Shows
Uncertain ValueMario Zechner: Discovering the joy of electronics by building a portable audio player from scratchIn this episode of the Uncertain Value podcast, I’m talking with Mario Zechner again. He shares how he designed and built a portable, Gameboy-like audio player for his son — motivated by the shortcomings he saw in the Toniebox and Yoto Player, the two biggest products in the market. Issues like unintuitive controls, underpowered speakers, the potential fire hazards of lithium-ion batteries, content limitations, and privacy concerns about the mandatory internet connection sparked his desire for something better. Although this was Mario’s first real adventure into electronics, how much can someone who usually writes game engines and co...2025-04-281h 15
Uncertain ValueAnthony Parker: Creating a successful guitar instruction business on social mediaAnthony Parker lives in San Rafael, California, and created a successful online guitar school. The success of his business is deeply rooted in social media. He has a strong presence on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and Patreon. His business, called "Anthony Parker - Near Life Experience", is the go-to destination for aspiring guitarists. In our conversation, Anthony tells the story of how & why he founded his business, what didn't work, and how he made it successful using a lot of experiments.
The dead milkmen2024-12-131h 30
Uncertain ValueBrandon Bunch: Empowerment through financial literacyBrandon grew up in Idaho and earned both a Master of Science and a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Boise State University. He is a Certified Public Accountant in the state of California. Most recently, he served as the Director of Accounting and Operations at Split Software in Redwood City, California. Prior to that, he was an Accounting Manager at Officengine in Oakland and an Audit Associate at PwC.
In our conversation, we focus on the three key financial statements: the balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement. We discuss their importance in...2024-11-261h 42
Uncertain ValueDavid Burrowes: Immerse to learn, embrace slack to achieve greatnessDavid Burrowes, who goes by “Deej” earned a bachelor’s degree in Cognitive Science from Brown University. He also studied Chinese at National Taiwan University and Tzu Chi University. He has held various engineering roles in Silicon Valley over the last 30+ years, including Senior UI Engineer at Sun Microsystems, Staff Engineer at Box, Principal Engineer at Split Software, and Engineering Architect at Harness.
The conversation with Deej begins in the small Ohio town where he grew up, reflecting on why it was, in hindsight, an ideal place. Deej shares his experiences at Brown University, where the freedom to des...2024-11-111h 43
Uncertain ValueRichard Koscher: About lesser known Austrian artists and how to acquire their worksRichard Koscher is an Artist and Creative Director. Originally from Austria, Richard has been residing in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1999. He has served as the Art Director for the George Lucas Educational Foundation and has contributed his expertise to technology companies such as NextRoll, Neo4J, Mesosphere and Matillion. In addition to his work in the tech industry, Richard actively produces his own art. He recently published a book titled “Reveal: The Empowerment of Appropriation Art”, where he explains the process of recreating masterpieces and demystifies artistic techniques.
Richard has been a guest on Uncertain Valu...2024-10-211h 16
Uncertain ValueAudrey Do: Getting grounded through understanding the universeAudrey Do grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and attended UC Santa Cruz, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Astrophysics. For the past three years, she has worked as a Data Analyst and, more recently, as a Product Manager at Split Software, which was acquired by Harness. In our conversation, we discuss how, as a child, learning about a comet that might destroy Earth inspired her to study astrophysics. Audrey explains how her knowledge of the cosmos helps her stay calm and put things into perspective when situations get intense. She also shares her...2024-10-131h 49
Uncertain ValueJohannes Deubener: The value of timing when starting companiesJohannes Deubener grew up in Germany and is now based in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he leads AI partnerships at Deutsche Telekom. Johannes brings a wealth of experience in business development, product, and innovation, having worked in various strategic roles at Deutsche Telekom for over five years. Before his current position, he co-founded and managed 'As Good As Pros Sports,' a sports marketplace focused on on-demand training and team sports. In our conversation, we discuss the differences and similarities between German and Silicon Valley startup cultures. Johannes shares his experiences as a startup founder in Germany...2024-09-271h 49
Uncertain ValueRichard Koscher: The value of the source when creating new thingsRichard Koscher is an Artist and Creative Director. Originally from Austria, Richard has been residing in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1999. He has served as the Art Director for the George Lucas Educational Foundation and has contributed his expertise to technology companies such as NextRoll, Neo4J, Mesosphere and Matillion since 2007. In addition to his work in the tech industry, Richard actively produces his own art. He recently published a book titled “Reveal: The Empowerment of Appropriation Art”, where he explains the process of recreating masterpieces and demystifies artistic techniques.2024-08-021h 44
Uncertain ValueAvash Pardhootman: The value of combining companies through acquisitionAvash grew up in South Africa and currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Science from the University of KwaZulu-Natal and an Executive MBA from the Henley Business School. Avash currently is the Vice President of Corporate Finance at Meta Mind. He has an extensive background in Mergers & Acquisitions, working many years for CitiBank and Deutsche Telekom. Besides working in M&A, Avash helps as a Startup Mentor at the Plug & Play Tech Center in San Francisco, helping young companies get funding. 2024-07-131h 47
Uncertain ValueCharles Wu: The value of a liberal arts foundation in carving out your own pathCharles was born in China and moved to the United States after finishing high school there. He attended Wabash College in Indiana, where he studied Psychology and German. After completing his undergraduate studies, he moved to Pennsylvania to become a PhD student in Cognitive Neuroscience at Carnegie Mellon University. He earned his doctoral degree in 2020. Since then, he has worked as a Data Scientist at various companies, including Spark Neuro and Split Software.2024-05-101h 11
Uncertain ValueKaro Huber: The value of colors, materials, and finishes when designing carsKaro was born in Austria, where she also grew up. She earned a master's degree in Architecture from the Technical University in Graz and an Associate of Arts degree from the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in Los Angeles. Karo began her career as a Color, Material, and Finish (CMF) Designer at Tesla in California. Afterward, she spent 6 years as a CMF Designer in the UK, contributing to cars made by Jaguar Land Rover as well as Aston Martin Lagonda. Karo currently resides in the San Francisco Bay Area working as a CMF Designer for Zoox.2024-04-221h 32
Uncertain ValueMario Zechner: The value of thinking and acting independentlyMario Zechner, an independent software developer, coach, and angel investor based in Graz, Austria. His technical expertise spans applied machine learning, data science, compiler engineering, and computer graphics. He has authored several books and numerous scientific papers. He was also a key member of a successful startup named RoboVM. The birth of his son marked a pivotal moment in his life, inspiring him to contribute to the community and use his skills to address societal issues.2024-03-141h 24
Uncertain ValueHeather Davis: The value of confidence and vulnerability in experimentationHeather was born in Scotland and spent much of her childhood moving across Europe. She currently resides in Manchester, where she lends her expertise to Split Software as an Experimentation Advisor. With a decade of experience in the field of experimentation, Heather has made significant contributions to prominent organizations such as the BBC, Optimizely, and SKY, as well as to renowned football clubs including Manchester United and Chelsea.2024-03-081h 35
Uncertain ValueHennie Farrow: The value of design when solving problemsHennie Farrow is a Designer and Design Leader. Hennie was born in Iran, grew up in Los Angeles and has been living and working in the San Francisco Bay Area since the early 90ies. Hennie has a degree in Fine Arts from the Academy of Art University. She worked as an Instructor at the Academy of Art University for over a decade. After that she held various Design Leadership positions in Silicon Valley: Hennie was a Design Lead at Adobe, Head of Design & UX at Zignal Labs, VP of Design & UX at Emtrain and Director of UX at ServiceNow.2024-01-261h 15
Uncertain ValueIñaki Berra: The value of creating with family, friends, and the local communityInaki lives and works in Argentina. He studied Computer Science at the National University of Central Buenos Aires in the city of Tandil. After his studies he founded a startup that managed genetic information for cattle farms. He held various Software Engineering positions and has been a Product Manager at Split Software, a Silicon Valley tech startup, for a bit over a year now. Besides being a Product Manager, Inaki has been creating a cultural center and event space called Huarte over the last couple of years. In our conversation we talk briefly about his first year in Product...2024-01-161h 36
Uncertain ValueChristian Ross: The value of empathy for a Product ManagerChristian Ross has been managing products for 13 years. His experience spans both consumer and B2B products. In his career he has managed products at WeightWatchers, American Express, Macy’s, Genesys, Sunbasket, and the PGA.
Christian got a degree in Computer Science from the University of Mississippi. He also started a Master of Arts in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages at Columbia University.
In our conversation we talk about Christian’s path to becoming a Product Manager, his thoughts on Product Strategy, and how the deliberate use of empathy helped him to have stron...2024-01-081h 30
Typisch WasserburgFolge 11: Michael Altinger - Kabarettist„Vom Sozialpädagogen zum unfreiwilligen Lachtherapeuten“ - Kabarettist Michael Altinger steht seit über 25 Jahren auf den Brettln und zählt über die bayerischen Grenzen hinaus zu den bekanntesten Vertretern seiner Zunft.
Sein aktuelles Programm „Schlaglicht“ wurde jäh von den pandemischen Beschränkungen ausgebremst. Mit dem Komödienspektakel "Ratatata – Bonnie & Clyde“ meldet er sich nun zusammen mit Alexander Liegl und Constanze Lindner auf den Bühnen zurück. Im Lockdown schrieb er zudem sein jüngstes Buch „Tagebuch einer Rampensau ohne Bühne“, das im SüdOst Verlag erschienen ist.
Bei seinem Besuch haben wir über die vergangenen eineinhal...2021-09-2334 min