Underserved

Rachel Cossar grew up a nationally ranked rhythmic gymnast in Canada. In Episode #083 of Underserved, we discover her journey from those early competitions to the Boston ballet to working with artificial intelligence to improve body language. It turns out that non-verbal body communication matters a lot (think of your last Zoom call!) and Rachel nurtured that idea through proof of concept into founding a company. We discuss making the tough transitions while remaining true to yourself, the Roux Institute Techstars Accelerator, and being a trapeze artist as a hobby.

• Rachel on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-cossar/
• Virtual Sapiens Presence Assessment Free Trial - Curious to see how people perceive you on video ?
• Virtual Sapiens Sidekick Free Trial - Get your very own, secret in-call coach - give yourself the unfair advantage:)
• Rachel's TEDx talk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzxZ28yU5_U

Episode #082 of Underserved is our first one recorded 9.5 time zones apart. Naresh Pillai joined us from India, where he has returned to bootstrap a startup called OpineWorks. Prior to this, Naresh spent time developing software both in India and the United States. We worked together when he was in Texas, developing telematics software to power connected vehicles. We talk about being the trusted "proof of concept" engineer, technology disrupting the restaurant industry, motorcycling up mountains, and underrated Indian cuisine. Naresh on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nareshpillai/ https://restodx.com/ https://opineworks.com/ One of the motorcycle rides https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCW4Xlqf_WY

Amanda Richardson grew up and started her career on the East Coast, but it took just one trip to California to fall in love with the state. In Episode 081, we talk about the siren song of Stanford, being the janitor on strategy presentations, and the gamification of coding interviews. Also covered are being the acquirer vs. the acquired, the trauma of winding up a company, and Phase RAIL. Now the CEO of CoderPad.io, Amanda shares how her stints in product management prepared her for the role, and how a nudge from a recruiter steeled her resolve to become a leader. Further reading from the topics discussed:

• https://coderpad.io/
• https://www.codingame.com/start
• https://www.codingame.com/work/
• https://www.teca-sf.org/
• https://www.hoteltonight.com/
• https://prezi.com/

Andrew Bauer is our guest for Underserved episode #080. Andrew is another guest who is a product of the Syracuse I-School. Combining business and technology skills, the I-School produces graduates with the rare skill set of being able to talk to both technical people and business folks (and living to tell about it!) Andrew has made a career of this, translating requirements into implementations with technologies ranging from IoT to SFDC. We talk about being an EMT on an ambulance (the second guest this season!) and the personalization of advertising as well.

• Andrew on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewbauer9
• NEXIS - https://nexis.ischool.syr.edu/
• SUA - https://sua.syr.edu
• PMC - https://profile.pmc.org/AB0205

Episode 079 of Underserved features Shani Gentry Cincotti. Our first Alabama native on the show (Roll Tide!), Shani shares about growing up pursuing journalism but realizing that the tech industry might be more welcoming/pay better. A stint in electronic photo asset management bridged the two fields, and a love of relational databases cemented the transition into tech. We discuss when adding hardware actually slows things down, how the cleaning crew may forecast company closures, and mentoring women in the healthcare technology space.

• Shani on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shanigentry/
• Former boss David on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidedube/
• MerlinOne, a digital asset management software company: https://merlinone.com
• Plan your visit to the George W Bush Presidential Library research room: https://www.georgewbushlibrary.gov/research/plan-research-visit
• Together Rising's fundraising page for women in Iran: https://fundraise.givesmart.com/form/oF6E3A?vid=utzt2

Adam Firestone is our featured guest for Episode 78 of Underserved. A recovering attorney and platoon leader, Adam believes as Robert Heinlein does: Humans are not meant for specialization. We should be capable in many realms. In Adam's professional life, this means understanding security holistically, architecture natively, and cryptography as a tool, not an end in and of itself. We discuss first aid as a hobby, foiling the magic cookie thieves, and the BFJT.

• Adam on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamfirestone/
• CyLogic: http://www.cylogic.com/
• Benzi Box: https://www.facebook.com/480735395379220/posts/pfbid026d2JX6hC3oRXJiSTbVtGquwRyqee6zY6pcebtrmNnFBmkHpwv2F4zAPbAYtooTzml/
• Tanks and Searchlights: https://www.quora.com/US-Army-tanks-seem-to-have-a-large-spotlight-on-the-turret-What-is-this/answer/Michael-D-Settles?ch=15&oid=75963238&share=7d19973b&srid=up2jTh&target_type=answer
• Culinary Happiness: https://suebeehomemaker.com/pan-seared-sea-bass/
• ISO Standard for Systems Engineering: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO/IEC_15288

Michael Gallagher is featured in Episode #077 of Underserved. Michael spent his youth painting cars, running a collision business, and even getting his Massachusetts appraiser's license. A friend suggested he check out Putnam Investments and so began a career in financial services technology. Mastery of the NSCC led to several opportunities, but the 2008 financial crisis led to some soul searching that put Michael in an ambulance as an EMT. This would foreshadow moving back and forth between technology and service to others during COVID. An avid listener of Underserved, Michael also has some great callbacks to our episodes with Nausheen Moulana and Chris Sullivan! Listen now with your favorite podcast client or on our website.

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-gallagher-941403/
• https://www.slalom.com
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Investors_Bank_%26_Trust
• https://www.rcc.mass.edu/reggie-lewis/index.html
• Nausheen Moulana: https://underserved.libsyn.com/ep-043-culture-change
• Chris Sullivan: https://underserved.libsyn.com/ep-059-step-down-to-step-up

SEASON 7 of Underserved kicks off with our guest Paul Belt. In our 76th episode, we cover Paul graduating from running a BBS and the warez scene into software development. Paul realized quickly that many companies and hiring managers in the software industry insist that you have that "piece of paper", an undergraduate degree, before they will consider you. We also discuss the importance of the mission and the market, measuring software development productivity as well as drag, and how to recognize and mesh with different personality types. Additional reading links from Paul:

• Paul's first professional mentor: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-thau-78b8a665/
• An insightful boss from DataXu https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianjdolan/
• Best Boss Ever! Marcia Goetsch https://www.linkedin.com/in/marciagoetsch/ Marcia's the one that recognized "old school computing" and the value it brings to today's market... a mastery of the basics (her mastery is far superior to my own)... and helped formalize design patterns and domain-specific terminologies in a way that Northeastern failed to. She gave me autonomy and taught me the difference between managers and leaders. She is a leader.
• Personal Repositories: https://github.com/belt and https://hub.docker.com/u/paulbelt
• How does the internet work? (in a nutshell): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OSI_model

Episode #075's guest Jeff Taylor was generous with his time, spending over two hours with me in the studio. We captured so much good material that we needed a bonus episode to squeeze it all in. In this bonus episode we talk about life after Monster, why you should run the meetings you attend, and setting the world record for water skiing behind a blimp.

Links:

Blimp record: https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2000/03/23/executive-sets-blimp-skiing-record/

RoverTrophy: https://www.rovertrophy.com/

Burning Man: https://burningman.org/

Root Society at Burning Man https://www.instagram.com/rootsociety2019/?utm_source=ig_embed&hl=en

Our guest for Episode #075 is Jeff Taylor, founder of Monster.com and 14 other companies including most recently RoverTrophy.com. Jeff has always been ahead of his time, with boundless amounts of energy. This led him to create the world's first job board in Monster, a revolutionary idea that spawned an entire industry. We discuss the resolve needed to champion your ideas, being the first URL on the radio, and when you know it is the right time to sell.

Links:

Jeff on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-taylor-5212115a

A snapshot of the Monster Board in 1996 https://web.archive.org/web/19961111103115/http://www.monster.com/

When I Grow Up commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fY1WoHkNGy4