Mike Johns Founder Digital Mind State Mike sits at the intersection between technology and entertainment. He’s become a sought after deal negotiator, brokering deals with, among countless others, ESPN, T-Mobile, Microsoft, NBC, and most recently iHeart Radio followed by Radio One. Generating significant revenue for these brands; Johns specialty is connecting creative marketing concepts with non-traditional revenue, brand positioning, media buying, organizing events, and public relations. Johns began his career as mobile content provider for T-Mobile and quickly leveraged his success to become a in-demand content provider serving telecom companies such as AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint. With a Jamaican ‘hard core’ work ethic, innovative marketing ideals and an eye for talent, Johns has put his ‘mobile touch’ on brands such as Snoop Dogg, Jay-Z, Jerry Springer, Maury Povich, Oscar winning rap duo Three Six Mafia, Remy Ma, even former world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson all of whose careers have launched into super stardom. Today Johns is focused on creating innovative experiences for emerging technologies in unexpected environments. He is passionate about how the data and technologies of both yesterday and today can be used to shape tomorrow. Johns is also a founding member of I Am Digital, a non- profit organization that’s dedicated to the promotion of digital literacy and creating smart cities, citizens and families. He is working to tailor STEAM learning in the US, Jamaica and several developing countries worldwide. In the past year since its inception, I Am Digital has helped train a slew of teachers, students and government officials highlighting the importance of digital literacy and its impact on the future of work.
Interviews
Vivek Krishnamurthy Investor Commerce Ventures #insurtech
Vivek Krishnamurthy Investor Commerce Ventures where he focuses on early stage opportunities in FinTech, InsurTech and RetailTech. The fund’s InsurTech portfolio includes companies like Snapsheet, Kin, Covr, Mulberry, and others. Prior to joining Commerce Ventures, he was a member of the investment banking team at Financial Technology Partners where he worked on a number of FinTech M&A and private placement transactions for growth and late stage companies in the broader FinTech ecosystem (e.g. GreenSky, Yapstone, Prosper, Enservio).
Simha Sadasiva CoFounder/CEO Ushur #insurtech
Simha Sadasiva CoFounder/CEO Ushur Simha Sadasiva’s passion centers on creating elegant products that support completely frictionless communication for higher value relationships and building global teams and massively scalable infrastructure. Prior to Ushur, Simha was the head of the Session Delivery Network Solutions Business Unit at Dialogic (formerly Veraz), and was part of the team that led the company through a successful IPO in 2007. Simha has held leadership roles at a number of technology companies including 3COM and Lucent Technologies.
Sidd Gavirneni CEO/CoFounder Zeguro #insurtech
Sidd Gavirneni CEO/CoFounder Zeguro a cyber security company focused on small and mid-size enterprises. Zeguro is changing the way SMEs approach cybersecurity, through it’s Cyber Safety Platform – combining risk assessment, mitigation, and insurance. Prior to Zeguro, Sidd was managing Polycom’s product portfolio while serving on their information security board. Sidd holds an MBA from IE Business School in Spain, and a Masters in Computer Science focused on information security.