Info

Going Deep with Aaron Watson

Aaron Watson is the CEO of Piper Creative. On this show, you'll hear thoughtful, focused conversations with entrepreneurs, executives, and innovators. Guests include Nathan Chan, Kevin Kelly, Bill Peduto, Morgan Housel, Noah Kagan, Tucker Max, and Barry Ritholtz. This is the biggest business podcast in Pittsburgh.
RSS Feed Subscribe in Apple Podcasts
Going Deep with Aaron Watson
2022
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2021
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2020
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2019
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2018
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2017
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2016
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2015
December
November
October
September
August
July


All Episodes
Archives
Now displaying: July, 2018
Jul 31, 2018

I went to the offices of Deeplocal, an innovation studio that boasts clients like Nike, Netflix, Spotify, Lyft, and Google, to interview Director of Business Development Josh Corcoran.

 

Josh Corcoran is the creator of Spare Change, a video series that connects communities and causes with music by inviting bands to busk for their favorite charities. The project began in February of 2017 when Josh & a friend were performing their music on the streets.

 

They soon found themselves with a guitar case full of with money, and a gentleman approached them asking for spare change. They proceeded to give him everything they had earned that night. Since that day, Josh, along with Taylor Mantick, Jared Stillman, and Allan Durand, have been documenting the journey of performing music to help those in need.

 

Last year, Spare Change received nearly 400,000 views and raised thousands of dollars for causes like JDRF, Acres Project, and Best of the Batch Foundation. Today, they drop their newest episode.

 

Watch the Video - Episode 13

 

Josh’s Challenge; Recognize the power you have to make a small change for a cause that’s important to you.

 

Connect with Josh

Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

YouTube

Website

 

Underwritten by Piper Creative

A digital agency that provides strategy, delivery, and analysis specializing in a few key service offerings.

Documentary-as-a-Service (Vlogging 2.0)

Instagram Content Production & Account Building

Podcast Production, Strategy Consulting, and Guest Acquisition

 

If you aren’t creating or curating content regularly, your clients and customers might forget you’re open for business.

YouTube

Instagram

 

If you liked this interview, check out previous episodes like 96 with Jake Voelker, a military veteran who now runs a craft brewery, and 97 with Adam Haritan where we discuss mother nature, nutrition, and the power of digital media.

 

Subscribe on iTunes | Stitcher | Overcast | PodBay

Jul 27, 2018

Chris Edwards and his siblings grew up in a chocolate factory and he is the CEO for Edward Marc Brands, based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

 

Upon taking the reins, Chris and his siblings transformed the 104-year-old company from regional prominence into a respected national corporation. Edward Marc Brands consists of Edward Marc Chocolatier, The Milk Shake Factory, and Snappers Crafted Snacks.

 

Prior to working at Edward Marc Brands, Chris worked for the United States government in the Office of the Chief of Protocol at the U.S. Department of State and at the White House in the Executive Office of the President. He served as Special Assistant to the President and Director of Press Advance. In this role, he managed public events for the President both domestically and internationally.

 

Don’t miss this conversation about leadership, developing new chocolate products, and the company’s transformational meeting with Costco.

 

Never miss one of our best episodes by subscribing to the newsletter.

 

Chris’s Challenge; Surround yourself with people who won’t say “No.”

 

Connect with Chris

Instagram

Twitter

Milkshake Factory

Edward Marc

 

Underwritten by Piper Creative

A digital agency that provides strategy, delivery, and analysis specializing in a few key service offerings.

Documentary-as-a-Service (Vlogging 2.0)

Instagram Content Production & Account Building

Podcast Production, Strategy Consulting, and Guest Acquisition

 

If you aren’t creating or curating content regularly, your clients and customers might forget you’re open for business.

YouTube

Instagram

 

If you liked this interview, check out all our episodes with the biggest change makers, influencers and business people of Pittsburgh.



Subscribe on iTunes | Stitcher | Overcast | PodBay

Jul 23, 2018

Ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft aren’t ideal for long distances. They cost too much.

 

However, trains and airlines aren’t always practical.

 

Bharath Krishnamoorthy believes his company, Axle Travel, is the solution. Axle is a ride-hailing service for long-distances that's focused on providing fast and affordable transportation to the airport.

 

In this conversation, Aaron and B discuss the inspiration behind the company, the strategy behind launching in a new city, and why the team came to Pittsburgh.

 

Before he started this company, Bharath was practicing Mergers and Acquisitions at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, a global top-10 law firm.

 

Claim your $5 credit at axletravel.com/goingdeep

 

Never miss one of our best episodes by subscribing to the newsletter.

 

Bharath’s Challenge; Bet on yourself.

 

Mentioned

Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain by David Eagleman

 

Connect with Bharath

Instagram

Linkedin

Twitter

 

Connect with Axle

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

 

Underwritten by Piper Creative

A digital agency that provides strategy, delivery, and analysis specializing in a few key service offerings.

Documentary-as-a-Service (Vlogging 2.0)

Instagram Content Production & Account Building

Podcast Production, Strategy Consulting, and Guest Acquisition

 

If you aren’t creating or curating content regularly, your clients and customers might forget you’re open for business.

YouTube

Instagram

 

If you liked this interview, check out episode 291 with Ryan Green where we discuss his transportation startup, how to make more money as a rideshare driver, and his path to starting a business.

Or, check out episode 306 with Brian Salesky, founder of Argo Ai and steward of $1 billion from Ford to create self-driving technology.

 

Subscribe on iTunes | Stitcher | Overcast | PodBay

Jul 16, 2018

The Restaurant Industry was due for a new idea, and that’s exactly what Tyler Benson and Benjamin Mantica delivered when they co-founded Smallman Galley.

 

Their food hall restaurant accelerator is the first of its kind in the United States. The space incubates four restaurant concepts at a time and drastically lowers the startup costs of a new culinary venture.

 

Tyler and Ben are Navy Veterans who were inspired by world travels to bring innovative food and beverage concepts to the United States. They started in Pittsburgh and are laying plans to expand across the country.

 

In this conversation, Tyler & Aaron discuss the origin of the company, who gets free meals at a restaurant, and how time spent at one of the Galleys sets a restaurant up for success.

 

Resources Mentioned

Provision Pgh

Iron Born Pizza

Never miss one of our best episodes by subscribing to the newsletter.

 

Tyler’s Challenge; Go somewhere you haven't been before and experience a fresh perspective or culture.

 

Connect with Tyler

Facebook

Instagram

LinkedIn

Website

 

Underwritten by Piper Creative

A digital agency that provides strategy, delivery, and analysis specializing in a few key service offerings.

Documentary-as-a-Service (Vlogging 2.0)

Instagram Content Production & Account Building

Podcast Production, Strategy Consulting, and Guest Acquisition

 

If you aren’t creating or curating content regularly, your clients and customers might forget you’re open for business.

YouTube

Instagram

 

If you liked this interview, check out episode 68 with Whiskey expert Wes Shonk, where we discuss the best way to get into whiskey, elite bartending, and secret, invite-only whiskey schools or episode 146 with Bill Fuller, the executive chef of the Big Burrito Group and one of the fathers of the modern Pittsburgh food scene..

 

Subscribe on iTunes | Stitcher | Overcast | PodBay

Jul 11, 2018

LegalSifter is on a mission to bring affordable legal services to the world by empowering people with artificial intelligence. Kevin Miller joined the startup to help prove the business model and scale the company.

 

Previously, Kevin has served as Chief Operating Officer Industrial Scientific Corporation, helped launch an online version of Argosy University, and spent half a decade at FreeMarkets, in the global sourcing and procurement software space.

 

In this podcast, we discuss artificial intelligence replacing vs augmenting humans, how Kevin prepared to be a CEO throughout his career, and the climate for raising capital in and outside of Pittsburgh.

 

Kevin is also a licensed attorney in the state of Ohio.

 

Never miss one of our best episodes by subscribing to the newsletter.

 

Kevin’s Challenge; Take 15 minutes to research artificial intelligence being applied to your industry.

 

Connect with Kevin

LinkedIn

Twitter

Website

 

Mentioned

The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future by Kevin Kelly

FreeMarkets - Glen Meakem

 

Underwritten by Piper Creative

A digital agency that provides strategy, delivery, and analysis specializing in a few key service offerings.

Documentary-as-a-Service (Vlogging 2.0)

Instagram Content Production & Account Building

Podcast Production, Strategy Consulting, and Guest Acquisition

 

If you aren’t creating or curating content regularly, your clients and customers might forget you’re open for business.

YouTube

Instagram

 

If you liked this interview, check out  the previous episodes that led to this conversation.

Episode 85 with Sean Ammirati

Episode 306 with Bryan Salesky

Episode 290 with Ned Renzi


Subscribe on iTunes | Stitcher | Overcast | PodBay

Jul 9, 2018

Skycision is on a mission to help the global agriculture industry grow more efficiently. Food production has to increase by 70% by 2050 to feed the anticipated 2 billion person increase in the global population.

 

Skycision offers a solution to help the global agriculture industry grow more efficiently by identifying crop stress earlier in the growing season, and optimizing field inputs to enhance crop production.

 

We spoke with Brendan about building a remote team, the commercial applications of drone technology, and recruiting talent.

 

Today, 795 million people going hungry. I’m hoping Skycision can help change that.

 

Never miss one of our best episodes by subscribing to the newsletter.

 

Brendan’s Challenge; Only check your email twice a day and see how that impacts your productivity.

 

Tools Mentioned

Jira

Boomerang

Zoom

Slack

 

Connect with Brendan

Facebook

LinkedIn

Twitter

Website

 

Underwritten by Piper Creative

A digital agency that provides strategy, delivery, and analysis specializing in a few key service offerings.

Documentary-as-a-Service (Vlogging 2.0)

Instagram Content Production & Account Building

Podcast Production, Strategy Consulting, and Guest Acquisition

 

If you aren’t creating or curating content regularly, your clients and customers might forget you’re open for business.

YouTube

Instagram

 

If you liked this interview, check out previous drone conversations with Barry Rabkin and Dick Zhang of Identified Technologies.



Subscribe on iTunes | Stitcher | Overcast | PodBay

Jul 2, 2018

Tucker Max is an American author and public speaker. He chronicled his drinking and sexual encounters in the form of short stories on his website TuckerMax.com,which has received millions of visitors since Max launched it as the result of a bet in 2000.

 

I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell was a New York Times #1 Bestseller and made the Bestseller List each year from 2006 to 2012. It has sold over one million copies worldwide, including 400,000 copies in 2009 alone. In 2010, he released a book titled Assholes Finish First, and in 2012 marked the literary releases of both Hilarity Ensues and Sloppy Seconds: The Tucker Max Leftovers. He was a 2009 Time 100 finalist based on internet votes, although he did not make the magazine list

 

His new company is Book in a Box, a service for helping busy experts transfer their wisdom into a book format. The company interviews clients in a systematic way that properly structures their ideas. They then turn those words into a book. All clients need to do, as the author, is answer questions about what they already know. Everything else is handled by BIAB’s team of experienced publishing professionals.

 

Tucker’s Challenge; Ask yourself “Why” multiple times until you reach an irreducible answer.

 

Get a Free PDF of Tucker’s How-To-Guide

 

If you liked this interview, check out episode 118 with Kevin Kelly where we discuss the inevitable technological trends shaping our future.

1