Thought Liters

When it comes to the future of renewable energy storage, everyone talks about lithium-ion. But, it has a fatal flaw that exposes massive US power grid vulnerabilities. Luckily, non-flammable batteries and a genius PhD incubator hack might just save us from a catastrophic global energy crisis. This week on Thought Liters, I'm joined by Becca Segel, founder and CEO of FlowCellutions. By 2050, th...

Right now, the United States has enough untapped energy crashing on its coastlines to power over half the country. The problem? The ocean's movements are slow, and traditional generators require high speeds to work efficiently. Priscilla Prem , a former Navy nuclear engineer, founded Pittsburgh Coastal Energy to solve the subsea power problem. It started with a contrarian idea: building an ene...

Frank Michael Smith has built what millions only dream of: a digital media empire with billions of views. But he didn't do it by taking shortcuts, using view bots, or getting lucky. Today, we get to the bottom of what it means to be a sports creator and an entrepreneur. We trace Frank's steps from filming sled jump highlight reels in 2007 to pitching an early app to 500-person college lecture hall...

Today, we discover the magic of soju. Despite its 13th-century origins and massive global popularity, this incredible rice-based spirit is still a mystery to many in the US. I sit down with Elisabeth Baron , the CEO of Hello Soju , to taste five distinct flavors of their sparkling spin on the spirit (plus the core juice) and get to the bottom of the "K-Cal culture" phenomenon. From Asian Pear to G...

Can you actually manufacture virality? Zach Katz and Jason Wilhelm, the co-founders of Fixated, join to explain that you can. Fixated was built to be the architect behind some of the internet's biggest cultural phenomena. They've done well so far -- their first client was Sketch, who they brought on when he had only a few hundred viewers, and scaled him into a megastar. Since then, they&#3...

How do you protect the soul of the working class when you're the one brokering the billion-dollar deals? Kevin Acklin is the former President of the Pittsburgh Penguins and former Chief of Staff to the Mayor of Pittsburgh. Born and raised in South Oakland, Kevin shares his incredible journey from leading his childhood hockey league in penalty minutes to navigating the highest stakes in sports and...

Christina Cassotis , CEO of the Pittsburgh International Airport , is executing the first ground-up, brand-new airport build in the US since the pandemic. Today she joins Thought Liters to tell that story and answer an important question: why do it You'll also get to learn about Christina lifts up leaders, her 2030 vision for air travel in and out of the Steel City, and how she went from inten...

Miles Mufuka Martin , founder of Relai , joins to share how he's building the future of local delivery via a network of battery-powered asynchronous exchange zones... and perhaps the hard drive of the neighborhood as a result. Miles shares the gritty reality of building a company from the ground up, including getting rejected by 300 businesses before a local pizza shop finally said yes to host...

The AI energy and compute arms race is completely unsustainable. Companies are burning billions of dollars on hardware to run artificial intelligence, and they are all using the exact same foundational building block from 1943: the artificial neuron. Today, Dr. Rorry Brenner, neuroscientist and CEO of Perforated AI, reveals why AI desperately needs a "brain upgrade." Rorry breaks down how introduc...

Imagine buying a car without test-driving it. If you hate it, you can't return it. That is the unthinkable reality for many of the 2.5 million people in the US living with limb loss. In this episode of Thought Liters, we sit down with Josh Caputo, CEO of Humotech. Josh explains how his company is revolutionizing the industry by using a robotic system that lets patients test-drive different pro...

Ryan Shazier went from NFL stardom to a career-ending injury in a heartbeat. But his transition to the business world was just as painful. In the first ever live recording of Thought Liters, Ryan reveals post-career losses, the bad mentors he trusted, and the brutal reality of his forced pivots. Prepare for a raw, unfiltered look at the failures that built the man you see today. You'll hear more a...

It sounds like a script for a reality TV show: You hire a business consultant to help organize your startup, only to discover he’s actually a high-net-worth investor in disguise, testing you for his next massive deal. That is exactly what happened to Mike Vindler, CEO of Tronix3D. In this episode of Thought Liters, we explore how that "undercover billionaire" moment became the catalyst for Tronix3...

Thought Liters has been around for a year now. I dumped a buttload of money into it. Here's what happened, what I made, and where I'm doubling down in 2026. In this video, you'll get a full picture of a content creator's first year of creation. The good, the money, and the future, all in 11 minutes. Let's get it. You'll also learn: The "Occupational Hazard" of dri...

He helped integrate the Cybertruck. Now, he’s building the machine that will beat gas-powered off-roaders at their own game. When Polaris refused to sponsor his racing career, Jonathan Powers didn't quit—he decided to become their competition. A former engineer at Honda and Tesla, Jonathan founded Super Powers Mobility (SPM) to prove that the future of off-roading isn't just electric... it...

You might think the final frontier is in space, but the technology getting us there is being built right here in Pittsburgh. In this episode of Thought Liters: Mitch Fogelson, founder of Beyond Reach Labs, discusses "physical intelligence", which is the hardware side of robotics often overshadowed by AI. Mitch breaks down how his company is creating structures that pack flat (like IKEA f...

Migraine affects 1 in 6 people globally, yet 95% of patients aren’t getting properly diagnosed. In this episode, we explore how AI is finally giving patients weapons to fight the "Migraine Wars." Sophia Fang is the founder of Peachy Day , a startup using data to help chronic pain sufferers reclaim their lives. Over a flight from the Pittsburgh Juice Company (no adult bevs today, as they can trigge...

Vote for Adam to be Thought Leader of the Year: https://technical.ly/vote Globally, we waste a billion tons of food every single year. That's equivalent to 30-40% of the US food supply, and $1 trillion of economic value thrown in the trash. But what if the solution isn't just about "eating your vegetables," but about treating trash like data? On this episode of Thought Liters, Adam sits down with...

Vote for Adam to be Thought Leader of the Year: https://technical.ly/vote Today: Prisoners get 2 hours of outdoor time a day. Kids get less than 7 minutes. How did we get here? And how do we fix it? In this episode of Thought Liters, Adam Conner shares a flight with Ketaki Desai , CEO of Dashstrom , to break down the crisis of "safetyism" and the loss of play. From the psychological impacts of ove...

Pittsburgh's tech scene is booming, but a fatal flaw is holding it back. Only $0.02 of every dollar invested in the city comes from within it. So, what's the fix? To find out, Adam shares a flight of Pittsburgh's finest craft beers with Ven Raju, CEO of Innovation Works , one of the nation's most active early-stage investors. Ven lays out the exact blueprint for the "flywheel" : a strategy to clos...

What is the price of a purpose-driven life? For over a decade, Jordan Corcoran has been a leading voice in youth mental health, building the nationwide movement "Listen, Lucy" from her own personal trauma. But what happens when the story that defines you also begins to trap you? In this raw and unfiltered conversation, Jordan shares the brutal truth about her entrepreneurial journey. She reveals t...

Jim Gibbs, CEO of Meter Feeder, pops the top to talk legacy, problem-solving, and advice for future entrepreneurs. Today we fizz over the following:-- Jim's beginnings, including coding his own video games-- The $100M parking problem you didn't know existed-- What puts Jim in a pickle-- Taking inspiration from Carnegie to solve conflict-- What Jim would pursue if he weren't CEO of Meter Feeder-- A...

Kloopify founder Daniela Osio takes flight to share how she's saving the planet via sustainable procurement (and, explains what all those buzzwords mean).Daniela on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielaosio/ Kloopify: https://www.kloopify.com/ Today we pour over:-- Daniela's family inspiration for becoming an entrepreneur-- The one-woman DuPont wrecking ball-- The story of Kloopify-- Getti...

AJ Lewis (CEO, Sphere Brake Defense ) invented the spherical braking system for vehicles. Today, he stops by to tell the full story. Thank you to the Allegheny HYP Club for hosting us! Today we pour over:-- The idea for a sphere braking system-- AJ's journey from the Army to civilian life, and from soldier to vendor-- Why sphere brakes are so revolutionary for any automobile-- The future of the au...

In which we expose the brutal truths of entrepreneurship and our guest's ( Jordan Herbert , founder of DealMate ) ultimate mistake. Today we pour over::-- Jordan's early days of sales + lessons learned-- How to run a business and have a family at the same time-- How to Learn, the EMAR Way-- The Biggest Early Mistake Entrepreneurs Make-- How to Stay Resilient through Sour Times #businesspodcast #pi...

You've heard of companies having boards of advisors. Today, our guest Pete Schramm ( Lattitude ) shows us how to build one for ourselves. Today, we pour over:-- Pete's "Farm to Founder" background-- What is a Personal Board of Advisors?-- How Do I Build My Own Board of Advisors?-- How Do I Ask Someone to Be My Mentor? Link to the Pathfinders book: https://www.amazon.com/Pathfinders-Navigating-Care...