We discussed a few things including:

1. Jason and JP's career journeys  

2. How Jason founded Swear

3. JP's assessment of media and misinformation landscape

4. How to protect against misinformation and deepfakes

5. Tech trends, opportunities + forecasts

Jason Crawforth, founder of Swear.com, has been building technology companies for over 25 years. Jason has a track record of success and has been awarded multiple times by Inc Magazine as running one of the fastest growing private technology companies in America.  

Jason and his teams have designed, built, deployed, and managed hundreds of information technology systems for Fortune 100 companies as well as a pioneer in the mobile app space with over 30 million downloads of his solutions.

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Joao-Pierre S. Ruth covers tech policy, including ethics, privacy, legislation, and risk; fintech; code strategy; and cloud & edge computing for InformationWeek. He has been a journalist for more than 25 years, reporting on business and technology first in New Jersey, then covering the New York tech startup community, and later as a freelancer for such outlets as TheStreet, Investopedia, and Street Fight.

#podcast #AFewThingsPodcast

We discussed a few things including:

1. Gary's legal, corporate and entrepreneurial journeys

2. Techstars vision

3. Tips for entrepreneurs

4. State of the funding and accelerator markets

5. Future trends  
 

Gary is the Managing Director of the Techstars New York City Accelerator powered by J.P. Morgan. Born in Jamaica, he grew up in the Bronx, where he attended the Bronx High School of Science before attending Yale College and Yale Law School.  

He is a VC-backed, exited serial entrepreneur; an early-stage investor that managed a $1.6 billion start-up portfolio; a professor who has taught entrepreneurship at Yale Law School and IE Business School in Madrid, and been invited to speak at Cambridge, Oxford, Stanford and INSEAD; and a former contributor to Forbes Magazine.  

As someone who has seen firsthand that talent is distributed evenly but opportunity is not, he is passionate about ensuring that underrepresented and overlooked founders get access to the social and financial capital that they need and deserve.  

As an investor, he is particularly interested in companies that aim to change the world with a specific focus on healthcare, health and beauty, edtech and financial inclusion.

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We discussed a few things including:

1. Atul's corporate and entrepreneurial journey

2. Kitchen United's story

3. Industry challenges and opportunities - ghost/dark kitchens

4. Insights/trends relating to retail, food and delivery

5. Lessons learned - importance of relationships/friendships

Atul was previously the  Chief Business Officer of Kitchen United. Previously, he was most Director of Global Business Development for McDonald’s Digital, a business unit formed to help spur technological innovation across the restaurant. In this capacity, Atul forged partnerships across the technology ecosystem – ranging from payment platforms to voice activated ordering to food delivery initiatives – to help McDonald’s build the ‘restaurant of the future’.

Prior to this role, Atul founded and sold a big data start-up in the sales intelligence space. He has also been the turnaround CEO of a company in the Knowledge Process Outsourcing industry, led business development for an enterprise software company, and been an investment banker focused on what was, at the time, a burgeoning e-commerce ecosystem. Across all these roles, Atul has been driven by a desire to hasten the adoption of new technologies and processes for disruptive business growth.

As someone who doesn’t cook (he’s cooked fewer than 5 meals all year), Atul is a firm believer in the growing market in food delivery.

Atul spent much of his life internationally and has lived in 8 countries including Japan, the UK, and Saudi Arabia. Atul graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania.

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We discussed a few things including:

1. Their career journeys  

2. How James founded AI for Good

3. Lacey's unique path to social entrepreneurship

4. TechAid Vision

5. AI trends, opportunities + forecasts

As CEO of the AI for Good Foundation, James Hodson is responsible for building economic and community resilience through technology. Since 2015, the AI for Good Foundation has worked with national and municipal governments, the UN, OECD, and many others to design, develop, and deploy tech-enabled policies/solutions for social, economic, and institutional transformation.  

AI for Good works extensively in Ukraine with more than 40 staff on the ground and strategic partnerships with Ukraine's Presidential Administration, Ministry for Digital Transformation, Ministry of Culture, and every regional government, providing sanctions recommendations, infrastructure resilience, deployed technology expertise, and real-time aid intermediation for regions covering more than 8M civilians.  

Hodson completed doctoral studies in Artificial Intelligence as a Marie Curie Fellow at the Jozef Stefan Institute in Slovenia, holds undergraduate degrees in Computer Science and Philosophy from Princeton University, and previously founded and led the AI Research Group at Bloomberg in New York from 2012-2015. His academic work spans complex network analysis, natural language processing, labour economics, corporate finance, and accounting, as well as holding multiple AI patents and being an active angel investor in the "tech for good" space.

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Lacey is the CEO and Co-Founder of TechAid, an application that enables a data-driven approach to humanitarian aid, reconstruction and local economic resilience. 

 Lacey believes dignified access to proper nutrition, medicine, hygiene and shelter are fundamental human rights for families everywhere, that should not be dictated by the arbitrary nature of one's birthplace or gender. She is passionate about the potential of combining existing technologies to facilitate the connection of food supply with demand, and turning the tide of the escalating global hunger crisis.  

Previously, Lacey led Finance and Strategy as a Co-Founder at Proxi.co, a Techstars ‘21 interactive mapping software startup that she joined after 5 years at Amazon as a Principal Product Manager and Finance Manager leading multinational teams in Customer Loyalty, Operations, WW Prime and Hardlines. Her other work in the private sector includes Category Finance at Starbucks, leading Espresso & Brewed North America, as well as working her way up from a rotational Financial Analyst to Vice President/Relationship Manager during the first eight years of her career at Wells Fargo, where her lending experience spanned verticals including: SaaS, hospitality, gaming, restaurants, healthcare and commercial real estate.  

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We discussed a few things including:

1. Their career journeys  

2. How Jim landed in an investing career

3. Nina's unique path to entrepreneurship

4. State of investing landscape/outlook

5. Trends, opportunities in biotech and ecosystem

Jim Gunton has invested in privately-held growth technology companies for more than 20 years. Before co-founding in 2001 the $80 million NJTC Venture Fund, Jim was a partner at Edison Venture Fund and a manager at Oracle Corporation in the Silicon Valley. He served formerly as a Governor of the National Association of Small Business Investment Companies (NASBIC).

Jim earned a BS from Stanford University and an MBA with distinction from Duke University. He has served on the board of numerous private and public companies including Achieve3000, Amber Road (NYSE: AMBR), CytoSorbents (NASDAQ: CTSO), InstaMed, IntegriChain and CareGain.

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Nina Tandon is the co-founder and CEO of EpiBone, a biotech company that grows bone and cartilage for skeletal reconstruction. With decades of experience as a scientist and entrepreneur, Nina is known for her TED Talks, has published in Forbes magazine, and was featured on the Netflix series “Human: The World Within.”  

Recognized for her accomplishments as a female scientist and entrepreneur, Nina was named one of the 100 Most Creative People in Business by Fast Company Magazine; an Ernst & Young Winning Woman; and Goldman Sachs’ 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs, among other awards. Nina holds a master’s in Bioelectrical Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and two advanced degrees from Columbia University – an MBA and a PhD in Biomedical Engineering.

#podcast #AFewThingsPodcast

Yat Siu moved to Hong Kong in 1996, where he set up Hong Kong Cybercity, the first free web page and email provider in Asia. In 1997 Yat joined AT&T Solutions' System Integration practice, but left in 1998 to set up Outblaze, which developed innovative web-based multilingual white label communication and collaboration services.

Yat Siu's steady leadership and vision steered Outblaze through the Dotcom Bubble and several subsequent crises. Outblaze became a world leader in white label hosted web services, winning numerous awards and accolades. With over 75 million end-users under management, Outblaze secured clients and partners from all over the world and business sectors, including service providers, telecommunications operators, corporations, academia, media and publishing companies.

In April 2009, Outblaze messaging assets were sold to IBM and incorporated in IBM's LotusLive suite of services. IBM also used the Outblaze assets to open its first cloud computing laboratory in Hong Kong. The transaction established beyond doubt that -like banking and finance services- Hong Kong's local information technology can compete on a global scale.

Yat Siu was called World Economic Forum Global Leader of Tomorrow and a Young Global Leader of Tomorrow. He has also been awarded for his contributions in business and society: Standard Chartered Platinum Achievers Award, the URENCO Innovation Award, and, for the execution of his vision at Outblaze, the IT Excellence Product Award, Linux Business Adoption Award 2003 and the Asia Pacific Information & Communication Technologies Award 2003. Most recently he won the Young Entrepeneur Award from the Hong Kong Business Awards 2009.

We discussed a few things including:

1. Their DEI and entrepreneurial journeys  

2. Lessons learned

3. Randal's insights on data and diversity + new book

4. Gina's experience in the nonprofit, arts world  

5. Trends, opportunities and challenges in diversity space
 

Dr. Randal Pinkett, author of DATA-DRIVEN DEI, is an entrepreneur, innovator, and DEI expert. He is the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of BCT Partners, a global research, training, and data analytics firm whose mission is to provide insights about diverse people that lead to equity.

An international public speaker, Dr. Pinkett is the author or co-author of Black Faces in High Places, Black Faces in White Places, Campus CEO, and No-Money Down CEO. He holds a B.S. in electrical engineering from Rutgers University; an M.S. in computer science from the University of Oxford; and an M.S in electrical engineering, plus an MBA and Ph.D. from MIT.  

The first African American to receive a Rhodes Scholarship at Rutgers University, he was inducted into the Academic All-America Hall of Fame as a high jumper, long jumper, sprinter, and captain of the Rutgers men’s track and field team. Dr. Pinkett was also the Season 4 winner of the reality television show, The Apprentice.

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Gina Pisasale (she/her) is a dramaturg, educator, and Director of Equity and Organizational Culture, a newly created position, at McCarter. She has been engaged in formal EDI work within American theater institutions for almost 20 years, and is an alum of TCG's EDI Institute and artEquity's National Facilitator Training program. As an EDI Facilitator, she has designed and implemented trainings and workshops at People’s Light, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, West Chester University, and Drexel University.

Previously, she was the Resident Dramaturg at People’s Light, which involved facilitating the company's EDI work and practices of inclusive making. As a freelance dramaturg, she has worked with companies such as the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, GoKash Productions, PlayPenn, Arden Theatre Company, Harrisburg Shakespeare Festival, and A&E Biographies. She is an occasional Senior Lecturer at University of the Arts and her areas of research include Asian American theater and performance, Korean diasporic performance, American dramaturgy, and representations of race within the American Theatre.

She has presented her research and organized panels at numerous conferences including IFTR in Seoul, South Korea, LMDA, ASTR, AAA, PTRS, and CAATA and has given lectures at Villanova University, the University of Maryland, and Temple University. She received a BA from the Univ of Richmond, an MA from Villanova Univ, and is ABD PhD at the Univ of Maryland.

#DEI #diversity #culture #talent

#podcast #AFewThingsPodcast

We discussed a few things including:

1. Stacey's corporate and entrepreneurial journeys

2. Lessons learned

3. Branding and Social Media

4. College and career guidance 

5. Importance of Empathy

In the world of branding, few experts possess the savvy and instinct of Stacey Ross Cohen. An award-winning brand professional who earned her stripes on Madison Avenue and at major television networks before launching her own agency, Stacey specializes in finding, cultivating, and perfecting brands.  

She is CEO and founder of Co-Communications, a PR, marketing, and design agency headquartered in New York. Since 1998, Stacey has coached individuals and businesses in various industries — from real estate to healthcare to education — and expertly positions their narratives in fiercely competitive markets.  

Stacey is extremely passionate about helping college-bound students develop and activate their personal brands to become tomorrow’s leaders. A staple at industry conferences, Stacey recently made her debut on the TEDx stage.  

She is a contributor at HuffPost, Thrive Global, and Entrepreneur magazine and is frequently featured in national media. She holds an MBA from Fordham University and a Media, Technology, and Entertainment certificate from NYU Leonard N. Stern School of Business.

#branding

#podcast #AFewThingsPodcast

We discussed a few things including:

1. Claudette's and Alex's corporate and entrepreneurial journeys

2. Lessons learned

3. Claudette's startup and the cyber landscape/talent

4. Alex's venture and state of tech talent

5. Trends, opportunities and challenges in cyber/talent

Claudette is a global information technology leader with more than 20 years of success leading digital transformations, optimizing infrastructure and designing new approaches that improve service and cybersecurity experiences. She has worked in the technology industry for several organizations such as Deloitte, Metropolitan Police Services, North York General Hospital, Bank of Montreal and TD Bank.

At BMO, Claudette served as the Chief Information Officer, Enterprise Technology Employee Experience, and at TD she was the Global Executive Officer for Protect Fusion & Cyber Experience.

Claudette is an active member of the Canadian innovation ecosystem. She is the Founder of the Black Arts & Innovation Expo, and the Chair of the Coalition of Innovation Leaders Against Racism (CILAR), a group of senior business leaders committed to fighting systemic racism within the innovation economy. McGowan recently co-led the launch of Phoenix Fire & The Firehood, a multi-million dollar women-focused angel fund and network for women in technology.

Her commitment to community is evidenced by her multiple board/council appointments for leading organizations such as SickKids Hospital Foundation, CILAR, Elevate Technology Festival, Women in the Economy Task Force, and the U.S. Consul General of Toronto U.S. & Canada Innovation Council.

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Alex is a patented inventor and has raised $1.2 million dollars for his startup Vipeline. Prior to that he refined the marketing program and raised DX Agency’s revenue by 30% in one year.

Previously, he increased Hot Sauce's total revenue by 500% over his tenure. He is an experienced manager of buyer and marketing teams for more than 30 years.

#talent #cyber

#podcast #AFewThingsPodcast

We discussed a few things including:

1. Len and Bud's professional and entrepreneurial journeys

2. Family businesses, the opportunities and challenges

3. Family business dynamics: favoritism, spouses/in-laws, non-family mgmt/outsiders, death

4. Outlook and trends in business and how they might affect family businesses

Leonard C. Green is a CPA, MBA, and Entrepreneur. Len is founder of The Green Group, which is a provider of Tax, Accounting, and Consulting Services.

Len is also involved in 14 businesses in diverse markets. He is one of the original investors of the NASDAQ publicly traded Blue Buffalo pet food company, the fifth largest company in the United States in this category. In addition, his involvement includes a financial services firm, real estate, thoroughbred horses, sports, a couple of publicly traded businesses, and several charities. Len also sits on the Board of Directors for a number of companies and foundations.

In the past 20 years, Len has taught two of the most highly rated entrepreneurial courses at Babson College - one structured similar to Donald Trump's Apprentice TV series, and the other a family business/social entrepreneurship business course. His classes have been featured on CNBC Squawk Box and ABC TV.

His featured articles on family business succession planning, company evaluations, structuring organizations, and maximizing tax deductions have appeared in over 200 newspapers across the country including the Wall Street Journal, New York Post, Star-Ledger, Boston Globe, Entrepreneur Magazine, INC Magazine, Forbes, and the CEO Forum.

Len's best-selling book “The Entrepreneurial Playbook” has been translated in Chinese and Arabic.

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Bernard J. D’Avella, Jr. ('Bud') is an experienced attorney and mediator who has advised or led family businesses for his entire professional life. From age 12, Mr. D’Avella worked in his father’s pharmacy, which he went on to help manage in his late teen years.  

He relied heavily on that family business experience to become one of the most respected thought leaders in the area of family business and estate planning law, where he has focused his advisory practice for over 45 years.  

From 1973 to 1998, Mr. D’Avella represented family businesses and was the managing partner for 11 years at Hannoch Weisman, the second largest law firm in New Jersey. From 1998 - 2011, Mr. D’Avella combined his lifetime of legal and family business experience as President and Chief Operating Officer of Prudent Publishing Company, a mid-eight figure family-owned business based near his home in northern New Jersey.  

Bud is an author and conference speaker on topics pertaining to family business, and is a sought-after consultant and advisor to family businesses.

#familybusiness  

#podcat #AFewThingsPodcast