Symposium Schedule
Registration Opens & Breakfast
Mix and Mingle With Your Peers
12/8, 7:30am at UConn Stamford
Join your peers in experiencing the bleeding edge of business innovation.
Opening: Title Sponsor Remarks
Carmine Iannacchino
12/8, 8:30am at UConn Stamford
Join your peers.
Opening: Mayoral Address
Mayor David Martin
12/8, 8:30am at UConn Stamford
Join your peers in the commencement of Stamford Innovation Week's Entrepreneur Symposium with a public address from Stamford's Mayor David Martin.
Keynote: Achieve Your Goals in 2019: Practical Steps for You & Your Business
Helena Escalante
12/8, 9:00 am at UConn Stamford
How would it feel to look back a year from now and realize that you achieved all the goals you had set for 2019? Much has been said and written about accomplishing goals, but not everything works for everybody. The key is to take what works for you and stick to it. But how do you know what works for you? Something has to work because, in the same amount of time, some people achieve a lot while others don’t...Come listen to Helena Escalante as she will share practical knowledge from the experts on how to achieve your goals to make 2019 your best year so far! Helena will share what she has discovered about habits, timelines, schedules, rituals, resolutions, intentions, motivation, productivity, effectiveness, mindset and more, so that you can take what works for you and apply it toward the achievement of your goals next year.
Helena is an entrepreneur, a business mentor, and puts together weekly events for the small business community in New York. She’s the Founder of EntreGurus.com, a blog read in 130 countries that shares one idea, every day, from the best business books that you can read in under 5 minutes. She was recently given the 2018-2019 Smart Hustle Magazine "Entrepreneur of the Year" Award, and she has been called a Top 10 Leadership Influencer in Mexico by Hibox.co
State Resources for Entrepreneurs
Caroline Simmons, Rob Michalik and Sheila Hummel
12/8, at UConn Stamford
LinkedIn for Entrepreneurs
Marc Halpert & Sandra Long
12/8, at UConn Stamford
Two Fairfield County nationally-recognized LinkedIn coaches, Sandra Long of Post Road Consulting (Westport) and Marc W. Halpert of connect2colalborate (Fairfield), themselves
entrepreneurs, will co-facilitate a session in which each will be offering you one BIG idea that you need to implement right away. Then they will turn
the session over to you, so you can ask them questions and get concrete marketing ideas from their answers that you can really use. The session is mostly free-form and always elicits a great response, so make the most of it by coming ready to ask them with your top questions and leave with concrete steps to wow your prospects and eclipse your competition.
Marc W. Halpert is a “multi-preneur, whose third concurrent company, connect2collaborate, spreads his high-energy LinkedIn evangelism as a: • trainer in professional practices and nonprofits in strategies to differentiate from competitors • coach to individuals to articulate their brand and achieve new career goals • instructor in companies to align employees’ LinkedIn personas with the corporate message • speaker at conferences, teaching LinkedIn best practices. Marc has authored 2 books: • “LinkedIn Marketing Techniques for Law and Professional Practices” published by the American Bar Association, 2017. • “You, Us, Them: LinkedIn Marketing Concepts for Nonprofit Professionals Who Really Want to Make a Difference,” self-published 2018. He contributes articles on evolving LinkedIn techniques, and is seen and heard on TV and radio. His LinkedIn profile is www.linkedin.com/marchalpert.
Sandra Long is an independent LinkedIn expert, speaker, trainer and author. She is the owner of Post Road Consulting in Westport and Stamford. She specializes in: • LinkedIn sales training and coaching • LinkedIn personal and company branding • LinkedIn branding and networking for career and business • LinkedIn speaker and panelist at conferences and for corporate events Sandra’s book is “LinkedIn for Personal Branding: The Ultimate Guide” and is available at most book retailers such as Amazon. Sandra’s work has been featured by Forbes, Workology, and LinkedIn. She teaches social media for Rutgers University. Follow her or connect at www.linkedin.com/in/longsandra
Making the Most of Your Business, Using What You've Got
Kelly Pierre-Louis
12/8, at UConn Stamford
Whether you're starting up or growing out your business, we'll go over the essential tools + reveal the tips & tricks that will help you work smarter and leverage the resources that will help bring out your business best! Join us for an informative panel featuring:
- - Cheryl Hislop: Founder, LDesign Company & Women's Entrepreneur Social
- - Carl Michel: Best-Selling Author & CEO, Young ExeKutive LLC
- - Krystle DeSantos: Creative Director, Krystle DeSantos LLC
How to Build a Winning Digital Marketing Strategy
Jonathan Winkel and Josh Fideli
12/8, at UConn Stamford
Through their agency, SquareWheel Group, Josh Fedeli and Jonathan Winkel have produced thousands of leads and millions of dollars of revenue for their clients. And they're ready to share their strategies and tactics with you. Not only will they reveal 10 high-ROI strategies for growth and the tactics used to implement them, but they'll also give you free, lifetime access to their planning template used to plan and kickstart campaigns. If you're looking to build an audience, drive traffic, optimize conversion, and nurture prospects then this is the session for you. Bio: Jonathan Winkel is a distinguished business development leader with a career-long record of growth in operational responsibility and generated revenue. His diverse background is a testament to his ability to apply core management, marketing, and sales fundamentals to drive results in any situation where winning new business, building teams, or architecting new sales and marketing initiatives are critical to overall business success. In his current role, Jonathan helps companies create, move and reinvent markets through digital channels. His method is Objective Marketing, a proprietary process that aligns strategies and tactics with top-level business objectives. This ensures that rapid, purposeful experimentation builds to new customers and increased revenue.
Actionable Customer Segmentation to Unlock Growth
Mary Abbazia
12/8, at UConn Stamford
We know that customers want different things, but now it’s possible for even smaller companies to vary their offers and cater to a range of needs. Segmentation (sorting customers based on their attitudes & behaviors) is easier than it sounds and unlocks strategies for profitably treating different customer differently. Learn how to segment in a way that is customized and relevant for your business, and see how it leads to effective targeting, creative offers and compelling messaging. Segmentation is the key to differentiation and growth. Mary Abbazia, Co-Author of The Accidental Marketer, Keynote Speaker, and Managing Director of Impact Planning Group, is known for her highly interactive approach to helping teams unlock insights, and quickly build their strategies. Leveraging her experience teaching executives at Columbia University and Caltech, she utilizes practical marketing tools to help teams solve their toughest marketing challenges. Her clients range from companies such as GE, Pfizer, and Marriott, to start ups and entrepreneurial teams.
Future Proof Your Concept
Matt Krieger
12/8, at UConn Stamford
Founding or joining a startup is not only an investment of money but often more importantly it's an investment of time. If you are making the plunge to develop a new product/service it is important that you are not just building a great solution for today's problem but a solution that is needed in the future. In this session we'll discuss some general concepts in assessing and planning for evolving market landscapes.
Owning Your Brand: Essential Steps For Successful Trademark Protection
Walter B. Welsh, Esq., Member
12/8, at UConn Stamford
Starting a company? Launching a Product? Re-branding? Securing the right to use and protect your trademarks is essential to the success of your business. This presentation, by veteran Stamford IP attorney Walter Welsh, will identify critical steps to ensure protection of your brand and prevent costly disputes with competitors through actions such as trademark clearance, registration, third-party policing, and international protection. In addition, Mr. Welsh will discuss strategies for successfully building your brand, including on your product and website, and through social media.
As a seasoned IP attorney and engineer, I collaborate with technical staff and executives to create and implement profitable IP protection strategies. I am consistently successful at the USPTO and have a reputation for aggressively and effectively enforcing my clients’ IP rights. I strive to increase the value of my client's business, make their jobs easier, and reduce their costs. During regularly travels throughout the United States and Internationally, I meet with clients and colleagues to implement strategies for effective identification, protection, and enforcement of IP rights. I live in Darien, Connecticut with my wife and children and I enjoy road and mountain biking.
Creative Techniques to Solve “Impossible” Entrepreneurial Challenges
Bryan Mattimore
12/8, at UConn Stamford
In the process of "innovating the new," entrepreneurs often face seemingly impossible challenges. What can they do? By using several easy-to-learn, creative thinking techniques, they can transform the seemingly impossible into the possible, and in the process, generate a wide variety of potentially-breakthrough solutions. Bryan W. Mattimore is cofounder and “Chief Idea Guy” of the Growth Engine Company, www.growth-engine.com, a nineteen-year old innovation agency based in Norwalk, Connecticut. In his innovation consulting career, Bryan has facilitated over a thousand brainstorming sessions, moderated over five hundred creative focus groups, and managed over two hundred successful innovation projects, leading to over $3 billion in new sales for a wide variety of Fortune 500 clients, including Kraft, Unilever, Ford, AT&T, BNY Mellon, LVMH, Merck, and Pepsi. A cum laude graduate of Dartmouth, he has written three books on ideation and innovation process including Idea Stormers, How to Lead and Inspire Creative Breakthroughs (Wiley Jossey-Bass) and 21 Days to a Big Idea, (Diversion Books). In addition to being a marketing and innovation instructor at Caltech, Bryan is also the inventor of the creativity training game, Bright Ideas.
Bitcoin, Cryptocurrencies and Blockchains – Terms and Concepts Decrypted
Matt Garrett's
12/8, at UConn Stamford
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are important independent of market hype or cooling off as is happening now. This session will define bitcoin, cryptocurrencies and the underlying blockchain technology, discuss scenarios that cryptocurrencies and blockchains enable and explain why these technologies matter in our world today. The business, financial, social and political impact of Bitcoin and blockchain-based technologies will also be discussed. Matthew Krieger is a technologist and executive with experience in information technology, manufacturing, publishing and fundraising. Matt is an Advisory Chief Technology Officer for non-profits and VP of Technology with manufacturer Cober, Inc. where he leads engineering and an industrial IoT initiative. Previously Matt had overall responsibility for IT at QSP, Inc., the nation’s largest youth fundraising company at the time, and held senior IT leadership positions at Time, Inc. and The Reader’s Digest Association. Matt serves on the board of two non-profit organizations, is a frequent presenter on topics of business, technology and the intersection of each, and is a business mentor with SCORE. Matt is currently engaged in a blockchain initiative and is creator of text-to-speech service Whysper https://whysper.io.
Investors Bet on the Jockey, Not the Horse
Roy Balasuriya
12/8, at UConn Stamford
Roy Balasuriya is the Managing Director of PRI Capital Corp which provides CFO services to Start-Ups and Small Business. He successfully led an offshore apparel manufacturer through start-up to successful exit and guided many other Start-Ups from seed to ABC funding. He is currently the CFO of VIDL News Corp. VIDL is a Transformational News Technology Platform Utilizing AI Technology and Blockchain to Detect, Collect and Report Accurate Global News & Events in Real-Time. He brings 20 years of global finance and management experience. Starting his career with ANZ/Grindlays as a corporate lender in Asia and then with ABB Project Finance, he has raised over $500m in Project and Syndicated Loan Financings in the Global Capital markets. Turning to entrepreneurship and business consulting he steered several companies through corporate development, risk management, technology transformations and capital raisings. He holds a BA degree with honors in Economics from the University of Sri Lanka and an MBA from Baruch College, New York. Topics Include:- Starting up a business - is it an art or a science? Business idea: Evaluation of value
- Team creation: It is the first and most valuable asset of your business
- Pitfalls
- The Business Plan: A Necessary evil
- Must in a Business Plan
- The business model is it a disruptor or a potential market leader?
- Technology Stack: Is it in the “Tech buzz”?
- Competition: Who else is out there? First in market to market or easy market entry
- Revenue Model: How do you plan to make money
- Identify funding needs and timing of expenditure
- Pitch Deck: Create one and everyone asks for it
- Cap Table:
- What is a Cap table?
- Why do you need it?
- Review a simple model
- Valuation
- Seed stage toss a coin
- What are your assets
- How to do you value them
- Quantitative value and qualitative value
- Seed Funding
- Funding Sources
- Strategies
- Seed Stage Development to Series A
- No hard and fast and rule
- But needs to achieve critical milestones
- Demonstrable Proof of technology
- Demonstrable monetization model
- Customer acquisition strategy
- Ready to scale
Online Video: Utilizing It Because it Works
Kim Kasparian
12/8, at UConn Stamford
During this seminar you will learn:
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- How to Make the Leap from Me, Myself and I to growing a seven figure business model
Uncommon, proven ways to engage your mindset and create room for reliable revenues
Leveraging the power of belief and self-esteem to grow your relationship with money
Bio
Kim draws from her 32 years of professional sales and marketing along with her personal trials and triumphs in very competitive industries such as telecommunications, direct sales and corporate staffing.
She shares these savvy and strategic tips to delight and inspire audiences to network in powerful, productive ways that create the clients they desire with the revenue that they deserve.
People who have heard her speak call her the “Success Genie” for her magical ability guide to them to success levels beyond their imagination.
She provides tangible, measurable and simple action steps that motivate and inspire audience members to create 6 &7 figure revenue leaps within 12 months while creating peace in their spirit, joy in their heart and profit in their pocket -- all at the same time.
She has addressed national audiences via radio, magazines teleseminars and webinars.
She receives rave reviews for her inspirational and simple approach to creating success on your terms
Protecting Your Business With Strategic Patenting
Walter B. Welsh, Esq., Member
12/8, at UConn Stamford
Are you innovating? Launching a new software product? Improving a supplier’s product? Obtaining economically valuable patent protection is critical to increasing the value of your company. This presentation, by veteran Stamford IP attorney Walter Welsh, will discuss the patenting process and strategies for successfully identifying and protecting innovations that are critical to your business. Then, to exemplify a path forward for your business, Mr. Welsh will highlight several companies that have successfully implemented cost-effective patent protections to increase their value.3 Ways to Grow Your Business and Get More Sales
Kathy D'Agostino
12/8, at UConn Stamford
As a business owner, you are also the primary salesperson in your business. You may not have thought that was true when you decided to start your business but unless people know you exist, they cannot do business with you. Salespeople are not born, they are created from the desire to serve others by offering their services in a way that is impactful, provides value and solves problems for our customers. Your business is either growing or going out of business unless you learn how “sell” yourself. In the workshop learn the 3 ways to grow your business and get more clients: 1. Overcoming objections - getting to the ‘real reason’ why people aren’t buying 2. Master how to get more prospects into your sales funnel 3. Learn how to close 50% more sales with this ONE tip! Learn how to start growing your business - as soon as you leave this workshop with an actionable step-by-step process. Kathy is a Executive Business Coach, Trainer and Speaker for her company Win at Business Coaching, LLC. She works with organizations, business owners and non-profits providing coaching/consulting/training programs to help them improve their company culture through employee engagement surveys, workshps and leadership programs. As a trainer/facilitator for many organizations including EAP groups over the past five years, she has presented to various sizes of companies with 100 – 5000K employees – including lunch’N learns to half-day workshops on various topics. Kathy has facilitated panels and discussion groups on various topics depending upon the company’s objectives and goals. Kathy has 20+ years’ sales experience helping organizations and leaders grow their bottom line and focus on new business development and client acquisition/retention. Kathy received her Certified Professional Coach credential from Institution for Professional Excellence in Coaching, Assoc. Coach Certification from International Coaching Federation [ICF] and is a coach/trainer for the Core Values Index™ (CVI™) assessment. She holds a BS in Organizational Management.
Taking a Minimalist Approach to Your Digital Product
Don Tirea
12/8, at UConn Stamford
Every successful application starts by solving a problem. By using a minimalist approach, you can make sure that your digital product fulfills its value proposition while staying lean. In this presentation, Checkmate’s Matt Cameron and Don Tirea will explore how entrepreneurs can define their MVP (Minimum Viable Product), and how a minimalist approach can benefit your design process and business strategy.
Product/Market Fit & Raising Capital
Jim Huerta (Moderator), Anthony M. Verna III, Wil Jacques, Dean Eaker, John Greco, Barry Kolevzon and Justin Tripodi
12/8, at UConn Stamford
The Nessa Group provides innovative solutions that enable clients to realize their potential and achieve their goals. We accomplish this by leveraging our collective experience and success as advisers to major corporations and businesses. Our goal is to provide our clients with the ability to understand the value of interdisciplinary communications and execute business plans successfully. We listen. We learn about your company. We then chart a road map to success. Achieving product/market fit is an obsession from day one. It’s both the hefty hurdle we’re racing to clear and the festering fear keeping us up at night, worried that we’ll never make it. Once over the hurdle how do we convince investors that our product will have a disruptive affect on the market? When it comes to understanding what product/market fit really is and how to get there, most of us quickly realize that there isn’t a battle-tested approach. The Nessa Group’s goal is to provide clarity on what lies ahead of you. James R. (Jim) Huerta is a seasoned executive with senior and C-Suite management experience. He has held positions in a wide variety of industries including Intellectual Property, Entertainment, Strategic Business Consulting, Market Research, Mining, and Security & Commodity Trading and Trade Finance. Product Panelists:Anthony M. Verna III
Nessa Group – Director -Brand Consultant
Bachelor’s Degree from Case Western Reserve University - Computer Science
Juris Doctor (JD) Rutgers Law School
Trademark and Copyright Attorney
Will Jacques
Nessa Group – Director – Intellectual Property Consulting Services
Bachelor’s degree from Howard University Mechanical Engineering
MBA, Marketing – American University
Patent Agent
Marketing Panelists:
Dean Eaker
Nessa Group – MarTech Alliance
President & Founder Wired Assets Holdings
Bachelor’s Degree – University of Miami – Marketing & Communication
John Greco
Nessa Group – MarTech Alliance
Founder & Chairman – Marketing IMPACT Council & Greco Associates
Bachelor’s Degree – Monmouth University
MBA – Columbia University Business School
Raising Capital Panelists:
Barry Kolevzon
Nessa Group – Managing Partner
Bachelor’s Degree – Rutgers University Economics
MBA – Columbia University – Economics & Finance
Justin Tripodi
Nessa Group – Managing Director
Bachelor’s Degree – Binghamton University Marketing & MIS
MBA – Binghamton University – Marketing with focus studies in Consulting /Leadership. 
Podcasting - Branding Yourself the Expert!
Dori Decarlo
12/8, at UConn Stamford
Podcasting is a great way to brand yourself as the expert in your industry. Regardless of what you do, this is a great platform to share content and clients, products and services and so much more. Podcast platforms online are affordable and readily available - but how do you begin? How does social media play a part in your broadcast and marketing? Where do you find guests and topics and more. Dori DeCarlo is the Mompreneuer founder of Word of Mom Radio and is committed to empowering Mompreneurs and Business Women! Let’s face it – if you really want to get the word out – Mom’s are the best word of mouth advertising there is. Now in our 6th year, Traci Timmons our fabulous producer and host, and I are taking our show to new heights as we have been syndicated on Spreaker.com – designed for Alexa! A commitment to make a difference as a mompreneur led to Safety Bags, Inc. As a mom, after Columbine I wanted to find a way to keep our schools safe and began designing a line of clear bags and backpacks because ONE was #Enough for me! I have worked extensively with people with disabilities and is also an interpreter for the hearing impaired, which helped me design two wheelchair backpacks into our full line of clear bags and backpacks – so children and adults with mobility issues would not have to wait until our product line developed further. Looking at the market, and seeing that both professional and college sports now require that any bag larger than the palm of your hand be clear, we launched StadiumBags.com in 2016 and have taken the marketplace by storm. You can see us at SafetyBags.com and StadiumBags.com and see why we are the clear choice because Safety…it’s in the Bag! All in all, my commitment to making a difference led Word of Mom Radio and the launch of Safety Bags and this product line. Last, but not least, I am the mother of three children – well adults – Dan, Rob and Courtney, I have new wonderful daughters-in-love and, my greatest job ever has begun as my first grandchild was born in May! I am a Glamma!!! Take it from me – time flies- so seize the moment!
6 Tips to Create a Killer Elevator Pitch
Shannon Daniels
12/8, at UConn Stamford
You only get one chance to make a first impression - make the most of it. In this talk, you'll learn how to create a killer elevator pitch that: · Hooks your audience · Let’s you stand out from the crowd · Elevates your value · Drives action
Shannon Malkin Daniels is Founder and CEO of Encaptiv, an author and a public speaking and communication consultant. After a successful executive-level career in sales, marketing and communication, Shannon left the corporate world to pursue her passion of helping others achieve success. She works with entrepreneurs and companies of all sizes. Some of her endeavors include teaching a series of workshops at MasterCard, successfully coaching an inventor through the first round of Shark Tank auditions, and helping entrepreneurs secure funding for their business. She's also taught communication and public speaking at Columbia University and Iona College. Shannon's years of speaking, teaching, and coaching led to a mounting frustration with existing presentation software, so she set out on a mission to develop an interactive presentation software that bridges the gap between presentations and goals. Thus Encaptiv was born!
The New Content Culture™: Adopting the “Publisher’s M.O.”™ to Grow Your Business
Keith Reynolds
12/8, at UConn Stamford
Forget websites, social media and blogs. “Think -- and do -- like a publisher” to brand your content and grow your business with digital marketing. Customers in the very near future will expect to interact with digital content much like a magazine or TV show to meet their needs; just as if they'd walked into a retail showroom to talk to a salesperson. Companies today increasingly produce branded digital publications, portals, and content hubs to attract and service customers and improve SEO results -- and that has changed the game. The winners nail it on content strategy, planning, systems, and management to provide customers a truly excellent experience and achieve their ROI goals.The Publisher’s M.O. is comprised of "7+7 Buckets" for strategy and implementation-to-scale that, when executed, will result in achieving the content marketing goals you’ve established. As a result, brands, agencies, and entrepreneurs:
- Take the Mystery Out of Content Marketing ROI (an ROI Calculator to justify content marketing investment)
- Define an Impactful Digital Marketing Strategy (7 buckets to define a digital strategy in line with the vision, mission, and values)
- Implement with Their Team (7 Buckets for effective, accountable, team execution delivered as worksheets for results-oriented meetings)
5 Ways to Fund Your Business
Nick Johnson
12/8, at UConn Stamford
In this talk, I’ll address types of funding to various stages and types of new ventures. Each type of fundraising will address the following:- When to use this method (Assets vs. Expenses)
- The old way of doing this
- The new way of doing this
- Why?
Can't We All Get Along? : Navigating Conflict in a Fast-Paced, Entrepreneurial Environment
Valeria Lopez
12/8, at UConn Stamford
Relationships are at the heart of any successful venture...but we're also human and we don't always get along. When opinions differ and emotions run high, we might not always see conflict as a learning opportunity. In fact, we may act (and react) in ways that erode trust with one another. In this session, learn about practical strategies you can use to navigate conflict as you build relationships with your team members and other constituents. Valeria E. Lopez is the founder and CEO of OnBeat Consulting, an organizational development consulting and training company that helps organizations build and cultivate high-performing teams of skilled collaborators and communicators. Valeria is committed to creating healthier and happier high-trust workplaces by assessing the needs (the “rhythm”) of each organization, co-creating, implementing and evaluating programs that address those needs. With a background in education and healthcare, Valeria enjoys helping organizations harness the power of people to drive organizational performance and excellence. She is certified in True Colors Personal Success Foundations, True Colors Communication and the MSCEIT Emotional Intelligence Ability model.
Cybersecurity
Linda Kuppersmith
12/8, at UConn Stamford
The number of Cyber Breaches and attacks is growing at an unprecedented rate – as is the amount of dollars being spent to combat breaches and clean up any damage done by a breach. During the first six months of 2018, cyber breaches infiltrated U.S. power companies, universities, state governments and private companies with an estimated worth of $3 Billion dollars of intellectual property. One attack used more than 500,00 routers – many of which are issued from internet providers to residential accounts. Recently, 9 hackers were indicted for attacks on more than 400 organizations. 9 hackers. 400 organizations. The effect on organizations and corporations large and small, start-ups and established, cannot be calculated. Resources meant to be invested back into a company is now being reallocated to protection, recovery and increasing regulatory requirements. This session will provide an overview of the key elements of a Cyber Security program – and how my chickens figure into the way I think about the safety of my clients’ systems. Linda Kuppersmith knows about Technology. Software, hardware, cloud, security, productivity solutions. If it beeps and blinks or lives in the internet, it will hit Linda’s radar. With decades of IT experience in the corporate world, Linda opened CMIT Solutions of Stamford in 2005 so that she could provide local businesses with the high level of IT Management and Services that she knew they needed. Recently, with an ever-increasing concern for cybersecurity, as well as direct experience with a number of cyber breaches, CMIT Solutions’ network of IT leaders are heavily focused on identifying the real risks that need to be focused on in today’s IT environments. A small group of these CMIT leaders which include Linda are driving the makeup of the next generation of integrated risk reduction services at CMIT Solutions which are being added to their flat rate IT management services. Linda works with area companies to help them understand their risks, develop protection mechanisms and meet regulatory obligations. Linda lives in Stamford with her husband, Scott, their extended family, dog and 7 chickens.
Build Better Products, Better.
Michael McClure
12/8, at UConn Stamford
Building an app is not just about which technology you use, but rather the strategy behind the product. The idea may be really cool, but if it is not validated by the market, then it’s just that. A great idea; it could be a potential product i.e. an app, a website, a blog, etc. but it can’t be a business. Sometimes, we get caught up in the workings behind what building an app entails and forget the vision and goal of the business... Learn more about how to build better products better by attending our talk and checking out our website at cometa.group! Michael McClure, Managing Partner at Cometa Group and Founder of Crashcode As Founder of Cometa, Michael has grown the company from a small single-office web development shop based in Connecticut into a boutique software consulting firm with offices in the United States, Europe, and Latin America specializing in FinTech, healthcare, education, and venture consulting. With a professional background spanning the spectrum of politics, marketing and real estate and tech entrepreneurs himself, his expertise at Cometa includes strategy development, client counsel, marketing, design, recruitment and anything else in between. He also holds leadership positions as an innovation and business development advisor for several leading fin-tech and ed-tech companies and has recently launched Crashcode in Stamford, a non-profit digital literacy, and technology boot camp initiative in partnership with other tech community leaders to make digital literacy available for anyone. Courses are offered at Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced levels and focus on the fundamentals of programming for the web, up to launching rich web applications. When not wearing one of his many business hats, he is most likely to be found passionately debating and enjoying time with friends and family.
How Entrepreneurs Can Leverage the Power of Visual Thinking
Todd Cherches
12/8, at UConn Stamford
If a picture is worth a thousand words, and finding the right words takes time, and time is money, then wouldn’t it follow that you could make more money – in less time – by taking a more “visual” approach to running your business? OK, it’s not quite that simple…but this unique and innovative approach called VisuaLeadership® will forever change the way you think, communicate, manage, and lead – and help you turn your “vision” into reality…through the power of visual thinking. Todd Cherches is the CEO & Co-Founder of BigBlueGumball (www.bigbluegumball.com), a New York City-based, management & leadership consulting, training, and executive coaching firm. A thoughtleader in the field of leadership, his company’s motto is “We make training entertaining”; and his personal mission is “To help make the world a better place...one leader at a time.” Todd is also a two-time award-winning Adjunct Professor at NYU’s School of Professional Studies, in their Division of Programs in Business, where, for the past 8 years he’s been teaching one of their most highly-rated graduate courses, “Leadership and Team Building,” for their Human Capital Management master’s program. He also a Lecturer on leadership at Columbia University, as well as a popular keynote speaker, panelist, blogger, and soon-to-be-author of the book, VisuaLeadership: How Leaders Can Leverage the Power of Visual Thinking and Visual Communication.
