Alex Maier is a husband and a father to 2 boys. He’s a singer-songwriter, producer, trumpet and guitar player, AND in the coming months, after years of planning and pining to do so, Alex and his family will find themselves moving from his native Chicago, Illinois to Nashville, Tennessee to pursue a full-time career in music. Alex is a well-known fashion
Bo Nelson is the co-owner of Thou Mayest Coffee Roasters in Kansas City. In his cafes, Bo seamlessly blends rural and urban life, a reflection he says of the city he serves. Bo grew up on a farm, working his family’s 10-acre nursery where he honed his horticultural skills, learned the basics of business and developed a healthy work ethic
Ana Andjelic is a strategy executive and the author of The Business of Aspiration. Forbes lists her among The World’s Most Influential CMOs. She specializes in — building brand-driven modern businesses. Ana earned her doctorate in sociology and worked at many of the world’s top brands and advertising agencies. She is a widely read columnist, an in-demand speaker and a
As this is the week of Thanksgiving, and as I am a week away from entering my fourth decade on earth, I’m overcome with reflection, contemplating what has comprised my life, and my wife has been quick to point out, I’m going through a very typical midlife crisis in an otherwise atypical time, a time in which our collective human
This week it’s my pleasure to welcome onto the Know First Podcast a couple of friends who just announced their engagement. Seattle native Stacey Rozich and Milwaukee native Sam Macon now reside in Los Angeles, California with their two cats. Stacey is an artist, illustrator and accidental muralist. Sam is a writer and director of various motion picture projects across
Paul Munford is the founder of Lean Luxe, a newsletter for the modern luxury business set, sharing noteworthy developments happening in retail. Launched in July 2016, Lean Luxe is a big picture briefing on the businesses, personalities, and broader trends driving modern luxury and the HENRY (High Earner Not Rich Yet) economy.
Jessica Murnane is a creative consultant, the founder of Know Your Endo, and the author of the One Part Plant cookbook. Her next book, Know Your Endo: An Empowering Guide To Health + Hope With Endometriosis will be released this coming April.
My wife Marla Wastler is a twenty year veteran of the publishing industry, working as a sales director for titles like Cosmopolitan, Food & Wine and Domino Magazine. Earlier this month, she made a serious career pivot going to work for an experiential marketing agency and fabricator called Star, builders of branded environments that enhance in-person and virtual experiences through
Ernest Wilkins is a writer and media entrepreneur whose work has appeared in publications like the Chicago Tribune, Complex, GQ, Pitchfork and Rolling Stone. Find his work and subscribe to his popular daily email newsletter, Office Hours, and be on the lookout for his new project Gameday Grails.
Sarah Shelton is a community activist based in St. Louis, Missouri. She’s the founder of Girl Louie, a creative storytelling organization whose mission is to help women claim their spaces, define their voices, and help them grow their businesses. She focuses on providing a platform for women to learn, grow and support one another.
Ryan Martin is the owner of denim label, W.H. Ranch Dungarees. A 2004 graduate of the Apparel and Textile Design program at Kansas State University, Ryan’s training prepared him to make the finest pair of couture jeans on the market. Various publications have called W.H. Ranch one of the best denim labels in the world. After years of methodically building
Lauren Yates is the designer and creative director of W'menswear, an independent brand for hard-hitting women. You may also know her from her blog Ponytail Journal, from her excellent cooking videos on Youtube, her podcast, The Ponytail Show, and from her time writing for Vogue Australia.
Lauren and Josh Block live in Fort Worth, Texas with their 4-&-1/2-year-old daughter. Lauren is the founder and owner of Hey Gang!, a kids (and now adults!) clothing brand. She cut her teeth at Austin boutiques The Royal Family and bows + arrows and after that she built Shinola’s wholesale business. Josh is a musician and studio owner. He’s produced
My 9yo step-daughter lives in St. Louis, Missouri with me, her mother, her sister and her cat. When she's not remote learning because of COVID-19, you can find her playing lacrosse, basketball or boxing. She loves to binge watch Charmed, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Scooby Doo, Who's the Boss? and The Golden Girls all while making creations with her beloved
Jorge Suquet is an actor based in Madrid, Spain. We trained together at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City. It was there that we became friends, and we have remained close friends for the past sixteen years. You’ll learn a little bit about the path Jorge has taken since our lives took us away from New York City. I
A 20 year employee of Patagonia, Kourtney Morgan is the senior designer on Patagonia’s sportswear team designing all things fleece. She is also the creative director for Recrafted, a Patagonia project begun in collaboration with the company’s Worn Wear project first developed to act as a set of tools to help customers take the position of mutual responsibility… extending the
A. Micah Smith is an Art Director in Kansas City who specializes in illustration, campaigns & brand design. His goal for every one of his projects is to make his audience smile. He believes humor and happiness are the keys to scaling the walls of doubt or distrust and ultimately they are essential in bringing people and new ideas together. He began
“And We’re Back!” Call it a comeback. Know First is a podcast filled with stories and conversations that will connect you with the simple fact that the only way to succeed is to try and try again. Weekly conversations with thought-leaders who’ve faced challenges and lived to tell the tale. It’s all designed to inspire and re-energize the drive innate in all of us.