The Pair Program hatch I.T.

Driving Innovation: The Partnership Between Champ and W.R. Berkley | The Pair Program Ep47
In this episode, we hear from two guests: Shane Bigelow and Mike Nannizzi. Shane is the CEO of Champ, a Cleveland-based technology company that is changing the way that vehicle titles are created, managed, and transferred in the United States.
Mike runs the venture arm for W.R. Berkley with a specialty in early stage technology companies.
They discuss:
The inspiring story behind Champ and the critical problems they’re solving in the vehicle title industry.W.R. Berkley's role in supporting Champ's mission.Insights into early-stage technology investments.The challenges of bringing innovation into the federal space.The future of government-collaborative technology solutions.
Whether you're interested in entrepreneurship, government technology, or strategic partnerships in tech, tune in to get practical insights from industry leaders at the forefront of innovation!
About Shane Bigelow: Shane McRann Bigelow is CEO of Champ Titles, a Cleveland-based technology company that is changing the way that vehicle titles are created, managed, and transferred in the United States. Prior to Champ Titles, Bigelow was a Senior Vice President and Managing Director at Bernstein, where he managed a part of that firm’s U.S. business and sat on the firm’s Responsible Investment Committee that focused on the United Nation’s Principles for Responsible Investment; Environmental, Social and Governance Issues (ESG); and Socially Responsible Investment matters. There, Shane developed a highly informed view of how emerging technologies can help society through reducing the costs of government, which informs the business at Champ Titles today.
About Michael Nannizzi: Mike runs the venture arm for WR Berkley with a specialty in early stage technology companies. Mike primarily focuses on companies within the fintech space, and his investments typically involve both a financial position and role in the respective companies' Board of Directors. Mike lives in Larchmont New York with his wife Kathy, children Sasha, Natalie, and Max, and dogs, Fergie and Malibu.
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How We Hatched: Will Wilson, Co-Founder of Antithesis
Dive into the entrepreneurial journey of Will Wilson, Co-Founder of Antithesis, in this episode of "How We Hatched."
Host, Tim Winkler, interviews Will about:
HIs journey into technology, including his inspiration to start his own company and the mentor who inspired him to take the leap.His career path to becoming the founder of Antithesis, including his time spent at Apple and Google.The problems Antithesis is solving and the impact they’re making in the tech industry.The decision to operate Antithesis in stealth mode for 5 years and the team’s experience transitioning out of stealth mode.The advantages and disadvantages of staying in stealth mode, including access to investors and capital without public exposure.
About Will Wilson: Will Wilson is a former mathematician who switched to software because it seemed easier. He built distributed databases at FoundationDB, Apple, and Google. Along the way, he realized that computers are actually the enemy, and founded Antithesis to put them in their place.
Check out Antithesis: https://antithesis.com/
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The Rise of Fractional Tech Leadership: Perspectives from Industry Experts | The Pair Program Ep46
In this insightful episode, we dive into the evolving landscape of fractional tech leadership with two seasoned experts, Dan Maccarone and Matt Walnock. As co-founder of Charming Robot, Dan brings a wealth of experience as a fractional Chief Product Officer, while Matt, with nine years of mentoring and coaching cloud companies, offers invaluable insights as a fractional Chief Technology Officer.
Join us as we explore the nuances of fractional tech leadership roles, from aligning engineering and product with business objectives to integrating with teams and establishing trust. Our guests provide valuable perspectives on the market for fractional roles, the difference between fractional leaders and consultants, and the ideal stage of company seeking such expertise.Whether you're considering stepping into a fractional tech leadership role or seeking to understand its impact on organizational success, this episode offers practical advice and valuable insights from industry leaders at the forefront of innovation.
About Dan Maccarone: Dan is the co-founder of Charming Robot, a product design company based in NYC. For the past twenty years, he has been helping startups and media companies shape their online product strategy, including Foursquare, Rent The Runway, Jetsetter, The Block, Blade and Skift. His experience also includes television, music and print media, and he has worked with Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Gawker, Saturday Night Live, Universal Music and The Wall Street Journal. One of his most noted projects was creating the original strategy and user experience for Hulu. Prior to Charming Robot, Dan co-founded the design agency Hard Candy Shell.
About Matt Walnock: As a consulting technologist with 28 years in the tech industry, Matt has spent the last 9 years mentoring, coaching, and leading early-stage and scaling cloud companies. His focus is on empowering teams, offering personalized guidance to navigate challenges in technology development. His experience includes roles as CTO, VP of Engineering, and Software Architect at companies like Microsoft, Parature, MCI/Verizon Business, and IBM, where he’s earned seven patents. Matt has a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Penn State University. He is the co-founder of Longitude 77, a company on a mission to elevate technology teams and optimize their strategic vision and engineering processes.
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Valor in the Workforce: Unlocking Veteran Talent with Headlamp | The Pair Program Ep45
Join us for an inspiring episode as we shine a spotlight on the crucial role of veterans in the workforce and the innovative solutions driving their successful transition into civilian life. Our guests, Steve Chang, founder of Headlamp, and Jeremy Hitchcock, co-founder of a venture firm backing Headlamp, share their insights and experiences in leveraging veteran talent to solve pressing challenges in the tech industry and beyond.
From Steve's personal journey as a former army recruiter turned startup founder to Jeremy's commitment to supporting Headlamp's mission, this episode explores the untapped potential of veterans and the imperative of optimizing their skillsets for the benefit of both businesses and national security.
Discover how Headlamp's cutting-edge technology is accelerating veteran transition and fostering partnerships with companies eager to harness the unique capabilities of this valuable talent pool. Whether you're passionate about veteran empowerment or interested in the impact of mission-driven startups, this episode offers valuable insights into the intersection of talent, innovation, and social impact.
About Steve Chang. A distinguished former special forces officer and the founder of Headlamp. Steve’s team at Headlamp is on a mission to rebuild the backbone of American business, with veterans.
About Jeremy Hitchcock. Jeremy Hitchcock is a co-founder/partner of New North Ventures, an early stage venture fund investing at the intersection of national security and innovation. He was previously a co-founder of Dyn, an Internet infrastructure company acquired by Oracle and Minim, and IoT cybersecurity company.
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CTO Wisdom with Mike Grushin | Beyond the Program
Welcome to CTO Wisdom. In this series, we interview technical leaders who have stepped into executive positions.
Today’s guest host, Eric Brooke, speaks with Mike Grushin, Co-founder and CTO at Next League.
About today’s guest: Formerly a founding partner of OMNIGON and Chief Product Officer at InfrontX, Mike is a co-founder and CTO at Next League. He leads the global Technology team, working with partners to analyze their challenges and opportunities while designing the technical solutions to achieve their business objectives. Mike has extensive experience in executive-level positions, including COO, where he oversaw company operations, and CTO, where he was responsible for developing and managing technology and product services. Mike played a critical role in the commercialization of InfrontX products and services.
In addition to his role at Next League, Mike is also a co-founder of ProFolios.ai, a SaaS Platform that empowers students and seasoned professionals to create “a professional presence that they are proud to share”. Mike and his wife are grateful parents to their 3 sons and live in Boca Raton, FL.
About today’s host: Eric Brooke has a rich and varied leadership career - leading up to 21,000 people and Billions in revenue, throughout 14 countries. In their career, they have been an Executive six times (e.g. President, CEO, CMO, and CTO) and a Board member of multiple organisations. Eric has been a CTO of scaling startups from 0 to 120 engineers. As an adviser and mentor, they have helped multiple other startups scale both in Canada and the US. As well as supporting multiple startup incubators such as 1871 in Chicago and TechStars.
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