Paul Mabray has been in the wine and spirits industry for over seventeen years. He has worked for Napa Ale Works, Niebaum~Coppola, WineShopper/Wine.com and also was the North American Beverage Consultant for Sumitomo Corporation of America from 2003 through 2005. He founded Inertia in 2003 as one of the first major companies established to bridge the barrier between wineries and their customers. Paul Mabray was CEO from 2002 until 2008 creating the largest and most powerful e-commerce platform for the wine industry, the Rethink Engine. Under his leadership, Inertia created incredible new products for the wine industry to help open up the ability to sell and market direct including the innovative Direct to Trade, ReThink Compliance, Brix Open Source CMS, Marketplace Enablement, and many more. For his last six months at Inertia, Paul was Chief Strategy Officer and EVP of Business Development in charge of creating key strategic direction, business development, and mergers and acquisitions. VinTank is a continuation of his desire to help revolutionize the wine industry through e-business and innovative digital products and marketing.

A key contributor to the Inertia blog, a two time American Wine Blog Awards finalist, he has also been a guest lecturer at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, UC Davis and many other symposiums, seminars, blogs, and periodicals for his leadership in the wine industry.

Paul formerly sat on the Board of Directors for the leading wine business social network, Openwineconsortium.org, and the Board of Advisors for Snooth.com.

Paul Mabray is currently on the Board of Directors for Cruvee.com and the Board of Advisors of Taste.com.

What are you working on right now?

We are working on quite a few projects.

The two most exciting are a report about how the internet will change the wine industry and we are helping our client build the free data distribution hub for the wine industry which will be the substrata that new wine/tech companies will be able to innovate and will help catalyze the success of wine online.

3 Trends that excite you?

Social CRM (SCRM).  The notion of connecting conversations to customers to better service them is amazing.

Use of mobile devices to help wine consumers make buying decisions at point of purchase (POP).

The use of aggregate wine conversations on social networks and how it creates “crowd scores” that have never been seen before in the wine industry and help off-set the imbalance caused by only a few key professional critics.

How do you bring ideas to life?

We follow a pretty disciplined routine for making IP a reality.

Harvest – Our discovery phase where we find all the strategic levers and possible friction.

Crush – Ideation where are things are possible.

Blend/Filter – Is it achievable? Does it make money? what has the best ROI?

Bottle - Let’s take this idea to market.

We call this process Agile Business Process (named after Agile Software Process) and it emulates some of the efficiencies of that methodology.  The only three tools we use to create and execute this are a whiteboard, PowerPoint and Excel.  The results of this process:

A PPT with the strategic goals defined.

An XLS with an activity calendar, KPI’s, Costs, Revenue.

KAPOW.

What is one mistake that you’ve made that our readers can learn from?

My goal has always been to help the entire wine industry succeed using digital tools.  As CEO of Inertia Beverage Group, I invented Direct to Trade, a new channel that allowed wineries to sell directly to restaurants and retailers using the internet.  In my hubris, I tried to make it a channel for all customers instead of focusing on the right customers that would help change buying behavior.  As a result we suffered from trying to solve not only the problems of building a new channel, but of trying to help brands that had other problems other than distribution.  It was like pushing a rope.

What is one book and one tool that helps you bring ideas to life?

A book that constantly challenges my assumptions is Free by Chris Anderson.

I use Evernote.com extensively to ensure that my thoughts are captured in free form and organized for future review.

What is one idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?

Wine consumers that belong to clubs usually belong to 1-3 clubs.  A central platform to manage all their club activity (change of address, change of credit card, etc) that cascades through to the wineries would be a useful tool.  Moreover, that platform could be an awesome comparative engine for people looking to join new clubs (what are the benefits, how often, shipping costs, etc) and have user generated reviews on club experiences.

What accomplishment are you most proud of in your career?

I have been fortunate in my life to be part of many incredible companies (some very successful, some not, but all pioneers).  What I love about all these companies is that each of them has added to the gestalt of the success of wine online.  Each step I’ve been part of teams that help our industry get closer to actually making wine work online.  It has been amazing to see the components that all of them have contributed to the infrastructure for the success that is just starting to blossom.  We are just starting the bronze age of wine online.  I hope to continue to be a key contributor to that story and to the evolution of wine online.

When you are not working, what are you doing?

When am I not working?  LOL.  Actually my other big driver in life is family.  I am fortunate to have an amazing son, Finn, who is the light of my life.  There is nothing better than a Saturday morning watching him learn and grow.  I get recharged by his glow to go back and swing for the fences.  I also am a huge video game fan and play a bit of Xbox360 at night (GamerTag – napa maestro) and focus on immersive first person games so that I am forced to not think about work which really is my passion as well as my occupation.

Connect:

You can find more about me at:
Paul Mabray on Twitter – @pmabray
Paul Mabray on Linkedin – http://www.linkedin.com/in/pmabray
Blog – http://pmabray.tumblr.com
Our site - http://www.vintank.com

Jon Leland, president & creative director of ComBridges,  is a leading communications expert who has been a visionary media innovator for almost 40 years.

In the seventies, Mr. Leland founded one of the first narrowcast radio networks. In the eighties, he was a network TV pioneer who founded the on-air promotion department at cable’s USA Network. And, in the nineties, Leland wrote and produced original video programs, designed interactive TV prototypes, and created leading edge websites.

Corporate projects have included two interactive TV “future vision” videos for Pacific Bell and an interactive TV prototype application for Oracle Corporation that was displayed at Disney World’s Epcot Center.

Corporate clients have included AT&T, HBO, Hooked on Phonics, Lifetime Cable Television, Madison Square Garden Network, NEC America, New York Telephone, Paramount Home Video, Silicon Graphics, Simon & Schuster Video, Viacom and Xerox, among others.

An early evangelist for low-cost, digital video production tools, in 1990 and 1994, Leland wrote, hosted, produced and directed educational video programs about these new technologies. These programs received sponsorship support from Adobe, Autodesk, Avid, Macromedia, Media 100, Sony and Videography magazine, among others.

Jon was also a contributing editor to Videography magazine for over twelve years, and has written articles for Computer Graphics World, Digital Cinema, Digital TV (formerly TV-Broadcast), The Industry Standard, Streaming Media and Sybase magazines. He has also had articles commissioned by Compaq Computer and FedEx Kinko’s.

Mr. Leland has led workshops at the Inc. 500, Inc. Growing the Organization, Corporate Computing Expo and other conferences. He has taught broadcast journalism at UC Berkeley, and served as the West Coast on-camera correspondent for the American Business Journal TV series.

What are you working on right now?

1. New Marketing University: A source for online, visionary, revenue-generating marketing programs, products & community that inspire today¹s businesses to harness the power of the Internet. (project in development, launch anticipated Sept 2010.)

2. Free webinars based on my ebook, “What Every Business Should Know About Internet Marketing”

3 Trends that excite you?

1. Social Media. Like the latest ‘social media revolution‘ video says, “Social media is not just a trend, but a fundamental shift in how we communicate.”

2. The Democratization of Media. Digital tools like HD camcorders and YouTube etc put the power of the media in the hands of most people. Viva La Level Playing Field!

3. Authenticity. Telling the truth is what works on the web (as well as in life). Now, somehow, more than ever.

How do you bring ideas to life?

Perseverance, listening to my inner voice, communities of support, networking, being open to new ideas.

What is one mistake that you’ve made that our readers can learn from?: Not being ‘sober’ about money. Solvency is important. Building a business based on current cash flow is the ideal scenario. Debt and ‘leveraging’ can create very real problems. Don’t go there.

What is one book and one tool that helps you bring ideas to life?

I really like mind mapping and use MindMeister.com. I also use 37signals’ Highrise to keep track of client and potential business relationships, and really like HootSuite for Twitter and social media post convenience.

What is one idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?

Create a YouTube channel filled with tips on how to use Twitter. Even according to Twitter’s founders, its biggest problem is ease of use. Many people need help understanding this important and valuable social media platform. (And let me know if you want to do this. I have a great URL and might be able to help.)

What do you mean by “The Grand Canyon Gap between people and technology”?

Technology and online media in particular are innovating at an accelerating pace. It’s virtually impossible for most people to catch up.

I’ve been talking about this and creating media that attempt to bridge this gap for at least 20 years and the situation is more challenging than ever.

Thus the need for New Marketing University (mentioned above).

Why are you so passionate about golf?

Golf is my learning lab for becoming “The Ambassador of Ease.” This is a book and inspiring keynote speech that I’m also working on. Ultimately, I think being in the “zone” or the “flow” is the way to go and the way to be most productive. I get a direct experience of this when I try to get the golf ball in the hole in as few strokes as possible. It’s a great way to learn these important life lessons, and it’s fun, exercise and a treat to spend a big block of time outdoors.

Information about me as a golf keynote speaker is here:
http://www.combridges.com/speaker/winning-with-ease/

Please see my golf blog for more. Hopefully I’ll get back to posting there again soon.

Connect:

http://www.ComBridges.com
888.530.5505 x1
Skype: joncombridges

http://www.ComBridges.com/Blog/

http://www.TheJoyofGolfing.com

Facebook: http://facebook.com/combridges.fb
Twitter: http://twitter.com/joncombridges
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/jonleland
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jonleland

Craig Newmark is the founder of craigslist.org, a site where people can help each other with everyday needs including housing and jobs. The site has a culture of trust, based on shared values like “treat people like you want to be treated.” He currently works as a customer service rep, in no managerial role. Previous experience includes thirty years working with computers for IBM, GM, Charles Schwab & Co, and Bank of America.

He’s also working with a wide range of groups using the Net to help each other out, like Donorschoose.org, the Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America, Kiva.org (microfinance) and Consumer Reports. He’s working on the advisory board of Wikipedia, considering customer service and trust issues.

Craig is also actively engaged with government workers on multiple levels to use the Net for superior public service, and with Sunlight Foundation for government accountability and transparency. He’s not as funny as he thinks he is, but sometimes can’t help himself. Craig no longer wears a plastic protector and thick black glasses that are taped together, but is still a nerd.

What are you working on right now?

Customer service always comes first.

Then, I’m engaged in helping other people getting stuff done:

• Helping transform government to get the job done, to provide better customer service, with accountability, so we know where the money goes.
• Other areas where people work together to help each other out, like in microfinance and consumer protection.

3 trends that excite you?

• Online reputation
• Mobile web
• Listening/ideation internal sites, where rank and file workers, or citizens, can connect, figure out what’s really going on, and how to fix it

How do you bring ideas to life?

Lie down and think.

What is one mistake that you made, and what did you learn from it?

Sometimes I’ve gotten lazy and trusted someone else to get stuff done, when I really realized they couldn’t do it.

What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?

Treat people like you want to be treated.

What inspires you and why?

Leonard Cohen, since he finds the spiritual in everyday life.

What would you like to inspire others to do?

I’d like to inspire people to stand up for one another, particularly when they endure a daily grind, unrewarding, that helps others.

Connect

twitter.com/craignewmark

facebook.com/craignewmark

cnewmark.com

image credit goes to Stephanie Canciello, unali artists