Innovation Crush

Peter McGraw is a marketing professor, author, behavioral economist, and extremely humor curious. So much in fact, that he and his co-author, Joel Warner, of The Humor Code, set off on a global trek to uncover the science behind what makes things funny. In the process he created the Humor Research Lab (HuRL), both uncovering a plethora of universal truths and hyper localized cultural nuances. Peter's now on a mission to see if we can actually make ourselves funnier. On Innovation Crush, Peter breaks down the science behind consumer behavior, why humor works, and how it can be harnessed to save the world. https://twitter.com/petermcgraw

A self-proclaimed "mustache farmer," Adam Garone is the CEO and co-founder of Movember, a globally celebrated movement that pits mustaches against men's health issues; particularly prostate cancer. Adam comes from a long line of military, was a digital web and marketing exec, and now for the past 10 years, has brought 10's of millions of men and women together across more than 20 countries; raising well over a half a BILLION (yes, with a "B") dollars in its brief history. On Innovation Crush, Adam dishes on his personal history, what it means to be a leader, why Movember works, the future of his organization, and much more. http://us.movember.com

Jeff Jenkins has many labels, from Taco Hack to Resident Disruptor to the Taco Whisperer. For the past 6 years the former NASA and Viacom exec has been creating new and innovative ways to engage the Taco Bell consumer. On Innovation Crush, Jeff breaks down his own personal path to innovation (which also includes a successful stint as an actor), how the fast food chain overcomes negative perceptions, Taco Bell's idea-driven infrastructure, and how to engage one of the biggest consumer groups in the market. Featuring special guest host, Alexi Panos. twitter.com/jeffmjenkins twitter.com/alexipanos

Skip Bedell was birthed in excellence and professional integrity. The master carpenter comes from a long line of successful builders. While Skip once abandoned the family business to pursue other endeavors, he returned to the trade and now is the star - alongside his wife, Alison and comedian, Adam Carolla - of Spike TV's record breaking series, Catch a Contractor. On Innovation Crush, he and Alison discuss their television pairing, what excellence means, and the personal nuances that have made the show (and their businesses) a massive success.

Jeff Sparr is passionate about mental wellness. The CEO, hyphen artist, hyphen philanthropist, also happens to suffer from severe obsessive compulsive disorder. Early in his executive career, he learned to curb his medical condition through art - going from therapeutic hobbyist to one of the country's celebrated artists. Along the way, he created Peace Love Studios, an organization dedicated to combining art and mental wellness. He has graced the stages of TEDx, The Business Innovation Forum, and the Downtown project to name a few. On Innovation Crush, Jeff shares the realities of OCD and mental wellness, discusses the vision and success of Peace Love Studios, and touches on the failures and triumphs experienced along the way. www.peacelovestudios.com

Erica Williams Simon is an award-winning transformational speaker, storytelling trainer, media maker. With an early career inside the nation's capital, Erica quickly learned to recognize that real social change begins with people, not politics. The social disruptor has been named in the NAACP's 40 under 40, listed as one of the nation's top 50 politcos, consults with companies large and small on how to make significant changes in communities around the world. On Innovation Crush, Erica breaks down her early life and future vision, and tells us how to tell a story worth hearing. www.ericawilliams.com www.twitter.com/createdbyerica

Jordan Brady is a comedy legend turned commercial director, producer, podcaster, and documentarian. His passion projects include two films entitled I AM COMIC, and I AM ROAD COMIC which showcase the life of his fellow comedians on and off the road. On Innovation Crush, Jordan breaks down the power of storytelling, the myths behind advertising, and the power of long term industry relationships. www.jordanbrady.com

By the age of 14, Rebecca Kantar had started her own non profit organization focused on the prevention of sex trafficking. By 16 she and her cohorts began a speaking tour to ignite youth entrepreneurship. Now a 22 year-old Harvard dropout and serial entrepreneur, Rebecca has spoken all over the world, steered the future of fortune 500 companies, and runs a network of 1000's of alpha millenial entrepreneurs. On Innovation Crush, Rebecca discusses her winning streak of solutions for the future, how to recognize potential in young entrepreneurs, and even shares a few personal adventures that sparked her successes. Featuring special guest host, Manon Banta, founder of Mobile Film Classroom.

Guive Balooch is a scientist turned cosmetics genius who currently helms L'Oreal's Connected Beauty Incubator, a lab focused on creating forward-thinking products and services that disrupt the cosmetics industry. On Innovation Crush, Guive breaks down the processes behind creating globally impactful ideas and products, the passion it takes to make innovation happen, and how his team of brilliant- yet disparagingly different - minds come together to push L'Oreal to the edge of possibility.

Appointed by Mayor Eric Garcetti, Peter Marx is Los Angeles' first Chief Innovation and Technology Officer. Born and raised in the city of angels, his motivation is simple: "I want to see my city become a better place." With a self-referenced "$40 title," a seemingly oversimplified work goal, and zero experience in government, the former Qualcomm and EA exec comes to Innovation Crush to breakdown how he has continually used naivete as one of his greatest professional strengths. Along the way, he shares some superbly informative anecdotes on how Los Angeles (currently ranked 6th!) is leading the world in municipal innovation. https://twitter.com/pietromarx

Before Walter O'Brien discovered his intellectual gift, he was a socially awkward and often bullied kid at his school. One day, a bully had gone too far, and Walter was able to use his new found martial arts skills for a schoolyard triumph. Like a true scorpion, Walter was a docile creature, that when pushed enough, will attack and cause some pretty serious damage. Fast forward to 2014 where adult Walter (who has the 4th highest IQ in the world) has become the James Bond of geeks and geniuses, and now has an action packed television series based on his life. On Innovation Crush, Walter takes us on his journey and fills us in on his mission to save geniuses all over the planet.

Amanda Slavin is a former teacher and event planner who just happened to be given a great opportunity... to build communities with some of the world's top minds in business and creativity. That opportunity birthed CatalystCreativ, a one-of-a-kind "community design firm" that focuses on developing ecosytems that foster seemingly serendipitous moments of networking, education, and collaboration. Her firms first client? Tony Hseih's Downtown Project, a $350 million dollar effort to rethink downtown Las Vegas and the world at large. Now her company's sights are set on new cities, brands, and organizations in need of inspiration. On Innovation Crush, Amanda shares her journey, her passion, and the inherent nuances of creating a truly unique method of inspiring the world to think greater. www.catalystcreativ.com

Andy Rohm is a marketing professor at Loyola Marymount University. The Detroiter turned marketer (Reebok, Brooks) turned surfer turned education innovator is one of the minds behind LMU's M-School, a new education program that covers all things marketing, innovation, and even invention. On this installment of Innovation Crush, Andy Breaks down how he and his team are reinventing the way we teach young minds to create for and connect with consumers in this rapidly evolving world. http://blogs.lmu.edu/mschool/

Hugh Forrest has been an integral part of the SXSW movement since its inception in the late 80's. The veteran festival director has been the visionary behind mulitple components, including primarily the interactive programming, which now sees more attendees than both its music and film counterparts. On Innovation Crush, Hugh breaks down the multiple levels of perseverance, support, and vision it's taken for the festival -along with its participants - to rise to massive event's current state of meteoric success. https://twitter.com/Hugh_W_Forrest

For some, the introduction of wearable technology is like the introduction of fire, or the wheel to mankind. The growing industry has opened a whole new ways to how we think, interact, learn, and survive, and progress. On this 1 year anniversary episode of Innovation Crush, the king of wearable tech, and co-founder of Wearable World, Kyle Ellicott guides us through the past, present and future of this highly fascinating billion dollar industry. http://wearableworld.co/ twitter.com/kyleellicott