The Branding Laboratory

Most people think success comes from working harder. Jaclyn Strominger has spent years working with CEOs and founders who prove otherwise. Success, in her framework, is not the result of grinding through more hours. It is the result of persistent alignment: small, consistent, daily actions pointed at a vision that is actually clear. Jaclyn is the founder of Leap to Your Success, where she works wi...

Anthony Moreno built his personal training business around a simple and unflattering label: the undesirables. The aging population. The people with chronic illness, old injuries, and no interest in the gym culture that was built for someone half their age. While every other trainer chased the young, the fit, and the photogenic, Anthony chased the overlooked. And in doing so, he built one of the mo...

Most founders treat stress as something to endure. Doug Bertram treats it as the primary mechanism through which the body and the business grow. The question is never whether to take on stress. The question is whether you are integrating it in real time or letting it accumulate until something breaks. Doug is the founder of Structural Elements®, a company building a national franchise network of o...

It is up to 60% more expensive to find a new client than it is to nurture an existing one. Garima Shah has built her entire approach to growth, culture, and leadership around that one number, and in this conversation she explains exactly what that looks like in practice. Garima is the co-founder and president of Biller Genie, a SaaS platform that helps businesses automate accounts receivable and g...

Most leaders hired JM Ryerson to double their revenue. He started by asking them what they did for themselves that morning. The answers told him everything he needed to know about why the revenue problem existed in the first place. JM is the founder of Let's Go Win, a performance and mindset ecosystem that works with growth-oriented companies on leadership alignment, sales execution, and culture....

Thirty percent of the food you buy this week will end up in the trash. Not because you're careless — because your home is the only place in the entire food supply chain with zero inventory system. Jay Lee, founder of Spring House, is fixing that with an AI-powered food intelligence platform that tracks what you have, reduces waste, and tells you exactly what to cook tonight based on what's already...

What happens when you stop going to conferences for the content, and start going for the conversations in the lobby? That question became the foundation for one of the most exclusive entrepreneur networks in the world. Hollis Carter, Founder of Baby in the Bathwater, built a sold-out, decade-old community of seven- and eight-figure founders by scratching his own itch. What You'll Learn: 1: Why cur...

What does it take to build a brand in a category that barely exists yet? Milan Martin walked away from 20 years in advertising, including work on some of the world's most recognized campaigns, to found Free Spirits, a company making non-alcoholic spirits for people who love cocktails, not people trying to quit drinking. That distinction matters. Free Spirits isn't a sobriety brand, but a choice br...

What actually makes someone worth choosing in the modern dating landscape? In this episode of The Brand Laboratory, host Deevo sits down with Chelsko Thompson — known to her community as Chelsko — a relationship coach who helps men understand women, attraction, and themselves. Chelsko pulls zero punches. From unpacking attachment theory to explaining why leading with desperation repels the very pe...

Camilla Calberg flew in from Copenhagen to join Deevo on The Brand Lab — and she did not come to play small. A former BP and IBM executive turned emotional intelligence coach, Camilla helps high-performing women in the C-suite break through the internal glass ceiling that no amount of talent or grinding can dismantle on its own. In this episode, they unpack her origin story (a four-year divorce ba...

This conversation between host and Nate Fochtman cuts straight to the intersection of personal transformation and professional leadership. Nate — a 17-year solopreneur in the adult beverage space, 3 years sober, and the founder of Free Mind Group — shares how his lived experience (rock bottom, sobriety, two divorces) became the operating system for how he coaches founders today. The episode explor...

What if your burnout isn't a productivity problem — it's a design problem? In Episode 87 of The Branding Laboratory, we sit down with Stefanie Carlstedt, a human design business coach and manifesting generator who spent years following every marketing tip, guru strategy, and morning routine she could find — only to lose herself completely in the process. She built a big business. Then she burned i...

What if the pressure you're running from is actually the thing that's supposed to build you? Alex Bolowich — elite mental performance coach and son of a legendary college soccer coach — spent four years at Creighton playing through injuries, online harassment, and a nervous system that shut down under pressure. That experience became his life's work. Key Topics Covered Why mental performance isn't...

You're putting in the work — the content, the social posts, the funnel. So why does marketing still feel like pushing a boulder uphill? In this episode, Deevo sits down with Kelly Schuknecht (Two Mile High Marketing) to get honest about what's really going on when marketing stops feeling light. Topics Covered The 4-question framework for annual marketing reflection Why messaging confusion is the r...

What does it really take to build a business rooted in who you are — not just what you sell? In this episode, host Deevo, Chief Experience Officer and Brand Storyteller, sits down with Scott Hogan, Founder of SaltWrap Company and author of Built from Broken , for a raw and reflective conversation that goes far beyond business strategy. Scott opens up about the early injuries and personal struggles...

What does it take to build a brand from nothing—no inherited network, no industry experience, no AI buzzword on your pitch deck? Jennifer Millard, five-time founder and Maine Entrepreneur of the Year, chose to bet on water. Canned, local, and rooted in one of America’s most beloved states. This episode is a masterclass in conviction. Key Topics The Rising Tides thesis and how Maine Love revives id...

In this episode of The Branding Laboratory, host Deevo, Chief Experience Officer of The Brand Storyteller and Fusion Creative Brands, sits down with Charlie Sells, Founder of Clarity Over Everything, to explore the core principles of business growth and brand momentum. From understanding your unique identity to cutting through complexity, Charlie shares actionable strategies for entrepreneurs who...

In this thought-provoking episode of The Branding Laboratory, host Deevo, Chief Experience Officer of Brand Storyteller and Fusion Creative Brands, sits down with Aleksandra Ceho, Founder and Principal Astrologer of Astrologer Royale, for a powerful conversation on identity, timing, and courageous reinvention. Aleksandra shares the bold story of walking away from her career as a kinesiologist in J...

Join Deevo, Chief Experience Officer of The Brand Storyteller, on The Branding Laboratory as he sits down with Kat Halushka, business strategist and visibility expert. In this episode, they explore the powerful intersection of values, leadership, authenticity, and personal development, revealing how entrepreneurs can leverage their voice to grow their business. Kat shares her journey from Belarus...

n this episode of The Branding Laboratory, host Deevo, Chief Experience Officer at The Brand Storyteller, sits down with Mark Wojcik, Founder and CEO of The Wojcik Group and a veteran talent acquisition strategist. Together, they explore why human connection continues to outperform automation in recruiting and leadership, even in an AI-driven world. Mark shares hard-earned insights from his journe...

Most people think growth problems are about strategy, tactics, or effort. They’re not. In this conversation with Lidia Axe , we talk about the part of business most people avoid looking at — the story underneath it. The patterns you keep repeating. The ceilings you keep hitting. The way your past quietly shapes how you show up as a leader, a creator, and a business owner. Your business isn’t separ...

In this episode, Chief Experience Officer Deevo of The Brand Storyteller sits down with Cam Beaudoin, Founder of The Frequent Speaker & Accessibility Consultant to unpack how to build a personal brand that is rooted not just in visibility, but in truth, values, and lived experience. This conversation goes beyond tactics and titles—diving into the emotional and strategic realities behind modern...

In this episode of The Branding Laboratory, host Deevo (Chief Experience Officer for The Brand Storyteller) sits down with Hollis Carter, the visionary CEO and co-founder of Baby Bathwater Institute. Moving beyond the rigid structures of traditional corporate leadership, Hollis shares his unique journey as a lifelong entrepreneur who turned a "scratch-your-own-itch" experiment into an elite, one-o...

In this insightful episode, Deevo sits down with Reggie Gaither, Senior Vice President at Southern First Bank and a master of relationship-driven leadership. With over twenty years of experience in commercial banking, Reggie reveals how he successfully integrates his authentic self into a corporate environment. As a brand storyteller, Deevo guides the conversation through the nuances of building t...

In this episode of The Branding Laboratory, host Deevo, Chief Experience Officer for The Brand Storyteller, sits down with dynamic founders Justin Guarini and Kim Walsh Phillips of the Elite Speakers Network. The conversation explores their transition from the heights of Broadway and marketing agency success to creating a powerhouse business that turns speakers into high-earning authorities. They...