Qxhna Titcomb was born the youngest sibling of a family that loves the sport of ultimate. In 2006, she and her siblings created the ultimate frisbee apparel company Five Ultimate. The company’s mission? To “serve the sport of ultimate”. Over the next decade, Qxhna learned about business, event planning and the culture of her sport while traveling around the world playing ultimate and working at tournaments. She and her siblings also own and operate the AUDL’s Seattle Cascades, which she credits with teaching her to put on great single game productions.
She also has enjoyed a decorated playing career that has included;
4 years at Tufts University
Representing Team USA at Beach Worlds 2015, U23 Championships 2015, and Jr Worlds 2012
Playing for Boston Brute Squad 2015 and Seattle Riot 2015
Named Spirit Captain for Team USA at Beach Worlds
She launched the All-Star Ultimate Tour in 2015 as a way to showcase women’s ultimate and improve media coverage for the women’s game. The tour raised over $45,000 through a crowdfunding campaign in less than 2 weeks. The tour visited 9 countries, with the all-stars going 6-3. Two plays from the tour made it onto SportCenter’s prestigious Top 10 plays.
Fun Facts: Qxhna hates oranges and brownies as well as onions and mushrooms. Her favorite foods include Pop-Tarts, cereal, and mayonnaise.
Qxhna’s Challenge; Say yes to opportunities, even if they will be challenging.
Articles
Revived by Hayley Wahlroos
Connect with Qxhna
All-Star Ultimate Twitter
All-Star Ultimate Facebook
All-Star Ultimate Youtube
All-Star Ultimate Website
Five Ultimate Facebook
Five Ultimate Website
Josh is the founder of Work Hard Pittsburgh formerly The Hardware Store. He is dedicated to making entrepreneurial opportunities available to underserved populations and demographics. Before starting the Work Hard Pittsburgh, Josh ran several startups including Crowdasaurus and AsOne. Josh also taught high school chemistry for over a decade.
Josh’s Challenge; Go to a neighborhood that you don’t usually visit, get dinner, and walk around.
Articles
Connect with Josh
Episode twenty recaps the launch of the show and the lessons I have learned along the way. Thank you so much for listening! Many more episodes to come.
What I’ve learned
Just Do It
One of the hardest parts was getting started, I waited weeks to release my first episode after I had completed it
Ask the person who your are afraid to contact, they will probably say yes, and if they don’t, you’ll get over it
When you play the waiting game, you overthink things and drive yourself crazy
Networking is SO important
Put yourself out there
People are excited to help people who have passion and are prepared
The best people will introduce you to more great people.
What I have done well
Question Prep
Networking/finding guests
What I need to work on
Sound Quality
Advertising and Marketing the show
Tonality
What you can expect in the future
More badass guests from around the country
More challenges on the blog that you can follow along with
Video/Periscope projects
What can you do
Leave a rating and review
Email an episode to a friend/family member explaining why they would enjoy the show. CC me on the email at goingdeepaaron@gmail.com
Email or tweet at me with critiques, suggestions/introductions for guests, challenges you’d like to see me try
Ken began playing Ultimate in the summer of 2007 and found leadership opportunity in organizing his high school ultimate club. Attending Kettering University in 2009, Ken quickly worked on establishing a team, pursuing varsity status and full funding granted 2.5 years later. Ken went on to serve as a college regional director, then developmental division director for USA Ultimate and director of operations for the Detroit Mechanix.
While working as a mechanical engineer, he started Aero Ultimate as a simple outlet of his ideas like the SkyLight. Ken set out to reform Aero in late 2013 to provide meaning to Ultimate's future. Ken's talents and passion can be found in almost everything Aero produces.
Ken’s Challenge; When defining what success looks like to you, consider what you will have to do to obtain it AND what you may have to give up. If you aren’t willing to give up those things, redefine what success looks like to you.
Articles
Connect with Ken
kenkaminski@aeroultimate.com
Melissa is an NCSA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist who, through her online business The Ultimate Athlete Project, is on a mission to improve the training techniques of folks in the ultimate frisbee community. With a background degrees in Chemistry and Kinesiology, she is uniquely suited to sort through the sea of available research to find what’s most important, effective, and applicable for developing superior athletes and teams.
The Ultimate Athlete Project was designed to give players the tools they need to train like the serious athletes they are. In addition to writing The Ultimate Athlete Handbook and starting The Ultimate Athlete Project, Melissa gives ultimate fitness clinics nationally and internationally. She has enjoyed teaching players from Ireland, Colombia, and all over Europe. When not trotting the globe playing and coaching, she enjoy reading, hiking and enjoying the outdoors.
Melissa’s Challenge; Give something and ask for something every day for 30 days
Connect with Melissa
Twitter @mwitmer33
Email; mwitmer15@gmail.com
Isaac is currently an editor at A Plus, a digital media company co-founded by Ashton Kutcher. The site features stories that make a difference and create positive change that, in less than a year, has reached an audience of approximately 50 million monthly visitors by highlighting social issues, sharing breaking news, and creating original, entertaining content.
Isaac and I were teammates on the Pittsburgh Thunderbirds in 2015 and on the University of Pittsburgh’s ultimate team from 2010-2013. We co-captained the team in the 2012-13 season where we won our second national championship.
Isaac is a lifelong ultimate player whose interests extend into music, writing, sports, politics and thoughtful conversation. He is also great at talking shit and giving speeches in team huddles.
Isaac’s Challenge; Don't hesitate to do something nice for someone else. Don't let excuses stop you.
Articles
What Richard Sherman Taught Us About America
The Financial Trap of PayDay Loans
Connect with Isaac
Twitter @ike_saul
LinkedIn
Website
Zach is an Associate at Draper Triangle Ventures where he helps identify and conduct due diligence on potential investments. He spends his days meeting with entrepreneurs, attending tech-community events, and developing relationships in the innovation community.
Draper Triangle is a Venture Capital Firm that partners with the Midwest’s most extraordinary entrepreneurs who set out to change the world. Founded in 1999, Draper Triangle has invested in some of the Midwest’s most successful startups including TOA Technologies, Renal Solutions, BodyMedia, CardioInsight, and Carnegie Learning. DTVC partners with early stage companies to create iconic and disruptive businesses in emerging markets including software, digital media, robotics and medical devices. Draper Triangle is a proud member of the Draper Venture Network, a robust venture collective bringing together experienced investors and innovative entrepreneurs from around the globe to share strategies, source opportunities, and create greater value. Over the last 25 years the Draper Venture Network has grown into a self-governed organization of independent venture funds on four continents who cooperate on investment diligence, marketing intelligence, corporate relationships and co-investments. Through DVN, members can leverage the collective intelligence of 100+ invested more than $3B in over 500 ventures.
Zach’s Challenge; Meet an early stage entrepreneur and help introduce them to a new potential customer. This will stoke the local economy and solidify a valuable connection
Connect with Zach
Twitter @zacharymalone
Draper Triangle
twitter @drapertriangle
Draper Venture Network
twitter @drapernetwork