Welcome to the Tech for Non-Techies podcast

Dr Marilyn Sandor is the founder of GoodCheckUp, a telehealth app that gives you dental care whenever, wherever. But her success story came out of a crisis: when Covid struck, she had to shut down her dental clinic, thus losing her income and leaving her patients in the lurch.

Not one to sit still, Dr Sandor created a telehealth app to treat her patients remotely. Her patients loved it, and today GoodCheckUp helps dentists around the US treat patients and generate incomes.

Dr Sandor had to learn to speak tech, so she could be an effective leader and collaborate with her tech team. But, she spends most of her time thinking about the user, not the technology. This is why people want to use her product.

This is a great episode for:

• founders
• corporate innovators
• product managers
• tech investors

If you’re inspired by Dr Sandor’s success and want to build a tech venture as a non-technical founder, you need the Tech for Non-Technical Founders course in our membership.

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Apps and algorithms are like bathroom redesigns and subway station refurbishments. Over budget and over deadline.

Listen to this episode to learn why this happens and what to do about it. 

Listen to 119. Why smart leaders expect the unexpected from software updates for more on this topic.

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Tech for Non-Techies clients 

• Reach senior leadership positions in Big Tech firms
• Lead digital transformation in established businesses
• Create tech businesses as non-technical founders
• Pivot into careers in venture capital

If you want to have a great career in the Digital Age, then APPLY FOR A CONSULTATION CALL.

What happens when you apply for a consultation call:

1. Sophia and her team will look through your...

Most products brought to market fail. Tech Entrepreneur Ash Maurya says this is "not because we can't complete what we set out to build, but because we waste time, money, and effort building the wrong product."

Maurya is the author of Running Lean: Iterate from Plan A to a Plan that works, and creator of the Business Model Canvas.

Listen to this episode for three core lessons all innovators need to know to build businesses and products in a world of uncertainty. 

The most important thing to remember is that businesses are living creatures that are co-created with their customers. This is the same of tech products: apps, sites and algorithms get released, then people use them, the product makers analyse behaviour and then make a better version.

This is why Maurya says (and I agree) that writing a business plan is a form of waste. It takes a long time to do and is usually an exercise in imagination. 

It is better to create a Lean Model Canvas and iterate your business...

The metaverse hasn't yet gone mainstream, but it is already changing changing how we work and play.

For some companies, the metaverse is their digital transformation, which makes understanding it a key Digital Leadership skill today.

Listen to this short episode to hear the most sensible explanation of where the metaverse matters today.

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Watch more FREE LESSONS on the Tech for Non-Techies YouTube channel.

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If you like learning about how tech products and profits get made, you'll like our newsletter.

It's funny too. Sign up here.

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Tech for Non-Techies clients 

• Reach senior leadership positions in Big Tech firms
• Lead digital transformation in established businesses
• Create tech businesses as non-technical founders
• Pivot into careers in venture capital

If you want to have a great career in the Digital Age, then APPLY FOR A...

If you are not a developer or a data scientist, you don’t know what you don’t know about  tech. This is a very uncomfortable feeling, especially for high achievers, who were trained to believe that success meant knowing everything.

Listen to this episode to hear five tips on how to make the right decisions as a business leader in a world of digital unknown unknowns.

Listen here on Apple Podcasts

Listen here on Spotify

-----

If you like learning about how tech products and profits get made, you'll like our newsletter.

It's funny too. Sign up here.

-----  

Tech for Non-Techies clients 

• Reach senior leadership positions in Big Tech firms
• Lead digital transformation in established businesses
• Create tech businesses as non-technical founders
• Pivot into careers in venture capital

If you want to have a great career in the Digital Age, then APPLY FOR A CONSULTATION CALL.

What happens when...

To have a thriving career in the Digital Age, traditional business skills are not enough. You need to update your skillset, your network and your image. 

Follow this three step framework to transform your career:

1. Learn to speak tech
2. Get involved with the right projects
3. Tell the world about whom you have become

Get the Speak Tech Guide - FREE guide to the top 10 concepts all business leaders need to know.

Listen here on Apple Podcasts

Listen here on Spotify

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If you like learning about how tech products and profits get made, you'll like our newsletter.

It's funny too. Sign up here.

-----  

Tech for Non-Techies clients 

• Reach senior leadership positions in Big Tech firms
• Lead digital transformation in established businesses
• Create tech businesses as non-technical founders
• Pivot into careers in venture capital

If you want to have a great career in the Digital Age, then APPLY FOR A CONSULTATION...

What kind of doorbell do you use? A buzzer? A door knocker or a Ring smart doorbell system?

Right now, you can see all three inventions in use: one that has been around for millennia, and another that was created just 20 years ago.

This shows the wide gap between tech invention and its wide-scale adaption. While the Ring doorbell system is now well known, some people still prefer to use a door knocker – a system that was developed before Biblical times.

This gap between a product or an idea existing, and its wide scale adaption, is where the biggest opportunities lie. 

Listen to this episode to learn how to capture them, as a corporate leader, founder or investor.

Apply for the 

Plan your year like a Digital Leader workshop

Live online: 5 February 2023, 11 am EST / 4 pm GMT

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If you like learning about how tech products and profits get made, you'll like our...

Digital Transformation is going to continue being a huge force in business, but the way it’s being done is changing. People, not tech tools, are the new priority.

Listen to this episode to learn how to make the most of this opportunity.

Learning notes from this episode:

• Global digital transformation spending is forecast to reach $3.4 trillion by 2026, from around 1.6 trillion today, according to Statista,
  • This high growth means opportunity for corporate leaders, entrepreneurs and investors.
• When companies first attempted digital transformation efforts, the emphasis was on implementing new tools.
  • These transformation efforts were usually led by the Chief Technology Officer or Chief Innovation Officer, with the rest of the organisation often able to ignore this change.
• While some of these efforts were successful, a lot of money was wasted. McKinsey estimates that 70% of digital transformation programmes fail to meet their goals.
• This is why, digital transformation efforts...

Despite the many press releases touting Silicon Valley's diversity efforts, the majority of funding from this innovation will still go to white males in 2023. 

While this reality is not what many of us want, it is an opportunity for investors and innovators to capture overlooked user markets.

 Learning notes from this episode:

• A product is a solution to a problem a human is experiencing. Innovators make solutions for problems they are familiar with, which means that homogeneity in founders means homogeneity in products.
  • This means there is more competition amongst products that solve problems experienced by male founders, such as laundry services and food delivery apps, than in other niches, such as female healthcare. 
  • While funding will be harder to get for products not aimed at the white male market, competition in these sectors will also often be lower. Ultimately, this means big untapped opportunities.
• Companies ran by founders who are not white...

The biggest gains and innovations will come from digital technologies in healthcare in 2023.

Big Tech firms have already entered healthcare, with Amazon buying One Medical and launching Amazon Clinic in 2022. But, healthcare tech innovation is happening across the board: from start-ups to hospital systems.

Learning notes from this episode:

• As Big Tech firms' valuations have fallen, they have become less attractive places for people to work. This means that working at a promising health tech start-up is now a much more tempting option for talented managers and engineers at Meta and Alphabet.
  • All things being equal, most smart experienced people would rather contribute to saving lives rather than driving attention on a social media feed.
• The gap between innovation and adaption is narrowing in healthcare. Many startups with innovative technologies that have been around for years are seeing an increase in demand, as hospital systems go digital and and more doctors use...