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Nathan Imperiale and the Business of Making People Feel Welcome
His grandfather crossed the world to get to know his clients. Nathan Imperiale brought that lesson to Washington, building a creative agency where the work and the welcome belong together.
James P. Smith and the Business of Staying Useful
He founded a Washington government affairs firm in 1981. Four decades later, James P. Smith made room for a new name on the door while keeping a seat at the table.
Jeffrey J. Kimbell and the art of getting people in the room
A Washington career, a live-music business, a charity drag race, and a classroom without walls. Jeffrey J. Kimbell keeps finding reasons for people to show up.
Jason Jordan and the case for a bigger table
From campaign fieldwork to housing reform, Jason Jordan has spent his career helping people turn shared concerns into political arguments. His recurring subject is what happens when the right people learn to work together.
Peter V. Stanton and the Advantage of Listening
He built a public relations firm in 1989 and a career spanning papal visits and a shuttle launch. Decades later, Peter V. Stanton keeps returning to a quieter question: who has actually been heard?
Jayne Sandman and the Stiletto Test
Before co-founding The Brand Guild, Jayne Sandman tested a party’s logistics in high heels. Her career has kept returning to the same question: how will this actually work for the people in the room?
Sarajane Sparks Verghese and the Art of Getting Someone Else Interested
A former journalist with an MBA, Sarajane Sparks Verghese built SPARKS Consulting Group around the journey from a brand’s private ambition to somebody else’s attention.
Gloria Rojas and the client who called again
A condo, a marriage, another home. How Gloria Rojas built a real estate practice around the relationships that outlast a closing date.
Matthew Pine and the art of making water less complicated
A career spent moving between construction, air conditioning, and wind energy brought Matthew Pine to Xylem. Now he is trying to make a sprawling water business easier to work with, just as the AI economy discovers its thirst.
Ken Carnesi and the $800 Problem That Kept Getting Bigger
A rooftop antenna put Ken Carnesi in the internet business. An unhappy spell as a customer gave the DNSFilter co-founder a second business, and a lasting interest in who gets to control the connection.
Steve Case and the value of taking the long way round
From Pizza Hut road trips to AOL and the Rise of the Rest bus, Steve Case keeps looking for ideas beyond the usual meeting rooms. His next investment may depend on who gets invited inside.
Matt Van Buskirk and the trouble with ticking boxes
A former bank examiner helped build Hummingbird to give financial-crime investigators better tools. His career keeps returning to a deceptively awkward question: what is all this compliance work actually achieving?
Chris Spanos and the business of knowing help is on the way
At Urgently, Chris Spanos helped put roadside assistance on a live map. His next chapter, in property compliance, returns to a familiar problem: people cannot act on what they cannot see.
Tuckernuck Sells the Whole Weekend
A dress, a dinner party, a place you wish you were. Tuckernuck built its business by understanding how those things belong together.
Ben Miller and the $100 invitation
A Washington building gave the Fundrise co-founder a question he has spent years pursuing: why should the people who see an opportunity be shut out of owning a piece of it?
Grant Verstandig and the Uses of a Hidden Map
He collects the tools of yesterday’s intelligence operatives. At Red Cell Partners, Grant Verstandig is building companies for today’s security problems - and testing a different way to get Washington to buy their work.
PJ Taei and the Business Hidden in a Customer’s Complaint
Before Uscreen became a business with a $150 million growth investment, PJ Taei was helping customers keep their websites running. His next company began when those customers wanted something his first company could not yet give them.
Benjamin Harvey and the trouble with the last mile
Benjamin Harvey learned to repair computers before he learned to build companies. After a decade at the NSA, he founded AI Squared to solve a stubborn problem: getting useful intelligence into the hands of people who need it.
Obiaku Ohiaeri and the trouble with getting your own money back
A reimbursement form gave Obiaku Ohiaeri a business problem she could not leave alone. Her route to Binkey ran through biochemistry, consulting and product leadership - with a little BTS along the way.
You Mon Tsang and the Trouble With a Happy Ending
Signing the customer was supposed to be the happy ending. For ChurnZero co-founder You Mon Tsang, it became the beginning of a question that has occupied his working life: what happens next?
Kevin Bennett and the price of a little clarity
He helped build Caribou around a question many drivers never thought to ask. Now Kevin Bennett is taking the same concern for everyday financial decisions into the homebuying business.
Jennifer Choi and the power of a better question
Before she became ILPA’s CEO, Jennifer Choi built databases, reporting standards and a collective voice for private equity’s investors. Her work asks a deceptively simple question: can the people supplying the money see what happens to it?
Brandon Elliott and the education of a CEO
Before advising chief executives at Consello, Brandon Elliott spent years evaluating companies, explaining them to investors, and running one himself. His career turns on a practical question: what happens when the person asking about the numbers becomes responsible for them?
Vinoda Basnayake and the business of a good night
A student party promoter became a tour manager, a lawyer, and the founder of VERSUS. In Washington, Vinoda Basnayake has spent his career learning what happens when the right people share a room.
Jennifer von Bismarck and the missing money in the middle
From Bill Gates’s investment office to a California worm farm, Jennifer von Bismarck has followed the cash flows. At Galway Sustainable Capital, she helps finance the practical work of a more sustainable economy.
Carolyn Campbell and the business of staying power
From corporate law in Eastern Europe to cafés, banks and utilities in Africa, Carolyn Campbell has spent her career helping businesses grow. ECP’s co-founder and COO works where investment decisions meet the daily demands of running a company.
Greg Bilazarian wants to step inside the story
From local television to an Armenian newsroom and Amazon Web Services, Greg Bilazarian has spent his career learning how organizations work. At NextGen Growth Partners, he is looking for a business whose next chapter he can help run.
David Dupree and the phone call that kept paying dividends
A tuition offer helped David Dupree leave a roadside counting job for business school. His career would take him through Carlyle, the founding of Halifax, and back to the university that gave him a chance.
Hurley Doddy and the business of getting closer
From a Salomon Brothers elevator to the boardrooms of African businesses, Hurley Doddy has built a career around a practical question: how do you help a company grow across borders?
Romulo Braga and the work a shipping label leaves out
A product leader changed his favorite sign-off after a meeting exposed its blind spot. His writing, interviews and mentoring show why building something useful begins well before the release.