The Silicon Valley Podcast

Ep 205 Before and After the Acquisition with Karen Kovaleski

Shownotes for Karen Traversi Kovaleski,
 
Bio:
I have over 20 very successful and rewarding years leading start-up and growth-stage companies in digital and tech industries. My experience spans sales, marketing, human resources, operations, and all aspects of the customer journey. Holding roles ranging from VP GM to VP of Operations to CEO, I have driven the integration and stabilization of organizations experiencing mergers & acquisitions, hyper-growth, or other disruptive processes. I have successfully helped companies ranging in size from start-up to >$100 million as well as those looking to monetize assets such as TMP/Monster.com, Ticketmaster, and Revolution Health Group. CHALLENGECompanies often struggle to connect the dots between corporate mission, sales, product delivery, and customers' goals. Mergers & acquisitions, rapid growth, or other disruptive processes typically amplify misalignment. When not addressed, this leads to missed opportunities for revenue growth, employee engagement, and customer satisfaction. Organizations tout a customer-focused approach in the hopes that this rallying cry will create alignment of people, product, and process. It doesn’t, and therefore, Brand equity suffers, engagement declines, and customers look elsewhere.REPUTATIONI am known for getting things done with high proficiency and integrity, as a cross-functional leader, collaborator, and strategic thinker. I have earned the reputation of a business integrator with expertise in customer growth, operational execution, and broad-based business management. I connect the company and the client through brand clarity, effective solutions delivery, and highly engaged teams.STYLEI bring a goal-driven and collaborative style to business operations and executive leadership. I am passionate about using honesty, kindness & respect in the treatment of all people while discovering innovative ways to approach business challenges and new markets. Leveraging empathy, business acumen, and consultative approaches I drive effective operations, sales and customer growth. I am comfortable addressing complex problems and often difficult situations, handling them with ease and candor ensuring actionable goals & objectives drive success.Key Skills:Start-up * Sales and Service Delivery * People Leadership * Business Development * Customer Success Driver * Decisive and Focused Executive * Integration Before, During and After M&A * Team Builder * Product Development * Profitable Business Manager * Change Management
 
We talk about
When starting to work with a company, where are there usually skeletons?
What is life after being a CEO like?
Mergers & Acquisitions… pre and post closing. What are some integration best practices?
Is there a disconnect between the Silicon Valley “elite” and the rest of Silicon Valley… and the rest of the world?
Connect with Karen
 
Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/karentraversikovaleski/
Email karen.traversi.kovaleski@gmail.com

Ep 204 The Answer to Blitzscaling with Ron Gutman

Show notes Ron Gutman
Ron Gutman is an inventor, an investor, a serial technology and healthcare entrepreneur and a Stanford University adjunct Professor.
Ron has built and invested in technology and healthcare companies that have served hundreds of millions of people and saved tens of thousands of lives worldwide. He's an inventor holding a series of patents in healthcare technology and Artificial Intelligence and won the World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer award.
Ron's articles have been published in respected media such as The Harvard Business Review, Forbes, Fortune Magazine, CNN, and TechCrunch. He also wrote a best-selling TED Book SMILE: The Astonishing Power of a Simple Act, and gave a popular TED talk about smiling that was translated to 51 languages and viewed by millions everywhere. Ron has also presented in leading technology and healthcare conferences, including The World Economic Forum, TED, and Fortune Brainstorm Tech.
Ron's mission is to help everyone live happier, healthier, longer lives.
 
We talk about:
How did you come up with the topic for your ted talk “The Hidden Power of Smiling?” Do you live by the motto of “Smiling” today?
What factors do you consider when determining the structure and design of a supply chain?
How is it different scaling-up a company that has a massive funding event verse growing a company without any-external funding?
What is the antidote to Blitzscaling? In the current environment, does Blitzcaling make sense?
What are the best ways that entrepreneurs and start-ups can achieve hyper-growth today without making huge structural, financial, and in some cases, ethical mistakes in the process?
And much more….
Connect with Ron
 
Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/rongutman/
Twitter @ronsmilegutman
Email RonSmileGutman@gmail.com

Ep 203 Data the Final Frontier with Gunja Gargeshwari

Show notes for Gunja Gargeshwari
Gunja Gargeshwari works as a Chief Revenue Officer at Bright Data, which is a Data Collection & Internet Portals company with an estimated 450 employees; and founded in 2014. They are part of the Sales Executive team within the C-Suite Department and their management level is C-Level. Gunja graduated from Wayne State University in 1996 and is currently based in United States. They used to work at Amazon.com and Théâtre de Paris a
Previous Work Experience
Gunja Gargeshwari's career began 27 years ago. Prior to joining Bright Data, Gunja worked at 4 companies.
2018 - 2022Zendesk
Platform, Zd Sunshine Conversations & Zd Sell Vice President, Worldwide Sales
2015 - 2018Amazon.com
Isv Accounts Sales Leader
2015 - 2018Théâtre de Paris
Mid Market Isv Accounts Sales Leader
1996 - 2015Oracle
Senior Director, Oracle Consulting Sales, Retail & Financial Services
 
We talk about
How is Artificial Intelligence impacting data?
Are companies really utilizing internal data?
What are some good causes for use of public data?
What does a Chief Revenue Officer, CRO do?
The story of the first 1 billion dollar deal for Amazon?
And more
Connect with Gunja  https://www.linkedin.com/in/gunja-gargeshwari-5bb37/

Ep 202 Startup Due Diligence with Zamir Shukho

Zamir Shukho is the Founder and General Partner of the Vibranium.VC venture fund. With 20 years of professional experience, he has a background as a serial entrepreneur having created 10 companies and organizations. He is also an expert in venture capital, management, and corporate innovation. In addition to this, he is a startup mentor and a certified coach of the Stanford I2M program.
We talk about
How does the selection process change depending on the stage of the company?
What are some of the metrics a company should know at the seed stage of its life cycle?
What takes place during Financial due diligence?
What happens in an Investment Committee meeting?
 
Connect with Zamir
VC and Podari.life charity program - https://www.podari.life/vibranium
VC Softlanding Program - https://vibranium.vc/softlanding
VC website - https://vibranium.vc/
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/vibraniumvc
Twitter - https://twitter.com/Vibranium_VC

Ep 201 Your Network is your Net Worth with Drew Sechrist

Show Notes for Drew Sechrist 
Drew Sechrist the Co-Founder and CEO, of Connect The Dots. Drew was part of the team that grew Salesforce from $0 to over $1B in revenue. During that time, he was both the #1 sales manager (globally), and the #1 account executive (globally).
‍
He helped define best practices for both high volume sales and large enterprise transactions. A huge part of Drew’s success was leveraging the relationships in his network and mastering the art of the warm introduction.
 
We talk about
 
What was the ride like being at Salesforce from $0 to over $1billion in revenue?
Where do most startups mess up with sales training?
How should a startup think about their sales processes?
How should young companies think about their sales compensation packages?
How important is timing, how important is luck when building a company?
 
 
Connect with Drew
drew.sechrist@gmail.com
https://twitter.com/drewsechrist
 
https://www.linkedin.com/in/drewsechrist/
Website https://www.ctd.ai/

Ep 200 Silicon Valley & Beyond; Celebrating 200 Episodes with Host Shawn Flynn

Shawn Flynn is a seasoned mid-market investment banker and distinguished Podcast Host. With a rich background as a successful business owner in Beijing, China, Shawn returned to Silicon Valley, where he immersed himself in the dynamic startup ecosystem. He has held diverse roles, from Head of Incubation for an AI and blockchain-focused incubator to President of the second oldest Angel group in the Valley. Leveraging his extensive experience across various business stages and sectors, Shawn currently serves as Principal at a premier middle market investment bank, specializing in mergers and acquisitions, growth capital raising, and secondaries.
Shawn holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from UCSD, and his global perspective is enriched by his proficiency in Mandarin and Spanish, acquired during almost 8 years of living abroad. As the host of the acclaimed "The Silicon Valley Podcast," Shawn shares valuable insights and conversations with thought leaders and industry pioneers.
Feel free to connect with Shawn on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawnpflynn/Explore his podcast here: https://link.chtbl.com/TheSiliconValleyPodcast

Ep199 Uncover the Financial Truth: Knowing the Real Numbers with Elliott Holland

Show notes for Elliot Holland  
Errors made in buying a business can be very costly. My clients avoid these mistakes.
We provide a better Quality of Earnings for #SMB, #SelfFundedSearcher & #ETA buyers which includes help with tough negotiations during their deal alongside pieces of commercial and operational diligence.
How are we different & better?:
Alongside each Quality of Earnings, we advise our clients on how to execute better deals leveraging our 20+ years acquiring small and medium sized businesses. We are deal guys who manage accountants who help entrepreneurs buy better businesses.
Want to know if a CPA firm or a full-service diligence firm like Guardian is the right choice for you? Take our 5 question assessment here: guardianduediligence(dot)com/assessment
Call or email me at (404) 441-2637 or eholland@guardianduediligence.com.
 
We talk about
What is the difference between a “Quality of Earnings” and a “Quality of Earnings lite”?
What are some key factors that can impact the quality of earnings?
What is the relationship between earnings quality and a company's valuation?
How do one-time events or special circumstances impact the quality of earnings?
How does the quality of earnings differ for private versus public companies?
 
Connect with Elliot
 
 https://www.linkedin.com/in/elliottholland/
elliott.e.holland@gmail.com
Guardianduediligence.com/services
(8) King of QoE (@ElliottEHolland) / Twitter

Ep 198 Tech Titans at the ACG 2023 Grow Awards

Guest interviewed in this episode include:
 
Jay Chaudhry
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaychaudhry/
Seasoned and successful entrepreneur and CEO. Looking for ambitious, driven professionals to join the Zscaler family.
 
Jay Chaudhry is an accomplished entrepreneur, having founded a series of successful companies, including AirDefense, CipherTrust, CoreHarbor, Secure IT and Zscaler. Chaudhry has a history of introducing visionary innovations that address the demand for securely enabling emerging technologies, such as the Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange for distributed and highly mobile enterprises. His work in the IT security sector has made him a trusted advisor for many enter
 
Ashley Tarver
Data & AI Cloud EvangelistData & AI Cloud Evangelist
Microsoft
 
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashley-bigdata/
 
Responsible for driving better insights from data, cloud, machine learning and AI. I am the strategic advisor to business, community and government leaders in all areas involving joint solution vision, strategy and success metrics of their data. I provide guidance to corporate and regional leaders involving product development, sales revenue targets, pipeline growth, and market share capture. I evangelize joint value propositions and solutions through an ecosystem interlock with partner executives, regional partners, marketing, field sales and customers.
 
 
Philippe Bousissou PH.D
https://www.linkedin.com/in/phbouissou/
TEDx speaker, best-selling book author, growth expert, entrepreneur, CEO, venture capitalist, board member. Three decades in Silicon Valley growing and running businesses. Managing Partner at Blue Dots Partners LLC, a management consulting firm focused on top-line revenue acceleration for companies or business units with at least $10 million in sales.
 
 
Guy Kawasaki
https://www.linkedin.com/in/guykawasaki/
 
Guy is on a mission to make people remarkable. He is the host of the Remarkable People podcast featuring people such as Jane Goodall, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Marc Benioff, Angela Duckworth, Bob Cialdini, Arianna Huffington, and Kristi Yamaguchi. He possesses extensive knowledge of innovation, entrepreneurship, social media, podcasting, and marketing. Plus, he is a mediocre surfer.
 
Chris Gentle
https://www.linkedin.com/in/cgentle/
I help boards and senior executives generate enhanced top-line growth so as to help map the path to a successful future for their organisation. By defining and identifying the most important insights, I work with decision makers to put this into practice. I also help organisations build the reputation and influence required to ensure they achieve their strategic goal. My contributions can be captured under three headings:Board Level Professional: I have international experience in 25 countries working with the leaders at the very highest levels including Big Four executive leadership at Deloitte and KPMG, businesses across EMEA region and in government with the UK Prime Minister and President of EU to fashion strategies which engage stakeholders and drive lasting change….
 
Velchamy Sankarlingam
https://www.linkedin.com/in/velchamy/
Experienced in hardware, software and service industries on engineering and management areas. Advanced degrees in Engineering and Management. Excellent track record on delivering products.Specialties: Strong technical and management skills.
 
and more

Ep 197 From $0 -$20M ARR Without Funding with Guillaume Moubeche

Show Notes for  Guilliame Moubeche CEO of Lemlist
 
Co-Founder and CEO of lemlist.
On a mission to help 1,000,000 entrepreneurs to build profitable businesses by 2025.
In 3.5 years, we went from $0 to $10 million in ARR at lemlist, 20k+ customers worldwide, without any funding.
Guilliame loves SaaS businesses, B2B growth strategies and cool people
 
We talk about
When selling a business how long does it take and what are possible surprises along the process?
How should a founder go about building a personal brand?
What are the five stages of a business?
What are 4 things to avoid at all cost?
How should a founder go about negotiating a term sheet?
 
Connect with Guillaume
https://www.guillaumemoubeche.com/
https://twitter.com/GuillaumeMbh

Ep 196 Software Profit Streams with Luke Hohmann

Luke Hohmann
I am a four time author, three time founder, a keynote speaker and internationally recognized expert in Agile Software Development. Coming from Silicon Valley, I know how often founders focus on building companies to flip. My passion is building companies that make the world better.
At FirstRoot, Inc. our mission is to create the next generation of impact investors. We want to get $1K into 1M schools globally and watch what happens when youth control $1B in capital.
The Every Voice Engaged Foundation is a 501c3 nonprofit that helps citizens, governments and nonprofit organizations collaboratively solve problems that are unsolvable without civic engagement. EVEF has been a leader in the Participatory Budgeting movement, helping citizens prioritize hundreds of millions of dollars through Budget Games.
Conteneo, Inc. was acquired by Scaled Agile, Inc. With our extraordinary development team, we created the Weave, Strategy Engine and Knowsy® decision agility platforms. In partnership with The Kettering Foundation (www.kettering.org), Conteneo created Common Ground for Action, the first scalable platform for deliberative decision-making.
At Applied Frameworks, we make the world better by helping our customers create sustainably profitable businesses. My most recent book, Software Profit Solutions, is co-authored with Jason Tanner and shares key insights from our experience to help transform businesses through profitable, sustainable software solutions.
Join our newsletter linked in my profile above for periodic Profit Streams updates and to be notified when the book is available! https://profit-streams.com/book
We talk about:
 
What is system thinking and how is it used?
What are some of the tools one would use to navigate the “Fog of uncertainty”?
When should one think about raising prices?
When does software eat Hardware?
What is Solution Life-cycle management?
 
Connect with Luke
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lukehohmann/
Website https://appliedframeworks.com/