The SundayPyjamas Perspective

#82 Reviving Laptops, Reusing Tech, Reconnecting Communities

SundayPyjamas — Mon, 20 Oct 2025 14:30:45 GMT

In this episode, Alison Canning shares the story behind Let’s Get Together, an organization tackling Canada’s digital divide by turning unwanted technology into powerful tools for opportunity. She explains how her own unique educational path and life experiences gave her a powerful perspective on the barriers people face, leading her to build a community-driven model that puts people first.

The conversation covers:

The vision behind Let’s Get Together and its focus on human development.
How the “computers are the new backpacks” philosophy was sparked by a student trying to complete an essay on her phone.
The critical role a volunteer named Andrew played in introducing the team to Ubuntu Linux, which transformed their refurbishing process.
The scalable, multi-step system for taking a donated laptop, ensuring data security, refurbishing it, and getting it to someone in need.
The ambitious goal to solve the digital divide in Canada by 2030 and what it will take to get there.

The Vision: A World Where Everyone Can Realize Their Potential

Alison’s journey began with a deep-seated belief in people and the power of creating different pathways for growth. This philosophy became the foundation for Let’s Get Together, an organization built not just around technology, but around fostering human connection and potential.

“Imagine a world where everyone believes in themselves, believes in each other and that each person can realize their own full potential. That’s a very different kind of world. And I know we can do that because we as humans have choices.”

The Problem: The Digital Divide in Plain Sight

The mission to provide technology was catalyzed by a single, powerful moment. While running a backpack drive, Alison discovered a grade 11 student volunteer doing all of her schoolwork on a small smartphone.

“A student who wanted to be a nurse... was restricted and limited to a small device. And there was no solution for her at the time through the school or anyone else. So that’s when equity became an important part for me personally... we needed to set her up for success.”

This realization launched the “computers are the new backpacks” initiative, recognizing that in a digital world, a laptop is not a luxury but an essential tool for education and opportunity.

The Refurbishing Engine: From E-Waste to Opportunity

Getting a computer from a donor to a person in need is a complex logistical process that the Let’s Get Together team has refined into a scalable system. It’s a journey with several key steps.

Step 1: Collection and Data Security

It starts with donations from the community and corporations. The first and most critical step is ensuring data privacy. Donors can have their data professionally wiped with a certificate, or they can remove the hard drive themselves. As Alison notes, “Truth, truly, all we really want is the shell of the computer.”

Step 2: Triage and Assessment

Next, every device is carefully assessed. The team checks for major issues to decide if it can be reliably refurbished. As Alison explains, “we don’t want to pass along a problem to someone who’s already experienced a lot of struggles.” Devices that don’t make the cut are either used in “computer anatomy workshops” to teach students about hardware or are responsibly recycled.

Step 3: The Tech Transformation

Viable laptops move on to the technical transformation. During the pandemic, their model was revolutionized when a volunteer introduced them to the world of open-source software.

“One of our angels, our tech angels came in, a man named Andrew, who introduced us to the Ubuntu world and the Linux world.”

Using a specialized system, the team installs a fresh, custom version of Ubuntu Linux on each machine. This secure and lightweight operating system makes older hardware run like new, providing a perfect platform for school and work.

Step 4: Community-Powered Completion

The final step is where the community truly comes together. The re-imaged laptops are handed over to volunteers, many of whom have no technical background. Following a clear, documented process, they complete the final refurbishment, learning valuable tech skills along the way.

The Vision: Scaling to Solve the Digital Divide

With a proven model that has already distributed over 4,000 computers and kept nearly 70,000 lbs of e-waste out of landfills in just seven months, the vision is to scale the solution across Canada by establishing local “Tech for All hubs”.

“If every corporation was able to donate even 3%, 5% of their unwanted technology... we would be changing lives and changing generations and the economy.”

The ultimate goal is ambitious and clear: to solve this problem in Canada by 2030, if not sooner.

Alison’s story is a powerful reminder that technology is not just about hardware; it’s a medium for human connection and potential. By putting people first, Let’s Get Together has created a scalable, community-driven model that doesn’t just recycle electronics, but recycles opportunity for thousands of Canadians.

Links:

Support on Open Collective: https://opencollective.com/lets-get-together
Official Website: https://www.letsgettogether.ca/
Canada Digital Success Dashboard: https://tech4all-test.letsgettogether.ca/canada-digital-dashboard

Credits:

Designed by the Research Labs Platform
Produced by SundayPyjamas®
Created & Hosted by Prathamesh Patel
Podcast Strategy & Production by Nishi Panchal
Music: Ukiyo - Calling (EP)
Copyright of SundayPyjamas Inc. 2025

#81 Building AI RAG Systems, Vector Databases and Information Theory

Prathamesh Patel — Thu, 01 May 2025 19:01:34 GMT

In this episode, Dr. Majid explores the intersection of edge AI and information theory. He shares his vision of running AI efficiently on small devices while preserving privacy and reducing energy consumption.

Dr. Majid explains how his company developed a unique approach to retrieval augmented generation (RAG) for edge devices by redefining what "relevance" means through information theory. Their solution uses Shannon's theory of information as the foundation to compress vector signals into binary format, making operations extremely fast and efficient while maintaining accuracy.

The conversation covers:

The vision behind running AI on edge devices instead of large cloud servers
How their universal relevance score helps control what context gets passed to language models
The mathematical foundations in information theory that make their approach unique
Dr. Majid's journey from atmospheric science to AI, and how his PhD research on weather forecasting led to these breakthroughs
The real-world applications and benefits of their technology in making RAG systems more accurate and reliable

Dr. Majid also discusses the challenges of deploying AI systems we don't fully understand, the mystery of vector spaces in neural networks, and how their approach provides more mathematical control over AI behavior.

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The Vision: AI That Lives on Your Device

Dr. Majid's journey into edge AI began with a simple but powerful vision: AI should be accessible to everyone, not just tech giants with massive GPU clusters.

"My vision was that AI is going to change many things. It's going to change industry, how people work, finances, many aspects of people's lives... But going forward, it makes sense to run AI on small devices because there will be technology... especially large language models would become smaller and smaller, and on the other side, the computational capacity of devices has become better and better even on tiny devices like your phone."

This vision isn't just about accessibility—it's about fundamentally changing our relationship with AI:

"If that's the case, it makes a lot more sense for people to do that, the first thing being preserving your privacy and data and having control over your own AI system. The second thing is, of course, energy consumption. You preserve a lot of energy by putting less pressure on those giant servers."

The Problem: Knowledge Bottlenecks and Computational Limits

The challenge Dr. Majid identified was two-fold: language models have limited knowledge despite being trained on vast datasets, and edge devices have severe computation and memory constraints.

"There is a limitation to how much knowledge these language models have. They have been trained on a vast amount of knowledge, but they have not incorporated all of that knowledge. So they have extract of everything, a tiny extract of all different knowledge base."

His solution? Apply retrieval augmented generation (RAG), but with a twist—redefining what "relevance" means through information theory:

"On tiny devices, the problem of space and computation is extreme... You don't have much memory or computation left to do the retrieval... and that's where our product comes in. We have redefined what similarity means in terms of like semantic similarity."

The Innovation: Shannon's Information Theory Applied to Modern AI

What makes Dr. Majid's approach unique is its foundation in Claude Shannon's theory of information:

"Our way of defining relevance is kind of revolutionary. It's unique. It combines information theory for encoding or Shannon's theory of information which compresses the signals of the vectors, gives you a binary, and then on the binary space you can do operations very fast and efficiently because you're just doing XOR, which is the most fundamental function that all computers do."

This approach not only makes operations faster but actually improves accuracy:

"It was getting a 40% higher score at the end for every question answer compared to Euclidean distance or cosine transform that are usually used in all similarity measurements."

Universal Relevance Scores

Perhaps the most valuable aspect of Dr. Majid's work is the creation of a universal relevance score:

"People who are in the know of RAG development, they know how valuable it is to have a universal score. Because all these rerankers are trying to do it. But if you have the score from the get-go, you just know where to put your thresholds, which parts of the context you want to pass to LLM, which part you want to keep away from the LLM."

This creates powerful security benefits as well:

"Having this universal relevance score helps you to limit that... you put a threshold on the relevance limit and anything below that threshold is never passes the quality test to be passed to LLM. That also gives you leverage to create built-in security measures."

From Weather Forecasting to AI

Fascinatingly, Dr. Majid's breakthrough came from his PhD work in atmospheric science, where he was trying to improve rain and snow forecasts:

"In my PhD defense, one of the problems is comparing forecast to observation—what does the accuracy of a forecast mean? I did a deep dive into that and I found that at the core of it, you just have a binary comparison of two binary signals."

This led him to information theory and a realization:

"When I learned about Shannon's theory, it was like a big turn on my head. It is not just mathematical, it's like a fundamental physics rule as well."

The Mystery of Neural Networks

Dr. Majid also offers a sobering perspective on our understanding of how language models actually work:

"We make a lot of assumptions about what's happening in the n-dimensional vectorial space of these LLMs or neural networks. But we don't know... the space of vectors, the n-dimensional space is an unknown space."

This has serious implications for AI safety:

"A lot of guardrails and security systems that are being built for AI, they use AI to monitor AI. Basically, they ask politely to AI that you should not do that... but if we understand the vectorial space and we can map them to lower dimensions... this gives us a lot more reliable control over what's happening."

What's Next: Making It Available to Everyone

Dr. Majid and his team are preparing to launch their technology, which they've named "Moorche" (Persian for "ant"):

"Ants have a search algorithm that is one of the most efficient search algorithms that is there in nature. You know how the ants go around and find food? It's fascinating. Each ant is the explorer that goes and finds things."

Their approach promises to make retrieval augmented generation both more accurate and more efficient—potentially transforming how we implement AI on the edge.

Dr. Majid's work represents a fascinating convergence of classical information theory and cutting-edge AI. By rethinking how we measure relevance and similarity in vector spaces, the Edge AI team is making it possible to run sophisticated AI applications on devices with limited resources, all while potentially improving their accuracy and security.

Links:

https://www.edgeaiinnovations.com/

Dr. Majid’s Research Papers: https://scholar.google.ca/citations?user=iCsHW4EAAAAJ&hl=en

Moorche Serverless RAG Demo:

Further Reading about the Episode: https://suite.sundaypyjamas.com/share/23b32843-86dd-42cf-8367-18308bfd5666

Credits:

Produced by SundayPyjamas®

Created & Hosted by Prathamesh Patel

Podcast Strategy & Production by Nishi Panchal

Music: Ukiyo - Calling (EP)

E80: BioTech, Government Policy & Life in Politics

Prathamesh Patel — Mon, 28 Apr 2025 15:02:19 GMT

Links:

https://bioaro.com/

https://bioaro.com/biosport

Further Reading about the Episode: https://suite.sundaypyjamas.com/share/7edfc39a-51c5-467e-a7ca-b089da0c4b2d

…

About SundayPyjamas AI Suite:

Join the Pilot Program: https://cal.com/sundaypyjamas/pilot

Learn more: https://suite.sundaypyjamas.com/

...

Credits:

Produced by SundayPyjamas®

Created & Hosted by Prathamesh Patel

Podcast Strategy & Production by Nishi Panchal

Music: Ukiyo - Calling (EP)

E79: War, Drones, AI & Defense Tech

Prathamesh Patel — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 00:31:27 GMT

In this episode, Gabe discusses the current state of global defense and emerging trends in defense technology. He shares his insights on the historical context of World War I, the role of Canadian defense tech, and the growing use of drones in military operations. Gabe also talks about Psycraft's work in this field and how the company is driving innovation in defense technology.

...

Links:

https://psycraft.ca/

https://psycraft.ca/preysight/

#78 Physical AI, Robotics & Understanding North America's VC Ecosystem

SundayPyjamas — Mon, 28 Oct 2024 18:36:18 GMT

We explored the fascinating world of physical AI with Jasmeet, a robotics expert.

Key highlights:

Diverse Canadian Incubator Ecosystem: Canada offers specialized incubators across various fields, promoting entrepreneurship like no other region.
Introduction to Physical AI: Jasmeet defines physical AI as the integration of hardware and AI, enabling real-time learning and interaction.
Technical Breakdown: The system consists of hardware (sensors, motors) and software (data processing) that work together to enhance robotic capabilities.
Robot Butler Concept: A practical example of how physical AI can be applied in everyday life, showcasing navigation and human interaction.
Industrial Applications: Discussion on the transition of robotics from industrial settings to dynamic environments like hotels and homes.
Personal Journey in Robotics: Jasmeet shares his lifelong passion for electronics and how it led to a career in robotics.
Challenges in Hardware Access: Issues with accessing quality robotics hardware in India are highlighted, along with the guest's startup initiative to address this.
Supply Chain Innovations: The startup aims to consolidate the supply chain for robotics hardware, improving access to quality components.
Future Vision: An optimistic outlook on how physical AI will enhance daily life and improve human-robot interactions.

...

Credits:

Produced by SundayPyjamas®

Created & Hosted by Prathamesh Patel

Podcast Strategy & Production by Nishi Panchal

Music: Ukiyo - Calling (EP)

#77 Decoding Human Nature and Leveraging Conversational AI to Unlock Human Potential

SundayPyjamas — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 13:01:42 GMT

In this insightful episode with Opher Brayer, we explore the intersection of human potential and artificial intelligence. Opher shares his unique upbringing, where his father's innovative teaching methods shaped his approach to learning and pattern recognition. The conversation delves into the power of generative AI in reshaping mindsets and enhancing human performance. Opher emphasizes the importance of adaptability, continuous learning, and overcoming biases for personal and professional growth. He discusses the role of efficiency and usefulness in both personal development and business contexts, and how ImproAI's coaching methodology leverages AI to accelerate behavior change and unlock human potential at scale. Opher also touches on the importance of cultural awareness, the impact of biases on decision-making, and the potential of AI to revolutionize education and personal development.

Episode Highlights:

Opher Brayer and Prathamesh discuss the transformative power of AI and its impact on human potential and performance.
Insights into Opher's unique upbringing and educational approach, focusing on pattern recognition and polymath thinking.
Exploration of the role of biases in decision-making and how to overcome them for personal and professional growth.
Discussion on the importance of efficiency and usefulness in both personal development and business contexts.
The future potential of AI in enhancing human capabilities and unlocking individual potential at scale.

Key Takeaways:

1. Unique Educational Approach

Opher shared his unconventional upbringing: "My father developed a unique methodology just for me to train me, which basically was how to turn me into a polymath thinker." This approach laid the foundation for his innovative work in enhancing human performance.

2. The Power of Pattern Recognition

The importance of pattern recognition was emphasized throughout the conversation. Opher explained, "When you look at patterns, you can understand the world, and when you can break the patterns into parts, you can design your world for yourself."

3. AI's Role in Personal Development

The integration of AI into personal development has opened new possibilities. Opher noted, "With AI, I found that I could replicate my knowledge, my skills, my patterns, everything in there."

4. Overcoming Biases

Addressing biases is crucial for personal growth. Opher shared, "You want to open the door? You have to say, 'I cannot do this yet.'" This simple change in language can significantly impact one's mindset and potential.

5. Efficiency and Usefulness

Opher stressed the importance of these two qualities: "Do something useful and be efficient." He believes these principles are essential for success in both personal and professional contexts.

In conclusion, our discussion with Opher Brayer underscores the importance of continuous learning, overcoming biases, and leveraging AI to unlock human potential. As we evolve alongside technology, sharing experiences and best practices will be essential for successfully navigating personal and professional growth in an AI-enhanced world.

Feel free to share your experiences and thoughts with us as we continue to uncover the best practices for human development in the age of AI.

Credits:
Designed by the Research Labs Platform
Produced by SundayPyjamas®
Created & Hosted by Prathamesh Patel
Podcast Strategy & Production by Nishi Panchal
Music: Ukiyo - Calling (EP)
Copyright of SundayPyjamas Inc. 2024

#76 Fractional Real Estate Investing and Ownership, Life in Boston as a Trader

SundayPyjamas — Tue, 10 Sep 2024 01:38:06 GMT

In our latest podcast episode, we had the pleasure of speaking with Vidhi Kankaria, the Founder & CEO of Vaar, who shared her insights on fractional real estate investing and her journey from being a trader in Boston to revolutionizing the real estate market.

Key Takeaways:

The Shift in Investment Mindset: Vidhi highlighted how many young professionals see real estate primarily as a future goal rather than an immediate investment opportunity. She aims to change this perception by showcasing real estate as a viable asset class.
Hands-On Market Research: Over a span of 14 days, Vidhi analyzed 120 properties across five major US cities: San Francisco, Seattle, New York, Boston, and Washington, D.C. This extensive research provided her with invaluable insights into market trends and investment opportunities.
The Importance of Data: "The truest truth is in the numbers. Numbers don't lie," Vidhi stated, emphasizing the need for data-driven decision-making in real estate investing. She believes that understanding the numbers behind an investment is crucial for success.
Real Estate as a Tangible Asset: Vidhi's vision for Vaar is to democratize access to real estate investments, making them as accessible and engaging as trading stocks. She likens her mission to that of Robinhood in the equities market, aiming to simplify the investment process for retail investors.
Addressing Barriers to Entry: Vidhi pointed out the high barriers to entry in real estate, including financial and regulatory challenges. Vaar aims to create a platform that lowers these barriers, making it easier for individuals to invest in real estate.

For Founders and Business Owners:

We’re offering a FREE 60-minute consulting workshop designed specifically for you. In this session, we’ll share actionable insights on how to design and develop user centric products and increase profitability.

Spaces are limited, so don’t miss out on this opportunity to get expert advice tailored to your needs.

Book a Call with Prathamesh

Credits:
Designed by the Research Labs Platform
Produced by SundayPyjamas®
Created & Hosted by Prathamesh Patel
Podcast Strategy & Production by Nishi Panchal
Music: Ukiyo - Calling (EP)
Copyright of SundayPyjamas Inc. 2024

#75 Reimagining Enterprise Software, Developer Productivity with Copilot AI

Robert Wood — Mon, 12 Aug 2024 12:31:11 GMT

Episode Highlights:

Robert Wood & Prathamesh discuss the evolution of software development and the impact of AI on developer productivity.
Insights into how AI tools like GitHub Copilot are changing the programming landscape, making English a new programming language.
Exploration of the implications of AI on project planning, solution delivery, and the overall developer experience.
Discussion on the integration of AI in various stages of software development, from requirements gathering to coding.
The future potential of AI in enhancing system design and enterprise solutions.

Leave a comment

In our latest podcast episode with Robert Wood, a Solution Architect, based in Toronto, Canada, with over 26 years at Microsoft, we explored the dynamic world of enterprise software and his distinguished work through Microsoft with public sector organizations like the Government of Ontario. Our discussion covered a range of topics from the rapid pace of technological change and the impact of AI on developer productivity to navigating legacy systems and technical debt.

Key Takeaways:

1. Technological Change and Learning Tools

Robert highlighted the challenge of keeping up with constant tech advancements: "I worry that people don't get a chance to invest the time it takes to learn their tools.” This sentiment reflects a common struggle among developers adapting to quick shifts in technology and platforms.

2. Legacy Systems versus Modern Solutions

The discussion highlighted the balancing act organizations face when managing legacy systems while adopting new technologies. Robert noted, “Microsoft has technologies for the legacy folks and those that are more progressive,” underscoring the need for versatile solutions that accommodate different levels of technological adoption.

3. AI's Role in Developer Productivity

The integration of AI into development workflows has shifted the paradigm. Robert explained, “With AI and the built-in copilots, it's the other way around now.” AI tools now enhance productivity by pulling in relevant knowledge based on the context of what developers are trying to achieve.

4. Managing Technical Debt

Addressing technical debt is crucial for IT sustainability. Robert shared, “People probably need fewer new systems and need to focus more on their technical debt." Effective management of technical debt ensures that legacy systems remain functional and secure.

5. Cultural Differences Across Industries

Industries vary significantly in their tech adoption and IT practices. Robert praised the Government of Ontario for their progressive approach, “I actually put them fairly high up in terms of their adoption of the latest and greatest in technologies,” challenging common perceptions about public sector IT.

The Future of AI in Software Development:

As we continue to navigate the complexities of modern IT, Robert's insights provide valuable guidance for integrating new technologies with existing systems. He emphasized that while AI is currently enhancing specific aspects of development, there is still significant potential for broader applications. The conversation concluded with a call to action for developers to embrace these changes and continuously adapt their skills to thrive in an evolving landscape.

In conclusion, our discussion with Robert Wood underscores the importance of balancing technical skills, addressing legacy issues, and advocating for modernized solutions in software development. As organizations evolve, sharing experiences and best practices will be essential for successfully modernizing and sustaining technological frameworks.

Feel free to share your experiences and thoughts with us as we continue to uncover the best practices for modern software engineering.

#74 Raising $3.7M for Pet Tech, Insights on Hardware Manufacturing & Building Product for Gen Z

Richard Nilsson — Sun, 21 Jul 2024 18:33:55 GMT

Leave a comment

Episode Highlights:

We covered:

- Raising $3.7M for pet tech startup, crowdfunding support & challenges

- Insights on hardware design & manufacturing

- Building a data-driven product for gen Z

Links:

https://mypetgo.com/

Download on the App Store: https://apps.apple.com/vn/app/mypetgo-pet-wellness-monitor/id1569965171

Get it on Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=asia.rhinoventures.mpg_tracker&pcampaignid=sundaypyjamas

Galaxy Store: https://galaxystore.samsung.com/detail/asia.rhinoventures.mpg_tracker

Huawei App Gallery: https://appgallery.huawei.com/app/C107407735

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#73 Personalized Drug Discovery through AI & BioGenetics

SundayPyjamas — Sun, 14 Jul 2024 19:27:00 GMT

Episode Highlights:

We covered:

- his personal journey: daughter's rare genetic condition leading to startup

- challenges in genetic testing and counseling in the US

- building an AI-powered genetics platform for rare disease research

- assembling a diverse team of experts to tackle complex medical issues

- using AI to repurpose existing drugs for rare disease treatment

During our conversation, Gavenraj shares insights on patient advocacy, healthcare innovation, and the power of determination in the face of medical challenges.

Links:

https://maddiebio.com/

#52 Diabetes Care with AI

SundayPyjamas — Tue, 09 May 2023 13:29:32 GMT

https://diabeteslab.org/

https://dlabs.ai/

Credits: Designed by the Research Labs Platform

Produced by SundayPyjamas

Created & Hosted by Prathamesh Patel

Podcast Strategy & Production by Nishi Panchal

Music: Ukiyo - Calling (EP)

Copyright of Sunday Pyjamas Private Limited 2023

#51 Creativity in the Generative AI Era

SundayPyjamas — Fri, 05 May 2023 05:50:50 GMT

In this episode, we hear the story of Swapnil's journey from childhood to becoming a successful marketing entrepreneur. Swapnil shares how college was a turning point for him, where he discovered his passion for brand building and advertising. After working in advertising for some time, he ventured out on his own and started his own agency, where he was able to explore the digital marketing wave.

In addition to sharing his experiences, Swapnil also delves into his latest passion - generative AI - and how it has the potential to transform productivity and automate many aspects of our daily lives. He assesses the impact of generative AI and shares his insights on how it will make people more productive.

This episode is a great listen for anyone interested in entrepreneurship, marketing, and the role of technology in shaping our lives and businesses.

Message from Swpanil:

Always be learning, always be growing. This has been my mantra for years - which has helped me achieve goals in personal and professional spheres of life.

I quit my full-time job months before pandemic, and that has led me to some of the most fulfilling days of my life, as well as some of the darkest days. They make good stories.

Promotion Code for Pitchery:

I am launching Pitchery - a research and pitch service for small and medium agencies who want to pitch for bigger businesses with confidence. http://www.pitchery.xyz/

Listeners of SundayPyjamas can use the code SPP25 to get a flat 25% off on their first month of subscription.

Credits:

Designed by the Research Labs Platform

Produced by SundayPyjamas

Created & Hosted by Prathamesh Patel

Podcast Strategy & Production by Nishi Panchal

Music: Ukiyo - Calling (EP)

Copyright of Sunday Pyjamas Private Limited 2023

#50 Notes & Nodes: The Journey of a Violinist-Engineer

Jess Ingrassellino, EdD — Tue, 18 Apr 2023 16:30:57 GMT

In this episode, Jessica shares her experience starting as a violin & viola player from a very young age to becoming an engineering manager for the lingua franca of cloud - HashiCorp. Along the way, Jessica and Prathamesh also highlight how working across different professions across industries can often create 'invisible walls' in the minds of people, and how important it is to break through these to realize true human potential.

She's currently building her education startup called Anleiten, which is helping build a community of educators and schools that can share resources and drive growth for their students. Being a passionate violin/viola player, she had her music education background from Columbia University and also is a part of numerous orchestra performances.

About Jessica:

Jess Ingrassellino, EdD, is a leader in the software and education industries, an engineering manager, and founder of education company Anleiten. She’s an accomplished violinist and violist, performing in several regional orchestras, and a published author of articles, courses, and books.

https://www.jessingrassellino.com/

https://www.anleiten.com/

https://www.consul.io/

Explore More:

Read our newsletter The SundayPyjamas Perspective: https://sundaypyjamas.substack.com/

Join the Startup Program: https://sundaypyjamas.com/startup-program

Credits:

Designed by the Research Labs Platform

Produced by SundayPyjamas

Created & Hosted by Prathamesh Patel

Podcast Strategy & Production by Nishi Panchal

Music: Ukiyo - Calling (EP)

Copyright of Sunday Pyjamas Private Limited 2023

#49 AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) Research

Prathamesh Patel — Mon, 03 Apr 2023 19:30:04 GMT

In this episode, Nick walks us through his process of understanding AGI, which has become so much more relevant with the latest release of GPT-4 by Open AI. He also shares examples of how human-level AGI is considered to be achieved like the Coffee Test (Wozniak) or Turing Test. Prathamesh and Nick also briefly discuss brain-computer interfaces.

Furthermore, Nick shares his experience building his startup which aims to reimagine the college experience. The Residency runs tight-knit cohorts where you can live and build with friends, develop your passion and get funded.

About Nick:

Nick worked as an AI researcher for 3 years at IBM before starting The Residency. He is excited to build a new college for the world where Artificial General Intelligence exists.

https://www.livetheresidency.com/

https://twitter.com/_theresidency

Credits:

Designed by the Research Labs Platform

Produced by SundayPyjamas

Created & Hosted by Prathamesh Patel

Podcast Strategy & Production by Nishi Panchal

Music: Ukiyo - Calling (EP)

Copyright of Sunday Pyjamas Private Limited 2023

#48 Emil Lamprecht on Female Health & Accelerator Programs

Prathamesh Patel — Mon, 27 Mar 2023 13:30:56 GMT

About Emil:

Emil is the CEO of Growth Mechanics, a portfolio of small companies he and his team have developed with a specific eye on research, impact, and the enjoyment of doing business for the right reasons.

A serial founder from the world of media and ed-tech, Growth Mechanics began as an international accelerator design and operations firm, having run over 800 startups through more than 50 programs in 34+ countries. It now focuses primarily on its portfolio in the topics of women's health, and tech for good.

...

https://growth-mechanics.com/

https://liveutifree.com/

http://interviewerr.com/

https://mintblue.com/

...

Credits:

Designed by the Research Labs Platform

Produced by SundayPyjamas

Created & Hosted by Prathamesh Patel

Podcast Strategy & Production by Nishi Panchal

Music: Ukiyo - Calling (EP)

#47 The Art of Building Venture Backed Product Companies

Prathamesh Patel — Sat, 18 Mar 2023 16:19:20 GMT

From an early age, Spencer recognized the value of using and building high-quality products. With this spirit, he has built and scaled multiple successful apps and websites. BuildBetter, his current venture, helps product operation teams with product research and AI insights. He shares his product-building process - right from exchanging ideas to building MVP to getting detailed feedback from customers. With that, he has gathered a deep understanding of establishing a great relationship with investors and reflects on how he initially learnt how to make the ask for money.

About Spencer:

Spencer is an entrepreneur with a passion for creating products that significantly enhance people's lives. He started his first business at 12, creating a virtual private server for World of Warcraft with a unique economy. At 13, he started a review video blog that turned into a website with over 1.3 million monthly hits, and he created his first mobile app called App List. At 14, he started Unparalleled Software and created two top-selling productivity apps featured in Mac|Life magazine. At 19, he founded WeDo, a life manager for students used at over 800 schools with 1.5 million users. He achieved impressive results with WeDo, including high retention, paid conversion, and LTV:CAC ratio. Before starting his current venture, BuildBetter, Spencer consulted for startups and served as VP/Head of Product for Seed - Series B companies.

Relevant Links:

https://www.buildbetter.ai/

https://sundaypyjamas.com/

Credits:

Designed by the Research Labs Platform

Produced by SundayPyjamas

Created & Hosted by Prathamesh Patel

Podcast Strategy & Production by Nishi Panchal

Music: Ukiyo - Calling (EP)

Multicloud & Building Serverless Architecture

Thorsten Höger — Sun, 12 Mar 2023 09:31:08 GMT

With numerous cloud providers constantly innovating and building new services, it is crucial for founders and engineers to have a confident understanding of which cloud provider is right for their product. The industry is witnessing a growing demand to avoid vendor lock-in, and multi-cloud appears to be the optimal solution. We’re still in the very early days and the coming decade promises to be thrilling for building modern applications.

Companies like Hashicorp are laying the foundation to enable the industry to embrace a multi-cloud future. While it’s still the early days, major cloud providers like VMware and Google have been predicting a multi-cloud future and are investing heavily in it.

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Recently, at a conference, Richard Seroter, Director of Developer Relations, shared Google Cloud’s perspective on multi-cloud:

Over half of all organizations using public cloud will freely switch their primary cloud provider as a result of the multi-cloud capabilities available.

Source: Google Cloud Tech on Youtube

And, it might as well come true. Given the growing adoption of multi-cloud, it surely has made its case as it tends to result into:

Optimized cost for computing resources - startups can use a mix of the most cost effective solutions out there
Improved reliability and resilience - workloads get distributed hence preventing service outages and data loss if one cloud fails
Flexible choices - reduce the barrier to entry for new users if they’re stuck at the cloud selection stage itself; for existing ones pivoting becomes easier

However, while multi-cloud has its benefits, it’s still unclear if it’s the right choice to make for small teams that are cost-conscious and in highly competitive markets. The operations and maintenance costs make it not a great first choice for most small teams. The complexity and costs will surely go down as the industry pushes for more innovation.

In our conversation with Thorsten, a Professional Cloud Consultant, we discuss how to build cloud infrastructure for a business problem. We further dig deeper into multi-cloud and serverless architecture strategies to uncover what are some things to keep in mind when building a product.

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We encourage you to send us your questions.

Relevant Links:

Thorsten Höger | AWS DevTools Hero

taimos.de

podcast.taimos.de

References:

Richard Seroter, Google Cloud Next '22 Developer Keynote

AWS Solutions for Hybrid and Multicloud

Google Cloud: Multicloud Solutions

Microsoft Azure: Multicloud and Hybrid cloud solutions

Oracle: Multicloud Solutions and Hybrid Cloud Deployments

Credits:

Hosted & Created by: Prathamesh Patel

Podcast Strategy & Production: Nishi Panchal

Research & Summary: Prathamesh Patel & Nishi Panchal

Music: Ukiyo - Calling (EP)

About SundayPyjamas:

We collaborate with innovative and bold startup teams to build the future with cutting-edge technology.

sundaypyjamas.com

#45 Revenue Engines for Web3 Startups, Living through The '08 Crisis

Prathamesh Patel — Mon, 27 Feb 2023 14:30:00 GMT

Scott discusses the revenue side of businesses and how to create scalable revenue engines. His focus is on Revenue operations and building revenue engines for technology companies. He talks about the intersection between data and web3 and how to engage customers to utilize these tools effectively.

...

Key Highlights

- 💰 Scott talks about Revenue Operations and creating scalable revenue engines for businesses.

- 🌐 He focuses on building revenue engines for technology companies in the web3 and artificial intelligence space.

- 🤖 He discusses the intersection between data and web3 and the potential for smart computing and AI.

- 🎯 His core focus is on engaging customers to utilize these tools effectively to achieve their desired outcomes.

- 💹 If done effectively, revenue and value should flow back into the companies generating these tools.

- 💼 CFOs have been leaving their jobs at banks to work for companies like Circle and help with sales and business problems.

- 💸 Companies with large amounts of cash in the bank are losing money due to inflation and fees, making revenue engines even more crucial.

📜 Message from Scott:

Scott is passionate about working with emerging innovative projects to drive value. Focused on go-to-market and shared value creation, Scott designs, builds, and delivers Revenue Engines.

Scott has past experience working with both Fortune 500 and Small Business; delivering business transformation through strategy, technology, and revenue operations. Scott has worked with the earliest-stage ventures helping them achieve first revenues, business strategy, and Seed funding since 2009. Since 2017, Scott has gone 'down the rabbit hole' on web3, and data as the future of commerce, founding or contributing at the earliest stages to multiple startups-projects across the industry. Whatever the technology paradigm, Scott believes Client-Stakeholder-Community Success is the value to be created.

Scott's greatest achievement is his brilliant, kind, and curious daughters.

🔗Links:

factorchain.ai

b2bbd.co

Credits:

Hosted & Created by: Prathamesh Patel

Podcast Strategy & Production: Nishi Panchal

Research & Summary: Prathamesh Patel & Nishi Panchal

Music: Ukiyo - Calling (EP)

#44 Cadence Lam on Product Cultures across Singapore & the US (ex- Meta, Twitter, Airbnb)

SundayPyjamas — Fri, 17 Feb 2023 04:00:34 GMT

📜 Message from Cadence:

I am a Product Lead who works on data-driven frontend tech products and is currently based in Singapore. I have 7+ years of Product, Ops and Growth experience. Currently at Gojek. Formerly at Meta, Twitter and Airbnb. Previously based in NYC and Florida too.

Building Risk Management Systems with Ramkumar from Arda, YC W22

Prathamesh Patel — Fri, 10 Feb 2023 10:30:33 GMT

Over the past two years, the world has been both amused and shocked by the emergence, growth, and evolution of the crypto industry. While the media and attention are primarily focused on BTC price charts and the not-so-great stories of Luna and FTX, there are incredible teams working on real problems to build a safer and better blockchain ecosystem for the future.

We had the opportunity to speak with some of the founders and engineers in the industry. Today, we are sharing an episode about one of these startups from India, Arda Finance (Y Combinator W22 Batch).

In the episode, Ramkumar Venkataraman, co-founder at Arda Finance, shares how he and Pranay started building a risk management platform that analyzes multiple chains to safeguard, monitor, and build custom on-chain automation using smart contracts.

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According to TechCrunch:

What it says it does:
“A single API for fintechs to embed DeFi products on their platform. This allows them to acquire more customers, retain these customers and increase revenue & engagement, all in a custodial, secure, & compliant way.”

Quick thoughts:
While trading stocks and crypto inside the same app has grown to be an expected feature of traditional trading apps, that same relationship hasn’t come to DeFi and traditional fintech services which live separate lives in separate apps and platforms.

From a technical perspective, the threat intelligence platform team at Arda is building leverages Smart Contract Analysis, AI & Machine Learning, Incident Response, as well as community integration in the DeFi Ecosystem, such as Wallets, Funds, and Protocols.

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About Ram:

Ram is an engineer who has built scalable systems from scratch at companies like Amazon, PayPal, Wise, and several startups. Most recently, he co-founded Arda (Y Combinator W22) and is building risk management systems for Web3, targeting institutions and high net-worth individuals.

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