Innovation and the Digital Enterprise

While eye-popping capital rounds make headlines, sometimes smaller is better when it comes to venture fundraising. Will McGivern-Smith, Chief Strategy Officer of TrueData joined Patrick and Shelli to discuss what questions to answer for your business when considering venture capital. Understanding the type of company you’re building, the problem you’re solving, and the total addressable market is a good place to start.

Listen in to get Will’s take on what factors to weigh when looking for the best fundraising partner, how to nail your pitch by keeping it simple, and what motivates different types of investors

Timothy Alvis is the Chief Product Officer at SPINS and has over 20 years of experience marrying product, consumer needs, and business outcomes. He joined the podcast today to offer his tips for product teams and why they should focus on understanding problems rather than coming up with solutions.

Having started his career as the founder of multiple gaming companies, Tim also discusses the creativity involved with popular video games like Minecraft and Roblox. Tune in for his insights.

Founders looking to secure funding face a long, arduous process. Founders of color can find it almost impossible and often receive significantly less money than their white counterparts. Desiree Vargas Wrigley believes that the tech ecosystem in Chicago needs to do more to support and nurture the untapped potential of Black and Latinx founders.

Desiree is our guest this week on Innovation and the Digital Enterprise. She shares her experience as one of the two Latinx women in the last decade to have raised over a million dollars and her vision for an inclusive Chicago tech community. Listen to the episode for more from Desiree and her company, P33.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are powerful tools that companies can leverage to create better customer experiences. However, they traditionally require millions of dollars’ worth of investment. Alex Muller believes that every product team, regardless of size, should benefit from the same machine learning capabilities used at the most successful companies in the world.

Alex, the founder of SAVVI AI, is our guest this week on Innovation and the Digital Enterprise. Listen to the episode to learn more about democratizing machine learning.

Banking has been around for hundreds of years. How do you teach an old dog new tricks? Chintan Mehta, CIO and Head of Digital Technology and Innovation at Wells Fargo, joined Patrick and Shelli to discuss the technological revolution happening right now in banking. He talks about what the next five years look like for innovations such as quantum computing and cultural shifts such as the gig worker economy. Listen in and get inspired.

The Chicago Innovation Roundtable, a group that connects visionary Chicago leaders and the brainchild of IDE host Patrick Emmons, recently wrapped up their yearly Summit. For part 2 of the IDE season finale, Patrick shares some of the thought leadership from the Summit’s speakers.

Take a listen to the episode to hear from Dick Burke, Adam Kanouse, Thru Shivakumar, Greg Svitak, and Ari Kaplan. We'll be back with all new episodes for season 2 on August 12th.

In addition to hosting Innovation and the Digital Enterprise, Patrick Emmons is also the founder of the Chicago Innovation Roundtable, a group that connects visionary Chicago leaders. Each year, the group hosts a summit where leaders share their insights on what has helped them innovate in their respective fields.

For the IDE season finale, Patrick shares some of the highlights from the Chicago Innovation Roundtable Summit. In part 1, you will hear from Betsy Ziegler, Scott Prugh, Dustin Kirkland, and Catherine Clay. Tune in for the latest innovation thought leadership.

Over the last few years, companies have been transitioning in mass to renewable energy and resources while taking a digital approach to operations. These two transitions have both been put into overdrive in light of COVID-19. Brian Case is at the center of it all as the Chief Digital Officer at GE Renewable Energy. He joins Shelli and Patrick on the podcast this week to talk about the importance of digitization and his approach to leadership.

Tune in to the episode to learn more about the importance of a company’s motivation to adopt digital, how the repetition of a problem leads to product advancement, and how to train the ideal team player.

With complicated technological tools and processes, companies sometimes fill too many roles with specialists. Generalists are also needed to approach problems with outside-the-box solutions and a fresh set of eyes. Dean Haacker prides himself on being a generalist, a skill that has served him well over the years as he has guided global teams to reimagine the banking industry.

Dean joined Patrick and Shelli for a wide-ranging conversation about the importance of living at the corner of strategy and innovation. Check out the episode for insights from a multiple award-winning CTO/CIO.

Trading exchanges are highly regulated, making the implementation of technological changes a tricky proposition. Catherine Clay, Executive Vice President of Cboe Global Markets, has had to pivot and adapt her thinking when it comes to affecting change in a large, regulated corporation.

Catherine joined Patrick and Shelli for this week’s episode of Innovation and the Digital Enterprise. She stressed the importance of keeping a company’s end goals in mind instead of getting caught up in the immediacy of sprints. Catherine also shared how to keep up the stamina and perseverance when you are met with obstacles. Listen for an industry expert’s tips on affecting change in your organization.