Lay of The Land
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.
- Update frequency
- every 7 days
- Average duration
- 55 minutes
- Episodes
- 229
- Years Active
- 2020 - 2025
#202: Jared Semik (Eternium Aerospace) — Transcontinental Electric Flights
Jared Semik, founder of Eternium Aerospace, a long-range, zero-emissions aircraft development company, is focused on sustainable transatlantic flight.
A multi-service military aviation veteran with th…
#201: Robert Marks (Projector) — Keepsake and Personal Streaming for Legacy
Robert Marks founded Fidelity Voice and Data in 1999 with just a $600 investment, which he grew into a business generating over $30 million in revenue, making it one of the largest telecommunications…
#200: Andy Tran (Arthur Street Ventures) — A Modern Renaissance Man
Andy Tran has lived more lives than just about anyone I know. He’s a serial entrepreneur who has started multiple businesses across industries, including tech, ammunition manufacturing, defense contr…
#199: John Knific (Squad) — The EdTech Guru
John Knific is a serial entrepreneur and investor who has built three venture-backed software companies here in Cleveland.
His latest venture, Squad, is a peer discovery platform designed to gamify ra…
#198: Rob van Haaren (Proximal Energy) — Powering The Solar Revolution
Rob van Haaren is a Dutch-born entrepreneur and CEO of Proximal Energy, a Cleveland-based SaaS company transforming asset management for solar and energy storage projects.
Rob has long been interested…
#197: Ali Bonar (Oat Haus) — The Granola Butter Company
Ali Bonar — CEO & Co-Founder of Oat Haus, a food company bringing fun and play to eating. Their flagship product, Granola Butter, is the world's first oat-based spread and while Oat Haus was born out…
#196: Stephen McHale (Graici & Unify Labs) — Serial Entrepreneurship & the Pursuit of Inclusive Prosperity
Stephen McHale — a long-time Cleveland serial entrepreneur with a 40-year career founding, investing in, and building companies.
Most notably, Steve served as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive…
[Bonus] Rust Belt Rundown featuring Jeffrey Stern of The O.H.I.O. Fund
Welcome to a special bonus episode of the Lay of The Land podcast. Today, we're doing something a bit different as I take on the role of guest on other podcasts to discuss recent developments in my j…
#194: Hanna Kassis (Babylon Asset Management) — Business Financing, Private Credit, and Growth Capital
Throughout his career, Hanna Kassis has overseen $1.5 billion in capital deployment.
Hanna began his entrepreneurial journey in Youngstown, where he managed Tim Ryan's congressional campaign from 200…
[In Honor Of] Bob Sopko
It is with a heavy heart that I honor Bob Sopko’s memory by revisiting Lay of The Land's 12th episode. While no conversation could ever fully capture the breadth or depth of his legacy, I hope this e…
#193: Ryan Schreiber (Streamline) — The One-Stop Streaming Guide
Ryan Schreiber is a long-time Clevelander and major advocate for the city, as well as the founder and CEO of Streamline, an innovative mobile platform tackling one of the streaming industry's most pr…
#192: Jim Weisman (Ingine) — Revolutionizing Knowledge Generation for a Healthier Tomorrow
Jim Weisman, CEO of Ingine, exploring deep into the intersection of artificial intelligence and healthcare
In our world where healthcare costs are soaring and drug development timelines stretch into d…
#191: Lance Hill (Within3) — Raising >$100 Million to Breakdown Healthcare Communication Barriers
Lance Hill, CEO of Within3, has led one of Cleveland's most well-capitalized startups, raising over $100 million to transform how the healthcare and life sciences industries communicate.
What began i…
[Bonus] Marketing Moves — Investing in Ohio's Future: Ft. Jeffrey Stern
Welcome to a special bonus episode of the Lay of The Land podcast. Today, we're doing something a bit different as I take on the role of guest on other podcasts to discuss recent developments in my j…
#189: Chas D. Withers (Dix & Eaton) — Running Towards the Fire
Chas Withers, chairman and CEO of Dix & Eaton, the storied Cleveland integrated communications firm, known for its specialization in marketing communications, Crisis management, and investor relation…
#188: Joe Pulizzi (Tilt Publishing & Content Entrepreneur Expo) — Content Marketing, Community, and Cleveland
Joe Pulizzi is a serial entrepreneur and deeply passionate about all things content marketing and entrepreneurship —
- he is the bestselling author of seven books including Content Inc., selling over 50…
#187: Aaron Hoffman & John Zinno (DeliverThat) — The Future of Catering Delivery
Aaron Hoffman and John Zinno — co-founders of DeliverThat, based in Canton Ohio.
Friends for life, the two of them started this business out of Ohio University in 2016 off the bat of a viral tweet and…
#186: Andrew Rising (Encore Venture Labs) — Bridging Cleveland's Industrial Heritage To Its Industrial Future
Andrew Rising, CEO of Encore Venture Labs.
As someone who believes deeply in the opportunity for Cleveland’s future, I find Andrew’s journey to be an inspiring and optimisitc one… …Deeply rooted in th…
#185: Franco Kraiselburd (Asclepii Inc.) — Building the Next Generation of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Cell Therapeutics to Improve Human Health
Franco Kraiselburd — Co-Founder and CEO of Asclepii — building the next generation of tissue engineering therapeutics for wound healing.
I’ve recently heard a life’s work described as a lifelong quest…
#184: John Vickers (Blue Abyss) — Building the World’s Foremost Extreme Environment R&D Facilities for Space and Deep Sea Exploration
John Vickers, Founder & CEO of Blue Abyss.
John is building one of the most ambitious and inspiring projects I’ve encountered while exploring what people are building in Cleveland!
After spending eight…