The Authority Company

You may know Michael Chernow as a world-famous restaurateur, chef, and television host, but now you can add wellness entrepreneur to his resume. This summer, Michael launched Kreatures of Habit with the goal of helping people establish healthy habits. On the podcast, Michael talks about building the iconic Meatball Shop and how his sobriety fueled his inspiration to build a direct-to-consumer functional food brand.

The history of chess is a complicated one. Early forms of the game originated in India around the 6th century AD, and by the 10th Century chess made its way to Europe. Fast-forward to the 1800s, chess underwent various rule changes and became the competitive sport we know today. The first official World Chess Championship was hosted in 1886 and 134 years later it went viral.First, the pandemic sparked interest in the game. More and More locked-down families around the globe began buying boards and playing chess. Covid-19 also drove hundreds of thousands of others to play Chess online. And then Netflix put it over the top. The release of their giant hit “The Queen's Gambit” was followed by a massive surge of interest in the game.These days, thousands of Americans spend their day playing chess in parks around the country, but did you know that a lifelong chess player transformed his hometown of St. Louis into the Chess Capital of the United States?His name is Rex Sinquefield. And in a previous life, he pioneered the first index funds, the investment vehicles that track financial assets like the S&P 500. In 2008, the retired multi-millionaire founded the Saint Louis Chess Club and then provided the funding to move the World Chess Hall of Fame to Saint Louis. Now, the chess pioneer is being recognized for his accomplishments by being inducted into the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame along with his wife, Dr. Jeanne Cairns Sinquefield.In this episode of the podcast, Rex shares what chess has meant to his life, what he thought about “The Queen's Gambit”, and what the future of chess looks like in St. Louis and around the world.

Who is Peter Thiel? He has been called an enigmatic, controversial, and hugely influential power broker who sits at the intersection of tech, business, and politics. But who is Peter Thiel, really? This week, Joe attempts to learn more about the founder of PayPal and the early investor of Facebook as he speaks with Max Chafkin the author of the new book, The Contrarian: Peter Thiel and Silicon Valley's Pursuit of Power.

The U.S. Census Bureau reported that business applications of all sizes nearly doubled during the first few months of 2020, regardless of the fact that we were experiencing the greatest public health crisis in over 100 years and the failure rate of startups is around 90%. Joe's guest this week has made it her mission in life to inspire and motivate others to fulfill their potential and achieve their goals. Her name is Mari Tautimes, and she is a world-class speaker, trainer, coach, and mentor. Find out why Mari shares her remarkable personal and professional story and why she wants to help others to dream big, craft their vision, and connect with the strategic actions that drive success.

The hospitality industry has been riding a rollercoaster of restrictions and reopenings for the past year. The financial effects of COVID-19 on the industry have been staggering; the state of Rhode Island says that the pandemic cost their hospitality and tourism industry over $2 billion dollars in 2020. Some in the industry have even said that 2021 is shaping up to be just as challenging as 2020. This week, Joe is joined by Steve Palmer, the Managing Partner and Founder of The Indigo Road Hospitality Group. Steve shares his thoughts on the current state of the hospitality industry, the keys to his successes, and the importance of self awareness.

It takes a lot to succeed in the world of healthcare these days, and that’s even before the pandemic came along. Not only do you have to undergo intensive training, but then you have to essentially become an entrepreneur, with very little business training. How do you separate your practice from the others? How do you handle the competition in your specialty? How do one make it? Joining Joe this week to talk all about it is Jad Shalhoub, the Executive Director of Advanced Vascular Solutions, one of the top vascular and wound care practices in Florida.

The first question a lot of entrepreneurs ask themselves after they’ve developed a product or service is, "what makes me marketable?" Michael Jordan not only changed basketball forever, but he changed the world of marketing as well. Sure, athletes have always pitched products; Babe Ruth used to hawk cigarettes and Muhammad Ali endorsed roach traps. But Jordan changed the game last year he made an estimated $130 million from Nike, four times as much as LeBron James, and Jordan walked away from the Bulls more than 20 years ago. So what makes an athlete marketable today? This week, Joe looks for the answer to that question with Mike Principe, the CEO of one of the most recognizable sports marketing companies in the world, GSE Worldwide.

How does a former corporate lawyer build one of New York City's top gluten-free bakeries and get their goods into Whole Foods? You sign up for a baking class. That's what Helene Godin did after walking away from a highly successful 22-year legal career. On this episode, Helene talks to Joe about her career transition, how she pivoted during the pandemic, and the importance of never giving up.

When you were growing up, the phrase wealth management was akin to a craniotomy. You knew that it was something that was done, but you didn’t actually know how people did it. When it comes to wealth management or a craniotomy, you’re best off working with an expert. This week Joe is joined by an expert on the former, not the latter, his name is Zachary Garber, and he's a Vice President and Client Advisor at Alex Brown, a division of Raymond James. Zach specializes in custom portfolios that overlay alternative investments, including private equity, hedge funds, and real estate solutions.

Hollywood has made excellent films about female entrepreneurs, such as Rom-Coms like Bridesmaids and Sweet Home Alabama. But it's only a matter of time before a movie is made about Joe's guest this week, Stephanie Blackwell, the founder and President of Aurora Products, a supplier of natural and organic nut and dried fruit snack packs. Stephanie shares how she built Aurora Products from scratch and all the twists and turns her Hollywood-like entrepreneurial journey has taken.