The Wow Factor

Melissa and Doug Bernstein are co-founders of the wildly successful toy company Melissa & Doug. They have spent the last 30 years helping children discover themselves, their passions, and their purpose through open-ended play, designed over 5,000 innovative products for children of all ages, and sold billions of dollars of toys worldwide.   Melissa and Doug are with me on the podcast this week to...

Davy Liu's passion for his work was instilled in him from the very beginning. Davy's family immigrated to the United States from Taiwan when he was thirteen, and he sought refuge in his natural talent – art – as he struggled to adapt to the new culture and language. After graduating from Ringling School of Arts and Design in Florida, Davy became a Disney animator and worked on films including Beau...

Mart Green (Trustee Emeritus) began his retail career in his parents' business and now serves as the Chief Strategy Officer for the Green Family Businesses and is the Board Chair of Hobby Lobby. In 1981, Mart established Mardel, a chain of Christian and educational supply stores. In January 2005, Christian Retailing named Mart Green one of the Top Fifty People who have most impacted and shaped Chr...

Steve Brown is the founder, chairman, and chief executive officer at Trinity Capital, a leading provider of venture debt and equipment financing to institutionally backed growth-stage companies. He has been a part of the venture ecosystem for over 30 years and is dedicated to supporting entrepreneurs and the venture capital firms that back them. Steve is on the Board of Directors for invisionAZ, w...

Jim Stovall is the President of the Emmy Award-winning Narrative Television Network and a highly sought-after author and speaker. His work making television accessible to the USA's 13 million blind and visually impaired people saw him named Entrepreneur of the Year by The President's Committee on Equal Opportunity; he was also chosen as the International Humanitarian of the Year in 2000. Jim is th...

Kathrine Lee is a life and business strategist and the founder & co-creator of The Ultimate Source , a faith-based personal development system that teaches the practical application of essential life skills. She is an internationally recognized speaker who has worked with Boeing, Disney & DIRECTV and has appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show and featured in O Magazine, sharing her inspirational story...

Jennifer Sey is an American author, filmmaker, business executive, and retired artistic gymnast. She was a seven-time member of the U.S. Women's National Team and was the 1986 U.S. Women's All-Around National Champion. Her first memoir, Chalked Up , was released in 2008 and detailed the coaching cruelty inflicted on children in gymnastics. Sey also produced the 2020 Emmy-award-winning documentary...

Brad Freels joined Midway in May 1983, became a partner in 1990, and currently serves as the Chairman. Brad is a member of Midway's leadership team and investment committee. Under his leadership, Midway has prospered and become one of the most active developer/investment owners in the greater Houston area. Brad received both his BBA and MBA from Texas A&M University. He is involved with numerous n...

Kendra VanderMeulen is the CEO of the National Christian Foundation, the largest Christian grantmaker in the world. The team at NCF mobilizes resources and inspires Biblical generosity, serving thousands of families, advisors, and ministries nationwide. Previously, Kendra served as the President of the National Christian Foundation Northwest, where she loved growing in her Journey of Generosity an...

Allen Morris joined his father at The Allen Morris Company in 1980 at the age of 28. Since then, his company has developed 85+ successful award-winning commercial and mixed-use projects with $8.025 billion in business volume. Their portfolio of development projects includes the Florida headquarters for AT&T and multiple district headquarters for Bell South, Florida Power and Light, IBM, Unisys, In...

Managing Partner for Northwestern Mutual – Houston Jeff Reeter pursues life by design as an entrepreneur, servant leader, and strategist. His mission in organizational leadership is wholly developing teams of champions dedicated to excellence in serving others. Jeff is married to Cindy and enjoys outdoor adventures and spending time at the Reeter Ranch with family and friends.   Jeff is on the pod...

Jeff Jackel is Co-Founder, and Chief Strategy Officer of Client Giant, a tech-enabled client care and concierge service helping business owners and operators in the USA and Canada drive unparalleled repeat and referral business. As Client Giant's co-founder and Chief Day Maker, Jay O'Brien is dedicated to delivering unparalleled client experiences, acts of employee appreciation, and making people'...

Phil Cooke works at the intersection of faith, media, and culture, and he's pretty rare – a working producer in Hollywood with a Ph. D. in Theology. His client list has included studios and networks like Walt Disney, Dreamworks, and USA Network, as well as major Christian organizations from Voice of the Martyrs, The Museum of the Bible, The Salvation Army, The YouVersion Bible app, to many of the...

The Hord family is in its 5th generation of family farming, with over 100 years of farming heritage. Located in North-central Ohio, Hord Livestock and Family Farms is a pig, cow, and grain farm. Their team of talented individuals and growing partners strive to raise our animals with care and utilize modern and advanced farming practices to be efficient and sustainable. Professionally, Pat serves a...

Scott is the President and CEO of National Nail. After a successful career with Arthur Andersen, where he rose to the level of Consulting Partner. Scott has led the transformation of National Nail from a regional building material distributor to a global brand manufacturer of patented building products. CAMO, Stinger, and Pro-Fit are now leading and asked for fastening brands offered at major reta...

For 20 years, Heather has been helping people and organizations flourish financially. Her roles have included philanthropic advisor to many families and businesses, executive director of a private family foundation, program officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and fiscal analyst for the Washington state legislature. A native of Washington state, Heather holds a Master's degree in Public...

Fadi has worked in the payment processing industry for more than 30 years. Fadi and his wife Kim formed Electronic Cash Systems (ECS) in September 1997, then the US Alliance Group, Inc. was formed in 2007 to offer multiple payment platforms across the US. Fadi and Kim founded the non-profit organization Aiden Whisper in October of 2017 as an avenue to give 100% of all donations raised to deserving...

Austin Samuelson is the Co-Founder at Tacos 4 Life Grill, and while their food is something everyone talks about, it's their commitment to the Meal 4 Meal program that is the true difference-maker at Tacos 4 Life. They care about providing the best food and service to provide the most meals for starving children so for every taco, quesadilla, salad, or rice bowl purchased, the restaurant donates 2...

Norton Rainey is the President at ACE Scholarships, based in Denver, Colorado. ACE Scholarships aims to provide children from low-income families with scholarships to private schools in grades K-12 and to advocate for expanded school choice.   Norton joins us on The Wow Factor to share why education is so pivotal to what children from disadvantaged backgrounds achieve in life. We also discuss how...

Kate Gardner is the daughter of David Gardner, co-founder of The Motley Fool, a financial literacy platform that helps millions of people attain financial freedom through their website, podcasts, books, newspaper column, radio show, and investing services. In this special episode of The Wow Factor, Kate talks to Drew Formsma, Brad's son, about the responsibility of becoming a responsible steward o...

Third-generation jewelry store owner Tom Fox grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, during the Great Depression and owned and successful jewelry chain Fox Jewelry Company until he retired in 1990. Always a keen supporter of local charities, upon selling his business, Fox took his philanthropy to a new level when he and his wife established the Tom and Mickie Fox Family Fund, the first donor-advised fu...

Dr. Jim Loehr is the co-founder of the Johnson & Johnson Human Performance Institute, which helped train and inspire more than 250,000 business, sports, medicine, and military leaders worldwide. World-renowned performance psychologist, researcher, and author of 18 books, including his most recent, Leading With Character , and the national bestseller The Power of Full Engagement . His 18th book wil...

Lindsey Ueberroth is Chief Executive Officer of Preferred Hotels & Resorts and a member of its Board of Directors. Since joining the company in 2004, Lindsey has helped solidify the position of Preferred Hotels & Resorts as an iconic global hospitality brand, a preferred partner for independent hotels, and a trusted resource for travelers seeking an authentic, independent luxury hotel experience....

John Maly began his career in the beauty industry when he took over his family's company, Maly's, and turned it into a $200 million business before selling it to L'Oreal. He then became the CEO of Mirabella Beauty, where he loved leading and developing people in addition to building the largest cosmetic company in the Professional Salon Industry. John is currently President of Wolf Creek Brewery,...

Daria Foster is the retired Managing Partner of Lord, Abbett & Co. LLC. She has more than 40 years of financial services industry experience, more than half of which has been with Lord Abbett. She joined the firm in 1990 as Director of Fixed-Income Marketing and was responsible for establishing the firm's institutional investment business. In 2006, she was elected Director and President of Lord Ab...