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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.
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Now displaying: September, 2018
Sep 26, 2018

Traffic sucks. Luckily, smart people are looking into making cities smarter and reducing congestion.

 

Rapid Flow Technologies was spun out of Carnegie Mellon University with the goal of introducing new Intelligent Transportation Systems technologies into the marketplace. Rapid Flow was created to commercialize the Surtrac adaptive traffic signal control technology developed in the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon.

 

I spoke with CEO Griffin Schultz, who was brought in to lead business development efforts for the young startup.

 

Griffin has an MBA from The Wharton School at UPenn and has previously worked with successful tech startups, as the Assistant Deputy Mayor for the City of Philadelphia, and other offices in state and federal government.

 

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Griffin’s Challenge; Read about artificial intelligence.

 

Books Mentioned

Origin by Dan Brown

Life 3.0 Being Human in the Age of AI by Max Tegmark

The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York by Robert A. Caro

 

Connect with Griffin

Facebook

LinkedIn

Twitter

Website

info@rapidflowtech.com

 

If you liked this interview, check out our episode Kevin Miller where we discuss artificial intelligence disrupting the world of contracts or our episode with Mark DeSantis where we discuss maintaining road infrastructure with cheap sensors and AI.

 

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.

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Sep 24, 2018

Please go give us some love and let me know your favorite TD celebration.

Steelers Fans' TD Celebrations

Sep 19, 2018

Norma Nieto was the President of PIVOT, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Impellia through mid-2017, and is currently working in multiple capacities for Impellia as a consultant. She currently has her own strategy and analytics consulting company, N-Squared Strategic Consulting, which helps clients harness the power of data and analytics to develop innovative strategies.

 

Impellia is a sports software and sensor-based technology company co-founded by former Pittsburgh Steelers QB Charlie Batch.

 

We discuss transitioning from a large corporation to a scrappy startup.

 

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Norma’s Challenge; Don’t be afraid of a startup. Change can bring someone great out of you.

 

Book Recommendation  

Lead and Disrupt: How to Solve the Innovator's Dilemma by Charles A. O'Reilly III & Michael Tushman

 

Connect with Norma

LinkedIn

Twitter

Website

norma.b.nieto@gmail.com

 

If you liked this interview, check out episode 338 with Courtney Williamson where we discuss developing a prototype for a new invention, scaling a medical device company, and getting approved by regulators.



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

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Sep 17, 2018

Idea Foundry has invested in over 200 companies and generated $1B in direct economic impact for the region. The Pittsburgh-based, non-profit economic development organization focsues on creating living-wage, high-opportunity jobs by investing in and working alongside entrepreneurs to grow.

 

Previously, Mr. Matesic was Chief Executive Officer for two start-up companies and Chief Financial Officer for MetalSite, Inc., participating in the rapid growth of the company and public registration process.

 

We discuss investing in businesses, where Idea Foundry gets its funding, and how Mike & his team help companies grow.

 

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Mike’s Challenge; Ask yourself “What is it enough?” If you don’t know, you’ll never stop or change.



Connect with Mike

LinkedIn

Facebook

Twitter

Website

 

If you liked this interview, check out previous episodes with Idea Foundry portfolio companies like Ian Rosenberger, Anthony Vennare, Ryan Gayman, Josie Cellone, and John Thornton.



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.

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Sep 11, 2018

Craig Markovitz co-founded Blue Belt Technologies, a spinoff from the Robotics Institute at CMU, in 2003 and thirteen years later was a key member of the deal team that led to a $275,000,000 acquisition. During his years in business, Craig has launched companies, raised capital, and managed operations in businesses spanning from pre revenue and 18 employees to multi-million in revenue and 150 employees.

 

Today, he is an Entrepreneur-in-Residence in the Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship and an Assistant Teaching Professor of Entrepreneurship in the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University.  

 

We discuss his experience building a team, his thoughts on fundraising, and touch on the peculiar position of deciding what to do after your company is acquired.

 

If you liked this interview, check out episode 303 with Luke Skurman where we discuss building a tech company in Pittsburgh, raising a Series A, and the challenges of building a team.



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Craig’s Challenge; Do something out of your comfort zone.

 

Connect with Craig

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.

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Sep 6, 2018

Startups are always a distinct journey, but the DeCicco brothers have been on a particularly wild ride.

 

I trekked into Manhattan to interview Kitu Life Super Coffee CEO Jim DeCicco about founding a beverage company with his brothers, getting investment from founder of WeWork, and building a distribution system.

 

He left a job on Wall Street in August of 2015 and has been on a hell of a ride ever since. Jim appeared on Shark Tank with his brothers in a February 2018 episode seeking a $400,000 investment in return for a 4.5 percent stake in their business.

 

While they left the tank without a deal, they went home with a wealth of positive feedback, advice, exposure, and lessons learned from their once-in-a-lifetime experience.

 

Give their coffee a taste and get inspired by their hustle.

 

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Jim’s Challenge; Work hard, be nice to people. Practice radical transparency. Say what’s on your mind.

 

Connect with Jim

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Website

 

If you liked this interview, check out episode 226 with Ed Latimore who writes, studies physics, and boxes heavyweights.



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



Subscribe on iTunes | Stitcher | Overcast | PodBay

Sep 4, 2018

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



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