Innovation Crush

It's no secret that the world has gone mobile-mad. This year alone, there will be 1.75 BILLION smart phone users around the world. The opportunities for brands and content makers are endless and often times, incredibly confusing. At the forefront of this mobile revolution we find Trigger Global, a leading mobile technology and experience design firm having worked with clients ranging from Sony's Spiderman to McDonalds to Nike. As Chief Executive Officer, Jason Yim brings creative vision and international business leadership to Trigger's day to day operations. On Innovation Crush, Jason is joined by the company's VP of Technology to break down how creative, tech, and the art of the pitch combine to reach millions of users for some of the world's top mobile experiences; or as they put it, how "Hollywood Creative meets Mobile Innovation." Featuring guest co-host, Mordecai. www.triggerglobal.com www.twitter.com/TriggerLLC

This year marks the 5th annual Business Innovation Awards, part of a grand cultural celebration of creative and business collaborations between the UK and Los Angeles. On this installment of Innovation Crush, we chat with Navin Govind and Joan Burney Keatings, two previous winners from both the medical technology and film industry, respectively. This amazing conversation dives deep into the every day nuances of their businesses, the importance of international collaboration, and the experience of winning one of the most prestigious business competitions to date. www.aventyn.com http://www.cinemagic.org.uk/ www.britweek.org

For the past 8 years, Doug Campbell has been the mind, muse, and maestro behind Mindshare LA. But what else would you expect from a man who once traveled the world in a Tuxedo to raise money for charity. Several times per year, brilliantly creative minds gather at these events for information, ideas, and inspiration, sharing never seen before forms of art, technology, science and music. Mindshare LA has become a mecca for thousands of intellectuals, artists, scientists, media professionals, social entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and other forward-facing characters to meet. On Innovation Crush, Doug (or Dougie as he sometimes likes to be called), talks about creating ideas for ideas' sake, how important play can be in business, his own personal creative interests, and the past present and future of Mindshare. feat. Special guest co-host, Tameka Kee www.mindshare.la www.twitter.com/mindsharela

Sugar Ray Leonard is revered around the world as one of the greatest boxers who ever lived, dominating the ‘80s with a fury in the ring like few have ever seen. Since his retirement from boxing, the boxer-come-entrepreneur has turned his public triumphs, personal tragedies, and unending drive into multiple businesses including a tell-all autobiography, a successful fashion line, a namesake “Sugar Ray Leonard Foundation” for juvenile diabetes, and even motivational talks to individuals and corporations around the globe. On Innovation Crush, the champ talks about the power of saying yes, the importance of telling your complete story, battling addictions, and his personal mission to give back to the world. http://sugarrayleonard.com/foundation/ www.twitter.com/SUGARRAYLEONARD

Whether you're a marketer, entrepreneur, investor, strategic thinker, or somewhere in between, your work life is constantly affected by influence. You're either exerting influence to change consumer behavior or to motivate your teammates, or even affected by the influence of trends and individuals you come in contact with on a day-to-day basis. When it comes to influence, Robin Kaminsky hates to lose. The marketing and business maven (who was once listed as one of the 100 most influential women in the world) served as the CMO/EVP of Publishing at Activision during the launch of titles like Guitar Hero, and Call of Duty. The latter of which is still considered to be the most successful franchise launch of all time; both financially and fan-ancially. Robin's creative problem solving abilities have touched other major franchises from Pepsi to Johnson & Johnson, Revlon and even the world of free-to-play games. Most recently, she serves as an advisor and investor to a multitude of companies and entrepreneurs. On Innovation Crush, Robin Breaks down the power of influence, the importance of the win, and how to create successful leading organizations and individuals. Featuring special guest host, Tameka Kee. www.twitter.com/rskaminsky www.twitter.com/geekychic

How many poets do you know who have had the opportunity to participate in strategy sessions alongside Lebron James and top execs at Nike? How many do you know who have given perhaps some of the most creative TED Talks of all time? How many have stood at the front of a sold out theater to give a keynote to some of the world's most sought after business leaders? Through the power of his spoken art, Sekou Andrews has helped organizations - as well as the individuals within them - to see their greatness differently, often leading to unprecedented personal and professional innovations. His stanzas have been witnessed around the world from local poetry venues to Oprah's back yard. On Innovation Crush, the "Awesome Anthem" creator walks us through his journey from poet to "poetic voice," breaks down the power of corporate translation, and performs some of his signature work exclusively for Innovation Crush listeners. Awesome Anthem: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehnl0cd-rcw Twitter: www.Twitter.com/SekouAndrews Website: www.sekouandrews.com

Most innovators spend their lives and/or careers exploring the many possible answers to some of the world's most daring questions. In that regard, Krisztina "Z." Holly is guilty as charged. In her personal life, the exploration junkie has conquered land, air, and sea an accomplished skydiver, mountain biker, and SCUBA instructor. In her professional life, she is most known as creator of the first event to be dubbed "TEDx" during her tenure as the Founding Executive Director of the USC Stevens Center for Innovation. The rest of her resume reads like an adventure of Forrest Gump through innovation, working at the helms of organizations like DAVOS, The Obama Administration, and MIT to name a few - all while pursuing cultural thrills and experiences across the world. On Innovation Crush, Z breaks down the power of play, the importance of process, the socio-political ecosystems of ideas, and how to ask the right questions when it comes to innovation. https://twitter.com/krisztinaholly

In 1974, a young brit named Bob Peirce drove across the US, landed in California, and got so comfortable in LA that he slept on Venice Beach his first night. Over the decades that have passed, Bob awoke to become one of the world's most innovative international diplomats, representing business and social impact efforts on behalf of China, the UK, the US, Ireland, and Africa... to name a few. Then in 2008, he and a few of his fellow UK2LA transplants launched something massive; and called it BritWeek. BritWeek celebrates the cultural and economic exchange of influence between Los Angeles and UK. The multi-day event celebrates everything from fashion to art to technology, and brings out some of the collaborating territories' biggest names in entertainment, business, and beyond. On Innovation Crush, Bob and BritWeek's Executive Director, Lauren Stone, break down the movement's cultural relevance and how it's grown to more US cities. Bob also walks us through his career and even gives a sneak peak of the UK's new national basketball league. http://www.britweek.org www.twitter.com/britweek **Deadline for BritWeek's Business Innovation Awards nominations is March 7th, 2014!!

Emmy nominated host and executive producer, Shira Lazar stops by to break down the success behind WHATS TRENDING, her professional life-n-times before the show, and facing the one of the biggest challenges in her life during the series' rise to success. www.youtube.com/whatstrending www.twitter.com/shiralazar

Amos Pizzey is the founder and president of Talenthouse, a platform that houses over 3.1 million creative talents who now have opportunities to work with some of the world's top brands and advertisers. Amos himself began his career at the age of 13, as the drummer for Boy George's Culture Club, and later produced and remixed music for some of the industry's biggest names, from Madonna to the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Throughout his career, he has continually recognized the fact that for every artist (fashion, music, graphic design, etc) we know and love, there are dozens, if not 100's of unknowns who have the same - if not better - skills as those in his professional circles. Talenthouse is a means of giving those artists a chance to be seen, heard, collaborate... and make money. On Innovation Crush, Amos walks us through his upbringing, his early career and social difficulties, to the hardships he and his family faced as he attempted to launch Talenthouse, and his one-love philosophies on life and art. Features special guest host, Susan Tie, marketer turned photographer; and a visit from the team behind Lit College Tour. www.talenthouse.com www.litcollegetour.com

"Every once in a while something enormous shows itself: an opportunity, a chance to become even better." -Kyle Cease After several years into Kyle Cease's stand up career, the then all star comic developed a severe stage fright. The anxiety and fear of fainting and thus failing on stage became paralyzing to the point of physical illness. While seeking answers to his anxiety, he began the early stages of what grew to become the principles of Evolving Out Loud (www.evolvingoutloud.com). Almost immediately his career skyrocketed. In addition to booking two films, he shot what was then, the highest rated special on Comedy Central, EVER. Then the next year, he topped it. Along the way, Kyle used his own story to help others, and has developed his own brand of self coined "transformational comedy," helping every day individuals and the world's most notable personalities and organizations, activate their greatness. On Innovation Crush shares the ups and downs of his story, walks us through Evolving Out Loud, and makes us laugh and learn simultaneously. *Innovation Crush listeners can purchase tickets for Kyle's LA event for the "crushingly" low price of $199.00. Email kyleceasecontact (at) gmail (dot) com and mention Innovation Crush to receive your discount. www.evolvingoutloud.com www.twitter.com/kylecease

Hackers, and farmers, and dreamers, OH MY! The focus on S.T.E.A.M. education has grown at an enormous rate over the past few years. Kids now have the ability to discover and create at rates that most educational and business institutions have the capacity to capture. This phenomena of youth creation across every area of invention, has become award-winning journalist, Melissa Jun Rowley's passion. For the past year, she has devoted 100% of her personal and professional life to shining a spotlight on this world in a docu-series called MAGIC MAKERS. On Innovation Crush, she walks us through this world of seemingly super-human accomplishments, the triumphs and pitfalls of this growing community, the business of youth invention, and how educational ecosystems can keep up with these wiz kids. memeni.com/MagicMakers twitter.com/MelissaRowley

When it comes to lists of smart, young entrepreneurs, Oliver Bogner has been on most of them. The 20-year-old has made Forbes 30 under 30 (2012 and 2013) twice, and has even been listed along with Mark Zuckerberg as one of the world's top young innovators. At age 10, he figured out a way to sell rocks. By 13, he created what soon became a DJ empire catering to 10's of 1000's of young partiers each month. 3 years later, he dropped out of school and began producing Reality TV, becoming the youngest person to ever sell a series to E!. This year, audiences will see an unprecedented 40 hours of television programming touched by the young mogul. On Innovation Crush, Oliver dishes on clarity of vision, his road to success, family dynamics, and the much debated "entitlement" problem that most of his generation faces. Feat. special guest host, Lisa Osborne. www.bognerentertainment.com www.twitter.com/Oliver_Bogner www.twitter.com/julipeno

A few years ago, Isaiah Mustafa was just your average professional football player turned struggling actor turned struggling bartender. Then one fateful day, he auditioned for - and eventually was cast in - one of the most successful global campaigns of the past 10 years. His role in the multi platform Old Spice "Smell Like Your Man" movement helped set a new precedent in advertising, catapulting both the brand and the actor into the forefront of pop-culture. On Innovation Crush, Isaiah fills us on the successes and strategies behind his multi-year partnership with the brand, his lifelong infatuation with superheroes and comic book culture (he could've sworn he was Spiderman in high school), how he has leveraged the Old Spice success into multiple roles in film & television, and even created his own production company. With special guest co-host, Stephanie Harris Byers. www.twitter.com/isaiahmustafa

"Pressure builds some, and breaks others." -Harlon Barnett In 1988, Harlon Barnett played in Michigan State University's 4th ever appearance at the Rose Bowl, joining the team in their 3rd victory. 26 years later in 2014, he returns to the 100th Rose Bowl (the Spartans only appearance since '88) as the #1 secondary coach in the country, leading the team to victory over Stanford. On Innovation Crush, Coach Barnett, discusses how innovation in sports translates to business practices - through leading teams, shutting out noise, playing under pressure, outside collaboration, internal development, pleasing your fans, dealing with controversy, aligning leadership, and celebrating every win... no matter what. With special guest co-host, Stephanie Harris Byers. Best Celebration Video Ever: http://youtu.be/biXaQk-TDJk