Before It Happened

Over the last couple of decades, humanity has experienced a tremendous rate of disruption. How can we understand and adapt to the ever-changing world we live in? In this episode of Before IT Happened, Donna talks to Eric Pilon-Bignell, an engineer and author whose ideas are revolutionizing both the present and the future. Eric, an expert on change and how we respond to it, is the author of the book Surfing Rogue Waves, a doctoral thesis turned into a best-selling manuscript on adapting to the waves of change and learning to surf through disruption. Listen now to hear about what keeps this thought-leader up at night. 

Before any world-changing innovation, there was a moment, an event, a realization that sparked the idea before it happened. This is a podcast about that moment — about that idea. Before IT Happened takes you on a journey with the innovators who imagined — and are still imagining — our future. Join host Donna Loughlin as her guests tell their stories of how they brought their visions to life. 

JUMP STRAIGHT INTO:

(01:47) - Who is Eric Pilon-Bignell? A pragmatic futurist who is looking to explain the world’s wave of change - “We've got this robust pipeline of disruption and it's going to make for some of the craziest surfing conditions we've ever faced.”

(05:45) - Eric’s academic path and his discovery of knowledge - “I got some great advice from my dad, he said you can always go be an engineer and then decided to go into business later.” 

(09:55) - The entrepreneurial years, Indiana Institute of Technology, and a newfound love for surfing  - “There's this constant parallel that I was starting to pull together between surfing in life and surfing in business.”

(13:36) - Eric’s doctoral thesis and how it turned into a best-seller about surfing - “I wanted to make it digestible, I don't want it to be an academic read. I don't want it to be boring. So I found that the parallels of surfing were really perfect.”

(20:32) - The complexity of today’s problems and how we can understand disruption - “Look into the impossible problems of today and what they're going to look like tomorrow… The future generations are going to fix the impossible problems of today with ease.”

(25:48) - The process of writing and rewriting the book - “I had a bit more fun because I could put in much more real-world examples of where we're seeing this happen. Whereas you can't give a great everyday example in your dissertation.”

(28:49) - The fourth industrial revolution: Can we know when the next wave is coming? - “We have to start talking about it now. It's not all developers or academics or theorists. It's you, me, and anyone else.”

EPISODE RESOURCES:

Connect with Eric through Twitter, Instagram and Ericpb.me

Get Eric’s book Surfing Rogue Waves: How to paddle out into the 21st Century

Learn more about Project7 supporting brain research

Read Forbe’s 10 Authors That Will Make You Rethink Small Decisions

Read BBC’s Bezos sues Nasa over its deal with Elon Musk's...

How does a latchkey kid go from eating microwave burritos to being a world-renowned chef? In this episode of Before IT Happened, Donna tells the story of one of the early faces of The Food Network, Tyler Florence. Tyler is an American culinary star, author of almost a dozen cookbooks, an entrepreneur, and even a documentary director. Tyler’s love for food has taken him from working on the front lines of busy restaurants to collaborating with the World Central Kitchen and the United Nations to combat world hunger. Listen now and learn how this passionate risk-taker is constantly pushing his career to new and exciting levels!

Before any world-changing innovation, there was a moment, an event, a realization that sparked the idea before it happened. This is a podcast about that moment — about that idea. Before IT Happened takes you on a journey with the innovators who imagined — and are still imagining — our future. Join host Donna Loughlin as her guests tell their stories of how they brought their visions to life. 

Jump straight into:

(02:10) - Tyler’s latchkey kid childhood and how his love for food began - “I was never a kid who wanted to order off the kids' menu. I wanted the most adventurous, most expensive thing on the menu.”

(08:43) - Getting his first job as a dishwasher and getting inspired by food - “Nothing was as interesting to me as working in the kitchen and working in restaurants. So I graduated from high school and went to culinary school in Charleston, South Carolina.”

(14:25) - Moving to New York City to start his career as a chef - “I didn't have a job. I moved there with just an opportunity to show up and work for free to prove that you can even be there.”

(18:20) - Getting discovered by The Food Network and his career as a TV host - “I was the first chef on Food Network to not wear a chef's coat, just because I felt like it was some sort of invisible Superman cape, so I just took on the position of the everyday guy next door.”

(23:41) - His entrepreneurial spirit - “When you're famous, the phone rings, so there's a blend between fielding opportunities and creating opportunities.”

(26:16) - The future of the restaurant industry post-pandemic - “I think it's really important that we start to really harvest and dial in the next generation of up and coming talent.”

(30:31) - Working with the World Central Kitchen and the UN World Food Program - “40% of all food at a grocery store ends up in the dumpster and then 30% of food that comes home, ends up in the garbage.”

Episode resources

Connect with Tyler on Twitter, Instagram and WolfItDown.com

Be the first to eat at Miller & Lux, Tyler’s newest restaurant in San Francisco 

Reserve a table at Tyler’s first San Francisco restaurant Wayfare Tavern

Take a live, online cooking class with Tyler on WID Live

Donate or volunteer at the World Central Kitchen

Learn more about the United Nations World Food Program

See Tyler’s shows and recipes on the

There was a time when Kodak was the most powerful company in America. It’s business model truly seemed impenetrable until something unprecedented happened inside its own laboratories. In this episode of Before IT Happened, Donna sits down with Steve Sasson, who, as a young Kodak engineer in 1975, became the first person ever to capture a digital photographic image. Steve may have developed the first digital camera prototype while working for Kodak, but it wasn’t until 2001 that the company paid real attention to his invention. But by then, the company had lost the race to develop a business model around digital photography, and its analog film was old news. Listen now and learn about the creation that could have potentially saved Kodak from bankruptcy and launch it into a leading 21st-century business.

Before any world-changing innovation, there was a moment, an event, a realization that sparked the idea before it happened. This is a podcast about that moment — about that idea. Before IT Happened takes you on a journey with the innovators who imagined — and are still imagining — our future. Join host Donna Loughlin as her guests tell their stories of how they brought their visions to life.  

Jump straight into:

(01:59) - Steve Sasson’s childhood taking apart electronics and experimenting with technology - “I would salvage all these parts, tubes, large capacitors, resistors, transformers, stuff like that, and then I would build my projects using that. It was a very low-cost hobby for me.”

(8:59) - Steve’s college education and an inspiring story of his early student years - “When I went to college I got some of the best teachers, literally in the world.”

(12:23) - Kodak, not a traditional company for an electrical engineer - “What interested me here was that I was sitting next to a mathematician or a mechanical engineer, and it was a very much more diverse environment.”

(17:43) - Scrounging for parts to build the first-ever digital camera - “Nobody told me to build a camera but he told me to evaluate it. So the best way to evaluate it was to get it to work.”

(22:42) - The first digital photograph in history and the story behind it - “I walked down the hallway and there was a young girl, her name was Joy Marshall. She was sitting at a teletype and I asked if I could take her picture.”

(26:12) - Digital vs. Analog: Kodak’s reaction to Steve’s camera - “I didn't talk about it until they asked me to in 2001 because at that time, digital cameras were really starting to take off as consumer items.”

(31:21) - Specialized cameras and advancing photographic technology - “I thought about this so many years ago, and now it is really happening in real life. These are real people really taking pictures that they value with this thing.” 

(36:14) - The original face of the digital camera: Steve Sasson - “I went on several road trips, traveled throughout Asia interviewing. I did radio shows, television shows. I went from being a lab guy to being a public relations guy.”

(39:04) - The craziness of patent litigation and the battle in the digital era - “Apple, Samsung, all of those were involved in different patent licensing negotiations and eventually litigations.”

EPISODE RESOURCES:

Connect with Steve through LinkedIn

Read about Steve’s National Medal of Technology and Innovation

Read the New York Times’ Lens Blog: Kodak’s First Digital Moment

Watch the...

Would you like to drive a vehicle that takes you beyond the mortal real world? In this episode of Before IT Happened, Donna Loughlin chats with automobile entrepreneur and innovator Ferris Rezvani. After a successful career working at IBM, Ferris decided to pursue his lifelong dream of designing military-inspired armored vehicles. Today he is CEO of Rezvani Motors, an avant-garde automobile design company dedicated to creating exotic, high-performance vehicles that have become favorites of the rich and famous. Listen now and learn how Ferris quit his job to design just the kind of cars that James Bond and the Knight Rider would buy in a heartbeat. 

Before any world-changing innovation, there was a moment, an event, a realization that sparked the idea before it happened. This is a podcast about that moment — about that idea. Before IT Happened takes you on a journey with the innovators who imagined — and are still imagining — our future. Join host Donna Loughlin as her guests tell their stories of how they brought their visions to life.  

JUMP STRAIGHT INTO:

(01:54) - Ferris Rezvani’s childhood story and his true calling, cars - “My inspiration was military-type equipment, aircraft, armored vehicles, ships. I was fascinated by all that stuff.”

(07:14) - Computer science, IBM and getting into car design - “I worked for IBM Global services for about seven years, then I started learning how car-design was done.”

(10:51) - Rezvani’s very first designs, production team, and investors - “I involved everyone with a piece of the effort and I was excited about it. I believed in it. I loved it, and that translated.”

(15:31) - Creating fantasies for exotic clients: The user experience of Rezvani Motors - “It allows them to go beyond themselves, beyond the mortal real world.”

(19:42) - Selling the first design and the current business - “We didn't advertise at all. We just let the design advertise itself. In 2014, it made it to the homepage of Yahoo.com and that was like the homepage back then.”

(23:30) - Expanding Rezvani’s range: From sports cars to the SUV market - “It's practical, you can pick up the kids from school with it. It's comfortable. But it's also bad-ass.”

(27:59) - Dealing with COVID-19, The New Beast, and the future of Rezvani - “We love what we do. Is there really a need to try to grow big? What do you really get by growing big?”

(33:17) - Ferris’s inspiration and experience in the industry - “I've realized that when you have your last name in the company, you will never let it fail because it is part of you and you will make sure that it's successful.”

EPISODE RESOURCES:

Connect with Ferris through LinkedIn

Follow Rezvani Motors on Twitter and Instagram

Learn more at Rezvani Motors 

Watch The 2016 Rezvani Beast featured on Jay Leno’s Garage

Watch Building a Luxury Car Brand with Ferris Rezvani on Maz Jobrani’s ‘Back to School’

Read the Yahoo article that kicked off Rezvani’s rise 

Read

In this episode of Before IT Happened, Donna chats with Carlo Mondavi, a descendant of Napa Valley wine royalty and a leading advocate for sustainable agriculture and organic and biodynamic farming. Carlo’s grandfather Robert Mondavi founded the family winery in 1966 in Northern California and passed on his passion for wine and organic farming. Today Carlo is dedicated to The Monarch Challenge, a program to educate, encourage and connect communities to farming without chemicals. In 2013, Carlo also opened Raen Winery with his brother Dante, where they specialize in their grandfather’s favorite grape, pinot noir. Listen now and be inspired by Carlo’s passion for great wine, fruitful farming, and a healthier earth.  

Before any world-changing innovation, there was a moment, an event, a realization that sparked the idea before it happened. This is a podcast about that moment — about that idea. Before IT Happened takes you on a journey with the innovators who imagined — and are still imagining — our future. Join host Donna Loughlin as her guests tell their stories of how they brought their visions to life.  

JUMP STRAIGHT INTO:

(01:23) -  Robert Mondavi’s story and the wine legacy of his family: “Even though my family has been making wine for a hundred years, the challenges that we have faced, like prohibition, kept us very humble.”

(07:04) - A brief detour: Leaving the California vineyards for snowy mountains: “I went to a school in Colorado where during the wintertime there was a snowboard team. That was where I started with the snowboard.”

(10:37) - Anne-Claude Leflaive, biodynamics and a life-changing trip to Burgundy: “I remember her talking about farming, about this connection to the land, and about biodynamics and biodynamics at the time was a crazy idea.”

(17:13) - The problem with the chemical industry and getting involved with Monarch: “I got involved in this so that we could bridge those divides and we could solve these major pain points for farmers, farms, and agricultural communities.” 

(26:45) - The Monarch Challenge and introducing the Monarch Tractor: “There was a massive pain on so many levels that we needed to solve. We needed to automize, electrify and clean up our carbon footprint with farming.”

(35:52) - A farmer-first company: Creating technology for all farmers’ benefit:  “We want to be a solution to making farmers safer, healthier, happier, and more profitable at the end of the day, so that we can continue to do what we love.”

(43:06) - Leading this movement through technology: “I see a really bright future in agriculture, and it's not just in getting rid of the chemicals, it’s in making farms more successful and more profitable.”

EPISODE RESOURCES:

Connect with Carlo through LinkedIn and Twitter

Join The Monarch Challenge

Read Why Organic Winegrowing Can Be More Profitable Than Conventional featuring Carlo

See the Monarch Tractor in action and learn more about Monarch Tractor

Follow Monarch Tractor on Twitter and

In this episode of Before IT Happened, our host Donna Loughlin tells the story of Andy Lowery, a pioneer in the development of wearable technology. Andy’s story begins as a gifted child who joined the Navy, became an engineer, and went out to the world of tech entrepreneurship. Realware, the brand he co-founded, is now the industry leader for powerful, voice-operated headset computers, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. Tune in to learn how Andy built this successful brand by observing and iterating on other tech companies’ mistakes.

Before any world-changing innovation, there was a moment, an event, a realization that sparked the idea before it happened. This is a podcast about that moment — about that idea. Before IT Happened takes you on a journey with the innovators who imagined — and are still imagining — our future. Join host Donna Loughlin as her guests tell their stories of how they brought their visions to life.  

JUMP STRAIGHT INTO:

(01:49) - Andy Lowery, a gifted child who joined the US military - “I had all this built up momentum and all this passion. I was super happy about being a Marine and fighting dragons.” 

(07:27) - Becoming an engineer for the Navy in the “.com” boom - “I really was trying to get through college quickly, get my military obligation out of the way so I could go be an entrepreneur.”

(11:56) - Military and corporate life vs. Andy’s entrepreneurial spirit - “Even in a huge socialistic structure like the military, you can still have entrepreneurial feelings and adventures.”

(17:08) - Andy’s avant-garde tech company, DAQRI - “We built some of the craziest, most outlandish platforms and products and things that were way ahead of their time.”

(21:14) - Realware: Jumping the line in the wearable technology space - “If I just fix the problems I saw Google Glass was having, I think I'm onto something. I think there's a real demand for it.”

(26:59) - How to get 50+ paying customers with a beta product? Plus, the unbelievable Alexander Rainsberger - “Our summit was incredible! It was unheard of to have such a well-run and well-attended event.”

(32:30) - How the pandemic boosted Realware - “COVID changed that because travel went to zero. They had to put a computer that you could wear on an airplane so that they could then transmit back what they were seeing to someone who knew how to fix it.”

(35:19) - Mission accomplished?: Why Andy left for Harvest Technology Group - “I wanted to go places with Realware that cellphones don't typically go. But I realized there was a major problem, connectivity.”

EPISODE RESOURCES:

Connect with Andy Lowery through Twitter and LinkedIn

Read GeekWire’s Geek of the Week: After years as Navy nuke officer, RealWear CEO Andy Lowery finds a new connection

Watch Andy speak at the second RealWear Summit

Watch the SNL Google Glass Weekend Update

Learn more about Harvest’s Industrial Grade Connectivity

See RealWear’s Hands-Free Wearable Headset Computers  

Learn more about Apogee Semiconductor

Before IT Happened is produced by Donna Loughlin and

How did a marketing expert become The Julia Child of Cannabis? In this episode of Before It Happened, our host Donna Loughlin talks to Jeff Danzer, AKA Jeff the 420 Chef, an amateur cook and weed lover who turned into one of the world’s leading cannabis chefs. Jeff’s work is not only revolutionizing the cannabis industry but is also helping tackle down the stigma around what most people call “stoners.” Join in and listen to how his tasteless cannabutter launched his career in a completely new direction. Plus, all the genius products he’s developed since he found his true passion, the art of cannabis cuisine. 

Before any world-changing innovation, there was a moment, an event, a realization that sparked the idea before it happened. This is a podcast about that moment — about that idea. Before IT Happened takes you on a journey with the innovators who imagined — and are still imagining — our future. Join host Donna Loughlin as her guests tell their stories of how they brought their visions to life.

JUMP STRAIGHT INTO:

(02:04) - How Jeff stumbled into cooking with cannabis - “If there was a way for me to remove certain compounds from the plant, but keep in the THC and CBD, then I would make a much better tasting edible. And that's exactly what I did.”

(05:32) - An 80’s kid: Coming from an Orthodox Jewish community and getting into weed - “I became that “token Jew” because we would just go out and smoke with everybody and we had the best time”. 

(10:36) - New York City & Israel: Becoming an individual and searching for his true passion - “I was trying to figure out for myself what I wanted to do. I was done with fashion. I was burnt out by it.”

(17:35) - The Julia Child of Weed - “In 2014 is when I made a batch of cupcakes and there was no cannabis taste in it. I had literally figured it out.”

(28:42) - Moving to California to pursue his dream - “All these chefs out there were teaching me different things; techniques and skills that I now employ in what I'm doing. And ultimately, I became an award-winning cannabis chef.”

(30:47) - Jeff’s audience base and making high-quality edibles - “Consistency and dosing are really important to me, and when it comes to edibles it is even more important.”

(33:39) - The world’s first cannabis edibles restaurant and creating new cannabis products - “My goal is to be the McCormick of cannabis and hemp; to have entire lines that are a 100% hemp that tastes like the most familiar spices but give you a daily dose of CBD.”

(38:32) - Leading a generation into the cannabis revolution - “I love seeing all these young, new chefs coming up, wanting to cook with cannabis and wanting to do it properly.”

(43:16) - What’s next for Jeff? Infused spices, collaborating with other cannabis chefs, and helping the next generation - “My whole culinary point is if I taste something and I like it, I'm going to remake it with cannabis.”

EPISODE RESOURCES:

Connect with Jeff through Twitter, Instagram and Facebook

Watch and subscribe to Jeffthe420Chef’s Youtube Channel

Komal and Anoop Choong are two first-generation American brothers whose family came from Northern India to the United States to open a restaurant chain. Growing up they were always fascinated by the entrepreneurial spirit of their father and when the time came, they decided to combine this work philosophy with their obsession for cars. 

In this episode of Before It Happened, our host Donna Loughlin tells us the story of Zohr, a mobile tire service that grew from a minivan into a rising startup with presence in three American cities. Tires are the most important safety component of any moving vehicle, that’s why the Choong brothers’ business specializes in them. Listen now and learn how these brothers made a successful business out of a side hustle in their garage: Zhor, The Tire Shop That Comes To You!

Before any world-changing innovation, there was a moment, an event, a realization that sparked the idea before it happened. This is a podcast about that moment — about that idea. Before IT Happened takes you on a journey with the innovators who imagined — and are still imagining — our future. Join host Donna Loughlin as her guests tell their stories of how they brought their visions to life.

JUMP STRAIGHT INTO:

(03:26) - The Choong family’s entrepreneurial mentality - “We really value honesty, straightforwardness and working hard. I think that goes a long way for our parents and anybody who originates from Northern India because it is very much an agrarian society.”

(06:07) - Hot Wheels and magazines: Their childhood love for cars - “From a very small age, the idea of creating things was just always there, that’s sort of the reason why I went to engineering school.”

(08:09) - From college to building an automotive company - “The minute I got exposure to what corporate America was really like, that was the moment that I decided I needed to start exploring other ways and opportunities of creating and building a company from scratch.”

(12:44) - Anoop’s journey to figuring out his future - “I felt that there's more experience to be had running a startup and working on it than there is going to school.”

(14:57) - Komal’s eye-opening car crash and the idea for Zohr - “That was another factor that contributed to us focusing on tires; because it's the most important safety component of any moving vehicle.”

(23:17) - The beginning of Zohr - “We had to teach ourselves the ABCs of changing tires, and then to get this business off the ground, we needed to go and change tires and start generating revenue.”

(25:35) - How Zohr has been making people’s lives better - “From a safety component you're borderline saving someone's life. That's really powerful.”

(28:36) - COVID-19, social distancing and offering a contactless service - “We serviced multiple nurses and doctors during the pandemic. It was so rewarding to be at these hospitals servicing these customers that just fundamentally didn't have time.”

(33:04) - Growing Zohr into new markets - “We strongly believe that we'll be the number one mobile provider for tire services across the country.”

(36:59) - What do you wish you knew before? - “Nothing could have prepared us because you literally have to go out and do it and fail at it countless times to be able to understand the dynamics in the business.”

EPISODE RESOURCES:

Connect with Anoop through LinkedIn

Connect with Komal through LinkedIn and Twitter

Learn more about  Zohr | Mobile Tire Shop

Read

If being a woman in tech is hard today, imagine how tough it must have been for a female Ecuadorian immigrant in the 1990s. In this episode of Before IT Happened, our host Donna Loughlin talks to Mercedes Soria, co-founder of the AI-driven security company Knightscope and one of Silicon Valley’s leading advocates for women in tech. Mercedes came to the U.S. to study engineering and has overcome one obstacle after another to become one of the tech industry’s most inspirational thought leaders on diversity. Today, Mercedes is a Grace Hopper Celebration award winner, a TechWomen mentor, and a Women in STEM advocate. Her dream is to mentor girls who will later come to the U.S. to be engineers. That way, she says, her efforts will come full circle. Tune in and listen to Mercedes’ inspiring story as a trailblazer for women in tech.

Before any world-changing innovation, there was a moment, an event, a realization that sparked the idea before it happened. This is a podcast about that moment — about that idea. Before IT Happened takes you on a journey with the innovators who imagined — and are still imagining — our future. Join host Donna Loughlin as her guests tell their stories of how they brought their visions to life.

Jump straight into:

(02:15) - Mercedes’ childhood in Ecuador and her mother’s support to strive for more - “Ecuador is not close at all to the level of development that the U.S. is in terms of computers and engineering, which was where we studied.”

(07:58) - The tough years: Going to college in the U.S. - “All we knew is that we had to study every single day that we were in school. That happened until we got our engineering degree.”

(18:13) - Working at Gibson then jumping to Deloitte - “I applied to a hundred companies, and I only got three calls, and from those three interviews only Gibson would sponsor me to stay in the U.S. and work for them.”

(24:24) - How Mercedes got involved in equity and mentorship - “I was going to show this guy that I deserved to be in the job that I was given. I didn't want other women to have to go through that. Not only the fact that I was Hispanic but the fact that I was a woman in technology.”

(30:27) - Knightscope in Silicon Valley and winning the Grace Hopper Award - “If you're a woman, especially in technology in Silicon Valley, you have to prove your worth. As soon as you come in, it is assumed that you don't know anything.” 

(38:04) - Tech Women, 50/50 Women on Boards and becoming a speaker - “Somehow someone from Tech Women told the State Department that I could be a really good speaker for the United States. And they called me.”

(45:39) - Solve24: Youth accelerator for STEM - “We're changing lives for girls that might not have known what technology is, or that might not have had the self-confidence to decide that they want to be in technology.”

Episode resources

Follow Mercedes on Twitter, LinkedIn & Forbes

Read Mercede’s Forbes article Three Effective Strategies To End The Shortage Of Women In Tech

Learn more about ​​50/50 Women on Boards and register to attend The San...

In a world where 45% of hires fail within the first 18 months, matching talent to the perfect workplace is almost magic. In this episode of Before It Happened, our host Donna Loughlin tells the story of Mike Fitzsimmons, co-founder and CEO of Crosschq, a cloud-based service that combines human intelligence and AI to reinvent how companies hire. Crosschq’s mission is to better match companies and talent through what it calls human intelligence. The idea is that a good hire helps both the employer and the employee, plus it leaves a positive impact on the community. 

Listen now and learn how Mike is revolutionizing the art of hiring by putting the human factor back into human resources!

Before any world-changing innovation, there was a moment, an event, a realization that sparked the idea before it happened. This is a podcast about that moment — about that idea. Before IT Happened takes you on a journey with the innovators who imagined — and are still imagining — our future. Join host Donna Loughlin as her guests tell their stories of how they brought their visions to life.

Jump straight into:

(01:40) - Mike’s youth, college inspiration, and his very first job at Circuit City — “I signed up immediately and a few weeks after college, I was on my way to open up a call center.”

(07:25) - Why hiring is so hard and the birth of Crosschq — “Hiring and retaining talent is hard, you learn that pretty early if you're aware and paying attention.”

(13:50) - Poor hiring is a worldwide issue — “You should stop reporting on quantity and then filling seats quickly. We have to start thinking about quality.”

(18:03) - Human Intelligence Hiring — How Crosschq helps companies find the best talent - 

“We get content and data from people, for people and convert that into actionable data and insights that companies can use.”

(22:11) - Bias vs. Equity: How to neutralize profiling — “Age, ethnicity, sex. All of those biases still exist. We're going to help bring data to the table to help convince companies and lead them to try to reduce as much of that bias as they can.” 

(25:15) - COVID-19 and the impact Crosschq has had on the community — “We provide our service for free to companies like 70 million jobs, which is the leading platform for Anti-Recidivism in the US. We're trying to help people that are trying to help themselves.”

(31:10) - What Mike has learned from the pandemic — “I've been just so impressed by how absolutely tough all of us are and how everybody's persevered.”

(33:27) - Changing the culture within companies — “We have to be hyper-aware at keeping folks engaged and engaging in a real and meaningful fashion.”

Episode resources

Connect with Mike on Twitter and LinkedIn

Learn more about Mike’s company Crosschq

Read Michael Fitzsimmons of Crosschq: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Began Leading My Company

Read Mike’s interview with Natfluence

See Mike’s profile on the Forbes Next 1000 list

Before IT Happened is produced by Donna Loughlin and