As a talented animator, and ‘maker of projects,’ Gene Fowler takes the word creativity to a new height. He is the founder and Creative Director of the popular animation studio, Loogaroo, and has worked on familiar commercials and cartoons such as Family Guy, Caillou, and Wow Wow Wubbzy. In this episode, Gene openly shares his business successes and failures, and the lessons he learned along the way.

Shawn Smith, founder of Don’t Dis-My-Ability Consultation Services, has had unique experiences in both school and in business. These experiences eventually led him to the wonderful world of entrepreneurship. Don’t Dis-My-Ability is an innovative company specializing in the emerging fields of Neurodiversity and studying attention deficit disorders. Tune into this unique episode of Making It Real for a fresh view on perception, learning, and embracing different communication styles.

Calling all gardeners! James Deamer, has set out to be the world’s biggest food producer without owning any farms. As co-founder of GardenSpace, James invented an advanced outdoor camera that measures your garden’s plant health, growth and water demand. As a participant of the competitive HAX accelerator, James explains the product development process he used to help bring his product idea to life. GardenSpace will help your garden take root – no green thumb required.

Joe Apfelbaum is an energetic entrepreneur, podcaster, author, speaker, and coach. He is also the CEO and founder of Ajax Union, a successful marketing agency in Brooklyn, NY. Tune into this episode of Making It Real to feel Joe’s energy and passion as he gives advice on marketing yourself and the importance of refining your business for profitability.

Stephanie Lai, founder of Little Hippo, was once a corporate lawyer. She loved her job but yearned for a business of her own. With a focus on beautiful, modern children’s products, Stephanie developed her first product. The Mella is a modern clock and sleep trainer for children that is designed to help both children and parents alike. Listen in as Stephanie shares her entrepreneurial journey, from corporate to Kickstarter, providing her insight into product design and user experience.

The story began as Sergeant First Class Elana Duffy was medically returned from the Army after being injured by a roadside bomb in Iraq. She suddenly needed to find a job, housing and Veteran benefits in New York City. To help combat the confusion of thousands entering civilian life, Elana created Pathfinder Labs, a directory of community resources that allows members to rate, review and connect with these helpful services.

It all started with a glass of milk. Bethany Deshpande shares the entrepreneurial story of her father’s passion for biophysics, and how the simple test of a laser beam and a glass of milk turned into a winning product called SomaDetect. Used as a tool for dairy farmers to measure milk quality, and herd health, farmers are now able to use Soma Detect to create better milk, increase their bottom lines, and have happier herds.

As a founder that had been a serial entrepreneur for over 15 years and who had experienced working in both large and small companies, Michael Stausholm used his skills to bring Sprout to market and help them achieve true commercial success. Tune in as Michael shares his passion for sustainability and the importance of telling a good story.

While on an impromptu adventure with his kids, Adam Lazar visited a maple syrup farm and recognized that the farmers were discarding pure, potable water that was a byproduct of the maple syrup production. He left with an idea and ignited it when the market timing was just right. Listen to Adam’s episode for a big boost of inspiration and an encouraging message to start small but solve big problems.

With over 50 self-published books, Debbie Drum developed a strong understanding of the self-publishing industry, and now coaches and consults other people to help them optimize their writing processes. Tune in to this episode to learn more about pioneering through a new industry, the importance of gaining genuine reviews, and the passion required to achieve success.

Taylor Jones is an entrepreneurial foodie on the go. In his search to provide a quick, clean meal, he brought the Jones Bar to market. This fresh take on the ever-popular energy bar provides 5 easy-to-read ingredients with a promise to provide simple, organic energy.

Keegan Cooke, founder of Magical Microbes, makes science exciting with a kit that harnesses the power of microbes found in soil (quite literally). Tune in as Keegan takes an otherwise intimidating scientific process and turns it into a next-generation STEM educational tool; providing keen entrepreneurial advice that he has learned along the way.

As a business growth strategist and peak performance coach, Kelly Roach is determined to help entrepreneurs build and grow their businesses. Kelly’s contagious energy will WOW as she explains her 4 core keys to success that are easy to follow and exciting to put into action.

Craig Lewis, founder of Gig Wage, shares his urgency to help small businesses with their payroll. While pivoting from a full-service company, to the niche of managing independent contractors, Craig shares his passion for payroll, and his urgency to help small businesses succeed.

As a former product executive at a large, global corporation, Chris Castleberry can relate to product managers and entrepreneurs alike. Now, owner of KnoxBox, Chris shares his corporate lessons learned, along with his current entrepreneurial path filled with acquisitions and strategic transitions.

From his experiences, Drew Cohn, founder of Radiant 44, understands that success in business is a winding journey. After years of experience in both the corporate world and the start-up world, Drew whole-heartedly admits to being “bit by the entrepreneur bug”. While seeking a new opportunity that drove his passion and fueled his personal growth, Drew decided to open his own business.

Conor Horrigan, founder of Half Full Brewery, was on the ultimate pursuit of passion. After enduring taxing desk hours on Wall Street, Conor set out on a 15-week trip around the world to figure out how to match his passions with his career. Following his motto and his mission to always make time for things that make you feel “half full”, Conor created Half Full Brewery.

As both an entrepreneur of two small businesses, and a product management professional at a large corporation, Jeff Wilcoxon shares the ultimate advice for product entrepreneurs. Tune in to learn about the inner workings of a legacy ice cream business and how those small business lessons can be translated into a large corporate product management environment. In this episode, Jeff talks about growth, customer service, innovation and so much more!

To Carlos Vega, founder of Jersey Italian Gravy, the perfect tomato sauce tastes like home. While owning and managing a pizzeria, he came across a recipe that flew off the shelves and made many people experience the same feeling of nostalgia. Tune in as Carlos discusses his road to success, all while staying true to his Jersey Italian Gravy recipe, and his core family values.

Anya Burgess, founder of Sola Violins, is a talented luthier and a passionate violinist. Listen to Anya’s story as she is faced with the challenge of turning a home-based business into a thriving storefront in the heart of Lafayette, LA. She has found a strong niche for passionate musicians, and has marketed a welcoming space for both professional musicians and beginners alike.

Martha Bernal, founder of Wet Nose University and a successful corporate product manager, has turned her passion for dog training into an entrepreneurial venture. In this episode, Martha discusses the similarities between entrepreneurship and product management, and the challenges that she had to overcome in a small business to find a great deal of success.

Mark Ethier, founder of iZotope, an award-winning audio technology company, shares his journey during the burst of the dot com bubble. With a passion for both music and computer science, Mark and his co-founders were able to stay in constant touch with their customers. This, among many other factors, enabled iZotope to become one of the leaders in the music software industry.

Be sure to listen as Daniel Webster-Clark shares his story of going viral upon introducing the hottest new fashion statement: the male romper. The RompHim was designed by a gaggle of business students, and went from being an extra-credit project to becoming a booming business. Tune in to hear the highs and lows of establishing a business, going viral, and growing a brand within the blink of an eye.

While working towards a PhD, Brett Walker, CEO of CircuitScribe, came up with the idea to create a conductive ballpoint pen that can draw circuits on paper. While entering the big box stores, and understanding the B2C world, Brett has also built a successful B2B company focusing on conductive materials for consumer electronics. Tune in as he shares the benefits of each style of business from a very hands-on perspective, along with many lessons while building and testing products

Travis Peterson, founder of Joker Greetings, understands the power of a prank. With a growing product line of greeting cards, Travis has matched an interesting customer need and created cards that feature everything from endless singing to a friendly pop of confetti. Tune in as Travis redefines the greeting card space while creating “that perfect card” with a very memorable experience.