Episodes
84
Latest episode
Aug 2026
Language
EN
The Difference Engine helps founders and funders maximise business growth through category design. Hosted by two British northerners with decades of experience in launching, managing, and marketing disruptive tech companies. Paul Maher and Jonathan Simnett have been there, done it and thrown away the slogan t-shirts - now they'll help you become a category king. The Difference Engine - Disrupting Tech Strategy https://www.becategorical.com/
Great products don't break markets. Great Category strikes do. In this episode, we break down the 2026 playbook for orchestrating a coordinated launch across events, paid media, earned media, analyst relations, influencers and more. We’ll teach you how to kick-start momentum that sets you on a path for Category domination. So how can you grab the conversation from day one, and make your Category impossible to ignore?
In the midst of record AI investment, soaring valuations, and relentless hype, a growing question is emerging: are we witnessing a technological revolution or an AI bubble? We explore the warning signs that have preceded past market fallouts, from inflated expectations to shaky business models, and examine what investors, founders, and observers should be watching. If the AI bubble is about to pop, these are the warning signs you need to know. Also in this episode, we examine how to successfully hand over a business to a new leader. 00:31 Could the next tech crash be soon and the biggest? 24:29 What transitions of power tell us about the importance of strategic direction There is more information on how to design your category on our blog Follow us on LinkedIn: Paul Maher Jonathan Simnett Want to create a podcast for your business or brand? Contact Flamingo Media to make it happen.
Meta doesn't want you to read this book. Yet despite its efforts to suppress it, Sarah Wynn-Williams' Careless People has become one of the most talked-about books in tech. Is it a landmark insider account of how Meta built one of the world's most powerful social media empires, or the story of a former executive with an axe to grind? We examine the book's biggest claims and Meta's forceful response. Also in this episode, we’ll analyse the impact of the budget breaking cost of AI. 00:33 The Meta whistleblower - hubris or sour grapes? 14:17 The Escalating Cost of AI There is more information on how to design your category on our blog Follow us on LinkedIn: Paul Maher Jonathan Simnett Want to create a podcast for your business or brand? Contact Flamingo Media to make it happen.
In this episode, we return to The Vibe Chasm, the growing gap that appears when AI-fuelled, solo-founder speed collides with the messy realities of scaling Category leading companies. The winners of the next decade will not be those who use AI the fastest, nor the companies with the fewest employees, but the organisations that cross this chasm effectively. So, how do you cross The Vibe Chasm? Also in this episode, ee’ll give our review of London Tech Week. What does this annual schmooze fest reveal about the UK’s current attitude towards tech? 00:37 Crossing the Vibe Chasm 12:23 London Tech Week Review There is more information on how to design your category on our blog Follow us on LinkedIn: Paul Maher Jonathan Simnett Want to create a podcast for your business or brand? Contact Flamingo Media to make it happen.
In this episode, we sit down with Roman Stanek, founder of GoodData and one of Europe's most experienced technology entrepreneurs, to discuss the realities of building businesses through multiple waves of technological change. We explore how founders should think about AI and where many entrepreneurs are getting it wrong. For anyone building a startup, investing in technology, or trying to understand where AI is taking business next, this conversation delivers hard-earned insights from a founder who has spent his career at the forefront of innovation. There is more information on how to design your category on our blog Follow us on LinkedIn: Paul Maher Jonathan Simnett Want to create a podcast for your business or brand? Contact Flamingo Media to make it happen.
AI has made it possible for individual founders to build businesses that once required entire teams. But solo success creates its own challenges. As customers, systems, and decisions multiply, the founder often becomes the constraint. This is The Vibe Chasm. The point where the convenience of AI-driven growth collides with the operational complexity of a Category leading company. So what do you need to know about The Vibe Chasm and how should you approach it? What to look forward to: 00:27 The Vibe Chasm There is more information on how to design your category on our blog Follow us on LinkedIn: Paul Maher Jonathan Simnett Want to create a podcast for your business or brand? Contact Flamingo Media to make it happen.
Whilst the UK squandered its North Sea oil and gas revenues, Norway's Government Pension Fund Global used them to become the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, managing over $2.1 trillion in assets. These state-backed investment vehicles have long been recognised as powerful forces capable of shaping the future of technology. As governments increasingly channel billions into AI and emerging tech, the power and risks associated with Sovereign Wealth Funds are becoming impossible to ignore. So, what exactly do you need to know about Sovereign Wealth Funds? Also in today’s episode, we’ll explore the often contradictory relationship between Keir Starmer and Britain’s technology sector. What to look forward to: 00:34 Are Sovereign Wealth Funds Effective in Technology Category Creation 26:00 The Starmer-isation of UK tech There is more information on how to design your category on our blog Follow us on LinkedIn: Paul Maher Jonathan Simnett Want to create a podcast for your business or brand? Contact Flamingo Media to make it happen.
So the UK government wants to play with the cool kids. It's $20 million investment in Ineffable Intelligence’s record-breaking $1.1B might seem mini in comparison to the total raised, however, it represents something a whole lot bigger. Could this investment model redefine how the UK builds and backs AI companies? We’ll also explore the new elements that are defining Category design today, and turn to the teachings of Geoff Moore to answer the question: What is a market? What to look forward to: 01:27 UK public capital backs a UK technology strategy 13:36 The 10 most relevant trends right now shaping category design in tech 30:51 Geoff Moore on what is a market? There is more information on how to design your category on our blog Follow us on LinkedIn: Paul Maher Jonathan Simnett Want to create a podcast for your business or brand? Contact Flamingo Media to make it happen.
Larry Ellison needed to find 8 to 10 billion dollars to fund his AI data centre gamble. So what did he do? On March 31st, without warning, 30,000 Oracle Corporation employees woke up to an email telling them their jobs were gone. Is this the new reality of pursuing AI innovation in the US? And is it a path the UK should follow? Also in this episode, we’ll ask if Claude Mythos is the end of the Cyber Security boom, or just fantastic PR? What to look forward to: 00:33 Collateral Damage: What Oracle’s 30K Layoffs Teach UK Tech 13:39 Is Claude Mythos the end of the Cyber Security boom, or just fantastic PR? There is more information on how to design your category on our blog Follow us on LinkedIn: Paul Maher Jonathan Simnett Want to create a podcast for your business or brand? Contact Flamingo Media to make it happen.
We’re joined by David Friend, co-founder and CEO of Wasabi, for a deep dive into building category-defining tech companies. A six-time founder alongside Jeff Flowers, David’s journey spans pioneering synthesisers at ARP Instruments, whose sounds were used by Pete Townsend, David Bowie, and even R2D2, to leadership roles at Carbonite and beyond. We explore his impact across music, data, and cloud innovation. From shaping soundtracks to shaping storage, David shares lessons from decades as a groundbreaking innovator at the forefront of technology. There is more information on how to design your category on our blog Follow us on LinkedIn: Paul Maher Jonathan Simnett Want to create a podcast for your business or brand? Contact Flamingo Media to make it happen.
Claim this listing to keep it up to date, reach guests who want to pitch you, and manage bookings with Guestify.
Claim this listing
Market Rebellion
PodcastOne
On Q Property Management
