Podcasts about blackstone launchpad

Hey everyone, Bill Storm here, and welcome to the Lessons in Leadership podcast. Today, I'm excited to host Jim Alafat, a dynamic entrepreneur, speaker, and coach with a passion for sharing lessons that truly transform lives. Our topic? "Eight Life-Changing Lessons You'll Never Learn in School." Jim's journey from scrubbing pots in a family restaurant at age 12 to navigating financial setbacks and ultimately reinventing himself as a successful entrepreneur is inspiring and deeply practical. Let's dive in. If you like today's message, here are four ways I can help you grow faster… 5. Join the team: https://www.billstorm.com/join-the-team.html 6. 1:1 executive-level coaching to help you overcome the limiting beliefs, patterns, and habits keeping you from achieving the outcomes you're looking for in your personal and professional life. 7. Speak at your next event. 8. Conduct a mindset, sales, or leadership training workshop for your team. https://www.billstorm.com/ About Jim Alafat Jim has been an entrepreneur at heart, starting his first business at 12. He's worked and consulted in various industries including Restaurants, Retail, Resort Operations, Golf Operations, SCUBA Operations, Mortgage Companies and Systems. He's worked in the Financial Services Industry and held numerous licenses. He is a Certified Budget Counselor, and Commercial Lending Processor and Broker, which provides great insight and value to his consulting clients. He is also a retired Master SCUBA Instructor, certifying people in 14 countries. His passion is consulting and educating people and business owners on how they can get big business resources on their small business friendly budget, saving them thousands of dollars on services they already pay for, but most likely don't use as frequently as they should -- due to cost. He volunteers at the Blackstone Launchpad at UCF and at 1 Million Cups Orlando working with Start-Up entrepreneurs through mid-sized – Emerging Growth companies on creating a sustainable and scalable business model that runs with or without them there. He is a Winning Coach/Mentor at the Joust Competition at UCF. He's a public speaker on a wide range of topics including business, Identity Theft, leadership, motivational, financing strategies and more. His most requested talks are: “Myths vs Reality of Identity Theft” and “8 Life-Changing Lessons You'll Never Learn in School” has been well received and touted as: “The best outline for entrepreneurs on how to properly set-up and run a business”. There are over 52 lessons so talks can be customized to the audience. He is in the process of rebranding his company to the Alafat Agency as his 17-yr old daughter is graduating high school and going to college for business. He loves playing golf, SCUBA Diving, cooking and fine wines. He's been married for 23 years to his wife and life partner, Jo Ann. Jim can be reached at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimalafat jgalafat@outlook.com Direct: 407.451.2820 Bill Storm is a seasoned advisor and consultant renowned for his expertise in driving peak performance and fostering effective leadership within Fortune 500 companies. With a multifaceted skill set spanning organizational systems, the psychology of achievement, team building, and sales, Bill is a trusted resource for executives, managers, and team leaders seeking to maximize their potential. Drawing from his extensive experience as a Peak Performance Strategist with the Tony Robbins organization and Team-Building Specialist with the John Maxwell Leadership Team, Bill has developed a unique set of frameworks tailored to the needs of industry leaders. These frameworks provide a foundation for building winning teams and achieving sustainable success in today's competitive landscape. In his personal life, Bill has been married for 29 years to the love of his life, has two adult children, and recently welcomed his first grandchild into the world! https://www.billstorm.com/

Zimri T. Hinshaw, Founder and CEO of Rheom Materials, Inc., is a graduate of Temple University's Economics program and SOSV's IndieBio Program. Zimri started the company from his Temple University dorm room with initial ambitions to design leather jackets and pivoted to creating the materials themselves after realizing a gap in the market. Rheom Materials is pioneering the use of biopolymers derived from plant-based matter for new applications across the fashion, home goods, electronic, and automotive sectors. Their collaborative approach and advanced melt extrusion techniques allow them to develop new materials effectively and sustainably while transforming the plastics industry to create a cleaner, greener, future. They currently have a bio-based resin designed to replace petrochemical plastics and an eco-friendly plant leather. In this episode, we discuss: ●      Lessons in creating a start-up ●      What makes Rheom Materials suited for explosive growth ●      The librarian as a secret ally Key Takeaways: ●      University as a Prime Launchpad for Entrepreneurship: Universities can be the perfect testing ground for entrepreneurial ideas. When Zimri founded Rheom Materials, Inc. at Temple University, he leveraged the rich ecosystem a university provides—tapping into students across various disciplines for collaboration, leaning on the university Librarian for market research support, and taking advantage of programs like the Blackstone LaunchPad. Universities, you might say, are the original incubators, offering access to resources, mentorship, and a network of motivated peers. It's a unique environment where big ideas can be nurtured and refined if you have the vision and drive to create something new. ●      Building a Sustainable Future with Alternative Materials: We're witnessing a boom in the development of alternative materials, and it's paving the way for a more sustainable future. Companies like Rheom Materials are creating innovative solutions that could replace plastics, leather, and other harmful or environmentally costly materials. Continued innovations in materials science will be key to transforming industries and shifting toward a future where sustainability is the norm. ●      The Power of Self-Awareness in Business: When Zimri started Rheom Materials, he had a clear understanding of his strengths and weaknesses. As a young entrepreneur, his strengths were boundless energy, optimism, and a huge vision for what's possible. But he also recognized there was a lot he didn't know—like what could potentially sink his company. Instead of pretending to know it all, he hired experienced professionals with decades of industry expertise to complement his vision. This level of self-awareness is crucial in business. It's not about trying to be good at everything; it's about leaning into your strengths and surrounding yourself with people who fill in the gaps. The mix of complementary strengths around the table is what paves the best path forward for long-term success. References: Connect with Zimri on LinkedIn Rheom Materials Blackstone LaunchPad Temple University|Fox School of Business Innovative Idea Competition SOSV IndieBio Biofabricate Connect & Share: If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It takes less than 60 seconds, and it really makes a difference in helping to convince hard-to-get guests. I also love reading them! If this episode resonated with you, I ask you to send it to a friend. Help bring even more visibility to these leaders that are using business as a force for good! Subscribe to the Purpose and Profit newsletter to make sure you don't miss future episodes. This podcast is for you, the listener. I'd love to hear what resonated with you, or if you have a suggestion on who would be a great guest for this show. Please send me a note at info@KathyVarol.com.

Starting on June 25 at 1 PM Eastern time, Scott Love will lead a virtual six-session masterclass with a small group of professional services providers on the topic of rainmaking. Space is limited. Get your seat today at www.rainmakingseminar.com.  Use discount code “podcast” for a $200 tuition discount. Sophia Matveeva is the CEO & founder of Tech For Non-Techies, an executive education and consulting company. Sophia has contributed to the Harvard Business Review, Financial Times, The Guardian, and Forbes on entrepreneurship and technology, and hosts the top-rated Tech for Non-Techies podcast.  She has also guest lectured at the University of Chicago, London Business School, and Oxford University. Sophia is a start-up mentor at the Chicago Booth Polsky Center of Entrepreneurship and has advised leading accelerators including Chicago Booth's New Venture Challenge and the Techstars x Blackstone Launchpad. She holds an MBA from Chicago Booth, and a BSc (Hons) in Politics from Bristol. She speaks English, Russian, and French. Sophia also sits on the Advisory Board to Riviter, which uses AI to predict consumer trends for the world's biggest brands. ---------------------------------------- This show is sponsored by Leopard Solutions Legal Intelligence Suite of products, Firmscape, and Leopard BI. Push ahead of the pack with the power of Leopard. For a free demo, visit this link: https://www.leopardsolutions.com/index.php/request-a-demo/ www.theplacementclub.com Links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophia-matveeva-556365a/ techfornontechies.co/  podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/tech-for-non-techies/id1516475320  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's guest is helping people understand technology concepts and jargon so that they can succeed in the digital age. Sophia Matveeva is the founder and CEO of Tech for Non-Techies, an education and executive coaching company that was inspired by her previous experience starting a tech company and struggling to communicate with developers. Through this education platform, business leaders—including legal professionals—can learn more about technology, entrepreneurship, and career success, without having to learn how to code. In addition to her work at Tech for Non-Techies, Sophia is a startup mentor at the Chicago Booth Polsky Center of Entrepreneurship, and has advised leading accelerators, including Chicago Booth's New Venture Challenge and the Techstars x Blackstone Launchpad. She also sits on the advisory board to Riviter, which uses AI to predict consumer trends for the world's biggest brands. Sophia has contributed to the Harvard Business Review, Financial Times, The Guardian, and Forbes, writing on entrepreneurship and technology, and she hosts the Tech for Non-Techies podcast. She has also guest lectured at the University of Chicago, London Business School, and Oxford University. In our wide-ranging discussion, Sophia talks about the origins and objectives of Tech for Non-Techies, perfectionism versus flexibility in the legal world, the readership of her tech blog, and allowing time for curiosity.

Could Artificial Intelligence make Hollywood a ghost town? Reality TV, strikes and cyborgs, OH MY! Hollywood may be heading toward AI-generated content, and we all may already be living in a cyborg state … so was this episode AI-generated? This is part two of a two-part episode. Be sure to go back and listen to Part 1: Will the Hollywood Strike be an Extended Thing?   Featured Guests David Luna, Ph.D. - UCF College of Business Robin Cowie - Phygital Experience Creator & Feature Filmmaker Cassandra "Cassi" Willard, J.D. - Instructor, Department of Management, UCF College of Business & Program Director, Blackstone LaunchPad at UCF Ray Eddy, Ph.D - Lecturer, Integrated Business, UCF College of Business   Episode Transcription Actor Bryan Cranston speaking at a SAG-AFTRA strike rally in Times Square in New York City on July 25, 2023: Uh, we've got a message for Mr. Iger. I know, sir, that you look through things through a different lens. We don't expect you to understand who we are, but we ask you to hear us, and beyond that, to listen to us when we tell you we will not be having our jobs taken away and given to robots. Paul Jarley: The real issue, Bryan, is whether the AI listens and understands us. This show is all about separating hype from fundamental change. I'm Paul Jarley, Dean of the College of Business here at UCF. I've got lots of questions. To get answers, I'm talking to people with interesting insights into the future of business. Have you ever wondered, is this really a thing? Onto our show. In our last episode, we explored the current writers and actor's strikes and how the parties might come to some agreement to get everyone back to work and spare us a lot of new reality TV. A key part of that analysis involved the limitations of AI today. It can't produce a final product without humans. That, of course, is today. AI technology is changing rapidly and its impact on the industry is likely to grow over time. In today's episode, we look at the long-term implications of AI in Hollywood and ask, could AI depopulate the industry in 10 years? In other words, could it eliminate or substantially reduce the number of people working in Hollywood, especially the writers and actors. To shed light on these topics, I returned to the discussion I had with my group of UCF experts. To just remind everyone, Cassandra Willard is an instructor and program director in our Center for Entrepreneurship and a practicing attorney with extensive experience in entertainment law. Ray Eddy is a lecturer in our Integrated Business department with an interest in understanding the customer experience. Ray is not just an academic, he has worked as a stunt man, started his own production company and written, directed and starred in several performances. David Luna is a professor in our Marketing department. He is currently working on several projects, studying human machine interactions in the context of chatbots, intelligent assistance, and AI. And last but not least is Robin Cowie. Rob is a graduate of our Motion Picture Technology program at UCF. He's a little hard to summarize, having worked in a variety of positions in the industry from EA Sports, to Nickelodeon, to the Golf Channel, and the Dr. Phillips Center for Performing Arts. Today, he is the President and CTO at Promising People, a company that produces training and placement services for people who have been incarcerated. But, you probably know Rob best from his work as co-producer on "The Blair Witch Project." Listen in. David, if AI is going to depopulate Hollywood, it's going to have to produce movies that are more profitable than the ones being created today. What do you see as the main issues here? David Luna: There are different kinds of costs involved in making a movie, right? One of them would be the creative part, and from what has transpired from the conversations with the writer's union,

More reality TV? AI-generated “South Park” episodes? Is this where Hollywood is heading thanks to the latest writer and actor strike? We find out from UCF experts how, and why, the strike will be resolved and how AI will play into plans moving forward. This is part one of a two-part episode.   On July 14, 2023, members of the Hollywood actors' union, SAG-AFTRA, stood with screenwriters, forming a picket line outside Amazon Studios in Los Angeles, California. This marked the commencement of an actors' strike. SAG-AFTRA joined forces with the Writers Guild of America workers, who had been engaged in a determined strike against the Hollywood studios for three months. This joint walkout, a rare occurrence not witnessed since 1960, underscores the magnitude of the situation. The collaboration between SAG-AFTRA and WGA intensifies the impact of the strike, with the potential to bring Hollywood productions to a complete standstill.   Featured Guests David Luna, Ph.D. - UCF College of Business Robin Cowie - Phygital Experience Creator & Feature Filmmaker Cassandra "Cassi" Willard, J.D. - Instructor, Department of Management, UCF College of Business & Program Director, Blackstone LaunchPad at UCF Ray Eddy, Ph.D - Lecturer, Integrated Business, UCF College of Business   Episode Transcription SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher in a press conference July 13, 2023: The entire business model has been changed by streaming, digital, AI. This is a moment of history that is a moment of truth. If we don't stand tall right now, we are all going to be in trouble. We are all going to be in jeopardy of being replaced by machines. You cannot change the business model as much as it has changed and not expect the contract to change too. We are labor and we stand tall and we demand respect. Paul Jarley: Oh my, this is going to get really complicated. In the meantime, prepare for a new round of reality TV. This show is all about separating hype from fundamental change. I'm Paul Jarley, Dean of the College of Business here at UCF. I've got lots of questions, to get answers, I'm talking to people with interesting insights into the future of business. Have you ever wondered, is this really a thing? On to our show. The writers and actors haven't been out on strike together since 1960. Then, it was partly about how television was impacting the film industry and getting residual income for writers and actors from movies that were then being shown on TV. The business model was changing and labor wanted its share. Screen Actors Guild President Fran Drescher's comments at the start of this podcast note that technology is changing the business model again with streaming services, digital media and AI among the main drivers. This is a very complicated situation, so complicated, that we couldn't fit it into our usual 25-to-30 minute podcast. So we decided to split it into two parts. Today we will tackle the basics of the strike and how and when we see it being resolved. The second part, we'll do a much deeper dive into AI and Hollywood and how that is likely to change the industry going forward, especially for writers and actors. Essentially, we want to answer the question, will anybody be left in Hollywood in 10 years?   As always, to shed light on these topics, I've assembled a group of UCF experts. Cassandra Willard is an instructor and Program Director at our Blackstone Launchpad and a practicing attorney with extensive experience in entertainment law. Ray Eddy is a lecturer in our Integrated Business program with an interest in understanding consumer experiences. Ray is not just an academic, he has worked as a stuntman, started his own production company and written, directed and starred in several performances. If you've been to Walt Disney World in the last several years, you may have seen Ray playing Indiana Jones, in Indiana Jones: Epic Stunt Spectacular. David Luna is a professor in our Marketing department.

You're in for a great conversation this week with creative technologist Eric Thompson. Eric staked his claim in the Atlanta tech space through his entrepreneurial work through Georgia Tech, and is now helping support the next generation of makers and creators through his work at Spelman College.We talked a lot about the Spelman Innovation Lab and how it functions as a third place, and Eric shared his journey from construction and mechanical engineering in New Jersey to studying user experience and human computer interaction in Atlanta. He also spoke about the thriving tech scene here, working with his partner on a food startup called Eat Unrestricted, and the lessons he's learned along the way.This conversation is packed with deep insights, and I love how Eric is pushing the boundaries of innovation of creativity!LinksEric Thompson's WebsiteEric Thompson on InstagramEric Thompson on LinkedInSpelman College Innovation LabSpelman College Innovation Lab on InstagramEat UnrestrictedEat Unrestricted on InstagramFor a full transcript of this interview, visit revisionpath.com.==========Donate to Revision PathFor 10 years, Revision Path has been dedicated to showcasing Black designers and creatives from all over the world. In order to keep bringing you the content that you love, we need your support now more than ever.Click or tap here to make either a one-time or monthly donation to help keep Revision Path running strong.Thank you for your support!==========Follow and SubscribeLike this episode? Then subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your favorite shows. Follow us, and leave us a 5-star rating and a review!You can also follow Revision Path on Instagram and Twitter.==========CreditsRevision Path is brought to you by Lunch, a multidisciplinary creative studio in Atlanta, GA.Executive Producer and Host: Maurice CherryEditor and Audio Engineer: RJ BasilioIntro Voiceover: Music Man DreIntro and Outro Music: Yellow SpeakerTranscripts are provided courtesy of Brevity and Wit.☎️ Call ‪626-603-0310 and leave us a message with your comments on this episode!Thank you for listening!==========Sponsored by Brevity & WitBrevity & Wit is a strategy and design firm committed to designing a more inclusive and equitable world. They are always looking to expand their roster of freelance design consultants in the U.S., particularly brand strategists, copywriters, graphic designers and Web developers.If you know how to deliver excellent creative work reliably, and enjoy the autonomy of a virtual-based, freelance life (with no non-competes), check them out at brevityandwit.com.Brevity & Wit — creative excellence without the grind.

Today, David is talking to Les Craig. Les joined Next Frontier Capital in 2017. During that time, he has led the investments and serves on the board of Special.tv, S2 Corporation, Bandwango, EveryoneSocial, and Gravwell.Before joining NFC, Les served as the Executive Director of the Montana State University Innovation Campus. In less than 16 months, he successfully built a partnership between a private developer, the MSU Office of Research and Economic Development, and the MSU Alumni Foundation to develop a 42-acre Research Park in Bozeman, MT, focused on technology and research commercialization.Les moved to Montana because of MSU's national search to hire a Director for the Blackstone LaunchPad, a campus-based entrepreneurship program funded by the Blackstone Charitable Foundation. In February 2015, Les became the Director of MSU's Blackstone programming, where he passionately mentored and encouraged students, alumni, and faculty to pursue entrepreneurial careers. In the Summer of 2016, Les received funding from the Small Business Administration to launch 406 Labs, Montana's first accelerator program. The program ran its first cohort in the Fall of 2016 and is strategically positioned to focus on preparing MSU's highest potential technologies and founders for growth and scale.In 2014, Les Co-founded The Twenty, a data science services company based in Bethesda, MD, which operates a high-profile network of senior mathematicians and computer scientists focused on specialized project-based work for clients ranging from start-ups to publicly traded companies and even government organizations.Before The Twenty, Les Co-founded RedOwl Analytics, a software product company that built a platform for identifying trends and anomalies in the digital trail of corporations to combat insider threats and mitigate risk in financial services, cyber security, and US government spaces. RedOwl was acquired by Forcepoint (Raytheon) in August 2017.Previously, Les served as a Technical Operations Officer at the Central Intelligence Agency, receiving specialized training in telecommunications and computer network operations.Before his time at the CIA, Les was a member of the professional staff of the National Security Technology Department at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab. He led an Operations Research team developing powerful predictive and geospatial analytic products to make battlefield decisions related to the counter-improvised explosive device fight in Iraq and Afghanistan.While on active duty, Les served on multiple special operations task forces and was an Aide-de-camp to a senior intelligence professional on General Stanley McChrystal's staff at the Joint Special Operations Command.Les is grateful for the opportunity to raise his family in Montana with his amazing wife, Anne Meree, and three beautiful children – Max, Emi, and Hunter.What You'll Learn:Military to Entrepreneurship to InvestingFirst Experience Raising Venture Capital as a FounderCash Burn After RaiseUnderstanding the Concept of “Founder Friendly”Investor/ Founder Relationship StrategyStrategy changes from Fund I to Fund IIRegional and Nationwide InvestingPotential of Underserved MarketsFavorite Quote:“If a founder has clear what I need to see, I get to a NO. I will have a 30 min call with that founder and say here is why we got to a...

When an app has too many features and pop ups, most users get confused and frustrated. This is feature creep: when the product's core functionality becomes hidden in too many options and things to do. Feature creep happens when a team is determined to stay productive, but loses sight of its strategy. Sometimes stopping is better for the product than doing more. Learning notes from this episode: Feature creep is problematic for two main reasons: it confuses users and it costs money. This is because product teams have to be paid to design and code, and you also have to pay cloud costs to store your pointless features. Feature creep happens when there is a pressure to produce, which is contrary to the ability to focus. It can be easier to present new features as productivity to investors and corporate bosses, rather than saying that the product team took time to review results and reflect. To prevent feature creep, go back to the fundamental product development questions you've learnt here: What problem is our product solving? Who are we solving it for? Who is willing to pay to solve this problem? What other solutions do they have to this problem? Keep your eyes on the user, not the product. Feature creep happens when you get obsessed with the product and forget the user. It should be the other way around. Resources mentioned in this episode: Tech for Non-Techies: Introduction to UX design for Non-Techies with Sang Valte (video) Tech for Non-Techies: The hidden cost of cat videos (podcast) UX Collective: Feature creep, what is it and how it affects your customers To attend Tech for Non-Technical Founders on May 14 2022, book your ticket here   ----- If you like learning about how tech products and profits get made, you'll like our newsletter. It's funny too. Sign up here. ----- There are 2 ways to apply this work to your unique challenges: For companies: We create learning and innovation programmes, to help companies make the most out of digital transformation and help them become more entrepreneurial. Happy clients include Techstars x Blackstone Launchpad, Constellation Brands and Oxford University. Get in touch with us about bespoke training & consulting on info@techfornontechies.co For individuals, if you want to: Build tech a venture as a non-technical innovator Succeed in tech as a non-techie Then Tech For Non-Techies membership is for you. We love hearing from our readers and listeners. So if you have questions about the content or working with us, just get in touch on info@techfornontechies.co Say hi to Sophia on Twitter and follow her on LinkedIn. Following us on Facebook and Instagram will make you smarter. 

Would you leave a high flying career in advertising to set up an adult content site? Most people wouldn't, but Cindy Gallop is not most people. After leading one of the world's top advertising agencies, BBH in the United States. Cindy decided to try her hand at tech entrepreneurship. Her venture, Make Love Not Porn, is in the new category of "social sex" and aims to revolutionise how people talk, share and watch sex.  As a non-technical founder of an adult content business, Cindy had to learn how to work with developers, get users despite being banned by advertisers and create a troll free online environment. Learning notes from this episode: "You don't have to be a tech person to build something absolutely phenomenal in tech," says Cindy. Instead, you need a strong vision, the right team and the determination to keep going.  "You do not need a technical co-founder from the beginning." In fact, delegating your vision to the tech person simply because they are a coder and you are not, can be very damaging. Instead, get people to help you build your vision, and good CTOs and co-founders will find you. "Do interesting things, and interesting things will happen to you."  "Too many people make the mistake that a job is a safe option. It's not. In a job you are at the complete mercy of management changes, industry downturns and market dynamics. Whose hands would you rather place your future in: those of a large corporate entity, or someone who will always have your best interests at heart, i.e. you?"   Tech for Non-Technical Founders If you have a killer idea for an app, but you don't have the tech skills to build it, this class is for you. Register here: In person in London, 10 May 2022 Live on Zoom, 14 May 2022  ----- If you like learning about how tech products and profits get made, you'll like our newsletter. It's funny too. Sign up here. ----- There are 2 ways to apply this work to your unique challenges: For companies: We create learning and innovation programmes, to help companies make the most out of digital transformation and help them become more entrepreneurial. Happy clients include Techstars x Blackstone Launchpad, Constellation Brands and Oxford University. Get in touch with us about bespoke training & consulting on info@techfornontechies.co For individuals, if you want to: Build tech a venture as a non-technical innovator Succeed in tech as a non-techie Then Tech For Non-Techies membership is for you. We love hearing from our readers and listeners. So if you have questions about the content or working with us, just get in touch on info@techfornontechies.co Say hi to Sophia on Twitter and follow her on LinkedIn. Following us on Facebook and Instagram will make you smarter. 

Every company wants to be innovative, but how do you balance the risk of innovation with the need to keep the lights on? Listen to this interview with Kapil Kane, Head of Innovation at Intel China, to find out. Learning notes from this episode: Most tech innovations die because they do not have a solid business case. As much as non-techies need to learn to speak tech, techies need to learn to speak business. “No matter how smart you are, if you are not able to get your idea across in the language of a lay person, you are missing out a lot,” says Kapil. To structure creativity within an organisation, Kapil advises learning from Apple, where teams often worked on projects that other teams did not know about. This meant that they could focus on their work, while upper management connected the dots. The innovation accelerator at Intel China Kapil set up brings in revenue, but that is not the only benefit. It serves as a training ground for ambitious people “If you are able to nurture your innovate talent in your organisation, you will grow them and they will deliver good results for you.” Resources mentioned in this episode: Innovate, but how? (Abstract): free guide on 6 types of innovation and how to know which one is right for you. Innovate, but how? The Pragmatist's Guide To Growth: based on research conducted by Sophia Matveeva and researchers from the University of Chicago on how the world's largest companies approach innovation.  To attend Tech for Non-Technical Founders in London on May 10 2022 in London, book your ticket here and use PODCAST to get 20% off the price.   ----- If you like learning about how tech products and profits get made, you'll like our newsletter. It's funny too. Sign up here. ----- There are 2 ways to apply this work to your unique challenges: For companies: We create learning and innovation programmes, to help companies make the most out of digital transformation and help them become more entrepreneurial. Happy clients include Techstars x Blackstone Launchpad, Constellation Brands and Oxford University. Get in touch with us about bespoke training & consulting on info@techfornontechies.co For individuals, if you want to: Build tech a venture as a non-technical innovator Succeed in tech as a non-techie Then Tech For Non-Techies membership is for you. We love hearing from our readers and listeners. So if you have questions about the content or working with us, just get in touch on info@techfornontechies.co Say hi to Sophia on Twitter and follow her on LinkedIn. Following us on Facebook and Instagram will make you smarter. 

I got to spend my lunch break with Jesse Wolfe, the creator and founder of O'Dang Foods. He's been on Shark Tank, Entrepreneur and Forbes magazine. Jesse is now a CPG (Consumer Product Goods) Entrepreneur Founder & Investor helping businesses grow. We discussed how he started into hummus as his business, getting into farmers markets, his time with the sharks on Shark Tank, how he realized he needed to pivot and get into a different food category. Going from commercial kitchen/cottage to working with distributers and packers. We discussed his transition from O'Dang to now consultant and investor of CPGs. We also discussed what common issues he sees while mentoring and working with UCF students in the Blackstone Launchpad and other entrepreneurs. Jesse also gives me his top 5 things needed to start a business. We packed a lot in an hour lunch break. Lunch with Biggie is an Orlando podcast about small business and creatives sharing their stories and inspiring you to pursue your passion, with some sandwich talk on the side. Created, edited and produced by Biggie- owner of the sandwich themed clothing brand- Deli Fresh Threads. Please feel free to leave us a message/comment/questions: https://anchor.fm/lunchwithbiggie/message Jesse's Social: Jesse's IG: https://www.instagram.com/realjessewolfe Jesse's TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/TTPdSbbeKC Biggie's Social: Deli Fresh Thread's Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/delifreshthreads/ Podcast's Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/lunchwithbiggie/ Podcast's Facebook Group- https://www.facebook.com/groups/lunchwithbiggie Website- https://www.delifreshthreads.com --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/lunchwithbiggie/message

On this week's episode of Inside Outside Innovation, we sit down with Melissa Vincent, Executive Director of Pipeline Entrepreneurial Fellowship. This recording was part of our IO Live series and Melissa and I sit down and talk about the people, the resources, and the companies making the Midwest a great place for startups to grow and prosper. Let's get started.Inside Outside Innovation, is the podcast to help new innovators navigate what's next. Each week, we'll give you a front row seat into what it takes to learn, grow, and thrive in today's world of accelerating change and uncertainty. Join us as we explore, engage, and experiment with the best and the brightest innovators, entrepreneurs, and pioneering businesses. It's time to get started.Interview Transcript with Melissa Vincent, Executive Director of Pipeline Entrepreneurial FellowshipBrian Ardinger: Welcome to Inside Outside Innovation. I'm your host, Brian Ardinger. And as always, we have another amazing guest with us today. This is part of our IO Live series, which is our virtual conversation series to talk innovation and entrepreneurship. Part of our Inside Outside platform, where we have our podcast and newsletter and ongoing events like this. So I'm super excited to host Melissa today. Melissa is a good friend. She's the Executive Director of Pipeline. So welcome to the show, Melissa. Melissa Vincent: Brian, thank you so much. I love it when I get to chat with you. Brian Ardinger: I'm excited about this conversation. Before we get too far. I always like to thank our sponsors. Today our sponsor is the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. They are a private nonpartisan foundation based in the Kansas City, Missouri. They seek to build inclusive prosperity through entrepreneur focused economic development. They've been a huge help to a lot of things going on, including Pipeline. I believe they're a sponsor for. If people are interested in finding out more about Kauffman, go to kauffman.org or check them out @KauffmanFDN on Facebook and Twitter.And so huge shout out to our sponsors for making things like this happen. And having conversations that make Midwest Entrepreneurs even better. I was gonna say, you're new to Pipeline, but you were new from the standpoint of you started working at Pipeline right before the pandemic. It seems like that's a short time ago, but it seems now we're what, almost two years into this thing. So it's exactly, exactly the pandemic years. But I wanted to have you on, because I think Pipeline has been one of those proven things in the ecosystem that has helped entrepreneurs across the Midwest here. And I wanted to get you on to talk about, you know, what have you seen? What's different and, and more importantly, what's going to happen moving forward. So maybe let's start the conversation with, tell us a little bit about what Pipeline is. For those who may not know that and where we're at right now. Melissa Vincent: I would love to. Yes. So I have been there for, as you mentioned, it'll be two years next month. So it's kind of crazy because it feels sometimes like six months and other times it feels like 10 years because of the pandemic. So you never know. So Pipeline is a fellowship for high- growth entrepreneurs in the Midwest. We are industry agnostic. So we do everything from Bio to Ag. You name it, everything in between. And do not take equity in the organizations that we work with. And so we're different in that way as well. And we focus on serial entrepreneurs because they have the greatest economic impact on the region, when you focus on someone who's going to get right back up, if they have a failure. And if they succeed, they're going to get back up, start another company and invest in the community. Brian Ardinger: Pipeline's been around for a number of years. It was actually started even prior to me starting Nmotion and that. I think you have over 140 or a 150 entrepreneurs that have gone through the program. Had had an economic benefit. 2,700 employees I think are, are based in Kansas and Missouri and Nebraska because of the founders that have been part of Pipeline. Your founders have raised over $600 million in capital since joining Pipeline. And it's a flywheel approach. So, you know what started 10 or 15 years ago. Now we're seeing some of the fruits of that payoff. So tell us a little bit about how you got involved in Pipeline. Melissa Vincent: Pipeline was started 14 years ago. It was started by Joni Cobb and a number of key people kind of in the Midwest. She was the CEO. And the idea was that there was such, as you mentioned, like 14 years ago, we were in such a different place.There weren't all the entrepreneur support organizations that we have now. And so, you know, when she started the organization, it was around this idea that if you came and you brought resources from the coast to the Midwest. And you focus specifically on serial entrepreneurs to have a massive impact on the region because of what we talked about earlier, they're going to reinvest, they're going to get back up, start another company. And that was really true. So over the last 14 years, our members are not just creating jobs. They're creating really high paying jobs. So average salary for an employee of one of our members is $52,000. So they're creating great jobs. They're creating a lot of them. And they're raising capital and they are staying here in the Midwest.And so really over 14 years, that whole concept that we were seeing, if it could be proved or not, if you bring in these resources, what impact would that have if you focused on serial entrepreneurs is proven. So it's like, okay, successful, we've done that. That's really amazing. But then it becomes the question of 14 years later, how things changed. Like to your point, we've had, with the pandemic and we've had social injustice that's been ongoing that really came to a head last year.So we have all these different things that happened over the past few years. And so I think for us as an organization, we've really looked at well, how do we respond to that? And I think there's a lot of other entrepreneurial support organizations that are doing the same. How do we step in. How do we be a part of that progress and change that really needs to happen? That's where Pipeline is headed. But we couldn't have gotten there without the legacy that was started 14 years ago, by bringing in all these resources and creating some amazing fellowship programs. Brian Ardinger: It's been a very important piece of the puzzle. When I started Nmotion, I think it was 10 years ago, ish. It was the first accelerator in Nebraska at the time that's a equity based accelerator. But we quickly wanted to tie ourselves with Pipeline and get our founders an opportunity to move through the Pipeline. And you find those early stage founders. You get them a little bit of capital. You surround them with mentors and investment capital.We help build that. And then you also then connect them into a wider network. I think that was one of the most important things about like an Nmotion is, you know, we started in Lincoln, Nebraska. But we realized quickly that you can't build a startup ecosystem by yourself. In just the four walls of your own county or city.And so how do we create opportunities for those founders to make network connections that can help them grow their business wherever they end up. And, you know, we've had some great founders that went through Pipeline. Brett Byman who started with Nobl. And now he's with another company, BasicBlock.You mentioned that serial net nature of entrepreneurs. Vishal Singh with Quantified Ag. Liz Whitaker with Pawlytics and that. And now with Brooke Mullen who's with Sapahn and she came through the GBeta Program with Gener8tor that we're now working with. So those are just some of the things, but maybe let's talk about some of the success stories of some of the Pipeline Entrepreneurs that have had success based on having access to your program.Melissa Vincent: Yeah. You know, one of the things that, you know, we're really looking for when we're investing is we're looking at high growth. So they're already at a decent place. And then we're really trying to help them get to that next phase of growth to hopefully, like we said, either exit or re invest in their community.And so some of those are ones that everyone kind of in the Midwest, you know, your Toby Rush with EyeVerify. So everyone kind of always thinks of Pipeline. They're like, oh, that was, you know, Toby went through that. But the thing that I love is that we have so many other organizations. So a couple that people know of that may not have realized that their founders went through Pipeline is ShotTracker Davion Roth.So that's a company that is still ongoing. Doing massive things. In the news. Part of Pipeline program back in the early days. Another one, let's go to Nebraska here. We have Blake Lawrence with Opendorse. Oh my goodness. Since the NIL law changes, like, I mean, he already was killing it. But now it's like, those are just like set him in a whole other trajectory because he can capitalize on college sports now and college athletes.So there've been these really successful founders. And I think that there's a lot of different pieces that in the ecosystem, like what you're doing and what Pipeline's doing. It takes more than just one organization to be able to provide the support. You really need layers to that. So you need some groups that are a little bit earlier stage. And then you have Pipeline which fits in this very unique role of serial entrepreneurs who are high growth, who are looking to exit and give back.It's a very unique spot that we fill. And so really trying to figure out how do we support each other. And I think that's kind of in the Midwest, what everyone's looking at right now. So it's like, we have organizations like yours that have been around for 10 years. Pipeline is fourteen. Like these established organizations that are now looking and saying, okay, we've done this. How do we work better together? Because if we work well together, we can do even more. So I think that's kind of the shift that's starting to happen. And I don't know if it's the pandemic that was part of like, kind of being the catalyst to that. Realizing that we all needed each other. And we needed, our entrepreneurs need more support than one organization could give solo. But when you combine forces, we can do so much more.Brian Ardinger: So let's talk about the program itself. So obviously there are specific things about the program. You go through things over the course of your year, and that. I think most people think of Pipeline and think of the value that's created from the network that's been established and the access to that network. But talk a little bit about the program itself. Melissa Vincent: When you're a Fellow In the program. You go through four modules a year. And those are really intense three day workshops, basically. And they are focused on helping you really scale your company. So the first module that they go through is understanding who your target customer is. Which these are all going to sound very like early stage.They're not. I mean, they're digging in super deep to analyze this information. So finding your target customer. The second one is all about your business model. And making sure that you have the right business model now that you know who your target customer should be. And the third is telling your story through your financials.Which, in all honesty is probably the one that everyone fears the most. Because one understanding your financials is one thing. Telling your story through your financials. Nobody wants to do that. And then when they get through that module, they are just able to easily tell the story through their financials.And then the fourth we just wrapped in St. Louis. Was about telling your story and what's your why? So taking all of the things that you learn throughout the year. Putting that into basically a pitch for an investor or a potential client. And being able to tell the entire story of your company in one single pitch. Brian Ardinger: One of the interesting things, because I've been a mentor in Pipeline for a long time, and I've seen the evolution of how these companies kinda go through that. And you mentioned things like just that customer discovery piece, for example, your business model. I think a lot of times we forget that that's not necessarily something that all entrepreneurs understand or know or use.And oftentimes just having that forced function of let's re evaluate, let's make sure that we are in the right business. And we have the right metrics. The right things that are going on can do such a powerful thing to an entrepreneur because it kind of levels the system, especially when you're surrounded with other entrepreneurs and other business models and that. It gets them thinking and doing things differently.Melissa Vincent: And we certainly saw that in the pandemic where I think as entrepreneurs we're hit across the board, just like everyone else, but realizing when you're the one who is out there as an entrepreneur, It comes to you. It's so, it is lonely at the top. It's especially lonely when you're a serial entrepreneur, because we do think a little bit differently.It's that whole like, ah, knock me down. I'll get right back up and start something else. And if I succeed, I'm gonna put myself through this all over again. But I think that in the pandemic, what we really saw was the value of that network and that connection. And really being able to lean on other people who were struggling.But because this isn't a program where you go through, and yes, you've gone through that program, but that's it, you become a member. And you're part of this pipeline family. They were really able to lean in and support each other in a very unique way. And obviously Pipeline provided resources, and we did a lot of stuff around mental health and wellness.However, that support of that network was so powerful. And you could really see it during the pandemic. Cause there was a safe space to be able to talk about things that you were struggling with, that had they not had that network maybe wouldn't have come up or they wouldn't have felt comfortable talking about. Brian Ardinger: Well, I think everybody was in that boat. Reevaluating what they're doing for who they were doing it for, et cetera, et cetera. We've got a number of people in the audience. If anybody has a question from the audience, feel free to type it in the chat, or there's a great feature in this Run the World called Grab the Mic.So you can also click the little microphone button and come on stage with us and ask your question directly. Happy to do that. So, yes, we're excited to make this a little bit more interactive. So we talked a little bit about ecosystems. So talk about the different ecosystems that you support. You know, you're in Kansas, you're in Missouri, you're in Nebraska. And obviously the cities are involved. Talk a little bit about the differences in the ecosystems and where you draw your entrepreneurs from. Melissa Vincent: You nailed it. Thank you for you have exactly right. So we are Kansas, Nebraska, and Missouri. And I think everyone always asks the question, like, are you guys planning to expand further? Yes, we may at some point. However, right now there is so much like attention. Resources that we know we need to provide just on that three state region, that it's super important that we stay there. But those are the areas that we look at. We are actually, we just finished. We've just closed our apps for recruiting. Had in all honesty, the best turnout we've had in years. I mean, it's interesting because at some point you don't know, during the pandemic are people really starting companies. You know, for some, it might be a really difficult time to start a company, but that's such a great, you know, response from that. And we're super excited about that. We see a lot of pockets. So we have Wichita pockets. We have Lincoln Omaha pockets. We have St. Louis pockets. And then obviously Kansas city on both sides. And so we see a lot of people coming from there. I think as far as how the different regions, and the only I can really compare it to, because I feel like I've become entrenched over the last two years here in our three state region.But when I look at like Oklahoma or some areas that aren't part of that really strong network of ESOs or Entrepreneur Support Organizations. You know, Oklahoma is further behind than let's say Kansas or Nebraska, and certainly St. Louis. I think part of that is because they have not brought in outside organizations to come in and help them establish some of the entrepreneurial groups that you need. You need more than just one group within a region. And again, when you've been doing it, as long as you know, we have here and in Nebraska and certainly in Missouri, I think that that's where you're able to, you've been doing it for a while. You realize where you play well, and then you find other people to compliment. And I think when you look at other regions who aren't there yet, they're just trying to figure out who do we even want to bring in? They're not to a place yet where they could even say, oh, here's the part that we do really well. Let's find other organizations to supplement that. So I think that the Midwest, when we're talking about Nebraska and Missouri and Kansas is unique and really amazing, and its ability to work together regionally to create really strong entrepreneur. Brian Ardinger: Are you seeing fundamental differences or different expertise in the different ecosystems? Like how does St. Louis compared to a Lincoln or? Melissa Vincent: So St. Louis has a lot of bio. Obviously there's Bio STL. So we see a lot of bio coming out of St. Louis. And then Nebraska, we see a lot more animal health resources. And obviously healthcare resources as well. And then Kansas City, this conglomeration of bio and, and also Nebraska would be sports tech. I would put that in there too, even the shot trackers here in Kansas. So you have this interesting mixture and I think along the whole corridor, you have a lot of animal health cause we're in that kind of quarter for animal health. And then we have some amazing entrepreneurs who are rural because that's an area that we really have tried to focus on. And so we have rural entrepreneurs who are doing really unique things, you know, in ag and everything else. Brian Ardinger: So talk a little bit about the mentors themselves. What type of mentors did you bring in? And how do they work. Melissa Vincent: We love to bring in a mixture of regional mentors, like yourself, and then national mentors. And we feel like that mix is super important. Because one regionally, you want people who actually understand the ecosystem, understand the issues of raising capital that are still here. And, you know, that we need to address and change if we want to really be able to grow the ecosystem. And then we want people from the coast. So we know that a lot of times what we're seeing is that on the coast, we have PE and VC that are looking to invest here in the Midwest. And so we're able to kind of capitalize on that. And because Pipeline takes our entrepreneurs through such a strong vetting process to even get into Pipeline, it's not the easiest thing to get into, but there is a pretty long process to get in. And then you have a year's long fellowship. And then they know they're going to get that extra support. We get a lot of interest from the coast about what our entrepreneurs are doing, because you're adding those layers of continued support and resource, which should hopefully help their success rates continue to go up. So that's kind of where we are. Brian Ardinger: And the type of people that you bring in, like a Chris Shipley has been on the podcast before. And spoken at our events before. People like that who have been in the industry for a long time and can navigate east, west and in between is really helpful. Melissa Vincent: And even international. I will tell you, I love Chris Shipley. She is so able to help you take and tell your company's pitch. And we just saw this because she leads our fourth module. And you can tell your entire company story in your five minutes. You're in. And she'll be like, so what I think you're saying is, and she'll like completely boil down your company to like a minute.And it's like, oh yeah, that. And it's like, oh my gosh, please tell me I wrote that down. One of my other favorites that I think, it just reminds you of how unique Pipeline is in the mentors that we bring in. So Laura Kilcrease, she leads our module three on financials. If you look her up, she's literally credited with starting the tech scene in Austin.And she's just this ridiculous, amazing leader and ecosystem builder. And now she's in Alberta running the entire Alberta, the province of Alberta, she's running their entire new innovation arm. And so she's just, it doesn't even seem real when you talk to her. I mean, she's just, she can give you stories of companies that you know, she's been on the board for, that had sold for, you know, ridiculous amounts. And she's been through so many different things. So it's that level of just resources and expertise. And just people who really care about entrepreneurs, who understand the entrepreneurial lifestyle. What's it's about. How hard it is. And really care about giving back and supporting our entrepreneurs.Brian Ardinger: I want to shift to COVID. And again, you started right before a lot of this stuff happened. Talk a little bit about how COVID and the remote nature has changed Pipeline and, and change your entrepreneurs. Melissa Vincent: You know, so I would say there were both good and, you know, difficult pieces. So Pipeline for anyone who doesn't know is very, very much an in-person organization. The modules are in person. They're three days. The professional development was always in person. There are all of these pieces that it's like a hundred percent an in-person organization.And then you have a new leader that starts, and then you have a pandemic that doesn't allow anyone to be in person. And so it was really interesting because the downside was. Our Fellows had one module, the very first one, and then everything else was virtual. And for me just research thought was okay, how does that impact, you know, who becomes a member who doesn't, or their engagement with each other. And we started with 13 Fellows, we've finished with thirteen fellows, despite the pandemic.We were very intentional as soon as the pandemic hit to go virtual with resources. So rather than having, you know, a handful of professional development. We went weekly. Everything from, okay, how do I communicate? What is this pandemic? How do I communicate to my customers, my team? I mean like things that now it feels like, oh, that was 10 years ago, but it was just last year.And so we were trying to really figure out and then PPP loans and all of that. So just started doing virtual resources. So in that way, I think it was positive because it allowed us to really beef up, any type of professional development. I mean, it was just weekly. We're coming at you and we're helping you feel connected.And then after that, I would say the downside was not being able to have those in-person connections, but we just finished our last module for this year, which we had the first two, which virtual. The last two modules were in-person. And again, we've finished with thirteen, started with 13, finished with 13.So I think really for us, it allowed us to do a whole lot more because we could do it virtually. The transition for an organization that is so heavy on live in-person events is probably some of the members who have been around for a while. And we're like, whoa. When are we going to get in the person? I heard that a lot. Brian Ardinger: Absolutely. But Hey Bob, I saw you Grab the Mic and I didn't have a chance to click the button. So if you want to grab the mic. There you go. Welcome Bob. Bob: Yeah, there's some other people from the Midwest I'm in Cleveland, Ohio, I'm at Case Western Reserve University. I run something called Launch Net. We used to be a Blackstone Launchpad, which is around the country and now we're at Launch Net, There's five of us, in different universities in the area. Besides that I'm an Entrepreneur in Residence at the economic development called Jumpstart. And also doing some business incubator. Question I had, St. Louis. Is I, I was working with a guy from Kent State. And Melissa, I don't know if you know this guy or not in St. Louis, Brian Stoyfield. Does that ring a bell? Okay. I was just curious. He's a troublemaker, which in a good sort of way. He was trying to put rockets into suborbital space for experiments. And because there's so much aerospace in St. Louis, he ended up moving down there and hung out a lot with, begins with a C the big area where everybody collaborates, connects. No people in the middle, we just have to work harder. But I think it's turned a lot. Got quite a few friends out in SF and they're leaving. Some of them, just the cost of structure. And it used to be that a VC said if I can't have lunch with you, without flying somewhere, I don't want to invest. That has changed dramatically. Austin's picked up, as you know, and Miami has picked up. We picked up a little bit here. Actually rental costs for homes have escalated tremendously. And inventory has dropped. Because people were working from here, but a number of people are staying. Which is good to see.So, but yeah, I just wanted to, you know, say hello. I'm also involved with Techstars a little bit. I just had one in Techstars, Chicago. And then Techstars, Minneapolis. And so we're gaining that. And then I used to work with GSV Global Silicon Valley. GSV.com. If you want to take a look. They just did a $220 million spec and then something called GSVbootcamp.com.We do it now twice a year. And it could be helpful for some of the people in your cohort. It's not just ed tech, it's a broader spectrum. And they kind of did it to help during COVID. And now it kind of stuck. That they said, hey, this is good. You know, while we concentrate on ed tech for our SPAC, GSV invests in other entities, plus this is a good way that people can't, you know, do something in person physical can do this.I've also done a number of, three times now, startupschool.org, which is run by YC. Which has been really helpful. But yeah, the in-person the, the two that went to Techstars. One in Chicago, that was right in the midst of COVID. So there was no in person. The other one went to Minneapolis or Farm to Fork and he was in person. And they've got a delivery robot and it's really, really, really cool. And EcoLab. The company has helped a lot. Melissa Vincent: I've been taking notes as you've been talking Bob:  CarbonOrdinance.com. It's a grad again, getting into aerospace. So a guy who worked on the Mars rover, and some other folks, one who dropped out. That basically you can deliver food in these little carts. And you can observe or be kind of like not the driver, but kind of the driver in virtual reality.So those people who don't own a car. Who maybe don't have the ability to drive a car can be drivers of this. And we already have 300 people signed up. Yeah, to drive these vehicles in virtual reality. And we're getting some restaurant pickup again. Ecolab has been a great partner in Minneapolis. It's not the best place to have a little cart delivery because when the snow flies.Brian Ardinger: Yeah, next time. Spring and Summer time. Bob: Exactly. So, but they're, they're working hard. And the other one that was in Chicago was called undone.com. Yeah. During COVID I did a hell of a lot of stuff online. I'll give you one more. If your MPD is one of the it's called pitch-force.com. They went from being in person only in San Francisco and they were charging $75 to pitch.And I don't like to pay to pitch, but they would then turn around and buy pizza, beer and pop. They went to online. Free. And I've attended almost every week for over a year. And they've got 10 companies and five VCs. These VCs generally were San Francisco based. And now they're all over the place, including Austin, including New York.And there, now that it's virtual, they now have other entities pitching from Argentina, from Australia, from Israel. And it's a good way to learn how to pitch and see how things are going for people and also things, how they're going poorly for people. So it's a good way of see a real entrepreneur. It's your real business.And so friends of mine and I, we would literally watch it and text each other, our votes. And after a while, you get pretty aligned with what the VCs would do. And the downside is you get good. And all of a sudden you see these very, you both understand, you see these very smart people going, okay, you're in love with your technology, but what's it going to do for the customer? How much are you asking for? And then you're going, this is going to burn down. And sure enough, they get a two.Other ones you go, holy crap, did they hit it. I work with a lot of students and you know, they're just learning how to do this. And I sent them there. And they see, you know, the real people putting it all on the line to do it. Max who runs it, he runs a staffing agency and he also helps startups who don't have the finances to maybe pay someone right now, get somebody to work for equity only. And that's how he makes money that you have to pay him like five grand and then a certain percentage after let's say six months, once you put them on a salary and you know, maybe they're going for that Series A or something like that, but they can't get there because they don't have that chief marketing officer. Well, he knows off people who are bad exits and they can do that. Melissa Vincent: That's awesome. I love hearing from other regions on, well, not regions, but just other states that are kind of right next to us. What's going on there and how it's similar or different. And one of the things you brought up about the VC groups out of San Francisco being like the pandemic really did shift.And I think, you know, when you're talking about who you would put capital, that has been, I think one of the best biggest shifts. The ability for us to bring capital in from the coasts. Because to your point, exactly. That was not something. If you could not do lunch or coffee, there was not capital happening here and you'd have to move.And so it's really allowed us to have a lot of people moved back to the Midwest, their roots. And then allow people who would have had to leave previously, get to stay here in the Midwest. Which is just an enormous benefit, that was a by-product of the pandemic. Bob: Absolutely. One of the entities who didn't make it into the top five does a Reg A. He pitched at going public and he didn't make it to the top five and he did a great job. And I reached out to him and his name is Darren Marble. And he has a show that he he's working with Entrepreneur magazine. It's called Goingpublic.com. And so my friend is the board director for Gen Global. Jeff Hoffman.We just went through Global Entrepreneurship Week. And I introduced Jeff to Darren. And now Jeff is one of the advisors and one of the producers on Going Public. But that wouldn't have happened if again, to go to Pitch Force, I would have had to been on San Francisco that week. And I'm going to like do that maybe twice a year.Brian Ardinger: Well, Bob, thanks for coming on stage. Anybody else have any questions? Feel free to put them into the chat. And we have a couple more minutes to keep going. You've changed parts of that program. You're actually creating a new program focused on the diversity inclusion side of things. So maybe talk a little bit about that part of Pipeline and some of the new things that are happening.Melissa Vincent: Yeah, so super excited to be able to, as I mentioned, this is a great kind of success story of what Pipeline was traditionally for the first 14 years. And without that, you know, legacy of success, you can't really add or expand. But because of that legacy of success, and because we were able to successfully say, you bring in resources from the coast to the Midwest, and you focus on these entrepreneurs who are really going to scale.And one of the things that we realized in going through the recruitment process during the pandemic was that, in order to get into Pipeline traditionally, you have to working on your company full time. And so during the application process, what we saw were a lot of really great ideas for high growth companies that the person just wasn't able to yet work on their company. Full-time. And when you looked more closely, we realized that there were a lot of those people were from underserved communities. And for us, that is rural, female, and minority entrepreneurs. And so the only thing that's holding them back is they haven't had an even playing field to get to a place where they are actually ready to be able to get into Pipeline.And so we wanted to do something to address that. And so we created a new program. It's called Pipeline Pathfinder. That is kind of like a starter program to be able to get into the Pipeline traditional fellowship. But our hope is that when you go through the program and it starts next year, we just finished recruiting for it.That it will be something that you're either able to run your company full time at the end of it. Or you get to a place where you're ready for Pipeline traditional and a really scale to the next level. So that is our hope. Next year, will be our first year to pilot it. And then after that, we hope to expand and continue to grow.For More InformationBrian Ardinger: It's exciting to see changes that are happening across the ecosystem. You know, we mentioned one of the benefits of being an entrepreneur in the Midwest is this comradery. And this ability to get access to people that you wouldn't normally have access to necessarily in the big tech hub. Where again, if you find the right person typically are one or two degrees separated from getting to the people that you need. And appreciate everything that you've done to move it forward, and then also take it in new directions. So if people want to find out more about yourself or about Pipeline, what's the best way to do that. Melissa Vincent: So go to pipelineentrepreneurs.com or reach out to me on LinkedIn. Or you can always email me at melissa@pipelineentrepreneurs.com. Could we have any longer of an email? Probably not, but. Brian Ardinger: Melissa, thank you again for coming on Inside Outside Innovation. Thanks for doing this live and thanks for all the audience folks that came and participated. We look forward to having future events and that. If you want to find out more about Inside Outside, go to InsideOutside.IO. Subscribe to our newsletter and watch the podcast every week. So appreciate you coming on Melissa. Look forward to having further conversations and thanks very much. Melissa Vincent: Thanks so much for having me. I appreciate it. Thanks everybody.Brian Ardinger: That's it for another episode of Inside Outside Innovation. If you want to learn more about our team, our content, our services, check out InsideOutside.io or follow us on Twitter @theIOpodcast or @Ardinger. Until next time, go out and innovate.FREE INNOVATION NEWSLETTER & TOOLSGet the latest episodes of the Inside Outside Innovation podcast, in addition to thought leadership in the form of blogs, innovation resources, videos, and invitations to exclusive events. SUBSCRIBE HEREYou can also search every Inside Outside Innovation Podcast by Topic and Company.  For more innovations resources, check out IO's Innovation Article Database, Innovation Tools Database, Innovation Book Database, and Innovation Video Database.  

This week I'm sitting down with Sam Hollander, founder, and CEO of FSCL, a company pioneering alternative ways to finance higher education. He also is the program manager for the Blackstone LaunchPad. We sit down to discuss balancing entrepreneurship with a job, burnout, and how to make time for yourself.

Spelman College President Dr. Mary Schmidt Campbell discusses a new partnership between Blackstone Launchpad and the Atlanta University Center Consortium that aims to expand students' access to entrepreneurship. Plus, certified master chef Daryl Shular is the founder of the Shular Hospitality Group and the founder of the SHULAR Institute, the first Black-owned culinary arts school in the United States. Chef Shular discusses the mission and vision of the new Tucker-based institute.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Keith Crispen joins us in this episode of Quick to Politic in a discussion of Non-Profits and Entrepreneurship. Crispen holds a Bachelor of Science in Management from Wayne State University's Mike Ilitch School of Business, and a Masters of Community (Economic) Development from the University of Detroit-Mercy's School of Architecture. He serves as the Principal of Consulting for The Crispen Group, Inc. (TCG). Crispen's firm has connected startups and nonprofits to capital for nearly 10 years. TCG was chosen by the Small Business Administration as an e200 Emerging Leader in small business operational excellence in 2013. Crispen believes that most organizations and/or people need minor tweaks to reach their goals, and is always excited to create value and positively impact their trajectories. Crispen has connected startups to over $19 million since 2009, and helped nonprofits connect to $6 million for community-based programming and place-based initiatives. Crispen has been featured as a Guest Lecturer on Entrepreneurship for Blackstone Launchpad at Wayne State University, and currently helps startups and nonprofits avoid common pitfalls while providing detailed guidance and action steps to help them reach their goals. Questions: Let's delve further into this. You said in one of your Social Media lives that you would advise non profits to do the following: 1. Selling skilled labor of Volunteers for cash 2. Building programs around grant requirements 3. Acting as a fiduciary to collect fees for other non profits who are not as established. If you are you interesting in having your own charity, but don't know where to start what is the first thing to do? What is the biggest piece of advice you can offer for finding funding for non-profits? Advice for entrepreneurs for just getting started and fear of failure and or failure to launch for whatever reason? --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/ernestine-lyons/support

Welcome to The Brew! This podcast series is about providing a platform for entrepreneurs, artists, athletes, and thought leaders to spark conversations about business and culture. We deep dive into topics that have and will continue shaping the business world and society as a whole. Episode #10 is with Mai Temraz and Mihai Patru who are entrepreneur-in-residence at UCR. Mai is a full-bright scholar and leads Blackstone LaunchPad powered by Techstars at UCR and Mihai is the co-founder of the Caravanserai Project (https://www.caravanseraiproject.org/). Topics discussed in this episode include: 1. The entrepreneurial backgrounds of both Mai and Mihai 2. Startup resources at UCR 3. Building a startup ecosystem in Riverside 4. Detailing the Caravanserai Project and building a non-profit 5. How businesses will change due to COVID-19 6. Advice to entrepreneurs wanting to build a startup in college Spotify: Website: https://www.freelogicmedia.com/ Links to the different programs mentioned: Office of Technology Partnerships: https://techpartnerships.ucr.edu/ Blackstone LaunchPad powered by Techstars at UCR:  https://techpartnerships.ucr.edu/launchpad-ucr NSF I-Corps program: https://techpartnerships.ucr.edu/programs-services/entrepreneurship-support-epic/national-science-foundation-i-corps-program  EPIC SBDC Upcoming opportunities: Social Innovation Virtual Pitching Competition (Open to all UCR students): https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdpyYRmzWSGtfgwTttZXGoMihGNPqEFIyO9aU8a5i6Pq4SwRg/viewform LaunchPad's Virtual Startup Bootcamp, a 5 weeks webinar series and your first steps in your entrepreneurial journey: https://ucr.zoom.us/meeting/register/vJErc-qgrT0vuoTOFsU0hB_pBScJH9GriA Filmed and Produced By: Nick Saldivar Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nsaldivar95/ Website: https://www.victoriammedia.com/ Music: “Nesting" by Birocratic (http://www.birocratic.com) The songs used in this video were licensed via Birocratic License v05.2016. For info on how you can use this music in your project, check out http://www.birocratic.com/license-app. To download Birocratic’s 60+ song discography, visit http:// birocratic.bandcamp.com.

If there is something happening in the entrepreneurial world in Montana, Paul Gladen probably has something to do with it. In 2008, Paul came to Montana armed with a degree from Oxford University and more than 15 years of experience working with Arthur Andersen and his own firm Muzeview. In 2009, Paul helped launch Hellgate Venture Network, a Missoula-based local entrepreneurship forum. When the university was chosen to be part of the prestigious Blackstone LaunchPad , a national effort to provide viable pathways to entrepreneurship, Paul was the “go to” choice to head it up.

How can you craft a talk, deliver dynamically, and book a spot on the TED stage? If you have a purpose in your business and stories to share with the world, this is the episode for you as we sit down with TEDx Orlando’s co-organizer Thomas Waterman! Psychology, Leadership, Vision, Purpose-Driven, TED Talks… …these are a few of the keywords from the notes I took during the conversation with today’s guest who is similar to me in that he loves interacting with people, studying psychology, and finding ways to help the audience he serves.  A few podcast episode highlights: – Hello from San Diego Startup Week (at the San Diego Convention Center) – P.S.T. Method (my method for helping new authors go from “no idea and overwhelm” to “awesome, detailed outline) – Johanna Walker on Episode 180 – more advice about speaking on stage! – How to win an election (the psychology of winning!) – Why is for-profit business actually able to help more people than nonprofits, when done right and with purpose? – The differences between TED and TEDx – There are over 3500 cities running TEDx events! – How does someone become one of the speakers on stage for TED? (Insider advice! And it may surprise you!) – TEDx Orlando’s main website: http://orlandotedx.org – What matters to TED (headquarters)…so you can get featured on their main website! (Which can lead to millions of views on your video and change your life!) – How TEDx organizers help speakers to make sure their talk resonates – Tips for someone to speak well on stage – TEDx talks are usually about 8 to 18 minutes (and Thomas shares how/why) – How to Use a Paper Towel TED Talk by Joe Smith – Why an alligator was on stage in Orlando! – Does Thomas recommend “applying to tons of speaking events” or take another approach (to get speaking opportunities)? – Davide Di Giorgio teamed up to bring you More Speaking Gigs (here)   Our Guest Thomas Waterman believes in showing people what makes them special and empowering them to use their powers, so they can make the world a better place. This belief led Thomas on his own growth journey, where he leaned in to face his fear and misalignment in life. This meaningful self-reflection inspired him to quit his job and immediately pursue his purpose. The entrepreneurial route became his path to find meaningful work and fulfillment in daily life. He chose a direction and aligned everything in his life with it. This alignment inspired him to co-found Purpose Pioneers. Thomas makes his yearly presence on the TEDx stage as a co-organizer for TEDxOrlando. He’s a Board Member of the 15 Lightyears Foundation, Industry Fellow & Entrepreneurial Coach for the Blackstone Launchpad at the University of Central Florida, the largest university in the country, Mentor for the Horizons Scholars Program, and an Alumni of Starter Studio, Orlando’s leading tech business accelerator, where he founded his first venture, BackStory.   Great Quotes “Build unique, individual, meaningful relationships.” – Thomas Waterman “Get out of that state of judgment…I’m right, you’re wrong…get in the field of openmindedness and curiosity.” – Thomas Waterman “80% of what we do is helping people overcome unconscious blocks…20% is the tactics.” – Thomas Waterman “Getting on the stage does add value.” – Thomas Waterman “[Speaking at TED] does add value for anyone who wants to build their brand.” – Thomas Waterman “We have in-depth coaching calls and two in-person practices [for TEDx speakers].” – Thomas Waterman “It’s helping people get clarity about the message that matters most to them.” – Thomas Waterman “If you do stumble or start feeling anxious…pause. Take a deep breath. People want you to succeed.” – Thomas Waterman “People care less about what you’re saying and more about how and why you say it.” – Thomas Waterman “It’s about taking some kind of action and seeing if it serves you.” – Thomas Waterman Take Action Now! Amazon Bestselling Book Workshop + Resources [free] Bestselling Book Accelerator Speaker’s Secret Gig List   Read More Back at the podcast's full shownotes for this Copy That Pops episode!.

Educator | Speaker | Entrepreneur | Author | Small Business Advocate As one of our community's most passionate advocates for small business, and a business owner himself, Tom intimately understands the power that entrepreneurship has to unlock human potential, create jobs, inspire wealth, and invigorate economies and communities across the globe. Tom has dedicated his personal and professional work to small business advocacy. He is a member of the National Federation for Independent Business Leadership Trust and a sought after speaker on topics concerning the importance of small business and entrepreneurship to the vitality of the American economy. Currently, he serves as an Assistant Dean at the University at Buffalo School of Management, Executive Director of the Blackstone LaunchPad at UB, and Executive Director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership (CEL) where he works with a dedicated team to give small business owners the support they need to thrive. Under Tom’s direction, the Center has expanded its sophisticated interdisciplinary approach to educating business owners through experiential learning and mentoring. CEL has over 1,400 graduates whose businesses employ over 22,000 employees in Western New York.

In EP. 3, Connor Harbison from the Blackstone LaunchPad of Montana State University and his startup Windsr.com, comes onto the show to talk entrepreneurship, networking, mentorship, and the value in having a growth mindset. Highlights from EP. 3: - the entrepreneurial community - value in a quality network - being coachable vs. intelligent - why you should seek out mentorship and feedback Connor is a seasoned entrepreneur, and throughout the episode explains why he reaches out to his mentors for feedback, and embraces the revision process. He finds great value in being open-minded to different processes and tactics, and believes that being coachable is the quickest way to accelerate your learning. If you or someone you know feels like they would be a unique add to The Tech Intern Show, please reach out! I am always looking for unique individuals to come and and tell their story.

Connor Harbison describes how the MSU Blackstone LaunchPad helps students, staff, and alumni develop ventures.MSU LaunchPad: http://www.montana.edu/launchpad/Contact Connor: connor@msulaunchpad.orgBozeman Public Library Business Center: https://www.bozemanlibrary.org/services/for/adults/business-centerReach out to the podcast: edpodcast@bozeman.net

Interview begins: 07:03Debrief begins: 48:43Bryan serves as Capital Factory's Vice President of Accelerator and Investment Fund.Bryan is a business development and investment professional experienced in portfolio management and venture capital transactions. Prior to joining Capital Factory, Bryan established the Blackstone Launchpad and UT Dallas Seed Fund at the University of Texas at Dallas where he actively advises students, entrepreneurs, and early-stage ventures and serves as a member of the entrepreneurship faculty. Bryan is a founding team member and at Fixd Repair, an insurance technology and home services business where he led the business corporate development strategy. Bryan has spent his career working with and investing in venture-backed startups including ReachLocal, LevelUp, and Fran POS.​//Capital Factory's mission is to be the center of gravity for entrepreneurs in Texas. Last year more than 100,000 entrepreneurs, programmers, and designers gathered day and night, in-person and online for meetups, classes, and coworking.They meet the best entrepreneurs in Texas and introduce them to their first investors, employees, mentors, and customers. According to Pitchbook, Capital Factory has been the most active investor in Texas since 2013.Founded in 2009, Capital Factory is based in Austin, Texas.Learn more about Capital Factory: https://www.capitalfactory.comFollow upside on Twitter: https://twitter.com/upsidefm Subscribe to the update: https://upside.fm/update

Cristal Glangchai, PhD, was the Founding Director of the Blackstone LaunchPad and the Director of the Texas Entrepreneurship Exchange at the University of Texas in Austin. She's also the Founder and CEO of VentureLab, a non-profit that runs experiential learning programs in youth tech entrepreneurship. And she is the author of the bestselling book: Venture Girls. 

The Montana Code School launched in 2015 as a way to prepare students to walk in ready and able to the growing number of technology jobs available in Montana. In this episode we talk with Paul Gladen, Director of the Blackstone Launchpad and founder of the Code School, and Kelly Nash, graduate of the first Code School cohort and current director of admissions. We learn about how the Code School came to be, what sorts of students it targets, and what types of jobs its graduates are getting. We then speak with two of those graduates - Luke Walawander and Shannon Dooling. Luke is currently Director of Ad Operations at LumenAd and Shannon is working with Tribal Learning Aids. Both are great case studies in the power of coding skills to improve your life and open doors. For more information, check out: https://montanacodeschool.com

Science teaches kids about failure, and learning to embrace failure is key to entrepreneurial success. Dr. Glangchai explains how this translates to into future innovation. Cristal Glangchai, PhD, is a scientist, entrepreneur, and mentor with a passion for teaching and engaging kids, especially girls, in technology and entrepreneurship. She is the Founder/CEO of VentureLab, a non-profit that runs experiential learning programs in youth tech entrepreneurship. She is also the Director the Blackstone LaunchPad at UT and the Director of The Texas Entrepreneurship Exchange at the University of Texas at Austin. Today's show is sponsored by Audible.com. Audible.com is a leading provider of spoken audio entertainment and information. Listen to audiobooks whenever and wherever you want. Get a free book when you sign up for a 30-day free trial at audibletrial.com/businessgrowth.

Today's interview is with Dr. Cristal Glangchai. Dr. Cristal Glangchai has worked in intellectual property, technology commercialization, and product development. She received her B.A. in Plan II, B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, and M.S. and Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin, where she was recently a featured alumni. In addition, she holds two doctoral certificates in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, and Molecular Imaging for Diagnostic and Therapeutics. She is a scientist, entrepreneur, and mentor with a passion for teaching and engaging kids, especially girls, in technology and entrepreneurship. She is the Founder/CEO of VentureLab, a non-profit that runs experiential learning programs in youth tech entrepreneurship. She is also the Director the Blackstone LaunchPad at UT and the Director of The Texas Entrepreneurship Exchange at the University of Texas at Austin. In 2015 she was a selected speaker at TEDx San Antonio, where she inspired others with her personal story, “From Stand-up to Start-up: Growing Girl Techies and Entrepreneurs.” Dr. Glangchai also spoke at TEDxYouth and was also named “Woman of the Year” by the San Antonio Business Journal (and she was named one of the 40 Under 40 in the journal’s annual awards). In 2016, she was a featured speaker at SXSWInteractive and SXSWEdu, and she was named Non-Profit CEO of the Year by the San Antonio Business Journal. In the Spring of 2017 she was featured for the grand-opening of the Blackstone LaunchPad at UT. Dr. Glangchai’s work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, the TODAY Show, NPR’s The TakeAway, Mashable, Medium, Silicon Hills News, Rivard Report, San Antonio Express-News, and San Antonio Business Journal.  Resources Mentioned In The Episode TEDx Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yi5tpOtpKsw TEDx Youth Talk: https://vimeo.com/145735835 Venture Lab: http://venturelab.org/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Welcome to episode 36 of ATG: The Podcast.  We have a short episode this week, but still packed with lots of good stuff. First off, do you know a rising star in the library and information world?  Would you like to see them recognized for their promising achievements?  Look no further!  ATG Media is thrilled to announce the first ever round of nominations for Up and Comers.  Who exactly is an “Up and Comer”, you ask?  They are librarians, library staff, vendors, publishers, MLIS students, instructors, consultants, and researchers who are new to their field or are in the early years of the profession.  An Up and Comer can be someone you work with, someone you’ve presented with or shaken hands with at a conference, or someone whose accomplishments and potential you admire.  Up and Comers are passionate about the future of libraries.  They innovate, inspire, collaborate, and take risks.  They are future library leaders and change makers.  And they all have one thing in common: they deserve to be celebrated.  The 2017 Up and Comers will be recognized in the December/January issue of Against the Grain, and 20 of these brilliant rising stars will be profiled in the same issue.  In addition, they will be featured in a series of scheduled podcast interviews that will be posted on the ATGthePodcast.com website. Nominations for the inaugural round of Up and Comers is open through September 1.  Don’t wait!   Spread the good news, tell your friends and colleagues, and nominate your favorite Up and Comer at the link provided below. https://www.charlestonlibraryconference.com/up-comer-nominations-now-open/ There are several scholarships available for this year’s Charleston Conference. Springer Nature is proud to honor the legacy of Cynthia Graham Hurd by awarding a $1,500 travel grant to a librarian that has not had an opportunity to attend the Charleston Library Conference due to lack of institutional funding. To apply, librarians are asked to submit a project or initiative developed at their library to enhance diversity and inclusion. Topics can include diversity in selection of resources, providing services to support the research and learning needs of all segments of the academic community, improving educational outcomes, addressing issues including racial disparities, racial equity, income inequality, gender inequality and more. The application deadline is October 2. EBSCO is providing a scholarship of up to $1,000 for applicants who currently work as a librarian or para-professional. You can apply by sending one professional recommendation,, your CV, and a short essay on the following topic: A 2015 article in Entrepreneur declared that the One Certainty about the Future is the Pace of Change will Only Quicken. To be prepared for what the future holds, what are the top three juggernauts that librarians need to address to position libraries to succeed and to expand their position within their institutions? The application deadline has been extended to September 15. In an ongoing effort to help librarians grow professionally and increase their understanding of the changing state of knowledge resources, IGI Global is proud to continue the Academic Librarian Sponsorship Program, which sponsors librarians’ attendance of the industry’s most important events. 2017 application information will be posted the first week of September. We’d like to congratulate the scholarship winners who’ve already been announced for this year: Christian Burris from Smith Reynolds Library, Wake Forest University, won the Harrasowitz Charleston Conference Scholarship, and Molly J. Mulligan, an Electronic Resources Acquisitions Professional at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS) Kraemer Family Library is the grand prize winner for the SAGE Publishing photo contest. Links to Christian’s winning essay and Molly’s winning photo are available on the Conference website at the link below. https://www.charlestonlibraryconference.com/scholarships/ Taylor & Francis have put together a great series of videos titled “Why Charleston?” showing clips of attendees from the 2016 conference that have been added to our YouTube channel. There are some shorter clips, each around a certain theme of the conference, and one full length video showing all of them together. Thank you to the team at Taylor & Francis for creating and sharing them with us. https://www.youtube.com/user/CharlestonConference/ A reminder that the Charleston Fast Pitch is still accepting proposals that pitch a winning idea to improve service at an academic or research library through September 15.  The proposal should describe a project or venture that is innovative, useful and better or different than what has been done in the past or done currently. Selected proposers will have five minutes to pitch their idea before a Charleston Conference audience on Wednesday, November 8, and a panel of judges who will determine the finalists. The Goodall Family Charitable Foundation will sponsor two $2,500 awards for the finalists.    Last year's winners were Syracuse University for their Blackstone LaunchPad for student entrepreneurship, and St. John Fisher College, for their Coordinated Collection Development API Project. A write up of the session is available on the conference blog, and an ATG Special Report on all the winners, runners up, and honorable mentions is available on the Against the Grain website. https://www.charlestonlibraryconference.com/fastpitch/ http://www.against-the-grain.com/2016/11/charleston-fast-pitch-competition/ http://www.against-the-grain.com/2017/01/atg-special-report-the-charleston-library-conference-fast-pitch-2016/ The program is coming together nicely, and we should have something to share with you in the next few weeks. Confirmed plenary speakers include Loretta Parham, CEO and Director of the Atlanta University Center (AUC) Robert W. Woodruff Library, Georgios Papadopoulos, Founder and CEO of Atypon, Jim O’Donnell of Arizona State University, and  Brewster Kahle, Founder and Digital Librarian of the Internet Archive. We’re also excited to welcome back the “Long Arm of the Law” panel, organized and moderated by Ann Okerson, Senior Advisor to CRL. This year’s talk includes Charleston favorite William Hannay, Partner at Schiff Hardin LLP, and Ruth L. Okediji, Jeremiah Smith, Jr. Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. https://www.charlestonlibraryconference.com/speakers/ Now, Katina has some additions to her “If Rumors Were Horses” column in ATG. Thanks Katina! Hello everyone! The ATG and Charleston Conference teams are all fine in Charleston. We have heard from several of you after the shooting at Virginia’s Restaurant on King Street on Thursday, August 24. Thanks for everyone’s concern.  The hard-working and focused Rolf Janke has recently moved to Raleigh, NC and he says it’s great to be back East again! Rolf has already had lunch with Beth Bernhardt in Greensboro. He is planning to drive to Charleston this November for the Conference. Rolf is founder and publisher of Mission Bell Media which publishes print and digital media for the library market with a focus on leadership.Titles from thePeak Series represent contemporary topics for academic librarian career development. http://www.missionbellmedia.com/ While we are talking about books, did you see the article in the Wall Street Journal about Sue Grafton (August 25, p. M3). Sue’s father was a novelist  himself. Both parents were alcoholics though apparently her father was a successful lawyer and wrote detective fiction at night. Her mother was  “vivacious, outgoing, pretty and friendly” when she was sober. Sue talks about being afraid of water in the basement of their huge house because of big rains and sitting at home with a butcher knife because she was afraid of “bad guys”. The stuff of fiction. Fascinating and wonderful article. Highly recommended. https://www.wsj.com/articles/author-sue-graftons-scary-childhood-home-1503413068 While we are talking about books, we have been spending a lot of time in our new place on Sullivan’s Island and my son Raymond, the real bookman, discovered sullivans-trade-a-book-mount-pleasant. It’s a delightful bookstore with wonderful inventory (we bought many new additions for our personal libraries). Between the Edgar Allan Poe Branch of the Charleston County Library on Sullivan’s and Trade a Book in Mt.Pleasant, I think we will have plenty to keep us reading! An aside, Poe was stationed on Sullivan’s as a private in the US Army in 1827 and 1828  and he used the island setting as the background of his story “The Gold Bug.” http://www.ccpl.org/content.asp?id=14637&action=detail& https://www.yelp.com/biz/sullivans-trade-a-book-mount-pleasant Was excited to learn that the great debater Alison Scott has been appointed associate university librarian for collection management and scholarly communication by the UCLA Library. She will assume her role on Oct. 2. “I am pleased to welcome Alison to the UCLA Library,” said Ginny Steel, Norman and Armena Powell University Librarian. “Her extensive, varied experience with collection development, licensing, budgetary constraints and statewide and national consortial initiatives will enable us to continue to build, preserve, and provide access to a rich, deep collection of physical and digital materials that support UCLA's fundamental mission of teaching, research and public service.” The associate university librarian has leadership, management, strategic policy and planning responsibilities for collection management functions and the library’s comprehensive scholarly communication program. The position oversees five major departments: cataloging and metadata, preservation, print acquisitions, scholarly communication and licensing and the Southern Regional Library Facility.  Alison comes to UCLA from UC Riverside, where she has been associate university librarian for collections and scholarly communication since 2014. While there she has focused in particular on enhancing the library’s approach to collection development, crafting a curation strategy that views general and special collections materials as combined into distinctive collecting areas and incorporating faculty involvement into the review process. Prior to working at Riverside, Alison served as head of collection development at George Washington University and in a number of collection development roles at Harvard University’s Widener Library. She earned her doctorate in American and New England studies at Boston University, master’s degrees in library science and in religion from theUniversity of Chicago and a bachelor’s degree in English literature from Whitman College. I remember the Hyde Park Debate at the 2016 Charleston Conference  between Alison Scott and Michael Levine-Clark  on the topicResolved: APC-Funded Open Access is Antithetical to the Values of Librarianship In Favor: Alison Scott and Opposed: Michael Levine-Clark. The debate was conducted in general accordance with Oxford Union rules. All in the audience voted their opinion on the resolution before the debate began using text message voting, and the vote totals were recorded. Each speaker offered a formal opening statement, followed by a response to each other's statements, and then the floor was open for  discussion. At the conclusion of the debate, another vote was taken. The winner of the debate was the one who caused the most audience members to change their votes. Members of the audience had an opportunity to make comments and pose questions as well. I remember voting for Alison because I thought she did a great debating job! No hard feelings please, Michael! Plus, I think I was once again against the grain of the group. www.against-the-grain.com www.charlestonlibraryconference.com Moving right along, we decided to take the debate online as a Webinar this year and we had a huge registration (363) on the debate topic of Resolved: The Journal Impact Factor does more harm than good. Debating were Ann Beynon (Clarivate Analytics) and Sara Rouhi(Altmetric).  I have to give big kudos to Rick Anderson. The debates are his creation. Rick acts as the moderator for each debate.  We are planning for more debates this year. Please send suggestions of possible resolutions! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=567UeNLKJx8 Several months ago, Tom Gilson and I were able to interview Andrea Michalek, Managing Director of Plum Analytics, to discuss its acquisition by Elsevier. Recently  we learned that Elsevier is integrating PlumX Metrics into its leading products, expanding access to these tools to the wider academic community. We are updating the interview even as we speak. Watch for it on the ATG NewsChannel and in the print issues of ATG. Speaking of which, shocking us all, Elsevier has just acquired another US-based business, bepress. WOW! Here is some of the press release. -- Elsevier, today acquired bepress, a Berkeley, California-based business that helps academic libraries showcase and share their institutions’ research for maximum impact. Founded by three University of California, Berkeley professors in 1999, bepress allows institutions to collect, organize, preserve and disseminate their intellectual output, including pre-prints, working papers, journals or specific articles, dissertations, theses, conference proceedings and a wide variety of other data. “Academic institutions want to help researchers share their work, showcase their capabilities and measure how well they’re performing,” said Jean-Gabriel Bankier, bepress CEO. “Now with Elsevier we’ll be stronger and better by applying more technologies and data and analytics capabilities to help more institutions achieve their research goals.”  The bepress model is unlimited, cloud-based, and fully hosted, and includes dedicated consulting and support. bepress offers Digital Commons, the leading hosted institutional repository software platform and a comprehensive showcase for everything produced on campus. It is also the only repository that seamlessly integrates with the Expert Gallery Suite, a solution for highlighting faculty and research expertise. The bepress CEO and employees will continue working with the company in Berkeley, California. The acquisition is effective immediately and terms of the agreement are not being disclosed. That’s it for this week! If you have comments or questions, you can click the “Contact” button on the podcast website, or you can email me directly at leah@charlestonlibraryconference.com. Thanks for listening, and I hope to hear from you soon!  

Welcome to episode 29 of ATG: The Podcast. This week, we’re continuing our previews of upcoming preconferences at the 2017 Charleston Conference. We have a great set of sessions on a wide range of topics that are designed for several different segments of the Charleston audience. Registration for all preconference sessions is included on the main conference registration page at the link in the show notes. Session details, including descriptions, speaker lists, and bios are available on the conference schedule, also linked in the show notes. LINKS: Preconference schedule with session details   Registration for the Charleston Conference, including preconferences: Product Development Forums: Charleston Premiers:  Charleston Fast Pitch Competition:  The applications for Juried Product Development Forums and the Charleston Premiers are now open on the conference website. These are both opportunities for publishers and vendors to connect with the Charleston community. The Juried Product Development Forums are designed to allow publishers and vendors to get feedback from librarian about new products in development, or improvements to existing products. The Premiers are designed to showcase new products and innovations already in the marketplace but that may not be widely known yet. The call for proposals is also open for the Charleston Fast Pitch Competition. This contest is designed to recognize and reward new innovation in academic library and information management. We’re looking for proposals that pitch a winning idea to improve service at an academic or research library. The proposal should describe a project or venture that is innovative, useful and better or different than what has been done in the past or done currently. The Goodall Family Charitable Foundation will sponsor two $2,500 awards for the finalists. Last year's winners were Syracuse University for their Blackstone LaunchPad for student entrepreneurship, and St. John Fisher College, for their Coordinated Collection Development API Project. A write up of the session is available on the conference blog, and an ATG Special Report on all the winners, runners up, and honorable mentions is available on the Against the Grain website. A big welcome first to Jackie Ricords and John Lavender, two of the session organizers and presenters for “Publishers are Not the Enemy: A practical workshop showing how publishers and libraries are cooperating with eBooks for the benefit of both.” This preconference is scheduled for Tuesday, November 7, from 1:00 – 4:00 pm. Lavender-Consulting is run by John Lavender, a publisher with almost 40 years' experience in academic and scientific publishing. John has worked with books, databases and journals, and in editorial, sales, marketing, electronic content and delivery, business development and in negotiating. John is also a Senior Associate with Maverick Publishing Specialists who provide strategic consulting and operational outsource services for the publishing industry. Jackie Ricords leads IGI Global’s e-resources and consortia outreach efforts. Prior to joining the STM publisher, she worked in higher education for more than a decade teaching and directing professional development programs for educators. Jackie has expertise in digital resources, with special interest in e-publishing and online learning. In collaboration with industry leaders, she facilitated the development of a series of information and digital literacy products and award-winning learning experiences for the academic and school markets. Next up, we talk with Jeff Bailey, Linda Creibaum, and Star Holloway about their session titled “Developing a Weighted Collection Development Allocation Formula.” This preconference will be held on Tuesday, November 7, from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm. A native of Dayton, Ohio, Jeff Bailey was appointed Director of the Dean B. Ellis Library of Arkansas State University in 2012 after leading the library for three years in an interim capacity. In his academic library career, Jeff has held positions in both public and technical services, including several years leading collection development at Arkansas State. Jeff received his MSLS from Clarion University of Pennsylvania when online searching was essentially just Dialog and BRS. He has presented at Charleston Conference since 2008. Linda Creibaum is Acquisitions and Serials Librarian at Arkansas State University, where for the last 15 years she has been fascinated at the change in library resource formats and the nature of the “problems” she solves in her work day. Linda has worked in a variety of library positions, including Solo Librarian and Instructional Services Librarian. Star Holloway is the Serials Access Librarian at the Dean B. Ellis Library. She also does collection development for the Media and Theatre departments and spends some time at the information desk. She received her M.S. in Information Science from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville and her Bachelor’s Degree in Finance with an emphasis in banking at Arkansas State University. And, saving the best for last, we have Buzzy Basch to tell us about the preconference sessions that he’s organizing. Buzzy Basch heads Basch Associates. He previously had a career as President of Basch Subscriptions, and Turner Subscriptions, and Vice President of EBSCO and F W Faxon. Buzzy is an active member of ALA, SLA, NASIG, and MLA. He has been an association treasurer, award recipient, and member of publishing and finance committees. Buzzy has been attending and presenting at Charleston for years. He's an institution! This year, he is putting together a whopping three preconferences, all on important topics. The first one we talk about is Understanding the Library Market, which will held on Monday, November 6, from 1:00 – 4:00 pm. It’ll also be co-presented by Michael Gruenberg, with Gruenberg Consulting, and Erin Gallagher, from Reed College. The second preconference on the schedule is Electronic Resources Management, on Tuesday, November 7, from 9:00 am – 12:00 pm. They've got an impressive roster of co-presenters here! They have a knack for putting together a great team to talk about the different aspects of the issue, and present their experiences. And the third and final preconference is Negotiating with Vendors, on Tuesday, November 7, from 1:00 – 4:00 pm. This was one of the largest preconferences last year – we ended up having to move them to a different room at the last minute because there were so many people! Just shows what an important topic this is – everyone has to negotiate at some point! ————————————————————— Katina Strauch has some additions to her “If Rumors Were Horses” column from Against the Grain. Just over the July 4 holiday. Great food and fun and no rain which made it even better! Even had a great golf cart parade! Got a message the other day from one of my favorite people, the amazing Scott Plutchak! Scott says that he is retiring from UAB, but not from the rest of his life. He and Lynn moved into Lynn's dream house 17 years ago; it's stuffed with artwork and books, perched up above a pretty little lake with swans and great blue herons. Scott is still on the editorial boards of several journals. He will be able to spend more time on the Open Scholarship Initiative (OSI), a global collaborative effort between all major stakeholders in scholarly publishing to improve the future of how research information gets published, shared and accessed. There's also the steering committee for Metadata 2020, a group effort to advocate for richer shared metadata. Scott says he will keep pushing for open data and a more open, affordable and transparent scholarly communication ecosystem. He’s not going to go looking for consulting gigs, but if some interesting projects came up, who knows? Scott plans to do some professional and personal writing, he is doing a lot of exercising and even cooking several dinner several nights a week. It’s also great that Scott will have more time for guitar and harmonica. Last but not least, Scott will be in Charleston in November! http://osinitiative.org/ https://twitter.com/metadata2020 Guess all good things must transition! The innovative Derk Haank will retire from his role as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Springer Nature by the end of 2017. Derk will be succeeded by Daniel Ropers, currently CEO of bol.com, who will join Springer Nature on October 1 and work with Derk until December to ensure a smooth transition. Derk has thirty years of experience in the academic publishing industry, almost half of which have been with Springer. He joined Springer Science+Business Media in 2004 as its CEO and drove the migration of content from print to digital, re-inventing the academic book market in the process. Throughout his career, Derk championed new business models and in 2008, led the acquisition of BioMed Central which together with Springer’s own open products led Springer Science+Business Media to become the leading open access publisher in the world. The culmination of his career was the merger of Springer Science+Business Media with the majority of Macmillan Science and Education in 2015. He became CEO of the newly created Springer Nature and for the past two years led the integration of the businesses. Derk Haank, CEO, Springer Nature, commented: “I’m at the stage in my career when I’d like to step back from a CEO role and try something a little different and a little less all consuming. The fact that we have found a great successor in Daniel makes this now possible. I am very proud of all that we’ve achieved together at Springer Nature over the past two years. Whilst I will certainly miss the company and the people that I’ve worked with, this feels like a good time to hand over the reins to someone new. The critical merger related activities are behind us and our growth strategy is bearing fruit. I will be leaving Springer Nature in the capable hands of a strong and highly experienced Management Board and in Daniel, a new CEO who will no doubt bring fresh insight and passion to a business that will remain close to my heart”. Daniel Ropers is an experienced CEO with a proven track record of building successful B2C businesses that led the market. He joins Springer Nature from the digital sector where he co-founded online retailer bol.com in 1999, becoming CEO in 2000. During his 17 years as CEO, Daniel created the leading retail brand in Benelux with a reputation for excellent personalized shopping, reliability and customer service. After two consecutive periods under Private Equity ownership, he steered the sale of bol.com to Benelux based retail group Ahold Delhaize in 2012 and remained its CEO. Outstanding Charleston Conference Director Jack Montgomery sends this news! Western Kentucky University Provost David Lee has announced the appointment of Susann deVries as Dean of University Libraries. Currently the Interim University Librarian at Eastern Michigan University, deVries has extensive experience in library services designed to enhance and support teaching, scholarship, and community engagement. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Calvin College, a master’s degree in Library and Information Science from Wayne State University, and a master’s degree in Historic Preservation from Eastern Michigan University. During her 13 years at Eastern Michigan, deVries has served in a variety of roles including Education Librarian and Department Head prior to becoming Interim University Librarian in 2015. deVries was chosen through a national search process chaired by Potter College Dean Larry Snyder. “It is such an honor and privilege to have been appointed as Dean of University Libraries,” deVries said. “I am thrilled to be joining WKU at this exciting time and look forward to partnering with the excellent library faculty, staff and students to continue developing outstanding library services, collections, and facilities for the WKU community.” deVries will start July 1. She is succeeding Dean Connie Foster who is retiring after 41 years of service to WKU and University Libraries. Peter Froehlich (Purdue University Press) (where does he get his energy?) tells us that the studious Leah Pennywark is now Dr. Pennywark and has successfully landed an assistant acquiring editor position with colleague at Stanford University Press. Earlier in the spring the folks at Purdue University Press landed a new talent in the acquisitions department, Susan Wegener. Have a great day and see you next time! If you have comments or questions, you can click the “Contact” button on the upper right side of the podcast website, or you can email me directly at leah@charlestonlibraryconference.com. Hope to hear from you soon!

Find your entrepreneurial spirit and get inspired by a panel of four female business owners who will share their successes and challenges of starting something new. The panel includes Emily Carris, photographer; founder, The Art Dept (gallery and art supply boutique); Marcy Coffey, graphic designer; partner, WFGD Studio (certified women-owned design firm); and Karyn Gerred, painter & professional scenic artist; founder, The Resource Exchange (nonprofit reuse center and workshop space). Also joining us was Kate Cassidy from Blackstone Launchpad to briefly present their resources. (October 11, 2016)

Ryan Foland is a communication strategist who can help you overcome your fears and communicate a clear message, whether you're going in for an in person interview to speaking in front of tens of thousands of people. Featured in Fortune, Inc., Entrepreneur, Huffington Post, Ryan is recognized for his unique theories of public speaking and communication tricks. A decorated Toastmaster and an experienced Emcee, Ryan loves connecting with new people and has a fondness for innovation. Ryan has been seen in TEDx, Blackstone LaunchPad, Expert DOJO, Toastmasters and others. On the side, he blogs at RyanFoland.com and has a passion for drawing stick figures on his Instagram. Connect with Ryan on LinkedIn Follow Ryan on Twitter TechDayNews Blog RyanFoland.com   http://wgl.fm/ http://mediaauthorityshawnchhabra.com/ http://shawnchhabra.com/ http://shawnchhabra.com/

Ryan Foland is the Assistant Director at Blackstone Launchpad at UC Irvine, a campus-based entrepreneurship program where they counsel students in how to launch their entrepreneurial ventures.  Ryan is also a keynote speaker and author of the book "3-1-3" where he teaches the elements of effective communication, and specifically, how to what you need to say in less words, with greater impact.  This technique is what he uses in coaching students of the Blackstone Launchpad to prepare for pitching their idea to investors, as well as to prospective clients and partners in everyday conversation. During this episode, Nicole and Ryan discuss the Blackstone Launchpad at UCI, how it works, who it's for, and the unique counseling elements that they have incorporated into the program.  Ryan then walks us through the steps of his 313 communication process, and shares the finer distinctions of how to define the problem you solve (for your clients), what you do, and the market you serve.  Ryan's book will be launched on March 13, 2016 - you can find out more at www.313book.com For more information on Ryan, visit www.ryanfoland.com or find him on Twitter or Instagram at @ryanfoland To learn more about Blackstone Launchpad at UCI visit http://blackstonelaunchpad.uci.edu