THREE PALS WITH MICS, GENIUS FRIENDS AND PRINGLES

TWG was forged in a fire of tragedy, tears and redemption. That's a lie. Actually, it's the result of conversations between like-minded friends over beers and the accidental luxury of time created by a global pandemic. 

 

For nearly 25 years, Ken Schmidt and Martin Flaherty have argued, laughed at each other's jokes (while others uncomfortably cleared their throats) and worked together as they've built remarkable reputations throughout the halls of household-name businesses and their smaller-scale brethren around the world. Their professional backgrounds are widely varied, but their work approaches complement each other seamlessly, as both have proven track records of making businesses more competitive and successful. And having fun while doing it. You've Googled them already, so you know this. (If not go ahead now. We'll wait.)

 

The pandemic gave Ken and Martin the chance to thoroughly vet the idea of creating a podcast that would allow them to share their lessons learned with those hoping to improve their business, or personal, competitiveness. Inviting their A-list friends from the worlds of business, media, entertainment, sports and academia to join them, they figured, would add massive doses of credibility and listener value. Because, after all, they again figured, who wouldn't want to listen to casual, lawn chair conversations with some of the most brilliant people in the world -- the people behind the things we all love -- free of corporate filters and BS? 

 

While the idea fermented, Martin was sharing stories about startup culture, VCs, and scaling with his friend and fellow traveler from the world of commercial design, Lekan Bashua. After leaving corporate and building two startups, Lekan took a product development position with a fancy firm in NYC. When the pandemic hit, Lekan decided it was time for a reboot which led to long discussions and the idea of programming on Clubhouse to expand our audience. With his deep knowledge of work, worklife culture, real estate and design (as well as damned near everything else), adding him as TWG's third "tolerable host" was a no-brainer. (We think he believes he's getting paid. Mum's the word.)

 

Each episode of TWG is recorded in Clubhouse, with audience participation, then edited and distributed as a podcast, available wherever your favorite podcasts reside. They live up to our high standards of being smart, beneficial, off-color, relaxed and way more fun than any other "business-y" podcasts out there. We welcome your input, show ideas and any feedback that's laden with personal praise.