In a NEW episode, we caught up with Chat at a recent McIntire event this spring. Chat was also a guest on Learning Out Loud Episode #9 last July.
Chaitenya Razdan (UVA McIntire '05, UChicago Booth '11) is the Founder and CEO of Care+Wear.
Katlin Smith is the founder and CEO of Simple Mills, a leader in the natural foods movement. Their products include gluten free, paleo-friendly almond flours, crackers, cookies and baking mixes, and can be found in over 28,000 stores worldwide in locations like Whole Foods, Costco, Walmart and others. Katlin is a 2010 graduate of UNC and attended the University of Chicago Booth School of Business from 2013-2014.
We spoke with Katlin about:
Evan Nied is a second year undergraduate at the University of Virginia, and founder of OK Energy, a beverage start-up which launched in January 2024.
Andrew Elliot is the founder of RoundlyX, a platform which allows users to round up spare change on purchases and invest in the cryptocurrency space, as well as donate to charitable causes. Andrew previously served in the U.S. Military and attended the University of Virginia.
We spoke with Andrew about:
Mark Galant is the CEO of Tydall Investment Partners, an angel investing and real estate lending/development firm, as well as the founder of the Galant Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Mark is a 1980 graduate of the UVA McIntire School of Commerce and a 1982 graduate of Harvard Business School. Prior to Tydall, Mark served as Founder and CEO of GAIN Capital.
We spoke with Mark Galant about:
Why college students should work at a startup
Circuitous career paths
The importance of passion outside of work
Iterating on an existing concept
Building lasting business relationships
Negotiation
The decision to return to Harvard Business School
Much more
Neal Hoffman is the founder of Mensch on a Bench, the most publicized brand to come out of Shark Tank. Neal made a deal with Lori Griener and Robert Herjavec. In addition to the continued success of Mensch on a Bench, Neal is the CEO of FanRoll, a board a high-end accessories company for the gaming market. He is a 1999 graduate of the University of Michigan and earned an MBA from the UVA Darden School of Business in 2005.
We spoke with Neal about:
Minnie Lahoti is the founder of ML STEM Prep, an online tutoring company focused on serving college undergraduates in courses such as organic chemistry, physics, and calculus. Minnie also serves as a Technical Program Manager at Microsoft, and has a rich background as an organic chemist, consultant and data scientist. She is a 2014 graduate of the University of Alabama and earned an MBA from the UVA Darden School of Business in 2023.
We spoke with Minnie about:
Josh Anton is the founder of X-mode, a location services company that started out as Drunk Mode, a mobile app allowing college students to track their friends’ whereabouts during a night out. Josh parlayed that location technology into an industry leader in X-mode, and recently sold to Digital Envoy for an undisclosed amount. Josh now serves as Chief Strategy Officer with Digital Envoy. He is a 2014 UVA McIntire graduate.
We spoke with Josh about:
Josh Cohen is a co-founder of Elevate meal plan, a dining hall alternative found at 5 different colleges and universities (UVA, UNC, Rutgers, VCU, St. Clair). Josh is also an engineering manager at Torch, and a 2013 graduate of UVA.
We spoke with Josh about:
Vic Schaff owned and operated several Papa John’s locations throughout the central Virginia area. We spoke with Vic about how he managed an entrepreneurial venture underneath a corporate umbrella, and his tactics for hiring the right talent and managing his team.
We spoke with Vic about:
Bryan Pollard is a co-founder of Ask Alex along with Jordon Durst (Learning Out Loud Episode 6). Ask Alex is a platform focused on AI-powered data and marketing for restaurants.
We spoke with Bryan about:
Shannon Nash is a multi-hyphenate. Shannon is currently the CFO of Wing, an Alphabet subsidiary developing drone delivery services. She is also a lawyer, certified public accountant, investor and documentary filmmaker. Shannon is a 1992 graduate of the UVA McIntire School of Commerce and a 1995 graduate of the UVA School of Law.
We spoke with Shannon about:
L. David Marquet is a retired U.S. Navy Captain and author of the bestselling book Turn the Ship Around!: A True Story of Turning Followers Into Leaders, published in 2013, where he discusses his unique approach to leadership. David’s blend of pushing for leadership at every level of the ship and the careful use of language with his crew resulted in the USS Santa Fe “worst to first” turnaround, becoming the Navy’s top ship by retention and operational standings.
We spoke with David about:
Joe Linzon speaks with Justin, Marlee, and Chapin about starting Roots while an undergraduate, the three skills he sees as most important to business, and his passion for solving problems.
Justin, Marlee, and Chapin discuss the lessons they learned from each of the guests in Season 3 (episodes 23 - 32) in this quick season recap.
Alex Berentzen is the COO of Thompson Hospitality one of the largest retail food and facilities management companies, in the country. The company serves diverse clients, including Fortune 100 companies, universities, medical centers, and school districts, with a portfolio of well-known brands. Alex is a Dutch native and began his career in Amsterdam before moving to the US and holding Director of Restaurant Operations and other leadership roles at The Ritz Carlton, Wegmans Food Markets, King’s Seafood Company, and eventually, Thompson Restaurant Group.
We spoke with Alex about:
Michael Brown is the CEO of Travel+Leisure Co. (NYSE: TNL), the world’s leading membership and leisure travel company, with nearly 20 travel brands across its resort, travel club, and lifestyle portfolio. The company provides outstanding vacation experiences and travel inspiration to millions of owners, members, and subscribers every year through its products and services: Wyndham Destinations, the largest vacation ownership company with more than 245 vacation club resort locations across the globe. Travel + Leisure Co. has created a recent partnership with Sports Illustrated to create Sports Illustrated Resorts, in addition to their existing partnership with . Michael is a 1992 graduate of the UVA McIntire School of Commerce.
We spoke with Michael about: