Rising Entrepreneurs Podcast

Josh Levine is Co-founder and Managing Partner of Color More Lines, a boutique e-commerce agency helping brands grow faster on Amazon and Walmart. Color More Lines is a performance-based agency that delivers true white glove service. In the last two years alone, during the pandemic, they helped eight brands go from zero to 100,000 dollars a month within 12 months of working together. In this episo...

Karl Funke is the Founder and President of Amig GmbH, which is based in Munich, Germany. Karl combines his substantial technical engineering knowledge with strong business instincts to lead a multi-million dollar company. Karl has spent about 15 years in the semiconductor industry, has held several leadership roles on boards of directors, and has a new company in the sustainable energy efficiency...

Dmitry Buterin is the Founder of three multimillion-dollar businesses, including top-ranked membership management software company Wild Apricot, which serves over 20,000 small nonprofits. He was also the Co-founder of Blockgeeks, an online hub where talented, inspiring, and hard-working entrepreneurs, investors, and leaders learn about the rapidly evolving world of blockchain.  Dmitry is also an a...

Samir Balwani is the Founder and CEO of QRY, a media agency for direct-to-consumer and e-commerce brands. QRY's media methodology and testing framework helps e-commerce and direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands grow faster and scale more profitably. QRY uses a full-funnel advertising approach and ad experimentation process to rapidly optimize campaigns and identify new opportunities. With over a decade...

Nikole Mackenzie is a CPA residing in the San Francisco Bay Area with clients located all over the U.S. She has seen small business accounting from every perspective as a former tax and audit CPA who now runs her own scaling accounting firm. Nikole has led hundreds of owners to revitalize their accounting departments through her easygoing approach and contagious enthusiasm. She and her team help a...

Pat Costello is the Co-founder and Principal of Evolve MGA, a company specializing in cyber insurance that does the underwriting for one of the most comprehensive cyber insurance policies a business can buy. Pat co-founded Evolve MGA with his brother Mike because they knew they could provide retail insurance brokers with far more value than anyone else in the marketplace. He is a veteran of the in...

Winnie Hart is the Founder, President, and Chief Right Engine of TwinEngine, a brand growth agency fueled by purpose. Winnie is an industry-recognized interpreter of business brand and personality. She brings more than 30 years of experience in impacting firms and leaders to know what they stand for so that they can make a difference in the world.  She is the author of Stand Out: Tools to Manage t...

Chris Madden is the Co-founder of Matchnode and Sea Bums. Matchnode is a boutique growth marketing firm that works with clients, including the Chicago Bulls, Chicago Blackhawks, LendingTree, Indiana University, and New Balance. Sea Bums is a digital platform community centered around protecting our oceans. Sea Bums' 10K Generative NFT project donates 20% of sales and 3% of secondary market sales t...

Mike Simonsen is the Co-founder and CEO of Altos Research, a real estate analytics firm founded in 2006. Altos provides real estate brokers and agents, financial institutions, investors, and builders with real-time data and insight into the US housing market. Mike has 15 years of experience in software development, marketing of enterprise applications, and security products. In developing the Alto...

Johanna Bialkin is the Founder and CEO of Aldea Home & Baby, which offers a highly curated selection of stylish, eco-friendly nursery pieces, hip decor, baby gear, and more. After a successful career in advertising and time spent within the non-profit space, Johanna decided to combine her love for people and creating beautiful spaces by launching Aldea Home & Baby in September of 2005. Since then,...

Aalap Shah is a Chicago-born entrepreneur and Founder of 1o8, a performance marketing digital agency focused on driving sales for CPG companies nationwide on e-com and Amazon platforms. They've worked with companies like Gildan, Sweet Leaf Tea, Tio, So Crazy, and more. Aalap has been recognized as a leader in Chicago's minority-owned digital marketing world and is known by multiple entities for hi...

Peter Billmeyer, SIOR, is a Co-founder and Managing Principal at Bespoke Commercial Real Estate, a company that finds, negotiates, finalizes, and extends custom real estate solutions for privately-held businesses and nonprofit organizations. In his role, Peter prides himself on business development and creative problem solving to drive value for clients continually. He has a business degree from O...

Kinari Webb is the Founder of Health In Harmony, an international nonprofit dedicated to reversing global heating, understanding that rainforests are essential for the survival of humanity. Kinari, an Ashoka and Rainer Arnhold Fellow, founded Health In Harmony as a response to the devastation she saw in the rainforests of Indonesia in 2007. Kinari is also the Co-founder of ASRI, a project that is...

Steve Soper is the Founder and Principal at AdaptivEdge, a cloud-focused technology company that provides enterprise software consulting services to small, growing, and enterprise business customers. He has been a member of the Entrepreneurs' Organization of San Francisco since 2015 and currently sits on the Board of Directors. Steve worked as the Director of Enterprise Software for FusionStorm an...

Becky Galvez began her career with Candor Threads as the Marketing and Sales Manager, and now she is the CEO. Candor Threads creates high-quality custom apparel, and Becky has created steady year-over-year growth by introducing new products and implementing a customer-centered, detail-oriented approach to business. Becky earned her master's degree in secondary education and teaching from National...

Patricia Lin is the Co-founder and Director of Zion Global Marketing Pte. Ltd. Patricia coaches a variety of enterprises and entrepreneurs on how to generate online leads and sales. For over 12 years, her company has helped brands gain exposure and reach their target audiences using expert digital marketing tools and strategies. Patricia is also the Communications Chair and incoming Memberships Co...

Ray Ang is the incoming President of EO Singapore for the year 2024-2025. Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO) is a global organization with more than 14,000 members spread across 61 countries. Their goal is to help leading entrepreneurs learn and grow, resulting in greater business success. Ray is also the Co-founder of Sweetest Moments Pte Ltd, an online store specializing in celebratory gifts, incl...

Wendy Pease is a Language Translation Expert and the President and Owner of Rapport International, a global communications company specializing in translation and interpretation. Wendy is a Board Member of the Boston Chapter of the Entrepreneurs' Organization. She has an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and a bachelor's in foreign service and international politics from Pe...

Syama Meagher is the Founder and Chief Strategist at Scaling Retail, an innovative retail business consultancy and marketing agency that specializes in launching and scaling successful fashion retail companies. She currently leads the agency's global team of talented professionals, cultivating winning results and alleviating uncertainty for fashion and lifestyle brands. In addition to this, Syama...

Zach Wilcox is the Founder and CEO of Fide Freight, a representative logistics solution providing a full range of services in long and short-distance freight, specialty haulage, and management of dry freights. Zach and his team pride themselves on complete transparency and communication, from bringing on a client to getting the shipments completed on time. Before founding Fide Freight, Zach held p...

Rudy Mutter is the Co-founder and CTO of Yeti, a San Francisco-based company that designs, develops, and launches first-gen digital products. Rudy is also the current President of the EO San Francisco Chapter. Previously, he worked as a software and web developer for companies including Verivo and athenahealth.  Franka Winchester is the Managing Partner and Co-founder of Pacific Crest Group, a pro...

Dan Norton is an Entrepreneur Ally and Process Nerd at Partner-Ally, a resource that helps create foundational strategies and systems and develops sustainable solutions for small businesses. Dan was the President, Chief Technical Officer, and Director of Design for Absco Solutions, a company he and his business partner built. Dan served on the Board of Directors for Absco. Previously, he served on...

Brian Brault is a Coach and Transformational Leadership Trainer at Legacy of Significance, an executive-level educational coaching service that offers retreats, workshops, and executive education for individuals and couples. He is also the CEO and Founder of Pure Wellness, an air purification service that transforms interior spaces into world-class wellness environments that protect against viral...

Jim Weigl is the President and Inventor at Virginia Toy and Novelty Company, where they create fresh and unique gifts and novelty products for clients worldwide. He is the President and Licensed Auctioneer at Blue Box Auction Gallery, a ​​Virginia-based company where they leverage the power of the latest technologies to turn assets into cash on the worldwide market. As a passionate entrepreneur an...

Corey Veverka is the President of Total Validation Services, Inc (TVS, Inc.) and the San Francisco Chapter of the Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO). He has over 21 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, commissioning, qualification, and validation in project management, budgeting, and planning for small and large capital projects. Corey holds a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanic...