In this episode, Stephanie Harris, Marketing Director at Headlight, shares her journey into marketing and her role in shaping strategies in the construction tech space. She discusses her background, starting from her early career as an intern and first marketing hire, to becoming a leader in marketing at Headlight. Throughout the conversation, Stephanie delves into the importance of customer focus, the role of data in modern marketing, and how testing and learning through campaigns help refine messaging to better serve clients.

Stephanie explains how the construction industry is often slower to adopt new technologies, but how the sector's stability has been an opportunity for growth and innovation. She talks about the company’s shift from photo-based inspection to becoming a full data platform, supporting the entire lifecycle of construction projects, from field inspections to materials testing and bridge maintenance. The conversation explores the impact of AI and generative technologies on marketing, and how these tools have changed the approach to customer engagement, sales, and operations.

We also get into the specifics of how Stephanie and her team manage relationships in a largely referral-based industry. She highlights the importance of relationship building in the construction sector and how her team leverages technology like Salesforce and Jira to track interactions and opportunities. Furthermore, Stephanie offers insights into the challenges of getting buy-in for new technologies in a traditionally cautious industry, and the value of patience and change management.

Toward the end of the conversation, Stephanie provides advice for marketing professionals looking to deepen their understanding of clients and refine their strategies. She emphasizes the need for empathy and getting close to the voice of the customer to drive success in both marketing and sales.

To connect with Stephanie Harris, find her on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/stephaniehartharris/. For more about Devon Jones and the work his team is doing, visit nextgengrowth.com.

In this episode, we sit down with Jordan Caldwell, co-founder and Chief Security Officer at Critical Fault, to explore his unique path into cybersecurity and his insights on building a successful cybersecurity firm. With a diverse background in physics, mathematics, and chemistry, Jordan shares how his analytical mindset helps him tackle complex digital security challenges. He discusses his transition into cybersecurity, which began with a pivotal moment recovering a corrupted cryptocurrency wallet during a major ransomware attack, and how this experience laid the foundation for his company’s start in 2021.

Jordan reveals his approach to customer acquisition, highlighting the importance of building trust and leveraging industry relationships. He explains why traditional marketing methods often fall short in cybersecurity and shares strategies for gaining clients through networking, conferences, and referrals. He also dives into some of the early struggles, such as operating with limited revenue and the challenges of wearing multiple hats as a business owner in the early stages. One key milestone he notes was finally being able to pay himself and his team after over a year of lean operations.

As the conversation progresses, Jordan opens up about the evolving landscape of cybersecurity and the growing sophistication of phishing attacks, often enabled by AI advancements. He emphasizes the importance of multi-factor authentication and password managers for individual users and details how pattern recognition is being used to enhance network security. Jordan also shares insights on what it takes to navigate the complexities of working with government agencies and outlines his goals for expanding Critical Fault’s presence in the federal sector.

Looking forward, Jordan discusses the opportunities and challenges associated with working more closely with the Department of Defense and other government entities. He sheds light on the bureaucratic hurdles and the intricacies of federal contracting, including navigating the request for proposal (RFP) process and connecting with the right decision-makers.

For anyone interested in learning more or reaching out to Jordan, you can contact him directly at [email protected] or connect with him on LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/jordan-caldwell-cf/ for further discussions and professional insights. For marketing inquiries or to get in touch with Devon and his team, visit nextgengrowth.com.

In this episode of the NextGen Case Study series, we sit down with Tim Thomson, a seasoned IT expert and founder of Cybertrends, to explore his journey in the technology and cybersecurity space. Tim brings over 25 years of experience, having successfully built and exited a $7 million IT managed service provider before founding Cybertrends. His approach to cybersecurity is defined by leveraging AI and data analytics to provide cutting-edge solutions for businesses worldwide. Tim also shares insights into his new IT mentorship and security growth coaching program, designed to help corporations and IT providers improve their security practices.

Tim reflects on the early days of his career, including his time at Microsoft and the evolution of his leadership role as a CEO. He explains the importance of building relationships, trust, and offering educational value to clients. For Tim, relationships are key in cybersecurity sales, as they establish trust and long-term partnerships with customers. He outlines how he developed a unique 27-hour cybersecurity education course to guide corporations in strengthening their security infrastructure, gaining traction through networking, referrals, and trust-based marketing.

Tim also touches on how Cybertrends is preparing for future growth, from adding team members to expanding its cybersecurity coaching program across North America. He explains his process for scaling a business, from analyzing client acquisition costs to lifetime gross profit ratios, and how he plans to achieve $100,000 per month in recurring revenue within the next year.

We also delve into Tim’s leadership philosophy: "build the people, and the people will help build the business." He emphasizes the value of clear standard operating procedures (SOPs) and the power of coaching to ensure team success. Tim shares his excitement about AI technology and its potential to revolutionize the cybersecurity industry, helping companies work smarter, not harder. He also offers advice to aspiring entrepreneurs, emphasizing the importance of starting now and not being afraid to ask for help.

To get in touch with Tim, you can find him at cybertrends.ca, or LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/timthomsoncti/. To learn more about us and our services, visit nextgengrowth.com.

In this episode, Jack Marshall, CEO of Bolster AI, shares insights on the evolution of phishing detection and the power of AI in the cybersecurity landscape. Jack opens up about his career journey, from his early days in Silicon Valley as an electrical engineer to becoming a leader in multiple cybersecurity startups. He explains the technological and operational challenges companies face in protecting their brands and customers from online threats.

Jack recounts how Bolster AI developed their phishing detection platform, leveraging a massive data set of over 6.5 billion tested URLs. He discusses the company’s success in using AI to protect banks, consumer brands, and individuals from phishing attacks and scams. Jack emphasizes the importance of taking down fraudulent sites and malicious content swiftly and efficiently, noting how Bolster’s advanced AI-driven system has made this process faster and more effective. He also shares how working with international law enforcement agencies and takedown specialists helps ensure that scammers face swift action.

Jack dives into the business development challenges and the ongoing evolution of their marketing strategies. As Bolster pivots from brand protection to a broader cybersecurity positioning, he talks about the importance of delivering AI-driven security solutions in an overfunded and crowded cybersecurity market. He highlights how Bolster is evolving to keep up with increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks, such as phishing kits and geofencing techniques.

Listeners will also learn about Bolster’s move into email security, tackling external abuse mailboxes by using advanced AI to differentiate between legitimate emails and phishing attempts. Jack details how Bolster’s OCR technology and ability to interpret complex email formats, such as QR codes and screenshots, is pushing them to the forefront of phishing detection.

In closing, Jack offers valuable advice to entrepreneurs about executing strategy, measuring tactics, and staying agile in today’s fast-paced business environment. He underscores the need for metrics-driven decision-making and the importance of adjusting course quickly when necessary.

To connect with Jack, send an email to [email protected] or via Linkedin www.linkedin.com/in/jack-marshall-2b31a35/. For marketing inquiries or to get in touch with Devon and his team, visit nextgengrowth.com.

In this episode, we sit down with Reginald Weiser, founder and CEO of Positron, a company that has been a trailblazer in the telecommunications and power industries since 1970. With over 50 years of leadership and innovation, Reg shares his journey from starting Positron to pioneering advancements in fiber optics and 911 emergency systems. We dive deep into his engineering background and how he saw unmet needs in telecommunications that sparked his passion for solving large-scale problems. Reg explains how Positron revolutionized high-speed internet access, bringing gigabit speeds to underserved buildings across the U.S., and why 88% of multi-dwelling units still lack proper fiber wiring.

Reg’s commitment to finding innovative solutions is at the heart of the conversation, as he walks us through his process of building the 911 systems used across the U.S. and the company’s new venture into delivering high bandwidth internet over existing infrastructure. He also highlights how Positron’s technology solves costly rewiring problems in metropolitan areas and offers carriers an efficient solution to provide high-speed services. Reg’s insights into the challenges of innovation, convincing major carriers to adopt new technologies, and scaling a business globally offer invaluable lessons for entrepreneurs and leaders alike.

As the conversation unfolds, we learn about the partnerships Positron has built with Wi-Fi vendors, internet service providers, and fiber companies to expand their technology, and how their approach is transforming buildings into smart homes and smart offices. Finally, Reg shares his vision for the future, including developing 10-gigabit symmetrical speeds and empowering smart building technology. If you're interested in the future of telecommunications, innovation, or leadership, this is an episode you won’t want to miss.

To connect with Reginald Weiser, you can email him at [email protected]. To get in touch with Devon and the team for your marketing needs, visit NextGenGrowth.com.

In this episode, we sit down with Greg Tull, Marketing Director at Classy Llama, to explore his unique approach to business growth, combining storytelling with data-driven insights. Greg, with a background in film direction and a six-year tenure in the Coast Guard, brings a distinct perspective to marketing leadership. He explains how his journey from film to marketing is rooted in the art of storytelling and how these skills are transferable to customer acquisition strategies.

Greg discusses the importance of building marketing foundations, sharing how his team has laid the groundwork for tracking sales pipelines, attributing leads, and using Salesforce effectively to capture multi-touchpoint journeys. By leveraging accurate data, his team is set to achieve a 25% increase in closed deals, with a goal of reaching a 50-100% growth in revenue over the next couple of years.

One of the major themes in this conversation is Greg’s focus on making the client the hero of their story, a strategy he likens to the classic hero’s journey. By positioning his company as the mentor rather than the hero, Greg creates a narrative that resonates more with clients, helping them solve their problems while Classy Llama supports them. This storytelling approach has helped shift marketing efforts from self-promotion to genuine client engagement.

Greg also explores the intersection of data and storytelling, emphasizing the value of tracking marketing content performance and nurturing leads over long periods—sometimes more than a year. He reflects on the balance between producing high-quality content and ensuring that content ultimately generates revenue. His insights offer a fresh take on using AI tools like ChatGPT to optimize lead generation processes and improve operational efficiency without significant costs.

The conversation dives into broader marketing trends, such as how to maintain a balance between digital and in-person interactions, how to interpret data effectively to avoid misjudging content performance, and how AI is reshaping the marketing landscape. If you’re interested in learning how to combine creativity with data for business growth, this episode is packed with actionable insights.

To reach out to Greg, visit his LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/greg-tull-94039985/. To get in touch with Devon and his team, visit nextgengrowth.com

In this episode, Tim Pratte, the CEO of Selerix Systems, shares his journey and insights on driving business growth, particularly in the mid-market sector. With over 25 years of experience in HR services and technology, Tim has played a pivotal role in transforming companies through innovative strategies and AI integrations. He dives into the early days of his career, emphasizing the importance of building a solid operational foundation, which shaped his understanding of capacity planning and business development.

Tim explains his approach to leadership at Selerix, discussing the company's recent focus on enhancing its benefits administration platform to meet the needs of employers with 1,000 to 10,000 employees. He highlights Selerix’s competitive edge in offering customizable solutions that cater to the specific needs of growing businesses, while not directly focusing on competing with other players in the market.

A major theme of this conversation is the integration of AI technologies to improve employee engagement and streamline operations. Tim outlines how partnerships, particularly with third-party administrators, are helping Selerix expand its service offerings and build a comprehensive suite of tools. He emphasizes the importance of collaboration over competition, sharing how strategic partnerships with companies like ADP enable Selerix to deliver highly configurable solutions for employers that have outgrown more general systems.

Throughout the episode, Tim discusses key strategies for scaling, such as doubling Selerix's revenue and employee base over the next few years. He highlights the company's commitment to maintaining a strong customer experience through continuous improvement and creating “surprise moments” for clients. These moments aim to exceed expectations and build long-lasting relationships.

Tim also touches on the importance of fostering open communication within his team, citing regular leadership meetings and digital suggestion boxes as ways to keep a finger on the pulse of employee sentiment. He underscores the need for a people-centric approach, ensuring employees feel valued and connected to the company’s mission. Tim draws on concepts from thought leaders like Simon Sinek and Ryan Holiday, advocating for humility in leadership and the significance of removing ego from problem-solving.

By the end of this episode, listeners will gain valuable lessons on intentional growth, AI-driven innovation, and building a strong company culture that prioritizes both employee and customer satisfaction.

For more information, you can connect with Tim on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/timpratte/. To connect with us for marketing solutions, visit nextgengrowth.com.

In this episode of the Next Gen Case Study series, we sit down with Jeff Borello, co-owner and CEO of Andromeda Technology. Jeff shares his journey from starting as a software engineer to leading a company that provides comprehensive IT solutions. His career began with a seventh-grade interest in programming, leading him to launch Andromeda nearly 30 years ago. Throughout the episode, Jeff discusses how the company evolved from humble beginnings—starting with a small project for their first customer in a trailer park—to becoming a significant player in the IT space.

Jeff explains how Andromeda bootstrapped its growth, focusing on customer acquisition, sales, and marketing. In the early days, they tackled all aspects of the business, from tech support to invoicing. Over time, Jeff and his team have refined their business model to focus on managed services and recurring revenue streams. He emphasizes the importance of finding the right customers who value technology investments and highlights the company's recent shift to serving the manufacturing industry exclusively.

Jeff also shares insights into how verticalization—focusing on a single industry—has helped the company thrive. By narrowing their focus, they’ve been able to develop specialized expertise, particularly in wireless networking, which is crucial for manufacturing clients. Jeff explains how they’ve built a solid partnership with Ruckus Networks to address complex wireless challenges in manufacturing environments.

The conversation delves into customer experience and onboarding. Jeff details Andromeda's rigorous process of vetting potential clients to ensure a good fit, followed by a seamless onboarding experience that reduces the client's workload. He notes that many businesses delay IT upgrades due to fear of change, even when their current systems are causing chaos. Andromeda alleviates this by managing the entire onboarding process and quickly stabilizing IT environments.

Jeff offers advice for other entrepreneurs: resilience and grit are essential. He discusses the balance between growth and maintaining a strong company culture, as well as how acquisitions played a role in expanding Andromeda's service offerings before narrowing their focus back to IT. The episode wraps up with Jeff looking toward the future, noting the potential of AI and automation but emphasizing the importance of maintaining a human touch in the business.

Listeners will gain valuable lessons about customer acquisition, verticalization, and leadership, along with insights into the future of IT services.

To get in touch with Jeff, you can email him at [email protected] or visit the company website at www.andromeda-tech-solutions.com. To connect with us for marketing solutions, visit nextgengrowth.com.

In this insightful episode, we sit down with Jiri Fiala to discuss the cutting-edge world of data protection and encryption. Jiri is a leader in the cybersecurity space, where his work focuses on advancing the adoption of zero-knowledge proofs (ZKP) and fully homomorphic encryption (FHE) for protecting sensitive information. We explore how these technologies are reshaping the landscape of data security and helping organizations comply with strict regulations such as GDPR and HIPAA.

Jiri shares the journey that led him from being a headhunter in IT to becoming the CEO of Privid, a company specializing in advanced cryptographic technologies. He recounts how he noticed a growing problem in the privacy and data protection space, leading him to dive into older technologies like ZKP and FHE, which were impractical due to previous limitations in computing power. Now, with modern advancements, Jiri has been able to bring these technologies to life, ensuring that data remains encrypted even while it's being used.

The conversation dives into the challenges Privid faced during its growth, particularly the struggles with finding clients and navigating the competitive cybersecurity market. Jiri discusses the impact of regulations such as GDPR, the growing importance of data security, and the company’s strategic focus on Europe due to more stringent data protection laws. We also explore how Privid operates as a fully remote company with teams spread across multiple continents, allowing them to remain flexible and innovative in a rapidly changing landscape.

Jiri offers candid insights into the struggles of scaling a small tech company, including the effects of COVID-19 on business and the sacrifices made by his team to keep the company afloat. Through sheer perseverance and a belief in their product, they’ve managed to secure multi-million dollar contracts and establish strong partnerships across Europe. The discussion wraps up with Jiri’s reflections on the importance of resilience, innovation, and the lessons he’s learned as an entrepreneur in the cybersecurity space.

For more information, you can reach Jiri on Linkedin www.linkedin.com/in/jiri-fiala-privid/. To connect with us for marketing solutions, visit nextgengrowth.com.

In this episode, we sit down with Steve Benson, the founder and CEO of Badger Maps Inc, to explore his insights on building and scaling a business through a focus on sales efficiency and cutting-edge technology. Steve's journey started with his work in mapping technology at Google, which eventually led him to create a solution for field sales teams. He saw a significant gap in the market for tools that could help salespeople optimize their routes and manage their territories more effectively.

Steve shares how his background in field sales, combined with his technical expertise from roles at IBM, Autonomy, and Google, laid the foundation for Badger Maps. He also explains the challenges of launching a company in 2012 when mobile platforms were still evolving. Early on, Badger Maps only worked on iPads because smartphones didn't have the necessary power to run the app. Over time, as technology improved, the platform expanded, enabling Steve to grow the company to over 5,000 customers and 92 employees.

One of the key themes in the episode is the importance of being adaptable and forward-thinking in a rapidly changing world. Steve reflects on how companies must continuously anticipate what the future will bring in terms of technological advancements and customer needs. He emphasizes the value of staying connected to your customers' pain points and using that feedback to guide product development and improvements.

Steve also discusses how the sales landscape has shifted, particularly with the rise of AI and other automation tools. However, he reminds us that while technology can improve efficiency, success still largely depends on understanding customer problems deeply and providing real value. Whether it's through improving sales routes or making smarter use of a CRM, Steve argues that solving these core issues can have a huge impact on a company’s bottom line.

Listeners will appreciate Steve’s straightforward advice for entrepreneurs: focus on solving real problems that save time or generate revenue for customers. He talks about the lessons he's learned over the past 12 years, including the importance of hiring the right team early on and scaling efficiently.

If you're looking to learn more about scaling a business through innovative technology, customer-first strategies, and efficient sales tactics, this episode is full of valuable insights.

To reach out to Steve Benson, find him on LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/stevenbenson/. To connect with us for marketing solutions, visit nextgengrowth.com.