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Gordon Isaac joins us from Las Vegas, Nevada, where is chief marketing and strategy officer for Origin Acoustics. Gordon is the third person from his current employer to be interviewed for the podcast, but this is Gordon’s first appearance. Over the years, as he moved from Core Brands to AVAD to ProSource, Gordon and Jeremy connected quite a bit and Gordon wrote several really great articles for the magazine. The last thing he wrote for RTT was about the outdoor audio and lighting system that he’d installed in his Arizona backyard. That system, coincidentally, was from Origin Acoustics. Not too long after that, he was hired by the company. Origin has been in the trade press a lot recently, in the lead up to CEDIA Expo in Dallas. Most recently, for example, the company was named the U.S. brand manager for Bang & Olufsen in the custom channel, expanding on an architectural loudspeaker co-design partnership that began in 2016. With CEDIA Expo coming up at the end of September, we thought now would be a great time to chat with one of Origin’s newer faces to find out what brought him to his current role and what all his company has in the works.

Today’s episode of Residential Tech Talks is brought to you by Shelly WiFi Relays by Allterco | Smart home devices designed and developed to provide solutions tailored to your needs. 

Go to https://shelly.cloud and make IoT simple!

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On this week’s podcast, Clint Childress joins us from Spiceland, IN, where he was recently appointed to the newly created role of director of residential markets for Draper, the manufacturer of commercial shades, projection screens, AV lifts, and AV mounts and structures. Clint joined Draper in 2000 and has served as a window shade product specialist and green buildings coordinator. A certified LEED AP, he was most recently solar control solutions manager, where his task was to design solutions for exterior, interior, and custom shading needs. He also helped develop and coordinate shade integration controls.

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On this week’s podcast, Jim Garrett joins us from Los Angeles, CA, where he is senior director of product strategy and planning for Harman Luxury Audio Group, the home of five prestigious brands — JBL Synthesis, Mark Levinson, Revel, Lexicon, and Arcam. It’s almost time for CEDIA Expo time in Dallas, where Harman Luxury Audio Group typically makes quite a splash. Many of their brand announcements are already public, but it still seemed like a great time to check in with Jim and learn more about the brand’s latest AV offerings.

Today’s episode of Residential Tech Talks is brought to you by Shelly WiFi Relays by Allterco | Smart home devices designed and developed to provide solutions tailored to your needs. 

Go to https://shelly.cloud and make IoT simple!

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On this week’s podcast, John Sciacca joins us from Myrtle Beach, SC, where he co-owner of Custom Theater and Audio. John is a very good friend and one of the most entertaining writers in the AV integration trade press. Looking back on when we last had John on the podcast, Jeremy was stunned to realize that it was almost exactly one year ago to the day that we are recording this. During that chat, more than 50 episodes ago, Jeremy not only celebrated John’s entry into the second-time guest club, but also chatted all about their plans for CEDIA Expo in Indianapolis last year. Well, one of them actually attended CEDIA Expo. For the other guy, it was all pure lies. He stayed home when the Covid Delta variant scared everyone away. This year, no matter what happens between now and then, Jeremy and John agreed to just mask up and go to Dallas anyway.

Today’s episode of Residential Tech Talks is brought to you by Shelly WiFi Relays by Allterco | Smart home devices designed and developed to provide solutions tailored to your needs. 

Go to https://shelly.cloud and make IoT simple!

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On this week’s podcast, Lee Travis joins us from Bellevue, WA, where he is owner of Wipliance, one of the nation’s top custom integration companies. Since 2006, Wipliance has been creating easy-to-use and enjoyable smart spaces in Washington, Arizona, and surrounding areas. This past July, the company acquired Huppin’s, a 114-year-old family-owned residential and commercial technology solutions provider covering Eastern Washington and North Idaho. Travis shares insights into his company, his career path, and the story of his recent corporate expansion.

Today’s episode of Residential Tech Talks is brought to you by Shelly WiFi Relays by Allterco | Smart home devices designed and developed to provide solutions tailored to your needs. 

Go to https://shelly.cloud and make IoT simple!

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On this week’s podcast, Matt Bernath joins us from Anaheim Hills, CA, where he is owner and president of VITAL, the custom integration-centric business coaching and software company. Founded by industry veterans Paul Starkey and Steven Firzst, VITAL collaborates and guides CI business owners by using business metrics, benchmarking, best practice sharing, and business coaching to grow profitably. Although VITAL has coached more than 300 companies, it is perhaps best known for pulling together a cooperative of 15 custom integration companies, naming them the Bravas Group, helping them centralize business operations, and then negotiating their purchase to a private equity investment company. Almost exactly a year ago, our guest today moved from his role as a VITAL coach to owner and president, laying out several goals for the company. Today, we’ll get a report on year one from Matt and learn more about how he got to where he is today.

Today’s episode of Residential Tech Talks is brought to you by Shelly WiFi Relays by Allterco | Smart home devices designed and developed to provide solutions tailored to your needs. 

Go to https://shelly.cloud and make IoT simple!

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On this week’s podcast, Amit Ravat joins us from the UK, where is co-founder and director of Lithe Audio, an audio products manufacturer specializing in wireless audio technologies for the residential and hospitality sectors. Lithe has developed an expertise in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, integrating those two technologies into a range of in-ceiling, surface-mounted, and outdoor speakers, using an “all-in-one” design philosophy. While wireless speakers, generally speaking, are not all that unique anymore, the idea of installing them in a home or hospitality space is definitely a bit more novel. Learn more about this five-year-old brand as its founders prepare for their U.S. debut at CEDIA Expo next month in Dallas, TX.

Today’s episode of Residential Tech Talks is brought to you by Shelly WiFi Relays by Allterco | Smart home devices designed and developed to provide solutions tailored to your needs. 

Go to https://shelly.cloud and make IoT simple!

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On this week’s podcast, Becca Tobin joins us to talk about her acting career and recent experience adding smart home tech to her Austin, TX, residence. Tobin has starred in the hit TV show Glee, written a New York Times bestseller, and hosted the popular LadyGang podcast. When the talented actress and influencer and her husband, real estate developer Zach Martin, moved from Los Angeles to Austin, TX, in late 2020, their excitement for the new city and house quickly grew into a desire to maximize their home enjoyment with a professionally integrated smart home system. In this conversation, we learn not only about what Becca and Zach love about the tech in their home, but also find out some revealing insights about Becca’s early acting successes — from the Broadway stage to starring in one of the most popular TV shows in the past 10 years.

Today’s episode of Residential Tech Talks is brought to you by Shelly WiFi Relays by Allterco | Smart home devices designed and developed to provide solutions tailored to your needs. 

Go to https://shelly.cloud and make IoT simple!

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On this week’s podcast, we’re joined by two distinguished members of the CEDIA trade association leadership team, Global President and CEO Daryl Friedman (ceo@cedia.org) and Director of Government Affairs, Darren Reaman (dreaman@cedia.org). Friedman is relatively new to CEDIA, joining the association at the start of 2022, after a long tenure overseeing membership, advocacy, industry relations, and the technical wing for the 25,000-member Recording Academy, which is known globally for the GRAMMY Awards. Reaman’s advocacy work for the custom integration trade broadly and CEDIA members, more specifically, happens mostly behind the scenes but has been at the heart of protecting the trade from harmful legislation and ill-conceived municipal and state licensing requirements over the years. Friedman and Reaman are here to discuss a new event, called the Advocacy Town Hall, which will be held at this year’s CEDIA Expo in Dallas.

Learn more at the CEDIA Government Affairs website (www.cedia.net/advocacy) and register for the CEDIA Advocacy Town Hall at cediaexpo.com/show/schedule/#the-cedia-advocacy-town-hall. Register for CEDIA Expo 2022 at cediaexpo.com

Today’s episode of Residential Tech Talks is brought to you by Shelly WiFi Relays by Allterco | Smart home devices designed and developed to provide solutions tailored to your needs. 

Go to https://shelly.cloud and make IoT simple!

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On this week’s podcast, Kim Parker joins from Austin, TX, where he was recently hired to serve as chief operating officer of Screen Innovations. Screen Innovations launched in 2003 by Ryan Gustafson as a garage start-up in Austin to provide projection screens for home theater and commercial video projector installations. As the industry evolved over the years, SI expanded its product mix to include window coverings, as well. Our guest today joined the company three months ago after 13 years with Control4 and Snap One, most recently as Snap One’s vice president of sales for specialty channels. He brings to SI not only his veteran experience with those two major industry brands, but also a diverse history with several other very familiar names in the industry, including Savant, Sonance, Netstreams, and GE Smart.

Today’s episode of Residential Tech Talks is brought to you by Shelly WiFi Relays by Allterco | Smart home devices designed and developed to provide solutions tailored to your needs. 

Go to https://shelly.cloud and make IoT simple!