Folk Stories

Episodes about Community:

mp3

20: Nick Hughes and Building a Global Community of Entrepreneurs

October 7th, 2019 (68 minutes)

Nick Hughes is the founder of Founder's Live, a global entrepreneurial community started by Nick to inspire, educate and entertain entrepreneurs around the world.

Prior to starting Founder's Live, Nick had already done multiple startups. It was through the process of recovering from a failed startup that Nick started "Feature Friday", an event for early stage entrepreneurs to pitch their ideas in 99 seconds and network with others in the Seattle community. This event proved extremely popular and led to Nick scaling it out globally with events now in over fifty cities.

I know Nick from going to the Seattle Founders Live events. While Nick didn't pay me to say this, I'm happy to say that I've always end up meeting interesting people from the event and come out of it feeling highly motivated about doing my own thing. In today's episode, we talk about Nick's entry into entrepreneurship, lessons from having a startup fail, and Nick's vision with Founder's live and where this is going.

Quote

Have enough courage to say things aren't going well and I'm feeling down and have you had this before? Most people are gonna say "Oh yeah , I know what you're going through and here's what I did!"

– Nick Hughes

Notes

  • how Nick got interested in business
  • study habits and business lessons
  • first startup experience and lessons learned
  • marriage aka finding a co-founder
  • founders depression and Nick's experience with it
  • starting Founders Live and expanding globally
  • Nick's world tour and living up to your potential

Closing

  • inspiration
    • being at Founders Lives events and seeing early stage founders getting on stage and pitching
  • surprising fact
    • studied kinesiology and human psychology - used to be a strength coach
  • principle
  • closing notes
mp3

19: Hospitality and Community with Alex Mondau

September 27th, 2019 (68 minutes)

Alex Mondau is the Community Ambassador at the Collective. The collective is a co-working space located in Seattle's South Lake Union, and is described by its founders as an urban basecamp for the mind, body + soul. Alex started The Collective Seattle one and a half years ago with business partners Tommy Trause and Scott Barber in order to create a diverse community where people can build genuine relationships as well as find refuge from life outside the walls.

Prior to founding The Collective, some of Alex's former roles included selling sustainable real estate and working tables at the Agua Verde Cafe. As a kid, Alex wanted to be an adventurer and spent time in the mountains of Nepal trying to be a mountain guide in the Himalaya.

In today's episode, we talk about hospitality and its tight feedback loops, we talk about The Collective and its origins, and we talk about community and ways of fostering it.

Quote

I fell in love with hospitality industry. You could succeed or fail every five minutes…for hours in a row and your feedback loop was so tight that you really get to know whether you were meeting that customer's expectations.

– Alex Mondau

Notes

  • childhood growing up in Olympia and wanting to be an adventurer
  • selling sustainable housing and green real estate
  • feedback and the hospitality industry
  • The Collective Seattle and its origin
  • building community at The Collective Seattle
  • lessons and challenges of community building
  • next steps for The Collective Seattle

Closing

  • inspiration
    • spontaneously going paddle boating at night to appreciate nature
  • surprising fact
    • good plumber
  • principle
    • look for opportunities to be generous
  • closing notes
    • recognize Native American tribes and communities that stewarded this place
    • figure out to be good stewards of this place
  • Agua Verde: Don’t miss out on the new Rockfish Tacos with Mango salsa and the Carnitas now served on house made tortillas
  • The Collective: An urban basecamp for the mind, body and soul
  • wework: Starbucks of co-working spaces
mp3

18: Leaps of Faith with David Mays

July 8th, 2019 (71 minutes)

David Mays is Senior Public Relations Manager at Amazon where he oversees multiple high impact initiatives. I actually worked with David in my former life at Amazon but we never had a chance for an extended conversation. But as they say, better late than never and today's conversation makes me wish I'd done this earlier. Turns out we have much in common, besides the common employer and the pathological need to run long distances. Prior to Amazon, David has had an expansive career across multiple industries, including public news, the department of defense, and healthcare.

David's father was a Methodist minister and David remembers moving frequently from small town to small town as a kid. He came across a group of runners in one of these towns and insisted on joining them which led to him running his first marathon at the age of 13. This initial catalyst has sparked a lifetime of running, coaching, and the ability to deal with adversity. David has an amazing ability of coaching civilians into champion runners in just about all the places he's worked - this includes coaching his now wife and clinical psychologist Janice Alley who won her age group during her first half marathon race and continues to race competitively today.

In today's episode, we talk about David's childhood and how it sowed seeds for his current narrative, we talk about success as it relates to running and mentorship, and we talk (corporate) talk and explore how David has helped some of the world's biggest corporations shape their own narrative.

Quote

"Running as a discipline has always been something that has prepared me for adversity, for always having two or three option plans when things go wrong , [for] failure and the ability to overcome failure, [and for] the desire and ability to mentor and coach and help others"

Notes

  • childhood stories and frequently moving
  • overcoming obesity and running first marathon at age of 13
  • thoughts on running, mentorship and facing adversity
  • inviting and coaching non-runners into competitive athletes
  • taking leaps of faith and working across different industries (public news, defense department, oil, healthcare, consumer, etc)
  • supporting the CEO of Kaiser Permanente and defining corporate communication strategy
  • making decisions in short and long time frames
  • "davy gravy" and work under Bush administration
  • vision for the future

Closing

  • inspiration
    • long distance mentee, captatain in US army, and competitive runner and triathlete suffered medical condition with unsuccessful surgery
    • seeing her handle situation with calmness and resiliency
  • surprising fact
    • used to play the violin
  • principle
    • treat other people the way you want to be treated
  • closing notes
    • kind words about the podcast and interviews within (thank you David)
mp3

13: Creating Film and Community with Vivian Hua

March 25th, 2019 (59 minutes)

Vivian Hua is the director of the Northwest Film Forum (NWFF) , a non-profit film and arts center dedicated to public dialogue and creative action through collective cinematic experiences. Prior to NWFF, Vivian was Communications Manager for ICANNWiki, a collaborative resource dedicated to simplifying the complex issues, policies, and players in the sphere of internet governance. Vivian was also editor in chief of REDEFINE Magazine, a print and web magazine focused on music and the arts.

Vivian got a BA in sociology focused on Law, Society & Justice. Social justice has been a central theme in Vivian's life and is reflected in the work she pursues. In 2017, Vivian released Searching Skies, a narrative short film about a Syrian refugee family. The film was screened in 50 venues across the US and accompanied by a discussion series where people could meet a Muslim person, sometimes for the first time, and ask questions.

In today's episode, we talk about Vivian's vision for the NWFF, Vivian's sudden decision to pursue film upon turning 30, and exploring social justice with film.

Quote

When I turned 30, I had a personal revelation. I spent my entire 20's supporting other peoples art … So how do I work on my own now and had a calling to do film

– Vivian Hua

Notes

  • what is NWFF
  • getting started in film
  • divination and following signs
  • typical day
  • hosting film discussions
  • searching skies
  • current projects
  • routines to recharge
  • vr and film
  • community and diversity at NWFF
  • marketing art

Closing

  • inspiration
    • being inspired by the person that you're with
  • surprising fact
    • used to be a huge raver and gamer
  • principles
    • be authentic to who you are
  • closing
    • anyone who has a cool idea, reach out to Vivian and the NWFF
    • open to random emails

Contact

  • LinkedIn
  • Email: hellomynameisvee@gmail.com