Ep 49—Jen Bonnett - The CEO Is The Salesperson: Why Founders Can't Just Hand Off the Pitch

<p>Today in the Sky Lounge, we are joined by Jennifer Bonnett — a longtime Atlanta tech entrepreneur who coded a search engine called eTour.com in 1997, five years before Google existed, and rode it to one of the most-trafficked websites in the world. After years building Georgia's startup ecosystem at ATDC, the Savannah Economic Development Authority, and Invest Atlanta's Women's Entrepreneurship Initiative, she's done something deliberate: walked away to spend the summer ""playing with AI.""</p><p>This conversation moves fast across what's actually changing. Jen explains how she sold a no-AI city government on its first pilots, why she runs a Hermes agent that drafts her email every morning but never hits send, and the moment her voice-controlled recipe app jumped ahead because someone across the kitchen said ""next."" She and Todd map out a $30K model for starting companies in an era where software is cheap — and why the CEO still has to be the one selling.</p><p>Plus: the real case for co-founders, why fewer than 2% of venture capital reaches women, and the three cities Jen has called home.</p><p>ABOUT OUR GUEST: </p><p>Jennifer Bonnett transforms ideas into impact. A Technology Executive and Startup Ecosystem Developer with over two decades in software development and IT management, she's built a career on empowering entrepreneurs and fostering disruptive innovation — because in every founder's dream, she sees a milestone for the industry. Her track record spans turning a struggling non-profit into a thriving hub, relocating tech firms, and pioneering programs like the Savannah Logistics Innovation Center, alongside championing women's entrepreneurship through StartupChicks. Today she's most intrigued by AI, Fintech, and Sustainable Tech — always watching for trends that serve a broader societal benefit.</p><p>CONTACT:</p><p>Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferbonnett/</p><p>What is THE SKY LOUNGE?</p><p>Tales from the Sky Lounge takes you on a journey through business, consulting, and venture investing, hearing stories from the entrepreneurs, consultants, and investors shaping these industries.</p><p>ABOUT OUR HOST:</p><p>Todd Merrill is an experienced software executive who typically assists clients as a fractional or interim CTO and CiSO as a partner at TechCXO.</p><p>He has served in a series of companies as a C-Level executive focused on leveraging the Cloud to bring SaaS offerings to market. As an entrepreneur, turn-around expert, technology and product leader, and mentor, Todd has held full corporate P&L and product development responsibilities and directed diverse international teams of Engineering Managers, Mobile Architects, Developers, Dev Ops, QA, and Customer Success professionals.</p><p>Subscribe and turn on notifications to listen to new episodes as they launch!</p><p>YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfeCS-Varb4gu2uCwyRTXWWEdP676Huh6</p><p>Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6jz6ubcaUZ20Xh8TXhwzEN</p><p>Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tales-from-the-sky-lounge/id1730134658</p><p>Amazon: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/4ba289a5-0d33-4589-95c7-83416731a864/tales-from-the-sky-lounge</p><p>Follow Tales From The SkyLounge on Social Media</p><p>X/Twitter: https://x.com/TFTSkyLounge</p><p>Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tftskylounge/</p><p>Learn more about TechCXO: https://www.techcxo.com/</p><p>Production/Design: James Liebman</p><p>Music: Soundstripe/Cody Martin-Sunrise</p>