Ray Makela is an author, speaker, and business executive with 25 years of management, consulting, and sales experience. He is the CEO and Managing Director of Sales Readiness Group, a Seattle-based professional training and development firm that delivers industry-leading sales and sales management solutions. Ray oversees all client engagements and the delivery of sales and sales management training programs.
Malaga Baldi (she/her/hers) has worked as an independent literary agent since 1986. The Baldi Agency is an eclectic agency specializing in literary fiction, memoir, and cultural history. She worked as a cashier at Gotham Book Mart, in the Ballantine Books Publicity Department, as an associate at Candida Donadio & Associates and the Elaine Markson Agency before going out on her own. Baldi believes the strength of the author’s voice and the heart of the story to be key when considering new work.
Trevor Blake is a serial entrepreneur and New York Times best-selling author. He was the founder and CEO of QOL Medical LLC, which he started with just a few hundred dollars, and sold in 2010 for more than $100 million. Trevor is a physicist by background who eventually tapped into the workings of energy, consciousness, and transformation — in particular, the science behind it all — and began creating through intentionality and mindset, or ‘mentality control’ as he likes to call it.
Michael Lam is the Founder and CEO of Kaydoh, a company that helps businesses convert their online visitors into tangible leads through live chat automation. He is also a real estate investor, and during his extra time, he enjoys mentoring college students, young entrepreneurs who are just getting started.
Scott Carson is an investor, entrepreneur, marketer, and podcast host. He is the owner and president of We Close Notes, an Austin-based, defaulted note buying company. Scott is passionate about helping people grow their influence.
Shakil Prasla is an entrepreneur and investor with over a dozen acquisitions across multiple eCommerce industries including prescription eyewear, metal promotional products, fitness gear, fashion accessories, custom apparel, and print media. He is a founding partner and investor at SZ Ventures, an investment firm that specializes in acquiring, managing, and growing eCommerce companies.
Johnny Ward is an entrepreneur, adventurer, philanthropist, motivational speaker, and travel blogger. He is the founder of one of the top travel and lifestyle blogs in the world OneStep4Ward, where he blogs about travel, his journey to every country in the world, digital businesses, and living the best life. Johnny is also the co-founder of Mudita Adventures, running adventure travel trips that make a genuine difference to the communities they visit.
Paul Saginaw is the co-founder and Chief Spiritual Officer at Zingerman, a community of eight food-related businesses all located in the Ann Arbor, MI area. He helped grow the business from a small deli that opened in 1982 to a collection of businesses in partnership with other food entrepreneurs.
Ryan Cote is the Director of Digital Services and Partner at Ballantine, a family-owned print and digital marketing company. He manages the digital marketing division (SEO, PPC, social media & content) including account management, sales, and strategy. Ryan is also on a mission to raise the awareness of personal development via his blog and podcast, Morning Upgrade.