Tech Talks Daily

Idit Levine, founder, and CEO of Solo.io, shares her inspirational tech startup story with me on Tech Talks Daily. Her journey took her from playing basketball professionally in her home country of Israel to founding Solo.io in 2017, the modern service connectivity company that's already valued at $1 billion! Idit shares with me the lessons she has learned along the way including how to scale as a CEO, hiring in the current market, and how to monetize open-source services.

Greg Gould is the COO of Dexioprotocol (DEXI), a crypto-based gaming company with several utilities. Their flagship product, DexiHunter, aims to be the "Pokemon Go" of cryptocurrency, and it allows players to earn crypto by hunting and collecting bounties around their cities. I invited Greg to join me on Tech Talks Daily to talk about Dexioprotocol and the worldwide adoption of crypto bounty hunting. We discuss how gaming is helping to get more people interested in cryptocurrencies and the future of blockchain, and we reflect on what's happening in the market.

Many B2B companies are struggling to truly innovate their operating models. As a result, leading companies in high-tech, industrial, medical device, and other B2B tech markets are hesitating to take the steps necessary to change how they build and deliver their solutions. They are carrying too much baggage―high labor costs, slow time to customer value, under-responsive sales and services―into a future that won't stand for it. That's true even though the technologies are available to enable the changes NOW. Digital Hesitation is a technology business book that examines why most B2B companies fail to reach the full potential of their digital transformation efforts. The authors join me on Tech Talks Daily to discuss how the book is written from the perspectives of a dozen experts who interact with and advise the world's top technology companies daily. About J.B. Wood J.B. Wood is president and CEO of the Technology & Services Industry Association (TSIA), the leading association for today's technology and services organizations. Through TSIA, Wood advises the world's largest B2B technology companies on strategies to increase growth and profitability by optimizing their services, sales, product, and channel operations. Wood is a best-selling author and frequent industry speaker on the topics of business outcome engineering, X-as-a-Service (XaaS) business models, transformations in the traditional customer-supplier relationship, and TSIA's LAER customer engagement model (Land, Adopt, Expand, and Renew). He has also appeared in such leading publications as Fortune, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal. About Thomas E. Lah Thomas Lah is the executive director and executive vice president of the Technology & Services Industry Association (TSIA), the leading association for today's technology and services organizations. For over 20 years, he has been helping some of the world's largest technology. About TSIA The Technology & Services Industry Association (TSIA) is the world's leading research organization dedicated to helping technology companies achieve profitable growth and solve their top business challenges. 80% of the Fortune 100 technology companies have a TSIA membership, and executives from these companies look to TSIA for data and guidance that helps them make the right business decisions to ensure success.

Four years ago, I spoke with Todd Olson, millionaire CEO and co-founder of software development platform Pendo - the man on a mission to elevate the world's experiences with software. The serial entrepreneur famously teamed up with product leaders and technologists from Red Hat, Cisco, and Google to launch Pendo in October 2013. Fast forward to 2022, and Pendo has gone on to raise $356 million in venture capital, land more than 2,300 customers, and employ 900 people across seven offices around the globe. Pendo also landed on the Forbes Cloud 100 and Inc. Best Workplaces lists for the fourth year in a row in 2021. Todd returns to Tech Talks Daly to share further insights around the recently released fourth annual State of Product Leadership Report. We explore trends impacting product management, the evolution of the Product Manager role, and how Europe is faring in terms of product-led digital transformation. Todd also talks about how he used his knowledge of the digital economy to help community banks meet surge of demand for online services and encourage schools to make the most out of their educational software throughout the height of the pandemic.

One is the largest generation in the US, and the other is at the forefront of shaping expectations for brands — so how does marketing to Gen Z and millennials really work? Millennials, born between 1981-1996, make up 23% of the global population and 21% of the US population, meaning they are the largest demographic by age. Gen Z refers to people born between the mid to late '90s and the 2010s and is the most diverse generation in human history. Despite some being close in age, they vary significantly in the type of marketing that resonates with them. For example, Millennials are known for driving a perfect aesthetic, while Gen Z rejected the trend by actively trying to avoid it. This means that to appeal to both generations, businesses must strike the perfect balance of authentic and 'real' while also offering the same sense of aspiration. Carissa Flinders shares with me her insights on what technology each generation is using and how brands can leverage tech to better communicate with audiences.

I have invited Mark Hughes from DXC technology to join me on Tech Talks Daily to share insights around best practices for securing complex IT environments. We also discuss cyber security approaches for fighting the enemy within and how to make cyber security a top priority for boards and CFOs. Finally, we dare to explore smart security in the metaverse, and Mark shares a few Cyber security tales from the trenches. About Mark: Mark Hughes is president of Security for DXC Technology. He is responsible for DXC's Security business including cyber defense, digital identity, secured infrastructure and security risk management. Mark joined DXC from BT, a world-leading global telecommunications provider, where he most recently served as chief executive of BT Security. He joined BT in 2002 and held a variety of senior appointments, including key government customer-facing roles. In 2013 Mark led the formation of BT Security, which has become a global leader with 3,000 cyber security experts across 15 security operation centers globally and double-digit annual revenue growth. Earlier in his career, Mark was the commercial director at MWB Business Exchange. He began his career in the British Army. Mark has served on national boards, including the Cyber Growth Partnership for the United KingdomKingdom, and the World Economic Forum's (WEF) Global Cybersecurity Board. Awarded a BS with honors by the University of Leicester, Mark trained at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, and the Junior Division of Staff College. He was awarded advanced military certificates in French and German from the University of Westminster.

CBRE Group's Chief Digital and Technology Officer Sandeep Dave joins me on Tech Talks Daily Podcast to discuss how technology impacts the commercial real estate industry. I also learn more about how they recently piloted a program to test collaborative tools used in virtual worlds for onboarding, training, and hybrid work. About Sandeep Dave Sandeep Dave leads the company's digital strategy and execution globally. He and his team provide the technology capabilities and infrastructure to support CBRE and CBRE's clients and professionals across the globe. He is also a member of CBRE's Global Executive Committee. Prior to his current role, Dave served as Chief Digital and Technology Officer for CBRE's Global Workplace Solutions business with responsibility for digital enablement and transformation of the business. Prior to CBRE, Dave headed digital strategy and transformation for Citibank leading the firm's digital agenda across businesses and geographies globally. In his role, he helped Citi respond to digital trends and effectively compete and win in the face of changing customer expectations and emerging disruption. About CBRE Group CBRE group is one of world's largest commercial real estate services and investment firm. With deep market knowledge, superior data and proprietary technology, their multi-dimensional perspective helps you use real estate to transform your business and find greater success. Their mission is to realize the potential of clients, professionals and partners by building the real estate solutions of the future. From instilling confidence in today's decisions to re-imagining tomorrow's spaces, they thrive in complex and ever-changing environments.

MailChimp recently decided to clamp down on crypto companies. Given the ramifications of this move for web3 projects, I invited Gerald Heydenreich of EtherMail on the podcast. We discuss how the first Web 3.0 email solution is setting the standard for anonymous and encrypted wallet-to-wallet communication. Think Gmail + MailChimp + Metamask and you have EtherMail. EtherMail recently closed a $3 million seed round, led by top Web3 investors Fabric Ventures and Greenfield One. Founded in Q4 2021 by serial entrepreneurs Shant Kevonian and Gerald Heydenreich, EtherMail is the first web3 tool to allow web3 companies to send rich, relevant content directly to their asset holders based on blockchain-synced real-time information.

When you stream your favorite songs on Spotify, the owners (rightsholders) of that music are eligible to receive money (royalties). On anotherblock, owners of music sell NFTs containing a share of the streaming royalty rights of your favorite songs. As an NFT owner, you will receive your share of the streaming royalties. anotherblock is a community of music lovers building music rights catalogs. The company was founded in 2021 by entrepreneurs Michel D. Traore, Sebastian Ljungberg, and Filip Strömsten. anotherblock was built upon the idea that accessing music rights should be easy and democratic. By connecting music rights to NFTs, anotherblock creates a smooth and easy way to both buy and sell music rights - a community of music lovers building music rights catalogs together with artists. Michel D. Traore joins me on Tech Talks Daily to talk about the story behind the company and improving the value of music by introducing it to a free and open market. I learn more about their mission to solve the institutionalized imbalance of power within the industry with technology. We also talk about how the marketplace for music royalty NFTs is following on its first rapid-fire sell-out drops to offer shares in the streaming income from Alan Walker's track, "Alone, Pt. II," a pop-perfect ballad with vocals by Ava Max. Each of the 500 anotherblook NFTs gives holders the rights to 0.001% share of streaming revenue from the song.

Sanjay Brahmawar, CEO of enterprise tech/IoT company Software AG joins me on Tech Talks Daily to discuss why successful digital transformation hinges on two criteria. I learn more about the importance of cultural transformation and talent – and how to leverage both to modernize your enterprise. We also talk about the roadblocks businesses face when undergoing company-wide strategic changes, and how to get buy-in from leaders to push forth that change. He also shares the leadership lessons he's learned, including resilience and patience in the face of such a large, strategic transformation. About Sanjay Joining Software AG in 2018, Sanjay initiated a multi-year journey to convert the business to a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) based model. Called the Helix transformation, the strategic shift has required buy-in from stakeholders and employees and a change in sales models, processes and internal culture. The five-year transformation, undeterred by the challenges brought on the COVID-19 pandemic, recently celebrate its third year. The program has been successful to date, seeing total recurring revenue growing, with 2021 seeing a 10% YOY increase, driven by six consecutive quarters of double-digit bookings growth within its Digital Business. The proportion of Subscription and SaaS bookings in the Digital Business – a key indicator of the transformation – continued to increase to 88% for 2021.