Evolving Your Workplace

“There is a financial responsibility that exists in every organization. Traditionally HR is not a part of those conversations. They’re the conversation that happens after that decision has been made, and they’re left to reconcile the reality that’s been created when they weren’t in the room.” - Matt Burns

Matt founded BentoHR, an HR operations consulting firm. After working as an HR executive for years, he saw the need to revamp how HR functions. He talks about his transition from corporate work to entrepreneurship and how his skills did or didn’t translate. 

In this episode, Carol and Matt discuss the current state of the workforce with Baby Boomers retiring and skillsets changing. Matt dives into the power dynamics between HR and executives in many organizations and the issues it causes. 

He also walks us through some examples from his past that demonstrate the problems with HR, starting with his MBA program. They also get into the idea of viewing employees from an “output” point-of-view rather than an “input.”

Learn more about Matt Burns and BentoHR.

You can find more information on all our episodes at Vertical Elevation, and you can find Carol on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.

“Sometimes when people spend too much time in corporate life, they kind of are taught to not think. Don’t think just do. And that is really like the opposite of what we want people to think,” Ozan Bilgen says, “We want people to be critical about the process and come up with their solutions as well, if possible.”

Ozan founded Base64.ai, an artificial intelligence service that works as a one-stop-shop for processing any type of document. 

Before starting his own company, Ozan had been a part of major corporations such as Netflix, PayPal, Uber, and Microsoft after moving from Turkey. During his time at Uber, he came across the issue that Base64.ai now aims to solve.

Base64.ai differs from its competitors in its rate of accuracy when extracting data, having 25% more accuracy than competitors, Ozan says. 

In this episode, Carol and Ozan discuss what he’s learned from working for major companies. He talks about wanting clients to overuse their services, a strategy he picked up at Netflix. 

Ozan also walks us through what the “no-code revolution” is and how it will further transform the tech industry. 

Learn more about Ozan Bilgen and Base64ai.

You can find more information on all our episodes at Vertical Elevation, and you can find Carol on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.

“She (Shahed’s wife) would go to a stakeholder meeting and tell me that ‘You haven’t done that properly…”” CEO Shahed Islam tells Carol. “Our team members have learned that. We have become a good example. Now they are arguing.”

Shahed co-founded SJ Innovation, an IT solutions company, with his wife almost two decades ago when they were two traveling freelancers.

The business has now grown to 170 employees across the globe. Although SJ Innovation is highly remote, Shahed talks about culture and how central it is to the company. 

In this episode, Carol and Shahed discuss coaching and the value of hiring one instead of relying on books. They also touch on the best way to gain clients, no matter the industry.  

Shahed opens up about his health and the importance of prioritizing self-care and family life over work. 

Learn more about Shahed Islam and SJ Innovation.

You can find more information on all our episodes at Vertical Elevation, and you can find Carol on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.

“I learned over time the value of just getting everyone to get on the same page and move in a direction, albeit imperfect– because you can course correct. You can inspect and adapt as you go,” Phil Reynolds says, “It wasn’t about me being right, it was more about building alignment in the team.”

Phil first founded BriteCore, a cloud-native platform for P&C insurers, and almost two decades later co-founded DevStride, a strategic project and portfolio management solution. The idea for his second company came from an issue his team came across at the first. 

DevStride was co-founded by four people, one being Phil’s wife. He walks us through how he wound up with those co-founders and what it’s like to work alongside his life partner. 

In this episode, Carol inquires about Phil’s removal from his role as CEO at BriteCore. They get into the idea of a leader giving up their position if it means the company will be more successful with someone else, even as the founder. 

Later, he goes into the important distinction between hiring great people and hiring seasoned people. They also talk about chatbots and the future of bots versus humans for customer support.

Learn more about Phil Reynolds and DevStride.

You can find more information on all our episodes at Vertical Elevation, and you can find Carol on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.

“You manage engineers in a completely different way to how you manage salespeople, in a completely different way to how you manage finance people, and so on and so forth. And you have to be able to shapeshift your management personality into a context that is relevant to that point in time.” - Phil Tee

Phil has founded several successful software companies, his latest: Moogsoft, an AIOps incident management platform for engineering teams of large businesses. The company currently staffs around 160 people.

Moogsoft was co-founded by Phil and his friend Mike Silvey. Phil tells us the story of how the two met over two decades ago, going from “drinking friends” to now being like an “old married couple” several businesses later.

In this episode, Carol inquires about Phil’s lessons from the many companies he’s grown, including three successful exits and one incubator. Phil tells us one principle he stands by: A company must authentically solve a problem.

They also get into Phil’s mindset on culture, how he sees the truth, and his practice of seeking out customers’ skepticism early on. He also provides advice for entrepreneurs looking to achieve the same success.

Learn more about Phil Tee and Moogsoft.

You can find more information on all our episodes at Vertical Elevation, and you can find Carol on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.

“I’ve asked people to stop doing any multitasking— because this is a freaking illusion. It doesn’t work,” Vadim Peskov tells Carol. 

Vadim co-founded Diffco, an app development company.  Diffco helps tech startups build their software and, in some cases, also build out their business model. 

In order to make his days as CEO as efficient as possible, Vadim has learned to structure his tasks based on importance. With that comes leaving a meeting if it’s not crucial to be listening. He also encourages his team to do the same. 

In this episode, Carol and Vadim talk about another business he founded and why he decided to focus on Diffco in the end. They explore the concept of dividing attention, when it works and when it doesn’t. 

You’ll also hear them discuss Vadim’s challenges when it came to hiring and how he’s improved his process, especially when it comes to finding c-level talent.

Learn more about Vadim Peskov and Diffco.

You can find more information on all our episodes at Vertical Elevation, and you can find Carol on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.

“I think most lawyers, they go for comfort. Maybe not comfort in the subject matter of what they’re doing, but comfort in their repeatable patterns. They go to the office, they do the same type of work each day. The cannabis industry was anything but that,” Bob Hoban tells Carol.

Bob founded Hoban Law Group, which Clark Hill’s Cannabis Industry Group later acquired. His firm notably paved the way for lawyers in the brand-new industry of commercialized cannabis. 

Years into his career as a corporate lawyer, Bob’s mother was diagnosed with cancer. He began to explore cannabis as an alternative for her. This led him to naturally form relationships with leaders in the industry and start working in cannabis law.

Bob walks us through the early days of his law firm and one of his biggest challenges as his company grew exponentially: management. 

In this episode, Carol and Bob dive into how Covid transformed his firm and ultimately led to the acquisition. They also talk about the details of the transition into “big law” and how employees felt about it.

Learn more about Bob Hoban and Clark Hill’s Cannabis Industry Group.

You can find more information on all our episodes at Vertical Elevation, and you can find Carol on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.

“I was laying there so uncomfortable, afraid, anxious, confused, just clamoring for information to understand what all of these crazy acronyms were,” Michael O’Neil tells Carol about the genesis of his idea. 

After being treated for Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Michael founded Get Well, an organization that aims to empower patients to take an active role in their health journey. 

Get Well utilizes technology to give people access to information about their health. It currently staffs over 340 people. 

In this episode, Carol and Michael discuss the challenges of breaking into the healthcare industry with a new concept. Michael walks us through his journey of funding the company, selling it to a private equity firm, and then acquiring a competitor.

You'll hear about the variety of ways Get Well is now serving the industry beyond his original purpose. Michael also talks about his company values and the three elements he uses to balance his daily schedule as CEO. 

Learn more about Michael O’Neil and Get Well.

You can find more information on all our episodes at Vertical Elevation, and you can find Carol on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.

“People think once you raise money, that it gets easier. No. You only have more to prove.” - Sofiat Abdulrazaaq

Years ago, Sofiat wanted to check out a food truck a friend had recommended and was unable to find it. This catapulted her and her friends into a journey to create GoodFynd, a way to connect customers to mobile businesses, helping food trucks to be more visible and profitable.

Sofiat is a first-generation American, born to immigrants from Nigeria. After getting a law degree and working in the field, she still had entrepreneurship in the back of her mind, influenced by her grandmother growing up. When her co-founder came to her with the idea for GoodFynd, she knew it was time to dive in. 

Sofiat tells us about the impact of the company beyond food, helping diverse business owners and bringing accessibility to affordable, authentic cuisine in food deserts. Sofiat discusses what she calls “servant leadership” and how she’s found success with that mindset. 

In this episode, Carol and Sofiat talk about how she met her co-founders and how being friends has caused issues but has also been helpful in situations. You’ll hear about the process of getting funded as both a person of color and a woman and how an unexpected call transformed the journey.

Learn more about Sofiat Abdulrazaaq and GoodFynd.

You can find more information on all our episodes at Vertical Elevation, and you can find Carol on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.

“If you’re just promoting yourself, you’ve lost people right there. You have to give back. The more you give back, the more people are going to be receptive to you and know that you are an industry leader.“ - Brandon Leibowitz

Brandon founded SEO Optimizers, a digital marketing agency that helps companies gain online traffic through search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM), Pay Per Click (PPC), blogging, and social media marketing (SMM). His company now employs upwards of 50 employees. 

Brandon began working in the space after graduating and eventually decided to start his own company centered around the free tool of SEO. Once he found success, he took the plunge and committed to it full-time. 

In this episode, Carol and Brandon explore what makes his business stand out from the fierce competition: something called backlinks. He also takes us on his journey from being a one-man-show to hiring a team, allowing him to focus on the business as a whole.

Learn more about Brandon Leibowitz and SEO Optimizers.

You can find more information on all our episodes at Vertical Elevation, and you can find Carol on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.