The Innovation Path at Cloud Wars Expo 2022 showcased up-and-coming companies that are driving innovation in and around cloud technologies. Dozens of startups took part in the Innovation Path, connecting with Expo attendees and demonstrating their unique solutions. A panel of Acceleration Economy Analysts chose from all the participants six finalists—Wisy, Cloudthread, Crosschq, Najaxa, Pelorus Technology, and Specright—and as the ultimate winner, Wisy and its founder, Min Chen. For this Cloud Wars Live conversation, execs from five of the finalists joined Acceleration Economy’s Aaron Back to talk about their businesses, their place in the tech industry, and what comes next.
Cloud Wars Expo Innovation Path Finalists
The Big Themes:
- Cloud technology supercharges startups: New companies must focus on scalability, by bringing on new customers, building new features, hitting new markets, and more. The cloud is a game-changing tool in how it helps CXOs scale up and scale down as needed for certain things.
- The “aha” moment: Each panelist shared stories about how and when they realized that the idea behind their company had legs and could truly address an unmet need or longstanding challenge for customers.
- The benefits of being a startup amid established competitors: Startups face unique challenges, but can also be more nimble and flexible than large enterprises. The panelists speak about how they’ve leveraged the startup mentality to connect with customers and grow their businesses.
The Big Quotes:
- “First is to understand my role as the CEO. I am the chief everything officer.” – Min Chen, Wisy
- “We have, I call them fanatical champions, that are our customers. And it’s not because we do anything more than just try to make their life better.” – Matthew Wright, Specright
- “We’ve actually impacted 24 million hiring decisions. And the more data we have, the more powerful this machine becomes.” – Kelsey Peterson, Crosschq
- “You have to listen for the opportunity… Through that active engagement with the customer, we helped them, but they also helped us make our product stronger..” – Erik Cornet, Pelorus Technology
- “There’s very few times that customers get to talk to an owner, and an owner that’s actually fully vested in the company. And a lot of our customers love that about us.” – Nate Evenson, Najaxa
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