The Branding Laboratory

In this episode of The Branding Laboratory, host Deevo (Chief Experience Officer for The Brand Storyteller) sits down with Hollis Carter, the visionary CEO and co-founder of Baby Bathwater Institute. Moving beyond the rigid structures of traditional corporate leadership, Hollis shares his unique journey as a lifelong entrepreneur who turned a "scratch-your-own-itch" experiment into an elite, one-of-a-kind community for high-level f...

In this insightful episode, Deevo sits down with Reggie Gaither, Senior Vice President at Southern First Bank and a master of relationship-driven leadership. With over twenty years of experience in commercial banking, Reggie reveals how he successfully integrates his authentic self into a corporate environment.

As a brand storyteller, Deevo guides the conversation through the nuances of building trust, the power of a "connector" mi...

In this episode of The Branding Laboratory, host Deevo, Chief Experience Officer for The Brand Storyteller, sits down with dynamic founders Justin Guarini and Kim Walsh Phillips of the Elite Speakers Network.

The conversation explores their transition from the heights of Broadway and marketing agency success to creating a powerhouse business that turns speakers into high-earning authorities. They dive into the "easy yes" offer stra...

In this episode of The Branding Laboratory, host Deevo sits down with Kim Coleman, a professional comedian, speaker, and certified Laughter Yoga facilitator. The conversation moves beyond the stage to explore how laughter serves as a vital tool for healing and resilience. Kim opens up about her journey through a challenging divorce, describing it as a "dark season" that eventually forced her toward self-awareness and personal trans...

This episode of The Branding Laboratory features host Deevo, Chief Experience Officer for The Brand Storyteller and Fusion Creative brands, in a fascinating conversation with Dr. Austin Zelan, a highly successful 27-year-old entrepreneur.

Austin, known for his meteoric rise, tackles the core challenge faced by many creatives: balancing innovation and discipline within structured business systems. He argues that processes don't hinde...

This episode of The Branding Laboratory, hosted by Deevo, Chief Experience Officer for The Brand Storyteller, dives deep into building authentic, high-quality business relationships over simply chasing high volume. Devo and his guest, digital marketing architect Jason Wright, founder of Intentionally Inspirational, discuss the philosophy that trust is a system, not a tactic.

Jason advocates for a "quality over quantity" approach, em...

In this episode of The Branding Laboratory, host Deevo sits down with Hannah Balliet of Ugly Mug Marketing to dismantle the modern obsession with vanity metrics. They explore a hard truth: why clarity must always precede creativity, and how businesses burn cash by launching ads before nailing their brand messaging.

Hannah reveals why beautiful design means nothing without robust backend sales systems and follow-up processes to suppo...

Welcome to The Branding Laboratory! Host Deevo, Chief Experience Officer for The Brand Storyteller and a master photographer/serial entrepreneur, dives deep with Alane Boyd, co-founder of Workday Ninja and Arvo.

This episode explores the critical shift in modern marketing, demanding a strong personal brand united with the company brand, and the challenges of sales in the post-radio, social-media-saturated era.

Alane, a powerhous...

Welcome to The Branding Laboratory, where host Deevo speaks with Lee Black about building a business driven by genuine purpose, especially within the challenging mental health and substance abuse (SUD) industry.

Lee, who tragically lost loved ones to addiction, realized that many successful businesses "look successful, but somehow they feel hollow" . This drove him to open a substance abuse and mental health facility in Charlotte. W...

The Branding Laboratory: Dr Christiane Schroeter on multiplayer brands, scaling growth, and aligning brand strategy with performance marketing.

Dive into "The Branding Laboratory" with host Deevo and special guest Dr Christiane Schroeter, founder of backstory and creator of the Multiplayer Brand concept.

This episode goes beyond surface-level "better branding" to explore how enterprises can achieve real impact and scalable growth...

Dive into "The Branding Laboratory" with host Deevo and special guest Jed Morley, founder of backstory and creator of the Multiplayer Brand concept. 

This episode goes beyond surface-level "better branding" to explore how enterprises can achieve real impact and scalable growth. Jed shares his journey from marketing leadership to consulting, detailing pivotal moments at BambooHR and Consensus (formerly Demo Chimp). 

The ...

What if the very thing holding you back in business isn’t your offer, your audience, or even your marketing… but your mindset about visibility and value?

In this electrifying conversation, Shayna Rattler Davis, speaker, strategist, and CEO whisperer, joins us to redefine what it really means to be “visible and profitable.” She breaks down why influence is the new currency and how most entrepreneurs are spending it all wrong.

From lan...

In this episode, I sit down with Dan Fisher, EP, editor, and Emmy-winning storyteller behind Bottle Rocket Media, to talk about the real work of building a creative company that lasts. We get into leadership without ego, why listening is the most underrated skill, how to protect the original idea when clients pull you off course, and what it took to rebuild the business after 2020 (including the surprising role SEO played in saving...

Sometimes the best ideas come from the most ordinary places. For David Ask, it was a simple conversation with his brother-in-law that turned into Stat Guard Plus, a little piece of plastic that locks down your thermostat and ended up in Home Depot, Lowe’s, and thousands of stores across the country.

In this episode, David and I talk about what it really takes to bring an idea to life—the mistakes, the late nights, the knockoffs, the...

In this milestone episode, Deevo sits down with Marla Ballard, CEO of You2Shine, to explore the deep work of healing trauma, embracing authenticity, and stepping fully into who you were meant to be.

Marla opens up about her journey from sales and entrepreneurship to becoming a leader in quantum personal development—a path recognized by Forbes in 2024. Together, they dive into:

• Why we carry hidden patterns and blind spots
• The dif...

🔥 Most pitches get ignored. Most PR strategies fail. But what if you could flip the script and turn rejection into recognition?

In this episode of The Branding Laboratory, Deevo sits down with Bryce North, founder of Pitch Pro and a PR disruptor who went from being $100K in debt to building a media empire that gets people noticed for the right reasons.

Bryce shares the raw truth about why traditional PR is broken, how attention ...

How do you build businesses without losing your soul?

This week on The Branding Laboratory, Deevo sits down with Colin Hirdman, serial entrepreneur, Co-Founder of Monkey Island Ventures, and Chief Rainmaker at Rainmaker. From starting his first company right out of college to co-founding multiple ventures with lifelong friends, Colin has launched over a dozen businesses. Many failed, some thrived, and along the way he learned why re...

What if leadership wasn’t about being the loudest voice in the room, but about creating the kind of culture people actually want to be part of?

Brandon Allen has spent years in the trenches with founders and leaders, and he gets real about what it takes to build influence that lasts. From shifting out of “do everything yourself” mode, to leading in a way that pulls the best out of people, Brandon breaks down the mindset and habits t...