unconventionalpodcast

Ian Bentley is the Co-Founder and CEO of Parker Clay, a lifestyle brand committed to making a better bag for a better world through a brand built to showcase the finest Ethiopian leather and craftsmanship while providing meaningful job opportunities, vocational training, and living wages for at-risk women.

After adopting their daughter from Ethiopia, Ian and his wife Brittany relocated to Addis Ababa to work with vulnerable women and children. Having realized the potential impact, they created Parker Clay to showcase the beauty of premium Ethiopian leather while creating safe, dignified employment for at-risk women.

Having established a successful business in a foreign country built on the foundation of social impact, Ian can share with your audience the powerful stories of making his dream a reality. Ian knows from experience the struggles of building a brand while expanding your family and is eager to share his story. He can help your audience understand what it's like to go against the grain and stand up for something right in a big way. He wants people to realize that it's possible to make a change through business and marry people, profit, and purpose.

More of Ian: 

• Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/ianwbentley

• Website: https://www.parkerclay.com/

• Instagram: @ian.w.bentley

• Twitter: SteadfastLoveET

Melissa Furr, an entrepreneurial spirit, hails from a lineage deeply rooted in business acumen. Inspired by her hardworking grandparents, who built a successful enterprise from scratch after immigrating from Cuba and following in her father's footsteps, Melissa embraces the family tradition with zeal.

With an unwavering passion for marketing, Melissa discovered her true calling when she stumbled upon paid advertising. A natural-born salesperson (if she may humbly brag), she possesses an innate ability to promote just about anything, coupled with a genuine enthusiasm for delving into data and analytics. 

Throughout her educational journey, Melissa has always been driven by tangible results and a data-centric approach, and her entrepreneurial venture allows her to fully explore these passions while helping brands and businesses achieve a beneficial return on investment.

In 2018, Melissa founded Defined Media Co., initially positioned as a valuable resource for small businesses aiming to make a lasting impact on their ideal clientele through social media. However, as she embarked on her entrepreneurial journey, Melissa yearned for a more profound connection with her clients and their marketing strategies. This desire fueled her business's evolution beyond a singular focus, expanding its scope and capabilities.

Today, Melissa Maulini Furr proudly leads Defined Media Co., a dynamic team of passionate marketers united by a common purpose. Together, they collaborate to provide comprehensive marketing solutions driven by Melissa's visionary leadership and unwavering commitment to helping brands thrive in the ever-evolving digital landscape.

More of Melissa:

• Instagram: @melissamaulinifurr
• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/melissa-maulini/
• Website: definedmediaco.com

Dan Calandro is a financial scientist and entrepreneur with a long track record of operational success and organizational development, serving in roles such as Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of Manufacturing and Operations, and three decades of experience in stock market research and analysis, economic impact studies, and how they relate to government policy.

In his DNA are healthy portions of curiosity and creativity, ambition and desire, which combine to make him an incredibly perceptive analyst driven by logic, fact and reason, history and mathematics. Strategy, critical thinking, and leadership are major assets, only to be outdone by his will to succeed and outperform.

Dan’s patent-pending 15-51™ allocation system spawned from a business school project in the 1990s that aimed to deliver a lower-cost and greater-return alternative to conventional mutual funds. In retrospect, an argument can be made that the project under the title of: Super Funds, America’s First Micro Superfund, was an initial forecast into today’s world of the ETF.

Today he sees the next phase of investment to be driven by personal experience and social support networks, aided by artificial intelligence and new technology, influenced by strength optimization and 15-51™ design.

More of Dan:

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dan-calandro/
• Twitter: @dancalandro
• Website: LoseYourBroker.com

Jack McColl is known as the King of Debt. He unlocked the formula on how to leverage debt to scale companies. His first company imported hoverboards from China. Because he couldn't access funding, he lost millions of dollars of potential earnings. 

Learning his lesson, he took on an equity partner in his business but got burned. After launching his travel agency, Jack leveraged borrowed money to scale up. After that, he sold it to a competitor. Realizing how easy it was to access capital, Jack launched five eCommerce stores. Each company now generates millions of dollars in yearly revenue.

Today, Jack McColl is on a mission to teach business startups to access business credit. He helped companies get to 10 Million dollars altogether in less than two years. He published a book called "Credit Stacking."

Jack teaches entrepreneurs how to access zero percent interest capital. The main goal: focus on growing your businesses without limitations.


More of Jack:

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jackmccoll
• Instagram: @kingofdebt
• Facebook: Jack McColl
• Free Resource: Credit Stacking Case Study

Cassie Petrey is the brilliant woman behind the social media marketing of iconic artists such as the Backstreet Boys, Camila Cabello, and Britney Spears. She is the co-founder of Crowd Surf, a renowned marketing and music management firm. 

As an original fan girl, Cassie's passion for Backstreet Boys at age 12 led her to create a global fan newsletter. She later played a pivotal role in re-establishing the band's enduring fame for a new generation. At 17, while working as a college rep for Warner Music Group, she was among the first to recognize the marketing potential of emerging platforms like Myspace and Facebook.

Crowd Surf has collaborated with tech giants Apple and Google, major labels like Universal, Disney, Sony, and Warner, and managed rising stars such as Loren Gray, Max & Harvey, and Ugly Boys. The firm also crafts custom marketing plans to keep legendary works by John Fogerty, Neil Diamond, Frank Sinatra, and Marvin Gaye at the forefront of pop culture.

With teams in Los Angeles, Nashville, and New York, Crowd Surf excels in all aspects of artist careers, including launches, brand strategy, residencies, television projects, merchandising, and more. 

In August 2022, the company expanded with a new artist management division, catering to top influencers and Gen Z musicians.

Cassie, a Forbes 30 Under 30 and Billboard 30 Under 30 honoree is a driving force in social media and artist management in Hollywood. Alongside her co-founder Jade Driver, they were featured on power lists in Variety and Billboard and have shared their expertise at events like SXSW, the New Music Seminar, and the Forbes 30/50 Summit in Abu Dhabi.


More of Cassie:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cassiepetrey/?hl=en

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cassiepetrey/

• Podcast: How I Got Backstage

• Website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cassiepetrey/overlay/contact-info/