Food is an emotional and cultural experience. There is no easy way to replace the traditional ingredients that come from animals, but it may no longer be necessary to think about ‘replacing’ them. In this episode, David Bucca, Founder and CEO of Change Foods, joins the show to talk about the company’s game-changing approach to making dairy-free cheese. David also shares the pivotal moment when he decided to leave his aerospace career behind to start this entrepreneurial adventure. Join us in...

The meat industry is known for following dirty and often inhumane processes. But the fact that meat consumption is such an ancient practice doesn’t mean that it can’t be reinvented. In this episode of Before IT Happened, Donna meets Paul Shapiro, author of the bestseller Clean Meat: How Growing Meat Without Animals Will Revolutionize Dinner And The World. As the book’s title suggests, Paul is hopeful of rendering the factory farming system totally obsolete. They discuss his decision to become...

The EV revolution is speeding up. If it’s on wheels, chances are someone has figured out how to take it electric. But what has been the path that has brought us here? In this episode, Donna talks with Paul D’Orleans, founder of The Vintagest and possibly the world's foremost authority on the EV revolution happening on two wheels. We spoke about his passion for buying and repairing rare and vintage motorcycles models from around the world and the moment when he decided to share his expertise...

In the midst of the Russian invasion in Ukraine, Daniel Tonkopi, CEO and founder at Delfast joins the show to talk about his entrepreneurial journey from Kyiv to California. While living in Ukraine, Daniel founded Delfast, a company that holds the Guinness World Record for the longest-range e-bike in the world. In the episode, we talked about how the company grew from a small delivery service in Kyiv to one of the leading producers of e-bikes in the world. Daniel also discussed running the...

Drones may seem like something taken out of sci-fi, but for Rut Patel, the founder of Voyager Industries, they represented a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Rut’s philosophy relies on doing something that stands out. In this episode, we talk to him about how he applied this principle to his career, discovering how drones can make big tech improvements and even save lives. Join us and envision the drone’s multiple roles in our future everyday activities! Before any world-changing innovation,...

The world's next leaders and CEOs are now going through the difficult task of applying to the best colleges and schools. Jason Ma works to make the most of this stage of life and prepare Gen Z to take the reins. Ma is the Founder, CEO, and Chief Mentor at ThreeEQ. In this episode Jason talks about his career and the different professional assets that led him to create a mentoring company for the young. Join us while we discuss the virtues of the ThreeEQ methodology and explore the things that...

Dr. Peter Bonutti has practiced over 30,000 surgical procedures during his career but he’s also an innovator passionate about product design and lab research that moves the medical world into the future. In this episode, Dr. Bonutti talks about how he used the money from his work as an orthopedic surgeon to fund his own medical research lab. He also explains what neuromodulation is and why it should be approached carefully. Join us and listen to this medical pioneer talk all about hard work...

In this episode of Before IT Happened, entrepreneur, storytelling coach and bestselling author Park Howell joins the show to discuss the ‘Story Cycle System’ that he created to apply the full potential of ‘the hero’s journey’ to business and entrepreneurship. There is endless competition for our attention and it forces businesses to become acutely aware of the audience they're serving. This awareness leads to the possibility of crafting powerful stories. So join us and discover what good...

“Put your money where your heart is.” That’s the tagline you’ll see when you visit Will Peterffy’s mobile trading platform IMPACT. Will is the ESG Director at Interactive Brokers, and his purpose is to help guide younger generations who want to invest consciously. Millennials are the most socially responsible and soon to be wealthiest generation of investors the world has ever known. In this episode, Donna talks to Will about how he believes mission-based investing can help create a better,...

Shannon Falconer is the Co-Founder and CEO of Because Animals, a startup that produces cultured meat products for pets. Their goal is to reduce the pet food industry's reliance on animal agriculture. In this episode, Sharon shares how her love for animals at a young age led to a disruptive career in the biochemistry field. She explains how the process to create cultured meat works and why the commercial pet food industry needs to start paying attention to this alternative. Join in and find...

Chick Boss Cake founder Rebecca Hamilton joins Donna on this episode of Before IT Happened to share the story of how she went from being a homeless high school dropout at 16 years old to opening a bakery in Ontario, Canada and achieving $1 million in sales. Satisfy your sweet tooth now by listening to this episode and hearing Rebecca talk about everything from how baking cakes at a women’s shelter was a turning point in her life to how she comes up with some of her wackier confections like...

Few people have managed to document the modern history of technology as Jonathan Littman has. Jonathan is a prominent author and journalist known for the bestselling book The Art of Innovation that he collaborated on with IDEO co-founder David Kelley and his brother Tom Kelley. In this episode of Before IT Happened, we talk about Jonathan’s most recent book, The Entrepreneur’s Faces, the different categories of entrepreneur personalities and his experience inside the fast-growing tech hub of...

Talking about AI and technology innovations to enhance the safety of a local environment is often a sensitive topic, but it is increasingly necessary to become more involved in it. On this episode of Before IT Happened, Donna talks with two AI entrepreneurs about how they're using AI-powered robots to make us safer. Stacy D. Stephens and William Santana Li join the show to cover some topics around the future of safety, such as situational awareness within law enforcement, misconceptions in...

Back in the 70’s running for women was pretty uncomfortable, wearing a traditional bra just didn’t do the trick for support. Our guest Lisa Z. Lindahl was diagnosed with epilepsy at an early age and because of her complex relationship with her body, jogging became her sanctuary. Soon, the idea for her business breakthrough popped into her head: the Jogbra. Lisa’s story is one about finding spirituality in running and liberating women through female-friendly sporting equipment. Join this...

Johnny Crowder is a lot of things. He's an entrepreneur, the lead singer of the heavy metal band Prison and a TEDx speaker. Today, Johnny Crowder joins the show to share the story of how he created Cope Notes, a company that sends text messages combining peer support and positive psychology to help improve its users’ mental and emotional health. During the discussion, Donna and Johnny talk about his own struggles with mental health, his schizophrenia diagnosis, how he discovered music and the...

Before we wish everyone happy holidays, we wanted to share some of our favorite highlights from the Before IT Happened’s first year! This show is about people who are all about innovation and making the world a better and more equitable place. Regardless of their background or the problem, they’re working to solve, it really comes down to the human spirit and the big idea that something needs to change. So join us for this end-of-year round-up of some of the most interesting and...

Behind the complexity of artificial intelligence, there are groundbreaking stories like that of AI and robotics expert, entrepreneur and investor Eric Daimler. Eric joins this episode of Before IT Happened to tell us all about his journey from being an entrepreneurial engineering student who found massive success before hitting his twenties to advising former president Barack Obama’s administration on how to regulate and develop AI and data infrastructure. Are we adapting or adopting? Listen...

Many years from now, we will remember this time in history as the moment we started using blockchain. It’s certainly a trend, but sometimes it may be hard to understand the full potential of this revolutionary technology. Luckily, in this episode of Before IT Happened we are joined by an expert, or should we say a black belt, to break down what this technology is all about. Medha Parlikar is the Co-founder and CTO of CasperLabs, the developer of a new open-source blockchain and smart...

Building a meaningful business while living your best life and traveling the world is not easy. In this episode of Before IT Happened, our host Donna Loughlin tells the story of social entrepreneur and philanthropist Jamie Bianchini, who biked through over 80 countries around the world for eight years with a friend calling themselves the ‘Peace Pedalers.’ Jamie’s motto “Live big, give big” has had an enormous impact in communities from Asia to Latin America where he’s helped build schools,...

Today’s episode is perfect for Thanksgiving — a story about kindness, love, and the power of giving. In this episode of Before IT Happened, our host Donna Loughlin talks to author, speaker, and advocate Genevieve Piturro. After a 12-year career as a corporate climber in New York City, Genevieve started visiting shelters to read to children. Soon she realized something, these children needed pajamas. Since 2001, Genevieve’s nonprofit Pajama Program has given over 7 million books and pajamas to...

Why is it that when we think about Artificial Intelligence, a dystopian universe comes to mind? In this episode of Before IT Happened, our host Donna Loughlin talks with Steven Shwartz, author, researcher, entrepreneur, and one of the most influential thinkers in the space of Artificial Intelligence. Steven debunks the myths and misconceptions around Artificial Intelligence and shares what this technology truly is about. Will robots take over our jobs and ultimately the world? Is a Blade...

Sometimes, we all need a wake up call, and after hitting rock bottom the only way to go is up. In this episode of Before IT Happened, our host Donna Loughlin sits down with Bryan Seely, ethical hacker and in demand thought leader on cyber security, to talk about his fascinating upbringing, his recovery from addiction, and how and why he hacked the Secret Service just to prove a point. From homeless addict to TED Talk speaker and author, Bryan knows a thing or two about transformation and...

First, we had The Beatles, then we had the 80s New Wave, and now we have The 2 LADS, a couple of young expat British artists in Los Angeles whose life mission is to advocate for mental health and the well-being of men across the world. In this episode of Before IT Happened, our host Donna Loughlin sits down with Daniel Sharman and Christian “Leggy” Langdon, creators and hosts of The 2 LADS Podcast. Donna gets the pair to open up about their upbringing, life experiences, emotional growth,...

The entrepreneurial lifestyle is definitely not for the faint of heart, as it comes with loads of hard work, nerve-wrecking risk taking, personal sacrifices and a high mental health price tag. Today, our host Donna Loughlin chats with Silicon Valley thought leader Vitaly Golomb, to talk about his amazing journey in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Vitaly migrated to the US as a child, and had to quickly adapt to this new environment. Little did he and his family know that Silicon Valley would...

Today everything in a car is smart, from the tires to the windshields. But there is something that is still just an ugly piece of metal, your license plate. In this episode of Before IT Happened, our host Donna Loughlin tells the story of Neville Boston, Founder, and CSO at Reviver, a disruptive company that is modernizing license plates from a piece of metal to a fully interactive screen with state-of-the-art technology. “Embrace change” is Neville’s mindset and it shows in his life story,...