Passioners Podcast

Passioners Podcast


Latest Episodes

Luca Lampariello: Polyglot who speaks 13 languages
April 21, 2021

We talk to Luca Lampariello, a polyglot who speaks English, French, German, Spanish, Swedish, Russian, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Hungarian, and his native Italian. He is a language coach, blogger, YouTuber, and a lifetime lear

Porch: Uniting Neighborhoods to Help our Communities Food Pantries
April 14, 2021

We talk with Christine Cotton, CEO of Porch. Porch is a volunteer, nonprofit hunger-relief organization that provides healthy food and other assistance to thousands of families living in poverty. Ms. Cotton started Porch in Chapel Hill and has now expande

Grocery Shopii: Focus where others overlook.
April 07, 2021

We talk to Katie H. Hotze, founder of Grocery Shopii, a meal planning technology company that builds and orders customers’ shopping carts based on the recipes they want to make. Listen now to hear how she became a tech CEO after working years in a corpora

Brandwein’s Bagels: NY Investment banker to Chapel Hill Bagel Shop owner
March 31, 2021

We talk with Alex Brandwein about his transition from making six figures in investment banking to risking it all to create his bagel shop. Alex is a UNC alumnus who tells us about his journey and the tough decisions he had to make which ultimately led to

Coursicle: Launched in UNC dorm room anonymously
March 24, 2021

We talk to Joe Puccio, co-founder of Coursicle, a website & mobile application that helps college students plan their class schedule and get into their classes by notifying them when a class they need has an available seat. Mr. Puccio doesn’t use supe

Chapman Cultural Center: Uniting our communities through the arts, humanities, and sciences
March 18, 2021

We talk to Jennifer Evins, CEO of the Chapman Cultural Center. She is in charge of the Chapman Cultural Center located in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Listen to how one woman has been able to make an impact on her community.

BBC Camera Journalist: Forbes List 30 under 30
March 10, 2021

We talk to Rob Taylor, a Senior Camera Journalist for BBC News. Based in London and part of the UK Operations team, he covers news stories in the UK, Europe, and around the world. Jennes Kang found Mr. Taylor in Forbes list 30 under 30 published in 2020.

Hotel Indigo: Started from the bottom & now he’s here
March 03, 2021

We talk to Simon Burgess, a long-time real estate multihyphenate. He is currently the managing director for Hotel Indigo located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Listen to how one man was able to go from having no college education & working for othe

Jeenie: It’s like Uber but for translation
February 24, 2021

We talk to Kirsten Baker, CEO, and Co-Founder of Jeenie. It won the Startup of the Year award by Established and US. Jeenie was co-founded by Kirsten Baker and her father, Richard Brecht. Its mobile platform connects users via video and audio ca

Triad Studios: 5 college friends co-found video production Inc.
February 17, 2021

We talk with Tristen, Justin, and Baquir, co-founders of Triad Studios. Triad Studios co-founders consist of UNC-Chapel Hill alumni. Triad Studios creates strategic, cinematic video content for their clients to showcase their brands. They made $82,000 in