Our conversation this week is with Justin McLoughlin — founder & CEO of airCFO — on building a bootstrapped company, scaling a professional services organization, the future of work, the importance of taking care of your employees, and finance!Justin McLoughlin is a midwesterner who fell in love with the tech startup scene and turned entrepreneur when he realized that when other people start startups, payroll, back-office management, account reconciliation, taxes, and general accounting is not what they have in mind.Justin started airCFO to deliver entrepreneurs and growing companies peace of mind by taking ownership of these accounting responsibilities — maintaining the books so they can focus on maintaining the business.Learned a lot from Justin’s unique perspective on company building — please enjoy!Connect with Justin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jmmcloughlin/Learn more about airCFO: https://aircfo.com/ ————Learn more about Jeffrey @ https://jeffreys.pageConnect with Jeffrey on Linkedin or on TwitterFollow Lay of The Land on Twitter 

Our conversation this week is with Marisa Sergi — founder & CEO of Red Brands & chief growth officer of L’uva Bella Winery — who is a third-generation wine maker and studied viticulture and enology — the art and science of winemaking — at Cornell University before starting her first brand RedHead (now known as Red Brands).We cover starting a wine brand from scratch that is now available in over 3,000 stores nationally and levereging the success of her company to acquire her family’s winery, L’uva Bella Winery, the largest wine operation in the state of Ohio.Really enjoyed this conversation — Marisa is not only passionate about wine and spirits, but also the entrepreneurial spirit!————Connect with Marisa: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marisasergiFollow Marisa on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marisasergi/Learn more about L'uva Bella: https://luvabella.com/————Learn more about Jeffrey @ https://jeffreys.pageConnect with Jeffrey on Linkedin or on TwitterFollow Lay of The Land on Twitter 

Our conversation this week is with Tom Lix — founder & CEO of Cleveland Whiskey — on pushing the boundaries of convention while building on tradition to artfully blend science with craft to create unique award-winning Whiskey.Tom is a serial entrepreneur — prior to founding Cleveland Whiskey, he founded Public Interactive which he sold to National Public Radio, he served as President/COO of Yankelovich Partners, and as you'll hear later, Tom has always been a tinkerer through and through.Lix spent some formative years in the US Navy where in addition to some early bootleg distilling; he was cross trained in nuclear physics and thermodynamics along with seawater/freshwater distillation. A college dropout who hitchhiked across the country, fought forest fires in Alaska at the age of 17, and founded the first University-sponsored Motorcycle Club in America. He later earned his Doctorate in Business from Boston University. Tune in for a spirited conversation!————Connect with Tom: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomlixLearn more about Cleveland Whiskey: https://clevelandwhiskey.com/————Learn more about Jeffrey @ https://jeffreys.pageConnect with Jeffrey on Linkedin or on TwitterFollow Lay of The Land on Twitter 

Our conversation this week is with Mac Anderson — co-founder & CMO of Cleveland Kitchen (formerly Cleveland Kraut) — on creating world-class culinary fermented foods for all and how Cleveland Kitchen has grown from a side-hustle at local-Cleveland farmer’s markets to the #1 brand in sauerkraut with distribution at over 9,000 locations nationwide.Mac is a Cleveland native with a passion for business, good food, and good people. After studying Economics at Miami University, Mac started a career in finance and law before ultimately pursuing his longtime passion for business to help start Cleveland Kraut with his brother and brother-in-law.We cover a lot in this conversation from the history of fermentation, to the health benefits of probiotics, the transition from Cleveland Kraut to Cleveland Kitchen, starting a business with your family, and much more...I came away hungry for food but quenched with knowledge!————Connect with Mac: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mac-anderson-98500973/Learn more about Cleveland Kitchen: https://www.clevelandkitchen.com/————Learn more about Jeffrey @ https://jeffreys.pageConnect with Jeffrey on Linkedin or on TwitterFollow Lay of The Land on Twitter

Lay of the Land’s nineteenth conversation is with Manoj Jhaveri — co-founder & CEO of Hyr Medical — on transforming the healthcare staffing industry by empowering clinicians to find the best freelance opportunities while simultaneously offering more flexibility for hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare employers.We cover a lot in this conversation — from how to build healthcare marketplaces, to solving the growing clinician shortage. Manoj is on a mission to transform the $18B healthcare staffing industry and enable an elastic, on-demand workforce.Prior to Hyr, Manoj was a mechanical & industrial engineer at several Fortune 500 companies. He then spent 10 years as an innovation strategy & product development management consultant. Manoj was also a faculty member at Case Western Reserve University where he taught innovation management and marketing strategy.————Connect with Manoj: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mjhaveri/Learn more about Hyr Medical: https://www.hyrmed.com/————Connect with Jeffrey on Linkedin or on TwitterFollow Lay of The Land on Twitter 

Lay of the Land’s eighteenth conversation is with Cullen Naumoff — co-founder of Farm Fare, based in Cleveland, Ohio — on why local food is better food and how Farm Fare allows family farms to compete in a world built for economies of scale. Local food is better food, and our world is hungry for a more principled system that stands for people and planet as well as profit. But agriculture in the middle cannot compete against a highly consolidated industrial food system without the tools to match its efficiency. Farm Fare is offering those tools and believes we need to recreate the food supply chain entirely.Hailing from the agriculture-rich lands of Ohio’s densest dairies, Cullen spent a decade before Farm Fare learning and working in NYC to West Virginia, gaining a better understanding of the dynamics of local economies. Upon her return to Ohio, she saw an opportunity to grow a local food economy through starting and managing a food hub. Her engineering background shed light on the obstacles to scalability a single food hub faces while highlighting how collaborating strategically with like-minded businesses could yield an entirely different scale of impact.————Connect with Cullen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cullen-naumoff-717baa2/Learn more about Farm Fare: http://www.farmfare.io/————Connect with Jeffrey on Linkedin or on TwitterFollow Lay of The Land on Twitter 

Lay of the Land’s seventeenth conversation is with Anthony Hughes — co-founder and CEO at Tech Elevator — on their recent acquisition to Stride, the future of education, unlocking people’s potential, and software development.Tech Elevator is a coding bootcamp based in Cleveland, Ohio with physical locations across the Midwest. Their programs are oriented around rapidly teaching students to become software developers while helping them build necessary professional-readiness skills so they can have more meaningful careers.Founded in 2015, Tech Elevator has placed nearly 2,000 graduates into software development roles in over 400 companies nationwide. Anthony’s passion for helping individuals find fulfillment and realize their career potential is more than apparent in this conversation.

Lay of the Land’s sixteenth conversation is with Brandon Bryant — co-founder and venture partner at Harlem Capital — on investing in companies started by people of color & women with the purpose of changing the face of entrepreneurship.Harlem Capital closed on its inaugural oversubscribed $40 million fund back in 2019 and is focused on investing in 1,000 diverse founders over the next 20 years.Brandon — who recently boomeranged from NYC back to Cleveland — is taking Harlem Capital’s mission and vision and applying it to Cleveland and the greater midwest opportunity.I’m incredibly excited Brandon is joining the Cleveland entrepreneurial ecosystem and to share his work, whose awesomeness and importance speaks for itself!We cover a lot in this conversation — from investing to content creation to storytelling (on the side, Brandon created and manages WallStreetPaper, a brand now harboring over 200,000 followers on instagram) — hope you all enjoy it! ————Follow Brandon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/wallstreetpaperFollow WallStreetPaper on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wallstreetpaper/Follow Harlem Capital on Twitter: https://twitter.com/HarlemCapital————Connect with Jeffrey on Linkedin or on TwitterFollow Lay of The Land on Twitter 

Lay of the Land’s fifteenth conversation is with Justin Bibb, Mayor of Cleveland.We cover a lot in this conversation — through a lens of technology, entrepreneurship, and equity, we explore Justin’s vision for the city of Cleveland. Really enjoyed this conversation and hope you do too!————Justin Bibb is a proud Cleveland native who grew up in Mt. Pleasant on the southeast side of the city. He has dedicated his career to rebuilding neighborhoods and making cities safer, healthier, and more resilient. Justin currently serves as the Chief Strategy Officer of Urbanova, a start-up focused on solving the unique challenges faced by mid-sized cities.Over the last 15 years, Justin has worked at the intersection of government, business, and the nonprofit sector as an executive and nonprofit leader. He interned for President Barack Obama when he was in the U.S. Senate and has served as Special Assistant for Cuyahoga County, Head of the Global Cities Practice at Gallup, and most recently, Vice President for KeyBank.He co-founded Hack Cleveland in 2014 following the death of Tamir Rice and launched Cleveland Can't-Wait in 2019, a nonprofit focused on advancing racial equity and economic opportunity in underserved neighborhoods across the city. Justin also serves on the boards of the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority, Teach for America – Ohio, Destination Cleveland, and LAND Studio Inc.————Learn more about Justin’s Platform: https://www.bibbforcle.com/Follow Justin on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JustinMBibbFollow Justin’s Campaign on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BibbForCLE————Subscribe on Apple PodcastsConnect with Jeffrey on Linkedin or on TwitterFollow Lay of The Land on Twitter 

Our fourteenth conversation is with Matt Buder Shapiro — co-founder and chief marketing officer of MedPilot which was recently acquired by Vytalize Health in a big win for Cleveland startups!Matt is a Cleveland native and champion of the ecosystem here (he also has just been genuinely kind and giving of his time, supporting all of Lay of The Land’s progress so far). He has been responsible for developing MedPilot's brand and patient engagement strategy — to date, MedPilot’s helped over 1,000,000 patients and boasts a 97% patient satisfaction score.Matt also sits on the advisory board for Blue Star Families, the nation's largest chapter-based military family organization, and the Catamount Innovation Fund. Prior to MedPilot, Matt led the New York media team at Bully Pulpit Interactive, a political strategy firm created by the digital marketers of Barack Obama’s 2008 and 2012 campaigns. BPI's experience with leveraging data to target communication helped provide the foundation for MedPilot's engagement engine. Matt is also a political strategist and advisor for Dr. Tom Lee, the founder of One Medical, ePocrates, and Galileo. Most recently, Matt serves as a Technology Policy Advisor for Justin Bibb’s mayoral campaign.Please enjoy our conversation!Connect with Matt: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattbudershapiroFollow Matt on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mbudershapiroConnect with Jeffrey on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffreypstern/Follow Lay of The Land on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PodLayOfTheLand