Archives: Podcasts

We are excited to welcome entrepreneur Kimberly Hardcastle, another icon in our industry, as today’s guest. Kimberly is the Chief Strategist at Freeman and one of the industry's most respected leaders in event marketing and strategy.  Kimberly is a speaker, a writer for the PCMA Convention, and a leader recognized by IAEE with the Educator of the Year and Woman of Achievement awards. Stay tuned for Kimberly’s practical insights on leadership, personalization, trust, AI, and the direction the meetings and events industry is headed. Kimberly's Journey Kimberly originally studied Spanish with an emphasis in business, planning to facilitate international trade. After her husband’s military career took them to Maine and Scotland, she focused on marketing and eventually joined MDG, a marketing agency specializing in trade shows. When the founder began planning for retirement, Kimberly purchased the business, grew it..

We’re thrilled to welcome Mark Mallchok, the Principal and Chief Event Strategist at Brella Productions, as today’s guest. Mark has extensive experience within our industry. He joins us to share his entrepreneurial journey, explain how his company evolved over the years, and discuss why engagement, human connection, and clear event goals are becoming more important than ever. Stay tuned for more! Events and Storytelling Mark grew up surrounded by theater, production, photography, and technology. Both his parents worked as librarians while also supporting technical theater, audiovisual production, and school events, giving him hands-on experience from an early age. Whether he was holding cameras, shooting football games, working on the yearbook, or teaching photography, he discovered early that he wanted a career built around events and storytelling. Corporate Events  Although Mark originally planned to..

After years of wondering how to scale his business, Eric is launching Eric AI!  Eric is passionate about coaching and mentoring owners, solopreneurs, and professionals across the meetings and events industry. Eric AI is a business mentor platform built from Eric’s experience, methodology, and decision-making process, making his mentoring available 24/7 in 77 languages. Stay tuned as he shares how the platform was created, what sets it apart from other AI tools, and how it asks thoughtful questions, offers guidance, and helps business owners move forward. Eric AI Eric AI allows you to work with Eric 24/7, in 77 languages. Built from Eric’s personal knowledge, experience, methodology, and coaching style, it gives you access to his business mentoring whenever you need it. How Eric AI Was Created The platform was developed by uploading everything Eric has written, recorded, and taught throughout his career. It was..

We are delighted to welcome the incredible Dr. Magie Cook as today’s guest. Magie’s remarkable journey has taken her from growing up in an orphanage in the mountains of Mexico to building one of the fastest-growing fresh salsa companies in the United States. Join us as Magie shares how mindset, perseverance, and taking inspired action helped her overcome adversity, build a nationally distributed business, and create opportunities far beyond what once seemed possible. Magie’s Journey Magie Cook was born in Mexico and raised in an orphanage where her parents cared for dozens of children with very limited resources. From a young age, she decided she would not allow her circumstances to define her future. She used a cave she built in the mountains as a place to future cast the life she wanted. Later, she earned a basketball scholarship to study in the United States, overcame homelessness after college, and started her fresh..

We are delighted to welcome another icon in our industry as today’s guest. Bob Vaez, Founder and CEO of EventMobi, is a true entrepreneur, and his company is widely recognized throughout the events industry. Stay tuned as Bob shares his entrepreneurial journey and the lessons he learned building a business through multiple periods of disruption. He also offers practical advice for business owners looking to compete with larger organizations while creating meaningful experiences for customers and attendees. Bob's Entrepreneurial Journey After studying computer engineering, Bob spent nearly a decade in chip design, including a role at NVIDIA. Although he enjoyed the people and innovation, he wanted to build something of his own. A simple question—why conference information wasn't available on a mobile device—led him to create EventMobi. What began as a side project quickly evolved into an international business serving..

We are delighted to welcome Caleb Ralston as today’s guest. Caleb’s journey has been remarkable, and he is currently one of the most prominent voices in our industry in building brands and creating content people can actually apply. In 2025, he released a YouTube video that attracted more than 1.1 million views! Stay tuned as Caleb shares what he learned from working with people like Gary Vaynerchuk, Alex Hormozi, and Leila Hormozi, explains his approach to personal branding, and offers practical advice for creators, solopreneurs, and business owners looking to build trust through content. Caleb’s Journey Caleb’s interest in video started when he was a child, making videos with his sister using his mom’s camera. In high school, he volunteered on his church’s media team, where he met Sean Cannell, who introduced him to Gary Vaynerchuk’s work. After reading Gary’s book, Caleb decided to pursue video..

Today, we have the great pleasure of speaking with Cleo Battle, the President and CEO of Louisville Tourism and the new Chair of the International Board of MPI!  Cleo is an amazing person! He joins us today to share his inspiring journey and dive into what matters most for tourism and why every seat counts.  We hope you enjoy listening to today’s captivating conversation with Cleo Battle! Cleo Battle Biography:  Cleo Battle, a hospitality industry veteran of nearly 35 years, currently serves as President & CEO of Louisville Tourism. Before coming to Louisville, he spent 12 years as Vice President of Sales & Services of the Richmond Convention & Visitors Bureau in Richmond, VA. He held the positions of Director of Sales and Sales Manager at the Richmond CVB.  Battle began his hospitality career in the hotel industry by working for Embassy Suites, Holiday Inn, and Sheraton Hotels. Battle..

Today, we’re focusing on navigating the pressure of running a business while staying connected to your bigger vision for your life and business. Stay tuned as Eric shares a simple five-step exercise to help you gain clarity, direction, and long-term alignment. The Sandwich Generation Many business owners are part of the “sandwich generation,” taking care of parents while also raising children. That pressure adds to the demands of running a business, whether you’re leading a large team or working as a solopreneur. A Long-Term Vision When pressure is high, it helps to reconnect with why you started the business in the first place. Most people fail to clearly define what they want their life or business to look like in the next 10 years. Identify the Different Areas of Your Life The first step is identifying up to seven areas of your life, including health, family and friends, fun, finances, work, personal..

Today, we are delighted to welcome Lyndsi Edgar, the Founder and CEO of eLuminate Marketing. Lyndsi talks to Eric about entrepreneurship, content marketing, LinkedIn, automation, AI, and staying top of mind with clients and prospects. She also shares how she built eLuminate Marketing, the lessons she learned while growing the agency, and the systems, processes, and mindset shifts that helped her scale the business. Stay tuned for more! Lyndsi’s Journey Lyndsi studied marketing and then worked for various marketing agencies. While working in digital marketing and social media, she noticed that small business owners were unable to access authentic, high-quality content that looked like Fortune 500 marketing without the Fortune 500 price tag. So, she launched eLuminate Marketing to help local businesses grow through authentic content. She initially gave herself six months to find clients before deciding whether to continue,..

We’re delighted to welcome audience engagement specialist Michael Kent as our guest today. In this episode, Michael speaks with Eric about audience engagement, corporate events, comedy, magic, workplace culture, and the growing role of AI in live experiences. Stay tuned as Michael shares how years of performing around the world shaped his approach to helping companies create meaningful events that bring people together, reduce stress, and strengthen workplace relationships. Michael’s Journey Michael has been entertaining people since he was six years old. After discovering magic at Walt Disney World, he became known as “Magic Mike” throughout school and college. He later worked as a marketing director while continuing to perform magic shows on the side. Once the numbers made sense financially, he left his day job and moved into entertainment full-time. Over the last 23 years, he has toured internationally as a..