Podcasts about smes

Extra episode this week, as I was determined to share my take-out thoughts and themes from the Running Remote conference, in Lisbon April 2023.I needed to capture these thoughts while I was still buzzing with the learning and inspiration gleaned, from the contacts and connections and conversations I enjoyed at the "#1 Remote Work Conference For Enterprises and SMEs"Spoiler alert: The future is freelance, flexible, AND remote

If you're interested in learning about a framework that can bring your vision, business, or startup to life, you don't want to miss this episode. It is jam-packed with actionable advice from Tomi Davie (T.D.), who was named one of the 100 Most Influential Africans of 2021 by New African Magazine. Harry ‘Tomi Davies (TD) is Collaborator-in-Chief (CiC)' at TVC Labs, an entrepreneurship support organization in Lagos, Nigeria which he founded. TD is the co-founder of the Lagos Angel Network (LAN), founding President of the African Business Angel Network (ABAN), and Board Member of the Global Business Angels Network (GBAN).His personal goal is simple to ‘Find, Fund & Follow' African startup founders that are using technology-enabled innovation to create economic value and social impact on the continent. In December 2021, TD was named as one of the ‘100 Most Influential Africans of 2021' by New African Magazine.T.D.'s mission in life is to find, fund, and follow. He is an angel investor, author, public speaker, and a systems analyst turned tech strategy advisor. He is the founder and Collaborator-in-Chief of TDC Labs, an entrepreneur support organization in Lagos, Nigeria. Akua and T.D. discuss his newest book, Investment Worthy Startup, which he wrote to help founders and investors build successful startups.  Highlights in this episode: T.D. explains why supporting innovative startups creates both economic value and social impact. Learn about the POEM framework to build a startup, which consists of Proposition, Organisation, Economics, and Milestones.Learn the three key differences between startups and SMEs.Founders - find out what angel investors are listening for when you pitch them and how to present yourself in the process.Realize that your team doesn't all start in the same place, even though you're all aiming for the same goal. Each member needs something different to achieve the end goal. It's your job to find an aggregate place to meet before you start your journey, so you can all go farther together.If you've enjoyed the Open Door Conversations podcast, please leave a review. When you do, you'll receive Akua's 15-minute Thought Leadership LinkedIn Checklist.* It's the routine she has used to build social wealth and relationships on LinkedIn that have directly contributed to her ability to impact so many leaders around the world.*Be sure to screenshot your review after submitting it, share it on social media, and tag Akua!  Links Mentioned In This Episode:Book: Investment Worthy Startup Book Link on Amazon Connect with 'Tomi Davies:Website: www.tomidavies.comTwitter: @TomiDee Instagram:@TomideeLinkedIn: @TomiDeeConnect with Akua Nyame-Mensah:Instagram: @akua_nmWebsite: www.akuanm.comLinkedIn: @akua Nyame-MensahTwitter: @akua_nmGet the secrets to break burnout and overcome overwhelm weekly: www.akuanm.com/newsletterWork with Akua one-on-one: www.akuanm.com/workHire Akua to speak at your organization: www.akuanm.com/speaking 

If you've been running cold email campaigns over the past few years you've noticed that the number of emails being sent is at an all time high, open rates and reply rates are declining, and it's never been harder to book meetings with email. Prospects are getting pounded with more and more email daily and at large Enterprises it's even worse. When a company is highly visible and has deep pockets, it's guaranteed that decision makers and influencers are constantly getting constantly hit up for “30 minutes of their time”. If you're someone who has a product or service that you know can add value, how do you break through the noise? My guest in this episode has developed a system for consistently breaking into Tier 1 accounts and getting in front of senior decision makers using ABM style outreach that's relevant to every prospect. In the first half of the episode we discuss how he cracked the code for getting into enterprise accounts after working as an employee for a leading Martech company. In the second half we talk about how he turned his discovery into a repeatable system and started his own lead generation agency to help SMEs solve the same problem. Join the community - 5,000+ SaaS founders, agency owners, and entrepreneurs sharing cold outreach tips, tricks, and strategies: ⁠morgandwilliams.com/community⁠ If you don't want Zuckerberg to spy on you but you still want valuable cold outreach tips, head on over to ⁠morgandwilliams.com/newsletter⁠ and put in your best email.

In this episode, we explore how coaches, speakers, subject matter experts (SMEs), and consultants can grow their businesses by granting other companies or individuals the right to distribute their courses, programs, and trainings internally to their teams or externally as client-facing offerings.   This approach, known as licensing, can help you generate additional revenue, expand your reach, and increase brand recognition, all while saving time and money.   Don't miss this opportunity to discover the potential of allowing others to distribute your content and how it can transform your business.   For more about this epsiode and for all the resources mentioned, go to sweetlifepodcast.com/286      

On today's show we're digging into a trio of intriguing ideas, courtesy of Daniel Kuhn, CoinDesk's features reporter and assistant opinion editor.Read the full story here.Resources:https://cofi.informal.systems/FAQ Liquidity-Saving through Obligation-Clearing and Mutual Credit: An Effective Monetary Innovation for SMEs in Times of Crisis At Consensus 2023, CoinDesk Is Tackling the Biggest Issues in CryptoNEAR Foundation Launches NEAR Horizon -This episode was edited & produced by Adrian Blust with original music by Doc Blust & Colin Mealey.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Nitin Jain is a well-known name in the Indian startup ecosystem as the co-founder and Chief Business Officer of OfBusiness, a tech-enabled platform that provides raw material procurement and credit solutions to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in India. With a strong background in structured solutions trading, Nitin has played a key role in OfBusiness' success, helping the company raise over $875M from top investors like Tiger Global, SoftBank Vision Fund, and Matrix Partners, among others. Today, OfBusiness is valued at around $5B and has become a leading player in the Indian SME ecosystem. Nitin Jain is an alumnus of the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, and has had a successful career prior to his entrepreneurial journey. Episode Notes: Nitin Jain discusses his journey into entrepreneurship (2:10) Discovering Co-Founders and Creating the OfBusiness Idea (3:55) Nitin Jain shares his perspective on what's more critical: the team or the idea (6:30) The Early Days of OfBusiness: A Look Back at the "Aha Moment" (9:15) Coping with the Struggles and Insecurities of Being a Founder (12:30) Understanding the Composition of Winning Founding Teams (16:30) Nitin Jain's Unique Leadership Style and Approach (23:10) Fostering a People-First Culture at OfBusiness (27:10) Developing a Strong Company Culture as Companies Grow (29:18) How to Maximize the Benefits of Your Investors (32:22) Overcoming the Toughest Days as a Founder (39:20) Nitin Jain's Biggest Lesson as an Entrepreneur (41:57) Advice to His Younger Self: What Nitin Jain Would Have Done Differently (46:03) . . . Social Links: OfBusiness on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ofbusiness_com Abhishek Goyal on Twitter: https://twitter.com/njain351 Podcast on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thedesi_vc Akash Bhat on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bhatvakash Podcast on Instagram: https://instagram.com/thedesivc Akash Bhat on Instagram: https://instagram.com/bhatvakash

Our expert host, Benjamin Ensor, is joined by some great guests to ask: "Is the future of SME banking specialisation?” This week's guests include: Atif Siddiqi, Founder/CEO, Branch Lara Gilman, Head of New Ventures, Iwoca Peter Beckman, CEO, Treyd Whether you prefer the abbreviation ‘SME' or ‘SMB' - the truth is that there is a vast collection of businesses wrapped up in those three letters. The World Economic Forum estimates that 90% of businesses globally can be categorised as SMEs. That's a lot of businesses to cover with the same financial services offerings - so maybe it's time to specialise! Our panel discuss: an overview of how SME banking works today, the challenges of serving small business niches, and whether the future will see more niche-focused products This episode is sponsored by Blinkist The Blinkist app offers distilled audio content from over 5000 non-fiction books and podcasts, to get bitesized insights in just 15 minutes, across 27 different categories. Go to Blinkist.com/fintech to start your 7-day free trial and get 25% off of a Blinkist Premium membership. And now for a limited time you can even use Blinkist Connect to share your premium account with a friend or partner and get 2 premium subscriptions for the price of one. Fintech Insider by 11:FS is a podcast dedicated to all things fintech, banking, technology and financial services. It's hosted by a rotation of 11:FS experts including David M. Brear, Ross Gallagher, Benjamin Ensor, and Kate Moody - as well as a range of brilliant guests. We cover the latest global news, bring you interviews from industry experts or take a deep dive into subject matters such as APIs, AI or digital banking. If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe and please leave a review Follow us on Twitter: @fintechinsiders where you can ask the hosts questions, or email podcasts@11fs.com! Special Guests: Atif Siddiqi, Lara Gilman , and Peter Beckman.

โลกของธุรกิจในปัจจุบันเปลี่ยนแปลงไปจากทศวรรษที่ผ่านมาอย่างเห็นได้ชัดในหลากหลายด้าน ทั้งเรื่องเทรนด์ธุรกิจ เทคโนโลยี หรือความต้องการของผู้บริโภค ปัจจัยเหล่านี้ล้วนเป็นความท้าทายที่สำคัญของ SMEs ที่มีข้อจำกัดเรื่องทรัพยากร และอาจถูกกดดันมากขึ้นจากความเสี่ยง Recession ที่ปะทุขึ้นมา THE SME HANDBOOK by UOB: Growth Hack in Recession ตำรา SMEs ปรับกระบวนทัพ รับมือเศรษฐกิจถดถอย เอพิโสดแรกของซีซันนี้ เฟิร์น-ศิรัถยา อิศรภักดี ชวน เคน-นครินทร์ วนกิจไพบูลย์ ประธานเจ้าหน้าที่บริหาร และบรรณาธิการบริหาร THE STANDARD มาร่วมฉายภาพและทำความเข้าใจกับโลกธุรกิจที่เปลี่ยนแปลงไป อะไรคือความเสี่ยง และอะไรคือโอกาส หากเราปรับตัวได้ทัน

As companies progress towards their net-zero emissions targets, the rise in voluntary green schemes has triggered an increase in financial reporting questions on their accounting treatment. In this podcast – the second in our series on the impact of this transition on financial reporting under IFRS® Accounting Standards – Allison McManus and Irina Ipatova look specifically at how voluntary green schemes work. ‘ISSB™' is a Trade Mark and ‘IFRS®', ‘IASB®', ‘IFRIC®', ‘IFRS for SMEs®', ‘IAS®' and ‘SIC®' are registered Trade Marks of the IFRS Foundation and are used by KPMG IFRG Limited under licence subject to the terms and conditions contained therein. Please contact the IFRS Foundation for details of countries where its Trade Marks are in use and/or have been registered.

โลกกำลังอยู่ในยุคเศรษฐกิจถดถอย เงินเฟ้อ หนี้สูง เหลื่อมล้ำ ส่งผลสั่นคลอนถึงธุรกิจครั้งใหญ่ บางแห่งต้องปลดพนักงาน หรือหากไปต่อไม่ไหวอาจถึงขั้นยื่นล้มละลาย ผู้ประกอบการควรปรับกระบวนทัพอย่างไรให้ธุรกิจพร้อมเดินหน้ามุ่งสู่โลกใหม่ เติบโตสวนกระแสอย่างยั่งยืน พบกับ THE SME HANDBOOK by UOB Season 6 Growth Hack in Recession ตำรา SMEs ปรับกระบวนทัพ รับมือเศรษฐกิจถดถอย ชวนฟังทุกมิติตั้งแต่ NEW LANDSCAPES ฉากทัศน์ใหม่ของโลกธุรกิจ BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION ทรานส์ฟอร์มธุรกิจอย่างไรให้ถึงเป้าหมาย STRATEGIC PARTNER หาพาร์ตเนอร์ที่ใช่ในเกมที่คุณไม่สามารถชนะคนเดียวได้อีกต่อไป PEOPLE MANAGEMENT รู้ทันการเปลี่ยนแปลงทุกเรื่อง ‘คน' AGILE IN ACTION ปรับกระบวนการทำงานรูปแบบใหม่ด้วยแนวคิด AGILE SUSTAINABILITY FRAMEWORK มุมคิดเปลี่ยนความยั่งยืนให้กลายเป็นโอกาสทางธุรกิจ พบกันเอพิโสดแรกวันพุธที่ 26 เมษายน 2566 ผ่านทุกช่องทางของ THE STANDARD PODCAST

Want to know the number one skill to future-proof your career in privacy? Heidi Saas, Data Privacy and Technology Attorney, has got you covered!Hi, my name is Jamal Ahmed and I'd like to invite you to listen to this special episode of the #1 ranked Data Privacy podcast.In this power-packed episode, you'll learn about the number one skill you need to succeed in the world of privacy, and discover how AI will shape the future of the industry. Plus, Heidi shares practical tips and strategies to help you up-skill and stay relevant in the ever-evolving world of privacy.But that's not all! You'll also discover the qualities that make a standout Privacy Pro, and learn how to embody them to achieve success.And if that's not enough, Heidi also shares invaluable advice for Privacy Pros who have been laid off, the importance of Privacy regulations to safeguard consumer rights, and her personal journey into the world of PrivacyWith this episode, you'll gain access to actionable insights that will help you build a credible and fulfilling career in privacy.Book a success strategy call to take your career to a new level and unlock your full potential: https://bit.ly/3l4Y0d2Heidi Saas is a Data Privacy and Technology Attorney who regularly advises SMEs and startups working in a wide variety of industries, on a global scale. She delivers thoughtful process management, utilising emotional intelligence, legal training, and business acumen to help her clients understand their challenges and help them map a better path forward. In addition to being an Attorney and a Privacy Pro, Heidi is also an A2J Advocate, Mentor, Coalition Builder, and Disruptor for truth and justice initiatives.Follow Jamal on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kmjahmed/Follow Heidi on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidi-saas-31a7a16/Get Exclusive Insights, Secret Expert Tips & Actionable Resources For A Thriving Privacy Career That We Only Share With Email Subscribers► https://newsletter.privacypros.academy/sign-upSubscribe to the Privacy Pros Academy YouTube Channel► https://www.youtube.com/c/PrivacyProsJoin the Privacy Pros Academy Private Facebook Group for:Free LIVE TrainingFree Easy Peasy Data Privacy GuidesData Protection Updates and so much moreApply to join here whilst it's still free: https://www.facebook.com/groups/privacypro

In part 3 of this series, Miyanovich and Starr discuss how intelligent people also perpetuate myths about the law, how the very nature of poltics often makes policy a substandard machine of problem solving, the importance of immediacy as it relates to deterrence, and how people want the government to solve the issues while they ignore the need for their own critical investment.

Two things to know today Microsoft Renames Hacker Groups, and New Secure-by-Design Guidelines Released AND Primo Raises $3.4M to Streamline IT Management for SMEs, Emerging as New Competitor in Co-Managed IT Market   Advertiser:      https://atera.com/                          https://smbonlineconference.com/   Do you want the show on your podcast app or the written versions of the stories? Subscribe to the Business of Tech: https://www.businessof.tech/subscribe/   Support the show on Patreon:  https://patreon.com/mspradio/   Want our stuff?  Cool Merch?  Wear “Why Do We Care?” - Visit https://mspradio.myspreadshop.com   Follow us on: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mspradionews/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/mspradionews/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mspradio/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/28908079/      

Shredding an RFP is a phrase that those of us in the proposal industry use to describe how we will get an RFP ready for the proposal process, right after we receive the solicitation but before we begin writing. What does it mean to shred an RFP? And why would you add this extra step to the process when you could just jump right in to writing the response? On this episode of the podcast, guest host Ted Koval, Senior Proposal Manager at the RFP Success Company, walks us through the steps of shredding an RFP, explaining how it helps you identify every RFP requirement and track your progress. Ted describes how to build a compliance matrix, the tool we use to ensure that every question in a solicitation has been addressed and manage the process of meeting with SMEs. Listen in for insight on using the compliance matrix as the final check before you submit a response and learn how to shred an RFP and increase your chances of winning a deal for your company! Key Takeaways  What it means to shred an RFP and why you should do it before you begin writing How a compliance matrix helps us identify each RFP requirement and track our progress What columns to include as you build a compliance matrix in an Excel spreadsheet Why we suggest building an RFP template that mirrors your compliance matrix The benefit of setting up your response in the same order the solicitation was released How the MUST, SHALL, WILL sentences in a solicitation reflect the requirements you'll be scored on How the compliance matrix helps us manage the process of meeting with SMEs How the shredded RFP serves as a final check before you submit your response How an RFP reflects the attention to detail you'll likely have if you get hired for the job Why we use the compliance matrix in the agency debrief to identify lessons learned Connect with Lisa & Ted The RFP Success Company Lisa on Twitter Lisa on Facebook Lisa on LinkedIn The RFP Success Company on YouTube The RFP Success Company on LinkedIn Subscribe on Apple Podcasts Email podcast@rfpsuccess.com Resources   Book a Call with the RFP Success Company Dare to Be Influential: Maximizing Your Positive Influence While Still Being True to You by Lisa Rehurek The RFP Success Book by Lisa Rehurek The RFP Success Institute

In episode 058, Jahed & Martin sit down with Tyler Morrey of Upside Cooperative. In the conversation, we cover how difficult it really is for companies to share their equity with a large number of stakeholders, the state of the art for equity ownership for SMEs, ESOPs, and legal structures, and the innovations that Upside Cooperatice is unlocking by making legal innovation broadly accessible with the Hedera blockchain and ecosystem. We hope you enjoy the episode.

“Product-led content is any type of content that strategically weaves a product or a service into the story, and uses it to illustrate a point, solve a problem, or help the audience accomplish a goal.”Welcome to another episode of The SEO Growth Podcast! This time, we speak to Dr. Fiorenza Dossetto, Brand and Editorial Lead at ActiveCampaign Postmark, about the importance of creating product-led content that successfully showcases your product without sounding too “salesy”.Dr. Fio shares the importance of weaving a narrative around your product in a way that feels relevant and valuable to your audience, as this ultimately leads to more sign-ups and higher rates of customer satisfaction. She talks about how to create low-effort, high-impact content that aligns with your product, resonates with your audience, and helps them engage with your brand.Dr. Fio also shares her experience getting external SMEs for email marketing campaigns, and how service agencies can use case studies to create their own product-led content. Tune in to learn more about how to use product-led content to create a powerful story for your brand!In this episode, we talk about:Product-led contentStorytelling in content marketingSEO distributionTimestamps:00:01: Introduction[00:01:10] Understanding product-led content [00:03:37] Benefits of product-led content[00:06:23] Tips for creating product-led content[00:08:44] Mentioning products in shareable content: A controversial take from an SEO expert [00:10:22] Repurposing content[00:12:00] Creating content that's relatable[00:14:08] Common mistakes to avoid[00:16:12] Getting external SMEs [00:17:28] Creating product-led content: Tips for service agencies[00:19:24] Lessons learned from implementing product-led content at Postmark[00:21:03] How it impacts your marketing strategyAbout Dr Fiorenza DossettoFio (fee-oh) is normally quiet but can talk non-stop about product-led content, strategic thinking, and why em dashes are the best punctuation mark of all time. She works 4 days a week as the Brand & Editorial Lead at Postmark. She often uses her Fridays to write ContentFolks, a content marketing newsletter that is a blend of sticky notes, big content ideas, and small practical examples.Connect with Dr Fiorenza Dossetto on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fiorenzadossetto/ Listen to our most popular episodes: A Content System Beats Content Ideas, with Brad Smith @WordableHow to create a company culture that puts you ahead of the pack, with Adam Harris @Cloudbeds How Typeform's Branding Experiments Guided its Content and Product Strategy, with Alex Antolino @Typeform Join the Flying CatsStill feeling your stomach drop whenever you have to report organic growth to leadership? Things are about to change

In this episode, I speak with Vikram Kotibhaskar, co-founder and CEO of Credlinq.AI, which provides embedded finance products to digital e-commerce players using alternative data. Vikram was born and raised in India, completed his Master's in the US, and then spent many years working across diverse banking roles in Asia. Vikram made the jump to fintech founder with Credilinq.AI in January 2021. Credilinq.AI is focusing their B2B credit services across Southeast Asia and Australia and already has quite a bit of traction in Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia. They raised a 1M USD angel round in Feb of 2021, a 2.6M USD seed round in April of 2022, and just closed an extension of that seed round earlier this year in February. You can learn more about them by visting credilinq.ai.

SEASON: 2 EPISODE: 16Episode Overview:Building good credit is an essential part of your financial planning. In fact, good credit is key to your future success with money.Whether you are a business professional, entrepreneur, or have a side-gig, having and using credit appropriately and managing your finances is critical to your success. After all, credit is part of your financial power. To help us understand how to make credit work for us is author, speaker and financial strategist, Nathalie Noisette.Guest Bio: New York Native, Nathalie Noisette, has transformed the way we approach our business finances. As a game-changing financial executive, Nathalie is widely respected for achieving strategic and service excellence in evolving markets and competitive industries. Nathalie's experience as a multi-industry expert has allowed her to drive unprecedented revenue and 2X profitability gains in numerous fast-paced startup environments. By galvanizing immediate wins and transcending cultural divides, Nathalie has become a reputed C-level influencer and business strategy accelerator with a unique vision to help companies efficiently surpass targeted goals. Nathalie has cheerfully delivered inspirational financial leadership for SMEs while expertly guiding them through revenue-building strategies and cost-saving initiatives to accomplish explosive business growth.Resource Links:Website: www.mentalmoneypodcast.comProduct Link: https://amzn.to/43lcuqQInsight Gold Timestamps:05:11 Book is entitled, Converted05:34 No matter where you are in your journey07:07 Interest is not in your interest09:12 Being a parent just puts you into this gear that you don't know you have10:35 What does money mean to you? 12:27 Value is always a perception issue16:23 There's really never a time where we are not looking at the ratio of expenses to income18:54 You don't have to fail, you just have to strategize 22:18 Your perception of value and their perception of value23:30 The difference between a poverty mindset and a wealth mindset24:51 Every single interaction, every business you engage with, every product you buy is a problem that is being solved at a profit26:17 if you don't address the personal things, they bleed into the business things27:40 The more money you make, the more problems you'll have34:13 Data suppression36:14 Is there life after chapter 11?38:48 Difference between good debt and bad debtConnect Socially:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathalie-noisette/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@mentalmoneypodcastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/mentalmoney.me/Email: info@mentalmoneypodcast.comSponsors: Rainmaker Digital Solutions: https://www.rainmakerdigitalsolutions.com/Resources: https://becomingpreferred-podcast.com/resources/Next Episode: Getting Unstuck from Mental Quicksand with Eric Collier!

Tarang Gupta hosts Nick Chandi, Co-Founder and CEO of ForwardAI. ForwardAI provides a full suite of accounting data solutions for banks, lenders, fintechs, accountants, and small businesses. In this episode you will hear about: - Why most SMEs struggle to get funding from traditional banks - How ForwardAI uses data aggregation to predict clients' cashflow needs - State of the fintech ecosystem in Canada - Nick's vision for the next 5 years And much more! About Nick Chandi Nick is the CEO and Co-founder of ForwardAI. Before starting FowardAI, Nick co-founded SlickPie, which provides online accounting software for over 40,000 small businesses. In 2019, Nick had a successful exit from a firm he co-founded called Welcome Networks. Nick has an MBA and a bachelor's in engineering. He is also Co-chair of the British Columbia Tech CEO Scale C-Council and regularly contributes to the Forbes Finance Council. About ForwardAI FowardAI is a Canada-based fintech startup that provides aggregated accounting and business data to help businesses to gain insight and control over their financial information. For more FinTech insights, follow us on WFT Medium: medium.com/wharton-fintech WFT Twitter: twitter.com/whartonfintech WFT Instagram: instagram.com/whartonfintech Tarang's Twitter: twitter.com/tg_tarang Tarang's LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/taranggupta100

This week: Anurag Gupta, managing director of Usha Yarns, talks with Ian Welsh about products the company is developing from pre-consumer recycled cotton combined with PET plastic. They discuss the potential for sustainable fibres becoming mainstream, the importance of increasing the value of waste and developing products that don't require virgin material use. Plus: further reflections from the recent responsible sourcing and ethical trade forum from the World Business Council for Sustainable Development's Ruth Thomas and eBay's Chris Gale. They highlight the importance of access to finance for rural SMEs can aid development and the need for migrant worker empowerment programmes. And, the era of clean power potentially imminent says new Global Electricity Review from thinktank Ember; the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market launches core market principles; US senators investigate big brands on migrant child labour; UK's Advertising Standards Authority bans Etihad ads for greenwashing, in the news digest. Host: Ian Welsh Click here to register for the ESG through the supply chain webinar (21st April 11am CET) and click here to join the regenerative agriculture webinar with Nestlé (27th April 3pm CET).

I scheduled this episode to follow the Honey Badger episode because I liked the alignment of their names, but I could just as easily have linked it to the Wine Funding episode, because we're once again turning engaged fans into even more engaged financiers! Only this time, we're taking all comers.So when George says Honeycomb is "helping business owners really activate this community of customers and fans and neighbours that they already have, and to level up those customers and turn them into evangelists for their business by getting them on board and then literally invested in the long term success of those businesses" we hear echoes of Maxime, who described his lenders as "the most sincere and genuine ambassadors you can dream of as a wine estate, because they're part of the adventure, and they share that with their friends." You can find Honeycomb Credit and all their projects over at https://www.honeycombcredit.com/ Twisted's artisanal egg roll project is already funded in Chicago, but maybe check out InBox Beverage in Chestertown (MD) with their turnkey micro-brewing system; or Bless Thy Skin in Riverview (FL), a black-owned, woman-owned, family-owned business that specializes in skincare products and treatments; or even the Rockfish Oyster Bar, a new seafood restaurant coming to Cleveland's Chagrin Falls neighborhood... there really are so many great options.They're on LinkedIn, too, where they publish wonderful little glimpses into those projects and the impact that capitalised small businesses are making to their communities.You can learn more about me on my LinkedIn page, my action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this very show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24Oh, and I'll announce it properly, but I'll be recording an episode of this show at Money2020 Europe in June so if you're going to be there, too, let's meet up. And if you're not, but you would still like to participate in the show, reach out to me at https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/contact-usRegards, Brendan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We had the chance today to dig deep into dialogues with audience members, tossing ideas back and forth, addressing follow up questions, and highlighting the benefits of this full hour of Q&A with Chris and Kaylee! Some topics included: Cold Calling: Everyone has an idea on what cold calling is and what it means for it to work well, but we back the whole concept up to propose individual definitions of what ‘cold' and ‘working well' could actually mean to your company so that you can determine how to approach those calls Demand Creation Strategy: Creating Content and planning Events without a Subject Matter Expert poses a problem, but we go through some options for bringing in SMEs and how to use external voices to your advantage CRM Selection: Choosing the right CRM for your needs and specific use case should be a holistic experience, but we cover the major benefits and drawbacks to Hubspot and Salesforce If you have questions for Chris, join the Revenue Vitals Live conversation on zoom by registering here, or submit them ahead of the call here! Also make sure to check out The Vault, where you can find full depth insights and IP beyond the high level live event.  Thanks to our friends at Hatch for producing this episode. Get unlimited podcast editing at usehatch.fm.

For almost two decades, Thomas Gelmi has been an executive coach, facilitator, member of the Forbes Coaches Council, and sparring partner supporting leaders and teams in their development at various levels and in numerous industries. He focuses on developing personal and interpersonal competence in leadership, teamwork, and customer relations. For his practice, he draws on an extraordinary biography with exciting milestones. Besides his many years of professional experience in various management positions, he spent seven years with Swissair, the former Swiss national airline. In the worldwide leadership and training of cabin crew, and in contact with international customers at 30,000 feet, he experienced first-hand how important a high level of personal and interpersonal competence is for effective human interaction. Additionally, he has been a team leader and trained caregiver in accidents and other extreme situations for many years.Thomas is a bestselling author of several books, among them BREAKTHROUGH, What Cabin Crew can teach you about Leadership, Teamwork and Customer Contact, and THE COACHING CODE, Practical tips for cracking the code and building a successful Coaching Business.Based in Switzerland, with a home near Zurich, Thomas works with leaders all across Europe and regularly in North America, Africa, Asia, and Australia. His clients include global corporations as well as SMEs and private individuals.More about Thomas:(Inter)Personal Effectiveness & Leadership DevelopmentHis books, Breakthrough and The Coaching CodeFostering a Resilient Environment within the WorkplaceBecoming an Authentic, Conscious, and Effective LeaderWhat Leaders are Doing Wrong and How to Fix itwww.livelifedriven.com

Our expert host, Benjamin Ensor, is joined by some great guests to ask: "Are SMEs being served globally?” This week's guests include: Bruno Diniz, Co-Founder, Spiralem Dani Lima, Executive VP of Infrastructure , Novo Rob Pearce, Technical Advisor - CEO's Office, OakNorth Said Murad, Partner, Global Ventures No matter where you're tuning in from - at some point, you're likely to have heard that independent small businesses are the backbone of your economy. But to date, that backbone of entrepreneurs and small business owners has often lacked the proper support needed from financial services. According to the World Economic Forum, 67% of small and mid-sized companies globally are fighting for survival. Our panel of experts discuss: the banking options for SMEs globally, the challenges across markets, and what could the future be in this space. This episode is sponsored by Blinkist The Blinkist app offers distilled audio content from over 5000 non-fiction books and podcasts, to get bitesized insights in just 15 minutes, across 27 different categories. Go to Blinkist.com/fintech to start your 7-day free trial and get 25% off of a Blinkist Premium membership. And now for a limited time you can even use Blinkist Connect to share your premium account with a friend or partner and get 2 premium subscriptions for the price of one. " Fintech Insider by 11:FS is a podcast dedicated to all things fintech, banking, technology and financial services. It's hosted by a rotation of 11:FS experts including David M. Brear, Ross Gallagher, Benjamin Ensor, and Kate Moody - as well as a range of brilliant guests. We cover the latest global news, bring you interviews from industry experts or take a deep dive into subject matters such as APIs, AI or digital banking. If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe and please leave a review Send us your questions for the Fintech Insider Mailbag here (https://11fscompany.typeform.com/to/kBMan5qL?typeform-source=t.co) Follow us on Twitter: @fintechinsiders where you can ask the hosts questions, or email podcasts@11fs.com! Special Guests: Bruno DIniz, Dani Lima, Rob Pearce, and Said Murad.

SME Bank as a DFI has multiple mandates but what is their track record in helping SMEs. Datuk Wira Dr Aria Putera Ismail, CEO, SME Bank answers that question whilst telling us how the bank is performing financially and the health of SMEs today.

In this episode of the Thoughtful Entrepreneur, your host Josh Elledge speaks with the CEO and Founder of Konsyg, William Gilchrist.Connecting with William, the CEO and founder of Konsyg, can offer you significant benefits. William has over 15 years of experience in global technology sales and a strong academic background, making him an expert in global markets and cultures. He has a track record of creating successful startups and managing sales operations, and Konsyg offers a range of sales services, including Revenue Generation, Sales Consulting, Recruitment, Lead Generation, and Sales Training. By connecting with William and Konsyg, you can access an experienced and skilled sales professional and a suite of services to optimize your business operations and achieve your sales goals more efficiently and effectively.About William Gilchrist: William has accumulated over 15 years of experience in technology sales throughout North America, Europe, Middle-East and Asia-Pacific. He holds a Bachelors of Arts (B.A.) in International Relations from Bowdoin College, TEFL Certification from GLV Zhuhai / 平和英语学 院, Mandarin certification from Cornell University and another Mandarin certification from Beijing University / 北京大学. William began his career within the corporate sector of Shanghai as a Media Relations Manager for Wai White Dragon, a publication for Shanghai's elite. William then returned to the United States to work in school administration as Director of Admissions and College Planning at Hales Franciscan High School in Chicago Illinois. He was hired to rebuild the admissions department by devising a plan to increase enrollment numbers among a unique demographic within the Chicago-land area. William then returned to Asia and worked in Business Development in Singapore for TSL Marketing. At TSL, WIlliam ran multiple lead generation campaigns in both English and Mandarin for top-tier tech firms throughout J-APAC. He then moved to a position as Regional New Business Sales Manager for Google, Asia-Pacific. William has also founded and facilitated internal sales training courses for multiple departments. William transitioned to the APAC Knowledge Manager role where he focused on training and quality systems management for regional and global projects. William then ventured outside of Google to build and direct the Outbound Sales Teams for TradeGecko (QuickBooks Acquired) as Director, and then as Vice President for MyDoc, both Singapore-based startups. William is currently the Founder of Konsyg and runs an end to end sales operation for Enterprises and SMEs globally. Salesman, defined.About Konsyg: Konsyg is a global provider of on-demand sales services for B2B tech companies. They offer a solution that allows leaders to concentrate on the core business while they manage their sales functions. Their services aim to maximize the return on investment (ROI), engage new markets, and create footholds for long-term multi-regional success. Konsyg's focus is to increase the local product adoption of Global technology while also assisting in selling technologies globally, with a particular emphasis on the US, Europe, South America, and throughout Asia-Pacific.Konsyg provides its clients with various sales services, including Revenue Generation, Full Sales Functions, Sales Consulting, Risk Management, Country Setup, Recruitment, Lead Generation, and Sales Management, including KPI and Activity Tracking, Executive Coaching, and Sales Training. Konsyg's clients can achieve their sales goals efficiently and effectively by utilizing these services.In today's competitive business landscape, outsourcing sales...

Here at the RFP Success Company, we not only help our clients design, develop and write a top-notch RFP for submission, but they also look to us for guidance on proposal best practices.  And over the years, we've noticed some common mistakes our vendors make when it comes to RFP processes. On this episode of the podcast, guest host Ted Koval, Senior Proposal Manager at the RFP Success Company, sits down with team members Cheri Fisher, Director of Operations and Client Services, and Kevin Cleary, Proposal Manager and Writer, to discuss the top eight mistakes we see our vendors make and how to fix them! Cheri explores how waiting until the last minute to respond to an RFP impacts your proposal, and Kevin explains why it's crucial to involve your HR and legal departments early in the process. Listen in for insight on making time for a series of reviews of the draft response and learn how to create a winning culture where everyone at your company understands the value of responding to RFPs. Key Takeaways  The 8 most common mistakes we see our vendors make in responding to RFPs How waiting until the last minute to respond to an RFP impacts the proposal process How to create a culture where SMEs understand the value of responding to RFPs The impact of not having a formal go/no-go decision-making process in place Why it's crucial to involve your HR and legal departments early in the RFP process How not making time for us to meet with SMEs leads to boilerplate responses Why we suggest making time in the calendar for 3 reviews of the draft RFP response The consequences of submitting a proposal without differentiators or win themes What you can learn from an internal and external RFP debrief (win or lose) Connect with Lisa, Ted, Cheri & Kevin  Lisa's Website Lisa on Twitter Lisa on Facebook Lisa on LinkedIn The RFP Success Company on YouTube The RFP Success Company on LinkedIn Subscribe on iTunes Email podcast@rfpsuccess.com  Resources  Book a Call with the RFP Success Company Dare to Be Influential: Maximizing Your Positive Influence While Still Being True to You by Lisa Rehurek The RFP Success Book by Lisa Rehurek The RFP Success Institute

The vast majority of people in the ICT industry install Inside Plant cable mixed with same small outside plant jobs. The OSP portion of our industry can be very rewarding, fun, and challenging. We bring on Philip Klingensmith RCDD,OSP,RTPM,TECH, CT and Chad Scholtisek, RCDD, TECH, CT. Two Subject Matter Experts in the OSP realm. Listed to us as we discuss the basics of OSP including types, installer and designer considerations. Support the show

Miguel Armaza sits down with Alex Prot, CEO & Co-Founder of Qonto, one of the largest fintechs in Europe that helps SMBs simplify their everyday banking and offers a wide range of digital financial services.Founded in 2017, Qonto serves 350,000 clients across France, Italy, Spain and Germany, and has over 1,000 employees. The company has also raised close to $700 million from Valar, DST, Hedosophia, Insight, KKR, and angels like Taavet Hinrikus, Co-Founder of Wise and Guillaume Pousaz, CEO & Founder of Checkout.com.We discuss:Three key focus areas that unlocked Qonto's successChallenges of scaling Qonto to over 1,000 employees and 350k customers How they plan to reach a million clientsGrowing through product-led growthThe power of having a strong Co-FounderFundraising lessons for entrepreneursEurope's fascinating fintech opportunity… and a lot more!Want more podcast episodes? Join me and follow Fintech Leaders today on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app for weekly conversations with today's global leaders that will dominate the 21st century in fintech, business, and beyond.Do you prefer a written summary, instead? Check out the Fintech Leaders newsletter and join 52,000+ readers and listeners worldwide!Miguel Armaza is Co-Founder & Managing General Partner of Gilgamesh Ventures, a seed-stage investment fund focused on fintech in the Americas. He also hosts and writes the Fintech Leaders podcast and newsletter.Miguel on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3nKha4ZMiguel on Twitter: https://bit.ly/2Jb5oBcFintech Leaders Newsletter: bit.ly/3jWIpqp

With rolling blackouts and huge waste disposal issues a regular occurrence in large parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, we look at how green tech start-ups offer smart, climate-friendly ways to solve the issues holding the region back. In Malawi, our repórter Peter Jengwa meets Admore Chiumia, whose company Green Impact Technologies turns waste into energy. In Zimbabwe, the BBC's Shingai Nyoka visits AI entrepreneur Leroy Nyangani who's come up with a way of making solar energy more financially accessible, while also solving a big problem of energy access in the country where, almost 70% are not connected to the grid and blackouts are the norm. Audrey-Cynthia Yamadjako from the African Development Bank outlines a new scheme designed to support green SMEs on the continent. Presenter Luke Jones is joined by the BBC's Karnie Sharp who was raised in South Africa. They discuss how, with proper support, green solutions to everyday problems may unlock Africa's economic and human potential. Producer: Ivana Davidovic Researcher: Matt Toulson Series producer: Alex Lewis Editor: Richard Vadon Sound: Tom Brignell

In this episode Christian will look into how organizations have been using ESG to mislead consumers and B2B clients to believe they are actually environmentally friendly and not hurting local communities. There are many SMEs who are actually making a real effort to protect the environment by reducing waste, energy consumption and optimizing their supply chain. In contrast some of the old economy industries are using fake green labels and lobbyists to promote their greenwashed products.  Consumers and businesses need to avoid such dirty products as they hurt local communities, the wild life and future generations. It is not just about being ESG compliant but about being a positive impact on the planet.   GET THIS BOOK >>> Don't miss out on how to drive your business to be sustainable, while avoiding the ugly side of ESG, which can be a great revenue driver when applied in a non-toxic way: Get the 2022 edition of "The Sustainable Business Idea - A pocket guide to Environment, Social and Governance (ESG)" written by Christian Bartsch. It is availabe at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other retailers: ISBN: 979-8-8330-3548-1 Softcover ASIN: B0BKWWJL4H Kindle edition

Women-owned small business government contractors (#wosb) deliver excellent value to federal agencies. During March 2023, the GovCon Chamber of Commerce is presenting a free series to show women business owners how to succeed in federal contracting.In this episode, Neil McDonnell walks through Neil McDonnell shares five reasons federal agencies should partner with women-CEOs from #wosb government contractors:High Staff Retention reduces risk to contractsResponsive: WOSB can change on a dime to meet agency changing prioritiesWOSB have extensive, proven past performance supporting federal agenciesExperts: WOSBs are subject matter experts (SMEs) across all areas needed to support an agency's missionWOSBs have a strong organizational foundation focused on culture making them more effective meeting agency requirementsWomen should be winning more federal government contracts. In 2022, there were 12 million women-owned small business and 85000 were registered to sell to the federal government. Unfortunately very few are winning contracts – far below the minimalist 5% SBA goal.HOST | NEIL MCDONNELL, president GovCon Chamber of CommerceSmall business owners​ trust Neil to​ show them HOW to earn federal government contracts and subcontracts.​Join Neil at 12N EST daily free federal sales marketing training for small business contractors.

Welcome to this unique crossover event featuring two of #TeamKrulak's resident regional SMEs! Last week, Chairman Xi Jinping of #China and President Vladimir Putin of #Russia met for 3 days of talks concerning mutual cooperation, opposition to the U.S.-led global order, and Putin's ongoing invasion of #Ukraine. Our #China SME Mr. Dan Rice and #Russia SME Dr. Yuval Weber helped us understand what each side got - or didn't get - out of these talks, and what we might expect from the Russia-China relationship going forward. Enjoyed this episode? Think there's room for improvement? Share your thoughts in this quick survey - all feedback is welcome! The survey may be found here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSenRutN5m31Pfe9h7FAlppPWoN1s_2ZJyBeA7HhYhvDbazdCw/viewform?usp=sf_link Intro/outro music is "Evolution" from BenSound.com (https://www.bensound.com) Follow the Krulak Center: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thekrulakcenterInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekrulakcenter/Twitter: @TheKrulakCenterYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcIYZ84VMuP8bDw0T9K8S3gLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/brute-krulak-center-for-innovation-and-future-warfareKrulak Center homepage on The Landing: https://unum.nsin.us/kcic 

Is the industry voice in step with what customers actually want? That is the question posed by Iain Sinnott, Head of International Carrier Sales at Enreach for Service Providers. In this podcast, Iain reflects on observations from recent industry events — such as Barcelona's Mobile World Congress and London's Cloud Comms Summit — as well as conversations with service providers. Topics covered in this podcast include the current industry's focus on ‘mobile-first' and how, for the Nordics, that is a history lesson: ground already well-trodden. Iain also talks about the increasing divergence of what corporations and SMEs want, and how the industry needs to react. Finally, Iain explains how Enreach is working with SMEs, including its emphasis on white label options and service providers retaining the customer relationship and visibility. Visit https://enreach.com/en

Tarang Gupta hosts Pushkar Mukewar, CEO and Co-Founder of Drip Capital. Drip Capital is a California and India-based fintech company, focused on solving the working capital problem for SME exporters using tech. In this episode you will hear about: - Working capital challenges that SMEs face - Differences in how financial services operate across the globe - Starting up in emerging markets - Value that an MBA added to Pushkar's startup ambitions And much more! About Pushkar Mukewar Pushkar is the Co-Founder and CEO of Drip Capital. In his 13-year career, Pushkar has worked across various geographies and has an in-depth understanding of the global financial services industry. Prior to starting Drip Capital, Pushkar was a venture capitalist at Saama Capital and was involved with several high-growth start-ups in India. He has also been a Consultant with Oliver Wyman and started his career at Capital One, developing credit risk analytics for the subprime consumer loans business. Pushkar holds an MBA degree from The Wharton School and an MS degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology. About Drip Capital Founded in 2015, Drip Capital is on a mission to make global trade easy and accessible for small businesses. Drip is using technology to re-build core parts of the international trade finance infrastructure and make the underwriting and financing of international B2B transactions seamless for small businesses. Special Announcement The 3rd Annual Wharton Fintech Conference scheduled for March 30 and 31, 2023. This year's lineup includes speakers from Greycroft, QED Investors, Ribbit, Visa, PayPal, Chime, Ripple, and more. Go to www.whartonfintechconference.com to get tickets! For more FinTech insights, follow us on WFT Medium: medium.com/wharton-fintech WFT Twitter: twitter.com/whartonfintech WFT Instagram: instagram.com/whartonfintech Tarang's Twitter: twitter.com/tg_tarang Tarang's LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/taranggupta100

Sajjad Hamid shares on Business Development a key for Family Business Growth About: Sajjad Hamid is an entrepreneurship educator who teaches at a Trinidad and Tobago community college. He lectures at the College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts of Trinidad and Tobago (COSTAATT) in entrepreneurship, family business management, and marketing.  He writes a bi-weekly column, Entreprenomics, in the T&T Business Guardian newspaper. He has published over 180 articles that advise small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and family business owners to grow their ventures.  Previously, Sajjad worked as Business Development Manager for a Fortune 500 company in the southern Caribbean.  Sajjad owns a consulting and training company, Entrepreneur Central Ltd. He assists SME owners in growing their ventures through training and consulting.  Sajjad developed the Knowledge Solopreneur Development Model, which shows knowledge workers how to transition to knowledge entrepreneurs through an iterative process.  He is the author of Build Your Legacy Business: Solopreneur To Family Business Hero. This book takes the entrepreneur from mindset development to starting and growing their ventures. The solopreneur can reference the book to transform their business into a family firm and so leave a legacy behind.  Director of Chaguanas Chamber of Industry and Commerce.  Sajjad has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (Marketing) from the University Of Florida (U.S), an MBA (General Management) from the University of Reading (U.K), and a Master of Science in Business Psychology from Franklin University (U.S) and an Advanced Certificate in Family Business Advising from the Family Firm Institute (U.S). 

This week's Network Break covers Arista's new WAN routers that get the company into the SD-WAN market, debates whether Aryaka targeting SMEs is a sign of problems or opportunity, and discusses an update on the size of the SASE market. We also look at an HPE acquisition, the use of exploding USBs to target journalists, space networking, and more. The post Network Break 423: Arista Woos Large Enterprises With New SD-WAN Router; Google Breaks Glass Enterprise appeared first on Packet Pushers.

Small business owners spend a lot of time thinking about how to gain a competitive advantage, and will spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on experts to help them do so.But no one knows your clients like your clients themselves.Therefore, listening to your clients is the best way to get that competitive advantage! That's why we're bringing Michael Haynes, author of Listen, Innovate, Grow and SME/SMB business growth expert to talk us through 3 different ways to listen to your market, and gain the insights you need.We'll talk about: - how to listen without blowing your budget and how most companies listen wrong- why listening goes nowhere, and how to make sure your are sharing those learnings by operationalizing them- the 3 categories of listening, and why so many people forget the most important 1- and more!This will be a golden nugget rich conversation with Michael, who has proven to me that his long career in the trenches with SMBs and SMEs has taught him invaluable ways to listen to the market, innovate based on those insights, and grow revenue.Don't miss your chance to pick his brain!Connect with Michael:On his LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhhaynes/On his company: https://listeninnovategrow.com/Connect with ME!Join us LIVE on the show: https://tinyurl.com/b2bcb2023Online at:LinkedIn or Instagram.Support the show

Sign up here for updates on impactinvestor.ioThanks to all the Causeartist Partners - Check them out here.Subscribe to our Causeartist newsletter here.----------------------------------------In episode 50 of the Investing in Impact podcast, I speak with Ladé Araba, Executive Director of AlphaMundi Foundation(AMF), on investing in women and climate to create long-term jobs and  prosperity.Ladé Araba is a senior Development Finance Executive and Board Member with over 20 years of experience. Prior to becoming the Executive Director of the AlphaMundi Foundation, she was the Managing Director for Africa at Convergence Blended Finance.She also sits on the Equality Fund's Investment Advisory Council, serves as a Non Executive Director on the Board of African Risk Capacity (ARC) Ltd, is the Co-Founder/President of the Visiola Foundation, and was an Advisory Committee Member at the Green Outcomes Fund.She previously served as Technical Adviser to the former Minister of Finance of Nigeria and was the Head of the Strategic Monitoring Unit. She was also an Adviser in the Power Sector Team at the Nigeria Infrastructure Advisory Facility (NIAF).She was previously a Senior Investment Officer in Infrastructure Finance at the African Development Bank and served as Technical Adviser to the Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa. Ms. Araba was an Enterprise Development Specialist at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and also worked for the QED Group LLC in Washington, DC.She holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from Thunderbird School of Global Management and a dual Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree in Management Information Systems (MIS) and International Business from the University of Oklahoma (2001). A native English speaker, she is fluent in French and Italian and has basic knowledge of Spanish.About AlphaMundi FoundationAlphaMundi Foundation's mission is to strengthen the long-term commercial viability of SMEs in Africa and Latin America to drive economic transformation. This leads to more jobs and income generation benefiting more people and in turn, increased purchasing power and improved qualities of life.The vision: Economic transformation where SMEs in Africa and Latin America can scale sustainably and create well-paid jobs.What they do:Structured blended financeAccess to capital and technical assistance are two of the biggest barriers to businesses getting off the ground. We're willing to take the risk and invest in these impactful SMEs. We do this by offering SMEs with investments that may have lower returns and/or higher risks through measures like technical assistance grants, first loss guarantees, returnable pre-investment stage grants, concessional loans, and/or scaling capital. All of this is done with the expectation that these investments will be truly catalytic and more likely to bring strong social and environmental rewards.GLIC field buildingWe believe gender and climate issues can't be addressed on an ad-hoc basis. Rather, these complex challenges require an intentional approach, which brings explicit gender and climate solutions into all investment decisions. Over recent years, gender lens investing has gained traction, although as global temperatures rise, the demand for climate investing will only continue to increase. That's how we came to coining a new term: GLIC—Gender Lens Investing for Climate. ----------------------------------------Sign up here for updates on impactinvestor.ioThanks to all the Causeartist Partners - Check them out here.Subscribe to our Causeartist newsletter here.

This week's Network Break covers Arista's new WAN routers that get the company into the SD-WAN market, debates whether Aryaka targeting SMEs is a sign of problems or opportunity, and discusses an update on the size of the SASE market. We also look at an HPE acquisition, the use of exploding USBs to target journalists, space networking, and more. The post Network Break 423: Arista Woos Large Enterprises With New SD-WAN Router; Google Breaks Glass Enterprise appeared first on Packet Pushers.

This week's Network Break covers Arista's new WAN routers that get the company into the SD-WAN market, debates whether Aryaka targeting SMEs is a sign of problems or opportunity, and discusses an update on the size of the SASE market. We also look at an HPE acquisition, the use of exploding USBs to target journalists, space networking, and more. The post Network Break 423: Arista Woos Large Enterprises With New SD-WAN Router; Google Breaks Glass Enterprise appeared first on Packet Pushers.

Skip the Queue is brought to you by Rubber Cheese, a digital agency that builds remarkable systems and websites for attractions that helps them increase their visitor numbers. Your host is  Kelly Molson, Founder of Rubber Cheese.Download the Rubber Cheese 2022 Visitor Attraction Website Report - the first digital benchmark statistics for the attractions sector.If you like what you hear, you can subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, and all the usual channels by searching Skip the Queue or visit our website rubbercheese.com/podcast.If you've enjoyed this podcast, please leave us a five star review, it really helps others find us. And remember to follow us on Twitter for your chance to win the books that have been mentioned in this podcastCompetition ends July 31st 2023. The winner will be contacted via Twitter. Show references: https://ats-heritage.co.uk/https://twitter.com/ATS_Spencerhttps://twitter.com/ATS_Heritagehttps://www.linkedin.com/in/spencerclark/ Spencer ClarkAs a newbie to the sector, I started my career in attractions back in 2012 when I joined ATS to help grow the business. There was so much to learn, but I used my experience in design and creative problem solving and a natural ability to understand clients needs quickly.Today I am in the privileged position of co-owning and leading the company as MD with a fantastic team and a reputation to match.My underlying passion is in creating value through great design and unrivalled customer service. I love nothing more than to listen to clients describe their problems and to be asked to help them overcome them, often in a highly creative yet pragmatic way.I love how we can use technology (thoughtfully) to elevate an experience. At ATS, we are pioneers of on-site and on-line digital visitor experiences across the cultural sector, delivering amazing audio & multimedia tours, digital apps/tools, films and tailored consultancy services.We help our clients to engage with millions of visitors and we're privileged to be trusted by attractions small and large across Europe, including St Paul's Cathedral, Guinness Storehouse, Westminster Abbey, Bletchley Park, Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, Titanic Belfast and Rembrandt House Museum.Outside of work, I'm busy keeping up with two active daughters and try to get on the water paddle boarding, on the hills mountain biking, or roaming around in our camper van.  Transcriptions: Kelly Molson: Welcome to Skip the Queue, a podcast for people working in or working with visitor attractions. I'm your host, Kelly Molson. Each episode, I speak with industry experts from the attractions world. In today's episode I speak with Spencer Clark, Managing Director of ATS Heritage.Spencer shares his insight into what the biggest pain points are for attractions when developing their stories, and the ATS methodology that helps bring out the very best experience for your guests.If you like what you hear, you can subscribe on iTunes, Spotify and all the usual channels by searching Skip the Queue. Kelly Molson: Welcome to Skip the Queue, Spencer. It's lovely to have you on. Spencer Clark: Thanks for having me, Kelly. Kelly Molson: It's taken a while for me to persuade Spencer to come on. I'm not going to lie, I've had his arm right up his back for a while, but he's finally here. Spencer Clark: I've relented. Kelly Molson: He has relented, but he might regret it. Right, icebreakers. What's the worst gift that anyone's ever given you? Spencer Clark: Who's going to be listening to this? I'm not so much worse, but once you get, like, your third or fourth mug, it might be personalised and tailored to you, maybe they're quite amusing, some thoughts gone into it, but when you get a few too many mugs, that creates a little bit. Kelly Molson: Would you rather socks than mugs? Spencer Clark: Yeah, I'm getting into my socks now. Yeah, some nice socks would go down a treat, I think. Kelly Molson: Yeah, I'm with you on this. So this was a Twitter discussion, so the team at Convious sent me some lovely Convious branded socks the other week. They're great. And I had them on. I took them a little picture, I put them on social media and then everyone was like, "Oh, socks. Yeah, were going to do socks for giveaways", but everyone said, "No, socks are rubbish". And I was like, "Absolutely not". Socks are, like, low of the list of things that I want to buy myself. So if I get free socks, I'm going to wear them. Spencer Clark: That's it. And you get your favourites. Kelly Molson: Good. No mugs for Spencer. Okay, this is a random one. If you can only save one of the Muppets, which muppet do you choose and why? Spencer Clark: Oh, man, that's quite a good one. Miss Piggy is a little bit hectic for me. I don't think I could spend a lot of time with her. The chef's quite entertaining, though. The hoodie gordie chickens, I think is. Yeah, I think he was smiling face and, yeah, I like a good chef, so, yeah, I keep him. Kelly Molson: It's a good choice. And I wasn't expecting the impersonation either. Impressive. Spencer Clark: There you go.Kelly Molson: Really, we're taking this podcast to new levels, people. This one would be quite easy for you if you could only listen to one album for the rest of your life. What would it be? Spencer Clark: That's a good. That's really good. Back after Uni, 1999, I went travelling with my best friend and we had a little campervan and went around New Zealand for four weeks and we bought two tapes when we landed in Auckland and we had those two tapes and we listened to just those two tapes for four weeks in a camper van. And one was Jamiroquai Synchronised album, big Jay Kay fan. And the second one was Californication by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Kelly Molson: Excellent. Spencer Clark: And I can still listen to them over and over again now. Kelly Molson: I think I'll let you have the two because it's a great story and really good memories attached to those two. Spencer Clark: Oh, every time we put it on. And Dave is not a great singer, but it's a memorable voice he has. So we're travelling around, these tracks pop up and I'm taking straight back to a certain lovely mountain right here in New Zealand. It's Delcito. Thanks, Dave. Kelly Molson: Lovely. Thanks, Dave. Good memories, good story, good start to the podcast. Right. What is your unpopular opinion? Spencer Clark: So it's QR code, but in a particular setting. And that is where, in restaurants or places to eat, where the QR code is that's your menu. It's the way you pay and everything. And I think just sometimes it gets just a bit frustrating. It's not a great experience because I like a big menu, not necessarily with pictures on the food, I don't need that. But a good menu with everything on it, so you can kind of see the choices, but on your phone you can't really see the whole menu, so that's a bit annoying. And then you got to just order it and add it to your basket and then you think it's gone, then do all the payment. Spencer Clark: I know it's supposed to be easy, but in that environment, I prefer just chatting to a waiter or a waitress and just and having a good experience. Kelly Molson: I agree. When there was a need for, it was great. Obviously, during pandemic times, that was great that you could go in and you could do that. But, yeah, I want to ask questions. I can't decide between these three dishes. What would you pick? You want that conversation, don't you? That's the whole part. It's all part of the experience of eating out. Spencer Clark: It definitely is. And I did a lot of time as a waiter in my late teens and early twenties. And a great waiter makes your night. That's the way I see it. All your day. It's just under use. You don't want to cut them out, you want to go just all on the app. Kelly Molson: Right, listeners, that is a good one. Let me know how you feel. Are you up for having a little chat with your waiter? Straight waitress? Or do you just want to go QR code, cut them out, no chat. No chat. Let me know. Spencer Clark: Sometimes I have those moments as well, of course, but overall, I'd rather chat with someone. Kelly Molson: All right, tell us about your background before you got to ATS. It wasn't in the attraction sector, was it? Spencer Clark: No. So ATS where I'm at now, I've been eleven years and this is the first entry into attractions culture sector. So I did product design at uni and I was never going to be the best designer. It worked out, but I love design and I love the process of essentially being given a problem and find ways in which you can design something to solve it in the best possible way. So to design was definitely in my interests. And then after Uni, I had an idea. My sister is profoundly deaf and so we had an idea for some software, or had some ideas for some software that helped communicate with businesses using your PC. This is pre Messenger and pre WhatsApp all of that. Spencer Clark: So it's kind of when using modems, if anyone remembers those, I'm really sure my age when talking about modend dial ups and yeah, I went to the Princess Trust actually for a bit of funding, a bit of help, and kind of did that start up. So that was inspired by trying to find a solution for an issue that my sister was facing. But then, yeah, the internet really hit us and we had messenger and thankfully, communications with deaf people are far better now. And on almost any cool playing field we've got WhatsApp texts, all of that sort of stuff, and email everything, so it kind of levelled it a bit. Then I set up another business with her and it was deaf awareness training. So we would train healthcare professionals, predominantly. The front of house, health care, how to communicate better with deaf patients. Spencer Clark: Again, driven off of a pretty horrible experience that my sister had. And so, yeah, trying to sell something and making the experience better was really important to us. So that was really good. And through that, funny enough, I met ATS along that route because ATS were looking for some sign language tours. They were the first company to really start to do it on handheld devices. And yeah, that's how I met them, because they found us doing deaf awareness training and signing and asked us for some help. That was the seed. But then at the same time, when I was doing small business consultancy around childcare businesses, really random, but it was the same sort of thing. Spencer Clark: I love working a bit of entrepreneurial spirit in me and I loved helping organisations, smaller businesses, particularly with their cash flows and their marketing ideas, and just general small business help, really. And then I found ATS and that's a whole other story. Kelly Molson: I love that. Yeah, well, great story. I didn't realise that you had a startup and you've been part of all these quite exciting businesses and it's those businesses that kind of led you to ATS. Spencer Clark: Yeah, I had a moment and as many of us do, I suppose I was getting married and I was working in these different jobs and it was quite randomly kind of moved to different things and I was trying to find the focus, what do all these different businesses and these things do? And I was kind of looking at what I enjoyed, what I was good at, and I went through a bit of a career reflection and had someone help me do that. And we're looking, what's the common thing here? And it was creativity, it was working with people. It was definitely small business, not big corporates. And at the time, because I'd already known ATS through doing some of the sign language stuff, they went on my list as, “I need to have a chat with Mike about that one day”. Spencer Clark: He's the founder of ATS. And then yeah, eventually we sat down in the chat and invited me on board to try out. And that was eleven years ago. Kelly Molson: And that was eleven years ago. Tell us about ATS, tell us what they do for our listeners and what's your role there? Spencer Clark: Sure. So I'm now Managing Director ATS. So I've been there in that role for two and a half years now, two or three. Prior to that, I was Business Development and Sales Director, so driving new business. And yes, so ATS, we've expanded out now, but I guess we're a full service. From Creative Content so predominantly known for audio multimedia guides to on site interpretation and storytelling. So our core business is around coming up with brilliant stories, working with our clients to write scripts, and then looking at the creative ways in which we can tell that story to their target audiences. So whether it's families, adults, overseas, we then come up with all these great ideas. And whether it's audio or multimedia, with film or apps, with interactives and games, we try and find all the unique ways of telling that story, of that unique site. Spencer Clark: So we have predominantly in house, fantastic production team, editors, filmmakers, developers, we have interpretation specialists and script writers. So once we've done all the content, we've also got all the technology as well. So part of our business has we manufacture our own hardware, so multimedia guides, audio guides, we have software that runs on all of them. We also do apps and PWAs, and we have a tech support team as well, who are out managing all of our clients. So we have 45,000 devices out in the field at the moment, so there's a lot being used, a lot of experiences being had one of our devices, but they all need battery changes, servicing, all that sort of stuff. So we got a tech team for them as well. So complete end to end from consultation, content, hardware, support.Kelly Molson: Yeah, and great sector to work in. You talked about developing stories. Heritage organisations have the best stories, right? So it is an absolutely perfect fit. I want to talk about the process that you go through and how you make that happen for the heritage sector. What is the biggest pain? So I'm in the marketing team of a heritage organisation and I've got a pain and I know that ATS can probably help me solve it. What is that pain that I bring to you? Spencer Clark: There's a number that we get approached about and I guess the first one, though, is we've got great stories. So, yes, heritage and cultural sites naturally have loads of great stories, so the most prime problem really is them to say, "We want to understand which audience we want to tell our stories to", number one. And then number two, "once we know that, how do we tell the stories in the best memorable, entertaining, educational way?" So really, they're the starting point, really, is helping them understand who their audience is and then going, "Right, how are you telling that story?" I often say with a creative conduit between the site and its heritage and their audiences. And we're the guys in the middle. Spencer Clark: You go, Right, we're going to understand these really well and come up with really great ideas to tell that story to that person in that experience. And that's the prime too. But then it expands out because once you start chatting to them and you go, well, those stories can be told in different ways to different audiences, but also the experiences are very different across sites. So you could have a linear tool, so you kind of know that the story has to make sense stop after stop and it's kind of a narrative thread, whereas other sites are random access, so you're moving around. And so therefore, everything needs to make sense in that situation as well. Kelly Molson: Very interesting, isn't it? I hadn't thought about how the building itself or the area itself can have an influence on how the story is told. Spencer Clark: Absolutely. So we do guides at St Paul's Cathedral and Westminster Abbey, and you're thinking, "Right, big ecclesiastic sites, they must be very similar", but they're not. St Paul's random access. So once you've done the introduction, you can go wherever you like in St Paul's and access that content. The storytelling within that space, however you like. Westminster Abbey is very linear and so you start at point 1 and you have to go through and there's a fixed route to it. They're two very different buildings architecturally, so the challenges with that, for example, is when we're designing the scripts and designing the experiences, saying, "Well, what is the visitor journey here? And where are their pinch points?" I think in one spot in Westminster, we had 10 seconds to tell a story. Spencer Clark: People can't stay more than 10 seconds in that area because it just ends up backing up and then it's awful for everybody else. Whereas St Paul's is very different. You've got a lot more dwell time and a lot more space that you can sit and just listen. So two very different experiences that we design. Kelly Molson: That's really complex, isn't it? So you're not only thinking about how to tell the story in the best way to fit with the venue and the access and how people walk around it, but also from a capacity perspective, people can't stay in this area for longer than 10 seconds. So you've got to get them moving. Spencer Clark: Exactly. Kelly Molson: It blows my mind. Talk me through your methodology then, because I think that's quite interesting. Like, how do you start this process? They've come with the pain. We've got this great story, we're not telling it in the best way that we could. How can you help us? Where do you start? Spencer Clark: It's a good place. What we love is you get face to face and you walk the current experience and you walk through it. And it's great to talk to visitor experience teams, curatorial, front of house, as well as senior stakeholders and having a conversation with all of them to kind of really get a sense of what's the outcome I'm starting with what's wrong or what do you want to better? What do you want this outcome to be? And then we kind of work backwards because we have a lot of experience to share. And so there's things around this routing, wayfinding, dwell time. There's things around operations and logistics of handing out hardware or promoting an app if that's what clients are pushing out to their visitors. But we all got to understand there's lots of different models as well. Spencer Clark: So some sites, for example, you may pay to get in, but then you may pay for an audio or a multimedia guide or an app afterwards. So you're paying for your ticket and then you've got a secondary spend for a guide. I have seen a lot of our sites, especially some of the bigger ones, they have an all inclusive. So you buy your ticket and you get your guide included. But those two models means two different things because on the all inclusive, the majority of your audience are getting that guide. Therefore that story that we're going to create for you is being told to the biggest proportion of your audience, whereas those who buy additional, you know, the take up is going to be lower, therefore that message is not going to get to that many. But you don't need as many devices. Spencer Clark: And so we look at kind of whether they can handle a stop of hundreds or thousands of devices in some cases. Kelly Molson: Oh, you mean like where they're going to put them? Spencer Clark: Exactly. Kelly Molson: Yeah, it's all about that. Spencer Clark: These castles and heritage sites didn't really they weren't designed to hold racks or racks of guides, which is why they end up in some funny places, sometimes moat houses and whatever. So we start there, that's kind of walk it through. We want to listen and understand what everybody as a stakeholder, what they're wanting from it, but then we really kind of go, what does the visitor really need and want? What are they paying for? What are their expectations? And how can we have our impact on the visitor experience, which is essentially what it is. We're involved with storytelling content, visitor experience and technology, essentially the delivery method of it. Kelly Molson: What's a good case study, then, that you could share with us? I guess the proof of the pudding is in people being engaged with those stories. So it'll be about the feedback, right, that the organisation gets once people have been through the experience and they get good TripAdvisor recommendations and all that kind of thing. What's a good example that you can share with us of something where you've worked on it and it's made quite a vast difference to that experience?Spencer Clark: I'd like to say every single project. We generally want every client. We're passionate about making a difference. You're investing in time and money and we want to add as much creativity to it, but we want it to be as effective as possible, which is why I really want to understand what clients are wanting to get. If we look at this in a year's time, what do you want to see happen? And if it is better, TripAdvisor does that. I think we're hitting that really well, because not many sites, I'd say you have visitors kind of commenting on the audio or the multimedia guide back in the day. But when you look at a lot of our client sites, they get mentioned in TripAdvisor and how it's made a massive difference. Spencer Clark: So I was chatting with a client today, the guide is eight years old, a multimedia guide. We did a full film production for the introduction film, but then we also put that content into the guide, so it felt like this really the continuity in the storytelling. So once you arrive, you watch the film, you got the characters on the film, but they also feature in your guide. So as you've watched it, you go off and you go to a dinner party and we're just chatting today and they said, eight years on and it's still really good and getting reference to and we've got prospect clients and new clients who go over and check it out and they just love it. Just because we've designed it to last a long time, it shouldn't date because it's often our sector. Spencer Clark: They're not refreshing content like that every couple of years. It needs to last as long as it can and get its money's worth. The output is a great Visitor experience. Hopefully we're inputting on the NPS score, so hopefully people are saying, “yes, the overall, we're one part”. My colleague, Craig, he says it people don't go to a site for the multimedia guide. Right. They're not going, oh, we're here ATS are great, let's definitely go to one of their sites. They don't they go there? And then once they get this wonderful experience with the front of house with a fantastic audio multimedia guide that's been thought about and really designed well. Spencer Clark: And then the retail was great and the food and beverage was good and there was parking and whatever, and it was a sunny day because if it's a rainy day, everyone has a really bad experience. It's raining, which is obviously out of control of many sites. So, yeah, we're one element, but an important one, we feel, that really impacts on ATS and TripAdvisor and feedback and repeat visits. Kelly Molson: Do you get asked that question, actually, about how long this will last? So you said that guide has been around for about eight years now and I'm thinking, "yeah, that's good going, that's good return on investment, right?" We get asked that quite a lot about websites. "How frequently do you need to update your website? How frequently do we need to go through this process from redesign and development?" And I think it really depends on how well it's been done to start with. So we've worked with attractions where we did their website, like six or seven years ago. It still looks great because it was thought out really well, it's planned well, the brand was in place and it's the same, I guess, with your guide, if it's done well from the start, it's going to last longer. Spencer Clark: Absolutely. And to me, that's part of the brief, that's the design process, looking at the brief and the clients and asking those questions, "Well, you're, you can update this" and you kind of know they're not going to update it in a year. So how long was the shelf life of this product? What do you want it to last? And so once you know that at the beginning, you start producing it in a way that you say, well, that might date, you could have contemporary fashion, but that might look a bit dated in five, six, seven years time, whereas if we go animation, you can make things last a lot longer. But then, yeah, realistically you could be looking at how long does this last? Eight years, nine years? Spencer Clark: We've got clients up to ten years now. As long as you write it, you have an awareness that you don't mention potentially people's names who work there because they may move on and maybe even the job title might change. So you got to just be a little bit careful of kind of mentioning that, especially at site's consideration. When you've got 12, 13 languages, you make one change in the English, you've then got to change all that. So again, it's this understanding at the beginning saying, well, the risk of having a celebrity or whoever if you don't want them and they're out of faith or whatever, or they're not available to do any rerecords you got to think about that and say, well, that's going to have a knock on effect, and that will change then eventually. Spencer Clark: So, yeah, there's all these little secrets of the way in which things are, but we're aware of them. And that has a massive impact on the cost down the line. And the quality, of course.Kelly Molson: That's the benefit of the consultancy approach that you take as well, isn't it? Is it, that you are asking those questions up front and you're thinking long term about what's best for the organisation, not what's necessarily best for you? Is it better for me if they update this every three years or every eight years? But what you want is to get them the best experience from it and have the best product possible. So you ask all the right questions to start with. Spencer Clark: Absolutely. And sites are all different. The story at one place might not change, but they might have a different view on it and so or a different angle coming in. Well, there's a different story or theme within that place. So we did know National Trust site, so they had a big conservation project and so we've done the restoration conservation story. They've come back to a couple of years and now we're looking at different stories within them and telling stories very much around female stories at the house as well. So we're bringing that in. And what we can do, we're going to layer it and put in with the content so it will start to really. You have this lovely kind of layering of story and content that people can dip in and out of depending on what they're interested in. Spencer Clark: But that means it is evolving, but you're not recording loads of other stuff, you're just starting to build up on this nice kind of collection of content. But then you got sites such that you know they're going to have temporary exhibitions every year. So Buckingham Palace, we do their permanent tour, but then the exhibition changes every year, so we'll be going in there and rewriting content just for that element of it. So, yeah, most places don't change a lot of their content, but when you do, it's usually just elements of it, or adding languages or adding an access tool or something like that. Kelly Molson: Yeah, and I love that.  But actually what we're trying to do is just make something better. And that doesn't always mean that you have to spend a shitload of money on making something, you know what I mean? You don't have to start from scratch, you can make something really great with what you have. So we've been talking a lot with attractions about just making what they have better. They don't need a new website right now. What you could do is just add these things in and that would make your website 10% better than it is now. Amazing, right? You've saved yourself a lot of budget, but you've still got this brilliant project and that's the same with what you're talking about. It's not a start from scratch, it's just building on and improving what you have. That's a good place. Spencer Clark: It's a good offer to have. I think it is, because sometimes you just want a little refresh and actually just slightly dated or that's not the language or the tone we use completely. So we just want to change this intro and often the introduction is the beginning of the experience. So if you can tweak and change that can actually set the tone for the rest of it anyway. We often go and say, "Well, what have you gotten? What improvements can you make on a minimal budget?" And that's the honest conversation you have early on and you're going, "What do you want to happen realistically? What are your budgets, what's your time scales?" And then we'll come back to you with something that's tailored to you and see what we can do. Spencer Clark: And often a review of the current experience and will be constructive and we think you could just improve these bits at the moment. Kelly Molson: Yeah, I love that approach. And also, do you have a moathouse that you can keep all these devices in? And while we're on the topic of that, let's talk about something that you mentioned earlier, which is this app versus devices debate. So you mentioned, and it hadn't even occurred to me. Do people have the storage space for all of these devices? Are they going to be able to put them somewhere? And I bet you get asked us all the time, isn't it going to better if we have an app because people have got that phone in their back pocket all the time and so then you don't necessarily need as many of the devices as you might need. There's quite a big debate around this at the moment, isn't there? What's your take on it? Spencer Clark: Well, of course I've got my opinion on this one, Kelly. But you know, these questions when I joined the ATS, so I joined eleven years ago and I started going to the conferences and the shows and the exhibitions and you know, apps were around and it was the, "Oh yeah, they're going to be the death of the audio guide". So there's me, joined a company thinking, "Oh okay, I wonder how long I'll be around for". But what history has shown me is that what drives a really good product and a good solution, whether it's an app or a device, is really understanding those outcomes and visitor behaviours and COVID was obviously a point in time where people weren't touching things.Spencer Clark: And it was a concern at the time like, “okay, I wonder how long is this going to play out?”. But what we found is humans fall back into an ease of life and convenience and quality, I think is kind of where people say, "Oh, no, they won't use devices anymore and they won't use touch screens". And I remember chatting with Dave Patton from Science Museum and he said, “Yeah, in COVID, we turned all the touchscreens off”. Everyone kept going up to them and touching them because they thought they were off to turn them on, so they turned them off so that people wouldn't use them. And actually what they're doing was touching that device more. Do you remember the days people were wiping down all the trolleys? I'm quite an optimist, so I was sitting at the time. Spencer Clark: Once we passed this and through it, I feel we will kind of fall back into, you're not going to take your own cutlery to a restaurant a year, so that hasn't happened. And QR codes are less and less visible on those restaurants. Yeah. What it really is about for us is, and I touched upon it, there's a few things around why ultimately you can do everything. Our multimedia guides and audio guys can do pretty much one of these, but for a number of reasons, visitors aren't necessarily going straight over to these and dropping the hardware. If I rock up with my kids, got two kids, they don't have phones, so they're not going to download an app when they get there. My phone is my car key, it's my travel, it's my wallet, it's everything, so I'm using it all day. Spencer Clark: And there's obviously battery concerns there as well, so you kind of start getting kind of battery anxiety of that where you carry around a charger. But there is something and the more and more we work with clients and we compare, we put apps in places as well as multimedia guides or audio guides, and we look at the take up and we look at the behaviour of visitors. And even more recently, we're doing a site. At the moment, it's got temporary exhibition for six months. I'll be able to say a bit more about it once we've done the end of the review, but essentially we've had kind of AB testing and looking at how the take up is for guides versus apps and we're positively seeing big demand for devices for a number of reasons with the audience time who were there. There's the quality. Spencer Clark: As far as I've paid my ticket, especially on the all inclusive, I get my guide and it's really well designed and this is part of the experience designed for it. I'm not worrying about battery and the headphones are in there. I haven't got people walking around with audio blaring out because they've gotten their headphones, which is really annoying to all the other visitors that I've been to a few museums and seen that and heard that it's not a great experience. There's definitely a quality thing there about it's part of, this is part of. Kelly Molson: Do you think it's part of, it's escapism as well? So, like, for me, I'm terrible if we're out and about, if me, my little girl and my husband are out for the day, my phone is in my bag the whole time and I forget to take pictures. I forget to tell social media that I've been to a place, "Oh, God, what I've got for lunch”, because I'm too busy doing it. And I think with the kind of headsets thing, there's an element of escapism there, isn't there, where you don't have to have your phone. I like not having to be on my phone. I like that for the whole day. I've had such a great day, they haven't even thought about looking at my phone. So I don't know whether there's an element there. Kelly Molson: We're so tied to our phones all the day, all day, aren't we?  For work and things.  I'm just going to put these headphones on. I'm going to escape into a different world where I don't need to think about it. Spencer Clark: Yeah, don't get me wrong, there's definitely a place for apps and there's a use for them, which is why we've developed a platform that makes apps as well. But the devices over this recent exhibition, I'm just learning more from visitors and the staff who are there, and they're saying, "Yeah, you take your phone and you might have the tour going, but I don't turn my notifications off, so I'll still get interrupted by things". And you're right, I want to be in this experience. And my attention, I'm hoping, is mostly on what's there and the stories that are being told to me. So, yeah, there's a lot around there. There's also perceived value. Spencer Clark: I did a talk at Historic houses pre covered, but I had like 160 people in the Alexandra Palace and I asked them all, "how many of you just have downloaded an app in the last twelve months?" A few hands put up and then said, "Okay, how many of you paid for an app out of those?" and all the hands went down. There's this thing about, would you spend £5 on an app? Probably not a lot of people would. It's got to be really well promoted and maybe in the right circumstances, the right place, the right exhibition, you'd get someone doing that, but people will pay and you see it. They will pay £5 for a device that's being designed and put in there as part of the official experience of this site. Spencer Clark: So you've got to look at the take up and the reach that an app will bring over a device as well. So there is perceived value. See if you can charge for it great or if it's in ticket price, it just makes the whole value of the experience even better. I'm not sure what's your experience when was the last time you paid for an app, Kelly? Kelly Molson: Bigger question, as you asked it, I was thinking, and I can't remember. There must be something that I've paid a minimum value for, like it was like, I don't know, £0.69p or £1.29 or something like that, but I couldn't tell you what it was or when I downloaded it. Kelly Molson: I mostly have car parking apps on my phone. Honestly, I think at one point I counted I had seven different car parking apps on my phone because all of the car parks obviously stopped taking cash. I'm terrible with cash, I never have any of that. A lot of them. But they're all free.Spencer Clark: There's definitely something there around perceived value and what it means to the experience, I think. Kelly Molson: Yeah, it's really interesting, actually. Spencer Clark: The debate will continue for years, though, Kelly. The debate will carry on.  And if that's about telling a great story to as many people as possible. Right now, in our view and our data that shows across all these sites is devices that are doing a better job than apps at the moment. But there's still a choice. Some people will have them. And I think it's going to be a blend. It's going to be a blend, but overwhelmingly the device is more. Kelly Molson: But it's interesting because you mentioned and one of my questions is, how is ATS evolving? Because I guess that you didn't always have apps as an option for people. So that's probably one of the ways that you've evolved over the years, right? Spencer Clark: Yeah. So we started doing audio guides. That was the initial and then again, Mike, the founder, was really spotted multimedia as an opportunity, screen devices as we started coming through. Not everyone had smartphones at that point. And so to provide a screen device, it was great for putting additional content and film content and also accessibility, sign language videos and things like that, which is how I got into ATS, sign language videos. So putting them on a screen and you look at how much audio visual content we now all consume on a small handheld device, he definitely saw something. And that's where ATS kind of drove that element. A lot of our work was multimedia guides over audio guides. Spencer Clark: And it was about not just playing audio with an image on the screen, because that's not adding much for the sake of this device, you need to add a lot more to it. And that's where we grew our in house production team. So all the editors coming up with really good ideas and animations and videos or interface designs, all that sort of stuff, and interactives and games and things like that, you could be really just opened up a whole world of opportunity, really. Yeah. So we started pushing that. But again, part of that design process was, and going back to the kind of we only had 10 seconds to tell this story or whatever, it's the same with these devices, and when we're creating content, visual content, it's got to warrant the visitor's attention. Spencer Clark: If you've got an amazing masterpiece in front of you, then of course you don't want to be head down in the screen, you want to be looking at it. But what could that screen do, if anything? We may decide not to even put anything on there, just go audio. But there could be something there that you want to, a curator might be interviewed and show you certain details on the painting and you could point them out on the screen. That then allows you to look and engage with the art in front of you. But, yeah, we drove that kind of way of delivering interpretation on site through multimedia guys, but we do a lot of audio as well. Spencer Clark: I'm just plain, straight, simple audio, I say simple, but lovely sound effects, really nice produced, choosing the right voices, really good script, sound effects, that sort of stuff. So, yeah, it's quite a pure way, I guess you would say, with audio owned.Kelly Molson: Nice, you mentioned the word warrant back there. Which brings me to my next question, which I think is fascinating, because there aren't many organisations that are ever going to achieve this, but ATS has a Royal Warrant now. Spencer Clark: Yeah, yeah, we got it in March 22. Kelly Molson: Absolutely phenomenal. Tell us a little bit about that. Spencer Clark: Yeah, so we've worked with Royal Household for quite, well, a couple of sites for over 15 years. We provide audio multimedia guides across pretty much all of the raw sites now, which is a wonderful achievement, we're really proud of it. And, yeah, we applied for a Royal Warrant. They're awarded to about 800 businesses in the UK and they range from one person, sole trader, craftsman, craft people through, to multinationals and SMEs and everybody in between. And it's a mark of quality and excellence in delivery of service and sustainable as well over a long period of time. We applied for it and were awarded it in March. It was a really lovely accolade for us as a business and it was a great moment to get so we've got a hold of that now. Kelly Molson: That must have been lovely. So, again, at the start of the episode, you mentioned that you'd moved into the MD role, and that was a couple of years ago. Right. So you've been an MD through COVID times, which must have been a challenge for you. As a founder of an organisation myself, I know that was a big challenge, having to learn how to do things in a completely different way. That must have been a really lovely kind of success story of those times. Spencer Clark: Definitely. We have got such an amazing team and one that people stay with us, our team stay with us for a long period of time and it was also a point where I was taking over and the founder, Mike, was properly retiring. So for him, it was really great to get for him. And we had one made up for him as well, a plat, so you can have his own he's got his own rule warrant, but yeah, for the rest of the team, it is a recognition. What's really important for me is that everybody in the team is responsible for the quality of service that we deliver from picking up the phone and working on projects, the development team, the service team, the teams that go on site. Spencer Clark: We've got staff as well, so we staff at St Paul's Cathedral and Bucks Palace and Windsor Castle, so we got members team handing out guides and operations there. And it's everyone's responsibility in our business to offer a great service in everything we do. And it definitely was yeah, it was a really great recognition that we could share with the team. Kelly Molson: Amazing. Right, what is next for ATS? What exciting developments are they're coming up that you can share with us? Anything on the horizon? Spencer Clark: Yeah, I guess this year feels like many, and I've been speaking to, you know, it's nice to get back into conferences and exhibitions and stuff where you kind of chatting to the sector, but this feels a little bit more normal as a year. I think last year was still a kind of bounce back out of COVID but this year seems to be mor. There's tenders coming through. People are now doing new projects, so that's good to see. So there's an appetite. I think what it's really shown is there's an appetite in the sector to really improve the quality of visitor experiences. I think that's what's really that I'm seeing and something that we're well positioned to support clients in is that quality of a visitor experience. On the back of that, we're looking at always continuing to look at different ways in which to tell stories and the way in which we can engage with the visitor, which doesn't always mean the latest tech. Spencer Clark: We've looked at AR and things like that and we've tried it, but what you got to be careful, what you got to understand is, instead of when you've got visitors from 8 to 85 year olds, your solution has to be accessible to everybody. And as soon as you might put in something that might if the technology doesn't quite work in that environment because it's too dark or too light or whatever, or the tech just isn't there to do it, then it suddenly breaks the magic of that experience. Spencer Clark: And so you look at different ways of being innovative and that can just be through a really different approach to the script writing, or putting a binaural 3D soundscape instead, or having a really good interactive that just brings the family in to answer questions or something like that. We will always continue to innovate, but it's not necessarily about technology. But we love tech. But you've got to think about the practical implications of tech in the projects. And that goes back to earlier I said about sustainability in the budget and some organisations just don't have the appetite or the budget to invest in some of this tech, even though they see it and they say, “we want that”. Okay, “this is how much it's cost. And it's brand new”, so you'd be developing from scratch or whatever. Spencer Clark: And it's not always palatable with the budget holders. So, yes, you got to think about operationally sustainable. What's the best solution that reaches your outcomes, essentially? So, yeah, where else are we heading? Great content. We've got new products coming through, new devices, that sort of stuff, which has kind of been, like I said, our core business. But we're also doing a lot more online, so digital exhibitions, things like that. So we're taking our onsite storytelling experience and moving online. So we've done some virtual tours, but not just 360s where you've got hotspots. We add the ATS magic to it. What else can we add into those kind of online experiences? It's a different experience, but we can definitely add some lovely creativity to the storytelling on that. So we did that with a number of clients, including Glenn Palace. Spencer Clark: We did the Churchill exhibition, which was a full three day film shoot over COVID, which was a huge challenge. But yeah, there was a high risk factor there when your main star is a Churchill lookalike and if he got COVID, the whole shoot pretty much cancelled, but we managed to get through that, so that was good. So, yeah, more of that sort of stuff. So, looking at the online space, we're getting into 3D digitisation of collections, so we've got a partnership going on where we can photogram using photogrammetry to create 3D models. And then what we're saying is we add the ATS magic to that, where you got that model. Let's put it in context, let's tell that story around that actual object. Spencer Clark: It's a 3D model, so, yeah, we're playing around with areas on that and some other things that I'm sure I'll share in the future. We're not standing still. That's for sure.Kelly Molson: No. And I'm sure I'll hear about it at whatever conferences that we're at together at some point, Spencer. We always ask our guests about a book that they love that they would like to share with our listeners. What have you prepped for us today? Spencer Clark: I'm in the car a lot, so I do a lot of audio books, if anything. I don't know if it's an excuse, but I just don't find time to sit and actually read. Busy family life, busy work life, all that sort of stuff. So a lot of audiobooks. But also, I love business books, whatever you can learn from kind of business and marketing. And obviously I had that role previous to ATS, I was kind of supporting small businesses and stuff. So there's one I had, I attended a session by a marketeer called Bryony Thomas and she's got a book called Watertight Marketing. Her session was brilliant, it was really practical, it's really scalable. So it could be for a one person company, sole trader, up to an organisation that has multiple products online, wherever. Spencer Clark: It was just a really good book that just gives you clarity and thinking. And there's this takeaway straight away from it and a really good approach to kind of reviewing your marketing and how well it's working, and then just picking those things that are going to work quickest to find out where the weaknesses are, the leaks, essentially, she calls them. So, yeah, I'd really recommend it. I'm hoping quite a lot of your listeners are interested in marketing. We're all looking at trying to get visitors back in and what our service and products are. So I'd recommend Watertight Marketing by Bryony Thomas. Kelly Molson: Oh, I think that's a great recommendation. I've read that book, I've met Bryony once a very long time ago and it's so simple, it's ridiculous, isn't it? And you think, "how is this the first book that's talked about marketing in this way?" That's what blew my mind when I read it and it is, it's just about plugging the gaps, filling the holes in your bucket. It's absolutely brilliant concept, great book. Thank you for sharing. Right, listen, if you want to win a copy of that book, and I would recommend that you do, if you head over to our Twitter account and you retweet this episode announcement with the words I want Spencer's book, then you might be lucky enough to win yourself a copy. Thankfully, it was only just one book today. Everyone else tries to kill my marketing budget and goes with two. Kelly Molson: So well done you, Spencer. Thank you ever so much for joining us on the podcast today. It's lovely that you came on, I'm really pleased that you did. Lots to think about there and loads of tips for our listeners if they're thinking about enhancing their stories. So thank you. Spencer Clark: It's been a pleasure. Thanks, Kelly. Kelly Molson: Thanks for listening to Skip the Queue. If you've enjoyed this podcast, please leave us a five star review. It really helps others find us. And remember to follow us on Twitter for your chance to win the books that have been mentioned. Skip The Queue is brought to you by Rubber Cheese, a digital agency that builds remarkable systems and websites for attractions that helps them increase their visitor numbers. You can find show notes and transcriptions from this episode and more over on our website, rubbercheese.com/podcast.