Tech Leader Tal‪k‬ Steve Sponseller

If you are a business leader in need of learning technology jargon, then Tech Speak for Entrepreneurs might just be for you! Join me as I interview Nelly Yusupova, the founder of Tech Speak, in this episode of Tech Leader Talk as she shares how she got involved in the technology world, initially believing that computer science would merely teach her how to use Word and Excel more efficiently (which, of course, led to a big surprise in store for her).
She reflects on having become a C.T.O. at a very young age through Webgrrls International which gave her invaluable experience in sales and business development. Nelly also discusses how advanced technology has made a lot of things easier for this generation's entrepreneurs compared to her own experience back in the '90s, a trend that isn't going away any time soon. In fact, the mission behind Tech Speak for Entrepreneurs is to help business leaders become more technology literate because, as she predicts, every company will be a tech company within the next couple of years because technology, no matter what your company brands, is no longer going to be optional. Artificial intelligence, as she projects, will even become easier and easier for people to implement even if they don't have backgrounds in STEM.
Nelly also shares important advice with us aside from learning tech jargon – such as never taking more than three months to release your first idea due to the importance of customer feedback, learning early and often from what might otherwise be seen as failures, and how important that it is to be communicative. Communication, in fact, is, in her opinion, the most important trait for a tech leader to have.
Nelly even recommends a couple of books to us and shares how we can get in touch with her online. Be sure to check out her resources, and remember to subscribe to Tech Leader Talk so that you never miss an episode!

Time Stamps
[0:07] – Steve introduces this episode's guest, Nelly Yusupova, to the podcast.
[0:38] – Nelly details how she got involved in the world of technology, such as how she studied computer science and joined Webgrrls International.
[2:03] – Nelly explains how she came to hear troubling stories of entrepreneurs losing thousands of dollars because of technology mistakes and how that led to her creating Tech Speak for Entrepreneurs.
[3:03] - We learn about the benefits of taking advantage of Tech Speak's resources.
[4:59] – Nelly offers three real-world examples from her own experience of the types of companies that could benefit from Tech Speak – a yoga instructor, a realtor, and a social media consultant.
[7:34] – We are offered advice from Nelly regarding looking for opportunities – to look for and understand problems and to ensure that we understand how to manage developers efficiently so that we don't waste money.
[8:30] – Nelly stresses the importance of becoming technology literate which is what Tech Speak does for people.
[10:22] – Nelly argues that it's important to learn early and learn often, recommending Eric Ries' book The Lean Startup.
[11:50] – Steve and Nelly comment on how customer feedback comes into play.
[13:28] – Nelly clarifies that, via Tech Speak, she teaches people how to implement the speedy process that she advises, even people who are not fluent in technology jargon.
[15:47] – Nelly projects toward the future, predicting that artificial intelligence will be heavily incorporated into the world of technology over the next couple of years.
[19:01] – Nelly posits that effective communication is the most important skill for a technical leader to have.
[20:08] – Nelly provides tips to company leaders looking to grow or add software, reiterating the importance of becoming tech literate.
[22:17] – Nelly advises that something like Tech Speak would be a good starting point for someone lookin

Aman Agarwal, founder and president of Sanpram Transnational (an executive education company), joins me in this episode of Tech Leader Talk to discuss how he got into the world of technology and kickstarted Sanpram. Aman, a former engineer and passionate teacher and writer, has a degree in engineering and started in sales, eventually moving his way up to bigger companies. Because of a troubling knowledge gap and cultural gap that he observed in the technology world, Aman started Sanpram Transnational, which seeks to close that gap by educating business leaders in technological matters.
Aman also shares with us what trends he thinks will have the biggest impacts on the technology world over the next couple of years, such as remote work resulting in more diversity in the workforce developing. In his opinion, business leaders in the technology world need to make sure that the need to work remotely is not detrimental to humanity, and they ought to focus on the pros of remote work and work on improving upon the cons.
Aman is also of the mindset that it is very important in his business to be confident in yourself and to also be realistic. He offers tips such as surrounding yourself with people who are willing to share their knowledge and expertise (people who have what he refers to as the “heart of a teacher”), having empathy, and putting business first and technology second. He reflects on his hopes for the future (such as good education being at a lower cost), and he even fills us in on his favorite book from the last year!
Be sure to check Sanpram out over at their website, and also be sure to subscribe to Tech Leader Talk so that you never miss an episode!
 
Time Stamps
[0:07] – Steve introduces this episode's guest, Aman Agarwal, and briefly explains his credentials and his background.
[1:02] – Aman provides us with more details about his background such as how he has a degree in engineering and started in sales.
[2:38] – We learn what Aman does today with Sanpram Transnational, also giving us the backstory of how he started with them.
[5:45] – Aman discusses what trends he expects will impact the world of technology over the next couple of years.
[7:07] – Aman explains what he thinks business leaders need to be considering with a more distributed workforce, such as maintaining high quality connection between people even when it's virtual.
[8:35] – Steve adds his own insight to the conversation, suggesting that we make the most of virtual communication.
[10:26] – Aman reflects upon what he believes makes a tech leader successful, namely high self-esteem.
[13:27] – Steve comments on the importance of knowing one's target audience.
[14:19] – Aman advises us on what we should do if we're looking to start learning the new approach to communication, starting with surrounding ourselves with people who want to share their knowledge.
[16:43] – Aman offers a second piece of advice – having what he calls tactical empathy.
[19:02] – Aman looks forward to the future of technology, reflecting, for example, on high quality education becoming more affordable.
[21:56] – Aman shares the most important lesson that he has learned – putting business before technology.
[23:51] – Aman enthusiastically credits Phil Knight's Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike as his favorite book from the last year.
[25:12] – We discover what's ahead for Aman and Sanpram in the near future, like how Aman is currently writing a book.
 
Links and Resources
Phil Knight – Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike
Sanpram Transnational – Website
Aman's LinkedIn Page
Steve Sponseller - Website
Steve Sponseller – Cracking the Patent Code

This is a special episode of Tech Leader Talk because this episode officially makes the podcast an international podcast! For the first time, I welcome a guest who lives overseas – Sean G. Muller of New Zealand! Sean, although originally from the United States, currently works what he identifies as his dream job for IBM in New Zealand.
Sean's background is in network engineering and network architecture and describes his experience entering the world of technology as having fallen into the role rather than having taken an academic path. Having taken a part-time job at Ericsson Telecommunications National Headquarters in Richardson, Texas (before, of course, moving to New Zealand where he is currently), technology sort of unexpectedly became his career.
Sean and I discuss everything from how 9/11 impacted a lot of people (including himself) in the technology industry by leaving them out of work, the importance of culture and effective leadership in a company, how the current COVID-19 pandemic has impacted technology and technology companies, how Sean expects the world of technology to change over the next couple of years and what he worries most about regarding the future of technology, and so much more.
He also shares with us the story of how he worked with the New Zealand police on a really exciting project named Ella. Ella is a digital human who was temporarily employed by the New Zealand police as an experiment to see how people would react to her, and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive. Sean encourages us to search for Ella online to see what she looks like, and he also offers advice to newcomers to the world of technology, stressing the importance of factoring in ongoing and additional costs, not just how much you initially pay for a piece of hardware.
Be sure to visit Sean via his various social media profiles to say hello, and please do subscribe to Tech Leader Talk so that you never miss an episode!
 
Time Stamps
[0:07] – Steve introduces this episode's guest – Sean G. Muller – to the podcast.
[1:03] – We begin to learn how Sean got started in the world of technology and how he got to where he is now.
[2:36] – Sean reflects on the difficult time that he and many other people in the tech industry endured after 9/11 but how he eventually got back on his feet.
[4:44] – Sean refers to his current job working for IBM in New Zealand as his dream job.
[5:27] – Sean credits IBM for having challenged him to do more than he had ever done before.
[7:25] – Sean comments on commonalities between the past companies for which he had worked, citing good leadership as what led to success.
[9:43] – Sean discusses how there are multiple levels of leadership, resulting in ineffective leadership at the very top trickling down to lower levels.
[10:20] – Sean describes what makes a leader effective, summarizing them as personable.
[11:45] – Sean theorizes that the COVID-19 pandemic was likely much more difficult for micromanagers than it was for more personable leaders because of the need to work remotely.
[13:37] – Sean posits what trends will impact the world of technology over the next couple of years, such as how artificial intelligence will continue to accelerate.
[16:15] – Sean predicts that augmented reality and virtual reality are also going to continue to be on the rise and hopes that power grids will become more reliant on reusable energy.
[17:27] – Sean explains his worries about where technology is headed such as biased artificial intelligence slowly breaking down civil liberties.
[19:08] – Sean stresses the importance of technology production companies being mindful of what they are doing to ensure that technology is being used for good.
[20:09] – Sean offers a couple of pieces of advice for those of us who are just getting into the world of technology.
[22:52] – S

Wendy Covey, C.E.O. and co-founder of TREW Marketing as well as one of ten most innovative entrepreneurs in America named by Wall Street Journal, joins me today to discuss content marketing and how the world of technology has been affected by aspects such as generational trends and the current COVID-19 pandemic. TREW Marketing is a content marketing agency which serves companies that are seeking to target technological audiences, and, as Wendy discusses, that requires being innovative and human friendly.
Wendy shares how TREW Marketing came to be and what her hopes and fears are for the future of the company as well as the world of technology in general. She discusses what changes technology companies can expect to undergo within the next few years and how the world of technology has been and will continue to be impacted by changes in generational social behavior, something that she believes that effective leaders need to be able to keep up with. She, for example, hopes that technology companies will move away from the trend of being ahead in their solutions but behind in their operations, and she stresses how important that it is for technology entrepreneurs to know their audiences. She also approves, however, of how companies seem to be catering more toward their employees and providing benefits such as profit sharing and flexibility in hours.
We also discuss what impacts the current pandemic have had on technology companies and how the need for changes with how things are done has generally been more challenging for baby boomers but a smoother transition for millennials, and Wendy shares what plans are on the horizon within TREW Marketing for 2021. Be sure to check out TREW Marketing and what they are up to, and also be sure to subscribe to Tech Leader Talk so that you never miss an episode!
 
Time Stamps
[0:07] – Steve introduces this episode's guest, Wendy Covey, and tells us her credentials in the field of technology.
[1:23] – Wendy enthusiastically expounds upon her background, telling us a little bit about herself such as how her degree is in journalism and marketing and how she started her company TREW Marketing.
[4:06] – We learn about Wendy's fishing hobby and how she has a record for longest fish ever caught.
[5:13] – Wendy discusses what trends she predicts will affect technology companies within the next few years and how digital and online content is becoming more and more essential.
[7:47] – Steve and Wendy converse about how the current pandemic has had social consequences on the world in general but especially the world of technology.
[9:35] – We hear Wendy explain what impacts new trends are having on traditional content marketing.
[11:17] – Wendy defines what makes a good, successful technology leader to her, such as knowing their target audience and innovating accordingly.
[13:08] – Wendy talks about what worries her most about where the technology industry is headed, affirming that there needs to be a balance between efficiency and human interaction.
[14:26] – Wendy stresses how crucial that it is to assess your audience demographics before catering to them.
[16:52] – We learn what technologists can do if they have good technical knowledge but don't enjoy and/or aren't skilled at writing, such as collaborating with someone who is a skilled writer.
[19:09] – Wendy enthuses over being an optimistic person and details what she is hopeful for regarding the future of technology.
[21:28] – Wendy advises that it's important to share knowledge with other companies and be collaborative.
[24:18] – Wendy shares what her plans for 2021 are at TREW Marketing.
[26:20] – We discover how we can find Wendy online and learn more about her.
 
Links and Resources
Wendy Covey – Content Marketing, Engineered
Content Marketing, Engineered Podcast
TREW Marketing – Websi

Welcome to the newly launched Tech Leader Talk podcast, hosted by yours truly, Steve Sponseller. The Tech Leader Talk podcast will highlight technology company leaders, entrepreneurs, and experts and will give them a platform to share their successes, challenges, and even some of their failures during their time in the technology industry. We talk about what seems to be working right now so that we can build on what we know for a better future and also so that you can learn about how to build upon your own business(es), lessons that will be learned from guests' successes and failures.
In the first episode of Tech Leader Talk, I warmly welcome Stephanie Frank and Bryce Kuhlman as my very first guests. Stephanie and Bryce both have long histories with the world of technology and are the co-founders of The Holisec Group, a company that seeks to create technology that puts people and the human experience first. Stephanie and Bryce share their stories about how they each came to be involved in the world of technology as well as how they came to meet and know each other and build the business partnership that they now have. They talk about their hopes and fears about the future of the world of technology and where it's headed, and they both discuss how important it is that technology leaders put people first, as they themselves do within The Holisec Group.
Stephanie and Frank also share with us news of their current project – My Calmpanions. My Calmpanions are aptly named artificially intelligent teddy bears meant to promote calmness and peace of mind for people. Be sure to visit the My Calmpanions website for more information about that project, and please be sure to subscribe to the Tech Leader Talk podcast so that you never miss an episode.
 
Time Stamps
[0:07] – Steve introduces himself and welcomes us to the first episode of the podcast, explaining what the premise of the podcast will be from here on out.
[0:55] – Steve introduces this episode's guests, Stephanie Frank and Bryce Kuhlman, and details their credentials and their experience working in the field of technology.
[2:08] – Stephanie provides us with further insight about her background and how she got started in the world of technology, which she says started as somewhat of an accident.
[4:11] – We learn a little bit about Stephanie's educational background and how that led to a career of cyber-intelligence.
[5:03] – Bryce tells us a little bit about his background and how he started out as a magician but then eventually got involved in technology because he liked to tinker with and make things.
[6:06] – We find out how Bryce received an education in engineering, physics, and robotics and how that led to his becoming a certified rocket scientist.
[8:14] – Bryce responds to Steve's question about what kind of impacts technology can expect to see within the next couple of years, commenting on artificial intelligence and augmented reality.
[9:43] – Stephanie elaborates upon how the current COVID-19 pandemic will likely affect people's behavior and psychology which will in turn affect technology.
[11:09] – Stephanie, Bryce, and Steve all discuss the relationship between technology and anonymity.
[12:19] – Stephanie discusses why some entrepreneurs in the technology industry are successful while others are not, iterating the importance of a consistent vision.
[15:06] – We learn that Stephanie and Bryce both agree that being in a field of technology should not be financially driven but should be about fulfilling others' lives.
[17:18] – Stephanie reveals that she didn't originally know that technology was her destined path but realized that technology had the powerful potential to help people.
[18:43] – Bryce expresses his worries regarding the world of technology, lamenting that there are many people's voices and ideas that are