How to find opportunity in an ever-changing world: A Product Panel (August 24, 2021)

Your goals as an entrepreneur are not always clear. They may be centered on making a profit, which means a lot of decisions need to be made on prioritization. But your goals as an entrepreneur should also be centered on building a brand that can deviate from a script, and consider alternatives.

The speakers at our next Founders Network Product Panel kept the momentum going, each finding the opportunity in the pause and solidifying the value of their product or service for customer needs today and tomorrow. Join in to hear how Julie Leonhardt, co-founder and CEO of Vuse, Vamshi Gunukula, COO of DirectShifts, and Jeffrey O’Neill, CEO of Zephyr Aerospace, pushed forward and even pivoted to meet the moment.

Learn how this amazing panel, not only pushed forward, but pivoted to meet the moment by:

• Being able to pivot where the industry is pushing you with product nimbleness
• Why you should sell your meaning, not just your product
• How to extend passion to propose a solution
• Attract the attention of customers through experiences
• It’s not about products, it’s about unmet needs

Meet the Panel:

Julie Leonhardt (Moderator)

Julie Leonhardt is Co-Founder and CEO of Vuse, a real estate social content creation and marketing app that empowers real estate professionals to create social-ready content, in minutes, on their smartphone. She is passionate about questioning the status quo, unleashing creativity and human potential, and leading teams to push the limits to exceed expectations and grow exciting, dynamic businesses. She has deep relationships across the real estate and real estate technology space.

Julie has a track record of strategically leading teams and organizations to create new ways of doing business to increase success. She has been a leader at the world’s two most renowned luxury real estate brands, and worked as a commercial real estate finance attorney at two leading Wall Street firms. She was named to Housingwire’s 2019 Woman of Influence list and has been covered by or published pieces in Entrepreneur, Real Trends, Thrive Global, Authority Magazine and Mansion Global.

Julie is a graduate of Westmont College and holds a Juris Doctor degree from Fordham University Law School. She is fluent in Spanish and lives on a small NJ farm near New York City.

Vamshi Gunukula

Vamshi plays a key role in enabling many healthcare organizations implement cost of care transformations through implementation of Workforce optimization strategies, staffing to demand models, cost accounting and decision support.

Vamshi’s key areas of expertise include business intelligence, data analytics and operations research & logistics science applications.

Vamshi also specializes in the integration of technology to drive decision making using data. His niche capabilities include: statistical analysis designs, optimization modeling, business intelligence architecture designing, process optimization and end-to-end delivery of process redesign implementations. Vamshi has worked with numerous hospitals in helping them achieve significant top line and bottom line improvements through utilization of technology and analytics.

Jeffrey O’Neill

Making travel and transportation more efficient, enjoyable, and affordable. I'm particularly knowledgeable about the pointy end — first class, business and premium economy — plus onboard service, the evolution of seating, inflight Internet, and how airline economics is driving a new split between cabins.

Inclusive and multicultural work experience at both strategic and operational levels; Unrivaled world perspective/global experience through international travel to 160+ countries. Unique blend of operational prowess and creative genius in business development, marketing and sales.

My tools are communication, collaboration, information synthesis, creative thinking, and curiosity. I love meeting people, building and maintaining relationships, understanding what makes someone tick and what makes someone unique. There is nothing I consider more important than having the right attitude and helping others. I believe in curiosity, humor, and optimism.

Innate ability to manage large, sophisticated relationships, solve tough problems and develop and implement forward-thinking strategic solutions. Proven track record of negotiating complex deals that involved multiple key stakeholders.

Guests Are Welcome!

Please bring a guest! Every member can bring one (1) guest to each event. Each guest must be a full-time tech startup founder so they can bring new perspectives, skillsets, and experience to your chapter.

All guests must be full-time tech startup founders and you can register them directly on this function page. See How to Register a Guest here.

Confidentiality Reminder

All information shared within Founders Network is strictly confidential. We are built on a foundation of trust, and the community takes confidentiality seriously. Investors, members, and staff all share experiences and opinions off the record. In this roundtable forum, we continue to model our fnValues of Reciprocity, Humility, Authenticity and Inclusivity.