Lay of The Land
Telling the stories of entrepreneurship, startups, and builders in Cleveland and throughout Northeast Ohio.
Named Best Cleveland Podcast of the Year (2025) by Cleveland Scene
Popular Episodes
New to the show? Check out some of Lay of The Land's most popular episodes.
235
Jan. 8, 2026
#235: Craig Newmark — Craigslist
Craig Newmark is the founder of Craigslist and someone whose work has shaped the modern internet as we know it. Long before Craigslist became one of the most enduring, important, and frequented platforms on the web, long before the internet even connected all of us, Craig was a computer science student here in Cleveland at Case Western Reserve University — tinkering with early programming languages, studying neural networks and AI, and exploring the frontier of software engineering. The rest is
234
Dec. 18, 2025
#234: Brad DeHays (Connect Housing Blocks) — Building the Future of Housing, Construction, and Modular’s Potential
Brad DeHays — Founder and CEO of Connect Real Estate and Connect Housing Blocks. Brad’s journey spans from buying small distressed properties while still in college to leading one of the most ambitious housing manufacturing platforms in the country. Through Connect Real Estate, Brad has revitalized some of Ohio’s most overlooked landmarks — transforming abandoned power plants, trolley barns, and historic buildings into vibrant new community anchors. That same entrepreneurial vision inspired him
224
Sept. 25, 2025
#224: The O.H.I.O. Fund — Origins and Ambitions
On this special episode of Lay of the Land, I’m joined—for the first time—by the two co-founders of The O.H.I.O. Fund, Mark Kvamme and Ray Leach, as well as the fund’s two founding partners, Jill Meyer and Mike Venerable, to share the inside story of how a bold idea became reality. We explore the inspiration and origins behind a first-of-its-kind strategy designed to generate returns while accelerating prosperity and shaping Ohio’s future. We discuss how, in our first year, we closed on over $23
133
Sept. 7, 2023
#133: Mike Schroeder (Roundstone Insurance)
Mike Schroeder, Founder & President of Roundstone. Mike founded Roundstone Insurance in 2003 — when they launched the first Group Medical Captive of its kind, and have since revolutionized the self-insurance industry. Roundstone’s captive approach to insurance allows small and mid-sized businesses to take advantage of the benefits of self-funded insurance that previously only larger enterprises could enjoy — such as plan flexibility & control, transparency, and cost savings. By banding smaller c
164
May 2, 2024
#164: Dr. James Kenyon (NASA Glenn) — To the Moon, Mars and Beyond, From Cleveland — The Future of Aviation & Space Exploration
Dr. James Kenyon , Director of NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio The road to the Moon goes through Cleveland. With a budget of approximately $900 million, a staff of more than 3,200 civil servants, over 725 patents, and over 120 R&D 100 Awards, Glenn — under Dr. Kenyon's leadership and in accordance with NASA's mandates — is providing integral support to Artemis , NASA’s mission to return us to the Moon, overseeing the service module that will propel the Orion Space Capsule out of
171
June 20, 2024
#171: Umberto Fedeli Round II — Lifelong Learning, Happiness, Wealth, and Investing
Umberto P. Fedeli — Founder, President, and CEO of The Fedeli Group I first had the opportunity to speak with Umberto on this podcast just over a year ago! At the time, our conversation extended far beyond what we were able to include in the original episode exploring his Italian heritage & Cleveland upbringing, the evolution of his career, life philosophies, the power of networking & connecting people, and his approach to business as both an investor and entrepreneur as the founder of one of t
90
Oct. 13, 2022
#90: Pat Conway & Mark King (Great Lakes Brewing Company)
Pat Conway & Mark King — Co-founder & CEO respectively of Great Lakes Brewing Company — on building Ohio’s original craft brewery, celebrating 34 years of sustained success and continuous innovation, the history of beer production in Cleveland, br
181
Aug. 29, 2024
#181: Fred DiSanto (Ancora) — Connecting Dots, Activist Investing, Mentorship, and Deal Making
Fred DiSanto, Chairman and CEO of Ancora — the Cleveland-based investment firm with nearly $10B in assets under management and over 100 employees — which he’s led since 2006! Before Ancora, Fred had an expansive investing career, most recently overseeing investment management, private banking, and Trust and Banking Services at Fifth Third Bank. Fifth Third Bank acquired Maxus Investment Group in 2001, which previously merged with Gelfand Partners Asset Management back in 1997, where Fred served
175
July 18, 2024
#175: Craig Hassall (Playhouse Square) — Surprise & Inspire the World — Cleveland’s Artistic Renaissance
Craig Hassall , CEO of Playhouse Square Craig is a mainstay in the international theater community, with decades of experience operating and curating the most prestigious venues across Europe and Australia. Over his career, in addition to his role as CEO of the Royal Albert Hall in London, he was also CEO of Opera Australia which oversees the Sydney Opera House, and he was the managing director of the English National Ballet. He also held senior roles for major projects including the 2000 and 20
15
March 18, 2021
#15: Justin Bibb (Mayor of Cleveland)
Justin Bibb, Mayor of Cleveland, on running for office and his vision to modernize city government.
![[REWIND] #89: Lila Mills (Signal Cleveland) — Local Journalism in Cleveland](https://images.podpage.com/tr:w-480,f-auto/https://media.podpage.com/showpage/uploads/images/6e66b2fb-a7d6-4b1d-8591-8084908da4d3.png "[REWIND] #89: Lila Mills (Signal Cleveland) — Local Journalism in Cleveland")
89
April 18, 2024
[REWIND] #89: Lila Mills (Signal Cleveland) — Local Journalism in Cleveland
Today we’re running a replay of one of my favorite conversations from 2022 with Lila Mills of Signal Cleveland . Since we last spoke, Signal Cleveland has continuously produced reliable daily journalism across a plethora of local topics and built Cleveland Documenters, a group of nearly 700 greater Cleveland residents, representing nearly every zip code in the county, who are trained and paid to cover public meetings. Additionally, launched in December 2023, Signal Akron joined Signal Cleveland
205
April 10, 2025
#205: Carl Walz (NASA Astronaut) — 230+ Days In Outer Space
Carl Walz is an astronaut, a pioneer of space exploration, and a proud Clevelander! As an astronaut, Carl is a veteran of four spaceflights, logging a total of 231 days in outer space and performing three spacewalks during that time. A physicist by training, with degrees from Kent State and John Carroll University, Carl made his way to NASA via the Air Force, where he served as a flight test engineer and managed all engineering activities related to F-16 avionics and armaments. At NASA, he was a
226
Oct. 9, 2025
#226: Terry Coyne (Terry Coyne Properties) — Risk, Patience & Opportunity
Terry Coyne is an Executive Vice Chairman of Newmark and Principal of Terry Coyne Properties. Over his 25-plus-year career, Terry has become one of Ohio’s most accomplished commercial real estate leaders, negotiating more than 2,000 transactions totaling over $5 billion in value. In Cleveland alone, over the past five years, he and his team have brokered 250 transactions worth more than $1.2 billion. In our conversation, we cover Terry’s unique philosophy and strategy on real estate, risk, and p
253
June 11, 2026
#253 Teddy Baldassarre — How Teddy Baldassarre Built His Brand
Teddy Baldassarre has built one of the most influential watch platforms in the world — and just as compelling as the watches themselves is the entrepreneurial story behind it. I first met Teddy almost ten years ago at StartMart in Terminal Tower, before any of this existed: before millions of followers, before the global audience, before the authorized retail partnerships, and before the beautiful physical boutique we recorded this conversation in at Crocker Park. In this episode, Teddy and I ex
Recent Episodes
254
June 25, 2026
#254 EASE Logistics & jakib
What does it take for AI to matter inside a real operating business? Not as a demo, not as a dashboard, and not as a generic productivity tool — but as something that answers calls, reduces clicks, quotes freight, improves service, and helps people spend more time doing the work that actually moves the business forward. Today we're republishing an episode from The O.H.I.O. Fund Report with Mark Kvamme — co-founder, CEO, and CIO of The O.H.I.O. Fund — Peter Coratola, founder and CEO of EASE Logis
253
June 11, 2026
#253 Teddy Baldassarre — How Teddy Baldassarre Built His Brand
Teddy Baldassarre has built one of the most influential watch platforms in the world — and just as compelling as the watches themselves is the entrepreneurial story behind it. I first met Teddy almost ten years ago at StartMart in Terminal Tower, before any of this existed: before millions of followers, before the global audience, before the authorized retail partnerships, and before the beautiful physical boutique we recorded this conversation in at Crocker Park. In this episode, Teddy and I ex
252
June 4, 2026
#252 CJ Jang (Balance) — No Shortcuts
Hochan (CJ) Jang is the co-founder of Balance Pan-Asian Grille. What began for CJ as an effort to build a healthier, more creative, and more everyday kind of Asian fast casual concept more than 16 years ago has grown into a beloved regional brand with locations across Toledo and Cleveland — one defined by scratch-made food, bold flavors, affordability, and a real commitment to hospitality. In our conversation, CJ and I explore his journey from growing up in his mother’s restaurant after immigrat
251
May 28, 2026
#251 Aidan Meany (Found Surface) — Building the Future of American Knitwear Manufacturing
Aidan Meany, Founder and CEO of Found Surface. Aidan is building a programmable knitwear factory in Cleveland that is reimagining what American apparel manufacturing can look like What began for him with learning to sew from his grandmother and making clothes as a teenager has evolved into a much larger ambition — rebuilding the whole infrastructure to make apparel at scale here in the United States. Today, Found Surface develops its own yarn relationships from American farms and spinning partne
250
April 30, 2026
#250 Chris Heivly - 250 Episodes Later — Reflections on Entrepreneurship, Community, Storytelling
This is the 250th episode of Lay of The Land, and to mark it, I wanted to do something a little different. Most episodes of this podcast are centered on founder stories — what drives someone to take the very difficult leap of trying to build a company, what problem they feel compelled enough to devote their life to solving, and what they learn along the way. But for this milestone episode, I wanted to step back and talk about the thing that ties these stories together… the community itself. And
249
April 24, 2026
#249 Ken Sobel (Hyperframe) — Constructing The Future
Ken Sobel — Co-founder and CEO of Hyperframe. Ken is an engineer and repeat founder whose entrepreneurial path started early — out of college he launched a fingerprint payments company that predated Apple Pay, which he took through Y Combinator and ultimately was acquired by Visa in 2016. Ken grew up in construction though… recalling memories being in his father’s workshop as a kid — and his longstanding passion for construction coupled with his love of engineering and problem-solving has culmin
248
April 16, 2026
#248 Dave Stack — Riches in Niches and Marketplace Development
Dave Stack. Dave is an internet entrepreneur and the founder of MusicStack, one of the early online marketplaces for rare and out-of-print music, which he began building out of his dorm room at Ohio State 30 years ago in the early days of the commercial internet. Over the years, he has gone on to build a portfolio of niche vertical marketplaces under the banner of Vertical Commerce, including MusicStack, Bear Pile, Reborns, and BJD Collectors — which has grown to facilitate tens of million in gr
247
April 9, 2026
#247 Carson Morell & Daniel Scott Mitchell (Takton) — Manufacturing Technology
Carson Morell and Daniel Scott Mitchell, Co-Founders of Takton — a manufacturing technology company building fast, affordable tools for small and mid-sized manufacturers. Carson and Daniel came into manufacturing from different paths — Carson as a founder and operator, Daniel as an engineer at companies like Tesla and Rivian — but arrived at the same realization: there is a massive gap between the most advanced manufacturing technology and what is actually accessible to the majority of shops acr
246
April 2, 2026
#246 Anna Dey (goGLOW, Clean Eatz, franSPOT, Smoothie King, The 24 in 24) — Franchises
Anna Dey is a multi-unit and multi-brand franchise entrepreneur who has spent the past decade building businesses across Northeast Ohio. Since getting her start in franchising with an Anytime Fitness location in 2012, she has gone on to own and operate franchises across several systems including Clean Eatz, Smoothie King, The Vitamin Shoppe, Barrio Tacos + Tequila, and goGLOW, earning national recognition along the way as both Franchisee of the Year and Multi-Unit Owner of the Year. Today, Anna
245
March 26, 2026
#245 Anne Hartnett (HCO Partners, Harness Cycle, The Vitrolite) — Brick and Mortar Entrepreneurship and Neighborhood Revitalization
Anne Hartnett is a neighborhood developer and entrepreneur focused on creating spaces where community, well-being, and small business can thrive. She is the founder of Harness Cycle and CEO of HCO Partners, a Cleveland-based real estate and placemaking company that develops and operates neighborhood-focused commercial properties. Anne began her career as a software consultant. After years of traveling and being inspired by vibrant neighborhood cultures in cities like New York and Minneapolis, sh
244
March 19, 2026
#244 Will Zell (Vessel) — Empowering Founders and Democratizing VC in Ohio
Will Zell — Founder and Managing Partner of Vessel, founding CEO and now Executive Chair of AssetWatch, and a leading voice in rethinking how venture capital works across Ohio. Will’s path into technology and venture isn’t conventional. He grew up — and still lives — in Bellefontaine, Ohio. At 17, he ran for city council under the slogan “A Voice for the Future.” He spent time in ministry, built a real estate portfolio during the financial crisis, and ultimately found his way into technology sta
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About the Host
Jeffrey Stern
Telling the stories of builders in Cleveland and throughout Northeast Ohio. Jeffrey is a NYC transplant, principal and investor at The O.H.I.O. Fund, Co-founder @ Axuall, product manager, advisor at Signal Cleveland and Venture for America, and optimist who believes telling the stories of those most inspiring builders around us is one of the best ways to learn and to inspire more to build.
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