The INDUStry Show

Peter Kennedy “I like to start companies in different industries and find the white space. When you walk into a new industry with little-to-no-knowledge, you're not restrained by a lot of the industry rules. It allows you to think outside the box, innovate and change the game.”

Peter Kennedy is the founder, COO of Tagger Media LLC, the leading SaaS platform for agencies and brands that use Influencer Marketing. Peter previously founded Suturenetics, Wake Nation, and Gorilla Guide. Prior to that, he was the Global Brand Manager at THQ and oversaw $75mn in annual revenues. Peter holds an MBA from the Kelley School of Business.

Sami Ahmed is the co-founder and President of Hunt Club, a new category of talent firm with proprietary technology that is enabling talent at the most innovative companies. Prior to Hunt Club, Sami spent several years at a leading private bank working with family offices and ultra-high networth individuals. Sami is an alum of Indiana University

Sami Ahmed "I was at one of the largest private banks in the world, traveling the world, getting great exposure, learning, in suits 7 days a week, living the life as a 20-something. But I had the itch to build something, so I moonlighted and built a few businesses on the side. When the opportunity came for me, I took a step back, found the right people to partner with, and we built Hunt Club from the ground up."

Thuy Vu is the co-founder and President of the Global Mentor Network. Thuy was the host & moderator of "KQED Newsroom" - a program on one of the nation's biggest PBS stations, and an Advisory Board member at DocuSign. She is a seven-time Emmy winner and recipient of the prestigious Edward R. Murrow award. Thuy was named one of the Bay Area's most Inspiring Women by the San Jose Mercury News and the East Bay Times.

7-time Emmy award winner Thuy Vu talks about her journey as an entrepreneur, and how the Global Mentor Network is helping enable a new generation of leadership with purpose. Thuy Vu "There are many great leaders that want to pay-it-forward and mentor others, but they are unable to make one-on-one commitments. Global Mentor Network provides a light-touch mentorship model and allows mentors to connect with mentees, globally. People just need wifi to learn from their wisdom."

Jim Semick "We interviewed more than 30 product managers before we wrote a single line of code. I recommend startups begin by interviewing at least 10 prospective customers to understand the problems their specific market is facing. In those interviews, you may not even talk about your product. In fact, you shouldn’t. You’re not pitching a product at this stage. You’re simply trying to understand a day in the life of your customer."

Jim Semick is the co-founder and Chief Strategist of ProductPlan. Previously, Jim was part of the founding team at AppFolio. He also helped launch GoToMeeting, GoToMyPC, and GoToWebinar. Jim is a sought-after speaker, and writes about product management, business models, and entrepreneurship.

Melinda Kim "My inspiration comes from being able to work with really smart people, that's what drew me to the tech world in the first place. Working with people fundamentally smarter than you and building tangible things, and seeing them come to life is so admirable and fun." 

Melinda Kim is the Executive Director and  co-founder of PeopleSpace, a tech incubator, co-working space, and hub in Irvine, California. Melinda is also the co-founder of Justponics, an agricultural sustainability innovation company producing kits and IOT devices for aquaponic systems. Melinda is an alumna of University of California, Riverside.

Mark Roderick "The SEC has announced two significant changes that will greatly help the crowdfunding community - both the fundraisers and the investors".

Mark Roderick is a Founding Partner at Lex Nova Law, a boutique corporate law firm specializing in blockchain, cryptocurrency, crowdfunding, fintech, and other corporate law areas. Mark is a sought after speaker on crowdfunding and regularly speaks at various global conferences. Mark is an alum of University of Virginia School of Law.

Kellan Carter "I graduated in 2009, eerily similar conditions to today. The job market was tough so I combed through our alumni list and reached out to John persistently till I got a reply. When he agreed for a call, I flew out to meet him at his office. If he was kind enough to give me time, I was going to respect him by flying out there. Several years later when I was ready, he brought me in at Ignition". Kellan Carter is a Partner at Ignition Partners, a dedicated early-stage enterprise software VC firm. Kellan is also a board member and investor at several leading tech startups such as botkeeper, Icertis, and Symend. He led Symend's $7.5mn Series A earlier this month. Kellan is an alum of University of Montana.

Lindsay Mitrosilis "I started as a waitress and found myself in IT staffing. You don't choose recruiting, recruiting chooses you. It isn't necessarily an easy route, however, it's really rewarding to help businesses, specifically female entrepreneurs with their people management needs. A lot of people think of LinkedIn as an online resume and it is so not that anymore.  If you want to be seen as a thought leader, an expert in your space, want to get invited for speaking engagements, podcast interviews - all that is happening for people as they speak to their audience on LinkedIn and I can help people with that." 

"I struggled quite a bit in the initial years until I got my first break. Passion is what kept me going, and still does. Unless you get a kick out of the work you do, it's hard to survive or thrive in a highly competitive industry such as entertainment."  Sameer Vijayan is a Bollywood actor. Sameer has leading roles in Marathi movies and prominent TV series. His portfolio includes critical and commercial successes as Gopya and Andya cha Funda, and the horror-thriller series Kavach. Sameer is also an avid cricketer.

Auto manufacturers have pledged $225 billion to develop new EVs. Today there are 18 EV models, and it is expected to grow to 64 by the end of 2020. There are significant opportunities arising out of this exponential growth. Reddy Marri is the President, CEO of EVGateway, a full-service EV charging and station management network. Reddy is also a subject matter expert in enterprise and network security systems, and counts the US Department of Defense (DoD), US Department of State (DoS), and several law enforcement agencies as his clients. Reddy is a retired golfer with a 1 handicap, and an avid squash player. He is an alum of NJIT.