Is your to-do list prioritized? Or is it procrastinated? Is there something on there you know you should be doing, but you've let it go on so long that it seems insurmountable? (Hello, mountainous pile of clean, unfolded laundry, I see you!) Have you ever found yourself watching B-list stars on Bravo and wondering just how expensive a personal assistant would actually be?
Read moreEVENTful | Switchyards: The Consumer Show #5
The Consumer Show. Which may or may not start at 7:03, 7:00 or 7:10 p.m. Eh, somewhere in there. Don't be late! PHOTO: Jason Seagle
I've been talking about packed houses for months now at each Consumer Show, but it turns out I was underestimating what that actually means. Last Thursday, the ATL startup crowd exceeded even my expectations and sold out the fifth Consumer Show — and, in fact, sold it out more than once, as organizers Michael Tavani and Dave Payne raised the seat limit several times to accommodate the companies actually pitching. (Who, you know, kind of needed to be there.) Not to mention some very quiet appearances by some very heavy hitters on the ATL founder and venture capital scene.
Read moreSix types of people you encounter on the Atlanta BeltLine
The Eastside Trail, one of the first finished sections on the old rail corridor, connects Piedmont Park to Inman Park and Old Fourth Ward. And it has become especially popular. Really, really popular.
To the point where, sometimes, it feels like half the city is walking, biking, skating or jogging from the park to Ponce City Market. I live in Midtown, so I use the BeltLine a fair amount, and recently I've begun to realize that these hordes of people, while overwhelming en masse, actually fall into several clearly defined categories.
Read moreEVENTful | Switchyards: The Consumer Show #4
The Consumer Show. Always a major event, always the first Thursday of the month. PHOTO: Bhargava Chiluveru of Chil Creative
Nothing makes me happier than seeing startups really nail their pitches. And last week, I got to see three companies I already follow take their pitch game to a whole new level, and discover two new (to me!) companies bring it like they were born to it. Switchyard's monthly Consumer Show: Giving you the chance to confirm and discover which ATL-based B2C startups to keep an eye on since ... okay, March 2016, but every good thing started somewhere.
Read moreThings I've learned in the first 30 days of a Product role
What do you do when you start a new role? You read. A lot. Blog posts, Medium, books, you name it. Learn from others' mistakes and successes.
Just over a month ago, I moved from a Client Success position to the Product department at SalesLoft. Even with a solid background in supporting our application, working directly with our customers, and decent writing and technical skills, it's still been a really steep learning curve (and I truly don't know how people successfully make this leap if it includes a whole new company and product). So, of course, I thought I'd document this journey, all of the ups and downs and what-the-heck moments, and share it with the world. Maybe it'll help someone else. It'll certainly be good for a laugh later, when I'm a grizzled veteran of The Product World.
Read moreEVENTful | Product Chiefs: How to Make It in Atlanta
"Product Chiefs" panel featuring Chidi Afulezi, co-founder of aKoma; Melissa Proctor, Atlanta Hawks CMO; and Junior Gaspard, SVP- Product, Sales & Marketing at Experience, with an introduction by Amelia Davis, Local Marketing Producer at General Assembly. (And a window glare because I am clearly not a professional photographer. #knowyourstrengths)
We're halfway through Atlanta Startup Week, "a new type of conference that builds momentum and opportunity around entrepreneurship," and it's been a really interesting mix of events, locations and topics so far. One of my favorites was a Tuesday morning panel at General Assembly, titled "Product Chiefs: How to Make It in Atlanta."
If you follow me on social media, you may have noticed that I've recently changed roles atSalesLoft and moved from Client Success to Product. As a blog reader, you probably have noticed how I love networking, learning new things, research and startups (not necessarily in that order). So when an event checked every one of those boxes, you know I signed up immediately.
Read moreEVENTful | Switchyards: The Consumer Show #3
The Consumer Show + Tacos. Because, Cinco de Mayo, of course. PHOTO: Bhargava Chiluveru of Chil Creative
Somehow we're already in May (I don't know about you, but my April was merely a blur of Yellow Pollen Hell), which means we're also already up to round three of The Consumer Show (hooray!).
Not to be deterred by the fact that the first Thursday of this month also happened to be Cinco de Mayo, the Switchyards team looped in the Tex's Tacos food truck to provide appropriately themed fare. Event planners take note: Tacos and beer are a great way to loosen up a crowd.
Read more"You’re the guy on the side of the road making bears out of logs," & 13 other words of wisdom on brand from Mason Poe
Edgar Allen Creative Director Mason Poe kicked off last night's Friends of Switchyards roundtable discussion on brand with the eminently quotable line from the picture above. (Yes, the lines only got better from there. No, most of us will never be as good with the pearls of wisdom as Mason is. I'm lucky to get even one good line out, let's be honest.)
So take some notes and make some plans — from brand "sculpting" to creating your club, here are 14 memorable, actionable words of wisdom from Mason:
Read moreEVENTful | Switchyards: The Consumer Show #2
Michael Tavani kicks off the April Consumer Show at Switchyards with some housekeeping items. (In case you were wondering, yes, we can hear you when you talk in the bathrooms.)
Proving that once was not just luck, the second Consumer Show at Switchyards yet again drew a hefty crowd and five top-notch startups to pitch. As Michael Tavani (apparently frequently) says, Switchyards is focused on getting the best ingredients to galvanize the B2C scene, and that was more than evidenced by the turnout last Thursday night. From Kanye walk-on music (don't worry, they stopped before it — allegedly — got "dirty" at the one-minute-mark) to live demos of body wipes (yeah ... that is exactly what it sounds like), the presenters engaged the audience and dug deep to answer tough audience questions. (No, but seriously, I think there was an investor plant this time. She asked some hard questions!)
Read moreLet's Split: Spend Time Dining, Not Paying
The other night, I was at a local restaurant for Tuesday night trivia with a bunch of friends. We wrapped up the game and began the lengthy process of splitting up a tableful of orders by scribbling who had what on the back of the bill, and referencing which credit card or chunk of cash matched it. My friend Marie (the resident math whiz) ran through the totals to ensure we'd gotten all the line items and covered the tip. Then we had to wait while the staff, slammed with a roomful of people all tabbing out at the same time, tried to make sense of the scribblings and finally handed out a round of individual checks for signatures or change.
As we waited for the 20 extra minutes this process demanded, I just kept thinking, "There has got to be a better way!"
Turns out, there is.
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