Throughout his career, Hanna Kassis has overseen $1.5 billion in capital deployment. Hanna began his entrepreneurial journey in Youngstown, where he... more

It is with a heavy heart that I honor Bob Sopko’s memory by revisiting Lay of The Land's 12th episode.... more

Ryan Schreiber is a long-time Clevelander and major advocate for the city, as well as the founder and CEO of... more

Jim Weisman, CEO of Ingine, exploring deep into the intersection of artificial intelligence and healthcareIn our world where healthcare costs... more

Lance Hill, CEO of Within3, has led one of Cleveland's most well-capitalized startups, raising over $100 million to transform how... more

Welcome to a special bonus episode of the Lay of The Land podcast. Today, we're doing something a bit different... more

Chas Withers, chairman and CEO of Dix & Eaton, the storied Cleveland integrated communications firm, known for its specialization in... more

Joe Pulizzi is a serial entrepreneur and deeply passionate about all things content marketing and entrepreneurship —he is the bestselling... more

Aaron Hoffman and John Zinno — co-founders of DeliverThat, based in Canton Ohio.Friends for life, the two of them started... more

Andrew Rising, CEO of Encore Venture Labs.As someone who believes deeply in the opportunity for Cleveland’s future, I find Andrew’s... more

Franco Kraiselburd — Co-Founder and CEO of Asclepii — building the next generation of tissue engineering therapeutics for wound healing.I’ve... more

John Vickers, Founder & CEO of Blue Abyss.John is building one of the most ambitious and inspiring projects I’ve encountered... more

Laura Bennett and Alex Krooglik, co-founders of Embrace Pet Insurance, which was sold in 2023 for $1.5 billion to JAB... more

Dan Nitowsky, Chair of TIGER 21 Cleveland.Dan, like me is a native New Yorker who has made Cleveland his home... more

Fred DiSanto, Chairman and CEO of Ancora — the Cleveland-based investment firm with nearly $10B in assets under management and... more

Taylor Evans — Founder and President of Rust Belt Recruiting, a leading local manufacturing recruiting agency, which also hosts a... more

My guests this week are my friends and partners over at Impact Architects —who many of you will note are... more

Sandor Gyerman and Jared Anderson, the dynamic co-founders of Andor Creative.Founded in 2018 when they were Sophomores at Cleveland State... more

Joshua Edmonds, CEO of DigitalC.The digital divide — this gap between people who have access to the internet and those... more

Mike Malley, President and CEO of Malley's Chocolates.If you grew up in northeast Ohio it’s very likely you know of... more

Craig Hassall, CEO of Playhouse SquareCraig is a mainstay in the international theater community, with decades of experience operating and... more

Keith Gerchak and Marisa Guterman — Founders @ Double G FilmsThis is a truly special episode — I always love exploring... more

Mitchell Vargo, Partner at Forward Hospitality Group.Since its founding in 2015, the Cleveland-based Hospitality Group has built out unique entertainment,... more

Ian Maurer — Chief Technology Officer at GenomOncology and co-lead of the Cancer Informatics for Cancer Centers’ AI working group.With... more

Umberto P. Fedeli —  Founder, President, and CEO of The Fedeli GroupI first had the opportunity to speak with Umberto... more

Matt Buder Shapiro — Chief Marketing Officer at Vytalize Health, Previously Founder at MedPilot (Acquired)I first spoke to Matt on... more

Aaron Slodov — CEO of Atomic Industries, a company he co-founded back in 2019 and has raised over $20 million... more

Darren Small, co-founder and CEO of Oko.With over a decade of experience on Wall Street, Darren’s analytical background from the... more

John Kempf — founder of Advancing Eco Agriculture (AEA), a regenerative agronomy company started back in 2006 to share the... more

Adam Graybill, co-founder and CEO of Journey Biosciences.With a robust 20-year tenure in the diabetes market, Adam has been at... more

Phil Londrico, Founder & CEO of JaTango — an interactive broadcasting and e-commerce platform that gives individuals the power to... more

Dr. James Kenyon, Director of NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, OhioThe road to the Moon goes through Cleveland. With... more

Ryan McManus — founder and CEO of SHARE MobilityRyan is passionate about solving workforce and rural mobility challenges, creating and... more

Today we’re running a replay of one of my favorite conversations from 2022 with Lila Mills of Signal Cleveland. Since... more

Andre Cisco — Manager for MGK and XX Brands, Brand Strategist and Investor, co-owner of the 27 Club — the... more

Rick Stockburger, CEO of BRITE Energy Innovators.Located in the City of Warren, just outside Youngstown in the Mahoning Valley, BRITE... more

Kyle Maggard, Founder & CEO of Over Easy.Kyle started OverEasy in the fall of 2018, reflecting on his time as... more

Azadeh Hardiman — Business Leader of Level20, the new business incubator of Progressive Insurance, one of the largest insurance carriers... more

Nick Dadas — Co-Founder of University Tees, SISU Lifestyle, Acton Academy Lakeside, ISI, and MasterPlan Coach.In 2003, still a sophomore... more

Reilly Berk, CEO of Berk Enterprises.Founded back in 1946 by her grandparents, Suzanne and Harold Berk, Berk Enterprises boasts a... more

Mary Cowan, the President of NCS Credit, based here in the greater Cleveland area.The story of NCS Credit is one... more

Ethan Holmes — founder and CEO of Holmes Mouthwatering, a Cleveland-based manufacturer of all-natural applesauce, made with Ohio-grown apples, pears,... more

Mohamed Kamara, founder and CEO of InovCares.Grounded in a sobering reality: The United States has the highest rates of maternal... more

David Tirpak, founder of Miracle K9 Training — Since founding the company in 2019, David has grown Miracle K9 Training... more

Jim Pshock, Founder of Bravo Wellness, which he successfully exited to Medical Mutual in 2020.After 20 years working in the... more

Kaleb Dumot — founder of Integrity Power Search here in Cleveland, a boutique search firm for technology companies all across... more

Every 50th episode on Lay of The Land thus far, I’ve tried to honor the request I occasionally get, that... more

Andrew Maurer is the co-founder and CTO of Rise Works, an all-in-one compliance and payment platform designed for companies with... more

Patrick Ghilani, CEO of MRI Software.Founded in 1971 & based in Solon, Ohio — MRI Software has been a leading... more

Erin Holston Singh, founder of Options Naturapathic, the Ohio Association of Naturopathic Doctors (OHNDA), and in private practice since 1999.She... more

Meg Mayhugh, Founder and Managing Partner at People Architects as well as the Head of Talent & people at Ninety.io... more

Brian Krusz is the Founder & Managing Partner at Sgt. Clean Car Wash —  a premier express carwash organization proudly... more

TJ Gliha, Co-Founder of Journey Wealth.Established in 2021, Journey Wealth is a full-service wealth planning firm that helps entrepreneurs explore... more

Our conversation this week is with Tom Lix — founder & CEO of Cleveland Whiskey — on pushing the boundaries... more

Todd Goldstein — Founder & CEO of Whoa DoughIn 2008, Todd co-founded LaunchHouse with the mission to invest, develop, and... more

Gerald Hetrick (CEO of Docket (formerly Bezlio) & Professional EOS Implementer) Gerald has been on the show once before; those... more

Jack Greco, co-founder and former CFO and COO of ACV Auctions, a Buffalo-based wholesale online marketplace for cars (ACV Auctions... more

Tracy Strobel — CEO of the Cuyahoga County Public Library (CCPL)Tracy Strobel was appointed Chief Executive Officer of CCPL in... more

Ethan Karp — President and CEO of MAGNET: The Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network which, founded in 1984, has been... more

Mike Maczuzak — a product designer, early-stage investor, and founder of SmartShape Design — an innovative product development and industrial... more

Adam Rakestraw — co-founder, chairman, general counsel, and chief business development officer of MediView XR, based here in Cleveland Ohio!... more

Michael Sirpilla, co-founder and CEO of Society Brands.Under Michael’s leadership as CEO, Society Brands has raised $205 million in capital... more

Umberto Fedeli — Founder, President, and CEO of the Fedeli group — one of the largest risk management and insurance... more

Andrew Wolfe, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Bloomfilter.Andrew is a software engineer turned entrepreneur who is passionate about improving the ways... more

Mike Schroeder, Founder & President of Roundstone.Mike founded Roundstone Insurance in 2003 — when they launched the first Group Medical... more

David Levine — Co-Founder/CEO @ Wireless Environment (Acquired by Ring, Acquired by Amazon) & Co-Founder/CEO @ My Home Park Having made... more

Stewart A. Kohl is Co-CEO of The Riverside Company — a $14 billion global private equity firm founded to invest... more

Bill Manby, Founding & Managing Partner at Interstate Fusion Ventures.An entrepreneur at heart, Bill grew up in NEO and has... more

John McKenna, CEO of Peachtree VA, a virtual assistant staffing organization & President of The Emerald Group, a premier mortgage... more

Mitch Kroll, co-founder & CEO of Findaway (acquired by Spotify).Mitch started Findaway back in 2004, a time when audiobooks were... more