Rust Belt Startup

13/08/2025

How do you get a customer for life? Thanks to Elias and Lafa for the inspiration.

30/07/2025

Breaking Historic Barriers in Luge | Excerpt from my conversation with Erin Hamlin. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts or watch/listen online at: https://rustbeltstartup.com/2025/07/22/sliding-in-to-the-unknown-erin-hamlins-olympic-and-post-olympic-journey/

28/07/2025

Excerpt from my conversation with Erin Hamlin. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts or watch/listen online at: https://rustbeltstartup.com/2025/07/22/sliding-in-to-the-unknown-erin-hamlins-olympic-and-post-olympic-journey/

27/07/2025

The razor-thin margin of Olympic Dreams | Excerpt from my conversation with Erin Hamlin. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts or watch/listen online at: https://rustbeltstartup.com/2025/07/22/sliding-in-to-the-unknown-erin-hamlins-olympic-and-post-olympic-journey/

23/07/2025

Today on the podcast I’m honored to sit down with Erin Hamlin — Olympic Luger, World Champion, and the first American to medal in singles luge. But her story starts in Remsen, NY, where a 12-year-old kid signed up for a wheeled luge clinic on a whim… and ended up competing in four Olympic Games. We go deep on what it really takes to compete at the highest level — not just physically, but mentally. Erin shares what it’s like to train in a barn gym as well as the Olympic training center, the pressures and insane nuance that goes into competing in Luge to get to the Olympics. We also talk about the broken model of youth sports, and how she navigated the incredibly personal decision to retire on her own terms and find what’s next. This is an inspiring, behind-the-scenes conversation about chasing big goals, mental and physical toughness, and reinventing yourself after a career in professional sports.

Watch or Listen wherever you get your podcasts or online at https://rustbeltstartup.com/2025/07/22/sliding-in-to-the-unknown-erin-hamlins-olympic-and-post-olympic-journey/

16/07/2025

A story about using tech to find your voice.

25/06/2025

1 in 6 Americans are low-literate - a hidden crisis that inhibits growth and opportunity

Clip from my conversation with Lara from Osa Philanthropy on Rust Belt Startup

https://rustbeltstartup.com/2025/06/16/a-sustainable-fundraising-playbook-for-non-profits-with-lara-sepanski-pimentel-osa-philanthropy/

22/06/2025

Lara's life-changing experience in The Peace Corps

Clip from "A Sustainable Fundraising Playbook" with Osa Philanthropy | Rust Belt Startup Podcast.

https://rustbeltstartup.com/2025/06/16/a-sustainable-fundraising-playbook-for-non-profits-with-lara-sepanski-pimentel-osa-philanthropy/

19/06/2025

What do people get wrong who are afraid of asking for support or donations?

Clip from "A Sustainable Fundraising Playbook" with Osa Philanthropy | Rust Belt Startup Podcast

19/06/2025

Make your non-profit story compelling - but do it with dignity.

Clip from "A Sustainable Fundraising Playbook" with Osa Philanthropy | Rust Belt Startup Podcast

18/06/2025

17/06/2025

Lara Sepanski Pimentel, founder of OSA Philanthropy and former Peace Corps volunteer, joins me to unpack what makes a nonprofit—and any mission-driven venture—truly resilient. Drawing on field lessons from community-development work in rural Central America and a decade inside U.S. nonprofits, Lara explains why “capacity” — the people, processes, and systems behind the programs — must come before the next big grant push.

It's also the first podcast filmed in the new studio space(!) So you can watch on YouTube, the web or Spotify if that's your jam.

Check it out here or wherever you get your podcasts:
https://rustbeltstartup.com/2025/06/16/a-sustainable-fundraising-playbook-for-non-profits-with-lara-sepanski-pimentel-osa-philanthropy/

In this conversation you’ll learn:

Peace Corps principles in practice – how asset-based thinking, local ownership, and radical resourcefulness translate into stronger donor relationships and staff culture.
The “capacity first, cash second” framework – diagnostic steps to spot operational gaps before chasing new money.

Reframing the ask – shifting from “begging for help” to “offering investment” so donors see themselves as partners, not patrons.
Running a location-independent consultancy – Lara’s approach to managing global contractors, Zoom-first client work, and family life across continents.
Nonprofit earthquake preparedness – why diversified revenue and data-driven dashboards are the new insurance policy in a volatile funding landscape.