Powderkeg - Unvalley

The growth of the idea and understanding behind a startup can be a difficult task. Living and working the life of an entrepreneur in the startup world is really learning from mistakes, both your own and the mistakes others. So what's the secret to establishing a successful startup learning from mistakes? And how do know what realistic goals to set for improvement and growth when launching your startup?

On today’s episode, we chat with Jeff Ready, a serial entrepreneur with years of experience as a leader and executive who has started and lead numerous companies, raising millions in venture capital for his own ventures as well as for others. Jeff is the Founder, and CEO of Scale Computing, an Indianapolis based company that is the industry-leading application platform for EDGE computing environments that covers anything from global retail and manufacturing to financial services and government. 

In this episode, you’ll get to hear Jeff share his entrepreneurial journey from just a young kid to becoming the founder and CEO of Scale Computing. Along with Jeff’s thoughts on how to build a successful startup, and whether or not an entrepreneurial lifestyle is a right choice for you!  Tune in for more!

In this episode with Jeff Ready, you’ll learn:

--- How to build your company’s values

--- What you should know before working in a startup

--- What is the entrepreneurial lifestyle 

--- Jeff’s entrepreneurial journey

Please enjoy this conversation with Jeff Ready!

If you like this episode, please subscribe and leave us a review on iTunes. You can also follow us on Soundcloud or Stitcher. We have an incredible lineup of interviews we’ll be releasing every Tuesday here on the Powderkeg Podcast.

It's been no surprise that ventures in FinTech have tripled in just this past year. According to recent research completed by data provider, CB Insights, venture capital-backed financial technology companies have raised an incredible record of $39.57 billion from investors globally in 2018, that’s up 120 percent from the previous year! The financial technology industry is trending worldwide with tons of open opportunities for entrepreneurs to take advantage of...so how can entrepreneurs and innovators jump on and capitalize on this continuously growing trend?

On today’s episode of the Powderkeg podcast, you’ll hear from amazing two guests that have decades of experience working in the world of finance and years of experience in leading high performing teams and working with fellow entrepreneurs. Our first guest is Eric Mager, Founder & CEO of Bundle. Bundle is an app that gives home buyers and mortgage shoppers a starting point to learn, understand and manage the mortgage process. Joining Eric today is Brandon Martin, a principal at Clifton Larson Allen (CLA). CLA is a professional services firm and the eighth largest accountancy firm in the United States.

In this episode, Eric and Brandon will share their personal stories on how they became involved in the world of entrepreneurship. You’ll also get to hear their views and thoughts on the fantastic growth of startup culture in Charlotte and the benefits of networking with other founders and startups in your local area. Tune in for more!

In this episode with Brandon Martin and Eric Mager, you’ll learn:

-Eric and Brandon’s journey through tech

-The world of Fintech and the open opportunities of the industry

-What the startup scene is like in Charlotte

-The benefits of networking with fellow startups and founders

Please enjoy this conversation with Brandon Martin and Eric Mager!

If you like this episode, please subscribe and leave us a review on iTunes. You can also follow us on Soundcloud or Stitcher. We have an incredible lineup of interviews we’ll be releasing every Tuesday here on the Powderkeg Podcast.

For today’s episode, we’re going back to where Matt spoke with Chris Heivly who is currently the VP of Innovation at Techstars. Chris is a serial entrepreneur, speaker, investor, and startup founder. And was one of the original Co-founders of MapQuest, a free Web and mobile mapping service that empowers consumers to engage with and navigate the world around them.

This interview is from all the way back in November 2016, and we’re bringing it out of the archives because later this month on October 16th, we’re hosting a VIP event at the Industrious location in Raleigh, North Carolina discussing the topic “Why Tech Thrives in Raleigh-Durham” where Chris will be featured as one of our featured guests. We’ll be livestreaming the event on Facebook, so be sure to check it out! Now let’s get started!

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Our guest today is Chris Heivly, who just might be the world’s first actual map geek. I say that because he co-founded one of the first online navigation tools, MapQuest.

Some of you listeners may be too young to remember MapQuest and the wonderful experience of searching your route on your home computer so you could print your directions and take them with you.. But back in the day, MapQuest was like pure magic.

This company was Heivly’s first and it blazed the trail for other navigation-powered apps like Google Maps, Waze, and Uber. MapQuest went public in 1999 and was acquired by AOL for $1.1 Billion dollars in the year 2000. That’s billion with a capital B.

That’s a lot of money by any measure, but it was especially enormous when they sold back in the year 2000.

Since his successful exit, Chris Heivly has personally directed over $75 million in investment capital on behalf of large companies including Rand McNally, Accenture, and others.

He recently closed down the Startup Factory, which was the largest seed investment firm in the Southeast. And this conversation with Chris is just before they made their last investment at The Startup Factory (or TSF as we sometimes refer to it in this interview). But they had already made over 30 investments in high-growth startups and we caught Heivly just after a demo day for a group of their portfolio companies, so it was the perfect time to get his insight.

I want to make sure I give a shout out to his book based on his famous TEDx talk, Build The Fort, which you can find on Amazon, Kindle, or Audible. He’s super active on his personal website Heivly.com and on twitter @ChrisHeivly. So give him a shout and tell him I sent you!

This episode of Powderkeg is brought to you by DeveloperTown. If you’re a business leader trying to turn a great idea into a product with traction, this is for you.

DeveloperTown works with clients ranging from entrepreneurs to Fortune 100 companies who want to build and launch an app or digital product. They’re able to take the process they use with early stage companies to help big companies move like a startup.

So if you have an idea for a web or mobile app, or need help identifying the great ideas within your company, go to developertown.com/powderkeg.

If you like this episode, please subscribe and leave us a review on iTunes. You can also follow us on Soundcloud or Stitcher. We have an incredible lineup of interviews we’ll be releasing every Tuesday here on the Powderkeg Podcast.

In this episode with Chris Heivly you’ll learn:

How to perfect your pitch. (7:30)

What makes a good elevator pitch. (16:40)

How to attract the right people. (30:50)

Please enjoy!

If you like this episode, please subscribe and leave us a review on iTunes. You can also follow us on Soundcloud or Stitcher. We have an incredible lineup of interviews we’ll be releasing every Tuesday here on the Powderkeg Podcast. Check it out at powderkeg.com/itunes.

Hey there Powderkeg fans! Nick here from the Powderkeg team. This is episode 104 of Powderkeg: Igniting Startups, the show for entrepreneurs, leaders, and innovators building remarkable tech companies in areas outside of Silicon Valley.

Today we’re revisiting an old episode where Matt spoke with Scott Hill. Scott is an entrepreneur and the Co-founder of PERQ. PERQ is an Indianapolis based high-growth marketing technology company that empowers businesses with more visibility into their digital marketing efforts and sales. Scott shows what it takes to be a visionary leader, having succeeded at it himself at PERQ where he guided the company as it made a huge transition which you’ll hear more about. He’ll explain how he did it and help you understand what it will take for you to do the same.

The interview is from August 2017, and we’re bringing it out of the archives because it’s so packed with great advice AND is one of our most popular episodes. Let’s get started!

At Powderkeg, we believe every entrepreneur has their own personal superpower that makes them great at what they do. Scott Hill’s superpower is being a visionary—that is, being exceptionally capable of seeing opportunities that others can’t and understanding exactly how to prepare so he can seize them when the time is right.

I met Hill at a pivotal time in my life, when I was still a college student in Bloomington, IN, and thinking about becoming an entrepreneur. Hill’s company, PERQ, was in print marketing at the time, and I was so inspired by what he was doing with his business that I committed myself to starting my own company shortly afterward. Hill later transitioned PERQ into the still-fledgling marketing tech space, taking the company in a groundbreaking new direction that has more than paid off in the years since.

In this episode, Hill and I dive deep into what it truly means to be a visionary in business. We discuss some of the challenging tasks that visionary entrepreneurs are likely to undertake—such as developing an innovative product and pivoting their business to accommodate changing markets—as well as how founders can sharpen their own visionary skills (here’s a hint: it’s about practice more than anything else). We even touch on the special power that sharing stories has for entrepreneurs, which is a topic we’re both very passionate about.

I hope this episode provides you with many helpful ideas for developing your own inner visionary. Follow Hill on Twitter @bizgamer for more great insights on being a visionary entrepreneur, and stay tuned to Powderkeg: Igniting Startups for more stories from innovative entrepreneurs, investors and top talent making waves outside Silicon Valley.

In this episode with Scott Hill, you’ll learn:

-What it really means to be a visionary (7:13)

-Tips for developing your skills as a visionary entrepreneur (17:30)

-How to socialize your ideas and work toward a final product (21:00)

-Actionable advice for transitioning your company into the tech space (28:00)

-The power of visualizing the future you want for your business (34:04)

-Why sharing stories is so important for entrepreneurs (39:18)

Please enjoy this conversation with Scott Hill!

If you like this episode, please subscribe and leave us a review on iTunes. You can also follow us on Soundcloud or Stitcher. We have an incredible lineup of interviews we’ll be releasing every Tuesday here on the Powderkeg Podcast. Check it out at powderkeg.com/itunes.

Entrepreneurship and building a startup comes with a long list of challenges. Rewarding challenges, but unpleasant challenges nonetheless. Entrepreneurs, particularly first-timers, experience a whole list of startup challenges in their beginning years. A lot of them attempt to establish the brand, change and develop to match or surpass the competition, and try to be extremely profitable. And the challenges of starting a startup doesn’t stop just there. But it's possible to move past the challenges, as long as you have the right mindset and build the right team.

On today’s episode of the Igniting Startups podcast, you’ll get to hear from two fantastic founders who met in college. Channing Moreland and Makenzie Stokel are the co-founders of EVAmore, a Nashville, Tennessee based company that connects event planners with vetted live entertainment. Since launching EVAmore in 2015, they have expanded into several different markets including Austin and Atlanta, with additional cities underway.

In this episode, Channing and Makenzie will share their experience of going through Nashville Entrepreneur Center and the many challenges they faced along their entrepreneurial journey. Along with how it's possible to move past these difficult entrepreneurial challenges, as long as you have the right mindset and a great team. Tune in for more!

In this episode with Channing Moreland and Makenzie Stokel, you’ll learn:

--- How Channing and Makenzie founded EVAmore

--- Advice on how to face challenges as an entrepreneur

--- What’s it like working in music tech industry

--- What makes Nashville’s / Tennessee’s tech industry so unique

Please enjoy this conversation with Channing Moreland and Makenzie Stokel!

If you like this episode, please subscribe and leave us a review on iTunes. You can also follow us on Soundcloud or Stitcher. We have an incredible lineup of interviews we’ll be releasing every Tuesday here on the Powderkeg Podcast.

Successful start-ups go through several smaller milestones before they reach the first major financial milestone. These smaller milestones represent outcomes of smaller teams working on countless initiatives that help reach the ultimate milestone. It’s always beneficial to let your team know how their contributions and efforts fit into the bigger picture. Having a culture of transparency and that emphasizes your team's relevance and criticality of their work helps leads to the overall financial success of the organization. But how do you know what to make as the right important financial milestones for your company? And how do you develop a culture of transparency with your team on choosing those right financial milestones that are right for the company?

On today’s episode of the Powderkeg podcast, you’ll hear from two guests that have decades of experience innovating in finance and helping small business leaders and entrepreneurs build successful companies. Our first guest is Glenn Dunlap, Co-Founder & CEO of Peerview Data. Peerview Data is a SaaS company that specializes in benchmarking and comparative analytics solutions for CPA firms. Joining him is Randie Dial, managing director of CLA Indiana. Clifton Larsen Allen is a professional services firm and the eighth largest accountancy firm in the United States.

In this episode, Glenn and Randie will discuss the ways of getting in the entrepreneurial mindset of setting the right financial milestones to have a successful start-up. You’ll also get to hear how they're able to retain great talent and why it's important to build a culture that is transparent and that makes the on-boarding process for newcomers truly special. Tune in for more!

In this episode with Randie Dial and Glenn Dunlap, you’ll learn:

--- What are some important financial milestones for early-stage tech companies

--- The most important metrics and goals every start-up should focus on

--- Going from the start-up phase to the execution phase

--- How you can attract and retain the best talent at a technology company

Please enjoy this conversation with Randie Dial and Glenn Dunlap!

If you like this episode, please subscribe and leave us a review on iTunes. You can also follow us on Soundcloud or Stitcher. We have an incredible lineup of interviews we’ll be releasing every Tuesday here on the Powderkeg Podcast.

This is episode 101 of Powderkeg: Igniting Startups, the show for entrepreneurs, leaders, and innovators building remarkable tech companies in areas outside of Silicon Valley.

Today we’re revisiting an old episode where Matt spoke with Sarah Lacy. Sarah is a serial entrepreneur and a longtime journalist, founder of tech news site Pando Media, and founder of Chairman Mom, which launched in 2018.

The interview is from March 2018, and we’re bringing it out of the archives because it’s one of our favorites. Let’s get to it!

Let’s face it: In the tech world, motherhood is often viewed as something undesirable. Many employers and professional women think that having children will distract them from work, decrease their productivity, and make them less effective leaders. But what if the opposite is true? What if working moms actually make some of the very best entrepreneurs, investors, and employees?

This is the opinion of Sarah Lacy, a Silicon Valley tech journalist turned entrepreneur. After writing and editorial stints at TechCrunch and Businessweek, Lacy launched PandoDaily, a web publication offering analysis and commentary on the Bay Area tech community, in 2012. She’s also the author of three books focusing on tech and entrepreneurship. Her most recent title, "A Uterus Is a Feature, Not a Bug," focuses on empowering professional women and proving through cold, hard data that working moms are often better at their jobs than their childless peers.

Lacy flew out to the Powderkeg headquarters in Indianapolis, IN for this candid and inspiring interview. During our conversation, she shares her thoughts on the importance of good role models, evidence that working moms are some of the best people you can hire or invest in, and strategies for getting and keeping them on your team. She also shares some exciting behind-the-scenes info on her latest company, Chairman Mom, a guilt-free, judgment-free, and troll-free community for professional women and moms.

In this episode with Sarah Lacy, you’ll learn:

* How good role models inspire people to live up to their full potential (5:25)

* Why Millennial women will be instrumental in driving workplace gender reform (16:10)

* Research that proves working mothers actually outperform their peers (21:59)

* Strategies for attracting working moms to your team and making them feel valued (30:05)

* About Chairman Mom and its mission to support and empower women professionals (37:12**)

Please enjoy this conversation with Sarah Lacy!

If you like this episode, please subscribe and leave us a review on iTunes. You can also follow us on Soundcloud or Stitcher. We have an incredible lineup of interviews we’ll be releasing every Tuesday here on the Powderkeg Podcast. Check it out at powderkeg.com/itunes.

Leaders that are able to build and create a culture of openness and collaboration are able to encourage their team to better self-develop, communicate, and share what they are learning so they can capitalize on the actions they are or could be doing better, and promoting and pushing one another to do the same. But where do we begin in order to create and maintain this idea that we call product culture?

On today’s episode, we chat with Marcus Cobb, a technologist, product designer, public speaker, and successful entrepreneur. Marcus is a highly sought-after investor, mentor, and strategist for numerous organizations. He’s also the CEO and co-founder of Jammber, a Nashville-based music technology company that focuses on streamlining the incredibly complicated process of creating a song, sharing it with the world and ultimately getting paid and getting credit for it.

Throughout this episode, you’ll get to hear Marcus discuss his role as an entrepreneur, his personal experiences with building an amazing team culture, and his current role as co-founder and CEO of Jammber. Find out more on how Marcus and his team are disrupting the music industry with their platform, Jammber. Tune in for More!

In this episode with Marcus Cobb, you’ll learn:

--- How positive product culture can be a secret ingredient for team success

--- About the music tech industry and the opportunities available

--- Marcus’s personal experience and growth as an entrepreneur

--- How the Jammber platform is impacting the music industry

Please enjoy this conversation with Marcus Cobb!

If you like this episode, please subscribe and leave us a review on iTunes. You can also follow us on Soundcloud or Stitcher. We have an incredible lineup of interviews we’ll be releasing every Tuesday here on the Powderkeg Podcast.

Today we’re bringing back an episode from a LIVE Powderkeg event in Nashville, Tennessee in November 2018 where we unpacked the data from the Tennessee Tech Census. The recording features 6 local tech leaders as they discuss the main findings about the grit - and growth - of the tech community across Tennessee.

We’re re-releasing this episode because later this month, Launch Tennessee, one of our partners on the Tech Census, is hosting their annual 36|86 Entrepreneurship Festival. 36|83 brings together the best innovators and difference-makers for two days of networking, programming, and entertainment on the latest in technology and entrepreneurship. It’s on August 28th and 29th, 2019 in Nashville Tennessee, and you can sign up at launchtn.org/3686fest.

We invited six tech leaders to help us understand what’s happening in markets like Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville and Chattanooga including:

Margaret Dolan, President and CEO of Launch Tennessee

Monique Villa, founder of ModernCapital

Brian Mayes, Nashville’s head of engineering at Eventbrite

Jim Horey, founder and CEO of ReviewBox

Andrew Goldner, co-founder of GrowthX

Clint Smith, co-founder of Emma

Having the right talent acquisition process can give tech companies the upper hand to attract the most highly skilled and best culture-fit talent on the market. Creating an employer brand that aligns with your talent strategy can help attract top talent, and in exchange, lead to better performance and outcomes.

But have you ever had a hard time trying to find the right person for a key position in your company? You’re not alone. A recent study done by Korn Ferry found that almost 60% of employers are struggling to fill open positions within 12 weeks. Giving companies a limited amount of time to find the right candidates who have the right skills and experience to build a thriving and successful team. So how can you attract and retain the best talent for your company?

In this episode of the Igniting Startups podcast we asked 6 different CEOs, executives, and leaders around the Powderkeg community how they attract the most extraordinary talent. The result is a narrative that shows how leaders build thriving and successful teams: the legwork that’s needed, the right timing, and what to look for when you’re interviewing people for a new role. Tune in for more!

In this Powderkeg episode, you’ll learn:

--- How to find the right fit for your team and your company

--- Ways to discover your personal core values

--- How to cultivate talent to build a successful team

--- What great talent is and how to find it, no matter where you are

Please enjoy this conversation!

If you like this episode, please subscribe and leave us a review on iTunes. You can also follow us on Soundcloud or Stitcher. We have an incredible lineup of interviews we’ll be releasing every Tuesday here on the Powderkeg Podcast.