The GrepBeat Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Happy In The Soup 🍲 Wednesday!

Hosts Jenn Summe and Melissa Crosby are here with a special live episode recorded at Grep-a-Palooza 2025 featuring Robin Cowie of Skillmaker.AI. He discusses his journey from working on "The Blair Witch Project" to founding Skillmaker.AI, a tech startup that uses XR Technology.

Thank you for joining us for this episode of In The Soup, a show under The GrepBeat Podcast.

Today’s episode, and the rest of the season, are proudly sponsored by Milan Public Relations and Aligned Technology Group.

Happy In The Soup 🍲 Wednesday!

Hosts Jenn Summe and Melissa Crosby are here with another exciting episode all about what to know for Grep-a-Palooza 2025! Today they are joined by David Schwartz of GrepBeat, and Charles Douthitt of Virnika.

Thank you for joining us for this episode of In The Soup, a show under The GrepBeat Podcast.

Today’s episode, and the rest of the season, are proudly sponsored by Milan Public Relations and Aligned Technology Group.

Happy Wednesday, and welcome back to the Spring 2025 season of In The Soup 🍲, a show under The GrepBeat Podcast.

We're continuing the conference season prep streak by getting you prepared for Raleigh-Durham Startup Week, which takes place in between Raleigh and Durham starting next Monday, April 7th.

This free, open-to-all event will feature different tracks tailored to startups in all areas, and is designed to create meaningful moments to enrich entrepreneurial culture and our local startup communities.

That's why our #InTheSoup hosts Jenn Summe and Melissa Crosby are joined by two community supporters who have not only attended RDSW themselves, but have dedicated their own (volunteered) time to give attendees the most impactful experience out of this five-day movement to showcase the vibrant entrepreneurial community in the Triangle area.

They are joined by Haley Huie of NC State's Entrepreneurship Clinic, who is apart of this year's RDSW organizing committee, and Charlotte Louis, the Founder and CEO of SenterME, who not only was an attendee to last year's event, but was also a speaker for an event called "How To Buckle Up For The Long Haul," where she discussed the importance of mentally preparing for the long startup journey. 

Live from Durham, it's In The Soup 🍲!

On today's season finale, hosts Jenn Summe and Melissa Crosby are not only commemorating the end to another fantastically soupy season, but are also celebrating Women's History Month. According to the National Women's History Museum, this year's theme centers around “Moving Forward Together! Women Educating & Inspiring Generations.”

That's why today's guest is the perfect person to celebrate this month and the end of this winter season.

Kristina Montague is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner at The JumpFund, a Chattanooga-based angel fund comprised of over 50 women angel investors focused on early-stage, women-led growth ventures in the Southeast.

She is also the author of Jump In: Women Investing in Women, Growing Our Capital and Impact, which tell of the origin stories of the JumpFund and its powerful network of women investing in women.  

This season would not be possible without the partnership of our gracious sponsor, Milan Public Relations and its founder Mikaya Thurmond. We're excited to collaborate with her on future projects!

Subscribe to The GrepBeat Podcast, so you won't miss out on this next season, which will return Wednesday, April 4th! 

As a new burgeoning startup, one might often wonder how to get the word out to masses about this innovative new solution you're building. There are only so many networking happy hours and pitch competitions you can attend.

That's why in today's episode of In The Soup (a show under The GrepBeat Podcast), hosts Jenn Summe and Melissa Crosby are talking about the benefits of PR marketing.

In case you didn't know, the strategic use of public relations involves creating and sharing compelling stories, building relationships with the media, and managing a company's reputation. It can be one of the most effective ways to promote your company's brand.

Don't believe it? Today's guests are PR pros who have spent years on both sides of this marketing avenue.

Mikaya Thurmond is the CEO of Milan Public Relations (who is also our gracious sponsor for this season!) and was previously a news anchor for WRAL.

Kristen Baileys is the CEO and Co-Founder of Raleigh's Bake Eat Love, which produces subscription kits that teach bakers of all experience levels how to bake a different gourmet dessert each month. Her company has been featured in numerous media sites, including Oprah Daily, The Food Network and Southern Living. 

While working alongside early-stage founders, Primordial Ventures partner and #InTheSoup 🍲 host Jenn Summe has always been approached with the questions: "At what stage do I need a chief financial officer (CFO)? What makes a good CFO? What should I be looking for when I decide to add one to our company?"

That's why she and her fellow co-host Melissa Crosby follow up with two local seasoned CFOs in today's episode of In The Soup (a show under The GrepBeat Podcast).

Today's chief financial geniuses/guests are Jared Sokolsky from Chapel Hill-based Well and Durham-based Peter Meath of Bedford, MA's Agilix Health.

Today’s episode, and this season, are proudly sponsored by Milan PR, a strategic communications firm that does everything from media training and storytelling workshops to help secure the media placements you can only dream of.

Can artificial intelligence truly be used anywhere to innovate? Could it be used to advance the future of healthcare, even despite ethical concerns and the risks it poses for equitable healthcare solutions?

These are the questions hosts Jenn Summe and Melissa Crosby break down with two healthcare tech specialists in today's episode of In The Soup (a show under The GrepBeat Podcast).

They are joined by Scott McQuiggan of Raleigh-based Social Cascade, an AI-backed health literacy platform designed to modernize patient education and improve patient retention, and Neal Shah of RTP-based CareYaya, a health-tech care marketplace that connects elderly clients with great, affordable care. Shah was also a panelist on a recent Triangle Tech Night discussion that dove even deeper into "The Double-Edged Sword of HealthTech Innovation."

Today’s episode, and this season, are proudly sponsored by Milan PR, a full-service, strategic communications firm with over 50 years of experience in the corporate, non-profit, and government sectors.

The last time In The Soup hosts Jenn Summe and Melissa Crosby covered mental health, they were joined by Doug Kaufman of Belongly for a special deep dive into the importance of good mental health as a founder.

Almost a year later, they've returned with two veteran female entrepreneurs who have dedicated their careers to better understand and manage your mental health, especially as a startup founder.

In today's episode of In The Soup (a show under The GrepBeat Podcast), Charlotte Louis of SenterME and Dr. Susan Lovelle of Balanced Performance are on for a different yet equally important approaches to prioritizing mental wellness.

Today’s episode, and this season, are proudly sponsored by Milan PR, a full-service, strategic communications firm with over 50 years of experience in the corporate, non-profit, and government sectors.

With the installment of any new president and administration, there will always be a slew of executive orders and decisions that directly impact a major industry. In this newest administration under second-time President Donald Trump, one of the industries in question is climate.

Since his inauguration, President Trump has unraveled several executive orders that have worried those not only in the climate activism world, but also those in the climate-tech industries. How do these actions impact the current state of climate tech?

That's what hosts Jenn Summe of Primordial Ventures and Melissa Crosby of Colopy Ventures discuss with their guests in today's episode of In The Soup (a show under The GrepBeat Podcast). But don't worry! It's not all worrisome news. Mark Self of Vector Textiles and Stephanie Simon of Blueridge Climate Ventures take a deep dive on the resiliency of climate tech businesses and consumers and their adaptability to any federal changes.

Today’s episode, and this season, are proudly sponsored by Milan PR, a strategic communications firm that does everything from media training and storytelling workshops to help secure the media placements you can only dream of.

How important can culture be to your company, compared to building out your product or discovering your customers?

That's what In The Soup 🍲 (a show under The GrepBeat Podcast) hosts Jenn Summe of Primordial Ventures and Melissa Crosby of Colopy Ventures break down in today's episode.

You're just getting started at your company, hiring your first few people, and you want to make sure that the company culture that you want to have continues to exist, grow and stays true as the company itself grows. But company culture can be hard to define sometimes.

Today's guests are folks that have very intentionally built companies known for their culture, and they're laying how exactly they did that. Joining our hosts on today's episode are Nathan Snell of Wilmington-based Raleon, who is also one of the co-founders of nCino, and Allison Wood of Durham's DaVinci Education.

Today’s episode, and this season, are proudly sponsored by Milan PR, a strategic communications firm that does everything from media training and storytelling workshops to help secure the media placements you can only dream of.