IT TECH TALK

Dustin has been living and breathing in software development for over 20 years. He is the Co-Founder of Caffeine Interactive Technologies, an agency that focuses on planning strategies and architecture, ensuring that software implementations are straightforward based on clear ways to measure success. He enjoys working with clients to build the right technology, whether it's a multi-tiered mobile app built with React and Laravel or a simple website based on WordPress. He received his Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering from Texas A&M University. Dustin is proud to work with some of the most talented business analysts and developers in the industry. He is a solopreneur and has grown his company based on a 100% remote team that has been thriving for the last eight years. In his spare time, Dustin enjoys playing tennis, fishing, reading, gardening, cooking, music, hiking, and hanging out with his family. He believes that a work-life balance is essential to operate a business, overcoming adversities, and finding a bigger purpose in life. He is eager to talk about the importance of having personal freedom while being a successful entrepreneur in the software industry, working with remote teams, and managing family crises.

With over twenty years of experience in software development and information security, Laura Bell Main specializes in bringing security into organizations of every shape and size. She is the co-founder and CEO of SafeStack, an online education platform offering flexible, high-quality, and people-focused secure development training for fast-moving companies, focusing on building security skills, practices, and culture across the entire engineering team. Laura is an experienced conference speaker, trainer, and regular panel member, and has spoken at various events such as BlackHat USA, Velocity, and OSCON on the subjects of privacy, covert communications, agile security, and security mindset. She is also the co-author of Agile Application Security and Security for Everyone.

Rodney Cool is an award-winning wedding photographer turned founder/owner of Brio Coffeehouse, Inc. Rodney lives in Waynesboro, PA, with his wife, Janelle, and two teenagers, Titus and Lily. Brio Coffeehouse opened in 2017 and has two locations with over 20 employees.

Ron Is a Dynamic, results-oriented leader. He is a Conductor of change that never accepts the status quo or an excuse. After serving in the Marine Corps., he went on to add over a decade of experience in the construction industry. Ron has cemented himself as a visionary and a leader in construction. working in many facets from field, sales, leadership, and management. He is the Founder and CEO of Nuttnest. Ron uses his knowledge and experiences to help others grow and change the overall mindset around construction. Pushing the industry into the 21st century and removing the old stigmas and limiting beliefs around construction.

Hello, my name is Wesley and I am the founder of Wes Web and Christ Link. With a passion for SEO and digital marketing, I work to help businesses grow online. Wes Web Wes Web came to exist by chance as people contacted me to run their digital marketing. We work with a variety of businesses, from local to national and international. Wes Web specializes in marketing for labor industries such as construction and landscaping. We also have a wide range of experience with marketing for insurance companies and schools.  Christ Link Christ Link is a nonprofit that provides digital marketing and web design to gospel-focused Christian organizations. Being entirely volunteer-run it is a labor of love for everyone on the team. Through our efforts, we have seen websites grow and nonprofits grow as well. If you are interested in anything that I do, connect with me on LinkedIn! I'd love to meet for a cup of coffee and discuss business, digital marketing, or my faith. Don't hesitate to reach out!

Prior to founding MarginEdge, Bo was the founder of Wasabi. Wasabi is a group of conveyor belt sushi restaurants currently operating in DC and Boston. Prior to Wasabi, Bo was in the US Peace Corps serving in Macedonia, earned an MS in Finance from London Business School, and founded an educational software company, Prometheus, which he sold to Blackboard in 2002. MarginEdge backstory: Where hospitality met technology Our story began in a place where many restaurateurs have been themselves—stuck doing manual invoice data entry and inventory in a tiny closet in the back of a kitchen, wondering why the love of food and hospitality came with so many paper cuts. Bo and Roy, two of our founders, have more than 40 years of restaurant experience between them. They’ve built and operated over 25 restaurants around the nation. Even though the size of their back offices differed, the problems they faced as operators didn’t. With a background in successful tech entrepreneurship, Bo assembled Roy and two long-time friends, colleagues, and successful technologists, Mike and Sam. Together, they constructed a creative solution to make running a restaurant easier— and MarginEdge was born. From one picture to the big picture! It all starts with your closing manager snapping photos of invoices with their smartphones. We take it from there – every line item and every handwritten note is captured! We then integrate with your POS, so each day you know everything you bought and everything you sold! A rolling P&L with drill down capability and it flows effortlessly to your Accounting System of choice. In between, our tech: - does data entry of all of your invoices - updates pricing on your inventory sheets (food and beverage) - updates your ordering sheets - keeps your recipes – prep and plated – prices up to date with a real time kitchen recipe viewer - alerts you if the prices of key ingredients jump - determines theoretical food and beverage cost/usage vs actual We are currently working with 1,000+ restaurants in 35 states, from QSR to Fine Dining - Join Us!

a serverless stack for e-commerce app developers. It seeks to provide a means for developers of e-commerce apps to spend less time creating code. In his early career, Mo was the founder of the technology and product management consultancy firm, Fitech Group. He specializes in fraud detection and payment processing solutions. After that, he worked in Shopify and held many positions until 2018. He became General Manager, of Shopify Money, to oversee the cross-functional R&D and Ops team responsible for all of Shopify's fintech initiatives. Mo is thrilled to share how Gadget can quickly help your audience develop an e-commerce application.

Joel Green is CEO of Pro Level Training, the National Director of Nike Sports Camps, a former professional basketball player, and a renowned motivational speaker. After retiring from his career in professional basketball, Joel Green founded Pro Level Training (PLT), which has become a 7-figure company. In addition to running PLT, Green is also the National Director for Nike Sports Camps as well as an accomplished speaker. He was honored to speak to thousands and deliver his own TED Talk.   Joel Green’s unique differentiator in business and as an individual is his ability to see life objectively from multiple vantage points. Unfortunate circumstances as a youth helped to groom and refine Joel into adulthood. Growing up in an abandoned home and seeing both sides of life has really helped him to connect with people over time.   A thought leader in the motivational category, Joel Green has a B.A. in Psychology from Rider University, which has helped to fuel his ambition to inspire others. He has developed a reputation for personal excellence and motivational talks that contribute tangible advice for attaining desired goals. Many of the messages he has delivered are conveyed in his first book, Filtering: The Way to Extract Strength from the Struggle, releasing early September.   In addition, Green is a professional sports and fitness model and actor, and he has been featured in commercials, ads, and on television. Most recently he was the face of the Cheez-It crackers Celebrity Crunch Classic campaign, in which he was solely featured on millions of snack boxes.   Green is known for setting very ambitious goals for himself, most recently his own challenge of reading 30 books in 30 weeks. He has unflinchingly put in 18-20-hour workdays with great joy to make his dreams a physical manifestation. He attributes his work ethic to his unwavering faith and his passionate desire for excellence – both of which have allowed him to overcome many difficulties and life challenges.

Dr. Eric Cole, is a cyber James Bond (according to Fox News) who started off his career as a professional hacker trained by the CIA. He has the ability to make complex and dry topics exciting for his audience by drawing on his 30 years of experience helping entities understand and implement cost-effective security measures. His career has spanned industry and government roles including CTO at McAfee, Chief Scientist for Lockheed Martin, and member of the Commission on Cyber Security for President Barack Obama. Dr. Eric Cole is the author of several books, including Online Danger: How to Protect Yourself and Your Loved Ones from the Evil Side of the Internet. In 2014, he was inducted into the InfoSecurity Hall of Fame. Secure Anchor Consulting and I offer expertise across the whole spectrum of cyber security, including perimeter defense, secure network design, vulnerability discovery, penetration testing, and intrusion detection systems. Some of the current key focus areas include advanced threats, insider threat, CISO support and security coaching. Secure Anchor also works with startups and established enterprises bringing innovative products to market, and bridges the gap between executive and technical stakeholders. I bring additional experience in positioning technology for acquisition. I started in the cyber world as an analyst with the CIA, with computer security in its infancy, when most advanced threats manifested as physical instead of virtual. It became clear to me that this field requires constant, ongoing learning, or your knowledge and expertise will quickly expire. From the intelligence community, I landed at the SANS Institute and developed coursework that is now the foundation of SANS information security training and security certification, building out the Cyber Defense curriculum and authoring the top selling cyber security course. Now, my teaching, research, and the constant learning demanded by rapidly changing technology all merge to create a skill set and knowledge base that serve both individuals and corporations in their cyber security efforts. Sharing what I know, whether as a teacher or a speaker, fuels my desire to keep growing and giving each day. What can I help you understand?

I am the "rainmaker" at Mid-Day Squares and a resident Social-Personality. In other words, I build relationships and make noise. We at Mid-Day Squares manufacture Functional Chocolate Bars: Everything a chocolate bar isn't, everything a protein bar wishes it was. Two things you must know about me: 1. An actuary that turned into the modern-day Willy Wonka. 2. It's simple... My motto is "Get comfortable being uncomfortable." What is a Mid-Day Square bar? The first functional chocolate bar. Imagine a chocolate bar making love to a protein bar but getting rid of all the bad characteristics of the protein bar. Only using REAL whole food ingredients and made with REAL chocolate.

MOST content creators and influencers are severely underpaid. TrueFanz helps these underpaid creatives monetize their audience to earn predictable and residual income. The TrueFanz puts content creators in control. The platform empowers content creators to get paid from their following and develop a more direct and exclusive relationship with their most significant "fanz" online! - Predictable revenue Generate predictable, recurring revenue from your content through fanz who pay you monthly. - Deeper connections Connect with your biggest fanz directly, free from the ads and algorithms that drive traditional social media. - Take back creative control Create what your audience loves. You don’t have to conform to algorithms or social media platform politics. There are no limitations on your post reach. - No ads, no trolls, no algorithms. Enjoy direct access and deeper conversations with the people who matter to you most. - No porn. TrueFanz is 100% invite-only for creators.

Catherine Bell is a successful entrepreneur, business leader and best-selling business author. Catherine founded BluEra, a Profit 500 executive search and team transformation company. As a top 200 growing company in Canada, top 10 in Alberta, and best workplace, BluEra was a shining example of the Awakened Company System in action. With the sale of BluEra to DHR, Catherine now focuses on awakening the fire within organizations through Strategy with Soul consulting as founder and CEO of The Awakened Company. In 2022, Catherine was identified as one of the top 10 innovative CEOs revamping the future by Inc. Magazine. Author of The Awakened Company, Catherine’s revolutionary business book was awarded the Nautilus Book Awards in Business & Leadership, was a best seller one week after its release, a best-seller on Amazon, chosen as “8 of The Best Leadership Books of 2015”, and recognized as a top book combining business and mindfulness. Catherine has been published in Fortune, HBR, Profit, Conscious Company Magazine, Women of Influence and has written for the UN. She has worked around the globe from the UK to Cuba and with Fortune 500 companies to serial entrepreneurs. Catherine has an MBA from the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University, a sociology degree from Western University, is certified in the Enneagram, and is a yoga instructor. She recently just stepped down from her role as a Jarislowsky Co-Fellow at the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary. Catherine now consults all over the world on how to create Awakened Companies. The Awakened Company’s aim is to Awaken The Fire within Organizations with passion, purpose, and playfulness

Martin Salama is known as the Architect of The Warriors L.I.F.E. Code.  He specializes in helping people frustrated in their life quickly shift their mindset to UNCOVER their greatness so they can live their true potential and enjoy LIFE! An example of what he’s achieved is a client like Roberta, who lost her 6-figure job due to COVID and came to Martin depressed and felt very lost. Within a short time, she had quoted: “direction, focus, and a renewed energy around all the possibilities I could pursue… and getting back on track to enjoy LIFE!” The key to his success is, he’s mastered the ability to Live Incredibly Full Everyday! He turned into the acronym L.I.F.E. and created the Warriors L.I.F.E. Code coaching program. I wanted to welcome you to The Warrior’s L.I.F.E. Code! L.I.F.E. stands for: Live Incredibly Full Everyday! I created the philosophy behind this approach after spending years in emotional pain and turmoil after my brother, Michael, died in an accident when we were children. This event in my life radically shaped how I viewed the world and drove me to become a people pleaser to make sure everyone around me didn’t experience the pain I had. The only problem was — this plan backfired. Everyone in my life (including me) was miserable. Soon after the financial crash in 2008, I lost everything I owned, and my wife of 24 years asked for a divorce. It was indeed a low point in my life. All of this pressure led me to the realization that circumstances go up and down, but my internal state doesn’t have to follow suit! During this journey, I decided to become a life coach. The training and experience I had when I graduated helped me further clarify what truly matters to me: relationships. I started rebuilding the relationships in my life and where I knew the changes would make the most powerful and long-lasting change; I started by improving my relationship with myself. Weight — literal and figurative — began to lift from me. Then one day, I decided to do something I don’t usually do: I meditated. As I sat still, listening to the 10-minute guided meditation, and making an effort to clear my mind, a sudden download occurred. Inspired, I grabbed a pencil and paper. After several hours I had in my hands the seed that would grow into The Warrior’s L.I.F.E. Code. The core of The Warrior’s L.I.F.E. Code is learning to accept who you are and learning to respond to the ups and downs of life, rather than reacting. I have made it my mission to help others achieve the same transformation I have, so they can become their 2.0 selves, learn to enjoy life, and Live Incredibly Full Everyday!

Jeff Sauer is the Founder of Data-Driven, a business coach, blogger at Jeffalytics, lecturer, and a Five-Time Inc 5000 award-winning agency owner. A firm believer in data-driven marketing, Jeff was named as one of the top 25 most influential PPC Experts and his work has been featured in many industry publications and "best of" lists. He has had 50,000+ digital marketers enroll in his Google certification programs and has delivered over 100 keynote presentations and workshops in 20 countries. Sauer has trained 19,000 students in data-driven marketing, building up his fully-remote business over the past 6 years while on the road across 50+ countries. He is ready to continue sharing unique insights on market data, micro-investing, and the digital nomad world. In Jeff's travel blog you'll find curated customized experiences that he started working on in 2012 as a way to share travels with family and friends. Now, anyone can use it to plan their trips around the world.  go to www.ittechtalkpodcast.com to find all of Jeffs info 

George Breiwa is a serial entrepreneur, prolific inventor, and the Founder of DynaVap, a company with the mission to make smoking history and produce the greatest dry herb vaporizers available. DynaVap has developed into one of the US's fastest-growing private businesses under George's direction, ranking first in manufacturing in the Midwest in 2020 and completing the Inc. 5000 in position #182. Early in his career, George served in the US Navy and worked on nuclear submarine duty. He was the owner of ZipCoat and the CTO of Scope Mounted Electronics for almost 8 years until he started his own company. George is eager to introduce your audiences to their best creation, "smoking without the smoke," and discuss the social, medical, and technological benefits of vaping!

Amit Modi is the Chief Technology Officer and Chief Information Security Officer at Movius – the world's leading provider of AI-powered secure mobile communications. Businesses worldwide use the company's patented mobility solution to serve their consumers better, staying away from crackdowns and keeping employees productive. T-Mobile, BlackBerry, BT, and Tier 1 banks are just a few giants with which Movius has established and growing partnerships. Since 2013 Amit’s responsibilities included managing the Product Strategy and Evangelization, Product Management, Engineering, Technology Partnerships, and Marketing functions. During his tenure, he has led Movius into the global marketplace by driving product vision, developing an expanding portfolio of enterprise-grade Omni-channel communication services, and delivering global service delivery infrastructure. Amit’s extensive telecommunications experience has been integral at Movius since its inception. He was instrumental in building the products from scratch and deploying them to customers globally. He has also held various sales leadership positions including heading International Sales (EMEA and APAC) and Global Channel Partners Business. In these roles, Amit exceeded goals and expanded Movius's business in international and emerging markets. Prior to Movius, he worked for Wipro Technologies in India. Amit holds a Bachelor of Technology degree in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur in India, and has an International Executive MBA from IE Business School in Spain. He also holds Cyber Security Specialization from NYU Tandon and Business Strategy specialization from Wharton. Senior compliance executives, techno-business leaders as well as IT and data security decision-makers will find Amit's insights more than inspiring. He can't wait to go on your show and share top-class knowledge on SaaS innovation, solutions for highly regulated industries such as finance and healthcare, omnichannel intelligent engagement, and next-gen mobile communications!

Sagi Brody co-founded Webair in 1998 and is now the CTO of Opti9, a leading hybrid cloud solutions provider specializing in digital transformation, data storage, DevOps, backup and recovery, compliance-driven migration, managed cloud services, and cloud-first application services. Opti9 was formed to become a top hybrid cloud solutions provider in North America by merging the talent, resources, and expertise of two companies, Jelecos and Webair, with more than 40 years of combined experience. The company is active in its expansion efforts outside its offices in Garden City, New York, Omaha, Nebraska, Overland Park, Kansas, and St. Louis, Missouri. As the CTO of Opti9, Sagi is responsible for product development, and research and development (R&D). He has extensive experience in all aspects of the cloud and interconnection industries, including infrastructure, networking, software development, automation, platforms, security, global network buildouts, and compliance. A testament to his expertise in the field, Sagi has served on multiple boards and committees related to the advancement of better internet and technical education, including Open-IX, NYNOG, LISTNet, and NYC CTO Club. Recognized as one of the top thought leaders in the technology community, Sagi has received numerous accolades, including being named a Veeam Vanguard for three consecutive years.

Nick Foy is the Founder, CEO, and Chief Evangelist of Silverdale Technology, which provides access to world-class processes, systems, and change management methods regardless of their size or budget. Going against the grain of the ERP industry, Nick and his team are 'democratizing ERP' with their unique perspectives, such as their standard business process library, fixed price implementation and money-back guarantees. Nick is well placed to do so, with over 30-years of experience in business and technology consulting and leadership positions, particularly in logistics and supply chain, at Amazon, Capgemini Consulting, ModusLink Corporation, 3663 First for Foodservice, and The Glenmorangie Distillery Company. Born in Scotland and currently living in rural Washington, USA, Nick is a frequent traveler, having made it all around the US, Europe, and Asia for work. Still, he also spares time for his interests, such as being an aspiring guitar player, whisky sampling as a hobby, and being an early adopter and owner of a large tech graveyard of discarded first editions.

Jim is an entrepreneur and investor dedicated to creating shared prosperity by unlocking economic opportunity where it’s needed most. He is the Founder and CEO of Untapped Global, a global investment company that offers profitable, data-driven opportunities for investors to finance high-growth businesses in emerging markets. Untapped Global uses a technology-backed approach that reduces risk, and increases scalability and profitability. As of August 2022, Smart Asset Financing has financed 9,000 productive assets deployed across 13 African countries, with a default rate of less than 1%. In addition, Jim founded a social enterprise in Haiti that provides clean water to over 200,000 people in underserved regions through hundreds of local entrepreneurs. He is on multiple non-profit boards, including Watering Minds, a US public charity supporting youth in emerging markets, and MCE Social Capital, a non-profit impact investment firm. Chu graduated from Stanford University. In his spare time he enjoys paragliding, running, and occasionally flying planes. This unique guest lives by something that the disruptive thinker, Clayton Christensen, said: Don’t worry about the level of individual prominence you have achieved; worry about the individuals you have helped become better people.

From a young kid selling firecrackers to pickles, a teenage salesman to the stock analyst, sailing through storms, from India to Israel, this is an extraordinary success journey of a digital and tech entrepreneur. As a kid, I sold firecrackers and pickles, which enabled me to self-fund clothes and toys. I got into college but was only keen on learning new skills rather than formal education, which never excited me. As a hustler, I started working as a part-time salesman in the garments market as I wanted to master the art of selling. In the first year of college, at the inter-college fest, I met my life partner Nancy, a Jewish girl of Indian origin. Our love conquered all societal barriers, and we were united. Numbers excited me, and I moved to the most volatile stock market trade. Being sharp-minded and good with numbers, I learned and excelled at the trade. By the age of 21, I was making more money than I could have imagined. “Failures are part of the journey." The market crash got me back to square one. Money earned in years was lost in a few days. I didn’t give up. I bounced back stronger and was back on track. However, the stress of the job, overworking and erratic work hours started taking a toll on my health. Sometimes life takes unexpected turns in the right direction. Nancy inspired me to seek opportunities in #Israel. It was difficult to leave the homeland and family. But we went on to find new dreams in a new land. In a new country as a foreign national, beginnings were really challenging. I weathered the emotional storms of life, being away from family and friends. Depression sometimes pulls you down so much that it may leave you helpless. I appreciate my life partner who handled the situation perfectly and helped me recover. Then, when life gave me another shift and I saw digital and tech booming, I shifted my gears to the digital sector. As a successful professional in India, I willingly accepted a job in housekeeping and cleaning to start my work journey in Israel. Meanwhile, I used my digital and tech knowledge and started freelancing for free. The word spread and favorable testimonials got me actual business. Over the years I worked with multiple hi-tech companies in Israel. Now I help Israeli tech companies grow in India and Asia-Pacific (APAC) by providing the local team, and capital and driving the marketing, sales, and growth. Background about Pratik Thakker Pratik is an Indian-born digital and tech entrepreneur based in Israel, who is also known as Israel’s tech ambassador to India. Pratik has also an incredible following on LinkedIn and other social channels with over 250K followers and 200+ million views. As a Founder and CEO at Webzoly, he is helping global companies hire remote talent. He is also a founder at Testlify, a leading talent assessment platform helping companies hire the best talent with AI and deep analysis that’s accurate, automated, and unbiased.