In this episode of Forge of Unicorns – In the Head of a CEO, the host Michele Brissoni sits down with Stéphan Donzé, Founder & CEO of AODocs, to unpack one of the most uncomfortable truths of our time: AI doesn’t save you. It multiplies what you already are.Stéphan’s journey is unique — a brilliant software engineer who became a CEO, leading a SaaS company trusted in the most critical environments (data centers, aviation, energy). He knows both sides: writing production code and scaling enterprise software under unforgiving standards.🚨 And together, we confronted the ugly reality of the software industry:• Bugs are not an exception — they’re written into contracts.• Mediocrity has become the cultural baseline.• And now, AI isn’t solving it… it’s amplifying it.Just one week ago, IT Revolution’s 2025 DORA “State of AI-assisted Software Development” report confirmed it:👉 AI is a mirror. An amplifier.🏆 For elite teams with technical excellence, AI accelerates them to the Olympus of performance.🔥 For mediocre teams, AI turns dysfunction into total chaos — faster outages, higher costs, more burnout.This is the paradox: in a world where software engineering is often regulated by tools, frameworks, and blind hope, AI has exposed just how fragile this industry really is.In this conversation you’ll discover:⚡ Why software remains the “black sheep” of engineering — no standards, no predictability.⚡ Why technical excellence is no longer optional — it’s survival.⚡ How purpose, craftsmanship, and socio-technical practices transform AI into an ally.⚡ What investors should look for: the difference between teams AI can elevate, and those it will annihilate.Stéphan puts it bluntly: without engineering discipline, AI is not your friend — it’s your downfall. And as Paul O’Brien said in last week’s episode:“AI is the greatest discovery since the internet itself.”But only if we evolve beyond mediocrity.📌 Whether you’re a CEO, CTO, or investor, this episode is a wake-up call.AI is not the savior. It’s the amplifier of who we are.And whether humanity evolves or decays depends on the standards we embrace.—⏱️ Chapters:00:00 Introduction01:19 Welcome to the Froge 🔥02:15 Stephan Donze: The Journey of a Technical CEO05:30 The Importance of Document Management Systems09:50 The Need for Standards in Software Engineering12:50 The Challenges of Software Quality and Reliability18:00 AI’s Role in Software Development22:01 Pragmatic AI Applications in Document Management28:30 The Evolution of Automation in Business30:24 Cybersecurity Challenges in AI31:49 The Importance of Technical Expertise in Leadership34:21 Mediocrity in the Software Industry39:01 The Talent Crisis in Software Development41:58 Tech Disruption and the blind jump on it46:15 Investment Trends in Software vs. AI53:07 Suggestions from Stephan for other leaders—🎥 Watch more Forge of Unicorns:🔗 Subscribe for weekly episodes: https://theforgeofunicorns.substack.com/🔗 Deep dive articles on LinkedIn: https://go.brix.consulting/ForgeOfUnicorns🔗 Learn more about the Unicorns’ Ecosystem: https://brix.consulting#AI #SaaS #SoftwareEngineering #Leadership #DORA #AODocs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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🎙️ EP72 - Escaping the Industry Black Hole 🚀
Unicorns are going extinct. In 2015 there were 124 new unicorns. In the last 3 years? Barely 17.At the same time, trillions of dollars have been poured into AI, sold as the golden age of innovation. But here’s the paradox: if AI is so transformative, why are unicorns disappearing?In this episode of The Forge of Unicorns, Michele Brissoni sits down with Paul O’Brien — Startup Economist, venture capitalist, and founder of MediaTech Ventures — to expose why accelerators are failing, how capital allocation is broken, and why venture studios are the future of predictable, software-driven success.Paul pulls no punches:“Most accelerators haven’t delivered results. When they present themselves as engines of entrepreneurship, founders are more likely to fail. And that’s what’s been happening.”We explore how AI is sucking capital into a “black hole,” why cookie-cutter accelerators misfire, and how sector-specific venture studios — with deep expertise and owner-operator DNA — can finally tilt the odds of success.⸻🔑 What You’ll Learn- Why 90% of startups still fail — and how to move the needle from 10% to 20% success.- The accelerator paradox: speeding up disruption by forcing it into rigid blueprints.- How AI is reshaping capital allocation (and why that’s dangerous).- The role of behavioral engineering in startup survival.- Why venture studios are the operating system of success in a software-driven world.⸻📌 Chapters01:30 – Intro: Unicorn extinction & the AI paradox07:30 – Why accelerators fail founders16:30 – Digital transformation myths24:30 – Behavioral engineering in startups35:30 – Globalization, AI, and capital misallocation49:30 – The venture studio model explained01:03:30 – Governments, policy, and sector-specific studios01:16:30 – Closing thoughts: doubling startup success rates⸻⚔️ Forge Your Edge👉 Subscribe to the newsletter for deep dives: https://go.brix.consulting/ForgeOfUnicorns👉 Learn more about the Unicorns’ Ecosystem our Venture Studio operative system for software organization, born on Ferrari Formula 1 and improved with over 2 decades of research: https://unicorns-ecosystem.com/⸻🏷️#Startups #VentureCapital #AI #VentureStudios #ForgeOfUnicorns #leadership #incubadoras #accelerator #ai #aiinvesting #investing #investment #podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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🎙️ EP71 - Why Running a Company on Science Prevents Software’s Wild West
Why is software still the Wild West—with no universal quality standards?In this episode of Forge of Unicorns, 🎙️ Noël Bauza (CEO of Zei) reveals why organizations are running on systems with zero agreed measures of quality, and how the scientific method gives leaders the clarity to evolve with confidence.🚨 Agile frameworks and AI buzzwords aren’t saving companies from failure.Instead, CEOs are betting their futures on software with no safety net—flying blind on vanity metrics, customer reviews, or gut feelings.Noël explains why this is dangerous, how ESG transparency is reshaping the business landscape, and why leaders who adopt the scientific method as their operating system are the ones who survive disruption.⸻💡 In this episode, you’ll learn:- ESG is crucial for companies to measure their environmental and social impact.- Data is essential for understanding and addressing global challenges.- The scientific method can enhance decision-making in business.- Quality standards in software are often subjective and lacking.- Customer satisfaction is linked to adaptability and transparency.- Neuroscience can play a role in improving business practices.- AI's impact on jobs raises important ethical questions.- Company culture influences employee motivation and productivity.- Transparency in data fosters a proactive work environment.- Innovation requires effective communication and collaboration.⸻🧠 Key Quotes“Without data, we are not an intelligent species.” – Noël Bauza“The more closely you stick to the scientific method, the more likely you are to succeed.”⸻📰 Read more👉 Subscribe to the newsletter to deep dive into every weekly episode:🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/the-forge-of-unicorns-7184097792242458624/⸻Subject: Sorry about the glitch – Episode with Noël is fixed! 🦄🎙️Dear Forge of Unicorns listeners,We owe you an apology! Episode 71 of Forge of Unicorns with Noël was published with a technical glitch – two minutes of silence right in the middle of our discussion about the scientific method applied to software engineering.We’ve fixed the issue, and the corrected version is now live. 🎧If you listened to the earlier release, we encourage you to revisit the episode to catch the full, uninterrupted conversation.Thank you for your patience and for being such an engaged community. Your feedback helps us keep improving and keep forging the next generation of unicorns together. 🦄✨Happy listening,Mike & the Forge of Unicorns Team Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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🎙️ EP70 - Can Ethical Investing Outlast Unicorns?
Unicorns are dying. Cockroaches creep us out. The future belongs to Camel Startups: resilient, human-centric, and engineered to survive.In this episode of Forge of Unicorns, host Michele “Mike” Brissoni sits down with Umar Munshi, CEO of HasanVC, to explore how ethical investing, halal venture capital, and the venture studio model are reshaping the future of entrepreneurship.🌍 What You’ll Learn in This Episode✔️ Why 99% of Unicorns fail — and how Camels survive harsh conditions.✔️ How ethical and halal investing principles (fairness, shared prosperity, long-term value) create more sustainable outcomes.✔️ Why the VC power law pushes founders into shortcuts — and how Camel Startups break the cycle.✔️ The role of Venture Studios in building resilient companies from zero to one.✔️ Why AI should enhance humans, not replace them — and how the right governance protects talent.✔️ The importance of purpose-driven organizations that put humans, fulfillment, and community at the core.✔️ How the Unicorns’ Ecosystem + BOKaRy governance model serve as the operating system for modern venture studios.🐪 Why Camel Startups MatterUnicorns are mythical. They grow fast, burn cash even faster, and collapse under their own hype.Cockroach startups? They survive — but no one wants to build them.Camel startups are different:They survive the harshest markets.They scale responsibly when opportunities arise.They are engineered through discipline, cooperation, and hard work — not magic.HasanVC, guided by halal ethics and human-centric investing, is pioneering this model — and showing investors a way forward.💸 The Problem with Venture Capital TodayTraditional VC relies on the power law: spray money across dozens of startups and hope one or two unicorns pay for the rest.The result?98% of portfolio companies fail.Founders are pushed into shortcuts, hype, and unsustainable growth.Burnout and disengagement spread across teams.Investors gamble on mythical outliers instead of predictable outcomes.🏗️ The Solution: Venture Studios + Unicorns’ EcosystemHasanVC believes the answer lies in venture studios — where ideas are validated, co-founders are supported, and companies are built systematically from zero to one with behavioral engineering not by luck. A model that mirrors our Unicorns’ Ecosystem, and our revolutionary Governance Layer (BOKaRy)🧭 Purpose, Ethics & Halal InvestingHasanVC anchors every decision in intention (niyyah) — why do we build, not just what we build.Halal principles ensure:Fairness in contracts.Shared prosperity between founders, investors, and employees.Long-term sustainability over short-term speculation.This approach resonates far beyond the Muslim community — it’s a model of human-centric capitalism for everyone.Hashtags:#CamelStartups #UnicornsEcosystem #EthicalInvesting #HalalVC #VentureStudios #Podcast #Leadership Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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🎙️ EP69 - What If a Diesel Mechanic Just Outbuilt Your Tech Org?
Listen to Tyler Robertson's inspiring entrepreneur story of building a $100 million business from the ground up. This motivational podcast episode covers everything from how to start a business to insights on heavy duty truck scanner and truck diagnostic tool. Hear how he achieved success through hard work and determination and his journey in entrepreneurship.---What if a diesel mechanic just outbuilt your tech org?This episode of Forge of Unicorns reveals how Tyler Robertson turned a simple customer obsession into a $100M software empire — with no VC, no Agile, and no hype.👇 In this episode:• How deep domain knowledge can beat top-tier tech hires• Why 50 developers got fired… and replaced by 8• The real ROI of customer obsession• The origin story of the BOKARY model: the North Star for software behavior and board-level profitability🧠 “We had 50 developers and couldn’t ship. So we blew it all up. Kept 8. Started from scratch.” — Tyler Robertson⸻📌 Timestamps 07:00 – From grease stains to product vision10:05 – Understanding customer pain points16:57 – Leadership, clarity, and developer debt21:07 – The software dilemma: sustainable growth VS tech debt collapse26:16 – Learning from failure: the infinite delivery34:19 – What true customer obsession sounds like42:21 – Predictive maintenance + product evolution52:10 – High-performing talents: the grit mentality57:40 – The impact of 10 years of growth: Purpose, people, and product ROI01:04:06 – The Anticipatory Organizations mindset applied to the AI revolution🔗 Extra Link:Podcast Tyler and Daniel Burrus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuENITUDCtA⸻📈 This episode launches our last evolution: the Behavioral-OKR revolutionThe BOKARY model finally bridges what boards want to know:➡️ What’s the ROI of my software org?➡️ How do I connect behavior, delivery, and investor-level returns?Explore the system built for your organizational evolution:🔗 https://unicorns-ecosystem.com/Next Thursday, more details will be revealed in our podcast deep dive.Don't miss it! Subscribe to the Forge 🔥 of Unicorns newsletter.⸻To stay up-to-date, subscribe to our different channels:🎧 Listen to the podcast on the go on Spotify, Apple & Acast 📰 Read the newsletter🎥 Subscribe for more no-fluff, boardroom-grade episodes⸻#TylerRobertson #ForgeOfUnicorns #DieselLaptops #CustomerObsession #SoftwareROI #CTO #FounderToCEO #BehavioralEngineering #OKBR #BOKARY #TechLeadership #ProductDevelopment #AgileTheater #VC #SoftwareDelivery #NoVC #TechPodcast #DeepDive Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Über The Forge 🔥 of Unicorns - by Michele Brissoni
Welcome to The Forge 🔥 of Unicorns — the podcast where digital evolution meets elite performance. 🚀I’m Michele Brissoni (Mike) — Tech Advisor, Fractional CTO, and Board-Level Strategist.Over the past two decades, I’ve invented models and frameworks that have reshaped how organizations evolve in the software era:BOKaRy 📈 — our latest innovation, a Behavioral-OKR governance framework bridging vision, behavior, and delivery to generate exceptional ROI for boards, CEOs, and investors.SW Craftsmanship Dojo® 🥋 — born in the elite world of engineering excellence at Ferrari Formula 1 during the glorious Michael Schumacher era, evolved into a behavior-engineered continuous active learning system for elite software craftsmanship.Unicorns’ Ecosystem 🦄 — a predictable, holistic model born to fight the de-facto standard of mediocracy in IT, which kills more organizations than anything else. By fusing behavioral science, neuroscience, and organizational psychology, it combats the hidden killers while igniting elite IT performance.Born from decades of research and experimentation, these models guarantee zero disruption and measurable outcomes. They have already guided thousands of developers, C-level leaders, and Fortune 500 organizations in industries ranging from finance and healthcare to transport and telecom.Each episode of The Forge of Unicorns delivers:🎙️ Bold conversations with CEOs, investors, and technical leaders.🧭 Actionable strategies to escape failed transformations and achieve real evolution.🤖 AI mastery without the hype — practical frameworks to harness AI for measurable outcomes, not inflated promises.🧠 Behavioral insights rooted in 20+ years of research and practice.💡 Survival toolkits for boards, managers, developers, and agilists facing burnout, disengagement, and stalled revenues.In today’s volatile digital landscape, transformation alone is not enough. To survive, thrive, and secure the future, organizations need systems engineered for resilience, clarity, and exponential performance. That’s what this podcast is about.👉 Want more? Subscribe to The Forge of Unicorns Newsletter 📰 for deep dives, case studies, and more: go.brix.consulting/ForgeOfUnicorns.Stop merely following the herd of transformations by the book!Start true evolution of your organization towards elite 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟Powered by Acast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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