Going Deep With Aaron Watson

Kenny Chen serves as the Program Director of Ascender, where he focuses his attention on curating and delivering innovation programs and building collaborative relationships with people and organizations throughout Pittsburgh, as well as nationally and internationally. This culminates each year with the Thrival Innovation + Music Festival, which brings together local and international influencers for multiple days of innovation-focused programs followed by a two-day outdoor music experience. On the side, Kenny is the co-founder of involveMINT, and serves on the boards for the Pittsburgh Entrepreneurs Forum and Social Venture Partners. Kenny was born in Madison, WI, raised in Las Vegas, NV, and graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in Social Psychology. He has worked in several places around the world, including San Francisco, Washington DC, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. He came to Pittsburgh in 2014 for the Coro Fellowship in Public Affairs, a transformative experience that quickly gave him a wide breadth of know

Erik Voorhees, CEO of leading digital asset exchange ShapeShift.io, is among the top-recognized serial Bitcoin advocates and entrepreneurs, understanding Bitcoin as one of the most important inventions ever created by humanity. Erik's former project, the groundbreaking gaming phenomenon SatoshiDICE, was, at its peak, responsible for more than half of all Bitcoin transactions on Earth and popularized the concept of "provable fairness."   You should attend my one-day conference January 27th in Pittsburgh. Learn more here.   Erik’s Challenge; Get some Bitcoin and learn how to use it. Block explorer   Like my crypto episodes? Support the work! Ethereum: 0x1c5f5da1efad45078c41bceb18eb777099138e6b Bitcoin: 13RcQZnZM4Lx6bw37YVdiv6Uc2X5b7anF3   If you liked this interview, check out all of my blockchain and crypto related interviews. Subscribe on iTunes | Stitcher | Overcast | PodBay

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Mark joined WebKite in the summer of 2016 out of his excitement for the advertising technology space and the powerful products WebKite has developed to date. Machine learning and language technologies can do so much still to connect consumers to the products they need, and WebKite will continue to be a major player in that work.   When not at work, Mark can be found serving as his neighborhood’s borough councilman, an advisor to small and family-owned businesses, a sous chef for his lovely wife’s kitchen creations, and the kooky uncle to his cute niece Lindsey.   Mark is a Carnegie Mellon University graduate who has been working as the CEO of early-stage software companies for about five years. His first company, Student InTuition, merged to form Imagine Careers, Inc., a first-of-its-kind career discovery and engagement platform in the human capital space.   WebKite, Inc. is an advertising technology company leveraging machine learning to create the most efficient and specific advertising campaigns on the web

Barry Rabkin has over a decade of success founding, growing, and selling technology companies. An operational and strategic business leader, Barry's experience ranges from high growth, venture backed startups to Fortune 500 companies. He has also contributed to the development of over 100 successful physical and digital products.   Barry is proud to serve as Chief Marketing Officer of Identified Technologies, President of Hackers & Founders - PGH Chapter, Board Director of Jewish Family & Children's Services, He is also a guest Professor at Carnegie Mellon University and Strategist at Barry Brands Consulting where he advises and invests in many of the region's fastest growing start-ups.   Barry’s Challenge; Write out your do list for the day and systematically eliminate everything getting in the way of your primary goal.   Never miss one of our best episodes by subscribing to the newsletter.   Connect with Barry Twitter LinkedIn Website   If you liked this interview, check out episode 43 with Dick Zh

Today’s episode is a conversation about Truth and Love. Both are often missing from our daily interactions, and Kim Scott wants to fix that.   Here NYT and WSJ bestselling book Radical Candor covers the leadership and communication lessons she learned while working for Sheryl Sandberg & Sergey Brin and Google and with Steve Jobs at Apple.   Whether you are a leader, consultant, or employee, you will benefit from injecting more radical candor into your meetings and discussion.   Kim’s Challenge; Focus on soliciting radical candor from someone you works with   Book Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity by Kim Scott   Never miss one of our best episodes by subscribing to the newsletter.   Connect with Kim Twitter Website   If you liked this interview, check out our other most popular episodes.   Subscribe on iTunes | Stitcher | Overcast | PodBay

Risk is a word with numerous definitions. Riskalyze helps investors negotiate the risks they face.   Aaron Klein is the quintessential entrepreneur, spending his entire career working with entrepreneurial businesses at the intersection of finance and technology. He’s led companies or teams working on business operations software, payments technology for political candidates and causes, and mobile strategies for trading tools.   He co-founded Riskalyze in 2011 and has led the company through the building of its core technology. The company has grown to support over $2 billion in portfolios and twice been named one of The World’s Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Finance by Fast Company Magazine.   Aaron’s Challenge; Find an apprenticeship to gain experience before starting your first business.   Resources Nick Murray Never miss one of our best episodes by subscribing to the newsletter.   Connect with Aaron Twitter Website   If you liked this interview, check out my interview with Wealthfront CEO Andy Rachl

Ka Sundance is a location independent father of 6, YouTuber, and CEO of a $1 million heart-centered online business. Together with his wife Katie, he works to show aspiring business owners, coaches, and artists how to transform their lives and manifest more purpose, abundance, and freedom.   Today, Ka and Katie have impacted millions of people on social media, and have helped and inspired thousands of people to go from $0 to six figures in revenue by using principles they teach in their flagship program, Online Business School.   Ka’s Challenge; Don’t wait. Take action right now. Do something that makes you happy.   Never miss one of our best episodes by subscribing to the newsletter.   Connect with Ka Facebook YouTube Website   If you liked this interview, check out my top interviews from over 230 interviews. Subscribe on iTunes | Stitcher | Overcast | PodBay

Christian Simmons is a hustler and a visionary.   His company, Pennsylvania Libations, connects distillers, small businesses, and individuals, to one another with the intent of growing, experiencing, and preserving Pennsylvania spirits. He operates a one-of-a-kind retail store located in the heart of Pittsburgh.   In this discussion, we cover Christian’s long background in alcohol retail, how he has navigated regulatory hurdles, and his vision for the future. Learn more about the realities of living in an alcoholic beverage control state.   Christian’s Challenge; Wake up at 5am. Stop watching tv. Stop drinking so much. Get to work building something meaningful.   Never miss one of our best episodes by subscribing to the newsletter.   Connect with Christian Facebook Instagram Twitter Website   2103 Penn Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15222   If you liked this interview, check out our other interviews with Voodoo Brewery’s Jake Voelker and all the people shaping the future of Pittsburgh. Subscribe on iTunes | Stitche

Andy Rachleff is Wealthfront's co-founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer. He serves as a member of the board of trustees and vice chairman of the endowment investment committee for the University of Pennsylvania and as a member of the faculty at Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he teaches courses on technology entrepreneurship.   Prior to Wealthfront, Andy co-founded and was a general partner at Benchmark Capital, where he was responsible for investing in a number of successful companies including Equinix, Juniper Networks, and Opsware. He also spent ten years as a general partner with Merrill, Pickard, Anderson & Eyre (MPAE). Andy earned his BS from the University of Pennsylvania and his MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business.   Andy’s Challenge; Stop sitting on the sidelines and start investing in a diversified portfolio of index funds. Get an emergency fund.   Further Reading Innovator’s Dilemna by Clayton Christensen Innovator’s Solution by Clayton Christensen A Random Walk

This post is inspired by Scott Young’s The Essential Education: If You Had Ten Years to Learn Anything, What Would You Do? In his post, Scott outlines his Ideal Ten-Year Self-Education Quest.   The fundamental premise is decoupling education from economic preparedness. If you had 10 years to learn whatever you wanted, purely for the sake of learning what would you study?.   What broad-based education plan would excite and challenge you?   Think of this as the educational equivalent to the what-would-you-do-with-a-million-dollars speculation. Let’s go.   Never miss one of our best episodes by subscribing to the newsletter.   If you liked this interview, check out my most popular episodes. Subscribe on iTunes | Stitcher | Overcast | PodBay

In the fall of 2013, Bryce Conway started a website teaching people how to save money while traveling the world. He learned the ins and outs of the credit card industry and the bonuses that landed him reward points and frequent flyer miles.   During our interview, he shares useful tips like signing up for Starwood and Hyatt hotel’s cards and avoiding Hilton and Delta. We also discuss how he has built his business and served thousands of people through building his site.   Bryce’s Challenges Google travel hacking. Think about what you do and figure out 2-3 ways to make money off of that. Write your skill and how to turn it into a business and put them somewhere you can see it every day.   Resources Book a Trip to Paris for Under $300? $24k Thailand Trip for $166 Churning Subreddit   Never miss one of our best episodes by subscribing to the newsletter.   Connect with Bryce Facebook Twitter Instagram Website bryce@10xtravel.com   If you liked this interview, check out all of my best finance-related interview

Molly Keyser has created two successful businesses, overcoming a common problem for entrepreneurs along the way. Beginning her entrepreneurial journey at 19 with just $0.81 to her name, Molly Marie first grew her boudoir photography business to six figures and became the envy of startup photographers everywhere.   Not long after you get over the hurdle of bringing in enough business to survive as an entrepreneur, she ran into a new roadblock—how do you scale your business in a way that allows you to work less, not more?   Requests started rolling in from other photographers wanting to know how she’d done it, presenting opportunities for additional revenue streams through digital products where she packaged her knowledge and saw her revenue explode.   Molly’s Challenge; Take a 14-day Email List building challenge. Set a goal and a plan out a method for accomplishing it.   Equipment Canon Rebel Ti Nikon D50 50mm 1.8 lens   Gift Email List Building Guide   Never miss one of our best episodes by subscribing to th

Jack du Rose is a former jewelry and diamond artist, current blockchain nerd and co-founder of Colony.io & Ownage.io. He is phenomenally excited by the power shift our decentralised future brings. When not making $100m diamond skulls, or paradigm changing social platforms, Jack enjoys a nice cup of tea and a sit-down.   Dr. Aron Fischer received his Ph.D. in mathematics from the City University of New York in 2015. His specialization was in Algebraic Topology and Homotopy theory. Since his graduation, he has been studying homotopy type theory in his free time and is interested in how (higher) type theory can help us write safer smart contracts.   He is working for Colony in R&D, developing the governance protocols, and for the Ethereum Foundation's Swarm team where he is working on state and payment channels for the swarm incentive structure.   Jack’s Challenge; Get involved in the Ethereum community and subreddit   Aron’s Challenge; Conduct your own Ethereum transaction.   Resources Mentioned Ethe

Ed Latimore is a man of diverse talents and interests. When he is not training for a fight or challenging your sensibilities on Twitter, he is thinking deeply about culture and philosophy.   Latimore is also a patriot, having served as a radio technician specialist in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard and an AmeriCorps volunteer. He is currently working to complete a degree in Physics and Electrical Engineering at Duquesne University.   When he is not strengthening his body for boxing, Latimore exercises his mind to stay sharp inside the ring by playing chess. He has traveled to Moscow and Berlin to compete against world-renowned chess players. Additionally, he is also a prolific writer having self-published several books and blogs regularly.   Ed’s Challenge; Do something you’re afraid of.   Ed’s Book Not Caring What Other People Think Is A Superpower: Insights From a Heavyweight Boxer by Ed Latimore   Never miss one of our best episodes by subscribing to the newsletter.   Connect with Ed Twitter Website

Thomas Mulliez is the visionary entrepreneur behind iTREKKERS. Tom founded the company in 2014 after realizing that bringing together vetted professional captains and guides on one platform would help guarantee everyone a better experience in the outdoors.   iTREKKERS is a combination of Tom’s desires to share his love of nature and to simplify the process of booking guided outdoor activities. His mission is threefold: to get people to experience the outdoors through iTREKKERS; to help people get outdoors, period, by providing useful tips and referrals; and to educate people about the outdoors and ways to be mindful.   Tom’s Challenge; Take 6 friends or family members and spend 4 hours outdoors.   Never miss one of our best episodes by subscribing to the newsletter.   Connect with Tom Facebook LinkedIn Twitter Website     If you liked this interview, check out Episode 97 with Adam Haritan where we discuss mushroom foraging, nutrition, and the great outdoors.   Subscribe on iTunes | Stitcher | Overcast | P

Melissa returns to talk about her new Ultimate Frisbee Skills Course.   As a high level player and NCSA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, Melissa is on a mission to improve the sport of ultimate by giving players the tools they need to train like the serious athletes they are.   In addition to writing The Ultimate Athlete Handbook and starting The Ultimate Athlete Project, Melissa gives ultimate fitness clinics nationally and internationally. Gain access to many more of Melissa's articles and videos by signing up for her email list at 25UltimateTips.com   Resources 1% Rule Ren Caldwell   Melissa’s Challenge; If you want something to happen within the next 3-5 years, you need to start today.   Never miss one of our best episodes by subscribing to the newsletter.   Connect with Melissa Twitter Facebook LinkedIn UltyResults The Ultimate Athlete Project 25 Ultimate Tips     If you liked this interview, check out episode 18 for our first interview with Melissa, or check out our page of AUDL inter

Kevin Bupp is a well-seasoned real estate investor and host of the top iTunes show Real Estate Investing for Cash Flow. Kevin has over 16 years experience investing in single family, multi family, raw land, commercial and his favorite, mobile home parks. He comes on Going Deep to share his story and some secrets for success.   Kevin now uses his experience to educate other investors on how to locate, acquire and create "higher than average" returns in the misunderstood niche of Mobile Home Park Investing. The margins are incredible.   Kevin’s Challenge; Build a plan for buying a property within the next 90 days.   Book Mentioned The Talent Code: Greatness Isn't Born. It's Grown. Here's How. by Daniel Coyle Emerging Real Estate Markets: How to Find and Profit from Up-and-Coming Areas by David Lindahl   Never miss one of our best episodes by subscribing to the newsletter.   Connect with Kevin Facebook LinkedIn Twitter Personal Website Sunrise Capital   If you liked this interview, check out our other real esta

Who wins? The person who works 6 hours per day or the person who works 10 hours per day?   Can you read one book per month? 12 per year?   Trying to write a book? Produce 2 pages per day and you'll have a 730-page manuscript at year's end.   Do simple things that lead to huge results.

Ryan Snowden is the Strategic Growth Coordinator at CB Insights, a National Science Foundation-backed technology market intelligence platform that provides predictive intelligence into emerging technology trends, startups and corporate strategy. Ryan is intertwined with sales and marketing operations, events, and special projects at CB Insights. His research provides insights for investors, Fortune 500 executives, among other early-adopters, and has positioned Ryan as an ambassador of Ethereum. Prior to CB Insights, Ryan worked in sales for a handful of New York City and Pittsburgh-based startups while building an on-demand lead generation business. He holds a degree in Finance and General Management from the University of Pittsburgh, loves to play ultimate frisbee, and have long conversations about the implications of the blockchain.    Dapps (Decentralized Applications) Mentioned Augur and Gnosis as prediction markets Brave's Basic Attention Token Coinbase's TokenBrowser and Status Golem for decentralized