MENTORdna guest – Page 3

September 27, 2021October 12, 2021

Coco Brown, CEO & Founder, Athena Alliance

This episode is in partnership with the University of Pennsylvania’s Momentum Conference, an all-women’s event Oct. 1-3, 2021.

As I’ve entered what I consider the prime years of my career, I’ve been connecting with my girlfriends and colleagues about their aspirations. I spent 25 years in the corporate world and 21 of those had a parallel track spent serving on non-profit boards.

While I eased off the corporate track 3 years ago, I still find that I have much experience and energy to offer. Some of my friends suggested connecting with Coco Brown, CEO & Founder of the Athena Alliance. Coco, too, is a Penn alumna, and she’s built an incredible network of women seeking latter career moves. Many are interested in board service, while others want to start their own companies, and still others are very passionate about venture, private equity or angel investing.

Athena is a fantastic way for women to continue to learn about these various avenues and connect with one another and companies seeking their expertise.

About Coco Brown

Coco is a CEO and board member, actively leading Silicon Valley based professional services and tech companies since 1997. From 2002 to 2012 Coco was President and COO of Taos, a Gartner top 20 global IT professional and managed services company servicing hundreds of F1000 and top tier private growth companies nationally. She was also on the board of Taos for 12 years, leading the company through massive economic cycles and business model evolution and growth. Coco led the company to $54m in revenue, and the company has subsequently been sold to IBM.

In 2016 Coco founded Athena Alliance, a digital platform for learning and agency for top business women striving for the c-suite and the boardroom. Athena has seen 2.8x growth in membership in the last 12 months since launching as a true subscription model and hosts over 1,000 women leaders today. Coco is a well-published expert and speaker on The Modern Boardroom. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. Coco serves on the commercial boards of Athena Alliance, Inc and Archerpoint (an ESOP), as well as the non-profit board of Athena Rising Foundation.

September 14, 2021October 26, 2021

Braxton Woodham, Founder & President, Unfinished Labs

Braxton and I started our tech careers together at USWeb/CKS, a web agency that serviced big entertainment brands like NBC, Sony Music, and so many more. In those days, teams were hand-coding websites. There weren’t any content management tools; just brute force.

Those were the early internet days and after I successfully migrated my entire team from NYC back to LA, I left to start my own consumer products company, snacki. Braxton and my paths have crossed several times since, working on projects at Sony Music Digital Ventures, Warner Home Video and Fandango.

Braxton has always impressed me with his intellectual curiosity; always pushing the boundaries of what’s possible and why things are the way they are. He’s a naturally-gifted leader, effortlessly sitting at the center of a Venn diagram of business, tech, and philosophy.

His passion for learning and trying new things without fear of failure is inspiring. He knows that one must fail to get to the next better idea. He’s had several successful and less-than-successful outings. And the work he’s now leading at Unfinished Labs is so clearly the culmination of all of his past work. It’s his life calling to build an open source platform so that people can control their own networks and their own data. How about that!? He believes that a global town hall shouldn’t be owned by any one person, company, platform or government.

This is one of the most important ideas in this particular state of our world’s affairs and his work has massive geo-political implications. I encourage you to tune in to this fantastic episode as he shares his story of how he’s gotten to this point, and where he plans to go.

To learn more about Unfinished’s work, I encourage you to drop into their 2-day conference Sept 23-24, 2021 at The Shed in NYC.

Unfinished Labs’ Conference 2021 Details >>

About Braxton Woodham

Braxton Woodham, President of Unfinished Labs, formerly served as the Chief Technology and Product Officer at Fandango and was co-founder, President, and Chief Technology Officer at Sun Basket, where he continues to serve as a board member. Braxton also was co-founder and Executive Chairman at kuma.capital, a software company providing a platform and applications for systematic digital asset trading and co-founded Tap11, a real-time media analytics platform which was acquired by AVOS Systems in 2011.

Earlier, he was the CTO of InfoSpace’s mobile division where he was responsible for the infrastructure that serviced approximately three quarters of all mobile web traffic in North America. Braxton joined InfoSpace through the acquisition of Moviso, where he led the development of the V4 Digital Media Platform, which scaled by more than 100 times to generate over $1.5 billion in revenue across US, European and Australian mobile carriers. Prior to joining Moviso / InfoSpace, Braxton served as Executive Director of Technology at Sony Music Digital Media Ventures, where he focused on new Internet initiatives including Keyhole, which was acquired by Google and relaunched as Google Earth.

Notably, Braxton served as Lead Propulsion Engineer for two Atlas missions and was a Captain in the United States Air Force. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree from Vanderbilt University.

August 31, 2021September 1, 2021

Sumter Pendergrast, Founder Sidecar Doughnuts

I met Sumter on my honeymoon….b/c my husband invited him. That’s right! We invited friends to our honeymoon, which was a surf trip in Fiji. Why not?! Life’s too short to spend your honeymoon with complete strangers, right?

Immediately, I knew that Sumter was my kind of person. He’s incredibly creative, loves music, and is a risk taker. At the time, Sumter was running a high-end t-shirt brand called EFCI. He sold into Fred Segal, Nordstrom, and those types of retailers. After 10 years, direct-to-consumer business models hadn’t yet taken hold, and despite huge margins, he realized that bootstrapping a clothing brand wasn’t sustainable.

One afternoon, after he was a newlywed with a baby on the way, he sat in our family room playing guitar, and told us about his idea for a gourmet doughnut shop. Playing the older sibling role, we cautioned him against it…and boy were we wrong! Tune in to hear all about how Sumter took his passion for design and turned it into a high-successful and difficult-to-replicate business model!

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About Sumter Pendergrast

Sumter is a self-professed serial entrepreneur whose first passion is design. He spent 10 years in the fashion industry launching two brands. Then in 2012 he opted for a change of scenery. Inspired by the idea of re-inventing an American staple – the doughnut shop- he ventured into the food and beverage space where he took his knowledge of brand building and design and created Sidecar Doughnuts and Coffee.

Sumter is the Founder and CEO of Sidecar Doughnuts and Coffee. Sidecar was launched in April of 2012 in Costa Mesa, CA. Currently Sidecar has six locations in Southern California (OC, LA, and SD) and is currently in construction on its 7th location, which is set to open January 2022.

July 26, 2021July 27, 2021

Casey Courneen, CEO Blackstone Technology Group

Casey Courneen - CEO, President and Founder Blackstone Technology Group

Casey and I met during our days at Penn. We were both Wharton undergrads hailing from California beach towns and we lived on the same street in W. Philly. There was comfort in the hometown familiarity of our Quicksilver t-shirts and flip flops.

Casey was President of his fraternity and head of the Inter Fraternity Council, bringing culturally diverse groups together through music and dancing on the edge of Penn’s campus. His house threw the most incredible dance parties, mixing with diverse greek houses across campus and always serving up the stickiest and most competitive beer pong one could find on campus!

Casey is one of the most loyal friends who’s committed to staying connected with his friends despite location or time. He’s a devoted husband and father, which isn’t surprising as Casey’s parents wholeheartedly supported of all of his endeavors and were the biggest influencers for him.

He and his business partners at Blackstone Technology Group had a very clear vision about what type of consulting business they wanted to start and run for the long-run. They wanted to build a company that provided a runway and they steered clear of the very enticing trend of quickly building a tech start-up and selling. They’ve held close to that early mission and 23 years later, still a privately-funded and held company, command a very strong position to look ahead to the future of tech consulting and the opportunities that lie ahead.

About Casey Courneen

Casey Courneen is the CEO, President and a co-founder of Blackstone Technology Group. Casey’s rich history in leading teams and servicing Fortune 100 customers helps him address our customers’ unique hiring challenges, and ensures profitability and productivity for all parties. Casey began his career at PriceWaterhouse in the Management Consulting Services division, helping Fortune 100 telecom, energy, and financial services companies gain advantage over their competition with superior information systems. From there he moved to a start-up IT services firm where he concentrated on leading several client-server, object-oriented and distributed technology projects across a number of different vertical marketplaces. At Blackstone, he continues to focus his efforts on driving innovation and developing creative internal strategies used to hire and retain the best talent in the industry. Casey holds a B.S.E. in Finance and Legal Studies from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.

June 15, 2021June 15, 2021

Jason Hodell, CEO Skullcandy

Jason was one of the few married business school friends I had in Philly. I admired how he and his wife worked together through all the moves and changes a young Army family experiences. Jason and I shared a love for beach volleyball and found ourselves playing on an indoor team stacked with former collegiate players. Other teams would show up to tourneys wearing Goldman Sachs-sponsored unis while we’d roll in on an RV, sleep in the parking lot, and show up to the games squeezed into our high school and college jerseys. Life’s too short to take yourself too seriously…and we never did. But we always won which was never as important as having fun.

Jason’s leadership on and off the court has always left an impression on me. After business school, he worked on Wall St. and demonstrated a work ethic I’d never seen…ever. He was a beast putting in the hours to prove that he could make the transition as an Army Ranger into the corporate world. And he did.

We have too many stories to share in this episode, but I know you’ll gain some important insights from our chat!

Jason Hodell is the CEO of Skullcandy, the original youth audio lifestyle brand based in
Park City, Utah. In 2020, Skullcandy was #2 to Apple in total headphones/earphones
sold in North America, and the leader in units and total dollars sold at < $100 MSRPs.
Skullcandy is globally distributed in over ninety countries with offices in Park City,
Vancouver, Shenzhen, and London. Prior to this role, he was the CFO/COO of
Skullcandy and helped lead the company through its public company life (Nasdaq:
SKUL) and the subsequent 2016 “take-private” transaction with Mill Road Capital.

Prior to joining Skullcandy, Jason was the CFO of Shopzilla/Bizrate, the largest family of
comparison shopping engines (CSEs) in global Internet retailing, the CFO / COO of
Move Networks, an IPTV technology pioneer acquired by EchoStar Corporation in 2010
to create SlingTV, and, earlier in his career, Jason was the Senior Director of Business
Operations at Digex (Nasdaq: DIGX), a cloud-computing and data center pioneer
acquired by MCI (now Verizon Business) in 2003 for ~$230m in firm value.
Prior to Digex, Jason was in the Technology Investment Banking group of JPMorgan,
focused on communications technology mergers and acquisitions and initial public
offerings. He later served as portfolio manager at Plainview Capital for five years,
ranked multiple times by BNY Mellon among the top 10 performing domestic small-cap-
value equity funds.
Jason received his B.S. in Economics (Mathematical) from the United States Military
Academy at West Point and then served for five years as an Infantry Officer in the U.S.
Army. Jason earned his MBA in Finance from the Wharton School, University of
Pennsylvania.

June 8, 2021June 8, 2021

Jed Weinstein, Founder & CEO Rise & Set

As an only child, I always yearned for a sibling. When my husband introduced me to his childhood friend, Jed Weinstein, I was immediately drawn to him. He’s one of the most kind and authentic gentlemen I’ve ever met. Truly, a mensch. And while this sounds weird because he’s younger than I am, he reminds me of my Dad – gentle, well-read, interesting, interested, creative. 🙂

I’m in Philly a few times a year for meetings so I also scoot up to NYC to see some shows and visit with friends. Jed and his wife always oblige and you’ll find me on their couch enjoying the vibrant energy of their Wall St. neighborhood.

On one visit, Jed invited me to a Hublot launch event his company, RISE & SET, was hosting in a non-descript warehouse walking distance of the High Line. Not thinking much about what I was doing or what to expect, I walked in and was immediately transported to a different world. His team had perfectly captured the brand’s uber-luxurious essence. Product was perfectly displayed for guests to try. The setting was very intimate, yet oozed grandeur. I’m not surprised that uber-luxury brands want to work with Jed’s team. He truly understands that aesthetic and what the customer wants.

Jed Weinstein hails from Newport Beach, CA. His passion for marketing was incubated at the prestigious Goizueta Business School in Atlanta, GA, where he was inducted into the Emory Sports Hall of Fame as an All-American Varsity tennis and soccer athlete.

After graduating, Jed founded his first entrepreneurial venture. Three years later, Latin America Sports Camps, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, was sold for a profit to a local marketing agency.

Upon his return to the US, Jed was recruited to work with live concert and production company SFX Entertainment, which was subsequently acquired by Clear Channel Entertainment. After years of producing a multitude of award-winning events for the likes of Coca-Cola, Schering Plough, and XM Satellite Radio, it was time. Time to take the skills learned, experience gained, and relationships made, to create something…more.

RISE & SET is that “more” – the nation’s top luxury lifestyle marketing agency, creating superlative experiences for the world’s most high-profile luxury brands and clientele.

June 1, 2021June 1, 2021

Alli Warner – CMO, Beacon Pointe Advisors

Alli was fresh out of college and interning at Beacon Pointe Advisors when I met her. I’d already had about 15 years of marketing, product and strategy under my belt and was highly-impressed by Alli’s curious nature and willingness to take the bull by the horns and get stuff done without having been asked.

As I interview more C-Suite executives, there seems to be a pattern with many of them having been leaders on their high school or collegiate teams. Alli played volleyball at USC and was also a competitive horse rider. Her collaborative approach as she’s risen the ranks make her a go-to for her colleagues across the organization.

About Alli Warner

Allison (Alli) graduated from the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California where she was captain of the Division 1, Pac-12, USC women’s volleyball team. She also received a Masters in Communication Management from the Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism at USC. Alli joined Beacon Pointe Advisors in 2010 as an intern. From intern to Chief Marketing Officer, Alli designed and built Beacon Pointe’s strategic plan for the marketing and communications department. Her responsibilities include brand management, digital marketing and social media, office acquisition brand integration, website oversight, marketing material design, presentation and content development including articles, podcasts and video formats, and market research, among other areas of focus.

Alli is very passionate about financial education. She is a founding member of the Beacon Pointe Women’s Advisory Institute and recently co-authored Your Dollars, Our Sense: A Fun and Simple Guide to Money Matters, an international best-selling book that has been ranked #1 in six different business and finance categories. She also served as a past committee member for UC Irvine’s Center for Investment & Wealth Management Financial Literacy ‘LifeVest’ Summer Residential Program for four consecutive years.

Outside of the office, Alli volunteers her time working with her family’s non-profit organization that serves the military sector, The Patriots Initiative. She also enjoys being in the outdoors horseback riding, golfing, playing sand volleyball, traveling, and spending time with her family. Alli is married and lives with her husband in San Diego, California.

May 24, 2021January 14, 2022

Deanna Lyn – Head of Commercial Sales, Descartes Labs

Deanna Lyn and I spent our formative early 20s together learning the corporate ropes. I worked in the toy buying department for the Disney Stores and she worked for an author who wrote sales books.

During the summers, we’d call each other on our work lines to arrange arrival times at Santa Monica’s State Beach to play beach volleyball. Never afraid to try something new, Deanna moved to Santa Barbara, then to Colorado, and now lives with her husband in Mexico on a boat. Why not!??!

We share a lifetime of stories and I learned several important lessons about planning your next career move, what she expects candidates to ask in an interview, and how she mentored an employee on a PIP (performance improvement plan) to becoming one of the company’s top performers.

About Deanna Lyn

Deanna has spent most of her career working as a sales and marketing professional in software/technology. She currently serves as Head of Commercial Sales at Descartes Labs, a company sitting at the intersection of AI, geospatial intelligence and global markets.

Prior to Descartes, Deanna was Director of Strategic Accounts at Invoca. Her experience has spanned three decades of complex high-tech sales as a direct contributor, partner manager and sales leader. While continuously exceeding company goals, she remains passionate about building teams, mentoring for success and always serving in both her customers’ and company’s best interest.

May 11, 2021May 11, 2021

Dan Smith – CEO, ALT-CMO and JIMMYCASE

Dan Smith, ALT-CMO and JimmyCase on MENTOR dna

I wasn’t totally prepared for what I was about to walk into…..mission control at the Playboy Studios with hundreds of TV screens on display! But I kept my cool and kept listening to how TV production works. Those were the early days when I’d just met Dan Smith, then VP Production for Playboy. What I love about Dan is that he’s a risk-taker, open-minded, non-judgmental, and always willing to listen and provide feedback on ideas.

We’ve since collaborated on numerous projects for the Wharton Club of Southern California, where he created a highly-successful Media & Entertainment networking group, and now runs Marketing Mondays. He now helps clients with branding and digital conversion rates through his company, ALT-CMO.

Dan loves to learn and leveraged his experiences at Playboy to truly learn global commerce distribution and digital marketing. This experience has served him well in a direct-to-consumer venture to sell JIMMYCASE, a phone case wallet using just-in-time manufacturing in California that’s distributed worldwide. He tinkered in his garage for 6 months perfecting JIMMYCASE’s design and now is finalizing an innovative yet simple pour-over coffee offering.

About Dan Smith

Dan Smith started his career in the mailroom at a talent agency. From there, he worked for famed Academy-, Emmy- and Golden Globe Award-winning Edgar Scherick. It was during a meeting with Ed and famed Samuel Goldwyn where Dan got his big chance to become VP Development and Production at American Gladiators.

He then moved on to Fox Family Channel which sold to Disney/ABC. Dan transitioned from family programming to adult programming at Playboy, where he rose the ranks to General Manager, Home Entertainment. As the adult programming market was starting to wane, Dan took the opportunity to hone his skills while running the home entertainment business, learning global manufacturing, distribution, and digital marketing.

Dan has parlayed his digital marketing expertise into a very scrappy and successful phone accessories business called JIMMYCASE, is about to launch a coffee-related product and is also CEO of ALT-CMO, a marketing consultancy focused on digital marketing and branding.

May 4, 2021May 11, 2021

Matt Laessig – Co-Founder & COO, data.world

Matt Laessig and I are like long lost 13 year old twin brothers. Yes, you read that right. As a boy mom, I’m increasingly more immature and crack up at seemingly innocuous jokes. Matt has 3 boys and loves Dungeons and Dragons. Together, we laugh at dumb stuff that only our middle school kids find funny….if that!

Matt was a big part of my life when I started snacki.com, a really early commerce venture in the late 90s. My friend Allison and I built the business as a creative venture during school, and I then took a big risk at taking the custom merchandise venture online in ’99. Matt was the Chief Marketing Officer and while we were selling $50k a month in custom t-shirts to organizations like the Leukemia & Lymphoma Association, UCLA and USC fraternities and sororities, we were likely a bit too early and green to raise the piddly amount of money needed to keep us going. Great lessons learned and I recall having to tell Matt after his wedding that we only had 4 weeks left and had to shut things down. It’s a bittersweet memory, but one that we reminisce in this episode.

About Matt Laessig

Matt Laessig is the co-founder and COO of data.world, the world’s largest open data community and a leading software platform helping companies catalog their data and analysis for easier discovery and collaboration. Previous to data.world, Matt held multiple leadership roles at HomeAway (now Vrbo), the world’s largest vacation rental marketplace, including as Vice President of Global Business Development and General Manager of BedandBreakfast.com. Prior to HomeAway, Matt served as Vice President of Business Development at Bazaarvoice, the global leader in social commerce solutions. Matt is a graduate of both the Wharton Business School and the Lauder Institute of International Studies and Management from the University of Pennsylvania. Matt is also an 9-time competitor on NBC’s American Ninja Warrior, the world’s toughest obstacle course competition.