In this season two finale, I’m closing out the year with a story that pulls together tech, discipline, and modern leadership.
This episode spotlights Luana Lopes Lara, the youngest self-made woman billionaire in the world and co-founder of Kalshi, the regulated prediction market changing how people think about future events.
Before fintech, before MIT, and long before building an eleven-billion-dollar exchange, Luana was training as a professional ballerina. Years at the barre built the discipline, focus, and patience that later became the foundation for one of the most ambitious infrastructure companies in modern finance.
We break down what prediction markets actually are, why regulation became Kalshi’s differentiator, and how the company fought and won a historic legal battle to offer the first legal U.S. election markets in over a century.
At its core, this episode is about trusting the process. Doing the work long before the outcome is obvious, sticking with it when progress feels slow, and letting consistency quietly do its thing.
Thank you so much for listening this season. I’ll see you back here in February 2026 for season three!
Can a background in broadcast journalism make you a stronger product designer? In this episode of patch, I sit down with Grace Donoso, Managing Director of Content at BlackBerry and former UX designer, to explore her non-linear career path from the arts to the fast-paced world of cybersecurity.
Together, we talk about the art of User Experience (UX): why the best-designed apps feel so intuitive and how thoughtful content design can lead the charge in building better products. Grace shares her methods for writing simply about complex tech, introducing the idea of “invisible value,” or how to inspire trust and urgency without overwhelming users. She also reveals her outlining process that keeps her authentic in the age of AI.
In the lifestyle segment, we chat about her go-to West Coast athleisure staples (lulu, Nike + Beyond Yoga) for trail runs that keep her grounded in Seattle.
In this episode, we take a step back from the AI buzz to ask one of the biggest questions making headlines right now: is there an AI bubble?
AI is here to stay, but when hype and investment start moving faster than real progress, things can get shaky. Looking back at the dot-com era, we dig into what people actually mean when they talk about an “AI bubble,” why the real bottlenecks are infrastructure and energy, and how today’s boom compares to past tech cycles that changed the global economy.
In the lifestyle segment, Kirin shares her first patchperfect holiday work gift guide, a curated list of thoughtful, elevated picks for your family, friends, coworkers, and yes, a little something for yourself too.
patchperfect gift guide:
Frank Green Ceramic Water Bottle
Belkin BoostCharge Pro 3-in-1 Station
patchperfect is officially at episode 21 and legal. Today we dive into the tech landscape shaping 2026, guided by futurist and Forbes columnist Bernard Marr, whose work I genuinely love. We walk through his biggest predictions for the year including AI’s growing energy crisis, the shift to practical quantum computing, and how agentic AI is about to reshape the way we work. We also explore why human nuance, taste and emotional intelligence become real competitive advantages as AI moves from reaction to reinvention.
In the lifestyle segment, we look ahead to 2026 with my friend Liz Cox, a postdoctoral research scientist at Harvard Medical School. We break down the key workwear and wellness trends we expect to see next year and how to stay grounded, stylish and confident heading into January.
A futurist guided tech deep dive, a 2026 lifestyle preview and a full new year glow up in one episode.
This week on patch we kick it off with the 2025 Spotify Wrapped drop. Then, a spotlight on Mira Murati, former OpenAI CTO and now founder of Thinking Machines Lab. Raised in post-communist Albania, she found stability in math and physics before building a career across Goldman Sachs Tokyo, Tesla’s Model X and Autopilot, Leap Motion, and ultimately OpenAI, where she helped shape dialogue-based interfaces like ChatGPT’s. Her new startup’s tool, Tinker, makes fine-tuning models like Llama surprisingly simple, even with minimal code.
In the lifestyle segment, we peek at her crisp personal style, including that clean, minimalist 2024 Met Gala look... to get the human side of one of AI’s most influential builders.
This week on patch: a quick AI update on Google’s “Nano Banana Pro” (thinking partner > pretty pics), then a primer on privacy in 2025 with Canadian lawyer & privacy pro Neil Proudfoot (views expressed on this show are his own).
In this episode, Neil explains what privacy truly means in 2025, how AI systems collect and learn from personal data, and why global regulation is splitting into two competing philosophies: Europe’s rights-first model and America’s innovation-first approach. We also unpack Law 25, Canada’s strongest privacy law to date, and what Canadians should know before trusting any AI tool with their data. Plus Neil's A-D-S checklist: Autonomy, Dignity, Safety. In the lifestyle segment we chat with Neil about how he’s staying grounded as a new dad.
Zoe Seguev did not follow a traditional path into crypto, and that is exactly what makes her perspective so rare. With an MSc in anthropology from the London School of Economics, her career has always focused on understanding people, systems, and the mechanics of trust. That lens carried her through consulting, operations, fintech, and eventually into one of the most demanding areas of modern finance: crypto compliance.
Today she is the Chief Compliance Officer at Tetra Trust, Canada’s first qualified digital asset custodian and the regulated vault responsible for keeping billions in digital assets safe from hacks, loss, or misuse. In this episode Zoe explains what crypto actually means in 2025, why custody sits at the foundation of digital finance, and how stablecoins are quickly becoming the quiet infrastructure behind a new global money system. She brings clarity to a space that often feels chaotic and shows how governance, oversight, and well-designed controls matter far more than hype cycles or price swings.
We also cover what people most misunderstand about regulation, how institutions are driving adoption, and why compliance remains the invisible layer that prevents collapse in an industry defined by speed and risk.
In our lifestyle segment we get Zoe’s take on showing up well at work, including the wardrobe pieces she relies on to stay polished in the C-suite. We also talk about Tetra Digital Group’s recent ten million dollar raise to build a Canadian dollar stablecoin backed by banks, fintechs, and major technology companies. It is a clear signal that stablecoins are moving from the fringe into mainstream financial infrastructure and that Canada is ready to step into the global conversation.
This week, I sit down with Anuj Soni, reverse engineer, cybersecurity expert, YouTube creator, and founder of The Malware Lab at Breakpoint Cybersecurity. We talk about how malware actually works, the difference between viruses, worms, Trojans, ransomware, and phishing, and what really happens when systems get hit. Anuj also breaks down why reverse engineering is one of the most powerful tools in modern defense.
You’ll learn how to spot red flags of an infected device, understand major malware types in plain English, see how phishing turns into real compromise, and why reverse engineering powers better threat intel and products. There’s also a career patch on proving your skills without “required experience.”
In the lifestyle segment, Anuj walks us through the reverse engineer’s uniform, from WFH staples to his go-to Nike sneakers. Plus, a quick headline on Project Concord, South Korea’s AI-run data center and how automated power and workload management could reshape global infrastructure.
This week on patch, we're talking about intentionality in tech, in security, and in your personal power.
First, we discuss the massive new $1.2 billion partnership between Nvidia and Deutsche Telekom. This is more than just a cloud: it's Europe’s first industrial AI power plant, bringing sovereign computing closer to home and changing the game for European businesses.
Then, we dive into quantum readiness. Why are experts saying the time to upgrade your digital security is now? We explain what quantum computers will do to current encryption and why the people who plan ahead will be the ones who stay in control.
On the lifestyle front, we’re sharing two patches: my new obsession with Google's NotebookLM, the AI tool that makes learning feel effortless, and the Fall/Winter 2025 fashion trends to make you feel your best at your next tech event.
I sit down with my former business school classmate Glendon Haas, now a Director at an AI company, to break down why we may still be in the stone age of AI and what it takes for models to move from talking to actually doing. We get into agentic AI, practical tool use, and how deep research is becoming the new search function.
Glendon also explains why reinforcement learning can make models too agreeable and why discernment is the real human edge in the age of AI.
In the lifestyle segment, he shares the simple reset that keeps him grounded as a director and a dad: baking cookies.
When Amazon Web Services went down this week, a small glitch in Virginia knocked major apps and airlines offline around the world. In this solo episode, I break down what actually happened, why AWS is basically the “digital real estate” the internet runs on, and how one DNS error can make everything, from Alexa to Delta, hit pause.
We also zoom out to talk about our growing dependence on the cloud, what resilience really means in tech, and how moments like this are quietly shaping a smarter, more secure internet as we move into the post-quantum era.
In the lifestyle segment, I share a quick fall travel recap from D.C. and Montreal, the Zara long waxed trench coat that became my workwear MVP, and the Victoria Beckham Netflix soundtrack that has officially become my favorite work playlist this season.
I kick off this episode with a quick update on NVIDIA’s new DGX Spark, a desk-side AI supercomputer bringing serious compute power into home offices. Then we dive into fashion tech with Julia Dietmar, CEO and co-founder of OpenWardrobe, who is using AI to reinvent how we shop, style, and sustain what we wear.
After two decades building product at Yahoo, Walmart, Vue.ai, and ThredUp, Julia saw firsthand how overproduction and waste shape the fashion industry. She shares how OpenWardrobe evolved from a simple digital closet into an AI-powered ecosystem that recognizes your clothes, tracks cost per wear, estimates resale value, and connects you to stylists, repairs, and alterations. We also get into Style Blueprint, her color analysis tool, and Lola AI, the recommendation engine pairing items you would never think to put together.
In the lifestyle segment, Julia shares her “founder formula”: structured silhouettes, the wide-leg black trousers she cannot live without, and her favorite behavioral psychology read right now, Pre-Suasion by Robert Cialdini — a book blending influence, marketing, and human psychology.
Follow OpenWardrobe on Instagram: @openwardrobeofficial
That is a wrap on Season One. Over the last 12 weeks, we broke down data science in plain English, explored how AI is reshaping fashion and family businesses, looked at blockchain’s role in vaccine delivery, and talked about navigating grief in the middle of a tech career.
This highlight reel brings together some of my favorite moments with guests who made us laugh, think, and rethink what “tech and lifestyle” can look like.
We are back on October 15 with Season Two: new guests, big ideas, and the same mix of sharp insights with a sprinkle of lifestyle.
Episode 10 is here! We’re celebrating hitting double digits with a quick and lively top 10 summer tech rundown for 2025.
From neuromorphic chips inspired by the brain to quantum computing breakthroughs, smarter wearables, green tech, and smarter smart homes, we cover the biggest trends reshaping your daily life. Plus, stick around for the lifestyle segment with my fave picks for eye patches (the chic kind, not pirate), weighted vests, quick workouts, indoor plants, and pastel workwear vibes. Perfect for your walk, drive, or quick break.
Blockchain has been a hot topic for a decade, but what about its real-world impact? I sit down with Arun Maharajan, Blockchain Technology Lead at UNICEF’s Office of Innovation, to talk about how his team uses blockchain to deliver vaccines, support microfinance, and bring transparency to humanitarian aid.
Arun walks us through tracking cold-chain data for vaccines in Bangladesh, helping youth entrepreneurs in Burundi access microloans, and how blockchain has evolved from Bitcoin to the privacy-preserving systems used today.
We also talk about what it takes to bridge cutting-edge innovation with field work in some of the world’s most challenging environments.
In the lifestyle segment, Arun shares stories from his Italy trip, playing at Rockin’1000, why travel is his reset ritual, and his winter goal of taking a dip in a very, very cold pool.
Enjoy.
This episode is not about hangers and ticket stubs. It is about barcoded garments, AI-inspired workflows, and the quiet tech revolution happening inside a nearly 100-year-old business.
I sit down with Linley McConnell, VP of Gibson’s Cleaners, to talk about how she is reinventing an iconic Toronto family brand with automation, sustainability, and a very chic approach to customer care.
We get into her pivot from consulting and media, the reality of imposter syndrome, and what it really takes to modernize a legacy business people rarely associate with innovation.
In the lifestyle segment, we rapid-fire through eucalyptus Equinox towels, capsule wardrobes, how often you actually need to dry clean a blazer, and the age-old debate: is folding your clothes ruining your week?
Follow Linley!
Instagram: @laundrywithlinley
TikTok: @laundrywithlinley
I couldn’t let you step into August without talking about one of the biggest (and strangely quiet?) tech drops of the year: ChatGPT’s new Agent.
In this episode, Kirin breaks down:
As a marketer, Kirin also shares why the ChatGPT demo video is a masterclass in storytelling, and why watching polished tech demos is one of the best ways to learn how tools actually work.
And of course, the lifestyle segment:
This one’s special. Today on patchperfect, I’m joined by my friend Fran, a marketing leader, spin and pilates instructor, and one of the most quietly resilient people I know, to talk about something we rarely hear discussed in high-performance spaces: grief.
Fran lost both of her parents before turning 30, all while building a high-impact career in tech (Meta, Shopify, X…just to name a few). We talk about what it’s really like to show up to meetings, meet deadlines, and perform in fast-paced, high-achieving cultures when your personal world is quietly falling apart.
We get into:
And in the lifestyle segment, we talk about the quiet rituals that help Fran reconnect with herself. 5AM mornings, intentional outfits, white noise, magnesium lotion, and why showing up to a workout class can spark more than just a sweat. Sometimes it’s the beginning of feeling like yourself again. This episode is for anyone holding it together while falling apart inside.
For anyone processing loss while trying to stay high-functioning. And for anyone looking for soft ways to feel human again.
Cybersecurity might sound like code and firewalls, but at its core it is deeply human. In this birthday-themed episode, I walk through the fast-moving, high-stakes world of cyber and the tech that inspired me to launch this podcast.
We break down key terms like malware, phishing, ransomware, and zero-days, explore the real roles behind the scenes like SOC analysts, threat hunters, intel teams, and incident responders, and look at how frameworks like NIST help organizations stay resilient.
If you have ever wanted a clear, simple understanding of how defenders protect us every day, this episode is for you. Enjoy.