Jim Krenn is the creator and co-host of the successful “No Restrictions” podcast, now produced by the team at the Pittsburgh Current. He has stayed local to his hometown of Pittsburgh and still remained successful in his entertainment career, which now spans more than 30 years. Jim Krenn will always be a comedian — many Pittsburghers think of him as the personality that put the WDVE morning show on the map, others as the backbone of Nickelodeon’s cult hit “Action League Now!”
It’s October, so let’s talk about Scarehouse, the nation’s top haunted attraction! Scot’s friend Katie Dudas – aka Dudders – is the sales and marketing director for the all of the various Scarehouse projects and attractions, and this week she opens her playbook all the way up for Pitchwerks listeners. Immersive experiences, data analytics, geography, social media, customer reviews, and what regular retailers can learn from attractions like Scarehouse and its sister properties — everything’s on the table. If you’re in the area, be sure to thank Katie for sharing her insights by checking out the Scarehouse “Scream District” in Pittsburgh’s Strip District all this month!
From the individual operator working a sales or marketing job on their own, to the major ad agency or corporate brand, everyone’s in the media business right now. This week’s Pitchwerks features Andrew Knox of AKM Productions. AKM is the company behind a couple of media production toolboxes, such as Remaster Media and Kontent Core, and Andrew is the CEO and founder behind all of it. With Remaster Media, Andrew is looking to give content creators a fast way to master their products, and with Kontent Core, he provides professionally produced clips through an efficient self-service window. Andrew talks to Scot about making your own material, the complexities of licensing tracks, and what he has learned from building all of these products.
There was a time, not that long ago, when selling ads and sponsorships in a “pro-cannabis lifestyle magazine” would have sounded like an insurmountable challenge in Western Pennsylvania. Things are changing though, because Gina Vensel is bringing Sensi – a free, pro-cannabis lifestyle magazine – to her hometown of Pittsburgh. Gina has assembled the sponsors and advertisers necessary to make Sensi Pittsburgh successful, and this week she answers Scot MacTaggart’s questions on messaging, strategy and how Gina and her team target prospective clients as they build the Pittsburgh version of a well-known publication.
This week, we get a call from New York City! Elyce Henkin jumps on the line with Scot MacTaggart to talk about how marketing and advertising work in the world’s most competitive theater market. Elyce is the director of partnerships and brand experience at AKA NYC, and her firm handles the marketing for major Broadway shows like Come From Away, The Prom, and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Elyce and Scot spend quite a bit of time talking about how important it is to find and use an authentic voice and approach when you’re marketing art with a specific message and point of view, and also analyze how partnerships are formed with brands like Kenneth Cole.
If you’re not familiar with the Awesome Foundation or Awesome Pittsburgh, then you have to check out this week’s show. If you go to an Awesome Pittsburgh pitch party, you’ll leave with a smile on your face, after seeing a bunch of locals proposing off-the-wall civic improvement ideas in search of a $1,000 grant. This week’s guest is Scot’s friend Mike Capsambelis, a founder and trustee of Awesome Pittsburgh who gets to vote on these pitches, and a very smart guy who oversees projects at Google. Mike explains what kinds of pitches they get, how they judge them, and what he thinks you should do if you want your project to be selected.
Later this year, Ingrid Cook and the SHzoom team will bring their long-awaited “Uptime” product to market to assist fleets with minor accidents and other types of service. Uptime’s release is the latest milestone on a 10-year journey that began when Ingrid had a regular job working for someone else. Along the way, Ingrid’s team has assembled a portfolio of patents, performed extensive customer discovery and market validation, and taken a beta version of the offering to test users. This week, Ingrid comes into the Epicast Studios to talk to Scot MacTaggart and the Pitchwerks audience about self-discipline, to debate about luck, and talk about some of the other paths that SHzoom could have taken.
Conturo Prototyping is a crazy place. They create the first few versions of new components so that inventions can be perfected and turned into new products. Right now, while you’re reading this, they’re building parts for new products that you probably haven’t even imagined, and they’re still a very young company.This week, John sits down with Scot MacTaggart to explain his company’s rapid success, the challenges of cash flow, and the business of building parts for autonomous trucks and mechanical lungs, and trying to level up so he can equip the International Space Station.
This week we’re talking strategic investment with our old friend Kevin Kelly, CEO of Rhabit Analytics, and Doug Reynolds, EVP of Development Dimensions International (DDI), who counts technology and innovation efforts among his responsibilities there.
Jason is a great guest, and Idea Foundry does important innovation and economic development work. Applications for their Equitable Entrepreneurship program (EE) are now being accepted through August 18th, and you are really going to want to tell someone about it.
This week’s guests are incredible! We have Toni Murphy, vice president of sales and marketing for Comcast, and Bill Flanagan, the iconic host of WPXI TV’s Our Region’s Business – and they’re in to talk about their work with the Allegheny Conference on Community Development.
Super fun show this week! Milena Roucka – who wrestling fans will know better as WWE’s Rosa Mendes – comes into the studio to talk about Totally Fit Mama, the business she started with her partner Courtney Daylong.
Super fun show this week! Milena Roucka – who wrestling fans will know better as WWE’s Rosa Mendes – comes into the studio to talk about Totally Fit Mama, the business she started with her partner Courtney Daylong.
Kurt Schnieders has had the kind of career that most of us can only dream of.He is best known for having been the Chief Information Officer (CIO) at Dick’s Sporting Goods, and before that he was the CIO of L Brands, the corporate parent of Victoria’s Secret.
This week our good friend Aaron Watson, the host of Going Deep with Aaron Watson and the CEO of Piper Creative is here to demystify LinkedIn and social content strategy for all of us.Aaron and his partner Hannah Phillips have done a great job in developing their message.
This week, Zak tells us about how he took personal definitions of success into consideration in and his collaboration with McGraw Hill Education publishing.
This week, the serial-entrepreneur-turned-educator is behind the mic talking about his new program at Carnegie Mellon University.
We got an invitation to take a road trip to Youngstown, Ohio to visit our friend Robb Myer from Comeback Capital at the Comeback Conference.
We got an invitation to take a road trip to Youngstown, Ohio to visit our friend Robb Myer from Comeback Capital at the Comeback Conference.
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