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Business on the Brink

For many companies, there’s a definitive moment that could determine success or failure. What do you do when you find yourself at The Brink?

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Hey Business on the Brink listeners we think you'll love this show from Financial expert Josh Jaliniski.  Step into the financial end zone with "The Financial Quarterback® Podcast with Josh Jalinski," your weekly playbook for help in mastering the financial game, protecting your wealth, and securing your retirement. Each episode dives into crucial topics like retirement planning, financial strategies, and estate planning, offering straightforward, actionable advice to shield your wealth from higher taxes and market risks.  In this episode:  Drawing from personal experiences and the failures of traditional financial planning, Jalinski emphasizes the importance of having a financial model that accounts for wealth eroding factors. He discusses the limitations of the arithmetic formula commonly used in financial planning and introduces the concept of holistic financial planning. With a focus on protection, savings, growth, cash flow, and debt management, Jalinski provides a game plan for building and protecting wealth. Can't get enough of the Financial Quarterback? Click 'Subscribe' to ensure you never miss a play.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Introducing The Financial Quarterback: Why Traditional Financial Planning is Failing 99% of People

Adaptations are rarely 100% accurate to their source material, but where is the line between adaptation and a completely new story with the same old name? Jonathan and Ariel discuss when a story isn't the story it says it is.Then we adapt two very unlikely stories of our own.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Something's Rotten in Gotham City

Video game stories keep getting longer and more involved. Is there a point when a video game has too much content, too many quests, and to vast a world? The sidequest burnout is real. Then we create a glitch in The Mushroom Kingdom.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's all Fun and Games until Someone Loses a Side Quest

It's the new year, when we think back fondly on our favorite things and anticipate upcoming geekery. We chat about how we are starting off the new year, talk about future news and futuristic jobs, and discuss how our favorite things don't always hold up to the test of time aka the Goonies Effect.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Goonies of the Galaxy

There are a ton of properties coming out that are trading on our nostalgia for decades past. And with 2020 being the way it was, who could blame us for loving them? Jonathan and Ariel explore when nostalgia works and when it's a crutch.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nostalgia Ain't What It used to Be

The pandemic threw a monkey wrench into movie studio plans. We look at which movies have been delayed, which one is coming out earlier than expected, and how streaming is causing an existential crisis for movie theaters.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dune You Forget About Me

It's the final episode of Business on the Brink (at least for now). Ariel and Jonathan give a behind the scenes look on how the show came to be and how they put together each episode.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In late 2019, a travel company in the UK went belly-up overnight, stranding thousands of people who were in the middle of a vacation. Find out about the history of Thomas Cook and how its demise was no holiday.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thomas Cook

This pizza pizza chain made its name with ready-made pizzas for a super low price. But a change in marketing contributed to plunging sales. What happened to Little Caesar?  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Little Caesar's

Pixar got its start as a division of Lucasfilm's Industrial Light and Magic before splitting off under the guidance of none other than Steve Jobs of Apple fame. How did this company known for building specialty computer systems become a juggernaut in the computer animation industry?  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pixar

Bed Bath & Beyond has been through its share of ups and downs over its nearly 50 years of history. How many ups and downs? Well, the CEO of the company changed between the time this show was recorded and when it was published! Mary Winston has stepped aside for Mark Tritton.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bed Bath & Beyond

Just after the turn of the 20th century, a man named Isaac Jacob Collins built a glassware factory. A century (and several owners) later, Anchor Hocking has become a name brand in glass products.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Anchor Hocking

A little alien who wanted to phone home proved to be a big win for a candy product from Hershey's and it launched an era of product placement in film. But what's the story behind the name Reese's anyway?  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Reese's Pieces

Once one of the top personal computer companies in North America, the company Commodore had a major fall. What happened?  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Fall of Commodore

Sometimes, all you have to do to avoid the brink of disaster is to pivot and turn your mistakes into opportunities. This episode is dedicated to three such stories.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Accidental Inventions

Where else can you go when you need a desk that doubles as a Ping Pong table? No where! You go to SkyMall Magazine, and you like it! But what sent the once omnipresent magazine of the skies into a free fall?  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Highs and Lows of SkyMall

We're going back to the days of colorful Trapper Keepers for this one! Lisa Frank is a person and a company, known mostly for colorful designs on school supplies. But for every shiny rainbow, there's a dark cloud.   Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lisa Frank: Not All Unicorns and Rainbows

Formed in the wake of a tornado, the story behind Best Buy has plenty of twist(er)s. How did this retail chain survive the digital age when so many other box stores went under?  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How Best Buy Survived the Amazon

It once dominated the communications and broadcasting industries in the United States, but by 1986 it would be reduced to a name brand. What the heck happened with RCA?  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

RCA Goes Off The Air

Normally, the US government swoops in to bust up monopolies. But after World War I, it did the opposite. How did RCA come to be?  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Rise of RCA

A side hustle for a creamery turned into a major business, but after climbing the top of the pickle heap Vlasic found itself in trouble. What happened?  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Vlasic Gets Into a Pickle

In the wake of banishing founder Gary Gygax, TSR found itself in trouble. How did an upstart gaming company called Wizards of the Coast swoop in to rescue the proverbial damsel in distress?  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

TSR Falls Under the Spell of Wizards of the Coast

In the 1970s, a company called TSR, formed by wargaming enthusiasts, published a genre-defining game called Dungeons and Dragons. But the story of the company might be more legendary than any fantasy quest.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Seeking Treasure in Dungeons and Dragons

We all know her as an iconic television host, actor and producer, but Oprah Winfrey came from a difficult background and overcame many hardships to achieve success.   Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Oprah Winfrey and the Uncertain Road to Success

A group of filmmakers joined together to create the United Artists studio at the dawn of the age of cinema. How did an ambitious film lead to the studio's downfall?  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Parting the Curtain on United Artists

A Kickstarter campaign with a $50,000 goal to fund a beverage cooler with lots of bonus features topped 13 million, so why does the Coolest Cooler end up on so many crowdfunding failure lists?  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chilling Out with the Coolest Cooler

Where do you go when you want a steak dinner for an affordable price without all the fancy restaurant trappings? It used to be a place called Steak and Ale. Whatever happened to that chain?  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Business On The Brink Takes You Out to Steak and Ale

Once upon a time, the Borders bookstore chain was the biggest story in the industry. But in 2011, the company would go out of business and that's all she wrote. We look at what happened.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Brink Without Borders

It began as a shop catering to hobbyists and grew into an enormous chain of electronics stores. But despite numerous efforts to stay relevant (including a ridiculed rebranding), RadioShack found itself on the brink of disaster.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Feeling Lost inside RadioShack

Dave Thomas took a small fortune he earned working with KFC restaurants to found his own hamburger chain, growing it to compete against the likes of McDonald's and Burger King. Ariel and Jonathan ask the immortal question, "Where's the beef?"  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Brink Braves the Blizzard and Explores Wendy's

It was once a powerful video game company that many thought would challenge Nintendo for dominance. So what happened to Sega to make it fall so far?  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Brink Plays Games With Sega

After establishing an animation studio, Walt Disney faced a new challenge: how to stay relevant in a world where short-form animation was getting less profitable? His solution was to do something his contemporaries said would be impossible -- make the world's first feature-length animated film.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Brink Looks at Disney's Folly

The Brink looks at how Walt Disney, through inspiration, determination and just plain stubbornness was able to found an animation studio despite numerous challenges.   Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Founding of the Mouse House

The ride hailing service was on the verge of heading to the scrap heap in the wake of some seriously questionable decisions and toxic corporate culture. This is the story of how things got so bad and how new corporate leadership is working on a major course correction.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Brink Calls an Uber

Between soda pop and sparkling water, there was Clearly Canadian, a collection of fruit-flavored drinks that created a new market. But it's one thing to invent a new category and another entirely to hold onto market share.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Brink Enjoys a Clearly Canadian Beverage

Kodak was the leader in consumer photography for decades, but the rise of digital cameras would shake the company to its core. This is the story of how the company that invented digital cameras was almost destroyed by them.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Can You Picture That? Kodak on the Brink.

As the popularity of comic books waned, Marvel was in trouble. The company might have gone out of business entirely. But the efforts of some dedicated employees along with a big boost from Disney would change things forever.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How Marvel Survived Certain Doom

Today, Marvel is known for breaking global box office records with blockbuster films. But this multibillion dollar company first got its start from much more humble beginnings. How did Marvel establish itself?  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Brink Marvels at, uh, Marvel

In 2003, a Stanford drop-out named Elizabeth Holmes started a company with a grand vision of disrupting the clinical diagnostic industry. She sold the idea of democratized healthcare results to investors. Now she just had to make the tech work.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Startups Go Wrong: The Origin of Theranos

What started out as a company that made playing cards grew into a global powerhouse in video games. But along the way, this same company made a lot of mistakes, from taxi services to "love hotels." This is Nintendo!  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nintendo Plays its Cards Right

Conrad Hilton, the founder of Hilton hotels, took a lot of risks while building his empire. Despite numerous setbacks and challenges, he was able to forge a powerful company and establish hundreds of hotels across the world.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Brink Books a Room at the Hilton

In the 1990s, CBS was on a roller coaster. The TV network went from first to worst, leading to a buyout and a big change in programming. How did CBS navigate the difficult transition and emerge as America's most watched network?  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is CBS! (On The Brink)

There's probably a location within an easy walk of where you are, but how did Starbucks become the omnipresent coffee shop? We look at the history of this famous chain.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Brink Places an Order at Starbucks

The clothing brand associated with preppy kids established itself early on in the 1980s but found itself floundering after focusing on more high-priced products. This is the story of how a brand nearly priced itself out of the market.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Brink Gets Preppy with J Crew

Did the Pabst Blue Ribbon beer really win a blue ribbon prize at the Chicago World's Fair? And how did this award-winning brew become associated with cheap beer? How did hipsters revive and then abandon PBR?  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Brink Toasts with Pabst Blue Ribbon

Those pesky Millennials are at it again. From mayo to diamonds, they're just killing off industries left and right. Where did that idea come from and is it valid?  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Millennials Killed the Brink

After a move to Durango, Colorado, Frank Crail had a tough decision ahead of him. Should he open up a chocolate factory, or a car wash? Lucky for chocaholics, he picked the sweeter route.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Snacking on Rocky Mountain Chocolate

It started off as a galoshes company and evolved into a brand that for many years was an integral component of basketball in the US. We look at the lay ups and smack downs Converse has experienced since 1908.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Converse Conversation

Once it was the king of social media platforms but these days MySpace is nearly forgotten. How did the company go from being on top of the world to a punchline?  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

No Place for MySpace

This venerable company, whose trademarked name became the generic term for photocopiers, has been through a lot. We look at how some recent major changes have reshaped Xerox.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Xerox: Hoping to Copy Past Success

The Old Spice brand was in danger of forever being associated with the idea of smelling like your grandpa. So how did an innovative ad campaign turn things around? I'm on a horse!  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Old Spice: Not Your Grandfather's Marketing

The hospitality industry hasn't exactly been hospitable toward the upstart AirBnB, which aims to disrupt the hotel industry. This is the story of how the business went from concept to worldwide phenomenon.   Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Reservations About AirBnB

Before there were motion pictures, video games and countless licensed minifigs populating shelves across the world, there was a little toy company and a little wooden duck. We explore how Lego built a business brick by brick.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lego: Not Another Brick in the Wall (Street)

Oracle was founded by three people but most of us only know about Larry Ellison. How did this college dropout become a billionaire while taking aim at the largest software company in the world?  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How to Win: Consulting the Oracle

When Jeff Bezos launched Amazon, one thing was certain: there was no way that business was going to make it. Now he's the richest man on Earth. How did that happen?  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Amazon: From Bookseller to Billionaire

From crop dusting to first class, we look at how a little company out of Macon, Georgia became one of the largest airlines in the world.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Delta Pulls Out of a Dive

Macy's and Christmas go together like Santa and the end of the Thanksgiving Day Parade. But about 20 years ago, the company was in danger of falling apart. How did Macy's recover?  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Miracle at Macy's

We don't want to grow up, but when Toys R Us declared bankruptcy we matured really quickly. How did this company synonymous with toy stores lose its way?  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wrapping Up Toys R Us

A geeky smart watch company launched three of the five most successful Kickstarter campaigns in crowdfunding history. So how did Pebble lose its way to go out of business?  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pebble Hits a Boulder

In a controversial decision, the CEO of Apple forced Steve Jobs out of the company he founded. Then everything fell apart. How did Jobs make a triumphant return to the company that had pushed him away?  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Brink Takes a Bite Out of Apple

In the early 1900s, a dozen or so motorcycle companies popped up in the United States. By the end of World War II, only two remained. How did Harley Davidson survive?  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Harley Davidson Rides to War

How did a refugee build up a condiment empire? We explore the spicy story behind one of the most popular sauces on tabletops across the US.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sriracha Adds the Spice to Success

For many companies, there’s a definitive moment that could determine success or failure. What do you do when you find yourself at The Brink?  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.