In this episode, I interview my son, Patrick Kelly, co-founder of Shorca Wood. We talked a bit about his business and about being an entrepreneur. He has grown up watching me start multiple businesses and host this podcast. He is also an entrepreneur himself and isn’t even a teenager yet.

After hosting my Startup Competitors podcast for four years, I have decided it’s time for this final episode. I’ve enjoyed it immensely and have met many entrepreneurs who’ve generously shared their genius and wisdom. I thank each of them once more, and thank each of you who have listened and supported the Startup Competitors podcast all these years.

Topics In This Episode

Solving problems with projections and spreadsheets

What is your earliest memory of Developer Town?

What’s it like when I’m so busy with my entrepreneurial endeavors?

How do you think watching me has affected what you might do in the future?

What are some things you’ve picked up from watching me that you think are good? Not good?

Why do people work? Why do you work and why did you and Levi start Shorca Wood?

As a parent that works so much, what can I do differently or better?

About Shorca Wood

Shorca Wood is a two-year old wood supply company started by two friends who are not even teenagers yet. One of them happens to be my son, Patrick Kelly. The other is his friend, Levi. They specialize in selling firewood by the rick (which basically fills the bed of an F150 truck). The wood is harvested and split from the acres of timber on the Kelly homestead. 

If you would like to hear more about Shorca Wood, check out my previous interview with Patrick: startupcompetitors.com/podcast/2020/12/28/shorca-wood-learning-business-at-a-young-age 

About Developer Town

DeveloperTown is a multi-faceted software consultancy for today’s IT and Business Leaders. We create world-class digital experiences to help businesses succeed in a competitive digital world.

Website: developertown.com 

Company LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/developertown 

Company Twitter: twitter.com/developertown

Company Facebook: facebook.com/developertown  

Company Instagram: instagram.com/developertown 

Michael’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/michaeldkelly 

Michael’s email: mike.kelly@developertown.com

Pernix Solutions is a software building company co-founded by former Intel and HP employees. They specialize in extending and building development teams, developing mobile and web apps, and crafting MVPs for startups and entrepreneurs. 

In this episode, I chat with Carlos Sirias, founder and CEO of Pernix Solutions. Carlos is located in Costa Rica and we talk about the economic stability of Latin America. We also discuss how that ties into him building an apprentice program, where the company is headed, and more. I have a lot of respect for Carlos and his willingness to give. Whether you’re thinking about building a product or are already in the middle of building one, you need to listen to this episode.

Topics In This Episode

Apprenticeship program and mission

Helping create economic growth in Latin America

Why things go wrong in the technology field and how to fix it

The economic burn and benefits of an apprenticeship program

Scoping for minimal viable product

How early experience and behaviors manifest later

Success examples

Does Pernix Solutions take equity in startups they help through their apprenticeship program?

Common mistakes startups and entrepreneurs make starting out

Focusing on what makes a startup succeed

Becoming employee-owned

Contact Info

Pernix Solutions Website: pernix-solutions.com

Pernix Solutions (company) LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/pernix-solutions/about 

Carlos Sirias LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/csirias/ 

Facebook

Twitter

Email: info@pernix-solutions.com

Sequense is a B2B SaaS workflow management software created by travel agents, for travel agents. Because the travel industry has evolved and grown, especially due to Covid, people are having more of a relationship with their travel agent. In fact, in updated terminology, travel agents are more frequently called travel advisors. Currently, approximately 100,000 United States travel advisors are responsible for over $32 billion per year in travel revenue.

In this episode, I talk with Sequense co-founder and CMO, Megan Habig about the need travel advisors have for a platform like Sequense. We discuss building an early stage tech company, fundraising and working with an accelerator, launching without a technical co-founder, and their early go to market strategy. I really enjoyed this conversation and hope you do as well.

Topics In This Episode

The inspiration and evolution of travel behind Sequense

Experience with an accelerator, pre-seed funding, and advisors

Leveraging people already in the industry

Why Sequense doesn’t technically have any direct competitors

Future growth over the next 5 years, including software development

Designing to shorten learning curves and facilitate customizations

Launching and building without a tech co-founder

Goals for funding rounds

Learning and following through to make the most of opportunities

The most rewarding part of the journey so far

Megan’s biggest challenges in all this

Contact Info

Sequense Website: https://sequensesoftware.com 

Sequense (company) LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/sequense-software

Megan Habig LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/megan-habig-40aa8721

Email (investor advisors): investors@sequensesoftware.com

Email (travel advisors): info@sequensesoftware.com

I was recently a guest on the fun and inspirational Moments To Momentum podcast with Scott Abbott. In his signature style, Scott asked me a series of questions, balancing frivolity with deeper business insights. We talked about how I got started in technology, Oreos and whiskey, and a few other interesting facts about my life. 

After that, we moved on to more serious topics. One we discussed at length was how to recognize and not trivialize the pain and suffering of others. And once you recognize that pain exists, how you can appropriately adjust your approach to people whether in business, life or parenting. The other was “the day I fell in love with sales”.

It was a really fun conversation and I hope you enjoy listening as much as I enjoyed being Scott’s guest.

A Sample of the Questions Scott Asked Me:

Who is Mike Kelly? What’s your background? How did you get started in technology? What are you doing now?

What is DeveloperTown and FullStack?

Any celebrity crushes? 

If you were a teacher, what would you teach?

What is your favorite: cookie, snack, beverage and meal? 

If you had a yacht, what would your yacht be named?

Can you share with us one of your most meaningful, defining and noteworthy situations - you know, a specific experience, time, relationship, or event - that has made a significant impact on your life, so far? What happened, why was it so meaningful, what did you learn, how did it benefit you, and what advice or recommendations can you share?

About Moments To Momentum with Scott Abbott

"Moments to Momentum, with Scott Abbott" is a fun, informative and inspirational podcast - featuring impactful conversations, with successful leaders from a wide-spectrum of demographics and vocations - that share their most meaningful situations, stories and events (i.e. “moments”), that they have experienced. Furthermore, how those big moments produced "momentum," that helps them succeed in their profession, and life. By having leaders share their most significant experiences - along with the lessons and advice learned - listeners gain their own “moments to momentum," as they enjoy and benefit from our guests’ personal experiences, insights and recommendations.

An important element of the podcast - is identifying and discussing what Scott calls, the "bio-mechanics" to productivity, happiness and success. In other words, using the podcast to understand and appreciate, the components and connection between the biological elements (i.e. the mind, heart, body, soul, psychology and sociology), with the mechanical elements (i.e. the strategy, tactics, systems, structure, tools, science and engineering), that it takes to effectively determine, develop, maintain and optimize consistent productivity, happiness and success: in business, work and life.

momentstomomentum.com

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iResearch is an online platform that allows users to conduct focus groups all over the world, in any language. With the ability to quickly extract insights from consumers, iResearch provides users the knowledge to make smart business decisions. ConnectQik is an app that allows users to make connections and take part in engaging interactions. Designed to capture business information, you can instantly exchange information with new contacts.

In this episode, I talk with iResearch.com and ConnectQik.com founder and CEO, Darshan Mehta, about finding meaningful insights from customers, users and consumers. We discuss how such insights inform product road maps and decision-making, as well as Darshan’s four ways to increase your chances of being successful. We also chat about current international business opportunities and his upcoming book, Getting to Aha! - Why Today's Insights are Tomorrow's Facts.

Topics In This Episode

Become your own worst competitor

Control inroads, differentiate yourself and your product

4 ways to increase your chances of being successful

Structuring methods, questions and conversations to reveal powerful insights

Tapping into the jet streams of society -- getting to the why

Find a connection from your product to an emotion; an example

Why you should do focus groups first

Marketing solutions and problem solving versus selling to people

International business opportunities and insights

Darshan’s experience living in Thailand

Contact Info

iResearch Website: https://iresearch.com 

iResearch (company) LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/iresearch-com

Darshan Mehta LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/darshan--mehta

ConnectQik Website: www.connectqik.com

Email: DM@iResearch.com

Get Darshan’s Book: Getting to Aha! - Why Today's Insights are Tomorrow's Facts

iTeam is a network of CEO think tanks that brings top level CEOs together in private groups. The purpose is to provide a place to reflect on tough decisions or get honest feedback. With an emphasis on technology enablement, and a process to find, sharpen, and drive competitive edges forward, the results speak for themselves. They have identified and are addressing the somewhat hidden needs of high level CEOs. 

In this episode, I talk with iTeam founder and CEO, Thaddeus Rex, about what it means to run a business specifically designed to help other CEOs focus on their businesses. This includes analyzing processes, offering strengths where others are weak, and supporting and interacting in a mutually beneficial manner. All this creates a unique, and much-needed, pact of dedication between CEOs who might otherwise be alone in many circumstances and decision-making.

Topics In This Episode

The pact that inspired iTeam

Investment and growth through Covid-19

Quality control of a business when your product isn’t actually a product

Analyzing potential fit of a CEO and business builders

Solving unsolvable problems - the right team

iTeam’s current competitors and how iTeam is different

What makes a great facilitator

Differentiation in startups to set yourself apart

Thaddeus’ core philosophy about the purpose and impact of business

Some success stories and some struggles as iTeam members support each other

Cultivating options for solutions

Contact Info

Thaddeus Rex website: thaddeusrex.com/iteamexperience 

iTeam (company) LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/the-iteam 

Thaddeus Rex LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thaddeusrex 

Twitter

Facebook

iTeam (new website coming soon): thinkiteam.com

Vertex Intelligence is a data science and machine learning consultancy. They help a wide-range of companies solve tough data-related challenges by changing human problems into math problems and then solving them. Vertex identified frequent issues plaguing companies of all sizes, such as scheduling, data mining, and resource allocation, and developed machine-learning based solutions. 

In this episode, I talk with CEO, Tyler Foxworthy, about how they’ve leveraged data science and optimization to build Vertex Intelligence. We cover problems data scientists solve that exist now and where he sees it going in the future. Tyler shares some of Vertex Intelligence’s successes, including working with multiple enterprise-level companies. Boot-strapped to success, they have achieved seven figures with just four full time employees. 

Topics In This Episode

When and how a company should look at the processes they need to optimize 

Looking at internal and external (3rd party) data and blending them

Mapping problems into math, an example

Identifying and leveraging the right solutions; getting started and maintaining continuity

Current status of data science and where Tyler sees it going

Who is already using data science and who is coming into this approach

The impact of SaaS software companies on business development and structure

Why clean data is crucial and the resulting departure from traditional software

Entering the data science field and market

Contact Info

Website: vertexintelligence.com 

Vertex Intelligence (company) LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/vertex-intelligence 

Tyler Foxworthy LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tyler-foxworthy 

Email: tyler@vertexintelligence.com

Otus is a single platform for teaching, grading, analyzing and planning for K-12 education. It’s designed for administrators, educators, students and families so they can concentrate on what matters most -- learning. Through robust and integrated technology, Otus eliminates the time and ease of use pain points for administrative and teaching tasks. 

Otus employs 8-week cycles for product assessment, actively and rapidly adapting and responding to requests for additions and improvements. They have positioned themselves in the center of the “Venn diagram” of technological needs in education. In this episode, I talk with Otus Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer, Christopher Hull about all of this and much more. Listen as he expertly outlines their product roadmap and also gives me my absolute favorite answer ever received to a question I’ve asked at least 75 times.

Topics In This Episode

The reach of Otus, their 300% revenue growth and market share increase

Customer acquisition, leveraging referrals and social media; crafting the path to product adoption

Otus’ current competitors, how Otus sits in the center of the Venn diagram of meeting needs

Product roadmap: measuring success through “buckets”, key metrics, usage benchmarks, and implementation reporting

Responding to customer requests for both current pain points and future preferences

Otus’ 8-week cycle for product improvement and listening to multiple stakeholders for input

An example of an 8-week cycle

Listening to clients first, then assessing competitors, and combining results

Pricing models and adapting for growth and usage

Simple pricing for launch of a SaaS

Pricing review cadence and processes

Contact Info

Website: otus.com 

Otus (company) LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/OtusK12 

Chris Hull LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/chull9

Company Twitter

Christopher’s Twitter

Company Facebook