Humans & Brands

54. Beers With Friends Over Boring Meetings, with Dana Hork, Founder, Beers With Friends

What if agency work felt like having beers with your friends instead of a boring meeting? Dana Hork started Beers With Friends because she was tired of the traditional agency model. As a former brand-side marketer, she knew what modern brand builders needed: speed, focus, great people, and a seat at the tables that matter. So she built an agency around 5-day creative sprints called "beer runs." Clients hire them for exactly one week at a time. The team brings the right experts. The client brings their best people and their brain. Everyone shows up ready to go. No black boxes. No three perfectly polished ideas in round two. Just real, fast, collaborative creative work. This week, host Lauren Douglass sits down with Beers With Friends Founder and CEO Dana to talk about why constraints fuel creativity, how to say no to the wrong clients, and why your biggest weakness might also be your superpower. Dana unpacks what clients get wrong about agencies, what agencies get wrong about clients, and why the old Don Draper way of doing things is dead. If you're thinking about starting something or are just curious about a totally different way of doing creative work, this one's for you. Let's get into it.

53. Building A Brand On Your Own Terms, with Stefanie Beach, Founder, The Marketeer Group

Getting laid off sucks. But it turns out that most people say it's the best thing that ever happened to them. Stefanie's story is proof. Stefanie Beach never planned to start a business. She fell into it after getting laid off and then trying to find a job that allowed her to be home more for her daughter. Nine years later, she's built something on her own terms and learned what it takes to keep going when things get really hard. This week, host Lauren Douglass sits down with Stefanie, Founder & CEO of The Marketeer Group, to talk about resilience, consistency, and why everything worth doing has a difficult season where most people quit. They dig into motherhood, imposter syndrome, knowing your capacity, and why you need to trust yourself even when nobody else is listening yet. This is a conversation about entrepreneurship, life stages, and showing up for yourself. If you're thinking about starting something, navigating setbacks, or just trying to figure out how to keep going, this one's for you. Let's get into it.

52. Strong Opinions, Loosely Held, with Lou Paskalis

He's never been the quietest person in the room, and that's exactly why we wanted him here. Lou Paskalis has spent three decades at the intersection of marketing, media, and accountability. He's launched Small Business Saturday at American Express, pioneered brand safety models at Bank of America, and now runs his own consultancy advising two dozen clients on go-to-market strategy.  This week, host Lauren Douglass sits down with Lou for a conversation that cuts through the noise and industry BS. They talk about why marketing is broken, how CFOs gutted brand budgets and now realize they made a mistake, and why artificial scarcity in the tech stack is holding everyone back. Lou also gets real about journalism, news deserts, and why brands are leaving money on the table by not advertising in news. He shares an optimistic take on AI, and what young people getting into this industry right now should be excited about. This is a conversation with someone who has strong opinions and isn't afraid to say what he thinks. If you're in marketing, media, or just want to understand how things got so messy, this one's for you.

51. Stepping Into The Uncomfortable, with Carolina Cespedes Virguez, GoGo squeeZ

Courage isn't the absence of fear. It's conquering it anyway. Carolina Cespedes Virguez is the SVP General Manager of GoGo squeeZ in the U.S., running a $650 million business with the mission of taking it to $1 billion. But getting here was a journey. It meant learning new languages, navigating unfamiliar cultures, and saying yes to things before she felt ready. All while dealing with imposter syndrome and going home at night wondering if she could pull it all off. This week, host Lauren Douglass sits down with Carolina to talk about confidence, courage, and how leadership gets built by being willing to step into rooms where you're not sure you belong in. They dig into the moments when you question yourself, managing energy instead of time, and why you need to define what "having it all" means for you personally. This is a conversation about growth, identity, and figuring things out in real time. If you're navigating something uncomfortable or just trying to show up as yourself, this one's for you. Let's get into it.

50. Try Hard and Fail Anyway, with Lee Evans Lee, Founder, Mrs Momma Bear

If you'd rather try and fail really hard than not try at all, then you have the soul of an entrepreneur. This week's story dives right into that. Lee Evans Lee is the founder & CEO of Mrs Momma Bear, a clothing brand built around the idea that women shouldn't have to choose between comfort and looking polished. Everything is made from athleisure fabrics but tailored in an elevated English style: think workout material with the silhouette of Chanel. A fifth-generation rancher, Lee Evans Lee figured out how to blend performance and comfort with modern style. On this week's episode, host Lauren Douglass sits down with Lee to talk about what it takes to build something from scratch, how she spent two years on R&D without telling anyone what she was doing, and why protecting the energy of your idea matters. They dig into perseverance through the dark nights, selling one garment at a trunk show and still showing up the next day, and how the sweet ain't so sweet without the sour. Lee opens up about growing up on a goat ranch in West Texas and why she approaches business with both spreadsheets and spirituality. This is a conversation about following your heart, building something meaningful, and finding joy in the struggle, not just at the finish line. If you're building something, thinking about starting something, or just believe that the journey matters more than the destination, this one's for you.