Rounding The Bases With Joel Goldberg

Dr. Diego Gutierrez is an assistant professor of marketing and management at Rockhurst University.  He played professional soccer from 1996-2008 and won an MLS title in 1998.  He consults, announces MLS soccer  and teaches.  He specializes in business development and sales and marketing in various industries. 

Swell Spark is a company with concepts such as escape rooms and axe throwingThey are known for Blade and Timber and breakout escape rooms, have 11 storefronts nationwide and believe in the importance of having fun to bring people together for shared experiences.Matt was a guidance counselor and owned a soda shop when he started an escape room as a side hustle.They started the axe throwing trend and expanded to six locations around the country.www.swellspark.com

Don Peterson is entrepreneur in residence for Launch Health Accelerator, an incubator working on ideas to disrupt and improve the current health care system involving six companies.  They have partnered with the Economic Development Corporation of KC & Nueterra Capital.The cohort visited the Mayo Clinic during the 12-week program. Companies are MedZERO, WellBrain, TheraWe Connect, Sickweather, Healium by Story UP and Spoke Health.Website: launchhealthaccelerator.org

Chad Peterson is the owner of Peterson Acquisitions.  He was a pilot and lost his passion for flying following 9/11.  When the market crashed he change professions, built companies, sold them and realized he could help other people sell companies. He’s written multiple books, including “Blue to White: A Working Man’s Guide to Self-Employment” and “Swinging Doors: A Guide to Selling Your Business."Website: www.petersonacquisitions.com

Kilee Nicklels and her husband own a jewelry company called Nickel and Suede, selling lightweight, big leather earrings.  They are based in Kansas City and sell their jewelry online all across the country.  She began with an Etsy store and started a blog to support the business.  They’ve been on the Inc 500 list for two straight years. Website: nickelandsuede.comBlog: one littlemomma.comIG: @nickelandsuede @onelittlemommaPodcast: With Kilee Nickels

Jeff started his company Phase6 Productions in January 2016, edirting spots, promos and sizzles, serving clients such as United Airlines and Bacardi.  Website: www.phase6productions.comTwitter: www.twitter.com/jefflandsman

Max Schachter's life changed on February 14th, 2018, when his son Alex was one of 17 children and teachers murdered during the Parkland massacre. Max founded Safe Schools for Alex with a mission to providing the most current school safety best practicesand developing a national clearinghouse that drives school safety best practices across the US.The clearinghouse website goes live in November at www.schoolsafety.gov.  www.safeschoolsforalex.org

Brian serves as CEO of Torch.AI and has more than 20 years of experience leading mission driven, high growth, technology-focused companies. Torch.AI helps leading organizations leverage artificial intelligence in a unique way via a proprietary enterprise data management software solution. Clients include the Department of Defense and companies like Microsoft and H&R Block Prior to Torch.AI, Brian launched or acquired several companies all focused on technology enabled services and data connectivity.

Barnett Helzberg Jr, former owner and president of Helzberg Diamonds founded HEMP, the Helzberg Entrepreneurial Mentorship Program in 1995.  Danny O’Neill, founder of the Roasterie was the first mentee, paired with Henry Bloch. They’ve had speakers such as Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple. He sold Helzberg Diamonds to Warren Buffett and has spent of lifetime helping aspiring businessmen and women connect with mentors.  

Ron Hill is the CEO of Redemption Plus.  Ron lived in Seattle and sold a computer training company 23 years ago prior to moving to KC to start Redemption Plus and become a one stop shop for entertainment centers and bowling centers and helping them grow more by wasting less.  They currently have more than 50 employees.He believes in conscious capitalism, elevating humanity through business.Website: www.redemptionplus.com or google conscious capitalism Kansas CityRon can be found on LinkedIn

Pat Warren is the President of the Kansas Speedway in Kansas City Kansas.  The facility becomes 6th largest city in the state with 10,000 people in one place for a weekend. The track has 35 full time employees but approximately 3500 on a race weekend. Pat previously worked at Sprint. The track hosts about 250 events a year, driving schools, exotic driving schools and big non-related motor sports events.Website: Kansasspeedway.com

Paul Schofer is CEO of the Kauffman Center for Performing Arts, a facility that opened in 2011 and welcomes 500,000 patrons a year in a building designed by architect Moshe Safdie.  The KC Symphony, KC Ballet and Lyric Opera are resident performers.  The building was ranked one of the world's 15 most beautiful concert halls.Paul worked at Hallmark , Marion Laboratories and began working for Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation before becoming CFO and then CEO of the Center.Website: www.kauffmancenter.org

Neal Preston started shooting photographs in high school while going to concerts.   He decided to skip college and moved to LA when he was 19 where he eventually landed a retainer deal with Atlantic Records to do publicity photos and press parties and caught some breaks being on the road with Cameron Crowe and Rolling Stone.He went on to work with Led Zeppelin traveled with Bruce Springsteen, The Who, Fleetwood Mac, Queen.He wrote a book called “Neal Preston, Exhilarated and Exhausted.”

Tanya O’Callaghan is a world touring bass player from Ireland who lives in the US. Wayne Strickland spent 38 years as an exec at Hallmark. They met at a music camp with Wayne as a student and Tanya an instructor and now collaborate delivering a “leadership rhapsody” keynote speech.Tanya got big break being asked to record a track with the band Tool as a young musician and flew to Arizona from Europe.Tanya IG: tanyaocallaghan_official . www.leadershiprhapsody.comwww.waynestricklandspeaki

Matt Watson is founder of the company Stackify.  They were named in the Inc 5000 fastest growing companies in August 2019, ranked 379. He sold Vin Solutions for $147M to Autotrader.Stackify has about 25 employees in KC, and 20 in the Philippines. They built a tool that helps software developers understanding how they are performing and have over 1100 customers all over the world. Matt attended Devry but did not finish school and obtained his Email: mwatson@stackify.com

Dr Dred Scott is the president and CEO of the Boys and Girls Club of KC. Scott was an educator and administrator before this job. He believes in building relationships and sees himself as the champion storyteller for the organization. Named after Dred Scott, a slave who fought for his freedom in front of the Supreme Court. Dr. Scott tries to carry on the legacy by telling the Dred Scott story. Website: www.helpkckids.org@helpkckids on socialmedia Twitter: @drdredScott

Kemet Coleman is an urbanist, entertainer and entrepreneur.  His stage name as a musician is “Kemet the Phantom.”As an urbanist, he’s fascinated by streets, infrastructure, transportation, and what connects people with human natureHe created opportunities in the city for entrepreneurs at Moss Salon Studios, Kansas City’s first urban co-working space for salon professionals.New album called “Electric Park,” released August 16, 2019.kemetthephantom.comyourphantastic.commosssalo

Matt Decoursey, founder of Full Scale, and Andrew Morgans, founder of Marknology discuss time management and the power of no.Matt talks about the ability to say no and defining opportunity costs.  Andrew says he receives thousands of messages a week and it’s a matter of timing as to when people reach him. Andrew IG: @andrewmorgans or website marknology.comMatt website fullscale.io   He is the co-host of the Startup Hustle podcast.IG: @startuphustlepodcast and @Decourseymatt

Ajamu Webster grew up in Los Angeles. As a junior in high school, he liked math and science and wanted to be an engineer after hearing about the profession from a neighbor.He moved to Kansas City to work for Burns and McDonnell between 1980-84, Butler Manufacturing until 1988 before he started his company, Dubois Consultants,  named after W.E.B. Dubois Learning Center.He and his team hope to solve the issue of water quality in parts of the world where people don’t have access to clean drinking wate

Michelle Robin is a wellness chiropractor and owns a practice called Your Wellness Connection. Michelle hosts a podcast called “Small Changes, Big Shifts,” and wrote a book with the same title. She believes that making small changes is a mindset. She’s teaming up with Win For Kc and creating an event called Shifts on September 14, 2019 at UMKC, an event for women and girls ages 12 and up to experience a full day of mindfulness, movement and nutrition. Website: smallchangesbigshifts.com