The Business of Meetings – Episode 224: AI-Powered Productivity: Transforming the Meetings & Events Industry with Mitch Mitchem
We are thrilled to welcome Mitch Mitchem, the Founder and CEO of Hive Interactive, as our guest today.
Mitch excels in making AI tools accessible and practical for businesses and is also a renowned speaker. If you are curious about applying AI in your business, Mitch is the person to advise you, as he is very concrete and human-centric in his approach.
Stay tuned as Mitch shares his journey and explains how he helps companies leverage AI.
Mitch’s Career Journey
Mitch started his career in the 90s, aiming to be an entertainer in Chicago. He created a show called Comedy You Can Dance To, which combined humor, music, and audience interaction. The show was successful and lasted for 20 years at the Excalibur nightclub. He also studied at Second City to master improvisation, which enhanced his performances.
Transition to Learning and Development
After moving to California, Mitch transitioned into learning and development. He started as a facilitator, leveraging his entertainment background, and eventually became a learning and development company executive. He credits his father for instilling in him the value of continuous improvement and humility, which guided his career transitions.
Building a Dating App
His next significant venture was in the niche industry of dating apps. He developed an app in the cannabis industry inspired by the experience his mother had with cannabis during her cancer treatment. His goal was to create a supportive community for cannabis users. So, he focused on making the app uplifting and inclusive, which led to its rapid growth from 11,000 to 300,000 users in just ten months.
Vision and Adaptability
Mitch had a desire for continuous learning and growth. So, he constantly set new goals and sought opportunities to achieve them. That led to his various career changes.
Impact of Technology on Human Interaction
Mitch believes technology, particularly AI, will drive people to reconnect and engage more deeply. He believes AI can teach empathy and improve communication, making us more human by freeing us from mundane tasks and enhancing our interpersonal skills.
Integrating AI in Business
Mitch uses AI in his company to improve efficiency and build human connections. AI helps his team work faster, allowing more time for personal interactions. He uses AI for tasks like drafting empathetic emails and seeking advice, which has improved his leadership and communication skills.
Education and Future Generations
Reflecting on the future, Mitch notes that the cost of knowledge has significantly decreased, giving young people unprecedented access to information. That will enable them to accelerate their learning and apply their knowledge more effectively. He advises people to master the AI tools essential for future success, especially in marketing.
Ethical Use of AI
Discussing the ethical considerations of using AI to ensure accuracy and prevent human oversight, Mitch warns against over-reliance on AI. He also highlights the need for human intent and ethics in using these technologies responsibly.
Personal Interaction with AI
Despite the efficiency of AI, Mitch insists on personally interacting with his clients and responding to emails himself. He believes in the importance of human connection and maintains a human-first approach in his business operations.
Future Goals
When Mitch created his show, Busted, his goal was to encourage audience interaction and reduce phone usage during performances. He hopes to expand the show to major cities.
Conclusion
Mitch sees AI as a tool to enhance rather than replace human experiences. By prioritizing human interaction and intent, he believes AI can be a powerful ally in improving productivity without sacrificing the personal connections that define our lives and businesses.
Bio: Mitch Mitchem:
Mitch Mitchem, CEO of HIVE Interactive, is a visionary leader with a rich background in entertainment, leadership, learning, and technology. While working in Chicago as his career began, Mitch created the acclaimed show “Comedy You Can Dance To” and studied at the renowned Second City. His show, a mix of high-energy interactive routines made the audience part of the show and gained immense popularity when he moved it to Universal Studios, captivating tens of thousands during events like Mardi Gras and New Year’s Eve, as well as at CityWalk. Recruited into learning and development, Mitch emerged as a top leader for a prominent behavior change company designing large learning initiatives and leading in conference facilitation. As a tech CEO, he co-founded, led, and eventually sold a successful dating app before founding HIVE Interactive. At HIVE, Mitch focuses his team on enhancing human skills and the Human Element. His team leverages AI in all they do while always putting human development first in the areas of experiential learning, keynote presentations, AI tools workshops, and interactive entertainment.
Other areas of note:
– His dating app gained over 300k users in less than 11 months.
– He studied applied psychology at Colorado Christian University
– Mitch’s show, Comedy You Can Dance To in Chicago, ran for twenty years. He was there for the first five years and moved it to Universal Studios.
– HIVE Interactive was among the early users for ChatGPT and began leveraging AI tools immediately.
Connect with Eric Rozenberg
On LinkedIn
Connect with Mitch Mitchem
On LinkedIn