In this episode of Pass the Secret Sauce, I had a great conversation with Shana Cosgrove, a very impressive woman and entrepreneur. She is a 2-time Tech CEO, founder/owner of Nyla Technology Solutions and managing partner of digital marketing firm, VitalUp Marketing.
Shana has a strong understanding of a broad range of techniques and technologies to develop software-intensive systems, particularly in a big data, cloud-based architecture.
She is also a Podcast Host of The Outspoken Podcast — a show that talks about the intersection of technology, money, business, passion and more.
In this episode we discuss:
- Her innate skill of leading people at an early age [3:45]
- Academic overview and working as a software engineer in Northern Virginia [5:40]
- The story behind the “dumb luck” she had when she got into her initial company [8:15]
- Hurdles she met when she started her own company [10:28]
- Identifying, attracting, retaining extremely qualified talents for her company [12:50]
- Growing her online presence on LinkedIn to attract talents and audience [13:55]
- Setting up here 2nd business doing digital marketing [14:45]
- Tips on how to improve online presence to grow audience [16:35]
- How long it took her to transition into her own business [18:00]
- Learning curves and her stumbling blocks as an entrepreneur [19:35]
- Working for government contracts and other big clients [23:47]
- Interesting projects they’ve worked on [26:25]
- Her insights of where AI may take people in the future [27:20]
- Why people are staying away from the skynet level of tech and AI [30:25]
- Negative impacts of using digital stuff and services [34:13]
- Industries she wants to provide their services, ways to connect with them [35:30]
In our industry, the hardest part is talent. Finding American engineering talent that’s qualified and then willing to take a chance on one-person company or a two-person company. Since our business is based on people, yes, we are providing service but that service is completely entirely dependent on people. I had to focus almost entirely on how do I attract and retain talent. How do I identify, attract and retain extremely qualified unicorns. How do I create a unicorn farm and keep them happy. – Shana Cosgrove
The more I get technical, the less the people are into it. The more I celebrate humans or other people, the more positive feedback I get. – Shana Cosgrove
Links to sources and tools:
- Listen to Shana’s The Outspoken Podcast
- Connect with her on LinkedIn
- Visit their website
Other Pass the Secret Sauce episodes:
- How to Automate Your Affiliate Marketing Program and Online Business with Mark Thompson
- Bringing Tech Ideas To Life Through Digital Products with Mike Reynolds
- How to Invest in relationships & create value as a marketer with Josh Elledge
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