Conquering Columbus Podcast

5.Life is a collection of world-class climbing facilities based in the Midwest and has been in business for thirty years in Columbus, Ohio. The first facility, Vertical Adventures was hand-built by Alexis and Carrie Roccos, with the help of their friends, and opened in 1994 in Columbus, Ohio. Since then, the business and climbing community …

Ernie Knight is the Managing Director and CEO of Valley Growth Ventures. Valley Growth Ventures is a “micro” venture capital investment fund created to support high-growth, early-stage companies across the state of Ohio, with a preference for those in the Mahoning Valley. Formed in collaboration between five area organizations, VGV serves to aid in the …

Joe Petrelli is the President and Co-Founder of Demotech, the first insurer rating service to review independent regional and specialty insurers. At the time of the founding of Demotech in 1985, the insurance rating industry was controlled by a few key players, and many of them said it would be impossible to rate smaller regional …

Esther is the Founder of Benesafe Solutions. Benesafe Solutions LLC manufactures, produces, and sells eco-friendly, plant-based insect repellents without harsh chemicals making them safe for families, pets, and the environment. Their goal is to create products that are in line with their values and minimize the impact on the environment and the planet. Prior to …

Brian Gregory is the CEO and a Co-Founder of FMX. FMX is a facilities management software company founded in 2012 that has grown to serve over 1,500 customers across the world today. Prior to co-founding FMX, Brian was an engineer working in the energy services industry, and he graduated from the Ohio State University with …

Sean and Addison are the Co-Founders of S’wich Social, a build-your-own ice cream sandwich shop based in Italian Village! Sean and Addison launched S’wich Social in March of 2021.

Gus Hashem is a Co-founder of T-CETRA, a company focused on solving the challenges of a massive problem in the U.S. – serving the 84 million people who lack access to bank accounts or other traditional financial products and services. These un/underbanked individuals still need to interact with an increasingly digital world, and that is …

David Bullivant is the founder and CEO of Yellow Weld, a startup welding company here in Columbus. David studied Welding Engineering at Ohio State before founding Yellow Weld in June of 2020.

Brent is the Principal and Founder of Crawford Hoying, a real estate development firm managing several communities throughout Ohio. Brent is responsible for managing $1.3 billion in development and over 16 million square feet of properties. Brent taught property management and real estate trends at The Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University …

Adam Carr is the Master Integrator at Save a Warrior, an organization dedicated to ending the epidemic of suicide among our nations’ military, veterans, and first responders. He is also the Founder and CEO of the Western Zen, a leadership and development company based out of Columbus and focused on serving corporations, academia, and first-responder …

Josh Curtis is the Managing Director of Footprint Capital. Footprint Capital assists owners of privately held companies with mergers and acquisitions, strategic decisions, ownership transition planning, and corporate finance. As Managing Director, Josh works directly with business leaders to help strategize and plan these complex transactions.

Jim McGuire is the CEO of Entrotech, a vertically integrated provider of advanced material solutions. Jim studied Chemistry at Ohio State and founded Entrotech in 1999. Today, the Entrotech group includes several companies such as Advanced Paint Technology, Entrochem, inc., and Entrotech Life Sciences.

Giri Devnaur is the CEO of reAlpha, a fintech company with the mission of democratizing real estate. Their AI finds the best potential properties for investment, and those properties are listed on their digital marketplace where you can invest in them.

Angie Lloyd is the Executive Director of the Ohio Access to Justice Foundation. The Ohio Access to Justice Foundation, founded in 1994 as the Ohio Legal Assistance Foundation and located in Columbus, is a statewide, nonprofit organization committed to ensuring that civil legal aid is available to all low-income Ohioans. The Foundation’s board is composed …

Lauren Culley and Jeff Excell are the Founders of Fox in the Snow – a bakery, coffee shop serving up rustic-style baked goods and hand-poured drinks out of three quaint shops in the Italian Village, German Village and New Albany neighborhoods of Columbus, Ohio.

Brian Billingsley is a Co-Founder of Basis Theory, a tokenization API to help secure any data. Basis Theory helps developers build secure and compliant applications faster, and helps clients secure data such as credit card information, HIPPA-related data, credentials, banking information, and more.

Matt Benson is the CEO and Founder of eFuse. eFuse was founded in 2018 and is the place where gamers meet, compete, & are discovered. Available in the form of a web and mobile application, eFuse connects the highly fragmented gaming community and provides tools for individuals to build a unique gaming portfolio, collaborate professionally, …

Travis Hedge is a Co-Founder of Vouch Insurance. Vouch is a business insurance platform for startups. Built by founders for founders, Vouch’s fully digital coverage takes minutes to activate, with everything from application to claims designed for the unique needs of high-growth companies. Because Vouch does all of the underwriting, not just brokering out to …

Ira Sharfin is the CEO of Continental Office. If you missed our first episode with Ira, go back and check it out – we talk about Ira’s story, the story of Continental Office, and more. We’ve brought Ira back on to talk about what’s new for the Continental Office team, and how offices and workspaces …

Mark was the Founder and President of Signature Closers, LLC, a notary closing partner for many local, regional, and national title companies. What started as a single signing agent providing notary signing services to Central and Southwest Ohio grew to provide services throughout the entire state of Ohio. Signature Closers, LLC was recognized on the …