The NerdCast

Listen to an interview with Maria Thomas discuss the Internet of Things with Catalant (formerly HourlyNerd). Maria Thomas is an Entrepreneur, CEO and public company board director who leads businesses at the intersection of commerce, media and technology. She currently serves as a board member, angel investor, and advisor to early stage companies, including participating in Catalant's Series B round of financing. Previously, Maria held various leadership positions at SmartThings (CMO and Chief Consumer Officer), Etsy (CEO), NPR (SVP & GM, Digital Media), and Amazon (Dir. of Product, Consumer Electronics).

Readiness to navigate change has been critical for companies this year. Look around you and what do you see? Increasing competitive pressures, an ongoing war for top talent, expanding customer expectations, regulatory complexity and uncertainty and — perhaps most obvious of all — the ever-accelerating speed of technological change. How can you keep up?

Companies are increasingly faced with the challenge of finding and retaining the right knowledge talent to meet key business initiatives and project demands. Innovative companies are opting to venture outside of traditional staffing models to the on-demand economy, where experienced business experts are choosing to work independently. In this webinar, Forrester VP, Principal Analyst and guest speaker Marc Cecere joins Catalant's VP of Strategic Partnerships Rich Gardner to discuss some of the key findings from the June 2017 commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Catalant Technologies. In addition, Rich talks through a few case studies of companies that are using new sourcing methods to fill critical skills gaps. Download and enjoy the on demand version of the webinar.http://pages.gocatalant.com/Webinar-Are-You-Using-the-Tools-of-the-Future-to-Find-the-Skills-of-the-Future.html

An Interview w/ Terri Gallagher by HourlyNerd

Diane Mulcahy talks about dis-aggregated traditional full-time hires in the flexible workforce.

Catalant had the opportunity to sit down with Diane Mulcahy, an Adjunct Lecturer, Senior Fellow at the Kauffman Foundation and author of the book, The Gig Economy to discuss the flexible workforce and the future of work.

Catalant (fka HourlyNerd) CEO Rob Biederman discusses exactly what it takes to start a tech company without a tech background. From his experience, he supplies 6 brilliant tips for anyone looking to take the dive.

Wondering what you should do about “big data?" We sit down with Catalant expert Dave Herman to talk about two rising technologies that can drive deep insights into your business and give you a leg up on the competition. Dave shares how to get started with one of these technologies (data visualization) and the biggest mistake to avoid when trying to integrate it in your organization. He goes further into neural networks, sharing the story of how he became convinced of the power of such advanced analytics while working at a metal smelter in the Australian outback. Dave is advising leading industrial clients on these technologies and others and we’re excited to share his insights in this episode. About Dave Herman: CEO at Anthros Consulting Former consultant at McKinsey & Company PhD, Materials Science & Engineering, Northwestern University BS, Materials Science & Engineering, Cornell University Interested in working with Dave? Visit www.gocatalant.com to get started. Episode highlights: 2:00 - Overview of data visualization and advanced analytics 3:30 - A firsthand story of seeing data visualization catapult a manager’s career and spark organizational change 7:00 - How data visualization can reduce meeting time, drive insights, and result in decisions 7:45 - Advice for managers on getting up to speed on data visualization 9:15 - How NOT to incorporate data visualization into your company 11:15 - Dave’s additional advice on how to get going with data visualization 13:30 - Neural networks as an advanced analytic technique and its power to drive insights 16:30 - The first steps a manager can take to get up to speed on neural networks or other advanced analytics 19:00 - The best advice Dave ever received and how managers can apply it Mentioned in this episode: Tableau Neural networks Microsoft BI Microsoft One Note Tableau For Dummies

Afraid your company or business unit might get left behind in today’s rapidly-changing tech environment? We sit down with mobile and IoT expert Dave Whetstone to hear what top industrial companies are doing to keep pace with startups and other tech-enabled threats. Dave shares what companies can learn from consumer apps like OpenTable, Starbucks, and Sonos and the three stages to turn your business into a mobile-enabled one that is poised for success in the coming years. Dave has a 20-year history in the mobile space and has the pulse of what’s next when it comes to a world of connected devices, emphasizing industrial companies and sharing his thoughts on those leading the way. About Dave Whetstone: Managing Director, Brand Mobility Previous roles: CMO, MobiTV CMO, Virgin Mobile Consultant at Bain & Company MBA, University of Michigan BS, Accounting & Economics, University of Illinois Visit www.gocatalant.com to get started on a project with Dave today. Episode Highlights: 3:00 - How mobile has evolved into industrial settings, why “connected experiences” matter, and why every company needs to be a tech company 5:05 - Typical ways industrial managers get “sucked in” to coming up with a mobile or IoT strategy 6:45 - How industrial managers can think about kicking off a mobile strategy 8:00 - Dave’s typical project approach 9:30 - What industrial companies can learn from consumer mobile apps like Open Table and Starbucks 17:00 - How traditional consulting firms might approach mobile and IoT in industrial settings 19:10 - What a client can expect in a typical project in terms of the process, cost, and outcome 21:05 - Things that can go wrong when incorporating a mobile or IoT strategy 22:30 - General advice to companies and individuals on how to get up to speed and the payoffs of doing so 24:00 - Industrial companies leading the way in mobile, IoT, and connected experiences 25:15 - Advice to individuals on coming up with ideas for mobile applications 26:05 - Dave’s favorite app (Sonos) and what industrial companies can learn from it Mentioned in this episode Sonos Open Table Starbucks' app

Ever wonder why it’s so hard to change behavior in an organization? We sit down with Catalant expert Roy Johanson to cover a topic many managers can relate to - how to bring about change in an organization when people have been doing things a certain way for a long time. Roy uses a fresh example from an operations-heavy industrial company but these lessons transcend markets. We cover a 4-step process for bringing about change in a way that achieves support from all levels of the organization, including how to design a pilot study that can spark change in a low risk setting. Roy has years of experience in transformational settings so this episode is rich in actionable lessons for industrial managers or anyone looking to bring about change in their organization. About Roy Johanson: CEO, Forseti Partners Previous roles: VP, Strategy at Amtrak Consultant at McKinsey & Company PhD, Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan MBA, Johnson Graduate School of Management, Cornell University Episode Highlights 2:30 - The personal and professional challenge faced by a new COO in bringing about change 6:45 - Who to ask questions of during a diagnostic and problem-identification phase 8:00 - The importance of putting yourself in the shoes of front-line operators 9:50 - A funny story illustrating the importance of observing operations in person 10:45 - Four magic questions that reveal hidden opportunities for improvement 13:30 - How to think about designing a pilot study that can get results in a low-risk setting 14:45 - How to get buy-in from skeptics and those who often resist change 17:15 - The outcome of the study for the new COO and the organization as a whole 19:15 - How a large consulting firm might approach the problem differently 21:35 - Summary of Roy’s 4-step process for sparking organizational change 23:30 - Closing questions: best advice received, most useful business or problem-solving frameworks, book recommendations Mentioned in this episode - Conceptual Blockbusting

We're excited to announce the launch of a new podcast series, Tomorrow's Industrial. Hosted by the head of HourlyNerd's industrial practice, Pat Mascia, Tomorrow's Industrial focuses on companies that are navigating the rapid change in the industrial sector. For the inaugural episode, Pat explores a topic that has taken the industry by storm: The Internet of Things (IoT). The IoT is making the connected life a reality by creating a network of objects that have been embedded with software, sensors, and electronics, enabling them to collect and share data. Pat invited HourlyNerd expert, Fuad Raja to be a guest on this episode as he specializes in emerging technologies, and the IoT. Fuad's experience includes work with Cantor Fitzgerald, Time Warner Cable, Accenture, and others. Fuad heads his own consulting group FAR Consulting and he has completed several IoT projects on the HourlyNerd platform. On this episode, Fuad shares his insights for companies looking to get ahead of the IoT trend.

HourlyNerd's Supply Manager, Hannah Sacchini, speaks with rockstar Nerd, Dave H. about the jump from McKinsey to becoming an independent consultant and the projects he's won on HourlyNerd.

“Intuit is breaking down walls to allow their employees to be flexible, to innovate, to cut failing products, and to deliver profitable solutions that meet current market demands.” This episode of the NerdCast features an interview with Intuit's Alex Chriss, VP & GM of the Self-Employed Solutions, about the development of QuickBooks Self-Employed (QBSE). The QBSE product, conceived and launched all in 2014, is the story of successfully combining the best of lean startups and deep corporate advantages. At HourlyNerd, we believe that the characteristics of a startup, e.g. flexibility, innovation, lean processes, etc., can and should scale along with the business. We're leveraging interviews with companies like Intuit to highlight how even the largest of enterprises can run like lean startups.

Every company was once young, fast, and lean. And if you're the lucky company to make it out of the startup phase and transition into the enterprise phase, a lot of your fast and lean mentality that defined your early day's, diminishes into the massive employee-filled bureaucratic company that tends to be defined as an "enterprise." However, I've heard it all the time from enterprise employees, "I wish I was a startup. I wish I had smaller teams. I wish I could move faster. I wish, I wish, I wish. This company is so large that it takes forever to get anything done." While I agree that these startup characteristics are admirable, I argue that big and lean, is much better than small and lean. A large organization has the brand loyalty, the channels, the access to market, and the resources at the tips of their fingers. They can learn to be lean much easier than a startup that is trying to build all these assets. In episode 12 of the NerdCast, we explore how staying true to its startup roots allowed a large enterprise to grow into a household name.

In this week's episode of the NerdCast, we sat down with HourlyNerd CFO, Peter Maglathlin. In 3 years Peter has taken an idea in his head, to full functionality. Now at 50+ employees, Peter shares the lessons he's learned for how to successfully start, run, and manage a tech company.

Investing in emerging markets does not come without risk. HourlyNerd consultant Michael Mckinley and emerging markets expert Lubaina Aziz, share why you might want to consider investing in these markets.

HourlyNerd consultant Katherine Hunter-Blyden shares the only KPIs you'll ever need for promoting business growth.

In this week's episode of the NerdCast, HourlyNerd co-founder and co-CEO, Pat Petitti, explains why the shift of the freelance labor market is going to cause massive changes in the way people get work done. This shift will, at the end of the day, make work easier to get done.

In this week's episode of the NerdCast, we sat down with HourlyNerd investor and good friend, Maria Thomas. With 16 years in the consumer internet space, and stops at prestigious companies, such as Amazon, NPR, Etsy, and SmartThings, Maria shares her thoughts on the Internet of Things, and where technology is heading.

When starting a company, it's often mind melting to think about how your brand is going to compete against all the other powerful, more established brands out there. With that in mind, here are 5 lessons that you can take from big company brands, and apply to your company, no matter the size. These lessons are related to Customer Understanding, Branding, Messaging, Tracking, and Testing.