E-Revolutionary Podcast

Aakash Patel didn’t build his career by chasing transactions. He built it by connecting people, communities, businesses, and ideas long before Tampa Bay became one of the fastest-growing regions in the country.In this episode of E-Revolutionary, Tony Selvaggio sits down with entrepreneur, connector, and community builder Akash Patel to explore how real ecosystems are created—and why relationships still matter more than algorithms.In this conversation, we explore:✓ Why community growth depends on people raising their hands and getting involved✓ How mentorship, volunteering, and networking shape entire cities✓ Why Tampa Bay became a model for collaboration and opportunity✓ The hidden connection between economic development, education, and quality of life✓ Why asking for coffee can completely change your career trajectory✓ How long-term relationships create opportunities that can’t be measured immediatelyAkash shares the story of how he went from uncertainty after the recession to building a business centered around meaningful connections, helping organizations, leaders, and companies navigate growth across the Tampa Bay region.This episode is about more than networking. It’s about participation, civic engagement, and understanding that strong communities are intentionally built by people willing to contribute.This podcast is produced using refurbished technology—sustainability at its core.📱 Follow E-Revolutionary:YouTube: @E-RevolutionaryInstagram: @erevolutionarypodcast#community #leadership #networking #tampabay #economicdevelopment #entrepreneurship #mentorship

Vinny Tafuro was in third grade when he started questioning why markets crash. That childhood curiosity evolved into a career challenging the foundations of modern capitalism.As founder of the Institute for Economic Evolution, Vinny's work shows that companies can be profitable AND treat people well - they're not mutually exclusive.We discuss Adam Smith's philosophical roots, why Jack Welch's GE model failed, and how B Corp certification provides a structural framework for purpose-driven business.This podcast is produced with refurbished technology.Follow E-Revolutionary on Instagram: @erevolutionarypodcast

Five conversations. Five people who didn’t wait for permission.What happens when leaders stop talking about change and actually start building it?In these episodes, Shane Smith, Terri Willingham, Effie Santos, Kelly Bousman, and Veatrice Farrell share what it really looks like to close the digital divide. Not from theory, but from experience. From the ground. From the work itself.They talk about communities that have been left out for years, and what it takes to bring access, skills, and real opportunities back in. Step by step. Decision by decision.This isn’t about big speeches or abstract ideas.It’s about people showing up and doing the work, even when no one is watching.

Technology moves faster every year. But millions of Americans are being left behind—not because they don’t want to keep up, but because the infrastructure was never built for them.Veatrice Farrel is the Chief Community Officer at the Digital Education Foundation. She’s spent years deploying devices, building trust within communities, and figuring out what it really takes to close the digital divide.In this episode, we talk about:• Why free computers fail without trust and training• The paradox of progress: early adopters vs. the disconnected• How COVID exposed the gap—and what happened when federal funding disappeared• What it takes to build tech hubs that actually workThis isn’t charity. It’s infrastructure.—Produced with refurbished technology.Subscribe wherever you listen.

Every company generates waste. Most assume someone else is dealing with it.Kelly Bousman has spent 28 years at AVI-SPL — nearly 5,000 employees, 75 offices from Tampa to Tokyo. She leads sustainability for the company and has spent her career asking how technology can change things for the better.She explains why sustainability is not about trade-offs, how AVI-SPL is protecting 140,000 hectares of Amazon rainforest through a UN-monitored project, why companies must be the catalysts governments can't be, and what she'd tell anyone who wants to make a difference but doesn't know where to start.

600 foster youth age out of the Tampa Bay system every year. That's only the documented number.Effie Santos is the founder of Madi's Movement — a nonprofit serving foster youth who turn 18 and lose every support structure at once. She spent 25 years in banking before launching her own business. Madi's Movement launched on August 15, 2022 — what would have been her daughter Madison's 22nd birthday.She explains why 100% of the young adults they serve have experienced trauma, what the system gets wrong about the moment kids turn 18, and why she refuses to call what she does strength.

Terri Willingham co-founded AMRoC Fab Lab and Foundation for Community Driven Innovation because a robot changed her son's life, and she wanted that for every kid in the community. What started as a robotics team is now a four-program foundation bridging race, gender, and access gaps in entrepreneurship and innovation.In this episode, Terri and Tony Selvaggio talk about what happens when you put tools in the hands of people who've never had access to them. The conversation goes from makerspaces in libraries to a million adults without skills by 2030 — and what one community-driven lab is doing about it."We all need to succeed together or none of us will succeed at all."

Most entrepreneurship content sells you a fantasy. This episode doesn't.Shane Smith from the Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship sits down with Tony Selvaggio to talk about what nobody tells you when you start a business — the isolation, the burnout, the ego that keeps you trapped in your own operation, and why stepping away is the hardest thing most business owners will ever do.Shane has spent years working directly with small business owners across Florida, and what he's found might surprise you: the average entrepreneur isn't a 25-year-old tech bro. It's a 45-year-old with 20 years of experience, a family to support, and one thing holding them back — the confidence to take the step.In this episode:Why small business owners are some of the loneliest people in any roomThe real reason you can't take a vacation without checking your phoneWhat the data says about age and entrepreneurial successHow the Jim Moran Institute helps business owners get off the hamster wheelWhy mental wellness is now a core part of entrepreneurship educationHow to sell when you hate sellingThis podcast is produced by the Digital Education Foundation using fully refurbished technology — because closing the digital divide starts with proving what's possible with what already exists.If this episode resonated with you, support our mission at digitaledfoundation.org.