Search Interviews:

[Top Agency Series] Tools and Tech for Business Growth in Tough Times With Lisa Larson-Kelley of Quantious

[Top Agency Series] Tools and Tech for Business Growth in Tough Times With Lisa Larson-Kelley of Quantious

Lisa Larson-Kelley is the Founder and CEO of Quantious, a premier marketing agency specializing in emerging technology. Over the past decade, Lisa has grown the company from a small, two-person enterprise into a sought-after boutique marketing services agency. They’ve received national certification as a Women’s Business Enterprise by the Women President’s Educational Organization.

Lisa is an online-video industry veteran, published author, and certified expert in emerging technologies. Her deep understanding of the developer ecosystem allows her to bridge the gap between tech-talk and marketing-speak.

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[Top Agency Series] How To Grow Your Business Maximally With Bill Harper of wmHarper

[Top Agency Series] How To Grow Your Business Maximally With Bill Harper of wmHarper

Bill Harper is the CEO and Chief Creative Officer at wmHarper, a strategically-led, creatively-driven transformation agency. The agency focuses on brands in need of transformation and helps them transition from a stagnant awkward stage to a growth-generating stage.

Bill offers leadership teams the insights, strategy, and fearless creativity they need to set them on a path to reaching their full potential. Over his 30-year career, Bill has created compelling creative executions and success stories for brands like Denny’s, Ryobi, Bosch, Michelin, Delsey Luggage, and Music & Arts, to name a few. During Bill’s downtime, he enjoys spending time with his family, fishing for striped bass, a good book, woodworking, and all things IPA.

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[Top Agency Series] Driving Awareness Through Trial With Laurel Rundle, CEO of Aha! Marketing

[Top Agency Series] Driving Awareness Through Trial With Laurel Rundle, CEO of Aha! Marketing

Laurel Rundle is the Founder and CEO of Aha! Marketing, a leading provider of targeted product sampling that delivers millions of samples to consumers yearly through thousands of locations. They drive trials and awareness for top consumer products and natural brands. Over the past 20 years, they’ve worked with companies such as Gerber, Brita, Dove, and Gillette.

Laurel puts health, wellness, fitness, nutrition, education, and pet lifestyle brands at the center of human interactions that are already happening. So every brand campaign is delivered through one of their proprietary networks.

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[Chicago Business Series] Customer Retention and Engagement With Aalap Shah of 1o8 Agency

[Chicago Business Series] Customer Retention and Engagement With Aalap Shah of 1o8 Agency

Aalap Shah is a Chicago-born entrepreneur and Founder of 1o8, a performance marketing digital agency focused on driving sales for CPG companies nationwide on e-com and Amazon platforms. They’ve worked with companies like Gildan, Sweet Leaf Tea, Tio, So Crazy, and more.

Aalap has been recognized as a leader in Chicago’s minority-owned digital marketing world and is known by multiple entities for his entrepreneurial and charitable endeavors. Crain’s Chicago Business recognized him as one of Chicago’s young emerging philanthropists, while the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship named him the National Volunteer of the Year.

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[Top Agency Series] Quitting Solopreneurship With Michele Tonkovitz of Green Onion Creative

[Top Agency Series] Quitting Solopreneurship With Michele Tonkovitz of Green Onion Creative

Michele Tonkovitz is the Founder and CEO of Green Onion Creative, an agency that helps companies nationwide grow their brand awareness and achieve their marketing goals. She has over a decade of experience writing creative copy.

Michele also offers design, social media, PR, and vendor relations services. She holds a BA in journalism and mass communications from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

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[Top Women Leaders] Women and the Burden of Success With Jess Begen Galica, Founder of Reclaim Your Career

[Top Women Leaders] Women and the Burden of Success With Jess Begen Galica, Founder of Reclaim Your Career

Jess Begen Galica is a corporate speaker and private coach. She helps high-performing women transform their career trajectories to find more purpose, balance, and fulfillment.

Jess has built a highly successful business career spanning almost every kind of corporate work environment, from top companies like Apple and Siemens to various startups to management consulting at Bain & Company.

After becoming a new mom, Jess pivoted, researched, and wrote about women and careers. She soon discovered that her story is not unique — building a stellar career, doing everything “right,” but waking up lost.

She went on to study the career trajectories of more than 150 highly successful women and has become an expert on career reinvention. She is the Founder of Reclaim Your Career, where she helps women launch a career change.

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[EO Chicago] What Does Office Space Have to do With Company Culture? With Peter Billmeyer, Co-Founder of Bespoke Commercial Real Estate

[EO Chicago] What Does Office Space Have to do With Company Culture? With Peter Billmeyer, Co-Founder of Bespoke Commercial Real Estate

Peter Billmeyer, SIOR, is a Co-founder and Managing Principal at Bespoke Commercial Real Estate, a company that finds, negotiates, finalizes, and extends custom real estate solutions for privately-held businesses and nonprofit organizations.

In his role, Peter prides himself on business development and creative problem solving to drive value for clients continually. He has a business degree from Oregon State University and was an Academic All-American, a four-year starter, and three-year captain of the soccer team — and eventually played professionally.

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[Top Agency & Top Chicago Business Series] Digital Experience Design and the Agile Approach With  Michael LaVista of Caxy Interactive

[Top Agency & Top Chicago Business Series] Digital Experience Design and the Agile Approach With Michael LaVista of Caxy Interactive

Michael LaVista is the Founder of Caxy Interactive, a Chicago-based custom software and technology company. Since 1999, they’ve been helping organizations create user-centered designs, content management systems, e-commerce, mobile application development, and much more. Over the past several decades, they have worked with clients like Motorola, Northwestern University, the University of Chicago, and the American Dental Association.

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[Top Women Leaders] Angel Investing the Smart and Healthy Way With Marcia Dawood of Mindshift Capital and Angel Capital Association

[Top Women Leaders] Angel Investing the Smart and Healthy Way With Marcia Dawood of Mindshift Capital and Angel Capital Association

Marcia Dawood is an investor who has invested in over 200 early-stage private companies. She’s also a Venture Partner with Mindshift Capital. Mindshift Capital is a global, women-run venture firm investing in notable women-led companies solving big problems with sophisticated solutions.

Marcia is also part of the Investment Committee for the Next Wave Impact Fund, serves as a Board Member and Advisor to Zive and Misfits Bakehouse, and is an Activator for SheEO. Marcia currently serves as Chair of the Board of the Angel Capital Association.

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[Top Agency & Chicago Business Series] Making Boring and Complicated Brands Come Alive With Allie LeFevere of Obedient Agency

[Top Agency & Chicago Business Series] Making Boring and Complicated Brands Come Alive With Allie LeFevere of Obedient Agency

Allie LeFevere is the Creative Director and Co-founder of Obedient, a humor branding agency. They turn businesses into unstoppable, unorthodox, unforgettable brands because they believe that standing out is not a matter of taste but of survival. Allie has spent the last decade working with brands to ensure their messaging isn’t a snoozefest.

Before starting Obedient, Allie was the VP of Engagement at a Chicago-based startup. She then jumped ship in 2014 to run her first business developing creative programs for companies like Dell, AT&T, Trunk Club, and emerging small businesses and startups.

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[Top Women Leaders & Chicago Business Series] The Helpful Business With Becky Feinberg-Galvez, CEO of Candor Threads

[Top Women Leaders & Chicago Business Series] The Helpful Business With Becky Feinberg-Galvez, CEO of Candor Threads

Becky Feinberg-Galvez is the CEO and Co-owner of Candor Threads, a custom apparel company. The company was formerly known as Shop for Ties. Candor Threads first started as corporate textiles in 1982 when Becky’s stepfather, Arnie Kapp, founded the business. He began making cold calls to sell ties, winning over customers and connections from his basement office — and, more importantly — instilled the importance of speaking with candor and treating every customer as a friend.

Becky joined Candor Threads as a Marketing and Sales Manager and moved into the CEO position following her stepfather’s passing. As CEO, Becky has created steady year-over-year growth by introducing new products and implementing a customer-centered, detail-oriented approach to business.

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[Direct Response Series] How a Business Grew to $100 Million Using Direct Mail With Kevin Donlin, Founder of Client Cloning Systems

[Direct Response Series] How a Business Grew to $100 Million Using Direct Mail With Kevin Donlin, Founder of Client Cloning Systems

Kevin Donlin is the Founder of Client Cloning Systems, a company that helps executives leverage the power of direct mail, email, and warm calls. Kevin has been involved in marketing since 1994 and sold one of the first ebooks online, which was the beginning of his e-commerce journey. By the late 90s, he was a Webmaster for FedEx, where he worked with some of the pioneers of online marketing.

Since 1998, Kevin has been a copywriter and marketing advisor, delivering sales gains of more than $1 million on multiple occasions through direct mail and online marketing. He’s been interviewed by ABC, CBS, NBC, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Fortune magazine, and many more. He’s a co-author and author of five marketing books.

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[Israel Business Series] Real Life Superpowers Every Entrepreneur Should Have With Ronen Menipaz, CEO and Founder of M51 Entrepreneur Labs

[Israel Business Series] Real Life Superpowers Every Entrepreneur Should Have With Ronen Menipaz, CEO and Founder of M51 Entrepreneur Labs

Ronen Menipaz is an Israeli investor, entrepreneur, and tech advisor. He’s been a founder in the entertainment, ad-tech, and fintech space with over 25 years of entrepreneurial experience.

Ronen is the CEO and Founder of M51 Entrepreneur Labs, a private equity company located in Tel Aviv, Israel. The company helps empower fearless, passionate, and creative Israeli entrepreneurs to succeed by leveraging M51’s ideas, time, and network of support.

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How To Double Sales in the Next 12 Months — The Ultimate Sales Machine With Amanda Holmes and Troy Aberle of Chet Holmes International

How To Double Sales in the Next 12 Months — The Ultimate Sales Machine With Amanda Holmes and Troy Aberle of Chet Holmes International

Amanda Holmes is the CEO of Chet Holmes International, a privately held company founded by highly publicized thought leader, Chet Holmes. The organization aims to help small to medium-sized businesses grow faster, better, and smarter. They have assisted over 250,000 businesses worldwide. It’s the home to The Ultimate Sales Machine book, which was voted in the top 110 most recommended marketing and sales books.

Troy Aberle is a Coach for Chet Holmes International. He’s worked with many companies and helped them sell over $400 million. He’s used methodologies from Chet Holmes International to sell $12 million to prospects that were not interested and sold an entire year’s quota in one week. He also runs a life and business strategy company.

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[Top Women Leaders] Speak Great, Sell Globally With Kerri Garbis of Ovation and Wendy Pease of Rapport International

[Top Women Leaders] Speak Great, Sell Globally With Kerri Garbis of Ovation and Wendy Pease of Rapport International

Kerri Garbis is the CEO and Founder of Ovation, a go-to resource for professional presence and speaker development training. Through Ovation, Kerri has trained thousands of business professionals from companies such as Walt Disney and Mastercard. She helps them with presentation skills, storytelling, etiquette, and emotional intelligence. Kerri is the Author of Presentation Skills for Managers, published by McGraw Hill.

Wendy Pease is a language translation expert and the President of Rapport International, a translation and interpretation services company specializing in marketing translation. Wendy is the Author of The Language of Global Marketing: Translate Your Domestic Strategies into International Sales and Profits.

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Braving the Odds: How To Sell Internships With Fredrik van Huynh, Co-Founder of Absolute Internship

Braving the Odds: How To Sell Internships With Fredrik van Huynh, Co-Founder of Absolute Internship

Fredrik van Huynh is a Swedish-Cambodian entrepreneur and the Co-founder and CEO of Absolute Internship, a leading global internship program matching university students with internships for in-person and remote positions in top companies all around the globe.

Since 2009, Absolute Internship has helped thousands of students join more than 800 corporate partners in cities including Barcelona, Beijing, Hong Kong, Lisbon, London, Madrid, Paris. Interns develop marketable skills for future employment, and the program empowers them to step outside of their comfort zones.

In 2019, Fredrik was ranked among the top 25 Swedish entrepreneurs of the year for disrupting industries and breaking boundaries.
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[Top Chicago Business Series] The ROI of Core Values With Zach Wilcox, CEO of Fide Freight

[Top Chicago Business Series] The ROI of Core Values With Zach Wilcox, CEO of Fide Freight

Zach Wilcox is the Founder and CEO of Fide Freight, a representative logistics solution providing a full range of services in long and short-distance freight, specialty haulage, and management of dry freights. Zach and his team pride themselves on complete transparency and communication, from bringing on a client to getting the shipments completed on time.

Before founding Fide Freight, Zach held project management, operations, and manufacturing roles across different companies. He has a business degree from Grand Valley State University.

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Intentional Growth Principles: Secrets To Repairing a Broken System With Ryan Tansom, Co-Founder of Arkona

Intentional Growth Principles: Secrets To Repairing a Broken System With Ryan Tansom, Co-Founder of Arkona

Ryan Tansom started his entrepreneurial career at his family business, where he was responsible for the operational and financial strategy of the $21 million company. He helped turn the company around and bring intentional focus to the right strategy, which enabled them to sell to a local competitor for eight figures.

Ryan is the Co-founder and Partner of Arkona, where they help entrepreneurs get clarity and control on how to grow the value of their company through Value Growth Education and Strategic CFO Services. He is the Host of the Intentional Growth podcast.

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The Five Hats Effective CEOs Wear To Succeed With Jim Schleckser of Inc. CEO Project

The Five Hats Effective CEOs Wear To Succeed With Jim Schleckser of Inc. CEO Project

Jim Schleckser helps leaders grow their companies by assisting them in opening their point of constraint (also known as the kink in the hose). He is the CEO of Inc. CEO Project, a business advisory group for high-performing, experienced CEOs. Jim has been at the company’s helm for 17 years and counting.

Jim has done business in 40 countries and recently ran a technology business valued at $1.6 billion. He’s a Columnist for Inc. Magazine and the author of two best-selling books, Professional Drinking and Great CEOs are Lazy.

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