Venture Backed Episodes

May 4, 2023

#117: Anees Pretorius & Cono Onorato (Bean)

Anees Pretorius and Cono Onorato — co-founders of Bean ($1.7mm in funding) — on the pursuit of their vision to reimagine the global accounting industry and elevate the profession into the digital age. Anees Pretorius, a forme...

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April 27, 2023

#116: Julia Solooki & Lior Shafir (Smart Soda)

Julia Solooki & Lior Shafir — the co-founders of Smart Soda, headquartered here in Cleveland — on revolutionizing the beverage industry! The revolution is taking the water and soft drink industry by storm where for many conse...

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April 6, 2023

#113: Bill Wichert & Matt Crowley (TonDone)

Matt Crowley and Bill Wichert, the co-founders of TonDone, have recently secured $1.5 million in funding and facilitated over $30 million in work orders through their platform. Their mission is to solve the challenges faced b...

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March 16, 2023

#110: Afif Ghannoum (BIOHM Health)

Afif Ghannoum, a biotech attorney by background and the CEO of BIOHM Health — which he co-founded with his father, Dr. Mahmoud Ghannoum, a leading microbiome researcher and recognized for naming the mycobiome (the body's fung...

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Feb. 9, 2023

#105: Artur Grabowski (Extendify)

Lay of The Land's conversation today is with Artur Grabowski — co-founder of Extendify. Artur emigrated from Poland to the Cleveland area at the age of 8 — where he later attended Case Western and got exposure working both wi...

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Jan. 19, 2023

#102: Jan Jensen (Trailhead Biosystems)

Jan Jenson — Ph.D., CEO/CSO/Founder of Trailhead Biosystems — on the basics of cell differentiation and development biology, and the vast implications that unlocking industrialized manufacturing of specialized human cells can have for regenerative medicine

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Jan. 12, 2023

#101: Aaron George (SupplyNow)

Aaron George — Founder/CEO of SupplyNow — on building the on-demand wholesale grocery delivery market for foodservice and his journey as an immigrant founder working as Global Entrepreneur in Residence with Global Cleveland

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Dec. 22, 2022

#99: Steve Santamaria (Folio Photonics)

Steve Santamaria — CEO of Folio Photonics — on innovating storage media and the future of storage technology, the opportunity ahead for Folio Photonics, Cleveland's entrepreneurial ecosystem, and reflections on leadership!

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Dec. 15, 2022

#98: Kris Snyder (Ninety.io, Impact Architects, & Vox Mobile)

Kris Snyder — founder of Vox Mobile and Impact Architects & Head of Finance and Partnerships at Ninety.io — on working with entrepreneurial leaders to create impact and pursue a world where small and medium organizations and their employees can …

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Oct. 27, 2022

#92: Leopoldo Peña (Presta)

Leopoldo Peña — Co-Founder & CEO of Presta ($3.3 million raised) — on startups, his passion for expanding access to those who historically haven't had it, Cleveland's ecosystem, and the trials and tribulations of entrepreneurship — from failures to acquisitions.

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Sept. 15, 2022

#86: Dallas Hogensen (Felux)

Dallas Hogensen — CEO of Felux ($24mm raised) — on marketplaces, importance of culture, and creating the world’s largest operating platform and marketplace to help solve commerce for the steel industry.

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July 21, 2022

#78: William Littlefield II (Wizest)

William (Billy) Littlefield II — President & CTO of Wizest — on Wizest's (recently raised $1.7mm) vision to democratize access to financial expertise to his own path to Cleveland, to digital normadacy, philosophy, and more!

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July 14, 2022

#77: Dr. Chelsea Monty-Bromer (RooSense // SweatID)

Dr. Chelsea Monty-Bromer — founder & CEO of SweatID (aka RooSense) — on bridging the academic-entrepreneurial gap, the implications of bio-electrochemical interfaces, building a company capitalizing on them, and the future of wearables!

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June 9, 2022

#75: Chris Wentz (Everykey)

Chris Wentz — Founder and CEO of Everykey — on taking an idea at his Case Western entrepreneurship class to building a leading cybersecurity company, offering a patented universal smart key replacing passwords and keys, to consumers, enterprises, and governments …

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May 19, 2022

#73: John Wetzel, Alex Hilleary, Brooks Sime (Gather — Acquired by Ch…

John Wetzel, Alex Hilleary, Brooks Sime — Co-Founders of Gather — on building a company oriented around a future of work that puts people first and streamlines workflows for People Operations teams, and their journey from inception to acquisition by …

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