Poland Technology

This week we turn our attention to one company’s development of the virtual door entry and exit system. I chat with Paul Sheedy, founder of Unifi.id. Paul outlines the benefits of the contactless door in terms of security, safety, and its vast potential. Not only in an effort to avoid disasters such as Grenfell in London but it’s practical uses to monitor student’s attendance and potentially curb the spread of Covid-19. Paul shares his entrepreneurial journey with us, how he overcame the challenges of the Chinese market, and internationalising a product. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did :-).

In this week’s podcast, Culture means people, what they value, and what they bring to the organisation. It is constantly changing and not just a statement on a wall. This is what Nicolas Blier-Silvestri, founder of Platypus truly believes.

Having made a successful career in HR & recruitment all over the world, he knows and understands the importance of an organisations culture. Some companies believe a mission statement determines an organisations culture. Nico highlights this as a flawed practice. A mission statement is a moral compass or goals, It does not evolve. Culture, in contrast, is derived from the values of its people and is naturally continuously changing. Nico realised the value of being able to empower HR, to give them the tools to act upon ever-changing values amongst employees. Supplying data and making changes based on this data is crucial. 89% of people who leave their job within the first 18 months, do so because of a misaligned cultural fit.

Listen in and let me know your thoughts on what Culture means to you?

This week I pick up my conversation once again with Malgorzata Kusyk, founder of AgilePMO & Akademia Zwinnej Liderki. As an expert leader in her field of coaching, we discuss trust as a fundamental element between leaders and remote teams. Trust was never more prevalent, with more and more employees working from home. Trust can present major challenges for employees however Malgorzata has many suggestions to build, retain and even restore trust in teams.

This week we hear from Lindsay West, cofounder of Mixed Reality company VISR. Based in Hull, North of England, Lindsay saw at first hand the enormous talent shortfall in the region. Attracting and retaining a skilled and innovative workforce was a major obstacle in this area. 40% of tech talent would stay local if they had the opportunities - Lindsay has worked tirelessly to overcome this challenge. His vision to create and offer highly skilled and sought after job opportunities to local people is gradually becoming a reality by encouraging local people into coding and similar fields, Hull could attract foreign and local Tech investment, ultimately ending the brain drain and capitalising on a massive opportunity for the region.

In my latest podcast, I interview Dragan Milanovich. As VP of Engineering at Nutanix, a cloud services company based in Silicon Valley, he set up remote teams, working in tandem to optimise their polar locations. Dragan shares his experience of how such teams, facilitate a longer working day, with increased productivity and efficiency. Problems can be resolved overnight and team diversity adds a greater balance in skillset. Dragon discusses exactly what’s involved when setting up a successful Follow the Sun model.

This week we learn how the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in a surge in demand for the Care to Translate, innovative medical translation app. I discuss the viral growth in this healthcare translator app with co-founder and COO, of Care to Translate, Maja Magnusson. As a female entrepreneur, she throws light on the benefits of starting a business in Sweden. We look at the challenging obstacles and the inspiring vision which is fast becoming a reality. Technology assisting medical efficiency by removing the human interpreter.

As a passionate believer in commercial partnerships, I turn my attention this week to Findr CEO, Greg Watts. Findr is a new and exciting AI matching platform for fintechs. Greg shares the strategies he employs when developing a successful business partnership. Benefits can be limitless and with fewer challenges, successful partnerships are not only desirable but key to business success.

This week we turn our attention to the fascinating Hyperloop as potentially the future of transport? The Hyperloop is the brainchild of Elon Musk, founder of Tesla. I interview Paul Neuhausen,  who is directly involved with this futuristic project. The Hyperloop will travel at speeds approaching that of the Mach 1. In the midst of a rapidly changing social dynamic are we ready for the Hyperloop as a mode of transport?

In this week’s Podcast I have a fascinating conversion with Elzbieta Mrozek, an innovation specialist and international business advisor. As a Stanford graduate she discusses her studies of international attitudes towards failure and the crucial role of collaboration in successful innovation. How do some countries boast a “never give up attitude’? The answer is in it’s history.

In this week's Podcast I have an enlightening conversation with Malgorzata Kusyk, the founder of AgilePMO & Akademia Zwinnej Liderki. As an expert leader in her field of coaching female executives, we discuss the challenges faced by women in leadership & technology in Poland.

Similar to other countries, Poland faces difficult challenges in attracting a greater proportion of women into the technology sector. Currently in Poland, only 1 in 5 women pursue a career in science. 58% of all third level students are female but only 14.6% study IT. Malgorzata explains the reasons for this and how she along with successful organisations such as Geek Girls Carrots and Women in Technology are encouraging more women to move into leadership and tech roles. 

Malgorzata shares some of her own personal beliefs. Success follows happiness, being central to her core values.