Tech Can't Save Us

Literal Humans
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A podcast for tech founders and operators building the next generation of mission-driven tech companies. Each episode, host Paul David (Founder/CEO of Literal Humans) sits down with a CEO, founder, or innovator and digs into the key questions that separate companies that scale from those that stall:  What's going on in your sector? What's your path to category leadership? How's your product? Do your customers truly love it? How sharp is your go-to-market (GTM) strategy + execution?  Who are your senior leaders? How are their personal and professional experiences shaping your growth trajectory? Paul has led two B2B SaaS-focused growth consultancies (formerly, marketing agencies called Optimist and Literal Humans) and helped scale leading companies including Wise, Payoneer, Oura, Oyster, Chipper Cash, Remofirst, Playbook, and Grey — several to unicorn status. The throughline of every conversation: Stories from the front lines of using cutting-edge GTM/RevOps/Growth/Marketing strategy + execution alongside tech leaders to solve the most pressing issues (climate, health, education, finance, future of work/talent/HR, etc.) of our time.

  1. Episode Description: Engineering Durability in Complex Systems with Ivan Gekht, CEO of Gehtsoft USA

    6H AGO

    Episode Description: Engineering Durability in Complex Systems with Ivan Gekht, CEO of Gehtsoft USA

    This week on Tech Can't Save Us, host Paul David is joined by Ivan Gekht, CEO of Gehtsoft USA, a prominent leader in software delivery for highly regulated environments. Ivan’s professional journey is remarkably unique, beginning as a Siberian aerospace engineer before he transitioned into the high-stakes world of fintech and trading. As the creator of the New York Stock Exchange’s first-ever FX monitor, Ivan brings a systems-first philosophy to technology that prioritizes durability and accountability over simple speed. The conversation explores why complex systems benefit from an aerospace mindset, a discipline where engineers assume failure is inevitable and design the system specifically to survive it. Ivan points out that the most significant modern failures often result from the interactions between components that appear to work perfectly in isolation. This perspective is critical in industries like regulated trading, where a bad release can lead to hundreds of millions of dollars in losses within minutes. Paul and Ivan also discuss the delicate balance between rapid growth and operational stability. Ivan warns that modern tools like venture capital, the cloud, and AI act as powerful amplifiers that can lead to uncontrollable growth if the underlying foundation is broken. While he acknowledges that AI assistants can provide incredible performance gains for senior developers, he notes they can also help junior developers create a “mess” much faster if used without a proper understanding of architecture. The episode further dives into the reality of leading remote teams and Ivan’s “unpopular opinions” shared through the Agile Bulletin. He argues that remote work typically fails not due to physical distance, but because ambiguity scales faster than trust, requiring leaders to be far more explicit and communicative. Ultimately, Ivan emphasizes that true innovation is built on a foundation of dependability, noting that any complex system that works was invariably evolved from a simple system that worked. Find more about Gehtsoft USA: https://gehtsoftusa.com/Follow Ivan Gekht: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ivan-gekht/

    35 min
  2. Revolutionizing African Payments through Payments-as-a-Service with Jonatan Allback, CEO & Co-Founder of NjiaPay

    APR 30

    Revolutionizing African Payments through Payments-as-a-Service with Jonatan Allback, CEO & Co-Founder of NjiaPay

    This week on Tech Can’t Save Us, host Paul David is joined by Jonatan Allback, Co-founder and CEO of NjiaPay, a payments-as-a-service company simplifying online commerce across the African continent. With nearly 15 years of fintech experience, Jonatan is now applying big-tech growth principles to one of the world's most exciting emerging markets. They discuss the immense hurdles of operating in a region with 54 sovereign countries, over 40 currencies, and more than 30 different central bank switches. Jonatan explains how NjiaPay acts as a technical layer between merchants and traditional Payment Service Providers (PSPs) to optimize orchestration and ensure redundancy in volatile infrastructure. The conversation explores Jonatan's "aha" moment when he realized how legacy infrastructure in certain markets felt like a step back in time, inspiring the creation of a one-API solution to solve operational nightmares for retailers. He describes how NjiaPay's smart routing feature uses bank identification numbers to automatically route transactions to the best-performing PSP, helping to bridge the success rate gap between African and Western markets. Jonatan also outlines his lean expansion strategy, which focuses on staying out of the "regulatory microscope" by remaining a SaaS platform rather than entering the money flow directly. The dialogue further addresses the benefits of NjiaPay's single integration, which replaces the need for multiple portals with a unified system for customer support, financial reporting, and technical maintenance. Looking toward the future, Jonatan announces the upcoming Q2 launch of an Account Updater product designed to tackle involuntary churn for subscription merchants in South Africa. Throughout the episode, he emphasizes the importance of strategic "triple win" partnerships and the philosophy of being a payment performance partner that truly listens to client needs to drive innovation. Find more about NjiaPay here: NjiaPay.comFollow Jonatan Allback here: https://nl.linkedin.com/in/jonatan-allback

    29 min
  3. Turning Sustainability into a Positive Business Case with Jonatan Roose, Co-Founder at Healthy Workers

    APR 23

    Turning Sustainability into a Positive Business Case with Jonatan Roose, Co-Founder at Healthy Workers

    In this episode of the Tech Can't Save Us podcast, host Paul David interviews Jonatan Roose, the co-founder of Healthy Workers. Based in Amsterdam, the company specializes in making every building smart through innovative building automation and energy management solutions. Since its founding, Healthy Workers has grown to manage over three million square meters across various asset classes, including offices, logistics, and retail spaces. Jonatan explains that the real estate industry has historically moved slowly, often relying on technology that is 30 years old. Healthy Workers bridges this gap by creating a positive business case for sustainability, often making it a "no brainer" for decision-makers who are primarily focused on financial returns. Jonatan’s journey to leading Healthy Workers involved a major pivot. He joined the original company, Healthy Workers 1.0, which focused broadly on healthy work environments through initiatives like yoga and office plants. During the pandemic, when offices were empty, he and his co-founder Guus restructured the company to focus on the core issue revealed by their data: 85% of employee complaints were related to indoor climate. By shifting to building optimization, they were able to provide a service that addressed both tenant comfort and energy efficiency. Today, the company serves over 60 real estate investors, including Schroeder's Capital and Aviva Investors, by combining a sophisticated tech stack with a dedicated service-oriented approach. Find out more about Jonatan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonatanroose/Find out more about Healthy Workers: https://www.healthyworkers.com/

    37 min
  4. How Leaders Actually Use AI for Strategy – Part Two with Gary Bonilla, Co-Founder of Goodmora

    APR 16

    How Leaders Actually Use AI for Strategy – Part Two with Gary Bonilla, Co-Founder of Goodmora

    This week on Tech Can’t Save Us, host Paul David is joined for part two of a deep dive with Gary Bonilla, the co-founder of GoodMora. Following their previous discussion on why business transformations fail, they shift focus to the future of leadership, decision-making, and how behavior changes with better data and insights. The conversation explores how strategy is shifting from trying to lock in a perfect answer based on past behavior to becoming adaptable without losing coherence. Gary explains that while the British are known for rigorous strategy, those models were often based on year-old data, whereas modern strategy requires real-time forecasting and prediction. Gary argues that now is the right time for play because the speed of the market makes standard transformations obsolete before they even finish. AI enables this by providing binary clarity on numbers and facts, which opens up the space for leaders to engage in creative solutionizing. A major theme of the episode is the end of delegation-heavy leadership. Gary suggests that CEOs can no longer delegate the innovation part of their business and must personally embrace an understanding of technology. Technology is no longer just a back-end function; it is a strategic conversation that requires leaders to understand concepts like knowledge graphs to navigate the modern business landscape. The pair also discusses the human side of AI, noting that fear is beginning to subside as adoption steps up and platforms focus on human and AI collaboration. Gary emphasizes that leaders should use these tools for augmentation rather than replacement, allowing employees to focus on creative work rather than minutiae. Find more about GoodMora here:https://www.goodmora.ai/Follow Gary Bonilla here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garybonilla1/

    32 min
  5. Fixing Remote Work Burnout with Steven Puri, Founder & CEO of The Sukha Company

    APR 9

    Fixing Remote Work Burnout with Steven Puri, Founder & CEO of The Sukha Company

    This week on Tech Can't Save Us, host Paul David is joined by Steven Puri, founder and CEO of The Sukha Company. Steven has led a fascinating career, transitioning from a high-level studio executive and producer at major Hollywood studios like DreamWorks and Sony to raising $21 million in venture funding across three tech startups. Together, they explore how remote work has broken traditional productivity models and why "presenteeism" and surveillance software are failing strategies for modern leadership. They discuss the foundational challenges of the digital age, where the business models of the highest market cap companies are designed to "steal your life" through behavioral engineering. Steven explains how The Sukha Company acts as an ally in this tug-of-war, helping knowledge workers like designers, developers, and writers reclaim their focus through a "work fitness" approach. The conversation delves deep into the science of flow states, inspired by the seminal work of psychologist Mihai Csikszentmihalyi. Steven shares how Sukha facilitates these states by integrating distraction blocking through a smart assistant that gently checks in when users stray to non-productive websites or pick up their phones. The platform also features curated flow music and naturescapes, such as "Himalayan Dream Rain," designed to help users enter deep work. Furthermore, the app optimizes task management by hiding overwhelming lists and focusing users on their top three goals to reduce cognitive load and paralysis. Steven also offers a vision for the future of white-collar work, predicting that AI will change the workforce by automating routine "paper pushing" jobs and making high-level strategy more essential than ever. He suggests that the most successful leaders will be those who define work by outcomes and the quality of output rather than by time or place. Find more about The Sukha Company here: https://thesukha.coFollow Steven Puri here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-puri/

    42 min
  6. Tackling Waste in Our Homes and Communities with Tessa Clarke, Co-founder and CEO of Olio

    APR 2

    Tackling Waste in Our Homes and Communities with Tessa Clarke, Co-founder and CEO of Olio

    This week on Tech Can't Save Us, host Paul David is joined by Tessa Clarke, co-founder and CEO of Olio, a free app on a mission to tackle waste in homes and local communities. Since its launch in 2015, Olio has grown to over 8 million users who have collectively shared more than 130 million meals and prevented 300,000 tons of CO2 emissions. Tessa discusses how waste has become endemic across society because environmental and social impacts are not factored into business models, making it often more profitable to waste than to prevent. The conversation explores how Olio catalyzes behavioral change by tapping into the primitive human instinct to share precious resources rather than throwing them away. Tessa explains that while most people assume demand is the biggest hurdle, the real challenge is encouraging people to take a few seconds to share an item rather than binning it. To address large-scale surplus, Olio utilizes 100,000 food safety trained volunteers through their "Food Waste Heroes" program to collect unsold food from major retailers like Tesco, Sainsbury’s, and Iceland for redistribution to neighbors. Paul and Tessa also dive into Olio's growth strategy, which relies heavily on organic word-of-mouth and a network of 50,000 ambassadors who perform hyperlocal marketing. Looking ahead, the company is shifting its focus toward driving demand within the student community and pursuing "surgical" international expansion by partnering with flagship retailers in markets like Singapore. Tessa reflects on her leadership journey from the corporate world to entrepreneurship, emphasizing the importance of showing up authentically and balancing IQ with high EQ to build a truly impactful mission-driven culture.Find more about Olio here:https://olioapp.com/business/Follow Tessa Clarke here:https://www.linkedin.com/in/tessaclarkeolio/

    35 min
  7. AI Agents for the Next Generation of Channel Partnerships with Leo Crowe, CEO of Souk

    MAR 26

    AI Agents for the Next Generation of Channel Partnerships with Leo Crowe, CEO of Souk

    This week on Tech Can’t Save Us, host Paul David is joined by Leo Crowe, the co-founder and CEO of Souk, a newly launched AI platform transforming how companies build and scale channel partnerships. Selected for Antler’s 2025 London cohort from over 150,000 applicants, Leo brings a wealth of experience from leadership roles at Deel and Papaya Global to solve the age-old inefficiencies of partnership management. They discuss the rising importance of partner-led growth, noting that giants like Salesforce and HubSpot now derive over 50% of their revenue from partnerships. Leo explains why these relationships often fail, citing that historically, 9 out of 10 partners never refer a single lead due to friction in finding, activating, and paying them. Find more about Souk here: joinSouk.comFollow Leo Crowe here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leo-crowe-457815121/

    33 min
  8. Bringing Modern EdTech to Underserved Schools with Robby Cobbs & Kyle Sumrow of Tech My School

    MAR 19

    Bringing Modern EdTech to Underserved Schools with Robby Cobbs & Kyle Sumrow of Tech My School

    This week on Tech Can’t Save Us, host Paul David is joined by Robert "Robby" Cobbs, CEO and founder, and Kyle Sumrow, director of development at TechMySchool. As the Caribbean’s leading EdTech consulting nonprofit, TechMySchool serves over 40 schools across Puerto Rico, the U.S., and internationally, helping them modernize systems and create student-centered learning environments. They discuss the fundamental disconnect in modern education, where schools often have more technology than ever but feel overwhelmed and underprepared to use it effectively. Robert and Kyle explain how educator hesitation and a "retreat from technology" driven by parental concerns about screen time are shaping the current landscape. Key conversation points include: Individualized Tech Plans (ITPs): How TechMySchool uses a non-judgmental, data-driven approach to diagnose school needs across educational systems, adult learning capacity, and student empowerment. The "Flock Leader" Program: A sustainable model that pays stipends to teachers to step into leadership roles, ensuring schools build long-term internal savvy rather than relying on one-off workshops. The Puerto Rico Context: The unique challenges facing students in Puerto Rico, who often lack access to basic infrastructure like public libraries and enter the continental U.S. workforce several grade levels behind their peers. Leading Through Curiosity: Why the most successful school transformations happen when leadership prioritizes a growth mindset and models a love of learning for their students. Robert and Kyle also share insights from their international careers—spanning from Saudi Arabia to Switzerland—and explain why their "terrible business model" of trying to work themselves out of a job is the most ethical way to support schools. Find more about TechMySchool here: https://techmyschool.orgRobert Cobbs: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertcobbs/Kyle Sumrow: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-sumrow-869516183/

    39 min
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About

A podcast for tech founders and operators building the next generation of mission-driven tech companies. Each episode, host Paul David (Founder/CEO of Literal Humans) sits down with a CEO, founder, or innovator and digs into the key questions that separate companies that scale from those that stall:  What's going on in your sector? What's your path to category leadership? How's your product? Do your customers truly love it? How sharp is your go-to-market (GTM) strategy + execution?  Who are your senior leaders? How are their personal and professional experiences shaping your growth trajectory? Paul has led two B2B SaaS-focused growth consultancies (formerly, marketing agencies called Optimist and Literal Humans) and helped scale leading companies including Wise, Payoneer, Oura, Oyster, Chipper Cash, Remofirst, Playbook, and Grey — several to unicorn status. The throughline of every conversation: Stories from the front lines of using cutting-edge GTM/RevOps/Growth/Marketing strategy + execution alongside tech leaders to solve the most pressing issues (climate, health, education, finance, future of work/talent/HR, etc.) of our time.

Information

  • Creator
    Literal Humans
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    198
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Literal Humans
  • Show Website
    Tech Can't Save Us

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