Shows
Creating Conscious SerendipityThe Weight We Carry: A Raw Conversation on Loss, Choice, and GrowthSome conversations hit differently. This one? It’s raw, real, and deeply personal.This is a story about loss, choice, gratitude and resilience. This is the story of my good friend and one of the Founding Members of Orion3, Gregg MellingerThis episode was filmed in the studio of Aliyah Kizilbash for a collab. Aliyah is an Associate Member of Orion3 and the Founder of TaxBackSome stories don’t just inspire you—they shake you. This conversation with Gregg did just that.Gregg’s journey isn’t just about success. It’s about survival. It’s about losing...2025-02-221h 42
Creating Conscious SerendipityTechnology Mindfulness and AddictionIn this episode of the Creating Conscious Serendipity podcast, host Benny Mathew and guest Rob Krecak delve into the concept of technology mindfulness.
Rob shares his personal journey with technology, discussing how early experiences with technology shaped his understanding of its impact on mental health, relationships, and productivity.
The conversation explores the addictive nature of technology, particularly social media and email, and offers practical advice on managing technology use to enhance focus and productivity. Rob emphasizes the importance of setting communication standards and creating family values around technology use, especially for parents with young children...2024-11-1541 min
Creating Conscious SerendipityMinding the Wealth GapIn this episode of the Creating Conscious Serendipity podcast, host Benny Mathew welcomes Cliff Goins IV, who shares his journey from the South Side of Chicago to becoming a passionate advocate for personal finance and addressing the wealth gap. The conversation explores Cliff's background, his family's influence, the impact of women's sports on his daughters, and his unique career path. Cliff emphasizes the importance of reaching out and taking risks in one's career, highlighting that life is a journey of discovery. In this conversation, Cliff Goins IV shares his diverse career journey, touching on themes...2024-10-271h 14
Creating Conscious SerendipityOctober 8, 2000 - The Day I DiedSummary
In this episode of the Creating Conscious Serendipity podcast, host Benny Mathew shares a deeply personal story about a life-altering car accident that occurred 24 years ago. He reflects on the physical and emotional challenges he faced during recovery, the importance of relationships, and his journey towards self-discovery and spiritual awakening. Benny emphasizes the power of choice in how we react to life's challenges and the significance of surrounding ourselves with supportive people.
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This is my story about the day that the old me died. Although I've shared before about the physical...2024-10-0829 min
Founder Talk with Alex SheridanWhy networking doesn't work, how to build real relationships, and loneliness vs being lonely with Benny MathewIn this episode we dive deep with Benny Mathew, founder of Orion 3, to explore his unique approach to business and life. Benny shuns the typical "networking" label, aiming instead to build genuine relationships and communities. He shares his journey of creating Orion 3, an organization that thrives on authenticity and human connections rather than transactional interactions.
Join us as we uncover Benny's insights on staying true to oneself in the entrepreneurial world, the importance of mental and emotional health for founders, and the profound impact of genuine human connections on personal and professional success.
Highlights:
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Creating Conscious SerendipityWalk through Fire and Break through Walls For her Unborn ChildJen Guzman is an entrepreneur, a change maker, an OrionCore Member, and someone who’s been through some of the worst aspects of Endometriosis
This episode is a conversation about how her life experiences have affected her perception, choices and dreams. It’s about embracing the good, the bad, the ugly and the sad, and not give up on what is most important to you. For her, EVERYTHING she does is for the child that she does not have yet.
Her passion for Chicago, being raised by her dad, building her career, dealing with endometriosis, leaving corporate to start her entr...2024-05-0957 min
Creating Conscious Serendipity"NEVER underestimate the Heart of an Immigrant"Lee Leiderman is a Jewish man who was born in Ukraine when it was part of the Soviet Union. He severed in the Soviet Military as soon as he was able to. He came to the US in 1988 with his parents and built a great life for himself while building his own family.
He has been leading Corporate Finance teams for Global companies as a CFO. In 2020 his world turned upside down when he was diagnosed with Bone Cancer during the pandemic.
While going through multiple treatments and surgeries, he saw his homeland, Ukraine being invaded by Russia. Soon after...2024-04-131h 08
Creating Conscious Serendipity“Building the Foundation: Brick by Brick”Tony is a Senior Vice President of CBRE in Chicago. This is a conversation about his life: family, loyalty, resilience, and love for the City of Chicago.
In this heartfelt episode, we talk about his life and inspiring journey. From deeply personal stories about his family and values to overcoming adversity during Covid,
Tony's passion shines through. He shares his unwavering belief in Chicago's bright future, the impact of his parents, the importance of the Mentorship from his team, his disciplined approach to mental/emotional/physical well-being, and his unique love for DJing.
Tony's narrative is a powerful reminder of...2024-03-1456 min
Creating Conscious SerendipityArtifical intelligence for the human foodieKen Clay is a serial Tech Entrepreneur who's now using AI to change the way human beings experience food and dining with his company Foode
This episode is all about Ken's story and passion for Entrepreneurship and the sacrifices he made to get to where he's at now. He talks about going to college, doing an unpaid internship for a person with influence while working as a janitor, on the night shift, to pay his bills. The sacrifices Ken made earlier in life, got him Access to people who have influence, money and experience in building companies like Nike, The...2024-02-241h 01
Creating Conscious SerendipityIt's clear, that I'm here, for a real reasonClaude Cimeus is one of the most well known and well recognized leaders in the Chicago StartUp and Tech Space
This episode is the most that he’s ever shared publicly about his life, his perspectives, and his beliefs. Claude talks about coming to the US from Haiti as an immigrant, the impact that his parents had on him, his vision and mission to make the tech echo system in Chicago #1 in the country, and his perspective on dating and Love.
Claude has a vision of creating intersection points with Chicago Tech Founders, Athletes, Entertainment, Investors and Customers. He hosts fi...2024-02-131h 00
Creating Conscious SerendipityI'ma be what I set out to be, without a doubt undoubtedlySpann is a serial entrepreneur who's already built multiple companies in different industries.
He dropped out of college because all he wanted was to build his own company and have full responsibility for his choices. He co-founded a startup, was accepted into Y Combinator, and after they built the company, they were able to sell it for a great exit. After that he dove into different industries, took big risks, built multiple companies, took some losses, and had some major wins. He is currently the CEO and Founder of Call Canna, which is a company that is focused on servicing...2024-02-0757 min
Creating Conscious SerendipityA Boy and his DreamSunny was born in a poor village in Nigeria and was considered a "second class' human because he was born out of wedlock. After he was born, his mother was on the run, so throughout his childhood he lived in different villages with different family members. He got the opportunity to come to America 20 years ago and he came here, went to college in the US, worked for corporate america, but then decided to become an entrepreneur.
Sunny's story and perspective is different and inspiring. His passion, conviction, discipline, and drive sets him apart. He started different businesses that aligns...2024-01-3058 min
Creating Conscious SerendipityThrough the Storm: Leadership, Love, Loss and LegacyAngela Allen is currently an Executive Coach who was a C Level executive for several organizations, currently sits on the board of two different companies, is an Angel Investor, an OrionCore Member, and mentors others (especially women).
Angela talks openly about her career, including being on the leadership team of a start up that grew from 100 - 2000 employees in 5 years with a great exit! Most of this conversation is around "the storm" in Angela's life. Going through a divorce as a mom to two children and taking care of her ex husband who died from Huntington's disease. She talks about...2024-01-2052 min
Creating Conscious SerendipityBeing your best self by betting on yourselfCraig Levy is an entrepreneur, a CFO, a Father, and an OrionCore Member. His career path is not like a traditional CFO and his mindset on career development more entrepreneural than normal.
In this pisode, we discussed his career path and his mindset which lead him to where he's at right now. Craig was very transparent and open about the ups and downs of his choices.
Craig is also a Jewish Father to his two sons. We also talked about how his life and perception have been affected since October 7th.2024-01-0252 min
Creating Conscious SerendipityThe desire to go higher ignited Her fireKristi Zuhlke is an OrionCore Member who is a serial tech entrepreneur. She's already had 2 different exits with 2 companies that she founded and is currently the CEO/Founder of Dott Technologies, a Generative Ai B2C company.
In this episode we discuss the mindset of entrepreneurship, the value of learning at big companies, raising money, being a women entrepreneur and so much more.
Kristi was so inspiring at the Orion3 "Women in Leadership" discussion and this is her story for a bigger audience.2023-10-1758 min
Creating Conscious SerendipityNo Mountain I can't climb, no tower too highAmy Preston is the Founder and CEO of Preston Design and Consulting and a Corporate Member of Orion3. She built her success and career in the most male dominated industry in Chicago; Commercial Real Estate.
This is Amy's story and we talked about everything! The mindset it takes to WIN in an industry where all the winners seem like they're men. We talk about excuses versus execution. She also shares her perspective on Entrepreneurship, the current state of the market and being a mom and CEO. 2023-09-241h 12
Creating Conscious SerendipityThe Ai Evolution of the CFOApurva Desai is a C Suite exec/investor and an OrionCore Member, who grew up in the Midwest and then headed to Silicon Valley to work for multiple big tech companies. During that time, he built a successful career as a CFO and investor. In 2020 he moved back to Chicago where he currently helps startups to companies that are getting ready to go IPO build their Finance Functions. He's also an angel investor and partner in a Fund.
In this conversation, we talk about the impact of Ai and some of the potential impacts it can have...2023-09-241h 04
Creating Conscious SerendipityIn the Darkest Night, he found his LightFrom 2020 till now, Arjuna Reddy had a lot of life changes:
- Left his Tech CFO role after 15 years to start his own company
- Proposed to his girlfriend
- 1 month after the proposal, she was diagnosed with Breast Cancer
- After the surgery to remove the cancer, they found out she was already pregnant
- He became father to a healthy baby in early 2023!
This episode is about someone who faced a lot of obstacles both personally and professionally, yet he overcame the...2023-09-0549 min
Creating Conscious SerendipityAi in HR, Finance and DEiDon Bora is the co founder of Eight Bit Studios, a serial entrepreneur, and an OrionCore Member, who's built over 100 Apps, someone who's very passionate about DEI, who's actions have given back to help many others.
In this conversation we talk about the impact of Ai and the potential for it in Human Resources/Accounting/Finance, a brief history of ChicagoTech, and what the future can look like with Tech. This was a thought provoking and fun conversation that ties in psychology and philosophy to Ai.2023-08-3050 min
Creating Conscious SerendipityWho am I in the world of AiAimee Schuster is an expert at marketing the invisible, having spent the last twenty-five years helping B2B organizations like Miller Heiman Group, DLA Piper and Homefinder.com build, advance and energize their lead generation programs.
Aimee founded Bandwidth Strategy, a fractional CMO and COO consultancy, to help growth-stage organizations drive the right leads into the funnel that result in closed-won business. Aimee uses her experience and a bit of humor/improv (honed as a student at Second City) to create a common language among the all-too-often warring factions of sales and marketing. A go-to voice on s...2023-08-1459 min
Creating Conscious SerendipityLove is a Verb - The Robert Blackwell Jr Story (Part 2)In Part 2 of Episode 2, Robert and I talk about his perspectives and beliefs. In order to fully understand this, it's important to understand Robert's background and his life experiences. I highly recommend listening to Part 1 with Robert either before or after listening to this one.
In this episode, we talk about:
- How to create a better America for Black Americans
- His thoughts on the new Supreme Court ruling on Affirmative Action
- A specific Presidential Candidate who's definitely sending the wrong message
- The...2023-08-041h 04
Creating Conscious SerendipityLove is a Verb - The Robert Blackwell Jr Story (Part 1)Robert Blackwell Jr is an African American Man who lives in Chicago and has built several companies in multiple industries throughout his life. He is currently the CEO/Founder of Killerspin, Chairman of EKI Digital, Chairman of Quant16 and Founder of The Alpha Mission. Robert is an OrionCore Member and one of the 3 people who are on the Orion3 Advisory Board.
This is a two part episode
Part 1 is about Robert's Childhood till his early 20s: He faced A LOT of racism and hate growing up in Chicago in the 1970s. His entrepreneurship mindset started...2023-07-2545 min
Creating Conscious SerendipityHe's Ava's dad and his name is BradBrad Serot is a Corporate a father of four young kids, a Corporate Member of Orion3, and the Vice Chairman for CBRE. His daughter Ava has cerebral palsy and epilepsy. This episode is about Brad's experiences as a father and all of the different things that go into being a parent to a child that has these needs. He talks about how the system does NOT help the average parent who has children with these needs.
We talked about what he's doing to help raise money for 3 different organizations that help families who the current healthcare system "...2023-07-1533 min
A Boy and His DreamA Boy and His Dream Episode 13Sunny speaks with Benny Mathew of Orion3 on the profound impact of the choices we make in our lives while emphasizing on the importance of a strong support system.
2023-05-1735 min
A Boy and His DreamA Boy and His Dream Episode 13Sunny speaks with Benny Mathew of Orion3 on the profound impact of the choices we make in our lives while emphasizing on the importance of a strong support system.2023-05-1735 min
Winning at Business and LifeDid you know that the key to connecting with others is self-awareness?Did you know that the key to connecting with others is self-awareness?6 questions. 7 minutes. Pure insights. Episode 298: Successful business leaders connect with others through self-awareness. Wise words from Benny Mathew, Founder of Orion3.Please enjoy additional episodes at: https://petealexander.com/podcast/Connect with Professor Pete on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petealexander2021-08-1909 min
Branch Out - A Podcast from Connection BuildersBringing People Together and Being a Connector - Benny MathewAt the end of the day, community is at the center of personal and professional growth, and life is so much more fun with friends anyway! Today's guest is Benny Mathew, the founder of the Orion3 network. Our conversation with Benny is all about the power of bringing people together and his gift of being a connector! Benny tells the story of his difficulty making genuine connections in Chicago initially and how he solved this by putting his gift for connecting people to good use and founded Orion3. He takes us through the growth of this amazing network which...2020-09-2221 min