Ara talks with Katie Hall is the Founder and CEO of Claira Technologies, a pioneering workforce optimization platform tailored for industrial enterprises.
With a decade-long commitment to assisting organizations in navigating the transformative influence of AI on the workforce, Katie's diverse background in business, public policy, and government enriches our discussion with invaluable insights. 

The Michigan Venture Capital Association is proud to offer the Venture Fellows Program to Michigan’s venture capital community. The program, launched in 2023, is designed to increase the number of venture professionals in Michigan in order to accelerate the fundraising and deployment of capital into early-stage companies.

Ara Topouzian, Executive Director of Michigan Venture Capital Association talks with Raffaele Mautone, former CIO of Duo Security and current Founder and CEO of Detroit-based Judy Security (formerly AaDya Security). Raffaele's strategic thinking and effective leadership have been instrumental and paramount in his career as an IT, sales and operations professional. I talk with Raffaele about his rich background as well as Judy Security which is a cyber security company that offers cybersecurity software solutions for small and medium businesses. (Programming note: since the recording of this episode, the company was rebranded to Judy Security.) For more information: https://www.judysecurity.ai/

Michigan Venture Capital Association (MVCA), the nonprofit trade association that advocates for more capital and talent for Michigan’s entrepreneurial and investment community, released its 2023 MVCA Research Report, a comprehensive analysis of investment activity that has had a positive impact in the state.

Special thank you to sponsor Michigan Rise.

Podcast host and Executive Director of Michigan Venture Capital Association (MVCA), Ara Topouzian talks with Andy Fowler, CEO & Co-Founder of Nutshell, a user-friendly customer relationship management platform formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Nutshell is dedicated to helping small businesses grow their revenue and solving the most critical challenge of sales and marketing software: motivating teams to use it.

Special thanks to Michigan Rise as Michigan VCtalks' podcast sponsor. For more information about MVCA, please visit https://michiganvca.org/

Podcast host and Executive Director of MVCA, Ara Topouzian talked with Dr. Dawn Batts. She has over two decades of experience, analyzing business opportunities, developing and implementing strategic plans, and managing their subsequent operations and compliance processes. Her diverse professional experiences and extensive research have led to her solutions-based approach in addressing the myriad of factors causing the economic disparity between women and men. Dawn's research investigates how macro narratives influence women's perceptions and experiences of gender equality in the United States and China.

As a Capital Strategist for Tech Town -- Detroit's entrepreneurship hub -- Dawn secures and aligns resources that help Detroit-based entrepreneurs achieve the vision and goals of their businesses. She extends that work as a co-founder of Commune Angels, a diverse community of investors who seed scalable consumer, enterprise and life science companies that transform lives.

Special thanks to Michigan Rise as Michigan VCtalk's podcast sponsor. For more information on Michigan Venture Capital Association, please visit http://michiganvca.org

This marks Michigan VCtalk's 30th episode! Podcast host Ara Topouzian has a dynamic conversation with Johnnie Turnage, Founder of EvenScore, an impact-focused donation platform startup which began in 2021. Since then, Johnnie has been immersed into the Michigan founder ecosystem as an award-winning grassroots activist and tech entrepreneur. He is passionate about the entrepreneurial community and wants to give back to the community. Special thank you to Michigan Rise as Michigan VCtalk's podcast sponsor. For more information about Michigan Venture Capital Association: http://michiganvca.org/

Ara talks with Ryan Landau, Founder of Purpose Jobs. Ryan set out to create a platform that empowers people to find jobs they will love; a platform that is centered around people, community, education, and culture. Their goal is to create a business that does something important and meaningful in the world. Special thank you to podcast sponsors Michigan Rise and Invest Detroit. 

Brandon Marken is President and CEO of Lean Rocket Lab: a manufacturing-technology focused business incubator and accelerator. They are currently running an Industry 4.0 Accelerator, powered by Automation Alley and in partnership with LTU Centrepolis.

Since joining 100K Ideas shortly after its 2017 launch and becoming executive director in 2020, Brandee Cooke-Brown has helped focus the organization’s purpose, work and ability to engage with the local Flint community. 100K Ideas seeks to relieve the entrepreneurial burden innovators face and help them, through mentorship, create products and services that can fuel startup businesses. Special thank you to our podcast sponsors Michigan Rise and Invest Detroit. Background music supplied by Pixabay.