#005 - Fighting Food Insecurity by the Numbers - with Austin LaRoche

In this episode we catch up with FischerJordan senior analyst Austin LaRoche about his research into the current state of food insecurity in the U.S. - post-COVID especially - and what FischerJordan is doing about it. Some of the things we cover in this special episode:

• Ins-and-outs of various operations in the U.S. to combat food insecurity
• How to ensure the largest amount of your donations are going directly to people in need when giving to non-profit organizations
• Resources for ensuring transparency in non-profit donations

We wrap up with an inside look at a new initiative at FischerJordan to try to address the problem of food insecurity in the communities where we operate - and how food banks and pantries can help out.

Some key resources referenced during this episode: 

• GuideStar

• Charity Navigator

• Charity Watch

• GiveWell

• FischerJordan FAIR (Food Availability Improvement Resource)

#004 - Alternative Financing Before, During, & After a Global Pandemic - Naren Nayak and Sachin Goel

Naren Nayak is a 20-year veteran of Capital Markets and Securitization and current treasurer at Credibly, a leading small business fintech lender. In this episode of Views from the Crow's Nest, we sat down with him and senior FischerJordan manager Sachin Goel for a dialogue about the evolution of the alternative lending space in the time preceding, during, and eventually following the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Some of what we covered: 

• The difference between alternative and traditional lenders
• What makes an alternative lender more attractive to small businesses for securing financing 
• How the COVID pandemic impacted the alternative commercial lending space and how things might look going forward 
• How investor attitudes toward alt-lenders may have shifted post-COVID
• Potential impacts of cryptocurrency on the alt lending space in the future 

Welcome to the crow's nest! 

The Mess Haul #2 - Anti Trust Cycle for Big Tech + Avoiding Programmed Bias with AI/ML - with Archita Bhandari, Jivraj Karwa, and Boaz Salik

In this second installment of The Mess Haul (or Mess Hall), FischerJordan team members Archita Bhandari and Jivraj Karwa and partner Boaz Salik chat about whether we're headed for another anti-trust cycle, this time for Big Tech. We then shift to some speculation about programmed bias in AI/ML and whether there has ever been a successful social or governmental attempt to limit a technology's advancement. 

The Mess Haul is a departure from our usual interview-style format, instead featuring a more free-form conversational approach with multiple participants. This format is designed to generate quick takes on a handful of recent topics, facilitating shorter, more opinionated discussion with a number of different perspectives.

The Mess Haul #1 - GME Post-Mortem and Bitcoin Mass Adoption Timeline - with Shreya Jain, Austin LaRoche, and Boaz Salik

This episode introduces The Mess Haul (or Mess Hall), a slight departure from our usual interview-style format instead featuring a more free-form conversational approach with multiple participants. This format is designed to generate quick takes on a handful of recent topics, an opportunity for shorter, more opinionated discussion with a number of different perspectives.

Today's guests are FischerJordan team members Shreya Jain and Austin LaRoche and partner Boaz Salik in a fireside chat riffing on the implications of the GME stock rally and Wall Street Bets saga in early 2021, followed by some speculations on the next stage of Bitcoin mass adoption. 

#003 - Data Science + Population Health Management - Neet Shah and Dr. Elena Koshkina

Views from the Crow's Nest returns with a special double interview with Neet Shah and Dr. Elena Koshkina, two tenured professionals in healthcare analytics and data science. In our conversation we delve into some interesting developments at the intersection of data science advancements and the field of population health management. Some of the topics we covered include:

• What population health management is (and why it's important)
• How the differing structures of US/UK healthcare systems impact population health initiatives 
• Key leaders in population health management and which innovations are driving better outcomes
• Technology's impact on the wellness space
• HIPAA concerns around patient data collection
• How to drive patient engagement in a world where everyone can look up their symptoms online

Preview #003 - Elena Koshkina and Neet Shah

We had the chance to spend time with Elena Koshkina and Neet Shah for a deep diving conversation on data science in population health management. This short five-minute sample will give you a preview of the full discussion episode, coming out later in November 2020!

#002 - Where the Grass Isn’t Always Greener: Banking Through the COVID Era - Shreya Jain

By now the world is well familiar with the adverse effects of the pandemic for a number of industries and how COVID has impacted the U.S. GDP. Some have also heard about the Fed and various states' intervention programs to mitigate some of those effects, as referenced in our previous episode of VFTCN. At the center of the current maelstrom of the Fed regulations, pandemic effects, increased demand, loans and defaults, investors and depositors, are the banks. In this episode, we get to talk with Shreya Jain, a senior analyst at FischerJordan, and take a look at the bank's side of this story, where unfortunately the "grass isn't always greener." 

#001 - Lending in the Post-COVID World: When, Where, & How Much - Boaz Salik, PhD

The economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been much-discussed and debated, especially regarding its impact on small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs). For some small business owners making steady payments on small business loans before the pandemic, the grim prospect of defaulting may now feel dangerously imminent. This fragile backdrop is now the proving ground for new ways to think about the relationship between borrower and lender. 

In our first full-length episode of Views from the Crow's Nest, we sit down with Boaz Salik, PhD, founder and CEO of FischerJordan, to examine the second order economic effects of the COVID pandemic for lenders in the next six months to a year or more.

#000 - Podcast Intro

Welcome to Views from the Crow's Nest by FischerJordan. This introductory episode will answer two questions: who/what is FischerJordan, and what you can expect to see from the crow's nest.

Find out more about FischerJordan's strategic management consulting framework and client expertise at fischerjordan.com