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Building While Flying — Business
Building While Flying

Welcome to Building While Flying: a weekly business podcast from Gary Vaynerchuk’s agency The Sasha Group. We are the small- to medium-sized business arm of VaynerX, the most contemporary independent holding company in the industry. At The Sasha Group, we teach, guide, and execute modern-day brand building and marketing for ambitious businesses looking for meaningful growth.

Building a business isn’t linear. The journey is wrought with turbulence, delays, and re-routes. Those who win are resilient, unafraid of challenges, and willing to flex in order to reach their destination. We get it; entrepreneurship is in our DNA, and we’re built of people with entrepreneurial experience and empathy.

Right now, times are volatile and ambiguous. Across all sectors, there is an air of experimentation. Brands and businesses are investigating new methods, exploring new paths, testing and learning, adapting, and, well, building the plane while flying. By adopting an uncertainty mindset, we can navigate the ever-changing skies of entrepreneurship together by listening, learning, applying, and sharing.

On Building While Flying, we hear from a diverse range of business leaders about how they face challenges head on and stay calm under pressure. Their stories are riddled with the unexpected and share how their strategies have been put into practice and changed their business.

Past episodes have featured stories of turning side hustles into main hustles, building businesses inspired by their families’ needs, dealing with rejection, selling the company they built, innovating better-for-you foods and products, and above all else, following their dreams and navigating the trials of entrepreneurship.

Thanks so much for flying with us. We’re glad you’re on this journey, too. Make sure you subscribe so you don’t miss our weekly episodes.

Latest Episodes:

From the Street to the Stadium: Whitney Bansin & The Wild Collective are Taking the World of Team Sports by Storm Sep 23, 2021

Show notes

Sports fan apparel has gotten a major facelift recently, thanks to Whitney Bansin and The Wild Collective. In 2016, Whitney founded The Wild Collective, a fashion-forward lifestyle and apparel brand that sits at the intersection of sports and fashion. They are licensed across the nation's biggest sports leagues, including the NHL, NBA, WNBA, MLB, and MLS, as well as select collegiate teams.

Whitney joins the Building While Flying podcast this week to talk about her journey and share some of her biggest wins and learning experiences along the way. She tells Katie about her early career days in Las Vegas when she founded One Luv Agency, and how she landed her first partnership with the Las Vegas Golden Knights hockey team. Whitney talks about the challenges the pandemic brought, and how she and her team adapted and found their path forward. The Wild Collective is disrupting the sports apparel industry—and they're only just getting started.

*Whitney Bansin and The Wild Collective are clients of The Sasha Group.

In-flight topics:

Whitney's early career in Las Vegas (2:18 - 7:25)
Growth and partnering with other leagues (7:32 - 9:17)
What drives design decisions (9:53 - 13:16)
Pandemic pivots (13:18 - 20:21)
Shifting to ecommerce (20:25 - 24:27)
What's next for The Wild Collective (25:50 - 28:22)
...and more!

Relevant links:

TWC website: https://www.wearethewildco.com/

TWC Insta: https://www.instagram.com/wearethewildco/

TWC LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-wild-collective/

Whitney LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/whitneyurichuk/

Whitney Insta: https://www.instagram.com/wildwhit/

Creating Content with Purpose - with Alex Kushneir (Icon Media) Sep 16, 2021

Show notes

Storytelling has been in Alex Kushneir's blood since birth. After studying film and television (and playing football) at Baylor University, Alex cut his teeth in the production world working for companies like CNBC, Huffington Post, Cheddar, and more. After just eight years in the industry, Alex and colleague Jay Shetty co-founded Icon Media, a full-service content studio that helps brands create purpose-driven content and emotionally connect with their audiences.

In this episode of Building While Flying, Alex joins Mickey to talk about Icon Media's origin, the differences between television and digital-first production, the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and more. He discusses the challenges he faced in the early days of Icon Media—like learning the business side of things and managing a wide variety of clients and asks. Most importantly, Alex emphasizes the need for purpose-driven content, and how brands aligning with a cause leads to deeper, more impactful storytelling.

Other in-flight topics:

Alex's background in storytelling, film, and production
The birth of Icon Media
Differences between television production and digital-first
Working with Arianna Huffington
Building a startup production company
How COVID-19 impacted productions and content
...and more!

Making "Unsexy" Brands Cool - with Libie Motchan, Co-Founder, Fulton Sep 09, 2021

Show notes

Not everyone can say they co-founded and built a brand while navigating business school. This week's Building While Flying guest did just that—and this is only the beginning of her entrepreneurial journey.

Libie Motchan co-founded Fulton with her business school classmate Daniel Nelson, after they bonded over shared foot pain and a lack of a reasonable solution for it. Between their classes and homework, they researched materials, found their production partner (in Portugal, no less), began building their brand, and networked with their target audiences.

In her conversation with Katie, Libie shares some of the challenges she and Daniel have faced so far: finding a material that's comfortable and sustainable, educating their customers, navigating multiple customer cohorts, digging into customer psychology, building their retail roadmap, and more. Libie also offers advice for fellow early-stage entrepreneurs: know yourself, know your goals, and follow your gut.

Other in-flight topics:

How Fulton was born
Innovating their own products
Finding the right materials for their insoles
Challenges of building a brand from the ground up
Educating your consumers
Being present where your customers are
...and more!

Relevant Links:

Fulton website: https://walkfulton.com/
Fulton IG: https://www.instagram.com/walkfulton/?hl=en
Libie LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/libiemotchan
Fulton TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@walkfulton

What NIL Means for Brands and College Athletes - with Mike Neligan, CMO of VaynerSports Sep 02, 2021

Show notes

College athletics are going to look a lot different this year, thanks to the Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) rules that were signed into effect earlier this year. Joining us this week on Building While Flying is Mike Neligan, CMO of VaynerSports, to answer the question we're all asking: what does all this mean?

Mike joined VaynerSports two years ago, after 15 years in sports management at places like Excel Sports Management and BSE Global. He's worked with household names like Peyton Manning, Tiger Woods, Derek Jeter, and Danica Patrick. At VaynerSports, he leads all things sales, marketing, and PR across baseball, football, e-sports, and combat.

In his conversation with Mickey, Mike discusses the importance of athletes building their personal brands. Many want careers after their time in sports, so, Mike says, they're starting to think like entrepreneurs. Mike stresses the importance of authenticity in partnerships with athletes, and cautions against hiring a big-name athlete just to make a quick buck. Most importantly, Mike dives into NIL: what it means for college athletes, the opportunities it presents for brands and SMBs, how athletes can leverage it for professional experience, and much more.

Other in-flight topics:

History and evolution of VaynerSports
How VaynerSports differs from traditional sports management agencies
Why authenticity matters
The difference between sponsorships and partnerships
What the new NIL rules allow college athletes to do
Opportunities for brands and SMBs
...and more!

Relevant Links:

VaynerSports website: https://vaynersports.com/

VaynerSports Twitter: https://twitter.com/vaynersports

Mike LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-neligan-70a54a1/

Even Podcasts Need a Vacation - Special Announcement from hosts Katie Hankinson and Mickey Cloud Aug 05, 2021

Show notes

We're keeping it short and sweet this week on Building While Flying. Mickey and Katie announce a hiatus from new episodes for the month of August. We've tested and learned—as is in our DNA—and it's time to optimize. There's a lot of awesome work happening behind the scenes, with exciting new guests and improvements coming. We look forward to sharing them with you all in our first episode back on September 2nd.

In the meantime, hit us up on social if you have a question, want to be a guest, or know someone who'd be a great guest: @thesashagroup on all platforms.

Alan Stein Jr. Shares What NBA Superstars Taught Him About Business and Life Jul 29, 2021

Show notes

For this week's podcast guest, almost every relationship, opportunity, and experience can be tied back to the sport of basketball. He now uses lessons from his own experiences and from some of the all-time greats to teach and lead others to success.

Welcome to Building While Flying!

This weekly podcast is brought to you by the Sasha Group. We're the small-to-medium-sized business arm of the VaynerX family of companies. We help ambitious companies build strong brands that flex with the times through strategy, branding, media, and marketing.

In ever-changing times, businesses and brands have to shift and adapt. And across all sectors, there is an air of experimentation. Business owners are trying new things out in the wild; building the plane while flying.

Our pilots, Katie Hankinson and Mickey Cloud, will be talking to a diverse range of business leaders and founders. They'll explore how these guests tackle various challenges while staying resilient and committed to growth. Through these real-life examples of strategies put into practice, we hope to inspire you to experiment and develop your own strategies as we all navigate these uncertain times together.

Alan Stein, Jr. found the intersection between his biggest passions: basketball and helping others be successful.

As a basketball performance coach for 15 years, he worked with high-performing athletes to help them reach their highest potential. Now, as a keynote speaker and workshop leader, he applies many of the same principles to the corporate and business world. He teaches proven strategies to improve organizational performance, create effective leadership, increase team cohesion and collaboration, and develop winning mindsets, rituals, and routines.

This week, Alan joins Mickey to dive into each step of his career: from his college basketball days at Elon University, to coaching at Kobe Bryant's academy, to mentoring teams at Fortune 500 companies across the country. Alan shares some of the biggest lessons he's learned from the biggest names in the NBA: like Kobe's dedication to the basics, and Steph Curry's desire for excellence. He also shares how he's carried experiences from one career to the next, and how his college basketball days shaped his career and life more than he could have imagined.

Other in-flight topics:

Lessons learned from playing college basketball
Giving yourself grace
The importance of preparation
Taking skills and lessons from one career to the next
Lessons learned from NBA superstars
His "speaker's checklist"
...and more!

One last note: if you've ever wanted Gary Vaynerchuk's business advice, now's your chance. We'd love for you to join us for our next virtual 4Ds on August 19!

4Ds - also known as Digital Discovery & Deep Dive - is for entrepreneurs, marketers and leaders. We'll dissect the current state of social and digital marketing and how to harness it to strengthen your career and business. You'll hear from VaynerX experts and Gary himself as we help you unlock explosive growth for your business. Send us an email to 4ds@vaynermedia.com to learn more and book your seat.

Links:

Alan's Twitter: https://twitter.com/AlanSteinJr
Alan's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alan-stein-jr/
Alan's Website: https://alansteinjr.com/book/
Raise Your Game book: https://strongerteam.com/raiseyourgame/

Building Brands from Scratch with Margaret Wishingrad Jul 22, 2021

Show notes

Building a brand for your clients is one thing. Building your own brand and company—with your husband, no less—is a whole different adventure. But it's one adventure that this week's guest embarked upon head on. And their story is quite magical.

Welcome to Building While Flying!

This weekly podcast is brought to you by the Sasha Group. We're the small-to-medium-sized business arm of the VaynerX family of companies. We help ambitious companies build strong brands that flex with the times through strategy, branding, media, and marketing.

In ever-changing times, businesses and brands have to shift and adapt. And across all sectors, there is an air of experimentation. Business owners are trying new things out in the wild; building the plane while flying.

Our pilots, Katie Hankinson and Mickey Cloud, will be talking to a diverse range of business leaders and founders. They'll explore how these guests tackle various challenges while staying resilient and committed to growth. Through these real-life examples of strategies put into practice, we hope to inspire you to experiment and develop your own strategies as we all navigate these uncertain times together.

Margaret Wishingrad and her husband Ian developed and founded Three Wishes Cereal when they wanted a new breakfast option for their young son.

After starting their own agency in New York, they took on the ultimate challenge of building and designing their own brand, together. They co-founded Three Wishes Cereal, a high-protein, low-sugar, grain-free cereal enjoyed by kids and adults alike. They worked with food scientists to develop the recipe, and leveraged their own expertise and network to build and grow the brand.

In this week's episode, Katie and Margaret dive into everything about building the Three Wishes Cereal brand, from the first concept to dream brand collaborations. Margaret explains how she applied her agency expertise to her own process, including market research and sampling, and who her toughest critic was along the way. She shares the hardest part of building the brand, and gives us a peek into what's next for Three Wishes Cereal.

Other in-flight topics:

The origin story of Three Wishes Cereal
Building brands for clients vs. building your own brand
Sampling during the pandemic
Standing out in a crowded category
Cereal as a "feel good" food
Building and running a company with your partner
...and more!

Links:

Website: https://threewishescereal.com/
Store locator: https://threewishescereal.com/pages/store-locator/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/threewishes/
Margaret's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/margaretwishingrad/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/3wishescereal

Bonus: Mickey Cloud and Gary Vaynerchuk Talk Entrepreneurial Spirit and Attracting Talent to New Cities at Powderkeg Unvalley Conference Jul 15, 2021

Show notes

Earlier this year, Mickey and Gary joined Matt Hunckler for the Powderkeg Unvalley Conference. Powderkeg is a network of local communities with global reach for tech entrepreneurs, investors, and top talent. Unvalley is a two-day virtual event that explores the untapped potential beyond Silicon Valley.

In this special bonus episode, we're bringing their keynote session to our listeners, so you all can learn more about how The Sasha Group landed in Chattanooga, attracting talent in new cities, the value of community, and much more—directly from Mickey and Gary themselves.

In this special bonus episode, you'll hear Mickey and Gary discuss:

How Mickey met Gary
Trusting your intuition
How VaynerMedia was recruited to come to Chattanooga
Building a team for a new office hub while maintaining Vayner culture
The birth of The Sasha Group in 2019
Adapting business offerings to meet market needs
Building the Vayner/Sasha brand in a new, mid-sized market
...and a whole lot more.

Helpful Links:

Stork: https://4ds.thesashagroup.com/stork/
4Ds https://4ds.thesashagroup.com/
Mickey LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/mickeycloud/
Gary LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/garyvaynerchuk/
Matt LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/hunckler/
Matt Twitter https://twitter.com/Hunckler
Powderkeg Twitter https://twitter.com/powderkegco
Powderkeg Instagram https://www.instagram.com/powderkeg/

Barbecue Runs in the Family - with Duce Raymond (Sweet Baby Ray's) Jul 08, 2021

Show notes

Some things just run in the family. Such is the case for this week's guest. What started with a $2,000 investment and a dream is now one of the world's most popular barbecue brands that people enjoy in restaurants and their own homes.

Welcome to Building While Flying!

This weekly podcast is brought to you by the Sasha Group. We're the small-to-medium-sized business arm of the VaynerX family of companies. We help ambitious companies build strong brands that flex with the times through strategy, branding, media, and marketing.

In ever-changing times, businesses and brands have to shift and adapt. And across all sectors, there is an air of experimentation. Business owners are trying new things out in the wild; building the plane while flying.

Our pilots, Katie Hankinson and Mickey Cloud, will be talking to a diverse range of business leaders and founders. They'll explore how these guests tackle various challenges while staying resilient and committed to growth. Through these real-life examples of strategies put into practice, we hope to inspire you to experiment and develop your own strategies as we all navigate these uncertain times together.

Chef Duce Raymond grew up in and around the culinary world and food service industry.

After working in restaurants with his dad and uncle, and attending culinary school, Duce and his Uncle Dave opened the first Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ restaurant in 2005. Since its inception, they have grown their restaurant and catering business, sold millions of bottles of their famous Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauces, rocked the barbecue competition circuit, and grown Sweet Baby Ray's into a $650 million brand.

In his conversation with Mickey, Duce shares how Sweet Baby Ray's got started, and what it was like breaking into the restaurant industry, especially for barbecue. Duce breaks down the nuances between working in the restaurants vs. the catering side of business, and offers some catering advice to brides. He shares some of the biggest lessons he's learned in his years of business, from menu offerings to impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. And of course they discuss the best kind of barbecue—and Duce's answer might surprise you!

Other in-flight topics:

The story behind Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce
The best kind of barbecue
Breaking into the restaurant industry
Differences between restaurant work and catering
Catering advice for brides
Lessons learned from pandemic changes

Relevant Links:

Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce: https://www.sweetbabyrays.com/
Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Restaurants: https://www.sweetbabyraysbbq.com/
Duce on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/duceraymond/

What's your favorite style of BBQ?

All In on Your People with Bret Oliverio (Sup Dogs) Jul 01, 2021

Show notes

The restaurant industry is not for the faint of heart, especially if you're operating in college towns. When the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on the industry, many businesses closed and let their staff go. This week's guest did the exact opposite.

Welcome to Building While Flying!

This weekly podcast is brought to you by the Sasha Group. We're the small-to-medium-sized business arm of the VaynerX family of companies. We help ambitious companies build strong brands that flex with the times through strategy, branding, media, and marketing.

In ever-changing times, businesses and brands have to shift and adapt. And across all sectors, there is an air of experimentation. Business owners are trying new things out in the wild; building the plane while flying.

Our pilots, Katie Hankinson and Mickey Cloud, will be talking to a diverse range of business leaders and founders. They'll explore how these guests tackle various challenges while staying resilient and committed to growth. Through these real-life examples of strategies put into practice, we hope to inspire you to experiment and develop your own strategies as we all navigate these uncertain times together.

Bret Oliverio is the owner and CEO of Sup Dogs, a high-energy college town restaurant, with two locations in Greenville and Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Sup Dogs was the pipe dream of Bret's older brother Derek. But after Derek passed away after a sudden accident in 2011, Bret and his wife quit their jobs to carry on Derek's legacy. After several years of growth, challenges, and success, they faced their toughest challenge yet: the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020.

In this week's episode, Bret tells Katie the origin story of Sup Dogs, and shares what it's like going into the restaurant industry with no background or experience. Most importantly, Bret breaks down the impact of the pandemic, beyond just the shift to takeout and delivery. He talks about his focus on his employees and staff, and making sure they were taken care of during this difficult time. He says that current staffing problems across the country are multifaceted and not due to just one factor. Lastly, he talks about what he sees in the future of the restaurant and service industry, and shares what other owners can do to stand out and retain great staff.

Other in-flight topics:

Sup Dogs' origin story
Operating a restaurant in college towns
Maintaining a strong brand
How a background in radio helps in the restaurant industry
Taking care of your employees during the pandemic
Treating and paying your employees fairly and "better than ever"
Challenges of hiring after the pandemic
The future of the restaurant and service industry

Links:

Website: https://supdogs.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/supdogsrestaurant/
TikTok: @supdogsrestaurant

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