Rising Stars Podcast

In this episode of the Rising Stars podcast, join us for a discussion about the rare brick-and-mortar reseller storefront and how it can help build a successful business model. Host Brianna Moriarty interviews Debra Peters-Smith, CEO of Advanced Business Computing (ABC), an expert guide for highly personalized POS solutions and small business IT from start to finish. Together, Brianna and Debra di...

In this episode of the Rising Stars podcast, join us for a discussion about the QR code takeover. Host Brianna Moriarty interviews Ben Harrison, Director of Marketing at Addmi, a leading point of sale company specializing in QR codes and contactless ordering for the hospitality industry. Together, Brianna and Ben discuss all things QR codes, mobile ordering, and how the hospitality indus...

In this episode of the Rising Stars podcast, join us for a discussion about surviving the current supply-chain crisis. Host Brianna Moriarty interviews Brenda McCurry, Vice President of Merchandising at ScanSource, a leading global provider of technology products and solutions, focusing on point-of-sale, barcode, physical security, video, voice, and data networking. Together, Brianna and Brenda di...

In this episode of the Rising Stars podcast, join us to learn about what retailers are doing to adjust to the after-effects of the COVID pandemic. Host Brianna Moriarty interviews Elliott Winskill, Head of Solutions at PMC, a merchant services provider (MSP) based in the UK. Together Brianna and Elliott discuss challenges that retailers are facing in getting customers back into the brick-and-morta...

Today’s episode is a special one as host Brianna Moriarty chats with Mark Fraker, VP of Marketing at BlueStar. Mark discusses a myriad of topics including: his 22-year-long career journey at BlueStar; the many benefits the TEConnect Program offers ISVs including end-user demand generation, SaaS financing, and more; the importance of partnerships and proper pricing models to new ISVs entering the r...

This week on the Rising Stars Podcast, host Brianna Moriarty sits down with Wayne Scarsella, EVP of Sports & Entertainment at Appetize (now a part of Spot On). Wayne chats about the recent Appetize/Spot On merger and how the two companies joining forces enables them to scale from two POS terminals at a coffee shop to 1,000+ POS terminals at a football stadium. Additionally, Brianna and Wayne d...

In this episode of the Rising Stars podcast, join us for a dive deep into the booming cannabis industry. Host Brianna Moriarty interviews John Bachanov, CEO of Appspensary , a dispensary POS e-commerce software he and his long-time best friend founded in March 2020. Together Brianna and John discuss challenges modern cannabis dispensaries are facing including being a cash dominant industry, and on...

In this episode of the Rising Stars Podcast, Star Micronics America’s Senior Product Integration Specialist, Guillermo Cubero, and Star Micronics Europe’s Software Development Manager, Lawrence Owen, discuss all things integration. From the history of Star’s SDKs for mobile devices and the importance of manufacturer-created POS SDKs to simplify the integration process, to the rise of cross-platfor...

In this week’s episode of the Rising Stars Podcast, join us as host Brianna Moriarty chats with Samsung’s Senior Manager of Business Development B2B Mobility for Retail, Joe Hasenzahl. Dive into topics such as how the line is blurring between the shopper and the associate in the retail space, and the importance of intuitive B2B technology that mirrors consumer tech. Additionally, join us as Joe ex...

In this week’s episode of the Rising Stars Podcast, host Brianna Moriarty speaks with Ben Eaton, Senior Sales Executive at ERS. Together they explore how – in a world full of one-click etailers – value-added resellers (VARs) can provide value to customers by supplying real-time stock information, proactively and personally confirming compatibility needs, and more. Click here to connect with Ben on...

This week’s episode is a special one: it’s an RSPA RetailNOW 2021 recap! Join host Brianna Moriarty as she takes a deep dive into the hottest trends she spotted at the show, and interviews special guests including RSPA’s President and CEO, John Kirk, as well as TRG’s Adam Jatich and Worldnet Payments’ Sabina Osorio . As always, to stay up-to-date on all things Star, don’t forget to follow us on Tw...

Today on the Rising Stars podcast, host Brianna Moriarty sits down with Jim Roddy, RSPA’s VP of Marketing to discuss balancing multiple achievements, how to build a business advisor framework, tips on hiring top talent, which kinds of VARs and ISVs benefit the most from coaching, highlights of Jim’s book “The Walk-On Method,” and more. And speaking of RSPA, get a glimpse of what’s to come at Retai...

Today on the Rising Stars podcast, host Brianna Moriarty chats with two members of the Shopify team, Sean Buckley, Retail Partnerships Lead, and Manit Jain, who leads Product Partnerships. In this episode, explore what a successful omnichannel strategy entails, how omnichannel retailing boosts long-term business, how to boost in-store traffic, and more. To learn more about Star’s POSShield, please...

In today’s episode, host Brianna Moriarty chats with Danny Mikhail, Founder and CEO at Zuza, a business management platform helping merchants expand their businesses. Brianna and Danny discuss his humble beginnings as a young entrepreneur, as well as Zuza’s partner-friendly strategy to sell its software through ISOs, the benefits of white-labeling, what it takes to create one solution for multiple...

In today’s episode, host Brianna Moriarty meets with Jacky Yamada, Assistant Manager of New Products at Star Micronics’ headquarters in Japan. Together they serve up global restaurant insights, chatting about topics like what the restaurant market looks like today in Japan, the importance of geo-targeted marketing to bolster relationships between restaurants and their diners, challenges of dine-in...

In this episode, host Brianna Moriarty meets with Brett Payette, Sales Team Lead at Vend, to discuss emerging markets and trends in the retail space. Brett has spent years working directly with retailers and takes us on a journey to explore the ways that the pandemic has accelerated adaptation and innovation as retailers anticipate “the retail rebound.” Trends discussed include Instagram Live and...

In this episode, Brianna Moriarty dives into the topic of digital marketing with James Korte, Manager of Digital Marketing Strategy at BlueStar. As the world continues to experience a digital transformation, James and Brianna discuss marketing do’s and don’ts for ISVs and VARs looking to succeed in today’s everchanging market. Click here to connect with James Korte on LinkedIn , and to stay up-to-...

In this episode, host Brianna Moriarty sits down to chat with guest Jon Levin, Director of Product Management at Star Micronics, about the number one mistake POS ISVs should avoid, top tips to enter a new market, characteristics of the most successful ISVs, emerging trends and what they mean for ISVs, and more. Click here to connect with Jon Levin on LinkedIn , and to stay up-to-date on all things...

Welcome to the Rising Stars podcast! Listen to our trailer to prepare yourself for everything to come.