HeyJaredLay of The Land
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.
- Indexed episodes, last 90 days
- 7
- Latest publication
- Sep 10, 2026
- Audience
- Checking…
- Earliest in this view
- Jul 9, 2026
Latest episodes
#262 Paul Benner — Platform Beer Company (opens the original)
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Paul Benner is the founder of Platform Beer Company. What began in 2014 as a tiny neighborhood brewery grew remarkably quickly through constant experimentation before ultimately being acquired by Anheuser-Busch in 2019. Platform was also personally meaningful to me…. with many formative conversations in my own entrepreneurial journey and life having occurred within its walls. In our conversation, Paul and I unpack the full Platform story—from his early interest in entrepreneurship and homebrewin
#261 Gerald Hetrick — Round III (CentSight) (opens the original)
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Gerald was one of the very first guests ever on Lay of The Land, back on episode 6, where we talked about his path through Vox Mobile, building Able, and what it took to grow a venture-backed software company from Cleveland. We then picked the story back up on episode 142 after Able’s acquisition by Bullhorn, exploring what an exit actually feels like, what Gerald had learned about company-building, and his work with Bezlio, Docket, and EOS. Today, we continue that arc with Gerald’s newest chapt
#260 Josh Friedlander — Jam by Josh (opens the original)
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Joshua Friedlander — also known as The Jam Man — is the founder of Jam by Josh, a Cleveland-based small-batch jam company he started at just 10 years old. What began as a childhood love of cooking, gardening, and canning has grown from a backyard hobby into a formidable and rapidly expanding food brand, now sold in more than 75 stores across Northeast Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and beyond. At 16, Josh has taken Jam by Josh from his home kitchen to grocery shelves national wide. In our convers
#259 Finn & Bowen Alexy — Alexy Metals & Bowfin Capital (opens the original)
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Bowen and Finn Alexy are brothers, entrepreneurs, and investors based in Willoughby, Ohio. They serve as Co-Chief Operating Officers of Alexy Metals, a second-generation brazing alloy manufacturing and precious metals refining company, where they have helped lead the business through a period of significant growth while becoming the two youngest executives in their industry. Beyond manufacturing, they are the Co-Founders and Managing Partners of BowFin Capital, an early-stage venture investment
#258 Kumar Arora — Arora Ventures (opens the original)
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Kumar Arora — entrepreneur, investor, brand-builder, and the founder of Arora Ventures, a venture studio and portfolio of businesses spanning hospitality, apparel, events, creative agency work, and consumer brands. Born and raised in Cleveland’s Little Italy, Kumar grew up between science and art, a duality that continues to shape how he builds today. In our conversation, Kumar and I explore the cohort of ambitious Clevelanders he came up alongside, his early path through nightlife, events, and
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