Startup Grind Columbus

Shaping How We Work & Live: The Kaufman Development Story

As a brand, design and strategy expert, Troy Allen knows how to transform the ordinary into the extraordinary. Throughout his career, Troy has successfully led transformative creative campaigns in a variety of industries for clients – McDonald’s, Coca Cola, VISIT FLORIDA, Harley Davidson, Cooper Tire, Mac Tools, Adena Health and Pier Foods. His love and excitement for brand development can also be seen on such brands as Bounty, Oil of Olay and Pringles. Troy founded ELEVATE thinking in early 2009, a Brand Strategy firm focused on creating a deeper consumer engagement for its clients. After several successful years the company evolved to focus on developing and building its own brands. Now called Rise Brands, the organization has a focused mission to create and bring brands to market. 16-Bit Bar+Arcade, it’s first brand is currently in Columbus, Cleveland and Cincinnati with two more markets in development. The second brand, Pins Mechanical Co. launched in downtown Columbus mid 2016 with Dublin and Cincinnati locations scheduled for 2017. The 16-Bit and Pins experiences are a testament to Troy’s extensive brand strategy background, dedication to business development and passion for creating new segments in the market. Rise Brands is focused on creating unique social experiences and entertainment destinations with an aggressive plan for rapid market expansion. This is the audio recording from the live event on 1/14/2019. risebrands.com startupgrind.com/columbus awh.net

We RISE with Troy Allen, Founder, RISE Brands (16-Bit & Pins)

Ilya Bodner, Founder & CEO, Bold Penguin Ilya didn’t get into the insurance business because he found it particularly sexy, or exciting...or even because he loved It. (After all, it’s insurance) He got into it because he wanted to fundamentally change how it works from the inside out. And little by little, he and the “penguins” are making it happen. The focus of their startup is to significantly reduce the friction in the commercial insurance experience—a mission that, unsurprisingly, no one seems to argue with. This is the audio recording from the live event on 12/10/2018.   boldpenguin.com startupgrind.com/columbus awh.net

Startup Grind Columbus: Bold Penguins Take On Insurance

For nearly 30 years, David has been creating original programming, concerts and events that unite participants and audiences to give back to their communities. He has an established reputation for creating collaborative, groundbreaking events that positively impact organizations and communities. Since 2009, David has grown the Harmony Project into a national model redefining diversity and inclusion through performances, programming, and unique community service experiences. This is the audio recording from the live event on 10/9/2018. harmonyproject.com startupgrind.com/columbus awh.net  

Startup Grind Columbus: David Brown, Harmony Project

Tara Marling Abraham, Chairman and Co-CEO of Accel, Inc., is one of the nation’s leading experts in contract packaging. A strategist and experienced entrepreneur, Ms. Abraham advances innovation throughout the businesses she has established and grown, as well as professional and industry groups to which she dedicates time. Her combined expertise in finance, marketing, relationship management, supplier diversity, and mergers & acquisitions has made her a leader within the retail and consumer packaged goods industries. Ms. Abraham creates solutions, following personal experience with inferior packaged goods produced outside of the U.S., she established Accel in 1995 to provide quality controlled, domestic contract packaging services to the health, beauty, food, fashion, and technology industries. Accel a $25M company producing $480M wholesale value of goods with 1,100 associates at its 517,000 sq. ft. facility, has become known for its diversity and supplier best practices. Selected clients include Abbott Nutrition, Bath & Body Works, Beechnut, Express, Honeywell, NetJets (a Berkshire Hathaway company), Tween Brands and Victoria’s Secret, among others. Prior to Accel, she was a Brand Manager for Biolage Haircare at Bristol Myers Squibb and earlier a Brand Manager and Assistant Buyer of Fine and Home Fragrances for Bath & Body Works a division of Limited Brands.   This is the audio recording from the live event on 9/10/2018. accel-inc.com startupgrind.com/columbus awh.net  

Startup Grind Columbus: Tara Marling Abraham, Accel

 Andrew feels that bios written in the third person by the author are strange. I (Andrew) co-founded and successfully exited TeamDynamix after surviving many of the entrepreneurial mistakes you are about to make. My experiences may help you avoid some of them. We drove TeamDynamix to overnight success (15+ years to grow and exit). The path to success was easy often allowing 4 hours of sleep per night. Through it all I have remained a youthful 63 years old as calculated by health.com’s real age calculator (I’m 42). Even with constant computer use I have better than 20/20 vision when wearing bifocals. In all seriousness I believe that success comes through very hard work paired with closely aligning the needs of customers, team members, the market, and the company. I also place extreme value in hiring the most intelligent and well-adjusted team members, not necessarily the most experienced. It’s amazing what happens when you are surrounded by brilliant minds. When you look around your business and you’re the dumbest one in the room you’re doing something right. When I’m not swinging a pick in the TeamDynamix mine as Chief Product Strategist I enjoy spending time with my spouse, irony, our dog, making fun of friends, being made fun of by friends, laughing, cheese, exercise, sleep, mountain biking, learning, boating, traveling, charity, foreign languages, life experiences and I LOVE snow skiing. I started my career at Arthur Andersen Business Consulting after graduating from Ohio University with a degree in Management Information Systems. This is the audio recording from the live event on 8/6/2018. startupgrind.com/columbus awh.net rev1ventures.com 

The 15 Year Exit with Andrew Graf, TeamDynamix

Amelia is the Director of Strategic Partnerships for Nationwide’s ventures team. Previously, she was a member of two corporate innovations teams within GE where she contributed to product development efforts ranging from novel home appliances to industrial inspection technologies. She also managed an evergreen startup seed fund in Louisville, Kentucky. She is former professional ballerina and actively serves on various boards in support of dance and visual art in the region. Amelia earned a Finance Certificate from Cornell University and BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Louisville’s Speed School of Engineering. This is the audio recording from the live event on 7/9/2018. startupgrind.com/columbus awh.net rev1ventures.com

Amelia Gandara - Director of Strategic Partnerships, Nationwide Ventures

Ruth Milligan is an executive communication coach and trainer. She works primarily with leaders delivering consequential communications and trains in content framing, storytelling, public speaking and executive presence. She is also one of the longest running TEDx organizers in the world with Nancy Kramer, having organized and curated TEDxColumbus since 2009. Along with her team at Articulation, her current practice, they have coached over 400 TEDx and TED-style talks. They are known for their work in science, research and data fields, helping researchers, scientists and analysts making their insights accessible to lay audiences. As for startups: In college she began a campus wide service network connecting residence halls, the greek system and student organizations toward a coordinated approach to deliver community service. That carried over into her first job out of college in the Governor’s Office where she was assigned the job of starting up Americorps, the national service program, for Ohio, before she became the press secretary and speechwriter for Janet Voinovich, Ohio’s First Lady. In 2000 she joined a growing marketing firm to start up a Public Relations division which closed abruptly after the dot-com bubble burst, at which time she chose to start her own business, Milligan Communications. After 7 years of running the traditional PR and Marketing solo practice she started TEDxColumbus (which is now in its 10 year) which also prompted her to narrow her focus on her practice only on executive communication coaching and training which is the business she also founded now runs, Articulation. She is a graduate of Miami University, a native of Columbus and a resident of Clintonville with her husband and two very active teenagers. This is the audio recording from the live event on 6/11/2018.  https://www.articulationinc.com/ https://www.startupgrind.com/columbus/ http://awh.net/

Storytelling matters. Learn why & how to get better at it from Ruth Milligan

As the Chief Operating Officer at Wiretap, Greg Moran has a unique talent for asking the people around him to go beyond the limits they see for themselves – a standard he also adheres to, as he turned down multiple enterprise CIO jobs to join Jeff Schumann at this venture-backed software start-up. Greg leverages his extensive background in technology, strategy and digital transformation to scale the company, with a focus on sales and operations. A far cry from the jungle of Zambia where he grew up, Greg launched his career as an IT consultant in Columbus, Ohio, advising clients on strategy and process. It was after joining Bank One (now JP Morgan Chase), though, that Greg really started leaving his mark. As Enterprise Chief Technology Officer, Greg designed and implemented the integration strategy to convert the bank to a single, unified application platform – a platform that still runs JP Morgan Chase today. When he transitioned to Ford Motor Company, Greg’s path to success really took off. He led Ford’s efforts to build high-scale application delivery capability in every major market – across the Americas, the European Union and the Asia Pacific – overseeing a team of 5,000. Later, Greg worked closely with the Ford family to lead corporate strategy at a pivotal time in Ford’s history, leaving behind a corporate legacy well-documented in Bryce Hoffman’s book American Icon. Greg was then recruited by the CEO of Nationwide Mutual Insurance to create the Business Transformation function – a key role to propel Nationwide’s transition from a house of brands to a branded house approach. He later took over as SVP and CIO for IT infrastructure and operations, overseeing a team of 2,000 and the buildout and commissioning of one of the few Tier 4 data centers in the U.S. While working at Nationwide, Greg met Jeff Schumann, kicking off the great relationship that the pair now uses to build and run Wiretap. At Wiretap, and throughout his career, Greg creates an environment that inspires great leaders to emerge and thrive. A natural mentor, he believes in transparency and a gentle candor. This is also evidenced by Greg’s commitment to Junior Achievement, where he is a current board member and past chair. Greg is also an executive fellow on the Ohio University College of Business faculty and sits on the board and advisory board of Koios Medical and MyAgData, respectively. Greg is a graduate of Cedarville University, where he received a bachelor’s degree in Accounting and MIS. A proud Pelotonia advocate, and member of the inaugural team, Greg enjoys cycling, as well as adventure, travel, motorcycling and fishing. He and his wife, Sharon, have three children (2 of whom will be Buckeyes this fall). This is the audio recording from the live event on 4/9/2018. https://wiretap.com www.startupgrind.com/columbus www.awh.net www.rev1ventures.com

Startup Grind Columbus: Greg Moran - COO, Wiretap

Zach Weprin is the Co-founder and CEO of FUSIAN, a fresh-casual sushi rolls and bowls concept that operates 10 restaurants in Ohio. In 2008, after graduating with a finance degree from THE Ohio State University, he moved to Aspen, Colorado to become a bellman (aka ski bum), and it was there he learned the value of a healthy lifestyle and authentic hospitality. In 2009 the business plan for Soho Sushi was written as a customer-centric sushi experience which later became the origin of FUSIAN. In 2010 he moved to Cincinnati, partnered with his brother Josh & childhood friend Stephan Harman, and together they opened their first restaurant at the age of 24. This is the audio recording from the live event on 3/12/2018. http://fusian.com www.startupgrind.com/columbus www.awh.net www.rev1ventures.com

Startup Grind Columbus: Zach Weprin - Co-founder & CEO, FUSIAN

Bill Diffenderffer has been an attorney who has lead billion dollar financial transactions, a Partner in IBM’s Business Consulting Services Group where he was a leader of its global travel and transportation practice and the CEO of two travel technology companies, one of which was then the world’s third largest provider of computer reservation systems for the travel industry. In 1998 he started up Xtra OnLine, a provider of web-based travel technology products. Xtra OnLine product and services are still provided today. In 2005, as CEO, he started up the ultra low cost Skybus Airlines. Then in 2011 he started up Silvercar, the very cool car rental company now growing across the US. He also is the author of The Samurai Leader: Winning Business Battles with the Wisdom, Honor and Courage of the Samurai Code. He now teaches entrepreneurship at Ohio State University. His goal is to become the wise old man sitting under a palm tree at a beach offering advice on the meaning of life to anyone who’ll pay him a dollar. This is the audio recording from the live event on 2/19/2018. www.startupgrind.com/columbus www.awh.net www.rev1ventures.com

Startup Grind Columbus: Bill Diffenderffer - Skybus | Silvercar | Reheva Botanicals

For more than 10 years, Lindsay has served as Partner and the Chief Legal Counsel to NCT Ventures, a VC firm based in Columbus, OH that manages nearly $100MM in assets. Presently, NCT has 37 investments between its two funds, and Lindsay oversaw the investment (or on occasion, multiple investments) in all of them. At NCT, she focuses on deal structuring for each and every investment that walks through the door for funding, vetting of investments in due diligence on the legal side, and overseeing all M&A and corporate structuring for the firm. Additionally, she also runs her own boutique law firm, Lindsay Karas Stencel Law LLC, which focuses on working with small businesses in Ohio, Michigan and New York to properly set up their corporate documentation and structure, strategically design their funding paths, and serves as their outside general counsel on various matters. Since 2008, Lindsay has assisted clients in closing nearly 1,000 investment deals and contacts. Between NCT and LKS Law, Lindsay is incredibly passionate about investments in their seed and early stages, where she excels at vetting ideas, assisting with customer discovery and assisting companies to always think three steps ahead, functioning as a true partner to try to increase each startup's likelihood of success. Lindsay also spends significant time understanding what the then-current market standards are, both nationally and in the Midwest, specifically. Lindsay is a respected and sought after guest lecturer for the Ohio State Bar Association for startup formation, organization and financing, and a guest presenter at various OSU law school business courses. Lindsay attended The Ohio State University where she earned her JD and MBA through their dual degree program. There she served as Student Body President to the Fisher Graduate Student Association. Prior to OSU, Lindsay attended Canisius College in Buffalo, NY, where she also served as Student Body President and two-time captain and two-time Defensive Player of the Year of the Division I Women's Lacrosse Team. In her limited spare time, Lindsay enjoys spending time with her husband, Chris, and dogs, Ogie, Pearl, Matti and Molly and exercising at one of the two CrossFit gyms of which she is a founder and co-owner, CrossFit Westerville (Ohio) and Rust Belt CrossFit (Buffalo, NY). This is the audio recording from the live event on 1/8/2018. https://nctventures.com www.startupgrind.com/columbus www.awh.net www.rev1ventures.com

Startup Grind Columbus: Lindsay Karas Stencel - Partner, NCT Ventures

Fred Brothers' experience is a unique combination of serial entrepreneur, innovator, investor, company builder, board member, developer of leaders, driver of social change, and senior corporate executive. He has participated in $27 billion of capital markets transactions, worked with dozens of growth-stage companies, and been part of multiple exits - including an IPO and a unicorn. A student of banking, payments, technology and human behaviors, Fred is widely respected as a thought leader and speaker. He divides his time between growth-stage financial technology companies and social enterprises that improve lives. This is the audio recording from the live event on 12/18/2017. www.startupgrind.com/columbus www.awh.net www.rev1ventures.com

Startup Grind Columbus: Fred Brothers - Founder, Uprising Capital

Spencer will share his views on product from a corporate innovation perspective through his role at VSP Global and through his experiences as an entrepreneur. Spencer has firsthand experience both in making products that suck and those that don't. His flavored professional career includes multiple startups, magnetic memory device radiation research, sales (including door-to-door), and currently Program Manager (he dubs “Lead Innovator”) at the innovation arm of VSP Global (“The Shop”). Spencer also sits on the Technology Development Fund Board at NCH and is on the Investment Committee for the SocialVentures group. A few of his personal company products include Scriber (sign-on tool), Spot Light (concussions protocol), and Perchmount (cellphone holder). At “The Shop” he is leading a vision analytics project, low vision recommendation engine, and is a part of the smart glasses team (Level). Spencer is interested in talking about new and emerging tech, ridiculous ideas, family, space, energy, and sports. This is the audio recording from the live event on 11/16/2017. www.meetup.com/ProductTank-Columbus https://vspglobal.com www.awh.net www.rev1ventures.com

Product Tank Columbus | Spencer Bardsley, VSP Global

Nick Davis is the Vice President, Corporate Innovation at Singularity University where he is directing the strategy, development and delivery of the corporate innovation products and solutions. For the past 15 years Nick has worked in a combination of Executive Education, Corporate Innovation, and building and leading multiple high growth Startups. Nick is a recognized thought leader in corporate innovation management and strategy, civic and social innovation, as well as entrepreneurship. Focus areas include: identifying exponential trends that deliver new customer value through new and existing technology platforms, futuring to stave off market disruptors, concept and prototype development, and how to build and manage corporate innovation labs and incubators on-site or within established startup ecosystems anywhere in the world. Previously, Nick was Director of Corporation Innovation at RocketSpace, External Innovation Leader for PricewaterhouseCoopers in the US, and Co-Founder of Scalefunder, Inc., which was acquired by Ruffalo Cody in 2014. Nick attended The Ohio State University where he majored in Political Science with a minor in Theatre. He is also an alum of the UCLA Anderson School of Management, as well as The Esade Business School’s program in Open Innovation and Entrepreneurship. He is also a veteran of the US Navy where he worked in Military Intelligence. This is the audio recording from the live event on 11/13/2017. https://su.org www.startupgrind.com/columbus www.awh.net www.rev1ventures.com

Startup Grind Columbus: Nick Davis - VP, Corporate Innovation, Singularity University

AWH is a development agency based in Columbus, Ohio and focused on enterprise, web, mobile, internet of things, and augmented reality. Ryan Frederick is the Principal at AWH and has had the privilege of being part of several startups and growth companies. He has helped companies grow from inception, to viability, through to sustainability. During the evolution of these companies, Ryan has served on company boards and been instrumental in capitalization activities. He has also helped companies expand to international markets. Ryan brings a unique blend of business acumen and technical knowledge to help companies and customers achieve their objectives. He enjoys the process and challenge of starting and growing a company. Ryan is also the Columbus Director of Startup Grind, Advisor at Rev1 Ventures, Advocate for i.c.stars|*Columbus, Co-Founder of , and leader of ProductCamp Columbus. In this podcast series he welcomes you to learn and gain insight from local entrepreneurs and business leaders in Columbus and the central Ohio region. Each episode features the audio from these live events. Startup Grind Columbus hosts monthly startup events to teach, inspire, and connect entrepreneurs, and meet new hires and investors in Columbus or our 200 other startup communities around the world. Startup Grind is the largest independent startup community, actively educating, inspiring, and connecting 400,000 founders in over 200 cities. We nurture startup ecosystems in 85 countries through events, media, and partnerships with organizations like Google for Entrepreneurs. The cornerstone of our global community are monthly events featuring successful local founders, innovators, educators and investors who share lessons learned on the road to building great companies. Founded in Silicon Valley, Startup Grind has now hosted over 2,000 fireside chats since its founding in 2010. To date, Startup Grind has helped millions of entrepreneurs find mentorship, connect to partners and hires, pursue funding, and reach new users. Our Values: We believe in making friends, not contacts. We believe in giving, not taking. We believe in helping others before helping yourself. Ryan Frederick: @ryanfrederick AWH: http://www.awh.net/ Startup Grind Columbus: https://www.startupgrind.com/columbus/ ProductCamp Columbus: http://www.productcampcolumbus.com/ Rev1 Ventures: https://www.rev1ventures.com/ i.c.stars|*Columbus: @icstarscolumbus Black Hack: @blk_hack

hubhopper

Startup Grind Columbus

hubhopper