Advertise on podcast: Fast Frontiers

*Originally released in May 2021 In this episode, we're talking with Mitch Port, Vice President of Strategy and Analytics at BlockFi, which provides wealth management products for crypto investors, all powered by blockchain technology. We're going to dive into all things cryptocurrency, how exchanges are actually very similar to traditional financial services, and how crypto is plugging into open monetary networks worldwide. We also discuss that crypto is still in the very early stages, likely the first or second inning. While it still seems like everyone is talking about it, adoption and engagement is only around 1%. It'll be exciting to see how the next few innings evolve.

*Originally released in May 2021 In today's episode, we're talking with John Simon, Managing Director at Sigma Prime Ventures and Co-Founder of the GreenLight Fund. We're going to dive into John's venture career that he has used for good, and discuss the activities and impact we can make on our communities for a multidimensional and meaningful life experience.

*Originally released in June 2021 In this episode, we're talking with Roy Bahat, head of Bloomberg Beta, an early stage venture firm backed by Bloomberg LP, focused broadly on the future of work. We're going to dive into how COVID has accelerated that future of work and how some of the trends that we're experimenting with today will continue.

*Originally released in June 2021 In this episode, we're talking with John Nottingham, Co-President of Nottingham Spirk, the longstanding design collaborative and innovation center located in Cleveland, Ohio. We're going to dive into the unique, vertical innovation approach that Nottingham Spirk uses to partner with companies to create new products. And we will talk about their new partnership with EY that will house their Global Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Mobility.

*Originally released in June 2021 Today we're talking with Kimberly Reed, the former chairman of the board of directors, president, and CEO of the Export-Import Bank of the United States. We're going to talk about Kimberly's roots and values that were formed while growing up in West Virginia, where she learned the importance of reaching out, taking a risk, picking up the phone. You just never know who may have an impact on your life. We also get a masterclass on understanding how the Export-Import Bank works, its purpose, and how small businesses and startups can utilize these resources.

*Originally released in June 2021 Today we're talking with Alex Frommeyer, co-founder and CEO at Beam Dental in Columbus, Ohio. Beam Dental was founded in 2012 by three engineers at University of Louisville, who saw the opportunity to modernize the dental insurance industry by using technology. The first product was the Beam Brush, which was one of the earliest examples of the Internet of Things in healthcare. We had a great conversation about the power of OKRs, Objectives and Key Results. The important thing about OKRs is clearly stating your goals and intentions, and making sure it relates to every single person in your organization so that you can articulate and re-emphasize, and re-state, and reminding everyone, at all times, what they're doing and why they're doing it. If you want a high performance team, you need to master the art of OKRs.

*Originally released in September 2021 In this episode, we're talking with Jeff Bloomfield, founder and CEO of Braintrust. Braintrust helps individuals and companies transform their sales and marketing systems by understanding the power of neuroscience on everyday communication. In this episode, we're going to dive into the reasons why Jeff started Braintrust. The biggest theme, or so what I hope you can take away from this conversation, is that it's all about communications. The determining factor of success for a person or an organization is how successful they communicate. If you can't communicate effectively, you're sunk, in every area of your life.

*Originally released in October 2021 Today we're talking with Adam Sharkawy. Adam is the co-founder and managing partner at Material Impact, a venture fund located in Boston, Massachusetts. Material Impact focuses on deep tech innovation, and we share an investment in Folio Photonics. We get a bit geeked out on chaos and complexity theory, and nonlinear systems, and discuss that some of the most interesting innovations come from the convergence of technology and business models. And that's where the cool stuff happens. The biggest theme or so what I hope you take away from this conversation is that whether you're pulling technology and intellectual property out of research universities, or corporate innovation processes or startups, they're all hard to do well, but when done correctly can be extremely disruptive and successful.

*Originally released in October 2021 Today we're talking with Stephany Lapierre, founder and CEO of Tealbook headquartered in Toronto, Canada, and also a portfolio company of Refinery Ventures. In this episode, we're going to dive into how Stephany discovered the problem in supply chain procurement and it's all about the data. The biggest theme or so what, I hope you take away from this conversation is the importance of finding the right market positioning. It takes time to get everything moving in the right direction. And how do you articulate your position in a way that makes everyone's hand go up in the air, wanting your solution?

*Originally released in March 2022 Chief Innovation Officer of CVG Airport, Brian Cobb, talks about his career in the aviation industry and seeking innovative solutions that have transformed the airport into a business hub. Along with host Tim Schigel, the two discuss CVG's acceptance of technology and data to solve customer perceptions, aligning with leadership towards business innovation, and the future of the airport with startup incubation and the next generation of technologies.

*Originally released in March 2022 Host Tim Schigel is joined by Co-founder and Chairman of Arrive Mobility, Aashish Dalal, to talk about his journey taking ParkWhiz from inception to present day as Arrive Mobility. Aashish walks through growing the company's footprint, naïveté about investor capital, and ultimately the business lessons and relationships that helped ParkWhiz find success.

*Originally released in April 2022 Carl Grant joins Fast Frontiers and host Tim Schigel to chat about his career journey, and how experiencing a recession at an early-stage startup influences his insights and leadership in the VC world. Carl also talks about his initiative with Venture Raise, a platform for entrepreneurs to match with venture capital funding, shares tips for building connections as entrepreneurs, and how faith has helped him navigate life and business.

*Originally released in September 2022 Gokul Rajaram talks with host Tim Schigel about working as an investor and "company helper." Gokul does a deep dive into his SPADE decision-making framework, about creating compelling products that solve real-world issues, and the rise in product analytics as a function of business.

*Originally released in April 2022 Steve Escaravage, Executive Vice President at Booz Allen, talks about what A.I. is and its uses at Booz Allen, as well as popular ideas surrounding artificial intelligence. Tim and Steve also discuss how entrepreneurs can approach opportunities to collaborate with venture capital firms, hurdles to A.I. development, and Steve's thoughts on where the technology is headed.

*Originally released in April 2022 Pete Blackshaw joins host Tim Schigel to talk about his efforts at Cintrifuse to create a startup economy in Cincinnati. Pete talks about how his career working with companies like Nielsen BuzzMetrics and Nestle influenced his work with startups, and how programming helps to grow culture and community. The two discuss the impact of transforming Cincinnati's airport into a startup and technology platform, as well as initiatives that excite Pete like sustainability, electrification, and zero waste.