Episodes

May 11, 2023

#118: Dr. Onas Bolton (Octet Scientific)

Dr. Onas Bolton — Founder and CEO of Octet Scientific, a specialty Cleveland-based chemical manufacturer unlocking the full power of safe, economical, and sustainable energy storage by providing better electrolyte chemistry f...

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May 4, 2023

#117: Anees Pretorius & Cono Onorato (Bean)

Anees Pretorius and Cono Onorato — co-founders of Bean ($1.7mm in funding) — on the pursuit of their vision to reimagine the global accounting industry and elevate the profession into the digital age. Anees Pretorius, a forme...

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April 27, 2023

#116: Julia Solooki & Lior Shafir (Smart Soda)

Julia Solooki & Lior Shafir — the co-founders of Smart Soda, headquartered here in Cleveland — on revolutionizing the beverage industry! The revolution is taking the water and soft drink industry by storm where for many conse...

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April 20, 2023

#115: Adrian Bota (ORIGIN Milk)

Adrian Bota — co-founder and CEO of ORIGIN Milk — on creating the superlative, regenerative A2 heritage milk company! Adrian’s roots in farming go back to his father working on a farm in Romania. Adrian’s parents and four sib...

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April 13, 2023

#114: Ed Largent (Westfield)

Ed Largent — President, CEO, and Board Chair of Westfield, one of the most enduring companies in Ohio. Very few companies in the world can boast the longevity of Westfield, which is celebrating its 175th year of existence. Or...

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April 6, 2023

#113: Bill Wichert and Matt Crowley (TonDone)

Matt Crowley and Bill Wichert, the co-founders of TonDone, have recently secured $1.5 million in funding and facilitated over $30 million in work orders through their platform. Their mission is to solve the challenges faced b...

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March 30, 2023

#112: Daniel Isenberg & Dan Hampu (Burton D. Morgan Foundation & Scal…

Lay of The Land's conversation today is with Dan Hampu and Daniel Isenberg about their collective work at the Burton D Morgan Foundation and Scalerator NEO — covering why it’s important to focus on companies at scale relative...

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March 23, 2023

#111: Brian Folmer (FirstLook VC)

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...

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March 16, 2023

#110: Afif Ghannoum (BIOHM Health)

Afif Ghannoum, a biotech attorney by background and the CEO of BIOHM Health — which he co-founded with his father, Dr. Mahmoud Ghannoum, a leading microbiome researcher and recognized for naming the mycobiome (the body's fung...

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March 9, 2023

#109: Adam Fleischer (The Wine Spot & Entrepreneur's Organization Cle…

Lay of The Land's conversation today is with Adam Fleischer — President of Cleveland’s Entrepreneurs' Organization and founder & co-owner of The Wine Spot here in Cleveland Heights. A proud product of Cleveland, Adam joined t...

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March 2, 2023

#108: Michael Murphy (Cleveland Soccer Group)

Lay of The Land's conversation today is with Michael Murphy who is on a mission to bring professional soccer to Cleveland as the Co-founder and CEO of the Cleveland Soccer Group. Previously, Michael served as President of Gra...

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Feb. 23, 2023

#107: Aleksandra Brankov & Cole Worley (Cafilia)

Lay of The Land's conversation today is with Aleksandra Brankov and Cole Worley — the co-founders of Cafilia. Cafilia is a Cleveland startup and network of curated local coffee shops where people can purchase monthly membersh...

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Feb. 16, 2023

#106: Jeremy Umansky (Larder)

Jeremy Umansky, the renowned chef and owner of Larder! Larder Delicatessen and Bakery — as it’s known in full — is a staple and favorite of many here in Cleveland, housed in the historic Ohio City Firehouse, where the from-sc...

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Feb. 9, 2023

#105: Artur Grabowski (Extendify)

Lay of The Land's conversation today is with Artur Grabowski — co-founder of Extendify. Artur emigrated from Poland to the Cleveland area at the age of 8 — where he later attended Case Western and got exposure working both wi...

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Feb. 2, 2023

#104: Chuck, Jeff, and Jamey Snider (Snider Recreation)

Chuck Snider, Jamey Snider, and Jeff Snider — the family behind Snider Recreation — on building & growing a recreational and commercial playground company, tying success to providing a fun safe environment for children to play, innovation in recreatio

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Jan. 26, 2023

#103: Dr. Elad Granot (John Carroll University, Boler College of Busi…

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 …

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Jan. 19, 2023

#102: Jan Jensen (Trailhead Biosystems)

Jan Jenson — Ph.D., CEO/CSO/Founder of Trailhead Biosystems — on the basics of cell differentiation and development biology, and the vast implications that unlocking industrialized manufacturing of specialized human cells can have for regenerative medicin

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Jan. 12, 2023

#101: Aaron George (SupplyNow)

Aaron George — Founder/CEO of SupplyNow — on building the on-demand wholesale grocery delivery market for foodservice and his journey as an immigrant founder working as Global Entrepreneur in Residence with Global Cleveland

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Jan. 5, 2023

#100: Jeffrey Stern's Reflections on 100 Episodes — Entrepreneurial M…

Jeffrey Stern — host of the Lay of The Land Podcast and co-founder at Axuall — reflecting on the 99 conversations prior, what draws people to entrepreneurship in the first place, where do company ideas come from, and the real …

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Dec. 22, 2022

#99: Steve Santamaria (Folio Photonics)

Steve Santamaria — CEO of Folio Photonics — on innovating storage media and the future of storage technology, the opportunity ahead for Folio Photonics, Cleveland's entrepreneurial ecosystem, and reflections on leadership!

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Dec. 15, 2022

#98: Kris Snyder (Ninety.io, Impact Architects, & Vox Mobile)

Kris Snyder — founder of Vox Mobile and Impact Architects & Head of Finance and Partnerships at Ninety.io — on working with entrepreneurial leaders to create impact and pursue a world where small and medium organizations and their employees can …

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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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