Rust Belt Startup Rust Belt Startup

https://youtu.be/GWFRxwGx_Ec?si=GBDoKBkbPIey7cnh









On this episode I sit down with Katie Aiello for a long overdue conversation about local government, civic engagement, and using data to empower citizens. Katie is the founder of Character Coffee in Utica, NY, and found her calling in public service when she decided to run for Common Council. Now she's using social media and open data tools to shed light on the inner workings of her city.







We talk about how she's leveraging digital platforms to educate constituents and apply pressure for transparency. Find out how Katie is mining municipal data using Instagram and TikTok to help constituents think more critically about budgets, ARPA funds, and getting involved local politics. This is a must-listen for anyone interested in innovative approaches to civic participation and government accountability.







Learn more about Katie at KatieforUtica.com and @katieaiello on all the socials.







Rust Belt Startup · Coffee, Councils & TikTok Civics with Katie Aiello







RBS Extra:









https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lpoLH5pmsc

I recently had the opportunity to take a 40 min demo of the Apple Vision Pro - while there are tons of tech reviews out there already about the specs, what it can and cannot do, I wanted to add my thoughts on what makes this device special, some of the most impressive experiences, the drawbacks I see - and weigh in on the AR/VR debate. Remember, I was a Google Glass user for about 18 months and I'll get into what I see as the bifurcaton of use cases rather than one device that we'll use in our daily lives. This was recorded almost immediately after my demo while it was fresh in my head. The bottom line - this is an amazing device that's the beginning of a whole new category of devices.

















Rust Belt Startup · Vision Pro Demo Impressions | Killer Apps and the AR/VR debate

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My guest today is Leon Etienne. He is a world renowned illusionist, and he's rolling through upstate New York, doing a show this Saturday at Stanley theatre. He's the creator of Magic Rocks, has been featured on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, America's Got Talent, Penn & Teller's Wizard Wars, and much more.

We had a fantastic conversation about why we need a little bit more magic. In our lives. We talk about the business of magic and how he started from learning some simple tricks at home when he was 12, to building this career, where he travels all over the world, showcasing one of the kind illusions.

We talk about his trajectory of making magic a career that's become a full fledged touring operation that goes all over the world. We'll talk about some of those big breaks, whether that's America's Got Talent, or working with Penn and Teller, meeting his heroes, bringing magic to the people during the pandemic and much much more. It's a really wide ranging conversation and it was awesome to catch up with Leon. I hope you guys all check out the show if you're in the region this Saturday night at the Stanley... and let's let's get right into it.















Rust Belt Startup · The Business of Magic with Illusionist Leon Etienne













BONUS: Card Tricks with Leon Etienne

This is a special episode of Rust Belt Startup because it was taped in front of a live audience this past July at MVCC’s thINCubator. This event was a partnership with The Rising Tide Society of Utica and featured a fireside chat with the founder of Utica Coffee Roasting Company, Frank Elias.

It’s a conversation that focuses on not only the origin story of the company, but how they've experienced growth. We spend a lot of time talking about building a culture and cultivating talent within your network and within your region - instead of importing that talent.

How do you create a culture where people want to be a part of the business and gve them opportunities for growth? We spend a lot of time here but also as UCR has expanded they now do a ton of their business online.

We get into that strategy and using partners like Shopify and Amazon and the pros and cons of each as it comes to online retail and distribution. So hope you find this conversation interesting and thanks to everyone that came out to this first fireside chat.

This event was also filmed and you can watch the conversation in its entirety on YouTube.















Rust Belt Startup · From Beans to Brew - The Utica Coffee Roasting Co. Story with Frank Elias

Hilda M Jordan is the founder of HMJ Equity Consulting, an anti-racist social equity firm that helps organizations attract and retain more diverse talent by identifying systems that stand in the way of helping members of the team be successful.

She is a graduate of Harvard University, and honestly one of the most inspiring your people I’ve every met.

Our conversation today centers around her personal journey from upstate NY to Harvard University and back again - learning to navigate systems from colleges to courts to companies that can stand in the way of her (and YOUR) success.

This is one of the most inspiring conversations you’ll hear  - It’s been a great privilege to get to work with Hilda in building HMJ Consulting but a greater privilege to call her a friend.















Rust Belt Startup · Building Equitable Environments From Colleges to Companies to Courts with Hilda M. Jordan

Rust Belt Startup · Finding Career Superpowers, Building Online Communities, and F-Words with Scott Grates















It’s great to be back and welcome Scott Grates to the podcast. Scott is first and foremost in the insurance business - but this isn’t a podcast about insurance. It's a conversation about how do you figure out how to reverse engineer a career that helps you live how you want to live. It’s about building systems that can save you from yourself, and it’s about essential advice from a dad to a son.



He’s created a robust online community and service called Insurance Agency Optimization, that leverages his superpower of building efficient processes for agency owners that are trying to optimize their own businesses. So we spend time discussing how you build, grow and nurture an online community.



 Finally we talk about Scott’s new book - Essential F-Words for Teens: The 117 Things You Need to Know Before Graduation. https://www.amazon.com/Essential-F-Words-Teens-Things-Graduation/dp/B0BW2MGVJW/



It’s all of the things that he wish he knew before he graduated and a message to his son who graduates this year.



Thanks for tuning in and you can learn more about Scott at the links below:





Essential F-Words

Insurance Agency Optimization

Scott Grates | State Farm