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Hosted by Tim Sinclair
6 episodes with Tim Sinclair
3 episodes with Tim Sinclair
3 episodes with Tim Sinclair
2 episodes with Tim Sinclair
2 episodes with Tim Sinclair
2 episodes with Tim Sinclair
2 episodes with Tim Sinclair
2 episodes with Tim Sinclair
The CHGO Bulls crew welcome Chicago Bulls PA announcer Tim Sinclair back to the show! Peck and Big Dave get Tim's perspective from some of the wildest moments at the Madhouse on Madison this season, like Matas Buzelis hammer dunks and the Josh Giddey miracle shot. Tim also shares his experiences from the Derrick Rose retirement ceremony and being the emcee for the NBA Draft Lottery. Plus, is Tim - PA announcer for and fan of the Illinois Fighting Illini - hoping the Bulls take Kasparas Jakucionis or Will Riley in the 2025 NBA Draft?
Bulls PA announcer Tim Sinclair understands why the NBA changed its All-Star format full 965 Mon, 17 Feb 2025 15:37:09 +0000 k8OQcKXWzWpaIV1GjI07bSTnhlBFGy6d nba,chicago bulls,sports Mully & Haugh Show nba,chicago bulls,sports Bulls PA announcer Tim Sinclair understands why the NBA changed its All-Star format Mike Mulligan and David Haugh lead you into your work day by discussing the biggest sports storylines in Chicago and beyond. Along with breaking down the latest on the Bears, Blackhawks, Bulls, Cubs and White Sox, Mully & Haugh routinely interview the top beat writers in the city as well as team executives, coaches and players. Recurring guests include Bears receiver DJ Moore, Tribune reporter Brad Biggs, former Bears coach Dave Wannstedt, Pro Football Talk founder Mike Florio, Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer and Cubs pitching coach Tommy Hottovy.Catch the Mully & Haugh Show live Monday through Friday (5 a.m.- 10 a.m. CT) on 670 The Score, the exclusive audio home of the Cubs and the Bulls, or on the Audacy app. For more, follow the show on X @mullyhaugh. 2024 © 2021 Audacy, Inc. Sports False https://p
In the final hour, David Haugh and Ruthie Polinsky were joined by Bulls PA announcer Tim Sinclair to discuss NBA All-Star weekend and the new format. Later, Haugh and Ruthie reviewed how the Chicago sports presidents are doing on Presidents Day.
Tim Sinclair joins the show to talk about last night's victory, another NBA All-Star Weekend selection for him and more. Later, the guys look at tonight's College Football Playoff matchup between Notre Dame and Penn State.
In this thoroughly entertaining edition of Chicago Bulls Chat with the See Red UK boys, Neill & Matt welcome Tim Sinclair back to discuss: Tim's Side hustle/hobby - Collecting trading cards. With his own group 'Cardy in the USA' across the socials as well as the TV show 'Unpacked' on the Stadium Sports Network he talks about his other passion for collecting and flipping trading cards, a hobby that Neill also dabbles in... with a few surprising tidbits thrown in from a more knowledgeable than he let on Matt! With all the roster changes what will Tim miss on a personal level with the departees Tim uses his professional experience to teach everyone the correct way to say some of the more tricky player names in a segment called PROnunciations with Tim Sinclair! What is Tim looking forward to in the upcoming season and who he is looking forward to see play as well as announce NBA 2K and the input required on a yearly basis from Tim and his golden pipes! The Boys also put the pressure on and get Tim to give us his predictions for the now infamous See Red UK Award predictions Also Tim 'announces' he will be making his way to London to call the Chicago Bears game And more... REMEMBER to leave your comments down below! Subscribe - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSxYqvrHTptNo6y9fmLfhJg Chicago Bulls Chat - See Red UK Social Media Merch Store. - see-red-uk.teemill.com X - https://twitter.com/SeeRedUK Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/seereduk/ TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@chicagobullschat Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/seereduk Here at See Red UK we're raising awareness for Andy's Man Club. Don't suffer in silence and remember it's OK to talk
The CHGO Bulls crew welcome Chicago Bulls PA Announcer Tim Sinclair back to the studio! Matt and Big Dave get Tim's thoughts on Bulls rookie Matas Buzelis, expectations for Patrick Williams on his new contract and the potential growth of other players in the Bulls “youth movement.” The guys also ask Tim for some of his favorite DeMar DeRozan moments calling his great United Center performances over the past three seasons. SUBSCRIBE: https://www.youtube.com/c/CHGOSports WEBSITE: http://allCHGO.com/ BUY MERCH: http://CHGOLocker.com FOLLOW ON SOCIAL: Twitter: @CHGO_Bulls / @Bulls_Peck / @BawlSports / @will_gottlieb Instagram: @CHGO_Sports GET OUR FREE NEWSLETTER: http://www.allchgo.com/newsletter Support us by supporting our sponsors! | Offers from our sponsors: Circa Sportsbook: Download the Circa Sports Illinois App at circasports.com/illinois-app to sign up today! Coors Light: When it's time to chill, Coors Light is the beer we reach for. Get Coors Light delivered straight to your door with Instacart. Go to coorslight.com/CHGOBasketball. Sunnyside: Head to sunnyside.shop and use code HICHGO at checkout for 35% off favorite brands like Cresco, Good News & more to elevate your summer! Shady Rays: Exclusively for our listeners, Shady Rays is giving out their best deal of the season! Head to shadyrays.com and use code CHGO for 35% off polarized sunglasses. Factor: Make today the day you kickstart a new healthy routine. Head to factormeals.com/chgobulls50 and use code chgobulls50 to get 50% off your first box plus 20% off your next month. Manscaped: Visit Manscaped.com/TCS to learn how to “Check Yo' Self” for early signs of cancer. Use promo code BULLS for 20% OFF + Free Shipping at Manscaped.com Rugged Road: Gear up for your next adventure with Rugged Road coolers. Reliable, durable, and built to be used– Rugged Road is your ultimate outdoor companion! Head to ruggedroadoutdoors.com and use code CHGO for 10% off! FOCO: CHGO has teamed up with FOCO to secure your access to the best sports collectibles and gear around! Get 10% off your order at FOCO.com with promo code “CHGO”. Gametime: Last minute tickets. Lowest Price. Guaranteed. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code CHGO for $20 off your first purchase! PrizePicks: Daily Fantasy Sports Made Easy! Go to PrizePicks.com/CHGO and use code CHGO for a first deposit match up to $100! Ray Chevy: Get a FREE OIL CHANGE! Mention CHGO when scheduling your oil change at Ray Chevrolet. Visit Ray Chevrolet in Fox Lake or RayChevrolet.com to start your Ray Resolution! Better Help: Never skip therapy day, with Better Help. Visit BetterHelp.com/CHGO today to get 10% off your first month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
In this episode, I had the privilege to sit down with the PA announcer for the Chicago Bears, Bulls, and Fire; AND Illini men's basketball, Tim Sinclair. We cover a lot of ground, including how he got involved in announcing, and his experiences PA announcing in the bubble, as well as 4 all star weekends. We also discuss some of our favorite announcers, and how we're both “96ers.” Great stories, and extremely interesting and informative. Thank you so much Tim Sinclair for being on the pod, and ENJOY.
Matt and Neill are joined by Chicago Bulls Public Announcer Tim Sinclair (for the 2nd time). They discuss Stump Sports, Chicago Bulls, Chicago sports and everything in-between. As always Tim has some great stories from his time up close to the action Listen, Rate, Review, Subscribe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
3 Time NBA Champion Stacey King's Gimme the Hot Sauce Podcast with Mark Schanowski & Friends
On Today's Episode Of Stacey King's Gimme The Hot Sauce Podcast We Start The Show Off With Chicago Bulls News Followed By News Around The NBA. Moving Forward With Chicago Bulls Public Announcer Tim Sinclair. Finishing The Show With The Final Segment What Are We Watching THANK YOU FOR LISTENING TO STACEY KING'S GIMME THE HOT SAUCE PODCAST To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
From 'Stacey King's Gimme The Hot Sauce' (subscribe here), On Today's Episode Of Stacey King's Gimme The Hot Sauce Podcast We Start The Show Off With Chicago Bulls News Followed By News Around The NBA. Moving Forward With Chicago Bulls Public Announcer Tim Sinclair. Finishing The Show With The Final Segment What Are We WatchingTHANK YOU FOR LISTENING TO STACEY KING'S GIMME THE HOT SAUCE PODCAST To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
From 'Stacey King's Gimme The Hot Sauce' (subscribe here), On Today's Episode Of Stacey King's Gimme The Hot Sauce Podcast We Start The Show Off With Chicago Bulls News Followed By News Around The NBA. Moving Forward With Chicago Bulls Public Announcer Tim Sinclair. Finishing The Show With The Final Segment What Are We WatchingTHANK YOU FOR LISTENING TO STACEY KING'S GIMME THE HOT SAUCE PODCAST To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
From 'Stacey King's Gimme The Hot Sauce' (subscribe here), On Today's Episode Of Stacey King's Gimme The Hot Sauce Podcast We Start The Show Off With Chicago Bulls News Followed By News Around The NBA. Moving Forward With Chicago Bulls Public Announcer Tim Sinclair. Finishing The Show With The Final Segment What Are We WatchingTHANK YOU FOR LISTENING TO STACEY KING'S GIMME THE HOT SAUCE PODCAST To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
From 'Stacey King's Gimme The Hot Sauce' (subscribe here), On Today's Episode Of Stacey King's Gimme The Hot Sauce Podcast We Start The Show Off With Chicago Bulls News Followed By News Around The NBA. Moving Forward With Chicago Bulls Public Announcer Tim Sinclair. Finishing The Show With The Final Segment What Are We WatchingTHANK YOU FOR LISTENING TO STACEY KING'S GIMME THE HOT SAUCE PODCAST To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
In this edition of Hoopsology, Matt and Justin welcome the public address announcer for the Chicago Bears, Chicago Fire FC, Illinois Fighting Illini, and the Chicago Bulls Tim Sinclair. Tim tells his story about how he became a public address announcer, his experience being inside the NBA Bubble in 2020, his favorite moments, and more. Please email your questions to hoopsologypod@gmail.com and follow us on all social media platforms. Subscribe to our YouTube channel. Twitter:@hoopsologypod Instagram:@hoopsologypod Justin's Twitter: @Justintime16 Matt Thomas Twitter: @thetrainerstake
Melissa and Austin chatted with Chicago Bulls' Public Address Announcer about his cool job, how he juggles so many gigs and his favorite team!
The CHGO Bulls crew welcome Bulls PA announcer Tim Sinclair to the show to talk about his career calling the action and his favorite Bulls moments at the United Center. Matt, Big Dave and Will also get Tim's thoughts on calling different sports in different environments. What is Tim most looking forward to in the upcoming Bulls season? Plus, Tim answers Chuck Swirsky's question and drops a question of his own in Big Dave's guest segment Pass It On. Score the best seats in the house at Gametime: https://gametime.hnyj8s.net/c/3442941/1441553/10874 SUBSCRIBE: https://www.youtube.com/c/CHGOSports WEBSITE: http://allCHGO.com/ BUY MERCH: http://CHGOLocker.com FOLLOW ON SOCIAL: Twitter: @CHGO_Bulls / @Bulls_Peck / @BawlSports / @wontgottlieb Instagram: @CHGO_Sports GET OUR FREE NEWSLETTER: http://www.allchgo.com/newsletter Support us by supporting our sponsors! | Offers from our sponsors: PointsBet: Visit https://bit.ly/3sE8RMe or download the PointsBet App, make a deposit and use code “CHGO” to get 2 Risk Free Bets up to $2000, an annual CHGO membership and a free shirt! Mobile registration in Illinois is here! Athletic Greens: Athletic Greens is going to give you a FREE 1 year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase. Just visit https://athleticgreens.com/CHGOBulls Greenridge Farms: Greenridge Farm. Simply Natural Meat. When you order any 3 meat products at GreenridgeFarm.com and include a pack of meat sticks in your cart, those meat sticks will be FREE when you use promo code CHGO at check-out. Pins & Aces: Pins & Aces is the official golf apparel partner of CHGO. Check out PinsAndAces.com and use promo code CHGO to receive 15% off your first order and get free shipping. OWYN: OWYN is a 100% plant-based protein shake that gives you nutrition that works as hard as you do. Get 20% off your first order at liveowyn.com with promo code “CHGO20”. FOCO: CHGO has teamed up with FOCO to secure your access to the best sports collectibles and gear around! Get 10% off your order at FOCO.com with promo code “CHGO”. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
One from the archives...this episode is from our Stump catalogue when we spoke with The Voice of Chicago Bulls Tim Sinclair. We get some courtside player insights, as well as his opinions on Ja Morant and his take on the GOAT debate Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Tim Sinclair is currently the Public Address Announcer for the Chicago Bulls, but the Chicago Fire, Bears, and for the University of Illinois.His past consists of working for the Indiana Pacers and he has also done a numerous amount of commercial ads on TV and over the phones.Tim's voice has brought him very far in his career, most recently to Cleveland Ohio where he as the PA Announcer for the 2022 NBA All-Star weekend this past year. Not only that, but he was also the voice for the Bulls in NBA2k22 and intends to do the same for 2k23.Catch the full interview with Tim above to check out the career path Public Address has taken him!Tim Sinclairhttps://www.timjsinclair.comBackground music- https://youtu.be/QfyAFxzknuw
Tim Sinclair is the PA voice of the Chicago Bulls, Chicago Bears, Chicago Fire, and University of Illinois Illini. He told me about how he got into doing PA work, his favorite memories during his career, and so much more.
We're talking web sites on this week's WELSTech, and we're joined by WELS Web Developer, Tim Sinclair. This episode also includes information security guidelines for congregations, book recommendations, and a recap of the recent XR Festival sponsored by Christ in Media. Geeks will be especially excited by Martin's incremental backup pick! The discussion Congregation Web […]
We're talking web sites on this week's WELSTech, and we're joined by WELS Web Developer, Tim Sinclair. This episode also includes information security guidelines for congregations, book recommendations, and a recap of the recent XR Festival sponsored by Christ in Media. Geeks will be especially excited by Martin's incremental backup pick! The discussion Congregation Web […]
We're talking web sites on this week's WELSTech, and we're joined by WELS Web Developer, Tim Sinclair. This episode also includes information security guidelines for congregations, book recommendations, and a recap of the recent XR Festival sponsored by Christ in Media. Geeks will be especially excited by Martin's incremental backup pick! The discussion Congregation Web […]
Tim Sinclair, is the Public Address Announcer for the NBA's Chicago Bulls, NFL's Chicago Bears, Chicago Fire of the (MLS), illinois Fighting illini, and Tim's voice is synonymous with big-time sporting events, including the 2021 NCAA men's basketball tournament, 2020, 2022 NBA all star games and NBA 2K22. #timsinclair #livewithcdppodcast #guest #chicagobulls #chicagobears #chicagofire #publicaddressannouncer #youtubechannel #applepodcasts
Chicago Bulls Public Address Announcer Tim Sinclair joins us to discuss how he got his start as a PA Announcer, what it's been like to call Chicago Bulls games, his favorite moments, memorable stories and much more.
Chicago Bulls Public Address Announcer Tim Sinclair joins us to discuss how he got his start as a PA Announcer, what it's been like to call Chicago Bulls games, his favorite moments, memorable stories and much more.
what a great episode as Tone and Jems welcome the multi talented Public Address Announcer Tim Sinclair. Tim is the PA Announcer for the Chicago Bulls/Bears/Fire & the University of Illinois. He has been the PA for multiple All Star Games and you probably heard his voice announcing the 75th NBA Anniversary team or in NBA 2k22. aside from all those accolades Tim is also a business owner and CEO for RINGR & STUMP. We hope you enjoy this awesome Convo as much as we did.
In the third hour, Mike Mulligan and David Haugh discussed the quarterback market and where the big names could end up this offseason. After that, Bulls public address announcer Tim Sinclair joined the show to discuss his experience of introducing the NBA's 75 Anniversary Team players -- including Bulls legend Michael Jordan -- at the All-Star Game in Cleveland on Sunday. Later, BetQL Daily host Joe Ostrowski joined the program to share his betting advice.
Mike Mulligan and David Haugh were joined by Bulls public address announcer Tim Sinclair to discuss his experience of introducing the NBA's 75 Anniversary Team players -- including Bulls legend Michael Jordan -- at the All-Star Game in Cleveland on Sunday.
IlliniGuys Larry Smith, Brad Sturdy, and Mike Cagley welcome Illini historian Mike Pearson, Fighting Illini Assistant Basketball Coach Geoff Alexander and Tim Sinclair the PA Announcer for the Chicago Bulls and Chicago Bears stop by to talk sports. Remember, if you like the IlliniGuys Sports Spectacular, please give our website a try. Go to IlliniGuys.com and take advantage of our 7-day free trial. We think you'll stick around. Do it now, so you don't miss a minute of the freshly started 21-22 basketball season as Kofi and Curbelo lead a formidable Illini basketball team into a new season!
Episode 50 is here! Joining us today is Tim Sinclair, the PA voice of multiple Chicago teams!
Hello Stratford!Here is my interview with the Conservative candidates; Tim Sinclair for Stratford North and Marilyn Bates for Stratford South. The candidate for Stratford West was expecting a baby at the time of the interview, so we wish him all the best for his new arrival.Thanks for listening everybody. Speak again soonEmmaShop local - Support local - Celebrate local
Good Morning, Good afternoon, Good evening everyone! I hope all is well wherever you're listening from. Today's episode is with 2x guest, Tim Sinclair. The last time we talked, Tim was in the NBA Bubble and heading to the WNBA Bubble. Fast forward, over 5 months later, Tim is now the PA Announcer for the Chicago Fire, Chicago Bears, and the Chicago Bulls. Those are some huge accomplishments in such a short amount of time! You'll hear us discuss auditioning for the Chicago Bulls & Bears position, great lessons from sports, Patrick Williams, and much more! Tune in! I truly believe you'll enjoy this episode. Stay connected with us! Follow Us: https://www.instagram.com/yourewrongsir_/ Follow my personal account: https://www.instagram.com/niyhaaa._/ Podcast Website: https://yourewrongsir.com/ Loving the You’re Wrong, Sir Podcast? Be sure to subscribe and rate to help other sports enthusiasts find us on Apple Podcast, Spotify, and more! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/aniyhajones/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/aniyhajones/support
Locked On Bulls is back with a fresh episode, host Jordan Maly and Matt Peck are excited to welcome new Chicago Bulls Public Address Announcer, Tim Sinclair, to the show for the first time. The guys chat with Tim on a variety of topics including his career, Michael Jordan fandom, and his experience in the NBA and WNBA bubble. Tim talks about his background moving from Detroit to Illinois in the early stages of the Michael Jordan years, growing up a Bulls fan, how his career path has lead him to one of two prominent in-game voices for the city of Chicago's professional teams, and what it's going to be like to call the Bulls legendary introduction for the first time in the regular season. All of this and so much more on Locked On Bulls.Call or text the show: (331)-979-1369HELP ONE OF OUR LOCKED ON BULLS LISTENERS!WGN TV STORYGOFUNDME TO HELP DONATE!Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON,” and you'll get 20% off your next order.BuiltGoVisit BuiltGO.com and use promo code “LOCKED,” and you'll get 20% off your next order.HeadspaceYou deserve to feel happier, and Headspace is meditation made simple. Go to Headspace.com/lockedonnba for a FREE ONE-MONTH TRIAL with access to Headspace's full library of meditations for every situation.TheragunTry Theragun for THIRTY-DAYS. Go to Theragun.com/LockedOn RIGHT NOW and get your Gen 4 Theragun TODAY. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Locked On Bulls is back with a fresh episode, host Jordan Maly and Matt Peck are excited to welcome new Chicago Bulls Public Address Announcer, Tim Sinclair, to the show for the first time. The guys chat with Tim on a variety of topics including his career, Michael Jordan fandom, and his experience in the NBA and WNBA bubble. Tim talks about his background moving from Detroit to Illinois in the early stages of the Michael Jordan years, growing up a Bulls fan, how his career path has lead him to one of two prominent in-game voices for the city of Chicago's professional teams, and what it's going to be like to call the Bulls legendary introduction for the first time in the regular season. All of this and so much more on Locked On Bulls. Call or text the show: (331)-979-1369 HELP ONE OF OUR LOCKED ON BULLS LISTENERS! WGN TV STORY GOFUNDME TO HELP DONATE! Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Built Bar Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON,” and you’ll get 20% off your next order. BuiltGo Visit BuiltGO.com and use promo code “LOCKED,” and you’ll get 20% off your next order. Headspace You deserve to feel happier, and Headspace is meditation made simple. Go to Headspace.com/lockedonnba for a FREE ONE-MONTH TRIAL with access to Headspace’s full library of meditations for every situation. Theragun Try Theragun for THIRTY-DAYS. Go to Theragun.com/LockedOn RIGHT NOW and get your Gen 4 Theragun TODAY. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Illini Inquirer's Jeremy Werner chats with PowerMizzou.com's Mitchell Forde to preview Saturday's Braggin' Rights basketball game. Forde breaks down the biggest improvements for 4-0 Mizzou, how much this game means to the team and individual performances of Mark Smith, Jeremiah Tilmon, Javon Pickett and Xavier Pinson. Then Jeremy chats with Illinois men's basketball PA announcer and Champaign resident Tim Sinclair about landing the Chicago Bulls PA gig. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
My conversation with Brett Myhres, Tim Sinclair, Sean Peebles, Ric Smith, Josh Miller, Molly Haynes, Jeff Smith, Justice Keene, and Ryan Burgess for the Behind the Mic Mega Episode! Be sure to follow the show on Twitter (@BTMPodcast_Alex) and Facebook (BTMPodcast_Alex)! Behind the Mic is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Anchor, Breaker, Pocket Casts, Google Podcasts, RadioPublic, and Overcast! Download whichever app is your favorite to tune in to all 22 episodes so far, as well as next week's surprise episode, featuring mystery guest, the Voice of the Super Bowl, Alan Roach! Alan's episode is scheduled to air on Wednesday, November 4th.
The NBA officially completed the 2019-20 season and league staffers spent more than 100 days inside the bubble at Walt Disney World. To make it all work, the NBA recruited individuals across the league. Like Pacers PA announcer Tim Sinclair, and dozens of stats crew members. One of three from Indianapolis was Geoff Sherman, who sits at the scorer's table for Pacers games. He worked 38 games over 62 days while in Florida. Sherman discussed the commitment required, his path to working on stats crews (in 2014), "amazing" things heard during games, teaching IUPUI classes remotely and the importance of saying 'yes.' "The one thing about the bubble is that you lost track of your life a little bit," he said. Click here to read his reflection. Also, click here to review this podcast. ----- FieldhouseFiles.com is the home for all of my stories. Log on, sign up and follow along for complete Pacers coverage. Follow Scott on Twitter and Instagram. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/scott-agness/support
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Illini Inquirer's Jeremy Werner catches up with Illini basketball PA announcer Tim Sinclair, who was just named the PA announcer for the NFL's Chicago Bears. Sinclair talks about his latest opportunity, his rise in the industry and his experience working in the NBA bubble and WNBA Wubble. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Tim Sinclair is the public address announcer for the Indiana Pacers, the Chicago Fire, and the Fighting Illini. Tim has also served as the voice of the 2020 NBA All-Star game and the 2020 Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament. Tim shares his experiences being in the NBA Bubble in Orlando during the COVID-19 pandemic. Tayler asks whether he ever sleeps with all that he is involved with. The two discuss Tim's YouTube channel and the song parodies he's been producing during quarantine. Tim shares his experience as an author and how his tech startup, RINGR, came to be. Social Media: @timjsinclair YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ9hZ78q-a6xtuhnQxlUzvg More about Tim: https://www.timjsinclair.com/ --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/thebloompod/support
WE MADE IT TO THE BUBBLE! I'm so excited to have Tim Sinclair on the podcast! Tim is 1 of 4 PA Announcers invited within the NBA Bubble to work. He's done hundred of events including the NBA All Star Game & Skills Competition. Sinclair is a well rounded individual with lots of experience in media. He gives the podcast a new outlook and feel. He talks about his encounters with LeBron and Javale during his time in the Bubble. Sinclair provides his perspective on the NBA's social justice efforts, his ideas on players controlling the way they are presented to the media, and who he thinks will win it all! Enjoy! Stay connected with us! Follow Us: https://www.instagram.com/yourewrongsir_/ Follow my personal account: https://www.instagram.com/niyhaaa._/ Loving the You’re Wrong, Sir Podcast? Be sure to subscribe and rate to help other sport enthusiasts find us on Apple Podcast, Spotify, and more! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/aniyhajones/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/aniyhajones/support
I am doing an EGO search on Arjun Rai of HelloWoofy. Arjun’s mission is to provide the “underdogs” with a tool for digital marketing and social media activities, powered by artificial intelligence. Will I “eat my own dog (cat) food,” and use a tool that is equivalent to buying a cup of coffee (or in my case, tea), per month? Show notes with links to articles, blog posts, products and services: My referral link for HelloWoofy (affiliate ID 577)* *“This endorser is compensated for subscriptions made through this link.” Emoji Trend Report - Adobe blog Starbucks Isn’t a Coffee Business — It’s a Data Tech Company - Marker, Medium Five Lessons Learned from my Start-up — And why I’d Do it Again - Open Forum, American Express HelloWoofy Updates Offer Affordable Social Media Management to Small Business - Small Business Trends Tea versus Coffee on Instagram Teavana - Wikipedia “Underdog Marketeer” Smart Startup: The Fine Art of Being the Dumbest One in the Room by Tim J. Sinclair My interview with Tim Sinclair of Ringr Arjuna (Hindu mythology) - Encyclopaedia Britannica Article on Chatur Ideas Meet The Drapers EGO Interview with Brian Peters Hootsuite integration Chief Woof Officer, Buel - Instagram EmojiData.ai The Perfect Cuppa: Tea Sketches podcast Episode 110 (45 minutes) was recorded on July 10,, 2020, by podcaster, Martin Lindeskog, with Ringr app, IK Multimedia iRig Mic Cast podcasting microphone, PreSonus HD7 professional monitoring headphones, and SnapRecorder portable recording booth. Post-production through the podcast maker, Alitu. Notes written in Ulysses app. Bumper and jingle by Jim Jonsson, JTunes Productions. Download EGO NetCast’s standalone app on Amazon appstore for Android, Apple App Store, and Google Play. The podcast app is free of charge. It is easy to send feedback straight from within the app. The users of the app will receive extra bonus material (e.g., video clips and PDFs). Rate and review EGO NetCast podcast on Podchaser. Your support will give me fuel for my blogging and podcasting. Thanks for reading the show notes!
Tim Sinclair is the familiar PA voice at Illinois basketball games. He’s currently in Orlando, just out of the NBA quarantine, and ready to call games in the NBA “Bubble”. Tim shares his experience and some fun stories from Orlando and how he was selected to participate in the unique NBA season.
Let’s go Inside the NBA Bubble! We catch up with Tim Sinclair, who is now serving as the Voice of the NBA Summer Games in Orlando, Florida. Tim is fresh off a 7-day room quarantine at the Coronado Springs Hotel on the Disney campus; he gives us an inside look of the isolation that staff & players are currently living in, and how they are keeping busy. BEERS: Will gives a beer a “3.75 to keep it alive” – he reviews “Lions, Tigers, and Bears” in honor of the fallen Barrage Brewing Company in New York. Jake discusses his experience with Oxbow Brewing Company’s “Luppolo,” a double dry-hopped pilsner that clashes many cultures…European malts, an Italian name, and American-brewed in Newcastle, Maine. BUSINESS: If you love it, you must let it go: the shocking reality of TikTok being banned on US networks is rapidly increasing. Could this be the end of the Renegade, The Git Up, and “Say So?” Charli Damelio fans certainly hope not. We discuss this week’s viral attack on Twitter’s most well-known accounts, in which hackers were able to post fraudulent links to fake Bitcoin buying sites from the pages of Elon Musk, Barack Obama, and more! In this week’s look at the market, we evaluate a volatile performance from Tesla and name an up-and-coming player in the COVID-19 vaccine our Stock of the Week. BALLS: It’s all Bubble Life today! We take you straight into the NBA Bubble with Tim Sinclair. We close with Positivity Corner; you’re going to want to hear the story of Bridger Walker and his brave attempt to save his sister’s life. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/beersbusinessandballs/support
In episode 17 of the WCIA 3-in-1 Pod, Bret Beherns hosts solo with Marlee on vacation. Bret breaks down the last week in high school sports news, with the IHSA getting sued, handing all decision making in its Return to Play guidelines over to the IDPH, ISBE and Governor's office, plus a change in policy after allowing coaches to remove masks outside. Bret also discusses the Illinois athletics briefing with athletic director Josh Whitman, Chancellor Robert Jones and Director of Sports Medicine Randy Ballard. They update the status of their testing and plans to play all fall sports. Finally, CI Living Co-Host and Illinois/Pacers public address announcer Tim Sinclair joins from his quarantine in Orlando, as he gets set to work for the NBA in its return.
He’s the voice of the Indiana Pacers and he’s inside the NBA “Bubble”, Tim Sinclair is our special guest.
The Pacers arrived in Orlando for the NBA's restart on Thursday and over the weekend, another familiar name made his way down there. Tim Sinclair, the voice you hear inside Bankers Life Fieldhouse for home games, was selected by the NBA to be one of four public address announcers for games. Before the trip, we discussed his decision to go inside the bubble (and away from family), how long he’ll be there, what he packed and what it may be like to do his job without fans. ----- FieldhouseFiles.com is the new home for my stories. Log on, sign up with your email and follow along for complete coverage of the Pacers. Follow Scott on Twitter and Instagram. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
My conversation with Tim Sinclair, who currently works with the University of Illinois, Chicago Fire, Indiana Pacers, and the 2020 NBA All-Star Game in Chicago! Follow the show on Twitter (@BTMPodcast_Alex) and like our Facebook Page (@BTMPodcastAlex)! We're available on Anchor, Spotify, Breaker, Pocket Casts, Google Podcasts, and RadioPublic! Be sure to download whichever app is your favorite to tune in to the previous two, as well as future episodes!
Host Tony East is joined by Pacers Public Address Announcer Tim Sinclair to discuss the break from sports, his job with the Pacers, and life as a PA announcer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Host Tony East is joined by Pacers Public Address Announcer Tim Sinclair to discuss the break from sports, his job with the Pacers, and life as a PA announcer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Do you always need to see the person you are talking to? These times - coronavirus. The society shuts down, your meetings are canceled - how should you communicate? Carina and Martin are talking about virtual meetings and if it is important to see the one you are talking to. Show notes with links to articles, blog posts, products and services: Keep Calm and Carry On Face Reading Ringr - Martin Lindeskog's interview with the CEO of Ringr, Tim Sinclair. Skype Slack Me Time - Happify Martin Lindeskog's tweet to Tim Ferriss
In a special episode - Scott takes a look at the impact of the sportsworld-wide suspension of play. First, Scott is joined by the Indiana Pacers PA announcer Tim Sinclair to talk about how contract workers with the team, like himself, are handling the suspension. And then Scott is joined by IUPUI women's basketball coach Austin Parkinson on a dream season cut short.To get 40% an annual subscription, which includes extra subscriber only episodes of Fieldhouse Files, got to theathletic.com/fieldhousefilesSubscribe on iTunesRead Scott’s latest reporting on the Indiana Pacers on The Athletic
Today on The Podlets Podcast, we are joined by VMware's Vice President of Research and Development, Craig McLuckie! Craig is also a founder of Heptio, who were acquired by VMware and during his time at Google he was part of bringing Kubernetes into being. Craig has loads of expertise and shareable experience in the cloud native space and we have a fascinating chat with him, asking about his work, Heptio and of course, Kubernetes! Craig shares some insider perspective on the space, the rise of Kubernetes and how the increase in Kubernetes' popularity can be managed. We talk a lot about who can use Kubernetes and the prerequisites for implementation; Craig insists it is not a one-size-fits-all scenario. We also get into the lack of significantly qualified minds and how this is impacting competition in the hiring pool. Craig comments on taking part in the open source community and the buy-in that is required to meaningfully contribute as well as sharing his thoughts on the need to ship new products and services regularly. We finish off the episode with some of Craig's perspectives on the future of Kubernetes, dangers it poses to code if neglected and the next phase of its lifespan. For this amazing chat with a true expert in his field, make sure to join us on for this episode! Follow us: https://twitter.com/thepodlets Website: https://thepodlets.io Feeback: info@thepodlets.io https://github.com/vmware-tanzu/thepodlets/issues Special guest: Craig McLuckie Hosts: Carlisia Campos Duffie Cooley Josh Rosso Key Points From This Episode: • A brief introduction to Craig's history and his work in the cloud native space. • The questions that Craig believes more people should be asking about Kubernetes. • Weighing the explosion of the Kubernetes space; fragmentation versus progress. • The three pieces of enterprise software and aiming to enlarge the 'crystalline core'.• Craig's thoughts on specialized Kubernetes operating systems and their tradeoffs. • Quantifying the readiness of an organization to implement Kubernetes. • Craig's reflections on Heptio and the lessons he feels he learned in the process.• The skills shortage for Kubernetes and how companies are approaching this issue. • Balancing the needs and level of the community and shipping products regularly.• Involvement in the open source community and the leap of faith that is inherent in the process. • The question of microliths; making monoliths more complex and harder to manage. • Masking problems with Kubernetes and how detrimental this can be to your code. • Craig's thoughts on the future of the Kubernetes space and possible changes.• The two duty cycles of any technology; the readiness phase that follows the hype. Quotes: “I think Kubernetes has opened it up, not just in terms of the world of applications that can run Kubernetes, but also this burgeoning ecosystem of supporting technologies that can create value.” — @cmcluck [0:06:20] “You're not a cool mainstream enterprise software provider if you don’t have a Kubernetes story today. I think we’ll start to see continued focus and consolidation around a set of the larger organizations that are operating in this space.” — @cmcluck [0:06:39] “We are so much better served as a software company if we can preserve consistency from environment to environment.” — @cmcluck [0:09:12] “I’m a fan of rendered down, container-optimized operating system distributions. There’s a lot of utility there, but I think we also need to be practical and recognize that enterprises have gotten comfortable with the OS landscape that they have.” — @cmcluck [0:14:54] Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode: Craig McLuckie on LinkedIn Craig McLuckie on Twitter The Podlets on Twitter Kubernetes VMware Brendan Burns Cloud Native Computing Foundation Heptio Mesos Valero vSphere Red Hat IBM Microsoft Amazon KubeCon Transcript: EPISODE 13 [INTRODUCTION] [0:00:08.7] ANNOUNCER: Welcome to The Podlets Podcast, a weekly show that explores Cloud Native one buzzword at a time. Each week, experts in the field will discuss and contrast distributed systems concepts, practices, tradeoffs and lessons learned to help you on your cloud native journey. This space moves fast and we shouldn’t reinvent the wheel. If you’re an engineer, operator or technically-minded decision maker, this podcast is for you. [INTERVIEW] [00:00:41] CC: Hi, everybody. Welcome back to The Podlets podcast, and today we have a special guest, Craig McLuckie. Craig, I have the hardest time pronouncing your last name. You will correct me, but let me just quickly say, well, I’m Carlisia Campos and today we also have Duffy Colley and Josh Rosso on the show. Say that three times fast, Craig McLuckie. Please help us say your last name and give us a brief introduction. You are super well-known in the Kubernetes community and inside VMware, but I’m sure there are not enough people that should know about you that didn’t know about you. [00:01:20] CM: All right. I’ll do a very quick intro. Hi, I’m Craig McLuckie. I’m a Vice President of Research and Development here at VMware. Prior of VMware, I spent a fair amount of time at Google where my friend Joe and I were responsible for building and shipping Google Compute Engine, which was an interesting exercise in bringing traditional enterprise virtualized workloads into the very sophisticated Google data center. We then went ahead and as our next project with Brendan Burns, started Kubernetes, and that obviously worked out okay, and I was also responsible for the ideation and formation of the Cloud Native Computing Foundation. I then wanted to work with Joe again. So we started Heptio, a little startup in the Kubernetes ecosystem. Almost precisely a year ago, we were acquired by VMware. So I’m now part of the VMware company and I’m working on our broader strategy around cloud native apps under the brand [inaudible 00:02:10]. [00:02:11] CC: Let me start off with a question. I think it is going to be my go-to first question for every guest that we have in the show. Some people are really well-versed in the cloud native technologies and Kubernetes and some people are completely not. Some people are asking really good questions out there, and I try to too as I’m one of those people who are still learning. So my question for you is what do you think people are asking that they are not asking the right frame, that you wish they would be asking that question in a different way. [00:02:45] CM: It’s a very interesting question. I don’t think there’s any bad questions in the world, but one question I encountered a fair bit is, “Hey, I’ve heard about this Kubernetes thing and I want one.” I’m not sure it’s actually the right question, right? Kubernetes is a powerful technology. I definitely think we’re in this sort of peak hype phase of the project. There are a set of opportunities that Kubernetes really brings a much more robust ability to manage, it abstracts a way infrastructure — there are some very powerful things. But to be able to be really successful with Kubernetes project, there’re a number of additional ingredients that really need to be thought through. The questions that ought to be asked are, "I understand the utility of Kubernetes and I believe that it would bring value to my organization, but do I have the skills and capabilities necessary to stand up and run a successful Kubernetes program?" That’s something to really think about. It’s not just about the nature of the technology, but it really brings in a lot of new concepts that challenge organizations. If we think about applications that exist in Kubernetes, there’s challenges with observability. When you think the mechanics of delivering into a containerized sort of environment, there are a lot of dos and don’ts that make a ton of sense there. A lot of organizations I’ve worked with are excited about the technology, but they don’t necessarily have the depth of understanding of where it's best used and then how to operate it. The second addendum to that is, “Okay, I’m able to deploy Kubernetes, but what happens the next day? What happens if I need to update it? When I need to maintain it? What happens when I discover that I need not one Kubernetes cluster or even 10 Kubernetes clusters, but a hundred or a thousand or 10,000.” Which is what we are starting to see out there in the industry. “Have I taken the right first step on that journey to set me up for success in the long-term?” I do think there’s just a tremendous amount of opportunity and excitement around the technology, but also think it’s something that organizations really need to look at as not just about deploying a platform technology, but introducing the necessary skills that are necessary to operate and maintain it and the supporting technologies that are necessary to get the workloads on to it in a sustainable way. [00:04:42] JR: You’ve raised a number of assumptions around how people think about it I think, which are interesting. Even just starting with the idea of the packaging problem that represents containerization is a reasonable start. So infrequently, do we describe like the context of the problems that — all of the problems that Kubernetes solve that frequently I think people just get way ahead of themselves. It’s a pretty good description. [00:05:04] DC: So maybe in a similar vein, Craig, we had mentioned all the pieces that go into running Kubernetes successfully. You have to bolt some things on maybe for security or do some things to ensure observability as adequate, and it seems like the ecosystem has taken notice of all those needs and has built a million projects and products around that space. I’m curious of your thoughts on that because it’s like in one way it’s great because it shows it’s really healthy and thriving. In another way, it causes a lot of fragmentation and confusion for people who are thinking whether they can or cannot run Ku, because there are so many options out there to accomplish those kinds of things. So I was just curious of your general thoughts on that and where it’s headed. [00:05:43] CM: It’s fascinating to see the sort of burgeoning ecosystem around Kubernetes, and I think it’s heartening, because if you think at the very highest level, the world is going to go one of two ways with the introduction of the hyper-scale public cloud. It’s either going to lead us into a world which feels like mainframe era again, where no one ever got [inaudible 00:06:01] Amazon in this case, or by Microsoft, whatever the case. Whoever sort of merges over time as the dominant force. But it also represents some challenges where you have these vertically integrated closed systems, innovation becomes prohibitively difficult. It’s hard to innovate in a closed system, because you’re innovating only for organizations that have already taken that dependancy. I think Kubernetes has opened it up, not just in terms of the world of applications that can run Kubernetes, but also this burgeoning ecosystem of supporting technologies that can create value. There’s a reason why startups are building around Kubernetes. There’s a reason they’re looking to solve these problems. I do think we’ll see a continued period of consolidation. You're not a cool mainstream enterprise software provider if you don’t have a Kubernetes story today. I think we’ll start to see continued focus and consolidation around a set of the larger organizations that are operating in this space. It’s not accidental that Heptio is a part of VMware at this point. When I looked at the ecosystem, it was pretty clear we need to take a boat to fully materialize the value of Kubernetes and I am pleased to be part of this organization. So I do think you’ll start to see a variety of different vendors emerging with a pretty clear, well-defined opinions and relatively turnkey solutions that address the gamut of capabilities. One organization needs to get into Kubernetes. One of the things that delights me about Kubernetes is that if you are a sophisticated organization that is self-identifying as a software company, and this is sort of manifest in the internet space if you’re running a sort of hyper-scale internet service, you are kind of by definition a software company. You probably have the skills on hand to make great choices around what projects, follow the communities, identify when things are reaching point of critical mass. You’re running in a space where your system is relatively homogenous. You don’t have just the sort of massive gamut of workloads, a lot of dimension enterprise organizations have. There’s going to be different approaches to the ecosystem depending on which organization is looking at the problem space. I do think this is prohibitively challenging for a lot of organizations that are not resourced at the level of a hyper-scale internet company from a technology perspective, where their day job isn’t running a production service for millions or billions of users. I do think situations like that, it makes a tremendous amount of sense to identify and work with someone you trust in the ecosystem, that can help you just navigate the wild map that is the Kubernetes landscape, that can participate in a number of these emerging communities that has the ability to put their thumb on the scale where necessary to make sure that things converge. I think it’s situational. I think the lovely thing about Kubernetes is that it does give organizations a chance to cut their teeth without having to dig into like a deep procurement cyclewith a major vendor. We see a lot of self-service Kubernetes projects getting initiated. But at some point, almost inevitably, people need a little bit more help, and that’s the role of a lot of these vendors. I think that I truly hope that I’m personally committed to, is that as we start to see the convergence of this ecosystem, as we start to see the pieces falling into place, that we retain an emphasis on the value of community that we also sort of avoid the balkanization and fragmentation, which sometimes comes out of these types of systems. We are so much better served as a software company if we can preserve consistency from environment to environment. The reality is as we start looking at large organizations, enterprises that are consuming Kubernetes, it’s almost inevitable that they’re going to be consuming Kubernetes from a number of different sources. Whether the sources are cloud provider delivering Kubernetes services or whether they handle Kubernetes clusters that are dedicated centralized IT team is delivering or whether it’s vendor provided Kubernetes. There’s going to be a lot of different flavors and variants on it. I think working within the community not as king makers, but as concerned citizens that are looking to make sure that there are very high-levels of consistency from offering to offering, means that our customers are going to be better served. We’re right now in a time where this technology is burgeoning. It’s highly scrutinized, but it’s not necessarily very widely deployed. So I think it’s important to just keep an eye on that sort of community centricity. Stay as true to our stream as possible. Avoid balkanization, and I think everyone will benefit from that. [00:10:16] DC: Makes sense. One of the things I took away from my year, I was just looking kind of back at my year and learning, consolidating my thoughts on what had happened. One of the big takeaways for me in my customer engagements this year was that a number of customers outright came out explicitly and said, “Our success as a company is not going to be measured by our ability to operate Kubernetes, which is true and obvious.” But at the same time, I think that that’s a really interesting moment of awareness for a lot of the people that I work with out there in the field, where they realized, you know what, Kubernetes may be the next best thing. It may be an incredible technology, but fundamentally, it’s not going to be the measure by which we are graded success. It’s going to be what we do on top of that that is more interesting. So I think that your point about that ecosystem is large enough that people will be consuming Kubernetes for multiple searches is sort of amplified by that, because people are going to look for that easy button as inroad. They’re going to look for some way to get the Kubernetes thing so that they can actually start exploring what will happen on top of it as their primary goal rather than how to get Kubernetes from an operational perspective or even understand the care and feeding of it because they don’t see that as the primary measure of success. [00:11:33] CM: That is entirely true. When I think about enterprise software, there’s sort of these three pieces of it. The first piece is the sort of crystaline core of enterprise software. That’s consistent from enterprise to enterprise to enterprise. It’s purchased from primary vendors or it’s built by open source communities. It represents a significant basis for everything. There’s the sort of peripheral, the sort of sea of applications that exist around that enterprises built that are entirely unique to their environment, and they’re relatively fluid. Then there’s this weird sort of interstitial layer, which is the integration glue that exists between their crystalline core and those applications and operating practices that enterprises create. So I think from my side, we benefit if that crystalline core is as large as possible so that enterprises don’t have to rely on bespoke integration practices as much possible. We also need to make allowances for the idea that that interstitial layer between the sort of core of a technology like Kubernetes and the applications may be modular or sort of extended by a variety of different vendors. If you’re operating in this space, like the telco space, your problems are going to be unique to telco, but they’re going to be shared by every other telco provider. One of the beautiful things about Kubernetes is it is sufficiently modular, it is a pretty well-thought resistant. So I think we will start to see a lot of specialization in terms of those integration pieces. A lot of specialization in terms of how Kubernetes is fit to a specific area, and I think that represents an awful opportunity for the community to continue to evolve. But I also think it means that we as contributors to the project need to make allowances for that. We can’t hold opinion to the point where it precludes massive significant value for organizations as they look at modularized and extending the platform. [00:13:19] CC: What is your opinion on people making specialized Kubernetes operating systems? For example, we’re talking about telcos. I think there’s a Kubernetes OSS specifically for telcos that strip away things that kind of industry doesn’t need. What are the tradeoffs that you see? [00:13:39] CM: It’s almost inevitable that you’re going to start to see specialized operating system distributions that are tailored to container-based workloads. I think as we start looking at like the telco space with network function virtualization, Kubernetes promises to be something that we never really saw before. At the end of the day, telco is very broadly deployed open stack as this primary substrate for network function virtualization. But at the end of the day, they ended up not just deploying one rendition of open stack. But in many cases, three, four, five, depending on what functions they wanted to run, and there wasn’t a sufficient commonality in terms of the implementations. It became very sort of vendor-centric and balkanized in many ways. I think there’s an opportunity here to work hard as a community to drive convergence around a lot of those Kubernetes constructs so that, sure, the operating system is going to be different. If you’re running an NFV data plane implementation, doing a lot of bit slinging, it’s going to look fundamentally different to anything else in the industry, right? But that shouldn’t necessarily mean that you can’t use the same tools to organize, manage and reason about the workloads. A lot of the innovations that happen above that shouldn’t necessarily be tied to that. I think there’s promise there and it’s going to be an amazing test for Kubernetes itself to see how well it scales into those environments. By and large, I’m a fan of rendered down, container-optimized operating system distributions. There’s a lot of utility there, but I think we also need to be practical and recognize that enterprises have gotten comfortable with the OS landscape that they have. So we have to make allowances that as part of containerizing and distributing your application, maybe you don’t necessarily need to and hopefully re-qualify the underlying OS and challenge a lot of the assumptions. So I think we just need to pragmatic about it. [00:15:19] DC: I know that’s a dear topic to Josh and I. We’ve fought that battle in the past as well. I do think it’s another one of those things where it’s a set of assumptions. It’s fascinating to me how many different ecosystems are sort of collapsing, maybe not ecosystems. How many different audiences are brought together by a technology like container orchestration. That you are having that conversation with, “You know what? Let’s just change the paradigm for operating systems.” That you are having that conversation with, “Let’s change the paradigm for observability and lifecycle stuff. Let’s change the paradigm for packaging. We’ll call it containers.” You know what I mean? It’s so many big changes in one idea. It’s crazy. [00:15:54] CM: It’s a little daunting if you think about it, right? I always say, change is easiest across one dimension, right? If I’m going to change everything all at once across all the dimensions, life gets really hard. I think, again, it’s one of these things where Kubernetes represents a lot of value. I walk into a lot of customer accounts and I spend a lot of time with customers. I think based on their experiences, they sort of make one of two assumptions. There’s a set of vendors that will come into an environment and say, “Hey, just run this tool against your virtual machine images – and Kubernetes, right?” Then they have another set of vendors that will come in and say, “Yeah. Hey, you just need to go like turn this thing into 12 factor cloud native service mesh-linked applications driven through CICD, and your life is magic.” There are some cases where it makes sense, but there’re some cases where it just doesn’t. Hey, what uses a 24 gigabyte container? Is that really solving the problems that you have in some systematic way? At the other end of the spectrum, like there’s no world in which an enterprise organization is rewriting 3,000, 5,000 applications to be cloud native from the ground up. It just is not going to happen, right? So just understanding the return investment associated with the migration into Kubernetes. I’m not saying where it make sense and where it doesn’t. It’s such an important part of this story. [00:17:03] JR: On that front, and this is something Duffy and I talk to our customers about all the time. Say you’re sitting with someone and you’re talking about potentially using Kubernetes or they’re thinking about it, are there like some key indicators that you see, Craig, as like, “Okay. Maybe Kubernetes does have that return on investment pretty soon to justify it." Or maybe even in the reverse, like some things where you think, “Okay, these people are just going to implement Kubernetes and it’s going to become shelf weary.” How do you qualify as an org, “I might be ready to bring on something like Kubernetes.” [00:17:32] CM: It’s interesting. For me, it’s almost inevitably – as much about the human skills as anything else. I mean, the technology itself isn’t rocket science. I think the sort of critical success criteria, when I start looking at engagement, is there a cultural understanding of what Kubernetes represents? Kubernetes is not easy to use. That initial [inaudible 00:17:52] to the face is kind of painful for people that are used to different experiences. Making sure that the basic skills and expectations are met is really important. I think there’s definitely some sort of acid test around workloads fit as you start looking at Kubernetes. It’s an evolving ecosystem and it’s maturing pretty rapidly, but there are still areas that need a little bit more heavy lifting, right? So if you think about like, “Hey, I want to run a vertically-scaled OLTP database in Kubernetes today.” I don’t know. Maybe not the best choice. If the customer knows that, if they have enough familiarity or they’re willing to engage, I think it makes a tremendous amount of sense. By and large, the biggest challenge I see is not so much in the Kubernetes space. It’s easy enough to get to a basic cluster. There’re sort of two dimensions to this, there is day two operations. I see a lot of organizations that have worked to create scale up programs of platform technologies. Before Kubernetes there was Mesos and there’s obviously PCF that we’ll be coming more increasingly involved in. Organizations that have chewed on creating and deploying a standardized platform often have the operational skills, but you also need to look at like why did that previous technology really meet sort of criteria, and do you have the skills to operate it on a day two basis? Often there’s not – They’ve worked out the day two operational issues, but they still haven’t figured out like what it means to create a modern software supply chain that can deliver into the Kubernetes space. They haven’t figured out necessarily how to create the right incentive structures and experiences for the developers that are looking to build, package and deliver into that environment. That’s probably the biggest point of frustration I see with enterprises, is, “Okay. I got to Kubernetes. Now what?” That question just hasn’t been answered. They haven’t really thought through, “These are the CICD processes. This is how you engage your cyber team to qualify the platform for these classes of workloads. This is how you set up a container repo and run scans against it. This is how you assign TTL on images, so you don’t just get massive repo.” There’s so much in the application domain that just needs to exist that I think people often trivialize and it’s really taking the time and picking a couple of projects being measured in the investments. Making sure you have the right kind of cultural profile of teams that are engaged. Create that sort of celebratory moment of success. Make sure that the team is sort of metricking and communicating the productivity improvements, etc. That really drives the option and engagement with the whole customer base. [00:20:11] CC: It sounds to me like you have a book in the making. [00:20:13] CM: Oh! I will never write a book. It just seems like a lot of work. Brendan and a buch of my friends write books. Yeah, that seems like a whole lot of work. [00:20:22] DC: You had mentioned that you decided you wanted to work with Joe again. You formed Heptio. I was actually there for a year. I think I was around for a bit longer than that obviously. I’m curious what your thoughts about that were as an experiment win. If you just think about it as that part of the journey, do you think that was a success and what did you learn from that whole experiment that you wished everybody knew, just from a business perspective? It might have been business or it might have been running a company, any of that stuff. [00:20:45] CM: So I’m very happy with the way that Heptio went. There were a few things that sort of stood out for me as things that folks should think about if they’re going to start a startup or they want to join a startup. The first and foremost I would say is design the culture to the problem at hand. Culture isn’t accidental. I think that Heptio had a pretty distinct and nice culture, and I don’t want to sound self-congratulatory. I mean, as with anything, a certain amount of this is work, but a lot of it is luck as well. Making sure that the cultural identity of the company is well-suited to the problem at-hand. This is critical, right? When I think about what Heptio embodied, it was really tailored to the specific journey that we were setting ourselves up for. We were looking to be passionate advocates for Kubernetes. We were looking to walk the journey with our customers in an authentic way. We were looking to create a company that was built around sustainability. I think the culture is good and I encourage folks either the thing you’re starting is a startup or looking to join one, to think hard about that culture and how it’s going to map to the problems they’re trying to solve. The other thing that I think really motivated me to do Heptio, and I think this is something that I’m really excited to continue on with VMware, was the opportunity to walk the journey with customers. So many startups have this massive reticence to really engage deeply in professional services. In many ways, Google is fun. I had a blast there. It’s a great company to work for. We were able to build out some really cool tech and do good things. But I grew kind of tired of writing letters from the future. I was, “Okay, we are flying cars." When you're interacting with the customer. I can’t start my car and get to work. It’s great that you have flying cars, but right now I just need to get in my car, drive down the block and get out and get to work. So walking the journey with customers is probably the most important learning from Heptio and it’s one of the things I’m kind of most proud of. That opportunity to share the pain. Get involved from day one. Look at that as your most valuable apparatus to not just build your business, but also to learn what you need to build. Having a really smart set of people that are comfortable working directly with customers or invested in the success of those customers is so powerful. So if you’re in the business or in the startup game, investors may be leery of building out a significant professional service as a function, because that’s just how Silicon Valley works. But it is absolutely imperative in terms of your ability to engage with customers, particularly around nascent technologies, filled with gaps where the product doesn’t exist. Learn from those experiences and bring that back into the core product. It’s just a huge part of what we did. If I was ever in a situation where I had to advice a startup in the sort of open source space, I’d say lean into the professional service. Lean into field engineering. It’s a critical way to build your business. Learn what customers need. Walk the journey with them and just develop a deep empathy. [00:23:31] CC: With new technology, that was a concern about having enough professionals in the market who are knowledgeable in that new technology. There is always a gap for people to catch up with that. So I’m curious to know what customers or companies, prospective customers, how they are thinking in terms of finding professionals to help them? Are they’re concerned that there’s enough professionals in the market? Are they finding that the current people who are admins and operators are having an easy time because their skills are transferable, if they’re going to embark on the Kubernetes journey? What are they telling you? [00:24:13] CM: I mean, there’s a huge skills shortage. This is one of the kind of primary threats to the short term adoption of Kubernetes. I think Kubernetes will ultimately permeate enterprise organizations. I think it will become a standard for distributed systems development. Effectively emerging as an operating system for distributed systems, is people build more natively around Kubernetes. But right now it’s like the early days of Linux, where you deploy Linux, you’d have to kind of build it from scratch type of thing. It is definitely a challenge. For enterprise organizations, it’s interesting, because there’s a war for talent. There’s just this incredible appetite for Kubernetes talent. There’s always that old joke around the job description for like 10 years of Kubernetes experience on a five-year project. That certainly is something we see a lot. I’d take it from two sides. One is recognizing that as an enterprise organization, you are not going to be able to hire this talent. Just accept that sad truth. You can hire a seed crystal for it, but you really need to look at that as something that you’re going to build out as an enablement function for your own consumption. As you start assessing individuals that you’re going to bring on in that role, don’t just assess for Kubernetes talent. Assess for the ability to teach. Look for people that can come in and not just do, but teach and enable others to do it, right? Because at the end of the day, if you need like 50 Kubernauts at a certain level, so does your competitor and all of your other competitors. So does every other function out there. There’s just massive shortage of skills. So emphasizing your own – taking on the responsibility of building your own expertise. Educating your own organization. Finding ways to identify people that are motivated by this type of technology and creating space for them and recognizing and rewarding their work as they build this out. Because it’s far more practical to hire into existing skillset and then create space so that the people that have the appetite and capability to really absorb these types of disruptive technologies can do so within the parameters of your organization. Create the structures to support them and then make it their job to help permeate that knowledge and information into the organization. It’s just not something you can just bring in. The skills just don’t exist in the broader world. Then for professionals that are interested in Kubernetes, this is definitely a field that I think we’ll see a lot of job security for a very long-time. Taking on that effort, it’s just well worth the journey. Then I’d say the other piece of this is for vendors like VMware, our job can’t be just delivering skills and delivering technology. We need to think about our role as an enablers in the ecosystem as folks that are helping not just build up our own expertise of Kubernetes that we can represent to customers, but we’re well-served by our customers developing their own expertise. It’s not a threat to us. It actually enables them to consume the technologies that we provide. So focusing on that enablement through us as integration partners and [inaudible] community, focusing on enablement for our customers and education programs and the things that they need to start building out their capacity internally, is going to serve us all well. [00:27:22] JR: Something going back to maybe the Heptio conversation, I’m super interested in this. Being a very open source-oriented company, at VMware this is of course this true as well. We have to engage with large groups of humans from all different kinds of companies and we have to do that while building and shipping product to some degree. So where I’m going with this is like – I remember back in the Heptio days, there was something with dynamic audit logging that we were struggling with, and we needed it for some project we were working on. But we needed to get consensus in a designed approve at like a bigger community level. I do know to some degree that did limit our ability to ship quickly. So you probably know where I’m going with this. When you’re working on projects or products, how do you balance, making sure the whole community is coming along with you, but also making sure that you can actually ship something? [00:28:08] DM: That harkens back to that sort of catch phrase that Tim Sinclair always uses. If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. I think as with almost everything in the world, these things are situational, right? There are situations where it is so critical that you bring the community along with you that you don’t find yourself carrying the load for something by yourself that you just have to accept and absorb that it’s going to be pushing string. Working with an engaged community necessitates consensus, necessitates buy-in not just from you, but from potentially your competitors. The people that you’re working with and recognizing that they’ll be doing their own sort of mental calculus around whether this advantages them or not and whatnot. But hopefully, I think certainly in the Kubernetes community, this is general recognition that making the underlying technology accessible. Making it ubiquitous, making it intrinsically supportable profits everyone. I think there’re a couple of things that I look at. Make the decision pretty early on as to whether this is something you want to kind of spark off and sort of stride off on your own an innovate around, whether it’s something that’s critical to bring the community along with you around. I’ll give you two examples of this, right? One example was the work we did around technologies like Valero, which is a backup restore product. It was an urgent and critical need to provide a sustainable way to back up and recover Kubernetes. So we didn’t have the time to do this through Kubernetes. But also it didn’t necessarily matter, because everything we’re doing was build this addendum to Kubernetes. That project created a lot of value and we’ve donated to open source project. Anyone can use it. But we took on the commitment to drive the development ourselves. It’s not just we need it to. Because we had to push very quickly in that space. Whereas if you look at the work that we’re doing around things like cluster API and the sort of broader provisioning of Kubernetes, it’s so important that the ecosystem avoids the tragedy of the commons around things like lifecycle management. It’s so important that we as a community converge on a consistent way to reason about the deployment upgrade and scaling of Kubernetes clusters. For any single vendor to try to do that by themselves, they’re going to take on the responsibility of dealing with not just one or two environments if you’re a hyperscale cloud provider [inaudible 00:30:27] many can do that. But we think about doing that for, in our case, “Hey, we only deploy into vSphere. Not just what’s coming next, but also earlier versions of vSphere. We need to be able to deploy into all of the hyper-scalers. We need to deploy into some of the emerging cloud providers. We need to start reasoning about edge. We need to start thinking about all of these. We’re a big company and we have a lot of engineers. But you’re going to get stretched very thin, very quickly if you try to chew that off by yourself. So I think a lot of it is situational. I think there are situations where it does pay for organizations to kind of innovate, charge off in a new direction. Run an experiment. See if it sticks. Over time, open that up to the community as it makes sense. The thing that I think is most important is that you just wear your heart on your sleeve. The worst thing you can do is to present a charter that, “Hey, we’re doing this as a community-centric, open project with open design, open community, open source,” and then change your mind later, because that just creates dramas. I think it’s situational. Pick the path that makes sense to the problem at-hand. Figure out how long your customer can wait for something. Sometimes you can bring things back to communities that are very open and accepting community. You can look at it as an experiment, and if it makes sense in that experiment perform factor, present it back to the Kubernetes communities and see if you can kind of get it back in. But in some case it just makes sense to work within the structure and constraints of the community and just accept that great things from a community angle take a lot of time. [00:31:51] CC: I think too, one additional thing that I don’t think was mentioned is that if a project grows too big, you can always break it off. I mean, Kubernetes is such a great example of that. Break it off into separate components. Break it off into separate governance groups, and then parts can move with different speeds. [00:32:09] CM: Yeah, and there’s all kinds of options. So the heart of it is no one rule, right? It’s entirely situational. What are you trying to accomplish on what arise and acknowledge and accept that the evolution of the core of Kubernetes is slowing as it should. That’s a signal that the project is maturing. You cannot deliver value at a longer timeline that your business or your customers can absorb then maybe it makes sense to do something on the outside. Just wear your heart on your sleeve and make sure your customers and your partners know what you’re doing. [00:32:36] DC: One of your earlier points about how do companies – I think Josh's question and was around how do companies attract talent. You’re basically pointing, and I think that there are some relation to this particular topic because, frequently, I’ve seen companies find some success by making room for open source or upstream engineers to focus on the Kubernetes piece and to help drive that adoption internally. So if you’re going to adopt something like a Kubernetes strategy as part of a larger company goal, if you can actually make room within your organization to bring people who are – or to support people who want to focus on that up stream, I think that you get a lot of ancillary benefits from that, including it makes it easier to adopt that technology and understand it and actually have some more skin in the game around where the open source project itself is going. [00:33:25] CM: Yeah, absolutely. I think one of the lovely things about the Kubernetes community is this idea of your position is earned, not granted, right? The way that you earn influence and leadership and basically the good will of everyone else in that community is by chopping wood, carrying water. Doing the things that are good for the community. Over time, any organization, any human being can become influential and lead based on their merits of their contributions. It’s important that vendors think about that. But at the same time, I have a hard time taking exception with practically any use of open source. At the end of the day, open source by its nature is a leap of faith. You’re making that technology accessible. If someone else can take it, operationalize it well and deliver value for organizations, that’s part of your contract. That’s what you absorb as a vendor when you start the thing. So people shouldn’t feel like they have to. But if you want to influence and lead, you do need to. Participate in these communities in an open way. [00:34:22] DC: When you were helping form the CNCF and some of those projects, did you foresee it being like a driving goal for people, not just vendors, but also like consumers of the technologies associated with those foundations? [00:34:34] CM: Yeah, it was interesting. Starting the CNCF, I can speak from the position of where I was inside Google. I was highly motivated by the success of Kubernetes. Not just personally motivated, because it was a project that I was working on. I was motivated to see it emerge as a standard for distributed systems development that attracts the way the infrastructure provider. I’m not ashamed of it. It was entirely self-serving. If you looked at Google’s market position at that time, if you looked at where we were as a hyper-scale cloud provider. Instituting something that enabled the intrinsic mobility of workloads and could shuffle around the cards on the deck so to speak [inaudible 00:35:09]. I also felt very privileged that that was our position, because we didn’t necessarily have to create artificial structures or constraints around the controls of the system, because that process of getting something to become ubiquitous, there’s a natural path if you approach it as a single provider. I’m not saying who couldn’t have succeeded with Kubernetes as a single provider. But if Red Hat and IBM and Microsoft and Amazon had all piled on to something else, it’s less obvious, right? It’s less obvious that Kubernetes would have gone as far as it did. So I was setting up CNCF, I was highly motivated by preserving the neutrality. Creating structures that separated the various sort of forms of governance. I always joke that at the time of creating CNCF, I was motivated by the way the U.S. Constitution is structured. Where you have these sort of different checks and balances. So I wanted to have something that would separate vendor interests from things that are maintaining taste on the discreet project. The sort of architecture integrity, and maintain separation from customer segments, so that you’d create the sort of natural self-balancing system. It was definitely in my thinking, and I think it worked out pretty well. Certainly not perfect, but it did lead down a path which I think has supported the success of the project a fair bit. [00:36:26] DC: So we talked a lot about Kubernetes. I’m curious, do you have some thoughts, Carlisia? [00:36:31] CC: Actually, I know you have a question about microliths. I was very interested in exploring that. [00:36:37] CM: There’s an interesting pattern that I see out there in the industry and this manifests in a lot of different ways, right? When you think about the process of bringing applications and workloads into Kubernetes, there’s this sort of pre-dispositional bias towards, “Hey, I’ve got this monolithic application. It’s vertically scaled. I’m having a hard time with the sort of team structure. So I’m going to start tuning it up into a set of microservices that I can then manage discretely and ideally evolve on a separate cadence. This is an example of a real customer situation where someone said, “Hey, I’ve just broken this monolith down into 27 microservices.” So I was sort of asking a couple of questions. The first one was when you have to update those 27 – if you want to update one of those, how many do you have to touch? The answer was 27. I was like, “Ha! You just created a microlith.” It’s like a monolith, except it’s just harder to live with. You’re taking a packaging problem and turn it into a massively complicated orchestration problem. I always use that jokingly, but there’s something real there, which is there’s a lot of secondary things you need to think through as you start progressing on this cloud native journey. In the case of microservice development, it’s one thing to have API separated microservices. That’s easy enough to institute. But instituting the organization controls around an API versioning strategy such you can start to establish stable API with consistent schema and being able to sort of manage the dependencies to consuming teams requires a level of sophistication that a lot of organizations haven’t necessarily thought through. So it’s very easy to just sort of get caught up in the hype without necessarily thinking through what happens downstream. It’s funny. I see the same thing in functions, right? I interact with organizations and they’re like, “Wow! We took this thing that was running in a container and we turned it into 15 different functions.” I’m like, “Ha! Okay.” You start asking questions like, “Well, do you have any challenges with state coherency?” They’re like, “Yeah! It’s funny you say that. Because these things are a little bit less transactionally coherent, we have to write state watches. So we try and sort of watermark state and watch this thing." I’m like, “You’re building a distributed transaction coordinator on your free time. Is this really the best use of your resources?" Right? So it really gets back to that idea that there’s a different tool for a different job. Sometimes the tool is a virtual machine. Sometimes it’s not. Sometimes the tool is a bare metal deployment. If you’re building a quantitative trading application that’s microsecond latency sensitive, you probably don’t want to hypervisor there. Sometimes a VM is the natural destination and there’s no reason to move from a VM. Sometimes it’s a container. Sometimes you want to start looking at that container and just modularizing it so you can run a set of things next to each other in the same process space. Sometimes you’re going to want to put APIs between those things and separate them out into separate containers. There’s an ROI. There’s a cause and there’s a benefit associated with each of those transitions. More importantly, there are a set of skills that you have to have as you start looking at their continuum and making sure that you’re making good choices and being wise about it. [00:39:36] CC: That is a very good observation. Design is such an important part of software development. I wonder if Kubernetes helps mask these design problems. For example, the ones you are mentioning, or does Kubernetes sort of surfaces them even more? [00:39:53] CM: It’s an interesting philosophical question. Kubernetes certainly masks some problems. I ran into an early – this is like years ago. I ran into an early customer, who confided in me, "I think we’re writing worse code now." I was like, ”What do you mean?” He was like, “Well, it used to be when we went out of memory on something, we get paged. Now we’ve set out that we go and it just restarts the container and everything continuous.” There’s no real incentive for the engineers to actually go back and deal with the underlying issues and recourse it, because the system is just more intrinsically robust and self-healing by nature. I think there's definitely some problems that Kubernetes will compound. If you’re very sloppy with your dependencies, if you create a really large, vertically scaled monolith that’s running at VM today, putting it in a container is probably strictly going to make your life worse. Just be respectful of that. But at the same time, I do think that the discipline associated with transition to Kubernetes, if you walk it a little bit further along. If you start thinking about the fact that you’re not running a lot of imperative processes during a production in a push, where deployment container is effectively a bin copy with some minimal post-deployment configuration changes that happen. It sort of leads you on to a much happier path naturally. I think it can mask some issues, but by and large, the types of systems you end up building are going to be more intrinsically operationally stable and scalable. But it is also worth recognizing that it’s — you are going to encounter corner cases. I’ve run into a lot of customers that will push the envelope in a direction that was unanticipated by the community or they accidentally find themselves on new ground that’s just unstable, because the technology is relatively nascent. So just recognizing that if you’re going to walk down a new path, I’m not saying don’t, just recognize that you’re probably going to encounter some stuff that’s going to take over to working through. [00:41:41] DC: We get an earlier episode about API contracts, which I think highlights some of these stuff as well, because it sort of gets into some of those sharp edges of like why some of those things are super important when you start thinking about microservices and stuff. We’re coming to the end of our time, but one of the last questions I want to ask you, we’ve talked a lot about Kubernetes in this episode, I’m curious what the future holds. We see a lot of really interesting things happening in the ecosystem around moving more towards serverless. There are a lot of people who are like — thinking that perhaps a better line would be to move away from like infrastructure offering and just basically allow cloud providers in this stuff to manage your nodes for you. We have a few shots on goal for that ourselves. It’s been really an interesting evolution over the last year in that space. I’m curious, what sort of lifetime would you ascribe to it today? What do you think that this is going to be the thing in 10 years? Do you think it will be a thing in 5 years? What do you see coming that might change it? [00:42:32] CM: It’s interesting. Well, first of all, I think 2018 was the largest year ever for mainframe sales. So we have these technologies, once they’re in enterprise, it tends to be pretty durable. The duty cycle of enterprise software technology is pretty long-lived. The real question is we’ve seen a lot of technologies in this space emerge, ascend, reach a point of critical mass and then fade and they’re disrupted by the technologies. Is Kubernetes going to be a Linux or is Kubernetes going to be a Mesos, right? I mean, I don’t claim to know the answer. My belief, and I think this is probably true, is that it’s more like a Linux. When you think about the heart of what Kubernetes is doing, is it’s just providing a better way to build and organized distributed systems. I’m sure that the code will evolve rapidly and I’m sure there will be a lot of continued innovation enhancement. But when you start thinking about the fact that what Kubernetes has really done is brought controller reconciler based management to distributed systems developed everywhere. When you think about the fact that pretty much every system these days is distributed by nature, it really needs something that supports that model. So I think we will see Kubernetes sticking. We’ll see it become richer. We’ll start to see it becoming more applicable for a lot of things that we’re starting to just running in VMs. It may well continue to run in VMs and just be managed by Kubernetes. I don’t have an opinion about how to reason about the underlying OS and virtualization structure. The thing I do have opinion about is it makes a ton of sense to be able to use a declarative framework. Use a set of well-structured controllers and reconcilers to drive your world into a non-desired state. I think that pattern will be – it’s been quite successful. It can be quite durable. I think we’ll start to see organizations embrace a lot of these technologies over time. It is possible that something brighter, shinier, newer, comes along. Anyone will tell you that we made enough mistakes during the journey and there is stuff that I think everyone regret some of the Kubernetes train. I do think it’s likely to be pretty durable. I don’t think it’s a silver bullet. Nothing is, right? It’s like any of these technologies, there’s always the cost and there’s a benefit associated with it. The benefits are relatively well-understood. But there’s going to be different tools to do different jobs. There’s going to be new patterns that emerge that simplify things. Is Kubernetes the best framework for running functions? I don’t know. Maybe. Kind of like what the [inaudible] people are doing. But are there more intrinsically optimal ways to do this, maybe. I don’t know. [00:45:02] JR: It has been interesting watching Kubernetes itself evolve in that moving target. Some of the other technologies I’ve seen kind of stagnate on their one solution and don’t grow further. But that’s definitely not what I see within this community. It’s like always coming up with something new. Anyway, thank you very much for your time. That was an incredible session. [00:45:22] CM: Yeah. Thank you. It’s always fun to chat. [00:45:24] CC: Yeah. We’ll definitely have you back, Craig. Yes, we are coming up at the end, but I do want to ask if you have any thoughts that you haven’t brought up or we haven’t brought up that you’d like to share with the audience of this podcast. [00:45:39] CM: I guess the one thing that was going through my head earlier I didn’t say which is as you look at these technologies, there’s sort of these two duty cycles. There’s the hype duty cycle, where technology ascends in awareness and everyone looks at it as an answer to all the everythings. Then there’s the readiness duty cycle, which is sometimes offset. I do think we’re certainly peak hype right now in Kubernetes if you attended KubeCon. I do think there’s perhaps a gap between the promise and the reality for a lot of organizations. It's always just council caution and just be judicious about how you approach this. It’s a very powerful technology and I see a very bright future for it. Thanks for your time. [00:46:17] CC: Really, thank you so much. It’s so refreshing to hear from you. You have great thoughts. With that, thank you very much. We will see you next week. [00:46:28] JR: Thanks, everybody. See you. [00:46:29] DC: Cheers, folks. [END OF INTERVIEW] [00:46:31] ANNOUNCER: Thank you for listening to The Podlets Cloud Native Podcast. Find us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/ThePodlets and on the http://thepodlets.io/ website, where you'll find transcripts and show notes. We'll be back next week. Stay tuned by subscribing. [END]See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In this episode, you will learn about Thanksgiving, gold diggers, silver coins, and Atlas. Show notes with links to articles, blog posts, products and services: 400th Commemorative Ceremony First Official English Thanksgiving - American Evolution History of the First Thanksgiving - Berkeley Plantation Berkeley Hundred - Wikipedia Cool Material (affiliate link) Full Mon silver coin No More Lies / Free Press bulk novelty coin - Shire Post Mint Field Notes Group 11 - Nero’s Notes Ed Filowat of Backpack Studio app Tim Sinclair & Co., Ringr Colin Gray & Co., Alitu Auphonic Libsyn RedCircle Captivate On Thanksgiving, Celebrate Production - New Ideal, AynRand.org bio.fm/lyceum pages.today/silver The Athenian Owl Lyceum on Instagram Support Lyceum on Ko-fi.com So Who Is John Galt, Anyway?: A Reader's Guide to Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged" by Robert Tracinski Episode 92 (10 minutes - direct download URL) was recorded on December 1, 2019, by podcaster, Martin Lindeskog, with Backpack Studio app, IK Multimedia iRig Mic Cast podcasting microphone, PreSonus HD7 professional monitoring headphones, and SnapRecorder portable recording booth. Post-production through the podcast maker, Alitu. Notes written in Ulysses app. Bumper and jingle by Jim Jonsson, JTunes Productions. Download EGO NetCast’s standalone app on Amazon appstore for Android, Apple App Store, and Google Play. The podcast app is free of charge. It is easy to send feedback straight from within the app. The users of the app will receive extra bonus material (e.g., video clips and PDFs). Rate and review EGO NetCast podcast on Podchaser. Your support will give me fuel for my blogging and podcasting! Continue the conversation on FlickChat app. Thanks for reading the show notes!
Our first guest! Stefan Langemalm from PIK Solutions. What is similar between presentation skills and computer software? Software is all about the process and the presentation. A software application most fit a large number of different users, both experts and beginners. And how do you avoid information overload? Our guest explains. Show notes with links to articles, blog posts, products and services: Principles of User Interface Design - Bokardo.com PIK Solutions The 4 Golden Rules of UI Design - Adobe Blog Top UI Design Principles To Keep In Mind - UX Planet Ringr app [Martin Lindeskog's referral link.] EGO Interview with Tim Sinclair, CEO of Ringr - Part One EGO Interview with Tim Sinclair, CEO of Ringr - Part Two EGO Search on Ed Filowat of Backpack Studio
On this week's Pacers Weekly hear from Pacers broadcasters Mark Boyle, Chris Denari, Jeremiah Johnson, Eddie White, and Mark Montieth. Guests joining the show are Nate McMillan, Jon Barry, and Tim Sinclair. Hosted by Pat Boylan. Minute Markers: Nate McMillan - 6:10 Mark Boyle and Jon Barry - 13:30 Eddie White and Tim Sinclair - 21:45 Pat Boylan and Mark Boyle - 32:45 Pat Boylan and Mark Montieth - 42:00 Pat Boylan and Jeremiah Johnson - 52:20
Suze Orman's Women & Money (And Everyone Smart Enough To Listen)
In this special episode of Women & Money, we do what is called a “Cross-Pod” episode. Tim Sinclair, the CEO of Ringr, has a podcast called “Also Humans,” and he interviewed Suze on a recent show. In this riveting conversation, you’ll hear how Suze started her career, pivoting from wanting to open a restaurant to become the world’s most influential money expert. Plus, you’ll learn who her soon-to-be-famous (sort of) roommate was in college! You can get new episodes of Also Humans at https://www.alsohumans.com/ JUST LAUNCHED! Join Suze’s Women & Money Community for FREE and ASK SUZE your questions which may just end up on her podcast! To ask Suze a question, download by following one of these links: CLICK HERE FOR APPLE CLICK HERE FOR GOOGLE PLAY Want to begin your Will & Trust? CLICK HERE for Suze’s $69 podcast special offer of her "Must Have Documents.” To find the right Credit Union for you, CLICK HERE Help spread the word about the Women & Money podcast by telling your friends and giving a star rating on Apple Podcasts. If you like the Women & Money theme song by Effie, you can get it here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Tim Sinclair is the founder of Ringr.com. Ringr allows you to record a conversation with anyone, anywhere in the world and have it sound like you are in the same room. Users of Ringr have interviewed Emmy award winners, New York Time best sellers, CEOS, athletes and many more. You may have heard him describing the taste of a Sausage McMuffin, interviewing guests on radio, television, and podcasts, or introducing the world's most popular athlete to a stadium filled with 60,000 screaming fans. By now Tim's voice has been heard by millions around the world and he has worked with companies like Audi, McDonald's, the Indiana Pacers, the University of IL and many more. Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn: [2:00] Jeremy introduces his guest, Tim Sinclair. [4:00] Where did the idea for Ringr come from? [6:00] How did Tim gather the team he needed to create Ringr? [8:20] What was Tim’s pitch to investors? What did he discover with his research? [10:30] The difference between feedback from radio hosts and podcast hosts. [13:20] Features that Tim and his team were focused on delivering. [16:00] What was the technology development process like for Ringr? How did they figure out the pricing model? [22:00] How did Tim end up participating in the Ocean Accelerator? What was it like? [29:30] What led Tim to a career in radio? [32:20] Tim talks about the difficult aspects of announcing a sports game. [38:15] How has Ringr expanded their user base? [40:30] Who should be using Ringr? [42:00] Tim talks about his “Worst Interview” series. [44:45] A low moment in business for Tim. [47:45] Tim shares a proud moment in business. [49:15] How does Tim keep his voice fresh? In this episode… Why is it so difficult to have clear conversations using technology like Skype and FaceTime? You’d think that with all of our innovation over the years that we’d be able to speak with someone without all static and interference that accompanies those services. On this episode of Inspired Insider, you’ll hear from radio host and entrepreneur, Tim Sinclair. In his conversation with Jeremy, Tim talks about his where the idea for Ringr came from, how he built his team, what the development process was like, challenges he has faced along the way, and much more. Don’t miss a minute of this fascinating episode featuring Tim’s story! Did you know that most profitable ideas come from solving a common issue that many people struggle with? It’s true! From the creation of vacuums to other household products like the personal computer, ideas come from someone saying, let’s find a solution. For years, Tim Sinclair was dissatisfied with the sound quality and the lack of clear conversations he could have with guests as a radio host. The idea for Ringr knocked around in Tim’s head for several years until he was finally ready to make his idea a reality, the only problem was, he wasn’t a tech guy. Soon, Tim went to work gathering a team that could help him come up with the technology that would be needed to facilitate clear conversations on the Ringr platform. Tim knew the problem and he knew how to lead and inspire people, but that was it. Once he got the people in the room who could build Ringr, he went to work connecting with his network and figured out what the next step of the process would need to be. Thankfully, a wealthy friend put Tim in touch with an angel investment group who took a chance on Tim and the fledgling Ringr platform. After they started to bring in the right people and get the funding they needed to get the idea off of the ground, Tim joined an incubator group called, Ocean Accelerator. This experience with Ocean wasn’t just a class here or there, or even a meeting via Skype, joining the Ocean Accelerator meant that Tim would have to move 250 miles away for the next six months. Talk about going from zero to sixty! Looking back, Tim points to this experience with Ocean as providing critical information he needed to lay the foundation and set Ringr up for long-term success. Tim’s journey building Ringr wasn’t a stroll in the park; startups never are! Along the way, they’d have to figure out how to price their services and deal with competition. Eventually, Tim and his team landed on a free trial version of their service alongside tiered pricing options. Initially, Tim wanted to provide a free version with unlimited use, but that concept wasn't feasible from a profitability standpoint. Today, Ringr is on solid ground providing clear conversations for thousands of users daily. What can you learn from Tim’s journey with Ringr? Resources Mentioned on this episode RINGR My Worst Interview Ever Ocean Accelerator Key & Peele - East/West College Bowl Intro Music by Kidd Russell Sponsor for this episode Rise25’s mission is to connect you with your best referral partners and customers. We do this in 3 ways… Our Done for you Media - We help your company completely run and launch your own podcast. we distribute your show across more than 11 different channels including a dedicated blog post and social media. You simply show up and talk and we do everything else. Our team has been working with podcasters since 2009. I personally credit podcasting as the single best thing I have done for my business and my life. It has allowed me to connect with the founders/ceo’s of P90x, Atari, Einstein Bagels, Mattel, Rx Bars, and many more. Besides making best friends and finding my business partner..podcasting has led to relationships with countless customers and referral partners. Our Done for you Lead Generation- We manually send a consistent flow of customized outreach messages to your ideal clients and referral sources that you want to connect with to generate more business and clients - this is not paid traffic by the way. Our Done for you VIP Events - We do live in-person VIP Days and receptions. These are 100% outsourced VIP days for software companies and conference organizers so we can help you serve your highest level customers. It may or may not involve Elvis costumes - See video Rise25 VIP Days have a proven track record of helping companies to get more referrals, increase retention with their VIP customers, and get more engaged new customers without adding extra work to that company’s plate. Rise25 has hosted VIP events in cities such as Austin, Chicago, Santa Barbara, San Diego, New York, Sonoma, and Las Vegas to name a few. Since these each require a lot of humans to do the work we have limited bandwidth and only want to work with the right company. so if any sound interesting to you go to Rise25.com and contact us or email support (at) rise25.com. If your company wants to attract and connect with your highest level customers and referral partners then you can learn more and contact us to find out if your company qualifies at Rise25.com. Rise25 was cofounded by Dr. Jeremy Weisz and John Corcoran.
“I grew up a pastor’s kid for most of my life, and so I always felt like I was kind of in the spotlight a little. I learned–because I didn’t want to disappoint my family or embarrass myself–that I had to show people what I wanted them to see. And then that filtered into relationships. I would let the people that I dated, and several that I married (yes, several) see who I wanted them to see, not the totality of who I was. There were some things I was embarrassed about, or things that maybe I even owned–I knew they were me and I was ok with them–but I thought maybe (these people) won’t be, and so I hid those. And that’s not a strategy for success.” Tim is a radio and TV personality, the public address voice of the Indiana Pacers, Chicago Fire and Fighting Illini, the CEO of tech startup RINGR, as well as an author and (now) podcast host. You can find him on Twitter and Instagram @timjsinclair.
Tim Sinclair is the founder of Ringr.com. Ringr allows you to record a conversation with anyone, anywhere in the world and have it sound like you are in the same room. Users of Ringr have interviewed Emmy award winners, New York Time best sellers, CEOS, athletes and many more. You may have heard him describing the taste of a Sausage McMuffin, interviewing guests on radio, television, and podcasts, or introducing the world's most popular athlete to a stadium filled with 60,000 screaming fans. By now Tim's voice has been heard by millions around the world and he has worked with companies like Audi, McDonalds, the Indiana Pacers, the University of IL and many more. Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn: [2:00] Jeremy introduces his guest, Tim Sinclair. [3:20] Who should be using Ringr? [4:45] Tim talks about his “Worst Interview” series. [7:40] A low moment in business for Tim. [10:40] Tim shares a proud moment in business. [12:20] How does Tim keep his voice fresh? In this episode… What does it take to stay motivated through all the ups and downs of your career? Do you focus on a singular goal or overriding purpose? Have you lost your motivation and find yourself searching for that spark? On this episode of Inspired Insider, you’ll hear from business leader and innovator, Tim Sinclair. In his conversation with Jeremy, Tim opens up about who should use Ringr, why he started the “Worst Interview” series, challenges he has faced in his career, why it’s important to find the spark that keeps you motivated, and much more. Don’t miss a minute of this interesting episode featuring Tim! Did you know that one of the best ways to bring your product or service into the public conversation is by creating innovative ways to showcase it? Securing a high profile celebrity as a spokesperson or creating controversy isn’t the only way to get people talking about your brand! Tim Sinclair and his team wanted to get the word out about their amazing service, so they decided to showcase Ringr on a format that is a natural fit, podcasting. Tim started the “My Worst Interview Ever” series featuring the world’s all-time greatest interviewers who open up about their all-time worst interviews. Check out the link to Tim’s fascinating series located in the resources section. There will come a time in every entrepreneur's journey where that spark that got you into the game starts to fade. What will you do? How will you reignite that spark and stay motivated? Tim Sinclair is not shy about the tumultuous life of an entrepreneur. Like most leaders who step out to start their own business, Tim has had his fair share of successes and failures. At the end of the day, Tim says successes and victories he has enjoyed along the way keep him motivated. Looking at the evidence roll in and seeing how his service makes an impact in the lives of other entrepreneurs keeps Tim energized and focused on the task ahead. What can you learn from Tim’s story? Resources Mentioned on this episode RINGR My Worst Interview Ever Intro Music by Kidd Russell Sponsor for this episode Rise25’s mission is to connect you with your best referral partners and customers. We do this in 3 ways… Our Done for you Media - We help your company completely run and launch your own podcast. we distribute your show across more than 11 different channels including a dedicated blog post and social media. You simply show up and talk and we do everything else. Our team has been working with podcasters since 2009. I personally credit podcasting as the single best thing I have done for my business and my life. It has allowed me to connect with the founders/ceo’s of P90x, Atari, Einstein Bagels, Mattel, Rx Bars, and many more. Besides making best friends and finding my business partner..podcasting has led to relationships with countless customers and referral partners. Our Done for you Lead Generation- We manually send a consistent flow of customized outreach messages to your ideal clients and referral sources that you want to connect with to generate more business and clients - this is not paid traffic by the way. Our Done for you VIP Events - We do live in-person VIP Days and receptions. These are 100% outsourced VIP days for software companies and conference organizers so we can help you serve your highest level customers. It may or may not involve Elvis costumes - See video Rise25 VIP Days have a proven track record of helping companies to get more referrals, increase retention with their VIP customers, and get more engaged new customers without adding extra work to that company’s plate. Rise25 has hosted VIP events in cities such as Austin, Chicago, Santa Barbara, San Diego, New York, Sonoma, and Las Vegas to name a few. Since these each require a lot of humans to do the work we have limited bandwidth and only want to work with the right company. so if any sound interesting to you go to Rise25.com and contact us or email support (at) rise25.com. If your company wants to attract and connect with your highest level customers and referral partners then you can learn more and contact us to find out if your company qualifies at Rise25.com. Rise25 was cofounded by Dr. Jeremy Weisz and John Corcoran.
The future of podcasting is here and now! Time flies... It is now about six months since I published an episode. It is six months until the book fair in Gothenburg, Sweden. I am celebrating my name-day, with informing you about my upcoming birthday. This solo episode is a call for help, as I am entering a new career phase as a self-published author, in the near future. During this show, you will hear plenty of shout outs and call to actions. Show notes: 00 The Future of Podcasting (August 24, 2017) 00 Followup Conversation with Maria Dolores (September 30, 2017) 00 Gothenburg Book Fair (September 27 - 30, 2018) 01 Name-Day (March 27) 01 My birthday on May 25 01 About Martin Lindeskog 01 EGO NetCast podcast 02 Menu podcast (MenyPodden) 02 Productivity + tea podcast (Produktivitéet) 02 Penn Meets Paper podcast (Penna Möter Papper) 02 Interview with Kate Dmitrieva from Benu Pen 02 Home preparedness podcast (Hemberedskap) 03 Management Studio podcast 03 Kimchi 03 Percolation 04 International Podcast Day 05 First forthcoming book on (black) tea 05 Stand-in for a BNI member (Instagram photo) 06 Business Network International (BNI) 07 Robert Kiyosaki’s Cashflow game 07 Precious metals, e.g., gold and silver 08 Tea Book Sketches - The Process of Cultivating a Tea Book 09 Jingles by Jim Jonsson of JTunes Productions 09 X.ai 09 Boss Jock Studio 10 IK Multimedia iRig Mic Lav compact lavalier microphone for smartphones and tablets (two-pack) (affiliate link) 10 Ringr (referral link) 10 EGO Interview with Tim Sinclair 11 Conference calling is here! - Ringr blog 11 Auphonic (donate credits) 12 The Feed podcast 13 Spext 14 Ferrite recording studio 14 Hindenburg journalist 16 Exactly How To Find A Life-Changing Mastermind Group (6 Huge Mistakes To Avoid) Ep 82 - Courage & Clarity podcast 16 Fizzle (referral link) 16 Finish the First Book on Tea 17 Thank-You Note 17 The Mastermind Group will Not Fizzle Out 17 Empower California 18 Gothenburg Podcasting Meetup - GOT Poddradio 19 Shipping Podcast 20 Course on Anchor by Ileane Smith (affiliate link) 21 Making the Brand podcast by Chris Brogan 21 Making a Book, Blog or Podcast? Start Here! - Fizzle Show 22 Minimalist Baker: The Secret To Building A Rock Solid Brand With Dana Shultz 23 Shawn Smith 23 EGO Search on Addy Saucedo of The Podcaster Planner 25 The Podcaster's Life with Alexander Laurin 26 Ask Win 26 Thanks to Commit Action 28 Karin Hoegh - SolopreneurCast 29 Speed up your podcasts for more efficient listening - Lifehacker 29 Overcast 30 EGO NetCast - Support page 31 GoldMoney 31 Southern New Hampshire University 33 Crowdfunding campaign page for Tea Book Sketches 33 Big Mac celebrating 50 years 33 Instagram picture - Big Mac’s 50th birthday 34 PayPal.me/Lindeskog 34 Fundraising pool (moneybox) for my Journeying 34 PayPal launches Money Pools, where groups chip in to raise money to buy things - TechCrunch 34 Copenhagen 35 London 35 Athens 35 Aristotle’s Lyceum (Peripatetic School) 36 Working toward a free-market future for Lebanon - Atlas Network 36 Audible Trial - mid roll message (affilate link) 38 Affiliate links related to podcasting 39 In-audio search - CastBox.FM 39 The Book of Tea 39 Having a Tea Meetup in Little London and Big Apple (Ken Cohen, Talking Tea podcast) 40 Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics 40 The Little Book of Ikigai 41 Remote 41 Basecamp 42 Deep Work 43 Tim Ferriss - reishi mushrooms 44 Independent distributor (ID number 103807349) of Unicity’s products 44 Unimate - A Revolutionary Discovery 44 Yerba mate 44 How is Unimate different from traditional Yerba Mate? 44 Instagram photo of a beverage during a Skype conference call with my Mastermind group 45 Matcha green tea (Instagram photo) 46 Lyceum Bulletin newsletter 46 Revue 47 Could a Popup Lead to an Upgrade of the Content Creation? (MailerLite) 48 Martin Lindeskog is creating podcasts - Patreon 48 Behind the scenes stuff fo patrons - Lens by Patreon 49 Ileane...
The future of podcasting is here and now! Time flies... It is now about six months since I published an episode. It is six months until the book fair in Gothenburg, Sweden. I am celebrating my name-day, with informing you about my upcoming birthday. This solo episode is a call for help, as I am entering a new career phase as a self-published author, in the near future. During this show, you will hear plenty of shout outs and call to actions. Show notes: 00 The Future of Podcasting (August 24, 2017) 00 Followup Conversation with Maria Dolores (September 30, 2017) 00 Gothenburg Book Fair (September 27 - 30, 2018) 01 Name-Day (March 27) 01 My birthday on May 25 01 About Martin Lindeskog 01 EGO NetCast podcast 02 Menu podcast (MenyPodden) 02 Productivity + tea podcast (Produktivitéet) 02 Penn Meets Paper podcast (Penna Möter Papper) 02 Interview with Kate Dmitrieva from Benu Pen 02 Home preparedness podcast (Hemberedskap) 03 Management Studio podcast 03 Kimchi 03 Percolation 04 International Podcast Day 05 First forthcoming book on (black) tea 05 Stand-in for a BNI member (Instagram photo) 06 Business Network International (BNI) 07 Robert Kiyosaki’s Cashflow game 07 Precious metals, e.g., gold and silver 08 Tea Book Sketches - The Process of Cultivating a Tea Book 09 Jingles by Jim Jonsson of JTunes Productions 09 X.ai 09 Boss Jock Studio 10 IK Multimedia iRig Mic Lav compact lavalier microphone for smartphones and tablets (two-pack) (affiliate link) 10 Ringr (referral link) 10 EGO Interview with Tim Sinclair 11 Conference calling is here! - Ringr blog 11 Auphonic (donate credits) 12 The Feed podcast 13 Spext 14 Ferrite recording studio 14 Hindenburg journalist 16 Exactly How To Find A Life-Changing Mastermind Group (6 Huge Mistakes To Avoid) Ep 82 - Courage & Clarity podcast 16 Fizzle (referral link) 16 Finish the First Book on Tea 17 Thank-You Note 17 The Mastermind Group will Not Fizzle Out 17 Empower California 18 Gothenburg Podcasting Meetup - GOT Poddradio 19 Shipping Podcast 20 Course on Anchor by Ileane Smith (affiliate link) 21 Making the Brand podcast by Chris Brogan 21 Making a Book, Blog or Podcast? Start Here! - Fizzle Show 22 Minimalist Baker: The Secret To Building A Rock Solid Brand With Dana Shultz 23 Shawn Smith 23 EGO Search on Addy Saucedo of The Podcaster Planner 25 The Podcaster's Life with Alexander Laurin 26 Ask Win 26 Thanks to Commit Action 28 Karin Hoegh - SolopreneurCast 29 Speed up your podcasts for more efficient listening - Lifehacker 29 Overcast 30 EGO NetCast - Support page 31 GoldMoney 31 Southern New Hampshire University 33 Crowdfunding campaign page for Tea Book Sketches 33 Big Mac celebrating 50 years 33 Instagram picture - Big Mac’s 50th birthday 34 PayPal.me/Lindeskog 34 Fundraising pool (moneybox) for my Journeying 34 PayPal launches Money Pools, where groups chip in to raise money to buy things - TechCrunch 34 Copenhagen 35 London 35 Athens 35 Aristotle’s Lyceum (Peripatetic School) 36 Working toward a free-market future for Lebanon - Atlas Network 36 Audible Trial - mid roll message (affilate link) 38 Affiliate links related to podcasting 39 In-audio search - CastBox.FM 39 The Book of Tea 39 Having a Tea Meetup in Little London and Big Apple (Ken Cohen, Talking Tea podcast) 40 Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics 40 The Little Book of Ikigai 41 Remote 41 Basecamp 42 Deep Work 43 Tim Ferriss - reishi mushrooms 44 Independent distributor (ID number 103807349) of Unicity’s products 44 Unimate - A Revolutionary Discovery 44 Yerba mate 44 How is Unimate different from traditional Yerba Mate? 44 Instagram photo of a beverage during a Skype conference call with my Mastermind group 45 Matcha green tea (Instagram photo) 46 Lyceum Bulletin newsletter 46 Revue 47 Could a Popup Lead to an Upgrade of the Content Creation? (MailerLite) 48 Martin Lindeskog is creating podcasts - Patreon 48 Behind the scenes stuff fo patrons - Lens by Patreon 49 Ileane Smith on Patreon 49 EGO NetCast survey form - Libsyn 50 Rob Walch, Libsyn. Grow Your Podcast Via Your Own Custom App - Podcastification 51 The General Data Protection Regulation 51 So-called alternative for .SE 52 So-called alternative for .DE 52 Legalize Privacy 52 Freedom of speech in Sweden… 53 Courage, Confidence, and Integrity 53 Instagram photo - CreativeMornings in Gothenburg, March 23 54 Upcoming ”umbrella” site, TeaParty.Media 54 Charlotte Hågårdh - LinkedIn tips 57 The Big Picture - Haiku Deck presentation Sites and resources: Aviani - Exlusively Selected Lingerie (Tumblr) Aviani Boudoir Boutique (Instagram) Aviani - Passion for Lingerie (Pinterest) ComArt JTunes Productions
Tim Sinclair is the Industry Consulting Director at the accounting firm WebsterRogers, and he has worked with more than 350 companies across the U.S. and in a variety of industries. He is passionate about helping business leaders advance and grow their companies so they can, in turn, improve the lives of their employees and their local economy. We discuss the skills you need to develop a business, how he helps the team at WebsterRogers sharpen their business development skills, and the role improvisation plays in this process. Business Development 101 You need to know what makes you unique and different, and why someone should do business with you – and you need to be able to succinctly articulate that to a prospect or client. Active listening is a critical skill; be engaged in a conversation and curious so that you can understand what another person struggles with, what their needs are, and how you can help. Consider the whole experience of each meeting, and make it a unique and memorable experience. Bring an item related to their business, a gift, or something else that makes it stand out. Change your mindset around networking. “You’re not out selling – you’re out helping.” You need to have enough confidence in your service and what you provide so that, when you network, you see a bunch of people who need help, and you know you’re able to help them. Your relationships will differentiate you from technology, which will be increasingly important every year. Plus, when you develop business relationships, the likelihood of losing business diminishes dramatically. You should also build relationships with other people in your industry! More often than not, you’re helping each other succeed more instead of competing with each other for the same money. Resources: Connect with Tim on LinkedIn Learn more about WebsterRogers -- Production & Development for Improv Is No Joke by Podcast Masters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Podcastification - podcasting tips, podcast tricks, how to podcast better
How to record interviews over a distance is one of the most frustrating things for many podcasters - and the tech is not quite there yet. But it’s getting better. :) 2017 brings a handful of pretty decent options for recording a conversation, many of them with tech that takes out the “distance” part of a distance recording so you get better quality audio every time. I wanted to make it obvious how good the options are as well as answer some of the questions I get on a regular basis about the best way to record an interview. So my client onboarding guy, Aaron and I took a morning to do some recordings of OUR conversations using all the options that I think are legitimate for 2017. So - How to record interviews: 2017 Demo of the Best Options is what you’ll hear on this episode of Podcastification. Subscribe to Podcastification On Android | Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Google Play | Podbean | iHeart Radio | Spreaker | Email Here’s a rough outline of this “How to Record Interviews” episode: [1:44] My top 5 recommendations: Zoom - Ringr - Zencastr - Skype - Cleanfeed and our demos of each of these options, demo’d for you. [3:00] Tips for making a good distance recording, no matter which option you choose Zoom Demo [3:46] My experience using Zoom (my description of what I see) [5:26] The recording of Aaron and I speaking and recording to each other via Zoom along with our impressions and observations of the platform [7:16] The “guest” side of a Zoom call - Aaron’s insights and observations [7:50] Zoom’s details, pricing, method of recording, number of participants, etc. Ringr Demo [10:40] The pre-recording setup and login experience for recording an interview on Ringr [11:10] The actual conversation we recorded and how Ringr works (double-ender) [12:08] The “guest” side of the Ringr connection and some of the cool things we see Skype Demo [14:51] Skype calls must be recorded using a 3rd party app [16:08] The “guest” side of the Skype call - and why Skype is the good-old standby [17:17] Why Skype calls with bad connections are HARD for audio editing Zencastr Demo [18:55] Pre-call setup of a Zencastr recording/call [19:49] Zencastr’s chat feature, timeline footnotes, etc. [20:46] Zencastr’s free plan: features, integrations, bells and whistles [21:40] What is happening when you hear a glitch in Zencastr Cleanfeed Demo [23:52] Counterintuitive things I feel about Cleanfeed [24:38] The guest and host experiences on Cleanfeed [26:21] Why you need to stay in the platform until things are done uploading SUMMARY [27:10] Review of platforms and features [29:11] Another option as an “honorable mention” - www.Tryca.st [29:58] OUR RANKINGS OF THE TOP 5 PLATFORMS FOR RECORDING AN INTERVIEW [31:49] Browser-dependent issues some of the platforms will experience from time to time I’m not only going to tell you how to record an interview, I’m going to demo it for you 5 different ways… with a little help This episode of podcast application has been in the works for a long time. Maybe we were putting it off because we knew how much work it would do. But it was worth it! My client onboarding guy, Aaron and I are going to demo all the options we think are worthwhile when it comes to recording in your interview conversation. Some facts you might find interesting about these recordings: We are 823 miles and 3 states apart as we speak to one another so you should keep that in mind when you consider the sound quality of each other recording platforms. We are both PC users, not Mac users, so the various features and platforms may look different on Mac then they do from what we describe in this episode. You're going to get to hear both sides of the calls on each platform. When I remember to do it, I will tell you what I see coming into the platform as a host, describe how easy or difficult it is to get into the platform and get a call set up, and then Aaron will describe what he experiences from the guest side of each of the platforms. And finally, we will outline the features and costs of each one of the platforms and give you our ranking of these five options for recording an interview at the end of our demonstrations. This is 36 minutes of audio that is well worth your time if you ever have been curious how to record an interview with the best quality possible. Our experience recording an interview with ZOOM Zoom is a recording option that many podcasters are using these days, I know because I see files from Zoom coming in from our clients fairly often. As you listen to our demonstration of what it takes to set up a call on zoom and get it recorded, downloaded, and actually usable for your podcast, keep in mind that Zoom was not created for podcast recording in particular, it is a video conferencing software. That means it includes screenshare capabilities, video, chat features, and much more. Aaron and I used the free plan that Zoom offers to record the call you will hear on this episode end it offers the following features: Records 1, premixed mono file (mpeg4) Can record audio & video Can record to cloud (Zoom) or computer You can select the microphone of your choice Participants can mute their microphones at any time You can host up to 100 participants (group meeting) - what a nightmare of a podcast episode THAT would be The free plan offers unlimited 1 to 1 meetings/recordings per month If you do a group meeting (more than 2 people) there is a 40 minute limit per meeting When finished, you have to wait a short time for a download of the audio The Ringr demo Ringr is a top-of-the-line app brought to us by its founder, Tim Sinclair, who I have interviewed on this podcast before in episode 41. That particular episode was recorded back in June of 2016 and Ringr has come a long way since then. One thing I did not mention in my conversation with Aaron that you will hear on this episode is that Ringr is not only a web-based app, it also has a smartphone app that enables you to connect with people who are not at their computer at the time you need to do your recording. In a situation like that, you need to keep in mind that recording quality will depend on the quality of the microphone that is being used - either the internal microphone of the phone in question, or an external microphone that might be plugged into the phone. You can hear from the recording on this episode that recording interviews with Ringr gives you great quality and a good overall experience. Here is what Ringr offers: Free Trial (30 days) that includes all the premium features After that, you choose a plan: Basic $7.99/mo :: Premium $18.99/mo :: Enterprise You can pause and resume a call/recording Conference calling (more than 2 people) is now available Ringr offers both a mobile app & a web-based app Recordings can be downloaded in either Mp3, OGG, or FLAC You can choose between mono, stereo, split-track (on the premium plan or higher) You can choose any bit rate (premium plan or higher) There is unlimited storage of previous recordings (premium or higher) Unlimited calling/recording You must wait for all files to finish before exiting the browser and receiving your download options The Skype recording process One of the things you will hear me mention at least a couple of times on this podcast episode is that recording with Skype requires a third-party application of some kind. Skype itself does not offer call recording. In this demonstration, I used a pc-based application called MP3 Skype call recorder. The link for that free software is in the resources section below. I believe that one of the reasons Skype has become the go-to resource for people who want to record an interview is because it was one of the first internet-based call solutions any of us knew anything about. So, it's the same as if you had read the book and then gone to see the movie, and the book always seems better. It's simply because you read the book first. These days, Skype is still in the auction and it does a decent job, but it has its limitations and drawbacks when it comes to podcast recordings. I believe there are much better options for you to offer your listeners that don't cost any more than Skype - and that is free. Here is what Skype offers: A free option (there IS free 3rd party software also) Requires 3rd party software You can call and record a person who is using the Skype app You will have to pay when calling a landline Records directly on your computer No limitations on the amount of recording you can - other than your time Our Zencastr Demo - just the facts Zencastr is one of the first browser-based recording options I became aware of when they first became a thing. It records each person in the conversation inside their own internet browser, then uploads those files to the cloud, the Zen Caster cloud, and sinks them together into a downloadable set of files. Can you see the advantage of that kind of recording? It enables you to avoid all of the long distance issues like delays, glitches, warbles, line noise, and anything else that would come from trying to record something over a very long distance. It's only fair at this point to also say that Ringr and clean feed which will be featured next, offer the same kind of technology of a sort, so the quality you get from them should be the same as you get from sin caster. Here are the features you get from Zencastr’s free plan Up to 3 people per session 8 hours free per month Receive a high quality mp3 Must wait for all files to upload, then have the ability to download Can automatically save to your Dropbox account Our final contestant: Cleanfeed I hope you were able to hear my conversation with Mark, one of the founders and developers behind Cleanfeed, back in episode 69. If not, stop everything you're doing and go listen to it right now you insensitive person who seems to enjoy hurting my feelings. Just kidding. ;) One of the things that Aaron said during a recording about the Cleanfeed interface is that it is very clean. It is fairly unobtrusive, has very little in the way of controls and knobs that you can see, and overall is pretty pleasing to the eye. But there is a downside to that. Some of the controls are a little bit difficult to find. Especially on the host side of things. But like anything, once you've gone through it a few times you get used to where things are and are able to work it into your interview recording workflow with no problems. I've even created a video to show you how to use clean feed which you can find in the resource section below. Here are the details about Cleanfeed Always free Web-based Unlimited number of guests Unlimited number of hours you can record Unlimited number of sessions You can set the type of file you want (joint stereo or combined) Receive wav files Must wait a short time for files to upload and download options to appear One very good “honorable mention” platform that was NOT included in our demo There is one other service that records interviews with the same kind of technology that Ringr and Zencastr use, but I did not include it in this demo session because it is much more than just a recording solution. Cast is a media host and podcast publishing solution very similar to Libsyn or Podbean. And more... It has all kinds of bells and whistles, including editing software online, including audio optimization software, and more than I can even tell you right now. Since it is not really a comparison of apples to oranges for me to include cast in this demo, I didn't. AND THE WINNER IS… Near the end of our conversation Aaron and I both ranked these 5 platforms for recording an interview according to ease abuse, price, features, and sound quality. I could tell you exactly what each of us think right here in the show nuts, but I think you'll enjoy it a lot more if you take the time to listen. :) Subscribe to Podcastification On Android | Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Google Play | Podbean | iHeart Radio | Spreaker | Email MP3 Skype Call Recorder All of the reliable 3rd party Skype recording apps My previous conversation with one of the developers of Cleanfeed My interview with Josh, developer of Zencastr My video about how to use Cleanfeed (embedded below) My video about how to use Zencastr (embedded below) Connect with me… Carey(AT)PodcastFastTrack.com On Facebook On Twitter
The interview with Sean Douglas was recorded on April 3 (length: 47 minutes). [Editor's note: I am catching-up with a backlog of recordings, so please stay tuned... I have been under the weather due to "bandwidth anxiety." I am "eating fiber" (and "onion") nowadays, so I am fit for fight again! ;)] I am sorry to say that this recording got caught by the browser bug. Kris of Ringr told me that it was caused by a webRTC issue with wrong sample rate for the recording. For more information about Sean Douglas ("U.S. Air Force Veteran, Motivational & Inspirational Speaker, Master Resilience Trainer, Life Coach, & Author"), check out his Facebook page, podcast (Life Transformation Radio), and book (Decisions: The Power To Overcome Self-Defeating Behaviors). For the record: I am sticking with Ringr. On a related note, please check out these podcasts, posts, and resources: One podcaster’s (fruitless) quest to replace Skype by Jason Snell. "Hello, podcast guest!" - podcastguestguide.com "INSTRUCTIONS For first-time guests invited to a conversation" - Ringr.com/instructions My Worst Interview Ever podcast by Tim Sinclair, CEO of Ringr. My conversation with Tim Sinclair. Episode 3 (Creation) of A Sound Startup podcast with Tim Sinclair and the Ringr tech team.
The interview with Sean Douglas was recorded on April 3 (length: 47 minutes). [Editor's note: I am catching-up with a backlog of recordings, so please stay tuned... I have been under the weather due to "bandwidth anxiety." I am "eating fiber" (and "onion") nowadays, so I am fit for fight again! ;)] I am sorry to say that this recording got caught by the browser bug. Kris of Ringr told me that it was caused by a webRTC issue with wrong sample rate for the recording. For more information about Sean Douglas ("U.S. Air Force Veteran, Motivational & Inspirational Speaker, Master Resilience Trainer, Life Coach, & Author"), check out his Facebook page, podcast (Life Transformation Radio), and book (Decisions: The Power To Overcome Self-Defeating Behaviors). For the record: I am sticking with Ringr. On a related note, please check out these podcasts, posts, and resources: One podcaster’s (fruitless) quest to replace Skype by Jason Snell. "Hello, podcast guest!" - podcastguestguide.com "INSTRUCTIONS For first-time guests invited to a conversation" - Ringr.com/instructions My Worst Interview Ever podcast by Tim Sinclair, CEO of Ringr. My conversation with Tim Sinclair. Episode 3 (Creation) of A Sound Startup podcast with Tim Sinclair and the Ringr tech team.
Because of my Podcast: Clay From Fish Nerds Clay has had some very cool things happen on his Fish Nerds Show including having a touring opera singer invite clay to do a show at a theater. Check out Clay at www.fishnerds.com The Sometimes Condescending Nature of Radio People Towards Podcasting There are some really cool people from the radio industry that get podcasting. People like Eric K Johnson from Podcast Talent Coach and the Podcast Review Show, Michael Sharkey from the Talent Show, Jeff Brown From Read to Lead, Tim Sinclair from Ringr and My Worst Interview Ever, and Phillip Keller from Blind Faith live GET PODCASTING. I don't want to lump all radio people together. There are times when someone comes across with a condescending tone of voice. It comes across like "Podcasting is a fad, or not "Real Broadcasting." They seem to think that now that the "Real" broadcasters are here and it's time to step aside and let the "real" broadcasters take over. I recently listened to The Sound Off Show with Matt Cundill. In the episode, he was talking about how a recent professional survey company had polled listeners in Canda.Matt asks, "Is the hype on podcasting just a lot of noise and it takes a study like this one to figure out where it really ranks?" What a douchebag. AS if study after study showing podcasting's slow but steady growth, and radio's slow and steady decline aren't enough. This is what I say "Radio People" with a negative slant. This is what I'm basing my opinion on, and when I say "Some radio people have a bias," this is why. How Improv Skills Can Help Your Podcast Today I have Chad Elliot from the Off the Cuff Comedy Improv Podcast, and http://seattleimprovclasses.com/ I appeared on episode 7 and was SUPER nervous as I didn't get this I would be doing improv on his show. I have never done improv. Luckily Chad sent me his book Improv Manifesto: 7 Easy Steps to Confidence, Creativity, and Charisma - Even If You're Shy! (Think On Your Feet Under Pressure with Tools of Improvisational Theater & Improv Comedy.) which helped me get ready. Here are some things I learned. Talk with confidence, even when you're not confident about your answer. You will be amazed at how your brain "Fills in the blank" when you start talking. The key to improv is listening to every word of the person you are working with. If things horrible, it is a learning experience and you will handle it better next time, and will build skills to help get through it better. You can see results when you start doing one improve exercise What Does This Do With Podcasting? When you are 100% focused on what your guest/co-host is saying you are better prepared to ask a better follow up question (than if you had a premade lit of questions). If you have a bad interview, living through this experience shows you that you will survive and equips you to handle it better in the future You can contemplate different stories to pull from an idea (see The Story Factor: Inspiration, Influence, and Persuasion through the Art of Storytelling by Annette Simmons) It builds confidence and can get you our of your comfort zone. This way when podcasting opens the doors to new relationships, you will have the confidence to walk through Face Your Podcasting Fears Chad had a client who said, "You know what I want to do this because I'm scared of it, but I don't want to do it because I'm scared of it." The pros of podcasting outweigh any negatives and if you can make it through the learning curve, you will be so happy you made it through (see www.schoolofpodcasting.com/start to start your podcast today) This Month's Podcast Question How many "strikes" do you give a podcast before you unsubscribe (if you have subscribed) or if you don't subscribe how many strikes do they get before you quit streaming their show. Got to www.schoolofpodcasting.com/contact and use the information there. You can send an email with an audio attachment and put 572 in the subject line. Be sure to mention your show and website so I can put a link in the show notes Start Your Podcast Today - Risk-Free The School of Podcasting has a 30-day Money-back Guarantee, so if you sign up and decide podcasting is not for you. Contact me anytime within the first 30 days and get a full refund. Sign up today at www.schoolofpodcasting.com/start
Because of My Podcast: My Family Was Fed A Giant Meal Cale Nelson of Ham Radio 360 sent in a great story where a listener told him NOTt to make dinner the Thursday before Christmas. Then sent Cale a giant box of Barbecue. When you've got a houseful of kids, and your wife is happy because the food is excellent, and she didn't have to cook it - it's a big win. Check out Cale's show at HamRadio360.com Starting a Podcast Your Customer Wants To Hear Should your business have a podcast? Probably. It's a great way to get in front of your target audience no matter where they are. I was asked to be on a new podcast coming out today (my episode is in the future) and its from Tim Sinclair. You may or may not know that name, but I'll reveal who his is in a second. I just checked out his site and then it hit me. This is a great example of using a podcast for your business. Tim Sinclair is the CEO of Ringr . This is an app and service that allows you to record both sides of an interview. If you're worried about doing a "mix minus" then you may want to check out this service. Plans start at $7.99 a month for the basic, and $18.99 for the premium. For more information go to http://ringr.com/podcastcoach The people that use Tim's technology interview people and want a good recording. There are two ways to learn things. You can be shown how to do it right, or your can bring in those two famous trainers that seem to help everyone. You may know them as Trial and Error. They are not very efficient, but their lessons cut deep. You want your podcast to do one of these things Laugh Cry Think Groan Educate Entertain If you have your show do more than one of the above, you're headed in the right direction. So what Tim did is launch a podcast filled with fun, entertaining stories that can be educational as well. The podcast is called My Worst Interview Ever. He has interviewed people like Cliff Ravenscraft, The Mobile Pro Shawn Smith, The App Guy Paul Kemp, XM Radio’s Doug Hannah, Blubrry’s Todd Cochrane, Libsyn’s Rob Walch, syndicated radio host Brant Hansen, Dave Jackson, Dan Franks, Jeff Brown, Daniel J. Lewis. The stories I understand are hilarious. The first episode is John Lee Dumas talking about his worst interview ( a rock icon famous for selling coffins). So when creating a podcast, one strategy is to create a podcast that your target audience wants to hear. Tim identified his audience and has come up with a fun and entertaining way to produce good content without making his show a giant infomercial. Remember, nobody tunes into an infomercial on purpose. The next thing I like is Tim is already in iTunes and Stitcher. He doesn't seem too worried about the magical happy place of New and Noteworthy and his first eight weeks. With content like this, I bet he'll get listed because he didn't name his show wtf this week in cold cases on fire. He also made sure NOT to make it giant Ringr commercial. He does a quick mention in the middle. He understands the idea is to build an audience first. Check out his show at worstinterviews.com and check out his service at ringr.com A Not Great Example The Penzu podcast is meant to help promote their company (penzu.com which I love and use) Nobody is looking for "Penzu" that doesn't know then) so how is this supposed to bring in new people? They are using Soundcloud as their platform (who are leaking money). Switch to Libsyn.com and your back catalog comes for free during the first quarter of 2017, and get a free month using the coupon code sopfree Their titles look awful. There is no description. They only have seven episodes (which is fine), but they have the podcast in their software (so their customers have had "episode 7 in their platform all year) Back to the Basics Of Your Website I recently did the "Favorite Podcast Ever" show where you sent in your favorite podcasts and explained why they were your favorite. I always then go to the website of those show and share that someone thinks you're the best. I am amazed at some of the things I find. Before we get into those, you do need to decide what your website is for. By this mean I mean if your podcast is to drive leads to your business, then you might have a giant sign up form. If you're trying to grow your community, you might really be sending people to your Facebook group. So in the end, there is no one size fits all. However, there are two things I hear over and over and over. I hear, "I want more downloads, and I want more interaction." When I go to the websites of these people, there are no links to subscribe to their show. There is no easy way to contact you. One person I had to tweet at (and their twitter account was waaaay at the bottom of their screen). I had someone who was going to hire me to help him get more subscribers. I went to their website, and said you don't need to pay me for this, but there isn't a single subscriber button on your website. Ready To Start Podcasting? Join the School of Podcasting or Schedule some One on One Consulting
All of us have had an "interview gone wrong." Probably more than one. Connection issues. The wrong bio information. A guest who wouldn't stop talking. The "yes/no" guy. Prima donnas. Terrible content. Weird distractions. Heck, I once interviewed a guy for my radio show who was running on a treadmill! At RINGR, our goal is to make your recorded interviews sound better and connect easier...but we fully realize that there are plenty of elements out of our (and your) control which can totally derail a conversation. So, rather than sweep that stuff under the rug and ignore it, we thought it might be fun to talk about it. Three times a week. In our very own podcast. That's why we've launched "My Worst Interview Ever"...a podcast where I talk with the world's all-time greatest interviewers about their all-time worst interviews. Our first guest is none other than Entrepreneur on Fire's John Lee Dumas, who tells an incredible story about his worst interview (with a legendary rock star)...and then shares some personal details on why he is who he is today. All in less than 15 minutes. In the coming days and weeks, we'll also talk to Podcast Answer Man Cliff Ravenscraft, The Mobile Pro Shawn Smith, The App Guy Paul Kemp, XM Radio's Doug Hannah, Blubrry's Todd Cochrane, Libsyn's Rob Walch, syndicated radio host Brant Hansen, Dave Jackson, Dan Franks, Jeff Brown, Daniel J. Lewis, and dozens of others. You won't want to miss their stories! In addition to listening to the debut episode of MWIE, please be sure to follow My Worst Interview Ever on Twitter and Facebook...and then share the podcasts you like. We trust you will have many favorites. You'll also find us on iTunes, Stitcher, and many other fine podcast distributors. Happy recording (and listening)... Tim
Tim Sinclair is the CEO at Ringr, which is an app that allows you to record a conversation with anyone, anywhere in the world, on any device, and sound like you are both in the same room. Tim's Ringr journey started with an idea over lunch, and after several months of R & D, he jumped full-time into making his entrepreneurial dream a reality.
I interviewed Tim Sinclair in Episode 015. During the interview, Tim mentioned that he had gone through the inaugural class of the Ocean Accelerator. He also mentioned that Ocean is a faith-based tech accelerator. I had never even considered the intersection of faith-based organizations and tech accelerators and was immediately intrigued. I asked Tim if he could put me in touch with Ocean, which he did. Scott Weiss is the CEO of Ocean and James Clair is the Marketing Manager. UPDATE: Ocean came out with important news for potential applicants just before the podcast release. They have increased their seed funding for companies accepted into their 2017 class from $35,000 to $50,000. Everything was already in place for the episode release when the news came out, and it would have been difficult to alter the audio to make the change. Contents Episode Outline Resources Mentioned in Episode Episode Transcript Disclosure concerning affiliate links Episode Outline Click [Website] to go to the corresponding website location. Once on the website, you may listen to the episode starting at any timestamp [mm:ss]. [00:00] Intro [Website] [03:12] Accelerator Defined [Website] [04:54] Accelerator Capital and Convertible Notes [Website] [07:28] Ocean's Founders [Website] [08:07] Accelerators Versus Incubators [Website] [09:05] Ocean's Unique Spiritual Component [Website] [11:39] Focusing on the Founder [Website] [12:27] Non-Business Relationships and Stakeholders [Website] [13:17] Ocean's Message [Website] [13:49] Ocean's Five Capitals [Website] [15:24] Maintaining Balance during a Business Venture [Website] [16:35] Marketplace Success [Website] [17:41] Ocean's Work Ethic [Website] [19:18] Ocean's Program Overview [Website] [19:48] Demo Day and Business Curriculum [Website] [21:16] Keynote Speakers – Day One [Website] [23:23] Keynote Speaker Discussion – Day Two and Beyond [Website] [24:53] Ocean's 2017 Program Plans [Website] [25:20] Ocean's Policy on Faith [Website] [26:12] Faith as a Component of Business [Website] [27:32] Ocean's Program [Website] [27:45] Weekly Program – Speakers and Workshops [Website] [30:20] Syncing Program Behavior with Business Life [Website] [31:47] Ocean's Field Day – The Importance of Customer Dialogue [Website] [32:39] Relocating as a Founder with Family [Website] [35:27] Ocean's Ideal Company and Founder [Website] [37:29] Ocean Capital [Website] [38:07] Ocean's Origins at Crossroads [Website] [40:48] Ocean's Mentors [Website] [41:29] Role of the Mentor [Website] [42:36] Mentor Demographics [Website] [44:49] Partners [Website] [45:51] Brand Identity Kit [Website] [46:23] Design Style Guide [Website] [46:44] A Creative Space to Build Relationships [Website] [48:20] Cincinnati as a Hotspot for Entrepreneurs [Website] [48:51] Cincinnati's Community Spirit [Website] [50:02] Cincinnati as an Ideal Region for Startups [Website] [51:23] Appropriateness of Cincinnati for Founders with Families [Website] [52:37] Ocean's Schedule for Applications [Website] [53:19] Benefits of Demo Day [Website] [54:42] Post-Demo Day Activities [Website] [57:08] Universal Message of God's Interest in Enterprises [Website] [58:39] Conclusion [Website] [Website Contents] Resources Mentioned in Episode Please see Disclosure* (below transcript) concerning affiliate links on this page. 805 Creative – According to the website, 805 Creative is an “Ohio-based creative agency dedicated to empowering our business partners with compelling ways to communicate their stories.” Listen or read at [44:49]. Business Canvas Map – Also known as the Business Model Canvas. A strategic management template for visualizing a business's partnerships, resources, revenue, and customers. Ocean's program provides mentoring through the canvas creation process, focusing specifically on planning, the business model, the strategy canvas, and value proposition. Listen or read at [19:48]. CincyTech – “A trusted partner for high potential technology companies in Southwest Ohio,” according to the official website. Scott Weiss mentions it to emphasize the many organizations surrounding Cincinnati which make it an ideal place for entrepreneurs. Listen or read at [48:20]. Cintrifuse – Cintrifuse is Located in the Cincinnati, Ohio area. According to the website: “Cintrifuse acts as a connecter and supporter to create a global destination for entrepreneurial success. Cintrifuse connects the region's high-potential, venture-backable startups to advice, talent, funding, and customers.” According to Scott Weiss: “Cintrifuse's role is to coordinate all the activities, to minimize wasteful redundancy, and to get everyone in this broad region, which includes northern Kentucky and southeastern Indiana and southwestern Ohio, to work cooperatively so that we share resources and share programming.” Listen or read at [50:02]. Lean Startup – Business development method pioneered by Eric Ries. Lean Startup's methodology is built on the principle that designing products to meet the needs of early customers can prevent many product failures and funding expenses in the future. The claim gained widespread renown after the publication of Ries' bestseller,The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses*. Listen or read at [32:25]. Ocean – Ocean is an independent tech accelerator that is uniquely faith-based and focused on building founders. Ocean application – Ocean's application window is (currently) September 1 to October 31. Listen or read at [52:37]. Ocean Capital – Ocean Capital is a separate legal entity from the Ocean Accelerator but affiliated with the accelerator. It collects money from a broad range of investors. It puts money it into convertible notes for the companies in the accelerator. When investors get a return, the entity tracks the flow of money so that investors can be properly taxed. The entity does not have investment profits and losses. Listen or read at [37:29]. Ocean on LinkedIn Ocean on Twitter – @OCEANAccel [Website Contents] Episode Transcript Intro [00:00] Ron Gaver: This is Episode 017 of the SaaS Business Podcast: Ocean, The Tech Accelerator [00:16] Scott Weiss: One of the benefits of Ocean for any startup is [that] our demo day is on a large auditorium stage in one of the Crossroads buildings. This past year, we had 1,400 people attend live. We had 1,800 people stream it live. So that's a total live audience of over 3,000. Last year, after we finished, we posted the stream (the stream's downloadable). Ten thousand people downloaded the stream between last year's demo day and this year's demo day. So, if you're launching a business, you get to come here. You get to go on a stage designed to speak to thousands. You get [a] professional production team fine-tuning your speech. You're streamed live. Your slides are amazing. You get to launch your brand to, literally, thousands of potential customers and hundreds of potential investors. We work real hard to make sure that the audience has a high percentage of angels, angel funds, and customers. [01:32] Ron Gaver: Hello and welcome to the show! I'm your host Ron Gaver. This is the podcast designed to help you put the pieces of the puzzle together to start, grow, and succeed in your SaaS business. [01:44] Ron Gaver: Before we get into the show, I would like to personally invite you to visit our website. The URL is SaaSBusinessPodcast.com. When you visit, please be sure you sign up to get the FREE Resource Guide. This is a living guide that grows with the podcast. By signing up, you will always have access to the latest edition. [02:01] Ron Gaver: For each show, you will also find extensive show notes on the website. Show notes now contain ALL links for resources mentioned in a show, an outline of the show, and a full transcript. I have designed these show notes to help you quickly find valuable information. To get to show notes, just enter the base URL, a forward slash, and the three-digit episode number. [02:22] Ron Gaver: This podcast, the Resource Guide, and show notes are produced at considerable expense. They are my gift to you for your continuing growth and success. [02:37] Ron Gaver: I interviewed Tim Sinclair in Episode 015. During the interview, Tim mentioned that he had gone through the inaugural class of the Ocean Accelerator. He also mentioned that Ocean is a faith-based tech accelerator. I had never even considered the intersection of faith-based organizations and tech accelerators and was immediately intrigued. I asked Tim if he could put me in touch with Ocean, which he did. Scott Weiss is the CEO of Ocean and James Clair is the Marketing Manager. Welcome Scott and James. [03:07] Scott Weiss: Hey, how are you? [03:08] Ron Gaver: Just fine, and you? [03:10] Scott Weiss: We're doing great up here. Thanks. [Website Contents] Accelerator Defined [03:12] Ron Gaver: Good. Alright, well let's get right into it. For the sake of the audience: not everyone may fully understand exactly what an accelerator is, what you do as an accelerator; and then, beyond that question, I would like to know how Ocean is different. We'll get into that, I'm sure, in a great deal of detail; but, first of all, what is an accelerator from your point-of-view, and what is an accelerator's purpose and function? [03:37] Scott Weiss: That's a great question. I'll lead off. So, let's start with the founder. The founder has a great idea, and they work on it, they tinker on it, they devote themselves to it, and it gets to a point where they need some help; and that's the role of investors. Whether they be friends, family, or angels, the capital they provide enables the idea to continue to move forward. [04:01] Scott Weiss: Accelerators do two things: we provide a roadmap that allows the entire thing to accelerate—to speed up, to compress a year of business growth into a few months; and, secondly, we provide access to mentors that will enable the founder to have a far greater circle of knowledge than they have alone. There's about 220 accelerators in the United States, and all of them do that. Most of them, including Ocean—ours—also provide a level of seed funding—a small amount of money that allows the founder to relocate and participate residentially in that accelerator, as well as enough money to keep the enterprise going. In essence, that's—from my —what an accelerator does. [Website Contents] Accelerator Capital and Convertible Notes [04:54] Ron Gaver: Alright, then, you mentioned the aspect of capital. [04:58] Scott Weiss: Mmhm. [04:59] Ron Gaver: And so with the capital usually comes something on your end—there's a bit of dilution as far as the founder's ownership of the company, generally. Is that true across the board, or is it not? [05:10] Scott Weiss: Well, actually, there's a narrow range of what accelerators that provide capital get in exchange for that capital. Let's start with Ocean, the accelerator that James and I are honored to work for. Our note, when the company accepts it, is a convertible note. It's debt. It does not dilute the cap table. It maintains their equity ownership. And if that company raises subsequent money, the holders of the note—which is a separate guy who manages all that—determines whether or not we want to convert that note into equity at that time or simply get our money back with a modest interest rate. So that's a very “founder-friendly” capital structure. On the other end, accelerators will take anywhere from 6-10% direct equity in the company in exchange for the capital they're investing. That begins the dilution process for the founder, because they're giving up direct shares or direct equity for the money. [06:14] Ron Gaver: Well that's good. I didn't understand what the “convertible note” part meant. Now I understand. And that sounds like an excellent option for the founder to basically be able to pay that back if he or she so desires. [06:27] Scott Weiss: Well, to be clear, it's if the investor so desires. [06:30] Ron Gaver: Oh, okay. [06:32] Scott Weiss: It's the investor's choice. I'm not an investor in our fund because I work there, but if the investors say, “Hey, we really like Ron's company, and we want to convert our debt into equity.” Boom! That happens. Or they say, “We really like Ron, but the company's not our cup of tea. We'll just take out money back.” And it's money back with a very low interest rate. So the investor chooses, not the founder. [06:54] Ron Gaver: Okay, and what did you say the dilution is, usually, on that, in your case? Or does it vary? [06:59] Scott Weiss: There is no dilution with a convertible note. It only dilutes if it converts and the terms of the conversion are spelled out based on the amount of funds raised, so if the company goes out and raises money with an evaluation of three million bucks, and you've got fifty thousand dollars in seed capital from an accelerator that converts at fifty thousand, you can see that the dilution would be very, very modest. [07:23] Ron Gaver: Alright. I didn't understand, then. I'm sure that there are others who would not have understood that. [Website Contents] Ocean's Founders [07:28] Ron Gaver: So, we've talked, just briefly, about what an accelerator is, and how it functions (at least, peripherally). Now I'd like to talk about how Ocean is different. I realize, from your webpage and from talking to you and from talking to Tim Sinclair (who went through your program), there were three founders, originally. They're Tim, Tim, and somebody else whose name was never actually documented on that page. [07:53] Scott Weiss: Chad. [07:54] Ron Gaver: Those were your three founders? [07:56] Scott Weiss: Tell you what: let me back up and just tell you what makes us different, and then we'll jump into the story of how we got here. [08:01] Ron Gaver: That's great. [08:02] Scott Weiss: Perfect. I'll prattle on a little bit more, and then I'll let James jump in. [Website Contents] Accelerators Versus Incubators [08:07] Scott Weiss: So, we've already covered in very high-level, broad strokes, what an accelerator is. The other important perspective is: there are 220 accelerators in the United States, and there are over 1,000 incubators. Let's go sidewise. Very high-level—the difference between an accelerator and an incubator is that accelerators tend to be time-limited. You get accepted, and you get so many months in the program, and then you get out; and accelerators tend to give you money. Incubators generally have no time limit. You get in and you stay as long as you are getting value from the incubation. And, generally, you pay the incubator. Almost every university in the United States has an incubator, and students have access to it, but they're paying for it with tuition dollars in order to that incubator. [Website Contents] Ocean's Unique Spiritual Component [09:05] Scott Weiss: So there are 1,400 organizations out there trying to help high-tech entrepreneurs grow businesses faster, and we're just like all of them. We're just one of 1,400 and we think we're pretty good (and we can talk about that later), but what makes us different—what makes us truly unique—is we are one of only two accelerators in the United States that integrate a spiritual journey with the business journey we take you on. And we do that because our focus is not exclusively on the business. Our focus is on the business and the founder, and the lens we look at it with is faith. [09:45] James Clair: Yeah, to pop in and add onto what Scott was saying: when Scott was laying out exactly what an accelerator is, you can think of it like putting guard rails around an entrepreneur or packaging a program for an entrepreneur, to accelerate their business; not a package or a program for a business that leaves out the entrepreneur. All of our curriculum and program—its scope is centered on the founder as an individual because we understand that they have the ability to create multiple ventures that are successful. And they also have the ability to recover from a failed venture versus most businesses and products that don't get off the ground. Unfortunately, most of them never recover. [10:33] James Clair: So, this sustainability and life expectancy of a founder is much, much more valuable than an individual idea, and, like Scott said, our difference is that lens of faith. And you can think of it like an orientation point. So a lot of decisions are made, unfortunately, with a motivation for financial gain, as the first thought or sole inspiration. We believe that Scripture clearly lays out that God, and the disciplines and principles that He taught, are what should be our initial point of inspiration, and that financial decisions are simply a filter that we run those following decisions through. So, we don't want to tether ourselves to our money. We want to tether ourselves to our faith and use smart, financial intellect and decision-making to forward our progress. [11:29] Ron Gaver: Alright, I understand, and I think that I would certainly embrace having your faith at the center of all that you do and having God at the center of all that you do. [Website Contents] Focusing on the Founder [11:39] Ron Gaver: So you're trying to focus more on the founder. Not only on the business, but also on the spiritual, the physical, the relational, and the intellectual because, you say, essentially, that the founder has a greater shelf life than any business, potentially. [11:53] Scott Weiss: Well said. [11:55] Ron Gaver: And then you explore the role of faith. One of your founders said that that is, arguably, the proper place for faith to be put in building the business and putting it all together, and so you're trying, also, to build the person up, strengthen that person, and edify that person to bring the spiritual to bear on that person's business so that that person is a more graceful founder or can more gracefully transition into that business and not burn out in the process? [Website Contents] Non-Business Relationships and Stakeholders [12:27] James Clair: Yeah, exactly, because, oftentimes, we can forget that there are non-business-related relationships at stake—most notably family, friends. So if we consider the entire amount of stakeholders that exist within an entrepreneur's idea or their business venture, we want to make sure that we don't exclude those relationships and the physical health that's put at risk when a founder, unfortunately, is not tethering their decisions to the right source. A lot of people can identify with what it's like to lose friends during a business venture, to have lost marriages, to gain weight, to go through physical ailments—a lot of people identify with that. [Website Contents] Ocean's Message [13:17] James Clair: It's not just the high-tech founders that come through our accelerator, and that's also another layer to our uniqueness—that our message translates to a vast kingdom. And that's our mission: to expand God's kingdom; and we are looking to do it through the marketplace, or into the marketplace through entrepreneurs. But they have the ability to take that with them and transfer that to their families, to their friends, and then to future business associates, well after they're out of their current venture. [Website Contents] Ocean's Five Capitals [13:49] Ron Gaver: I find this idea to be very exciting because, looking at starting a business, one thing I would not be willing to sacrifice—or the things I would not be willing to sacrifice—would be my marriage, my family, and my health. My friends, maybe a little bit after that, but my marriage, my family, and my health—those are the things that God has given me to be a steward over, and those are the things that I must maintain. I have a mandate to do so, and I have a responsibility to do so. The sacrifice that goes along with losing those things is, in my mind, a failed proposition. [14:26] Scott Weiss: We would agree. It's also important for your listeners to know two things. We are trying to help the founder see these five capitals (and you articulated them already): [in ascending order, financial, intellectual (or ideas), physical (or health), relationships, and spiritual]—to see they have all five of these things, in different measure and at different times in their life, and the key to navigating a successful startup is to recognize that you have access to all five capitals. And while you're watching the business, you don't need to sacrifice your family, but you are going to impact your family. You simply will have far less time for your family. You will need to use many of your relationships to build your business, just to interview them (what do they think about your product?), to do your pitch, to ask for money possibly, to ask them to become a customer, or ask them to ask friends to become customers. [Website Contents] Maintaining Balance During a Business Venture [15:24] Scott Weiss: So, we try to help the founders understand: you're not going to have a balanced life; you're going to have an unbalanced life. Now, how do you enter that journey, recognizing its imbalance, and come out on the other end with healthy relationships intact? You do that by taking everyone on the journey with you, by over-communicating where you're heading, by using the other capitals you may have in excess to feed the capitals differently than you normally would. So, while I no longer have the time for the relationships I used to have, I will have access to new learning, new intellectual development, new networks, new people—let me introduce them to my wife, my children, whoever is important in that family. So this is very much an issue of: it's not about balanced life. It's about understanding the impact the imbalance it's going to cause and using the resources available to you to navigate that successfully. It's a real important concept that often gets lost. I'm just going to carry on, so I'm just going to throw the second thought at you pretty quickly, if that's OK. [16:34] Ron Gaver: Sure. [Website Contents] Marketplace Success [16:35] Scott Weiss: We are very, very focused on the founder, but we recognize the founder comes to us with an idea that ignites his or her passion. They have this idea, they want to create it, they want to see this enterprise enter the marketplace and grow, and hopefully succeed, and hopefully succeed at whatever level's appropriate for that idea. So, we don't have a different benchmark for marketplace success.The marketplace determines success, and we strive to prepare the founders to have their invention, their idea, their product, their company, succeed; and succeed at the highest levels. We think its excellence is absolutely an affirmation of the gifts God has given you, and using your gifts to deliver excellent results is what we aspire to do. So this has helped the people understand the journey they're on and to use all the things it's provided to them and to navigate that journey successfully, and navigate that journey, delivering, an excellent company that delivers excellent results. [Website Contents] Ocean's Work Ethic [17:41] Scott Weiss: So, in many ways, when we're interviewing candidates, we try to help them understand: coming here is more work than going to most accelerators. The outcome is more enriching, more edifying, and you will leave here (if you engage in it) with awareness and knowledge and relationships that we think will serve you the rest of your life, but it's a lot more work. It's not easier, it's harder. [18:10] James Clair: Yeah, very much so. Hearing Scott brought to my mind: when God is shining a light in some of our darkest corners—many times, we can be scared, or we can be afraid of what impact and anxiety that's going to bring to us or to the people around us; but one fruitful piece of our overall mission is that we want to change that feeling for a founder from being afraid and scared to feeling free; and that there's freedom in identifying these characteristics and behaviors that we have as individuals and how they affect, not just our personal lives, but the success of our business. And, many times, [for] the biggest fault-line in our individual ventures, there's a relatable behavior that's reflecting in our personal life; and addressing those realities and really dying to them and bringing truth to what that really should mean for us is what ties together both of those pieces really well. [Website Contents] Ocean's Program Overview [19:18] Ron Gaver: One thing that, Scott, you mentioned, “taking everyone along on the journey”—and I think that that's a great concept—how do you implement it, though? Do you use it by talking to people more, by demoing your product—is that what you said? By basically involving them as much as possible in this whole process with you? Is that how you do that, or can you elaborate a little on that? [19:39] Scott Weiss: Sure, I think I can. Let me paint a pretty clear picture, and this will take just a few words and then I'll pause and answer any questions. [Website Contents] Demo Day and Business Curriculum [19:48] Scott Weiss: The Ocean program—once you arrive, it's a four-month program and then demo day occurs and then there's one month following demo day that we're all together. And accelerators, while they do the same thing, do it differently; and one way to look at accelerators is there are very unstructured accelerators (you get in and you have access to a bunch of mentors and advisors and customers, and you're kind of on your own), or you have structured accelerators. We are a structured accelerator. So, the companies arrive, and we have laid out a curriculum that starts everybody at one level and takes them up through, and past demo, day; and it's a business curriculum that's built on the business canvas map that really gets them focused on what value they're creating in the marketplace, validating that value, and getting out there and testing it, and then generating revenue off of it. [20:44] Scott Weiss: We have a variety of speakers that come in and talk about that, and entrepreneurs who have both succeeded, and many of whom have failed (or failed once or twice and then succeeded); and they just come in and tell their stories that supplement whatever concept we are focusing on that week. So that's the business curriculum, and every week there is a speaker on the business side of it to prepare the knowledge base of the founders to accelerate—to run their business more effectively and to grow faster. [Website Contents] Keynote Speakers – Day One [21:16] Scott Weiss: So let's say it's day one. The very first speaker we had this last year happens to be a venture capitalist who drove over (about six hours) and taught a session on: what is the mission of your company? He taught very well. He's taking them through questions and answers, and he's really engaging, and then he kind of stops and he says, “You know, I'm on my third fund.” (Which means he's succeeded. So he's been able to raise money three times—it's now many, many millions of dollars in funds.) “And I have this many analysts who work for me. And I personally hear 300 pitches a year.” (I think is the number he said—maybe it was 500, I forget.) “And you will never get to me to give me your pitch unless you can answer the question: ‘What is the purpose, the mission, [and] the vision of your company?' And I'm not looking for an advertising slogan. I'm looking for the insight and depth that communicates to me that you have found something that uniquely will add value in this world.” [22:20] Scott Weiss: And then he unfolds all of the worksheets he and his analysts use to determine that. So you're sitting there, day one, and you're hearing a live, venture capitalist give you the answer to the quiz. How do you get them to open the door and talk to you about your idea? You tell them the vision and mission of your company in great depth and in a way an investor, or potential investor, can understand it. [22:44] Scott Weiss: That's kind of day one. They all go out to lunch. They have a great time. They come back. And day one, I had a creative director from a local studio there, and he led a session that he called (I think it was a “he”), led a session on, “I believe in God, I believe that God's a creative force, and I believe God wants me to create, and that's what it means to be in God's image.” And all that he talked about was his personal faith journey and how God had come alive in him and given him the courage to step out and create these incredible visual images that multiple clients pay for. [23:21] Scott Weiss: That's it. That's day one. [Website Contents] Keynote Speaker Discussion – Day Two and Beyond [23:23] Scott Weiss: And the next day the companies all come back in, and I walk up to the front of this great co-working space we have, and it just happened to be my turn, and I say, “Okay, let's talk about the venture capitalist.” [23:34] Scott Weiss: We begin getting all these companies—there were nine of them, so there's about thirty-five people in the room—processing through what the vision and mission of their company is. They're jumping on Google. They're looking stuff up. They're just busy little beavers. And I let that go for about ten minutes, and then I say, “Wait a second. What does any of that have to do with the guy in the afternoon?” And the room just explodes. So half the companies will say, “It has nothing to do with it.” And half of them will say, “It has everything to do with it.” [24:02] Scott Weiss: And the way we drive integration is we then just process that discussion and then have, over the balance of the week, three or four more speakers come in and speak to the exact same thing, but more and more overtly on how understanding what God wants you to do may have an awful lot to do with the vision and mission of your company; and we replicate that each week, in a different way and more creatively, to get the companies to begin integrating this concept of: “I'm on this journey called life, and I happen to be creating a company; but God has a plan for me in this journey called life, and how do I put this together in a way that honors Him and maximizes my meaningfulness on this earth?” So let me unpack it a little bit more because that's an awful lot to swallow, and you're sitting there saying, “Geez, how do they do that?” [Website Contents] Ocean's 2017 Program Plans [24:53] Scott Weiss: Next year, what we're going to do is—because we think, “Ok, that worked really well”—but next year, when the companies arrive the very first week, instead of sitting in Cincinnati and going to our great co-working space and starting this, we're taking them all off to a local park. We're getting everybody a room in the lodge, and we're going to spend three days getting personal and intimate about: “Where are you in your walk with God?” [Website Contents] Ocean's Policy on Faith [25:20] Scott Weiss: We do not select based on your faith. We've had Christian believers in the accelerator. We've had non-Christians. We've had seekers, people who say: “I think I'm an agnostic or humanistic. I'm not really sure. I'm trying to figure this all out.” We've had all different religious faiths from the Christian side. We select based on your willingness to go on this journey, and we're very clear, while we respect where you're at, understand: the journey we're laying out for you is from a Christian perspective. We all believe that's a source of great truth for all of us. [25:54] Scott Weiss: So, we're going to take them out for three days We're going to have multiple workshops leaders come in. We're going to have all kinds of exercises, and begin unpacking: “Where are you? Where are you in your walk with God? Are you having one? Are you not? How does that manifest itself? What do you believe?” Then we're going to come back and do all this business/faith stuff. [Website Contents] Faith as a Component of Business [26:12] Scott Weiss: Then, about two months later, we're going to go away again, and on that weekend sojourn, we're going to say, “Here are the biblical truths, the biblical principles, we've been talking about. How are you going to apply those—if you choose to—in your business?” And we have taken the time to unpack key biblical truths into business principles, and almost all businesses in Judeo-Christian cultures use biblical principles in running their business. Love others as you love yourself. Treat others the way you want to be treated. Treat the customer the way you want to be treated. We get them to unpack that and to write out their objectives for their company so they have specific goals for the culture and company they're trying to create. [26:59] Scott Weiss: Then we come back, we get through demo day, and then we're going to take them off again. Now they've met all these investors, they've had this launch. What are they going to do all this as they leave us and launch into the world? How's this all going to come to life in how they're going to run a company based on biblical principles that, hopefully, has great commercial success? So it's an intense, fun, creative process that involves literally dozens and dozens of people, willing to give of their time and talent, who come to us from all over the country to help make this possible. [Website Contents] Ocean's Program [27:32] Ron Gaver: You've gotten into some of your program—the actual functioning of the program, month-in/month-out, day-in/day-out, week-in/week-out—and there's one graphic on your website that is a circle with the formal program in it and you have monthly events, weekly events, and daily events. Could you go into a little bit about how that program works? [27:53] Scott Weiss: Absolutely. [Website Contents] Weekly Program – Speakers and Workshops [27:45] Scott Weiss: The weekly events are the series of speakers that I outlined. Every week, we have someone come in and lead a workshop on a business topic that's aligned with accelerating high-tech companies. We have a speaker come in every week and lead a session on a faith topic, and then every week we have a workshop that integrates them. Every week we have at least one, but generally two, guest speakers for something we call “coffee chats,” and these are founders, these are people who've started businesses. Last year, we had a founder from Israel drop in. We've had a major leader from Google drop in. We have all kinds of local entrepreneurs. A young man who's been on shark tank came and talked, and they just tell their story. And we tell them, “This week we're talking about this business topic and this faith topic.” And they tease out of their story something that's occurred to them that exemplifies either or both of those topics. [28:48] Scott Weiss: Every week we do a community meal. We provide soup (I love soup), and we'll have all the founders there. Their families are invited. All the mentors are invited. We'll have all the lawyers who volunteer for us. We'll have 30-50 people every Friday for a big community lunch and soup, which forces you to sit next to somebody and drink or sip out of a bowel. So, it gets everyone talking, and suddenly we're not in an accelerator anymore; we're just doing life. Every week we'll have optional participation in a Bible study. Every week we'll have optional physical activity. [29:25] Scott Weiss: Daily, we ask each company to journal. We post a journal question up on the board—we're going to do that differently next year—and the journal question is very much against their faith walk, very much is taking them on a guided journey of questions that, if you went back and read all the answers you wrote to these journal questions, you'd have a pretty interesting diary or chronology of ever-deeper growth and understanding. [29:52] Scott Weiss: And then, about two weeks into the program, every week we practice pitches on a stage, with microphones, with slides, leading up to our demo day, which is probably one of the highest-attending demo days in the United States in terms of physical audience size and streaming audience size. So, we do the combination of all those things to make the program entertaining, engaging, creative, and fun. [Website Contents] Syncing Program Behavior with Business Life [30:20] James Clair: Yeah, it's important to have those different layers because we want the program to reflect how we live life. There are routines and there are rhythms that we don't do every day but that we want to make sure we prioritize, and that we make space for, as we go through the journey of the program. So there's a key reflection in what we do outside of our businesses and what we do in life, and we put that into the program so then that way, if you don't have a very good rhythm or routine with spending time journaling or in Scripture every week, we want to almost kick-start that rhythm for you, so that when you leave the program, you're going to take that behavior with you. Same thing with the encouragement of physical fitness, and then encouragement of getting in a small group and discussing your faith or Scripture. [31:15] James Clair: Especially when you're in a format like we are, we find that routine to be very beneficial because they're also naturally integrating what they're currently going through in their companies into whatever topic we're discussing in the Bible studies. So, the program—although it looks very cool and it's laid out (we've got monthly, weekly, daily)—we could easily eliminate whatever words we put in there for those bubbles and put rhythms and routines in our daily life, and it would make perfect sense to a lot of people. [Website Contents] Ocean's Field Day – The Importance of Customer Dialogue [31:47] Ron Gaver: Okay, so the cornerstone of the program is the faith aspect of it, and, of course, you bring in the other speakers who talk about more technical, business-type aspects, and then, on the monthly events, you also get into legal, investment, leadership, and something called “field day.” I'm not sure what that is. [32:05] Scott Weiss: That's just getting people out to validate their idea in the marketplace. The number one cause of high-tech failures is people fall in love with their own idea and actually never talk to anybody in the marketplace about it; so whatever they're working on (whether it's B2C or B2B), we line up time, space, and interviews with the right audience to validate their idea. [32:25] Ron Gaver: Alright. In the Lean Startup vernacular, something like, “Get out of the office.” [32:29] Scott Weiss: Exactly. That's exactly what it means. Get out in the field, and go and talk to customers. It's a big principle we teach: to constantly listen to the marketplace. [Website Contents] Relocating as a Founder with Family [32:39] Ron Gaver: Hypothetically, let's say I'm a founder. I've been accepted and you've made the convertible note available to me, and I'm relocating to Cincinnati for the four-to-five months—well, five months, including the month after demo day—and I've got a family. How do the founders usually negotiate that with their families? What do you usually see happening there? [33:04] Scott Weiss: That's a great question. So this past year—our program runs January through May, so we just had our bon voyage party for this year's class—this past year, there are nine companies that got accepted. We take anywhere from about eight to twelve. It's hard to get in. There are hundreds of applications that get boiled down to the people we offer to. Of those nine, five were from outside the Cincinnati region. Two of those were from Europe and relocated from the United Kingdom (both were from London, coincidentally) to Cincinnati. One was a single person (and her co-founder popped in and out), and the other was a married gentleman with a wife and two children. [33:48] Scott Weiss: The “spouse with children” is a common story from people relocating to Cincinnati or in Cincinnati. About half of our founders tend to be married with family. So, we go through all this in the interview process. We want to understand their game plan. [34:04] Scott Weiss: When that individual arrived, we had reached out to our network and we had already lined up twenty or thirty rental properties of people willing to rent to him on a short-term basis. He, from London, envisioned his family being here on two separate times during his five-month sojourn (so they would relocate for an extended period and then they would go home); and then he would fly back and forth from London twice and spend a week there and Skype in or stream in and participate in the program that way. [34:36] Scott Weiss: So we helped find housing at a very favorable rate. We then worked with a non-profit that gives away automobiles, and they gave him a car. He's going to give it back to us when he's done, and we'll give it back them, but he had free use of a car for his duration, as did the other person from London (as would anybody relocating here who doesn't have a vehicle—we would arrange that). And we lay this all out so, when they get here, we know how their family's going to navigate it, they know how their family's going to navigate it. When that individual's family showed up from London, we also had arranged families of our mentors to take time out of their lives, show them Cincinnati, invite them over to their home, take them out to dinner—without imposing, giving the family time, but still being welcoming. That's how we do it. [35:24] Ron Gaver: Showing them great hospitality. [35:26] Scott Weiss: Exactly. [Website Contents] Ocean's Ideal Company and Founder [35:27] Ron Gaver: Now as far as the type of companies that you look for: do you look for any specific type of company—or the one speaker that you referred to last year was looking for people who could clearly articulate their mission—is there a particular type of mission that you focus on when you're selecting applicants, or is it basically just whatever floats up to the top? [35:53] Scott Weiss: We're very focused on the industry being high-tech because you can accelerate a high-tech company. If we're making fans, you can't accelerate because you've got to cut molds, you've got to make the product, and you have to test the product; but high-tech is coding so we can accelerate. They have to be high-tech. The product has to be at or beyond the MVP stage (minimally viable product stage). We don't like to start with companies before then because it's too hard to get them ready for demo day. [36:22] Scott Weiss: There has to be at least two founders. We won't take solo founders—it's just too hard. And they have to be willing to [take], and seeking, this spiritual journey; and we sort that latter piece out in an extended interview either live or via Skype. At this point, we've done dozens and dozens and dozens of these, so we have a pretty keen sense when someone's being honest and sincere in their answers and when, perhaps, they're just saying they want to do that so they can get in and get the money. So that's kind of what we look for: high-tech, at least two founders, willing to relocate, product at or beyond the MVP stage, and a sincere and open heart to a spiritual journey. [37:03] Ron Gaver: And you also prefer one of the co-founders to be a technical founder, I believe? [37:09] Scott Weiss: We skew that way, just for practical reasons, although we've taken about a third of the companies where neither was a technical co-founder, but they were able to resolve that issue through outsourcing or hiring a CTO. Chances for commercial success are higher if one of them understands coding and can actually build the product. [Website Contents] Ocean Capital [37:29] Ron Gaver: As far as Ocean is concerned, the accelerator itself is a non-profit organization and then there's Ocean Capital as well, which is basically the financial end of it. [37:38] Scott Weiss: Correct. That's a separate legal entity that, under IRS rules, is an SPV (special purpose vehicle), which means it collects money from a broad range of diverse investors, and its job, as a legal entity, is to track the flow of money so that, when those investors get a return, that they can be properly taxed. The entity itself doesn't make any profit. It doesn't lose any. It collects money and puts it into convertible notes for the companies. [Website Contents] Ocean's Origins at Crossroads [38:07] Ron Gaver: And as far as Ocean, the accelerator, the non-profit side of that—it grew out of Crossroads (the church), and then an organization within Crossroads called Unpolished, which I believe was a group of business people getting together and talking about business, and then they wanted to do something more. Is that correct? [38:26] Scott Weiss: That's a great story. Unpolished is a group within a large church—very vibrant and active community in Cincinnati called Crossroads Community Church—and this group had coalesced and formed and was meeting monthly and providing speakers; and they're sitting around one day, brainstorming (it's a small leadership team): “What else can we do?” And three of the participants in that were high-tech founders—had all founded high-tech companies, and one had had a successful exit (had started a company, grew it, sold it, and was now starting another one)—and those three articulated that the path for a high-tech founder is arduous and fraught with risk and often results in significant damage to health, relationships, and faith, which James talked about earlier. So they said, “Let's start an accelerator. Let's create an accelerator that approaches it differently—that focuses on the founder, with this lens of faith we've been talking about all afternoon.” And the larger group and the church said, “That's a great idea!” And Crossroads very generously kick-started the entire campaign with a donation that allowed for the conversion of this old warehouse space into a fantastic co-working space. So that's how it all started. [Website Contents] Ocean's Financial Support [39:41] Ron Gaver: You say they kick-started it. I read somewhere on your website that they did it with a 2014 Beans and Rice Week? [39:49] Scott Weiss: They do a really interesting fundraiser where, every week, they ask their entire community to take on a third-world diet, which is largely vegetarian and beans and rice, and to contribute the difference they would spend normally for food (dining out, buying a first-world diet)—to calculate that and contribute that to Crossroads. Crossroads collects that money, which is a large sum—the first year was like $350,000, last year was $700,000—all of that money, a hundred percent, goes outside Crossroads to support a variety of partnerships or programs, that don't have any relationship with Crossroads, around the world. It supports building schools in Nicaragua. It supports Ocean. It supports paying to have public swimming pools open in the greater Cincinnati area in a year when the city didn't have any money to keep the pools open. So they give that all away and we were the very fortunate beneficiaries of some portion of that the first year. [Website Contents] Ocean's Mentors [40:48] Ron Gaver: Then as the founder arrives—we've talked about family accommodations, and that's something you call concierge, but there's also really a package of things that you do. We've talked about seed financing. We've talked about the unique, five-month curriculum with all that that entails. A couple of things we haven't gone into too much: first, your mentors. You say you have a great pool of mentors, and I've seen on your webpage a bunch of pictures of all the different mentors. Could you kind of give a characterization of your cadre of mentors—not necessarily saying “this person, this person, this person,” but the type of people that come and support and want to be a part of this? [Website Contents] Role of the Mentor [41:29] James Clair: Yeah, that's very much the guardrails of the program. We introduce a very diverse mentor—I should first say, we identify and address a very diverse mentor pool—and our goal is to educate them as to what it means to be a mentor in an accelerator space, and what it means to be a coach in an accelerator space where you have nine founders (like we had this last class) but 100 mentors and coaches. Obviously, ten mentors and coaches aren't going to meet with every founder every week—the capacity of that doesn't make sense—but it's the right person at the right time, and that's where we come in, where we say, “This entrepreneur is at place X, and that's perfect alignment with this mentor that we have in our pool.” So we're going to introduce them, and we believe that that mentor is going to help shape [the founder] or help put that founder back on track—or you could even say “introduce a discipline” that will help put the founder back on track—[or] share life experience, and don't let me make it seem like it's just business. [Website Contents] Mentor Demographics [42:36] James Clair: These mentors have voiced that they're really passionate about sharing their faith journey and their faith story, just as much as their business successes and even business failures. Our mentor pool—they're not just diverse in the sense of demographically but geographically. Scott has mentioned different mentors and speakers coming in from Israel or East Coast or California, Silicon Valley, the South. That aligns perfectly with our mission of Kingdom expansion globally, and our program speaks to a lot of people, not just in Cincinnati, not just in the mid-West, but [as] we've seen in our applicant pool, in the UK. It speaks to people in Europe. It speaks to people around the globe. We want our mentor pool to be capable and ready, and we want to arm them well enough that when we introduce them, our founders are going to benefit from that exponentially. [43:33] Scott Weiss: So I would just add, Ron, the mentors will break into two broad groups. All of them want to share their personal life story, their faith journey, and they break then, subsequently, into two groups. We have a large group of subject matter experts—accountants, marketing, product developers, project managers, legal—and then we have a smaller group of people who have started businesses and understand the journey. That smaller group tends to form an intimate, one-on-one relationship. One person from that smaller group will end up being with one of the companies for the whole five months. They'll be there every week. They'll have them over their house for dinner. The person who has started the business has the time, the energy, and the maturity in their faith to be able to kind of wrap their arms around a company and be a truth-teller—not to run the business, not to tell them what to do, but to listen and give them honest feedback. Everyone else tends to cluster around tasks, as James pointed out, and we tend to pulse them in and out based on their subject matter and where each company is on any given week. [Website Contents] Partners [44:49] Ron Gaver: In conjunction with that, you also have some partners—some business partners, law firms, banks, Crossroads itself, an organization called 805 Creative (which is a design and creative production agency). [45:02] Scott Weiss: Yep. Companies all get free legal advise the whole time they're in the program. That's a combination of the generosity of the University of Cincinnati Law School, which provides legal fellows, and they're supervised by a local law firm. Last year it was Frost Brown Todd, and it'll either be them or another great local law firm next year (there's two law firms that want to do that). And then all these other business partners line up, and they're very clear: “We will donate this much time.” So the lawyers just said, “We'll be your lawyers.” Each studio says, “We'll give you 20 hours.” And, when we line them up with the company, we say, “Okay, you're asking this agency to do some work for you. And at 20 hours, the clock starts running and you're paying for it, so let's get really focused so you can get done what you need done in 20 hours.” That's what we coach them on doing. [Website Contents] Brand Identity Kit [45:51] Ron Gaver: One of the objectives of that creation experience is a brand identity kit? [45:56] Scott Weiss: Yeah, some of the companies need that. Some do not. This past year, most of the companies had well-established brands and arrived with trademarks in place and graphic design done and operational websites. If the company doesn't have it, we provide that. If they do have it and want to validate it, we provide that. But most of them have really solid brands. In fact, only one of them needed a lot of branding work this past year. [Website Contents] Design Style Guide [46:23] Ron Gaver: And there's something called a style guide in there? [46:26] Scott Weiss: Yeah, that's just a tactical tool on design (the product design itself); what the interaction is like if it's a B2C business (business to consumer). Of the nine companies, almost all of them were B2B (business to business) this past year, so while the style guide is still important, it's not as profoundly important. [Website Contents] A Creative Space to Build Relationships [46:44] Ron Gaver: So then, they're there. Are they all basically in one co-located space, and they feed off of one another and thrive on the ideas and inputs from one another? [46:56] Scott Weiss: Yes, we have a fantastic space. It's a large space, so each company gets a table and all those tables are co-located, and the intimacy and friendships and relationships and energy that come out of that is amazing. And, consistently, when the companies leave, in their evaluations, they tell us: “The most important thing are the relationships I formed.” [47:19] Scott Weiss: They can then get up and walk from there to multiple places in the building, into a private conference room, all glassed in, and they can jump on a video network feed and talk to a customer anywhere in the world (or anybody anywhere in the world), or they can put a presentation up in a larger conference room and have customers come in. They can walk to other parts of the building, which are just quiet spaces, where you can go work alone on your laptop or sketchpad, or you can go and pray or study. And then we have “huddle” areas—we have couches thrown around with area rugs where [I could go] if I wanted to get four or five people together and just hash something out. Whiteboards everywhere—moveable whiteboards everywhere—and everything's open. [48:01] Scott Weiss: There is no closed space. And everything is reserve-able or schedulable, or if it's open, just walk in and use it. We then we have a kitchen area that we use for soup day, and we do a happy hour every Friday and about half of them are on our space, and that's when we set up the beer and the soft drinks and all that good stuff. [Website Contents] Cincinnati as a Hotspot for Entrepreneurs [48:20] Ron Gaver: You're also big fans of Cincinnati itself. You site various things that are going on in the Cincinnati area and the area around Cincinnati, as far as start-up events, accelerators, incubators, co-working spaces, universities, something called CincyTech, funds and angels groups, economic development, and various associations. You seem to be real community supporters, and (from my point-of-view) you feel Cincinnati is a great place to do this kind of work. [48:50] Scott Weiss: Yes. [Website Contents] Cincinnati's Community Spirit [48:51] James Clair: What we do is a reflection of what already exists in Cincinnati, that there is an output now of an entrepreneurial spirit that has existed in Cincinnati for a while, and now there are minds and the intellect coming together and opening up about some of these innovative ideas on how this can work in a place not located on the West Coast. And we embrace the community because—I love that you referenced the beans and rice fast; that is the community of Crossroads Church—it was our catalyst to becoming who we are and opening this space that we're in. [The community that goes to Crossroads—not eating lavish meals for a week or pausing their grocery trip for a week, and deciding to go deep into their cupboards—sacrificed.] They made that sacrifice so that what we're doing right now would come to fruition, and I believe that we just simply reflect that in how we speak about our city and how we speak about the community. It's just an affirmation both ways. This is an output that's tethered to a Divine source. [Website Contents] Cincinnati as an Ideal Region for Startups [50:02] Scott Weiss: There's many great places in the world to start a company—to start a high-tech company—so this is not about being better than anybody, but Cincinnati is a very competitive space and has access to four terrific universities (so a broad swath of engineering talent), has access to a large number of customers who are seeking startups to offer creative solutions and that are willing to do tests and are willing to invest their money, has a unique infrastructure where those large companies have formed something calledCintrifuse (named after Cincinnati)—and Cintrifuse's role is to coordinate all the activities, to minimize wasteful redundancy, and to get everyone in this broad region, which includes northern Kentucky and southeastern Indiana and southwestern Ohio, to work cooperatively so that we share resources and share programming. So, we think this is a very vibrant, dynamic region for startups, and then the city itself is in the midst of a huge renaissance and can be read about in travel magazines or dining experiences. It's a fun place that's attractive to a lot of entrepreneurs to come and start a business and, hopefully, stay; but, if they depart, depart with the sense of, “I was in a very blessed area for a period of time.” [Website Contents] Appropriateness of Cincinnati for Founders with Families [51:23] Ron Gaver: Would you say that Cincinnati is a family-friendly city? [51:27] Scott Weiss: I would say it's both a family-friendly city, and it's increasingly a city that attracts and has a lot to offer single people who are just starting their careers. [As I mentioned earlier, a number of our founders are married with families, but a larger number are single, and the city has enough to offer them as well.] [51:47] James Clair: Yeah, and that's a great point: for the effects that starting and scaling a business have on a married founder—when I think about moving myself from maybe my hometown or home area, across the country to a new city—the way we support that individual founder is just as much as we would the married founder—the one, you know, relationship from a long distance. We leverage Cincinnati as a diverse city that just has this infectious fun about it, and it's a place where you have an opportunity to do a variety of things no matter, geographically, where you're from. There's a lot of things here that are applicable to, not just mid-western, skyline Chili. It's not all Chili in Cincinnati. There's, like Scott said, a renaissance that's really diversified, honestly, Cincinnati's portfolio as a city. [Website Contents] Ocean's Schedule for Applications [52:37] Ron Gaver: Alright, then as far as Ocean's schedule for a year, when do you usually open up applications? [52:43] Scott Weiss: We'll be opening up applications in September—very early September; maybe very late August—and that'll all be announced on our website. We accept applications from (let's call it) September first to the end of October. We go through our screening process in November and make offers shortly after Thanksgiving [at the end of November] for a class that starts the second week of January. [53:06] Ron Gaver: And that begins your cohort, that goes through it, marching down to demo day as the major milestone at the end; and you said it's a very well-attended—both physically and virtually—event. [Website Contents] Benefits of Demo Day [53:19] Scott Weiss: So first, one of the benefits of Ocean for any startup is [that] our demo day is on a large auditorium stage in one of the Crossroads buildings. This past year, we had 1,400 people attend live. We had 1,800 people stream it live. So that's a total live audience of over 3,000. Last year, after we finished, we posted the stream (the stream's downloadable). Ten thousand people downloaded the stream between last year's demo day and this year's demo day. So, if you're launching a business, you get to come here. You get to go on a stage designed to speak to thousands. You get [a] professional production team fine-tuning your speech. You're streamed live. Your slides are amazing. You get to launch your brand to, literally, thousands of potential customers and hundreds of potential investors. We work real hard to make sure that the audience has a high percentage of angels, angel funds, and customers, based on whoever's in whatever class; and it works incredibly well as a company launches a public event to say: “I am here, and I am ready to go into business,” or “I am in business and I'm ready to meet you and do more business.” [Website Contents] Post-Demo Day Activities [54:42] Ron Gaver: So demo day comes, and demo day goes, and then your companies are still with you for another month. What happens in that month? [54:51] Scott Weiss: Post-demo day, we help the companies take action based on whatever occurred on demo day. So one company is actively negotiating with two different investor groups as we speak, so we are continuing to provide support for them. They're still working out of Ocean—met with them today. Another company came out of Ocean and finalized its application to get into a different accelerator, an accelerator that is core to their industry and will give them access to a dramatic number of customers. They were successful and that will be announced publicly Wednesday. It's a major accelerator. One company received hundreds and hundreds of customer inquiries, who want to hire them, and they're processing through: “How do we manage that and monetize that and service all that?” [55:42] Scott Weiss: So, each company ends up with opportunity coming out of demo day, and we provide support on: “What do you do with that?” And then we also have a few weeks of integrating the entire program back to: “What does this mean for you now in your life? Where do you go from here in your life? The company's a very important part of that, but you're a far more important part of that. You are what God cares about. Where are you going to go?” And then we kind of have a ceremony—we call it a bon voyage party—and we launch them. As of this point, about three of the companies have moved on—they've left our building; they've moved on. One came in and said goodbye today, and the rest are still kind of hanging around, figuring out where they're going to rent space and all that good stuff. [56:29] James Clair: You hit this pinnacle at demo day, and it's amazing, and the companies do an amazing job. They deliver on the highest stage with the most visibility they'll ever have at one time, in their young companies. Post-demo day it's—what Scott said: “What does this mean now? How do I digest this in a healthy way, the feedback that I received from demo day, both good and bad? I retain it as a leave the accelerator.” And that's really what we're there for. We're there to be [sounding boards] and to help them digest and retain feedback from demo day. [Website Contents] Universal Message of God's Interest in Enterprises [57:08] Ron Gaver: That was pretty much the end of my list of questions. The next thing that I was going to ask you is: is there anything that you would like to say or cover that I haven't asked you about yet? [57:18] Scott Weiss: I'm reflecting on this great conversation we've had, which I'm so appreciative of. We've had a terrific conversation, and for anybody in your audience who listens to it, the universal message is: you, individually, matter. You matter to something much bigger than any of us, and that's God, and He cares deeply about you, and He cares about your enterprises and your visions and your dreams. And whether it's a high-tech company trying to get into an accelerator, or someone trying to get an education or someone trying to get a job at a local garage, lean into your gift and lean into it with the knowledge [that] God wants you to utilize that gift to your best ability; and in that leaning into it with the spirit of “what does God want me to do in this,” greater riches will come to you than in any other way in your life. So, our message would just be: lean into the gifts you have, and keep asking yourself, “What does God want me to do in this?” And more will come back to you than you can possibly imagine. [58:20] Ron Gaver: Well, thank you very much for your time
I learned from my conversation with Brian Peters that you could auto"magically" manage your new media accounts and be a social media evangelist at the same time. As a former purchaser, it gave me a kick to learn about a company without regular sales people. I wonder what a Happiness Hero is reading at the moment? This episode was recorded on August 9, with the Ringr app. I downloaded the recording (audio format: mono mix, sample rate 44 kHz, Flac, 114.6 MB) to my MacBook and then did the post production with Auphonic (112 kbps, mp3, 53.1 MB). Podcasting equipment: iPhone 6S Plus, iRig Mic Cast microphone, and SnapRecorder portable recording booth. Show notes: 00 @Brian_G_Peters 02 Jon Ferrara 03 Ringr 04 Amy Ingram - X.ai 04 Gothenburg, Sweden 04 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada 05 Buffer CultureLab podcast 06 Note to self tweet 07 Scott Stratten 10 Buffer purchased Respondly 13 "Social media evangelist" - Stefan Engeseth 13 10,000 hour rule - Malcolm Gladwell 14 @Tamar 16 Social media marketing video - Buffer 17 Tim Sinclair 19 Pierre DeBois 20 Instagram - Buffer 22 Social media study - Buffer 22 Gated content 23 Fizzle - [Editor's note: affiliate link.] 24 "No sales people" - Buffer 25 Zappos Library List 25 Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell - [Editor's note: affiliate link.] 27 Audible Trial - mid-roll placement [Editor's note: affiliate link.] 28 Audible podcasts... - Forbes 28 Wall Street Journal - Audible 29 Chris Reimer - Happywork 29 Happywork: A Business Parable About the Journey to Teamwork, Profit, and Purpose by Chris Reimer - [Editor's note: affiliate link.] 30 Brent Leary's interview with Jon Ferrara - Small Business Trends 30 Los Angeles Rams - New England Patriots 30 Trader principle - Ayn Rand Lexicon 31 The Objectivist Ethics. The Virtue of Selfishness: A New Concept of Egoism [Editor's note: affiliate link.] by Ayn Rand. 32 Ayn Rand and Silicon Valley by Jason Crawford. 33 EGO NetCast standalone podcast / podcatcher app: Amazon appstore for Android Apple App Store Google Play 34 Libsyn 34 Overcast.fm 37 Groundswell, Expanded and Revised Edition: Winning in a WorldTransformed by Social Technologiesby Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff. [Editor's note: affiliate link.] 37 Open Leadership: How Social Technology Can Transform the Way You Lead by Charlene Li. [Editor's note: affiliate link.] 38 Facebook ads guide - Buffer 40 Five Lessons Learned from my Start-up — And why I’d Do it Again by Martin Lindeskog - OPEN Forum 40 Coffee-houses: The Internet in a Cup - The Economist 42 Write Epic Shit by Corbett Barr. - Fizzle 42 My First Book on Tea with Illustrations by John Cox - #teaFTWbook 43 EGO NetCast caricature by John Cox. John Cox Art. 43 How to Cast a Vision So People Listen - Building a Story Brand podcast 44 Chai tea Rooibos in Vancouver. 45 "Red bush tea" - Wikipedia 45 Masala chai - Wikipedia 45 Persian chai - My Persian Kitchen 45 Amateur (lover of...) - Wikipedia 46 Kombucha - Kitchn 49 Kombucha in Vancouver - YellowPages 49 Micro... craft beer - Food Republic 50 Anchor Brewing Company 50 Slack - Lyceum 51 Rocketbook 51 The Bulletjournalist 51 Moleskine - Wikipedia 51 Frixion pen - Wikia 54 "Awesome plan" - Buffer 54 Pablo image creator - Buffer 55 Respond by Buffer 55 Support EGO NetCast 56 Video marketing - Buffer 56 Ileane Smith - Busker "rewarding live video" 58 .co Colombia - Wikipedia 58 .io "in - out" (British) Indian Ocean (Territory) - Wikipedia 58 Matcha green tea - Lyceum on YouTube 59 Tea53 black tea blend - GOT-Tea-Party.com 60 OMG .coffee hipster domain? - Hover 62 Caffeine consumption by country - Caffeine Informer 63 Starbucks Takes a 3-Hour Coffee Break - The New York Times 63 Starbucks National Training Day: Did it Work? - Josh Bersin
I learned from my conversation with Brian Peters that you could auto"magically" manage your new media accounts and be a social media evangelist at the same time. As a former purchaser, it gave me a kick to learn about a company without regular sales people. I wonder what a Happiness Hero is reading at the moment? This episode was recorded on August 9, with the Ringr app. I downloaded the recording (audio format: mono mix, sample rate 44 kHz, Flac, 114.6 MB) to my MacBook and then did the post production with Auphonic (112 kbps, mp3, 53.1 MB). Podcasting equipment: iPhone 6S Plus, iRig Mic Cast microphone, and SnapRecorder portable recording booth. Show notes: 00 @Brian_G_Peters 02 Jon Ferrara 03 Ringr 04 Amy Ingram - X.ai 04 Gothenburg, Sweden 04 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada 05 Buffer CultureLab podcast 06 Note to self tweet 07 Scott Stratten 10 Buffer purchased Respondly 13 "Social media evangelist" - Stefan Engeseth 13 10,000 hour rule - Malcolm Gladwell 14 @Tamar 16 Social media marketing video - Buffer 17 Tim Sinclair 19 Pierre DeBois 20 Instagram - Buffer 22 Social media study - Buffer 22 Gated content 23 Fizzle - [Editor's note: affiliate link.] 24 "No sales people" - Buffer 25 Zappos Library List 25 Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell - [Editor's note: affiliate link.] 27 Audible Trial - mid-roll placement [Editor's note: affiliate link.] 28 Audible podcasts... - Forbes 28 Wall Street Journal - Audible 29 Chris Reimer - Happywork 29 Happywork: A Business Parable About the Journey to Teamwork, Profit, and Purpose by Chris Reimer - [Editor's note: affiliate link.] 30 Brent Leary's interview with Jon Ferrara - Small Business Trends 30 Los Angeles Rams - New England Patriots 30 Trader principle - Ayn Rand Lexicon 31 The Objectivist Ethics. The Virtue of Selfishness: A New Concept of Egoism [Editor's note: affiliate link.] by Ayn Rand. 32 Ayn Rand and Silicon Valley by Jason Crawford. 33 EGO NetCast standalone podcast / podcatcher app: Amazon appstore for Android Apple App Store Google Play 34 Libsyn 34 Overcast.fm 37 Groundswell, Expanded and Revised Edition: Winning in a WorldTransformed by Social Technologiesby Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff. [Editor's note: affiliate link.] 37 Open Leadership: How Social Technology Can Transform the Way You Lead by Charlene Li. [Editor's note: affiliate link.] 38 Facebook ads guide - Buffer 40 Five Lessons Learned from my Start-up — And why I’d Do it Again by Martin Lindeskog - OPEN Forum 40 Coffee-houses: The Internet in a Cup - The Economist 42 Write Epic Shit by Corbett Barr. - Fizzle 42 My First Book on Tea with Illustrations by John Cox - #teaFTWbook 43 EGO NetCast caricature by John Cox. John Cox Art. 43 How to Cast a Vision So People Listen - Building a Story Brand podcast 44 Chai tea Rooibos in Vancouver. 45 "Red bush tea" - Wikipedia 45 Masala chai - Wikipedia 45 Persian chai - My Persian Kitchen 45 Amateur (lover of...) - Wikipedia 46 Kombucha - Kitchn 49 Kombucha in Vancouver - YellowPages 49 Micro... craft beer - Food Republic 50 Anchor Brewing Company 50 Slack - Lyceum 51 Rocketbook 51 The Bulletjournalist 51 Moleskine - Wikipedia 51 Frixion pen - Wikia 54 "Awesome plan" - Buffer 54 Pablo image creator - Buffer 55 Respond by Buffer 55 Support EGO NetCast 56 Video marketing - Buffer 56 Ileane Smith - Busker "rewarding live video" 58 .co Colombia - Wikipedia 58 .io "in - out" (British) Indian Ocean (Territory) - Wikipedia 58 Matcha green tea - Lyceum on YouTube 59 Tea53 black tea blend - GOT-Tea-Party.com 60 OMG .coffee hipster domain? - Hover 62 Caffeine consumption by country - Caffeine Informer 63 Starbucks Takes a 3-Hour Coffee Break - The New York Times 63 Starbucks National Training Day: Did it Work? - Josh Bersin
To Smyrna Series: We've Got Mail Preacher: Tim Sinclair Date: 24th July 2016 Time: 11:30 Passage: Revelation 2:8-11
Tim Sinclair is founder and CEO of RingR. Before founding RingR, Tim had an established career in broadcast radio. The idea for RingR grew out of Tim's frustrations with trying to get high-quality recorded audio for interviews conducted electronically using the telephone or Skype. For such interviews, the host can produce a high-quality recording on one end, but if the guests do not have good recording equipment on their end, the audio quality for the guests' recording is often low. If the host records the guests from the telephone, audio quality is generally low. If the host records the guests from Skype, internet artifacts such as warble and drop out often occur. Tim conceived RingR as a way to get high-quality, recorded audio for all parties by recording each person's audio locally on a smartphone, transmitting the data to a server, and syncing the audio files together. In the end, host and guest sound as good as the local recording. RingR has come out of beta, and I wanted to get the story from Tim of how he developed the product and stood the company up. On the website, click any timestamp to start listening to the episode at the noted location. Please see Disclosure* (below transcript) concerning affiliate links on this page. Full episode transcript follows Resources Mentioned. Resources Mentioned in Episode Amazon Web Services (AWS) – According to the website: “Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a secure cloud services platform, offering compute power, database storage, content delivery and other functionality to help businesses scale and grow.” Tim Sinclair discusses RingR's positive experience with AWS starting at [30:00]. AWS has a free tier that may not be exactly what Tim describes in the episode [31:46] but seems like a reasonable option to explore. Apple EarPods* – EarPods are my favorite in-ear listening and speaking device for iPhone. EarPods do not close the ear canal and allow you to listen to your surrounding environment while talking and listening. I do not know if they work with Andriod phones since the jack has four bands (left ear, right ear, microphone, and common). EarPods are mentioned in this episode as a good interface for recording on an iPhone using RingR. Listen at [04:50] for discussion. Love Does* – This book by Bob Goff is about showing love in remarkable ways. It was mentioned by Tim Sinclair in this episode. Tim takes inspiration from this book about how to interact with his customers. Listen to the discussion starting at [43:06]. Ocean Accelerator – Tim Sinclair is a graduate of the inaugural class of the Ocean Accelerator. Ocean is a faith-based accelerator providing seed funding, mentors, legal assistance, a well-attended demo day, a 5-month curriculum focused on founders first and business second, and more. For Tim's story with Ocean in this episode, begin listening at [19:10]. Ocean will be featured in an upcoming episode (tentatively 017). RingR* – RingR is an app for recording high-quality audio from geographically separated speakers and synching the audio files into one high-quality recording. Typical uses are for podcasts and broadcast, but the app has been used for remote medical consultation, legal deposition, and employment interviews. Participants may record on an iPhone, Android phone, or desktop computer. The creation of RingR is the subject of this episode. For a technical description, begin listening at [04:50] RingR on Twitter @RingR_US [42:07] RingR on Facebook @RingRApp [42:29] Serra Ventures – According to their website: “Serra Ventures is an early stage venture capital firm investing in technology companies in emerging Midwest technology centers and selected other geographies. Sectors we focus on include information technology, devices/instrumentation and agricultural technologies.” In this episode, Tim Sinclair discusses obtaining his original funding from Serra Ventures. Listen starting at [11:50] for the story. Tim Sinclair at RingR – Tim is the founder and CEO of RingR. For a short bio, listen to the introduction at [02:16]. For an invitation to connect, listen at [45:14]. Full Episode Transcript [00:00] Ron Gaver: This is SaaS Business Podcast episode 15, an interview with Tim Sinclair. [00:19] Tim Sinclair: Surprise, I believe, is the key to most every emotion. Great horror movies are great because of suspense and surprise. Great comedians—it's all about timing and saying something at a time that nobody expected. They don't see it coming. They're surprised and—boom—all of a sudden they're laughing out loud because they didn't see that coming. And for us—I think—when we surprise a customer, a user, with a great experience or with something that we say or that we do, not only is it a good feeling for them and a good experience for them (and it endears them to RingR), but it's something they're more likely to share with other people, and like I said earlier, that's going to be our best marketing ever. [01:06] Ron Gaver: Hello, welcome to the show. I'm your host, Ron Gaver. Thank you for listening. This is the podcast designed to help you put the pieces of the puzzle together to start, grow, and succeed in your SaaS business. Before we get started with the show, I would like to invite you to visit the podcast website. The URL is SaaSBusinessPodcast.com (that's S-a-a-S, SaaS with two a's business podcast dot com). On the website, the most important thing to do is to sign up to get your copy of the current, free download. This will also put you on the list for future free downloads and updates. For your convenience, there's also a page on the website for each episode where you will find show notes for the episode. The show notes will contain links to resources mentioned in the episode. Just enter the base URL, a forward slash, and the three-digit episode number. If you enjoy this podcast and find the content to be valuable, please consider giving us a five-star rating on iTunes, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Five-star ratings help the show stay visible so that new listeners can easily find us. [02:16] [Intro – See top of page for text.] Welcome, Tim. [03:18] Tim Sinclair: Hey, thank you, Ron. I appreciate the opportunity to be on the show. It really means a lot. [03:21] Ron Gaver: Glad to have you on. Let's start out with the problem you originally identified and how you came to the point of wanting to develop RingR. [03:30] Tim Sinclair: I've spent 18 years in radio, hosting shows, working the production room, did literally thousands of interviews, and really got tired of that stereotypical, telephone-interview sound (sounds like you're in a tin can or on the moon or whatever). And you know, even Skype—now that some have gone to using Skype and recording those calls for interviews—you still get that warble and drop out and internet artifacting stuff in the calls. And so, I had a friend who's in the industry who's one of the artists we played at the radio station I worked at, and I just sent him an e-mail and said, “Dave, answer these questions, record it into the voice memos app of your iPhone and then send me the file. I'll see if that's something I can use on the air, and he did it, and it sounded unbelievable. And so, I began to think, “What if we could actually have a phone conversation and his device would record him while we talked like that?” And then I went, “Well, if we can get the phone to do that, then we could get my phone to do the exact same thing, and we'll just piece the two perfect-sounding audio files together on the other end and sound like we're in the same room having a conversation rather than in different parts of the world.” And so, that little idea is really what turned into RingR and what led us to the products we have today. [04:43] Ron Gaver: Originally, then, this started out with you manually piecing together a couple of files or streams from you and a guest and then trying to automate the process. [04:50] Tim Sinclair: Yeah, correct. People have been doing this in the radio and podcasting world for quite some time. It's called a double-ender. Basically, you record on each end and then somebody has to somehow send one file to the other person, so you can do it on reel-to-reel back in the day or put in into some sort of digital file, and do all that. And what we wanted to do was kind of two-fold: (1) automate the process, but (2) make it possible with mobile, because while most podcast hosts and radio hosts have a studio they use, most guests do not. They have to somehow jerry-rig some microphone/computer combination on Skype or whatever on their end, and find a place to record. So we thought if we can (1) automate the process and (2) make it mobile so that all you really have to do is really have a phone conversation, all you need is your smartphone or your tablet, and you can plug in your EarPods or just hold the phone up to your face like you normally would. That would be ideal, especially for the guest, because then they don't have to create an account for anything. They don't have to sign up on Skype, try to find a microphone, sit in a room that's not echoey—you know all those things that you want for a good-sounding conversation. The phone does all that work for you. The mic is good. It's a unidirectional mic. It blocks out background noise. Everybody knows proper mic technique when it comes to a phone call: hold it to your face. That's it. Same thing with EarPods. They automatically keep that mic just a few inches from their mouth. We try to combine all of that into one product. [06:15] Ron Gaver: The double-ender, for those who may not know, is where two parties at separate locations each record their end of a conversation and then someone later syncs the two recordings together. [06:25] Tim Sinclair: Correct. [06:26] Ron Gaver: And usually, there's some sync signal; some sound. People will sometimes clap or snap their fingers. I've even heard of people singing “Happy Birthday” together to sync up. That's a double-ender. You've basically perfected the double-ender electronically. [06:40] Tim Sinclair: That's been the goal, yeah for sure, … to allow you to record without really any equipment or any studios, and then put those two files together on the back-end and provide you with something that you can easily use or edit and get into a podcast or broadcast. [06:54] Ron Gaver: You've envisioned this for podcasting and broadcasting. Do you have other applications in mind as well? [06:59] Tim Sinclair: Those were our first two obvious choices for markets to go into, but we've talked with lawyers who need to do long-distance depositions even some doctors who need to do medical consultations. There are some job interview possibilities: if you want to save the job interview for transcription or you want to share with your boss or with your team, so they can be in on the interview you just did and hear more of what the person had to say who might be interviewing for a job. There's all sorts of audio collection services that are trying to put together either stories of your life or to get audio for video. I mean there's …. Seems like every day, we find a new potential use for what we're doing, and it's exciting to watch that market expand. [07:40] Ron Gaver: Currently, the front-end recording device for RingR is either an iPhone or an Android phone. [07:45] Tim Sinclair: Correct. [07:46] Ron Gaver: And you're moving into a browser-based RingR system? [07:49] Tim Sinclair: Yeah, it won't necessarily be browser-based, but it will be available on your desktop or laptop. We're fooling around with a couple potential things right now. We're hoping in three or four weeks to begin beta testing, and it would allow you to login to your RingR account and launch a call from there. And it will allow your guest to just follow a simple link in an e-mail on their computer and start the call from there. [08:13] Ron Gaver: So, in that implementation, the guest just needs to follow a link to start the call. When guests use an iPhone or an Android, they also have to download the app. [08:22] Tim Sinclair: Correct. They do not have to sign up. They do not have to create an account or give their e-mail address or any of that kind of stuff. They literally just have to have the app on their phone, and then they tap a code in the e-mail invitation that you send them and that automatically—much like a conference call would today—jumps them right into the call, and once you're both there, you start recording. [08:40] Ron Gaver: That's what RingR is. We've talked a little bit about how you got the idea. Next phase: you've got an idea. How did you start to get the idea developed? What was your first step? [08:51] Tim Sinclair: I knew, not being a technical guy, that I wasn't the one to try to code anything or put this together. I really have no experience in that realm and figured that I had to find some people with some app development, and probably audio experience, in order to make this happen. And I talked with a number of people. It's kind of an idea that was rolling around my head for a couple of years and I would mention it to a friend, or whoever, over time that I thought might know something, and they all thought, “Man, that sounds like a cool idea, but I don't really know how to do it.” It got left at that. About 18 months ago, I was having lunch with another friend, and he had just started a company with a couple of his friends, and I knew it was app based. And I said, “What do you think of this?” And he goes, “We can do that.” I kind of looked up from my food and went, “Really?” He said, “The two guys I'm working with, Kris and Dan, have their PhDs in computer science with an audio and media focus. This would be like a dream-come-true kind of project for them.” And so, we started talking, and they got excited about it, and the rest is kind of history. They gave me the bill—what it would cost. That was the next major potential stumbling block for us, but we took it to a venture capital group locally who was very interested in the project, and they jumped on board pretty quickly, and we've been moving forward ever since. [10:07] Ron Gaver: On your website, you show four team members, yourself, Chad, Kris, and Dan. You went to one of those guys with the idea. Was it Chad? [10:16] Tim Sinclair: Yes, it was. [10:17] Ron Gaver: And he's the one who said, “We can do it”? [10:20] Tim Sinclair: He is. I don't think he regrets it. [10:23] Ron Gaver: Good. And how long did it take to get from, “Gee, I've got this idea, and I think it's really cool,” and you started talking it up, until you got it to Chad and he said, “Hey, yeah, we can do that”? [10:36] Tim Sinclair: Well, it probably was rolling around in my head for two years, maybe three, of this should be doable, but I had enough other things on my plate, and it wasn't anything I wanted to invest a whole lot of time or energy in, and so, it just would come up once every four or five months when I was talking to a friend who is in the tech space and that was about it. And it was sort of that time, again, when I met with Chad. It was May of 2014, and he said, “We can do that.” And by the next week, I had the quote from his company as to what it would cost to get going. So, I took that to this venture capital group. I made a phone call to them on Thursday, we met on Friday, they offered money on Monday, and by the end of that month we were incorporated, we were funded, and we were starting to develop the product. [11:21] Ron Gaver: That doesn't sound like the normal startup experience. [11:25] Tim Sinclair: It is not—I have learned. I didn't know any better. I was too dumb to realize it, but I have talked with many in this field, and no, it is very, very unusual. [11:34] Ron Gaver: You were very fortunate to find Chad, and Chad was hooked up with a couple of stellar developers. You made a call to a venture capital group on a Thursday and had funding on the following Monday. Did you already know this venture capital group? [11:50] Tim Sinclair: I didn't. I hadn't even thought about what it would cost to do this until I got the bill from them. So then … I called a guy who I've known for years. He's kind of like a father figure (in terms of age, at least) and said, “You're the best business guy I know. What do I do here?” And he said, “Well, I invest with Serra Ventures in Champaign. You should at least give them a call. They almost always want a product and some proof that it works, but you can at least share your idea, and they can give you some help.” And I said, “Okay, I might as well do that.” So, that afternoon, [which] was Thursday, I called them, and they called back Thursday night, and we set up the meeting for the next day. They said, “Bring your business plan.” I didn't have a business plan. I didn't have a name. I had nothing, so I opened up Google Docs and made a bunch of stuff up. I mean, it was fairly accurate, but I didn't know what I was doing. I made up the name RingR. And I walked in there as if I knew what I was doing, and Halfway through the meeting, the guy I was talking to said, “Rob, come in! You gotta hear this!” And so then, I'm talking with two of the partners of the firm, and on Monday morning, I got an e-mail from them offering basically some starting capital to get going, and I said, “Sure, why not?” I had no idea what I was getting into. And … like I said, we incorporated, we got things squared away with Chad and Kris and Dan, and started development pretty much right way. [13:08] Ron Gaver: Did you even take Chad or Kris or Dan with you to that meeting, or was it just you solo? [13:13] Tim Sinclair: No, it was just me. Chad is local, but the other two guys don't live in the same state. In fact, one of them doesn't even live in the same country. Kris is our CTO; he's based out of the UK. And Dan is in Virginia, and then Chad and I are in Illinois. I went to the meeting solo. Again, I had no idea what I was doing, but whatever it was worked and at least 18 months later we're still here. [13:36] Ron Gaver: That's a great story. [13:38] Tim Sinclair: Yeah, it's (again) unusual and you know any entrepreneur that I [tell] I called Thursday, met Friday, had money on Monday, pretty much chokes and then wants to kill me because that's just not how it goes, but for whatever reason, it was orchestrated that way, and we were in the right place at the right time. These guys felt confident in my ability to sell the product [and] my industry knowledge, and the idea was innovative enough and new enough with very little, if any, competition in the space that they decided to take a chance. [14:06] Ron Gaver: So, you had an idea. For about two years it's rolling around in your head. Was it one of those ideas you just couldn't let go of? Was it one where you're driving down the road thinking about it day-in and day-out and just couldn't let it go, or was it just something that surfaced every now and then? [14:22] Tim Sinclair: No, it was one of those things that would come back quite often to me, and I'm kind of entrepreneurial, in that I always feel I've got a good idea rolling around in there somewhere, but either I try and it doesn't work or I just forget about it. This was one of those things where I'm like, “This has got to work, there's no reason that this could not happen.” And I think it would be big. I could see lots of different potential applications for it, so I couldn't shake it, but I didn't know what to do with it either, and finally, I sat down to lunch with the right person who at least started the dominoes, and we've been moving forward since that point. [14:54] Ron Gaver: So, you had an idea then you just came into this great development team—a UX guy and two Ph.D. developers who just happen to specialize in audio and digital media. They've got a company, give you the bill, or at least give you the price tag, and then you go and get the money. You've got money. What happens next? [15:13] Tim Sinclair: Well, that was sort of the honeymoon period. I was still working in radio. I had a full-time job, and I was working with these guys who had several other clients. And so, we were kind of all working in a very part-time capacity—although I wasn't getting paid—but we were all working in a part-time capacity on putting this thing together. And it wasn't until December of 2014—late November maybe—that I realized, “I think I'm going to need to quit my job and jump into this thing full-time.” At least, that's my hope, and I quit my job, not knowing exactly what was going to happen. We didn't really have the money for me to go full-time, but I just felt it was the right thing to do. And Wednesday before Thanksgiving it was that we announced to the staff that my co-host and I would be leaving the morning show we'd been hosting for about eight years, and on Monday, so just a few days later, I got a call from Ocean, a business accelerator in Cincinnati that we had applied for and had heard about us, and said, “Hey, do you want to come? We'd love to have you be a part of our inaugural class.” So, after a couple of days, I accepted, and it just so happened that my last day with the radio station was January 2nd, and that was a Friday. The first day of the Ocean class was January 5th, which was a Monday, and so, I missed no time. It was a seamless transition. I moved 250 miles away in that weekend and literally sort of began my full-time endeavors into RingR that day. [16:40] Ron Gaver: There's another beautiful domino that fell into place. [16:44] Tim Sinclair: Yes. [16:45] Ron Gaver: Ocean just happened to be there at the right time. [16:48] Tim Sinclair: Yeah, they were. [16:50] Ron Gaver: Looking back on this, doesn't it amaze you that all of these things fell into place? Or does it just sound like they fell into place a little bit better because you're looking back and telling the story? [17:01] Tim Sinclair: No, … sometimes we look at the past through rose-colored glasses and we go, “Ah, wasn't that nice.” But this was one of those things that, at the time, I'm realizing as it's happening that this is pretty remarkable. I'm well aware that when you quit a job with no plan and then the very next work day you find out the plan that you didn't know was coming and then that plan happens to involve you missing absolutely zero time at work—because one ends on a Friday, the next one starts on a Monday—[that] … all those things were coming together perfectly. However, as I was driving to Cincinnati, I had 88 cents in the RingR bank account. We knew that some investment was coming from Ocean, the accelerator. We were hoping that more was coming from some other investors, but none of that was guaranteed, but I just felt like every step was kind of being laid out for me, and I was just going to have to trust that this was the right thing to do. Although, you look at 88 cents, and you go, “I'm an idiot.” But it has certainly worked out for the best, despite the (I call it) exhilarating terror: it's a whole lot of fun, but it's really, really scary. But I wouldn't have it any other way. I love it. [18:10] Ron Gaver: When you first started, Chad, Kris, and Dan had a company. Are they still operating that company, and that company works with RingR, or are they now full-time RingR employees? [18:20] Tim Sinclair: Yeah, they started out at about 40% with us and then for the last nine months we bumped them up to 90%, so it's been nearly full-time. Pretty much all of their time as a company has been spent with RingR, but they've never been actual employees with benefits and things like that. We are going to ramp our tech development back a little bit in 2016 now and focus more on sales and marketing. We do have, as you mentioned earlier, the desktop, and we have some conference call functionality coming, but once that's done, we're really going to focus on supporting what we have, refining what we have, trying to make it the absolute best product possible, … not really do a whole lot of forward-thinking development for the next 12 to 18 months, and really focus on selling and marketing what we feel like is a great product already. [19:10] Ron Gaver: The accelerator, Ocean: what was your experience working with them? [19:14] Tim Sinclair: I had no idea what to expect, but I loved it. It's the nation's first and only—I think the world's first and only—faith-based accelerator, so not only do they focus on the product and the business and the customers and all those kinds of things, but they focus on the founders as people and who we are, why we do what we do, what we believe. What does it mean to be a creator and a founder? What does it mean to do things the right way and with the right heart? How does that impact your business? And that was fantastic for me. I really enjoyed the experience. It was kind of business boot camp and a chance to develop our pitch to investors, to actually pitch to a roomful of investors, and to make connections with all sorts of different people—legal and marketing and design. Literally, everything was opened up to us, and we just had to take advantage of what we needed for our business, and I really enjoyed the experience. [20:09] Ron Gaver: It sounds like you feel that they truly brought value into the process for you. [20:14] Tim Sinclair: They did. Certainly, the money they invested was nice. It wasn't gigantic, but it was helpful, but I think even without that, it proved to be a very valuable experience. Several of our key investors have come as a result of that. Several of our legal team have come as a result of being at Ocean. Our marketing and sales folks, who are just getting ramped up now, are from Cincinnati. I met several mentors [who are] from that area and came through the Ocean program. I can't say enough good stuff about what it did for us in getting started. [20:47] Ron Gaver: Did they really roll up their sleeves and jump in with you? [20:50] Tim Sinclair: Yeah, they did. You know early on, the first six weeks was really, “Okay, we're going to teach you what business is, what the startup life is like, what a venture-backed business has to do. We're going to work on refining your product, product market fit, testing, interacting with your customers or your future customers, design, how do you want to share yourself with the world, what kind of voice do you want to speak in.” Then things like, how do you set up a board, where do you go for investments, are you an LLC, are you a C corp? You know, we had to go through all that kind of stuff. Most of it was due to me—not all of it—but that was a really helpful base for me to stand on, and then once we got through that, it was, “Okay, let's make some decisions about the product, and let's figure out the story we want to tell investors about how they can play a part in what we're doing.” And so, the next six weeks were spent on putting the pitch together, refining that, and it sort of culminated last April with the chance to stand in front of about 1,500 people who were there for our demo day. Another 1,500 or so, I think, were watching online and really gave us the opportunity to share what we're doing with a bunch of people who cared and some of the people who had some money that they could potentially invest. [22:05] Ron Gaver: So, did the whole process with Ocean start in January and end with demo day in April? [22:11] Tim Sinclair: It actually ended in June. The last six weeks were kind of: “Okay, now that you've pitched and have talked with investors, now what? Do you need to pivot? Do you need to continue the course? Do you need to wrap up some deals with financing? How do you want to proceed from here?” It was a lot lighter workload at the accelerator, but, officially, we all graduated in late June. [22:33] Ron Gaver: That was their inaugural class? [22:34] Tim Sinclair: Correct. Yep, very first one. [22:37] Ron Gaver: Were they kind of feeling their way into it as well, and you guys were—for lack of a better term—“guinea pigs,” or do you feel like they were spot-on and hitting it on all cylinders? [22:49] Tim Sinclair: Yeah, I would say they were hitting on most cylinders, and we joked all the time that we're all startups, Ocean included. They were a startup, but they had a lot of their ducks in a row, and obviously, there are a few things that we could have done differently, and I'm sure they are with the class that just started. But Scott Weiss is leading the program. He's the former CEO of Evenflo, the baby product company. He's worked all over the world for some gigantic companies, and now, he's really devoting his life to investing in young entrepreneurs and some older ones, including myself. His heart is in the right place, his knowledge is unsurpassed, and they've done a fantastic job of collecting some great companies and watching them grow. [23:30] Ron Gaver: You said that Ocean is a faith-based accelerator. What does that mean exactly? You said that they focus on the person, the entrepreneur, and not just on the technical aspects of the business. What did they do? How did Ocean come about? [23:44] Tim Sinclair: It was formed, actually, at a church named Crossroads in Cincinnati—giant megachurch, 20-25,000 people—and they have a group that have been meeting for a number of years called “Unpolished,” which was just for entrepreneurs and start-ups and people who were interested in that kind of life, who either went to the church or were from the community—didn't really matter. They had two, three, four hundred people who met once a month and out of that group, four or five decided, “You know what, we could do something bigger than just meet and talk about it. Let's start an accelerator and see if we can do something a little different here.” And so, the church doesn't own or run Ocean, but it sort of sponsored and sanctioned this group to go out and start the accelerator. And there was no requirement whatsoever that you be of a certain faith or have any sort of certain experiences or beliefs. They just asked that you be willing to explore faith as a whole and how that related to you and how you run your business. In addition to classes that we had about business, once or twice a week we would meet for 45 minutes or an hour and discuss faith—how it had shaped us as people, how it was shaping our businesses, what we could learn from others, what we could learn from Jesus, what we could learn from the Creation story about how we do what we do, why we do what we do, and how that impacts the ultimate product and result. And I found it fascinating. I've spent a lot of my career in a faith kind of environment, and I by no means, have felt like I knew it all or had it all together. I was constantly learning from everybody there—fellow classmates and those who were there to help teach us and talk us through things. Nobody was shoving anything down anybody's throat. It was just, “Hey, let's explore this together and investigate,” and it was fantastic. [25:27] Ron Gaver: At the end of June, you completed the Ocean program. Where were you with RingR development then, and what have you done since? [25:34] Tim Sinclair: Yeah, we had really just sort of finished releasing the Android beta—iPhone beta had been out since January—and so we knew that we had to do some refinements and really get both of those apps to a place where we could charge for them. We still had this open beta, and we were listening and trying to find out as much as we could about the product and how it was being used and what was working and not working. But we also knew that we had to have the framework in place to handle the desktop piece, the conference calling piece, the ability to pay for subscriptions through iTunes or through Google Play or through our website, and put all that into place, so much of the second half of 2015 was trying to put all of that into one app—we called it 2.0—but it didn't really make a difference to anybody else other than us that we were trying to get all that done. In the meantime, we were having to do a little bit more fundraising and figure out how we were gonna ultimately sell and market what we were doing, start building some relationships with some larger enterprise-level clients, and moving on from there. And so, the second half of the year was really focused on that, and now that we're in 2016, as I mentioned, we're pulling back on the development just a little bit and really pushing forward on the sales and marketing. [26:43] Ron Gaver: So, your beta phase started in January of 2015. When did you come out of beta? [26:48] Tim Sinclair: I really just call it all of 2015. I think it was the second week of December we officially started charging for the premium version of RingR, but the bulk of last year was our beta. [26:59] Ron Gaver: And now, you're out of beta, and you're ramping development down and marketing up? [27:04] Tim Sinclair: Yeah, that's fair. We're obviously going to support what we're doing and continue to try to refine the products we have in addition to desktop and conference calling, which are coming soon, but beyond that, yeah, our focus is really to be on, “Okay, we're going to share this.” We've got an affiliate program that just started. We've got some content marketing through e-mail and a blog that's gonna come soon with some heavy hitters in the podcast and broadcast space providing content for us that we think's valuable to anybody, not just RingR users. And then obviously, we'll be exploring SEO and social media and some other places like that to really try to get the brand out there, and then the other (I guess) … 25% of that is going after the enterprise clients who can use us in larger environments, and we think the sum total of all that should be pretty successful. [27:49] Ron Gaver: You've got a great story about how things just fell into place. Many things happened at just the right time. You found the right developers. You found an angel investor and got money in less than a week. You quit your job and started with Ocean without missing a day of work. It's just a great story, but there must have been some difficulties along the way. What kind of difficult things did you have to overcome? What kind of bumps were in the road, perhaps bumps you never even imagined you would have to contend with? [28:19] Tim Sinclair: Yeah, we've hinted at some of them. I mean certainly, driving to Cincinnati with 88 cents in the bank account was a difficulty that I had to overcome mentally as much as anything, and just going: “This is the right thing and we're going to keep pushing forward, even though it seems like we don't have any resources to pull it off.” But from a more, I guess, tangible perspective, I've struggled at times with everything-takes-longer-than-it-takes-and-costs-more-than-it-costs, and that's no one's individual fault, but when you're reliant on Apple and their operating systems or Android and their operating systems, they make changes without telling anybody, and then they launch them. Then it's catch-up for everybody trying to figure out, “Oh what do we need to change within our app to make this function on the new OS?” We're not doing Angry Birds or Candy Crush here. This is a very sophisticated app that's doing multiple things in the background, and when one little thing changes, it could break the whole thing. And so that's been a frustration, to go: “Man, we just thought we put the finishing touches on this, and then there's a change that's caused a number of other issues for us that we've got to go in and fix.” And rather than spend time on development or creating something new, we're spending time fixing something that we didn't think we'd have to fix, and so that's been a sore spot for us. It's nobody's fault. It's how the whole system works, but it's certainly something that I didn't ever really think about. It's like once you create it and you create it right, it's done, right? Well, in this space, that's not necessarily the case. [29:41] Ron Gaver: Could we talk a little bit about the infrastructure that makes RingR work, the things going on behind the scenes? We've talked about the front-end, of course, being an iPhone or an Android phone and later on something on a desktop that allows somebody to connect by clicking a link, but what's doing the heavy lifting behind the scenes? [30:00] Tim Sinclair: We have some proprietary software that's having to do the merging of the audio once it gets to the Amazon servers that everything runs on. We have sets where the audio is merging. We have servers that are connecting the VoIP call. We've got servers that are doing backup copies of everybody's audio so that it lives there. We've got a number of things, sort of, running in the background that nobody sees, thankfully not even me most of the time. Not being the technical guy, I don't want to have to worry about that. But we've tried to set a very, very high level for security in terms of protecting audio and the ways people are able to access it. But we do have multiple systems running multiple servers. Again, they're all Amazon—they're AWSstuff, and that's where pretty much everything lives. [30:46] Ron Gaver: So, you've got everything running on Amazon web services. How is it scaling with you, and how easy is it to scale? [30:52] Tim Sinclair: Thankfully, it's pretty easy, and Kris and Dan have done a good job of working with Amazon and saying: “Okay we're going to pay for certain nodes that we know we have to have all the time, and then we're gonna reserve some at a much lesser cost so that when we do have high peak times—of a whole bunch of calls happening at the same time or being merged at the same time—that we can handle it without really any glitches.” So, you pay a lot less for the reservations of stuff you might use, and then when you use it, it's there for you to use, but if you're not, you're not paying for all the data. So, it's been fantastic, and we've really been thrilled with how that's worked so far. [We've] had zero glitches with them, which is great, and we don't see any reason to change that, for sure in the near future. [31:40] Ron Gaver: You seem to have a very high opinion of AWS. [31:42] Tim Sinclair: Absolutely. [31:43] Ron Gaver: And you have found them very easy to work with? [31:46] Tim Sinclair: We have. They've been great. In fact, for a lot of startups that are involved with accelerators specifically, Amazon has a program that they offer through the accelerators, which would give you a couple of years, and about (I think it's) $10,000 in credit to use their stuff. And of course, they're hoping that once you do, it'll be too much of a pain to change, and you'll just stay with them and start paying them, which is clearly what we're going to do, so it worked. But certainly, in the early days of a startup, to be able to save a whole bunch of money on server cost is huge, and so through the end of 2016, we still won't have incurred really any costs from Amazon, and they provide tech support, and we've had a few little things here and there we've had to pay for, but in general, the actual usage of their servers hasn't cost us anything yet, and that's, of course, been really helpful. [32:31] Ron Gaver: What's the name of the program that allows you to do that with Amazon? [32:34] Tim Sinclair: You know, I wish I had that in front of me, and I'm sure there is a name for it, but it was offered through the accelerator we were with, and so I believe that to have access to that you have to be part of an accelerator program in order to get it. [32:49] Ron Gaver: Alright. As far as their customer service and the ability to call them up and get advice or to work with them to debug a system—you probably didn't do that as much as the other guys did, but you've certainly heard anecdotally how that's gone. Have the experiences been good for them? I'm assuming they have been since you have such a high opinion of AWS. [33:09] Tim Sinclair: Yeah, I do, and I take a lot of that energy and conviction from my guys who do have to deal with them on a regular basis. Thankfully, we haven't had a whole lot, certainly negative, that we've had to go to them about. So it's just been, “Hey, how do we better configure this? Can we do X, Y, or Z?” And they've been helpful every time. [33:25] Ron Gaver: You, as the CEO, have to wear multiple hats. What are the hats that you have to wear, what do you like doing most, and what do you like doing least? [33:33] Tim Sinclair: Well it started out, any startup is about dreaming and innovation and design and creation, and that's really my wheelhouse. It always has been, and so that phase was a blast for me. Whether it was the idea that was rolling around my head for those couple of years or once we even hit the ground running, all the meetings were, “How can we create something that people are going to love?” And then all of a sudden, you launch a product, and thankfully, we were well-received, and a lot of people were trying us out, and I realized, literally within an hour after launching on the App Store, “Oh no, we have to support this. You know, people are gonna have questions or comments or concerns or criticism or whatever, and we have to not only just dream and design, but now we have to support what it is we've designed.” And so that felt like I was going from one full-time job to two, and then at the end of 2015, when we actually launched the paid model, it was that realization all over again. It's like, “Ah, we're designing and supporting, and now we have to sell it.” Because there's something to sell. Before, people were just using it for free, and now there is a part of this that needs to be sold. Certainly, our investors like to see when we actually have money coming through the doors, and so we've got to sell this thing, too. And for me, I love the design and dreaming phase. The selling would probably be a somewhat distant second, and the support would definitely be third. I say that with an asterisk, though, because I've really tried to challenge myself to go, “I think this support and sales thing kinda goes hand-in-hand. I want to leave every person who contacts us with a really positive experience.” And I've tried to kind of make it my mission to overwhelm them with generosity or support or friendliness, or put my phone number out there and try to respond to people at midnight if an e-mail comes through and none of my other guys are able to get it. I'll respond. I'll try to help. I mean, I know what it's like. I've been a broadcaster who always wants a good product, and if something doesn't work, that's really frustrating and can make me look bad. And so I feel like I can feel what many of our users feel when they're having a frustration or a problem. And so, I try to use that to market because when you treat people beyond what they expect, they tend to share that with friends and family, and I'd much rather have podcasters or broadcasters who love us be sharing RingR rather than me trying to beat down bushes and beat our own drum and say, “Hey, look how great we are.” It's way better if other people do that for us. [35:57] Ron Gaver: When you realized that you had to go into the support mode, what was your instant support team? Was it just the four of you again? [36:04] Tim Sinclair: Yeah, it really was. It was kind of an all-hands-on-deck. Whoever got to it first [would] respond and do their best to help, and then if we had to bring other people in, we could certainly do that. But there's nothing automated at the moment. I think that's pretty obviously what it is, and I would rather have someone, 15 minutes after they send an e-mail, get something back from me or Chad or whoever that says, “Hey, got your request; we're on it, and we'll be back to you real soon,” rather than have it sit there for 24 hours, and then someone respond at that point. When it comes through, we try to get to it as soon as we can, and that'll have to change as we grow. I understand that, but right now we're a small operation. We want to seem as if we're a big operation but function as if we're a small one. [36:47] Ron Gaver: There's a lot to be said for the user's experience when the user calls support, gets one of the developers on the line, and the developer knows exactly what's going on down in the intricate details and isn't somebody who's just taking a trouble ticket, logging it in, and letting them know that somebody from level two will get back to them. [37:05] Tim Sinclair: Yeah, absolutely. I remember, probably 5 to 7 years ago, I was using a site to store some audio for my radio show and had a question or a comment, and I sent an e-mail to the company saying, “Hey, here's a thought.” And later that day, I got an e-mail back from the CEO. Now, he may have been their only employee. I don't know how big they were. They weren't very big; I do know that. That had an impact on me. I went, “He took time to send me a note and respond to my question and say, ‘Hey, that's a great idea. We'll look into that.'” And I've tried to take queues from his generosity with his time and put that into RingR and go, “I hope when one of us sends an e-mail back or responds to a phone call or whatever, we can somehow leave our user with an idea that, “They care. Not only are they the ones who can fix the problem and fix it quickly, but they care about me, they know what I'm going through, and they're willing to do whatever they can to help.” [37:58] Ron Gaver: So, now you're transitioning into the third job you described, which is salesman, marketer, chief marketing officer, or whatever you want to call it. What do you see as the big challenges ahead of you as you now try to get the business up and running and expand your user base? [38:14] Tim Sinclair: Yeah, I think the big challenge was finding the right person or team to bring on who were experienced in doing this kind of thing—and scaling startups—to find the resources to do that because, you know, we don't have all the money in the world to throw at big-name person or big-name firm or big-name team to come on and work with a little startup. I think that that hire, that decision, is probably one of the biggest ones—at least to date—that I've made, and thanks to our time in Cincinnati, we came across one person specifically and her team who has done this very successfully for a number of startups and even larger companies. So for us, it's really, “Is this the right hire?” And I believe it to be, but we'll find out. And then what is the plan? We're gonna do a lot of testing of various ways of sharing what we do, seeing what the response is, and then building a plan based on that response. And so we have to find where our audience is, what motivates them—to not only sign up but eventually become a premium user—and causes them to fall in love with us and then share us with their friends and their audiences. And thankfully, our audience is mainly podcasters and broadcasters who talk to other podcasters and broadcasters, and so we're excited about our affiliate program and allowing people to share us and make a little money in the process, but that's gonna be a long, arduous 4-to-6 months to find out what's working and what's not, and then developing a plan from there on out to move forward. [39:44] Ron Gaver: You're also fortunate that podcasters and broadcasters just like to talk. [39:48] Tim Sinclair: It's true. It's a very good thing for us. [39:50] Ron Gaver: So, you found a marketing partner. Is it safe to say it's a marketing team—this hire that you made? [39:56] Tim Sinclair: It is. They're pouring a ton of time into us, and they've been willing to help in exchange for some equity and not a whole lot of money because they believe in us, and time and time again, we found that, from our tech team to some of our legal team, to our IP and patent strategy team, and now sales and marketing, to go, “You know what? We think this idea is a good one. We believe it's going somewhere, and we're willing to put our expertise in for less than we might normally because we think there's a return on the other side.” [40:28] Ron Gaver: Alright. So, you've got a certain amount of dilution going on from taking on extra partners, but you still have a good feeling about what you've managed to retain? [40:36] Tim Sinclair: Absolutely. Yeah, I'm a solo founder, for one thing, so that's helpful for me, personally, and while I am concerned about the percentage I have, to me it's just like fundraising. Yes, it's being diluted, but to go out and raise the same amount of money, it's the same difference, so whether I raise a million dollars and then spend that on a whole bunch of employees, or whether I have those employees go, “We know you don't have the cash right now, but we're willing to put in x-number of dollars' worth of work,” and it all adds up to a million dollars. It's no different. And so, the work has to get done one way or the other, and I like having people working for me, and working with me, who have some skin in the game, and who know that their work isn't just a paycheck. It isn't just money that's being deposited at the first of the month. It's long-term investment, and it's a chance for them to really be a part of something significant and part of something big, and their work and their results directly affect their ultimate pay because it's tied to our equity and not only to a paycheck. [41:41] Ron Gaver: It certainly makes for a more motivated team. [41:44] Tim Sinclair: Correct. [41:45] Ron Gaver: As we start to wrap this up, is there anything, perhaps, that you would like to discuss that I haven't brought up yet? Maybe a question you wish I had asked? [41:53] Tim Sinclair: No, you've been very thorough, and I appreciate that. I think, certainly, just sharing how to get in touch with us and how to get a hold of our products would be important, but beyond that, I think we've hit the highs and lows for the most part of the story. [42:05] Ron Gaver: Alright, so how do we get in touch with you? [42:07] Tim Sinclair: The website is probably the first place to go. That's ringr.com, R-i-n-g-R dot com, no E in RingR. You can download the app for free for your iPhone, iPad, or Android device through the App Store or Google Play, and we are on Twitter and Facebook. Our Twitter handle is just RingR_US. [42:27] Ron Gaver: And on Facebook? [42:29] Tim Sinclair: Facebook, just search RingR, and you will find us. I believe it's/ringrapp, Facebook/ringrapp, if you're looking for the actual address, but searching RingR should do it too. [42:38] Ron Gaver: And I'll put the links to all of those in the show notes and make sure that everyone has ready access to those as well. In conclusion, I'm always curious how people have grown and developed throughout their careers and lives. Is there anything you can think of that has had a profound impact on you that you could recommend to someone? Something that they could take away and say, “You know, maybe I'll check that out and see if it works for me?” It could be a book, a person, a conference, just about anything. [43:06] Tim Sinclair: Yeah, there's a book I've mentioned to several others called Love Does. It's by a guy by the name of Bob Goff, and it's not a business book at all, but it's simply the story of how Bob loves other people in extraordinary ways, and ways that culture and society have told us aren't reasonable, aren't okay, aren't whatever, but they're remarkable. And I've really tried to take to heart a lot of what he says in there with our customers and say: “I want to be remarkable. I want to be different. I want to, if not love, certainly care for and care about them in ways that they don't expect.” Because when something happens, surprise, I believe, is the key to most every emotion. Great horror movies are great because of suspense and surprise. Great comedians—it's all about timing and saying something at a time that nobody expected. They don't see it coming. They're surprised and—boom—all of a sudden they're laughing out loud because they didn't see that coming. And for us—I think—when we surprise a customer, a user, with a great experience or with something that we say or that we do, not only is it a good feeling for them and a good experience for them (and it endears them to RingR), but it's something they're more likely to share with other people, and like I said earlier, that's going to be our best marketing ever. And so, that's why I love looking at Twitter and finding people who are not talking to us but talking to their friends about us. “And man, just found this! This is awesome!” or “Just recorded my first RingR interview—sounds unbelievable! How do they do that?” Those kinds of things we want to continue to increase, and whether that's an interaction with me or our team or just an interaction with the product, we want to consistently leave people surprised and feeling like they've gotten more than they've bargained for; it's the under-promise, over-deliver idea. And that book, Love Does, really was a great encouragement to me on the kind of impact that could have in a life. [45:05] Ron Gaver: That's a good one: just to surprise people. I think that's an excellent recommendation. Alright, Tim. Thank you very much for the interview. Thank you for your time. I appreciate it very much. [45:14] Tim Sinclair: Oh my pleasure, Ron. It's good to be with you, and if we can ever do it again, please let me know. If ever I can do anything to help, I'm happy to do so for you and everybody else. Tim@ringr.com is my e-mail address if you want to e-mail me directly. [45:40] Ron Gaver: Thanks for listening to the SaaS Business podcast. I would like to remind you of a few things. Please don't forget about the resources available to you on the website. Sign up there to receive your free download and updates, and go to saasbusinesspodcast.com followed by a forward slash and the episode number to find the episode show notes. Finally, please leave a five-star rating on iTunes, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts if you find this podcast to be valuable. This has been episode 15 of the SaaS Business Podcast, an interview with Tim Sinclair. Thank you again for listening. *Disclosure: Some of the links on this page may be affiliate links. I may earn a commission if you purchase through these links. These commissions help to cover the cost of producing the podcast. I am affiliated only with companies I know and trust to deliver what you need. In most cases, affiliate links are to products and services I currently use or have used in the past. I would not recommend these resources if I did not sincerely believe that they would help you. I value you as a visitor/customer far more than any small commission I might earn from recommending a product or service. I recommend many more resources with which I am not affiliated than affiliated. In most cases where there is an affiliation, I will note it, but affiliations come and go, and the notes may not keep up.
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I’m talking today with Tim from ringer. Ringr is one of the first apps available to do recordings native from each side of a distance conversation, but until now it’s only been available as a smart phone or smart device app. But no more. Ringr is now available in a desktop version, which is very […]
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Today, I chat with Tim Sinclair CEO of RINGR . Tim has solved an age old problem that excites the hell out of me. Listen to find out!
The interview with Tim Sinclair was recorded on February 4, with the Ringr app. Tim Sinclair's bio.: “Tim is the CEO of RINGR and an 18-year, award-winning radio veteran and voiceover artist. He has also spoken at numerous industry events throughout the United States and is the public announcer for the University of Illinois and the Chicago Fire.” Show notes will come later... when I have created a new Amazon affiliate account, so I can link to Tim's favorite book and gadget. [Editor's note: This interview is divided into two parts due to a technical problem with my iPad. I have to learn how to use TwistedWave... ;) More about this issue in a future solo show episode of my podcast. ^ML]
The interview with Tim Sinclair was recorded on February 4, with the Ringr app. Tim Sinclair's bio.: “Tim is the CEO of RINGR and an 18-year, award-winning radio veteran and voiceover artist. He has also spoken at numerous industry events throughout the United States and is the public announcer for the University of Illinois and the Chicago Fire.” Show notes will come later... when I have created a new Amazon affiliate account, so I can link to Tim's favorite book and gadget. [Editor's note: This interview is divided into two parts due to a technical problem with my iPad. I have to learn how to TwistedWave... ;) More about this issue in a future solo show episode of my podcast. ^ML]
The interview with Tim Sinclair was recorded on February 4, with the Ringr app. Tim Sinclair's bio.: “Tim is the CEO of RINGR and an 18-year, award-winning radio veteran and voiceover artist. He has also spoken at numerous industry events throughout the United States and is the public announcer for the University of Illinois and the Chicago Fire” Show notes will come later... [Editor's note: This interview is divided into two parts due to a technical problem with my iPad. More about this issue in a future solo show episode of my podcast. ^ML]
The interview with Tim Sinclair was recorded on February 4, with the Ringr app. Tim Sinclair's bio.: “Tim is the CEO of RINGR and an 18-year, award-winning radio veteran and voiceover artist. He has also spoken at numerous industry events throughout the United States and is the public announcer for the University of Illinois and the Chicago Fire” Show notes will come later... [Editor's note: This interview is divided into two parts due to a technical problem with my iPad. More about this issue in a future solo show episode of my podcast. ^ML]
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Tim worked in radio for 18 years, but he is now the CEO of RINGR, a platform that allows users to connect with anyone, anywhere in the world, record the conversation, and have it sound like the two parties were in the same room at the same time.
Tim joins us from a very special event not yet reveled in this post but inside the interview itself and this is the first time EATT Magazine has used this technology during this call as a live test. Ringer has gained recognition from such companies as: Serra Ventures, who work closely to provide professional advisory services and entrepreneurial capital to emerging enterprises in the Central Illinois area and other selected geographies. The Champaign County Economic Development Corporation whose mission is through public-private partnerships to continually grow the local economy by supporting local business and driving expansion and attraction. The app that lets you connect with virtually anyone on the planet, record your conversation, and instantly download it for editing, playback, and sharing. And the best part? The sound quality is amazing! In fact, unless you share your secret, no one will know the two of you weren't sitting right next to each other having a face-to-face chat. Description RINGR lets you connect with virtually anyone on the planet, record your conversation, and instantly download it for editing, playback, and sharing. And the best part? The sound quality is amazing! In fact, unless you share your secret, no one will know the two of you weren't sitting right next to each other having a face-to-face chat. We hope you'll share your feedback with us. What do you like? Not like? What features would you like to see from RINGR in the future? Our next release will feature many of the suggestions we receive from you over the next few months. CURRENT FEATURES Record interviews and conversations at amazingly high quality, no studio required. Stereo, split-track downloads. In-app scheduling of future interviews. Receive an MP3 download of your call within minutes. FUTURE FEATURES Address book implementation External microphone compatibility Notification alerts "Smart" processing Conference calling Use RINGR to record podcasts, radio or job interviews, and other conversations worthy of saving and/or sharing. Each recording sounds like you both are in the same room, even if you're on opposite sides of the country…or the world! Download the app today http://www.ringr.us/
Tim Sinclair is the inventor of RINGR. He is also the public address announcer for the Chicago Fire and the University of Illinois. Prior to RINGR, recording interviews from two different places sounded terrible. Every interview had a phone quality and as a listener, you either turned it way up or off. RINGR is a...43.Create Perfect Recordings with Just a Phone-Tim Sinclair was first posted on July 19, 2015 at 7:00 pm.©2015 "Income For Baby Boomers". Use of this feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this article in your feed reader, then the site is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact me at kensproperties@hotmail.com
Visit EOFire.com for complete show notes of every Podcast episode. Tim worked in radio for 18 years, but he is now the CEO of RINGR, a platform that allows users to connect with anyone, anywhere in the world, record the conversation, and have it sound like the two parties were in the same room at the same time.
This week on Me and the Geek, Joel pulls back the curtain to show “how the sausage is made” by talking to the CEO of Ringr, Tim Sinclair. Like Joel, Tim's background in Radio led him to be a bit of an audio snob for podcasts. But Tim found a solution for his, Joel's and maybe your problem with the Ringr app available now for iPhone and Android devices. Find more info at Ringr.us Find more great podcasts at TeamProCreate.com and follow Me and the Geek on Facebook or Twitter @MeandtheGeek
Erica Peitler on School for StartUps Radio: Breakthrough Performance & Productivity Leading Yourself, Teams, Organizations Podcast Erica Peitler is a dynamic thought leader who designs “Leadership Journey’s” that facilitate leadership development. Erica brings her operational, strategic and team based organizational leadership experiences to accelerate action learning that can be “applied on the ground and in […]
Erica Peitler on School for StartUps Radio: Breakthrough Performance & Productivity Leading Yourself, Teams, Organizations Podcast Erica Peitler is a dynamic thought leader who designs “Leadership Journey’s” that facilitate leadership development. Erica brings her operational, strategic and team based organizational leadership experiences to accelerate action learning that can be “applied on the ground and in […] The post Leadership Rigor Erica Peitler, Manhood Chris Cannon & Tim Sinclair’s Ringr first appeared on Erica Peitler & Associates, Inc.
In this edition of the Book Talk podcast Ryan Van Winkle interviews Kirsty Logan about her debut collection of short stories, discusses parkour with novelist and poet Tim Sinclair and imagines the Scotland of the future with sci-fi author Ken MacLeod.The Rental Heart and Other Fairytales is the debut short story collection from former New Writers Award recipient Kirsty Logan. Written over the course of five years, the stories are set in locations as diverse as 1920s New Orleans, the Australian Outback and Paris.Kirsty reads her moving short story The Light Eater and discusses how writing helped her to process difficult emotions.Australian novelist and poet Tim Sinclair talks about his latest young adult novel, Run. Written in concrete poetry, where words function both linguistically and visually, the book explores the world of parkour, where participants “move through the urban environment in a way that doesn't allow for boundaries”. But when ego gets involved, trouble quickly follows.Finally, acclaimed sci-fi writer Ken MacLeod discusses his new book about “flying saucers, hidden races and Antonio Gramsci's theory of passive revolution”. Descent follows the teens and twenties of an ordinary Greenock man whose bad behaviour is blamed on a possible alien encounter.Moving from science fiction to science fact, Ken also explains his involvement with Hope Beyond Hype, a comic book he wrote in collaboration with OptiStem, an EU-funded stem cell research project. It was downloaded over 100 000 in times in the first few days following release - listen now to discover how the book was developed.Podcast contents00:00-00:53 Introduction00:53-09:20 Kirsty Logan interview09:20-16:30 Tim Sinclair Interview16:30-30.00 Ken MacLeod interview
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