Just Go Grind

Asa Firestone is an avid rock climber and entrepreneur based in Boulder, Colorado. He often describes himself as a washed up explorer turned hotelier. He is the co-founder of the Boulder Adventure Lodge (A-Lodge). He also co-founded several successful non-profit organizations focused on introducing the outdoors to at-risk youth; Climb for Colorado, Adventure Forward, and the Centro de Escalada Urbana. He also founded BeyondGear, a social enterprise selling lifestyle gear to the outdoor community, as well as BeyondTalks, an adventure speaker series and production company. Asa received his MBA at USC Marshall in 2012 as a Society and Business Lab Fellow and earned his undergraduate degree in engineering physics from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2005. He was a National Geographic Young Explorer for his first ascent big wall expedition in the Venezuelan Amazon in 2008. 

Blaine founded what's now known as Student Brands in 1999 as a freshman in college. He didn't raise any money and Barnes and Noble Education (NYSE:BNED) bought it for $58.5 million in August 2017. Blaine enjoys investing in for-profit and nonprofit organizations, especially when his experience is helpful to the founders. He's acquired about ten businesses as well. Blaine has also co-created a couple of television shows and has produced some films. He's particularly interested in investing in meaningful documentaries and scripted films. 

Phil O’Brien is the founder and publisher of W42ST, a hyperlocal lifestyle print magazine and media brand that connects readers to the New York City experience. As others migrate toward a more digital presence, W42ST Magazine is a successful print magazine for and about Hell’s Kitchen. Under Phil’s leadership, W42ST Magazine has a circulation of over 30,000 and has featured original interviews with local luminaries like Broadway leading man Max von Essen; New York politician Corey Johnson; The Vagina Monologues author Eve Ensler; and many others.  As an entrepreneur who also successfully founded and sold the world’s largest independent photography agency in 2004, Phil can discuss how he built a thriving photography agency, why he sold it, and how he started a new media company in New York City. Phil can also discuss his tips and advice on entrepreneurship, marketing, and sales, as well as evergreen topics like how to come up with a great business idea; finding and filling a need in the marketplace; and how to find your first customers. 

Lauren Foundos is the Founder and CEO of FORTË, a company that streams live and on-demand boutique fitness classes from the hottest studios worldwide directly to you. Founded in 2015, FORTË has revolutionized the fitness industry by providing access to avant-garde boutique studio classes coached by leading fitness experts worldwide. Both a technology and subscription based streaming platform, FORTË installs hardware and software into boutique studios, which enable the classes to be streamed live to FORTË’s platform.

Nicaila Matthews Okome is a Jamaican born, Bronx bred marketer and side hustler turned full-time podcaster and entrepreneur. In 2016, she created the Side Hustle Pro podcast. Side Hustle Pro is the first and only podcast to spotlight bold, black women entrepreneurs who have scaled from side hustle to profitable business. Since launch, it’s has been named “the perfect entrepreneurship podcast” by Mashable, featured on the TODAY show, earned over three million downloads, and amassed a loyal social media following of aspiring entrepreneurs.

Malaria kills about 400,000 people per year with millions more falling ill - 70% of these people are children under 5 years old. Rob Mather and his team at the Against Malaria Foundation are working to solve this massive problem. Rob Mather is the founder and CEO of The Against Malaria Foundation. AMF has now raised more than $230 million, funding more than 100 million anti-mosquito bed nets protecting millions of people. AMF uses technology, rigorous processes and clear accountability to ensure aid is delivered effectively. For seven of the past eight years, AMF has been a top-ranked charity of the independent charity evaluators GiveWell and The Life You Can Save.

Zach Beinlich is the bass player of Yam Haus, a band which exploded in popularity in 2019.  With "electro-poppy grooves and swooning vocals” (Star Tribune, June 2018), Minneapolis-based pop group, Yam Haus, is challenging the indie dominated scene of the Twin Cities. Tight guitars, dreamy synths, and clean production from Grammy award-winning producer Mark Heimermann, helped drive year one successes. Their debut album, “Stargazer,” lands with the energy of WALK THE MOON, the charisma of Coldplay, and the emotion of Ed Sheeran. Strong melodies and thoughtful songwriting become even more apparent and powerful when big production and synth-heavy tracks are stripped back with the minimal arrangements of their acoustic EP, “Stargazer Sessions.” With the “Yam” in Yam Haus standing for “You Are Me”, members Lars Pruitt (lead vocal), Jake Felstow (drums), Zach Beinlich (bass), and Seth Blum (guitar) officially formed Yam Haus in 2017. The group launched their first single, West Coast, in April 2018 which gained over 100,000 streams within the first week of its release. Selling out shows across the midwest due to a quickly growing fan-base, the quartet has played alongside national acts Kacey Musgraves, Tori Kelly, Adam Lambert , Sugar Ray, Andy Grammer, O.A.R. , AWOLNATION, American Authors, Semisonic, lovelytheband, and Johnnyswim. With over 2.6 million streams on Spotify with their pop-inspired album, Stargazer, Yam Haus’ sound evokes the names of WALK THE MOON, Maroon 5, and Ed Sheeran alike. Kicking off the summer on the national stage at Basilica Block Party, winning the Emerging Artist Series at Summerfest, and releasing their highly anticipated single, The Thrill, the band continues to build momentum as they continue to unveil new music into 2020.

Tara, a scientist-turned-general-manager with over 14-years of cross-functional healthcare experience at Johnson & Johnson, co-founded DIG Labs in 2019 when she decided to dedicate the next chapter of her life to closing the gaps between human and pet healthcare. She holds a B.S. in Materials Science & Biomedical Engineering from Cornell University and an MBA from NYU Stern. Tara is also a registered patent agent. She holds six patents spanning biomedical nanotechnology to consumer products. She has built and led CPG brands including AVEENO and global beauty disruptive innovation. Tara lives in New Jersey with her husband, son, and two fur babies, Sam and Juney. DIG Lab's mission is to celebrate the individuality of all dogs by creating individualized supplements based on each dog's unique health needs and diet for more licks, laughter, and loving moments. Use code: furbaby for $10 off your first supply!

Brittany Laughlin, is Head of Investor Relations at Blockstack PBC. She’s spent 6 years investing in blockchain and network effect businesses through her own firm, Lattice Ventures, and on the investment team at Union Square Ventures. A serial entrepreneur, she's built 3 companies, including gtrot which sold to Groupon. Her work focuses on the intersection of community and technology. In the past few months since Blockstack’s historic SEC-approved Regulation A+ filing in the United States, Blockstack has forged partnerships with juggernaut investor Recruit Holdings to expand its developer resources to Asia, partnered with Lambda School to incorporate ethics into its coding curriculum, and increased its App Mining Payout to $1M to support its developer community. 

Brian Conyer is the co-founder and CEO of GIBLIB, a company he started in 2015 with fellow USC Trojan Jihye Shin. GIBLIB curates and creates high quality educational videos from expert physicians at the leading academic medical centers and streams the library on-demand to medical professionals globally. Want to connect with other go-getters? Join The Grind! The Grind is a community where entrepreneurs, creators, and other go-getters can connect digitally and in-person to build their businesses, get ideas and inspiration, make an impact, and support others pursuing their dreams. Learn more here: https://www.justgogrind.com/the-grind/