Innovation City

[As an innovator] When you join a community, your crazy is normalized. — Travis Sheridan   Today we are sitting down with President of CIC Venture Cafe Global Institute, Travis Sheridan, to take a look back at all of the amazing and unforgettable interviews from our St. Louis, MO shows in 2018. From CEOs, to startup entrepreneurs, educators, artists and more, the Innovation City team has been able showcase how people from all backgrounds come together through Venture Cafe.

“Help to be a change agent in whatever it is that you’re looking to get into.” — Latoya Stirrup   Today’s guest is Latoya Stirrup, President & Co-Founder at Digital Grass Innovation & Technology. As a self-described creative solutionist, Latoya is a entrepreneur, producer, and strategist with over 14 years of experience in advertising and marketing. Latoya sits down with us to discuss her background in communications and marketing, her family’s legacy in Miami and how she is building on it herself, using your voice to make a change, and finding your niche in the community.

“In every community that we [Knight Foundation] work in we try to accentuate and catalyze what’s endemic and already happening...it has to be authentic to place.”  — Raul Moas   Today’s guest is Raul Moas, Program Director for Knight Foundation in Miami, FL. Knight Foundation is a national foundation that invests in journalism, arts, technology, and in communities at large around the U.S. Raul is a Miami native with a deep knowledge about the community and entrepreneurial scene. We sit down with Raul to talk about Miami’s entrepreneurial history and its strong connection with immigrants, Knight Foundation’s $1 million investment in Venture Cafe, how to expand economic opportunity for all Miamians, and Miami being a city of ascension.

“Instead of staying in that bad zone and staying stuck...you don’t have to, you can figure out why and fix it.”  — Bill Donius   Today’s guest is Bill Donius, Author of the New York Times Best-Seller, "Thought Revolution: How to Unlock Your Inner Genius." Bill is also a regularly contributing writer for Huffington Post. Previously Chairman and CEO of Pulaski Bank in St. Louis, MO, Bill has over 20 years of experience in the corporate world. Bill sits down with the team to discuss his best-selling book, the theory and research behind the right-brain approach, his work with global brands and startups to get “unstuck,” and St. Louis’ ever-growing entrepreneurial ecosystem.

“We’re entrepreneurs by blood here, it’s in our system to be testing things, hustling, and grinding...that’s just who we are.” — Luisa Santos   Today’s guest is Luisa Santos, Founder of Lulu’s Ice Cream. Lulu’s Ice Cream is a hand-crafted nitrogen ice cream shop that uses fresh, locally-sourced ingredients. Luisa started her entrepreneurial journey in 2013 by selling homemade nitrogen ice cream as a project for school and quickly became captivated by the process. Luisa sits down with us to talk about how she started her ice cream business, the importance of networking and using advice to help grow yourself and your business, and Miami’s ever-growing entrepreneurial infrastructure.

“Companies need to realize you might not have those years of experience or that traditional degree, but if you can do the job...you should get the job.” — Juha Mikkola   Today’s guest is Juha Mikkola, Co-Founder at Wyncode Academy. Founded in 2014, Wyncode is one of the top coding schools in the country with over 600 graduates and a 91% job placement rate by more than 250 companies worldwide. Juha was born in Finland and moved to the U.S. to pursue his goal of owning his own company. He landed in Miami to be a part of the booming South Florida entrepreneur and tech ecosystem. Juha sits down with us to talk about his entrepreneurial journey, starting Wyncode with his wife, creating a more diversified environment for your company, and tackling the supply problem in the technology industry.

“Kill it, every time. That should be your whole motto. Everything you do, just smash it.” — Steve Ewing   Today’s guest is Steve Ewing, Lead Singer/Songwriter of The Urge and Owner of Steve's Hot Dogs. Steve formed The Urge while he was still in high school, creating music with an eclectic mix of punk, reggae, hip-hop, and ska. Steve’s Hot Dogs was born out of his desire to feed his audiences as well as entertain them, and it’s been a resounding success that quickly resulted in opening a second location. Steve sits down with Tyler and Michael to talk about making music, running two restaurants, and why he works so hard at everything he does, whether it’s killing it at a live show, serving great food, or competing as an amateur bodybuilder.

“You’ve just got to be able to stand back up and keep going.” — Freddy Sidi   Today’s guest is Freddy Sidi, President and CEO of Chargello. Freddy is a serial entrepreneur whose first company (started when he was just 20 years old) quickly became one of the largest CLECs in the entire United States. Chargello is a free phone-charging battery service and advertising platform designed for public spaces like restaurants, hotels, and airports. Freddy sits down with us to talk about being a serial entrepreneur, how Chargello solves three problems at once, and why sometimes you have to listen to yourself and tune everyone else out.

“Corporates and startups, they need each other, but... there’s something about the way they communicate; they just can’t seem to figure out how to do that well.” — Kim Plank   Today’s guest is Kim Plank, Midwest Regional Director at Captains of Innovation, a Venture Cafe Global program. Captains of Innovation helps corporations accelerate innovation by introducing them to emerging talents and startups. Kim has a long history of entrepreneurship and economic development. She is the former General Manager of the Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC) in St. Louis, and prior to that she worked at the St. Louis Regional Chamber as the Directory of Health Sciences & Services. Kim joins the Innovation City podcast today to share her insights on building innovation ecosystems, what corporations and startups can learn from one another, and how to go about starting a business or becoming an entrepreneur for the first time.

“The secret to raising venture capital is long-term relationships… I’ve never received money from someone with whom I’ve had a shorter than six-month relationship.” — Blake Marggraff   Today’s guest is Blake Marggraff, CEO at Epharmix. Blake founded Epharmix the year he graduated from Washington University. Epharmix is a digital health company that provides automatic remote patient monitoring for medically underserved patient groups. Blake joins Innovation City to share his insights on startup culture, cultivating venture capital relationships, quantitative goal setting, the next evolution in healthcare, and setting the standard of care for patient engagement technology.

“I believe that legal victories alone are not going to get us to where we need to be in terms of social change.” — Meena Jagannath Today’s guest is Meena Jagannath, Co-Founder and Co-Director at Community Justice Project. Meena has been a human rights advocate for nearly 20 years, working in places like India, Guatemala, and Haiti in addition to her work in communities around the U.S. A movement lawyer with an extensive background in activism, Meena also has a Master’s in International Affairs. She sits down with the Innovation City team to talk about her path to co-founding Community Justice Project, how it fits into the public-sector legal services ecosystem in Miami, and how their team supports a growing community of activists and organizers working on behalf of people who are often ignored by the city and other institutions of power.

“Don’t think you’re going to get funded right away just because you have a great idea; you’ve really got to hone it and focus it a lot more before you get to that point.” — David Nicklaus Today’s guest is David Nicklaus, Business Columnist at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. David has worked at the Post-Dispatch for 36 years, writing three columns per week on business and economic issues. He also appears on The Bottom Line, a weekly video feature covering business topics, and writes other online features as well. David joins the Innovation City team to share his insights on St. Louis’ recent boom in entrepreneurial growth, his vision for the city’s future, and the importance of well-connected, well-resourced local news outlets.

“My role is to go out and find people that are… on fire, doing really good things... and accelerate that.” — Miriam Dorsett   Today’s guest is Miriam Dorsett, Connection Doctor at Chibur. She is a full-time artist, entrepreneur, and community activator focused on building community, creating connections, exploring how technology can support artists, and highlighting sustainability. Chibur is a Hebrew word that means “attachment” or “connection from heaven to earth.” Miriam is also a prolific writer — her first book is titled, “What Should I Caption This Picture?”. Miriam sits down with Michael and Tyler to talk about building communities, figuring out how to build her passion into a business, and creating a space for writers and artists to thrive.

“A person just in their basement working hard is great, and they might have traction and success, but if they do it’s because they’re leveraging past relationships. If you don’t have those relationships, or you need to make new ones, you’ve got to be out in the community doing that.” — Megan McKissen   Today’s guest is Megan McKissen, Director at OPO Startups and Founder and Managing Partner at Clustered Economic Development. As Director of OPO (an incubator focused on technology and design startups in St. Charles, MO) Megan helped create one of the Top 25 communities for startup growth in the entire nation. Clustered works to build inclusive, homegrown startup clusters that create high-paying jobs and attract high-growth companies in small towns and suburban and rural communities. Megan joins Innovation City today to talk about her plans for building economic growth centers in small towns across the country, share stories about fast acquisitions of OPO startups, and explain why we shouldn’t forget about the

“In a 10 year stretch, $1 Billion was invested... No other city in the United States has put $1 Billion into cultural infrastructure for 50 years.” — Howard Herring Today’s guest on Innovation City is Howard Herring, President and CEO of New World Symphony. Since 1987, the NWS has been a driving force for culture in Miami. Under Herring’s leadership, the NWS has helped revitalize the cultural and architectural landscapes of Miami Beach, delivering cutting-edge performances both inside its captivating, Frank Gehry-designed New World Center venue, and outside, in its state-of-the-art Soundscape park. Howard joins the Innovation City team to talk about the power of a clear creative vision, the importance of investing in cultural infrastructure, and how NWS is creating new opportunities for cross-cultural engagement in Miami.

“There’s a lot of focus for non-traditional financiers to invest in these startups, because, quite frankly, the big banks aren’t really doing it.” — Jamey Edgerton   Today’s guest is Jamey Edgerton. Jamey is the CEO of Nvsted and the Senior Vice President at St. Louis Economic Development Partnership. Nvsted is a St. Louis-centric crowdfunding portal. The Economic Development Partnership, where Jamey is responsible for directing the business development and finance divisions, is the economic and financial engine for St. Louis City and St. Louis County. Jamey joins the podcast today to talk about the power of small investors, St. Louis’ strong entrepreneur ecosystem, and why he believes St. Louis can be competitive with bigger, cooler cities.

“At the end of the day, all of us are people. People want to help each other.” — Uri Fleyder-Kotler Today’s guest is Uri Fleyder-Kotler, Co-Founder & CEO at Narya Security. Narya helps enterprise businesses solve the damage caused by ransomware with a single click. Uri is an experienced manager and security researcher, previously serving as Manager of the Advanced Threats Research Lab at RSA Security. He also has a top military record from a special technology unit in the Israeli Defense Force, has received three patents, and has another three patents pending. Uri joins Innovation City today to talk about what inspired him to start Narya, the benefits of joining an accelerator program, and the importance of integrity, hard work, and sacrifice in building any business.

“I believe that we’re all constantly telling stories to each other… and if a student is able to refine their storytelling abilities through technology, because they’re using our product, I think we’re having a very positive impact on the world.” — Robin Rath   Today’s guest is Robin Rath, Co-Founder & CEO at Pixel Press. Pixel Press is building the next generation of creation tools for kids to create, share, and play video game-based content by leveraging the integrated power of toys and video games. Robin was recognized as one of Business Journal’s “Upstart 100” in 2015, named “Inventor of the Year” by the St. Louis Bar Association in 2016, and was the St. Louis University’s 2017 Center for Entrepreneurship’s “Entrepreneur of the Year”. He is also a member of Pipeline Entrepreneur’s 2018 Fellowship Class. He joins Tyler and Michael today to talk about bringing his childhood pastime of designing video games on paper to life, the power of technology to amplify storytelling, and the importance of early educ

“This false notion has developed over the years that there are certain people who are born to code… we approach it as a skill that can be learned and taught, like many other job-focused skills.” — Jeff Mazur   Today’s guest is Jeff Mazur, Executive Director at LaunchCode. LaunchCode is a growing national nonprofit that is building the tech workforce by providing free, high-quality training and job placement to driven individuals who lack typical tech credentials. Jeff previously served as Senior Advisor to Missouri Governor Jay Nixon and as Executive Director of the Missouri-Kansas affiliate of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees. Jeff joins Innovation City to talk about LaunchCode’s goal of bridging the high-skill tech workforce gap in cities across the U.S., the value of being nimble, and the joy he finds in his job.

“VR has been here for 20 years… I think that we are on the brink of the whole worldwide community understanding these technologies.” — Mauricio Ferazza   Today’s guest is Mauricio Ferrazza, Chairperson of Miami Animation & Gaming International Complex (MAGIC) at Miami Dade College. Mauricio has over 25 years of experience working in animation production for film and TV. After a 14 year career at Univision, he founded MIA ANIMATION and launched the MIA Animation Conference & Festival, and then became the inaugural Chairperson at MAGIC. Mauricio sits down with the Innovation City team to talk about building the animation industry in Miami, why animation is important to every single industry, and why he’s excited for our augmented reality future.