The DMV (Washington, DC | Maryland | Virginia) Business Sho‪w‬ Otto Sevilla

In this week's episode we have Ron Gula, President and Co-Founder at Gula Tech Adventures out of Columbia, Maryland!  He grew up in Syracuse, New York and served in the U.S. Air Force before arriving to the Washington, DC metro area to work with the NSA (National Security Agency).  He has founded several companies, one of them being Tenable Network Security.  Where he was the Co-Founder and CEO from 2002-2016 growing Tenable to $100 million in revenue, raising $300 million in venture capital, and setting it up for an IPO in 2018!  Ron is also involved with numerous nonprofits and think tanks, and has investments in over thirty portfolio companies.  He shares what data care is and how fruitful a career in it can be for anyone coming from all walks of life.  He mentions how the biggest investment you can make is in yourself and your company, and what he is the most proud of is in building people's careers!  When he is not busy investing in companies and nonprofits that help close the gap in cyber technology and workforce he is also the co-host of Gula Tech Cyberfiction - a must listen!



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Andrew Dana is the Founder and Co-Owner of two award-winning restaurants Timber Pizza Co. and Call Your Mother with locations in Washington, DC and Maryland!  He grew up in the same neighborhood as me in DC, we're just two kids from Mt. Pleasant that went to the same middle school Alice Deal.  Did not know it but lived only a several blocks away from each other.  Recently President Biden made his first DC restaurant visit as President and went to their Call Your Mother Deli location in Georgetown.  It does not matter where you start, it matters where you're going and Andrew is a prime example of that!  After earning his undergraduate degree he sold windows door to door, went to business school afterwards and did not feel fulfilled in his corporate job that he eventually left to open a mobile pizza food truck!  Now, years later with several locations and more in the pipeline and over 150 team members he takes us behind the scenes of how it is growing his restaurant empire!  He chats about several pivotal moments in his business, one of them being named Bon Appétit Top 50 New Restaurants in the Country - sales basically went up over 40% overnight!  Andrew talks about the importance of just showing up no matter what and to put in the time and hard work, and how you need to have attention to detail on everything!  He shares how they treat their team and the benefits they give them, it is more like a family!  He mentions how we need to keep things as simple as possible and remove the grey area, and focus on growth!



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Email Me!  osevilla@ottosevilla.com

Text Me!  240-706-7584

In this week's episode we have Scott Barbaro, CEO of Masonry Masters with headquarters in Sterling, Virginia!  He is a first generation Italian immigrant that grew up here locally in Silver Spring, Maryland and graduated from the University of Maryland.  He began working in the family business Masonry Masters while in college starting at the bottom.  He shares a great story about his father giving him a little bit of tough love on the first day of work.  Scott mentions the importance of having the right people in the right roles, and talks about a recent COO hire that completely changed his business for the better and it is allowing him more time to grow the business and brand.  He brings up the significance of self development and learning something new every day, and why every organization should start and stick with their core values!



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Email Me!  osevilla@ottosevilla.com

Text Me!  240-706-7584

Sonia Mundra is the President of Chenega Analytic Business Solutions with headquarters in Lorton, Virginia!  She has grown the company from $0 to over $100 Million in sales and backlog, in less than three years!  She is originally from southern Delaware and moved the Washington, DC area to attend Georgetown University and George Washington University and has been here ever since.  She shares her experience working at major consulting and accounting firms such as Accenture and PWC.  She started working at Chenega over 7 years ago and chats about the rapid growth the company and her career have had, and shares how you need to be always improving and helping others.  They have won 2019 and 2020 Best Places to Work Award from the Washington Post, an award based on employees surveys - it is about the people!  Sonia shares how the team is working and communicating with each other during COVID.  We have a great conversation about women being assertive in the workplace and in the executive level, and how important it is to negotiate for yourself.  You cannot miss this episode!



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LinkedIn:  http://www.linkedin.com/in/ottosevilla

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YouTube:  https://youtube.com/channel/UCp3fOa-IgbYwiQfgkB3SbaQ

Email Me!  osevilla@ottosevilla.com

Text Me!  240-706-7584

In this week's episode we have McKeever (Mac) Conwell,II, Founder and Managing Partner at RareBreed Ventures out of Baltimore, Maryland!  He is from Baltimore and played sports growing up but was really good at math and science, played football and was in the robotics team and engineering club.  Mac's entrepreneurial journey started in 2010 when he and two of his best friends decided to start a company.  In 2012 it started to take off, they got into two accelerators and a few years later sold the IP of the technology to a Fortune 100 company.  He immediately founded a second company right after, that ultimately failed and shares what he learned from that experience and the difference between his first and second startup.  You are always learning, you either win or you learn.   It is not easy being an entrepreneur and he mentions how hard it is, it's a long game and it's a hard game to play.  He started the first and only state backed pre-seed fund for women and minorities in the country here in Maryland called Builder Fund at TEDCO.  Mac provides great valuable advice to anyone interested in investing in the venture world today, and shares how he sources his deal flow and that the most important thing to him is creating an outsize impact!



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YouTube:  https://youtube.com/channel/UCp3fOa-IgbYwiQfgkB3SbaQ

Email Me!  osevilla@ottosevilla.com

Text Me!  240-706-7584

In this week's episode we have Christopher Schafer, Founder and Proprietor of Christopher Schafer Clothier with locations in Baltimore, Maryland and Los Angeles, CA.  He grew up in Anne Arundel County in Millersville, Maryland!  He has always been into skate boarding and drumming, and still does it even now!  So much so he gave us a tour of his wonderful showroom and event space with a stage, always ready to jam out!  He marries music and high end men's fashion together, and does it from an authentic place from his history being in bands.  He started learning his business skills at 10-11 years of age delivering the Maryland Gazette, that helped shape him.  Christopher shares how an unforeseen trip to London led him into the fashion business, and mentions that if you are having fun with what you're doing it could be contagious!  He mentions how he loves helping other people and being the mentor he always wanted to have.  His clients are just not clients they are more than that, they are friends!  Come and get to know our new friend Christopher!



LET'S CONNECT!

LinkedIn:  http://www.linkedin.com/in/ottosevilla

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YouTube:  https://youtube.com/channel/UCp3fOa-IgbYwiQfgkB3SbaQ

Email Me!  osevilla@ottosevilla.com

Text Me!  240-706-7584