Whenever I speak to business groups on the subject of entrepreneurship, I Stress the importance on making a social impact, far beyond the goal of selling products or services. I believe every company should be greater than the sum of its parts.

My guest today started a business with the sole goal of creating a social impact. Genevieve Piturro is an author, speaker, and the founder of the nonprofit organization Pajama Program. 

She spent two decades as a television marketing executive in New York City before a pivotal moment in 2001 led her to establish Pajama Program. While Volunteering at a shelter, a child’s question about pajamas inspired her to start delivering pajamas and books to children in need. Her programs delivered 350,000 sets of new pajamas and storybooks, 22,500 families learned to foster healthy Sleep routines through Sweet Dreamzzz for Early Childhood Programming, and 15,491elementary students learned the importance of bedtime at Storytime Plus, and all of this was just in 2024! Cumulatively, Pajama Program has delivered over 7 million pajamas and books to children in the United States.

Piturro’s journey from corporate life to nonprofit work is detailed in her book, “Purpose, Passion, and Pajamas,” published in August 2020. 

She is also a sought-after speaker, sharing insights on purpose-driven leadership and the importance of human connection. Her story has been featured on platforms such as Oprah, TODAY, and CNN, and today, she’s my guest on The Reluctant Entrepreneur Podcast.

Pajama Program’s Website:
https://pajamaprogram.org

Genevieve Piturro’s Website:
https://www.genevievepiturro.com

Genevieve Piturro’s Books:
Purpose, Passion, and Pajamas
https://www.amazon.com/Purpose-Passion-Pajamas-Transform-Connection/dp/1632992906/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1596023848&sr=8-1

Purpose, Passion, and Moxie
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CHL7H1RX/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3GZCD9AR3H090&keywords=purpose+passion+and+moxie&qid=1694454935&sprefix=purpose+passion+and+mox,aps,212&sr=8-1

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Mike Konrad Podcast Host

Mike Konrad entered the electronics manufacturing industry in 1985. Four decades later, he continues to dedicate his career to advancing reliability within the industry. In 1992, he founded Aqueous Technologies, an equipment manufacturer serving the electronics sector. Becoming an entrepreneur was never part of his plan, he simply had a passion for a product he designed. When his employer declined to build it, he realized the only way forward was to create it himself.

Mike entered business with strong technical skills but no business acumen. His early assets were ego, passion, arrogance, ignorance, and above all, a poor assessment of risk. Ironically, those traits proved useful in the beginning, ignorance really was bliss. But as his company grew, Mike recognized that those same traits could lead to its downfall. To survive, he had to transform himself, developing business acumen, adopting sustainable strategies, and evolving from reckless enthusiasm into purposeful leadership.

Today, with 40 years of industry experience, Mike shares both his technical expertise and his entrepreneurial journey, offering lessons from personal and professional growth, the near-misses that almost derailed him, and the strategies that carried him forward. He is also a strong advocate of “conscious marketing”, moving beyond traditional chest-thumping advertising toward education-driven authority building. By offering value through knowledge rather than hype, Mike helps organizations connect with a new generation of decision-makers who prefer independent research over bold claims.