Local brands, practical stories, real operators.
BrandBuilders is a business conversation show centered on the people behind local companies, shops, breweries, service firms, and professional communities. Scott Dunstan and Brian Young keep the tone upbeat and familiar, asking guests how brands are built through relationships, execution, and community trust.
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BrandBuilders is a conversational business show about how companies, community organizations, and personal brands get built in practice. Its center of gravity is Charlotte and the surrounding business community. Scott Dunstan and Brian Young speak with owners, founders, operators, and professional leaders who have turned specific work into visible reputations. The tone is energetic and familiar. Episodes often begin with a generous introduction, then settle into stories about customers, teams, risk, persistence, and the small operating choices that shape a brand over time. David Beam's episode looks at Insulate America as a national network of independently owned insulation contractors, with attention to best-practice sharing, safety, recognition, and member collaboration. Michelle Castelloe's conversation around Moxie Mercantile highlights curated retail, local makers, artisan relationships, social responsibility, and the value of a shop that feels rooted in its neighborhood. Chuck Kistler's visit brings in Vaulted Oak Brewing, third-place hospitality, food trucks, events, and a recurring charitable commitment tied to Parkinson's fundraising. Carly O'Brien's appearance focuses on Carolina Women in Tech, regional community building, sponsorship, inclusion, and creating places where women in technology can connect and thrive. Chad Jenkins' SeedSpark episode leans into entrepreneurship, acquisition, collaboration, and the idea that competitors can become sources of learning. Mandi Boedicker's Dry Ink Designs conversation gets into logo design, websites, visual storytelling, client clarity, and the uneasy but useful role of AI in creative work. Mike O'Kelly brings a hard-edged sales perspective, especially around preparation, follow-up, career transitions, and the grind of outside sales. Tammy Morath's episode adds a service-business lens through therapy, relationship boundaries, screen time, and practical tools for clients. Across these topics, BrandBuilders keeps returning to the same belief. A brand is proven by how people are treated. The show is not abstract strategy talk. It is closer to a local business roundtable where reputation, generosity, and execution matter equally.
Made for: BrandBuilders is for entrepreneurs, sales professionals, marketers, community leaders, and local-business supporters who want grounded stories from people actively running and growing organizations. It especially fits listeners interested in Charlotte-area business culture and relationship-driven leadership.
What sets it apart: The show stands apart by pairing brand and marketing talk with specific operating stories from local and regional builders. Its conversations treat philanthropy, recognition, customer experience, and community involvement as central parts of business identity.
The Brandbuilders Podcast with your hosts Scott Dunstan and Brian Young is brought to you by The Dunstan Group, Charlotte’s premier provider of branded merchandise and logo’d apparel. Brandbuilders is produced in partnership with well-run media + marketing. Got an idea for the podcast? Email us at [email protected]
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
BrandBuilders turns conversations with owners and professionals into practical accounts of sales, branding, collaboration and community-minded business.
BrandBuilders brings Scott Dunstan and Brian Young into easygoing conversations with Charlotte-area owners and professionals, then keeps asking how their work functions in practice.
A Parkinson's fundraiser at a neighborhood brewery is where your next community-building idea might begin.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
David Beam discusses employee recognition and idea sharing among Insulate America's independent contractors.
David Beam, president and CEO of Insulate America, talks with Scott Dunstan and Brian Young about a network of independent insulation contractors. The most memorable detail is a stockholders meeting where members present ideas that worked for them.
Michelle Castelot discusses how supplier relationships guide what Moxie Mercantile carries and what shoppers hear about it.
Michelle Castelot talks about the people behind the products at Moxie Mercantile. After 14 years as a brand director with Anthropologie, she opened the Charlotte gift boutique in a bungalow and later expanded to multiple locations in the region.
Mandy Bodeker considers what a website needs to say before visitors scroll.
Mandy Bodeker, founder of Dry Ink Designs, talks through what a website should show someone before they scroll. Her newspaper-fold analogy is the strongest part of the conversation: put the information visitors need at a glance up front, then give them a reason to keep looking.
Mike O'Kelly talks through the habits and long days of outside sales.
On Brand Builders, Mike O'Kelly draws on two decades in outside sales across pharmaceuticals, medical devices and capital equipment. A former professional baseball player in the Braves organization, he divides a sales career into getting hired, doing the work and moving to…
Tammy Marath offers practical ways for partners to set screen limits and reconnect.
Tammy Marath of Soho Therapy Group starts with a familiar evening problem: tired partners get home, pick up separate screens, and lose the chance to talk.
Rob Walling on bootstrapped SaaS growth, plateaus, and exits — with founders who lived them.
Abbey Ashley's playbook for turning your job skills into a virtual assistant business.
SaaS operators on scaling, pricing and AI, metrics included.
Alex Blumberg interviews guests like Megan Phelps-Roper and Shane McAnally about failure and reinvention.
Liz Clasen-Kelly, CEO of Roof Above, discusses her journey into homelessness advocacy and the organization's work in Charlotte.
Jim Guimond and Dick Sesler discuss Camp Blue Skies, a camp for adults with developmental disabilities, on the Brand Builders Podcast.
Scott Dunstan and Brian Young interview Cliff Castelloe about the All In to Fight Cancer organization, which raises funds through poker tournaments for cancer research and patient support in North Carolina.
Meg Fencil and Beth Suhr from Sustain Charlotte discuss their upcoming Biketoberfest event, a people-powered adventure to experience Charlotte by bike, foot, and transit.
Todd Smith, executive director of the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, discusses the museum's role in Charlotte's art scene, its iconic Firebird sculpture, and innovative community programs.
David Beam, CEO of Insulate America, discusses his company's network of insulation contractors and their commitment to giving back to communities.
Michelle Castelloe discusses her journey from brand director at Anthropologie to founding Moxie Mercantile, a community-focused gift boutique in Charlotte.
Chuck Kistler discusses his role at TIAA and co-ownership of Vaulted Oak Brewing, highlighting their upcoming Pancakes Over Parkinson's fundraiser for the Michael J.
Carly O'Brien discusses her role as co-founder of Carolina Women in Tech and her expertise in strategic marketing and brand storytelling.
Chad Jenkins, CEO of SeedSpark, discusses his collaborative platform for entrepreneurs and the importance of collaboration over competition in business.
Mandy Boedicker, founder of Dry Ink Designs in Charlotte, says her process starts with a five-page questionnaire and ends with five to seven concepts, usually in black and white first.
Mike O’Kelly says sales confidence comes from "technical competence," not from asking for confidence itself.
Tammy Morath, founder of Soho Therapy Group and a licensed mental health counselor, describes a practice built around couples, families, and strength-based therapy in Florida and Vermont.