Liftoff with Keith Newman

What it takes to be successful launching a software startup? How do you build a culture of innovation (and still have a personality)?

One of the top Game Studios is run by the amazing Christina. Give this interview a listen and see if you don't agree with my bias assessment.

The Dean of the Personal Technology product review was Walt Mossberg and now he joins The Look Back and reviews his early days in journalism to the transition into the most followed column @WallStreetJournal that instantly became a MUST READ for everyone in the PC industry.  Walt shares his approach to proper product reviews and also reflects on his work on All Things Digital and ReCode, home of the famous Code Conference that he ran with Kara Swisher. Currently Walt is serving on the Board of News Literacy Project > https://newslit.org/ < working with educators and journalists to give students the skills they need to discern fact from fiction and to know what to trust! (please review the site as they need donations). 

A real Ted Talk with the one and only Ted Schlein. Ted's excellent adventure was a 25 year roller coaster ride at Tier 1 VC firm Kleiner Perkins, by way of Symantec where he talked the company into entering the cybersecurity business. Now he turns full circle and has started Ballistic Ventures where he serves as Chairman and GP. Ted serves on the Board of Trustees and Board of Overseers of the Engineering School at the University of Pennsylvania, and also serves on the CISA, DHS and NSA Advisory Boards, IQT Board of Trustees, and is founder of the DoD-sponsored DeVenCI program. A few of his successful investments include AlienVault, ArcSight, CarbonBlack, Chegg, LifeLock, Mandiant, Phantom Security, and Shape Security.

The Fox in the Hen House > I just finished a great chat with former Apple and Cisco executive Keith Fox. Keith walks us thru his journey from the growth daze at both Co's and how that led him to a late career in philanthropy and mentorship. Great lessons shared and special attention to his new project - https://www.civiltalk.com - wow, love to see this get some support!

In this episode of The Look Back, we catch up with mover and shaker Robyn Cohen, CEO and Founder of the W Collective - a Utah based group focused on elevating women in entrepreneurship - and she summarizes her goal in a few key data points;  As of last year, 16% of GPs at VC firms with $50M+ in AUM are women. We need more women in VC and angel investors!  We need more WOC starting businesses and raising money! We need more funding going to companies in the greater Intermountain West and not just the coastal states. Robyn is an accomplished professional with 15+ years' experience specializing in operations, business development and event production, having worked with startups, medium-sized businesses, as well as large corporations. Most notably, in 2017 she was hired as Managing Director at the Impact Hub Salt Lake, one of the city’s first co-working spaces. Within her first six months, she increased revenue by 60%, achieved 100% occupancy, and negotiated an exclusive partnership with Slack to do an experiential marketing campaign in Q4 of 2017. Check out the Episode - I think you will feel smarter and motivated!  Website LinkedIn Instagram

Fred Davis is my guest on this latest episode of The Look Back. And what can I say about the former editor of a bunch of Ziff Davis mags (MacUser, A+, PC Mag) and my colleague at ZD during the amazing rollercoaster days. If you know, you know. The guy is an amazing font of knowledge and wisdom - in this episode he gives us his thoughts on everything from the impact of AI and VR on society to how we need to rebuild our cities infrastructure and services. Oh and a bit on guitars and what it was like to be mentored by the inventor of B2B media, Bill Ziff. 

This episode puts the spotlight on @Dina Moskowitz, the Founder and CEO of Partner Optimizer, formerly SaasMax. It was great fun exploring with Dina the catalyst for ‘the big pivot’ from a B2B marketplace for SaaS vendors and IT channel partners to Partner Optimizer, and getting behind the Partner led Growth momentum in the IT market. Partner Optimizer has become recognized by leading analysts as the premium tool for identifying, recruiting and managing partners - we also talked about developing great teams and building great products. 

Investing to maximize ROI is one thing, adding a social impact layer to your criteria is another and that's the Zecca Plan! Zeeca Lehn is the General Partner of Responsibly Ventures, based in California, backing U.S. PreSeed startups in both Social and Sustainable Tech—using multiple UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a guidepost per investment. Over the past 15+ years, he has worked as an Environmental Economist, Data Scientist, Non-Profit Board Member, and Co-Founder. He grew up in an off-the-grid Japanese-style home, on a remote island in the Pacific Northwest. Through his world travels and living in Scandinavia during his early 20’s, he discovered a deep love for people, planet, and diverse cultures.

Thinking about starting a Co? Alex says this is the best time. Find out why by tapping into our discussion around the DNA of an entrepreneur, and get questions answered like: how do you build entrepreneurial muscle? Also, discover the differences between angel investors, venture capital investors, and accredited investors and learn what sets them apart. Don't miss out on this valuable knowledge! Listen to this insightful episode with Alex Chompff, CEO of Evolution Accelerator -- hit play now!