Strictly From Nowhere: A Podcast Experiment by Cause of a Kind

Justin Abrams
  • 0.0 (0)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated twice weekly

Five shows. One mission. Uncover wisdom and share it with all of you. Strictly From Nowhere is a podcast experiment by Cause of a Kind. We are Justin Abrams and Mike Rispoli. Co-founders. Bootstrappers. Builders. We interview founders, break down what is happening in tech and business, go deep on engineering and AI, and document our own journey of building from nothing every single day. Stand up. Show up. Build.

  1. 6 days ago

    James Hamilton, Founder @ Dubble.gg | What the Heck is Clipping?

    Justin sits down with James Hamilton, founder of Dubble and a software engineer by trade, to unpack clipping, the fastest rising strategy in digital advertising. Clipping takes one long piece of content and turns it into hundreds of short clips that flood every feed. A million views for a few thousand dollars instead of a Super Bowl spot for millions. James explains how the model works, how brands like Stake built empires on it, and why volume plus data beats one perfect ad every time.Then the real debate. Can AI do this yet? The answer is sharper than you think. AI is unstoppable at linear content and finds key moments in seconds. But curation, taste, and the emotional throughput that makes a stranger stop scrolling still belong to humans. The last mile stays human.They also get into 20x engineering output with agents, why judgment beats speed, how Netflix engineers your attention, and how to ride a trend instead of trying to move culture alone. Topics covered: - What clipping actually is - Billboard marketing for the digital age - Why AI cannot curate - 20x output with AI agents - Finding trending opportunities - Netflix and the science of attention https://www.linkedin.com/in/hamilton-james/ https://dubble.gg/ ──────────────────────────────── LISTEN ON ALL PLATFORMS Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1V4SjmlnG2sntDnck8UrGW Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/strictly-from-nowhere-a-podcast-experiment-by-cause/id1804380172 iHeart Radio https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-strictly-from-nowhere-a-po-315649122/ YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWAstEyCK6YsKVTTRsQr37w SUPPORT THE SHOW Patreon http://patreon.com/StrictlyFromNowhere CONNECT WITH US LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/strictly-from-nowhere Website https://strictlyfromnowhere.com ──────────────────────────────── FOLLOW JUSTIN ABRAMS | @cuzzinjustin LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/cuzzinjustin/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/cuzzinjustin/ X https://x.com/cuzzinjustin TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@cuzzinjustin Facebook https://www.facebook.com/cuzzinjustin24 Website https://www.cuzzinjustin.com ──────────────────────────────── FOLLOW MIKE RISPOLI | @mike_rispoli_cto LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-rispoli-cto/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/mike_rispoli_cto/ X https://x.com/michael_rispoli TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@mike_rispoli Website https://michaelrispoli.com/ ──────────────────────────────── CAUSE OF A KIND | @causeofakind Website https://www.causeofakind.com LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/cause-of-a-kind Instagram https://www.instagram.com/causeofakind/ X https://x.com/causeofakind TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@causeofakind Newsletter Signup http://eepurl.com/gcc-yj Newsletter Archive https://us16.campaign-archive.com/home/?u=847ea1526d6523a41ef1eb5a5&id=48d53e9627 ──────────────────────────────── OPEN SOURCE PROJECTS CodeDojo https://github.com/Cause-of-a-Kind/code-dojo-core OCR Ruby GEM https://activestorage-ocr-demo.fly.dev/ ──────────────────────────────── COMMUNITY INITIATIVES Long Island Technologists https://www.longislandtechnologists.com https://www.linkedin.com/company/long-island-technologists-networking https://www.instagram.com/longislandtechnologists/ ──────────────────────────────── We Build Products, Because We Want Them To Exist https://coakstudio.com ──────────────────────────────── Brought to you by Cause of a Kind A boutique software development and startup studio from Long Island, New York Stand up. Show up. Build.

    58 min

  2. 27 Jun

    Jim Kitchen | The Future of IoT and Smart Homes

    The game is already over. You just do not realize it yet. In this episode of CTO Confidential, Mike Rispoli sits down with Jim Kitchen, a fractional CPTO with three decades of experience building hardware, shipping standards, and managing successful exits. Jim has been in the trenches since 1998, working in telecom infrastructure, creating the TR-69 standard that still powers broadband provisioning, and co-founding the Matter IoT standard that now has over 900 companies involved. We dig into how standards and infrastructure shape entire industries. Jim shares the pattern he has seen repeatedly: an innovation arrives, infrastructure catches up slowly, and then suddenly everything flips. It happened with broadband. It happened with home security. It is happening right now with AI and renewable energy. The conversation spans electric vehicles (the game is already over), battery swap technology, why Texas is quietly leading the renewable energy revolution, and what it means to build orchestration tools in an industry still finding its footing. Jim breaks down the fractional CPTO challenge: balancing product vision and technology delivery in organizations where those functions have collapsed. He also addresses the real crisis happening now: teams shipping features three times faster than they used to, breaking every downstream process from product planning to sales enablement to customer support. This is a conversation about fundamentals, generalism, and keeping your hands on the tools even as technology accelerates. What we cover:Origin story: Telecom, TR-69 standard, 75 million home activationsHome security innovation in an industry frozen since the 1980sBuilding ecosystems and the power of standardsMatter IoT standard and removing friction from consumer choiceWhy walled gardens ultimately lose to open systemsThe infrastructure lag: when innovation outpaces adoptionElectric vehicles and the already-decided gameRenewable energy in Texas leading the nationBattery swap technology for instant EV refuelingAI as infrastructure challenge, not just a toolFractional CPTO work and the collapsed product/technology divideAcceleration breaking downstream processesProduct delivery pipelines in the AI eraTesting, quality, and avoiding bugs at scaleLocal control at the edge versus cloud-to-cloud integrationMatter gateway and bridging legacy protocolsThe renaissance of generalism over specializationBuilding and shipping, alwaysIan Banks Culture series as optimistic future vision────────────────────────────────LISTEN ON ALL PLATFORMSSpotifyhttps://open.spotify.com/show/1V4SjmlnG2sntDnck8UrGWApple Podcastshttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/strictly-from-nowhere-a-podcast-experiment-by-cause/id1804380172iHeart Radiohttps://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-strictly-from-nowhere-a-po-315649122/YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWAstEyCK6YsKVTTRsQr37wSUPPORT THE SHOWPatreonhttp://patreon.com/StrictlyFromNowhereCONNECT WITH USLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/strictly-from-nowhereWebsitehttps://strictlyfromnowhere.com────────────────────────────────FOLLOW MIKE RISPOLI | @mike_rispoli_ctoLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-rispoli-cto/Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/mike_rispoli_cto/Xhttps://x.com/michael_rispoliTikTokhttps://www.tiktok.com/@mike_rispoliWebsitehttps://michaelrispoli.com/────────────────────────────────CAUSE OF A KIND | @causeofakindWebsitehttps://www.causeofakind.comLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/cause-of-a-kindInstagramhttps://www.instagram.com/causeofakind/Xhttps://x.com/causeofakindTikTokhttps://www.tiktok.com/@causeofakindNewsletter Signuphttp://eepurl.com/gcc-yjNewsletter Archivehttps://us16.campaign-archive.com/home/?u=847ea1526d6523a41ef1eb5a5&id=48d53e9627Brought to you by Cause of a KindA boutique software development and startup studio from Long Island, New YorkStand up. Show up. Build.

    1hr 17min

  3. 26 Jun

    Lawrence Krubner | Ai in LegalTech

    Legal tech is still using keyword search. That is a massive waste of what AI can actually do. In this episode of CTO Confidential, Mike Rispoli sits down with Lawrence Krubner, CTO of Score Lytics, to dig into the frontier problems that AI is now making possible to solve. Lawrence has been building on the web since 2002, and his perspective on how each generation dismisses the next is eye-opening. We talk about why minimalism matters when AI removes the need for it, how antagonistic agents from different LLMs can verify information with high confidence, and why open-source models are often better than frontier models when you have the right architecture. Lawrence shares how legal tech is wasting AI by treating it as a fancy search tool instead of using it to extract nuanced meaning from unstructured text. This is a conversation about managing AI-generated code, the importance of forward deployed engineers, and the languages that were designed for the problems AI is now solving. What we cover: Origin story from early web days to CTO at Scale Lytics Every generation of programmers dismisses the next AI as the newest wave of simplification Ruby on Rails and frameworks that play well with AI Managing what to review in auto-generated code Strategic code review and decision points Junior engineers and training in the AI era Score Lytics and legal tech innovation ──────────────────────────────── LISTEN ON ALL PLATFORMS Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1V4SjmlnG2sntDnck8UrGW Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/strictly-from-nowhere-a-podcast-experiment-by-cause/id1804380172 iHeart Radio https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-strictly-from-nowhere-a-po-315649122/ YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWAstEyCK6YsKVTTRsQr37w SUPPORT THE SHOW Patreon http://patreon.com/StrictlyFromNowhere CONNECT WITH US LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/strictly-from-nowhere Website https://strictlyfromnowhere.com ──────────────────────────────── FOLLOW JUSTIN ABRAMS | @cuzzinjustin LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/cuzzinjustin/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/cuzzinjustin/ X https://x.com/cuzzinjustin TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@cuzzinjustin Facebook https://www.facebook.com/cuzzinjustin24 Website https://www.cuzzinjustin.com ──────────────────────────────── FOLLOW MIKE RISPOLI | @mike_rispoli_cto LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-rispoli-cto/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/mike_rispoli_cto/ X https://x.com/michael_rispoli TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@mike_rispoli Website https://michaelrispoli.com/ ──────────────────────────────── CAUSE OF A KIND | @causeofakind Website https://www.causeofakind.com LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/cause-of-a-kind Instagram https://www.instagram.com/causeofakind/ X https://x.com/causeofakind TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@causeofakind Newsletter Signup http://eepurl.com/gcc-yj Newsletter Archive https://us16.campaign-archive.com/home/?u=847ea1526d6523a41ef1eb5a5&id=48d53e9627 ──────────────────────────────── OPEN SOURCE PROJECTS CodeDojo https://github.com/Cause-of-a-Kind/code-dojo-core OCR Ruby GEM https://activestorage-ocr-demo.fly.dev/ ──────────────────────────────── COMMUNITY INITIATIVES Long Island Technologists https://www.longislandtechnologists.com https://www.linkedin.com/company/long-island-technologists-networking https://www.instagram.com/longislandtechnologists/ ──────────────────────────────── We Build Products, Because We Want Them To Exist https://coakstudio.com ──────────────────────────────── Brought to you by Cause of a Kind A boutique software development and startup studio from Long Island, New York Stand up. Show up. Build.

    1hr 7min

  4. 25 Jun

    Building Software Transparently | Episode #066

    The model that worked for thirty years just died. And nobody wants to say it out loud.In this episode of Strictly From Nowhere, Justin Abrams and Mike Rispoli dig into the existential challenge facing every service business building software. AI has made delivery faster. Projects that used to take six months now take three weeks. But the sales cycle did not accelerate. The demand did not accelerate. So now you have a supply problem.We talk about why non-technical customers cannot see the value in backend work, why vertical slices matter more than horizontal development, and how showing your work is not optional. Mike breaks down the cascading problems: time and materials billing is dead, value-based pricing is the only answer, but how do you price something that used to cost six months when it now costs three weeks?This is a real conversation about the asymmetric acceleration between what agencies can produce and what the market actually needs. And nobody in the room knows the solution yet.What we cover:Why customers cannot see backend and infrastructure valueVertical slice methodology versus horizontal developmentThe importance of showing your work constantlyCommunication channels and meeting people where they areWeekly rollups, tickets, and project visibilityThe dark side of over-delivering with AIFeature farms and shipping too much too fastTime and materials billing model is deadThe shift to value-based pricingSingle-use tools and maintenance contractsAsymmetric acceleration between production and demandSales cycles not accelerating with delivery speedThe challenge of finding and keeping customersWhy building things has never been easierWhy finding customers is now the actual hard part────────────────────────────────LISTEN ON ALL PLATFORMSSpotifyhttps://open.spotify.com/show/1V4SjmlnG2sntDnck8UrGWApple Podcastshttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/strictly-from-nowhere-a-podcast-experiment-by-cause/id1804380172iHeart Radiohttps://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-strictly-from-nowhere-a-po-315649122/YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWAstEyCK6YsKVTTRsQr37wSUPPORT THE SHOWPatreonhttp://patreon.com/StrictlyFromNowhereCONNECT WITH USLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/strictly-from-nowhereWebsitehttps://strictlyfromnowhere.com────────────────────────────────FOLLOW JUSTIN ABRAMS | @cuzzinjustinLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/cuzzinjustin/Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/cuzzinjustin/Xhttps://x.com/cuzzinjustinTikTokhttps://www.tiktok.com/@cuzzinjustinFacebookhttps://www.facebook.com/cuzzinjustin24Websitehttps://www.cuzzinjustin.com────────────────────────────────FOLLOW MIKE RISPOLI | @mike_rispoli_ctoLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-rispoli-cto/Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/mike_rispoli_cto/Xhttps://x.com/michael_rispoliTikTokhttps://www.tiktok.com/@mike_rispoliWebsitehttps://michaelrispoli.com/────────────────────────────────CAUSE OF A KIND | @causeofakindWebsitehttps://www.causeofakind.comLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/cause-of-a-kindInstagramhttps://www.instagram.com/causeofakind/Xhttps://x.com/causeofakindTikTokhttps://www.tiktok.com/@causeofakindNewsletter Signuphttp://eepurl.com/gcc-yj────────────────────────────────OPEN SOURCE PROJECTSCodeDojohttps://github.com/Cause-of-a-Kind/code-dojo-coreOCR Ruby GEMhttps://activestorage-ocr-demo.fly.dev/────────────────────────────────COMMUNITY INITIATIVESLong Island Technologistshttps://www.longislandtechnologists.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/long-island-technologists-networkinghttps://www.instagram.com/longislandtechnologists/────────────────────────────────We Build Products, Because We Want Them To Existhttps://coakstudio.com────────────────────────────────Brought to you by Cause of a KindA boutique software development and startup studio from Long Island, New YorkStand up. Show up. Build.

    16 min

  5. 25 Jun

    Joshua Brown | Architecting Professional Courses

    The most successful people in the world are not in college. They are learning from other people. The question is: where are you learning from? In this episode of Forward to Extraordinary, [Justin Abrams](https://www.linkedin.com/in/cuzzinjustin/) sits down with [Josh Brown](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jkbrownofficial/ "Josh Brown"), a course creator, educator, and CTO who has worked across every vertical from technical theater to corporate to teaching to building education businesses. Josh shares his framework for designing courses that actually work, why most online education fails, and the singular thing that separates people who build thriving education businesses from those who build products nobody buys. We dig into reverse engineering courses from the end result backward, filtering out fluff that only adds noise, building communities that retain members, and why most entrepreneurs are chasing the wrong thing before they have validated the right thing. Josh also talks about micro niche success, authentic content in the age of AI, and the mastermind groups that actually matter. This is a conversation about building products people want, keeping things simple, and surrounding yourself with people who will tell you the truth. What we cover: - Origin story from technical theater to teaching to courses - The fallacy that college is the only path to success - The bookend build framework for designing courses - Why fluff kills online education programs - Retention through community and engagement - Asking for help as a strength, not a weakness - Reverse engineering course success from the end result - Validating ideas before investing time and money - Micro niche success and specificity - Authentic content in the age of AI - Research based platform selection versus guessing - The syndication strategy that works for you - Simple wins versus chasing complexity - Masterminds and surrounding yourself with honest people - Being a CTO for a membership business at scale - Rent versus build platforms and liability Website: https://jkbrownofficial.com Company: https://epiccourseagency.com Playbook: https://coursesellingplaybook.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jkbrownofficial/ ──────────────────────────────── LISTEN ON ALL PLATFORMS Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1V4SjmlnG2sntDnck8UrGW Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/strictly-from-nowhere-a-podcast-experiment-by-cause/id1804380172 iHeart Radio https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-strictly-from-nowhere-a-po-315649122/ YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWAstEyCK6YsKVTTRsQr37w SUPPORT THE SHOW Patreon http://patreon.com/StrictlyFromNowhere CONNECT WITH US LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/strictly-from-nowhere Website https://strictlyfromnowhere.com ──────────────────────────────── FOLLOW JUSTIN ABRAMS | @cuzzinjustin LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/cuzzinjustin/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/cuzzinjustin/ X https://x.com/cuzzinjustin TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@cuzzinjustin Facebook https://www.facebook.com/cuzzinjustin24 Website https://www.cuzzinjustin.com ─────────────────────────── CAUSE OF A KIND | @causeofakind Website https://www.causeofakind.com LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/cause-of-a-kind Instagram https://www.instagram.com/causeofakind/ X https://x.com/causeofakind TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@causeofakind Newsletter Signup http://eepurl.com/gcc-yj Newsletter Archive https://us16.campaign-archive.com/home/?u=847ea1526d6523a41ef1eb5a5&id=48d53e9627 ──────────────────────────────── We Build Products, Because We Want Them To Exist https://coakstudio.com ──────────────────────────────── Brought to you by Cause of a Kind A boutique software development and startup studio from Long Island, New York Stand up. Show up. Build.

    48 min

  6. 19 Jun

    Alex Salazar, CEO & Co Founder @ Arcade.dev | The Future of Ai Governance

    The most important circle in any startup is demand. If you do not nail that, technical feasibility and business viability do not matter. In this episode of Forward to Extraordinary, Justin Abrams sits down with Alex Salazar, CEO and co-founder of Arcade.dev, an AI agent orchestration platform for enterprises. Alex shares the playbook that works: spotting non-consensus opportunities, refusing to ask customers what they want, using fake products to test demand, and knowing when to kill ideas fast. What we cover: Non-consensus opportunities and betting before they become obvious Why demand matters more than feasibility or business viability Do not ask customers what they want, show them problems instead Using fake products to validate demand without writing code False positive and false negative feedback Price discovery through customer conversations Feature soup kills products, use reduction not addition Delegated user authorization for agent security AI guardrails versus governance Culture as customer excellence and world-class talent Hire slow, fire fast Recruiting talent as founder priority https://www.arcade.dev/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexsalazar/ ──────────────────────────────── LISTEN ON ALL PLATFORMS Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1V4SjmlnG2sntDnck8UrGW Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/strictly-from-nowhere-a-podcast-experiment-by-cause/id1804380172 iHeart Radio https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-strictly-from-nowhere-a-po-315649122/ YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWAstEyCK6YsKVTTRsQr37w SUPPORT THE SHOW Patreon http://patreon.com/StrictlyFromNowhere CONNECT WITH US LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/strictly-from-nowhere Website https://strictlyfromnowhere.com ──────────────────────────────── FOLLOW JUSTIN ABRAMS | @cuzzinjustin LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/cuzzinjustin/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/cuzzinjustin/ X https://x.com/cuzzinjustin TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@cuzzinjustin Facebook https://www.facebook.com/cuzzinjustin24 Website https://www.cuzzinjustin.com ──────────────────────────────── FOLLOW MIKE RISPOLI | @mike_rispoli_cto LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-rispoli-cto/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/mike_rispoli_cto/ X https://x.com/michael_rispoli TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@mike_rispoli Website https://michaelrispoli.com/ ──────────────────────────────── CAUSE OF A KIND | @causeofakind Website https://www.causeofakind.com LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/cause-of-a-kind Instagram https://www.instagram.com/causeofakind/ X https://x.com/causeofakind TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@causeofakind Newsletter Signup http://eepurl.com/gcc-yj Newsletter Archive https://us16.campaign-archive.com/home/?u=847ea1526d6523a41ef1eb5a5&id=48d53e9627 ──────────────────────────────── OPEN SOURCE PROJECTS CodeDojo https://github.com/Cause-of-a-Kind/code-dojo-core OCR Ruby GEM https://activestorage-ocr-demo.fly.dev/ ──────────────────────────────── COMMUNITY INITIATIVES Long Island Technologists https://www.longislandtechnologists.com https://www.linkedin.com/company/long-island-technologists-networking https://www.instagram.com/longislandtechnologists/ ──────────────────────────────── We Build Products, Because We Want Them To Exist https://coakstudio.com ──────────────────────────────── Brought to you by Cause of a Kind A boutique software development and startup studio from Long Island, New York Stand up. Show up. Build.

    38 min

  7. 17 Jun

    Creating Thought Leadership Authentically | Episode #065

    The tools are the same for everyone now. So the winning strategy is to use them differently. In this episode of Strictly From Nowhere, Mike Rispoli and Justin Abrams dig into how they are each using AI to overcome the barriers to shipping content and ideas. Mike shares his process of recording blog posts, using AI to edit and organize, then heavily hand-editing to preserve authenticity. Justin talks about building an omnichannel strategy across voice, video, and writing. But the conversation quickly shifts to something more important: how to stand out when everyone has the same tools. They discuss why their customer is not on Instagram, why the podcast is becoming commoditized as more agencies copy it, and why the real opportunity right now is in the abandoned marketing tactics that everyone stopped doing. They talk about going back to door-to-door, relationship building, and in-person presence because every other channel is noise. This is a conversation about moving faster than the market can follow, knowing who your actual customer is, and exploiting the density of opportunity in your own backyard. What we cover: Using AI to overcome writer's block and publishing barriers Preserving authenticity when using AI for content editing The difference between writing for humans versus LLMs Building an omnichannel strategy with authenticity Why Instagram and TikTok do not work for B2B service businesses The commoditization of successful marketing strategies Speed of AI development versus speed of customer feedback The challenge of moving faster than you can get market signal Abandoned marketing tactics and in-person relationship building Why the real opportunity is in your neighborhood Avoiding commoditization in a world where everyone has the same tools Long Island as Silicon Island and the density of opportunity ──────────────────────────────── LISTEN ON ALL PLATFORMS Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1V4SjmlnG2sntDnck8UrGW Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/strictly-from-nowhere-a-podcast-experiment-by-cause/id1804380172 iHeart Radio https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-strictly-from-nowhere-a-po-315649122/ YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWAstEyCK6YsKVTTRsQr37w SUPPORT THE SHOW Patreon http://patreon.com/StrictlyFromNowhere CONNECT WITH US LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/strictly-from-nowhere Website https://strictlyfromnowhere.com ──────────────────────────────── FOLLOW JUSTIN ABRAMS | @cuzzinjustin LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/cuzzinjustin/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/cuzzinjustin/ X https://x.com/cuzzinjustin TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@cuzzinjustin Facebook https://www.facebook.com/cuzzinjustin24 Website https://www.cuzzinjustin.com ──────────────────────────────── FOLLOW MIKE RISPOLI | @mike_rispoli_cto LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-rispoli-cto/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/mike_rispoli_cto/ X https://x.com/michael_rispoli TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@mike_rispoli Website https://michaelrispoli.com/ ──────────────────────────────── CAUSE OF A KIND | @causeofakind Website https://www.causeofakind.com LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/cause-of-a-kind Instagram https://www.instagram.com/causeofakind/ X https://x.com/causeofakind TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@causeofakind Newsletter Signup http://eepurl.com/gcc-yj Newsletter Archive https://us16.campaign-archive.com/home/?u=847ea1526d6523a41ef1eb5a5&id=48d53e9627 ──────────────────────────────── OPEN SOURCE PROJECTS CodeDojo https://github.com/Cause-of-a-Kind/code-dojo-core OCR Ruby GEM https://activestorage-ocr-demo.fly.dev/ ──────────────────────────────── We Build Products, Because We Want Them To Exist https://coakstudio.com ──────────────────────────────── Brought to you by Cause of a Kind A boutique software development and startup studio from Long Island, New York Stand up. Show up. Build.

    26 min

  8. 12 Jun

    Jessi Szurek | Transforming Financial Services with AI

    The gap between what technology can do and what an organization will actually accept is where the real work happens. In this episode of CTO Confidential, Mike Rispoli sits down with Jessi Szurek, Associate Partner at Synthesis, an AI native consulting firm focused on financial services and enterprise transformation. Over 17 years in technology consulting, Jessi has seen the industry shift from waterfall methodologies to agile, from low-code platforms to AI, and from paper-based requirements to digital transformation at scale. We dig into what it actually takes to implement AI in highly regulated financial environments, why proprietary data becomes the real competitive advantage, and how the non-deterministic nature of AI creates challenges in domains where consistency is non-negotiable. Jessi shares insights on building trust with stakeholders, the importance of user adoption over technology selection, and why the human element remains irreplaceable in finance. This is a conversation about consulting with integrity, understanding your clients beyond the surface, and building solutions that people will actually use. What we cover: Origin story from architecture to AI strategy and governanceHow AI disrupted the low-code and no-code platform marketImplementing technology in highly regulated financial environmentsThe non-determinism problem in AI for financeProprietary data as the actual competitive moatWhy quick wins and MVPs matter in consultingUser adoption as the real measure of successThe human touch in wealth management and financial advisoryAI's design limitations and the commoditization of mediocre designCompliance, governance, and the layers of enterprise riskCareer advice for a tough tech job marketFinding your path when it is not linear https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessi-petrosino/ https://synthesis.inc/ ──────────────────────────────── LISTEN ON ALL PLATFORMS Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1V4SjmlnG2sntDnck8UrGW Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/strictly-from-nowhere-a-podcast-experiment-by-cause/id1804380172 iHeart Radio https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-strictly-from-nowhere-a-po-315649122/ YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWAstEyCK6YsKVTTRsQr37w SUPPORT THE SHOW Patreon http://patreon.com/StrictlyFromNowhere CONNECT WITH US LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/strictly-from-nowhere Website https://strictlyfromnowhere.com ──────────────────────────── FOLLOW MIKE RISPOLI | @mike_rispoli_cto LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-rispoli-cto/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/mike_rispoli_cto/ X https://x.com/michael_rispoli TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@mike_rispoli Website https://michaelrispoli.com/ ──────────────────────────────── CAUSE OF A KIND | @causeofakind Website https://www.causeofakind.com LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/cause-of-a-kind Instagram https://www.instagram.com/causeofakind/ X https://x.com/causeofakind TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@causeofakind Newsletter Signup http://eepurl.com/gcc-yj Newsletter Archive https://us16.campaign-archive.com/home/?u=847ea1526d6523a41ef1eb5a5&id=48d53e9627 ──────────────────────────────── OPEN SOURCE PROJECTS CodeDojo https://github.com/Cause-of-a-Kind/code-dojo-core OCR Ruby GEM https://activestorage-ocr-demo.fly.dev/ ──────────────────────────────── COMMUNITY INITIATIVES Long Island Technologists https://www.longislandtechnologists.com https://www.linkedin.com/company/long-island-technologists-networking https://www.instagram.com/longislandtechnologists/ ──────────────────────────────── We Build Products, Because We Want Them To Exist https://coakstudio.com ──────────────────────────────── Brought to you by Cause of a Kind A boutique software development and startup studio from Long Island, New York Stand up. Show up. Build.

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About

Five shows. One mission. Uncover wisdom and share it with all of you. Strictly From Nowhere is a podcast experiment by Cause of a Kind. We are Justin Abrams and Mike Rispoli. Co-founders. Bootstrappers. Builders. We interview founders, break down what is happening in tech and business, go deep on engineering and AI, and document our own journey of building from nothing every single day. Stand up. Show up. Build.

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