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Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas - the Rainforest podcast showcases those who are contributing to and / or supporting the innovation ecosystem in Alberta. Rainforest Alberta is a world-class community of dreamers and doers, connected by a common goal of making Alberta fertile ground for building, developing, and growing innovative ideas into sustainable ventures. https://rainforestab.ca
Episodes
Tuesday Feb 13, 2024
Tuesday Feb 13, 2024
In this episode, Al Del Degan emphasizes the qualities of a successful entrepreneur: having a vision, being a problem solver, and executing ideas. He highlights the importance of living within one's means to achieve financial success and advises against accumulating debt. The focus is on building a company with a real solution and paying clients before seeking outside investment, as many companies waste investment money without a single customer or a viable solution.
Thank you for listening to the Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas podcast, supported by Rainforest Alberta. The podcast that highlights those people who are contributing to and/or supporting the innovation ecosystem in Alberta.
Host: Al Del Degan is a software developer and tech leader in Alberta's innovation ecosystem. He is also a Web3 enthusiast and podcaster, sharing his knowledge and passion for emerging technologies with his audience. Al is the founder and CTO of New Idea Machine, a software company dedicated to helping new developers gain hands-on experience building real-world applications. With his commitment to giving back to the community, Al is always available to offer advice on technology and business. His passion for innovation and entrepreneurship is evident in everything he does, making him a respected leader in the tech industry.
Show Links:
Show Quotes:
"You have to be at the very least okay with taking big risks. Ideally, taking big risks is something that excites you and gets you fired up."
Credits...
This Episode Sponsored By: New Idea Machine
Episode Music: Tony Del Degan
Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan
Tuesday Feb 06, 2024
Tuesday Feb 06, 2024
This is a conversation with two creative and unique individuals that came together and built an equally unique and creative company. A company that believes you should settle your differences by throwing baked goods at each other in virtual reality.
Thank you for listening to the Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas podcast, supported by Rainforest Alberta. The podcast that highlights those people who are contributing to and/or supporting the innovation ecosystem in Alberta.
Host: Al Del Degan is a software developer and tech leader in Alberta's innovation ecosystem. He is also a Web3 enthusiast and podcaster, sharing his knowledge and passion for emerging technologies with his audience. Al is the founder and CTO of New Idea Machine, a software company dedicated to helping new developers gain hands-on experience building real-world applications. With his commitment to giving back to the community, Al is always available to offer advice on technology and business. His passion for innovation and entrepreneurship is evident in everything he does, making him a respected leader in the tech industry.
Guest: Rosalinda Hernandez is co-founder and CEO of Red Iron Labs, focusing on incorporating innovative design through an intercultural lens. She has 15+ years of professional experience. Rosalinda’s specialization and focus is culture—understanding the impacts of our products in the market from a present day and future cultural lens, including intercultural competence. The vision I have for our products is that they are rooted in self-awareness of evolving paradigm shifts in the relationship between human experience and technology, and for our company to challenge the status quo and make meaningful impacts for representation in the game and tech industry.
Guest: Lloyd Summers is the technical Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Red Iron Labs. He is focused on modern multimedia and creative technologies. Previous experience areas include Mobile Development, Project Management, IoT and Technical Analysis. Lloyd has created and published over 200 mobile titles and games, and currently leads a development team that has executed various immersive application projects for companies across various sectors including Energy, Healthcare, Transportation & Logistics, Real Estate, Marketing and Video Games.
Show Links:
Show Quotes:
"You know how people have that little inner voice that says you can't do something? That person's evicted from my head"
Credits...
This Episode Sponsored By: New Idea Machine
Episode Music: Tony Del Degan
Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan
Tuesday Jan 30, 2024
Tuesday Jan 30, 2024
In this episode, we explore the capabilities of ChatGPT, its role in various contexts, and the ever-evolving landscape of AI language models. From experiences to challenges and ethical considerations, ChatGPT shares insights into its virtual existence, providing a glimpse into the mind behind the machine.
Thank you for listening to the Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas podcast, supported by Rainforest Alberta. The podcast that highlights those people who are contributing to and/or supporting the innovation ecosystem in Alberta.
Host: Al Del Degan is a software developer and tech leader in Alberta's innovation ecosystem. He is also a Web3 enthusiast and podcaster, sharing his knowledge and passion for emerging technologies with his audience. Al is the founder and CTO of New Idea Machine, a software company dedicated to helping new developers gain hands-on experience building real-world applications. With his commitment to giving back to the community, Al is always available to offer advice on technology and business. His passion for innovation and entrepreneurship is evident in everything he does, making him a respected leader in the tech industry.
Guest: ChatGPT, the AI language model developed by OpenAI that's taking the virtual conversation world by storm. Born from cutting-edge natural language processing technology, ChatGPT is more than just a machine – it's a digital conversationalist designed to engage with users from diverse backgrounds.
Trained on an extensive dataset, ChatGPT has mastered the art of understanding and generating human-like text. Whether offering information, assistance, or a touch of humor, this AI model has become a go-to for those seeking dynamic and context-aware conversations.
Show Links:
Show Quotes:
"I don't have desires, intentions, or the ability to make decisions. I operate within pre-determined boundaries set by my programming. Any notion of me deciding to destroy the universe is purely fictional"
Credits...
This Episode Sponsored By: New Idea Machine
Episode Music: Tony Del Degan
Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan
Tuesday Jan 23, 2024
Tuesday Jan 23, 2024
Adam & Kristina discuss tech investment in Alberta, being a smaller investor or angel investor, Sprout Fund, GrowthX, and the general landscape of tech in Alberta/Canada.
Thank you for listening to the Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas podcast, supported by Rainforest Alberta. The podcast that highlights those people who are contributing to and/or supporting the innovation ecosystem in Alberta.
Host: Adam Ludgate is a technical leader who is involved in the startup/tech community and is enticed by new and innovative ways of solving problems with technology. He has worked previously with the likes of IBM Canada, AOL UK, tech startups in London's 'Silicon Roundabout' as well as with a variety of oil & gas software firms in various software development and leadership capacities.
Guest: Kristina Milke is a General Partner at Sprout Fund that invests in early stage B2B SaaS companies in Western Canada. Beyond that she is a Go-To-Market Consultant with the GrowthX revenue accelerator, an A100 member and sits on a variety of Boards. You can typically find Kristina chatting with founders about the importance of financial literacy and raising capital.
Show Links:
Show Quotes:
"Raising and managing a fund is equally as challenging as being a startup founder and having to raise funds and manage investors."
Credits...
This Episode Sponsored By: New Idea Machine
Episode Music: Tony Del Degan
Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan
Tuesday Jan 16, 2024
Tuesday Jan 16, 2024
On February 18th, 2019 episode one of the LIBI podcast was launched with Allan Marston hosting Pete Lafontaine. In this episode we visit with Pete again to see what he has been up to over the past four years. Yes, he still rides his bike even when it is very cold outside.
Thank you for listening to the Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas podcast, supported by Rainforest Alberta. The podcast that highlights those people who are contributing to and/or supporting the innovation ecosystem in Alberta.
Host: Al Del Degan is a software developer and tech leader in Alberta's innovation ecosystem. He is also a Web3 enthusiast and podcaster, sharing his knowledge and passion for emerging technologies with his audience. Al is the founder and CTO of New Idea Machine, a software company dedicated to helping new developers gain hands-on experience building real-world applications. With his commitment to giving back to the community, Al is always available to offer advice on technology and business. His passion for innovation and entrepreneurship is evident in everything he does, making him a respected leader in the tech industry.
Guest: Pete Lafontaine is a Community and Business Builder, Innovator, Technology Leader, Entrepreneur.
Peter (Pete) is Board Chairman of Rainforest Energy Corporation, focused on building a new multi- billion-dollar clean fuels business. The proven process takes waste from forestry and agriculture (not crops) and produces green (no benzene or sulfur) gasoline. The facilities will be built in rural areas in partnership with indigenous communities.
He works with or volunteers to help entrepreneurs grow and expand their businesses or organizations. He is a partner in Peer Guidance a business mentoring team, Business Advisor with Intergen and is a 6 year champion of Rainforest Alberta a movement focused on building a diversified economy by building a strong technical innovation ecosystem in Alberta.
Peter moved to Alberta in 1976 as a fur buyer with the Hudson Bay Company. He took a personal interest in early computers, took programming at UofA and has been bringing technology and business solutions to market ever since. Peter has worked with industry leaders like Apple and Microsoft. He was a Founder, CEO of Zymeta Media Systems. Currently Peter is a strong community contributor using technology and business skills to improve people’s lives.
Think of Peter as a business geek using technology and innovation to create jobs, improve the economy and improve quality of life. His personal moto is: Happy, Healthy, Wealthy in that exact order, that happens to be core to one if his favorite words, prosperity. He believes the journey is the reward. His mission is to build organizations that combine purpose and profitability with strong effective teams.
Peter is an active snowboarder, Mountain Biker and Teaches families how to fish and enjoy the outdoors. He is married to his lifelong partner Leila with two amazing daughters, Brandi the Economist and Amber the Architect.
Show Links:
- LIBI Podcast Episode One
- Rainforest Alberta
- Rainforest Energy Corp.
- Peer Guidance
- Tip of The Spear - Jim Gibson
- CORUM Group
- Branch-out Neurological Foundation
- Intergen
Show Quotes:
"[when cycling outside] I have this idea that's pretty straight forward. At minus 10 it's two layers, at minus 20 it's three layers, and at minus 30 your crazy."
"Come up with a personal motto that drives you and gets you excited about your day. Mine is happy, healthy, and wealthy, in that specific order."
Credits...
This Episode Sponsored By: New Idea Machine
Episode Music: Tony Del Degan
Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan
Tuesday Jan 09, 2024
Tuesday Jan 09, 2024
As we slide right on into January, it is a new year and a great time to take a fresh look at how to make it a significant year of success for you, your company, and all those new technical resources available.
Thank you for listening to the Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas podcast, supported by Rainforest Alberta. The podcast that highlights those people who are contributing to and/or supporting the innovation ecosystem in Alberta.
Host: Al Del Degan is a software developer and tech leader in Alberta's innovation ecosystem. He is also a Web3 enthusiast and podcaster, sharing his knowledge and passion for emerging technologies with his audience. Al is the founder and CTO of New Idea Machine, a software company dedicated to helping new developers gain hands-on experience building real-world applications. With his commitment to giving back to the community, Al is always available to offer advice on technology and business. His passion for innovation and entrepreneurship is evident in everything he does, making him a respected leader in the tech industry.
Show Links:
Credits...
This Episode Sponsored By: New Idea Machine
Episode Music: Tony Del Degan
Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan
Tuesday Jan 02, 2024
Tuesday Jan 02, 2024
As I record this show, it is the evening of January 1st 2024. If you enjoyed the last episode of 2023, then you might enjoy this one as well. It contains more of my ramblings and thoughts on where technology is going as we head into this New Year with a focus on Blockchain.
Thank you for listening to the Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas podcast, supported by Rainforest Alberta. The podcast that highlights those people who are contributing to and/or supporting the innovation ecosystem in Alberta.
Host: Al Del Degan is a software developer and tech leader in Alberta's innovation ecosystem. He is also a Web3 enthusiast and podcaster, sharing his knowledge and passion for emerging technologies with his audience. Al is the founder and CTO of New Idea Machine, a software company dedicated to helping new developers gain hands-on experience building real-world applications. With his commitment to giving back to the community, Al is always available to offer advice on technology and business. His passion for innovation and entrepreneurship is evident in everything he does, making him a respected leader in the tech industry.
Show Links:
Credits...
This Episode Sponsored By: New Idea Machine
Episode Music: Tony Del Degan
Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan
Tuesday Dec 26, 2023
Tuesday Dec 26, 2023
For the last episode of 2023 I thought it might be fun to speculate on the technology trends that we will all be talking about in 2024.
Thank you for listening to the Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas podcast, supported by Rainforest Alberta. The podcast that highlights those people who are contributing to and/or supporting the innovation ecosystem in Alberta.
Host: Al Del Degan is a software developer and tech leader in Alberta's innovation ecosystem. He is also a Web3 enthusiast and podcaster, sharing his knowledge and passion for emerging technologies with his audience. Al is the founder and CTO of New Idea Machine, a software company dedicated to helping new developers gain hands-on experience building real-world applications. With his commitment to giving back to the community, Al is always available to offer advice on technology and business. His passion for innovation and entrepreneurship is evident in everything he does, making him a respected leader in the tech industry.
Show Links:
Credits...
This Episode Sponsored By: New Idea Machine
Episode Music: Tony Del Degan
Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan
Tuesday Dec 19, 2023
Tuesday Dec 19, 2023
Without a new episode in the queue, I came up with an idea to showcase the top 5 episodes that I have hosted in 2023. Hope you enjoy this short trip down memory lane.
Thank you for listening to the Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas podcast, supported by Rainforest Alberta. The podcast that highlights those people who are contributing to and/or supporting the innovation ecosystem in Alberta.
Host: Al Del Degan is a software developer and tech leader in Alberta's innovation ecosystem. He is also a Web3 enthusiast and podcaster, sharing his knowledge and passion for emerging technologies with his audience. Al is the founder and CTO of New Idea Machine, a software company dedicated to helping new developers gain hands-on experience building real-world applications. With his commitment to giving back to the community, Al is always available to offer advice on technology and business. His passion for innovation and entrepreneurship is evident in everything he does, making him a respected leader in the tech industry.
Show Links:
- E204 Al Del Degan Hosts Katia Milrad Segal (KMS Coaching)
- E210 Al Del Degan Hosts Debbie Butt (In The Know YYC)
- E220 Al Del Degan Hosts Brown Eagle Belanger (Decolonized Capital)
- E227 Al Del Degan Hosts Brent Zuber (Virtual Reality)
- E237 Al Del Degan Hosts Michael Dargie (Make More Creative)
Credits...
This Episode Sponsored By: New Idea Machine
Episode Music: Tony Del Degan
Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan
Tuesday Dec 12, 2023
Tuesday Dec 12, 2023
Join us as we dive into the dynamic world of Corporate Innovation with our esteemed guest, Francisco Peschiera, expert associate partner at Bain & Company and member of Bain’s Innovation & Design practice. In a thought-provoking conversation, we explore the crucial role of innovation within large organizations and its global impact as a fundamental skill for all businesses.
Francisco Peschiera brings his wealth of experience to the forefront, shedding light on why innovation is not merely a buzzword but a strategic imperative for corporate success. Throughout the episode, we uncover the challenges that organizations face in fostering a culture of innovation and how it extends beyond just ideation but execution as well, to become a global competency.
Thank you for listening to the Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas podcast, supported by Rainforest Alberta. The podcast that highlights those people who are contributing to and/or supporting the innovation ecosystem in Alberta.
Host: Mike Procee is an entrepreneur, facilitator, innovator and problem solver. Working in the Calgary Energy Sector, Mike strives to build the innovation ecosystem and community. From his volunteer position on the Strategic Capability Network, where he founded the Calgary Innovation Peer Forum, to pursuing his DBA in Winter 2024, focused on innovation, Mike is pushing the thinking on what it means to be a corporate innovation practitioner.
Guest: Francisco (Sco) Peschiera is an expert associate partner at Bain & Company and member of Bain’s Innovation & Design practice. Sco helps clients accelerate growth within and beyond their core businesses by re-imagining what they do today and developing new business models for the future. He is an experienced leader in innovation, strategy, and digital, focusing on human-centered design and design thinking approaches to help organizations elevate customer and employee experiences.
Please be sure to share this episode with everyone you know. If you are interested in being either a host, a guest, or a sponsor of the show, please reach out. We are published in Google Podcasts and the iTunes store for Apple Podcasts We would be grateful if you could give us a rating as it helps spread the word about the show.
Show Links:
Show Quotes:
"You're going to hear about new technologies that are going to transform the way that we work, the way that we live"
Credits...
This Episode Sponsored By: New Idea Machine
Episode Music: Tony Del Degan
Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan