Brains Byte Back

In today’s episode of the Brains Byte Back podcast, we speak with Madhav Srinath, CEO and CTO of NexusLeap, a technology and management consulting firm focused on helping organizations make sense of their data and use it to make critical business decisions.

Srinath shares the story of how NexusLeap started in response to the pandemic, specifically helping food distributors consolidate data and provide insights to solve the problem of food distribution during this difficult time.

Srinath also explains the meaning behind the name NexusLeap, which reflects the company's mission to help businesses break free from what they know and take a leap into using data to drive critical decisions.

For Srinath, the "nexus" part of the name refers to the congregation of important decisions and data, while the "leap" part refers to the need to make a leap into the future to keep up with new challenges, problems, and technologies.

Additionally, Srinath shares advice for businesses looking to improve their data management practices. He suggests starting with a data audit to identify areas for improvement, creating a roadmap for data management, and involving all stakeholders in the process. 

We also discuss the future of cloud and data services. During this segment Srinath highlights the importance of cloud computing, stressing that it should be used to build only what is necessary and pay for exactly that without taking on a lot of overhead. 

He predicts that we will see an increasing number of cloud platform providers partnering with AI tech providers to create an experience for users that seamlessly integrates cloud and AI technologies.

And finally, Srinath opens up about how he and his wife share a 10-year goal to purchase large plots of land and build infrastructure to rescue as many animals as possible. Alongside their desire to facilitate better human-animal connections using technology.

Links 🔗

Our Guest🙋:

Find out more about Madhav Srinath here (LinkedIn) -

https://www.linkedin.com/in/madhavsrinath/

Find out more about NexusLeap (website) -

https://nexusleap.com/

Brains Byte Back 🧠👨‍💻🎙️:

Leave an iTunes review here - https://apple.co/3i60XWu

Subscribe on Youtube here - https://bit.ly/3o1M4Z3

Follow us on your favorite podcast platform here - https://bit.ly/3kTfNkY

Our Sponsor 💻☎️:

Find out more about our sponsor Publicize here - https://bit.ly/3X6p7SB

In today’s episode of the Brains Byte Back podcast, we speak with Dan Berges, Managing Director & Founder of Berges Institute, an online Spanish language school for adults headquartered in New York City.

In this conversation, Dan shares how, before the pandemic, the institute mostly comprised of in-person teaching, and had begun to dabble in online teaching in 2019, with a total of 1200 students and a large school in Chicago. 

However, since the pandemic, the institute has transitioned to work 100% online, with students in the US, the UK, Canada, and beyond. 

The school uses the Graf method, which is their self-developed style of teaching Spanish. It is a highly deductive method, meaning that they first teach the rules and then practice them, instead of an inductive method where students are expected to infer the rules from the examples.

Dan also shares the origin story of the company, stating that it first began in 2013 with a small studio on the upper side of New York City. They developed the Graf method themselves and it quickly became very popular. 

Additionally, Dan discusses the benefits of learning a new language, claiming that most research shows that it improves cognitive ability, memory, and concentration. 

He advocates that brain scans show an increase in the density of gray matter and white matter when learning another language. Alongside this, research has shown that learning a new language also can significantly delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease and dementia.

And finally, Dan shares how the institute is recruiting the use of AI in order to implement new Spanish language chatbot features for their students in order to help them learn.

Links 🔗

Our Guest🙋:

Find out more about Dan Berges here (LinkedIn) -

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-berges

Find out more about Berges Institute (website, Twitter + Contact page) -

https://www.bergesinstitutespanish.com/

https://twitter.com/bergesinstitute?lang=en

https://www.bergesinstitutespanish.com/contact-us

Brains Byte Back 🧠👨‍💻🎙️:

Leave an iTunes review here - https://apple.co/3i60XWu

Subscribe on Youtube here - https://bit.ly/3o1M4Z3

Follow us on your favorite podcast platform here - https://bit.ly/3kTfNkY

Our Sponsor 💻☎️:

Find out more about our sponsor Publicize here - https://bit.ly/3X6p7SB

In today’s episode of the Brains Byte Back podcast, we speak with Venkatesh Sundar, Founder & CMO at Indusface, a company offering web app security, WAF and SSL Certificates to keep businesses safe.

In the conversation, Sundar shares tips to help listeners defend their businesses from hackers. He starts off by stressing the importance of ensuring that all software and systems are kept up to date with the latest security patches and updates. Doing this can help to shut down any known vulnerabilities that hackers may look to exploit.

Additionally, he underlines that it's important to make use of strong access controls and authentication measures to ensure that only authorized users are able to access sensitive data or systems. This consists of measures such as two-factor authentication, strong password policies, and limiting access to only those who require it.

Sundar adds that regular security assessments and penetration testing can be effective when it comes to identifying vulnerabilities before hackers can take advantage of them. This can entail simulating real-world attacks and attempting to exploit weaknesses in the system,to find potential areas where improvement is necessary.

Alongside the above, Sundar highlights specific tactics that listeners can use to defend against ransomware attacks, such as ensuring that data backups are regularly performed and stored securely. This can help to reduce the impact of a ransomware attack by allowing businesses to restore their systems and data from a previous backup.

And finally, Sundar covers why it is important to educate employees about the risks of phishing attacks and other social engineering tactics that hackers frequently use to gain access to sensitive data or systems. 

He encourages business owners to provide regular security awareness training to make sure that employees are more knowledgeable and fully aware of the latest threats and how to avoid falling victim to them.

Links 🔗

Our Guest🙋:

Find out more about Venkatesh Sundar here (LinkedIn) -

https://in.linkedin.com/in/venkateshsundar

Find out more about Indusface (website) -

https://www.indusface.com/

Brains Byte Back 🧠👨‍💻🎙️:

Leave an iTunes review here - https://apple.co/3i60XWu

Subscribe on Youtube here - https://bit.ly/3o1M4Z3

Follow us on your favorite podcast platform here - https://bit.ly/3kTfNkY

Our Sponsor 💻☎️:

Find out more about our sponsor Publicize here - https://bit.ly/3X6p7SB

In today’s episode of the Brains Byte Back podcast, we speak with Bryan Janeczko, Co-Founder and CEO of Nunbelievable, a mission-based baked goods company striving to combat hunger in America; “one cookie at a time”.

Long-term listeners of Brains Byte Back will remember Janeczko from our episode back in 2020 titled “How Anyone Can Turn an Idea Into a Startup.” Janeczko kicks off the show by sharing what has been keeping him busy since we last spoke, and talks about his work with Nunbelievable. 

He talks about how the company has a one-for-one giving model. While he admits the one-for-one giving model is no longer unique, Janeczko argues that Nunbelievable sets itself apart as a for-purpose business that combines the best of running a for-profit business and supporting a cause that people care about. 

Janeczko goes on to add that their mission, to end hunger in America, is a major issue that everyone can get behind, regardless of their background or political affiliation.

To date, Nunbelievable's one-for-one model has provided over a million meals to those in need. Janeczko also goes into detail about the company's partnership with Feeding America, an organization that aims to eliminate poverty and reduce hunger, particularly in densely populated urban areas and communities of color.

And finally, we talk about the importance of conscious consumerism, and Janeczko shares why he believes it is important to be impact-focused and sustainable when it comes to business practices. 

Links 🔗

Our Guest🙋:

Find out more about Bryan Janeczko here (LinkedIn) -

https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryanjaneczko

Find out more about Nunbelievable (website) -

https://nunbelievable.com/

Brains Byte Back 🧠👨‍💻🎙️:

Leave an iTunes review here - https://apple.co/3i60XWu

Subscribe on Youtube here - https://bit.ly/3o1M4Z3

Follow us on your favorite podcast platform here - https://bit.ly/3kTfNkY

Our Sponsor 💻☎️:

Find out more about our sponsor Publicize here - https://bit.ly/3X6p7SB

In today’s episode of the Brains Byte Back podcast, we speak with Adam Lawrence, Co-Founder and CEO of Boom & Bucket, a trusted digital dealer for buying and selling used heavy equipment. 

In this episode, Lawrence kicks off by sharing how Boom & Bucket is the largest website for buying and selling used construction equipment online, ranging from tractors to bulldozers to cranes. 

He then details how the company got started, when the two co-founders, Aaron and Samir, sold a company to Caterpillar in 2017 and stayed on to help with Cat Digital Labs, the innovation department of Caterpillar. 

During this time, Lawrence was running a large payments business which he left in 2020. Lawrence and Samir met, and with Lawrence's desire to stay in e-commerce, and Samir's insights on using data to better understand the quality of the equipment being sold, the founding team started working on Boom & Bucket.

Despite the company having only been around for two years, Lawrence shares that they have achieved a lot in this short space of time. He highlights this by pointing out that they have raised a venture round in 2021 and built a team that includes a head of operations and a head of engineering. Boom & Bucket officially launched in February 2022 and since then has become one of the fastest-growing companies of its type.

Lawrence also shares the backstory behind the name "Boom & Bucket," which Lawrence advocates was chosen from a list of 50 names. The alliteration, as well as the fact that both a boom and a bucket are components of the construction equipment being sold, made it a winning name. 

Lawrence claims that they set out to build an iconic logo and brand around the name, with a red, white, and blue color scheme and a simple line drawing of an excavator that evokes movement. He explains that the goal was to build an Americana brand that would still resonate 50 years from now.

Links 🔗

Our Guest🙋:

Find out more about Adam Lawrence here (LinkedIn + Twitter) -

https://www.linkedin.com/in/aslawrence

https://twitter.com/im_asl?lang=en

Find out more about Boom & Bucket (website) -

https://www.boomandbucket.com/

Watch the “Gorge Video” Adam references here - 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GA8z7f7a2Pk

Brains Byte Back 🧠👨‍💻🎙️:

Leave an iTunes review here - https://apple.co/3i60XWu

Subscribe on Youtube here - https://bit.ly/3o1M4Z3

Follow us on your favorite podcast platform here - https://bit.ly/3kTfNkY

Our Sponsor 💻☎️:

Find out more about our sponsor Publicize here - https://bit.ly/3X6p7SB

In today’s episode of the Brains Byte Back podcast, we speak with Mateo Zimmermann, Investment Manager at CEMEX Ventures, a company that invests in innovative construction startups aiming to foster the construction revolution.

Zimmermann shares how the company started in 2016 with the idea of partnering with top minds and entrepreneurial spirits to bring innovation to the construction industry, which is lagging behind other industries. They also aimed to capture most of that innovation and change the productivity gap in the industry.

During the conversation, Zimmermann discusses the challenges faced by young people in finding affordable housing. He notes that in many countries, including Spain where he is from, the culture is to buy a home rather than rent, and young people are struggling to afford even renting a place due to the high costs. This leads to uncertainty for the future and delays in pursuing careers and personal lives.

Zimmermann advocates that the solution is more housing, but he also notes that the problem goes deeper, with the construction industry contributing to almost 30% of CO2 emissions, making climate action and sustainability a critical issue for the industry to address.

Mateo discusses the various ways that CEMEX is tackling this issue, including focusing on new construction materials with a lower carbon footprint. He draw on an example from one of their portfolio companies which uses plastic waste in concrete to create a sustainable landfill where the waste is buried into the structure of buildings or different elements of the construction. 

Another focus is on carbon capture utilization and storage, which involves capturing CO2 emissions and finding ways to process, store, or utilize them. 

And finally, Zimmermann speaks about the future of the construction industry, where he talks about how they are exploring the use of automation and robotics in construction, which could increase productivity and reduce labor costs.

Links 🔗

Our Guest🙋:

Find out more about Mateo Zimmermann here (LinkedIn) -

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mateozg/?locale=en_US

Find out more about CEMEX Ventures (website) -

https://www.cemexventures.com/

Brains Byte Back 🧠👨‍💻🎙️:

Leave an iTunes review here - https://apple.co/3i60XWu

Subscribe on Youtube here - https://bit.ly/3o1M4Z3

Follow us on your favorite podcast platform here - https://bit.ly/3kTfNkY

Our Sponsor 💻☎️:

Find out more about our sponsor Publicize here - https://bit.ly/3X6p7SB

In today’s episode of the Brains Byte Back podcast, we speak with Walter Paliska, Walter Paliska, Vice President of Marketing at dotData, a company that democratizes the use of AI and Machine Learning by making it simple for organizations to leverage the power of their data through fast, unique, and easy-to-use tools.

In this episode, we discuss the company's origin story, its target customers, and the solutions it offers. We also explore predictive data mining and how it helps businesses leverage historical data to make accurate predictions about future events.

Additionally, Paliska shares how dotData was founded as a spin-off from NEC Corporation in Japan in 2018, after the company's CEO and founder, Ryohei Fujimaki, noticed that his team of data scientists would spend an inordinate amount of time on the feature engineering process. Since this was the most time-consuming and manual part of the data science process, Fujimaki turned to automation to solve this problem, giving birth to dotData.

Links 🔗

Our Guest🙋:

Find out more about Walter Paliska here (LinkedIn) -

https://www.linkedin.com/in/walterpaliska/

Find out more about dotData (website) -

https://dotdata.com/

Brains Byte Back 🧠👨‍💻🎙️:

Leave an iTunes review here - https://apple.co/3i60XWu

Subscribe on Youtube here - https://bit.ly/3o1M4Z3

Follow us on your favorite podcast platform here - https://bit.ly/3kTfNkY

Our Sponsor 💻☎️:

Find out more about our sponsor Publicize here - https://bit.ly/3X6p7SB

In today’s episode of the Brains Byte Back podcast, we speak with Sean Whitley, Vice President of Sales, Americas at Mitto, a leading provider of global, omnichannel communications solutions, supporting business growth with advanced customer engagement technology. 

From this episode, you’ll learn why active listening is vital in order for sales success and how it can give you ammunition to sharpen your value proposition. Whitley also covers how you can measure the effectiveness of omnichannel communications and track ROI, alongside best practices for training and empowering sales teams to effectively communicate with customers across all channels.

Whitley also talks about the podcast that he co-hosts and co-created, The Two Sales Guys, and how the often-overlooked dark side of sales on mental health, served as a driving force to create the podcast. Additionally, he shares advice for listeners who are considering starting their own podcast.

Links 🔗

Our Guest🙋:

Find out more about Sean Whitley here (LinkedIn) -

https://www.linkedin.com/in/whitleysean/

Find out more about Mitto (website) -

https://www.mitto.ch/

Find their The Two Sales Guys here - 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-two-sales-guys/id1539596883

Brains Byte Back 🧠👨‍💻🎙️:

Leave an iTunes review here - https://apple.co/3i60XWu

Subscribe on Youtube here - https://bit.ly/3o1M4Z3

Follow us on your favorite podcast platform here - https://bit.ly/3kTfNkY

Our Sponsor 💻☎️:

Find out more about our sponsor Publicize here - https://bit.ly/3X6p7SB

In today’s episode of the Brains Byte Back podcast, we speak with Rakshith Rao, Co-Founder and CEO of APIwiz, a low-code, API automation platform allowing developers to build and release reliable APIs quickly.

During our conversation, we discuss what an API Driven economy is, how to tell if your API portfolio is well managed, and some API security tests you should be using. We also go into how APIwiz first started and the story behind the company’s name.

Links 🔗

Our Guest🙋:

Find out more about Rakshith Rao here (LinkedIn) -

https://in.linkedin.com/in/rakshithgrao

Find out more about APIwiz (website) -

https://www.apiwiz.io/

Find their blog post here - 

https://www.apiwiz.io/resources/blogs/7-questions-to-ask-yourself-for-top-api-security

Brains Byte Back 🧠👨‍💻🎙️:

Leave an iTunes review here - https://apple.co/3i60XWu

Subscribe on Youtube here - https://bit.ly/3o1M4Z3

Follow us on your favorite podcast platform here - https://bit.ly/3kTfNkY

Our Sponsor 💻☎️:

Find out more about our sponsor Publicize here - https://bit.ly/3X6p7SB

In today’s episode of the Brains Byte Back podcast, we are joined by Dave Remy, CEO of Event Store DB, an open-source state-transition database, designed for businesses that are ready to harness the power of event-driven architecture.

You will learn why Dave advocates that we need a new category of database now and what makes this type of database different. Alongside this, we discuss how you can leverage the event store platforms to drive growth, efficiency, and innovation. And finally, he shares some practical ideas and pitfalls of a data engineer when implementing event storage databases.

Links 🔗

Our Guest🙋:

Find out more about Dave Remy here (LinkedIn) -

https://www.linkedin.com/in/daveremy

Find out more about Event Store DB (website) -

https://www.eventstore.com/

Brains Byte Back 🧠👨‍💻🎙️:

Leave an iTunes review here - https://apple.co/3i60XWu

Subscribe on Youtube here - https://bit.ly/3o1M4Z3

Follow us on your favorite podcast platform here - https://bit.ly/3kTfNkY

Our Sponsor 💻☎️:

Find out more about our sponsor Publicize here - https://bit.ly/3X6p7SB

In today’s episode, we speak with Agnieszka Wilk, the CEO of Decorilla, a company using technology to democratize top-quality interior design services.

In the episode we cover: 

How the company began after Agnieszka moved to South Korea, hoping to continue her career in finance, but instead faced discrimination as a woman and a foreigner. 

How she used a company name generator website to create the name, and why she fell in love with the idea of Decorilla as the name of her company.

How the company uses 3D & VR realistic design concepts and highlights what technology it plans to incorporate moving forward, in order to expand its services.

Links 🔗

Our Guest🙋:

Find out more about Agnieszka Wilk here (LinkedIn) -

https://www.linkedin.com/in/agnieszkawilk

Find out more about Decorilla (website) -

https://www.decorilla.com/

Brains Byte Back 🧠👨‍💻🎙️:

Leave an iTunes review here - https://apple.co/3i60XWu

Subscribe on Youtube here - https://bit.ly/3o1M4Z3

Follow us on your favorite podcast platform here - https://bit.ly/3kTfNkY

Our Sponsor 💻☎️:

Find out more about our sponsor Publicize here - https://bit.ly/3X6p7SB

Follow us on your favorite podcast platform here - https://bit.ly/3kTfNkY

Our Sponsor 💻☎️:

Find out more about our sponsor Publicize here - https://bit.ly/3X6p7SB

https://www.instagram.com/vital_connection_md/?hl=en

Find out more about Vital Connection MD (website) -

https://vitalconnectionmd.com/

Brains Byte Back 🧠👨‍💻🎙️:

Leave an iTunes review here - https://apple.co/3i60XWu

Subscribe on Youtube here - https://bit.ly/3o1M4Z3

Follow us on your favorite podcast platform here - https://bit.ly/3kTfNkY

Our Sponsor 💻☎️:

Find out more about our sponsor Publicize here - https://bit.ly/3X6p7SB

Follow us on your favorite podcast platform here - https://bit.ly/3kTfNkY

Our Sponsor 💻☎️:

Find out more about our sponsor Publicize here - https://bit.ly/3X6p7SB

Well, for those who want to boost their sales and marketing results, and do it the right way without losing sleep at night. This episode is for you because, in today’s episode of the Brains Byte Back podcast, we speak with Chris Smith, author of The Conversion Code, a book that provides a step-by-step blueprint for increasing sales in the modern, Internet-driven era.

In the episode we cover:

Links 🔗

Our Guest🙋:

Find out more about Chris Smith here (LinkedIn) -

https://www.linkedin.com/in/conversioncodechris/

Find Chris’ Instagram here -

https://www.instagram.com/chris_smth/?hl=en

Find out more about Curaytor here -

https://www.curaytor.com/

Find out more about The Conversion Code here -

https://www.theconversioncode.com/

Brains Byte Back 🧠👨‍💻🎙️:

Leave an iTunes review here - https://apple.co/3i60XWu

Subscribe on Youtube here - https://bit.ly/3o1M4Z3

Follow us on your favorite podcast platform here - https://bit.ly/3kTfNkY

Our Sponsor 💻☎️:

Find out more about our sponsor Publicize here - https://bit.ly/3X6p7SB

https://www.cennec.com/

Brains Byte Back 🧠👨‍💻🎙️:

Leave an iTunes review here - https://apple.co/3i60XWu

Subscribe on Youtube here - https://bit.ly/3o1M4Z3

Follow us on your favorite podcast platform here - https://bit.ly/3kTfNkY

Our Sponsor 💻☎️:

Find out more about our sponsor Publicize here - https://bit.ly/3X6p7SB

To discuss this, we spoke with Chris Georgen, Founder & Managing Director of Topl, an impact-focused, ESG-first company that helps corporations track, tokenize, and transact positive impact.

In this episode, we cover:

Links 🔗

Our Guest🙋:

Find out more about Chris Georgen here (LinkedIn) -

https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisgeorgen

Find Topl's Twitter here - 

https://twitter.com/topl_protocol

Find out more about Topl here (website) -

https://www.topl.co/

Brains Byte Back 🧠👨‍💻🎙️:

Leave an iTunes review here - https://apple.co/3i60XWu

Subscribe on Youtube here - https://bit.ly/3o1M4Z3

Follow us on your favorite podcast platform here - https://bit.ly/3kTfNkY

Our Sponsor 💻☎️:

Find out more about our sponsor Publicize here - https://bit.ly/3X6p7SB

To do this we sit down with Orlando J. Gomez, the founder of the video production company Stellar Lense Productions, a video strategy expert that specializes in visual storytelling for businesses, and has worked with companies such as Uber, Baskin-Robbins, Dove, and Samsung, as well as hundreds of small businesses across America.

In this episode, we cover:

Links 🔗

Our Guest🙋:

Find out more about Orlando J. Gomez here (LinkedIn) -

https://www.linkedin.com/in/orlandojgomez

Find out more about  Stellar Lense Productions, and their unique offer for Brains Byte Back listeners, here (website) - https://www.stellarlenseproductions.com/brains

Brains Byte Back 🧠👨‍💻🎙️:

Leave an iTunes review here - https://apple.co/3i60XWu

Subscribe on Youtube here - https://bit.ly/3o1M4Z3

Follow us on your favorite podcast platform here - https://bit.ly/3kTfNkY

Our Sponsor 💻☎️:

Find out more about our sponsor Publicize here - https://bit.ly/3X6p7SB

In addition to the work NetTALK is doing, Garry also discusses an app he has helped build called NOOZ.AI, an AI-driven news aggregator that analyzes the news using natural language processing and machine learning to empower readers to uncover bias.

In this episode, we cover:

Links 🔗

Our Guest🙋:

Find our more about Garry Paxinos here (LinkedIn) -

https://www.linkedin.com/in/garrypaxinos/

Find out more about NetTALK here (website) - https://nettalkconnect.com/

Find out more about NOOZ.AI here (website) - https://nooz.ai/

Brains Byte Back 🧠👨‍💻🎙️:

Leave an iTunes review here - https://apple.co/3i60XWu

Subscribe on Youtube here - https://bit.ly/3o1M4Z3

Follow us on your favorite podcast platform here - https://bit.ly/3kTfNkY

Our Sponsor 💻☎️:

Find out more about our sponsor Publicize here - https://bit.ly/3X6p7SB

According to Ruchi Thanawala M.D., M.S., Co-founder of Firefly Lab, an educational data management system (platform) for tracking medical, clinical, and procedural performance, 234,000,000 are performed every year, and the skill of a surgeon accounts for 25% of the overall outcome of the surgery.

With this in mind, we spoke with Ruchi to understand more about the work Firefly Lab is doing to bring quantitative data science into medical and surgical education.

In this episode, we cover:

Links 🔗

Our Guest🙋:

Find out more about Ruchi Thanawala here (LinkedIn) - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruchi-thanawala-2ab677219/

Find out more about Firefly Lab here (website) - https://www.fireflylab.org/

Brains Byte Back 🧠👨‍💻🎙️:

Leave an iTunes review here - https://apple.co/3i60XWu

Subscribe on Youtube here - https://bit.ly/3o1M4Z3

Follow us on your favorite podcast platform here - https://bit.ly/3kTfNkY

Our Sponsor 💻☎️:

Find out more about our sponsor Publicize here - https://bit.ly/3X6p7SB

In today’s episode of the Brains Byte Back podcast Eugene Garla, VP of Talent at Index, a company building a global talent platform of vetted full-time remote engineers, joins us to discuss how enterprises can stop treating tech talent like handymen, and make them loyal in the long term.

In the episode Garla shares why employers need to shift their perspective when it comes to remote work, advocating that no longer is this working style strictly for digital nomads traveling the world.

Instead, he argues that those who work remotely should be seen as equal to other types of employees and that the only difference, for many, is the fact that they do not go to an office.

Garla also encourages those looking to hire remote workers to be transparent with their job advertisements.

He highlights that promising tech talent can be discouraged when jobs advertise themselves as remote but instead offer hybrid work with the expectation that they regularly come into the office.

Additionally, Garla explains why it is important to take into consideration the passions and interests of the tech talent you are interviewing to understand what drives them, instead of primarily looking at their skills.

As Garla puts it not all developers are passionate about crypto and making another coin.

And finally, Garla, who speaks four languages, shares advice and tips on how to learn a new language.

Because in this episode of the Brains Byte Back podcast, Jason Keck, CEO & Co-Founder of Broker Buddha, a startup using online smart forms to speed up insurance applications and renewals, joins us to share what he believes to be the three ingredients needed to create a fantastic startup name. 

Additionally, Keck, who previously held the role of Shazam’s Head of Business Development, shares his backstory, and how he made the switch from working at Tumblr to co-founding Broker Buddha.

He goes into detail about why he was inspired to help create Broker Buddha after members of the co-founding team experienced the slow and inefficient processes of submitting insurance information for a previous startup. Where information was passed back and forth via PDF files and other archaic data capture tools. 

Keck and the team saw how the insurance industry desperately needed new, online tools for collecting information from their clients, and decided they would find a solution. Thus, Broker Buddha was born.

Keck also talks about The Enlightened Agent, a podcast he hosts on behalf of Broker Buddha, where they are currently exploring diversity and inclusion in the insurance industry. 

And to close the show host Sam Brake Guia and Keck discuss their shared love for his home city of New Orleans. 

With a population of over 331 million, the US is a great market to create a startup, giving founders the opportunity to build a booming company without ever having to leave the country.

However, for founders in smaller countries, particularly in the Latam region, where all but two countries have a population of 50 million or lower, building a wildly successful startup and staying put, isn’t always an option.

In today’s episode of the Brains Byte Back podcast, we speak with Sacha Spitz, General Partner & Co-Founder of Newtopia VC, a hands-on venture capital firm focusing on startups in the Latam region, to find out what it takes to build a thriving startup in this corner of the globe.

During the interview, Spitz describes how he believes the Latam startup ecosystem is still in its early stages. He also shares how this belief inspired him and his fellow co-founders to create Newtopia VC, to support the new generation of Latam founders that aim to build a better reality for the region and the world.

Spitz also talks about the influence of unicorns from different countries, such as Mercardo Libre in Argentina or Rappi in Colombia, and their impact on the new generation of entrepreneurs in the region today.

Additionally, Spitz shares why Mexico and Brazil’s founders have a head start, as he advocates that these entrepreneurs have the possibility to build an incredibly successful startup, without ever branching into another country, due to the size of their markets.

However, he goes on to explain that, for Latam entrepreneurs from outside these two countries, it is essential to break into at least one of these markets, in order to build a big “VCable” company.

And finally, before wrapping up the show, Spitz shares advice for young startups looking to get the attention of VCs.

One week before the pandemic hit, unaware of what was about to take place worldwide, Taylor Hersom quit his job as a Chief Information Security Officer for a local firm in Austin, Texas in the hopes of finding a similar position elsewhere.

Between working at Deloitte where he advised Fortune 500 companies on compliance and security tactics, and his more recent position at the local firm, Hersom didn’t anticipate finding a new job to be a difficult feat.

However, as the pandemic set in, his interview offers dried up, and he turned to UpWork in pursuit of a job. In the beginning, he applied for as many posts as he could find in order to build up his review score.

He began taking on clients and quickly realized that startups needed a lot of help with security and compliance, and he knew this could become a genuine business for him. But what he didn’t realize was just how in demand his services would be.

As time went on, Hersom moved away from UpWork and took on staff to build a team in order to meet demand. Shortly after this, on January 1, 2021, his new company Eden Data was born.

In today’s episode of the Brains Byte Back podcast, Hersom, CEO and Founder of Eden Data, shares how the team has grown in such a short period of time by taking a positive approach to security instead of the traditional fear-based approach.

In other words, instead of securing customers using fears tactics such as telling prospects if they get hacked they will be fined, receive bad PR, or be hated, Hersom advocates that strong security can show prospects that you care about them and their data, which can successfully close more deals.

Hersom also shares how their subscription approach to security and compliance has helped them stand out in this market, allowing them to scale alongside the startups they work with.

In today’s episode of the Brains Byte Back podcast, we speak with Sashank Purighalla, Founder and CEO of BOS Framework, a complete solution to build, migrate, and manage cloud applications and environments.

Purighalla talks about his backstory, explaining how he came to the US in 1999 to study for a masters in robotics, but ended up staying, and has since lived in Alabama, Philadelphia, and now resides in Nashville.

He also opens up about why he decided to pick Nashville as a base to launch BOS Framework over other cities he considered, such as Denver, Raleigh, and Austin.

Additionally, Purighalla shares how BOS Framework was able to reduce one client's spending from over $1 million to $200K, thanks to the cloud solutions company powering its infrastructure.

Moreover, Purighalla breaks down his perspective on the psychology that motivates engineers, and shares examples of how to motivate them to be as happy and productive as possible in their work and output.

One example of this is the idea that they need to work on something they feel is larger than themselves.

Purighalla likens a team of engineers, when united by an overarching goal, to that of an army battalion with a strong sense of camaraderie and drive to achieve something bigger. He argues this is a vital factor in order to build a strong engineering team.

And finally, Purighalla shares why engineers love problem-solving and how encouraging this is important in order to motivate and develop a strong team of engineers.

According to The NewYorker, ketamine therapy is going mainstream, as the drug has been shown to help people suffering from anxiety and depression.

Moreover, evidence that this drug can help those suffering from mental health issues has been very promising, as stated in the National Library of Medicine, with results showing a significant improvement in depression, anxiety, and the severity of illness after ketamine treatment.

But here at Brains Byte Back we want to understand how this drug is being used and how it stands so to impact the future of treating mental illnesses, so we spoke with Dr. Tiago Marques, CEO at Pasithea Therapeutics, a biotech company at the forefront of research solutions to the world’s mental health problems.

In today’s episode, Marques tell us how Pasithea first started, and shares some insights into day-to-day research at the company.

He also explains how mobile clinics and controlled ketamine infusion work. Alongside, how effective is ketamine for treating PTSD, depression, and other similar issues.

And finally Marques shares some interesting trends in the medical space using psychedelics, and explains what are the legal implications of working in the psychedelic space in the US right now.

In 2014, Jose M. Azares established a boutique burger shop brand that would later expand to three locations across Alberta, Canada. Due to the high turnover rate in the hospitality industry, Azares was constantly taking on new hires.

When taking on new starts, they would take part in shadow training from day one to day seven, when they would be considered self-sufficient and no longer needed guidance.

However, Azares saw this conventional method of training as ineffective and recognized that many new starts were unhappy with it, but did it anyway because they wanted the job.

After leaving this venture behind, Azares set out to create a new business to change the way companies carry out training.

Inspired by the immersive training that pilots go through, Azares decided to create NIDUM, a company that produces immersive training programs for businesses across all industries.

In today’s episode of Brain Byte Back, we are joined by Azares to discuss why he believes immersive training is a vital next step for businesses everywhere when taking on new hires, alongside what industries he sees benefiting the most from this new type of training.

Additionally, Azares walks us through, step by step, how a user would use NIDUM’s training program and what the process looks like.

Less than 9% of the 300 million tonnes of plastic produced every year is actually recycled. In order to change this, we must first see a change in consumer behavior.

In today’s episode of the Brains Byte Back podcast, we explore how the Everything as a Service (XaaS) economy stands to be a vital tool to create a more sustainable society, alongside how this economy is impacting consumer culture on a wider level.

To do this we are joined by Lincoln Lincoln, Head of Global Sales & Customer Success at CloudBlue.

We kick off the show by discussing the rise of subscription services, and Lincoln shares the example of Stellantis, a global automaker that he claims generates 20% of its revenue from subscription services for its cars.

With this new approach to a subscription-based model, Lincoln argues that the days of buying a car with a one-time purchase and watch it depreciate as you drive it out of the forecourt are over.

He also shares how features in cars are now sold as subscriptions, such as BMW announcing that heated seats can now be used as a pay-as-you-go service, so you can turn it on during winter, and off during the summer. Meaning you only pay for what you want, when you want it.

Additionally Lincoln highlights how the XaaS economy is raising our expectations and demands as consumers.

He draws on the example of the exercise bike company Peloton, and advocates that no longer do we buy a simple exercise bike, but we now expect this bike to challenge our fitness goals and produce content that motivates us.

And finally, we discuss how subscription services stand to increase sustainability by encouraging the production of products that stand the test of time, and discourage models such as planned obsolescence.

Lincoln advocates that this is because in this modern economy, rather than selling a product as a one-time purchase, when it is sold as a subscription, the consumer benefits because they pay as they go, and the manufacturer is encouraged to create an asset or product that works for as long as possible.

If you’re on TikTok, there is a chance you may be familiar with a trend known as "product overload." According to Insider, it is a trend that involves mixing cleaning chemicals in sinks and toilets to create "mesmerizing" visual results, but experts say it could be damaging to the environment.

Well, according to Dan Lawson, Co-Founder & President Of Business Affairs at Viking Pure Solution, a company that produces patented e-water, nontoxic solutions and cleaning products, you don’t need a “product overload” to harm the environment when using cleaning products.

To better understand how our everyday cleaning products are impacting the environment, our health, and how Viking Pure’s cleaning products stand to make a difference, we sat down with Lawson to discuss this in today’s Brains Byte Back episode.

In the episode, Lawson shares that normal chemical products have a multitude of ingredients with colors, fragrances and soaps that are added, which can damage surfaces over time.

However, Lawson argues that Viking Pure’s products are far more minimalist and walks us through how its machines are capable of taking salt (sodium chloride), mixing it with water, and combining it with electricity in a very specific way to create the company’s cleaning solutions.

We also discuss how Viking Pure’s solutions can help the environment not only by stopping harmful chemicals from being released into it, but also by reducing packaging, and carbon footprint.

And finally Lawson shares some case studies of how their products have helped clients and customers so far, alongside the story behind the name Viking Pure.

In 2011, Aaron Labbé was diagnosed with Bi-polar 1 Disorder, after over a year of un-diagnosed mania and psychosis that caused a number of lasting scars in his life.

In February 2012, he was forcibly hospitalized for the first time and kicked out of the music conservatory he was studying at. His life has never been the same since.

That hospital experience itself was traumatizing, as he had a doctor tell him to cope with the fact that he couldn't finish school, wouldn't be able to keep a professional job, and should ultimately settle into a more passive lifestyle.

Before this experience, his dream was to be a professional musician - but at that point, he decided to dedicate his life to creating a more empathetic mental health system. As a result, Labbé co-founded LUCID, a startup with a mission to turn music into medicine.

He now works as the team’s CTO and has spent the last 4 years working tirelessly to turn music into a validated medicine for mental health.

In today’s episode, we sit down with Labbé to discuss some of the research they are working on, what it entails and what it has demonstrated so far.

We also explore how psychedelics play a role in the work LUCID does. Alongside, the legal implications of working in the psychedelic space as a startup in Canada. And finally, Labbé shares what is next for the therapeutic music startup.

When the pandemic hit, Jerry Kolber, co-creator of National Geographic's Brain Games and Netflix’s Brainchild, alongside his producing partners discovered they had two things at hand, a lot of time and a lot of ideas.

As a result, they used the ideas they had for their future TV projects and created “Who Smarted?”, a podcast for curious 6 to 10-year-old kids, using narrative, humor, and fun to teach science and history.

The podcast became a huge success a later went on to receive 4 million organic downloads in a year.

In today’s episode, we sit down with Kolber and discuss how his work in theater doing off-broadway theater started his career in content creation, which later moved into the space of television.

Kolber shares how, when they started the podcast, it took a while before they built up a listenership. So much so that initially they feel like they were creating a podcast for nobody.

We also explore why Kolber advocates that the show has been a success because it is mission driven, passion drive and quality driven. Alongside why you need to offer a unique point of view, something useful for your audience, and a high level of quality in order to create a hit show.

Kolber also explains why finding your niche is so important for podcast success and why niche media mentions create a larger bump in listenership than mentions in broader, more well-known publications or outlets.

And finally, Kolber shares his experience on the Palmetto Debate Squad with US Supreme Court member Ketanji Brown Jackson, when the two were in high school together.

In a number of past episodes on Brain Byte Back, we have focused on what it is like to live as a digital nomad, and solutions to tackle the challenges of the new decentralized workforce, but in today’s episode we will be tackling a novel topic related to this new, online, borderless world of work and business.

Because in today’s episode we will be speaking with Abhinov Balagoni, Founder & CEO of Pax Credit, a startup that provides financial services for international students such as cross-border payments and access to affordable credit.

In this episode, we walk listeners through how they can incorporate and operate a US-based company remotely as an international founder.

Balagoni also explains the two types of companies one can build - C Corp, and the other - LLC companies, and why this is important for anyone looking to start a US-based company.

Alongside, why Delaware and Wyoming are the two most popular states to establish businesses.

We also get into the nitty-gritty of how listeners can start a company incorporation packet, create a business bank account, and get a credit card as a startup.

Additionally, we discuss what technology and tools Balagoni has found to be vital for building a startup that operates in different countries remotely. And finally, what is next on the horizon for Pax Credit.

Disclosure: This episode includes a client of an Espacio portfolio company

This was the moment Adam was inspired to create Zeer, a next-generation personal and public safety tech that creates a frictionless response for when you are in danger, to allow you to get help, and record evidence to prosecute the person who attacked you.

In this episode, Adam shares why prosecuting will attackers will become easier with Zeer, but why provension will remain a harder challenge. He also shares how Zeer will be able to alert users to danger through the use of data that factors in time of day, area, and temperature, to name a few.

Adam also explains that we know that crime rises along with the temperature and how this can help better predict crime and danger.

Sam, the host, also chips in, drawing on a point made by his previous psychology professor, that highlights why a direct link can not always be drawn between correlations, with the example that when more ice cream is consumed by the population, robbery rises, and shares the missing piece of information that explains why this is the case.

Additionally, Adam shares how Zeer can specifically help victims of domestic violence by initiating a recording using a safeword that begins recording without the attacker knowing, and either stores it in the cloud, contacts an emergency contact, contacts the police, or all of the above. We also discuess the legal and ethical issues around recording people without them knowing.

And finally, Adams talks about how Zeer is currently raising its first round of funding, where they look to raise $1.8 million, alongside how listeners can get involved to try out their beta program for Zeer.

Indoor air quality has a huge impact on our health and well-being, yet it is often overlooked. According to the WHO, roughly 3.8 million people a year die from indoor air pollution. This is a staggeringly high number, but the good news is modern tech can help us end this hidden pandemic of poor air quality.

In today’s episode, we speak with John Bohlmann, Founder & CEO of HawkenAQ, a company that tracks and scores the air quality of commercial buildings in real-time.

Bohlmann shares how the company established its service back in 2019 initially as a company that focused on energy-saving technology for buildings but then moved on to the mission of improving air quality after seeing how overlooked it was by the tech and construction industries. He also shares the story behind the name HawkenAQ.

Bohlmann also discusses the current state of air purification technology and talks about bipolar ionization, which uses ultraviolet purification to kill viruses in the air.

We also discuss how good air quality positively affects our health and the drawbacks of poor air quality on our health.

Additionally, Bohlmann shares what steps can be taken to improve air quality if a building identifies poor air quality inside, and he goes into detail about what we mean when we say poor air quality.

And finally, Bohlmann shares details about what is next on the horizon for HawkenAQ as it returns back to its roots of helping buildings become more energy efficient.

Back when we first launched Brains Byte Back in 2019, in one of our earliest episodes, we interview a Certified Sexual Addiction Counselor and a Professor of Gender and Sexuality studies and asked them the question “Is porn addiction real or a myth?”.

To this day it has been one of our most popular episodes ever, so we decided to revisit the topic and speak with Joshua Shea, a recovering pornography addict who is also a coach, author, and speaker who shares his story and educates others about pornography addiction.

In this episode, Shea shares with us his own story of pornography addiction, detailing how it began, why it developed in the first place, and how he overcame it.

He also opens up about his own perspective on the state of porn addiction in the world today and shares the signs of porn addiction that might indicate if someone has a problem.

He also covers why non-addicts should care about porn addiction and advice for partners who discover their loved one is a porn addict.

Additionally, he goes into detail about what a person can do after learning their partner has an addiction. And finally, he shares his thoughts on what we need to do to protect future generations of kids from developing unhealthy or addictive behaviors relating to porn.

When you get into a slump, it can be hard to pull yourself out. This is something the pandemic made very real for many of us. In fact, according to a survey by Public Health England (PHE), more than 40% of adults in England gained weight during the pandemic, reports the BBC.

Having experienced this firsthand during the pandemic, this served as the motivation that three friends needed to create the YCombinator startup Alfie, the first program for men that combines doctor-prescribed medication, 1:1 health coaching, and community-based competition to help men achieve their weight loss goals.

In today’s episode, we speak with Alexander Singh, a former Healthcare Consultant turned CEO and co-founder of Alfie, who shares how the interesting story behind why he and his co-founders picked the name Alfie for the company’s name.

He also shares how Alfie works and how it separates itself from other companies that provide weight loss programs.

Singh also goes into detail about what a metabolic review is and why it is important. He also explains how much the service costs along with some specific case studies demonstrating how Alfie’s service has had an impact.

He also shares how competition is used to achieve weight loss. In fact, according to Singh, when a competitive element is added, men show a 120% activity increase, which the company makes use of by implementing bi-weekly challenges such as step counts and workout competitions.

And finally, Singh shares his advice for listeners looking to further their startup journey and apply to take part in the Y Combinator program.

Sometimes businesses are built around the idea of an ethical principle, such as the famous outdoor clothing brand Patagonia. Or sometimes a company will make headlines for taking a solid stance on a controversial issue, to demonstrate their support for a certain side, such as Nike.

Now more than ever, business and ethics are two subjects that have never been closer.

To discuss the modern overlap between the two, we are joined by Nathalie Nahai, the author of Business Unusual and Webs of Influence: The Psychology of Online Persuasion.

Nahai shares some basic lessons and ideas that underpin the psychological dynamics behind evolving decision-making processes we go through when making purchases. She also explains how she helps people ethically apply behavioral science principles to enhance their platforms, product design, and customer experience.

Additionally, she shares why she created TheValuesMap.com, a website designed to help users identify, develop, and communicate the psychological values their business represents, alongside what it strives to achieve for its employees, customers, and the wider world.

And finally, she discusses some of the most exciting stories and guests she has come across while hosting The Hive Podcast and the Tech Weekly podcast for The Guardian.

You may have heard of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and his followers, commonly known as Rajneeshees or sannyasins, from the incredibly popular Netflix documentary “Wild, Wild Country.”

Well in today’s episode we speak with a former follower of the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh cult to get a better understanding of how this society functioned, what it was like to live in normal society as a member of the cult, and what it was like on the famous Oregon ranch.

With our guest, Annie (who has asked to remain anonymous but showed her mala that she wore during her time as a Rajneshee to prove her affiliation with the cult), we find out how she first find out about Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and the Rajneeshees, and what inspired her to join their cult, where she goes into great detail about how she found them when she was 16 at an Alcoholics Anonymous event.

She also shares why life as a Rajneeshee was difficult off the ranch in normal society, as society often treated them with a mixture of suspicion, curiosity, and fear. In fact, she was fired from all of her jobs due to her membership in the cult, but she also explains how she saw this as a positive, “a trial by fire” as she claims.

Annie also goes into detail about what it was like visiting the ranch in 1983, when, she believes, much of the footage used in the documentary was filmed. She talks about the important role meditation played in being a Rajneeshee and what a normal day was like on the ranch.

She also shares her thoughts on how accurate the documentary was, how close she came to meeting Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, and finally, how she left the cult in the end.

Overall, Annie explains why she doesn’t see the following as a religion or cult, but instead as a community and how this community had such an overall, lasting positive experience in her life.

It may come as no surprise that many are still feeling the psychological impact of the pandemic. And, as mental health becomes less stigmatized, a new wave of apps and companies, such as BetterHelp and Talkspace, have flooded this space, offering more affordable and convenient mental health services.

However, while this new wave of attention on mental health is good for society, the interest from VCs looking to turn this attention into profit could in fact be disastrous for the industry.

To discuss this new “Uberfication of Therapy” we are joined by William Schroeder, Co-Owner and Counselor at Just Mind, a boutique mental health clinic based in Austin, Texas.

Schroeder explains how these large tech companies promise mental health specialists the ability to turn on an app and be given as many clients as they can take with the promise of good earnings. However, much like Uber, these big payday promises have fallen flat. Especially when these companies gain market share, they reduce the worker’s wages or introduce subscription costs that claw back the profits of the individual.

Schroeder also shares what he believes needs to be done in order to provide better, more affordable mental health services to the wider population. In response to this question, Schroeder explains the rollout of 988, an emergency number that will release crisis teams all across the country, so when people are in a mental health crisis, whatever it might be, they can call this number.

He also goes into detail about how student loan forgiveness could stand to be a method for attracting more workers to the mental health field. And finally, Schroeder explains how apps can be a useful tool in the battle for better mental health services.

Fortunately, thanks to modern technology, the development of more accurate diagnoses are underway, and in today’s episode we will be speaking with Carl Reuterskiöld, CEO of Qbtech, a company giving healthcare professionals objective data to inform decisions about ruling in or ruling out ADHD.

To kick off the show, Reuterskiöld goes over exactly what ADHD is and how it can be identified. Reuterskiöld then explains how they can create an objective, unbias view for analyzing ADHD behavior in a patient using a camera and data. He also covers why the efficacy of treatments is hard to measure when diagnoses are based on subjective analysis.

He also shares how Qbtech began, how he joined the company, and how the work of Qbtech stands out from work previously produced in the space of ADHD research.

In today’s episode, we speak with Uday Akkaraju, Founder and CEO at BOND.AI, a leader in AI-driven financial insight technology, to discuss how their technology works and how it stands to help us find more financial freedom in our lives.

Akkaraju shares how he was living in Silicon Valley, spending everything he got on the weekend, living paycheck to paycheck until he was struck by a financial emergency. He tried getting help from banks and financial institutions but was rejected everywhere he went.

Because of this, he realized he had to create a solution to his problem, so he started looking at his behavior and transaction patterns. He explains that he initially looked at his situation in two different ways.

Firstly, how to get out of this bad financial situation as soon as possible. And secondly, how can he change his behavior to avoid this again. He set out to find a solution using his background in human center design and cognitive psychology.

He found that other apps that offered financial guidance services were disjointed, so he decided to create a better design that took a more holistic approach. After 18 months, he had raised enough capital and confidence in his product to launch BOND.AI.

Akkaraju explains what the Empathy Engine he created for BOND.AI is, and how it works. He also explains that in order to see change, the focus has to be on habits and behaviors, because whatever financial tools you have or whatever advisor you have is only valuable if you apply these insights to your behavior, and behavioral change can be incredibly difficult to do successfully.

Akkaraju gives an example to highlight its use, explaining that if the Empathy Engine can see that the individual has been traveling a lot, it can ask what their favorite airline is. With this answer, the Empathy Engine can use this as a data point to decide what financial avenues would benefit them the most. And thus, gives them insights they may not have thought, thanks to these data points.

We also talk about how data can be used to implement UBI, why Akkaraju decided to leave Silicon Valley to move to Arkansas, and why it has been such a beneficial move for the business.

When it comes to political research and building your own political opinion before voting, it can be easy to find opinions, but hard to find unbiased data, research, and information. This was the issue that inspired Kelly Riordan to create Wewilldecide.com, a site that provided users with all congressional voting and activity.

In our episode today, Riordan explains how she made the change from an apathetic voter that didn’t always bother to vote, to becoming a responsible, well-informed voter.

She explains that when she started and sat down to decide who she wanted to vote for, she found that there was very little objective, unbiased information on the people she would be voting for.

So using her love for organization, research, and data, she decided to create Wewilldecide to produce a place for voters to go to see clear data, with stats and scores just like you would expect to see with March Madness or a fantasy football league. She explains why Wewilldecide isn’t a place for opinions, and instead only wants numbers.

She shares how the site remains impartial while dealing with complex political topics, and why she will not allow advertising on the site due to the potential political bias that ads may contain.

Instead of advertising, the site offers a $3 a month subscription in order to keep it running, with the aim of removing this once the site becomes big enough.

Riordan highlights why Ireland is “near and dear” to her heart and why she would love to set her sights on Wewilldecide making its way into Europe through Ireland and other democratic countries. Alongside her long-term future intentions of producing a sister site that can show users what values companies support in order to help users “vote with their dollars”.

In today’s episode, we speak with Adrien Châtillon, CEO & Founder of Actipulse Neuroscience, a neuro-tech company specialized in the research and engineering of Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation technologies for the treatment of psychiatric and neurological disorders, to get a better understanding of how their company’s technology stands to advance mental health and addiction treatment.

To kick off the show, Châtillon shares the backstory of the two previous startups he founded before Actipulse. The first, a Slack for students, and the second, a French movie startup.

He also discusses the company’s goal to bring this technology from a hospital setting to an at-home setting, to make it more affordable, and how they plan to do this.

Châtillon also highlights how their technology works and how it can help treat depression, smoking addiction and anxiety. Alongside how they intend to use it to slow down Parkison’s and Alzheimer's.

Additionally, he talks about a recent study conducted by the company that saw 9 out of 10 subjects with smoking addiction stop smoking after treatment using its technology.

Châtillon explains how they are targeting the dopamine mechanisms in the brain, and an upcoming second trial, which is currently underway, to help tackle opioid addiction.

Finally, on the topic of addiction, Châtillon shares whether or not this technology might stand to tackle behavioral addictions such as gambling.

And before we wrap up the show, Châtillon shares what it has been like to go through the Y Combinator program and advice for other startups and entrepreneurs that want to be selected for the program.

To do this, we are joined by Yan Ketelers, CMO of Venly, a blockchain technology provider creating tools and products to help companies benefit from blockchain technology.

In this episode, we discuss what NFTs are, alongside how they are created, sold, and stored.

We also discuss what the Metaverse is, and how Ketelers foresees the Metaverse impacting NFTs.

Ketelers also shares some of his favorite NFT projects, such as the story of a group of friends who raised $10.4 million in 48 hours selling NFTs to buy a golf course and create their own golf club.

From business meetings to playing games with friends, Ketelers highlights the many versions of the metaverse that exist. And you will also discover if the metaverse is unlimited or has a finite amount of space and land.

He also explains why we shouldn’t confuse the metaverse with virtual reality. And we also explore digital avatars that age over time (just like everything in the real world).

Additionally, we discuss Ethermon, a decentralized world of ether monsters, and the work Venly has done working closely with the company.

And finally, we discuss Venly’s security system, which the company is so proud of, it openly invites ethical hackers to test it out.

To do this we are joined by Norelle Done, Marketing Director at Gentreo, a company that strives to make estate planning more accessible for everyone.

In this episode, Done shares how the company was created after two sisters (the company’s founders Julie and Renee Fry) helped their parents create their own plan and saw the pitfalls of traditional estate planning.

Done also shares why everyone over the age of 18 should have a plan set up, in order to have a healthcare proxy in place. Alongside why pet owners should consider making a plan to ensure their pets are safely taken care of after death.

We also discuss Gentreo’s Digital Vault which uses bank-level encryption to safely store clients' information.

And finally, Done shares a personal example of when both her grandmothers passed away in 2020, and how each experience was incredibly different due to the level of preparation.

Additionally, she highlights the sentimental value of their Memorial Video feature which helped one of her grandmothers record videos for each of her grandchildren, reading bible verses, singing, and sharing messages.

To do this, we are speaking with Andrew Selepak, a Social Media Professor at the University of Florida.

In this episode we discuss what a digital detox is and what technology it usually involves, how a digital detox can be realistically implemented without it negatively impacting our work, or even social connections, and the parallels between digital detoxes and food diets.

Selepak shares why going cold turkey with a digital detox is unlikely to be successful, why vacations are a good setting to implement a partial digital detox, and why turning off notifications and removing social media apps is the best way to start a detox.

He also explains why our use of technology shouldn’t be seen necessarily as an addiction, like a drug, but a tool that needs to be the correct way.

Additionally Selepak shares how a non-self imposed detox from his phone during a trip in Ireland taught him the importance of disconnecting, and how many of us fall into the trap of taking numerous pictures on holiday, with the ambition of posting on social media, instead of experiencing the trip in the present moment.

And finally, we discuss the role meditation can play to help limit our time with technology.

To do this we are joined by Dale Smith, Founder & EVP at Orchestral.ai, a company that provides data center operators with an event-driven, cross-domain orchestration solution that takes automation to a whole new level of effectiveness in taming the chaos & complexity of IT and business support infrastructure.

In this episode, we discuss the future of self-driving trucks and how AI can be augmented with human drivers. For example, if a driver becomes drowsy the AI can detect this and give the driver a shock with a loud noise, vibration or even a subtle electric shock.

Smith also gives us a brief history of how far AI has come in the workforce and shares one of his earlier experiences while living in Copenhagen, using the city’s self-driving metro trains.

While discussing this he also shares how AI has already made a huge impact on the customer service industry.

Additionally, Smith goes into why creativity and innovation are essential elements of the jobs that will last the longest in the hands of humans. And why nurses may be one of the final jobs to survive the AI take over.

Smith also shares why he believes that artists will remain in work, despite the fact that AI can now produce music and art.

We also discuss the psychological implications of what it means for humans if they lose their jobs as a result of AI.

And Smith raises the very important point of who will be employed to consume the output of industries, if AI is running everything and humans are displaced from the workforce.

And finally, we explore UBI as a potential solution to the economic impact and displacement of humans thanks to AI taking over the workforce.

In fact, Food Drive reports that plant-based food retail sales were worth $7 billion in 2020, showing a 27% growth rate overall for products that specifically replace animal-derived options, according to SPINS data released by the Good Food Institute and the Plant Based Foods Association (PBFA).

To explore this societal change to our diets, and the potential impact it might have on our psychology, we spoke with Dr. Uma Naidoo, Faculty Member at Harvard Medical School, an author, a Professional Chef, Culinary Instructor and Nutrition Specialist.

We kick off the show by hearing from Dr. Naidoo about how witnessing her grandmother cooking homemade meals using ingredients grown in her back garden influenced her career in psychology and nutrition.

We also discuss the philosophy around food, and how our diets reflect different beliefs, and why it is important to respect others' beliefs and dietary choices. Dr. Naidoo explains that as a chef she was taught to respect food, and not demonize it, regardless of your own personal beliefs and choices.

She also highlights some impressive companies working in this space such as The Very Good Butchers who refer to themselves as “bean butchers.” Alongside other companies innovating new methods to produce protein sources for plant based meats, such as seaweed and algae via cellular agriculture.

Dr. Naidoo also explains the need for more research around the potential psychological benefits that plant based meats can offer.

She draws on the example that we know a plant rich diet leaning on lentils, beans, nuts and seeds can be very beneficial to mental health, but suggests it is still too early to assume that plant based meats might have the same effect.

Moreover, Dr. Naidoo also states that, even if you consume plant based meats from fast food chains, it is better to make them at home as these chains often use processed vegetable oils that are very inflammatory for the gut and can negatively affect mental health.

To do this we are joined by Dr. Gail Saltz, the Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the NY Presbyterian Hospital Weill-Cornell School of medicine and host of the “How Can I Help?" podcast from iHeartRadio.

We discuss the difference is between compulsive behavior and substance addiction and their impact on our brains, what constitutes an addiction, and what you can do if you feel you have an addiction.

Dr. Saltz also explains why most addicts don't go to psychiatrists because of their addiction, but because of the negative consequences produced by these addictions such as depression or anxiety.

In addition, we also discuss why buying and checking crypto has the potential to be an addictive compulsive behavior.

On top of that, we go into how willpower is like a muscle that you exercise and make stronger, but it takes a lot more than willpower to overcome addiction.

And finally, Dr. Saltz shares how our neurons are like roads, and when we start an addictive habit that rewards us with dopamine, like winning when gambling, this pathway is small like a country road.

But as the habit is repeated, this road becomes larger like a highway and becomes an easier road for your brain to take.

Well for AI-powered video hiring software Interviewer.AI, the introduction of AI stands to make improvements for both participants in this often stressful scenario.

In today’s episode of the Brains Byte Back podcast, we will hear from Sunny Saurabh, Co-founder and CEO of Interviewer.AI, to understand why he believes AI interviewing is the next step forward for hiring, and how it looks to complement the current system of hiring with humans, rather than outsource it entirely.

We discuss how Interviewer.AI works, and how it looks to advance scalability, objectivity, and speed in the hiring process.

Saurabh breaks down how the software screens your resumes and scores them, does a skill assessment test, and conducts pre-screen video interviews before you even meet the first candidate. With this in mind, Saurabh explains how the first level of candidates are screened using the software, so you can deal with the top candidates out of hundreds of applicants.

We also discuss how the software’s design is based on the work of psychologist Albert Mehrabian, who formulated the 7-38-55% rule. This rule advocates that the psychology of our communication can be broken down using the following formula: 7% verbal + 38% vocal + 55% facial and body language.

We also dive into how their software helps candidates prepare and train for interviews, and receive actionable feedback -- an important aspect considering that candidates rarely receive feedback because employers fear being sued if they share this information.

And finally, Saurabh shares his predictions on where he sees recruitment in 10 years.

To explore this realm further, along with the psychological motivation of these individuals, we are joined by Dr. Michael Nuccitelli, an NYS licensed psychologist, cyberpsychology expert, and internet safety educator. He is also the founder of iPredator Inc which offers the private & public sectors free educational and advisory services regarding internet predators, cybercrime & cybercriminal psychology.

With his career in psychology spanning back to the mid-90s, Dr. Nuccitelli spent many years working as a forensic psychologist fascinated by the dark side of human consciousness. In 2009 he published his concept of iPreditor, which aims to understand the psychology of online criminals and psychopaths, and analyzes the methods they use to carry out their crimes and actions.

In this episode, you will learn about the psychology that underpins psychopathy, how online psychopaths operate and how they are distinct from your average psychopath that existed before the internet.

We also discuss soft determinism and hard determinism when analyzing personality traits, how early childhood experiences influence and potentially dictate the people we become.

Additionally, Dr. Nuccitelli shares his own experience of being harassed and trolled online while conducting and publishing his theories and research, which shaped his concept of the troll triad -- a concept exploring the psychology behind online trolls which is lightly based on the work of Carl Jung.

And finally, Dr. Nuccitelli discusses the current limitations of the legal system in bringing down these spiteful online individuals, and why many attempts to bring justice to them rarely result in convictions or legal consequences.

In North Korea, the internet as we know it is almost non-existent. Only a few high-level officials are allowed access, and most universities, are given a small number of strictly monitored computers.

But for the majority of citizens, the only internet they know of is Kwangmyong, a walled-off network that allows access only to domestic websites and emails. Thus, access to foreign media and outside information is limited and treasured.

This information is often obtained through the grey market, distributed using USBs and SD cards, and as it stands, this technology could be the most effective weapons to bring down the authoritarian regime

In today's episode of the Brains Byte Back podcast, we will be speaking with Alex Gladstein, Chief Strategy Officer at Human Rights Foundation, which is responsible for Flash Drives for Freedom, a campaign that helps North Korean defectors smuggle USB drives and SD cards, loaded with outside information, into the hermit region to weaken the dictatorship.

Gladstein explains how this all started, a little over 10 years ago when DVDs, CDs, and radio broadcasts trickled into the country and began to significantly change citizens' perspectives of the outside world.

According to Gladstein, in interviews with numerous North Korean defectors, it was this foreign media that encouraged many of them to get out.

From our interview with Gladstein, you will learn what information is put on these drives, how external information getting into the hands of its citizens is a threat to the North Korean regime, and what could happen if a North Korean citizen is caught with one of these drives.

Additionally, you will learn how the 2014 comedy film "The Interview" made an impact in North Korea, becoming one of the most sought-after pieces of foreign media.

To do this we are joined by Dan Merino, CEO of Green Dot Security, a cybersecurity company offering services to small and mid-sized businesses.

Today, you will learn how hackers use themes based on larger events such as COVID-19 or tax season to add a legitimate edge to their phishing attacks, why 2-factor authentication is so important to protect yourself, and why the information you post online could be a goldmine for phishing attacks.

We discuss how humans are often the weakest point for a cyberattack, but can also stand to be the strongest defense when trained well.

We also explore how call centers become the target of hacks, in order to access the information of their clientele, so the attackers can pose as a member of the call center to conduct phishing attacks over the phone using this information.

This was proven by The Bangladesh Bank Heist that took place in 2016, when unidentified hackers attempted to steal $951 million from the Bangladesh Central Bank in Dhaka.

Even though a lot of this money was recovered, the thieves still managed to get away with $81 million, and the attempt is considered one of the biggest bank heists of all time.

First on the podcast, we will hear Pamela Clegg, Director of Financial Investigations and Education for CipherTrace, an intelligence company working to eradicate financial crimes and provide prevention strategies in the cryptocurrency and blockchain spaces. Clegg shares a story of how CipherTrace teamed up with McAfee to tackle NetWalker ransomware, a ransomware that has become a franchise within the cybercrime underworld.

Secondly, we are joined by Ondrej Krehel, CEO, and founder of digital forensics firm LIFARS, who has worked with the FBI, DHS, Interpol, and many other government organizations on cyber defense and threat hunting. Krehel joins us to discuss his work with NiceHash, a crypto-mining marketplace, which came to LIFARS for help in response to a $67M crypto hack perpetrated by the North Korean military.

And finally, we are joined by Rytis Bieliauskas, CTO of cryptocurrency payment platform Coingate, to discuss how a DEA agent and a Secret Service agent stole Bitcoins from the Silk Road owner and got caught because of Bitcoin's traceability.

To do this we are joined by Marshall Barnes, an advanced concept science and technology R&D engineer who has been associated with advanced weapons concepts involving robotics and computerized weapons systems since 1982.

Barnes began his career working on ideas for antisubmarine warfare and was a recruitment target by the attorney of Arm-Tech, James Maxwell.

In 2008 he published a paper through Scientific Americans' blog community on current and future weapons systems that was scrubbed off the Internet by DARPA because it revealed too much.

Barnes kicks off the episode by explaining how he first got started in the technological weapons space, and how a love for sci-fi inspired him to design futuristic weapons.

He also breaks down how he would revise classic Star Wars weapons and vehicles to make them more effective, and how his career was launched by a desire to create his own sci-fi movie.

We also discuss a recent BBC article titled "Biden urged to back AI weapons to counter China and Russia threats," and Barnes shares his thoughts on why he is not afraid of AI becoming self-aware.

He also discusses China's super-soldier program, and how he likes to contemplate countermeasures against new technological weapons from foreign threats as a hobby in his free time.

Additionally, Barnes explains what "Digital Centrism" is and why it holds back many in the tech community.

There is no doubt that 2020 will be remembered as the year that COVID lockdowns stole from us, but it will also be the year that TikTok broke headlines, records, and became an enemy of the former US president.

As of February 2021, it is estimated that TikTok now has over 1.1 Billion active monthly users. But how did the app become so big and what are the driving factors behind the app's rise to fame?

In today's episode of the Brains Byte Back podcast, we break down the psychological components that allow social media apps, like TikTok, to rise to the top and snowball with users.

To do this we are joined by Austin Iuliano, a Social Media Marketing Consultant that has worked with major emerging social media such as Meerkat, Periscope, Snapchat, Musical.ly/Tiktok, and Live.ly.

Luliano shares with us how he went from homeless sleeping in his car to one of the fastest-growing live streaming influencers, and the steps he took to achieve this.

He also explains why and how TikTok became so successful, examples of social media companies that have risen and fallen due to major mistakes, and strategies for emerging social media sites that anyone can use to grow their audience.

In this episode, you will also learn why successful social media sites have to help their users achieve something or get better at something, how Vine rapidly fell apart, and why Andrew Yang's book "The War on Normal People" is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the business models of social media.

Luliano also shares with us why he has a Reddit account dedicated to just following, puppies, animals, and "kind, cuddly things."

And finally, he explains how to use the algorithms of new social media features to your advantage.

In today's episode of the Brains Byte Back podcast, we speak with Naysa Mishler, the co-founder, and CEO of Everest Effect, an AI-driven crisis recovery marketplace removing waste and fraud from donations with transparency, so that people affected by crises can get the exact help they need at the moment they need it.

Mishler explains how disorganization, also known in the industry as "the second disaster," can be counterproductive when it comes to donations, highlighting the example of winter coats being sent to Haiti following the earthquake in 2010.

Additionally, she speaks about the current situation the United States faces in terms of crisis recovery from the pandemic. And finally, we dissect the psychology behind donations, and how Everest Effect taps into this.

In its most basic form, Everest's marketplace verifies the identity and need of those affected by the crisis to request a basket of items at $100 or less. Those who wish to give can fill those baskets.

Mishler also explains why fraud is such a big issue within charity work, and how Everest Effect tackles this through its verification process, to ensure the right people are getting help.

In July 2020, speaking via video at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, Elon Musk stated that "I'm extremely confident that level five - or essentially complete autonomy - will happen and I think will happen very quickly."

While this is exciting, we still don't have a clear idea of how or when AI vehicles will become a normal part of our everyday lives.

In this episode, we look to explore how far away a future of fully autonomous vehicles really is, where we will see this transition first, and what it will take for us to arrive there. We also debate whether we could live in a future where humans will no longer be allowed to drive and AI-operated vehicles become legally mandatory.

To do this we invited a number of experts on the show to share their thoughts on this topic.

In this episode, we are joined by Jason Torchinsky, the Senior Editor for the automotive technology site Jalopnik, and the author of Robot, Take the Wheel: The Road to Autonomous Cars and the Lost Art of Driving. Torchinsky breaks down the five different levels of autonomous vehicles, Elon Musk's comments at last year’s World Artificial Intelligence Conference, and he explains how far he really thinks Tesla, and other companies, are from full autonomy.

We are also joined by Carl Anthony, the Detroit-based managing editor of Automoblog and AutoVision News. Anthony joins us to highlight what countries are leading the way for autonomous vehicle technology, and how consumer psychology stands to influence the production of autonomous vehicles.

And lastly, we are joined by Melanie Musson, an autonomous vehicle and insurance specialist that produces written content for the auto insurance comparison site AutoInsurance.org.

She explains how autonomous vehicles might make certain personal details irrelevant for car insurance companies, why manual driving could become unaffordable for the majority of drivers, and how car insurance companies stand to influence the psychology of consumers.

In this episode of the podcast, we are joined by Kenny White, Chief Creativity Architect and Co-Founder of Funworks, a creative agency using neuroscience research to bring fun into the corporate setting, allowing businesses and their employees to achieve their creative potential.

Alongside White, we are also joined by Erica Fortescue, neuroscience expert, and the former Creativity Architect at Funworks.

In the episode, White explains how a road trip from Alaska to Costa Rica led him to become a co-founder of the company and how the company created "(fun)workshops" in business environments, based on the founder's experience of writing in sketch comedy groups.

He highlights how the company uses sketch comedians alongside graphic illustrators to record ideas in image form to create an environment of fun and laughter to produce content.

Fortescue also explains how her work, alongside some of the most pre-eminent neuroscientists and psychologists in the world, allowed her to optimize Funwork's creative process.

You will learn what the phrase "Neurons that fire together, wire together" means, how we get stuck in thinking loops that stifle our creativity, and how to get out of these loops. Hint, it involves driving through a house (metaphorically).

She also shares with our listeners what fMRI and EEG studies tell us about how our unconscious produces creative ideas, and how we bring them to the surface.

The pair also give examples of unique work environments they produced to help come up with ideas -- like how they rented out the Swedish American Hall and sat in Viking chairs to come up with a new promotional video for the game "Assassin's Creed Valhalla," which became the best selling game in the franchise's history, with 1.7 million copies sold at launch.

And finally, Fortescue explains how open-ended questions can lead to better ideas. And even though this sounds straightforward, Fortescue provides an example that highlights how Funworks takes an unconventional, yet effective approach to this.

The first is Scott Crabtree, the C