The Difference Engine | B2B Category Design | Private Equity | Venture Capital

‘A gut feeling.' It's a fairly common answer from many VCs when asked why they backed a particular startup over another. When all the numbers have been crunched and the data deliberated, the final decision often bypasses the brain and falls on the gut. However, is the human gut about to be out of a job?Nik Storonsky, co-founder of Revolut, is betting on it. Will his new venture, QuantumLight, usher in a new era of algorithmic investing? And if so, are you ready?Also on today's episode, a word from the Wise to the London Stock Exchange andn we wade through all the noise coming out of London Tech Week What to look forward to:00:30 Has the age of algorithmic investing begun?11:48 London tech listings - Wise, the overdue wake-up call21:33 London Tech Week or London Tech Weak?There is more information on how to design your category on our blogFollow us on LinkedIn:Paul Maher Jonathan Simnett Want to create a podcast for your business or brand? Contact Flamingo Media to make it happen.

Every crisis hides an opportunity. That might be cold comfort for M&S execs staring down a £300 million profit hit after a shelf shattering cyberattack. However, here at The Difference Engine, we prefer to see the positive.With cybersecurity now front and centre, and traditional defences clearly falling short, the question is: how can you seize the moment?Also in today’s episode, how Builder.ai rose fast and stumbled hard, and whether Intel can hold it together after going under the knife.What to look forward to:00:32 The £300m lessons from the Marks & Spencer hack 10:41 Builder.ai - Dotcom time again?20:22 Intel: The surgery is underway, but will a dissection begin?There is more information on how to design your category on our blogFollow us on LinkedIn:Paul Maher Jonathan Simnett Want to create a podcast for your business or brand? Contact Flamingo Media to make it happen.

Welcome to the fourth in a series of interviews with European tech leaders brought to you in association with Boardwave. The Boardwave network is a powerful community of Founders, CEOs, Chairs, Independent NEDs & their Investors from across Europe, representing companies at every stage of development.This week, we are joined by tech entrepreneur Amber Vodegel. Born in the Netherlands and now based in the UK, Amber has built a career at the cutting edge of healthtech, creating tools that directly improve lives. As the founder of Pregnancy+, the world’s leading pregnancy app with over 150 million users, she bootstrapped her way to a successful acquisition by Philips. Today, Amber is leading 28X, a groundbreaking femtech initiative using AI to close the gaps in women’s health through inclusive, privacy-first education and care. Alongside her entrepreneurial ventures, she also serves as a Non-Executive Director at MyHealthChecked PLC, continuing her mission to drive ethical, sustainable innovation in digital health.There is more information on how to design your category on our blogFollow us on LinkedIn:Paul Maher Jonathan Simnett Want to create a podcast for your business or brand? Contact Flamingo Media to make it happen.

Y Combinator is widely regarded as the world’s leading startup accelerator, having helped launch companies now worth a combined $800 billion! So when they speak, it’s worth paying close attention. Today, we’re diving into some timeless wisdom from Y Combinator co-founder Paul Graham.Could a couple of key insights change your chance of success?Also in today’s episode, we'll take a look at the launch of a new Big 4 spin-out consulting firm, Unity. They are backed by $300 million of PE money.  But are they different enough to cut the mustard?What to look forward to:00:35 Growth lessons from Y Combinator18:11 Where’s The Difference? The Cobbler’s Children Run Barefoot at Unity There is more information on how to design your category on our blogFollow us on LinkedIn:Paul Maher Jonathan Simnett Want to create a podcast for your business or brand? Contact Flamingo Media to make it happen.

Welcome to the third in a series of interviews with European tech leaders brought to you in association with Boardwave. The Boardwave network is a powerful community of Founders, CEOs, Chairs, Independent NEDs & their Investors from across Europe, representing companies at every stage of development.This week, This week we are joined by Boardwave patron and mentor Rich Waterworth. Rich has spent his career at the intersection of media and technology, shaping the future of how we create, consume, and connect. From 2019 to 2024, he served as General Manager of TikTok across Europe and EMEA, steering the platform’s explosive growth and building a brand that sits at the heart of modern culture. Before that, he spent nearly ten years at YouTube leading Marketing for EMEA, where he played a pivotal role in launching the ‘Creator’ movement which fueled the platform’s meteoric rise. Earlier in his journey, Rich helped pioneer the UK's shift to on-demand viewing by launching ITV Player and co-creating the connected TV service YouView. Today, he's diving deep into the social impact of digital life at the Oxford Internet Institute, and giving back as a Trustee for the Teenage Cancer Trust.There is more information on how to design your category on our blogFollow us on LinkedIn:Paul Maher Jonathan Simnett Want to create a podcast for your business or brand? Contact Flamingo Media to make it happen.

When global trade becomes chaotic, tech steps up to create order. In today’s episode, we explore the idea of ‘Tariff Tech’. Born from disruption, driven by necessity, and poised to reshape supply chains, resilience, and trust in an uncertain world.Is there a golden opportunity hidden within Trump’s tariff turmoil?Also in today’s episode, we’ll ask how AI can downsize your team while dialling up your productivity, and we’ll continue to be Europe’s loudest cheerleaders by speculating how the dumping of Chinese electronics could give the continent a competitive edge.What to look forward to:00:35 Market uncertainty and new category definition 13:49 What could the dumping of electronics mean for European inflation and investment?26:23 Smaller marketing teams and AIThere is more information on how to design your category on our blogFollow us on LinkedIn:Paul Maher Jonathan Simnett Want to create a podcast for your business or brand? Contact Flamingo Media to make it happen.

Welcome to the second in a series of interviews with European tech leaders brought to you in association with Boardwave. The Boardwave network is a powerful community of Founders, CEOs, Chairs, Independent NEDs & their Investors from across Europe, representing companies at every stage of development.This week, we are joined by Boardwave member and patron, Steve Garnett. A man of many accomplishments, Steve is best known as the former Chair of Salesforce in Europe, having built Category leader Salesforce’s operations in EMEA from scratch, a leadership challenge he’d previously risen to with both Siebel and Oracle. He is now a prolific SaaS tech investor and board member. From a council estate in Liverpool to the top of the enterprise software industry, Steve’s journey is both remarkable and inspiring. We’ll explore his path to success and the invaluable lessons he’s learned along the way.There is more information on how to design your category on our blogFollow us on LinkedIn:Paul Maher Jonathan Simnett Want to create a podcast for your business or brand? Contact Flamingo Media to make it happen.

Why would someone buy a stock? It’s a good question - one whose answer has changed in recent times. Stock markets are struggling to keep up with the chaos of a new world order.So in a market where a single Trump tweet can trigger massive, unpredictable swings where do tech investors turn and what impact will this have on the tech sector? Could it spell a Category opportunity?Also in today’s episode, we’ll ask if Salesforce is making a new case for Category leadership and are static workforces a sign of the times?What to look forward to:00:29 The Trump Put = Tech Correction = Category Opportunity10:37 Salesforce makes its new case for Category leadership 21:51 Static workforces - sign o’ the timesThere is more information on how to design your category on our blogFollow us on LinkedIn:Paul Maher Jonathan Simnett Want to create a podcast for your business or brand? Contact Flamingo Media to make it happen.

Welcome to the first in a series of interviews with European tech leaders brought to you in association with Boardwave. The Boardwave network is a powerful community of Founders, CEOs, Chairs, Independent NEDs & their Investors from across Europe, representing companies at every stage of development.This week, we are joined by Boardwave member Stephane Kurgan. A man of many accomplishments in the IT and associated investment industries, Stephane is best known for being the COO of European Category leader, King Digital Entertainment. During Stephane’s tenure, King made social gaming their own, listing on NASDAQ and growing to become a multi-billion dollar turnover organisation before an eventual $5.9 bn exit to Activision Blizzard in 2015.There is more information on how to design your category on our blogFollow us on LinkedIn:Paul Maher Jonathan Simnett Want to create a podcast for your business or brand? Contact Flamingo Media to make it happen.

It’s becoming increasingly clear that, despite our admiration for Nvidia, its future may not be as assured as it seemed just a few months ago. A striking graph from New Normal Consulting compares Cisco’s meteoric rise and sharp decline from 1990 to 2002 with Nvidia’s trajectory from 2014 to the present. The correlation is almost 100%. Spooky.Do stock market bubbles always follow the same pattern? What forces could be pushing Nvidia towards a similar fate? And, what can Nvidea do to avoid ‘doing a Cisco’?Also in today’s episode: Are we waving goodbye to SaaS and welcoming the era of AaaS? Plus, we take a trip across the Channel to unpack what the Paris AI Summit reveals about the shifting relationship between politicians and the tech industry.What to look forward to:00:40 Will Nvidia `do a Cisco`?20:57 Who does the EU think it is? Or the UK for that matter28:57 Is SaaS a Dead Man Walking?There is more information on how to design your category on our blogFollow us on LinkedIn:Paul Maher Jonathan Simnett Want to create a podcast for your business or brand? Contact Flamingo Media to make it happen.