Technori Podcast

Will Malnati is, indeed, from that Malnati family. His great-grandfather Adolpho ‘Rudy’ Malnati, Sr. was a deep dish pioneer at Pizzeria Uno, and his grandfather Lou opened his eponymous restaurant in 1971 — the first in a chain now widely considered to serve the best deep dish pizza in Chicago (and therefore everywhere.) after spending a decade in the family industry, Will’s path ultimately lead...

Balodana CEO Dana Todd joined Scott Kitun in the WGN Studio to discuss her entrepreneurial journey and how it led her to lead a fashion startup. Dismayed with the availability of fashionable options for women who don’t fall into the very young or very thin categories, Dana saw an opportunity to offer custom-made clothing for a variety of body types. That’s how Balodana, an online marketplace for w...

Victor Ciardelli, Founder and CEO of Guaranteed Rate, sits down with Scott Kitun.

Montana Butsch is what Malcolm Gladwell would call a “connector” –– someone who’s a natural hub between people of different worlds and affects change by bringing his network together. He’s putting network to work as he grows Spotivity, an app that connects teens with after school activities & other extracurricular opportunities in their communities, based on their location, interests & aptitudes.

CEO Jake Kiser joined Technori CEO Scott Kitun in the WGN Studio to talk about how building trust and loyalty has led to Hatch’s success. Hatch Loyalty offers a software solution for retailers to customize their loyalty programs. Retailers can monitor program performance in real-time and change it based on customer behavior.

Amir Haleem, CEO of Helium sits down with Scott Kitun at WGN Radio. Building the world’s first peer-to-peer wireless network takes more than just brilliant engineering. It takes the confidence to know that people will think you’re crazy at first. Then if you’re lucky, they’ll take your innovations for granted. Helium aims to simplify connecting things like IoT devices and sensors by building a net...

Data collection used to be the kind of thing you’d only hear specialists discuss in a technical meeting. These days, it’s so mainstream — even your parents know a little about it. The question facing businesses is what to do with all of that information, once it is collected. CEO Kelly Manthey sits down with Scott to discuss how Solstice fits in as a solution.

Jeff Meredith, President and COO of Chamberlain Group, sits down with Scott Kitun at WGN Radio. For more than 40 years, the company has been a global leader in high-quality garage door openers and gate entry systems developing technologies like LiftMaster. They’re also pioneering the tech that lets the Amazon delivery guy easily and securely drop off your packages in your garage while you’re out.

Monica + Andy CEO Monica Royer joins Scott, a soon-to-be-father, in-studio at WGN Radio. Monica, who began her career in the pharmaceutical industry, was a first-time entrepreneur and a mom searching for soft, safe baby clothes. Today, Chicago-based Monica + Andy is a bonafide lifestyle brand with six retail locations in Chicagoland, California and the East Coast.

Jay Klauminzer, CEO of Raise, sits down with Scott Kitun at WGN Radio. In its early days, Raise functioned as a gift card marketplace for the many, many people “who have lots of unused gift cards sitting in their desk drawer.” Raise.com was a place to get rid of them. Under Jay’s leadership, Raise shifted its model to prioritize “direct relationships” with over 500 retail partners. Together, they...

George Huang, CEO of Fairygodboss, calls-in to chat with Scott on WGN Radio. Fairygodboss offers job listings, employer profiles, anonymous employee reviews and a daily feed where users can post either anonymously or under their real names. Today, the platform is the largest online career community for women (though male allies are welcome too).

This episode is sponsored by MBRE

Corbett Kull, CEO of Tillable, joins Scott in-studio to talk about how he's aiming to revolutionize the use of farmland. Coined as the Airbnb of farmland, Tillable is a digital network that connects landowners with farmers. Through his platform, families who own farmland can better utilize and monetize their land without the use of a big corporation, become better landowners and improve the return...

Co-founders Tom Zhang and Stephanie Mellinger from Zenblen, an automated smoothie-making kiosk, talk with Scott Kitun at WGN Radio. The company is in its early stages, but you can already taste test their creations at gyms, coworking spaces and networking events around the city.

Colleen Werner, CEO of Lulafit, joins Scott in-studio at WGN to talk about how she aims to make health and wellness easy, even when life gets busy. As a wellness amenities management service, LulaFit partners with commercial offices and luxury residential buildings to manage the common spaces that typically go underutilized — including fitness centers and spas. Their wellness services range from d...

It's week three of the #ChiWellnessChallenge, a challenge designed to make entrepreneurs and founders take stock of their well-being and pursue a six-week goal to better themselves whether it be focus, eating, exercise, weight loss or sleep. In-studio Scott talks to challenge participants Pete Wilkins, Managing Director of Hyde Park Angels, Mike Apostal, founder of Factor75 and Jeff Cantalupo, Man...

Matt Gibbs, CMO of UPshow, joins Scott in-studio at WGN Radio in the heart of downtown Chicago. UPshow wants to change your relationship with screen time and content engagement. Whether your patrons sit at the doctor's office or at a bar, UPshow has the ability to offer customizable and marketable content inside your place of business. Listen to Matt talk about how the company has evolved since it...

Heather Baker, VP of talent at InContext Solutions, and Joe Wegreke, Director of human capital consulting at TriNet, join Scott in-studio at WGN Radio in downtown Chicago to discuss mixed reality and human resource services.

Rick Bowman, CEO of Shiftgig, joins Scott in-studio at WGN Radio in the heart of downtown Chicago. The gig economy is the best place to find experts in any field, and the popular form of employment will soon rival the traditional methods of hiring.

Candice Crane, founder & CEO of Petal, joins Scott in-studio at WGN Radio in the heart of downtown Chicago. Her startup, which launched in 2017, uses flowers and other botanicals to create a tasty, no-caffeine, little-sugar, sparkling drink. A look into how she came up with an idea she knew would be a good fit for its market.

Sulabh Agarwal, CTO of Civis Analytics, joins Scott in-studio at WGN Radio in the heart of downtown Chicago. Person-level data is the new sliced bread of the analytics world, and you'll want to become familiar with it.

Rochelle Nawrocki Gorey, CEO and co-founder of SpringFour, joins Scott in-studio in downtown Chicago. This episode is sponsored by Bank of America and MB Real Estate.

Kaben Clauson, founder & CEO of TruePublic, joins Scott in-studio at WGN Radio in downtown Chicago to share an update of his app. TruePublic is a survey app that acquires anonymous data and shares it with the world. Male, female, white, green, each topical survey question provides different results, and the anonymity ensures everyone has an equal voice. This episode is sponsored by Bank of America...

Ryan Rist, the Director of Innovation for American Family, stopped by the WGN Studio in downtown Chicago to talk about how insurance can innovate, the challenges for would-be industry disruptors, and how American Family has changed up the way it does things. This episode is sponsored by Bank of America and MB Real Estate.

Aly Orady, CEO & founder of Tonal, joins Scott on WGN Radio to talk about how his company has made an impact in the "home gym" world among big names like Bowflex and Peloton. Struggling with weight since childhood, Aly decided to fix his problem on his own. Listen to Scott and Aly shoot the crap and look deep behind the scenes. This episode is sponsored by Bank of America and MB Real Estate.