Wicked Connected

Sandra Coker of Human Power Solutions joins Wicked Connected to talk about growing a business through referrals and share her insights on the art of networkking.

Sandra's Message: 

By building relationships, you can grow a majority of your business on referrals and warm leads. 

About Sandra: 

Sandra Coker is a leadership speaker, author, and founder of Human Power Solutions. With a background in hospitality, sales, and small business ownership, she brings over nine years of experience in Learning and Development. Her interactive workshops help organizations strengthen culture, retention, and results. Sandy is the author of 5 Coaching Techniques That Produce BIG Results and speaks regularly at leadership and business events. She holds a master’s in Organizational Leadership from Nichols College and lives in Northbridge, MA, where she enjoys family life as a proud mom, grandmother, and one of six siblings.

Links: 

www.linkedin.com/in/sandracoker
www.hpowersolutions.com

Victoria Nessen of CFAR joins the Wicked Connected crew to talk about how to take those networking discussions deeper to create more meaningful connections. 

Victoria's Message: 

"The joy of meeting new people when you can get past 'hello'."

Victoria's Bio: 

Victoria Nessen is CFAR's Director of Marketing and Growth, and is an accomplished executive who has spent her career driving growth. A versatile and visionary leader, Victoria is known for her ability to see pathways for growth, develop simple and elegant strategies that integrate sales and marketing, and eliminate organizational friction. 

Before joining CFAR, Victoria spent over 20 years as the dynamic founder of NK&A, a boutique growth strategy and marketing firm. Known for her unbridled enthusiasm and her ability to problem-solve in the moment, Victoria turned creativity, energy, and business know-how into success stories for small and mid-sized companies across industries. Before building NK&A, Victoria created brand presence for Timberland, Reebok International, Clark Shoe Company, and CRIC Capital.

In her spare time, Victoria enjoys time with her family and friends and is often found turning strangers into new friends. She is an avid listener of audiobooks, but her real passion is listening to other people's life stories.

Links: 

www.cfar.com
www.linkedin.com/in/victorianessen/

Mark Friedman of Senior Helpers -  Boston and South Shore joins the Wicked Connected crew to talk about the importance of giving first. 

Mark's Message: 
Networking is about how you support others in your network.  If you start with "What can you do for me" it is a much weaker platform to build a relationship compared to "What can I do to help you."

Mark's Bio: 

Mark is the founder (2010) and owner of Owner of Senior Helpers Boston and South Shore MA, a leading home-care agency serving the greater Boston metropolitan area. He also serves as an Advisory Board member for two AgeTech companies. 

Previously, Mark spent over two decades advising corporations on managing change and improving performance as a management consultant. His work spanned financial services (banking and insurance), retail, telecommunications, retail, entertainment, healthcare, media/content, community service organizations, retail operations and manufacturing industries in the U.S. South America and Europe.

Mark holds an MSIA (MBA) from Carnegie Mellon University with High Distinction and a BA in Economics from the University of Virginia.  He is a Certified Dementia Practitioner and is a Certified Long Term Care Insurance Claims Professional.  He is the author of A Guide to Excellent (and Successful) Aging.

Links: 
www.linkedin.com/in/markhfriedman8/
www.SeniorHelpersBoston.com

Jessie Pyne of The Pyne Group joins the Wicked Connected crew to talk about how understanding the other person's perspective is the key to business development. 

Jessie's Message: 

"Business development is done through personal connections and true understanding of what the other person needs"

About Jessie: 

Jessie Pyne is a wife and mother of 2 wild and amazing kids. 

Jessie Pyne is also a strategic operator and builder who has spent the last 20 years helping business owners grow, scale, and navigate major transitions. She’s worked across finance, sales, and operations often stepping in as the right hand to the CEO. Now, she’s focused on her next chapter as a fractional Chief Strategy Officer, partnering with leadership teams to bring clarity, momentum, and results to their most important initiatives. Jessie brings energy, perspective, and a deep commitment to making the invisible visible.

Links: 
ThePyneGroup.com
www.linkedin.com/in/thepynegroup

Jessie Pyne of The Pyne Group joins the Wicked Connected crew to talk about how understanding the other person's perspective is the key to business development. 

Jessie's Message: 

"Business development is done through personal connections and true understanding of what the other person needs"

About Jessie: 

Jessie Pyne is a wife and mother of 2 wild and amazing kids. 

Jessie Pyne is also a strategic operator and builder who has spent the last 20 years helping business owners grow, scale, and navigate major transitions. She’s worked across finance, sales, and operations often stepping in as the right hand to the CEO. Now, she’s focused on her next chapter as a fractional Chief Strategy Officer, partnering with leadership teams to bring clarity, momentum, and results to their most important initiatives. Jessie brings energy, perspective, and a deep commitment to making the invisible visible.

Links: 
ThePyneGroup.com
www.linkedin.com/in/thepynegroup

Jon Chen of Blue Tide Catalysts joins Wicked Connected to share his thoughts about networking as he helps founders, CEOs and leadership teams build stronger businesses. 

Jon's Approach: 

Jon coaches owner-operators and their leaders to exponentially accelerate the value of their business without losing its soul (or their minds!)

About Jon: 

A 6x entrepreneur and strategy consultant to Fortune 200 companies, he combines this experience with proven frameworks to guide leadership teams to create a clear and galvanizing strategic plan, align and execute as a high-performing team, and craft the organization's soul to drive the greatest competitive advantage.

This is done in the context of working with owners to align their company value with personal and financial goals, preparing for what's next.

Links:
linkedin.com/in/jonchen/
hubs.ly/Q03wX39y0 (Info Sheet) 
bluetidecatalysts.com/

Vlad Ivanov, Founder and CEO of Limitless Moving & Storage, joins us to talk about the power of networking to build a business from the ground up. 

About Vlad and Limitless Moving & Storage: 

Vlad is Owner & Founder of Limitless Moving & Storage located in Walpole, Ma.
He is a United States Army Veteran. 

Limitless Moving & Storage did it’s very first moving job in early 2017. The company’s founder, Vlad Ivanov, started the company back then after successfully running Boston Small Moves with just a 1999 Ford Econoline van. Vlad found a niche for single-item moving job such as moving furniture like couches, dressers, beds, and pieces of artwork from one location to another.

As a founder of the two moving companies, Vlad and his team immediately realized that personal and attentive customer service typical led to a lot of referrals. Business soon grew so fast that just the Ford Econoline and a small staff of well trained and capable movers needed to expand.

Today, Limitless Moving and Storage focuses on moving, packing, delivery and even donation delivery. Boston Small Moves handles smaller moves. Both companies serve all of Greater Boston, MA and beyond.

Both teams of movers are carefully vetted and really know how to pay attention to every detail, including listening and responding to customer needs.

Vlad is humbled to lead both businesses. He sure knows how to work hard and pay attention to customers. He often personally goes on moving jobs to hear what customers needs and makes sure he and his team deliver, literally.  

Links: 
linkedin.com/in/vlad-ivanov-367190128/
limitlessmoving.com/

Dina Baker of Chief Outsiders joins the Wicked Connected crew to talk about networking as marketing yourself. 

Dina's Message: 
"Throughout my journey in marketing, referrals have played a critical role in business development. The most effective referral strategies focus on intentionality and ease. The key is to create win-win scenarios where both parties benefit." 

Dina's Bio

As an area managing partner at Chief Outsiders, Dina Wolfman Baker ensures that mid-market CEOs have the perfect fractional executive for gowth on their teams, along with the execution and process capacity to make an impact at speed. Dina is an expert in brand management, industry-disruptive differentiation, high-performance team development, and effective go-to-market strategies.

Karol Mendoza and Jeralmi Canela join the Wicked Connected crew to talk about their experience as networkers in the early days of their careers. 

About Karol: 

Hi! I am Karol Mendoza, and I am a second-year journalism student at Northeastern University, minoring in International Affairs. I originally came from Colombia and moved to Boston some years ago. Initially, my English proficiency was limited; however, through dedication and practice, I graduated as valedictorian of Excel High School in May 2024. The BUILD program has been crucial in enhancing my storytelling and public speaking abilities. Currently, I am a Development and Communications intern at BUILD and a Fellow in the BUILD Youth Fellowship. I aspire to travel the world, connect with diverse cultures, and engage with unfamiliar narratives! 

About Jeralmi:

Jeralmi Canela is a computer science student at Northampton Community College, a BUILD alum and a Communications & Development Intern at BUILD Boston. Raised in the Dominican Republic and later Boston, his interest in games began by secretly playing Brick Breaker on his aunt’s phone. Years later, a middle school programming class using Scratch connected the dots and he’s been hooked on game development ever since. Today, he’s focused on creating and releasing original titles.

Links: 
build.org/boston/

Gary Kaufman of ABI-LAB joins the Wicked Connected crew to talk about the challenges of the current funding environment in biotech and the role networking plays. 

Gary's Message: 

Work in an environment where you are passionate and you will always be networking

Gary's Bio: 
Mr. Kaufman serves as Chief Operating Officer at ABI-LAB. Along with his partners at ABI-LAB Mr. Kaufman is an angel investor in a multitude of biotech ventures, and he is currently in the process of creating an investment vehicle to fund an additional two to four companies a year. For over 30 years he has been a successful entrepreneur, with expertise in consumer-related businesses ranging from residential and commercial real estate to automotive and consumer vending. Mr. Kaufman is the president of Shelby Enterprises Inc., a commercial and residential real estate firm. In addition to his real estate background, Mr. Kaufman has played a significant role in the Metrowest startup community as co-founder and vice chairman of the Metrowest Life Sciences Network, an organization whose mission is to foster awareness of and promote professional networking opportunities among the regions scientific and entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Metrowest region. He has a BS in Management Science from Bridgewater State College with advanced studies at Tel Aviv University and Harvard University.

Links: 
www.linkedin.com/in/abi-lab
abi-lab.com