The IVY Podcast

#64: How to Design a Successful Life and Achieve Your Dreams, Featuring Expert Coach at Handel Group, Laurie Gerber

Many young leaders today know what they want to accomplish — whether it’s creating a company, writing a bestseller, or inventing a new technology. The difficult question is how to accomplish these goals — how to overcome obstacles, strategize exactly what we need to do to accomplish our dreams, and turn that bestseller into a reality. Fortunately, there are people like Laurie Gerber who have dedicated their entire personal and professional lives to teaching people how to realize their dreams. Gerber is an Expert Coach at Handel Group, where she’s been coaching individuals and groups for over 15 years on how to harness their personal strengths and eliminate the excuses holding them back. In this conversation, Laurie’s reveals the key techniques needed to maximize your ability to thrive across all areas of life — from health, love, and career, to money, family, and everything in between. Please enjoy our conversation with Laurie Gerber.

#63: How to Create Transformational Brands, Featuring the ’Friendly Founder’ of Hello, Craig Dubitsky

Craig Dubitsky is one of the most creative minds in consumer goods, with a proven track record for identifying and exploiting gaps in competitive markets. He is the "Friendly Founder" of Hello — the “naturally friendly” oral care company whose products are vegan, never tested on animals, and made in the USA. Prior to Hello, Craig cofounded Eos, a women’s personal care brand known for its ubiquitous lip balm. He also served as SVP of Venture Development at Simon Property Group, leading the initial investment in Method Products — a manufacturer of biodegradable natural cleaning supplies, which was named the 16th “most innovative company in the world” by Fast Company in 2008. Craig himself was named to Advertising Age's Creativity 50 as one of the “Most Influential and Innovative Creative Thinkers and Doers” in 2014. In this conversation, Craig shares the story of how he founded Hello, and offers advice from his transformative career. Please enjoy our conversation with Craig Dubitsky.

#62: How to Build Great Businesses to Solve Hard Problems with the Co-Founder of Aspiration, Joseph Sanberg

  Joseph N. Sanberg believes that everyone who works – and everyone who wants to but can’t – should be able to afford life’s basic needs and live with financial security. He founded the Golden State Opportunity Foundation to expand financial security to the millions of Californians who work hard yet experience constant financial stress. Joe has been the leading advocate for the state’s new Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for low-income families. Joe not only lobbied California to pass the credit, but in 2015 when the state didn’t allocate enough money for outreach, Joe created CalEITC4Me. This community organizing program has connected working California families with $2 billion of state and federal Earned Income Tax Credits. This spring, CalEITC4Me led a grassroots organizing campaign that won a massive expansion of California’s EITC so that next year, 3x more working families – 1.7 million in total – will be able to earn the CalEITC. Please enjoy our conversation with Joseph Sanberg.

#61: How to Create Value and Build Growth in the Digital Landscape featuring the President of BuzzFeed Entertainment Group, Ze Frank

Ze Frank is the President of BuzzFeed Entertainment Group.  After graduating from Brown University in 1995 with a BS in Neuroscience, Frank became an unexpected internet pioneer, driving traffic to his own personal website via short films, animations and video games. Frank won a Webby in 2002 for Best Personal Website and was featured in Time Magazine’s “50 Coolest Websites” in 2005. From there, he launched his Youtube channel with the hugely popular ‘True Facts’ series along with other viral shows. Frank joined BuzzFeed in 2012 to grow and develop its video platform, and he currently oversees the creation of all BuzzFeed video and editorial entertainment content. Ze also built BuzzFeed Motion Pictures, the company’s pioneering and prolific moving image studio. In this thought-provoking discussion, Frank shares key insights and advice about how to pioneer innovation in the digital world and build a loyal audience. Please enjoy our conversation, with Ze Frank

#60: How Prime Movers Create Legendary Companies, featuring Forbes Midas List Investor & Entrepreneur, Mike Maples Jr.

Mike is a Founding Partner at Floodgate, a venture capital firm that invests in the extraordinary top ".1%" of companies earlier than anyone else, including Twitter, Lyft, Twitch.tv, and Sparefoot. After earning his MBA from Stanford, he went to Silicon Graphics where he was developing CGI that studios such as Industrial Light and Magic used in their feature films. He then joined his college roommate, Joe Liemandt, at Trilogy Software, which soon after went public and was acquired by IBM. In this compelling conversation, Mike revealed investment tips for entrepreneurs searching for success and shared how proactive businesses can become empires.  

#59: The Future of Retail featuring The CEO of MM Luxe Consulting & Former President of Saks, Marigay McKee

Fashion legend Marigay McKee has risen from “lipstick girl” at Harrod’s to a major leader of some of the biggest luxury brands in the world. After working as a retail clerk and teacher for many years, she was offered the opportunity to become an executive at Estee Lauder Europe, and from there, launched a twenty-year career in luxury retailing. She eventually rose to the pinnacle of London’s retail world when she rejoined Harrod’s, this time as a Senior Beauty Buyer, and over a fifteen year period at the helm of buying and product strategy, advanced to become the store's Chief Merchant. Through the implementation of Marigay’s strategic vision and her philosophy on exclusivity, Harrod’s attracted a greater share of high-end luxury clients than ever before. Marigay subsequently crossed the pond to become President of Saks Fifth Avenue in New York, where she evolved a new vision for the iconic brand’s luxury and positioning platform. She is also an advisor to several emerging fashion brands in the United Kingdom and the United States, mentoring young talent and young entrepreneurs. In 2015, Marigay started her own consulting firm, MM Luxe Consulting, which helps world-class brands like Tommy Hilfiger and Harper’s Bazaar develop winning strategies for marketing, positioning, and growth. In this conversation with IVY’s Kari Jones, Marigay goes in-depth about what it takes to build a powerhouse fashion brand, and what the future of the industry looks like. Please enjoy our conversation with Marigay McKee

#58: Lessons From 20 Years of Entrepreneurship Featuring The Co-CEO of Sun Capital Partners, Marc Leder

 Marc Leder is the co-CEO of Sun Capital Partners Since co-founding his global private equity firm in 1995, Marc has helped oversee investment in more than 340 companies worldwide with revenues in excess of $45 billion. Prior to his work at Sun Capital, Marc served as a Senior Vice President of Lehman Brothers in New York. Marc gives insight into how we can each make a stellar career out of entrepreneurship and investing. He also shared how he worked his way up from an analyst at Lehman Brothers to a leading player in the private investment industry, engaged in leveraged buyouts, and business operations for more than two decades. Please enjoy our conversation, with Marc Leder.

#57: How to Fix The World Through Entrepreneurship, featuring the founder of 8VC, Joe Lonsdale

Joe Lonsdale is one of the most successful venture capitalists in Silicon Valley, not to mention a veteran tech entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist. In early 2016 he launched 8VC, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm that aims to fix core processes for some of the world's largest industries. Previously Joe was a founding partner of Formation 8, which manages over $2 billion across multiple funds. Prior to Formation 8, he founded Palantir, a multi-billion dollar global software company best known for its work in defense and finance. Lonsdale serves on the boards of several highly successful companies, including Addepar, OpenGov, insurance unicorn Oscar Health, Illumio, Radius, Hyperloop One and Wish, which has a valuation reportedly well above $3 billion as of additional funding in late 2016. In addition to his work in entrepreneurship & venture capital, Joe is also the Chairman of California Common Sense, a non-profit dedicated to opening government to the public & educating citizens about how government works. In this conversation with IVY’s Co-founder, Beri Meric, Joe explained how entrepreneurship can help fix large industries and solve complex problems in an impactful way. Please enjoy our conversation, with Joe Lonsdale. And remember to visit IVY.com to enjoy access to a lifetime of learning, growth, and impact through in-person collaborations with world-class leaders, thinkers, and institutions.  

#56: How to Create a Great Brand & Culture to Build a Scalable Venture featuring the Founder of LAUNCH & CEO of M.Gemi, Ben Fischman

Ben is a serial entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience launching and building successful companies, including Rue La La, one of the earliest players in the digital private sale space, and SmartBargains.com, the off-price e-commerce marketplace. Ben founded his first venture, LIDS Corporation, in 1993 as a junior at Boston University. He eventually sold the company in 2001. Ben was also the first entrepreneur-in-residence at General Catalyst Partners, a premier venture capital firm that invests in innovative, technology-based companies. In this illuminating discussion, Ben reveals the entrepreneurial tools necessary to pioneer revolutionary concepts across diverse industries and build companies that change the way people shop, think, and live. Please enjoy our conversation, with Ben Fischman. -- This episode of the IVY Podcast is brought to you by Instasleep.  Attaining quality sleep is key to a healthy lifestyle and vital in achieving success. Plenty of research has shown the indisputable benefits of getting a good night’s rest. InstaSleep is a drug-free quick melt sleep aid that is gluten-free, kosher and non-habit forming. They taste great, and help you fall asleep faster without “morning grogginess”. An indispensable travel essential for busy professionals, frequent travelers and jet-setters alike, InstaSleep helps counter jet lag and sleep deprivation caused by time zone changes. IVY Podcast listeners get 18% off by using promo code IVYsleep at checkout on Amazon. Learn more on their website www.upgradeyoursleep.com. Upgrade your sleep and take on the day!  

#55: How to Live Authentically Featuring Activist & World’s Greatest Athlete, Caitlyn Jenner

In 1976, Caitlyn Jenner broke the world decathlon record at the Olympic Games in Montreal, and earned the title of "World’s Greatest Athlete." Forty years later, she captured the world’s attention again when she revealed that she is a transgender woman during an ABC News special with Diane Sawyer. Caitlyn was named Barbara Walters’ Most Fascinating Person of the Year in 2015, runner-up for the 2015 Person of the Year, Out Magazine’s 2015 Newsmaker of the Year and one of Glamour Magazine’s Women of the Year. In April of 2017, Caitlyn shared her story in her memoir The Secrets of My Life, co-authored by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Buzz Bissinger. During an IVY Idea’s Night in Los Angeles, IVY’s Sarah Zapp sat down with Caitlyn to discuss her incredible journey and about life post-transition. Please enjoy our conversation, with Caitlyn Jenner.  -- This episode of the IVY Podcast is brought to you by Instasleep.  Attaining quality sleep is key to a healthy lifestyle and vital in achieving success. Plenty of research has shown the indisputable benefits of getting a good night’s rest. InstaSleep is a drug-free quick melt sleep aid that is gluten-free, kosher and non-habit forming. They taste great, and help you fall asleep faster without “morning grogginess”. An indispensable travel essential for busy professionals, frequent travelers and jet-setters alike, InstaSleep helps counter jet lag and sleep deprivation caused by time zone changes. IVY Podcast listeners get 18% off by using promo code IVYsleep at checkout on Amazon. Learn more on their website www.upgradeyoursleep.com. Upgrade your sleep and take on the day!