ONE The Come UP

Louis Phillip Broze, from Spentlys. "One the Come UP."

For the eighth episode of ONE the Come UP, I was honored to have Mr Louis Phillip Broze as my guest. He’s our first European Forbes 30U alumni, with his company Spentys based out of Brussels, Belgium. He’s also the first of our guests to go through a seed accelerator – both hub.brussels and BEyond Program. Mr. Broze’s company, Spentys, uses 3D modeling, scanning, and printing to create custom-made orthotics and prosthetics. They are in 20 different countries and have helped over 10,000 patients. Something else unique about Mr. Broze is that he is a Kairo Fellow, a very distinct honor for entrepreneurs in Europe.

Tom Shea from Adgile Media Group

Tom Shea, from Adgile Media Group, joined me today to discuss the newest form of advertisement: mobile billboards. His company turns last mile delivery trucks into billboards, and then tracks their efficacy by collecting nearby user data. It sounds like something out of a sci-get movie — or 1984 — but it’s the way of the future. 
 
A native of Long Island, New York, Tom started his first company while a junior in high school. He attended college at BC, graduated with a degree in Computer science, and got a job at McMaster-Carr that eventually led him to Chicago. It was in Chicago that he attended UChicago and met his Co-founder, Max. Originally Adjacent Media, a slightly - but drastically - different idea, they went through Venture Challenge, UChicago's version of Y Combinator. At the end, they were posed with two main problems, which prompted an entirely different course of action. After several months of changes, in March of 2020 they were ready to launch Adgile Media Group – the new and improved version of Adjacent. But the pandemic happened, and they postponed launch until Autumn of 2020. One year later, their company had snowballed. They did $5 million in funding, which allowed them to expand. Now, as of Dec 23, they have done $10 million in lifetime sales, and have even partnered with Sabrina Carpenter. Who knows where Adgile will lead the world next, but wherever it is, Tom will be at the forefront. 

Shirah Benarde from Night Cap

Shirah Benarde is the founder and inventor of Nightcap, a scrunchie-like device for users to put over their cups to prevent spiking. The idea first came to her in a dream when she was just 16 years old, after a college friend of hers was spiked. The product quickly drew national attention, going viral on Tik Tok and appearing on Fox news. In August 2020, Nightcap appeared on Shark Tank, and Shirah closed a deal with Lorrie for $60,000 for a 25% stake. Since then, Nightcap has never slowed down. They are now in 150 universities and colleges, Forever 21, Bumble, and are making their way into bars. With the surface just scratched of the potential to be done, Nightcap has a lot of difference still to make. 

Henry Michaelson, Halla, One The Come UP

For episode 5 of One The Come UP, I discuss with Henry Michaelson the technological side of groceries. His company, Halla, is the search engine behind any e-commerce grocery store platform. Initially, you might not understand the importance or magnitude of this niche, but it is a big, multi billion dollar problem that many grocery chains have. Previously, the technology used by grocery store chains wasn’t up to date. This resulted in sud-par customer satisfaction, and profits being lost. But Halla has fixed that problem. 
In this episode, we dive deep into what goes on behind the everyday things that you use. The algorithms and data, often overlooked by consumers, is an ever evolving and changing landscape for technology companies. We discuss the development of his career, and the corresponding development of AI.

Mitch Deforest, Ramped Careers, Episode Four, ONE The Come UP

A Forbes 30 under 30 entrepreneur; a nomad that travels the world; and a surfer dude that flies first class – Mitch Deforest is a man of many hats. His company, Ramped Careers, has simplified the job search. Just enter your job preferences, add a little bit of information about yourself, and then leave it to AI to get the perfect job for you.
 
Maybe the most fun interview I’ve had so far, Mitch is down-to-Earth and relatable. Although to most people it would seem like he’s living the dream, Mitch knows what it’s like to be “on the come up.” Mitch went to college at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, where he was a D1 swimmer and captain of the swim team. After graduating in 2015, he started his career at Yaypay – a small AR automation start-up with 3 other employees. After developing with them for a couple years, he decided to start his own company, Ramped Careers. 
 
Ramped is an entirely remote company, which allows Mitch to travel the world. Over the past two years, he’s lived briefly in over 30 different countries. He also loves to surf, and takes a “surfer’s attitude” towards everything he does. When describing his story – although it wasn’t easy to get where he is today – Mitch makes it seem like it’s possible for anyone to accomplish their dreams. 
 

Daniel Saks from Appdirect, Landbase, Episode three

Daniel Saks has always been at the lead of technology. In 2009, Daniel recognized the emergence of the Cloud as the future of SaaS. He and his partner started Appdirect, and quickly grew to become the leading B2B commerce platform. Over the course of 15 years, Daniel grew Appdirect to a 1.5 billion dollar company. But he’s brought our current technology to its culmination – it’s great right now, could be better, but never good enough. 
So he’s at it again, starting all over, and creating an entirely new technology – agentive AI. With his new company Landbase, he’s automating the go-to-market process for B2B businesses. As of Jan 1, 2024, this kind of technology didn’t exist, but it’s quickly becoming the “new thing.” Daniel claims that this is going to be 5x bigger than SaaS and will be 10x better than current AI. Using Landbase, users can automate up to 80% of their job – hence the company’s slogan “Reclaim your day.” 
With his great advice, unique perspective, and super successful journey “on the come up,” Daniel and I discuss what it’s like in the big leagues. From cold calling as an intern, to creating two multi-billion dollar businesses, his career has had it all. 

Mr Seamus from Carabiner, "One The Come UP"

On the second episode of One the Come UP, Mr Seamus and I discuss starting his creating of Carabiner, a Rev-Ops and software implementation company. We also discuss Nature vs Nurture, growth and development of a company, and about the several types of entrepreneurs there are. 

Cavan Klisnky from Healthie -- Interview on One the Come UP

On the first episode of "One the Come UP," Mr. Klinsky and I discuss UPenn, the telehealth industry, starting a multi-million dollar company, and the journey of an entrepreneur.