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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Jun 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

June 14, 20265 min

Wins, Worries and Wild Cards: Huntington Bank's Economic Outlook For the Tech Entrepreneur

We are officially at the halfway point of the year, which makes this a perfect time to pop the hood on the economy and see what is really driving the engine. For entrepreneurs, business builders and tech leaders, the economy can feel like a dashboard full of blinking lights. Inflation. Interest rates. Consumer spending. AI investment. Hiring. Global uncertainty. Every one of those indicators can change how you plan, hire, invest and grow. That is why today's 10 Minute Tech Talk features insights from Olu Omondunbi, PhD, Chief Economist for Huntington Private Bank. Olu recently broke down the national economic picture at Huntington Bank's Economic Outlook & Market Overview event, and his message is one entrepreneurs should pay attention to: despite uncertainty, the U.S. economy continues to show resilience. His outlook can be summed up in three buckets: Wins: Consumer resilience, productivity gains and business investment Worries: Inflation, interest-rate policy and consumer spending outpacing income Wild cards: Global conflict, energy prices and geopolitical disruption Host Jonathan Kesrting of the Pittsburgh Technology Council reviews five key takeaways on the economy moving forward. So, before you make your next big move, listen in. This is your midyear economic checkpoint. 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.

June 8, 20267 min

Father-Son Entrepreneurs Are Using AI and Gaming to Find Future Innovators

What if the next great engineer, roboticist or AI innovator is already here in Pittsburgh, but just hasn't been discovered yet? On this episode of 10 Minute Tech Talks, we're featuring Damola and Wole Idowu of TOYZ Electronics, a Pittsburgh-based company blending AI, gaming, storytelling and STEAM education to help students see new futures for themselves. This clip, ripped from TechVibe, gets right to the heart of what makes TOYZ so compelling. Wole talks about being the "alpha test" for the platform, while Damola lays out why this work matters for our innovation economy. It's about finding raw talent, building pathways and making sure more people are ready to create in the Intelligence Age. TOYZ Electronics is working to scale a platform that connects students to AI, gaming, digital twins, robotics, storytelling and real career pathways. And as you'll hear, this is not theory. They are already working with students, building traction and looking for partners who want to help us unlock more of our talent. You can hear the full conversation 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.

June 1, 20268 min

Entrepreneurial Triple Threat: How Ecotone's Zeus Converts Food Waste Into Soil Sauce

What if the leftovers from lunch could become fertilizer, data and a climate solution? On this 10 Minute Tech Talk, we're digging into one of the coolest circular economy stories growing right here in Pittsburgh. Dylan Lew, Co-Founder of Ecotone Renewables, walks us through Zeus, the company's automated biodigester built inside a reused shipping container. Zeus takes food waste from schools, hospitals, offices and other organizations, processes it on site and turns it into a locally produced fertilizer called Soil Sauce. Along the way, Ecotone is also capturing data that can help customers understand what they are wasting in the first place. In just a few minutes, Dylan explains how Ecotone is turning a messy problem into a scalable technology platform. Food waste goes in. Soil Sauce comes out. And Pittsburgh innovation gets a little greener, smarter and saucier. Watch the full 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.

May 26, 20269 min

AI Cybersecurity Risks Every Business Needs to Understand

On this episode of 10 Minute Tech Talks, we're diving into the fast-moving, slightly chaotic and very real world of AI and cybersecurity with Isabelle Syring and Robert Ragan of CUSTOS IQ. Everyone is using AI. Employees are testing tools. Teams are dropping company data into large language models. Copilot, ChatGPT and browser-based AI tools are showing up inside workflows before policies, security controls or legal guardrails have had a chance to catch up. That's where CUSTOS IQ comes in. In this quick cut from TechVibe Radio, Isabelle and Rob explain why AI is not just an IT issue. It is a business-risk issue, a data-governance issue and, in industries like energy and manufacturing, potentially a critical infrastructure issue. The big takeaway: AI can absolutely be a powerful tool, but it needs policies, oversight, secure data practices and experienced people asking the right questions. Whether you're using it to write emails or support predictive maintenance in critical infrastructure, the same rule applies: don't let the machine outrun your judgment. 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.

May 18, 20267 min

FBI Cyber Advice Every Tech Entrepreneur Needs to Hear

Cybersecurity is not just an IT issue. It is now a core business discipline. In this episode of 10 Minute Tech Talks, Jonathan Kersting talks with Richard Evanchec, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Pittsburgh Field Office, following his keynote at Cyburgh 2026. Evanchec shares practical guidance for business and technology leaders on how to strengthen cyber defenses before an incident occurs. The conversation highlights the FBI's Winter Shield initiative and its focus on basic but critical cybersecurity practices: eliminating default passwords, applying software patches, using phishing-resistant authentication, maintaining offline backups and testing recovery plans. Evanchec also explains why companies need to think differently about cybersecurity spending. Rather than treating it as a late-stage investment or overhead expense, he says cyber readiness must become part of everyday business decision-making. The conversation also explores how AI is changing the threat landscape. From deepfakes that trick employees to tools that help criminals analyze stolen data for leverage, AI is making attacks more efficient. But Evanchec also notes that defenders and law enforcement are using AI to respond, investigate and bring bad actors to justice. 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.

May 11, 20268 min

What Makes a Tech Company Worth Buying? A Pittsburgh Entrepreneur Explains

What makes a company worth buying? Most people think it's revenue. Or technology. Or market share. But after spending more than 30 years building Pittsburgh-based engineering firm IQ Inc., founder Barbara VanKirk believes the answer starts somewhere else entirely: People. In this episode of 10 Minute Tech Talks, you'll hear how VanKirk built a company culture around growth, curiosity, and leadership—and why those values ultimately attracted a global acquisition from Critical Software. You'll also hear her candid reflections on being one of the only women in engineering rooms early in her career—and why confidence and belonging still matter in tech today. If you're building a company or building yourself as a leader, this conversation delivers a few lessons worth stealing. Listen VanKirk's entire interview right 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.

May 4, 20268 min

Tech Entrepreneur Hiring Hack: Why AI Skills Matter More Than Experience

What if the best hire for your company isn't the most experienced… but the most AI-enabled? In this quick hit from the Pittsburgh Technology Council's TechVibe Radio interview with Sandesh Sukumaran, founder of Outcome Logix, we dig into a major shift happening right now: companies are rethinking experience—and leaning hard into talent that knows how to use AI tools to move faster and smarter. The hiring game is no longer about years—it's about leverage. The entrepreneurs who win are the ones building teams that know how to use AI, not just teams with long resumes. If you're hiring, scaling, or just trying to stay competitive, this one might change how you build your team. Listen to the entire 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.

April 27, 20268 min

Tech First, Not Tech Only: How Entrepreneurs Can Find Friction, Fix Processes, and Lead With Data

What happens when you stop treating technology like overhead and start using it to give people their time back? In this episode, we talk with Monica Fletcher of Auberle, a nonprofit leader who's thinking like a startup operator. She's finding friction, digitizing clunky processes, using data to make smarter decisions, and rolling out AI in a way that supports people instead of replacing them. A few takeaways to listen for: why "tech first" does not mean "tech only" how to spot friction points that are quietly draining your team why the best use of AI might be giving your people more time for the work only humans can do Even though Monica works in human services, the lessons here travel really well for founders, managers, and anyone trying to build a smarter, more efficient organization. Watch her entire Fireside Chat 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.

April 20, 202611 min

Product Management Whiz Dan Olsen on Why Entrepreneurs Need to Pay Attention to Vibe Coding Right Now

What happens when building a product gets radically easier? You're about to find out. Today's featured voice is Dan Olsen, author of The Lean Product Playbook and keynote speaker for ProductCamp Pittsburgh. In this excerpt, Dan dives into the fast-rising world of vibe coding and why it matters a whole lot more than just writing code faster. He explains how AI tools are making it easier for non-technical founders, product leaders, and startup teams to create prototypes, test ideas, and move from concept to customer feedback without getting stuck waiting on design or engineering resources. But here's the real spark under the hood: when it becomes easier to build almost anything, the real competitive edge shifts to knowing what to build, why it matters, and how to validate it before wasting time and money. Dan makes the case that product management fundamentals are becoming more important, not less, in the AI era. You'll also hear why entrepreneurs should stop thinking of these tools as just shiny demos or productivity hacks. Dan sees them as a way to unlock faster experimentation, better customer testing, and maybe even the next wave of one-person or ultra-lean companies. So if you've been wondering whether AI is changing how products get built, or whether vibe coding is something founders can actually use, this conversation will get your wheels turning. Check out ProductCamp Pittsburgh here. Check out The Lean Product Playbook 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.

April 12, 20267 min

The Real Cost of Building Robots? Time. HEBI Robotics Explains

What if the biggest breakthrough in robotics is not the robot itself, but the time you save building it? In this episode of 10 Minute Tech Talks, we sit down with Bob Raida and Dave Rollinson of HEBI Robotics and they explain how modular design can help engineers move faster, cut development friction, and avoid reinventing the wheel, while also showing how that same approach is opening doors for applications in industry and even space. This is a great lesson for entrepreneurs: the value of your product is not always just what it does, but how much friction it removes for the people using it. Hebi's approach is a reminder that saving time, reducing complexity, and building with confidence can be a real competitive edge. Watch the entire interview with HEBI right 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.

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