Disruptive CEO Nation

Latest Episodes:

EP 104 Frans Johansson, Founder and CEO – The Medici Group Aug 04, 2021

Show notes

There is a global resonance, a societal energy behind the topic of diversity and inclusion. Yet it remains a challenge for people to get the diversity inclusion equation correct in the workplace. Frans Johnasson, Founder and CEO-The Medici Group is creating a great disruption to changing organizations, especially large-scale global companies meet the diversity challenge with his successful program called Renaissance.

Frans knows that diversity inclusion drives innovation. He is a breathing testament with his long-time work on the subject and is influenced with his own background of being raised in Sweden by a Swedish father and an American/Cherokee mother.

Frans is also the author of two books–The Medici Effect and The Click Moment. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science from Brown University and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School. He is an international speaker and has been published in Harvard Business Press.

Diversity inclusion is an urgent challenge in the world today, and so is the need to innovate, grow and adapt. I hope you will accept the challenge and learn from this very insightful conversation. We discuss:

· Diversity looks differently depending on where you are in the world; however, working with teams from many countries doesn’t mean you’re inclusive.

· How do you activate diversity?

· How do you activate innovation?

· How to make behavioral shifts in the workplace to scale ideas forward and generate positive business impact.

· The necessity of building community and networking in the technology industry.

· How the Renaissance program removes the pain points of change management.

Enjoy the show!

Connect with Frans:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fransjohansson/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Frans_Johansson

Connect with Allison:

Website: allisonksummers.com

#tech #SAAS # business #designthinking #AI #creativesociety #teambuilding #CEO #startup #startupstory #founder #futureofwork

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EP 103 Nicolas Mendiharat, Founder – Palate Club Jul 28, 2021

Show notes

French native Nicolas Mendiharat is on a mission to democratize and demystify the world of fine wine. In 2017 he founded Palate Club and developed an unheard-of approach of using data science to help match individual tastes and preferences with sustainable wines.

In our conversation, Nicolas shares a real behind-the-scenes look at how the North American wine industry works, and how he is disrupting both supply change issues and opening the door for the average consumer to truly enjoy consuming wonderful wines without the snobbery. And Palate Club members have a great time learning about their palate!

Nicolas previously launched and led five startups, including Europe’s most successful ski vacation booking site with over $100-million revenue, and 300 thousand customers during his leadership.

Nicolas shares his insights on topics including:

· Being successful depends on customer service and satisfaction.

· The US wine supply chain - insights on markups, marketing, and subpar products.

· The science of Taste Matching Technology.

· Combing talent-mathematicians, sommeliers, neuroscientists, and mathematicians.

· How blind tasting kits create a curated portfolio of wines to satisfy your palate.

· The App #1 AOS ranking in Android for “Wine”

· #1 AOS ranking in Android & iOs for “Wine Club”

Enjoy the show!

Connect with Nicolas:

Website: https://www.palateclub.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mendiharat/

Instgram: @mendiharat

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Mendi

Connect with Allison:

Website: allisonksummers.com

#tech #SAAS # business #designthinking #AI #creativesociety #teambuilding #CEO #startup #startupstory #founder #futureofwork

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EP 102 Thejo Kote, Founder-Airbase Jul 21, 2021

Show notes

Thejo Kote was a co-founder of Automatic, which was sold to Sirius XM for $110 million. Although Thejo was a success, he experienced a lot of painful lessons about running a company and knew he wanted to do it better next time. The most inefficient area he saw was non-payroll spend and that no one had designed a fully articulated, consolidated software solution to fix this broken process. That gave Thejo the idea to start Airbase.

Today, Airbase is the leading spend management platform for small and midsize companies. It combines comprehensive accounts payable, an advanced corporate card program, and employee expense reimbursements into one system. Airbase automates accounting and operational workflows for a faster close, real-time reporting, and a consistent platform experience for all non-payroll spend. So far, the company has raised $30.8 million in venture funding.

Highlights from our conversation include:

· Team collaboration over nine countries and 100 individuals.

· The reason behind having a free tiered version for smaller companies.

· Favorite tools for working remotely, Slack, Notion and Asana.

· Insights on venture funding.

· Asking people in your network to open doors for your business.

· The value of case studies to sell your brand.

Enjoy the show!

Connect with Thejo:

Website: https://www.airbase.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thejo/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/airbaseinc/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AirbaseHQ

Connect with Allison:

Website: allisonksummers.com

#tech #SAAS # business #designthinking #AI #creativesociety #teambuilding #CEO #startup #startupstory #founder #futureofwork

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EP 101 Christian Giordano, President & Co-Owner, Mancini Duffy Jul 14, 2021

Show notes

Christian Giordano, Co-Owner of Mancini Duffy, is one of the most innovative and influential people in the architecture and design space today. Christian is revolutionizing the industry with Toolbelt, a patent-pending software that allows users to explore and manipulate 3D models collaboratively. It enables clients to put on VR goggles and stand in 3D models of their architectural projects and change plans in real-time.

Christian has put Mancini Duffy, a 100-year-old company, into the forefront of design and is listed as one of Building Design + Construction’s “40 Under 40” for his leadership. He has also launched Design Lab, an incubator which brings together designers, technologists, and clients to leverage technologies like Virtual Reality, 3D Printing, Drones, Generative Design, and Artificial Intelligence.

Highlights of our conversation include:

· Defining a new model of differentiation for customers using new technologies.

· Eliminating the need or desire for flat drawings.

· How the gamification of architectural design accelerates the understanding and consensus for client approval and sign off.

· The power of finding great intrapreneurs to drive brand success.

· Being a leader requires setting a vision for your brand.

Enjoy the show!

Connect with Christian:

Website: https://www.manciniduffy.com

Website: https://thetoolbelt.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/manciniduffy/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cdgiordano/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/mancini_duffy/

Connect with Allison:

Website: allisonksummers.com

#tech #SAAS # business #designthinking #AI #creativesociety #teambuilding #CEO #startup #startupstory #founder #futureofwork

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EP 100 Ken Wentworth, aka Mr. Biz Jul 07, 2021

Show notes

Ken Wentworth, aka Mr. Biz, worked his way up to the top three percent at a Fortune 15 company when he took the leap to become an entrepreneur. Ken credits his confidence to make that bold transition because of his competitive athletic career and holding six world records in the sport of bench press!

Ken is the award-winning host of Mr. Biz Radio, which airs 55 hours each week across six different networks. Ken has a social media following of over 280 thousand and has been featured on Forbes, Yahoo Finance, Fast Company, The New York Finance, and American Express.

His most recent book, Pathway to Profits, provides an actionable blueprint to excel in any economy. Based in Columbus, Ohio, but working globally, Ken shares insights on cash flow, sales, marketing, and other topics including:

How Fractional CFO/COO/CEO services can support growing startups and provide multiple returns to the bottom line.
When choosing outside expertise, consider what you gain in security, protection and exponential income.
Don’t DYI (do it yourself) with everything in your business.
Understand your talents and be honest about how additional expertise will grow your business.
The importance of a strong balance sheet, improved cash flow and budgets.
Make intellectual property trademark a priority.

Enjoy the show!

Connect with Ken:

Website: www.MrBizSolutions.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MrBizSolutions/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mr-biz-wentworth/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MrBizTweets

Connect with Allison:

Website: allisonksummers.com

#tech #SAAS # business #designthinking #AI #creativesociety #teambuilding #CEO #startup #startupstory #founder #futureofwork

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EP 99 Brett Wigdortz, CEO and co-founder Tiney, UK Jun 30, 2021

Show notes

Brett Harris Wigdortz, OBE is the co-founder and CEO of Tiney, a UK digital B-Corp focused on reimagining at-home childcare and unlocking the potential of all children. Previously, Brett founded and is the Honorary President of Teach First, an educational charity working to break the link between low family income and poor educational attainment in England and Wales. He was CEO of Teach First from its launch in 2002 until October 2017. He is originally from Ocean Township, New Jersey and is a dual US/UK citizen.

Brett has the philosophy that a good business story is written by having good people around you, and he shares that in our conversation. Other highlights include:

· The vision for Tiney, a B-Corp, and creating a new model for finding quality pre-school teachers to be trained, registered and licensed.

· The due diligence to find the right co-founders and interviewing 40 plus candidates to find the right CTO.

· Tiney is also a Fin Tech company running invoicing and banking through the app.

· Startup support from the UK government and business.

· The prior experience of founding Teach First.

Enjoy the show!

Connect with Brett:

Website: https://www.tiney.co

Connect with Allison:

Website: allisonksummers.com

#tech #SAAS # business #designthinking #AI #creativesociety #teambuilding #CEO #startup #startupstory #founder #futureofwork

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EP 98 Dr. Jeffrey Magee, Leadership Strategist, CBE, CSP, CMC, PDM Jun 23, 2021

Show notes

Dr. Jeffrey Magee CBE, CSP, CMC, PDM is often referred to as one of today’s leading Leadership Strategists. Dr. Magee believes that in both the start-up to mature-growth market business sector, the number one resource companies have is human capital and successful leaders bring out the best in people to help organizations thrive.

Dr. Magee is the author of over 30 books, three college graduate management textbooks, four best sellers, and is the Publisher of PERFORMANCE/P360 Magazine. He was recognized as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Americans by the U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce and twice selected to represent the United States at the World Congress as a Leadership Speaker.

In our conversation, we discuss leadership topics including:

· 13 questions to ask before going into business with a partner.

· How to cut through the noise and create a clear mind for decisions.

· The four points customers look for in your business.

· The number one question to ask when making a business decision.

· Considerations when choosing your mentors.

Enjoy the show!

Connect with Dr. Jeffrey:

Website: http://www.jeffreymagee.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drjeffspeaks

Connect with Allison:

Website: allisonksummers.com

#tech #SAAS # business #designthinking #AI #creativesociety #teambuilding #CEO #startup #startupstory #founder #futureofwork

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EP 97 Kizzy Parks, PhD, Owner-K. Parks Consulting Jun 16, 2021

Show notes

Kizzy Parks, PhD, owns and operates multiple businesses and has secured over $50 million in government contract awards. Dr. Kizzy started K. Parks Consulting, KPC, ten years ago because of an unexpected government consulting contract. Today, through her GovCon Winners program, she helps service-based small business owners learn how to bid and then win profitable federal government contracts.

Dr. Kizzy knows first-hand that there are thousands of opportunities and it's overwhelming to find the correct agencies that need small business services, projects that need fulfillment and surprising opportunities for what she calls low-hanging fruit.

Some topics Dr. Kizzy and I discuss include:

· Why pursuing government contracts may be right for your business.

· What types of government contracts are available.

· Key insights on how to approach the application process, including timelines.

· Government contracting and necessary documents.

· Why a leader needs to choose to lead from a point of humility.

Enjoy the show!

Connect with Dr. Kizzy:

Website and free gift: https://www.govconwinners.com/7-mistakes-to-avoid-in-government-contracting/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DKP2007

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kizzy/

Twitter: @KizzyKPC

Connect with Allison:

Website: www.allisonksummers.com

#tech #SAAS # business #designthinking #AI #creativesociety #teambuilding #CEO #startup #startupstory #founder #futureofwork

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EP 96 Victor Fredung, CEO-Shufti Pro Jun 09, 2021

Show notes

Victor Fredung is a Sweden-based FinTech innovator who co-founded Zensed and is currently serving as the CEO of Shufti Pro, an AI-driven identity verification service provider.

Because there is so much fraudulent activity in finance, banking, and other businesses, there is a need for real-time, dependable identity verification. This is an amazing story of how within two years, Victor and his team developed a breakthrough technology platform that now serves clients in over 150 countries.

In our conversation, we discuss:

· How the Shufti Pro solution can support 3,000 types of ID documents in over 150 languages.

· How harnessing AI transforms commonly used high-touch manual processes to a swift, seamless solution.

· Various types of verification needs and processes, including Know Your Business, KYB, Know Your Client, KYC, MFA, biometrics, etc.

· The development of new tech platforms, including design, piloting, and marketing.

· How a start-up needs to build trust, PR, and attraction in its early days.

Enjoy the show!

Connect with Victor:

Website: https://shuftipro.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheShuftiPro/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/shufti-pro

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ShuftiPro

Connect with Allison:

Website: allisonksummers.com

#tech #SAAS # business #designthinking #AI #creativesociety #teambuilding #CEO #startup #startupstory #founder #futureofwork

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

EP 95 Grant Morgan, Co-founder R-Zero Systems Jun 02, 2021

Show notes

At the start of the pandemic, everyone started thinking of the best ways to clean and disinfect our environments. Those harsh chemicals and cleaning products aren’t healthy for the professional cleaners that use them, don’t reach all the places that need to be cleaned, or consider the effects on the environment.

Using his background in mechanical engineering, Grant Morgan developed a portable and financially enticing product for disinfecting hospital areas. Within six months, Grant and his co-founder developed and booked over $5 million in sales, raised $15 million in capital and started a company, R-Zero.

The company’s lead product, Arc, is a Hospital-grade UV-C power device, proven to destroy surface and airborne pathogens in a thousand square foot room in just seven minutes. The UV-C disinfection unit can destroy over 99.99% of pathogens to make commercial space as safe as possible for employees and customers. It incorporates IOT connectivity and data science to automate workflows.

R-Zero is a biosafety company with the mission of developing technologies and products to reduce deadly pathogens such as the Coronavirus, Influenza, norovirus, E. coli, common cold, and other common infectious diseases.

And that’s just the start of Grant’s story. In this episode, Grant shares this rare pandemic success story including:

· Innovation and speed to market comes from asking the right questions.

· Making a product financially feasible to other businesses using a hardware as a service model – meaning equipment rental verses ownership.

· Moving from a $1.6 million seed round of funding to $15 million in investors.

· The benefits of data intelligence being incorporated within the product and accessing data in real time.

· Future company growth beyond the Coronavirus pandemic.

Enjoy the show!

Connect with Grant:

Website: https://rzero.com/

Facebook: @rzerosystems

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/public-profile/in/grant-morgan-63707439

Connect with Allison: