S1, E19 - Be the Canary, Not the Coal Miner

S1, E24 - Strike While It's Hot

This week, Marcus Collins and Amanda Slavin are joined by entrepreneur, craftsman, and Square co-founder Jim McKelvey. Through stories from his life as a glassblower and startup founder, Jim shares lessons on risk-taking, trust, innovation, and what it means to build something that can withstand pressure without losing its integrity. From unbreakable glass to billion-dollar businesses, the conversation explores how great teams create safety for experimentation, why action matters more than perfection, and how purpose can evolve after success.

S1, E23 - Building Community Through Empathy

What if the most important leadership skill isn't strategy, charisma, or vision, but empathy? This week, Marcus Collins and Amanda Slavin sit down with Kathryn Petralia, co-founder of Kabbage, a data-driven company bought by American Express that provides new lending opportunities to underserved communities. They explore how better understanding people’s needs became the foundation of a huge business. Together, they unpack cognitive empathy, building community culture at the office, hiring for self-awareness, and how the best leaders learn to see the world through someone else's perspective. Plus, Kathryn shares her personal philosophy for success.

S1, E22 - What If Success Isn't Enough?

Blake Mycoskie built one of the world's most influential purpose-driven brands: TOMS. Yet after years of success and accompanying mental health struggles, he found himself asking a difficult question: Is this all there is? In this episode of From the Culture, Marcus Collins and Amanda Slavin talk with the industry-shaping entrepreneur about ambition, mental health, conscious capitalism, and the challenge of defining success on your own terms. Blake shares what he learned from his struggles with depression, why achievement alone is never enough, and how leaders can build lives and organizations that stay aligned with their values. A candid conversation about purpose, fulfillment, and what it really means to be enough.

S1, E21 - Play, Perspective and Solution Diversity

Today we dive into the expansive world of LEGO and what it means to harness the art of play to educate and build a business culture. On this episode, Marcus and Amanda talk with VP of Product Experience at LEGO Education, Andrew Sliwinski about his strategy for creating products that can inspire a diverse array of children with wide interests to learn more while bringing their creativity out in the process. They also discuss the company’s new foray into AI for children, creating products for both students and teachers, as well as how LEGO sees its role in supplementing the U.S. education system.

S1, E20 - Dr. Becky on Parenthood, Partnership and Emotional Capacity

On this episode of From the Culture, Marcus Collins and Amanda Slavin sit down with psychologist and Good Inside founder Becky Kennedy to explore the surprising overlap between parenting, leadership, and workplace culture. Together, they unpack emotional intelligence, invisible labor, modern fatherhood, and why the skills that help people thrive at home are often the same ones that build healthier, more creative organizations.