Tech for Non-Techies

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 males are often undervalued. This is an opportunity for investors to get lower risk for higher return, as angels, VCs and corporate investors. These are not market dynamics that we want, however it is the world we live in today. By focussing on finding opportunities, Digital Leaders are more likely to win in the long run. ----- 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 you apply for a consultation call: Sophia and her team will look through your application. If they genuinely think Sophia could help you, you will get a link to her calendar.. You will have a 20 – 30 minute call to discuss your goals and see if you are a good fit for each other.  If we establish that Tech for Non-Techies courses + coaching could help you and believe we would enjoy working together, we will discuss a relevant approach to suit you. The aim of the call is not to sell you on anything that is not right for you. We both win if you get results, but we both lose if you don’t. We love hearing from our readers and listeners. So if you have questions about the content or working with us, just get in touch on info@techfornontechies.co   Say hi to Sophia on Twitter and follow her on LinkedIn. Following us on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok will make you smarter. 

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 digital tech tools. How to benefit from this trend for Digital Leaders If you already work in a Big Tech firm, start working on a healthcare project. Even if that particular project does not work out, it will be an important area of growth for the company and a useful experience.  If you are an investor, but have no experience in healthcare, this is an area to explore but don't throw money at it if you don't have context. Good deals come from a good network, so build your network among innovators and investors in the space first, as a foundation to investing. If you have nothing to do with healthcare in your career, you can learn about design and innovation as a Beta tester for a new product. Giving feedback as a Beta tester to designers and product managers is a great way to see how products get invented from the inside. It is also a free and low effort way to learn.  ----- 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 you apply for a consultation call: Sophia and her team will look through your application. If they genuinely think Sophia could help you, you will get a link to her calendar.. You will have a 20 – 30 minute call to discuss your goals and see if you are a good fit for each other.  If we establish that Tech for Non-Techies courses + coaching could help you and believe we would enjoy working together, we will discuss a relevant approach to suit you. The aim of the call is not to sell you on anything that is not right for you. We both win if you get results, but we both lose if you don’t. We love hearing from our readers and listeners. So if you have questions about the content or working with us, just get in touch on info@techfornontechies.co   Say hi to Sophia on Twitter and follow her on LinkedIn. Following us on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok will make you smarter. 

At this time of year, many ambitious professionals sign up to education programmes to take their career to the next level. Here's a guide on how to choose the right course for you and make the most of it once you've signed up. How to choose the right online course for you: Familiarise yourself with the instructor’s work and point of view Invest your time and energy before you invest your money. If the instructor has a podcast, listen to it. If they have written articles, read them.  See who the instructor’s community of students is and see if they inspire you. Be aware of the pricing: if it seems too good to be true, it often is. Take courses that have case studies because we learn best from stories. To get the most out of a course: Set aside a regular time in your week as your class time, as if you were going to a real university lecture. When you are taking the course, regularly ask yourself: what insight did I get from this? By doing this, you take responsibility for your own learning and results. Do what the instructor tells you to do. You paid for their expertise, so use it!   ----- 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 you apply for a consultation call: Sophia and her team will look through your application. If they genuinely think Sophia could help you, you will get a link to her calendar.. You will have a 20 – 30 minute call to discuss your goals and see if you are a good fit for each other.  If we establish that Tech for Non-Techies courses + coaching could help you and believe we would enjoy working together, we will discuss a relevant approach to suit you. The aim of the call is not to sell you on anything that is not right for you. We both win if you get results, but we both lose if you don’t. We love hearing from our readers and listeners. So if you have questions about the content or working with us, just get in touch on info@techfornontechies.co   Say hi to Sophia on Twitter and follow her on LinkedIn. Following us on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok will make you smarter. 

If you’re feeling guilty about switching on yet another streaming series, here are three shows you can watch to learn about tech in your downtime: General Magic - tells the tale of how a great vision and an epic failure changed the lives of billions. It is a documentary about the people and the technologies that led to the creation of the iPhone. Silicon Valley by HBO – comedy series about a start-up called Pied Piper and its founding team. Painfully close to the chaotic reality of running a start-up. Fun and useful for those who want to start a tech venture or invest in one. How will businesses use the metaverse? YouTube documentary by The Economist. The documentary is one of the very few things that both question the hype around the metaverse, while also showing its promise. The documentary features interviews with Matthew Ball, author of the excellent The Metaverse: And How It Will Revolutionize Everything. ----- 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 you apply for a consultation call: Sophia and her team will look through your application. If they genuinely think Sophia could help you, you will get a link to her calendar.. You will have a 20 – 30 minute call to discuss your goals and see if you are a good fit for each other.  If we establish that Tech for Non-Techies courses + coaching could help you and believe we would enjoy working together, we will discuss a relevant approach to suit you. The aim of the call is not to sell you on anything that is not right for you. We both win if you get results, but we both lose if you don’t. We love hearing from our readers and listeners. So if you have questions about the content or working with us, just get in touch on info@techfornontechies.co   Say hi to Sophia on Twitter and follow her on LinkedIn. Following us on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok will make you smarter. 

This December, Microsoft (founded in 1975) took a 4% stake in the London Stock Exchange (founded in 1698). As part of this deal, the LSE will spend at least $2.8 billion on Microsoft’s cloud related services in the next 10 years. Big Tech and finance have been getting closer and closer in recent years. The CME has a deal with Google, AWS has a deal with Nasdaq, and almost all banks and insurers now use big tech’s cloud services. This is a sign of things to come for all industries, and carries lessons for Digital Leaders. Lessons for Digital Leaders: The senior management of the London Stock Exchange today has to have a different skill set to what it had 10 years ago, because digital technologies are now an integral part of the business. The same logic either already applies or will soon apply to other industries. If you want to have a future proof career, you need to learn to Speak Tech and collaborate with your technical colleagues. This is a case study of Big Tech strategic partnerships: cloud providers are taking stakes in businesses that need lots of data storage and data processing. Other industries also need to store and process lots of data, such as media and healthcare. What other industries share similar characteristics? How could strategic partnerships with cloud providers help companies in these sectors thrive?  Answer these questions in a post on LinkedIn and share it with your network. In order to really elevate yourself into digital leadership, you need to learn to speak tech AND make sure that people know about your new skillset.  You can learn how to do both in our Digital Leadership program. This latest deal by the London Stock Exchange, a 300 year old company, shows that to be a successful business, you have to keep reinventing.  You can thrive as a Digital Leader in every industry, but not in every company. Are you in an organisation where you can be a digital leader? If the organisation is not adapting and the senior leadership isn’t open to change, then it is time to change course.  Listen to 125. Introduction to Cloud Computing for Non-Techies to learn the basics of what cloud computing is and why it matters. ----- 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 you apply for a consultation call: Sophia and her team will look through your application. If they genuinely think Sophia could help you, you will get a link to her calendar.. You will have a 20 – 30 minute call to discuss your goals and see if you are a good fit for each other.  If we establish that Tech for Non-Techies courses + coaching could help you and believe we would enjoy working together, we will discuss a relevant approach to suit you. The aim of the call is not to sell you on anything that is not right for you. We both win if you get results, but we both lose if you don’t. We love hearing from our readers and listeners. So if you have questions about the content or working with us, just get in touch on info@techfornontechies.co   Say hi to Sophia on Twitter and follow her on LinkedIn. Following us on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok will make you smarter.    (Photo by Klaudia Piaskowska Unsplash)

Joining the advisory board of a promising tech start-up will teach you vital skills, build your network and transform your professional brand. It is a great way to reshape your career, while still working in your current role. Here is how to do it: Remember the difference between boards of directors and advisory boards. The former have fiduciary responsibility and the ability to hire / fire the CEO. The latter do not. Work out what the start-up needs and give it to them, before asking for an advisory board position. For example, if they need introductions to potential customers, make the introductions. Have the conversation about formally joining the advisory board only after you have proven your value to a start-up founder. Be aware of the company’s stage: tech start-ups rarely need in depth financial analysis but do need introductions and help with operations. Don’t offer advice based on your experience. Offer advice based on the start-up needs. Do not view this as a way to get rich via advisory options. Some start-ups have option schemes for advisors, others do not. The aim of being an advisor is for you to learn, network and transform your career, not to strike it rich from their options. (Obviously, if that happens, that is a welcome bonus, but should not be your aim). Once you are on a start-up board, be helpful, be humble and be kind. The start-up founder is likely to be over-worked, underpaid and very stressed. Offer them advice that they can genuinely use, pick up the burden when you can and do not use this as opportunity to show off how smart you are. Update your LinkedIn profile and professional bio. Telling the world that you are actively involved in tech innovation will help you get found for other exciting opportunities. For more, listen to episode 31. How To Transition Into Venture Capital (interview with Nilesh Trivedi) ----- 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 you apply for a consultation call: Sophia and her team will look through your application. If they genuinely think Sophia could help you, you will get a link to her calendar.. You will have a 20 – 30 minute call to discuss your goals and see if you are a good fit for each other.  If we establish that Tech for Non-Techies courses + coaching could help you and believe we would enjoy working together, we will discuss a relevant approach to suit you. The aim of the call is not to sell you on anything that is not right for you. We both win if you get results, but we both lose if you don’t. We love hearing from our readers and listeners. So if you have questions about the content or working with us, just get in touch on info@techfornontechies.co   Say hi to Sophia on Twitter and follow her on LinkedIn. Following us on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok will make you smarter. 

There is plenty of hype about AI, but most organisations are still using old precesses to make decisions. We are  in the Between Times: "after AI's clear promise and before its transformational impact," as described in the book Power and Prediction: the disruptive economics of Artificial Intelligence.  In this episode, Professor Joshua Gans, one of the book's co-authors explains why organisations are not yet adapting the full power of AI and what will happen when they do. Learning notes from this episode: Artificial Intelligence is a prediction machine, which supports decision making. Today businesses often use AI for one or two processes, but most decisions are still made by humans. Technology first companies and start-ups often have more AI-based decision making, because they do not have to replace legacy processes. Business leaders should not accept AI as just a black box. In fact, Professor Gans argues that business brains might be better equipped to question AI and its benefits, than the engineers who build the algorithms. Here are three questions business leaders should ask to understand an AI system: What is this AI predicting? How will that prediction affect decision making? What is the decision maker's tolerance for errors?  ---- 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 you apply for a consultation call: Sophia and her team will look through your application. If they genuinely think Sophia could help you, you will get a link to her calendar.. You will have a 20 – 30 minute call to discuss your goals and see if you are a good fit for each other.  If we establish that Tech for Non-Techies courses + coaching could help you and believe we would enjoy working together, we will discuss a relevant approach to suit you. The aim of the call is not to sell you on anything that is not right for you. We both win if you get results, but we both lose if you don’t. We love hearing from our readers and listeners. So if you have questions about the content or working with us, just get in touch on info@techfornontechies.co   Say hi to Sophia on Twitter and follow her on LinkedIn. Following us on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok will make you smarter.    (Photo credit: Joshua Gans photographed by JOHN HRYNIUK PHOTOGRAPHY)

Why do you keep checking your phone, even when you’re trying not to? It's because the apps on your phone use the Hook Model. described by Nir Eyal in his book Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products. To learn how apps like Instagram, LinkedIn and Vivino keep us coming back to our screens, listen to this episode. Learning notes from this episode: Habits are behaviours done with little or no conscious thought If your product becomes a habit, people will use it more. You will spend less on advertising and make more money. The greatest return on investment generally comes from increasing the product's ease of use. If you want to improve a product, first look at the design: where you can make it more simple to use. E.g. can you require less information from users when they first sign up? The Hook model consists of 4 steps  Trigger: you get a notification that someone commented on your post Action: you open LinkedIn / Instagram to see the comment Variable Reward: you find out what the comment was and by whom. Depending on these factors, you might feel happy, sad, excited, disappointed Investment: you make another post – this is an investment of your time and energy, and you keep coming back for more. ---- Join our next FREE Masterclass on 30 November 2022, 12 pm EST / 5 pm GMT How to Become a Digital Leader You will learn: The top mistake non-technical leaders make when it comes to tech Leadership case studies from Netflix & Microsoft How to go from traditional business manager to Digital Leader SIGN UP HERE ----- 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 you apply for a consultation call: Sophia and her team will look through your application. If they genuinely think Sophia could help you, you will get a link to her calendar.. You will have a 20 – 30 minute call to discuss your goals and see if you are a good fit for each other.  If we establish that Tech for Non-Techies courses + coaching could help you and believe we would enjoy working together, we will discuss a relevant approach to suit you. The aim of the call is not to sell you on anything that is not right for you. We both win if you get results, but we both lose if you don’t. We love hearing from our readers and listeners. So if you have questions about the content or working with us, just get in touch on info@techfornontechies.co   Say hi to Sophia on Twitter and follow her on LinkedIn. Following us on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok will make you smarter.   

As the tech sector lays off employees, there is still plenty of opportunity to be a Digital Leader.  Playing the long game is making use of the opportunities you have in front of you today, while keeping your eye on the future.  Here are three ways to become a digital leader today: Work in the digital team of a traditional business: Some traditional businesses also have innovative tech-like environments. E.g. Levi's has a Head of AI, L'Oreal works with data scientists to predict consumer trends and Tesco hired the same UX design team that worked for Google.  Working in these teams can give you the same exposure and skill sets as working in Big Tech. Word of warning: be careful of traditional businesses that have not yet invested in digital transformation or had success with digital teams. This often means that the leadership's mindset isn't up to date and they are unlikely to be good collaborators in the build-measure-learn approach needed in digital. Work with tech sector clients in professional services: banking, consulting, law, marketing etc. E.g. investment bankers that make smart suggestions for acquisitions generate big fees and act as strategic advisors to their clients. But, for this they need to speak tech and link product strategy to business strategy.  Get involved with tech start-ups. This gives you the opportunity learn, network and transform your personal brand into being seen as a tech leader. Getting involved with start-ups while working in your current role means that when the right opportunity comes, you are ready to grab it.    Join our next FREE Masterclass on 30 November 2022, 12 pm EST / 5 pm GMT How to Become a Digital Leader You will learn: The top mistake non-technical leaders make when it comes to tech Leadership case studies from Netflix & Microsoft How to go from traditional business manager to Digital Leader SIGN UP HERE ----- 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 you apply for a consultation call: Sophia and her team will look through your application. If they genuinely think Sophia could help you, you will get a link to her calendar.. You will have a 20 – 30 minute call to discuss your goals and see if you are a good fit for each other.  If we establish that Tech for Non-Techies courses + coaching could help you and believe we would enjoy working together, we will discuss a relevant approach to suit you. The aim of the call is not to sell you on anything that is not right for you. We both win if you get results, but we both lose if you don’t. We love hearing from our readers and listeners. So if you have questions about the content or working with us, just get in touch on info@techfornontechies.co   Say hi to Sophia on Twitter and follow her on LinkedIn. Following us on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok will make you smarter. 

Cloud computing powers most of the digital services you use today. Listen to this podcast episode to learn what it is and why it matters. Learning notes from this episode: The cloud computing is expecting huge growth: the total cloud computing market is estimated to be reach $1,614 by 2030 from $545 billion in 2022, according to Precedence Research. Before the advent of cloud computing, technology companies would have had to have their own servers to store data and run computations. Having your own servers is very expensive because you have to pay to keep them secure keep them cool keep them running 24 /7 and pay high electricity costs have a space to keep them maintain them with the help of a specialist Cloud computing means that companies do not have to buy and maintain their own servers. Instead, they can just rent space on another company's servers.  You can just pay for what you use and expand as you grow.  This is a picture of servers ran by a cloud computing company. Before cloud computing, businesses would have had to have own these things and maintain them at their own premises - a huge cost and a headache. Amazon launched cloud computing as a service in 2006, and remains the biggest player in the market today. It counts Netflix, Disney, the UK Ministry of Justice, Kellogs, Guardian News and Media, and the European Space Agency as its customers. Cloud computing is relevant to every industry: if you are storing data and using it to make decisions, you need to know about cloud computing.  The advent of cloud computing drove down the risk of innovation and spurred the creation of start-ups and the VCs funding them. Without cloud computing digital innovation was only available to those who could pay and maintain servers. The three biggest players in the cloud computing market are: Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud and IBM Cloud.   (Source: Statista) Join our next FREE Masterclass on 30 November 2022, 12 pm EST / 5 pm GMT How to Become a Digital Leader You will learn: The top mistake non-technical leaders make when it comes to tech Leadership case studies from Netflix & Microsoft How to go from traditional business manager to Digital Leader SIGN UP HERE   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 you apply for a consultation call: Sophia and her team will look through your application. If they genuinely think Sophia could help you, you will get a link to her calendar.. You will have a 20 – 30 minute call to discuss your goals and see if you are a good fit for each other.  If we establish that Tech for Non-Techies courses + coaching could help you and believe we would enjoy working together, we will discuss a relevant approach to suit you. The aim of the call is not to sell you on anything that is not right for you. We both win if you get results, but we both lose if you don’t. We love hearing from our readers and listeners. So if you have questions about the content or working with us, just get in touch on info@techfornontechies.co   Say hi to Sophia on Twitter and follow her on LinkedIn. Following us on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok will make you smarter.