The Tech Trek

Max Bruner, Founder and CEO of Anzen, joins Amir Bormand to break down why insurance is quietly one of the biggest data and workflow opportunities in tech right now. They dig into Max’s unconventional path from foreign policy to building an executive liability marketplace, and what it really takes to modernize a slow moving industry with AI. If you care about building in real world markets, scalin...

Stu Solomon, CEO of HUMAN, joins Amir to unpack a blind spot most teams underestimate: a huge share of online activity is not people at all, it is automated traffic. They break down how verification really works at internet scale, why agentic workflows change the rules, and what it will take to build trust when bots transact with bots. If you have ever wondered how fraud, fake clicks, account abus...

Mek Stittri, CTO at Stuut, breaks down a leadership skill that sounds simple but gets messy fast, trust, then verify. You will learn how to delegate without losing control, how to stay close to the work without becoming a micromanager, and how AI is changing what it means to review and own technical outcomes. Key takeaways • Trust and verify starts with alignment, define success clearly, then keep...

Michael Topol, Co-founder and Co-CEO at MGT Insurance, explains why insurance is quietly becoming one of the most interesting data and AI problems in tech. We get practical about turning messy legacy data into usable signals, how agentic tools change decision making, and why culture and team design matter as much as the models. MGT Insurance is building a fully verticalized AI and agentic native i...

Marco DeMeireles, co founder and managing partner at ANSA, breaks down how a modern VC firm wins by being focused, data driven, and allergic to hype. If you want a clearer view of how investors evaluate open source, mission critical industries, and AI categories, this is a practical, operator minded look behind the curtain. Marco explains ANSA’s focus on what they call undercover markets, from ope...

AI is everywhere, but most teams are stuck talking about efficiency and headcount. In this episode, Dave Edelman, executive advisor and best selling author, shares a sharper lens, how to use AI to create real customer value and real growth. We get into the high road vs low road of AI, what personalization should look like now, and why data has to become an enterprise asset, not a bunch of disconne...

Amanda Kahlow, CEO and founder of 1Mind, joins Amir to break down what AI changes in modern sales and go to market, and what it does not. If you lead revenue, product, or growth, this is a practical look at where AI creates leverage today, where humans still matter, and how teams actually adopt it without chaos. Amanda shares how “go to market superhumans” can handle everything from early buyer co...

What if the best people on your investing team are still in college? Peter Harris, Partner at University Growth Fund, breaks down how they run a roughly 100 million dollar venture fund with 50 to 60 students doing real diligence, real founder calls, and real deal work. You will hear how their student led model stays disciplined with checks and balances, why repeat games matter in venture and in bu...

Yulun Wang, executive chairman and co founder at Sovato Health, joins Amir Bormand to unpack the next wave after telemedicine, procedural care at a distance. If you have ever wondered what it would take for a top surgeon to operate without being in the same room, this conversation gets practical fast, from the real bottlenecks inside operating rooms to the health system changes required to make re...

Moiz Kohari, VP of Enterprise AI and Data Intelligence at DDN, breaks down what it actually takes to get AI into production and keep it there. If your org is stuck in pilot mode, this conversation will help you spot the real blockers, from trust and hallucinations to data architecture and GPU bottlenecks. Key takeaways • GenAI success in the enterprise is less about the demo and more about trust,...

New leaders face a choice fast. Do you adapt to the organization you inherit, or reshape it around the way you lead? In this conversation, Amir sits down with Gian Perrone, engineering leader at Nav, to unpack how org design really works in the first 30 to 120 days, and how to drive change without spiking anxiety or losing trust. You will hear how Gian treats leadership as triage, why “listen and...

Nir Soudry, Head of R&D at 7AI, breaks down how teams can move from early experimentation to real production work fast, without shipping chaos. If you are building AI features or agent workflows, this conversation is a practical look at speed, safety, and what it actually takes to earn customer trust. Nir shares how 7AI ships in tight loops with a real customer in mind, why pushing decisions c...

B2B pricing is still way harder than it should be, even in 2026. In this conversation, Tina Kung, Founder and CTO at Nue.ai, breaks down why quote to revenue can take weeks, and how a flexible pricing engine can turn it into something closer to one click. You will hear how fast changing pricing models, AI driven products, and new selling motions are forcing revenue teams to rethink the entire syst...

Tim Bucher, CEO and cofounder of Agtonomy, joins Amir to break down what physical AI looks like when it leaves the lab and shows up on the farm. Tim shares how his sixth generation farming roots and a lucky intro computer science class led to a career that included Microsoft, Apple, and Dell, then back into agriculture with a mission that hits the real world fast. This conversation is about buildi...

Data and AI are everywhere right now, but most teams are still guessing where to start. In this episode, Cameran Hetrick, VP of Data and Insights at BetterUp, breaks down what actually works when you move from AI hype to real business impact. You will hear a practical way to choose AI and analytics projects, how to spot low risk wins, and why clean, governed data still decides what is possible. Ca...

Yogi Goel, cofounder and CEO of Maxima AI, breaks down how he hires outlier talent, people who think like future founders and thrive when the plan changes fast. We get practical on what to look for beyond pedigree, how to assess it without relying on easy resume signals, and how culture scales when your team doubles. Yogi also shares what Maxima AI is building, an agentic platform for enterprise a...

Chandan Lodha, Co-founder at CoinTracker, joins Amir Bormand to unpack the real shift from big tech to building your own company. From Harvard to Google to Y Combinator, Chandan shares what pushed him to take the leap, how he found the right idea, and what he had to unlearn to lead at startup speed. This conversation is for builders and leaders who want to grow faster, ship faster, and build teams...

Joel Dolisy, CTO at WellSky, joins the podcast to reveal why organizational design is the ultimate "operating system" for scaling tech companies. This conversation is a deep dive into how engineering leaders must adapt their strategies when moving between the hyper growth of Venture Capital and the disciplined profitability of Private Equity. Building a high performing team is about much...

Stop chasing shiny objects and start driving real business outcomes. Marathon Health CTO Venkat Chittoor joins the show to explain why AI is the ultimate enabler for digital transformation but only when it is anchored by a rock solid business strategy. Essential Insights for Tech Leaders AI is not a standalone strategy. It is a powerful tool to accelerate a pre-existing business North Star. Succes...

Stop treating data governance as a "data cop" function and start using it as a high ROI offensive weapon. In this episode, Peter Kapur, Head of Data Governance and Data Quality at CarMax, breaks down how to move beyond defensive compliance to drive profitability, customer experience, and better data science outcomes. Critical Insights for Leaders Shift from defense to offense Data defens...

Afrooz Ansaripour, Director of Data Science at Walmart, joins the show to explain how global leaders are shifting from simple historical tracking to predicting psychological triggers and customer intent. This episode explores the evolution of customer intelligence and how Generative AI is turning massive data sets into personalized, value driven experiences. Listeners will learn how to balance hyp...

Shahryar Qadri, CTO of OneImaging, joins me to unpack a hard truth about healthcare tech: the goal is not to remove humans, it is to give them more room to be human. We talk about where cost “optimization” actually helps patients, why radiology is a perfect fit for AI but still held back by data access, and how better workflows can improve trust, speed, and outcomes without losing the human touch....

Swarupa Mahambrey, Vice President of Software Engineering at The College Board, breaks down what tech debt really looks like in a mission critical environment, and how an engineering mindset can prevent it from quietly choking delivery. She shares a practical operating model for paying down debt without stopping the roadmap, and the cultural habits that make it stick. You will hear how College Boa...

Software is still eating the world, and AI is speeding up the clock. In this episode, Amir talks with Tariq Shaukat, co CEO at Sonar, about what it really takes for non tech companies to build like software companies, without breaking trust, security, or quality. Tariq shares how leaders can treat AI like a serious capability, not a shiny add on, and why clean code, governance, and smart pricing m...

Gregg Altschul, Vice President of Technology at FanDuel, shares a clear and practical look at how leaders can create real alignment across personal, team, and company goals. He explains why transparency drives trust, how to build a path for growth at every level, and why the best managers help people pursue their long term North Star while still delivering for the business. This is a thoughtful an...