In this episode of the SmartMoney Ventures Podcast, Ry Walker tells the story of his entrepreneurial journey from college dropout to Unicorn success in Cincinnati, Ohio.

In this episode, you will learn:

1. How to build Unicorn software companies in Cincinnati Ohio.
2. Why the entrepreneur’s journey is like mountain climbing, where you value the climb more than the peak itself.
3. How Astronomer & Tembo are commercializing open source platforms and challenging software giants like Oracle and Snowflake.
4. What NBA Legend LeBron James and startup CEOs have in common.
5. Why we learn more from failure than we do from success.
6. Advice for tech entrepreneurs: Visit San Francisco, build confidence, pursue speed.

Ry Walker is one of those rare entrepreneurs who sees trends before most other people do. After dropping out of college at the University of Cincinnati, he got hired to build and deliver IBM clone computers and teach people how to use early PC software tools.

Then he founded his first company, SharkBytes, building websites in 1995 in downtown Cincinnati. He and his brother went to businesses, unplugged their fax machines and showed people the internet, trying to sell them websites, many times being told to plug the fax machine back in. Failure is part of the process, but getting back up is essential.

They built SharkBytes to 30 employees and sold it to a rollup in 1999. He was a paper millionaire at 27 years old, only to watch it go up in flames in the “dot-bomb” of 2000/2001.

Fast forward to 2015, when he founded Astronomer, a software company that has raised over $280M of venture capital and is valued at over $1 Billion. He describes Astronomer as a pipeline for data, built on top of Apache Airflow, a Python based open-source workflow management platform. Ry served as CEO for 4 years, CTO for 2 more years, and left to start another company and become an investor.

In November of 2022, he founded Tembo, a developer platform built on top of PostGres, an open-source relational database management system. Coming strong out of the gate, he raised a $7 Million dollar seed round led by Venrock with CincyTech, Cintrifuse Capital, Fireroad, Grand Ventures and Wireframe Ventures participating. Ry believes that commercial platforms built on top of open-source software is the future, and is a founding principle for both Astronomer and Tembo.

Ry has been recognized as a Cincinnati “Top 40 Under 40” and is an AngelPad alum. He loves nature, science, art, sports, and indie game development.

I know that you’ll enjoy hearing Ry share his story of entrepreneurship and all the wisdom that he’s learned along the way. Enjoy!

In this episode, you will learn:

1. Why you should do 50 customer interviews before building your product.
2. Why Joe recommends only building software code that is differentiating.
3. How less code & less employees translates into faster speed to market.
4. Which company became a Unicorn with only 13 employees.
5. Why Columbus is an excellent place to build a tech company.
6. Where to buy Joe’s book “Serverless as a Game Changer”

Joe Emison is the Co-founder and CTO of Branch, a personal lines insurance company that is a unicorn startup company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio and one of GlassDoor’s Best Places to work in 2022 and 2023. He is also the author of one of the Top 50 books on Amazon for cloud computing entitled “Serverless as a Game Changer: How to Get the Most Out of the Cloud”.

Before Branch, Joe built five other companies as a technical co-founder, across many industries, including consumer electronics, local government, big data analysis, and commercial real estate. Joe graduated with degrees in English and Mathematics from Williams College and has a law degree from Yale Law School.

Joe has a unique perspective on building software based startups. A big part of his philosophy is that he buys most of his software components and he only builds software code for what’s differentiating.

He believes that the most effective technology leaders are the ones that are able to really focus and minimize what code they're writing into just the necessary parts. I encourage you to purchase his book and listen to this episode to learn more!

In this episode, you will learn:

1. How MapQuest became a Unicorn in 1999.
2. Channeling your inner 10 year old: The 5 Principles of Building a Fort.
3. The one mistake that all 1st time founders make.
4. Why community & collaboration are essential for innovation.
5. Systems theory for building startups & innovation.
6. Why not all mentorship & advice is created equal.

Did you ever build a fort when you were a kid? Chris Heivly has been building successful startups & communities with that same mindset for decades and he shares his story in this episode and his latest book called “Build the Fort”.

Long before Waze existed or Google Maps, there was MapQuest, which started in Lancaster, Pennsylvania with maps on CD-Roms and went on to become a unicorn in 1999. Chris Heivly was the co-founder of MapQuest, and that was just the beginning of his entrepreneurial journey.

Chris has been building and investing in startups and the communities around them for decades. From the Startup Factory in North Carolina, to TechStars where he served as Senior Vice President of Ecosystem Development, he has spent the last 12 years building ecosystems around the country.

Chris has the experience of a 63 year old, the energy of a 40 year old, and the humor of a 12 year old, which is exactly the mix needed to help a large number of entrepreneurs and innovators.

Chris’s book “Build the Fort” outlines five basic elements that are common to fort-building, startups and innovation ecosystems:

1) Socialize your idea without fear or inhibition
2) Identify & marshal the people you trust
3) Gather the minimal resources closest to you
4) Act on the smallest & simplest forms of the idea
5) Take action building your fort

He produces and hosts a podcast called your Startup Community with Brad Feld and Ian Hathaway, and he recently released his second book entitled Build the Fort a Startup Community Builder, and it's a global field guide for how to get involved, how to create impact and fund and accelerate your entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Chris is a best-selling author, contributing writer for Inc.com and a public speaker. He's spoken to over 400 audiences about startups, corporate innovation and the startup community ecosystem development.

Chris is a graduate of West Chester University of Pennsylvania with a bachelors degree in Geography and holds a Masters degree in Geographic Information Systems from University of South Carolina.

I know you will enjoy this episode as Chris shares his wit and wisdom with us on the SmartMoney Ventures Podcast!

In this episode, you will learn:

1. What its like to grow from Zero to $300 Million of revenues in 4 years.
2. Why surrounding yourself with the right mentors is crucial to success.
3. Why most startups are a series of failures until they’re not.
4. How the Heartland culture gets s##t done without unrealistic expectations.
5. Why people and culture are critical to success in innovation.

This episode of the SmartMoney Ventures Podcast features Sue Tyler who is a C-level executive, board member and investor who has a unique combination of experience with billion-dollar Fortune 500 companies along with hands-on work in the trenches of rapid growth startups.

Sue encountered rapid growth early in her career at Progressive Insurance where she served in Finance and Product Management, introducing new products and technologies and generating significant revenue growth for the company.

She went on to serve as SVP-Marketing & Division President for a startup insurer formerly known as Reliant Insurance that grew from $0 to $300 M in revenues in less than 4 years and was ultimately acquired by Farmers Insurance.

Sue went on to serve in multiple C-level roles at Medical Mutual, a multi-billion-dollar insurance company for 15 years. During her tenure, the company grew and diversified through new product introductions, expansion into new markets and acquisition.

Sue currently serves as a Venture Partner with Caduceus Capital Partners and is a member of North Coast Ventures, investing in early stage digital health companies and software-as-a-service companies. She is a member of the Board of Directors of several digital health & insurtech companies including Beam Benefits, ForMotiv, ScriptDrop and HealthPlan Data Solutions. She is committed to value added board governance, serving as a founding member of the Cleveland chapter of Private Directors Association.

Sue serves on the Cleveland Clinic Innovations External Advisory Council and is an alumni Advisor to the student led venture fund and a venture mentor to the medical school at Case Western Reserve University where she holds both an MBA and an undergraduate degree.

In this episode, you will learn:

1. Why your personality and integrity are essential elements of success.
2. Four important considerations in selling your company - price is NOT one of them.
3. What it’s like to Chair the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.
4. How they almost lost the whole company, and bounced back to success.
5. Why culture and relationships are your best team retention strategies.

Episode Summary:
This episode of the SmartMoney Ventures Podcast features Dwight Smith who is a true servant leader in business, board service, and the philanthropic pursuits that he and his wife Renee are deeply committed to.

Dwight built his company, Sophisticated Systems, Inc. for 33 years and along the way, he has consistently given back to his community with both his time and his treasure. His colleagues & peers frequently recognize his achievements and contributions with awards and accolades.

Dwight is the recipient of the E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year Award, the Milt Lewin Legacy Award from Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Ohio, and he and his wife Renee are recent recipients of the Harrison M. Sayre Award from The Columbus Foundation for their passionate support of social justice, entrepreneurship & youth empowerment!

Dwight has served on 16 Boards of Directors, including as Chair of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, The Columbus Foundation where he served on the Governing Committee, Columbus State Community College, The Highlights Foundation, the Columbus Chamber of Commerce and more recently, People’s Bank and Rocky Brands.

In 2015 Smith co-founded My Special Word, a non-profit focused on empowering children around the world and the importance and impact of positive words. Smith is an active investor and mentor for several entrepreneurial ventures.

He has served as an Adjunct Professor in the MBA Program at Franklin University and is a guest lecturer at The Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University. Smith was awarded an Honorary Doctorate Degree from Franklin University in 2021.

He graduated from The Ohio State University with a BS in Marketing and an MBA in Finance.

In this episode, you will learn:

1. How Hugh built and sold his first company at 25 years old
2. Why Hugh provides equity compensation to all team members.
3. Why continuing education is a lifelong pursuit for CEOs.
4. The inside scoop on 2 IPOs and working with Craig McCaw.
5. Why the Midwest is a great place to start a business.

Episode Summary:
This episode of the SmartMoney Ventures Podcast features Hugh Cathey who is an award winning dealmaker and experienced CEO with 2 successful IPOs completed and a passion for building strong communities.

Hugh is a lifelong entrepreneur who built and sold his first company at 25 years old. Hugh specializes in generating rapid revenue growth, and he currently serves as CEO of ChromoCare and as a Principal at Columbus Partners. He previously served as CEO of Digital Networks, where he led a successful IPO and eventually sold the business to Star Telecom. He also served as President of XO Communications, a telecommunications startup with initial funding of $1 Billion from Craig McCaw, founder of McCaw Cellular.

Hugh served as President of Qwest Communications International broadband division. This subsidiary grew to over $200 Million in annual revenue within the first two years of operations. With over 800 employees and an annual budget of over $300 Million, it was one of the fastest growing divisions of Qwest Communications.

Hugh believes that continuing education is a lifelong pursuit for CEOs, and he walks the walk by mentoring & coaching CEOs regularly. He also believes that all employees should share in equity compensation in the form of stock options.

Hugh’s philanthropic pursuits are as impressive as his business acumen. Hugh has served on the Board of Directors of LifeCare Alliance for over 26 years and is past Chairman, along with serving as Chairman of the Board of 1st Responders Bridge as well.

Companies, people & topics mentioned in this episode:

Companies Hugh has worked at:
Chromocare
Columbus Partners
HealthSpot
Digital Networks (acquired by Star Telecom)
XO Communications
Qwest Communications

Companies/Institutions where Hugh serves or served as a Board Member :
ZNode (Board Chair)
Pinnacle Data Systems
TC Logic
LifeCare Alliance / Meals on Wheels
1st Responders Bridge

Other companies/institutions/people mentioned in this episode:
AT&T
MCI
Vancouver Stock Exchange
Craig McCaw (McCaw Cellular)
Ayn Rand, author of Atlas Shrugged
Marc Andreessen - Andreessen Horowitz
Ohio Semiconductor
BIll Gross
Idealab
Ted
Nottingham Spurk
Case Western University
James Bond 007
The E-Myth by Michael Gerber
Coach Woody Hayes
Coach Jim Tressel

SMV6: Refinery Ventures Managing Partner Tim Schigel shares how he found “Lightning in a Bottle” and hit $50M in revenues in 4 years at ShareThis.

This episode of the SmartMoney Ventures Podcast features Tim Schigel, Founder and Managing Partner of Refinery Ventures who invests in early stage companies based on his own experience as Founder of ShareThis, where they hit $50M of revenues in 4 years. Also as an investor in Advertising.com, they achieved $150M in revenues in year 5.

The story illustrates the immense value of having hands-on experience working in a company with an extremely rapid growth trajectory. It can be a bumpy ride, but once you’ve experienced it, you’ll never go back.

Tim Schigel is the Founder of ShareThis, Founding Board Member of Cintrifuse, a fund of funds, and Founder & Managing Partner of Refinery Ventures. He is a recipient of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award.

Tim has invested in many successful companies including dotloop (acquired by Zillow), Advertising.com & Third Screen Media (both acquired by AOL/Time Warner), and BuzzMetrics (acquired by Nielsen).

Tim holds a Bachelors of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering from Case Western Reserve University and serves on the Advisory Board of The Institute for Management & Engineering (TiME) at Case Western.

This episode of the SmartMoney Ventures Podcast features Dr. Michael Triplett, CEO of Myonexus Therapeutics who, along with co-founder Dr. Louise Rodino-Klapac, successfully completed a 9 figure exit event before securing Series A financing.

The story illustrates how successful tech transfer and strategic positioning resulted in the establishment of a new Gene Therapy Center of Excellence creating over 100 new jobs while transforming Muscular Dystrophy patient treatments.

Prior to co-founding Myonexus, Michael held leadership positions at Proctor & Gamble, Battelle Memorial Institute and Ventaira Pharmaceuticals among others.

In this episode, you will learn:

1. How to get a 9 figure exit before your Series A financing
2. How Technology Transfer is transforming the Heartland Region
3. Why resilience is a big part of entrepreneurial psychology
4. Sage advice for technical & scientific founders
5. How a Gene Therapy Center of Excellence was established in Central Ohio

Dr. Triplett holds both a bachelor’s degree and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from THE Ohio State University graduating Summa Cum Laude.