Tom Raftery has published a podcast conversation he had with Jeff Nolan in the run up to IT@Cork. I listened to it while sat in Madrid airport, using wifi at €9 for two hours. Cote, any Monkchips Law for that one? Back to the plot:
Jeff’s one of the Enterprise Irregulars, yet his start up is concerned with the needs of the 38 million small businesses in the US. Do you know the US has about the same proportion of small businesses per 000 of population as in the UK? While in San Francisco, Jeff and I shared a lot of thoughts about a range of issues. We’re both invested in the small segment. Isn’t that mad for a man who up until recently was a 10-year SAP veteran? Does that inspire you to really engage with this segment? Jeff knows that if you put power into the hands of users, amazing things can happen. Especially in the SME sector.
I was comforted to find the US small business person faces exactly the same problems seen in the UK. Bureaucracy is a big issue there as well. Big man crushing little man is another. Since there are many more blogs over there than this side of the pond, it will be interesting to tap into their thought processes.
The pod cast is well worth the 28 minute investment. Jeff explains difficult concepts in an easy to understand manner. He talks fondly about his time at SAP and gives insights into why he thinks the SME market is important. I popped a question up for Jeff to field which he did with commendable aplomb.
Jeff and I have had our fair share of tussles on our blogs yet we don’t fall out because Jeff’s intellectually honest. That I admire. The flip side is that he’s a formidable opponent, defending his turf with intellectual rigor, rarely falling into the trap of the vernacular. He’s also a fun guy to be around when the beers are flowing.
I’ll be at IT@Cork because Ireland has some very bright people doing interesting things. For those who’d like to be amazed, I’d recommend signing up. The bonus is I get to meet Jeff again. And I know he’s really looking forward to the event.
According to Tom, there’s a full hour of conversation in the unedited form. I’m lobbying for that MP3 file!!
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