Cold Star Project

Brightmill founder Taz Lake specializes in identifying and fixing all the things that could go wrong with your website and data as you scale. In the rush to grow, tech pieces get left behind and quickly become outdated.

Serious vulnerabilities and damaged capabilities ensue...only for the business to find out about it when something badly breaks. From website security problems exploited by hackers (think Target, Equifax) to government regulatory changes, Taz knows the challenges that might blindside you and your customers through your website.

If you want an organization-wide status check of vulnerabilities in your business, get the Red Team Experience from Cold Star Tech: https://www.coldstartech.com/red-team/

You have your blinders on when it comes to where you'd get your biggest bang for your buck in improvement projects! Sure, the bonfires are attention-getting and put off a lot of heat and smoke--

--but let me me make this crystal clear: You've been living with them all this time until now.

No matter how bright, scary, and smoky they may be, the tire fires are not the biggest contributor to the success or failure of your business. If they were, you'd be out of business by now.

No...the secret is somewhere else. Listen in and I'll tell you where.

Should we speak to find out where your biggest bang for your buck in improvement projects is? Book a call at https://www.coldstartech.com/red-team/

The founder of Hello Process, Matt Daniell, is here not only to share his experience in the value of processes in scaling, but also a story of outright theft going on right under the nose of the accounting department of one of the biggest American railways.

Humans Will Game, as I said in another podcast...and Matt has stories to share about what founders ought to be doing instead of fighting fires and trying to tackle everything themselves.

If your business is at under $500K ARR, you should speak with Matt about Hello Process. If you're above that figure, especially at the $2million ARR mark or greater, talk to us at Cold Star Tech about the Red Team Experience: https://www.coldstartech.com/red-team/

Convertri founder Andy Fletcher shares all the challenges of scaling a saas to $500K ARR...the lead generation, the payment processing, the operations, and more...

If you see the need to get a leg up on this kind of stuff BEFORE you're immersed in the mire of scaling, get the Red Team Experience. Book a call to discuss your situation at https://www.coldstartech.com/red-team/

My previous co-founder, Jeremy Pope of The Closing Engine, joins me on this episode of the Cold Star Project for a fun and relaxed discussion. We dig into the critical importance of knowing your culture, and its impact on hiring decisions.

You cannot hire willy-nilly...and you WILL make mistakes.

The Closing Engine manages third party sales teams for offers of $6000 and up. And if you think that's easy, you've got another thing coming.

What you think is a Tech problem is always a People problem. Companies with three letter initials have been around a long time, trying to create little clones of themselves with their technology--and yet the same problems they say they eradicate still exist! Why? Because they are not getting at the source of the issue. In fact, the technological "solutions" are often causing more people problems! Listen to this episode of the Cold Star Project for a surprising example.

Your business has weak points. One of them may be you. Remember the CEO of Uber?

Jason Kanigan of the Cold Star Project takes you on a quick tour of leaders who appeared to be in unassailable positions...but were knocked down only a short time later. A warning for all founders: strong governments are inherently unstable.

In this episode of the Cold Star Project we dig into the fascinating lives of the Gilbreths. Together with Taylor they are the "parents" of scientific management and time & motion studies.

If you're going to enhance your knowledge of operations improvement, ergonomics, and productivity, you need to know about Frank and Lillian Gilbreth.

Like electricity, television, and smart phones, people make use of their business without understanding it. How much do you really know about what goes on, and how you and your people accomplish it?

Consistent results and fast scaling come from full understanding of how things are done in your company. In this episode of the Cold Star Project, we look at many examples of things commonly used by people who don't understand them. Can you do that? Sure. Is it optimal? Nope.

What are you giving up by not understanding the things you use? The path to scaling fast is accomplished by knowing how you do what you do, and demanding consistent standards of behavior and results.

Create a scoring system for anything--production, sales, whatever--and people WILL game it so they are shown in the best possible light and given the most results. Jason Kanigan shares a deep level example of gaming piecework production and rewards in a factory to demonstrate.

Do not think because you hired nice people that they aren't gaming the system. And don't blame them, either: you set the rules. They're just doing what humans--what you--would do.

Cold Star Technologies has, in the course of investigating and documenting processes, uncovered many scams, misrepresentations, and cases of outright theft in client organizations. Do not believe you are immune. Humans WILL game.