Category Archives: INCUBATOR

Kevin Kelly: The 12 inevitable technological forces shaping YOUR future

BY Todd Schnick

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Joined in studio today by Kevin Kelly, futurist, Senior Maverick at Wired magazine, and best-selling author of many books including the latest, The Inevitable: Understanding The 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future.

Discussion guide from my conversation with Kevin Kelly:

– Lead us off by explaining the purpose, the big idea, behind this book. Why did you have to put it out there?

– The trends you talk about in this book are not theories, these are inevitable, in fact, already in motion. How does this inevitability change how we should think upon and act upon these trends?

– Why do we need to think so deeply about the future of technology and where it is taking us?

– Why are we so bad at thinking this way? We are not all futurists, in the Kevin Kelly sense of the practice, but most of us are bad at looking ahead. Or, doing it too short-term…

– I think a lot of people will study your 12 trends and automatically begin to think about how they apply to their business efforts. But these apply to home and lifestyle too, yeah?

– You talk about how these trends will impact how we work, live, and how we behave as consumers. But you also talk about how these will impact how we learn. Go deeper there…

– Artificial intelligence (AI) has some people worried that technology will become too powerful. What do you say to people worried that machines will soon take over?

– It’s one thing to understand and acknowledge these trends. More important that people to actually do something with them, about them. How best should one begin to tackle these and take meaningful action?

About Kevin Kelly:

Kevin helped launch Wired magazine and was its executive editor for its first seven years. He has written for The New York Times, The Economist, Science, Time, and The Wall Street Journal, among many other publications. His previous books include Out of Control, New Rules for the New Economy, Cool Tools, and What Technology Wants. Currently senior maverick at Wired, Kelly lives in Pacifica, California.

You can find Kevin’s book here:

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AUTHORS, BUSINESS, INCUBATOR, LEADERSHIP, PERSONAL GROWTH

Bob Kulhan: Is Improvisation the most important business skill?

BY Todd Schnick

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Joined in studio today by Bob Kulhan, founder and CEO of Business Improv, and author of Getting to Yes And: The Art of Business Improv. Learn more about Bob Kulhan’s book here.

Discussion guide from today’s conversation with Bob Kulhan:

1. What is improv?
2. And how does improv integrate into our daily business practice?

3. “REACT, ADAPT, and COMMUNICATE.”

4. What is “YES AND” and how does it work?

5. What are the cognitive and social psychology behind this?

6. How does “YES AND” and improv help with creativity and innovation?

7. Improv is a skill. How do we learn and develop stronger improvisational skills?

Find Bob Kulhan’s book here:

About Bob Kulhan:

Bob is an Adjunct Professor of Business Administration for The Fuqua School of Business, Duke University as well as an Adjunct Professor of Business for Columbia Business School, Columbia University. He also is the Founder & CEO of Business Improv. Based out of Chicago, LA & New York City, Business Improv (BI) is a world-class leader in developing experiential learning programs for businesses. For over 21 years Bob has performed and taught improvisation with the most elite improvisers in the world. His teaching and performing credits include Chicago’s famed Second City, iO, the Annoyance Theatre, Columbia College, The Australian Graduate School of Management, Koç University in Istanbul, The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, UCLA Anderson School of Management (MBA & exec. ed.), Columbia University Business School (MBA & exec. ed.), and Duke University’s  Fuqua School of Business. Kulhan is a cofounder of the critically acclaimed Baby Wants Candy improv troupe, with which he has toured internationally.

His consulting and teaching work in leadership and managerial improvisation includes an emphasis on team skills, fostering a collaborative corporate culture, whole body listening, busting blocks to creativity, conflict management, dyadic relationships, creative and adaptive problem solving, leadership, influence, and fostering creative cultures. Since 1998, his customized Business Improvisations programs have benefited a number of companies, including NY Redbulls, The Spaceship Company, Young Presidents Organization, Ford Motor Company, Risk Insurance Management Society (RIMS), Cushman & Wakefield, The University of Notre Dame: Renovare, SAS, Mazda, American Express Cards, Glaxo Smith Kline, DuPont, Hilton Hotels, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Jumeirah Emirates Towers in Dubai, PepsiCo, Capital One, National Cancer Institute, Neutrogena, Progressive, Colgate-Palmolive, Raytheon, WebMD, Procter & Gamble, R&D University, and the US Naval Academy.

In a unique collaboration with global leaders in Behavioral Decision Making, Bob co-introduced improvisation into the MBA curriculum of the Fuqua School of Business. The Workshop in Managerial Improvisation blends experiential exercises, adapted from traditional improv, with classroom lectures, case studies and discussion. It has consistently ranked among Duke University’s highest rated MBA electives. In addition to the MBA program at Fuqua, Bob has designed workshops for Fuqua professors and staff, Ph.D. students, communications & development departments, R. David Thomas Center management and staff, Program Managers’ Development (PMD), Management Challenge, Advanced Management Program (AMP), Duke Corporate Education, and Duke’s Executive Education department.

Kulhan was trained in improvisation by a long list of legendary talents, including improv guru Del Close, The Second City’s Martin de Maat, SNL and 30 Rock star Tina Fey, SNL and Parks and Recreation star Amy Poehler, iO’s Susan Messing and The Annoyance Theater’s Mick Napier. Bob has created more than a dozen one-man shows and sketch comedy revues and has made his presence felt on YouTube through the popular series “The Bon Vivant Gourmet,” “Gil Kaggis: Business Expert!” and “OSHA Safety Men,” and with the hit holiday song “Christmas Hot Pants.” Kulhan continues to teach and perform comedic improvisation in New York City at The PIT and Brooklyn’s branch of the Annoyance Theater, and where Baby Wants Candy performs.

Bob has performed improvisation and facilitated Business Improv workshops in the U.S., England, Scotland, Germany, Singapore, Australia, Turkey, Dubai, Mumbai, and Banff, Canada, where he participated as a Faculty Member and Master Artist in both the Creativity Forum on Creative Leadership and the Thought Leadership Forum on Ethical Governance and Creating a Climate of Corporate Integrity.

In addition to all things improv, Bob is passionate about cooking, scuba diving, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (blue belt), and his family.

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INCUBATOR, LIFESTYLE, PERSONAL GROWTH, WELLNESS

Matteo Franceschetti: Discover a better way to sleep

BY Todd Schnick

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Joined on intrepidLIFESTYLE today by Matteo Franceschetti, co-founder and CEO of Eight Sleep. Learn more about Eight Sleep here!

What is Eight Sleep? A sensored mattress cover designed to personalize and improve sleep for every body. Eight senses and analyzes over 15 factors from your sleep patterns and bedroom environment, to determine the conditions that help you rest your best.

Discussion guide from my conversation with Matteo Franceschetti:

1. How can technology help people sleep better and live healthier lives?

2. How is Eight guiding people to sleep the right number of hours?

3. How can consumers benefit from tracking their sleep?

4. What does the scientific community think of the science of sleep tracking?

5. Have you discovered any unique trends on how sleep impacts your users wellbeing?

About Matteo Franceschetti:

Matteo is the Co-Founder and CEO of Eight, a proprietary technology reinventing the way people sleep. Eight is backed by some of the best venture capitalist in Silicon valley including Y Combinator (YC S15) and StartX, Stanford University’s accelerator.

Prior to Eight, Matteo co-founded and led as Co-Ceo two clean-tech companies – GIR in the US (acquired by Coronal Management, a Panasonic company) and Global Investment in Europe (acquired by Relight).

Matteo is a Co-Chair at FWD.us and has been a Mentor at Techstars, Microsoft Bizpark and the NYU Summer Launchpad Program. He continues to actively mentor and invest in early stage startups in the tech space.

Matteo graduated magna cum laude with a Law degree from University of Ferrara, and was a member of the Italian Bar Association while working as a lawyer in the finance practice of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Allen & Overy, both part of the Magic Circle of British’s elite law firms.

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AUTHORS, BUSINESS, INCUBATOR, LEADERSHIP, MARKETING, SALES

Jeff Loucks: How to beat disruptive competitors at their own game

BY Todd Schnick

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Joined in studio today by Jeff Loucks of the Cisco Digitization Office, and co-author of Digital Vortex: How Today’s Market Leaders Can Beat Disruptive Competitors at Their Own Game.

Discussion guide from my conversation with Jeff Loucks:

1. We discuss the research behind the book.

2. We hear a lot about digital disruption. Is it real or is it hype? How does competition change in the age of disruption?

3. You compare digital disruption to a vortex. How does this explain how disruption works? And what will be affected?

4. Digital disruptors focus on the value, not the value chain when they innovate.

5. Organizations must be agile to respond to disruption. “Digital business agility.”

6. Are digital disruptors always the enemy? Can established organizations use them to their advantage?

Find Jeff Loucks’ book here!

About Jeff Loucks:

Jeff is a director with the Cisco Digitization Office and a visiting scholar at the Global Center for Digital Business Transformation, an IMD and Cisco initiative.

Jeff works with Global 500 firms and innovative startups to explore the strategies and concrete steps companies must take to thrive in an era of digitization. Through fifteen years of research, writing, and consulting, Jeff has helped companies capitalize on technological change by transforming their business models. Jeff is especially interested in the strategies organizations use to adapt to accelerating change. An extensive academic background complements his technology expertise. He wrote his PhD dissertation on Machiavelli (one of the world’s great strategists) and draws upon philosophy, psychology, and political science to understand both institutional and human responses to today’s escalating challenges.

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BUSINESS, HR, INCUBATOR

Management Selection for Innovative Companies

BY Rayanne Thorn

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Part 6: Guest Josh Berry in a new #KeyPointPodcast series discusses Management for Innovation

HR Latte, episode 97

Series: When HR Kills Innovation Efforts

The right management for innovative companies is instrumental in achieving. Econic helps corporations map and execute innovation. After working with many corporations in many different industries, Josh Berry, Co-Founder of Econic has discovered some barriers to successful innovation that have their roots in HR.

In Part 6 of this series, Rayanne and Josh discuss how management selection can make a difference in organizational growth and innovation efforts. Getting the right leadership and management in place is fundamental company success.

Tune in as Josh discusses what he has discovered from his years of consulting and working with hiring and HR departments.

Discussion Points for this episode:

What a Calculated Risk Taker Looks Like
What Hinders Decision-Making
Capturing Strategy – understanding the long-term view
Are People Born with the Ability to Think Strategically?
Model Thinking and support materials to undertsand model thinking
Identifying those Who Are Collaboratove Leaders
Silo Smashing

On Twitter

@Josh_Berry
@Ray_anne
and @HRLatte

*Click here for past Episodes 1-66

HRLatte is made possible by:

Dovetail Software delivers web-based solutions & help desk programs that enable organizations to reduce administrative & support costs, diagnose & resolve complex business problems, and increase efficiency, while improving support.

Rayanne loves hosting talk radio and continues to hone this craft in every way possible by creating and hosting several educational and promotional radio shows, hosting & moderating webinars and podcasts, as well as a featured host on intrepid.media.

For more information about how you can use online radio or podcasting to educate your target audience or customer, compliment your marketing efforts, and grow your brand recognition, feel free to message Rayanne on Twitter, LinkedIn, or via email at rayanne@intrepid.media.

BUSINESS, INCUBATOR

Lori Cheek: The digital dating disruptor

BY Todd Schnick

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Joined on the show today by Lori Cheek: Architect turned Entrepreneur, Founder and CEO of Cheekd, a hyper-speed mobile dating app that makes missed connections obsolete. Lori, a Shark Tank Veteran, was recently listed as “The Digital Dating Disruptor” and “One of the Top 10 CEOs to Watch.”

Find Cheekd in the app store here!

Discussion guide from my conversation with Lori Cheek:

1. Ignore the naysayers.

2. “NEVER miss a connection.”

3. Hyper-local engagement.

4. Real-time veres virtual time.

5. How is Lori building a user base.

6. We talk technology and her development team.

7. Lessons learned from her appearance on Shark Tank.

8. Advice on how to successfully bootstrap a startup.

9. How Lori deals with customer feedback.

10. Advice for new and current startup founders.

11. Taking the leap a faith, and how to deal with that fear.

More about Cheekd, from their website:

Cheekd reimagines online dating with a new app that makes missed connections obsolete. Cheekd uses a cross-platform low energy Bluetooth technology, which fosters hyper local engagement. The app connects people in real time, versus virtual time. Connections begin in person; Cheekd helps you take the next step and continue the conversation online.

Cheekd ensures you ‘Never Miss a Connection’; thanks to this new Bluetooth technology, the app works on the train; on a plane…anywhere—You’ll get a notification if someone who meets your criteria is within 30 feet of you. If you’re near a potential spark, Cheekd makes sure you know about it.

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BUSINESS, INCUBATOR

Liam Shanahan: Shopify for the fitness professional

BY Todd Schnick

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Joined in the Incubator today by Liam Shanahan, the Founder + CEO of HIDEFperformance: Online Coaching Simplified…

Discussion Guide from our conversation with Liam Shanahan:

1. Fitness technology.
2. Startup growth.
3. Building online communities.
4. Consumer marketing.
5. “Shopify for the fitness professional.”
6. Recruiting talent.
7. Helping people help people.
8. Leveraging your knowledge.

About Liam Shanahan:

HIDEF is Liam Shanahan’s 2nd entrepreneurial venture. Previously he founded and managed operations of one of the fastest growing Training Academy’s in the South between 2010-2014. He developed over 1,000 youth, amateur, and professional athlete’s. HIDEF was founded to serve similar professionals after going through the struggles of growing a brick and mortar, service based business.

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BUSINESS, INCUBATOR

Mimmer: Crowd Technology for Political Activism

BY Todd Schnick

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Joined on the show today by Gavin MacDonald, Co-founder and President, and Scott Graham, CEO and Co-founder, of Mimmer, a community platform for political cause organization and fundraising.

Discussion guide from my conversation with Mimmer:

1. “Can we power democracy in a new way?”

2. Why do we need a platform like Mimmer? Do we no longer have a voice to affect real change?

3. How technology can be a disruptive force in the political realm…

4. How millennials engage in their communities right now…

5. How does Mimmer actually work?

6. How did you come up with this idea?

7. What does the future hold for Mimmer?

8. Is Mimmer still in Beta?

9. We discuss the technology behind Mimmer…

10. Do you have to be a professional activist to do this right?

About today’s guests:

Mr. Gavin MacDonald is a serial entrepreneur, with an emphasis in media and content management. A graduate of Auburn University, Mr. MacDonald has been in involved with several successful business ventures. An Atlanta native, he cares deeply about the future of the start-up scene and is working hard to help put Atlanta on the scene for technology start ups. Mr. MacDonald is an avid sports fan, you can find him most Sundays cheering on the Falcons with a cold beer accompanied by his two dogs, Remy and Jamison.

Mr. Scott Graham is an expert in product development, growth marketing, and business strategy with past experiences as a successful entrepreneur, management consultant, and private equity director. He has spent the past several years developing and teaching growth marketing methodologies that integrate his deep knowledge in technology, cognitive behavior, and data analysis. His reputation for incubating new businesses and delivering innovative product advances has elevated him as a leader in the field. He is an author and frequent seminar lecturer with past engagements at Emory University, Suffolk University, and North Georgia College.

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BUSINESS, HR, INCUBATOR

Monty Hamilton: The exciting future of domestic outsourcing

BY Todd Schnick

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Joined on the show today by Monty Hamilton, CEO of Rural Sourcing Inc.

From their website: Every day, organizations across the United States turn to offshore outsourcing providers to fulfill their IT development and support needs. The general perception is that offshore IT companies provide a service at a cost that their American counterparts simply cannot match. In many cases, not only can onshore outsourcing provide a faster and higher-quality product, but it can be done at around the same total cost.

Discussion guide from our conversation with Monty Hamilton:

1. Challenges companies face now and into the future in terms of hiring/retaining IT talent

2. Overview of the current IT outsourcing marketplace

3. General business benefits of domestic outsourcing

4. The role agile development plays in domestic outsourcing and why it’s necessary in today’s digital landscape

5. How domestic outsourcing is helping not only re-invent the U.S. technology marketplace, but also re-invigorate rural American business and communities

6. Future trends/events/issues/legislation that impact the growth of domestic outsourcing

7. The true value of Tier 2 cities

About Monty Hamilton:

Monty Hamilton leads the executive team and drives the overall strategy for Rural Sourcing Inc. Hamilton is responsible for leading the strategic direction and the growth of RSI including the launch of 10 new development centers with 2,000 colleagues across low cost of living, high quality of life locations in the United States. This is Hamilton’s second entrepreneurial start-up venture after leaving Accenture in 1995. He joined together with four other colleagues to build Clarkston Consulting where he was instrumental in growing Clarkston into a global strategic and systems integration firm with offices across the US and Europe. After Clarkston’s acquisition of RSI, he became the CEO in 2009.

Hamilton is a sought-after speaker on outsourcing, domestic sourcing and workforce development topics and has been featured on CNBC, BBC, NPR radio and at various industry conferences, including IAOP, Gartner, Digital Georgia and others. In addition, articles depicting RSI’s innovative outsourcing model have appeared in Business Week, CNN Money magazine, CFO magazine, and CIO magazine.

His achievements were recognized by being named as a regional finalist for the 2015 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

Hamilton is active in the community and civic circles as well. He is on the Advisory Boards for Mobile Chamber of Commerce, the Bond Group and Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. Hamilton believes in giving back to the community, specifically to special needs programs. He is currently involved with the Special Olympics and is a former Board Chair for the Adaptive Learning Center.

Hamilton holds an M.B.A. from the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University and a B.B.A. in business from Millsaps College.

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AUTHORS, BUSINESS, INCUBATOR

Howard Love: Embracing failure and rocketing through the Start-Up J Curve

BY Todd Schnick

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Joined today on the show by Howard Love, lifelong entrepreneur, angel investor, and author of a new book called The Start-Up J Curve: Six Steps to Entrepreneurial Success.

Discussion guide from my conversation with Howard Love:

1. “Your original idea is an hypothesis.”

2. We discuss the six phases of the J-Curve:
Create
Release
Morph
Model
Scaling
Harvest

3. What is the most important phase? [Hint: Morph, and why…]

4. Why do we get so spooked and freaked out by failure, setbacks, and mistakes? And how do we learn to actually embrace failure?

5. “Whether you want to admit it or not, most startups unfold in a very predictable pattern (the J-Curve). You have no excuses.”

6. “The most common path…”

7. Why did we need another book on start-ups? What compelled you to write the Start-up J Curve?

Find Howard Love’s book here:

About Howard Love:

Howard is a life-long entrepreneur who has founded, co-founded, funded and managed startups for over 30 years. He has founded or co-founded over 15 businesses and invested in over 50 startups.

Love was born in Detroit in 1960, and attended Phillips Exeter Academy (1974-1978) and Colgate University (1978-1983). He completed his first Ironman competition at the age of 51 in Lake Placid, NY. His first book The J Curve for Start-Ups will be published by Greenleaf Book Group in the fall of 2016. Love resides in Silicon Valley, CA.

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Joined in studio today by Kevin Kelly, futurist, Senior Maverick at Wired magazine, and best-selling author of many books including the latest, The Inevitable: Understanding The 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future.

Discussion guide from my conversation with Kevin Kelly:

About Kevin Kelly:

You can find Kevin’s book here:

Joined in studio today by Bob Kulhan, founder and CEO of Business Improv, and author of Getting to Yes And: The Art of Business Improv. Learn more about Bob Kulhan’s book here.

Discussion guide from today’s conversation with Bob Kulhan:

Find Bob Kulhan’s book here:

About Bob Kulhan:

Joined on intrepidLIFESTYLE today by Matteo Franceschetti, co-founder and CEO of Eight Sleep. Learn more about Eight Sleep here!

Discussion guide from my conversation with Matteo Franceschetti:

About Matteo Franceschetti:

Joined in studio today by Jeff Loucks of the Cisco Digitization Office, and co-author of Digital Vortex: How Today’s Market Leaders Can Beat Disruptive Competitors at Their Own Game.

Discussion guide from my conversation with Jeff Loucks:

Find Jeff Loucks’ book here!

About Jeff Loucks:

Part 6: Guest Josh Berry in a new #KeyPointPodcast series discusses Management for Innovation

Discussion Points for this episode:

On Twitter

HRLatte is made possible by:

Discussion guide from my conversation with Lori Cheek:

More about Cheekd, from their website:

Discussion Guide from our conversation with Liam Shanahan:

About Liam Shanahan:

Discussion guide from my conversation with Mimmer:

About today’s guests:

Discussion guide from our conversation with Monty Hamilton:

About Monty Hamilton:

Discussion guide from my conversation with Howard Love:

Find Howard Love’s book here:

About Howard Love: