Episodes

John Mansour is a Product Management and Product Marketing Trainer, Coach, and Thought Leader. He is the Founder and Managing Partner at Proficientz. He has more than 25 years of practical experience in marketing communications, sales, and technology product management, working in start-ups to Fortune 1000 companies. He has held senior management roles in healthcare, software, retail, hospitality, and distribution companies. John was the Chairman of the Technology Association of Georgia’s Produc...

And just like that, we have hit episode 100! It’s been a surreal experience hosting this show about innovation with guests from Sopheon and other companies and industries in the innovation space. It’s been a joy to be part of your day whenever you tune in on our latest episode. If you’re new to the show or innovation, and this is your first episode, I curated a short list of shows as a starter pack for you. In this episode, I share some of my favorite episodes for special reasons. I describe my...

Dan Balcauski founded Product Tranquility, a firm that helps businesses grow and increase their bottom line through intelligent pricing and packaging strategies. Dan defines pricing not as an end goal, but as a means to a more efficient business plan that will sustain customer interest for the long term. In the last episode, Dan talked about the company’s genesis, the services they offer, and what most businesses get wrong about pricing. In part two of this series, Dan discusses why start-ups s...

Dan Balcauski is the founder and Chief Pricing Officer at Product Tranquility, a firm specializing in value creation and helping clients boost productivity and growth and improve customer loyalty. He provides strategic pricing and packaging consultations to high-volume B2B SaaS CEOs. Dan is also a Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management program leader and is part of Toptal’s Top 3% Worldwide Product Management Professionals. Dan joins me today to describe Product Tranquility, its...

The Innov8rs Conference has hosted conferences for innovators in various industries since 2011. They’ve hosted in over 25 cities globally, from San Francisco to Sydney and Singapore. They have multiple programs that promote an atmosphere of creativity and discussion surrounding the future of innovation. I went to the Innov8rs Conference held recently in Austin, Texas, and I found it to be one of the largest and most engaging conferences in a long time. In this episode, I share my thoughts on th...

Noel Sobelman is a partner at Accel Management Group, a business and consulting company that gives clients in the tech and life sciences data-driven competitive advantages in innovations and operations. With 35 years of professional experience, Noel has become an expert in innovation. He is responsible for directing a wide range of transformational initiatives in the areas of management and innovation. He’s also a frequent speaker and writer on innovation topics, having addressed innovation’s ef...

Greg Coticchia is the President, CEO, and Member of the Board of Directors at Sopheon. He is an award-winning sales leader, market expert, product manager, and business strategist. He has almost 40 years of experience holding leadership positions across organizations and institutions in finance, education, and cybersecurity. Greg is also the Board Director of the Product Development Management Association or PDMA. Greg joins me today to describe his thoughts on the future of innovation and how ...

Jeff Eiben is the Founder and CEO of River Point Technology, a digital service provider. They provide solutions that help level up businesses, including Cloud Platforms and DevOps. Jeff was chosen as one of the Top 100 Innovators and Influencers in Technology in 2020 by Intercon and led River Point as a NextGen 250 winner through CRN. Jeff’s commitment to technology talent has also made him set up a STEM scholarship at his high school alma mater. Jeff joins me today to describe the current stat...

Daniel Elizalde is a seasoned product executive with over two decades of experience producing B2B industrial and enterprise tools and products for IoT, AI, 5G, and Edge Computing. He is particularly passionate about creating and using technology to address climate change. He has trained over 1,500 product leaders across various companies that produce IoT and SaaS products. Daniel is also the author of the book The B2B Innovator’s Map, which explains the steps involved in idea generation and how ...

I went to the recently concluded INDUSTRY: The Product Conference. There were a lot of attendees from the products and innovations industry. They talked about product strategy, product development, data and analytics, and customer development. However, the most memorable aspect of the event is how some of them talked about the importance of retaining a company’s humanity and customer-centric approach as they scale. In today’s episode, I discuss what I learned from attending Industry: The Produc...

Mark Adkins is the Director and Chair of the Product Development and Management Association (PDMA), an international community of professionals, professors, students, and service providers. PDMA supports the education of its members while expanding their networks. Mark is also the CEO of LeanMed, a medical device company that aims to use innovative technologies to provide essential treatment to underserved regions. Mark joins me today to discuss PDMA's mission, its members, and its humble begin...

Frannie Matthews is the President and CEO of the Colorado Technology Association—the definitive tech hub between the coasts—and has helped leaders, innovators, and entrepreneurs since 1994. Under Frannie’s leadership since 2018, CTA has grown in size and influence, with a 31% membership revenue boost in 2019. She has over 35 years of experience in the tech industry but never stops scanning for refinement and improvement. Frannie was part of IBM for 18 years, driving the company’s success by putt...

Huub Rutten—Vice President of Product Research and Design and co-founder of Sopheon—joined me last episode to talk about the governance pillar of portfolio management. He explained the importance of having a Rules of Governance Charter and the difference between technology-driven and marketing-driven growth, among other topics. In Part 2 of our portfolio management series, Huub describes why the navigation system is the first data your database should have. He shares his experience regarding es...

Huub Rutten is the co-founder of Sopheon and its Vice President of Product Research and Design. He helped establish Polydoc, Sopheon's ancestor, in 1993. Before launching Sopheon, He spent over 15 years teaching college students communication skills and linguistic disciplines. Huub then pursued a career in strategy development for various industries, including banking, medical services, and aviation. Huub joins me today to discuss the Governance Pillar of Portfolio Management. He shares the cha...

Innovation takes place all over the world, but a few places have earned a reputation as certified innovation hubs. One of these places is Munich, Germany. I recently went on a trade mission delegation to Munich, and some of the things I saw blew my mind, especially in the automobile industry. The innovations I saw made me think about what’s in store for the future of cars and space aeronautics. In this episode, I recount my trip to Munich and elaborate on why it’s one of the best places on Eart...

Mark Adkins is the Co-founder & CEO of LeanMed, a medical device company that aims to bring essential treatment to underserved and remote regions with the help of innovative products and technologies. Their first successful product is the O2 Cube, a solar-powered oxygen production system meant to help rural hospitals without medical access to oxygen. Mark is also the Director & Chair of the Product Development Management Association (PDMA), an international community of professors, professionals...

Huub Rutten is the Vice President of Sopheon’s Product Research and Design. He co-founded Polydoc, Sopheon’s predecessor, in 1993. He spent over 15 years in education and research, educating college students on linguistic disciplines and communication skills. He then moved to work as a strategy development consultant for various industries, including banking, healthcare, and aerospace. His focus for the last 20 years has been innovation management software and methodologies. Huub joins me today...

Brian Utz is the Director of Product Management at Sopheon. His responsibilities include defining and communicating Sopheon’s core product strategies, encompassing idea generation, setting goals, and marketing and launching products. Before joining Sopheon, Brian was the Director of Digital IT Practice at Highmark Health Solutions and VP of Product Management Consumer Lending at PNC Financial Services. Brian joins me today to discuss product management, goal setting, and what it means to only h...

Daniel Elizalde is a product executive and climate tech product team advisor. He provides support and consultations on the creation of digital solutions that accelerate the energy transition. He specializes in smart grids, energy efficiency, virtual power plants, renewable integration, electric vehicles, and charging infrastructures. Daniel is also the author of The B2B Innovator's Map, [...] The post B2B innovation in energy and climate with Daniel Elizalde appeared first on Sopheon.

Ketan Jahagirdar is Sopheon’s Director of Product Management and has been with the company since December 2021. Before joining Sopheon, Ketan founded ROI Blueprints, which provides cloud-based project management software for various businesses. He has over 25 years of experience in technology strategy, program management, and enterprise architecture. Ketan specializes in telematic solutions, IT strategy, [...] The post The role of project management in innovation with Ketan Jahagirdar appeared ...

Mike Belsito is the Co-founder of Product Collective, an independent online community for product management professionals. The community serves over 40,000 product management professionals in helping each other create the best products for their consumers. Mike has over ten years of experience in various startup companies, having held positions as an employee and executive. Mike is also the host of the Rocketship.FM podcast is a show for entrepreneurs and other tech industry members. Mike join...

Alex Castro is the CEO of M Corp, an IT services and consulting company that partners with businesses to help them achieve long-term modernization through improved data and technology. Alex is driven to bridge the gap between ideas and execution in the modern world, which explains why he took it upon himself to learn and [...] The post Shifting Strategies with Alex Castro appeared first on Sopheon.

Noel Sobelman is a partner at Accel Management Group. Accel Management is a business consulting and services firm that helps high-tech and life sciences companies boost speed to market, increase profitability, and drive costs down. As a partner, Noel works with corporate leaders in growth strategy, portfolio management, and innovation capability building. He has also [...] The post Project governance do’s and don’ts with Noel Sobelman appeared first on Sopheon.