Conquering Columbus Podcast

Green Light Improv provides classes on improv to university students and corporations to help improve their team’s creative thinking skills and innovation.

The Grote Company manufactures reliable, top-quality food-slicing and assembly equipment. They’re a leader in the market, and based here in Central Ohio. Bob Grote has served as CEO since 2012, and has worked at the company since 2000.

Pathfinder Product Labs is a consulting group that helps companies embrace proven, repeatable methodologies for embracing uncertainty and defining product direction. Brett Buchanan founded the company with fellow co-founder Nick Baker in 2019, and today he leads the company as a Product Management Consultant and CEO.

Triad is an architecture + design; construction + facility management; and real estate development company based in downtown Columbus. 2023 marks a major celebration of 25 years of service to the Central Ohio region!

Bruce Garfield is the Executive Director of the Columbus Music Commission, a role he has served since August 2018 following his move to Columbus in November of 2017. Before the Columbus Music Commission, Bruce had a successful career as both a major record label executive and talent management, working with artists like Sinead O’Connor, Grace …

Chris is the Owner and President of AutoSweet, a digital marketing and advertising firm that helps car dealerships nationwide drive quality website traffic, convert leads, and match back offline sales from their online advertising.

Callan Harrington is the CEO & Founder of FlashGrowth, a sales and RevOps consulting company that helps start-ups and scale-ups unlock their next level of growth by creating, implementing, and executing proven go-to-market plans for rapid growth.

FocusCFO provides fractional Chief Financial Officer support to small and medium-size businesses that are not large enough to need a full-time CFO.  Brad Martyn, the founder of FocusCFO, started the company in Columbus in 2001. Today, FocusCFO operates in 10 states, has over 140 associates, and is the Top 5 in the US within the …

Michael Wezner is the owner of XGolf (Columbus and Powell), a franchise that combines a high-tech golf simulator experience with a bar and restaurant.

Bob White is the CEO of the Daimler Group, a commercial real estate developer based in Columbus, Ohio for over 40 years. Bob has spent the last 25+ years with the Daimler group, making his way up from Marketing Representative to CEO.

Chris is Founder and CEO of Cyanna Education Services, a full-circle educational consulting firm focused on building & improving institutions of higher learning, and EDvera, a software company that sprung up out of some of the regulatory challenges Chris and his team saw from their clients in the education space. He is also the Co-Founder …

Todd Swickard is the CEO and Founder of Smart 1 Marketing. Smart 1 Marketing is a full-service digital partner, offering solutions to help with everything from website design and development to sales training, SEO optimization, Social Media, and more.

Wes Strickling is the CEO and Founder of codexIT. CodexIT provides complete Managed Technology Services to multi-office & PE platform Eye Care groups. Their deep industry knowledge allows them to provide support for all of the moving parts in a modern practice.

Tom Bruce is the CEO and Founder of Conversion Path. Tom is a former CFO-turned-marketer, and he founded Conversion Path in 2011, which offers eCommerce brands specialized strategies to maximize sales and profits. The innovations they’ve developed in search, social, and marketplace advertising give their clients a competitive advantage in their market.

Bryon Murray is the CEO and Founder of Enzee Health, a cloud-based platform that helps measure compliance and quality across multiple modalities and, soon, across the whole healthcare system, giving hospitals the power to provide better patient care. Bryon is also a Clinical Assistant Professor at The Ohio State University.

On this episode from 2021, Josh and Mike talk with Larry Connor, Founder and Managing Partner of the Connor Group. Larry is not only an extremely successful entrepreneur, he’s also a champion race driver, flies fighter jets, astronaut, and more as you’ll hear about in this interview.

Heartland Ventures was formed to do what no other venture capital fund has done before: connect established Midwest companies with coastal startups, giving business leaders a voice in the tech transformation happening in their industries. By leveraging a network of strategic investors composed of private, often rural, and mostly multi-generational business owners and operators, their …

Mike and Josh are on vacation for the first time in seven years, so this week, we went back to May of 2021 to re-release one of Mike’s favorite interviews. On this interview from 2021, Mike and Josh spoke with Dr. Annalies Corbin, Founder, President and CEO, and Chief Goddess at the PAST Foundation.

A look back at some of our most liked episodes in 2022 featuring: Giri Devanur, Matt Scantland, Ernest Levert Jr., Dr. Zeenia Kaul, Andy Miller, Joanna Pinkerton, Emily Quick-Schriver, Louise Rodino-Klapac, Thomas McClure, Vamsi Kora, Chris Cooke, and Laura Wilkins Cooke.

Hugh Cathey is the CEO of ChromoCare, which is a leader in the field of Pharmacogenetics (PGx), aka the genetic testing of patients to ensure compatibility with prescription medications. Prior to ChromoCare, Hugh served as a Principal for Columbus-Partners, LLC, and CRO at Healthspot, Inc. Additionally, he has a wide range of leadership experience at …

Chris Cooke and Laura Wilkins Cooke are the Co-Founders of Positive Foundry. Positive Foundry provides training and consulting services to help people and businesses thrive. Prior to founding Positive Foundry, Chris and Laura both had highly successful careers in their own right. Laura got an MBA from Michigan’s Ross School of Business and has held …

Objective Prosperity: How Behavioral Economics Can Improve Outcomes for You, Your Business and Your Nation is co-authored by Roger Blackwell and Roger Bailey; Blackwell has written 40 previous books and served on the boards of 14 public companies over the course of his professional career.

Vamsi Kora is the Founder and CEO of Gathi Analytics. Gathi Analytics was acquired by Apexon (a Goldman Sachs portfolio company) in 2021, and today Vamsi serves as the company’s Chief Data Officer.

TalentShare is a mobile application designed to connect collegiate athletes with younger, local athletes looking for coaching and training opportunities.

Claudia De Leon is the Co-Owner and COO of La Mega Media. La Mega Media, Inc is a minority-owned business, and is one of the largest Hispanic media companies in the Midwest. The company’s corporate office is located in Columbus, OH, with additional offices in Cincinnati and Cleveland, while also reaching into Dayton, Northern Kentucky, …