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More than anything, you have to be someone that people can count on. -- Rick Sems, CEO Rick leads through action. He spent his career leading teams and developing people so they can understand how to take care of customers needs. It takes vision, but it also just takes hard work and when you put the two together, every day, you have compounding. That positive compounding is what Rick uses to drive the success of Equity Bank.

Introducing Start with Yourself: A New Vision for Work & Life with Emma Grede and Oprah from The Oprah Podcast. Follow the show: The Oprah Podcast Emma Grede has become one of the most influential voices in modern business. She is best known as a founding partner of SKIMS, co-founder and CEO of the clothing brand Good American, her podcast Aspire with Emma Grede and as the first Black female investor on ABC’s hit show Shark Tank. She is helping redefine what success looks like for a new generation of women. In this conversation with Oprah, Emma dives into her first book Start With Yourself: A New Vision for Work and Life sharing the mindset behind her rise from a young girl in East London to a global business leader. Drawing on the lessons in her book, Emma opens up about radical self-accountability, the power of discipline and why success starts from within. She also shares her bold perspectives on work-life balance, motherhood without guilt and why women must get comfortable putting money and ambition at the forefront. Plus, we hear from twin sisters who turned a simple idea into a hundred-million-dollar business after making a deal with Emma on Shark Tank. BUY THE BOOK! Emma Grede "Start with Yourself" https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Start-With-Yourself/Emma-Grede/9781668085486 00:00:00 - Welcome Emma Grede author of “Start with Yourself” 00:04:18 - Emma knew she needed to change 00:06:10 - Realizing what you don’t want 00:08:35 - How Emma changed her life 00:13:45 - Radical ownership and real barriers 00:15:10 - We need more women in power 00:19:00 - Career and motherhood 00:20:20 - We put too much pressure on moms 00:22:50 - Truth vs. emotions in business 00:24:22 - Mistakes Emma made 00:27:00 - Emma and Skims 00:27:50 - Building from purpose vs. ego 00:31:00 - Emma funded this on Shark Tank 00:36:00 - Importance of mentorship 00:38:20 - When to scale a small business 00:39:30 - The most important question 00:42:20 - What does self-care look like? 00:43:30 - Meditation practice 00:46:00 - Emma on life being magic 00:49:30 - Overcoming comparison 00:51:00 - Why she wrote the book 00:52:40 - Dyslexia is a superpower 00:54:30 - Is every woman meant for business? 00:56:30 - A well-lived life Cakes Body https://cakesbody.com/ Follow Oprah Winfrey on Social: https://www.instagram.com/oprahpodcast/ https://www.facebook.com/oprahwinfrey/ Listen to the full podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/0tEVrfNp92a7lbjDe6GMLI https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-oprah-podcast/id1782960381 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices DISCLAIMER: Please note, this is an independent podcast episode not affiliated with, endorsed by, or produced in conjunction with the host podcast feed or any of its media entities. The views and opinions expressed in this episode are solely those of the creators and guests. For any concerns, please reach out to [email protected].

The Chief Operating Officer, Julie Huber and  Senior Vice President of Retail Banking, Jonathan Roop work every day on delivering the ease of experience for the customer. When people interface with a financial institution, be it in person or online they want it to be simple and intuitive. Julie Huber, the COO of Equity Bank has been working on this since there was just one Equity Bank office.  In 2026. They're all over 85 spread out across the middle of the USA. The ease of doing business from the customers per perspective is more important today than ever.  Jonathan Roop has spent his career in banking. With over two decades of experience, he thinks about that personal exchange with a customer every day.  Through the leadership of Julie and Jon, the high value on customer attention and delivering in the moment is what defines Equity Bank's value proposition to each and every customer. Delivering great service is common sense. Julie and Jon have made sure that delivering a valuable experience is common sense at Equity Bank.

"I had a health double-bogey and it taught me [like golf], you have to stay in the moment." -Cary Cozby, PGA Director of Golf   We confess how this beautiful, frustrating game we call golf so perfectly parallels life itself. It's about the grit you build when you simply refuse to quit, the discipline of staying fully in the moment, and learning to embrace every emotion that comes with it. You might love golf. You might hate golf. Some days you'll love it and hate it in the very same round. That's the magic — this game captures the full spectrum of human emotion like almost nothing else. Golf is historical. It's generational. It's something you can share with your family across a lifetime. There are incredible triumphs and painful tribulations. But in the end, if you just keep showing up every single day with that hopeful, joyful desire to get a little bit better… while taking that peaceful walk in the shared experience of humanity… Golf doesn't just mimic life. In many ways, it is life. So don't forget to play every day

Take me out to the ball game! We are celebrating America's past time with the General Manager of the Wichita WindSurge. Matt has dedicated his career to Major league baseball, and we are grateful that he leads the SURGE! It's an incredibly entertaining and beautiful atmosphere at Equity Bank Park and Matt and his team do everything from taking the tickets, lighting the lights and balancing the budget budgets. Running the Major league affiliate squad in Wichita is an incredibly entrepreneurial undertaking. Matt and his team are impressive with all that they do to create an entertaining day at the park and bringing tremendous value to the city of Wichita. Play ball!

"The Iranian objective is to cause so much damage that the US will not attack again. - former Ambassador David J. Dunford The Arab-Israeli conflict confuses people.  It is complex. We need to understand the confict and the Region so that we can add constructive questions to conversations instead of hyperbole that ends up in a side choosing battle and humanity loses. Ambassador David J Dunford has spent the majority of his life trying to impart positive change in the Midle East. As the former Ambassador the the Sultan of Oman, he has stood on the south peninsula of the Straits of Hormuz, witnessing speedboats shuttling across with various contriband. And as the Deputy Director of US Trade in the Office of the President he recounts the significants worldwide challenges that come up when confilct over Oil shuts down ships.  In order to improve a situation you must better understand it.   Professor Dunford expresses his thoughts and gives incredible insight to the last 100 plus years of the Arab-Israeli Conflict. 

It takes a lot of energy to do what Warren does. Pun Intended. As the voice of education for the Oil and Gas industry in the state of Kansas, Warren spends his days in front of audiences of all ages to help them understand the importance of reliable and inexpensive energy. People do not thrive without it. World conflicts have exacerbated this issue. It affects us all. Supporting solutions for Energy benefits society.  The state of Kansas is home too many Entrepreneur's in the oil and gas industry, and they provide thousands of jobs and sustainable reliable energy so that people can continue to help each other and improve each other's lives.

  I've talked to many people who do difficult things at the highest level and entrepreneurs who don't quit and Brad Elliott is an entrepreneur who does not quit. He founded Equity Bank in 2001 in 2015. Equity Bank became publicly traded and remains Wichita, Kansas only publicly traded institution. Equity has grown organically as well as through many acquisitions. In our conversation, Brad shares the motivation behind each institution's desire to merge with Equity Bank.  Brad has created a culture of being entrepreneurial while working at a bank, helping our customers every day in their personal and their professional lives so that they have the financial resources to meet whatever their challenges are.  As chairman Brad still lives his life with the attitude of "the right thing to do is the right thing to do."

"Shared commitment and accountability — we make a plan so they are actively engaged in re-joining society."  -- Dan Clifford, Executive Director, Second Light Homelessness is a complex problem. Wichita, KS has assembled the team to confront and solve it.  And it takes everyone to get it done. The solution involves private, public, non-profit, the business community and each citizen to take action. The Leadership that created the Multi-Agency Center (MAC) put to use Federal funds and those funds must be deployed in 2026. The rebrand to Second Light in 2025 shifts the focus from purely logistical to an organization that creates hope and renewal. To continue this worthy ideal, Wichita needs to secure funding into perpetuity.  On March 3rd, 2026 Wichita has a special election that, when passed, will create the funding needed from a temporary Sales Tax.  The quality of life in Wichita will continue to improve and lead in the region through efforts like this. Wichita has a strong foundation. This effort is a multiplier.  Let's take action. secondlightwichita.org

"I want to demystify city government." -- Mayor Lily Wu Lily is all for Wichita.  She leads every day through her actions.  From the beginning, she told our community of Wichitans "I will focus on public safety, grow and strengthen our economy, restore trust in City Hall and build a united community!" We reflect on specific examples of each one of her initiatives.  She addresses these on a daily basis. Leadership is also about helping others lead.  She is asking for your help. Let's all be for Wichita.

"For the first 10 minutes all we do is talk about the Wins of the week." -Corey Novascone   The game of golf teaches life lessons.  Our friend Corey Novascone regularly says "I owe everything to golf," and he follows through with that by passing on what he has learned so that young people can apply the disciplines in their lives. The First Tee of Wichita is avaiable to anyone, without questions.  All they ask is that you do the work and live the principles-- you do not even have to be proficient at this dificult game! In the inaugural year of the First Tee Freater Wichita's permanent campus, Headquarters with learning and teaching facilities-- they have served larger and larger numbers of young poeple. It is a joy to talk golf, youth development and Slow Play on the ictpodcast.com with mulitiple-time State Chamionship Coach Corey Novascone. firsteegreaterwichita.org

"Have you done your research on WHO I AM and what I HAVE DONE? You are [kind of] talking to Ghandi about Peace."  -- Steven And no, I do did not "know who I am!" We are all suseptible to being arrogant.  It is part of the human condition and we are all flawed. However, we can fix it quickly when we are present in mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility value others above yourselves.

"Who are my People I want to do life with?" -Jason Toevs, CTO Scroll Happy   Social Media pllatforms changed all of our lives-- some positive, some negative, some tragically. Jason Toevs is a Founder and Tech Leader and he is very thoughtful about his approach to this powerful tool.  Scroll Happy (scrollhappy.com) is the wholesome platform for Social Media.  This world will continue to grow and we must be disciplined about our engagement with it.  This is what Scroll Happy by UP has as their mission.  Jason's leadership with technology, social media, and AI is through one lens: maximum human benefit, without eroding our humanity.

"Why don't you give it a chance, Man..." Wichita by the Adler Brothers   The Adler Brothers Conor and Patrick are from a very talented family. They represent 2/3 of the band the Adler Brothers who have a brand new hit out anywhere that you get your music streaming called Wichita.  It's a joy for me to announce this song written by Conor. Conor came to Wichita USA from Chicago and all you have to do is listen to him talk for 10 seconds to know, he is certainly a man from Chicago. But he took a chance. He took a chance and was courageous enough to follow his dreams of working with Founders and helping them get there unique businesses off the ground. Conor has excelled working with NXTUS.io, company that invests in and mentors founders/entrepreneurs who's businesses are ready for primetime. His brother Patrick not only has a beautiful voice, but is embarking on an entrepreneurial journey of his own as a professional golfer. It is certainly a difficult endeavor and one that is full of intense competition-- just like founding a company is. What a joy it is for me to talk to these two almost-Irish-citizen-Chicagoens who made their way to connect with Wichita, USA, and weave themselves into our own fabric of people who do difficult things at the highest level and working with entrepreneurs. Check out the Adler Brothers on all social media platforms and wherever you stream your music. Look for their new album dropping November 7.  I'm grateful to know that I can't wait to meet the final third of the trio.