Leaders

Shopping... who doesn’t enjoy shopping? My latest guest on the LEADERS podcast, Michelle Madhok, founded a company all about shopping called SheFinds Media. In a world where Amazon seems to be taking over and new rumors about the death of traditional brick and mortar retail pop up everyday, I wanted to pick Michelle's brain about the evolving retail ecosystem. We also discuss her journey as a founder, the benefits of email over social media, and more.

You may know Randi Zuckerberg from her time at Facebook working alongside her brother as the Director of Market Development and Spokeswoman. She left in 2011 to found her own company "Zuckerberg Media." She's an angel investor, she authored several New York Times Bestsellers, she's the creator of "Dot.", a children's book that was made into a TV series on CBS, the producer of two Broadway shows that are up for a combined 22 nominations, and she even performed on Broadway for the "Rock of Ages." We dive into her new book "Pick Three," discuss the impacts of technology today and in the future and more.

In this episode, I talk to Rand Fishkin, Moz and SparkToro Founder, about what he calls the web marketing apocalypse and what marketers can do to survive and thrive in the ever evolving digital marketing ecosystem. If you are not familiar with Rand, I highly recommend listening to some of our past interviews where we talk about how he founded Moz SEO and his new venture SparkToro. Rand is an authoritative and trusted voice in the Digital Marketing and SEO world.

What would you do after closing a life changing deal? Our guest on this episode of the "LEADERS" podcast, Charity Huff, has the answer. After selling her digital marketing company in 2013, Tru Measure, she picked up her kids and got milkshakes. We start our conversation there and then unpack the aftermath, her leadership style, and the digital transformation of the media industry.

Moz is hands down one of the best, if not the best resource online for SEO (Search Engine Optimization). I had the privilege of talking with the CEO of Moz, Sarah Bird. We took a deep dive on why this is the “Golden Age of SEO” and we discussed Sarah's dynamic leadership style. Our conversation kicks off with women in tech and why she prefers not to be called a "Woman CEO." Please enjoy my insightful conversation with Sarah Bird.

Dave Isbitski is the Chief Evangelist for Alexa at Amazon. Chances are you have a smart speaker in your home today. If you’re like me, you have an Amazon Echo with Alexa. I always tell people Alexa is one of those things that you didn’t know you need until you have it, and once you do, you’re not sure what you ever did without it. But what does the future hold for voice? And how can brands leverage this channel to build deeper connections with their customers? From beginners to voice experts this interview is jam-packed with thoughtful insights. Please enjoy my entertaining conversation with Dave Isbitski.

On the season finale of the LEADERS Podcast James talks to Laura Rich, the former CEO and Co-Founder of a media company called StreetFight, a regularly updated online trade publication covering hyperlocal business, local commerce, mobile, location-based companies, and services. Laura started StreetFight because she noticed a trend and a need, so she filled it. She focused on storytelling and the drama behind the local marketing industry to build StreeFight into an attractive acquisition opportunity for another company. A large part of the interview focuses on what happens after the sale of StreetFight. So if you're just starting a business, or you're looking to exit your current one this is the episode for you. They also dive into mentorship, women in business, and much more, enjoy our interview with Laura Rich.

On this episode of Leaders, James talks to Chris Bolte. Chris is the Founder and CEO of a company called Paysa. What is Paysa? It's a personalized career platform whose goal is to enable employees to optimize the value of their careers, across the full career arc. In other words, they help people understand what they are actually worth in the market today, and how to meet or exceed their worth. If you think we're going to talk about money in this episode you are right, but before we do, James talks to Chris about taking risks. More specifically the risks Chris took to get to the point in his career that he is today. If you're someone who is waiting to take a leap of faith, then this might just be the episode for you. Enjoy our interview with Chris Bolte.

Ben Gold is the president of QuickBridge, which offers working capital financing. He’s also a natural leader. He lives by a simple rule - discipline is freedom. Toward the end of our conversation, he shares a paradigm switching thought that I wanted to highlight for anyone listening to this show between the ages of 24 and 40. There’s a whole world of successful leaders out there that want to pass down knowledge to the younger generation. They’re just very selective about who they share it with.

On this episode of Leaders, Nathan Pettyjohn. Have you ever had an idea? Like a really good one that kept you up at night? Have you ever gotten to point where you said “I can’t let anyone else takes this idea? I’m the only one that can make it work.” If you have then you have a lot in common with today’s guest, Nathan Pettyjohn. He’s the CEO and Founder of Aisle411. They leverage virtual and artificial reality to help brands sell products. Nathan and James met a few years back at a conference and when Nathan started talking about VR and AR technology he lit up. It’s no wonder that his company has raised over $15 Million in venture capital funding. His journey from cushy salary job to budding entrepreneur might sound familiar to you, it’s a common founder story “I had the car, the money, etc.” But it might be identical to the crossroads you are standing at right now. Enjoy my far-ranging conversation with Nathan Pettyjohn.

On this episode, James talks to Brenan King. Son of a beach was his first business out of college, now he’s the founder and CEO of Vendasta Which did about $30 million dollars in revenue last year. Some people have Entrepreneurship in their blood, that’s Brendan King. He’s smart, straightforward, and entertaining. One of my favorite responses from Brandan came after I asked him about failure, so look forward to that, but before we can get there, let’s start with the art of the pivot. As Brendan’s about to share, most start-ups will have to pivot at some point from what they thought their business was going to be, to what the market actually needs. Some startups just pivot more than other. It’s important keep in mind. That’s not a bad thing. Enjoy my conversation with Vendasta CEO, Brenden King.Leaders by Fratzke Media

This is part 2 of 2 with former CEO & Founder of Moz, Rand Fishkin. It’s hard to image Moz without Rand Fishkin. But even if you haven’t heard about Moz, or seen Rand with his unique hair dew and mustache this is a can’t miss conversation.We kick things off with Rand sharing the story of how he went from $500,000 in debt to growing Moz into a profitable company. This is a very heartfelt, real interview. We talk about topics ranging from Rands struggle with depression to how to navigate the difficult world of accepting venture capital from investors. It’s a far-ranging interview. It’s very real and very useful, please enjoy our conversation with Rand Fishkin.

This is part one of a two-part interview with Rand Fishkin the Founder of SparkToro (formerly of Moz). If you're in the SEO or digital marketing world then you've probably used Moz.com and even if you haven't you've probably seen Rand Fishkin pop up in your LinkedIn News Feed. We taped our original LEADERS interview with Rand a few months back as he was getting ready to leave Moz and go on to his next big adventure. But we weren't able to really dig into exactly what that next adventure was until recently when Rand announced he was officially leaving Moz. So we decided to get Rand back on the phone and take a deeper dive into some of the exciting things going on in his life. This is part one of a two-part interview with Rand. Keep in mind that this first part is more recent. Part 2 (which is available right now on iTunes and Google Play!) follows our typical LEADERS podcast format where we make an assumption that you, the listener, don't know who the leader is. But you're listening to learn from their lessons

What would you do with $750 million? Could you imagine selling your first company out of college for that much money? It sounds like a dream, but for this episodes LEADER, it was his reality. Steve Mihaylo was a foster child, but he never let that define him.In James' interview with Steve, you start to understand the secret to his success was all about hard work ethic, consistency. Steve shares some game-changing ideas around mentorship and serving others. Enjoy our interview with Crexendo CEO, Steve Mihaylo. On a side note, this interview was especially special to James because he is a Mihaylo College of Business and Economics Alumni.

On this episode of LEADERS James talks to Don DiCostanzo, he’s the Founder and CEO of Pedego Electric Bikes. Pedego has over 100 stores nationwide and does $20 million in revenue. Don is one of those entrepreneurs who try to scratch his own itch and then turns that idea into a successful business. That’s how Pedego got started. Don would ride his bike downhill to the beach but wasn’t a fan of going back up. Don wants to turn Pedego into the Apple or Starbucks of electric bikes, and he is well on his way. Warning: after you listen to this interview you might want to buy a Pedego Electric Bike! We’ll let Don tell you about it. Here’s our interview with DiCostanzo.

On this episode, I interview Charles Bruce. He came from a poor family in Kansas and made his own way. He decided to go to college because he knew it was his only way out. Charles went on to be the CEO of two companies. His latest stint was as CEO of the restaurant chain Johnny Rockets.I loved this conversation with Charles. I think you will too. We talk about travel. Fitness. And goal setting. There are lots of great golden nuggets from start to finish including his three c’s and how to deal with unreasonable people. Enjoy my conversation with Charles Bruce.

On this episode of LEADERS, I talk to three men who were recently on one of my favorite TV shows, Shark Tank. David Yusuf, Alex Amidi, and Sal Aziz are the founding partners of Bouquet Bar.This was an awesome episode with lots of behind the scenes details from Shark Tank. All three men were immigrants to the United States. It was great digging into their back stories and their habits for success. If you’re thinking about starting a business with partners, or you already have one, this is a great episode for you because David, Alex, and Sal have a great dynamic and, in my opinion, are a good example of what a healthy partnership can look like.

On this episode, James talks to Philz Coffee CEO Jacob Jaber. He's the CEO behind our favorite cup of coffee Jacob is the son of, you guessed it Phil. My love for Philz started when I tasted their iced mint mojito in San Francisco. There’s just something special about the way they do business.From its humble beginnings in the Bay area, Philz has grown from one store to over 40, catching the eye of Venture Capitalists and raising over $75 Million to help propel their growth.What I learned from Jacob is that it doesn’t matter if it’s a cup of coffee or some new whiz-bang technology, curiosity and attention to detail, go a long way. But don’t take it from me, enjoy my far-ranging conversation with Philz Coffee CEO, Jacob Jaber.

Hi! I’m James Fratzke, the host of LEADERS. On each episode, I’ll interview a proven Leader, CEO, Entrepreneur, or Founder and unpack their story of success.There’s this quote I love by Sir Isaac Newton “If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants.” And that’s how I try to live my life and run my business. That’s why we started this podcast. Yes, there are countless podcasts where super successful people talk to other super successful people. All to help us the common folk reach their levels success. But this is podcast is different. I’m an infinite learner who’s less concerned with how something was done and more intrigued with why. I want to learn from others and share those lessons with like-minded people.Every question I ask is driven by curiosity. I honestly want to learn and understand the stories and habits behind each and every leader’s success.So whether I’m talking to the CEO of a successful coffeehouse that has raised over $75 million in venture capital. Or a