Emily Steele interviews Umaimah Sharwani, founder of Paro, a food brand specializing in South Asian flavors. Umaimah shares her journey of creating Paro out of homesickness for her mother's cooking and her experience scaling digitally native brands. We cover various aspects of building a food brand, including the importance of being retail-ready.

Emily Steele interviews Leslie Bailey, co-founder and CEO of Indy Maven and Maven Space. Leslie shares her entrepreneurial journey, discussing the challenges and rewards of starting both a digital media brand and a coworking space. We dive into the importance of finding community and support outside one's immediate circle and being willing to make mistakes and pivot when necessary.

Emily Steele interviews Alisha Espey, the Program & Events Director at the Downtown Davenport Partnership. We dove into one of the area’s biggest festivals, Alternating Currents and all the details that go into drawing big crowds and executing on powerful partnerships across the city. Alisha discusses how she and her team create awareness and leverage local expertise for community-driven events.

Emily Steele chats with Casey Harrison, CEO and founder of Polished Strategic Communications located in Indianapolis, Indiana. Casey shares her journey to founding her own communications agency and touches on the incredible clients she’s gotten a chance to work with like Women's Equity Brunch, Central Indiana Corporate Partnership, Business Equity for Indy and Indy Crew.

Emily Steele chats with Erica Jacobs, the marketing director at Nightingale, a thriving ice cream sandwich company based in Richmond, Virginia, with a growing national presence. They delve deep into the unique aspects of marketing a frozen product with seasonal fluctuations and explore the innovative partnerships Nightingale has forged with influencers and other brands.

In this week’s Local Marketing School episode, Emily Steele interviews Jennifer Magley, a dynamic speaker, author, and Chief Brand Officer at The Basketball League and Basketball Super League. Jennifer shares insights from her experiences as an emcee and host, emphasizing the value of surprising and delighting audiences.

Emily chats with Kelly Bennett, brand strategist and advisor at With Kelly Bennett and host of the Emerging Brands Podcast. Kelly Bennett is a brand strategist and advisor launching CPG food & beverage brands. We chat through ways to position your brand for success in terms of packaging and branding as well as how to prioritize storytelling and the purpose when marketing your brand.

In this week's discussion, Emily chats with Brandon Puszkiewicz, a program manager for the Indiana Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and Scott Soltys-Curry, creator of the Indianapolis Coffee Guide. Brandon and Scott share insights on the power of community, the importance of being connected to your collaboration, and how small ideas can lead to large-scale positive change.

In this week's discussion, Emily chats with Sara Croft, the Co-Founder and CEO of Five Four, a growth agency for early-stage founders and founder-led businesses. Sara offers insights on experimentation, community-led growth, and preparing clients for fundraising, product launches, and revenue growth.

In this week's discussion, Emily chats with Jessyca Dewey, the founder of The Y Collective, a social-first digital marketing agency working with CPG better for you brands. She discusses her journey from working in-house at brands like Califia Farms and VaynerMedia to starting her own agency, emphasizing the importance of integrated marketing approaches for smaller brands.

In this week's discussion, Emily chats with Rachel Greiner, the marketing and social media manager at Experience Grand Rapids. She discusses the Brewsader app, which highlights the city's breweries and encourages people to visit them all, and the Flights of Flavor program, which showcases food and drink flights at local establishments.

In this week's discussion, Emily chats with Jarrhod ‘Rod’ Johnson, Co-Founder & Chief Values Officer at BLK & Bold, the specialty coffee and tea company that prioritizes domestic social impact. Rod joins Emily to share insights into the journey of creating a coffee company from scratch, highlighting the challenges and triumphs of scaling from Shopify to securing distribution in national retailers.

In this week's discussion, Emily chats with Katie Olthoff, co-founder at ChopLocal, an online meat marketplace connecting customers with independent farmers and butcher shops all over the country! Katie joins Emily to discuss topics like search engine optimization, social proof, email marketing and more!

In this week's discussion, Emily chats with Amanda Dare, founder and owner of Louisville-based, Woman-Owned Wallet and WOW Factor Collective. She joins Emily to discuss the challenges faced by women in business and the impact of supporting women-owned businesses in the local economy. They also touch on staying true to yourself, the power of curiosity, intentional marketing, and more!

In this week's discussion, Emily chats with Katie Kardell, Marketing and Sales Director at Century Farms Distillery. Katie joins Emily to discuss the distillery's approach to promoting their bourbon, including their corn-to-whiskey program, trade shows, dabbling in digital marketing, and unique influencer marketing tactics.

In this week's discussion, Emily chats with Hannah Kirkpatrick, Social Media Manager at Fareway Stores Inc., a Midwest grocer with 139 stores across seven states. Hannah dives into local marketing strategies and the power of influencer marketing. Discover how Fareway utilizes store-specific content and collaborates with micro-influencers to create engaging campaigns.

In this week's discussion, Emily chats with Lucy Dana, CEO & Co-Founder of One Trick Pony, a delicious peanut butter brand made from Argentinian peanuts and Patagonian sea salt. Lucy walks us through the intricacies of sourcing peanuts, standing up an ecommerce arm and securing retailers across the country.

In this week's discussion, Emily delves into the journey of OLIPOP with Steven Vigilante, the brand's Director of Growth and Partnerships. This episode offers a rare glimpse into the marketing playbook of the better-for-you soda brand, revealing the strategic moves that are propelling OLIPOP to the forefront of the beverage industry.

Catherine Baxter is the CEO and founder of Nettie, well known for their products tailored to pickleball lovers. She shares her experience building a pickleball based brand, the power of leveraging your local community and how key collaborations that align with your values can exponentially impact your growth.

This week, Emily chats with Nola Morris, Chief Marketing Officer of Thelma’s Treats. Nola has 20 years of experience across multiple industry verticals including financial services, tech, fashion, and consumer packaged goods. In this episode, Nola discusses her responsibilities as CMO, the tactics used to reach new customers and generate sales, and maintaining authenticity as a brand while growing rapidly!