Joshua Leavitt and Jesse Taylor are well known Las Vegas technologists who have held positions from c-suite to volunteer. Both are advocates of IT workforce development, new businesses, technology education, and diversifying the local economy. The Leavitt and Taylor show is where Joshua and Jesse share insights in technology and business, as well as topics of interest for Las Vegas. Though the show may get serious, and it may get funny, you are sure to get an entertaining 30-minute weekly look at what is happening in Las Vegas from a technology and business perspective.
Jesse steps out of his cave and records a podcast! Joshua and Jesse discuss two new startups in town: a rental car company and a 3D printer service. Is customer service dead? New fiber Internet tech, old tech company scheduling. Also, we finally get a chance to review Top Gun: Maverick, and Josh sings!
Josh and Jesse are back! They go over the previous predictions about 2021 for technology in Las Vegas. Jesse talks about getting lost at check-in at the Disneyworld Resort, and they discuss “Keeping the Status Quo” versus being Strategic. Recorded on January 31st, 2022
Joshua and Jesse are visited by James Rupe from CardanoMint, who discusses in depth the state of Cryptocurrency. We also discuss how automation folds into Cryptocurrency, NFT's being used for important documents, and overall adoption in our world. In our current events segment, we discuss the technology supply chain issues and the Facebook papers without the piano music! Recorded on October 25th, 2021
Chris Foltz, Director of Founder Institute and Managing Director of Responsible Solutions, joins Joshua and Jesse to discuss the startup ecosystem in Las Vegas. Jesse discusses investments around chip makers in Arizona. Josh discusses what drives him in his quest for a dynamic startup and tech community in Vegas. Chris and Jesse suggest modifications to Josh's wardrobe. Recorded on 09/25/21
Joshua and Jesse invite Secret Squirrel "David" to the show to discuss the privacy, ubiquitous data collection, and ethics of the products and online services that are commonly used. Recorded on August 14th, 2021.
Joshua and Jesse invite Ryan Smith from the City of Las Vegas to the show! We discuss the articles in the news about people returning to California (not), TechAlley, and the impact that downtown has had on the startup and technology scene here in Las Vegas!
Joshua and Jesse talk about the implied promise of remote work and how it seems to be playing out in different types of organizations. Recorded on July 3rd, 2021
Joshua and Jesse invite Joshua Barousse back to the show to discuss the legislative session wrap-up in Nevada. Jesse goes over current events about Apple and the DOJ, which turns into a discussion about privacy when data is in the hands of private companies. Best of all MAVERICK is back. Recorded on June 12th, 2021
Joshua and Jesse interview Joshua Copeland of Remote Dev Force to discuss growing up in Technology in Las Vegas. Joshua (Maverick) discusses the local success of the Tech Alley kickoff, and we briefly discuss the colonial pipeline hack. Recorded on May 17th, 2021.
Joshua and Jesse speak with Nick Scheib, a longtime Las Vegas technologist who recently moved to LA. Nick talks about growing up as a local, his experience shaped by his earlier roles in IT in Las Vegas, and how that has grown into a successful career. We also discuss the importance of building camaraderie with organizational business partners and how Batman is still better than Superman, to Josh's protests. Recorded on May 1st, 2021
Joshua and Jesse talk to Sirinda (Sindy) Glasgow about growing Las Vegas in the technology industry. We discuss the NCWIT inspiration awards, share some great anecdotes, Jesse's fear of the blackberry ring tone to this day, and how IT strategy has changed in the Las Vegas Valley over the years. Recorded on April 24th, 2021
Josh and Jesse talk with Jean Claude Luakabuanga, Las Vegas entrepreneur and founder of BRBCK. Jean Claude tells his story about how he became an entrepreneur, what it took to develop his application, and why he did it in Las Vegas. Josh and Jesse also hear about Jean Claude's experiences in the Las Vegas ecosystem and what is needed to start your journey as an entrepreneur. Recorded on March 25th, 2021 Check out BRBCK here: https://www.brbck.com
Josh and Jesse discuss Transactional vs. Transformational leadership, how it relates to being authentic, and Batman and Superman's leadership styles. They also discuss the changing definitions of IT leadership roles and how they relate to leadership styles. Recorded on March 20th, 2021
Josh and Jesse go over what imposter syndrome is, ideas to overcome it, and how it can affect your leadership. Jesse retires the piano music once and for all and talks about a plan to cover the state with more EV charging stations to avoid the clown hotels. Recorded on March 13th, 2021 Links from today's show: https://www.canoo.com/pickup https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/lawmakers-preparing-wide-ranging-clean-energy-bill-includes-100-million-for-electric-car-charging-stations
Josh and Jesse have a great conversation with Jeff Saling, co-founder and executive director of StartupNV, about creating a robust and inclusive startup ecosystem and diversifying Nevada's economy. We also discuss startup culture history here in Las Vegas and why it is essential, we get this right from the start now that we have the chance. More information on StartupNV and it's associated programs can be found here: https://startupnv.org Recorded on March 6th, 2021.
Josh and Jesse discuss the technology ecosystem in Southern Nevada. Jesse brings the piano music back, and Josh discusses the concept of "Cargo Culture" and why we need to avoid it. Recorded on Feburary, 27th 2021
Josh and Jesse describe what drives and motivates them. We also discuss the Vegas Innovation Network, why we need to listen to our team members so that they are motivated, and why sometimes it's ok to make yourself vulnerable in expressing ideas. Recorded on Feburary 20th, 2021 Steve Jobs Stanford commencement speech (2005): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc
Josh and Jesse look at the recent online strife with the technology involved in online communication and financial apps from our returning guest Angelo Stoebe. Jesse discusses Miami's startup scene, and we have a brief discussion about artificial intelligence. Recorded on January 30th, 2021
Angelo Stoebe returns to the show to discuss social media, messaging services, and ethics around "utility-like" services providers from a technical and business perspective.
Joshua Barousse, Director of Development & Co-Founder at San José Spotlight, joins Josh and Jesse to talk about the 2021 Nevada Legislative Session! Josh renames himself "Maverick" during the podcast, Jesse changes the exodus music from piano to guitar, and we dive deep into the tech issues that are going to being discussed in the legislature. Episode recorded on January 18th, 2021. This episode was re-posted, the original podcast file was an accidental duplicate of Episode 9, our apologies! Check out the San José Spotlight here: https://sanjosespotlight.com
Dr. Anne Milkovich joins Josh and Jesse to discuss the talent pipeline in Nevada. We discuss current events, Anne gives us some ideas around why Madison, Wisconsin is a possible tech hot spot, and we find out who's responsible for End User License Agreements!!! Recorded on January 8th, 2021.
Josh and Jesse discuss their 2021 technology predictions for Southern Nevada. Jesse continues the piano music about Silicon Valley, robots are here to stay, and Josh ends up talking about movies, again! Recorded on January 3rd, 2021
Josh and Jesse talk to guest Snehal Bhakta about the digital divide; Jesse continues for some reason playing dramatic piano music about California's tech departure. We then discuss where tech workers are moving. We also discuss some of the prevalent cybersecurity threats in the news right now. Here is the article we referenced in this episode about where tech workers are moving: https://bigtechnology.substack.com/p/where-tech-workers-are-moving-new
Joshua and Jesse invite Craig Rosen - Director of the Nevada STEM Networks, to the show. We discuss the impact Oracle is having on the Industry with their move to Austin, Texas. Craig talks about the Nevada STEM Network's opportunities, and Jesse remembers what and why the Internet exists! Find out more about Nevada STEM Networks here: https://osit.nv.gov/STEM/RegionalSTEMNetwork(SouthernRegion)/ Find out more about the Nevada STEM Hub here: https://www.stemhub.nv.gov
Joshua and Jesse invite Marcus and Cheryl Sherfield to discuss their new business venture, Jesse calls Josh a slacker, local management can be key, and we talk about some of our favorite movies! Find more information about The8r After Dark here: https://www.the8rafterdark.com
Technologist Paul Schaab joins Josh and Jesse to discuss topics ranging from Tony Hsieh, some timely career advice for IT executives, how titles are starting not to matter, and companies that innovate to move forward.
Josh and Jesse talk about the Top Tech Awards 2020, should the CIO/CTO/CISO go down with the ship, and Josh describes his experience setting up a new business in Nevada.
Joined by special guest Angelo Stoebe, Josh and Jesse discuss the campaign to get people to move to Las Vegas to do remote work. Jesse tells another story about his adventures on long road trips, and we ask Angelo for his expertise on European cars -- and hilarity ensues!
Josh and Jesse introduce the show, Biden is President-elect, Josh talks about startups in Las Vegas, Jesse talks about his EV adventures, Eddie World and a Clown hotel -- and much more!
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