10-Minute Tech Talks: How Tech Entrepreneurs Fail & How You Can Avoid It

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 finding raw talent, building pathways and making sure more people are ready to create in the Intelligence Age.
TOYZ Electronics is working to scale a platform that connects students to AI, gaming, digital twins, robotics, storytelling and real career pathways. And as you'll hear, this is not theory. They are already working with students, building traction and looking for partners who want to help us unlock more of our talent.
You can hear the full conversation on TechVibe.
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.

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 understand what they are wasting in the first place.
In just a few minutes, Dylan explains how Ecotone is turning a messy problem into a scalable technology platform. Food waste goes in. Soil Sauce comes out. And Pittsburgh innovation gets a little greener, smarter and saucier.
Watch the full interview here.
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.

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 a business-risk issue, a data-governance issue and, in industries like energy and manufacturing, potentially a critical infrastructure issue.
The big takeaway: AI can absolutely be a powerful tool, but it needs policies, oversight, secure data practices and experienced people asking the right questions. Whether you're using it to write emails or support predictive maintenance in critical infrastructure, the same rule applies: don't let the machine outrun your judgment.
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.

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 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.

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 rooms early in her career—and why confidence and belonging still matter in tech today.
If you're building a company or building yourself as a leader, this conversation delivers a few lessons worth stealing. Listen VanKirk's entire interview right here.
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.