Featuring Rich Mironov, 35-year Silicon Valley Veteran
Augusto Digital Insights with Brian Anderson
Release Date: 03/04/2021
The Chime SDK and Real-Time Communication with John Hathaway
Augusto Digital Insights with Brian Anderson
In this episode of the Augusto Digital Insights podcast, Brain Anderson sat down for a conversation with John Hathaway, Senior Specialist for AWS’ Amazon Chime SDK, to discuss his career journey and the implications of real-time communications for business. Even as technology has changed and evolved, there is one thing that remains constant: our need to communicate. In this episode of the Augusto Digital Insights podcast, Brain Anderson sits down for a conversation with John Hathaway, Senior Specialist for , to discuss his career journey and the implications of real-time communications for...
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Featuring Marty Balkema, Augusto co-founder
Augusto Digital Insights with Brian Anderson
Marty Balkema, co-founder of Augusto, shares his theory behind building a client roster and positive reputation by banking on trust and hiring great people. In this episode of the Augusto Digital Insights podcast, Brian Anderson interviews Marty Balkema—a 20-year software development veteran and the COO and co-founder of Augusto. As a leader on the executive team, Marty has been instrumental in helping to shape the company's operations and culture. This is one part of a series focused on the people and relationships that guide Augusto’s vision for the future. Marty and Brian first met...
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Featuring Jim Becher co-founder of Augusto
Augusto Digital Insights with Brian Anderson
Jim Becher, co-founder of Augusto shares how he accidentally found his way into software, systems architecture and, now, building strategic partnerships. In this episode of the Augusto Health IT Podcast, Brian Anderson connects with Jim Becher, Director of Strategic Partnerships and co-founder of Augusto. Jim has a 20-year career focused on consulting, computer science, IT management, enterprise-scale systems architecture, and team leadership. The two travel through their careers, exploring different points when they both worked with each other and reflecting on their early interest in...
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Featuring Joel Ross, co-founder of Augusto Part 2
Augusto Digital Insights with Brian Anderson
This is part two with Joel Ross, co-founder of Augusto, continues to share the history behind Augusto. This episode starts with Brian inviting Joel and Jim Becher to his cottage on Little Whitefish Lake. He took the guys for a boat ride, dropped the anchor, and wouldn’t let them go back to shore until they formed a deal to start their own company. As of late 2016, Augusto was formed—with Brian, Marty Balkema, and one or two contractors. By 2018, Joel joined full-time, and Jim joined in early 2019. From there, Augusto quickly began to grow, adding marketing and sales staff and a real...
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Featuring Joel Ross, co-founder of Augusto
Augusto Digital Insights with Brian Anderson
Joel Ross, co-founder of Augusto, shares the history behind Augusto and the many entrepreneurial efforts he and Brian Anderson have led. In this episode, Brian Anderson converses with Joel Ross, Augusto Digital’s co-founder and CFO and Integrator. Joel has a 20-year career focused on consulting, computer science, product development, team leadership, and financial management. This is one part of a series focused on the people and relationships that guide Augusto’s vision for the future. Brian and Joel start by sharing how they met—right out of college at Crowe. They laugh about...
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Featuring April Dunford, Positioning Expert
Augusto Digital Insights with Brian Anderson
Discover how to position a B2B tech start-up, from April Dunford’s quirky life story and excellent advice. In this episode, Brian Anderson interviews April Dunford, a marketing and positioning guru and consultant who has managed large marketing teams at dozens of B2B tech start-ups in her career. April shares all about her unique entry into the world of product positioning. She studied systems design and engineering at the University of Waterloo in Canada. After graduation, she landed a job at a small startup in product marketing—making compilers and database products. The two requirements...
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Featuring Michael Sacca, founder of Rocketship.fm
Augusto Digital Insights with Brian Anderson
In this episode, Brian Anderson interviews Michael Sacca, founder of —the very popular digital product management podcast—and vice president of product at , the leading destination to find and showcase creative work for design professionals. Michael had an interesting introduction to the industry. About 20 years ago, he moved to Los Angeles to work in the music business. While struggling to find a job, his roommate taught him PHP coding. Michael began taking his roommate’s freelance scraps, and found that design was where he had the most natural inclination. He built up a small agency...
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Featuring Rich Mironov, 35-year Silicon Valley Veteran
Augusto Digital Insights with Brian Anderson
Discover why it’s so important to meet with real users when building digital products. Featuring Rich Mironov, 35-year Silicon Valley veteran. In this episode of the Augusto Digital Insights podcast, Brian Anderson interviews Rich Mironov, a 35-year Silicon Valley veteran—of mostly B2B enterprise software. He published a book called and has on his website about trends in product management. Brian and Rich sat down to explore more about Rich’s career, and the insights he’s gained. Today, Rich primarily does two things: serves as the interim head of product or coach product...
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Featuring Mike Belsito, founder of INDUSTRY Conference
Augusto Digital Insights with Brian Anderson
In the first episode of the Augusto Digital Insights podcast, Brian Anderson interviews Mike Belsito, founder of the in Cleveland, Ohio and co-host of . Mike considers himself a product person that just so happens to manage a totally different type of product: a community and a conference. He explains that his journey into product management started before he even knew it. When his start-up failed, several companies approached him—one for a director of product strategy role. Mike remembers Googling “what does a director of product strategy do?”. He hadn’t gone to school for it, so he...
info_outlineDiscover why it’s so important to meet with real users when building digital products. Featuring Rich Mironov, 35-year Silicon Valley veteran.
In this episode of the Augusto Digital Insights podcast, Brian Anderson interviews Rich Mironov, a 35-year Silicon Valley veteran—of mostly B2B enterprise software. He published a book called The Art of Product Management, Lessons from a Silicon Valley Innovator and has 19 years’ worth of blog posts on his website about trends in product management.
Brian and Rich sat down to explore more about Rich’s career, and the insights he’s gained. Today, Rich primarily does two things: serves as the interim head of product or coach product executives on how to do their job better. He considers it a matter of pride that he never gives advice he wouldn’t take himself.
Rich describes the product mindset as a mix between the customer-facing and engineering-facing parts of the job. He notes that he expects both his product managers and himself to spend half their time with real users, discovering what’s important, needed, and going to move the needle. The other half is inward facing, communicating with development and engineering teams to collectively figure out how to fix the problem.
He goes on to explain the importance in having multiple people from different perspectives at the table when beginning a project—at minimum, a product person, a designer, and a developer—so they can notice unique issues, fallacies, and solutions.
Rich continues to highlight the importance of meeting with real users, providing an example of a company that makes cancer therapy machines. Each year, the organization brings in cancer survivors to share their stories and, according to Rich, “You’ve never seen a bunch of software specialists and physicists work harder for the next three months than when they’re coming to work to save lives.”
We thank Rich for his time on the Augusto Podcast and wish him the best of luck in all his future roles!
Augusto Digital focuses on custom software design and development, cloud computing, and support solutions to enable our clients to realize their digital vision in Healthcare, financial services, logistics, and manufacturing.