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

    4D AGO

    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
  2. 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
  3. 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
  4. 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
  5. 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
  6. 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
  7. How Lori is Building the AI Operating System for Patient Stories with Asmaa Bencherif, Founder of Lori

    MAR 12

    How Lori is Building the AI Operating System for Patient Stories with Asmaa Bencherif, Founder of Lori

    This week on Tech Can’t Save Us, host Paul David is joined by Asmaa Bencherif, founder of Lori. Lori is an AI operating system designed to make real-world patient stories and outcomes usable at scale, helping individuals find health products that genuinely work in a crowded and often untrustworthy market. Asmaa shares her personal journey of being diagnosed with an autoimmune condition and the difficulty of navigating vague online reviews and unverified forums while trying to manage her health outside the doctor's office. They discuss how Lori addresses these challenges by asking the right questions at the right time to generate structured, contextualized feedback from verified buyers. The conversation covers: The Power of Storytelling: How Lori turns personal health narratives into searchable data assets and short-form content for brands. Trust as Currency: Partnering with science-backed companies in sectors like Neurotech, SleepTech, and FemTech to ensure a high standard of proof. Ethical AI & Compliance: Navigating strict regulations to ensure patient testimonials are safe and do not make unsubstantiated medical claims. Intentional Growth: Asmaa’s philosophy on "growing slow" to maintain data integrity and protect the customer relationship during her current £600,000 pre-seed fundraising round. Asmaa also highlights the shift toward direct-to-consumer medical devices and why a trusted filter is necessary to reduce the "trial and error" often experienced by those living with chronic conditions. Find out more about Lori here: https://lori.healthFollow Asmaa Bencherif here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/asmaa-bencherif

    34 min
  8. Rethinking the Future of the Internet with Galen Wolfe-Pauly, Co-Founder of Tlon

    MAR 5

    Rethinking the Future of the Internet with Galen Wolfe-Pauly, Co-Founder of Tlon

    This week on Tech Can’t Save Us, host Paul David is joined by Galen Wolfe-Pauly, co-founder of Tlon. Tlon is a company radically reimagining the internet's foundation to create a simpler, more personal computing experience. They discuss the structural flaws of the modern internet, where users rely on centralized identifiers and servers they do not own, leading to issues with privacy, data mining, and a lack of digital permanence. Galen explains how Tlon addresses these failures through a peer-to-peer network of nodes, where every individual owns their own cryptographic identity and "virtual machine". The conversation covers: Digital Sovereignty: Why owning your entire computing stack is essential for building products that truly serve people. Architecture & Longevity: How Galen’s background in architecture influences his vision for digital tools that can last for decades or even centuries. The Tlon Messenger: A look at their current product—a highly customizable, extensible "super app" that allows communities to run their own servers. Craftsmanship in Software: Why the next "battle" on the internet is shifting from mediocre, ad-driven platforms to high-quality, carefully crafted digital environments. Galen also shares the immense technical challenges of building a new programming language and operating environment from scratch and why Tlon’s mission to create software that outlives its creators provides a deeper sense of purpose. Find more about Tlon here:https://tlon.io/ Follow Galen Wolfe-Pauly here:https://www.linkedin.com/in/galenwolfepauly/

    28 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
    196
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Literal Humans
  • Show Website
    Tech Can't Save Us

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