School for Startups Radio

October 18, 2023 - Structure of Success Patrick Esposito and Work Your Magic Sharon Darmody

Patrick Esposito – Chief Executive Officer & Founder of Initiative Labs  and Author of The Structure of Success: A Framework to Help Build Your Business Better 
It all starts with assessing the problems. What are the problems and whatare the opportunities facing the business. We look further at how each ofthese problems and opportunities potentially impact success, or howcould it lead us to failure.
Patrick Esposito is an entrepreneur, attorney, advisor, and board member who has helped to found, lead, and advise small and medium-sized businesses in technology, consulting, retail, banking, real estate, and other sectors, as well as U.S. government organizations. Currently, Patrick serves as president of ACME General Corp., a leading public sector advisory business and also serves as counsel with Spilman Thomas & Battle law firm. He recently launched Initiative Labs LLC to help leaders apply the approaches and tools in this book.
Sharon Darmody  – Clinical Director of Strive Occupational Rehabilitation and Author of Work Your Magic: Create a Better Business Community That Works for Everyone
Work your Magic is based on the premise that instead of letting peoplefall over and then picking them up, we want to keep them well from thebeginning. We want to go upstream and make sure they don’t fall in the river.
Sharon Darmody is a workplace organizational coach and consultant. Her new book, Work Your Magic, is an indispensable roadmap for creating a new work order that actually works. Sharon is an organizational coach and mediator for 25 plus years, and the founding director of Strive Occupational Rehabilitation, launched in 2004 which works to help people to be more engaged at work so that they can thrive both at work and at home. She knows that work is not working. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted corporate life as we know it—and became a tipping point for a change that’s long overdue. Within the book, she has created an interactive, easy-to-follow guide, which will provide readers a clear pathway to diagnosing the specific issues at play in their workplace, and actionable items to make the changes they need to make work, work again. M.A.G.I.C is the acronym for what Sharon believes are the core drivers of people being engaged and thriving at work: Meaning, Authenticity, Ground Rules, “I”, and Curiosity.

October 16, 2023 - Pay Proudly Jeff Maine and Team Accelerator Margie Oleson

Jeff Maine – CEO/President at Proudly       
Face it, business owners are paying for the credit card rewards.As the rewards get better and better, the interchange rate goup and up. Somehow the issuing banks have to get that moneyback to pay for these rewards. The better the rewards, themore the merchants pay.
Jeff Maine founded his company with a goal to take the payment processing industry from simply transactional….to relational! Jeff is the founder of Pay Proudly and his mission is twofold: to provide business owners with payment clarity and to support communities through charity. Throughout his career, he saw that there was a gap in the marketplace for relational support in payment processing. Payment processing is the lifeblood of a business and Jeff and his team are passionate about educating business owners on how important having the right payment processor is for your business. As an industry disrupter, Jeff is on a Mission to bring ‘Pay it Forward’ into the payment sector as well. Pay Proudly leverages their 25+ years industry expertise and reputation in the payment space to provide financial charity to non-profits each quarter. Pay Proudly allows the world of commerce to converge and generate financial support for great causes. It’s not marketing spin to acquire new business as Jeff can be seen living out those core values every day.Dr. Margie Oleson – Organization and Change Consulting at Oleson Consulting LLC
The leaders’ number one job is to make everyone else better at what theyare doing. And when they are not doing that, and many aren’t, those peopleare left to their own devices.
Dr. Margie Oleson is an executive coach and leadership & team development expert with a doctorate in Organization Development. She delivers her coaching with practical strategies and actions for leaders and their leadership teams to build the right foundation for teamwork and productivity. Clients have included companies in most industries, such as Aeronautics, Agriculture, Financial Services, FinTech, Health Care, Higher Education, Insurance, Manufacturing, Medical Device, Nonprofit, Retail, and more. Margie developed Top Team Accelerator, which helps senior leaders and their leadership teams build systems and habits for successful change and sustain improvements going forward. With an emphasis on the organization, Margie works with senior leaders and leadership teams to become cohesive, high-performing teams – which translates to high performance among their own teams.

October 13, 2023 - Education Entrepreneur Tammy Myers and AirBnB Fran Hassing & Peter Buzzard talks about SCORE

Tammy Myers – Founder and President at Mrs. Myers’ Education Services
We took a second-grade classroom and supported the students thatwere struggling. 24 out of 25 students made significant gains. Weset the foundation for learning by teaching the students how to learn.
Tammy Myers inspires even the most reading-resistant to love books. A licensed speech pathologist, Myers has pioneered an approach that takes kids on a journey to become strong and confident learners. Tammy’s work began more than 20 years ago with children who had speech and neurological disabilities. To help children learn to communicate and learn, she introduced techniques that engaged their senses, included systematic movement, and repetition, and predictability. She found the children she worked with not only became better communicators, they also became better learners. Reading became a school skill and a strategic life skill. Giving these students with ‘special needs’ life literacy skills, also opened the doors for acceptance with their peers, inspired teachers to support them through academic challenges, and empowered parents to support their child’s personal growth. Today, Tammy and her team of educators help children in all levels at Mrs. Myers’ Playroom and Mrs. Myers’ Learning Lab in Racine, Wisconsin. The year round pediatric therapy, and literacy and math programs move children toward breaking boundaries and exceeding expectations. Mrs. Myers’ Learning Lab takes children through activities in four brightly colored rooms, called “Chapters”. Using creativity through games, sports, videos, iPads, play-dough and even shaving cream (yes, shaving cream!), kids engage completely in the learning experience. By the end of the program, each child has written his or her own book and receives a published copy! In addition to Mrs. Myers’ Learning Lab, Tammy works with students with speech and language disorders, coordinates an occupational therapy program through Mrs. Myers’ Playroom, and a literacy program through Mrs. Myers’ Education Services for the community in cooperation with private schools, charter schools, and non-profit foundations. She is a graduate of Leadership Racine, an active member of RAMAC, and past-president of TEMPO Racine. Her speaking engagements include educational presentations for administrators, teachers, and parents to promote success in the classroom through language and literacy. Student success continues to be her motivation and drive. Her passion for student literacy will captivate the heart of any audience. A graduate of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Tammy Myers received a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Science in Communication Disorders. She is a life long learner striving for knowledge in the complex processes of cognition, psychology, and language. She maintains her Certificate of Clinical Competence through the national American Speech Language and Hearing Association. She continues in private practice speech language therapy in Mount Pleasant.SFS Minute 283: Tammy MyersFran Hassing – Owner of Hassing Hills Hideaway
I went to SCORE and said we are thinking of opening a short term rentalproperty to augment our retirement income. The process with SCORE wasan extremely positive process. I can’t say enough about it. One of thebiggest things was doing a SWOT analysis to study strengths, weaknesses,opportunities, and threats with a SCORE executive.
This story epitomizes the entrepreneurial spirit thriving in Idaho’s business landscape. Meet Francine Hassing, the dynamic owner of Hassing Hills Hideaway. It showcases the power of small businesses as the driving force behind Idaho’s economic engine. Amidst this vibrant landscape, SCORE, an organization supporting small businesses, plays a pivotal role. SCORE provides invaluable resources, mentorship, and guidance to entrepreneurs throughout Idaho, empowering them to overcome challenges, refine their strategies, and achieve sustainable growth. As the owner of Hassing Hills Hideaway, she has created a tranquil retreat nestled amidst Idaho’s breathtaking landscapes, offering guests a remarkable escape into nature’s embrace. While Fran’s success is undeniably impressive, her partnership with SCORE amplified her entrepreneurial journey and fueled her business growth.Peter Buzzard – SCORE Mentors – Chapter Co-Chair and Certified Mentor at Treasure Valley, Idaho Chapter 
Go ugly early. You need to get into the market as early as you canwith a minimum viable product so that you can learn.
Peter Buzzard, a seasoned technology marketing executive, possesses specialized expertise in channel development, product marketing, and demand generation. His key strength lies in expanding revenue streams by initiating product launches, executing strategic programs, and establishing partnerships to rapidly increase revenues through integrated indirect and direct routes-to-market. Peter has an extensive background in marketing enterprise technology hardware, software, and services across regions such as the US, Latin America, Europe, and Asia Pacific, consistently achieving remarkable quarterly growth rates ranging from 50-100%. His professional journey includes navigating complex M&A deals and venture-backed initiatives, with transaction values spanning from $1 million to $1.6 billion, and overseeing three successful IPOs. During his recent tenure at HP, Peter focused on global channel sales and marketing efforts. Initially, he concentrated on selling enterprise printing software solutions through existing resellers. Later, after the acquisition of Samsung’s copier business, he spearheaded the re-launch of HP’s channel program for managed print services, encompassing hardware, software, and services.

October 12, 2023 - Strauss Naturals Wayne Elliott and 15 Minutes of Shame Des Hague

Wayne Elliott – Ship Recycling and Strauss Naturals Advocate
I owe my life to Strauss Naturals products. Jim Strauss had such anunderstanding of nature and how everything connects. There hasnever been one word that he said that did not turn out to be true.
Wayne Elliott is a former football and baseball player. He has been in the ship recycling business for 40 years. His company can take a 1000-foot-long ship and reduce it to a pile to reusable materials. He has grown into other areas such as battery recycling. he recounts his life-changing experience with SHD, a health supplement he stumbled upon after battling angina and its debilitating symptoms. Struggling with leg cramps, shortness of breath, night sweats, and chest pains, Wayne also grappled with anxiety and a lack of energy, resigning himself to the fate of heart-related issues that plagued his family. However, upon learning about SHD through a friend in Vancouver and being inspired by studies from renowned institutions like Harvard, Wayne decided to give it a try. Astonishingly, within two weeks of taking SHD, he noticed improvements in unexpected ways – his hearing returned, and his respiratory system cleared, leading to a significant boost in energy. Over the course of three months, Wayne transformed into a revitalized version of himself, feeling as energetic as he did decades ago. This transformation propelled him into a new phase of life where he actively engaged with others, becoming a spokesperson for Jim Strauss, the creator of SHD. Wayne’s involvement extended to radio shows and lectures, allowing him to share his incredible journey with thousands of people suffering from various health issues. His enthusiasm and dedication to natural health solutions led him to become a regular guest on radio networks in the USA and Canada, where he continued to spread the word about his positive experiences with SHD and its miraculous effects on individuals dealing with diabetes, heart disease, low energy, and clogged arteries. Wayne’s story highlights the power of painless, safe, and affordable health products, emphasizing the beauty of solutions that genuinely work. His gratitude towards Jim Strauss and the Strauss Heart Drops is profound, as he believes that without this intervention, he might not have been alive today, reinforcing the transformative impact of natural health remedies in the face of life-threatening conditions. Strauss Naturals is sponsoring the show with support for our radio-minute segments. Wayne says very simply that their products saved him. He became an advocate for the company and has been working with them for 29 years.Des Hague – Back from Being Cancelled, Strategic Advisor at Ikoniq and the Author of Fifteen Minutes of Shame: How a Twitter Mob Nearly Ruined My Life
Social media has allowed what Phil Collins called, ‘Too many people, toomany voices.’ Everybody has a microphone and some people need them,but not everybody needs to share every thought that they have. Being judgeand jury is not a good look.
Des Hague shares the good and bad in his book 15 Minutes of Shame- How A Twitter Mob Almost Ruined My Life. Des “D.G.” Hague is an acclaimed executive leader with a proven track record of leading global brands. In his private equity ventures he has returned over half a billion dollars. Des “D.G.” Hague is an acclaimed executive leader with a proven track record of leading global brands. In his private equity ventures he has returned over half a billion dollars to shareholders. Hague is the co founder of Hague Enterprises LLC and has made several investments since its inception in 2015. Hague has served on the board of over 20 companies and currently serves on the advisory board of several companies; YoungCaruso, MRGN, Ikoniq, Happy Clinic, and Messenger Corporation, Hague also advises several start ups and not for profit organizations. Additionally, Hague provides expertise and advisory services for several private equity firms specializing in turnarounds, buyouts, and industry consolidations. Most recently Hague served as the President and CEO of VIPER EA a leader in retail profit optimization. During in his three-year tenure Hague increased the enterprise value of the company to $100 million a 20x plus increase. Between 2009 to 2014, Hague held the position of CEO of Centerplate, Inc., which grew under his leadership to become North America’s largest hospitality business, operating in sports, convention centers, and entertainment venues in over 40 US states, Canada, and Europe with more than 40,000 employees. Sold to Olympus Partners resulting in Kohlberg (equity owner) largest return at the time of the transaction. Hague elevated the performance of Centerplate to unparalleled heights, resulting in numerous awards and recognitions, including “Best Food and Beverage” by Convene Magazine, “No. 1 NFL Experience” by Stadium Journey among others. Prior to Centerplate Hague has had the pleasure of working for iconic brands such as Safeway, IHOP, 7-Eleven, Maytag, PepsiCo and Whitbread and attributes his success to a never stop learning mentality. Hague is heavily involved in the community and his efforts to date has helped raise over one hundred million for worthy philanthropic causes. Hague has won numerous awards throughout his career but is most proud of the ones associated with being a force for good from Baltimore, Toronto, Vancouver, California and Connecticut among others.

October 11, 2023 - Lead Together Tania Luna and Learning & Development Ginine Capozzi

Tania Luna – Founder of Scarlet Spark and the Author of the Book Lead Together: Stop Squirreling Away Power and Build a Better Team
The difference between power over versus power with is important.Power over is how most of us think about power, power as a meansof control. I have authority and I am going to get other people to dowhat I want them to do. Power with is asking what power do I have,what relationships do I have and then using that to grow the powerof the team. When the team’s power grows, your own power grows.
Tania Luna is a psychology researcher, educator and author of multiple books, including Lead Together: Stop Squirreling Away Power and Build a Better Team, The Leader Lab and Surprise. She is the founder of Scarlet Spark, a nonprofit that amplifies the effectiveness of animal advocacy organizations, and cofounder of LifeLabs Learning, a leadership development company that helps thousands of people become more capable leaders. She is also the co-host of the podcast Talk Psych to Me. Across her work, she strives to inspire interconnectedness among all living beings, humans included. She lives in a micro-sanctuary with rescued pigs, goats, dogs, roosters, cats and the love of her life.Ginine Capozzi – L&D Consultant & Owner of KnowledgeForce Consulting LLC
You can make money by investing in people and doing it in incremental bitsat a time. By investing in people, so many metrics begin to move. Return ontalent investment looks at where you get the best returns on talentinvestment, is it in culture, closing strategic gaps, or something related toreducing the amount of time in training.
Ginine Capozzi is an L&D Consultant, Professional CoActive Coach, and Owner of KnowledgeForce Consulting. Ginine has made it her mission to revolutionize training solutions to power people and businesses. With a background in Learning and Development Strategy, Ginine has over 15 years of industry experience, making her an ideal fit for podcasts targeting owners, founders, directors/VPs of HR, talent development, engineering, and sales. She is a hands-on leader, well-versed in the science of adult learning and change management, with expertise in curriculum development and instructional design. Ginine’s unique approach emphasizes the compounding returns training offers, even with as little as 1% behavior change. Her dedication to making a positive difference in the lives of others is evident through her active involvement in the community and volunteering efforts. Ginine’s knowledge and passion for reimagined training solutions that are strategically-planned and executed have made her an asset to numerous Fortune 500 companies. She continues to push the boundaries of training excellence, using techniques like Whole Brain® Thinking, gamification, and e-learning to deliver dynamic and engaging content. By inviting Ginine to your podcast, you’ll provide your audience with valuable insights on talent development and strategies to unlock their team’s full potential. Don’t miss the opportunity to have Ginine Capozzi as a guest on your show and inspire your listeners to drive real and sustainable change within their organizations. Book her now to spark meaningful conversations and lead the way to success!

October 9, 2023 - Consumer VC Marcel Bens and Discrimination Disrupter Chiquita Hall-Jackson

Marcel Bens – Managing Partner and COO at Emil Capital Partners
We invest in consumer-focused products and services. Anything thattouches the end consumer, and that could be in any category suchas food and beverage, beauty, consumer tech digital media, andhealth and wellness. We are early stages, right after friends andfamily, investors.
Marcel Bens previously worked at a multi-billion dollar distressed private equity firm in New York City and at an independent corporate and financial advisory firm in Sydney, Australia. Prior to that, he served in various key roles at a large German automotive conglomerate in the United States, Germany, and South Africa. Marcel holds a joint master’s degree in mechanical engineering and economics from the Technical University of Berlin in Germany and an MBA from Columbia Business School in New York. He is trilingual in German, English, and Dutch.Chiquita Hall-Jackson – Managing Attorney at Hall-Jackson & Associates
You get 24 hours to be somber and to be sad and then it’s time to say,‘What did we learn from that?’  And then go incorporate that lesson soit won’t happen again.
Chiquita’s career as the founding employment attorney of one of Chicago’s Top Employment Law Firms, Hall-Jackson & Associates P.C., was kindled by her own experience of work-related racial mistreatment, inequity, and sexism. “As a female African-American lawyer, I faced adversity as I overheard rude comments by coworkers who questioned my competence. I also did not have a voice in meetings. And, I noticed that my male and other non-Black counterparts were getting pay raises, while I was not,” she recalls. Now Hall-Jackson is the creator of a social justice brand, Blow The Whistle Law, sparked after being triggered by the Black Lives Matter movement with the belief that if a colleague of Officer Derek Chauvin had intervened during the tragic incident, lives could have been saved. The advocacy brand urges workers to speak up when they see discrimination in the workplace.

October 6, 2023 - Sales Maven Nikki Rausch and Detached Sales Bill Caskey

Nikki Rausch – Founder & CEO of SALES MAVEN and the Author of the Book The Selling Staircase: Mastering the Art of Relationship Selling
Nikki Rausch integrates her 25+ years of experience selling to such prestigious organizations as The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Hewlett-Packard, and NASA, sharing with her clients the same approaches that led to her shattering sales records in her industry and receiving multiple “top producer” awards along the way. A business degree from the University of Washington and her master certification in Neuro-Linguistic Programming mesh perfectly to create a powerful foundation upon which Nikki built tremendous sales skills and now provides enormous benefits for her clients. Nikki has received numerous sales awards, shattered sales records across industries, and was featured in Female Entrepreneur Magazine. A sought-after speaker, she regularly shares the results of success through illuminating keynote addresses and business-changing workshops. Her robust Sales Maven Society ignites game-changing outcomes for clients. Many of whom have also reaped the benefits of her immersive VIP consultations.Bill Caskey – President of Caskey Achievement Strategies
Bill Caskey is a sales development leader and experimenter who has been improving B2B sales teams and executives since 1990. His counter-intuitive philosophies and strategies go against the orthodoxy of most sales approaches – the ‘convince and persuade’ doctrine. Instead, Bill takes a radically different approach to B2B sales – which includes using media as a lead device, creating personal empowerment for the salesperson by avoiding the antiquated techniques of amateurs, and a thorough understanding of ‘buyer behavior’ which helps the salesperson control the sales process. His topics help: * CEOs of sales-oriented businesses who want rapid growth. * VPs of Sales who have sales teams needing to make their numbers. * Sales Professionals, who must reinvent themselves in the new digital economy yet who lack sound coaching from their managers. He is the author of Same Game New Rules, Rewire The Sales Mind, The Sales Playbook, and Email It! He co-hosts with Bryan Neale, The Advanced Selling Podcast (Top 30 Marketing Podcast on iTunes), a weekly podcast counseling sales forces and leaders worldwide, who seek to improve their business. The program is the top sales podcast with downloads of over 130,000/ month with 13,000,000 downloads in 13 years. He is the creator of The High Achiever’s Mentoring Program, a small group experience for high-income sellers. He also hosts his own podcast – The Bill Caskey Podcast, where he dives deeper into counter-intuitive concepts for CEOs and sales professionals. Bill Caskey is a business and sales development leader and experimenter. His ideas about selling are convictions about life, money, and meaning. He has coached sales professionals and executives since 1990 and his philosophies and strategies have fueled explosive growth in sales and profits. Bill has given over 3,000 workshops to groups in over 100 B2B Industries – and has invested over 14,000 hours consulting and training these companies.

October 5, 2023 - VC vs Investors Elizabeth Zalman and Courage in Cannabis Dr. Bridget Cole Williams

Elizabeth Joy Zalma – Founder Advisor of Crane Venture Partners  and Author of Founder vs Investor: The Honest Truth About Venture Capital from Startup to IPO
Elizabeth Zalman
Elizabeth Zalman is an infrastructure and information security expert and two-time founder/CEO of venture-backed companies, building her first startup to a successful exit and her second to a multi-hundred-million-dollar business. She has raised more than $100 million from the top VCs in the world. Liz has also never shied from a showdown with them, or anyone, really. She is a seasoned entrepreneur and advisor with a wealth of experience in the business world. As the founder and advisor of Crane Venture Partners, she has a proven track record of success in identifying and investing in innovative companies. With a background in marketing and brand development, Elizabeth brings a unique perspective to her work, helping her portfolio companies build and grow their brands. Her expertise in marketing strategy, brand positioning, and business development has made her a valuable partner to many startups and small businesses.Dr. Bridget Cole Williams – Family Physician, Medical Cannabis Specialist, Host of “Reclaim Your Wellness” Black Star Network, Keynote Speaker, and the Author of Courage in Cannabis: The Triumphant Stories
Dr. Bridget Cole Williams, MD., is a board-certified family physician, author, and CEO of Green Harvest Health in Ohio‌. “Courage in Cannabis” is a book by Dr. Cole Williams’ Green Harvest Health Community Foundation which features a compilation of narratives shared by a diverse group of individuals, including doctors, lawyers, patients, caregivers, entrepreneurs, and activists. The anthology showcases exceptional stories that aspire to inspire readers. Those who have chosen to explore cannabis or established ventures in the cannabis realm undoubtedly possess a story of courage that is worth sharing. Dr. Bridget Williams is renowned for her expertise in the field of integrative medicine. Having spent almost two decades offering exceptional family medical care at The Cleveland Clinic, Dr. Williams now incorporates this experience, her life, and cannabis coaching certifications to provide her patients with the best possible care. At Green Harvest Health, Dr. Williams staunchly recommends the use of CBD in wellness routines, and her medical cannabis clinic is a testimony to the effectiveness of its usage. With its sister organization EMBODY, Green Harvest Health offers a wide range of impressive products that include pleasantly scented body oils and facial serums, among others.

October 4, 2023 - Book Like a Boss Nachum Kligman and Lesix Marketing Agency Robert Lee

Nachum Kligman – Co-Founder and CEO of Book Like A Boss
Time is our most valuable asset. It’s the one thing we can never get backonce it is spent. When someone is requesting a meeting with you, you canask them what is the purpose of this meeting and make a response required.People can’t even book you unless they tell you why.
Nachum Kligman is an entrepreneur, tech innovator, and the CEO of Book Like A Boss, a platform that simplifies online scheduling and booking for entrepreneurs and small business owners. He is a sought-after speaker, having presented at numerous events and conferences on topics such as entrepreneurship, business development, and technology. With over 25 years of experience in the tech industry, Nachum is passionate about helping entrepreneurs succeed and empowering small business owners to streamline their operations and achieve their goals. Nachum came up with the idea for Book Like A Boss through a pain he realized as a business consultant. Entrepreneurs were constantly reaching out to pick his brain and offer to take him out for coffee or lunch. The back and forth via email as well as having to explain his fees was not scalable and often left potential clients in confusion. He wished there as an easy link to send to potential clients that told people who he was, what services he offered, showed them his calendar and allowed people to book him and pay him all in one place. He wanted to be able to manage the business from one dashboard and it had to be blazing fast and look amazing on mobile. After seeing no solution existed and after spending weeks trying to build it on WordPress he decided to build it.Robert Lee – Owner & Strategy Director of The Lesix Agency
Knowing what’s coming and when it is coming is the best way to make sureyou don’t overextend yourself in slower periods and under invest in busy times.
Robert is the founder of The Lesix Agency, a full marketing agency with the vision to put your company on the path to doubling your sales in 90 days. As a Digital Marketer Certified Partner, he brings in over 15 years of marketing experience. His mission is to help business owners unlock their potential. Robert and his team are dedicated to empowering entrepreneurs by providing expert guidance, building a strong foundation, and providing them with a marketing strategy that will propel their success. Robert truly believes you deserve a marketing partner that invests energy in helping you grow your business.

October 2, 2023 - Investment Management Platform Trilliam Jeong and EO Global President Myles Sherman

Trilliam Jeong – Co-Founder and CEO of WealthBlock.AI
We built a platform for crowdfunding but no one came to us toraise capital for them. Instead, everyone was asking if they coulduse our technology. Three months in, I made our first pivot.We became a pure technology vendor.
Trilliam Jeong has a diverse work experience spanning over a decade. He co-founded and served as the CEO of WealthBlock.AI, a platform designed to streamline capital raising and investor management processes for VC, PE, Real Estate Investment Firms, and Wealth Managers. He was responsible for 10X capital raising efficiency and helped clients raise $1 billion. Trilliam also participated as a cohort at Holt Accelerator in 2019. Prior to that, he worked at the National Futures Association, where he served as a Lead Quantitative Analyst. He designed and built systems to detect suspicious trading activities in the financial derivative market. Before joining the National Futures Association, Trilliam worked as a Media Buyer/Marketing Analyst at Venture Direct Worldwide Inc. His responsibilities included analyzing online ad campaign data, developing email marketing strategies, and negotiating with website publishers. He was also a Risk Consultant at Deloitte & Touché LLP, where he performed audits on budget forecast models and assisted in Sarbanes-Oxley testing. He also conducted an investigative audit for a stock option backdating lawsuit. Trilliam started his career as a Staff Accountant at The Episcopal Church Foundation and later worked as a Summer IT Audit Intern at Deloitte & Touche. Trilliam J.’s education history begins in 2003 when he attended Baruch College. He pursued a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree with a focus on accountancy, and also chose computer information systems and mathematics as minor subjects. Trilliam J. studied at Baruch College from 2003 to 2006. After completing his undergraduate degree, Trilliam J. went on to pursue a Master of Arts (MA) degree in applied mathematics at Queens College. He attended Queens College from 2008 to 2010. Building on his academic achievements, Trilliam J. then enrolled in the University of Chicago to pursue a Master of Science (MS) degree in financial mathematics. His time at the University of Chicago spanned from 2010 to 2012.Myles Sherman – Founder and CEO of Fuse Family Ventures and Developer of The Astrid 
One of my core values is that whatever you do, do it 110%. Don’t half assanything. My motto is to live with gratitude. Be grateful you live in thisamazing country and be grateful that you have opportunity. Entitlementis the opposite of gratitude.
Myles Sherman is a serial entrepreneur, successful real estate developer, and, most recently, founder and CEO of Fuse Family Ventures. Myles got his start at the age of 24 with five thousand dollars and a pick-up truck in Houston, TX. He built a real estate empire but had a dream in 2008 that prompted him to sell everything before the crash. He then devoted his life to entrepreneurship (he is in 26 deals right now) and giving back. He was the Founding Member of the Houston Entrepreneurial Organization (EO) chapter and later served as Global EO President. Myles was also the Founder of Bank of Houston and Keystone Bank. His portfolio includes hundreds of construction and development projects. His newest and biggest project to date, The Astrid, is a mountainside luxury development set to break ground later this year. In addition to his professional pursuits, Myles is deeply involved with numerous non-profits, including The American Cancer Society, Ronald McDonald House, Dress for Success, Big Brothers and Big Sisters, Teen & Family Services (Houston & Austin), SPCA, and more. He is also the Founder and board member of San Luis Spirits (aka Dripping Springs Vodka). Myles Sherman’s contributions and initiatives extend far beyond this, making him a multifaceted entrepreneur and philanthropist.