled to be here. I'm a big fan of your work, and of your podcast, and the incredible energy you put out in the community, and really exciting to be here with you.   Jenn T Grace:              Thank you.   Jonathan Lovitz:         So I'm Jonathan Lovitz and my official title is Vice President of External Affairs of the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, which is based in Washington, but I live in New York City where I'm also the Director of our NGLCC NY affiliate because I'm a masochist. This organization is fantastic as you know, we reach every corner of the country and work with every conceivable type of LGBT and allied business, and I've known them for years. I now- actually next week celebrating one year with the organization after being a friend of NGLCC for at least the last five. My career got started in New York in a sort of bizarre twist. In my undergraduate I did what all the cool gay kids were doing and I majored in musical theatre, and also because I was a big nerd I got a dual degree in communications focusing on politics. And I'm also one of those really rare people that managed to get the job and feeder first. I graduated college and immediately booked a Broadway show that went on tour, and I went around the country for two years, and then settled in New York, and did some more theatre here, and eventually some TV work. And during that time I got picked up by LOGO, you might remember is an MTV network, it's for the LGBT community, and once upon a time it had gay news on Sundays, and I used to help anchor and do some reporting on the gay news, and then some other man on the street interview programs about LGBT issues, and that sort of thrust me into being a sort of professional homosexual in a really positive way. I would asked to come be a spokesperson at a fundraiser for great people like GLAAD, and Human Rights Campaign, and the Trevor Project, and what started off as a one month contract became a three month contract, then a nine month contract, and before I knew it, I was doing far more LGBT community engagement policy work than I was performing, and yet I never would have been able to do any of it if I hadn't been a performer first. The amount of times they threw me up in front of a teleprompter in front of a thousand people and said, "Go, raise us some money," I never would have been able to do it had I not been trained as a performer for almost a decade. And then they found out, "Oh you've also got this background in policy, and you love to write, and you want to talk about these issues to a much broader policy based audience," that's how things really get to flip into this full time professional work in advocacy, and communications, and awareness raising for LGBT issues, particularly around economics. I found it really fascinating when I would attend some of these conferences out on the street, and the NGLCC conference which I went to originally as a guest because at the time, LOGO I was hosting a dinner, and doing a live auction, sort of using the public persona to get my foot in the door. And I was really floored by the work that LGBT businesses and all the corporations were doing around the world to create equity for a community that was doing just fine building equality for themselves, and I thought that that notion was really powerful. So I was really, really thrilled when the first time I was asked to join StartOut, another LGBT organization that helps bring funding, and advice, and mentorship to brand new LGBT companies. I started off as their Communications Director, and shortly thereafter became their interim Executive Director and helped run the ship for a while. And that set me up well with all the skills that I needed to quickly learn about management, and organizational structure, and policy work that set me up well when the NGLCC came to me and said, "We'd like to build a position for you." They'd never really had a VP of External Affairs, and I think what I love most about my job is something that would probably kill most other people, that there are really no bullets underneath my title. It's a really big net that includes everything from public policy, to PR and communications, to affiliate affairs, and to engagement with the community of doing great public work like this, talking to you and your listeners about all the great ways to get involved in the community both personally and professionally. So it has been a wonderful, incredible, organic, and sometimes mind blown journey that's gotten me to where I am today, and I still can't believe I'm here this young, and it's incredible, I love every second of it. I'm really excited for everything that seems to be coming up next.   Jenn T Grace:              Yeah, and it's so awesome to be so young in so many ways, and to have made such a mark already because you still have your entire career ahead of you. So I feel like that's so exciting just to see what is on the horizon, especially given our political landscape these days, and all the things that are changing so rapidly, and sometimes for the positive, other times not so much, as we're experiencing right now, but I think that it seriously feels like the sky's the limit. I don't know if that's your impression these days.   Jonathan Lovitz:         It certainly does, and I'm actually floored, and it seems like every month something is happening where I'll speak to my mother and I'll just drop in, "Oh by the way I'm going to this meeting with so-and-so." "Wait, do you realize what you just said? You're my son that used to sing and dance, and now you're going to meetings at the White House, and making plans at the UN?" I don't entirely understand how it's all happening, but it is very much a powerful gesture and point of pride in my life that I've ended up here. I look at what I've gotten to do, and all the things that seem to be coming when people are asked to be a public servant. The work chose me, I never really sought out this career path, but when the opportunities came to speak for the community, and get involved, and raise awareness for all these issues, and still fulfill everything that I had always wanted to do about being in the public eye for things that I care about; it's really incredible that these opportunities have come my way. I'm so thankful for them, and now I'm really fortunate to be in the position to help others grow their own opportunities, and that's even more special.   Jenn T Grace:              Yeah it's interesting that you say that the work chose you. I find that that seems to be the case for a lot of people, myself included, where I remember when I first got involved which was back in 2006 - 2007, I didn't even know what a chamber of commerce was at that time. So and then fast forward, we all know the history. It's just insane sometimes when you're like, 'Okay I would never have predicted that this is where my life would end up,' but you know that you're there for a reason, and sometimes you have to shake yourself at the fact that, 'Oh yeah I have been in the White House.' Like it's not something that everybody gets to experience, and yet you're there on a pretty regular basis.   Jonathan Lovitz:         Absolutely. And a great Mark Twain quote; there are two days that stand out in your life, the day you're born and the day you realize why. And it's nice to know that it doesn't have to just be limited to one day of realization. I feel like every day helps us understand why, and a lot of it is the people, getting to know you, Jenn, and the people I get to know through this incredible network reminds me every day that we're all doing something bigger than ourselves, and that's really powerful, and it's something very exciting to know that everything we do has an impact on others, even when we don't realize it.   Jenn T Grace:              Yeah, absolutely. And so the podcast here is around personal branding, and I truly feel like you've done such an awesome job at personal branding from just kind of a big picture level, whether you were intentionally doing that or not. But we just saw each other in- I want to say it was the end of March, I don't even know, in Boston. And we- if you remember when we were sitting around I think having dinner, and you had said- you made some statement about pitching to the media, and just basically writing what you want to be written. Can you talk about that a little bit? Because I feel like that is such- and I don't know why, that was not my plan to discuss with you today, but it just popped in my head. Because when you said it I was like, that is so genius, why don't more people do that? Could you just kind of share a little bit about that conversation we were having and then maybe give some tips for folks who are just kind of starting out on this journey?   Jonathan Lovitz:         Sure. It's all about authenticity, right? It's all about knowing who you are, what you bring to the table, and what you want your legacy- whether it's a message, or whether it's your personal statement, or whatever it may be, what you want that to be, and giving people no excuses and no choice but to take that at its worth. So I think step one is really understanding who you are, what you stand for, what you care about, and what you want to do with your voice. And you don't have to be a celebrity to realize you have a voice that matters. I think that's one of the great things about something like Twitter; it's the great equalizer. A tweet from me, and a tweet from the White House, and a tweet from a Kardashian all show up with the same- the same time and the same place on your feed, it's what you choose to resonate with and amplify that helps decide whether or not that message continues out in the world. So when you and I were having that conversation about just putting out there exactly what you want, I think we were talking a little bit about press strategy and I think it's all related to knowing your voice and the value of your voice. If you're a business owner, you're a representative of an organization, you're either pitching the press, or pitching the PR company, and you want them to know what you care about. Leave as little wiggle room for interpretation as possible, give them what I always call show in a box. Which is the story, here's the headline, here's the quote I'd love you to use, here's the photo to go with it, here's the link to the video, here's all the citations of the research that go with it. I'm trying to make your life- the reporter, the PR company, whatever it may be, as easy as possible because I want you to return the favor sometime if I'm in a jam and I really need the help. It's all about relationships, and it's all about helping each other out. But reporters are busy. They're getting pitched hundreds of stories a day, and maybe only half of one percent are worth anything. And I can tell you from all the blind pitching in the world that you can do, it's the reporter that you've gotten to know by taking them out to coffee and talking to them as a human being, getting to know what matters to them as a person, that will help you when it comes time to extending sort of your personal brand to them, and saying, "I want to work with you as a partner, and help tell an important story. And sure there's a benefit to my employer, or the movement I'm working for, or whatever it may be, but it's about people helping people and telling a good story."   Jenn T Grace:              I feel like that applies to sales even.   Jonathan Lovitz:         Oh absolutely.   Jenn T Grace:              Just it's really- and I feel like it's becoming more and more obvious, at least in 2016, that is really is human to human interaction. One person to one person.   Jonathan Lovitz:         You couldn't be more right. I mean think when you're working with someone who's calling you on a sales call. They have an objective, and you in your own business, you have an objective to close that deal and meet that benchmark. You could provide all the fact sheets, and all the ROI in the world, but until you really hit a chord with someone on a truly personal level, you'll never really close that deal because it will just be transactional versus a human interaction. And if you want that sale to come back year after year, you want that relationship to continue growing, you have to have a validation that's based on human interaction, that's based on empathy, and sharing and understanding. And it may just be business development, but it's about how you as people are going to grow your respective sides of that business together.   Jenn T Grace:              So would you say that maybe for yourself, you have any type of- I don't know, weeding out mechanism or some way for you to understand that when you're building a relationship, whether it's with a prospective chamber member, or whether it's with a prospective reporter; do you have a way to- for lack of a better phrase, sniff out who would be the person that you should be focusing on building that relationship with? Because I think that a lot of people could spend each and every single day building relationships with the wrong people, and you want to make sure that there's a dual win to that scenario where both parties are getting something from it.   Jonathan Lovitz:         You know I'm a huge political nerd, so if any chance I can quote the West Wing, I will do it. And there's a great line in an episode about exactly this question. 'I need information but I'm getting the run around from all the secretaries, the agencies.' I said yeah, secretaries have agendas, policy wants to have information, and I look at that in the same way with a sales funnel or anything else. If you're dealing with a most senior person, they're accountable for a certain deliverable and a certain report. But they're not as active in the growth department and the actual interaction with other people, as likely a rowing account executive, or someone who's responsible for the day-to-day operation, because it's their job to make that person look good and that's when they help their own career. So the more we can be building relationships with people one or two rungs down the ladder to help bolster the goals and ideas of the person at the top, that's how we really build those in roads with someone who's going to be there and help us out for a long time. It's helping that junior assistant shine by helping to bring in some phenomenal new business that ultimately helps you, but helps them look like they're bringing so much value to the company. You've now got a friend for life on the inside, and that's entirely a human interaction. You've identified what it is you can do to make each other's lives better, both personally and in business. So do your research, it's incumbent upon you, do a little Googling, who's the Internet machine? Pull up the LinkedIn and find the connections of the senior people you want to be working with, and then look at their orbit, look at their Zeitgeist, odds are you're going to find someone, one or two steps removed who you share another mutual friend with, or a common interest, or a group you're both in, and use that as your point of entry. I get calls all the time from reporters saying, "We've got to get to Tim Cook, we want to talk to Tim Cook, he's the top gay CEO in the world, you've got to be able to know him." I said, "You know contrary to popular belief the gays don't all meet once a week for coffee and a handshake, we don't actually have a secret club." I guess that's what the NGLCC tries to be.   Jenn T Grace:              Yes.   Jonathan Lovitz:         What I do say is work your way up, talk to the people who have influence and pull, and get into the conversation not because you need something, but because this conversation means something to you, and that's how you have leverage to make an ask when the time is right.   Jenn T Grace:              It's about building internal champions. I find that the most successful client projects I work on, especially within corporations, it's always the person that's a couple of rungs down from maybe the VP who's signing off on the check. But your ultimate goal is to make that contact of yours look amazing. And the more you make them look amazing, the higher chance that that business is going to continue coming to you. Obviously if you're doing the job well to begin with, but understanding that that's an assumption that you're doing the job well. As long as you're making sure that your contact on the inside who put their neck on the line to say, 'Hey this person knows what they're doing, and they're going to do a good job,' then there's no way- at least in my opinion, that that could fail. It seems completely fool proof.   Jonathan Lovitz:         I think you're absolutely right. Looking at it from with my press hat on, which it's been a bulk of my day, there's a great website that a lot of us use to find out what reporters are looking for, what stories are they trying to find a lead on, and how can I help. It's called HARO, Help A Reporter Out. And I taught that to my team in DC, and I said, "As you're reading the paper, you're looking at the blog, and you're seeing a reporter talking about a really awesome issue, and even if it's not quite a fit for us, it's a fit for someone we know, and when we do a solid for somebody, that gets remembered. And we want to help the community out. There's no prize in being the most selfish in your industry. There is a big prize for being the most collaborative.   Jenn T Grace:              Absolutely. So going back to that particular tool- so that's definitely a tool that I've used myself, and helped clients of mine use. What would you say to somebody listening who's never heard of it for starters, what is it, www.HARO.com? It's really simple, right?   Jonathan Lovitz:         Yeah.   Jenn T Grace:              Okay so if somebody has no idea, they've never heard of this before, what would you say maybe a top one or top two tips might be for making that actually a usable or a viable tool for somebody who really just is just getting started?   Jonathan Lovitz:         Sure. Think of it as an eavesdropping tool. I know this may be a strange way to think of it, but think about sitting on the bus or the subway, or sitting at a restaurant and you overhear a conversation, and you know it's killing you that you could answer the question that you just heard someone at the next booth ask. 'Oh my God, I know the person that they're looking for, but I know an expert that could help them out,' and it's just killing you that you can't help. Well here's an opportunity to do that. You go to HARO, or you go to MuckRack or some of the other great places where you can connect with reporters, and they say, 'I'm looking for a personal branding expert to help me reach minority communities.' Sure I could do that. You know who could really do that is Jenn Grace. And now I recommended a friend, and they see not only am I willing to help this reporter out, I'm willing to help out colleagues of mine. And that matters, and that's something that resonates with people.   Jenn T Grace:              So using that example, how narrow niche do you feel somebody should try to define their brand around- their personal brand? So if we're thinking about all of the things- because I feel like there are more opportunities for me personally to take advantage of than I have time in the day. Like there's just so much opportunity these days. And I know that that's the case probably for even yourself because there are so many things that you hands down could completely and beautifully articulate some response or answer to, but it may not be directly in alignment with what you're doing. You might say, "You know what? Let me throw that to Jenn, or let me throw that to Sam, or let me throw that to somebody else." How have you been able to kind of I guess define the lane in which you like to travel in, and where those opportunities make sense to help a colleague out, so that way it does end up coming back at some point.   Jonathan Lovitz:         That's a great question. I think it's a matter again knowing exactly what you bring to the table, and doing your due diligence to know also what you can't bring, and what you can outsource to others. I mean it's the whole point of a supply chain, right? Is I may not be able to do it, but I know someone who can, and we can work together and build a team, and collaborate, and/or just pass off a great lead in the expectation that that's going to pay it forward the next time around. And that really starts with identifying your skillset, and in some cases being super explicit about it either on your website, or your capabilities deck, or whatever it may be and saying, "I do X, Y, Z." And you don't want to say that you are the next iteration- like Judy Garland said, "I don't need to be the second rate imitation of myself, there already is one." It's too early in the morning for a Judy Garland reference, I'm sorry, but it happens. But you don't need to say you're the Uber of community service, or I'm the seamless web of PR, whatever the comparative may be. Say, "I am the next thing. I am here to provide a unique service that you can only get from me, and if I can't do it I am connected to this massive network of-" and then list out all of the organizations you're a part of, or all the certifications you have, all of the awards you've won and say, "If I can't do it, trust me I'm a phone call away from someone who can and will get the job done."   Jenn T Grace:              You know what actually? An interesting thing happened to me a little bit along these lines. A couple of months ago, it was back actually in January so it was longer than I thought, I was on a sales call with a Fortune company that I won't mention their name, but we were talking about their Employee Resource Group, and how they just need to help figure out how to make their Employee Resource Group members better kind of sales advocates within the community- so within the LGBT community specifically. And she had reached out to me and I was like, "You know, I don't feel that I'm the qualified person to be having this conversation with. Employee Resource Groups are not my bailiwick but I know a couple of companies that would be perfectly suited to do this for you, but as the conversation kept going on, we were talking about exactly what they were looking for, and it ended up being exactly what I do, but I just have not specifically done it for an Employee Resource Group, but I've done it for a corporation, for a nonprofit, whatever it happens to be. But it was interesting that I started off that conversation saying, "You know what? This is totally not my thing, let me refer you to someone," and then I ended up getting the business anyway, and I think it really had to do with being very clear on what I was good at, and what I really thought my strength was, and it ended up being that it was in alignment anyway. But I feel like if I had gone into it being like, "Oh yeah I'm totally the expert on this particular subject," that I probably wouldn't have gotten the business. It was a really interesting kind of dynamic of what you were a little bit of just talking about.   Jonathan Lovitz:         I mean that's a great example and there's opportunity everywhere, right? And it may not be apparent in that first interaction, and that's what's the beauty of getting to know someone on a personal level first is all about. If you're constantly looking at someone with the 'what can you do for me' goggle, you'll never actually get to know them as a human being, and you'll never know what they care about, and what their broader network is, and what it is that make them tick. And then you've lost a huge opportunity to find layers of opportunity within. So start with the people, and then build the business on top of it.   Jenn T Grace:              Absolutely. Are you familiar with Gary Vaynerchuk to any degree?   Jonathan Lovitz:         No but I want you to educate me.   Jenn T Grace:              So he has a very confronting style I will call it, like he's just really brash, he's loud, he's in your face, straight up what you would imagine a New Yorker to be stereotyped as.   Jonathan Lovitz:         Hey.   Jenn T Grace:              You're so rough. And he has a huge online following and has for years, like millions and millions of people. And he has a book that he wrote, I think it's a couple of years old now, called 'Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook.' And his whole philosophy is you have to give, give, give, and then ask, and then keep on giving. So there has to be a far more likelihood of you giving before you're asking. Because if you just go into any scenario and you just start asking for the business, and you haven't built the relationship, people are going to be completely turned off or ignore you. But if you've been giving, and giving, and giving, when the right time to make that ask comes along they're going to be far more likely to want to do business with you because you've given them so much so far.   Jonathan Lovitz:         Right, absolutely right. And again, it's not that you're giving for that guaranteed return. It's that you're giving because that's in your nature and you want people to recognize that about you.   Jenn T Grace:              Yes and if you are coming off as like 'I'm only giving because I'm going to ask you for something in three days,' then I think anyone would see right through that.   Jonathan Lovitz:         We sure hope so.   Jenn T Grace:              Yeah, right? Okay you were talking about strengths a little bit ago. And for some reason Sally Hogshead popped in my mind in terms of really understanding your strengths. And I've been a Sally fan since 2011, and I only remember that because it's when one of her books came out, and having her at the NGLCC conference last year was legit like one of the highlights of my year because she was so amazing in person, on the stage, in the breakout, and then one-on-one. From a personal branding standpoint, I personally think that she’s truly amazing in terms of the framework that she provides to help people understand where their strengths naturally lie. What has your experience been, since I know you were at the conference obviously, what was your experience with that kind of new framework to really just understand what your brand as a person means and feels like?   Jonathan Lovitz:         For anyone who hasn't taken it, I highly recommend they go to her website and take the personality matrix test that she has, because it's really eye opening. And if you can, if you're a part of a team, I recommend doing it as a group. We recently did it at the NGLCC office and we now know who has what traits, and some were really shocking. There were a lot of people who possess these stealth characteristics that make them a great program manager, or even a great leader, and are sometimes so unspoken but it's nice to see it articulated in this really visual way, in a color coded way, that helps you understand where everyone fits. For me personally I was really impressed by the real clarity of the questions. It was not a super broad Myers Briggs conversation. It was really about what makes you tick, and what qualities about you make you a strong human being, whether it's for your persona life or your professional life. And the elements about who I was, as a leaders, as someone who likes to take charge, as someone who likes to be- they cleared me out, "You're a talker, you like to be the public face of what you're doing." It was nice because it's also backed up with an understanding of why; it doesn't just drop the bomb and say 'this is who you are.' It says 'because you got these five strengths behind you, that will help you succeed.' And it also outlines some of the pitfalls which is also I think a sign of a great leader and a great business person, is knowing where your shortcomings are and what you can do to actively work around them. I know I can sometimes miss the woods for the trees when I'm really down in a project I'm working on. I'm so mired in the details I forget this can be a little rough around the edges, the big picture is what matters here. And it's nice to be able to be reminded of that. And a trait of mine, and I should most importantly surround myself with great people who are my opposite so that they catch those mistakes, or that they help me execute correctly. I recently had been given some great help and some staff at the NGLCC to work on some projects, and we worked in completely opposite fashions, and it has made us stronger and more effective than we've ever been because we challenge each other. You're your own best yes man, no one needs another one. I can look in the mirror and tell myself what a great job I'm doing, I need the product to speak for it, and I need my relationships to reveal that. So as much as it's about discovering your own brand and your own skillset, allowing yourself to be self-aware enough of what you need to get the job done, the people you need to surround yourself with is just as or more so important.   Jenn T Grace:              Do you remember what your archetype was?   Jonathan Lovitz:         I knew you were going to ask. If you give me one second I can pull that up and tell you. Because I think it's such a great thing for everyone to know. Let's see, I do have that here.   Jenn T Grace:              I think the key is looking as she calls it the Double Trouble. So when your characteristics are doubled up on each other where you're actually acting at your worst. So something that should be making you your best, when you go to an extreme, it just makes it harder for people around you to either work with you, or take your direction, or operate. I feel like that was a really kind of eye-opening thing. Because when I was looking at mine, mine is the Maestro which is power and prestige, and it's kind of the ringleader in a lot of ways of like organizing things, and to me it's all about getting shit done. So it doesn't matter how, I will get it done. And I can see now how overbearing that could be to people on my team when they don't necessarily know what place I'm operating from. So it's a matter of being really cognisant of where your strength can actually become something that's hurtful to you.   Jonathan Lovitz:         I love that. So mine was the Avant Garde, and it's the person who likes to work quickly and come up with solutions, and be a leader, and if I don't like how the game is played, turn the table over and start a new game, that kind of thing. And I really do love that, but again one of my favorite parts was how it helped me identify what the opposites of that highest and best value may be, which are if I'm not perpetually challenged, I'm going to get bored and I'm going to want to walk away from a project. So being sure that everything I'm doing is new, and innovative, and that certainly served me well, and it's helped me develop unexpectedly I think in my career an entrepreneurial spirit that I didn't know I had. If you had told me ten years ago when I was first starting out as fortunately a solid working actor in New York in Broadway and television that that foundation I was laying, by building a social media platform, and building my own website, and all of those things that I thought were just helping me get a few more roles; that laid a foundation for the rest of my career because now I've converted everyone who ever knew me as a performer into someone who can help me amplify my policy work, and the LGBT stances that we take, and everything begets everything else. And so as it relates to your personal brand, making sure it's positive and flexible, it's all about you and what you want to put out there. And I think it's important for everyone to remember, and I try to teach this when I speak at a lot of universities and I try to remind young people these days you are what you tweet, far more than it used to be when it was your academic record, and your body of work. Now it's how the Internet sees you because people are going to Google you before they meet you, and you want that digital trail of breadcrumbs to lead to something positive that you're proud of, and it's never too late to course correct. So if you want to make that pivot and change your personal brand to be an expert on a certain subject, or a champion for a cause, start right now and get moving, and get help. There are lots of people who know how to do this and you can be that change you want to be.   Jenn T Grace:              Yeah and you have to start putting out content that reflects that, and I recently read- it was on LinkedIn and it was some ridiculous number like four out of five hiring managers, the first thing they do is Google your name or go to Facebook and look up your name. And if your profile picture is you with a beer can, chances are you're not getting the job. So it's that severe that I don't think people recognize it, and I actually was looking to hire somebody a couple of months ago, and a colleague of mine said, "My daughter is 22, she's graduating college, what you're working on I think would be in alignment with what she's interested in," and I go to her social media page and everything is her smoking pot with bongs. And it's like I'm not going to be a prude and say, "That's wrong, you can't do that," but for crying out loud, like your social image has to be more professional than that. You really can't be putting that out there, and once you put it out there, even though you think it's deleted or gone, it's still floating somewhere in the interwebs which is dangerous, especially when people are looking for- either looking for a job or just looking to grow their brand and grow their following of people.   Jonathan Lovitz:         I think that's absolutely right. And making yourself approachable for the things that you care about also matters. It's one thing to just drop the bomb and walk away. It's another thing to say, "I want to have a conversation." So if you're using Twitter, for example, to grow your brand, and you want to start a conversation, be prepared for there to be all sides of that conversation, and be prepared to have a- if you want people to reach you, use a Google voice number so it's anonymous. Or start a Google Hangout where you can keep yourself at an aesthetic distance. But be approachable and don't just throw a bunch of words out either and hope that it sticks. You've got to be able to back it up with passion, conviction, data when you've got it, whatever it may be, because that's also how you validate your brand. The world needs one more YouTube sensation flash in the pan like it needs a hole in the head. But what it does need is someone who's using their voice along with their fame to do something really great.   Jenn T Grace:              Absolutely, and I think it's important to be paying attention to sometimes maybe the more subtle cues of where your direction should be headed, because you might start off your personal brand and have- think that you have a really clear idea of what people are looking for, but once you start talking with the people you realize that, 'Oh wow, what I thought they were looking for isn't actually what they're looking for, they're actually looking for this,' and be able to make those short pivots, and not marry yourself to that original concept, of being open to different ideas and different directions.   Jonathan Lovitz:         Absolutely, and don't let others define your brand for you. It's your brand for a reason, and I certainly remember this well from back in my acting days. Something I don't miss is being told, "You're too this, you're too that," you're at the whim of every director and every casting person saying, "Grow your hair out, be thinner, work out more, do whatever it takes to be the next up and coming star and you're going to take over for this guy when he gets too old." I don't want to take over for him, I want to have my own path, I want to do my own thing, I don't need to replace anybody else, I want to just be Jonathan Lovitz out there. And finally I was able to find that by ironically enough just being myself. It's when I was given that opportunity to be on camera, and do the news, and interview celebrities and such as myself, and speak in my own voice, and talk about my own issues the way I cared about them, that's when I finally began to shine in the way that I didn't know I was destined to.   Jenn T Grace:              Yes I feel like that is probably the biggest piece of advice is to just be yourself, because when you're trying to fit the mold of what someone else is expecting of you, I feel like that's where you kind of go off the rails. And I can think back to probably 2011 maybe, and this was when I was actually running the Connecticut LGBT Chamber. For some reason I feel like I completely lost my way, and I felt like I had to be what was expected of me to be, and I completely went away from who I was. And if I look at pictures of me from 2010 and 2011, it shows how far from my original core I really was, and then in 2012 I just kind of had this epiphany one day of like, 'Screw this. I cannot continue to try to be something that I naturally don't feel like I am.' And then all throughout 2012 and 2013 I went on this whole weight loss kick, I got healthier again, and I completely re-changed everything that I was doing to just be very much in alignment with me because it's so much easier to just be you than try to be somebody that you're not.   Jonathan Lovitz:         I could not agree more; the best advice we could put out there in the world for people.   Jenn T Grace:              Yeah and especially with personal branding. So one of Sally's quotes, I'm trying to think- it's something of not trying to be others, just be more of who you are. So don't- I'm going to totally butcher it, it's like one of her best quotes. But yeah just be more of who you already are naturally rather than trying to add these characteristics or traits that are very unnatural to you.   Jonathan Lovitz:         I think that's absolutely right. And when you are most in tune with yourself, you're an instrument that's been primed, and ready, and destined for the spotlight. And that's when your message takes off. When you get given that microphone metaphorically or literally, and you're speaking from a place of groundedness and authenticity, that's when your message takes hold. That's definitely something Sally Hogshead before- it's messages that fail to fascinate become irrelevant, and I think that's right because what's fascinating about someone is their authenticity, not the facade.   Jenn T Grace:              Totally. And I feel like you are probably a living example of this as I feel like I am too. Is that I really pride myself on being the same Jenn. So whether you catch me when we're having dinner with a couple of people, whether it's at a conference, or whether we're having a one-on-one conversation or a conversation that thousands of people are listening to, I feel like I really pride myself on always being that same person, so there's never that jarring disconnect. And I feel like you are always the same person regardless of what interaction I have with you, and I would imagine that probably carries out through other people as well.   Jonathan Lovitz:         Well I really appreciate that, and I'll be the first to admit it wasn't always that way, and that was a major life lesson and journey for me was figuring out that's who I'm supposed to be, is myself all the time. And I definitely see this among a lot of young people, and people starting out in their careers, is trying too hard to please everybody by pivoting. That when you're in the office you're trying to please the boss, so you've got one persona versus who you are with your friends, or who you are with your family versus who you might be when you're networking with your eye on the next job, and that doesn't work.   Jenn T Grace:              It's exhausting.   Jonathan Lovitz:         It's just too exhausting, and for anyone who's ever been through the coming out experience in their professional life, they know about when you can bring your best self to your work by being who you are. Your work has never been better, in fact your whole life gets better because that lead vest comes off. So do yourself the favor and take off a couple extra layers of lead vest and just carry yourself around.   Jenn T Grace:              Yeah just being the same person. I just had an introduction from a colleague to a Fortune company, and it was a CMO and it's not typically a recommendation that I'd prefer written an email, but the introduction was, 'You need to meet Jenn, she's whip smart and she gets shit done.' Like that was exactly the line. And I'm like okay, this was to the CMO of a really large company, I'm not sure that that would be the natural way I would like to be introduced, but it actually is who I am, and when I had that first initial call with this particular company, it set the tone so beautifully because I- and I really even with sales calls and high people in larger companies, I'm still genuinely the same person, but it really kind of was very freeing to be like, 'You know what? This is how I was introduced, they still wanted a call with me, so I can really just kind of be who I am,' and it was just such a natural flowing conversation because of that. Even though I wouldn't necessarily want that to be the way I'm referred frequently, but it worked out so beautifully. So I think that it really kind of comes down to that authenticity, and for me having the moniker of the Professional Lesbian, that immediately weeds out people that would not even want to give me the time of day. And to me that's a great thing because I don't have to waste my time or someone else's for them to see if they even want to build a relationship with me.   Jonathan Lovitz:         Oh I think you're so, so right. We don't have time anymore to have to chip away and figure out what's behind the facade. Leading with yourself is the easiest way to make sure people get what they pay for, literally and figuratively. And I can't tell you the number of times in my career I thought I've gotten to know someone under a totally false pretense, and when the mask came off and I was so disappointed with the person that was really underneath, I wish I had known that from the beginning.   Jenn T Grace:              Yeah.   Jonathan Lovitz:         Because it's wasted a lot of time and energy and frustration, and I came out on the other side more aware of what I don't want in my life, which is potentially a great lesson, but again speaks to the value of your own brand and self-awareness. Be aware of what you're putting out in the world because that's what people are buying. And in a world where we all look to our Yelp reviews before we buy anything, word of mouth is your living Yelp review, and we want it to be a good one for you.   Jenn T Grace:              Absolutely. So I feel like we're getting already to almost 45 minutes, we've already been talking that long, and I feel like we could be talking for days because there's so much information to be had, and we both have communications degrees which is why I think it's kind of morphed into what we're talking about. But I want to ask you what is the best piece of advice that you've been given? And not even necessarily related to branding or anything like that, but just kind of in business or in life. What is it and who gave it to you?   Jonathan Lovitz:         Well you'll indulge me I'll have to say it's two.   Jenn T Grace:              Okay.   Jonathan Lovitz:         Because in my personal life it came from my parents when I was a teenager and really struggling with who I was personally, what I cared about versus what was expected of me as a teenage boy in the suburbs, and all the things that I was into when I was far more interested in being involved in theatre and school than I was sports and friends and all of that. And all my- and after all the time talking to school counselors, and all the stress of all of that in your teenage years; sitting down and having a good cry with my parents and them saying, "Yeah but do you like you? Good. Stick with that and that's all that matters."   Jenn T Grace:              That's beautiful.   Jonathan Lovitz:         And that has served me well in my personal life ever since. It's just thinking, 'If I'm unhappy with something, all I have to do is change it. I could sit here and rock back and forth and worry about it, or I could make it better.'   Jenn T Grace:              Yeah.   Jonathan Lovitz:         So that certainly served me in my personal life, and then in my professional life which I am so grateful as I said at the beginning of all this, very bizarrely and organically led me to such incredible experiences, it's all been because I never let a door that was closed dissuade me from a path. And anytime that there was a door, I have been told by so many friends, and colleagues and mentors, 'Build your own,' and that has always served me well. Between the idea of never letting a lack of an opportunity mean that there isn't one, just should inspire you to come up with a creative solution, and that usually leads you to lesson number two which is it's usually better to beg forgiveness than ask permission.   Jenn T Grace:              That's my favorite quote.   Jonathan Lovitz:         Yeah, get it done, wow people, and someone will help you get out of any kind if icky situation that arises with it. But it's better to have done it. Another great Sally Hogshead quote was something to the effect of the world was never changed by people who just kind of cared.   Jenn T Grace:              So true, especially in this work, right?   Jonathan Lovitz:         Yeah, exactly. And whether it's your personal business, or community service, or whatever it may be, care with all you have because you're only going to get one shot to make a difference.   Jenn T Grace:              I love that. I love that. I feel like we should end on that because it's so beautifully articulated. But before we actually end, how do people find you? So tell us all the different ways in which they can get a little bit of loving from you.   Jonathan Lovitz:         Well if they ever want to know about our professional work, and the great things we're doing to make the world a better place for LGBT people to live, and work, and thrive, get involved in www.NGLCC.org. But for me personally I have a website, www.JonathanDLovitz.com. It's a little bit under construction right now, so anyone out there with some great web skills, do feel free to get in touch. But there's my links to all my social media are there, I'm really active on Twitter, it's my favorite. @JDLovitz. I will always write back and get in touch with people if they use the email link on my website. There's no such thing as a relationship without value, so I hope to hear from everybody listening. I hope to always be a good friend and connection with you, Jenn, I think your work and energy you put out into the world is so inspiring and we need a lot more of you out there, but I'm pretty glad that there's just one Jenn Grace.   Jenn T Grace:              Thank you, I appreciate that. We should just start cloning ourselves and just have a little army. Wouldn't that be great?   Jonathan Lovitz:         Absolutely. I don't know the world needs another one of me, I think I'm- certainly my partner wouldn't want more.   Jenn T Grace:              I would say the same thing about my wife. Yeah I don't think she wants another one of me either.   Jonathan Lovitz:         Yeah.   Jenn T Grace:              They get the best of us, don't they?   Jonathan Lovitz:         They sure do, even at the worst.   Jenn T Grace:              For real. Alright this has been great, thank you so much for being a guest, I really appreciate it.   Jonathan Lovitz:         It was a real pleasure and an honor, and I hope to do it again. Thanks for all you do.   Jenn T Grace:              Thank you for listening to today's podcast. If there are any links from today's show that you are interested in finding, save yourself a step and head on over to www.JennTGrace.com/thepodcast. And there you will find a backlog of all of the past podcast episodes including transcripts, links to articles, reviews, books, you name it. It is all there on the website for your convenience. Additionally if you would like to get in touch with me for any reason, you can head on over to the website and click the contact form, send me a message, you can find me on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter all at JennTGrace. And as always I really appreciate you as a listener, and I highly encourage you to reach out to me whenever you can. Have a great one, and I will talk to you in the next episode.

This episode of Week in Review covers the evolving role of female chefs in the restaurant industry, how to order sushi like a boss, “The Pope of Peppers,” and plenty of dad jokes. On “The Breakdown,” Jack and Erin talk to Lukas Volger of Jarry magazine on the upcoming panel discussion with Startout about food entrepreneurship in the LGBT community.

July 30, 2014 - Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://onforb.es/1klNBnz. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. Social venture CommitChange has developed a new fundraising platform for nonprofits that doesn’t rely on collecting a percentage of funds raised, potentially netting nonprofits with a higher percentage of total donations. The venture has garnered investments from power investors Mark Cuban, Tim Draper, Adam Draper and 500 Startups. Chris Sinton, co-founder of Network for Good and board chair of StartOut, has also invested and joined the board. “We’ve decided to make all of our core technology available for free to help bolster charitable giving in the United States. We are also eliminating donation skimming as a business model and we will never profit by taking a percentage of donations,” said Roderick Campbell, CEO and Co-Founder of CommitChange. Tim Draper, founder of Draper Fisher Jurvetson, said “a non-profit without CommitChange risks becoming a dinosaur.”

Fyllo with Chief Commercial officer Jeff Ragovin, today on Grassroots Marketing only on Cannabis Radio.Tech pioneer and industry veteran, Jeff Ragovin has a proven track record of leading and scaling technology platforms. Co-founder of Buddy Media, Ragovin played a central role in guiding the company from start-up to the largest enterprise social marketing software in the world. Founded in 2007, Buddy Media empowered brands and agencies with a SaaS platform to organize and control their social marketing programs globally. Buddy Media enabled companies to publish content, place and optimize social ads, and measure the effectiveness of social marketing programs. Salesforce acquired Buddy Media in 2012 for $745M, making it one of the largest tech exits in NY history at the time. At Salesforce, Ragovin served as the Chief Strategy Officer. Today, Jeff is the Chief Commercial Officer at Fyllo. Fyllo is leveling the playing field for cannabis companies with the Fyllo Compliance Cloud, a suite of enterprise-grade software and services powered by RegsTechnology, the largest database of cannabis laws and regulations at the federal, state and local level. We deliver advanced data, media, and compliance solutions that are built for the complexities of the cannabis industry today. From local dispensaries to large MSOs and traditional CPG companies, ambitious cannabis brands and industry professionals choose Fyllo as their partner to go bigger and grow faster with trust and confidence in compliance. Jeff is a sought after speaker sharing his experiences and insights at leading industry events worldwide including: SXSW, CES, Digital Hollywood, Internet Week, Social Media Week, Dreamforce, MasterClass Series, Forbes, Startout and many others.