Diamond Pres Shepard

1. Bridging the innovation divide:
Becoming a customer-driven organization
—
05/16/2017
Greg Shepard, Chief Technology Officer

2. “It’s a marathon, not a sprint.”
—
20+ years in marketing & affiliate
CEO of AffiliateTraction, 1999 – 2016
Founder and CEO of AdAssured, 2013 – 2015
eBay Enterprise Marketing Solutions acquires
AffiliateTraction during eBay spin out in November 2015
Together, they launch Pepperjam in April 2016
Pepperjam acquires AdAssured in July 2016

3. “It’s a marathon, not a sprint.”
4 lessons.

4. Lesson 1:
Know your breaking points.
Focus on your problems, because they
are your opportunities.
• Tech should be a solution, not a problem.
• Identify pain points in your business, and for customers, and
build technology to fix them.
• Solve the inch-wide problems, not just the mile-wide.

5. Lesson 2:
Know when to ask for help.
Just because you are succeeding,
doesn’t mean you are done learning.
Take a step back and ask:
• If you were your own customer, how would you improve the business?
• If the industry could talk to you, what would it say?
• Are we making products or solving customer problems? How are we
improving each year, both in learning and delivering successes?
Find a way to fit learning into your schedule.

6. Lesson 3:
Have a coach to turn to.
Find a mentor—and if you don’t have
one, be your own.
Turn to your own “Board of Directors” for challenging decisions:
• Who inspires you personally?
• What brands and businesses have achieved what you hope to?
• Which companies have the happiest customers?
• What tech companies have grown into solutions providers?

7. Lesson 4:
Find a way to recharge.
We are quick to worry about failure,
but slow to celebrate success.
• Learn how to recharge through small customer wins.
• Take a team mentality.
• Success happens in progressions.
• Stay optimistic, disciplined and patient – success doesn’t happen overnight;
it’s a marathon, not a sprint.

8. Customers are your road to
success, not a stop along the way.
Crossing the finish line.
Plan for your
breaking points.
1
Ask for help.
2
Have a support
system.
3
Know how to
recharge.
4

9. Let’s connect.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregshepard/
gshepard@pepperjam.com