Tech for Non-Techies

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...

Would you rather listen to a song by an artist you already love? Or an unknown artist and try something new?  Most people want a combination of the familiar and the new. In social media terms, this is the  social graph vs the interest graph . The social graph refers to  content from your friends , and the interest graph refers to  content based on your interests .  Tech firms based on content cons...

If you have an idea for an app or a tech business, but no tech skills to build it, this episode is for you. You will hear from Natalie Kaminski, founder of Jet Rockets , whose development company works specifically with non-technical founders. In this episode, you will learn: what insights non-technical founders have that tech founders often don't how a travel agent built a tech company when Covid...

Design Thinking, first developed at Stanford, is the strength behind tech companies like Airbnb and Snap. Great design was the foundation of Apple and Steve Jobs's obsession. Design Thinking is a methodology for making decisions, and knowing when to pivot and when to preserve. You can design your work life as an employee or a business owner. Design thinking is for people like you, whether you rece...

The online gaming market is HUGE. Revenue in the online games market is projected to reach US $26.1 billion in 2023. Games developers have also had to solve some of the toughest problems in tech. And yet, the gaming sector does not receive as much attention in the press as other sectors like fintech and ad tech. Listen to this episode to learn rare insights from the gaming industry and how they ap...

Product makers know how to make a product. But technologists do not know whom the product is for and what their aim is. When it comes to working with the tech product team,  a business leader's job is to represent the user and their needs. Listen to this episode to hear  three key insights  business leaders must bring technologists to make great products. This episode is for people who need to buy...

An MBA from a top school can be a great investment. But most business schools have not updated their curricula for the Digital Age and the new world of work.  Listen to this episode to hear what Sophia Matveeva loved about her MBA and the two vital skillsets her business school didn't teach.

Why do some people struggle to be valued for their skillset while others have opportunities coming to them?  Most jobs do not get advertised. VCs turn down most of the start-ups that pitch to them. And yet, recruiters work to track down candidates and investors hustle to get on the best founders' cap tables. Why does this happen? To find out, listen to this week's episode. Come this FREE mastercla...

Having a digital skillset isn't enough. You must be SEEN as a Digital Leader & KNOWN for your expertise. Listen to this podcast episode if you want opportunities to come to you.  You will learn: How headhunters and conference organizers look for candidates and speakers Why your LinkedIn profile needs to speak to two audiences simultaneously (and what they are) Two changes you can make today to mak...

Humans invent technology and then technology changes humans. It was ever thus. The biggest technological trend today is artificial intelligence. if you want to be an insightful leader in the Digital Age, you do need to understand what AI is doing to us, so you can reap the benefits and minimise the costs. In this episode you will learn from Dr Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, author of  I, Human: AI, Auto...

Some technologies lose businesses money and put off their customers. So why do businesses use them? The technical term is shiny object syndrome! We waste money and make bad decisions when we forget that technology is a tool, not an end in itself. The role of a true Digital Leader is to discern when tech creates value and when it doesn't. This podcast episode will help you do that.  You will learn:...

Successful professionals need to mix their domain expertise with meta skills to thrive. These transferable skills apply to any industry. Without them, the way to the C Suite is closed. Listen to this short episode to learn what they are and how to get them. Join the Tech for Non-Techies membership and lead in the Digital Age .  Tech for Non-Techies clients  Reach senior  leadership positions in Bi...

Dr Marilyn Sandor is the founder of GoodCheckUp , a telehealth app that gives you dental care whenever, wherever. But her success story came out of a crisis: when Covid struck, she had to shut down her dental clinic, thus losing her income and leaving her patients in the lurch. Not one to sit still, Dr Sandor created a telehealth app to treat her patients remotely. Her patients loved it, and today...

Apps and algorithms are like bathroom redesigns and subway station refurbishments. Over budget and over deadline. Listen to this episode to learn why this happens and what to do about it.  Listen to  119. Why smart leaders expect the unexpected from software updates for more on this topic. ----- If you like learning about how tech products and profits get made, you'll like our newsletter. It's fun...

Most products brought to market fail. Tech Entrepreneur Ash Maurya says this is " not because we can't complete what we set out to build, but because we waste time, money, and effort building the wrong product. " Maurya is the author of  Running Lean: Iterate from Plan A to a Plan that works , and creator of the Business Model Canvas. Listen to this episode for three core lessons all innovators ne...

The metaverse hasn't yet gone mainstream, but it is already changing changing how we work and play. For some companies, the metaverse is their digital transformation , which makes understanding it a key Digital Leadership skill today. Listen to this short episode to hear the most sensible explanation of where the metaverse matters today. ----- Watch more FREE LESSONS on the  Tech for Non-Techies Y...

If you are not a developer or a data scientist, you don't know what you don't know about  tech. This is a very uncomfortable feeling, especially for high achievers, who were trained to believe that success meant knowing everything. Listen to this episode for five tips on how to make the right decisions about tech as a business leader in a world of digital unknown unknowns. ----- If you like learni...