January 19, 2021

Adam Hartung, Manny Teran, Doug Hockstad

This week’s podcast is an interview with Doug Hockstad, Assistant VP at the University of Arizona’s Tech Launch Arizona. Doug discusses how the university undertakes initial efforts to commercialize inventions for its labs and how he focuses resources on moving inventions from paper to license. Universities and research organizations typically focus on inventing new things, without much concern for commercialization. Thus university commercialization is more concentrated on invention protection and preparing for licensing, than figuring out how to turn the invention into high value commercial products.

Research Universities, Innovation, Invention, Arizona, Local Economy, Commercialization, Technology

January 12, 2021

Adam Hartung, Manny Teran

From storming the Capitol to running a business, failing to plan is a common reason for failure. During the pandemic, individuals and business failed to plan well. Restaurants made the temporary changes of enforcing healthy guidelines in line with COVID-19, but what more are they doing? Without investing time in organizing your business goals and understanding market trends, your business will fall victim to competitors and disruption

Planning, Gig Economy, Disruption, DoorDash, Pizza Hut, PetSmart, Retail, Market Trends

January 5, 2021

Adam Hartung, Manny Teran

It’s 2021 and Spark Partners continue to discuss how business leaders can strategically prepare for the future ahead. This episode Adam and Manny focus on planning for disruption, rather than business as usual. We’re almost a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, but not everyone seems to have fully grasped the extent of its effects.

Planning, COVID-19, Business Growth, Entrepreneurship, Disruptive Innovation

December 29, 2020

Adam Hartung, Manny Teran

The new year is right around the corner, and Spark Partners are wrapping it up with a conversation to prepare you for 2021. What tools do you need to have handy to make the upcoming year a success? This episode, Manny and Adam go over the four trends that helped top companies thrive through 2020, and remain relevant tools to help your business prosper going forward.

Mobility, Asynchronous, Gig Economy, Artificial Intelligence, Trends, Innovation, Outsourcing, Hourly Wages, Work From Home

December 22, 2020

Adam Hartung, Manny Teran

In a continued exploration of important innovators, Adam and Manny launch a conversation from a troubling phenomenon -- unused real estate in the US. What’s left of once bustling shopping malls, busy workplaces, and thriving communities are now empty and run-down buildings. The pandemic accelerated so many trends, from demographic to technological, that point to changing American landscapes and business expectations. When things go south it’s hard to see how things can get better. But it’s crucial to remember that when life hands you lemons, make lemonade.

Real Estate, Commercial Retail, Innovation, Strategy, Trends, Barefoot Wine

December 15, 2020

Adam Hartung, Manny Teran

Spark Partners continues December’s highlight of admirable and not-so-admirable innovators by looking at the mistakes companies have made by investing in the wrong innovations. Companies like Uber, Segway, and others with unique creations have gone wrong when they confused their value delivery system with their value proposition. Uber just gave up on their billion dollar investment on autonomous vehicles, an effort that never aided their value proposition. As cool as Segway was, no one had any use for it. Even the great winners in innovation, like Microsoft and Google, have lost by creating products that customers did not need (remember the Windows Phone and Google Plus?). So what’s the right investment?

Uber, Apple, Segway, Amazon, Microsoft, MBA, Value Proposition, Value Delivery System, Inventions

December 8, 2020

Adam Hartung, Manny Teran

In this month’s celebration of notable innovators, Spark Partners take this episode to compare two of them: the late Tony Hseih and the late Frank Carney. Hseih, the former CEO of the online shoe company Zappos, pioneered the concept of easy product returns that led the entire ecommerce industry to follow suit. Pizza Hut co-founder Frank Carney created the pizza that defines America by its low cost and unique flavor, and spread it nationwide through the nation’s first pizza franchise. But what made Hsieh successful--and Carney less so--was his ability to innovate past one great idea.

Tony Hsieh, Zappos, Frank Carney, Pizza Hut, Uber, Value Delivery, Value Proposition

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 the end of 2020 quickly approaches, 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 benefit 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