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Tales From The Sky Lounge-A Business Podcast
By Todd MerrillBusiness
Tales From The Sky Lounge-A Business Podcast episodes
- Ep 06 - Mike Blake: A Journey Through Valuations, Ventures, Visions and Vodka
Joining us in the Sky Lounge this week is the fascinating Mike Blake, founder of High Score Strategies. Dive into the world of business valuation and strategy consulting, and learn how Mike navigates multimillion-dollar valuation opportunities with the finesse of a recovering venture capitalist. Get a little bit nerdy as these two tech aficionados explore what it takes to make it big in the business world, how you can use gift cards to pay employees (note: you can’t!) and why the Russian mafia played a big part in Mike’s career trajectory. Don't miss this high-flying and globe-spanning episode! #TechTalk #VentureVibes #BusinessBrilliance #SkyLoungeStories #InvestingInsights
ABOUT OUR GUEST:Mike Blake is a Founder of High Score Strategies, a business valuation and strategic advisory firm with offices near Atlanta, Georgia, and Lisbon, Portugal. Mike helps his clients achieve winning outcomes in their business valuation-related opportunities (such as buying or selling a company) and challenges (such as tax compliance or financial reporting.)With 25 years of experience in valuation advisory, venture capital, and investment banking, Mike mixes market experience and data analytics to make his clients exceptional decision-makers for their most consequential and irreversible business decisions.Subscribe to Mike’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@yourbusinessvalueLinkedIn Profile: / unblakeableWebsite: highscorestrategies.comWhat is THE SKYLOUNGE?Tales from the SkyLounge is a podcast where we take you on a journey through the world of business, consulting, and venture investing. In each episode, we gather in our virtual sky lounge, high above the hustle and bustle of the everyday world, to hear stories from the people who are shaping the future of these industries. From entrepreneurs who are disrupting the status quo, consultants who are helping companies solve their biggest challenges, and investors who are making bets on the next big thing.ABOUT OUR HOST:Todd Merrill is an experienced software executive who typically assists clients as a fractional or interim CTO and CiSO as a partner at TechCXO.He has served in a series of companies as a C-Level executive focused on leveraging the Cloud to bring SaaS offerings to market. As an entrepreneur, turn-around expert, technology and product leader, and mentor, Todd has held full corporate P&L and product development responsibilities and directed diverse international teams of Engineering Managers, Mobile Architects, Developers, Dev Ops, QA, and Customer Success professionals.Subscribe and turn on notifications to listen to new episodes as they launch!YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfeCS-Varb4gu2uCwyRTXWWEdP676Huh6Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6jz6ubcaUZ20Xh8TXhwzENApple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tales-from-the-sky-lounge/id1730134658Amazon: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/4ba289a5-0d33-4589-95c7-83416731a864/tales-from-the-sky-loungeFollow Tales From The SkyLounge on Social MediaX/Twitter: @TFTSkyLoungeTikTok: tiktok.com/tftskyloungeLearn more about TechCXO: https://www.techcxo.com/Production/Design: James LiebmanMusic: Soundstripe/Cody Martin-SunriseFor more info visit techcxo.com55 min - Ep 05 - Jay Kleinman: Winning Strategies From Gridiron Grit to Healthcare Innovation
Joining us in the Sky Lounge today is Jay Kleinman, a seasoned healthcare business development and sales strategy expert with over 30 years of experience. Jay dives into his journey from playing football at Auburn University to launching and scaling ventures in the healthcare space.
Discover the power of teamwork, the art of sales, and the impact of digital health on elder care. Learn why you should think twice before sending that cold email and how chicken and broccoli can bring a team together.ABOUT OUR GUEST:Jay Kleinman is a Texas-based Partner in TechCXO’s Revenue Growth practice. He supports clients as a fractional Chief Revenue Officer (CRO), Chief Commercial Officer/Chief Growth Officer (CCO, CGO), and Chief Sales Officer (CSO). Jay is a seasoned sales, strategy, and business development leader with over 30 years of experience in healthcare services (payor/provider), MedTech, insurance solutions, technology, SaaS, marketing/advertising, and analytics. Jay’s track record of success includes end-to-end sales processes where he’s secured multiyear, 7+ figure agreements.LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaykleinman/Email: [email protected]What is THE SKYLOUNGE?Tales from the SkyLounge is a podcast where we take you on a journey through the world of business, consulting, and venture investing. In each episode, we gather in our virtual sky lounge, high above the hustle and bustle of the everyday world, to hear stories from the people who are shaping the future of these industries. From entrepreneurs who are disrupting the status quo, consultants who are helping companies solve their biggest challenges, and investors who are making bets on the next big thing.ABOUT OUR HOST:Todd Merrill is an experienced software executive who typically assists clients as a fractional or interim CTO and CiSO as a partner at TechCXO.He has served in a series of companies as a C-Level executive focused on leveraging the Cloud to bring SaaS offerings to market. As an entrepreneur, turn-around expert, technology and product leader, and mentor, Todd has held full corporate P&L and product development responsibilities and directed diverse international teams of Engineering Managers, Mobile Architects, Developers, Dev Ops, QA, and Customer Success professionals.Subscribe and turn on notifications to listen to new episodes as they launch!YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfeCS-Varb4gu2uCwyRTXWWEdP676Huh6Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6jz6ubcaUZ20Xh8TXhwzENApple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tales-from-the-sky-lounge/id1730134658Amazon: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/4ba289a5-0d33-4589-95c7-83416731a864/tales-from-the-sky-loungeFollow Tales From The SkyLounge on Social MediaX/Twitter: @TFTSkyLoungeTikTok: tiktok.com/tftskyloungeLearn more about TechCXO: https://www.techcxo.com/Production/Design: James LiebmanMusic: Soundstripe/Cody Martin-SunriseFor more info visit techcxo.com38 min - Ep 04 - Mark Flickinger: From Rowing to Venture Capital - Lessons in Teamwork and Growth
Mark Flickinger, COO and GP of BIP Ventures shares insights into competitive drive in founders, The State of Startups in the Southeast, how #VentureCapital Funds operate and what it means to have a great team. We talk about “The SVB Hangover”, dry powder (not for napkins) and when to go slow.
ABOUT OUR GUEST:Mark Flickinger -General Partner & COO / BIP VenturesMark Flickinger joined BIP Ventures in 2015. In his role as General Partner and Chief Operating Officer, Mark oversees fundraising, investor relations, marketing/branding, talent acquisition, and acceleration.Before joining the firm, Mark held leadership roles for 4th Strand, a product performance consulting firm (acquired by Intertek in 2012). He oversaw project management, product development, HR/recruiting, operations, and sales. Mark's experience also includes Medarex, a biotech startup developing therapeutics for cancer and autoimmune diseases, as well as the oral care division of consumer products company Church & Dwight.Mark earned an MBA in General Management and Entrepreneurship from The University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School and a BSE in Mechanical Engineering from Princeton University. He was a member of the US National Rowing Team from 2001-2008.Mark serves on the board for Venture Atlanta, AchieveIt, and VoApps. He is an avid father, cyclist, runner, and skier, both downhill and water.LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-flickinger-24295538/Contact info: [email protected]What is THE SKYLOUNGE?Tales from the SkyLounge is a podcast where we take you on a journey through the world of business, consulting, and venture investing. In each episode, we gather in our virtual sky lounge, high above the hustle and bustle of the everyday world, to hear stories from the people who are shaping the future of these industries. From entrepreneurs who are disrupting the status quo, consultants who are helping companies solve their biggest challenges, and investors who are making bets on the next big thing.ABOUT OUR HOST:Todd Merrill is an experienced software executive who typically assists clients as a fractional or interim CTO and CiSO as a partner at TechCXO.He has served in a series of companies as a C-Level executive focused on leveraging the Cloud to bring SaaS offerings to market. As an entrepreneur, turn-around expert, technology and product leader, and mentor, Todd has held full corporate P&L and product development responsibilities and directed diverse international teams of Engineering Managers, Mobile Architects, Developers, Dev Ops, QA, and Customer Success professionals.Subscribe and turn on notifications to listen to new episodes as they launch!YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfeCS-Varb4gu2uCwyRTXWWEdP676Huh6Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6jz6ubcaUZ20Xh8TXhwzENApple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tales-from-the-sky-lounge/id1730134658Amazon: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/4ba289a5-0d33-4589-95c7-83416731a864/tales-from-the-sky-loungeFollow Tales From The SkyLounge on Social MediaX/Twitter: @TFTSkyLoungeTikTok: tiktok.com/tftskyloungeInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/tftskylounge/Learn more about TechCXO: https://www.techcxo.com/Production/Design: James LiebmanMusic: Soundstripe/Cody Martin-Sunrise49 min - Ep 03 - Jan Heybroek - From Startup to Successful Exit - Lessons from a Healthcare Entrepreneur
We all hear about the legendary founders who grow their business, become an overnight success over a few decades and sell out to Private Equity. Jan shares insights about that journey that made him an ‘Exited Entrepreneur’.
Watch as Jan takes us through how to close an M&A deal including some powerful Dutch negotiating techniques.Stay with us to see why getting to First Base is fun and where the next Dr. House is going to come from.ABOUT OUR GUEST:Jan Heybroek -PARTNER - EXECUTIVE OPERATIONS; FRACTIONAL EXECUTIVEJan Heybroek is a Partner in TechCXO’s Executive Operations practice. He is most frequently called on by investors, Boards and senior management teams with life sciences companies to assist as an interim and fractional Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Chief Revenue Officer (CRO).With more than 30 years of senior leadership, Jan is exceptional in applying his knowledge and strategic marketing and product experience within life sciences and biopharma. He is particularly adept in building out new solutions, optimizing existing products and overseeing product portfolios to deliver industry and category-leading returns. Jan is also a thought leader in the areas of entrepreneurship, organizational partnerships, licensing and market insights.Socials: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janheybroek/Contact info[email protected] , +1.404.384.9315 https://scheduler.zoom.us/janheybroekWhat is THE SKYLOUNGE?Tales from the SkyLounge is a podcast where we take you on a journey through the world of business, consulting, and venture investing. In each episode, we gather in our virtual sky lounge, high above the hustle and bustle of the everyday world, to hear stories from the people who are shaping the future of these industries. From entrepreneurs who are disrupting the status quo, consultants who are helping companies solve their biggest challenges, and investors who are making bets on the next big thing.ABOUT OUR HOST:Todd Merrill is an experienced software executive who typically assists clients as a fractional or interim CTO and CiSO as a partner at TechCXO.He has served in a series of companies as a C-Level executive focused on leveraging the Cloud to bring SaaS offerings to market. As an entrepreneur, turn-around expert, technology and product leader, and mentor, Todd has held full corporate P&L and product development responsibilities and directed diverse international teams of Engineering Managers, Mobile Architects, Developers, Dev Ops, QA, and Customer Success professionals.Subscribe and turn on notifications to listen to new episodes as they launch!YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfeCS-Varb4gu2uCwyRTXWWEdP676Huh6Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6jz6ubcaUZ20Xh8TXhwzENApple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tales-from-the-sky-lounge/id1730134658Amazon: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/4ba289a5-0d33-4589-95c7-83416731a864/tales-from-the-sky-loungeFollow Tales From The SkyLounge on Social MediaX/Twitter: @TFTSkyLoungeTikTok: tiktok.com/tftskyloungeLearn more about TechCXO: https://www.techcxo.com/Production/Design: James LiebmanMusic: Soundstripe/Cody Martin-Sunrise42 min - Ep 02 - Lewis Goldman: Mastering Marketing Evolution in the Digital Age
We speak to a legendary NYC Marketer, Lewis Goldman who talks about being a pioneer in digital marketing. Lewis shares stories about recent trends in digital marketing and where we are going in the new AI/LLM era.
Hear about what role social influencers play, what the future of influence marketing is and also When is it appropriate to knock over a convenience store.ABOUT OUR GUEST:Lewis Goldman - PARTNER – CHIEF GROWTH OFFICER, FRACTIONAL CMO, CROThe Consultant Who Scales BusinessesLewis Goldman is a TechCXO Partner in its New York office, and a marketing consultant specializing in scaling businesses rapidly through marketing, new products, new channels/partnerships, and leveraging customer data to cross sell and upsell existing customers. His focus on accelerating growth comes from extensive experience as a CMO and heading up growth, digital marketing, and E-Commerce efforts at companies ranging from Citigroup and MetLife to LinkedIn, Amazon, and LendKey.Customer Centric - Leveraging his experience in marketing, digital transformation, and data/analytics, Lewis specializes in leveraging a customer centric approach to innovation through using digital, data, and identifying new market opportunities to accelerate revenue growth.Beyond Marketing to help scale organizations - Lewis helps smaller entities scale their organizations and processes by using his experience building or reorganizing 10 different marketing/E-Commerce organizations ranging from startups to new businesses within Fortune 50 companies.What is THE SKYLOUNGE?Tales from the SkyLounge is a podcast where we take you on a journey through the world of business, consulting, and venture investing. In each episode, we gather in our virtual sky lounge, high above the hustle and bustle of the everyday world, to hear stories from the people who are shaping the future of these industries. From entrepreneurs who are disrupting the status quo, consultants who are helping companies solve their biggest challenges, and investors who are making bets on the next big thing.ABOUT OUR HOST:Todd Merrill is an experienced software executive who typically assists clients as a fractional or interim CTO and CiSO as a partner at TechCXO.He has served in a series of companies as a C-Level executive focused on leveraging the Cloud to bring SaaS offerings to market. As an entrepreneur, turn-around expert, technology and product leader, and mentor, Todd has held full corporate P&L and product development responsibilities and directed diverse international teams of Engineering Managers, Mobile Architects, Developers, Dev Ops, QA, and Customer Success professionals.Subscribe and turn on notifications to listen to new episodes as they launch!YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfeCS-Varb4gu2uCwyRTXWWEdP676Huh6Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6jz6ubcaUZ20Xh8TXhwzENApple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tales-from-the-sky-lounge/id1730134658Amazon: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/4ba289a5-0d33-4589-95c7-83416731a864/tales-from-the-sky-loungeFollow Tales From The SkyLounge on Social MediaX/Twitter: @TFTSkyLoungeTikTok: tiktok.com/tftskyloungeLearn more about TechCXO: https://www.techcxo.com/Production/Design: James LiebmanMusic: Soundstripe/Cody Martin-Sunrise45 min - Ep 01 - Maria Goldsholl: Building Authentic Leadership and Culture in Startups
Todd starts off the series with a bang as he talks with his first guest, Maria Goldsholl, Managing Partner-Human Capital, about the mindset required to grow and learn from the tough times at any level, and what particular traits she looks for when evaluating a team or a leader.
Watch till the end to learn what startup coffee and stinky fish have in common.ABOUT OUR GUEST:Maria Goldsholl, Managing Partner Human CapitalMaria Goldsholl is a seasoned, energetic executive leader with an extensive background in organizational and talent development, culture management, developing HR infrastructure and building teams and operations. Her expertise has been cited and featured in Forbes HR council, The Wall Street Journal, Working Mother Magazine, Entrepreneur, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and other publications.Prior to joining TechCXO, she was the Chief People Officer for PokitDok, a venture backed high growth healthcare technology company, where she provided leadership and direction for human resources function and served as trusted advisor to CEO and executive team on people related issues. Maria was also responsible for providing thought leadership and execution of people initiatives, organizational development, recruitment and culture initiatives.In addition, she served as COO for Moms Corps, where she was responsible for managing the day-to-day activities of this first- to-market staffing and search company. She began as the first employee of company and helped grow the organization to $16 million business with franchises and offices nationwide.As the Director of Organizational Development for The Weather Channel, she was responsible for the company’s diversity efforts, succession planning and work/life programs. The company earned five “Employer of Choice” top rankings in the telecommunications industry.A native of New York, NY, Maria holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of La Verne in Athens, Greece, and a master’s degree in Organizational Behavior from Brooklyn College in New York.What is THE SKYLOUNGE?Tales from the SkyLounge is a podcast where we take you on a journey through the world of business, consulting, and venture investing. In each episode, we gather in our virtual sky lounge, high above the hustle and bustle of the everyday world, to hear stories from the people who are shaping the future of these industries. From entrepreneurs who are disrupting the status quo, consultants who are helping companies solve their biggest challenges, and investors who are making bets on the next big thing.ABOUT OUR HOST:Todd Merrill is an experienced software executive who typically assists clients as a fractional or interim CTO and CiSO as a partner at TechCXO.He has served in a series of companies as a C-Level executive focused on leveraging the Cloud to bring SaaS offerings to market. As an entrepreneur, turn-around expert, technology and product leader, and mentor, Todd has held full corporate P&L and product development responsibilities and directed diverse international teams of Engineering Managers, Mobile Architects, Developers, Dev Ops, QA, and Customer Success professionals.Subscribe and turn on notifications to listen to new episodes as they launch!YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfeCS-Varb4gu2uCwyRTXWWEdP676Huh6Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6jz6ubcaUZ20Xh8TXhwzENApple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tales-from-the-sky-lounge/id1730134658Amazon: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/4ba289a5-0d33-4589-95c7-83416731a864/tales-from-the-sky-loungeFollow Tales From The SkyLounge on Social MediaX/Twitter: @TFTSkyLoungeTikTok: tiktok.com/tftskyloungeLearn more about TechCXO: https://www.techcxo.com/Production/Design: James LiebmanMusic: Soundstripe/Cody Martin-Sunrise31 min - Tales from the SkyLounge - Welcome to Tales from the SkyLounge!
What is THE SKYLOUNGE?
Tales from the SkyLounge is a podcast where we take you on a journey through the world of business, consulting, and venture investing. In each episode, we gather in our virtual sky lounge, high above the hustle and bustle of the everyday world, to hear stories from the people who are shaping the future of these industries. From entrepreneurs who are disrupting the status quo, consultants who are helping companies solve their biggest challenges, and investors who are making bets on the next big thing.ABOUT OUR HOST:Todd Merrill is an experienced software executive who typically assists clients as a fractional or interim CTO and CiSO as a partner at TechCXO.He has served in a series of companies as a C-Level executive focused on leveraging the Cloud to bring SaaS offerings to market. As an entrepreneur, turn-around expert, technology and product leader, and mentor, Todd has held full corporate P&L and product development responsibilities and directed diverse international teams of Engineering Managers, Mobile Architects, Developers, Dev Ops, QA, and Customer Success professionals.Follow Tales From The SkyLounge on Social Media
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iTunes:
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TechCXO: techcxo.com
Music: Soundstripe.com
Production/Design: James Liebman
3 min
About Tales From The Sky Lounge-A Business Podcast
From the publisher's feed
Welcome to Tales from the Sky Lounge, a podcast where host Todd Merrill—a veteran software engineer and founder—takes you on an intimate journey through the world of business, consulting, and venture…
investing. From our virtual perch high above the daily grind, we dive into candid conversations with entrepreneurs, consultants, and investors who share their battle-tested insights and untold stories from the startup trenches, offering fresh perspectives on what it takes to thrive in today's dynamic business landscape.