Disruption / Interruption

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100

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Oct 2026

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About the show

When did you say ”THAT’S IT! I’VE HAD IT!”? Time to Disrupt and Interrupt with host Karla Jo. Every week KJ interviews professionals who are disrupting their industries and altering economic networks that have been antiquated with bull-headed predecessors holding up the progress. KJ delves into uncovering more from industry rebels and innovators that you didn’t know you needed in your life.

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October 29, 202632 min

Disrupting AI Failure: Why the Technology Isn’t the Problem with Brian Kolbusz

Brian Kolbusz, founder of BKAI, joins host KJ to unpack why so many AI initiatives fall apart long before the technology becomes the issue. Drawing on years as an IT executive at large corporations, he explains decision architecture and why every AI initiative should map back to a corporate objective, and every objective back to the company’s mission. The conversation covers why nearly 80% of AI initiatives miss their ROI, how pilots built for best-case conditions break at scale, and why AI has to be treated as a people initiative led by the frontline employees who know the work. Kolbusz also shares the 60/40 split he uses to balance customer-facing and internal goals, and how a behavioral health clinic kept patient satisfaction high by giving its AI the voice of a retiring receptionist. Key Takeaways: 6:33 — What does skipping the mission cost a business when it buys AI? 10:16 — How can an AI pilot look beautiful and still fail at scale? 14:27 — Who knows where AI should be applied first? 22:29 — When does a failed AI initiative still count as a win? Quote of the Show (13:47): “AI is not an IT initiative. AI is a people initiative.” — Brian Kolbusz Join our Anti-PR newsletter where we’re keeping a watchful and clever eye on PR trends, PR fails, and interesting news in tech so you don't have to. You're welcome. Want PR that actually matters? Get 30 minutes of expert advice in a fast-paced, zero-nonsense session from Karla Jo Helms, a veteran Crisis PR and Anti-PR Strategist who knows how to tell your story in the best possible light and get the exposure you need to disrupt your industry. Click here to book your call: https://info.jotopr.com/free-anti-pr-eval Ways to connect with Brian Kolbusz: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bkolbusz/ Company Website: https://bkai.io How to get more Disruption/Interruption: Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/eccda84d-4d5b-4c52-ba54-7fd8af3cbe87/disruption-interruption Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/disruption-interruption/id1581985755 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6yGSwcSp8J354awJkCmJlD YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=disruption+%2F+interuuption See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

October 22, 202634 min

Disrupting the Billion-Dollar Secret: Why Your Most Valuable Asset Isn’t on the Balance Sheet with Mary Guzman

Mary Guzman, CEO of Crown Jewel® Insurance, the world's first trade secret insurer, joins host KJ to expose one of the most overlooked assets inside a business. She explains how trade secrets differ from patents, trademarks, and copyrights, and why they now hold an estimated five times the value of patents in the US. The conversation covers why the cyber insurance market has steered clear of intellectual property, how Crown Jewel pre-agrees on what qualifies as a trade secret and puts a value on it before a loss happens, and what that means when key engineers walk out the door with a company's innovation. Guzman also makes the case that founders, CFOs, and investors are sitting on off-balance sheet assets that could reshape how companies get valued, insured, and funded. Key Takeaways: 4:23 — When should a company patent an idea, and when should it keep it secret? 8:19 — How did trade secrets come to hold five times the value of patents? 18:15 — What happens when a company suspects its trade secrets walked out the door? 27:30 — Who should care most about an asset that never shows up on the balance sheet? Quote of the Show (28:38): "All of a sudden you have an off-balance sheet asset that was right under your nose the whole time that's worth $60 million." — Mary Guzman Join our Anti-PR newsletter where we’re keeping a watchful and clever eye on PR trends, PR fails, and interesting news in tech so you don't have to. You're welcome. Want PR that actually matters? Get 30 minutes of expert advice in a fast-paced, zero-nonsense session from Karla Jo Helms, a veteran Crisis PR and Anti-PR Strategist who knows how to tell your story in the best possible light and get the exposure you need to disrupt your industry. Click here to book your call: https://info.jotopr.com/free-anti-pr-eval Ways to connect with Mary Guzman: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-guzman-49183b29 Company Website: https://crownjewelinsurance.com How to get more Disruption/Interruption: Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/eccda84d-4d5b-4c52-ba54-7fd8af3cbe87/disruption-interruption Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/disruption-interruption/id1581985755 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6yGSwcSp8J354awJkCmJlD YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=disruption+%2F+interuuption See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

October 15, 202637 min

Disrupting College Sports: Turning Athletic Departments Into Sports Businesses with Michael Schreiber

Michael Schreiber, venture partner at SeventySix Capital and founder of PlayFly Sports, joins host KJ to break down how college athletics is being rewritten from the inside out. He identifies three forces flipping the industry: a massive commercial gap between college and pro sports revenues, rule changes around transfers and athlete compensation through NIL, and a facilities arms race that demands new capital. The conversation covers how early-adopter schools leveraged NIL to punch above their weight, the technology transforming both on-court performance and the business of sports, and why bipartisan legislation is racing to bring guardrails to a chaotic marketplace. Schreiber also shares his perspective on why sports fandom is one of the few things people carry from childhood to the end of life, making sports a forever industry worth investing in. Key Takeaways: 4:52 — What makes college sports bigger than most people realize? 8:00 — How wide is the commercial gap between college and pro sports? 9:23 — When did the rules around college athlete compensation finally change? 19:17 – Who were the early adopters capitalizing on the new college sports landscape? Quote of the Show (36:03): "If anybody's looking to get into an industry or looking to invest in an industry, invest in sports. It's forever." — Michael Schreiber Join our Anti-PR newsletter where we’re keeping a watchful and clever eye on PR trends, PR fails, and interesting news in tech so you don't have to. You're welcome. Want PR that actually matters? Get 30 minutes of expert advice in a fast-paced, zero-nonsense session from Karla Jo Helms, a veteran Crisis PR and Anti-PR Strategist who knows how to tell your story in the best possible light and get the exposure you need to disrupt your industry. Click here to book your call: https://info.jotopr.com/free-anti-pr-eval Ways to connect with Michael Schreiber : LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-schreiber-4b262a1 Company Website: https://www.seventysixcapital.com/ How to get more Disruption/Interruption: Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/eccda84d-4d5b-4c52-ba54-7fd8af3cbe87/disruption-interruption Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/disruption-interruption/id1581985755 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6yGSwcSp8J354awJkCmJlD YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=disruption+%2F+interuuption See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

October 8, 202642 min

Disrupting Health Insurance: Exposing the Black Box and Taking Back Control with Larry Hightower

Larry Hightower, founder and CEO of VXTRA HEALTH, joins Disruption/Interruption to expose how the corporate health insurance industry transformed into a banking operation that controls the money flowing between self-insured employers, physicians, and patients. He traces his path from witnessing pioneering physicians get blackballed in the 1980s to building a tech-enabled platform that bypasses legacy PPO networks and eliminates co-pays and deductibles. New federal transparency mandates have blown the black box wide open, allowing VXTRA HEALTH to deploy AI to surface price disparities of 30 to 40 percent between what insurance companies pay themselves versus what self-insured employers are charged. Larry's strategy centers on building local healthcare networks in secondary markets where the trust between physicians and patients already exists, giving employers and doctors the agency to reclaim control of their healthcare destiny. Key Takeaways: 10:28 — What has the health insurance industry actually become? 12:12 — How does new transparency legislation empower self-insured employers? 12:02 — When did the real barrier reveal itself to VXTRA HEALTH? 34:26 – Who benefits from the "Our Town" healthcare model? Quote of the Show (9:08): "If I make it right for the doctor-patient relationship, then the money will take care of itself." — Larry Hightower Join our Anti-PR newsletter where we’re keeping a watchful and clever eye on PR trends, PR fails, and interesting news in tech so you don't have to. You're welcome. Want PR that actually matters? Get 30 minutes of expert advice in a fast-paced, zero-nonsense session from Karla Jo Helms, a veteran Crisis PR and Anti-PR Strategist who knows how to tell your story in the best possible light and get the exposure you need to disrupt your industry. Click here to book your call: https://info.jotopr.com/free-anti-pr-eval Ways to connect with Larry Hightower : LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/vxtrahealth/ Company Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vxtrahealth/home/ How to get more Disruption/Interruption: Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/eccda84d-4d5b-4c52-ba54-7fd8af3cbe87/disruption-interruption Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/disruption-interruption/id1581985755 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6yGSwcSp8J354awJkCmJlD YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=disruption+%2F+interuuption See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

October 1, 202632 min

Disrupting the Banking Promise: Why Businesses Need Full-Reserve Banking with Scott Shay

Scott Shay, founder of N3XT, joins Disruption/Interruption to explain how traditional fractional reserve banking puts depositors' money at risk by lending it out while telling customers their funds are safe and available. He traces the systemic failures of this model from the 2008 financial crisis to government pressure campaigns like Choke Point, arguing that businesses unknowingly carry hidden counterparty risk every day. Shay presents N3XT as the first full reserve bank in the United States, where every deposited dollar is held in short-term Treasuries and available to account holders at all times. The result is a bank that enables immutable, real-time settlement for B2B payments, eliminating the delays and risks of legacy banking rails. Key Takeaways: 3:56 — What is fractional banking and why does Scott Shay call it a "noble lie"? 5:00 — When does the hidden risk of fractional banking become visible? 11:14 — How does N3XT's full reserve model eliminate risk for business depositors? 18:20 – Who benefits most from immutable, real-time settlement? Quote of the Show (22:28): "Money should work for the buyer and the seller, not just for the bank." — Scott Shay Join our Anti-PR newsletter where we’re keeping a watchful and clever eye on PR trends, PR fails, and interesting news in tech so you don't have to. You're welcome. Want PR that actually matters? Get 30 minutes of expert advice in a fast-paced, zero-nonsense session from Karla Jo Helms, a veteran Crisis PR and Anti-PR Strategist who knows how to tell your story in the best possible light and get the exposure you need to disrupt your industry. Click here to book your call: https://info.jotopr.com/free-anti-pr-eval Ways to connect with Scott Shay : LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-shay Company Website: https://n3xt.io How to get more Disruption/Interruption: Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/eccda84d-4d5b-4c52-ba54-7fd8af3cbe87/disruption-interruption Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/disruption-interruption/id1581985755 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6yGSwcSp8J354awJkCmJlD YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=disruption+%2F+interuuption See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

September 24, 202633 min

Disrupting Government’s Inbox: How AI Is Helping Public Officials Hear Constituents Again with Jon Kokot

In this episode of Disruption/Interruption, host KJ speaks with Jon Kokot, co-founder and CEO of Civic, an AI-native gov-tech company tackling the massive backlog of constituent communications flooding government offices. Jon shares how Congress received 80 million pieces of correspondence in 2024 alone, driven by AI drafting tools that have lowered the barrier for citizens to contact their representatives. Civic's platform auto-categorizes inbound messages, maps constituent concerns geographically, and helps offices respond with actionable data so that staff can reclaim hours of their day. Jon discusses the company's first customers in New York City processing 311 data, beta users in the US House of Representatives, and a mission to give residents real agency in the American democratic experiment. Key Takeaways: 5:00 — What is driving the surge in government correspondence? 15:35 — Who are the early adopters of this gov-tech platform? 24:30 — How does Civic's platform handle a 300,000-email backlog? 25:20 – When will staffers see meaningful time savings after switching? Quote of the Show (4:47): "We want to improve the function of our democracy so that residents feel that they have agency in this American experiment."— Jon Kokot Join our Anti-PR newsletter where we’re keeping a watchful and clever eye on PR trends, PR fails, and interesting news in tech so you don't have to. You're welcome. Want PR that actually matters? Get 30 minutes of expert advice in a fast-paced, zero-nonsense session from Karla Jo Helms, a veteran Crisis PR and Anti-PR Strategist who knows how to tell your story in the best possible light and get the exposure you need to disrupt your industry. Click here to book your call: https://info.jotopr.com/free-anti-pr-eval Ways to connect with Jon Kokot : Company LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/get-civic Company Website: https://get-civic.com How to get more Disruption/Interruption: Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/eccda84d-4d5b-4c52-ba54-7fd8af3cbe87/disruption-interruption Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/disruption-interruption/id1581985755 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6yGSwcSp8J354awJkCmJlD YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=disruption+%2F+interuuption See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

September 17, 202632 min

Disrupting Freight Payments: How Blockchain Is Killing the Silent Tax on Supply Chains with Todd Ziegler

Todd Ziegler, CEO of TCS Blockchain, joins Disruption/Interruption to expose the hidden financial drain crushing the trucking industry: invoice factoring. He explains how 95% of trucking companies are five trucks or fewer and routinely wait 30 to 180 days to get paid, forcing them into factoring deals that carry annualized interest rates as high as 36%. Those costs quietly cascade into a "silent VAT tax" baked into everyday consumer prices. Todd breaks down how TCS Blockchain uses blockchain and smart contracts to settle invoices in one to two business days at 50 to 90% lower cost than traditional factoring. The conversation covers the industry's post-deunionization history, why banking rails fall short, and where blockchain-based settlement is headed next. Key Takeaways: 3:19 — Who Is Getting Squeezed by 30 to 180 Day Payment Terms? 7:52 — When Did the Payment Delay Problem Start, and Why Does It Persist? 12:24 — What Is the Real Annualized Cost of Factoring? 18:46 – How Does TCS Blockchain Fix the Factoring Problem? Quote of the Show (4:47): "Any time you layer heavy financial costs on supply chain actors, that drips down to the grocery store." — Todd Ziegler Join our Anti-PR newsletter where we’re keeping a watchful and clever eye on PR trends, PR fails, and interesting news in tech so you don't have to. You're welcome. Want PR that actually matters? Get 30 minutes of expert advice in a fast-paced, zero-nonsense session from Karla Jo Helms, a veteran Crisis PR and Anti-PR Strategist who knows how to tell your story in the best possible light and get the exposure you need to disrupt your industry. Click here to book your call: https://info.jotopr.com/free-anti-pr-eval Ways to connect with Todd Ziegler : LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/todd-ziegler-b5035814a/ Company Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tcsblockchain/home/ Company Website: https://www.tcsblockchain.com/ How to get more Disruption/Interruption: Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/eccda84d-4d5b-4c52-ba54-7fd8af3cbe87/disruption-interruption Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/disruption-interruption/id1581985755 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6yGSwcSp8J354awJkCmJlD YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=disruption+%2F+interuuption See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

September 10, 202638 min

Disrupting the Future of Work: How Open Innovation and Global Talent Are Rewriting Problem-Solving with Steve Rader

Steve Rader spent decades at NASA leading open innovation and crowdsourcing efforts, connecting the agency's toughest technical challenges to global talent networks. In this episode he explains why understanding a problem matters more than rushing to solve it, and why the old model of hiring full-time in-house experts can't keep pace with today's exponential rate of technological change. He shares data on the explosion of the world's scientific population, real examples of crowdsourced breakthroughs like NASA's MagQuest challenge, and practical advice for startups and companies looking to tap into freelance and crowd talent through platforms like Freelancer, Wazoku, and Upwork. Steve now runs Crowd Resources Consulting, advising organizations on how to open up their innovation process. Key Takeaways: 3:39 — How are organizations trying to solve tomorrow's problems? 10:50 — What Has Happened to the World's Population of Scientists? 23:32 – How Should Startups Rethink Hiring in a Fast-Moving World? 31:26 — When Can You Actually Access a Cutting-Edge Expert? Quote of the Show (31:26): "In the open world, you can always find a cutting-edge technology expert, always." – Steve Rader Join our Anti-PR newsletter where we’re keeping a watchful and clever eye on PR trends, PR fails, and interesting news in tech so you don't have to. You're welcome. Want PR that actually matters? Get 30 minutes of expert advice in a fast-paced, zero-nonsense session from Karla Jo Helms, a veteran Crisis PR and Anti-PR Strategist who knows how to tell your story in the best possible light and get the exposure you need to disrupt your industry. Click here to book your call: https://info.jotopr.com/free-anti-pr-eval Ways to connect with Steve Rader : LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steverader/ Company Website: https://sites.google.com/crowdresources-consulting.com/home How to get more Disruption/Interruption: Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/eccda84d-4d5b-4c52-ba54-7fd8af3cbe87/disruption-interruption Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/disruption-interruption/id1581985755 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6yGSwcSp8J354awJkCmJlD YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=disruption+%2F+interuuption See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

September 3, 202627 min

Disrupting the Quantum Scaling Trap: Turning Quantum Computers into Modular Systems with Poolad Imany

This episode of Disruption/Interruption features Poolad Imany, founder and CEO of Icarus Quantum, a company spun out of NIST that is building modular, room-temperature quantum links. Rather than chasing ever-larger monolithic quantum computers, Icarus is tackling the industry's cryogenics bottleneck by connecting smaller quantum modules together, similar to how classical data centers scale. The conversation covers the physics of cryogenic cooling, why quantum interconnects are the missing piece for utility-scale quantum computers, and what Icarus's move to Harvard and MIT clean room facilities means for its fabrication process. Imany also touches on the energy efficiency gains quantum computing could offer and where he sees the industry heading over the next decade. Key Takeaways: 3:35 — Who is Poolad Imany and what pulled him into quantum computing? 5:36 — What is broken about how the industry currently scales quantum computers? 6:49 – How does modularization solve the quantum scaling problem? 25:48 — When will quantum and AI converge, and what happens next? Quote of the Show (6:49): "Let's actually modularize this. Let's take these small modules and connect them in a quantum way to each other to make a bigger quantum computer." — Poolad Imany Join our Anti-PR newsletter where we’re keeping a watchful and clever eye on PR trends, PR fails, and interesting news in tech so you don't have to. You're welcome. Want PR that actually matters? Get 30 minutes of expert advice in a fast-paced, zero-nonsense session from Karla Jo Helms, a veteran Crisis PR and Anti-PR Strategist who knows how to tell your story in the best possible light and get the exposure you need to disrupt your industry. Click here to book your call: https://info.jotopr.com/free-anti-pr-eval Ways to connect with Poolad Imany : Company LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/poolad-imany Company Website: https://www.icarusquantum.com/ How to get more Disruption/Interruption: Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/eccda84d-4d5b-4c52-ba54-7fd8af3cbe87/disruption-interruption Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/disruption-interruption/id1581985755 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6yGSwcSp8J354awJkCmJlD YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=disruption+%2F+interuuption See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

August 27, 202632 min

Disrupting the AI Power Bottleneck: Turning Data Centers into Energy Transition Heroes with Joe Helfrich

AI's explosive growth is running into a hard physical limit: power. In this episode, Joe Helfrich, managing partner and co-founder of NosTerra Venture Capital, explains why data centers are outpacing the energy grid's capacity and why that crisis is actually a rare opening for innovation. He walks through the shift from massive centralized training centers to smaller edge data centers built for real-time inference, and shares a standout portfolio story of a company turning data center cooling waste into a profitable CO2 business. The conversation covers where entrepreneurs should focus, how NosTerra evaluates real infrastructure solutions versus AI hype, and why this moment could reshape energy for everyone, not just the tech industry. Key Takeaways: 2:17 — What is the hidden physical problem behind the AI boom? 7:19 — How can data centers become accelerators instead of energy villains? 10:58 – When will AI compute move closer to the people using it? 21:15 — Who is turning a data center's waste into a business model? Quote of the Show (20:21): "Data centers are the catalyzing force that pulled forward all kinds of technology that reduces the cost of energy for everyone and increases energy supply and resiliency." — Joe Helfrich Join our Anti-PR newsletter where we’re keeping a watchful and clever eye on PR trends, PR fails, and interesting news in tech so you don't have to. You're welcome. Want PR that actually matters? Get 30 minutes of expert advice in a fast-paced, zero-nonsense session from Karla Jo Helms, a veteran Crisis PR and Anti-PR Strategist who knows how to tell your story in the best possible light and get the exposure you need to disrupt your industry. Click here to book your call: https://info.jotopr.com/free-anti-pr-eval Ways to connect with Joe Helfrich : Company LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joehelfrich/ Company Website: https://nosterracapital.com How to get more Disruption/Interruption: Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/eccda84d-4d5b-4c52-ba54-7fd8af3cbe87/disruption-interruption Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/disruption-interruption/id1581985755 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6yGSwcSp8J354awJkCmJlD YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=disruption+%2F+interuuption See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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