Learning Life With Jon Tota On The Knowledgelink Network

This week we have Matt Murray, founder and CEO of Widewail. A Vermont native and Navy veteran, Matt has worked through numerous tech and automotive companies before starting his company to help businesses with their online reputation. Widewail provides a suite of management tools for online product and service reviews, helping businesses invite their customers to review and engage with reviewers. Learn more at https://www.widewail.com/

This week’s entrepreneur story goes back more than 100 years! We are excited to have Sarah Morris, a fifth generation host and concierge at Basin Harbor, the historic 700-acre resort in Vergennes, Vermont. Basin Harbor began as a working farm back in the 1800s, and in the 1920s, Sarah’s great-grandfather was inspired by the tourism boom in Miami and began to build out cottages on the beautiful Lake Champlain waterfront. Today, the resort features over 77 cottages, dining, golf, and tons of maritime activities. Learn more at https://www.basinharbor.com/

This week we have Peter Miller, owner of Mini Golf on the Go and a student at the Stiller School of Business at Champlain College. Peter is another great Vermont entrepreneur story with a miniature twist - his company designs and rents mini golf courses at any event, indoor and outdoor, complete with clubs and balls. Peter puts his Vermont-grown woodworking skills to the test building each hole of a course on a unique 2-by-8 foot board that's easy for his team to transport and setup anywhere. Learn more at https://www.minigolfonthegovt.com/

This week we have Ryan McDevitt, co-founder and CEO of Benchmark Space Systems. Based right here in Burlington at HULA Lakeside, Ryan is looking to go from Vermont to space with micro-satellites that will change space systems as we know it. After working at Pratt and Whitney as a jet engineer, Ryan returned to Vermont with his wife and he began working on propulsion systems at UVM. With a spark grant from the university, Ryan began to build out Benchmark. Listen to Ryan's vision of the future where earth jumps from a few thousand to 70,000 satellites in orbit; making up a complex system of imaging, communications, and "space-station" type satellites with refueling and clean-up crews for orbital debris. Learn more at https://www.benchmarkspacesystems.com/

This week we have Dawn and Sarah Lancaster, mother and daughter co-founders of Pure Energy Apothecary, focused on healthy and accessible skincare and home fragrance products. A graduate of Champlain College, Dawn is acting CEO and owner, while Sarah is a current student at Champlain and a fellow at the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, headed up by our previous guest Dr. Kylie King. After the passing of Dawn's mother, the Lancasters were inspired to find healthier solutions to the skincare products people use every day. Now, the pair, along with their cousin Michaela are expanding the brand nationally while Sarah focuses on e-commerce and getting Pure Energy certified as a B Corp, a corporation with verified high social and environmental performance. Learn more at https://pureenergyvt.com/

This week we have Benny Boas, CEO of Burlington Code Academy and Upright Education. Benny began teaching coding and software development with online courses and bootcamps through BCA right here in Vermont. Now, he's going national. Upright Education partners with colleges and universities to prepare adults for software-based work with rapid re-skilling courses, teaching a wide range of skills from Javascript to UX/UI design. Learn more at https://www.uprighted.com/

This week we are excited to have Dr. Kylie King, Academic Director of the Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship and Assistant Professor of entrepreneurship and analytics at Champlain College. Jon and Kylie sit down to discuss the connection between Champlain College and the Burlington community, fostering entrepreneurship in students and young adults, and looking ahead to Champlain in 2030. Learn more at https://www.champlain.edu/centers-of-experience/center-for-innovation-and-entrepreneurship

"That is a big rallying cry for us–– how do we engage more entities, businesses, and people in seeing how, and feeling clear about how they can give to the environment broadly defined to drive positive change." This week we have Kate Williams, CEO of 1% for the Planet. 1% for the Planet is a global network of businesses, individuals and nonprofit organizations tackling our planet's most pressing environmental issues, headquartered right here in Burlington VT. 1% operates through memberships, where businesses and people can commit to giving 1% of their sales or revenues to environmental causes, in exchange for certification. 1% creates pressure for big businesses to truly pay the cost of doing business- cleaning up the earth in the wake of human pollution, and has given over $295 million to date. Jon and Kate sit down to discuss management structure, remote and hybrid work, and giving back to the community. Learn more about 1% by visiting https://www.onepercentfortheplanet.org/

This week we have Vermont entrepreneurial success story, Rich Tarrant. Tarrant founded what would become IDX Systems Corporation back in 1969, later acquired by GE Healthcare. His latest company is Marathon Health, based right off the Winooski Circle. Tarrant sits down with Jon to discuss his basketball career at St. Mikes, and how it led to being a pioneer in healthcare technology. Tarrant also talks about the function of health insurance in modern healthcare and his educational philanthropy. Learn more about Marathon Health by visiting https://www.marathon-health.com/

This week we have Vermont serial entrepreneur Sas Stewart. You may know Sas as the co-founder of Stonecutter Spirits and creator of the sought-after popup Adventure Dinner events. Sas sits down with Jon to discuss making things special - from food and drink to experiences for customers and employees alike. Sas has been running Adventure Dinners since 2014, providing a bespoke experience of locally-sourced food and wine, and one-of-a-kind surprise adventures around the beautiful state of Vermont, including secret island getaways and a Shelburne Vineyards residency. During the COVID Crisis, Sas helped co-found On The Fly, a grassroots collective of business, finance, and marketing experts assisting hospitality businesses through the pandemic. In 2020, On The Fly helped over 50 businesses, totaling about $40 million in economic activity and 640 full time employees. Learn more about On The Fly by visiting https://www.ontheflyvermont.com/ Book your adventure dinner today at https://www.adventuredinner.com/

"So the goal with peak flow is to figure out how to coach humans in multiple breathwork modalities and to become aware of how you can change your breathing and change your life moment. By moment, it's the most fundamentalist, the most elemental thing we do is to breathe." In this live episode, we have Vermont serial entrepreneur, Professor, and friend of the show Dr. Rob Williams. Whether you know him from the Yak it to Me Burger stand, teaching at University of Vermont and Champlain College, or as a major voice on Vermont Independent Radio, Dr. Rob always shares something new and interesting. This week, Rob sits down with Jon to discuss Peak Flow, a course to teach the Wim Hof Method, a breathing, cold exposure, and focus technique designed to help you live a better life. You can join an exclusive Peak Flow course in Burlington on Friday, July 30th at 1:30pm at the Burlington Surf club. Book now to experience a life-changing practice at www.wimhofmethod.com/

"I guess I've always had a sense of wanting to involve everybody into the brewery from the very beginning. I was kind of well-known in the early days, when I was out on the floor working right next to everybody and if anyone asked, "why are we doing this?" they learned to maybe not ask those kinds of questions because they'd get about a half hour a conversation with me explaining that particular ingredient or that particular temperature on the mash profile for the beer." What makes Switchback Brewing Co special? From the classic Ale to the Karsten Lager, Citra-Pils and the IPA, and now their first Double IPA and Smoked Beers, it's not just the hops, it's the process, and more importantly, the people. This week Jon sits down with Bill Cherry and Craig Wilkinson, the president and production manager of Switchback, to talk about the Flynn Ave-based brewer's 100% employee ownership setup, running for five years now, via an Employee Stock Ownership Plan.  Listen to learn how a passion for beer and a passion for p

This week we have special guests David Bradbury and Sam Roach-Gerber, fellow podcast hosts and President/Vice-President of VCET, the Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies. VCET offers programs, capital, and business mentoring for Vermont entrepreneurs. Through VCET, David and Sam co-host the Start Here podcast, showcasing business success stories across the state and the Vermont Startup Collective, a community of entrepreneurs to help start conversations and build better businesses together.    Learn more at https://vcet.co/ Join the Vermont Startup Collective: https://www.vermontstartupcollective.com/ Listen to the Podcast: https://vcet.co/start-here-podcast/  

Based in Burlington Vermont, Ben Krueger is the founder and CEO of Cashflow Podcasting, where he helps industry advocates reach more people, change more lives and move entire industries forward. Having collaborated on hundreds of podcasts since 2012, he has developed 8 Podcast Principles that when applied, lead to highly effective business podcasts. Built on these principles, they've developed a proven system for leaders to host their own world-class podcast in a fraction of the time. In this episode, Ben and Jon discuss how to make a truly great podcast and engage your audience. Learn more at https://cashflowpodcasting.com/ Follow Ben Krueger on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/benkrueger1544/

This week we rewind to congratulate good friend of the show, James Lawrence, on completing a journey he started 100 days ago - The Conquer 100.  That’s a full distance triathlon every day since March 1st… Yes, we’re talking a 2.4 mile swim, 112 miles on the bike followed by a marathon.  Every day.  For 100 days.  Congratulations to you, James! Back in September, James joined Jon on the podcast to talk about how he accomplishes these world record feats, the value of teamwork and his family and how each of us can push our own limits by taking on new experiences. Check out James in his TWO Amazon Prime Originals: Iron Cowboy | The Story of the 50-50-50 and World’s Toughest Race: Eco-Challenge Fiji. Follow James Lawrence on Instagram @ironcowboyjames Learn more at www.ironcowboy.com/conquer-100/

"For Localvore, we're a technology company that focuses on really connecting local consumers and regional consumers to businesses that are creating a more sustainable agricultural economy sourcing locally and making an impact." Dan White knows what it means to go local. He likes to think of Localvore as the "Patagonia of tech," dedicated to sustainable practice and reinvestment in community. What better way to do that then with food? And where better than Burlington Vermont? White chose Burlington to start Localvore because of Vermont's similarly aligned values and farm-to-table agricultural focus. Localvore and it's mobile app, the Localvore passport, connect community members to eateries, including the hungry with its Everyone Eats program. The ultimate goal is to create a great, sustainable, local food scene in every city. Visit Localvore and Localvore Passport to learn more. Connect with Dan on Linkedin. And follow Localvore on Instagram.

"I'm very bullish on Vermont, in general, because I think the quality of life here is absolutely incredible. And I think as people start to prioritize that, and, you know, keep their business and their personal life and kind of hold it to the same high expectations, I think we'll see a lot more people moving here and a lot more interesting things happening." Jackson Latka is a Vermont entrepreneur with a family-first photo app: Notabli. Built right in Burlington, Notabli is a scrapbook for parents that keeps photos, videos, audio, notes, quotes and more in a privacy-first library with printing and sharing capabilities.  Learn more at Notabli.com Connect with Jackson on Linkedin. Or follow Jackson at @jacksonlatka on Twitter and Instagram.

"We definitely leverage Burlington and our values here in order to build a national brand. " Michael Ly has been a Vermonter for 10 years, and an entrepreneur his whole life.  Ly is the CEO of Reconciled, the cloud-based virtual bookkeeping and CFO advisory service. He has previously worked as a controller, consultant, and CFO. On top of all that, he's the co-founder of Humnly on-demand HR.  Listen to Michael Ly's story on building his businesses, remote work. and scaling up in a small city like Burlington. Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelly/ Get started with Reconciled: https://getreconciled.co/ Check Out Humnly: https://www.humnly.com/    

Russ Scully’s wife Roxanne might say that her husband’s favorite word is “Yes.” After all, he’s always looking for the next great story. Growing up in New Jersey, Russ knew a typical metropolitan area wasn’t for him. So after years of living and surfing in California, he and Roxanne settled in Vermont. Once here, the Scully’s started to realize just how much can happen in the Green Mountain State. From windsurfing and paddleboarding on Lake Champlain to create a lifestyle brand and one of the hippest Spots on the lake to building a one-of-a-kind incubator designed to keep Vermont’s most innovative businesses thriving here in-state, Russ has no shortage of stories to share. Hear who inspires Russ & Roxanne, how they decide which industries to invest in, and the impact they hope to have on the Burlington business community.   Scully Interactive http://www.scullyinteractive.com/ WND & WVS https://www.wndnwvs.com/ The Spot https://www.thespotvt.com/ Hula https://www.hulalakeside.com  See Change Sess

What do you get when you combine innovation strategy, creative facilitation, human-centered design, and improv comedy? A modern creative consultancy that helps to transform organizations guided by an inventive and ardent leader.  Coonoor Behal is the founder and CEO of Mindhatch, where they help companies create the conditions for innovation and for employees to thrive. By utilizing a unique combination of design thinking, innovation, facilitation, organizational improv, and diversity and inclusion, Behal and the Mindhatch team are able to assist organizations transition from stagnant to innovative all while building an inclusive and exciting place to work.  Get Coonoor's book: I Quit! The Life-Affirming Joy of Giving Up Follow Coonoor on LinkedIn Get to know Mindhatch at mindhatchllc.com/