All in Podcast Episodes
Our next guest is considered one of the leading customer analytics and digital measurement experts in the world. Gary Angel tells us about his first brush with data analytics in the days of direct mail marketing, to pulling the industry away from measuring website “hits,” to the intensity of being an entrepreneur. Gary Angel is currently the CEO and Founder of Digital Mortar, which provides collection and measurement of the customer journey in retail stores.
Aurélie Pols is an expert on ethical data uses. In this episode, we explore the historical precedents that have brought us to a turning point where companies need to decide whether to prioritize protecting the individual’s rights or skirt data privacy laws for the sake of convenience and cash. Listen to her thoughts on GDPR and CCPA, and how the EU and America approach data protection differently.
Some people have a gift for seeing things from a higher perspective—noticing how factors intercept to create trends, waves of public thought, and society-altering changes. Howard is one of these people. We could call him a prophet, a thinker, certainly a writer, but we’ll call him what he calls himself: an independent instigator and observer. This is a must-listen episode that explores how the human mind, belief in the future, technology—and yes, psychedelics—all connect.
Jacqueline Harper has the kind of story that is rarely told and exactly what we’re trying to bring to light with this podcast. A black female programmer in the 1970s, she was asked to go home from her IBM job when she became pregnant with her first child. She then pushed herself to learn programming while also raising her family. Hear this remarkable woman’s story from the world of mid-century tech.
Rand Fishkin has dramatically opened up the field of SEO for the average marketer as the founder of Moz. Now he tells Melinda about co-founding SparkToro (in beta now) and his recent book shedding light on what it’s really like to be a founder. Plus, enjoy Rand’s candor as he describes what he believes makes for a healthy corporate environment (hint: see the title of this episode).
We kick off Season 3 with the VP of Product at Dropbox, Adam Nash, telling about some of the biggest companies in tech at some of their most transformative times in the past thirty years. Hear about Adam’s time at NeXT, Apple, eBay, LinkedIn, and now Dropbox, and how product teams bridge the gap between development and marketing to ultimately give the customers what they’re looking for.
Laura Yecies has an extensive career in Silicon Valley and has been the CEO of two venture-backed startups, currently of SyncThink, a brain health platform focused on eye-tracking technology. Laura offers advice for managers, supportive words for females in tech, and wisdom for married couples trying to nurture two careers at once.
Geoff Donaker has seen every stage of a start-up—from going public to having to close the doors. Now he is on the VC side as founder of Burst Capital, bringing his expertise to investing. Meet this former COO of Yelp and hear his advice for founders and new companies on how to avoid common problems like stagnant prices or becoming untethered from your customers.
Joe Meyer has a long history in tech as an entrepreneur and big thinker. Joe shares with us his perspective on the New York tech scene, and why it just may be better to be in tech in NYC than in Silicon Valley (gasp!). Joe tells about the inspiration for starting ExecThread, the job sharing platform specifically for successful execs looking for those hard-to-find executive positions, and how it opened his eyes to matters of diversity and privilege.
Dr. Tiffani Bright, PhD is the Biomedical Informatician at IBM Watson Health. She describes arriving at this fascinating field which sits at the intersection of several disciplines (mathematics, health/biology, and social science), and in particular how she is looking at Artificial Intelligence as a tool for improving healthcare delivery in the future.
Jim Sterne is widely considered the godfather of digital marketing analytics. In this episode, Jim describes his journey through marketing analytics, why cookies are here to stay, and the one tech innovation that everyone should stop resisting and get on board with.
Philip Rosedale, virtual world entrepreneur and all-around “Starman,” joins the podcast to discuss the biggest themes at the intersection of humanity and technology. He describes building the virtual world “Second Life” and what he believes the future holds for expansive virtual environments and 3D interactions.
A sense of awe runs throughout this episode with Avinash Kaushik, one of the godfathers of web analytics. Avinash is a data visualization expert and Digital Marketing Evangelist at Google and takes a step back with us to wonder at the magic of the Internet while delving into how data can better serve businesses.
Author, coach, speaker, and advocate for inclusive workplaces, Karen Catlin shares stories from her career in Silicon Valley at Adobe and Macromedia, as well as more about her work to encourage us all to be better allies in the workplace.
Tom Peters, best-selling business author, speaker, and “Red Bull of management thinking,” reaches back to his start in Silicon Valley in the 1970s, reflecting on how the Valley has evolved and what work still needs to be done to bring the focus back to the people.
Sian Morson is a start-up founder, a published author, a film producer, creator of a genius beauty app, and an incredibly down-to-earth interviewee. She’s been on both sides of the investor/start-up founder relationship, and is an entrepreneur whose persistence and need to solve nagging problems has served her remarkably well.
Mar Hicks, Associate Professor of History at Illinois Institute of Technology, drops in to talk about the history of technology and how algorithmic bias has evolved over the years. They discuss topics from how women were purposefully excluded from the tech industry to how transgender algorithmic bias began in the 70’s. Mar shares insights about bias in tech that you have probably experienced but might have only given a passing thought.
Sherry Wei, founder of Aviatrix Systems, talks with Melinda Byerley about how she bootstrapped her company into a $25 million venture-funded startup. Her tips about not giving up too early, putting time into your business, and the role “dumb luck” plays in life and business are refreshing and inspirational.
Paula Buchanan, researcher and self-proclaimed data nerd, brings her passion for education, data, and lifelong learning to this episode. Paula’s goal is to make healthcare data accessible to the public so people are better equipped to make informed decisions. Paula and Melinda explore how conquering the fear of failure and striving to learn more can be a driving force for women and people of color, and really anyone in the tech world.
From creating an award-winning agency, to recognizing a clear opportunity in sex tech (including naming it) and creating Make Love, Not Porn, Cindy has been at the cutting edge of culture for more than a few decades now, and she's here to share that experience with us.
