The Unconventional Path: Entrepreneurship and Innovation Stories and Ideas.

This week's guest is Dean Iacovetti. Dean is the founder of Vanta Partners. His company finds talent for other small to medium size companies. He started his career as a recruiter in larger companies and then took the big step of starting his own business. We discuss how finding talent is a skill. If you are the CEO of a business, focus on your business, let a recruiter find talent for you. The re...

Today we are excited to be joined by Stephen Halasnik. Stephen is Managing Partner of Financing Solutions, which provides financing to small businesses. He is also a serial entrepreneur, podcast host, and author of the book CRASH and LEARN: Lessons in Business. You can find Financing Solutions here: https://financingsolutionsnow.com/ We love to hear from our listeners, send us your questions, comm...

Today we are excited to be joined by Mike Saccocio. Mike is Executive Director at the City Mission of Schenectady, New York. This was maybe our favorite interview that we have ever done. It was fascinating how Mike turned a negative into a positive with the downtown ambassador program. Just pure genius. A complete win-win. When we look at the social unrest in the US, and the wide range of causes o...

Today we are excited to be joined by Janis Milham. Janis is the Senior Vice President and Global Brand Leader at Marriott. She is responsible for several of Marriott's major brands including Courtyard, Fairfield, Four Points, Residence Inn, and several others. We had a great conversation about the importance of building your brand and how successful brands maintain customer loyalty. We love to hea...

Today we are excited to be joined by Franz Amussen. Franz is an entrepreneur, a financial advisor, an avid podcaster, and a sailor. Franz is a co-founder of Amussen Hunsaker & Associates, Inc., now called Iron Gate Global Advisors, based in Salt Lake City, Utah. He is also an active angel investor and produces several podcasts including one of my favorite sailing podcasts titled Sailing the Medite...

Today we are excited to be joined by Henry Daas. Henry is a serial entrepreneur, author, and coach for entrepreneurs. His approach to coaching is one that is customized to each client. His book is called FQ: Financial Intelligence. Check out Henry's web page and his book here: http://henrydaas.com/ We love to hear from our listeners, send us your questions, comments, and suggestions at bela.and.mi...

Today we are excited to be joined by Magda (Khelifa) Khalifa. Magda is the founder of a line of fragrances called Triangle Fragrance. But, her path to becoming an entrepreneur was definitely unconventional. Magda founded her business after serving in the US military, and authored the book American DREAM: Discipline, Resilience, Endurance, Adaptability, and Mentorship to Succeed and Win in Life. Ch...

Today we are excited to be joined by Jimmy Hickey. Jimmy is the founder of Findlay Hats, a company that makes and sells creative and really useful hats. This is a great story, about an innovative guy who added a cool twist to a commodity product and built an avidly loyal community around it. Check out Findlay Hats web page here: https://www.findlayhats.com/ We love to hear from our listeners, send...

Today we are excited to be joined by Bryan Clayton. Bryan is the CEO and co-founder of GreenPal, which is an online marketplace that connects homeowners with local lawn care professionals. GreenPal has been called the "Uber for lawn care" by Entrepreneur magazine and has over 100,000 active users completing thousands of transactions per day. Before starting GreenPal Bryan Clayton founded Peachtree...

Today we are joined by Mike DelPrete. Mike is a global real estate tech strategist, and a scholar-in-residence at the University of Colorado Boulder. He's a former tech entrepreneur and CEO. He founded and sold his 40-person tech startup firm, Agora Games, working on games such as Guitar Hero and Call of Duty. After Agora, Mike moved to New Zealand to work as a corporate strategist identifying inv...

Today we are joined by Van Carlson. Van is the CEO of Strategic Risk Alternatives and helps entrepreneurs manage risk more effectively through self-insurance. He focuses on intangible assets, which traditional insurance companies often are not set up to effectively insure assets such as intellectual property, brand, etc. Check out Van's company here: https://strategicriskalternatives.com/ We love...

Today we are joined by Larry Ludwig. Larry is founder and CEO of Ludwig Media Inc. and founder of Investor Junkie which he sold for $6MM several years ago. In this podcast, Larry shares his wisdom on digital marketing, SEO, and affiliate marketing. Check out Larry here: https://larryludwig.com/ We love to hear from our listeners, send us your questions, comments, and suggestions at bela.and.mike@g...

Today we are joined by Justin Goodbread. He started his first business, a landscaping business, at the age of 15 and operated it while he earned a degree in horticulture from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. After several years, Justin sold his business for profit and moved to Knoxville, Tennessee. Justin then earned a business degree and worked in a large wealth management firm for many year...

Today we are joined by Darrin Jahnel, CEO of Jahnel Group. Darrin co-founded the company with his brother, Jason. Their company does software development for a wide range of clients. This fast-growing company is known for its unique culture and Darrin is known as a strong and engaging leader. This interview was recorded as part of the BizLab-Clarkson University Lunch Series. This is Darrin's 2nd t...

Today we are joined by Jake Jorgovan the founder and CEO of LeadCookie and Content Allies. Jake is another example of an entrepreneur who is seeking a balance between life and work. At Lead Cookie, helps B2B sales teams generate more leads through done-for-you Linkedin Prospecting. Jake build Lead Cookie from Zero to $33k MRR as a productized service in 6 months. At Content Allies, Jake helps turn...

This is the edited audio of an online small business owners/leaders panel discussion that I participated in. We discussed how the COVID outbreak has impacted their businesses and the steps they have taken during these challenging times. We discussed a broad range of topics including communications, changing work patterns, leadership and increasing their outreach with their employees and into the c...

Today we are joined by Tracey Bissett the founder and CEO of Bissett Financial Fitness. Tracey is on a mission to help entrepreneurs understand the financial health of their companies. With over 20 years of experience in the financial services business, she has developed great insight and understanding into the critical financial aspects of small to medium-size businesses. She provides a wide spec...

Today we are joined by Rytis Lauris - Co-founder and CEO of Omnisend. Omnisend provides e-commerce support for small and medium size companies. In this episode, Rytis and I discuss the importance of "owning" your customer and how in this digital era that is not as easy as it sounds. Rytis tells the story of his journey from starting a marketing consulting business, then launching a product that no...

Today we are excited to be joined by Rich Honen. He is a partner at Phillips Lytle LLP, our show sponsor. In this episode, Rich and I discuss how Phillips Lytle, a medium-size company, has responded to the Coronavirus and how it has changed the way they do business. Rich and I also discuss how this pandemic has very rapidly transformed the way most of us interact. We covered a lot of ground and id...

Coronavirus (COVID-19) is causing havoc all over the globe. Today we are joined by Catherine Hover. This was an impromptu recording of a conversation I had with Catherine. She called me and wanted to discuss how the COVID-19 epidemic is impacting her business and how she is pivoting. Our conversation contains many key points regarding unexpected change. Catherine's focused approach and positive en...

Hello listeners, today's guest is Michael Zipursky. Michael is a serial entrepreneur, who started his first business while still a student. On several occasions, Michael partnered with his cousin and they have founded multiple businesses. Their current focus is Consulting Success, a company designed to help consultants build and grow their businesses. Michael and I had a great conversation about t...

Hello listeners, today's guest is Geoffry Merrett. Geoff and I are both on the Ski Patrol at Gore Mt in upstate NY. We have known each other in that capacity for over 20 years. Jeff is a full-time paid patroller and I am a volunteer. In the summer season, Jeff runs a white water rafting company that takes guests on trips down the upper Hudson River. Jeff and I discussed how he got started in the r...

Hello listeners, today's guest is Brad Svrluga. Brad and Ben Sun co-founded Primary Venture Partners. They have built Primary Ventures into the premiere Seed and Early-Stage VC Fund in NYC with well over $1 Billion under management. In my conversation with Brad, we discuss the challenges of building a venture fund and positioning it in a very competitive market. You can find additional information...

Hello listeners, today's guest is Andy Schell, founder of 59º North - a company that offers guided trips for people who want to sail long-distance ocean passages. He has taken his passion for bluewater sailing and has carefully crafted a career and business around it. It is a fascinating story of entrepreneurial focus, navigating the less-traveled path, taking one step at a time, (although a few o...

Hello listeners, today's guest is Greg Rex. He has started several businesses and recently wrote a book titled, STOKED: A Spiritual Journey from Employee to Lifestyle Entrepreneur. The title of the book says it all! We had a great conversation about finding balance in one's life and how the choices you make can greatly influence this balance. Learn more about Greg's book and get a free copy in the...