Driving Innovation: The Partnership Between Champ and W.R. Berkley | The Pair Program Ep47

In this episode, we hear from two guests: Shane Bigelow and Mike Nannizzi. Shane is the CEO of Champ, a Cleveland-based technology company that is changing the way that vehicle titles are created, managed, and transferred in the United States.

Mike runs the venture arm for W.R. Berkley with a specialty in early stage technology companies.

They discuss:

• The inspiring story behind Champ and the critical problems they’re solving in the vehicle title industry.
• W.R. Berkley's role in supporting Champ's mission.
• Insights into early-stage technology investments.
• The challenges of bringing innovation into the federal space.
• The future of government-collaborative technology solutions.

Whether you're interested in entrepreneurship, government technology, or strategic partnerships in tech, tune in to get practical insights from industry leaders at the forefront of innovation!

About Shane Bigelow: Shane McRann Bigelow is CEO of Champ Titles, a Cleveland-based technology company that is changing the way that vehicle titles are created, managed, and transferred in the United States. Prior to Champ Titles, Bigelow was a Senior Vice President and Managing Director at Bernstein, where he managed a part of that firm’s U.S. business and sat on the firm’s Responsible Investment Committee that focused on the United Nation’s Principles for Responsible Investment; Environmental, Social and Governance Issues (ESG); and Socially Responsible Investment matters. There, Shane developed a highly informed view of how emerging technologies can help society through reducing the costs of government, which informs the business at Champ Titles today.

About Michael Nannizzi: Mike runs the venture arm for WR Berkley with a specialty in early stage technology companies. Mike primarily focuses on companies within the fintech space, and his investments typically involve both a financial position and role in the respective companies' Board of Directors. Mike lives in Larchmont New York with his wife Kathy, children Sasha, Natalie, and Max, and dogs, Fergie and Malibu.

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How We Hatched: Will Wilson, Co-Founder of Antithesis

Dive into the entrepreneurial journey of Will Wilson, Co-Founder of Antithesis, in this episode of "How We Hatched."

Host, Tim Winkler, interviews Will about:

• HIs journey into technology, including his inspiration to start his own company and the mentor who inspired him to take the leap.
• His career path to becoming the founder of Antithesis, including his time spent at Apple and Google.
• The problems Antithesis is solving and the impact they’re making in the tech industry.
• The decision to operate Antithesis in stealth mode for 5 years and the team’s experience transitioning out of stealth mode.
• The advantages and disadvantages of staying in stealth mode, including access to investors and capital without public exposure.

About Will Wilson: Will Wilson is a former mathematician who switched to software because it seemed easier. He built distributed databases at FoundationDB, Apple, and Google. Along the way, he realized that computers are actually the enemy, and founded Antithesis to put them in their place.

Check out Antithesis: https://antithesis.com/

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The Rise of Fractional Tech Leadership: Perspectives from Industry Experts | The Pair Program Ep46

In this insightful episode, we dive into the evolving landscape of fractional tech leadership with two seasoned experts, Dan Maccarone and Matt Walnock. As co-founder of Charming Robot, Dan brings a wealth of experience as a fractional Chief Product Officer, while Matt, with nine years of mentoring and coaching cloud companies, offers invaluable insights as a fractional Chief Technology Officer.

Join us as we explore the nuances of fractional tech leadership roles, from aligning engineering and product with business objectives to integrating with teams and establishing trust. Our guests provide valuable perspectives on the market for fractional roles, the difference between fractional leaders and consultants, and the ideal stage of company seeking such expertise.Whether you're considering stepping into a fractional tech leadership role or seeking to understand its impact on organizational success, this episode offers practical advice and valuable insights from industry leaders at the forefront of innovation.

About Dan Maccarone: Dan is the co-founder of Charming Robot, a product design company based in NYC. For the past twenty years, he has been helping startups and media companies shape their online product strategy, including Foursquare, Rent The Runway, Jetsetter, The Block, Blade and Skift. His experience also includes television, music and print media, and he has worked with Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Gawker, Saturday Night Live, Universal Music and The Wall Street Journal. One of his most noted projects was creating the original strategy and user experience for Hulu. Prior to Charming Robot, Dan co-founded the design agency Hard Candy Shell.

About Matt Walnock: As a consulting technologist with 28 years in the tech industry, Matt has spent the last 9 years mentoring, coaching, and leading early-stage and scaling cloud companies. His focus is on empowering teams, offering personalized guidance to navigate challenges in technology development. His experience includes roles as CTO, VP of Engineering, and Software Architect at companies like Microsoft, Parature, MCI/Verizon Business, and IBM, where he’s earned seven patents. Matt has a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Penn State University. He is the co-founder of Longitude 77, a company on a mission to elevate technology teams and optimize their strategic vision and engineering processes.

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