Innovation City

“I see so much potential and opportunity for women entrepreneurs, and I’m just passionate about supporting women, who the research shows, women entrepreneurs tend to be undersupported.” -Erin Joy Today’s guest is Erin Joy, CEO at Black Dress Circle and Fuel to Fire, where she works with women entrepreneurs to help launch and grow their businesses. Erin Joy has twenty-five years of experience as a self-employed entrepreneur and is finishing her PhD in Business Psychology. In this episode, Erin sits down with the team to discuss her journey of personal growth, the importance of supporting female entrepreneurs, the intersection of well-being and success, and much more!

“We need to understand that our ability to truly inspire, collaborate, create, innovate, adapt to change, drive change, those are the superpowers of not just the future, but right now.”-Amy Gwin Today’s guest is Amy Gwin, Director of Client Engagement at Chapman & Co. Leadership Institute. Born from their parent company, Barry-Wehmiller, Chapman & Co. helps businesses worldwide embrace a more human-centered organizational culture. Amy Gwin has a deep understanding of the emerging workforce, which she utilizes to drive change within organizations. In this episode, Gwin sits down with the team to discuss the shift towards conscious capitalism, strategies for infusing values into businesses, and how human-centered models are the key to the future of capitalism.

“Ice cream is the most emotionally-powered food that we have, and it makes people happy.” -Tamara Keefe Today's guest is Tamara Keefe, the self-proclaimed "Flavor Temptress" and owner of Clementine's Naughty & Nice Ice Cream. Tamara used her tech background and her family's Sunday ice-cream making tradition to create an innovative and award-winning micro-creamery that's changing the industry. In this episode, Tamara sits down with the team to discuss her humble upbringing, Clementine's creative ice cream flavors like alcohol-infused chocolate cabernet, and her undying love for St. Louis.

“If you actually want to be successful you've got to know when to be the guy, and when to step away and let somebody else be the guy.” -Ed Herman Today’s guest is Ed Herman, attorney and managing partner at Brown & Crouppen, a personal injury law firm in St. Louis. Ed is not your typical lawyer; he’s also the creator and host of “Ed Versus,” an award-winning original tv show on BCTV. In this episode, Ed Herman sits down with the team to discuss how to stand out in a sea of sameness, the importance of being genuine in your advertising, brand affection, and much more! 

“I’m going to care about the people that I’m working with as human beings, and if they’re doing well and if they’re really driven in their businesses, that’s what’s going to make for a successful business and turnaround.” -Judy Sindecuse Today’s guest is Judy Sindecuse, CEO at Capital Innovators, whose top-ranking Accelerator Program provides startups with the resources they need to succeed. Judy Sindercuse is a visionary leader with a proven track record of starting profitable companies. In this episode, Sindercuse sits down with the team to discuss how Capital Innovators went from a small nonprofit to one of the top 5 accelerators in the country, the strength of the St. Louis community, and what it takes for a city to build a culture of innovation!

“Even if you didn’t do it right, you can still be forgiven; you can still move forward.” -Kenny DeShields Today's guest is Kenny DeShields, a singer-songwriter from St. Louis who recently released his first full-length album, The Real Love Project. Grammy Award-winning artist, Courtney Orlando, produced DeShield's new album, and his wife, Christia, co-wrote the songs. In this episode, Kenny DeShields sits down with the team to discuss his musical journey, the trauma he has overcome to get where he is today, and the faith that got him there.

Nature started to find her balance when we slowed down. I hope we don’t forget those lessons. - Suzanne Jewell Welcome to Season 4 of Innovation City (The Miami Edition), a podcast featuring innovators, creators, and disruptors to discover how business is changing in the modern world. Created and produced by SLAM! Agency and Aīre Ventures, Innovation City gives you an inside look at how rapidly business and culture are changing thanks to increasing diversity and inclusion, heightened creativity, and a stronger and better-connected business community. Today’s guest is Suzanne Jewell, founder of The Mindful Entrepreneur. Suzanne is also a wellness coach, hosts a radio show, Mindful Mornings Miami, and many other hats in the mindfulness/wellness space. Suzanne sits down with the team to discuss Suzanne’s mindfulness journey, the human nervous system evolution, her mindful pocket park practice, and much more!  They discuss: Suzanne’s superpower Her capacity to pay attention She has hyperfocus abilities This ap

I guess I was kind of used to that, I was used to being the only woman in the room, and it didn’t really bother me. I was just like, ‘I’ll just have to try harder, and do better.’ I had a lot of guy friends, and I think I kind of thrived in that atmosphere. - Amy Renshaw Today’s guest is Amy Renshaw, founder and CEO of Code/Art, a non-profit using art to inspire girls to become future coders and computer programmers. Amy has undergrad and graduate degrees from MIT, as well as an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management. In this episode, Amy sits down with the team to discuss gender disparity in the tech world, Code/Art’s programs and offerings, the future of tech in Miami, and much more!

One of the kind of interesting things about design strategy and the design-thinking philosophy is that you don’t conceive an idea in a vacuum, you conceive an idea with your ultimate end customer. So, you, in a sense reverse-engineer into it based on the needs of the market. - Tony Jimenez Today’s guest is Tony Jimenez, co-founder and CFO of JOI, which stands for “just one ingredient,” a plant-based food and beverage company. Tony is also managing director for Medina Capital, a growth tech venture capital fund. In this episode, Tony sits down with the team to discuss Tony’s experiences in the entrepreneurial space, the process of bringing JOI products to market, the nutritional value of plant-based food products, and much more!

Quite honestly journalism is all about curiosity, at the end of the day. I think, you do this work again, we consider ourselves part of the ecosystem, and helping to tell the stories. - Sherrell Dorsey Today’s guest is Sherrell Dorsey, founder and CEO of The Plug, a digital news and insights platform covering the Black innovation economy. Sherrell has also served as marketing manager for companies like Uber and Google Fiber, and has a Master's in data journalism from Columbia University. In this episode, Sherrell sits down with the team to discuss her innovation journey, what she’s learned about the industry, what she’s most proud of, and much more!

“If we could just see each other as equals, regardless of what country you live, what your job is, what kind of house you have. At the end of the day, we love the same things: Our family, and our hope for the future for ourselves or our children. That’s what I see when I travel.” - Nathalie Cadet-James Today’s guest is Nathalie Cadet-James, founder and CEO at Luxe Fête Social, a luxury dinner-party-in-a-box curation and delivery service. Nathalie is a designer and international event planner. In this episode, Nathalie sits down with the team to discuss her journey to entrepreneurship, how problems are solved over dinner parties, the secret to the lost art of truly connecting, and much more!

If you just continue down the pathway, people will always appreciate hard work, in my belief. - Evan Leaphart Today’s guest is Evan Leaphart, founder of Kiddie Kredit, the chore-tracking app that helps kids learn real-world lessons about money and credit. Evan combines a passion for financial literacy and innovation with a commitment to solving real-world problems in his community. In this episode, Evan sits down with the team to discuss the reasons kids need to really understand credit early on, how Kiddie Kredit scored a partnership with Equifax, experience as knowledge capital, and much more!

What it all boils down to at the end of the day, it’s all about relationships.Especially when it comes from a sales perspective. People do business with who they know, like and trust. Derrick Miles Today’s guest is Derrick Miles, founder and CEO of CourMed, an innovative healthcare delivery service. Derrick is also the founder of TMB Equity Partner and a multiple patented inventor. In this episode, Derrick sits down with the team to discuss how CourMed came to be, what’s unique about the CourMed platform, the value of social capital and much more!

Today’s guest is Daniel Uribe, CEO and co-founder of Genobank.io, a digital wallet for genetic data. Daniel combined his cybersecurity and blockchain background with a personal experience to come up with the idea for Genobank. In this episode, Daniel sits down with the team to discuss how he broke with his family and got into tech, his inspiration for Genobank, the potential applications for a DNA blockchain and much more!

The more you put into things, the more you get good out of them. It really is true in all things, and in business, too. - Chris Adamo Today’s guest is Chris Adamo, chief business officer at WhereBy.Us, an experiential media tech company that creates technology platforms, tools, content and local publication, and their newsletter platform, Letterhead. Chris is a successful investor, and prides himself on his “bridge-building” abilities. In this episode, Chris sits down with the team to discuss the way he connects people, his views on the curation process, what he would do if he didn’t have to work, and much more! 

“Don’t start a company with a plan to exit. That’s not what it’s about. Join a company because you want to build something that’s going to have impact.” - Lila de la Chesnaye Today’s guest is Lila de la Chesnaye, general manager of Hunt Club, a talent recruitment organization leveraging networks and social connection. Lila is a Miami Tech enthusiast who is passionate about scaling mission-driven, tech-forward, customer-centric companies. Lila sits down with the team to discuss her entrepreneurial journey, the challenges facing startups, and how to build meaningful relationships both in person and by email, and much more!

“Sometimes if you have that kind of intense belief, you can sort of make it happen.” - Bill Harris Today’s guest is Bill Harris, CEO of Nirvana, an early-stage digital consumer financial services firm In Miami Beach. Bill has been in the tech/financial/cybersecurity space for over 30 years, and has started or run 11 companies. In this episode, Bill sits down with the team to discuss his career and story, his new venture in Miami, disrupting the personal banking industry, and much more!    

“You have to trust yourself.... Trust your intuition. Perhaps you’re wrong, perhaps you’re right. But I think that you will never regret having listened to your intuition and gone for it, even when you’re wrong.” - Gabriela Sabate Today’s guest is Gabriela Sabate, Founder & CEO of Health Semantics, which combines digital health and remote monitoring in clinical workflows to prevent chronic conditions like diabetes and hypertension. Gabriela is an entrepreneur with 25 years in venture creation and operations, and she is passionate about innovation. In this episode, Gabriela sits down with the team to discuss how she got into the healthtech industry, the many more things we can do with technology, how to identify the right team members, and much more!

“We believe that the more that people activate their power, the more that we’re all better off. And if we can activate that power toward new systems (education, economic, health and justice systems), we can really create a world where everyone’s thriving.” – Charli Cooksey Today’s guest is Charli Cooksey, the Founder & CEO of WEPOWER, a social startup that activates community power to re-design education, economic, health, and justice systems to be just and equitable for all. Charli is an accidental educator and a champion of her St. Louis community. In this episode, Charli sits down with the team to discuss colorism and representation bias, the two distinct and disparate parts of St. Louis, finding personal balance, and much more!

“I want people to back away from, ‘Okay well this is the way it’s always been done,’ to ‘We know that the initial thesis was flawed in that it was using a flawed theory,’ i.e structural racism and everything that goes along with that.” – Marvin Wilmoth Today’s guest is Marvin Wilmoth, Managing Principal & Co-founder at Generation Development Group, a real estate development group which focuses on utilizing the social determinants of health as drivers of the built environment. Marvin also serves as Vice Mayor and Harbor Island Commissioner for North Bay Village, FL. In this episode, Marvin sits down with the team to discuss his community work through local politics, the Generation community model, countering the systematic disinvestment in underprivileged neighborhoods, and much more!