Cindy Warner

Congrats to Ketch and Noibu for joining the MACH Alliance! 🚀 The MACH Alliance is a not-for-profit industry body that advocates for open and best-of-breed enterprise technology ecosystems. The Alliance educates and supports the industry as a whole on what to look out for when moving from legacy infrastructure and going composable, including when, where and how to start and select partners. The Alliance is a vendor-neutral institution that provides resources, education and guidance through industry experts to support companies on their journey. MACH is an industry tech standard describing modern technology. The prerequisites to achieve this standard are: Microservices based, API-first, Cloud-native SaaS and Headless. The MACH Certification gives enterprises confidence they are choosing best-in-class vendors that can deliver future-proof technology. Interested in joining the MACH Alliance? Link to learn more and apply in the comments section. 👇🏼 #technology #artificialintelligence #startups super{set}

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The FTC ruling on non-competes is a big deal, but be prepared: this simply means that the inevitable disclosure doctrine is going to make its way into our standard lexicon. If you care to know more about the inevitable disclosure doctrine, check out my phd dissertation (https://lnkd.in/gMcdp-bC) or my published paper in Journal of Business Venturing (https://lnkd.in/gaJD-BPv).

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🚀 SPAC vs. Traditional IPOs: What's the Current Landscape? In the first episode of our "Market Trends and Strategies for Going Public" video series, Armanino's Matt Perreault sits down with Michael Blankenship from Winston & Strawn to discuss the current state of SPACs versus traditional IPOs. Matt and Michael explore the recent regulatory changes and their impact on SPACs. Michael shares that despite a temporary chill due to SEC regulations, the SPAC market is still active. He highlights that we can expect around 40 to 50 SPACs annually in a healthy market, emphasizing the importance of experienced sponsors and the new disclosure requirements. Join us as we delve into the nuances of SPACs and traditional IPOs, providing valuable insights for businesses considering these routes. 👇 Watch the video below 👇 #SPAC #IPO #Finance #Investment #BusinessGrowth #Regulations

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Founders often delay board formation until Series A. Though this approach works for some, many would benefit from carefully selecting independent board directors during the Seed stage. This early formation will set you apart from the competition, and signal to investors that you’re in it for the long haul. My latest article shares how to assemble your board, and what to look for in independent board directors. You can find it here: https://bit.ly/4dtFeCQ

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Founder Spotlight Friday: Cherie Silas 🌟   "We are a confidential thought partner helping clients improve strategic planning, operations, process efficiencies, technical execution, agile adoption, people management, organizational change, and culture shift." – Cherie Silas   Today, I’m excited to shine a spotlight on the foundation and driving force behind Tandem: our commitment to being a confidential thought partner for our clients.   From the very beginning, our mission has been clear: to offer unparalleled support and guidance to organizations and leaders striving to excel in their fields. We understand that each client's journey is unique, which is why we tailor our approach to meet specific needs and challenges.   Here’s a closer look at the areas where we make a difference:   🔍 Strategic Planning: We help organizations craft clear, actionable strategies that align with their vision and goals.   🔄 Operations: By analyzing and optimizing operational processes, we enhance efficiency and productivity.   🛠️ Process Efficiencies: We identify bottlenecks and implement solutions to streamline processes, reducing waste and increasing value.   💻 Technical Execution: Our expertise in technical execution ensures that projects are completed on time, within budget, and to the highest quality standards.   🚀 Agile Adoption: We guide organizations through the agile transformation journey, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and adaptability.   👥 People Management: Effective leadership and team dynamics are crucial. We provide coaching and training to improve people management skills and create high-performing teams.   🔄 Organizational Change: Change is inevitable, but it doesn’t have to be disruptive. We help organizations navigate change smoothly and effectively.   🌟 Culture Shift: Building and sustaining a positive organizational culture is key to long-term success. We work with clients to create cultures that inspire and engage employees.   At Tandem, our promise is to leave you better than we find you with each encounter. This means offering not just solutions, but also empowering you with the tools and insights needed for sustained success.   See how Tandem can help you achieve your goals and drive meaningful change in your organization. Visit the comments to learn more about what we offer and how we can be your confidential thought partner.   What areas do you think could benefit from a thought partner? Share your thoughts and let’s discuss how we can support you! 🌟   #FounderSpotlightFriday #Leadership #StrategicPlanning #AgileAdoption #OrganizationalChange #CherieSilas

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The AI Budget Explorers meetups just keeping getting bigger and better. Our email list is over 75 people and we had 30 on today's call. Our guest speaker was the indomitable Brian Elms, founder of Change Agents Training and former leader of the Denver Peak Academy. Brian introduced to "Coco," a bot he has invented that interviews people about sticky business processes and then produces process maps and suggests where to look for improvements. Coco radically accelerates process mapping (the hard and boring part) but does not eliminate the human element of process improvement (the fun part). What budget-related business processes would you most like to improve? If you want in on AI Budget Explorers, message me your email address. Info. on the next meetup is coming soon. The agenda might include using AI to boost community engagement!

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The white house has launched an initiative aimed at eliminating the daily frustrations plaguing American consumers. Aptly named "Time is Money," this program validates what industry veterans like Kate Leggett have long advocated: the critical importance of valuing customers' time. Key focus areas include: • Streamlining subscription cancellations • Mandating automatic cash refunds for flight disruptions • Digitalizing health claim submissions • Eradicating customer service "doom loops" • Combating fake reviews • Cracking down on ineffective chatbots • Optimizing parent-school communications Several of these points directly target customer service deficiencies, leaving me with mixed feelings. The irony is stark: the shift to online customer service was intended to save time, yet it has often resulted in convoluted processes that transform simple tasks into frustrating undertakings. While addressing these issues is overdue, we must acknowledge the challenges faced by customer service professionals. They grapple with the increasing complexity of their roles, often seeing their efforts undermined by the growing intricacies of the processes they're tasked to handle. Nonetheless, this initiative represents a positive step forward for the industry. Link in the ist comment to this post #cx #customerservice

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Big thanks to Robert MacFarlane and Jeff Watkins for having me on the 435 Podcast to talk about transformation in Southern Utah, the perils and thrills of the aerospace industry, and a bunch of other stuff. https://lnkd.in/dG4Upysp

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All this recent discourse on the open web, MFA sites, best publisher list, etc is a lot to take in. This is a helpful overview from Marketecture Media of the strategic and financial implications of this shift, with a framework to view the market dynamics between advertisers that need quality content, real audience signals, and premium publishers looking for fair value and to survive in an imbalanced market. https://lnkd.in/g-kdjAD3?

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Have questions about boards and their investors? This article provides answers to the FAQs for small-cap companies. A few highlights: 💡 "There is no data whatsoever to suggest that CEOs or CFOs make more effective board members than other executives...Boards should choose board members by the expertise they require and their ability to be engaged providing such expertise, not by their titles/business cards. Limiting board searches to CEOs and CFOs will eliminate countless, highly qualified potential board members who are able to bring more energy to the job." 🗠 "Stock options never constitute “skin in the game” from a buy-side perspective. You’re either a shareholder, or you’re not. Investors will further distinguish between board members who were granted restricted stock, versus those who took cash out of their pockets and purchased stock. Remember, the only way investors can acquire your company’s equity is using cash." 📖 "Independent board members need to think independently. It is the job of independent board members to “trust but verify” when it comes to management recommendations. In practice, that means engaging in rigorous boardroom debate, and becoming as educated as possible about all issues that affect boardroom decisions. When board members get 100% of their information from management, they are not thinking/acting independently." Read more perspectives from Andrew Shapiro and Adam J. Epstein in the link below. Thank you Cindy for sharing.

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“Free solo” selling and managing revenue, as a CEO Founder, is a risky move. Why? According to a Forbes study, “only 4.6% of our entire dataset hailed most recently from tech sales” and SaaStr reports that “salesperson CEOs burn a lot more money getting to $1m and $5m-$10m ARR”. (links in comments for your reading pleasure) So, if the most successful SaaS startups are built by those with a tech background and they presumably are good at engineering, wouldn’t it make sense to bring in the sales experts to build the revenue motions? Once you’ve grown to ~$1M in revenue, it’s time to set a foundation and make the revenue teams reflect industry best practices - no more Wild West 🤠. This is where fractional leaders, like ✨Litwin & Plumb✨ make a lot of sense. It’s a combination of deep expertise (seen the movie 🍿 more than once) and delivery of impact at warp speed. ……………………………………………………………………. 💥 Spark an idea for collaborating? Let’s chat. ♻️ Do you know someone who’d be interested in this content? Please share. 🤝 Kindness counts.

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At the CFA Society Indianapolis Venture Breakfast last week I mentioned how SaaS is losing its VC footing to AI. A couple of folks asked for more information, so I figured I'd share today's PitchBook newsletter on the topic. (https://lnkd.in/eJ285n-a) Amid shifting landscapes in the tech sector, corporate innovation funds and investment dollars are increasingly pivoting towards AI experimentation. As traditional SaaS startups experience a deceleration in revenue growth, the focus is shifting. 💡 As we witness this transition, it's crucial for professionals in tech and investment sectors to understand how AI can drive not only efficiency but also innovation. ❓ Let's discuss how your organizations are adapting to this shift. Are you experimenting with AI? What impacts do you foresee in your industry? #AI #CorporateInnovation #TechTrends #StrategicInvestment

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Despite rapid advancements in digital technology, the evolution of fighter generations has slowed and costs have soared. From the Me 262 to the F-22, each leap now takes longer and demands more investment. Estimates for U.S. sixth generation fighters are “several hundreds of millions” per jet.

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All of us at #Xometry are committed to our mission of digitizing manufacturing, the most-important industry on Earth. Following our Q3 earnings call last week, I had the opportunity to chat with Schwab Network about our strategic growth initiatives, which include: -> Expanding our AI-powered Marketplace menu of offerings for our buyers -> Accelerating our growth internationally (up 55% year-over-year in Q3) -> Deepening our relationships with enterprise customers, who turn to Xometry to strengthen their #supplychains AI and machine learning tools on our Marketplace generate instant pricing and lead times for our customers, while our Marketplace and suite of Supplier Services help manufacturers worldwide reach new customers wherever they are. #digital #AI #leadership #XMTR https://lnkd.in/dUfZKRrZ

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Exponential adoption for AI in Sales has been primarily driven by the need to elevate individuals who were mass mailing (aka ones that Point and Shoot). Eventually, context-driven content matters and that can only be sourced/created via proper research and the ability to connect dots. #AI #Sales #ContextMatters

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📈 #Zoom Stock Surges 21% in 3 Months: What’s Driving Growth? 📈 with 21% surge, Zoom is outpacing the broader tech sector. Its expanding product suite and a strong focus on AI-powered innovations, contact center solutions, docs and many others, Zoom is reclaiming its #mojo in the business communications space. As Zoom leads and continues to innovate, it’s clear the company is set to shape the future of work and collaboration. great news for Remote/Hybrid work? what do you think? #Zoom #UnifiedCommunications #AI #StockMarket #RemoteWork https://zurl.co/UJjB

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Join Lucidworks CEO Michael Sinoway at the B2B Online Conference in Chicago to learn 5 takeaways from the world's largest Generative AI Study. Discuss your ecommerce strategy with experts and learn how to turn your search bar into the biggest revenue-driving channel in your enterprise. Register now!

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"Hey Jeff, I saw your post about chief strategy officers a while back and I wanted to ask what the difference was between the CSO and an Advisor? Aren't they the same thing?" The CSO role hasn't been around that long, that I know of, as I just heard about it a few years ago. I guess the main differences are compensation and accountability. The CSO is a hired role with paycheck and potentially equity/options. They have to perform to keep their job as they can be fired at any time. The job is typically open ended and long term. An Advisor is not a volunteer position, but they typically don't get comp other than equity grants vested over a few years and they are not held accountable as they don't make the decisions, they just advise AKA give the founders the pros and cons of a scenario or choice. The Advisor role is short term, typically on a 12-24 month contract and the contract can be dissolved upon mutual agreement or sometimes with just some notice in writing like 14-30 days. I guess the biggest difference is that the Advisor is passive and hands off and maybe only tapped once a month as the CSO is extremely hands on and in the weeds on a day to day basis.

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What in the world is UNGROWTH? We are coining a new term, and we have a new YouTube and podcast show called The Ungrowth Show! This week's episode is focused on the Time Warner / AOL Merger that didn't pan out so well. The episode covers the UNGROWTH in the M&A process that can occur and how best to avoid it. https://lnkd.in/eKxgpdxy #Mergersandacquisitions #BusinessStrategy #Ungrowth

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