Fast Forward Podcast is where real founders, operators, and creators break down the exact decisions, systems, and turning points that moved their business forward. Hosted by Jeffrey Mailey, a product-minded designer and founder of MaileyAI, the show cuts through hype and filters to reveal how growth actually happens.
Each episode is a long-form conversation with a business builder who is in the arena, sharing what worked, what failed, what broke, and what finally clicked. No recycled advice. No influencer soundbites. Just real operators talking through real problems and the frameworks that solved them.
What listeners get:
• The unseen parts of scaling a business
• Systems, tools, and workflows founders rely on
• How momentum is created when things stall
• First-principles thinking instead of generic tactics
Who it is for:
Founders, builders, and problem-solvers who want clarity instead of guesswork.
This is not a motivational podcast. It is a growing library of real conversations that reveal how businesses evolve in real time. Listen, learn, and move forward faster.
In this episode of Fast Forward, I sit down with Jillian Mason Shannon, founder of Neotopia, a nonprofit reimagining how we engage with theology, philosophy, and culture, to talk about making the deepest questions in life feel accessible instead of intimidating.
Jillian spent 14 years in New York before relocating to San Antonio, where she earned her Master of Divinity from SMU's Perkins School of Theology. What started as bite size theology on Instagram grew into a curated bookstore, a nonprofit, monthly webinars, and a teaching role as a college religious studies professor. She also happens to be someone I went to high school with at Lake Highlands, so this conversation got personal fast.
If you have ever felt spiritually curious but institutionally resistant, this one is for you. Jillian breaks down how to strip the stigma off religion and reframe it as something that lightens your load instead of adding to it.
🎙️ We dive into:
• Why she left a 14 year life in New York and what the move to San Antonio actually unlocked
• How a curated bookstore became the launchpad for a virtual nonprofit
• The real value of building community in person when our instinct is to hide behind our screens
• Why she strong arms her students into an A but warns them they can still fail themselves
• The classroom exercise where every student has to stand up and say how they changed their mind
• How she brings her full self to her work, foreign films, reality TV, sermons, and all
• What it actually feels like to put scary, personal work into a world that can be brutal about religion
• The David Foster Wallace idea that we are all worshiping something whether we admit it or not
• Why missing the point is the original definition of sin
• The moon and the finger metaphor that explains why religions get stuck fighting each other
• Her three to five year plan, from city pop ups to writing her dissertation from Oslo
• Raising two boys with a wing it philosophy and no diaper bag in sight
Jillian's whole mission is to flip the cultural perception of faith from shallow and corny to genuinely useful for a complex modern life, and she makes a compelling case.
🔔 Subscribe for more honest conversations with founders, operators, and creators building what is next
🎤 Hosted by Jeffrey Mailey
📍 Fast Forward Podcast
#FastForwardPodcast #Neotopia #Theology #Philosophy #FaithAndCulture #NonprofitFounder #SanAntonio #Entrepreneurship #Leadership
00:00 Introduction to Neotopia and Personal Connections
02:09 The Journey to San Antonio and Founding Neotopia
05:19 Transitioning from a Bookstore to a Nonprofit
07:34 Building Community and Overcoming Isolation
09:36 Teaching and Challenging Students' Perspectives
12:47 The Role of Technology in Education
16:04 Navigating Life as a Professor and Entrepreneur
20:04 Embracing the Entrepreneurial Journey
23:38 Navigating Authenticity in Business
28:27 The Weight of Spirituality and Personal Beliefs
33:00 Reframing Religion and Spirituality
37:00 Future Aspirations and Global Experiences
39:36 Introduction to the Podcast
15 May 2026
Ep. 24 — Ecolux Goods w/ Lael Barry
In this episode of Fast Forward, I sit down with Lael Berry, founder of Ecolux Goods, to talk about why a 22 karat gold straw is actually one of the most practical products on the market.
Lael is a 20+ year entrepreneur, former hairdresser, and survivor whose entire business exists because of what she lived through. She walked me through how a disintegrating paper straw on a rooftop in California turned into a luxury reusable brand rooted in sustainability, wellness, and impact. We also dug into her first big startup that COVID killed overnight, the fear of facing friends and family after raising money that vanished, and how that failure actually became the unlock for everything that came next.
If you are a founder who is wrestling with self doubt, exposure, or what it really means to build something with purpose, this one is for you.
🎙️ We dive into:
• Why gold and silver are naturally antimicrobial and how that solves the reusable straw problem nobody talks about
• The moment a paper straw fell apart in her cocktail and sparked the entire brand
• How our ancestors already knew this and why silverware used to actually be silver
• Why she had to face her biggest fear after COVID wiped out her education startup overnight
• What raising money from friends and family teaches you about failure
• How being seen as an entrepreneur is the hardest personal development school you will ever attend
• Why a bored Lael is a dangerous Lael and what that has to do with building startups
• What 20 years of hairdressing taught her about reading rooms and holding space
• Why every person should work in service for six months of their life
• How Ecolux is structured as a social purpose corporation funding ocean conservation, women in business, and veteran healing through plant medicine
• The difference between building a business and becoming the person who can hold what you dream about
Lael is the kind of founder who reminds you that the product is just the vehicle. The real game is impact and the ripple effect you leave behind.
🔔 Subscribe for more honest conversations with founders, operators, and creators building what is next
🎤 Hosted by Jeffrey Mailey
📍 Fast Forward Podcast
#FastForwardPodcast #EcoluxGoods #Sustainability #FemaleFounders #LuxuryBrand #SocialImpact #FounderStory #Wellness #Entrepreneurship #Leadership
00:00 Introduction to EcoLux Goods and Lyle Berry
00:54 The Inspiration Behind the Golden Straw
05:03 Sourcing and Sustainability in Production
08:30 The Concept of Wellness and Grounding
13:27 Facing Failure and Learning from Experience
17:51 The Challenge of Exposure and Personal Growth
22:45 Facing Self-Doubt and Building Resilience
24:16 Grounding Practices: Yoga, Meditation, and Travel
26:29 The Importance of Wellness and Self-Care
29:35 The Transformative Power of Hairdressing
34:50 The Value of Service and Empathy
37:52 Impact-Driven Business: The Future of Ecolux
41:00 Introduction to the Podcast
In this episode of Fast Forward, I sit down with Kelli Kelley, founder and CEO of brndMethod Creative Agency, to talk about why creativity and results don't have to be a tradeoff and why most businesses aren't actually ready for AI even when they think they are.
Kelli started her career in PR in New York at Walmart's Grand Fade of Glory, learned communications on the job sitting in editor lunches with Vogue, Elle, and Bazaar, and eventually built her own agency in Atlanta. She has spent the last 15+ years refining a methodology that anchors every creative decision back to the actual sales process and business goals of the client.
If you run a B2B business, lead a marketing team, or you're a founder trying to figure out how AI fits into your strategy without wasting budget, this episode is for you.
🎙️ We dive into:
• Why the first conversation with any client starts with the sales team, not the brand
• How to bring real creativity into conservative B2B without crossing into cringe
• The real reason most companies aren't ready for AI yet
• Why the AI twin trend missed the point of authentic content
• How the brndMethod AI marketing readiness assessment exposes the gaps before strategy starts
• What happens when leads go to the void because no one connected the form
• Why marketing should never be hung with the responsibility of closing sales
• How Kelli pivoted from traditional PR to digital after seeing the writing on the wall in 2014
• The mindset shift that happens when you stop chasing shiny objects and start asking what is this for
• How to feed the algorithm without sacrificing brand integrity
• Why she sees every platform update as an opportunity instead of a problem
• What the next 3 to 5 years look like for agencies that actually care about brand
Kelli's perspective is sharp because she has lived through every era of marketing from print PR to AI and she understands that the fundamentals never change even when the tools do.
🔔 Subscribe for more honest conversations with founders, operators, and creators building what is next
🎤 Hosted by Jeffrey Mailey
📍 Fast Forward Podcast
#FastForwardPodcast #brndMethod #MarketingAgency #B2BMarketing #AIMarketing #BrandStrategy #CreativeAgency #Entrepreneurship #Leadership
00:00 Introduction to Brand Method Creative Agency
02:35 Merging Creativity with Results
05:05 Navigating the B2B Marketing Landscape
07:53 The Importance of Consistency in Content Creation
10:31 Adapting to Industry Changes and AI
13:16 The Role of Authenticity in Marketing
15:52 Kelly's Journey to Founding Brand Method
18:34 The Shift to Digital PR
21:09 Embracing Change and AI in Marketing
24:00 Assessing Readiness for AI Integration
26:21 Understanding Sales and Marketing Alignment
30:10 The Importance of Process in Business
32:00 Future Vision for Brand Method Creative Agency
36:04 Introduction to the Podcast
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
3 ratings
Contact Fast Forward Podcast
Guest appearances
Books guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
Host of Fast Forward Podcast?
Claim your podcast to manage its listing and keep your show details accurate.
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
