Lay of The Land Jeffrey Stern
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- Business
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Telling the stories of entrepreneurship and builders in Cleveland and throughout Northeast Ohio. Every Thursday, Jeffrey Stern helps map the Cleveland/NEO business ecosystem by talking to founders, investors, and community builders to learn what makes Cleveland/NEO special.
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#158: Nick Dadas (University Tees, SISU Lifestyle, Acton Academy Lakeside, ISI, MasterPlan Coach)
Nick Dadas — Co-Founder of University Tees, SISU Lifestyle, Acton Academy Lakeside, ISI, and MasterPlan Coach.
In 2003, still a sophomore at Miami University, Nick co-founded University Tees after trying to organize a t-shirt order for his business fraternity and becoming frustrated with his experience; so he and his co-founder, Joe, decided there had to be a better way and like all good entrepreneurs, they started their own company. Since then, University Tees has gone on to grow into the premier custom apparel brand for the college market with over 700 campus managers at over 300 colleges nationwide, over 150 full-time employees, and with expanded capabilities for the corporate market where they’ve built a reputation for excellence, servicing large-scale distributors and retail programs at volume across the country from their brand new full-service production facility in Cleveland.
In addition:
Nick founded SISU Lifestyle, a leading Sauna manufacturing company and brand focused on affording the best sauna experience possible.He founded the Acton Academy Lakeside, a one-room schoolhouse for the 21st century and for his own 3 children and other families who share this desire for an innovative approach to education.He founded The ISI Life (standing for Iron Sharpens Iron), where he hosts a podcast of his own and has built a community for men in pursuit of developing habits for success, establishing life-giving relationships, and building momentum towards a life of excellenceHe founded MasterPlan Coach, a comprehensive executive coaching program for entrepreneurs seeking to achieve authentic success across their personal and professional life.All in, Nick is a true entrepreneur, applying his problem-solving mindset to all aspects of life and thematically tying his work together to a foundational principle of Developing People and Changing Lives — a topic which we’ll unpack in our conversation today. This was such an engaging conversation — Nick is intentional and full of wisdom and candor; it was a real joy getting to hear his story and reflections.
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SPONSORS: John Carroll University Boler College of Business || Impact Architects & Ninety
John Carroll University Boler College of Business: https://business.jcu.edu/ As we’ve heard time and time again from entrepreneurs on Lay of The Land — many of whom are proud alumni of John Carroll University — success in this ever-changing world of business requires a dynamic and innovative mindset, deep understanding of emerging technology and systems, strong ethics, leadership prowess, acute business acumen… all qualities nurtured through the Boler College of Business!
With 4 different MBA programs of study — spanning Professional, Online, Hybrid, and 1-Year-Flexible — The Boler College of Business provides flexible timelines and various class structures for each MBA Track — including online, in-person, hybrid and asynchronous — to offer the most effective options for you, in addition to the ability to participate in an elective International Study Tour, providing unparalleled opportunities to expand your global business knowledge by networking with local companies overseas and experiencing a new culture.
The career impact of a Boler MBA is formative and will help prepare you for this future of business and get more out of your career. To learn more about John Carroll University’s Boler MBA programs, please go to business.jcu.edu
The Boler College of Business is fully accredited by AACSB International, the highest accreditation a College of Business can have.
Impact Architects & NinetyLay of The Land is brought to you by Ninety. As a Lay of The Land listener, you can leverage a free trial with Ninety, the platform that helps teams build great companies and the only officially licensed software for EOS® — used by over 7,000 companies and 100,000 users!
This episode is brought to you by Impact Architects. As we share the stories of entrepreneurs buildi -
#157: Reilly Berk (Berk Enterprises)
Reilly Berk, CEO of Berk Enterprises.
Founded back in 1946 by her grandparents, Suzanne and Harold Berk, Berk Enterprises boasts a diverse history that began with the creation of the "QuicKill" insecticide and the subsequent founding of Berk Exterminating Company in Warren, Ohio. Evolving, the company expanded its ventures into numismatics, leading to the Warren Coin Shop, and later transformed into Berk Paper and Supply, carrying janitorial products such as tissues, napkins, and paper towels. In 1976, Berk Paper and Supply evolved into Berk Enterprises, when the company underwent transformative changes, introducing innovations like the novelty drinkware line for the concession industry and the Environ product line which consists of earth-friendly alternatives.
Today Berk Enterprises, Inc. maintains an impressive catalog of over 4,000 food service disposables such as plastic cutlery, straws, cups, to-go containers, and much more as they service over 3,000 different customers, including some of the largest restaurant chains, as well as schools, entertainment venues. theaters, stadiums, and fairs, in addition to supplying the nation's largest food service distributors with multiple distribution centers across the country.
Guided by familial dedication, Reilly, who was recently recognized by Forbes as a 30 under 30 in Cleveland, now serves as the CEO of Berk Enterprises, overseeing over 115 employees and with a drive and vision to continue to shape the industry with Berk Enterprises’ legacy, values, and expanding product offerings.
This was a really fun conversation as we unpack what it was like becoming CEO in her early 20s, the history and evolution of the family business, Reilly's perspective on management and leadership, and what is in store for Berk going forward.
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SPONSORS: John Carroll University Boler College of Business || Impact Architects & Ninety
John Carroll University Boler College of Business: https://business.jcu.edu/ As we’ve heard time and time again from entrepreneurs on Lay of The Land — many of whom are proud alumni of John Carroll University — success in this ever-changing world of business requires a dynamic and innovative mindset, deep understanding of emerging technology and systems, strong ethics, leadership prowess, acute business acumen… all qualities nurtured through the Boler College of Business!
With 4 different MBA programs of study — spanning Professional, Online, Hybrid, and 1-Year-Flexible — The Boler College of Business provides flexible timelines and various class structures for each MBA Track — including online, in-person, hybrid and asynchronous — to offer the most effective options for you, in addition to the ability to participate in an elective International Study Tour, providing unparalleled opportunities to expand your global business knowledge by networking with local companies overseas and experiencing a new culture.
The career impact of a Boler MBA is formative and will help prepare you for this future of business and get more out of your career. To learn more about John Carroll University’s Boler MBA programs, please go to business.jcu.edu
The Boler College of Business is fully accredited by AACSB International, the highest accreditation a College of Business can have.
Impact Architects & NinetyLay of The Land is brought to you by Ninety. As a Lay of The Land listener, you can leverage a free trial with Ninety, the platform that helps teams build great companies and the only officially licensed software for EOS® — used by over 7,000 companies and 100,000 users!
This episode is brought to you by Impact Architects. As we share the stories of entrepreneurs building incredible organizations throughout NEO, Impact Architects helps those leaders — many of whom we’ve heard from as guests on Lay of The Land — realize their visions and build great organizations. I believe in Impact Architects and the people behind it so much, that I have actually joine -
#156: Mary Cowan (NCS Credit)
Mary Cowan, the President of NCS Credit, based here in the greater Cleveland area.
The story of NCS Credit is one of family, growth, and success anchored in a belief of uncompromising excellence and ever-advancing technology. Founded in 1970 by Howard V. Cowan as a commercial collection agency, NCS Credit’s goal was to form trusted partnerships and provide exceptional debt recovery services for its clients. In the early 1980s NCS Credit earned a reputation as a leading authority in the corporate credit industry and expanded its services to meet the needs of its credit professionals by adding the Construction, UCC, and Publication Service Groups
Mary joined the company in 1990, shortly after the sudden and tragic death of her father Howard Cowan; The entire family rallied and resolutely continued to pursue Howard’s vision forward.
Today, under Mary’s leadership, NCS Credit serves clients across the US and Canada as a commercial debt recovery service — protecting many billions of dollars over their more than 50 years of service across many industries like manufacturing, construction, food distribution, and energy, in addition to educating thousands of credit professionals — guided by their belief that everyone should get paid for the work that they do
This was a fun and educational conversation for me. Mary talks about the hard things she experienced and navigated as part of her entrepreneurial journey, the trials and tribulations turning around suffering culture, morale, and performance to an organization now recognized seven times over as a Northeast Ohio top workplace, the challenges of being a 2nd generation leader, the power of business operating systems, and a whole lot more.
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SPONSORS: John Carroll University Boler College of Business || Impact Architects & Ninety
John Carroll University Boler College of Business: https://business.jcu.edu/ As we’ve heard time and time again from entrepreneurs on Lay of The Land — many of whom are proud alumni of John Carroll University — success in this ever-changing world of business requires a dynamic and innovative mindset, deep understanding of emerging technology and systems, strong ethics, leadership prowess, acute business acumen… all qualities nurtured through the Boler College of Business!
With 4 different MBA programs of study — spanning Professional, Online, Hybrid, and 1-Year-Flexible — The Boler College of Business provides flexible timelines and various class structures for each MBA Track — including online, in-person, hybrid and asynchronous — to offer the most effective options for you, in addition to the ability to participate in an elective International Study Tour, providing unparalleled opportunities to expand your global business knowledge by networking with local companies overseas and experiencing a new culture.
The career impact of a Boler MBA is formative and will help prepare you for this future of business and get more out of your career. To learn more about John Carroll University’s Boler MBA programs, please go to business.jcu.edu
The Boler College of Business is fully accredited by AACSB International, the highest accreditation a College of Business can have.
Impact Architects & NinetyLay of The Land is brought to you by Ninety. As a Lay of The Land listener, you can leverage a free trial with Ninety, the platform that helps teams build great companies and the only officially licensed software for EOS® — used by over 7,000 companies and 100,000 users!
This episode is brought to you by Impact Architects. As we share the stories of entrepreneurs building incredible organizations throughout NEO, Impact Architects helps those leaders — many of whom we’ve heard from as guests on Lay of The Land — realize their visions and build great organizations. I believe in Impact Architects and the people behind it so much, that I have actually joined them personally in their mission to help leaders gain focus, align together, a -
#155: Ethan Holmes (Holmes Mouthwatering)
Ethan Holmes — founder and CEO of Holmes Mouthwatering, a Cleveland-based manufacturer of all-natural applesauce, made with Ohio-grown apples, pears, and local apple cider.
To date, over 50,000 customers have purchased and consumed Holmes’ products, processing over 500,000 pounds of apples and delivering over 250,000 units to consumers across the US. Holmes Mouthwatering applesauce can be found in retailers including Heinen's, Whole Foods Market, Kroger and Giant Eagle, among others.
Inspired by his Grandfather who had always made food at home from scratch, when Ethan was 15 years old, he asked him how to make applesauce and this passion was born. Armed with 100 pounds of apples that his parents gifted him for Christmas, Ethan chopped, cooked, and experimented until his recipe was perfect.
Over a decade later, with national expansion, ~$800,000 in capital from programs like Cleveland Chain Reaction and the Chobani Incubator, it was a ton of fun to hear from Ethan about his journey building Holmes Mouthwatering and the work he’s doing to inspire the next generation of Cleveland entrepreneurs through his own initiative!
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SPONSORS: John Carroll University Boler College of Business || Impact Architects & Ninety
John Carroll University Boler College of Business: https://business.jcu.edu/ As we’ve heard time and time again from entrepreneurs on Lay of The Land — many of whom are proud alumni of John Carroll University — success in this ever-changing world of business requires a dynamic and innovative mindset, deep understanding of emerging technology and systems, strong ethics, leadership prowess, acute business acumen… all qualities nurtured through the Boler College of Business!
With 4 different MBA programs of study — spanning Professional, Online, Hybrid, and 1-Year-Flexible — The Boler College of Business provides flexible timelines and various class structures for each MBA Track — including online, in-person, hybrid and asynchronous — to offer the most effective options for you, in addition to the ability to participate in an elective International Study Tour, providing unparalleled opportunities to expand your global business knowledge by networking with local companies overseas and experiencing a new culture.
The career impact of a Boler MBA is formative and will help prepare you for this future of business and get more out of your career. To learn more about John Carroll University’s Boler MBA programs, please go to business.jcu.edu
The Boler College of Business is fully accredited by AACSB International, the highest accreditation a College of Business can have.
Impact Architects & NinetyLay of The Land is brought to you by Ninety. As a Lay of The Land listener, you can leverage a free trial with Ninety, the platform that helps teams build great companies and the only officially licensed software for EOS® — used by over 7,000 companies and 100,000 users!
This episode is brought to you by Impact Architects. As we share the stories of entrepreneurs building incredible organizations throughout NEO, Impact Architects helps those leaders — many of whom we’ve heard from as guests on Lay of The Land — realize their visions and build great organizations. I believe in Impact Architects and the people behind it so much, that I have actually joined them personally in their mission to help leaders gain focus, align together, and thrive by doing what they love! As a listener, you can sit down for a free consultation with Impact Architects by visiting ia.layoftheland.fm!
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LINKS:
Connect with Ethan Holmes on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ethan-holmes-2b5b0124/Holmes Mouthwatering: https://holmesmouthwatering.com/Follow Holmes Mouthwatering on X: https://twitter.com/holmesasauceFollow Holmes Mouthwatering on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/holmesmouthwatering
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Past guests include Justi -
#154: Mohamed Kamara (InovCares)
Mohamed Kamara, founder and CEO of InovCares.
Grounded in a sobering reality: The United States has the highest rates of maternal mortality in the industrialized world. In May 2017, having lost both his sister and aunt to preventable pregnancy-related causes, Mo found himself in a place with the motivation and determination to confront this maternal mortality crisis head-on.
Mo ultimately founded InovCares to this end — to address the concerns of women of color who are, unfortunately, often dismissed in healthcare settings. Where in addition, many of them do not receive culturally humble and competent care that promotes trust between patients and providers. The cumulative effect of these dynamics is diminished confidence in healthcare, misdiagnosis, improper treatment, and, ultimately, worse outcomes for women of color and their babies — amounting to over $32B in total maternal morbidity costs across US births.
InovCares’ platform — which has already supported over 5,000 women of color with over 10,000 virtual consultations so far and is backed by organizations like Andreessen Horowitz TxO Fund, Ohio Impact Fund, and Jumpstart Foundry — is designed to minimize common barriers faced by pregnant and post-partum women by reducing costs, wait times and transportation needs, improving patient access to essential testing and prescriptions, providing a range of culturally competent specialists, and empowering and educating patients through easy access to online content.
Mo’s story is incredibly inspiring and it was a real pleasure to learn more about his journey so far.
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SPONSORS: JumpStart
JumpStartLay of the Land is brought to you by JumpStart, providing services and resources to fuel the growth of technology startups across Ohio. JumpStart’s experienced advisors offer personalized business services to help you overcome challenges and prepare to raise capital. With 1:1 advising, workshops, and accelerator programs, JumpStart has helped thousands of entrepreneurs — many of whom we’ve heard from here on Lay of The Land — transition from the early growth stage to venture-readiness. Additionally, founders can tap into a network of resources in marketing, software development, finance, and talent recruitment to drive their companies forward. to learn more about JumpStart please go to JumpStartInc.org/startups to get started today.
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LINKS:
InovCares Website: https://www.inovcares.com/Connect with Mo: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mohamedkamara/InovCares on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inovcares
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Past guests include Justin Bibb (Mayor of Cleveland), Pat Conway (Great Lakes Brewing), Steve Potash (OverDrive), Umberto P. Fedeli (The Fedeli Group), Lila Mills (Signal Cleveland), Stewart Kohl (The Riverside Company), Mitch Kroll (Findaway — Acquired by Spotify), and many more.
Connect with Jeffrey Stern on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffreypstern/
Follow Jeffrey Stern on X @sternJefe — https://twitter.com/sternjefe
Follow Lay of The Land on X @podlayoftheland
https://www.jeffreys.page/ -
#153: David Tirpak (Miracle K9 Training)
David Tirpak, founder of Miracle K9 Training — Since founding the company in 2019, David has grown Miracle K9 Training to a thriving 15-person organization, a multi-million-dollar top-line revenue business, and one of the most respected dog training centers in Northeast Ohio!
David's dog training story started when he got his very first dog, Vera. As someone who has never had dogs growing up and didn't really know what he was doing with one, the first logical step seemed like finding a dog trainer to learn everything he could from. After working with three different dog trainers and working under another for over two years, he started to realize that there was a huge gap in the dog training world for true behavioral rehabilitation.
Shortly after David started his first dog training company, Heights Canine Dog Training, he spent the next three years traveling the country to meet other world-renowned dog trainers and dedicated himself to creating dog training programs geared towards helping the everyday dog owner to be successful long term with dogs that have more serious behavioral issues. In those three years, David helped to build Heights Canine into a thriving business with three locations across Ohio gaining national recognition for the work they were doing.
In January 2019, David left the company to get back to what he loves doing — training dogs — and formed Miracle K9 Training, a specialized dog training facility that was first and foremost, a dog training center, which meant more specialized staff, a larger group of trainers, and additional services like daycare, boarding, and grooming that have an emphasis on keeping the dogs mentally stimulated and structured during their stay.
David (recent Forbes 30 Under 30 Cleveland winner) has such a genuine passion and enthusiasm for this work, it was a real joy to learn more about his journey, philosophy on dogs, growth as an entrepreneur, and impact here in Northeast Ohio.
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SPONSORS: John Carroll University Boler College of Business || Impact Architects & Ninety
John Carroll University Boler College of Business: https://business.jcu.edu/ As we’ve heard time and time again from entrepreneurs on Lay of The Land — many of whom are proud alumni of John Carroll University — success in this ever-changing world of business requires a dynamic and innovative mindset, deep understanding of emerging technology and systems, strong ethics, leadership prowess, acute business acumen… all qualities nurtured through the Boler College of Business!
With 4 different MBA programs of study — spanning Professional, Online, Hybrid, and 1-Year-Flexible — The Boler College of Business provides flexible timelines and various class structures for each MBA Track — including online, in-person, hybrid and asynchronous — to offer the most effective options for you, in addition to the ability to participate in an elective International Study Tour, providing unparalleled opportunities to expand your global business knowledge by networking with local companies overseas and experiencing a new culture.
The career impact of a Boler MBA is formative and will help prepare you for this future of business and get more out of your career. To learn more about John Carroll University’s Boler MBA programs, please go to business.jcu.edu
The Boler College of Business is fully accredited by AACSB International, the highest accreditation a College of Business can have.
Impact Architects & NinetyLay of The Land is brought to you by Ninety. As a Lay of The Land listener, you can leverage a free trial with Ninety, the platform that helps teams build great companies and the only officially licensed software for EOS® — used by over 7,000 companies and 100,000 users!
This episode is brought to you by Impact Architects. As we share the stories of entrepreneurs building incredible organizations throughout NEO, Impact Architects helps those leaders — many of whom we’ve heard from as guests
Customer Reviews
Jeffrey is a skilled interviewer :)
Always enjoy listening each week and learning about interesting folks doing interesting things in The Land. Thanks Jeffrey!
Great podcast that’s filling a void
I’ve really enjoyed the interviews and conversations that have been had on the podcast so far! It’s great to hear the perspective and experiences of different individuals in the Cleveland entrepreneurial and start up scene. The podcast provides helpful information for current entrepreneurs in The Land or those considering an entrepreneurial venture. There have been so many great take always in just the few episodes I’ve listened to.
Wonderful intro!
As a new Clevelander (and non-boomerang!), this podcast has been an incredible way to get to know what’s happening on the city. Each voice and guest is unique, but as it goes on a clearer picture of the local fabric is forming for me. Thank you for putting this together!