The Road to Inspired Businesses with Laura Grier

The Road to Inspired Businesses with Laura Grier

Author: Mike Schibel, Travel With Meaning August 18, 2025 Duration: 52:13

Recorded in front of a live audience at the KINN in Venice Beach as part of their weekly Startup Café series, this is a special Travel Talk episode hosted by Travel With Meaning, exploring how travel can spark entrepreneurial ideas. We discussed global brands like Starbucks, Tom's Shoes, and Away Suitcases — all companies whose founders were inspired by travel. In this episode, our two guests share their own stories of how their journeys interweave with their businesses.

 

First, host Michael sits down with Jeffrey Chernick — serial entrepreneur, author, podcast host, and DJ — who shares the story of a business trip to Japan that didn't go as planned but ultimately inspired his newest venture. That journey led him to partner with one of Japan's largest travel platforms, Hafa, to launch Kabuk— a white-glove itinerary service offering personalized plans and exclusive hot deals. This could be one of the best turnkey solutions we've seen for travelers heading to Japan.

 

We want the Travel With Meaning community to try it out and get your personalized itinerary to start planning your Japan adventure. Here's how:

1. Click this link

2. Click Meet Your Concierge                                                                (a real concierge — not AI)

3. Fill out a short survey about what you'd like to do and where you'd like to go in Japan

4. Add your email and make sure it includes the referral code for Travel With Meaning so you receive special attention, support, and are moved to the front of the line

 

Kabuk is poised to become one of the leading travel platforms in the U.S., and we're getting an exclusive first look for a mainstream travel community.

 

Our second guest on this episode is Laura Grier, renowned adventure photographer and founder of Andeana Hats, who's no stranger to the TWM community.  Laura's love for travel took her to Peru, where she became fascinated by the traditional hat culture of local women. Her "aha" moment turned into a business employing Peruvian artisans and returning income to their communities, often surpassing what the women's husbands earn. Laura's mission with Andeana Hats has also led to launching the nonprofit Maya Missions, further expanding her impact.

From Japan's bustling cities to Peru's mountain villages, this episode captures how transformative travel can lead to impactful, purpose-driven businesses. 

Links & Resources:

   •   Andeana Hats: Click here

   •   Laura Grier's incredible photography: Click here

   •   Kabuk Travel Concierge: Click here

As always, we appreciate the community's support — make sure you subscribe, follow us on all socials, and share this episode with friends and fellow travelers. See you on the open road.

 

Mike Schibel sits down with a fascinating array of guests on Travel With Meaning, but the destination is rarely the main point. Instead, this podcast explores the profound personal shifts that happen when we step outside our familiar surroundings. Each conversation delves into a specific journey-whether it’s a life-altering pilgrimage, a chaotic business trip that sparked a new idea, or a simple vacation that unexpectedly clarified a career path. You’ll hear from artists, athletes, entrepreneurs, and seasoned travel experts, but the focus remains on the transformative moment, the insight gained, or the connection made that reverberated long after the suitcase was put away. Schibel, founder of Travel With Meaning, guides these discussions with a genuine curiosity, allowing his guests to unpack not just their itineraries but the emotional and professional baggage they carried with them. The stories reveal how travel acts as a catalyst, reshaping identities, forging unexpected creative directions, and offering a new lens on one’s place in the world. Listening feels like being part of an intimate, thoughtful dialogue where the map of a life is redrawn by the roads taken. This isn't about recommendations or tips; it's about the lasting imprint of a place on a person. The podcast consistently uncovers how the world, in all its diverse complexity, has a way of teaching us exactly what we need to learn, often when we least expect it.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Travel With Meaning
Podcast Episodes
Ep 51: Sounds From The Open Road [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:50
In a year where travel has been turned upside down I wanted to share something special with you. Enjoy sounds from a recent road trip to Eastern Sierras in California. You'll hear the stillness of the night, rain, thunde…
Ep 50: Emily Thomas [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:06:18
I am an Associate Professor in Philosophy at Durham University, and an Honorary Fellow at the ACU Dianoia Institute of Philosophy. I've written a lot on space and time in the history of philosophy, from the seventeenth t…
Ep 49: Eric Hutchinson [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:22
Sometime last year, Eric Hutchinson came to a strange realization: he kept daydreaming about high-school. It had been over twenty years since the singer-songwriter had graduated from Montgomery Blair High School, yet his…
Ep 48: Davis Smith [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:18
Davis Smith grew up throughout Latin America and has since dedicated his life to helping those in need there and around the world. He's a passionate social entrepreneur and adventurer. Davis is currently the founder and…
Ep 47: Shelby Stanger [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:46
Shelby Stanger has been passionate about storytelling since she inked her first article in a national publication at age 15. As a longtime adventure journalist in the outdoor sports world, Shelby has standup-paddled a po…
Ep 46: Dan Blanchard [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:41
We've all heard a tall tale or two, but when it comes to Captain Dan Blanchard—well, he's the real thing. Growing up in Washington State, he has always been around boats. Even as a kid, Dan worked alongside other family…
Ep 45: Tristan Prettyman [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:40
With her first three recordings, 2003's The Love EP, 2005's breezy twentythree and 2008's Hello, Tristan Prettyman parlayed her smoky alto voice and laid-back surfer-girl-from-San-Diego charm into an eight-year career st…
Ep 44: Zim Flores [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:22
Zim Flores is a believer, traveler, speaker & entrepreneur. In 2013, she started Travel Noire, an award-winning boutique travel company. By the time the brand was acquired in 2017, it reached 2MM travelers each month and…
Ep 43: Steve Bramucci [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:56
Steve Bramucci is a novelist, travel/food writer, adventurer, teacher, and storyteller. He's rowed down the Mekong River in a traditional Vietnamese x'ampan, ventured into the Outback with Aboriginal elders, and spent fo…
Ep 42: Kaj Larsen [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:14
Kaj Larsen was born in Santa Cruz, California, and graduated from the University of California at Santa Cruz with a degree in Political Science. At Harvard University he received his Masters degree in Public Policy from…