Politely Pushy with Eric Chemi

Did you watch the Black Mirror episode “Smithereens” starring Topher Grace? In the Netflix special, Topher’s Jack Dorsey-like character is so focused on meditation and seeking life purpose that he’s fled his tech company for the wilderness, neglecting the chaos wrought by technology and social media.Well, today’s guest isn’t Topher and no, it’s not Jack, but it’s someone we find to be interesting and much more reliable (than what Netflix led us to believe about the former Twitter head). Our guest found a way to blend tech with life purpose, making a positive impact across industries. Peter Capuciati, CEO and founder of Bluon, is bringing sexy back to the world of HVAC.He’s one of the most interesting people you’ll ever meet and worthy of his own Black Mirror doppelganger. The trained physicist went on to become a real estate success, thriving in that industry by his late 20s!  Then? Well, just like Topher in the wilderness, he decided to meditate. And instead of passing on the torch of industry success to the likes of an eccentric Tesla inventor, he took his scientific knowledge and applied it to a solution that now helps countless businesses after developing a refrigerant suited for $2 trillion of equipment.From science guy to real estate hotshot to…”HVAC Hero”, Peter ensures that Bluon offers tools, training, and support to technicians in the field and cuts out obstacles businesses would otherwise face. You’ll be enthralled by his eclectic and unexpected journey, how he made a necessity feel like a luxury, and how his company easily connects HVAC technicians with parts, resources and local distributors. Tune in to hear more from this fascinating entrepreneur who is so focused on impacting positive change in the world that he didn’t stay on that freaking mountain! (No shade, Topher - er, Jack. But come on; after you meditate, you must activate!)

Americans Trust Local News Over Social Media and 67% Trust Local over National News. Politics may be dividing the nation, but if there’s one thing that unites Democrats and Republicans it’s the local TV news. This medium now ushers in more viewers than national news and is appealing to a surprisingly younger demographic. In fact, local TV news has a bigger audience than either national or cable news combined and most shockingly, 18-34 is the fastest-growing demographic. Eric Chemi’s newest podcast guest, Doug Simon, CEO of D S Simon Media discusses this and so much more.

Elia Wallen, CEO and founder of Hotel Engine, discusses revolutionizing corporate travel. He shares insights on how his platform simplifies hotel bookings for businesses, especially in the wake of COVID-19. Elia highlights adapting to market trends, like the increased demand for refundable rates, and the challenges of scaling in a competitive landscape. He elaborates on the importance of data in maximizing revenue and emphasizes the value of in-person collaboration in a remote-working world. Elia’s journey is a testament to innovation during adversity.

This week we are joined by Jered Martin, the CEO of OnePitch, a company our host wishes was around when he was a reporter. OnePitch helps PR professionals match their pitches with the ideal media list so they’re only contacting suitable journalists. AI technology is instrumental in this careful matching process with the service designed to carefully look analyze pitches and press releases, scan text to extract specific data points and compare those to the company’s database of articles written by journalists. Longtime PR professionals will marvel at this technology. It would have saved them time and spared them frustration had it been around decades ago. Jered discusses how his marketing background lends itself to this venture and why he’s fortunate to have found a mentor in his co-founder Beck Bamberger, a PR agency owner of over a decade. In addition to the importance of connecting to the proper journalist, Jered discusses how OnePitch gets feedback from journalists on how they prefer to be pitched, helping professionals and their agencies avoid being blasted on Twitter for a #PRFail.  

This week’s guest is Tom Carpenter, a principal at the public relations firm Bospar who has more than 20 years of business, marketing and tech PR experience. Tom is known as “the crisis communications expert” and is skilled at advising tech companies in highly sensitive situations. But he began his career conducting PR for one of the world’s leading law firms, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. Tom brought lessons he learned and skills he honed to the tech world from a buttoned-up corporate environment where knowing when to keep mum and being prepared about how and when to respond was vital. He discusses the importance of transparency, when to be reactive, when to craft a “holding response” instead of issuing an immediate announcement, and when to lie low. This episode was recorded at the start of the war in Ukraine, so Tom also touches on companies being tactful about their messages during global crises, his agency’s COVID-related work, how Bospar responded to the Texas abortion ban, and the importance of addressing other social justice concerns. He explains how companies can prepare themselves for the worst-case scenario and how PR professionals can keep the media from blowing something up and making it out to be worse than it is. 

Toric co-founder and CEO Thiago da Costa joins the show this week. Brazilian tech entrepreneur Thiago shares how his initial attempt to develop a 12-unit building was the impetus for him to start Toric, a tech startup that's already cracking the construction industry's data insight conundrum.Thiago is a lifelong entrepreneur, and he explores the lessons learned from his previous startups, including Lagoa, which he sold to Autodesk. His current venture offers a low-code, no-code platform that allows contractors, architects, engineering firms, and project owners to combine data from numerous platforms used in the field. And with the potential for construction miscalculations to cost billions, there's no doubt that in this industry, details are critical, and mistakes are costly. We get into everything at the intersection of construction in the face of forces like the pandemic, the supply chain, skyrocketing prices, remote work, and the challenge of hiring tech talent right now. Change is nothing if not constant! Thiago and I even chat about the Bay Area's Brazilian tech mafia—the influences, the players, and the community, and what's leading these enterprising leaders to the city by the bay.

Author of Make It, Don’t Fake It and tech industry veteran Sabrina Horn felt confident when she started her own communications agency at age 29. However, she learned the hard way about how authentic one needs to be about what they know and truly understand, and the importance of setting realistic expectations with oneself and one’s clients.She explores the concept of “faking it” and how that can only withstand for so long before the facade crumbles. She recounts agonizing struggles related to client services, acquiring new businesses, and even convincing her parents that being a PR pro is NOT like being a call girl! Yes, true story. This is an episode you won’t want to miss about how a young entrepreneur acquired wisdom following blood, sweat, tears, challenges, and humility on the road to becoming a seasoned professional, expert, and author.

This week’s episode has our host feeling a tad out of his element while interviewing three powerhouse professionals about Women, Work, and Wholeness. So, he takes the more polite approach rather than a pushy one. Chris Boehlke, who put the “Bo” in Bospar as the PR agency’s principal, shares wisdom gleaned from her years in the communications industry and explains how “wholeness” is not all about multitasking but focusing on self-care in addition to the well-being of others. She recounted when job interviewers asked women if they planned to have kids, potentially hindering their ability to travel for business, and how far we’ve come today with considerations for working moms. She had these women in mind when co-founding an entirely remote PR agency in pre-pandemic times. She’s joined by Jane King, Founder of LilaMax Media (named after her children) and business journalist of over two decades, who can be seen reporting live from the NASDAQ. Jane, who wakes up at an astonishingly early hour daily, discusses the importance of focusing on excellence rather than perfection, planning, enjoying weekends, and having dinners together as a family. She surprises the panel by disclosing the amenity she has unbelievable constant access to but still can’t seem to make time for. Johanna Lucas, who hails from Genentech and is now executive director of talent acquisition at BioMarin Pharmaceutical, joins the panel. She discusses caring and being attentive to one’s mind, body and spirit simultaneously, rather than having to play catchup when one of those is neglected for another. She also responds to Chris’s thoughts on the importance of self-care for women to feel whole. Listen to our host be humbled as he’s told, “We know more about being women than you do!”

Vanessa Yanez joins the show this week. An accomplished communications leader whose experience in the industry and passion for social justice and women’s issues has likely made her the most tireless PR professional historically, she’s also a mom of teen daughters. Yanez is president of PRSA Silicon Valley and was named a 2021 Woman of Influence Honoree. She also oversees content for the Silicon Valley Business Journal. Yanez says she is at her best when providing real business value based on a unique perspective grounded in the agency, corporate, and start-up experience. Her award-winning marketing and communications expertise fuels her passion for supporting businesses with corporate communications initiatives, global project rollouts, and various mutually beneficial partnerships. In addition to all she’s able to accomplish in a single business day, she somehow gets 8 hours of sleep each night! Plus, she’s up, and productive by 6 am and exercises daily.  In this episode, she cops to having owned five gym memberships at one point during the pandemic. “How does she do it all?” has become a cliched query in 2022 - Just ask Yanez! She’ll shoot that question down quickly for you. 

According to Gartner, end-user spending on cloud computing is set for a 21% hike this year with total spending set to exceed $480 billion. So it’s no surprise that global companies - like yours and ours - are becoming increasingly reliant on the cloud. But like any technology, the cloud isnot immune to downtime, so more dependency means that businesses need more ways to mitigate potential losses including revenue, customers and productivity.This is exactly the problem that Neta Rozy, alongside her two co-founders, set out to solve when they built Parametrix, the first-ever insurance company focusing on cloud downtime.As CTO, Neta tells me why downtime insurance is not the same thing as cyber insurance, what struggles they faced in getting the company started, and the complexity of the math involved in determining policy pricing.