Parallel Entrepreneur with Mark Cleveland
Mark explores the minds of visionary entrepreneurs who refuse to limit themselves to a single venture to learn how these trailblazers manage risks, innovate across industries, and turn ideas into impact. Whether you’re scaling your first business or juggling several, this podcast is your ultimate guide to thriving as a parallel entrepreneur.
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Why the Future of Entrepreneurship Starts in Schools
<p>In this Innovation Series episode of Parallel Entrepreneur, hosts Mark Cleveland and Johnny Anderson sit down with Dr. Jeremy Qualls, Executive Director of the Entrepreneurship & Innovation Center (EIC) and College, Career & Technical Education at Williamson County Schools.</p><p>Jeremy leads one of the most compelling early-stage entrepreneurship models in the region—where students don’t just learn about innovation, they practice it. Inside the EIC, high school students launch real businesses, products, and services while earning academic credit and developing leadership skills that typically come much later in life.</p><p>During the conversation, Jeremy shares examples of how...
Why AI Strategy Fails Before It Starts | Jon Hilton
<p>Why do AI initiatives often stall? What does it take to build AI strategies that scale inside real businesses? What does responsible, human-centered AI look like in practice?</p><p>In this episode of The Parallel Entrepreneur – Innovation Series, Mark Cleveland sits down with Jon Hilton, Shareholder-in-Charge of the LBMC AI Practice, to address these questions. </p><p>Jon brings a rare mix of experience, enterprise data science, large-scale digital transformation, and leadership forged through military service. From this conversation with John, you'll learn:</p><p>- Where AI strategy usually breaks down<br>- How to move from pi...
Stop Doing Tasks AI Can Handle: Shauna Sprague on Automation & Human Potential
<p>In this special Innovation Series episode of Parallel Entrepreneur, hosts Mark Cleveland and Johnny Anderson sit down with Shauna Sprague, an AI strategist, architect, and TEDx speaker with 20+ years of experience helping Fortune 500 organizations navigate technology transformation.</p><p>Shauna is known for helping leaders move beyond the AI hype and into confident execution—building clear roadmaps, designing intelligent workflows and agents, and scaling automation responsibly. She’s led AI initiatives across 49 business units and brings hands-on experience with tools like AWS, Power BI, Zapier, n8n, and LangChain.</p><p><br>In this episode:<br> • Why most people aren’t...
Why Community Is Nashville’s Superpower — A Conversation with S3 CEO Rod McDaniel
<p>In this special Innovation Series episode of Parallel Entrepreneur, hosts Mark Cleveland and Johnny Anderson sit down with Rod McDaniel, CEO of S3 Recycling Solutions and Board Chair of the Greater Nashville Technology Council.</p><p>Rod’s journey, from growing up in public housing in Nashville to leading a nationally recognized, mission-driven tech recycling company, is a powerful example of what community, purpose, and leadership can create.</p><p>In this episode:<br> • Why community is Nashville’s greatest strength<br> • How mobility, transit, and opportunity are deeply connected<br> • What’s fueling Nashville’s new leadership renaissance<br> • How to u...
Nashville’s Tech Future: Why the Pieces Are All Here | Mark Blaze
<p>What happens when a city stops waiting for permission and starts acting like the technology hub it already is?<br>You get Nashville’s tech moment, and leaders willing to build it together.</p><p>Mark Blaze is the kind of leader communities grow around. As President & CEO of the Greater Nashville Technology Council, he’s less interested in headlines and more focused on connection, collaboration, and long-term impact.</p><p>In this Innovation Series episode, recorded live at the Greater Nashville Technology Council Innovation Summit, Mark joins hosts Mark Cleveland and Johnny Anderson for a grounded, honest conversation abou...
Michael Built a Cybersecurity Empire—Then Let Competitors Use His Tools
<p>What happens when a cybersecurity veteran automates the work his competitors still struggle to deliver? He builds the future—and lets them use it.</p><p>Michael Peters is a rare kind of founder: one who leads both with technical depth and creative clarity. In this episode, we dive into the frameworks behind his companies Lazarus Alliance and Continuum GRC, the origin of the HORSE Project, and how he balances operational intensity with deep personal discipline.</p><p>If you're building more than one thing—and trying to stay grounded while doing it—this conversation is for you.</p><p>In t...
The Power of Curiosity: Carla Bailo on Smart Cities, Boardroom Wisdom, and Transforming Mobility
<p>In this episode of The Parallel Entrepreneur, Mark Cleveland welcomes Carla Bailo—an industry visionary who’s helped shape the future of mobility, from General Motors and Nissan to leading the Center for Automotive Research and winning the USDOT Smart City Challenge for Columbus, Ohio. Carla shares stories of innovation, mentorship, boardroom leadership, and the importance of building systems that serve every citizen.</p><p>Carla's bold curiosity and relentless learning has had great impact on transportation, public policy, and corporate governance. From deploying bus rapid transit in underserved neighborhoods to baking the perfect baguette, this episode celebrates the huma...
Part 2 - Currency Chaos, AI Freedom & The Future of Value | Matthew Joynes
<p>Welcome back to The Parallel Entrepreneur for part 2 with British-American polymath Matthew Joynes. </p><p>In this fast-paced sequel we dive into:<br><br>• How Matthew rescued a bankrupt currency-trading firm and scaled it to $1 B+ in volume.<br>• Why he calls Bitcoin “a collectible—like Beanie Babies” and predicts its slide back to reality.<br>• Dollar dominance, tariffs as modern-day tribute, and the hidden mechanics of fiat liquidity.<br>• AI-driven disruption—from accountants to animation studios—and the rise of “one-person unicorns.”<br>• Freedom as America’s true currency, and how Gen-Z parallel entrepreneurs can seize the moment.</p><p>Stick around to the e...
Part 1 - AI Will Erase 20th Century – Parallel Entrepreneur Matthew Joynes on Money, Cap Tables & Super-AI
<p>What happens when super-AI makes lawyers, accountants—and even capitalism—obsolete?<br>British-American “apex” parallel entrepreneur Matthew Joynes (PGA producer, GameVice inventor, LifeMed AI founder) joins host Mark Cleveland to smash the china shop of old-school business.</p><p>In this high-voltage conversation you’ll learn:</p><p>▸ Why Joynes says the real product of your company is its share price<br>▸ How LifeMed AI replaces 90,000 manual billing jobs with 120 staff and a neural network<br>▸ The fatal cap-table mistakes that make a start-up “un-investable”<br>▸ Post-capitalist realities: one-person, billion-dollar AI companies, robot labor, 7-day weeks disappearing<br>▸ Practical first steps for founders...
Start Paralleling: Mark Cleveland on Multiplying Your Impact
<p>Stop juggling. Start PARALLELING. <br><br>Entrepreneur, community‑builder and podcast host Mark Cleveland takes the Creative Mornings stage to share why the future belongs to parallel thinkers—people who let multiple passions run side‑by‑side so each fuels the next.</p><p>Whether you’re a founder with five side projects, an artist‑parent, or a multipotentialite who refuses to “pick a lane,” this 15‑minute talk will give you:</p><p>• A new definition of success (alignment, not hustle)<br>• Real‑life examples from the Parallel Entrepreneur Network <br>• A 60‑second guided reflection you can do right now <br>• Practical prompts...
