Tech + Tequila

Everyone is talking about AI. But here's what most business owners are getting wrong... The companies getting hacked today aren't failing because they don't have enough AI. They're getting breached because they're skipping the cybersecurity basics. In this episode of Tech + Tequila , Your Techie Chica, Kat Lopez Shelby, breaks down the biggest lessons from Verizon's 2026 Da...

Stop Shrinking. Start Leading. A Real Talk with Dr. Syreeta Rios on Tech, Life & Power Description: Techie Chica Kat Lopez-Shelby sits down with Dr. Syreeta Rios—PMP, tech leader, fashion entrepreneur, author of Unleash Your Inner Bad Bitch , and career mom who is redefining what it looks like to lead, create, and thrive without shrinking herself to fit into traditional spaces. Dr. Syreeta’s j...

Artificial intelligence just got a surprising new voice,  the Vatican. Pope Leo XIV's encyclical Magnifica Humanitas is the Catholic Church's official statement on AI, human dignity, and technology ethics. And buried inside this landmark document are three ideas every small business owner and entrepreneur needs to hear right now. In this episode of Tech + Tequila, your Techie Chica breaks...

Why do some entrepreneurs keep growing while others disappear when things get hard? This week on Tech + Tequila, Kat sits down with entrepreneur, business mentor, podcast host, and manifestation expert Mikayla Jai to talk about the mindset, systems, and visibility strategies that helped her build a thriving online business—even through life’s toughest seasons. From living in what she jokingly call...

In this episode of  Tech + Tequila , Kat Lopez Shelby gets real about mindset, entrepreneurship, burnout, technology, and the importance of staying connected during uncertain times.  Because let’s be honest… A lot of entrepreneurs are carrying stress, overwhelm, pressure, and emotional exhaustion while still trying to lead businesses, support families, and keep showing up every single day. In this...

In this episode of Tech + Tequila , Kat Lopez Shelby and Malissa Priddy dive into business strategy, business operations, scalable systems, and the structure founders need to grow with clarity. They explore structural debt, founder bottlenecks, revenue design, offer mapping, customer journey strategy, and why many small business tech stack issues are actually business systems problems. This episod...

In this episode of Tech + Tequila, Kat Lopez Shelby unpacks a truth many business owners overlook: community is not a platform, it’s a verb. If you’ve been weighing Circle, Skool, Kajabi, Mighty Networks, MemberUp, or Slack, this conversation goes beyond a simple software comparison and gets to the heart of what truly creates connection, engagement, and belonging in an online space. Kat shares how...

Everybody is talking about AI, but not everything labeled “AI” is actually helping your business grow. In this solo episode of  Tech + Tequila , Kat Lopez Shelby breaks down what AI is truly worth using right now for small business owners, where it can save time, where it still needs human oversight, and how it can support customer service, marketing workflows, and internal operations. She also sh...

In this episode of Tech + Tequila, Kat Lopez Shelby sits down with Kim DeLaPena, Executive Director of Prosperity Employment Outreach, for a conversation about community impact, nonprofit leadership, opportunity, and purpose-driven work. Together, they explore how organizations like Prosperity Employment Outreach create support, access, and real change for individuals and families in the community...

Kat Lopez Shelby, founder of Shelby Technology Solutions and host of Tech + Tequila, sits down with Jim McNeese, founder of McNeese Kids, for a powerful conversation about the role community plays in shaping lives. While Tech + Tequila often focuses on cybersecurity, AI, and business systems, this episode explores something even more foundational: opportunity. Together, Kat and Jim discuss why inv...

In this episode, host  Kat Lopez Shelby, founder of Shelby Technology Solutions and trusted tech advisor for small and mid-sized businesses , breaks down the cybersecurity questions every business owner should be asking before a breach happens. With the average cost of a data breach reaching $4.88 million, cybersecurity is no longer just an IT issue it’s a business survival issue. Kat walks throug...

In this powerful and deeply personal episode of Tech + Tequila, Kat Lopez Shelby sits down with Dr. Jenna W. Clack, co-creator of #YourDigitalBliss, to explore what it really means to “create space” in your life. This conversation goes far beyond productivity hacks and surface-level self-care. Together, Kat and Dr. Jenna unpack how high-achievers can shift from surviving to truly living, by intent...

In this episode of Tech + Tequila, Kat Lopez Shelby sits down with Casey, of OpDecision aka the “cell phone bill whisperer” to uncover the hidden chaos living inside most corporate wireless bills. If you think your company’s wireless expenses are “probably fine,” this conversation might surprise you. They break down how businesses overspend on wireless plans, miss billing errors, lose visibility a...

In this episode of Tech + Tequila, host Kat Lopez Shelby sits down with Celeste Labrie, RVP of Partner Sales at Dialpad, for a real, grounded conversation about leadership that lasts and AI that actually works in the real world. Celeste takes us behind the title, sharing her career origin story, the leadership lessons she learned the hard way, and how mentorship and community shaped her rise in th...

Bienvenidos, familia,  On this episode of Tech + Tequila we are covering: Clarity. Visibility. One true source of truth. Because the biggest pain isn’t that you don’t have tools… it’s that your data is scattered across ten dashboards, so you’re guessing, reacting, and paying for things you can’t even see. In this episode, I’m joined by  Rosie Pottebaum from ForgeOS , and we break down how Trusted...

Burnout isn’t a personal failure, it’s a design problem. In this 60-minute year-end episode of Tech & Tequila , hosts Kat Lopez Shelby (Shelby Technology Solutions) and Dr. Jenna W. Clack (functional medicine pharmacist + nervous-system-first lifestyle strategist) blend small-business tech strategy with nervous system support to help you close out 2025 with clarity — and step into 2026 with sy...

On this episode of Tech & Tequila , host Kat Lopez Shelby (Latina tech founder, digital nomad, CEO of Shelby Technology Solutions , and co-creator of #YourDigitalBliss ) sits down with John Gonzalez and Derrick Wade from Dataprise to break down managed mobility , managed IT , and what it really takes to build business resilience in a world of remote teams, mobile devices, and nonstop cybersecu...

Grab your tequila and your notebook, porque Techie Chica Kat Lopez-Shelby is breaking down one of today’s hottest topics: how to choose the right AI agent for your business. Whether you’re a small business owner, a content creator, or a CEO trying to level up your workflow, this episode pulls back the curtain on what AI agents actually do, how they can save your time (and money), and the red flags...

Bienvenidos, familia! In this episode of Tech & Tequila , your host Kat Lopez Shelby (Shelby Technology Solutions) breaks down the GenAI divide , the gap between companies “using AI” and companies actually getting measurable ROI from generative AI . We unpack why most organizations stay stuck in innovation theater (lots of pilots, not a lot of outcomes), how shadow AI shows up when official to...

Grab your favorite tequila, get comfortable, and join Techie Chica Kat Lopez-Shelby for an unfiltered, insightful, and fun conversation with Darcy Guidry from EPIC i0! In this episode of Tech & Tequila , we dive deep into the world of IoT , connectivity, and the innovations that are quietly transforming our everyday lives. From smart homes and wearable tech to the networks connecting our devic...

Pour yourself a drink and pull up a chair—because this episode of Tech & Tequila is one you’ll want to replay. Techie Chica Kat Lopez-Shelby is diving deep into what it really takes to build a business that doesn’t just survive disruption… but rises through it. Kat gets candid about navigating market uncertainty, staying grounded through economic curveballs, and why AI shouldn’t scare you—it s...

Time to sip and learn! Join Kat Lopez-Shelby , our techie chica, as she chats with Robert Jimenez from Viasat about how businesses and individuals can stay connected, fast, and worry-free . From backup solutions to high-speed connectivity , Robert shares how Viasat helps you keep your business running smoothly and your online life uninterrupted — no matter where you are. This episode is packed wit...

What happens when cutting-edge tech meets real human connection? In this episode of Tech & Tequila , Techie Chica Kat Lopez-Shelby sits down with Maddie Webster from net2phone for a deep dive into the world of AI-powered customer service and communication. Maddie shares how net2phone is redefining how businesses connect with their clients — from building smarter, more responsive customer exper...

In this episode of Tech + Tequila, your favorite Techie Chica Kat Lopez Shelby sits down with Chase from For2Fi to unpack how businesses are staying connected, compliant, and cyber-safe in 2025. From POTS replacement and wireless backup internet to multi-site data pooling, security compliance, and 24/7/365 monitoring, this episode breaks down everything you need to know to future-proof your busine...

In this episode of Tech & Tequila , your Techie Chica Kat Lopez-Shelby sits down with David Abercrombie and Jeff Moss from Sangoma , one of the industry’s leading innovators in unified communications. Together, they dive into how Sangoma is redefining business connectivity through cloud, hybrid, and on-prem solutions that meet clients wherever they are in their digital journey. From simplifyin...