Lay of The Land

Lay of the Land's conversation today is with Sherrill Paul Witt — founder of Lolly The Trolley.A beloved icon since 1985, Lolly the Trolley is itself a moving local gem, covering 3.1 million miles during its 37 years on the road where they had as many as 15 trolleys with about 150 people working there.When the company was started, Cleveland didn't have the sites and tourist attractions that are known by residents and visitors alike — at that time Sherrill took a chance and provided Clevelanders and tourists with a new way to experience the city that was in the early stages of rebirth.Lolly the Trolley became a rolling ambassador for the city, offering vantages and sightseeing for visitors and residents helping many — myself included — get to know Cleveland much more intimately and create lasting memories.After almost 40 years of running the business, Sherrill and her co-founder Peter Paul decided to permanently close the company in May of 2022. It was a privilege to hear Sherrill’s reflections on the journey and the evolution of Cleveland throughout that time and how their tours affected so many from around the country and world — from brides to students to sports fans to tourists to locals. Please enjoy my conversation with Sherrill Paul Witt--Learn more about Lolly the Trolley--Connect with Jeffrey Stern on LinkedInFollow Jeffrey Stern on Twitter @sternJefeFollow Lay of The Land on Twitter @podlayofthelandhttps://www.jeffreys.page/

Our conversation today is with Dallas Hogensen.Dallas is the CEO of Felux — making steel sexy since 2019 — which was established by a team of steel and technology experts to create the world’s largest operating platform and marketplace to help solve commerce for the steel industry.Having raised over $24 million since inception — under Dallas’ leadership, Felux has grown exponentially over the last few years in their effort to digitize the $2 trillion traditional, paper-based steel industry as they’ve built out their platform to manage the entire steel sourcing process — from procurement to logistics and financing — facilitating many hundreds of millions in transactions.Dallas joined Felux after a decade building and scaling companies. His previous work includes co-founding Liveli and Signal HQ (which were acquired in 2016 and ’20, respectively), plus two top sales jobs at Lyft where he led Lyft Business to become a billion-dollar run rate business unit.Dallas has deep and insightful perspective on marketplaces, the challenges of company building, and the importance of culture — this was one of my favorite conversations to date and I hope you all enjoy it as well.--Connect with Dallas Hogensen on LinkedInFollow Dallas Hogensen on Twitter @dallashogensenLearn more about Felux--Connect with Jeffrey Stern on LinkedInFollow Jeffrey Stern on Twitter @sternJefeFollow Lay of The Land on Twitter @podlayofthelandhttps://www.jeffreys.page/

Our conversation today is with Shawn Rech, a Cleveland-native and Emmy Award-winning producer and director who's created over 200 episodes of television programs that are currently licensed around the world and several films that have appeared on Showtime, Starz and Netflix.Shawn's first film — A Murder in the Park — was named one of TIME magazine's “15 Most Fascinating Crime Stories Ever Told.”In addition to the hundreds of hours of television programs and documentaries he has directed and produced through Transition Studios, where he serves as CEO and co-founder, he also is the founder of two boutique streaming services, AGTV and TruBlu — where he is focused on offering low-cost streaming services featuring factual programming and helping to grow Cleveland's permanent media industry.I really enjoyed working through Shawn’s perspective on the importance of factual programming and positively affecting history through truth-telling and documentary production — please enjoy my conversation with Shawn Rech--Connect with Shawn Rech on LinkedInLearn more about Transition StudiosLearn more about AGTVFollow Shawn Rech on Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/shawnrechFollow Transition Studios on Twitter: https://twitter.com/transitioncleFollow AGTV on Twitter: https://twitter.com/gospel_american--Connect with Jeffrey Stern on LinkedInFollow Jeffrey Stern on Twitter @sternJefeFollow Lay of The Land on Twitter @podlayofthelandhttps://www.jeffreys.page/

Our conversation today is with Graham Veysey and Fisk Biggar — founders of Graham+Fisk’s Wine-In-A-Can.Headquartered in the 1854 brick firehouse in Cleveland’s Hingetown enclave, their wine in a can is now distributed in over 40 U.S. States, Asia, and the Caribbean and has won numerous accolades including being named #16 on the Wine Enthusiast Magazine Top 100 Best Buy list.Graham and Fisk are childhood pals who met 25 years ago at Camp Roosevelt on the Shores of Lake Erie. In 2015 Graham came to fisk with the idea to put wine in cans and the rest, which explore in our conversation today, is history!Prior to founding and running Graham and Fisk’s wine in a can — Fisk was a member of the founding team for BB’s Kitchen in Aspen, CO, where he served as the General Manager — in 2011, “BB’s” was named as one of Colorado’s top restaurants by Esquire.Meanwhile, Graham is also a neighborhood developer in Hingetown, where the company resides — he serves on the boards of the Cleveland Foundation and the Bidwell Foundation; he’s the Principal of North Water Productions – an Emmy-Award-winning production firm creating content for global brands, arts and cultural institutions, and political campaigns. Additionally, Graham consults for the Aspen Institute and is a contributing producer for the Aspen Ideas Festival and New Orleans book festival; a Contributor for Vanity Fair, and formerly was the project director for the Ohio City Farm, a six-acre urban farm here in Cleveland.Graham and fisk have an incredible story and dynamic as friends and co-founders and certainly seem to have the most fun doing it together — please, find yourself a Graham+Fisk's Wine-In-A-Can, crack it open, and enjoy my conversation with Graham and Fisk!--Connect with Graham Veysey on LinkedInConnect with Fisk Biggar on LinkedIn Follow Graham Veysey on Twitter: https://twitter.com/grahamveyseyFollow Graham+Fisk's Wine-In-A-Can on Twitter: https://twitter.com/grahamandfiskFollow Graham+Fisk's Wine-In-A-Can on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/grahamandfiskwine/Learn more about Graham+Fisk’s Wine-In-A-Can --Connect with Jeffrey Stern on LinkedInFollow Jeffrey Stern on Twitter @sternJefeFollow Lay of The Land on Twitter @podlayofthelandhttps://www.jeffreys.page/

Our conversation today is with Tom Tyrrell, Founder and Chairman of Great Lakes Biomimicry, an entrepreneurial 501(c)(3) organization (recently having merged with the Ohio Aerospace Institute) with a mission to create conditions for innovation through biomimicry, focused on assisting organizations explore new opportunities, solve problems and drive sustainability.Biomimicry, which we’ll explore in much more detail in our conversation, seeks to drive this innovation by harnessing the intelligence found in nature’s 3.8 billion years of R&D — asking questions nature has already found the answers to — for example questions like how does nature manage structural forces, sense motion and temperature, manage temperature, change shape, coordinate, optimize material and energy? how does nature evolve to survive; adapt to changing conditions; be locally attuned and responsive; be resource efficient; employ life-friendly chemistry?Prior to founding Great Lakes Biomimicry, Tom was a co-founder and chairman of Segmint, a Northeast-Ohio-based startup and provider of data analytics-driven marketing technology (acquired by Alkami in April 2022).He was a Co-Founder, Senior Advisor, and Director of Glengary, which combined a network of support services with investment capital.Tom’s thirty-three-year career prior, all in the metals industry, included significant turnaround, M&A, and IPO experience, with responsibility for four start-ups, restarts, or consolidations ranging from $250M – $1.5B in sales, partnering directly with investment firms including Primus Venture Partners, PNC Equity Management, Warburg Pincus and The Blackstone Group.  In 1988 he was awarded Inc. Magazine’s Entrepreneur of the Year (EOY) award for Business and Industry and, in 1989, was selected as an entrepreneur of the year finalist for the restart and operation of the American Steel & Wire Company.Since moving to the Cleveland area in 1986, Tom has spent virtually all his spare time engaged with the three E’s – Education, Environment, and Entrepreneurism – all focused on enhancing Northeast-Ohio's regional economic development. He has actively supported both undergraduate and graduate-level entrepreneurial programs at midwestern colleges and universities as a trustee of Elmhurst College, Baldwin-Wallace College, and Lorain County Community College where he is also a member of the GLIDE Innovation Fund Board and served on the NorTech Board of Trustees, the Youngstown Business Incubator Board, and the Akron Archangels. He also was a trustee of the Ohio & Erie Canalway Association, the oversight board for the federally funded Ohio & Erie National Heritage Canalway. Tom has been involved with the Canalway since 1988, is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Conservancy of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, was the Founding Chair of the Trails Forever Endowment Leadership Initiative for the Conservancy and a former trustee of the Cleveland Zoological Society.This was easily one of my favorite discussions to date covering a wide range of topics and the full breadth of tom’s experience — I hope you all enjoy my conversation with Tom Tyrrell!--Connect with Tom Tyrrell on LinkedinFollow on Great Lakes Biomimicry on Twitter: https://twitter.com/glbiomimicryFollow Segmint on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Segmint Learn more about Great Lakes Biomimicry Learn more about Segmint--Connect with Jeffrey Stern on LinkedInFollow Jeffrey Stern on Twitter @sternJefeFollow Lay of The Land on Twitter @podlayofthelandhttps://www.jeffreys.page/

Our conversation today is with Baiju Shah, who is the president and CEO of Greater Cleveland Partnership (GCP).GCP is the region’s leading economic development organization with over 12,000 members — the largest metropolitan chamber of commerce in the nation. Guided by a board of corporate and entrepreneurial CEOs, the organization focuses on accelerating growth and prosperity for Cleveland through strategic initiatives, business services, real estate development, and advocacy — which we will unpack more in our conversation today.Prior to GCP, Baiju served as the Senior Fellow for Innovation at The Cleveland Foundation, and previously served as CEO and Board Member of BioMotiv, co-lead The Harrington Project for Discovery & Development, a $380 million US and UK drug development initiative which he helped launch, and also formerly served as CEO board member, and co-founder of BioEnterprise, a business formation, recruitment, and acceleration initiative that assisted companies in securing resources and funding to support their growth — During his tenure, BioE assisted more than 110 companies that together attracted $1.3 billion in new private funding.Beyond this, Baiju has a plethora more of experience, has been named an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year, and has been recognized as one of Cleveland’s most influential leaders. Please enjoy my conversation with Baiju Shah--Connect with Baiju Shah on LinkedinFollow Baiju Shah on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Baiju_R_ShahFollow Greater Cleveland Partnership on Twitter: https://twitter.com/GCPartnershipLearn more about Greater Cleveland Partnership--Connect with Jeffrey Stern on LinkedInFollow Jeffrey Stern on Twitter @sternJefeFollow Lay of The Land on Twitter @podlayofthelandhttps://www.jeffreys.page/

Our conversation today is with David Sylvan, president of UH Ventures — the innovation and commercialization division of University Hospitals — a Cleveland-based health system with two dozen hospitals, more than 50 health centers and outpatient facilities, and over 200 physician offices located throughout 16 counties.UH Ventures comprises a diverse array of professionals with deep domain expertise ranging from venture investing and company formation, to human-centered and experience design, as well as physicians, clinicians, and researchers who collectively seek to bring innovation to life in service to University Hospitals’ mission. Leading the organization, David gets a real breadth of exposure to intrapreneurship and entrepreneurship through a lens of the future of healthcare.Through my own company, Axuall, I’ve had the privilege to see how David approaches this fascinating world of healthcare innovation as he’s invested in, advised, coached, and helped Axuall mature as a company over the last three years.David comes to UH Ventures with more than 30 years of diverse corporate experience, most recently following a successful 15-year career in capital markets and investment banking, where he led a derivatives trading and public finance investment banking platform. Prior to this, David spent 8 years in a variety of responsibilities at the sports marketing giant, IMG. He started his career in public accounting with Deloitte in Johannesburg, South Africa. He is an adjunct professor locally at Case Western Reserve University’s (CWRU) Weatherhead School of Business in their department of Design & Innovation.I really enjoyed pulling back the curtain here on the inner workings of hospital venture groups and the work David is focused on here at University Hospitals — Please enjoy my conversation with David Sylvan.--Connect with David Sylvan on LinkedInFollow David Sylvan on Twitter @davidsylvanFollow UH Ventures on Twitter @uh_venturesLearn more about University Hospital Ventures--Connect with Jeffrey Stern on LinkedInFollow Jeffrey Stern on Twitter @sternJefeFollow Lay of The Land on Twitter @podlayofthelandhttps://www.jeffreys.page/

Our conversation today is with Dr. Colleen M. Lorber — Founder & CEO of Wraparound Experts.Colleen Lorber has her Ph.D. in School Psychology and founded Wraparound Experts from over 15 years in the field, combining her knowledge of the environments and professionals that she has worked with to provide a model of services that “wrap around” a child and the environments and people that influence the success of the child every day.Colleen knew she wanted to be a child psychologist in the 6th grade and that goal and determination drove her to complete her doctorate at the age of 27. During her undergraduate and graduate school years, Colleen worked at residential treatment facilities for at-risk youth where she helped children with autism through behavioral therapy and mobile therapy services.When Colleen was completing her doctorate, she began working at a privately owned company as a psychology intern and after 15 years, she departed from the company as its Chief Operating Officer where she was managing over 1,000 employees spanning psychologists, speech therapists, special education teachers, Title 1 teachers, occupational therapists, physical therapists, RNs, LPNs, Medical Assistants, and School Health Aides.Unfortunately, the research coming out examining the current state of our society’s mental health is dismal. The pandemic has clearly had an effect on how we are operating our everyday lives. Colleen and Wraparound Experts believe that the way to begin to work on our mental health, starting with children in Ohio, is to bring it back to concentrate on our basic human needs which include not only our physical/biological needs but also our feelings of safety/security, love and belonging, and esteem — this is the exact nature of the work Colleen is pushing forward with Wraparound Experts and what we spend our conversation exploring today — Please enjoy my conversation with Colleen Lorber.--Connect with Dr. Colleen Lorber on LinkedInLearn more about Wrap Around ExpertsFollow Wraparound Experts on Twitter @wraparoundexpe1--Connect with Jeffrey Stern on LinkedInFollow Jeffrey Stern on Twitter @sternJefeFollow Lay of The Land on Twitter @podlayofthelandhttps://www.jeffreys.page/

Our conversation today is with David Davis II — Founder & CEO of FBA Flip.David is a native Clevelander where he currently resides. After high school, David directly immersed himself into the tech-startup world. He’s been an entrepreneur his whole life — since the age of 13, he’s been involved in various direct-to-consumer eCommerce projects generating over 7-figures before he turned 21.Gathering years of experience in online retail, David founded FBA Flip, a marketplace to service the emerging world of eCommerce M&A transactions in the Amazon ecosystem.David is an orator with an endless mental well of intellectual and well-thought-through ideas — it’s always a pleasure getting to hear his perspective on entrepreneurship, the changing dynamics of the modern internet-first world we find ourselves in, and the challenges, opportunities, and prospects for the city of Cleveland — Please enjoy my conversation with David Davis.--Connect with David Davis II on LinkedInLearn more about FBA FlipFollow David Davis on Twitter--Connect with Jeffrey Stern on LinkedInFollow Jeffrey Stern on Twitter @sternJefeFollow Lay of The Land on Twitter @podlayofthelandhttps://www.jeffreys.page/

Our conversation today is with William J. Littlefield II — President and CTO of Wizest!At Wizest, Billy is on a mission to build a next-generation investment trading platform that democratizes access to financial expertise. Wizest recently closed on $1.7mm in financing and was featured in Forbes as a better solution to the problems posed by Robinhood.Billy has an eclectic background — spending more than a decade training with various Olympic coaches and athletes in the sport of ice skating, qualifying and competing at the US Figure Skating Championships as a singles skater. Prior to Wizest, Billy spent a lot of time outside of the world of software development, academically working to reconcile 21st century technology, politics, and economics with longstanding concepts in philosophy where his recent research has been divided between applied ethics, social theory, and artificial intelligence. Specifically, he has explored the ethics of technological progress and its impact on climate justice and geopolitics.Billy earned a graduate degree in world literature and philosophy from Case Western Reserve University, where he also received a degree in natural sciences with a concentration in chemistry.Really enjoyed this conversation spanning everything from how Wizest is working to democratize access to financial expertise to Billy’s path to Cleveland, to digital nomadacy, to philosophy, and more — hope you all enjoy it as well!--Connect with William J. Littlefield II on LinkedInLearn more about WizestFollow Billy on Twitter @wjlittlefield2--Connect with Jeffrey Stern on LinkedInFollow Jeffrey Stern on Twitter @sternJefeFollow Lay of The Land on Twitter @podlayofthelandhttps://www.jeffreys.page/