The Climb Project

This week we walk through Al's exciting career journey and all the steps that led him to leaving his corporate job to be an entrepreneur in a unique and exciting niche. Al is the founder of MBA Schooled and Betterwork Labs. He is the host of MBA Insider Podcast, Author of MBA Insider and is a thought leader in the MBA education space. Al focuses on graduate education, helping professionals navigate through their careers and gives a first person perspective on what value many of these decisions can bring you in your career.   For those wondering why this episode is E8.7 instead of just E8, it's because I was introduced to Al by my guest Shyvee Shi in Episode 7. This is a fun way i will track how the guests were introduced and how my network grows 😊 First Digit is the episode number, second digit is who introduced me to them! Checkout Al on LinkedIn where he shares daily advice to aspiring professionals and interviews thought leaders in the space!   If you found this interview valuable please consider liking and subscribing:)   🎙 Listen to the show:  Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/4aNQYxLc8XegXV5mRFm82o  Apple - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-climb-project/id1607354555   Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCW4MvqhnxT1YeQKCSDs7jaQ Join the community:  📸 Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/_theclimbproject_/  🕺 TikTok - https://vm.tiktok.com/ZTdGRGvmG/

Shyvee is a self proclaimed mid-career pivoter, she came from a third tier city in China, made her way through higher education and eventually landed in consulting. After a period in the consulting world she decided her interests better aligned with the product management role in tech, the only problem? She didn't have any PM experience.    This month Shyvee walks us through her journey of pivoting from consulting into tech and how she eventually landed her dream job at LinkedIn where she has been working on products and building her personal brand to 50,000+ followers.    Checkout Shyvee on LinkedIn where she shares daily advice to aspiring PM's, teaches courses and interviews thought leaders in the space!   If you found this interview valuable please consider liking and subscribing:)   🎙 Listen to the show:  Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/4aNQYxLc8XegXV5mRFm82o Apple - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-climb-project/id1607354555  Join the community:  📸 Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/_theclimbproject_/ 🕺 TikTok - https://vm.tiktok.com/ZTdGRGvmG/

"You have to motivate yourself before you can motivate anybody else."    This Month I sat down with Andrew Torrieri and discussed how he went from one of nine siblings to becoming a millionaire in his forties. He started in Brooklyn, became a Marine, cut hair, colored hair, owned salons, sold beauty products, was part of an acquisition by L'oreal and now owns and runs a horse barn in North Carolina.    If you found this valuable please consider reviewing and subscribing:)   Join the community:  📸 Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/_theclimbproject_/ 🕺 TikTok - https://vm.tiktok.com/ZTdGRGvmG/  🎙 Listen to the show:  Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/4aNQYxLc8XegXV5mRFm82o Apple - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-climb-project/id1607354555

In this months interview I was able to speak with Emanuel Storch, CEO of Blackbird Foods. We discuss how he became a foodie and what experiences led to him becoming the 29 year old CEO of a funded startup. This is part 1 of his career interviews, join us in a decade to see where he leads the industry next!   00:00 Intro  01:59 Interview Start  05:11 Intro to Business  07:20 KIND Snacks  10:57 Dorm Room Restaurant  14:00 Americano Peanut Butter  17:17 Chopped Chef Einat Admony  27:41 Simply Gum Startup  36:09 Meeting the Blackbird Foods Founders  44:38 Imposter Syndrom   46:40 First CEO Actions  51:00 Getting into Whole Foods  54:05 Brand Awareness  56:07 what is Seitan?   01:04:30 Blackbird's Advantage  If you found this valuable please consider liking and subscribing:)   Join the community:  📸 Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/_theclimbproject_/ 🕺 TikTok - https://vm.tiktok.com/ZTdGRGvmG/  🎙 Listen to the show:  Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/4aNQYxLc8XegXV5mRFm82o Apple - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-climb-project/id1607354555

"I’m constantly trying not to create a product that people are coming to consume, but to create a community that people come to be a part of."   This months interview was with Alan Shelton, the founder and executive director of Mixxer, a maker space in Winston Salem, NC. Alan started his career fixing cars and installing security systems until he found the need for tools & space he didn't have access to. He started a shared space in downtown Winston Salem that is now a successful maker space with hundreds of members.   If you found this valuable please consider liking and subscribing😊   Join the community:  📸 Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/_theclimbproject_/  🎥Youtube -  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCW4MvqhnxT1YeQKCSDs7jaQ 🎙 Listen to the show:  Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/4aNQYxLc8XegXV5mRFm82o Apple - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-climb-project/id1607354555

Sam Victory is a Founder and Master Brewer at Wiseman Brewing in Winston Salem NC. He took his advanced chemistry background, created multiple award winning beers and built one of the most popular breweries in the triad area. In this interview we cover how Sam started his career with big pharma and took a leap of faith as he transitioned full time to his passion of brewing beer. 00:00 Intro  03:27 Why Pick STEM?  07:30 PhD Summary  10:10 Post Doc  12:52 Purdue Pharmaceutical   15:22 Transtech Pharma  19:04 Intro to Home Brewing  23:40 Building the Wiseman Team  27:40 Funding a Brewery (SBA Loan)  31:00 Scaling from Home to Professional Brewing  39:07 Growth Strategy  44:00 Controlling your own Destiny  45:00 Interview Feedback  45:42 Future Guests  47:34 Winston Salem Future Growth  Join the community:  📸 Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/_theclimbproject_/   🎥Youtube -  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCW4MvqhnxT1YeQKCSDs7jaQ 🎙 Listen to the show:  Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/4aNQYxLc8XegXV5mRFm82o  Apple - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-climb-project/id1607354555

"Nothing speaks louder than results. Nothing." - Dan    This months interview was with Dan Snyder. His story takes us from officer candidate school to spending a 20 year career at Equifax in Marketing before leaving to lead a small startup to a $1.8 Billion exit in the catalogue/big-data sector. Dan shares his perspective on his career, leadership style, management techniques and how he outperformed his peers in order to climb to the top of his sector.   00:00 Intro  02:10 Education/Military Background 04:01 First Job  05:12 Equifax  08:31 Data Analytics  15:15 Moving From Corporate to Startup  19:36 Exit Strategy  29:30 Taking Money Off the Table  39:32 Business Model - Personalized Advertising  41:00 Skills to Become President  46:28 Performance Management  51:25 How to Reward Employees  56:09 Early Retirement  01:01:03 Leadership Lessons   Join the community:  📸  Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/_theclimbproject_/  Youtube -  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCW4MvqhnxT1YeQKCSDs7jaQ 🎙 Listen to the show:  Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/4aNQYxLc8XegXV5mRFm82o Apple - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-climb-project/id1607354555

Lou Ruggiero is a renowned C-Level business executive with decades of business development and sales experience. Today i was able to sit down with him and look back on his career trajectory and learn what moves he made to get to where he is.    00:00 Intro   01:30 Education   07:23 Proctor and Gamble   10:36 Introduction to Healthcare Sales   19:49 GE Beginning   28:48 GE Rejection   32:56 Favorite Boss Ever   39:15 Pitching Jeff Immelt   48:05 Jack Welch Story   57:31 Taking the CEO Role   01:08:11 Growing Donjoy Therapeutics   01:20:06 Who really wants to be a CEO?   01:38:03 Parenting along the way   01:41:00 Selfish questions from the host    Join the community:  📸 Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/_theclimbproject_/

The best way to help people is by sharing your story: The Climb Project is a collection of long form Interviews where we do a deep dive into individuals unique career blueprints and walk through the steps they took on their climb to success.