Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots

Victoria Guido is the new Associate Director of Business Development and DevOps Strategy at thoughtbot, and is joining Chad as co-host of the show! Chad talks with Victoria about getting involved in DevOps work, transitioning to agile, moving away from her old community which was based on geography, and tips for people onboarding into a new role. Follow Victoria on Twitter (https://twitter.com/victori_ousg) or LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/victorialguido/). Follow thoughtbot on Twitter (https://twitter.com/thoughtbot) or LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/150727/). Become a Sponsor (https://thoughtbot.com/sponsorship) of Giant Robots! Transcript: CHAD: This is the Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots Podcast, where we explore the design, development, and business of great products. I'm your host, Chad Pytel. And with me today is Victoria Guido, the new Associate Director of Business Development and DevOps Strategy at thoughtbot, and wait for it, the new co-host of this very podcast w

Adam Kenney is Chief Product Officer at Numerated, which helps banks and credit unions transform how they lend to businesses. Chad talks with Adam about what institutional banks and credit unions are like as a market and customers and what sales cycles look like, going from 17 to more than 130 customers quickly, and the scaling challenges they faced, and how the pandemic affected them as a company. Numerated (https://www.numerated.com/) Follow Numerated on Twitter (https://twitter.com/numeratedgt), YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4igz9AZqOXJlZxtXUBO-1Q), or LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/numerated/). Follow Adam on Twitter (https://twitter.com/ademski) or LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-kenney-ab-cmu/). Follow thoughtbot on Twitter (https://twitter.com/thoughtbot) or LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/150727/). Become a Sponsor (https://thoughtbot.com/sponsorship) of Giant Robots! Transcript: CHAD: This is the Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots Podcast, wh

Susanna Twarog is Co-Founder and Co-CEO of SOS, which is transforming wellness on the go through a network of smart vending machines that deliver just-in-time necessities where and when you need the most. Chad talks with Susanna about wellness on the go, the unique business that they're building and what SOS can offer brands, and the biggest hurdles to overcome to get 10,000 machines up and running. SOS (https://www.worldofsos.com/) Follow SOS on TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@world_of_sos), YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzJ_tp6e-M39_6I53xKTu8A), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/world_of_sos/) or LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/world-of-sos/). Follow Susanna on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/susanna-twarog-2b483ab/). Follow thoughtbot on Twitter (https://twitter.com/thoughtbot) or LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/150727/). Become a Sponsor (https://thoughtbot.com/sponsorship) of Giant Robots! Transcript: CHAD: This is the Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Rob

Anna Spearman is the Founder of Techie Staffing, which connects high-quality technology talent with high-caliber clients. Chad talks with Anna about founding and growing the company, immediately after graduating college, during a pandemic, reputation building, and facing skepticism around her lack of track record in recruiting, and finding and providing talent for clients as a white-glove service. Techie Staffing (https://techiestaffing.com/) Follow Techie Staffing on Twitter (https://twitter.com/StaffingTechie), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/techiestaffing), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/techiestaffing/) or LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/techie-staffing/). Follow Anna on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaspearman/). Follow thoughtbot on Twitter (https://twitter.com/thoughtbot) or LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/150727/). Become a Sponsor (https://thoughtbot.com/sponsorship) of Giant Robots! Transcript: CHAD: This is the Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots

Chelinde Edouard is Co-Founder and CEO of MustWatch, which connects people through television. Chad talks with Che about creating a social and user engagement platform that allows people to come back and constantly use an app without interrupting TV-watching experiences, how they use data to improve user experience, and fundraising and giving investors opportunities to help build out the app, increase marketing, and potentially build an Android version. MustWatch (https://mustwatch.com/) Follow MustWatch on Twitter (https://twitter.com/realmustwatch) or LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/realmustwatch/). Follow Che on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/che-edouard-10013964/). Follow thoughtbot on Twitter (https://twitter.com/thoughtbot) or LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/150727/). Become a Sponsor (https://thoughtbot.com/sponsorship) of Giant Robots! Transcript: CHAD: This is the Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots Podcast, where we explore the design, development, and busines

Geronda Wollack-Spiller is the DEI Program Manager at thoughtbot. Chad talks with Geronda about implementing a successful Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion program at the company by providing a culture of belonging, the challenges, in particular, the tech industry faces, and acknowledging that many of us work in spaces where when we're bringing someone onto a team who has underrepresented identities, they might be the only one. How do we create a space that's as inclusive as possible? Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at thoughtbot (https://thoughtbot.com/playbook/our-company/diversity-equity-and-inclusion) Follow Geronda on Twitter (https://twitter.com/gerondaws) or LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/gerondawollack/). Follow thoughtbot on Twitter (https://twitter.com/thoughtbot) or LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/150727/). Become a Sponsor (https://thoughtbot.com/sponsorship) of Giant Robots! Transcript: CHAD: This is the Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots Podcast, where we explore th

Panos Siozos is Co-Founder and CEO of LearnWorlds, an online course platform for creating, selling, and promoting online courses. Chad talks with Panos about building e-learning platforms dating back to 1999, providing rich feature sets and catering to customers located in lots of different places, and deciding to stop bootstrapping and take investor money. LearnWorlds (https://www.learnworlds.com/) Follow LearnWorlds on Twitter (https://twitter.com/learnworlds), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/learnWorldsCo?fref=ts), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/learnworlds/), YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/user/learnWorlds), or LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/learnworlds/). Follow Panos on Twitter (https://twitter.com/psiozos) or LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/siozos/). Follow thoughtbot on Twitter (https://twitter.com/thoughtbot) or LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/150727/). Become a Sponsor (https://thoughtbot.com/sponsorship) of Giant Robots! Transcript: CHAD: This is the Giants

Tarush Aggarwal is the Founder and CEO of 5X, the modern data stack as a managed service that enables companies to answer business questions without having to worry about building data infrastructure or bringing in the right data engineering team. Chad talks with Tarush about the modern data stack movement, choosing things that make sense on behalf of their customers, and building a team culture at a company with a fairly large time zone distribution. 5x (https://5x.co/) Follow 5x on Twitter (https://twitter.com/DataWith5x), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/DataWith5x), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/datawith5x/), YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyOHdgLesV3FesXXl9-8V_w), or LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/datawith5x). Follow Tarush on Twitter (https://twitter.com/tarush) or LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/tarushaggarwal/). Follow thoughtbot on Twitter (https://twitter.com/thoughtbot) or LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/150727/). Become a Sponsor (https://thoughtb

Deborah Levine is the Director of LGBT YouthLink at CenterLink, which supports, strengthens, and connects LGBT centers. Chad talks with Deborah about working on something new called imi: a free digital research-backed mental health tool intended to support and help LGBTQ+ teens explore and affirm their identity and learn practical ways to cope with their sexual and gender minority stress, founding Q Chat Space, a digital LGBTQ+ center where teens join live-chat, professionally facilitated, online support groups, and how over the time that she's been doing work in LGBTQ+ spaces products and online interaction have changed and evolved. CenterLink (https://www.lgbtcenters.org/) Follow CenterLink on Twitter (https://twitter.com/CenterLink), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/CenterLink), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/lgbtcenterlink/), YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPvnzC7fGKBYKj9p4YlMGNw), or LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/2129279/). LGBT YouthLink (https://www.lgbtcenters.org/Progr

Johanna Mikkola is the Co-Founder and CEO of Wyncode Academy, recently acquired by BrainStation, whose project-based programs have helped over 100,000 professionals launch new careers in the tech industry. Chad talks with Johanna about creating a digital skills training bootcamp, the hiring and training market and challenges, and prioritizing inclusion and diversity in the student population. BrainStation (https://brainstation.io/) Follow BrainStation on Twitter (https://twitter.com/brainstation), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/BrainStation), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/brainstation/), or LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/school/brainstation/). Follow Johanna on Twitter (https://twitter.com/JoMikkola) or LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/johanna-mikkola/). Follow thoughtbot on Twitter (https://twitter.com/thoughtbot) or LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/150727/). Become a Sponsor (https://thoughtbot.com/sponsorship) of Giant Robots! Transcript: CHAD: This is the Giant Robots Smashi

Jeni Barcelos is the Co-Founder and CEO of Marvelous, the world's most beautiful all-in-one teaching platform. Chad talks with Jeni about what makes Marvelous different from other teaching platforms out there, the importance of elevating women to leadership positions, and why applying for and getting accepted into an accelerator program was the right path for the company. Marvelous (https://www.heymarvelous.com/) Follow Marvelous on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJZ_kWoBcXJuSKP1iofXsAw), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/heymarvelous/), or LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/marvelous-software/). Follow Jeni on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenibarcelos/). Follow thoughtbot on Twitter (https://twitter.com/thoughtbot) or LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/150727/). Become a Sponsor (https://thoughtbot.com/sponsorship) of Giant Robots! Transcript: CHAD: This is the Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots Podcast, where we explore the design, development, and business

Owen McGab Enaohwo is the CEO and Co-Founder of SweetProcess, a business process management software that helps management teams and employees easily document procedures, implement processes, and manage tasks. Chad talks with Owen about taking specific root issues and building software around them, overcoming resistance to the core idea of documenting processes, and the importance of having the freedom and ability to be empowered to make changes to organizational documents that outline how you do your work. SweetProcess (https://www.sweetprocess.com/) Follow SweetProcess on Twitter (https://twitter.com/SweetProcess), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/SweetProcess), or LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/sweetprocess/). 52 Sample Standard Operating Procedure Templates (https://sweetprocess.ac-page.com/52sopstemplates) Follow Owen on Twitter (https://twitter.com/HYVAssistant) or LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/owenmcgabenaohwo/). Follow thoughtbot on Twitter (https://twitter.com/thoughtbot) or L

Matt Danna is the Co-Founder and CEO of Boulevard, which powers next-gen salons and spas. Its mission is to modernize the technology while improving the daily lives of professionals and the clients they serve. Chad talks with Matt about discovering a problem and then making the jump to working on it, overcoming hurdles in terms of continued growth, and deciding to invest in building their own hardware by creating Boulevard Duo: a point of sale credit card reader. Boulevard (https://www.joinblvd.com/) Boulevard Duo (https://shop.joinblvd.com/products/duo) Follow Boulevard on Twitter (https://twitter.com/joinblvd), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/joinblvd/), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/joinblvd/), LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/boulevard/), or YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCo9FyMtvqrDGHFl797iOhww). Follow Matt on Twitter (https://twitter.com/mattdanna) or LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattdanna/). Follow thoughtbot on Twitter (https://twitter.com/thoughtbot) or Linke

Monique Idlett is the Founder of Reign Ventures, a seed-stage investment firm, and previously the Co-Founder and CEO of Mosley Brands and Mosley Music Group, home to a multiplatinum roster of artists. Chad talks with Monique about how the music industry is like the startup venture capital industry, understanding that representation matters, having a data-forward approach, and appearing on the TV show Undercover Billionaire, where entrepreneurs are given 90-days and nothing but 100 dollars to go undercover and build a thriving million-dollar business for a small town in the US. Reign Ventures (https://www.reignvc.com/) Follow Reign Ventures on Twitter (https://twitter.com/ReignVc), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/reign_ventures/), or LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/reign-ventures/). Follow Monique on Twitter (https://twitter.com/Monique_Mosley_) or LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/monique-idlett-mosley-41353b15/). Follow thoughtbot on Twitter (https://twitter.com/thoughtbot) or LinkedIn

Joseph Mocanu is Co-founder and Managing Director of Verge HealthTech Fund, which invests globally in seed-stage healthcare technology startups relevant to emerging Asia that focus on disease prevention and management, digital therapies, and health system efficiency. Chad talks with Joseph about the healthcare landscape in different places of the world, funding criteria for companies, and how the pandemic has changed prospects for the fund and the market in general. Verge HealthTech Fund (https://www.vergehc.com/) Follow Verge HealthTech Fund on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/verge-healthtech-fund-i/). Follow Joseph on Twitter (https://twitter.com/jmocanu) or LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jmocanu/). Follow thoughtbot on Twitter (https://twitter.com/thoughtbot) or LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/150727/). Become a Sponsor (https://thoughtbot.com/sponsorship) of Giant Robots! Transcript: CHAD: This is the Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots Podcast, where we explore the

Carlos F. Gaitan Ospina is the Founder and CEO of Benchmark Labs, which provides IoT-based weather forecasting solutions for the agriculture, energy, and insurance sectors worldwide using proprietary machine-learning software. Chad talks with Carlos about creating the company, the hardware they're producing and what it is doing, and where the machine learning comes into play. Benchmark Labs (https://www.benchmarklabs.com/) Follow Benchmark Labs on Twitter (https://twitter.com/labsbenchmark), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/benchmarklabs/), or LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/benchmark-labs-inc/). Follow Carlos on Twitter (https://twitter.com/cfgaitan) or LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlos-felipe-gaitan-ospina-3765808/). Follow thoughtbot on Twitter (https://twitter.com/thoughtbot) or LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/150727/). Become a Sponsor (https://thoughtbot.com/sponsorship) of Giant Robots! Transcript: CHAD: This is the Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots Pod

Dize Hacioglu is the CTO of Chicago’s mRelief, which offers an easy-to-use platform that helps families connect to SNAP food benefits. Since it was founded in 2014, the non-profit mRelief has helped 2.8 million Americans unlock $1 billion in food stamp benefits. Chad talks with Dize about how the platform helps people navigate the often complicated food stamp benefits system, what her role as CTO looks like as a CTO who codes, and how she hopes to help facilitate the growth of the mRelief program and team. mRelief (https://www.mrelief.com/) Follow mRelief on Twitter (https://twitter.com/mRelief_form), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/mRelief/), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/m_relief/), or LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/mrelief.com/). Follow Dize on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/dizehacioglu/). Follow thoughtbot on Twitter (https://twitter.com/thoughtbot) or LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/150727/). Become a Sponsor (https://thoughtbot.com/sponsorship) of Giant Robots!

Michael Benezra is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of the GK Fund: a nonprofit social impact fund to support BIPOC-owned companies in Greater Boston. Michael also serves as the COO of Colette Phillips Communications, helping to lead the All Inclusive Boston (https://www.bostonusa.com/allinclusivebos/) tourism campaign, among other projects. Chad talks with Michael about being a BIPOC ally, disparities amongst the VC world, and how the GK Fund looks for the same things in BIPOC-owned companies that they look for in other companies because the innovation is there; it's just that the opportunity isn't. The GK Fund (https://www.thegkfund.org/) Follow The GK Fund on Twitter (https://twitter.com/GK_Fund) or LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/thegkfund/). Colette Phillips Communications (https://www.cpcglobal.com/) All Inclusive Boston (https://www.bostonusa.com/allinclusivebos/) Black Owned Bos. (https://www.blackownedbos.com/) Follow Michael on Twitter (https://twitter.com/MichaelBenezra) or LinkedIn

Christopher Nguyen is the CEO of Aitomatic, which provides knowledge-first AI for industrial automation. Chad talks with Christopher about why having a physical sciences background matters for this work, if we have artificial intelligence, why we still need people, and working in knowledge-first AI instead of knowledge-second, knowledge-third, or no knowledge at all. Data reflects the world. Aitomatic (https://www.aitomatic.com/) Follow Aitomatic on Twitter (https://twitter.com/aitomatic) or LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/aitomatic/). Follow Christopher on Twitter (https://twitter.com/pentagoniac) or LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ctnguyen/). Follow thoughtbot on Twitter (https://twitter.com/thoughtbot) or LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/150727/). Become a Sponsor (https://thoughtbot.com/sponsorship) of Giant Robots! Transcript: CHAD: This is the Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots Podcast, where we explore the design, development, and business of great products. I'm y

Dr. Alan Cowen is the Executive Director of The Hume Initiative (https://thehumeinitiative.org/), a non-profit dedicated to the responsible advancement of AI with empathy, and CEO of Hume AI (https://hume.ai/), an AI research lab and empathetic AI company that is hoping to pave the way for AI that improves our emotional well-being. Chad talks with Alan about forming clear ethical guidelines around how this technology should be used because there is a problem in that the public is skeptical about whether technology is used for good or bad. The Hume Initiative is intended to lay out what concrete use cases will be and what use cases shouldn't be supported. Hume AI is built for developers to construct empathic abilities into their applications. The Hume Initiative (https://thehumeinitiative.org/) Hume AI (https://hume.ai/) Follow Hume AI on Twitter (https://twitter.com/hume__ai) or LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/hume-ai/). Follow Alan on Twitter (https://twitter.com/AlanCowen) or LinkedIn (https://w