This week Justin Gray invited Harry to the podcast to discuss giving his notice at Google, and how he convinced his college roommate to quit his job at Microsoft and build a startup with him (even though neither knew what that business would be). Harry also breaks down highlights from their start-stop journey at prototyping ideas, and how the need for data insights spurred a weekend side project that became what is now Periscope Data.

Sometimes the key to entrepreneurial success hinges on discovering a solution to a problem after months or even years of laborious trial and error. On the other hand, sometimes the answer is right under your nose. This was the case for Michael Dweck, who moved into a tiny Manhattan apartment with his now-wife Laura only to find his tattered, long-time accumulated sock and underwear drawer could barely shut. 

When it came time to refresh and replenish his drawer, Michael found the shopping experience to be a pain. He was faced with the choice of expensive designer products or cheap, generic options, neither of which sounded appealing. Together, Michael and Laura recognized this opportunity and created Basic Outfitters, an e-commerce site that offers high quality and affordable men’s essentials via a convenient digital shopping experience that takes no more than two minutes to customize and complete. 

Just because something has always been done one way doesn’t mean it should continue to be when an alternative comes along, right? That’s one belief held by this week’s guest who found success by challenging long held and outdated practices and is working to flip the earth-mined diamond industry on its head.  

Host Justin Gray, a fan of entrepreneurs who think way outside of the box, welcomes MiaDonna  founder and CEO Anna-Mieke Anderson to the podcast. MiaDonna is an eco-friendly jewelry company that pushes boundaries to create a socially responsible diamond industry. Appalled by the hard realities of the earth-mined diamond industry, Anna-Mieke has dedicated her life to creating diamonds in a lab environment. She also started a foundation, The Greener Diamond Foundation, to help children who’ve been caught in the middle of the unethical harvesting of diamonds. 

In this episode, Justin and Anna-Mieke discuss her shock after realizing she’d likely purchased a conflict diamond, how activism fuels her entrepreneurial efforts and how she’s overcome negative industry pushback to make positive changes for people and the environment. 

Host Justin Gray welcomes Aditi Madane, CEO of Upsilon Labs, to the Driven & Co. podcast. Aditi grew up in India before moving to the United States for graduate school, earning her masters degree from Florida State University. She spent more than a decade working for companies like IBM, Amazon and American Express. But when she had an idea for a new platform to bring neighbors closer together, she decided to go out on her own. At the same time, a side business - Upsilon Labs - developed and quickly began gaining steam. Before long Aditi was forced to make a decision between the two, and she says it was one of the toughest decisions of her life. 

In this episode, Justin and Aditi (both recently named among Phoenix Business Journal’s 40 Under 40) discuss her desire to build a business with a higher purpose, how she’s competing in the outsource technology space, and the many ways she’s working to get more women in STEM careers. 

“You have control of your goals and dreams when you work as an entrepreneur,” said Aditi. “I knew it was my calling.”  

Today on the Driven & Co. podcast, Justin Gray welcomes Eliot Wall to the show. Eliot is the founder of Beacinsight, the first operational performance record (OPR) for healthcare providers.  

In this episode, Eliot shares the twists and turns of his journey to entrepreneurship. Plus, he and Justin discuss why entrepreneurs can’t help but obsess over certain problems, how his launch week went wrong in every way, and the importance of loving a problem enough to get you through the ups and downs. 

“You can think about Beacinsight like Google Maps for doctors,” said Eliot. “Operations decisions are being made constantly throughout the day, and we just help doctors by recommending the right ones each time.”

This week on the Driven & Co. podcast, Justin Gray welcomes Coral Health Founder and CSO Andy Park to the show to talk his journey to entrepreneurship, the pros and cons of risk-taking and using blockchain technology to enable efficient data sharing.  

Andy’s background spanned biotech and medical market research before eventually rising through the ranks in private industry. It was then Andy realized his forte for building partnerships and consensus - skills he reaches for often now that he’s on the entrepreneurial side of things. 

In this episode, they discuss motivations to build a business, targeting ambitious problems in the world and why money doesn’t buy happiness but does have the power to reconfigure the parameters of your professional ambitions. 

“In my first company, I was driven a lot by fear and it turned out to be a good motivator because I would work tirelessly,” said Andy. “Now that I’ve had that exit, I’m able to tackle more ambitious projects to better humanity and devote my energies into doing things that will have dramatic changes and improve paradigms.” 

Meet Chris Rawley, an entrepreneur making it easier to invest in production agriculture. In this episode of the Driven & Co. podcast, host (and farm owner!) Justin Gray welcomes Chris to talk about his role as CEO of Harvest Returns, an online platform for investing in agriculture. They discuss Chris’ background in real estate, his decades in the United States military and what it really takes to get an idea off the ground.  

“A few years ago, I started seeing these crowdfunding companies pop up,” Chris said. “About the same time I moved to a rural area and would drive past these ranches raising cattle, goats - you name it. One day, I had a flash realization we could combine equity crowdfunding with agriculture, and we’ve been building it ever since.” 

In this episode of the Driven & Co. podcast, host Justin Gray welcomes Nik Ingersoll.  As Barnana’s Co-Founder and CMO, Nik has received numerous accolades from top press for the product, growth and mission to end food waste. To this day, he still personally designs everything for the brand and its packaging.

In this episode of the podcast, Justin interviews Nik about how growing up in rural Western Nebraska has pushed him to always aim high, the ups and downs of quickly scaling a company, and hiring advice that applies during every stage of growing a team.

In this episode of the Driven & Co. podcast, host Justin Gray welcomes Rob Hunter to the podcast. As the Founder & CEO of HigherMe, Rob and his team use data and video to create customized hiring solutions to ease unique recruitment challenges of today’s top retailers. Current clients of HigherMe include Dunkin’ Donuts, Panera Bread and Planet Fitness.  

In this episode, Rob shares his foray into the franchise business, later being accepted into Y-Combinator, and landing big clients at HigherMe (shout out to White Castle!).  

In this episode of the Driven & Co. podcast, host Justin Gray welcomes Allen Gannett.  Allen is the founder and CEO of TrackMaven, a marketing insights platform whose clients have included Microsoft, Marriott, Saks Fifth Avenue, Home Depot, Aetna, Honda, and GE.   

In this episode, Allen shares why he was compelled to start TrackMaven and how the company acts as a “left brain” for creative marketers who have yet to master data sciences that their roles now require.

Allen also shares insights from his new book, The Creative Curve, which tackles the idea that “creativity is this magical, mystical thing that people either have or don’t have.” He shares highlights from interviews with living creative geniuses, and breaks down the four things individuals can do to nurture their creativity.