Shows
Passioners PodcastLuca Lampariello: Polyglot who speaks 13 languagesWe talk to Luca Lampariello, a polyglot who speaks English, French, German, Spanish, Swedish, Russian, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Hungarian, and his native Italian. He is a language coach, blogger, YouTuber, and a lifetime learner. You can find his stories on various news platforms such as The New York Times, The Guardian, and Babbel.2021-04-2152 min
Passioners PodcastPorch: Uniting Neighborhoods to Help our Communities Food PantriesWe talk with Christine Cotton, CEO of Porch. Porch is a volunteer, nonprofit hunger-relief organization that provides healthy food and other assistance to thousands of families living in poverty. Ms. Cotton started Porch in Chapel Hill and has now expanded it across the east coast. Listen to hear about Ms.Cotton's journey on expanding her act of kindness across neighborhoods.2021-04-1420 minPassioners PodcastGrocery Shopii: Focus where others overlook.We talk to Katie H. Hotze, founder of Grocery Shopii, a meal planning technology company that builds and orders customers’ shopping carts based on the recipes they want to make. Listen now to hear how she became a tech CEO after working years in a corporate marketing department.2021-04-0728 min
Passioners PodcastBrandwein’s Bagels: NY Investment banker to Chapel Hill Bagel Shop ownerWe talk with Alex Brandwein about his transition from making six figures in investment banking to risking it all to create his bagel shop. Alex is a UNC alumnus who tells us about his journey and the tough decisions he had to make which ultimately led to his pursuit for happiness. Listen to hear about Alex Brandwein’s journey to find what matters to him.2021-03-3125 min
Passioners PodcastCoursicle: Launched in UNC dorm room anonymouslyWe talk to Joe Puccio, co-founder of Coursicle, a website & mobile application that helps college students plan their class schedule and get into their classes by notifying them when a class they need has an available seat. Mr. Puccio doesn’t use superfluous jargon to present Coursicle, doesn’t shy away from money-related questions, and doesn't try to paint UNC better than his experience -- he is straight to the point. Listen now to hear his honest insights.2021-03-2457 min
Passioners PodcastChapman Cultural Center: Uniting our communities through the arts, humanities, and sciencesWe talk to Jennifer Evins, CEO of the Chapman Cultural Center. She is in charge of the Chapman Cultural Center located in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Listen to how one woman has been able to make an impact on her community.2021-03-1929 min
Passioners PodcastBBC Camera Journalist: Forbes List 30 under 30We talk to Rob Taylor, a Senior Camera Journalist for BBC News. Based in London and part of the UK Operations team, he covers news stories in the UK, Europe, and around the world. Jennes Kang found Mr. Taylor in Forbes list 30 under 30 published in 2020. At the age of 22 (currently 23 years old), he became the youngest Senior Camera Journalist at BBC.2021-03-1054 min
Passioners PodcastHotel Indigo: Started from the bottom & now he’s hereWe talk to Simon Burgess, a long-time real estate multihyphenate. He is currently the managing director for Hotel Indigo located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Listen to how one man was able to go from having no college education & working for others to having others work for him.
2021-03-0321 min
Passioners PodcastJeenie: It’s like Uber but for translationWe talk to Kirsten Baker, CEO, and Co-Founder of Jeenie. It won the Startup of the Year award by Established and US. Jeenie was co-founded by Kirsten Baker and her father, Richard Brecht. Its mobile platform connects users via video and audio calls with live, HIPAA-trained, medical interpreters from mobile devices or computers. Instead of paying $90 to $125 an hour for a professional interpreter, you can use Jeenie’s service for $1 per minute.2021-02-2423 min
Passioners PodcastTriad Studios: 5 college friends co-found video production Inc.We talk with Tristen, Justin, and Baquir, co-founders of Triad Studios. Triad Studios co-founders consist of UNC-Chapel Hill alumni. Triad Studios creates strategic, cinematic video content for their clients to showcase their brands. They made $82,000 in revenue in their first year, but quadrupled in the second year and now are seeking to further expand their company. Listen to how 5 co-founders found each other to create content that complemented the group.2021-02-1728 min
Passioners PodcastCheesecakes by Alex: Frustration fuels successWe talk to Alex Amoroso, a founder of Cheesecakes by… who? You guessed it: Cheesecakes by Alex. Cheesecakes by Alex boasts more than 1,700 Google reviews of 4.7 stars and combined 1,000 reviews of TripAdvisor and Yelp with 4.5 stars or more. The bakery is a great success now. However, if you dig deeper into the very beginning of Mr. Amoroso’s journey, he initially started making cheesecakes because of his frustration that he wasn’t good at it. Listen now to hear how frustration combined with a love for food turned into a successful bakery business.2021-02-1024 min
Passioners PodcastDonis Ventures: founded by UNC college studentWe talk with Kerwin Donis, a co-founder of a real estate investing company located in North Carolina. He is currently a sophomore at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Although his family has endured their fair share of struggles, he was motivated to start his company with his brothers. He speaks about the specifics of what he does and the journey to reach the success his company has acquired. Listen now to hear Mike Garcia and Jennes Kang interview this young & self-motivated entrepreneur.2021-01-2726 min
Passioners PodcastTimothy Marr: Birth & DeathWe talk to Timothy Marr, a professor of American Studies at UNC. Jennes took his class called Birth and Death in the United States during her first semester in college. It was an extraordinary class that encouraged her to develop different perspectives about human life. This freshman seminar reaffirmed to her the wonders of higher education in the U.S. In his class, she was able to reflect and ruminate on important concepts with other peers with the guidance of an encouraging, thoughtful, and intelligent professor. Listen now to hear about Jennes’s four main takeaways: regret, privilege, prestige, an...2021-01-1352 min
Passioners PodcastThe Monti: Storytelling to build a tight-knit communityWe talk to Jeff Polish, founder of “The Monti,” a story-telling non-profit organization based in Raleigh, North Carolina that invites people to tell personal stories. Their mission is to create a community through the telling of stories. Dr. Polish says, "the audience, they want to love you. They are not there to pick you apart; they want to connect, whether they are aware of it or not." But are you still afraid?: "If you just relax, take a breath, you'll find your place in the story, and you will move forward." 2020-12-3028 min
Passioners PodcastGlobal Citizen Year: Impactful transition between high school & collegeWe talk to Abby Falik, a Founder & CEO of Global Citizen Year (GCY), a non-profit organization for graduating high school seniors to participate in an immersion-based international bridge year before embarking on their college journeys. GCY Fellows go to countries like Ecuador, India, and Brazil and work in local apprenticeships and live with host families. Tune in to find out Mrs. Falik found and expanded GCY, and the organization's impact on graduating high school seniors.2020-12-1622 min
Passioners PodcastOs City: Transforming Latin America gov systemWe talk to Jesús Cepeda, the CEO of Os city, a gov-tech company based in Mexico City, Mexico. Os City transforms governments into a platform of digital services. It aims to reduce the struggle of government professionals who operate within a limited budget by offering them the necessary tech-service. Their goal is to build one smart city at a time. Os City also has an open-source blockchain initiative for artisanal industries called Artisan Origin.2020-12-0226 min
Passioners PodcastMinu: Mexico's fin-tech companyWe talk to Paolo Rizzi, a co-founder of Minu, a fin-tech company based in Mexico City, Mexico. 75% of Mexicans live from paycheck to paycheck with no savings for contingencies, and 33% get loans from family, friends, or institutions to cover their recurring expenses. However, the current options are complex, inadequate, and expensive, and promote a cycle of indebtedness that favors poverty. From this realization, the fin-tech Minu company was born. Tune in to hear how Minu's service alleviates employees’ lack of liquidity as well as Mr.Rizzi's entrepreneurial life story starting from when he built his first internet company with hi...2020-11-1822 min
Passioners podcast with Norbert PusztaiPaolo Petrolini on how to develop powerful productsPaolo Petrolini is the Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer of a fintech startup, Salarify, and also an advisor for different types of organizations. He used to work for Google in Switzerland in various positions. He talks about his passion: product management, his favorite methodology, the key to success and also the most common mistakes companies make while developing products.
Italian-born product guru is also a mentor of Google's Launchpad program for startups in the SEE/CEE regions, he believes that failures are just essential parts of the learning process and building resilience is important while taking new...2020-06-1743 min
Passioners podcast with Norbert PusztaiValeriano Donzelli on how to inspire as a leader In this episode Vale shares his thoughts about leadership, inspiring others and creating a positive environment at work. He also speaks about patchwork career, finding passion inside and outside of your workplace, and the importance of having a personal mission statement. He is an executive leader and experienced public speaker, who has been working for General Electric (GE) for 15 years.
2019-02-0640 min
Passioners podcast with Norbert PusztaiNora Kamenyiczki on how to find meaning and passion with positive psychology Nora Kamenyiczki author and positive psychologist gives useful advice on how to find meaning and passion in life. How can we find activities and profession that leads to flow experience and flourishing? What does self-complexity mean and how can it be linked to a meaningful life? In the end of the conversation she shares some information about her new book, which is actually a self-awareness journal. 2019-01-2735 min
Passioners podcast with Norbert PusztaiPaul Cash on how to build outstanding purpose-driven brandsPaul Cash is on a mission to help humanize B2B marketing and move the industry forward. He has been voted as one of the Top 20 most influential B2B marketers, and was named "the leader of the year" by The Guardian in 2014.
In this episode he shares how he has built and sold two successful multi-million pound creative businesses from scratch. And he also speaks about the secret of a strong personal brand and his book "In remarkable we trust".2018-12-1437 min
Passioners podcast with Norbert PusztaiGabor Bonyhadi on how to unfold your potential to create a career you loveGabor had built his own companies before he has joined Codecool as an employee with the title of CMO. He speaks about how he has been using his passion, marketing to help a revolutionary programming school with creating value for both students and companies.2018-11-2029 min
Passioners podcast with Norbert PusztaiAlex MacIntosh on how to find your freedom as a solopreneurAlex has left his home country, Canada to go on a journey with full of challenges. He shares his experience of how to test your fresh ideas and build a portfolio business with having a flexible vision. He also speaks about his life working in Asia as a freelancer.2018-11-1732 min
Passioners podcast with Norbert PusztaiHenry Scullion on what to do when your job doesn't fulfill you anymoreWhat do you do when you finally get the job you always wanted, but you realize it's not enough? Henry Scullion joins me on the podcast to share three lessons he learned from his experience in the IT industry that can help you move forward.2018-10-2252 min
Passioners podcast with Norbert PusztaiMihaly Balogh about mission, Sabbatical, IT worldMihaly Balogh is the CTO of Be-novative, an IT professional who is passionate about public speaking. He takes us on a journey to Asia, where he spent his Sabbatical. And he also shares his secret with us how he boosts his energy level.2018-10-0738 min
Passioners podcast with Norbert PusztaiZsolt Horvath about how to build dreams within a companyZsolt Horvath is a Program & Operations Manager at GE Healthcare, a leader who started his career as an engineer, his passion is building factories and teams. He shares his thoughts about the importance of dreams, the beauty of working in an international environment, especially working in the far east.2018-09-1746 min
Passioners podcast with Norbert PusztaiDorottya Szamosi about empathy, leadership and career lessonsDorottya Szamosi is a Senior A/P Operations Leader at General Electric (GE) and the Co-Leader of GE Women in Operation. She shares her story how she grew in different roles at one company in the past 12 years and became a leader of 100 people. She also speaks about empathy, management programs, the power of no and her success habit.2018-09-1131 min
Passioners podcast with Norbert PusztaiEszter Farnady about female leadership and persistenceEszter Farnady is the Eastern European Director of Project Management at General Electric (GE). The former Co-Leader of GE Women's Network Váci Greens Hub and former Division Director Austria-Hungary at Toastmasters International. Run addicted, TEDx speaker and most importantly mother of two.2018-08-3028 min
Passioners podcast with Norbert PusztaiEmilie Leruste Finance Executive about career, leadership and familyEmilie Leruste is the leader of a team of 80+ people at GE Global Operations Europe, providing Financial Planning & Analysis from 9 AM to 5 PM every working day, and a mother of two from 5 PM to 9 PM and over the weekends. She will share her story about how she lived and worked in 3 different continents, managed to build a new department while she was pregnant, and helped to raise 60,000 USD to build a school in Nicaragua.
The conversation was recorded at the "Womenspire Passioners TALK by GE Women's Network" event on March 7th, 2018.2018-06-2934 min
Passioners podcast with Norbert PusztaiWilliam Benko about entreprenuership and public speakingWilliam Benko helped build Euronet from a sleepy start-up company to become Central Europe’s first NASDAQ success story. He is the founder of Speak Academy and former president of American Chamber of Commerce in Hungary.2018-06-0730 min