Mastermind Your Launch

Don Friedman has spent the last 13 years creating and producing “first-of-its-kind”, buyside investor-focused finance conferences, webinars and roadshows as well as running a conference company. Don founded Joint Venture Events Group in May 2014 by creating a unique conference format which immediately catapulted the firm to the top of investment professionals’ “must-attend” events list with “best-in-breed” programs such as Investing in Liquid Alternatives and Investing in MLPs. Don is a lifelong “Wildcat” having received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree from the University of Arizona. Don is also an avid runner, with three marathons to his credit and has skydived once. He and his wife and two daughters live in Milton, GA. Mission: In mall, ran into is freshman year college roommate who shared with Don an opportunity to create events for the financial industry. With a background in finance and day-trading, Don jumped aboard, learned quickly and has never looked back. Mindset: Having an

Chris Estrada considers himself a connect-apreneur and coworkaholic on the mission to: Influence and Drive 1 Million People to pursue their passions and develop success through joining a local coworking community. A graduate of Kennesaw State, Chris is a rare native Atlantan. Chris hosts a weekly podcast, Coworking Success where he features coworking success stories mixed in with other amazing business success stories. Chris’ background includes 5 years of marketing/brand strategy consulting, 10 years event management and 3 years of coworking industry experience. When Chris isn’t opening a new coworking space as a coworking consultant with the Operation Spot, you can find him riding his mountain bike on one of the many mountain bike trails or riding his road bike on the silver comet. Mission: Sometimes a setback is truly the best setup for success. After being turned down for a job, Chris set out to launch his own business. Eight months later, he has surpassed the income he would have received working for som

Rick Fossum is a creative and critical thinker with a passion for people. He’s a problem solver who’s had unique opportunities to work alongside talented Designers and Developers, experienced Brand Strategists, Marketing Managers and Management Consultants. With over 20 years of agency experience, Rick has lead design or brand marketing efforts for major brands including General Mills, Glock, Major League Baseball, and Newell Rubbermaid. He believes that an effective brand and consumer relationship shares the same qualities of a meaningful human relationship—authenticity, value, trust, and endurance. Rick lives in Roswell, Georgia with his wife Susan and their sons Alex and Sam. Mission: Rick found himself at a crossroads with a choice to either take a job or change the world. He chose the latter and connected to a newfound passion for doing work that he loves. Mindset: As a new entrepreneur, Rick still has a focus on creating financial security for him and his family. However, his mindset is much more than j

Brad Stevens, Entreholic, is a career entrepreneur with experience in manufacturing, product development, supply chain, sales team development, operations, financial modeling, marketing automation, digital marketing, SaaS, and growth hacking. His most recent company, Entreholic, provides an affordable, entrepreneurial approach to outsourced digital and traditional marketing services for small to medium businesses. Mission: Growing up in an entrepreneurial family, Brad saw firsthand what it takes to run a business.  After college, his experience spanned many industries and business functions, but marketing stood out to him as an under-served yet fascinating area. It was that passion that sparked the idea for Entreholic. Mindset: Having an entrepreneurial family, launching a business wasn’t as scary for Brad as it may be for others. Still, he makes focused effort to maintain a mindset for success and attributes his fitness routine for providing the discipline needed to follow through on what it takes to launch

Sara Lamond, Owner of the Atlanta boutique Fig & Flower, connected to a passion for health and wellness as a way to cope with the pressures of law school. As she adopted this cleaner way of life, she became aware of a need in the marketplace for stores offering all-natural beauty and skin care products. With that, the idea for Fig & Flower was born. What inspires me about this episode is Sara's transparent account of the ups and down of entrepreneurship. I got chills as we were recording, so I'm hoping that you love the result as much as I do. Mission: As Sara knew that she wanted to give back in a positive way. Being able to impact individual's personal wellness as well as positively impact the environment played a major role in her decision to make the leap. Mindset: Sara openly shares that her career as an attorney left her soul-searching for something more.  She knew very clearly that she did not want a career in law and from that place she connected with the idea for Fig & Flower and the cour

In this episode, Hogan Bassey, Founder and CEO of LivFul, shares his mission to have 200,000 lives by preventing mosquito borne illnesses in 3rd world countries.  His story has garnered national attention as he was recently named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 List and he's currently working with global brands to bring his mission to life. Prepare to be inspired and empowered by this awe inspiring, entrepreneurial journey. Mission: Amazingly Hogan survived 4 different cases of Malaria as a kid growing up in Nigeria. Watching his mother's pain when he fell ill, coupled with the fact that he was missing out on his childhood favorites gave him an itch to find a solution. It was at an early age that he connected to the mission to launch a pharmaceutical company dedicated to preventing mosquito borne illnesses. Mindset: Starting to take action as a young person may have worked in Hogan's favor. He had taken on a big mission and took action before truly knowing the large challenge ahead. As he went on, he developed a fe

Re Perez is a Brand Strategist and CEO of BRANDING FOR THE PEOPLE, a leading branding agency that helps emerging entrepreneurs and established small businesses achieve rapid growth, whether it's doubling, tripling or quadrupling their income. In today's interview, he shares just how to get inside the mind of your ideal client to create the brand that perfectly communicates your value in a way that speaks to them. Mission: After traveling the world working with some of the top global brands, Re felt a stirring to create more impact. After taking time away to clear his mind, he connected with the powerful mission to bring his knowledge of branding strategy to the everyday entrepreneur and small business. Mindset:  Like so many at the beginning, he wondered if his new business would work.  Re shares that "even the best of us have some sort of fear of the unknown." His advice for anyone in this place is to see the big picture, connect with your "why" and know that you have nowhere to go but up! Marketing:  I love

Laurie Sluser, bizHUMM Co-founder & CEO, has successfully managed or owned 5 different companies over the past 25 years. Most recently he served as General Manager of  a software engineering staffing firm, which he led to ten-fold growth in revenue with over 25 million dollars in gross sales. Laurie co-founded bizHUMM.com in 2014 to help small businesses and entrepreneurs find everything they need to start and grow their business.  He recently co-authored a book entitled How To Start A Business: The Ultimate Free Guide. Mission: Laurie took on the mission of bringing bizHUMM to life with the experience of 5 previous startups under his belt. When it comes to his advice to new or aspiring entrepreneurs, he enthusiastically says, "Do your homework!" Do it once now or twice later. Be intentional about your actions and resist being lazy in your thinking. Mindset: Even with Laurie's entrepreneurial experience he maintains a healthy fear of the unknown and launching bizHUMM was no different. Building a great tea

Scott Williford is a serial entrepreneur, consultant, writer and speaker who is passionate about helping others succeed in whatever they are called to. As Founder and CEO of vLink Solutions, Scott helps businesses and professionals use the power of video to enhance their online brand. Video blogs, video profiles, product demos and customer stories are examples of the types of video they help clients produce. vLink also provide the services and tools to manage and monitor how the videos are used with their proprietary software tools. Mission: Scott wasn't looking for a lifestyle business.  He pursued entrepreneurship to take control of his own destiny.  However, the real joy for Scott is being able to create a valuable solution that serves the needs of his clients. Mindset: When it comes to the necessary mindset for each entrepreneur, Scott focuses on the power of the pivot. Being able to read the market, see trends and listen to clients has been the key to success for many of his ventures. Listen as he shares

Highly sought after due to his candid counsel to both startups and Fortune 1000 companies alike, he has been requested by organizations such as IBM, Coca-Cola, UPS, Cox Communications and Autodesk. K.P. has spoken at universities all over the U.S. including: Harvard, Georgia Institute of Technology, Vanderbilt, Stanford, Emory, San Jose State, University of South Carolina, and Cleveland State. According to Crystal Knows: "He is ambitious, critical, and moves quickly to make progress, but understands how to support others in the process." Innovative and witty, K.P. speaks to leaders with intriguing topics such as: Your Culture Sucks Because You Suck, Why Big Companies Can’t Innovate, Disruption Is Not A Marketing Campaign, Why You’re Not a CEO, Yet… and Why Every Recent Grad Should Work at a Startup. In 2012, K.P. published BIM for Building Owners and Developers, a book on the adoption of advanced technology in the infrastructure space employed by leading companies and universities. K.P. is a Startup Catalyst,

Bella Cleaning began as a passionate feeling of entrepreneurship so strong, Juliet Pocali Tenaglia couldn’t ignore it. She made a snap decision to leave the corporate world, and was loosing sleep at night as ideas and inspiration flooded her mind. Despite other people’s opinions that she needed to “stay in the corporate world and just start a little business on the side”, she knew she had to fulfill what her heart was yearning for. Since then, it’s been a ride like no other and on today’s podcast episode she shares why it’s worth every penny! Mission: As is the case with so many entrepreneurs, Juliet’s journey to launch a business began when a “safe” job suddenly dissolved. Having watched a friend build a similar cleaning business in Florida, she reached out to learn more and quickly found her thoughts consumed with ideas for her own cleaning business. I love Juliet’s how Juliet describes those early days of being so excited and focused on making her dream a reality. I know so many entrepreneurs and small bus

Ramon Gonzalez and Daniel Burnett are the founders of Thrive Coworking in Alpharetta, GA where they are bringing entrepreneurs together in a unique community.  Mission: It’s easy to see how Ramon and Daniel connected as business partners. They both share their personal journeys that sparked their passion for creating work that centers around a meaningful purpose.  While they had different paths, they both ended up in the same place looking to create something great. Mindset: Jumping into a new industry meant that there was no playbook from which to work. Ramon and Daniel are driven by a deep sense of purpose and the potential impact of creating a community driven co-working space. Their biggest advice is to focus on having the courage to explore your ideas. Marketing: There’s nothing like word of mouth and leveraging your warm market. Ramon and Daniel got clear on their business model, created a soft launch and began reaching out to their immediate circle of influence to begin getting the word out. They also

Jayna Thompson is the founder of Alexis Suitcase, a contemporary consignment boutique with 3 locations in the Atlanta area. With everything from Gap to Gucci, Alexis Suitcase offers its customers the experience of an upscale boutique at a fraction of the cost. Mission: Jayna knew from a young age that she wanted to one day own a clothing store. At the age of 25 she took the leap with the help of her mom. In today’s interview she shares the journey of those early days and the key moments and people that helped create this thriving boutique. (01:50) Mindset: As with many entrepreneurs, Jayna experienced fear of failure and the unknown. Listen as she shares the mindset that helped her push through and how her young age actually worked to her advantage. (03:17) Marketing: In the beginning days of Alexis Suitcase, Jayna spread the word through networking events, print advertisement and friends and family. Hear her discuss what worked and what didn’t, plus her biggest advice for anyone looking to open a brick and m

Darria Long Gillespie, MD MBA FACEP is a national health media expert, SVP of Clinical Strategy at Sharecare, practicing ER doctor at Emory and  Assistant Professor at the Emory School of Medicine, wife, and Mom. Dr Darria appears frequently on TV, on CNN, FoxNews, CNBC, NBC,  and The Dr Oz Show, writes “The Busy Woman’s Guide to Health…and Sanity” for Sharecare.com, and  is a featured blogger on DoctorOz.com and The Huffington Post. In addition, she hosts a weekly radio show and podcast on iHeart Radio’s RadioMD, called Sharecare Radio. Mission: The mission for Sharecare Inc, as Dr Darria explains, was born from a meeting of the minds between founder Jeff Arnold and Oprah. (I love it!) Dr Darria shares her personal mission which is to help busy moms take better care of themselves and their family. To that end, she's using multiple platforms to provide the information these ambitious women need. Mindset: Her role in Sharecare has brought more on-camera time then your typical ER doctors might expect. I love ho

Honoree Corder makes her second appearance on the podcast to talk about her new book, Prosperity for Writers.  Whether you're looking to write a book or take your business to the next level, her philosophies on commitment, follow-through, abundance and money mindset can be applied to us all. Mission: The inspiration for Prosperity for Writers was born at a writer's conference where Honoree heard writers doubting their ability to create and publish a highly successful book.  It was then that she sought out to explore the steps that authors can take to create a living from their passion for writing. Mindset: "It's not about what you're doing, it's about who you're being. And who you're being is based on what you're thinking." Listen as Honoree covers the 4 mental hurdles to being a prosperous author.  "If you can't think it, you can't ink it", she says. Momentum: Commitment over interest. I love Honoree's description of commitment over interest and how important commitment is to gaining the momentum you need to

Kevin and Devona Stimpson are the husband and wife team behind Strive & Grind, a global online brand dedicated to empowering others to unleash their inner greatness. Mission: After losing several friends during high school and college, Kevin and Devona felt a responsibility to be a positive influence in their community. After early jobs and internships left them feeling uninspired, they worked to turn their passion for helping other succeed into a profitable business. Mindset: Devona jokes that Kevin is a walking self-help book! Listen as he shares the mindset shift that happened when he took a deep-dive into self-improvement. Marketing: After growing an online business for several years, Kevin and Devona share the ups and downs and what has had the most success in generating the right kind of leads. Momentum: Reflecting on several events that brought momentum to their business, there is one common thread that connects them all... people. Masterminds: Kevin shares just how you can begin today mastermindin

Gary Griffiths is the founder of Three Sides Inc, a company on a mission to Amplify, Inspire and Do more good in the world. In this episode, Gary shares his journey to create a business that not only provides for his family, but also gives back to the community. Mission: Gary knew that a Facebook marketing business would allow him the lifestyle he dreamed of, but listen as he shares the moment the idea became a deep passion. Mindset: Like so many, Gary struggled with the mindset that a corporate job was what he needed to provide for his family. I love how he describes the mindset shift that finally broke him free of this belief. Marketing: Gary shares exactly how he got his first client and why he actually doesn't use Facebook ads! Word of mouth referrals alone have grown Three Sides Inc at lightening speed. Listen as Gary shares a big revelation for his business and how you can use the "Anchor Client" strategy to drive fast growth. Momentum: It's usually a good thing to have momentum in your business, howeve

Katie VanBuskirk, Ph.D., teaches women how to leverage the Law of Attraction to increase their sales conversions and meet their performance quotas faster. To every single client, Katie brings her unique blend of science-backed expertise, universal spiritual principles, and belief in unlimited human potential. Along with publishing in top academic journals, such as the Journal of Behavioral Medicine, Katie has worked with hundreds of clients in individual and group settings, targeting improvement in health, relationships, and earning power. Katie also enjoys searching for the best almond croissants (top favorite located in Carmel-By-The-Sea, CA) and fostering kittens in her beach house in sunny San Diego, CA. Mission: After living a double life, one as a science-based psychology student, the other as a deeply spiritual student of the universe, Katie shares how she came to blend the two and why it's important to be a "whole person" in your business. Mindset: Hear about the common misconception Katie had to over

Kristen Stocks is the founder of Kids Boost, a non-profit organization designed to help kids give back to the world using their gifts, talents and passions. Mission: To empower kids to give back to the community while learning business skills and experiencing entrepreneurship for themselves. In this episode she shares the story of Jared, a former patient at the children’s hospital where she works, who inspired it all. Mindset: Kristen actually had the idea for Kids Boost for several years before taking action. Hear her describe how starting small helped her launch her to finally big idea. Marketing: “What I didn’t think I was ready for was all that I needed and more.”  Kristen shares the marketing moment she did quite feel ready for and how it helped get the word out in a big way. Momentum: Now out of the launch phase, Kristen is enjoying hearing the stories and feedback from some of Kids Boost’s first graduates. Seeing her idea come to life and impact kids is giving her and Kids Boost momentum for the next c

The Green Room camp is a program of re:imagine/ATL.re:imagine/ATL is an innovative and relationally-driven 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that empowers young people from all backgrounds to reimagine a flourishing Atlanta through creative technologies, collaboration and sustainable, holistic programs. re:imagine uses a project-based educational approach that combines film and music, storytelling, and entrepreneurship as a means of activating young people to positively impact their community. We believe that under this creative vision, the next generation can come together to form a single, vibrant voice that will change the world.