Collectively, we've helped over 120 companies Innovate and Grow
ABOUT US
We Inspire And Empower Innovators And Change Agents Around The World To Generate Sustained Results
The company’s target clients include C-Suite and Executive Leaders who are looking to scale their organizations more efficiently. Innovation Junkie is not simply a firm filled with consultants. Our team has over 75 years of experience as Operators, Executives, Advisors, and Investors. Collectively, we’ve helped over 120 companies secure investment, innovate, streamline their revenue-producing processes, improve their operations, and grow.
MEET OUR TEAM OF INNOVATORS
We Have Over 75 Years Of Experience As Operators, Executives, Advisors, and Investors
JEFF STANDRIDGE
Managing Director
Dr. Jeff D. Standridge helps organizations and their leaders generate sustained results in the areas of innovation, strategy, profit growth, organizational effectiveness and leadership.
Formerly a Vice President for Acxiom Corporation, he has led established and startup businesses in North & South America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Jeff serves as Managing Director for the Conductor, Co-founder of Cadron Capital Partners, and teaches Entrepreneurial Finance & Innovation Leadership in the College of Business at the University of Central Arkansas.
Dr. Standridge has been an invited speaker, trainer, and consultant for numerous companies, institutions, and organizations across five continents. He is also a two-time best-selling author of “The Innovator’s Field Guide: Accelerators for Entrepreneurs, Innovators & Change Agents” and “The Top Performer’s Field Guide: Catalysts for Leaders, Innovators & All Who Aspire to Be.”
Prior to his business career, Jeff spent more than a decade in healthcare, serving as an Assistant Professor at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and as a member of the Angel Flight Helicopter Transport Team at Arkansas Children’s Hospital. He is also retired from the U.S. Army – Arkansas Army National Guard. Jeff holds the Doctor of Education with special work in Leadership & Organizational Development, as well as a Master of Education with special work in Human Resource Development.
JEFF AMERINE
Managing Director
Jeff is the Founder and Managing Director of Startup Junkie Consulting. Jeff is one of the key leaders nationally involved with the creation of lasting venture ecosystems. Jeff has held senior leadership positions in nine startups and three Fortune 500 companies, and he has made more than 90+ angel investments into new ventures and small businesses either directly or through the funds he manages. Jeff now leads Startup Junkie Consulting, Cadron Capital Partners, and the Tonic Regional Funds. Jeff served as Associate Vice Provost, Research and Economic Development, and Director of Technology Ventures at the University of Arkansas until leaving to pursue Startup Junkie Consulting full-time in January 2015. His work at the University of Arkansas canvassed every aspect of the commercialization of life science, biotech, medical devices, healthcare information technology, pharma, and other areas of scientific and technical innovation. Jeff is a recognized expert in lean startup methodology and customer development processes.
In addition, Jeff is an adjunct professor and teaches entrepreneurship at the Sam M. Walton College of Business at University of Arkansas. From 2008-2017, Jeff was a retained advisor for Innovate Arkansas, a Winrock International program chartered with the creation and support of a knowledge-based economy in Arkansas and has accounted for $300+ million in public and private financing for Arkansas-based small businesses. Jeff serves on multiple for-profit and non-profit boards for organizations such as Phigenics, Ozark IC, OsteoAdvantage, AR Health Ventures, Arkansas Capital Corporation, and SLS Communities.
Prior to all of this, Jeff served six years as United States Air Force Officer, working in the Strategic Air Command as a missile launch officer and later in research and development acquisition. Jeff graduated from United States Naval Academy in 1984 and holds a Master of Science in Operations Management from the University of Arkansas. He is a certified Project Management Institute Project Management Professional (PMP).
BRETT AMERINE
Managing Director
Brett is a Managing Director at Startup Junkie Consulting. In this role, he is a leader in developing, deploying, and managing entrepreneurial programs and initiatives across the country. He is also a managing member of the Tonic Fund, a General Partner of Cadron Capital Partners, and co‐founder and former board member of Community Venture Foundation DBA Startup Junkie Foundation.
Prior to this, Brett served five years in Honolulu, Hawaii, and Los Angeles, California, as a United States Air Force Officer specializing in program and project management. Brett led project and contract teams that managed multi‐million‐ and billion dollar service, construction, and aerospace initiatives. Brett began his career as a Financial Analyst at Walmart’s Headquarters in the Optical Department.
He holds a master’s degree in Operations Management from the University of Arkansas’s College of Engineering, and a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Arkansas Sam M. Walton College of Business. Northwest Arkansas Business Journal named Brett as one of the region’s “Fast 15”. Brett is a certified Project Management Institute Project Management Professional (PMP).
TODD WASMUND
Executive Consultant
A retired U.S. Army Major General, Todd Wasmund brings a wealth of experience to help business leaders and organizations reach their fullest potential. He is a values-based senior operations executive who is skilled and experienced at solving complex problems, driving change and growing high-performing organizations.
After graduating from the United States Military Academy at West Point and during more than 33 years of active-duty service, he served in a variety of command and staff positions throughout the United States, Europe, Africa, South Korea and Asia, including deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.
His leadership opportunities around the world helped him to develop his professional competencies including leadership in complex organizations with a global perspective, strategic planning, operations and process improvement, organizational transformation, critical thinking, and data driven decision-making.
Todd is a lifelong learner with an academic background in economics, and he taught as an Associate Professor of Economics at West Point. While in graduate school, he interned as a business development associate in a financial services startup company where he put theory into practice and learned invaluable lessons about success and failure from critical business decisions.
He is passionate about helping executives and companies grow to meet their fullest potential.
PHIL SHELLHAMMER
Executive Consultant
Phil Shellhammer brings our clients at Innovation Junkie over 20 years of continued business success with executive experience leading strategy, pricing, merchandising, product & service development, global sourcing, digital innovation and ecommerce. He has had broad exposure to a variety of industries, including Retail, Consumer Packaged Goods, Education, Application Software, Technology Services, Travel and Healthcare. Phil has led successful teams and advised C-Level executives in multiple Fortune 100 companies, as well as counselled smaller companies and entrepreneurs within startup environments.
Phil is currently the Co-Founder & CEO of Eksplor, a startup venture creating digital engagement & education through gamification for travel destinations. He is also the franchise owner of Wize Computing Academy of Northwest Arkansas, a computer coding, engineering & robotics educational enrichment company. Phil currently sits on the boards of Arkansas Athletes Outreach (AAO), a local non-profit using sports to reach and support the children in our local community and Students Acquiring Knowledge through Enterprise (SAKE), a business leadership course and experience at the University of Arkansas. He is a frequent guest speaker in a diverse list of courses at the University of Arkansas, reaching students within the Colleges of Business, Engineering and Education.
Prior to this stage of his career, Phil was a Vice President for Walmart, leading a variety of
Merchandising teams within the Sam’s Club division. In these executive roles, and previously in positions at Best Buy, he was considered a strong leader adept at creative problem solving, strategic innovation, unique process improvement and dynamic team leadership.
Phil graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Cincinnati, and after several years working as an engineer for Procter & Gamble, he obtained a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard Business School.
TOM DOUGLASS
Executive Consultant
Tom has been an active advisor to start-up and growth stage companies and is currently the Entrepreneur in Residence for the FUEL Accelerator Program and a subject matter expert in innovation for Innovation Junkie and the Arkansas Korea Alliance Testbed program. Tom’s mission is to partner with growth stage and start-up companies to develop pathways into legacy organizations focused on improvement and transformations. These pathways and partnerships create meaningful experiences for all its clients. The integration of these experiences into various environments have a positive influence on businesses and the surrounding ecosystems.
Tom is considered an expert in matching start-up businesses, growth stage businesses and emerging technologies with current and future enterprise size opportunities. He has been quoted in publications such as Forbes, Fortune, RIS, Talk Business, and the NWA Business Journal. He has also been interviewed on a variety of podcasts including “Outside the Box,” “Startup Junkies,” “New American Town,” and as a guest speaker on a variety of Live GLG Teleconferences.
Previously, Tom was the Director of Emerging Technology at Walmart Stores Inc., where his team acted as a Technology Transfer Office and had an impact in a variety of areas including, but not limited to, in-store robotics, wireless power, RFID, and in-store IoT. One of his many accomplishments include managing the development of RF based receiving and shipping systems for the integration of the first Grocery Mechanized Distribution Center in the United States. In addition, Tom led the way to the implementation and acceptance of robotics as part of the in-store experience. His ability to manage this team and spot technology relevant to the enterprise earned him the Strategic Services Leader of the Year Award.
Tom has held positions such as the Chairman of the 2019 NWA Tech Summit and has had seats on the NWA Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Task Force, the GE Client Advisory Board and the GS1 Innovations Board. He has conducted engineering, logistics and innovation seminars for multiple schools and companies, as well as held various management positions at Ahold USA, BOC Gases, United Parcel Service and Walmart. Tom holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from the University of Buffalo in New York.
Tom donates his time to various organizations fighting hunger in the United States and abroad including, Helping Hands and Mazon. Tom resides in Bentonville, Arkansas with his wife of 30 years, Robyn, while their two sons, Michael and Steven, attend college out of state.
The Innovation Junkie team empowers innovators and change agents in organizations of all sizes. We bring decades of experience helping some of the world’s best known for-profit and non-profit enterprises across multiple industry sectors to develop strategy, build resilient teams, and deliver incredible results.
TESTIMONIALS
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Discover Where Your Business Stands In Today’s Market
Our team at Innovation Junkie has developed a comprehensive Strategic Growth Diagnostic to help you benchmark your company and your leadership team against a set of best practices across the areas of Organizational, Operational, & Leadership Effectiveness, Innovation Readiness, Digital Readiness, and Sales Velocity.