10-Minute Tech Talks: How Tech Entrepreneurs Fail & How You Can Avoid It

Hosted by Jonathan Kersting

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100

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Aug 2026

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About the show

Are you an entrepreneur building a technology company and looking to grow fast? This show teaches and inspires entrepreneurs to build better companies by learning from the failures of other tech companies and entrepreneurs. If you're striving for rapid growth while avoiding the mistakes that have led others to failure, this podcast is designed to help you stay on track. Avoid the devastating mistakes that tech entrepreneurs have made, which led their businesses to collapse. Hear from tech, business, and entrepreneurial experts detailing what went wrong in famous tech busts and modern-day meltdowns so you don't follow the same path. Learn how to overcome adversity and make your tech company a long-term success. If you're ready to grow your tech venture quickly and avoid pitfalls, start with our fan-favorite episode: Don't Fall In Love With Your Technology.

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60 recent

September 21, 202610 min

What Is Your Tech Business Really Worth? The Wealth Gap Every Entrepreneur Needs to Know

What determines what your business is actually worth? In this episode of 10-Minute Tech Talks, host Jonathan Kersting of the Pittsburgh Technology Council sits down with Christine Robinette and Bryan Reft of Fragasso Financial Advisors for the final installment of a three-part mini-series on exit planning and business valuation. Bryan breaks down two critical concepts every Tech Entrepreneur should understand: the wealth gap: whether your business can fund the life you want after you sell; and the value gap: why a company that looks just like yours might be worth millions more. The answer comes down to one word: risk. You'll learn about the four intangible capitals — human capital, customer capital, structural capital, and social capital — that drive 80% of your company's value yet never appear on a financial statement. If you're a Tech Entrepreneur thinking about exit planning, employee ownership, or simply building something worth owning, this episode gives you the framework to start closing the gaps while you still have time. Produced by the Pittsburgh Technology Council, this is a podcast for tech and manufacturing entrepreneurs exploring the tech ecosystem, from cyber security and AI to SaaS, robotics, and life sciences, featuring insights to satisfy the tech curious.

September 14, 20269 min

The Tech Entrepreneur's Guide to Exit Planning and ESOPs

How will you eventually exit your business? In Part 2 of our miniseries with Christine Robinette and Bryan Reft of Fragasso Financial Advisors, host Jonathan Kersting of the Pittsburgh Technology Council explores how employee ownership and ESOPs can become a powerful succession strategy. Learn the "three legs of the stool" — personal, financial, and business goals — and why every entrepreneur should treat exit planning as present-day business strategy, not an afterthought. Whether your exit is two years or twenty away, the smartest time to start planning is now. Produced by the Pittsburgh Technology Council, this is a podcast for tech and manufacturing entrepreneurs exploring the tech ecosystem, from cyber security and AI to SaaS, robotics, and life sciences, featuring insights to satisfy the tech curious.

September 7, 20269 min

Skin in the Game: How Tech Entrepreneurs Build Loyal Teams

Ever wonder what the smartest tech companies are using to win the talent war—besides just bigger paychecks? In this episode of 10 Minute Tech Talks, Jonathan Kersting of the Pittsburgh Technology Council anf TechVibe sits down with Christine Robinette and Bryan Reft of Fragasso Financial Advisors to break down equity compensation in a way that actually makes sense. Here are three reasons you should hit play right now: You'll finally understand RSUs, ESOPs, and vesting—without the jargon headache. Christine and Bryan cut through the alphabet soup of equity comp and explain how these tools actually work in plain English, from four-year vesting schedules to the tax surprises that catch employees off guard. You'll learn the hidden risk almost nobody talks about. When your salary and your wealth are both tied to the same company, you're carrying double the exposure. Bryan breaks down the 10% concentration rule and why even a great stock benefit can become a portfolio problem. You'll walk away with a competitive edge for hiring and retention. Whether you're a founder wondering if it's too late to set up an equity plan or a leader looking to out-recruit your competitors, this episode lays out exactly how giving employees real "skin in the game" changes the game entirely. This is Part 1 of a three-part miniseries on building business value through employee ownership. Fire up the RSUs and dive in. Produced by the Pittsburgh Technology Council, this is a podcast for tech and manufacturing entrepreneurs exploring the tech ecosystem, from cyber security and AI to SaaS, robotics, and life sciences, featuring insights to satisfy the tech curious.

August 31, 20268 min

Teaching AI How to Write the Right Code IS the Next Breakthrough in Software Development

Can AI Really Make Developers 100 Times Faster? Artificial intelligence is changing software development at an incredible pace, but the biggest breakthroughs aren't coming from AI replacing developers. They're coming from giving AI the right tools, the right knowledge, and the right plan. In this episode of 10 Minute Tech Talks , Jonathan Kersting of the Pittsburgh Technology Council sits down with Chris Bannon of MESCIUS to explore how AI-powered coding assistants are transforming the way software is built. From intelligent development tools and MCP servers to smarter planning techniques, Chris explains why the future belongs to developers who know how to work with AI instead of simply asking it to write code. You'll discover why spending more time planning can dramatically reduce development time, how AI can eliminate days of frustrating API work, and why human expertise remains the secret ingredient behind great software. You'll learn: Why AI coding assistants are making developers dramatically more productive. How MCP servers give AI the knowledge it needs to generate better code. Why planning before coding leads to faster, higher-quality software. How experienced developers are becoming even more valuable in the AI era. The surprising lesson a plate of AI-generated county fair food teaches us about trusting artificial intelligence. Whether you're a software developer, startup founder, technology leader, or simply curious about where AI is taking software engineering, this conversation offers practical insights into one of the biggest shifts happening in technology today. Hit play and discover why the future of coding isn't just artificial intelligence. It's intelligent collaboration between humans and AI. Produced by the Pittsburgh Technology Council, this is a podcast for tech and manufacturing entrepreneurs exploring the tech ecosystem, from cyber security and AI to SaaS, robotics, and life sciences, featuring insights to satisfy the tech curious.

August 24, 20269 min

Entrepreneur Boot Camp Part 3: Can AI Fix a Broken Operation?

Can AI Fix a Broken Operation? AI can automate almost anything. That doesn't necessarily mean it should. In the final installment of the 10 Minute Tech Talks Entrepreneur Boot Camp Mini Series, Angela Domhoff of Advantage Operations explains why companies need to understand their operations before throwing AI at them. Angela has spent more than 25 years thinking about operations, workflows and efficiency, and she has a refreshingly practical way of looking at artificial intelligence. She says AI can be incredibly powerful at eliminating what she calls "the noise": repetitive work, routine tasks and processes that consume employees' time without requiring their best thinking. But there's a catch. If the process underneath the technology is broken, automating it might just help you make mistakes faster. In this episode, Angela breaks down how entrepreneurs should really think about AI, automation and operational efficiency. Produced by the Pittsburgh Technology Council, this is a podcast for tech and manufacturing entrepreneurs exploring the tech ecosystem, from cyber security and AI to SaaS, robotics, and life sciences, featuring insights to satisfy the tech curious.

August 17, 20269 min

Entrepreneur Boot Camp Part 2: Can Your Business Survive Its Own Growth?

Can Your Business Survive Its Own Growth? Landing the big customer sounds like the dream. Until the order hits, everybody panics and suddenly you're talking about hiring 20 people, leasing more space and piling expenses onto a business that hasn't actually collected the revenue yet. Welcome to Part Two of the 10 Minute Tech Talks Entrepreneur Boot Camp Mini Series. In this episode, Angela Domhoff of Advantage Operations delivers some seriously practical advice on preparing for growth, controlling expenses, setting realistic expectations and avoiding the temptation to build tomorrow's company with today's money. Because sometimes the biggest threat to a growing business isn't failure. It's success arriving before you're ready for it. And once the business is running smoothly, there's one more irresistible question every entrepreneur is asking right now: What should we automate? That's where we're headed in Part Three of Entrepreneur Boot Camp: Automate It. Produced by the Pittsburgh Technology Council, this is a podcast for tech and manufacturing entrepreneurs exploring the tech ecosystem, from cyber security and AI to SaaS, robotics, and life sciences, featuring insights to satisfy the tech curious.

August 10, 20268 min

Entrepreneur Boot Camp Part 1: Can You Turn What You Know Into a Business?

Can You Turn What You Know Into a Business? At some point, experience stops being just a résumé and starts becoming an asset you can build around. In Part One of the 10 Minute Tech Talks Entrepreneur Boot Camp Mini Series, Angela Domhoff shares how more than 25 years of operational leadership ultimately led her to launch Advantage Operations. After years inside major healthcare organizations, Angela began having conversations where people were asking for the kind of expertise that could directly improve their businesses. That sparked a realization: maybe it was time to stop giving all that knowledge away and build something of her own. Angela didn't wake up one morning with some completely unrelated startup idea. She looked at the expertise she had built over decades and asked a much more powerful question: how can I turn what I already know into something people need? That's Start It . Next up in Entrepreneur Boot Camp, the business exists. Now comes another challenge entirely: Can it survive its own growth? Produced by the Pittsburgh Technology Council, this is a podcast for tech and manufacturing entrepreneurs exploring the tech ecosystem, from cyber security and AI to SaaS, robotics, and life sciences, featuring insights to satisfy the tech curious.

August 3, 20268 min

Tech Entrepreneur Insights: Screens Everywhere, but Which Ones Actually Create Value?

Screens are everywhere. They fill stores, trade shows, stadiums, museums and just about every available wall in Las Vegas. But here is the bigger question: Is that screen actually helping anyone? In this episode of 10 Minute Tech Talks, Makeway's Josh Lowery and Greg Cunneyworth take us inside an interactive kiosk developed for America's Best. The experience helps customers understand complex lens options, gives sales teams another tool and creates valuable data about how shoppers make decisions. We will also explore some of the emerging display technologies Makeway discovered at InfoComm and why the future is not about putting a screen everywhere. It is about putting the right experience in the right place. Hit play to learn how: Makeway approaches touchscreens and immersive experiences as business tools. They can educate customers, support employees, simplify complex information and help organizations understand how people interact with their environments. And with transparent displays, durable screens and entirely new hardware entering the market, the creative possibilities are growing quickly. Produced by the Pittsburgh Technology Council, this is a podcast for tech and manufacturing entrepreneurs exploring the tech ecosystem, from cyber security and AI to SaaS, robotics, and life sciences, featuring insights to satisfy the tech curious.

July 27, 20268 min

Digital Transformation Therapy: Entrepreneurs Need to Get Aligned Before They Build

Before your company invests in a new website, touchscreen, application or digital experience, there is one deceptively simple question to answer: Does everyone agree on what you are actually building? In this episode of 10 Minute Tech Talks, Josh Lowery and Greg Cunneyworth of Makeway introduce what we jokingly call "digital transformation therapy." Their new Workshop as a Service offering gets stakeholders into the room, uncovers hidden assumptions and turns a complicated idea into a clear plan of action. It is not another meeting about having more meetings. This is about solving the right problem before an expensive project starts rolling in the wrong direction. Hit Play to learn how: Clarity might not sound as flashy as a new website, immersive touchscreen or digital platform, but it may be the most valuable deliverable of the entire project. Makeway's workshops are designed to align stakeholders, test assumptions and give teams a practical playbook for moving forward. A few focused hours at the beginning could prevent weeks, months and plenty of headaches later. Learn more about Josh Lowery, Greg Cunneyworth and Makeway's Workshop as a Service at Makeway's website. Watch the entire interview on TechVibe. Produced by the Pittsburgh Technology Council, this is a podcast for tech and manufacturing entrepreneurs exploring the tech ecosystem, from cyber security and AI to SaaS, robotics, and life sciences, featuring insights to satisfy the tech curious.

July 20, 202610 min

From Prototype to Payoff: Using AI to Build, Scale and Prove ROI

Every entrepreneur has had this moment: you have an idea, you can see the product in your head and you know there is a market problem to solve. Then reality arrives with a clipboard. How do you build it? How do you secure it? How do you scale it? How do you know whether the idea is worth a year of your life and a mountain of budget? On this episode of 10 Minute Tech Talks, we are back with Adam Wynne of Wynne Technologies to talk about how AI is changing that equation for founders and small businesses. Adam explains how entrepreneurs are already using vibe coding to build early versions of products. That can be a great start, but many hit a wall when it is time to move into production. This is where Adam's APES methodology comes in, helping companies turn prototypes, spreadsheets, algorithms and raw ideas into software that can be owned, operated and improved. You will also hear why AI is helping businesses prove value faster, find quick wins and avoid spending a year and a half chasing an idea that may not work. Let's swing into the second part of our conversation with Adam Wynne. Watch Adam's entire TechVibe interview here. Produced by the Pittsburgh Technology Council, this is a podcast for tech and manufacturing entrepreneurs exploring the tech ecosystem, from cyber security and AI to SaaS, robotics, and life sciences, featuring insights to satisfy the tech curious.