INspired INsider Podcast

Marcia Dawood is an investor who has invested in over 200 early-stage private companies. She’s also a Venture Partner with Mindshift Capital. Mindshift Capital is a global, women-run venture firm investing in notable women-led companies solving big problems with sophisticated solutions. Marcia is also part of the Investment Committee for the Next Wave Impact Fund, serves as a Board Member and Advisor to Zive and Misfits Bakehouse, and is an Activator for SheEO. Marcia currently serves as Chair of the Board of the Angel Capital Association. In this episode… Angel investing is a risky asset class, and financial advisors often discourage putting in more than five to 10% of your net worth — and they are right. But many entrepreneurs either do not know this or do not factor it into their plan when contacting angel investors. So, these entrepreneurs see angel investors as always ready to write a check. After all, that’s what they do, right?  Nothing could be farther from the truth. From the invaluable experience and skills they bring to the vast network of willing helpers in their circle, there’s more to angel investing than writing checks. Beyond money and business, they also have access to tech, tools, and research to live a healthy life and advocate the same for others. All that and more make for smart and healthy angel investing. Want to learn more?  Listen to this episode of the Inspired Insider Podcast with Dr. Jeremy Weisz, featuring Marcia Dawood, Venture Partner with Mindshift Capital and Chair of the Board of the Angel Capital Association. They discuss Marcia’s journey as a female angel investor, her investment strategy, mistakes entrepreneurs should avoid when contacting angel investors, preventing scary diseases, and more.

Allie LeFevere is the Creative Director and Co-founder of Obedient, a humor branding agency. They turn businesses into unstoppable, unorthodox, unforgettable brands because they believe that standing out is not a matter of taste but of survival. Allie has spent the last decade working with brands to ensure their messaging isn’t a snoozefest.  Before starting Obedient, Allie was the VP of Engagement at a Chicago-based startup. She then jumped ship in 2014 to run her first business developing creative programs for companies like Dell, AT&T, Trunk Club, and emerging small businesses and startups. In this episode… Ultimately, the goal of marketing is to get your target audience to fall in love with your brand and do business with you. That involves connecting with your audience on a deep emotional level — even if you’re in a lackluster industry. Ironically, many brands see it as “out of brand” to infuse humor strategically to connect with their prospects.  Other brands desire this level of connection with their target demographics, but their brands lack personality. Luckily, Allie LeFevere has developed the brand personality method to turn boring and complicated brands into fun ones… because fun sells. How does this method work, and how are top brands using it?  Listen to this episode of the Inspired Insider Podcast with Dr. Jeremy Weisz featuring the Creative Director and Co-founder of Obedient Agency, Allie LeFevere. They discuss the brand personality method, how to make boring and complicated businesses come alive through humor, and more! 

Becky Feinberg-Galvez is the CEO and Co-owner of Candor Threads, a custom apparel company. The company was formerly known as Shop for Ties. Candor Threads first started as corporate textiles in 1982 when Becky's stepfather, Arnie Kapp, founded the business. He began making cold calls to sell ties, winning over customers and connections from his basement office — and, more importantly — instilled the importance of speaking with candor and treating every customer as a friend.  Becky joined Candor Threads as a Marketing and Sales Manager and moved into the CEO position following her stepfather's passing. As CEO, Becky has created steady year-over-year growth by introducing new products and implementing a customer-centered, detail-oriented approach to business. In this episode… We live in a world of uncertainties, and many times, there are more things out of our control that negatively impact our lives and business. In those uncertain times, such as when COVID-19 peaked, the most entrepreneurial question to ask is, "How can we help?"  By trying to become a more helpful business, Becky Feinberg-Galvez led Candor Threads through a rough patch that became the company's most rewarding year in revenue. The company is now riding on that experience to do more amazing things for its clients. Want to learn more?  Listen to this episode of the Inspired Insider Podcast with Dr. Jeremy Weisz featuring the CEO of Candor Threads, Becky Feinberg-Galvez. They discuss Becky's entrepreneurial journey, the one time her business failed, and how she turned a defeating moment into a profitable one by pivoting to become a helpful company. 

Kevin Donlin is the Founder of Client Cloning Systems, a company that helps executives leverage the power of direct mail, email, and warm calls. Kevin has been involved in marketing since 1994 and sold one of the first ebooks online, which was the beginning of his e-commerce journey. By the late 90s, he was a Webmaster for FedEx, where he worked with some of the pioneers of online marketing. Since 1998, Kevin has been a copywriter and marketing advisor, delivering sales gains of more than $1 million on multiple occasions through direct mail and online marketing. He's been interviewed by ABC, CBS, NBC, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Fortune magazine, and many more. He's a co-author and author of five marketing books.  In this episode… Is your business or product helping your customers avoid immense pain? If yes, why aren’t they rushing to do business with you and grow your revenue? One reason: you’re marketing like everyone else. What if there was a way to break people’s patterns, trigger their emotional hot buttons, and get them to buy?  Paper mail and direct response marketing are how to do it. Why? Because anything in print will be more believable and valuable than what you read online. But the secret is knowing how to unlock your customers’ hidden desires, communicating in their language, and solving their pain. Ready to roll?  Listen to this episode of the Inspired Insider Podcast with Dr. Jeremy Weisz featuring the Founder of Client Cloning Systems, Kevin Donlin. They discuss what the Client Cloning Kit is, why the value of paper mail outweighs the cost, how to write copy that pushes people’s emotional buttons to take action, and generating millions in revenue through direct mail. Stay tuned.

Ronen Menipaz is an Israeli investor, entrepreneur, and tech advisor. He's been a founder in the entertainment, ad-tech, and fintech space with over 25 years of entrepreneurial experience.  Ronen is the CEO and Founder of M51 Entrepreneur Labs, a private equity company located in Tel Aviv, Israel. The company helps empower fearless, passionate, and creative Israeli entrepreneurs to succeed by leveraging M51's ideas, time, and network of support. In this episode… There’s not too much that separates successful entrepreneurs from the not-so-successful ones. Unlike what many people think, it’s not about the numbers, but about the real superpowers of the entrepreneur. It is also about what makes the entrepreneur tick and their understanding of culture gaps.  Today’s guest, Ronen Menipaz, speaks to this issue. He calls the first superpower optimism. For Ronen, an entrepreneur is eternally optimistic because they’ll need all the optimism they can muster to support the other necessary superpowers. What are these other entrepreneurial superpowers?  Listen to this episode of the Inspired Insider Podcast with Dr. Jeremy Weisz featuring the CEO and Founder of M51 Entrepreneur Labs, Ronen Menipaz. They discuss how Ronen became a private equity company owner, his personal experience as an entrepreneur, and the real-life superpowers that distinguish great entrepreneurs.

Amanda Holmes is the CEO of Chet Holmes International, a privately held company founded by highly publicized thought leader, Chet Holmes. The organization aims to help small to medium-sized businesses grow faster, better, and smarter. They have assisted over 250,000 businesses worldwide. It's the home to The Ultimate Sales Machine book, which was voted in the top 110 most recommended marketing and sales books.  Troy Aberle is a Coach for Chet Holmes International. He's worked with many companies and helped them sell over $400 million. He's used methodologies from Chet Holmes International to sell $12 million to prospects that were not interested and sold an entire year's quota in one week. He also runs a life and business strategy company. In this episode… How do you double your sales in 12 months? Will you increase marketing spending to reach more potential customers for more sales? What if there’s a way to double your sales and not spend more on customer acquisition? The Dream 100 is the fastest, least expensive way to do so.  The Dream 100 is the strategy that has doubled the sales of more companies than any other. It is based on the principle that there are fewer better buyers than there are all buyers. That means marketing and selling to your Dream 100 is cheaper than marketing and selling to all buyers. Unfortunately, many people do not understand the concept of Dream 100 and how to use it to multiply their sales. Don’t want to be one of them?  Listen to this episode of the Inspired Insider Podcast with Dr. Jeremy Weisz featuring Amanda Holmes and Troy Aberle, both from Chet Holmes International. They discuss the elements of a Dream 100, why it is the fastest and least expensive way to double sales, and how to find your Dream 100 and market to them. Stay tuned.

Kerri Garbis is the CEO and Founder of Ovation, a go-to resource for professional presence and speaker development training. Through Ovation, Kerri has trained thousands of business professionals from companies such as Walt Disney and Mastercard. She helps them with presentation skills, storytelling, etiquette, and emotional intelligence. Kerri is the Author of Presentation Skills for Managers, published by McGraw Hill. Wendy Pease is a language translation expert and the President of Rapport International, a translation and interpretation services company specializing in marketing translation. Wendy is the Author of The Language of Global Marketing: Translate Your Domestic Strategies into International Sales and Profits. In this episode… One of the hidden gems of successful entrepreneurship is the ability to speak and present confidently. You need to be an excellent speaker for local and international marketing, but the best part is that these skills can be learned. However, international marketing comes with its nuances that many business owners overlook. As a result, their marketing materials are either in the wrong language or translated without the necessary context and cultural sensitivity. Want to learn top tips to speak, present, and sell globally?  Listen to this episode of the Inspired Insider Podcast with Dr. Jeremy Weisz, featuring the Founder of Ovation, Kerri Garbis, and the President of Rapport International, Wendy Pease. They discuss everything you need to know about becoming a better speaker and the best way to translate your marketing materials for a global market.

Fredrik van Huynh is a Swedish-Cambodian entrepreneur and the Co-founder and CEO of Absolute Internship, a leading global internship program matching university students with internships for in-person and remote positions in top companies all around the globe.  Since 2009, Absolute Internship has helped thousands of students join more than 800 corporate partners in cities including Barcelona, Beijing, Hong Kong, Lisbon, London, Madrid, Paris. Interns develop marketable skills for future employment, and the program empowers them to step outside of their comfort zones.  In 2019, Fredrik was ranked among the top 25 Swedish entrepreneurs of the year for disrupting industries and breaking boundaries. In this episode… When Fredrik van Huynh started his company and decided to charge students for internship placements in companies worldwide, he got a lot of negative feedback. Some people even called his business model exploitative.  But Fredrik’s position was simple: students could get internship placements in their city through friends and family, but not many people have access to placement in companies abroad. More importantly, if students can pay high tuition fees to schools, they can afford to access quality internship experiences.  However, Fredrik didn’t envision three years of living on instant coffee, pasta, and tomato sauce, with two pairs of trousers, and facing every reason to throw in the towel. Now universities are reaching out, and thousands of students gladly pay and come on board. How Fredrik turned things around is a story you don’t want to miss.  Listen to this episode of the Inspired Insider with Dr. Jeremy Weisz featuring the Co-founder and CEO of Absolute Internship, Fredrik van Huynh. They discuss why Fredrik decided to sell internships, how he sold them to students, got companies on board, and built a thriving business from the ground up.

Zach Wilcox is the Founder and CEO of Fide Freight, a representative logistics solution providing a full range of services in long and short-distance freight, specialty haulage, and management of dry freights. Zach and his team pride themselves on complete transparency and communication, from bringing on a client to getting the shipments completed on time. Before founding Fide Freight, Zach held project management, operations, and manufacturing roles across different companies. He has a business degree from Grand Valley State University.  In this episode… Core values have become the sound bite that punctuates every conversation with entrepreneurs. But since you’re in business to make profits, what is the ROI on your core values? Does staying true to your core values produce the business outcomes you seek, or are they some cool mantras to have?  Zach Wilcox, the Founder and CEO of Fide Freight, let us in on his company’s secret sauce for generating revenue and edging out competitors through core values. He talks about Fide Freight’s core values and how they impact the bottom line. Beyond that, he shares insights on the most important part many companies grapple with — maintaining a working culture.  Listen to this episode of the Inspired Insider Podcast with Dr. Jeremy Weisz featuring the Founder and CEO of Fide Freight, Zach Wilcox. They talk about Zach’s pivot from manufacturing to logistics, the hurdles he faced when starting a company, and how developing and sticking to a set of core values can help you grow and gain market share quickly.

Ryan Tansom started his entrepreneurial career at his family business, where he was responsible for the operational and financial strategy of the $21 million company. He helped turn the company around and bring intentional focus to the right strategy, which enabled them to sell to a local competitor for eight figures.  Ryan is the Co-founder and Partner of Arkona, where they help entrepreneurs get clarity and control on how to grow the value of their company through Value Growth Education and Strategic CFO Services. He is the Host of the Intentional Growth podcast. In this episode… Has the growth of your business been stifled? Are you stuck with a broken system holding down your business, but you’re unsure how to turn it around? According to today’s guest, Ryan Tansom, the Intentional Growth framework is one way to help you figure out the issues and repair the broken system.  There are five principles you should be applying. The first is your drivers. What do you want from your business and why? The next is your financial targets, and there are three of them: one is your target annual income for you personally, regardless of whether you have that business. What are the other targets, and what do the other principles entail?  Listen to this episode of the Inspired Insider Podcast with Dr. Jeremy Weisz featuring the Co-founder and Partner of Arkona, Ryan Tansom. They discuss how Ryan transformed his family’s business to help them sell it for eight figures, the Intentional Growth framework, the five principles that drive it, and lots more.