BLIB #7 - Neelu Modali, CEO of SM Resources & Naveen Krishnamurthy, CEO of Riva Solutions

Today's BLIB is extra special because it was done with two different business leaders at the same time.  It's kind of like the Doublemint commercial from the 80's, minus the big hair and sweater vests, and with way more beer.  We met up with Neelu Modali and Naveen Krishnamurthy at Earl's Kitchen and Bar in Tyson's Corner for some good old fashioned BLIB fun.  Both native to the D.C. area, both UMD graduates, and both formidable business leaders - Neelu and Naveen were a blast to be around.  Neelu runs SM Resources, a government contracting firm focused on Tech and Science consulting, which he grew from 10 employees to its current size of 250 employees.  Naveen runs Riva Solutions, a government contracting firm with about 70 employees, which focuses on providing 'out of the box' digital services to the federal government.  It was great seeing these two friends and business leaders talk about beers, bars, and business leadership.  After our get together I felt like I walked away knowing more about all three.

The Beer:
After engaging with Neelu for just a few minutes I realized I was in the company of a serious beer guru.  Neelu explained that he loves the culture of beer, the people at breweries, and the complexity of good beer.  As it turns out, Neelu was the one who got Naveen into drinking beer - or at least drinking better beer. Naveen admittedly drank Budweiser (58) and Corona (54) prior to being introduced to the beer scene.  For our first round, Neelu decided to drink an Atlas Rowdy Rye (83) and Naveen was throwing back a Flying Dog Raging Bitch (89).  I decided to go for a Hellbender Red Line IPA (NR), named after D.C.'s infamous Red Line.  When talking about favorite beers, Neelu mentioned recently drinking Firestone Walker's Parabola (100).  This beer consistently ranks with BeerAdvocate and RateBeer as one of the best beers in the country.  Neelu is part of a beer trading group and follows limited release beers and rare/hard-to-find beers.  This is a guy who knows what he wants, likes, and needs when it comes to beers.  Neelu called out Ocelot Brewing in Dulles, VA and Aslin Beer Company in Herndon, VA in particular for being great places nearby to drink some tasty beer.  Neelu and Naveen both mentioned enjoying Bourbon County Barrel Stout (100).  For those not familiar with this beer, it's brewed once a year, usually around Thanksgiving time and the beer itself is aged in actual bourbon barrels.  It is brewed by Goose Island (owned by Anheuser Bush) but with one sip of this delicious Stout all of your Craft Brewer vs. Mega Brewer concerns go out the window.  Naveen and Neelu also mentioned that they enjoy another rare and elusive beer, Founder's Kentucky Breakfast Stout (100).  KBS was made available in April of this year, and if you're interested in seeing when some of the other Founders' limited release beers will become available, you can view their calendar here.

The Bar:
I have to admit that at first I was skeptical of Earl's Kitchen and Bar.  A chain restaurant out of Canada and located in corporate-y Tyson's Corner did not pique my interest in the way that a small hole in the wall bar or restaurant would.  However, I found Earl's to be a beautiful restaurant with some interesting elements to it.  The service was fantastic, the beer was cold, and the food looked somewhat unique for what I'd imagine you'd get in Tysons.  Neelu, Naveen, and myself all agreed that while Earl's is a good scene with decent beer, it's not really a destination if you're looking for a wide variety of beer.  There are lots of local beers (and wine!) on tap.  I noticed many of the breweries were what I would consider to be the "usual suspects" of local breweries, like D.C.'s DC Brau and Hellbender, Salisbury, Maryland's Evolution, and Alexandria, Virginia's Port City.  But there wasn't much else in terms of beers from other areas, nor were there any small, local breweries on the list.  The list was also very Ale-heavy.  When I asked Naveen about the types of bars and restaurants he's into, he mentioned B-Side Restaurant in the Mosaic District of Fairfax, VA as well as ChurchKey in the Logan Circle neighborhood of Washington, D.C.  Both guys recommended Macdowells Brew Kitchen in Leesburg.  Neelu told us that he's much more into breweries than bars, and has been to many, many breweries around the country.  He specifically called out Wicked Weed in Ashville, NC, Ballast Point in San Diego, CA,  and Hardywood in Richmond, VA.  Neelu tells BLIB'ers that they should never pass up an opportunity to try Hardywood's Christmas Morning Stout (94).

The Business Leader(s):
Next up I talked to Neelu and Naveen about business leadership.  Because they're friends and have a common background, it wasn't surprising to hear that they have a similar perspective on business leadership.  Neelu tells other business leaders that it's important to make sure your employees don't feel like they're a commodity. He also explained that we're in a different financial environment than we were back during the dot.com era when he started working, and that there are lots of hungry companies out there ready and willing to compete.  Neelu advised other business leaders to listen to today's beat, but also realize that things are changing constantly.  He'd like to see more opportunities for business leaders to sit down with one another and talk about things in a trusted, open, and vulnerable way and in a way in which everyone is open to learning new things.  When I asked Neelu what he needs from the universe right now he responded by saying that he needs to be able to leverage his time to his advantage.  Time, and the lack thereof, continues to be an important and reoccurring theme for business leaders.

Naveen had similar thoughts.  He noted that people are so used to things being done a certain way and they need to understand that innovation may mean doing things a different way.  He explained that innovation in the government has been relatively non-existent and that that needs to change.  Naveen also said that there's so much information online and available that you need to be able to use that information to your advantage.  One line that I love hearing Naveen say is: Everything in business is sales.  It's refreshing to see a CEO and business leader emphasize the importance of sales in business, because without sales revenue there is no business.  Naveen has also found that people tend to be motivated by things other than money.  They're motivated by communication, innovation, and being rewarded for doing good work  Naveen encourages other business leaders to have a regular dialogue with their employees and listen to what they have to say.  This sounds a lot like what Lily Cua from Aspire told us back in BLIB #3!

A huge thanks to Neelu Modali from SM Resources and Naveen Krishnamurthy from RIVA.  Our next beer swilling business leader will be Niv Shah, CEO and Co-Founder of Ottoneu, Inc.  See you next Wednesday.  

                                 

BLIB #6 - Daria Dubinina, CEO of Payment Ninja

I recently had the pleasure of drinking a few "remote" brews with Payment Ninja CEO Daria Dubinina.  Originally from the Ukraine, Daria has been flexing her entrepreneurial muscles since she was 21.  Prior to heading up Payment Ninja, she owned her own DJ'ing store and worked for a large payment  processing company by the name of RBK Money.  At RBK Money Daria started in customer service and worked her way up to becoming their VP of Global Business Development.  After RBK Money sold in 2015 Daria left to join one of her former co-workers on a new initiative - Payment Ninja - which she now leads.  Payment Ninja is a company that focuses on payment processing for small and medium-sized businesses.  Based in San Francisco, Daria tells me that Payment Ninja is the world's first free payment processing system.  In addition to processing payments for free, Payment Ninja also helps merchants sell more of what they're selling by helping them optimize their advertising.  Here's an example: Think about buying shoes on the internet.  Once you buy them, you don't need the shoes anymore...but you still see ads for the shoes.  Payment Ninja helps to make sure that future ads that you see are for laces (or shoe polish, or socks, or whatever) as opposed to the same shoes. Daria is Ukrainian but has also lived in Latvia and based on our discussion of various countries I could tell that she is a seasoned world traveler.  I knew Daria would make a great BLIB'er given that she likes beer, travels the world, and is an entrepreneur and business leader.

The Beer:
Daria and I kicked off our bi-coastal beer drinking session over Skype.  Daria told me that she likes to drink dark beers and that she enjoys the deep taste of beer (and that she doesn't like light beers that she can hardly taste).  Daria schooled me in the basics of Ukrainian beer and explained that while people in the Ukraine enjoy beer, there isn't a craft beer scene like there is in the U.S.  Don't go to the Ukraine and expect craft breweries on every corner that sell all different types of craft brews.  Daria explained that the Ukrainians tend to drink their beer for the effect, not for the taste.  Bottles of beer usually come in 2 liter sizes and are often are on the lighter side.  Because of this she finds the small 12 oz bottles we have in the U.S. strange, and she absolutely cannot stand drinking from cans.  Daria chose to pick up an Anchor Steam Porter (92) and a Lost Coast Downtown Brown (83).  I found it interesting that both of Daria's beers were from West Coast breweries.  Famous for their Anchor Steam beer, Anchor Brewing has a reputation for being a good regional beer that has made its way across the country.  Around since the late 1800's, Anchor was acquired by a San Francisco based group (The Griffin Group) back in 2010.  I always tend to think that what Anchor Brewing is to San Francisco, Shiner is to Austin/San Antonio -- good regional breweries that have managed to gain some national notoriety.  Lost Coast Brewery is a woman-owned brewery that has some fantastic beer (I like the 8 Ball Oatmeal Stout that they make).  I decided to represent D.C. by grabbing DC Brau's The Citizen (81) as well as an Atlas Brew Works' Rowdy (83) and spread the D.C. beer gospel.  The Citizen is a great Belgian style ale that you'll enjoy if like stronger trappist/belgian style beers.  I wasn't as big of a fan of the Rowdy.  Atlas calls it a Hop Forward Rye Ale.  It's a little too bitter for me, and you can definitely taste the hoppiness of the beer, but the rye spiciness was a little too much for me.

The Bar:
Since Daria and I were on Skype, we weren't able to talk about the bar that we were in.  Instead, we talked about some of Daria's favorite bars and restaurants.  I knew that Daria's status as a world traveler would mean I'd get some interesting recommendations from her.  Daria likes all sorts of food and enjoys pairing wine with Italian food and beer with Chinese/Asian food.  One of her favorite restaurant/bars is a local place called The Trident in Sausalito, California.  And one of Daria's go-to beer spots in San Francisco is Sessions.  She likes Sessions because of their great beer selection and variety.  I took a look at their online draft menu, which contained some great beers, including Heretic's Evil Twin (88) and Firestone's Doublejack (95).  Daria also recommended a restaurant in Latvia called The Three Chefs (for when our BLIB readers are in Latvia) and a Ukranian restaurant/bar whose name translates into The Sheep Hunter.  Daria told me that the latter is one of the best restaurants in Kiev, Ukraine.  Daria is lucky enough to live by the ocean, and when I originally asked her where she liked to drink beer (assuming she'd tell me a local bar), she told me that one of her favorite past-times is grabbing a bottle of beer and drinking it while sitting by the ocean.

The Business Leader:
Payment Ninja currently has 6 employees and will be hiring a few more developers and client support/account representatives in the near future.  They'll also be hiring in Europe.  The company is currently bootstrapped, but they may be looking for some investment at some point as well.  One of Daria's biggest challenges is "putting everything together" or assembling and joining all of the moving parts of her business.  She also mentioned that getting rid of fear and doubt and moving forward is incredibly important.  We heard that from Kevin May in our last BLIB as well!  It's becoming more and more obvious that CEO's and business leaders aren't immune from the fear and doubt bug.  When it comes to what Daria needs from the Universe, she told me that she would like to increase sales, which would then allow her to grow her company at a more rapid pace.  She also would like to continue thinking about how she could attract more investment into her company.  When I asked her what sort of advice she has for other business leaders, Daria told me this:  It's easy to give up, but don't.  Just keep working.  Make sure that there's movement every day.  Don't let fear get in the way of the work that you are doing.  Daria also encourages others to pick someone who you admire and ask yourself "what would that person do in my situation."  Daria is currently reading Dan Lyon's new book Disrupted and recommends others read it as well.

BLIB #5 - Kevin May, CEO of GenB

I had the pleasure of meeting Kevin May, the Co-Founder of GenB at The Sovereign in Georgetown recently.  GenB is a boutique digital product development firm that Kevin co-founded with Pawel Chicon back in 2011.  Over the past five years GenB has worked with enterprise clients as well as startups to build custom enterprise-grade web, mobile, tablet and private cloud applications.  Kevin also happened to be in the Georgetown area because he is in the process of securing new office space for his company.  Kevin told me that he is currently working on getting a spot on Wisconsin Avenue in Georgetown and that once this happens, he'll be leaving his Dupont Circle WeWork space for real business digs.  I found Kevin fascinating for several reasons:  1) he recently received his PhD in Entrepreneurship from George Washington University, 2) he got his degree at the same time that he was building his company, and 3) his secret superhuman power is an uncanny mastery of Saved by the Bell trivia.  When I asked Kevin how he was able to get a Doctoral degree while also building and running a technology company, he told me that doing both at the same time nearly killed him.  If not for yoga, exercise, and healthy eating, Kevin probably wouldn't be doing this #BLIB right now!

The Bar:
Kevin and I met at The Sovereign in the ritzy, yet collegy neighborhood of Georgetown in Washington, D.C.  The Sovereign is Neighborhood Restaurant Group's new Belgian bar concept located on Wisconsin Ave.  You might know of NeighborhoodRestaurant Group as the company that runs a number of successful restaurants and bars in D.C.  ChurchKey, Rustico, Bluejacket and Iron Gate are just some of their notable locations.  As we walked into The Sovereign, we noticed that it was dark and dimly lit.  We walked upstairs and sat down at a large wooden bar that was flanked by several standing tables.  It was quite busy and there was so much noise that having a conversation proved to be a bit challenging.  But the vibe at the bar was great and there was a ton of energy for a weekday evening.  With close to 50 beers on draft and around 200 different types of bottled beer, this bar is definitely not for the beginning beer drinker.  Not to mention that most of the breweries on tap are Belgian breweries that many U.S. beer drinkers would have a hard time recognizing (and pronouncing).  Don't go here expecting to see Sam Adams, Flying Dog, Dogfish Head, or any other popular domestic craft breweries on the draft beer menu.  We did have two knowledgeable bartenders who guided us through the options and who made helpful recommendations about what we should try.   When I asked Kevin what kind of bars he usually frequents he mentioned that he loves bars with "character and soul."  He wants to go somewhere that's authentic and not the typical "meet markets" where people go to pick up the opposite sex.  He recommends JV's in Falls Church because it's a down-home bar where locals hang out and swill domestic beer while listening to live music.  It’s been family owned and operated since 1947 and Kevin notes that "The owner Lorraine comes out, walks around, and talks to everyone at the bar. It makes you feel really welcome."  He also used to frequent Tonic when he was in graduate school, because of its proximity to GWU and because they have Brouwerij Huyghe's Delirium Tremens (91) on tap. 

The Beer:
I started our beer adventure with a Jolly Pumpkin Rojzilla (88) and Kevin grabbed a DuPont Pilsner.  Jolly Pumpkin was the only domestic brewery that I saw on The Sovereign's draft menu.  I've had Jolly Pumpkin a few times before, and while they're somewhat of an obscure (but awesome) brewery, I figured I'd go domestic early.  I really enjoyed the Rojzilla (Jolly Pumpkin calls it "their little monster"); its tangy, sour flavor with a little bit of red fruitiness did it for me.  Jolly Pumpkin is a great little brewery located in Ann Arbor Michigan, and they have a reputation for producing fantastic U.S.-made artisan ales.  Kevin enjoyed his Dupont Pilsner as well.  He liked the crispness of the beer and told me that the flavors of the beer "grew on him the more he drank it."  The Dupont brewery is a small brewery in Belgium and came to prominence in the U.S. with their Dupont Saison which is sold in a large liter bottle.  You can even get it in DuPont Circle D.C!  Kevin generally likes hoppy IPA's and tries to avoid rich, heavy beers like Guinness.  His favorite breweries include Star Hill and the now defunct Old Dominion BrewHouse because they make (made) solid beers and because he likes to support Virginia breweries.  He loves Star Hill's Grateful Pale Ale (82) and Northern Lights (82) and feels that Starr Hill has been consistently cranking out great brews.  And while Kevin likes some of the beers put out by mega craft brewers like Sam Adams, including the Rebel IPA (82) and Noble Pils (87), he feels that the quality isn't any better than what you would get from a local or regional brewery.  Kevin explained to me that "it always makes him feel good to support the little guy."  Kevin went to William and Mary for college in the early 2000's and while there his go-to beers were Natural Light (47) and Colt .45 (58).  Congrats to Kevin for graduating from college and for graduating from drinking bad beer!

The Business Leader:
GenB currently has 9 employees; they are growing, and they are hiring.  Kevin explained that one of his biggest challenges right now is differentiating GenB from other digital firms within the industry, as GenB is closer to a software development house than a marketing agency.  One way that GenB does this is by being extremely picky about the clients that they work with and the work they agree to do, since “technology is not a commodity.”  Kevin also mentioned that finding and recruiting talent can be a challenge as well as setting a good example for his existing employees.  I then asked Kevin what he needs from the universe right now.  He told me that he's always looking for new clients.  But they need to be the right clients.  One of the key elements of #BLIB is that I always ask business leaders what advice they have for other business leaders.  Given that Kevin has a PhD in Entrepreneurship and ran and judged GWU's PitchGeorge and New Venture competitions for several years, I knew he would have some interesting advice.  Kevin explained that he has two different pieces of advice; one for would-be entrepreneurs/business leaders and the other for current entrepreneurs/business leaders.  He wants the "would-be's" to know that they should follow their passion and trust their gut, and he tells the "currents" that self-doubt is natural and normal, but to not let it stand in the way of doing great things.  Whether it's beer advice, bar advice, or business leadership advice, I suggest that our readers take Dr. May's advice to heart!

BLIB #4 - Vinay Raman, CEO of CAARMO

For this week's #BLIB we met up with Vinay Raman, CEO of CAARMO, at World of Beer in Arlington, VA.  CAARMO is leading the way in the connected car industry, which is part of the Internet of Things (IoT) that you keep hearing about.  Vinay told me that by 2020 the connected car industry is projected to become a $119 billion industry and some 80 million vehicles are projected to be connected to the IoT.  Vinay and the folks at CAARMO build trust and transparency in the auto care industry by empowering drivers through the use of their technology.  Think of CAARMO as like a fitbit, but it's for your car instead of your body, and instead of the gadget telling you how many steps you've taken or how many calories you've burned, it tells you (and your mechanic) what's right and what's wrong with your automobile.  CAARMO currently has 5 employees and is raising some funding from private investors and local governments.

The Bar:
World of Beer is a great setting for a #BLIB.  While it's a chain bar that has locations all throughout the U.S., you rarely go wrong by offering your clientele over 500 beers to choose from.  With that many beers, one might feel that there are just TOO many options at World of Beer.  In short, World of Beer is not for your beginning beer drinker.  Vinay had never been to World of Beer before, and when I arrived he already had one of their giant pretzels waiting at the table.  I had been to this location several times before, and every time I arrive and leave dumbfounded by their beer selection.  WoB's selection is comparable to what's offered at the Bier Baron Tavern in DC, minus the dark, 1960's basement feel that Bier Baron offers.  The service at World of Beer was excellent, and we took the opportunity to drink some nice dark draft beers.  Good stuff!  Vinay lives in McLean and the Arlington World of Beer location was a short trip for him. Being in McLean, Vinay told me that his go-to bar is usually Cafe Deluxe because of the food, the atmosphere, and because he always runs into people he knows there.  He told me "it's like my very own Cheers."  Vinay also frequents Dogwood Tavern in Falls Church because of the atmosphere and ambiance there and he loves hanging out and drinking a few pints of Guinness out at Murphy's in Old Town Alexandria.  Who doesn't?!?

The Beer:
Vinay started his night with a pint of Midnight Brewery's Not My Job (NR) and I selected a Founder's Porter (94).  Midnight Brewery is a little brewery located in Rockville, Virginia; and Founder's is a much larger craft brewery located in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  Neither were super adventurous beers to match the variety of the location, but choosing the right beer at World of Beer can be hard.  Vinay chose Not My Job because it reminded him of the brown ales and Irish/English beers he grew up drinking.  He likes hartier, more bitter beer, and it's no wonder that he loves beers like Boddingtons (73) and Killians Irish Red (71).  I didn't have the heart to tell Vinay that his favorite Euro-beers from the 80's and 90's were now being mass-produced by AB InBev and Coors (but I'm guessing he probably already knew that).  Vinay told me that when he visited France in 1998 for the World Cup, he drank plenty of Leffe (81).  That's getting a little more picky, but is it even possible to escape the AB InBev reach these days?  Vinay also confided in me that his favorite beer is not a craft brew or a small batch ale, but rather a very basic lager from America's oldest brewery: Yeungling (77).  I thought this was funny as I recently heard the same thing from another BLIB'er in the past.

The Business Leader:
Vinay started CAARMO because he's always been a closet gearhead.  He told me bluntly that he should have been a mechanic, but because he's an Indian guy, his family made sure that he knew he was supposed to become a doctor or an engineer.  Vinay decided to address those family expectations by founding an electronic medical records company in 1999.  His business eventually got him to think about electronic records in general. "Why can't cars have electronic medical records?"  Vinay would ask himself.  And that's the idea that eventually sparked CAARMO.  Right now, one of Vinay's biggest challenges is dealing with the uncertainty of the future.  As an entrepreneur, that goes with the territory, but in talking to Vinay I noticed that he also seemed comfortable with uncertainty.  He mentioned to me that "there are times when you don't know what you don't know, and I'm trying to do better at acknowledging and understanding that."   Lots of self reflection and introspection here - something that's great for entrepreneurs and business leaders - especially with a cold beer in hand.  When I asked Vinay what advice he had for other business leaders and entrepreneurs, he wants to tell  them Be curious.  Curiosity is the best tool that you'll ever have.  Vinay likes to say that curiosity did not kill the cat, and in business you have to always be curious in order to keep moving forward.

A huge thanks to Vinay for drinking beers with us and for being a part of BLIB!

#BLIB is part of an ongoing series.  For more information about Business Leaders in Bars Drinking Beers you can click here.