32 - Identifying & Protecting your Intellectual Property

01/20/21 • 29 min

Our guest for this #PoisedforExit episode is Steve Baird; shareholder and practice area leader for his Intellectual Property team in the Minneapolis office of global firm Greenberg Traurig. Steve's interest in the law did not follow a straight line. Being from a family of educators (his parents and siblings are all teachers of some kind) he naturally gravitated toward wanting to educate people, just not as a teacher.

He spent some time in college in a Pharmacist program and through that experience met several patent attorneys. It was then that his path to practicing law began, with a strong interest in IP.

Fast forward, Steve is a prominent leader in his department and specializes in Trademark Law and Brand protection for privately held companies. He enjoys the value he brings as a trusted legal adviser to his client relationships and uses his love for education in teaching them what, why, and how to protect their brand assets. His thought leadership and expertise are well received in his department and by his colleagues and associates. Being the recipient of many types of awards, you'd think he'd have an ego problem, but not this guy. He's as humble as they get.

His award winning "Duets Blog" boasts 900 posts over the past 12 years! He's interviewed some pretty famous thought leaders, like Seth Godin, who's also been a guest blogger for them! Steve says his guiding principles as a trademark expert and leader of his team are to help his clients understand what they need and why, without demeaning legal jargon that can drive distance between attorney and client. He also believes that creative problem solving works a lot better with creative people than forcing a remedy that no one likes or wants. You can learn more about protecting your IP by listening to this episode now.
Find Steve here: https://www.gtlaw.com/en/professionals/b/baird-stephen-r
Find Julie here: https://www.poisedforexit.com/
Thank you to our Sponsors Sunbelt Business Advisors and JAK, CPA.

Connect with Julie Keyes, Keyestrategies LLC
Founder, Consultant, Author, Pod-caster and Instructor

He spent some time in college in a Pharmacist program and through that experience met several patent attorneys. It was then that his path to practicing law began, with a strong interest in IP.

Connect with Julie Keyes, Keyestrategies LLC
Founder, Consultant, Author, Pod-caster and Instructor

Previous Episode

31 - From being "Everything to Everybody" to "Something for Somebody"

This episode features Darin Lynch, a well known and respected digital marketing expert, who is the Founder and "Chief Liberation Officer" of Irish Titan.

Darin came from a hardworking start as an Iowa farm boy. His dream of owning his own business as a boy, with its own Bat Pole, came true! Along his career journey he spent time in the IT departments and Ecommerce departments of various publicly held companies, when one day, he decided it was time to see what he could do on his own. Irish Titan was born.

You guessed it, Darin is Irish and his company branding definitely illustrates that, in addition to the company culture. "Titans" is a nickname he calls his team members and he's passionate about making sure each candidate knows what they're getting into at Irish Titan; as Darin calls it they 'self select'.

He discovered the importance of determining his company "why" when meeting Simon Sinek. Of all people, one of my favorite thought leaders! Darin determined "Business First, Online Second" was the "why" for Irish Titan. The rest of the plan took hold from there.

Darin's got big plans for Irish Titan, including future acquisitions, additional locations, and lots of shenanigans along the way. His leadership and vision have produced a business model of success that's truly one he curated himself; no cookie cutter here. For more on my intriguing interview with Darin Lynch, listen to the episode now!

Find Darin here: https://irishtitan.com/company/team/darin-lynch
Find Julie here: https://poisedforexit.com
Thank you to our Sponsors:
Sunbelt Business Advisors and JAK CPA's

Connect with Julie Keyes, Keyestrategies LLC
Founder, Consultant, Author, Pod-caster and Instructor

Next Episode

33 - Entrepreneurs: How to Make 2021 A Strong Year!

Our episode today featured the President of Village Bank, Aleesha Webb. Aleesha is a Second Generation successor to the bank, started by her father, Don 28 years ago. Growing up, Don was involved in several entities and Aleesha learned a lot about entrepreneurship at an early age, which propelled her to continue in that direction herself.

Village Bank has learned to compete with larger banks through their focus on building strong relationships with their customers and offering automation and technology that rivals some of what their larger counterparts are doing. This not only frees up time for the business owner customer, but also for the banker, so they can be about helping the owners think outside the box and grow their business. Village Bank "Villagers" believe in being the partner business owners need to help weigh important decisions in the company's growth and life cycle. This in turn positively impacts the communities where they do business, both for the bank and for the customer.

The Village Bank Culture has been one forged over time, lead by its President, Aleesha Webb. Her enthusiasm for growth and improvement of The Village is very evident and inspiring.

We spent some time talking about SBA financing, which you will want to hear. Listen to the episode now!
Find Aleesha Here: https://www.villagebankonline.bank/CustomContent.aspx?Name=AWebb%20Bio
Find Julie Here: https://www.poisedforexit.com/podcast
Thank you to our Sponsors!
Sunbelt Business Advisors and JAK + Co.

Connect with Julie Keyes, Keyestrategies LLC
Founder, Consultant, Author, Pod-caster and Instructor