Dare to Disrupt
30 episodes - English - Latest episode: 18 days ago - ★★★★★ - 9 ratingsThis podcast is about Penn State alumni who are innovators, entrepreneurs, and leaders, and the stories behind their success.
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Episodes
Exploring Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) with Former NFL Player Omar X. Easy
April 08, 2024 17:15 - 48 minutes - 67.1 MBOmar Easy is the recently appointed director of the all-new Penn State Brand Academy, which is designed to support student-athletes to manage and leverage their personal brand, name, image and likeness (NIL), and support their entrepreneurial interests more successfully. In this episode, Omar shares lessons learned from his time as a student-athlete at Penn State as well as his time in the NFL, where he played as a running back for the Kansas City Chiefs and the Oakland Raiders. He then disc...
LIVE from State College: honeygrow Founder Justin Rosenberg
March 27, 2024 16:59 - 46 minutes - 63.6 MBJustin Rosenberg is Founder and CEO of honeygrow, a fast-casual stir-fry and salad concept founded in Philadelphia in 2012. With a mission to create a unique, spirited brand focused on simple, wholesome foods, Rosenberg has led the company's creation and growth, which currently has 41 locations. In this special LIVE episode recording, which took place during Penn State Startup Week powered by PNC on Wednesday, March 20, Justin shares his story of perseverance and eventual success with honeygr...
Windows of Opportunity: Navigating Growth with MITER Brands CEO Matt DeSoto
February 27, 2024 13:05 - 47 minutes - 65.1 MBMatt DeSoto is the President and CEO of Harrisburg-based MITER Brands, a family of leading window and door brands designed for residential projects in the new construction and remodeling markets. In this episode, Matt talks about his experience working for Student Painters as a student at Penn State, enduring the Great Recession of 2008, how he and his team maintain top-quality products and service, as well as how he prioritizes giving back to the communities they work in through the MITER Fo...
Scaling a Stress-free Home Remodeling Business with West Shore Home Founder B.J. Werzyn
January 29, 2024 12:00 - 38 minutes - 53.3 MBB.J. Werzyn is the founder and CEO of West Shore Home, one of the largest direct to consumer home remodelers in the nation. In this episode, B.J. talks about how he is revolutionizing a traditionally fragmented and tech averse industry. He talks through how West Shore Home mapped out the 67 processes of home remodeling, removed inefficiencies, and implemented streamlined processes empowered by technology to ultimately make the easiest, quickest, most stress-free customer experience.
Winter Break Message II and January Episode Preview – West Shore Home
December 15, 2023 14:01 - 1 minute - 2.23 MBWe are taking a break this December, but we'll be back in late January with an episode featuring B.J. Werzyn, the founder and CEO of West Shore Home, one of the largest direct-to-consumer home remodelers in the nation. Listen to this episode for a quick preview of the interview. Happy holidays!
Putting the ‘Care’ in Home Care with Norm Potter
November 30, 2023 19:19 - 42 minutes - 58.7 MBNorm Potter is the co-founder and co-owner of Allegiance Transportation, as well as the owner and Executive Director of the Winston Salem branch of Griswold Home Care. Allegiance Transportation is a non-emergency medical transportation provider, specializing in wheelchair and ambulatory transport services. Griswold Home Care provides non-medical home care to elderly adults by referring professional caregivers for personal care, homemaking, and companionship services. In this episode, Norm ta...
Special Commemorative Episode – Daring to Disrupt with Ryan Newman and James Delattre
October 30, 2023 12:00 - 55 minutes - 76.3 MBThis is a special crossover episode of Dare to Disrupt and Following the Gong, a show that features conversations with Penn State Schreyer Scholar Alumni sharing advice on how to make new connections with a strong network of Scholar Alumni that blazed the trail before you. Following The Gong host Sean Goheen interviews Goldman Sachs Managing Director and Dare to Disrupt host Ryan Newman, ’01 and Associate Vice President for Research and Director of the Office of Entrepreneurship & Commerciali...
Anticipating the Waves of Change with Google’s Global Director of Solution Sales Ash Ashutosh
September 27, 2023 16:00 - 40 minutes - 56.3 MBAsh Ashutosh is a serial entrepreneur and the Global Director of Solution Sales at Google. His data management startup, Actifio, achieved a valuation of over $1B and was acquired by Google in 2020. In this episode, Ash talks about anticipating and advancing alongside what he calls the waves of change, in reference to the surges in innovation and technology that occur over time. His entrepreneurial journey reflects those technology surges - he started out in the silicon industry, then moved ...
Making a Deal on Shark Tank with FlexScreen Inventor Joe Altieri
August 31, 2023 13:15 - 51 minutes - 70.7 MBJoe Altieri is the president, CEO, and inventor of FlexScreen, the world’s first and only flexible window screen, as seen on season 11 episode 10 of ABC’s Shark Tank. In this episode, Joe talks about how he started his career as an independent sales representative in the window industry and quickly became frustrated with the flimsy aluminum frames found in traditional screens. He shares his experience pitching FlexScreen on ABC's Shark Tank, and how he walked away with a deal with American te...
Diving into Fintech with Denim Social CEO Doug Wilber
August 01, 2023 21:09 - 40 minutes - 55 MBDoug Wilber is the CEO of Denim Social, a leading provider of social media management software that empowers marketers in regulated industries to manage organic social media content and paid social media advertising on one platform. A financial services veteran, Doug served in leadership roles with Assembly Payments, PYMNTS.com, Discover Financial Services and Market Platform Dynamics.
Rapidly Failing, Scaling, and Succeeding with Serial Entrepreneur Bill Seibel
July 05, 2023 18:52 - 44 minutes - 61.1 MBBill Seibel is a serial entrepreneur, and has played a role in 14 startups: five as founder and CEO, five as CEO, and another four as an operating executive. He is currently the Founder and CEO of Gumball, an advisory firm that has helped more than 80 CEOs scale their company rapidly by ensuring that their strategy, customer value proposition and go-to-market model are aligned to achieve their growth goals.
Cheering On Women Warriors with Haley McClain Hill
May 23, 2023 13:45 - 38 minutes - 53.6 MBHaley McClain Hill is the CEO and Founder of TORCH Warriorwear, a subscription, direct to consumer military apparel and lifestyle brand that celebrates, empowers, and serves current and future women warriors. She shares her experiences leading a 300-person Air Force squadron during the pandemic, cheering in the NFL, and launching her apparel company.
From Wall Street Trader to Facial Authentication Innovator with Ryan Owen
April 19, 2023 19:34 - 42 minutes - 59.1 MBRyan Owen shares his experiences as a Wall Street trader, the unique internship opportunities Penn State connected him to as a student, as well as his experience being in the World Trade Center on 9/11. He then shares the twists and turns that led him to founding his two current startups: Wicket, a software company that specializes in facial authentication solutions for venue operators and facility managers, and Cast Iron Media, a premier sports and entertainment streaming solutions company.
Increasing Access to Substance Use Disorder Treatment with Doug Leech
March 28, 2023 18:17 - 59 minutes - 81.5 MBDoug Leech is the Founder and CEO of Ascension Recovery Services. ). Through his own struggles with addiction and subsequent recovery, Doug developed a passion for helping those suffering from the disease of addiction and set out to increase access to substance use disorder (SUD) treatment across the country.
Empowering Underserved Communities with Former NFL Player Garry Gilliam
February 20, 2023 13:37 - 40 minutes - 56.2 MBGarry Gilliam is the Founder and CEO of The Bridge Eco-Village, a sustainable, mixed-use community ecosystem in Harrisburg, PA. The Bridge Eco-Village will feature solutions to many of the problems facing underserved communities. Prior to founding The Bridge, Garry played in the NFL for five seasons for the Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers.
Making Sustainability Convenient with Zander Isaacson
January 18, 2023 16:00 - 43 minutes - 60.4 MBZander Isaacson is the CEO and Co-Founder of Xeal, a technology-first electric vehicle (EV) charging company operating at the intersection of real estate, mobility, clean energy, and IoT. The company secured $40M in Series B funding in November 2022 after closing an $11M series in 2021 by leading proptech and climate tech VC funds, and has already partnered with 70+ of the largest real estate companies including Lincoln Property Company, Camden, Greystar, Related, UBS, and Brookfield. Zander ...
Winter Break Message and January Episode Preview
November 30, 2022 15:25 - 1 minute - 2.56 MBWe are taking a break this December, but we’ll be back in late January with an episode featuring Zander Isaacson, the co-founder of Xeal, a company that is disrupting the electric vehicle charging industry. Listen to this episode for a quick preview of the interview. Happy holidays!
Empowering Patients with Ro Founder Rob Schutz
October 24, 2022 14:55 - 51 minutes - 71 MBRob Schutz is the Chief Growth Officer and Co-founder of Ro, a direct-to-patient healthcare company providing high-quality, affordable healthcare without the need for insurance. Rob guides Ro's growth, marketing and communications functions to tell Ro’s story of putting patients in control of their health. He applies his extensive experience in consumer marketing to ensure Ro is resonating with patients by directly addressing their healthcare concerns. Under Rob’s leadership, these functions ...
Rejecting the Label of Disabled with Susan Robinson
September 22, 2022 15:06 - 54 minutes - 74.8 MBSusan Robinson is a speaker, consultant and leader making an impact on the world in a truly unique way. Through her corporate and conference keynote, commencement addresses, workshops, client initiatives and writing, she masterfully blends over 25 years of multi-sector leadership with her experiences being legally blind to shift thinking, elevate potential and inspire action. She has worked with global firms and Fortune 500 companies, top not-for-profit organizations, leading universities and...
Innovating the Environmental Insurance Business with David Rosenberg
August 25, 2022 18:47 - 35 minutes - 48.3 MBDavid Rosenberg is the former Executive Vice President and Principal at Environmental Compliance Services (ECS). David and his two partners grew ECS from a small 12 person, $5 million in annual written premium agency to a 500 person, $200 million in annual written premium agency and a leader in the environmental insurance business. ECS was sold to XL Capital Inc., a publicly held company in 1999.
On the Forefront of Digital Advertising with Infolinks Media CEO Robert Regular
July 26, 2022 12:13 - 53 minutes - 73.7 MBRobert is a serial technology and media entrepreneur with 25 years of experience in digital media and marketing. Robert received his bachelor's degree in communications and business from Penn State.
Gaming your Health with Litesprite Founder Swatee Surve
June 27, 2022 12:30 - 52 minutes - 71.9 MBIn 2013, Swatee launched Litesprite, a health tech startup developing award-winning digital therapeutic purpose-driven games for chronic conditions. Litesprite has the mission of destigmatizing mental health issues and removing barriers to the tools people need. She received her MSME in Control Systems and Biomechanics from Penn State.
Revolutionizing the Real Estate Industry with Sean Black
May 31, 2022 16:36 - 49 minutes - 68.2 MBSean Black is the Co-founder & CEO of Knock.com, and he was part of the founding team for the online real estate marketplace site Trulia. He graduated from Penn State in 1996 with a degree in international business management.
Disrupting the Mattress Industry with JT Marino
April 25, 2022 12:56 - 45 minutes - 62.9 MBJT Marino is the Chief Disruption Officer at Serta Simmons Bedding and the co-founder of Tuft & Needle, which merged with Serta Simmons in 2018. He studied math and computer science at Penn State.
Building Weebly with Founder David Rusenko
March 28, 2022 15:35 - 36 minutes - 50.6 MBDavid is the Head of eCommerce at Square and founder of Weebly, which was acquired by Square in 2018 for $365M. He graduated from Penn State in 2007 with a degree in Information Sciences & Technology.
Connecting Consumers and Local Businesses with Bruce Aronow
March 07, 2022 19:06 - 44 minutes - 61.8 MBBruce Aronow is the Executive Chairman of eLocal, a performance-based advertising company whose mission is to connect consumers with local businesses, specializing in the Home Services, Legal, Medical, Financial, and Insurance verticals. He graduated from the Penn State Smeal College of Business in 1987 with a degree in accounting.
Shaping Cultural Change with Jess Weiner
November 29, 2021 22:00 - 48 minutes - 66.7 MBJess Weiner is a cultural expert and creative who has spent 26 years researching and educating on cultural trends in order to help people feel seen, heard + understood. She is a bestselling author, podcast host and speaker who has connected with audiences from the White House to Wall Street. In this episode, Jess discusses how she has been a strategic partner in culture-changing moments such as Dove’s campaign for “Real Beauty” and the evolution of Barbie. She also talks about how Penn S...
A Pioneer in Tech: Building the Interviewing Cloud with Mo Bhende
October 27, 2021 19:00 - 52 minutes - 72.6 MBInspired by his love of hiring, Mo Bhende built Karat to unlock opportunities and transform the interviewing process by conducting highly predictive technical interviews for clients. In this episode, Bhende talks about his international travels, how he took advantage of Penn State resources, lessons learned while working for Microsoft Xbox, and how all those experiences led him to creating a business that would turn the agonizing interview process into an enjoyable one. At the end of this e...
Riding the Founder’s Wave with Matt Brezina
September 29, 2021 13:00 - 49 minutes - 68.1 MBMatt Brezina, a 2003 Schreyer and College of Engineering grad, shares the stories behind starting software company Xobni and greeting card company Sincerely.