Episodes

Oct. 31, 2024

[Bonus] Marketing Moves — Investing in Ohio's Future: Ft. Jeffrey Ste…

Welcome to a special bonus episode of the Lay of The Land podcast. Today, we're doing something a bit different as I take on the role of guest on other podcasts to discuss recent developments in my journey and offer …

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Oct. 24, 2024

#189: Chas D. Withers (Dix & Eaton) — Running Towards the Fire

Chas Withers, chairman and CEO of Dix & Eaton, the storied Cleveland integrated communications firm, known for its specialization in marketing communications, Crisis management, and investor relations, which has partnered wit...

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Oct. 17, 2024

#188: Joe Pulizzi (Tilt Publishing & Content Entrepreneur Expo) — Con…

Joe Pulizzi is a serial entrepreneur and deeply passionate about all things content marketing and entrepreneurship — he is the bestselling author of seven books including Content Inc. , selling over 500,000 copies worldwide w...

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Oct. 10, 2024

#187: Aaron Hoffman & John Zinno (DeliverThat) — The Future of Cateri…

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 …

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Oct. 3, 2024

#186: Andrew Rising (Encore Venture Labs) — Bridging Cleveland's Indu…

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 w...

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Sept. 26, 2024

#185: Franco Kraiselburd (Asclepii Inc.) — Building the Next Generati…

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 o...

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Sept. 19, 2024

#184: John Vickers (Blue Abyss) — Building the World’s Foremost Extre…

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 A...

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Sept. 12, 2024

#183: Laura Bennett & Alex Krooglik (Embrace Pet Insurance) — The Sto…

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 Busin...

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Sept. 5, 2024

#182: Dan Nitowsky (Tiger21) —  Wealth Preservation, Legacy, and Ultr…

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 …

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Aug. 29, 2024

#181: Fred DiSanto (Ancora) — Connecting Dots, Activist Investing, Me…

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 car...

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Aug. 22, 2024

#180: Taylor Evans (Rust Belt Recruiting) — Talent, Reindustrializati…

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 amplifying...

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Aug. 15, 2024

[Bonus] Weekly Impact: Craig Hassall (Playhouse Square), IoVs and, In…

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 …

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Aug. 8, 2024

#178: Jared Anderson & Sandor Gyerman (Andor Creative) — 100M+ Organ…

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 advertisi...

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Aug. 1, 2024

#177: Joshua Edmonds (DigitalC) — Bridging the Digital Divide in Clev…

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 …

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July 25, 2024

#176: Mike Malley (Malley’s Chocolates) — Coco, Milk, Sugar, and Clev…

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 ei...

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July 18, 2024

#175: Craig Hassall (Playhouse Square) — Surprise & Inspire the World…

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, i...

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July 11, 2024

#174: Keith Gerchak & Marisa Guterman (Lost & Found In Cleveland) — T…

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 fasci...

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July 4, 2024

#173: Mitchell Vargo (Forward Hospitality Group) — The Business of Ho…

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 — ...

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June 27, 2024

#172: Ian Maurer (GenomOncology) — Precision Oncology, Convergence of…

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 so...

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June 20, 2024

#171: Umberto Fedeli Round II — Lifelong Learning, Happiness, Wealth,…

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 …

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June 13, 2024

#170: Matt Buder Shapiro Round II — Investing in Cleveland, Storytell…

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 MedPilo...

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June 6, 2024

#169: Aaron Slodov (Atomic Industries) — Techno-Industrial Optimism a…

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! Atomic...

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May 30, 2024

#168: Darren Small (Oko) — Simplifying Logistics and Automating Supp…

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 an...

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May 23, 2024

#167: John Kempf (Advancing Eco Agriculture) — Regenerative Agricultu…

John Kempf — founder of Advancing Eco Agriculture (AEA), a regenerative agronomy company started back in 2006 to share the knowledge, tools, and systems that regenerate farm profitability, soil health, and plant health, all w...

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