MikedUp Pod

Tom Cottrill is the owner and founder of Ignitro - an Independent Web Development Studio that specializes in long-term data-driven projects, custom web development, and design. Aiming to be more of a partner than a vendor, Ignitro works to understand not just the project but the business behind it, and to deliver a comprehensive and complete solution.

Before founding Ignitro, he was the Director of Digital and Software development for Fathom - a digital marketing and analytics agency. There he oversaw and ran the Web and Application Development departments, managing projects and the team. He’s built a wealth of entrepreneurial experience running and growing Ignitro for the past 7 years and I can’t wait to get into the ideas and practices that have fueled growth at his company!

Today we’re exploring the legal aspects of business ownership! Those legal questions to consider before launching your company as well as priorities and potential issues that we may haven’t considered as we’re focused on the day-to-day aspects of our grind.

Today’s guest is Sam Weisgarber, an attorney for ProAssurance, a company that specializes in professional liability insurance and risk management for physicians, hospitals, and healthcare facilities… So he has my full attention.

There, Sam directs and manages litigation across multiple medical and hospital professional lines in the Midwest. He partners and manages with outside defense counsel to coordinate aggressive defense strategies for policyholders and insureds. He is intimately involved in the discovery and fact-finding process, in the selection and evaluation of expert witnesses, and monitoring trials and appeals and evaluating panel counsel.

Prior to this role, Sam was an adjunct faculty member for the University of Wisconsin Law School, a staff attorney at Ameritrust, and a trial lawyer for All-State. We discuss so many relevant business law topics today, which makes this episode a can't miss for any aspiring or current business owner. 

But before we dive in, I want to ask a couple of simple favors - We’d love it if you’d take 30 seconds to leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and share MikedUp Pod with a friend. One last thing, if you’re just finding us on this episode, please head back into the MikedUp Pod feed and download some of our previous episodes featuring awesome guests like Bill Balderaz, Sean White, Dionte Johnson, my wife and business partner Dr. Monica Monfredi, and so many more. Thanks for supporting and we hope you enjoy! 

Jen Wells is the owner and president of TalentID Group - The company that specializes in building Digital Marketing and Emerging Technology teams.

Previously, Jen Co-founded Interactive Marketers of Ohio and from 2008 to 2018 was the president and a partner at Team Builder Search, where she led a company that helps clients build digital marketing and emerging technology teams. She’s also held the roles of project manager, account manager, public relations coordinator, and marketing coordinator.

Today, we’re going to dive into what I feel is the single most important factor that makes great companies - great teams. We also talk about the mission of TalentID Group as well as how Jen got the company off the ground, the hurdles she had to clear to get there, and how she's grown her company of these past 2 years. 

We also discuss good interview questions, what makes a great hire, how Coronavirus has impacted the hiring process, and so much more! So please enjoy this wide-ranging conversation with Jen Wells!

Chris Ricciardi & Chuck Trafton are the co-founders of Edly - the ISA Marketplace that allows its investors to earn monthly income while supporting students. Their company allows investors to invest in the education of students and get paid a percentage of the students’ future earnings. 

We’ll talk all about how this ISA (Income Share Arrangement) relationship works as well as ask Chris & Chuck to share exactly how Edly is uniquely positioned to optimize results for both their investors and the students they invest in. 

Prior to Edly, Chris held a series of high-profile and influential positions. Those include: 

• Partner at FlowPoint Education Management
• Chairman of PLAAY Sports - which uses AI to automatically create personal sports highlight videos
• Principal and Mead Park Management
• President and CEO of Cohen & Company - a financial services company that managed $40 billion in assets
• Just to name a few…

Chuck (after referring to Chris as the "go-to on the 'street' when it comes to structured credit investments) carries with him these following experiences as well:

• Managing Partner and Portfolio Manager at FlowPoint Capital Partners
• Co-founder at FlowPoint Education Management
• Director and Portfolio Manager at the Boston Company Asset Management
• Principal at America's Growth Capital
• A Credited Actor with Paramount Pictures (I couldn't resist asking about this one... early)
• Among others

I could’ve talked with Chris and Chuck for hours about Edly and all of their past accomplishments. There’s so much great intel in this episode - so please enjoy my wide-ranging conversation with Chris Ricciardi and Chuck Trafton!!

Artem has over 10 years of finance experience in food, agriculture, and farmland. He is currently the CEO and founder of FarmTogether - with the mission to radically democratize farmland investing.

Prior to founding FarmTogether, Artem was employee #1 and CFO/VP of Operations at Full Harvest Technologies, a platform for​ buying and selling​ produce. He previously worked at Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, Sprott Resource Holdings, and a number of other positions I can’t wait to dive into today!

In today's pod we discuss the ins and outs of farmland as an investment category, alternative investments, running a great team, having astronauts as parents, and so much more!

With nearly 40 years of experience working in the various financial industries, our guest today brings with her a wealth of experience, lessons learned, and great advice for any entrepreneur.

She’s held the titles of Branch Manager, Sales Manager, Vice President, and Owner/Founder of her own mortgage company - Millennium 3 Mortgage.

Joyce spent her career building great teams, providing tremendous customer service to her clients, and growing the companies she worked with - until ultimately striking it out on her own with Millennium 3 Mortgage. We talk about starting that company from her kitchen table, the decisions you make when taking a concept and turning it into an idea, as well as how to navigate one of the most monumental financial crises her industry has ever seen. 

I should also say that she’s taught me more about personal finance and entrepreneurship than anyone else, both directly and indirectly. And that kitchen table that she founded Millennium 3 Mortgage from also happened to be the table that we shared meals, talks, games, and drinks together over the years (and it now sits in my kitchen), and is also the table that Monica and I founded our company (Monfredi Family Dental) from. I'm honored to welcome Joyce Monfredi - my mom - to MikedUp Pod!

In today's episode, we have - Bob Hoying, a principal of Crawford Hoying, the company that’s shaping the future with communities built to put people first.

After graduating from The Ohio State University with a bachelor’s degree in production and operations management, Bob went onto play in the National Football League for six years. He returned to central Ohio and befriended Brent Crawford during a chance pairing on the golf course in 1998 where soon after the two men partnered together to form Crawford Hoying.

There Bob plays an active role in guiding the company’s $750 million in new developments, analyzes new opportunities for development projects, and oversees ground-up development through construction.

In addition, he leads various aspects of the day-to-day business including marketing, property management, and financial feasibility analysis on Crawford Hoying projects.

Bob is very active in the central Ohio community, currently serving on The Ohio State University Center for Real Estate Advisory Board and previously on Central Ohio’s YMCA Board. He was elected to the Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2008, is the winner of the Draddy Award, considered the "Academic Heisman of College Football," and was named to the Ohio State All-Century Team of 2000.

We discuss much about how Crawford Hoying builds amazing communities like Bridge Park in Dublin, but those of you who know me (Mike) know that I had to sneak a few football questions in there too...

Please enjoy this conversation with Bob Hoying!

Our guest today is the founder and president of Futurety, a Columbus-based company that focuses on helping organizations disrupt industries and develop new products and services. The firm’s processes combine sales, website, social, financial, operational, and third-party data into a simple and accessible dashboard. Clients then use those data to support their marketing, tactical, and all types of decisions.

Previously, Bill was the founder and president of Webbed Marketing which went from a one-man consultancy to one of the fastest-growing interactive marketing agencies in the Midwest.

Today on the pod, we talk about Bill's experience as an Angel Investor evaluating companies, hiring and retaining a diverse and productive team, how Bill uses his company and investments to foster positive social change in our community and in our world. I absolutely loved this conversation...

He has spoken at more than 150 conferences from New York to California on innovation and has also been featured in dozens of media outlets including the Wall Street Journal, Money Magazine, and NPR. We had so much to discuss and we got quite the education from Bill today!

Jim Dixon is a second-generation owner of Valpak here in Central Ohio. In 1972, when his father first purchased the company, Valpak was mailed to 40,000 homes, and it’s now grown to a monthly mailed envelope to over 540,000 a month - And that’s just the mailer. They have added many more services to compliment it in the near 20 years he’s run the company and Valpak of Central Ohio has consistently been in the top 5 in production across the entire network.  

We also talk about how Jim got his start in both entrepreneurship and with Valpak - operating one of the "least desirable" territories in the company's network, yet still finding a way to turn that into a successful launching point for his career. We talk about navigating a business through unprecedented crises like the Great Recession of '08-'09 as well as the current Coronavirus pandemic. 

So much to learn from Jim in this episode... So let's get started!

Tony Peccatiello has done a few tours in the entrepreneurial trenches - founding Pyne (a mobile app that allows users to crowdsource their questions in a targeted way while discovering new ideas and staying connected with friends) and his current project - Parallel Markets (An easy solution for companies to authenticate and verify a user’s investor credentials that also allows investors to assert profile-level information and qualifications across platforms with a single click. Accredit once, invest everywhere.)

But in between founding his companies, he’s held roles as an investment analyst, director of portfolio services, and venture partner - all of which have helped him sharpen his entrepreneurial axe. 

We talk about what he looked for in 'investable companies' as a venture capitalist, how his role as an investment analyst let him to entrepreneurship, as well as how he's founded and grown Parallel Markets. 

And let me tell you a secret... I really enjoyed spending this hour with Tony. He shares my multi-year quest of an adequate pull-up bar and, frankly, I'd love to have a beer or a coffee with him.

Please enjoy this wide-ranging conversation with Tony Peccatiello of Parallel Markets!

This episode is sponsored by Findigs - the easiest, most rewarding way to pay rent. Whether you're looking to earn Starbucks gift cards (or more) or if you're simply looking for a safe and reliable way to make the monthly rent payment, Findigs has you covered!