Tanner's Influence Podcast

We recently had the pleasure of interviewing Ryan Westwood, the founder and CEO of Simplus , a young, determined SaaS company that is the recognized leader for "quote to cash" solutions. Ryan is the founder of several successful companies, the author of a recent national bestseller, and an angel who helps young companies succeed. He is frequently featured in the Wall Street Journal and Huffington...

"When a kindness is done, it has to be paid back 10 times." – Margo Provost After a successful career in marketing, in 1985 Maxine Turner wanted to raise a family and continue to contribute to make a difference in Utah. So she started a catering company, Cuisine Unlimited , opened a small deli, and very worked hard. Her new company took off, and Maxine's husband, Marvin, left his corporate career...

"All life is problem solving." – Karl Popper There is something immediately appealing about Natalie Gochnour, the Associate Dean of the David Eccles School of Business and Director of the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah. As if that's not enough, Natalie also serves as the Chief Economist for the Salt Lake Chamber. Intellectually gifted and emotionally engaging, Natalie, h...

In 2009, Amelia Wilcox had nowhere to go but up. The Great Recession hit hard and her massage therapy practice was leveling off as clients cut costs and prepared for the worst. Her husband's e-commerce business was also dropping fast. Things were tough. So she sold their inventory (and other things that were even important to her) at a great loss, and with $1,500 started Incorporate Massage. Unlik...

After 20 years of practicing internal medicine, in 2007 Dr. Donna Milavetz wanted to dramatically improve care for her patients. She was also, like some of her patients, feeling "healthcare fatigue."  At the height of her career, this accomplished MD who trained at one of Harvard's hospitals, worked at the Mayo Clinic, and holds a master's degree in public health from the prestigious University of...

"PEOPLE SPEND TOO MUCH TIME READING THEIR BUSINESS CARDS" An Influence Podcast with Susan Johnson, President, engineer, and humanist It was our recent pleasure to sit down and talk with Susan Johnson, the outgoing President and CEO of the most profitable metal extruder in North America, Futura Industries . Over the past 22 years, Susan has led Futura Industries to national prominence by investing...

"BIG LESSONS: STAY CALM & GET THINGS DONE FAST!" This week, we interview a former BYU student entrepreneur who in 1996 began building websites at the dawn of the Internet, John Pestana. His earliest company was JP Interactive, a company that he sold all his (and his wife's) wedding gifts to buy a computer for, a company that eventually became Omniture. John and Josh James, his partner, put everyth...

INNOVATION AND BRANDING GURU – JEREMY ANDRUS Everyone who knows Jeremy Andrus–one of the most innovative and charismatic CEO's on the planet–is glad he decided to move to Utah in 2005! Jeremy graduated with a B.A. from Brigham Young University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School before joining Skullcandy, an edgy headphone company.  Under his energetic leadership, Skullcandy went from a sta...

"STRATEGY ON A SPREADSHEET" Lately, it seems like the Wasatch Front is home to more startups per capita than any other mid-size market in the United States. Just a few weeks ago in downtown Salt Lake City, the Silicon Slopes Summit drew over 5,000 techies together to connect and learn and celebrate what we are building. It is against this backdrop that we had the pleasure of interviewing Kent Thom...

The Other Side Academy : An innovative, self-help academy and residence where some of the most disadvantaged (and incredible) people in our community are learning new ways to succeed. We weren't with Tim Stay, CEO of The Other Side Academy , very long before he suggested that we talk with one his students. Within five minutes we had the pleasure of meeting Shawn, who looked street-smart and was ve...

TECH SAVVY & STREET SMART – INSIGHTS FROM SILVERVUE'S ERIC SMITH We live in a fast-paced, complex, and sometimes careless world. And it's rewarding when we can learn from someone who is tech savvy, street smart, and amazingly successful. It's also impressive if that same person has the ability to connect with people and, in spite of their success, hasn't gotten caught up in what Tom Wolfe calls "...

Our recent conversation with Ryan Larsen and Dr. Darin Vercillo, two co-founders of Central Logic , and Todd Dalberg, their CMO and brand marketing guru, was both enlightening and inspiring! Central Logic  is the innovative leader in providing real-time data intelligence that helps hospitals and healthcare systems improve patient care and solve big problems. The payback for their clients is just t...

"WHASSUP HOMIE?" –  A TALK WITH HOMIE CEO, JOHNNY HANNA Homie, a rapidly growing startup focused on automating the home selling / home buying process, is getting a lot of attention these days. In just six short months, Homie's peer to peer marketplace is saving home buyers and seller's valuable time and thousands of dollars in commissions. Homie is taking off! We recently had the pleasure to talk...

This week's Influence podcast features Clint Betts, the authentic, committed protagonist of tech in Utah. Clint is the Founder, CEO, and Editor-in-Chief of Beehive Startups . He is also a very powerful voice for Utah's burgeoning technology ecosystem. Many of the most influential tech CEO's in Utah support and respect Clint and the major impact he has had over the past three years in spreading the...

We recently had the pleasure of meeting Isaac Barlow, the inspirational entrepreneur and president of a thriving workforce analytics company in St. George called BusyBusy . After 15 years of successful business management experience in the construction company, Isaac launched BusyBusy with the goal of helping construction and service companies automate time cards and daily progress on BusyBusy' s...

This week's Influence podcast features Linda Leckman, the CEO of Intermountain Medical Group in Salt Lake City and a brilliant trailblazer for women in medicine. In a very real way Linda's impressive career as a surgeon and CEO in healthcare all started when she was a teenager working as a candy striper when her desire to be a doctor first began. She went on to earn an undergraduate degree in hist...

As the President and CEO of the Utah Technology Council for the past 16 years, Richard Nelson has played an important role in the growth of Utah's technology ecosystem. Under his leadership, the UTC has been a force for good in creating the $300M Utah Fund of Funds and securing funding for the Utah Science Technology and Research Initiative. Rich is a passionate advocate in helping Utah's Title 1...

This week's Influence podcast provides a rare glimpse into the life and success of Aaron and Monica Skonnard. Aaron Skonnard is the co-founder, president, and CEO of Pluralsight , the leading on-demand technology learning platform for developer training, and Monica is Aaron's wife and invaluable sounding board and adviser. In spite of their personal success and the amazing growth of Pluralsight ,...

In this Influence podcast we interview the passionate, technical, and articulate Owen Fuller who grew up in Alaska where he learned how to work hard, before coming to BYU to study history and earn a bachelor's degree in communication and advertising. Owen is a true entrepreneur and innovator with a successful history of building and growing some impressive technology and marketing companies here i...

In this Influence Podcast interview, we know you will sense the extraordinary determination and talent of Cydni Tetro and Sara Jones, two successful entrepreneurs who, in their "spare time" co-founded the Women Tech Council nine years ago, a scrappy not-for-profit that now has more than 10,000 members! With a degree in computer science and an MBA, both from BYU, Cydni is a successful technologist...

We live in a careless world, and it's not very often that you find a company that is innovative but has a heart, financially successful but is focused on giving. In this Influence podcast we highlight just such a company, Cotopaxi ! Please enjoy this interview with Cotopaxi's founders, Davis Smith and Stephan Jacob who co-founded this company that is attracting so much attention from outdoor indus...

There is a healthy dose of perseverance and inspiration in this podcast that features Tom Stockham, the CEO of eXperticity , a high-growth SaaS and analytics company that "collects category influencers and connects them with the world's top brands." Tom received a B.A. from Dartmouth College and an MBA from Stanford University, before further developing his foundational business and problem solvin...

This podcast features Carine Clark, the president and CEO of MaritzCX , a market-leading company that gives businesses the power to see and act on the experiences of every individual customer in real time. Carine is one of the most powerful and inspirational executives in our market, and we are grateful for the time and insights that she shared with us. This podcast will inspire you! Carine Clark...

For the initial launch of Tanner's Podcast Series, we know we wanted to "go big", so we asked Dr. Greg Warnock, a visionary leader in the growth of Utah's VC, private equity, and technology community, if he would be our first interview. He graciously accepted!  Garrett Koerner, a tax partner at Tanner, and Dan Griffiths, Tanner's director of strategy, appreciated Greg's perspective as a true visio...