Ep 6: Christina Mathes: Propelling Innovation at Rocket Speed

On this episode we spoke with Christina Mathes, Vice President of Client Experience for Rocket Fiber. Rocket Fiber is Detroit's newest, exciting Gigabit Internet provider serving residents and businesses with 100 times faster Internet speeds.

Christina has a degree in Psychology from the University of Detroit Mercy, but was uncertain what to do with it!  So she started off in a position in mortgage banking at fast-growing Quicken Loans, where her career evolved over the past 15 years. About four years ago she moved to the Mouse Trap team, the “innovation arm” of Quicken Loans. Then she moved this past year to Rocket Fiber.

When Christina first made a move into technology, joining Mouse Trap, she was excited to learn and bring her first-hand business experience to the tech team. She loved being in a setting that supported positive breakthroughs. Mouse Trap helps Quicken Loans with vetting new ideas to propel innovation, in both technology and other aspects of the business. Her team also helped lead “bullet time,” a four hour weekly session on Mondays for technologists to learn new skills or work on new projects.

When one of the co-founders of Rocket Fiber submitted a concept to the idea portal of Mouse Trap to get Google Fiber to Detroit, they explored it. The Mouse Trap team conducted feasibility studies to see if the concept was viable in Detroit. Google wasn’t interested in entering the market, so Rocket Fiber was spun off about a year ago, to make the idea a reality.

Why is Gigabit Internet vital for Detroit? Christina said that it helps both new entrepreneurs and the  growing cadre of second stage companies in Detroit. For her, it is a “no brainer” that faster online connections can significantly help with the city’s growth trajectory! Christina pointed out that everyone has to have Internet these days, and she’s excited to provide a better client service experience for those accessing it. Rocket Fiber plans to use online tools, community events, and more to empower people to use the Internet.

“I’m excited about bringing our customers something they deserve. Folks are pigeon-holed into just a few options, and have poor experiences,” she said.

Bringing 100 times faster speeds will help residents save time, and businesses execute faster. For Christina, she likes to remind others it’s far more about what getting online speedily does for humans, and their endeavors, than just using the technology.

Christina shared some great advice for women entering or staying in technology fields:

• If you want to try something, just try it.

• It can be easy to achieve a good work / life balance if you focus on achieving it.

• Surround yourself with others who share similar interests and challenges.

• Meet everyone you can. Ask others what they’ve done.

• Keep your head up, look around and meet people.

A noteworthy organization that helped Christina was We Build Character --- a program devoted to pairing emerging professionals with top-notch mentors.  WBC helped her meet diverse colleagues, and receive constructive feedback from her mentors and others in the program.

Christina is Vice President of Client Experience at Rocket Fiber :http://www.rocketfiber.com/

Christina mentions and recommends the following technology organizations throughout this episode:

• Quicken Loans: http://www.quickenloans.com/

• We Build Character: http://www.webuildcharacter.org/

• Rocket Fiber: http://www.rocketfiber.com/  

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Ep 5: Rosemary Bayer: GodMother of Good Data

On Episode 5 of the Diva Tech Talk Podcast, we visit with Rosemary Bayer, an engineer by training and a leader by nature.  Rosemary is the co-founder and Chief Inspiration Officer for ardentCause L3C, the first low profit, limited liability company in Michigan, a "for profit company with a non-profit soul." She is also a founder of The Michigan Council of Women In Technology, the premier non-profit association/foundation supporting and inspiring women in technology.

Co-founding ardentCause L3C in 2009, as one of the few women-founded and women-owned technology companies in the Midwest,  Rosemary and her team have exclusively served major nonprofit agencies, funders, and educational groups. ardentCause helps nonprofits measure their impact, utilizing online data solutions to achieve better outcomes, through innovative software for data collection, analysis, visualization and communication of information.   With a background that includes product invention for major computer companies, and leading large business operations,  Rosemary is ardentCause’s primary force behind the invention and implementation of innovative technology solutions to help nonprofits succeed.

Rosemary entered the world of technology in college because she said: “I found it interesting, creative and realized that it changed all the time….and the sector was brand new;  women, at that time, could be a solid 50% of the field!” Years later, she and her partners made a “big leap” into entrepreneurship, after having worked for decades at large companies in the sector in order  to make “giving back” an integral part of their careers. Her partner is our very own Kathleen Norton-Schock.

ardentCause was started to “fix the biggest, baddest problems” that Rosemary and her team could find. Their solutions are focused on the aggregation, analysis and warehousing of data that measure the outcomes and prove the impact that those selfless people working on homelessness, literacy, hunger, mental health, poverty issues etc. are having.  

“What we are turning out to be is a group of innovators:  bringing the use of information to a sector that still doesn’t know how to use it,” Rosemary says. “We’re helping non-profit leaders and staff understand how the use of data can help them make better decisions, and know what’s working and what’s not.”

“To listen to customers, and to hear what they really need is probably the most important skill,” according to Rosemary, for entrepreneurs, leaders, and team members.  As a woman leader, she characterizes her style as one well suited to entrepreneurship.  “It is open, collaborative, consensual.”  However, she also laments that the Midwest does not rival the West Coast in terms of available funding, which is a potential barrier to entrepreneurship.

Rosemary offers four pieces of practical advice to women entering and aspiring to lead in the tech field.  “It is really important to find role models,” she says.  “Develop ‘emotional intelligence’.  You need to be yourself, which means you also need to know yourself.  Oh, and don’t volunteer to make the coffee.”

According to Rosemary, many girls and women don’t enter the computer field because “it is hard for them to see the social value.”  On the other hand, at ardentCause she feels that her team is working for the greater social good every day.  

You can find more about ardentcause at www.ardentcause.com

Learn more about The Michigan Council of Women In Technology: http://www.mcwt.org/

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Ep 4: Fearless Jane Sydlowski: Advice After Two Decades of Tech Success

The Divas from Diva Tech Talk recently interviewed Jane Sydlowski, Founder and CEO of AMI Strategies (www.amistrategies.com). Jane is quite unique. There are a handful of women, who created and continue to lead successful technology companies, thriving over 20 years.  The number of those women becomes minuscule, when you examine tech companies in the Midwest vs. Silicon Valley or Route 128 in Massachusetts.  Jane’s Michigan-based company is exceptional, approaching its 25 year anniversary, having carved out an innovative technology niche, serving clients all over the country.

Jane founded AMI Strategies to help the business community make intelligent decisions when it comes to telecommunications expenditures. One of the company’s breakthrough products, temNOW™, is a cloud-based solution, saving Fortune 1000 companies, and smaller businesses, millions in costs.

Jane says "[her] brain is wired that way", as she refers to her love for math/engineering, her personal mission, and the path she pursued in college. When she was an engineer at a major telecommunications provider, she observed the “fat” in the invoices and network architecture, and knew there was a better way to manage expenses and communications infrastructure.  AMI Strategies was born from Jane’s personal conviction that applying technology and rigorous, honest business practices to that problem would help companies significantly save, succeed and thrive.

Over 24 years,  AMI Strategies (staffed by 60% women), survived two recessions, with 50% of the largest clients filing for bankruptcy at some point in recessionary periods.  “Our labor costs doubled, because clients needed us, but funds coming in were delayed,” Jane says.  Nevertheless, AMI carried on, and Jane attributes that to the fact that she is guided by a higher power.  She also says that many of her life lessons have emanated from what raising her three children has taught her.  Jane’s advice to women leaders is to deploy what she calls her learned “football skills:” be competitive, unemotional, and fearless.Her AMI team is very important to Jane.  “I look for people who are willing to take risks, and move forward with conviction.”   

To lead a company, she shares some pragmatic observations:

·       It is easy to lead in good times.  But make sure you are at peace with your higher calling in life to survive the bad times.  Faith, family and enterprise are the three things that inspire Jane, in exactly that order.

·       When you get bad news, inculcate it for 24 hours.  Then, learn and move on.  No dwelling allowed.

·       Don’t “live in the gap.”  While there will always be someone to whom you can compare yourself, and some other levels of success to which you can aspire, don’t pay attention to any of that. Live for today, knowing that you are exactly where you are supposed to be.  Choose joy.   

When it comes to women pursuing technology careers, Jane also offers some excellent advice:

1. The technology field is filled with men.  Don’t worry about that. Be yourself.

2. Never be defensive.

3. Always be professional.

4. Win on competence.

And, above all, practice fearlessness.

Jane is the Founder of AMI Strategies, a Telecom Expense Solution: http://amistrategies.com/

Jane mentions and recommends the following women in technology organizations throughout this episode:

• Michigan Council for Women in Technology - Women in Technology Organization - http://www.mcwt.org/

• We Build Character - Mentoring Organization - http://www.webuildcharacter.org/

• Midwest Technology Leaders - Technical Leadership Conference - http://mtlevent.com/

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Ep 3: Can a bra save lives? Diva interviews from SXSW

Diva host, Amanda Lewan, attends SXSW to capture exciting interviews with Women in Technology. This podcast features three short diverse discussions with women focused on: Large Scale 3D Printing, The “Internet of Everything” Connected Bra & “Detected the Movie”, and even the new .CLUB domain name extension.

More information on SXSW on twitter @SXSW or online: http://sxsw.com/

Segment 1 - Re 3D Printing with Detroit Native Samantha Snabes

Talk about your rocket scientists! Samantha Snabes was originally from the Detroit metropolitan area and attended the University of Michigan - Dearborn for her undergraduate and MBA degrees. After a successful project with a local company, she got a job at NASA working with people who wanted to make a difference in the world, using technology to do it.

In 2012, Samanta got that “making a difference” opportunity with a project called Startup Chile --- where she was able to work in a community-focused collaborative environment. She created an affordable, toilet-sized 3D printer. Now, her latest project is a large-scale but highly affordable 3D printer.

Check out the 3D Printer and stay connected to RE-3D online http://www.re3d.org/ or on twitter @re_3D

Samantha provides compelling inspiration for women in technology. She says “Follow your dreams and be confident.  Don’t ever underestimate your ability.”

She also adds that “women have a lot of amazing characteristics that lend well to running startups, such as being open minded and collaborative.”

Follow Samantha Snabes on Twitter: @samanthasnabes

Segment 2 - Detected the Movie Sponsored by Cisco - Documentary on the Connected Bra

Mary Bradburne leads social media communication and strategy for technology powerhouse, Cisco, a company that believes that connecting people, process, things, and data will make the world a better place.  Cisco is helping fund a documentary on the use of the “Internet of Everything” to improve the world. In this case, the innovation is the “IT Bra”, an internet-connected bra, capable of detecting early signs of breast cancer.

Amanda attended the screening of a portion of this documentary, and then interviewed Mary.  You can watch the movie trailer here: http://newsroom.cisco.com/feature-content;jsessionid=CAC57CC98C7FE3D13AEE504AF4074C12?type=webcontent&articleId=1611072

The bra is more effective with women who have dense breast tissue and is a much less invasive way to detect early signs of this devastating disease. The trailer gives a sneak peek on designs, challenges, and the journey ahead for this project.  They are awaiting clinical trials and anticipating how this story will unfold, aiming for a Fall time frame for the release of the movie.

While the trailer was revealed at SXSW, the documentary is being created now. Stay tuned to these social media handles.

•Learn more at http://DetectedMovie.com
•Join the conversation using #DetectedMovie
•Twitter: @DetectedMovie
•Facebook: DetectedMovie
•Instagram: DetectedMovie

Mary declares that “Really, really smart people work in tech. That’s what I love about it. Also, it’s fast paced. There is no stagnation in technology. If you like something new and different every single day, work in tech.”

Mary also tells us about other great initiatives supporting women in technology . Cicso has a STEM 2020 initiative to encourage employees to mentor girls in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and also has a current Internet of Things Challenge for young women ages 13 - 18. More information about that is here: http://iotchallenge-cisco.younoodle.com,  and the deadline is May 19 to enter and win big money.

The Internet of Everything will continue to shape lives and businesses in the future.

Stay up to date with Cisco Internet of Everything: @CiscoIoE

Follow Mary Bradburne: @MaryBradburne

Segment 3 - .CLUB Extension Takes Advantage of new extensions

At the SXSW Startup Showcase, Amanda runs into Michele Van Tilborg and learns about the new.club domain name extension. A “cool” way to differentiate your brand .club is the newest of the domain name extensions, and is exactly what it says --- it is for CLUBS, and there are many of them throughout the world, which is great since “club” is a universal term across many languages and countries.

Michele Van Tilborg shares the vision for the new .club domain name. As she describes things, .club is a “generic domain that actually means something.”

Michele has over 6 year experience in the domain space and is taking advantage of nonprofit ICANN opening new domain name opportunities. She finds the domain industry very open and welcoming to women.

She recommends that anyone searching for a new website URL visit ICANN.org to understand the market for domain names. It also helps to understand approved registrars offering names including the .club extension. Her company is a registry that offers a multitude of naming options.

Michele adds that women can benefit from a startup mindset. Don’t be shy or embarrassed. She says to just “get in there and do it. Don’t be afraid.”

More information on the .Club domain available at the company site: www.nic.club

Follow .Club on Twitter: @getDotClub

Michele also can be found on twitter: @VanGoblin

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Ep 2: Monica Wheat: From Helping Tech Tweens to Encouraging Angel Investors

Monica Wheat was once a 12-year girl in Detroit who was outstanding in math and science. She attended the Detroit Area Pre-College Engineering Program (DAPCEP) at the University of Michigan for a chance for her to explore how these strengths could bridge into an engineering career. She found herself ignited from this opportunity and was able to participate in many similar youth engineering programs throughout the United States and abroad.

For more information on DAPCEP visit: www.dapcep.org

She took this encouragement and looked at various Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields as a college major. She ended up at the University of Michigan in the Industrial and Operations Engineering program while she also worked full time in the automotive industry. Her combination of soft skills and engineering strengths led her quickly to management opportunities in corporate America. After some travel and changes in the automotive industry, Monica was presented with an opportunity to work in a more digital, innovative atmosphere.

Since this role change to digital marketing, she has found her passion. She loved hearing about new companies that had incredible value to traditional marketing models. It got her thinking about what she herself could create. In 2006, Monica started working with her sister, Adrian, on the Digerati Girls technology program.

She wanted the chance to do something new everyday. The sisters behind Digerati Girls started in their “secret lab of two” with inspiration from her young niece. They started small at the public library with a grassroot efforts to teach classes on computers and coding geared towards girls. They started officially in 2011 and now they have moved on to partner with school districts and larger corporate programs as they continue to grow. By working directly with the schools, they are able to reach more children with programs for boys and girls, but she really enjoys the confidence these programs give young women.

For More information on the Digerati Girls Program for young girls please visit: www.DigeratiGirls.com

One key function of the Digerati Girls program is to foster careers in digital and digital entrepreneurship. That is why Monica is excited to be the Detroit lead for a new program around investors and entrepreneurs called the Pipeline Fellowship program.

Pipeline Fellowship is a new program for Detroit founded by another female, Natalia Oberti Noguera, in New York. She understood that in the technology venture capitalist space, there were few women and minorities. This can make it hard for women to obtain the start up money they need based on a concept of pattern matching. This idea in the angel investing world means that investors commonly fund people  similar to themselves.  In a world where the National Council for Women in Technology (NCWIT) believes only 15% of women are female in technology careers, this can be a challenge for women entrepreneurs. According to Pipeline Fellows only 19% of US angel investors are women and only 4% are minorities.

The program can help women understand how they can be angel investors and all about the process from start to finish. There are three main criteria to be an accredited investor in this program. First of all, you must have at least 200,000 in income for the last two years or one million in net worth. Then, they want people who are interested in a group model of learning. Lastly, they want people who are looking to invest in a social, collaborative model. As a group, they look for projects with the most social benefits to financially support.

After the program, women are more likely to fund more projects and improve the numbers for women entrepreneurs over time. Some mentioned angel investor programs include Belle Capital Michigan and the Michigan Great Lake Angels. The program is unique because they actually work as a group to invest during the program in addition to the training. The Pipeline Detroit Program kicks off this March with a pitch contest mid-way.

More information on the Pipeline Fellowship Program: http://www.pipelinefellowship.com/ Link to Belle Michigan: http://michbelles.com/

To follow Monica Wheat: @digerati14

Lessons Learned:

• It is never too early to start encouraging young women in STEM fields. Monica and her niece both started at young ages.

• There are programs like Digerati Girls, DAPCEP, and many more that can help supplement traditional school curriculum with technology-oriented learning programs

• You can shift from automotive to consumer tech here in Detroit

• Don’t be afraid to share your idea and get started on a business while working full time.

• Women entrepreneurs are suffering from “pattern matching,” a lack of access to funding

• The Pipeline Fellows training program for women helps you make your first real investment with support and training

• There are other resources for women interested in technology investing, too

• There is a need to change the mindset of investing in technology

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