Surfing, Learning to Innovate, Leading Billion Dollar Businesses, and Changing Agriculture
David Perry, President, CEO, and Director at Indigo, has spent nearly his entire career working in the health and wellness industry. Althoug
Women in Ag, Millennials Affecting Agriculture, and Director of Agribusiness at Harvard with Mary Shelman
Mary Shelman , Founder at the Mary Shelman Group and Advisory Board Member at Village Capital, has spent nearly her entire career working in the agriculture industry. Mary grew up on a farm in Kentucky, which she still owns today. Later in life, she ventured off to Elizabethtown Community College and the University of Kentucky to earn a degree in Chemical Engineering. After a series of tough decisions, she decided to get a masters degree in general management from Harvard Business School, which is when she knew for sure she wanted to work in agriculture. After working under Ray Goldberg for many years, Mary became the Director of the Harvard Agribusiness Program. Along the way, Mary has served as a Board of Director at Stiftung Furst Liechtenstein, Chairman of the Board at RiceTec Inc, Chairman of the Board at Fractual Antenna Systems, President of the Board at English at Large, President of International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, and an Advisory Board member at Crop Enhancement Inc. We also talk about a wide variety of interests in her life such as what it’s like going to school at Harvard, becoming Director of their Agribusiness Program, where some of her best ideas come from, where grocery stores are heading in the future, buying groceries online, working with Ray Goldberg, living in Boston, traveling the World, and horseback riding. Listen to the podcast below to learn more about this rising leader and how she is striving to get women more involved in agriculture!
Horseback Riding, $27 Soybean Premiums, and Becoming an Organic Farmer with Kellee James
The Future of Gaming, Secrets Behind Raising Money, Fly Fishing, and Making Better Decisions on the Farm with Mark Young
Mark Young , the Chief Technology Officer at The Climate Corporation, has spent nearly his entire life working in the technology sector. Mark grew up on a farm in southern New Jersey growing hay and raising cattle. Later, Mark ventured off to Purdue University to earn a degree in Computer Sciences. Mark started his own company in college called netKnowledge Inc. and not long after college, he went on to start another company called HipLogic, which was a mobile technology company. Mark soon went on to sell HipLogic to travel out to Silicon Valley for nearly 18 years to work for companies like Yahoo and Zynga. Now, Mark is back in the Midwest working in his homegrown roots serving as the Chief Technology Officer at The Climate Corporation. We also talk about a wide variety of interests in his life such as his following your passion, learning to become an entrepreneur, the future of gaming, mastering bow hunting, fly fishing, off-roading in Wranglers in Moab, and traveling the world. Listen to the podcast below to learn more about this farm boy who became a Silicon Valley tech guru.
Being the Best, Gaining a Competitive Advantage, and Overcoming Adversity
Molly Bloom , who owns one of the most intriguing stories of the past decade many of you may know as Molly’s game, tells us how she built one of the most exclusive, high-stakes underground poker games in the world. Molly grew up in Loveland, Colorado. She attended the University of Colorado at Boulder, majoring in Political Science. She was a member of the US ski team and was ranked third overall in North America in 1998. Her father was a top psychologist and her mother a professional fly fisher. In the late 2000s, Molly ran the highest stakes, most exclusive poker game Hollywood had ever seen—she was its mistress, its lion tamer, its agent, and its oxygen. Everyone wanted in, few were invited to play. Hundreds of millions of dollars were won and lost at her table. Molly’s game became the game for those in the know—celebrities, business moguls, and millionaires. Molly staged her games in palatial suites with beautiful views and exquisite amenities. She flew privately, dined at exclusive restaurants, hobnobbed with the heads of Hollywood studios, was courted by handsome leading men, and was privy to the world’s most delicious gossip. We also talk about a wide variety of interests in her life such as his family, being competitive, what people would try to gamble with, her obsession with always wanting to be the best, and what she’s doing now. I would also like to mention, we were blessed with the opportunity to have Molly as the keynote speaker at The Van Trump Conference in 2018. Listen to the podcast below to learn more about this poker princess. Her story is truly incredible!
The First Organic Beef Ranch, Working With Whole Foods, and Running Restaurants with Travis Potter
Travis Potter , Founder of Tractor Soda Company, has spent his entire life working in agriculture as a farmer and pioneer in the organic food industry. Travis has been in organic farming before it was even called organic farming. He pioneered the first organic beef ranch and artisan meat company. He has done everything from working in the organic yogurt industry to non-dairy desserts and organic ice cream. Travis currently lives in Northwest Idaho with his wife and 11 kids. Travis is leading the way for agriculture in the current farm to fork movement in many companies like Land Back, Agopolis, 52 Fresh, and Frontier Protein. We also talk about a wide variety of interests in his life such as his family, frozen yogurts, lamb as well as quail markets, and where this organic market is heading. Listen to the podcast below to learn more about this innovative farmer passionate about making the world a better place.
Life Lessons, Herding Sheep, and the Future of Ethanol
Tom Willis , CEO of Conestoga Energy, has spent his entire life working in agriculture. Tom earned bachelor degrees in economics, business administration, and agricultural business from Utah State University. He’s spent most of his career in risk management and agribusiness, with companies including General Mills and JR Simplot. In 2004, Tom took over as CEO at Conestoga Energy taking the company from 3 to 220 employees and $1.5 billion in sales. Additionally, Tom currently serves on the National Sorghum Producers Board of Directors and The Koch Foundation’s Youth Entrepreneur Board. He’s also the past Chairman of the Kansas Association of Ethanol Producers and past President of the Montana Grain and Feed Association. We also talk about a wide variety of interests in his life such as politics, religion, water farms, Old Chicago Pizzas, and herding sheep. Listen to the podcast below to learn more about this great role model to the public and young entrepreneurs.
Artificial Intelligence Trading, the Dallas Cowboys, and Visiting Pablo Escobar’s House
Howard Getson , President and CEO at Capitalogix, has spent nearly his whole life working with artificial intelligence. Mr. Getson received an undergraduate degree in psychology and philosophy from Duke University in 1984, and received a Juris Doctorate law degree and a Masters of Business Administration degree from Northwestern University in 1987. Since then, Howard founded IntellAgent Control in 1991, which was an Inc. 500 company and won an IBM-Lotus Beacon Award for best business application. He also served seven terms on the Board of Directors for the Entrepreneurs Organization in Dallas and served on the EO International Board of Directors from 2001 to 2004. We also talk about a wide variety of interests in his life such as: the Dallas Cowboys, green beer, mastermind sessions, visiting Pablo Escobar’s house, and playing quarterback at Duke. Listen to the podcast below to learn more about the lawyer turned artificial intelligence trading guro.
Agri-Retail, Real Estate Cycles, Garth Brooks, and Snowmobiles with Braden Hudye
Braden Hudye, President of the The Hudye Group, has spent his life as a successful investor. Braden started his investing career at the University of Saskatchewan when he first started investing in commercial real estate properties. Since then, Braden has ran sucessful businesses on the farm, agri-retail, development real estate, and equity investments. Braden was an active member of a management team that won the Canadian Association of Agri-Retailers Retailer of the Year in 2011. He also was a top 3 finalist for Top Producer of the Year by Farm Journal in 2010 for their US Farm Operation. We also talk about a wide variety of interests in his life such as: charity, snowmobiles, Darius Rucker, and real estate cycles. Listen to the podcast below to learn more about the luxury real estate investor and Sturgis fanatic.
Biotech Jet Setter, Winning the Congressional with Stewart Cink, and Bacardi Deals with Chris Rivera
Chris Rivera , CEO of Nativis and co-founder of WINGS, has spent nearly his whole life working in the biotech field. Chris played college basketball, has a master’s degree from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, and a business degree from the Seattle University. Since then, Chris has overseen one of Washington’s largest and fastest growing economic industries and has even mentored more than 400 life science start-up companies. Mr. RIvera was the President & CEO of Life Science Washington from 2009 to 2015. He also founded and led Hyperion Therapeutics, which sold to Horizon Pharma for over $1 billion in 2015. We also talk about a wide variety of interests in his life such as: golf, travel, innovation, Amazon, and investing in yourself. Listen to the podcast below to learn more about this biotech jetter setter.