Ideas Elevated

Bree Kellum Balogun is the Senior Director of Account Management at Revolt Media and TV. Throughout her career, she's worked with major brands such as Walmart, Fiat, Coca-Cola, and more. In this episode, Bree chats with Aize Asowata, the Marketing Manager at Comcast NBCUniversal. You'll walk away with tips on how to build trust, set boundaries, and develop new strategies to gain and maintain client relationships.

Kendra Bracken-Ferguson is a digital marketer, brand architect, and entrepreneur. She's worked with companies such as Ralph Lauren, AT&T, Under Armour, Sally Beauty, helping them develop the next evolution of their digital media. In this episode, Kendra chats with Kia Brooks, the founder of the Gotham Film and Media Institute’s Owning It program. They discuss Kendra’s career path, including her experience, partnering with Halle Berry in 2020 to build the health and wellness company, rē•spin. You'll walk away with tactics to help you tell your brand story, and you’ll learn Kendra’s strategies for maintaining balance in her life as a busy entrepreneur.

Marlin Williams is the vice president of diversity and inclusion at StockX, where she’s responsible for driving the development, execution, and maintenance of a comprehensive diversity, equity, and inclusion strategy. Tani Brown is Jopwell’s head of community. In her role, she leads marketing and growth, while creating spaces for the community of Black, Latinx, and Native American students and professionals to learn, connect and advance. In this episode, Marlin and Tani join my colleague Khalilah Lawson during one of our Live@LIFT virtual events to chat about the best hiring practices for creating an inclusive work environment. They’ll explain how technology impacts your ability to build diverse teams, and how to use your company’s demographic data to set D&I goals.

Dr. Stefanie K. Johnson is a professor at the University of Colorado who studies how unconscious bias affects the evaluation of leaders, and Andrea Perdomo is the network catalyst of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs at Techstars. In this episode, Stefanie and Andrea chat with Juan Otero about how both founders and employees can foster a more inclusive company culture. They’ll also share steps that you can take right now to start building the foundation for a more equitable future in your workplace.

Rashaad Lambert is an award-winning marketing architect, philanthropist, and community builder. In his role as director of culture and community for Forbes, he's establishing the media brand as a preeminent community for black and brown entrepreneurs. Chris Anderson is the director of community learning and love, and Alicia Agnew is the people operations manager at Guru, one of the fastest-growing startups in Philadelphia. Chris leads community programs, customer education, and marketing. Alicia is a DEI-driven people operations pro. In this episode, Rashaad, Alicia, and Chris chat with Kendra Lee, Senior Director, Leadership Development and DE&I Portfolio Management at ‎Comcast during one of our Live@LIFT virtual events. They’ll discuss the role that management plays in fostering inclusive work environments and explore the difference between reactive and proactive inclusivity. Plus, they’ll give you tips on how to create and lead an inclusive workplace that values, protects, and creates opportunities for all employees.

Nir Bashan is a creativity expert and the CEO and founder of The Creator Mindset Consulting. Through his business, Nir has taught thousands of people how to harness the power of creativity to improve profitability, increase sales, and ultimately create more meaning in their work. His clients have included big-name companies like AT&T, JetBlue, and Ace Hardware, but most recently, he's made his expertise available to everybody through his new book titled The Creator Mindset. In this episode, Nir and Danielle will discuss why a creative mentality is key to building a sustainable business. They'll also give you steps you can take to unlock your own creativity and improve your company.

Chip Conley began his career as a hotel entrepreneur when, at age 26, he founded some of the first boutique hotels in the industry. Chip sold his business at 52 and was recruited by Airbnb to serve as its head of global hospitality and strategy while also mentoring its CEO, Brian Chesky. His experience led him to open the Modern Elder Academy in Baja, Mexico, offering a roadmap for entrepreneurs and others to make the most of midlife and beyond. For this episode, Chip joins Danielle for a LIVE@LIFT virtual event where he shares insights on how entrepreneurs can stand out in today's ultra-competitive landscape. He’ll also discuss future trends in travel and hospitality, and the daily practices he says have made the biggest impact on his life.

Emily Heyward is a ground-breaking entrepreneur and branding expert that has helped companies like Casper and Allbirds become household names. She was named as one of the Most Important Entrepreneurs of the Decade by Inc. Magazine and was selected as one of Entrepreneur Magazine’s Most Powerful Women of 2019. In this episode, Emily and Danielle will discuss the questions that entrepreneurs should ask themselves when they build their brands. You’ll learn why strong, authentic branding is vital to a company’s success. And, you’ll hear Emily’s advice on how to stand out from the competition in the hyper-competitive start-up scene.

Shanel Fields is the dynamic Founder and CEO of telemedicine service MD Ally. She is also a member of the Board of Directors for Techstars, a startup accelerator. Throughout Shanel’s career, she has combined her technology expertise and passion for healthcare equality to bring innovation to the public safety space. In this episode, Shanel and Danielle will discuss how Shanel obtained the funding and partnerships she needed to grow her company. You’ll learn what to look for in an investor-entrepreneur relationship. And, Shanel will discuss how current public safety events have inspired her future plans for her business.

Yancey Strickler cofounded Kickstarter, the global crowdfunding platform for founders. Kickstarter went on to become the number one network in the world for supporting and growing new creative ideas. More recently, he has written a book called This Could Be Our Future: A Manifesto for a More Generous World. In this episode, Yancey chats with Comcast's SVP of Community Impact, Dalila Wilson-Scott. They’ll relive moments that challenged Yancey and his co-founders as they built Kickstarter, and eventually how he knew it was time to move on. Yancey will also share his decision-making framework that will help you and your team build better decisions for your startup.

Alex Kantrowitz is the founder of Big Technology, a independent newsletter and podcast that focuses on the tech giants. He’s the author of Always Day One: How The Tech Titans Plan To Stay On Top Forever, a book that explores how even the most successful companies still operate like startups. In this episode, Alex and Danielle chat about the Always Day One concept, and how companies can adopt this mentality in order to succeed. They also talk about the difference between being a visionary and a facilitator, and how every founder must find a sustainable balance between the two.

Cal Fussman is a New York Times bestselling author, longtime Esquire writer, corporate consultant, and host of the Big Questions podcast. He’s best known for his column in Esquire magazine, where he’s interviewed leaders such as Mikhail Gorbachev, Jeff Bezos, Muhammad Ali, and so many more. In this episode, Cal chats with Luke Butler, Senior Director of LIFT Labs, about taking the lessons he’s learned from world icons and sharing them with founders that are building the world of tomorrow. And, Cal will share tips on how to navigate the uncertainty of our current unprecedented times.

Natalie W. Nixon is a PHD, strategist, and a regular contributor to INC online magazine. Her latest book The Creativity Leap, provides a fresh look into how to cultivate creativity in the workplace. In this episode, Keenan Corrigan chats with Natalie about her wide-ranging background in cultural anthropology, fashion, and service design. You’ll learn the difference between wonder and rigor, and how the secret to creativity is balancing those two things. And, you’ll hear Natalie’s advice on how you can be as creative as possible in taking your business to the next level.

Shauna Griffiths is a dynamic, hybrid-marketer who has successfully worked and led remotely for the last 5 years. She was named a 2017 Game Changer by SportsBusiness Journal, and was selected as one of the 2017 HATCH 100. In this episode, Shauna and Danielle will chat about ways you can not only work from home, but LEAD from home during the COVID crisis or anytime when leading a team remotely. She’ll emphasize the importance of self-care, and caring for your family and pets, while isolated. And, she’ll give you tips and tricks for other ways you can maximize your productivity, and remain happy and healthy, while staying home and helping to flatten the curve.

Rohit Bhargava is an innovation and marketing expert and the founder of the Non-Obvious Company. He spent 15 years as a marketing strategist for Ogilvy and Leo Burnett, is a Wall Street Journal best selling author of six business books, and a professor of marketing and innovation at Georgetown University. In this episode, Rohit will map out ways companies can pivot to make money now, to maintain cashflow during economic turbulence. He’ll help you learn to think in non-obvious ways, and identify solutions to problems that may seem unsolvable. And, he’ll share his advice for using any extra time you might have while at home to your advantage, so you can come out of the quarantine ahead of the game.

David Marquet is a retired U.S. Naval Captain who spent years managing nuclear submarines. Now, decades later, he’s using the skills he learned 800 feet underwater to maneuver leadership in the workplace. In 2013, he published “Turn this Ship Around!”, his first in a series of books that explore effective, empowering leadership. In this episode, Luke Butler sits down with David to talk about his newest book, Leadership is Language. You’ll hear how a naval commander turned his adversity into a completely new method of leadership.

Kelly Hoey is a networking expert, and the author of Build Your Dream Network: Forging Powerful Relationships In A Hyper-Connected World. Kelly has been featured in Forbes, Fast Company, and Business Insider, and just this year EBW included her on their list of the “100 Most Influential Global Leaders Empowering Women Worldwide”. In this episode, Kelly and Danielle Talk about how you can build and strengthen your network from home, during the COVID crisis. She’ll explain how, in times like this, it is crucial to lean on and invest in the relationships and peers you already have. And, whether you’re a venture-backed CEO or a solopreneur just starting out, she’ll share tips for how to supercharge your network, both virtually and once we can venture outside again.

Steven Levy is the editor-at-large at WIRED Magazine and has written multiple books about technology, cryptography, the internet, cybersecurity, and privacy. He was named as America’s Premier Technology Journalist by The Washington Post. His Latest book, Facebook: The Inside Story digs deep into the story of the once-in-a-generation unicorn company that has changed the way we communicate. Steven had years of unprecedented access to Facebook’s executives, employees, and operations in order...

Steven Levy is the editor-at-large at WIRED Magazine and has written multiple books about technology, cryptography, the internet, cybersecurity, and privacy. He was named as America’s Premier Technology Journalist by The Washington Post. His Latest book, Facebook: The Inside Story digs deep into the story of the once-in-a-generation unicorn company that has changed the way we communicate. Steven had years of unprecedented access to Facebook’s executives, employees, and operations in order to tell his unbiased opinion about the rocky rise of Facebook. In this episode, Steven chats with our producer Kevin Chemidlin about what he learned while following the multibillion-dollar company for the past 5 years. He'll talk about Facebook's motto of "move fast and break things," and how founders can learn to move fast without breaking as many things. And, he'll share what founders can do to make sure their business is using the latest tools and technologies to elevate their idea beyond the competition. Follow Comcast NBCUniversal Lift Labs online: Join the Newsletter! comcastnbculift.com @LIFT_Labs on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook

Bob Moore is Co-Founder and CEO of Crossbeam, a data platform that helps companies discover which customers and leads they have in common. Before Crossbeam, Bob cofounded and sold two other successful companies, and his writing about technology, startups, and data has appeared in The New York Times, Forbes, TechCrunch, VentureBeat, and numerous other publications. In today’s episode, Bob and Danielle chat about how his first company, RJMetrics, was founded just as the economy collapsed in 2008. He’ll share the lessons he learned from building a company during a crisis, and how those learnings gave him the tools he used later, during times of prosperity, to beat the competition. And, Bob will compare those experiences to what he sees in the COVID-19 crisis to help you and your business adapt to these times of uncertainty. Follow Comcast NBCUniversal Lift Labs online: Join the Newsletter! comcastnbculift.com @LIFT_Labs on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook