Driven & Co.

Jeff Pruitt, CEO of Ethology and Tallwave, and general partner within Tallwave Capital, joins Justin Gray on this episode of "Driven: How Did I Get Here?" podcast.  When you were growing up, did you know what you wanted to be? My dad was in the construction business so he would take me to groundbreakings of buildings. I remember one of the new CEOs of Circle K talking about a turnaround they were doing. I was driving home with my dad, I was probably only 14, and I said to him, "That sounds interesting to me." It was about being part of a company that might not be doing well and figuring out a way to turn it around. I turned that into being on the innovation side of things.  What did you focus on when you were going to school? I got sidetracked a bit. My dad said if you're going to go in and try to run companies, get an accounting degree. That was the right advice, but I took that and turned it into go getting a job at Arthur Andersen. They probably were one of the more innovative accounting companie

Sangram Vajrem, author #ABM, co-founder and CMO at Terminus, founder #FlipMyFunnel, joins host Justin Gray, founder and CEO of LeadMD in this episode of Driven: How'd I Get Here? What did you want to be when you grew up?  I always wanted to be - and at some point I might be actually - a pilot. I always wanted to see the world from a completely different perspective, and I don't think there is a better perspective than being up in the sky looking down and seeing the world in a different way. None of us get a chance to do that often. At some point I do want to get a mini pilot's license and just fly around Georgia or something so I can see the lands that I live on.  You have a bachelor's from Nagpur University in India and a master's from the University of Alabama, both in computer science, what were you hoping to do with that degree? I wanted to get my masters and that was the easiest way to get it because I did my bachelor's in computer science. If I wanted to do anything else, there's no way I woul

Dean Heckler, founder and lead designer at Heckler Design, joins host Justin Gray in this episode of Driven: How Did I Get Here? Dean explains what drove him to shutter his software development company to pursue a passion in industrial design. What did you want to be when you grew up? From the earliest I can remember my dad always brought computers home. We had some of the earliest computers. So I was just spoiled with computers early on and I think that influenced my decision to stick close to technology. At some point in high school I thought architecture would be a good career path, but I heard a lot of horror stories from folks a few years ahead of me. So majored in business and graduated with a couple business degrees right in the middle of the dot-com boom so I was thrust right back into technology  I worked for a software company out of college doing early virtual reality.  How did you get that position? I knew someone there, and that person knew that I was savvy in technology and graduating

In this episode, host Justin Gray, CEO and founder of LeadMD, talks to Brian Provost VP of digital strategy at Define Media Group, about how he accidentally stumbled upon his first business and parlayed that into the success he has achieved today. What did you want to be when you grew up? I wanted to be a lot of things. There was a period where I wanted to be an attorney, a race car driver, a Green Beret... You graduated from Texas A&M, what was your major? I had a double major in finance and accounting. I always kind of felt that there was this entrepreneurial or business focus that I've always been interested in, and those just felt like the best way to learn the inner workings of how business actually works. Were there any main influences at the college level that drove you in a certain direction? Texas A&M had one of the more impressive early internet labs. Much to my GPA's chagrin, I would spend a lot of time just screwing around in the internet lab. What happened after you graduated? My first bu

In this episode of the "How Did I Get Here?" podcast, host Justin Gray talks with Heidi Jannenga, co-founder and president of WebPT, about making big transitions and trusting in the path. Did you know what you wanted to be when you grew up? Well, interesting. Going back to my childhood, I actually wanted to be a veterinarian. So in some capacity, I knew I had this need to help people, or help things. In this case, animals. So I guess even from an early age I recognized that innate piece of who I am, at the core of really wanting to be there to help others. Fast forward into what I actually became as my career as a physical therapist. Let's fast forward to the point where you become co-founder of a software startup? What as the impetus for that change? I had been practicing for 15 years and had kind of reached the top of my game in terms of treating athletes of all sorts. I was running three clinics in the greater Phoenix area and had P&L responsibilities. During that time, I realized one of our biggest ex

Douglas Karr joins host Justin Gray in episode 4 of the "How Did I Get Here? podcast. Doug is the CEO of DK New Media and co-founder and CMO of CircuPress, an email service provider. He has grown to become an established leader in the marketing technology space and is a serial entrepreneur. What did you want to be when you grew up? For a long time, I think I wanted to be an architect of all things. I loved drafting and drawing. I don't think I had a schoolbook that didn't have some sort of creature or building in it.  Where did that lead you? Did you go to school for architecture? No, that's the weird thing. When I went through high school, I was always getting in trouble, and partying way too hard, and reckless. I wound up messing up my chances of ever going to college. I graduated high school, and I went straight into the US Navy.  After you're done with the Navy, where do you go at that point? In the Navy, I was an electrician, and after I got out, the workforce was pretty tough back then so I bo

Kathy Sacks, founder, investor, consultant, joins Justin Gray on this episode of the "How Did I Get Here" podcast. Kathy currently runs advisory firm Coleap where she advises founders and executives in growth strategies and marketing. Kathy also invests in early-stage tech startups. Growing up, did you have a clear vision on what you were going to be? Well at one point, as a child of the 80s, I did want to be a solid gold dancer at one point. And thank God I didn't follow that path. But for a hot minute there. I grew up in New Jersey and I grew up with immigrant parents. My parents both escaped communist Hungary in the 60s. So I got a hard work ethic at an early age. But looking back, I wanted to be many things, and I'm still figuring that out today. I mean aren't you? Did you really figure that out? I think the path of reinvention, especially today, happens often in one's career. And I think it is really healthy. What was the first job post college or first real job?  I wanted t

In this episode, serial entrepreneur Pat Sullivan, CEO of Ryver and self-described paradox, talks with host Justin Gray about his eventual path to entrepreneurship and the traits he believes forms a great entrepreneur. Did you know you wanted to be an entrepreneur when you grew up? When I was growing up I could not spell entrepreneur, and it never occurred to me that I would be an entrepreneur. In fact, I thought about that question a lot. What do I want to be when I grow up? And I have no recollection of wanting to be anything.   What was your first job then? My first job was selling printing in Chicago, and I did that for about 10 years or so. What caused you to make a shift, and at that point create a software? After the job selling printing, I went to work for 3M, and that was my introduction into the technology world. Soon thereafter, I worked for a microcomputer dealer, and during that time I taught myself how to program because I became obsessed with the idea of automating everything I d

In this inaugural episode, Craig Rosenberg, co-founder and chief analyst at TOPO, switches roles with host Justin Gray, CEO of LeadMD. Craig goes in depth with Justin about his journey and how he came to be a serial entrepreneur and now host of the "How Did I Get Here?" podcast. Meet Justin Gray What is your role? To answer that question succinctly, I am the CEO of LeadMD, but my role is a little more difficult to define because I really do any of the shit that anyone else doesn't want to do, or can't do. What did you want to be when you grew up? I wanted to be a journalism major for the purpose of becoming a writer. Along the way, as you got to where you are today, what advice did you receive on how to get there? The sound advice I got across the board was that there was a very traditional, structured path to success in some regard or another. What was your major in college? It was journalism for the first two years, then switched to business with a specialty in marketing. Who or what has been the biggest in