

The Unconventional Path: Entrepreneurship and Innovation Stories and Ideas.
Bela Musits
Explore how to build and grow your business in today’s global marketplace. In each episode, we try to capture and share the essence of how interesting people often take unconventional paths to build their business, some of whom succeed, some who do not.
The hosts for this podcast series are Bela Musits, former business school professor, venture capitalist, and entrepreneur based in upstate New York, and Mike Wasserman, professor of international management at the University of Applied Sciences in Münster, Germany.
The hosts for this podcast series are Bela Musits, former business school professor, venture capitalist, and entrepreneur based in upstate New York, and Mike Wasserman, professor of international management at the University of Applied Sciences in Münster, Germany.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Nov 5, 2021 • 46min
EP-130 Misha Rubin - Career Leap
In this episode of the podcast, we are joined excited to be joined by Misha Rubin. He is a mix of a psychologist, career coach, and job coach. It's one of those topics I never thought much about during my career. Maybe I should have. He started his career working at one of the major accounting firms for 20 years and one day came to the realization he was not happy and decided to blaze out on his own. He gives some excellent tips on finding your path to job satisfaction and happiness.
Give the episode a listen!
You can find more info about Misha here:
https://misharubin.com/
We love to hear from our listeners, send us your questions, comments, and suggestions at bela.and.mike@gmail.com - we will answer your questions in a future episode.
Thanks for listening,
Bela and Mike

Oct 22, 2021 • 53min
EP-129 Andy Mowat - Founder and CEO of Gated
In this episode of the podcast, we are joined by serial entrepreneur Andy Mowat, founder of Gated. At Gated, they are changing the way email gets delivered and read. We are all burdened by receiving way too many emails. With Gated you can apply some economic theory to sending and receiving emails with some very interesting results. Give the episode a listen!
You can find Gated here:
https://www.gated.com/
We love to hear from our listeners, send us your questions, comments, and suggestions at bela.and.mike@gmail.com - we will answer your questions in a future episode.
Thanks for listening,
Bela and Mike

Sep 24, 2021 • 48min
EP-128 Trying Something New - Bela and Mike’s Crazy Idea
In this episode of the podcast, Bela and Mike trying a new format for the podcast. It’s been a while since we posted a new episode, that’s because, with over 120 interviews under our belt, we were not sure anything new was popping up. When we record a podcast, we usually spend 15 to 30 minutes talking about what’s going on in each other’s lives. This is with the recorder off, so you never hear it. Well, this time we decided to record our conversation.
We talk about fishing, the German elections and how the process is different from the one in the USA, a COVID update, life in general, and a few thoughts on some new podcast ideas.
Please let us know what you think!
We love to hear from our listeners, send us your questions, comments, and suggestions at bela.and.mike@gmail.com - we will answer your questions in a future episode.
Thanks for listening,
Bela and Mike

Jun 14, 2021 • 59min
EP-127 Chris Bursey - Founder founder of Direct Communications Solutions.
In this episode of the podcast, we are joined by Chris Bursey. He is the founder of Direct Communications Solutions. Direct Communication Solutions is a provider of Internet of Things (IoT) products and services. The Internet of Things is a term that generally means the coordination of sensors that sit on devices or vehicles or structures (that tell you things like temperature, location, amount of vibrations, etc.), the ability for those sensors to share data using wireless transmission methods (often cellular technology), with both other devices and with bigger software programs, so that simple devices become smarter - they can help managers, suppliers, and customers understand what’s going on with their equipment or products, and make better decisions.
You can find Direct Communication Solutions here:
https://www.dcsbusiness.com/
We love to hear from our listeners, send us your questions, comments, and suggestions at bela.and.mike@gmail.com - we will answer your questions in a future episode.
Thanks for listening,
Bela and Mike

May 31, 2021 • 49min
EP-126 Kizzy Parks - Founder and President of K Parks Consulting.
In this episode of the podcast, we are joined by Kizzy Parks. She is the founder and president of K Parks Consulting, a firm that provides corporate training, executive coaching, analytics, diversity and inclusion guidance, leadership development, and team building services mainly to US federal government clients but also they partner with large companies and other non-profits. She has a wealth of experience contracting with government agencies. She shares with us what she had learned and how any business can successfully bid on government contracts.
You can find K Parks Consulting here:
https://www.kpcinc.com/
We love to hear from our listeners, send us your questions, comments, and suggestions at bela.and.mike@gmail.com - we will answer your questions in a future episode.
Thanks for listening,
Bela and Mike

May 16, 2021 • 54min
EP-125 Sean Folkson - Founder and CEO of Nightfood
In this episode of the podcast, we are joined by Sean Folkson. He founded Nightfood, a company that produces sleep-friendly and nutritional evening snacks. After a few rough starts, Nighfood is running full speed with a line of sleep-friendly ice cream. The ice cream is formulated by leading sleep and nutrition experts to satisfy our nighttime cravings in a better, healthier, and sleep-focused way.
You can find Nightfood here:
https://nightfood.com/
We love to hear from our listeners, send us your questions, comments, and suggestions at bela.and.mike@gmail.com - we will answer your questions in a future episode.
Thanks for listening,
Bela and Mike

May 3, 2021 • 51min
EP-124 Tarin Calmeyer - Founder and CEO of Remote Team Wellness
In today's podcast, we are excited to be joined by Tarin Calmeyer. Tarin is the founder of Remote Team Wellness...a startup that provides live digital wellness coaching, retreats, and workshops for corporate clients. We discussed the large pivot Tarin had to make with the onset of the COVID epidemic, the valuable lessons she learned, and how it has shaped her company.
You can find Remote Team Wellness here:
https://remoteteamwellness.com/
We love to hear from our listeners, send us your questions, comments, and suggestions at bela.and.mike@gmail.com - we will answer your questions in a future episode.
Thanks for listening,
Bela and Mike

Apr 19, 2021 • 51min
EP-123 David Jay - Founder and CEO Warm Welcome
In today's podcast, we are excited to be joined by David Jay, founder, and CEO of Warm Welcome, a company that uses video to customize an initial customer experience to go beyond generic emails. David is a serial entrepreneur, also having founded Agree.com. We had a great conversation about the importance of building solid customer relationships and the video tools David has developed at Warm Welcome help address these challenges.
You can find Warm Welcome here:
https://www.warmwelcome.com/
We love to hear from our listeners, send us your questions, comments, and suggestions at bela.and.mike@gmail.com - we will answer your questions in a future episode.
Thanks for listening,
Bela and Mike

Apr 12, 2021 • 56min
EP-122 Nathan Perez - The 20-Minute Networking Meeting
Today we are excited to be joined by author Nathan Perez. Nathan co-wrote The 20-Minute Networking Meeting. He is an executive career and job-search coach at Career Innovation, LLC. Nathan is a formally trained actor with a BFA in Theatre. Nathan’s 20-year career in the arts and entertainment world prepared him well for connecting with people. He also worked in the corporate world in places like Goldman Sachs in NYC.
You can find Nathan’s books here:
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=the+20-minute+networking+meeting&crid=AHXU4WE3RQ0T&sprefix=the+20-minute%2Caps%2C158&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_1_13
You can find Nathan’s website here:
https://innovationsoftheworld.com/nathan-a-perez-career-innovations-llc/
We love to hear from our listeners, send us your questions, comments, and suggestions at bela.and.mike@gmail.com - we will answer your questions in a future episode.
Thanks for listening,
Bela and Mike

Apr 5, 2021 • 52min
EP-121 Dan Burcaw - Co-Founder & CEO of Nami ML
Today we are excited to be joined by joined Dan Burcaw. He is a serial tech entrepreneur founding several software technology companies He is currently the Co-Founder & CEO of Nami ML. Nami ML develops machine learning software to enhance mobile application subscriptions for a wide spectrum of businesses. We discussed the challenges in starting technology businesses that are at the forefront of technology.
You can check out Nami ML here:
https://www.namiml.com/
We love to hear from our listeners, send us your questions, comments, and suggestions at bela.and.mike@gmail.com - we will answer your questions in a future episode.
Thanks for listening,
Bela and Mike