Masters of Craft

Every month, the good folks Fast Company and Innovation Crush sit down to chat about some of the most inspired developments across innovation, creativity, and human performance. In this third installment, Fast Company assistant editor, Anisa Purbasari Horton -- who is often her own guinea pig for the things she learns -- gives us her latest learnings on productivity and performance hacks, mental r...

Since his self-described "awful" start on YouTube, Craig Thompson, aka Mini Ladd, has gone from 16-year-old awkward gaming video maker, to amassing close to 10 million subscribers across social media, launched his own 27-city comedy/variety tour (a first ever in its category), built wells in developing countries, started a music career, and invested in a number of businesses/entrepreneurs ranging...

As an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Dallin Larsen is no stranger to taking risks in building multi-billion dollar businesses. He is currently the CEO and founder of Vasayo, the world's first CBD network marketing business, and prior to Vasayo, almost single handedly turned the acai berry into the multi-billion industry it is today. His philosophy of envisioning a better future for th...

Tim Daly is an award-winning actor (Madame Secretary, Hot in Cleveland) and an arts education advocate. As a White House recognized "Champion of Change," he worked aggressively with the Obama administration to ensure that the arts remain central to the governmental focus at the time of increasing American efforts in science, technology, engineering, and math. Having worked alongside many business...

Every month, the good folks Fast Company and Innovation Crush sit down to chat about some of the most inspired developments across innovation, creativity, and human performance. In this second installment, Fast Company assistant editor, Anisa Purbasari Horton and deputy editor, Kate Davis give us their latest learnings on productivity and the future of work, including artificial intelligence, the...

Nathan Philips award-winning work spans TV commercials, digital content, books, speeches, theater shows, improvised experiences, alternate reality games, mapping projects, book adaptations and interactive films. His work has showcased at Sundance, Tribeca and a number of museums worldwide. In 2016, he co-founded Technology, Humans, and Taste (THAT), a disruptive agency that has worked with Walmart...

Janice Bryant Howroyd is often touted as the first African American woman to self-start a multi-billion dollar business. As the founder and CEO of ActOne Group, Janice created her business in 1978 -- almost by accident -- while on vacation from her job as clerk for the Red Cross. A few decades of dedication later, she has racked up close to 17,000 clients in over 19 countries, worked with 4 sittin...

Every month, the good folks Fast Company and Innovation Crush sit down to chat about some of the most inspired developments across innovation, creativity, and human performance. In this first installment, Fast Company podcast host and editor, KC Ifeanyi, gives us the latest from his world of creativity, entertainment, and pop culture. Listen. Enjoy. Repeat. For more from KC and guests like Paul Sc...

Patient care is evolving at lighting speeds. From the devices that serve them to the psychology of informed patients, to the ups and downs of online self-diagnoses, healthcare and medtech are changing the way we literally live. Eric Olson is the design director at Karten Design, an award-winning product design and innovation consultancy. Driven by deep market understanding and user empat...

Eric Bell is the CEO of Blue Duck, a mobility platform designed to get consumers from anywhere along their last mile, safely, responsibly, and with ease. With a growing fleet of scooters around the country, and having raised over 23 million dollars in just shy of a year, Blue Duck is carving out an incredibly intelligent niche in a seemingly saturated market. As a fast follower, Eric and his team...

Whether founding his own festival, running his own marketing agency, or blessing the likes of Nike, Red Bull, and All Def Digital with his stylish and creative approach to elevating culture, Modi Oyewole is one of this era's most culturally connected thinkers. In 2012 -- while in college -- he created the Trillectro Music Festival, which since its inception has booked acts like Kendrick Lamar, Tra...

At the forefront of fandom and geek culture, are the brilliant minds of Felicia Day and Ryan Copple. Felicia -- a long-time actor and founder of Geek & Sundry -- is an internet and pop culture original, with hear early work, The Guild, recently becoming a part of the Smithsonian, and numerous roles in works like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Mystery Science Theater 3000 and more. Ryan has work...

As the founder and leader of Whitespace™, lululemon’s in-house innovation and R&D group, Tom Waller is helping the organization leave a legacy and build new roadmaps in global health futures. In the interest of unlocking all aspects of human potential and generating new value in and for the world, he and his team are reimagining everything from fabrics to mindfulness, technology, marketing, an...

As the head of innovation for the U.S. Census Bureau, Mara Abrams is on mission to bring the 2020 census into the 21st century. In her role as the founder & co-director of the organization's open innovation lab, Mara leads a nimble team that creates and deploys prize competitions, crowdsourcing, accelerators, design workshops, etc and much more in effort to to increase participation in the 202...

The neuroscience of orgasm is relatively uncharted territory, with some of the most groundbreaking developments being led by Dr. Nicole Prause. As the founder of the Liberos Center -- a sexual biotechnology company -- Nikki has used the study of sex as a gateway for studying everything from clinical depression to relationships to branding. Both a neuroscientist and technology inventor, she has a l...

To celebrate the launch of Mercedes-Benz EQ -- a new electric vehicle -- OK Go front man, Damian Kulash joins Innovation Crush and discusses the creation of the Stress Inversion Transformer (SIT). Damian's vision in exploring "EQ" was to figure out away to turn negative energy into positive energy. So naturally (and because science), he built a booth that allows humans to exactly that. Along the w...

As the co-founder and CEO of PROHBTD, Drake Sutton-Shearer has created one of the leading brands inside and adjacent to the cannabis industry. PROHBTD doubles as a content platform and product engine focused on the intersection of cannabis and pop culture. From fashion to gastronomy to music and smart business insights, the brand has become an icon both domestically and internationally, and reachi...

Richelle Parham is a pioneer in retail marketing and business -- and by default, professional development. Having served as the CMO of eBay, she practically revolutionized the concept of email marketing. She serves on the boards of Best Buy, e.l.f. Cosmetics, LabCorp, and formerly Scripps Network, and is a VC at Camden Partners. Her career has been fueled by a seemingly endless loop of feedback fr...

Having been in the CIA for almost 28 years, Darrell Blocker has seen and done it all. As the director of operations, he was awarded the George H. W. Bush Award for Excellence in Counterterrorism in 2014. He ran The Farm - the CIA's training facility - for 3 years, and was even the member of a well known band in Uganda while undercover there. If it's one thing he understands, it's human connection....

What do Paul Rudd, Keanu Reeves, Venture Capital, and Stephen Hawking have in common? Dr. Spiros Michalakis. As one of the most sought after scientists of our time, he serves as a quantum physicist and manager of outreach at The Institute for Quantum Information and Matter at Caltech (IQMC). When not at Caltech or fulfilling his role as professor-in-residence at Relay Ventures, he spends a good ma...

Fresh off a 2019 Billboard 100 nod, and multiple 2019 Grammy nominations to boot, CMO of the Blueprint Group, Al Branch joins Innovation Crush. As partner and CMO of Blueprint/Maverick, Al has been legendary in catapulting some of music industry talent into superstardom and beyond. From his early days with Jay-Z and Roc-a-fella to a current portfolio that includes acts like Nicki Minjaj, G-Eazy, T...

As pastor of Zoe Church, Chad is a pioneer of his own design, redefining what it takes to be a religious leader and business owner in today's culture. Leading thousands each week in his home town of Los Angeles -- and more around the world -- Chad has redefined everything around the message, without disrupting the core of the message itself. Whether partnering with the likes of designer Jerry Lore...

Legendary DJ, producer, inventor and community builder, Jeffrey Allen Townes - aka DJ Jazzy Jeff, has been at the helm of music culture since the mid-'80's. Originally one half of the duo, DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, Jeff was literally instrumental in the catapulting of Will Smith's career, and has gone on to give rise to several artists ranging from Eminem to Darius Rucker, The Roots, J...

With a unique combination of artificial intelligence and social data, Ryan and Chris Detert's Influential.co is leading the revolution as to how the world engages with persons of influence. As one of only five IBM "With Watson" partners, the company uses vast and unique data sets to understand and recommend digital marketing initiatives and brand action. From psychographics to mobile behavior to p...

After an upsetting second place finish on America's Best Dance Crew in 2015, the fan favorite Kinjaz turned their loss into a huge win, by going on to form the first ever crowd-funded global dance studio ($127,000), and the highest raised ever in the dance category on Indiegogo. Since then, the group has opened up 3 studios in the US and China, launched an international camp program, and a line of...