Lay of The Land
Telling the stories of entrepreneurship, startups, and builders in Cleveland and throughout Northeast Ohio.
Most Popular Episodes
New to the show? Check out some of Lay of The Land's most popular episodes.
Recent Episodes
Oct. 10, 2024
#187: Aaron Hoffman & John Zinno (DeliverThat) — The Future of Catering Delivery
Aaron Hoffman and John Zinno — co-founders of DeliverThat, based in Canton Ohio. Friends for life, the two of them started this business out of Ohio University in 2016 off the bat of a viral tweet and have since proceeded to…
Oct. 3, 2024
#186: Andrew Rising (Encore Venture Labs) — Bridging Cleveland's Industrial Heritage To Its Industrial Future
Andrew Rising, CEO of Encore Ventures Labs. As someone who believes deeply in the opportunity for Cleveland’s future, I find Andrew’s journey to be an inspiring and optimisitc one… …Deeply rooted in the heart of Cleveland’s …
Sept. 26, 2024
#185: Franco Kraiselburd (Asclepii Inc.) — Building the Next Generation of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Cell Therapeutics to Improve Human Health
Franco Kraiselburd — Co-Founder and CEO of Asclepii — building the next generation of tissue engineering therapeutics for wound healing. I’ve recently heard a life’s work described as a lifelong quest to build something for …
Sept. 19, 2024
#184: John Vickers (Blue Abyss) — Building the World’s Foremost Extreme Environment R&D Facilities for Space and Deep Sea Exploration
John Vickers , Founder & CEO of Blue Abyss. John is building one of the most ambitious and inspiring projects I’ve encountered while exploring what people are building in Cleveland! After spending eight years in the British …
Sept. 12, 2024
#183: Laura Bennett & Alex Krooglik (Embrace Pet Insurance) — The Story of A Cleveland Unicorn
Laura Bennett and Alex Krooglik, co-founders of Embrace Pet Insurance, which was sold in 2023 for $1.5 billion to JAB Holding Company. The duo founded Embrace Pet Insurance after graduating from Penn’s Wharton School of Busi…
Sept. 5, 2024
#182: Dan Nitowsky (Tiger21) — Wealth Preservation, Legacy, and Ultra-High-Net-Worth Peer Support
Dan Nitowsky, Chair of TIGER 21 Cleveland. Dan, like me is a native New Yorker who has made Cleveland his home & has spent 30 years here in Cleveland as a highly accomplished executive with a proven history of success in dis…
Aug. 29, 2024
#181: Fred DiSanto (Ancora) — Connecting Dots, Activist Investing, Mentorship, and Deal Making
Fred DiSanto, Chairman and CEO of Ancora — the Cleveland-based investment firm with nearly $10B in assets under management and over 100 employees — which he’s led since 2006! Before Ancora, Fred had an expansive investing ca…
Aug. 22, 2024
#180: Taylor Evans (Rust Belt Recruiting) — Talent, Reindustrialization, and Manufacturing Recruiting
Taylor Evans — Founder and President of Rust Belt Recruiting, a leading local manufacturing recruiting agency, which also hosts a kindred-spirit podcast to Lay Of The Land, called Rust Belt Rundowns, where they are amplifyin…
Aug. 15, 2024
[Bonus] Weekly Impact: Craig Hassall (Playhouse Square), IoVs and, Innovation Summit
My guests this week are my friends and partners over at Impact Architects —who many of you will note are the longest-time supporters of Lay of The Land and the community building work we’re doing together — Kris Snyder and J…
Aug. 8, 2024
#178: Jared Anderson & Sandor Gyerman (Andor Creative) — 100M+ Organic Views, Gen Z Marketing, and Social Media Authenticity
Sandor Gyerman and Jared Anderson , the dynamic co-founders of Andor Creative. Founded in 2018 when they were Sophomores at Cleveland State University, Andor Creative was born to find more innovative ways to produce advertis…
Aug. 1, 2024
#177: Joshua Edmonds (DigitalC) — Bridging the Digital Divide in Cleveland & Internet as a Human Right
Joshua Edmonds , CEO of DigitalC. The digital divide — this gap between people who have access to the internet and those who do not — is something you may have heard me bring up a few times before on this podcast — while not…
July 25, 2024
#176: Mike Malley (Malley’s Chocolates) — Coco, Milk, Sugar, and Cleveland
Mike Malley, President and CEO of Malley's Chocolates . If you grew up in northeast Ohio it’s very likely you know of Malley’s Chocolates, a staple of this community, providing delicious chocolate candies & treats for over e…
July 18, 2024
#175: Craig Hassall (Playhouse Square) — Surprise & Inspire the World — Cleveland’s Artistic Renaissance
Craig Hassall , CEO of Playhouse Square Craig is a mainstay in the international theater community, with decades of experience operating and curating the most prestigious venues across Europe and Australia. Over his career, …
July 11, 2024
#174: Keith Gerchak & Marisa Guterman (Lost & Found In Cleveland) — The Making of a New American Fable on Hope & the Post-Industrial American Dream in the Industrial Midwest
Keith Gerchak and Marisa Guterman — Founders @ Double G Films This is a truly special episode — I always love exploring the parallels between entrepreneurship and art and in our conversation today, we get to explore the fasc…
July 4, 2024
#173: Mitchell Vargo (Forward Hospitality Group) — The Business of Hospitality & Entertainment in Cleveland
Mitchell Vargo, Partner at Forward Hospitality Group. Since its founding in 2015, the Cleveland-based Hospitality Group has built out unique entertainment, bar, and restaurant experiences locally and all across the country —…
June 27, 2024
#172: Ian Maurer (GenomOncology) — Precision Oncology, Convergence of Genomics & AI, and Improving Cancer Care
Ian Maurer — Chief Technology Officer at GenomOncology and co-lead of the Cancer Informatics for Cancer Centers’ AI working group. With over two decades of software experience, Ian has led GenomOncology — a Cleveland-based s…
June 20, 2024
#171: Umberto Fedeli Round II — Lifelong Learning, Happiness, Wealth, and Investing
Umberto P. Fedeli — Founder, President, and CEO of The Fedeli Group I first had the opportunity to speak with Umberto on this podcast just over a year ago! At the time, our conversation extended far beyond what we were able…
June 13, 2024
#170: Matt Buder Shapiro Round II — Investing in Cleveland, Storytelling, and Reflections on Vytalize Health's MedPilot Acquisition
Matt Buder Shapiro — Chief Marketing Officer at Vytalize Health, Previously Founder at MedPilot (Acquired) I first spoke to Matt on this podcast 3 years ago. At the time, as a co-founder and chief marketing officer of MedPil…
June 6, 2024
#169: Aaron Slodov (Atomic Industries) — Techno-Industrial Optimism and Exascaling American Manufacturing
Aaron Slodov — CEO of Atomic Industries, a company he co-founded back in 2019 and has raised over $20 million from leading investors like Toyota Ventures, Impatient Ventures, Narya Capital, 8090 Industries, and others! Atomi…
May 30, 2024
#168: Darren Small (Oko) — Simplifying Logistics and Automating Supply Chains
Darren Small , co-founder and CEO of Oko . With over a decade of experience on Wall Street, Darren’s analytical background from the world of investment banking, stocks, and data, equipped him with a keen eye for efficiency a…
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About the Host
Jeffrey Stern
Telling the stories of builders in Cleveland and throughout Northeast Ohio. Jeffrey is a NYC transplant, principal and investor at The O.H.I.O. Fund, Co-founder @ Axuall, product manager, advisor at Signal Cleveland and Venture for America, and optimist who believes telling the stories of those most inspiring builders around us is one of the best ways to learn and to inspire more to build.
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