When something is broken, oftentimes, the natural instinct is to turn a blind eye and hope someone else will fix it — but this wasn’t the case for Paul Roetzer. While working at a public relations agency early in his career, Paul was having a hard time reconciling the services he was providing for clients with the cost of their retainers. So, he set to work on a solution that would standardize PR services and prices. And in 2005, Paul launched PR 20/20 , a marketing consulting and services firm ...
Mar 01, 2021•43 min•Ep. 114
When a routine –– and very common –– medical procedure went awry, it prompted a major career and life shift for Stephanie Schull. Stephanie’s mother underwent a procedure that hundreds of thousands of women have undergone, and like many that have –– which they would soon come to learn –– her outcome was unsuccessful, leaving her in pain for the rest of her life. Refusing to accept this fate, Stephanie left her career as a philosophy professor in pursuit of a better solution for the many women wh...
Jan 19, 2021•36 min•Ep. 113
Seven continents, 70 countries, countless books, studies in psychology, philosophy and physiology at Oxford with a specialization in brain chemistry were all part of a quest to figure out how to live a good life and what a good life even means. And that search eventually led Arthur Worsley to create The Art of Living. Prior to, however, he had been working 80+ hour weeks at McKinsey for three years. Burnout and several other life events prompted him to leave and finally start to uncover what it ...
Oct 26, 2020•37 min•Ep. 112
To leave the corporate world at the beginning of a financial recession to start a company requires big thinking and even bigger action—and Rebecca Clyde has both in spades. Add that to her ability to outhustle and outwork her competitors and it’s no wonder Rebecca was able to quickly find innovative paths to revenue and growth for her clients despite all odds. Today, Rebecca has built one of the most highly sought after marketing communications agencies in Phoenix, Ideas Collide, in addition to ...
Aug 18, 2020•35 min•Ep. 111
When MeiMei Fox submitted her first book proposal, never in her wildest dreams did she think it would lead to a life-long writing career. But, a fateful connection to the right person (combined with her innate writing talent) soon catapulted MeiMei into the ranks of the New York Times bestselling authors. Today, she is also a contributor to Forbes, The Huffington Post, and Self Magazine, among other publications, and has co-authored several other notable titles. On top of all that, she manages t...
Aug 11, 2020•33 min•Ep. 110
When was the last time you paused, reflected on what was going on in your life, and took a hard look at how it was affecting your happiness, health and overall success? Has it been awhile? More than likely, the answer is “yes.” Often we rush from one task, milestone or accomplishment to the next, in constant pursuit of what we think we need to make us happy, successful and fulfilled. In other words, we’re always looking for more and it’s exhausting. For Karen Mangia, VP of Customer & Market ...
Jul 01, 2020•54 min•Ep. 109
When most people think of marketing, they think big energy, big talkers, big ideas and even bigger results. And while this may be true, building an effective marketing strategy—and team—is about starting small and ensuring quality always overrides quantity. It’s with this mentality that Charlotte Bohnett, senior director of demand generation at WebPT , and Brooke Andrus, content marketing manager at WebPT, have helped develop an extremely effective inbound marketing engine that has led WebPT to ...
Jun 10, 2020•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 108
“Use analytics to see what's working. Double down on those things and cancel something else.” How much time do you spend with your analytics? Seeing what’s delivering results and what’s not? Looking at what content played well across which channels –– and what content gave you the most mileage. This is where Andy Crestodina , co-founder and CMO of Orbit Media Studios, a digital agency based in Chicago, believes content marketers should start their content planning. In this episode of The Success...
May 26, 2020•51 min•Ep. 107
Want to build an effective go-to-market strategy? Get out and talk to your stakeholders. That may not be a novel concept, but it’s one that’s often forgotten. For Cory Fetter, product marketing and go-to-market leader at Front , it’s foundational to an effective go-to-market strategy. And when we’re talking stakeholders, it’s not just customers, it’s also product, sales and customer success teams. In this interview, Cory shares how he approaches building strategies, how he thinks about and uses ...
Apr 27, 2020•44 min•Ep. 106
Steven Kiger got the entrepreneurial itch in high school, creating odd jobs for himself that would fund weekend excursions with his friend. Today, Steven has founded several ventures, and is currently a partner and CPO at RocketSource , a company specializing in transforming the customer experience, and the co-founder of Platstack , a platform that allows you to save, organize and share topics you care most about. On this episode of The SuccessLab Podcast, Steven shares why getting uncomfortable...
Apr 09, 2020•30 min•Ep. 105
Like many entrepreneurs, Jacob Findlay gave up the comforts of a secure job, a reliable paycheck and benefits for a new world of unknowns. But unlike other entrepreneurs, he decided to take a year to work in the field he was aiming to disrupt to learn it from the inside out. Leaving his job as the director of finance at a rapid-growth SaaS company to work in a diesel repair shop may sound unorthodox, but for Jacob, it was a necessary step in his entrepreneurial journey. Today, Jacob is the found...
Mar 30, 2020•23 min•Ep. 104
Finding the courage to be yourself –– and showing up as your full self everyday –– isn’t the easiest thing to do for most. But that’s exactly what Park Howell put his time and energy into doing and it’s been one of the keys to living a fulfilling life, personally and professionally. As the founder of The Business of Story , a platform-based system that helps purpose-driven brands find their voice and connect through the art of storytelling, Park knows firsthand the struggles that come with growi...
Feb 04, 2020•45 min•Ep. 103
How do you make an impact with others? Purple hair can help. But Holly Rushton’s secret sauce is being a “yes” person and tapping into positive energy. These two simple –– yet highly effective tips –– have helped her navigate a major acquisition and make a name for herself at Salesforce, where she is a senior manager of content marketing, works with Salesforce’s Trailblazer Community and oversees content for AppExchange. Her “you get out what you put in” attitude has also been highly effective i...
Jan 29, 2020•36 min•Ep. 102
Fashion is a $400-billion-dollar industry in the U.S. But until recently, Phoenix was only capturing a small sliver of that pie at best. That changed when two Valley entrepreneurs came together and decided those aspiring to carve out careers in the fashion industry, shouldn’t have to relocate to hubs like Los Angeles or New York to be successful. In this episode of The SuccessLab Podcast, Sherri Berry and Angela Johnson, co-founders of the Arizona Apparel Foundation and F.A.B.R.I.C , share their...
Jan 22, 2020•56 min•Ep. 101
In the U.S., we waste approximately 30 to 40 percent of the food supply, which translates to more than 130 billion pounds and close to $200 billion every year. But not for long. Ben Deda is the CEO of FoodMaven , a Denver company that diverts food bound for the landfill to restaurants and other food service providers. In this episode of The SuccessLab Podcast, Ben shares how FoodMaven is bringing agility and flexibility to the food system and how the company plans to expand. Ben, who previously ...
Jan 15, 2020•30 min•Ep. 100
When we think of the circular economy and sustainability, many of the organizations in this burgeoning space –– and moreover what they do –– may seem nuanced to the general population. However, in reality, people have been implementing these practices for generations. At its core, the circular economy is a framework for an economy that is restorative and regenerative by design –– a concept that has been around since perhaps the beginning of humankind. Forrest Carroll , the CFO of Revolv (soon to...
Jan 08, 2020•30 min•Ep. 99
Design –– it’s much more than a pastime, a creative outlet, or an ability to pair complementary colors. Rather, it’s a way for people like Jack Morgan to shed light on an issues impacting millions of people. Jack has been designing to help educational platforms find a voice and solve large-scale problems for nearly 10 years. Formerly the design lead for Google’s digital education division where he helped create the Google Academy London , Jack currently leads the design team at Duolingo , a lang...
Dec 31, 2019•41 min
The next wave of artificial intelligence is rushing toward the business world like a tsunami. More and more, companies are realizing they need to get prepared or risk being consumed by the swift changes this technology will bring. Jeff Cox is one entrepreneur who decided to get ahead of the trend and founded a company that leverages AI to help its clients increase their customer value. Jeff is the co-founder and executive chairman of Radius AI , a technology that allows brick and mortar stores t...
Dec 17, 2019•23 min
Social media has completely rewired our society. It’s given new meaning to “breaking news”, and given us new ways to share, engage and express ourselves. But it’s also had a pervasive impact on the economy, politics, international relations, all corners of society, and the list goes on. Nobody has a better front-row seat to this activity than the journalists covering these beats. Salvador Rodriguez (aka Sal) is one such journalist. He is a tech reporter for the San Francisco Bureau of CNBC where...
Dec 10, 2019•36 min
Oftentimes, we encounter guests on this show who had never envisioned an entrepreneurial career for themselves until they were actually doing it. And it isn’t uncommon for these journeys to take a meandering approach, replete with twists, turns, setbacks and big wins. Travis Van can attest to this. Travis earned a degree in journalism, went on to become a public relations manager, and then became employee number three at MuleSoft . Having never worked at a technology company, MuleSoft opened a n...
Dec 02, 2019•53 min
After devoting years to earning a bachelor’s and master’s degree in mechanical engineering, Eli Chmouni found himself frustrated and restless in a job he couldn’t stand. Rather than accepting another 30 years of the same, he began to explore the idea of working for himself doing something he loved. From that point, Eli says, there was no turning back. Today, Eli is the founder of SURF , a media distribution and rideshare entertainment company that places tablets in rideshare vehicles. But this i...
Nov 13, 2019•41 min
It’s not uncommon for entrepreneurs to weave storied journeys throughout their career –– and this particular one makes several interesting (an unlikely) stops. In fact, Kevin Goldman’s path is likely quite different from any you’ve heard before. A Phoenix native and graduate of Arizona State University, Kevin left the Valley in his early 20s to see more of the world. After joining a band in Seattle with Reggie Watts, who now leads the house band for The Late Show with James Corden, Kevin spent a...
Oct 04, 2019•39 min
With the media landscape changing at a rapid clip, journalists need to adjust and adapt to evolve with their profession. The rise of digital, as well as video and podcasts, also means today’s journalists need to be tech savvy and rely on strong connections within their networks. Take Stephen Bronner , who has been a journalist and editor for more than a decade, including more than five years as the editor at Entrepreneur.com. He has worked intimately with CEOs, founders, business leaders and exp...
Sep 11, 2019•28 min
Risk taking is an inherent part of being an entrepreneur. The trick is, risk taking requires a delicate balance between calculation and gumption –– and even then, the outcome is not always predictable. And when it doesn’t work out, you have to be able to pick up the pieces and come back stronger. How do you learn to navigate these murky waters and not let the tough times drag you under? For Rami Kalla, it took surrounding himself with the right people. Rami is the founder of Point in Time Studio...
Aug 29, 2019•34 min
For decades, Arizona’s five C’s – copper, cattle, cotton, citrus and climate – served an important role in how its economy was perceived. But as the Grand Canyon State’s technology ecosystem continues to heat up, Romi Dhillon thinks the five C’s should be updated to better reflect Arizona’s tech-focused future: capital, content, community, capabilities, and community carry. Romi is no stranger to bringing big ideas to the table. He is the founder and managing director of the Arizona Founders Fun...
Aug 28, 2019•39 min
Meet Scott Holmen, the founder and CEO of Agency 73, a digital transformation company specializing in Salesforce and custom software solutions. He is also an investor in tech startups and created a recruiting company, Talent 73, to help find and connect talent in San Diego. In this episode of The SuccessLab Podcast, Scott shares his approach to prioritizing people before technology and how the desire to defragment San Diego’s tech ecosystem inspired a unique event to bring everyone together. He ...
Aug 01, 2019•33 min
As we learned from Star Trek, space is the final frontier. So, it bodes well for Arizona that the state is home to many of the industry’s top aerospace and defense companies. Naturally, these companies are led by some of the most innovative thinkers, scientists and engineers. But go one layer beyond, and you’ll often find a stellar team of marketers working to communicate the vision and mission of the company to gain stakeholder buy in, and ultimately help the team continue to push new boundarie...
Jul 03, 2019•30 min
There is a big difference between being capable of your job and simply crushing it. That’s the concept Juan Kingsbury, Talent Strategist at Career Blindspot, wants employers and employees to identify – in fact, it’s what he’s staked his career on. There’s no question most entrepreneurs have a clear sense of their mission and vision, but what about their team’s mission as individuals? Juan works with businesses to discover the overlooked potential within their teams. From there he helps leaders u...
Jun 24, 2019•26 min
Behind every great entrepreneur there is usually someone (or several someones) who helped guide them on the path to achieving greatness. Many entrepreneurs credit teachers, mentors and colleagues who left a lasting impression, changing the course of their lives in some meaningful way. That’s been the case for Patrick Campbell as he transitioned from working for the government, to Google to the start-up world and eventually founding his own company. Today, Patrick is the CEO of ProfitWell , a sub...
May 17, 2019•45 min
Few individuals take a linear path to becoming an entrepreneur. Rather, it’s often the culmination of their passions and experiences that lead them to identify problems and harness the fuel that drives them to work toward solving those problems. Take Coplex CEO Zach Ferres for example Today Zach is a pillar of the Valley’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, but his journey actually began in northern Ohio as a kid who liked taking computers apart and putting them back together. That fascination blended w...
May 09, 2019•36 min
