Our passion at 7CTOs is to see technology leaders like you move forward together. On each episode of the podcast chief technology officers from around the world will join the discussion to share their experiences and the wisdom those experiences have granted them. 

On today’s episode Juliet Correnti and Ken Cone of Radeus Labs are here to talk about what they do, what their mission and vision for Radeus Labs is. We’ll also discuss how lean principles are effectively and efficiently transforming their employees, how they serve their clients and their overall business efforts. 

In this episode you’ll hear:

• What is a “ruggedized computer” exactly?
• Why focusing on the growth of their employees is integral to their success.
• Does everyone have permission to experiment and fail at Radeus Labs?
• What is foremost on CTO Ken Cone’s mind right now?
• Why developing business partnerships has been critical for Radio Slabs’ growth.
• And so much more! 

At Radeus Labs, a small team of dedicated and driven people build industrialized and ruggedized computers and devices. Heading up that small team is Juliet Correnti as the Chief Executive Officer and Ken Cone as the Chief Technology Officer. 

We sat down for a chat about how they serve their customers, why lean principles are how the entire staff starts each work day and what they are both most excited about in the future. 

Although they are a small organization the group at Radeus Labs thinks big. Juliet and Ken explain they are focused on following lean principles internally and also focused on the growth and nurturing of the talent they have on staff. They want to grow their people from within.

With that in mind they start each work day at 7am with either lean principles or some type of training. Typically they spend an hour together, with the first 30 minutes devoted to quick, lean exercises to create an improvement somewhere in their efforts. The next 30 minutes usually involve going to one station in the office to learn and watch what it done there.

It’s important to note that at Radeus Labs everyone has permission to try new things. In fact, employees are not just encouraged to try and fail but they are encouraged to innovate, to take a shot at doing something new and to fail in the process. 

For example they recently moved some new equipment in their office from one station to another. The reason? So they could build and test this equipment in the same spot, thereby making the process from build to test more efficient. They’re in the process of evaluating whether or not doing so is beneficial. 

They are constantly evolving, evaluating and transforming how they do business in every area. In fact Ken recalls a time when he was traveling for a week and wasn’t in the office at all. When he returned the facility was visibly different! He got the full impact of just how many improvements and changes they make every week. It was an exciting realization for him, and something that still lights him up today.

What also lights him up is the relationships they are building. He is excited their people are learning and developing their own technology. He’s also excited about the CTOs they’ve been working with through 7CTOs.

And he’s also thrilled with the work they have been doing with 7CTO co-founder Michael Saul. They hired him to help them solidify and unite their mission and vision for the future of Radeus Labs.

Juliet agrees with those same exciting trends in their business. She’s also keen on the growth opportunities and possibilities available right now. She’s thrilled their board of directors has given them the green light to think big, and not stifle their creativity and their innovation. Thinking big and thinking long-term has helped Radeus Labs build a great team of people. Those same people are ensuring the business runs as a well-oiled machine that provides quality service and products for their customers. 

Also on today’s episode Juliet and Ken both weigh in with their advice for entrepreneurs, and why it’s important to build a support network outside of your business. Listen in to hear all of that and more on today’s show!

Tweetables:

Every employee not only has permission but is required to try.

We're a small company but we have big dreams.

EPISODE RESOURCES

• Radeus Labs
• 2 Second Lean, by Paul A. Akers
• 7CTOs website
• 7CTOs on Facebook
• 7CTOs on Twitter

On this 7CTOs show Nishant Mathew of igocki joins us to talk about where his company’s unique name comes from, what they do at igocki that makes them so different and what technology he is most excited about right now. Listen in for all of that and more on this episode of 7CTOs.

In this episode you’ll hear:

• Where did his company, Igocki, come from?
• Is digitizing your current process always the best solution?
• Why his company isn’t just a group of “rent-a-coders”.
• Should you go native or not with your framework?
• What technologies is Nishant most excited about?
• And so much more! 

Nishant is originally from south India and spent his first 18 years in Abu Dhabi. From the Middle East he moved to Indiana where he attended a private engineering college. In college he followed in his dad’s footsteps, like he says all good Indian sons do, and became a mechanical engineer.

It didn’t take long for him to realize it was not a career he would love! But when his sister got married and moved to Houston, Nishant’s dad suggested he move to Texas to be closer to her. So he did and in the proceeding 17 years he founded and became the Chief Technology Officer of igocki.

The unusual name igocki comes from his oldest son, Aidan. When Aidan was a boy he started speaking early, around 8 or 9 months of age. He used the igocki and eventually Nishant and his wife figured out Aidan was making up shortcuts to entire phrases. So when he was saying the word igocki what he meant was Can I go get it? 

When Nishant understood that phrase he told his wife if he ever started a company he would call it igocki. His wife reminded him of that promise later on when Nishant did start his present-day company and so igocki was named.

On today’s episode Nishant shares that amusing anecdote as well as what the purpose of igocki. His organization is a custom solutions development firm. So when they work with someone they look at the client’s core and get an understanding of what that core means. They are prepared with that knowledge when they walk into the client’s doors.

During their working relationship the team at igocki gets rid of all things that are stopping the client from reaching their goals. They also figure out the best way technology can augment the client’s business innovations or find ways the client can use technology to drive their value up. 

Nishant says often people don't know how technology can help them. Often the clients are trying to take their current process and digitize it. But igocki doesn't stop there, they figure out how to optimize it or innovate on how the client's process work. They are looking for ways to help their clients give more value to the clients’ audiences. 

When he was asked about coding and his thoughts on a potential client situation, Nishant’s answers show how focused he is on that value. He has always been in the open source world or Microsoft world. He has made every effort to be solutions-centric for his clients.

Also on today’s episode he explains what he would do if a client came to him and wanted a mobile app built that connects to their existing data, why an ionic framework is often more suitable than a native one, and what he thinks about data modeling and predictive analytics. Listen in for his insights on all of that and more on this episode of 7CTOs!

Tweetables:

We're really interested in multiplying value.
We believe technology is the best way to help organizations.
Hybrid is a much more cost-effective solution.

EPISODE RESOURCES

• igocki’s web site
• Nishant Matthew on LinkedIn
• igocki on Twitter
• 7CTOs website
• 7CTOs on Facebook
• 7CTOs on Twitter