Dare to Disrupt

Sean Griffey and Ryan Willumson are the co-founders of Industry Dive, a digital media company delivering business news and original analysis through targeted newsletters. Covering sectors like healthcare, energy, transportation, retail, and more, Industry Dive serves over 14 million North American users and partners with major clients including Amazon, Salesforce, Uber, IBM, and American Express. The company is known for producing some of the most respected journalism in the business world. In this episode, Sean and Ryan discuss how they met while working at FierceMarkets, a B2B e-media startup, and what inspired them to launch Industry Dive. They share how they bootstrapped the company, built a loyal audience, and grew the business to $100 million in revenue before its acquisition by Informa in September 2022.

Dare to Disrupt LIVE: Innovating the Future of EV Infrastructure brought together three Penn State alumni at the forefront of the electric vehicle revolution to explore the challenges and opportunities shaping the industry's future. This live episode features an engaging discussion with Benjamin Birnbaum (Keyframe, Terawatt), Zander Isaacson (Xeal), and Diallo Powell (Stak Mobility) as they share insights on EV infrastructure, charging technology, and the role of innovation in accelerating adoption. Whether you're an entrepreneur, investor, or EV enthusiast, this conversation offers a rare opportunity to hear directly from industry leaders driving the future of electric transportation. Benjamin Birnbaum is co-founder and partner at Keyframe, a New York City-based investment firm focused on the energy transition's impact on industry. Prior to Keyframe, he founded Terawatt, an infrastructure developer, owner, and operator for large-scale EV charging. Terawatt has raised over $1 billion and provides fleet charging for companies like Pepsi and Waymo. Ben is a graduate of the Penn State Smeal College of Business. Diallo Powell is co-founder and CEO of Stak Mobility, which addresses urban mobility challenges with an automated vertical carousel system for vehicle storage and EV charging—combining smart software with space-saving infrastructure. Diallo graduated from the Penn State College of the Liberal Arts. Zander Isaacson is co-founder and CEO of Xeal, a technology-first EV charging company at the intersection of proptech, energy, and the Internet of Things. Xeal partners with more than 70 of the largest real estate companies nationwide. Zander, a Penn State Smeal College of Business graduate, is also our first-ever repeat guest on Dare to Disrupt. Together, Ben, Diallo, and Zander discuss the broader trends and challenges shaping the EV landscape, how their companies are uniquely tackling these issues, strategies for scaling and financing capital-intensive projects, and their predictions for the future of the industry. Episode Chapters 0:00 - 7:09 The EV industry landscape at large, building infrastructure 7:09 - 16:35 Fleet vs. consumer charging, offline charging, and urban charging 16:35 - 27:10 Scaling capital-intensive companies 27:10 - 36:38 The future of the EV industry 36:38 - 45:19 Advice for entrepreneurs entering this industry 45:19 - 50:33 Audience questions Dare to Disrupt is made possible by the generous support of the Penn State Smeal College of Business.

Birgitt Boschitsch is the co-founder and CEO of spotLESS Materials, an advanced materials company and Penn State spinoff commercializing highly repellent anti-fouling coatings.  In this episode, Birgitt shares how her passion for helping others through research led to her co-founding spotLESS Materials. She discusses her formative experiences, academic challenges, and the pivotal moments that shaped her career path, including her time at Princeton and her decision to pursue graduate studies at Penn State.  She discusses the original inspiration behind the idea for a toilet coating that repels sticky waste, as well as the challenges of transitioning from lab work to startup life. She shares the importance of community support and the impact of media exposure on sales.

Sisters Cory Varona-Corniel and Nicol Varona Cancelmo are the cofounders of OCOA, providing clean, natural, curly haircare products. In this episode, Nicol and Cory share their inspiring journey from the Dominican Republic to the United States. They detail how they were able to overcome language barriers, build a community at Penn State Berks, and launch into each of their professional careers. They discuss their close bond as sisters, the influence of their family, and how their family roots in the Dominican Republic inspired not only the name but also the ingredients and mission behind OCOA.

Paul Suhey is the Chief Operating Officer and co-founder of Revel, where he drives the company's mission to accelerate electric vehicle adoption in U.S. cities by focusing on fast-charging infrastructure. In this episode, Paul shares Revel's journey from its beginnings as an urban electric moped sharing startup to a company focused on building the EV charging infrastructure for the largest cities across the US.  At the end of the episode, current Penn State student Michael Slesarevich joins the conversation. Michael is a first-year mechanical engineering student and the founder of Shade Shift, an electrically controlled variable tint film for vehicles. He recently participated in the Happy Valley LaunchBox powered by PNC Bank Idea TestLab, and is a member of the Penn State Car Club. Michael and Paul discuss overcoming the challenge of securing that first investment, as well as how Revel views would-be competitors as potential future customers.

Gary Brandeis is the CEO and Co-Founder of Scholar Hotels, a hotel ownership and management group with a focus on properties close to major college and university campuses. Gary acquired his first hotel in 2006 and has since been directly involved in the hospitality business as an investor, developer, and manager. Scholar Hotels made its State College debut in March 2017, when it opened the 165-room Hyatt Place State College. Since then, the group has expanded its State College properties to include the Scholar Hotel, the Courtyard by Marriott, the Residence Inn by Marriott, The Penn Stater Hotel & Conference Center, and, of course, The Nittany Lion Inn. Gary graduated from the Penn State Smeal College of Business with a degree in accounting.  In this live episode recorded in the 1855 Lounge at The Nittany Lion Inn, Gary shares how his background in accounting prepared him for the real estate industry, the details of the Inn's renovation, as well as how he thinks about and manages risk.

Mario Ciabarra is the CEO and founder of Quantum Metric, a customer-centered digital analytics platform for today's leading enterprise organizations. Since its founding in 2015, Quantum Metric's approach to in-depth customer understanding has seen rapid adoption from Fortune 500 companies. The world's largest airline, telco, retailer, healthcare, bank, and more have adopted the Quantum Metric platform. In this episode, Mario shares valuable lessons on integrity and communication learned during his college years. He discusses launching and exiting his first startup in just 11 months, a success that allowed him to briefly retire and travel the world. Mario also explains how Quantum Metric enhances visibility into customer friction points for major industry leaders and how the company integrates generative AI into its solutions. Finally, he reflects on how he approaches building his legacy.

Deep is the co-founder and CEO of Enact Systems, a leading software platform revolutionizing the solar and energy storage industry. Deep co-founded Enact in 2014, driven by the vision of creating a scalable and impactful solar solution. Deep has led Enact through exponential growth, nearly quadrupling its staff and expanding its reach to over 35 countries. In this episode, Deep discusses his journey in building a North American subsidiary of CentroSolar, a German solar company, from the ground up. He also explains how Enact serves diverse customer segments by providing innovative software solutions that streamline the solar implementation process. Additionally, Deep shares his predictions for the future of alternative energy sources and how Enact plans to adapt to industry shifts and trends.

Peter Cocoziello is chairman, founder, and CEO of Advance Realty Investors, a company specializing in real estate development, construction, and property management. In this episode, Peter shares how he launched Advance with only $5,000, and then both entered and eventually dominated various real estate verticals in the northeast. He also discusses how the Penn State Cocoziello Institute of Real Estate Innovation is supporting cross-disciplinary collaboration, and what technological innovations mean for the future of the real estate industry. 

Jason Warner is co-founder and CEO of poolside, a generative AI company building the world's most capable AI for software development & the applications to unlock the potential of developers. Prior to founding poolside, Jason was the Managing Director at Redpoint Ventures. He also served as the CTO at GitHub, where he was responsible for bringing products like GitHub Actions, Packages, Advanced Security, Connect, and Codespaces to market. In this episode, Jason discusses the business challenges and successes he experienced as GitHub's CTO and delves into the unique hurdles faced by a generative AI company. He also shares his philosophy on the future of AI and its potential impact on various aspects of our lives.

Vivian is founder and president of VB Cosmetics, a fully integrated manufacturing company with global brands of clean, nature- and science-based, functional and proprietary beauty products. Its transformational product, Dazzle Dry, a quick-dry nail polish system, is revolutionizing the nail industry. After 17 years on the market, Dazzle Dry now still has no equal in performance.  In this episode, Vivian shares stories from her upbringing in the Philippines, overcoming discrimination and harassment in the workplace, acquiring nine patents as an accomplished bio-organic chemist and inventor, and inventing the foundation for what would become Dazzle Dry.

Jeremy is co-founder and CEO of KCF Technologies, a technology company based out of State College PA. KCF Technologies provides proprietary machine health optimization hardware, software, and services to industry and military clients. Under Jeremy's leadership, KCF has pioneered advancements in wireless vibration sensing and machine health monitoring. Today, the company is a global leader […]

Joe Pulizzi is the founder of multiple startups, including content creator education site, The Tilt, Content Entrepreneur Expo, and the Content Marketing Institute, which he successfully exited in 2016. He is the bestselling author of seven books including Content Inc. and Epic Content Marketing, which was named a “Must-Read Business Book” by Fortune Magazine. Joe is a professional public speaker, having spoken over 400 times in 20 plus countries on content marketing, the creator economy, and entrepreneurship. He graduated from Bowling Green State University with a bachelor's in communications in 1995, and from Penn State with a master's in communications in 1997.   In this episode, Joe shares his experience building the Content Marketing Institute, the failures he endured along the way, his strong commitment to goal-setting, and his association with the color orange. He also talks about jumping into writing a thriller novel to challenge himself creatively. Joe also shares his insights around the difference between content creators and content entrepreneurs, and why he believes it's an important distinction.  At the end of the episode, current Penn State student Riley Auer joins the conversation. Riley is the founder of Bootleg Boomerangs, which sells high-quality hand-made wooden boomerangs. Bootleg Boomerangs has a large focus on content creation, with over 31,000 subscribers on YouTube. Riley talks through some challenges he faces in growing his business with Joe, who gives advice regarding ad placement in video content, finding the true super fans through exclusive giveaways and experiences, and striking the balance between being a business and being a place for fun content. Episode Chapters 0:00 – 3:49 Intro and journey summary   3:49 – 4:43 Growing up next to Cedar Point Amusement Park  4:43 – 6:42 Undergrad at Bowling Green – Do I have to declare a major? 6:42 – 9:32 Graduate student at Penn State, teaching speech class  9:32 – 12:12 Struggling on the job search  12:12 – 15:16 The evolving business model of content marketing  15:16– 19:30 The inception of Content Marketing Institute  19:30 – 22:11 The moment he realized he had made it  22:11 – 24:34 What's the deal with Joe's orange self-branding?  24:34 – 28:36  Setting goals and exiting CMI  28:36 – 30:41 Taking a sabbatical  30:41 – 31:59 Becoming a thriller author  31:59 – 33:45 Launching the Tilt and Content Entrepreneur Expo  33:45 –  35:54 The difference between Content Creator vs. Content Entrepreneur  35:54 – 37:50 Defining the Tilt's audience  37:50 – 38:32 How to get connected to Joe  38:32 – 40:01 The Orange Effect Foundation, providing access to speech and play therapy for autistic children  40:01 – 55:51 Student Questions – Joe gives actionable advice to Riley Auer, Bootleg Boomerangs founder 

Omar Easy is the recently appointed director of the all-new Penn State Brand Academy, which is designed to support student-athletes to manage and leverage their personal brand, name, image and likeness (NIL), and support their entrepreneurial interests more successfully.  In this episode, Omar shares lessons learned from his time as a student-athlete at Penn State as well as his time in the NFL, where he played as a running back for the Kansas City Chiefs and the Oakland Raiders. He then discusses his vision for The Brand Academy and how it will serve student-athletes in building and leveraging their personal brand.

Justin Rosenberg is Founder and CEO of honeygrow, a fast-casual stir-fry and salad concept founded in Philadelphia in 2012. With a mission to create a unique, spirited brand focused on simple, wholesome foods, Rosenberg has led the company's creation and growth, which currently has 41 locations. In this special LIVE episode recording, which took place during Penn State Startup Week powered by PNC on Wednesday, March 20, Justin shares his story of perseverance and eventual success with honeygrow. Justin first pitched honeygrow 93 times to investors before finally landing a deal and opening the first location in the Rittenhouse neighborhood of Philadelphia. Since then, the company has raised over $80 million in equity financing and has grown into the Boston, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Washington DC and the New York City metro areas.

Matt DeSoto is the President and CEO of Harrisburg-based MITER Brands, a family of leading window and door brands designed for residential projects in the new construction and remodeling markets. In this episode, Matt talks about his experience working for Student Painters as a student at Penn State, enduring the Great Recession of 2008, how he and his team maintain top-quality products and service, as well as how he prioritizes giving back to the communities they work in through the MITER Foundation. Be sure to come to our upcoming LIVE podcast episode recording with honeygrow CEO & founder, Justin Rosenberg! Learn more and register: https://sched.co/1YQOk

B.J. Werzyn is the founder and CEO of West Shore Home, one of the largest direct to consumer home remodelers in the nation. Through a combination of acquisitions and new office openings, West Shore Home has over 38 locations in 18 states with over $750 million in revenue. In this episode, B.J. talks about how he is revolutionizing a traditionally fragmented and tech averse industry. He talks through how West Shore Home mapped out the 67 processes of home remodeling, removed inefficiencies, and implemented streamlined processes empowered by technology to ultimately make the easiest, quickest, most stress-free customer experience. At the end of the episode, current Penn State student Jennifer Natale joins the conversation. Jennifer is a senior at Penn State majoring in finance with a minor in Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship. She is the president of the Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship Society at Penn State. She talks to B.J. about overcoming initial entrepreneurial obstacles. B.J. graduated from Penn State in 1999.

We are taking a break this December, but we'll be back in late January with an episode featuring B.J. Werzyn, the founder and CEO of West Shore Home, one of the largest direct-to-consumer home remodelers in the nation. Listen to this episode for a quick preview of the interview. Happy holidays!

Norm Potter is the co-founder and co-owner of Allegiance Transportation, as well as the owner and Executive Director of the Winston Salem branch of Griswold Home Care. Allegiance Transportation is a non-emergency medical transportation provider, specializing in wheelchair and ambulatory transport services. Griswold Home Care provides non-medical home care to elderly adults by referring professional caregivers for personal care, homemaking, and companionship services. In this episode, Norm talks about why he decided to make a career switch from banking to higher education to now running two businesses in the non-medical home care and transportation industries. He also shares his journey battling cancer and how it has changed his outlook on life. At the end of the episode, biomedical engineering doctoral candidate Josh Reynolds joins the conversation. His startup, Atlas Biotech, is striving to overcome drug resistance and accelerate drug discovery efforts in the fight against cancer. He recently participated in the Penn State NSF I-Corps short course program and the Happy Valley LaunchBox powered by PNC Bank FastTrack Accelerator.  Norm graduated from Penn State with a degree in finance and economics.  

This is a special crossover episode of Dare to Disrupt and Following the Gong, a show that features conversations with Penn State Schreyer Scholar Alumni sharing advice on how to make new connections with a strong network of Scholar Alumni that blazed the trail before you. Following The Gong host Sean Goheen interviews Goldman Sachs Managing Director and Dare to Disrupt host Ryan Newman, '01 and Associate Vice President for Research and Director of the Office of Entrepreneurship & Commercialization James Delattre, '97, both Scholar Alumni, about the entrepreneurial scene at Penn State. This episode commemorates Dare to Disrupt passing 50,000 total downloads. Ryan and James briefly share their background and time at Penn State. The conversation then covers the origin of Invent Penn State and the incredible resources available for not only students but alumni and community members looking to start, build, or scale a business. Ryan and Katie DeFiore, producer of Dare to Disrupt, share how the Dare to Disrupt podcast came to be, favorite stories, and lessons learned from both the guests and the production process. Ryan and James' bios and a full breakdown of topics discussed are available below. Guest Bios: Dr. James L. Delattre serves as Associate Vice President for Research and Director of the Office for Entrepreneurship and Commercialization where he leads entrepreneurship program development for the Invent Penn State initiative and leads commercialization strategy, resources and support for Penn State's startup pipeline and LaunchBox & Innovation Network. He is an alumnus of the Professional Fellows Program of the American Councils for International Education. James is the principal investigator for Penn State's National Science Foundation I-Corps Program, a member of the advisory board of the Center for Medical Innovation at the Penn State Hershey College of Medicine and serves as secretary of the Penn State Research Foundation. Prior to joining Penn State, Dr. Delattre worked in nanomaterials and semiconductor startups in central Pennsylvania and Silicon Valley. Dr. Delattre earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley, and completed postdoctoral work at the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche at the University of Bari, Italy. Dr. Delattre received his BS with honors in Chemistry from Penn State, where he studied inorganic chemistry and the Russian language. Ryan Newman is a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs, where he co-founded and co-leads a private wealth management team, managing in excess of $13 billion on behalf of Fortune 500 executives, Forbes 400 families, entrepreneurs, family offices and foundations and endowments. Ryan is a member of the PWM Top Advisors and PWM Advisors Council, representing the top 10% of advisors globally at Goldman Sachs. He joined Goldman Sachs as a financial analyst in 2001 and was named a Managing Director in 2019. Ryan earned his Bachelor of Science in Economics with Honors 2001, and served as Student Marshal for Economics during graduation. Ryan is the host of the Invent Penn State podcast, Dare to Disrupt, which he helped launch, and has achieved over 50,000 downloads (as of September 2023). He also serves on the External Advisory Board of the Schreyer Honors College and the Principal Gifts Committee in Development at Penn State. Ryan is also a volunteer with the Smeal College of Business. He was awarded the Alumni Achievement Award in 2011 and the Alumni Fellow Award in 2023. Episode Topics: Getting to know Ryan and James as they share their Penn State origin stories and the value of the honors thesis in industry, graduate school, and entrepreneurship Pursuing an industry route rather than an academic route with a STEM PhD How Invent Penn State came to be and how it helps bring the University's Land Grant mission to life in the 21st century for all citizens of the Commonwealth How to get plugged in with the incredible programs and resources available from Invent Penn State How and why to get involved as an alumni volunteer and/or donor, especially in the entrepreneurial space The origin story of the Dare to Disrupt podcast and how it gets made Leveraging success and momentum into more success and momentum Lessons learned from hosting Dare to Disrupt Handling rejections or failures

Ash Ashutosh is a serial entrepreneur and the Global Director of Solution Sales at Google. His data management startup, Actifio, achieved a valuation of over $1B and was acquired by Google in 2020. In this episode, Ash talks about anticipating and advancing alongside what he calls the waves of change, in reference to the surges in innovation and technology that occur over time. His entrepreneurial journey reflects those technology surges - he started out in the silicon industry, then moved on to data storage software development. His most recent startup, Actifio, was in the business of managing and securing data. Ash talks about how he had the opportunity to work with some of the largest organizations in the world to better protect and manage their data while at Actifio. At the end of the episode, third-year student Bianca Wisekal joins the conversation. She is an agribusiness management student who holds a leadership role within the Nittany Entrepreneur Society, Penn State's student entrepreneurship club. She is also an administrative operations intern within Invent Penn State, and she is a technician and lab monitor at OriginLabs, Invent Penn State's all-new fabrication space. She talks to Ash about how he stays motivated to keep innovating, as well as his predictions for where technology is heading.

Joe Altieri is the president, CEO, and inventor of FlexScreen, the world's first and only flexible window screen, as seen on season 11 episode 10 of ABC's Shark Tank. In this episode, Joe talks about how he started his career as an independent sales representative in the window industry and quickly became frustrated with the flimsy aluminum frames found in traditional screens. He shares his experience pitching FlexScreen on ABC's Shark Tank, and how he walked away with a deal with American television personality, inventor, and entrepreneur, Lori Greiner, "Queen of QVC”. At the end of the episode, recent Summer Founders Program participant Kevin Harris joins the conversation. Kevin is the founder and CEO of WaveBreaker Technologies, a veteran owned and operated business making kayaking more accessible with its top-mounted storage well. Kevin talks to Joe about the challenges of manufacturing physical products and how to make tough decisions about your business as an entrepreneur.

Doug Wilber is the CEO of Denim Social, a leading provider of social media management software that empowers marketers in regulated industries to manage organic social media content and paid social media advertising on one platform. A financial services veteran, Doug served in leadership roles with Assembly Payments, PYMNTS.com, Discover Financial Services and Market Platform Dynamics. He graduated from Penn State with both a bachelor's degree in marketing and international business, and an MBA with a focus on product development and brand strategy.  In this episode, Doug talks about his experiences on the varsity cross country and track & field teams at Penn State, traveling the country in the Boca Burger-mobile, being intrapreneurial developing new products within Discover Financial Services, all leading up to becoming CEO of Denim Social. At the end of the episode, Penn State senior Mary Richardson joins the conversation. She is the CEO and co-founder of Bindr, which is providing a mainstream dating experience dedicated to the bisexual community. Mary talks to Doug about finding the right timing to bring on investors, and how he defines success in a startup.

**Please take our listener survey to help us provide you with more of the kind of content you want to hear and improve your overall listener experience!** Bill Seibel is a serial entrepreneur, and has played a role in 14 startups: five as founder and CEO, five as CEO, and another four as an operating executive. He is currently the Founder and CEO of Gumball, an advisory firm that has helped more than 80 CEOs scale their company rapidly by ensuring that their strategy, customer value proposition and go-to-market model are aligned to achieve their growth goals. Bill recently published his best-selling book, “Press Go! Lessons Earned by a Serial Entrepreneur” to share both the business and life lessons that he's earned throughout his career. He graduated from Penn State with a degree in engineering, and received his MBA from Carnegie Mellon. 

Haley McClain Hill is the CEO and Founder of TORCH Warriorwear, a subscription, direct to consumer military apparel and lifestyle brand that celebrates, empowers, and serves current and future women warriors. Her passion for dance, travel, and empowering women and teams has allowed her to travel and experience the world, including cheering in front of 107,000 fans at Penn State, as well as professionally dancing in the drop-top stadium for the Atlanta Falcons and the 49ers Gold Rush. She graduated from Penn State in 2018 with a degree in math. 

Ryan Owen is the co-founder and president of Wicket, as well as the co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Cast Iron Media. In this episode, Ryan shares his experiences as a Wall Street trader, the unique internship opportunities Penn State connected him to as a student, as well as his experience being in the World Trade Center on 9/11. He then shares the twists and turns that led him to founding his two current startups: Wicket, a software company that specializes in facial authentication solutions for venue operators and facility managers, and Cast Iron Media, a premier sports and entertainment streaming solutions company. Ryan has a Bachelor of Science degree in Information Systems from Penn State and an MBA in Entrepreneurship and Innovation from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. 

Doug Leech is the Founder and CEO of Ascension Recovery Services. Through his own struggles with addiction and subsequent recovery, Doug developed a passion for helping those suffering from the disease of addiction and set out to increase access to Substance Use Disorder (SUD) treatment across the country. The mission of Ascension RS is to expand access to care by opening fully integrated, comprehensive and person-centered SUD and co-occurring mental health disorder treatment centers across the country providing for all who need treatment, regardless of insurance type or ability to pay, advancing Behavioral Health Equity. Ascension RS has been recognized as one of the fastest growing healthcare companies in the country and is a leader in developing and managing behavioral health treatment centers. Doug graduated from Penn State with a degree in accounting.

Garry Gilliam is the Founder and CEO of The Bridge Eco-Village, a sustainable, mixed-use community ecosystem in Harrisburg, PA. The Bridge Eco-Village will feature solutions to many of the problems facing underserved communities: housing, retail, co-working spaces, education opportunities, entrepreneurship incubators, urban agriculture, sports, and entertainment. Prior to launching the Bridge, Garry played in the NFL for five seasons for the Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers. He graduated from Penn State in 2013 with degrees in business development, psychology, and advertising. 

Zander Isaacson is the CEO and Co-Founder of Xeal, a technology-first electric vehicle (EV) charging company operating at the intersection of real estate, mobility, clean energy, and IoT.  The company secured $40M in Series B funding in November 2022 after closing an $11M series A in 2021 by leading proptech and climate tech VC funds, and has already partnered with 70+ of the largest real estate companies including Lincoln Property Company, Camden, Greystar, Related, UBS, and Brookfield. Prior to starting Xeal in 2019, Zander worked as a S&T summer analyst at Citi Global Markets and then full-time in IB at Torreya Partners within the Mergers & Acquisitions division. Prior to investment banking, Zander was the founder & president of Happy Valley VC, the first student-run venture capital fund at Penn State, and was a portfolio manager for the Nittany Lion Fund, a $15M student-run hedge fund. He graduated from Penn State's Smeal College of Business. 

We are taking a break this December, but we'll be back in late January with an episode featuring Zander Isaacson, the co-founder of Xeal, a company that is disrupting the electric vehicle charging industry. Listen to this episode for a quick preview of the interview. Happy holidays!

Rob Schutz is the Chief Growth Officer and Co-founder of Ro, a direct-to-patient healthcare company providing high-quality, affordable healthcare without the need for insurance. Rob guides Ro's growth, marketing and communications functions to tell Ro's story of putting patients in control of their health. He applies his extensive experience in consumer marketing to ensure Ro is resonating with patients by directly addressing their healthcare concerns. Under Rob's leadership, these functions have helped propel Ro into one of the fastest growing companies in the country, achieving unicorn status in 2020. As of September '22, Rob has stepped back from day-to-day at Ro while continuing to serve as an advisor and on Ro's Board of Directors. Prior to Ro, Rob was VP of Growth at Bark, the makers of BarkBox, where he joined as employee #7 and helped scale revenue from zero to $100 million. He also founded a Washington DC-based daily deals site that was acquired by kgbdeals in 2011. An expert in user acquisition, Rob has also served as a curriculum developer and instructor for General Assembly. He has been recognized by Business Insider as a 30 Under 40 leader in Healthcare. Rob earned his B.S. in Management Information Systems from Penn State University. 

Susan Robinson is a speaker, consultant and leader making an impact on the world in a truly unique way. Through her corporate and conference keynote, commencement addresses, workshops, client initiatives and writing, she masterfully blends over 25 years of multi-sector leadership with her experiences being legally blind to shift thinking, elevate potential and inspire action. She has worked with global firms and Fortune 500 companies, top not-for-profit organizations, leading universities and the United Nations. She presented a TED Talk in 2017 entitled “How I Fail at Being Disabled,” which has over 1.5M views.  She graduated from Penn State in 1994 with a degree in health policy and administration, and received her masters of public administration in health policy and management from New York University. 

David Rosenberg is the former Executive Vice President and Principal at Environmental Compliance Services (ECS). David and his two partners grew ECS from a small 12 person, $5 million in annual written premium agency to a 500 person, $200 million in annual written premium agency and a leader in the environmental insurance business.  ECS was sold to XL Capital Inc., a publicly held company in 1999. David received his bachelor's degree in individual and family studies from Penn State.

Robert is a serial technology and media entrepreneur with 25 years of experience in digital media and marketing. He has founded, grown and exited four digital media technology companies with teams and locations around the world. Robert's current company, Infolinks Media, is an exclusive ad marketplace helping emerging publishers grow and succeed. Robert received his bachelor's degree in communications and business from Penn State. 

In 2013, Swatee launched Litesprite, a health tech startup developing award-winning digital therapeutic purpose-driven games for chronic conditions. Litesprite has the mission of destigmatizing mental health issues and removing barriers to the tools people need. She received her MSME in Control Systems and Biomechanics from Penn State.

Sean Black is the Co-founder & CEO of Knock.com, and he was part of the founding team for the online real estate marketplace site Trulia. He graduated from Penn State in 1996 with a degree in international business management. 

JT Marino is the Chief Disruption Officer at Serta Simmons Bedding and the co-founder of Tuft & Needle, which merged with Serta Simmons in 2018. He studied math and computer science at Penn State. 

David is the Head of eCommerce at Square and founder of Weebly, which was acquired by Square in 2018 for $365M. He graduated from Penn State in 2007 with a degree in Information Sciences & Technology. 

Bruce Aronow is the Executive Chairman of eLocal, a performance-based advertising company whose mission is to connect consumers with local businesses, specializing in the Home Services, Legal, Medical, Financial, and Insurance verticals. He graduated from the Penn State Smeal College of Business in 1987 with a degree in accounting. 

 Jess Weiner is a cultural expert and creative who has spent 26 years researching and educating on cultural trends in order to help people feel seen, heard + understood.  She is a bestselling author, podcast host and speaker who has connected with audiences from the White House to Wall Street.   In this episode, Jess discusses how she has been a strategic partner in culture-changing moments such as Dove's campaign for “Real Beauty” and the evolution of Barbie. She also talks about how Penn State helped her bring all of her interests together, giving her the skillsets she'd eventually use to start her brand consultancy Talk to Jess.  At the end of the episode, Carley Furlow, a sophomore at Penn State studying business administration and founder of Sharps and Flats, a startup making assistive devices for people who have disabilities, injuries or limiting circumstances who play instruments, talks to Jess about networking and building a startup brand.  About Jess Weiner  Jess Weiner is a Culture Expert + the CEO of Talk to Jess, LLC. She graduated from Penn State in 1995 with degrees in theater, women's studies and classics. 

Inspired by his love of hiring, Mo Bhende built Karat to unlock opportunities and transform the interviewing process by conducting highly predictive technical interviews for clients. In this episode, Bhende talks about his international travels, how he took advantage of Penn State resources, lessons learned while working for Microsoft Xbox, and how all those experiences led him to creating a business that would turn the agonizing interview process into an enjoyable one.  At the end of this episode, Bubune Owusu, a senior in the College of Engineering and founder of Be Your Best Clothing, a clothing brand made to inspire others to look within themselves and to make use of their maximum potential, joins us to talk to Bhende about how to lead with both courage and confidence while also managing your priorities as a founder.  About Mo Bhende  Mo Bhende graduated from Penn State with honors in 2001 with degrees in math and economics.

Matt Brezina, a 2003 Schreyer and College of Engineering grad, shares the stories behind starting software company Xobni and greeting card company Sincerely.