Going Deep with Aaron Watson

Jonathan Steckbeck is the founder of Peptilogics, a biotechnology platform company that develops best-in-class novel peptide drugs for unmet medical needs. He also has a PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics from the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Medicine.   Amongst other problems, his company Peptilogics is focused on developing a new category of antibiotics. It has been 20 years since there was a genuinely new class of antibiotics, yet bacterial cells have continued to evolve and develop into drug-resistant infections.   In this interview, Jonathan and Aaron discuss the founding of Peptilogics, why they’re focused on this new modality of medication, and the FDA approval process.   Sign up for a Weekly Email that will Expand Your Mind.   Jonathan Steckbeck’s Challenge; If there’s something that you want to do that doesn’t exist, go do it.   Connect with Jonathan Steckbeck Linkedin Peptilogics Website   If you liked this interview, check out episode 456 with Pete DeComo where we discuss the long, arduous process of developing a medical device and episode 443 with Blake Dube where we talk about better oxygen tanks.   Text Me What You Think of This Episode 412-278-7680 Underwritten by Piper Creative Piper Creative makes creating podcasts, vlogs, and videos easy.    How? Click here and Learn more.   We work with Fortune 500s, medium-sized companies, and entrepreneurs.   Follow Piper as we grow YouTube Instagram Subscribe on iTunes | Stitcher | Overcast | Spotify 

Euan Guttridge is the Director of Technical Program Management at Waymo and previously held the same position with Uber’s self-driving car division.   Between these two roles, Euan developed an angel investing syndicate under the banner Reinforced Ventures. The syndicate differentiates itself for the technical proficiency of its limited partners, bringing a fresh perspective to the companies it invests in.   Euan’s portfolio includes a number of past Going Deep podcast guests including; Gridwise, Locomation, UpContent, Fifth Season, Edge Case Research, and Honeycomb Credit. While not geographically exclusive, Reinforced does focus on Pittsburgh because of its over $10 billion of academic research funded and $6.6 billion of private funding in technology over the past decade.   In this conversation, Euan and Aaron discuss a career developing autonomous vehicle technology, how an AngelList syndicate works, and how to do thorough due diligence.   Sign up for a Weekly Email that will Expand Your Mind.   Euan Guttridge’s Challenge; Follow your curiosity.   Connect with Euan Guttridge Linkedin Reinforced Ventures Website euan@reinforcedventures.com   If you liked this interview, check out some of Euan’s portfolio companies like Locomation’s Çetin Meriçli, Edge Case Research’s Mike Wagner, and Gridwise’s Ryan Green.   Text Me What You Think of This Episode 412-278-7680 Underwritten by Piper Creative Piper Creative makes creating podcasts, vlogs, and videos easy.    How? Click here and Learn more.   We work with Fortune 500s, medium-sized companies, and entrepreneurs.   Follow Piper as we grow YouTube Instagram Subscribe on iTunes | Stitcher

Steve Muck is the CEO of Brayman Construction, a heavy civil and geotechnical contractor that builds bridges, dams, and other large infrastructure. Steve is also the cofounder of construction-related robotics startups TyBot and Advanced Construction Robotics.   Steve has started or acquired twenty businesses and currently operates a portfolio of entities that in construction-related endeavors alone runs approximately $200 million in revenue annually.   Steve acquired the company over 28 years ago in a leveraged buyout and has since acquired a number of companies as he has expanded his business empire.    In this episode, Steve and Aaron discuss how Steve got started in construction, the company’s ‘Dragon Slayer’ ethos, and how he has upskilled his team in order to escape competition. Sign up for a Weekly Email that will Expand Your Mind.   Stephen Muck’s Challenge; Take a risk.   Connect with Stephen Muck Linkedin Brayman Construction Website If you liked this interview, check out episode 412 with Jake Loosararian where we discuss industrial robotics and raising one of Pittsburgh’s biggest Series A financings.   Text Me What You Think of This Episode 412-278-7680 Underwritten by Piper Creative Piper Creative makes creating podcasts, vlogs, and videos easy.    How? Click here and Learn more.   We work with Fortune 500s, medium-sized companies, and entrepreneurs.   Follow Piper as we grow YouTube Instagram Subscribe on iTunes | Stitcher | Overcast | Spotify

Jon Pastor is the SVP for Consumer Solutions at RealPage, a leading global provider of software and data analytics to the real estate industry. RealPage was trading publicly at over $10 billion market capitalization before being taken private by Thoma Bravo.   Jon’s entrepreneurial career started when he cofounder RentJungle with previous guest Geng Wang. That company was acquired in 2014 and Jon chose to stay on and lead the acquiring company as President.   Four years later, that company was acquired by RealPage.   In this conversation, Jon and Aaron discuss the lessons from all these acquisitions, the challenges facing the real estate industry, and the incentives that guide successful organizations.   Sign up for a Weekly Email that will Expand Your Mind.   Jon Pastor’s Challenge; Create a list of ideas for projects or businesses that you could start.    Connect with Jon Pastor Linkedin Website   If you liked this interview, check out episode 474 with Geng Wang where we discuss three startups, social enterprise, and where to find motivation.   Text Me What You Think of This Episode 412-278-7680 Underwritten by Piper Creative Piper Creative makes creating podcasts, vlogs, and videos easy.    How? Click here and Learn more.   We work with Fortune 500s, medium-sized companies, and entrepreneurs.   Follow Piper as we grow YouTube Instagram Subscribe on iTunes | Stitcher | Overcast | Spotify 

Jorge Mazal is the Chief Product Officer for Duolingo. Duolingo is a free language-learning website and mobile app with over 500 million downloads, 40 million monthly active users, and a valuation of over $1 billion.   Jorge previously worked on the product for Zynga, MyFitnessPal, and Kleiner Perkins. Today he blends skills in design, gamification, and leadership to manage a product team that has 10xed in size since he joined the company.   In this episode, Jorge and Aaron discuss how Duolingo makes product decisions, the importance of interpersonal skills, and how Jorge’s background has prepared him to excel in this role. Sign up for a Weekly Email that will Expand Your Mind.   Jorge Mazal’s Challenge; Find some time to go help someone, with no expectation of anything in return.   Connect with Jorge Mazal Linkedin Duolingo Website   If you liked this interview, check out our conversation with Jason Wolfe where we discuss tech products, leadership, and entrepreneurship.   Text Me What You Think of This Episode 412-278-7680 Underwritten by Piper Creative Piper Creative makes creating podcasts, vlogs, and videos easy.    How? Click here and Learn more.   We work with Fortune 500s, medium-sized companies, and entrepreneurs.   Follow Piper as we grow YouTube Instagram Subscribe on iTunes | Stitcher | Overcast | Spotify 

Marko Papic leads the strategy team at Clocktower Group, an alternative investments firm. Clocktower offers long-term strategic investment strategies to their clients, investment managers and institutional allocators.   Marko brings his constraints framework, outlined in his book Geopolitical Alpha, to analyzing the geopolitical trends of the day. His ability to accurately forecast major political events has enormous ramifications for portfolios.   In this episode, Marko and Aaron discuss how the future of China-US conflict, Turkey’s geopolitical prospects, and how to break into the geopolitical analysis field. Sign up for a Weekly Email that will Expand Your Mind.   Marko Papic’s Challenge; Spend time around people with the opposite political and cultural perspective of you.   Connect with Marko Papic Linkedin Geopolitical Alpha book Website   If you liked this interview, check out our interview with Mike Green where we discuss Bitcoin and index funds.   Text Me What You Think of This Episode 412-278-7680 Underwritten by Piper Creative Piper Creative makes creating podcasts, vlogs, and videos easy.    How? Click here and Learn more.   We work with Fortune 500s, medium-sized companies, and entrepreneurs.   Follow Piper as we grow YouTube Instagram Subscribe on iTunes | Stitcher | Overcast | Spotify

Andy Norman is a researcher focused on studying how ideologies short-circuit minds and corrupt moral understanding.   His studies have led him to develop a toolkit of methods for improving reasoning and share them in his book, Mental Immunity.   His hope is that a collection of academic research can be lassoed together to serve as the foundation of a new scientific field, Cognitive Immunology. Cognitive immunology would explore the ability of researchers to develop a mind vaccine to inoculate individuals against dangerous ideas.   In this conversation, Andy and Aaron discuss the dangers of loneliness, the importance of dialogue, and the future of viral ideas.   Sign up for a Weekly Email that will Expand Your Mind.   Andy Norman’s Challenge; Learn to treat your ideas as houseguests. Perhaps one day they will depart, and you will be glad.   Connect with Andy Norman Linkedin Andy’s Website CognitiveImmunology.Net Books Mentioned Mental Immunity: Infectious Ideas, Mind-Parasites, and the Search for a Better Way to Think by Andy Norman   Tribe by Sebastian Junger The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins If you liked this interview, check out episode 472 with Demetri Kofinas where we discuss epistemic truth, geopolitics, and. Text Me What You Think of This Episode 412-278-7680 Underwritten by Piper Creative Piper Creative makes creating podcasts, vlogs, and videos easy.    How? Click here and Learn more.   We work with Fortune 500s, medium-sized companies, and entrepreneurs.   Follow Piper as we grow YouTube Instagram Subscribe on

Geng Wang is the CEO and co-founder of Civic Champs, a software startup focused on creating s seamless and rewarding volunteering experience for both volunteers and service organizations   This is Geng’s third commercial venture. He’s previously co-founded two companies; RentJungle.com, an apartment search engine that sold in 2014 to The Rainmaker Group, and Community Elf (rebranded as Cosmitto), a social media management firm which we sold in 2017 to a PE firm, Topanga Partners.   Given his past successes, Geng is looking to both create financial and social impact with his latest company. He has leveraged a number of startup incubators, including TechCrunch’s Startup Battlefield, Elevate Ventures, Innovation Works, TechStars Iowa, and Mass Challenge, to get it off the ground.   In this episode, Geng and Aaron discuss how motivation changes through an entrepreneur’s career, the nature of product development, and how to design a startup’s culture.   Sign up for a Weekly Email that will Expand Your Mind.   Geng Wang’s Challenge; For National Volunteering Month, get out there and go find an avenue to help your community.   Connect with Geng Wang Linkedin Twitter Civic Champs Website geng@civicchamps.com If you liked this interview, check out episode 12 with Scott Rogerson where we discuss Community Elf, social media management, and their software spinout UpContent.   Text Me What You Think of This Episode 412-278-7680 Underwritten by Piper Creative Piper Creative makes creating podcasts, vlogs, and videos easy.    How? Click here and Learn more.   We work with Fortune 500s, medium-sized companies, and entrepreneurs.   Follow Piper as we grow YouTube Instagram Subscribe on iTunes | Stitcher | Overcast |

Sanjiv Singh is CEO and cofounder of Near Earth Autonomy, a technology company focused on autonomous flight.    Sanjiv has 25 years of experience working on autonomous ground and air vehicles. He came to Pittsburgh 30 years ago to participate in the DARPA challenge and has spent decades exploring different applications for self-driving and self-flying robots.   Near Earth Autonomy started by developing self-flying technology for the United States Government and has expanded to bring their technological capabilities to a variety of enterprise customers.   In this conversation, Sanjiv and Aaron discuss applications for self-flying vehicles, the origins of the company, and the difference between working with the military and the FAA.   Sign up for a Weekly Email that will Expand Your Mind.   Sanjiv Singh’s Challenge; Imagine a world in which you could autonomously fly from point A to point B.   Connect with Sanjiv Singh Linkedin Twitter YouTube Near Earth Autonomy Website   If you liked this interview, check out episode 306 with Bryan Salesky where we discuss autonomous vehicles and episode 340 with Craig Markovitz where we discuss university technology transfer.   Text Me What You Think of This Episode 412-278-7680 Underwritten by Piper Creative Piper Creative makes creating podcasts, vlogs, and videos easy.    How? Click here and Learn more.   We work with Fortune 500s, medium-sized companies, and entrepreneurs.   Follow Piper as we grow YouTube Instagram Subscribe on iTunes | Stitcher | Overcast |

Demetri Kofinas is a media entrepreneur and host of Hidden Forces, a podcast devoted to exploring the underlying forces driving the most powerful changes we see in the world.   His show covers a wide range of topics, including culture, philosophy, economics, technology, social science, and the hard sciences.   Demetri has previously co-founded Guerilla Gaming Concepts, an interactive entertainment company focused on the middleware of gaming. He has also reported on financial news and told stories to hundreds of thousands of people around the world.   In addition to his show, Demetri consults blockchain and distributed ledger technology companies, helping them anticipate security vulnerabilities by building theoretical attack frameworks against token-based systems, and he consults hedge funds and venture capital firms on how to invest in and around these same emerging technologies.   In this episode, Aaron and Demetri have a far-reaching conversation about truth, technological progress, and geopolitics.   Mentioned The Meaning of Human Existence by Edward O. Wilson Peter Zeihan Ian Bremmer Grant Williams Sign up for a Weekly Email that will Expand Your Mind.   Demetri Kofinas’s Challenges; 1. Hold yourself to a higher standard.   Put space between your thoughts/emotions and actions.   Try not to judge people Connect with Demetri Kofinas Twitter Hidden Forces Website   If you liked this interview, check out episode 463 with Jeff Booth where we discuss the deflationary nature of technology.   Text Me What You Think of This Episode 412-278-7680 Underwritten by Piper Creative Piper Creative makes creating podcasts, vlogs, and videos easy.    How? Click here and Learn more.   We work with Fortune 500s, medium-sized companies, and entrepreneurs.   Follow Piper as we grow YouTube Instagram