Thought Liters

Adam Conner

0.0 (0)
BUSINESS

Thought Liters: Connecting the top of the world with the bottom of a glass. Join host and creator Adam Conner as he sips and spills with the world’s best and brightest across business, athletics, and the arts. Enjoy each episode in its full-pour, unfiltered glory. Cheers! Proudly built in Pittsburgh, PA.

5H AGO

They Cracked the Code to Guaranteed Virality | Fixated Founders Zach Katz and Jason Wilhelm

Can you actually manufacture virality? Zach Katz and Jason Wilhelm, the co-founders of Fixated, join to explain that you can. Fixated was built to be the architect behind some of the internet's biggest cultural phenomena. They've done well so far -- their first client was Sketch, who they brought on when he had only a few hundred viewers, and scaled him into a megastar. Since then, they've taken on big investor money and bought firms like Ellify, Elevate, and Studio71 to continue to scale. Today on the show, Zach and Jason pull back the curtain on the creator economy, exposing the dark side of early talent management and revealing the uncompromising "burn the boats" mentality required to reach the top. From building massive creator houses to discovering true talent in a sea of millions, you'll learn how two industry pros navigate the modern creator economy. 0:00 The Boldest Claim in Content: Can You Actually Manufacture Virality? 2:15 Pop Culture History: The Hilarious "Sean Kingston" Origin Story 4:51 Building the Sway House: Professionalizing the Creator Mansion Model 9:36 Exposing Predatory MCN Deals & The FaZe Clan "Shush" Story 16:22 The Fixated Blueprint: How to Guarantee Distribution & Views 33:33 The Sketch Story: Finding a Mega-Creator Before They Explode 39:25 Controversial Takes: Why "48 Laws of Power" is Messing Creators Up 57:27 The "Burn the Boats" Mentality: Why Having a Plan B Guarantees Failure #businesspodcast #pittsburgh #thoughtliters WHAT IS THOUGHT LITERS? Thought Liters is a series created and hosted by Adam Conner. On the show, Adam learns from the top of the world through the bottom of their glass. Each episode, we share a flight of local craft with the best and brightest brand minds around – whether it be an entrepreneur, an athlete, an artist, or otherwise. The questions evolve as the sip changes. The show is proudly founded and produced in Pittsburgh, PA. The whole goal is to have conversations about business with a more lighthearted look and feel. Adam thinks most business content is dry, and wants to change that. If you’re interested, follow along! If not, that’s cool too. But if you wanna be where the thought leaders are…you’ll tune in to where Thought Liters is.

58 min
MAY 6

Penguins President Turned Pittsburgh Protector: The Kevin Acklin Story

How do you protect the soul of the working class when you're the one brokering the billion-dollar deals? Kevin Acklin is the former President of the Pittsburgh Penguins and former Chief of Staff to the Mayor of Pittsburgh. Born and raised in South Oakland, Kevin shares his incredible journey from leading his childhood hockey league in penalty minutes to navigating the highest stakes in sports and civic leadership. Kevin unpacks the formative moments of his career, including a shocking boardroom revelation in North Carolina that forever cemented his drive to protect the "little guy." We also get the untold, behind-the-scenes story of how he orchestrated the return of NHL legend Jaromir Jagr to Pittsburgh. 00:00 Intro: Preserving Pittsburgh's Soul 00:49 The Enforcer of South Oakland: Growing up across the street from Dan Marino and leading the league in penalty minutes 06:26 The Man in the Arena: Drawing inspiration from Teddy Roosevelt and empowering the community 11:33 The Boardroom vs. The Working Class: The emotional North Carolina term sheet story that cemented his defense of the "little guy" 20:35 Rebuilding the City: From painting cannons to saving August Wilson's boyhood home and becoming Chief of Staff 29:29 Bringing Jaromir Jagr Home: The mysterious phone call, the jersey retirement, and the stolen bobbleheads 45:43 Lightning Round 54:28 What's Next?: Life at Stevens & Lee, looking toward the future, and why his client will always be Pittsburgh #businesspodcast #pittsburgh #thoughtliters WHAT IS THOUGHT LITERS? Thought Liters is a series created and hosted by Adam Conner. On the show, Adam learns from the top of the world through the bottom of their glass. Each episode, we share a flight of local craft with the best and brightest brand minds around – whether it be an entrepreneur, an athlete, an artist, or otherwise. The questions evolve as the sip changes. The show is proudly founded and produced in Pittsburgh, PA. The whole goal is to have conversations about business with a more lighthearted look and feel. Adam thinks most business content is dry, and wants to change that. If you’re interested, follow along! If not, that’s cool too. But if you wanna be where the thought leaders are…you’ll tune in to where Thought Liters is.

1h 3m
APR 29

The Bartender Who Built a Billion Dollar Airport | Christina Cassotis, CEO of the Pittsburgh International Airport

Christina Cassotis, CEO of the Pittsburgh International Airport, is executing the first ground-up, brand-new airport build in the US since the pandemic. Today she joins Thought Liters to tell that story and answer an important question: why do it You'll also get to learn about Christina lifts up leaders, her 2030 vision for air travel in and out of the Steel City, and how she went from intentionally flunking out of college to becoming a high-powered CEO. Special thanks to Cafe Conmigo (and their owner Derek) who let us use their space inside the new terminal to film. 0:00 The $1.7B Comeback (Trailer) 1:09 Meet Christina Cassotis & The Pan Am Pilot Influence 3:09 The Iced Tea Flight at Cafe Conmigo 5:01 Why Great Ideas Fail (How to "Architect" Change) 6:48 Leadership is Just Selling an Idea 8:22 The Day the Hub Pulled Out: "This Isn't Coming Back" 11:06 Speaking Truth to Power & Winning the Room 15:23 Inside the New Terminal: Constellation Lighting & Design 22:34 The Biggest Challenge: Building During a Global Pandemic 26:49 Lightning Round: Rating Wild Airport Upgrades 30:28 Inside the Actor's Studio: What Gets a CEO Out of Bed 41:01 Last Call: Legacy-First Leadership & Mentorship 47:16 Unfinished Business: The Final 6% of the New PIT 49:18 Flunking Out of College & Advice for Your 20s 51:00 The Final Sip & Behind the Scenes at Cafe Conmigo #businesspodcast #pittsburgh #thoughtliters WHAT IS THOUGHT LITERS? Thought Liters is a series created and hosted by Adam Conner. On the show, Adam learns from the top of the world through the bottom of their glass. Each episode, we share a flight of local craft with the best and brightest brand minds around – whether it be an entrepreneur, an athlete, an artist, or otherwise. The questions evolve as the sip changes, The show is proudly founded and produced in Pittsburgh, PA. The whole goal is to have conversations about business with a more lighthearted look and feel. Adam thinks most business content is dry, and wants to change that. If you’re interested, follow along! If not, that’s cool too. But if you wanna be where the thought leaders are…you’ll tune in to where Thought Liters is.

52 min
APR 22

How This Smart Locker Became the Hard Drive of the Neighborhood | Miles Mufuka Martin, Co-Founder & CEO of Relai

Miles Mufuka Martin, founder of Relai, joins to share how he's building the future of local delivery via a network of battery-powered asynchronous exchange zones... and perhaps the hard drive of the neighborhood as a result. Miles shares the gritty reality of building a company from the ground up, including getting rejected by 300 businesses before a local pizza shop finally said yes to hosting their first asynchronous exchange zone. We dive deep into the challenges of hardware development, what it took to learn how to code after getting burned by outside dev shops, and how Relai is secretly building a hyper-localized network of compute power for local businesses and startups. 00:00 The Local Delivery Paradox 00:20 What is Relai? (Asynchronous Exchange Zones) 02:50 300 Rejections: Getting the First Pizza Shop 04:15 Getting Burned & Learning to Code from Scratch 08:11 Heritage, Resilience, and the "Figure It Out" Mentality 11:46 The Co-Founder Dynamics of a Hardware Startup 14:21 The Secret: Building "Invisible Infrastructure" 19:38 Lightning Round: Business Mistakes & The Roku Dream 23:59 The Pittsburgh Dream: Exchange Zones on the Sister Bridges #businesspodcast #pittsburgh #thoughtliters WHAT IS THOUGHT LITERS? Thought Liters is a series created and hosted by Adam Conner. On the show, Adam learns from the top of the world through the bottom of their glass. Each episode, we share a flight of local craft with the best and brightest brand minds around – whether it be an entrepreneur, an athlete, an artist, or otherwise. The questions evolve as the sip changes. The show is proudly founded and produced in Pittsburgh, PA. The whole goal is to have conversations about business with a more lighthearted look and feel. Adam thinks most business content is dry, and wants to change that. If you’re interested, follow along! If not, that’s cool too. But if you wanna be where the thought leaders are…you’ll tune in to where Thought Liters is.

26 min
MAR 12

This Neuroscientist's Brain Upgrade Makes AI 70% Cheaper

The AI energy and compute arms race is completely unsustainable. Companies are burning billions of dollars on hardware to run artificial intelligence, and they are all using the exact same foundational building block from 1943: the artificial neuron. Today, Dr. Rorry Brenner, neuroscientist and CEO of Perforated AI, reveals why AI desperately needs a "brain upgrade." Rorry breaks down how introducing biological dendritic technology—essentially the "brain of the neuron"—can make AI models run twice as fast while making them 70% cheaper to operate. In this episode, we cover: -- Why the 80-year-old artificial neuron is driving compute costs through the roof. -- The "Brain Upgrade": What dendritic technology actually is and how it works. -- How to cut your AI compute and hardware costs by 70% without losing accuracy. -- The difference between "raising the ceiling" (better accuracy) and "lowering the floor" (cheaper compute). -- How making AI cheaper will democratize the industry and enable offline edge computing. -- The massive environmental benefits of moving away from electricity-guzzling server farms. 00:00 Introduction: Why AI Compute is So Expensive 01:47 Welcome Dr. Rorry Brenner & The AI Hardware Arms Race 07:06 The "Brain Upgrade": What is a Dendrite? 08:46 The Metaphor: An Army of Toddlers vs. A Team of Adults 11:14 Lowering the Floor: Making Compute Cheaper 15:30 How Perforated AI is Bringing Dendrites to Market 22:00 Real-World Impact: Cutting AI Costs by 70% 27:11 Will This Solve the AI Hype Cycle Decline? 31:23 Democratizing AI and The Future of Edge Computing 34:07 Lightning Round 38:31 The Green AI Future & Last CallWHAT IS THOUGHT LITERS?Thought Liters is a series created and hosted by Adam Conner. On the show, Adam learns from the top of the world through the bottom of their glass. Each episode, we share a flight of local craft with the best and brightest brand minds around – whether it be an entrepreneur, an athlete, an artist, or otherwise. The questions evolve as the sip changes.The show is proudly founded and produced in Pittsburgh, PA.The whole goal is to have conversations about business with a more lighthearted look and feel. Adam thinks most business content is dry, and wants to change that.If you’re interested, follow along! If not, that’s cool too. But if you wanna be where the thought leaders are…you’ll tune in to where Thought Liters is.

44 min
FEB 24

He Built a Robotic Leg to Help Amputees Walk Again | Josh Caputo, Humotech

Imagine buying a car without test-driving it. If you hate it, you can't return it. That is the unthinkable reality for many of the 2.5 million people in the US living with limb loss. In this episode of Thought Liters, we sit down with Josh Caputo, CEO of Humotech. Josh explains how his company is revolutionizing the industry by using a robotic system that lets patients test-drive different prosthetic feet before they commit. Instead of being stuck with the wrong fit for 3 to 5 years due to insurance rules, Humotech allows patients to find their perfect fit in minutes. We dive deep into Josh's journey from a technically curious engineer at Carnegie Mellon University to pioneering a brand-new clinical business model. We also explore the future of wearable robotics, orthotics, and exoskeletons. Plus, stick around for our brand-new lightning round where Josh shares what keeps him up at night and the hard truths about the marathon of entrepreneurship. 00:00 The Unthinkable Problem in Prosthetics 01:48 Finding the Spark at Carnegie Mellon University 05:29 The Entrepreneur's Dilemma & Finding First Customers 08:18 Creating a "Shoe Store" for Prosthetic Feet 11:10 Moving from R&D into Real-World Clinics 13:38 How the Robotic Emulator Actually Works 15:21 Beating the 3-to-5 Year Insurance Trap 17:39 The $15B Market and the Future of Exoskeletons 21:30 Lightning Round: The Marathon of Entrepreneurship #businesspodcast #pittsburgh #thoughtliters WHAT IS THOUGHT LITERS? Thought Liters is a series created and hosted by Adam Conner. On the show, Adam learns from the top of the world through the bottom of their glass. Each episode, we share a flight of local craft with the best and brightest brand minds around – whether it be an entrepreneur, an athlete, an artist, or otherwise. The questions evolve as the sip changes. The show is proudly founded and produced in Pittsburgh, PA. The whole goal is to have conversations about business with a more lighthearted look and feel. Adam thinks most business content is dry, and wants to change that. If you’re interested, follow along! If not, that’s cool too. But if you wanna be where the thought leaders are…you’ll tune in to where Thought Liters is.

27 min
FEB 10

Ryan Shazier: The Truth About Life After the NFL

Ryan Shazier went from NFL stardom to a career-ending injury in a heartbeat. But his transition to the business world was just as painful. In the first ever live recording of Thought Liters, Ryan reveals post-career losses, the bad mentors he trusted, and the brutal reality of his forced pivots. Prepare for a raw, unfiltered look at the failures that built the man you see today. You'll hear more about: -- The Identity Crisis: How Ryan went from "provider to provided for" overnight. -- The $0 Mistake: The trucking business failure that drained his bank account. -- Bad Mentors: How to spot the middlemen who will ruin your business, and properly vet mentors instead. -- The Turnaround: How he applied the lessons of failure to build the Ryan Shazier Fund. -- Coach Tomlin's Advice: The one principle Ryan uses to lead his team today. 0:00 Intro: From All-Pro to Forced Pivot 2:15 I Felt Adopted by Pittsburgh 6:14 The Reality Check: Money vs. Skill 14:15 Mourning Your Career vs. Mourning Your Business24:22 The Trucking Business Disaster (Full Story) 33:22 How to Build a Foundation the Right Way 45:04 Leadership: The Difference Between the Field & The Office 51:01 Final Advice: Get Uncomfortable #businesspodcast #pittsburgh #thoughtliters Special thanks to Komos for being the beverage partner on this event. Thanks too to Babb, Inc. and VPO for their support. WHAT IS THOUGHT LITERS? Thought Liters is a series created and hosted by Adam Conner. On the show, Adam learns from the top of the world through the bottom of their glass. Each episode, we share a flight of local craft with the best and brightest brand minds around – whether it be an entrepreneur, an athlete, an artist, or otherwise. The questions evolve as the sip changes. The show is proudly founded and produced in Pittsburgh, PA. The whole goal is to have conversations about business with a more lighthearted look and feel. Adam thinks most business content is dry, and wants to change that. If you’re interested, follow along! If not, that’s cool too. But if you wanna be where the thought leaders are…you’ll tune in to where Thought Liters is. Join the flight.

54 min
JAN 13

I Met an Undercover Billionaire and Printed an Empire | Mike Vindler, CEO of Tronix3D

It sounds like a script for a reality TV show: You hire a business consultant to help organize your startup, only to discover he’s actually a high-net-worth investor in disguise, testing you for his next massive deal. That is exactly what happened to Mike Vindler, CEO of Tronix3D. In this episode of Thought Liters, we explore how that "undercover billionaire" moment became the catalyst for Tronix3D. Mike takes us from the early days of uncertainty to building an industrial empire that prints in grade-five titanium for aerospace and life-saving medical devices. We also get the story of the "genius in the garage": Mike’s partner, Jason, who was hand-building 4K monitors for Samsung before the rest of the world caught up—and discuss why 99% of people are using 3D printing completely wrong. In this episode, we cover: -- The "Undercover Billionaire": The wild true story of the consultant who hid his wealth to test Mike’s character. -- The "Genius" Partner: How Mike’s co-founder built tech for Samsung and Palmer Luckey out of his garage. -- Building the Empire: Why Tronix3D isn’t printing cheap plastic toys, but rather replacing supply chains. -- Sustainability: How they became the only facility in the US recycling 100% of their powder on-site. -- The CEO’s Burden: The brutal honesty about what actually keeps a founder awake at night. 00:00 Intro 02:15 From Corporate to "The Real World" 08:40 Why Most People Use 3D Printing Wrong 14:54 The "Genius in the Garage": Meeting Jason 21:04 We Are The Only Ones Doing This (100% Recycling) 26:58 Fixing a Medical Device by Accident 34:37 The "Undercover Billionaire" Consultant Story 40:15 The Hardest Part of Scaling a Manufacturing Business 43:44 The Real Nightmare That Keeps CEOs Awake 47:55 The 3D Printing Buzzkill: Stop Printing Plastic Trash 54:10 The Future: Titanium & Aerospace 58:32 Where to Find Mike WHAT IS THOUGHT LITERS? Thought Liters is a series created and hosted by Adam Conner. On the show, Adam learns from the top of the world through the bottom of their glass. Each episode, we share a flight of local craft with the best and brightest brand minds around – whether it be an entrepreneur, an athlete, an artist, or otherwise. The questions evolve as the sip changes. The show is proudly founded and produced in Pittsburgh, PA. The whole goal is to have conversations about business with a more lighthearted look and feel. Adam thinks most business content is dry, and wants to change that. If you’re interested, follow along! If not, that’s cool too. But if you wanna be where the thought leaders are…you’ll tune in to where Thought Liters is.

59 min

Thought Liters: Connecting the top of the world with the bottom of a glass. Join host and creator Adam Conner as he sips and spills with the world’s best and brightest across business, athletics, and the arts. Enjoy each episode in its full-pour, unfiltered glory. Cheers! Proudly built in Pittsburgh, PA.

Creator

Adam Conner
Years Active

2025 - 2026
Episodes

25
Rating

Explicit
Copyright

© Adam Conner
Show Website

Thought Liters