Halfstack Highlights Podcast - Exploring the Business of Creativity

Hello everyone!Welcome to the latest episode of Halfstack Highlights!! This is Jen Lezan, welcome back to all of you who have subscribed to the series and for those of you who are new here - I am the Editor in Chief of a Chicago based digital magazine called Halfstack Magazine and I am also one of the hosts of our podcast: Halfstack Highlights. I am really excited to share this week’s episode as it features another badass female founder I met through the Project Entrepreneur Alumni group. Project Entrepreneur connected me with more female founders than I would have ever imagined. Over the last year since I attended the 3-day startup workshop and venture pitch competition, I’ve connected with nearly a hundred founders and organizations. Each one has a story that is somewhat familiar, but also incredibly inspirational. I’ve had the opportunity to share their stories with readers on the blog, in past issues and on our Podcast. Every time, each woman I connect with, inspires me to keep moving forward with the creative work I do. They highlight the grit, inner strength and fortitude that women entrepreneurs & creatives alike have. They are a constant reminder to not quit my daydream. All Images Courtesy of Beyond the BoothThe women who I’ve been able to connect with all have a common thread, an undeniable strength and creative synergy that propel their business forward. Prianka Dhir is another founder who was a part of the Project Entrepreneur cohort who I recently connected with. She’s the founder of Beyond the Booth, a trade show mobile app. Prianka founded her company Beyond the Booth in Vancouver, Canada and moved her business out to San Francisco about a year and a half ago. She shared that it has been a really great experience learning the ins and outs of growing a tech business as a female founder and took some time to go into more detail about her journey with us for today’s episode. If you are a woman who is working to get your company off the ground, interested in learning about how technology is evolving in the event industry or are interested in hearing more about Prianka’s journey as an entrepreneur than this is the episode for you. Click play below for the full interview! Just hit the play button for the full interview PODCAST: Play in new window | DownloadListen and subscribe via iTunes I really hope you enjoyed this latest episode of Halfstack Highlights.  It’s always an honor being able to share these stories and inspiring people with all of you listeners. I want to say a huge Thank you to Prianka for sharing your journey with us! It is so important for women to support women and I am always excited to coordinate our Female Founders episodes. If you are interested in learning more about Prianka connect with her social media channels, or learn more about how you can have Beyond the Booth at your next event – visit www.beyondtheboothhq.com. While you are online make sure you stop by halfstackmag.com for our weekly updates and you can check out issuu.com/halfstackmag to read our latest issue! If you want to keep up with us on social media just follow @halfstackmag on facebook, twitter and instagram. If you like what we are doing, please take a moment to check out our patreon at patreon.com/halfstackmag. As a volunteer and independently run media brand, any and all pledges  from $1 and up help us to keep creating the content on our Podcast, within our issues and on our website. Finally, please take some time to leave a review for our podcast on iTunes. This will help our episodes to get noticed and allow us to continue to create the content you enjoy listening to and that we are passionate about. Thank you for your support! Check back in 2 weeks as we will be sharing an interview with the founder of a new fashion start up that launched out of Canada and has now found it’s way to the City of Angels! Fashion 88 is taking innovation, technology and fashion to the next level.  **Music included in podcast intro**herbal tea by Artificial.Music https://soundcloud.com/artificial-musicCreative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported— CC BY 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b...Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/ChhcjSCEaBc

Hello everyone! Welcome to the latest episode of Halfstack Highlights!! This is Jen Lezan, and I am the Editor in Chief of the Chicago based digital magazine Halfstackmag.com and I am also one of the hosts of our podcast: Halfstack Highlights. I am excited to share this week’s episode as it features another local Chicago entrepreneur and designer: Phoebe Chen. She spends her time between Chicago and New York working for a local Non-profit here in the Windy City, while also designing and manufacturing for her startup in NYC. Images Courtesy of Phoebe Chen/NOCORIPhoebe is the founder of NOCORI. An accessories brand that celebrates the bold, the ambitious and the unabashedly authentic. I learned about NOCORI through the Project Entrepreneur Alumni network and I just had to learn more about the woman behind the gorgeous gym bags that second as your chic handbag.Phoebe created NOCORI in the hopes of solving a problem that many of us have encountered in today's world.  Whether you consider yourself a fitness guru, a meeting maven, or a warrior parent – Phoebe explains that people often rush from meetings to errands followed by dinner(s) and/or gathering(s) with friends while trying to squeeze in a workout somewhere in-between. We seem to find ourselves faced with the constant struggle of having to choose convenience over style, inevitably weighed down by the amount of "stuff" we carry to accommodate this fast-paced lifestyle.  NOCORI seeks to solve this problem. Each bag Phoebe creates is thoughtfully designed to bring convenience to your lifestyle while looking gorgeously minimalist. In this episode I talk with Phoebe about her journey launching the Nocori collection as well as how she works to find some sort of balance as busy woman who is still working an industry job while building her startup and living between multiple cities. We discuss what the process was like launching her collection and how timing can change without a moments notice in fashion production. We talk about yoga, finding ways to distress as an entrepreneur, the realities behind the glamour of fashion start up life and we get a little philosophical talking about the ideas that women get caught up in when it comes to personal power and belief in our abilities to truly create our future and support one another. Phoebe is such an inspiring woman with a heart of gold and I hope you find motivation in her story. Click below to listen to the full interview. Just hit the play button for the full interview PODCAST: Play in new window | DownloadListen and subscribe via iTunes We hope you enjoyed this latest episode of Halfstack Highlights.  Thanks Phoebe for sharing your journey with us!  If you are interested in learning more about Phoebe connect with her social media channels, or make a purchase – visit her site: www.nocori.com.While you are online make sure you stop by issuu.com/halfstackmag to read our latest issue and keep up with us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.  If you want to grab a print copy of the latest issue you can do so here: http://bit.ly/HSMBlurbPrintIf you like what we are doing with Halfstack Highlights, please take a moment to leave a review for our podcast on iTunes. This will help our episodes to get noticed and allow us to continue to create the content you enjoy listening to and that we are passionate about.Thanks for your support!- Jen

Hello everyone! Welcome to the latest episode of Halfstack Highlights!! I am excited to share this week’s episode as it features a local Chicago entrepreneur and style Icon: Katie Schuppler of KS Style Consulting. She is a Personal Style Consultant and Fashion Blogger/Writer who loves to help others create their own personal style in this fast paced world of fashion and in daily life. After gaining a Bachelors of Arts degree in Fashion Merchandise Management and Business Administration from Mount Mary College in Milwaukee, WI she had then gone on to become a Stylist/Style Director at the #1 women’s boutique in Milwaukee, Fred Boutique.She made the trek to Chicago a few years ago and has been building her work in the Windy City. She has been dedicated to helping her clients (Men, Women, Kids, Tall, Petite, and Plus Size) find their own personal style through advice, Styling Sessions, Closet Clean-outs, Consignment, and Look Books throughout the Chicagoland, Southeastern Wisconsin, and Southwestern Michigan areas for over 7 years. She is also currently the Style Editor for Chicago Woman Magazine.Katie has truly taken her schooling and put it to use in building her brand. She’s a testament to the idea that working in fashion is more than just creating an empowering and beautiful outfit, although that’s probably one of the more fun parts of her job, but she’s an entrepreneur, marketer and puts her business hat on daily. Throughout this interview, I talk with Katie about her journey, what led her to launching her style consulting business and more about what it’s really like behind the glamour of running a fashion business. Click the player below for the full interview! Just hit the play button for the full interview PODCAST: Play in new window | DownloadListen and subscribe via iTunes I hope you enjoyed this latest episode of Halfstack Highlights. Thanks Katie for sharing your journey with us! If you are interested in learning more about Katie, connect with her social media channels, or schedule a styling session– visit her site: www.fashionstylingchicago.com. You can check out Katie's Blog: http://www.ksfashionspeak.com, follow her on twitter, instagram and facebook.  While you are online make sure you stop by halfstackmag.com for our weekly updates!You can visit issuu.com/halfstackmag to read our latest issue and keep up with us on all social media with the handle @halfstackmag. If you like what we are doing, please take a moment to leave a review for our podcast on iTunes. This will help our episodes to get noticed and allow us to continue to create the content you enjoy listening to and that we are passionate about. Thanks for your support!-Jen

Like most creatives, Kiirstin Marilyn has had her ups and downs.  It is how the Brooklyn-based songwriter/musician/actress responds to life’s obstacles that makes her special.  Kiirstin demonstrates the grit and persistence that a creative needs if she plans to succeed pursuing her dream.Singer/Songwriter/Actress Kiirstin MarilynKiirstin was excited to be signed to a small independent record label for the release of her EP, Ghosts.  However, when the label wasn’t providing the type of marketing support for her EP that she thought it should, Kiirstin took it upon herself to put together a promotional tour that took her as far away as a music festival in Arizona.  She planned to end the first leg of the tour with a show at Brooklyn’s iconic music venue Knitting Factory.  Two days before the show was scheduled, Kiirstin was told her slot was “bumped” due to a misstep by the promoter.  She could have easily got upset and blamed someone else.  Instead, she rented a Brooklyn performance space and performed on impromptu “return to Brooklyn” show for her fans.  These are just a couple of examples of how this talented artist makes things happen to benefit her career.Listen to the full episode below:Just hit the play button for the full interview PODCAST: Play in new window | DownloadListen and subscribe via iTunesKiirstin With Fans at Her Impromptu "Return to Brooklyn" ShowKiirstin continues to pursue her creative dreams.  She is working on new music.  She hasn’t decided if the new songs will be released as stand-alone projects or as part of an EP or full CD project. She is also working with several other artists, sharing her video/film expertise to help produce their music videos.  Kiirstin has been an animal rights advocate and activist for several years and this can be seen in her creative work.  Her music video for Please Don’t Kiss Me has a clear message about the current state of race relations in our country.  She spends a lot of her time and creative energy working on the “V for Veganism” platform with Producer/Cinematographer, Karolina Tyszkowska.  The main goal for V4V is to normalize veganism.  In an ongoing series of videos, Kiirstin explores the boroughs of New York to interview individuals who have already stopped consuming animal products and help the audience to understand how to embrace this increasingly popular lifestyle.Kiirstin Creating A VideoKiirstin took some time between video/film projects to talk with Louis Vasseur for an episode of HalfStack Highlights.  During the interview, she talks about her creative journey, overcoming obstacles, and keeping a positive attitude as you pursue your creative dreams.  To learn more about Kiirstin Marilyn and her music and film/video work, check out www.kiirstinmarilyn.com.

Welcome to Halfstack Highlights. This is Jen Lezan Editor in Chief of Halfstack Magazine and one of the hosts of the Halfstack Highlights Podcast. This week I speak with Kaben Clauson the founder of the Chicago based startup behind the Anonymous Opinions app – which can be found in the app store under AOP. The AOP app is all about sharing your thoughts and opinions anonymously.The Anonymous Opinions app is the place to express who you are, what you think, and see how your views connect with others. Every vote is anonymous. From brands to breaking news, pop culture to personal habits, relationships to hobbies and art, science or political polls – your opinion counts. Aop connects you to others around two core ideas: The importance of your opinion and a fun way to understand where your views fit in the world. I wanted to talk with Kaben about launching a startup dealing with technology. So, he shared his insights on launching his business, finding funding, building the app and getting the prototype ready before he launched live in the App store. He shares his career journey before launching his own business as well as the realities behind the ups and downs of getting into the start up world. What I enjoyed most about this interview was Kaben’s honesty and no holds bar attitude when it comes to sharing the raw reality behind growing a startup. If you are interested in starting your own company or learning more about what goes into building an app, this is the episode for you. Keep listening for the full interview. Just hit the play button for the full interview PODCAST: Play in new window | DownloadListen and subscribe via iTunesWe hope you enjoyed this latest episode of Halfstack Highlights. If you are interested in learning more about the AOP app visit: www.aopapp.com - if you want to download the app – just search AOP in the Apple App Store.While you are online make sure you stop by halfstackmag.com and keep up with us on all social media with the handle @halfstackmag. If you like what we are doing, please take a moment to leave a review for our podcast on iTunes. This will help our episodes to get noticed and allow us to continue to create the content you enjoy listening to and that we are passionate about. Thanks for your support!Take care -Jen