Mandy Cordia is a retail industry veteran who turned her love of shopping into a full-time corporate retail buying career with companies like The Home Shopping Network, Dillard’s, and most recently, Zappos.com. After a pandemic-induced crash-landing into burnout, Mandy discovered throughout her therapy sessions that life had become so busy that she had neglected her passion for giving back. She began to buy gifts for friends and family that donated to charitable causes as her way of giving back. However, the charity donation and the benefiting nonprofit were often vague, and the merchandise was often lackluster. Mandy decided to use her retail talents to make a difference and launched The Kindness Cause in March 2022. The Kindness Cause is an e-commerce site created to help others give back when life is too busy to volunteer, start meaningful conversations, and raise funds for local nonprofit organizations and important causes through curated fashion-forward gifts that give back. The Kindness Cause has partnered with nonprofit organizations nationwide and supported causes like environmental justice, human rights, equality, cancer, and underprivileged youth, to name a few. Mandy also consults nonprofit organizations and retail brands in her free time on their merchandise strategies.

My love affair with technology started in the early 80s when I was fascinated by robots, video games, and the future. I spent my twenties trying to be the second-greatest 3D graphics programmer in the video game industry and co-founded an interactive software company in 2003 that created a VR training tool for the NFL. In 2015, I co-founded Balti Virtual because virtual and augmented reality felt like the inevitable next stop in the journey from DOS to Windows, CompuServe to the internet, and Palm Pilots to iPhones. We’re inventive, reliable, a bit playful, and we are always interested in new opportunities to use technology to build cool stuff (especially if it helps make the world a better place). Specialties: augmented reality, virtual reality, mixed reality, actual reality, technical management, software architecture, graphics programming, game development, engine programming, gameplay systems, simulation and training.

Join us for an inspiring episode as Phil Masiello sits down with Ebru Karpuzoglu, founder of Aveseena Skincare and an accomplished immunologist with a background in molecular medicine. With her unique blend of scientific and business acumen, Ebru has seamlessly bridged the worlds of immunology and skincare, creating products that harness the power of science for real-world results. Her career spans extensive research in immunotoxicology, where she's made groundbreaking insights into the role of estrogen in immune responses, fueling innovations that drive both therapeutic and commercial growth. In this episode, Ebru shares her journey from leading complex immunological research to founding a skincare line that prioritizes safety, efficacy, and the highest standards in scientific rigor. Learn how her roles as a Scientific Director, Program Manager, and Chief Scientific Operations Officer shaped her vision for Aveseena and helped her bring scientific excellence into a consumer-friendly form. Tune in to discover how Ebru's scientific background informs her approach to skincare, her strategic insights for biotech and pharmaceutical ventures, and her advice for entrepreneurs looking to balance scientific rigor with business innovation.

In this insightful episode of ""Crunching Your Growth,"" host Phil delves into the dynamic scaling strategies that propelled Graza, Truff, and Harry's from startup contenders to industry disruptors. Discover how Graza revolutionized the olive oil market with innovative packaging and direct-to-consumer sales, how Truff carved out a luxurious niche in the hot sauce industry, and how Harry's took on shaving giants with a fresh approach to men's grooming. Phil breaks down the key tactics these brands employed: Product Differentiation: Leveraging unique offerings to stand out in saturated markets. Strategic Branding: Crafting compelling brand stories that resonate with modern consumers. E-commerce Mastery: Utilizing online platforms to accelerate growth and reach a global audience. Whether you're an entrepreneur aiming to scale your business or a marketer seeking inspiration, this episode is packed with actionable insights and real-world examples. Tune in to learn how to apply these winning strategies to your own growth journey and stay ahead of the competition. Don't miss this deep dive into the art of scaling success! #graza #truffhotsauce #harrysrazors #scaling #crunchingyourgrowth #philmasiello

Serial entrepreneur and marketing expert, Blaire Brown is obsessed with all things entrepreneurship and helping others start their businesses. Host of the Curate Your Success Podcast and featured in Forbes, ESPN Radio, and Yahoo! Finance, Blaire is the founder and CEO of Visionary Advantages Brand Lab, which helps businesses elevate their brand presence online. She has also created the Business Launch Lab, a digital course that teaches aspiring entrepreneurs how to become actual business owners so that they can achieve the freedom-filled lifestyle of being their own boss. Prior to starting her marketing agency and launching the course, her career has been focused on operating entrepreneurial ventures, and managing marketing and PR efforts across major contemporary fashion brands.

Meet Joel Gandara I was born in Cuba and came to the United States in 1980. My family and I arrived on an overcrowded boat. Even though I was a kid, I knew that we landed somewhere life-altering. My father took a job repairing electrical equipment at a nonprofit radio station while my mom cleaned rooms at a hotel. Despite their tremendous work ethic, my family lived below the poverty line like many immigrants. That led me to become an entrepreneur early on, mostly out of necessity. I started earning money at the age of 10 when I was in the fourth grade. My first business plan was to buy products that I could resell in the schoolyard. I had a lot of fun and also learned many important life lessons that have helped me throughout my life. My parents could not afford to give me pocket money. But that’s what helped me learn how to make it. Moving Up After High School, I worked up to 100 hours some weeks. That left no more than four hours for me to eat and sleep each day. Even though my free time was limited, I would go to garage sales and turn items around for a profit at a nearby flea market. It was at one of the garage sales that I found someone selling hundreds of brand new clothing samples. I bought them all for $1 each. This was a huge risk, given how little money I had at the time. I took the samples to the flea market and sold them for $6 each and made $3,000. It was then that I realized smart investing can do much more than just help me get by. I continued to work hard, save, and invest. That allowed me to save for a down payment on my first home at the age of 22. And I paid my entire mortgage each month by renting out the extra bedrooms, allowing me to live ""rent free"". From flea markets, I moved up to selling on eBay. Soon after, I started a wholesale business with an apparel brand I began importing from Mexico. I started traveling to wholesale shows in Las Vegas and Paris, where I sold products to stores. After learning the business for a few years, I went on to produce my first brand ever. This brand did well and hit the $1 million dollar mark in the first 13 months. A New Life After the success of my first brand, there was a streak of wins, such as developing my second brand, then third, then came the acquisitions. I acquired 14 companies in my space and continued to solidify my apparel company. After more than 20 years of running my company, I sold it and dove straight into the next phase of my life, the one that I am truly passionate about. If you've made it to this page, then you already know what my passion is. It's you, and guys like you. It's helping you become the best version of yourself. Coaching I believe that we must strive for greatness in everything we do. That’s why I put so much emphasis on the importance of having good influences around us. I invest tens of thousands of dollars each year in my own personal development. This includes coaches that I hire for myself, learning events, professional organizations, development retreats, books, and more. When you're learning and improving yourself, you get a glimpse of that feeling that you are living your life to its fullest. Having the right coach guiding you can make the difference between living an average life or an extraordinary one. Throughout our coaching relationship, I will help you work on becoming the best possible version of yourself. My holistic approach to business and life coaching offers detailed lessons in: Building your confidence Surrounding yourself with successful people Better defining your life’s goals Taking emotions out of your decisions Fixing problems at the root vs. quick fixes Knowing when to delegate or hire more people Taking care of yourself by improving your health Creating more free time in your life through efficiency Fully controlling your life and your future Building incredible relationships #philmasiello #crunchingyourgrowth #entrepreneurship #startups

Dan Fucich, PhD completed his Doctoral research in the Marine Estuarine Environmental Sciences program at the University of Maryland with a focus on algal stress response and growth rate. He completed his Undergraduate research and B.S. in Biology at Duquesne University in 2015. While in graduate school, he co-founded AlgenAir with encouragement as a Ratcliffe Environmental Entrepreneurial Fellow. At AlgenAir, he is the principal lead of product design, biological material cultivation and distribution, as well as iterative development of the aerium, the modern houseplant that uses microalgae to improve indoor air quality. AlgenAir are the designers of the aerium, the modern houseplant that uses microalgae to pack the same photosynthetic capacity of 25 houseplants into a sleek desktop package. The aerium is the first iteration of our living technology platform that uses biophilic design to solve problems caused by our modern built environment. We are scaling up our technology to improve indoor air quality and energy efficiency by making green buildings truly green!

This Week on Crunching Your Growth! Join me as we welcome Jay Melone to the show on e360tv! Jay is an expert in helping service-based businesses, consultants, and coaches transform their offerings. Together, we’ll dive into his insights on how to ""Productize Your Service"" — a game-changing strategy that can bring clarity, scalability, and efficiency to your business. Don't miss this opportunity to discover how to make your services more predictable and profitable. Tune in to gain actionable tips to take your business to the next level!

In 1987, Harry Tully opened his first Uncle Harry’s Ice Cream Store in Virginia Beach, VA. Uncle Harry’s featured premium homemade ice cream made on premises, mix-ins blended into the ice cream on a frozen marble slab and ice cream cakes made to order. The menu also featured Columbo brand frozen yogurt and at the time, Uncle Harry’s was the highest volume user of Columbo in the state of Virginia. Specialty coffee beverages and fresh fruit smoothies were later added to the menu offerings. In the second year, Uncle Harry’s launched a wholesale division, selling bulk premium ice cream to restaurants in the Southeast, VA market, growing that business to include 40+ wholesale customers. The ice cream shop retail operation grew to 12 stores, including 6 locations inside Ukrop’s Supermarkets and 2 locations inside Farm Fresh Supermarkets. At that time the company employed over 120, with retail operations in the Richmond, VA and Virginia Beach, VA markets. In 2001, Uncle Harry’s Premium Ice Cream Cakes were launched in the supermarket channel. Farm Fresh and Ukrop’s were the first supermarket retailers to feature Uncle Harry’s Ice Cream Cakes in their in-store bakeries. Tully spent the next several years developing the ice cream cake business at those first two supermarket retailers and expanding the program into Harris Teeter supermarkets. During that time, the company made a strategic business decision to close the retail ice cream shops and focus solely on growing Uncle Harry’s supermarket ice cream cake business. Today, Uncle Harry’s Premium Ice Cream Cakes and Desserts can be found in supermarket retailers in 41 states. Prior to starting Uncle Harry’s, from 1982 – 1987, Tully was the owner/operator of a Chick-fil-A, located in Memorial City Mall, Houston, TX. At that time, Chick-fil-A stores were located only in major shopping malls. Tully opened the store in 1982 and grew sales in that operation to a level that was among the higher volume Chick-fil-As in the country at that time. Tully was recognized on numerous occasions by Chick-fil- A corporate leadership for his strengths in marketing and superior product quality, service and cleanliness. Tully assisted other Chick-fil-A owner/ operators in opening their stores and developing their business. A native of Newport News, VA, Tully attended Old Dominion University. Tully lives in Virginia Beach, VA. Harry served for 12 years on the Board of Directors of ORPHANetwork, a non-profit serving children and communities in Nicaragua. Harry currently serves as a Trustee for Essential Church in Virginia Beach, VA. Harry likes most outdoor activities but especially enjoys waterfall hiking with his wife, Terrie and enjoys spending time with their two children, Justin and Heather. Tully’s daughter, Heather, is Director of Sales for Uncle Harry’s, Inc.

Today we have one of the most unique entrepreneurs we have ever encountered. Wesley Stevenson. Wesley started his entrepreneurial venture at 8 years old selling worms which became a landscaping business. Then he created the largest ballroom dance studio in the southeast. After thinking about retiring, he moved to Florida and invented Expandacraft Modular Boats. His designs are now being used by the US Navy. He also has a healthy e-commerce business selling his boats and designs all around the world on every continent except Antartica. A tireless entrepreneur with a great story. Hear his insights about building a growing a business and never getting discouraged by the naysayers.

RICHARD PARKER has been helping people achieve their dreams of owning a business for over 30 years. His ‘How To Buy A Good Business At A Great Price’ program has sold over 100,000 copies in more than 80 countries. He was a partner with Ray Dalio and the Dalio family office for four years in an investment firm that was set up for was Richard to mentor one of Ray’s sons in the art of buying businesses. He has personally purchased 13 of his own companies plus one co-investment with purchase prices ranging from $50,000 to over $200 million. Richard has appeared in Forbes, The New York Times, TheStreet.com, Entrepreneur Magazine, Inc., and has over 200 published articles to his credit. #crunchingyourgrowth #philmasiello #startups #entrepreneurship

Tonight we speak with Philip Dimuro. Philip DiMuro is a startup founder and avid traveler with a deep-rooted passion for technology. He loves new experiences and learning from others. He runs his software development company, Founders Approach, full-time. There he helps founders of small businesses build, launch, and validate their Mobile Apps or Website ideas.

Joel was born in Cuba and arrived to the United States in 1980 on an overcrowded boat. Growing up in a family that lived below the poverty line, Joel's entrepreneurial spirit emerged early out of necessity. At the age of 10, Joel began buying and reselling products, learning valuable life lessons along the way. Despite limited free time after working up to 100 hours a week following high school, Joel's determination never waned. One pivotal moment came when Joel took a risk and bought clothing samples at a garage sale, turning a small investment into a $3,000 profit. This experience sparked Joel's passion for smart investing. Through hard work and discipline, Joel saved enough to purchase his first home at just 22 years old, renting out extra rooms to cover the mortgage. He transitioned his little side hustle from selling at flea markets to eBay, eventually starting a successful wholesale business importing apparel from Mexico. Joel's journey led to creating his own apparel brand, achieving $1 million in sales in just 13 months. His company continued to grow, developing and acquiring numerous brands. Joel firmly believes in the payoff of hard work, and thanks to just that, he grew his business to generate many millions in annual sales. In 2023 Joel sold off his largest 2 businesses and retired to become an inspirational and very successful coach. He's come a long way from his early days of toiling for every dollar. Joel's life has been a testament to the American dream, marked by challenges that shaped his gratitude for the opportunities he's been able to build. Today, Joel leverages his business knowledge and life experience to help others achieve their dreams.

Join us this week on Crunching Your Growth as we sit down with Richard C. McMahon, the visionary executive who transformed Bed Bath & Beyond from a $1B company into a $12B retail powerhouse. With over two decades of experience in building multibillion-dollar enterprises, optimizing global supply chains, and leading digital transformations, Rich shares the secrets behind his remarkable success. Discover how he launched digital platforms that generated $1.5B in revenue, revamped global supply chains to save over $50M, and consistently doubled market valuations for his clients. Don't miss this exclusive opportunity to learn from a leader whose strategic insight and hands-on execution can help you unlock explosive growth in your own business. #bedbathabndbeyond #philmasiello #crunchingyourgrowth #startups #entrepreneurship

Ovi Grigorescu is the co-founder of QuikTix, a digital ticketing platform that simplifies event management, and founder of GriGrowth, a digital marketing agency born from his passion for creative growth strategies. An entrepreneur at heart, Ovi thrives on turning ideas into reality and navigating the ups and downs of startup life. He’s here to share his personal journey, the lessons learned along the way, and practical advice for anyone looking to dive into the world of digital entrepreneurship. Originally from Romania, Ovi moved to Canada with his parents in 2005. With a background in Engineering, he’s always been drawn to the business world. Recognizing that every successful startup needs both builders and sellers, Ovi has leveraged his technical skills to reach a point where he can focus on his true passion: business development. #crunchingyourgrowth #philmasiello #entrepreneurship #startups #startupjourney

Jordan West started in marketing at 22 when he bought a Taco Del Mar chain restaurant. The learning curve was large but after 5 years he had tripled the sales at the restaurant with creative marketing tactics. After selling the store Jordan and his wife grew their children’s clothing company Little & Lively from a small at-home operation to one of the “top ten baby brands in Canada” with advanced digital marketing techniques. Jordan’s business passion is helping e-commerce brands grow exponentially.

Scott Ketchum has served as a Creative Director/Graphic Designer for 18 years in both San Francisco and New York specializing in brand development, web design and sustainable packaging and design. A decade of living in New York City opened Scott’s eyes to the creative parallels between design and the culinary arts and prompted him to study brewing and management at the Siebel Institute in Chicago as well as travel to Italy, Paris and Belgium to further explore their food and beverage culture. With the movement for locally made products exploding in New York City and the absence of an artisanal pasta maker servicing area restaurants, Scott decided to marry his profession and his passion and start Sfoglini with his friend Steve Gonzalez, Sfoglini’s chef and co-founder. Scott currently serves as Sfoglini's CEO and oversees the company’s brand development, marketing and operations.

#entrepreneurs #delegation #executiveassistant Valerie Trapunsky is a former A-list personal assistant and Chief of Staff, current founder and CEO of ChatterBoss, the first and only remote executive assistant service of its kind. She is also the author of Delegation Nation, a book on how entrepreneurs and assistants can thrive together in a remote world. Her mission is to guide entrepreneurs to building friction-less teams using a human-centric approach. / valerietrapunsky / chatterbossapp / valerietrapunsky https://www.chatterboss.com/ #entrepreneurs #chatterboss #delegation #executiveassistant #thinkengagethrive #philmasiello #crunchgrowth

This week on Embracing Life Again, Catherine takes us on a journey to South Creek Clothing Co., a boutique where fashion meets individuality. Catherine chats with Christine Bullard, the passionate owner, and Betsy Miller, a stylist with an inspiring story. Betsy shares her expertise on choosing the right fabrics and incorporating creative jewelry to elevate any outfit. She also opens up about her personal journey, finding a new purpose at the boutique after facing a breast cancer diagnosis. Christine reveals her commitment to creating meaningful experiences for every customer who walks through South Creek’s doors. Together, Christine and Betsy guide Catherine through a fun and fabulous wardrobe update, helping her prepare for an exciting upcoming date! Tune in to see how embracing style can reignite confidence and joy in your life. #EmbracingLifeAgain #FashionConfidence #SouthCreekClothing #ItalianFabrics #StyleTips #BreastCancerJourney #HealingThroughFashion #WardrobeRefresh #SelfCareThroughStyle #BodyPositiveFashion