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

Hiroki Koga, CEO, and co-founder of Oishii, shares his inspirational story on today's episode of Tech Talks Daily. Oishii is the company behind the world's largest indoor vertical strawberry farm, where Hiroki is on a mission to transform the future of farming/agriculture and make the most delicious and healthy produce available to everyone. With continued tech innovations, indoor vertical farming is becoming a more sustainable farming practice and a better way to cultivate fruits/vegetables at any time of the year with less land and water. Hiroki and his team have been able to marry ancient Japanese farming techniques with modern AI/ML technologies, which has allowed them to produce their Omakase Berry. A Japanese varietal is known for its sweetness, creamy texture, and aroma. The Omakase Berry is an example of cultivating tasty, nutrient-rich fruits while keeping sustainability a top priority. Hiroki shares the technology behind the vertical farming world, the precise technologies needed, and its potenti

Andreas von Estorff is CEO and Founder of ModelManagement.com — a digital marketplace for models, talents, and influencers built on the principles of transparency, trust, and safety, helping clients around the world source models and talents for their projects. The ModelManagement.com ecosystem is trusted by over 1 million models and influencers worldwide; 50,000 brands such as Nike, H&M & Garnier, agencies and photographers; and is home to over 10 million model images. ModelManagement.com is leading the digital transformation of the modelling world while leveraging Artificial Intelligence and blockchain technology innovations to help models and their clients manage their image rights and payments with absolute confidence and clarity. To help aspiring models entering the space navigate the inherent industry challenges and risks, the company launched the Model Academy — an online educational course for industry newcomers led by seasoned models from the ModelManagement.com ecosystem. The company's 'More

Shant Kevonian is Chief Operating Officer of Olyseum — the star-led, virtual social engagement platform for fans and brands to trade and rent experiential Non-fungible Tokens (xNFTs). As COO, Shant works closely with Olyseum CEO Carlos Grenoir in directing the company's growth strategy while overseeing the business's day-to-day administrative and operational functions. During his distinguished career, Shant has excelled at creating proprietary algorithms and solutions geared towards scaling early and medium stage enterprises. Shant has demonstrated exceptional analytical, managerial, and technical acumen across several C-suite positions, including CTO of cang.eco — a marketplace for eco-conscious brands and sustainable products — and CTO of Youtiful.net — the carbon-neutral cosmetics brand and genesis platform that would subsequently launch cang.eco. An entrepreneur in his own right, Shant founded Prodcast.tv in 2018 — a fully integrated marketplace and live video-streaming platform delivering a dynamic video

Ansys is the leader in engineering simulation technology that provides a multiphysics simulation solution leveraging high-fidelity physics, spanning a scale from silicon to the city, which includes: • Integrated chip package and system analysis. • Signal, power and optical integrity. • Antenna design, placement and integration. • RFI, EMI/EMC and de-sense mitigation and full communication analysis in electrically large and complex environments. • Open environment delivery for optimization, simulation data and process management, workflow customization, access to cloud and high-performance capacity (HPC). • Support of third-party integration for deployment across the enterprise. Larry Williams, Director of Technology shares how Ansys provides comprehensive simulation technology that is helping automakers tackle autonomous vehicle production and safety challenges — without the need for expensive prototypes or countless hours of test driving. In fact, autonomy in the automotive industry won't happen in our life

Gregg Johnson is an expert on helping businesses use data to gain insight into the buyer journey to improve customer experience and increase revenue. He's a former Salesforce exec turned CEO of Invoca who just led the company through its first acquisition (of DialogTech) and through the release of its second product, Invoca for Sales. Invoca's technology is used in the contact center to help B2C companies deliver customer experience that drives sales. Invoca recently found that consumers actually want to call the contact center with 68% of respondents preferring to speak with businesses over the phone than any other form of communication. And they're enjoying their experience -- 50% of consumers say agents are more helpful now than before March 2020. In today's episode, Gregg brings to life what's happening on the other side of the phone call when you call contact centers, how data is powering those interactions, why interactions are improving and how businesses can keep the momentum going.

Michel Tricot is the CEO and Co-Founder of Airbyte, an open-source data integration platform. 4,000+ companies have synced data using Airbyte, and $31 million has been raised through Accel, YCombinator, and others to fund the project. Michel has been working in data engineering for the past 15 years. As head of integrations and engineering director at Liveramp (NYSE: RAMP), he grew the team responsible for building and scaling the data ingestion and data distribution connectors, syncing 100s TB every day. In 2020, he co-founded Airbyte, the new open-source data integration platform, with the vision to commoditize data integration pipelines across all industries and organizations. We talk about Business Intelligence, Data Infrastructure, Security and Integration and what makes Airbyte different from Fivetran or StitchData.  

Pindrop (the global technology leader in identity, security, and trust for voice interactions used by 8 of the 10 largest U.S. banks) recently announced that it hired former AWS and Symantec I.T. leader Collin Davis as its new CTO. Pindrop continues to gain momentum in the voice biometrics industry, with the launch of IVR, expansion into streaming IoT, and most recently, the acquisition of Next Caller. To keep pace with this rapid growth, the company attracted a global tech leader like Collin, and I felt compelled to fight out more. Collin Davis joins me on the Tech Talks Daily podcast to share his story, having founded and launched Alexa for Business and led the engineering and Q.A. teams that built the suite of Norton Security Products while at Symantec. He also shares why he moved to Pindrop from global, well-respected tech leaders like AWS. Finally, he shares his insights into the intersection of voice and security, and where voice capabilities are headed based on his time at AWS and Symantec. Finally, we

Quadient is the driving force behind meaningful customer experiences. By focusing on four key solution areas: Customer Experience Management, Business Process Automation, Mail-Related Solutions, and Parcel Locker Solutions, Quadient is on a mission to simplify the connection between people, and what matters. The company claims that businesses face a customer exodus if they don't shift to CaaS (Communications as a Service). This comes as IDC predicts that a quarter of all connectivity budgets will run through CaaS within two years. Scott Draeger from Quadient discusses the immense pressures businesses currently face, with customers demanding an almost instant reply across an increasingly expanding range of channels. In contrast, different business departments struggle to keep pace as interaction with customers is slowed by constantly needing to call on the assistance of their IT team. We also talk about how these problems risk damaging customer experience, leaving people to conclude that the business is too s

Regardless of where you live and what you do, 2020 was a challenging year for everyone around the world. It decimated the event and trade show industry. As veterans of live event production, in order to survive and thrive, Echelon knew it had to pivot from physical experiences to virtual ones. The change was always coming. Fate just demanded it happen sooner. Endeavoring to convert this challenge into an opportunity, SURREAL was conceived and created by Chicago-based Echelon Design, an event marketing and production company with offices in Chicago, Atlanta, Las Vegas and Portland. The result is this best-of-breed virtual Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) AND a mission is to provide unparalleled live experiences across any industry—especially when cost, carbon footprint or other factors make on-premise events impractical or impossible. Built with Unreal Engine, SURREAL is a browser-based, pixel-streamed, 3D virtual events platform where audiences experience fully customizable and unparalleled experiences. It provid

Today's episode explores remote teams, the humanization of onboarding, and company culture in remote startups with Katerina Sukhenko, founder & CBDO at Postoplan. In just 14 months, Katerina led the company to reach $1M revenue and expanded its customer network to 112,000 clients. Postoplan is a marketing platform that calls itself better than Buffer or Hootsuite. It's a fully remote company, and its' employees are working from 18 countries and help marketers & entrepreneurs across the world to build more efficient social media strategies. Katerina shares her story, and the startup's mission is to help small businesses to work in social networks. We discuss how it's the only platform that allows users to create and post content free of charge and without any time limits and why she is passionate about marketing automatization.

With very little tear-down and build time between shows, the entire production of extensive tours often requires several weeks of practice to become a well-oiled machine before they go full-time on the road. That is *the* problem Elevation Studios has targeted to eliminate completely with a dedicated state-of-the-art 26-acre complex, located just outside one of the best music cities in the country -- Nashville, TN. The company recently announced that they are completely shovel-ready and breaking ground this summer on the multi-purpose creative campus, which will be delivering large-scale facilities and support services for creators of live entertainment, touring productions, broadcast, and new media content. This project, and its massive $100M investment in the roaring return of live music, is the feel-good story music fans have been hoping for. The show will go on, and Elevation Studios will help the show go off without a hitch in a gorgeous private facility twenty minutes from Music Row. Eric Elwell, the

Gurus Direct is a platform that connects businesses directly with on-demand experts offering services in niche areas of IT that have the biggest skill shortage and highest demand. These experts streamline workflows, making organizations more profitable, flexible, and responsive. They provide technology that increases employee satisfaction, engagement, and productivity by removing mundane tasks. In addition, they can be non-invasive, remote, and rapidly implemented into your digital transformation teams as you need to scale up or down. Steve Brooks, Mandy Downham, and Peter Walker join me on the Tech Talks Daily podcast to share the story behind the company and the problems their mission is to maximize access to automation talent. In addition, I learn how they are leveraging technology to connect businesses with on-demand Automation experts offering services in RPA, IDP, and Process Mining. Businesses can hire only the talent they need, when needed, and stay lean and flexible as you grow on your digital transf

We look at our phones an average of 58 times a day. This means that this summer 2.1 billion people who suffer from the deterioration of one's ability to focus on nearby objects, will end up switching between reading glasses and shades every 12 minutes. Yariv Hadad, CEO, and Co-Founder of DeepOptics, the inventor and pioneer of a novel adaptive lens technology, joins me on Tech Talks Daily in a conversation about optical technology. Yariv puts his formidable professional experience to use as he has led for the past 20 years different high-tech R&D groups and ventures to great successes. He was the Founder & General Manager of Trevo Technologies, served as the Director of imaging, and R&D Dblur where he met the other current co-founders of DeepOptics. Yariv graduated with a B.A. in Computer Science from the Technion, Israel, and an MBA from Tel-Aviv University. Lately, DeepOptics has launched their 32°N sunglasses, the first and only adaptive focus sunglasses, on Kickstarter, reaching their goal in

Jesus Ramirez is a mission-driven leader, an innovator, and a humble, life-long learner. In his career, he has helped build and lead several technology-driven products, teams, and companies in the education, healthcare, and labor industries. He is VP of Strategy & Innovation at Tallwave, where he helps companies create exceptional customer experiences. Recently, Tallwave surveyed 1000+ individuals aged 24-65+ about their perceptions, behaviors, and customer experiences before and during the pandemic. The data revealed that consumers want a choice for how they can interact with a brand, making retail hybrid experiences more critical than ever. The report highlights the most influential components of customer experience, satisfaction, and loyalty and how organizations can transform experiences for a digital-first, hybrid, and hyper-personalized world. In addition, we discuss how the digital shifts we have experienced over the past year have affected consumer behaviors and tech adoption and how brands can en

Shameer Sachdev is the founder of Growth Gorilla -- a growth marketing agency focused on helping fintech, proptech and financial services firms go apesh!t and smash through their growth marketing goals. Originally launching his career in financial services, as an equity broker, Shameer has worked for big brands like Alexander David and Barclays Wealth. Shameer then moved on to focus more on client acquisition and eventually became Marketing Director at a well-known online trading platform provider. While working with marketing agencies as a client, Shameer couldn't help but notice their flaws. Most marketing agencies simply didn't understand how things worked inside financial service companies. Equipped with a background in financial services and technology, Shameer struck out on his own -- advising courageous fintech, proptech and financial services firms on how to accelerate their growth.

HELO creates moving experiences that connect brands with their consumers by bringing together the best in creative strategy, storytelling, production, and event design. They've worked with top brands to include Amazon Studios, Hulu, Comcast, Budlight, and Santander. In just​ our three years, they have won 13 Cannes Lions including Gold Lions in Promo & Activation, Production, Entertainment, and Cyber, an AICP Gold for Production, and were named MOST NEXT in the AICP NEXT Awards, recognizing the most innovative, forward-thinking work in the industry. With their willingness to tackle even the trickiest productions, AdAge named us a Production Company Standout. They have built a reputation by pulling off the 'not-been-done-before'​ things, and we wouldn't want it any other way For example, they recreated the 1862 World's Fair for the launch of one of Amazon Studio's most ambitious original films - AERONAUTS. Brendan Kiernan joins me on the podcast to talk about the challenges and future of storytelling. We a

At the end of every episode, I always ask the listeners to share their stories and offer an open invitation to join me on the Tech Talks Daily Podcast. After receiving an email from Grant Morgan, I invited him on Tech Talks Daily to discuss tech's role in achieving must-have sustainable sanitization. For years, the biosafety landscape has been dominated by lumbering, archaic giants, but their time at the top of the food chain may be about to end. While companies like Clorox and Ecolab continue to focus on harmful, inefficient chemical disinfectants, R-Zero envisions a new era of hi-tech public safety strategies. Grant shares his plans to use IoT-enabled hardware, smart sensors, software, and machine learning to crack open a $200B+ market. Antibiotic soaps and sanitizers are driving a deadly new wave of antibiotic-resistant infections. Harsh chemical disinfectants can create hazardous environments for staff and employees, and their overuse is already harming wildlife around the world. Let's face it — the statu

The average enterprise has two to three API management vendors and plans to adopt more soon. However, 40% of organizations have three or more API management vendors, and most don't intend to consolidate to a single vendor throughout the enterprise. Thus, complexity is growing, but it can be an opportunity. API Ecosystem complexity, if unmanaged, is slowing down enterprises. Don't try to simplify your complexity. Master it and control it, it happens for good reasons, but you will not go fast if you leave it alone. The task then is to keep, even boost, the agility that autonomous business units create with their own particular applications and API ecosystems amid the tech sprawl that they also perpetuate. Teams need creativity and flexibility, so it's essential to have a centralized governance system while at the same time offering developer teams autonomy so they can work in the languages and platforms that make sense to them. Jana Frejova shares how at Axway, they recognize that companies want the freedom

iProov is a small British biometric authentication company that is currently working with the NHS to provide secure login for the NHS Digital app. They are also working with the Home Office for the EU Settlement Scheme and with a range of other high-profile international customers who deploy their technology, including the US Department for Homeland Security, the Singapore government, the Australian government, and the Eurostar. However, most recently, the company has very much been at the centre of a lot of nationwide debate around the introduction of Covid status certificates and the interoperability of vaccine passports internationally. This is due to the fact that in January this year, iProov announced plans to develop technology for vaccine certificates, having received a grant from Innovate UK to fund the pilot project. Andrew Bud CBE is the Founder and CEO of face biometrics firm iProov. He is also the Chair of the Mobile Ecosystem Forum (MEF), the global trade association of the mobile content and app

Advanced Human Imaging has developed and patented a proprietary dimensioning technology that enables its users to check, track, and assess their dimensions using only a smartphone privately and accurately. Building off success in apparel and fitness, AHI is now redefining how the smartphone is used for insurance assessments, remote medical consultation, and timely interventions of chronic disease and oncology. The technology is a smartphone-based biometric software. They are a B2B company partnering with digital health (diagnostic and remote monitoring), fitness and apparel companies across the globe. They have recently announced a spat of partnerships to integrate their biometric software into their partner's platforms. The company has also partnered with Triage Technologies to develop Derma AI, an advanced system to identify dermatological conditions capable of accurately classifying skin conditions from an image captured on a standard smartphone camera and processed by deep neural networks. Using the large