That Tech Pod

As we navigate the ever-evolving landscape of technology, 2024 promises to be a year of exciting advancements. That's why this week Laura and Kevin make predictions for the top technology of 2024. Plus we're together and in a bar! We breakdown our top companies and gadgets fantasy football draft style. 

We also want to thank you for listening in 2023! You all are amazing! 

Have you ever wondered what it takes to survive a plane crash and bounce back from it? Today Laura and Kevin chat with Peter Schroeder, an entrepreneurial DJ who has done exactly that. Not only has he overcome a traumatic plane crash, but he has also risen to become one of Denmark's top DJs, entertaining audiences of up to 180,000!

In addition to his artistic talents, Peter is the founder of Telzio, a pre-unicorn unified communications company that simplifies technology and makes people's lives easier. With over 20 years of experience creating cutting-edge technologies for companies such as Facebook, Samsung, and Airbnb, Peter's unique combination of technology expertise and artistic perspective would provide valuable takeaways for your listeners. He can also share insights on managing overwhelm and the power of focus.

Today Laura and Kevin speak with Jessica Nelson Kohel about fractional product management. We chat about the differences between fractional and consulting, the pros and cons of contractors, starting a business in today's market, the best shoe brands, Laura's height, and whether we to expect to see Laura and Jessica running marathons in the near future. 

Jessica is the Co-Founder and President/COO at The Product Consult, a boutique consulting group that helps companies optimize their digital product development teams, build better products, and accelerate revenue growth. Jessica has 18+ years of experience in digital product development, with expertise in revenue growth, product optimization, product strategy, and team development. 

The Product Consult team has worked with cross-industry startups and Fortune 500 companies including Alo Yoga, Coterie Baby, Epic Games and Nike, where Jessica built the first-ever digital gift card platform for Nike.com. 

Today Kevin and Laura speak with Chris Rock (no, not that one!) about being a cyber mercenary, a world of fake babies whose “burner identities” could be used to rake in millions, his book The Baby Harvest, hacking the TED talk people and the benefits of having a celebrity's name and so much more!

Chris Rock is a Cyber Mercenary who has worked in the Middle East, US and Asia for the last 30 years working for both government and private organizations. He is the Chief Information Security Officer and co-founder of SIEMonster.

A three-time presenter at DEFCON and author of The Baby Harvest, Chris is a database of cybersecurity, hacking, and cybercriminal knowledge. Chris and his team excel at countering sophisticated cyber threats with the implementation of advanced SIEM methods for all types of organizations. Chris is passionate about raising the public’s awareness of modern cybersecurity threats and trends. 

Today on That Tech Pod, Laura and Kevin chat with Michael Quartararo, the President of the Association of Certified E-Discovery Specialists (ACEDS) about the International eDiscovery Executive Certificate Program.

ACEDS provides training and certification in e-discovery and professional development courses to corporate legal departments, law firms and the broader legal community. With 1400 CEDS-certified professionals and 2500 members active in 22 chapters throughout major US cities, Canada, the UK, Benelux, South Africa and Australia, ACEDS is the gold standard in e-discovery training. Mike is also the author of the 2016 book Project Management in Electronic Discovery and has been teaching, consulting and solving problems in information governance, e-discovery, project management and legal technology for over two decades. He is considered one of the foremost authorities on legal project management and built his career upon strategic and innovative thinking, leadership and operational skills honed at the best legal organizations in the world. Following 10-year stints at both Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP and Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP, Mike launched his own successful company, eDPM Advisory Services, a consulting firm providing legal operations, e-discovery and project management advisory services to corporate legal departments and law firms. As a part-time graduate professor, Mike designed and taught a curriculum on e-discovery project management at Bryan University. A graduate of the State University of New York, he is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and a Certified E-Discovery Specialist (CEDS). He frequently writes and speaks on e-discovery, legal operations, project management and technology topics. Reach him via email at [email protected] or on Twitter @mikequartararo. 

Today Kevin and Laura speak with JB ‘Jor-El’ Benjamin, the Founder of Kryotech Ltd. We discuss secure messaging apps, crypto and the blockchain. We also chat ethical AI, the UK's AI framework and whether we should trust the Musk's and Altman's of the world. 

JB isn't your run-of-the-mill developer; he's a tech maverick reshaping the digital landscape from his UK base just outside London. JB is the mastermind behind numerous groundbreaking applications and platforms that have revolutionized the digital world. Boasting a prolific portfolio, JB has created the world's first post-quantum encrypted messenger Vox Messenger, and the unprecedented group transaction crypto wallet, Vox Crypto. He bridges the gap between possibility and reality with his solutions to pressing global challenges. 

Also, as mentioned at the top of this week’s pod, That Tech Pod is supporting Pizza4Moms, a charity feeding families impacted by the ongoing conflict in Israel. Pizza4moms is collecting funds and donating meals (a pizza and a salad) to those in need in the region. Please considering participating with us: https://pizza4moms.com/#welcome

Today Laura and Kevin chat with Oshri Cohen about what it means to be a fractional CTO versus a full-time CTO and whether or not you can or should consider vending out your C-suite. With Kevin’s past CTO roles, this one hits close to home and gets a little tense…

Oshri Cohen is an expert technologist in more languages, frameworks, architectures and technologies than he cares to count. He is an ex-executive at multiple startups and ex-founder of his own custom development shop. He is disrupting the popular thought that startups need a full-time CTO and could save on average $400K per year in direct technical leadership costs through the use of a Fractional-CTO, which is his primary business.

Today Laura and Kevin speak with Pete Hunt. We chat about what it means to be an engineer, how to tell if an engineer is good and how you get from engineer to CEO, plus Pete weighs in on the Zuck vs Musk debate with his unique perspective having worked at both Instagram and Twitter.  

Pete joined Elementl as head of engineering in early 2022, and took over the reins as CEO in November of that year. Pete was previously co-founder and CEO of Smyte, an anti-abuse provider that was acquired by Twitter. Prior to this Pete led Instagram’s web team, built Instagram’s business analytics products, and helped to open source Facebook’s React.js. Their platform is Dagster, a next-generation open source orchestration platform for the development, production, and observation of data assets.

Today Kevin and Laura chat with David Cohen of Reed Smith about their eDiscovery-focused app with the aim of creating a less cumbersome, and fast-updating repository of knowledge, documents and tips for attorneys and clients on the go. We talk about "intense AI," and the convergence of eDiscovery and data privacy. We discuss whether we still need the "e" in eDiscovery and if it is better to be a "master of all" or a legal specialist in 2023. We also cover access to justice issues and other terms that sound like classic Steven Seagal movies. You don't want to miss this pod!

David is chair of Reed Smith’s Records & E-Discovery (RED) Practice Group and a member of the firm’s Global Leadership Team. A Harvard Law graduate with more than 35 years of commercial litigation experience, David serves as eDiscovery counsel and information governance counsel to some of the top companies in the world. David also represents clients in complex litigation matters, and counsels companies of all sizes on information governance and litigation readiness issues. 

He has been recognized individually by Chambers Global, Chambers USA, Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers, and Who’s Who Legal as a top eDiscovery lawyer and litigator. The 70+ lawyer RED Practice Group that David leads has also been recognized by Chambers and Legal 500 as a leading eDiscovery practice. He currently chairs the EDRM Project Trustees and serves on the advisory board of the Georgetown Advanced eDiscovery Institute. 

He was involved in setting up the E-Discovery Special Masters (EDSM) program in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, has served as an EDSM in multiple cases, and has drafted and supported amendments to state and federal rules focusing on e-discovery. He has authored numerous legal publications and is a frequent presenter at continuing legal education seminars regarding eDiscovery and information governance. He is the principal architect of the E-Discovery App, launched in 2020, and leads ongoing App development and innovation initiatives.  David also received a Law 2.0 “Outstanding Leadership” award in 2022 and the Legal Intelligencer Pennsylvania “Innovator of the Year” award in 2023. 

You can download the Reed Smith’s eDiscovery app from the Apple Store or Google Play:

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/e-discovery-app/id1494005095

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ncc809328710.www&hl=en_US&gl=US&pli=1

The primary goal of the Reed Smith’s eDiscovery App is to be a useful resource for everyone in the e-discovery community! App development was led by Reed Smith Partner David Cohen, Practice Group Leader of Reed Smith’s Records & E-Discovery (RED) practice group, with important contributions by lawyers, e-discovery analysts, and support professionals at Reed Smith LLP and its technology subsidiary Gravity Stack. Where permitted and acknowledged, the App also includes, or links to, materials created or compiled by outside professionals.