Connecting brands to the innovation economy... Michael Reidbord, Founder of the Fashion Tech Consortium (a convergence of designers, brands & global retailers with emerging technologies — advanced materials, and modernized supply chains — creating an ecosystem of partnerships that will lead to the next Industrial Revolution) and a Professor at FIT (profile), joins Marc Raco, Pavan Bahl and Rob Sanchez. Powered by Sennheiser. Upgrading the supply chain, reducing the sampling process, and globalism Reidbord discusses his trade as a clothing manufacturer, and helping stimulate the process of bringing new innovation into the marketplace, starting from design to store floor, and offline. How supply chain hasn’t been upgraded in many years, new ways to warehouse and deliver product, and the enormous opportunity at hand and accelerating the supply chain. Bringing down sampling process time, 3D-body scanning, getting engineers and creative designers together early, and when the outcomes are impressive. On-demand, bringing jobs back to the US, the impact of globalism, when students should be learning skills, and skilled trade vs. university track. And the need to have global skills to compete. Startups vs. legacy, combining efforts to solve problems, and ideas vs. teams Why the genesis of the Fashion Tech Consortium, the experience Reidboard brings by being on his seventh startup, how startups are different than legacy companies and have challenges others don’t understand, engineers are not always best business people, giving support and help to create a platform for them. How technologies are often a baseline for other companies. Looking for really smart, really amazing startups, and being able to help them combine efforts to solve bigger problems. Startups that are getting it done because they are going for it, the importance of a good idea vs. a great team dynamic, and seeing ideas that can’t scale. 20 companies, a big network, and back pocket machines The goal to have 20 companies/quarter, drilling down deep into them as finalists, and the value of pilots. Wanting larger corporations to look at the 20 companies and see the high value and opportunity. Dynamics of older vs. younger entrepreneurs. How the consortium has more than 2,000 companies in its portfolio as a network. Consumer experience in the mix, protecting personal data, standardized cultural curs, and consideration of outliers and nonstandard. Off the Grid Questions cover child labor, bowls of spices, back pocket machines for jeans for five simultaneous sewings, how Pittsburgh has changed, and sustainability.