On Mulligans & Mishaps, we hit the golf course with business leaders to talk about their biggest mistakes—and the decisions they wish they could take a mulligan on. 🎤 This time, we’re teeing it up with venture capitalist Timothy McLoughlin, Managing Partner at Cofounders Capital. 🎤 Tim has heard thousands of startup pitches. He’s made big bets, passed on some winners, and learned the hard way that trust issues in investing can be costly. Oh, and there’s also that one company he passed on… ...
Feb 19, 2025•17 min•Season 3Ep. 26
Mulligans & Mishaps is here! We’re hitting the golf course with business leaders to talk about their biggest mistakes—and the decisions they wish they could take a mulligan on. 🎤 Kicking off Episode 1, we’re with the one and only Larry Long Jr. You’ve seen him lighting up global stages as a keynote speaker and bringing the 🔥 energy to his Midday Midweek Motivational Minute on LinkedIn. But like all of us, Larry’s had his share of missteps in his career. And he’s not afraid to talk about th...
Feb 05, 2025•13 min•Season 3Ep. 25
Abha Bowers has a lot going on. As the CEO of Walk West, a fitness and nutrition coach, and mom to two young kids, she was feeling the pressure of doing all the things. So she made a choice - it was time to step down from Walk West. She scheduled a meeting with Chairman Donald Thompson and handed him her resignation letter. But he wouldn't accept it. Today, Donald and Abha talk about that interaction, lessons learned about empathetic leadership, and the reality of work/life balance. --- (00:00:0...
Oct 22, 2024•38 min•Season 3Ep. 24
Nichole Lowe was happy enough at her corporate job, but then a life-threatening event happened where she decided it was time to reprioritize. She realized life was short, and she wanted more. Long before the coaching boom, she became a nutrition coach, and absolutely loved it. But with coaching, she discovered a huge challenge - while anyone could be a coach, no one was helping these coaches run their businesses. So she founded Zoee . Today, Nichole talks about the growth of Zoee and the reasons...
Jul 25, 2024•38 min•Season 3Ep. 23
5 years ago, Donald Thompson invested in our company Earfluence because he saw an untapped opportunity to leverage podcasting to amplify your expertise. But this isn't about the growth of the business Earfluence - this is about the rise of "Earfluence" as a concept. Through his work as an executive coach, his leadership with The Diversity Movement, and through hosting his own podcast High Octane Leadership, Don has seen the influence podcasting in overall business strategy. He sees podcasting as...
Jul 17, 2024•38 min•Season 3Ep. 22
As a psychotherapist turned entrepreneur coach, Kelly Ruta has seen what holds her clients back in growing their businesses. Oftentimes, that's their Money Mindset. Today on the show, Kelly talks about: How to price your services The importance of understanding your own worth External judgments and doubts that influence pricing decisions Through her Invisible Business Saboteur Quiz , Kelly helps uncover subconscious beliefs that can sabotage business success, encouraging self-awareness and under...
Jun 25, 2024•43 min•Season 3Ep. 21
How do you think of conferences as part of your overall marketing strategy? As an agency, we have so many options for marketing - paid ads, social media, podcasting, and yes, conferences. But where should we be spending our time and resources? Earlier this year, we had the opportunity to sponsor the PrideLife Expo from Harmony, the North Carolina LGBTQ+ Allied Chamber of Commerce. We’ve been a member of the chamber for a couple of years, and when we heard about the expo, we jumped at the chance ...
May 28, 2024•16 min•Season 3Ep. 20
Whether we like it or not, we're all in business development, aka sales. But unfortunately, that word - "sales" - might make you cringe because you think of the used car salesman, or scenes from the movie Boiler Room, or all those dang calls you get from numbers that should have been flagged as "Scam Likely"! But sales doesn't have to be like that at all. In fact, according to Jed Byrne, sales is "helping people you like get what they want." Today, Jed joins us to share some of his tips for scra...
Apr 24, 2024•59 min•Season 3Ep. 19
Building an audience through social media can be pretty overwhelming for everyone, especially all of us who are busy and didn't exactly grow up with social media. Many of us just don't want to have to learn and spend time on one more thing. But at the same time, we want to know how to build an audience for our businesses and personal brands. So how can we do it? --- Chris Leithe and Dr. Aaron Dinin have created Audience Acceleration Labs , where students can Join the Video Course: Social Media T...
Apr 02, 2024•46 min•Season 3Ep. 18
The Podcast Ally Podcast is hosted by Dr. Sarah Glova , who's on a mission to find out how to be the best podcast guest. This is episode 1 of season 2! ( Subscribe ) --- As the Founder and CEO of LawPods , Robert Ingalls has seen thousands of guest pitches - and they're mostly a complete waste of his time. The potential guest or their publicist meant well, but too often the pitches are spray-and-pray, copy-and-paste, and TL;DR. So how can podcast guests create pitches that get podcast hosts' att...
Feb 28, 2024•38 min
When you think about personal branding, does your chest tighten up a little bit because it means you have to be performative on the approximately 6.7M platforms out there? YouTube, Reels, LinkedIn, TikTok, Twitch, X, newsletters, blog posts, podcasts...and the list goes on. Personal branding can feel intimidating, but according to Ashia Skye, it doesn't have to be that way - personal branding can be as simple as showing up authentically to that next networking event. Today, Ashia guides us throu...
Feb 23, 2024•41 min•Season 3Ep. 17
It's easy to approach another business owner and say "Hey if we can refer you, we get X% of the revenue, and vice versa." But those relationships rarely work, because it's not YOUR job to sell for the other company, and it's not THEIR job to sell for yours. Both parties need to focus on what they do best. So how can we create business partnerships that truly matter? Let's find out from two CEOs who recently started a partnership that could change the trajectory of their businesses - Matt Sheehan...
Feb 01, 2024•32 min•Season 3Ep. 16
With NC Tripping, Christina Riley and her husband Carl Hedinger make a living - and provide for their two kids - through influencer marketing. Today, Christina answers some of the tough questions like "How do brands quantify ROI?" and "How do you even start a brand relationship?", and she unveils some of her secrets to success. Today's episode is hosted by Cee Cee Huffman, and filmed at the Earfluence Podcast Studio in Downtown Durham....
Dec 13, 2023•25 min•Season 3Ep. 15
As a startup investor at Primordial , Jenn Summe is the queen of getting coffee with founders. And in many of those conversations, the question she gets asked is, "How can I market my startup when every dollar (and every minute) is critical?" Let's find out! Today's episode is hosted by Cee Cee Huffman, and filmed at the Earfluence Podcast Studio in Downtown Durham....
Oct 31, 2023•32 min•Season 3Ep. 14
In a digital world flooded with videos, how can any business or personal brand get noticed? Today we're joined by Aaron Lympany , founder of Rhymes Video , who shares his insight into creating the perfect balance between creativity and strategy, how to tell compelling stories through videos, and understanding the ever-changing algorithms and platforms. Today's episode is hosted by Cee Cee Huffman and Carson Barclay, and filmed at the Earfluence Podcast Studio in Downtown Raleigh....
Oct 10, 2023•45 min•Season 3Ep. 13
Are you ready for some next-level storytelling from French/West/Vaughan CEO Rick French? Buckle up! How about the time TSA wouldn't let him through with the original cowbell from "Don't Fear the Reaper"? Or when he had Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson ready to play the lead in a movie he was producing, only to bail at the last minute? (But then something better with "The Rock" would come along years later) Or why Rick and Melissa Etheridge will be shutting down Broadway in October? We hear about all of...
Sep 27, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Season 3Ep. 12
As the Senior Writer and Producer of Red Hat podcasts, Kim Huang's team has produced some of the most iconic podcasts for enterprise organizations. At that level, there's a lot of pressure to be excellent, there are many stakeholders, and there's even company politics to navigate. So how does she do it? And how can any marketing agency (not just podcast agencies) work best with Fortune 500 companies? Let's find out! Kim Huang on LinkedIn Red Hat Podcasts | Code Comments | Compiler | Command Line...
Sep 12, 2023•43 min•Season 3Ep. 11
In the book Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect, Will Guidara shares the story of how Eleven Madison Park leveraged legendary experiences to become recognized as one of the best restaurants in the world. Today, Dustin Prescott and Jason Gillikin discuss how ANY industry can create Unreasonable Hospitality, both for clients and team members. Dustin Prescott on LinkedIn Aldridge Electric Website | Linkedin Today's episode is filmed at the Earf...
Aug 29, 2023•41 min•Season 3Ep. 10
Today we dig into the world of coworking with DeShawn Brown, CEO of Coworks , and discover how businesses and personal brands can harness the power of coworking spaces to amplify their expertise, connections, and partnerships. Coworking spaces are becoming hubs for collaboration, innovation, and community engagement - and you don't have to be a member to be involved. Coworks on LinkedIn | Instagram Today's episode is filmed at the Earfluence Podcast Studio in Downtown Raleigh....
Aug 08, 2023•40 min•Season 3Ep. 9
Podcast Raleigh has partnered with Earfluence, and we're excited to share Hayes & Ashton's first video podcast! ---- Today, Lauren Kennedy Brady shares her journey from a successful Broadway career to making great theater in her hometown. Hear her touching memories of growing up in Raleigh, filled with shows, Broadway weekends, and the magic of theater. Tune in to find out about Theatre Raleigh 's new state-of-the-art facility and exciting future programming - including an announcement of a ...
Jul 28, 2023•43 min•Season 3Ep. 9
"The best time to start was probably in 2020 or 2021. The next best time to start is today is yesterday, is tomorrow, is as soon as possible. Go and record and hit post - and just start." Let’s discuss the power of TikTok as a marketing tool. Today, Samantha Lenger shares her expertise as a social media consultant for startups, emphasizing the importance of building organic communities online. She reveals some common mistakes businesses make on social media and offers valuable tips for success. ...
Jul 25, 2023•35 min•Season 3Ep. 8
As President of iHeartRadio Raleigh , Michael Burger works with clients to find the right sponsorship fit on iHeart's radio channels and over 1,000 podcasts. But that's just a small part of what iHeart offers - and it all starts with understanding a company's goals. Today, Michael delves into the challenges of capturing consumer attention in a fast-paced digital landscape, offering strategic insights on emotionally engaging branding and finding the right audience. Whether it's working with globa...
Jul 11, 2023•28 min•Season 3Ep. 7
Jeb Burt has found success by repurposing video content over many different platforms, especially Snapchat. Yes, Snapchat! Today, Jeb joins us to share his tricks for short-form-videos, leveraging social media, and finding your right audience. Jeb is the CEO of Burt Media , a creative media company built for now. Today's episode is filmed at the Earfluence Podcast Studio in Downtown Raleigh....
Jun 27, 2023•33 min•Season 3Ep. 6
Throughout her career, Hayley Rogers is usually the first financial person hired at a startup. And when she gets there, things can be a little messy. Find out what mistakes she sees founders making, and what all businesses can be doing better in knowing their numbers to make strategic moves. Hayley Rogers is the VP of Finance at VisionPoint Marketing . Today's episode is filmed at the Earfluence Podcast Studio in Downtown Raleigh....
May 31, 2023•11 min•Season 1Ep. 5
If you're a founder thinking of raising capital, you can view it in 3 stages - getting connected to the investor, making the pitch, and doing your due diligence. As managing partner of Cofounders Capital , Tim McLoughlin has seen thousands of pitches and invested in dozens of companies, and today he's giving you advice on how to elevate your capital-raising strategy. Today's episode is filmed at the Earfluence Podcast Studio in Downtown Raleigh....
May 28, 2023•14 min•Season 3Ep. 4
David Shaner's first job was the company he founded, Offline. Over the last 11 years, David has raised millions and pivoted the company several times, learning some hard lessons along the way. Hear his story and his advice for finding the RIGHT investors to partner with on today's episode. You can sign up to join Offline Restaurant Club (currently in Charlotte, Raleigh, Durham, Nashville, and Tampa Bay) at LetsGetOffline.com . Today's episode is filmed at the Earfluence Podcast Studio in Downtow...
May 25, 2023•13 min•Season 3Ep. 3
Startup founders typically don't have a whole lot of time or money, but they need to get the word out about their product or service. So how can they do that with limited resources? Mikaya Thurmond on LinkedIn | Instagram | VSC PR Today's episode is filmed at the Earfluence Podcast Studio in Downtown Raleigh....
May 25, 2023•12 min•Season 3Ep. 2
Failure in business and in life is inevitable. But how do we get back up again and learn from our mistakes. Former NFL player Marques Ogden joins us to share his riches-to-rags-to-riches-to-rags story, and what he's doing now to rebuild. Listen to Marques on his podcast, Get Authentic with Marques Ogden Today's episode is filmed at the Earfluence Podcast Studio in Downtown Raleigh....
May 24, 2023•13 min•Season 3Ep. 1
When Maggie Kane started telling people about her dream of opening a pay-what-you-can cafe in the heart of downtown Raleigh, most people thought she was a little loony. But others believed in her vision, and they were willing to do what it took to make her vision a reality. They donated money, equipment, and their time to build not only a restaurant, but a community cafe where all are welcome. A Place at the Table is located at 300 W. Hargett St in Raleigh North Carolina. Today's episode of Char...
Oct 27, 2022•40 min•Season 2Ep. 5
Easterseals UCP is serving thousands of people in this community - people with disabilities, Autism, and other behavioral challenges. With 2,300 employees, the depth of work and support they provide is as impressive as it is heart-warming. Today, we hear from two of those team members, Laurie Nederveen and Marta Quintana, as they share both their whys for joining Easterseals UCP and some of the programs they're focused on. Donate to Easterseals UCP Easterseals UCP events including Kendra Scott G...
Oct 06, 2022•29 min•Season 2Ep. 4
