Throughout Jason R. Hill’s career as an entrepreneur, there hasn’t been a greater influence than his father, Joe Hill, he said.
He was raised in Port Washington, New York. As a child, he’d go along with his father to flea markets and garage sales to pick up merchandise for his father’s store, Captain Hook’s. While Hill’s entrepreneurial journey was in a different field than the one his father pursued, many of the lessons he learned from him are applicable.
“My dad’s store had antique items, fish, telescopes, sharks and whales’ teeth, and anything under the sun,” Hill said. “Eyes lit up every time people would go to the store and it was a ma and pa shop for 30 years. I saw my father meeting people and he’d really connect with them. That’s what got me excited about doing business from a young age and to run a business that brings people together one day.”
Taking that inspiration from his father, Hill had an interest in entrepreneurship since he was a child. He sold candy on the school bus and ran a lemonade stand. He eventually earned a finance degree at the University of Delaware and had two children, Westin and Kennedy, with his wife, Julia, while living in New York
“My wife was raised in Ohio,” Hill said. “We’d visit warm climates all the time and that’s how we came to Florida.”
When his second child was born, Hill wanted a different lifestyle for his family. After touring Florida, they moved to Parkland in March 2017.
“Moving here wasn’t for the money,” said Hill. “It was for the lifestyle. I didn’t have clients or a marketing system in Florida. I had to start and connect all over again.”
While making his rounds throughout South Florida, Hill came across The Shrimp Tank Podcast, a franchise that runs in about 10 cities. After Hill met with its founder, he was inspired to bring the podcast to Boca Raton and interview successful business owners in the United States.
“I was nervous the first 50 episodes,” Hill said. “We’ve had 250 in-person episodes, but each episode put me in a situation to meet and network with people here in South Florida, and I had the idea to collaborate with FAU.”
Hill graduated from Florida Atlantic University’s Tech Runway, the public-private partnership that serves as a hub to accelerate technology development and incubate startup companies, in June.
“I knew the power of networking,” said Hill, 39. “I saw it through my father and myself. But I realized we had a problem. We’ve gotten so deep into social media that we put our guard up and so much friction to get in touch with someone. Why? I wanted a way to have a better way for people to connect.”
To cope with the lack of social interaction during the COVID-19 pandemic, Hill started doing podcast episodes through Zoom. But while driving to his office, he had an idea.
In August 2020, Hill worked with a digital consulting company to create the social networking platform, Owwll, an app that connects people instantly through private, one-on-one audio calls for personal or business use.
“Everyone is judging from their profile pic or number of followers,” he said. “It doesn’t make any sense. There needs to be something out there that states the two of you probably want to chat and are available.”
Owwll currently has 50 brand ambassadors.
“I get to follow my passion to be a super connector and build a platform that enables human connection better, and conversations that are not only for business but have changed personal lives,” he said.
One of the app’s users was able to connect to a local doctor after their autistic son swallowed a bottle cap while visiting Orlando. Using Owwll, they spoke with the doctor who referred the son to a physician in Orlando.
“It’s the speed of collaboration and connecting that we’re working on,” Hill said. “I had cancer in 2022 out of the blue, and I could have just cried. But I got Owwll up and I kept moving. I had the surgery on a Friday and I was back in my office on a Tuesday because I wasn’t going to move away from this goal. Six months later, I’m cancer free and this has made me a better father, a better husband, and continuing my goal to be a local leader in my community.”
With the help of FAU interns, Owwll marketing director Danielle Santilli and marketing director Stephanie Paravani, Hill has also grown the Owwll Podcast. Owwll users and experts join Hill and Santilli to discuss the power of networking, their journey and what they’ve learned from mentors and guests. They also take live calls to form a new connection.
The Owwll Podcast has featured local business owners such as Jessica Graves, founder of Yacht Life TV, and Tim Wright, of the New England Patriots, who has developed Dome Audio, headphones for the deaf and hard of hearing. Natasha Graziano, bestselling author and motivational speaker with over 13 million Instagram followers, collaborated with Owwll for a giveaway of custom Owwll Nike shoes.
“Times have changed,” Hill said. “People want to be more connected to the brands. I’ve made sacrifices to make all these things work, and people will say I don’t have a personal life outside of work and that’s not true. Every Friday, I meet my kids at Mizner Park at 5:30-ish and I spend time with them until 8:30 at night and I’m able to have that time with my family. I’ve sacrificed to scale the platform and network.
“I learned a lot from my father,” Hill said. “I’ve learned from my family, and my connections, and people never forget the way you make them feel with a business, on a podcast or a local event, or through Owwll. It’s not all money oriented; it’s gestures, genuine little touches that bring us together, and whether it’s in person, through Owwll, or anything, I want to provide value to community.”
Visit owwll.com and owwll.com/podcast.