Tech for Non-Techies

Before the advent of the iPhone, Logitech was a boring but successful company, making $2 billion per year. They made functional but ugly computer mice at affordable prices. But when the world moved from PC to mobile, its revenues tanked and its future looked bleak. The board knew they had to make a radical change, and hired Bracken Darrell as its CEO. Darrell changed the entire ethos of the compan...

A top MBA can be the best investment you make in your career. BUT most business schools haven't adapted to the Digital Age, despite pressure from employers & students. Listen to this episode if you have an MBA, are considering one, or work at a business school. You will learn: What's missing  in most business school curricula Why  transitioning into tech isn't easy  after an MBA What tech employer...

In just the first half of 2023, the Sweat with Kayla app recorded over $77 million in revenue. Without an engaged community, this success would not have been possible. A well managed community can help a business grow revenue, attract new customers and create a product that users love. Learn how smart tech companies embed communities into their business models in this short episode. Listen to lear...

Gamification helped Dropbox grow its user base by 3900% in 15 months. This is why Business Leaders must know what gamification engines are & how to use them. Listen to this episode to learn: What gamification is Why  Duolingo must use  gamification, but why for  LinkedIn it's just a nice to have Case studies  for how companies have used it to grow revenue, reduce churn and acquire new users Why a...

Tech companies have changed the stock market and the economy. But, to be a Smart Money investor, what do you really need to know about tech? Listen to this interview with Richard Kramer to find out. Richard is a renowned stock market analyst and founder of Arete Research, an independent equity research firm, which works with over 250 global tech investors. In this episode you will learn: How tech...

A great product attracts users, grows revenue and whets investor appetite. But what makes a great product? A good team and a smart process. Listen to this short episode to see what a  good product management process  looks like.  You will learn: What  specialists  need to be involved in a product team The biggest reason why the  products that get released are different to the product leader's visi...

If you want to transition career from a traditional industry, or a stuffy company, to a fast growing business, this episode is for you.  "The business strategies employed by highly successful start-ups and the career strategies employed by highly successful individuals are strikingly similar,"  said Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn in his book the  Start-up of You .  This episode will show you...

ChatGPT has popularized deep tech, but most people don't really know what it is or how it differs from standard software innovation. Don't be most people.  This episode will demystify deep tech investing and show you why smart VCs never really take any technological risk (even in the most frontier tech industries). Learn from  James Wang , Partner at Creative Ventures: How  deep tech innovation di...

If you want to run a start-up, get to the top of a corporate, get headhunted for board roles or become a Smart Money investor, joining an advisory board is a smart move. But, for advisors, boards can can also become a time drain and a risk to your reputation.  For founders, advisory boards can be a source of deals, funding and support, or a costly distraction. Listen to this episode to learn why j...

Traditional industries, like banking, FMCG, and real estate have a fundamental difference to tech companies. If you do not understand this difference, or under-estimate it, you will not be able to thrive in digital transformation or work with tech start-ups. In this episode you will learn what this core difference is and why it matters through two case studies: the traditional business and the tec...

To succeed in the Digital Age, traditional business skills are no longer enough. Business Leaders need a new skillset: Digital Leadership. This doesn't mean learning to code or taking a Python course. (Thank God!) Instead, it means learning how to collaborate effectively with developers and data scientists, and aligning business goals with tech strategy. In this episode, Sophia Matveeva shares the...

Listen to this episode to get Sophia Matveeva's recommendations to hone your digital mindset. In this episode, you'll hear the top lessons from each book and why they matter. The beginners ' guide:  Swipe to Unlock: The Insider's Guide to Tech and Business Strategy Listen to this TFNT podcast interview with co-author Parth Detroja:  12 Introduction to Product Strategy To learn Design Thinking :  D...

Is online tracking invasive? Or do cookies make our experience of the internet better? To answer this question, you need to understand how online tracking works and who makes money from it. In this episode, you'll learn from  Keith Petri , CEO & Founder of Lockr, which helps consumers manage their data online. You will learn: What  tracking cookies  are The difference between first party, third pa...

How is generative AI different from standard AI? How can you tell lasting innovation from the hype?  Listen to this episode to find out. You will learn from  Jamie Cattell , Global Managing Partner, Enterprise Strategy at IBM Consulting. Before joining IMB, Jamie was a partner at McKinsey where he led McKinsey Digital. If you work in a corporate, sell to corporates or invest in public equities, th...

"You can design your work life as an employee or a business owner. Design thinking is for people like you, whether you receive the paycheck or sign the paycheck,"  Bill Burnett, Stanford School of Design. In this episode you will learn how to use Design Thinking to make decisions and move towards your goals.  Listen to learn: How Sophia used prototyping to  decide whether to move to New York City...

When should you innovate and when should you honour tradition?  The luxury industry answers this question all the time.  Luxury businesses like Louis Vuitton have been around since the 1800s, but have found a way to thrive in the Digital Age. In this episode, you will learn how they've done it so you can apply their lessons to yourself. You will learn: Two key questions  to ask to weigh up when to...

Avinash Godkhindi went from banking to leading Zaggle, a fintech company, towards an IPO.  This episode is perfect for founders, fintech investors and business leaders who want to transition into tech. In this episode you will learn: What business leaders need to  know about tech  to thrive in fintech How the recent drop in tech start-up valuations changed  what investors look for Whether success...

Smart dedicated professionals are great at creating value. This episode will help you capture it. Digital transformation and innovation projects are very likely to balloon beyond their original scope , leaving those leading them with more work, but the same compensation. This is why, this episode is especially useful for digital transformation and innovation leaders. In this episode you will learn...

To have a successful business career today, you need to be data literate. This doesn't mean learning to code. Thank God! In this episode, you will hear from JeAnna Abbott, Professor of Artificial Intelligence, Data Science and Analytics at Texas A&M Mays College of Business. In this episode you will learn: What  data science  is How a  baseball team used data science  to grow revenues What  synthe...

Technology has disrupted power dynamics, and led otherwise smart and rational people to suspend disbelief, lose control and destroy value. To have a truly successful career, you need to understand power dynamics: when to hold on to control and when to cede it. In this episode, you will hear: How power dynamics affect e quity splits for non-technical founders What happened when a traditional corpor...

Listen to this Office Hours session with Sophia Matveeva MBA. Questions covered in this episode: Should I do an MBA or a Computer Science degree? What's the difference between Product Management roles in deep tech vs standard businesses ? What tech trends are the ones to watch right now? How do you transition into tech after 18 years in the automotive industry? Come to Sophia Matveeva's next  FREE...

Tech and advertising are intertwined: ads is where Big Tech makes most of its money. Learn about the biggest trends in tech from the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity. You'll hear about developments and trends at Twitter, Meta and TikTok, as well as see what overhyped tech is behind us and what is yet to come. In this episode you will learn: Where  consumer trends  start now and how to spot them...

According to McKinsey, 70% of digital transformations fail to meet their goals. And yet, these multi-million dollar projects remain a priority for every major CEO.  In this episode, you'll learn from Matthew Domo about why these projects fail and what to focus on to make them succeed. (Clue: it's not the tech). Matt is one of the founders of Amazon Web Services and a pioneer in the cloud computing...

ChatGPT reached 100 million users in just 2 months after launch, and generative AI has already changed how many professionals do their jobs today. But, how has it already changed business and how will it impact the economy? In this episode, you will hear from Professor Avi Goldfarb, co-author of  Power and Prediction: The Disruptive Economics of Artificial Intelligence .  In this episode, you will...

There is no template for pricing apps or Software as a Service products, because each product is always a solution to a problem. Some problems are more important than others, and some are harder to solve. But, you can  use frameworks to decide what price to launch and how to iterate.  In this episode you will learn: What questions to answer to  decide the starting price  for your product Why your...