Denise DeSimone has started & run 9 different companies. Some have been successes, some have been failures, some have fallen in between.
In 1998, Denise founded and grew one of her greatest successes, Unicorp where she developed the privately-held technology-based business from the ground floor to over $74 million in revenues.
In this conversation, Aaron and Denise discuss where to get good mentorship, how she has changed her service offerings, and the importance of company culture.
Pittsburgh’s best conference to Expand your Mind & Fill your Heart happens once a year.
Denise Desimone’s Challenge; Be kind.
Connect with Denise Desimone
ddesimone@c-leveled.com
If you liked this interview, check out two other episodes with prolific entrepreneurs Jason Wolfe and Dave Nelsen.
Underwritten by Piper Creative
Piper Creative creates podcasts, vlogs, and videos for companies.
Our clients become better storytellers.
How? Click here and Learn more.
We work with Fortune 500s, medium-sized companies, and entrepreneurs.
Sign up for one of Piper’s weekly newsletters. We curate links to Expand your Mind, Fill your Heart, and Grow your Tribe.
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Nathan Martin is the founder and CEO of Deeplocal, a Pittsburgh-based marketing agency. The firm is comprised of creative engineers, hired by brands to build interactive experiences.
Since spinning Deeplocal out of an art and technology lab at Carnegie Mellon University in 2006, Nathan has become a leader of innovation and invention in advertising, creating custom solutions that are often the world's firsts.
In the last decade, Nathan has grown Deeplocal’s portfolio to include advertising work for some of the world’s biggest and most celebrated brands — including Google, Netflix, and Nike.
Prior to founding Deeplocal, Nathan was an originating member of a hactivist art group and the frontman of Creation is Crucifixion, a grindcore band.
In this conversation, you’ll hear Aaron & Nathan discuss how to build a talented team, what it took for Deeplocal to get off the ground, and how he explains the company to others.
Pittsburgh’s best conference to Expand your Mind & Fill your Heart happens once a year.
Nathan Martin’s Challenge; Do not look at income and money as the driver of happiness. Evaluate your work on the basis of how you spend your time.
Connect with Nathan Martin
If you liked this interview, check out episode 340 with Craig Markovitz where we discuss generating more than $300M in shareholder value.
Underwritten by Piper Creative
Piper Creative creates podcasts, vlogs, and videos for companies.
Our clients become better storytellers.
How? Click here and Learn more.
We work with Fortune 500s, medium-sized companies, and entrepreneurs.
Sign up for one of Piper’s weekly newsletters. We curate links to Expand your Mind, Fill your Heart, and Grow your Tribe.
Follow Piper as we grow
Kristy Knichel is a second-generation logistics executive and the president of Knichel Logistics. Prior to leading the company, she led the operations team for 10 years.
Kristy has driven a staggering amount of growth for the company. Since its inception, Knichel Logistics has grown from $2 million in revenue to $80 million under Kristy’s leadership.
Knichel Logistics is a woman-owned and operated, non asset based third-party logistics provider. In this interview you’ll find out what that means.
The company specializes in intermodal, less than truckload, full truckload, and specialty services and has a veteran staff that prioritizes customer service.
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Kristy Knichel’s Challenge; Put yourself out there.
Connect with Kristy Knichel
If you liked this interview, check out the rest of our interviews with the top business people in the city of Pittsburgh.
Underwritten by Piper Creative
Piper Creative creates podcasts, vlogs, and videos for companies.
Our clients become better storytellers.
How? Click here and Learn more.
We work with Fortune 500s, medium-sized companies, and entrepreneurs.
Sign up for one of Piper’s weekly newsletters. We curate links to Expand your Mind, Fill your Heart, and Grow your Tribe.
Follow Piper as we grow
Çetin Meriçli is the co-founder and CEO of Locomation, a Pittsburgh startup building autonomous trucks. His company is taking a novel approach to the technical challenge by pairing trucks together, instead of building a single truck to stand alone.
Locomation has raised more than $5 million from 13 venture investors, including Pittsburgh VC firm Draper Triangle Ventures.
Çetin’s team, including 5 co-founders, have been working together for a decade and are aiming to realize the opportunity in the multi-trillion-dollar logistics industry.
Çetin and Aaron discuss how to sell into the 4 key groups that will determine Locomation’s success: investors, employees, customers, and regulators.
You’ll walk away from this episode with a much better understanding of the timeline and challenges associated with autonomous vehicle technology.
Never miss one of our best episodes by subscribing to the newsletter.
Çetin Meriçli’s Challenge; Find a way to give back.
Connect with Çetin Meriçli
If you liked this interview, check out episode 306 with Bryan Salesky (Argo AI) where we discuss self-driving cars or episode 297 with Jorgen Pedersen where we discuss robotics and removing humans from harm’s way.
Underwritten by Piper Creative
A digital agency that provides strategy, delivery, and analysis specializing in a few key service offerings.
If you aren’t creating or curating content regularly, your clients and customers might forget you’re open for business.
Ryan Kulp is both a marketer and a programmer. This unique skill set allows him to do things that most entrepreneurs only fantasize about.
Ryan constantly builds and ships new products and services on a monthly basis. This gives him the opportunity to experiment and test lots of ideas, seeing which ones stick.
He also uses this skill set to buy small technology companies & software products that most private equity firms are forced to overlook. In this uncharted terrain, Ryan uncovers value by applying his skillset to businesses that were previously run by someone lacking the skills or bandwidth to apply the best techniques.
Now, Ryan’s companies generate more than $5 million in annual revenue and he travels the globe with the freedom granted by cash flow + operating businesses with no geographic restraints.
In this conversation, Aaron and Ryan discuss how to think about entrepreneurship, rules to abide by in business, and the greater “Why” behind Ryan’s work.
Pittsburgh’s best conference to Expand your Mind & Fill your Heart happens once a year.
Ryan Kulp’s Challenge; Work via negativa. Don’t watch Netflix.
Connect with Ryan Kulp
3 Books Ryan Mentioned
Negotiation Genius by Deepak Malhotra & Max Bazerman
Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss
Getting to Yes by Roger Fisher & William Ury
If you liked this interview, check out:
Episode 269 with Brent Beshore where we cover investing for the long term, boring businesses, and starting a career.
Episode 216 with Noah Kagan where we discuss Facebook, Mint, and how to be an effective entrepreneur.
Episode 383 with Zak Slayback where we discuss how to avoid copycat careers, why job descriptions usually suck, and How to Get Ahead when you’re early in your career.
Underwritten by Piper Creative
Piper Creative creates podcasts, vlogs, and videos for companies.
Our clients become better storytellers.
How? Click here and Learn more.
We work with Fortune 500s, medium-sized companies, and entrepreneurs.
Sign up for one of Piper’s weekly newsletters. We curate links to Expand your Mind, Fill your Heart, and Grow your Tribe.
Follow Piper as we grow