Catalyst Ranch’s
Creative Juice Blog
Ever stumble upon a great accident? Well that is how motherhood went for me. I was running for US Congress against Luis Gutierrez in the 4th District. It was 2012 and I had raised my first $25,000. I felt empowered. I felt alive. I was living my dream of working towards becoming a politician. Then [...]
Most Interesting Person: Ali Karbassi Over the past 15 years I’ve worked in many different industries; Professional photographer, senior web developer at web firms and advertising agencies, product developer at an Internet of Things startup, Technology Director at a product-based company, and CEO of a non-profit to name a few. Each has revolved around my love [...]
Hello! My name is Tehilla. (sounds like "tequila") Newman; Catalyst Ranch's new Business Development Manager, Networking Ninja and Relationship Revolutionizer. After having grown up in Cherry Hill, NJ, I came to Chicago to go to Graduate School at a prestigious Theater Program. Having never failed anything before in my life, when the school "cut" me [...]
We sat down with Holly Birnbaum, one of the founders of Thoughtly Crew, to ask about Creative Thinking Agents, consumer market research groups, and partnering with Catalyst Ranch. Here's what she said! Who is Thoughtly Crew? Thoughtly Crew, the world's first independent pool of creative consumers, was launched in 2005 by Holly Birnbaum, Scott Cheney [...]
by Ida Abdalkhani It’s interesting how of my varied journeys and adventures in life—getting my MBA right after my undergraduate degrees (with no full-time work experience), going from corporate employee to entrepreneur, becoming a laughter yoga instructor, and even bungee jumping in Victoria Falls—the one thing that people most want to talk about is my backpacking [...]
We wanted to get the real dirt on focus groups (without spoiling client confidentiality of course), so we reached out to our recruiting partner, Heidi, who gave us the lowdown. We asked a few questions. . . CR - What was your most interesting focus group? Heidi - The most interesting focus group involved women who [...]
7 Tips on How to Prepare to Teach, When You Haven't Been Trained as a Teacher by Ida Abdalkhani, Founder & President of Ability to Engage, Inc I recently started teaching at my alma mater, The Ohio State University. Given the focus of my boutique consulting business, Ability to Engage, where we help companies develop [...]
SEVEN STEPS TO CURB YOUR PERFECTIONISM & ACCOMPLISH MORE By Ida Abdalkhani, Founder at Ability to Engage I grew up in a depressed rust-belt city surrounded by pollution and decay. I escaped, vigorously pursued my undergraduate studies and leadership activities at Ohio State, added an MBA with honors, helped build multiple brands at one of [...]
Meet Samira Ahmed, this month’s candidate trying to upstage Pogo, the Most Interesting Monkey in the World.*Portrait courtesy of six-year-old daughter Lena Jonas. Archaeologists have found copies of Samira’s unpublished novels amongst the prized possessions of ancient Pharaohs. She can tame a class of unruly juniors into silence with an expertly executed aria. She can hail [...]
Please stand up and do some jumping jacks for guest blogger Kim Ready! Fitness Engaged is our newest meeting mix-in vendor and is a full service wellness company offering corporate wellness programs, seminars, and retreats along with 4 programs designed to give your meeting a healthy balance. We live in a world of demanding deadlines, calendars [...]
