Hot-in-Tech

Hot-in-Tech goes beyond the headlines to explore the people and signals behind what’s actually hot in technology. Through candid conversations with top VCs, founders, and executives, we unpack how they got into the rooms that matter, the bets that paid off (and the ones that didn’t), and what’s coming next, long before it becomes consensus. Less hype. More signal.

Hot-in-Tech is a business podcast hosted by David Leichner, with 16 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

David Leichner hosts Hot-in-Tech, a business show with 16 episodes published.

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  Hot-in-Tech

  Building AI Companies That Last: Strategy, Trust, and Responsible Innovation with Einat Metzer

  Sep 6, 202636 min

  The advice to “just move fast” can quietly wreck a startup, a corporate team, and even a breakthrough AI product. Einat Metzer reveals the harder truth: enduring businesses are built by constantly reworking strategy, aligning operations to KPIs, and protecting culture when pressure hits hardest.A veteran of venture capital, startup founding, and Fortune 500 leadership, Einat has seen what most leaders miss. She built Emedgene into a global leader in explainable AI for clinical genomics, negotiated its acquisition by Illumina for a 10x return to early investors, and then helped lead post-merger integration inside a large public company. In this episode, we explore: Why founders and executives need to treat strategy as a living, breathing system The hidden cost of corporate integration when a startup moves into enterprise scale How explainable AI earned trust in healthcare before the modern LLM boom Why human-in-the-loop design matters when patient outcomes are on the line What Einat sees as truly “hot” in tech as AI adoption collides with broken operating models

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  Hot-in-Tech

  AI Security After Black Hat: What Comes Next? with Yitzy

  Aug 20, 202646 min

  AI is changing cybersecurity at extraordinary speed, but what does that mean for the people building, buying, and securing the next generation of technology? In this episode, my co-host Yitzy Tannenbaum joins us fresh from Black Hat to unpack the biggest shifts happening across AI security, from the growing convergence of data security and AI security to the race among startups and tech giants to define this emerging market. We discuss Cyera’s launch of Agent Guardian, why understanding the intent of AI agents is becoming critical, and how rapidly evolving AI capabilities are forcing security teams to rethink traditional approaches. Yitzy also shares his perspective on the importance of deep domain expertise, the build-versus-buy debate, and why automation won’t eliminate one of cybersecurity’s most valuable assets: human ingenuity. A wide-ranging conversation about where AI security is today, where it’s heading, and what security leaders should be paying attention to next.

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  Hot-in-Tech

  How Peer Reviews Are Reshaping Enterprise Software Buying in the AI Era

  Jul 29, 202641 min

  Russell Rothstein, CEO and founder of PeerSpot, joins Hot in Tech to explain how enterprise software buying has evolved and why trusted peer insights remain essential, even as AI transforms the decision-making process. Russell discusses the complex committees behind enterprise purchases, the value of detailed, long-form reviews, and why buyers still rely on the real-world experience of their peers rather than AI-generated recommendations alone. He also shares how PeerSpot works with AWS Marketplace and Google Cloud Marketplace, how AI is changing review collection and content optimization, and what founders and technology professionals should focus on as the AI era accelerates.

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  Hot-in-Tech

  Investment, Innovation, and the Future of Tech - Insights with Daniel Ziv

  Jul 16, 202634 min

  What do investors really look for in a founder, and can Buddhist principles lead to better investment decisions? In this episode, Daniel Ziv, Investment Manager at Glilot Capital Partners, shares how his experience in product management and startup founding shapes the way he evaluates companies and supports entrepreneurs. Daniel discusses why founder energy, consistency, and instinct can matter more than early metrics, how investors can guide founders without limiting their independence, and how principles such as kindness and non-attachment help him make clearer decisions. The conversation also explores Israel’s expanding role in global technology, AI’s impact through 2026, the potential cybersecurity challenges created by quantum computing, and why human judgment remains essential in an increasingly AI-driven world. Listen to discover why the most valuable quality in technology and investing may not be intelligence, experience, or data, but the ability to remain curious, trust people, and “try to be as kind as possible.”

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  Hot-in-Tech

  Why AI Won’t Replace Humans (But Will Change Every Job) | Gary Survis, Insight Partners

  May 26, 202642 min

  In this episode of hot-in-tech , David Leichner and Yitzy Tannenbaum sit down with Gary Survis, Operating Partner at Insight Partners. Gary shares why AI is the biggest technological shift of our lifetime, why he compares it more to electricity than software, and what every leader must do to stay relevant in a rapidly changing world. The conversation explores why Gary remains firmly on “Team Human” despite AI’s rapid advancement, arguing that the future belongs to those who embrace change rather than resist it. He explains why three uniquely human capabilities, judgment, empathy, and verification, will become even more valuable as AI reshapes work, and why authenticity will matter more than ever in a world increasingly flooded with AI-generated content. David, Gary, and Yitzy also discuss how AI is transforming business models, from startups to enterprise software, and why the future competitive moat may lie in contextual intelligence and proprietary data rather than technology alone. Gary shares his perspective on the evolution of SaaS, the rise of agents, and why domain expertise will continue to matter deeply even as AI becomes more capable. The discussion also expands beyond software into infrastructure, exploring the growing energy and water demands of AI, why data center power challenges are more about grid modernization than energy scarcity, and where venture-backed opportunities may emerge in areas such as battery storage, grid orchestration, and water monitoring. From marketing transformation and “job rebundling” to the future of education and work itself, Gary offers a pragmatic, optimistic, and deeply informed perspective on how individuals and companies can thrive in the age of AI.

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