On this episode of That Tech Pod, Laura and Kevin chat with Alex Heublein, President of Culture and Innovation at Netsurit, about what it actually takes for small and midsize businesses to modernize their tech without getting overwhelmed. Alex has spent time at major companies like IBM and Oracle, but he makes it clear why working with SMBs is often more rewarding: they’re nimble, adaptable, and ready to try new things, as long as those things make sense.

They dig into Netsurit’s approach to “Innovate as a Service,” a subscription-style model built around co-innovation, outcomes, and a mindset shift from traditional consulting. Alex also shares his framework for helping clients navigate the noise around AI, how to pick the right use cases, and why some businesses are better off waiting before diving in.

The conversation touches on everything from AI ethics and return on investment to why culture and tech have to evolve together. Plus, there’s a lighthearted trivia round on the inventors behind the internet, some talk about the future of augmented reality glasses, and a few laughs along the way. If you’ve ever wondered how to actually apply AI without just chasing trends, or what makes an IT partner worth working with, this one’s worth a listen.

Alex Heublein is the President of Culture and Innovation at Netsurit, where he focuses on helping small and midsize businesses navigate digital transformation, cybersecurity, and operational growth through practical, forward-thinking technology solutions. With a strong background in both business strategy and technical leadership, Alex has held senior executive roles at major tech companies including IBM, HP, Oracle, and Red Hat. His experience spans innovation strategy, IT modernization, cloud services, and organizational culture development. At Netsurit, he leads efforts to blend culture with technology, ensuring that companies not only adopt new tools but also build the internal mindset and processes to make them work.

In this episode, Laura and Kevin sit down with Bob Bodily, founder of Odin.fun, to talk about the wild ride of memecoins, Bitcoin's evolving role in the crypto ecosystem, and what the future might hold for decentralized tech. Bob breaks down how Odin.fun is rethinking the Bitcoin experience, from instant token creation to a gasless, wallet-agnostic interface that’s pulling in tens of thousands of users.

We discuss the growing risks in crypto including wallet drains, scams, and design flaws, and ask what platforms can do to protect users without killing the fun. Bob shares his thoughts on whether the rise of meme-driven platforms is a cultural shift or just another hype cycle, and weighs in on Bitcoin’s potential to support more complex applications without abandoning its core stability.

There’s also plenty of banter: Laura's optimism, Kevin’s crypto skepticism, and Bob’s grounded take on what’s real, what’s broken, and what could be next. Whether you’re a degenerate trader or just crypto-curious, this one gives you a smart, honest look at what’s going on under the hood.

Bob Bodily is the founder of Odin.fun, which pioneered instant memecoin creation and trading on Bitcoin and offers 2-second finality.

With Odin.fun, Bob has shown what’s possible with Bitcoin and helped silence the narrative that the network isn’t fast enough. After the first two months of operation, the platform amassed more than 60K users, 3000+ BTC in trading volume, and 15k+ tokens created, with 150+ hitting bonded status. Unlike Solana’s model, Odin.fun offers a gasless experience through chain abstraction tech, enables logins with any Bitcoin wallet, and uses a single-canister system to streamline operations. It’s a fresh take on Bitcoin’s capabilities, hinting at the broader potential for programmability on the network, which Bob can highlight to underscore the capabilities of the Bitcoin-native Layer 0 interoperability protocol.

On this episode of That Tech Pod, Laura and Kevin sit down with Alexander Patrushev, Head of Product for AI/ML at Nebius, a European cloud platform focused on machine learning infrastructure. Kicking things off, we unpack the buzz around China’s fully AI-powered “Agent Hospital,” raising questions about what role AI should play in medicine. Laura also shares a personal rant about navigating the healthcare system in search of real answers.

Then, Alex joins from Luxembourg to explain what Nebius does, who it's built for, and how it helps companies tackle ML workloads. He breaks down the common mistakes teams make when launching ML projects and why success depends more on people and processes than just tech. The conversation also goes into whether companies should host their own LLMs or use pay-per-token APIs, and how to approach that decision. Looking ahead, Alex challenges the idea that AI is inherently hard and shares what businesses should really be focusing on, from smarter software to evolving hardware needs, as AI infrastructure continues to grow. It's a thoughtful, practical look at the future of AI from someone who builds the tools to power it.

Alexander Patrushev is an experienced IT leader with over 15 years in the industry, including the past six focused on artificial intelligence. He currently serves as Head of Product for AI/ML at Nebius, a European cloud platform designed for building and deploying machine learning workloads. Based in Luxembourg, Alexander is known for his practical approach to solving real-world challenges faced by AI practitioners. He’s especially focused on delivering user-centric, innovative solutions, and believes strongly in the importance of in-house R&D to drive product excellence and stay ahead in a fast-moving space.