Episodes

Dec. 8, 2022

#97: Raji Sankar (Choolaah // Wholesome International)

Raji Sankar — co-founder of Wholesome International & co-CEO of Choolaah — on building best-in-class restaurants, culture, and customer experiences after more than a decade in the restaurant industry.

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Dec. 1, 2022

#96: Lukas Minkov & Logan Schouman (afters.io // IDRA)

Lukas Minkov & Logan Schouman — Co-Founders at afters.io & IDRA — on unlocking the value of instant local delivery services!

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Nov. 17, 2022

#95: Ed Weinfurtner (Great Day Improvements & Blue Olive Partners)

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 …

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Nov. 10, 2022

#94: Chef Douglas Katz (Amba, Chimi, Zhug)

Chef Douglas Katz — chef & owner of Amba, Chimi, Zhug — on creating fulfilling, transportive experiences that nurture and inspire guests, his own passion and journey through the world of food, and Cleveland's culinary scene!

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Nov. 3, 2022

#93: Michael Kubinski (Cleveland Clothing Company)

Michael Kubinski — Founder & CEO of Cleveland Clothing Company — on spreading Cleveland pride, one t-shirt at a time since 2008

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Oct. 27, 2022

#92: Leopoldo Peña (Presta)

Leopoldo Peña — Co-Founder & CEO of Presta ($3.3mm Raised) — on startups, his passion for expanding access to those who historically haven't had it, Cleveland's ecosystem, and the trials and tribulations of entrepreneurship — from failures to acquisitions.

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Oct. 20, 2022

#91: Heather Lenz (Sangfroid Strategy)

Heather Lenz — Founder & CEO of Sangfroid Strategy — on her entrepreneurial journey, how data is currently used in the nonprofit sector, and where societally we have a massive opportunity right now to leverage advances in technology — automation, …

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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, brewing good …

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Oct. 6, 2022

#89: Lila Mills (Signal Cleveland)

Lila Mills — founding editor-in-chief of Signal Cleveland — on starting a newsroom from scratch and building the trust required to be the source of daily news and information for Greater Clevelanders.

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Sept. 29, 2022

#88: Anne Skoch (Anne Cate)

Anne Skoch — Founder and CEO of Anne Cate — on how to marry art and business, pursue your passion as a profession, and building her made‐in‐Cleveland accessories brand and manufacturing firm!

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Sept. 22, 2022

#87: Sherrill Paul Witt (Lolly The Trolley)

Sherrill Paul Witt — founder of Lolly The Trolley — on running one of Cleveland's most beloved icons since 1985, covering 3.1 million miles during its 37 years on the road and introducing so many to the hidden gems of …

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Sept. 15, 2022

#86: Dallas Hogensen (Felux)

Dallas Hogensen — CEO of Felux (>$24mm raised) — on marketplaces, importance of culture, and creating the world’s largest operating platform and marketplace to help solve commerce for the steel industry.

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Sept. 8, 2022

#85: Shawn Rech (Transition Studios, AGTV & TruBlu)

Shawn Rech — Co-Founder/CEO/Director at Transition Studios, AGTV & TruBlu — on growing Cleveland's permanent media industry, the importance of factual programming and positively affecting history through truth-telling and documentary production!

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Sept. 1, 2022

#84: Graham Veysey & Fisk Biggar (Graham+Fisk’s Wine-In-A-Can \\ Fire…

Graham Veysey & Fisk Biggar — founders of Graham+Fisk’s Wine-In-A-Can \\ Firehouse Can Co. — on building the first exclusive wine-in-a-can company!

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Aug. 25, 2022

#83: Tom Tyrrell (Great Lakes Biomimicry)

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 …

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Aug. 18, 2022

#82: Baiju Shah (Greater Cleveland Partnership)

Baiju Shah — President and CEO of Greater Cleveland Partnership (GCP) — on economic development in Cleveland and leading the largest metropolitan chamber of commerce in the nation!

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Aug. 11, 2022

#81: David Sylvan (UH Ventures)

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.

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Aug. 4, 2022

#80: Dr. Colleen M. Lorber (Wraparound Experts)

Dr. Colleen M. Lorber — Founder & CEO of Wraparound Experts — on the current state of our society’s mental health and the work to be done to address it concentrating on our basic human needs which include not only …

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July 28, 2022

#79: David Davis II (FBA Flip)

David Davis II — Founder & CEO of FBA Flip — on entrepenuership, the changing dynamics of the modern internet-first world we find ourselves in, and the challenges, opportunities, and prospects for his home of Cleveland.

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July 21, 2022

#78: William Littlefield II (Wizest)

William (Billy) Littlefield II — President & CTO of Wizest — on Wizest's (recently raised $1.7mm) vision to democratize access to financial expertise to his own path to Cleveland, to digital normadacy, philosophy, and more!

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July 14, 2022

#77: Dr. Chelsea Monty-Bromer (RooSense // SweatID)

Dr. Chelsea Monty-Bromer — founder & CEO of SweatID (aka RooSense) — on bridging the academic-entrepreneurial gap, the implications of bio-electrochemical interfaces, building a company capitalizing on them, and the future of wearables!

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June 16, 2022

#76: Mark D’Agostino (ConnectedHR)

Mark D’Agostino — founder and president of ConnectedHR — on the changing macro-dynamics of employment, how the nature of work is changing, the business of fractional Human Resources, and the journey Mark has been on building ConnectedHR!

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June 9, 2022

#75: Chris Wentz (Everykey)

Chris Wentz — Founder and CEO of Everykey — on taking an idea at his Case Western entrepreneurship class to building a leading cybersecurity company, offering a patented universal smart key replacing passwords and keys, to consumers, enterprises, and governments.

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June 2, 2022

#74b: Dennis Althar (Althar Audio) (Full/Long Edit)

Dennis Althar — Founder & CEO of Althar Audio and All-tronics Medical Systems — on everything from his prodigal expertise in electronics, to the US Airforce, to medical technology, to Steve Wozniak, to audible literacy, to Cleveland manufacturing, to

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