The Mid-Point

Dietrich Stephan, Cyto Ventures

Dietrich Stephan, general partner of Cyto Ventures [https://flaia.org/companies/Cyto-Ventures], is a human geneticist and entrepreneur who works in personalized medicine.  Trained as part of the Human Genome Project through the National Institutes for Health (NIH), he spent part of his career in San Francisco helping build the national infrastructure through which to deliver genetic information to the medical industry.His insight on moving innovation into commercialization and licensing landed him an opportunity to work with the University of Pittsburgh.He launched CytoVentures to give biotech founders access to infrastructure, expertise and a network of equity investment.  Through its own fund and network of investors, Cyto has helped raise over $400 million for about a dozen startups.Listen in as he discussed the future of life sciences and biotech and his experience as both an operator and investor.Cyto Ventures is based in Pittsburgh, PA.

Sankalp Arora, Gather AI

Sankalp Arora is the CEO and Co-founder at Gather AI [https://gather.ai]. A truly inspiring story - as a young man from Delhi, India, he always dreamed of making robots.  He was constantly enamored with aerial robotics and as he puts it “making drones curious”.  Sankulp earned his PhD from Carnegie Mellon University and leveraged the strength of the robotics ecosystem there to develop his company.Gather AI drones gather data with fully autonomous drones to optimize warehouse inventory processes.  The company is at the forefront of taking everyday hardware like a camera or a drone and optimizing it with incredible software and data.  The drones scan inventory, process data, find damages and more helping companies drastically improve productivity and efficiency.The company recently acquired a bay area startup, making Gather AI one of the world’s largest in the domain of providing autonomous warehouse data with drones processing thousands of palettes weekly.Gather AI is based in Pittsburgh, PA.

Jordon Rooney, Jaster Athletes

Jordan is no stranger to entrepreneurship.  With deep dive experience in sports marketing and branding, he leveraged his expertise into a new innovative concept - Jaster Athletes [https://www.jasterathletes.com/].  The company is building an impressive client roster with top notch athletes including Damar Hanlin.Jaster started as a simple sports marketing agency and has evolved into a scalable business model through the use of AI.  Not traditionally a techie, Jordan’s ability to see an opportunity and be ahead of the curve by applying technology to adapt his business model created a “win”.Listen in as Jordan discusses his perspective on building a service based business.

Charles Robinson, 1888 Capital

OneAmerica Works Founder Patrick McKenna chats with Charles Robinson from 1888 Capital. About Charles Charles Robinson is a serial entrepreneur and partner with 1888 Capital. He co-founded Teamworks and Forward Cities. Charles is a graduate from Duke University and his background is in investment banking, ad agencies and worked for several #TechStartups [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/techstartups]. He then built a successful career in real estate before becoming an angel investor. He is a partner in Teamworks, a sports tech company, a successful venture which has acquired other smaller companies. He is passionate about closing the wealth gap and helping underrepresented entrepreneurs find new pathways of discovery into the market. You’ll hear about his strong ability to build networks and discovery opportunities. Listen in on the episode as he describes himself as more of a “pirate” than an entrepreneur! He offers a unique twist and perspective to his approach on success and his ability to lead with empathy coupled with a strong demand for results. Charles shares his insight on what he looks for in budding entrepreneurs, the key upcoming hot upcoming verticals for the southwest and the power of maximizing and building “the network.” 1888 Capital is based in Atlanta, GA. #startups [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/startups] #startups [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/startups] #venturecapital [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/venturecapital] #founderfriday [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/founderfriday] #oneamericaworks [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/oneamericaworks]

Ilya Preston, PAXAFE

OneAmerica Works Founder Patrick McKenna has a conversation with PAXAFE CEO Ilya Preston. About Ilya Ilya Preston is the co-founder and CEO of PAXAFE [https://theorg.com/org/paxafe], a company that specializes in smart packaging technology for temperature-sensitive products. Prior to PAXAFE [https://theorg.com/org/paxafe], Preston was the CEO of Thaddeus Medical Systems, Inc., a company that builds smart packaging technology to improve global shipment outcomes by protecting sensitive specimens through the entirety of the supply chain. Preston has always been interested in improving healthcare and logistics. Ilya was motivated to start Thaddeus Medical Systems after learning about the billions of dollars wasted each year in the healthcare supply chain specifically due to temperature excursions and lost products. Ilya saw an opportunity to create a more dependable solution that would simplify and automate the packaging process and reduce exposure to human error, improve quality, reduce the total cost of ownership, and enable customers to consolidate their logistics supply base. Under Preston's leadership, Thaddeus Medical Systems developed the iQ+-ler, a smart, all-in-one, hardware and software packaging IoT solution that integrates three key features: active temperature control, tracking and communication, and documentation automation. The iQ+-ler was well-received in the market and helped put Thaddeus Medical Systems on the map as a leading healthcare and logistics company. Preston's experience with Thaddeus Medical Systems made him a natural fit to lead PAXAFE [https://theorg.com/org/paxafe]. With PAXAFE [https://theorg.com/org/paxafe], Preston is continuing their mission to improve global shipment outcomes by developing even more innovative packaging solutions that protect sensitive products throughout the entire supply chain. Ilya Preston's educational career began at Indiana University Bloomington, where they earned a Bachelor of Science degree Cum Laude in International Business, Economics, and Spanish. Ilya then went on to earn their Masters in Business Administration from the University of Indianapolis - School of Business. PAXAFE is the OS for visibility control towers. PAXAFE's B2B SaaS platform — CONTXT — is an AI-enabled, device-agnostic risk-management platform that reduces product loss, improves operational efficiency and optimizes decision making for perishable shippers and service providers. PAXAFE contextualizes active and passive visibility data, quantifies risk and predicts OTIF adverse events. Unlike sensor-enabled visibility providers that leave enterprises as ‘data rich but insights poor’, PAXAFE understands that operationalizing visibility is not a human problem -- it’s a machine problem. PAXAFE exists to unleash the value of visibility program data.