The Software Agents Podcast

Tech Matters CEO Jim Fruchterman is a serial Silicon Valley success. But he long ago learned that many life-changing technologies can’t build the billion-dollar companies that VCs must deliver. For 30 years now, Jim has devoted himself to bringing tech startup thinking and leading edge tech to nonprofit work. This year’s lockdowns have made some of these tech innovations life-and-death essential.

What if you could donate to a nonprofit whose boots are on the ground right where they’re most needed this week? You can, thanks to Tess Gadwa’s GivingMap.org, whose software visualizes the latest John Hopkins geographic data on the pandemic, and links to Charity Navigator to identify and donate to reputable organizations.

Karen Sun is CTO of two companies–Dwelo, which automates apartment management, and Selesy, developing an online K-12 platform for every student in Colombia. She’s the rare person who can do it, with a background that includes classical music at Julliard, data science at MIT, and high-speed trading on Wall Street. A don’t-miss interview.

A new remotely-piloted space plane will take off and land at regular airports, to carry global data sensors and experiments and eventually place satellites into orbit. Dawn Aerospace founder Stefan Powell and control systems engineer Koen Lucassen explain how CI/CD software techniques let them develop advanced flight systems, and refine space rockets into reliable everyday freight vehicles to monitor climate change and boost our post-pandemic communications needs.

Running race events worldwide were canceled overnight in March. RunSignup founder Bob Bickel explains how the company's DevOps DNA enabled them to survive the sudden shutdown of their core business and create new kinds of events that have kept the running community together and still running.

Shelter-in-place orders drove a rush of new signups for automated investment tool AgentRisk, as professional advisors proved suddenly unreachable, or unable to conduct transactions from home. Founder Jon Vlachogiannis, a Greek-born entrepreneur who went from teen coder to serial Silicon Valley startup founder, says many human advisors were discreetly using AgentRisk already. Jon explains how AI is transforming personal wealth management, and why he thinks Silicon Valley culture still matters to drive innovation.

Art museums are using software to maximize visitor access under new restrictions, and make their online experiences more like a visit to the building. Rich Cherry, a former Marine and IT professional, works with cultural institutions to leverage his 30+ years of experience in tech and operations as the pandemic changes the rules for museums and visitors. He has been an IT leader at major institutions including the Guggenheim in NY and the Albright-Knox Gallery, co-founded the Museums on the Web conference, and drove the development and launch of the high profile Broad in Los Angeles where he developed a software-enabled operating model that lets them do more for visitors with a smaller staff - incidentally, systems that are now crucial to safe museum reopenings worldwide. A lifelong tinkerer, Rich is a rare talent, adept at IT architecture, building construction, and operational models.