• Managing Institutional Investments during a Pandemic: Cardinal Investment Advisors Managing Director Carolyn Carollo
    Jul 27 2021

    In this episode of Restarting America, Josh Gibbs from 97 Switch interviews Carolyn Carollo, a Managing Director at Cardinal Investment Advisors. Throughout the interview, they discuss the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on business and society. Carollo shares how the current health pandemic has affected her company and how she is adapting to new circumstances.

    Carollo joined Cardinal in September 2001 and is a founding partner. She works as a lead consultant for several clients and is responsible for non-U.S. equity research and custody research.

    Prior to joining Cardinal, she worked at Summit Strategies Group in both research and performance reporting. Before Summit Strategies, she was at May Department Stores in the financial reporting department. Carollo currently serves on the Finance Committee at her church. She holds a BSBA from the University of Missouri, an MBA from Maryville University, and received her CIPM designation in 2010.

    Show More Show Less
    29 mins
  • Directing a SBA Partner Organization during a Pandemic: LiftFund Women’s Business Centers Director Tarsha Hearns
    Jun 1 2021

    In this episode of Restarting America, Josh Gibbs from 97 Switch interviews Tarsha Hearns, the Director of LiftFund Women’s Business Centers (WBCs), dedicated to supporting business owners, especially women and minorities, through business advising and training services. Throughout the interview, they discuss the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on business and society. Hearns shares how the current health pandemic has affected her, her company and how she is adapting to new circumstances.

    Tarsha Polk is the Director of the LiftFund Dallas Fort Worth Women’s Business Center. As director, Tarsha provides support and guidance to entrepreneurs seeking to start or grow their businesses, and connect them to additional business and financial resources in their community. Tarsha has received numerous awards including 40 Under 40 in Collin County, Business of the Year from the Collin County Black Chamber of Commerce, Women in the Media Award and the Leadership Award from National Association of Women Business Owners. She is the immediate past-president of NAWBO’s Dallas chapter, and currently serves on the Dallas Independent School District’s Minority and Women Business Enterprise Advisory Committee.

    Show More Show Less
    43 mins
  • Running a Life Sciences Consulting Firm during a Pandemic: Trestle Compliance's CEO Steve Vincze
    May 17 2021

    In this episode of Restarting America, Joshua Gibbs from 97 Switch interviews Steve Vincze, the CEO and Founder of Trestle Compliance, providing risk assessments, compliance programs and software for BioTech, Pharmaceutical and MedTech innovators. Throughout the interview, they discuss the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on business and society. Vincze shares how the current health pandemic has affected him, his company and how he is adapting to new circumstances.

    Vincze, is President & CEO of Trestle Compliance. Prior to forming TRESTLE, Vincze split his private-sector career between service as an in-house or outsourced Sr. VP or VP Chief Compliance Officer for several life science and healthcare companies and as a consultant, forming his own firms as well as serving as a non-equity partner for a “Big 4” firm. Vincze is Counsel to a U.S. House of Representatives Oversight Committee. He has 25+ years of experience in regulatory compliance matters, from government policy and enforcement to private sector business implementation considerations.

    Show More Show Less
    34 mins
  • Launching a Marketing Technology Business during a Pandemic: LeadKlozer's CEO Steve MacDonald
    May 10 2021

    DraftIn this episode of Restarting America, Jeremy Greenberg from 97 Switch interviews Steve MacDonald, the CEO and Founder of LeadKlozer, a Facebook growth suite designed for digital agencies and Facebook marketers. Throughout the interview, they discuss the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on business and society. MacDonald shares how the current health pandemic has affected his company and how he is adapting to new circumstances.

    MacDonald has almost 30 years of branding and marketing experience and has spent the last decade training more than 10,000 entrepreneurs on how to use social media to grow their businesses. Additionally, he’s served as the Founder of a global social media university, CMO of a Hollywood start-up, Director of Client Services for a top ten digital marketing agency, and Director of Strategic Planning for Mazda Motors of America’s agency and was trained in branding by the former CMO of McDonald’s.

    Show More Show Less
    28 mins
  • Founding a Virtual Fitness Platform during a Pandemic: bande's Founder and CEO Rebecca Balyasny
    Apr 29 2021

    In this episode of Restarting America, Josh Gibbs from 97 Switch interviews Rebecca Balyasny, the Founder and CEO of bande, an online fitness company. Throughout the interview, they discuss the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on business and society. Balyasny shares how the current health pandemic has affected her company and how she is adapting to new circumstances.

    For many people, a year of at-home workouts removed the personal relationship touch that so many of us crave in our exercise routines. Enter bande, whose mission is to strip down the overdose of impersonal virtual fitness experiences and smart machines by providing real-time, real-people connections through the power of movement.

    Rebecca combined her venture background with executive talent from Exhale, Mindbody and Amazon to bring bande’s boutique fitness experience to people at home. Blurring the lines between fitness platform and social network, bande uses cutting-edge technology to encourage authentic connections between members, their peers and bande’s renowned instructors to celebrate a feeling of togetherness in a virtual world. You can learn more about bande by visiting bande.com. Follow at @webandetogether and webandetogether.

    Show More Show Less
    33 mins
  • Building an Oral Health Challenger Brand during a Pandemic: Twice's Co-Founder Julian Levine
    Apr 21 2021

    In this episode of Restarting America, Josh Gibbs from 97 Switch interviews Julian Levine, the co-founder and CEO of Twice, an oral wellness company. Throughout the interview, they discuss the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on business and society. Levine shares how the current health pandemic has affected his company and how he is adapting to new circumstances.

    Levine, his brother Cody, and musician Lenny Kravitz co-founded Twice in 2018. Levine was inspired to start Twice after a life-changing dental mission trip showed him the power of a smile and how many opportunities there were to create products that help others live better. When he isn't educating on the connection between the mouth and the body, he is exercising, skiing, playing with his Tibetan Spaniel named Bacchus, or relaxing with family and friends.

    Show More Show Less
    33 mins
  • Building a Personal Brand and Business during a Pandemic: The PR Shoppe's Founder Carolyn Fraser
    Mar 24 2021

    In this episode of Restarting America, Josh Gibbs from 97 Switch interviews Carolyn Fraser, the founder and CEO of The PR Shoppe. Throughout the interview, they discuss the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on business and society. Fraser shares how the current health pandemic has affected her company and how she is adapting to new circumstances.

    Over her 15+ years as a strategic communications practitioner, Fraser has led winning integrated marketing campaigns for some of the top brands in the world, including Revlon, Visa, BET Networks & Black Girls Rock!, Laila Ali & ABC’s Dancing with the Stars, Maytag/Whirlpool, Ernst & Young and CURLS.

    In 2016, Fraser married her passion for marketing and mentorship and founded an online empowerment platform to help entrepreneurs and small business owners strengthen their ‘mental grit’ and better hold themselves accountable to success. In 2020, she was honored for her own successes, as she received the Young Entrepreneur of The Year Award from the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), Chicago chapter.

    Fraser has a B.A. in Business Administration with a minor in Communications Studies from The University of Missouri – Kansas City. She has completed several professional development courses, including a hard-earned Crisis Communications certificate from Northwestern University’s School of Communications, and course completion for the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth’s Building a High-Performing Minority Business, and Goldman Sachs 10K Small Businesses programs.

    She is a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, Delta Sigma Pi business fraternity, National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), and the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce.

    Show More Show Less
    40 mins
  • Running an Applesauce Company During a Pandemic: Mullen's Applesauce's Founder Jim Mullen
    Mar 10 2021

    In this episode of Restarting America, Josh Gibbs from 97 Switch interviews Jim Mullen, the founder of Mullen Foods. Throughout the interview, they discuss the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on business and society. Mullen shares how the current health pandemic has affected his company and how he is adapting to new circumstances.

    Mullen is a disabled Chicago Police officer who sacrificed his own well-being in service to a city he loves. He is also living proof that a catastrophic, debilitating injury is not a barrier to a life well-lived.

    In 2007, Mullen established Mullen Foods and began pursuing his new passion, to recreate and market his mother’s beloved homemade apple sauce. His only goal at that time was to get it on the shelf at Happy Foods in Edgebrook so that his mother could see it on the shelf while she was shopping.

    Today, Mullen Foods has grown from a small boutique manufacturer into a mainstream premium product competing with national brands. The company has retail and foodservice distribution in over 500 locations throughout the Midwest. Just a few customers include Jewel, Marianos, Whole Foods, and Lettuce Entertain You restaurants. His apple sauce is now available nationally through Amazon.

    As a former police officer, Mullen donates a portion of Mullen Foods’ profits to the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation, which ensures that the sacrifices he and other officers have made in service to Chicago are always remembered.

    After his accident in 2002, Mullen became an on-air disability reporter for six years at CBS 2 WBBM TV. He was the only ventilator-dependent quadriplegic to broadcast for a national news network. In 2005, he received an Emmy for his outstanding work reporting inspirational stories about people who have overcome major obstacles due to their physical challenges.

    Mullen currently lives on the far northwest of Chicago in Wildwood with his wife, who has also been a Sergeant for the Chicago Police Department for more than 25 years.

    Show More Show Less
    46 mins