Technori Podcast

Founder Danielle Drabkin and COO Jennifer Wei join the show to catch up with Scott about the growth of Pear Chef, a private-chef service amenity serving fresh meals and spirits. The service is geared towards modern luxury apartment buildings, and already in 25 buildings in the Chicago area.

Ben Shack of BMO Harris and Shayna Atkins of ExpandHR join the podcast with Scott to talk about what founders truly need from a program, how the 1871 Innovation Program evolved into the female-founder driven program it is today. Shayna elaborates on her experience with the program and expectations going in, and how her company ExpandHR works with its unique approach to onboarding, compliance, heal...

Ever wanted to benefit monetarily from watching your favorite sports teams and players? Sport BLX is pioneering a way for you to do that by investing in the teams and players themselves. Sport BLX CEO Joe De Perio joins the show to talk to Scott about how their platform lets you share in the profits of the athlete or team, how it's equitable for all parties and creating generational wealth.

Jamie Hodari, co-founder and CEO of Industrious, joins the show to talk with Scott about the rapid change in office space and why momentum was already turning towards increased remote work pre-COVID. Industrious provides premium flexible workspaces with a unique model that allows month-to-month terms and fully furnished, customizable spaces for your company needs.

There's been a reckoning coming for the tech incubator space, and the pandemic has only accelerated that. Without the ability to host events or provide workspace, the value for founders to join these programs has declined. Workbox CEO John Wallace shares how they are providing more than a coworking space with services geared to help connect founders with other founders, investors and industry expe...

Purchasing Platform CEO Dave Bowen joins the show to talk about their marketplace of vendors makes it easy for clients to get what they need for their communities and save money at the same time. Dave also dives into how he joined Purchasing Platform and Scott coins the term "refounder": someone that doesn't found companies, but finds existing companies and gives them a reboot. 

As a young founder it's easy to overlook how important HR, payroll benefits, compliance etc are what really make you standout to hire - and keep- top tier talent in your company. Paylocity CEO Steve Beauchamp joins the show to talk about how the company serves these needs for companies and the journey and moving from a small startup with a modest $6 million raise in 2014 to a publicly traded compa...

Brian Barnes, CEO of M1 Finance, joins the show to talk about his journey into building M1 to solve a problem he was having himself - managing his investments. M1 essentially combines a lot of the aspects of managing your personal finances or your money into "personal finance super app" that lets you invest, borrow and store your funds in a separate checking account.

Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are no longer a small trend or fad, but increasingly accepted currency growing into the mainstream. Beaxy takes the next step in the legitimization process: a platform for retail investors to quickly and easily trade cryptocurrencies.  Bay Abbott joins the show to talk with Scott about how Beaxy works to ease the crypto barrier-to-entry, appealing to general consumers...

2020, everything is indoors, which means we are constantly online even more than before (if that's possible) and shop online now more than ever. BlackCart lets you pick out clothes from your favorite stores, get it shipped to try on at home for free, and only pay for what you keep. Chief Business officer and friend of the show Jason Komosa hops on to share what BlackCart is faring in the 2020 and...

With our lives so dramatically increased remote and online due to the pandemic, cyber security has never been more tested. Our friend Darren Guccione from Keeper Security joins the show to tell Scott how they have seen huge spikes in cyber attacks, including ransomware and phishing attacks since we've all moved indoors.

Marie Trzupek Lynch knows job placement - or just getting a job in general - is tougher than it it should be for employers and prospective employees. The pandemic has only further put a spotlight on glaring holes in the job market - namely: there isn't much of one. As the founding President and CEO of Skills for Chicagoland's Future and previously lead Chicago Career Tech, Marie has made aligning...

Amount founder and CEO Adam Hughes joins the show to talk with Scott about sense of urgency surrounding banking in a COVID-19 world to get services online and keeping them safe. Amount works with institutional banks and financial services with improved digital interfaces that meet customer expectations and keep pace with latest trends.

Eric Kinariwala founded Capsule after a particularly heinous experience trying to fill a common prescription. Eric joins the pod to talk to Scott about how he devised a model to rid patients the headache of getting their scripts, refills and medications by having them delivered to their door same-day, without ever having to step foot in a pharmacy.

Michael Burdick, CEO and founder of Paro, joins the show to talk to Scott about all things finance. Paro provides remote professional financial services including use of CFOs, accountants, bookkeepers among other roles through their online marketplace for businesses of all sizes.

Lara Vandenberg noticed how so many ad agencies portray themselves as being a PR and marketing company, when they often are just one of those things. Now, companies can find people for certain work on their won with Publicist. Lara founded Publicist to be the 2020 answer to getting the quality marketing talent when needed, an online marketplace where top shelf marketing professionals are available...

Reid Rooney, CEO and cofounder of BetSperts joins the show with Scott Kitun to talk about how online gambling is primed for a big launch when sports make their way back into action, and how his company builds the social network for sports betters and experts to become influencers to assist users as needed.

Scott Grimes, CEO and founder of Stackin', joins the show to dish to Scott how young adults (and older) should be saving and investing their money. He also sheds light on how Stackin's text message system offers easy personalized advice, why finance newbies should avoid the day trading and how his previous company he founded, Uproxx, helped him put the pieces together for Stackin'.

Stringr co-founder and CEO Lindsay Stewart joins the show to talk with Scott about disrupting the freelance video footage marketplace by refining the workflow and making it more affordable for different organizations and producers to get quality video for news or projects.

Garry Cooper, founder and CEO of Rheaply, joins the show to talk about how his company has pivoted its business to organize and make use of existing PPE resources for healthcare providers.

Darrell Silver, CEO of Thinkful and acquired by Chegg, joins Scott to talk about the state of the education system and how he views remote-based learning as an incredible tool to gainful employment without taking away from the enrichment of the college experience.

Christina Bottis, CMO of Coyote Logistics joins the show to talk to Scott about the significance of data in today's logistics industry, how Coyote manages vast amounts of data and uses their process to deliver better service for their customers.

Yan Pritzker, CTO of Swan Bitcoin joins the show to talk about his journey into the world of cryptocurrency, why Bitcoin will always be the standard, and why he's focusing his career on educating people about its potential through savings and investment.

Entrepreneurship is a lot of things and could use a reset. It's a culture that deserves to have more honesty about its value, and repeat founder Erik Severinghaus talks to Scott about how to separate the good from the bad. The promise of entrepreneurship relies not on celebrating becoming an entrepreneur, but doing the necessary work for your business without sacrificing other facets of your life...

Jeffrey David (JD) joins Scott in-studio to talk about Black Buffalo which raised $9.75 million for their smokeless tobacco products. It gives users the same chewing experience without the leaf or stem, and an alternative to Big Tobacco. Most importantly, the ritual of dipping is preserved without the need for tobacco.