The IVY Podcast

#84: How to Win at Sports and Life ft. Jarron Collins

Jarron Collins is a former professional basketball player, and the current Assistant Coach with the Golden State Warriors — one of the most dominant teams in modern sports. On a daily basis, Jarron works to get larger-than-life celebrity stars like Kevin Durant and Steph Curry to bring their best to the court — and maybe even share the ball. IVY hosted an intimate Salon Discussion with Jarron to hear about his time playing with Hall of Famers Shaquille O'Neal and Carl Malone, breaking the best-regular-season record and winning a Championship with the Warriors, and how competing for the Finals applies to success in any endeavor — both on and off the court. Please enjoy our live conversation with Jarron Collins, moderated by Jarron’s high school basketball teammate and friend, Danny Karubian.

#83: Jane Clementi on Cyberbullying

Jane Clementi co-founded the Tyler Clementi Foundation with the mission of ending online and offline bullying. Jane’s son, Tyler, was the victim of a horrible act of cyberbullying at Rutgers University in 2010. Several days after the experience, at the age of 18, Tyler took his own life. In this conversation, Jane talks about her inspiration to share Tyler’s story and the important distinction between in-person bullying and cyberbullying. According to the Foundation’s polls, an astounding 75-80% of young people knew someone who had been cyberbullied, and over 50% had self-identified that they had been the target of cyberbullying. Jane’s work shows the steps we can take to teach our youth to navigate the complex world of cyberbullying in the age of social media.

#82: How to Transform a Global Brand ft. CMO of Cadillac, Uwe Ellinghaus

Uwe Ellinghaus is the Chief Marketing Officer of Cadillac, a position he took over at the beginning of the biggest transformation in Cadillac’s 115-year history. In a live conversation moderated by IVY’s Co-Founder Beri Meric, Uwe shares insights gained from his years at Cadillac (and previously at BMW) to inform us how to create and market world-class products — while remaining true to your roots. Uwe’s accomplishments include moving the company’s headquarters from Detroit to NYC, executing a new communications strategy, opening Cadillac House, and showcasing the next generation of innovators in fashion, film, and technology.

#81: A New Stage for Opera

When someone says “Opera,” the picture that comes to mind for most is the Valkyrie singing on a grand opera house stage. Then they may think about expensive tickets, geriatric audiences, foreign languages, and the discomfort of not being completely sure what to wear. Brooklyn-based LoftOpera has turned these stereotypes on their heads — and is rejuvenating this 500-year-old art form in the process. Founded in 2016, LoftOpera brings 11,000 audience members every year into transformed warehouse spaces to experience some of opera’s greatest masterpieces. Could this be the model the artform needs to jumpstart a new generation of opera buffs? IVY’s Arts and Culture Director, Phil Chan, joined LoftOpera’s General Manager, Brianna Maury, to hear about this new model of presenting Opera.

#80: How to Turn Your Idea into an Actual Product, Featuring Co-Founders of Brooklinen, Rich & Vicki Fulop

Creating legendary products and bringing them to market takes expert design conception, extensive research, thoughtful branding, and strong relationships. It's a complex process indeed, yet the innovative, husband-and-wife co-founders of Brooklinen, Rich and Vicki Fulop, seem to have it down pat. Since the company’s founding three years ago, Brooklinen has grown into the leading direct-to-consumer bedding brand. Rich and Vicki join The IVY Podcast to share the story of their success, teaching us how we all can turn our ideas into actual products by combining tenacity, elbow grease, and a lot of passion to propel dreams into big-time business wins — while prioritizing and scaling along the way.

#79: How to Build a Billion-Dollar Business in Four Years, with the Founder of Compass & Team

Real estate holdings are often your largest asset and investment, which means real estate brokers play a strikingly important role in the lives of countless people worldwide — comprising an immensely diverse community of some two million active agents in the U.S. alone. Robert Reffkin, the Founder and CEO of the real estate startup Compass, is on a mission to empower this massive workforce — and is disrupting the multi-trillion dollar real estate industry in the process. Running on a purpose-driven mission "to help everyone find their place in the world,” the company has raised over $250 million at $1 billion valuation since their launch in 2013. Reffkin joins The IVY Podcast to discuss his journey to found Compass, drawing on a work background spanning the White House and Wall Street. He also cues us in on the evolution of the industry, how to run a people-focused venture, and the keys to Compass’ growth. Reffkin is joined by Compass agents Howard Spiegelman and Laura Hirschman, experts from the Spiegelman-Rothman Team, which was referred to as one of the “Top Real Estate Teams in NY” by the Wall Street Journal and has garnered over $600 million in closed transactions.

#78: The Ultimate Return on Investment: Shaping the Future of Education, Featuring Partner at Owl Ventures, Amit Patel

Educational technology — commonly referred to as “EdTech” — is an increasingly dynamic space that fosters innovation in schools and provides solutions to some of today’s most pressing issues. To learn more about this space and the role venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, and investors can play in shaping the future of education, IVY co-CEO Beri Meric sat down with Amit Patel, an education expert and Partner at Owl Ventures. An ed tech-focused venture capital firm, Owl Ventures invests in the world’s leading technology companies, backing entrepreneurs with solutions that meaningfully drive improvement in student achievement. Amit offered his insights on the importance of education and the challenges that educators face today. He believes the private sector plays a critical role in offering students cutting-edge tools and strategies to improve educational achievement across the board — from early learning and K-12 all the way up to higher education and lifelong learning for our nation’s workforce.

#77: The Politics of Self-Interest: Leveling the Playing Field with NYU Political Scientist Bruce Bueno de Mesquita

“Politics is about doing what your constituents want.” According to CIA consultant, political scientist, and NYU Professor Bruce Bueno de Mesquita, that’s just how politics works. Bueno de Mesquita has built complex political algorithms based on this principle — developing mathematical analyses that draw on the logic of self-interest to predict civil wars, coup d'etats, purges, and political reforms. His upcoming book, co-authored with Alastair Smith, offers a new theory on why revolutions happen, and why politicians act the way they do. He joins The IVY Podcast to provide clarity on the Trump administration’s current actions, and why a U.S. President may have no real political incentive to act in interest of all Americans. He also offers a solution to improving governance that would use computer programs to eliminate gerrymandering.

#76: Why You Should Take a Sabbatical in Bali to Advance Your Career, Featuring Chief Dreamer Samira Sohail

“Be the hero of your own adventure.” That’s the motto that digital business entrepreneur and “Chief Dreamer” Samira Sohail lives by, and so far it’s working in her favor. Born and bred in London, Samira had already embarked on successful careers in two industries — as a financial analyst at J.P. Morgan Cazenove, and then a strategy manager for the BBC — when she became frustrated with the traditional career trajectory she was headed down. So she booked a one-way ticket to Bali, taking a nine-month sabbatical to discover the unexplored areas of her life and take a spiritual break. The results have been encouraging. Since her time in Bali, Samira has launched the now-popular podcast “Samira Stalks” — an interview series with “reckless dreamers” who tell their personal stories of entrepreneurship and impact. Samira joins The IVY Podcast to tell us why taking a sabbatical can be the unexpected key to advancing your career, and provides tips on how exactly to plan a successful sabbatical. She also shares advice on starting a podcast of your own and succeeding in multiple industries while being a digital nomad.

#75: The New Great Game: The U.S., China, and North Korea, Featuring the Founder, CEO and Editor-in-Chief of Fair Observer, Atul Singh

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has said his country’s intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) program puts the United States in striking range. The provocation has sent shock waves around the world, drawing fiery rhetoric and doomsday warnings from U.S. President Donald Trump. What is behind Kim Jong-un’s actions, and why is he fanning the flames of hostility now? Atul Singh, the Founder, CEO, and Editor-in-Chief of Fair Observer, joins The IVY Podcast to shed light on the tense internal struggle playing out behind the scenes in North Korea, and to attempt to answer the question — why now? He also discusses the efficacy of Trumpian foreign policy in Asia and what’s at stake for China in the region.