Caffeinated Innovation

On this episode, we interview Courtney Williamson, CEO & founder of AbiliLife, a company engineering products to improve the quality of life for neurodegenerative and elderly patients. The Caffeinated Innovation co-hosts, Pam Eichenbaum and Jenn Van Dam talk to Courtney about her path to entrepreneurship, the AlphaLab Gear program, and the future of the medical device market.

This was a live interview of Caffeinated Innovation at the Inclusive Innovation Summit 2019 where we interviewed four startup founders from different sectors and stages about their experiences starting and growing a startup here in southwestern Pennsylvania and how they work to make their companies inclusive. Our panel includes Emily Wazlak, Founder of Shine Registry, Anne Lopez, Co-Founder & COO of Loopla, George Cook, CEO & Founder of Honeycomb Credit, and Clarence Carlos, CEO of RC21X.

We interviewed Clara Sieg, partner at Revolution Ventures, a VC firm investing in people & ideas that can change the world. The Caffeinated Innovation co-hosts, Pam Eichenbaum and Jenn Van Dam talked to Clara about investing in startups, managing a $200 M fund and advice for entrepreneurs.

On this bonus episode of season one, Co-hosts, Jenn Van Dam and Pam Eichenbaum recap the season, their holiday plans, and share more about who they are and their roles at Innovation Works.

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On episode eight of season one, we talk to Patrick Paul and Steven Welles of Ikos & Dave Lishego, IW's Senior Investment Associate. Founded in Pittsburgh in 2015, Ikos is passionate about simplifying the rental process for both landlords and tenants. Currently operating in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Columbus, Baltimore, Chicago, Milwaukee, Nashville, and Washington DC, they’re quickly expanding to new rental markets.

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On episode seven of season one, we talk to Priya Amin of Flexable and Aaron Tainter, AlphaLab Program Manager. Flexable provides pop up childcare at professional & personal events, offices, retail stores and more! Their Flexable Certified Caregivers go through a 6-point vetting process, guaranteeing safety and security. Simply fill out a form, and they take care of the rest.

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On episode six of season one, we talk to Brad Kriel of Velocity Robotics and Leah Simoncelli, AlphaLab Gear Coordinator. Veolicty is creating the internet of power tools. Based in Pittsburgh, PA they bridge practical fabrication needs with high-tech solutions.

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On episode five of season one, we talk to Kevin Kelly of Rhabit and Desmond O'Connor, a former Executive in Residence at IW (Des is now COOat AKM Productions). Rhabit translates your company's values and strategic priorities into actionable behaviors for each employee role. Rhabit uses this cultural framework to align talent to your most critical initiatives in a positive, sustainable way.

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On episode four of season one, we talk to Tamiah Bridgett of Diversamé and Ashley Lopez, IW's Associate Executive in Residence. Diversamé creates tools with natural/afro textured, coiled and curly hair textures at the center of design.

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On episode three of season one, we talk to Dick Zhang of Identified Technologies and Ilana Diamond, IW's Managing Director of Hardware and AlphaLab Gear. Industrial leaders use Identified Technologies' managed commercial drone solution to improve project tracking and team productivity.

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