This podcast is about Penn State alumni who are innovators, entrepreneurs, and leaders, and the stories behind their success.
Innovating the Environmental Insurance Business with David Rosenberg
Dare to Disrupt
Innovating the Environmental Insurance Business with David Rosenberg
/
RSS Feed
Share
Link
Embed
David Rosenberg is the former Executive Vice President and Principal at Environmental Compliance Services (ECS). David and his two partners grew ECS from a small 12 person, $5 million in annual written premium agency to a 500 person, $200 million in annual written premium agency and a leader in the environmental insurance business. ECS was sold to XL Capital Inc., a publicly held company in 1999.
David received his bachelor’s degree in individual and family studies from Penn State.
Scaling a Stress-free Home Remodeling Business with West Shore Home Founder B.J. Werzyn
Dare to Disrupt
Scaling a Stress-free Home Remodeling Business with West Shore Home Founder B.J. Werzyn
/
RSS Feed
Share
Link
Embed
B.J. Werzyn is the founder and CEO of West Shore Home, one of the largest direct to consumer home remodelers in the nation. Through a combination of acquisitions and new office openings, West Shore Home has over 38 locations in 18 states with over $750 million in revenue.
In this episode, B.J. talks about how he is revolutionizing a traditionally fragmented and tech averse industry. He talks through how West Shore Home mapped out the 67 processes of home remodeling, removed inefficiencies, and implemented streamlined processes empowered by technology to ultimately make the easiest, quickest, most stress-free customer experience.
At the end of the episode, current Penn State student Jennifer Natale joins the conversation. Jennifer is a senior at Penn State majoring in finance with a minor in Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship. She is the president of the Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship Society at Penn State. She talks to B.J. about overcoming initial entrepreneurial obstacles. B.J. graduated from Penn State in 1999.
Tapping into Niche Media Markets with Industry Dive Co-founders
Dare to Disrupt
Tapping into Niche Media Markets with Industry Dive Co-founders
/
RSS Feed
Share
Link
Embed
Sean Griffey and Ryan Willumson are the co-founders of Industry Dive, a digital media company delivering business news and original analysis through targeted newsletters. Covering sectors like healthcare, energy, transportation, retail, and more, Industry Dive serves over 14 million North American users and partners with major clients including Amazon, Salesforce, Uber, IBM, and American Express. The company is known for producing some of the most respected journalism in the business world.
In this episode, Sean and Ryan discuss how they met while working at FierceMarkets, a B2B e-media startup, and what inspired them to launch Industry Dive. They share how they bootstrapped the company, built a loyal audience, and grew the business to $100 million in revenue before its acquisition by Informa in September 2022.
Later in the episode, Lucy Bickel—an incoming senior majoring in advertising with minors in entrepreneurship & innovation: new ventures and digital media trends & analytics—joins the conversation. Together, they explore how Industry Dive developed its code of ethics, its approach to advertising, and the secret behind Sean and Ryan’s enduring co-founder relationship.
45:16 – 48:31 Secrets to a successful business partnership
About Sean Griffey
Sean Griffey is co-founder and former CEO of Industry Dive. He graduated from Penn State University’s Smeal College of Business with a BS in economics and received an MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management.
About Ryan Willumson
Ryan Willumson is co-founder and former CRO of Industry Dive. He graduatedfrom Penn State University’s Smeal College of Business with a BS in finance and international business.
Rejecting the Label of Disabled with Susan Robinson
Dare to Disrupt
Rejecting the Label of Disabled with Susan Robinson
/
RSS Feed
Share
Link
Embed
Susan Robinson is a speaker, consultant and leader making an impact on the world in a truly unique way. Through her corporate and conference keynote, commencement addresses, workshops, client initiatives and writing, she masterfully blends over 25 years of multi-sector leadership with her experiences being legally blind to shift thinking, elevate potential and inspire action. She has worked with global firms and Fortune 500 companies, top not-for-profit organizations, leading universities and the United Nations.She presented a TED Talk in 2017 entitled “How I Fail at Being Disabled,” which has over 1.5M views.
She graduated from Penn State in 1994 with a degree in health policy and administration, and received her masters of public administration in health policy and management from New York University.
Windows of Opportunity: Navigating Growth with MITER Brands CEO Matt DeSoto
Dare to Disrupt
Windows of Opportunity: Navigating Growth with MITER Brands CEO Matt DeSoto
Matt DeSoto is the President and CEO of Harrisburg-based MITER Brands, a family of leading window and door brands designed for residential projects in the new construction and remodeling markets. Under Matt’s leadership, MITER Brands has become one of North America’s largest fabricators of vinyl, aluminum, and fiberglass windows and patio doors.
In this episode, Matt talks about his experience working for Student Painters as a student at Penn State, enduring the Great Recession of 2008, how he and his team maintain top-quality products and service, as well as how he prioritizes giving back to the communities they work in through the MITER Foundation.
At the end of the episode, current Penn State student Ryn Rizer joins the conversation. Ryn is a junior studying mechanical engineering. He works as a technician at OriginLabs, Invent Penn State’s newest prototyping and fabrication space in downtown State College. Ryn talks to Matt about how MITER has implemented robotics and AI to make jobs safer and production and sales more efficient.
Empowering Patients with Ro Founder Rob Schutz
Dare to Disrupt
Empowering Patients with Ro Founder Rob Schutz
/
RSS Feed
Share
Link
Embed
Rob Schutz is the Chief Growth Officer and Co-founder of Ro, a direct-to-patient healthcare company providing high-quality, affordable healthcare without the need for insurance. Rob guides Ro’s growth, marketing and communications functions to tell Ro’s story of putting patients in control of their health. He applies his extensive experience in consumer marketing to ensure Ro is resonating with patients by directly addressing their healthcare concerns. Under Rob’s leadership, these functions have helped propel Ro into one of the fastest growing companies in the country, achieving unicorn status in 2020. As of September ’22, Rob has stepped back from day-to-day at Ro while continuing to serve as an advisor and on Ro’s Board of Directors.
Prior to Ro, Rob was VP of Growth at Bark, the makers of BarkBox, where he joined as employee #7 and helped scale revenue from zero to $100 million. He also founded a Washington DC-based daily deals site that was acquired by kgbdeals in 2011. An expert in user acquisition, Rob has also served as a curriculum developer and instructor for General Assembly. He has been recognized by Business Insider as a 30 Under 40 leader in Healthcare. Rob earned his B.S. in Management Information Systems from Penn State University.
LIVE from State College: honeygrow Founder Justin Rosenberg
Dare to Disrupt
LIVE from State College: honeygrow Founder Justin Rosenberg
/
RSS Feed
Share
Link
Embed
Justin Rosenberg is Founder and CEO of honeygrow, a fast-casual stir-fry and salad concept founded in Philadelphia in 2012. With a mission to create a unique, spirited brand focused on simple, wholesome foods, Rosenberg has led the company’s creation and growth, which currently has 41 locations.
In this special LIVE episode recording, which took place during Penn State Startup Week powered by PNC on Wednesday, March 20, Justin shares his story of perseverance and success with honeygrow.
Justin first pitched honeygrow 93 times to investors before finally landing a deal and opening the first location in the Rittenhouse neighborhood of Philadelphia. Since then, the company has raised over $80 million in equity financing and has grown into the Boston, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Washington DC and the New York City metro areas.
Towards the middle of the episode, in-person audience members got the opportunity to ask Justin a few questions of their own.
We are taking a break this December, but we’ll be back in late January with an episode featuring Zander Isaacson, the co-founder of Xeal, a company that is disrupting the electric vehicle charging industry. Listen to this episode for a quick preview of the interview. Happy holidays!
Exploring Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) with Former NFL Player Omar X. Easy
Dare to Disrupt
Exploring Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) with Former NFL Player Omar X. Easy
/
RSS Feed
Share
Link
Embed
Omar X. Easy, Ph.D., is the recently appointed director of the all-new Penn State Brand Academy. The Brand Academy, a project recently launched by Invent Penn State in partnership with Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics and funded through the Wally Triplett Brand Academy Endowment, is designed to support student-athletes to manage and leverage their personal brand, name, image and likeness (NIL), and support their entrepreneurial interests more successfully.
In this episode, Omar shares his experience growing up in Jamaica and moving to the United States as a teenager. He shares lessons learned from his time as a student-athlete at Penn State as well as his time in the NFL, where he played as a running back for the Kansas City Chiefs and the Oakland Raiders. He then discusses his vision for The Brand Academy and how it will serve student-athletes in building and leveraging their personal brand.
At the end of the episode, current Penn State student Miranda Heffelfinger joins the conversation. She is the captain and president of the Penn State women’s rugby team. She talks to Omar about how The Brand Academy will eventually serve all student-athletes, as well as how The Brand Academy will set student-athletes up for success to continue to benefit from NIL post-graduation.
Our events and programs are open to all students regardless of sex, gender, sexual orientation, race, or any other protected class. Invent Penn State is committed to building a community of belonging for all.
