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Spark Creators
Li Zeng
63 episodes
8 months ago
Stories from creators and founders of all ages. As a designer and entrepreneur, the host Li takes the audience on a journey to discover what it takes to become a great creator, dream big, and take action. The first two seasons of the show are about kid entrepreneurship and intend to empower parents to teach their kids to solve problems through entrepreneurship. The future seasons focus on topics like a career as a creator & designer, the life of entrepreneurs, and understanding other aspects of the business as an entrepreneur.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Entrepreneurship
Arts,
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All content for Spark Creators is the property of Li Zeng and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
Stories from creators and founders of all ages. As a designer and entrepreneur, the host Li takes the audience on a journey to discover what it takes to become a great creator, dream big, and take action. The first two seasons of the show are about kid entrepreneurship and intend to empower parents to teach their kids to solve problems through entrepreneurship. The future seasons focus on topics like a career as a creator & designer, the life of entrepreneurs, and understanding other aspects of the business as an entrepreneur.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Entrepreneurship
Arts,
Business,
Design,
Careers
Episodes (20/63)
Spark Creators
63. Aryana Sahai: Helping Girls in India with Founder of Ladlis

For this episode, we invited Aryana Sahai and her mom Kavita Sahai, who are founder of Ladlis, an NGO that helps girls in poverty in India to access education. 

Aryana Sahai, an 8-year-old girl from South Florida, took a family trip to India and was devastated by the poverty she saw. She partnered with NGO Ladli (ladli.org), where impoverished girls are taught how to make jewelry, as well as provided with education, medical check-ups, and counseling.

Aryana worked with the young artisans to create the Aroma Collection: a custom, handmade set of bracelets with natural gemstones and one lava stone, which acts as an essential oil diffuser. The bracelets are created to inspire mindfulness, meditation, and positivity. 

Aryana brought the gemstone bracelets back to the United States to help fund girls’ education. She purchased the bracelets using her own funds, and the first batch sold out immediately. The sale of every bracelet funds one month of a girl’s education. 100% of the proceeds go to empowering lives and driving freedom.

Learn more about their initiative through the following links:

Website: www.ladlis.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/ladlislove

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ladlislove/



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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5 years ago
35 minutes 37 seconds

Spark Creators
62. Learning and Teaching How to Code with Ricky Dong

For this episode, we invited Ricky Dong, an young minecraft instructor for coding at Bay Coding Club based in California. Ricky is an eight-grade student who is going to high school this coming school year. He is based in Fremont, California and he currently enrolled in Honors English, Honors Science, and Accelerated Math as he strives to maintain his academic excellence. 

He received certificates on a couple of programming languages like Java, Pathon, HTML, CSS, and he also started to use JAVA to develop mini-games. Ricky participated in FIRST Technology Challenge. He has a big passion in Minecraft, and is determined to turn that into a fun and educational platform for his friends.



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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5 years ago
42 minutes 25 seconds

Spark Creators
61. Building a Greeting Card Business On the Side with Kirstie Wang from A Jar of Pickles

For this episode, we invited Kirstie Wang, founder of A Jar of Pickles. A Jar of Pickles is Kirstie’s small side business that she started as an Etsy shop in college. She taught herself how to use Illustrator and Photoshop, and then she designed logos and flyers for various student groups. She loved all the design experience, but she didn’t seriously pursue Pickles nor a career in design when she graduated. Instead, it took quite a few years for she to fully invest in a Jar of Pickles while pursuing a job as a designer.

Now Kirstie still works full time as a product designer but running her side business in her spare time. Wondering how she handles all the daily business details while balance her life with friends and family? Want to know her secret of productivity as a side hustle and an entrepreneur? Let's tune in to hear what Kirstie has to share!



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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5 years ago
34 minutes 18 seconds

Spark Creators
60. Learning and Creating Graphics & Letters with Teela Cunningham from Every Tuesday

For this episode, we invited Teela Cunningham, the founder of Every Tuesday. Teela grew up in Upstate NY, studied at SCAD in Savannah, GA and completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Graphic Design in 2008.

She worked as a designer at a startup children’s gaming company, a boutique home furnishings business and a design studio in Atlanta, GA. While at the studio, she had the pleasure of working on many large projects with Coca-Cola, Visa, the winter and summer Olympic Games and many wonderful small businesses.

She started a youtube channel in January of 2014 and shared a lot of her knowledge on design softwares and hand lettering. The kind responses she got were overwhelming, so she started doing more frequent tutorials. From there, she began teaching online courses.

Teela’s husband Spencer is a self taught web developer and is the driving force behind the web design and development of Every-Tuesday. In 2015, they decided to pursue Every-Tuesday together full time and haven’t let up since!

In December 2018, she welcomed the newest member to our family: our daughter, Tuesday. They also have a lovely dog Nuna Petunia, who has been with Teela since March of 2009.

Wondering how Teela built her empire of Every Tuesday by posting a Youtube video every Tuesday? Want to learn Teela's journey from a designer to an entrepreneur? Let's tune in and see what Teela has to share!



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5 years ago
46 minutes 27 seconds

Spark Creators
59. Create and Sell Party Supplies on Amazon FBA with Amanda Wittenborn

Amanda’s business - Amanda Creation started with her own interests on planning parties. She loved (and still does) to throw themed parties. But couldn’t find the right supplies.

That’s why Amanda started her special invitation and party supply company. She explored the Etsy store before she sold it on Amazon. She found her way on Amazon and she shares her lessons she learned by making printable products. 

“Amanda has been married to her husband, David, for 14 years. They live in the suburbs of Chicago and have 3 sons: Zachary, Joshua, and Benjamin. Her family is the reason she celebrates as often as she can. It’s also the reason why she started her design business. 

Wondering how she navigated her way from a non-design background to creating a design business? Want to know what it is like selling on Amazon using Fulfilled by Amazon? Let's tune in to hear what Amanda has to say. 



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5 years ago
1 hour 7 minutes 31 seconds

Spark Creators
58. Create Vintage Botanicals Handmade Stationery on Etsy Store with Kayleigh Dumond

For this episode, we invited Kayleigh Dumond, the Founder and Owner of Etsy Store of her own brand- Kayleigh Dumond: Vintage Botanicals Handmade Stationery

Kayleigh Dumond grew up in a little town in the beautiful state of Michigan. She found a love for botanical prints a few years ago doing product design for a company in St. Louis. She took her love for design and everything vintage and started her own stationery business here on Etsy. It's fun to take something that is vintage and give it a new life, which is what she strives to do with her stationery. She takes vintage prints and turns them into invitations, greeting cards, and personal stationery. She is now blessed to be back home in Michigan, splitting her time between her Etsy business and being a mom and wife. 

Wondering how she creates her stationery and why she is selling so well on Etsy? Let's tune in to hear Kayleigh's story!



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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5 years ago
58 minutes

Spark Creators
57. How to Start a Greeting Card Business With Kids' Art and Doodles

For this episode, Host Li Zeng shares with you the whole process of creating a greeting card business starting from your kids' art and doodles. At the end of this episode, Li also introduced you the upcoming series about "Creating Printable Products". 

Wondering how to encourage your kids to create more in the summer and how you guys can build a greeting card business together? Tune in to hear more details!



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5 years ago
23 minutes 13 seconds

Spark Creators
56. Let's Grow Leaders and Prepare for Some Leadership Skills with Karin and Sebastian Hurt

For this episode, we brought Karin Hurt, co-founder of Let’s grow leaders, and Sebastian Hurt, co-author of Glowstone Peak, a children’s picture book about Courage, Influence, And Hope.

Karin Hurt build Let’s grow leaders with (Her Husband) David Dye and they help leaders achieve breakthrough results without losing their soul. They are keynote leadership speakers, trainers, and the award-winning author of Courageous Cultures: How to Build Teams of Micro-Innovators, Problem Solvers, and Customer Advocates (HarperCollins Summer 2020) and the other book is called Winning Well: A Manager’s Guide to Getting Results Without Losing Your Soul. Karin is a top leadership consultant and CEO of Let’s Grow Leaders. A former Verizon Wireless executive, she was named to Inc. Magazine’s list of great leadership speakers. 

To learn more about Karin, visit her website: letsgrowleaders.com



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5 years ago
50 minutes 45 seconds

Spark Creators
55. Get Ready to Think Critically with Educator and Author Dr. Brian Barnes

For this episode, we brought Dr. Brian Barnes. Dr. Brian Barnes holds a Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Humanities and an MA in Philosophy from the University of Louisville. Barnes is a veteran of the US Army, along with other non-academic careers, and currently teaches face-to-face and online classes at several universities in traditional philosophy topics, along with courses in sustainability, critical thinking, and Japanese sword practice.

He has co-authored articles examining critical thinking strategies and tactics for the National Teaching and Learning Forum and is the author of the textbook, The Central Question: Critical Engagement with Business Ethics (2013).

Barnes co-hosts the weekly radio show, Critical Thinking for Everyone!, on 106.5 Forward Radio in Louisville, and he also created the critical thinking comic book series, Adventures in Critical Thinking. Dr. Barnes is a Scholar of the Foundation for Critical Thinking, and was a direct student of Dr. Richard Paul.



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5 years ago
49 minutes 30 seconds

Spark Creators
54. Solving Problems Using Design Thinking with Author and Educator Brett Schilke

For this episode, we invited Brett Schilke. Brett is an author, speaker and educator. Right now you’ll find Brett immersed in the launch of his first book, Journey to City X, and leading an education research lab currently designing the learning experience for the Museum of Solutions, a groundbreaking new 10-story children’s museum being built in central Mumbai. He serves on the faculty for the Future of Learning at Singularity University in Silicon Valley.

To learn more about Brett's background and story, visit his website at brettschilke.com. Want to know how to cultivate design thinking skills in your kids? Tune in and listen to what Brett has to say :)



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5 years ago
46 minutes 12 seconds

Spark Creators
53. Telling Great Stories with Storyteller and Author Kevin Cordi (Part 2)
This is the second part of the interview with Kevin Cordi. Kevin Cordi, an American teacher, storyteller and author. Kevin has told stories in over forty states and internationally. Kevin holds a doctorate from The Ohio State University in Education, Storytelling, and Story Making and has taught storytelling at the university and secondary level. ⁠⁠Kevin shares stories with a highly energetic, animated and interactive style and is considered by many storytelling professionals as one of the most influential and dynamic storytellers and teachers today. Cordi also wrote the book "Playing with Stories: Story crafting for storytellers, writers, teachers and other imaginative thinkers" in 2014. ⁠⁠He is considered one of the "nation's primary  advocates for youth storytelling"! According to the National Storytelling Network, he is “the first full time high school storytelling teacher in the country”.  His work has been chronicled in the book he co-authored with Judy Sima, Raising Voices: creating youth storytelling groups and troupes. Cordi also started the Youth Special Interest Group for the National Storytelling Network and founded the Voices Across America Youth Storytelling Project. ⁠

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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5 years ago
39 minutes 30 seconds

Spark Creators
52. Telling Great Stories with Storyteller and Author Kevin Cordi (Part 1)

For this episode, we invited Kevin Cordi, an American teacher, storyteller and author. Kevin has told stories in over forty states and internationally. Kevin holds a doctorate from The Ohio State University in Education, Storytelling, and Story Making and has taught storytelling at the university and secondary level. 

Kevin shares stories with a highly energetic, animated and interactive style and is considered by many storytelling professionals as one of the most influential and dynamic storytellers and teachers today. Cordi also wrote the book "Playing with Stories: Story crafting for storytellers, writers, teachers and other imaginative thinkers" in 2014. 

He is considered one of the "nation's primary  advocates for youth storytelling"! According to the National Storytelling Network, he is “the first full time high school storytelling teacher in the country”.  His work has been chronicled in the book he co-authored with Judy Sima, Raising Voices: creating youth storytelling groups and troupes. Cordi also started the Youth Special Interest Group for the National Storytelling Network and founded the Voices Across America Youth Storytelling Project. 



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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5 years ago
43 minutes 46 seconds

Spark Creators
51. Four Critical Skills Parents Can Help Their Kids Foster While Staying at Home
In this episode, host Li Zeng shares 4 critical skills that parents can help their kids foster while staying at home. These skills include storytelling skills, critical thinking skills, design thinking skills and leadership skills. Li will share tips that can help parents to teach these skills to their kids, books that can help expand parents' and kids knowledge on those four areas and also introduce the next series of guests who are experts in those different fields. Tune in and have a listen! Hope you will enjoy this episode!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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5 years ago
37 minutes 58 seconds

Spark Creators
50. 4 Things I Learned from Running Spark Creators for a Year
In this episode, host Li Zeng shares her 4 learnings from running Spark Creators for a year. This is the 50th episode and it is a small milestone for this show. If you want to learn how to run a podcast efficiently, how to overcome fear of creating something by yourself or just simply learn the process behind all the spark creators podcast, tune in and have a listen! Hope you will enjoy this episode!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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5 years ago
25 minutes 11 seconds

Spark Creators
49. Raising Entrepreneurs with Tameka Montgomery (Part 2)

This is the second part of the interview with Tameka Montgomery. Tameka graduated from Spelman College. She has a master’s degree from Columbia University. And In 2012, Johnson & Wales University awarded her an honorary doctorate in entrepreneurship.

Tameka’s career in small business development started in 2001 when she launched one of Denver’s first inner-city business incubators. Under her leadership, the Denver Metro Small Business Development Center (SBDC) was named the #1 SBDC in the nation out of 900 other SBDCs throughout the U.S.

In this episode Tameka shared her experience producing the podcast "Raising Entrepreneurs" and some of the most memorable stories she had with her guests. She also talked about how she raises her sons and her hope for their future. Let's dive into today's episode and hear Tameka's entrepreneurship story!



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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5 years ago
38 minutes 12 seconds

Spark Creators
48. Raising Entrepreneurs with Tameka Montgomery (Part 1)

For this episode, we invited Tameka Montgomery to join our show. Tameka graduated from Spelman College. She has a master’s degree from Columbia University. And In 2012, Johnson & Wales University awarded her an honorary doctorate in entrepreneurship.

Tameka’s career in small business development started in 2001 when she launched one of Denver’s first inner-city business incubators. Under her leadership, the Denver Metro Small Business Development Center (SBDC) was named the #1 SBDC in the nation out of 900 other SBDCs throughout the U.S.

But how did working in the Small Business Development Center give her insight working with different types of entrepreneurs? Why did she decide to focus on serving young and underrepresented entrepreneurs and help them? What's the experience is like when President Obama appointed Tameka to lead the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Entrepreneurial Development, where she was responsible for a budget of more than $160 million?

Let's dive into today's episode and hear Tameka's entrepreneurship story!



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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5 years ago
35 minutes 36 seconds

Spark Creators
47. Girls Crushing It: Building Entrepreneurship and Leadership Skills with Roxanne Christophe

For this episode, we invited Roxanne Christophe, the founder and CEO of Girls Crushing it. Roxanne worked for more than 10 years in public relations before becoming an entrepreneur and launching a boutique publishing firm - forging partnerships with Shutterfly and Best Buy. In 2018, she founded Girls Crushing It (GCI), a nonprofit dedicated to empowering girls to flex their leadership muscles through entrepreneurship. The organization has educated hundreds of girls, who have delivered pitches and sold products to more than 10,000 customers at GCI's pop-up shops.

But how did Roxanne's daughters inspire her to start a business? Why does she create a non-profit organization, and how did her pop-up shop become a popular market place for other girls too? Let's tune in to today's episode.



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5 years ago
45 minutes 37 seconds

Spark Creators
46.Teaching Kids Money with Jeannine Glista from Biz Kid$ TV Series

For this episode, we invited Jeannine Glista, the founder of BizKids. Jeannine is a producer and director, known for Biz Kid$ (2008), a business she founded back in 2008. She was also known for the mini TV show MO' Money with Mo (2018) and Fresh Take (2011). She has a business background and worked in the corporate world for a long time. But her passion drove her into the business of teaching money and entrepreneurship for kids.

But what exactly did she create for the TV series? What was her process producing a show for kids? And what's her top advices for parents who want to raise entrepreneurial kids? Let's tune in to today's episode.



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5 years ago
29 minutes 55 seconds

Spark Creators
45. Teach Hands-On Entrepreneurship for Kids with Patricia Clahar
For this episode, we invited Patricia Clahar, the founder of Teaching Entrepreneurship for Kids. Patricia graduated from Harvard University for her undergraduate degree and she got her MBA from Columbia University Graduate School of Business. She has been an educator for over 12 years. She taught entrepreneurship in a Montessori middle school for 3 years and helped over 50 students to launch products or manage small businesses.She has taught business concepts, such as revenue vs. profit, unit calculations, inventory management & forecasting, interest, profit margins and basic accounting to students as young as 6 years old and as old as 17 years old.Both of Patricia's mom and dad are entrepreneurs. So her own passion for entrepreneurship started early. But what exactly did she do when she was young; how did she walked into the path teaching kids about entrepreneurship; what ideas and tips she has for kids and parents? Let's dive into today's episode.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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5 years ago
42 minutes 27 seconds

Spark Creators
44. Brian Weisfeld: Empower Girls with Entrepreneurship at the Startup Squad
For this episode, we invited Brian Weisfeld, the founder and chief squad officer from The Startup Squad. Brian has been building businesses his entire life. In elementary school, he bought ninety-five pounds of gummy bears and hired his friends to sell them. As a teen, he made and sold mixtapes (ask your parents what those are), sorted baseball cards (he got paid in cards), babysat four days a week after school, and sold nuts and dried fruit (and more gummy bears) in a neighborhood store. As an adult, Brian helped build a number of well-known billion-dollar companies, including IMAX Corporation and Coupons.com. Brian is the founder and chief squad officer of The Startup Squad, an initiative dedicated to helping girls reach their potential, whatever their passions. Brian lives in Silicon Valley and can often be found eating gummy bears with his wife while watching his two daughters sell lemonade from the end of their driveway. Visit him online at brianweisfeld.com.To learn more about why Brian wanted to create a business that empowers girl entrepreneurship, to hear suggestions he has for kids and parents entrepreneurs, let's dive into this episode!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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5 years ago
38 minutes 48 seconds

Spark Creators
Stories from creators and founders of all ages. As a designer and entrepreneur, the host Li takes the audience on a journey to discover what it takes to become a great creator, dream big, and take action. The first two seasons of the show are about kid entrepreneurship and intend to empower parents to teach their kids to solve problems through entrepreneurship. The future seasons focus on topics like a career as a creator & designer, the life of entrepreneurs, and understanding other aspects of the business as an entrepreneur.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.