Today we're thrilled to welcome Jordan Morgan—a professional basketball player, University of Michigan engineering grad, founder of The Jordan Morgan Foundation, and CEO of Spin.Travel.

Jordan took the iconic charge that sent Michigan to the 2013 National Championship, then built a decade-long pro career across Europe while representing Slovenia's national team.

Now he's using his platform to drive generational change in Detroit's inner-city communities through education, outreach, and sports, while building his startup - Spin.Travel.

This conversation explores the intersection of athletics, engineering thinking, entrepreneurship, and purpose-driven leadership.

Key Topics Covered:
• Balancing Division I basketball with Industrial & Operations Engineering at Michigan
• The selfless play at the 2013 Final Four that defined his legacy
• Building a 10-year professional career across Italy, France, Turkey, and Slovenia
• What it means to represent Slovenia as an American-born national team player
• Starting The Jordan Morgan Foundation to create generational change in Detroit
• How engineering mindset translates to basketball IQ and decision-making
• Interning with startups and earning an entrepreneurship certificate as a student-athlete
• The non-negotiable role of education in athletic development
• Lessons from living and competing in multiple countries
• Balancing founder life with professional basketball demands
• Current NBA insights: Cooper Flagg, Pistons as dark horse, and league trends

Links:
The Jordan Morgan Foundation: https://www.jordanmorganfoundation.org
University of Michigan Men's Basketball: https://mgoblue.com/sports/mens-basketball
Basketball Federation of Slovenia (KZS): https://www.kzs.si/en/
U of D Jesuit High School: https://www.uofdjesuit.org
TechArb: https://techarb.com
Subscribe to The Ryan Morrison Show: https://www.maximize.media/the-ryan-morrison-show

#JordanMorgan #MichiganBasketball #ProfessionalBasketball #Engineering #Entrepreneurship #DetroitYouth #SocialImpact #StudentAthlete #FinalFour #NonprofitFounder #EuropeanBasketball #SlovenianNationalTeam #UniversityOfMichigan #BasketballPodcast #FounderStories #TheRyanMorrisonShow #PurposeDriven #GenerationalChange #IOE #CollegeHoops

Today we're thrilled to welcome Claire de Vries, an emerging filmmaker, creative producer, and recent honors graduate from the University of Michigan's Film, Television and Media program.

Claire led Imagination Films, one of the most active student-run production groups in the country, and is the writer, director, and producer behind the psychological thriller "We're Not the Same" – a film created entirely by an all-female crew that challenges traditional Hollywood narratives and subverts the male gaze.

Key Topics Covered:
• How frustration with Hitchcock's Vertigo sparked the creation of a female-forward psychological thriller
• Building a film production with an entirely all-female crew and the power of collaborative filmmaking
• Using color symbolism and costume design to depict psychological transformation (from bland to pink to white)
• Drawing inspiration from personal experiences with sisterhood, competition, and constantly being compared
• The story behind "We're Not the Same": half-sisters, obsession, and loss of identity
• Going through 10+ script drafts while interning at HBO Max
• Winning the Hopwood Award for scriptwriting at University of Michigan (despite considering it her "weakest skill")
• Practical filmmaking advice: stop waiting, find your friends, and just start creating
• Leveraging Instagram and TikTok to build your filmmaking skills and audience
• Why Michigan deserves more film incentives and how to showcase Ann Arbor on screen
• Navigating the film festival circuit and building a career as a producer and director

Links:
• Claire de Vries on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/claire-de-vries/
• University of Michigan Film, Television and Media Program: https://lsa.umich.edu/ftvm
• M-agination Films: https://www.m-aginationfilms.com/
• Subscribe to The Ryan Morrison Show: https://www.maximize.media/the-ryan-morrison-show

#TheRyanMorrisonShow #ClairdeVries #IndependentFilm #FemaleFilmmakers #PsychologicalThriller #WereNotTheSame #AllFemaleCrew #WomenInFilm #FilmProduction #UniversityOfMichigan #StudentFilmmaker #MichiganFilm #AnnArborFilm #FilmFestivals #TheFemaleGaze #FilmmakingAdvice #EmergingFilmmakers #ImaginationFilms #HopwoodAward #FilmDirector

Today we're thrilled to welcome Jeff Hoffman, the award-winning entrepreneur and co-founder of Priceline.com and uBid.com.

As Chairman of the Global Entrepreneurship Network working across 200 countries, Jeff has built multiple billion-dollar companies and learned powerful lessons about the difference between marketing and brand building.

In this episode, Jeff breaks down why explosive growth comes from inbound demand—not just ad spend—and shares the exact framework he used to disrupt the travel industry. He's also a Grammy Award-winning producer, Emmy Award-winning executive producer, bestselling author of "SCALE," and founder of World Youth Horizons, a nonprofit supporting children globally.

Key Topics Covered:
• The three critical factors that made Priceline a multi-billion dollar success
• Why marketing is linear but brand building creates exponential growth
• The FedEx Principle: How to create inbound demand without spending on ads
• The "bunch of people that do stuff" problem most companies have with their messaging
• Building rock star teams over big teams: Quality vs. quantity in hiring
• How to identify your most distinguishing trait and make it your brand message
• Why Jeff intentionally entered Hollywood to learn entertainment marketing strategies
• The Midnight Bagels story: Finding problems on campus and solving them
• Jeff's advice to college entrepreneurs: "Try stuff" instead of overthinking

Links:
• Global Entrepreneurship Network: https://www.genglobal.org
• Jeff Hoffman's Website: https://www.jeffhoffman.com
• World Youth Horizons (Jeff's Nonprofit): https://www.worldyouthhorizons.com
• SCALE Book by Jeff Hoffman & David Finkel
• Priceline.com
• The Unreasonable Group

#JeffHoffman #Priceline #Entrepreneurship #StartupAdvice #BrandBuilding #MarketingStrategy #BusinessGrowth #CollegeEntrepreneurs #GlobalEntrepreneurship #ScaleYourBusiness #StartupSuccess #EntrepreneurMindset #BusinessStrategy #InboundMarketing #TeamBuilding #RyanMorrisonShow