Penguins President Turned Pittsburgh Protector: The Kevin Acklin Story

Inside a Sports Shorts Empire: The Frank Michael Smith Story

Frank Michael Smith has built what millions only dream of: a digital media empire with billions of views. But he didn't do it by taking shortcuts, using view bots, or getting lucky. Today, we get to the bottom of what it means to be a sports creator and an entrepreneur. We trace Frank's steps from filming sled jump highlight reels in 2007 to pitching an early app to 500-person college lecture halls. Frank breaks down why he refuses to micromanage his creative team, why the NBA needs to abolish its draft, and his aspirations for a feature-length documentary on Mathew Bowyer. (He also explains how a single comment turned into a piece of merchandise that his wife couldn't wait to get out of their house.) 00:00 Sled Jumps and Early YouTube 03:14 Thinking Like an Artist 04:39 Learning the Hard Way 07:32 The Failed College App Business 09:36 The Power of Original Content 11:39 Why Follower Counts Still Matter 13:31 Building the Rhino Brand 16:14 Shifting from Stories to Opinions 20:22 How to Hire a Video Team 25:29 Why the NBA Draft is a Mistake 29:03 Mathew Bowyer Documentary down the road #businesspodcast #pittsburgh #thoughtliters WHAT IS THOUGHT LITERS? Thought Liters is a series created and hosted by Adam Conner. On the show, Adam learns from the top of the world through the bottom of their glass. Each episode, we share a flight of local craft with the best and brightest brand minds around – whether it be an entrepreneur, an athlete, an artist, or otherwise. The questions evolve as the sip changes. The show is proudly founded and produced in Pittsburgh, PA. The whole goal is to have conversations about business with a more lighthearted look and feel. Adam thinks most business content is dry, and wants to change that. If you’re interested, follow along! If not, that’s cool too. But if you wanna be where the thought leaders are…you’ll tune in to where Thought Liters is.

What is Soju? Inside The 13th-Century Spirit Taking Over the West | Hello Soju CEO Elisabeth Baron

Today, we discover the magic of soju. Despite its 13th-century origins and massive global popularity, this incredible rice-based spirit is still a mystery to many in the US. I sit down with Elisabeth Baron [https://www.linkedin.com/in/elisabeth-baron1], the CEO of Hello Soju [https://hellosoju.com/], to taste five distinct flavors of their sparkling spin on the spirit (plus the core juice) and get to the bottom of the "K-Cal culture" phenomenon. From Asian Pear to Green Grape, we learn how Elisabeth is blending traditional Korean culture with the modern California lifestyle. We dive into the science of modernizing a historic beverage, the secret to getting "liquid to lips," and how to build a vibrant community around a brand. Plus, stick around to the end to see how to execute the perfect, high-octane "Soju Bomb," before Elisabeth shares some incredibly vulnerable advice on balancing family, knowing your worth, and making bold career leaps. 00:00 Intro & The Rise of K-Cal Culture 01:19 Asian Pear & What is Soju? 06:44 Lychee & Innovating Heritage Brands 12:05 Lemon Yuzu & Taking Career Leaps 17:20 Peach & Breaking into the Market 20:45 Green Grape & The Lightning Round 24:37 The Hello Soju Bomb 26:46 Last Call: Choosing Family Over Prestige #businesspodcast #pittsburgh #thoughtliters WHAT IS THOUGHT LITERS? Thought Liters is a series created and hosted by Adam Conner. On the show, Adam learns from the top of the world through the bottom of their glass. Each episode, we share a flight of local craft with the best and brightest brand minds around – whether it be an entrepreneur, an athlete, an artist, or otherwise. The questions evolve as the sip changes. The show is proudly founded and produced in Pittsburgh, PA. The whole goal is to have conversations about business with a more lighthearted look and feel. Adam thinks most business content is dry, and wants to change that. If you’re interested, follow along! If not, that’s cool too. But if you wanna be where the thought leaders are…you’ll tune in to where Thought Liters is.

They Cracked the Code to Guaranteed Virality | Fixated Founders Zach Katz and Jason Wilhelm

Can you actually manufacture virality? Zach Katz and Jason Wilhelm, the co-founders of Fixated, join to explain that you can. Fixated [https://fixated.com/] was built to be the architect behind some of the internet's biggest cultural phenomena. They've done well so far -- their first client was Sketch, who they brought on when he had only a few hundred viewers, and scaled him into a megastar. Since then, they've taken on big investor money and bought firms like Ellify, Elevate, and Studio71 to continue to scale. Today on the show, Zach and Jason pull back the curtain on the creator economy, exposing the dark side of early talent management and revealing the uncompromising "burn the boats" mentality required to reach the top. From building massive creator houses to discovering true talent in a sea of millions, you'll learn how two industry pros navigate the modern creator economy. 0:00 The Boldest Claim in Content: Can You Actually Manufacture Virality? 2:15 Pop Culture History: The Hilarious "Sean Kingston" Origin Story 4:51 Building the Sway House: Professionalizing the Creator Mansion Model 9:36 Exposing Predatory MCN Deals & The FaZe Clan "Shush" Story 16:22 The Fixated Blueprint: How to Guarantee Distribution & Views 33:33 The Sketch Story: Finding a Mega-Creator Before They Explode 39:25 Controversial Takes: Why "48 Laws of Power" is Messing Creators Up 57:27 The "Burn the Boats" Mentality: Why Having a Plan B Guarantees Failure #businesspodcast #pittsburgh #thoughtliters WHAT IS THOUGHT LITERS? Thought Liters is a series created and hosted by Adam Conner. On the show, Adam learns from the top of the world through the bottom of their glass. Each episode, we share a flight of local craft with the best and brightest brand minds around – whether it be an entrepreneur, an athlete, an artist, or otherwise. The questions evolve as the sip changes. The show is proudly founded and produced in Pittsburgh, PA. The whole goal is to have conversations about business with a more lighthearted look and feel. Adam thinks most business content is dry, and wants to change that. If you’re interested, follow along! If not, that’s cool too. But if you wanna be where the thought leaders are…you’ll tune in to where Thought Liters is.

Penguins President Turned Pittsburgh Protector: The Kevin Acklin Story

How do you protect the soul of the working class when you're the one brokering the billion-dollar deals? Kevin Acklin [https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-acklin-9372771/] is the former President of the Pittsburgh Penguins and former Chief of Staff to the Mayor of Pittsburgh. Born and raised in South Oakland, Kevin shares his incredible journey from leading his childhood hockey league in penalty minutes to navigating the highest stakes in sports and civic leadership. Kevin unpacks the formative moments of his career, including a shocking boardroom revelation in North Carolina that forever cemented his drive to protect the "little guy." We also get the untold, behind-the-scenes story of how he orchestrated the return of NHL legend Jaromir Jagr to Pittsburgh. 00:00 Intro: Preserving Pittsburgh's Soul 00:49 The Enforcer of South Oakland: Growing up across the street from Dan Marino and leading the league in penalty minutes 06:26 The Man in the Arena: Drawing inspiration from Teddy Roosevelt and empowering the community 11:33 The Boardroom vs. The Working Class: The emotional North Carolina term sheet story that cemented his defense of the "little guy" 20:35 Rebuilding the City: From painting cannons to saving August Wilson's boyhood home and becoming Chief of Staff 29:29 Bringing Jaromir Jagr Home: The mysterious phone call, the jersey retirement, and the stolen bobbleheads 45:43 Lightning Round 54:28 What's Next?: Life at Stevens & Lee, looking toward the future, and why his client will always be Pittsburgh #businesspodcast #pittsburgh #thoughtliters WHAT IS THOUGHT LITERS? Thought Liters is a series created and hosted by Adam Conner. On the show, Adam learns from the top of the world through the bottom of their glass. Each episode, we share a flight of local craft with the best and brightest brand minds around – whether it be an entrepreneur, an athlete, an artist, or otherwise. The questions evolve as the sip changes. The show is proudly founded and produced in Pittsburgh, PA. The whole goal is to have conversations about business with a more lighthearted look and feel. Adam thinks most business content is dry, and wants to change that. If you’re interested, follow along! If not, that’s cool too. But if you wanna be where the thought leaders are…you’ll tune in to where Thought Liters is.

The Bartender Who Built a Billion Dollar Airport | Christina Cassotis, CEO of the Pittsburgh International Airport

Christina Cassotis [https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinacassotis/], CEO of the Pittsburgh International Airport [https://flypittsburgh.com/], is executing the first ground-up, brand-new airport build in the US since the pandemic. Today she joins Thought Liters to tell that story and answer an important question: why do it You'll also get to learn about Christina lifts up leaders, her 2030 vision for air travel in and out of the Steel City, and how she went from intentionally flunking out of college to becoming a high-powered CEO. Special thanks to Cafe Conmigo [https://www.instagram.com/cafeconmigocoffee/] (and their owner Derek [https://www.linkedin.com/in/derek-d-6074a53b/]) who let us use their space inside the new terminal to film. 0:00 The $1.7B Comeback (Trailer) 1:09 Meet Christina Cassotis & The Pan Am Pilot Influence 3:09 The Iced Tea Flight at Cafe Conmigo 5:01 Why Great Ideas Fail (How to "Architect" Change) 6:48 Leadership is Just Selling an Idea 8:22 The Day the Hub Pulled Out: "This Isn't Coming Back" 11:06 Speaking Truth to Power & Winning the Room 15:23 Inside the New Terminal: Constellation Lighting & Design 22:34 The Biggest Challenge: Building During a Global Pandemic 26:49 Lightning Round: Rating Wild Airport Upgrades 30:28 Inside the Actor's Studio: What Gets a CEO Out of Bed 41:01 Last Call: Legacy-First Leadership & Mentorship 47:16 Unfinished Business: The Final 6% of the New PIT 49:18 Flunking Out of College & Advice for Your 20s 51:00 The Final Sip & Behind the Scenes at Cafe Conmigo #businesspodcast #pittsburgh #thoughtliters WHAT IS THOUGHT LITERS? Thought Liters is a series created and hosted by Adam Conner. On the show, Adam learns from the top of the world through the bottom of their glass. Each episode, we share a flight of local craft with the best and brightest brand minds around – whether it be an entrepreneur, an athlete, an artist, or otherwise. The questions evolve as the sip changes, The show is proudly founded and produced in Pittsburgh, PA. The whole goal is to have conversations about business with a more lighthearted look and feel. Adam thinks most business content is dry, and wants to change that. If you’re interested, follow along! If not, that’s cool too. But if you wanna be where the thought leaders are…you’ll tune in to where Thought Liters is.