It’s hard enough for American entrepreneurs to launch a new business and gain traction with American consumers.

Doing it from Istanbul, Turkey, primarily in Turkish, as Rasim Cin is doing, complicates the task exponentially.

Rasim is the visionary behind Woppy, a new subscription game-box company that aims to teach kindergarten-age kids STEM skills, without using digital technology. Woppy was recently a participant in the WSJ Tech Live global conference held in Laguna Beach, where Rasim and his team generated a great deal of positive buzz from the world’s high-tech whizzes.

Joining host Dean Rotbart for a discussion of the obstacles Woppy faces, and what other businesses can learn about working internationally, is Mel Ayan, an early-stage investor in Woppy.

Photo: Rasim Cin, Woppy
Posted: November 4, 2019
Monday Morning Run Time: 54 minutes, 25 seconds

Bert and Tracy Gervis are two successful California entrepreneurs and philanthropic superheroes who own and operate one of the nation’s fastest growing pet food companies.

Their proprietary Gentle Giants Dog and Puppy Foods is helping canines to live twice, even three times longer than average, with many dogs behaving like puppies well into their twenties.

No wonder their wholesome dog food is flying off the shelves of Walmart Supercenters and hundreds of major supermarket outlets nationwide, not to mention on Chewy.com and Petsmart.com.

Bert and Tracy not only don’t take a salary, since 1994, they’ve personally cared for more than 15,000 rescue dogs in their home.

If that’s not impressive enough, this week, on a special “What’s My Small Business Secret” edition of Monday Morning Radio, both Bert and Tracy reveal to host Dean Rotbart their separate background stories that make their accomplishments all the more extraordinary. 

[Spoiler Alert: If you just can’t wait to know Bert and Tracy’s secret, skip ahead in the podcast to 35 minutes and 50 seconds, and all will be revealed.]

Photo: Bert John Gervis, Jr. - Gentle Giants Dog & Puppy Foods
Posted: October 28, 2019
Monday Morning Run Time: 1 Hour 8 Minutes

On paper, at least, Creature Coffee looks like a bad idea.

Founded two years back by Michael Craig, a barista, it is aiming to carve a niche for itself in the crowded and competitive coffee marketplace. To make the task all the more difficult, Creature Coffee is spreading itself between three sales channels: walk-in retailing, online sales, and pop-up coffee bars.

But Michael – like the best entrepreneurs – believes in himself, believes in his concept, and does not believe all the naysayers.

When he launched Creature Coffee, Michael began with a budget of $1,000 – all that he could scrape together at the time.

Today, the success of Creature Coffee is evident, from the non-stop flow of fans into his retail outlet – located in a gentrifying neighborhood of Austin, to the corporate clients he’s attracting, including IBM, American Express, Mercedes Benz, Hitachi, Deloitte, and Dell.

Earlier this month, Monday Morning Radio host and award-winning journalist Dean Rotbart paid a visit to Creature Coffee and shares both good conversation, and a satisfying cup of Columbian expresso, with Michael Craig. 

You can purchase up to 200 varieties of coffee from Creature Coffee online at www.CreatureCoffee.co.  As always, the plug for this week’s guest comes gratis. Monday Morning Radio never charges its guests to be on the podcasts or accepts payments in kind.

Photo: Michael Craig, Creature Coffee
Posted: October 21, 2019
Monday Morning Run Time: 41 minutes 40 seconds

Last week, more than 45 international companies competed in the annual Global Bottled Water Awards competition, presented in Dubai.

Water is big business, with more people in the U.S. drinking bottled water than soft drinks, and new packaged-water entrants continuing to flood the market.

Duane Stanford, executive editor of Beverage Digest, was one of the judges for this year’s water competition, and he joins host and award-winning journalist Dean Rotbart to talk about the innovators and entrepreneurs who are making a big splash in the water industry, and the rip currents they face.

Photo: Duane Stanford, Beverage Digest
Posted: October 14, 2019
Monday Morning Run Time: 39 minutes and 57 seconds

On a special edition of Monday Morning Radio, Alan Murray, president and CEO of FORTUNE magazine, shares the business and journalism insights that he’s gleaned during the course of his 40-plus year career.

In particular, Alan talks about how FORTUNE, under his leadership and new ownership, is positioning itself to be the preeminent global business media brand. Take notes. Because the strategy that Alan describes can just as effectively be utilized by any business – large or small – that seeks to propel itself to the forefront of its industry or business niche.

“Business success today has much more to do with inspiration, with being able to give people a purpose and direction, not so much direct orders,” Alan tells host Dean Rotbart, himself an award-winning journalist. “Business leaders have to be able to see into the future and see around corners in ways that it just wasn't nearly as necessary ten years ago.”

Today’s FORTUNE, Alan explains, is no longer merely a chronicler of the world’s top companies and executives. Rather, Alan and his team are dedicated to providing their readers and attendees the content and connections they need “to help them drive toward business success.”

“What can we do to make business better?” is the question that Alan says guides FORTUNE’s content and event strategy under his leadership. “I want people to look at FORTUNE and say this magazine is going to help me navigate the future.”

Photo: Alan Murray, FORTUNE
Posted: October 7, 2019
Monday Morning Run Time: 41 minutes 52 seconds

In this one-minute preview of next week's podcast, featuring Fortune Magazine CEO Alan Murray, he explains how Fortune selects it covers and who get to grace them.

Alan is interviewed by host and award-winning journalist Dean Rotbart.

You can stream of download the full interview on Monday, October 7, 2019 from MondayMorningRadio.com.

You can also subscribe to every episode of Monday Morning Radio for free from the iTunes store: http://tinyurl.com/mmr-iTunes.

In this one-minute preview of next week's podcast, featuring Fortune Magazine CEO Alan Murray, he describes the ingredients of building a preeminent brand.

Alan is interviewed by host and award-winning journalist Dean Rotbart.

You can stream of download the full interview on Monday, October 7, 2019 from MondayMorningRadio.com.

You can also subscribe to every episode of Monday Morning Radio for free from the iTunes store: http://tinyurl.com/mmr-iTunes.

Everyone knows the unprecedented journey that propelled Jeff Bezos from the owner of a tiny online bookstore that he launched in July 1994, to the head of Amazon, the fastest company ever to surpass $100 billion in annual sales; making him the richest man in the world.

What few people know are the 14 principles that Bezos followed to accomplish the unimaginable feat. In The Bezos Letters, author Steve Anderson dissects the 21 annual letters that the Amazon founder has written to shareholders to glean the essence of Bezos’s business philosophy.

Most amazingly, Anderson tells host and award-winning journalist Dean Rotbart, Bezos is relying on those same 14 principles not only to continue to grow Amazon at a rapid clip, but also, soon, through his privately-owned Blue Origin aerospace company, to revolutionize space travel and manufacturing.

Photo: Steve Anderson, The Bezos Letters
Posted: September 30, 2019
Monday Morning Run Time: 51 minutes and 40 seconds

Exposure in Inc. magazine or its annual Inc. 5000 list of the nation’s fastest growing companies assuredly will bolster the reputations and prospects of any small business.  But what kind of stories are the journalists at Inc. interested in – and is there a backdoor shortcut to landing on the Inc. 5000?

Those are just a few of the questions that host and award-winning journalist Dean Rotbart puts to Inc.’s Editor-in-Chief James Ledbetter on this week’s episode of Monday Morning Radio. James is only too happy to provide an up-close look at how Inc. operates, and what type of stories appeal most to editors and readers alike.

Photo: James Ledbetter, Inc.
Posted: September 23, 2019
Monday Morning Run Time: 47 minutes and 35 seconds

Following a serious ski accident and two failed spinal surgeries, Gina Gardiner had to relearn to walk. Not once, but twice.

The experience led Gina to segue from her role as a school principal in the UK to a motivation coach, helping a large and growing flock of international followers find greater happiness, success, and fulfillment.

From Colchester, England, Gina shares with host and award-winning journalist Dean Rotbart her five secret pathways to “thriving, not simply surviving.” Gina’s mission now, she says, is to help one million people discover their “Genuine Selves” within the next five years.

Photo: Gina Gardiner, Genuinely You
Posted: September 16, 2019
Monday Morning Run Time: 39 minutes 54 seconds