Interview with David Henzel, Partner and VP of Marketing at NetDNA/MaxCDN: Proving Germans Like Everything Fast.
Posted on by Rebekah Iliff
If you didn’t already know by our surnames (Iliff and Tischhauser,) talkTECH has a total soft spot for Germans. I had the gelegenheit (that’s deutsch, for opportunity) to speak with fellow landbewohner, David Henzel, partner and VP of Marketing at NetDNA; the most innovative and awesome Content Delivery Network services provider.
David Henzel calls himself a “serial entrepreneur” in the online space and has almost 10 years of industry experience in Internet marketing and SEO expertise to back it up. Before joining NetDNA/MaxCDN, David was a consultant for businesses in Europe and tinkered with e-commerce solutions of his own.
When he’s not bringing the deustch to NetDNA, David writes a blog chock full of info and reviews about the coolest websites, books, events and SEO related services. David is a tech trends visionary and knows the next big thing when he sees it, so obviously he would have been crazy – downright, übergeschnappt crazy, to miss last week’s Biz2Beach event by CallFire in Santa Monica, CA.
Here’s what he had to say about NetDNA, Biz2Beach and the next big thing now:
RI: How did NetDNA come to be? What was the impetus behind launching this business?
DH: The main goal was making the web fast! I joined and invested into NetDNA a couple months after it was founded by Ben Neumann and Chris Ueland. Shortly after I joined, we started maxcdn.com. MaxCDN is a pay as you go, plug and play CDN. We wanted to make CDNs affordable and easy to use so that everybody is able to have a fast loading website – not just big corporations with big budgets.
RI: What’s your favorite part of working with a tech company?
DH: I love the Internet and I love online marketing. There is nothing more exciting to me than figuring out how to spread the word about a great product and forming strategic partnerships…pretty much everybody needs our service and I have the pleasure of educating them about the benefits of MaxCDN and NetDNA.
RI: What opportunities do you see in technology over the next 2-5 years? What are the trends?
DH: The transparency of today’s world with the help of social media, Yelp, etc. forces everybody to provide great and honest products and customer service. Shady and bad stuff does not fly anymore. This [transparency] is a catalyst to make the world a better place.
RI: What do you hope to learn or gain from Biz2Beach?
DH: Networking in a fun, laid-back, but productive environment.
RI: Ok, last question; iPhone, Android, or Blackberry. Or, iPad?
DH: MacBook Pro, iPhone and iPad, of course. I’m Apple all the way!
Wundervoll. And, here’s David’s take on CallFire’s Biz2Beach:
“I won’t lie to you; if you missed the first annual Biz2Beach “unconference” by CallFire, you missed out. Biz2Beach was incredible and flawless. The Huntley Hotel in Santa Monica was fantastic, the food was delicious and the crowd was perfect. I go to a lot of conferences, but I loved the intimate format of Biz2Beach; the “unconference” is way more interactive because participants can easily steer conversation with the speaker to get the most value out of it and make deep meaningful connections. The CallFire team did an incredible job and I am really looking forward to next year’s Biz2Beach!
I enjoyed every break out session, but the topic that blew me away was Klout. I’ve known of and used Klout for a long time, but I was dumbfounded after talking to Garth (who is a great guy, by the way.) I had chills. Klout is so incredibly powerful and important! I predict that every business will ask for your Twitter/Klout handle when you sign up or reserve something on or offline. It could become the one and only open ID for your online presence; you will be treated based on your Klout score, especially when you voice a complaint. With a Klout score of 80, you’ll get the royal treatment and a refund, but with a Klout score of 10, they might hang up 
Klout has an incredibly high responsibility and I hope there will be no Google Panda-style update for scores. If you want to make good money, you should open up a KSO (Klout score optimization) agency because Klout will be BIG in the near future!”
Here’s a quick recap of the breakout discussion sessions I attended at Biz2Beach:
- Tony Adams- I know him from another conference and we have a bunch of mutual friends. I got some good tips from him during the session at his table discussing online marketing programs, Myspace and gaining momentum in the startup world.
- Van Jepson- He was sitting across from me at the VIP lunch; really nice guy! We might even do a deal with MaxCDN on his platform, GroupPrice, a daily deal arrangement for businesses.
- Robyn Ward- I am a big fan of great company culture and MaxCDN just signed up for Betterworks last week. I enjoyed the session with Robyn discussing how to keep the people behind your technology balanced and engaged.
- CallFire Table- We know the guys and MaxCDN is a customer, but it’s always great to hang out with them.
For more information on Biz2Beach, check out the website: www.Biz2Beach.com.
Learn more about David and read his blog at: www.davidhenzel.com.
Follow David on Twitter @davidhenzel.
Follow MaxCDN on Twitter @MaxCDN.
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About Rebekah Iliff
Rebekah is an organizational management, development, and communications professional who has served clients across multiple industries and across the globe for over eight years. She is a senior leader and trusted advisor to executive leadership who excels in solving challenging and complex problems. Rebekah’s valuable depth of experience launching startups, reengineering infrastructures, and developing and implementing business and marketing plans that facilitate growth, build brand equity, and increase ROI have made her one of the most trusted small to medium size business (SMB) consultants in Southern California. She is an effective communicator, team builder, and creative problem solver who has worked with over one hundred entrepreneurs, thought leaders, technology brands, healthcare companies, financial advisors, entertainment leaders, and small business owners over the past several years.Rebekah holds a B.A. in Philosophy (Cum Laude) from Loyola University Chicago, and an M.A. in Organizational Management and Applied Community Psychology from Antioch University at Los Angeles (AULA). Awards include: National Society of Collegiate Scholars for Outstanding Achievement and the President’s Award for Community Service and Outreach. Key memberships include: Organization Development Network; Economist Intelligence Unit, Opinion Leader’s Panel; Public Relations Society of America, Los Angeles Chapter; and AULA’s MAOM Community Network Career Programming Group. View all posts by Rebekah Iliff →One Response to Interview with David Henzel, Partner and VP of Marketing at NetDNA/MaxCDN: Proving Germans Like Everything Fast.
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