Just like all other sectors, the Humanitarian Sector is ripe for digital transformation. We are already seeing some of the first steps occur, but sadly most of the innovative efforts never go beyond the pilot stage, resulting in what I have chosen to call pilotitis. If you would ask some of the technology people within…
Solitude is always good for reflection and for the last couple of weeks I have thought much about the importance of passion in everything we do. I have been lucky enough to have great discussions with my own kids about their future direction and to meet young passionate people who are going after what they…
Gisli Olafsson (standing to right) is a Humanitarian Advisor at NetHope and has been responding to disasters for the past 25 years. He is the main designer behind the NetHope Disaster Preparedness Training simulation held in Panama July 18-28. Below is an interview where he explains his process for designing the simulation and the expectations and goals…
When people think about technology hotspots, places like Silicon Valley or Stockholm come to mind, but few people are familiar with Nairobi, Kenya, the hotspot of technology in Africa. Over the past decade it has flourished, fueled by explosive growth in mobile phone ownership and improvements in connectivity. A decade ago, the rise of the…
Within the technology industry, the term “eating your own dogfood” has been widely used to describe the practice of using and demonstrating the confidence in a product by giving it real-world usage within your own company. As a technology focused investment bank, we firmly believe that technology is transforming multiple sectors, enabling new business models,…
In my last post I discussed how we at Beringer Finance are leveraging technology to help disrupting the investment banking industry. Yet disruptive transformations do not happen overnight. Establishing momentum is an important element of any successful change journey, but it is particularly critical when tackling disruptive transformation. It is critical to use the journey as an opportunity to…
I have in the past written about value focused selling and selling technology, but this time I want to discuss the importance of truly understanding your customer. Sadly too many sales people don’t invest enough time in gaining a deep understanding of their (potential) customers. In order to truly sell to a customer you must understand what problems…
This coming week I am fortunate enough to have been invited to attend the Social Innovation Summit West 2016, which is held here in Silicon Valley. The theme of this year’s summit is Business Innovation meets Social Transformation. Personally, I am a firm believer that the only way we can transform society is through innovation. Given my 30+…
Earlier this summer we at Beringer Finance hosted a conference that took place at Iceland’s most beautiful fly fishing river, Norðurá. We had a number of entrepreneurs, investors, and venture capitalists attend this 3 day unique experience. Beside trying to catch the elusive Atlantic salmon, the participants used the time to discuss various aspects of the startup and venture…
My career got a lot more interesting when I stopped needing to be the expert and instead was willing to be confused, asking questions and openly eager to learn more. Reading the above status on Facebook from my friend David Weekly was a stark reminder of the most valuable lesson I learned during my ten years at…