Episodit
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Our guest today says sales is all about helping buyers make informed purchase decisions and giving them the information they need. But there is so much more nuance behind that simple definition, and what goes on in the day to day of a salesperson.
So we are thrilled to be discussing applicable lessons from sales that can be useful for any professional with Brian Higgins, a Teaching Assistant Professional at Leeds Business and sales and business development executive.
Brian joins host Amanda Kramer to talk about misperceptions many have about working in sales, the art of a good conversation, surprising skills taught in sales courses at Leeds, and the unique mentorship opportunities available here.
If you are interested in becoming a mentor for sales students at Leeds, and have 5 years experience employing a sales process with good results, we would love to have you reach out! You can email Brian directly at [email protected] to learn more.
Leeds Business Insights Podcast is a production of Leeds School of Business and is produced by University FM.
EPISODE QUOTES:
The illusion of good and bad personalities
[00:10:02] You know what's interesting is that we suffer from this illusion that we have good personalities and bad personalities. There really is no such thing as a good personality and a bad personality. It's that I have a certain kind of personality, and you have a certain kind of personality. And if we're going to get along, we're probably going to need to flex a little bit so that, you know, we can come together in the middle.
The value of building relationship in sales
[00:02:54] I think what's important is that people understand that no matter how well you communicate, if you don't have the ability to develop some relationship with a person or the people you're selling to, your ability to communicate is not going to be very valuable.
On understanding how to sell
[00:08:12] Even though you may not be employed to sell, understanding how to sell and understanding what's important in order to sell yourself or your ideas can be very, very helpful in your life.
Questions are powerful
[00:14:54] Questions are so powerful. The ability to ask questions that are purposeful and meaningful puts the focus on the other person. It's not about us. It's more about you. Tell me about this. Tell me about that. So the ability to ask questions in a conversation is incredibly powerful.
SHOW LINKS:
Brian Higgins Faculty Profile at the Leeds School of Business
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Brock Weatherup is a Leeds alumnus and consumer growth board executive, three-time Exit Startup CEO founder, multi-billion dollar C-suite leader, an active early-stage investor.
He was a dedicated startup guy, who went from churning out successful businesses in the pet food & wellness industry, to receiving a diagnosis that changed the entire course of his life.
In this episode, he sits down with host Amanda Kramer to discuss his accomplishments, reflect on getting diagnosed with multiple sclerosis just 18 months ago, finding comfort in risk, and diving into opportunities even if you don't feel 100% prepared.
Leeds Business Insights Podcast is a production of Leeds School of Business and is produced by University FM.
EPISODE QUOTES:
Take the risk and embrace the knowledge that comes with it
[00:25:24] If you don't take risks and don't take stride, you don't know what will happen in life. And it doesn't have to be necessarily a medical thing, but all those other things—how are you going to end up and what are you going to do with it? And the reality is: take the risk and embrace the knowledge that comes with it.
How do you build your comfort with risk and live with a risk forward mentality?
[00:13:06] If you have that personal infrastructure and the intentionality in your life, those two things allow you to find success if you're willing to be open for it. But you have to be ready to go do that and know that, hey, things fail all along the way. Okay. How are you going to get out of it?
On finding the right support system
[00:10:56] Find the people that are supportive, and by supportive, it doesn't mean people who are like, "Yay! You're the best Brock." It doesn't mean that it's the people who are truly there for you and care about you genuinely.
SHOW LINKS:
Brock Weatherup on LinkedIn
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So much of our free time is consumed with posting on social media, sharing our day to day lives and crafting a personal narrative or brand online. But how is the effecting our day to day lives, and is it effecting our possibility to truly live in and experience the moments were in?
Today we are discussing the intersection between technology and consumer experiences with Alexandra Barasch, an associate professor at the Leeds School of Business.
She sits down with host Amanda Kramer to talk all about what makes customers enjoy their experiences, how companies can then create experiences that make consumers more immersed or more engaged in the moment, the pros & cons of 5G and more immersive content, as well as posting posed vs candid photos.
Leeds Business Insights Podcast is a production of Leeds School of Business and is produced by University FM.
EPISODE QUOTES:
Authenticity is always the winning strategy
[00:27:30] Authenticity, in my view, is always going to be a winning strategy. How to do that is changing. How to signal that you care about that depends on the segment, it depends on the technology, but it's always going to be what people care about.
How do you find the most genuine content?
[00:19:25] You want to let consumers speak for you. In order to do that, you have to be able to let go. You have to be able to not have full control over your content, and that is how you get the most genuine, authentic content that consumers are sharing and really believe in the product and the brand, and other consumers can judge that very well.
Reducing frictions leads to better conversions
[00:16:46] Reducing friction is only good when consumers are ready to process it, ready to act, and this is going to also lead to better tracking of conversions, better data and metrics, and analytics as well.
You can't compare one social media or type of technology to another.
[00:18:18] There's no one social media or type of technology that's better or worse than the others. It's about the selection effects, where certain types of consumers—younger consumers and consumers that are more technologically savvy—are able to embrace and engage with more varied and diverse formats and more interactive content.
SHOW LINKS:
Alixandra Barasch Faculty Profile at Leeds School of Business
Alixandra Barasch - Google Scholar
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In this episode, we are discussing innovation and inclusivity in entrepreneurship with Ethan Poskanzer.
Ethan is an Assistant Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship in the Leeds School of Business, and studies how organizations can select and connect people to develop innovative ideas and how the opportunity to innovate can be democratized and made more inclusive.
Host Amanda Kramer sits down with Ethan to discuss his latest research: the science behind matching entrepreneurs and mentors, some striking data in how gender factors into mentor/mentee relationships, and what we can learn from pitch evaluation & sequencing.
Leeds Business Insights Podcast is a production of Leeds School of Business and is produced by University FM.
EPISODE QUOTES:
Why do entrepreneurs need to stick to their convictions?
[00:07:38] One thing that I would encourage entrepreneurs to do is stick to their convictions about what they need help with and to reach out to people who they think can help them, because they know what's going on under the hood more than other people do.
Gender differences in funding referrals
[00:17:42] Women mentors are about equally likely to make a referral for a man, entrepreneur, or a woman entrepreneur. But men mentors were much more likely to make referrals for men. So that meant that through those same-gender relationships, men had greater access to this super coveted resource of introductions to investors and the opportunity to pitch their businesses for funding.
Something to keep in mind in the entrepreneurial process
[00:24:31] That's something important to keep in mind that an organization is designing a process to select new ideas to fund an investment that you think of. We need to be really careful about defining the criteria that we're going to use to select this.
SHOW LINKS:
Ethan Poskanzer Faculty Profile at Leeds School of Business
Ethan Poskanzer - Personal Website
Paper: Who Becomes an Inventor in America? The Importance of Exposure to Innovation, by Alex Bell, Raj Chetty, Xavier Jaravel, Neviana Petkova, John Van Reenen
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Commercial construction and real estate development is a difficult space to break into, and building plans can change at the drop of a hat, forcing you to be flexible and nimble with clients.
So joining us to talk about this dynamic and ever-growing industry is Case Swenson, alumnus and president/CEO at Swenson in the San Francisco Bay area.
Case joins host Amanda Kramer to share the trends and challenges he is seeing in the construction and real estate space, so-called “green building,” the skillset needed to enter this industry, and what he's learned from scaling a 4 generation family-owned business.
Leeds Business Insights Podcast is a production of Leeds School of Business and is produced by University FM.
EPISODE QUOTES:
The importance of understanding your market
[00:11:22] I've seen a lot of different contractors go outside of their area, and a lot of times, they get hurt by doing that because they don't understand the market there, they don't understand the labor there. And it is very important to really understand the market that you're in, how much it costs per square foot, how high you can build, how wide you can build, what kind of municipality you're dealing with, and how difficult they are.
The value of leverage
[00:12:19] Leverage is the most important part of development and something that you should really focus on understanding. There's a difference between the science of money and the science of maybe something like brain surgery, and the science of money is complicated. But your deep understanding of that is the most helpful thing when it comes to doing development and construction.
What is the current challenge in the construction industry?
[00:05:24] Right now, the biggest challenge for us is the economic cycle. We have rising interest rates. Also, bring up cap rates, which is how your building is valued at the end of the day.
SHOW LINKS:
Swenson - The Swenson Group
Case Swenson on LinkedIn
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Crowdfunding and volunteer mobilization are at the heart of how non-profits function on a day-to-day basis. But how does this work in an ever-growing remote workforce? And how can this ethos transfer to the business sector and for-profit organizations?
Joining us to answer some of these questions and more is Gloria Urrea, an Assistant Professor of Operations Management in the Strategy, Entrepreneurship, and Operations Management (SEO) Department at the Leeds School of Business. Gloria studies operations of humanitarian organizations (HOs), whose mission is to alleviate human suffering and improve the quality of life of the most vulnerable population.
She joins host Amanda Kramer to discuss crowdfunding in emergency support situations, mobilizing donors without burning them out, weighing volunteer experience, and the power of transparency.
Leeds Business Insights Podcast is a production of Leeds School of Business and is produced by University FM.
EPISODE QUOTES:
Getting to know your volunteers is important
[00:10:02] When we think about volunteer management, we are thinking about people that are donating their time. It's also important to recognize their heterogeneity, how they are different, and how they may have different priorities, or how I can offer them different tasks depending on who they are.
The role of retention in volunteering
[00:17:42] Retention is also important because charities want to avoid losing knowledge and experience. Moreover, research has already shown that when volunteers gain experience with a platform, they are more willing to take over maybe monotonous tasks or other tasks that are needed to be done for the long-term sustainability of the platform.
The power of transparency
[00:08:54] There is also a lot of research showing that even revealing some sensitive information to an extent, like costs, also incentivize people, really makes customers feel more valued by the companies. And they appreciate that with more loyalty or purchasing more, one key takeaway for businesses in general and for people is the power of transparency.
SHOW LINKS:
Gloria Urrea Faculty Profile at Leeds School of Business
Gloria Urrea - Google Scholar
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If we look at the events that have unfolded in the first part of the year, our guests believe likelihood of a recession has increased, and changed expectations for the economy.
Joining us today for this discussion on the economy and a look ahead, are Rich Wobbekind, the Dean for Business and Government Relations and Senior Economist at Leeds as well as Brian Lewandowski, Executive Director of the Business Research Division at Leeds.
We dive deeper into the SVB crash and its ripple effects this episode, including effects on smaller community banks, the current status of inflation and interest rates on a national and state level, the status of labor shortages and where cryptocurrency fits in the economy.
Leeds Business Insights Podcast is a production of Leeds School of Business and is produced by University FM.
EPISODE QUOTES:
What are the implications of the collapse on smaller community banks?
[00:08:40] Richard Wobbekind: People have much more technology-based mobility now than they've had historically, and that is allowing or encouraging the flow of these funds out of the banking system.
On the current status of inflation and interest rates
[00:25:09] Brian Lewandowski: When we look at Fed policy, the fear or concern is that the Fed would stop too soon. If they pause or even make that bold decision to change direction and lower interest rates because of what's going on in the economy, that signal would sort of derail some of the progress that's being made on inflation right now.
Post-pandemic trends that may contribute to recession
[00:24:49] Richard Wobbekind: I think we've gotten much better at working remotely. We've really adapted to the use of technology more. We've become efficient in a number of ways, and it helps us recruit people from all over the country. If you have a remote job, we can have people working anywhere. And that's one of the things that may be impacting us locally.
SHOW LINKS:
Richard L. Wobbekind | Leeds School of Business
Brian Lewandowski | Leeds School of Business
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Everything on paper was perfect for Ashish. A successful job with McKinsey, a beautiful wife and baby, a happy and peaceful life in Boulder. But everyday, he would wake up with intense anxiety, nausea, and an overwhelming sense of doom. Where was this coming from, and what could it be pointing to?
This is when the real journey began, and Happiness Squad was created. With a goal to help enhance joy, health, love, and meaning in your life, Happiness Squad works with organizations as well as individuals to help people reach their highest potential.
Ashish Kothari is the Founder of Happiness Squad, author of Hardwired for Happiness, and a friend of the Leeds School of Business.
He joins our host Amanda Kramer to debunk myths surrounding happiness & success, help us find happiness in our work, job crafting, and how we can integrate more happiness, gratitude and good habits into our own lives.
Leeds Business Insights Podcast is a production of Leeds School of Business and is produced by University FM.
EPISODE QUOTES:
Burnout, stress, and anxiety affect people everywhere
[00:04:59] I thought stress, anxiety, and burnout are prices insecure overachievers pay to climb the ladder and accumulate wealth. When I did this research to build this offering, I realized how wrong I was. I realize how big this issue of stress, anxiety, and burnout was in our world.
Happiness is something that ensues
[00:07:16] You can't actually pursue happiness. Those who have happiness as a goal are inherently unhappier because they're so focused on, Am I happy? Am I happy now? Why am I not happy now? And Tal talks a bit about this notion of happiness being something that ensues. You can't see the light, but you can break the light into its different components, and you can see the different colors.
How companies help reduce stress and anxiety and increase performance
[00:09:18] We can be less stressed if organizations join forces to fundamentally shape cultures of flourishing. It can make a big difference, both in an individual's life but even bigger in the performance of organizations.
SHOW LINKS:
Daniel Goldman, Psychologist
Happiness Squad
Sonja Lyubomirsky
Martin Seligman
Ed Deiner
Tal Ben Shahar
What Job Crafting Looks Like, by Jane E. Dutton and Amy Wrzesniewski
BJ Fogg
Dr. Kristin Neff
Hardwired for Happiness by Ashish Kothari
Happiness Squad Podcast
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Both Silicon Valley and Signature Bank are two of the top three largest bank failures in American history, both in terms of dollars, but also on an inflation-adjusted basis. And they happen just a few days apart, just over 2 weeks ago now.
To get more insight on this incredible financial event, we sat down with Shaun Davies. He is an associate professor and research director of the Burridge Center for Finance at the Leeds School of Business.
We grabbed some time with Shaun during this hectic week to get the low down on what the SVB collapse means, the parallels between the 2007/2008 financial crisis and today, and what to look out for moving forward.
Leeds Business Insights Podcast is a production of Leeds School of Business and is produced by University FM.
EPISODE QUOTES: Bank fraud still exists[00:09:01] Typically, when we think about bank runs, we think back to black-and-white movies, like "It's a Wonderful Life," and we think that bank failures, they’re a thing of America's past. Well, the Silicon Valley Bank failure showed us that bank runs still exist. They can still happen.
The unexpected failure of Silicon Valley and Signature Bank
[00:03:44] Silicon Valley and Signature Bank are two of the top three largest bank failures in American history, both in terms of dollars but also on an inflation-adjusted basis. Even when we take bank failures 25 to 30 years ago, these are still larger, even on an inflation-adjusted basis. And it's hard to believe we saw that out of nowhere. And in the span of a few days.
Moments of crisis should be expected
[00:24:38] There will never be a time in which all risks are hedged, and everything is safe. Moments of crisis, massive stock market volatility, moments of your portfolio going down in value. Those should be expected. They're not fun, but they should be expected.
SHOW LINKS:Faculty Profile at Leeds School of Business
Burridge Center of Finance at Leeds
Latest News: SVB Collapse
Dodd-Frank Act
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20+ years ago, if you were featured in an editorial story in the New York Times could keep customers coming to you for years. But in 2023, we are all too aware that the fight for you attention is happening at all times, and from all angles and devices. So how can PR agencies keep up and keep you focused?
Alexis Walsko is a Leeds alumna and founder of Minneapolis-based agency Lola Red, starting the company when she was just 22 years old.
This episode dives into all things PR and strategy, touching on the history of traditional PR and the rise of the influencer, what to look for in an influencer and how to evaluate their effectiveness in your campaigns, micro vs macro influencers, and Alexis’ work in the early days of Love Your Melon hat and beanies.
Leeds Business Insights Podcast is a production of the Leeds School of Business and is produced by University FM.
EPISODE QUOTES:
Great brands make great partnerships with people
[00:08:29] Great brands do great partnerships with people; that partnership is not about just a monetary exchange. It's actually about a deeper brand relationship.
Consider the influence you leave on others
[00:25:56] Always consider influence because we are all always being influenced. And so pay attention to that as a consumer, but also from a worldly perspective. And in the vein of what I got from my amazing time at Leads and at Boulder, was also to consider the influence that you have on others.
How companies are using information and data?
[00:04:19] Information and data are so accessible today, and companies are using any means possible to get it to the appropriate parties.
SHOW LINKS:
Alexis Walsko on LinkedIn
LolaRed PR
Love Your Melon Hats & Apparel
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Spring is almost here, and so is season 3 of Leeds Business Insights! Join host Amanda Kramer Wednesday, March 15th for another series of outstanding guests and topnotch analysis to help you stand out from the herd.
We’re diving into the world of influencer marketing, balancing startup life with personal wellness and a difficult diagnosis, and digging into the science behind happiness and purpose, just to name a few topics.
We know you're not going to want to miss this batch of episodes, so make sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.
We’ll catch you right here on March 15th with episode one, and every other Wednesday after that. We can't wait for you to hear them!
Leeds Business Insights Podcast is a production of Leeds School of Business and is produced by University FM.
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What's meaningful to one person may not be meaningful to the next. But one this is for sure, we as humans search for meaning through consumption, whatever that “meaning” may be.
Lawrence Williams is an associate professor of Marketing at the Leeds School of Business, University of Colorado Boulder. In his research, Dr. Williams examines the subtle influence of environmental cues on consumer behavior, the impact of psychological distance on consumers’ emotional judgments, and the mechanisms of self-regulation and self-control.
In this episode, Lawrence discusses the importance of self-expression, intrinsic and extrinsic rewards of consumption, and where purpose-driven branding & products fall into the mix.
EPISODE QUOTES:
On using behavior to guide a strategy
[00:23:32] It's very easy, especially in modern world where we are incentivized to express our emotions and our opinions almost daily, nonstop, through social media and all of that stuff. That's amplified. It's really easy to talk about what you value. But when it's less about signaling and more about active choices, you have to look at people's behavior.
Intrinsic vs. extrinsic
[00:02:46] When we talk about intrinsic versus extrinsic, intrinsic is something that's coming from the inside, and extrinsic is something that's out there in the world. We tend to talk about those in terms of our motivation. What's driving us to pursue a certain thing, behave in a certain way, go a certain place, buy a certain thing? And sometimes, those motivations are coming from within us.
What are people willing to give up in order to get meaning?
[00:09:46] When it came to meaningful experiences when it came to meaningful pursuits, people were willing to pay less was very interesting, but it gave us some insight into what they're thinking about. And, for us, when people are thinking about pursuing meaning, you have an array of free things that come to mind.
SHOW LINKS:
Faculty Profile at Leeds School of Business
Lawrence Williams’ LinkedIn Profile
Lawrence Williams on Google Scholar
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Jeff York, the Leeds School of Business’ Research Director, and Brad Werner, Leeds’ Teaching Director and Instructor, host the podcast Creative Distillations, which takes academic research on entrepreneurship and turns it into actionable insights.
In this episode, Amanda asks Jeff and Brad how they meld their research with real-world experiences – and what practical insights they have to share with new entrepreneurs.
EPISODE QUOTES:
On starting with your customer
Brad Werner (13:02) “If you were to develop a company and you said, ‘Hey, I need a million dollars of investment money.’ And somebody gives you a million dollars and then you go to talk to customers and you find out they don't want it, you're out that million dollars now. Whereas if you say, ‘Hey, you know what, let me talk to some customers first and design for them.’ And you have customers telling you: ‘If you build this, we want this tomorrow.’ Now the investment money actually really does something and it's meaningful.”
On realizing that you’re going to have to pivot
Jeff York (18:58) ”It's become this catchphrase. Like, oh, sometimes you have to pivot. I think actually we should be teaching that it's not just something to do when you run into a roadblock. It's where you're actually gonna end up. It's going to happen.”
On leading with your values
Brad Werner (32:27) “Starting a business is a real lift. You end up dedicating your life to it. And so you better be willing to dedicate your life to something that you care about.”
SHOW LINKS:
Creative Distillation Research Podcast
Creative Distillation is co-hosted by Associate Professor Jeff York, our Research Director, and Instructor Brad Werner, our Teaching Director. Each episode distills academic research on entrepreneurship into actionable insights.
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Can your business do something good for the world… and your bottom line? We think so.
Join us this week as we speak with Jennifer Forman, who coaches businesses and individuals on social responsibility and sustainability practices through the Leeds School of Business Certificate of Corporate Social Responsibility program.
In this episode, Jennifer outlines what she calls “Big Sustainability” and shares advice for connecting your company's culture and values with causes where they can make a positive difference.
EPISODE QUOTES:
On an holistic approach to sustainability…
[00:03:03] “Environmental sustainability is really limited to the things we have to consider to keep our planet healthy. But there's more to business than just keeping the planet healthy… when we think about Big Sustainability, we're looking at diversity, equity, and inclusion. Who's at the table? Whose voices are you hearing? Have we got representation from the markets that we serve? That's really important in terms of growth, and being able to [speak] to your consumers and to the employees that you're going to need for long-term sustainable growth.”
On incorporating Corporate Social Responsibility into your business…
[00:04:42] “This movement has really seen explosive growth in recent years. And that's, in part, due to investor concerns around negative impacts of climate change. But it's also because younger generations are showing a really high preference toward working at, or buying from, purpose driven companies.”
[00:05:19] “CSR and ESG concerns can be woven in and operationalized so that the way companies are making revenue looks at the least amount of negative impacts to all of their stakeholders and really using their unique area of expertise to leverage that for social good. So not only how can they make money – but how can this be done in a way that potentially benefits people everywhere that their business touches, from concept to creation, to sales, and eventually down the line.”
On the tangible value of CSR…
[00:15:29] “The Russell 1000 companies saw, on average, a 218% increase in share price over the last four years when businesses named at least one charitable recipient, had a diversity and opportunity policy, expressed board and gender diversity, and utilized a local sourcing policy. According to BCG Brighthouse, brands with a high sense of purpose experienced a valuation increase of 175% over the past 12 years compared to the median growth rate of 86%. So you see how these stats are adding up to show that businesses invested in this are doing really well.”
SHOW LINKS:
Jennifer Forman’s LinkedIn
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Professor Erick Mueller is the Executive Director of the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship and an adjunct professor of strategy, entrepreneurship, and operations at the Leeds School of Business. A lifelong entrepreneur, Erick is dedicated to helping new entrepreneurs, and business owners start and grow their businesses.
In this episode, Erick talks about how to apply the lessons he’s learned to the current moment and business landscape.
EPISODE QUOTES:
You don’t have to do it alone
[00:08:42] I recommend to everybody is, don't be afraid to ask for help and, and, and, leverage those who really care to help you with your venture and your idea.
Learn from others’ mistakes
[00:09:53] The number one reason that businesses fail: they haven't really created enough value and delivered on what customers are really excited to deliver on. So the solution to that is you just have to talk to more and more people, learn what their desires are, what their excitements are and adapt and incorporate that feedback into your product.
What successful entrepreneurs have
[00:15:05] They're excited. They're passionate, and it's almost like oxygen to them to really run and operate this business. From that place, they will figure out solutions to problems that arise, and that passion and excitement will get them through the challenging times.
SHOW LINKS:
Guest’s Profile:
Profile at Leeds School of Business
Erick Mueller on LinkedIn
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Buying and selling homes has never been so easy. But that doesn’t mean real estate agents are a thing of the past!
Join us this week as we speak with Mike DelPrete, an internationally recognized expert and thought-leader in real estate tech. Mike has traveled the world forging relationships with leading property portals and real estate tech startups, gathering first-hand knowledge and insights on tech trends and themes.
This episode, he shares some of the most exciting innovations in real estate – including iBuying – as well as the unintended ways these new models are impacting property markets.
EPISODE QUOTES:
On the impact of innovative real estate strategies…
[00:04:39] “If you wanna sell your home, you consider an iBuyer. If you wanna buy a home, you consider a power buyer. And these are companies that are trying to empower home buyers with more superpowers to be able to get the home they want. And they do so through two methods. One is cash offers, and the second is buy before you sell.”
[00:01:56] “Open Door, the largest iBuyer, has around 1.3% market share, which sounds, you know, that's a small number. But the U.S. residential real estate market is huge. So 1% market share is pretty significant. That's tens of thousands of houses every year. So it's worth paying attention to.”
On the unintended consequences of these new models…
[00:16:36] “iBuyers are selling a certain percentage of their homes directly to institutional investors… They're sucking up houses from the market. They're buying them from people who want to sell. And then they're putting some of those back on the market, but they're also selling some of them directly to institutional investors, which are Wall Street companies who are renting those out. So that's a decision that's been taken away from homeowners and communities.”
[00:18:09] “They can decide who they sell it to. They can keep it off the market, make it exclusive. They could just send an email to everybody on their mailing list and say, ‘Hey, we’ve noticed you've toured an open door home in the past. Here's a house for you.’”
On the value of real estate agents (still)…
[00:21:46] “Real estate is probably the largest transaction that somebody will undertake in their lifetime. So you have this idea of loss aversion, right? Which is that as human beings, we are wired to be conservative.”
[00:22:43] “What's the potential downside of making a mistake buying or selling a home? It's tens of thousands of dollars monetarily, but not just that… The potential downside of choosing to purchase the wrong home or selling your existing home, you know, the wrong way is huge. So when the downside is really big, that's when people want expert advisors. They want insurance for someone to hold their hand through the process.”
SHOW LINKS:
Guest’s Profile:
Mike DelPrete’s Profile at Leeds School of Business
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Are you election ready? This episode, Sloan Speck joins us to talk about tax law and the many policies that Congress will have to deal with after the 2022 midterm elections.
Today on the podcast, Sloan breaks down a bunch of legislation scheduled to sunset between now and 2025, the possible priorities of a Democratic- or Republican-held Congress, and who you should trust most when it comes to legal tax advice.
Sloan Speck is an Associate Professor of Law at the University of Colorado Boulder. He specializes in taxation and tax policy.
EPISODE QUOTES:
On the challenges Congress faces this election season…
[00:06:24] “There are a lot of moving pieces right now in terms of tax policy under this Congress and this president, and then the next Congress and this president. And that dynamic is gonna be really, really tough for all of these parties to work through, even if Democrats retain control.”
[00:06:49] “So first is the fact that there is not a budget for next year. And there could be continuing tax work that will occur during this Congress or maybe be kicked down the road to the next Congress…
[00:07:07] Second, working out stuff from the Inflation Reduction Act. And that's going to be a process that's going to take time…
[00:07:23] Finally, there are all of these provisions under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which was enacted in December of 2017…
[00:07:31] These are going to change incentives for businesses to make investments. And those incentives may be critical at a time of significant economic uncertainty.”
On what this means for businesses…
[00:12:30] “There are just a ton of sunsets that happen from 2022 on through 2026, and these changes are going to cause a lot of dislocation for different businesses. They're using these tax benefits, or subject to these tax detriments, as they shift over time.”
On how to prepare for tax uncertainty…
[00:18:16] “Really the person to talk to is your tax advisor and to really hammer out which these provisions apply to you, and what the changes might be, and what that might mean for your business and for your personal life.”
[00:23:10] “One thing about the uncertainty related to tax law, is that it's a constant challenge to the way people do things. And it's an opportunity to rethink those prior practices and those prior pathways and really come up with something that's unique and focused on the business goals that you have in mind – and that is flexible enough to accommodate some of the choices that Congress may or may not make in the next, six months, or three years, or four years…
[00:23:40] There's also an opportunity for taxpayers, and for businesses, to really address how they do things in an environment where it's important to be flexible and responsive to changes in law.”
SHOW LINKS:
Guest’s Profile:
Sloan Speck Profile at Leeds School of Business
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If you’ve ever bought tickets to a concert or sporting event, you know what it’s like to watch prices rise and fall – and to sweat over finding the perfect seats for your budget and enjoyment. Ovunc Yilmaz is an expert in the dynamic market of live events ticketing, and joins us to offer his insights into a $20 billion industry.
Today on the podcast, he talks about the factors that influence ticket prices – from weather to proximity to a video screen – and the complicated ripple effects of secondary ticket markets. Ovunc also shares his research into innovative pricing strategies, and real-world advice for businesses in the live event industry.
Ovunc Yilmaz is an Assistant Professor of Operations at the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado Boulder. He specializes in revenue management and pricing – particularly in the airline, hotel and event industries.
EPISODE QUOTES:
On the business of sports ticket sales…
[00:00:33] “In 2019, the North American professional sports market passed $70 billion in annual revenues and the ticket revenues… were almost $20 billion. They're one of the major revenue sources of this industry. Others being media rights, sponsorship and merchandising.”
On the unique challenge of matching supply to demand…
[00:01:11] “The pricing problem is a very complex one, because teams are selling tickets for highly differentiated seats. For football, you can think of a 50-yard line seat versus an End Zone seat. For basketball, you can think of right behind a team bench or those nosebleed seats that you can barely follow the game. Teams are also selling tickets for different types of games based on different opponents’ strengths, maybe some rivalries, pre-season, regular season, post season. And teams are also selling tickets to fans with different tastes. You can think of a die hard fan who has gone to every game… since they were five years old or someone who is in town for just a day…
[00:02:28] And of course, with the digitization of ticketing, sports organizations, leagues, teams – they try to use this data to make more informed, better, pricing decisions and improve their gate revenue.”
On secondary markets in ticket sales…
[00:07:33] “Since the ticket resale is allowed, there exist the secondary markets of these tickets after they've been purchased from the primary market. These transactions in this market, the secondary market, may take place between just two friends like me and you, or in person near the venue, those kind old school scalpers, or through online secondary markets…
[00:07:56] And although an average sports fan may think that most of these transactions in this market are just between two fans who happen to own tickets, the secondary market itself is actually now a $15 billion industry dominated by brokers.”
SHOW LINKS:
Guest’s Profile:
Ovunc Yilmaz Profile at Leeds School of Business
More About the Guest:
Ovunc Yilmaz’s published research (personal website)
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Richard Wobbekind and Brian Lewandowski offer glimpses of what to expect in Colorado’s economy heading into 2023. Today’s episode takes listeners on a deep dive into employment rates, inflation, the pandemic’s lasting economic impacts, and more.
Richard Wobbekind is the Associate Dean of Finance and the Business Research Division at Leeds. Brian Lewandowski is Executive Director of the Business Research Division. Together, they formulate the University of Colorado’s Business Economic Outlook report.
EPISODE QUOTES:
On what we’re seeing in the current economy…
[00:05:34] Brian: “Nationally and locally, we've seen the highest rate of inflation that we've seen in the last 40 years in this country. So, it's concerning on many fronts. But I think one of the most concerning underlying components of the inflation rate is that it's very broad-based. It's not really driven by just one or two components within our economy.”
On what to expect in 2023…
[00:14:16] Brian: “If we take a look at … the JOLTS number, the job openings number, that's signaling that there's still extremely strong demand for workers. So, it appears that the employment market isn't as much at risk as it has been in the past when we've been in situations like this, where, where we're perhaps on the cusp of a recession. We usually see slowing job growth, lower demand for workers at this point.”
[00:21:01] Richard: “We're anticipating a slower environment, but not particularly a negative environment—a GDP recession at the national level that just slows growth down for the year overall, and then a bounce back a little bit further on out. And again, a lot of this is being triggered by the Fed's attempts to control inflation with these higher interest rates. And we're not suggesting they're not needed. You really don't want inflation to become permanent in the system. And you don't want expectations to get entrenched around inflation. So, the Fed policy has a lot of logic to it, but it does ultimately create some pain.”
Advice for businesses entering a period of slower growth…
[00:26:42] Richard: “When you're in a very high-growth environment… you're more concerned with making sure the order gets out the door or it gets fulfilled. And you really don't want to miss the opportunity to make the sale. But when you get in a slower growth environment, you start to think about: Are we doing this in the best way? Do I have the best worker to do this? And you think more about, do I have the right skill sets with my employees? It's an opportunity to assess, to take a breath and to assess.”
SHOW LINKS:
Guest’s Profile:
Richard Wobbekind Profile at Leeds School of Business
Brian Lewandowski Profile at Leeds School of Business
More About the Guests:
Business Research Division publications
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Jaclyn Freeman Hester is a venture capitalist and partner at the Foundry Group. In this episode, Jaclyn talks about how she recruits and funds new talent, her “give first” philosophy, and what entrepreneurs should consider when it comes to VC funding.
EPISODE QUOTES:
On focusing on the journey (not the outcome)...
[00:10:09] I think that’s what really helps folks stand out, especially when you're younger, taking a lot of risk and being way more focused on the journey and the curiosity and the learning and who you meet and kind of collecting people along the way versus the lockstep career path.
On taking risks…
[00:16:57] There's a ton of learning that can be done by joining companies and joining funds, especially early. So, I think it's just important for folks to realize that there is no one way to do this.
On being people focused…
[00:23:39] I think values alignment, both for hiring and for investing is huge. Because it speaks to, I don't know every single decision that's gonna come up with this company, but if I understand your values and what motivates you and how you think about things and what your philosophy is on lots of different aspects of building a business, then I can have better trust and insight into when things come up, you know, that it's gonna play out in a way that I would like… And so I think having hard conversations around, big questions that you have, and being direct and trying to understand someone else's values and motivations is really important.
SHOW LINKS:
Guest’s Profile:
Jaclyn Hester on LinkedIn
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