December 2, 2020

Adam Hartung, Manny Teran

This week on The SparkCom Podcast, Manny and Adam are joined by Mica Kinder, founder and CEO of Insulin Now. The online pharmacy provides low-cost insulin for uninsured and underinsured diabetes patients, and is the only commercial group in the United States doing so. Business leaders often think narrowly about innovation, as though it only implies changes to products. But in a business where the product can’t change, Mica demonstrates how necessary and possible it is to find alternative services that fulfill consumer needs.

Healthcare, Insulin, Pharmaceuticals, Mobility, Value Proposition, Trends, Supply Chain

November 24, 2020

Adam Hartung, Manny Teran

As we fast approaching the end of 2020, we can see how much the business landscape has changed through the COVID-19 pandemic. In a time of need and economic fallouts, several companies have stayed on top after bringing considerable value to consumers. How have they done that? Through change and sales.

Pivot, Sales, Value Proposition, GAFAM, Uber, Trends, Coronavirus

November 17, 2020

Adam Hartung, Manny Teran

What makes a successful entrepreneur? What makes a successful innovator? Hint: It’s not DNA.In this week’s episode of the SparkCom Podcast, Manny guides a conversation on the traits, experiences, and mentality of successful startup entrepreneurs. There’s a level of spirit and drive that not every entrepreneur possesses, but can possess to succeed. Understandably, many are held back by the fear of failure and of losing the security that comes with a day job. So here’s one question to ask yourself before becoming a full-fledged entrepreneur: Can you live without a paycheck to do something that you love?

Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Startups, Trends, Gig Economy

November 11, 2020

Adam Hartung, Manny Teran

If you could predict the future accurately, would you do anything different? So many business leaders from prominent companies and small businesses choose to not take action to prevent their business from failing, even when they know all odds are stacked against them. This week, the Spark Partners discuss this all-too-common mistake businesses make, and the steps any leader can take to push their business towards growth. We all deny the reality of what we might be doing wrong, and what we should be doing better. Just look at what happened to major retailers like Sears and ToysRUs, and how Walmart missed so many chances to become an e-commerce giant before the pandemic.

Trends, Status Quo, Risk, Strategy, Trendcasting, ToyRUs, Walmart, Sears, COVID-19

November 3, 2020

Adam Hartung, Manny Teran

Adam and Manny take this week’s episode to cover trends and why they are so paramount to the field of innovation. From a changing energy industry and the rise of vegetarian diets, to the rising costs of homes and shifts to working from home, trends completely dominate the world, not just business! No innovator can afford to ignore trends or make excuses to not adopt them. Even fifteen years ago, many business leaders were slow to incorporate mobile technology into their business. Now, no business can survive without a Facebook page or website.

Trends, Energy, Transportation, Mobility, Asynchronous, Real Estate, Electric Vehicles

October 23, 2020

Adam Hartung, Manny Teran

This week the Partners spark a conversation on the effects of third party involvement on business growth and innovation. Reviewing the Department of Justice’s new antitrust lawsuit against Google and it’s 2001 lawsuit against Microsoft, Adam and Manny question the role of the government in regulating competition in the marketplace. There’s no denying that e-commerce, social media, and big tech platforms have dominated the 21st century’s economy. Small businesses might feel at an unfair disadvantage against big businesses when advertising through major tech sites.

Google, Competition, Government Regulation, Antitrust, Trends, Value Proposition

October 16, 2020

Adam Hartung, Manny Teran

Following up on a previous discussion on Disney, Spark Partners turn their attention to the struggling film industry and movie theaters. Hollywood’s heavy reliance on the traditional value delivery system of theater-viewing has left the industry to fall behind competing platforms utilizing trends in streaming and technology. According to Adam, that mutual relationship between film producers and theaters is long gone. Large box office productions have less use now that movies can be made on smartphones and exceptionally low budgets, and at-home streaming is now the most popular and preferred method for viewing. The COVID-19 pandemic is not to blame--this year’s biggest health crisis only accentuated the trouble the industry was heading towards.

Entertainment Industry, Disney, Movie Theaters, Streaming, Value Proposition, Value Delivery system, Blank Space

October 2, 2020

Adam Hartung, Manny Teran

In this episode of the SparkCom Podcast, Adam and Manny discuss the contrast of growing opportunity and high risk in the cannabis industry. Entrepreneurship is about discovering solutions to address consumer problems. And the cannabis industry at its foundation identifies unmet customer needs, making it outwardly appealing for modern business leaders. But it’s the value delivery system where complications arise. Despite growing demand for cannabis products, a whirlwind of legal, political, and financial barriers make entering and succeeding in the industry highly challenging.

Cannabis, Dispensaries, Leadership, Regulations, Risk, Value Delivery System

September 25, 2020

Adam Hartung, Manny Teran

“That’s not the way things are done here” is one of the most common and destructive mentalities any business leader can have, especially if they want their business to grow. Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Sharf perfectly demonstrated how maintaining age-old and faulty biases is an undeniable reason for business limitation, when he recently commented that the bank’s lack of Black employees is due to there being “a very limited pool of Black talent to recruit from.” From racial to operational, all business leaders must be able to get rid of the biases they and their organizations hold that curb creativity, new projects, and new partnerships.

Leadership, Lock-in, Bias, Disruptive Innovation, Diversity, Wells Fargo

September 18, 2020

Adam Hartung, Manny Teran

This week Adam and Manny discuss the history and current state of Kraft-Heinz, one of America’s biggest food processing companies. Despite decades of providing the country with some of the most recognizable foods, the company has been directionless and in the process of decline.

Direction, Strategy, Financial Machinations, Acquisitions, Value Delivery System, Kraft-Heinz, General Foods, Oscar-Meyer