Underserved

Underserved is the podcast for the rest of the technology industry. No startup or gadget worship, just real stories, lessons, and interesting topics from real people in the technology industry. Special emphasis on software development culture and history.

Ep. 122, From River Hawks to Robots 06/18/2024

Ep. 122, From River Hawks to Robots Eva Moscat caps off Season 10 of Underserved. Eva grew up in a math-intensive family, and a college course requirement introduced her to programming. She found her niche in network development, and as interconnected devices became the norm, her career prospects bloomed. We discuss the importance of mentors/networking, embedded debugging for vendor culpability, and robots obviating the landscaper. Links UMass Lowell Samsara Eva on LinkedIn /episode/index/show/underserved/id/31787827

Ep. 121, From 600 Meatballs to Product Management 06/03/2024

Ep. 121, From 600 Meatballs to Product Management Episode #121 of Underserved features Dmitry Grenader. Dmitry left the Soviet Union with his family and landed in Brooklyn. He worked his way up from odd jobs to a master's degree and became a software developer. A mentor saw promise in Dmitry's product management skills and encouraged him to lean in that direction. This has led Dmitry to a decades-long successful career in the Boston software industry. We discuss CES fame, writing a song to lobby for resources, and selling software to low-tech industries. Links: Boston University Late Entry Accelerated Program (LEAP) - Lionbridge - Sermo - Vlingo, now part of Nuance - NetProspex, now part of Dun & Bradstreet - Luminoso - Newmetrix, now part of Oracle - Marc Andressen "The only thing that matters" - Rob Snyder coaches startup on product-market fit - Amwell - /episode/index/show/underserved/id/31514287

Ep. 120, Why Can't I Learn To Do That Myself? 05/27/2024

Ep. 120, Why Can't I Learn To Do That Myself? Episode 120 of Underserved is here! Our guest today is Christine Bird, a fellow UMass alum and veteran of the financial services industry. Christine started her career teaching some of the toughest students and learned to love it. Her foray into technology and QA taught her bug diplomacy, the SDLC, and how to make the skills vs. attitude decision. We discuss front-loading your tech learning, the AHA moment as a QA manager, and her love of being a city dweller. LINKS /episode/index/show/underserved/id/31293707

Ep. 119 Digital Leaders, Place Your Bets 05/20/2024

Ep. 119 Digital Leaders, Place Your Bets In Episode 119 of Underserved, I interview Dustin Humphreys. From the level land in the Texas panhandle comes this pharmacist-turned-technologist. Dustin wore many hats to help bring drug stores online during the DotCom boom. He has since helped multiple drugstore chains advance their online presence and has branched out into other industries as well. We talk about feature obsession being overrated (now ADOPTION obsession - that is cool!) and the pachinko game of being a small company CEO. LINKS /episode/index/show/underserved/id/31293587

Ep. 118, AI Is Like Salt 05/13/2024

Ep. 118, AI Is Like Salt In Underserved #118 we interview Andrew Heffernan. Andrew grew up believing he wanted to be an engineer. After dabbling in civil and plastics, he found his way into the tech industry via customer support at Constant Contact. The company thrived and provided Andrew advancement into development, where he discovered that the hardest part of the job could be getting all the humans to work in concert. We discuss working with fellow Underserved guest Erik Dasque, what happens when you 10x your staff, and the double-edged sword of SalesForce. Links: Andrew on LinkedIn: /episode/index/show/underserved/id/30954293

Ep. 117, CIO Steering Digital Innovation 05/06/2024

Ep. 117, CIO Steering Digital Innovation Episode #117 of Underserved features our guest Sree Kancharla. It looked like Sree was on track toward a math PhD and teaching, but a tech career blossomed instead. Sree was involved with many projects ahead of their time, including iterative deployment and Google Glass. We talk about innovating in the digital realm and product vs. service companies. For more information: – Volunteer Organization - Empowering Women in Technology - Mentoring in LA /episode/index/show/underserved/id/30954218

Ep. 116, No Laughing Matter 04/29/2024

Ep. 116, No Laughing Matter Kurt Iverson is featured in Episode #116 of Underserved. Kurt offered to build a website for a budding comedian in exchange for free show tickets. While not a great monetary deal, the experience and connections ended up paying huge dividends. Kurt parlayed this into development gigs for interactive firms, The Federal Reserve, and Garmin. We talk deploying with Disney, user empathy, and George Brett. Links: – dear Hollywood friends that are on a mission to help Holocaust survivors and all those suffering from the effects of war – one of my oldest friends in comedy and someone who kills it and inspires me everyday – The band that inspired me to get into music and is the soundtrack of my life and nights - Dink and I wrote a lot of music together and he was a genius with harmony and melody. I will forever miss our musical partnership and friendship. - Check out my friend and Grammy nominee keyboardist for King Fisher, Watermelon Funk – I make data analytics magic happen here. - Learn about yourself in a professional and deeply personal sense. Self awareness is key to growing. Whether it’s this program or something else entirely that gives you insight to yourself, do it! – Looking to kickstart your career in UX? Get certified through this staple of UX guidance. – One of my oldest friends in comedy and arguable the funniest! – Another long-time friend from comedy who is killing it and producing his own shows with the likes of Vince Vaughn and Peter Billingsley. Don’t miss his new projects! – Check out “That’s So Quantum” created by my dear friend, John Combs! /episode/index/show/underserved/id/30648348

Ep. 115, Fight for Simplicity 04/22/2024

Ep. 115, Fight for Simplicity Dom Scandinaro is our guest for Episode #115 of Underserved. Dom enjoyed building computers with his Dad and taking an entrepreneurial angle with their shared venture. As a young track star, a scholarship offer made his college choice for him. Luckily the CS program at Wheeling was fun and UI-focused, which has led to a career in front-end development, mobile development, and now management as a CTO. We discuss who makes a cameo on Cameo, Luxury Garage Sale, and prototyping with Francisco the Fox. Links: Black Girls Code: Cameo for Business: Cameo Kids: Francisco the Fox: Book Dom on Cameo: Marathon donation page: I'm running to raise money for prostate cancer which is unfortunately what my father passed away from a couple years back. /episode/index/show/underserved/id/30648308

Ep. 114, Unicorn Cavalry 04/15/2024

Ep. 114, Unicorn Cavalry Philosophy major Jason "Mac" Macauley found his way into the industry via content moderation. He caught the coding bug when he realized that his love of logic translated well. He aimed to be an "Employee number less than 10" at a startup, cash out, and teach philosophy. After a few years, he came to terms with being a professional software developer and aimed for the next challenge - managing people. We talk about working yourself out of a job, outcome-driven sales approaches, and why golf is not a game of perfect. Links: My Coaching Firm - LinkedIn - Blog - Great Dog - Merrimac CC (Where I shot the 4 under on the back 9) - /episode/index/show/underserved/id/30648253

Ep. 113, Continuation Bet 04/08/2024

Ep. 113, Continuation Bet Season 10 of Underserved kicks off with our guest, Rob Salvador. Rob's late teens were spent on a computer, but playing multi-table online poker tournaments, not coding. The DOJ shut down online poker, forcing Rob to pivot. His dad's construction company proved fertile ground for learning the industry's challenges. Rob has parlayed this into a business that optimizes supply chains using AI, lowering costs and raising the success rate of construction projects. Links Rob on LinkedIn: Rob on X(Twitter): Digibuild: Poker’s Black Friday: /episode/index/show/underserved/id/30646093

Ep. 112, The Value of Hustle 12/18/2023

Ep. 112, The Value of Hustle Season 9 concludes with Episode #112 featuring Michael Dane. It took a formative solo photography trip to the UK for Michael to find himself and his potential. After discovering what he was good at and the Internet, he was off and running with his brother Abe and Hearst Media. This led to a career in data and business intelligence, often having to sell management and clients why those are so valuable. Also discussed - handling motorcycles at speed, that time he worked for Senator Ted Kennedy, and avoiding downtime when it costs $750,000 per hour. Story on my wife's struggle with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) Boston Globe article To donate: Advocacy info on ME/CFS Michael on LinkedIn Gun Control Advocacy /episode/index/show/underserved/id/29096918

Ep. 111, Head in the Clouds 12/11/2023

Ep. 111, Head in the Clouds Episode #111 of Underserved features Drew Schillinger. Early on Grandpa Jack wanted to teach Drew programming, but mom didn't want him inside glued to the computer. Drew eventually found his way between chair and keyboard, first teaching and later practicing as a developer. A memorable stint at Cartoon Network's Adult Swim gave him experience as an entertainer and a technical architect. We also talk mindsets, getting an MBS, and Bugs Bunny meeting ChatGPT. Links for show notes Drew Rap From my time on Adult Swim’s FishCenter Web No more interactive desktop, but there’s a gpt bot you can chat with , LinkedIn Please connect! , Github I’m embarrassed that I’m not embarrassed to show off my elephant’s graveyard of projects. , My tech blog , Medium My leadership blog , Calendly When you get tired chatting with my gpt bot, you can chat with me , MBS Reading list: /episode/index/show/underserved/id/28979238

Ep. 110, View Source 12/04/2023

Ep. 110, View Source Ep. 110 of Underserved features Rob Larsen. Rob was around for the glory days of the web when you could "view source" on a webpage to learn how to do something new via imitation. At the same time, he was involved in local magazines, writing about film after a stint at Emerson. Rob learned quickly that writing code paid better than writing prose, and leaned into front-end development for several years. This has led him to become one of the foremost thought leaders in the area, publishing several books and managing popular open-source projects. Hear how his love of art, travel, and graffiti has blossomed in parallel with his tech career in this installment of Underserved. Instagram My blog post on video backgrounds My art My film writing Two non-profits I work with! /episode/index/show/underserved/id/28624013

Ep. 109, Cactus Dude 11/27/2023

Ep. 109, Cactus Dude Kevin "Cactus Dude" Kreucher is our guest for Episode #109 of Underserved. Kevin is another unique story - going from a client of a treatment center to running its IT operations. Kevin got a tour of MSPs after that and built out his Rolodex steadily to support all facets of IT. Nowadays Kevin considers his phone his greatest tool, being able to tap his network to get any job done. Also covered - exotic succulents, friending every CIO in Orange County on LinkedIn, and a memorable Chick-fil-A drive-through call. Links: Kevin on LinkedIn: Northgate Market: Grocery Outlet: Crazy4Cactus Instagram: /episode/index/show/underserved/id/28623888

Ep. 108, Culture Swap 11/20/2023

Ep. 108, Culture Swap Cassio Goldschmidt grew up coding on cloned computers in Brazil. Most folks go to the college in their city, and Cassio decided to study Computer Science at his. A desire to get some international experience brought him to the US for a 3 month internship and he has been here ever since. Cassio shares stories about installing and re-discovering an Easter egg in software, inventing the popular Superplayer music service, and how he steered from development to security. Also featured is what to say when a vendor's sales team offers to install a security vulnerability for you, and Cassio's involvement in OWASP. /episode/index/show/underserved/id/28347674

Ep. 107, Picky is Good 11/13/2023

Ep. 107, Picky is Good Jason Judge ended up at the right place (Redmond, WA) at the right time (1995) to see the world change. In Episode #107 of Underserved, we discuss the Seattle scene in the 2000s, leaning into the database world, the MBA education you get by proxy working for a startup, and the importance of preventing bullying. Jason also talks about an important factor in his employment decisions - companies that do good in the world while doing well on the P+L. /episode/index/show/underserved/id/28347635

Ep. 106, Told to learn IT 11/06/2023

Ep. 106, Told to learn IT Paul Dingwitz shares his experiences with us in Episode #106 of Underserved. Paul "answered the call" from an Army recruiter, and this was his introduction to technology. In the military you don't get a lot of choice about what you do, so when he was tapped to maintain the LAN and WAN he had to figure IT out. A private digital media firm lured him back stateside and into the corporate sector, where he was at the forefront of broadcasters moving from film to digital. From CNN to a streaming media startup, Paul is now back in Germany with The Zeal Group, and shares with us his unique path to the CTO seat. Children’s Fund: This is who we used to sponsor families Friendly look behind the scenes at what your competitors use Some of the best steak cooking recipes ever Great Book and Author Fun tech and gadget reading /episode/index/show/underserved/id/28347608

Ep. 105, False Courage 10/30/2023

Ep. 105, False Courage In Episode #105 I talk to our guest Vic Caruso. Vic went the music crossover route into tech, entering the industry during the Dot Com Boom and Bust. His project management experience has helped him cross verticals from video games to municipalities to mall management during his career. We discuss the tricky process of a "de-merger", meditating to figure out the next move, and what the "Big Picture" means at URW. /episode/index/show/underserved/id/28347512

Ep. 104, From coder to CTO 10/23/2023

Ep. 104, From coder to CTO Aaron Harris is featured in Episode #104 of Underserved. As a kid in the woods of Vermont, Aaron still found a way to plug into technology. A classmate at BYU convinced him to switch majors from CS to Accounting for undergrad, then to get a Masters in IS. This unique combination suited him well, landing him at a Big 6 when there were still 6 of them, and later to an accounting software startup called Intacct as it took off. Aaron has led their technology group for over 20 years, and now Intacct is a part of Sage where he oversees all global development. Building a massively multi-tenant system from scratch has taught him a lot of lessons along the way, which he shares in this episode. Aaron on LinkedIn - Aaron Harris in Diginomica - Sage - Ann Winblad - Dunkin Donuts ad - Time to make the donuts - /episode/index/show/underserved/id/28287980

Ep. 103, Aligned Interests 10/16/2023

Ep. 103, Aligned Interests Episode #103 of Underserved features Ema Patki. Ema heard a common refrain from her parents growing up, the only two legitimate professions were engineer and doctor. She didn't love EE, but it led her to programming and USC. Protocols that helped the Internet boom also helped Ema advance her career. She is now at Align Technologies, where helping people improve their smiles has a surprising amount of technology behind it. We also discuss Girls Who Code, boomeranging between the US and India, and moving from IT to product. /episode/index/show/underserved/id/28287935

Ep. 102, Don’t Overthink Your Career 10/09/2023

Ep. 102, Don’t Overthink Your Career Episode #102 of Underserved features Jim Scholhamer. Jim had an early fascination with geology, history, and archaeology. Dad encouraged him to take up engineering, where he eventually fell into materials science. This field could mean something as boring as bumper plastics or as exciting as space telescopes. Jim forged an exciting and adventurous path, including time as an expat in Germany. Once back in the US, he worked his way into the famously insular semiconductor industry, where he now leads a billion-dollar company through its latest challenges. Links: (Specifically Van Vlack Undergrad Lab) (the book) /episode/index/show/underserved/id/28169939

Ep. 101, Journey to a Mission 10/02/2023

Ep. 101, Journey to a Mission Season 9 of Underserved kicks off in-studio with our guest Tanya Bulkovshteyn. Tanya's family moved to Canada and quickly found out French immersion was not optional. Dad's push toward a technical career led her to computer science and the United States. Tanya describes how being a woman in the field has been at times a nice, novel way to stand out and others a hard way to fit in. This has led Tanya to help mentor other women coming up in the field and taught her the value of building a network of like-minded peers. Links: /episode/index/show/underserved/id/28169873

Ep. 100, AI Invasion 06/26/2023

Ep. 100, AI Invasion Underserved has reached Episode 100! We celebrate this special landmark with a very special show. We bring back three previous guests (Mike Breault from #007, Eli Goldberg from #069, and Steve Kaufer from #013) and add one new one (Rachael Rosen) to form a panel of distinguished experts. We discuss with our panel how artificial intelligence is going to change the software development game forever. ChatGPT: CoPilot: Prompt Perfect: The Tyrell Corporation: /episode/index/show/underserved/id/27216495

Ep. 099, Triple Major 06/19/2023

Ep. 099, Triple Major Our 99th episode features Tim Sebel from Bullhorn. Tim was able to leverage his AP classes from high school into an unusually wide amount of choices in college. Or rather, not having to choose between three different majors and completing them all! Tim moved on to startups doing semantic search, helping small cable companies, and assisting folks with dementia before moving on to a large time-tracking company. The latter led him to Bullhorn, where he has helped transform their toolset into a one-stop-shop for running a staffing company. Tim on LinkedIN: Emory University: SimpleC: Bullhorn: /episode/index/show/underserved/id/27130053

Ep. 098, Running the Shop 06/12/2023

Ep. 098, Running the Shop Episode #098 of Underserved features Gu Xie live from Texas. We start with his unlikely story of growing up as a Chinese immigrant in Belize, moving to the US, and learning some tough lessons in and out of the classroom at the University of Georgia. Also discussed: leaning into data analytics, superior toolsets driving more mental strain to understand them, and why 10 years in data feels like 3 lifetimes. Show Notes Links: /episode/index/show/underserved/id/26931066

Ep. 097, Fighting Spirit 06/05/2023

Ep. 097, Fighting Spirit Komal Maliekal is our featured guest for Episode #097 of Underserved. Komal channeled her mother's fighting spirit to succeed in a difficult engineering school, job market, and technology landscape in her native India. We talk about the culture shift moving to the United States, what to do when your test devices get stolen, and giving back to women in the tech industry. Komal's LinkedIn Profile : Article on Devices : Info on : Athenahealth : Dr AIT college : /episode/index/show/underserved/id/26931009

Ep. 096, Super Stoked To Be Here 05/30/2023

Ep. 096, Super Stoked To Be Here In Episode #096 of Underserved, our guest is Chris Boutiette. Chris had to ask his high school to add computer courses, only to find them unexpectedly challenging. This didn't deter him from pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or working his way through college running a tech support firm. We talk about working your way up the organization from QA, wrangling rampant robots, and clearing your head from the saddle of a motorcycle. Chris' LinkedIn profile Symbotic BMW Motorcycles Shell Tech Works /episode/index/show/underserved/id/26930913

Ep. 095, Leader of the Band 05/22/2023

Ep. 095, Leader of the Band Kim Sinclair joins me in our studio for Episode #095 of Underserved. Kim spent college in Friartown, leading the pep band on the road for fun and adventure supporting Providence College sports. After stints working for the Department of Revenue and consulting, Kim found herself moving into the healthcare payer and provider space at Boston Medical Center's health plan. By asking many questions she learned the many intricacies of the insurance side, which helped implement the Massachusetts Healthcare reform project “Romneycare” (the state predecessor to federal "Obamacare"). We talk about not wanting to be a CIO and then becoming one, being forced to make layoffs as your first foray into management, and some unusual requests serviced during COVID. LINKS Doberman Rescue Unlimited - Providence College /episode/index/show/underserved/id/26648838

Ep. 094, Keep Living Más 05/15/2023

Ep. 094, Keep Living Más Taco Bell CTO Steve Plank is my guest for Episode #094 of Underserved. Steve rose quickly through the ranks in heavily regulated industries helping to manage document compliance. It took 4 trips to Taco Bell's headquarters to switch industries and get a job offer. Since then Steve has spearheaded Taco Bell's digital transformation, resulting in billions of e-commerce revenue and tighter relationships with their ravenous customer base. Also covered are the Temple/UMass basketball rivalry in the 1990s, if/when to get your MBA, and moving from buy to build. LinkedIn: Steve Plank: Gary Charbonneau: Sue Jean Lin: Dirty Money (Season 1: Episode Drug Short) Taco Bell: The Taco Bell Foundation: /episode/index/show/underserved/id/26648805

Ep. 093, Ruining the Curve 05/08/2023

Ep. 093, Ruining the Curve Susan Kelly is our guest for Underserved episode #093. Susan fell in love with computers early on, being curious about technology and loving the time/aggravation saver of spell check. She leaned into product management early in her career, in telecom, education technology, and call center software. We also talk about how companies struggle to allow employees to grieve a loss, watching a technology sea change wipe out your project, and going to bat for your direct reports. Susan on LinkedIn Faire The Beetle Cat, a New England classic The Ideal 18 sailboat The Soggy Dollar, home of the Painkiller /episode/index/show/underserved/id/26398791

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