John Kilcullen, the creator of the For Dummies brand and former chairman and CEO of IDG Books, shares his journey in building one of the world’s most iconic publishing series.

In this episode, John delves into the rise of For Dummies, his experience leading other renowned brands like Frommer's Travel and Cliff’s Notes, and his time as president and publisher of Billboard Magazine and The Hollywood Reporter.

A sought-after lecturer on entrepreneurship and innovation at institutions like Stanford, NYU, and Babson, John’s wisdom has been profiled in Forbes, The New York Times, and USA Today.

PART 1: The story behind For Dummies and how to build a lasting brand.

PART 2: Insights on the evolving future of publishing (starting at 43 minutes).

Closing: John’s invaluable advice for aspiring entrepreneurs, life wisdom, and actionable takeaways.

Farnoosh is an award-winning financial correspondent, television personality, and best-selling author of You’re So Money, A Healthy State of Panic, Psych Yourself Rich, and When She Makes More.

Her Podcast So Money was ranked a Top Female-Hosted Podcast by Entrepreneur Magazine, described as "a Podcast Your Wallet Will Love" by The New York Times, and has been downloaded over 35 million times, earning multiple Webby awards.

She is a former CNBC host and has been featured on NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, and numerous major news and talk shows.

Let's dive into a topic that affects all of us - how cellphones, social media, and AI are fundamentally reshaping the way we consume news and engage in politics.

Jack Brewster is the Founder and CEO of Newsreel, an app designed to make news more accessible for young people and those that are digitally exhausted. As a Fullbright scholar in Germany, he researched how young people consume news and how journalism can adapt to these changing behaviors. He is also the Enterprise Editor at NewsGuard, which rates the credibility of news sources and works to combat misinformation in media.

Before founding Newsreel, Jack was a reporter at Forbes Magazine, where he covered politics and online extremism. His work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, VICE, Fortune, and Newsweek. 

Jacks’ reporting has been featured in The New York Times, Bloomberg, CNN, and The Washington Post. 

Jason is the Editor-in-Chief of Entrepreneur Magazine and is widely recognized as an authority on business and adapting to change. He's the author of the bestselling book Build for Tomorrow, host of the Help Wanted and Problem Solvers podcast and has been named a "Top Voice in Entrepreneurship" on LinkedIn.

With decades of experience in national media, Jason has held editor roles at Men's Health, Fast Company, Maxim and Boston Magazine and has written about business and technology for the Washington Post, Slate, New York Magazine and many more.

Ana Homayoun shares insights gained from over two decades of working with young people.

Ana is the founder of Silicon Valley-based Green Ivy Educational Consulting and the executive director of Luminaria Learning Solutions, a non-profit focused on developing executive functioning skills in classrooms. She’s the author of four books, including her latest, Erasing the Finish Line: The New Blueprint for Success Beyond Grades and College Admissions, which highlights the essential skills students and young adults need to thrive.

As an academic advisor and early career development expert, Ana blends executive functioning, technology, and personal development, working directly with students, schools, and global organizations. Her work has been featured in media outlets such as Good Morning America, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Fast Company, and NPR.

Duran Morley is an action sports enthusiast who has built a thriving business centered around adventure living. Duran is the founder and CEO of VanSpeed, a company that converts sprinter vans into recreational vehicles for adventure-seeking customers.

College wasn't the right path for Duran, and he found that he learned best by doing. At just 17 years old, he opened the Van Mart, an e-commerce store selling van accessories. That venture has since snowballed into a full-scale, eight-figure annual revenue sprinter van conversion business, customizing vehicles not only for recreational use but also for mobile business opportunities. 

And he's only 24.

Duran has taken the outdated 1980s RV design and transformed it into something modern, efficient and visually appealing. As an avid surfer, motorcyclist and camper van traveler, Duran is the end user of his own products. His work has been featured in American Iron Magazine, Hot Bike Magazine, Roadkill Magazine and Hot Rod Magazine.

Sophie Milliken is a remarkable entrepreneur and leader with contributions that extend far beyond business. She co-founded City Ladies Networking, chairs the UK Charity Smart Works Newcastle, and serves as a Founding Ambassador for Every Child Needs a Mentor. 

Her dedication was recognized in 2023 when she was awarded an MBE by the Order of the British Empire for her services to Business and Education.

Sophie founded SRS Recruitment and Employability in 2013, successfully scaling it before selling in 2019. Now, as the Founder and CEO of Moja Group, an award-winning modern PR agency, Sophie continues to break new ground.

She is the host of the popular podcast Beyond The Bio which consistently ranks on the UK marketing podcast chart. Sophie has written two best-selling books, with a third on the way titled From Unknown to Unforgettable: How to Build a Personal Brand that Goes Beyond the Bio.

Harshal is the CEO and Co-Founder of Zymochem, which he founded in 2015 and recently celebrated a major milestone by closing a Series A funding round in January this year.

As a speaker at the SynBioBeta conference in San Francisco and the Rethinking Materials conference in London, he is passionate about about bringing sustainability to everyday materials and reducing humanity's dependency on plastic. 

After hearing that microplastics can be carried through the placenta from mother to baby, Harshal doubled down on his mission to bring breakthrough technology products to everyday materials. 

Zymochem recently introduced Bayse, a biodegradable, bio-based super absorbent polymer that can be used to make diapers, the third-largest item in landfills. He aims not only to tackle the hygiene industry, but coatings, textiles, and plastics.

Zymochem has partnered with well-known including Toyota and Lululemon.

Kimi Chadwick chats with us about running a pumpkin patch without any farming experience!

Kimi is the co-owner of Craven Farm, winners of the Best of Snohomish County two years in a row. She and her husband are incredibly savvy business owners who are utilizing vertical integration in nearly all aspects of their business, including a fleet of in-house concessions and floral design.

It's no surprise that on the day of our interview, they closed on the purchase of Whitewall Brewing Company, a local brewery that had been considering shutting down. They will be able to breathe new life and energy into the brewery, while also expanding on their existing offerings by possibly bringing Whitewall Brewery to their farm.

Kimi is smart, yet incredibly humble, and I absolutely love her and her husband's innovative business approach.

Collin Hathaway shares strategies for scaling small businesses to mid-sized enterprises.

Collin is the founder of Skylight Capital, a micro-private equity investor that acquires companies in the U.S. with $500,000 to $4m EBITDA. 

As part of his journey, he founded Flint Group, a collection of seven small residential home service businesses in HVAC and plumbing across five states, more than doubling revenue in four years. 

In 2017, he bought into ownership of Guardian Roofing in Western Washington and has tripled business within seven years. 

He is a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization and in 2017 was awarded Puget Sound Business Journal’s Top 40 under 40. In his free time, he volunteer coaches his son’s select baseball team.

Sandi Carter calls in from New Zealand to share her story starting a skin clinic.

Sandi is the founder CEO of Blush Skin Clinic, which she started in 2017 at the age of 22. Just three years later, she won a prestigious national award "New Zealand's Beauty Salon of the Year," which also landed her a feature in the national newspaper, the New Zealand Herald.

At just 29 years old, she now has two locations one on the North Island, in Whangarei, and one on the South Island in Christchurch. Her world-class spa uses state-of-the-art technologies with proven life-changing skin results. Just peruse the fascinating procedures with before and after results on her Instagram page and you will see how passionate she is about skin health.

Jak is an award-winning commercial and editorial photographer based in Northern California. His remarkable work has been featured in esteemed publications such as Smithsonian Life and the New York Times, with over a thousand images in the National Geographic Image Collection and contributions to more than 25 National Geographic books.

Wonderly's photography captures the beauty and complexity of the natural world. He achieved first place in the prestigious Big Picture Natural World Photography Competition and has had his work exhibited in several museums. A passionate advocate for conservation, Wonderly has lectured on conservation photography at Stanford University and the California Academy of Sciences.

Through his lens, Jak not only documents the world but also inspires action to protect it, making him a significant figure in both the artistic and environmental communities.

Naomi Crawford is the visionary founder and CEO of Lunchette.

Naomi has been at the forefront of the sustainable business movement, transforming Lunchette into a model for eco-friendly and socially responsible practices. Lunchette has become Petaluma, California's go-to lunch spot and is renowned for its engagement in community building, zero-waste policies, commitment to paying living wages and partnership with small local farmers.

Naomi's innovative approach not only champions sustainability, but also proves that doing good can positively impact the bottom line.

Lunchette was ranked by Sonoma Magazine as one of the 50 best restaurants in Sonoma County and has been recognized with a Slow Food Award for their business values.

Karan is the co-founder and former chief operating officer of Ginger, a leading mental health and coaching platform that merged with Headspace in 2021 to form Headspace Health in a multi-billion dollar transaction.

Under Karan's leadership, Ginger was recognized by Fast Company as One of the World's Top 10 most innovative companies in healthcare and was named a World Economic Forum technology pioneer.

Karan also volunteers on the Dean's Advisory Council at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business and was the recipient of MIT's Social Impact Fellowship.

Rachel Platten chats about the business of being a singer-songwriter.

Rachel is the Emmy Award-winning, multi-platinum singer-songwriter of the global sensation Fight Song, which has been streamed over a billion times worldwide. Stand By You was certified platinum in the United States, and Better Place has been a ballad at countless weddings.

Her songs have literally been anthems for millions. Rachel, modeled for Aries advertising campaign, has performed with Candlelight Concerts, New Year's Rockin' Eve in Times Square in New York City, and has been an avid supporter of a growing list of charities, including a dedication to Musicians on Call.

Her newest album, I Am Rachel Platten, will be released on September 3rd of this year and will give the world a glimpse into the other parts of her life, the real and the raw side that so many keep hidden.

If you haven't yet, I highly recommend that you pre-save her upcoming album HERE.

Jeremy is the founder CEO of Epic Nine Marketing Outfitters, a 15-person boutique marketing firm with two goals in mind to help great local businesses thrive and to create a wonderful workplace for creative people. Jeremy is also the author of Climb, a how-to book for local businesses to navigate the world of marketing. He is a board member for the Sky City Entrepreneur Center and the Loudoun County Education Foundation. His business, epic Nine, won Pigeon Forge Chambers 2023 Best Non-Tourism Business of the Year Award and has been nominated for the Best of Blount County's 2024 Small Business of the Year.

Jenny Sauer-Klein’s journey as a serial entrepreneur has seen her start four influential ventures, including AcroYoga, Scaling Intimacy School of Experience Design, play on Purpose and the Culture Conference.

Jenny co-founded Acro Yoga, a global phenomenon blending acrobatics and yoga, which has captivated millions worldwide, including Hollywood celebrities, professional athletes and Silicon Valley innovators.

Her other ventures focus on creating transformational experiences and deep connection. Throughout her career, jenny has been a sought-after speaker and consultant for top organizations including Google, airbnb, dropbox and UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business. Her insights and work have been featured in major media outlets such as the New York Times, Forbes, Fast Company, Inc. Magazine and Tim Ferriss' book Tool of Titans.

Will Stultz chats with us about the ups and downs of starting an e-commerce business. Will is the co-founder of Dumb Wireless, an e-commerce site that consolidates all of the world's best non-smartphones and accessories. They also offer their own SIM cards, their own MVNO network and have collaborated with the Unplugged tag to offer solutions that can help people break free from their technology dependency. Dumb Wireless has been featured in the New Yorker, the Wall Street Journal and on CBS National.

Amy Wilkinson talks with us about the skills needed for the future.

Amy is the founder and CEO of Ingenuity, a lecturer at Stanford's Graduate School of Business and the author of the international bestseller The Creator's Code. She has written articles for Forbes, the Wall Street Journal, the Economist, Inc. Magazine and dozens more. Amy has been featured on NPR, is a top-ranked keynote speaker, and her TEDx talk on the Secret of How to Think Like an Entrepreneur has been described as a must-listen full of amazing content.

Eric Henry is the owner of TS Designs and Solid State Clothing and a trailblazer in environmentally friendly supply chain practices WhereYourClothing.com . His commitment to sustainability has extended to a TEDx talk he gave at Elon University, where he educated the crowd about the state of the apparel industry. He was awarded the 2023 Entrepreneur of the Year by his local chamber, is the president of the North Carolina Business Council and has sat on the board of over 10 different organizations. He is an inspiration for the entire textile industry.