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This week we talk with Justin Gray, the CEO and founder of LeadMD, co-founder of PaidSuite, co-owner of Greyson Organics (an organic farm in rural Missouri), and co-founder of Six Bricks.
Justin, who grew up in Fountain Hills and attended the University of Arizona, talks with us about his passion for entrepreneurship and modern-day marketing - topics he has written and spoken about extensively. Justin has been published over 300 times in industry publications and holds his own column, Tribal Knowledge in Inc., as well as featured contributor statuses with Entrepreneur and others.
We cover a wide range of topics including how he approaches writing (and why it is important for marketers to hone this skill), when should founders get out of the way, the importance of culture and values governing behavior, his views on unicorns and hiring, empathy, and the concept of 1+1=4.
Also, check out Justin's podcast - Driven & Co. - which examines guests' "unconventional roads to leadership." Great stuff!
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Todd Belfer is the managing partner of the venture capital firm Canal Partners. Todd shares his early entrepreneurial days when he bused fraternity and sorority students to Laughlin and later found himself founding software companies, restaurants (Ra Sushi Bar), and supplement and herbal tea companies. Today, he and his partners focus on helping entrepreneurs and founders, in a defined stage of their growth, flourish.
Todd touches on a number of topics of interest to founders, entrepreneurs, college students, and each one of us who have a passion for what we do. In fact, he really dissects the subject of "passion" and gives some great insights we can all learn from on that and many other topics.
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Jiro Dreams of Sushi - Official Site
Ambassador Barbara Barrett joins us for this week's conversation. She currently serves as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees for The Aerospace Corporation and as the CEO of Triple Creek Ranch. Ambassador Barrett has served as the US Ambassador to Finland, the Deputy Director of the Federal Aviation Administration, the President of the Thunderbird School of Global Management, and the CEO of the American Management Association, just to mention a few.
Our conversation covers not only her story, but her passion for education, lifelong learning, problem solving, and leading through significant change and rebuilding of an organization. Ambassador Barrett discusses her passion for supporting the military, advocating for space exploration and aerospace, and giving back to the community. She also shares some poignant thoughts on legacy, influence and why she does not embrace the concept of a "bucket list" (and what she and her husband, Craig, use instead). Undoubtedly, you will benefit personally and professionally from what she has to say.
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The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean
Heidi Jannenga is the president and co-founder of WebPT, a SaaS company providing support to physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech-language pathologists.
WebPT has been on the INC 5000 list of fastest growing companies in the US for five years straight and is one of Arizona's fastest growing companies.
Our conversation takes us from Heidi’s days playing basketball to finding her passion in the profession of physical therapy. She then explains how seeing a huge problem led to the creation of WebPT. We talk about corporate culture, engaging your customers, the fear of failure, generational issues, and so much more.
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Special Episode with Michael Lorsch - Vision v. Behavior
Special Episode with Michael Lorsch - Overcoming Failure
Email us at contact@azoriginals.net
This week Jeffrey Pruitt, founder and CEO of Tallwave, joins us for a fascinating conversation about his journey from accountancy to entrepreneurship and from "running through walls" to leading smarter.
An Arizona native, Jeffrey explores taking ideas to market, finding capitol for those ideas, and building a strong organization based on values and strategy. You will want to have your notebook ready for this conversation, especially as he talks practically about how Tallwave strives to be a friction-less workplace.
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The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer
Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Contact us at the podcast: contact@azoriginals.net