small and medium-sized businesses

Mariana Padilla is the Co-founder and CEO of KiKrr, the industry's first Software Democratization™ Platform that brings together highly qualified buyers and software vendors - into one easy to use Demos on Demand™ Cybersecurity platform. In this episode Mariana and KJ discuss the need for a human-centered approach in the cybersecurity industry and the challenges faced by small businesses in accessing cybersecurity tools. 

Key Takeaways:

• Common misconceptions about the cybersecurity for small businesses
• How to activate security settings on popular platforms like Google and Microsoft
• Why small businesses are at risk of cyber attacks
• How businesses can shift their focus to cybersecurity effectively in 2024

Quote of the Show (12:00):

"You are a target, everyone is a target. It does not matter the size of your business. You are a target." – Mariana Padilla

Join our Anti-PR newsletter where we’re keeping a watchful and clever eye on PR trends, PR fails, and interesting news in tech so you don't have to. You're welcome.

Want PR that actually matters? Get 30 minutes of expert advice in a fast-paced, zero-nonsense session from Karla Jo Helms, a veteran Crisis PR and Anti-PR Strategist who knows how to tell your story in the best possible light and get the exposure you need to disrupt your industry. Click here to book your call: https://info.jotopr.com/free-anti-pr-eval

Ways to connect with Mariana Padilla:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heretoshakeshitup/

Company LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kikrr/
Company Website:  https://kikrr.io/

How to get more Disruption/Interruption: 

Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/eccda84d-4d5b-4c52-ba54-7fd8af3cbe87/disruption-interruption

Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/disruption-interruption/id1581985755

Google Play - https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cub21ueWNvbnRlbnQuY29tL2QvcGxheWxpc3QvODE5NjRmY2EtYTQ5OC00NTAyLThjZjktYWI3YzAwMmRiZTM2LzNiZTZiNzJhLWEzODItNDhhNS04MDc5LWFmYTAwMTI2M2FiNi9kZDYzMGE4Mi04ZGI4LTQyMGUtOGNmYi1hZmEwMDEyNjNhZDkvcG9kY2FzdC5yc3M=

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6yGSwcSp8J354awJkCmJlD

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this engaging and informative podcast, hosts Mike Pattengale and Jennifer Jones chat with Alex Frommeyer, the co-founder and CEO of Beam Benefits. Alex shares his journey from being an engineer to founding Beam, a digitally native employee benefits company that's transforming dental insurance and more.

Key takeaways:

1. Digitally Native Benefits: Beam's success lies in being a native digital company, leveraging AI-powered underwriting and a wellness program to offer flexible and innovative benefits for small and medium-sized businesses. This digital approach differentiates Beam from traditional insurers and creates a memorable experience for employees.
2. Dental Wellness Program: Beam's unique dental wellness program gamifies dental care, allowing users to accumulate points by brushing their teeth with the connected Beam toothbrush. These points can be redeemed for various products and gift cards, promoting better dental health while engaging users passively.
3. The Future of Employee Benefits: Alex envisions a more integrated and comprehensive approach to employee benefits, where data-driven solutions unify various health-related coverages and experiences. He believes tech and entrepreneurial innovation will be the driving force behind this future.

The next time you brush your teeth, remember that you can make dental health more fun and rewarding with Beam!

Catch the full conversation.

• Connect with Alex Frommeyer on LinkedIn
• Visit Beam Benefits' website
• Connect with our co-hosts Jennifer Jones and Mike Pattengale 

Subscribe so you don’t miss an episode: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other popular podcast players. 

Have feedback, questions, or suggestions for show ideas? Send them to us at podcast@springbuk.com.

Please rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform, and share it with your friends and colleagues. We appreciate you and thank you for listening!

Produced by David Pittman

Theme music: "Overboard" by Stay Outside

This episode features an interview with John Kirk, President & CEO of the Retail Solutions Providers Association, or RSPA. As the head of North America’s largest community of VARs, software developers, and vendors in the retail, restaurant, and grocery verticals, John oversees a member network whose mission is to accelerate growth through connections and education. 

On this episode, John discusses retail IT innovation in the SMB space, how VARs can help to optimize supply-chain, and what to expect at the upcoming RetailNOW2021 conference.

3 Takeaways:

• Omnichannel means more conduits to the cash drawer, and with that comes a greater challenge to deliver high-level customer experiences across all channels.
• By providing the right training and technological solutions, value-added resellers (VARs) can help small and medium-sized businesses bridge the gap between overwhelming demand and supply-chain inefficiencies.
• Unable to attend RSPA’s flagship conference, RetailNOW2021? Winning Retail will be there to cover the latest in emerging markets, NextGen technologies, sales and sales management, cybersecurity, leadership training, and customer service.

Key Quotes: 

• “You’ve got to mobilize your operation if you’re going to take mobile orders, and we’ve got to help. We can’t just identify the problem as the RSPA - we’ve got to attack that problem full speed ahead.”
• “Oftentimes when we talk about technologies and innovation, we forget about the ABCs, and you've got to have a secure environment.”
• “If I'm a VAR, I've got to have the right alliances with the right vendors, and they've got to have the right solutions. Then we can turn a problem that our operators are facing into a great opportunity for us to transform our business.”

—

This podcast is presented by Dell Technologies and Intel. Together they help you realize digital transformation across retail by driving IT innovation to better engage with today’s connected consumer. Learn more at DellTechnologies.com/retail and Intel.com/retail.