Hello Blink Show
Shawn Hymel and Harris Kenny
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Top 10 Hello Blink Show Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Hello Blink Show episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Hello Blink Show for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Hello Blink Show episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
05/25/20 • 52 min
Building the Black Tech Pipeline Community with Pariss Athena
Hello Blink Show
08/24/20 • 30 min
Overview
Pariss Athena is the creator of the #BlackTechTwitter community and founder of Black Tech Pipeline, which helps connect Black technologists with companies looking for employees. She shares her story of growing and managing an online community and how she is turning that into a business.
Pariss also provides some great tips on steps companies can take to diversify their applicant pool when hiring engineers and developers.
One Powerful Quotation
- 26:00 – Pariss: “If I’m unsure about something, [I] don’t agree to it. Tell people you’ll think about it and get back to them. If you don’t want to do it, don’t do it. You don’t have to feel pressured to do things you’re not ready for.”
Key Topics
- 0:40 - Pariss talks about launching Black Tech Pipeline, which grew out of the #BlackTechTwitter community and serves to open more opportunities for Black technologists. The site offers a job board for applicants as well as profiles for companies to be more transparent about their commitment to diversity and inclusion.
- 3:37 - Haris asks Pariss how she keeps her platform to be centered on the job candidate.
- 5:40 - Pariss talks about how she’s working with others to build out the website.
- 8:00 - Haris and Shawn commend Pariss on her social media presence and ask how she keeps an authentic voice on Twitter.
- 9:10 - Shawn asks Pariss about what skills prepared her to launch Black Tech Pipeline. Pariss gives great advice on learning how to say “no.”
- 10:54 - Pariss talks about how interactions with people changed as her Twitter following grew.
- 14:17 - Haris asks Pariss which platforms she used to grow her following. She says that Twitter was her main platform and she got lucky with the timing of the #BlackTechTwitter movement.
- 16:59 - Shawn asks Pariss what companies, especially tech startups, can do to make sure diversity and inclusion are baked into their founding. Pariss recommends that companies engage with various online communities, such as the #BlackTechTwitter community, to build relationships with more diverse groups of potential employees.
- 19:58 - Pariss, Shawn, and Haris talk about how a more diverse design team can create better products. Haris mentions that engineers and companies should reach out to diverse groups of people to test their products.
- 27:10 - Shawn asks Pariss about which other social platforms she uses to manage her community.
- 29:09 - Pariss and Haris talk about their experiences using Basecamp to manage projects..
List of Resources
Black Tech Pipeline
Black Tech Twitter
Guest Information
Creator of #BlackTechTwitter and Founder of Black Tech Pipeline.
Host Contact Information
shawnhymel.com
kennyconsultinggroup.com
LinkedIn - Shawn Hymel
LinkedIn - Harris Kenny
Twitter - Shawn Hymel
Twitter - Harris Kenny
License Information
“Hello Blink Show” by Kenny Consulting Group, LLC and Skal Risa, LLC is licensed under CC BY 4.0
Intro and outro song is “Routine” by Amine Maxwell is licensed under CC BY 3.0
Special Guest: Pariss Athena.
How to Run a Hardware Business as an Expat with Sean Hadley
Hello Blink Show
03/08/21 • 35 min
Description
Sean gives his reasons for moving to New Zealand and starting his company, MagicDAQ. He was inspired to create the MagicDAQ after working for companies where many hours of labor were spent on manual testing. The MagicDAQ automates the testing and data acquisition process by allowing users to script the process with Python.
Sean had success making early sales by cold-calling potential customers on LinkedIn. Specifically, he sought out junior to medium-level design engineers to contact. After selling the first few, he talked to other hardware entrepreneurs to learn how to scale. Specifically, he had success sending free samples to influencers and periodicals, like the Embedded Muse.
The MagicDAQ relies on Python for scripting, and Sean chose that language to make it easier to use.
Harris asks Sean about distribution back into the United States, which is one of Sean’s target markets. Sean says that it’s been pretty simple to sell back into the United States, which involves some extra paperwork. Harris talks about what is required to have the “Made in the USA” label.
Sean discusses what the startup and electronics community looks like in Christchurch, New Zealand. He mentions that the community is small but friendly and collaborative.
Sean talks about pricing his product. Specifically, he mentions that many companies have a threshold of $500-$1000 when it comes to purchasing equipment. Anything above that threshold often requires lots of approvals from management. So, Sean prices his product under that amount to make it easier for his B2B customers to buy.
Being listed with recognized distributors, such as Digi-Key, works as social proof according to Sean. He mentions that sells more directly, but being listed on distributors helps with brand recognition.
Sponsor
We want to thank Cyber City Circuits for sponsoring this episode! Cyber City Circuits is an electronics shop and contract manufacturer based in Augusta, GA. Use the coupon code HELLOBLINKSHOW to receive 10% off your order of electronics or mention that you heard about them on the Hello Blink Show for a 25% discount on the assembly costs of manufacturing.
List of Resources
Newsletter - The Embedded Muse
Guest Information
Sean Hadley is a New Zealand based entrepreneur and design engineer. He has extensive experience in the medical device industry and has launched products in the US, NZ, and the UK. He is the founder of MagicDAQ, a firm that offers radically simple testing solutions for hardware engineers.
Guest Contact Information
Host Contact Information
License Information
“Hello Blink Show” by Kenny Consulting Group, LLC and Skal Risa, LLC is licensed under CC BY 4.0
Intro and outro song is “Routine” by Amine Maxwell is licensed under CC BY 3.0
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FAQ
How many episodes does Hello Blink Show have?
Hello Blink Show currently has 61 episodes available.
What topics does Hello Blink Show cover?
The podcast is about Open Source, Entrepreneurship, Podcasts, Technology and Business.
What is the most popular episode on Hello Blink Show?
The episode title 'Episode 13: On Invention with Anton Howes' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Hello Blink Show?
The average episode length on Hello Blink Show is 52 minutes.
How often are episodes of Hello Blink Show released?
Episodes of Hello Blink Show are typically released every 13 days, 17 hours.
When was the first episode of Hello Blink Show?
The first episode of Hello Blink Show was released on Feb 14, 2020.
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