“Focus. There are always shiny objects, but right now you need to win one gold metal at a time.” — Richard Lamondin

Today’s guest is Richard Lamondin, Co-founder & CEO of EcoSystems. EcoSystems is a nationwide leader in water and energy conservation. Richard sits down with the team to discuss how he and his brother started EcoSystems, the importance of speaking your customer’s language, educating others about water and energy conservation, the challenges that come with rapid scaling, his advice for business growth success, and much more!

“[During user testing] You have to know how to decipher if it is a one-off feedback or a common feedback when trying to understand how to build your product correctly.” — Yenvy Truong

Today’s guest is Yenvy Truong, Co-founder & CEO of HealthSnap. HealthSnap is a Miami-based health technology company creating a new standard in healthcare by bridging the gap between lifestyle and medicine. Yenvy joins us to discuss her passion for entrepreneurship, how the HealthSnap app works, the challenges of working alongside the medical industry, the benefits of user testing and feedback, helping people easily make lifestyle modifications for preventative care, and much more!

“Take the time to pause, reflect, and be strategic. Have your notebook out and look at today, look at tomorrow, and look at next week, too.” — Carlos Vazquez

Today’s guest is Carlos Vazquez, President & CEO of Miami EdTech. Miami EdTech is an education technology non-profit on a mission to ignite the entrepreneurial spirit within today’s educators. Carlos sits down with the team to discuss his journey into the education and entrepreneurial ecosystem, the systemic issue concerning the lack of people of color in the STEM field, helping Black and Latinx teachers gain support and better access to resources, the impact of positive psychology in the classroom, getting teachers excited about technology again, and much more!

“You have to be haunted by your craft. Which means when you're asleep it’s speaking to you and when you’re awake it’s speaking to you.”  — Courtney Orlando

Today’s guest is Courtney Orlando, Artist & Producer. St. Louis native, Courtney Orlando, is an Urban/Soul artist, songwriter and Grammy award-winning producer. He also produced the opening track that is on every Innovation City episode. Courtney sits down with the team to discuss his passion for music and how he got started, what it’s like working in the music industry, his Grammy win in 2013, the importance of business knowledge as an artist, his advocacy for mental health, the new project he’s releasing soon, and much more!

“Before you make any big life decisions, get the people around you, the people you’re going to affect the most by your decisions, to buy in and understand what you want to do.” — Kiley Summers

Today’s guest is Kiley Summers, Founder & CEO of SpenDebt. SpenDebt is a financial technology company designed to assist people to payoff debt leveraging micropayments through every day transactions. Kiley joins the team to discuss taking his “year of faith” and how he became debt free, how SpenDebt can help people with their debts, his startup challenges and how he is overcoming them, the St. Louis innovation ecosystem, the importance of getting your loved one’s support for your new ventures, and much more!

“[When working with startups] I’ll take the guy who hits the single every time he gets up to bat versus somebody that you’re waiting for to hit a home run.” — Mary Louise Helbig

Today’s guest is Mary Louise Helbig, Executive Director at ITEN. ITEN provides programs for rapid development of scalable tech ventures, engaging experienced entrepreneurs to help others build successful, growing companies. Mary sits down with the team to discuss her passion for entrepreneurship, what makes a scalable business and what does not, the importance of the validation and proof of concept processes, what it means to be a successful startup, the future of ITEN, and much more!

“It’s the one-to-one relationships that I have built that sparked it all, because you meet those people and they are the ones who introduce you to everyone else.” — Sarah Schlafly 

Today’s guest is Sarah Schlafly, CEO of Mighty Cricket. Mighty Cricket is a cricket protein based food company whose mission is to transform everyday foods into rich sources of sustainable and superior quality protein. Sarah sits down with the team to discuss how she came up with Mighty Cricket, the benefits of consuming cricket protein, her entrepreneurial journey to getting Mighty Cricket to market, the importance of understanding where and when to get funding, the benefits of having mentors as an entrepreneur, and much more!

“Building the right team is one of the hardest lessons [for a startup], but learning how to build the right team is something to focus on [for scaling up].”  — Jorge Cortes

Today’s guest is Jorge Cortes, Founder of MIA Ventures. MIA Ventures’ mission is to engage startups to solve urban, social and environmental challenges through an accelerator program and transform Miami into a global hub for social enterprises. Jorge joins the team to discuss his entrepreneurial journey, his passion for tech innovation, organizing Startup SAFARI Miami, the innovation boom in Florida, his advice to Latin American startups, and much more!

“When we talk about STEM, my endpoint is always innovation … it goes beyond just what we think is cool, it’s about how we leverage that science and change systems so that science can change society.” — Kilan Ashad-Bishop

Today’s guest is Kilan Ashad-Bishop, Biomedical Scientist & Advocate. Dr. Ashad-Bishop is a molecular biologist and environmental justice advocate based in Miami, FL. Kilan joins the team to discuss her dual life as a scientist and public advocate, how environmental influences affect our health, the importance of communication in science, today’s complicated health and science systems, the threats of rising sea level in Miami and its effects, and much more!

“Do your homework, it’s simple. Find out what’s going on and get connected. There are too many opportunities [out there].” — Rashad Thomas

Today’s guest is Rashad Thomas, VP, Business Connect & Legacy Projects for the Miami Super Bowl Host Committee. The Miami Super Bowl Host Committee is the liaison between the National Football League, the city of Miami and the local surrounding communities. Rashad joins the team to discuss the Business Connect program and how to get involved with Super Bowl LIV, Miami’s diversity and culture, his work with the city of Miami and the Liberty City community, the importance of networking within the community, and much more!