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The Build #39:Path
Every journey in entrepreneurship includes at least one unexpected detour. But the unexpected changes in our paths sometimes lead us toward the greatest successes. AJ Bruno found himself faced with such a situation while scaling a rapidly growing startup company in Austin, Texas. The lessons he learned there turned one of the biggest challenges for…
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The Build #38: Giving
Making a charitable donation online is now as simple as posting a hashtag comment on your favorite social media post, thanks to the innovative idea behind John Gossart’s startup company Goodworld. Goodworld has eliminated expensive processing fees and security hurdles and kept charitable donations where they belong — within the moment that inspired the generosity…
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The Build #35: Notice
Finding the intersection between advertising, speaking engagements, and social and digital media can be a daunting task in today’s overloaded internet landscape. Rakia Reynolds is tackling the non-traditional media space at Skai Blue Media, a public relations company that provides business development, marketing, and message strategy to a wide variety of companies around the country.…
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The Build #33: Insecurity
Megha Kulshreshtha took what she learned as a corporate data analyst and focused on the growing problem of food insecurity in America’s urban centers. She launched an organization that is using mobile technology to make it easier to collect food donations on demand so they can reach people who need them the most. Together we…
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The Build #32: Concert
Listening to live music doesn’t always require a huge crowd. For centuries, people gathered in small rooms to listen to chamber music. As part of the genre we now know as classical, you usually only get to hear it performed in symphony halls and other large venues, where ticket prices and cultural norms can sometimes…
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The Build #29: Esquire
Esquire is the term that American lawyers use to set themselves apart from other professionals. But it’s also emblematic of the challenges that many young attorneys face in today’s crowded job market. Julia Shapiro founded a talent platform that leverages those changes in the legal industry. By matching short-term law gigs with skilled experts, she’s…
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The Build #28: Explore
When Rob Frantz was growing up, he wanted to explore uncharted territory. His childhood dream of becoming an astronaut gave way to another daring career as a Navy fighter pilot. And after years of helping teams make fast, critical decisions, Rob made one of his own — he bought a company. Today, he’s helping to…
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The Build #27: Potential
Over the course of his career in the United States Navy, Chris Diaz grew fascinated with studying the differences between his fellow fighters. What made one person successful in their role, and what caused other folks to struggle? After wrapping up a tour in Afghanistan, Chris pursued the answers to questions like those at Drexel…
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The Build #26: Fix
Think of all the things you’ve got to repair around your home right now. All the little paint chips, the projects you’ve been putting off. Now think about all the things you need fixed on your block. How about your neighborhood. Or your whole city? How would you even keep track of all that? For…
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Episode #25: Cash
Cash. No matter what kind of job you have or business you build, everything comes down to the amount of cash you can hustle together. Benjamin Pitts thinks about that for a living. When this one-time West Point cadet discovered that a health issue would prevent him from taking on a role in the military,…
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The Build #24: Roadmap
Roadmap. It’s the term developers use for the document that helps determine what new features will go into a piece of software. But it’s also the perfect metaphor for the kind of tool that Earl Knight wants to build to help his customers navigate social media. This former professional basketball player has worked all over…
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The Build #23: Bridge
Bridge. It’s a great metaphor when you’re talking about the journey between where you are now and where you want to be. While growing teams at a few different companies, entrepreneur and marketing executive Tracey Welson-Rossman noticed a big gap in hiring between men and women for technology jobs. As a result, she founded a…