FBI Cyber Advice Every Tech Entrepreneur Needs to Hear
10-Minute Tech Talks: Business Insights and Growth Hacks for Time-Crunched Entrepreneurs
Release Date: 05/18/2026
Beyond Vibe Coding: Building AI Apps That Don’t Break
10-Minute Tech Talks: Business Insights and Growth Hacks for Time-Crunched Entrepreneurs
What happens when your AI-built app looks amazing, but it is not ready for real customers? That is the question we are tackling on this episode of 10 Minute Tech Talks with Adam Wynne, founder of Wynne Technologies. There is a lot of excitement around vibe coding right now, where entrepreneurs can prompt their way into building apps, websites and software tools faster than ever before. But Adam makes a critical point: a great-looking demo is not the same thing as a secure, scalable, production-ready product. Adam brings about 25 years of software engineering experience to this conversation,...
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Growth Code: Tech Entrepreneurs Need More Cowbell!
10-Minute Tech Talks: Business Insights and Growth Hacks for Time-Crunched Entrepreneurs
Can having more fun actually help build a more serious company? In this episode of Growth Code: How to Crack the Inc. 5000, Dan Desko, Founder of Echelon Risk + Cyber, explains two of the values that make Echelon’s culture stand out: more cowbell and turning pro. Dan talks about why teams doing intense cybersecurity work need room to celebrate, laugh and stay connected. He also shares why “turning pro” is not a one-time achievement, but a constant commitment to getting better for clients, teammates and the business. Listen to this episode for a memorable lesson in building a company...
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Growth Code: Tech Entrepreneur Hiring Lessons From Echelon Risk + Cyber
10-Minute Tech Talks: Business Insights and Growth Hacks for Time-Crunched Entrepreneurs
How do you build a high-growth company without hiring a team full of clones? In this episode of Growth Code: How to Crack the Inc. 5000, Dan Desko, Founder of Echelon Risk + Cyber, shares why one of Echelon’s key growth values is hiring people with personality. For Dan, technical talent matters, but so does curiosity, character and the ability to work with people when the pressure climbs. He also explains why strong teams have to face issues head-on. That means building enough trust for people to speak honestly, challenge each other productively and keep the business moving forward without...
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Growth Code: Tech Entrepreneur Lessons From Echelon’s Inc. 5000 Growth
10-Minute Tech Talks: Business Insights and Growth Hacks for Time-Crunched Entrepreneurs
What does it really take to build a company that clients trust when the stakes are sky-high? In this first episode of Growth Code: How to Crack the Inc. 5000, Jonathan Kersting talks with Dan Desko, Founder of Echelon Risk + Cyber, about the first value that helped power Echelon’s rise to number 433 on the Inc. 5000: being truly client-centric. Dan explains why Echelon does not think in terms of “customers,” but instead builds real client relationships rooted in trust, urgency and service. He also digs into why cybersecurity is a team sport, especially when companies are facing...
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Wins, Worries and Wild Cards: Huntington Bank's Economic Outlook For the Tech Entrepreneur
10-Minute Tech Talks: Business Insights and Growth Hacks for Time-Crunched Entrepreneurs
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...
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Father-Son Entrepreneurs Are Using AI and Gaming to Find Future Innovators
10-Minute Tech Talks: Business Insights and Growth Hacks for Time-Crunched Entrepreneurs
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...
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Entrepreneurial Triple Threat: How Ecotone’s Zeus Converts Food Waste Into Soil Sauce
10-Minute Tech Talks: Business Insights and Growth Hacks for Time-Crunched Entrepreneurs
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...
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AI Cybersecurity Risks Every Business Needs to Understand
10-Minute Tech Talks: Business Insights and Growth Hacks for Time-Crunched Entrepreneurs
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...
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FBI Cyber Advice Every Tech Entrepreneur Needs to Hear
10-Minute Tech Talks: Business Insights and Growth Hacks for Time-Crunched Entrepreneurs
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...
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What Makes a Tech Company Worth Buying? A Pittsburgh Entrepreneur Explains
10-Minute Tech Talks: Business Insights and Growth Hacks for Time-Crunched Entrepreneurs
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...
info_outlineCybersecurity 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.