Stretch Thinking

In this episode, we speak with Tom Burden – Inventor and CEO of Grypmat. Tom invented Grypmat to solve a problem he experienced as an Air Force Mechanic working on fighter jets. In 2017, Tom appeared on Shark Tank with Grypmat – scoring a deal with Mark Cuban, Richard Branson and Laurie Greiner. In 2018 Tom appeared on the cover of Time Magazine in its Inventions of the Year publication. That year he also won a Gold Edison award and was named to Forbes Magazine’s 30 under 30 list. Grypmat has grown from a garage startup to a maturing company with millions of dollars in revenue.

Daniel Sahl serves as the director for the Center for Gaming Innovation , part of the International Gaming Institute. In this role, Dr. Sahl works with undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and industry leaders to drive, develop, and commercialize new casino gaming technologies. Since its inception in 2013, the Center for Gaming Innovation has produced 18 issued US patents and successfully commercialized 10 gaming products.Dr. Sahl has shared his expertise in casino game design and innovation at government and industry conferences across the US and internationally. He holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. His doctoral work looked at the convergence of video game design with present-day slot machines and how these new games impact the player’s experience.

In this episode, we speak with Andrew Winker and José Mercado of Thunderbolt, a private company that provides software and systems engineering services, unmanned systems development and operations and logistics services. Earlier this year Inc Magazine named Thunderbolt one of fastest growing private companies in America, with 3 year growth at more than 3,500%. Daryl Gibson - from episode five (Military Innovation) - also joins the conversation, which explores an inspiring entrepreneurial journey from working within a military contractor ecosystem to jumping into a startup, that now includes a partnership with Amazon.

In this episode, Roberto Coppola talks about randomness, connectivity and a purpose driven life.

In this episode, we speak with Andrew Baca, Director of Business Innovation and Technology Strategy at Caesars Entertainment. Baca has a very interesting background in entrepreneurship and venture capital which serves him well in his role at Black Fire Innovation – a gaming and hospitality innovation accelerator backed by Caesars in partnership with UNLV. Our conversation touches on the challenges and opportunities presented by current times, the importance of including different perspectives and hatch green chile peppers of New Mexico.

In this episode Roberto Coppola talks about pain and rejection, authenticity and why this may be the very best time for you to launch your startup.

In this episode we speak with Norm Wurz, a product design and development executive with more than 30 years of experience in engineering and manufacturing environments. In his career Norm has played a key role in product development teams at Northrop Grumman, Sega, Bally Pinball, Slot Manufacturer WMS Gaming and toy company Mattel. We spoke with Norm about his insights on team building and the common attributes of high performing teams.

In this episode we speak with Ravi Arora, a leading pioneer on the topic of innovation who has written two books on the subject and currently serves as Vice President of Innovation at TATA Sons - which owns the TATA Group, a 150 year old organization comprised of 30 companies. In 2019 the collective revenue of the TATA Group's companies was $113 billion. These companies include Jaguar Land Rover and TATA Consulting, which works with most (if not all) of the Fortune 100. Collectively TATA employs nearly 800,000 people. Ravi's latest book, Igniting Innovation: The TATA Way is available on Amazon.

In this episode we speak with Andrew Landsman and Ray Chung, two seasoned patent attorneys with more than two decades of experience between them working with inventors and organizations to help develop effective intellectual property strategies. If you’ve ever had an invention idea and didn’t know what steps to take to protect it or if you need some clarity on exactly what a patent is and when and how you might want to pursue one, this episode is for you.

In this episode we interview Kathy Baker, a leader in the digital music space who has collaborated with recording artists like Adele, John Legend, Lauren Hill, Steve Perry, The Roots and Beyonce. Kathy's career began as an engineering student at Rutgers before going on to Columbia University where she studied internet design and campaign management. Early roles included positions at Johnson & Johnson before she pivoted toward a career in the music business, eventually earning senior leadership roles at Sony Music and Columbia Records. For the past two years Kathy has been the Head of US Label Relations at YouTube.

In this episode we interview innovation pioneer Daryl Gibson who has more than two decades of experience leading accelerator programs involving both private and government stakeholders. Daryl's career spans roles with the United States Marine Corps, where he worked at the US Embassy in Bogota, Colombia - during the height of Pablo Escobar's reign of terror - to positions within the FBI and later as a leader at AFWERX, the heralded U.S. Air Force innovation accelerator which was just named #16 out of the 100 best workplaces for innovators by Fast Company - two spots ahead of Amazon.

In this episode we talk with electrical engineer (and kidney transplant survivor) Stephen Shaffer about overcoming obstacles, building the world’s largest vending machine and battle bots.

In this episode Frank talks about how to make an idea stick.

In this episode we talk about creativity in kids vs adults, the NASA study, negativity bias and the "patent prom."

Roberto & Frank talk about the purpose of this podcast and seeing the ancient city of Mumbai through the eyes of a child.