For our latest episode, we sat down with President and Chief Innovation Officer Dr. Jill Murray and Provost Dr. Erica Barone Pricci of Lackawanna College. Lackawanna is a premier, private, college serving the people of Northeastern Pennsylvania. However, the school is focused on taking a different approach to education, and last year it was included in Fast Company’s list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies for its “Level Up” Program, which we talk about in this episode. Lackawanna...

For episode six, we are highlighting a great event being held by TecBRIDGE, an organization that is vital to the business community of Northeastern Pennsylvania. On Thursday April 21st, they will be hosting the 20th annual Business Plan Competition at the FM Kirby Center in downtown Wilkes-Barre. We had TecBRIDGE Executive Director Don Webster on to talk about the event, its history, and so much more. This competition is the region’s signature entrepreneurship and innovation event, and w...

This is the first of our “community spotlight” episodes. While the goal of this podcast is to highlight business owners, high-performers, and industry leaders to better understand their stories and how they make important decisions, these episodes will be a little bit different.We are a firm focused on partnering with our clients to help them achieve their financial goals, but we know there is so much more to life than planning and investing. We also care deeply about the community in which w...

For episode four, we sat down with real estate developer and the managing partner of Montage Mountain Resorts, Charles Jefferson. We had a very enjoyable conversation that covered Charlie’s roots in Philadelphia, his career path, various real estate projects he has worked on, and how he took the leap from the world of real estate development to managing a ski resort and water park. While Charlie has family roots in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it wasn’t until 2006 that he made his first in...

For episode three, we sat down with serial entrepreneur Patrick Sandone. We discussed Pat’s career path, including the successful sale of his technology company Net Driven in 2015, which he had grown from a one-person start-up into the largest digital marketing company serving independent automotive businesses in North America. We also discuss his most recent start-up venture, the Guide App, which will launch next year. Patrick’s professional journey took him from the Univer...

In this episode, we sat down with Robert and Matt Knowles of Knowles Associates, a full-service insurance firm serving corporations, organizations, and families throughout 22 states. We had a great conversation about a very interesting (and complicated) topic: successfully transitioning a family-owned business to the next generation. According to two 2010 studies cited by Cornell’s Johnson School of Business, the average life span of a family-owned business is 24 years. Only about 40% of...

Maggie Mineo Zayac moved home to Scranton from New York City with the goal of creating a unique shopping experience that didn't yet exist in Northeastern Pennsylvania. From this idea, The Daisy Collective was born. Our conversation explores how she went from a part-time employee to a business owner, how she balances running a successful business while being a mother of two , and much more. Enjoy!