Deployed w/ Denis Rhomays and Ivo Schipper

This episode breaks down a real AI deployment that went off track and turns it into a practical warning for anyone selling or implementing AI agents. Denis Rhomays and Ivo Schipper explain why projects fail when expectations are vague, integrations are messy, and too many stakeholders get a vote.They also discussed a bigger question: when does it actually make sense for a small or mid-sized business to adopt AI at all, and when is the process too chaotic to automate?

Chapters:

00:00 - Introduction

01:00 - The AI Implementation Trap

01:40 - Why Most AI Deployments Fail

08:54 - Why Too Many People In a Conversation Can Break The Flow

16:28 - Why Most Small Businesses Shouldn’t Get AI Implemented

21:57 - The Technical Founder Trap

28:25 - Final Takeaway: If you are building, you don’t have to perfect it.

Connect with us: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nedzo-ai/

“If your process is broken, if your systems don’t communicate with each other, if the knowledge inside your organization is not organized, don’t even try.” - Ladislau Batalha

This episode explores how customer experience changes across regions, why culture still matters even in a globalized world, and why AI succeeds only when it is built on solid processes. Ladislau Batalha shares lessons from 25 years across telecom, banking, retail, and fintech, with Denis Rhomays and Ivo Schipper connecting those ideas to conversational AI, automation, and outcome-based support.

Chapters

00:00 - Introduction
01:41 - How Culture Shapes Customer Experience
10:20 - Why Customers Care About Outcomes
14:46 - Measuring Empathy, Effort & Resolution
16:37 - When KPIs Drive the Wrong Behavior
18:59 - AI Amplifies Broken Processes
24:48 - The Challenge of One Journey View
30:15 - AI, Research & the Loss of Human Rationale
31:34 - What Empathy Means in the AI Era
36:44 - Training AI on Broken Knowledge
38:53 - Using AI to Capture Process Knowledge
46:15 - Why Regulated Industries Need AI Discipline
51:43 - What to Fix Before Implementing AI
54:08 - Why Broken Automation Destroys Trust
55:39 - Final Advice: Start With What Works

Connect with Ladislau:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ladislau-batalha-812218/

In this episode, Horst Remes shares why great service can’t depend on heroic employees fixing broken systems, and how AI can either make companies more generic or help them create experiences customers genuinely remember.

His biggest takeaway: don’t start with the most frequent customer interactions. Start with the moments that carry the most emotion — complaints, mistakes, uncertainty, and the need for peace of mind.

Chapters

00:00 — Meet Horst Remes

02:53 — The biggest myth in customer centricity

06:58 — Why broken complaint processes lose trust

09:46 — Why one-size-fits-all frameworks fall short

13:56 — When incentives break the customer experience

17:22 — AI as the great equalizer

20:32 — Why technology alone doesn’t improve service

23:15 — Measuring the business value of customer experience

26:50 — The data problem behind AI adoption

29:37 — Can AI memory feel more human?

39:16 — When personalization becomes creepy

41:54 — Where companies should begin with AI

Connect with Horst:

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

What if AI could take repetitive work off a pharmacy team’s plate, without sacrificing patient care?

In this episode of Deployed, Joe McKamey shares how he’s approaching AI adoption in an independent pharmacy: start small, test carefully, bring the team along, and use automation to create more time for the work people do best.

Key insight: The strongest AI implementations aren’t about replacing people—they’re about reducing friction, improving consistency, and giving teams more capacity to serve customers well.

Chapters

00:00 — Meet Joe McKamey

01:08 — Why healthcare data makes AI more complex

03:36 — Innovation as a driver of patient care

06:15 — Measuring ROI beyond the dollar

09:40 — Improving and measuring patient experience

12:36 — Managing employee concerns around AI

16:21 — A phased approach to implementation

18:59 — The “magic wand” vision for pharmacy automation

22:00 — Setting realistic expectations for AI

24:18 — Data access, legacy systems, and innovation

27:27 — Pharmacist with a business vs. businessperson with a pharmacy

31:56 — Joe’s advice: Don’t fear AI, start small and learn.

Connect with Joe McKamey:

www.linkedin.com/in/joe-mckamey-40250018

Business:
www.marcromspharmacy.com

In this episode, Denis Rhomays and Ivo Schipper, discuss how they hire, build teams, and manage their time as founders scaling an AI company.

The conversation covers what to test for in AI-era hires, how to spot real expertise vs. surface-level AI fluency, balancing product and sales as a founder, and lessons learned the hard way, including a security breach that reshaped how they operate.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to Deployed

00:25 Hiring in an AI-first world

09:27 Traits that predict sales success

12:29 Resource debt and how to avoid it

14:44 Founder Focus: Product, Sales, Team

16:11 Maker vs. manager

21:47 Evolving security practices

25:02 Watching Nedzo adoption grow

Listen to more from Deployed: Podcast Playlist

Learn more about Nedzo: nedzo.ai

The conversation covers the evolution of Nedzo's AI agent, challenges in the physical economy, the importance of customer experience, the outcome-based pricing model, technical improvements of Ned AI, and the decision to seek outside investment.

Takeaways

• Evolution of Nedzo's AI agent
• Challenges in the physical economy

Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction to DePlot
• 06:02 Importance of Customer Experience
• 16:02 Outcome-Based Pricing Model
• 21:10 Technical Improvements of Ned AI
• 26:19 Seeking Outside Investment

This episode covers recent AI model updates, their implications for businesses, and strategic considerations for deploying conversational AI. Hosts Denis Rhomays and Ivo Schipper share insights on model efficiency, cost management, and the importance of implementation over technology choice.

Key Topics

• AI model updates and efficiency improvements
• Cost management in AI deployment
• Strategic considerations for conversational AI
• Impact of AI ecosystem and ecosystem lock-in

Chapters

00:19 Introduction to AI in Business

01:34 Updates on AI Models: Anthropic's Opus 4.8

05:26 Practical Applications of AI in Development

08:50 Exploring AI Design Tools

11:11 The Importance of Workflow in AI Tools

13:32 The Competitive Landscape of AI Models

17:09 Cost Considerations in Conversational AI

21:58 The Role of Implementation in AI Success

26:50 Deployment Strategies for Voice AI Agents

32:26 The Future of AI and Human Collaboration

The first episode of Deployed covers the journey of Nedzo AI, including a significant pivot, product evolution, and the challenges of bootstrapping a software company.

The hosts discuss their partnership, decision-making process, and the impact of long-term vision on their business strategy. Additionally, they touch on the topic of AI model providers and their pricing strategies.

Takeaways

• Pivoting and evolving a business requires strategic decision-making based on data and long-term vision.
• Bootstrapping a software company involves making decisions with a focus on customer support, success, and product experimentation.
• Partnerships in business require complementary skill sets, ethical alignment, and a shared long-term vision.
• AI model providers' pricing strategies can impact developer usage and platform adoption, influencing the overall market dynamics.

Chapters

• 00:00 AI Model Providers and Pricing Strategies