Finding Founders

Linda has experienced a lot. She’s traveled the world as an army brat, played piano and sung in Led Zeppelin's tour bus, explored drugs as an “X rated hippie”, and worked to understand her Latin American, Chicano, and Indigenous roots through her art. Through these various paintings, sculpture, and ceramic work Linda embraces her brownness and the world has taken notice. Her work has been shown globally in major galleries and museums, as well as Chicano and Latino spaces. Today, her artwork focuses on encouraging discussion surrounding how class, culture, and the color of our skin intersect, notably in her, “Make ‘Em All Mexican” pieces. But let’s look at where this all started and dive into Linda’s roots. Let's look back to where her family's story began, with her grandparents meeting while working on the railroads. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You just heard from Jimmy Edgerton about a crucial time in his entrepreneurship career, a moment when it seemed like his new startup was going down in roasted chickpea flames. Luckily, these hard times didn’t last forever, since today I’m presenting a special episode, a podcast swap with seasoned entrepreneurs and business consultants Jimmy Edgerton and Julie Meyer from AugMentors. Before they taught us to navigate the nuances of networking, Jimmy and Julie learned these lessons firsthand through running their own successful businesses. Julie found her start in writing her book Eat Well Shanghai and now works as the co-ceo of nutrition company Eat Well Global. Meanwhile, Jimmy worked in real estate until a fateful beer garden meeting launched his business career running Watusee Foods. But before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s hop in a time machine to the start of Julie’s story and see how these lives intersected. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Trey Ferro, CEO of Spot Pet Insurance, turned a lifelong love for animals into a mission to revolutionize pet care. From mimicking animal sounds as a toddler to raising millions in funding for Spot, Trey’s journey blends personal passion with innovative leadership. Using AI and celebrity partnerships with names like Cesar Millan and MrBeast, he’s made Spot one of North America’s fastest-growing pet insurance companies. Tune in to hear how Trey is transforming pet care through technology and heart. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tech has always been a part of Jeremy Toeman’s life. Loving math at a young age allowed Jeremy to want to continue his career path in the tech industry. Jeremy learned basic C++ programming during elementary school. Today he owns Augie Studio, a programmed AI system able to make videos for marketing as well as social media purposes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Despite having two hit book series under her belt, it was at this moment that Kimberly caught a glimpse of the publishing industry’s true nature. The world of literature had a short term memory and she was only as good as her most recent book’s sales. No matter how proud she was of her stories or how many book tours she’d finished, it felt like maybe she would never get the chance to reach the same heights. Luckily, this burnout didn’t last forever and Kimberly Derting is here with us today as an established author in both Young Adult fiction and children’s books. She mixes the genres of horror, mystery, and romance to create the captivating narratives of the award winning Body Finder series as well as the Pledge and the Taking trilogies. But before she spun these unique worlds from scratch, Kimberly was an imaginative kid who spent her days reading at the library and checking out the new releases at the neighborhood bookmobile. Words provided an escape from the darkness of her surroundings, banishing her home life and rough and tumble neighborhood with the flip of a page. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You just heard Ali describing one of her breaking points, where a battle for a copyright claim over one of her creations caused her to file a lawsuit. Now, Ali Spagnola, musician, comedian, and artist, has proved herself to be a creator you can’t look away from. With her eccentric dedication to living “outrageous”, Ali has won over 1.4 million tiktok followers and more than 400k subscribers on YouTube with her bubbly enthusiasm and boundless creativity. From turning her car into a chia pet to fighting for the world’s right to party, Ali’s career has been anything but mundane. Yet before music parodies and unusual crafts became her way of life, Ali had already fallen in love with the piano, plunking out melodies on her family’s baby grand… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Writer, Halloween expert, paranormal historial, and bookseller, Lisa Norton’s entire life is defined by the genre she has devoted her career to. Beginning as a young child in Pasadena consuming a large amount of horror content, she now loves to set her prose in her hometown, creating stories of suspense and supernatural happenings. Lisa is a six-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award for both her fiction and nonfiction work relating to horror and Halloween as well as the former president of the Horror Writers Association. But let’s begin where her love for the spooky holiday began, when she was just a child spending hours building her own costumes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alex Mufson has always been an entrepreneur, from her first imaginary business she began at the age of three years old to a very real horse training company that she ran nearly a decade. But after experiencing deep frustration with the medical system, she felt led to build a values based business to help support others battling similar situations. Without any investors, Alex built the company from zero figures to seven in three years and now is now obsessed with helping others do the same, putting money into the hands of people, and their businesses, who will heal the world with it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Somehow David has repeatedly found himself at the center of disaster. His most life changing trip through Asia was during the Asian financial crisis, his first big writing opportunity was during the 2008 financial crisis (which resulted in him losing his day job), this earthquake in Japan cemented that position as a writer, and now post covid the world needs the kind of community David is building more than ever. I actually think that’s something the best entrepreneurs have in common. Finding opportunity in disaster. And in David’s case I think he’s able to see opportunity because his breadth of experience is so wide. David was a resource strategist on Wall Street, oversaw natural resource programs at the white House, and even ran a water-focused NGO in Africa. His writing appears in the LA Times, the New York Times, and he’s published a book under Yale University Press called The Elements of Power. While writing this book in internet cafes around the world, David experienced firsthand how working remotely requires flexibility and breathable spaces–which is why he created OutPost, designed to be a safe place for digital nomads to break away from the conventional office. But before he was writing and traveling the world, a life of adventure in his hometown of Trumbull Connecticut had a pretty low bar. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Zach put 40 hours into his YouTube debut only to get 10 views and a spam comment. That left him to question his online identity; was this the end of his short-lived YouTube career? I mean there wasn’t much in his favor. He was starting at the height of covid and the worst of med school just around the corner. I’m sure Zach was questioning whether juggling his work and his passion would amount to anything. But today, Zach Highley’s 454K subscribers are proof that it was well worth the sacrifice. Zach now makes a living as a doctor but also as a YouTuber, and today he’ll share how it all started: the nightmare of applying for med school. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices