PODCAST · business
THIS is a Thing
by Dana Mauriello
Have you ever looked at a business and thought, "Wow, I cannot believe that is a thing!"? We’re not here to talk about big tech or main street businesses… we’re here to celebrate all of cool, unique, and unusual businesses in between. Get ready to meet water park owners, plant sitters, magicians, and go kart mechanics. We’ll talk to these founders about how they came up with their wild idea, why they decided to launch their business, what success means to them and why they love their work. Hosted by Dana Mauriello a serial entrepreneur and professor of entrepreneurship at NYU.
Episodes
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Ep 36: Jack Child, G-FORCE
Jack Child spent decades as a pilot, first in the Air Force and then at Delta. He then launched G-FORCE, a parking lot striping franchise (now with many other service verticals) with a focus on supporting veteran owners. In this conversation, Jack shares how he went from looking to pivot away…
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Ep 35: Bron Launsby, Slick City
Bron Launsby built one of the fastest-growing franchise concepts in family entertainment — starting from a single slide bolted onto a trampoline park. Before Slick City Action Park, Bron owned Sky Zone franchises, and before that, he ran corporate retail and his own wholesale import business. In...
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Ep 34: Steven Guttman, UOVO
Steve Guttman built UOVO — the storage company now trusted by top museums, auction houses, and fashion houses — out of a personal problem: he needed somewhere to store his own art collection. He talks with Dana Mauriello about the decades of real estate experience that got him there, why UOVO has...
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Ep 33: Larry Kosilla, AMMO NYC
Larry Kosilla quit a career on the floor of the Mercantile Exchange to wash cars — and built that decision into AMMO NYC, one of the most respected names in car care. In this episode, we dig into why he left finance, how he built his first car wash into a full sensory experience, the 2008 crash...
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Ep 32: Kevin Prince, Heads in the Sky
Kevin Prince spent 15 years building marketing and social strategy at places like NBC, CBS, Gawker Media, and Netflix, always chasing the feeling of building something new. Then a headline-grabbing project for the 2023 Grammy Awards led him to drones, and Heads in the Sky was born. In this…
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Ep 31: Will Petz, Quiet Events
Will Petz discovered silent discos on a cruise ship with his parents — dancing to music DJs play directly into your headphones — and thought it was the stupid until he tried it and realized it was amazing. At the time, Will was working in finance and IT — first moving computers on Wall Street for...
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Ep 30: Ken Decker, Composite Effects (CFX)
Ken Decker set out to make monster masks and movie props — and ended up also building hyperrealistic silicone human heart models used to train medical professionals. In this episode, he talks about how he found his way onto a Hollywood film set with no union card and no connections, taught…
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Ep 29: Loren Ostrow, Living Out
Loren Ostrow spent over two decades thinking about building senior housing for the LGBTQ community before he ever broke ground. In this episode, he tells the story of Living Out — one of the first senior living communities in the country built specifically for LGBTQ seniors — and how it finally...
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Ep 28: Dave Campbell, Taco Cat Games
Dave Campbell spent years scribbling game ideas on index cards during long drives as a traveling salesman before Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza became an international hit, selling over 12 million copies. In this episode, Dave shares how he taught himself to recognize when a prototype has...
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Ep 27: Tara Chapman, Two Hives Honey
Tara Chapman spent a decade at the CIA working on issues surrounding Afghanistan and Pakistan — then quit to become a beekeeper in Austin, Texas. In this episode, she talks about the Groupon beekeeping class that changed her path, why she took a seasonal job with a commercial beekeeper before…
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Ep 26: Raj Shingadia, Southeast Aquariums.
Raj Shingadia always wanted to be a lawyer — until a professor convinced him the reality of a law career was nothing like he imagined. With no backup plan, he started taking steps. He tried commercial real estate. He went deep on his aquarium hobby. He started growing coral in his basement to...
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Ep 25: Marc Evan, Maniac Pumpkin Carvers
Marc Evan is the co-founder of Maniac Pumpkin Carvers, a New York-based studio that has elevated pumpkin carving into a legitimate fine art — with work displayed at MoMA, the Whitney, and Yankee Stadium, and clients including Martha Stewart, Food Network, and the New York Botanical Garden. In…
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Episode 24: Dasti Llenga, American Liquidations
Dasti Llenga was juggling three things at once — private equity job, master's degree, growing side hustle — when he asked himself a simple question: what could he do if he put all his focus into one? It started with a $4,000 Mercedes he flipped for $15,000 in three days. Then came the flea market...
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Episode 23: Arthur Wei, Brooklyn Camper Vans
Arthur Wei was a three-time national chess champion by age 11 — and then he quit. That decision taught him a framework for making big choices that he's used ever since: always choose the path that maximizes the number of potential positive outcomes. It's the logic that led him to leave a stable…
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Episode 22: Rachel Clowes, The Sustainable Sequin Company
Rachel Clowes founded The Sustainable Sequin Company out of an MA thesis project asking one deceptively simple question: why do the materials in special occasion clothing last thousands of years when we only wear those clothes two or three times? Her answer — bio-based, biodegradable sequins —...
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Episode 21: Dave Kozuha, Greenwood Lake Roasters Craft Coffee
Dave Kozuha spent 18+ years in corporate IT. He always wanted to be in food. So when he got fed up enough to start thinking about an exit, he started researching coffee for a crepe cart he was planning to open. That was the beginning of a very unexpected rabbit hole. He couldn't find coffee he...
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Episode 20: Jessica Zouaoui, Oakwell Beer Spa
Jessica Zouaoui started out with a one dream: quit her corporate job, travel the world, and open a small business when she returned. Then she met Damien. Nine months later they were married — and their individual dreams had become one joint plan. They quit their jobs and bought one-way tickets to...
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Episode 19: Gene Nifenecker, Balloon Kings
Gene Neffenecker II — aka King Gene — is the founder of Balloon Kings. What started as a single store on the Upper West Side with and a cult following among locals (including me) is now a growing franchise. Before all of this, Gene was a Marine Corps veteran who survived cancer, lost his...
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Episode 18: Bob Young, Geese Chasers
Bob Young didn't just build a business, he built an entirely new category: using Border Collies to humanely chase geese off golf courses, school yards, parks, and neighborhoods. He didn't go looking for the idea — a golf course owner flagged him down while he was exercising his dog Boomer and...
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Episode 17: Charlie Todd, Improv Everywhere
Charlie Todd is the founder of Improv Everywhere — the group behind 200 people freezing in Grand Central Station, the No Pants Subway Ride, and some of the most joyful viral videos on the internet. He's been staging surprise performances in public spaces for 25 years. And it all started as...
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Episode 16: Omar Atia, Zero Carb Lyfe
He sold candy bars at recess when he was 7. By 31, he was the youngest plant manager in his industry. Today, Omar Atia is co-founder of Zero Carb Lyfe — a growing company famous for its chicken-crust pizza. Dana Mauriello talks to Omar about three pivotal decisions: leaving his corporate career…
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Episode 15: Kyle Bergman, Swoveralls
Kyle Bergman launched Swoveralls — sweatpant overalls — while getting his MBA, working full-time at Birchbox, teaching up to 8 fitness classes a week at Orange Theory, and training for triathlons. All at the same time. We talk about three decisions: the decision to start Swoveralls, the decision…
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Episode 14: Owen Scannell, Premier Rugby 7s
Owen had a wild idea: starting a new rugby 7s professional sports league in the US, Premier Rugby 7s. In this episode, Owen talks through some of the big decisions that got him there — from raising his hand for a summer internship with the New England Free Jacks Rugby Team, to running a scrappy...
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Episode 13: Antoine Richard, HAPIK
Antoine Richard graduated a top French business school and quit a marketing job at L'Oréal to learn to be a mountain guide. Then he stumbled into a job post that caught his eye and decided to jump into a new adventure running one of the world's top climbing wall manufacturers. After 12 years, he...
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Episode 12: Richard Worsham, Founder of Janus Motorcycles
Richard Worsham's Janus Motorcycles hand-builds classically-styled motorcycles inspired by the 1920s and 30s — and makes them in small-town Indiana with a network of Amish craftsmen, local RV suppliers, and other domestic manufacturing partners. He graduated with a master's in architecture and…
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Episode 11: David Barnett, Co-Founder of Noble Signs
David Barnett co-founded Noble Signs, a Brooklyn-based design studio specializing in hand-painted and neon signage His wild idea? Keeping the art of craft signage alive in a world where fast and cheap vinyl signs are becoming the norm. He's in his dream job now, but before this he was in a...
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Episode 10: Joe Hession, SNOW Partners
Entrepreneur Joe Hession built SNOW Partners into a $100M company from just $60,000 in savings— he rescued Mountain Creek from bankruptcy and opened Big Snow American Dream, North America's largest indoor ski area, after it sat unfinished for 15 years. We talk about how he made two wild ideas a...
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Episode 9: Peter Bellerby, Founder of Bellerby & Co Globemakers
Peter is one of the only artisan globe makers in the world today. He and his team make custom globes out of his London studio for passionate individuals, collectors, and museums that can run well into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. He didn't start out in the arts, though. He created a...
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Episode 8: Chris Turner, The Ring Finders
Chris Turner is a treasure hunter and the Founder of the Ring Finders. He and his community of over 300 treasure hunting professionals across 18 countries are there to find anything you've lost (wedding rings are the most common!). In this interview, Chris shares his story of starting and growing...
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Episode 7: Pete Nelson, Founder of Nelson Treehouse & Supply
Pete builds high-end treehouses, bringing dreams to life for the young at heart. In this interview, we talk about how he fell in love with treehouses, how he ventured into turning his passion into a business, and how he grew beyond his wildest dreams with a major assist from a TV show on Animal...
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Episode 6: Andrew Evans, Founder of the Magic Patio
Andrew Evans started a magic speakeasy in his apartment in San Francisco as a fun project with friends -- after selling 1000 tickets in 60 seconds he realized he was on to something and quit his job at the design firm IDEO to build his business full time. This is an awesome story of following…
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Episode 5: Assaf Eshet, Founder of Clixo
Assaf Eshet is the founder of the toy company Clixo, which makes incredibly innovative building toys are a bit like magnetic origami and lot like magic ⭐️In this conversation, he talks about how he transitioned from graphic designer to toy designer, how he prototypes, and how he knows when to…
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Episode 4: Laura Spaulding, Founder of Spaulding Decon
When Laura was working as a police officer in Kansas City, she responded to a homicide scene where the victim’s family asked when the police would return to clean up the body. The answer was: they wouldn’t. Even more surprising, Laura couldn’t find a single local company to recommend to the…
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Episode 3: Leah Koch, Co-Founder of the Ripped Bodice
Leah Koch founded the romance bookstore The Ripped Bodice with her sister Bea Koch - they now have two locations, consult to major movie and TV studios, and have been rightfully called "the cool whisperers of romance." In this episode, I talk to Leah about how she made her wild idea of being the...
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THIS is a Thing Trailer
Have you ever looked at a business and thought, "Wow, I cannot believe that is a thing!" With the right alchemy of skill, passion, and a healthy dose of good timing and luck even the wildest dream can become a successful business. In a world where we're inundated with stories of huge tech...
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Episode 1: Robert Cirjak, Co-Founder of Wibit Sports
Robert Cirjak is the co-founder of Wibit Sports, the world leader in floating waterparks. Robert started his career as a professional soccer player and now is the CEO of a waterpark company... the two dream jobs of every kid. His company inspires so much passion and excitement that he has fans…
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Episode 2: Rachel Tobias, Co-Founder of Cat Expeditions
Rachel Tobias left her career in tech — quitting her job at Salesforce — to travel the world with her husband, Sebastian, photographing wild cats. Together, they lead small-group expeditions across the globe where guests can learn about, photograph, and support the conservation of some of the...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Have you ever looked at a business and thought, "Wow, I cannot believe that is a thing!"? We’re not here to talk about big tech or main street businesses… we’re here to celebrate all of cool, unique, and unusual businesses in between. Get ready to meet water park owners, plant sitters, magicians, and go kart mechanics. We’ll talk to these founders about how they came up with their wild idea, why they decided to launch their business, what success means to them and why they love their work. Hosted by Dana Mauriello a serial entrepreneur and professor of entrepreneurship at NYU.
HOSTED BY
Dana Mauriello
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does THIS is a Thing have?
THIS is a Thing currently has 37 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is THIS is a Thing about?
Have you ever looked at a business and thought, "Wow, I cannot believe that is a thing!"? We’re not here to talk about big tech or main street businesses… we’re here to celebrate all of cool, unique, and unusual businesses in between. Get ready to meet water park owners, plant sitters, magicians,...
How often does THIS is a Thing release new episodes?
THIS is a Thing has 37 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to THIS is a Thing?
You can listen to THIS is a Thing on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts THIS is a Thing?
THIS is a Thing is created and hosted by Dana Mauriello.
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