Cybersecurity risk is a business risk. If there is a data leak, customers and investors aren't going to be happy.

But, as more and more of our services are online, cybersecurity problems are now just part of business life.

In this episode, you will hear a pragmatic approach for how to think about cybersecurity, and what you can do to increase it at your organisation today. 

You will learn from Dr. Josiah Dykstra, who spent 19 years at the National Security Agency (NSA). Today, Dr Dykstra is the Director of Strategic Initiatives at Trail of Bits.

Listen to this episode to learn:

• What cybersecurity is
• How to think about cybersecurity risk
• Why you don't need to change your password as often as you think
• Easy ways to prevent a data leak

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Happy clients include Blackstone x Techstars Launchpad, Oxford University and Constellation Brands.

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We love hearing from our readers and listeners. So if you have questions about the content or working with us, just get in touch on [email protected]

Say hi to Sophia on Twitter and follow her on LinkedIn.

Following us on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok will make you smarter. 

While most of us agree that innovation is a “good thing,” we don’t actually agree on what it is, or how to do it. 

Listen to this episode to understand what innovation really is, and why you're already an effective innovator.

In this episode, you will learn:

• The two things every company must focus on
• What innovation is
• Six pathways to innovation 
• How to apply innovation strategies to business and to your personal life

This episode is the first chapter in the report by Tech for Non-Techies and University of Chicago researchers called

Innovate but how? The pragmatist’s guide to growth

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Happy clients include Blackstone x Techstars Launchpad, Oxford University and Constellation Brands.

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We love hearing from our readers and listeners. So if you have questions about the content or working with us, just get in touch on [email protected]

Say hi to Sophia on Twitter and follow her on LinkedIn.

Following us on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok will make you smarter. 

Did you know that 90% of the internet depends on free licenses from open source software?

But what happens when those licenses stop being free?

Listen to this episode to find out.

You will learn from Paula Paul, Founder and Distinguished Engineer at Greyshore, who also serves also serves on the board of the OpenJS Foundation

Key takeaways:

• Open source refers to software distribution with a specific kind of license that allows others to view and use the code.
• 90% of commercial software products are built on open source software.
• Open source projects are motivated by building community and creating differentiation.
• Understanding open source and its dependencies is crucial for business leaders and investors.

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Happy clients include Blackstone x Techstars Launchpad, Oxford University and Constellation Brands.

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We love hearing from our readers and listeners. So if you have questions about the content or working with us, just get in touch on [email protected]

Say hi to Sophia on Twitter and follow her on LinkedIn.

Following us on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok will make you smarter. 

Today, start-ups are seen as the hotbed of innovation and corporates are dismissed as laggards.

But, when large companies innovate successfully, they have a huge impact.

They have the resources and the built-in customer base to scale quickly.

In this episode you will learn how corporate innovation differs from what happens in start-ups, and how to get corporate innovation right.

You'll hear from Louis Gump, former head of CNN Mobile and former VP of mobile at The Weather Channel. Louis is the author of author of the book The Inside Innovator: A Practical Guide to Intrapreneurship.

Listen to this episode to learn:

• The character traits you need to have to be a successful intrapreneur vs a founder
• How to approach innovation when times are tough (when revenues are shrinking, should you invest in risky projects?)
• Why companies like Google create so many successful founders

FREE GUIDE: Innovate but how? the pragmatist's guide to growth (in business & in life)

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Happy clients include Blackstone x Techstars Launchpad, Oxford University and Constellation Brands.

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We love hearing from our readers and listeners. So if you have questions about the content or working with us, just get in touch on [email protected]

Say hi to Sophia on Twitter and follow her on LinkedIn.

Following us on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok will make you smarter. 

The Post Office scandal led to 900 wrongful convictions and four suicides.

It is now known as the worst miscarriage of justice in British history.

It happened because Post Office leadership did not know how to deal with glitchy software.

In this episode, you’ll learn how not to repeat their mistakes.

Listen to learn:

• What happened during the UK Post Office scandal
• The biggest wrong assumption Post Office management made
• The role of the board and company advisors: what should they have done?
• What to expect when buying software services: either as a government or a founder

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Happy clients include Blackstone x Techstars Launchpad, Oxford University and Constellation Brands.

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We love hearing from our readers and listeners. So if you have questions about the content or working with us, just get in touch on [email protected]

Say hi to Sophia on Twitter and follow her on LinkedIn.

Following us on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok will make you smarter. 

If you want to work with tech clients and venture capitalists, you need to know how they think.

This is how you become a great strategic advisor. 

If that’s what you want to be, this podcast episode is for you.

Listen to learn:

• The core difference between the lawyer and the tech innovator mindset
• How tech companies measure success and why this is different to traditional business
• Why we are still at the start of the tech opportunity, even in 2024!

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Happy clients include Blackstone x Techstars Launchpad, Oxford University and Constellation Brands.

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We love hearing from our readers and listeners. So if you have questions about the content or working with us, just get in touch on [email protected]

Say hi to Sophia on Twitter and follow her on LinkedIn.

Following us on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok will make you smarter. 

There are plenty of articles about digital transformation.

But big change can only be successful if the individuals in the organisation are also enthusiastic and knowledgeable about it.

Structural change without individual change does not work.

In this episode, you will learn how asset management CEO Musi Skosana approached digital transformation at his fund and what he did to hone his own digital mindset.

In this episode, you will learn:

• Why the fund management industry needs digitisation
• The biggest difference between the fund management mindset and the digital one
• Why Musi Skosana became a Tech for Non-Techies client

We love hearing from our readers and listeners. So if you have questions about the content or working with us, just get in touch on [email protected]

Say hi to Sophia on Twitter and follow her on LinkedIn.

Following us on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok will make you smarter. 

Large Language Models and Generative AI are going to have the biggest impact on word heavy industries.

This means that the legal industry is on the brink of major changes. This will affect how lawyers work, what clients expect and the future profits of the industry.

In this episode, you will learn from Damien Riehl: lawyer, musician, and software developer, who counts Elon Musk as a fan.

His TED talk was viewed by 2 million people, he has litigated for JP Morgan and he has also copyrighted every melody in the world.

Listen to this episode to learn:

• How using generative AI can help lawyers increase profit margins while charging clients less
• How what's happening in the legal industry will repeat on other professional services
• Why ChatGPT and other generative AI tools make things up
• Practical tips for how to get started with generative AI

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We love hearing from our readers and listeners. So if you have questions about the content or working with us, just get in touch on [email protected]

Say hi to Sophia on Twitter and follow her on LinkedIn.

Following us on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok will make you smarter. 

Hype about generative AI is everywhere, but much simpler AI models have already changed entire industries. 

By learning about how AI has already changed business, we can make predictions about what's next.

In this episode you will learn key lessons from Competing in the Age of AI: Strategy and Leadership When Algorithms and Networks Run the World.

You will learn:

• The two sides of any successful enterprise
• The difference between weak AI vs strong AI
• What an AI factory is 
• How AI has already changed companies from the inside, with examples from Ant Financial (fintech) and Ocado (supermarket)

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Tech for Non-Techies podcast episode 9. The Business of AI with Harvard Business School Prof Marco Iansiti
• Tech for Non-Techies podcast episode 170. Advisory Boards: why join them & why have them

Get Tech Clients! Introduction to Tech for Lawyers

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We love hearing from our readers and listeners. So if you have questions about the content or working with us, just get in touch on [email protected]

Say hi to Sophia on Twitter and follow her on LinkedIn.

Following us on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok will make you smarter. 

10 years ago Silicon Valley venture capitalist Aileen Lee coined the term "unicorn" to describe a young company valued at over $1 billion. 

Back in 2013, there were just 39 unicorns in the US, and Lee's team researched what they did and who ran them. This list informed much of how we thought of successful tech start-ups.

The updated unicorn list has just come out and the differences are startling.

There are now 523 companies on the unicorn list (a 14x increase!).

Listen to this episode to learn:

• What most unicorn companies do today and who runs them
• Why there are more non-technical founders running unicorns than ever before
• What this change means for the tech ecosystem
• How to make the most of it for founders, investors and the professionals services firms who work with them

Resources mentioned in this episode:

1. Cowboy Ventures: Welcome Back to the Unicorn Club, 10 Years Later
2. Tech for Non-Techies podcast: 142. From dentist to tech founder

Take the course:

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We love hearing from our readers and listeners. So if you have questions about the content or working with us, just get in touch on [email protected]

Say hi to Sophia on Twitter and follow her on LinkedIn.

Following us on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok will make you smarter.