Innovators on Tap

This episode is a replay of the previously released interview with Julie Miller, behavioral scientist. We will be back with new episodes in 2021! Happy New Year!

For many businesses that want to innovate, the biggest challenge is not coming up with a new idea, but figuring out how to get consumers to embrace the idea. We dealt with this problem often at Cree, including when we tried to get customers to switch from incandescent light bulbs to LEDs.

The key to driving change is to first understand how humans behave.  I recently had a chance to talk with Julie Miller, who is a behavioral scientist, a researcher at Dan Ariely’s Center for Advanced Hindsight, and an Innovation Partner at Wake Innovates.  

Julie has been using her knowledge of human behavior to help companies connect with their customers, teach organizations to become more innovative,  and recognize that “We rely way too much on asking people, when instead, we should be watching people and testing things.”

We discuss how behavioral science is more than simple user experience, why incremental improvement may actually be more risky than innovation, and the importance of workplace culture to create the right environments and contexts for employees to pursue new ideas.

You can follow the podcast and host Chuck Swoboda on Twitter for further exploration and discussion on innovation.

The episode is also available wherever else you listen to podcasts. Enjoy!

This episode is a replay of the previously released interview with Lauren Abda, founder of Branchfood. We will be back with new episodes in 2021! Happy New Year!

When Lauren Abda was in high school, her grandmother was diagnosed with Leukemia - which led her parents to radically change their approach to food, health & wellness.  It also sparked a passion for her that would define what she would study in college and put her on a path for a career in the food innovation industry.  

Lauren is CEO of Branchfood — a food innovation and entrepreneurship hub — and the founder of Branch Venture Group — an angel investor network —  focused on developing food entrepreneurs in New England and beyond.

In our conversation, we discuss what’s driving change in the industry — including how the power of media shapes human behaviors that lead to acceptance or rejection of products and ideas. 

You’ll also hear Lauren’s thoughts on her time at the Tech Stars accelerator, some ideas on how to develop emotional resilience in the face of failure, and why radical candor is essential to innovation.

You can follow the podcast and host Chuck Swoboda on Twitter for further exploration and discussion on innovation.

The episode is also available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever else you listen to podcasts. Enjoy!

As I’ve discussed on this show many times, how you grow up has a tremendous impact on your mindset as an adult - which can be shaped by a multitude of life experiences from your first job, to family dynamics, and even participation in organized sports.   

For today’s guest, Austin Ramirez, his leadership perspective was shaped by his journey as a competitive swimmer, where he learned how to overcome early failure and to keep striving for better. He competed as a college athlete, and eventually represented the United States in several international tournaments. It was swimming that made him realize that with dedication and focus, he could become excellent at something.

Now, Austin is taking those lessons and applying them to the business world as the CEO of Husco International, a privately-held engineering and manufacturing company.

My conversation with Austin touches on the delicate balance between long term innovation and short term results, why smaller and more nimbler firms are able to pick up market share during crises, and how he evaluates the next generation of talent for his company.

Austin also discusses his time as a White House Fellow during both the Obama and Trump administrations and his involvement with the organization “Democracy Found” which is advocating for ranked choice voting across the US. As Austin likes to say:

“Getting our democracy healthy again, I don’t think there is anything more important than that.”

You can follow the podcast and host Chuck Swoboda on Twitter for further exploration and discussion on innovation.

The episode is also available wherever else you listen to podcasts. Enjoy!

Did you ever wonder how a computer can be trained to beat a human at chess?  Or how Amazon seems to anticipate what you’re looking for, before typing your request in the search bar?  Or how it is that the Uber app always seems to know the faster route to your destination?  

All of these technologies rely on the same thing - Artificial Intelligence, or more specifically Machine Learning, where computers are able to not only use past information, but to also test future possibilities to find the best way.

To some people this topic can be a bit unnerving as they struggle with the idea that machines are taking over our world, but to me this is an incredible opportunity to make our world a better place. 

One of the people that sees a better future is Danny Lange, who has led AI research at some of the world’s most well known companies: IBM, Microsoft, Amazon, and Uber - and now is applying his expertise at Unity, where they are leveraging the complexity of video games to push the technology even further.

In our conversation, we explore the difference between artificial and human intelligence, if AI can make the leap from curiosity to creativity, and some lessons learned working at some of the biggest technology companies in the world.  

We had an incredible conversation, but I was most struck by Danny’s insight that  “When it comes to AI, the real skill of the future is to understand consequences, to understand the impact of what we're doing”. 

While AI engineers will need to still be technically talented, they will also need to have a deep understanding of the human impact of their decision, and the biases that are a part of our decisions both past and present, so we can make the world how we want it to be, not just re-create the way it has always been.

As Danny says, one of the benefits of AI is that ““It allows us humans to focus more on what it means to be human”

You can follow the podcast and host Chuck Swoboda on Twitter for further exploration and discussion on innovation.

Honesty kills bullshit. You’re an owner, act like one. Enable, don’t direct.

No — this isn’t unsolicited advice from me - although it could be. These are actually 3 of the 9 core culture principles for Public.com, an investing app that is making the stock market social.

Today’s guest, Leif Abraham, is the author of these principles and the Co-Founder and CEO of Public.com.

Leif developed these principles through a successful career as a creative director before founding his first two companies, And Co & PayWithATweet, both of which went on to be acquired. 

He believes that for any company to be successful, the values have to be more than simple sayings, but the principles that guide your behavior and approach to work each and every day. As Leif says:

“Autonomy without principles creates anarchy.”

We also discuss why Leif thinks real innovation doesn’t rely on consultants, the importance of building an inclusive community around a product, and why he looks for the right values, over the right skills, in new hires.

To put it in his words: “It’s easier to teach skills than it is to teach values”

You can follow the podcast and host Chuck Swoboda on Twitter for further exploration and discussion on innovation.

The episode is also available wherever else you listen to podcasts. Enjoy!

How often have you seen a plastic bottle lying on the ground?  Did you pick it up?

This is the fundamental paradigm at the heart of Plastic Bank, founded by today’s guest, David Katz, in 2013. Plastic Bank is a global network of micro recycling markets that empower the poor to transcend poverty by cleaning the environment.

One of the key premises of David’s business model is that you’ll never clean the oceans by trying to clean the oceans, instead you have to not pollute them in the first place - which is a much more complicated problem.  

So he started with the big sources of this pollution and created an ecosystem where the value of plastic could be fully realized.   

My conversation with David also showed how shared core values can increase the speed of decisions in any company, why the Plastic Bank operates as a for-profit and not a non-profit, and why he doesn’t focus on winning, but creating win-win situations instead.

He also shares a key realization that shaped how he looks at taking on new challenges: You don’t need to be the right person, you just need to start becoming the right person.

You can follow the podcast and host Chuck Swoboda on Twitter for further exploration and discussion on innovation.

The episode is also available wherever else you listen to podcasts. Enjoy!

Solving big, hairy problems. That is how today’s guest, Victor Szczerba, describes entrepreneurship. 

Victor spent much of his career working with some of the largest Data Management Businesses in the world, including SAP and Microsoft.  And it was during this time that he saw a customer problem that needed to be solved, which led to him forming his company, Yeti Data - a virtual marketing data warehouse. 

But Victor isn’t all about data, throughout his successful career, he’s learned the value of people, relationships, and collaboration. He said: “The magic about working with people is astounding. If you really want to get something done beyond yourself, you have to do it with leverage. Leveraging the amazing skill sets of the people around you is the key.”

In our conversation, we discuss the necessity of unbridled curiosity as an entrepreneur, why it’s important to focus on the problem and not fall in love with a certain solution, and the value of learning how to think, not just what to think.

You can follow the podcast and host Chuck Swoboda on Twitter for further exploration and discussion on innovation.

The episode is also available wherever else you listen to podcasts. Enjoy!

This episode is a replay of the previously released interview with Rajesh Vashist, CEO of SiTime. We will be back next week with a new episode with a special guest from California.

Most us realize that inside all the great electronic devices, from the mobile phone in your pocket to the tablet on your desk, are a bunch of semiconductor chips that we really don’t understand.  You’ve may have heard about Intel and the microprocessor thanks to all their advertising,

But what you probably don’t appreciate are the are many other chips required to make things work. Almost every electronic thing we use also needs to keep track of time to function. They require tiny electronic clocks that allow the instructions between chips to get where they need to go at the correct moment. These timing devices prevent the microprocessor’s marching orders from getting to their destination too early or too late.

On today’s episode of Innovators on Tap, I talk with Ra - Jesh Va - shist, who is the CEO of SiTime, based in Silicon Valley.  They make the devices that provide the heartbeat in many of our favorite electronics. You can't see them, but your world couldn't operate without them.

Rajesh previously led Ikanos Communications and has now been a technology CEO for over 20 years.  He has led companies through two successful IPOs as well as through the challenges that arose when the dot com bubble burst and the economy struggled during the great recession.  Over time, Rajesh has learned many important lessons and has incredible insight on leadership and innovation.

He shares wisdom on his business and life philosophies including the ideas that:

Change and revolutions begin at the margins

The importance of respectful disagreement for finding the best ideas

Having strong beliefs that are loosely held

And the importance of suffering to the development of a leader

I want to thank Blue Gold Ventures at Marquette University for making this conversation possible.

Please check out the episode in the above link. If you have an opinion on these topics, please feel free to email us through the contact page. The best ideas often stem from the intersection of different points of view. Enjoy!

Today’s guest is Dr. Sherry Zhang, a molecular biologist by training and the founder and CEO of GenoPalate, a startup that analyzes your genetics to create a customized nutritional plan for your unique genetic make-up.

Sherry not only has entrepreneurship in her DNA, but she’s also gained a lot from her experiences: starting with growing up in China and coming to Milwaukee in 2001, then helping create two other startups before GenoPalate, and most recently educating future generations as a professor at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

But what Sherry has identified as the most important trait is passion. She said: the “The people who come through our door are all smart. What can be missing for certain talent is that passion.” And it is Sherry’s mix of talent and passion that is allowing GenoPalate to grow.

In our conversation, we touch on warrior vs worrying genes, why you shouldn’t focus too much on your competition, and how startups create an environment that pushes you to dream bigger.

You can follow the podcast and host Chuck Swoboda on Twitter for further exploration and discussion on innovation.

The episode is also available wherever else you listen to podcasts. Thanks & enjoy!