The Authority Company

Baseball is a big business, with all 30 current Major League Baseball teams worth a collective $66 billion dollars. This week, Joe speaks with Randall Thompson, a former baseball player turned entrepreneur who had the brilliant idea of turning a baseball bat into a drinking mug. Since founding Dug Out Mugs about 5 years ago, it has grown into an eight-figure company that is licensed by Major League Baseball and is available in stadiums across the country.  Randall talks about the inspiration for his company, the importance of being an officially licensed product, and how Facebook has played a major role in the success of Dugout Mugs.

Female technology founders are in short supply, and women continue to struggle to gain equal access in tech. According to one survey, women hold only 5 percent of CEO positions at the technology leadership level, with 10 percent holding CIO and CTO spots. This week, Joe introduces you to Shira Yevin, an up-and-coming entrepreneur and founder, who’s launched multiple companies in the past couple of years with a goal of achieving gender equality by empowering women in music & beyond.

There are so many good podcasts, but so little time to listen to them all. This week we're highlighting a fantastic new show from the Exactly Right Podcast Network called Waiting For Impact. It is the brainchild of the host and creator, Dave Holmes. Dave is the ultimate multi-hyphenate who happens to be obsessed with a boy band that disappeared from our pop-culture consciousness in 1991. His podcast is a cross between VH-1’s Behind the Music and Finding Bigfoot. Dave talks to Joe about his start in show business, the inspiration for Waiting For Impact, and why he loves podcasting so much.

Crypto and blockchain went mainstream in 2020, but 2021 has become the year of the NFT. Non-fungible tokens are blockchain-based records that represent pieces of digital media and are bought with cryptocurrency. The collectible works of art have been embraced by celebrities like Eminem, Ellen DeGeneres, and Shawn Mendez. And even legit business influencers like Mark Cuban and Gary V. have jumped on the bandwagon. So what's it all about? This week, Joe welcomes Peter Hurley the world renowned headshot photographer based in New York City and the co-founder of Shabangrs NFT, the first-ever photography-inspired NFT collection made to honor photographers around the world.

You can buy just about ANYTHING online, but there are certain items that people are hesitant to buy from an e-commerce site. One of those is JEANS. But there is one company in the direct-to-consumer space that is changing that perception. It’s called Revtown and this week Joe is joined by its co-founder, Steve Battista, a former Under Armour executive who’s been in the apparel industry for over 25 years. On the podcast, Steve shares the inspiration for starting the company, the importance of building a user-friendly platform, and what the future of Revtown looks like.

Charleston, South Carolina is known for its picturesque beaches, historical landmarks, amazing food, and beautiful weather. But until recently, it’s never had the type of social club you’d find in big cities like New York, Miami, or Boston. That all changed a few months ago when The Wonderer opened its doors. The Wonderer is the first private social club in downtown Charleston complete with an event space, a swimming pool, restaurant, sports bar, fitness center, wellness bar, co-working spaces, and more. This week, Joe talks to Beau Burns, the founder of The Wonderer, and finds out why he quit his corporate day job to become an entrepreneur, what were the biggest hurdles to making his dreams a reality, and what was it like to build a business during the pandemic.

Has anyone ever told you to "STAY IN YOUR LANE?" Webster's Dictionary defines it as a term of admonishment or advice against those who express thoughts or opinions on a subject about which they are viewed as having insufficient knowledge or ability. But sometimes we just can’t stay in our lane. Joe's guest this week spent 20 years as a retail professional, but she was inspired to create a media company that could deliver business information and expertise in a clear, digestible way. Her name is Hillary Mendes, and she is the founder and CEO of the newly launched ROI TV. Hillary shares why she was motivated to start up a media company, how she did it, and what the future of ROI TV looks like.

Newscaster Joe Moore once said, “A simple fact that is hard to learn is that the time to save money is when you have some.” We all want to save money, but are we ready to retire? This week, Joe is joined by Chris Orestis AKA the Retirement Genius. Chris talks about how he has been helping folks navigate the complex world of retirement for more than 25 years.

There’s been a mass exodus of workers that’s been called the Great Resignation. According to the Society for Human Resource Management, over 40 percent of U.S. workers are actively searching for a new job right now, or plan to soon. That's twice the rate in 2019. The pandemic plays a big part in the turnover tsunami, but it’s not the only reason, in that same SHRM study, 56 percent of people considering finding new jobs are doing so because of their managers. Because when it all comes down to it. Culture Matters. This week Joe welcomes David J. Friedman, the best-selling author of Culture by Design, and they discuss why great cultures don't just happen on their own.

The pandemic has changed the way we look at workplace culture forever, but what are we doing to prepare ourselves for the future? This week, Joe finds out what leaders and companies are doing right with Kathleen Quinn Votaw, the author of the new book Dare to Care in The Workplace and an expert on helping employers create people-centric & relationship-based workplaces.