Editor’s note: Veteran blogger, author and entrepreneur Joe Procopio welcomes Tatiana Birgisson of Mati Energy and Jame Stauch of Neuro Plus to The Startup Show.

DURHAM – There are some obvious reasons why I wanted to get Tatiana Birgisson, founder of Mati Energy, and Jake Stauch, founder of Neuro Plus, on The Startup Show. And also some not-so-obvious reasons.

Tatiana is one of the most impressive people I’ve met over the last five years. And it’s conscious decision I just made to not call her the most impressive woman or the most impressive young entrepreneur I’ve met over the last five years.

When I first met Tatiana, she was dragging kegs of Mati Energy to startups all over the American Tobacco campus. She was perfecting the formula, brewing the beverage, packaging, marketing, selling, and delivering. Mostly by herself.

Forward a year or so later when she was the keynote at Triangle Startup Weekend. I brought my twin daughters, around 10 years old at the time, to hear Tatiana speak and take in all the startup. Tatiana made an instant impression on both of them, more so than my own startup championing around the house.

  • VIDEO: Watch the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=BaATWAKZTrA

When I first met Jake Stauch, around the same time I met Tatiana (they’ve been a couple of about 6 years and have been engaged for a little while now). Jake was using brain wave measurements to provide more accurate engagement levels for advertisers.

But not long after that, Jake had pivoted Neuro to help kids with ADHD, using video games controlled by brain waves to help with focus. He offered to have my son, who was then around 8-ish and a budding video game developer himself, to come in for a test run and some Q&A.

I bring up these stories because Tatiana and Jake aren’t just successful entrepreneurs, they’re good people. And those are the kind of entrepreneurs I want to celebrate with The Startup Show, and make more of them with Teaching Startup.

Watch this episode and learn what Tatiana has been through with Mati and how she developed the tools and weapons she’d need to get the amazing place she’s at. We’ll have more episodes with Tatiana and Jake in September.

(C) Joe Procopio