Decoding Digital

Huijin Kong is a beacon of inspiration and empowerment, making an enduring impact in the world of business leadership. A tenacious achiever, she earned her stripes graduating summa cum laude from Wharton and securing an M.B.A. with Highest Distinction from Harvard Business School. Driven by an unyielding faith in the inherent potential of every individual, she fearlessly carves her path, leaving a...

After winning her first Olympic medals for Canada in Turin (2006) and Vancouver (2010) and achieving the Guinness World Record for World Championship freestyle skiing gold medals, Jennifer Heil turned her athlete’s focus to founding RYA Health, and to becoming a policy developer of Safe Sport to address abuse and harassment.  In today’s episode, Jennifer talks about how her Olympic career led...

Ever wonder where the term “Subscription Economy” came from?  In a nutshell, it came from Tien Tzuo, CEO and founder of Zuora. Today, Tien is recognized as one of the thought leaders in the software-as-a-service industry. He founded Zuora in 2007, ultimately building one of the fastest-growing SaaS companies. Over the years, he’s evangelized the shift to subscription-based business models and...

Kurt is a technology entrepreneur, world explorer, and expert in business development. The first 20 years of his career were spent between the San Francisco Bay Area and Asia working with technology startups in finance and business development roles. Today, Kurt is the CEO of the startup, Stealth Smiles.  During this episode he talks about how to methodically pursue and land big deals. He bre...

“No one ever gained a lot by risking next to nothing.”  This is why Tim Prendergast is so successful in everything he does, from being a CEO to being a dad to his three daughters. Today, as the CEO of StrongDM, he and his team work to solve the problem of getting people access to infrastructure in a safe and sane way.  Before working at StrongDM, Tim was the principal architect for Adobe...

First and foremost, Jay Kaplan is a technical security expert. He has served in many high-profile cybersecurity roles—including at the Department of Defense and the National Security Agency. Jay was also selected as Forbes 30 Under 30 in Enterprise Technology. After seeing a gap in the cybersecurity space, Jay started his own cybersecurity company in 2013, ultimately co-founding Synack. Synack is...

“I skate to where the puck is going, not where it has been.” – Wayne Gretzky When Andrei Hagiu wrote a Harvard Business Review case study on AppDirect, he used this quote from Canadian hockey legend Wayne Gretzky to show the mindset each founder should have before starting their company. Andrei is an expert in platform strategy and started a career in academics as an Associate Professor at Harvard...

Andy Whyte has literally written the book on the power of the MEDDICC sales system. His book, “ MEDDICC: The ultimate guide to staying one step ahead in the complex sale ,” outlines how to apply the MEDDICC framework to any sales deal. But before Andy became a powerhouse in sales, he was an account executive at impressive companies like Oracle and Sprinklr. He also led many successful sales teams...

How do you play the game of content creation and come out on top? Time and energy. Harry Stebbings is a wildly talented podcaster, investor, and content creator. He got his start in podcasting at a very young age and at just 20 years old, he became one of the youngest VCs in the world. Today, Harry is the Founder of The Twenty Minute VC, the world's largest independent venture capital podcast.&nbs...

“Do one thing everyday that scares you.” This quote is a driving force behind everything our next guest does, from traveling to investing and everything in between. Anarghya Vardhana is a Partner at Maveron finding the next big direct to consumer business to invest and nurture. After years of working at Google and fintech startups, she entered into the VC space. In 2017, Anarghya was included in F...

Adrian Grenier wears several hats: conscious celebrity, actor, musician, director, and producer. But he’s also the Co-Founder and General Partner at DuContra Ventures, an impact fund that aims to create a yield beyond money. At DuContra, Adrian is focused on making meaningful, holistic investments that will help the Earth and the people living here. In today’s episode, Adrian talks about why we sh...

Why are companies like Zoom, Calendly, and Slack so successful? According to Blake Bartlett, partner at OpenView Venture Capital, it comes down to three little letters: PLG or Product-led Growth. Blake coined the term “product-led growth” in 2016 and continues to be a thought leader in this community. In today's episode, Blake, shares his insights about PLG and discusses leading investments in com...

If you adopt a product-led growth model, will that take jobs away from your salespeople? The answer may surprise you.  Today’s guest, Todd Olson, says that a PLG strategy and optimization will allow space for salespeople to become much more effective and efficient. Todd is co-founder and CEO of Pendo, a platform that accelerates and deepens software product adoption. He’s also the author of t...

How did our guest Joe Lonsdale go from high school chess champion to super successful VC? His diverse network and a wide variety of interests to start. Joe has been a part of founding more than a dozen mission-driven companies, including Palantir, Addepar, OpenGov, Affinity, Epirus, Resilience Bio, and 8VC. In today’s episode, Joe talks about how he’s been able to build such strong teams over the...

In the season finale, Daniel Saks is joined by Renee Bergeron, General Manager of AppSmart to reflect on Decoding Digital season one. They discuss key insights and lessons learned from some of the great tech minds, business leaders and digital transformation experts featured in the season. Listen to hear Daniel’s take on why endurance is vital to survival, how to effectively drive digital transfor...

If one thing is clear about digital transformation, it’s that people power drives it. But how do you inspire, empower, and cultivate these key changemakers? Authors of “The Transformation Myth: Leading Your Organization Through Uncertain Times”, Dr. Gerald Kane, Boston College Professor, and Rich Nanda, US Monitor Practice Leader, Deloitte Consulting, join this episode to share their insights. Lis...

Digital transformation looks different for every business. Sometimes that transformation happens on a personal level, as well as professional. Former Microsoft CTO and Principal Owner of Digital Future Consulting, Jennifer Byrne, joined this episode to share how Microsoft navigated a tough period by being more transparent and how digital heroes at all levels play a key part in digital transformati...

Should start-ups target consumer or enterprise markets first? Former entrepreneur turned investor and Managing Partner of Upfront Ventures, Mark Suster, joins this episode to give his guidance to entrepreneurs looking for investment and growth. He discusses how to engineer product-led growth for your market, how to secure investment, and the dos and don’ts for start-up entrepreneurs. Press play to...

Tech hasn’t just disrupted the wellness industry ­– it’s revolutionized it. Long before the global pandemic forced health and fitness businesses to pivot to virtual experiences, Mindbody was a key player in enabling wellness organizations to thrive through tech. Mindbody CEO and founder of Booker Software, Josh McCarter, has more than a decade’s experience at the forefront of digitally transformin...

What does it take to compete against digital giants? The Founder, Chairman, Principal Analyst, and CEO of Constellation Research Inc., Ray Wang, joins this episode to reveal the key takeaways from his latest book, Everybody Wants to Rule the World: Surviving and Thriving in a World of Digital Giants. Ray discusses the current landscape of digital transformation, what the challenges are, and how to...

Is digital transformation essential in a modern business? David Sovie, Senior Managing Director, and Vik Viniak, Managing Director and Senior Partner at Accenture, believe that with transformation comes growth. In this episode, Vik and David discuss why digital business models are critical for success and how companies can rethink their own products and services. Press play to hear David Sovie and...

What does it take to be a great manager? Host of the Supermanagers podcast, Aydin Mirzaee, is on a mission to find out. The CEO of Fellow.app speaks to managers from leading companies to discover what traits make good leaders great and how to drive success. In this episode, he shares his findings and explains what makes a “Supermanager.” Press play to hear Aydin’s thoughts on…   How Practice...

What is your personal power-up? Legendary growth marketer, Eric Siu, shares the most powerful habits anyone striving to “level up” should adopt in this episode. The author of Leveling Up: How To Master The Game of Life , and host of podcasts, Leveling Up and Marketing School, reveals how a game-like approach helped him navigate his career, including buying a company for just $2 and nurturing it in...

What does it take to instigate and implement digital transformation in a vertical that’s slow to change? Jack Newton founded Clio, a legal-tech SaaS company, with the idea of revolutionizing legal services through cloud-based technology. 13 years later, Jack is the CEO of the billion-dollar company, an author, and seen as a thought leader in the legal-tech space. In this episode, he shares the obs...

Industries that resist embracing digital transformation face potential extinction. But change doesn’t come easy to everyone. In this episode, Dr. Jeannette zu Fürstenberg reveals how her venture capitalist fund connects existing economy leaders with emerging digital disruptors to future-proof their processes. She also explains why an entrepreneurial mindset is key to overcoming resistance to chang...