Best Village Software Podcasts (2025)

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Episode 622: 28 Inches of Simple: How PIE.ZAA Scales by Doing Less 1:02:19

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3d ago1:02:19

1:02:19

Wil hosts Tyler Kotch, founder of PIE.ZAA (Asheville & Charlotte), for a candid chat about spotting late-night demand, building a hyper-focused high-margin pizza concept (five-item menu, 28" pies or 12" slices), surviving COVID, navigating a painful partner split, and scaling methodically toward franchising. Tyler shares lessons on location strateg…

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From the archives: On empowering design teams with Dani Snyder 38:02

4d ago38:02

38:02

On this episode from the archives, Dani Snyder talks leading design teams out of their silos As someone who started out as an industrial designer and who is now the Head of Design AI, Servicing and Communications at JPMorganChase, Dani Snyder deeply understands the design process and organizational design. This week Dani joins Tammy to talk about h…

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Episode 621: Lean, Profitable, and Operator-First: The GoTab Way with CEO Tim McLaughlin 1:36:20

4d ago1:36:20

1:36:20

Wil sits down in-person with Tim McLaughlin, technologist-turned-operator who founded GoTab after opening two Caboose breweries and confronting real service-model pain (giant spaces, staffing constraints). Years before COVID, Tim taped QRs to tables and proved guests will change behavior to avoid pain (lines), which pushed GoTab to build not just o…

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AI Doom, Hope & the Builders Shaping Australia’s Future - Hosted at SXSW 2025 37:05

4d ago37:05

37:05

AI isn’t the enemy, it’s the experiment of our lifetime. At SXSW Sydney 2025, we took Digital Nexus onto the floor and into the streets to ask a simple question: doom or hope? From late-night hackathons to founders shipping agentic workflows, this episode captures how Australians are actually building with AI. We go behind the scenes with builders …

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Episode 620: Raise the Bar: Heidi Whitcomb's Mission to Bring Heart Back to Hospitality 50:10

7d ago50:10

50:10

Episode Summary In this heartfelt episode of Restaurant Owners Uncorked, host Wil chats with Heidi Whitcomb a passionate and deeply committed independent restaurant owner in Florida. With nearly 40 years in hospitality, Heidi embodies service, gratitude, and resilience. She shares her journey from early jobs at Subway and Kmart to bartending, truck…

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From the archives: Scaling responsible AI with Noelle Russell 43:16

11d ago43:16

43:16

Noelle Russell compares AI to a baby tiger, it’s super cute when it’s small but it can quickly grow into something huge and dangerous. As the CEO and founder of the AI Leadership Institute and as an early developer on Amazon Alexa, Noelle has a deep understanding of scaling and selling AI. This week Noelle joins Tammy to discuss why she’s so passio…

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How AI Could Heal a Generation Mental Health to AI Leader w/ Nicole Gibson 1:03:36

11d ago1:03:36

1:03:36

Can AI help understand our emotional state? Nicole Gibson, founder of Love Out Loud and co-founder of inTruth, shares how a recovery journey became a product mission, and how she’s using AI in mental health to scale evidence-based impact, leadership, and a love-led culture. Watch for: From anorexia recovery to national advocate → AI product leader …

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Episode 619: Restaurants Save People: The Jeffrey Boland Story 1:15:57

11d ago1:15:57

1:15:57

Wil talks to Jeffrey Boland, Director of Operations at Mac’s Hospitality Group (home of Mac’s Speed Shop and South 48/Southbound concepts). Jeff shares an intensely honest journey—from addiction and getting fired in construction to finding belonging in restaurants, achieving sobriety at 22, and transforming into a purpose-driven leader. He explains…

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Episode 618: Brewello: Simple Tech That Helps Independent Cafés Thrive 50:56

14d ago50:56

50:56

Wil sits down with Tim Wittman, a Denver-based developer and founder of Brewello, a white-label mobile app built for independent cafés and bakeries. Rooted in the same “simple tool + legendary support” ethos as Schedulefly, Brewello integrates directly with Square to enable order-ahead, loyalty, and push notifications—without the complexity or high…

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Episode 617: Food That Feels as Good as It Tastes: The Village Juice & Kitchen Story with Lonnie Atkinson & Clyde Harris 49:47

16d ago49:47

49:47

Summary On this Restaurant Owners Uncorked episode, Wil talks with Village Juice & Kitchen cofounders Clyde Harris and Lonnie Atkinson about building a clean-food concept that’s as craveable as it is good for you. Born from Lonnie’s California-shaped passion for fresh, minimally processed ingredients—and reinforced by Clyde’s cancer journey—the bra…

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Gen Z, AI and shaping the new workforce: With Sarina Malik 32:10

18d ago32:10

32:10

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Ep 38 | Prompt Like a Product Pro in ChatGPT & Claude: The 3-Phase System you must know (w/ Bastian Epskamp) 42:57

18d ago42:57

42:57

By Chris Sinclair and Mark Monfort

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Episode 616: Building Community, One Table at a Time: Ken Stemke, Main Street Social, Libertyville, IL 54:36

21d ago54:36

54:36

Wil welcomes guest Ken Stemke, owner of Main Street Social in Libertyville, IL, an upscale Italian-American restaurant with its own wine label. Ken traces his hospitality spark to bussing tables in high school, then a 35-year career in banking that armed him with the financial discipline many restaurants lack. He shares how a seasoned team, empower…

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Episode 615: From Red Tape to Real Help: Emily Williams Knight of the Texas Restaurant Association on Fixing the Squeeze 52:49

23d ago52:49

52:49

Wil sits down with Emily Williams Knight, CEO of the Texas Restaurant Association (TRA), which represents 58,000 restaurants, 1.4M employees, and nearly $137B in annual sales. Emily explains how the TRA protects a pro-business regulatory environment so operators can focus on guests and teams, not red tape. She shares a pandemic origin story: brand-…

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The hard work is yet to come: With David Armano 32:37

25d ago32:37

32:37

David Armano has a special knack for seeing trends before they arrive. This week David joins Tammy to cut through the AI hype and explain how AI is actually transforming how we work and how we think. David compares AI to the technological transformations in the past and shows how it differs, namely that it impacts almost all levels of the enterpris…

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Episode 614: Built from Scratch: Chris Moran on How Bullet Grill House Became a Lake-Town Anchor 57:08

28d ago57:08

57:08

Wil sits down with Chris Moran, owner of Bullet Grill House in Point Blank, Texas—an hour north of Houston by Lake Livingston. Chris traces a winding path from teenage shifts at Big Boy to Pizza Hut GM postings across the Midwest, a pivot into automotive/oil & gas, and a “nights-and-weekends” stint at Ted’s Montana Grill that rekindled his hospital…

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Episode 613: From Door Hangers to Franchise Owners: Edward & My’s Pizza Guys Playbook 46:52

1M ago46:52

46:52

Edward (26) and Myi (27) went from hanging door flyers and delivering pies in high school to owning two Pizza Guys franchises in California’s Inland Empire. They share how a decade of on-the-line learning beat any business textbook, why the right partner matters, and what it took to pioneer a NorCal brand in SoCal—leases, permits, delays, and all. …

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Episode 612: Discipline, Storytelling, Failure, and the Fibonacci Sequence: Inside Chef Sam Hart's Vision 1:13:22

1M ago1:13:22

1:13:22

Sam Hart's journey into hospitality is a story of resilience, risk-taking, and reinvention. After dropping out of college multiple times and living out of his car, he discovered a passion for cooking while scraping by on cheap pasta and tomato sauce. That spark led him back to Charlotte, where he left a lucrative advertising career to attend culina…

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Identifying and placing creative tech talent: With Andy Wardlaw 34:27

1M ago34:27

34:27

Andy Wardlaw is a talent advisor who has placed a number of visionaries across sectors and across the world. He’s also seen how talent acquisition and placement has changed as technologies have come and gone. This week Tammy and Andy discuss how to spot creative tech talent and how to recognize if they will be successful in their new transformation…

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Ep 37 | 5 Product Traps Killing AI Projects (and What To Do Instead w/ Kurt Yang) 34:33

1M ago34:33

34:33

Build Real AI Products (Fast): Product Manager to Community Builder with Kurt Yang (Fintech & EdTech, RAG, Embedded Finance) From banker to PM to community catalyst, Kurt Yang shares how non-engineers are shipping functional AI prototypes, validating with customers, and turning meetups into massive and strong ecosystems. Chapters: 4:17 – Community …

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Episode 611: Buying the Past, Serving the Future: Saving Legacy Restaurants, Anthony Hamilton, Icon Group Hospitality 50:18

1M ago50:18

50:18

Wil talks with Anthony Hamilton of Icon Group Hospitality about building people-first restaurant businesses that last. They riff on digital minimalism (Wil’s flip phone!), presence with family, and the hard edges of hospitality—burnout, 24/7 crises, substance abuse—then pivot to how thoughtful leadership, balance, and systems can make the work sust…

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Episode 610: New Series: What Independent Restaurant Owners Are Doing Right in 2025 11:30

1M ago11:30

11:30

Part I: People-First Leadership → Culture Over Everything

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Episode 609: Drive-Thru Hospitality: CEO & Co-Founder Darren Spicer on How Clutch Coffee Wins with Service 44:04

1M ago44:04

44:04

In this episode of Restaurant Owners Uncorked, Wil welcomes Darren Spicer, co-founder and CEO of Clutch Coffee Bar, a fast-growing drive-thru coffee concept with 17 locations across the Carolinas. Darren shares his journey from bagging groceries to working at Dutch Bros, then taking a leap from a successful medical sales career to build Clutch Coff…

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It’s not about the tech tools; it’s about how you use them: With Kim Curley 32:21

1M ago32:21

32:21

Kim Curley lives by the phrase “we are humans that go to work, we are not workers that go home to human.” Kim is the Global OCM Leader at NTT DATA and is dedicated to finding human-first AI solutions. This week Kim joins Tammy to discuss change management and AI. Kim shares tips on how she gets people to move past the fear of change and the winning…

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Ep 36 | The CEO Who Cloned Herself To Run The Company — Michelle Gilmore (Juno leading AI research platform) 43:07

1M ago43:07

43:07

Michelle Gilmore (CEO & Co-founder, Juno) built a digital twin of herself to scale her business. Juno conducts high-quality, qualitative interviews—turning Michelle's 20+ years, and 10,000+ research projects into an AI “listening engine.” We dive into how Juno runs real conversations at scale, why expertise-in-the-loop beats checkbox surveys, and h…

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Organic intelligence: With Rika Nakazawa 37:32

2M ago37:32

37:32

Rika Nakazawa is a firm believer in the magic of the universe. That magic, according to Rika, comes from something she calls organic intelligence. This week on Catalyst, Tammy sits down with Rika, the Chief Commercial Innovation Officer at NTT, to discuss the future of innovation, sustainability and space technology. Rika explains how this concept …

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Episode 608: From Burnout to Breakthrough: Josh Kopel’s Restaurant Journey 41:19

2M ago41:19

41:19

In this episode of Restaurant Owners Uncorked, Wil talks with restaurateur-turned-coach Josh Kopel about his journey from running highly successful, Michelin-rated restaurants in Los Angeles to how he ultimately transitioned to teaching profitability and marketing. Kopel emphasizes that hospitality is fundamentally about people, not products, and t…

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Episode 100: Celebrating our 100th episode and Vanessa Vigar returns to talk all things Ally Solos 36:08

2M ago36:08

36:08

In this milestone 100th episode of our podcast, Stuart celebrates seven years of the show by reminiscing about its origins and dipping into the very first episode from September 2018. Then its time to welcome back friend of the show Vanessa Viger, Chief Marketing Officer at Envision. Vanessa provides an overview of the new Ally Solos smart glasses,…

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It takes a village: With Sindhu Srivastava 37:11

2M ago37:11

37:11

This week on Catalyst, Tammy is joined by the singular Sindhu Srivastava. Sindhu grew up in a small town in India then went on to study at the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology and Wharton and is now the CEO of three companies - We Crush Events, Meaningful Data and We Crush AI. In this conversation Sindhu gets vulnerable with Tammy about …

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Ep 35 | Stop Using Spam Cannons The B2B Playbook That 5×’d Replies 49:50

2M ago49:50

49:50

From IBM strategist to startup founder, Serena Lam is building Fuzzy AI to reshape B2B sales with hyper-personalized outreach. In this candid conversation, she shares her founder journey, lessons from building in AI, and where sales tech is heading next. 👉 Expect practical founder advice, the realities of building with limited resources, and insigh…

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Episode 607: Welcome Home: Tom and Amy Johnson on Building B-Side the Tracks Brewing Co. 1:00:57

2M ago1:00:57

1:00:57

Tom and Amy Johnson are turning a years-long dream into B-Side the Tracks Brewing Company in Conyers, GA. Amy, a 30-year finance pro turned American Brewers Guild grad, will helm the brewhouse. Tom will run front-of-house and a small distillery (bourbon, whiskey, vodka; rum later). Their vision is a true “third place” with standout hospitality, piz…

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Episode 606: From Franchisee to CPA: Nick Patel’s Restaurant Accounting Journey 1:26:59

2M ago1:26:59

1:26:59

In this episode of Restaurant Owners Uncorked, Wil sits down with Nick Patel, a CPA who left corporate accounting to become a multi-unit franchise restaurant owner before pivoting back into accounting, this time with a focus on helping restaurant operators. Patel shares his personal journey from owning restaurants in Florida, the challenges of part…

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From the archives: Leading with humility on a global scale with Abhijit Dubey 31:37

2M ago31:37

31:37

NTT DATA’s CEO on staying true to his values as he leads the company into the future In this episode from the archives Tammy is joined by NTT DATA’s Global CEO Abhijit Dubey. Abhijit and Tammy discuss the importance of remaining grounded as a leader and Abhijit shares tips on how to overcome imposter syndrome - yes, CEOs can experience imposter syn…

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Episode 605: Relentless Growth: The Story of Award-Winning Chef, Consultant and Leadership Expert Franck Desplechin 1:02:51

2M ago1:02:51

1:02:51

In this episode of Restaurant Owners Uncorked, Wil sits down with Chef Franck Desplechin, a French-born chef, pastry chef, and hospitality leader with over 26 years of global industry experience. Franck shares his journey from growing up in Brittany, France, to working in Michelin-starred restaurants and luxury hotels, and now stepping into authors…

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Ep 34 | Aussie AI (Reality Check): From POCs to Product—What Changed? 42:54

2M ago42:54

42:54

In this episode of Digital Nexus, we sit down with Sha-mayne Chan, Co-founder of Friyay and Wakey Wakey Sales, to unpack how AI is reshaping startups, SMEs, and big business in Australia. We cover: 🚀 How startups can now build products without a tech co-founder 📱 The story behind Wakey Wakey, an AI SMS sales assistant helping small businesses scale…

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Episode 604: From Credit Card Cash Advance to Muli-Unit Restaurant Owner: The Story of Restaurant Owner Pat Fowler 1:04:33

2M ago1:04:33

1:04:33

Wil speaks with longtime Schedulefly customer and Chicago restaurateur Pat Fowler. The conversation covers Pat’s unexpected path into hospitality, the risks he took to buy his first restaurant, and the challenges and opportunities facing independent restaurants today. They discuss economic pressures like rising costs, changing consumer habits, and …

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Episode 99: Explaining Vispero price changes 17:18

2M ago17:18

17:18

Welcome back to the Sight and Sound Technology podcast, where our General Manager and Head of Operations James Everson joins Stuart to clarify recent price and licensing changes for Vispero products (Jaws, ZoomText, and Fusion). James and Stuart discuss how new subscriptions, updated SMAs, and upgrade paths affect customers, and stress the need for…

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Balancing risk and patience: With Benoit Berthoux 35:02

2M ago35:02

35:02

Benoit Berthoux on the opportunities and risks of founding a startup in the age of AI In early 2023 Benoit Berthoux saw that generative AI was expanding possibilities for how people work. Benoit wanted to develop a tool that implemented seamlessly into their workflows instead of adding yet another tool. From this Mindy was born, helping people harn…

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Episode 603: Sprints Within the Marathon: Life in Restaurants with Ross Davis of REV Mex in OKC 1:07:26

2M ago1:07:26

1:07:26

Wil has a great conversation with Ross Davis, a longtime restaurant professional and operator in Oklahoma City. Ross shares his 29-year journey in restaurants, from waiting tables to management, and reflects on the evolution of restaurant culture, from high-stress, Gordon Ramsay–style management to today’s more intentional, people-centered leadersh…

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Episode 602: From $300 to 12 Restaurants: Chopped Season 61 Champion Kasem “Pop” Saengsawang 1:09:52

2M ago1:09:52

1:09:52

Summary In this inspiring episode of Restaurant Owners Uncorked, Pop, a Thai-born entrepreneur, shares his remarkable journey from arriving in the U.S. in 2005 with only $300 and dreams of becoming the next Bill Gates, to building a 12-restaurant hospitality empire. Initially working in restaurants to pay the bills, he discovered his true calling a…

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Episode 601: From Vegan Chef to Cattle Rancher: Molly Engelhart’s Radical Food Awakening 1:00:58

2M ago1:00:58

1:00:58

Summary: This episode of Restaurant Owners Uncorked features Molly Engelhart, a former Los Angeles vegan chef turned Texas cattle rancher and author of “Debunked by Nature: How a Vegan-Chef-Turned-Regenerative-Farmer Discovered that Mother Nature Is a Conservative.” Molly shares her journey from operating five vegan restaurants to running a regener…

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Combining tech and creativity in an AI world: With Leslie Shannon 37:33

2M ago37:33

37:33

Leslie Shannon on why if you’re trying to replicate the physical world in the digital realm you’re doing it wrong This week on Catalyst Tammy sits down with Jeopardy winner, author of Virtual Natives and Head of Trend and Innovation Scouting for Nokia, Leslie Shannon. Leslie has a deep passion for combining technology and art and is now working to …

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Episode 600: People-First Hospitality in a Tech-Driven World with Or Peleg, Tel Aviv Restaurant Group 47:37

2M ago47:37

47:37

In this Restaurant Owners Uncorked episode, Wil speaks with Or Peleg of Tel Aviv Restaurant Group in Los Angeles about his journey from aspiring lawyer to restaurateur, his group’s six kosher restaurants, and the realities of running hospitality businesses in a challenging post-COVID LA environment. Or shares insights on balancing high service stan…

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Episode 599: Hospitality Meets Investment: How Branded Hospitality Built a Bridge Between Restaurants and Tech 1:04:24

3M ago1:04:24

1:04:24

In this lively and entertaining episode of Restaurant Owners Uncorked, Wil Brawley sits down in the famed Branded Hospitality studio with Michael “Schatzy” Schatzberg and Jimmy Frischling, the duo behind Branded Hospitality Group. What begins as a nostalgic look back at their individual paths into hospitality, Schatzy from dishwashing at a bagel sh…

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Episode 598: Real Food, Real Service, and the Reality of Running Restaurants: A Conversation with 33-Year Restaurant Owner Drew Moore 51:57

3M ago51:57

51:57

In this episode, Wil chats with longtime friend and restaurateur Drew Moore of Carrboro, NC. Drew shares updates on his ventures, including Venable Bistro, B-Side Lounge, Auto Strada Pizza & Panini, Auto Strada Gelato & Coffee, and the upcoming House of Gatewood Chop House in Hillsborough. He explains how a 2022 trip to France and Italy inspired Au…

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Episode 597: Risk, Storytelling, and Building a Brand: The Passerine Story 1:03:09

3M ago1:03:09

1:03:09

In this episode, Wil sits down with Maneesh Goyal and Alvina Patel Buxani, the co-founders of Passerine, a neighborhood-focused Indian restaurant in New York City. What emerges is a conversation about risk as a path to fulfillment, the power of storytelling in hospitality, and the intentional way they’ve built a brand that’s as much about people an…

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AI for healthcare advocacy: With Claimable’s Alicia Graham 34:09

3M ago34:09

34:09

Alicia Graham on how Claimable is using AI to help people appeal denied health claims Alicia Graham has seen firsthand how unjust health insurance denials have impacted people across the United States. Enter Claimable, a product that helps individuals challenge denied health claims. With an 80% success rate and a record of helping people get covera…

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Live from Nexus 2025: With UPS’ Sean Jantzen 32:08

3M ago32:08

32:08

At the first ever live Catalyst event Tammy and Sean Jantzen discuss driving digital innovation at UPS Sean Jantzen is the king of shipping for shipping. 24 years ago he started out as an intern at UPS and is now the Vice President of Applications Development. In the first ever live Catalyst recording from Nexus 2025, Tammy sits down with Sean to d…

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Episode 596: From Baseball Dreams to Pizza & Purpose: The Story of Sean Marsiglia 1:46:57

3M ago1:46:57

1:46:57

Episode Summary: In this episode of Restaurant Owners Uncorked, Wil interviews Sean Marsiglia, an entrepreneur who owns several restaurants in Tampa, including Three Brothers Pizza, and other ventures such as a bagel shop and a baseball facility. Sean shares his journey from a promising baseball career cut short by injury to working at Chili’s, bec…

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Mindshift: On reshaping the future with Brian Solis 44:47

3M ago44:47

44:47

Brian Solis on how purpose, curiosity and creativity will help us shape the future This week Tammy is joined by visionary futurist and digital anthropologist Brian Solis. Brian is the Head of Global Innovation at ServiceNow and is one of the most interesting thinkers on how disruptive technologies like AI can impact businesses and the customer expe…