Beth Medina of Proof Skin Solutions: Five Things You Need To Know To Succeed In The Modern Beauty…

Beth Medina of Proof Skin Solutions: Five Things You Need To Know To Succeed In The Modern Beauty Industry

Don’t act your age! My husband and I practice this everyday. Live the age you feel. We are both in our 50’s and still compete and win body building competitions. We are in the gym 2 hours a day. We mountain and road bike and we take life as an adventure every chance we can get.

As a part of our series about how technology will be changing the beauty industry over the next five years, I had the pleasure of interviewing Beth Medina.

Two years ago, at age 52, Beth began competing in women’s physique competitions. She won her professional status in her second amateur competition and was selected to represent the USA in Barcelona, Spain at the 2019 Arnold Classic Europe. She was one of the few natural athletes to participate and she placed 6th in the world! Beth is also the National Gym Association’s reigning 2019 Ms. Pro Universe for Women’s Pro Physique in the NGA Pro Universe Championships in Coral Springs, Florida.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

Health and fitness are very important to me. My husband and I both compete in physique body building competitions. So, I have to strive to keep myself in tip top shape. Like my body, I have always taken exceptional care of my skin through exercise, diet and a great skincare regimen since I was an adolescent. The older I got, it seems the more expensive skincare became and store associates were pushing not just a cleanser, moisturizer and eye cream, but also a night cream, and several different varieties of serums. It became overwhelming. Store associates telling me I had to use 5 different products in order to achieve flawless skin, which is SO deceptive! I feel the majority of skincare companies have been taking advantage of women….and men, making them feel that if you don’t use 5 different products(and spend 100’s, 1,000’s of dollars, you would not be able to achieve beautiful complexion. I had spent thousands of dollars on over priced and over hyped skincare that did not work.For the past 25 years, I had been using a very well known Vitamin C, E Ferulic Serum on my skin. Its quite expensive at $166.00 per bottle. I couldn’t believe that I was paying so much money for 1 single product. My husband(who was retired at the time) had owned and sold several companies and encouraged me to start researching skincare ingredients, along with chemists and labs. My goal was to make a product that was similar to the Vitamin CE Ferulic serum…but at a much more affordable price that everyone could afford. Well, what happened was we formulated a product that blew away that leading serum! We created a youth restoring hybrid serum…it goes on like a lotion, but is lightweight and absorbs into the skin( you can actually feel the 4 peptides working) . It gives the skin a youthful, hydrated glow, without feeling oily or greasy. We decided to move forward with a skincare line made for all skin types, all ages and ethnisticites. I feel everyone should have access to excellent skincare, that’s why my goal was to create a line affordable for everyone, but still be effective and better than the most expensive luxury brand on the market. We named our company Proof Skin Solutions.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

The answer to this begins prior to stepping down this career path. I knew certain products worked for me and after years of using them became obsessed in learning about their properties and WHY they worked. I learned that while some products worked as stated, others didn’t yet they had the same ingredients. Self-education combined with frustration of products not performing as advertised led to knowing I could combine the BEST ingredients, or even newest tested ingredients, into comprehensive beauty formulations.

Are you able to identify a “tipping point” in your career when you started to see success? Did you start doing anything different? Are there takeaways or lessons that others can learn from that?

We’re new. We’re aggressive. We’ve seen success thus far through our trials and our trial subjects. We’ve listened, fine tuned and will continue to listen always to all of our customers. We can’t grow better without them. Our success will come, one product at a time, one repeating client at a time. That’s right, we will grow our base with repeat customers via outstanding product that delivers. My advice would be know your goals and how long you have to meet them or reevaluate. This may seem straight forward and simple, but it is very powerful. Skincare is a very competitive and saturated market. However, an outstanding product that cannot be found anywhere, can make ones acceptance much smoother in the industry. For me, concentrating on combining only the best highly concentrated ingredients into one powerhouse serum, has given me a path to follow. It empowers me to know that our company can provide multi-correctional, multi-tasking, highly effective products that not only save money, but save time and the end result is a beautiful, vibrant, hydrated complexion.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person to whom you are grateful who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

I am very grateful for the wisdom my mother, Linda White gave me growing up. I can remember when I was a little girl, watching my mother wash her face with Irma Shorell and then applying her Ponds cold cream. She always took care of her skin and it showed…it still does. She taught me that if you look good, you feel good. Not always true, but I so appreciate everything she taught me.

Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. The beauty industry today has access to technology that was inconceivable only a short time ago. Can you tell us about the “cutting edge” (pardon the pun) technologies that you are working with or introducing? How do you think that will help people?

When you’ve been a consumer in the industry you have ventured into as a new developer/manufacturer, you can’t help but think you can do “it” better. The “It” being finding a better way to make products for the issue you’re attempting to successfully treat. For us, and using an industry staple as an example, let’s look at Vitamin C. Vitamin C has long been used as the standard for aiding skin’s natural regeneration process. While there are many types of Vitamin C, it seems that the most popular in use happens to be also the most unstable, L-ascorbic acid. L-ascorbic acid will oxidize & breakdown if exposed to air, heat or sunlight. We have opted to introduce 5 stable forms of Vitamin C into our serum along with other leading edge ingredients such as Glutathione and PGA or Polyglutamic Acid, the latter of which is 10 times more hydrating than hyaluronic acid. This makes it the first Vitamin C Serum that has a focus on stable Vitamin C forms AND combining it with other hydrating, repairing, restorative ingredients — We call it a “hybrid serum.” Everything you need in a skin care routine, in one step. The other piece of new beauty technology is the bottle — Most Vitamin C serum products come in a dropper exposing it to air and light. We’ve encased our face serums and eye cream in airless bottles for freshness and longer home shelf life. This made Proof Skin Solutions Hybrid Serum the first of its kind with regard to ingredient technology and airless bottle. The other neat aspect is efficiency and simplicity — it’s a one step serum that hydrates, brightens, tightens, reduces appearance of dark spots, evens skin tone, etc. and makes your skin so soft! It goes on like a lotion — and if you wanted to simplify your routine — you really only need this one serum.

Keeping “Black Mirror” and the “Law of Unintended Consequences” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?

Individuals who opt to treat or remedy what they view as a flaw know exactly what they want to attain from a treatment or procedure. They will have a number of options open to them. The route we provide is the least invasive, most affordable, and can be performed at home. Every ingredient we use has a study/studies behind it with proven results. In other words, we only use tested and approved ingredients. In pursuit of maintaining youth we are constantly improving not only our outward appearance through use of cosmetics, serums and eventually cosmetic surgeries, but have found ways to regain youthful movement by replacing joints within our bodies. We do this to be “accepted” within our societies when in reality I believe we do this to be acceptable to our own self. Sometimes we can lose perspective and go beyond what is deemed healthy and natural, that becomes unsafe or obsessive, going too far. In the end we are going to do what makes YOU feel & look better, we need to be open minded and heed the advice of the professionals we surround ourselves with, like minded or not!

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the “beauty-tech” industry?

Options. Options. Options!

Whether you choose to use a serum, make a choice between which laser to use, inject a solution or go under the knife, the way we treat what we perceive to be our problem areas has become almost limitless. Every procedure or solution evolves eventually into something better, which is why we are now here.

Can you share 3 things that most concern you about the industry? If you had the ability to implement 3 ways to reform or improve the industry, what would you suggest?

Watered down products. False claims. Inadequate training. Tainted/Unsanitary samples due to inadequate sample distribution in brick & mortar retail.

You asked for 3 but I couldn’t help but add one more peeve. The first, watered down products, comes from the experience of taking advantage of discounts offered by sellers of botox or similar products and come away with less than expected results due to diluted product: seller/provider trying to maximize profits. Tamper resistant delivery system from manufacturer may mitigate or even eliminate this problem. The second, false claims, costs consumers untold amounts and leaves them frustrated, feeling ripped-off. Every product offered should be able to provided study results and organization performing said study for claims made. Inadequate training leaves consumers bruised, scarred or damaged in some way, even if it may be temporary, and wary of ever seeking help again! Mentors need to be assigned and sign-offs attained for public display before treatments of any kind can be conducted involving touch/contact to face or skin. Follow-up by mentor or other reviewer should be performed. How many times have you used a product in a store where ANYONE can access and distribute that product?! When it comes to bottles or jars literally anything is used to access the product: Q-tip, tissue, cotton swab, fingers! No sampling of product should take place without proven or supervised procedure; i.e., no open easily accessed container!

You are an expert about beauty. Can you share 5 ideas that anyone can use “to feel beautiful”?

  1. Break a sweat! Get some exercise and move your beautiful body! You will not only feel beautiful, you will feel great! Get an endorphin high!
  2. Don’t act your age! My husband and I practice this everyday. Live the age you feel. We are both in our 50’s and still compete and win body building competitions. We are in the gym 2 hours a day. We mountain and road bike and we take life as an adventure every chance we can get.
  3. Make love…no explanation need.
  4. Get enough sleep. I know what lack of sleep does for my appearance, not to mention my mental health. For me, a good nights sleep is like a mini facelift.
  5. Express gratitude. Be grateful for everything and everyone you have. The few complaints you may have about your appearance, is nothing compared to the amount of blessings that surround you.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

If I could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, it would be self love and living a healthy lifestyle. From having low self esteem to being ashamed of your body. If we can learn to love and appreciate ourselves for what we are and treat our body like the temple it is, I believe a lot of ones self doubt would dissipate.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“Don’t let age change you, change the way you age”. This is very relevant to me….I am almost 54 years young and I really feel like I am just starting to live! I love adventure and travel. I love going to the gym everyday and living a healthy lifestyle. My husband and I just started competing as Pro bodybuilders less than 2 years ago….and we are winning. Age is a number. If you take care of yourself, lead a healthy lifestyle, everything else will fall in place.

How can our readers follow you online?

www.proofskinsolutions.com
Instagram: @bethwhitemedina @proofskinsolutions @mugshot_skin_care
Facebook: Beth White Medina
Facebook: Proof Skin Solutions

Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.


Beth Medina of Proof Skin Solutions: Five Things You Need To Know To Succeed In The Modern Beauty… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Brandon Boyd of TBG Hemp: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis or…

Brandon Boyd of TBG Hemp: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis or CBD Business

Find a good mentor that is already successful in the industry. Sometimes, people are scared to ask for help, but relationships in the industry are important. You never know when you will need a favor, so never burn a bridge.

As part of my series about “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business” I had the pleasure of interviewing Brandon Boyd, president of TBG Hemp.

An agricultural farmer for more than 20 years and an educator in cannabis, Brandon Boyd founded TBG Hemp in 2019. TBG Hemp is a cultivator of boutique hemp flower, biomass and fiber, operating outdoors and in greenhouses. With a thorough understanding of the growing process, including genetics, methodology and growing conditions, the TBG Hemp team operates under full transparency and invites customers to witness the process firsthand.

TBG Hemp specializes in high-quality smokable flower that is grown in its greenhouses throughout Florida and New York, producing consistent and quality results. From seed to harvest, TBG Hemp provides a fresh supply of product year-round from a number of boutique genetics, including its popular Bubba Kush 59 from Zoe Therapeutics.

Through TBG Hemp, Boyd remains committed to education, conducting regular, onsite visits with fellow growers, law enforcement officials, and others seeking to fully understand both the science and legality behind cannabis farming and the products produced. A fifth-generation horticulturist, he grew up around foliage plants and palm trees, and has always had a passion for the technological side of the agricultural business.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you share with us the story about what brought you to this specific career path?

I grew up around plants my entire life. I spent a lot of summers traveling with my dad, who was a territory salesman for a soil company. Those experiences left an impression on me so being in a greenhouse feels like home to me. As long as I can remember, I have always been fascinated by little seeds and what they create. I started my own business at the age of 16, selling palm tree seeds to local nurseries around South Florida. Toward the end of college, I was selected for a very competitive internship at Epcot’s “The Land,” a working hydroponic greenhouse that produces fresh produce for the Walt Disney World Resort theme parks.

Over the next 12 years, I was a head grower for two large foliage companies in Florida. I then started a produce company with a childhood friend in 2009. We delivered what we grew to produce delivery companies in the winter months, traveling up and down the east coast from South Florida all the way to New York. We had always been these scrappy little guys, so we had to come up with ways to compete with the “big guys.” We had the capacity, due to our size and our ability to deliver fresh produce fast to our customers. We saw a need in the market where produce delivery companies needed fresh produce faster, and we helped fill that void.

When the 2018 Farm Bill was passed, one of my business partners, Tommy Vick, volunteered to help the University of Florida (UF) grow hemp in South Florida. That opened the door to what is now TBG Hemp. Dr. Zach Brym, who led the UF Pilot Program, later asked a few select growers if they would like to participate in a farm trial. We were one of the selected farms, and this allowed us to proceed to trial different genetics regardless if they’d been approved by the State of Florida or not. After our trial, we determined that Florida farmers needed better genetics, so we decided to team up with Zoe Therapeutics to grow their Bubba Kush, which has become our best-seller. We also saw the need for consistency in the current CBD flower market. We produce Bubba Kush in temperature-controlled greenhouses where we are able to control the environment by avoiding rain and humidity. This allows us to provide our customers with a consistent product year-round, which in turn allows us to offer more consistent pricing. We also have a state-of-the-art facility glass greenhouse in Riverhead, NY, which has allowed us to expand our reach and help with logistics.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

When we first started growing on a large scale in late 2019, we had many companies telling us they would buy thousands of pounds from us. This included some companies in Florida saying they would give us their amazing genetics and, if the flower was quality, they would be able to move thousands of pounds a month at a certain price. Needless to say, when the time came to buy our flower, we were told the market was flooded and they couldn’t move the flower they had us grow.

Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Don’t grow more than you are willing to throw away or sit on. In this market, the volatility is intense. Unless someone gives our company a deposit to grow for them, we will continue to grow at our speed and for that which we have sales. It’s unfortunate because there are a number of great farmers that just want to put in a good day’s work, be told what to grow and where to sell it, and eventually get paid for it. However, due to the current environment, after a farmer’s first season, they usually throw in the towel. We have to continue to stabilize the supply chain with consistency across the board, especially the farmers. Without them, no one would have product to sell.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting?

At the time, I didn’t think this was funny, however, looking back at the hemp genetics we started growing with compared to where we are now is eye opening. We started growing back in early 2019 with genetics that were suggested by one of our state pilot programs in Florida. Due to Florida statute, we had to grow state-certified genetics. We basically ended up buying approved genetics that hermed out (when female plants become hermaphrodite to self-pollinate) due to instability in the seed.

Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

In an emerging industry, you always have to deal with the balance between protecting the growers and consumers and allowing time for research. With hemp being my first heavily regulated industry, I learned that sometimes it is better to start small and perfect a product rather than trying to produce large quantities of hemp flower with genetics we have never used before.

Are you working on any exciting projects now?

We are currently doing R&D on a small scale to continue to understand and develop the supply chain in the Unites States as well other countries, to grow and process hemp for fiber. The possibilities with fiber are endless. It certainly isn’t cheap to experiment sometimes, but we believe it will be worth it further down the road.

How do you think that will help people?

Hemp fiber is currently being used for clothing, shoes, building materials. The hope is we can create a new economy where we are using hemp fiber as a resource for more beyond that.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are?

My dad, no doubt. I believe you have to build a good foundation in both your personal life and in business, and he laid that foundation for me. He passed away in August 2020, just as things were starting to get busy for us at TBG, which I wasn’t prepared for. He was my go-to guy for strategy and ideation. I am grateful for everything he taught me, and I continue to keep those lessons with me today.

Can you share a story?

As I mentioned earlier, my dad was a soil salesman, which involved making sure his customers were getting the right blends of soil they needed for the specific plants they were growing, he really understood the science of soil. He traveled often to visit his customers greenhouses and he would let me travel around with him after school if local and during the summer months on extended trips. I remember I was around 10 years old and he said to me, “Always do your best. What you plant now, you will harvest later.” I am always striving to do my best even though sometimes it is very difficult. All I can do is give myself a pep talk like my dad used to do and continue to be the best I can be in business and most importantly in my personal life.

This industry is young dynamic and creative. Do you use any clever and innovative marketing strategies that you think large legacy companies should consider adopting?

Our goal is to solve the problems that the industry is lacking and be the best at what we are selling. We create quality and consistency for our customers. This is achieved by having an experienced and dynamic team.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the Cannabis industry?

The three things that excite me the most about the cannabis industry is the state-of-the-art technology, the relationships and the unknown. The opportunities in the industry are endless.

Can you share 3 things that most concern you?

The three things that concern me the most are tracking, the supply chain and labor.

Can you share your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business”? Please share a story or example for each.

  1. Many people in the cannabis industry are focused solely on profits and how to make a quick buck. Beware of the scammers and the snake oil salesmen.
  2. Find a good mentor that is already successful in the industry. Sometimes, people are scared to ask for help, but relationships in the industry are important. You never know when you will need a favor, so never burn a bridge.
  3. Make sure you are prepared to pivot and be flexible because things literally change by the week in this industry.
  4. There are a lot of average cannabis companies out there. We realized from early on that it’s important to set your company apart from what everyone else is doing.
  5. Start as lean as possible and be realistic about your cash flow.

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?

People want to be respected. I believe many companies are focused on the money and they tend to forget about the human aspect of business. Often people are struggling in their personal life and they are expected to not bring that into the workplace. At TBG Hemp, we try to create a sense of family and understanding to provide a positive work environment.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

I try to live my life by this saying from Mother Teresa: “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” Do everything to the best of your abilities. It costs nothing to treat people with respect. If you have the ability to do one small act of kindness with love by all means plant that seed. You never know how that might shape that person’s future and what fruit it will bring to harvest.

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

For more information, visit www.tbghemp.com. We are also on Facebook at TBG Hemp. You can also follow us on Instagram at @tbggardens for our Florida farm and @peconicgrowers for our New York farm.

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!


Brandon Boyd of TBG Hemp: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis or… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Disruptors: Maria Karr of Rumore Beauty On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your…

Female Disruptors: Maria Karr of Rumore Beauty On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry

Nothing is impossible. My example for this comes from my recently discovered passion for running. While I’ve never been a runner, a bit more than four years ago I decided to give a treadmill at my local gym a shot.

As a part of our series about women who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Maria Karr.

Maria Karr is the founder of Rumore Beauty — the first Russian beauty store in the US. A former beauty industry executive, Maria spearheaded PR, communications and influencer marketing efforts for leading global beauty brands for the past 10 years. Born and raised in Russia, she’s been living in the US since 2007. In addition to her career in beauty, Maria has been teaching her signature course on PR and Communications at Baruch College, mentoring students, and running marathons in the US and abroad.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

I was born and raised in Russia and have been living in the US for the past 14 years, 10 of which I spent working in the beauty industry in New York City, leading PR and communications efforts for world-renowned and up-and-coming brands. Throughout my career, I’ve been fascinated with newness from around the world — products from Australia, Asia, Europe and other parts of the globe were easily accessible in the US. Although I loved seeing and trying all of those products, it made me wonder about beauty offerings from my home country. I felt that I’ve known so much about global beauty trends and innovation, but there hasn’t been anything said about Russian beauty.

When I left Russia back in 2007, the beauty scene there wasn’t something that could’ve interested a sophisticated beauty lover from abroad. Very few Russian-made products were available, and they didn’t have an appeal of beauty products we know and love today — think creams in plain aluminum tubes and harsh soaps. So, it made me curious — was the lack of information about Russian beauty the sign of lack of actual products available or was it something else? I couldn’t stop wondering what the beauty scene in Russia was like these days.

I decided to investigate during my then-upcoming trip to Moscow and stop by a few local beauty stores. To my surprise, I discovered many Russia born and made products that I haven’t heard of before. Driven by my curiosity, I couldn’t resist squeezing all of the tubes and twisting jars open to try the formulas. I was fascinated with everything that I was seeing and what I’ve found absolutely exceeded my expectations. I discovered a broad variety of natural beauty products that looked amazing, smelled great and felt wonderful on the skin. While I was excited about this eye-opening discovery, that left me puzzled even more as to why no one in the US talked about Russian beauty.

When I got back to New York, I started paying closer attention to the global beauty conversation thinking that I might have missed something. After a few months of research, leaving no stones unturned, I came to the conclusion that there hasn’t been much said or written about Russian beauty and modern brands that were popular in my home country.

That’s when I got a thought — if no one was talking about Russian beauty, I should start this conversation and introduce these and other beauty gems from my home country to the US consumers. And that’s how the idea of launching the first Russian beauty store in the US — Rumore Beauty — was born. My husband Max loved the opportunity to reconnect with our Russian heritage and bring Russian skincare stateside, so he joined me on this international beauty journey.

Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?

We’re the first and only Russian beauty store in the US. Up until now, people in the US and other countries have been associating Russia with politics, cold weather and, occasionally, ballet or other forms of fine art. However, the modern culture of my home country hasn’t been accessible or widely known to many. While Russia sparks curiosity and visiting the country is a bullet point on the bucket list, it hasn’t been as explored as other European countries and there’s still so much to unveil.

At Rumore Beauty, we’re shifting the narrative and offering US consumers an opportunity to discover Russia from a different side, through the world of beauty.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

We’re just starting out, so I anticipate many more mistakes, funny and not so much, in the near future. One of the most important things that I’ve learned along the way was the cultural differences of doing business in the US and in Russia — that includes email etiquette, communication channels and pace. Since I’ve been living in the US for the past 14 years and established my professional career here, I got used to the New York way of doing business, where things are moving fast, and decisions are made quickly. I’m sure I came across as a very intense businessperson, expecting answers and decisions from our brand partners in a day or two. Turned out, things are usually taking longer there.

Although we may be familiar with a certain culture one way or another, or even be a part of that culture, it’s important to understand the details of doing business internationally and be respectful to the processes of you counterparts.

We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?

I’ve been very inspired by other female founders in the beauty space who built their presence, introduced newness, persevered through the challenges of launching and running a company, and have grown a successful business worthy of the world’s attention. Recently, I had an opportunity to read two books by two incredible women, Jaime Schmidt, the founder of Schmidt’s Naturals and Jamie Kern Lima, the founder of IT Cosmetics. While their stories and their brands are very different, they both started with almost nothing but a passion for their startups and they’ve built them to become so strong and valuable, so they were acquired by leading global beauty giants.

Another remarkable leader who has been a role model for me is Sara Blakely, the founder of Spanx. While not part of the beauty industry, she’s a great example of defying the odds and making her dream not only a reality but also a global success and a household name.

In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?

When it comes to disrupting, it’s important to understand the nature of that disruption. Does it come from a desire to build, to improve and make the world more diverse and open-minded? Does it come from a place of inclusion, offering an opportunity for underrepresented and does have a positive benefit? If the answer is yes, regardless of the innovation or the industry, we’re introducing a positive change to the society. And it’s necessary to go through a change in order to evolve and to shake up the existing flow of things. If it has been done before in a certain way, it may feel comfortable for some, but it doesn’t mean that this is in everyone’s best interests to move in the same direction moving forward. In the beauty industry, retouching images and distorting faces and bodies has been a common practice for a very long time. Thankfully, many beauty companies these days are stepping away from the status quo and are changing the way they talk about and showcase beauty to their customers.

Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.

  1. Nothing is impossible. My example for this comes from my recently discovered passion for running. While I’ve never been a runner, a bit more than four years ago I decided to give a treadmill at my local gym a shot. And little by little, mile by mile, I started to enjoy it and before I realized it, I finished my first marathon in 2018. If someone told me five years ago that I’ll finish a full marathon, I wouldn’t believe that person. But there I was! Making my impossible possible in running inspired me to accomplish bigger things in my professional career and brought more confidence into my everyday life.
  2. If the door remains closed after you knocked, turn around and…knock again. This advice comes from my childhood and while I couldn’t fully grasp its meaning as a child, I’ve taken it to heart in my adult life and professional journey. Especially, it came in handy during my career as a publicist as persistence and not giving up no matter what are key qualities that can help you succeed in PR and in business in general.
  3. Cheap, fast and good quality. You can choose any two. I’ve got this advice from my former boss, and it’s been proven to be true many times! If you’re going for speed and are saving on costs, then most likely it will be lacking quality. If quality is important, then be prepared to either invest more time or invest more financial resources to make it happen.

We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?

Rumore Beauty is still very new, and I’d love to focus my time and energy on growing Russian beauty in the US. There are plenty of products that we’d love to make accessible to the US consumers across skincare, haircare, bodycare and makeup categories, so there are many directions that we can take when it comes to growth and exploration. The story of Russian beauty has remained untold for so long and there’s so much to share, from Russian beauty traditions to ingredients to beauty rituals. So, there’s a lot of work for us to do in being the pioneers of telling those stories and introducing the hidden gems of Russian beauty to American consumers.

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by ‘women disruptors’ that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?

While there are many great ideas, sometimes it’s the level of financial support that can take an idea to the next level and grow the business exponentially or drive to the ground. Unfortunately, when it comes to VC investment, there’s a huge gender gap that makes it challenging for female founders develop their businesses and reach their full potential. According to an article on TechCrunch from November 2020, less than 3% of all VC investment went to women-led companies, and only one-fifth of US VC went to startups with at least one woman on the founder team in 2019. In addition, the average deal size for female-founded or female co-founded companies was less than half that of only male-founded startups.

Do you have a book/podcast/talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us?

I’ve been inspired by the “How I Built This” podcast by Guy Raz. His guests are the leading experts in their fields who not only got industry’s recognition but have also built something that’s been resonating with customers, something that in most cases has become a household name. Each journey is special, and each story has a lot of takeaways, and I always find myself learning so much from every episode. Earlier this year, I had an opportunity to attend NPR’s How I Built This Summit (at Home) and it was an incredible experience of meeting other entrepreneurs, learning more about their ventures and lessons they’ve learned along the way. It has been an invaluable opportunity to not only meet other entrepreneurs, but also ask questions, build connections, and even discover potential business opportunities.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

Being open-minded, thinking outside of the box and beyond the status quo. It includes welcoming new ideas, giving people who are just starting out — no matter the industry or area of life — the benefit of the doubt and offering support. Throughout my career, I’ve made it my rule to give people an opportunity as much as I can and to treat everyone with the same level of attention and respect, no matter their title or background. I believe that we cross paths with people for a reason and these connections are an opportunity for us, and for our counterparts, to make a difference in someone’s life or career, or both.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

Dream Big, Act Now. Throughout my life, I’ve always had many ideas about new projects and new opportunities. However, very often, I didn’t think those ideas were big enough to become dreams or to be worth pursuing. I would often catch myself looking for answers to the question “what if it doesn’t…” instead of focusing on “what if it does…” and pushing forward to turn those ideas into big dreams and then into reality. With time, I’ve been exposed to other entrepreneurs’ journey and business advice from global leaders, and I started to realize that it’s important to find confidence to dream big, and once the big dream takes shape, it’s vital to act fast on executing and bringing it to life. I’m very lucky to have my husband and co-founder Max working alongside me and helping me act now on some of my most ambitious dreams. Launching Rumore Beauty has been a prime example of Dreaming Big, Acting Now for us.

How can our readers follow you online?

I’ll be happy to connect on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-maddox-karr-05a80a31/) and Instagram @maria_instalife. Also, if you’re interested in Russian beauty, please follow us on @rumorebeauty and stop by to visit our store www.RumoreBeauty.com

Thank you and I look forward to connecting!

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!


Female Disruptors: Maria Karr of Rumore Beauty On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Disruptors: Ritu Narayan of Zūm On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry

Hard work always pays off — My dad used to always say that to my family, whenever someone felt disappointment or discouragement in the home and I completely agree with it. Being able to have a long view of any situation, relationships, work, etc will eventually ensure that you are making decisions based on a long term goal with the biggest impact in mind and if you keep at it, you’ll eventually find yourself in the right place at the right time.

As a part of our series about women who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Ritu Narayan.

Ritu Narayan is founder and CEO of Zūm. She founded Zūm to help solve a very real world problem: getting her two children to and from school and other activities, while working a demanding, full-time job as a product executive at eBay. Ritu is an alumni of Stanford Graduate School of business and earned an undergraduate degree in computer science at the Delhi Institute of Technology.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

When I was a child in India, my mother sacrificed her career to focus on her children, and especially on our education and development. When I started a family of my own, I was a technology executive with a fulfilling job and big aspirations. But when my children began going to school, I had to decide to either slow down or give up my career because of a lack of safe, reliable school transportation for my children. So, not much had changed since I witnessed my mother face the same dilemma 30 years ago. I realized my challenges are the same as millions of parents in the US. This problem is universal and generational. I knew I had to find a solution that would open up new possibilities and opportunities — not only for myself, but every other family in America. With a plan in mind, I partnered up with my siblings, Vivek and Abhishek, to reimagine school transportation and from that, Zūm came into existence.

Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?

School buses have long played an important role in society — in fact, they are the largest mass transit system in the US — but the “one bus fits all” approach does not meet today’s needs of modern families, drivers, and districts and is literally miles behind today’s other mobility experiences. With Zūm, we are changing something that has otherwise been systemic and outdated. There is so much potential that is lost when children don’t have a reliable and safe means of transportation to school. Not only do their parents face issues at work, but kids are commuting twice a day, and when that commute is disruptive, it damages the learning experience.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I was Zūm’s first driver and learned so much from that process. There’s one particularly vivid memory where I picked up a student around my son’s age, 10 years old at the time, and I just didn’t know how to talk to him. I wondered, “should I talk to him as a child? As a young adult?” I was so worried about communicating with him in the right way that I accidentally missed a left turn I meant to take. From there, he started giving me directions and was even reassuring me that everything would be fine. It was quite a funny moment but as Zūm’s first driver, it was a stressful experience. It taught me to be not only more at ease in my future rides, but as an entrepreneur breaking into new ground.

We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?

I’ve been very fortunate that my parents always made education a high priority in our home. From a very young age, my parents both offered the unwavering support that I needed to grow and move forward. Now, I can see that the unconditional support and guidance that was provided by my parents helped me to thrive and I was able to become the first female engineer in my family and years later start my own company.

In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?

Growing up, “disruptive” was not a positive word — being disruptive in class or at the dinner table is not something that is encouraged. In my experience, however, whenever you are trying to bring about positive change through curiosity and growth, you are disrupting the current status quo. That disruption can generally be gauged as positive or not positive if you’re focusing on the stakeholders and number of people impacted by a successful outcome. In the case of Zūm, parents and school districts had just accepted that there were no alternative transportation options. If the organized system isn’t working for a large number of its users, it’s time to reevaluate and see what can be changed. We were able to observe the trends and needs around us to create a system that can reimagine and modernize something that was previously just accepted as an unwavering solution.

Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.

Hard work always pays off —My dad used to always say that to my family, whenever someone felt disappointment or discouragement in the home and I completely agree with it. Being able to have a long view of any situation, relationships, work, etc will eventually ensure that you are making decisions based on a long term goal with the biggest impact in mind and if you keep at it, you’ll eventually find yourself in the right place at the right time.

We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?

We have been on this journey for six years now and it feels like we’re still just getting started. We’re transforming student transportation so it can do what was always intended: to achieve community potential. Our next move is to unite a transportation system that will modernize the old one by setting a higher standard for safety, creating opportunity and equitable access for families, drivers, and districts and leading sustainability to create healthier communities for generations to come. Our goal is to drive meaningful change today for student transportation that will be the blueprint for sustainable, community-first transportation in the future. This immense and untapped opportunity for good goes beyond school communities in our towns and cities. Think 100% clean, flexible, and efficient mass transportation for education, healthcare, higher education and private transportation.

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by ‘women disruptors’ that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?

There was a Harvard Business Review study conducted that talks about how women are asked limiting questions and it is very telling, and accurate in my life experiences. So much of my time is wasted answering questions such as “how will you ensure this doesn’t fail?” when I see my male counterparts being asked questions like “how big can you make this?” Female disruptors face the challenge of their ideas being criticized as “too risky” rather than “bold and brave”. You can’t be what you can’t see and as a female in business, it is important to me to use my platforms to share my voice and normalize women disruptors and idea makers. The more I persist and make Zum successful, the more likely someone else will be to see someone who looks like them, and feel emboldened to do it too. If we can remove the systemic bias and provide more examples of success stories, we’ll be able to remove barriers for the rising generations.

Do you have a book/podcast/talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us?

I love reading and I average at least one book a week, but I always refer back to the book Atomic Habits by James Clear — it has all the answers for life and startups. Throughout the book, he discusses how making small changes every day can have a big impact. If you only improve by 1% every day, then at the end of the year you will be 37 times better than where you started. That is mind boggling. “Overnight success” does not happen overnight, even what can be considered “rapid growth” takes place over time. This book provides great insight into how you can make lasting changes.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

I’d love to inspire people to combine both the concept of self care with exploring the possibilities of who you can be. Life isn’t about treating anything as an obstacle that can’t be faced, instead use everything to help yourself grow and explore. What I love about my company is that we are providing parents the opportunity to do just that — they can explore and achieve their maximum potential at home or at the office because they can trust that their child’s transportation has been taken care of and they don’t need to make the choice between furthering their aspirations or ensuring that their children can also meet theirs at school.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

You can’t be what you can’t see — This has been a frequent thread throughout my life. I’ve tried to continue to be an inspiration and a role model, doing and exploring things that were not previously done so that other females see it can be done by a woman. But you cannot always find a role model leading your way. In these situations, you’re responsible to picture yourself doing the unimaginable. Visualize yourself reaching that success and mastering what others have not yet mastered. Once you have the image of outcome you want in your mind, it becomes more realistic and attainable.

How can our readers follow you online?

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!


Female Disruptors: Ritu Narayan of Zūm On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Disruptors: Laura Crawford of Mama Bamboo On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your…

Female Disruptors: Laura Crawford of Mama Bamboo On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry

Just Do It. — Over thinking, over-planning, hesitating and procrastinating are the evils of life. If you want to do something and you believe it will make you happy (providing there’s no harm to anyone else), just get on with it. We have 85 years on this planet — if we’re lucky — don’t waste precious time.

As a part of our series about women who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Laura Crawford, Founder of Eco disposable nappy company, Mama Bamboo.

Laura set up Mama Bamboo in 2018 determined to change the disposable nappy and wipe industry and make it more sustainable. Standard plastic disposable nappies and wipes require over 150 ml of crude oil, chlorine, lotions and perfumes in their production and will take over 500 years to break down in landfill, so Laura researched and designed a disposable nappy made from bamboo fibre, chlorine free pulp cores and plant-based liners that are compostable and launched a 100% compostable bamboo fibre baby wipe. Since its inception, Mama Bamboo has grown significantly as consumers in the UK have become increasingly conscious of the environmental impact of their choices and parents have sought out greener products. The business has also seen a huge leap in their subscription services this year as families have been avoiding supermarkets and enjoying the convenience of home delivery. The last 12 months has seen a 1500% rise in the number of subscribers for their regular nappy delivery service.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

I used to work in the City as a management consultant but I took redundancy when I had my first child and I knew I really wanted a second as quickly as possible.

When my daughter was born, I knew nothing about eco-nappies. I simply used a supermarket brand or one of the leading known brands. It was only as my second child came along that I became aware of what a nappy was really made of — polyester, polypropylene, polyethylene, chlorine, lotions, perfumes, adhesives, etc. — and how many we would use. The average baby uses +6000 nappies before they are potty trained.

I tried the cloth nappy route, but in all honesty, I only managed a few weeks with a two-year-old and a colicky new baby. Then I tried the two eco-disposable brands readily available on the market. But I found them to be stiff and papery and they leaked too often. Eventually I gave in and bought him some conventional nappies and within 2 days the poor baby had the worst nappy rash ever.

So I spent nine months researching natural alternatives and found that bamboo could be used instead of polypropylene and it was not only better for the environment but it was also kinder to babies’ delicate skin.

I set about designing a range of nappies and wipes using this bamboo fibre and Mama Bamboo launched in September 2018.

Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?

The first way we’re really trying to disrupt the status quo is to raise awareness. Nappies and wet wipes don’t look like plastic, so not that many people really know what they are buying and using on their babies. Through our work, we are trying to bring this issue into the light. Getting consumers to actively choose to avoid plastic would be a huge step forward. But in addition, we are trying to get nappies and wipes on the Government’s radar as a potential item to be banned in future. It’s wonderful that plastic straw and ear buds have been banned but what about nappies and wipes? They make up 3–5% of all black bin waste. We run the #nappyrevolution campaign on Change.org which calls on DEFRA to ban plastic nappies and wipes going into landfill or incineration.

We are also working on disrupting the current waste management of all absorbent hygiene waste. We have partnered with UCL on a research project aiming to “Unlock the Barriers to Circular Economy” for all bioplastic compostable and absorbent hygiene waste. The rise in compostable has been staggering in recent years as responsible manufacturers have switched to plant-based resources, but the government has been slow to respond to this. Most of these products will be sent to landfill rather than enter a specific composting waste stream simply because the investment has not yet been made by Government and local councils.

Thirdly, our products themselves and our marketing is disrupting the nappy market, by raising the standards and calling on all brands to do the same. We were the first brand to print our ingredients on our packaging and list out the components on our website. I’m pleased to say other eco-brands have followed suit and if the Environment Bill which is going through Parliament at the moment is successful, all brands will be forced to so do within the year.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

When I had my very first delivery of products, I made the mistake of assuming they would be palletised and ready to offload and pop onto my warehouse shelves. I expected 40 pallets of goods and had 45 pallet spaces all ready for them. When the lorry arrived, it was not at all palletised — it was packed to the rafters! I quickly had to rally round 6 helpers and offload and palletise it myself. It ended up taking 8 hours and resulted in 96 pallets of goods! I had to squeeze between the rows of pallets and take tonnes of stock home to pile in my spare room and under the kitchen table. I was literally drowning in nappies. My husband was not amused at all — he was already sceptical of this venture and now I’d completely messed up. It was entirely my fault — never ever assume anything.

I learnt my lesson and am thankful to say, I now cross every t and dot every i.

We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?

It may sound corny but my greatest mentors were my parents. My mother taught me kindness and caring at every turn. And my father taught me to be self assured, strong and brave. Along the way, I’ve had teachers and business mentors but the roots for my values, work ethic and self belief were set down in stone long before then.

It’s actually something than scares me now about parenting my own children — how do I give them the tools to succeed and have self-worth which will form the intrinsic core of their being? There’s no shiny business book on the shelf that can teach that to you in your 30’s.

In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?

I can give a fairly personal example of bad disruption. As a consultant, I was employed in the same client bank 3 times over the course of 10 years. First, I decentralized a department, changed processes and re-organized headcount. A few years later, a new Head of Department was brought in and he re-centralized the team and processes and I was again brought in to assist. 4 years later, a new Head of Department started and once again I was brought in to assist on a re-organization which decentralized the teams. This type of ‘vanity disruption’ can be seen in big business and politics the world over. It’s one of the worst examples of individual agendas overruling common sense and collective benefit.

Good disruption on the other hand is always seeded in collective benefit. Disruption should be based on solving a problem and bringing an entire marketplace or country or department forward. It should result in a benefit so transparent that all players in the space are propelled into self-action. For instance, the introduction of LED bulbs. No one was looking for a new model for household light bulbs, but in 1994 the Nichia Corporation identified a collective problem. They could see that the energy consumption of old fashioned bulbs was so high and resulted in increased environmental impact and high household bills. The first LEDs entered the marketplace and a few savvy individuals made the switch. Over time more consumers chose to switch and benefitted from lower energy costs. Eventually it reached a pivot point where the environmental impact was beginning to be felt and the Government was enabled to legislate against incandescent bulbs for everyone. By identifying a collective benefit this disruptive technology has proven a huge success.

Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.

Just Do It.

Over thinking, over-planning, hesitating and procrastinating are the evils of life. If you want to do something and you believe it will make you happy (providing there’s no harm to anyone else), just get on with it. We have 85 years on this planet — if we’re lucky — don’t waste precious time.

We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?

Next up we’re looking at developing a preemie baby nappy as there are no eco-options available for preemie babies at the moment. And we are looking at expanding our range into baby lifestyle products. We are currently in the midst of a large crowdfunding exercise with Triodos Ethical Bank, which if successful, will see us in a good space to invest in these new ranges.

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by ‘women disruptors’ that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?

I don’t know if it’s a ‘women’ issue or an ‘age’ issue, but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been patronised by older men during business discussions. It is an odd assumption that I need their fatherly guidance and can be talked around to their will if they simply lecture me at length. I always want to stop them right there and explain that I have a father, and he’s been a great support, most of all because he taught me to know my own mind and trust myself.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

Oh, I’m not sure I’m that influential, but if I could inspire a movement it would be two-fold:-

  • I would make it immediately illegal to ship any of our waste abroad for processing. It is absolutely disgraceful that any UK waste ends up in Indonesia or on the beaches of Turkey. We made the mess. We should clean it up. And keeping it here in its complete volumes would force the Government to address the plastics issue much more strongly.
  • I would also really like to establish a circular economy model for all compostable and bioplastic materials as soon as possible. I think it’s wonderful that responsible manufacturers are switching away from oil-based plastics and consumers are voting for change with every pound spent on these products, but it’s heart-breaking that the full benefits of these investments cannot be seen because DEFRA and the local councils have put this in the ‘too hard to sort out’ folder and instead have heralded their minor wins on paper straws and ear buds as the pinnacle of environmental achievement. .

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“What’s the worst that can happen?”

Whenever I’ve felt scared, nervous or hesitant about taking a big decision, I use the “What’s the worst that can happen?” question to quell my fears. More often than not, the worst case scenario is you lose some money, or you have to give up an idea and start again. In business, rarely will the answer be sudden death, harm to others or total obliteration the planet.

NOTE: I don’t recommend this model if you are a heart surgeon or US president with your finger on the button.

How can our readers follow you online?

You can follow our blogs on our website www.mamabamboo.com or via our Mama Bamboo social media links — Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn.

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!


Female Disruptors: Laura Crawford of Mama Bamboo On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Lessons from a Thriving Power Couple, With Amy & Scott Malin of Trueheart

You need love, kindness, patience, trust and space. Love is the main and foundational ingredient in every successful relationship. You have to treat your partner with kindness, and you should also extend that courtesy to everyone you know and to strangers. Kindness is key! Patience is definitely a virtue. There are going to be times when you will frustrate your partner and vice versa and you have to learn to breathe through it and be patient.

As a part of our series about lessons from Thriving Power Couples, I had the pleasure of interviewing Amy & Scott Malin.

Amy & Scott Malin, are the married dynamic duo behind the new Trueheart search engine where you can change the world with every search at Trueheart.com. They are also partners in the Trueheart cause agency, which for over two decades has connected celebrities and purpose-driven brands to team up and raise millions of dollars for deserving charities.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you two to your respective career paths?

AM: I’ve always been focused on bringing people together. My friends would come hang at my parties when I was spinning at clubs back in the day, and I’d jump out of the DJ booth to dance with them. I’d host dinner parties so I could play matchmaker for my single friends. Five hundred guests would attend one of our star-studded charity events and rally around a great cause. After working at the intersection of Hollywood and philanthropy for the last two decades, teaming up with Scott to launch our Trueheart social impact search engine, is the culmination of finding my purpose to inspire people all over the world to join our movement.

SM: I focused the first part of my career working in the health, fitness and nutrition space and really enjoyed helping people get out of pain and lead a healthy lifestyle. But, my heart was always pulling me towards the arts and my passion for writing, photography and design. So, when Amy suggested that we become business partners, I know we each had a unique skill set that compliments one another, and would make us a great team. It has been almost eleven years of an incredible partnership with my wife, where as social entrepreneurs we’re using our talents to do a little bit of good every day.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you two got married?

AM: Over the last thirteen years of being together, we got married, created our family and became business partners, so there have been so many fun adventures. In our professional lives, we’ve been blessed to work with so many interesting, talented and wonderfully generous people. We were honored to direct Jack Black in our Superheroes For Kids campaign for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and that was a blast!

SM: Jack is a comedic genius and he was wonderful to work with! As storytellers, to have someone as accomplished as Jack bring our concept to life in the most hilarious way, was a dream come true. The patients loved him! In the same campaign, Mark Cuban starred opposite two amazing Miracle Kids in our Shark Tank parody. He was such a good sport and really made it all about the kids. We’ll remember this project forever and feel so lucky to have had this incredible experience.

AM: I’ll always be so proud of this campaign and that we were able to showcase these inspiring Miracle Kids as superheroes. Definitely one of the highlights of my career!

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

AM: One of my first projects when I started my agency over two decades ago, was producing a white label promo campaign for Teddy Riley’s remix of *NSYNC’s hit “Bye Bye Bye”. I was responsible for getting the record in the hands of the biggest club and radio DJs around the world. I forgot to include the cost of shipping the vinyl overseas in my budget and it cost me thousands of dollars. It was an expensive mistake, but it taught me some priceless lessons. I learned to always triple check my work and to value my time and services so I could make a good living.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

AM: We’re creating sustainable, free and easy solutions so people can incorporate philanthropy into their daily lives. Doing good feels good and is also a vital part of what connects us all as human beings. We’re also focused on creating a real sense of community with our Trueheart family. On our new Trueheart podcast we’ll dive deep with celebrities, mavericks, visionaries and real life heroes to find out what sets their souls on fire. If you’re looking to find your purpose and connect with other heart-centered individuals, we’d love to have you join our movement.

Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?

SM: We’re really excited about the launch of our Trueheart social impact search engine which is a free and easy way for people to change the world with every search. We created this platform to help democratize philanthropy and make it more inclusive. We’re inviting billions of people with big hearts who have been largely excluded from philanthropy for so long, to join us and help transform their local communities. When you search with Trueheart, your searches power donations to Smile Train, Action Against Hunger, Global Green, PFLAG National, 4 Paws For Ability and Variety Boys & Girls Club. Amy and I are all about using the power of tech for good and we’re creating a movement of like-minded people who are passionate about social impact.

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?

AM: My two main tips are to be kind and let your employees shine. If you foster a company culture where kindness is the golden rule, then it sets the tone for how your brand does business internally and externally. People want to feel proud of where they work and that their values are aligned with the company’s values. Also, when your employees do great work or come up with a big idea, celebrate their creativity. When I was just starting out in public relations as an account executive, I was tasked with coming up with a signature concept for a luxury brand’s global PR campaign. I shared my vision with the CEO of the agency who said it was the winning idea and that I should pitch it to the clients on our video call. I was so excited for this amazing opportunity. But the CEO lied and on the call, she said she came up with the campaign. I was crushed that someone I looked up to would take credit for my work. I came to learn from my colleagues that the CEO had a history of taking credit for her team’s ideas and mistreating her employees, which created a revolving door culture at the company. That day was a turning point in my life, where I decided to be my own boss and invest in myself and my dreams.

How do you define “Leadership”?

AM: Leadership is motivating your team around a common goal. A great leader creates a company culture where all employees are valued, respected, celebrated, heard and given opportunities to grow and succeed. You have to be able to inspire people to be their best. The Spider-Man comic books made famous one of my favorite quotes, which is “With great power, comes great responsibility.” This should be a guiding principle for the founders of every company to do right by their employees, their customers and their community.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

AM: I’m really grateful to take this incredible journey with Scott as partners in life, business and creating change. My husband has helped take our companies to a whole new level of success. It feels good to know I have a partner I can trust with my eyes closed who shares the same values and cares as deeply as I do about the work we’re doing to make a difference. I know many people wouldn’t want to work with their spouse for various reasons. Lots of our friends said they are in awe that we’re able to pull it off. Scott is my everything and I couldn’t imagine being on this wild and beautiful ride with anyone else.

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

AM: Giving back is a guiding principle in our lives. Professionally, we infuse purpose in all of our projects and create sustainable solutions to democratize philanthropy. We’ve advised senior leadership at Fortune 500 brands on their social impact strategy and helped companies take their giving to new heights. In our personal lives, we teach our children about our responsibility as human beings to look out for another. We demonstrate that value by helping to feed the homeless, supporting families in high need communities, spreading holiday cheer to children’s hospital patients and foster care kids and always being available to help our family and friends.

What are the “5 Things You Need To Thrive As A Couple”? Please share a story or example for each.

AM: You need love, kindness, patience, trust and space. Love is the main and foundational ingredient in every successful relationship. You have to treat your partner with kindness, and you should also extend that courtesy to everyone you know and to strangers. Kindness is key! Patience is definitely a virtue. There are going to be times when you will frustrate your partner and vice versa and you have to learn to breathe through it and be patient. A lot of people have trust issues, myself included. Trust might be tough to cultivate, but it is crucial in a healthy relationship. When you’ve experienced abandonment and rejection in the past, fear creeps in and it can make it really hard for you to believe your partner is going to show up for you in the way you deserve. One important lesson I’ve learned is that you can’t punish your partner for someone else’s mistakes. That isn’t fair! You have to give your partner more slack than you would give most people because he/she is your true love and your confidant. Space might sound contrary to being coupled up, but a little bit of time apart is necessary for so many reasons. You have to have an identity, interests and friends outside of your relationship for your mental health and to be the best version of yourself. You’ll learn to appreciate each other more and you’ll also have interesting things to discuss with your partner when you fill each other in on your hobbies or hang-outs with friends.

SM: I agree with everything that Amy said, which may in itself be a tip. There is the old adage, “happy wife, happy life.” But seriously, I would add two things that I learned from Nema (Amy’s beloved grandma). The first is to never go to bed angry. Most arguments couples have are completely ridiculous and they are just cover for hurt feelings. If you let things fester and you go to bed upset, you’ll just wake up even more riled up in the morning and the argument will blow up. Calmly discuss your issues and make sure both people are being heard. Resolve whatever is bothering you before bedtime. The second lesson goes hand in hand with the first. Always kiss each other goodnight. This was part of Nema and Tata’s secret sauce to their enviable sixty-seven year marriage and they knew what they were talking about. Amy put up a wall decal with this motto above our bed. When I’d be on the verge of falling asleep without ending the day with a kiss, she’d sweetly remind me that the sign says “always” and not “sometimes.” I couldn’t argue with her logic. We’d kiss, laugh, and fall asleep smiling.

You are people of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

SM: That is kind of you to say, but really we’re just two people who are passionate about leaving the world better than we found it for our kids and every kid out there. We’re fired up about creating a movement with our Trueheart social impact search engine that will inspire people to join us and use the power of tech for good.

AM: We believe people are inherently good and that most people want to help and make a difference. Sometimes, people don’t know how and they need the tools and a plan. We’re using our background as seasoned strategists to show people a free and easy way they can create a ripple effect of goodness in the world by joining our community.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

AM: My favorite lyric of all time is “All You Need Is Love” by The Beatles. These words are so inspiring to me, that I got them inked, so that I’d have a powerful reminder to live by this motto. I believe that love is the most powerful force in the universe. Remarkable things happen in the name of love. If we learn to truly love and accept ourselves for who we are, then we can spread love, joy, kindness and respect to our fellow human beings and transform the world.

We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂

AM: I’m a huge Bee Gees fan. Their music was the soundtrack to my life growing up. The documentary, “How Can You Mend A Broken Heart”, showed how Barry Gibb, the surviving brother, would trade all of his fame and fortune to have his brothers back by his side. I loved the message that family is everything. It would be wonderful to meet Barry Gibb and share my deep appreciation for his music and let him know that some of his songs got me through really tough times. The Bee Gees’ music has been an important part of my journey of healing. I think artists appreciate knowing that their art is timeless and has made a real difference in their fans’ lives.

How can our readers follow your work online?

Check us out @WeAreTrueheart on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.


Lessons from a Thriving Power Couple, With Amy & Scott Malin of Trueheart was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Gary Kohn of Luxury Travel Hackers: The Future of Travel in The Post Covid World

Balance. I believe if you first and foremost take care of your mind/body/spirit then the rest will take care of itself. And most of the things I worry about never actually happen. Stay in the moment and live right now. Do what’s in front of you. Action is my job, results are the universe’s job.

As part of my series about “developments in the travel industry over the next five years”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Gary Kohn.

Gary Kohn started his professional career over 30 years ago in Hollywood as an actor where he appeared in over 30 films and TV shows before moving on to become a film and TV producer. Over the years he’s worked with some of the biggest names in the business. He’s consulted and worked for almost every major studio and network in show business, was head of development for various companies and served on the board of Verge Media, a technology company. This is where he became fascinated with how technology and content were beginning to intersect and born out of that was Luxury Travel Hackers. He spent a solid two years developing the idea and model before he decided to take a leave of absence from Hollywood to build LTH.

Shortly thereafter he met Katie Warner, a former Assistant Attorney General to the state of Texas who left law to become a travel photographer and agent. The two of them, with their love of photography and travel joined forces to start LTH.

Thank you so much for joining us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

I spent most of my career in film and the way I created my work schedule was to spend 6 months out of the year in intense production work and then 3–4 months of the year traveling to remote places. Travel ironically kept me grounded. I loved meeting new people that had nothing to do with show business. Travel has changed my life and I really felt the need to share these experiences with the world in a way that I knew, and that was through storytelling and content.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?

Well, which career? Haha. This is a new one for me as I spent most of my professional life in Hollywood. But I’ll give you two stories I guess. One in show business and the other in travel

I once had an audition for a Wes Craven horror film where I had to pretend I was eating the brains on a zombie while also feeling shame about it and the prop they gave me was a rubber ball. I’m pretty sure that was the moment I decided to be a producer instead.

My most interesting travel story was spending two weeks in the Palasinian territory with X-hamas fighters who are now peace activists. It was interesting to visit with terrorists and people with a long history of hate become such loving and caring human beings. Coming from a privileged country it was hard to wrap my head around it all but it changed me forever.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Oh god, for some reason mistakes don’t seem funny when they cost money…which they usually do. The amount I have learned in the last 2 years has been more than I’ve learned in the last 10. When I am producing a film it’s a sprint. We work very intensely for 3–5 months and then relax and wait for the next one. I treated a startup as a sprint for the first 2 years and almost drove myself crazy. Building a company is a marathon and must be treated that way or you’re gonna drive yourself and everyone around you crazy. I still struggle with it but I’m getting better.

Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”? Can you share a story about that?

Balance. I believe if you first and foremost take care of your mind/body/spirit then the rest will take care of itself. And most of the things I worry about never actually happen. Stay in the moment and live right now. Do what’s in front of you. Action is my job, results are the universe’s job.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

The names on this list are pretty long. My advisors have been amazing in guiding us to where we have to go. I learned early in my career as a producer to hire smart. I usually hire and build teams of hungry hidden talent. I don’t look for someone with the longest resume. I look for people who are hungry, love what they do and have the right attitude. I wanted a team with LTH that was going to grow with the company and build into senior positions. But in answer to the question I’d say Woodrow Zeigangel, my earliest advisor and champion of the company. He taught me how to be a CEO. I didn’t always like him for it but he always had my best interest in mind. Aslo my co-founder Katie, who is super nice and sweet to everyone keeps the drill sergeant in me in check to protect the company culture, which I appreciate.

Thank you for that. Let’s jump to the core of our discussion. Can you share with our readers about the innovations that you are bringing to the travel and hospitality industries?

Yeah, what we do is shoot and repurpose travel content with influencers and make vacations bookable via social media. What we determined is that upwards of 80% of all travelers are choosing their next vacation on social media but no one is leveraging this influence and content for booking. If you look at the comments of the big travel influencing pages you’ll see hundreds of comments about…”Where is this?, I want to go!, Wish I was there! Etc.” and what you’ll see also is people tagging their friends. And what we discovered happens from here is that travelers are spending an average of 7.5 hours of additional research to build the trip that was just presented to them. This is the primary problem we are solving in the industry.

Secondly we are creating an additional revenue source for influencers by re-purposing their content into travel packages and becoming a travel booking platform for them. This part of our model has really taken off and we have been having a hard time keeping up with the demand of influencers wanting this service and partnership.

Lastly, the technology that we will be introducing at the end of the year will further ease the booking process in an industry that is miles behind every other service and e-commerce industries..

Which “pain point” are you trying to address by introducing this innovation?

Saving travelers time and showing them through story content and influence the exact experience they will have when they embark on an LTH trip.

How do you envision that this might disrupt the status quo?

Well, interestingly enough the desire for a concierge and travel agent has gone up drastically in the last 5 years. And post covid, it’s going to skyrocket. I have a theory and it’s actually one of the number one reasons our lead investor, Thomas Mangas, who was the former CEO of Starwood Resorts invested in us. In the early 2000’s when the Pricelines, Kayaks and Booking.com’s hit the market it was a game changer. All of a sudden we had hundreds of options we could do ourselves. Travel became a do-it-yourself option and people loved it! I loved it! But what’s happened over the years is that we now have too many options. People don’t want more options, they want better ones and that is the area of our focus. We also want to spotlight hidden gems, destinations and places not quite discovered yet. For example as I chat with you here we are in Belize. This country is amazing and just coming online as the new place to travel.

As you know, COVID19 changed the world as we know it. Can you share 5 examples of how travel and hospitality companies will be adjusting over the next five years to the new ways that consumers will prefer to travel?

The need for a travel agent to now deal with changes for you, make sure you have the right travel insurance, understanding of safety protocols, someone to manage cancellations and changes, how business travel will now be conducted, etc… All of these are becoming standard post-covid. Travel is going to have a very big shakeup and if companies are not thinking ahead of the curve they will be in big trouble.

You are a “travel insider”. How would you describe your “perfect vacation experience”?

I’d say I’ve become a travel insider as I’m very boots on the ground. Since I have been directing all our content I get a very clear picture from both the consumer point of view as well as the property and management side as well. We are constantly interacting with other travelers and management, asking questions and learning what is important for both of them.

For me a perfect vacation experience is more adventurous. I tend to be more of the Indiana Jones type. When I was producing films and traveling it was always first class, private planes and 5 star hotels but when I’d travel for myself I liked it down and dirty. For example I spend 4 months driving a motorcycle around India with a backpack staying at hostels. I really like the authentic cultural experience. And I think that what we are trying to do with LTH is to have a 4–5 star experience with authenticity as well.

Can you share with our readers how you have used your success to bring goodness to the world?

I’m still working on this one but as a storyteller I’ve always wanted to tell stories that change the way people think and see the world. How can travel make us better people? We spend a lot of time talking about this internally and how we can make that a part of our messaging.

As a company we also spend time shooting content in the locations we travel to around giving back and charity work. We think responsible tourism is important and want to spotlight ways to give back and not just take from the places we visit.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

In travel I think it would be to become a brand that promotes responsible and sustainable tourism while also integrating cultures and exposing people to the differences that make us unique and also the similarities that make us human. I think this can make the world a more tolerant and kind place. It can give us a respect for one another that doesn’t exist.

In filmmaking I’d like to continue to make content that changes us emotionally and connects us to each other.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

Luxury Travel Hackers is on all social media platforms including Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/luxurytravelhackers/

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

Thank you, it’s been fun to talk about what we do and I appreciate the thoughtful questions.


Gary Kohn of Luxury Travel Hackers: The Future of Travel in The Post Covid World was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Disruptors: Bridget Brooks On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry

Always lead with value. There are so many industries where if you lead with value, you’re gonna win every time. And when I say “leading with value,” I mean sharing information that people don’t know. Be the first to help them overcome their obstacle or conflict.

As a part of our series about women who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Bridget Brooks.

Bridget Brooks is a former Facebook employee and Founder of the digital advertising agency, Valton Co and she specializes in helping businesses connect with their clients in the digital marketing space.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

From selling the most candy bars on the softball team as a kid to selling double trucks and two-by-fours through the yellow pages, I can say that I’ve always been fond of being in sales and talking to people.

When the advertising industry evolved, so did my approach, especially when I found myself working for major corporate giants in Facebook and Groupon.

Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?

I am really shaking up the Facebook platform by being known as the Community Standards Queen.

There are so many major players in the digital realm whose methods are against community standards. I’m really shaking up that world by saying, “Hey, wait a minute — that’s going to hurt your chances and longevity on the platform. It’s time to play by the rules.”

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

One of the funniest mistakes I made when I first started was that I didn’t give omnichannel presence a second thought. I thought that I knew Facebook, that I was just going to work on Facebook and stay on Facebook when in reality, I haven’t even started growing my Instagram presence until the last six months.

We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?

I don’t know if you’d necessarily call her a mentor or really just someone I strive to be like in business, but I’d have to say, Bethany Frankel.

I’ve been watching her for years since she first started the skinny-girl margarita brand, all the way through her shape line and all the amazing things that she’s doing now.

Seeing how determined she is, how persistent she is, and how risky she is with trying new concepts and ideas inspired me deeply.

She’s someone I really try to emulate in my work.

In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?

Before we shifted into the digital age, the word ‘disruptive’ or ‘disruptor’ was never looked at as a good thing. Now, everybody wants to be a disruptor regardless of what industry they’re in.

Now, the disruptor is stopping the scroll. But it now raises the question — are you able to stop the scroll? Is your disruption done in a positive or negative format?

There’s a lot of “rogue” marketing that will stop the scroll, but it will also make that end-user think, “Do I really wanna work with this person?”

Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.

  1. Always lead with value. There are so many industries where if you lead with value, you’re gonna win every time. And when I say “leading with value,” I mean sharing information that people don’t know. Be the first to help them overcome their obstacle or conflict.
  2. Always look for opportunities. If there’s a place where you can help someone overcome their challenge, it’s an opportunity and you never know where that person can lead you.
  3. Stay humble and kind. Being humble will get you so much farther in any industry than being led by ego.

We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?

I’m getting ready to relaunch my BE Your Own Ads Boss online course and group coaching with a guest feature from David Cartlano, who will talk about messaging.

In addition to that, I have decided to sell my home, pack up my belongings and travel the country in an RV, speaking in on stages about Facebook ads and following the community standards.

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by ‘women disruptors’ that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?

I think one of the biggest issues my female clients are currently facing is equality in the workspace, which is something the male counterparts don’t have to face. My advice for any woman leader out there is to go for what they want in their careers and not give up. Hone in on the skills necessary to give you those opportunities, and build a team around you that excels at the skills that you don’t.

I think there are other relevant issues that are maybe not as prominent for men, like standing in their success or overcoming perfectionism, or even juggling the work-life balance.

All of these things are definitely things that women are faced with in today’s industries and every industry when they’re building their business.

Do you have a book/podcast/talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us?

One of the books that had a significant impact on me is called EIQ 2.0 and/in Emotional Intelligence.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

The movement that I would want to inspire to bring the most good around the people would be the one that my coach and mentor had taught me. It’s a movement that revolves around making more to give more.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

My favorite life lesson quote is, “I am grateful for all things that I currently have and all things that are coming to me.”

Mindset and gratitude are such a huge part of being successful, so that’s one that I really follow.

How can our readers follow you online?

For those who’d be interested to learn more about my advocacy and what my agency stands for, you can check out my link tree, https://linktr.ee/beyourownadsboss

You can also follow me on my Facebook page,

https://www.facebook.com/youradsexpert

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!


Female Disruptors: Bridget Brooks On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Disruptors: Valerie Fischer On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry

Enough is plenty. This is what a friend’s dad told her while she was growing up. These three words have become my definition of success. Enough, for me, is success. When I feel stressed about doing more, I tell myself this. When I feel afraid to stop working because I might not have work to come back to, I tell myself this. For a workaholic achiever like me, this advice is golden.

As a part of our series about women who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Valerie Fischer.

Valerie Fischer is a Neuro Linguistic Programming practitioner with over 20 years of experience in advertising and marketing, and co-founded an e-commerce site for locally made products. This combination gave her a unique process that helps businesses transition and thrive online. In recent months, her Brain Science Selling framework has helped over 3500 online entrepreneurs increase their revenue by as much as 40%.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

“We need to talk”. Those four words make your heart skip a beat, doesn’t it? I received that message from my boss April 4, 2020. We were not seeing eye to eye on how the sales and marketing should be handled during the lockdown. I quit. She fired me. It was mutual. I wanted to hide from embarrassment. I mean, I was already the Chief Marketing Officer and then, I was jobless.

But I could not say no to requests of friends, family and former colleagues to help them with their businesses. They knew I had the experience and the background in digital sales. By April 23, I was already doing paid virtual trainings. My business was born out of a real insight, out of a real need of the market to understand buyer behavior in the digital space. In one year, I was able to do 190 paid virtual trainings. That’s how I got to be here, talking to you right now. That’s my backstory.

I realized that the same strategies I was offering my former boss and company were meant for a bigger audience. Those concepts were meant to be shared with a wider market. That incident where I lost my dream job was not a rejection. It was a redirection.

Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?

I recently joined several Facebook groups of speakers, trainers and coaches. In those groups, you are asked to introduce yourself and share what you do. So, I shared “My name is Valerie Fischer and new online entrepreneurs hire me to increase revenue using Brain Science Selling”. One of the members commented that my work is BS. He said that he is a Clinical Psychologist, and his wife has a PhD in Neuroscience and Brain Science Selling is bollocks. I then explained that it is actually a combination of my Neuro Linguistic programming Certification, plus 20 years in corporate advertising and marketing, and my experience running an e-commerce site and digital sales. People are afraid of what they do not know. I realized through joining online conversations that this combination has never been used before.

NLP techniques and theories applied to digital sales and marketing strategies is how I am being disruptive. By embracing my authentic self and my distinct background, I stumbled into a very powerful combination. I have now made it my mission to get visibility and credibility around this topic. Entrepreneurs need to know how effective this process is. I mean if you are a real estate entrepreneur, wouldn’t you want to sell 10 houses in 3 days using this these techniques? That’s feedback straight from one of the sales directors I work with.

As of this month, I now own the trademark to Brain Science Selling. I am excited to see where this will take me.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Hahaha! I wasn’t expecting this question. When I was just starting to train on Zoom, I did not know about the Share Sound feature. I used to play videos on my screen and turn up the volume so my audience can hear it from my end, that is, until one of the participants pointed out that I can share sound. It was so embarrassing. I learned to explore more of the platform before actually using it again. I did my research, practiced many times, that I even created a module called Webinars that Work, teaching students how to use Zoom to make sales presentations more engaging, to build rapport, and convert leads to sales.

I learned that we can take even our most embarrassing situations to learning and earning experiences.

We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?

I have had a lot of mentors, especially in the marketing aspect of my career who have made an impact in my life. One of the country’s tycoons, Mr, Jorge Araneta, who owns the company I used to work at, once asked me to write a press release in 10 minutes. It was for one of the stores we were launching at the Gateway Mall. I set the alarm for 8 minutes and took 2 minutes to go back to him. He read it, and said “ok, this is good”.

It was a test. He wanted to know if I was going to do it or throw a tantrum, and if I can actually write a press release. He taught me grit and he made sure that I am well versed in the many disciplines surrounding marketing. There’s PR, Events, Trade, Local Store Marketing, Digital, etc.

Understanding all of those segments gives me the inspiration to then apply Neuro Linguistic Programming techniques to various marketing aspects, with the objective of course to bring in sales.

In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?

I always say that my Why is to Inspire Courage to Create Changes Together. I am a huge fan of reinvention, of change, and of disruption. This question got me thinking. When does disruption then become a negative? Disruption becomes “not so positive” when it is done just because of a trend or pressure to be disruptive. Abrupt change isn’t always the answer. Sometimes, progress is not achieved through big changes, but tiny adjustments executed over time.

Disruption is not good when people are not ready. Brain Science Selling is a good disruption because that was created out of the market’s need to understand their customers’ brains and sell to them digitally in a way that will serve them. This pandemic is not a positive disruption. The world wasn’t ready, and millions of people were caught off guard.

Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.

Thoughts become things is one of favorite bosses’ mantra. It has stuck to me ever since she mentioned that and became more special when I became a certified Neuro Linguistic Programming practitioner. Visioning your best self and planning around that is one of the most powerful things you can do to become successful.

Enough is plenty. This is what a friend’s dad told her while she was growing up. These three words have become my definition of success. Enough, for me, is success. When I feel stressed about doing more, I tell myself this. When I feel afraid to stop working because I might not have work to come back to, I tell myself this. For a workaholic achiever like me, this advice is golden.

Competition is like a forest. A forest consists of many trees, shrubs, grass, plants and they all thrive. They feed off each other’s resources and nutrients. The same goes for competition. We are all unique. We each have a story and a purpose. We can feed off of each other’s energy so we can, not just survive, but thrive.

We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?

I barely just started. My training, coaching and consulting business is just a year old and started in the Philippines. My goal this year is to take this to the international level. Platforms and opportunities like this help me bring this disruption to the global scene.

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by ‘women disruptors’ that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?

A challenge that I see women face, is the issue of money.

When we take a look at female six-figure salary earners in America, we see that fewer than one in every eight female workers earn that much money. We also see that more than twice as many men earn a six-figure salary as women — just 6% of women say they earn $100,000 or more, compared to 13% of men, according to a YouGov survey. This is an article from hermoney.com published March 2021. Aside from the gender pay gap, there is also a struggle with women to share their income as part of their client attraction strategy. While men are not afraid to flaunt their fancy cars and expensive suits, women tend to shy away from those tactics. Customers, clients, and prospects are attracted to winners. I believe that women should also start showing off their success as much as men do. And this is me talking to myself.

Do you have a book/podcast/talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us?

The book Start with Why by Simon Sinek changed my life. I read that book in 2015 and it opened my mind to going deep within myself and find my Why. I was already an Assistant Vice President in a large corporation in the country. I was earning good money, I had power, I was traveling the world, I had authority, and even the chance to get another promotion when I decided to quit.

Even despite all of that, I knew there was something else I was meant to do. I also knew that I will not be able to accomplish it in the corporate world. That book gave me the courage to get clarity on that purpose.

I co-founded an e-commerce site after I quit. And the experiences I learned there helped me create Brain Science Selling which is how I am disrupting digital marketing now. All because of the book that pushed me to find my purpose.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

Our brain is lazy. It loves patterns, regularity and predictability. The moment we lose this, we start feeling afraid. We fear the unknown, we fear failure.

I would like to start a movement where people will start to feel more courageous. I want them to know that some of our greatest breakthroughs come from our biggest failures. I want people to know that change is the only way to grow.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

My mom died when I was 15. I wish we had more time together so I can learn more from her. But there was one thing she taught me that I bring with me until now. “We all have our own stories”. She worked in the Parole and Probation of the Department of Justice here in the Philippines and heard a lot of stories from prisoners and their families. She would always tell us that we do not always have the full truths about people. It’s not fair to judge when we do not know the whole story.

These stories are also relevant in how we relate with people. These stories are what make people come together. These stories are what gets tribes working together.

How can our readers follow you online?

Please check out my website www.valeriefischer.net. I am also on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/valeriepfischer/ and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valeriepfischer

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!


Female Disruptors: Valerie Fischer On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Rich Oceguera of Rich Awakenings Media: How To Thrive Despite Experiencing Impostor Syndrome

Awareness — As soon as you feel the affects of Imposter Syndrome rising, stop and take three deep breaths. With each breath become aware of the thoughts you are having and the feelings that accompany them. Just pay attention. Imagine you are a fly on the wall watching yourself having this experience. When you can separate your true self from the negative thoughts flooding your mind you will have access to breaking free. This is mindfulness.

As a part of our series about how very accomplished leaders were able to succeed despite experiencing Imposter Syndrome, I had the pleasure of interviewing Rich Oceguera.

Rich Oceguera is a best selling author, award-winning entrepreneur and host of several talk shows including UNMUTE Yourself and Heart to Heart.

Rich interweaves 35 years of business development, speaking, teaching, spiritual development and video production experience to provide transformational training programs and workshops designed for business owners, authors, coaches and speakers to help them unmute their voices, confidently promote their wisdom & services and magnetize their ideal customers.

Rich graduated from Columbia College Chicago with a BA in television production and has trained extensively in spiritual, mindfulness and ontological practices which he combines with modern neuroscience tools to give his clients a unique edge. Rich Oceguera is the proud co-founder & president emeritus of NGLCCNY, New York’s first-ever chamber of commerce serving the LGBT & Allied business community.

Learn more and get updates on upcoming events for Rich’s global community of rising visionary change-makers at www.richawakenings.com.

Thank you so much for joining us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’?

Do you remember that game we played in elementary school called dodgeball? You know, the one where kids throw a ball at your head as hard as they can and somehow that is supposed to be fun? Well, for me, it was pure terror. I was always the last kid picked on a team and usually the first to get hit by that dang red ball!

In kindergarten my teacher, Mrs. Stern, dubbed me ‘Chatterbox’ because I wouldn’t stop talking and asking questions! But in grade school I became shy and self-conscious because of experiences like Dodgeball and being taunted and bullied by the other boys. My little brain made up some stories like, “People don’t like me,” “There must be something wrong with me” and “Groups are dangerous so it’s better to stay alone.” I became muted in my self-expression.

Flash-forward to 1998 and I had just moved to New York City. My dream came true! But I quickly became painfully aware that my shyness was going to be a problem and if I didn’t do something to overcome it it would cost me money, experiences and relationships. That’s when I began to face my limitations and transform them through personal development.

I dove into the world of transformation training and learned that I could diffuse my self-sabotaging beliefs and actually build an entirely new mindset using the power of my words and thoughts to create a new life!

Little did I know that I would end up helping business owners to develop the confidence and skills to unmute their voices and create a powerful presence so they can help more clients!

Can you share with us the most interesting story from your career? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘take aways’ you learned from that?

The craziest thing in my career involves a New York City taxi driver, a PR firm and a webcam. I was standing politely on the sidewalk cautiously waving my hand in the direction of approaching taxis when suddenly a driver from two lanes over veered towards me and screeches to a halt. I jumped in and gave him my destination.

The driver’s name was Clever Da Silva and he had become a minor NYC celebrity from his book, “New York City from a Cab Drivers View.” When I told him I worked in public relations he shoved his press release through the partition. And it was awful! All single spaces, all caps and way too many pages. He begged me to read it. So I did. And then he insisted that I help him get media coverage for his revolutionary concept. That’s when he took a round plastic object off of his dashboard and pointed it at me.

“Look at this!” he demanded. “It’s a webcam and you are being seen on the internet right now by people all over the world!”

This was 1999. Webcams were novel. Our cell phones could barely be used to text and we certainly didn’t have cameras and video capabilities as standard equipment in our yet to be invented smart phones. Clever had figured out how to rig a webcam to an internet signal and send it to a website. Toddlers can do that nowadays, but back then it was something extraordinary. And Clever wasn’t interested in his riders in the back seat. He was showing his audience what New York City looks like through the eyes of a cabbie driving through the skyscraper canyons! And people from around the world were loving it.

He begged me to help get this press release in front of the media and wouldn’t take no for an answer. So I told my bosses this crazy story and asked if they would be willing to take Clever on as a client. They laughed at me. And then one said, “We don’t do that kind of PR. But you are welcome to come in early or stay late and use our resources.” This is before media lists were available digitally and instead you had thick directories to search through to find the right contact info.

So I did. I was still new to the PR world but knew enough to put together a press release and media kits that included metal taxis wrapped in yellow tissue paper. Believe it or not it worked! My phone started ringing off the hook from bookers, producers and reporters from around the globe all wanting to interview Clever Da Silva the Internet Cabbie. His story and innovation were an international internet success story.

And then I got fired. The same bosses who told me to use their resources decided I was doing to well for my “client” and thought I should move on. I was devastated because Clever wasn’t a paying client. It was more of a risky project. And now I was jobless and broke.

Then the craziest part of the story happened! A man got into Clever’s cab and recognized him from all that media attention. He purchased the rights to Clever’s concept and next thing I know I am being interviewed to be the CEO of a new internet company and suddenly I’m making six figures.

My takeaway: When opportunity strikes say “yes!” Even if you don’t know how to make it happen.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

What makes Rich Awakenings Media stand out is our ability to lead our clients to new levels of confidence and credibility in 45 days or less. Clients who have struggled for years with low self-esteem and fear of rejection quickly transform their mindsets and become bold, confident and magnetic presenters on-camera and wherever they are speaking.

I think this exemplifies what is possible for our clients: “Before working with Rich I was very resistant to using video. It just terrified me! While I worked with Rich I got tons of reinforcing, constructive feedback and a lot of really clear formulas about what makes a video work. Really simple! And now, after Rich, here I am making videos!” Nancy Kleaver, Executive Director Dancing Classrooms NYC.

Nancy had been resisting appearing in marketing videos for her organization even though she knew it would give them an edge. Then she heard about my course Camera Confidence 101 and decided she would give it a try. Her transformation was so inspiring to witness and her confidence level is now through the roof. It is so gratifying to watch really smart people step into their power like this!

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

I agree! People who excel in business almost always say they couldn’t have done it without an inner-circle of coaches, mentors and advisors. I could list scores of people who helped me along the way, but the first person who popped into my mind is Stephen Massaro, a former boss. He saw how I was struggling to meet my sales goals because I was too afraid to ask for the sale. He knew how to fix it and it was through mindset training. He showed me that I had limiting beliefs about money and fear of rejection. Stephen was relentless with me and I’m not going to lie, it was difficult, but in the end it paid off! He taught me that if I am willing to be bigger than my fears I can do anything.

Ok thank you for all that. Now let’s shift to the main focus of this interview. We would like to explore and flesh out the experience of Impostor Syndrome. How would you define Impostor Syndrome? What do people with Imposter Syndrome feel?

For me, Imposter Syndrome is a mindset condition. It’s when a person has thoughts of inadequacy and an irrational fear of being discovered to be a fraud. Said another way, Imposter Syndrome is what happens when a competent expert lets doubt creep in and dissuade them from fully using their voice, talent or knowledge because they believe they are not worthy enough.

And it feels awful! In my experience working with clients over many years, there is a fear of rejection involved. And often a deeply rooted sense of shame. It can feel frustrating, infuriating and heavy. I know that’s how it feels for me. In my case mistakes from my past creep up to tell me that I have no right to call myself an expert because if people only knew…blah blah blah. The fear of looking bad or flat out being rejected spices this lethal cocktail of dread. And without acknowledging these feelings and fully feeling them it is nearly impossible to move past Imposter Syndrome. Awareness is the first step.

What are the downsides of Impostor Syndrome? How can it limit people?

Imposter Syndrome is a huge issue for so many really smart and otherwise confident people! When you give in to it and allow those mistaken beliefs to rule you it will keep you limited in your ability to truly position and present yourself as an expert in your field. You will miss out on opportunities to present your services, diminish your credibility and quite simply you will not be as financially successful in your business as you could be. The fear will keep you playing a very small and safe game.

How can the experience of Impostor Syndrome impact how one treats others?

I notice the people in the grips of Imposter Syndrome can be unduly defensive or jealous of those who are blazing a trail ahead. They may see themselves as inferior and less-than-capable than their peers and that can lead to the feelings of jealously and envy. And it becomes a vicious cycle that leads to nothing good. The worst part is the person in the grips of this cycle is using their time, energy and resources focused on their ‘competition’ and their own feelings of inadequacy instead of showing up as the visionary leader they are and not making a positive impact in their client’s lives. I’ve been there myself!

We would love to hear your story about your experience with Impostor Syndrome. Would you be able to share that with us?

I shared with you the story about how I went from NYC newbie to fledgling PR guy to jobless only to end up being a CEO. I still don’t know how I had the guts to say “Yes” to Clever Da Silva. But that one decision opened up an entirely new world for me that would lead me to an outrageous opportunity ten years later.

In 2008 I was tapped to be the leader of a fledgling organization, the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce New York. During the previous ten years I went from shy guy to being known as one the most well-connected people in NYC. And that is one-hundred percent a result of all the mindset, personal and spiritual development work I had been soaking up.

But I had no idea how to create, let alone lead, a chamber of commerce. Talk about imposter syndrome material! Yet I still said, “Yes!” to that opportunity. It was ridiculously terrifying. Businesses, investment money and reputations were on the line and I was at the head of it all. But I believed in the vision of the chamber and I knew that we could prosper. Even though it happened to be the height of the global financial recession of 2008 our team didn’t let those external realities dictate our actions. We not only built the foundation for the chamber of commerce but we did it in such a way that the organization continues to thrive today. If I had let Imposter Syndrome have its way there’s no way we would have succeeded.

Did you ever shake the feeling off? If yes, what have you done to mitigate it or eliminate it?

Imposter Syndrome is something that will try its best to get you. I’m not going to lie, it still tries to take me down. But now I know how to spot it and I have tools to extinguish it and to remember who I really am.

My main tools are a combination of mindfulness, mindset and taking action towards the very thing the fear tells me I can’t accomplish.

In your opinion, what are 5 steps that someone who is experiencing Impostor Syndrome can take to move forward despite feeling like an “Impostor”? Please share a story or an example for each.

One of the tools I teach my clients is the 5 Steps to Overcoming Limiting Beliefs. Imposter Syndrome is nothing but a limiting belief a.k.a. a bad thought habit that has you convinced that you are not worthy or ready to share your expertise. It’s a mindset issue and that is the good news! Because of the marvel of technology that is our human brain it is possible to create new thought habits that serve to empower rather that inhibit you. Thanks to neuroplasticity (the brain’s ability to continually learn new information and create new habits) you can literally choose new thoughts that over time and with repetition lead to new results. This is how I went from being terribly shy, self-conscious and fearful to courageous, confident and bold. Here’s my 5 Steps:

1. Awareness — As soon as you feel the affects of Imposter Syndrome rising, stop and take three deep breaths. With each breath become aware of the thoughts you are having and the feelings that accompany them. Just pay attention. Imagine you are a fly on the wall watching yourself having this experience. When you can separate your true self from the negative thoughts flooding your mind you will have access to breaking free. This is mindfulness.

2. Attitude — Next check your attitude. What is your self talk? Are you berating, criticizing or belittling yourself for feeling unworthy or inadequate? Until you have laid down the seeds of a new way of knowing yourself you will likely be feeling frustrated, sad or even mad at yourself. That’s ok. And now that you have acknowledged your attitude you can choose to change your mind. Are you willing to be bigger than your fears, doubts, worries and pre-conceived notions? Willingness is the key to change. Be willing.

3. Action — Now you are in a mental place where change can occur and it’s time to take action. Being aware and willing are crucial but they alone won’t make the difference. This is where your commitment to being the best you can be coupled with your desire to make a positive impact in the lives of your clients becomes your rocket fuel. There are many actions you can take to create a new mindset: affirmations, meditation, mindfulness practices and transformation training are all powerful actions. In my experience using The Mind Mastery Formula has been my fastest route to laying down new, empowering mental thought habits. It’s a simple process based in neuroscience in which you ask yourself three questions every day that put you in the driver’s seat of your mindset. It starts with “Who are you willing to be in order to create extraordinary results from this day/meeting/presentation?” Then you choose three positive states of being that you want to embody so you can be your best. You can get the full process for free on my website www.richawakenings.com/gift. It literally takes thirty seconds to do this and you will soon notice a shift in your thinking away from unworthiness to confidence because you are literally creating new mental thought patterns.

4. Ask — Mindset work is powerful! And unless you are trained in transformation processes it can be daunting when your limiting beliefs seem to have the upper hand. So I always recommend asking for support! World-class leaders know that asking for help is the best thing to do to grow in any area of life and business. Working with a transformation coach has always been my secret sauce and perhaps that is why I became one myself!

5. Ascend — Give yourself permission to soar. It sounds really simple but without giving yourself permission to fly you will stay on the ground no matter how much you do to improve. You can give yourself the green light even if you don’t know how or what the next best step is to take. Trust yourself and know that everything you need to ascend is truly available to you right now. Be courageous.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the greatest amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

I see so many people suffering and at the effect of limiting beliefs. They stop short of heeding the call in their hearts to make a positive impact in their world because some old mental habit tells them they are unworthy, unprepared or inadequate. I would love to see a movement where kids are taught about the power they have to use their words and thoughts to create a mindset that will support them in reaching any goals, aspirations or dreams they have. Imagine what the world would be like if kids learned these tools at 10 instead of 40 years old?

We are blessed that some very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them 🙂

Lin-Manuel Miranda hands down! This man is so talented, so inspiring and seems so humble! His music, words and work ethic are a fantastic template for me. He believes in his message and knows he has something inside of him that is meant to be shared with the world and nothing stops him from doing just that. There’s a quick line in his groundbreaking Broadway musical, “In The Heights”: “No pare sigue, sigue!” It roughly translates to, “Don’t stop! Keep going, keep going!”

How can our readers follow you on social media?

Readers can connect with me at:

Website — https://www.richawakenings.com/gift

Facebook — HTTP://www.Facebook.com/RichAwakenings

LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/richoceguera

Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/richawakeningsmedia/

YouTube — https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqbqbMw6Cu6lP-3fGF8ZJKw/videos

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

Thank you for the opportunity! I hope what I shared helps someone out there who is struggling with Imposter Syndrome.


Rich Oceguera of Rich Awakenings Media: How To Thrive Despite Experiencing Impostor Syndrome was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.