Cold Star Project

Cold Star Project

By Jason KaniganBusiness
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Cold Star Project episodes

  • Nicholas Loise - How Can You Improve Your Sales Force To Maximize Enterprise Value? - Cold Star Project

    Sales Performance Team founder Nicholas Loise returns to the Cold Star Project. He was President of Glazer Kennedy Inner Circle - GKIC/Magnetic Marketing, involved with GKIC 8 years; Owner of a Direct Response Agency and Outsourced Sales Leader Company; Adjunct Professor of Marketing, North Park University; MBA from North Park; VP Sales & Marketing Provena Mercy Medical Center 9 yrs, a $156 Million division.

    With host and fellow sales expert Jason Kanigan on the Cold Star Project, Nick illuminates how brick and mortar business owners who lead sales teams can get better results. Not only can they increase their enterprise valuation figure, but they can also see lower sales cycles, better visibility into what's happening, and of course improved revenue. Is there a hole in your sales process, or do you have to create your sales process? Join us and find out!
    USEFUL LINKS:
    Nick Loise email at Sales Performance Team: [email protected]
    Nick Loise phone number: 847-720-4264
    Playlist: https://www.coldstartech.com/play
    Subscribe: https://www.coldstartech.com/subs
    Talk to Cold Star: https://www.coldstartech.com/bookcall

    29 min
  • Jacob Meyer - How Can We Create Commercial Space Products with SBIRs? - Cold Star Project S05E07

    Jacob Meyer, PhD, is VP of Technology at ATSP Innovations. He has experience with SBIRs and the struggles of creating commercial products from them. Host Jason Kanigan of the Cold Star Project discusses these challenges with Dr. Meyer.
    USEFUL LINKS:
    ATSP Innovations website: https://www.atspinnovations.com/
    OpEx Society: https://www.opexsociety.org
    America's Future Series: https://www.americas-fs.org/
    Talk to Cold Star: https://coldstartech.com/talktous

    31 min
  • Paul van Susante - How Are We Going to Power Our First Projects On the Moon? - CSP S05E06

    Dr. Paul van Susante of Michigan Technological University, a past guest (link below), returns to the Cold Star Project. We're discussing his participation in a number of investigative projects and NASA challenges related to powering our first projects on the Moon. Host Jason Kanigan asks Paul about the:


    • LuSTR grant
    • NASA Watts on the Moon centennial challenge phase I, where they won the $100k grand prize for scenario 2. They submitted to Phase II, level 1 and were selected as one of 7 teams to advance to level 2 and received $200k
    • NASA Break the Ice challenge centennial challenge phase I where they won a runner up prize ($25k). They submitted an entry to Break the Ice phase II, level 1 and were last month selected as one of 15 teams to advance to level 2 (all US teams (13) got $38.5k)
    • Winning several other grants and are currently working on those related to landing pad construction, site preparation, hardware testing in their dusty thermal vacuum chamber as well.


      • USEFUL LINKS:


      HuskyWorks website: https://huskyworks.space/

      Paul's previous appearance on the Cold Star Project:

      https://coldstarproject.com/aus02e42paulvansusante


      OpEx Society: https://www.opexsociety.org


      America's Future Series: https://www.americas-fs.org/


      Talk to Cold Star: https://coldstartech.com/talktous

      46 min
    • Jon Reyes - How Can A Great Copywriter Help You Scale A Business From The Ground Up? - CSP S02E96

      Did you know there are people with a specific skill set who can jumpstart your business? Copywriters like Jon Reyes and Jason Kanigan have the knowledge and experience to grow your business fast. Jon Reyes has been a copywriter for many years and worked for some of the top personal development names. With fellow copywriter and Cold Star Project host Jason Kanigan, Jon discusses:
      * working with the major factor of Compliance in copy, and how to scale with compliance as a limiter on what you can say
      * the power of using revealing flaws and shortcomings in copy, the use of repulsive copy and story telling to attract the best audiences and push away those who are not a fit, and how superiority creates skepticism--and how to fight that
      * Conversion Rate Optimization, and how CRO can work on two levels--technical, like button colors, versus business building CRO, such as brand voice
      * structuring copywriting deals today, compared with 5-10 years ago
      * why a business owner is better off hiring an experienced copywriter rather than an inexperienced hotshot who promises the world
      USEFUL LINKS:
      Jon's website: https://www.jonreyes.net/
      Email Jon at: [email protected]
      OpEx Society: https://www.opexsociety.org
      America's Future Series: https://www.americas-fs.org/
      Talk to Cold Star: https://coldstartech.com/talktous

      55 min
    • Bill Conley - Communication and Deterrence: Concert of Europe vs. Modern Day Diplomacy? - CSP S04E14

      Bill Conley was a DARPA Program Manager, then the US Department of Defense's expert on electronic warfare for four years, and is now Chief Technology Officer at Mercury Systems. Our topic is a comparison of the 19th Century's Concert of Europe vs Modern Day's communication and methods of deterrence. Cold Star Project host Jason Kanigan asks Bill Conley:

      • What is effective communication, especially in context of diplomacy and deterrence of conflict?
      • Why doesn’t the Behavioralist/Rational Economics approach work in practice when it comes to national conflicts?
      • Do you believe the match-up of 2020s China-US is similar to the 1910s UK-German? Are there historical correlations?
      • The WWI era was about the disintegration of the old order, and paradigm shifts. Are there indicators of a similar instability of the existing order today?
      • As a nation’s capabilities increase, so do its ambitions. Many of these ambitions seem to end up with the idea of autarky. Do you believe we’re close to experiencing another such outbreak of these ideas today?
      • How could a modern day China-US conflict proceed?  



        • USEFUL LINKS:  


        "Mitchell Hour: State of Electronic Warfare in the DOD" [Dr. Conley lecture]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qR_PPGDnejo 


        "What Is Eurasia?" [Dr. Stephen Kotkin lecture]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ghn1X7sRFs 


        Mercury Systems website: https://www.mrcy.com/ 


        OpEx Society: https://www.opexsociety.org 


        America's Future Series: https://www.americas-fs.org/ 


        Talk to Cold Star: https://coldstartech.com/talktous

        1 hr
      • Rhonda Stevenson - Can We Create A Commercial Space Industry More Quickly? - CSP S05E05

        President and CEO of Orbital Assembly Rhonda Stevenson is our guest this time on the Cold Star Project. With host Jason Kanigan she discusses the challenges of building a truly commercial space company. We cover the capabilities of Orbital Asembly, as well as Rhonda's personal efforts to build consortiums and attract customers to the space industry.  


        USEFUL LINKS:  


        Orbital Assembly website: https://orbitalassembly.com/ 


        OpEx Society: https://www.opexsociety.org 


        America's Future Series: https://www.americas-fs.org/ 


        Talk to Cold Star: https://coldstartech.com/talktous

        51 min
      • David Driscoll - What Scaling Problems Can You Find In SBIR/STTR Product Commercialization? - CSP S05E04
        Just because you CAN create a product doesn't mean you SHOULD. What Scaling Problems Can You Find In SBIR/STTR Product Commercialization? While small batches may work in the lab, commercializing will require large quantities and unexpected issues from supply chain through chemical reactions may change. The results from these issues may well prove the venture impossible to complete under current conditions.
        David Driscoll of Storm Castle joins Cold Star Project host Jason Kanigan to discuss a real life example of struggling with scaling for commercialization. While the concept had been proven to work, making it happen at a scale that would make money turned out to be a dead end.
        Jason asks David:
        Q: What professional roles have you held? From what context are you speaking to these challenges?
        A: Glacigen (Founder), Montana State University (Senior Research Scientist), Storm Castle Technical Products (Current; Founder)
        Q: What was Glacigen all about?
        A: Commercialization of an advanced manufacturing technique; freeze tape casting. FTC is a hybridization of an industrial processing technique with well-established lab scale technique. It produces large area sheets of materials with highly engineered microstructures. Materials which have been known for a long time can exhibit great performance enhancement with new processing. (Flour, baking soda, eggs, sugar, etc…..could be awful or masterpiece it’s all in the processing. We tend to focus too easily on exotic alloys and entirely new materials (good and valuable), when opportunity is left on the table with respect to using existing ingredients better.
        Q: What kind of applications were you looking at?
        A: Started all over the board. FTC arrived as a solution looking for a problem. Composites of high temperature materials (hypersonics), solid oxide fuel cell electrodes, catalyst scaffolds, thermal interface materials, actuators….finally battery electrodes. In my eyes, battery electrodes represented the convergence of good technical fit with strong merit, market of relevant scale, and opportunity to address true customer pain point.
        Q: Which pain point is that, exactly?
        A: Specifically for customers of high performance applications: energy density (without destroying power density). Cost is important even for those with performance applications.
        Q: How did you realize commercializing this as a product, rather than having it remain as a lab invention, was important?
        A: That was intrinsic, and a primary motivating factor of launching Glacigen. I saw potential for real impact in the FTC process which obviously couldn’t be realized within academia. There was a commitment to commercialization from the outset, but some learning required to understand how that looks.
        Q: What steps did you take towards commercialization? What did you learn? (eg. would you start the process earlier?)
        A: Early steps were technically focused: scalability, repeatability, application-based proof of concept.
        Early strategic steps came after technical work, but work focused on matching applications with strong FTC applicability with customer needs ‘pain points.’ We began working with a company building EV batteries. This led to a great deal of learning that springboarded us towards conversations with larger and more established manufacturers.
        Engaging with the customer more intentionally, and much earlier would have been critical. The first level is understanding need, which we did reasonably well. We misidenitfied barriers to adoption, which could have - in retrospect been identified much sooner. Same applies to thinking you understand strength of market pull, pain points, value propositions etc. Those things need to be constantly tested and when necessary, iterated.
        USEFUL NOTES:
        Storm Castle Technical Products: https://www.stormcastletechnicalproducts.com/
        OpEx Society: https://www.opexsociety.org
        America's Future Series: https://www.americas-fs.org/
        Talk to Cold Star: https://coldstartech.com/talk
        29 min
      • Wes Schaeffer - How Does 12 Weeks To Peak Help Founders and Salespeople? - Cold Star Project S04E13

        Sales trainer Wes Schaeffer is back on the Cold Star Project, and our topic is his free 12 Weeks To Peak sales accountability program. Host Jason Kanigan participated in 2022 Q4's version and 12 Weeks To Peak has been re-released for 2023. The two sales trainers share elements and results of this free accountability program for founders and salespeople. Come along with us and find out if it's right for you!  


        USEFUL LINKS:  


        12 Weeks To Peak website: https://info.thesaleswhisperer.com/12-weeks-to-peak 


        Jason Kanigan's Effective Prospecting video series: https://jasonkanigan.com/ytep 


        Past appearances of Wes Schaeffer on the Cold Star Project:  

        "What CRM Should I Get?" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pv2JAgKPzHY 

        "Process Before Login" (choosing a CRM) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRE5MYudGQM 


        OpEx Society: https://www.opexsociety.org 


        Talk to Cold Star: https://coldstartech.com/talktous

        57 min
      • Nicolas Chaillan - "Are We In The Nic Of Time To Save America?" - Cold Star Project S04E12

        Past Chief Software Officer of the US Space Force and Air Force Nic Chaillan is back on the Cold Star Project. Over the past year, Nic has developed his own learning platform, Learn With Nic. He has also hosted his own show, In The Nic Of Time. Host Jason Kanigan asks Nic:


        • What have you learned in running your own show, In The Nic Of Time?
        • What have you learned about the general state of software security in the US from your guests? Did this confirm what you already were aware of, or did they add any detail?
        • If you could wave a magic wand and have leaders and developers realize some fundamentals of DevSecOps that are practical to implement as well as effective, what would a couple of those be?
        • Are you still convinced we’re lagging and that China is going to overtake and “beat” us? How do you define that: simply economically, or technologically, militarily? What can we do about it, and are you seeing any evidence of leadership attempting to take action?
        • I hear more and more Americans becoming concerned about TikTok, even leaders in fields I thought would be far away from the edges of national security. I believe we should be more explicit about what can be done with TikTok, beyond “they’re collecting all our data!”. Have your thoughts about TikTok evolved over the past year? 
        • What’s your opinion about the InfraGard hack? To me this seems like “the security guys got hacked”. What could have been done to stop this from happening? Is it symptomatic of a condition or just bad luck? What other kinds of software-based platforms should we be worried about the security of? 
        • Teach us a couple of DevSecOps terms that are probably new to us.   


          • USEFUL LINKS:  


          Learn With Nic platform: https://www.learnwithnic.com/ 


          OpEx Society: https://www.opexsociety.org 


          Get new episodes directly in your inbox: https://www.coldstartech.com/msb 


          Talk to Cold Star: https://coldstartech.com/talktous

          51 min
        • Glenn Carlson - What Is The Modern Mission of the Association of Old Crows? - CSP S02E95

          Former Air Force Lt. Colonel and instructor Glenn Carlson was president of the electronic warfare industry's Assocation of Old Crows in 2022. Cold Star Project host Jason Kanigan asks AOC President Glenn Carlson:  - 


          • Tell us about how the AOC started
          • Tell us about your background, how you joined the Old Crows, and how you became its president 
          • What’s your mission? How do you stay energized and sharp after 36+ years in the role as a member, board member, and president?
          • How did the Journal of Electromagnetic Dominance come about? What’s its purpose and what involvement do you have with it?
          • What is the state of electronic warfare in US defense?
          • What impact does the AOC have that is likely out of the public eye?
          • What does the AOC offer its members?   


            • USEFUL LINKS:  


            Glenn Carlson LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/glenn-powder-carlson-ba24a614/ 


            Association of Old Crows website: https://www.crows.org/ 


            OpEx Society: https://www.opexsociety.org 


            Talk to Cold Star: https://coldstartech.com/talktous

            35 min

          About Cold Star Project

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          The Cold Star Project digs into the challenges of scaling fast that tech and Space manufacturing founders encounter. Money does not solve all problems--so what now? Listen in to discover what scaling…