Disruption Now

"I went from door-to-door sales to closing million-dollar tech deals — but the real secret? Asking boldly. Watch [12:33] to hear how Jarrett Albritton turned Clubhouse conversations into 80,000 followers and landed 40+ recruiters on stage. Spoiler: His AI platform is changing how careers are built!"

-Why are tech sales misunderstood (and why are they not what you think)?
-The biggest misconception about tech sales that’s costing you $$$.
-3 secrets to breaking into tech sales and dominating AI-driven careers.

⏰ Timestamps: 
0:00 – "Why Tech Sales Isn’t Just for Geeks (Misconceptions)" 
12:33 – "How Jarrett Albritton Leveraged Clubhouse to Empower 80K...

In this episode of the Disruption Now podcast, host Rob Richardson engages in a dynamic conversation with Seema Alexander, a seasoned entrepreneur and business strategist. They delve into Seema's rich background, from her upbringing in an entrepreneurial immigrant family to her current roles as co-founder of Virgent AI and DC Startup & Tech Week. The discussion traverses the evolution of entrepreneurship, the pivotal role of emerging technologies like AI, and the significance of community collaboration in fostering innovation.​

Three Key Takeaways for Disruptors:

In this episode of the Disruption Now Podcast, host Rob Richardson sits down with Rachel Desrochers, the founder of Gratitude Collective and a passionate advocate for gratitude, entrepreneurship, and community building. Rachel shares her journey of turning a simple idea into a thriving business while fostering a culture of kindness and connection. She discusses the power of gratitude in both personal and professional life, the challenges of entrepreneurship, and how she supports other business owners through her work with the Incubator Kitchen Collective. Tune in for an inspiring conversation on purpose-driven business, resilience, and the impact of gratitude on...

In this episode of Disruption Now, Tremain Davis shares forward-thinking insights on how innovation is upending traditional business models and reshaping entire industries. 

Here are three things you can learn from this episode:

Today's Disruption Now episode is with LaMar "The Coutureman "Wright. He is a trailblazer in curated lifestyle expertise and image consulting through his business, The Coutureman LLC. As a disruptor in his field, he challenges traditional notions of style and personal branding, helping individuals cultivate an elevated sense of confidence and self-expression through fashion, grooming, and lifestyle refinement. His approach goes beyond just aesthetics—it's about empowerment, self-identity, and making a statement in both personal and professional spaces.

LaMar shared deep insights into his journey, highlighting pivotal life lessons that have shaped his career and mindset—how life...

LEARN about Erin Reddick's inspiring AI journey. She is the creator of ChatBlackGPT Beta, a platform advancing equity in AI. Erin shares how her unique upbringing as a Black woman adopted by a white father shaped her views on race, identity, and belonging. She discusses her transition from being laid off at Meta to becoming a trailblazer in ethical AI. The conversation dives deep into the challenges of promoting inclusivity in technology, the development of ChatBlackGPTBeta, and actionable advice for overcoming biases in AI and the workplace.

Top Three Things You Will Learn:

1. How...

Disruption Now: Building a Fair Share for Culture and Media. Join us and disrupt! 

Today, we welcome the two most respected and innovative leaders to the Disruption Now Podcast. Joe and Dwain, despite their demanding schedules, have graciously made time to be DISRUPTIVE with us in this digital age. 

Joe and Dwain's impressive careers have led them to co-found Dream Exchange, a groundbreaking platform with a purpose and impact that cannot be overstated. Dream Exchange is the first minority-governed and Black-owned company to operate an exchange in U.S. history. It challenges traditional norms and op...

Cyrus Harbin is the founder and host of the popular podcast "Tech is the New Black." He is a prominent figure in the tech community, known for empowering, educating, and entertaining his audience on leveraging the tech industry to enhance their lives. Through his podcast, Cyrus interviews industry leaders, tech influencers, and successful entrepreneurs, offering insights and practical advice on how to break into and thrive in the tech industry.

Cyrus is also actively involved in community-building efforts, including the TechPreneur Community, which provides internal job referrals, career coaching, courses, and networking opportunities. His podcast, lauded for...

John Hope Bryant is a prominent entrepreneur, author, and philanthropist known for his economic empowerment and financial literacy work. He founded Operation HOPE in 1992 following the Rodney King Riots in Los Angeles, with a mission to provide economic education and resources to underserved communities. Since its inception, Operation HOPE has served over 4 million individuals and directed nearly $4 billion in economic activity into disenfranchised areas. The organization focuses on improving credit scores, facilitating homeownership, and supporting Black entrepreneurs through various initiatives.

Numerous U.S. presidents have recognized Bryant’s work. He has received several prestigious awards, including the Le...

Step into the digital arena with John Cavanaugh, a renowned digital privacy and safety expert, on this episode of "Encrypting Freedom." Uncover the hidden pitfalls in your digital practices and learn how to fortify your data against the encroaching eyes of AI technologies. John doesn't just outline the problems; he arms you with robust, actionable strategies to take control of your digital identity.

This episode isn't just about listening—it's about engaging. Discover resources, communities, and tools that will empower you to join the vanguard of digital defenders. "Encrypting Freedom: AI & The Data Battle" isn't just a co...

Join Rob Richardson on this episode of Disruption Now as he sits down with Adam Kahn, Chief Creative Director at Grey Midwest, for a riveting discussion on artificial intelligence and its impact on the creative world. Together, they unpack whether AI is a looming threat or a transformative catalyst for creators.

In this episode:

Discover the Revolutionary Tools: Learn about the innovative AI technologies that are reshaping creativity, from automating mundane tasks to opening up new avenues for artistic expression.

Explore the Ethical Frontier: Adam Kahn sheds light on the ethical dilemmas and...

In this episode of "Disruption Now," I interview entrepreneur Pete Blackshaw, who shares his pioneering journey of using AI to protect brands. Blackshaw discusses how artificial intelligence is revolutionizing the industry, providing a glimpse into the future and practical insights on how businesses can harness this technology for brand protection. He highlights the necessity for companies to adapt and the transformative potential of AI in managing brand integrity. This episode is essential listening for business leaders and marketers keen to effectively navigate the intersection of AI and brand management.

John Johnson is the founder of a small studio. He works with Niantic Labs, which brought us Pokemon Go. Learn how he launched a multi-million dollar design studio and shifted his career from architect to entrepreneur. We also delve into his recent scare with cancer and how it has shaped his perspective as a father and business owner. 

Things to Learn: 

- How faith guides his entrepreneurial experience 

- How to deal with the struggle of entrepreneurship 

- How cancer gave him a new perspective. 

Should we ban TikTok? Is it really as dangerous as some say, or is it just a strawman argument to distract us? 
Listen to our discussion. Let's hear from James Keys and Tunde Ogunlana.

Group Black is dramatically transforming the face of media ownership and investment. Kerel Cooper is President of Advertising at Group Black, where he leads Group Black's revenue operations, revenue strategy and planning, and insights teams.

What You Will Learn

Why Black Creators are underpaid for the value they bring

Why equitable distribution of Advertising Dollars matters

How to Thrive as a Black Corporate Leader

ABOUT Kerel Cooper

Kerel Cooper is President of Advertising at Group Black, where he...

Joshua Ogundu is an advocate of equity, as he believes that it starts with everyone. The common belief that most successful startup founders began their journey from poverty and worked their way up to the top creates unrealistic expectations and makes true equity harder to achieve. Joshua Ogundu explains why this narrative needs to stop and suggests ways to launch a venture capital-backed company, even if you don't have a head start.

What You Will Learn

How you can get outside of your bubble and innovate

Why Silicon Valley embraces the poverty narrative 

"THE WORLD IS CHANGING FAST, but it doesn't have to be scary." Iliana Oris Valiente (IOV) is an optimist for the future of tech and society. IOV wants to encourage humans to live happy, healthy, and purposefully designed lives in a world of endless possibilities. She believes the key is to embrace the ever-shifting technological trends and chaos, actively shape the future, and thrive together. #disruptionow #digitalnomad #globaltrends

What You Will Learn

Current Global Trends in Tech

The Future of Digital Nomads

How to Succeed as a Woman...

Kalista Zackhariyas isn't just envisioning a social media future centered on genuine human interactions – she's crafting it. As the dynamic CEO of SparkSeeker, she's pioneering the way.

Learn more at https://sparkseeker.com/

Meet Aswad Thomas, the indomitable Alliance for Safety and Justice Vice President. Once on the cusp of a glittering professional basketball career, a devastating gunshot wound forever altered his destiny. Yet, the injustice didn't end there. In his darkest hour, he was wrongfully labeled a criminal by the system that should have protected him. His is a tale of survival, rebirth, resilience, and redemption.

Today, Aswad stands tall, channeling his experiences and passion into transformative change. He's on a relentless mission: to overhaul a flawed system, ensuring no one else suffers the way he did.

...

As innovations surge forward, so do the questions about A.I.'s inner workings. Our guest on Disruption Now is Javier Viaña Pérez, the co-founder of Rezon.ai and a Postdoctoral Associate at the MIT Kavli Institute of Astrophysics and Space Research. His Ph.D. research revolved around the conception of novel transparent algorithms that provide accurate predictions and human-understandable justifications of the results.Reason.ai primarily focuses on comprehending the decision-making process of AI systems, providing the much-needed transparency that is currently lacking.

For enthusiasts, skeptics, and everyone in between, this is your gateway to...

In 2020, over 2 million people were employed by the justice system, with an annual expenditure of a staggering 300 billion dollars in the United States alone. But what has all this investment achieved for victims of crimes? Our guest, Lenore Anderson, is co-founder of the Alliance For Safety and Justice and author of the eye-opening book, "In Their Names: The Untold Story of Mass Incarceration and Victims' Rights."

What You will learn

How the militarization of local policing destroys trust and safety 

How media narratives shape public perception and policy

H...

Cessiah Lopez is an Affiliate of the Minderoo Centre for Technology and Democracy.

She is a serial entrepreneur & web3 degen with proven experiences in growing small businesses & creating digital products that elevate self-improvement.

Holding an LLM from the University of East Anglia, her thesis focused on the applicability of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) to modern e-commerce. She has since worked as an Operations and Strategist for crypto and web3-based projects and is a recent ex-Founder at Entrepreneur First.

She has a broad range...

Diamond Doll is a highly skilled leader who excels at problem-solving and generating effective solutions. Her experience at Microsoft and Juul Labs demonstrates her commitment to diversity, inclusivity, and social responsibility in the workplace. As the founder of NFT CLT, she has taken her expertise and passion for Web3 education and onboarding to the next level, advising organizations on their transition to this exciting new field. She is a trusted community builder who plans educational events and conferences, hosts Twitter spaces, and moderates panels across the country. Her impressive educational background includes a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the...

Larry Brinker Jr. is an award-winning entrepreneur, impact investor, and mentor. He serves as Chief Executive Officer and President of Brinker, a group of family-owned and operated commercial construction service companies responsible for over $4 billion in construction projects, which plays a critical role in the transformation and revitalization of Detroit. He also serves as the CEO of the Brinker Family Asset Management Company. Before being named Chief Executive Officer and tasked with leading the executive team and driving the future progress of the Brinker portfolio of construction services companies, Larry Brinker Jr. served as President of Brinker and played...

Mark is the CEO, co-founder, and chairman of Direct Digital Holdings, a Houston-based and founded adtech company that brings state-of-the-art buy-side and sell-side advertising platforms for clients (specializing in middle-sized markets) under one umbrella. Mark can speak to Direct Digital Holdings’ (DDH) success story and how he and the company are disrupting the adtech industry for companies in these markets, and how DDH is pioneering the space as a smaller but fast-growing player that also focuses on serving under-represented constituencies (gender, race, sexual orientation) and those often overlooked or marginalized in the ad space. Additionally, DDH is seeing record growth de...

Tyra joined the Ohio Justice & Policy Center team as a paralegal in Jan. 2018. After several months of successful outreach on OJPC’s behalf, Tyra’s role adapted to better describe her gifts and passion: She became OJPC’s first Community Outreach Strategy Specialist.

Before joining OJPC, Tyra spent 23 years incarcerated for murder and robbery, crimes she did not commit.

Tyra used her time in prison constructively to educate herself.  A sixth grade dropout, Tyra eventually earn her GED, obtained a steam engineer’s license, became a certified tutor and completed a paralegal training program.

On Chri...

Dr. Topeka K. Sam spent time in federal prison and, upon her release, vowed to fight on behalf of the women she left behind. Topeka founded The Ladies of Hope Ministries, whose EPIC Vision is to End Poverty and Incarceration of women and girls globally. She was among the first to publicly highlight Ms. Alice Marie Johnson’s story and fight for her freedom, first during the Obama Administration’s historic clemency effort and then again during the Trump Administration’s tenure. President Trump commuted Ms. Alice’s sentence in 2018. Erin Haney, Policy Director at REFORM Alliance and Senior Counsel...

MNTN (pronounced Mountain) built the first-of-its-kind, self-serve software for buying connected TV that puts performance first. The MNTN platform makes it easy for brands to buy connected TV ads across the top 150 streaming networks like Discovery+, ESPN, CNN, Hulu, PlutoTV and more. Intuitive Self-Service Platform: MNTN’s platform makes it easy to buy, manage, optimize and measure your CTV campaigns. Simply select your target, input your KPI goals, upload your creative and watch our AI-driven automated technology deliver unprecedented results in real time. Premium Inventory: MNTN gives brands access to premium inventory across the top 150 streaming networks like Discovery+, CN...

Darnell Smith is a CPG and alcohol industry veteran and cannabis entrepreneur, innovator and advocate. Smith is the founder and CEO of MXXN, a non-alcoholic, cannabis-infused spirits brand that is evolving today’s cocktail culture and disrupting the alcohol and cannabis industry. MXXN is the first product launch of MOJO Ventures, which is part of the digital + creative consultancy MOJO he founded that has done extensive work for Procter & Gamble Ventures, Barcardi’s Incubation group, Pepsico and more.  Prior to founding MXXN and MOJO, Smith was a senior digital transformation lead at Infosys Consulting working with the likes of Adida...

Mirthell, is the Founder and CEO of the Onyx brand. For years, he worked as a pastor and marriage & family therapist, but it was his dream to one day work with his family. One day in 2015, he took the giant leap and quit his job; he never looked back since. Now, the family has a multi-million dollar enterprise, which includes a YouTube Original talk show, Onyx Family Dinner (featuring guests such as Jemele Hill and Emmanuel Acho), an animates series, Onyx Monster Mysteries (which has been distributed to platforms such as Peacock and Apple TV), books, a health & fitness...

Also, the host of the hit podcast, Wrongful Conviction features interviews with men and women who have spent decades in prison for crimes they did not commit, some even sentenced to death. He started his journey to fight the system's injustice last 1993 when he helped a young kid win his case for a non-violence first offense cocaine possession charge for which he served 15 years to life. He also shared statistics that listeners will be shocked that the United States incarcerates black people at six times South African rate per capita during a partile. Jason Flom believes that we should...

Steve is president, special counsel to the CEO of Comcast Cable. He works with executives on a number of important initiatives, including leadership development, strategic planning, diversity, equality, and inclusion, and digital equality. He has enjoyed many affiliations, including his recent board service with Hormel Foods, Shaw Communications, and W.W. Grainger. Steve is active in the academic arena at the University of Denver and serves on the board of New Leaders, which focuses on the leadership development of public school principals. He’s a member of Delta Boule’ and the Executive Leadership Council. Before Comcast, he worked in some...

Laws criminalizing HIV must be changed to Cathcart up to facts and science.

What you will learn:

 Isoul Harris is the Editor and Chief of EDTION. Edition’s mission to uplift and amplify Black creatives across industries. Isoul brings a vast array of expertise in the space – from serving as a multimedia content producer, to fulfilling award-winning journalist roles in which he was able to tell powerful stories disrupting cultural narrative. Prior to joining EDITION, Isoul served as the editor-in-chief at UPTOWN, where furthered the national magazine’s mission profiling affluent African American life in partnership with the world’s leading celebrities, philanthropists, creatives, futurists across industries throughout the diaspora. Isoul also served as Deputy Editor of exclusive...

Kern Alexander is a veteran turned business mogul. Learn about his  unexpected Cannabis journey and how his passion for helping veterans lead to a multi million dollar business. US Military Veteran Kern Alexander discusses how he founded and scaled The Higher Collection, an Oakland-based cannabis distribution and delivery company.  

As Founder and Managing Member of Genesis Companies, Karim oversees the firm and it’s strategic direction. Karim enjoys focusing on forging new partnerships and pushing innovation in our operations and investment approach. Karim’s experience as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs and a private equity investor at General Atlantic Partners, allowed Karim to develop the investment acumen he now devotes to Genesis’ financial strategies.

Karim holds several advisory seats in local organizations, including his roles as Trustee of the Randall’s Island Park Alliance and a Member of the Reform L...

Alexys Feaster is the Founder and CEO of The Kinship Advisors, a strategic

advisory company launched in January 2021, focused on creating alliances within

the sports, entertainment, and other industries, who are committed to personal

development, social justice, strategic business expansion and sustaining impact in

underserved communities.

The Kinship Advisors provides intentional collaboration to close the gaps with

culturally connected business and brand strategy, innovative program

development and philanthropic support, creating lasting social and personal

impact. In addition to managing the $5.3...

Phaedra Ellis Lamkins is the CEO of Promise, a payment technology platform that simplifies how people manage government payments like utilities, child support, parking tickets and more by offering customizable plans and providing digital payment options. The organization has secured funding from a wide array of investors including Roc Nation, Starbucks, Bumble, Kapor Capital, XYZ, First Round, and many more. Promise secured 20 million dollars in its Series A collectively raising  50 million dollars overall which is one of the largest funding rounds for a Black, women-led startup with investors like Kapor Capital, Bronze, First Round, and Y Combinator.

Nick Hamilton, founder of Nitecast Media, as a guest speaker for your podcast Disruption Now!

Nick Hamilton is the founder of Nitecast Media and a single father raising a young autistic son. He is an expert in balancing work and parenting, especially in maintaining a strong bond with your child. Nick founded Nitecast Media during the pandemic and has been in the journalism industry for over 10 years. 

He has all the tips on how to build your business during the pandemic and staying in touch with current Entertainment demands. Nick's dedication in empowering BIP...

Changing the narratives of what our kids learn is not only disruptive, but it's a long overdue change.   On top of that, changing the system to adapt to the individual needs of kids is the way to guarantee that future generations can move forward.   Ryan MacDonald and Rebecca Wolfe are working hard to change how things are being done for the better.