614Startups

On this episode, Elio interviews Jonathan Poma, Founder & CEO of Loop. Loop allows Shopify brands to automate the entire return process, even exchanges. Loop improves retention by encouraging your customers to exchange rather than requesting a refund. Jonathan shares his journey from cutting his teeth at DYNAMIT to Head of Digital at HOMAGE and now CEO of Loop. Loop raised a $10 million Series A round led by FirstMark Capital in late 2019 and is poised to keep scaling in 2020 and beyond.

On this episode, Elio interviews Ryan Frederick, Founder of AWH. AWH is a software development firm that helps companies build innovative and disruptive products for the web, mobile and IoT. Ryan discusses his new book The Founder's Manual and the lessons learned building his company and helping entrepreneurs build theirs. Ryan is an active angel investor, mentors and advises entrepreneurs and startups, as well as corporate innovation leaders.

On this episode, Elio interviews Calvin Cooper, Co-Founder and CEO of Rhove. With Rhove, renters gain the opportunity to become a stakeholder, and earn a return from where they live. Calvin started his entrepreneurial journey working with the Ohio Minority Supplier Development Council helping grow and foster relationships between minority business enterprises, corporations, and government entities. He then moved on to become a Director and then a Venture Partner at the venerable Columbus, Ohio based venture firm NCT Ventures. Calvin launched Rhove to tackle the problem of plummeting millennial and later generation share of homeownership by giving renters the opportunity to become owners where they live. Enjoy! 

On this episode, Elio interviews Matthew Benson, Founder and CEO of eFuse. eFuse is a web and mobile application that serves as the professional hub for esports and video games. Coming off a $1.4 million seed round, eFuse launched their platform in December 2019 and are growing their user base in 2020. Enjoy!

On this episode, Elio interviews Peeyush Shrivastava, Co-Founder of Genetesis. Inspired by his grandfather’s health struggles, Peeyush Shrivastava and his cofounders started Genetesis out of their dorm rooms in 2013, and have since grown the company to 25 employees, with over $20 million in venture capital financing to date.

On this episode, Elio interviews Bernie Moreno, Chairman of Ownum. Ownum is on a mission to identify, support, and commercialize the most promising applications of distributed ledger technology. Enjoy.

On this episode, Elio interviews Eric Jenkusky, CEO of Matrix Meats. Matrix Meats is a manufacturer of 3D nanofibrous matrices used in the production of cultured meat. Climate change is driving innovation in food production and Matrix Meats helps culture meat producers solve the challenges around cultured meat texture, shape, and taste. Eric shares his insights on the meat industry and what's next for Matrix Meats.

On this episode, Elio interviews Shanna Dean, Co-Founder and Executive Chef of Lifestyle Cafe, a plant-based vegan restaurant located in the Olde Towne East neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio. Shanna discusses her journey to veganism, her family history of entrepreneurship, the hidden side of the American food industry, and how Lifestyle Cafe is changing the way vegan food is perceived and winning over hardcore omnivores.

On this episode, Elio interviews Rodney Williams, Co-Founder of SoLo Funds. SoLo Funds connects lenders and borrowers for affordable access to loans under $1000. Seeking to revolutionize the peer-to-peer lending space while addressing the needs of the unbanked or underbanked, SoLo Funds facilitated $5 million in loans in 2019 and are projected to hit $12 million in 2020. Out of stealth and scaling, Rodney and SoLo Funds are stepping on the gas and provide a safety valve for the pressure Americans are feeling as we deal with the economic disruption caused by COVID-19. Enjoy. 

On this episode, Elio interviews Bill Baumel, Managing Partner of the Ohio Innovation Fund. The Ohio Innovation Fund provides venture capital & expertise to enable early-stage Ohio companies to grow & prosper. Bill shares his lessons learned over his 17+ year career investing in and helping to scale multiple startups in Silicon Valley and now here in Ohio. Ohio Innovation Fund's portfolio includes Complion, DOMedia, Enable Injections, Global Cooling, Spirosure, Aware, Datanchor, and eFuse just to name a few.