How Do Queer Founders Build Brands That Last? | #26

Can Small Acts of Kindness Actually Change Your Life? | #27

Most people know they want more connection in their lives. What they don't have is a simple, honest practice for building it, one that starts with themselves and radiates outward. Timothy Hunter Mathews has been building that practice for years, and in this episode, he shares exactly how it works. WHAT DOES RELATIONAL KINDNESS ACTUALLY LOOK LIKE IN PRACTICE? Timothy Hunter Mathews wears a lot of hats. By day, he's an instructional designer who creates corporate training content. He also leads a thriving employee resource group, the Mining Fitness Cafe, focused on whole-person wellbeing with over 100 members. At his church, he's a care minister and grief counselor with more than 15 years of experience sitting with people in their hardest moments. And through all of it, he writes. His children's book The Night Before Pommas, available at select boutiques including Feliz Navidad in Sedona, Arizona, teaches kindness through the story of two dogs. His grief memoir I Promise captures the perspective of his rescue dog Lily Rose, a book that came out of loss and became, unexpectedly, a form of healing. Timothy and Jim met the way a lot of meaningful connections happen now, through LinkedIn. A comment thread turned into a direct message, which turned into a conversation, which turned into this. It's a fitting origin story for an episode about the power of small gestures and the circles of connection that surround us all. THE FRAMEWORK THAT WILL CHANGE HOW YOU SEE YOUR RELATIONSHIPS The heart of this conversation is Timothy's handshake framework for relational kindness. There are people one handshake away: your family and close friends, the ones whose body language you can read from across a room. There are people two handshakes away: the neighbor whose dog you know but whose name you don't. And there are people three or more handshakes out, strangers in a grocery line who might be invisible to most of us, but don't have to be. Timothy has a gift for making the case that every one of those circles is an opportunity, and that tending to them is a skill you can practice. Jim and Timothy also go deep into grief. Both lost their fathers and have processed that loss in real time over the years. Timothy opens up about what it felt like to lose his dad and then his dog Lily Rose within a few years of each other, and why, for many pet owners, losing an animal can be as hard or harder than losing a person. They talk about why men don't share in mixed groups, what it feels like to be fully present in someone else's pain, and how kindness requires self-awareness before anything else. If you've ever tried to show up for someone while quietly falling apart, this conversation is for you. KEY TAKEAWAYS 1. How to use the handshake framework to identify who in your life deserves more intentional connection, starting with the people closest to you and expanding outward. 2. Why relational kindness begins with how you treat yourself, and how your self-talk shapes your capacity to care for others. 3. How to start a conversation with a complete stranger using the simplest possible tool: curiosity about what's in front of you. 4. Why men are more likely to open up about grief in single-gender groups, and what leaders can learn from that about psychological safety in team settings. 5. How to know when you're too close to a situation to be helpful, and why recognizing that limit is itself an act of kindness. 6. Why the first year of grief is often the easiest because you can prepare for the hard dates, and what happens when you stop bracing for them. 7. How writing from a specific perspective, in this case a dog's point of view, can process an experience that's too big to approach head-on. 8. What makes pet loss feel different from human loss, and how to support someone going through it without minimizing what they're carrying. 9. How small, consistent gestures, a wave, a meal, a note in a jar, compound into the kind of legacy people remember long after you've forgotten the moment. 10. How to build trust with someone who has been hurt before, whether that's a rescue dog or a colleague who's learned not to show vulnerability at work. CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Introduction: How Jim and Timothy Found Each Other on LinkedIn 02:00 Timothy's Work: Instructional Design, ERGs, and the Mining Fitness Cafe 05:30 Relational Kindness: The Framework That Starts With You 06:30 The Handshake Framework: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Connections 09:00 Kindness Across Cultures: Kansas, New York, LA, and Arizona 1 1:30 How Timothy Became a Grief Counselor and Care Minister 16:00 Knowing When You're Too Close to Help: Emotional Awareness in Caregiving 18:00 Jim's Grief: Losing His Father to Pancreatic Cancer 22:00 Why the First Year of Grief Is the Easiest and Why That Changes 24:00 What We Don't Know About the People Around Us 26:00 Losing Lily Rose: How Pet Grief Became a Book 28:30 How Lily Rose Chose Timothy at the Rescue 32:00 Pet Loss vs. Human Loss: Why It Hits Differently 38:30 Dogs as Teachers of Unconditional Love 41:00 Timothy's Writing Life: Books in Progress and a TED Talk Dream 44:00 The Gentle Work of Quiet Kindness: Substack and What's Next 46:30 The 28-Day Kindness Challenge and Where to Find It 48:00 Closing: The Ripple Effect of Small, Consistent Moves MEET TIMOTHY HUNTER MATHEWS Timothy Hunter Mathews is an instructional designer, ERG leader, care minister, grief counselor, and author based in Arizona. He leads the Mining Fitness Cafe employee resource group and has spent over 15 years volunteering in grief ministry at his church. His books include I Promise, a grief memoir told from a dog's perspective, and The Night Before Pommas, a children's book about kindness. ✨ Connect with Timothy: * Website: thunterbooks.com [http://thunterbooks.com/] * 💼 LinkedIn: Timothy Hunter Mathews [https://www.linkedin.com/in/timothymathews/] * 💼 Instagram: share your kindness challenge progress and tag him directly [https://www.instagram.com/daisy_mae_and_lilly_rose?igsh=MTk4dWwxaXRiZWIyNA%3D%3D] * 🌐 28-Day Kindness Challenge: available at thunterbooks.com/kindness-challenge/ [https://www.thunterbooks.com/kindness-challenge/] ✨ Follow Jim Fielding & Ask For An Answer: * Website: http://hijimfielding.com/hijimfielding.com [http://hijimfielding.com/] * 💼 Instagram:@hijimfielding [https://instagram.com/hijimfielding/] * 💼 LinkedIn: James (Jim) Fielding [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimfielding/] * 🌐 Podcast: Ask For An Answer, available on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify If this episode stayed with you, subscribe to Ask for an Answer and leave a review. It's the single best way to help more people find this kind of conversation. #LeadershipPodcast #RelationalKindness #GriefAndHealing #KindnessAtWork #AskForAnAnswer

How Do Queer Founders Build Brands That Last? | #26

When every other brand raised prices and chased scale, Ingrid Nilsen and Erica Anderson did the opposite. They listened to their community and lowered theirs. That's not a marketing strategy. That's a values decision, and it changed everything. WHAT DOES IT ACTUALLY TAKE TO BUILD A BRAND ON YOUR OWN TERMS? Ingrid Nilsen and Erica Anderson are back. Co-founders of New Savant, a Brooklyn-born fragrance brand known for its deeply personal, story-driven scents, they joined Ask for an Answer in Season One, and the response was so strong they're back for Pride 2026 with a full-year update. This episode is an honest conversation about what building a real business actually looks like. Since their last conversation, a lot has shifted at New Savant. They brought on angel investors, overhauled their manufacturing and fulfillment, and made the counterintuitive call to lower their prices after finding new operational efficiencies. They're in the middle of a complete repackaging: new vessel, new mist bottle, new cohesion across the product line. And through all of it, they've stayed focused on the one thing they won't outsource: the soul behind the scent. HOW DO CO-FOUNDERS NAVIGATE THE HARD MOMENTS? One of the most honest stretches of this conversation is about the pressure points inside a co-founder relationship. Ingrid and Erica talk openly about a significant setback right before the holiday season, a missed detail that derailed a collaboration they'd both been counting on. What could have become a blame spiral didn't, because they've both put serious work into emotional maturity and communication. Their "annual fight in the woods" ritual, spontaneous walks in nature where the real conversations happen, is one of the most quietly wise leadership frameworks you'll hear on this show. Jim and Ingrid and Erica also dig into the new American dream for small business founders, the anti-commodification movement driving consumers toward indie brands, and why authenticity isn't just a brand value. It's a survival strategy in 2026. The episode closes on Pride, with each of them sharing one word that captures what this season means: fun, risk and courage, and resilience. KEY TAKEAWAYS 1. How listening to customer data, not just requests, can lead to a pricing decision that builds more loyalty than any campaign. 2. Why co-founders who invest in their personal relationship first tend to make better business decisions under pressure. 3. How to use AI tools for complex operational work while protecting the creative core of your brand from automation. 4. What "brand flywheel" thinking looks like for an early-stage CPG company navigating e-commerce and growing retail presence. 5. Why the founders who survive long enough to matter are the ones who can separate disappointment in a situation from disappointment in a person. 6. How walking side by side, literally outside, can lower the emotional stakes of a hard conversation between co-founders. 7. What the transition from hand-produced to outsourced manufacturing actually costs a founder emotionally, and how to stay connected to your brand's origin story through it. 8. Why 600 customers who've bought 11 or more times are worth more strategic attention than any new customer acquisition campaign. 9. How to evaluate a packaging change using both financial data and community feedback without compromising your brand identity. 10. What queer-founded brands have in common with the Gen Z creators currently outperforming legacy studios, and why authenticity is the through-line. CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Introduction: Pride 2026 & Returning Guests 01:30 New Savant Update: What's Changed in a Year 04:00 The Decision to Lower Prices (And Why It Worked) 07:00 Angel Investors, Capital, and the CPG Flywheel 09:30 Ingrid Goes to Perfumery School in Paris 13:00 Building Scent From Scratch: Molecules, Memory & Story 17:00 The New Vessel: How Customer Feedback Drove a Hard Decision 24:30 Storytelling as Brand Strategy for an Indie Founder 28:00 The Real Work of a Co-Founder Relationship 33:30 The "Annual Fight in the Woods" and Conflict With Grace 39:00 Loyalty, Community Building, and the 600 Repeat Customers 42:30 The New American Dream: Building a Business on Your Own Terms 45:00 What Makes a Scent Soulful vs. Commodified 49:00 Anti-Commodification and the Return of Authentic Indie Brands 51:00 Pride 2026: Fun, Risk, Courage, and Resilience 54:30 Closing: What's Coming Next for New Savant Meet Ingrid Nilsen and Erica Anderson Ingrid Nilsen is a creator, community builder, and co-founder with a background in digital storytelling and a newly minted certificate from Givaudan's perfumery school in Paris. Erica Anderson is a CPG operator, startup builder, and co-founder with deep experience in brand strategy and business scaling. Together, they run New Savant, an independent fragrance brand built around queer identity, personal story, and uncommonly differentiated scent. ✨ Connect with Ingrid and Erica * Website: https://newsavant.com/newsavant.com [https://newsavant.com/] * 💼Instagram: @newsavant * 💼Ingrid Nilsen: @ingridnilsen ✨ Follow Jim Fielding & Ask For An Answer: * Website: http://hijimfielding.com/hijimfielding.com [http://hijimfielding.com/] * 💼 Instagram: https://instagram.com/hijimfielding/https://instagram.com/hijimfielding/ [https://instagram.com/hijimfielding/] * 🌐 Podcast: Ask For An Answer, available on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify Subscribe to Ask for an Answer on your platform of choice, and leave a review if you want more of this kind of honest, unscripted conversation. #LeadershipPodcast #QueerFounders #IndieFounder #SmallBusinessLeadership #Pride2026 SEO TAGS / KEYWORDS YouTube Tags: queer founders podcast · indie brand building · CPG startup leadership · co-founder relationship advice · Pride 2026 business · authentic brand storytelling · small business leadership · Ingrid Nilsen podcast · Ask for an Answer podcast · fragrance brand founders Apple Podcasts / Spotify Keywords: queer entrepreneurship, indie CPG brand, co-founder dynamics, small business leadership, community-driven brand, fragrance startup, Pride 2026, authentic leadership, loyal customer community, Ask for an Answer Jim Fielding

John Weinstein: The Educator Who Built America's First Queer Leadership Program & Why the LGBTQ Community Needs Intergenerational Mentors Now More Than Ever | #25

What if the future of leadership is being built by people courageous enough to be fully themselves? In this Pride Month conversation, Jim Fielding sits down with educator, scholar, and queer leadership pioneer John Weinstein, Provost of Bard Academy and Simons Rock at Bard College and founder of the Bard Queer Leadership Project. Together they explore how far the LGBTQ+ community has come, why Pride still matters, and what it takes to prepare the next generation of leaders. John shares his personal journey navigating education as an openly gay leader, the lessons he learned about authenticity and code-switching, and how creating spaces of belonging can transform lives. The conversation also dives into mentorship, chosen family, intergenerational learning, and the responsibility we all have to preserve LGBTQ+ history while building a better future. Whether you're part of the LGBTQ+ community or an ally, this conversation is a powerful reminder that progress happens when we honor our history while boldly imagining what's next. Listen in, celebrate Pride, and discover why the leaders of tomorrow are already showing us what's possible today. IN THIS EPISODE: * Why queer leadership brings unique strengths to the table * The importance of intergenerational mentorship and chosen family * How authenticity, visibility, and community shape future leaders MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: * Bard Queer Leadership Project (BQLP) at Simon's Rock * Bard College All Pride * No Ego by Jim Fielding * Leading Queer podcast hosted by John Weinstein and Carlos Stevens * Skylar Baylor, author and queer leader * The Laramie Project * Matthew Shepherd * Sliding Doors (film) * The Adjustment Bureau (film) * Robert Frost, "The Road Not Taken" * Bard Microcolleges TIMESTAMPS: 00:01 – Welcome and how Jim and John met 03:26 – What Pride Month means in 2026 0 4:16 – Are things really worse for LGBTQ young people now? 08:08 – Out with colleagues, not yet with students 09:28 – The student who thought John was out the whole time 11:15 – What semi-closeted leadership actually looked like 13:58 – Returning to Simon's Rock as a fully out campus leader 20:00 – Code switching: not inauthenticity, wisdom 26:26 – "I'm teaching students to be the kind of leader I have yet to become." 29:26 – How the Bard Queer Leadership Project was born 36:28 – Mixing teenage and adult learners in the same queer leadership room 38:34 – Why intergenerational mentorship is non-negotiable 53:03 – "It took me until my 50s. I want people to get there in their 20s." 56:34 – Reclaiming patriotism as a queer act 01:01:03 – Why there is no silver bullet for fixing education 01:03:17 – Legacy and what comes next for the BQLP ✨Connect with John Weinstein: Institution: simons-rock.edu Podcast: Leading Queer LinkedIn: John B. Weinstein ✨ Follow Jim Fielding & Ask For An Answer: 💼 Instagram: Instagram: https://instagram.com/hijimfielding/ 🌐 Podcast: Ask For An Answer Website: hijimfielding.com [http://hijimfielding.com/] #JohnWeinstein #BardCollege #SimonsRock #QueerLeadership #LGBTQ #Pride2026 #PrideMonth #QueerEducation #LGBTQLeadership #Intergenerational #AskForAnAnswer #JimFielding #OutLeaders #LGBTQMentorship #QueerHistory #Education #BardQueerLeadershipProject

Ryan Stana | From $600 a Week to 7 Global Offices: The RWS Story, Private Equity & Being a Gay CEO in Entertainment | #23

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BUILD A GLOBAL LIVE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY FROM SCRATCH AT AGE 21, WITH NO INVESTORS, NO LOANS AND TWO ROOMMATES ANSWERING YOUR PHONES FOR $3 OFF THE UTILITY BILL? IN THIS EPISODE, JIM FIELDING SITS DOWN WITH RYAN STANA, FOUNDER AND CEO OF RWS GLOBAL, THE WORLD'S PREMIER ONE-STOP SHOP FOR LIVE ENTERTAINMENT, TO TELL THE FULL FOUNDER STORY FROM A LIVING ROOM IN NEW YORK CITY TO SEVEN HEADQUARTERS ACROSS THE GLOBE. Ryan produced shows for Royal Caribbean, Six Flags and Disney before most people his age had a 401k. He bootstrapped the entire business for over two decades, bought three companies during COVID, then walked into 42 private equity meetings himself with his laptop and a presentation he built from scratch. This is one of the most honest, specific and genuinely inspiring entrepreneurship conversations the show has ever had. In This Episode: * Growing up in Greensburg, Pennsylvania with two entrepreneur parents and why that wired Ryan for business * Quitting his job, setting up a phone line in his apartment and landing a $200,000 Clear Channel contract on his first pitch * Why creativity and operations have to have equal respect, and what happens when they don't * The one-stop shop model: how RWS produces original shows, costumes, casting and choreography for one check * How Ryan bought the legendary Binder Casting agency to preserve a mentor's legacy, and what that unlocked for his talent pipeline * Bootstrapping for 20 years: why he never took a loan or an outside investor and how operations funded every bit of growth * Losing himself as a leader after COVID and the moment he reclaimed his identity and culture with "my way or the door" * Why he pitched 42 private equity firms himself instead of hiring a banker, and what he learned in every room * The transition from operating CEO to executive chairman: what it feels like to hand off the baby you raised for 23 years * What leaving space in your morning schedule does to your brain when you stop filling every hour with calls * Being an out gay CEO in corporate entertainment and why holding your husband's hand in a flyover state is an act of change * Why visibility in small towns matters more than visibility in New York or LA Timestamps: 00:01 – Welcome & how Jim and Ryan met through mutual friend Rema Awad 03:05 – Ryan's background: Greensburg, PA, child performer and theme park show obsession 06:12 – Senior year of high school: "Maybe I want to produce this." 07:19 – Writing corporate shows in college as a one-stop shop for hire 09:23 – Quitting his job, setting up a fake phone operation in his apartment and launching RWS at 21 10:59 – Never burn a bridge: the email that launched everything the next morning 12:00 – Walking into Clear Channel in Times Square and winning a $200,000 contract on day one 15:28 – First hire, first office and 23 years of zero outside funding 18:22 – Bootstrapping principle: the money that comes in is the money that goes out 24:00 – The acquisition strategy: buying companies to build the full vertical 27:32 – Buying Binder Casting to save a mentor's legacy and unlocking Broadway and Radio City 29:01 – What a true one-stop shop looks like from a client's perspective 33:26 – "Every dream I had has come true. Now I want to make everyone else's dreams come true." 34:10 – How RWS not only survived COVID but came out stronger through acquisitions 35:52 – Losing himself as a leader post-COVID and reclaiming his culture 38:38 – The decision to bring in private equity and why he did it himself 40:00 – Pitching 42 PE firms solo and getting 13 interested 41:42 – Choosing minority ownership and why the right partner showed up at the last minute 43:53 – 7 global HQs and an office open somewhere in the world around the clock 50:00 – The transition from CEO to Executive Chairman: what changes and what doesn't 54:56 – "It's like being a smoker without cigarettes": the honest truth about stepping back 58:20 – Morning walks in Miami with no phone and what the brain does when you let it rest 59:38 – Control the controllable, but leave space for the possible 01:00:50 – Being an out gay CEO in corporate entertainment and the responsibility that comes with visibility 01:04:53 – Why mentorship is the bridge to the next generation's success 01:06:47 – Happy Pride and what comes next for RWS Global Mentioned in This Episode: * RWS Global (rwsglobal.com) * Binder Casting * Royal Caribbean, Six Flags, Disney * Radio City Rockettes * The Lion King, Chicago the Musical (Broadway) * Jim Fielding's book: Control the Controllable * Clear Channel Worldwide Connect with Ryan Stana: LinkedIn: Ryan Stana Website: rwsglobal.com [http://rwsglobal.com/] ✨ Follow Jim Fielding & Ask For An Answer: 💼 Instagram: Instagram: https://instagram.com/hijimfielding/ 🌐 Podcast: Ask For An Answer Website: hijimfielding.com [http://hijimfielding.com/] #RyanStana #RWSGlobal #LiveEntertainment #Entrepreneurship #FounderStory #StartupStory #BootstrapBusiness #CEO #PrivateEquity #AskForAnAnswer #JimFielding #LiveEvents #ThemePark #GayCEO #LGBTQLeadership #Pride2026 #BusinessGrowth #Leadership

Brent Ridge & Josh Kilmer-Purcell: The Beekman 1802 Boys on Building a $100M Brand From a Bar of Soap, Winning the Amazing Race & What Pride Means in 2026 | #23

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BUILD A $100 MILLION BEAUTY BRAND FROM A SINGLE BAR OF GOAT MILK SOAP ON A FARM IN UPSTATE NEW YORK? IN THIS SPECIAL PRIDE MONTH EPISODE, JIM FIELDING SITS DOWN WITH BOTH HALVES OF THE DUO BEHIND BEEKMAN 1802, BRENT RIDGE AND JOSH KILMER-PURCELL, FOR ONE OF THE MOST HONEST, JOYFUL AND WIDE-RANGING CONVERSATIONS THE SHOW HAS EVER HAD. From the 51% rule that saved their business partnership to the psychology of why LGBTQ people are wired for creativity, from winning the Amazing Race to the real difference between kindness and niceness, Brent and Josh bring equal parts wisdom, warmth and wit to every topic Jim puts in front of them. In This Episode: * How Beekman 1802 grew from goat milk soap wrapped by neighbors to a major beauty brand sold at Ulta * The 51% rule: the surprisingly simple system that ended years of business disagreements between partners * Why "being nice is a deferred payment plan" and kindness always costs you something upfront * The theory that LGBTQ creativity is really just lifelong problem solving, and why that's a superpower * How winning the Amazing Race came down to one rule: no cheerleading, no fighting, just focus * The unexpected phone call from a CBS executive at a cookbook signing that started it all * Why Brent and Josh believe the business may have actually saved their relationship * What it feels like to be a visible gay couple in the South right now and why just going to dinner is an act of activism * The "boys" problem: why even running a $100M company, language still has the power to diminish * How to use your privilege well, especially during Pride season when the community needs its elders most * What cocktail o'clock taught them about protecting their relationship from their business Timestamps: 00:00 – Welcome back, Brent. And introducing Josh 01:03 – Did the vision for Beekman 1802 ever match the reality? 02:53 – Starting with kindness: "How can we lift as many people as possible?" 06:01 – Do Brent and Josh ever disagree? (Oh, yes.) 08:40 – The 51% rule: how to make decisions as equal partners 10:11 – Why LGBT couple founders may be more successful than straight ones 13:30 – Creativity is problem solving: the LGBTQ superpower 20:09 – 80 employees, Ulta stores and what Beekman looks for in talent 23:34 – "The ultimate act of kindness is transparency" 25:31 – Kind vs. nice: why they are not the same thing 26:46 – "Being kind has an immediate cost. Nice is a deferred payment plan." 29:18 – Josh on the Amazing Race: "It was the hardest thing I've ever done." 30:16 – Why their age and Gen X doubt actually helped them win 35:16 – "The middle-aged gay couple never wins. Our job is to be everyone's friend and gracefully exit." 37:21 – Did the show Hacks owe them royalties? (The goat milking episode) 39:32 – Inside a week at the farm: cocktail o'clock and how they protect their relationship 41:08 – "The business may have saved our relationship." 44:18 – A gay Shark Tank? Jim pitches a TV idea live on air 46:47 – "What do the boys think?" Why that phrase still stings at $100M 51:46 – Safe spaces, moving to Atlanta and what it means to turn your gaydar back on 57:33 – What Jim, Brent and Josh believe it means to be elders in the community right now Mentioned in This Episode: * Beekman 1802 (beekman1802.com) * Beekman 1802 Almanac (their book) * The Amazing Race, CBS * The Fabulous Beekman Boys (Planet Green reality series) * Hacks (HBO Max) * Schitt's Creek * QVC / HSN Connect with Brent Ridge & Josh Kilmer-Purcell: Website: beekman1802.com Instagram: @beekman1802 Instagram: @josh.kilmer.purcell ✨ Follow Jim Fielding & Ask For An Answer: 💼 Instagram: Instagram: https://instagram.com/hijimfielding/ 🌐 Podcast: Ask For An Answer Website: hijimfielding.com [http://hijimfielding.com/] #BeekmanBoys #Beekman1802 #BrentRidge #JoshKilmerPurcell #LGBTQEntrepreneurs #Pride2026 #PrideMonth #GayOwned #SmallBusiness #Entrepreneurship #AmazingRace #Kindness #AskForAnAnswer #JimFielding #LGBTQBusiness #BeautyBrand #GayCouple #QueerJoy