Tech Talks Daily

Neil C. Hughes

If every company is now a tech company and digital transformation is a journey rather than a destination, how do you keep up with the relentless pace of technological change?

Every day, Tech Talks Daily brings you insights from the brightest minds in tech, business, and innovation, breaking down complex ideas into clear, actionable takeaways.

Hosted by Neil C. Hughes, Tech Talks Daily explores how emerging technologies such as AI, cybersecurity, cloud computing, fintech, quantum computing, Web3, and more are shaping industries and solving real-world challenges in modern businesses.

Through candid conversations with industry leaders, CEOs, Fortune 500 executives, startup founders, and even the occasional celebrity, Tech Talks Daily uncovers the trends driving digital transformation and the strategies behind successful tech adoption. But this isn't just about buzzwords.

We go beyond the hype to demystify the biggest tech trends and determine their real-world impact. From cybersecurity and blockchain to AI sovereignty, robotics, and post-quantum cryptography, we explore the measurable difference these innovations can make.

Whether improving security, enhancing customer experiences, or driving business growth, we also investigate the ROI of cutting-edge tech projects, asking the tough questions about what works, what doesn't, and how businesses can maximize their investments.

Whether you're a business leader, IT professional, or simply curious about technology's role in our lives, you'll find engaging discussions that challenge perspectives, share diverse viewpoints, and spark new ideas.

New episodes are released daily, 365 days a year, breaking down complex ideas into clear, actionable takeaways around technology and the future of business.

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Sep 7, 2021 · 29 min
1711: The FinTech Supporting Families in Their Home Countries
Retailers such as Walmart entered the financial services space when it launched a payment app that allows Mexican customers to receive remittances from the US. With global professionals wanting to send home payments back home to their families, I wanted to explore how the remittance market is heating up. With Remity filing to go public and BayaniPay's partnership with BDO Bank and Seafood City there seems to be a growing number of trends that I wanted to talk about. Los Angeles-based BayaniPay recently launched a new borderless digital banking service in partnership with BDO Unibank, the largest bank in the Philippines, and Seafood City, a large US-based Filipino supermarket chain. Through the service and partnership, the companies offer millions of Asian Americans a low-cost, frictionless way to send money to their families back in their homelands, pay bills and conduct online transactions. BayaniPay takes its name from ""Bayani,"" the Filipino word for "hero"—a term often used to describe global professionals in their home countries. Born out of a partnership between inclusion tech venture studio Talino Ventures and leading Asian American multimedia publisher The Asian Journal, BayaniPay received funding from Wavemaker Partners, a cross-border venture capital firm investing in early-stage startups in the United States and Southeast Asia. Winston Damarillo is the co-founder and CEO of BayaniPay. He joins me on the Tech Talks Daily Podcast to share BayaniPay's mission to use technology to break down the borders in banking and level the playing field for all global citizens.
Sep 6, 2021 · 20 min
1710: Why MPC Will Revolutionise Blockchain
The lack of confidentiality and privacy on blockchains is obvious. It hampers blockchain technology's disruptive potential as a WEB 3.0 platform supporting value transfer, especially in an increasingly interconnected and data-reliant world. Dr. Kurt Nielsen, PhD, President of Partisia Blockchain, believes that industry players need to take urgent action to safeguard privacy considerations. Kurt and the team at Partisia Blockchain are pioneering Multi-party computation technology (MPC), a type of distributed cryptography. While blockchain boasts increased security over personal data, MPC ensures that data remains confidential. Dr. Kurt Nielsen joins me on the Tech Talks Daily podcast to discuss how the combination of MPC and blockchain will pave a trustworthy road for advanced solutions and greater peace of mind for internet users. We also talk about how Partisia Blockchain represents the first successful complete integration of blockchain technology with MPC, allowing for companies to interact with targeted individuals without compromising the users' confidential data. Finally, we chat about Partisia's recent fundraising round which saw $20m of investment, and their plans to use this funding to build an internet privacy infrastructure for the greater good.
Sep 5, 2021 · 32 min
1709: Integrating Cutting-Edge Technologies into Human-Centered Solutions
Elisabeth Bohlmann joins me on the podcast to share her story and talk about how design drives technology. We explore the wearable ecosystem, the role of mobile applications for smart devices, and the strategic development of health and fitness apps. I also learn more about why Latin America is the perfect location for US startup growth. Elisabeth is VP of Client Strategy at December Labs, a high-touch Design & Development firm for mobile and web products that are at the frontline of innovation. She drives December Labs' expansion strategy and accompanies up-and-coming startups and enterprise companies towards scalable and continuous growth, making her a sought-out speaker for key industry events, such as CES or the Austin Startup Week, to top 100 tech, entrepreneur and product podcasts. With over a decade of leadership background in tech, digital marketing and international operations in addition to a degree in Economics from Bonn University in Germany, Elisabeth is a scrum-trained trilingual cross-functional marketing executive with a passion for design-thinking and integrating cutting-edge technologies into human-centered and value-driven solutions. She has developed and led projects for iconic brands such as Mattel, NBCUniversal, Food Network, and the NBA.
Sep 4, 2021 · 37 min
1708: Neurotechnology and Biohacking
As an entrepreneur, Alon Braun is the founder of Neurotech Analytics and Riverbank Consulting. He has a passion for scaling enterprises and scientific innovations, especially in the deep tech industry. Articles by or about Alon have been featured in Inc Magazine, Forbes, Entrepreneur Magazine, and Thrive Global. In addition, his new book, The Entrepreneur Journey: 8 Steps from Inspiration to Global Impact. Besides Alon's work in science and technology, his areas of expertise include business growth strategies, agile methodologies development, and decision-making consultation. Alon Braun is a master at decision making especially helping people make difficult decisions. One of the ways that he helps with this is that he is an expert in understanding cognitive hacks that allow you to maximize your cognitive load capacity such that people who have to make complex long-range decisions involving factors with which are difficult to measure, those decisions can be made optimally and using his technologies. In today's episode, we explore the topic of Neurotechnology and Biohacking. We discuss the cognitive limit to making decisions and how to bypass it to enhance your performance. We also talk about creating more purpose with memory hacks and Alon's unique methodology that combines mathematical rigor with holistic consideration of the values important to the entrepreneur.
Sep 2, 2021 · 22 min
1706: How iOS 15 Updates Are Affecting Email Marketing
iOS 15 is ending open rate tracking and bringing a fundamental change to 20-year-old email marketing best practices. Rytis Lauris, the co-founder and CEO of Omnisend shares his insights and actionable tips on how email marketers can get ready for this change, We discuss what is happening with the iOS15 update, what it means for email marketing, and how marketers can prepare for these changes. Rytis also shares tips & tricks about e-commerce email marketing, SMS marketing, and omnichannel marketing.
Sep 1, 2021 · 23 min
1705: Digital Health Tech For Chronic Conditions
DarioHealth is a software as a service company that began for diabetes management and hypertension and recently branched out into musculoskeletal and behavioral health in 2021. The company has a compelling combination between medical devices and strong software capabilities integrated with health coaching. Data shows that 29% of people with a chronic condition have a behavioral health issue as well. DarioHealth, available to users worldwide, aims to offer a holistic platform for users not to use multiple applications to address needs. Omar Manejwala discusses how the software uses AI to encourage sustained behavior change in users. Finally, we discuss how the app offers remote patient monitoring and provides users with coaching and the motivation to manage their chronic condition, ultimately reducing healthcare costs.
Aug 31, 2021 · 15 min
1704: How COVID Permanently Changed the Role Of The Startup CFO
The CFO role has been emphasized more than ever over the last 15 months. While reducing fear and uncertainty amongst employees and investors has always been a part of the job description, it became a major focal point during the pandemic. This intense focus led to a complete transformation of the role of finance/the CFO within many organizations, elevating it from a purely technical position to become a strategist and change agent within the company. Danielle Murcray, CFO at AttackIQ, shares firsthand how her role as a startup CFO has shifted to a far more strategic partnership with the CEO and the board. But while also playing an integral part in shaping the adoption of innovative technologies to aid in the security and prosperity of an increasingly distributed enterprise. Danielle also shares why proving the value of cybersecurity investments has never been more critical, and how the CISO/CTO and CFO can work together to understand how effectively they're detecting, alerting and blocking threats.
Aug 30, 2021 · 24 min
1703: Oishii and the Future of Indoor Vertical Farming
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 potential in providing communities with hyper-local and organic fruits/vegetables with little to no carbon footprint. I also learned how Oishii incorporated AI and machine learning technologies with rigorous farming practices to develop a first-of-its-kind pollination method conducted naturally with bees.
Aug 29, 2021 · 25 min
1702: The Tech Updating Modelling for the Digital Age
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 than Models' podcast also provides in-depth interviews with models and influencers, charting their career trajectories and providing invaluable advice to prospective talents.
Aug 28, 2021 · 19 min
1701: Olyseum - Can Non-Fungible Tokens Bring Fans and Stars Closer?
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-shopping experience to consumers, providing a competitive alternative to Twitch and Amazon. Before this, Shant served as Head of R&D at Pippa&Jean — a social selling community geared towards empowering 100,000 women to start their own business and CTO of Deliverea — a cloud shipping management service that manages the logistics of users' e-commerce platforms. Shant is passionate about driving fan engagement forward through NFT and crypto innovations while leveraging technology as a force for good.
Aug 27, 2021 · 35 min
1700: How Simulation Tech is Powering the Next Wave of AVs
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 lifetime without simulation technology. To that end, Larry shares more insight into the future of space, the benefits of these recent major advancements, what implications these have on the environment, infrastructure, and consumer trust, and the significant challenges the industry is up against. I learn how Ansys works with over 45,000 customers worldwide and many of the biggest names in the automotive industry. We discuss how simulation can address the myriad challenges faced by those engineering the future of 5G, delivering a significant competitive advantage.
Aug 26, 2021 · 36 min
1699: Exploring Conversation Intelligence With Invoca CEO
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.
Aug 25, 2021 · 20 min
1698: Michel Tricot, CEO of Airbyte, (Big Data Startup to Watch)
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.
Aug 24, 2021 · 27 min
1697: AWS and Symantec leader Joins Pindrop as New CTO
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 discuss Collin's future vision for Pindrop's expansion into new markets to remain the leader in voice authentication technology. We discuss why he made the move to Pindrop from global, well-respected tech leaders like AWS and offers Insider Insights into the intersection of voice and security, and where voice capabilities are headed based on his time as an I.T. leader at AWS and Symantec. Colin also shares his future vision for Pindrop's expansion into new markets in order to remain the leader in voice authentication technology
Aug 23, 2021 · 21 min
1696: Adopt CaaS or risk losing customers, Quadient Warns
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 slow to respond/makes them repeat themselves. Gartner reports that more than four-fifths of companies compete based on customer experience poses a real risk of leaving for a competitor.
Aug 22, 2021 · 40 min
1695: Transforming Live Events Into Digital Experiences
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 provides clients with a different level of storytelling, game design, and multi-player participant immersion—one that reimagines and redefines the human condition and our relationship with physical distance. I invited Adam Voss onto the podcast to learn more about how Surreal Events bridges the possible and impossible, and the physical and digital worlds, to bring any event to life, in any virtual environment imaginable.
Aug 21, 2021 · 16 min
1694: Postoplan - AI-Powered Marketing Automation in Social Networks.
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.
Aug 20, 2021 · 33 min
1693: The Technology That Brings Concerts and World Tours to Life
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 CEO of Elevation Studios, shares the story behind the company and reveals more about the technology that brings concerts and world tours to life.
Aug 20, 2021 · 45 min
1692: Gurus Direct - Automation on Demand
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 transformation journey. We discuss how they can narrow automation experts by the vendor, department, process, location, language, etc. In doing so, they can find the right blend of skills such as expertise across multiple toolsets, relevant industry knowledge, the right language skills, and prior qualifications. I also learn more about the benefits for consultants who can build their online presence to attract new business while developing skills, make new connections to grow their income. But also work flexibly at a time and in a manner that suits them.
Aug 19, 2021 · 33 min
1691: Optical Tech - The Tech Behind Glasses That Adapt to You
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 a couple of hours. Their timing is impeccable, as many of the other major players are still behind on the technology. Yariv also discusses topics like the influence of smart technology on daily gadgets and the future of optical technology.