

Axelerant’s Director of Partnerships, Piyush Poddar, interviews the leaders in digital who are transforming platforms for big brands the world over. Listen in to hear the human stories behind their successes and failures, and what it takes to change experiences online for the better.
Podcast Episodes
George DeMet: On Building A Remote-First, Sustainable Business & Enabling Regeneration With Open Source
From following his passion for building websites to establishing Palantir.net over 25 years ago, George has continuously been focused on creating an impact on the community. His approach of putting the human factor at the heart of every organizational decision presents a fresh perspective on how companies should function, especially in the post-pandemic era.
Teri Sun: Wild Safari Rides, B2Me, And Creating Augmented Reality Experiences
She joined White Rhino straight out of college and today is the Chief Strategy Officer there. She helped develop an augmented reality application that allows a urologist to place a state-of-the-art medical equipment right in their living room and interact with from their mobiles. A much-needed development now that the pandemic has cancelled the option of casually walking around in a trade show.
Jessica Drislane: Private Equity, Lewis Carroll & Incubating The First Research Project Out Of Harvard
Jessica Drislane worked in private equity for more than 20 years, where she helped connect entrepreneurs building amazing things to investors who were looking for promising teams. And then she ended up using her experience to co-found OpenScholar, helping research institutes set up professional-looking websites with ease.
Jeff Walpole: Telecom Sales, Creating An Internal CRM System For The NFL, On How Tech Unites Us, & More
He started Phase2 because he and his teammates were fired after the burst of the Internet bubble. Today, his company helps people of color and women get the training they need for a career in technology.
Dave Terry: Nonlinear Paths, Answering A Tech Ad In Paper To Co-Founding An Agency
He started his first business in his mid-twenties, collaborating with a business partner out of a makeshift office: a one-bedroom apartment and a shared computer. Later, he co-founded Mediacurrent, one of the most recognizable agencies in Drupal.
Michael Meyers: On Work Ethic, Startup Burnout, & Making Change At Acquia & Tag1
With a history of clocking long hours, Michael Meyers has been working to the brink since he was in High School, using a hammer drill to install circuit cables for $15 an hour. From there till becoming CTO of a Top 50 site, and then Tag1, it’s been an adventure.
Mitchell Lawson: Rescue Swimming, Special Projects, & Man’s Search For Meaning
After solving big problems as a rescue swimmer in the U.S.Navy, Mitchell focused on solving a different kind of problem set in the recently impacted world travel industry: bringing a digital-first mindset to Lonely Planet—one of the biggest names in global tourism.
Bill Whitebone: Ditching The Comfort Zone, Drupal, EdTech & Racing Cars
His career has been focused on delivering professional services and customer success for rapid growth product and services companies like NBC Sports, Staples, Pfizer, and Acquia. Today, he runs his own company: Advance Velocity. We’re speaking with Bill.
Sam Zimmerman: Kitchens, Psychic TV, & Data Ethics
He drives digital transformation roadmaps for some of the biggest nonprofits and NGOs at the agency that led digital strategy for Obama’s historic ‘08 campaign.
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Host
Piyush Poddar With over 15 years of sales experience in digital services and having hosted exclusive Agency Leaders Dinners for CEOs globally, Piyush has taken his penchant for engaging digital change-makers online with “Humans Behind Digital Experiences (DX),” an Axelerant Podcast. His goal is to host an uncommon conversation that goes deeper than the platforms big organizations run on today, to a level that’s more personal—more human. |