Let's Grab Coffee Podcast ☕

Christina Ackermann is a global executive, board director, and former General Counsel with more than 25 years of leadership experience across pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and consumer products. In this episode, we discuss leadership, career reinvention, moving from legal into business leadership, building high-performing teams, governance, and lessons learned from leading organizations around the world.

Wendell Dallas serves as president and CEO of Nicor Gas, one of America’s leading natural gas distributors and the largest distribution company of Southern Company Gas. In this role, he is responsible for ensuring that natural gas reaches more than 2.3 million homes and businesses in over 650 northern Illinois communities.A champion for workforce development initiatives, Dallas serves on the boards of Intersect Illinois, Executive Club of Chicago, American Association of Blacks in Energy and World Business Chicago. He also believes in helping communities grow and prosper and is an active board member for the United Way and Chicago Field Museum. Dallas also serves as a member of the Southern Company Gas Management Council, The Chicago Club, Chicago United, Commercial Club of Chicago, Economic Club of Chicago and Business Leadership Chicago.A native of Opelika, Alabama, Dallas holds a degree in mechanical engineering from Auburn University and is a graduate of Leadership Georgia, Leadership Atlanta and Leadership Savannah.

Varvara Alva is a finance, strategy, and operations executive with 25+ years of experience scaling high-growth technology companies and leading successful public and private exits. She is an active investor and advisor to Chicago-based startups, deeply involved in the local startup ecosystem through 1871 and Techstars, and a passionate advocate for advancing women in business and finance.Based in Chicago, Varvara currently serves as CFO & COO of Avidbots, a rapidly scaling autonomous robotics company expanding across the U.S. Previously, she was CFO of SpotHero and BenchPrep, and helped scale Gogo from $36M to over $700M in revenue, culminating in a successful IPO. She is known for her expertise in strategic finance, capital raising, and building high-performing, collaborative teams that turn vision into execution.

Tyrone Thomas is the General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at Doral Renewables, a leading developer, owner, and operator of renewable energy assets across the United States, with a portfolio exceeding 13 GW and more than $2.5 billion in long-term power purchase agreements. Over his career, Tyrone has helped advance more than $7 billion in utility-scale clean energy projects, advising on legal, compliance, risk, and crisis management at the highest levels. Beyond his professional work, Tyrone is a devoted father and an anti-hunger advocate, serving as a founding member and board leader of Beyond Hunger, which supports over 70,000 individuals and families annually across the Chicago region.

Nick Moran is a venture capitalist, entrepreneur, and the Founder & General Partner of New Stack Ventures, a Chicago-based fund backing early-stage, often first-time founders building in emerging markets and overlooked categories.He’s also the creator and host of The Full Ratchet, one of the industry’s longest-running and most respected venture capital podcasts, where he’s interviewed hundreds of top investors and operators.Before launching New Stack, Nick led product management for a Fortune 500 company and created The Firehose, a patented IoT product that was later acquired. His operator background heavily shapes his hands-on approach to supporting founders.Today, Nick is known for championing underrepresented geographies and unconventional entrepreneurs, blending sharp investment judgment with deep empathy for builders navigating the earliest stages.

Michael Roytman is a cybersecurity data scientist and entrepreneur. Born in East Germany and raised between Ukraine and Russia, he immigrated to the U.S. and studied industrial engineering at UIUC and operations research at Georgia Tech.A lifelong builder, he founded TruckSpotting and Dharma Platform—a data tool used by WHO, MSF, and Save the Children—earning him a spot on Forbes 30 Under 30.He spent nearly a decade at Kenna Security, co-creating the Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), then became a Distinguished Engineer at Cisco.Today, Michael is Co-Founder & CTO of Empirical Security, developing enterprise-specific AI models for cybersecurity. He also co-founded Sputnik Coffee in Chicago and serves on the Forbes Technology Council.

Betsy Fore is the first Native American (Turtle Mountain Chippewa) woman to raise a Series A and is now the Founding Partner of Velveteen Ventures, investing in children and the planet for the next seven generations. A three-time founder, she built two multi-million dollar brands — including Tiny Organics, which she grew from $0 to $13M+ — and WonderWoof, featured on Oprah’s Favorite Things and sold globally.She’s an investor with XFactor Ventures and LongJump, serves on multiple boards, and co-founded Natives Rising, one of the largest Indigenous tech and founder communities. Betsy’s debut book, Built on Purpose, launches in 2025 with HarperCollins.

Rola Dagher is one of the most influential leaders in global technology — having served as Global Channel Chief at Dell Technologies and President & CEO of Cisco Canada.Born in war-torn Lebanon, Rola’s journey from rebuilding her life in Canada to leading multibillion-dollar organizations is a masterclass in resilience, reinvention, and purpose-driven leadership.Today, she advises executives and founders on how to lead with courage and clarity in the AI era — helping them shift from survival to significance.Recognized among Canada’s Most Powerful Women, CRN’s 50 Most Influential Channel Chiefs, and appointed to the Order of Canada, Rola lives by her philosophy: “Learn it. Earn it. Return it.”

In this episode of the Let’s Grab Coffee Podcast, George Khalife sits down with Terry Graunke, Founder and Chairman of Erie Street Growth Partners, to unpack lessons from more than 30 years of building, leading, and investing in high-growth companies.From founding and selling his first company to taking one public and later running a private equity firm, Terry has experienced every stage of the business-building journey. Terry has led more than $1.8 billion in investments, served as Chairman, CEO, or Director of over 36 companies, and now guides Erie Street’s mission to help founders grow in a rapidly changing world.

Brian Wolfe is Managing Partner at Funded Ventures, a private investment firm, and is a retired partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP. In addition to his teaching at Booth, Wolfe also teaches courses on private equity and entrepreneurship at the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, Washington University in St. Louis and the University of North Carolina, and previously co-led a SaaS “buy and build” with sale to private equity.Wolfe is on the board and audit committee of Chicago Public Media, the boards of Intersect Illinois, Breakthrough T1D (f/k/a JDRF) Illinois, the Greater Chicago Legal Clinic and the Skandalaris Center at Washington University in St. Louis, and is a member of the Illinois Courts Commission and the Economic Club of Chicago.

Pablo Srugo is a Partner at Mistral, based in Toronto. Prior to Mistral, Pablo was the co-founder and COO of Gymtrack– a VC-backed startup in the FitTech space. Before starting Gymtrack, Pablo co-founded an online tutoring platform, which was acquired in 2014.

Vijen Patel is the Founding Partner of The 81 Collection, a $41 million early-stage venture fund that invests in founders building across "hard industries" like manufacturing, real estate, retail, and construction—sectors often overlooked by traditional VCs.Before becoming an investor, Vijen co-founded Pressbox in 2013 with his Notre Dame classmate Drew McKenna. Starting from a 600 sq ft Chicago office, they revolutionized dry cleaning through proprietary lockers in high-end residential buildings, eliminating traditional storefronts. In just 5 years, Pressbox scaled to 1,200 locations, becoming the world's largest dry cleaner before being acquired by Procter & Gamble in 2018 for an undisclosed sum. Post-acquisition, Vijen led the company's rebranding as Tide Cleaners.Prior to entrepreneurship, Vijen worked in private equity after graduating from the University of Notre Dame. Today, through The 81 Collection—which he calls "The Founders Fund for Hard Industries"—he backs entrepreneurs using automation and AI to transform traditional, capital-intensive businesses that others find "boring" or difficult to scale.Based in Chicago, Vijen brings decades of operating experience to identifying high-margin opportunities hidden within low-margin industries, focusing on founders tackling structural inequities and unsexy but essential work.

Harry Kraemer, Jr. is the former Chairman and CEO of Baxter International, a $12 billion global healthcare company. He is currently a Clinical Professor of Leadership at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, where he teaches values-based leadership and has been named Professor of the Year multiple times. Harry is also the author of four bestselling books on leadership, including From Values to Action and Your 168. He serves on numerous corporate and nonprofit boards and is widely respected for his work on leadership, ethics, and purpose.

Michael Fassnacht is President of the Chicagoland Region and Chief Growth Officer at Clayco, where he drives business development, marketing, and sales while mentoring the team. Before Clayco, he was the first-ever Chief Marketing Officer for the City of Chicago and CEO of World Business Chicago, where he led more than 400 corporate expansions and doubled the size of the economic development agency. A German native with over 20 years in Chicago, Michael also spent a decade as CEO of advertising giant FCB, launching their creative and business growth globally. Throughout his career — from Lufthansa in Germany to Silicon Valley to Chicago — he has been a passionate advocate for innovation, creativity, and the city of Chicago.

Landon W. Campbell is the General Manager for Drive Capital in Chicago, a $2.3B venture capital firm committed to investing in exceptional founders who are shaping the future of market-defining companies between the Hudson River and the Rocky Mountains. Landon oversees the firm’s $80M pre-seed fund in Chicago.

Edward Woodford is the Co-Founder and CEO of Zero Hash, a leading crypto and stablecoin infrastructure platform based in Chicago. Since founding the company in 2017, Edward has been at the forefront of transforming the global financial landscape, enabling seamless access to digital assets for companies across industries. Under his leadership, Zero Hash has raised over $170M in funding, settled over $20 billion in transactions, and onboarded more than 6 million customers globally.

TTT is the CEO of Teragonia, specializing in AI-driven analytics and value creation for PE-backed and founder-led middle-market companies. A seasoned M&A strategist with deep expertise in data science, he previously built and led Houlihan Lokey’s financial due diligence and data analytics practices. He has advised corporations, financial sponsors, and sovereign wealth funds across the transaction lifecycle, driving 8-figure EBITDA improvements through enterprise-wide analytics and AI enablement.

Duane is the Founder & Managing Partner of Author Capital Partners with 20 years of experience advising and investing in public and private companies. He serves on the boards of SilverIP Communications and ESD Global. Previously, Duane was an investment professional at BDT Capital Partners, focusing on founder- and family-led businesses, and a Private Equity Fellow at Vista Equity Partners. His career spans roles at Fireman Capital, Manasota Capital, the U.S. Treasury (TARP), and Merrill Lynch. Duane holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BBA from George Washington University. He is an Investor-in-Residence at the University of Chicago Booth School and a Board Trustee at Lake Forest Academy.

Shawn Ellis is the Managing Partner of Distributed Ventures. He co-founded and manages the fund. Prior to Distributed Ventures, Shawn built and lead NFP Ventures, a captive early-stage venture fund sponsored by NFP Corp, the diversified insurance brokerage. Shawn’s investment approach leverages diverse operational, strategic and investment experience. Previously, as President and founding team member of Zest Health, he led the company’s growth from concept to over half a million paid subscribers and partnerships with several health plans less than three years. Zest was eventually rebranded as Yaro and acquired by Virgin Pulse. Prior to Zest, Shawn focused on healthcare technology investments at 7wire Ventures. He was a management consultant at the Boston Consulting Group and began his career at Lazard Middle Market’s M&A practice.Shawn holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management and a BA in Economics from the University of Chicago. He is a member of the Economic Club of Chicago and a board member of the Linden Foundation. --Time stamps:[0:00 - 1:51]: Introduction[1:51 - 12:25]: Lessons from IB, strategy, and consulting[12:25 - 16:07]: How to crack into VC[16:08 - 19:47]: Tips for relationship building/networking[19:47 - 25:17]: Investing in the future of risk[25:17 - 28:33]: Thoughts on corporate venture capital[28:34 - 30:51]: Building Distributed Ventures[30:52 - 34:02]: What makes a stand-out founder[34:02 - 37:24]: Dealing with pressure & mental health[37:24 - 41:10]: Navigating burnout [41:10 - 43:15]: Being bullish on Chicago[43:16 - 45:45]: 2025 outlook

Chris Crawford founded RxSaveCard to make prescriptions more affordable for employers and employees. With over 25 years in employee benefits, including leadership roles at Mercer and experience in pharmacy benefits, Chris created RxSaveCard to offer cash and discount pricing without requiring a switch in benefit providers. His solution ensures compliance with ERISA fiduciary standards while helping companies manage drug costs effectively. For more on RxSaveCard: rxsavecard.com To connect with Sean:   / chris-crawford-0a86424  

Madison was started by Sean Johnson. For 12 years he was a founding partner at Manifold, an early stage venture fund and innovation consulting firm. For 9 years he taught digital marketing at Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management. Sean learned the hard way how difficult it can be to market a professional services firm. Much of the playbook he learned working with startups simply didn't apply. He eventually learned how to turn himself and his team into Trusted Advisors who could build relationships and develop trust at scale. He codified those lessons into the Madison Playbook, and teaches other professional services firms how to do the same. Madison | We Market Professional Services Firms (hiremadison.com)

Samara Hernandez is the founder of Chingona Ventures, a venture capital fund focused on investing in overlooked and underrepresented founders. Born in Mexico and raised in Rogers Park, Chicago, Samara's early life was marked by her family's hard work and resilience. She earned an engineering degree from the University of Michigan and worked at Goldman Sachs during the Great Recession, gaining valuable experience in finance. Samara later pursued an MBA at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Business, which led her to a role at MATH Venture Partners. There, she made significant contributions, including leading the investment in Liveoak Technologies, which was later acquired by DocuSign. In 2019, Samara launched Chingona Ventures, raising $6 million for her first fund and raised $52M in 2022 for her second fund. Her mission is to be the first check for founders and companies that don't fit the traditional mold, with a particular focus on empowering women and minority entrepreneurs.

Andrew Sykes leads the Habits at Work team and is a Lecturer of Entrepreneurship at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. He is also part of the Kellogg Sales Institute Executive Education Team, where he teaches the award-winning course "Entrepreneurial Selling," ranked by Inc. Magazine as one of the "Top Ten" courses in the United States. With a 30-year career as a salesperson, entrepreneur, speaker, and behavior change expert, Andrew began by building one of South Africa’s largest healthcare consulting companies. He co-authored "The 11th Habit," a book that distills the work of the Behavioral Research and Applied Technology Laboratory (BRATLAB). This research aims to understand which habits are crucial for sustained high performance, competitive differentiation, trust building, and organizational growth, and focuses on helping people practice these habits.

As an executive at Zest AI, Mike has made it the company’s mission to leverage AI in consumer credit underwriting to build financial equity and create a better, richer, and fuller life for all. In his 25 years prior experience to Zest AI, Mike focused on amplifying the voice of consumers to governments and businesses through organizations like Nielson, Harris Interactive, and JD Power. His experiences converge to show his capacity to lead organizations in translating data into insights that enable the betterment of consumers’ lives.

Vic is a successful venture capitalist with 19+ years of broad professional experience. Top decile performing track record. Extensive ESG, digital transformation, fintech and Insurtech investing experience. Diverse background with Fortune 130 and early-stage venture companies. Complementary leadership roles in corporate strategy/ transformation and as general counsel. Specialties: Energy/ utilities, natural gas, green molecule innovation, fintech, insurtech and financial services technology. Over $650M in venture capital and M&A transactions. Created and executed corporate development function including $330M strategic venture capital program. Led the design and implementation of enterprise wide strategy and transformation programs. To connect with Vic: LinkedIn To learn more about ECV: Website -- If you're enjoying these conversations, make sure to like & subscribe to continue following along!

Gale Wilkinson is the Managing Partner at VITALIZE, early-stage fund & angel community investing in WorkTech startups. Gale is also revolutionizing angel investing through VITALIZE Angels, the largest inclusive angel group globally. She actively supports emerging talents in the VC sector via The VITALIZE Podcast and contributes to diversity in tech and VC as a board member of Chicago:Blend. A Kauffman Fellow and member of prestigious networks like OnDeck, Recast, and Oper8r, Gale resides between Chicago and Nashville, alongside her husband and two dogs. For more on VITALIZE: https://www.vitalize.vc/ For more on Gale: https://gale.vc/

Throughout her entire adult life, Allison has been intensely focused on her career, always ensuring that her current role is not only a stimulating challenge but also a stepping stone towards future growth. In 2017, while pregnant with her first child, Allison nearly resigned from a sales leadership position she was passionate about. This inclination stemmed from the significant disruptions caused by her 3-month maternity leave. It became clear to her that there exists a substantial gap in how companies support working parents before, during, and after parental leave, particularly in ways that do not hinder their career progression. Seizing this realization as an opportunity, she dedicated herself to helping other working parents navigate the challenges she encountered. This mission led her to her current role as the co-founder and CEO of Parentaly, a company committed to bridging this gap for working parents. Website: https://www.parentaly.com/

Samir Mirza is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Fifth Star Funds - a venture philanthropy fund investing in Black tech entrepreneurs at the pre-seed / "Friends & Family" stage in Chicago. He was formerly the Co-Founder and CTO of TapCommerce (acquired by Twitter for $100M).   He began his career in Chicago consulting for Fortune 500 clients while building robust content management applications, APIs, and backend distributed systems. In 2012, he co-founded TapCommerce in New York and created the industry's first mobile ad retargeting solution. As the Chief Technology Officer, he led the engineering team and built a backend platform that processes over 40 billion ad auctions per day with the ability to show ads to over 1 billion mobile users for the world's top mobile brands.    Samir then lived in Berlin, Germany where he served as a coding instructor at the ReDI School for Refugees and worked as a consultant for the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) Digital Transformation Team.  Samir has a Computer Science degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business.   To connect with Samir: https://www.fifthstarfunds.com/

Dan is on a mission to personalize nutrition by leveraging CGM (Continuous Glucose Monitoring) and Machine Learning. In simple terms, Nutrisense helps reduce the risk for type 2 diabetes & heart disease, helping people shed unwanted weight, and advise athletes on how to become the best versions of themselves. Website: https://www.nutrisense.io/

Chris Kelly is Owner of the Sandler Training® Center located in Toronto. His firm works with Business Leaders, Sales Leaders, Sellers & Customer Care professionals who are serious about personal and professional success and willing to succeed through ongoing improvement and implementation of growth strategies, structure and skill. Over the last decade, the typical Toronto based organisation that chooses to begin a conversation with Chris has some business success behind it. The leadership is growth minded and they have a belief that how they sell has a significant impact on their growth success. Chris' consulting and delivery and process implementation is rooted in the Sandler methodology. Sandler Training is a world leader in innovative sales and sales management training. You can contact Chris @ [email protected]

Claude Cimeus is a close personal friend and peer within Chicago's entrepreneurial ecosystem. He's currently Director of Platform at P33 Chicago; a non-profit focused on driving inclusive growth for Chicago’s tech sector. Prior to that, Claude worked as a Product Manager at five startups and founded three of his own right out of high school. On the side, Claude enjoys bringing the startup world closer together by hosting fireside night chats with leaders in different industries as well as hosting in-person tech events via ChiTech IRL.   To connect with Claude: https://www.linkedin.com/in/claude-ci Check out ChiTech IRL events: https://twitter.com/ChiTechIRL

Swapnil is the CEO & Co-founder of Zeni.ai - Bookkeeping, Tax, and CFO Services Platform designed for Startup Founders. Zeni is his 3rd startup. He has built and sold two startups before. His first startup was Dhingana and his second startup was Mezi.

Venture Capital investor, CEO, Serial entrepreneur, a faculty member at the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management, and Co-author of Exit Right. Check out Mark's new book: https://amzn.to/3EGmqPS

FranShares is an investment platform that lets anyone diversify their portfolio, hedge against inflation, and earn passive income through franchise investing. Our investors enjoy unparalleled transparency while investing in SEC and FTC regulated real assets that are rigorously-vetted and managed by our world-class team of franchise experts. Kenny Rose started his career at Merrill Lynch then somehow found his way into the world of franchising. He's written about franchising on Quora (sent to over 35 million readers) and has been featured on Forbes, ABC News, American Express, The Hustle, MarketWatch, and more. Check it out here: www.franshares.com

Born in Lebanon and based in Dubai, Kristel Bechara is an award-winning contemporary artist who has quickly established herself as the rising star of the Middle Eastern art world. Recognized for her dynamic patterns and expressive colours, Kristel’s artwork consists of the revolutionary creation of photographic imagery using oil, acrylic and giclée printmaking mediums to depict complex emotions and also portray the human condition. Her artistic process involves creating stencil-like drawings that are combined with modern mixed media lines to form multi-layered fantasy paintings. Kristel’s work has been displayed around the world to great appreciation and demand, especially from galleries in Tokyo, Milano, Brussels, and France. She has received high acclaim in UAE as well, notably winning the UAE Resident Artist Award at the 2018 World Art Dubai for her collection, Beauty in Diversity. Kristel has also gained recognition as a pioneer of NFT art in the Middle East, having been one of the first artists in the region to adopt NFT technology to launch her new series, Beauty in DeFi. Inspired by the world of cryptocurrencies, this series of digital paintings has been the subject of much critical acclaim and has been featured in publications across the globe. As a wife and mother of two, Kristel Bechara is an avid traveller who finds inspiration in exploring cities, art museums and galleries. She dedicates her mornings to creating art in her studio, while her afternoons and evenings are spent with her family. Kristel currently works on her art from her studio in Onyx Tower, Dubai while her gallery is located at Gate Avenue, Dubai International Financial Centre. Shop her artwork collection HERE. Check her digital artwork collection HERE.

Evvy is on a mission to radically reinvent how we understand and treat the female body, starting with the vaginal microbiome. Evvy’s first product — the Evvy Vaginal Health Test — is the first-ever at-home vaginal microbiome test to use metagenomic sequencing to tell you what’s up down there, why it matters, and what you can do about it. Site: https://www.evvy.com/

Daniel is a serial entrepreneur and passionate changemaker. He recently sold his last two venture-backed companies and joined Airbnb full-time. Daniel also spoke on stage in front of 20,000 youth at We Day, directed a film series on the sharing economy, received a monthly grant from the Austrian government to conduct research on the European sharing economy, and traveled to over 30 countries. Daniel has been named Top 30 Under 30, a Canadian G20 Delegate and was named the top student entrepreneur in Canada and top three student entrepreneur globally by Entrepreneurs’ Organization. Daniel spoke at the G20 Young Entrepreneurs’ Summit in China, completed a 100km race along the Great Wall, and spoke to both Justin Trudeau and Prince William on the importance of fostering youth innovation. Site: https://lifeatkey.com/

Amanda Lannert is CEO of Jellyvision and has been a key figure in driving the company since its founding in 2001. Her focus at Jellyvision is on the company’s strategy, improving processes to better scale operations, partnership development, and customer acquisition to continue fueling the company’s growth. Under Amanda’s leadership, Jellyvision has grown to serve more than 1500 mostly Fortune 1000 clients with ALEX, the most helpful employee decision support platform on the planet. In 2019, 18 million employees and $120 billion dollar’s worth of premium decisions were entrusted to ALEX. Meanwhile, the company has been recognized as the Best Software Company and Best Culture by the Moxies, the Lighthouse winner by the ITA, a top 10 best place to work in Chicago by The Chicago Tribune and the #1 place for millennials to work in Chicago according to Crain’s. Prior to joining Jellyvision, Amanda managed global brands for Kellogg’s while at Leo Burnett, in addition to spending two years in a new business and new brand development think tank. She attended Haverford College and Edinburgh University.

Paul Hsu is Founder and CEO of Decasonic, the venture and digital assets fund building blockchain innovation. As a tech investor and operator, Paul partners with outlier founders to accelerate product market fit and systematically scale early stage companies. Paul’s curiosity and conviction in disruptive technology date back to the dawn of the Internet: first, as a venture investor on Sand Hill Road, then as a senior executive at pre-IPO mobile, social and gaming companies, and today as a founder and investor in blockchain. Paul has held senior leadership positions at technology companies in Silicon Valley, Tokyo, Chicago and New York City where his expertise in product and growth helped stabilize and systematically scale these companies during periods of exponential growth. His investments in blockchain date as early as 2013. Paul holds a Bachelor of Arts from Yale University, where his studies concentrated on economics, math, statistics and international politics. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude. Learn more about Decasonic here: https://www.decasonic.com/

Guy possesses extensive knowledge of innovation, entrepreneurship, social media, podcasting, and marketing. First and foremost, he is an evangelist. The term comes from a Greek word that means "bringing the good news." That's what he does--whether the good news of Macintosh or the good news of Canva, an online graphics-design firm. In addition to his work at Canva, he is the creator of the Remarkable People podcast where he interviews people such as Jane Goodall, Woz, Stephen Wolfram, Bob Cialdini, Arianna Huffington, and Kristi Yamaguchi. Thanks to our podcast sponsor @hirect, the #1 hiring app for startups. Check it out on the App Store or Google Play using this link: https://hirectapp.onelink.me/6krZ/GeorgeKhalife

Entrepreneur, economist and strategist aiming to create value in the Midwest by investing in early-stage startups. https://m25vc.com/

Boyede Sobitan is the Co-Founder and CEO of OjaExpress. OjaExpress is a digital marketplace for cultural groceries. OjaExpress seeks to provide a culturally competent service that is reflective and respectful of people's individual cultures. Check it out: https://ojaexpress.com/

Anoop Gupta is the CEO and Co-Founder of SeekOut, the AI-powered Talent 360 platform. Anoop started SeekOut after a 20-year career at Microsoft, which began with the acquisition of his first startup, VXtreme, in 1997. During his tenure, Anoop was the Corporate Vice-President of the multibillion-dollar Unified Communications group. He was TA to Bill Gates, advising on technology and product strategy as a Distinguished Scientist at Microsoft Research, leading work on Telepresence and Natural User Interfaces. Prior to Microsoft, Anoop was a tenured professor at Stanford University and he holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Carnegie Mellon University.

Youtooz is a company turning nostalgia and internet culture into amazing products that people love, has grown its online following to 2 million in just two years. It has also seen YoY growth of 600% from 2019 to 2021. About Austin long: former founder of SquareOne, former SVP of Gaming at Omnia Media, acquired by BlueAntMedia in Jan 2016. Currently the Co-founder of Youtooz. Austin was named one of the most impressive High School Graduates (U.S.) in 2014 by Business Insider and 20 In Their 20s by Los Angeles Business Journal. Check out the Youtooz collection: https://youtooz.com/ This episode was sponsored by Hirect, the number one hiring app for startups, where job seekers and hiring managers can chat about open positions they're interested in--anytime, anywhere. Download now on the App Store or Google Play: https://bit.ly/34zHE3L

Pete Wilkins is a purpose-driven leader committed to creating a positive impact in the world. Before he was thirty, he was a critical part of two technology startups that sold and IPO’d for more than $2.8 billion. He later went on to lead the turnaround of a medical education company from record losses to record profits and built one of the premier online physician education communities, which was followed by starting a double-bottom line company focused on college attainment for Latino families. Not every step was successful, but they were all purposeful. Today, Pete leads HPA – one of the most active and successful early-stage venture investor groups in the country. He and his firm have partnered with hundreds of founders to help turn their dreams into reality, helping them scale their business from a startup idea to a global market leader. In the process, he has helped create billions of dollars of value, but more importantly, he has helped these founders manifest their purpose into incredible companies that are changing the world. He serves as an active advisor to many entrepreneurs, sits on several boards, and frequently speaks and writes about investing in people and companies for Forbes, VentureBeat and Thrive Global. Check out Pete's book "Purpose First Entrepreneur": https://amzn.to/3eb0RKZ

FORTË is the fitness industry's only turnkey premium live and on-demand streaming white-label digital solution. For more information, please visit https://www.goforte.fit/ or email [email protected]

Clearcover offers affordable car insurance that’s smarter, faster and puts your needs above all else, helping you make informed decisions every step of the way.  Prior to starting Clearcover, Kyle helped launch a venture-capital fund at American Family Insurance. He convinced the insurer to invest in video-doorbell startup Ring, which was later acquired by Amazon for $1 billion. He later convinced his former employer to back his car insurance startup, Clearcover, which he co-founded in 2016. Kyle believed he could carve out room for a new car insurance company amid giants such as Allstate, State Farm and Geico by creating a low-cost, low-hassle, millennial-friendly product and a low-touch, high-tech business model. The Chicago-based company has grown to more than 300 employees and sells in 19 states. It has raised $330 million. Link: https://clearcover.com/

About Yuval Yuval is a serial technology entrepreneur. Prior to founding Alviere, Yuval co-founded TOA Technologies, the leading global provider of field service management SaaS solutions. He led TOA over 40 straight quarters of recurring revenue growth, raising $133m in capital from Draper, Intel Cap & TCV. Oracle acquired TOA in the summer of 2014 for the highest multiple they had paid for a company to date. About Alviere Alviere provides the most complete embedded finance platform available today, empowering the world’s most visible, trusted and beloved brands to offer financial services to their customers for the first time. Alviere’s easy, powerful and future-proof platform and associated services allows any business to launch a new financial services line of business to dramatically increase profits, deepen customer relationships and insights, and increase satisfaction and retention. To find out how embedded financial products can take you into the next generation of profitable business visit us at www.alviere.com.

Symboticware is an Operating System of Intelligence that digitally transforms the resource industry in real-time with end-to-end actionable data insights.  Website: http://www.symboticware.com Ash's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashutoshmagus/

Inspired by Socrates himself, Marc Champagne draws on his interviews with award-winning writers, designers, photographers, strategists, entrepreneurs, technologists, musicians, athletes, and more to provide inspiration and examples as to where and how pointed self-inquiry can help your health, happiness and performance. Readers are guided by powerful reflective questions that can be easily applied to daily life and work for incredible results. What can you expect after reading Personal Socrates? - A personalized mental fitness routine - Morning rituals to win the day - Calming and clearing evening wind-down practices - Tools to deescalate emotionally charged situations - To feel mentally lighter, clearer, focused, and confident The prompts and mental fitness practices detailed throughout *Personal Socrates* are like having your very own mental fitness coach with you at all times—one who can be used to bring clarity, intentionality, and possibility to every aspect of your life. Published by Baronfig Circus Books, an imprint of Baronfig Inc., New York City https://www.baronfig.com/personal-socrates