The Pulse - 90.7 KFSR's Business Roundtable, features local business news, analysis, interviews, plus discussion about the important issues facing the San Joaquin Valley and the local business community. It is heard Saturdays at noon and Sundays at 9:00 AM on 90.7 KFSR. More information about The Pulse...
This week on The Pulse: 11/14/09 John P. Jacobson, 2009 Entrepreneur In Residence at the Lyles Center, is our guest on this edition of The Pulse. During his 34 year career, Mr. Jacobson blended both corporate and entrepreneurial management, serving as everything from a sales rep to a CEO, working in a Fortune 100 environment to a self started private enterprise and everything in between. Mr. Jacobson enjoys an exceptionally diverse management background from technology based companies to product marketing companies and from hardware companies to service and support companies with revenue responsibilities from under a million dollars up to 3 billion. His management skills extend from small bands of locally based entrepreneurial employees to complex structures involving thousands of employees spread across the globe. Mr. Jacobson spent the last 7 years in mergers and acquisitions assisting individuals and privately held companies realize their exit strategy goals.
Download this program (MP3 file)... permalink This week on The Pulse: 11/7/09 Guests from the Valley Air District join hosts Tim Stearns and Tammy Sears to talk about new rules impacting larger Valley employers, wood burning restrictions, and more, in efforts to clean up the Valley's air.
Download this program (MP3 file)... permalink This week on The Pulse: 10/31/09 Robert Wample, former chair of the Viticulture and Enology Department at Fresno State, and an entrepreneur. His firm, Soil and Topography Information [STI], has developed technology which allows farmers to generate 3-D data mapping about the quality of their soils. STI was the winner of the recent Central Valley Venture Forum event. STI's technology has the ability to increase yields and uniformity of crops, including wine grapes, Dr. Wample's specialty. We'll also talk about the San Joaquin Valley's emergence as a region known for its high quality wines, the programs at Fresno State and more.
Download this program (MP3 file)... permalink This week on The Pulse: 10/24/09 This week on The Pulse we look at the intersection between business and anthropology, and how entrepreneurs are using research by anthropologists to develop new products and services. Our guests are "The Anthroguys" - Fresno State Anthropology Professors James Mullooly and Hank Delcore, from the Institute for Public Anthropology at Fresno State. Host Dr. Tim Stearns will learn more about their research and work at Fresno State and how entrepreneurs can learn new things about their customers - all on this edition of The Pulse.
Download this program (MP3 file)... permalink This week on The Pulse: 10/17/09 Online magazine The Daily Beast recently ranked Fresno dead last in their recent study of America's Smartest Cities. Out of the 55 cities studied, Fresno scored just 3 on the Daily Beast IQ Score, attributed to a low percentage of the population with bachelors and graduate degrees, low non-fiction book sales, and low voter turnout. Is Fresno really the dumbest city in America, or is the study flawed and culturally biased? Or is there some truth to the study, revealing the flip side of the often discussed "brain drain" that plagues the Valley? Are these rankings worth getting worked up over? Hosts Tim Stearns and Tammy Sears discuss those questions and others on this week's edition of The Pulse, with guests Travis Sheridan of Creative Fresno and Mike Osegueda of The Fresno Bee.
This week on The Pulse: 10/10/09
On this edition of The Pulse, hosts Tim Stearns and Tammy Sears talk with Garrett Watkins, CEO of StreetStrider, a local firm which designs and builds an innovative mobile elliptical cycle. The StreetStrider has been featured on NBC's hit reality show The Biggest Loser, and has been attracting international attention. We'll find out more about the product, what brought the business to Fresno and more.
The Pulse: 10/03/09
On this edition of The Pulse, George Vozikis, director of the Family Business Institute at Fresno State's Craig School of Business, joins host Tim Stearns to talk about their services to the Valley's family owned firms.
The Pulse 09/26/09
On this edition of The Pulse, Kirk Nagamine, the new CEO of the Central Valley Business Incubator is our guest. We'll learn more about Kirk's plans to expand CVBI's services beyond the walls of their facilities, venture capital in the valley, and Kirk's own background as an entrepreneur.
The Pulse 09/12/09
This week, host Tim Stearns talks with Brad Triebsch, Principal with the Central Valley Fund, a private venture capital fund for small to mid-sized businesses, with a focus on California Central Valley. They specialize in financing later stage growth, strategic acquisitions, ownership transitions and recapitalizations. Tom and Brad will talk about venture capital in the Valley, and about the upcoming Central Valley Venture Forum, featuring State Controller John Chiang, and Meg Whitman, former eBay CEO and candidate for governor. The Venture Forum takes place Thursday September 24th at the Veterans Memorial Building in Clovis.
The Pulse 09/05/09
This week on The Pulse, host Tim Stearns talks with Jennifer Barney, founder of Barney's Fine Foods, a Fresno based company that produces Barney Butter, a peanut free, all natural almond spread. We'll find out how hours of experimentation in Jennifer's kitchen resulted in a product that is quickly gaining fans - and space on store shelves, nationwide. We'll also hear from Jay Johnson and Mark Haupt of the new Fresno Monsters ice hockey team, which begins play this month. We'll find out more about how they've worked with the Central Valley Business Incubator to launch their new team and bring ice hockey back to Fresno.
The Pulse 08/29/09
On this edition of The Pulse, Keith Bergthold, Assistant Director of Planning & Development for the City of Fresno joins host Dr. Tim Stearns to talk about a issues of sustainability in Fresno, from future planned growth to the Fresno Green strategy and more. We'll learn more about why the U.C Davis Sustainability Index recently ranked Fresno number 1 out of 100 Central Valley cities in a sustainability report published in the Journal of the American Planning Association. Find out what is being done today to shape the Fresno of 2050 on this edition of The Pulse.
The Pulse 08/22/09
Eloy A. Villafranca Director of Bank on California, and a Community Affairs Officer with the FDIC, and Cathleen Cox, Chief Deputy Director of the Office of Planning and Research for the State of California, join hosts Tom Jones and Tim Stearns to talk about their efforts to bring banking services to Fresno's "unbanked" population through the local program Bank on Fresno.
The Pulse 08/15/09
Local entrepreneur Adrian Rodriguez joins host Tom Jones for this edition of The Pulse to talk about his new business venture PayShrink.com. This locally based firm has developed an innovative system which allows consumers to use their cellphones to obtain electronic coupons good for use at local businesses via text messaging.
The Pulse 07/25/09 This week on The Pulse, host Tim Stearns and guests Genelle Taylor of the Lyles Center and Mary Ann Dunklin of Fresno City College talk about a new program pathway linking Fresno State with 10 community colleges and 10 high schools in the delivery of entrepreneurial education.
The Pulse 07/18/09 This week on The Pulse, host Tim Stearns talks about the Lyles Center's Technology Development and Commercialization unit with guests Prashant Joshi and Mike Summers. Learn how entrepreneur training, idea development and commercialization are changing central California’s economic landscape.
The Pulse 07/11/09 Hosts Tom Jones and Dr. Timothy Stearns talk with the new CEO of the Fresno Convention and Visitors Bureau, Jeff Eben, and branding consultant Suzanne Bertz-Rosa about a new regional branding project that was launched earlier this summer.
The Pulse 06/20/09 Host Tom Jones talks about the Valley's water crisis with Kerman area farmer Paul Betancourt. We'll hear first hand about how the water shortage is impacting Paul's business and talk about solutions that can potentially benefit both farmers and the environment.
The Pulse 06/16/09 Host Tom Jones talks with Diko Chekian, CEO of Prestige Surface Works, a locally based firm specializing in fabrication of granite countertops. The company has recently gained recognition for their innovative "zero waste" water jet cutting system, which recycles all of the water used to cut granite slabs. Earlier this year the company was honored by the Institute for Family Business at Fresno State as part of their Family Business Awards.
The Pulse 06/06/09 Host Tom Jones talks with Tina Henson, founder and Chief Operating Officer of the Clovis based firm Plastic Jungle. The company just received $4.8 million in venture capital funding to accelerate the growth of its online gift card marketplace, which allows consumers to sell unwanted gift cards for cash or exchange them for other gift cards.
The Pulse 05/30/09 Tom Jones and Tim Stearns talk with Jennifer Sobieralski manager of the Fresno State Farm Market and other enterprise products such as Fresno State Wines, to learn more about what's going on at one of Fresno State's hidden gems.
The Pulse 05/23/09 We take The Pulse on the road again this week to the skybox at Chukchansi Park (taped during Tuesday's Grizzlies game) and feature interviews with Andrew Steubner, General Manager of the Fresno Grizzlies and Robert Williams, CEO of one of downtown Fresno's newest hotspots, Hero's Sports Lounge and Pizza Company. We'll find about more about running a minor league baseball team, and what it's like on the front lines of downtown revitalization from a business owner who is having success, even in a challenging economy. Former host Craig Scharton, now director of the city's Downtown and Community Revitalization Department sits in on the conversation.
The Pulse 05/16/09 Hosts Tom Jones and Tim Stearns talk about starting a business in a recession and strategies for success and reinventing your business.
The Pulse 05/02/09 Hosts Tom Jones and Tim Stearns talk to David Whitehorn and Jim Voss of Pelco about the latest advancements in the video security industry, and the role the Clovis based company plays in the Valley.
The Pulse 04/25/09 Hosts Tom Jones and Tim Stearns talk about workforce development and dealing with the Valley's record unemployment with Blake Konczal, CEO of the Fresno County Workforce Investment Board. We'll learn more about what the WIB is doing to help employees laid off following the liquidation of Fresno based retailer Gottschalks, and more.
The Pulse 04/18/09 Hosts Tom Jones and Tim Stearns take their show on the road to a skybox at Chukchansi Park this week, and talk to Craig Scharton, Director of the Department of Downtown and Community Revitalization for the City of Fresno. We'll find out more about Fulton Rev Fest and Hye Fest, two major festivals coming to the Fulton Mall in the next few months, and much more.
The Pulse 04/11/09 Hosts Tom Jones and Tim Stearns talk to Cynthia Cooper of FCASH about how the economy is impacting non-profits in the cultural sector.
The Pulse 03/28/09 Hosts Tom Jones and Tim Stearns talk with Beverely Raine of the Ashlan Company, a Fresno based firm with an innovative new debit card product that combines the utility of text messaging and mobile banking.
The Pulse 03/21/09 Hosts Tom Jones, Tim Stearns and Lee Lockhart with local blogger and entrepreneur James Collier. We'll learn more about his latest project tastefresno.com and more.
The Pulse 03/07/09 Hosts Tom Jones, Tim Stearns and Lee Lockhart talk with local entrepreneur Greg Smith of Click, a protein based, espresso, all-in-one energy drink. We'll find out more about how Click worked with the Lyles Center at Fresno State to bring their product to market, the types of challenges Fresno area entrepreneurs face, and much more.
The Pulse 02/28/09 Hosts Tom Jones, Tim Stearns and Lee Lockhart talk with local small business owner Tammy Sears, from On-Site Computer Training. Tammy is a graduate of the Entrepreneurial Training classes at the Central Valley Business Incubator. Tammy also hosts the "Tech Tuesdays" segment on KSEE 24.
The Pulse 02/21/09 This week on The Pulse, hosts Tom Jones, Lee Lockhart and Tim Stearns talk with Eric McCormick of McCormick Mobile Media, a local company that provides its clients with mobile web site and text messaging marketing strategies. We'll talk with Eric about new ways companies are using these products to reach their customers, and more.
The Pulse 02/14/09 Our guest is Dave Childers, principal of the Academy of Civic and Entrepreneurial Leadership (ACEL). The academy is a charter high school with a focus of media and entrepreneurship. We'll learn more about the curriculum and how ACEL hopes to teach & train the next generation of Valley entrepreneurs.
The Pulse 02/07/09
Harry Gaykian, Senior Vice President of Smith-Barney, joins us to talk about the stock market, the overall economy, and the economic stimulus plan. We'll get Harry's insights on how we got into the recession, how we'll get out of it, and more.
The Pulse 1/31/09
Dan Doyle, CEO of Central Valley Community Bank is our guest for a discussion about state of the economy and the US banking system, and specifically the so-called government bank "bailout" - otherwise known as the $700 billion Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP). Dan is also Chairman of the California Bankers Association, and gives us his inside perspective on one of the biggest issues facing the nation.
The Pulse 1/24/09
With the start of the spring semester this week, hosts Tom Jones, Lee Lockhart and Tim Stearns talk with two students from the entrepreneurship mentorship program at Fresno State, Gonzalo Miranda and Cody Smith. We'll learn more about that program, and about the $25,000 student business plan competition.
The Pulse 1/17/09
This week, hosts Tom Jones, Lee Lockhart and Tim Stearns talk with three guests from the Brown Armstrong Accountancy Corporation, including Ken Shakoori, Alicia Dias, and Susanne Campbell. Brown Armstrong, which is based in Bakersfield, is one of the nation's fastest growing accounting firms and just opened a branch in Fresno. Topics include the economic downturn, ethics, small business and more.
The Pulse 1/10/09
Kyle Kirkland, co-cowner of Club One in Downtown Fresno talks with host Lee Lockhart and guest host Suzanne Bertz-Rosa about the downtown casino, trends in the gaming industry, downtown revitalization and more.
The Pulse - 90.7 KFSR's Business Roundtable, features local business news, analysis, interviews, plus discussion about the important issues facing the San Joaquin Valley and the local business community. It is heard Saturdays at noon and Sundays at 9:00 AM on 90.7 KFSR.