Category Archives: Episodes

Risk – how do you measure it? – LOB 053

Episodes,

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Every business deals with a certain amount of risk. What venture capitalists really think about risk…and how they look at it from a qualitative and quantitative perspective. Do analysts and investors feel the same about risk? How much do you tell your investor about the actual risk? How do people in the energy industry deal with risk? Do analysts and investors react the same way when it comes to risk? Do venture capital investors worry about your competition?

The Language of Business looks at assessing risk. Host Greg Stoller talks with Bill Contente, Partner at Gesmer Updegrove LLP; Bob Goodoff, Principal of Sea View Global Advisors, LLC; Christopher Mirabile, Co-Managing Director of LaunchPad Venture Group.

 

Where do you find an investor? – LOB 052

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You’re an entrepreneur looking for an investor. Do you go Angel, PE or VC? How does a family-owned small business wind up acting like a bank?

On this episode, The Langauge of Business looks at where entrepreneurs look for an investor. Host Greg Stoller talks with Venture Capitalist Don Nelson, Managing Director, Harken Capital Securities, about the size of return he’s looking for; Ben Littauer, Angel Investor, who also is a mentor to entrepreneurs and discusses the kind of return he expects; Dan Weller of Weller Carpets, a three-generation family-owned small business that acts like a bank to control cash flow.

 

How many lawyer jokes are there? – LOB 051

Episodes

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Lawyers. There are a lot of strong opinions about them. And a lot of jokes. The Language of Business looks at small businesses dealing with lawyers.

Host Greg Stoller talks with Emily Taylor, Attorney at Latham and Watkins, a specialist who helps a startup get it right; Gene Barton, Partner at Pepper Hamilton, LLP, who understands what makes entrepreneurs tick; Chris Robinson, Partner at Seyfarth Shaw and member of the National Whistleblowers Group, who knows how a company will handle a whistleblower; Julio Gomez, General Manager of Attivio Financial Services, who shares ideas on how an entrepreneur can deal effectively with a lawyer.

The last three feet – LOB 050

Episodes,

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The Last Three Feet. That’s the distance between the customer and front-line employees. Managers often don’t get that close. Hiring the right people is key to making your business work, whether it’s a turnaround, a startup, or an expansion.

Host Greg Stoller, Harvard Business School graduate and Senior Lecturer at Boston University Questrom School of Business interviews Craig Sanders, Managing Director of C-level Interim Executives, who knows how to find the right people, and what the right people need to do to get the job; Paul Laskow of Save Energy Systems, a customer relations specialist who teachers managers about the last three feet; Jody Mendoza, owner of Mojito’s Latin Lounge and Nightclub in Boston. Her successful business expanded into a new and different venture. What were the challenges?


Host Greg Stoller


Craig Sanders


Paul Laskow


Jody Mendoza

 

International sales…tips on building your team – LOB 049

Episodes,

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 26:29 — 20.3MB) | Embed

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The world is a huge marketplace. On this episode, The Language of Busines looks at how to get and keep customers in Asia, England and around the world.

Host Greg Stoller talks with Japanese entrepreneur Kumi Inoue, CEO of Here and Now, Inc., who consults Americans on how to conduct business there; International seles representative Robert Masland, an American businessman outsourcing work overseas with ideas on how to really make that work; Alan Lunder, CEO of Black Diamond Group, who consults overseas companies on how to do business in the US.

Host Greg Stoller

Kumi Inoue

Robert Masland

Allan Lunder


A-rated team pitching B-rated idea vs. A-rated idea pitched by B-rated team – LOB 048

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The Language of Business looks at why investors prefer a B-rated idea pitched by an A-rated team over an A-rated idea pitched by a B-rated team. Finding your team and measuring their success. Plus, ways to motivate your employees from C-level to staff and how to make your email campaigns more effective by going one-to-one.

Greg Stoller talks with John Murphy, Venture Capitalist at Point Judith Capital about choosing the right people for your team; Allesandra DeVaca, Chief Administrative Officer at Hebrew Senior Life about motivating employees and effecting changes that are someone else’s idea; Matthew Bellows, CEO of Yesware.


Greg Stoller, Host


John Murphy


Alessandra DeVaca


Matthew Bellows

Be like Google and know all about your customer – LOB 047

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 27:56 — 20.2MB) | Embed

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You’re an entrepreneur working on the plan for your new business. Make sure you know as much as you can about your customer. Google sure does that. Are you marketing in the right places? Do you change your plans on the fly,…or trust your gut?

The Language of Business host Greg Stoller talks with three experts on starting a new business: Lisa Tanzer, Marketing Director of Life Is Good; Sarah Fay, Media Advisor to Adaptive Intelligence; Drew Hannah, CEO of RBM Technologies.


Host Greg Stoller


Lisa Tanner


Sarah Fay


Drew Hannah

Write your business plan. But first, test your pitch – LOB 046

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You’re an entrepreneur ready to start pitching your new business…but first, you need to write your business plan. Oh, yes…you also need to do a competitive analysis.  The Language of Business host Greg Stoller talks with three experts on planning and marketing a new business: John Francis, CEO of Test My Pitch; Patricia Gray, Principal at PA Gray Law; Leo Brea, Executive Director of Veconinter.


Host Greg Stoller


John Francis


Patricia Gray


Leo Brea

 

Will a back-of-the-napkin business plan work? – LOB 045

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 26:58 — 20.3MB) | Embed

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When planning a startup, do you need a full-fledged 50-page written Business Plan…or will a “back of the napkin” approach work just as well? The language of Business host Greg Stoller talks with three entrepreneurs and gets three different takes on the need for a Business Plan from Tony Solomons, President of Ideal Marketing Group; Jeff Hulton, entrepreneur, and Digital Artist; Cindy Brown, CEO of Boston Duck Tours.


Host Greg Stoller


Tony Solomons


Jeff Hulton


Cindy Brown

 

48 web sites in 48 hours – LOB 044

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 18:12 — 13.6MB) | Embed

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The Language of Business looks at 48 in 48: a nonprofit that works to build websites for local nonprofits. Lots of them. In fact, they come to a market and build 48 web sites in 48 hours. The started in Atlanta, came to Boston this year, and look to go international next year.

Greg Stoller talks with 48 in 48 Executive Director Carole Williams; 48 in 48 Co-Founder and sponsor Adam Walker; Karley Ausiello, Sr. VP of Community Impact at the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley.


Carole Williams


Adam Walker


Karley Ausiello