Dan sits down with Steve Kaplan, Neubauer Family Distinguished Service Professor of Entrepreneurship and Finance and Kessenich E.P. Faculty Director at the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

Professor Kaplan co-founded the entrepreneurship program at Booth, including the Edward L. Kaplan New Venture Challenge, which has launched companies like GrubHub and Braintree/Venmo and created over $8 billion in market value. A leading scholar in private equity and venture capital, Steve shares insights on his work at Chicago Booth, his research on private equity and corporate finance, and what makes a successful CEO.

Click here to learn more about Steve Kaplan: https://www.chicagobooth.edu/faculty/directory/k/steven-neil-kaplan

To nominate a founder or to nominate yourself as a future guest speaker on our podcast, please send an email to contact@loudbearproductions.com.

In this episode of The Bear Roars, Dan sits down with Dr. Scott Davis, CEO and co-founder of Vescent, a developer and manufacturer of novel electro-optic and precision laser technologies. Vescent, which applies Nobel Prize Winning Frequency Combs technology, is a great example of a “pick-and-shovels” play in Quantum Technology.

Scott is a physics trained entrepreneur with an emphasis on new technology transition from the laboratory to manufacturing. He has spent his career inventing, developing, and commercializing a wide variety of technologies. He has over 50 papers published, has co-authored two book chapters, and has twenty-seven patents pending and/or issued.

Prior to starting Vescent Photonics, Scott worked in the industry as an optical engineer, served as an NRC postdoc in the laboratories of David Plusquellic at NIST in Gaithersburg MD, and obtained his Ph.D. from JILA under the tutelage of David Nesbitt.

In this episode, Scott shares more about his entrepreneurial journey, practical applications of quantum technology, and his passion for the quantum ecosystem.

Click here to learn more about Vescent: https://vescent.com/

To nominate a founder or to nominate yourself as a future guest speaker on our podcast, please send an email to contact@loudbearproductions.com.

Dan sits down with former pro cyclist and Colorado native Robin Thurston, CEO of Outside, the world’s leading active lifestyle content and experiences platform.

Before Outside, Robin co-founded MapMyFitness, later acquired by Under Armour, and led Helix, a consumer genomics company. In this episode, Robin shares his journey from racing bikes to building industry-shaping companies, and discusses how enjoying the outdoors is connected to your well-being.

Click here to learn more about Outside, Inc.: https://www.outsideinc.com/

To nominate a founder or to nominate yourself as a future guest speaker on our podcast, please send an email to contact@loudbearproductions.com.