The Changeup

This week's guest is the CEO and founder of Treeline Cheesemakers, Michael Schwarz. Treeline Cheesemakers is a dairy-free vegan cheese made in upstate  New York. We talk about his decision to become vegan in 2011 and how that compelled him to leave his job as a lawyer and build Treeline.  Often business leaders speak in platitudes, but this is not one of those interviews. Michael brought conv...

This week's guests are the founders of Outsiders Kitchen, Julie and Austin Landes. Outsiders Kitchen is a gourmet pretzel bite that needs to be tried to be understood. Trust me, it's that good.  We talk about their journey from Pennsylvania to upstate New York, starting a cafe business that turned into a pretzel business sold in over 1000 stores, and how even with that growth, each bag i...

This week's guest is the founder of Jack and Friends, Jessica Kwong. Jack and Friends is on a mission to make snack foods you can feel good about eating, regardless of your lifestyle or diet. Made with jackfruit and pea protein, Jack and Friends jerky is not only vegan and top nine allergen-free, but a good source of protein and fiber with no added sugar.  We talk about the science behind sna...

This week's guest is the co-founder and CEO of Finger Lakes Cider House, Garrett Miller.  Finger Lakes Cider House is a diversified organic farm that specializes in making some of the best hard cider from New York apples. We talk about the origins of the company initially being a farm with friends to now being one of the top cider houses in New York, how he grew the business and what he wants...

This week's guest is the co-founder and CEO of Wandering Bear Coffee, Matt Bachman. Wandering Bear makes big strong coffee with a smooth side delivered on tap to offices and homes nationwide.  We talk about how he and his co-founder started the concept while in grad school, how they scaled it from their apartment kitchens to a nationwide business and how they compete in the super competitive...

This episode's guest is the CEO and founder of Bokksu, Danny Taing. Bokksu delivers authentic Japanese food and lifestyle products to customers around the world.  I was so impressed with his story that I bought a box for my daughter, and it's awesome. We talk about the inspiration behind Bokksu, how he evolves the company in a competitive subscription box market, and how his decision to...

This week's guest is the founder of Phoenicia Diner, Mike Cioffi.  If you have ever been to the Catskills or ever had a friend go to the Catskills, you have surely heard of Phoenicia Diner.  It's a time warp to classic diners and yesteryear. It almost feels like you pulled up in a wood-paneled station wagon. And the food is really good. Actually, it's fantastic.  We talk about his c...

This week's guest is Matt Gallira, the Founder and CEO of Big Mozz.  Big Mozz is just that... Big mozzarella sticks, and they are delicious.  We talk about his journey from creating the recipe, to entering the Brooklyn Shmorgasboard, to scaling the business to be in over 1000 grocery stores across the country. If you can find them at a store near you I highly recommend snagging a few to chew...

This week's guest is the Co-founder of TALEA Beer Co.,  LeAnn Darland.  Leann and her co-founder Tara Hankinson have built an amazing brewery with 2 locations in Brooklyn and 2 in Manhattan. I am lucky enough to have one two blocks from my office so I visit it pretty frequently. We talk about her journey from the Navy, to Google, to startup land, to finally going all in on building her own co...

This week's guests are two of the founders of Wayward Lane Brewing,  Andrew Rowles and Kyle Bergen. Wayward Lane is an amazing farm, brewery, and taproom located in a restored 1800's hophouse in the town of Schoharie, New York.  They were crowned 2023 New York Brewery of the Year and since opening my shop they have become one of my favorite breweries as they make some amazing IPAs, crisp...

This week we talk to the founder of Glidelane, Chris Genteel. Glidelane is an advisory firm with a mission around economic equality to marginalized communities.  By supporting founders of color, they are rooting bias out of products, services, and go-to-market stories. We talk about how his career at Google evolved as he grew into leadership roles, his transition from the corporate world to startu...

This week we talk with Bharani Rajakumar,  the CEO and Founder of Transfr.  Transfr aims to provide every person an opportunity to acquire the skills needed for employment.  Through their VR coaching platform, prospective employees get hands-on training at real technical jobs. We talk about how growing up working class shaped his vision for what entrepreneurship could be, how he scaled his company...

This week's guest is the founder of More Lake, Erzsi Sousa.  More Lake is a brand consultancy focused on working with climate companies. We talk about her decision to leave the marketing tech world of Google,  Microsoft and Stripe to focus on companies making an impact on our climate emergency.  She shares how her family ended up moving from San Francisco to Portugal, finding the right fit wi...

This week's guest is Peter Corbett,  the Founder, CEO and Coach at Still Rush, a mindful leadership coaching practice.  We talk about his decision to sell his agency and retire from advertising, his volunteer work as a spiritual caregiver, life, love, loss, and death, and the motivations that moved him to his new life. 

This week's guest is the Co-founder and CEO of Unlock, Jared Cozart. Jared and I met as fellow agents for the Management Leaders of Tomorrow program and became fast friends as I  gravitated toward his high empathy for others, strong leadership, and his ability to just be real. We talk about his path to entrepreneurship the struggles and hurdles along the way, how adversity on the baseball fie...

This week's guest is the Co-Founder of HUDSY TV, Angel Gates.  HUDSY TV is an award-winning streaming television platform rooted in the community of Upstate New York. Their goal is to highlight and elevate the incredibly diverse voices and spirit of the Hudson Valley through the power of film and storytelling.  We talk about their decision to move from a co-op to a nonprofit, his decision to...

This week we talked to the founder and CEO of C-Suite Coach, Angelina Darrisaw. We discuss how she has scaled her business to include 40-plus coaches and works with partners like Google, Major League Baseball, and Wayfair. We learn the adjustments needed to go from being a solo coach to being CEO of a thriving business, how our early experiences in the corporate world share her vision for C-Suite...

This week we talk to the co-founder of Third Act, Jesse Samberg.  We learn how Jesse initially started this business with one of his best friends, the difficult decision to go out on his own, and how mentoring small business owners propelled him to create Third Act.

This week's guest is the co-author of Do Remember!!: The Golden Era of NYC Hip-Hop Mixtapes, Dan Isenberg.  Dan and I grew up together in White Plains, New York, where he was obsessed with hip-hop and hip-hop culture. This book comes from his passion for the music, the people, and the culture around mixtapes, and is a must-read for any hip-hop fan.  We talk about his journey from rapper to te...

This week's guest is the co-owner of See and Be Kitchen,  Chrissy Traore. Chrissy is a Chef with food-based business experience and her husband and partner Ben is an amazing Baker, having worked at some of the most prestigious places in New York City, including Bien Cuit, The Dutch, Saraghina, MaPeche, and Corton. We talk about their decision to leave the city behind and build a farm bakery i...

Welcome to Season 4 of the Changeup. Our first guest is the Co-Owner and Treasurer/Secretary/Writer at Baseball Prospectus, Rob Mains.   While we did not predict the devastating early exits of the Braves and Dodgers, we did talk about the changing landscape of what next-generation teams like the Diamondbacks, Orioles, and Rangers are doing to lead the way moving forward.  If you like baseball, you...

This week's guest is the EVP and CMO of the New York Mets, Andy Goldberg. He is a seasoned marketing executive with prior leadership roles at American Express and GE before embarking on this new challenge. We talk about the major differences in marketing baseball teams versus a global corporation, how building a Super Bowl spot in less than three weeks came to fruition and the growing success...

This week we welcome the founders of Latinx Healthy Minds, Sarah Romero and Patty Alvarado.  Latinx Healthy Minds is on a mission to eliminate the stigma associated with mental health and provide professionals with the tools they need to live healthy, productive lives at work and in the community.  We talk about why mental health is such a difficult topic in the Latinx culture, how leaders can hel...

This week's guest is the founder of With it Girl , Marialidia Marcotulli. With it Girl is a multifaceted, multi-generational platform with a goal to amplify the voices, work, visions and ideas of women in skate, surf and active lifestyles. The With it Girl community engages in conversations that further the narrative around action sports, prioritizing community, diversity and creativity.  We...

This week we talk with the Co-Host of "Am I on Mute?", Katrina Craigwell. Katrina is a marketing digital transformation leader who has had leadership roles at Meta, JP Morgan Chase, and General Electric where she spearheaded marketing programs at the intersection of storytelling and technology.  Katrina has been named to Business Insider's "Most Creative Women in Advertising&qu...