Steve Gordon is co-founder and President of Ultimate Xperience Ventures, LLC, a sports and entertainment holding company. UXV owns a majority interest in the American Ultimate Disc League and has interests in video, print and digital services relating to Ultimate Disc content. Mr. Gordon also serves as the AUDL League Commissioner. Steve is also founder & managing partner of the Chicago Wildfire, Chicago's professional Ultimate Disc team in the AUDL. The Wildfire began play in the 2013 seaso...
Feb 04, 2016•34 min
Ben is the Director of Institutional Asset Management at Ritholtz Wealth Management. He helps the team create detailed investment plans and manage portfolios for institutions and individuals to help them achieve their goals. Ben has been managing institutional portfolios his entire career, starting out with an institutional investment consulting firm developing portfolio strategies and creating investment plans for various foundations, endowments, pensions, hospitals, insurance companies and hig...
Feb 02, 2016•27 min
Mike Gable has been running Construction Junction since 1999. The nonprofit collects and sells salvageable building materials around the Pittsburgh area. This environmental recycling mission has been growing consistently year by year and Mike deserves much of the credit. He works with contractors around the area, spreading his organization’s mission. He has applied business principles to a nonprofit, focusing on revenue, marketing and profits, instead of being reliant on donations and grants. Mi...
Jan 27, 2016•36 min
Aaron T. Walker, a businessman and life coach, inspires through his leadership, mentorship, and consistent pursuit of excellence. 35 years of entrepreneurship and marriage have given Aaron an opportunity to broaden his perspective by examining his experiences and growing from them. For 19 years and counting, Aaron has taken classes from and has been coached personally by his friend, financial guru, Dave Ramsey. Spiritual mentors David Landrith and Bob Warren have impacted his spiritual life beyo...
Jan 25, 2016•33 min
Jim, Executive Director of Pittsburgh’s AlphaLab accelerator program, provides mentorship, education and network-building for technology startups. His accelerator helps companies rapidly iterate through early stages of product and customer development. Launched in 2008, AlphaLab is ranked #6 among accelerators in the US and a charter member of the Global Accelerator Network, where Jim currently serves on the Advisory Board. AlphaLab alumni companies include The Resumator , No Wait , Black Locus ...
Jan 20, 2016•36 min
Eric Brown co-founded ImpactGames to influence society and promote change through interactive media. Toward this end, ImpactGames developed PeaceMaker, a video game simulation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to promote dialogue and understanding. Unlike most serious games, PeaceMaker aims to bridge the gap between education and entertainment while reaching a mass market. PeaceMaker has been sold in over 60 countries, been featured in media outlets around the world, and has won several intern...
Jan 18, 2016•31 min
Hitting my Kickstarter goal in 3 days was exhilarating! I want to teach you exactly how I did it and what I learned along the way! My Kickstarter Page Two Associated Posts What I Learned from a Successful Kickstarter Campaign The Steps I Took After a Successful Kickstarter Campaign Book Recommendation Bold: How to Go Big, Create Wealth and Impact the World by Peter Diamandis Aaron’s Challenge; Spend 30 minutes away from your phone and think about something that you really want. This can be somet...
Jan 16, 2016•23 min
Morgan came on the podcast to talk cognitive biases, personal finance, and writing. He took an interesting path to his current career and uses that to his advantage when teaching through his writing. Morgan Housel is a columnist at the Motley Fool and The Wall Street Journal . His work is also featured in USA Today , The Huffington Post , and Business Insider . He is a two-time winner of the Best in Business award from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers and was selected by the ...
Jan 14, 2016•33 min
Apart from his family, and new technologies, Ultimate Frisbee is Patrick's biggest passion. He has been very involved in the World Flying Disc Federation, personally launched the Portuguese Beach Ultimate tournament (Bar do Peixe), and an international organization that focuses on promoting Beach Ultimate, called BULA (Beach Ultimate Lovers Association). In 2004 Patrick and BULA organized the first World Championships Beach Ultimate in Figueira de Foz, Portugal. With 450 participants from 22 cou...
Jan 11, 2016•43 min
Adriana Withers is one of the partners in Vicious Circle Ultimate, an apparel company dedicated to custom manufacturing high performance gear for ultimate frisbee athletes. Her partner Don Cooper came up with the idea for VC just before Canadian Nationals in the summer of 1998 and the company has been growing ever since. In this episode, Adriana discusses throwing apartment parties to pay rent, the challenges of starting up, and the proliferation of companies in her industry in recent years. Adr...
Dec 23, 2015•39 min
Hahna is the Chief Technical Officer and cofounder of Sole Power Technologies. The company builds an shoe insole that charges a battery while the used walks. That battery can be used to charge a cell phone or other electronic device. As a child, Hahna was inspired by the technology in science fiction books, shows, and comics. She became an engineer because she wanted to make such technology a reality. For her, developing an energy harvesting shoe insert meant creating a device that could be foun...
Dec 21, 2015•32 min
Ilana Diamond is the Managing Director of AlphaLab Gear, Innovation Works’ hardware start-up accelerator which provides physical product startups with connections, investment, mentorship and more. Ilana helps entrepreneurs rapidly progress through the early stages of product and customer development by leveraging her experience and network, gained from over 20 years of leading and growing companies, from early stage to exit. Prior to running AlphaLab Gear, Ilana served as the President and Chief...
Dec 17, 2015•33 min
Theresa Brown, BSN, RN, works as a clinical nurse in Pittsburgh and recently wrote a NYT best-selling book, The Shift: One Nurse, Twelve Hours, Four Patients' Lives . Theresa received her BSN from the University of Pittsburgh, but before that earned, a Ph.D. in English from the University of Chicago and taught at Tufts University. Her column "Bedside" has appeared on the New York Times op-ed page as well as on the Times blog “Opinionator” and she is a frequent contributor to the New York Times. ...
Dec 15, 2015•43 min
Leah Lizarondo is an innovator and food advocate. She is also the founder of The Brazen Kitchen , a food education practice and influential blog and the co-founder of 412 Food Rescue , an innovative technology-driven nonprofit that fights hunger and waste. Leah received her Master's Degree in Public Policy from Carnegie Mellon University graduating with Highest Distinction and is an advocate for healthy food accessibility, food safety policy and sustainability. She has trained at the Natural Gou...
Dec 09, 2015•30 min
Avi Geller has taken a long and thoughtful route to entrepreneurship. During his time on Going Deep, he discusses how he moved to progressively smaller companies and developed a vision for the future of wearable tech. He is now focused on “hearables”, a segment of tech focused on headsets and earpieces that deliver real time information to users. As a member of the AlphaLab accelerator, Avi is leading Maven Machines towards being a player in the Internet of Things. Avi’s Challenge; Start somethi...
Dec 07, 2015•36 min
Ever wondered what the path to being an Amazon #1 bestseller looks like? Meet Taylor Pearson. Taylor taught himself Portuguese while working as a freelance Spanish interpreter, then bought a one-way plane ticket to Brazil to teach English. Between teaching classes, he played semi-pro football and built a profitable publishing business selling advertising to kitchen furniture manufacturers. He cold-called marketing agencies using my small kitchen furniture publishing business to get a job. Went f...
Dec 02, 2015•43 min
Dick Zhang is President and CEO of Pittsburgh, PA based Identified Technologies. Dick leads his rapidly growing team’s efforts to deliver real-time job site updates to industrial companies around the world using robotic aerial drones. Prior to founding Identified Technologies, his previous work included corporate finance at Goldman Sachs and project management at Bristol-Myers Squibb. A technologist as well as an entrepreneur, he is an alumnus of the University of Pennsylvania with training in M...
Nov 23, 2015•34 min
Matt Zieger moved to Pittsburgh to join The Forbes Funds in August of 2014 as the Executive-in-Residence for Social Innovation. As a former foundation CEO, small business owner, and long-time economic policy leader Matt has fifteen years of experience bringing together Governors, CEOs, civic leaders, philanthropies, and global innovators to build and advance transformative investments in public education, international business development, government innovation, and knowledge-driven economic de...
Nov 18, 2015•40 min
Sean McComb's rise to thought leadership in the realm of education started decades ago. Growing up outside of Philadelphia, what began as a comfortable childhood was later torn apart by strife. Facing chaos and despair at home, he turned to school as his sanctuary and found inspiration in extraordinary teachers. His experiences compelled him to go into education, and pay forward the gifts that he received. During his 10 years at Patapsco High School & Center for the Arts in Baltimore County,...
Nov 16, 2015•53 min
Bobby is the CEO and cofounder of Thrill Mill, Pittsburgh's premier early-stage incubator/accelerator for entrepreneurs looking to turn that great idea into the next big thing. Thrill Mill, a non-profit organization, accepts applications annually, awarding a minimum of $5,000 per startup in exchange for 1% equity. Startups, which come from all industries and all growth models (including non-profits), are selected through the competitive application process gain access to first-class programming,...
Nov 09, 2015•43 min
Tim DeByl started the Madison Radicals franchise in the AUDL in 2012 and has coached the team to the championship game of the AUDL playoffs twice. He has leveraged his experience running a marketing and design company for over a decade to make the Radicals one of the marquee teams in professional ultimate. In episode thirty-nine, Tim and Aaron discuss the expansion of the league, wearing multiple hats for the Radicals, and Tim’s hope for the future of the sport. Tim’s Challenge; The next time yo...
Nov 04, 2015•37 min
Dan McCoy was born with Spina Bifida, a birth defect caused by the incomplete formation of vertebrae, and hydrocephalus, a medical condition in which there is an abnormal accumulation of fluid in the brain. He’s never let those conditions stop him from becoming an athlete, though, as he started playing sled hockey at age five and even served as goalie for his high school’s junior varsity lacrosse team for a season. He helped Team USA earn a Gold Medal at the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi...
Nov 02, 2015•37 min
Jennifer is the owner and founder of Blue Ridge Hiking Company. The speed-hiker set a new overall thru-hike record on the 2,181-mile Appalachian Trail by completing it in 46 days, 11 hours, and 20 minutes. It was the quickest recorded completion of the iconic East Coast trail, which stretches from Georgia to Maine. Davis began her journey from Mount Katahdin in Maine, the trail’s northern terminus and ended at Springer Mountain, Georgia on July 31, 2011. To break the record, Davis hiked an avera...
Oct 28, 2015•34 min
Sophia is the CEO and co-founder of Trusst Lingerie, a company that has reengineered the bra for larger-busted women. She left her job as a product manager in August of 2014 to co-found her company and enter the AlphaLab Gear accelerator in Pittsburgh. Sophia comes on the show and discusses launching her first product, running a successful Kickstarter campaign that raised $80k with just a $25k goal, and building her team. Trusst’s first product launched in October 2015 and will be delivered in t...
Oct 26, 2015•30 min
Barry L. Ritholtz is the founder and chief investment officer of Ritholtz Wealth Management. Launched in 2013, RWM is a financial planning and asset management firm, with over $175 million in assets. The firm offers a variety of services to the investing public, including LiftOff — a low cost online-only investment site. In addition to running a wealth management and financial planning firm, Ritholtz is a frequent commentator on many financial topics. He was named one of the “ 15 Most Important ...
Oct 23, 2015•1 hr 1 min
Want to learn about the photography business? What about a creative foundation aimed at empowering women and sharing impactful stories? Meet John Craig. John has been a photographer for over 25 years and has photographed everything from weddings and portraits to landscape photography and corporate gigs. John likes to keep tons of side projects going to keep the machine oiled and as such has an incredible " Pittsburgh at Night " collection that has been on display in several gallery shows through...
Oct 21, 2015•32 min
Scott Wolovich started New Sun Rising to help incubate social enterprises and artists in the greater Pittsburgh area. The organization’s mission is to empower creative projects in the Pittsburgh region through fiscal sponsorship, mentoring, and community building. New Sun Rising ignites, launches, and grows impact throughout the social innovation ecosystem. Their programs operate at the intersection of people + place + innovation. They also help non-profits and for profits build, test, and imple...
Oct 14, 2015•38 min
Mark is a partner at a public relations and advertising agency based in Pittsburgh. He helps clients achieve results in a multitude of difficult environments. In episode 30, he talks about running a boutique advertising and public affairs firm that specializes in political campaigns and issue advocacy. His company was named to on of Inc.’s 1000 fastest growing companies in the country by helping candidates, causes, and corporations achieve their goals through television, radio, print, digital, g...
Oct 05, 2015•47 min
Erik Kulick is the owner, founder and chief instructor of the True North Wilderness Survival School. He drew upon his passion for the outdoors and his almost thirty years of teaching experience to found True North in 2011. Growing up as a backpacker and paddler, Erik has taught for regional and national outdoor programs, including the L.L. Bean Outdoor Discovery School. He has spent the last ten years focusing his training on wilderness survival in various programs and has studied under Byron Ke...
Sep 30, 2015•32 min
Kate and Emily founded Propelle in 2011, with the mission of bringing together the amazing female entrepreneurs in their community and to provide the tools and resources necessary to help women grow and evolve, both personally and professionally. Their business has grown to include a robust newsletter, in-person networking events , a members-only Facebook community , and a monthly Mastermind group . They are passionate about building a strong and supportive community of women entrepreneurs that ...
Sep 28, 2015•40 min
