614Startups

On this episode, Elio interviews Mike Nemeth, Founder of Emblem Athletic. Emblem Athletic is a fully custom athletic apparel provider. Mike shares his journey from West Point cadet to startup founder and the ups and downs in between. Enjoy!

On this episode, Elio interviews Cory Bailey, Co-Founder of SecurSpace. SecurSpace is an online marketplace that connects companies looking for parking and storage options to those with excess capacity. Cory shares his story of how we went from politics to business and why SecurSpace is poised to be a leader in the parking and storage industry while becoming a trucker's best friend.

On this episode, Elio interviews Flavio Lobato, Co-Founder of Ikove Capital. Ikove Capital is is a venture development company founded to pursue early-stage investments with an emphasis on technology commercialization. Through its proprietary Startup Nursery, in partnership with multiple U.S. research institutions, Ikove identifies and validates developing high-impact technologies, providing capit...

On this episode, Elio interviews Kathryn Dougherty, Founder of Spritz Sparkling Tea. In addition to creating delicious beverages that can be enjoyed on their own or as part of your favorite cocktail, Spirtz is committed to supporting females as they pursue their ambitions. The company donates 1% of sales to support female-focused local non-profits. Kathryn shares her path from the corporate world...

On this episode, Elio sits down with Pat Sweetman, Founder of Voice First to discuss his vision for how to transform Columbus into the voice capital of the world. Voice First helps entrepreneurs, influencers, businesses, and artists to get found on voice-enabled devices like Amazon's Echo and Google Assistant.

On this episode, Elio interviews Tommy Hillyer, Co-Founder of Helm. Helm's platform allows coders to take on challenges and share projects to get hired. Helm makes hiring about creativity, not just competency. Tommy tells the Helm story and how they intend to revolutionize hiring.

On this episode, Elio sits down with Phil Osolinski, Co-Founder of Ryze Rewards to discuss bootstrapping and how Ryze Rewards uses spending to help their users get out of debt. Enjoy!

On this episode, Elio sits down for a second time with Nafis Azad, Co-Founder of Waker. Waker was formed as a result of a merger between Nafis's first company GhostLab and Atlanta-based company Appify. Waker is an application development company that combines technical expertise with business acumen to advise clients on not only how to build their product but also how to turn their idea into a bus...

Elio interviews Nick Potts, Founder of ScriptDrop. ScriptDrop provides prescription delivery by seamlessly connecting pharmacies to a network of professional couriers. Nick shares his thoughts on what it takes to go from employee to founder and how ScriptDrop intends to change the way you receive your prescriptions in the future.

On this episode, Elio interviews Branden Jones, Co-Founder of Blk Hack. Branden shares his journey from a paper route as a kid to the Founder of Blk Hack a company that helps African Americans and people of color grow, nurture, and scale their businesses by providing access to an engaged and supportive entrepreneurial ecosystem. Branden's path provides a brief glimpse into the early days and evolu...

Elio interviews Beni Gradwohl, Co-Founder of Cognovi Labs, a predictive analytics company that “quantifies how people feel, and what they will do next”. Beni started his career in the corporate world including as EVP of Citibank helping homeowners remain in their home during the financial crisis of 2008. Beni and Cognovi Labs are now on the leading edge of predictive analytics and the implications...

Elio interviews Kyle Barger, Founder of Champion Trading Group and Make-A-Day. Champion Trading Group helps companies in the scrap metal and steel industry increase profits. Make-A-Day is spreading love positivity in our community (Columbus, OH) through random acts of kindness, charitable giving, and volunteering. Kyle shares his story on how he went from 9-5 to starting a company that now generat...

Elio interviews Manny Larcher, Co-Founder of Stopwatch Creative and Collaborate and Elevate. In this wide-ranging interview, Manny shares his path from employee to Founder to an essential connector in the Columbus startup ecosystem. Stopwatch Creative is a full-service consultancy and method agency using design and creative marketing campaigns to tell your brand's story. Collaborate and Elevate's...

Elio interviews Ben Kozberg, Director of Development of Nationwide Children's Hospital Foundation's Entrepreneurs for Kids Everywhere. Ben shares how he discovered the concept of using founder pledges to help fund pediatric research at Nationwide Children's Hospital one of the nation's best pediatric hospitals, the positive response he has received so far from the Columbus startup ecosystem, and h...

Elio interviews Angela Rucci, Co-Founder of Tego. Tego is a personal safety app that allows users to connect with friends and family and travel with them virtually. Angela's personal experience and powerful journey to founding her company are inspiring. Great company with a compelling mission led by an unstoppable entrepreneur.

Elio interviews Hoa Pyles McManus, Co-Founder of SHARE. SHARE is a microtransit company focused on solving the transportation problems of the world's most forward-thinking companies. Hoa discusses her immigrant roots, exit from corporate America, starting a company with her husband, and the future of moving people. Enjoy!

On this episode, Elio interviews Ryan Helon, Head of Investments at Rev1 Ventures. Rev1 is a venture investment firm and startup studio that serves as the hub of the Columbus startup ecosystem connecting startups and corporate innovation teams. Ryan discusses how he got his start as an investor, the array of ways Rev1 helps startups succeed, and the investment philosophy behind Rev1's impressive p...

On this episode, Elio interviews Falon Donohue, CEO of VentureOhio. VentureOhio is a non-profit organization committed to increasing access to capital, fostering collaboration and telling Ohio's startup ecosystem story in order to accelerate innovation, job creation, and wealth generation. Falon discusses being raised on a non-functioning farm, her time in the military and how she found the drive...

On this episode of the 614Startups Podcast, Elio interviews Matt Golis, Founder of GiveGame. GiveGame is a web application that helps not-for-profits effortlessly fund-raise using sports and entertainment. On the encouragement of friends and mentors, Matt moved from Ohio to Silicon Valley in the mid-nineties to begin his entrepreneurial journey as Founder of Rent Payment. In an effort to scale Ren...

On today’s episode, our guest is Michelle Murcia, Founder and CEO of Book+Street. We discuss Michelle’s distinguished corporate career, her transition to working with startups and her founder’s journey of building a fractional CFO practice that helps entrepreneur’s set up financial systems that can take them from early-stage ventures to growth and beyond. 

Our guest today is Tonnisha English, Founder of TJE Communications. TJE Communications is a public relations and digital marketing firm that helps small businesses develop and execute comprehensive marketing strategies to brand awareness. Tonnisha discusses her journey from a recent college graduate who couldn’t find work to the founder of a fast-growing PR firm helping startups grow. 

Today in the house we have the man himself Ashwin Rajgopal, Chief Technology Officer of NXTSTOR. We discuss what NXTSTOR is all about and the big problem they are working to solve. NXTSTOR is basically a peer-to-peer marketplace for finding and renting storage space. NXTSTOR primarily serves college students who need temporary storage solutions while away from campus housing whether returning home...

On this week’s podcast, our guest is Rodolfo Bellesi, Founder of Ikove Capital. Ikove is a venture development company founded to pursue early stage investments in the Mid-West. Rodolfo discusses the importance of taking risks in pursuit of opportunity and how the Startup Nursery model helps Ikove build great companies from ideas and research in a lab to market movers impacting the well-being of h...

Today we have Jess Hellmich in the building, he is a small business owner and the Founding Partner of Dueling Axes along with his Partner Paul Sherry. Jess talks about how they came up with the idea for starting an ax-throwing lounge and some of the challenges they experienced running a startup. Check out our wide-ranging conversation about one of the most entertaining and promising small business...

Check out my awesome interview with Kevin Lloyd, Founder of MYLE. MYLE is a social activity and entertainment app, designed to Make Your Life Entertaining. Kevin discusses the transition from corporate to entrepreneurship and the impact he wants to have on the Columbus startup ecosystem and beyond.