Barriers to Entry

This time on BTE, co-host is back and he’s in the hot seat. Bobby Bonett — former Barriers to Entry co-host and newly appointed President of SANDOW DESIGN GROUP — trades the microphone for the guest chair, live at NeoCon 2026. And the plugs were flowing…

Andrew and Bobby cover Bobby’s path from SiriusXM and the NBA to building a house of brands at SANDOW, including the 16-day launch of Design TV during the COVID shutdown and the slow build of Surround from a five-show idea into a full podcast network. They dig into how SANDOW approaches innovation at NeoCon — a 12-month process of iteration, real audience data from ThinkLab, and early adopter partners who keep the ecosystem moving forward — and what it means for Bobby to now be driving that machine from the president’s seat.

They also spend time unpacking the season’s defining thread: in a world racing toward AI, the most durable competitive advantage might still be the human in the loop.

Come for the conversation, stay for the Chicago pizza recommendations.

Connect with our host on LinkedIn: Andrew Lane

Follow Bobby Bonett on LinkedIn

References and resources

• SANDOW DESIGN GROUP
• Surround Podcast Network
• Design TV
• ThinkLab
• Opus Clips
• Azure Magazine
• Get in touch with us at [email protected]
• Discover more shows from SURROUND at surroundpodcasts.com

This episode of Barriers to Entry was produced by Rob Schulte.

This episode was recorded in the NeoCon Podcast Lounge Powered by SURROUND. Thank you to our Lounge sponsor, Unika Vaev, and partners: B+N, DARRAN, Framery, Momentum, and UpSpring.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

“Spinning Cycles”

This week Andrew welcomes Amra Tareen, serial entrepreneur and CEO of ALL3D.AI, for a conversation that starts with laundry—and never really leaves it. Across four startups and two decades of building at the intersection of design, e-commerce, and emerging technology, Amra has mastered the art of the pivot: reading the spin cycle, knowing when to hold on, and knowing when to let the machine do its thing.

Amra traces the through-line from her early days scaling Decorist’s 3D visualization platform, through her time as Head of Innovation at Bed Bath & Beyond, to launching ALL3D.AI during COVID—and now repositioning it for a world increasingly powered by generative AI. Andrew and Amra dig into what it actually takes to build and sustain a startup through multiple waves of technological change, how to validate a problem worth solving before you start, and why giving creative professionals more control—not less—is the real unlock of AI-powered workflows.

They also explore the concept of dematerialization, what happens when AI imagery begins to outpace photography, and why Amra believes the future belongs to the specialized, the persistent, and the passionate.

Connect with our host, Andrew Lane, on LinkedIn

Follow Amra Tareen on LinkedIn

References and resources

ALL3D.AI

Get in touch with us at [email protected]

Discover more shows from SURROUND at surroundpodcasts.com

This episode of Barriers to Entry was produced by Rob Schulte.

This episode of Barriers to Entry is presented in partnership with ALL3D.AI.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How do we prepare for the future without trying to predict it? Recorded at NeoCon, Andrew Lane speaks with futures designer Nick Foster, former head of design at Google X and author of Could, Should, Might, Don’t. Together, they explore how designers can think beyond trends and forecasts, challenge assumptions about emerging technologies like AI, and imagine futures that are not just possible, but practical and meaningful.

This episode was recorded in the NeoCon Podcast Lounge Powered by SURROUND. Thank you to our Lounge sponsor, Unika Vaev, and partners: B+N, DARRAN, Framery, Momentum, and UpSpring.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Beyond the Prompt

This week Andrew welcomes Stacy Thorwart, AI educator, founder of The Intelligent Designer, and a fast-growing voice in the design technology space whose social platforms now reach tens of thousands of designers learning how to navigate AI.

After years working with designers at Steelcase—and later helping lead global AI strategy—Stacy stepped into entrepreneurship to help the design industry move beyond curiosity and fear toward practical adoption. Her platform and community focus on a simple shift: AI literacy isn’t just about writing better prompts, it’s about understanding how designers collaborate with intelligent tools.

Andrew and Stacy discuss why many firms struggle with AI adoption, how leadership and culture influence experimentation, and why early “AI wins” are often the key to momentum. They also explore how the designer’s role may evolve—from hands-on creator to manager of AI agents and digital collaborators—while keeping creativity, context, and human judgment firmly at the center of the process.

Connect with our host, Andrew Lane, on LinkedIn

Follow Stacy Thorwart on LinkedIn

References and resources

The Intelligent Designer

Get in touch with us at [email protected]

Discover more shows from SURROUND at surroundpodcasts.com

This episode of Barriers to Entry was produced by Rob Schulte.

This season of Barriers to Entry is sponsored by Arktura.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Creative Assistant

This week Andrew welcomes Michael Villegas, Design Director at IA Interior Architects, for a conversation that begins in an unexpected place: a suburban mall in the 90s. From arcades and Hot Topic to skateboarding and early experiments in Microsoft Paint, Michael traces how those early creative influences shaped the way he thinks about technology and design today.

Now working at the intersection of architecture, art, and emerging technology, Michael has become a leading voice inside IA’s exploration of generative AI. But his perspective is clear: AI isn’t an easy button—it’s a creative assistant.

Andrew and Michael discuss how AI is helping design teams experiment faster, communicate ideas more clearly with clients, and even build custom tools to solve highly specific design challenges, while Producer Rob keeps everyone on their team with a few Limp Bizkit lyrics…

Connect with our host, Andrew Lane, on LinkedIn

Follow Michael Villegas on LinkedIn

References and resources

IA Interior Architects

Get in touch with us at [email protected]

Discover more shows from SURROUND at surroundpodcasts.com

This episode of Barriers to Entry was produced by Rob Schulte.

This season of Barriers to Entry is sponsored by Arktura.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Testing the Fences

This week Andrew welcomes Harvey Schaefer of MillerKnoll for a conversation that starts with a sore throat, a quick detour into Severance, and lands in a surprisingly human place: change management. As a leader in MillerKnoll’s growing internal machine learning and AI team, Harvey isn’t building flashy tools for the sake of it—he’s helping people across a complex organization understand where AI can genuinely reduce friction and where human judgment still matters most.

Andrew and Harvey dig into AI literacy, internal roadshows, “easy agents,” and the quiet reality that many people are already using AI at work without telling anyone.  Along the way they make sure to hit a significant pop culture reference quote and, ultimately, explore a bigger question facing every company right now: if AI can do almost anything, what are the things we still want to do ourselves?

Connect with our host, Andrew Lane, on LinkedIn

Follow Harvey Schaefer on LinkedIn

References and resources

MillerKnoll

Microsoft Copilot

Get in touch with us at [email protected]

Discover more shows from SURROUND at surroundpodcasts.com

This episode of Barriers to Entry was produced by Rob Schulte.

This season of Barriers to Entry is sponsored by Arktura.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Good Scaffolding

This week Andrew welcomes Kellan Shanahan, a public artist turned-Lead Product Designer at Arktura, for a conversation about how curiosity, experimentation, and iteration shape the development of products and systems.

A key player on the product design team, Kellan shares how his work helps drive Arktura's reputation for blending design, engineering, and manufacturing into a tightly integrated process.  Andrew and Kellan explore how interdisciplinary teams work together to create greater outcomes by building strong creative “scaffolding”, why proximity to fabrication changes the speed and quality of design decisions, and how a culture of experimentation helps new ideas move from concept to real-world product. 

They also discuss how emerging tools—including AI—are beginning to fit into these workflows, not as replacements for designers, but as ways to accelerate exploration while keeping human judgment and craft at the center.

Connect with our host, Andrew Lane, on LinkedIn

Follow Kellan Shanahan on LinkedIn

References and resources

Arktura

Get in touch with us at [email protected]

Discover more shows from SURROUND at surroundpodcasts.com

This episode of Barriers to Entry was produced by Rob Schulte.

This season of Barriers to Entry is sponsored by Arktura.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Curse of Youth

This week Andrew welcomes Caroline Murphy, Design Engagement Strategist at SANDOW, for a conversation that starts with a familiar modern curse of youth: being the default tech support person in your family. From there, Andrew and Caroline dig into a bigger question—what happens when young designers are expected to master both design and AI at the same time?

Caroline shares how her own early-career frustration in Nashville led her to build the Young Designers Collective, creating spaces where emerging designers could actually learn, connect, and feel supported. She and Andrew unpack why many younger designers are more cautious about AI than people assume, where firms are embracing it, and how the best use case may simply be removing friction so designers can spend more time actually thinking.

They also explore why, in an age of algorithms and AI companions, real-world community, mentorship, and human connection may matter more than ever.

Connect with our host, Andrew Lane, on LinkedIn

Follow Caroline Murphy on LinkedIn

References and resources

Young Designers Collective

Interior Design 30/30

Get in touch with us at [email protected]

Discover more shows from SURROUND at surroundpodcasts.com

This episode of Barriers to Entry was produced by Rob Schulte.

This season of Barriers to Entry is sponsored by Arktura.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Architecture as a Startup

Season 4 opens with a milestone moment: Andrew Lane’s first solo episode as host. With a little encouragement from Producer Rob, Andrew welcomes back friend of the show Matthias Hollwich, founder of HWKN Architecture, for a conversation about why the architecture industry may need to reinvent itself entirely.

Matthias argues that today every architecture firm needs to think like a startup. With AI transforming design tools and workflows at breakneck speed, his studio has embraced rapid experimentation—running internal AI sprints, rewriting their design process every few months, and using generative tools to explore entirely new forms of architecture.

Andrew and Matthias discuss how AI is reshaping everything from design research to client collaboration, how new technologies can unlock more emotional and human-centered architecture, and why this moment may allow architects to reclaim influence over the future of the built environment.

Connect with our host, Andrew Lane, on LinkedIn

Follow Matthias Hollwich on LinkedIn

References and resources

HWKN Architecture

Get in touch with us at [email protected]

Discover more shows from SURROUND at surroundpodcasts.com

This episode of Barriers to Entry was produced by Rob Schulte.

This season of Barriers to Entry is sponsored by Arktura.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

User-first

In a special NeoCon edition episode of BTE, Bobby and Andrew are joined by tech and design leader Chris Barton, founder of the renowned music app Shazam and Wednesday’s NeoCon keynote speaker. The trio dives into insights, stories, and observations from Chris’s impressive career in tech, which includes founding Shazam “in the 1900s” nearly a decade before the App Store existed, followed by roles at pre-IPO Google and Dropbox.

Alongside a series of fascinating anecdotes and a few teasers (not spoilers!) for Chris’s Wednesday keynote, they also explore thoughts on the future of AI and education, the challenges of designing a user-first experience when no comparable product exists, and how that initial spark of an idea evolves over time.

Connect with our hosts on LinkedIn: 

Bobby Bonett

Andrew Lane

Follow Chris Barton on Linkedin

References and resources:

Shazam

Unsupervised Learning [PODCAST]

NeoCon Keynotes

Get in touch with us with your questions on emerging technology, innovation and more at [email protected] or drop us a voicemail at the BTE Hotline at 1-917-934-2812.

Discover more shows from SURROUND at surroundpodcasts.com. 

This episode of Barriers to Entry was produced by Rob Schulte.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.