Amanda Brinkman is the CEO of Sunshine Studios, which focuses on transformative brand storytelling. She is a seasoned producer, filmmaker, branding expert, and keynote speaker. Amanda has served in C-level roles in major corporations and has been the driving force behind the successful Hulu series Small Business Revolution, which ran for six seasons and garnered multiple Emmy nominations. A champion of women's achievements in business, Amanda has won numerous awards and is passionate about guiding others to identify their superpowers to create a positive change in the world.

Many are caught in the pursuit of a purpose so grand that it impedes their daily objectives. Aligning your personal purpose with your career can lead to feelings of confusion and uncertainty. How can you combine your professional ambitions with your desire to create a positive impact?

Amanda Brinkman addresses this struggle, having integrated meaningful work into the brand space and built a business around impactful storytelling. She emphasizes the importance of recognizing your core strengths and superpowers and aligning them with your career for a fulfilling and purpose-led life. Genuinely connecting with an audience requires translating your purpose into actionable brand storytelling by leading with authenticity. You can then employ metrics to track the engagement and reach of your efforts.

In this episode of the Up Arrow Podcast with William Harris, Amanda Brinkman, the CEO of Sunshine Studios, talks about translating personal purpose into professional excellence. Amanda also touches on overcoming purpose paralysis, integrating service into life, and building a career that harmonizes achievement with altruism.

Katie Richardson founded Puj, an internationally successful multimillion-dollar company with distribution across thousands of stores and numerous countries. Her innovative work has graced popular shows like The Ellen DeGeneres Show, the Today Show, and the Rachael Ray Show and has landed her on the cover of Entrepreneur magazine. As an executive business coach, Katie empowers founders and CEOs by teaching essential mindsets, skills, and tools for robust business operations and purposeful living. A highly creative individual, she shares tactics for business growth, effective branding, and the importance of personal development for comprehensive success.

Have you ever tried to fulfill your potential while being pulled in different directions? You can turn this dilemma into a compelling brand narrative that connects with people worldwide. Today’s guest’s story demonstrates how balancing life's dimensions with strategic thinking opens doors to unexpected opportunities. So how did she pull this off?

After her company experienced explosive growth and became featured in national television shows, design and leadership expert Katie Richardson struggled to be all things to all people. To solve her multifaceted entrepreneurial dilemma and meet customers’ needs, she created products that resonated with consumers emotionally. She maintains that infusing human values into every aspect of your company personalizes your brand, fosters customer loyalty, and leads to organic PR opportunities. Additionally, Katie says to shift your business model to prioritize personal development and wellness, ensuring you can sustain the demands of entrepreneurship.

In this episode of the Up Arrow Podcast, William Harris talks with Katie Richardson, the Founder of Puj, about weaving resilience and savvy branding into business growth. Katie illustrates the profound impact of storytelling through product experiences, the courage needed to reinvent oneself, and the empowering shift from a single-goal focus to a multifaceted approach to life and business.

Matt Bertulli is the Co-founder and CEO of Pela Case, which makes iPhone cases out of waste, and Lomi, a certified B-corp on a mission to eliminate food waste. The company is backed by Jay-Z’s Marcy Venture Projects and has been named the Top 10 in the Canada Business Growth 500 ranking and #1 in Deloitte’s Fast 50. Alongside his entrepreneurial success, Matt hosts the Nine Figure Operators podcast and is involved in angel investing, sharing and gaining further insights into the world of entrepreneurship.

When managing a DTC brand, success is more than just sales; it involves strong leadership, competitive strategies, inventory control, and compelling advertising. How can you scale your DTC brand to new heights?

Matt Bertulli, a two-time entrepreneur and e-commerce leader, maintains that curiosity and communication are the fundamental characteristics of any CEO or leader. These core competencies build valuable relationships with your employees, stakeholders, and clients and allow you to experiment with new strategies. Leaders must also recognize their company’s vulnerabilities to surpass the competition by focusing on their specialties. A scalable DTC strategy includes assessing and managing your inventory and diversifying your advertising channels to target consumers effectively.

In today’s Up Arrow Podcast episode, Matt Bertulli, the Co-founder and CEO of Lomi and Pela Case, joins William Harris to talk about sustainable growth for DTC businesses. He shares why building trust is foundational for high-performance teams and what it takes to scale effectively in the e-commerce world.