Lay of The Land Podcast Por Jeffrey Stern arte de portada

Lay of The Land

Lay of The Land

De: Jeffrey Stern
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Telling the stories of entrepreneurship and builders in Cleveland and throughout Northeast Ohio. Every Thursday, Jeffrey Stern helps map the Cleveland/NEO business ecosystem by talking to founders, investors, and community builders to learn what makes Cleveland/NEO special.© 2024 Lay of The Land Economía Gestión y Liderazgo Liderazgo
Episodios
  • #239: Akram Boutros (Nexus Bedside) — The Future of Healthcare and Nursing

    #239: Akram Boutros (Nexus Bedside) — The Future of Healthcare and Nursing
    Feb 5 2026
    Akram Boutros — Founder and CEO of Nexus Bedside.Akram brings more than 30 years of experience as a healthcare leader, executive, and clinician. He previously served as CEO of The MetroHealth System in Cleveland from 2013 to 2022, where he led a team of more than 6,000 employees and 3,500 medical staff, overseeing a nearly billion-dollar revenue operation and the complete transformation of the MetroHealth campus and care model. Prior to that, Akram held senior leadership roles at multiple health systems across the country, and he began his career as a physician, earning his Doctor of Medicine from SUNY Downstate Health Sciences.Akram is also a serial entrepreneur. In 2025, he raised a few million dollars of seed capital to found Nexus Bedside—a company reimagining inpatient nursing staffing and working to fundamentally improve outcomes for patients, nurses, and health systems overall.In this conversation, Akram and I unpack his full journey and perspective on healthcare and entrepreneurship—from immigrating to the U.S. and becoming a physician, to his decade leading MetroHealth, to navigating a public and controversial departure from the public health system, and ultimately experiencing the healthcare system as a patient himself. We explore how these experiences shaped his decision to start and build Nexus Bedside, his philosophy on leadership, lessons learned as an entrepreneur, the massive opportunity for AI in healthcare, and what he believes the future of inpatient care and nursing should be.Please enjoy this awesome conversation with Akram.00:00:00 - Introduction00:03:40 - The Journey of Akram Boutros, MD00:08:45 - Formative Experiences and Lessons Learned00:13:57 - The Complexity of Running a Health System00:19:08 - Defining the Ideal Health System00:25:42 - The Birth of Nexus Bedside: A New Approach to Nursing00:30:54 - Optimizing Patient Care Through Technology00:35:40 - Business Model and Client Success00:42:10 - Entrepreneurial Lessons in Healthcare00:46:44 - Building Nexus in Cleveland00:52:12 - Reflections on the Journey-----LINKS:https://www.linkedin.com/in/akramboutrosmd/https://nexus-rn.com/-----SPONSORS:Roundstone InsuranceRoundstone Insurance is proud to sponsor Lay of The Land. Founder and CEO, Michael Schroeder, has committed full-year support for the podcast, recognizing its alignment with the company’s passion for entrepreneurship, innovation, and community leadership.Headquartered in Rocky River, Ohio, Roundstone was founded in 2005 with a vision to deliver better healthcare outcomes at a more affordable cost. To bring that vision to life, the company pioneered the group medical captive model — a self-funded health insurance solution that provides small and mid-sized businesses with greater control and significant savings.Over the past two decades, Roundstone has grown rapidly, creating nearly 200 jobs in Northeast Ohio. The company works closely with employers and benefits advisors to navigate the complexities of commercial health insurance and build custom plans that prioritize employee well-being over shareholder returns. By focusing on aligned incentives and better health outcomes, Roundstone is helping businesses save thousands in Per Employee Per Year healthcare costs. Roundstone Insurance — Built for entrepreneurs. Backed by innovation. Committed to Cleveland.Cerity PartnersCerity Partners, a full-service investment and wealth management firm serving high-net-worth individuals, entrepreneurs, and business owners, is proud to sponsor Lay of The Land. The firm has local roots in Cleveland and across Ohio, and like this podcast, Cerity Partners advisors specialize in serving the interests of local entrepreneurs and business leaders. They understand how to manage the total picture of wealth, both personal and professional. Cerity Partners has a unified team of specialists who collaborate on almost every aspect of a client’s financial life, including business ownership. The firm’s national presence means it can offer the resources and specialized knowledge of the largest institutions with the independence and service of a neighbor. The Cerity Partners Cleveland team understands the complexity that comes with wealth, and they adhere to fiduciary standards. Discover the financial lay of your land. Learn more at ceritypartners.com/NPR or call 216-464-6266.-----Stay up to date by signing up for Lay of The Land's weekly newsletter — sign up here: https://layoftheland.ck.page/5f0c1e28faConnect with Jeffrey Stern on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffreypstern/Follow Lay of The Land on X @podlayofthelandhttps://www.jeffreys.page/
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    55 m
  • #238 Tyler Dunagin (TurnServ) — Curiosity, Leadership, and Entrepreneurship in Multifamily

    #238 Tyler Dunagin (TurnServ) — Curiosity, Leadership, and Entrepreneurship in Multifamily
    Jan 29 2026
    Tyler Dunagin is the founder and CEO of Turnserv, a Northeast Ohio–based platform company behind brands like ApartmentPainters.com, ApartmentFlooring.com, and Liquid Liner — each rethinking a critical piece of the residential turnover and value-add process for property owners and operators.In our conversation, Tyler traces his journey from early curiosity in real estate and the unlocking of his entrepreneurial spirit, to building a multi-brand platform that now partners with some of the largest property managers in the country, which has earned Turnserv a place on the Inc. 5000 list of America’s fastest-growing companies, as it continues to expand its product-market fit across Ohio and beyond in this highly fragmented industry.We explore why speed and convenience matter more than ever in multifamily — and how a chance encounter in an apartment bathroom led Tyler down an unexpected path: learning chemistry, working with labs, and ultimately inventing Liquid Liner, a patented surface-restoration coating that’s 30 times thicker than traditional sprays and now used at scale to renew bathtubs, tile, cabinets, and countertops — without replacement or specialized tools.We also dig into Tyler’s evolution as a leader — from owner-operator to coach; from pure growth to purpose, culture, capital, and long-term value creation; and his deep pride in building from Northeast Ohio.Tyler brings a wonderful mix of humility, ambition, and thoughtfulness to everything he’s building, and I had a great time learning from him in this awesome conversation — so please enjoy my discussion with Tyler Dunagin.00:00 The Journey Begins: Curiosity and Rebellion05:22 From Sports to Entrepreneurship: A Life Change08:34 Curiosity in Real Estate: Finding a Path11:17 Building TurnServe: Addressing Market Needs14:19 Identifying Problems: The Birth of Liquid Liner16:55 Innovating Solutions: The Refinishing Journey20:06 Scaling Up: The Growth of TurnServe22:52 The Evolution of Products: From Painters to Liquid Liner25:39 The Chemistry of Success: Creating Liquid Liner28:50 Reflecting on Growth: The Vision for TurnServe31:23 Funding the Future: Capital and Growth Strategies34:02 Breaking Barriers: Entering the Market38:59 Navigating Growth Capital: Lessons Learned43:54 Evolving Perspectives on Success48:32 Leadership Transformation: From Selfish to Selfless51:53 Convenience as a Driving Force57:38 The Future of Multifamily: Automation and Innovation01:02:29 Community Pride: Building in Northeast Ohio-----LINKS:https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerdunagin/https://www.turnserv.com/ApartmentFlooring.comApartmentPainters.com-----SPONSOR:Roundstone InsuranceRoundstone Insurance is proud to sponsor Lay of The Land. Founder and CEO, Michael Schroeder, has committed full-year support for the podcast, recognizing its alignment with the company’s passion for entrepreneurship, innovation, and community leadership.Headquartered in Rocky River, Ohio, Roundstone was founded in 2005 with a vision to deliver better healthcare outcomes at a more affordable cost. To bring that vision to life, the company pioneered the group medical captive model — a self-funded health insurance solution that provides small and mid-sized businesses with greater control and significant savings.Over the past two decades, Roundstone has grown rapidly, creating nearly 200 jobs in Northeast Ohio. The company works closely with employers and benefits advisors to navigate the complexities of commercial health insurance and build custom plans that prioritize employee well-being over shareholder returns. By focusing on aligned incentives and better health outcomes, Roundstone is helping businesses save thousands in Per Employee Per Year healthcare costs.Roundstone Insurance — Built for entrepreneurs. Backed by innovation. Committed to Cleveland.-----Stay up to date by signing up for Lay of The Land's weekly newsletter — sign up here.Connect with Jeffrey Stern on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffreypstern/Follow Lay of The Land on X @podlayofthelandhttps://www.jeffreys.page/
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    1 h y 10 m
  • #237: Tory & Michael Waxman (Sundays For Dogs) — Making the World’s Best Dog Food in Cleveland

    #237: Tory & Michael Waxman (Sundays For Dogs) — Making the World’s Best Dog Food in Cleveland
    Jan 22 2026
    Michael and Tory Waxman — the founders of Sundays for Dogs, the Cleveland-based company designed to make dog parents’ lives easy.What began with their own dog, Mabel, and a simple but powerful question — why does feeding dogs well have to be so difficult? — has grown into one of the most exciting consumer companies to emerge from Ohio. Led by loving dog parents Dr. Tory Waxman, a veterinarian, and Michael Waxman, a serial entrepreneur, Sundays pioneered human-grade, air-dried, zero-synthetics dog food designed to be healthier than kibble and easier than refrigerated alternatives.Since our last recorded conversation in 2023 (Lay of The Land Episode #123), Sundays has scaled dramatically. Having raised more than $55 million in capital and built out a Cleveland-based R&D Test Kitchen — where our conversation today took place — Sundays has grown from a direct-to-consumer upstart into a nationally recognized brand preparing for omni-channel distribution, creating a product that dogs love while positioning themselves at the forefront of the booming pet food market and the emerging ambient fresh movement.In our conversation, Michael and Tory share how they’ve navigated multiple chapters of scaling — including customer acquisition and brand evolution, balancing supply and demand, investing deeply in product innovation, and building a senior leadership team — while staying grounded in the mission that inspired Sundays from the start: making it easier to be an awesome dog parent. They also discuss what excites them most about the future and what comes next for Sundays as the company continues to grow.00:00:00 - "The World's Best Dog Food is Made in Cleveland"00:00:25 - Introduction: Sundays for Dogs00:05:20 - Building an In-House R&D Test Kitchen in Cleveland00:10:06 - Most Dogs Still Eat Kibble (And Why That's Changing)00:15:09 - Marketing Evolution: How Does Sundays for Dogs Stand Out?00:20:18 - New Recipe Launch Preview (From the Test Kitchen!)00:21:33 - Ohio: The Surprising Dog Food Capital of America00:25:36 - Supply Chain Stories & Lessons Learned00:30:39 - When Demand Outpaces Supply: A Good Problem?00:32:59 - Beyond DTC: Omnichannel Distribution Strategy00:38:21 - How AI Will Transform How People Buy Dog Food00:41:34 - Dogs as Family: Where Is Society Headed?00:46:44 - Building Company Culture at Sundays00:52:13 - The Vision: Making Sundays a Household Name00:55:18 - Where to Find Sundays for Dogs-----LINKS:https://sundaysfordogs.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelewaxmanhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/tory-waxman-87781b176/https://www.layoftheland.fm/123-tory-michael-waxman-sundays/-----SPONSOR:Roundstone InsuranceRoundstone Insurance is proud to sponsor Lay of The Land. Founder and CEO, Michael Schroeder, has committed full-year support for the podcast, recognizing its alignment with the company’s passion for entrepreneurship, innovation, and community leadership.Headquartered in Rocky River, Ohio, Roundstone was founded in 2005 with a vision to deliver better healthcare outcomes at a more affordable cost. To bring that vision to life, the company pioneered the group medical captive model — a self-funded health insurance solution that provides small and mid-sized businesses with greater control and significant savings.Over the past two decades, Roundstone has grown rapidly, creating nearly 200 jobs in Northeast Ohio. The company works closely with employers and benefits advisors to navigate the complexities of commercial health insurance and build custom plans that prioritize employee well-being over shareholder returns. By focusing on aligned incentives and better health outcomes, Roundstone is helping businesses save thousands in Per Employee Per Year healthcare costs.Roundstone Insurance — Built for entrepreneurs. Backed by innovation. Committed to Cleveland.-----Stay up to date by signing up for Lay of The Land's weekly newsletter — sign up here.Connect with Jeffrey Stern on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffreypstern/Follow Lay of The Land on X @podlayofthelandhttps://www.jeffreys.page/
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    1 h y 2 m
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