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It seems like every entrepreneur’s background story starts with the same idea: scratching their own itch. For today’s guest, Allison Robinson, the problem wasn’t how to use some new technology or improve an existing product. It was how to return to the workforce as a mother.

Finding herself looking for the resources she needed and coming up empty, Allison founded the Mom Project to help one of the most underserved parts of the population: mothers. Pat and Shelli talk to Allison about her work expanding opportunities for mothers, the rise of the gig economy, and how the Mom Project matches experienced mothers with companies desperately looking to hire.

What’s it like to sell your company and something you’ve poured your heart into for over 7 years? On the latest episode of the Innovation and the Digital Enterprise podcast, Shelli and Pat are joined by Zack Johnson, VP of Business Development at Visier. Prior to Visier, Zack started and ran Syndio, an analytics provider based in Chicago, for over 7 years. Zack takes us through his incredible background, from founder to lecturer to advisor to pop & hip-hop artists, and breaks down how analytics are being used in a wide variety of industries.

Design sprints are gaining popularity as an efficient way to investigate ideas and determine solutions for big problems facing small and large organizations alike. Using this methodology, a team of seven people can find a big challenge they need to tackle, identify a solution, build a prototype, and test it with real customers in just five days.

In this interview, Simon Hunt shares his experience as a design sprint facilitator. He has a background in software development and product management at Nokia, Microsoft, and BMW, and discusses how to put together a solid team, what roles people should play, and pitfalls to watch out for.

In this episode of the Innovation and the Digital Enterprise podcast, Randy Rivera stops by to chat with Pat & Shelli. Randy is a long time financial executive, entrepreneur and innovator in the emerging Fintech ecosystem. Randy gives his insights into the Chicago ecosystem, first as an executive then as an entrepreneur with keen advisors, the company he founded in 2018.

Hosts Shelli Nelson and Patrick Emmons are joined today by Adam Hecktman, long time civic technology executive at Microsoft. Adam shares how the role of technology in communities has evolved throughout the years. We discuss the social impact of technology, efficient government and the challenge of keeping talent in Chicago.