Faces Of Marketing

Manisha Thakor is founder of MoneyZen and VP of Financial Wellbeing at Brighton Jones. Manisha explains how she is one of Portland's best kept secrets even though she has written two books that are huge sellers - one called “Get Financially Naked - how to talk money with your honey” and “On my Own Two Feet - a modern girl’s guide to personal finance” and has been featured over 100 times on CNN, CNBC, Fox News, MSNBC, and many more major media players. In this podcast interview, Manisha is amazing at explaining complex personal finance issues into simple terms and explain the emotions behind why we spend and invest the way we do. She talks about the personal connection to how and why she became so passionate about empowering women in gaining confidence in making sound personal finance decisions. Despite her tremendous financial knowledge and success, Manisha has struggled with bipolar and is now a mental health advocate who was able to somehow “push through” her mental health until being properly diagnosed.

Beverage industry prodigy Joth Ricci is President of Dutch Bros, co-founder of TASTE: United for Equity, and godfather of cold brew, to name a few of his many hats. Though the road has not always been easy going, in the face of such challenges as a dramatic downturn from day one of his role heading Jones soda, Joth takes it all with positivity, perspective, and the mindset that we learn the most in difficult times. From an active childhood spent embracing the outdoors and small town life, Joth entered college in his hometown of Corvallis. He graduated with visions of teaching and coaching basketball, but landed in business and quickly flourished. Now, he sees companies as classrooms, where he has the opportunity to teach others and go together towards improvement and people-centered success.

Allie Magyar is founder + CEO of event tech software Hubb and owner of Dynamic Events. Failure is a word that no longer scares this serial entrepreneur, who thrives in the fast-paced world of events, tech - and cars. In high school, Allie was absorbed in import car culture. Turning wrenches and cruising Broadway at all hours would accelerate to bootstrapping and putting on her own car show at 18. Though for a moment she thought she might be a music teacher, she quickly dropped her flute and was drawn back into the events world. Off her early success, she built up a 6-year career running car shows. At a pivotal moment, she found herself on the Portland Expo Center floor, $100,000 in debt at age 24. Nowhere to go but up. In time, Allie's tenacity and passion brought her to lead two successful companies, and to recognize that if you're failing, you're learning: you can pick yourself up and achieve. Today, she shares this important message, using her voice to help change the conversation and make space for women

Eileen Park is Director of Communications for Mayor of Portland Ted Wheeler. Nobody would have guessed that this self-described intensely shy girl from New Jersey would follow in the footsteps of her idol Diane Sawyer--except for Eileen herself, whose growing clarity of purpose and self-confidence in college manifested in the chance to intern at NBC as Diane’s assistant. Through this magical opportunity, and transformative experiences studying abroad in Cape Town, Eileen blossomed into a globe-trotting, fearless reporter, landing everywhere from Beirut to Myanmar until discovering herself at home in Portland 4 years ago. Eileen set down roots and soon became one of the city’s most trusted voices as a KOIN 6 news anchorwoman. Just 6 months ago, she made a huge career change and entered Portland’s political sphere to shift from adding to the noise to bringing substance and humanity to the center of our discourse; to engage the community and foster more layered conversations that move towards positive change.

Cinthia Manuel is the Director of Emerging Leaders, an initiative providing pathways to leadership for traditional and non-traditional students of color and aspiring professionals. Cinthia made Oregon her home after moving from Mexico with her parents and sister as a 13-year-old. After a string of blazing successes in the marketing + corporate sphere, she landed in the nonprofit world and now works tirelessly to make Portland a city that truly embraces the rich diversity in its own backyard. Cinthia’s unfailing smile and matchless work ethic were imbued by the tight knit, loving family she grew up surrounded by in Mexico City, where she played outside and enjoyed games of Super Mario Brothers on the Nintendo her dad brought her from the US. Since her unexpected landing in Woodburn, OR as a teen, she has always loved her community + adopted home—but now she’s asking it to do and be more for its people, to become a place where all not only have opportunity, but feel welcome, wanted and a true sense of belonging

Ana Chaud, Founder of Garden Bar is, a shape-shifting force of nature. She danced her way through her childhood, growing in independence while navigating the bustling streets of São Paulo and embracing her creativity and passions despite a rigidly academic school environment and narrow societal narrative on the “right” professions to pursue. The veggies her mother gave her to snack on would later inspire her to open what is now one of Portland’s fastest-growing chains. Ana often found herself wondering “what’s my next life?” and encourages us all to make the leap, as she did when she moved from Brazil to the US without speaking English or knowing a soul. Always one to land on her own two feet, she built a series of successful careers, from reluctant interior design intern to the powerhouse entrepreneur she is today.

Mark Bitterman, founder of The Meadow and eponymous Bitterman Salt Co., is at the forefront of the artisanal food movement. His blending of premium craft goods and masterful storytelling create not just exquisite products but meaningful experiences and relationships within his devoted customer base.  Mark's childhood practice of letter writing nurtured a way with words, which, along with a naturally acute sense for the tactile, informed an ability to help others see the beauty in the details. As a kid, he was such a loner that he raised a large community of rats in his backyard chicken coop in Santa Barbara and routinely brought home live rattlesnakes to Mom. Mark's charisma found him loner-come-student body president in high school and later a writer-come-handyman in France - not to mention launched his salt empire and won him a James Beard Award.

Jessi Duley is pure energy and a badass entrepreneur. She is the founder + CEO of BurnCycle and comes from a family of entrepreneurs - her Dad (also her hero) is on his seventh business as a founder. Jessi has created a diehard following of melt-your-face, ride-or-die workout customers who live and breath BurnCycle. In the first 3 years of the company, she opened a new location at the same time as giving birth to each of her 3 kids. One beautiful thing about this interview - I didn't expect the conversation to so openly go into her struggle with mental health and the ups and downs that go with that. You can't get much more human than this interview- take a listen!

Kali Thorne Ladd is one of the most dynamic social entrepreneurs I know. She is co-founder and Executive Director of KairosPDX, which started as a charter school in North Portland, primarily for kids of color and started a movement in Portland for delivering equitable education for underserved kids, their families and the community. A defining moment for Kali was serving in the Peace Corps in South Africa for 3 years after college. In a post-Apartheid society, she saw first-hand how education defines a society and was determined to come back to the US and create system change to a US education system that chronically fails black and brown students. Her non-profit, KairosPDX, is one of the few bright spots in Oregon equitable education that is a model for how to transform our curriculum nationwide.

My sister + best friend, Kirsten Quigley, is founder + CEO of LunchSkins - an eco-friendly alternative to Ziploc baggies designed to reduce plastic pollution and sold in Target grocery, Whole Foods, Container Store and hundreds of retailers across North America. Kirsten shares openly about the extreme stress of betting the company on a new product line of recyclable paper bags versus the reusable fabric bags that consumers were using for years. As kids, we had a bunch of weekend adventures at our Maryland farm, but the thing that most defined Kirsten between high school and college was an international trip to Southeast Asia where she discovered that she felt most alive in uncomfortable places and situations that were most out of her comfort zone. That has served her well throughout her life and especially as an entrepreneur.

Justin Riordan, the founder + mastermind behind the world's first ever Guaranteed home staging company called Spade + Archer, shares openly about his life journey + entrepreneur journey and gives some old school marketing tips of bringing it back to milk and cookies. Justin has had a massive personal growth year in 2018 - 1) he launched a risky new service called Guaranteed that had never been done before, 2)hadn't heard from his birth father in 20 years and found out he was recently convicted as a child molester, 3) then his warehouse burned down on 4th of July. All in a matter of a few months, and Justin talks about this "flopportunity" as it led to a new building twice the size at same cost, huge increase in profitability, and doubled the size of the staff and company. Solid Gold!

Cathey Armillas is a marketer, speaker, and author of “The Unbreakable Rules of Marketing” and “How to Rock a TED Talk.” Cathey is a speaker coach to me and some of the best TEDx speakers I’ve seen, including a bunch of our entrepreneur friends. What touched me the most about Cathey’s life story is the inspiration and profound love she has for her younger sister, Karen — a sister who showed up for her again and again through Cathey’s dire moments post-divorce or roller-coaster emotions starting her own business. All of it.

Augusto Carneiro, founder + CEO of Nossa Familia Coffee, which is Oregon’s first B-corp coffee roaster. He holds strong values where family is always first. He grew up in Rio de Janeiro, spent his free time with extended family at their farm / coffee plantation an 8 hour drive away in the Brazil highlands. Augusto reached out to 120 college tennis programs and University of Portland was the one that accepted him. He became an engineer but his passion was to connect his vocation with family — leading him to import coffee from his family’s farm in Brazil and Nossa Familia Coffee was born. Like many of us, he fell into becoming an entrepreneur and a self-taught marketer.

Lou Radja, founder + owner of Be More Give More is one of the warmest, most inviting people you'll ever meet. He regularly speaks in front of hundreds of people, exudes confidence, and practices what he preaches about leading a life of success and significance. Not only does he run a company that does executive coaching and leadership training, but he started a school called EduCongo to help educate 2,000 kids who would not otherwise receive an education. All of this success came from singular life moments of pain and hurt (failing a key test at a distinguished high school in the Congo, or adapting quickly to not knowing any English at 17 yrs old and moving from Africa to Ashland, Oregon). There are dozens of life lessons that are relatable to ALL of us - that Lou literally teaches us in these key nuggets of wisdom and elements of the secrets to life. It's a podcast interview you don't want to miss.

I had the chance to interview an old friend who I nearly killed (youthful bravado + inexperience) in a mountaineering climb up Mt. Hood 20 years ago - Tim Goldsmid, VP of Marketing at Jack Link's, the largest and tastiest beef jerky company in the country. Tim shares his story of a life turning point in college where he took a year off during college to work in Crested Butte, Colorado. From that point onwards, his career has taken off! Tim shares his take on how major consumer brands will need to adapt to hyper-personalize their marketing efforts to be relevant in the near future.

Learn how one of Oregon's top entrepreneurs, Jill Nelson - founder/CEO of Ruby Receptionists, overcame some significant challenges in high school to run a 500 employee company that is one of the nations' Best Companies to Work. Jill was highly influenced by her Mom who was an artist + forbid Jill and her brothers to play by the rules and her Dad was an engineer and creator of systems. Jill herself is this beautiful melding of Accountant / Creative / Rule-breaker / Entrepreneur.

Kim Malek, founder/CEO of Salt + Straw - the most iconic artisan ice cream company in Portland + the country, talks about overcoming a seemingly insurmountable challenge of her father's business + the family going bankrupt her freshman year in college. Kim worked her way through college at tiny coffee company called Starbucks + eventually lived her dream of starting an ice cream company. Oh, and Kim is a state champion Synchronized Swimmer, too. You'll learn all kinds of stuff in this podcast.

Su Embree has this unique skill of listening to anyone talk and getting a profound insight that even the presenter doesn't know. Su 'Data Queen' Embree became President of DHM Research 20 years ago and recently co-founded a non-profit called Emerging Leaders that is creating pathways to leadership for professionals of color from college to company executives. When Su was 10 yrs old, she wanted to be 3 things - a Spy, an owner of a B and B, and a CEO. She's on her way!

Intentions become Thoughts become Things. After moving 13 times in the first 8 yrs of her life, Sadie Lincoln grew up on a commune in Eugene, Oregon. At 21 yrs old, she had a vision of becoming a teacher of teachers in the fitness + wellness world. A dozen years later, that vision became barre3 - creating a movement of 100,000+ women in 98 countries around the world.

As a kid, Jenelle Isaacson wanted to be a Punk Rock Nun when she grew up. Part of her wish came true as the lead singer of punk rock band Spread Eagle which naturally led her into being a real estate agent + starting Living Room Realty. Jenelle created a niche with clients who didn't fit the "perfect image" mold.