The Established Podcast

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, our host, entrepreneur, and investor, Frank Gruber ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/frankgruber ) is joined by Ali Sabti, CEO of automated lawn servicing company OtO ( https://otolawn.com ).    We invite you all to join our community today to access the support, expert advice, and resources you need to elevate your startup by going to: www.est.us/jo...

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, our host, entrepreneur, and investor, Frank Gruber ( www.linkedin.com/in/frankgruber ) is joined by Aron Kansal of SimpleTix ( www.simpletix.com/ ) and Vikram Bodas from Occom Ventures ( www.occomventures.com/ ).    Aron Kansal is the founder of SimpleTix, an online ticketing product for attractions, festivals, concerts, museums, and more. They h...

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, our host, entrepreneur, and investor, Frank Gruber ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/frankgruber ) is joined by Ann Shoket, Founder of New Power Media and CEO of TheLi.st, a private community of innovators and entrepreneurs devoted to helping each other network, succeed, and thrive in a competitive environment.    In this interview, Ann discusses lon...

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, our host, entrepreneur, and investor, Frank Gruber (https://www.linkedin.com/in/frankgruber) is joined by Becky Center, CEO of crowdfunding behemoth Indiegogo. In this interview, we discuss the growth and development of Indiegogo, the expansion of crowdfunding, and how to handle partnerships, success, and failure in an ever-changing economy.    W...

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, our host, entrepreneur, and investor, Frank Gruber (https://www.linkedin.com/in/frankgruber) is joined by Gary Kusin, Co-Founder of GameStop and Laura Mercier Cosmetics, former President and CEO of Kinkos, and author of his new book "Always Learning: Lessons on Leveling up from Gamestop to Laura Mercier."     Be sure to check out Kusin's new book...

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, Frank Gruber ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/frankgruber ) introduces a panel of entrepreneurial experts as they discuss the emergence of AI and how to utilize this new tool in support of entrepreneurial endeavors. This panel, which took place at the Established House at SXSW 2024, and features insight from:   Sherrod Davis, Co-Founder and CEO of E...

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, Frank Gruber ( http://linkedin.com/in/frankgruber ) interviews serial entrepreneur and unicorn investor, speaker, and author, Paulo Andrez as we'll talk about his new book, Zero Risk Startup which comes out in May 2024. Get your copy of the book here: https://amzn.to/4aoRJgZ   We invite you all to join our community today to access the support, e...

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear an interview with Arlan Hamilton that took place at the Established house at SXSW in Austin, Texas.  Arlan is the Founder and Managing Partner at Backstage Capital and the author of her new book "Your First Million." What's amazing is she launched a $20M+ fund from scratch while she was homeless. She has invested in 200+ companies led by...

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear an interview with Corten Singer from Augmental, the winner of the CTA Foundation Pitch competition at CES 2024.   Corten is the cofounder of Augmental, which just recently launched the MouthPad, a bluetooth-enabled intraoral interface for hands-free control of your computer, smartphone, and tablet. Learn more at: www.augmental.tech     We...

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear an interview from Rich Belsky, who recently founded Crevo - www.crevo.com .   Crevo is an entrepreneurial wellness consultancy focused primarily on early-stage startup founders and CEOs, solopreneurs, and corporate leaders. Crevo combines tactical, strategic guidance with mindset and energy management training to help leaders identify, av...

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear an investor discussion was led by our own Established Co-CEO Jen Consalvo at a pitch event we hosted online a few months ago.    The panel included Dahna Goldstein, who is the Chief Investment Officer of Halcyon and Co-Managing Director of the Halcyon Fund. Phoebe Van Duinen was also on the panel, and she is the Principal and Investment M...

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear an interview with Dr. Richard Munassi that took place at SXSW.    Dr. Munassi is a serial entrepreneur, the co-founder of Blackfin Technology Partners, and co-founder of Medzoomer. Discussing his latest venture as the Director of the Tampa Bay Wave Accelerator program, Munassi highlights his four-year journey towards creating this non-pro...

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear an interview with Mike Evans that took place at SXSW.    Mike is the Co-Founder of GrubHub, as well as the founder of Fixer, a Chicago-based company building the "right now" handyman service. Mike's latest book venture, "Hangry: A Startup Journey", is an exciting memoir about his co-founding of GrubHub and his journey as an entrepreneur....

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear an interview with Rohit Bhargava that took place at SXSW. Rohit is the Founder and Chief trend curator of the Non-Obvious Company, where he is a forward thinking storyteller, author and keynote speaker.    Most recently, Rohit Co-authored "The Future Normal: How We Will Live, Work and Thrive in the Next Decade" alongside colleague Henry C...

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear an interview with Hope Shimabuku that took place at SXSW. Hope is the Regional Director of the Texas Regional United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), where she carries out the strategic direction of the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO, and is responsible for leading the Texas regi...

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear an interview with Kathryn Finney that took place at SXSW. Kathryn is a longtime community contributor and she is the Founder and Managing General Partner of Genius Guild, a Chicago-based venture fund that invests in scalable businesses led by Black founders using innovation to build and promote healthy communities. She had a new book publ...

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear a panel discussion that took place at the Established Lounge during SXSW with members from our partner for the event, Launch Tennessee.    Specifically, the panel included Charles Layne, who currently serves as the Innovation Manager at Launch Tennessee where he works to facilitate the development of Tennessee technologies through the org...

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear a panel discussion from SXSW with Jennifer Shieh and Michele Schimpp both from the U.S. Small Business Administration.   Jennifer Shieh is the Director of Ecosystem Development at the SBA, and Michele Schimpp is the Deputy Associate Administrator at the SBA. During the conversation, we discussed America's Seed Fund and SBIR and STTR progr...

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear an interview from SXSW with Josh Williams, the Founder and CEO of Gowalla.   In 2009, Josh and a small team of designers and technologists introduced Gowalla to the world at SXSW, helping inspire millions to "check in" on social media. Gowalla was then purchased by Facebook (now Meta) in 2011 and was shuttered a year later. They are now r...

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear a VC panel discussion from the Established Lounge at SXSW 2023 in Austin, which took place just after the announcement of the Silicon Valley Bank collapse.    The panelists included Erica Duignan Minnihan, who is the Founder and General Partner at Reign Ventures, Maria Pope, who is the Head of Venture Growth and Partnerships at Republic,...

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear from Jen Batchelor, the Co-Founder & CEO at Kin Euphorics ( https://www.kineuphorics.com/ ). For those unfamiliar, Kin introduced a new category of adult beverage to the world with their collection of non-alcoholic, nootropic, botanic, and adaptogenic formulas that offer uplifting effects and social benefits.    We also again shine a spot...

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear from Deepen Parikh, who is one of the founding partners at Courtside Ventures ( www.courtsidevc.com ). Courtside Ventures is an early-stage VC fund, investing across sports, collectibles, wellness/fitness and gaming, and they just announced their new $100M Fund.    We also again shine a spotlight on one of the startups from our community...

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear from Robbie Cabral, who is the CEO and Founder at BenjiLock ( www.benjilock.com ), which has redefined the personal security experience through fingerprint hybrid technology with the consumer in mind. BenjiLock is a Startup of the Year alumni and they were also featured on Shark Tank.   We also hear from Evelyn Tichenor, VP of Sales and P...

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we've got an investor conversation that my Co-Founder, Jen Consalvo, and I had a discussion during our "Grow your startup" pitch competition.    During the event, five companies had a chance to showcase their companies in front of our esteemed investor panel, which included our long-time friend and former colleague, Rich Maloy, who is currently t...

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear from Roy Schwartz, the co-founder and CEO of Axios HQ. Roy led Axios through multiple fundraising rounds, oversaw all company strategy and business operations and launched Axios HQ, an internal communications software platform to help teams communicate more effectively.  Schwartz also served as executive producer of the Emmy Award-winning...