Going Deep with Aaron Watson

Eight years ago, 100,000s of people died in the Haitian earthquake. Many people donated money, but Ian Rosenberger was compelled to do more.   Ian co-founded Thread International, which has shipped nearly 200,000 lbs of recycled plastic out of Haiti to be processed into fabric. This has also created jobs for Haitian families and represents a forward thinking solution to issues of poverty..   Curre...

It’s estimated that 50% of the population will be working independently by 2020. If this comes to fruition, the demand for shared space will continue to rise at a fast pace in the next year. According to some estimates, there could be up to 37,000 Coworking spaces worldwide by the end of 2018.   I sat down to discuss with Zach Ciccone, Principal & Head of Growth for the Beauty Shoppe.   Beauty Sho...

Alison Alvarez knows a lot about a lot.   In just 30 minutes, she taught me about Charleston, West Virginia, the power of geo-tracking, and how she does market research. We didn’t even get into Japanese literature.   Alison is the CEO and co-founder of BlastPoint. She has spent years building big data tools for large companies and became convinced that more affordable and accessible solutions shou...

Ingrid Cook is SHzoom’s CEO. The company is an insurance-tech startup with a patented technology focused on automotive repairs. SHzoom was designed to revolutionize the way the industry handles minor fender benders.  Rather than driving from shop to shop or waiting hours for a single estimate from a claims adjuster, SHzoom allows the end user to point and click for multiple repair cost estimates f...

Media and marketing people are all making big deals about video and audio. Not enough people are paying attention to the impact of maps.   Emily Mercurio’s is perfectly poised to help companies utilize the modern form of this old technology.   She is an expert in geology, geospatial technology, 2D/3D mapping, and remote sensing and helps her clients through her company CivicMapper.   We discuss th...

Adhithi Aji is applying her strong technical skills to deliver consumer insights & data to the CPG world. Her company Adrich is a Pittsburgh-based company that connects brands and retailers through product usage data and analytics.   In this conversation, we discuss iterating on digital products, the fundraising environment in Pittsburgh, and how Adhithi’s product scales.   Every aspiring tech ent...

Lou Camerlengo founded fivestar*, a custom technology design, development, and consulting firm, in 1997.  Lou leads fivestar*’s business development and client retention efforts, driving company performance while maintaining a deep involvement in higher education, workforce, and nonprofit projects.   In this podcast, we discuss starting the business, building a cohesive team, and how Lou has been...

I went to the offices of Deeplocal, an innovation studio that boasts clients like Nike, Netflix, Spotify, Lyft, and Google, to interview Director of Business Development Josh Corcoran.   Josh Corcoran is the creator of Spare Change, a video series that connects communities and causes with music by inviting bands to busk for their favorite charities. The project began in February of 2017 when Josh...

Chris Edwards and his siblings grew up in a chocolate factory and he is the CEO for Edward Marc Brands, based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.   Upon taking the reins, Chris and his siblings transformed the 104-year-old company from regional prominence into a respected national corporation. Edward Marc Brands consists of Edward Marc Chocolatier, The Milk Shake Factory, and Snappers Crafted Snacks.   P...

Ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft aren’t ideal for long distances. They cost too much.   However, trains and airlines aren’t always practical.   Bharath Krishnamoorthy believes his company, Axle Travel, is the solution. Axle is a ride-hailing service for long-distances that's focused on providing fast and affordable transportation to the airport.   In this conversation, Aaron and B discuss...

The Restaurant Industry was due for a new idea, and that’s exactly what Tyler Benson and Benjamin Mantica delivered when they co-founded Smallman Galley .   Their food hall restaurant accelerator is the first of its kind in the United States. The space incubates four restaurant concepts at a time and drastically lowers the startup costs of a new culinary venture.   Tyler and Ben are Navy Veterans...

LegalSifter is on a mission to bring affordable legal services to the world by empowering people with artificial intelligence. Kevin Miller joined the startup to help prove the business model and scale the company.   Previously, Kevin has served as Chief Operating Officer Industrial Scientific Corporation, helped launch an online version of Argosy University, and spent half a decade at FreeMarkets...

Skycision is on a mission to help the global agriculture industry grow more efficiently. Food production has to increase by 70% by 2050 to feed the anticipated 2 billion person increase in the global population.   Skycision offers a solution to help the global agriculture industry grow more efficiently by identifying crop stress earlier in the growing season, and optimizing field inputs to enhance...

Tucker Max is an American author and public speaker. He chronicled his drinking and sexual encounters in the form of short stories on his website TuckerMax.com ,which has received millions of visitors since Max launched it as the result of a bet in 2000.   I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell was a New York Times #1 Bestseller and made the Bestseller List each year from 2006 to 2012. It has sold over on...

After the fireside chat with Anthony Freeze, we took questions from the audience about Instagram, podcasting, and running kickass events. Some video from this event is at the end of Episode 015 of This Is Piper.

Over the course of a 90-minute conversation, at Industrious Coworking space, we discussed  Instagram, podcasting, and running kickass events.   We also discussed the genesis of Piper Creative and our plans for the future.   Super grateful to Anthony Freeze for conducting a great interview. LinkedIn

Mark DeSantis is currently CEO of RoadBotics, an AI-based product that monitors and manages roadway infrastructure. Previously, he has co-founded an energy hedge fund, a GE Ventures-backed energy predictive analytics company, and a venture-backed online tutoring company.   Why build a company focused on road maintenance? There is a desperate need to efficiently and effectively monitor and maintain...

A decade ago, very few people thought a blog could be a business. Today, it’s common knowledge.   Nicki Zevola Benvenuti hopped on the trend very early, starting her website, FutureDerm.com, in 2008. It now helps more than 500,000 people a month discover hard-to-find scientific information on skincare, to make sense of marketing claims, and to find what is best for their skin a plethora of product...

This episode was an opportunity to pester one of my good friends, Brad Driscoll, with questions 😏   In addition to co-founding Think Big Marketing, Brad has generated 10 million views on YouTube and amassed one of the 1,000 largest audiences on Twitch.   He’ll be talking about building a YouTube account at an event we are holding August 1st.   RSVP to the Facebook event for updates or buy a ticke...

Halima Tammy Thompson's moved to Pittsburgh as a child and was faced with homelessness, loss and countless obstacles.  Years later, she has fused 20+ years of experience in the Real Estate Industry and 8 years of working in the nonprofit sector as a Credit Counselor.       Tammy is a Poverty Expert, Nationally Sought After Speaker, Executive Producer of We Wear The Mask, a documentary released in...

This interview will dispel the notion that you can’t develop creativity.   Allen Gannett is the founder and CEO of TrackMaven, a marketing analytics platform whose clients have included Microsoft, Marriott, Saks Fifth Avenue, Home Depot, Aetna, Honda, and GE. He has been on the “30 Under 30” lists for both Inc. and Forbes.   His upcoming book, The Creative Curve, is on how anyone can achieve momen...

In this episode of #PiperAnswers, we touch on a few topics that frankly, most entrepreneurs would think are too tedious or boring to share. We also talk about our editing process and how much time we actually spend working on Piper.   How did you incorporate your business? What did you use to set up your website? What is Hannah's editing process? How many hours per week do you spend on your own co...

When you think of a polling company, you probably think of Nielsen or Gallup. John Dick is going to change that.   As the Founder and CEO of CivicScience, John is building a modern consumer and media analytics company based in Pittsburgh. He and his team are reinventing consumer polling for a digital and mobile-first environment.   We discuss how polling has gotten more difficult as media and tele...

Lynsie Campbell is the founder of LaneSpotter, a navigation tool that helps cyclists find safe routes. It’s the result of her avid cycling habit and DNA as a “serial entrepreneur.”   She started LaneSpotter after a ride with her then one-year-old son, who was strapped into a seat on her bike.   Campbell previously co-founded of the online ticketing platform ShowClix. She also started a dog walking...

In this episode, we discuss where Pittsburgh has been and where it’s going.   Bill Flanagan is the Chief Corporate Relations Officer for the Allegheny Conference on Community Development. Bill guides the development of regional and organizational messaging strategy and supervises Investor Relations activities, including membership development and fundraising.   An experienced broadcast journalist,...