E219 Geno Schellenberger & Jack Westerkamp: Way More Than Sixty Seconds

Five years after it started, Breaking and Entering Media has published over 50 episodes, built a vibrant student and professional community, and earned recognition from Ad Age, Campaign US, and The Wall Street Journal.

Geno Schellenberger was a senior at the University of Illinois. He had a job lined up at Edelman. Then the pandemic hit. The world paused. His job was delayed by nine months, and the advertising industry felt out of reach for nearly everyone trying to break in.

By 2022, the podcast had real momentum. Jack Westerkamp, another childhood friend from Lombard, joined the team to lead growth and business strategy. With Geno hosting, Buchun Jiang designing, and Jack building, the foundation was set.

The team built a full media platform. They launched the Crowbar Awards, a quarterly spec competition for aspiring creatives. Then came The Vault, a paid newsletter offering behind-the-scenes advice. Jack launched his own podcast, Creator Incorporated, focused on the creator economy. Geno introduced new series like BrandSide and Breaking with Brian Bonilla.

They added a daily video series called Whiteboard News, which quickly became a go-to source for fast-moving industry headlines. Weekly content like Ads in the Wild and seasonal coverage around the Super Bowl and Cannes Lions helped further establish Breaking and Entering’s role in creative media.

In September 2024, Geno and Jack moved to New York City to go full-time. They settled into a tiny East Village apartment, signed for office space on Madison Avenue, and haven’t looked back. They now produce content daily, run a multi-format podcast network, and reach millions of creatives each month.

But the story isn’t finished. This is just the beginning.