
Putting Technology Strategy to work.
What We do
Emerging Technology Development
Software and Data Engineering
Software and AI/ML Product Development
Strategic Planning and Business Development
Growth Planning and Business Case Development
Who We Are
Mind Thread is an independent, Washington DC-based IT development and strategic consulting firm providing commercial and public sector organizations with technology development, strategic planning and growth solutions. Founded in 2009, we are a team of experienced IT, finance, product, and business development professionals dedicated to solving well-defined and measurable business problems with technology solutions.
Client Experience
Product Strategy and Roadmapping, Technology advisory.
Provide growth planning, product strategy and board-level advisory to re-launch and scale shoppable media platform into global ad-tech ecosystem.
Business Planning, SEO/eCommerce Strategy & Vendor Selection
Drive strategy and facilitate the selection and implementation of SEO/SEM and eCommerce vendor partners to support expansion of online catalog sales and international market access. Support deal development in Asia and Latin American markets.
Health IT Program Audit, Survey Design and Implementation
Build, implement, analyze and publish comprehensive statewide survey of health IT adoption among hospitals and health services providers. Assess trends in Telehealth and connected health practices within the Veterans Administration and other health care organizations.
Portfolio Development and Technical Advisory
Build and launch a business to consumer platform to enable small to medium enterprises to gain efficiencies in key operational, customer engagement, marketing and fulfillment areas.
why Us
Technical and business strategies that can't be implemented are fantasy. At the same time, project-level contract work is often non-strategic and shallow. Either the work product is too conceptual and diffuse or it is too tactical and rigid. Both approaches are disconnected from the realities of the organization and will lack applicability, staying power and effectiveness. Mind Thread balances the need to operate from a coherent framework but not without a specific and measurable plan of attack.
How we do it
We refuse to leave the whiteboard without a workable, relevant action plan. Our team and associates learn and embrace the context in which any plan will be executed. Then we do the work taking into account the client's unique operational and strategic requirements. Everyone on our team shares an intense and sincere desire to help the companies we work with build new capabilities, fix persistent problems and achieve planned outcomes.
Master the Context
Understanding the underlying drivers, constraints and operating principles of each business is critical. How a team processes information, communicates and decides, shapes what's possible, when it can be done and how. Keeping assignments and work plans within organizational guard rails is crucial for success.
Embrace Reality
Every business is a human organism. Each one is limited and imperfect whether in strategy, process, policy or resources. Accepting this as a necessary condition in which to act requires flexibility, timing, and maturity. Without the ability to engage with functional leaders and to build trust and credibility, few tactics and work products are rational and have a high potential for success.
Tell the Truth
There is nothing to be gained by avoiding facts, hiding data, overlooking risks, diminishing challenges and sugar-coating bad news. An environment of respectful candor is the only way to stay aligned on what problems are to be solved and when and how opportunities should be pursued.
Get Moving
Every facet of an effective consultant engagement will have a reachable business outcome or strategic destination attached. Consultant work, especially in platform and API arenas, and in verticals trending and crowded with entrants, need velocity, disciplined focus, follow-through and measurement. Anything less is a business risk and budget drain.
Team
Randall Bapst
Founder and Managing Director
Randy Bapst has been the CEO of AiBUY, an ad-tech company, since July 2022. With over 30 years of leadership experience as a senior executive, serial entrepreneur, and private investor, Randy has a proven track record in business operations, financial management, strategic planning, and business development. He has served as a partner, advisor, investor, and board member across various companies in the technology, finance, and industrial sectors.
Before joining AiBUY, Randy was the CEO of Equity Plus, a mortgage services company that he grew to over $100 million in annual revenue with a workforce of more than 500 employees in the Washington, DC area. He also held senior roles at several banks and regional mortgage firms, where he specialized in scaling operations and driving revenue growth.
Randy's entrepreneurial ventures include founding a tech company that developed an automated risk-scoring model for federal background checks, securing a multimillion-dollar contract and processing over 1.5 million leads daily. He is adept at identifying high-growth opportunities, building scalable business models, and driving operational efficiency, with proven expertise in technology integration, risk management, and strategic business development.
Randy's early career includes service in the U.S. Marine Corps as a Crew Chief on Marine One, the presidential helicopter for Presidents Carter and Reagan.
Jesse Richey
Advisor
Jesse Richey is a dynamic technical program leader and innovator with over 12 years of experience driving the development and delivery of cutting-edge technology solutions. He currently serves as Technical Program Lead at Node.Digital, where he oversees complex, cross-functional initiatives that bridge advanced AI/ML applications with real-world business challenges, delivering impactful results across industries.
Prior to Node.Digital, Jesse worked as a Technical Program Manager at Amazon Web Services (AWS), leading the design and deployment of federal partner prototypes utilizing bleeding-edge technologies. His work focused on solving novel, high-stakes problems in areas such as cloud optimization, data integration, and secure AI applications. Jesse collaborated with federal agencies and private sector stakeholders to craft scalable, forward-thinking solutions that defined new standards of innovation and reliability in government technology.
Jesse combines an extensive educational background with a suite of technical and project management certifications, including a Master of Science in Software Engineering, an MBA in Business and Leadership, and numerous certifications in AWS, AI/ML, and project management. This diverse expertise positions him as a leader capable of blending technical execution with strategic vision to achieve operational excellence.
Known for his hands-on leadership style and deep commitment to collaboration, Jesse excels in aligning teams around a shared mission, fostering innovation, and delivering solutions that drive measurable value.
Beyond his professional achievements, Jesse is devoted to his family, living in Wichita, Kansas, with his wife and three children.
Renzo Panzera
Advisor
Renzo is a global business operations professional with 15 plus years of experience in technology arenas. He has a keen ability to identify what is at the heart of complex issues, to understand the main drivers of a business and to create precise and measurable operational plans and business models.
Renzo has a varied and senior-level functional background rooted in financial planning and analysis (FP&A), project management, analytics, operations, marketing, and supply chain management. From 1998-2014, Renzo served in senior operational roles at Nextel International.
Renzo has expertise in developing customer-centric business operations strategies, defining customer experience and go-to-market programs and developing business models that help clients mitigate risks and optimize decisions.
Renzo has worked internationally and is fluent in 4 languages, including Spanish, Portuguese, English, Italian. He obtained an MBA from UNC Chapel Hill Kenan-Flagler Business School
Prakash Yarlagadda
Advisor
Prakash is a technology development executive with 19 years experience in federal and commercial IT management and entrepreneurship. He has a demonstrated track record of leading teams in large scale transformation projects, acquisitions, product development and operational initiatives.
Prakash is founder of Node.Digital, an AI and machine learning based professional services firm. Prior to Node, he led mobile technology development for some of the largest federal integrators including SAIC, CSRA, CSC, DXC. His specialties include: mobile technologies, cloud computing, IT strategy, mobile and enterprise application development and management, systems engineering and architecture.
Prakash received his MBA at Virginia Tech, an MS in Computer Science from Univeriosty of Mississippi and BS in Computer Engineering from Karnatak University.
Mind Thread LLC © 2016
4400 Fair Lakes Court Fairfax, Virginia 20120