The Building Business Podcast

Matt Thiry

Stories about businesses, the individuals that made it happen, and lessons learned along the way. read less
BusinessBusiness

Episodes

Sarah Soliman / Soliman Productions, Inc.
Apr 7 2021
Sarah Soliman / Soliman Productions, Inc.
www.TheBuildingBusinessPodcast.comSarah Soliman has over a decade of experience in production.  Her company, Soliman Productions, covers the meetings industry at large.  Recently, Sarah was included in the Orlando Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 list.  She has also been recognized for her work in the industry by several organizations.   In 2014, she won IAEE's Rookie of the Year Award.   In 2018, Sarah was honored with the Rising Star Award for the second quarter of 2018 by the MPI Greater Orlando Chapter and was also a finalist for the Emerging Leader Award by the Association For Women In Events.  In 2019, Sarah was recognized as a Rising Star by Meetings and Conventions, an Industry Changemaker by MeetingsNet and an Industry Trendsetter by Meetings Today.  She is a recipient of the Smart Meetings 2019 Smart Women in Meetings Entrepreneur Award and a 2019 Connect Association 40 Under 40 honoree.Sarah is a talented entrepreneur, and a natural leader.  While her business was previously primarily based on in-person same-day meetings and conventions, she quickly adapted to the COVID environment and was able to weather the storm and strengthen her company and her team in the process.  In this episode, we discussed Sarah’s journey from TV, radio, and events to taking the leap of faith into entrepreneurialism.  In addition, Sarah shares here entrepreneurial tip: learn to overcome imposture syndrome.Learn more about Sarah and Soliman Productions, Inc.:Website: Soliman Productions, Inc.LinkedIn: Sarah Soliman Instagram: Soliman Productions, Inc.Facebook: Soliman Productions, Inc.Twitter: Sarah Soliman / Soliman Productions, Inc.YouTube: Soliman Productions, Inc.
Anita Rajendra / La Belle Bump & Mina and Vine
Mar 10 2021
Anita Rajendra / La Belle Bump & Mina and Vine
https://www.thebuildingbusinesspodcast.comAnita Rajendra is a passionate entrepreneur.  She is the Founder and CEO of La Belle Bump, as well as the Co-Founder and CEO of Mina & Vine.  La Belle Bump is a service business that rents maternity and nursing clothes. Mina & Vine is a complimentary product business, introducing a patent-pending nursing scarf.Prior to launching these businesses, Anita was a marketing leader with consumer marketing experience at Fortune 500 Companies. She held strong track records of generating successful results through planning, leading, inspiring, and taking initiative in the full scope of marketing executions.  She has been recognized as highly ambitious, people-oriented, and quality conscious.Among her talent as an entrepreneur, she is skilled with digital/interactive marketing, social media marketing, mobile marketing, strategic & tactical brand marketing, media planning, agency & partner relationships, and promotions.During this episode, Anita shares three entrepreneurial tips: (i) stop talking and start doing, (ii) done is better than perfect, and (iii) network even when you do not need anything.  Learn more about Anita, La Belle Bump, and Mina and Vine:Website: La Belle Bump / Mina and VineLinkedIn:  Anita Rajendra / La Belle Bump / Mina and VineInstagram: La Belle Bump / Mina and VineFacebook: La Belle Bump / Mina and VineTwitter: La Belle Bump / Mina and VinePintrest: La Belle Bump
Dan Rosenfelt / Third Rail Studios
Feb 17 2021
Dan Rosenfelt / Third Rail Studios
https://www.thebuildingbusinesspodcast.comDan Rosenfelt is the President of Third Rail Studios, an Atlanta purpose build film and television studio consisting of 60,000 square feet of sound stages, 70,000 square feet of mill and support space, almost 30,000 feet of office and amenities space, and a team that provides best in class service. In this episode, we discuss Dan’s journey from being a location scout in Philadelphia after graduating from college, through his career developments in Los Angeles, including working for the Jim Henson Company, working as an assistant to a literary agent, becoming Director of Development for Weed Road Pictures, and working Vice President of Business Development and Operations at Riverfront Stages.  We also discuss his journey to Georgia to run Third Rail Studios.  As a part of Georgia’s booming film and television industry, Third Rail Studios has hosted a variety of television and big screen productions.  In addition, Dan promotes the next generation of his industry by providing internships to students of the film and television industry, giving them an opportunity to get hands-on experience working at a studio.During this episode, Dan shares a few entrepreneurial tips: (i) have a passion for the product, (ii) you can be nice in a cutthroat industry and get ahead, (iii) networking is one of the most important things you can do, and (iv) don’t get bogged down by what you don’t know.  Learn more about Dan and Third Rail Studios:Website: Third Rail StudiosLinkedIn: Dan Rosenfelt / Third Rail StudiosInstagram: Dan Rosenfelt / Third Rail StudiosFacebook: Third Rail StudiosTwitter: Dan Rosenfelt / Third Rail Studios
John Hope Bryant / Operation Hope
Feb 3 2021
John Hope Bryant / Operation Hope
www.TheBuildingBusinessPodcast.comJohn Hope Bryant is the Chairman and CEO at Operation HOPE, Bryant Group Ventures, and The Promise Homes Company.In November of 2020, LinkedIn named John Hope Bryant #10 on their Top Voices of 2020, along with Brene Brown, Sara Blakely, Mark Cuban and Arianna Huffington.  John has also been named American Banker magazine 2016 “Innovator of the Year”, Inc.’s “The World’s 10 Top CEOs” (honorable mention), and, in 1994, he was named one of Time magazine’s “50 Leaders for the Future.”  John is an American entrepreneur, author, philanthropist, and prominent thought leader on financial inclusion, economic empowerment, and financial dignity.John Hope Bryant is the founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Operation HOPE, Inc. the largest not- for-profit and best-in-class provider of financial literacy, financial inclusion, and economic empowerment tools and services in the United States for youth and adults; chairman and chief executive officer of Bryant Group Ventures and The Promise Homes Company, the largest for-profit minority-controlled owners of institutional-quality, single-family residential rental homes in the U.S., and co-founder of Global Dignity.The last five U.S. presidents have recognized his work, and he has served as an advisor to the last three sitting U.S. presidents, from both political parties. He is responsible for financial literacy becoming the policy of the U.S. federal government. In January 2016, he became the only private American citizen to inspire the renaming of a building on the White House campus, when the U.S. Treasury Annex Building was renamed the Freedman’s Bank Building. The Freedman’s Banks, founded by President Abraham Lincoln, legacy has become the narrative of the work of Operation HOPE—to help all people in the ‘Invisible Class’ become fully integrated into our nation’s economy. In April 2017, a historical marker, also inspired by Bryant, to honor the final flight of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to Memphis on April 3, 1968, was installed at the Memphis International Airport 49 years to the day that Eastern Flight 381 arrived from Atlanta.A member of the founding class of The Forum of Young Global Leaders, and founding member of Clinton Global Initiative, Bryant is a LinkedIn Influencer, contributor to Huffington Post, THRIVE Global and Black Enterprise, and a member of the World Economic Forum and OECD Expert Networks.  He also frequently guests on CNBC’s Squawk Box.His Facebook Live “Silver Rights” Series has received 40+ million views, and serves as an engaging platform to foster essential discussion in the digital age around financial inclusion and social uplift. This series led directly to a Facebook sponsoring episodic streaming series entitled ‘Delivering The Memo’, inspired by Bryant’s newest bestselling book, THE MEMO.He has received hundreds of awards and citations for his work, including, Oprah Winfrey’s Use Your Life Award, and the John Sherman Award for Excellence in Financial Education from the U.S. Treasury. Bryant recently received an honorable mention in Inc. magazine’s “The World’s 10 Top CEOs” article that spotlights global servant leaders as the visionaries behind some of the most successful organizations.Bryant is the author of bestsellers (book links below), and I highly recommend reading his most recent book, Up From Nothing: The Untold Story of How We (All) Succeed.  He is one of the only bestselling authors on economics and business leadership in the world today who happens to also be African-American.Learn more about John and Operation Hope:
Michael Coles / The Great American Cookie Company
Dec 2 2020
Michael Coles / The Great American Cookie Company
Michael J. Coles is a co-founder of the Great American Cookie Company and former CEO of Caribou Coffee. After a successful 19-year career in the clothing business, Michael tested his entrepreneurial skills in 1977, when he co-founded Great American Cookie Company with a joint investment of only $8,000. Shortly after starting the company, he was involved in a near-fatal motorcycle accident and was told by doctors he would never walk again unaided. As he recovered through a self-designed rehabilitation program, he took the company from its first store in Perimeter Mall in Atlanta to hundreds of stores nationwide and, at the same time, set three coast-to-coast bicycling records. Michael’s commitment to community service led him to run for public office in 1996 as the democratic nominee for the House of Representatives in the Sixth District of Georgia, and in 1998 he won the democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, challenging Senator Paul Coverdell. In 2003, Coles accepted the corporate reins of Caribou Coffee Company as chairman, CEO and president. Over the next five years, Coles more than doubled the size of the company, extending the brand reach domestically and abroad. In September 2005, he successfully took the company public on NASDAQ under the symbol CBOU. Coles went on to join others in founding Charter Bank & Trust and served as its chairman, taking the bank public and selling the publicly traded company to Synovus Bank.  Coles is also the former chairman of Brand Holding Company and chairman of Brand Bank. Michael was appointed by Governor Roy Barnes in 1999 to chair the Georgia Film, Video and Music Advisory Board.  During his four years as chairman, Michael and his board successfully passed HB610, which was the first-ever tax incentive of its kind in Georgia. That bill allowed the film industry to begin a rebirth, going from $170 million in 1999 to over $1.5 billion in economic impact by 2003. Today, Georgia’s film industry generates over $12 billion in economic impact. Having contributed much of their time and resources to education, the arts, environment and philanthropic organizations, Michael and his wife, Donna were honored as the Georgia Philanthropists of the Year in 1995. Michael was appointed by Governor Roy Barnes in 2001 to serve on the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia. In recognition of Michael’s success, leadership, and benevolence, Kennesaw State University, under the authority granted by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, declared that the institution’s School of Business be named and known in perpetuity as the Michael J. Coles College of Business at Kennesaw State University.  In 1999, Michael received the Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters Degree from Kennesaw State University. On October 17, 2018, Michael officially launched his book titled “Time to Get Tough: How Cookies Coffee and a Crash Led To Success in Business and Life.” During this episode, Michael shares many entrepreneurial tips, including, you don't have to be the smartest person in the room, and surround yourself with good people and you'll be surprised at how good they will make you look.
Deke Copenhaver / Copenhaver Consulting, LLC
Nov 18 2020
Deke Copenhaver / Copenhaver Consulting, LLC
Deke Copenhaver currently serves as Principal of Copenhaver Consulting, LLC, a niche consulting firm in Augusta, Georgia serving the needs of businesses, nonprofits and local governments. In May of 2019 he published his first book “The Changemaker: the Art of Building Better Leaders.”Deke served as Mayor of Augusta, Georgia from 2005 through 2014.  Since leaving office, Deke hosted “There it is With Deke Copenhaver,” a daily call-in radio show on WGAC New Talk Radio.  In addition, Deke has served as Managing Consultant for the Augusta Economic Development Authority.Deke has spoken at many national conferences on topics including city design, economic development, healthcare, veteran’s issues, and the non-profit industry. He currently authors a monthly column on leadership published by the Georgia Municipal Association.Deke has been recognized as one of Georgia Trend Magazine’s “100 Most Influential Georgians” seven times. Southern Living Magazine named Deke as one of their “Heroes of the New South” for his passionate work in helping to revitalize Augusta’s historic inner-city African American neighborhoods. In 2010, Deke was awarded the “Exemplary Service for Community Unity” award by the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Committee. Deke was the 2013 recipient of the Robert F. Cocklin Award presented by the Third Region of the Association of the United States Army for his exceptional support of AUSA, our nation’s military and their families. In 2014, the Greater Augusta Arts Council recognized Deke with the President’s Award for his support of and commitment to the arts. In 2017, Deke was recognized by Leadership Augusta with their Ruth Crawford Community Leadership Award. In 2017, Copenhaver was presented with the First Annual Invest Augusta Cyber Leadership Award.During this episode, Deke shares his entrepreneurial tip: don’t be afraid to go against the status quo.