The Farmhouse Podcast

If you’ve ever tossed aside the instructions on the back of a Lego box to make something totally crazy and new, you may consider yourself a hacker. At least, according to inventor Pablos Holman. And he would know. On this edition of the Farmhouse Podcast, Paul Earle chats with Holman how hacking culture breeds innovation. When Holman looks at a new technology, he asks not what it is supposed to do, but what he can make it do – like stealing audience members’ credit card information in a live demonstration in front of American Express executives with a device he created for under $10. Now, the inventor of a machine that suppresses hurricanes and a mosquito-zapping laser designed to combat malaria is moving into unexpected territory: a website selling women’s leggings called Bombsheller, which just might change the way we manufacture everything (not just ladies’ casual wear). Listen here for Holman’s insight on the magic of hacking, why he’s proud of his batting average of .001 and the intellectual side of salsa dancing.

This edition of the Farmhouse Podcast has Department of Design head Alisa Wolfson guest hosting for resident emcee Paul Earle in a rousing chat about the intersection of art and innovation. Michael Darling (chief curator of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago) is the man responsible for bringing the first American iteration of "David Bowie Is" to the states – an exhibit, opening today, that stuns with its interactive and highly visual retrospective of the British icon. Here, Darling talks candidly about his mission to push the MCA in to the future, from innovations in ticketing to geo-locating headphones to building a transparent relationship with its patrons. Listen to get an insider’s take on the exhibit’s ability to merge pop appeal with more complex and socially relevant ideas (gender, identity), and how the life of a curator is heavily dependent on communicating strategically with museum-goers of all walks of life.

Alan Cook, creator of ScoopFree (a self-cleaning littler box that puts its competitors to shame) and Belle-V (a particularly swaggy ice cream scooper that Real Simple magazine called “ingenious"), joins us today on the Farmhouse Podcast. Today, this Wharton grad’s talking the importance of design, why failure should be part any work experience and gives us a foolproof recipe for this serial entrepreneur’s secret sauce: "Relentless iteration until we get it right.” Welcome, Alan.

After a short summer recess, the Farmhouse Podcast is back! Henry King joins us today for a lively dialogue on innovation (turns out there is quite a lot businesses can learn from British garden birds). You'll be surprised to know that this frequent contributor to Fast Company (and author of the blog "Man of String," a place for "improbable ideas, unlikely theories, and other fancies") believes in thinking inside the box - not outside of it. Henry, a leading innovation consultant and part-time faculty member at IIT and SAIC ( and long-time observer of invasive species) stopped by to discuss the critical importance of defining structure before disrupting it – applying the rules of the animal kingdom to the concrete jungle. Press play to learn about the true value of a Classics major, why brands should behave more like Asian carp, the supreme value of collaboration in creativity.

Dan Roam may not have been the man who said it first, but he’s certainly the one who’s drawn it best. Taking complex ideas and explaining them with visuals is Dan’s specialty – he’s penned four books on the subject and sketched the most popular graphic representation of the Affordable Care Act to date (a feat that involved converting a 1500 page document into a mere 43 pictures, earning his presentation one and a half million views on Slideshare). This week on the podcast, Paul Earle, Executive Director of Farmhouse (Leo Burnett’s innovation and new venture center) chats with Dan on all things optical while getting the inside scoop on the “Back of the Napkin” scribe’s short stint in the Soviet Union, his theories on the impact visuals have on the human brain and why stick figures are not those at which to scoff. Welcome, Dan.

What do medical research and marketing innovation have in common? Dr. Michael Abecassis (Director, Comprehensive Transplant Center, Northwestern University) joins us to talk about just that. From incredible anecdotes about strides in his field to analyzing how sometimes innovation itself can actually discourage out-of-the-box thinking, Michael teams with Paul Earle for a lively conversation on what ideators – from marketing to medicine – can learn from one another (hint: it’s a lot more than you think).

Chicago native Zach Kaplan heads the Windy City company Inventables, an organization that constructs its business model on the adage, “making beautiful products should be easy.” Well, Midwest makers (and beyond), no need to beware. Thanks to Inventables’ products, startups, jewelry makers, kids on a mission or corporations getting back to their roots can take advantage of Zach’s (and his cohorts’) designs that put raw materials into the palms of inventors or those who (forgive us) just want to get their hands dirty. Today’s episode (led by Paul Earle, Executive Director of Leo Burnett’s innovation and new venture center, Farmhouse) gives listeners the inside scoop on the maker movement both past and present straight from one of its leaders. But enough from us – now for the man behind the man who makes it all, Zach Kaplan.

This month, Paul Earle (Executive Director of Farmhouse, the innovation and new venture center of Leo Burnett) sits down with Dean DeBiase (Chairman of Reboot Partners) and Sonny Garg (Chief Innovation Officer of the energy giant Exelon) to talk about the increasingly popular notion of "startup thinking" within big companies. What is "startup thinking"? Is it the new "design thinking"? Can big companies win by acting small, and how can they do it? Listen to get their take on what Blockbuster didn't do right, the power of intentionality, and the importance of the "why" (when you've already got the "how").

Welcome back to the Farmhouse Podcast! This month we’re chatting all things design (ahem...Design...with a capital “D”) with the entrepreneur who believes in it most, Craig Dubitsky. Craig joins our humble consortium from several avenues – he was a founding-level investor (and board member) of Method, the line of aesthetically pleasing home products most likely taking residence on your kitchen sink. Craig also had a part to play with Eos, the lip balm housed in the brand’s signature colorful egg shell and Help Remedies, the help-tablets with a flair for the hyper-local. Craig’s on his way to launching Hello, a line of decidedly approachable oral care products. It’s a “What-will-he-think-of-next?” situation, and frankly, we can’t wait to see what that will be. Ladies and gentlemen: Craig Dubitsky.

When we sat down at Three Floyds’ Munster-based brewpub with co-founder Barnaby Struve, the pint pioneer discussed just why he is so fiercely protective of his product. The answer lies somewhere between a learned passion a la Nick Floyd (who started the brand in 1996 after studying brewing at the Siebel Institute of Technology) as well as making a resolute choice to not give people exactly what they want. Proving that beer’s inferiority complex is well on its way out, Three Floyds has shown itself to be a brand whose patrons can only be described as fanatical. From Dark Lord Day (a hybrid beer/music festival with a decidedly Three Floyds demeanor) to wild attempts to stockpile inventory, the following of the Munster-based brewery is second to none. Craft beer has never been more popular – it’s invaded our neighborhood dives (for the better) and even crept into the popular cinema. How does, then, Three Floyds stay afloat in the (bubbly) sea of competition? The recipe for success is in Barnaby’s advice for Chicagoland entrepreneurs: “Don’t make a product that sucks.”

Not many can boast both “magician” and “lawyer” as previous means of employment, but Howard Tullman, dubbed “the most accomplished, best-connected entrepreneur you’ve never heard of,” by Inc. magazine in 2012, isn’t your average businessman. From pioneering educational ventures (Tullman was heavily involved in the revival of Kendall, an accomplished culinary school in downtown Chicago and founded Tribeca Flashpoint Academy, which seeks to modernize and digitize the tradition arts/media college curriculum) to invading the music industry (he produced a Tony award-winning musical and lead the mid-nineties online publishing revolution for clients such as RollingStone.com), Howard’s resume is anything but short. And, though the industries that Tullman’s touched seem to vary, Howard assures that there are three pillars that make businesses of any kind successful: 1., Be the industry standard; 2., Provide documentation and objectivity; and 3., Be something nobody can afford not to be a part of.

How do you measure the success of an entrepreneur? For serial business-creator Brad Keywell, that question is often answered with another question: “How old were you when you first started your own business? And how did it do?” The litmus test is stolen from Warren Buffett, but for Keywell, it’s a pretty accurate gauge of how the Groupon co-founder’s life would go. From homemade greeting card guilds to a Sunday morning bagel-and-orange-juice delivery service, Brad’s humble beginnings gave way to a slew of start-ups later in life, among them Groupon, MediaBank, Echo Global Logistics and new wave education and (now) Windy City mainstay, Chicago Ideas Week. In today’s episode of the Farmhouse Podcast, Brad chats Lightbank (his newest venture), how business partnerships, like marriages, have “their own kind of intimacy,” and why Keywell thinks college is not a full time job. Oh, and if you’re looking for counsel on how to make a quick buck, look elsewhere than this Michigan native for advice: “Most overnight successes are ten to twenty years in making.”

Entrepreneur since birth, Academy for Global Citizenship Founder and Executive Director Sarah Elizabeth Ippel’s passion for education is singular. Sarah Elizabeth joins Paul Earle on the latest episode of the Farmhouse Podcast to discuss her history as a non-profit impresario and schooling-for-a-new-age guru. Sarah Elizabeth is the leader of one the most progressive charter schools in the city, a learning center where students participate in yoga, farming and are fostered as the next generation of globally mindful leaders. The AGC, as its called, has its roots in a bike ride Sarah took to the Board of Education when she was 23-years-old. The Academy for Global Citizenship opened three years later, in 2008, and has since been recognized by former First Lady Michelle Obama and former Chicago Mayor Richard Daley. The Academy for Global Citizenship resides on Chicago’s southwest side.

In this episode, we’re joined by Nick Kokonas, co-founder of Alinea, Next and the Aviary, to talk about his journey from hustling as a derivatives trader at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange to becoming one of the world’s most innovative minds in the culinary business.

In our latest podcast, Chief Storyteller Dan Chodrow sits down with Lollapalooza co-founders Perry Farrell of Jane's Addiction and Mark Geiger, head of the Music Group at William Morris Endeavor, to discuss the concept of reinvention, the universal power of music and the importance of bringing disparate elements together to spur innovation. Listen as Farrell and Geiger reminisce about the revolutionary impact of Lollapalooza over the years and why the festival has become perhaps the most influential of the globe's music gatherings.

Meet the self-described knucklehead and only man to have invited over 400 million people to dinner, Chuck Templeton. Founder of Opentable, the world's leading provider of restaurant reservations, Chuck's entrepreneurial spirit has taken him from waiting tables to redefining the restaurant industry. Now chairman of white hot Chicago food delivery start-up Grub Hub and actively involved in a number of other high-growth enterprises devoted to social good, Chuck talks with Farmhouse about driving his passion.