Proprietors of Pittsburgh Podcast

Mark Mammone learned the art and science of fermentation while living in Los Angeles. As an aspiring actor, he practiced his culinary skills during downtime between gigs. After trying his hand at kimchi and making several batches of pickles, he decided to pick up a few books to really study and learn the fermentation process. Although he had some modest success as an actor, Mark ultimately decided...

John Tarallo was young when he discovered that salt could be mixed with herbs and spices to create unique flavors. His Sicilian grandfather often used an imported salt blend on his favorite dishes. This experience left an impression on John, as he realized the impact that spices could have on the taste of food. John grew up in a large family where gathering around the kitchen table for Sunday dinn...

George Cook comes from a long line of community bankers. His family has operated a small community bank in the Somerset, PA area for approximately 130 years. While he was earning his MBA at Dartmouth College, he met Ken Martin, an investment banker and main street business owner who would eventually become his co-founder in Honeycomb Credit. They both realized from their own experiences that there...

The 2010 earthquake in Haiti had a lasting effect on Ian Rosenberger. During his volunteer trip to the devastated Caribbean nation, he kept a journal of his experiences there. One of his journal entries stated simply, “if Haiti could turn trash into money equals good.” This idea planted the seed for what would become Thread International. Five years and many iterations later, Ian and his small tea...

In 2008, Fiore Moletz noticed that there was a gap in the Pittsburgh culinary scene. The city needed a gourmet burger restaurant that used high-quality beef and ingredients served in a friendly, hometown atmosphere. There was only one problem. He didn’t have the money to get it off the ground. It took two years of saving, plenty of hard work, and finding the right partners to finally open Burgh’er...

Mike Sharp didn’t let the pandemic stop him from starting his own independent insurance agency. In August 2020, he realized his dream and opened the doors to his office in the Brentwood borough. Both he and his wife did the bulk of the renovation work to the space, which needed considerable upgrading before they could open to the public. Mike’s experience as a sales agent, manager, and recruiter w...

Linda MacMurdo’s journey began in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It was there that she was born to an African mother and a native Pittsburgh father who was also a Peace Corps volunteer. Linda spent much of her young childhood in various African nations, as her father moved the family from place to place for work. Civil and political unrest in Africa eventually led her family back to the U.S. Tw...

When Ben Smith and his father opened Reclamation Brewing Company in Butler, PA in 2015, it became the first brewery to operate in Butler County since the days of Prohibition. After years of disappointment with the mass-produced, watered-down beers that most bars and restaurants offered, the Smiths decided to once again “reclaim the good name of beer” and open their own establishment. Their mission...

John Vella discovered his interest in hairstyling at the tender age of 13 when he helped his mother fix a haircut that she wasn’t happy with. After high school, he went on to cosmetology school in Pittsburgh to learn the trade that he hoped would fund his way through college. His love for hairdressing blossomed, and it ultimately took precedence over his plans to become an accountant. John’s first...

After participating in a coding boot camp in California, Alan Mabry was hooked on the idea of teaching and mentoring students to upgrade their skills and bring new products and ideas to life. Shortly after this experience, he moved back to Pittsburgh invigorated and excited to get started on his new business idea. In 2018, Alan Mabry, Josh Studl, and Sean Bailey founded Upstream Coding with the fu...

Jen Urich didn’t just start a new café. She started a new café out of an upcycled shipping container in a public park, while growing many of her own herbs and vegetables. Needless to say, starting the first shipping container restaurant in Western Pennsylvania presented numerous challenges and obstacles, not the least of which was finding the right location and meeting the stringent requirements o...

When Gregg Zegarelli founded Technology & Entrepreneurial Ventures Law Group in 1990, not only was his firm’s name unique, but so was his approach to building his practice. He was one of the first lawyers in Pennsylvania to advertise under the category of computer law. Today, Gregg focuses on the transactional areas of corporate and intellectual property law, but he also has considerable experienc...

Christina Dickerson, owner of Dickerson Creative Communications, is a media relations, digital marketing, and event planning expert. Her impressive list of clients includes local celebrities, professional athletes, non-profit organizations, Pittsburgh-based corporations, and entrepreneurs. Dickerson Creative Communications has been involved in many of the area’s leading events including The Jerome...

While living in New York City, Janna Hockenjos rediscovered yoga. Although she first encountered it as a teenager, this time around she developed a deep connection and mature love for the practice. City life was exciting and full of challenges. A busy social calendar, attending graduate school at New York University, and starting a career as a budding magazine journalist all added to the mounting...

As co-founder and president of RoadBotics, Benjamin Schmidt, PhD leads a dynamic team in the rapidly growing “GovTech” space. RoadBotics offers artificial intelligence-based road infrastructure assessments for governments around the world. By leveraging standard smartphone camera and app technology, which is paired with cloud access, they are able to deliver their product in an accessible and easy...

When Emma Ferrick started ELF Operations last fall, she didn’t expect to go full-time in her own business so quickly and in the early stages of a global pandemic. It just so happened that the economic shutdown this spring presented the perfect opportunity for her to dive head-first into her new venture, which was created to provide operational support, technology implementation, and business manag...

In sailor tattoo culture, a bird represents a significant event or milestone in one’s travels. For Luke Cypher, the food truck business that he started five years ago, aptly named Blue Sparrow, is his great adventure. Globally inspired flavors and ingredients form the basis for accessible and unique street cart dishes. Luke’s food journey has taken him many places, including culinary school and gi...

Emily Bonk was introduced to soap making at the age of 14. Her kitchen was the center of activity for the hobby shared by her mother, aunt, and friends of the family. These warm memories would later fuel her passion to start her own handmade soap business in 2019. But making the choice to go full-time as a business owner wasn’t as easy as it sounds. Emily was just a few credits shy of an associate...

Dr. Tammy Washington’s ongoing quest for healthy superfoods led to her discovery of Irish sea moss. After teaching herself how to prepare it and turn it into a gel, she realized that her initial batch was much larger than she needed. So, like any good entrepreneur, Dr. Tammy set out to see if anyone in her social circle and community wanted to give it a try. To her surprise, the response was overw...

Shortly after getting married, Lauren Marts decided to give a gluten-free diet a try. Her husband suffered from gluten intolerance, so Lauren often found herself getting creative in the kitchen with gluten-free alternatives. Growing up, she spent many hours baking with her grandma, so cooking and preparing food held a special place in her heart. Before long, she was perfecting a gluten-free chocol...

After relocating to Pittsburgh with her husband, it didn’t take long for Hannah Lane Critzer to realize her dream of owning a local business within walking distance from her home. HLane Dry Goods & Coffee is a modern, industrial-rustic coffee and dry goods store located in the Swissvale neighborhood. Stocked with distinctive, local items and vintage merchandise and clothing, it’s also a visual and...

Axel Claussen longed for the kind of authentic, soft-baked pretzels that he once enjoyed in his native Germany. After his search in Pittsburgh came up dry, he decided to make some himself. Even though he didn’t have a baking or culinary background, he did know what a genuine German pretzel should taste like. After some trial and error, he nailed it and a budding business was born. After a short st...

After working in several different industries, Brittany Hartle found her passion in health and wellness. She is currently the owner of two businesses – a unique yoga practice with one-on-one coaching and outdoor group sessions and a brand-new CBD store. Whether it’s teaching people how to find peace and strength through yoga or educating customers on the benefits of CBD products, helping others is...

If you have a business, then you have to sell your product or service. For some people, this comes naturally, but for the majority, it can feel a bit awkward to sell what you make. In entrepreneurship there’s the pervasive attitude that just because the product is awesome, people will line up to get it. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way. This is where Engaged Prospect comes in. They understa...

The pandemic has brought many challenges with it, and all of us have had to adapt in one way or another. This podcast is no different. All of the interviews in Season 5 will be virtual. This will be an extended season, and the plan is to go back to in-person conversations once it is safe and appropriate to do so. As a local podcast host, I pride myself on being able to meet face-to-face with guest...