Call Your Publicist

Social media handed every founder a megaphone. The question is whether they know how to use it. In this episode of Call Your Publicist, Jenna Guarneri and Alexandra Anastasio dig into one of the most contested conversations in the industry right now: with LinkedIn thought leadership, TikTok brand storytelling, and Instagram carousels functioning as press releases, do founders still need a publicist? They get into what founders actually get right when they tell their own story, where the DIY PR approach quietly goes sideways, and why the blind spots that come with doing your own PR can do more damage than no PR at all. Jenna shares what she sees on the agency side when founders come to her after years of going it alone, and Alexandra breaks down what actually happens when a founder cold pitches a journalist directly. The answer isn't that founders should stop owning their story. It's about knowing which parts of PR to keep close and which parts to hand off. This episode is brought to you by Levitate. Get 35% off your first year by visiting levitate.ai/CYP. 🎧 Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.

The best businesses aren't built on transactions. They're built on relationships, and the founders who figure that out early win. In this episode of Call Your Publicist, Jenna Guarneri and Alexandra Anastasio sit down with Jesse Lipson, serial entrepreneur and founder of Levitate, a platform that helps relationship-based businesses stay meaningfully connected to their clients at scale. Jesse breaks down how watching his wife's company burn money on CRM tools sparked the idea for Levitate, why he's treated entrepreneurship as a career calling since his early twenties, and what it really looks like to build technology that strengthens human connection rather than replaces it. He also gets into the parallels between PR and sales, how founders can protect client relationships while scaling fast, and what he's doing with Levitate's recent $16 million raise. If you're building a business where relationships are the product, this one is the roadmap. And before you listen: get 35% off your first year at Levitate by visiting levitate.ai/CYP. 🎧 Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.

The red carpet looks effortless. It is anything but. In this episode of Call Your Publicist, Jenna Guarneri and Alexandra Anastasio break down the layers of PR strategy behind Hollywood's biggest nights, from the Oscars to the Met Gala, and what founders and entrepreneurs can take from it. They get into how celebrities campaign for awards months before the show, why the carpet is the single biggest PR moment of the year for up and coming designers, how the rise of digital creators is reshaping who gets access, and what it really means to build a visual story around your brand. If you've ever wondered what's actually being orchestrated behind those red carpet moments, this one pulls back the curtain. 🎧 Listen to the full episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube.

Most chefs think their food is enough to sell their restaurant. But Chef Aarthi Sampath has been proving otherwise long before her restaurant opens its doors in NYC's East Village. In this episode of Call Your Publicist, Jenna Guarneri and Alexandra Anastasio sit down with Chef Aarthi to unpack the immigrant drive that brought her to New York, the scrappy pandemic hustle that taught her the real cost of running a business, and how beating Bobby Flay on national TV became the launchpad she never saw coming. Plus, why personal storytelling might matter just as much as the menu when it comes to building a restaurant brand from scratch. If you've ever wondered how to build an audience before you even open your doors, this one is for you. 🎧 Listen to the full episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube.

In a world where everyone is selling something, the founders who win aren't the loudest. They're the most real. In this episode of Call Your Publicist, Jenna Guarneri and Alexandra Anastasio get into why authenticity isn't just a buzzword. It's a business strategy. They break down what thought leadership actually looks like for entrepreneurs, why your audience can tell when you're all over the place, and how staying consistent over time is what builds real authority. They also get into why founders are the new influencers, what the McDonald's CEO moment got wrong, and the one shift that turns followers into clients. If you're a founder trying to figure out how to show up online without losing yourself in the process, this one's for you. This episode is sponsored by Event Tickets Center. Use code CYP10 for 10% off any ticket order over $150 at eventticketscenter.com. 🎧 Listen to the full episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube.

In a crowded market, standing out isn't just about having a better product. It's about building trust, owning your narrative, and making every move count. In this episode of Call Your Publicist, Jenna Guarneri and Alexandra Anastasio sit down with Ben Kruger, CMO of Event Tickets Center, to talk about what it actually takes to market a brand in a competitive space. From his time advising hundreds of eCommerce brands at Google to running growth on the operator side, Ben gets into how ETC builds customer trust, why most partnerships fail to move the needle, and what proactive storytelling looks like before the noise starts. He also breaks down his Washington Post op-ed challenging assumptions about ticket resale pricing and what it taught him about shaping your own narrative. If you're building a brand in a space where everyone looks the same, this episode is the playbook. 🎧 Listen to the full episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube.

Every April, Coachella takes over the cultural conversation. But while everyone's watching the performances, the biggest PR moves happening in the desert have nothing to do with the stage. In this episode of Call Your Publicist, Jenna Guarneri and Alexandra Anastasio break down the PR machine behind Coachella and how brands use the festival to generate visibility, cultural relevance, and media coverage that traditional advertising can't replicate. From the Revolve Festival to brand activations built specifically for TikTok and Instagram, they get into why Coachella has become one of the most strategic marketing stages of the year. If you've ever wondered how brands turn a music festival into a PR moment, this one breaks it all down. 🎧 Listen to the full episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube.

Most founders spend months, sometimes years, writing a book. And then they publish it and hope the visibility follows. It doesn't always work that way. In this episode of Call Your Publicist, Jenna and Alexandra pull back the curtain on book PR, what it actually is, why it's one of the most underutilized tools in a founder's brand strategy, and what happens behind the scenes when you do it right. Jenna shares her own experience launching her bestselling book, the lessons learned, the surprises, and how she continues to leverage it today. If you've ever thought about writing a book, or already have one and aren't sure what to do next, this one's for you. 🎧 Listen to the full episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube.

In this episode of Call Your Publicist, Jenna Guarneri and Alexandra Anastasio break down performative PR, why brands keep getting called out for it, and how to make sure your message actually matches your reality. From the internal alignment test every brand should run before a campaign goes live, to why audiences are more brand-literate than ever, they get into what separates a one-month post from a brand platform that actually holds up. They also explore why silence can sometimes be smarter than surface-level support, and what the comment section reveals about a brand's credibility. If your company is thinking about showing up for a cultural moment, this one's worth hearing first. 🎧 Listen to the full episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube.

This week on Call Your Publicist, we sit down with Artem Manilov, Founder and CEO of Tending, the first national service dedicated to headstone restoration and grave maintenance in the United States. Artem and his brothers built Tending after realizing something surprising. Nearly every part of modern life has moved online. Groceries, transportation, healthcare, even financial planning. Yet caring for the physical places that hold our memories has remained inconsistent, outdated, and difficult for families to manage, especially when they live far away. In this episode, Artem shares how they turned that realization into a tech-enabled service helping thousands of families preserve and care for the places connected to their loved ones. We talk about building a mission-driven company, scaling a service-based platform across the country, and what it takes to create a business around something as personal as memory. This conversation is about identifying overlooked problems, building infrastructure around compassion, and using technology to modernize services people quietly rely on. 🎧 Listen now on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.

This week on Call Your Publicist, we sit down with Sarah Mack to talk about turning cultural insight into a consumer brand. While living in Barcelona during her MBA program, Sarah noticed something different about how people interacted with everyday products. The experience felt social, approachable, and free of intimidation. When she returned to the U.S., she saw a gap between how a category was presented and how modern consumers actually wanted to engage with it. In this episode, Sarah shares how she and her sister Emily translated that insight into Offline Wine, a sister-founded brand focused on simplifying a traditionally overcomplicated space. We talk about building alongside family, rebranding with intention, transitioning out of tech, and creating representation in a legacy industry. This conversation is about positioning, clarity, and building a brand that reflects the people it serves. 🎧 Listen now on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.

This week on Call Your Publicist, we sit down with Derek Gwaltney, founder and CEO of Atlas Experiences, the company behind high value incentive trips, million dollar game show challenges, luxury yacht experiences, and once in a lifetime prizes designed for brands and organizations. Derek’s entrepreneurial story did not begin in a boardroom. It began at age ten, collecting loose golf balls and reselling them to invest in baseball cards. Years later, after serving four years in the Air Force and being stationed in Korea, he launched Atlas Experiences in 2019 with a small team and a bold belief: it’s never too late to win big. 🎧 Listen now on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.

This week on Call Your Publicist, we sit down with Justin Baer, Founder and CEO of Collars & Co., the menswear brand known for reinventing the modern dress shirt with its signature structured collar. What started as a personal frustration with floppy collars under sweaters turned into a Shark Tank backed business. Justin secured a $1 million deal from Mark Cuban, $300,000 in cash and a $700,000 line of credit, in exchange for 10 percent equity. But the journey didn’t begin on television. It began with solving a real problem and paying attention to demand. In this episode, Justin shares the moment he realized the opportunity was bigger than one shirt, how a TikTok video created by his then seven year old daughter went viral, and what it feels like to make a life changing investment decision in minutes. We also talk about scaling during a pandemic, expanding into collegiate partnerships, managing investor relationships, and building a brand that feels elevated but accessible. 🎧 Listen now on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.

Hala Shamas did not set out to join the liquor business. Her family had been in it for 40 years and she was building her own path in tech, startups, and scaling digital businesses. Then she spotted a gap no one was solving. Alcohol delivery was charging consumers a 30 to 50 percent premium, without delivering real value back to the customer or the store. In this episode, Hala shares how she turned an analog legacy business into Sipsy, built demand before having the perfect setup, and scaled based on customer feedback. She breaks down why founders waste time over planning, how she learned directly from customers by doing deliveries herself, and why her content strategy is built on education and trust, not constant selling. We also talk about building a business with her brother, navigating partnership dynamics that are never truly 50 50, and what it is like being a female founder in a male dominated spirits industry. Listen on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.

This week on Call Your Publicist, we sit down with Jamie Weeks, founder and investor behind some of the most recognizable names in boutique fitness and recovery, including Orange Theory and Sweathouse. Jamie has helped scale multiple businesses from early traction to major exits, with more than $110M in total enterprise value across three deals. In this episode, Jamie breaks down what it really takes to grow from one location to three, then three to ten, then ten to forty, and why that first stage is always the hardest. We talk about the hiring philosophy he swears by, the risks founders underestimate when scaling, and why leading with empathy is not soft. It is strategy. Jamie also shares what inspired him to launch Founders Row, his founder first approach to investing, and why he believes the private equity playbook needs an update. The story behind Founders Row and what founder first partnership actually looks like 🎧 Listen now on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts. New episodes drop every Monday. This is your weekly reminder to Call Your Publicist.

This week on Call Your Publicist, we sit down with Mark Perkins, host of The Necessary Entrepreneur, for a real conversation about resilience, leadership, and what it actually takes to build something long term. Mark breaks down why your personal philosophy matters more than motivation, how to keep moving when things go sideways, and why the fastest way to grow your own life is to make your day about other people. We talk about service, self awareness, and the discipline of taking action even when the day still sucks. We also dig into the reality of feedback, reputation, and why PR and brand building are never overnight plays. They are built through consistency, curiosity, and showing up fully, even before you feel ready. 🎧 Listen now on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts. New episodes drop every Monday. This is your weekly reminder to Call Your Publicist!

This week on Call Your Publicist, we’re sitting down with Rebecca Leigh West-Remmey of Devour Power, the NYC born food content powerhouse known for turning over the top menu moments into scroll stopping social. Rebecca shares how a casual date night hobby with her now husband Greg became a full scale business, what it really took to land early restaurant clients before social media was “a career,” and why reputation and boundaries are everything when your brand lives online. We also talk about what actually makes content perform, why they turn down clients on purpose, and the proud moments that reminded her just how far they’ve come. 🎧 Listen now on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.

This week on Call Your Publicist, we sit down with Amber Gilormo, founder of The Boutique Lawyer, to talk about the legal decisions that protect founders as they grow. Amber shares how her background in personal injury law shaped the way she helps business owners today, why contracts and boundaries matter more than people realize, and how legal strategy can become a competitive advantage instead of a roadblock. This episode is a practical conversation about risk, confidence, and building a business that feels safe, sustainable, and built to last. 🎧 Listen now on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.

This week on Call Your Publicist, we’re sitting down with Haley Pavone, founder of Pashion Footwear, the brand that created the original convertible heel that transforms from heels to flats in seconds. Haley shares the real story behind building an entirely new product category, from cutting up shoes in her college apartment to turning live demos into viral growth. We also talk about what it takes to market a product people have never seen before, why founder-led storytelling builds trust faster than ads, and the Shark Tank moment where she trusted her instincts and walked away from a deal. This episode is a conversation about scrappy execution, authentic community building, and turning a pain point into a platform. 🎧 Listen now on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.

As the year winds down and inboxes finally slow, we’re pressing pause to reflect. In this episode of Call Your Publicist, we’re reacting in real time to a year-end recap put together by our team, covering JMG’s biggest milestones, PR wins, and moments of growth from the past year. From celebrating JMG’s 10-year anniversary to major client wins, new service launches, podcast milestones, and over 900 pieces of media coverage secured, this episode is an inside look at what it really takes to build, scale, and sustain a modern PR agency. We also talk about mentorship, education, team growth, and what we’re carrying into 2026. 🎧 Listen now on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.