Storm Anderson – Wild Business Growth Podcast #141: Spontaneous Builder, Co-Founder of Kumo Partners

What makes someone turn an idea into an actual business? There are many things, and this week’s Wild Business Growth Podcast guest has experience with multiple. His name is Storm Anderson, and he’s the Partner and Co-Founder of Kumo Partners. Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and your other favorite podcast platforms.

• Episode Summary & Player
• Show Notes
• Wild Business Growth Podcast Summary

Episode 141: Storm Anderson – Spontaneous Builder, Co-Founder of Kumo Partners

Storm Anderson, the Partner and Co-Founder of Kumo Partners, joins the show to share his journey from starting Cavebox in college to helping Fortune 500 companies simplify their processes with Office 365 and the Power Platform. Hear how to turn your ideas into businesses, win more clients, find the right pricing, how music plays such a big part in Storm’s life, and how he learned Japanese and juggling. This episode covers everything from playing guitar to raising prices. Here’s a small sample of what you will hear in this episode:

• Where did Storm’s spontaneity come from
• Why didn’t Cavebox stay in business
• How do you attract more clients
• What are Storm’s top entrepreneurship tips
• How do you turn a side project into a business
• Who does Storm find most inspiring
• Why is he a Visionary Dreamer
• What is his favorite song to play on guitar

Connect with Storm on LinkedIn and at KumoPartners.com.

Enjoy the shooooow! Check out the show notes below for much more detail.

Show Notes

• Intro & Cavebox
  • [0:31] Email me at to save time with your high-quality podcast and use it as a business-building tool
  • [0:41] Connect with Storm on LinkedIn and at KumoPartners.com
  • [2:15] Kumo Partners
  • [3:00] Shoutout the RAPP-ers!
  • [3:28] Interns
  • [3:41] “Blackbird” by The Beatles
  • [3:51] Where did Storm’s spontaneity come from
  • [4:13] ADD
  • [4:49] Has Storm always been spontaneous
  • [5:12] What does playing with duct tape look like
  • [5:15] The Mummy
  • [5:33] LEGO
  • [5:51] Tracey Brown on the Wild Business Growth Podcast
  • [6:13] How does Storm look back on the Cavebox experience
  • [6:40] IU (Indiana University)
  • [6:53] Business Model
  • [6:59] Revenue, Costs
  • [7:08] Sam George
  • [7:23] CEO (Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization)
  • [7:43] Recurring Revenue
  • [8:41] What was Cavebox
  • [9:12] What brought Cavebox to a stop
  • [10:11] Selling (Sales), Consumer Product
  • [10:26] B2B (Business-to-Business), Service
  • [10:50] Triplicate! Nice
• The Kumo Partners Story & Entrepreneurship Tips
  • [11:32] What does Kumo mean
  • [11:50] Office 365, Microsoft, Power Platform
  • [12:21] Where did Storm’s interest in the cloud come from
  • [12:52] Product
  • [13:08] Business Owners, Real Estate, The Fed, Fortune 500
  • [14:01] Lawyer, HR (Human Resources)
  • [14:59] What does Storm do at Kumo
  • [15:22] Excel
  • [15:41] Word, PowerPoint
  • [15:52] Small Business, Fortune 10
  • [16:11] Monopoly
  • [16:32] PTO Approval Process
  • [16:56] Office 365 Licensing
  • [17:34] Remote Work
  • [18:05] Front-End, End User
  • [18:25] When did Storm realize this could be a business
  • [18:38] Web Development
  • [18:49] Gig Economy
  • [19:39] Website, Hosting, Back-End, Data Structure, Consulting
  • [20:08] Profitable
  • [20:22] Client
  • [20:51] Power Apps, Power Automate
  • [21:07] Jon & Ethan from Kumo Partners
  • [21:21] Official Record for Metaphors
  • [21:47] How has Kumo been able to win more clients
  • [21:58] Platforms & Compliments: Storm in a nutshell
  • [22:42] Side Projects
  • [23:25] Proposals, Estimates
  • [23:47] IT (Information Technology)
  • [24:21] Virtual Work
  • [24:34] Tripod from Austin Powers: Goldmember
  • [24:52] Valuizizizing
  • [25:22] Pricing
  • [25:31] Entrepreneurs
  • [26:00] President of the CEO aka Storm
  • [26:20] What would Storm tell his younger self about entrepreneurship
  • [26:38] Ultimate Frisbee
  • [27:18] Shoutout Josh Phipps
  • [27:54] Tech Management Club (TMC)
  • [28:02] Network
  • [28:51] Save time with your high-quality podcast. Email me at to bring your podcast to life and use it as a business-building tool

• Inspiration & Creativity: People, Hobbies, and Resources
  • [29:53] Who are Storm’s biggest inspirations
  • [30:10] Satya Nadella
  • [30:24] Google
  • [30:32] Community Feedback
  • [31:20] Elon Musk, SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission)
  • [31:58] Tesla
  • [32:27] What are Storm’s favorite hobbies
  • [33:11] He had the best flow of all time
  • [33:18] How does music help Storm stay creative and productive
  • [34:43] Work Friends
  • [35:08] Instagram Stories
  • [35:31] Microsoft Partner
  • [35:43] How is the process of getting Microsoft certifications
  • [36:21] Flow on flow on flow
  • [37:23] Metaphors on metaphors
• Wild Business Shoutout of the Week
  • [37:53] Creative Marketing
  • [37:59] What does Storm like so much about being a Microsoft Partner
  • [39:28] Upsells
  • [40:40] Companies on companies on companies
  • [40:49] Agile Innovation
  • [41:02] Marketing Credits

• The Unusual: Pet Peeves, Quirks, and Weird Talents
  • [41:17] What is a quirk Storm has
  • [41:39] Visual Dissonance
  • [42:02] OCD
  • [42:11] Visionary Dreamer, Aquarius
  • [42:32] “The Age of Aquarius“
  • [42:39] What is Storm’s biggest pet peeve
  • [43:35] “Drive” by Incubus
  • [43:49] What is a weird talent Storm has
  • [44:15] Storm The Japanese Juggler
• Rapid-Fire Q&A
  • [44:27] What is Storm’s favorite song to play on guitar other than “Blackbird”
  • [44:48] Incubus, The Beatles at Shea Stadium
  • [45:01] Elton John, Light Grenades
  • [45:25] Chance the Rapper at Lollapalooza
  • [45:51] What is an ultimate frisbee tip Storm can share
  • [46:01] Shoutout to the Hoosier Mamas
  • [46:37] Couldn’t resist
  • [46:44] What is the most spontaneous thing Storm has ever done
  • [47:38] RIP Professor Joe Denekamp
  • [48:34] Speakers
  • [48:50] Connect with Storm on LinkedIn and at KumoPartners.com
  • [49:26] Referrals
  • [49:43] What are Storm’s final thoughts
  • [49:57] Invictus by William Ernest Henley
  • [50:08] CliffsNotes
  • [50:25] Follow the Wild Business Growth Podcast and tell a friend about the podcast
  • [50:39] Check out the Wild Business Growth Podcast on GoodPods, where you can see what your favorite people are listening to
  • [50:41]  Connect with me on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn at @MaxBranstetter
  • [50:42]  Save time with your high-quality podcast. Email me at to bring your podcast to life and use it as a business-building tool
  • Theme music: Freestyle Percussion Magik – Jungle Tribe – provided by Jamendo

What is the Wild Business Growth Podcast?

Wild ideas. Wild growth. Every Wednesday morning a new entrepreneur or innovator joins the Wild Business Growth Podcast to share the crazy creative and unusual ways they grew their business, and provides tips for you to do it, too. Hear the woman who became the voice of Siri, the man who’s reinventing the sandcastle, how GaryVee’s partners are turning the wine world upside down, and more wild stories. Hosted by Max Branstetter (that’s me), Founder and Podcast Producer at MaxPodcasting.

How do you start a podcast?

Interested in starting a professional-sounding podcast for your brand, but don’t want to deal with the time commitment? I’ve got you covered. Email me at to save time with your high-quality podcast and use it as a business-building tool.

Thanks for listening to Storm Anderson on the Wild Business Growth Podcast. To hear more Wild stories like this one every Wednesday morning, follow the Wild Business Growth Podcast and tell a friend about it. Until next time, Let your business Run Wild…and Bring on the Bongos!!