Identifying your target market: I had the privilege to Interview founder of Problemio.com (Alex Genadinik) website and apps that helps entrepreneurs create stronger companies that succeed.
- Alex Genadinik Founder of Problemio
Category Archives: Video Interviews
Alex Lavidge – Business Development Manager at Variable, Inc.
Alex Lavidge is the Founding Manager of the Wireless Sensors High Growth Fund LLC headquartered in Knoxville, TN. Lavidge also serves as a Business Development Manager at Variable, Inc., maker of the NODE wireless sensor platform for smart devices. CNN Money called the device the “coolest gizmo” at 2013 CES, the largest consumer electronics trade show in the world.
Since returning to his hometown from Silicon Valley in 2008, Lavidge has helped spur a plethora of initiatives and community-building events for entrepreneurs, young professionals and creatives throughout the region: TEDxKnoxville, 48 Hour Launch, Envision Knoxville, Knoxville Twestival, Creative Mixed Use Symposium, InnovativeKnoxville.com, Lunch 2.0, Knoxville Overground, Young Professional Mayoral Debate & Political Symposium, CoworkingKnoxville, Entrepreneurial Imperative 2011, and several others.
AVL Marketing ~ an interview
Katie Cleary is a natural when it comes to marketing. She gets it. She get’s the businesses she’s representing; and even better, she get’s the people she’s connecting those businesses to.
To be honest, marketing is not my favorite subject. And it was unfair to Katie, I know, but I came to the interview expecting a conversation about markets and ratios and target populations. With a comfortable ease, Katie immediately drew me into her vision of what marketing really is. She has an innate enthusiasm for what she does and it became immediately clear that she’s done her homework and she knows what she’s talking about.
sage advice for seeking funding
In March of 2012, I had the privilege of attending a free community panel on “Funding Your Small Business,” jointly hosted by the Asheville Minority Business Program and Mountain Bizworks. It was at this informative gathering that I met Jane Hatley, WNC Regional Director for Self-Help Credit Union. She brought a wealth of valuable information, perfectly balanced between enthusiastic support for and the stark reality of starting a small business.
Though some of us may be aspiring to build global empires, many of us have set our sights on small businesses couched cosily within the context of our local communities. With this local focus in mind, I took the opportunity to explore small business funding in a bit more depth with Jane. Below is a short video of Jane in her own words followed by a summary of our entire interview.