Cultures within Capitalism

Mike Duesenberg is a 2021 graduate of the Business Growth Program. Mike is the founder of Blank Studio in Chicago, IL (#wootwoot). Mike is our first solopreneur on the pod. We talk about everything from his family history with the Duesenberg Car, Indy Racing, Starter Jackets, his first record label in 2002, powerlifting, and our favorite Real Housewives, lol! He shares his wisdom about learning the difference between inspiration and discipline (so valuable), the difference between truth and trends in design, why he embraces tensions, why it's important to ride the wave of entrepreneurship and feel it all, and why knowing yourself deeply is important when developing the creativity for your brand.

Ellie Lum of Klum House joins the pod to share her journey from friendship-bracelet maker to psychedelics dealer to graffiti artist, bike messenger, industrial sewer to educator and entrepreneur. She shares her feelings and insights about rules & structure, the difference between leadership & management, the importance of seeing yourself as separate from your company, using your values as major decision-making criteria, how graffiti informed her thoughts about marketing, and why teaching is so empowering. There's so much goodness here, but one of my favorite insights from Ellie is when she said: We live in an internal world that only exists to ourselves. But the work is out there. The work is in the material. You are the bridge.

This is a new series under the Cultures [w/n] Capitalism umbrella. We're bringing together pop culture and business culture to learn valuable lessons about growth. In this episode, Matt Little returns to discuss:

1. JLo’s Halftime Documentary on Netflix
2. Beyonce’s Break My Soul
3. Martha Stewart’s new podcast with Snoop episode #1

We'll dig into psychographics versus demographics, leadership, visioning, operations, values culture, and so much more! Be sure to download the worksheet and think about these lessons for your own business.

St. John Frizell is the founder of Fort Defiance, and partner at Gage & Tollner and the Sunken Harbor Club, all in Brooklyn, NY. This episode talks about visioning, perseverance relating to regeneration and growth, and creating jobs with dignity.

For our first official interview, I’m super excited and honored to share this episode with Alex Daly, founder of Daly. When it comes to communication, nobody does it better than Alex and Daly. Daly is a communications agency that digs deep to tell untold stories for people and companies who truly believe and invest in what they're doing. Alex is inspiring and thoughtful and her words of wisdom are generous. We talk about all things company culture, building a company, pivoting a company, vulnerability, and leadership. I always learn something from listening to Alex.