Business meeting: Daymond John, Ali Krieger among celebs talking shop in Poughkeepsie
Stephen HaynesZachary Dingee thought he had a direct path to his goal, taking a conventional route. But the former Arlington High School athlete realized after a semester of college that it wasn’t for him.
He changed course and went into business, starting his own company, but that was unsuccessful.
“Nothing was working out how I wanted,” the Poughkeepsie native admitted.
But his path was altered after a chance meeting with a representative of a solar panel installation company. That conversation led eventually to Dingee joining them and helping establish a sales division, then having a hand in the company’s expansion along the East Coast.
“I’d considered sales and marketing, but I never thought I’d get into solar,” said Dingee, who now is a regional sales manager of PlugPV, overseeing its exponential growth in recent years. “But I ended up in the right place at the right time.”
A lesson in that, of course, is perseverance after setbacks, and finding those alternate routes to success.
That will be an overarching theme next Saturday as Dingee is helping bring together locally a panel of luminaries who’ll share stories about their entrepreneurial journeys — the failures, rebounds, and triumphs.
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The VĪDL Talk, a live speaking event, will feature business maven and television personality Daymond John, former World Cup champion Ali Krieger, TikTok star Anthony Serino and former NBA player Tyler Lydon. The group will speak before guests, beginning at 5 p.m. at The Academy in Poughkeepsie.
“These are very successful people who’ll be interacting with the audience and talking about the things they’ve experienced and what they’ve learned,” Dingee said. “How did they get there? What worked for them and what didn’t? How did they make it happen? There’ll be valuable advice shared, and stories I think will inspire listeners.”
The event will be hosted by Q29 Productions and SUNY New Paltz grad Bryce Eckwall.
General admission tickets are available now, along with VIP packages that include front-row seating and backstage access. Proceeds will benefit the United Way of the Dutchess-Orange Region.
In addition to his work with PlugPV, Dingee created the “Two Dudes, Three Legs” podcast with a close friend, Tony Cappelletti, who is an amputee and motivational speaker. They discuss topics ranging from business to illness and hardships.
Their connection to this event is through Eckwall, whose Q29 company produces the podcast, which has hosted Lydon and John as guests.
John, a New York City native, is the founder of the FUBU fashion line and one of the investment stars of “Shark Tank.” Krieger is a retired soccer standout who helped lead the United States women’s national team to two World Cup titles.
Lydon, a Pine Plains product, starred for the Syracuse University men’s basketball team and was selected in the first round of the 2017 NBA draft. He now coaches and operates LMC Athletics, a Dutchess County-based training facility. Serino is a hypnotist and motivational speaker who has built a following of more than 940,000 people on TikTok.
Stephen Haynes: shaynes@poughkeepsiejournal.com; 845-437-4826; Twitter: @StephenHaynes4
The VĪDL Talk 2024
When: March 30, 5 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Where: The Academy (33 Academy St., Poughkeepsie, New York 12601)
Who: Featured guests include Ali Krieger, Daymond John, Tyler Lydon and Anthony Serino
Tickets: Available at EventBrite.com | $82 for general admission, $162 for the VIP package