Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 40:20 — 55.4MB)

Subscribe: RSS | More

It is rare to find a business these days without a significant web presence. Whether you’re in banking, or health care, or selling pants — you’re online. But most websites now do more than inform customers about products; they’re interactive at multiple levels… which means your company either has to have an IT department to keep up, or hire one.

Dualboot Partners has the ability to “start small and scale up fast” for a company’s tech needs. And the founding partners also have a commitment to the community with the work they do for a number of nonprofits in the area.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:07 — 38.7MB)

Subscribe: RSS | More

Everyone loves firefighters — they do only good. They arrive when you call 911, they help with life-threatening emergencies, they even run into burning buildings to put out fires and rescue people. So it seems like a special bit of irony that our next guest on the BrandBuilders Podcast is a firefighter who USES fire in his “other” line of work, to make cool, artistic furniture.

Ferney Mercado spends fire department shifts — 24 hours, every 3 days for the most part — responding to emergencies. The other days he practices an ancient Japanese technique that uses fire to char wood, that gives his pieces special appeal. If you check out his Instagram at Char’D Urban wood works, you’ll see what we mean. And he’s here to tell us how he makes it happen.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 36:58 — 50.8MB)

Subscribe: RSS | More

We loved him on the gridiron, and we loved him off the field too. Greg Olsen not only excelled as a tight end for the Carolina Panthers — with 3, 1000-yard seasons in a row, and more than 8,600 yards for a career (WOW) — but as a community philanthropist, which led to being a 2-time finalist for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award from the NFL. He even took first place in the Charity Challenge for most votes on social media one of those years.

Olsen’s HEARTest Yard foundation helps families of children with heart defects get the nursing care they need. This year, the nonprofit donated $2.5 million dollars to create the HEARTest Yard Pediatric Cardiac Care Clinic at Levine Children’s Hospital. We are honored to have Greg Olsen here with us on the BrandBuilders Podcast today.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 33:27 — 46.0MB)

Subscribe: RSS | More

Spring is in the air and you’re probably thinking about your yard. Maybe you want to grow your own food, or have cut flowers all summer. But how do you know what to plant where, and how to make it grow?

Flower Child Heirlooms nurtures gardeners and educates them on the importance of growing in a respectful manner. Founder Lauren Child is here to talk gardening – and how she can help with yours. Welcome, Lauren!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 32:26 — 44.6MB)

Subscribe: RSS | More

“Heart kids” are a special group — kids born with heart defects who just want to do the same fun things other kids do, like going to camp. Often, that’s not possible because of medical limitations — but in Charlotte, they’re in “LUCK.” In this case, LUCK stands for Lucky Unlimited Cardiac Kids, who have the opportunity to attend a one-week camp just for them, called Camp LUCK. The camp is a free, medically supervised, sleepover camp where “heart kids” can do traditional camp things like swimming, games, archery, canoeing, and campfires .. while building friendships and self-esteem with other kids like them.

It’s a great time, and always free — which means they have to raise money all year to make it happen. Our guests on the BrandBuilders Podcast today are here to tell us about one of their biggest events, that’s a fun scenic tour of your favorite bike routes. Welcome Kim Jackson and Bryon Mulligan — both parents of heart kids — to talk about Bike LUCK.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 33:25 — 45.9MB)

Subscribe: RSS | More

Branding and design are important elements in getting your message across as a business, but are you doing that in a sustainable way? Our guest today on the BrandBuilders Podcast can perform the soup-to-nuts of your branding, packaging, and print in a socially conscious way. After all, why not leave the world a little better than you found it?

Rachel Martin is the founder and design director at Mindful & Good — Sustainable Design that Ignites Positive Change. Wow – we want to hear more about what this is.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 38:58 — 53.6MB)

Subscribe: RSS | More

Returning to the office should feel like working from home — except maybe cleaner and less noisy. In other words, your workplace should feel comfortable, approachable, and productive. It should reflect the company brand, your professional values, and how you feel about the work you do.

That’s a tall order for a designer or architect, but also a mission for today’s guest on the BrandBuilder Podcast. Jack Ossa is the founder of Ossa Studio, an architecture and design firm in Charlotte, that cares as much about you, your style, and your branding as he does about the buildings he designs.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 35:47 — 49.2MB)

Subscribe: RSS | More

Our next guest on the BrandBuilders Podcast wears a lot of hats. We mean that literally — David Shaffer started as a Junior Golfer in the American Junior Golf Association, then became a collegiate golfer at Northwestern University. From there, he joined the business world … using his talents and love of his sport to sell apparel used in the game.

Now, literally — as we said — he ‘wears a lot of hats’ as the Vice President of Sales and Marketing of Imperial, the premier company for golf hats in the U.S. The company is more than 100 years old and if you’ve been to a golf pro shop, you’ve probably seen them there. And you’re going to see them in more than golf, too — and David joins us now to tell us all about it!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 41:30 — 57.0MB)

Subscribe: RSS | More

These days of staying home A LOT have led a lot of us to feel — well, less put-together on a daily basis than we used to. But ladies, I know the desire is still there to dress up with just the right touch of casual-yet-elegant. Your jewelry is one way to make that happen, amiright?

Our next guest on the BrandBuilders Podcast knows how you feel. Erin McDermott designs and creates beautiful handmade pieces to make your outfit — casual or business — feel complete.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 34:49 — 47.9MB)

Subscribe: RSS | More

“Office Space” is more than just a movie… it’s a place where we work, or now in a lot of cases, USED to work and would like to someday work again… Soon! COVID has changed our idea of a workspace — both at home and at the office — as companies adapt to keeping people safe.

One company that specializes in great interior spaces has its sight on helping people return to offices safely. Alfred Williams is taking its design know-how to a new level with enhanced social distance design for workspace and collaborative-space office designs. Amber Brown is regional president for Alfred Williams and is bringing her insights to the BrandBuilders Podcast today.