About Joel Vincent (@joelvincent)

Thanks for clicking the URL in my Twitter profile – let me give you a little background on who I am and what I do. My name is Joel Vincent. I am a product management vet through and through and I spend my time creating and evangelizing technology from the IT infrastructure that constitutes the “pipes” to the next-generation of social Internet technology.

I have a simple saying that capsulizes what I do:

“You make great technology, I make your technology great”

Thats it. Great technology doesn’t win the day, though it may survive. It takes an understanding of how to efficiently bring that technology to market on time and on budget , launch it with maximum impact, maximize profitability through not only excellent design but through positioning, all with market leading quality. Product Management and Product Marketing are not black arts but methodologies that produce predictable results and remove the “risk” of bringing products to market that “miss the mark”. Thats what I do, thats all I do…

I’ve done this repeatedly throughout my career and even extended my efforts into the wine industry by counseling a couple tech startups and helping them launch their products with proper positioning and secure financing, I used my unique ability to understand technology and positioning to launch the largest online business network in the wine industry – OpenWine Consortium (OWC) – leveraging commodity technology from Ning, focusing the message, and pretty much proving a theory I had about social networks (they are a commodity that requires strong niche positioning – but more on that later). The OWC actually proved too effective and grew to 4200+ members in the last year, beyond my expectations and almost beyond my ability to maintain it.

Previously I helped build top-flight technology brands, like Netgear, International Network Services, and Meru Networks, and I helped companies like Cisco move the needle on their Outdoor Wireless products (something they couldn’t do for three years before I got there).

What are people saying about Joel Vincent?

Philip James, CEO and Founder, Snooth Inc

“[Joel Vincent] did a fantastic job in creating the OpenWine Consortium site, and then in harnessing the professional wine community. OWC is the premier site for wine professionals to network, stay connected and to debate business opportunities and challenges.” April 3, 2009

Alex Kremer, VP of Product Management, Cruvee.com

“Joel delivers excellent results and displays detailed knowledge about the subjects he works on. You can always count on his thorough thinking to get the job done.” March 23, 2009

Tom Wark, Owner, Wark Communications

“[Joel Vincent]’s work launching and administering the OpenWine Consortium as well has his substantial work organizing the North American Wine Bloggers Conference has been groundbreaking and remarkably effective.” March 23, 2009

Deb Gotelli, Director, Marketing Services, Oak Hill Corporation

“[Joel Vincent]’s professionalism impressed me. He was thoughtful, intelligent and had a wealth of experience. Working with him I admired his presentation and positioning skills. He is detail-, sales-, and customer-oriented. He drew on his consumer, enterprise, and service provider experience. I enjoyed his sense of humor and personality most. His formal education in engineering and business serves him well.” May 18, 2006

Scott Schroeder, Senior Manager, Customer Support at Contactual

“[Joel Vincent] combined strong technical knowledge of the networking industry with a marketing savvy that was a huge asset to INS. His quiet competence is the polar opposite of the all-flash-and-no-substance marketing type, and I think it is a much better fit for the high-tech market. Joel was a great member of our team. A decade later, Joel stands out as a memorable contributor.”

Jerry Lucas, Vice President, Sales at Varaha Systems

“I have found Joel to be an extremely credible and articulate in the manner to which he pursues his Marketing role at INS. I always appreciated his ability to be an easy going Team Player, but to also understand and work to meet deadlines. If I ever run into the opportunity, I would very much look forward to working with Joel in other partnerships.” September 12, 2006