Stay StarryEyed

Stay StarryEyed is where visionary brand and business leaders go to stay creative and ready for what’s next. Each episode delivers real-world strategies, bold ideas, and new inspiration to help you move your brand and business forward faster. Hosted by Liz Seelye, founder of StarryEyed Strategy, you’ll hear candid conversations with some of the world’s most creative CMOs, founders, and innovators. Together, we reveal the insights, trends, and tools that turn brand potential into lasting impact. From breakthrough brand positioning to industry-altering innovation, Stay StarryEyed gives you the inspiration and information you need to make your big ideas reality.

Stay StarryEyed is a business podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 38 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Unknown Host hosts Stay StarryEyed, a business show with 38 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

• 

  Stay StarryEyed

  How to Build a Category-Defining Brand by Listening to Customers with Tracey Pickett (Hairbrella)

  Sep 3, 202658 min

  The best businesses don't start with a bang. They start with a small problem someone finally decided to solve. Tracey Pickett is the founder and CEO of Hairbrella, an eight-figure brand she built from a single patented rain hat into a multi-category platform for hair protection. A former intellectual property attorney, she holds multiple patents, has raised venture capital, and has been featured on Good Morning America and Oprah's Favorite Things. Tracey shares Hairbrella's path from a frustrating rainy day to a data-driven platform shaped by a decade of customer feedback. She shares how a Kickstarter campaign, thousands of customer emails, and a willingness to launch before she felt ready informed every decision that followed, and how she's using AI to map the customer journey end to end and bring new products to market faster than ever (and you can too). In this episode, you'll learn: ✨How to validate an idea by launching before it's ready and letting customers shape it ✨Why a direct line to customers, not just data, is the fastest path to product-market fit ✨How you can expand a single product to create a complete, new category ✨How to use AI to shorten the distance between a new idea and a scalable product ✨Why people buy the result, not the product, and what that means for your ads Tracey's Creative Inspiration Book: Ready, Fire, Aim by Michael Masterson Brand: Bombas Beverage: Classic margarita with LALO tequila Song: "Interstellar Love" by Thundercat

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Stay StarryEyed

  How to Build an Innovation Roadmap Customers Crave with Mindy Armstrong (Tropical Smoothie Cafe)

  Aug 20, 202653 min

  Why do some new products take off while others quietly disappear? It comes down to how well the team creating them knows their customer. Mindy Armstrong is the VP of Menu Innovation at Tropical Smoothie Cafe, bringing more than 20 years of culinary and marketing experience. Before Tropic Time, she led menu innovation at Perkins and Buffalo Wild Wings. She also serves on FSR's Next Gen Council and the Legacy Board for Women in Restaurant Leadership. Mindy shares why she starts every new role by building relationships, how she's learned to customize her communication style for every collaborator, and what a consumer-centered innovation process looks like. She also gets candid about how to balance your loyal customer base with appealing to a new generation. In this episode, you'll learn: ✨ Why the best innovation starts with strong relationships, not just big ideas ✨ How to ensure your customer (not internal opinions) drives business decisions ✨ How to bring customers into the innovation process from early ideas to launch ✨ How to build an innovation roadmap around needs, occasions, and opportunities ✨ How to uncover equities customers love and turn them into new brand growth A conversation for brand leaders who want to build stronger teams, create better ideas, and turn consumer understanding into an innovation pipeline that just gets better. Mindy’s Creative Inspiration Books: Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert , North Woods by Daniel Mason Brands: Hawkers , Mendocino Farms Beverage: Pickle pea martini Song: Anything by Macklemore

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Stay StarryEyed

  How to Build a "Damn Good" Recognition Culture with Paul Macaluso (Torchy's Tacos)

  Aug 6, 202658 min

  What separates leaders who talk about culture from leaders who actually create it? Paul Macaluso is CEO of Torchy's Tacos, the Austin-based brand known for its award-winning queso and "Damn Good" tacos. He brings 30 years of experience, most recently as president and CEO of Another Broken Egg Cafe. He also held senior leadership roles at Go To Foods across McAlister’s Deli, Moe’s Southwest Grill, and more. Paul's path started three decades ago as a general manager at Taco Bell, a role he still credits as the foundation for everything that followed. Paul shares how he planned his rise from restaurant front lines to president and CEO with disciplined goal-setting, and how that same discipline now shapes how he improves the unique culture at Torchy's. He shares inside info about their recognition program, why he added "service minded" as a core company value, and how a simple shift in the corporate office changed how teams are supported. He also opens up about how he sets and achieves his greatest goals. In this episode, you'll learn: ✨How to make big dreams reality by breaking them into a plan of small steps ✨How to turn tough feedback into the growth that gets you promoted ✨What it takes to make company values feel real instead of just words on a wall ✨How little recognition moments can have an outsized impact on team culture ✨Why cross-functional experience makes marketers better brand leaders Whether you're early in your career or leading a company, this is an inspiring reminder that the goals you set for yourself can become the culture you build for everyone else. Paul's Creative Inspiration Book: The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruis Brand: Nike Beverage: Old Fashioned with Woodford Reserve

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Stay StarryEyed

  How to Make Sustainability a Business Advantage with Saloni Doshi (EcoEnclose)

  Jul 23, 202653 min

  Doing the right thing and protecting your margins don't have to be opposite goals. You just need to know where to start. Saloni Doshi is CEO and Chief Sustainability Officer at EcoEnclose, an industry-leading provider of sustainable packaging for leading e-commerce brands. She shares how she helps brands like Crocs and Chö Chocolates create packaging that strengthens sustainability impact with a North Star that guides every decision she makes. Before acquiring EcoEnclose, Saloni worked in regenerative agriculture, co-founded Fresh Takes Kitchen to expand healthy food access, and held leadership roles at Teach For America. She also offers practical advice for leaders who want purpose and profit, and why the boldest sustainability innovations often come from the smallest brands. In this episode, you'll learn: ✨Why defining your North Star early makes decisions easier and growth faster ✨How to evaluate sustainability investments through both business and brand impact ✨Why circular design is the next frontier for packaging innovation ✨Where to start if you want to make your brand more sustainable ✨How purpose-driven brands create stronger loyalty, engagement, and growth A must-listen for leaders who want a clear filter for hard decisions, and proof that purpose and profit can grow together. Saloni's Creative Inspiration Book: Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert Brand: Cotopaxi Beverage: Tequila soda with Lalo Tequila Song: "Start Me Up" by The Rolling Stones

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Stay StarryEyed

  Whoever Has the Data Wins with Tammy Billings (Signal Flare AI)

  Jul 10, 202656 minS0

  <p>Everyone's uploading spreadsheets into AI right now. But is that actually giving them an edge, or just a faster way to run the same old report?</p><p>Tammy Billings is VP of Business Development at Signal Flare AI, a decision intelligence platform helping restaurants close the gap between insight and action. She's also an advisor to Ovation, Every Bite, and Scale Social, and co-founder and co-host of the podcast Bite-sized & Bossy.</p><p>Tammy shares why she believes the brands willing to invest in unique, proprietary data are the ones who will win, how Signal Flare's Navigator models...

  ListenShow Notes

Recent guests on Stay StarryEyed. Study who booked and why before you pitch.

Based on semantic analysis of episode topics and host coverage, this show is a strong guest fit for executives in:

Industry fit is computed by PitchCentric using vector embeddings of the show's episode catalog.