The Unconventional Path: Entrepreneurship and Innovation Stories and Ideas.

Hello listeners, today's guest is Matt Scarchilli. Matt started his career as a pharmacist, then a pharmaceutical rep. As a "soccer dad" he saw an opportunity and that led him to Sports Signup, a company he co-founded with John Haller who was one of the founders of MapInfo. Sports Signup was acquired by Time Inc. in 2015. Matt, being too young to just retire and sit on the beach bought the regiona...

Hello listeners, today's guest is Ron Coury. A former U.S. Marine, Coury has seen and done a lot in his 45 years in Las Vegas. He is an observational entrepreneur, a "niche finder," in his words. With nearly every venture Ron has undertaken, he identified operational nuances that led to enhanced levels of success. This mindset was fascinating to execute in a young, growing town like Las Vegas sinc...

Hello listeners, today's guest is Adam Robinson, founder of GetEmails. Adam is a serial entrepreneur who started his career working on Wall Street and then the 2008 crash happened. This is when Adam decided to start his entrepreneurial adventure. He has launched several companies including Robly Email Marketing, which was rated number 1 in customer satisfaction across the entire email marketing sp...

Hello listeners, today's guest is Tom Rosecrans. A high school teacher during the day and an entrepreneur rock climber on nights and weekends, Tom and a partner started RockSport, an indoor climbing facility back when most of the world did not know what that was. Over the last 30 years, he has successfully grown the business organically. Ten years ago Tom retired from teaching and recently open a...

Hello listeners, today's guest is Abe Kamarck, the founder of True Made Foods. We had a wonderful discussion about how his concern for his children's sugar intake spawned True Make Foods and their product line of low sugar/no sugar condiments that are naturally sweetened with vegetables. Abe shared the many challenges of starting a food product business and competing with the "big" boys. You can f...

Hello listeners, Today's guest is Jackie Ducci. She is the founder of Ducci and Associates, a recruiting firm that connects companies with prospective employees. We have a great conversation about the important factors in hiring and in looking for a position. Jackie shared some great tips that are important to both companies looking to hire and individuals looking for opportunities. Jacki is also...

Hello listeners, Today's guest is Janet Tanguay. She had founded several companies and written two childrens books, She is also an accomplished artist. Janet tells a great story about how a failed art class project was a pivotal moment in her life. She shared some great tips about networking and finding happiness in life. You can find more information about The Hammock Way of Life here: https://ww...

Hello listeners, Today's guest is Geroge McGehrin. George is the founder and President of McGehrin Group. We had a wonderful conversation about recruiting and executive coaching. In addition to helping corporations find and recruit talent, he works with individuals to help them identify and communicate their talents beyond the typical resume. He shared some great tips during our conversation. You...

Hello listeners, Today's guests are Mike & Shelley Spain. After attending the Culinary Institute of America, (CIA) and gaining some important work experience, they decided to blaze out on their own and started Seneca - a fine-food restaurant were they are passionate about local ingredients and respecting tradition. We did the interview at Seneca and I was impressed with the welcoming atmosphere bu...

Hello listeners, Today's guest is Tami Cole. Five years ago she acquired a long-standing company from its founder. That makes for an interesting journey for sure. Tami shares the ups and downs of transitioning a company from its founder to new leadership and the lessons she has learned along the way. Tami's background includes nearly twenty years in designing and implementing business applications...

Hello listeners, Today's guest is Ian Measeck. Ian along with his father run the family business, a house painting and wallpaper company. The business was started by Ian's father and Ian joined the business several years ago. We had a great conversation about the advantages and challenges of being part of a family business. Ian and I discussed the challenge of finding, hiring, and retaining skille...

Hello listeners, Today's guest is Chris Martell. Chris and his brother co-founded Druthers, a very successful micro brew-pub and restaurant. It's a fascinating story of how life takes many twists and turns but having drive and leadership skills will present many opportunities to you. Chris' journey started at Enterprise Rent-a-Car, then law school, followed by working at top law firm doing high-en...

Hello listeners, Today's guest is Brian Epstein. He is the founder of Deep Blue Communications, which was recently acquired by Comcast. Brian shares his story starting with the founding of Deep Blue through the acquisition by Comcast and his current role running Deep Blue within Comcast. Brian shares many words of wisdom we can all benefit from. This session was recorded at the monthly NY BizLab-C...

Hello listeners, Today's guests are Emily Soccorsy (So-KOR-SEE) and Justin Foster. They founded Root and River. Justin did some consulting for Emily at a Fortune 500 company. They then joined forces and started Root and River, where they work with companies to scale their brand around their mission. We had a great discussion about connecting mission to the brand and moving the brand from something...

Hello listeners, Today's guest is Catherine Hover. We had a great conversation at Palette Cafe, which she founded. Our conversation was actually in a phone booth room. Yep, they have a working pay phone there. Catherine hails from New Orleans and after moving to Saratoga she missed some of the social/networking groups that she was part of. So, as all great entrepreneurs do, she started several soc...

Hello listeners, Today's guest is Becky Daniels the Executive Director of Discover Schenectady. Major industrial cities, like Schenectady, saw explosive growth in jobs, and economic activity in the 1950s through the late 1960s. When those jobs went to lower-cost labor markets or got automated in some form - these regions went through a tough patch, but now, thanks to the efforts of individuals lik...

Hello listeners, Today's guest is Jeff Schwartz. Jeff is one of the lead entrepreneurship practice attorneys at Phillips Lytle. I have known Jeff for over 20 years and during this interview, he shares a wealth of information regarding why it's important to have experienced legal advice when you are starting a business, raising capital, or transiting a business to others. Jeff also works with start...

Hello listeners, Today's guest is Jim Williams. Jim founded Upper Hudson Coffee, located in North Creek, NY where he roasts coffee that captures the history and richness of the upper Hudson River gorge. Jim is one of the most interesting people I know. His life experience spans being a Dean of Students at a private prep school, a river rafting guide, a male stripper, a professional ski patroller,...

Hello listeners, Today's guest is Jon C. Warner. John is the author of 40 books, his most recent SLAM is a wonderful guide book for anyone starting a business. Jon and I had a great conversation covering finding your market opportunity first and then developing your product/service. In other words, Jon flips the Product-Market fit to Market-Product fit. Link to Jon's most recent book, SLAM SLAM: B...

Hello listeners, This is part 2 of my conversation with Mike Wacholder. Mike was my boss for a number of years when I worked at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, (RPI). When 2 old friends get together, the conversation can go long. So we broke my conversation with Mike into two parts. This is pat 2. I suggest you listen to Part 1 first. Mike was one of the early innovators in University-based Tech...

Hello listeners, Today's guest is Mike Wacholder. Mike was my boss for a number of years when I worked at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, (RPI). When 2 old friends get together, the conversation can go long. This one did so we broke my conversation with Mike into two parts. This week is part 1. Part 2 will be released next week. Mike was one of the early innovators in University-based Technology...

This is a mini-episode where we discuss sustainability, global warming and how entrepreneurs can discover opportunities, build a business, and make a difference in the world. So, give it a listen and let us know what you think. We love to hear from our listeners, send us your questions, comments, and suggestions at bela.and.mike@gmail.com - we will answer your questions in a future episode. Thanks...

Hello listeners: This week, we have a wide-ranging conversation with Jeremy Redman about, among other topics, leadership and organizational culture. We cover a lot of ground - starting with his non-traditional background, moving to how he and his organizations have evolved over the course of founding multiple start-ups, and discussing some different models of entrepreneurial growth and success. Je...

Hi listeners: We talk with this week's guest, Ravish Majithia about commercializing his ideas that make small but very important steps in improving the recyclability of packaging...through magnetic ink! Ravish is the CEO of Magnomer, a company that makes magnetic labels that can easily be recycled.. Before becoming an entrepreneur, Ravish earned an MBA from Babson College. He did that after workin...

Hello listeners! This week, we have a mini-podcast for you about pricing strategies. Some might think this is a boring topic. But no! Setting the optimal price for your product or service is a really critical component of launching a successful new product or service. And the internet both helps and hurts. We provide a brief overview of several approaches to pricing and discuss the pros and cons o...