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

Building on Shopify and selling on Facebook won't work anymore for the brands as this is just pushing CAC through the roof, leaving brands struggling for profitability and growth. Organically reimagining commerce is the only way for digitally native brands to win in every normal. dotkonnekt is building the industry's first Experiential Commerce platform, purpose-built for brands to grow their D2C channel organically. How? By converging Content, Community, and Commerce and scripting a composable and unique experience for their customers visiting their site. The commerce platforms that exist today, Shopify's of the world were built for Retailers and SMB's, hence brands feel stuck, with no room for creativity, in their templatized and monolithic architectures. Started amid a pandemic last year by 2 retail enthusiasts & industry veterans Dhiraj (in Bangalore) & Chandan (in the US), who in their previous avatars have led this space for 2.5 decades.

The recent pandemic response has elevated the importance of simplified administration of UCC platforms like Teams to senior management who are navigating a highly complex hybrid working environment with increasingly distributed workforces.  However, the fragmentation of technology in the UCC space has actually led to a disunification of communications, meaning that the challenge for businesses now is to re-unify and automate management and user administration, freeing admin specialists to do the work they need to do, and employees to work, collaborate and innovate.   Kurmi is a company that works with the likes of Verizon, NTT, Orange, BP, L'Oreal, BNP Paribas, etc to handle the automated provisioning of around 5 million people worldwide to ensure that employees have the tools and platforms they need to get working ASAP. Eric Olson, VP Sales Americas joins me in a conversation about the multitude of different platforms like Teams, Google, Avaya, Cisco etc, and collaboration tools that organizations need to n

Lara Hodgson is the CEO and co-founder of Now®️, a fintech startup enabling minority-owned small businesses to grow through its invoice payment solution that redefines how and when companies get paid. Lara also serves as an Entrepreneur in Residence at Harvard Business School and is an internationally recognized speaker, leading seminars on creativity, innovation, and access to capital.  Lara joins me on Tech Talks Daily to share lessons from the growing pains of starting her own small business with Stacey Abrams and their guide for entrepreneurs highlighted in their upcoming book, Level Up. In 2010, they created NowAccount because they were sick of waiting for their customers to pay. Initially, they celebrated when they landed a big contract, but weeks and weeks would pass and payment would still be outstanding. They needed working capital to continue business operations and their cash was tied up in their invoices. Everyone told them to get a line of credit or try factoring, and they thought, "Why should we

Darren Person joins me on Tech Talks Daily. As Global CIO, Darren leads NPD's Technology Group, encompassing the company's operations and technology organizations, and is responsible for spearheading the development of NPD's next-generation platform, addressing clients' needs through innovations in data and analytics.  Today's episode explores the opportunities beyond Silicon Valley, and we discuss where to find the best tech jobs across America. Darren also shares advice on how to find the right company to further your career in tech and shares tips on why a career in technology is the best investment you can make. Finally, we discuss the importance of data-driven decision-making across organizations, and the guest offers some strategic advice for CIOs on building a future-proof tech workforce.

Founded in 2015, Roboze was created to redesign the global supply chain through its patented ultra-precise 3D printing technology for super materials, leveraging a proprietary CARBON PEEK material - the highest performing 3D printing super polymer in the entire industry. Roboze currently works with GE, Bosch, Airbus, and other global organizations across space, energy/sustainable energy, medical, manufacturing, and more to design and create end-use parts.  The company recently released the world's largest 3D printer equipped with a heated chamber for the fast production of incredibly strong non-metallic parts and is the creator of additive manufacturing systems with the highest accuracy and repeatability in the world. I invited Alessio Lorusso onto Tech Talks Daily to learn more about his tech startup story, 3D printing, and much more.

Digital collectibles platform, RCRDSHP, has just embarked on a brand new journey with RCRDSHP Studio. Developing a space for artists and fans to engage with each other in such an innovative and personalized web3 environment is everything RCRDSHP has aimed to do, and now it is here for the world to explore.  Far from the big tech hype and commercial bluster surrounding NFTs and web3, thousands of projects and collectives are quietly shaping new music communities via decentralized tech. These grassroots, often fan-driven efforts blend experiences, collaboration, collective creation and investment with ever-evolving creativity. RCRDSHP wants more of these experiments to flourish. To make this happen, the web3 music platform has launched RCRDSHP Studio, a home base that provides the tools for music lovers and artists to experiment together with all that web3 offers. RCRDSHP Studio gives music fans a base and the tools to play around with new web3 experiences, from collectively creating something to running a remi

Denis O'Shea joins me on Tech Talks Daily in a discussion about securing remote workers using their personal devices. We also talk about balancing security with employee experience, and he shares a few tips around running a paper-less, server-less, password-less business. Finally, I learn more about the story behind Mobile Mentor. Denis O'Shea founded Mobile Mentor in New Zealand in 2004. Since then, the company has helped millions of people unlock the full potential of their technology. In 2017, O'Shea moved to Nashville, Tennessee to launch the company's US business, with a focus on securing the mobile workforce in industries such as healthcare, education, finance, and government services.  Mobile Mentor is a global leader in the endpoint ecosystem, helping clients navigate the right balance between security and employee experience. The company was named Microsoft's 2021 Global Partner of the year for Modern Endpoint Management primarily for their work helping Alive Hospice safely treat patients during COVI

Under the "Great Resignation," millions of people are leaving their jobs to start their own businesses. However, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 20% of those businesses will fail within the first year. And those that do survive the first year will likely not turn a significant profit for quite some time — if ever.  What if people could keep their day jobs and monetize their expertise without significant risk or time and capital expenditure? Well, that's exactly what Kajabi is doing.    With Kajabi, users have a single platform to publish, market, and sell online courses, membership sites, communities, and other digital products. Tens of thousands of entrepreneurs rely on Kajabi to build and manage their online businesses, and the company has helped these entrepreneurs generate over $2 billion in sales from nearly 50 million customers to date.    As an example of how people are growing their businesses on Kajabi, Dr. Jamie Wilkey earned $230,000 in 2021 on Kajabi through her online class that t

A company called LANDR recently set off my tech spidey senses when they launched Chromatic, a first-of-its-kind virtual instrument featuring exclusive sounds by well-known artists, session players and producers. These sound sets are grouped by color and mood to spark more creativity for music makers. With an impressive streaming library growing with new material in the next month, including artist-generated sound sets by 2020 Grammy nominee D Smoke (Best New Artist, Best Rap Album) and platinum selling Montreal singer-songwriter Ariane Moffatt (with her SOMMM collective), Chromatic offers the artist community a playable interface they can use in producing new works. Chromatic will soon incorporate royalty splits for creators who are contributing sound sets and those who utilize them in their works, generating potential new revenue streams for artists everywhere while allowing for artful collaboration and exchange in a unique way. It will function as an intriguing additional asset artists can use to promote th

Tina D'Agostin is the CEO of Alcatraz AI, an artificial intelligence company that employs facial authentication technology to create autonomous access control solutions for enterprises. D'Agostin previously served as the Chief Revenue Officer for Alcatraz AI, responsible for driving top-line growth and expanding Alcatraz's footprint globally. As CEO, she plans to take Alcatraz AI into its next chapter to modernize the access control industry. Tina brings over 25 years of experience within the security technology and solutions industry, with leadership experience building high-performing organizations in hardware, IT, and smart technologies. Prior to Alcatraz AI, D'Agostin was the General Manager of Building Technology & Solutions at Johnson Controls, focused on delivering smart building technologies to global companies. Tina earned her undergraduate degree and her MBA from Rockford University. An avid and lifelong student, she has continued her education at Stanford University, receiving professional ce

Should small startups care about cybersecurity? Did you know that the average cost of a ransomware attack is $500k? For most small businesses and startups, this means they go out of business. Even if they can afford to pay the ransom, the reputation damage is permanent. For that reason, more than 60% of small businesses & startups never survive the attack. Scary statistics. Brian Fritton, CEO & Founder of Havoc Shield shares how they've taken the technical and legal ocean of complexity in the security arena and turned it into a simple step-by-step action plan that integrates many of the products, services, and policies companies normally need to wade through and implement individually. Brian discusses why cybersecurity is not only for the big players as 43% of attacks target brands under 500 employees. He also shares easy-to-apply strategies that can literally save the businesses of everyone listening. Finally, we talk about how something as simple as putting a cybersecurity badge on your website incr

Panos Siozos is the Co-Founder and CEO of LearnWorlds, an online course platform for creating, selling and promoting online courses. He formerly worked in the European Parliament as a policy adviser for research and innovation issues (2009-2014). He is currently 'tasting his own medicine' having co-founded his edtech SaaS startup. LearnWorlds is a powerful, easy-to-use and reliable training solution for individuals and enterprises. A fully customizable, white-label solution to train employees and associates, educate customers, or sell online courses to a wide audience. The cloud-based e-learning platform offers Professionals, Entrepreneurs & Training Managers a solution tailored to their specific needs and a team of experts to help achieve your goals. Much more than just selling online courses, LearnWorlds comes with a built-in Social Community. But I wanted to learn more about the technology that makes it easy for anyone to create, market, and sell the most engaging online courses. Panos joins in on Tech

In 2017, Andrew Butt launched his third startup -- Enable, a venture-backed ($58.6M) cloud-based SaaS solution for B2B rebate management. The software is used by procurement and finance professionals in distribution, wholesale, and manufacturing across over 50 industries so that they can have an easy, seamless solution to execute and track their full range of trading programs.  More than $1 trillion in rebates are issued each year, and 4% of potential rebate revenue typically goes unclaimed due to companies using old methods like inadequate software solutions and excel sheets. Enable makes sure this revenue doesn't fall through the cracks and has more merchants and suppliers in the UK and US than any other comparable software solution.  Andrew Butt, Co-founder, and CEO of Enable, shares his story with me on Tech Talks Daily Podcast.

Andres Rodriguez is the founder and CTO of Nasuni, a cloud file storage provider. He is also the former CTO for the New York Times. We last spoke a few years ago, and I was eager to invite him back onto Tech Talks Daily for a catchup. Andres talks about why ransomware has finally pushed back up to the breaking point. Backup, especially as the last line of defense against disasters like ransomware, is dead and ineffective. If it's taking an enterprise or organization 2 weeks to recover their files (because they are following "best practices") and suddenly paying the ransom seems like a good idea for business continuity, then the model is broken.  Prevention is no longer enough. It's the detection and, most importantly, recovery. Unfortunately, the IT silos and no one wanting to take responsibility for recovery exacerbates the problem, causing it to fall between the cracks.  As ransomware attacks continue into the new year, the traditional backup will be more widely exposed as entirely inadequate for business c

Most of today's DeFi lending and borrowing protocols have inflationary token models, don't capture or pass on the value the protocol generates, often lack cross-chain capabilities, and offer an overly complex user experience. Minterest changes that.  Having launched in September, following a $6.5 million from top-tier investors, the team is made up of ex-Cardano, Prysm Group, Chainlink, and IBM leaders and members with elite academic and technology credentials.  What sets Minterest apart from DeFi incumbents is that it is engineered from the ground up to capture the value it generates. By utilizing its buy-back mechanism, the protocol passes on 100% of revenue generated to its community of active participants. Josh Rogers, the CEO and Co-founder is an Australian entrepreneur with more than 20 years of experience as a serial entrepreneur. Josh has been a founding member of numerous start-ups, including COMindico, the world's first point-to-point IP telco (US$300M raise); Oriel Communications, the world's firs

IRIS is a revolutionary new audio experience that dramatically increases sound quality by introducing the space usually missing from recorded audio, unlocking the 'live' dimension that's often lost. This is achieved through a proprietary algorithm that splits out and increases the phase information sent to the brain. The listener's brain then reassembles this vast increase in information and becomes far more active in the listening process. The audio technology company has also just launched IRIS CLARITY, a desktop application that eradicates all background noise in online meetings, ensuring the voice of each participant is heard clearly and bringing control to otherwise uncontrollable environments. Jacobi Anstruther joins me on Tech Talks Daily to share how this new audio technology company is on a mission to enable the world to listen well. Their patented algorithms use advanced psycho-acoustics, machine learning, and AI to create cutting-edge, sound innovation software that enhances audio streams in real-t

Every piece of data tells a story. Ordnance Survey data is more than a map. It keeps us all safe, helps businesses be more productive and gives people the freedom to step outside and explore. The emergency services depend on it to get exactly where they're needed. And when disaster strikes we work with our partners to minimise damage and save lives. Its data is used to plan smart cities, brings gaming worlds to life, helps lenders and insurers assess risk and prevent fraud, and supports over £100 billion of our nation's economy. For over 230 years, Ordnance Survey has been mapping Great Britain in extraordinary detail. But I wanted to learn more about the company's digital transformation and how it has developed one of the world's largest spatial databases. So first, Lloyd Clarke shares how its old products and data sets were on multiple Oracle databases. Then, we discuss how Ordnance Survey (OS) has completely overhauled its approach to data storage with Pure Storage and achieved its innovation goals. I also

At Dynatrace's annual Perform conference, the company revealed new capabilities to help developers automate observability and security best practices in their applications. In addition, the $13.48 billion monitoring and observability company is going head-to-head with Splunk and Datadog on its mission to boost growth. We have recently spoken with Steve Tack from Dynatrace about going multi-cloud with serverless monitoring, and I also learned that they have a new CEO in Rick McConnell. At the Perform 2022 event, I caught up with him to learn more about his origin story, what attracted him to Dynatrace's vision for the company's future, and much more.  Join me in learning more about the motivations, passions and insights from the Dynatrace CEO. Tech Talks Daily Podcast Sponsor Details Get Surfshark VPN at https://surfshark.deals/TTD - Enter promo code TTD for 83% off and 3 extra months free! 

For over 200 years,  Wiley has been helping people and organizations develop the skills and knowledge they need to succeed. They are known for creating digital education, learning, assessment, and certification solutions to help universities, businesses, and individuals move between education and employment and achieve their ambitions. By partnering with learned societies, Wiley supports researchers to communicate discoveries that make a difference. Its online scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly journals, books, and other digital content build on a 200-year heritage of quality publishing. At last year's Dynatrace Perform event, I got chatting with Wiley's CIO and CISO; Sean Mack shared his experience in DevOps, infrastructure, security, enterprise applications, development, and program management. But, at this year's Perform Event, I have invited Eric Lytle on the podcast to learn more about how Wiley's digital transformation journey has progressed. We also discuss how Wiley accelerated its cloud j

Providing essential security and compliance infrastructure, Very Good Security (VGS) enables startups and enterprises to focus on their core business instead of compliance and regulatory overhead. With one single integration, VGS customers unlock the value of sensitive data without the cost and liability of securing it themselves, while also accelerating compliances like PCI, SOC 2, GDPR and more. Since I last spoke to VGS in 2019, the company has raised a $60 million Series C funding. It has also hit several key milestones including recognition as a Forbes Next Billion-Dollar Startup, doubling revenue and headcount, launching several pivotal products, acceptance into the AWS ISV Accelerate Program, and expanding its executive bench. Peter Berg, VP of Business Development & Strategy at Very Good Security (and former head of Visa Ventures) joins me on Tech Talks Daily. He has a great back story and is a fintech expert who shares the latest industry trends (like the rise of virtual cards and embedded fintec