Hey folks. Yes, we know. It's been a while...

But for good reason! In this latest episode we discuss what's been going on as of late, what BCE Parters is, and what we do as a business. Over the last year and some change, we've fallen in love with service-based businesses, and the operators who run them. Our hope is that we can help these businesses continue to grow and thrive. Enjoy the episode!

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BCE Partners is a private growth equity firm for SMB.

Today’s episode is all about music and tech, and how the lines are becoming more blurred between the two as time moves on. We first cover the  new iteration of Kanye West's Stem Player. his If we look back on Kanye’s career, one thing that becomes very obvious, going back to around 2011, we can see Kanye’s genius in making his music an experience. As a creative director, he’s definitely adamant about you being immersed in an experience when you encounter his music, especially in live format. This stem player is no exception. We also cover A.I. based music company, Audioshake, and how they're really positioning themselves as an advocate for music creators, in comparison to traditional music software companies who do the same thing. Lastly we cover Spotify acquiring both Podsights and Chartable. The companies make two of the leading tools related to marketing, advertising, metrics, and analytics for audio content.

Key Points From This Episode:

• Kanye West's new album won't come to streaming services like Spotify or Apple Music — only his $200 music player.

• Audioshake’s patented AI technology can take any song--from any point in history, no matter how it was recorded--and break it into its stems, creating new uses for the music in instrumentals, sampling, remixes, mash-ups and more.

• Spotify acquires two more companies to become a podcasting juggernaut

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BCE Partners is a private growth equity firm for SMB.

For hardware organizations dealing with the chaos of managing a distributed manufacturer network, Partsimony is building a cognitive manufacturing supply chain that leverages transactional data to provide deep insights around Manufacturer Discovery, Design Intent, and Supply Chain Resilience. Unlike other products that mainly provide a general approach to supply chain procurement, Partsimony is laser-focused on complex hardware products and leverages domain expertise to deliver more strategic outcomes. Partsimony is building the future cognitive manufacturing supply chain.

In a time where supply chain issues have completely debilitated industries all over the world, it’s great to see companies like Partsimony rising to the occasion, with our special guest and CEO, Richard Mokuolu, the supply chain strategist leading the charge.

Key Points From This Episode:

• Richard shares his personal background, and the backstory of the foundation of Parsimony.

• Richard and his team sprung into action and contributed in a big way back in April 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic, by helping to ensure much needed, lower-cost ventilators made its way to the public.

• Partsimony, as a company made a significant pivot in the core business. Richard explains how they arrived at that decision.

• Richard and his team were able to successfully close of a $2M Seed round, led by Closed Loop Partners’ Ventures Group with participation from Contour Ventures, Urban Us, and other top institutional and angel investors.

• Richard discusses working with reputable brands like Stanley Black & Decker, and how trust is paramount.

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Richard on Linkedin

Partsimony's Website

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BCE Partners is a private growth equity firm for SMB.

If you go back in recent history, and look at some of your favorite brands' origins, you might be surprised at what you see. You’ll come across totally different brand names, products, and services. Some of which are not recognizable in the least. They began their journeys and changed and iterated over time to become the world renowned brands that we all know and love today. They're still not perfect, no business or brand is, but the one thing they all have in common, is that they just put themselves out there, and got the ball rolling. I believe this is one of my gifts. The ability to conjure up an idea, get it moving, and release it to the public. None of my ideas have ever been anywhere near perfect at launch, but I’m glad that I made it happen, and allowed the idea to come to fruition. Let’s take a look at how I’m pushing to launch my minimum viable product for my new brand SoulSessions, and how you can apply it to your idea.

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Blue Collar Exec was created to share insights on the core tenets in business and brand development. Through content, classes, events and products, Blue Collar Exec hopes to empower those who are bootstrapping their way towards success. Join our community.

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I’ve started about 6-7 official businesses in my lifetime. This is dating all the way back to when I lived at home, and filled out official paperwork for PA, opening up a business bank account and everything. This was before the days of LegalZoom, and the process was god awful. I didn’t have money for a lawyer to handle everything. But still, there’s nothing like that feeling of receiving those official documents, and swiping the company card at Best Buy to grab a new laptop for your business. Even though I enjoyed starting and running those businesses, it wasn’t until the last two that I figured out this one angle for building success at a fast rate. And this is an angle that most seem to miss when starting their own businesses. I wish I could’ve figured some of these things out from the first business, as it probably would’ve saved me a lot of wasted time and effort, and also would have paved the way for earlier success. But I’m grateful to understand it now better than ever. In this episode of The BCE Podcast, I break down the lessons I learned by forming Soul Surplus, and what I learned along the way.

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Blue Collar Exec was created to share insights on the core tenets in business and brand development. Through content, classes, events and products, Blue Collar Exec hopes to empower those who are bootstrapping their way towards success. Join our community.

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Blue Collar Exec Instagram

Over the last year we’ve witnessed many great performers, musicians and producers hand over their catalogs, publishing rights and likeness in some cases, over to music labels, publishers, and even huge investment funds. Music valuations are on the rise, as these companies are taking huge risks on the future royalties of these artists and songs. These companies are taking the risk, while the artists are cashing out. In a time where music has become more and more commodified each day, you may be wondering why the sudden jump for both the companies who are purchasing these assets, and the artists themselves, who are basically selling away their life's work. I believe there are a few reasons why these events are happening, and why they will most likely continue happening as time moves on. There's also a lesson inside of these deals that all creators and entrepreneurs should take to heart as well.

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Blue Collar Exec was created to share insights on the core tenets in business and brand development. Through content, classes, events and products, Blue Collar Exec hopes to empower those who are bootstrapping their way towards success. Join our community.

Blue Collar Exec

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As we all know the supply chain issue has become increasingly disruptive to businesses all across the country. The disruption in business has made its way to us as consumers as well, as these businesses are having a really hard time fulfilling orders due to ships backing up on the west coast. Earlier this year I bought a new truck, and it was an eery sight to be at the dealership and see lots that were usually brimming with vehicles, almost completely barren in some cases. I went to one Chevy dealership, and they legit only had one brand new truck on the lot, and the other 5-6 trucks were used.

Now because of the shortage, these used trucks were priced way high, seemingly coming in around 4-5 thousand dollars over what their actual true value was. I personally haven't lived through any supply issues outside of companies purposefully creating scarcity through limited releases to pump the prices. Unfortunately what ends up happening in a lot cases though, is that the price then becomes too high, and now the company is sitting with inventory it can't sell because it would simply go out of business. So these businesses had to cut people and limit the hours of operations to keep the lights on.  It was quite the wake up call. Hope you enjoy this discussions between John and I, as we speak on the pressures of corporations and workers alike.

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BCE Partners is a private growth equity firm for SMB.

Welcome to the Blue Collar Exec Podcast. Where we talk all things business, tech, entertainment and culture. BCE Partners is a private growth equity firm for SMB that shares Insights on the core tenets in business & brand development. Join our community to access classes, discussions & content for those bootstrapping their way to the top. Hosted by entrepreneurs Wes Pendleton & John McNeill.

On this episode the fellas discuss Rivian going public, right on the heels of Tesla's deal with Hertz. They also discuss Apple allowing its customers to repair their devices, Spotify stepping into the audiobook and potential book publishing space, and Serena Williams dominating in the venture capital space. 

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BCE Partners is a private growth equity firm for SMB.

Going against the grain. Forging your own path. This is the creed that Josh Niemyjski and his crew live by. While everyone is going left, they go right. In a world where almost everyone is copying one another, walking in a different direction can be odd to those on the outside looking in. But that never matters when you know where you’re going. Even more so when you’re using the tools and connections you’ve made over time to give you an advantage.

That’s where we find ourselves on the last part of our conversation series with Josh Niemyjski. On today’s episode, Josh highlights how he uses specific tools to help the team become as efficient as possible with their creative output. He also shares how he uses the connections that he’s made and continues to his advantage. All of these things continue to give Josh and his team a leg up in the world of production music. The right tool at the right time can make a world of difference.

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Follow Wes:

Superpeer - https://superpeer.com/wespendleton 

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wespendleton  

Twitter - https://twitter.com/Wes_Pendleton  

Weekly Newsletter - https://www.getrevue.co/profile/wespendleton  

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Follow Josh (ILLECT):

SoundCloud - https://soundcloud.com/illect

Twitter - https://twitter.com/illect

Bandcamp - https://illect.bandcamp.com/

As we discussed yesterday, seeing where the team has advantages and disadvantages can come in quite handy for leaders. How much of a grip you have on these things can either make or break your company. Thankfully for Josh Niemyski, he is currently navigating these waters rather smoothly. Knowing how to motivate his team, and keeping everyone pointed in the right direction. The importance of setting goals, and maintaining expectations has allowed Josh and his team to keep progress moving forward, without worrying about drop offs in inspiration and excitement.

In today’s episode, we continue on the subject of team motivation, highlighting Josh’s created roadmap for the company, and how this roadmap keeps him and his team centered. Between new platforms, and new ways of distributing music, Josh and the team continue to move with blinders on, executing the vision with precision.

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Follow Wes:

Superpeer - https://superpeer.com/wespendleton 

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wespendleton  

Twitter - https://twitter.com/Wes_Pendleton  

Weekly Newsletter - https://www.getrevue.co/profile/wespendleton  

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Follow Josh (ILLECT):

SoundCloud - https://soundcloud.com/illect

Twitter - https://twitter.com/illect

Bandcamp - https://illect.bandcamp.com/