On today’s episode, cohosts Yasmin Gagne and Josh Christensen talk to Fast Company staff writer Grace Snelling about what it means to have a personal brand today and why it matters. She talks with the founder and CEO of Vuori, Joe Kudla, about the brand’s fabric-first approach, the new direction of the brand, and partnerships with names like Jack Draper and Tom Holland. To check out Grace’s reporting, go to: fastcompany.com/91582246/personal-brand-special-report-207-insights-ideas-grow-brand-career#Choose-your-AI-comfort-level  For more of the latest business and innovation news, go to fastcompany.com/news

On today’s episode, Yaz talks with Match Group CEO Spencer Rascoff on stage at the Fast Company Innovation Festival about how to lead a company into its new act.  Then, Josh Christensen has a conversation with 800 Pound Gorilla founders Ian Adkins, Ryan Bitzer, and Damion Greiman about building a comedy powerhouse and creating their own streaming service. For more of the latest business and innovation news, go to fastcompany.com/news

On today’s episode, cohosts Yasmin Gagne and Josh Christensen talk to Fast Company contributor Clint Rainey about a high school dropout who became a a consumer packaged goods (CPG) marketing disrupter. Then Yaz talks to TikTok Shop’s head of strategic initiatives, Patrick Nommensen, about how TikTok Shop works for customers and influencers, and how the company runs it.  To check out Clint’s reporting, go to: fastcompany.com/91599402/connor-blakley-used-to-tell-americas-biggest-brands-what-gen-z-wanted-jams-uncrustables-bronco-pbj-smucker-dropout  For more of the latest business and innovation news, go to fastcompany.com/news

In this special custom episode presented by Lenovo, Chief Technology Officer Dr. Tolga Kurtoglu joins host Julianne Pepitone to take human-AI collaboration past the buzzword stage. Real collaboration means re-architecting workflows around what each side does well, then building the trust infrastructure that keeps human reasoning and creativity in the process. Dr. Kurtoglu explains why an output can be technically correct and still wrong for the context it lands in, and what happens to the traditional org chart when judgment becomes the scarcest resource on the team. In this conversation, curiosity stands as the enduring human quality most worth protecting. 

On today’s episode, cohosts Yasmin Gagne and Josh Christensen talk to former Fast Company senior editor and now Alto editorial director Jeff Beer about why the influencer bubble is finally popping. Then Yaz talks to Cotopaxi CEO Lindsay Shumlas about Cotopaxi’s sustainability efforts, international expansion, and how they build credibility.  To check out Jeff’s reporting, go to: https://www.fastcompany.com/91576953/the-influencer-bubble-is-finally-popping  For more of the latest business and innovation news, go to fastcompany.com/news

On today’s episode, cohosts Yasmin Gagne and Josh Christensen talk with Fast Company senior writer Ainsley Harris about the water brand Loonen and the rise of consumer safety as a status symbol. Then, Fast Company senior staff writer Jeff Beer interviews Dhar Mann about building an audience and how he ended up as the NFL’s honorary chief kindness officer.  To read Ainsley’s reporting, go to: https://www.fastcompany.com/91565959/loonen-and-the-rise-of-consumer-safety-as-status-symbol  For more of the latest business and innovation news, go to fastcompany.com/news

YouTubers are taking over Hollywood. The critical and commercial success of Curry Barker’s Obsession, Kane Parsons’ A24-backed movie Backrooms, and Markiplier’s Iron Lung—especially in contrast to relative flops like Supergirl and Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu—has challenged the industry’s conventional wisdom. It’s not a huge surprise, given that so many creators on the platform have cultivated deeply engaged fandoms.  One of the first creators to really take advantage of that dynamic on YouTube was Felicia Day, when she created her seminal web series The Guild in 2007.  For the 20th anniversary next year, Day is tapping into that fandom to fund a reunion movie of The Guild. She sat down with MIC cohost Josh Christensen to discuss her decision to crowdfund The Guild movie, the importance of maintaining creative independence, and the recent mainstream success of YouTubers.

On today’s episode, cohost Yasmin Gagne talks with Fast Company and Inc. head of editorial strategy David Lidsky on what makes the fintech company Stripe an idea factory. Then NASCAR chief operating officer Ben Kennedy has a conversation with Yaz about bringing new audiences to car racing. To read David’s reporting, go to: fastcompany.com/91538341/stripe-most-underrated-influential-159-billion-company-power-map  For more of the latest business and innovation news, go to fastcompany.com/news /news

On today’s episode, cohosts Yasmin Gagne and Josh Christensen talk to Fast Company contributor John Pavlus about how the godmother of AI, Fei-Fei Li, is building world models — AI that many hope will replace LLMs. Then, Yaz talks to Fast Company staff writer Pavithra Mohan about her deep dive into how actual humans in the human resources department are disappearing and being replaced by apps and AI. To read John’s reporting, go to: fastcompany.com/91549046/fei-fei-li-world-labs-ai-gets-physical-models-spatial-intelligence  To read Pavithra’s deep dive, go to: fastcompany.com/91565321/amazon-is-taking-human-out-of-hr-ai-chatbot-app-aza  For more of the latest business and innovation news, go to fastcompany.com/news

On today’s episode, cohosts Yasmin Gagne and Josh Christensen talk to Fast Company’s  Nate Berg about how a Walmart heir helped transform a small town in Arkansas. Then, Fast Company staff writer David Salazar sits down with the CEO of American Association of Independent Music Ian Harrisson and COO of an independent record label Partisan Records Zena White to talk about the challenges, opportunities, and future of the independent music business.  To check out Nate’s reporting, go to: https://www.fastcompany.com/91550093/alice-walton-crystal-bridges-expansion-bentonville  For more of the latest business and innovation news, go to fastcompany.com/news