Leah Finnegan’s journalism journey reads like the resume of someone decades in, which makes what she’s accomplished even more impressive. She first discovered her passion for journalism while working on the newspaper at the University of Texas and parlayed that into a stint at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, where she quickly realized that one does not need a master’s in journalism to be a good journalist. Over coffee and sparkling water, Leah shares how she’s worked her way up the journalism ladder from Gawker to the New York Times to the current Executive Editor of The Outline, the quirky online publication started by Josh Topolsky that recently sold to Bustle.   What You’ll Learn: The challenges of going freelance How to differentiate yourself as a media company The value, or lack thereof, of a degree in journalism How the media environment is changing in today’s political climate

Adam Levin has lead five different lives or at least had five different careers. From consumer protector to politician to real estate investor to digital entrepreneur to best selling author. And there’s even more beyond that. Over glasses of Lafroig scotch at Fool’s Gold in Manhattan, Adam sat down and discussed all of these facets of his life, including his experience shaping New Jersey’s consumer protection laws in the 1970s, why he co-founded Credit.com, one of the biggest online financial services educators, in the 1990s, and what lead to his need to write Swiped, his book about protecting yourself from all forms identity theft. How the government protects consumers from sketchy business practices The things we don’t know about our own privacy The history of cyber liability The origin and exit of Credit.com

Growing up on the Hawaiian island of Kauai may not seem like a place where technology takes the forefront, but for Nicole Wilke it was a ubiquitous part of her life. Taking her lifelong education around design and computer science with her from the islands to the mainland, Nicole worked her way through media and tech’s biggest names. Over negronis  at Fool’s Gold in Manhattan, she talks about her experience at brands like Disney and Wired and the transition to her most recent role as Head of Product for Techcrunch.   What You’ll Learn: The secrets behind what makes a good redesign What it takes to break into media Why a diverse skill set is critical to succeed in product design

When Nick Carlson started at Business Insider, he was a young reporter coming off stints at Gawker Media and Internet News, putting his faith in a fledgling media startup. Today, he’s the Global editor in chief of BI and oversees 250 plus reporters and writers at the publication, which has become one of the biggest voices in tech journalism. Over Old Fashioneds at Fools Gold in New York City, Nick talks about how he went from working in world of finance at Merrill Lynch to becoming the go-to source for all things Yahoo with is book “Marissa Mayer and the Fight to Save Yahoo!” as well as what it means to spearhead a place that has become a tech and business new institution.

The genre of political and social journalism has spawned a plethora of new voices over the past few years and Taylor Lorenz has emerged as a notable voice, most recently as a staff writer for The Atlantic. Her origin story starts in New York City, where she grew up and as social media became a major destination for communication, she quickly adapted to it by becoming an early Tumblr user and building off that to eventually running social for The Daily Mail. Over bitters and soda at Fools Gold in New York City, Taylor talks about how she went from a social media expert to covering tech for Business insider and growing into her own as a journalist and finding her voice writing for The Hill and The Daily Beast.

From a young age in New Zealand, Hamish McKenzie always had a passion for writing and he knew he was pretty good at it! He pursued an English degree and eventually earned a graduate degree in  journalism. Hamish went on to be a reporter and wrote for PandoDaily, the Guardian and the Toronto Star. His freelance writing eventually lead him to he role as head writer for the innovative car company, Tesla -- making Elon Musk his boss. Hamish used his experience in the  the day to day world of Tesla to write the book “Insane Mode: How Elon Musk’s Tesla Sparked an Electric Revolution to End the Age of Oil.” Today, he is the founder of Substack, a company that offers a newsletter business in a box that now powers subscription-based email content for independent writers and young media companies. Over KCBC Alewife Hash Cache IPA at Fool’s Gold in New York City, Hamish discusses getting into the world of journalism and how it brought him into corporate lifestyle, which eventually made him realize what world he truly wanted to be apart of.   What You’ll Learn: Is journalism school worth it? 25:50 Should a publication like Gawker or PandoDaily make a comeback? 45:41 What is something about Elon Musk that nobody would read in the papers? 54:04

Erin Ryan grew up in a small town in Wisconsin and was always a big fish in a little pond. After earning a degree in English from Notre Dame, she began a career in finance, a path she quickly realized was not her destiny. And it was the Gawker Media run, woman-focusted site Jezebel that changed her life. An avid reader of it, she eventually started participating in the conversations there and, eventually, Jezebel asked her to contribute for real. Since then, she’s been all in as a writer, even parlaying her journalism talents into comedy writing, currently as a staff writer for “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.” In addition to that new gig, which has brought her full time to Los Angeles, she also has a new podcast called “Hysteria,” produced by Crooked media and focused on women and politics. Over a fruity, fire-themed IPA at Fool’s Gold in Manhattan, Erin discusses how she grew up, how she became the great writer she is today and all the paths it took her to get there.   What You’ll Learn: - What it was like growing up in a small town 6:15 - Why take the finance route in the first place? 44:00 - How Jezebel changed Erin’s life 47:36 - Experiencing a sitcom writer’s room for the first time. 1:01:00

Lucas Arzola is a man with many different titles. He is an entrepreneur, educator, and innovation ecosystem builder. Originally from Puerto Rico, Lucas ventured to University of California, Davis for college and wound up staying to coordinate strategic partnerships between the university and pharmaceutical biotechnology companies. Lucas went on to found Betabox, a technology company that designs and delivers mobile spaces and on-demand experiences that enhance corporate innovation, workforce development, and STEM education . Today, back in his home country of Puerto Rico, he is the director of operations for the startup accelerator, Parallel18. Over a bottle of red wine at the Parallel18 offices in San Juan, Lucas discusses all his business ventures and how he spent his time dealing with the destructive aftermath of hurricane Maria and keeping his company based around technology and electricity afloat.   What You’ll Learn: - Dealing with the growth of technology in other countries 11:40 - The challenges of Hurricane Maria 25:21 - Why go to California from Puerto Rico? 40:15 - Leaving your own company 1:05:24

Beth Schoenfeldt and Megan Hannum are experts at understanding the needs of startups. As business partners, they complement each other with Beth running the operations side of their company, FundedBuy, and Megan handling the networking. Together they are an unstoppable duo. At their core, Beth and Megan leverage their skills to ensure founders can focus on what it will take to get their founders to success and let the FundedBuy network handle all the ancillary day-to-day aspects of running a business. Over Graft Lost Tropic Cider at Fool’s Gold in Manhattan, this power (business) couple discuss their third party network, their individually unique backgrounds and how their unusual partnership came about.   What You’ll Learn: What is FundedBuy? 1:20 How did two very opposite people become the business couple they are today? 12:33 How a startup is like a sitcom? 25:34 The key to having a smart startup and successful founders 40:02

Dave Malouf is a man who comes from many different career paths, but the one course he has stayed on through and through is the almighty Internet. He originally graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in Anthropology, but he soon discovered he loved something else: web design. As Dave created new site after new site, he began to realize that he could help other users and other web designers come up with entire new strategies to this up and coming business. Thus was born The Interaction Design Association. AKA IxDA, an organization that is working to build a community of practice for the advancement and advocacy of the discipline of interaction design. Over Beak & Skiff Hard Cider at Fool’s Gold in Manhattan, Dave takes us on his journey as a pioneer in the Internet design world and how much has changed over time. What You’ll Learn: The major you graduated with in college might be more relevant than you think. (9:50) Learning about technology as you go (25:19) The evolution of interaction design (42:00) Why interaction design is important (1:00:33)