In our modern digital world, it is easier to get to know and stay in touch with more people than ever. However, building true, genuine connections and combating loneliness still remains tricky, and a major issue in society.

To discuss this, I am joined by Sierra West, founder of Cennec, an app that allows you to connect on-the-go, wherever you are, based on who you are and what you like, without a romantic focus.

In this episode we cover:

Links 🔗

Our Guest🙋:

Find out more about Sierra West here (LinkedIn) -

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sierrawest

Find out more about Cennec here (website) -

https://www.cennec.com/

Brains Byte Back 🧠👨‍💻🎙️:

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When the subject of blockchain technology comes up, it can be easy to get swept away with headlines focusing on cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. However, this technology holds far more value than underpinning cryptocurrencies, and in this episode, we will explore how blockchain technology is being used to create a fairer, more sustainable world.

To discuss this, we spoke with Chris Georgen, Founder & Managing Director of Topl, an impact-focused, ESG-first company that helps corporations track, tokenize, and transact positive impact.

In this episode, we cover:

Links 🔗

Our Guest🙋:

Find out more about Chris Georgen here (LinkedIn) -

https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisgeorgen

Find Topl's Twitter here - 

https://twitter.com/topl_protocol

Find out more about Topl here (website) -

https://www.topl.co/

Brains Byte Back 🧠👨‍💻🎙️:

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Our Sponsor 💻☎️:

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There is no doubt that you've probably seen adverts from coaches and influencers across the internet and on social media, that try to persuade you to buy their courses, sign up for their newsletter, or follow them by flaunting their successful lifestyle. However, the effectiveness of this tactic is questionable.

In today's episode, we are going to understand what it truly takes to increase conversions and sales using video marketing, alongside why it is so important to use an emotional connection in your videos.

To do this we sit down with Orlando J. Gomez, the founder of the video production company Stellar Lense Productions, a video strategy expert that specializes in visual storytelling for businesses, and has worked with companies such as Uber, Baskin-Robbins, Dove, and Samsung, as well as hundreds of small businesses across America.

In this episode, we cover:

Links 🔗

Our Guest🙋:

Find out more about Orlando J. Gomez here (LinkedIn) -

https://www.linkedin.com/in/orlandojgomez

Find out more about  Stellar Lense Productions, and their unique offer for Brains Byte Back listeners, here (website) - https://www.stellarlenseproductions.com/brains

Brains Byte Back 🧠👨‍💻🎙️:

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Our Sponsor 💻☎️:

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In our modern world of fake news and misinformation, it can be hard to know whether the news story you are reading is real or propaganda designed to influence your opinion. However, thanks to AI we are now close to identifying how trustworthy the news in front of us really is.

To discuss this, we are joined by Garry Paxinos, CTO at NetTALK, an easy-to-setup and use, lowest cost voice over IP (VoIP) home phone service.

In addition to the work NetTALK is doing, Garry also discusses an app he has helped build called NOOZ.AI, an AI-driven news aggregator that analyzes the news using natural language processing and machine learning to empower readers to uncover bias.

In this episode, we cover:

Links 🔗

Our Guest🙋:

Find our more about Garry Paxinos here (LinkedIn) -

https://www.linkedin.com/in/garrypaxinos/

Find out more about NetTALK here (website) - https://nettalkconnect.com/

Find out more about NOOZ.AI here (website) - https://nooz.ai/

Brains Byte Back 🧠👨‍💻🎙️:

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Our Sponsor 💻☎️:

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According to Ruchi Thanawala M.D., M.S., Co-founder of Firefly Lab, an educational data management system (platform) for tracking medical, clinical, and procedural performance, 234,000,000 are performed every year, and the skill of a surgeon accounts for 25% of the overall outcome of the surgery.

With this in mind, we spoke with Ruchi to understand more about the work Firefly Lab is doing to bring quantitative data science into medical and surgical education.

In this episode, we cover:

Links 🔗

Our Guest🙋:

Find out more about Ruchi Thanawala here (LinkedIn) - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruchi-thanawala-2ab677219/

Find out more about Firefly Lab here (website) - https://www.fireflylab.org/

Brains Byte Back 🧠👨‍💻🎙️:

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Follow us on your favorite podcast platform here - https://bit.ly/3kTfNkY

Our Sponsor 💻☎️:

Find out more about our sponsor Publicize here - https://bit.ly/3X6p7SB

Episode Description below⬇️

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Find out more about our sponsor Publicize here - https://bit.ly/3X6p7SB

While remote work comes with many benefits, it can be hard for employers to create an environment that fosters a sense of belonging that encourages employees to stick around.

In today’s episode of the Brains Byte Back podcast Eugene Garla, VP of Talent at Index, a company building a global talent platform of vetted full-time remote engineers, joins us to discuss how enterprises can stop treating tech talent like handymen, and make them loyal in the long term.

In the episode Garla shares why employers need to shift their perspective when it comes to remote work, advocating that no longer is this working style strictly for digital nomads traveling the world.

Instead, he argues that those who work remotely should be seen as equal to other types of employees and that the only difference, for many, is the fact that they do not go to an office.

Garla also encourages those looking to hire remote workers to be transparent with their job advertisements.

He highlights that promising tech talent can be discouraged when jobs advertise themselves as remote but instead offer hybrid work with the expectation that they regularly come into the office.

Additionally, Garla explains why it is important to take into consideration the passions and interests of the tech talent you are interviewing to understand what drives them, instead of primarily looking at their skills.

As Garla puts it not all developers are passionate about crypto and making another coin.

And finally, Garla, who speaks four languages, shares advice and tips on how to learn a new language.

Episode Description below⬇️

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How do founders come up with startup names? And what makes a great startup name?

Well, if you are feeling lazy, you could use a startup name generator. However, if you want something that will really make an impact, then you will want to hear this. 

Because in this episode of the Brains Byte Back podcast, Jason Keck, CEO & Co-Founder of Broker Buddha, a startup using online smart forms to speed up insurance applications and renewals, joins us to share what he believes to be the three ingredients needed to create a fantastic startup name. 

Additionally, Keck, who previously held the role of Shazam’s Head of Business Development, shares his backstory, and how he made the switch from working at Tumblr to co-founding Broker Buddha.

He goes into detail about why he was inspired to help create Broker Buddha after members of the co-founding team experienced the slow and inefficient processes of submitting insurance information for a previous startup. Where information was passed back and forth via PDF files and other archaic data capture tools. 

Keck and the team saw how the insurance industry desperately needed new, online tools for collecting information from their clients, and decided they would find a solution. Thus, Broker Buddha was born.

Keck also talks about The Enlightened Agent, a podcast he hosts on behalf of Broker Buddha, where they are currently exploring diversity and inclusion in the insurance industry. 

And to close the show host Sam Brake Guia and Keck discuss their shared love for his home city of New Orleans. 

Episode Description below⬇️

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With a population of over 331 million, the US is a great market to create a startup, giving founders the opportunity to build a booming company without ever having to leave the country.

However, for founders in smaller countries, particularly in the Latam region, where all but two countries have a population of 50 million or lower, building a wildly successful startup and staying put, isn’t always an option.

In today’s episode of the Brains Byte Back podcast, we speak with Sacha Spitz, General Partner & Co-Founder of Newtopia VC, a hands-on venture capital firm focusing on startups in the Latam region, to find out what it takes to build a thriving startup in this corner of the globe.

During the interview, Spitz describes how he believes the Latam startup ecosystem is still in its early stages. He also shares how this belief inspired him and his fellow co-founders to create Newtopia VC, to support the new generation of Latam founders that aim to build a better reality for the region and the world.

Spitz also talks about the influence of unicorns from different countries, such as Mercardo Libre in Argentina or Rappi in Colombia, and their impact on the new generation of entrepreneurs in the region today.

Additionally, Spitz shares why Mexico and Brazil’s founders have a head start, as he advocates that these entrepreneurs have the possibility to build an incredibly successful startup, without ever branching into another country, due to the size of their markets.

However, he goes on to explain that, for Latam entrepreneurs from outside these two countries, it is essential to break into at least one of these markets, in order to build a big “VCable” company.

And finally, before wrapping up the show, Spitz shares advice for young startups looking to get the attention of VCs.

Episode Description below⬇️

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One week before the pandemic hit, unaware of what was about to take place worldwide, Taylor Hersom quit his job as a Chief Information Security Officer for a local firm in Austin, Texas in the hopes of finding a similar position elsewhere.

Between working at Deloitte where he advised Fortune 500 companies on compliance and security tactics, and his more recent position at the local firm, Hersom didn’t anticipate finding a new job to be a difficult feat.

However, as the pandemic set in, his interview offers dried up, and he turned to UpWork in pursuit of a job. In the beginning, he applied for as many posts as he could find in order to build up his review score.

He began taking on clients and quickly realized that startups needed a lot of help with security and compliance, and he knew this could become a genuine business for him. But what he didn’t realize was just how in demand his services would be.

As time went on, Hersom moved away from UpWork and took on staff to build a team in order to meet demand. Shortly after this, on January 1, 2021, his new company Eden Data was born.

In today’s episode of the Brains Byte Back podcast, Hersom, CEO and Founder of Eden Data, shares how the team has grown in such a short period of time by taking a positive approach to security instead of the traditional fear-based approach.

In other words, instead of securing customers using fears tactics such as telling prospects if they get hacked they will be fined, receive bad PR, or be hated, Hersom advocates that strong security can show prospects that you care about them and their data, which can successfully close more deals.

Hersom also shares how their subscription approach to security and compliance has helped them stand out in this market, allowing them to scale alongside the startups they work with.

Episode Description below⬇️

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If you’ve ever wondered what it takes to build a world-class software engineering team, then this is the episode for you.

In today’s episode of the Brains Byte Back podcast, we speak with Sashank Purighalla, Founder and CEO of BOS Framework, a complete solution to build, migrate, and manage cloud applications and environments.

Purighalla talks about his backstory, explaining how he came to the US in 1999 to study for a masters in robotics, but ended up staying, and has since lived in Alabama, Philadelphia, and now resides in Nashville.

He also opens up about why he decided to pick Nashville as a base to launch BOS Framework over other cities he considered, such as Denver, Raleigh, and Austin.

Additionally, Purighalla shares how BOS Framework was able to reduce one client's spending from over $1 million to $200K, thanks to the cloud solutions company powering its infrastructure.

Moreover, Purighalla breaks down his perspective on the psychology that motivates engineers, and shares examples of how to motivate them to be as happy and productive as possible in their work and output.

One example of this is the idea that they need to work on something they feel is larger than themselves.

Purighalla likens a team of engineers, when united by an overarching goal, to that of an army battalion with a strong sense of camaraderie and drive to achieve something bigger. He argues this is a vital factor in order to build a strong engineering team.

And finally, Purighalla shares why engineers love problem-solving and how encouraging this is important in order to motivate and develop a strong team of engineers.