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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: 2021
Jun 28, 2021

Shea Murtaugh is the founder and president of Hoffmann Murtaugh, the largest media-only agency in Pittsburgh.

 

Shea started her company in 2004 with no capital and now leads a team of 30 people. Prior to funding Hoffman Murtaugh, Shea broke into media via broadcast sales. She’s sold every major form of media over her decorated career and blends that experience into a cocktail that delivers wins for clients.

 

In this conversation, Shea and Aaron discuss how she got her start, when to hire vs train new talent, and the degree to which she has to be the “banker” of marketing.

 

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Shea Murtaugh’s Challenge; Journal for 5 minutes each day your ideal day one year in the future.

 

Connect with Shea Murtaugh

Linkedin

Instagram

Hoffmann Murtaugh Website

 

If you liked this interview, check out episode 418 with Marco Marandiz where we discuss how to market in the modern age, what makes an authentic brand, and the future of commerce.

 

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Jun 21, 2021

Dr. Dietrich Stephan is a geneticist, entrepreneur, and CEO of NeuBase Therapeutics. Neubase is biotech startup focused on developing precision genetic medicines.

 

Dietrich previously founded or co-founded 14 biotechnology companies, was the chair of the Human Genetics department at the University of Pittsburgh, and was the CEO of LifeX Labs, a biotechnology incubator.

 

Neubase, his latest company, is developing technology spun out of Carnegie Mellon University that aims to address genetic diseases at the DNA or RNA level by combining the highly targeted approach of traditional genetic therapies with the broad organ distribution capabilities of small molecules.

 

In April 2021 Neubase went public, trading under the ticker symbol NBSE, and has raised over $100 million in less than three years.

 

In this conversation, Dietrich and Aaron discuss why Neubase went public earlier than most biotech startups, the vicious diseases they are fighting against, and the impact of the Human Genome Project on society.

 

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Dietrich Stephan’s Challenge; 

 

Connect with Dietrich Stephan

Linkedin

Neubase Website

 

If you liked this interview, check out episode XX with Craig Markovitz where we discuss business building, university technology transfer, and life after a successful startup.



Text Me What You Think of This Episode 412-278-7680




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Jun 14, 2021

Jonathan Steckbeck is the founder of Peptilogics, a biotechnology platform company that develops best-in-class novel peptide drugs for unmet medical needs. He also has a PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics from the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Medicine.

 

Amongst other problems, his company Peptilogics is focused on developing a new category of antibiotics. It has been 20 years since there was a genuinely new class of antibiotics, yet bacterial cells have continued to evolve and develop into drug-resistant infections.

 

In this interview, Jonathan and Aaron discuss the founding of Peptilogics, why they’re focused on this new modality of medication, and the FDA approval process.

 

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Jonathan Steckbeck’s Challenge; If there’s something that you want to do that doesn’t exist, go do it.

 

Connect with Jonathan Steckbeck

Linkedin

Peptilogics Website

 

If you liked this interview, check out episode 456 with Pete DeComo where we discuss the long, arduous process of developing a medical device and episode 443 with Blake Dube where we talk about better oxygen tanks.

 

Text Me What You Think of This Episode 412-278-7680




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Jun 7, 2021

Euan Guttridge is the Director of Technical Program Management at Waymo and previously held the same position with Uber’s self-driving car division.

 

Between these two roles, Euan developed an angel investing syndicate under the banner Reinforced Ventures. The syndicate differentiates itself for the technical proficiency of its limited partners, bringing a fresh perspective to the companies it invests in.

 

Euan’s portfolio includes a number of past Going Deep podcast guests including; Gridwise, Locomation, UpContent, Fifth Season, Edge Case Research, and Honeycomb Credit. While not geographically exclusive, Reinforced does focus on Pittsburgh because of its over $10 billion of academic research funded and $6.6 billion of private funding in technology over the past decade.

 

In this conversation, Euan and Aaron discuss a career developing autonomous vehicle technology, how an AngelList syndicate works, and how to do thorough due diligence.

 

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Euan Guttridge’s Challenge; Follow your curiosity.

 

Connect with Euan Guttridge

Linkedin

Reinforced Ventures Website

euan@reinforcedventures.com

 

If you liked this interview, check out some of Euan’s portfolio companies like Locomation’s Çetin Meriçli, Edge Case Research’s Mike Wagner, and Gridwise’s Ryan Green.

 

Text Me What You Think of This Episode 412-278-7680




Underwritten by Piper Creative

Piper Creative makes creating podcasts, vlogs, and videos easy. 

 

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May 31, 2021

Steve Muck is the CEO of Brayman Construction, a heavy civil and geotechnical contractor that builds bridges, dams, and other large infrastructure. Steve is also the cofounder of construction-related robotics startups TyBot and Advanced Construction Robotics.

 

Steve has started or acquired twenty businesses and currently operates a portfolio of entities that in construction-related endeavors alone runs approximately $200 million in revenue annually.

 

Steve acquired the company over 28 years ago in a leveraged buyout and has since acquired a number of companies as he has expanded his business empire. 

 

In this episode, Steve and Aaron discuss how Steve got started in construction, the company’s ‘Dragon Slayer’ ethos, and how he has upskilled his team in order to escape competition.



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Stephen Muck’s Challenge; Take a risk.

 

Connect with Stephen Muck

Linkedin

Brayman Construction Website



If you liked this interview, check out episode 412 with Jake Loosararian where we discuss industrial robotics and raising one of Pittsburgh’s biggest Series A financings.

 

Text Me What You Think of This Episode 412-278-7680




Underwritten by Piper Creative

Piper Creative makes creating podcasts, vlogs, and videos easy. 

 

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May 24, 2021

Jon Pastor is the SVP for Consumer Solutions at RealPage, a leading global provider of software and data analytics to the real estate industry. RealPage was trading publicly at over $10 billion market capitalization before being taken private by Thoma Bravo.

 

Jon’s entrepreneurial career started when he cofounder RentJungle with previous guest Geng Wang. That company was acquired in 2014 and Jon chose to stay on and lead the acquiring company as President.

 

Four years later, that company was acquired by RealPage.

 

In this conversation, Jon and Aaron discuss the lessons from all these acquisitions, the challenges facing the real estate industry, and the incentives that guide successful organizations.

 

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Jon Pastor’s Challenge; Create a list of ideas for projects or businesses that you could start. 

 

Connect with Jon Pastor

Linkedin

Website

 

If you liked this interview, check out episode 474 with Geng Wang where we discuss three startups, social enterprise, and where to find motivation.

 

Text Me What You Think of This Episode 412-278-7680




Underwritten by Piper Creative

Piper Creative makes creating podcasts, vlogs, and videos easy. 

 

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May 17, 2021

Jorge Mazal is the Chief Product Officer for Duolingo. Duolingo is a free language-learning website and mobile app with over 500 million downloads, 40 million monthly active users, and a valuation of over $1 billion.

 

Jorge previously worked on the product for Zynga, MyFitnessPal, and Kleiner Perkins. Today he blends skills in design, gamification, and leadership to manage a product team that has 10xed in size since he joined the company.

 

In this episode, Jorge and Aaron discuss how Duolingo makes product decisions, the importance of interpersonal skills, and how Jorge’s background has prepared him to excel in this role.



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Jorge Mazal’s Challenge; Find some time to go help someone, with no expectation of anything in return.

 

Connect with Jorge Mazal

Linkedin

Duolingo Website

 

If you liked this interview, check out our conversation with Jason Wolfe where we discuss tech products, leadership, and entrepreneurship.

 

Text Me What You Think of This Episode 412-278-7680




Underwritten by Piper Creative

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May 10, 2021

Marko Papic leads the strategy team at Clocktower Group, an alternative investments firm. Clocktower offers long-term strategic investment strategies to their clients, investment managers and institutional allocators.

 

Marko brings his constraints framework, outlined in his book Geopolitical Alpha, to analyzing the geopolitical trends of the day. His ability to accurately forecast major political events has enormous ramifications for portfolios.

 

In this episode, Marko and Aaron discuss how the future of China-US conflict, Turkey’s geopolitical prospects, and how to break into the geopolitical analysis field.



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Marko Papic’s Challenge; Spend time around people with the opposite political and cultural perspective of you.

 

Connect with Marko Papic

Linkedin

Geopolitical Alpha book

Website

 

If you liked this interview, check out our interview with Mike Green where we discuss Bitcoin and index funds.

 

Text Me What You Think of This Episode 412-278-7680




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Piper Creative makes creating podcasts, vlogs, and videos easy. 

 

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May 3, 2021

Andy Norman is a researcher focused on studying how ideologies short-circuit minds and corrupt moral understanding.

 

His studies have led him to develop a toolkit of methods for improving reasoning and share them in his book, Mental Immunity.

 

His hope is that a collection of academic research can be lassoed together to serve as the foundation of a new scientific field, Cognitive Immunology. Cognitive immunology would explore the ability of researchers to develop a mind vaccine to inoculate individuals against dangerous ideas.

 

In this conversation, Andy and Aaron discuss the dangers of loneliness, the importance of dialogue, and the future of viral ideas.

 

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Andy Norman’s Challenge; Learn to treat your ideas as houseguests. Perhaps one day they will depart, and you will be glad.

 

Connect with Andy Norman

Linkedin

Andy’s Website

CognitiveImmunology.Net



Books Mentioned

Mental Immunity: Infectious Ideas, Mind-Parasites, and the Search for a Better Way to Think by Andy Norman  

Tribe by Sebastian Junger

The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt

The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins



If you liked this interview, check out episode 472 with Demetri Kofinas where we discuss epistemic truth, geopolitics, and.



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Apr 26, 2021

Geng Wang is the CEO and co-founder of Civic Champs, a software startup focused on creating s seamless and rewarding volunteering experience for both volunteers and service organizations

 

This is Geng’s third commercial venture. He’s previously co-founded two companies; RentJungle.com, an apartment search engine that sold in 2014 to The Rainmaker Group, and Community Elf (rebranded as Cosmitto), a social media management firm which we sold in 2017 to a PE firm, Topanga Partners.

 

Given his past successes, Geng is looking to both create financial and social impact with his latest company. He has leveraged a number of startup incubators, including TechCrunch’s Startup Battlefield, Elevate Ventures, Innovation Works, TechStars Iowa, and Mass Challenge, to get it off the ground.

 

In this episode, Geng and Aaron discuss how motivation changes through an entrepreneur’s career, the nature of product development, and how to design a startup’s culture.

 

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Geng Wang’s Challenge; For National Volunteering Month, get out there and go find an avenue to help your community.

 

Connect with Geng Wang

Linkedin

Twitter

Civic Champs Website

geng@civicchamps.com



If you liked this interview, check out episode 12 with Scott Rogerson where we discuss Community Elf, social media management, and their software spinout UpContent.

 

Text Me What You Think of This Episode 412-278-7680




Underwritten by Piper Creative

Piper Creative makes creating podcasts, vlogs, and videos easy. 

 

How? Click here and Learn more.

 

We work with Fortune 500s, medium-sized companies, and entrepreneurs.

 

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Apr 19, 2021

Sanjiv Singh is CEO and cofounder of Near Earth Autonomy, a technology company focused on autonomous flight. 

 

Sanjiv has 25 years of experience working on autonomous ground and air vehicles. He came to Pittsburgh 30 years ago to participate in the DARPA challenge and has spent decades exploring different applications for self-driving and self-flying robots.

 

Near Earth Autonomy started by developing self-flying technology for the United States Government and has expanded to bring their technological capabilities to a variety of enterprise customers.

 

In this conversation, Sanjiv and Aaron discuss applications for self-flying vehicles, the origins of the company, and the difference between working with the military and the FAA.

 

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Sanjiv Singh’s Challenge; Imagine a world in which you could autonomously fly from point A to point B.

 

Connect with Sanjiv Singh

Linkedin

Twitter

YouTube

Near Earth Autonomy Website

 

If you liked this interview, check out episode 306 with Bryan Salesky where we discuss autonomous vehicles and episode 340 with Craig Markovitz where we discuss university technology transfer.

 

Text Me What You Think of This Episode 412-278-7680




Underwritten by Piper Creative

Piper Creative makes creating podcasts, vlogs, and videos easy. 

 

How? Click here and Learn more.

 

We work with Fortune 500s, medium-sized companies, and entrepreneurs.

 

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Apr 12, 2021

Demetri Kofinas is a media entrepreneur and host of Hidden Forces, a podcast devoted to exploring the underlying forces driving the most powerful changes we see in the world.

 

His show covers a wide range of topics, including culture, philosophy, economics, technology, social science, and the hard sciences.

 

Demetri has previously co-founded Guerilla Gaming Concepts, an interactive entertainment company focused on the middleware of gaming. He has also reported on financial news and told stories to hundreds of thousands of people around the world.

 

In addition to his show, Demetri consults blockchain and distributed ledger technology companies, helping them anticipate security vulnerabilities by building theoretical attack frameworks against token-based systems, and he consults hedge funds and venture capital firms on how to invest in and around these same emerging technologies.

 

In this episode, Aaron and Demetri have a far-reaching conversation about truth, technological progress, and geopolitics.

 

Mentioned

The Meaning of Human Existence by Edward O. Wilson

Peter Zeihan

Ian Bremmer

Grant Williams



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Demetri Kofinas’s Challenges; 1. Hold yourself to a higher standard.

 

  1. Put space between your thoughts/emotions and actions.

 

  1. Try not to judge people



Connect with Demetri Kofinas

Twitter

Hidden Forces Website

 

If you liked this interview, check out episode 463 with Jeff Booth where we discuss the deflationary nature of technology.

 

Text Me What You Think of This Episode 412-278-7680




Underwritten by Piper Creative

Piper Creative makes creating podcasts, vlogs, and videos easy. 

 

How? Click here and Learn more.

 

We work with Fortune 500s, medium-sized companies, and entrepreneurs.

 

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Apr 5, 2021

Black Tech Nation Ventures is launching its first flagship venture fund in Pittsburgh, PA. The firm is founded by three managing partners, Kelauni Jasmyn, Sean Sebastian, and David Motley have come together to form an investment thesis focused on investing in black and other minority founders who have historically missed out on opportunities to raise venture capital.

 

As David outlines in this podcast, these represent an underutilized asset capable of creating outsized returns, not a charitable donation.

 

David brings experience from three decades in corporate America, sitting on the boards of multiple public companies, investing tens of millions of dollars into real estate, and a track record of venture investments through the Blue Tree Venture Fund. David has also raised a $207 Special Purpose Acquisition Vehicle (SPAC) called Deep Lake Capital.

 

David Motley has also co-founded 3 enterprises: The BlueTree Venture Fund, DLM-WCM (a real estate development company) and, MCAPS, LLC (a professional services company focused on Managed Services, Staff Augmentation, and Consulting). 

 

In this episode, David and Aaron also discuss how to craft a fulfilling career, how to raise money from large institutions, and why SPACs are taking off. 

 

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David Motley’s Challenge; Don’t undershoot. Set a goal and go after it.

 

Connect with David Motley

Linkedin

BTN.vc

 

If you liked this interview, check out episode 265 with Kelauni Jasmyn about Black Tech Nation, episode 290 with Ned Renzi about Birchmree Ventures, or episode 405 with Matt Kesinger about his medical device startup.



Text Me What You Think of This Episode 412-278-7680




Underwritten by Piper Creative

Piper Creative makes creating podcasts, vlogs, and videos easy. 

 

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Mar 29, 2021

Paul Martino is a venture capital investor and has raised 5 funds totaling over $350 million in capital. That money has been deployed into FanDuel, Grove, Ipsy, and SpotHero.

 

Before forming Bullpen, Paul was an active angel investor and personally invested in the first rounds of Zynga, TubeMogul, and uDemy.

 

Prior to his investing career, Paul founded four companies including Ahpah Software (a computer security firm acquired by InterTrust) and Aggregate Knowledge (a big data advertising attribution company acquired in 2014 by Neustar). He is the holder of over a dozen core patents covering social networking and big data. 

 

In this episode, Paul and Aaron discuss the FanDuel success, his advice for startups going through tough times, and the different space that venture capital investors make their mark.

 

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Paul Martino’s Challenge; Start every meeting on time

 

Connect with Paul Martino

Linkedin

Twitter

Bullpen Capital Website

paul@bullpencap.com



If you liked this interview, check out episode 231 with Andy Rachleff where we discuss how to find non-consensus investing ideas that work.

 

Text Me What You Think of This Episode 412-278-7680




Underwritten by Piper Creative

Piper Creative makes creating podcasts, vlogs, and videos easy. 

 

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We work with Fortune 500s, medium-sized companies, and entrepreneurs.

 

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Mar 22, 2021

Aubrey Strobel is the Head of Comms for Lolli, a free browser extension that lets users earn free bitcoin when shopping online.

 

The platform’s mission is to help make cryptocurrency more accessible to the average shopper. Founded in 2018, Lolli has over 1,000 retail partners including Expedia, Nike, and Glossier.

 

In this episode, Aubrey and Aaron discuss stacking sats, bringing women into crypto, and how Aubrey has modeled the Lolli brand and marketing off of Barstool Sports.

 

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Aubrey Strobel’s Challenge; Call an elderly person in your life.

 

Connect with Aubrey Strobel

Linkedin

Twitter

Instagram

 

Lolli Website

Lolli Youtube

Lolli TikTok

Lolli Twitter



If you liked this interview, check out episode 426 with Flori Marquez where we discuss creating the ‘Chase Bank’ of crypto, BlockFi.



Text Me What You Think of This Episode 412-278-7680




Underwritten by Piper Creative

Piper Creative makes creating podcasts, vlogs, and videos easy. 

 

How? Click here and Learn more.

 

We work with Fortune 500s, medium-sized companies, and entrepreneurs.

 

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Mar 15, 2021

Mike Green is the Chief Strategist at Logica Funds and has spent nearly 30 years studying markets.

 

These days, he calls on that experience and his proprietary research to educate the public, the Federal Reserve, the BIS, and the IMF about the shift from actively managed portfolios and investment funds to systematic passive investment strategies.

 

Previously, Mike has served as the portfolio manager for Thiel Macro, an investment firm that manages the personal capital of Peter Thiel, founded Ice Farm Capital, a discretionary global macro hedge fund seeded by Soros Family Management, and founded and managed the New York office of Canyon Capital Advisors, a $23B multi-strategy hedge fund.

 

In this conversation, Mike and Aaron discuss the popular narratives around index funds and Bitcoin, what those narratives get wrong, and how to effectively develop non-consensus views when investing.

 

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Mike Green’s Challenge; Vote better.

 

Connect with Mike Green

Twitter

Logica Funds Website



If you liked this interview, check out episode 427 with Ben Hunt where we discuss investing and the Coronavirus, or episode 339 with Jim DeCicco where we discuss building his healthy coffee company.

 

Text Me What You Think of This Episode 412-278-7680




Underwritten by Piper Creative

Piper Creative makes creating podcasts, vlogs, and videos easy. 

 

How? Click here and Learn more.

 

We work with Fortune 500s, medium-sized companies, and entrepreneurs.

 

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Mar 8, 2021

Mark Kovscek is a mathematician, inventor, and entrepreneur. His company, Conservation Labs, builds and sells a smart water meter that provides consumption insights, custom conservation recommendations, and leak detection.

 

At the cutting edge of Internet-of-Things and conservation, Mark uses his experience from a career building products and delivering solutions to address multi-billion dollar challenges.

 

He has spent time using his mathematics skills in marketing analytics, finance, and supply chain management, but says this is the most compelling challenge he’s ever faced.

 

In this episode, Mark and Aaron discuss the sound that pipes make, where the idea came from, and the potential for environmental and bottomline impact.



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Mark Kovscek’s Challenges 

  1. Consider taking less (or shorter) showers, and the potential impact on the environment.
  2. If you’re on the fence about starting something, go for it.

 

Referenced

Carlota Perez

 

Connect with Mark Kovscek

Linkedin

Conservation Labs Website

 

If you liked this interview, check out episode 432 with Charlie Dolan where we discuss waste management, tech, and bootstrapping a software company.



Text Me What You Think of This Episode 412-278-7680




Underwritten by Piper Creative

Piper Creative makes creating podcasts, vlogs, and videos easy. 

 

How? Click here and Learn more.

 

We work with Fortune 500s, medium-sized companies, and entrepreneurs.

 

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Mar 1, 2021

Matt Harbaugh is a co-founder and Managing Director at Mountain State Capital. The 20 million dollar fund has invested in over 16 firms in the greater Appalachia region.

 

Prior to founding MSC, Matt served as CEO of a machine learning-based software company that was acquired by Facebook and was the Chief Investment Officer at Innovation Works, one of the most active seed funds in the United States.

 

Across his career, Matt has invested in, managed, and advised more than 100 private companies over the past twenty years. He realized that he was interested in being involved in venture capital back in 1999 as an investment banker at PNC and has spent more than a decade and a half preparing himself to succeed.

 

In this episode, Matt and Aaron discuss his career arc, the venture capital business model, and how startups in the region are still lacking enough funding options.



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Matt Harbaugh’s Challenge; Build the skills and find an avenue to be an entrepreneur.



Connect with Matt Harbaugh

Linkedin

Mountain State Capital Website

 

If you liked this interview, check out our conversation with Stephen Gurgovits about private equity in Western PA and our conversation with Glen Meakem about the DotCom bubble and his experience venture investing. 

 

Text Me What You Think of This Episode 412-278-7680




Underwritten by Piper Creative

Piper Creative makes creating podcasts, vlogs, and videos easy. 

 

How? Click here and Learn more.

 

We work with Fortune 500s, medium-sized companies, and entrepreneurs.

 

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Feb 15, 2021

Andrew Gazdecki is the solo founder of MicroAcquire, a marketplace for buying and selling small Software-as-a-Service companies.

 

He has previously started two companies, Bizness Apps and Altcoin.io, which were both acquired.

 

MicroAcquire has reached $250,000 in annual revenue in just one year, by collecting fees from buyers in exchange for connecting with the entrepreneurs selling their business. Andrew is applying lessons that he’s learned from past successful companies to *hopefully* make this his best business yet.

 

In the episode, Aaron and Andrew discuss playing entrepreneurship on “hard mode”, the mistakes Andrew has made in the past, and how MicroAcquire has grown to more than 30,000 subcscribers.



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Andrew Gazdecki’s Challenge; Start journaling. Document your goals, memories, and experiences.

 

Connect with Andrew Gazdecki

Linkedin

Twitter

MicroAcquire Website

 

If you liked this interview, check out episode 394 with Ryan Kulp where we discuss buying and selling small businesses.

 

Text Me What You Think of This Episode 412-278-7680




Underwritten by Piper Creative

Piper Creative makes creating podcasts, vlogs, and videos easy. 

 

How? Click here and Learn more.

 

We work with Fortune 500s, medium-sized companies, and entrepreneurs.

 

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Feb 8, 2021

Chris Anderson is the founder and Chief Technical Officer of Innotescus. He leads a multi-functional team of machine learning scientists, software architects, and engineers that are innovating in the world of image annotation software.

 

Prior to founding Innotescus, Mr. Anderson was the Director of Software Engineering and IT for ChemImage.  Here he oversaw the core innovative software products for hyperspectral data acquisition, analysis and visualization. These products range in application potential across forensics, defense, pharmaceutical and medical markets.

 

He joined ChemImage in 1999 as intern developing a data-driven course on “Chemical Imaging”; assuming exponentially increased responsibilities over time as the core imaging technology of ChemImage required ever more dynamic and intuitive software.

 

In this conversation, Aaron and Chris discuss spinning the company out of ChemImage, how Chris has taught himself the technology, and the constant curiosity needed to succeed.



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Chris Anderson’s Challenge; Learn something new every day.



Connect with Chris Anderson

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Innotescus.io

 

If you liked this interview, check out episode 399 with Hayden Cardiff where we discuss spinning the company out of Pitt Ohio, challenges in the trucking industry, and raising capital.

 

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Feb 1, 2021

Jeff Booth led BuildDirect, a technology company he co-founded in 1999, for nearly two decades through the dot-com meltdown, the 2008 financial crisis, and many waves of technological disruption.

 

BuildDirect aimed to simplify the building industry and graduated from online catalog to logistics network to artificially intelligent platform.

 

Last year, Jeff released his first book “The Price of Tomorrow – Why Deflation is Key to an Abundant Future” where he outlines the current state of our economy and what must happen to enable a brighter future.

 

Jeff believes it essential for everyone to understand the deflationary nature of technological progress and the implications of this core truth. In this episode, Aaron and Jeff discuss this idea, the story of BuildDirect, and how anyone can use this period of upheaval as an opportunity.



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Jeff Booth’s Challenge; Have empathy. Recognize that economic deflation and its symptoms are causing political polarization.



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Website

 

If you liked this interview, check out episode 440 with Brent Johnson where we discuss his Dollar Milkshake Theory and its implications for entrepreneurs.

 

Text Me What You Think of This Episode 412-278-7680




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Jan 25, 2021

Stephen Tse, is founder and CEO of Harmony.one. Harmony is a blockchain-based open source development project with its own cryptocurrency.

 

Stephen has been obsessed with protocols and compilers since high school. He reverse-engineered ICQ and X11 protocols, coded in OCaml for more than 15 years, and graduated with a doctoral degree in security protocols and compiler verification from the University of Pennsylvania.

 

Prior to founding Harmony, he has worked a researcher at Microsoft, a senior infrastructure engineer at Google, and sold his startup, Spotsetter, to Apple. 

 

In this conversation, Stephen and Aaron discuss how a blockchain project is like a traditional startup, the technical tradeoffs of blockchains, and how Stephen expects future projects to work together.

 

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Stephen Tse’s Challenge; Set up a monthly newsletter to your close friends and family to keep them updated on recent events.

 

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Harmony.one Website



If you liked this interview, check out our library of past episodes with blockchain innovators, investors, and entreprenuers.



Text Me What You Think of This Episode 412-278-7680




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Jan 18, 2021

Joshua Lisec has been a ghostwriter for a decade. Public figures hire him to write compelling books, newsletters, and tweets in their voice, so that they can build their media platform.

 

He has helped to write best selling and critically aclaimed books and teaches the best practices publicly online. Joshua coaches his clients to offer higher-ticket services, courses, and products in conjunction with book sales to build a sustainable business.

 

In this podcast, Joshua and Aaron discuss the business model behind most successful books, why traditional publishing deals are hard to get, and how ghostwriters are like actors.



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Joshua Lisec’s Challenge; Use the ‘Jobs to be Done’ framework to evaluate your business offering and improve it. 

 

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Joshua's Ghostwriting Website

Youtube

 

If you liked this interview, check out episode XX with XX where we discuss XX.

 

Text Me What You Think of This Episode 412-278-7680




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Jan 11, 2021

Patrick Colletti is the founder of Net Health a $100M+ cloud-based provider of specialized software that serves specialized medical facilities like wound centers, senior care, and occupational therapy.

 

When Patrick began his tenure as company president in 2001, Net Health was experiencing significant financial turmoil resulting in laying off all but 2 employees. 

 

By utilizing a Refounder mindset as a framework for success, Patrick was able to spur rapid business growth and cultivate a flourishing corporate culture. He has spent two decades serving in multiple leader positions at Net Health, including the president, chief revenue officer, and

chief operating officer. 

 

Now he wants to share what he has learned.

 

In this episode, Patrick and Aaron discuss selling to private equity, building a company culture, and scaling the company.

 

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Patrick Colletti’s Challenge; Regardless of your experience or seniority, recognize that you can be the change that you want to see in your organization.

 

Connect with Patrick Colletti

Linkedin

Refounder.com

NetHealth.com

 

Book Referenced

4 Disciplines of Execution by Jim Huling Chris McChesney, and Sean Covey 



If you liked this interview, check out our interview with Dr. Chris Howard where we discuss leadership and the role of universities.

 

Text Me What You Think of This Episode 412-278-7680




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Jan 4, 2021

Alex Berman is an actual serial entrepreneur. Before the age of 30, he has built a 7-figure agency, completed multiple movie projects, and built a 50,000 subscriber YouTube channel.

 

Most folks feel content to throw that title in their bio as a way to summarize some half-finished projects.

 

Alex, on the other hand, builds systems in a focused and brutally efficient way. He has delegated leadership of his agency, Experiment 27, to someone else and has now set about acquiring more companies for his growing empire.

 

Further, he has generated millions of dollars of B2B services revenue with his cold emailing skill.

 

In this conversation, Alex and Aaron jump around discussing how Alex got his start, what makes a good cold email, and lay out the interrelated conglomerate Alex is building.

 

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Alex Berman’s Challenge; Find someone that you look up to and reach out with a cold email.

 

Connect with Alex Berman

Linkedin

Twitter

AlexBerman.com

Email10k Website

 

If you liked this interview, check out episode 394 with Ryan Kulp where we discuss avoiding competition, thinking creatively, and how he’s built a business empire through acquisitions.

 

Also, Noah Kagan.

 

Text Me What You Think of This Episode 412-278-7680




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