TechPod Talks

Are you a tech leader or tech executive struggling with the pressures of digital transformation? We’re talking specifically about things like IT modernization, efficient team scaling with limited resources, and developing a practical AI strategy. These are very real issues we’re all facing in the tech industry right now, and it’s proving difficult to find the advice you actually need. Host Stephen Koza, CEO at EverOps, created the TechPod Talks podcast to bridge the gap between how leadership perceives challenges in this field and the realities on the ground. The show features conversations with proven technical leaders who provide real-world advice on critical tech company operations and challenges. These are the kinds of conversations that you would normally have with your buddies in tech over a beer at the end of a long week. No fluff, just solid advice that’s actually being implemented. We want you to hear from people who aren’t just talking about what we need to be doing in tech, but are actually living it right now. Some of the topics we’re covering include: Scaling engineering teams Modernizing infrastructure Successful AI adoption and navigating AI implementation Making hard operational calls without a defined playbook Get past the generic advice and find actionable tips from those who are actively in the arena.

TechPod Talks is a business podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 0 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Unknown Host hosts TechPod Talks, a business show with 0 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #11

  Career Pivots, Authentic Leadership, and the Agentic Era with Stephen Koza

  Aug 19, 202645 min

  TechPod Talks producer Lauren Dort turns the mic on host Stephen Koza, CEO of EverOps. Stephen traces his path from electrical engineering student at UT Austin to enterprise sales, through Silicon Valley startups and investing, to acquiring and running EverOps since February 2022. The conversation covers what authentic leadership actually looks like in practice, how to hire for ceiling rather than credentials, why most companies are failing to get ROI from AI, and what it will really take before production systems can run autonomously. Main Topics Covered What the squiggly career path actually teaches you, and why putting too much pressure on early-career planning often works against you How to maintain credibility with technical teams when you are not the most technical person in the room Why caring is a leadership behavior, not a personality trait, and what it looks like when someone actually does it versus just says it The difference between hard to work with and toxic, and why conflating the two is a costly leadership mistake The rising star hiring profile: what to look for in candidates whose ceiling far exceeds their current credentials Why most AI initiatives are not making it to production, and what companies need to get right about data and infrastructure before the agentic era delivers real returns Links & Resources Connect with Stephen Koza: LinkedIn Connect with Lauren Hochman Dort: LinkedIn Connect with EverOps: Website | LinkedIn References Radical Candor by Kim Scott What You Do Is Who You Are by Ben Horowitz

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  Episode #10

  Security, AI Adoption, and Human Judgment with Patrick McKinney

  Aug 5, 202646 min

  Patrick McKinney, VP of Security at Invisible Technologies, has spent his career building security and compliance functions from the ground up, from Coinbase to Dropbox to Salesforce. He shares the playbook lessons that carried across each stop, why phase two never adds security, and how he's applying an AI native approach to security at Invisible while still keeping judgment and accountability firmly in human hands. Main Topics Covered: Building compliance functions from scratch at Coinbase, Dropbox, and Salesforce, and the lesson that phase two never adds security Standing up SOX and GDPR compliance ahead of Dropbox's 2018 IPO Early FedRAMP work at Salesforce, including a dedicated authorized colo built entirely from scratch Investing in an agentic SOC platform and running quality bake offs before adopting new AI security tools Knowing when to shift security ownership from a CTO or head of IT to a dedicated security professional How AI is reshaping entry level talent, and why judgment and accountability still belong to humans Links & Resources: Connect with Patrick McKinney: LinkedIn Connect with Stephen Koza: LinkedIn Connect with EverOps: Website | LinkedIn

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  Episode #9

  Prebid, Music Royalties, and Leading Through Transformation with Tom Kershaw

  Jul 22, 202646 min

  Tom Kershaw, SVP and CTO at BMI, shares how a career spanning telecom, ad tech, travel, and now music rights taught him to learn new industries fast and lead through transformation. He breaks down the massive data challenge of tracking billions of music performances, the open source story behind Prebid that led to Google's antitrust trial, and why trying to stop AI in music is a losing battle. Main Topics Covered: Crossing industries from telecom to ad tech to music rights, and why going deep on one thing (not everything) is the fastest way to learn a new business The Prebid open source story: uniting competing ad tech companies against Google's walled gardens, and testifying in the DOJ antitrust trial How BMI tracks billions of music performances across streaming, live venues, TikTok, and elevators to pay 1.5 million songwriters Solving two data problems at once: high-complexity structured ownership data (SQL) and high-scale streaming counts (Kafka, Databricks, Spark) Why AI in music can't be stopped, how songwriters already use it, and the ethical frameworks BMI is building around opt-in and attribution Transformation leadership: why "focus" literally means "no," and the willingness to fail and course correct is the only way through Links: Connect with Tom Kershaw: LinkedIn Connect with Stephen Koza: LinkedIn Connect with EverOps: Website | LinkedIn

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  Episode #8

  From Six Sigma to AI: Turning Discovery Into Revenue with Jose Gonzalez

  Jul 8, 202638 min

  Jose Gonzalez, VP of Product at Ticketmaster, shares how a career spanning the dot-com bubble, Johnson & Johnson, Yahoo, EA, Amazon, and a Techstars-backed AI startup shaped his approach to product leadership. He breaks down the power law behind media platforms, what it takes to scale teams under pressure, and why trying to put the AI genie back in the bottle is the wrong move. Main Topics Covered: An unconventional path from web dev and Six Sigma process engineering at J&J to VP of Product at Ticketmaster How power law dynamics drive media platforms, and why you can't build your business around hits alone Co-founding an AI startup (Naria) through Techstars, and what the experience taught him about timing and product-market fit Scaling teams fast: hiring for horsepower over perfect fit, and knowing when to lower the bar without dropping it Why AI adoption mirrors the MP3/Kazaa/Spotify era, and the leaders who stop resisting will define what comes next Using AI at Ticketmaster to connect fans with the right event at the right moment through smarter signals and discovery Links & Resources Connect with Jose Gonzalez: LinkedIn Connect with Stephen Koza: LinkedIn Connect with EverOps: Website | LinkedIn

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  Episode #7

  Systems Thinking, Shark Tank, and AI in Gaming with Chris Harden

  Jun 24, 202642 min

  Chris Harden, Director of Production Verification and AI Liaison at Unity, shares how a career spanning theme parks, embedded software, EA Sports, and a startup that was featured on Shark Tank shaped his approach to building the systems around software. He breaks down the AI debate in gaming, how he used agents to write his latest book, and why communication is the most underrated leadership skill. Main Topics Covered: A career built on systems thinking, from programming Epcot control systems to shipping NBA Live at EA Sports to co-founding a Shark Tank startup Why the hardest part of shipping a triple-A game isn't the code, it's coordination and integration across hundreds of people How Chris uses AI agents at Unity, including a jargon remover, a Scrum Master agent, and a multi-agent workflow for writing his latest book The AI and gaming debate: where rapid prototyping wins, where human taste still matters, and why engineers are the orchestrators and verifiers Communication as the most common leadership gap, from IC to executive, and why everyone should work in sales at least once Links & Resources Connect with Chris Harden: LinkedIn | Website Connect with Stephen Koza: LinkedIn Connect with EverOps: Website | LinkedIn Books Referenced: Scale by Geoffrey Moore (systems thinking) Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey Moore Little Robot, Big Dreams by Chris Harden (Shark Tank memoir) Mastering Commitment by Chris Harden (building trust in teams) The 4 Piece Operating Plan by Chris Harden (operating plans framework)

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