Tech Can't Save Us

In this episode of Tech Can’t Save Us, we’re joined by Dami Hastrup, the Co-Founder and CEO of Moonhub, a virtual reality (VR) training platform that helps teams gain and retain knowledge through interactive VR scenarios.

Before welcoming our guest, we take a moment to celebrate London Tech Week, exploring the dynamic landscape of the UK's VR and AR market, plus what lies ahead in this rapidly growing and ever-evolving space. We also delve into the UK’s strategy to lead the future of web technology and the tightening regulation around AI. 

We’re then joined by Dami, who tells us how he founded Moonhub after discovering that the training experiences he had during his internships and actual work were inconsistent. Dami highlights, “But there was one thing that was consistent, and that is people didn't remember anything… You'd spend so much time training but people just didn't remember anything.” 

This realization sparked the birth of Moonhub, a platform designed to deliver training in an immersive and captivating manner, while also offering valuable data and insights regarding individual performance within these environments.

We jump into the distinctive features that set Moonhub apart from other solutions in the market, and Dami lets us know that a lot of what the company does is based on a patented scoring system, which provides very valuable data. Our conversation shifts toward the significant contributions made by Moonhub's co-founders, leveraging their diverse skill sets to propel the company's overall success.

Then, we talk about how Moonnhub is addressing any potential ethical concerns surrounding the use of AI, as well as how the company remains attuned to the evolving needs of different industries, consistently updating its training modules to meet industry standards. 

As we wrap up our chat, Dami shares his journey in the tech space, what Moonhub hopes to achieve in the future, and how important it is for startup founders to be able to adapt and learn at breakneck speed in order to survive. 

To  learn more about Dami and the work the Moonhub team is doing, visit the following links:

Tech Can't Save Us returns for its highly anticipated third season! Joining our resident wizards Paul and Will is our new co-host, Rebecca Headman. With her extensive experience as a podcast producer and expertise in social media and PR, Rebecca has successfully elevated numerous brands and businesses in her career. Together, the trio kick off the third season of the podcast by examining the London tech scene three years after Brexit.

Our conversation begins with a look at the gradual decline of London as an appealing hub for tech startups and the consequential rise of France as a potential candidate to replace its position. Currently, France's tech startups have secured over €10 billion in funding, while London's tech startups have raised over £50 billion, placing London in the lead. However, there are various social, economic, and political factors that may jeopardize London's standing. Will initiates the discussion by highlighting a concerning trend: "We've witnessed a 20% drop in VC funding for London's tech sector amidst economic downturns, such as the Contra ENEOS situation. In contrast, France has experienced an 8% increase." 

As the conversation progresses, our trio explores the growing options for alternative tech hubs within the UK, including Manchester, Edinburgh, and Leeds. Paul introduces the concept of a generational shift, which has prompted tech workers based in London to migrate to other parts of the country. "London is exerting tremendous pressure on individuals, pushing them to explore these emerging hubs. They are taking their talent and knowledge with them, and companies are either following suit or wisely predicting this trend and hiring accordingly," Paul explains.

Finally, we discuss some valuable guidance and insights to assist tech startups in thriving within this unstable economic climate. Will and Paul share their best insights on this matter, offering a much-needed push in the right direction. As the tech industry continues to evolve, adaptability and innovation become paramount, and strategies for long-term success become more important than ever.

Ai-jen also holds the titles of next-generation labor leader, author, and leading voice in the women's movement. Plus, she’s an award-winning organizer who has spent over two decades organizing with women who work in the care economy doing childcare, aging and disability care, and cleaning.

We start our conversation by looking at a piece on domestic worker health and safety protection, which revealed that in one study, 51% of all survey respondents had been pressured by their employer to work in hazardous conditions. Furthermore, approximately 85% of respondents reported workplace injuries that caused chronic back, shoulder, arm, and leg pain.

Highlighting how technology can improve health and safety for domestic workers and all workers facing these sorts of conditions, Ai-Jen says, “When we think about how technology in this period has been utilized, it's really been about designing for convenience and efficiency for a consumer. It hasn't been designed to enhance the quality of work and life for workers. And so, if it were deployed in that direction, miracles could happen.”

Ai-jen also shares how she wishes that the tech space would put a bit more focus on addressing the safety issues care workers face in the workplace. “There's so much talent that's being deployed towards a little bit better food delivery app experience. And I just think we need to deploy that talent, that creativity, that design logic, that sense and spirit of innovation to how we make life better for everyday people,” she explains.

We then explore the general underappreciation of caregivers and domestic workers a bit more, before diving into what governments, countries, and organizations can do to combat this, as well as why there is almost societal neglect of such important roles. Stressing the importance of care roles, Ai-jen talks about why Harvard economist Larry Katz refers to care jobs as ‘triple dignity jobs.’ “[It’s] because they’ve enabled dignity for the workers, the people who rely on this care, and family members who are just stressed out and pressed dealing with this issue,” Ai-jen tells us.

As our conversation progresses, we discuss what can be done to prevent worker mistreatment, and Ai-jen tells us about her work with the NDWA. When asked about her personal journey that led to her positions at NDWA and Caring Across Generations, Ai-jen admits she has no idea how she got there, but she expresses her excitement to be a part of all the meaningful work.

The conversation concludes with a discussion of Ai-jen's biggest industry frustrations and an enlightening lighting round in which we get to know her on a more fun, cheeky level.

To find out more about the National Domestic Workers Alliance, and Caring Across Generations visit the websites:

This week, Nina Mohanty, CEO and co-founder of Bloom Money, joins Paul in the studio. Paul and Will first saw Nina on a panel at the SIFTED Summit in 2022 and have been fangirling ever since, so we had to get her on the show.

Nina is the American-born daughter of an Indian father and Taiwanese mother who grew up in Silicon Valley and is now a fintech founder. Paul and Nina bond over their experiences working for Obama (as senator and president, respectively) before jumping into the first article about the $800 billion sent as remittances in 2022. 

“There are so many more ways to send money abroad today,” Nina explains, adding that the proliferation of remittance companies is making sending money home more accessible. She points out that rising remittances also reflect the growing numbers of migrant workers, refugees, and asylum seekers that will only continue to grow in the coming years. 

The second article is about Bloom’s participation in Tech Nation’s Libra program that supported underrepresented founders in the UK tech sector. Nina laments the demise of Tech Nation; both she and Paul came to the UK on a Tech Nation visa. “It was separate where it needed to be separate and inclusive where it needed to be as well,” says Nina, referring to the balance between safe spaces for underrepresented founders and inclusion in wider Tech Nation events that Libra offered.

Although Nina has mixed feelings about such initiatives, “I will always root for these programs because there’s such a lack of diversity still, and we see really abysmal numbers for VC funding in both the US and UK.” 

The third article is about how mobile money services are powering financial inclusion for women. “One thing that has jumped out at me is the state of being time-poor,” Nina says. “For some people, time is literally money.” She explains how Bloom helps people save time so they can do something more productive — or more enjoyable. 

The conversation segues into Bloom Money and the concept it was founded on — “a savings club that is popular in the global South” — before the usual lightning round. Tune in to hear what Nina thinks is the evillest application of tech and her predictions for the future. 

To learn more about Nina and Bloom Money:

Tong, who is a computer scientist by training, was once an investment banker, and she also founded a machine learning company, which she grew to 40 people before exiting.

First, we look at a Bloomberg article that shows that roughly 56% of North American-based investors expect to allocate capital to fund managers who invest significantly or exclusively in women-founded businesses. Tong agrees that the number of initiatives to invest in women has increased, but the reality is not so encouraging. “To quote [the] most recent State of European tech report from Atomico, unfortunately, only 1% of funding [went] to women founders in Europe last year, which was reduced from 2% a year before. So that's not as positive,” she clarifies.

Tong believes that changing the status quo requires considering three elements: empowering women to enter entrepreneurship, technology, and VC from the time they are in school; investing more in managers from diverse backgrounds and female mentors; and bringing in more female angel investors and limited partners (LPs).

The discussion then shifts towards getting more women into venture capital, as well as some of the challenges Tong has faced throughout her career, often as the only woman in the room. "So far, one of the [biggest] challenges is the [limited] focus on providing funding to diverse fund managers, who can then invest in more diverse founders," she observes. She also adds that childcare is another challenge, particularly when women want to occupy demanding top positions.

We finally turn to what inspired Tong to found Pact, the various layers of meaning behind the cool company name, and the company's ultimate goal. As we wrap up, Tong shares her personal journey in the tech and VC spaces, and as always, leads us into the lightning round. Tong explains that human bias is one problem she believes tech can’t solve, and she offers some insightful advice on balancing profit and purpose.

To learn more about Pact, visit the website: http://pactvc.com/.
You can also reach out to Tong to get more insights about getting into VC on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonggu/

We start off by diving into a piece on a report from LADBible that states only 35% of Brits support cannabis legalization. Stephen believes that the public is still neglecting cannabis because they are unfamiliar with the plant and it is seen as a negative influence on society. Through Prohibition Partners, he clarifies, “we have a chance to really catch up on this wonderful plant and really get to understand the benefits cannabis can do for us in society as a medicine, food, ingredient, and material.”

The podcast continues with Stephen discussing the relationship between cannabis and technology. Specifically, he mentions the high demand for the tech around the plant in the B2B marketplace. “There’s already [an] explosive demand for cannabis, and companies and markets are trying to respond as quickly as possible and trying to be successful in tech platforms to facilitate that demand.” He adds that these tech services and platforms are essential, especially for his industry, because they help provide security, transparency, and trust for the people. 

We dive deeper into Stephen’s interest in spreading awareness and reliable information on the importance of cannabis. He believes he will have a much “wider impact for generations” by presenting the case for the legalization of cannabis. 

As the episode continues to explore Stephen's experience of technology, leadership, and corporate life, we also discover his goals and hope for cannabis in the future. 

To find out more about Stephen and his work, check out:

The conversation kicks off with an article by USA Today that highlights how Gen Z makes up a large proportion of the LGBTQ+ community. Billie explains that this generational shift towards many more people identifying as LGBTQ+ is great for tearing down societal structures and spurring innovation in the finance space; it’s essentially giving Daylight an ever-expanding audience to serve.

“What it really indicates is more and more people in the younger generations are thinking about societal structures and expectations of things like heterosexuality and monogamy, and [they are] discarding them and saying, ‘I don't want to do that,’” she tells us. She adds, “and it's exciting for us, because that means we get to build things with that in mind, like, what does the joint bank account look like when there are three of you in a throuple?”

Our discussion moves to where the inspiration for Daylight stemmed from. “So, my lightbulb moment for Daylight was talking to my co-founder, and essentially getting user-interviewed about my experiences as a trans woman in the US accessing financial services.” 

It wasn’t an easy journey for Billie. “I had to not only spend a whole bunch of time and money getting my name updated, legally, but then I had to take that document that essentially says, ‘Hi, I'm a trans person, this is my old name, this is my new name, please don't discriminate against me and give me a card’ to every single financial institution that I banked with.” As a result, Daylight’s mission shaped into helping the LGBTQ+ community navigate these complexities so they can live their best lives.  

Billie then tells us about Daylight’s success stories (including how they got to advocate for the trans community’s data protection and privacy at the White House), some interesting innovations the platform has, as well as Billie’s personal journey with tech and the biggest frustration she encountered in the industry. We finish with the lightning round, where we discover her game-changing piece of tech and what she considers to be the evilest application of tech.

To learn more about Daylight, visit the website: https://www.joindaylight.com/

Free From Market is on a mission to assist consumers with affordable, inclusive access to healthy food, as well as critical data and resources to further drive positive health outcomes.

We kick off the conversation by delving into a piece that says many UK households are now skipping meals due to the rising cost of living. Emily acknowledges that food insecurity has always been a challenge, but that “it is at a critical point right now with inflation, particularly with food prices continuing to escalate.” Emily adds, “It’s particularly concerning when access to the right food is critical to wellbeing.” 

Responding to the next topic we look at — people opting for junk food because they are struggling to purchase healthier options due to the price difference — Emily emphasizes the importance of policy change in achieving sustainable outcomes. Speaking on this, Emily says, “In the United States, the conditions where certain communities lack access to healthy food were intentional. We have a history of a policy called redlining, which is where banks denied loans to businesses in areas that were traditionally low income or where there was a population of black and brown people.”

Our conversation shifts to the inspiration behind Free From Market and the work the organization is doing. “The work [I do] at Free From Market is deeply personal.” Emily is motivated to bring about systems change and make healthy food accessible at scale as a result of her lived experience with limited access to the right food. Free From Market is creating a new market for consumers who have always wanted access to natural and healthy foods, but have been unable to do so due to a lack of purchasing power, infrastructure, as well as awareness and education.

As the episode continues, we explore what Emily has learned in the policy landscape, the one policy she would change given the opportunity, and the importance of funding founders who have firsthand experience with the problems they are attempting to solve. We conclude with a lightning round in which Emily answers some fun, thought-provoking questions, including the tech product that has been a game changer in her life and her predictions for the tech space.

To find out more about Emily and her work at Free From Market, check out: 

We start off by diving into a piece from The Guardian about AI replicating inequity at scale. 

Jessica states that Playbook is directly impacted by AI and it is a rising concern, especially for artists like herself. She says, “You can see [AI-generated art] as somewhat threatening to some of our jobs and livelihood.” Jessica adds, "Technology is definitely very scary, but in a way, it is somewhat inevitable.” So how does Playbook overcome this obstacle? 

In response, we dive into a discussion on Playbook’s uniqueness in terms of storage compared to other applications such as Google and Dropbox. Jessica emphasizes that rather than platforms trying to make consumers purchase more cloud storage, “they should be really selling the product itself,” which is exactly what Playbook does. She points out that Playbook is not “a cloud storage business, [but] in a very much new category. [People] will come to realize that we are something very different from Dropbox.”

As the previous Head of Design at Google, we get to learn in-depth about Jessica’s journey from working at large corporate companies to starting her own start-up. “I’m so grateful every day that I have a team of great people working with me all the time.” 

As the episode continues to explore Jessica's experience of founding her own start-up, technology, goals, and the future in the tech industry, we also discover her predictions for the Playbook this year. 

• To find out more about Jessica and her work, check out:

Sue’s journey began with an obsession with technology, humanity, and sociology, ultimately taking her to her formation of WeAre8.

We first dive into a piece from the BBC about AI swamping social media with fake accounts and mimicking human behavior on social media. Here, Sue underlines that WeAre8 ensures that everyone is validated and verified, so no one can be anonymous. “We are a powerful force taking tiny actions every day, and we have to use AI in the way we want. What worries me at the moment is that social media is taking us to our lowest common denominator as humans every day.” 

The next part of the podcast dives into how government controls social media, taking away freedom for users. This, coupled with the prevalent of misinformation, has sown some powerful seeds of distrust and apprehension in the hearts of people. "It all comes back to fake news," Sue observes. "In a world where everything is fake, there has to be a home and a place that we know has got us.” The prevalence of fake news in the world of social has generated a skepticism of information overall—a fact that troubles Sue as much as spurs her into action.

Sue goes on to elaborate on her experience of working in four businesses and what she hopes users will gain from her platform. “I feel deeply that everything has led to this," smiles the entrepreneur, highlighting that through her platform, users will be gaining experiences that are tailored to their preferences and viewed on-demand.

To find out more about Sue and her work, check out: