The Tech Blog Writer Podcast - Inspired Tech Startup Stories & Interviews With Tech Leaders, Entrepreneurs And Innovators

Here’s the thing. We have had brilliant ideas in Web3 for years, along with better tooling and plenty of enthusiasm, yet adoption still feels slower than it should be. In my conversation with Maciej Baj, founder of t3rn, we got under the skin of why that is and what it might take to change the pace. His starting point is simple to state and hard to deliver at scale: make cross-chain interactions feel seamless for users and predictable for developers. If you can do that, the door opens to practical products rather than experiments that only the bravest try. Maciej describes t3rn as a universal execution layer for cross-chain smart contracts, and the phrase matters because it changes how we think about interoperability. Instead of stitching together a mess of bridges and oracles, t3rn lets a contract access state and data across multiple chains from one place. Today it is mapped to the EVM for broad compatibility, but the design is chain agnostic by intent. That choice is less about tribal loyalties and more ab

When we think about what separates winning traders from those who struggle, we usually picture strategies, indicators, or a bit of insider know-how. But what if the biggest edge has been sitting on your desk all along? In this episode, I sit down with Eddie Z, also known as Russ Hazelcorn, the founder of EZ Trading Computers and EZBreakouts. With more than 37 years of experience as a trader, stockbroker, technologist, and educator, Eddie has built his career around one mission: helping traders cut through noise, avoid expensive mistakes, and get the tools they need to stay competitive in a fast-moving market. Eddie breaks down the specs that actually matter when building a trading setup, from RAM to CPUs to data feeds, and exposes which so-called “upgrades” are nothing more than overpriced fluff. We also dig into the rise of AI-powered trading platforms and bots, and what traders can do today to prepare their machines for the next wave. As Eddie points out, a lagging system or a missed feed isn’t just an inco

Most conversations about AI are still caught up in the spectacle. We see demos, marvel at copilots, and argue about the latest big model. But what happens when you strip away the hype and focus on AI that simply works? That is exactly the perspective Olga Lagunova brings to this episode. As Chief Product and Technology Officer at GoTo, she has one goal in mind: make AI useful, practical, and almost invisible. Olga believes the real test of AI is whether it integrates seamlessly into workflows. In her view, the most powerful AI is the kind that feels almost boring because it is just part of how work gets done. During our conversation she explains how GoTo is embedding AI into its platform so that small and midsize businesses can benefit without needing data scientists on staff or large budgets to experiment. We explore the difference between AI for SMBs and AI for enterprises, and why simplicity and trust matter more than shiny features. Our discussion also goes deeper into agentic AI, where tools are no longe

I wanted this conversation to do two things at once. First, ground the hype in real practice. Second, show how a small country can punch well above its weight by connecting industry, academia, and government with purpose. With Chantelle Kiernan from IDA Ireland and Stephen Flanagan from Eli Lilly and Company, we explored what digital transformation really looks like on the factory floor in Ireland, why talent is the engine behind it, and how cross-sector collaboration is turning ideas into measurable outcomes. Ireland’s manufacturing base employs hundreds of thousands and fuels exports, yet what stands out is the shared mindset. The shift toward Industry 5.0 puts people at the center while using digital, disruptive, and sustainable technologies to rethink production. Eli Lilly’s experience shows how a digital-first culture changes everything. New sites start paperless by default. Established plants raise their game through micro-learning, data-driven problem solving, and champions who model the behavior. The

What does it really mean to future-proof financial data? That’s the question at the heart of my conversation with George Rosenberger, General Manager of NYFIX at Broadridge. George has spent his career moving through every corner of the capital markets, from trading desks to broker-dealers, and now into the software side where he oversees order routing, post-trade matching, and the adoption of new AI tools. His perspective is uniquely positioned between the history of financial markets and their rapidly accelerating future. This discussion takes inspiration from Broadridge’s fifth annual Digital Transformation and Next Gen Technology study, which collected insights from more than five hundred technology and operations leaders across financial services. The survey highlights both the progress and the pressure points facing the industry. Forty-one percent of leaders still cite data security as a major hurdle, and while cloud, AI, and cybersecurity dominate the technology stack, a third of firms still lack secur

What does it take to deliver personalized financial guidance to more than 140 million people every single day? That is the question I put to Wan Agus, Head of Engineering at Intuit Credit Karma, in this episode of Tech Talks Daily. Most of us open the Credit Karma app to check our credit score, look at a loan option, or browse for a better credit card. What we rarely consider is the technology running behind the curtain. Wan revealed that his teams are powering more than 60 billion daily AI predictions to understand members’ needs, protect their privacy, and guide them toward the right financial choices. He explained why accuracy is everything in fintech. A misplaced recommendation can mean more than a poor customer experience; it can damage someone’s credit score and hold back their progress. Our conversation also looked at what happened after Intuit acquired Credit Karma. Two very different tech stacks had to be brought together, and identity systems had to be unified so members could move seamlessly betwee

AI is quickly moving from boardroom buzzword to boardroom headache. Enterprises are waking up to the fact that bringing large language models in-house is not just about performance or cost, but about control, accountability, and trust. In this episode of Tech Talks Daily, I sit down with Octavian Tanase, Chief Product Officer at Hitachi Vantara, to unpack what this shift really means for business and technology leaders. Octavian explains why governance has become the defining challenge of the AI era. Companies are under pressure not only to innovate but also to meet new regulatory demands and maintain trust with customers. That requires more than patching together tools or hoping for transparency from public AI providers. It means creating governance frameworks that deliver traceability, auditability, and explainability as standard practice, not as afterthoughts. We explore why vector databases may need something like a time-machine capability to document when and how information is added, giving enterprises

What if the way we store data is shaping the planet’s future? That thought has been on my mind ever since attending the IT Press Tour in Amsterdam, where I first connected with today’s guest. With global data creation forecast to hit 510 zettabytes by 2030, and data centers already consuming staggering amounts of power, the conversation is no longer about whether change is needed but about how we approach it. Joining me on the podcast is Nicholas Stavrinou, co-founder of CompressionX, a company rethinking lossless compression. Nicholas shares how a mathematical paradox in a university notebook grew into a technology that promises faster, cheaper, and more sustainable data storage. His story takes us from leather-bound journals and napkin sketches to a working product that is already helping users cut their digital footprints by more than 90 percent. In our discussion, Nicholas explains why compression deserves a seat at the sustainability table, especially as AI and enterprise workloads generate unprecedented

I recorded this episode at Barracuda TechSummit25 in Alpbach, Austria, a mountain village that looks like a postcard and hosts some of the most grounded security conversations you will hear all year. My guest is Richard Flanders, Commercial Director at Aura Technology, a managed service provider on the south coast of England that supports public sector organisations and tightly regulated commercial clients. Richard arrived as part of Barracuda’s Partner Advisory Board, which means he spends as much time feeding customer reality back into product teams as he does comparing notes with peers in the hallway. We talk through his first TechSummit experience and why the event’s focus on hands-on engineering matters for MSPs who live in the weeds of configuration, policy, and response. Richard shares early thoughts on Barracuda’s secure edge service and the continued maturation of XDR, but the heart of our chat is the pressure he sees on customers. Compliance is no longer a side quest. ISO 27001, Cyber Essentials Plu

I recorded this conversation at Barracuda TechSummit25 in Alpbach, Austria, where the mountains feel close enough to touch and the discussions get very real very quickly. My guests are Adam Khan, VP of Global Security Operations at Barracuda XDR, and Eric Russo, Director of SOC Defensive Security. Together they run the teams that watch, interpret, and act when attacks move across email, identity, network, cloud, and endpoints. Their keynote used the language of sport to make sense of modern defense, and it worked. You will hear why football tactics map cleanly to security, how roles and formations translate to controls and playbooks, and why a strong back line matters when the opposition moves the ball quickly. Here is the thing that stood out for me. Integrated defense is not a slogan. When Adam and Eric talk about Extended Detection and Response, they are describing a practical way to join signals, add context, and trigger action without waiting for a human to click through ten consoles. XDR gives analysts

I recorded this conversation in Alpbach, Austria, a village that looks like a postcard and hosts a very serious tech gathering. TechSummit25 is Barracuda’s deeply technical event, and it shows. The rooms are packed with solution architects, product managers, and engineers comparing notes with customers who run these systems every day. It is the kind of environment where product direction and real-world pain points meet over a coffee, then head straight into a lab to test an idea. My guest today is Neal Bradbury, Chief Product Officer at Barracuda, who leads engineering, product management, and the operations teams that keep services running around the clock. Fresh from a session titled “Secured today, secured tomorrow,” Neal breaks down what that promise means in practice. We explore why Barracuda is doubling down on a platform approach with Barracuda One, how a single dashboard helps teams see posture and value in one place, and why consolidation matters when alerts and tools pile up faster than teams can re

In this episode of Tech Talks Daily, I’m joined by Todd Grabowski from Johnson Controls to unpack the physics, products, and design choices shaping the next generation of data center cooling. It’s a practical conversation that moves from chips and compressors to water, power, and land constraints, and what it really takes to keep modern infrastructure reliable at scale. Todd brings three decades of experience to the table and a front-row view of how Johnson Controls and the York brand have kept their focus on energy efficiency, reliability, and sustainability for more than a century. That longevity matters when the market is moving fast. He explains why cooling now sits alongside power as the defining constraint for data centers, and why roughly forty percent of a facility’s energy can be spent on cooling rather than computation. If you lead technology, finance, or facilities, that single number should focus the mind. Todd walks through Johnson Controls’ YVAM platform and the York magnetic bearing centrifugal

I’ve spent years talking about endpoint security, yet printers rarely enter the conversation. Today, that blind spot takes center stage. I’m joined by Jim LaRoe, CEO of Symphion, to unpack why printers now represent one of the most exposed corners of the enterprise and what can be done about it. Jim’s team protects fleets that range from a few hundred devices to tens of thousands, and the picture he paints is stark. In many organizations, printers make up 20 to 30 percent of endpoints, and almost all of them are left in a factory default state. That means open ports, default passwords, and little to no monitoring. Pair that with the sensitive data printers receive, process, and store, plus the privileged connections they hold to email and file servers, and you start to see why attackers love them. We trace Symphion’s path from a configuration management roots story in 1999 to a pivot in 2015 when a major printer manufacturer invited the company behind the curtain. What they found was a parallel universe to ma

Marketing teams used to have a simple enough job: follow the click, count the conversions, and shift the budget accordingly. But that world is gone. GDPR, iOS restrictions, and browser-level changes have left most attribution models broken or unreliable. So what now? In this episode, I sat down with Fredrik Skansen, CEO of Funnel, to unpack how marketing intelligence actually works in a world where data is partial, journeys are fragmented, and the old models don’t hold. Since founding Funnel in 2014, Fredrik has grown the company into a platform that supports over 2,600 brands and handles reporting on more than 80 billion dollars in annual digital spend. That scale gives him a front-row seat to the questions every CMO and CFO are asking right now. Fredrik explains why last-click attribution didn’t just become inaccurate. It became misleading. With tracking capabilities stripped down and user signals disappearing, the industry has had to move toward modeled attribution and real-time optimisation. That only wor

I invited Egil Østhus to unpack a simple idea that tends to get lost in release day pressure. DevOps gets code to production quickly, but users experience features, not pipelines. Egil is the founder of Unleash, an open source feature management platform with close to 30 million downloads, and he argues that the next step is FeatureOps. It is a mindset and a set of practices that separate deployment from release, so teams can place code in production, light it up for a small cohort, learn, and only then scale out with confidence. Here is the thing. Controlled rollouts, clear telemetry, and fast rollback reduce risk without slowing teams down. Egil explains how FeatureOps connects engineering effort to business outcomes through gradual exposure, full stack experimentation, and what he calls surgical rollback. Instead of ripping out an entire release when one part misbehaves, teams can disable the offending capability and keep the rest of the value in place. It sounds straightforward because it is, and t

I invited Atalia Horenshtien to unpack a topic many leaders are wrestling with right now. Everyone is talking about AI agents, yet most teams are still living with rule based bots, brittle scripts, and a fair bit of anxiety about handing decisions to software. Atalia has lived through the full arc, from early machine learning and automated pipelines to today’s agent frameworks inside large enterprises. She is an AI and data strategist, a former data scientist and software engineer, and has just joined Hakoda, an IBM company, to help global brands move from experiments to outcomes. The timing matters. She starts on the 18th, and this conversation captures how she thinks about responsible progress at exactly the moment she steps into that new role. Here’s the thing. Words like autonomy sound glamorous until an agent faces a messy real world task. Atalia draws a clear line between scripted bots and agents with goals, memory, and the ability to learn from feedback. Her advice is refreshingly grounded. Start inter

Here’s the thing. Connecting thousands of devices is the easy part. Keeping them resilient and secure as you grow is where the real work lives. In this episode, I sit down with Iain Davidson, Senior Product Manager at Wireless Logic, to unpack what happens when connectivity, security, and operations meet in the real world. Wireless Logic connects a new IoT device every 18 seconds, with more than 18 million active subscriptions across 165 countries and partnerships with over 750 mobile networks. That reach brings hard lessons about where projects stall, where breaches begin, and how to build systems that can take a hit without taking your business offline. Iain lays out a simple idea that more teams need to hear. Resilience and security have to scale at the same pace as your device rollouts. He explains why fallback connectivity, private networking, and an IoT-optimised mobile core such as Conexa set the ground rules, but the real differentiator is visibility. If you cannot see what your fleet is doing in near

Here's the thing. Most enterprise AI pitches talk about scale and speed. Fewer talk about trust, tone, and culture. In this conversation with Inflection AI's Amit Manjhi and Shruti Prakash, I explore a different path for enterprise AI, one that combines emotional intelligence with analytical horsepower, enabling teams to ask more informed questions of their data and receive answers that are grounded in context. Amit's story sets the pace. He is a three-time founder, a YC alum, and a CS PhD who has solved complex problems across mobile, ad tech, and data. Shruti complements that arc with a product lens shaped by real operational trenches, from clean rooms to grocery retail analytics.  Together, they built BoostKPI during the pandemic, transforming natural language into actionable insights, and then joined Inflection AI to help refocus the company on achieving enterprise outcomes. Their shared north star is simple to say yet tricky to execute. Make data analysis conversational, accurate, and emotionally aware s

Here’s the thing. Payments only look simple from the outside. In this Tech Talks Daily episode, I sit down with Roberto “Reks” Kafati, CEO and co-founder of DEUNA, to unpack how a scrappy one-click checkout idea grew into an intelligent payments infrastructure that now touches a large slice of Mexico’s online economy.  Reks explains why Latin America’s high decline rates aren’t just an inconvenience but a growth killer, and how DEUNA’s early focus on orchestration and checkout opened the door to something bigger. When a region routinely sees more than four out of ten online transactions knocked back, the bar for reliability sits in a different place. That practical problem set the stage for what came next. Athena, Real-Time Decisions, and 638 Signals per Transaction DEUNA’s pivot point came when merchants asked a fair question. With all this payment data flying through the system, what should we do with it? The answer is Athena, DEUNA’s AI-powered layer that watches every transaction and feeds merchants real-

I sat down with Leo de Araujo, Head of Global Business Innovation at Syntax Systems, to unpack a problem every SAP team knows too well. Years of enhancements and quick fixes leave you with custom code that nobody wants to document, a maze of SharePoint folders, and hard questions whenever S/4HANA comes up. What does this program do. What breaks if we change that field. Do we have three versions of the same thing. Leo’s answer is Syntax AI CodeGenie, an agentic AI solution with a built-in chatbot that finally treats documentation and code understanding as a living part of the system, not an afterthought. Here’s the thing. CodeGenie automates the creation and upkeep of custom code documentation, then lets you ask plain-language questions about function and business value. Instead of hunting through 40-page PDFs, teams can ask, “Do we already upload sales orders from Excel,” or “What depends on this BAdI,” and get an instant explanation. That changes migration planning. You can see what to keep, what to retire,