In this episode, Myke sits down with Katie Brown, a local Richmond founder of Real Food With Gratitude, to dive deep into her journey from corporate sales to building a 70K follower food brand on Instagram. Katie shares the brutal honest truth about content creation, the pivot from photography to video content, and how she monetizes her passion for real food.

https://realfoodwithgratitude.com

What You'll Learn:
• How to transition from a 9-5 job to content creation
• The real strategy behind growing from 0 to 70K followers
• Why most food creators fail at monetization
• The truth about Instagram vs TikTok algorithms
• How to price and pitch brand partnerships
• Why building a website matters more than followers

This podcast is produced by Vera House — a creative club and cultural imprint based in Richmond, Virginia. Our studio exists to champion creative expression, elevate culture, and produce high-impact content for founders, makers, and modern brands.

Follow the movement:

instagram.com/verahouse.co

youtube.com/@verahousepod

verahouse.co

A fire ripped through Shockoe Bottom this week, engulfing The Daily Menu and forcing neighboring businesses to shut their doors. But the story doesn’t end with the smoke. In this episode, we dig into the real issues at the heart of Richmond’s downtown decline—from empty night markets and neglected neighborhoods to the quiet collapse of overhyped concepts and underbaked brands.

We cover:

— The state of Shockoe Bottom fires, and why the farmers market keeps missing

— Kava Club’s closure, niche fatigue, and what marketing should’ve done

— Why Big Wife’s mac & cheese didn’t stand a chance

— How Brittany Anderson is getting it right by reimagining Brenner Pass (and why more should follow her lead)

— The rise of AI artists and how Timbaland’s latest project is dividing the creative world

Some places are burning down.

Others are shutting down.

And a few—like Brenner Pass—are rebranding and starting over with intention.

This is a conversation about what it takes to make something last in a city still trying to figure itself out.

This podcast is produced by Vera House — a creative club and cultural imprint based in Richmond, Virginia. Our studio exists to champion creative expression, elevate culture, and produce high-impact content for founders, makers, and modern brands.

Follow the movement:

instagram.com/verahouse.co

youtube.com/@verahousepod

verahouse.co

Welcome to the Vera House podcast — a creative editorial in audio form. No scripts, no segments—just an open conversation at the intersection of culture, brand, creativity, and our journey to building something real in a city like Richmond.

In this one, we cover:

— The new Allianz Amphitheater and why it’s already off to an interesting start

— Pickleball, public art, and the muralist Mickael Broth (@thenightowl) who painted “Not For Sale” over his own work in Downtown Richmond

— A belly button redesign that sparked a weird tech-spec rabbit hole

— Rob Zombie's $9 million dollar compound is for sale

— Why Richmond, VA might just be America’s most under-rated city

— Mountain vs. beach homes, helicopters, and racetrack driveways

— And what it takes to make a place feel like home

This podcast is produced by Vera House — a creative club and cultural imprint based in Richmond, Virginia. Our studio exists to champion creative expression, elevate culture, and produce high-impact content for founders, makers, and modern brands.

Follow the movement:

instagram.com/verahouse.co

youtube.com/@verahousepod

verahouse.co