Have you ever met someone who truly loved their job so much that you found yourself grinning ear-to-ear as you listened to them explain how they spend their days? Well, Matt Hooper sure has! His guest today, Bill Stark, is the President of IBM Business Partner Cognition Foundry. The passion with which Bill describes his job in today’s episode will leave you inspired and thinking about the many opportunities emerging technologies are bringing about for startups and society.

At Cognition Foundry, Bill and team help clients deliver innovation that matters to the world. They understand that early days can be frustrating for founders and that it’s easy to get stuck and not be able to get your idea off the ground. That’s why they help startups grow their idea, scale it up, and make it become sustainable and everlasting. It’s powerful and exciting work.

In this episode, Bill talks about the work that goes on at Cognition Foundry every day, how technology (and more specifically, blockchain technology) can help startups establish credibility and make a global impact, circular economy and much more! 

“If we intentionally design systems with people in mind, and we look at the problems as opportunities, the technology can truly make the world a better place.” — Bill Stark

Key takeaways

[:16] About today’s episode with special guest, Bill Stark!

[1:44] Matt welcomes Bill to the podcast.

[2:08] What does Bill get to do all day long as the President of Cognition Foundry? And how did he originally get started with it?

[4:24] What is an impact startup? And what challenges do impact startups face?

[8:23] How does an IT services provider use technology to help people meet said challenges?

[11:33] Where to learn more about how IBM Blockchain is reshaping the status quo!

[12:22] Bill gives some examples of enterprise technology and explains how it can benefit startups.

[15:47] Does blockchain help a startup establish credibility? And if so, how?

[21:01] Bill shares more about what they do with blockchain to help startups meet their challenges.

[24:57] Bill defines what a ‘circular economy’ is and explains what is so exciting about it.

[27:52] Bill shares the inspiring future of blockchain he sees.

[30:25] Matt thanks Bill for joining the podcast!

[30:59] Where to learn more about Cognition Foundry and get in contact with Bill.

Sources mentioned

Cognition Foundry

Plastic Bank

IBM Blockchain Pulse Episode 4: Blockchain for Social Good

United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

Blockchain for Good — Learn more about how blockchain is helping humanitarian efforts!

Newlight Technologies

Ellen MacArthur Foundation

Follow-up with our guest

Bill Stark’s LinkedIn

Looking for more episodes?

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