Innovation City

“It’s not a business that I’m building for myself. That business builds a community for everybody—it builds a new city—and we’re building it for everyone.” — Anastasia Mikhalochkina   Today’s guest is Anastasia Mikhalochkina, Founder at Lean Orb. Anastasia is an advocate for sustainability in South Florida. Lean Orb offers food service packaging made from plant-based materials, with a goal of ultimately replacing plastic and styrofoam with greener, more sustainable options. Anastasia joins Innovation City to talk about building better single-use products, educating consumers about sustainability, and her goal of helping Miami become a zero-waste city.

“Making entrepreneurship accessible… can be an incredible way of driving economic development.” — Natalia Martinez-Kalinina   Today’s guest is Natalia Martinez-Kalinina, General Manager of CIC Miami and Latin America Lead of CIC Global. Natalia is also the Founder of Awesome Foundation MIAMI, a micro-grant leader in South Florida, Co-Founder of Aminta Ventures, and she was appointed by Governor Rick Scott to serve on the Florida Commission on Community Service. She is also the Co-Creator and Curator of Love Lost, Miami, an annual art exhibit. Natalia joins Innovation City today to talk about the advantages that Miami offers as a major hub for innovation, the power of cross-stakeholder engagement, and the importance of making entrepreneurship accessible at all levels of society.

“Work. Perfect and present your craft. And just keep putting your love into it.” — Mvstermind   Today’s guest is St. Louis Hip Hop Artist, Muhammad “Mvstermind” Austin. Mvstermind is a rapper, producer and songwriter who is about to take the hip hop world by storm. He’s toured over 20,000 miles; opened for Travis Scott, Chance the Rapper, G-Eazy, and Currency; and played at  A3C, SXSW, and Brooklyn’s MCA Day. His breakout video, Mali Moolah, brought him his first taste of national attention when it debuted in 2016, and he’s currently gearing up to drop his debut project. He sits down with the Innovation Team to talk about finding himself as an artist and a human being, and how that growth continues to inform his work. Find Mvstermind on Apple Music, Spotify, Pandora, and anywhere you get your music.

“It starts with a why: why are you doing it? Are you actually passionate about doing it, or is it just a job?” — Mark Prendergast   Today’s guest is Mark Prendergast, President of AB Mauri North America. Headquartered in St. Louis, ABMNA is the largest division of AB Mauri, the global yeast and baking ingredients business. AB Mauri is also home to AB Biotek, a yeast innovation startup. Mark has over 20 years in the baking industry and he is also a non-executive director of Bridge Bread Bakery, a St. Louis-based nonprofit bakery that provides job opportunities for people experiencing homelessness or who are housing insecure. Mark sits down with our team to talk about the baking industry at large, his time working at startups in the early 2000s, the importance of developing a passion for your work, and the power of fully-engaged employees.

“The world which women will be leading will look like a harmonious, collaborative, calm, peaceful world.” — Farzana Chohan   Today’s guest is Farzana Chohan, DMGT-ABD, Executive Director at Leadership IN Women. Farzana is a futurist and a global leader in nonprofit development, management, and design. A published author, accomplished Toastmaster speaker, and Doctor of Management, Farzana’s work focuses on Mentorship and Leadership. She shares the story of her professional development, what drew her into the fields of mentorship and leadership, and why women are often better equipped for leadership in today’s world than men.

“If it’s crazy, run for it — do it… You don’t get a lot of crazy visions." — Genera Moore   Today’s guest is Genera Moore, Founder of Motorparts Nation. Motorparts Nation is a U.S.-based company that exports aftermarket auto parts to Africa. Genera also took Lexani Motorcars to dealerships in Dubai through the Deals on Wheels program, and recently launched Tano Travel a travel company for tourists visiting West Africa.

“I always say 95% of companies fail, 75% of companies who go through accelerators succeed. That’s kind of the new way of entrepreneurship.” — Dan Lauer Today’s guest is Dan Lauer, Founding Executive Director of UMSL Accelerate. Dan is also the founder of Lauer Toys and the inventor of Waterbabies. UMSL Accelerate is working to change the university’s culture by giving students a way to test and grow their entrepreneurial dreams. Dan sits down with Tyler and Michael to talk about his own entrepreneurial path, the power of failure, the best time to take a chance on your dreams, what you can learn from a rejection letter, and much more.

“One of the challenges people face with information and data really is – you kind of don’t know how important things are… and it becomes really difficult to decide where to allocate your attention.” — William MacMillan   Today’s guest is William MacMillan, Ph.D., CTO & Co-Founder of Prattle. Bill joins Innovation City to discuss the development of the field of data science, Prattle’s role in bringing attention to under-researched central banks and large companies in countries all over the world, and the value of statistical reasoning.

“Whenever you find that thing that wakes you up in the morning, that thing that you cannot live without, you have to commit yourself to it.” — Rikki Byrd Today’s guest is writer, educator, and scholar, Rikki Byrd. Rikki’s academic focuses include Black studies, visual culture, fashion history, and cultural studies. Most recently, Rikki was a faculty member at Washington University, where she created new courses on the intersections of fashion and race. In the Fall of 2018 she will begin her Ph.D. in African American Studies at Northwestern University in Chicago.

“It’s all about developing horizontal relationships and creating an innovation community. The buildings will come if you create the community of innovators.” — Dennis Lower   Today’s guest is Dennis Lower, President & CEO of the Cortex Innovation Community. Dennis has been involved in technology-based economic development since 1995, planning and developing university-sponsored urban innovation districts in Louisiana and New Jersey before coming to the Cortex. Dennis sits down with Tyler and Michael to talk about what makes a good innovation district, how they get built, and how to incorporate a variety of different environments to design a dynamic, porous, vibrant community that sparks ideas and allows entrepreneurs to thrive.   The Cortex Innovation Community is the Midwest’s premier hub for research and innovation in the fields of bioscience and technology. It is also the home of Venture Cafe St. Louis, the largest gathering of entrepreneurs and innovators anywhere in the world, any day of the week. Ve

“It’s kind of the idea of what the internet should have been… but now we’re actually building it.” — Sam Abbassi Today’s guest is Sam Abbassi, Partner at BUSHIDO Lab. A software engineer with a background in neuroscience and economics, Sam leads blockchain initiatives at BUSHIDO, where he works with a small team to turn Miami into the epicenter of blockchain and cryptocurrency technologies. He joins us to talk about where blockchain technology is now, where it’s going, and the specific struggles of being a small business working in crypto.

“Your heart telling you to do something—and you following through—is an act of building your self-confidence.” — Heather Monahan Today’s guest is Heather Monahan, Founder of Boss in Heels. Heather’s first career was a successful 20-year stint in media and sales that ended with a surprise termination. As she wrestled with what to do next, she chose to devote herself completely to helping women take control of their careers, taking Boss in Heels to the next level. Heather is the author of the best-selling book, Confidence Creator, which she wrote to serve as the resource for other women that she wished she had as a young professional. A Glass Ceiling Award recipient, Heather is also a keynote speaker and social media influencer. Find Heather on all social media platforms at @HeatherMonahan and find Confidence Creator on Amazon.

“What does ‘success’ mean? If you wake up and you feel happy about what you’re doing in your life; that’s success. That’s how I define it. And I feel happy about what I’m doing.” — Pilar Guzman Zavala Today’s guest is Pilar Guzman Zavala, CEO at Half Moon Empanadas. Half Moon Empanadas is a serious innovator in the food space, offering 20+ flavors of Argentinian empanadas, and leading the charge to create a whole new food category in the national fast-casual market. Pilar is also a mentor at WINlab Miami, FIU Startup Food Lab, a board member at Venture Cafe Miami, and a Fellow at The Miami Foundation.

“You need to have the right people at the table, because you have to have a shared value and a shared vision. Without that, you’re not going to get the job done.” — Janisse Rosario-Schoepp Today’s guest is Janisse Rosario-Schoepp, M.P.H., Ph.D., the Vice President of Operations and Strategy at Health Foundation of South Florida. She also recently attended the Young American Leaders Program at Harvard Business School. Janisse plays a critical role in the Health Foundation’s work to improve the health and economic well-being of communities in South Florida. She joins us today to talk about the social determinants of individual and community health, the changing role of foundations in redeveloping communities, how important it is to think about health when thinking about development, the differences between redevelopment and gentrification, and how to build up opportunities in order to eradicate health disparities in minority communities.

“It seems like it’s in the future... but the future is here, the future is now. It’s actually happening. It’s happening in pockets.” — Nicole Denil Today’s guest is Nicole Denil, GM of Global Channel Sales for Internet of Things at Microsoft. Nicole has extensive experience in both corporate and startup environments, working in marketing, sales, product development and partner development in the fields of cloud computing and IOT. Nicole sits down with our team to talk about building cutting-edge technologies, the power of tech to make the world a better place, and to share some insider examples of next-generation technologies available now.

Sweat equity. It’s the blood, sweat, and tears that you put into a project that really offers the trust and the appreciation of the people that you are doing this for. — Farris Bukhari   Today’s guest is Farris Bukhari, Founder and Creative Director of 10b live arts incubator, Inc. Farris is a multi-disciplinary theater practitioner with over 20 years of experience as a writer, actor, director, producer, coach, and workshop leader. Farris sits down with the Innovation City team to talk about building a unique and vibrant live arts community in Miami, Miami’s incredible cultural wealth, and how his own background growing up in Jordan inspired the development of 10b.

“It took seven years to sell the first million electric cars here in the U.S. But at this rate of growth, it will take only two more years to sell the second million.” — Alejandro Burgana   Today’s guest is Alejandro Burgana, President and CEO of Brickell Energy and Founder of OBE Power Networks. Alejandro is building the commercial electric vehicle charging infrastructure in South Florida. He shares his insights on the rapidly changing economic models of electric vehicles and charging stations.

“I was like, ‘Well, why doesn’t something like this exist? Why don’t I take it upon myself?’” — Mikhaile Solomon Today’s Innovation City guest is Mikhaile Solomon, Founder and Director of the Prizm Art Fair, which promotes the work of contemporary artists from Africa and the global African Diaspora. Mikhaile received her BA in Theatre Arts from the University of South Florida and her Master’s of Architecture from Florida International University. She joins Innovation City to talk about some of her favorite contemporary artists, how Prizm provides a place for artists who can’t find representation, and how she works to challenge the exclusionary behaviors of art history.

“I wanted to make sure kids knew that they could make it.” — Tina Brown Tina Brown is the Executive Director of the Overtown Youth Center, a Mourning Family Foundation charity. Tina is also a Co-Chairperson of the Overtown Children & Youth Coalition, Co-Chairperson of the Equity Advocacy Coalition, and a Board Member of both the Commonwealth Institute and Urban Philanthropies. Tina sits down with the Innovation City team to talk about her journey and how she uses her own experience to help disadvantaged youth discover the options that are available to them and improve their lives.

“I know who I was when I was playing video games, and why I was playing them, and that’s the guy I’m rooting for.” — Brandon Curry Today’s episode was recorded at 39 North at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, and today’s guest is Brandon Curry, Founding Partner of Moonbase Market. Moonbase Market is the first E-sports arena in St. Louis.  Located in the Soulard neighborhood, Moonbase provides a physical arena for playing and spectating tabletop and video game competitions. Brandon joins us to talk about the power of video games to help create friendships and build community.