Podcast: Dare to Disrupt

This podcast is about Penn State alumni who are innovators, entrepreneurs, and leaders, and the stories behind their success.

Rejecting the Label of Disabled with Susan Robinson



Dare to Disrupt
Dare to Disrupt
Rejecting the Label of Disabled with Susan Robinson
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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. 




Making a Deal on Shark Tank with FlexScreen Inventor Joe Altieri



Dare to Disrupt
Dare to Disrupt
Making a Deal on Shark Tank with FlexScreen Inventor Joe Altieri
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Joe Altieri is the president, CEO, and inventor of FlexScreen, the world’s first and only flexible window screen, as seen on season 11 episode 10 of ABC’s Shark Tank.

In this episode, Joe talks about how he started his career as an independent sales representative in the window industry and quickly became frustrated with the flimsy aluminum frames found in traditional screens. He shares his experience pitching FlexScreen on ABC’s Shark Tank, and how he walked away with a deal with American television personality, inventor, and entrepreneur, Lori Greiner, “Queen of QVC”.

At the end of the episode, recent Summer Founders Program participant Kevin Harris joins the conversation. Kevin is the founder and CEO of WaveBreaker Technologies, a veteran owned and operated business making kayaking more accessible with its top-mounted storage well. Kevin talks to Joe about the challenges of manufacturing physical products and how to make tough decisions about your business as an entrepreneur.




Diving into Fintech with Denim Social CEO Doug Wilber



Dare to Disrupt
Dare to Disrupt
Diving into Fintech with Denim Social CEO Doug Wilber
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Doug Wilber is the CEO of Denim Social, a leading provider of social media management software that empowers marketers in regulated industries to manage organic social media content and paid social media advertising on one platform. A financial services veteran, Doug served in leadership roles with Assembly Payments, PYMNTS.com, Discover Financial Services and Market Platform Dynamics. He graduated from Penn State with both a bachelor’s degree in marketing and international business, and an MBA with a focus on product development and brand strategy. 

In this episode, Doug talks about his experiences on the varsity cross country and track & field teams at Penn State, traveling the country in the Boca Burger-mobile, being intrapreneurial developing new products within Discover Financial Services, all leading up to becoming CEO of Denim Social.

At the end of the episode, Penn State senior Mary Richardson joins the conversation. She is the CEO and co-founder of Bindr, which is providing a mainstream dating experience dedicated to the bisexual community. Mary talks to Doug about finding the right timing to bring on investors, and how he defines success in a startup.




Rapidly Failing, Scaling, and Succeeding with Serial Entrepreneur Bill Seibel



Dare to Disrupt
Dare to Disrupt
Rapidly Failing, Scaling, and Succeeding with Serial Entrepreneur Bill Seibel
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Bill Seibel is a serial entrepreneur, and has played a role in 14 startups: five as founder and CEO, five as CEO, and another four as an operating executive. He is currently the Founder and CEO of Gumball, an advisory firm that has helped more than 80 CEOs scale their company rapidly by ensuring that their strategy, customer value proposition and go-to-market model are aligned to achieve their growth goals. Bill recently published his best-selling book, “Press Go! Lessons Earned by a Serial Entrepreneur” to share both the business and life lessons that he’s earned throughout his career. He graduated from Penn State with a degree in engineering, and received his MBA from Carnegie Mellon. 




Cheering On Women Warriors with Haley McClain Hill



Dare to Disrupt
Dare to Disrupt
Cheering On Women Warriors with Haley McClain Hill
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Haley McClain Hill is the CEO and Founder of TORCH Warriorwear, a subscription, direct to consumer military apparel and lifestyle brand that celebrates, empowers, and serves current and future women warriors. Her passion for dance, travel, and empowering women and teams has allowed her to travel and experience the world, including cheering in front of 107,000 fans at Penn State, as well as professionally dancing in the drop-top stadium for the Atlanta Falcons and the 49ers Gold Rush. She graduated from Penn State in 2018 with a degree in math. 




From Wall Street Trader to Facial Authentication Innovator with Ryan Owen



Dare to Disrupt
Dare to Disrupt
From Wall Street Trader to Facial Authentication Innovator with Ryan Owen
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Ryan Owen is the co-founder and president of Wicket, as well as the co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Cast Iron Media. In this episode, Ryan shares his experiences as a Wall Street trader, the unique internship opportunities Penn State connected him to as a student, as well as his experience being in the World Trade Center on 9/11. He then shares the twists and turns that led him to founding his two current startups: Wicket, a software company that specializes in facial authentication solutions for venue operators and facility managers, and Cast Iron Media, a premier sports and entertainment streaming solutions company.

Ryan has a Bachelor of Science degree in Information Systems from Penn State and an MBA in Entrepreneurship and Innovation from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. 




Increasing Access to Substance Use Disorder Treatment with Doug Leech



Dare to Disrupt
Dare to Disrupt
Increasing Access to Substance Use Disorder Treatment with Doug Leech
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Doug Leech is the Founder and CEO of Ascension Recovery Services. Through his own struggles with addiction and subsequent recovery, Doug developed a passion for helping those suffering from the disease of addiction and set out to increase access to Substance Use Disorder (SUD) treatment across the country. The mission of Ascension RS is to expand access to care by opening fully integrated, comprehensive and person-centered SUD and co-occurring mental health disorder treatment centers across the country providing for all who need treatment, regardless of insurance type or ability to pay, advancing Behavioral Health Equity. Ascension RS has been recognized as one of the fastest growing healthcare companies in the country and is a leader in developing and managing behavioral health treatment centers. Doug graduated from Penn State with a degree in accounting.




Empowering Underserved Communities with Former NFL Player Garry Gilliam



Dare to Disrupt
Dare to Disrupt
Empowering Underserved Communities with Former NFL Player Garry Gilliam
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Garry Gilliam is the Founder and CEO of The Bridge Eco-Village, a sustainable, mixed-use community ecosystem in Harrisburg, PA. The Bridge Eco-Village will feature solutions to many of the problems facing underserved communities: housing, retail, co-working spaces, education opportunities, entrepreneurship incubators, urban agriculture, sports, and entertainment. Prior to launching the Bridge, Garry played in the NFL for five seasons for the Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers. He graduated from Penn State in 2013 with degrees in business development, psychology, and advertising. 




Making Sustainability Convenient with Zander Isaacson



Dare to Disrupt
Dare to Disrupt
Making Sustainability Convenient with Zander Isaacson
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Zander Isaacson is the CEO and Co-Founder of Xeal, a technology-first electric vehicle (EV) charging company operating at the intersection of real estate, mobility, clean energy, and IoT.  The company secured $40M in Series B funding in November 2022 after closing an $11M series A in 2021 by leading proptech and climate tech VC funds, and has already partnered with 70+ of the largest real estate companies including Lincoln Property Company, Camden, Greystar, Related, UBS, and Brookfield.

Prior to starting Xeal in 2019, Zander worked as a S&T summer analyst at Citi Global Markets and then full-time in IB at Torreya Partners within the Mergers & Acquisitions division. Prior to investment banking, Zander was the founder & president of Happy Valley VC, the first student-run venture capital fund at Penn State, and was a portfolio manager for the Nittany Lion Fund, a $15M student-run hedge fund. He graduated from Penn State’s Smeal College of Business.