Bytes Over Bagels

18 Coffees (https://18coffees.com/) is building the backbone of the mission economy through consulting, content, and community. Caleb Gardner joins us from his walk-in closet to discuss how his team is helping pair creatives and business leaders with clients to provide mission-driven companies a stronger strategic footing. Caleb’s career has spanned from consulting with Fortune 100 CEOs to running President Obama’s Twitter account, including respected companies such as Bain & Company, Edelman, and OFA. As a thought leader in digital innovation, Caleb has been a featured speaker at Social Innovation Summit, SXSW, INBOUND Marketing Summit, among others, and he has been quoted in WIRED, Strategy Magazine, NBC News, BBC Radio, and others.

Joining us from Cyprus, Dr Theano Kalavana is an author and professional development and leadership coach. She discusses the differences between cognitive and affective empathy and how they apply to leadership and team communication. To learn more about Dr Kalavana check out her website at http://mindthreading.com.

Author of The Empathy Edge and Founder at Red Slice, Maria Ross join us to talk about her 3-year journey in researching the data behind making empathy actionable. "If we want to create a more empathetic world, why not start in the place where we spend the bulk of our time: our work.” She talks about how to build an empathetic brand, leadership, culture and how to effectively start delivering it. 

"Organizations that champion empathy will be the leaders in every category". We kick off season 3 of Bytes Over Bagels introducing this season's theme: Empathy. Don Bora, John Ostler, and Steve Polacek join us from Eight Bit Studios to discuss how their 10-year journey in the website and mobile consulting space went from why they started: to create a great studio for collaboration and work-life balance, to today, why does Eight Bit exist? They discuss their team's approach to empathy, the different approaches to the research, and the reasons behind pivoting this very podcast, Bytes Over Bagels into helping to answer those and more questions. 

Who knew driving data could be so useful? Gary Hallgren shares how Arity is changing the insurance game with data. Right out of college, Gary's been in transportation, starting at the DOT of Minneapolis. Join us to hear how he's now helping Arity improve driving for all of us.

Kaben Clauson, Founder of True Public, slid right into entrepreneurship wanting to find a better way for companies to get real, accurate data. As he points out, there had to be a better way to get authentic data from a population. Join us as he shares his insights and tells us how he learned to build a power surveying tool.

Joel Pollick, Founder of Percent Pledge, shares how a simple phone call with his father turned into a solution that makes donating to charity fool-proof. Join us as we talk about how he researched the market before he even drafted a solution, how he learned as he went, and how Percent Pledge has evolved to meet user needs.

Coming to you live from the Chicago Inno State of Innovation: The Future of Cannabis event in downtown Chicago hosted at WeWork on September 25th, 2019.  In this 2-part series, you’ll get to hear from some impressive Chicago companies in the cannabis space and from Cresco Lab’s Entrepreneur in Residence, Zach Marburger. Part 1: Fireside chat with Zach Marburger, Entrepreneur in Residence at Cresco Labs Part 2: Up and Coming Companies: Tom Gavin - Vice Chairman and CEO of CannTrac Technology, Inc Kurt Akers Co-founder / CEO of Kannatopia James Yi Founder / CEO of Leaf Trade Aristotle Loumis Co-founder of Fyllo

Coming to you live from the Chicago Inno State of Innovation: The Future of Cannabis event in downtown Chicago hosted at WeWork on September 25th, 2019.  In this 2-part series, you’ll get to hear from some impressive Chicago companies in the cannabis space and from Cresco Lab’s Entrepreneur in Residence, Zach Marburger. Part 1: Fireside chat with Zach Marburger, Entrepreneur in Residence at Cresco Labs Part 2: Up and Coming Companies Tom Gavin - Vice Chairman and CEO of CannTrac Technology, Inc Kurt Akers Co-founder / CEO of Kannatopia James Yi Founder / CEO of Leaf Trade Aristotle Loumis Co-founder of Fyllo

20 years ago, i.c.stars formed to transform individuals and communities through a program that combined hard skills training with a broader perspective on community impact. The program gives under-served individuals the necessary skills and habits to find success in the tech field. The program continues today with their “bigger than you” sense of accountability for the adults in their program, providing companies and communities with skilled employees both in soft and hard skills. Join us as Miguel Guerrero, a recent grad and now at Discover Financial, shares how he leveraged this opportunity to redirect his life and provide real value to companies and his community. Also with us is Amanda Moore, Director of Corporate Partnerships to share some insight on how the program works and what makes it so successful for both grads and the employers who hire them. Oh, and hear about the upcoming Techie Prom being held by i.c.stars. https://www.icstars.org/event/20th-anniversary-gala-the-tech-prom/

Jeff Meredith, President and COO of Chamberlain, jumped from a standard IT field and into garage doors with a clear focus: smart access solutions that provide convenience and security for a seamless, uninterrupted life. Chamberlain has spent the past few years identifying common pain points when it comes to the most common entryway we have: our garages. Listen in as he shares the importance of solving everyday problems, the power of shifting a business from product to problem-solver, and what his favorite bagel is.

Scott’s seen firsthand how the state of Chicago tech scene grew from a niche area to a key player. Join us as he explains why east and west coast investors are now putting their money into Chicago companies, what Mayor Lightfoot can to do to ensure the tech scene continues to thrive, and how you can get involved. Bonus footage: Scott shares the cost of using f-bombs on-air, apologies to the people of Minnesota, and shares what Technori is up to next.

Travel out with us to Whiskey Acres in DeKalb, IL, where we did a live episode recording with leaders in Agricultural Tech at the AGTech Nexus conference. Philippe de Laperouse shares what he sees is the direction of robotics in farming. CEO of RowBot, Kent Cavender-Bares, discusses how technology can increase the versatility of crops in a single field and decrease the percentage of crop failure. Jonah Kolb from Moore & Warner sets us city-slickers straight and helps us understand the management aspects of farming. As the AgTech space continues to grow, learn why collaboration between investors, entrepreneurs, and farmers is important. Spoiler alert: the lack of broadband is a serious threat to farms.

Today's episode is brought to you by Eight Bit Studios, an award winning mobile app design and development located in CHicago.

Co-founder and CEO Steven Galanis shares how he turned the idea of personalized shoutouts into Cameo, a site where thousands of celebrities make themselves available for these more human interactions with their fans. Named by Time Magazine as one of "50 Genius Companies of 2018" , Cameo is a marketplace where fans can book personalized video shoutouts from their favorite people. Cameo partners with over 10,000 of the world's top actors, athletes, and influencers to create the most authentic and personalized fan experiences in the world.

Rod Levy, Executive Director of Code Platoon joins the Bytes Over Bagels crew to discuss the dev bootcamp he founded for veterans and military spouses. Listen in to learn how Call of Duty shaped the future of Code Platoon, and how the program develops skills that these veterans and spouses already have to drive success in the software development field.

Aaron Sawyer from Redline VR discusses how he is stretching VR technology to enhance everyday interactions, create new engagement opportunities, and extend our ability to connect to each other. Tune into this episode about how VR is no longer just about games, but a more human-centered experience. Today's episode is brought to you by Eight Bit Studios, shaping and shipping digital products that advance people and organizations.