Ingrid Cook is one of the Pittsburgh region's most energetic and creative tech company founders. From as far back as she remember, she always wanted to start and run her own company.     SHzoom is the original inventors of “Snap A Pic, Get A Quote,” for your minor fender bender!  We now use our patented system to sell up-time to organizations with large fleets of vehicles. Whether it’s a crash, OEM recall, or regular maintenance, its electronic repair management system with automated crash reporting destroys downtime problems by cutting the repair process in half!    

TechVibe Radio

Pittsburgh Founders: Ingrid Cook

In our quest to bring you the latest insights and trends across the greater technology sector, we are tapping into our counterpart Skip Newberry, President and CEO of the Technology Association or Oregon. Today, Skip will overview general trends he is seeing in terms of the office market in the NW/West Coast, remote work, acceleration of the micro-credentialing movement away from degrees and what this all means for his region's ability to attract and retain tech talent and companies. Get a front-row seat for Skip's insights and how they could start playing out in the Pittsburgh region.

Tech Association of Oregon President Goes Live on Business as Usual

Since 1994, IQ Inc., has delivered software development and consulting services in ways that best meet its customers’ needs; including complete end-to-end software projects in its state-of-the-art development center.  IQ also services its customers through staff augmentation engagements, contract-to-hire and direct placement. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, IQ Inc. is still in hiring mode and prides itself on its warm, inclusive culture and finding unique ways to keep that culture going even while working remotely. We talk to Chris Smith about the open positions, types of projects and what makes working at IQ rewarding.

One Mic Stand: IQ Inc. is in Hiring Mode

On Business as Usual, we welcome Fredrik Ruben, CEO of Tobii Dynavox, to talk about his company's transformative technologies that literally give people a voice!  Tobii Dynavox is the leading provider of speech generating devices and symbol-adapted special education software used to assist individuals in overcoming their speech, language and learning challenges. Frederik will tell us how these solutions are designed to help individuals who have complex communication and learning needs participate in the home, classroom and community.

Tobii Dynavox Details Giving People a Voice on Business as Usual

In a historic collaborative effort, Meta Mesh Wireless Communities, Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pittsburgh, and the Keystone Initiative for Network-based Research (KINBER) have partnered together to provide free, high-speed Internet access primarily to school-age children as the COVID-19 pandemic forces the integration of remote instruction.

One Mic Stand: Meta Mesh, KINBER, CMU and PITT Collaborate on Every1online

Eaton and Involta split time on Techvibe Radio with key updates. Eaton is leading the way in cybersecurity solutions for the energy grid and Involta is growing  its digital transformation services in Pittsburgh.

TVR 11/21/20: Eaton and Involta

We are excited to wrap up the work week by focusing on promoting, supporting and encouraging women in the workplace. We welcome Christy Uffelman of BCC, MHCS and EDGE Leadership Solutions, to overview the EDGE Women's Leadership Program. EDGE is the first women’s mentoring experience of its kind targeting mid-career professionals. The Pittsburgh Technology Council’s efforts in this area are currently focused on two different experiences for women: a 2-day summer retreat and a 9 month program. The flagship EDGE Experience offers unconventional solutions to conventional problems unleashing potential and engaging mid-career networks. Join us for insights into how women are finding their EDGE!

EDGE Women's Leadership Program Takes Center Stage on Business as Usual

On Business as Usual, we welcome Sheikha Alanoud al-Thani, Managing Director, Business Development at the Qatar Financial Centre. Sheikha will outline the opportunities in Qatar for tech companies to reach markets, investment and other opportunities in the Middle East. The Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) was created as a financial and business centre designed to attract international banking, insurance and other financial services. With the aim of developing and expanding the financial services sector in Qatar, the QFC’s main objective was to foster the growth of both local and international firms within the banking, asset management and insurance sphere, while providing a legal and regulatory structure that met international best practice.

Business as Usual Explores Business and Tech Opportunities in Qatar

Life's Work of Western Pennsylvania is one of region's most valuable assets helping people with physical and mental disabilities find meaningful and lasting employment.  We are excited to welcome Life's Work President and CEO Tim Parks to Business as Usual to talk about his organization's impact, how it works with local tech companies to place talent and how it has navigated the impact of COVID-19  Tim will surely explain how "it's all about the work” and Life's Work's commitment to "making lives work better."

Life's Work CEO Tim Parks Goes Live on Business as Usual

The Neighborhood Image Award is given to an organization whose work is contributing to making their community appealing and desirable to all. Their work celebrates neighborhood pride and attracts new people and investment while retaining new and long-term residents. Based in McKees Rocks, BlackTeaBrownSuga is a force in giving a voice to the people through access to space, media, and technology for Black creatives. The BlackTeaBrownSuga Network (BTBSN) is empowering members of the community to challenge and correct injustices, whether they be social or judicial, community wide or personal. Overall, they seek to give members of the community the resources, knowledge, and confidence to be pro-active, change-makers. Launching in McKees Rocks just over a year ago, The BlackTeaBrownSuga Network serves as an accessible and affordable creative hub for local youth as well as adults. Located on Broadway Avenue in McKees Rocks, BTBSN converted an old law office to a beautiful media facility equipped with all of the equipment and software needed to create podcasts, music, videos and more. Having a background in psychology, founder Eszquire Harris has a vision for this space to not only provide a place for people to express themselves and tell their own story, but also to provide a platform for recognizing global issues, bringing awareness to how they affect the community, and providing solutions. BTBSN strengthens the community through community service, workshops, and weekly live shows which initiate the conversations needed to share, educate and develop solutions as a community. They have also made a significant impact on the Pittsburgh and McKees Rocks communities by providing a safe place both physically and virtually for creatives to be able to continue their work during the COVID-19 pandemic. These creatives were able to continue or start new projects that directly impact low-income communities while continuing to address and give voice to the local Black community regarding everything from maternal health disparities to social justice and prison reform.  

Healthy Neighborhood Awardees: BlackTeaBrownSuga

Fetterman will provide the latest updates and insights on COVID-19's impact on the Commonwealth. Plus he will detail his support for legalizing recreational cannabis in Pennsylvania, saying it's not a matter of if it will happen but when it will happen  This is your front row seat to engage with Fetterman about these and other topics of vital impact to Pennsylvania.

Lt. Gov. John Fetterman Talks COVID to Cannabis on Business as Usual

Today on Business as Usual, we welcome Karl Iagnemma, President and CEO, Motional, a joint venture by Hyundai Motor Group and Aptiv. Motional is making driverless vehicles a safe, reliable and accessible reality. Karl Iagnemma is an authority on robotics and driverless vehicles. His commentary has been published and broadcast worldwide on Bloomberg, The Economist, CNBC, and BBC, among others. He co-founded nuTonomy, Inc. in 2013 and saw the company through acquisition by Aptiv in late 2017. Karl will provide an introduction to the new Motional brand, discuss the company's investment in Pittsburgh, and share insights on his team's commitment to making driverless vehicles a safe, reliable, and accessible reality.

Driverless Vehicle Startup Motional Goes Live on Business as Usual

Othot, Inc. is a growing artificial intelligence company that takes the complexity out of and reduces the cost of adopting advanced analytics. Andy Hannah and Amy Baker stop by the show to detail how Othot is focused on helping post-secondary institutions with recruiting and retaining students in the highly competitive environment of higher education. Its SaaS-based predictive and prescriptive analytic machine learning algorithms and cloud-based, user-intuitive platform allows for a better acceptance and integration of this new technology.

TVR 11/14/20: Othot

As we slowly bringing our workforces back into the office, it is often accompanied with new stressors and pressures that can seriously impact workers' mental health. We are excited to welcome Demetrios Marousis, MA, MBA, LPC Director, Behavioral Health at Highmark, to Business as Usual today. He will overview key ways to identify mental health issues in the workplace. Whether it's in the office or virtual, the added stress of the pandemic can negatively affect anyone.  Taking a few simple steps could make a major difference in the mental health of your most business's most valuable asset! 

Business as Usual Explores Mental Health in the Workplace

We are excited to have one of Pittsburgh's fastest-growing robotics companies stop by Business as Usual -- Gecko Robotics! Company Founder and CEO Jake Loosararian has an amazing story of starting and scaling the company while still in college. Gecko Robotics develops and operates robots to automate infrastructure inspections. Jake will detail how Gecko is focusing on industrial plant inspections using non-destructive testing technology. Every year, over $100 Billion is spent on industrial maintenance. Gecko has developed wall-climbing robots that dramatically reduce downtime resulting in millions of dollars saved.

Gecko Robotics Sticks Around Business as Usual

Link Up Conference Show (LUCS),the digital networking conference for top level executives and CEOs, is set for December 8, 2020. LUCS Founder Anna Degtereva steps up to the One Mic Stand to not only give us more details about the conference, but her entrepreneurial journey that has taken her around the world. The exclusive networking conference will be hosting global visionaries, designed to help FinTech & Telecom industry leaders elevate their businesses. During the conference participants will ask real-time questions and make live comments to gain unparalleled insights.  Pittsburgh Technology Council Members get 20% off of the face value for both Executive and Premium Tickets with code "PTC-20." Register at https://lucs.online/ptc 

One Mic Stand: Anna Degtereva of the Link Up Conference Show

Podcasts from TechVibe Radio, now on KDKA 1020 AM every Wednesday at 7 PM. The Pittsburgh Technology Council's Audrey Russo and Jonathan Kersting interview Pittsburgh's most dynamic technology companies and entrepreneurs.

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Pittsburgh Founders: Ingrid Cook

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