Liftoff Journeys with Jeanniey Walden

In this episode, we explore the evolving landscape of retail technology, the importance of authentic branding, and the inspiring journeys of entrepreneurs and winemakers. Discover insights on AI, marketplace strategies, and the art of wine making from industry experts.Life insurance, retail media, purpose-driven leadership, and Israeli wine all collide in this fast-moving episode of Liftoff, and each guest reveals something you can use right away. If you want smarter financial decisions, sharper retail strategy, or a reminder that great brands are built on relationships and meaning, this episode is packed with takeaways. Jeaniey Walden sits down with the CEO and founder of Elios Life Insurance, who explains why many people buy life insurance at the wrong time, why cost is often misunderstood, and how to think about the right amount of coverage before health changes make it more expensive or even unavailable. He shares the thinking behind Elios, a company built around accessibility and compassion, and why life insurance matters most when the potential impact on a family is greatest.Then, retail expert Christine Russo, host of What Just Happened, breaks down how AI is reshaping retail, why marketplaces like Amazon and Walmart are influencing new revenue models, and why the customer journey looks more like a pinball machine or tornado than a neat funnel. She also explores commerce media, retail media, influencers, and the growing importance of in-person experiences.The conversation shifts with Lana McGil\vray, who reflects on building a career around caring, authenticity, and trust in a business where relationships still matter, even as technology continues to evolve. She also shares a deeply personal upcoming trip to the Vatican with teens from war-torn countries, who will come together to help build a future of peace.Finally, Jeanniey tastes her way through Israeli wines with Itay Lahat, founder, winemaker, and viticulturist behind Lahat Wines, and Orin Bach of Tabor. They discuss how Israel’s unique regions and terroir shape its wines, from restrained Cabernet to complex single-vineyard bottles, and how personal vision and craftsmanship influence every vintage.In this episode, you’ll learn:Why timing matters when choosing life insuranceHow to think about financial protection and coverage needsWhy AI and marketplaces are transforming retailHow brands can navigate a customer journey that is no longer linearWhy authenticity, empathy, and relationships remain essential to leadershipHow purpose can inspire meaningful personal and professional workWhat terroir, altitude, and winemaking philosophy bring to Israeli wineThis episode is perfect for founders, marketers, business leaders, and curious listeners who want practical insight wrapped in a lively, wide-ranging conversation. Whether you’re thinking about financial protection, retail innovation, leadership, or simply want a reason to pour a glass, there’s plenty here to keep you listening.Support the showSubscribe to our YouTube channelWatch the TV show "Liftoff with Jeanniey Walden"Follow us on XFollow us on InstagramTalk to us on FacebookMeet Jeanniey live - see where she will be next.This episode includes AI-generated content.

This conversation made me hungry AND inspired, which honestly is the best combination. James Mazzuto spent 20 years in the corporate world, earned an MBA from Tulane, lectured at universities, ran a nonprofit, launched a solar startup, and was literally about to go to LAW SCHOOL on a chancellor's scholarship at Seton Hall when something completely unexpected happened. He walked into a restaurant to kill time for six months and got hooked. Like hook, line, and sinker hooked.Now he's overseeing three restaurants across New Jersey, Allendale Social, Charlie's Place, and Saku. Alongside partner Daniel Gray and Michelin-star chef Joey Sergentakis. And the way he talks about hospitality, about the trust that goes into something as intimate as sharing a meal, about why you can train someone to make a cocktail but you can't train them to CARE, that hit different. He also calls himself a "recovered MBA" which might be the best self-description I've ever heard on this show.If you've ever wondered whether it's too late to completely pivot your career or whether that thing scratching an itch you didn't know you had might actually be your calling, this one's for you.Support the showSubscribe to our YouTube channelWatch the TV show "Liftoff with Jeanniey Walden"Follow us on XFollow us on InstagramTalk to us on FacebookMeet Jeanniey live - see where she will be next.

This one is personal for me. Over 10 years ago, Stan Rosenberg was my intern, and watching where his career has gone since then honestly makes me so proud. While he was still in HIGH SCHOOL, this guy started a nonprofit called Trip of a Lifetime that has now raised over a million dollars and sent more than 350 students on transformational travel experiences. Since then, he's scaled teams at major companies and now runs his own firm, Storm King Consulting, where he's built a community of over 550 leaders all paying it forward.But what really makes this conversation special is how Stan talks about the things nobody tells you about sales, community, and knowing what you're NOT good at. He's a self-described introvert who people didn't think would last three months in sales, and the way he flipped that into his biggest strength is something every leader needs to hear.If you've ever felt like you have to be the loudest voice in the room to win, this episode is going to change the way you think about that completely.Support the showSubscribe to our YouTube channelWatch the TV show "Liftoff with Jeanniey Walden"Follow us on XFollow us on InstagramTalk to us on FacebookMeet Jeanniey live - see where she will be next.

Alex Bennett started washing dishes at his parents' restaurant at 16, and by 25, he was running the whole place. But then life threw him some curveballs: a divorce, a master's degree he couldn't use at the worst possible time, and a career pivot most people wouldn't see coming. And somehow, all those detours led him to write a historical fiction trilogy about bourbon, pirates, and a Scottish rebellion. Yeah, you read that right.What really got me is how Alex talks about letting life take you where it's going to take you instead of fighting it. He has this incredible way of looking at setbacks not as failures, but as setups for something better. And the story behind how the book came together, including one random conversation with a kid at the bar that made him rewrite an entire manuscript. I won't spoil it, but let's say the details matter more than you think.If you've ever felt stuck between what you planned for your life and where life actually took you, this one is going to hit different. Alex drops some seriously good advice for anyone chasing a dream, starting over, or just trying to figure out their next move. Plus, you're going to learn something about whiskey history that will make you the most interesting person at your next happy hour. Trust me on that one.Listen now and find out how a dishwasher turned bartender turned author figured out that the best stories, in books and in life, come from the chapters you never planned to write.Support the showSubscribe to our YouTube channelWatch the TV show "Liftoff with Jeanniey Walden"Follow us on XFollow us on InstagramTalk to us on FacebookMeet Jeanniey live - see where she will be next.

Sergio Kopelev has one of those journeys that sounds almost unbelievable. He came to the US as a refugee, grew up in real poverty in Brooklyn, got into some serious trouble as a kid, and somehow turned it all around to become a vice president at a multinational consulting firm who's spoken in front of Congress. It’s like a mix of West Side Story meets an episode of The Americans with a bit of Goodfellows and Hijacked all tied together. Yet, it’s 100% REAL, and that's what makes this one SO good.We got into everything from how his family's history shaped his mindset, to the moment law enforcement completely changed his trajectory, to what he's building now, and okay, I have to tell you about this, he's launching a spy school startup called Tradecraft Adventures! It’s where people actually get to live as an undercover operative for four days. Like, WHAT?! I couldn't believe he was sharing all of this, and I didn't want this conversation to end.Sergio owns every single part of his story, including the messy parts that most people would never talk about. At the end of the day, his journey is about figuring it out as you go, and honestly, aren't we all doing that? If you need a reminder that where you started doesn't define where you're headed, this is your episode. Trust me on this one.Grab your copy of my new book, The Trust Threshold, available on Amazon https://www.liftoffcompany.com/the-trust-threshold/Support the showSubscribe to our YouTube channelWatch the TV show "Liftoff with Jeanniey Walden"Follow us on XFollow us on InstagramTalk to us on FacebookMeet Jeanniey live - see where she will be next.

Hopefully you know by now that I didn’t just wrote a book (The Trust Threshold) - but this took me on a journey I never expected. I didnt just write it - I “vibe-Authored” it. And during that process I realized I created the way I lead when I was a little girl (WHAT?!?!)This episode came from sitting down with Vanessa and Keith Bell for an unexpected, unfiltered, no-prep conversation about my own journey. The one that led me to do something I swore I would never do again…write another book.I talk openly about my first book experience years ago, and why I never wanted to write another book. Bu more importantly, it touches on how the journey to write a book through this vibe-authoring process led me on a journey to understand so much more of who I am and give me the insights to create the framework that can now help and power other business, brands and leaders.You will hear so much and meet the great team behind this process. We talk about the early fears.The moment the outline stopped me cold.And the realization that the framework behind my work (authenticity, inspiration, and relatability) didn’t start in my career… it started when I was young and helping my grandma learn to speak after a stroke. This conversation became the missing chapter in my own story. It helped me understand why this podcast exists, why this book needed to be written, and why the AIR Method isn’t just a business framework, it’s a way of navigating life, leadership, and growth.If you’ve ever said:Writing a book sounds cool, but I could never do it, I dare you to not just listen to this podcast, but to try it out. My book is all about helping people go from Stuck to Unstoppable and you deserve that.Oh and P.S. If you are seeing this before 2/23 - enter our giveaway for a free copy of my new book.https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/432368-the-trust-threshold-crossing-the-line-between-stuck-and-unstoppableSupport the showSubscribe to our YouTube channelWatch the TV show "Liftoff with Jeanniey Walden"Follow us on XFollow us on InstagramTalk to us on FacebookMeet Jeanniey live - see where she will be next.

Famous author and great guy, Gareth Russell Dreamt about being the Czar of Russia when he was little. WHAT?!? I wasn’t expecting this conversation to go where it did, and honestly, that’s my favorite kind.In this episode of Liftoff Journeys, I sit down with author and historian Gareth Russell to talk about how he became the writer he is today… and it turns out that journey started much earlier than most people realize. Long before the books, the acclaim, or The Palace, there was a child in Belfast surrounded by Bible stories, family history, old films, and an imagination big enough to dream of becoming the Czar of Russia.Gareth is incredibly authentic about the fact that writing wasn’t just a dream, it was a refuge. A place where things made sense. A necessity before it was ever a career. And in that honesty, there’s something deeply inspiring about realizing that the path doesn’t have to be linear or obvious to be meaningful. This is one of the first conversations we have had where the person knew what they wanted to be when they grew up from such a young age!Because this is Liftoff Journeys, the conversation doesn’t stay in one lane. We move from childhood dreams to modern leadership, from royal history to artificial intelligence, and from the past to the very real questions we’re all asking about the future. Gareth shares why history isn’t something we leave behind, it’s something we repeat, reinterpret, and often fail to listen to.This episode is for anyone who’s ever felt called to something before they had the language for it. For anyone who’s taken a winding path and for anyone who believes that understanding how people become who they are can change how you think about your own journey.P.S. It is SUCH a good conversation that we've already asked Gareth to come back on the show in a month (we heard he is working on a new project) and we want to share the scoop!Support the showSubscribe to our YouTube channelWatch the TV show "Liftoff with Jeanniey Walden"Follow us on XFollow us on InstagramTalk to us on FacebookMeet Jeanniey live - see where she will be next.

Some kids learn how to speak up early.Others learn how to disappear.Scilla Andreen learned how to disappear.Bullied as a child and conditioned to keep her voice small, Scilla grew up believing that staying invisible was safer than being seen. That belief followed her into adulthood until the moment she realized that silence was no longer an option.In this episode of Liftoff Journeys, Jeanniey sits down with Scilla Andreen, CEO & Co-Founder of iNDIEFLIX and Founder of iMPACTFUL, for a conversation that will hit home for anyone who was ever bullied, excluded, or made to feel like they didn’t belong. (That's almost all of us at some point in our lives)Scilla shares how the loneliness she experienced early in life didn’t break her, it shaped her. What started as her love for independent film became a global edutainment movement focused on empathy, mental health, and human connection, reaching schools, corporations, and communities around the world.Together, they talk about what it really takes to build a purpose-driven business when your motivation is deeply personal, the tension between passion and practicality, the courage required to ask for what you’re worth, and the cost of living in a world where technology, isolation, and mental health struggles are colliding faster than we’re willing to admit.This conversation is about what happens after Scilla starts living authentically, inspirationally and in a very relatable way (The AIR Method).It’s a powerful reminder of three things we could all be reminded about:1- Kindness isn’t weakness, it’s leadership.2- Being seen isn’t ego, it’s responsibility.3- Choosing to use your voice can change far more than your own life.This isn't just a journey you need to hear, its one you need to share with someone who needs to hear they matter too. Support the showSubscribe to our YouTube channelWatch the TV show "Liftoff with Jeanniey Walden"Follow us on XFollow us on InstagramTalk to us on FacebookMeet Jeanniey live - see where she will be next.Support the showSubscribe to our YouTube channelWatch the TV show "Liftoff with Jeanniey Walden"Follow us on XFollow us on InstagramTalk to us on FacebookMeet Jeanniey live - see where she will be next.