Blake Squires began his journey in the mid-90s in Los Angeles, capitalizing early on the convergence of technology and media. He soon returned to his hometown of Cleveland to co-found Everstream with Steve McHale (episode 196...
Andy Tran has lived more lives than just about anyone I know. He’s a serial entrepreneur who has started multiple businesses across industries, including tech, ammunition manufacturing, defense contracting, and tequila, among...
Welcome to a special bonus episode of the Lay of The Land podcast. Today, we're doing something a bit different as I take on the role of guest on other podcasts to discuss recent developments in my journey and offer a glimpse...
Hanna Kassis — founder @ Babylon Asset Management — who has deployed over $1.5 billion in capital throughout his career in alternative lending. Starting with Tim Ryan's congressional campaign in Youngstown, Hanna went on to build OAREX Capital Markets while still in law school, securing seed fun…
Welcome to a special bonus episode of the Lay of The Land podcast. Today, we're doing something a bit different as I take on the role of guest on other podcasts to discuss recent developments in my journey and offer a glimpse...
Andrew Rising, CEO of Encore Ventures Labs. As someone who believes deeply in the opportunity for Cleveland’s future, I find Andrew’s journey to be an inspiring and optimisitc one… …Deeply rooted in the heart of Cleveland’s w...
Laura Bennett and Alex Krooglik, co-founders of Embrace Pet Insurance, which was sold in 2023 for $1.5 billion to JAB Holding Company. The duo founded Embrace Pet Insurance after graduating from Penn’s Wharton School of Busin...
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 car...
Jack Greco, co-founder and former CFO and COO of ACV Auctions, a Buffalo-based wholesale online marketplace for cars (ACV Auctions went public in 2021 and is currently valued at approximately $3 billion dollars) Now an active...
Michael Sirpilla, co-founder and CEO of Society Brands. Under Michael’s leadership as CEO, Society Brands has raised $205 million in capital to continue their rapid consolidation in the e-commerce sector with many completed a...
Stewart A. Kohl is Co-CEO of The Riverside Company — a $14 billion global private equity firm founded to invest in premier companies at the smaller end of the middle market, with headquarters in Terminal Tower in Tower City h...
Bill Manby, Founding & Managing Partner at Interstate Fusion Ventures. An entrepreneur at heart, Bill grew up in NEO and has always been passionate about working every day to make his home better through investments, philanth...
Michael Goldberg, Executive Director of the Veale Institute for Entrepreneurship, as well as an Associate Professor of Design and Innovation at the Weatherhead School of Management at CWRU where he teaches courses on entrepre...
Brendan Anderson and Donnie Bedney on their work at ScaleCo — a Cleveland-based entrepreneurship-through-acquisition organization that has invested more than $165 million in over 20 regional companies. In our conversation tod...
Lay of The Land's conversation today is with Brian Folmer. Born and raised in Cleveland, Brian has boomeranged back to Cleveland after 6 years in NYC and starting his own company. Brian is the founder of FirstLook.vc and Dist...
Dr. Elad Granot — Dean of John Carroll University’s Boler College of Business, co-founder and managing member of an early-stage technology Venture Capital fund, and advisor to a $450mm VC fund — on what Cleveland can learn from Startup Nation and Elad’s time in Israel, the role of academia in foste…
Ed Weinfurtner — Executive Chairman of Great Day Improvements (one of NEO's largest companies employing over 2,000 people) & Co-Founder at Blue Olive Partners — on growing Great Day Improvements from $44M to $922M in sales in just 7 years to become a national leader in home remodeling and premium b…
Tom Tyrrell — founder and Chairman of Great Lakes Biomimicry & co-founder of Segmint — on the power of biomimicry and harnessing the intelligence found in nature’s 3.8 billion years of R&D (asking questions nature has already found the answers to)
David Sylvan — president of UH Ventures, the innovation and commercialization division of University Hospitals, a Cleveland-based health system with two dozen hospitals, more than 50 health centers, and outpatient facilities, and over 200 physician offices located throughout 16 counties.
Ray Leach (Founder/CEO) & Hardik Desai (Sr. Partner) on the history of JumpStart, the launch of JumpStart Ventures and its role in the Cleveland startup ecosystem, and perspective on founder sentiment and questions.
Todd Federman — managing director of North Coast Ventures — on investing in Cleveland-based startups and the larger Cleveland entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Brandon Bryant — co-founder and venture partner at Harlem Capital — on investing in companies started by people of color & women with the purpose of changing the face of entrepreneurship.
Lee Zapis shares his story on building and selling Cleveland’s #1 radio station, his transition to the world of startups, investment philosophy, and entrepreneurial learnings.
A look at the history of innovation in Cleveland and a glimpse into its entrepreneurial future with Ron Stubblefield of Jumpstart.