Launch Key

The most direct route off the corporate merry-go-round is you.

 Leverage your experience to launch digital products at any age. 

Join 1000+ execs and late career entrepreneurs reading the Launch Key newsletter as we share modern tools, old school wisdom and free knowledge gleaned from decades of digital innovation.

Founder | Publisher

EnergyXchain

EnergyXchain was awarded a National Science Foundation Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grant to conduct research and development work using blockchain technology for transaction processes in the natural gas industry. The company has a growing IP portfolio and patented technology processes that may also be utilized for energy transaction management via smart contracts, with equal applicability in sectors such as hydrogen, carbon attribution tracking, natural gas and electricity.

CEO, co-founder

Empowered

Empowered grew from one question: What if benefits enrollments were easy? Everyone struggled with insurance. Brokers needed more time with clients, HR managers drowned in paperwork and employees couldn't enroll in a basic medical plan without hassle. We wanted to provide everyone with a simple, transparent enrollment process. A process that made it easy for someone to pick the best benefits for their family.

In 2000, we launched our first consumer-driven healthcare programs, sprinting ahead of the industry by prioritizing people. Today millions of employees trust this platform for their benefits. Empowered is  wholly owned by Aflac.

Chief Innovation Officer, co-founder

Leader of the effort to redesign, develop and deploy EDA’s flagship data product as an online analytics tool. Product launch led to 20% increased sales and returned 100% of the investment in the first year post development.  

With the insight that EDA brings to the table, businesses can make better decisions by identifying trends, exploiting market opportunities, supporting sales service dealer strategies, being informed about regional hot spots, and emerging markets.

If you sell, finance or service capital equipment, EDA offers you the priceless information and timely market intelligence you need to get ahead. www.edadata.com. EDA is a Randall-Reilly company.

VP of Sales and Marketing

Vialogix

Web development company focused on user-based web solutions for internet, intranet and extranet applications.  Solutions included e-commerce, Web-enabled and database applications that enabled clients to reduce business costs or increase sales. The business cultivated long-term relationships with a broad client list that included Fortune 500 level companies Baker & Taylor, Bank of America, First Citizens Bank, National Gypsum, Novant Health, and Wachovia.

Rob Norris Communications

Built technology consulting practice specializing in digital asset management. Apple expertise used for creating networks, managing infrastructure with corporate clients - First Union National Bank, Interstate/Johnson Lane, Royal Insurance, advertising agencies in the Charlotte area. Created multimedia CD-ROM projects, interactive projects and first web based tools in 1994.

President

Coleman Lew & Associates

Recruited advertising and marketing executives for a retained search firm. Interviewed prospects and researched backgrounds. Wrote recommendations, presented candidates, negotiated salaries and benefits with clients.

Executive Recruiter

30+ years of business experience creating and leading innovative technology businesses. From the 90's internet to AI, I've carved out a living explaining and building solutions to solve business problems. 

Expertise in application development has been leveraged across energy, health care, financial services, ecommerce and data analytics businesses. I've sold to both Fortune 500 companies and SMB. I've bootstrapped and won National Science Foundation grants. There have been my fair share of entrepreneurial mistakes but have also published patents and even won a SXSW award. 

I'm not quite finished with technology and can help you avoid a few headaches with your own digital products. I recommend resources, and tools to add to your career portfolio and spin up your dream in weeks - not years. My network includes experts in literally every business function and I will happily recommend people who will level up your startup. Win/Win/Win.

Join the Launch Key newsletter for free: 
https://launchkey.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Rob Norris

Happy Thanksgiving 🍁 

And especially to entrepreneurs who have a lot to be thankful for. We never succeed all by ourselves. Take time to show gratitude to customers, employees, partners, mentors, backers but most importantly family. 

This weeks Launch Key ⬇️

Founder | Publisher @ Launch Key 🚀 | Add to your career portfolio with a passion project or side hustle. Join like-minded execs, SMB owners and late-career entrepreneurs reading the Launch Key for digital inspiration.

Open article: Thanksgiving for entrepreneurs by launchkey.beehiiv.com

This week’s Launch Key reminder is that there is no perfect career path. But there are plenty of options to make your own career portfolio far more interesting. 

Just 3 subscriber examples from Dean Otto, Tom Hewitt and Christopher Jones. 

Get in there and read about them for yourself ⬇️

Open article: Career portfolios by launchkey.beehiiv.com

We can't all have a bear steal a chainsaw on camera. 

But if we do, it's a chance to build an audience. Husqvarna social media folks effortlessly joined a funny online conversation and created buzz with humor and product giveaways. 

This week's Launch Key with a little more on the Creator Economy and using your wit. ⬇️

Open article: Creator economy of chainsaw bears by launchkey.beehiiv.com

Growing an audience with humor and experience

Not all products are digital. 

Your late-career side hustle might not always come out of your work knowledge. Christopher Jones created a non-digital Bloody Mary mix while working on his weekend sailing hobby. 

This week's Launch Key 🚀  has the latest. 

Get in there ⬇️

Open article: Not all products are digital by launchkey.beehiiv.com

Turn your passion project into a late-career side hustle

National Association of Benefits and Insurance Professionals (NABIP)

Regional Vice President responsible for supporting the state and local chapters in New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, and perhaps, in the future, Rhode Island and Vermont. Member of the Board of Trustees that governs the trade association. NABIP is shaping the future of healthcare. It elevates broker and insurance professional members through robust education and certification programs. It advocates for the clients and customers whom its members support. For more information, visit www.nabip.org

Regional Vice President and Member of the Board of Trustees

Benegames, Inc.

We're a start-up focused on empowering workers through gamification and education to optimize their employee benefits.

Co-founder, HSA Guru, Chief Content Officer

Consumer Health Solutions

I consult with a small, rapidly growing, full-service third-party administrator delivering health-account solutions to small and mid-size New England (primarily) businesses. In a market in which consolidation through acquisitions has robbed employers of responsive, owner-managed partner options, Consumer Health Solutions brings a high level of service and expertise to the administration of Health Savings Accounts, Health Reimbursement Arrangements, Flexible Spending Accounts, direct-bill administration (COBRA continuation, retiree, absence management), and Lifestyle accounts.

Strategic Consultant

Seize Control, LLC

•	Provided compliance guidance to administrators and employers.
•	Consulted with benefit-advisor firms and clients on positioning consumer-driven products.
•	Created product-certification and continuing-education courses for trade organizations.

Consultant

Voya Financial

•	Represented Voya on boards of professional and trade organizations.
•	Wrote regular content rated among the most compelling on Voya’s website.
•	Served as in-house expert on HSAs.
•	Delivered CE courses to benefits advisors across the country.
•	Synthesized industry and Voya research into actionable content.
•	Met regularly with congressional and executive-branch officials.

Director, Planning and Business Analysis

Benefit Strategies, LLC

•	Led Benefit Strategies' Health Savings Account program.
•	Worked with benefits advisors and employers on product strategy and positioning.
•	Educated financial and retirement advisors on HSAs.
•	Presented at regional and national trade conferences.
•	Became the industry’s go-to person for HSA-Medicare issues.
•	Wrote extensively (books, blogs, multiple weekly original articles on LinkedIn).
•	Delivered CE courses to benefits professionals.
•	Met regularly as a product expert with members of Congress and staffers.

Director of Strategy and Compliance

Harvard Pilgrim Health Care

•	Helped benefits advisors and employers design effective HSA and HRA offerings.
•	Delivered CE courses to more than 800 benefits advisors.
•	Wrote “Health Savings Accounts: A Practical Guide for Accountholders” (2019), a desktop reference book for brokers, employers, and account owners.
•	Managed relationship with 16 vendor partners.
•	Crafted private-exchange product strategy and managed relationships with multiple private-exchange partners.

Lead Consultant - Consumer-Driven Health

Healthbridge Reimbursement and Product Support (later ExpressScripts)

Program Manager

Product Manager

Sales Supervisor

My superpower: I take complex healthcare topics and break them down into concepts that benefits advisors, employers, and employees understand. Not everyone is engineered to pore through the federal tax code and administrative interpretations. I am. I deliver this information through
•	Multiple weekly articles published on LinkedIn [#HSAMondayMythbuster, #HSAWednesdayWisdom, #HSAQuestionOfTheWeek, ICHRAinsights].
•	Books, including “HSAs: The Tax-Perfect Retirement Account” (2019), “How to Use Your Health Savings Account” (proj. June 2024), and “Health Savings Account Frequently Asked Questions” (proj. October 2024).
•	Product certification and continuing-education programs.

My areas of expertise: Health Savings Account strategy and compliance; the intersection of  Health Savings Accounts, Medicare, and Retirement; health reimbursement and lifestyle accounts; and Individual-Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangements.

My passion: Helping hard-working American families manage their cost of coverage (medical premiums) and care (out-of-pocket financial responsibility). I help members of Congress and their aides and staff members understand how these plans work and identify the barriers to wider availability. I help employers understand how to position and support these accounts to help attract, retain, and delight talented workers. And I teach employees how to leverage these plans to manage their medical expenses.

My commitment: I’m active in national trade groups because I want to amplify my efforts, share information with other professionals, and continue to develop the skills and absorb the knowledge that I need to serve my clients.

taplio

The Battle

Rob Norris

William G. (Bill) Stuart

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taplio

The Battle

Rob Norris

William G. (Bill) Stuart

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Rob Norris's LinkedIn Performance

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Performance ScoreRob Norris's LinkedIn Performance