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    The Mentors Office podcast

    Welcome to the Mentors Office Podcast! Hosted by Alvaro Andres Pinzon and Ani B. Two professionals exploring topics and initiatives in Education, Business, Technology and Innovation. Two mentors, two friends and one amazing discussion.
    en-usThe Mentors Office podcast18 Episodes

    Episodes (18)

    #18 CTO Aníbal Abarca Gil, AI, Business, Career and Wizeline

    #18 CTO Aníbal Abarca Gil, AI, Business, Career and Wizeline
    Summary

    In this episode, Anibal Abarca Gil discusses future vectors in 2024, including AI native applications, the rise of AI officers, and open source and custom LLMs. He emphasizes the importance of embracing AI technologies and not being hindered by privacy and security concerns. Anibal also shares his strategies for staying current with technology, such as collaborating with others, reading various sources, and listening to podcasts. He highlights the need for continuous learning and knowledge sharing within teams. He explains the concept of AI native solutions and the transformation it brings to businesses. Aníbal also highlights the challenges and misconceptions in AI strategy and the importance of design in creating AI services and products. He shares Wizeline’s approach to leading technological innovation and building better human talent in technology. Finally, he provides career advice on trusting your gut, discipline, and effective communication.

    Takeaways

    Embrace AI technologies and explore future vectors such as AI native applications, the rise of AI officers, and open source and custom LLMs. Do not let privacy and security concerns hinder innovation. Take a responsible approach and ensure compliance while leveraging AI capabilities. Stay current with technology by collaborating with others, reading diverse sources, and listening to podcasts. Promote continuous learning and knowledge sharing within teams to keep everyone at the cutting edge. Generative AI can help developers learn new code bases faster and improve their productivity. Wizeline helps companies embrace AI native solutions and advises them on building innovation cycles. Challenges in AI strategy include the misconception that AI is only about data and focusing solely on chatbots. Design plays a crucial role in creating AI services and products, going beyond interfaces and considering capabilities. Wizeline aims to lead technological innovation by investing in talent, delivering value to customers, and building a culture of learning. Building better human talent in technology requires intention, investment in culture and team, and a focus on delivering solutions. Wizeline plans to continue growing as a services company while also investing in accelerators and platforms. Effective communication involves understanding the other person's perspective and shaping the message accordingly. Wizeline is actively adopting generative AI services and developing its own platform, Wizeprompt, for internal collaboration. Career advice includes trusting your gut, practicing discipline, and considering the perspective of the audience in communication.

    Chapters

    00:00 Introduction of Anibal Abarca Gil 01:01 Future Vectors in 2024 07:25 Rise of AI Officers 08:23 Open Source and Custom LLMs 12:10 Exclusion of Bitcoin as a Future Vector 22:03 Ensuring Team Keeps Up with Technology 24:09 Privacy and Security Concerns with Generative AI 32:27 Learning New Code Bases with Generative AI 33:10 Wizeline's AI Strategy and Generative AI 34:19 AI Native Solutions and Transformation 35:44 Challenges and Misconceptions in AI Strategy 39:18 Wizeline's Approach to Leading Technological Innovation 42:17 Building Better Human Talent in Technology 43:46 WiseLine's Future and AI Consulting 47:36 The Role of Design in AI Services and Products 53:21 Wizeline's Policy on Generative AI Services 57:07 Career Advice: Trust Your Gut, Discipline, and Effective Communication

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    Resources and Links

    website http://www.mentorsofficepodcast.com

    linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-mentors-office-podcast/?viewAsMember=true

    Anibal Abarca Gil https://ca.linkedin.com/in/anibalabarca

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    #17 CEO Bismarck Lepe, Entrepreneurship and Wizeline

    #17 CEO Bismarck Lepe, Entrepreneurship and Wizeline
    In today’s episode, we welcome Bismark Lepe. Bismarck Lepe is the founder and CEO of Wizeline and a serial entrepreneur. Wizeline is one of the world's fastest-growing global technology services providers and it is focused on AI. The company has important clients such as Fox, Disney, Google, Nike and Stripe.

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    Resources and Links

    website http://www.mentorsofficepodcast.com

    linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-mentors-office-podcast/?viewAsMember=true

    Bismarck Lepe https://twitter.com/bismarcklepe

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    #16 Regulación y el futuro de Inteligencia Artificial

    #16 Regulación y el futuro de Inteligencia Artificial
    En el episodio de hoy abordaremos preguntas como: ¿Cuál es el papel de la regulación en el desarrollo de la IA? ¿Qué riesgos y oportunidades presenta la IA para las empresas y consumidores? Y, ¿Cómo puede la regulación garantizar un uso ético y seguro de la IA?. Estamos emocionados de invitar a Jair Viana, quien es Director de Investigaciones Económicas en Libertank, para discutir y debatir sobre este apasionante tema.

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    Recursos y Links

    George Hotz: Tiny Corp, Twitter, AI Safety, Self-Driving, GPT, AGI & God | Lex Fridman Podcast 387 https://youtu.be/dNrTrx42DGQ?si=Zw_4TKlk0uDWj8dH&t=5468

    Jair Viana https://twitter.com/Jair_Viana_Ossa

    Walter Gomez https://co.linkedin.com/in/walgom4

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    #15 Navigating the Job Hunt: Andi's Journey to finding a new job

    #15 Navigating the Job Hunt: Andi's Journey to finding a new job
    Today, we're discussing Andi's journey in finding a new job. It was a path filled with wins, challenges, and invaluable lessons. Whether you're embarking on a career change, entering the job market for the first time, or simply looking for fresh strategies to land your dream job, Andi's experience will resonate with you.

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    Resources and Links

    Udacity course: Refresh your resume. https://www.udacity.com/course/refresh-your-resume--ud243

    50 ways to get a job. https://50waystogetajob.com/

    Be a player not a victim. https://youtu.be/xXdN5kMioRQ?si=uhnv-Vh9Vt9mDw0p

    Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life. https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Order-More-Rules-Life-ebook/dp/B08NP6881K/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3EJS5QZERURO7&keywords=beyond%20order&qid=1693174928&sprefix=beyond%20order%2Caps%2C173&sr=8-1

    Career Therapy. https://careertherapy.com/

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    #14 An introduction to Tropykus for business leaders and developers

    #14 An introduction to Tropykus for business leaders and developers
    In today's episode, we will explore Tropykus, the first decentralized finance platform in Latin America. It leverages Bitcoin's power to transform how people save and borrow money. Through its innovative approach to providing financial solutions without the need for credit history, Tropykus is democratizing access to financial services in the region.

    Discover the future of decentralized finance in Latin America with Tropykus and Diego.

    Diego Mazo is an educator and researcher, delivering valuable knowledge and insights to future generations. He holds a Master's degree in Strategic Product Design from Delft University of Technology.

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    Resources and Links

    Learn more about Tropykus https://tropykus.com/

    Read more about economic cycles. https://www.jesushuertadesoto.com/money-bank-credit-and-economic-cycles/

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    #13 Future trends in Education, Online learning, and Teaching

    #13 Future trends in Education, Online learning, and Teaching
    Online learning offers the opportunity to access material from all over the world. It enables personalized learning experiences tailored to individual student needs.

    In today’s episode, we welcome Dr. David Joyner.

    Dr. Joyner shares with us his views on the future of education. We learn more about his teaching approach and how to reach academic goals. He provides insights into educational environments.

    Dr. David Joyner is an educator who focuses on harnessing new scalable technologies to improve student learning. He completed his Ph.D. in Human-Centered Computing at Georgia Tech and works for Georgia Tech’s College of Computing as its Executive Director for Online Education & OMSCS.

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    #12 Innovation in Education

    #12 Innovation in Education
    We are excited to learn from Diana Correal and her perspectives on students' behavior in educational settings. We also know that teachers' behavior is affected by their surroundings or the school's culture. Her focus involves creating an academic space where everyone works together to create a positive and effective learning experience.

    Diana has developed a wide variety of skills that she uses in diverse educational environments. In addition, she has undertaken complementary studies in literature since she enjoys reading and finds it fascinating.

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    Resources and Links

    The Usefulness of the Useless https://www.amazon.com/-/es/Nuccio-Ordine-ebook/dp/B06WRRDH1H/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1679432240&sr=8-4

    The Distributed Classroom (Learning in Large-Scale Environments). https://www.amazon.com/-/es/David-Joyner-ebook/dp/B08QND1HXQ/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=distributed%20classroom&qid=1679432334&sprefix=distributed%20class%2Caps%2C167&sr=8-2

    A day without technology an devices https://youtu.be/MoV5AWZzkv4

    Online Learning: The Challenge - Sebastian Thrun https://youtu.be/YqH25oEKd24

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    #11 Bitcoin energy myths

    #11 Bitcoin energy myths
    In this episode, Andy addresses one of the most widespread Bitcoin myths: “Bitcoin boom may be a disaster for the environment”. Our objective is to understand whether or not the myth is accurate by looking at it from both a data and moral perspective. Andy, reflects on, what is bad consumption and good consumption? How does Bitcoin electricity energy consumption compare to other uses of energy in our daily lives? How much energy does Bitcoin consume? Andy takes the challenge and bursts the myth.

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    Resources and Links

    Bitcoin Net Zero https://www.lopp.net/pdf/NYDIG-Bitcoin-Net-Zero.pdf

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    This episode is sponsored by Zencastr, our #1 podcast tool. They offer HD sound and video. We appreciate that it records separate audio and video tracks for the guests and us. Our guests just click on the link, and we start recording. Get 30% off your first three PRO months at https://zen.ai/thementorsofficepod

    #10 Helpful technologies and businesses in Ukraine

    #10 Helpful technologies and businesses in Ukraine
    Our friend Dennis Wolowyk is a voice that can share his experience during the war. First of all, we are thankful that he is safe and is now sharing his perspective with us.

    Dennis is a business developer and has a background in diverse fields like Languages, Communications, Digital Market ing, Product Management, and Project Management. He has worked in Government, Media, and Information landscapes in different countries.

    Currently, he is a mentor at Udacity and the Head of Strategic Partnerships at Sigma Software Group.

    We are honored to understand his perspective and expertise.

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    Resources and Links

    Check out his special project https://www.starforlife.org.ua/en

    Contact Dennis to learn more https://www.linkedin.com/in/dwolowyk/

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    This episode is sponsored by Zencastr, our #1 podcast tool. They offer HD sound and video. We appreciate that it records separate audio and video tracks for the guests and us. Our guests just click on the link, and we start recording. Get 30% off your first three PRO months at https://zen.ai/thementorsofficepod

    #9 Understanding BTCPay Server for Businesses

    #9 Understanding BTCPay Server for Businesses
    Woohoo! We are happy to welcome Pavlenex into today’s conversation. Pavlenex is a Product Manager at BTCPay Server and a Spiral designer grantee. He is a strong organizer of Bitcoin meetups and we will discuss options and strategies to understand an open-source cryptocurrency payment processor. Because of his passion, work and important leadership, we are honored and inspired to discover notions and advice!

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    Resources and Links

    How to contribute to BTCPay Server? https://docs.btcpayserver.org/Contribute/

    Explore more the BTCPay Server official website https://btcpayserver.org/

    Contact Pavlenex to contribute to BTCPay Server https://www.linkedin.com/in/pavlenex/

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    Index

    2:12 Please share with us your path to BTCPay? What did you do before? How is this current role contributing to your professional development?
    6:22 Third world countries understand Bitcoin
    9:15 What is your focus now as Product Manager in BTCPay Server?
    13:00 Can you explain BTCPay Server to our listeners?
    21:00 How did the project start, and what made it successful? Did you fundraise?
    33:00 Lessons learned and common Bitcoin issues for businesses
    35:50 Coffee shops: How could I accept Bitcoin payments? What would you do, step by step?
    45:40 If my customers need bitcoin, should I sell them?

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    This episode is sponsored by Zencastr, our #1 podcast tool. They offer HD sound and video. We appreciate that it records separate audio and video tracks for the guests and us. Our guests just click on the link, and we start recording. Get 30% off your first three PRO months at https://zen.ai/thementorsofficepod

    #8 Advice from a team lead in Ed-Tech

    #8 Advice from a team lead in Ed-Tech
    In today’s episode we are honored to have a guest that inspires us to be better every day. We usually follow her advice as mentors, and we want to learn about her techniques as a team lead in Ed-Tech (Udacity). We are happy to welcome Emily Nitzberg as she can help us with direction, instructions, and mechanisms in productivity and leadership. Because of her work as a team lead at Udacity, we are thankful and inspired to learn from her advice!

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    Resources and Links

    Trillion dollar coach https://www.trilliondollarcoach.com/

    Insights from Slack, Dropbox, and Asana on remote work https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEBDaG0nW0I

    Lessons from a decades-long remote worker https://slack.com/blog/productivity/lessons-from-a-decades-long-remote-worker

    Helpful how-tos for the transition to remote work https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/remote-work-tips

    The Making of a Manager https://www.amazon.com/-/es/Julie-Zhuo/dp/0735219567

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    Index

    2:22 Emily, how do you start your day to increase productivity?
    3:45 Tools for organization
    6:10 How can you define yourself as a team leader?
    10:00 How do you build relationships with the people that you manage?
    15:27 Management tips
    16:10 How can employees improve communication with their managers?
    22:10 Slack tips for remote work
    23:10 What to do if you feel that your manager or managers don’t listen to your feedback?
    28:38 What do you look for in a candidate in the hiring process?
    30:40 What makes a great remote worker? Could you give some examples?
    38:40 What is giving you positive energy?
    43:00 Remote working tip

    #7 Learning more about Membership businesses and NFTs

    #7 Learning more about Membership businesses and NFTs
    First episode of the year! Ani and I would like to express our gratitude for your support. Together with you, we have been able to identify topics to explore innovative technologies. In this episode, we'll speak about NFT innovation and how they may be used in membership-based businesses.

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    Resources and Links

    Flyfish Club official website https://www.flyfishclub.com/

    Flyfish Club OpenSea Store https://opensea.io/collection/flyfish-club

    Coachella Collectibles NFTs https://nft.coachella.com/

    SCOPE Art Show https://yh.io/nft-collection/scope-miami-beach-2021/15

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    Index

    1:30 What does NFT stand for?
    5:15 Real State NFTs
    7:50 Why are NFTs a trend?
    10:30 FlyFish Club restaurant NFT
    19:00 Bitcoin myth
    20:30 Why to use NFTs for memberships
    23:30 NFTs and Coachella

    #6 On-demand jobs and trends for 2022

    #6 On-demand jobs and trends for 2022
    Final episode of the year! We are inspired by all of you and the stories you have shared with us. Because we are focused on career and professional development, we explored some trends and on-demand jobs for 2022.

    Andi and I feel motivated when leaders around us listen, care, and take action to enhance employee engagement. We are speaking about an important management style that thrives to maintain purpose, motivation, contribution and better work for business success: Servant Leadership.

    Andi explores on-demand jobs for 2022 and the best options to consider to shift upon new careers and opportunities.

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    Resources and Links

    The Future of Jobs Report 2022 https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-future-of-jobs-report-2020/digest

    Trillion Dollar Coach: The Leadership Playbook of Silicon Valley's Bill Campbell https://www.amazon.com/-/es/Eric-Schmidt/dp/0062839268

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    Index

    #5 A day in the life of a Business Analyst

    #5 A day in the life of a Business Analyst
    In today’s episode, we are incredibly lucky to have an awesome business professional, dedicated learner, and amazing friend: Rodolfo Yoshii.

    Rodolfo is an active member of the Udacity community, as he is also an experienced business professional working with lead companies such as UPS, Udacity, and Langara college.

    Throughout our conversation, we follow Rodolfo’s advice to understand key aspects to increase productivity, recognize innovative technologies and adopt guidance to improve the quality of our daily routines.
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    Resources and Links

    Get in touch with Rodolfo Yoshii and learn more from his experience. https://www.linkedin.com/in/rodolfoyoshii/
    Read more about Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future. https://www.amazon.com/-/es/Ashlee-Vance-ebook/dp/B00KVI76ZS/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
    Interested in Business Analytics? Check out Udacity’s Business Analytics Nanodegree. https://www.udacity.com/course/business-analytics-nanodegree--nd098
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    Index

    2:53 Routine to increase productivity
    8:44 Why do you like Tesla and Space X?
    20:30 Bitcoin and Blockchain
    25:30 Is UPS going to using Bitcoin and Blockchain?
    31:10 What competencies would an aspiring Business Analyst need?

    #4 Understanding Blockchain

    #4 Understanding Blockchain
    In today’s episode, we will understand the benefits of Blockchain. If you’re like me, you are probably trying to find out what it does, if it’s safe and how it works to support new technologies.

    Resources and Links

    The Evolution of Money, Banking, and Central Banking | Lawrence H. White https://youtu.be/ZHLaWuF6a1k
    Using Blockchain to Protect Venezuelans from Hyperinflation https://youtu.be/uhe8rDjJr8U
    The myth of the independent Central Bank (please turn on the automatic subtitles in English) https://youtu.be/67uxP8auphk
    Dinero y las instituciones financieras | O. Schenone, Alberto Benegas Lynch (h.) e I. del Castillo (no subtitles available) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgja1-xtqVw&t=1529s

    #3 Interpersonal Skills for Mentors

    #3 Interpersonal Skills for Mentors
    {'link': {'@href': 'https://www.amazon.com/-/es/Eric-Schmidt-ebook/dp/B076ZHG3H3', '#text': "Trillion Dollar Coach: The Leadership Playbook of Silicon Valley's Bill Campbell."}, '#text': 'A mentor is not always a subject matter expert or a teacher. Mentors can inspire you to discover a better path for personal and professional development. Mentors possess natural talents to serve others, but they also work to become leaders and grow every day. Throughout our episode, we explore interpersonal/soft skills for mentors. Listen to our conversation to learn more about soft skills and the misconceptions that exist when mentoring. Level it up with our book recommendations below:\n\nA former college football player and coach, Bill mentored visionaries such as Steve Jobs, Larry Page, and Eric Schmidt. You can learn a lot of his leadership and mentoring/coaching skills here.'}

    #2 Build a positive mindset and avoid burnout

    #2 Build a positive mindset and avoid burnout
    In this conversation, we share a set of strategies and techniques to remain positive even when adversity knocks on our door. We not only share personal struggles and experiences from our work, but we identify a better path to avoid burnout in our daily routines. Listen to advice and practice tactics that can help you build a positive mindset. Take a closer look at our book recommendation: A short guide to a long life by Dr. David Agus.