The Matt Balaker Podcast

A note from the guest, "“It is not 100% clear that there is a brown act violation and I retract that statement. And it's alleged that Tim Leary's son never stole records. He just gave them away." Newth Morris is a Managing Director at Ankona Capital in Laguna Beach, California. Newth was a co-founder of Telogis, which was sold to Verizon. He completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Bus...

Dr. Kevin Peter Hickerson is a California Institute of Technology-trained nuclear physicist. He holds a dozen patents in 3D printing, robotics, tablet computing, machine learning, optics, and solar energy. He is also the host of the science and comedy podcast Surely You're Joking. https://www.kevinhickerson.com/ https://x.com/kphickerson

Jon Tomashefsky (AKA Jon Shefsky) is a comedian turned realtor in Southern California. He hosts the podcast “FANTASY HOUSE with Jon Shefsky.” Listen to his discussion on how elections impact real estate and why do people watch the news.

Zander Abrams is the Founder of the Cannabis Policy Forum where he analyzes cannabis politics, policy and regulation. None of that matters in this episode. Zander is a wealth of Minnesota Timberwolves knowledge. Listen to his dissect the recent Wolves Knicks trade. Trade details: Knicks receive: Karl-Anthony Towns (via Timberwolves) Draft rights to James Nnaji (via Hornets) Timberwolves receive: J...

Adam Wasserman is a standup comedian and owner of the Grand Comedy Club in Escondido, CA. Get more details on the club by clicking the link below: https://www.grandcomedyclub.com/

Zach Weissmueller is a senior producer at Reason. He has produced documentary shorts, video interviews, and feature articles for the platform since 2010 covering permissionless technology, free speech, mental health and homelessness, experimental governance, COVID-19 policy, criminal justice reform, and drug legalization. Judges honored Zach's video series "Anarchy in Detroit" with a...

Dave Siegel started as doorman at the DC Improv, while a college student in Washington, DC. His first show as a performer came at an open mic at 'The Comic Strip' in New York City. Since that time, he has headlined premier comedy clubs across the country from 'Carolines on Broadway' to 'The Improv' on Melrose and recording his first album 'Live in DC' at the very cl...

Beau McFarland is a stand-up comic, writer, and actor from Southern California. Beau has performed in clubs, theaters and, venues all over the United States, Canada, the U.K., China, and Thailand. He has also performed for the troops in Seoul, South Korea, as well as on season 1 of Fox Network's Boom, and is a frequent contributor to Table Read the Podcast. https://beaumcfarland.com/

Isaac Israel is a nationally touring comedian and owner of Tickle Me Comedy Club in Las Vegas. Tickle Me Comedy: https://www.ticklemecomedy.com/

Brian Scolaro is most known for his appearances on “CONAN”, his half hour Comedy Central special “COMEDY CENTRAL PRESENTS: BRIAN SCOLARO”, as Brian on ABC’s “A MILLION LITTLE THINGS”, as Doug on TBS’s “SULLIVAN AND SON”, Uncle Bill on “TEN YEAR OLD TOM”, his “DRY BAR SPECIAL: TROUBLE”, his Amazon special “I DON’T KNOW WHO I AM EITHER”, and as Stuart on FOX’s “STACKED”. Brian has appeared on “SHAME...

Sagar Patel is a revenue and growth executive with 15+ years in sales and management in the healthcare and technology industries. He has held leadership roles with global companies such as IBM, Boston Scientific, and Karl Storz Endoscopy. Sagar has led revenue teams for three venture-backed healthcare technology start-ups, including most recently Honor, a home care technology company that raised o...

Dave Hoeffel is an entrepreneur from Minnesota. Dave graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1992 with a degree in Chemistry. He is the former owner of Endurance Technologies, which owned several brand names including Custom Polymer Design, MAS Epoxies and Bristol Finish. Endurance Technologies was sold to a private equity firm in 2020.

For more than 20 years, Sugey Piedra has been working in the tax preparation and wealth management industry. She and her two sisters co-founded Prominence Business & Wealth Management, and together they have helped hundreds of high-earning service-based business owners to grow and scale their businesses with holistic financial planning. Her signature program Business Elite is a 12 month Tax Pr...

Hear policy expert Zander Abram's take on cannabis rescheduling and Minnesota sports. Zander Abrams is the Founder of the Cannabis Policy Forum where he analyzes cannabis politics, policy and regulation. Zander is focused on macro trends affecting the cannabis industry and draws on his experience in political campaigns, lobby organizations, and his background as an attorney. Through his compan...

Jon Tomashefsky (AKA Jon Shefsky) is a comedian turned realtor in Southern California. Hear his take on tattoos, comedy, real estate, and the apocalypse. Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/gods-of-real-estate-fancy-boy-edition/id1452740499 (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/gods-of-real-estate-fancy-boy-edition/id1452740499) Spotify  https://open.spotify.com/show/39Iyck1Bbosm...

Ro DelleGrazie has been a stand-up comedian for >20 years. Originally from New York, at the start of her stand up career she was coached by Lisa Lampanelli. Ro moved to L.A. in 2004 and started studying at the I.O West where she graduated and was part of an improv group called Tentatively Marty. Ro has performed at the top comedy clubs across the country including Comic Strip Live, Caroline’s o...

In this episode, we dive into the journey of Ryan Austin, Founder and CEO of Arondight Advisors, who shares not only his professional triumphs but also the personal milestones that have shaped his path. Raised on Long Island, NY, Ryan faced challenges early on that led him to the disciplined halls of Valley Forge Military Academy at 15, a pivotal moment that set the course for his future endeavors...

Lea Marlene is the founder of the Lea Marlene Actors Studio and the Namastage Theatre. After a battle with melanoma cancer, she pivoted from being a professional stand-up comedian and actress to business owner. Hear her story about leaving LA to find her calling. In her own healing journey she had developed a deep desire to pay forward the powerful tools that have saved her life. That has become h...

Dennis O’Malley is CEO & President of Caliva, the largest vertically integrated cannabis company in California. Dennis has over a 20 year track record of leadership roles in fast growing companies in emerging markets as well as successfully raising capital from institutional investors and in addition holds multiple technology patents. Dennis also co-founded and lead a venture backed software c...

Hermin Thind moved from India to the Pacific Northwest as a child. He endured countless business setbacks and challenges. His entrepreneurial battle scars helped make him a successful business leader. Hear his story. MORE ABOUT HERMIN THIND In 2013, amidst the challenges, Hermin, alongside his brother-in-law Gurmeet, ventured into the vaping world by opening "Vapor World" inside a hotel...

Nate Watson, of Ailia Family Office Club and Halbar Partners, shares his perspective on purpose-driven entrepreneurship, the "silver tsunami," and prioritizing stakeholder value over profit. MORE ABOUT NATE WASSON Nate Wasson is the co-founder of HalBar Partners and a principal member of Alvearia, and a founding member of the angel/VC group Keiretsu Forum Chicago. Nate has over 20 years...

PK is a regular at World Famous Laugh Factory, Improv, Comedy Store, Pasadena Ichouse, Haha Comedy Club, The Hollywood and Pasadena Comedy! He has brought over 10,000 people to the clubs, many of them seeing stand up comedy live for the first time. He’s performed at over 100 universities across the United States. He was The Grand Prize Winner of The Uncle Clyde's Comedy Cup at The Pasadena Ice...

Ron Babcock shares his insights on savings and personal finance. He's a comedian, so this will be fun. Ron Babcock is an editor and comedian. He's edited on Clone High (Max), Cat Burglar (Netflix), Ten Year Old Tom (HBO Max), Muppet Babies (Disney) and The Life and Times of Tim (HBO). He's written and directed multiple original web series for MTV, AOL, Cinefix, Tasted, Mashable and oth...

Ron Richards is a lawyer, business leader, and music festival producer. So why is he writing a book about dominoes? Tune in to hear his story. Ron Richards is a co-founder and Managing Director of Gray Wolf Partners. He assists clients in their efforts to understand and analyze complex operational, financial, legal, and accounting issues. Ron practiced corporate and labor law and was a practicing...

Matt Ritchey raced motocross as a teen. A serious injury motivated him to learn about brain protection. Now he is the author of Elevated Executive & founder of Inner Circle, a dedicated plant medicine community of leaders and innovators. Hear his story. His team building skills have been utilized by brands like Facebook and AirBnB. His leadership framework has produced over $100M in profits fo...