SALES FREAK, CEO, ADDICT & AUTHOR: A TALK WITH MICHAEL DASH

Michael Dash is a sales freak. While attending University of Maryland, Michael sold home improvement services door-to-door on the mean streets of Baltimore and Washington D.C. He is a successful entrepreneur/CEO who moved to Utah where he knew only one person and started Parallel HR Solutions, a company that “pairs individuals and companies that together produce prosperous relationships” that he sold in 2018. Michael sold his thriving company because he believed in F.A.T.E. (“From Addict to Entrepreneur”) more. Now his life mission is to inspire others to see new opportunities and make the world a better place! (see thriveglobal.com) We hope you enjoy this Influence podcast!

“The truth is, we almost didn’t make it.” – Podcast insights from Aaron Suzuki, Founder & CEO of Prowess Consulting and SmartDeploy

At the age of 26, Aaron Suzuki found himself growing a regional Internet application development firm in Utah in the ashes of the dotcom bubble. By 2003, Aaron had moved to Seattle and co-founded Prowess Consulting, a dynamic moshpit of software engineers, web developers, writers and graphic designers that help major tech companies sell more. But Aaron wanted more.

He started a second company “from scratch”, SmartDeploy, in 2009 because he wanted to build the only product that could easily deploy thousands of Windows-compatible devices from the cloud. Now Prowess is growing rapidly. And SmartDeploy has thousands of customers and millions of endpoints around the world.

Both companies were started without the help of venture capitalists or private equity firms. But things didn’t always go so well. They got cocky. Things got hard. They weren’t making enough money to keep going. And they had small teams trying to do big things. But they held on, listened to their customers, and learned so much. We hope you enjoy this podcast and Aaron’s passion to “deliver exactly what our clients want!”

Blake Modersitski has an exceptional track record as a software-focused investor that backs great entrepreneurs then helps them achieve extraordinary results. He is also a great human being!

Over his 17 years at Pelion Venture Partners, Blake has had a string of top-20 venture hits with remarkable companies: Redhat, Riverbed, Fusion.io, Integral Ad Science, DOMO, enCommerce, Soasta, Metacloud, and others.

Q: How can that many great companies that are being chased by so many VC’s, chose to work with Blake?

A: It’s rare to find someone so successful yet humble, so analytical yet thoughtfully tuned-in! Great software entrepreneurs want to have Blake’s one-of-a-kind perspective as a VC, software guru, sales & marketing expert, and trusted friend and mentor!

I have had my own brief moments of awe and appreciation with Blake Modersitski. I hope you enjoy this podcast!

JD Machine’s Pleasant View office looks like an upscale engineering or architectural firm. It also looks and feels like a one of the most progressive and automated machine shops in the United States. It’s very clean, very cutting edge and enjoys rave reviews from employees on Glassdoor (4.7 out of 5).

In 1979 a master machinist named Don Wardle moved to back to Utah from California and settled in Ogden with his growing family. He was 50 years old and couldn’t find a job, so he started his own company, JD Machine. In 1992 the company employed a dozen employees when Don’s son, Matt Wardle, became the President and CEO.

This Influence podcast with Matt Wardle is both subtle and powerful. It’s subtle because Matt Wardle is an understated man who is quick to recognize his employees for the successes enjoyed at JD Machine. It’s powerful because Matt is responsible for JD Machine’s explosive growth, now 200 employees, and exceptional clients that are household names: Boeing, Parker Hannifin Corporation, and Northrop Grumman.

For nearly 25 years, Matt has transformed a very traditional company into a nationally recognized market leader. He finds real meaning from providing hundreds of paid internships, “removing gender barriers”, and providing six-figure incomes without sacrificing JD Machine’s unique “family vibe.” We hope you enjoy our podcast with Matt Wardle, a truly exceptional leader!