Rally

This week’s show is about an advertising industry veteran who tells his story of leading a company through an unexpected turnaround. In 2013, Michael Duda left a firm he’d founded with Phoenix Suns basketball star Steve Nash to lead another. He began the week of Thanksgiving. By Christmas, he was weighing whether he’d stick it out. Several weeks into his new job, he realized things were not what they’d seemed. Before joining the company, Duda had hired professionals to review several years worth of financials. The firm looked stable. But they hadn’t discussed the ad agency’s future contracts. The company had projected more than 40 percent growth potential for the next year, Duda said, but many of its contracts expired around the time he took the helm. In January 2014, the firm missed its projections by 80 percent. On this week’s episode of Rally, Hearst Connecticut Media’s podcast about business leaders facing failure and bouncing back, Duda discusses making hard decisions to keep the company from going under. After successfully navigating the firm through a tumultuous year, Duda left to start his own firm, Bullish. He and his business partner have worked with brands ranging from Casper and Warby Parker to GoDaddy and GNC, including helping create a 2017 Super Bowl ad. Business reporter and Rally host Macaela J. Bennett has spent a year collecting these stories of hardship and missteps in people’s careers to share with listeners inspiring examples of overcoming obstacles. Follow Rally_Podcast: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram Email: Rally@CTpost.com Media: A segment of “Remember Trees?” by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under CC BY 4.0 A segment of “Room with a view” by Jahzzar is licensed under CC BY 3.0 “Don't Leave Me” by Marcin Gasiewicz “Unbox Better Sleep” by Casper https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7pxl00p-Qo Harry's - Meet the Shaving Company That's Fixing Shaving [60 sec] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJJkUJCPN6s “How Warby Parker Glasses Are Made” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rw6EdzcJqdM Peloton Bike | TV Commercial - “Better Is In Us” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpw5vcjWd3c “GoDaddy - The Internet Wants You (Super Bowl 2017 Commercial)” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y83xBWxaUX4 “Change the World” by Mitja Mithans A segment of “Cylinder Three” by Chris Zabriski is licensed under CC BY 4.0 “Feeling Positive” by Omin_13 Links: Learn more about Bullish: +http://bullish.co/ + “Plans Call for Reinforcements at Johannes Leonardo” https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/26/business/media/plans-call-for-reinforcements-at-johannes-leonardo.html + "NBA’s Nash, Deutsche’s Duda Team to Launch Startup” http://adage.com/article/agency-news/nba-s-nash-deutsch-s-duda-team-launch-startup/145303/ + “Ad Age’s 2018 A-List Standouts” http://adage.com/article/special-report-agency-alist-2018/ad-age-s-2018-a-list-standouts/312445/ + “Agency of the Future: Survival of the Fittest” http://adage.com/article/news/agency-future-survival-fittest/312949/ + “Bullish Brings the Internet to Life in Super Bowl Spot for GoDaddy” https://www.adweek.com/agencyspy/bullish-brings-the-internet-to-life-in-super-bowl-spot-for-godaddy/125020 + “Bullish: The Greenwich firm behind GoDaddy’s Super Bowl commercial” https://www.greenwichtime.com/business/article/Bullish-The-Greenwich-firm-behind-GoDaddy-s-10907069.php + “GoDaddy Will Return to Super Bowl Advertising” https://variety.com/2016/tv/news/godaddy-super-bowl-commercials-1201942847/

In 2009, just as the full effects of the recent financial crisis were being felt, two longtime friends decided to start a small business. Greenwich natives Ron Young and Bob Ostrander believed their business had huge growth potential, but some told them it was “just a fad.” Their company was premised on the growing LED-lighting industry. By 2010, the founders realized they had a lot of work to do before Tri-State LED could expect to sell many lightbulbs. For the first two years, Young and Ostrander focused on educating potential clients about the advantages of transitioning to LED lights. Meanwhile, they both refused paychecks, opting to hire and pay employees over giving themselves salaries. On this week’s episode of Rally, Hearst Connecticut Media’s new podcast about business leaders facing failure and bouncing back, the co-founders tell their story of overcoming obstacles, such as the tumultuous economy and early-stage LED technology to build Tri-State LED into a successful business that was acquired by Revolution Lighting in 2013. The high school friends turned business partners grappled with banks unwilling to give them loans, regulators challenging the safety of some of their most popular products and industry giants slow to adopt LED technology. Within a decade, Young and Ostrander have built Tri-State LED into a national business that’s nearly outgrown two offices. Business reporter and Rally host Macaela J. Bennett has spent a year collecting these stories of hardship and missteps in people’s careers to share with listeners inspiring examples of overcoming obstacles. Follow Rally_Podcast: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram Email: Rally@CTpost.com Media: A segment of “The Oceans Continue to Rise” by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under CC BY 4.0 A segment of “Room with a view” by Jahzzar is licensed under CC BY 3.0 Beautiful Piano by Sergey Sereda A segment of “Be Nice” by Jahzzar is licensed under CC BY 3.0 A segment of “Talk to Me” by Jahzzar is licensed under CC BY 3.0 A segment of “Shake It” by Jahzzar is licensed under CC BY 4.0 A segment of “Dirt” by Jahzzar is licensed under CC BY 3.0 Links: Learn more about Tri-State LED +http://www.tristateled.com/ + "Revolution Lighting Acquires Tri-State LED” https://blog.ctnews.com/financialmines/2013/11/18/revolution-lighting-acquires-tri-state-led/#_ga=2.227858264.479523927.1528680669-1459597948.1517245450 +Revolution Lighting https://www.rvlti.com/ Learn more about LED technology +Think Progress https://thinkprogress.org/5-charts-that-illustrate-the-remarkable-led-lighting-revolution-83ecb6c1f472/ +Scientific American https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/led-there-be-light/ +Energy.gov report https://www.energy.gov/eere/downloads/revolution-now-future-arrives-five-clean-energy-technologies-2015-update +Goldman Sachs report http://www.goldmansachs.com/our-thinking/pages/new-energy-landscape-folder/report-the-low-carbon-economy/report.pdf

When longtime attorney Helene Godin gave up her legal career without a plan, she felt directionless. She’d turned away from it after feeling overworked yet content with everything she’d accomplished in the field. Her journey included working on copyright cases for famous novels, screening Saturday Night Live scripts for defamatory language and overseeing Audible’s sale to Amazon. Eventually, she wound up at Bloomberg and the intense work environment pushed her to the max. She always strove to be the best and, after two years, she realized she needed to do something totally different. The problem was that her identity was wrapped up in being an attorney, and she didn’t know what to do with that gone. It took just a few days without a job for Helene to feel lost and in need of another label. So she filled her time with taking professional baking classes, where an instructor mentioned the growing trend toward gluten-free baked goods. Around the same time, Godin noticed the gluten-free section expanding in her grocery store. She decided that her next “hobby” would entail opening a small bakery in her community, Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y. She researched the business concept with the same intensity she’d reviewed NBC’s Saturday Night Live scripts for defamatory language. She opened By The Way Bakery almost exactly a year after walking away from the legal profession. What began as a hobby evolved into a growing small business that now includes four shops in the metro New York City area and providing goods for Whole Foods around the Northeast. On this week’s episode of Rally, Hearst Connecticut’s new podcast about business leaders facing failure and bouncing back, Godin tells her store of struggling to find a totally new career direction. Business reporter and Rally host Macaela J. Bennett has spent a year collecting these stories of hardship and missteps in people’s careers to share with listeners inspiring examples of overcoming obstacles. Follow Rally_Podcast: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram Email: Rally@CTpost.com Media: Reflecting Emotional Piano and Strings Midtempo by Jason Garner A segment of “Room with a view” by Jahzzar is licensed under CC BY 3.0 Inspired by Camera Sintetica You Inspire Me by Aaron Stepanik Hong Kong by MagnusMoone Distant Feeling by Brandon Ficquette Moments of Inspiration Piano and Strings Midtempo Wedding Song by Jason Garner A segment of “Prelude No. 8” by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under CC BY 4.0 Links: Learn more about By The Way Bakery +http://www.btwbakery.com/ + "By the Way Bakery to bring its unconventional goodies to Greenwich” https://www.greenwichtime.com/business/article/By-the-Way-Bakery-to-bring-its-unconventional-9969491.php +Dinner a love story blog http://www.dinneralovestory.com/ + “Kosher bakery opens in downtown Greenwich” https://www.greenwichtime.com/business/article/Kosher-bakery-opens-in-downtown-Greenwich-10813603.php + “Why This Woman Quit Her High-Powered Job As A Lawyer To Open A Bakery” https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/helene-godin-by-the-way-bakery_us_571e3cf2e4b0d912d5ff2cc5 + “By the Way Bakery expands with giant Pleasantville kitchen” https://www.lohud.com/story/life/food/2016/09/21/by-way-bakery-expands/90778882/ +Helene Godin named to list of most influential women by Westchester Magazine http://www.westchestermagazine.com/Westchester-Magazine/Women-in-Business/WIB-2015-Honorees/

Ample Hills Creamery owners Jackie Cuscuna and Brian Smith tell their story of grappling with success so overwhelming that they were afraid it would cost them their business before it even got off the ground. In this episode of Rally, a podcast about business leaders facing failure and bouncing back, we hear about how neglecting to plan for success led Ample Hills Creamery to close its doors just a few days after opening in 2011. Ample Hills opened in Brooklyn, New York, with ambitions of being a “small, little neighborhood ice cream shop.” Following a career in screenwriting and radio dramas, Brian hungered for a new medium to tell stories. As a lifelong ice cream lover, he and his wife decided to open an ice cream parlor where families could hang out and enjoy community. When Ample Hills opened just before Memorial Day weekend in 2011, the couple was blown away with the crowds swarming their shop. Within the first few days of being open, they realized that they’d drastically underestimated how much ice cream they would sell. The store closed four days after opening so Jackie and Brian could hire more staff, make ice cream and prepare for how to handle so many customers. The couple had poured all of their money into opening Ample Hills and worried about what would happen when their re-opened. Would people come back? Business reporter and Rally host Macaela J. Bennett has spent a year collecting these stories of hardship and missteps in people’s careers to share with listeners inspiring examples of overcoming obstacles. Follow Rally_Podcast: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram Email: Rally@CTpost.com Media: Sweet Emotional Piano String Instrumental Midtempo by Jason Garner A segment of “Room with a view” by Jahzzar is licensed under CC BY 3.0 The Golden Hour by Larry Bryant Alien Express, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1XEo4yZ59o You Inspire Me by Aaron Stepanik Ample Hills prepares to open, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1XEo4yZ59o Don't Leave Me by Marcin Gasiewicz My Dreams Come True by Marcin Gasiewicz Modern Inspiring Acoustic by Seastock Links: Learn more about Ample Hills +https://www.amplehills.com/pages/about +“So Successful, a New Ice Cream Shop Closes After 4 Days” https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/02/so-successful-a-new-ice-cream-shop-closes-after-4-days/ + “Bullish invests in ‘Star Wars’ ice cream” https://www.greenwichtime.com/business/article/Greenwich-firm-invests-in-Star-Wars-ice-12425328.php + “Ample Hills Creamery raises $8 mln Series A led by Rosecliff Ventures” https://www.pehub.com/2017/12/ample-hills-creamery-raises-8-mln-series-a-led-by-rosecliff-ventures/ + “The Ice Cream Oprah Fell in Love With and 13 More Delicious Hostess Gifts” http://www.oprah.com/gift/ample-hills-ice-cream?editors_pick_id=58475 Special thanks to Hearst Connecticut Media reporter Justin Papp for his reading of Crossing Brooklyn Ferry by Walt Whitman.

Behind most bankruptcies is an exhausted CEO. Around 3 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2016, Rob Morrison, the CEO of New York City retailer Gracious Home was signing and sending bankruptcy documents to his attorneys. They filed for Gracious Home’s (second) bankruptcy in the middle of the night so Rob would have time to break the news to his staff before reporters started calling asking for a comment. On this episode of Rally, a podcast about business leaders facing failure and bouncing back, a retail CEO takes us behind the scenes of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing at a time when thousands of stores were closing around the country. Gracious Home was founded in 1963 by a pair of brothers, who established the brand as a sort of precursor to e-commerce giant Amazon. New Yorkers of a certain age knew, “you could always get it at Gracious Home,” regardless of whether you were looking for a crystal chandelier or a vacuum cleaner bag. The business grew and expanded until after the 2008 financial crisis, when the owners took out a loan to open another store at one of the worst times. Gracious Home filed for bankruptcy protection its first time in 2010. New owners came in, hoping to turn things around. In 2014, they hired Rob, who’d spent his entire career climbing corporate ladders at retail companies. He began as its Chief Operating Officer. In 2016, Gracious Home’s CEO left suddenly and Rob was thrust into his first ever CEO post. Weeks later, Rob took Gracious Home through its second bankruptcy filing. Rob tells the story of what happens when a retailer files for bankruptcy, including: closing stores, firing hundreds of employees and coming up with a plan to revive a brand beloved by many. Business reporter and Rally host Macaela J. Bennett has spent a year collecting these stories of hardship and missteps in people’s careers to share with listeners inspiring examples of overcoming obstacles. Follow Rally_Podcast: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram Email: Rally@CTpost.com Media: Inspire Me by PianoPassion A segment of “Room with a view” by Jahzzar is licensed under CC BY 3.0 Growing Toward the Sun by Larry Bryant Don't Leave Me by Marcin Gasiewicz Reflecting Emotional Piano and Strings Midtempo by Jason Garner Change the World by mitja mithans Memento by Dmitry Vitkov Sweet Emotional Piano String Instrumental Midtempo by Jason Garner Wings of Hope by Mykola Odnorog Links: + “A Store Thrives Selling Whatever It Is You Have to Have” https://www.nytimes.com/1993/02/11/garden/a-store-thrives-selling-whatever-it-is-you-have-to-have.html + “Gracious Home files bankruptcy amid NYC job losses” https://www.reuters.com/article/gracioushome-bankruptcy-idUSN1321297620100813 + “Former Wal-Mart Executive Buys Stake in Hardware Store Gracious Home” https://www.wsj.com/articles/former-wal-mart-executive-buys-stake-in-hardware-store-gracious-home-1434581436 + “Manhattan Housewares Chain Gracious Home Files for Chapter 11” https://www.wsj.com/articles/manhattan-housewares-chain-gracious-home-files-for-chapter-11-1481918392 + “New York Housewares Retailer Gracious Home Seeks Rebirth” https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-york-housewares-retailer-gracious-home-seeks-rebirth-1485981420 + “Greenwich resident tries to beat dim retail odds” https://www.greenwichtime.com/business/article/Gracious-Home-Greenwich-resident-tries-to-beat-11141713.php + “Gracious Home Exiting Bankruptcy With $4M Investment” https://commercialobserver.com/2017/06/gracious-home-exiting-bankruptcy-with-sale-to-lumber-liquidators-founder/ +Prime Clerk Gracious Home filing, https://cases.primeclerk.com/GraciousHome/Home-Index

In this season one trailer for Rally, a podcast about business leaders facing failure and bouncing back, we hear one teenage entrepreneur’s story about learning the importance of failing. Rally is a business podcast produced by Hearst Connecticut Media. The show’s first season will include weekly episodes highlighting stories from business executives and entrepreneurs who have filed for bankruptcy, launched a technology company soon after the 2008 financial crisis, closed a major New York City newspaper and turned around an advertising agency when conditions look grim. Business reporter and Rally host Macaela J. Bennett has spent a year collecting these stories of hardship and missteps in people’s careers to share with listeners inspiring examples of overcoming obstacles. Follow Rally_podcast: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram Email: Rally@CTpost.com Media: +The Golden Hour by Larry Bryant +A segment of “Room with a view” by Jahzzar is licensed under CC BY 3.0 -- http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jahzzar/4_naked_songs_4_autumn_rainy_days/Room_with_a_view +The Two Of Us by Benjamin Lindholm +Don’t Give Up by Rishabh Nag +A segment of “Cylinder Three” by Chris Zabriski is licensed under CC BY 4.0 --http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Chris_Zabriskie/2014010103336111/Chris_Zabriskie_-_Cylinders_-_03_-_Cylinder_Three Links: Learn more about Marc -- https://www.marcbaghadjian.com/ The Nantucket Project -- https://www.nantucketproject.com/