In this episode of Bronx CFO: Street to Suite, Simon Zelman sits down with Stacey Gish Wallenstein, creator of The Mint Chip Mama, to explore her unconventional career journey from luxury fashion and hospitality to entrepreneurship, content creation, and social work.

Stacey shares how her early career took her from Harrah’s Entertainment to Chanel and Christian Dior, where she worked in customer relationship management, e-commerce, and internet marketing during the early days of online luxury retail. She reflects on helping luxury brands navigate the transition to e-commerce and how those experiences taught her valuable lessons about customer relationships, technology, and delivering a strong brand experience.

After becoming a mother, Stacey stepped away from corporate life and began writing about parenting and family experiences. In 2013, she launched The Mint Chip Mama, which grew from a personal parenting blog into a platform covering parenting, lifestyle, travel, food, beauty, and family experiences. She discusses how she turned years of content creation and brand partnerships into a business, learned to value her time and expertise, and became more intentional about the clients and projects she takes on.

The conversation also explores Stacey's decision to return to school for social work, reconnecting with her original interest in psychology and her goal of becoming a therapist. From luxury brands to motherhood, entrepreneurship, content creation, and a new career in social work, Stacey's story highlights how careers can evolve and how experiences from one chapter can create opportunities in the next.

Key Takeaways

• Stacey's career journey from Harrah’s to Chanel and Christian Dior
• Lessons from working with luxury brands and high-end customers
• How Chanel and Dior navigated the early days of e-commerce
• The importance of customer relationships and delivering a strong brand experience
• How becoming a mother changed Stacey's career path
• The story behind launching The Mint Chip Mama in 2013
• Turning a personal blog into a business through content and brand partnerships
• Knowing your value and learning when to say no to unpaid work
• Why authenticity matters in content creation and influencer marketing
• Managing entrepreneurship, family, and burnout
• Stacey's transition back toward social work and therapy
• Why career reinvention does not always mean starting over
• Using lessons from previous careers to build something new

Connect with Stacey Gish Wallenstein

• Website: The Mint Chip Mama
• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/staceygishwallenstein
• Social Media: @TheMintChipMama

About Street to Suite

Street to Suite explores the real stories behind successful careers, businesses, and leadership, sharing the lessons you don't always learn in school.

Listen to this episode for an honest conversation about career reinvention, luxury brands, motherhood, entrepreneurship, authenticity, and finding your next chapter.

In this episode of Bronx CFO: Street to Suite, Simon Zelman sits down with Daniel Moloney, New York-based designer and Founder and Creative Director of NAMARA, to explore his journey from studying design in Dublin to building a career with some of the fashion industry's most recognized brands. Daniel is a graduate of the National College of Art and Design in Dublin and has extensive experience across both men's and women's fashion and accessories.

Daniel shares how his early experience at Halston shaped his approach to design and craftsmanship, along with lessons learned from working with brands including Kenneth Cole, Tory Burch, Michael Kors, Burberry, Vince, and others. He discusses how working across high-end designers and high-volume brands helped him develop a broader perspective on brand building, design, and market strategy.

The conversation also explores the creation of NAMARA, Daniel's luxe streetwear label for men and women. Inspired by his European training and love of American culture, Daniel discusses building a distinct brand identity, balancing creativity with commercial realities, and bringing his experience in fashion design and brand development into his own business.

Key Takeaways

• Daniel's journey from studying design in Dublin to building a career in New York
• Lessons from his early experience at Halston
• How working with major fashion brands shaped his design perspective
• The value of experience across both men's and women's fashion
• Balancing creativity with commercial realities
• Building a strong and recognizable brand identity
• How Daniel's European training and American experience influence his work
• The story behind creating NAMARA
• The importance of craftsmanship and design in building a fashion brand
• Lessons from working across high-end designers and high-volume brands
• How experience in fashion can translate into brand building and market strategy

Connect with Daniel Moloney

• Website: danielmoloney.co
• LinkedIn: Daniel Moloney on LinkedIn
• Brand: NAMARA

About Street to Suite

Street to Suite explores the real stories behind successful careers, businesses, and leadership, sharing the lessons you don't always learn in school.

Listen to this episode for an inside look at fashion, creativity, entrepreneurship, craftsmanship, and Daniel Moloney's journey from Dublin design student to building his own fashion brand in New York.

In this episode of Bronx CFO: Street to Suite, Simon Zelman sits down with Joe Cuccurullo, VP of Marketing & Sales at RCL Agencies, Inc., to explore his journey from graduating from Lehman College in the Bronx in 1974 to building a career spanning more than five decades in international shipping and logistics. Joe shares how a job with Canadian Pacific Railway introduced him to the transportation industry and helped shape his approach to sales and relationships.

Joe explains how he and his partner, Patrick Costin, took the leap into entrepreneurship and established RCL Agencies in 1984. He discusses the risks they took to get started, how they built the business around industry knowledge and relationships, and why staying small, focused, and committed to customers has been central to the company's longevity.

The conversation also explores adapting to COVID, changing technology, tariffs, geopolitical challenges, and the shift toward more digital business. Joe shares his philosophy on accountability, personal relationships, customer service, and why technology should be a tool rather than a replacement for human connection.

Key Takeaways

• How a job after college can develop into a lifelong career
• Lessons from more than 50 years in international shipping and logistics
• Taking the entrepreneurial leap and starting a business with a partner
• Building a business around relationships, reputation, and industry knowledge
• How Canadian Pacific helped Joe develop his sales skills
• Staying resilient through COVID, fuel costs, geopolitical challenges, and tariffs
• Why staying small and focused can be an intentional business strategy
• Treating employees, vendors, and customers as important long-term relationships
• Why technology should support a business rather than replace human interaction
• The importance of accountability and telling customers the truth when problems arise
• Building relationships that go beyond transactions
• Why trust should be earned over time
• Lessons Joe would share with his younger self about trust, relationships, and authenticity

Connect with Joe Cuccurullo

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/josephcuccurullo
• Company: RCL Agencies, Inc.
• Website: oceanfreight.com

About Street to Suite

Street to Suite explores the real stories behind successful careers, businesses, and leadership, sharing the lessons you don't always learn in school.

Listen to this episode for an inside look at entrepreneurship, international shipping, leadership, relationships, and the lessons Joe Cuccurullo has learned from more than five decades in business.

In this episode of Bronx CFO: Street to Suite, Simon Zelman sits down with Ethan Haber, CEO and Founder of Happy Habitats, to explore how a simple observation about his pet hamster, Moxie, became a growing business. While attending Wake Forest University, Ethan noticed that small-pet products had not evolved much and asked a simple question: why can't you walk a hamster?

Ethan shares how that idea developed into a business through prototypes, trade shows, an entrepreneurial incubator, manufacturing partnerships, and bootstrapping. He discusses the challenges of COVID, rising manufacturing costs, supply chain issues, and the lessons he learned about designing products that balance quality with cost.

The conversation also covers entrepreneurship at a young age, working with his father and P9 Design, managing a business while wearing multiple hats, finding better returns through retail marketplaces, and Happy Habitats' plans to expand through distributors and retail partnerships.

Key Takeaways

• How a simple observation can become a business opportunity
• Lessons from starting a company at 19
• How an incubator program helped turn an idea into a business
• Building a company through partnerships and sweat equity
• Navigating COVID, manufacturing costs, and supply chain challenges
• Why product design needs to consider manufacturing costs from the beginning
• Finding better returns through marketplaces and retail partners
• The challenges of being a hands-on CEO and knowing what to delegate
• How relationships, cash flow, and product quality contribute to business growth
• Plans for expanding Happy Habitats through distributors and retail stores

Connect with Ethan Haber

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ethan-haber-124040168
• Company: haberplushproductions.com
• Happy Habitats: happyhabitats.net

About Street to Suite

Street to Suite explores the real stories behind successful careers, businesses, and leadership, sharing the lessons you don't always learn in school.

Listen to this episode for an inside look at entrepreneurship, product development, bootstrapping, and how one college student's idea grew into a small-pet products business reaching retailers across the United States and beyond.

In this episode of Bronx CFO: Street to Suite, Simon Zelman sits down with Elad Shushan, Founder and CEO of ES Cash Outs, to explore how a passion for reselling turned into a growing wholesale electronics business.

Elad shares how he started buying and reselling products while still in school before building ES Cash Outs into a business serving buyers across international markets. He explains how the company sources consumer electronics in the U.S., works with overseas buyers, and manages inventory through warehouses, buying groups, and a remote team.

The conversation also covers scaling a high-volume trading business, maintaining strong client relationships, protecting margins, and learning from costly operational mistakes. Elad also discusses expanding into trading cards and his plans to continue growing the business through stronger relationships, inventory, and consistent supply.

Key Takeaways

• How Elad turned reselling into a seven-figure business
• The process of sourcing consumer electronics for international buyers
• Why relationships and reliable supply are critical in wholesale
• How ES Cash Outs manages inventory, warehouses, and remote team members
• The importance of protecting margins in a high-volume business
• Lessons from costly logistics and operational mistakes
• How fast payouts and strong communication help build customer trust
• Expanding into new product categories such as trading cards
• Why reinvesting profits into inventory can support future growth

Connect with Elad Shushan

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/elad-shushan-69362825a
• Company: ES Cash Outs

About Street to Suite

Street to Suite explores the real stories behind successful careers, businesses, and leadership, sharing the lessons you don't always learn in school.

Listen to this episode for an inside look at entrepreneurship, wholesale electronics, international business, and Elad's journey from reselling products to building a seven-figure company.

In this episode of Bronx CFO: Street to Suite, Simon Zelman sits down with Jared Kugel, founder and CEO of Tire Agent, to explore the journey behind building a successful online tire business.

Jared shares how growing up in the tire industry shaped his entrepreneurial path, why his first business ideas failed, and how multiple pivots eventually led to Tire Agent. He opens up about investor rejection, financial struggles, nearly losing everything, and the mindset that helped him keep moving forward.

The conversation also covers fundraising, dilution, customer loyalty, e-commerce, customer service, and why listening to customers and focusing on continuous improvement have been key to Tire Agent's growth.

Key Takeaways

• Lessons from growing up in a family business
• Why entrepreneurs need to embrace failure and pivot quickly
• How Jared navigated investor rejection and fundraising
• Why focusing on small milestones can overcome big challenges
• The importance of customer service and listening to feedback
• How to approach investors as partners rather than just sources of capital
• Why persistence, patience, and commitment matter when building a business

Connect with Jared Kugel

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jaredkugel
• Website: tireagent.com

About Street to Suite

Street to Suite explores the real stories behind successful careers, businesses, and leadership, sharing the lessons you don't always learn in school.

Listen to this episode for an inside look at entrepreneurship, resilience, fundraising, and the journey from the street to the suite.

In this episode of Bronx CFO: Street to Suite, Simon Zelman sits down with John Parisi and Paul Anteri, co-founders of U.S. AgriDocs, to explore how a former USDA inspector and a food processing plant owner came together to solve a major problem in food safety compliance.

John Parisi spent 10 years as a USDA Consumer Safety Inspector, visiting hundreds of facilities and seeing the same outdated system of clipboards, binders, and paper records. Paul Anteri, a USDA plant owner and operator, was experiencing those same challenges from the business side. Together, they recognized an opportunity to transform traditional food safety records into a digital, smarter, and more proactive system.

The conversation covers their journey from identifying the problem to building and testing U.S. AgriDocs, bootstrapping the company, developing technology that can digitize existing food safety programs, and taking the risk of leaving a government career to pursue entrepreneurship. They also discuss food safety, compliance, AI, proactive alerts, scaling the business, and their vision for helping food processing facilities identify potential problems before they become serious issues.

Key Takeaways

• How a former USDA inspector and plant owner identified the same problem from different perspectives
• Why outdated paper-based food safety records created an opportunity for innovation
• How U.S. AgriDocs helps facilities turn existing food safety programs into digital, smart systems
• The role of AI and technology in improving food safety compliance
• How proactive alerts can help identify potential threats of noncompliance
• What it took to build, test, and launch U.S. AgriDocs
• Why John Parisi made the decision to leave his USDA career and take the entrepreneurial leap
• How the founders bootstrapped the company while maintaining ownership
• Their plans to scale U.S. AgriDocs nationally and globally
• Why modernizing food safety records could help facilities become more proactive and audit-ready

Connect with John Parisi and Paul Anteri

• John Parisi – LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/parisi-john
• Paul Anteri – LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/paul-anteri-068788284
• Website: USAgriDocs.com

About Street to Suite

Street to Suite explores the real stories behind successful careers, businesses, and leadership, sharing the lessons you don't always learn in school.

Listen to this episode for the story behind U.S. AgriDocs, how two professionals from opposite sides of food safety came together to build a business, and their mission to modernize food safety compliance.

In this episode of Bronx CFO: Street to Suite, Simon Zelman sits down with Dina Ellis Rochkind, founder of DNA Government Solutions, to explore what really happens behind the scenes in Washington.

Dina shares lessons from nearly three decades working across Capitol Hill, the U.S. Treasury, corporate America, and law, including her work on the JOBS Act. She explains how relationships, bipartisan collaboration, and advocacy can shape legislation—and why business leaders need to pay attention to Washington.

The conversation also covers AI, crypto, fintech, regulation, innovation, and Dina’s journey from Big Law to entrepreneurship.

Key Takeaways

• How legislation really gets done in Washington
• Why relationships and bipartisan collaboration matter
• When businesses should start paying attention to government affairs
• The balance between regulation and innovation
• How AI, crypto, and fintech are shaping policy
• Lessons from Dina’s transition from law to entrepreneurship

Connect with Dina Ellis Rochkind

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dinaellisrochkind
• Email: dina@dnagovsolutions.com

About Street to Suite

Street to Suite explores the real stories behind successful careers, businesses, and leadership, sharing the lessons you don't always learn in school.

Listen to this episode for an inside look at Washington, government affairs, and the journey from the street to the suite.

Simon Zelman is a longtime CFO, entrepreneur and Managing Partner of Luxe Advisors. With more than 30 years in finance and business, including 15+ years at the CFO level, Simon has advised founders, CEOs, boards and ownership groups through growth, acquisitions, turnarounds and major business decisions. On Bronx CFO: Street to Suite, he brings that experience to candid conversations with entrepreneurs and business leaders about how they actually built their careers and companies.