Politely Pushy with Eric Chemi

Today’s guest is Rob Enderle, owner of the Enderle Group. He is a tech and business analyst, thought leader, and journalist who was once ranked number 1 for his influence in the U.S. and Europe and named to the top 10 in Asia. Today, analyst rankings are not a thing, which could be the way crypto is headed in the future (Rob has mixed thoughts on the subject and that of NFTs - which you’ll have to...

When you see Steve Carell use a Blackberry as his character Michael Scott on The Office, do you assume Blackberry was an advertiser? Very often, when we see brands on TV, we figure they paid for play, but here’s a surprising fact: 60% of companies don’t actually pay production companies to appear on a show. There’s often a partnership and process benefitting both parties.  Today’s guest, Stacy Jon...

Did you watch the Black Mirror episode “Smithereens” starring Topher Grace? In the Netflix special, Topher’s Jack Dorsey-like character is so focused on meditation and seeking life purpose that he’s fled his tech company for the wilderness, neglecting the chaos wrought by technology and social media. Well, today’s guest isn’t Topher and no, it’s not Jack, but it’s someone we find to be interesting...

Americans Trust Local News Over Social Media and 67% Trust Local over National News. Politics may be dividing the nation, but if there’s one thing that unites Democrats and Republicans it’s the local TV news. This medium now ushers in more viewers than national news and is appealing to a surprisingly younger demographic. In fact, local TV news has a bigger audience than either national or cable ne...

Today’s guest is Elia Wallen, the CEO and founder of Hotel Engine, a company that was established to be the middleman between businesses and hotels for more seamless corporate travel. Elia discusses how his team sought to alleviate the headache that booking hotel rooms can bring to companies and their employees, and how Hotel Engine offers technology to save time, money and eradicate the hassles t...

This week we are joined by Jered Martin , the CEO of OnePitch , a company our host wishes was around when he was a reporter. OnePitch helps PR professionals match their pitches with the ideal media list so they’re only contacting suitable journalists. AI technology is instrumental in this careful matching process with the service designed to carefully look analyze pitches and press releases, scan...

This week’s guest is Tom Carpenter, a principal at the public relations firm Bospar who has more than 20 years of business, marketing and tech PR experience. Tom is known as “the crisis communications expert” and is skilled at advising tech companies in highly sensitive situations. But he began his career conducting PR for one of the world’s leading law firms, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & F...

Toric co-founder and CEO Thiago da Costa joins the show this week. Brazilian tech entrepreneur Thiago shares how his initial attempt to develop a 12-unit building was the impetus for him to start Toric, a tech startup that's already cracking the construction industry's data insight conundrum. Thiago is a lifelong entrepreneur, and he explores the lessons learned from his previous startup...

Author of Make It, Don’t Fake It and tech industry veteran Sabrina Horn felt confident when she started her own communications agency at age 29. However, she learned the hard way about how authentic one needs to be about what they know and truly understand, and the importance of setting realistic expectations with oneself and one’s clients. She explores the concept of “faking it” and how that can...

This week’s episode has our host feeling a tad out of his element while interviewing three powerhouse professionals about Women, Work, and Wholeness . So, he takes the more polite approach rather than a pushy one.  Chris Boehlke, who put the “Bo” in Bospar as the PR agency’s principal, shares wisdom gleaned from her years in the communications industry and explains how “wholeness” is not all about...

Vanessa Yanez joins the show this week. An accomplished communications leader whose experience in the industry and passion for social justice and women’s issues has likely made her the most tireless PR professional historically, she’s also a mom of teen daughters. Yanez is president of PRSA Silicon Valley and was named a 2021 Woman of Influence Honoree. She also oversees content for the Silicon Va...

According to Gartner , end-user spending on cloud computing is set for a 21% hike this year with total spending set to exceed $480 billion. So it’s no surprise that global companies - like yours and ours - are becoming increasingly reliant on the cloud. But like any technology, the cloud is not immune to downtime, so more dependency means that businesses need more ways to mitigate potential losses...

Mega Jewell is VP of social media at Bospar. Her career took her from TV journalist to data scientist to entrepreneur and now here helping companies put their best selves forward on social. Mega talks about her personal journey and lessons learned along the way. She also gets into the differences among the various platforms, how companies can best utilize them (or screw up), and how the game has c...

Next Pathway transforms businesses to the cloud and their CEO leads the way with purpose and integrity. After starting and selling a couple businesses, and again seeing massive growth with his latest endeavour, Next Pathway's Chetan Mathur talks about what he’s learned about finding the right waves to ride and taking the time to truly understand what businesses are looking for when it comes t...

Adam Ritchie walks us through his journey as Founder and Principal of Adam Ritchie Brand Direction in this episode of Politely Pushy.  Adam discusses Invention in PR, and how to avoid falling on the F Side of the Useful/Frivolous divide. 

Public Relations veteran Robin Beaman joins Eric to tell the tales of her career in PR and entertainment. Robin talks about her time managing communications at BET and as the Manager of Public Relations of the Oprah Winfrey Show. Listen to the full episode to see how her experience led to Robin founding Beaman Incorporated, her full-service communications agency. 

Anish Srivastava joins Eric on the latest episode of Politely Pushy. Anish is the Founder and CEO of Telocity , a venture group that believes that thoughtfully designed, technology-based tools can create more accessible and equitable ways of improving the mental health and well-being of young people.  Anish talks about why he is passionate about kids' mental health, and how parents can balanc...

Career Communicator Steve Swasey joins Eric on this episode of Politely Pushy. Steve  talks about the challenges of the 24-hour news cycle, why it is more important than ever to live by HIT - Humility, Integrity and Trust - and how HIT can help brands navigate a crisis. 

Chairman, CEO and Founder of 9th Gear Technologies Maryanne Morrow joins Eric on the latest episode of Politely Pushy. Maryanne discusses her extensive background in fintech, the future of blockchain, and 9th Gear's recent Global Open Finance Challenge win! 

Ware2Go CEO Steve Denton joins Eric to discuss his unique career and the issue on everyone's mind - the supply chain.

Inbar Yagur joins Politely Pushy to discuss her role with Growthspace, the world's leading employee development platform. Inbar talks about her unique background, and her transition from working in film to becoming a marketing maven. 

Jane King, CEO and founder of LilaMax Media joins Eric and explains how she successfully built her own media company. Jane discusses how financial and business media is changing in the world of social media and gives her best tips for emerging companies.

Michael Bourque, president and CEO of Kiavi, joins Eric to discuss the tech that sets Kiavi apart for its customers. Michael touches on the company’s recent rebrand, and how Kiavi is able to streamline the financing process for real estate investors.

Brett Larson, Bospar’s newly appointed senior vice president of Media Strategies, joins Eric to discuss how to pitch a unified message across a conflicting media landscape. Brett discusses how he uses his experience at both Fox and CNN to help businesses create media strategies that leverage the best of both blue and red.

Entrepreneur Carol Kaufman joins Politely Pushy to discuss the story behind Pinventory and the critical need to create a home inventory.