Pittsburgh's tech scene is booming, but a fatal flaw is holding it back. Only $0.02 of every dollar invested in the city comes from within it.
So, what's the fix?
To find out, Adam shares a flight of Pittsburgh's finest craft beers with Ven Raju, CEO of Innovation Works , one of the nation's most active early-stage investors. Ven lays out the exact blueprint for the "flywheel" : a strategy to close the 2% capital gap , create more unicorns , and turn this underdog city into a self-sustaining economic powerhouse.
This episode kicks off our special Six Pack mini-series with Innovation Works, spotlighting the founders and leaders building Pittsburgh's future.
00:00 The $1.89 Billion Problem Holding Pittsburgh Back
01:32 Meet Ven Raju
02:20 Pittsburgh's "Perfect Confluence" of Strengths
05:08 Why Ven Raju Came to Pittsburgh
09:03 The Flywheel Problem: Pittsburgh's 2% Crisis
12:16 Why Resident Capital is The Key to The Flywheel
14:52 Why Does Local Investment Lag Behind Nashville & Raleigh?
17:10 Pouncing on University Talent
21:35 The Grander Vision: How to Manufacture Unicorns
24:55 The Next Wave: Cross-Pollinating AI, Robotics & Life Science
29:17 The 3-Year Outlook: A $10 Billion Future?
32:03 Ven's #1 Advice for Founders (Problem vs. Tools)
34:35 Kicking Off the Innovation Works Mini-Series
#businesspodcast #pittsburgh #thoughtliters
WHAT IS THOUGHT LITERS?
Thought Liters is a series created and hosted by Adam Conner. On the show, Adam learns from the top of the world through the bottom of their glass. Each episode, we share a flight of local craft with the best and brightest brand minds around – whether it be an entrepreneur, an athlete, an artist, or otherwise. The questions evolve as the sip changes.
The show is proudly founded and produced in Pittsburgh, PA.
The whole goal is to have conversations about business with a more lighthearted look and feel. Adam thinks most business content is dry, and wants to change that.
If you’re interested, follow along! If not, that’s cool too. But if you wanna be where the thought leaders are…you’ll tune in to where Thought Liters is.