Designing and Refining with Product Refinery

On this episode of On The Fly!, Joan Kaup sits down with Lucas Williamson, founder of Product Refinery and a serial entrepreneur who’s helped creators around the world turn ideas into reality. From electric skateboards to baby gear, Lucas has spent his career helping founders take their ideas from napkin sketches to market-ready products—while learning what it truly takes to build something that lasts.Lucas shares how a local litter hackathon sparked his social enterprise Clean Up Collective, why self-awareness matters more than a Shark Tank deal, and how defining your own version of success can reshape the way you work and live.Listen to hear more about:How Lucas took a design hobby and turned it into a global product development company.Lessons learned from nearly making it to Shark Tank—twice.The creation of Clean Up Collective and how it’s tackling litter with entrepreneurial innovation.Why he believes “people over profits” should be the guiding principle for every founder.How Flywheel’s accelerator helped refine his pitch, sharpen his business model, and connect him to Cincinnati’s startup ecosystem.At Flywheel Social Enterprise Hub, we believe in founders who build for both profit and purpose. Learn how we support entrepreneurs, connect coaches, and help social impact ideas grow at flywheelcincinnati.org