The Learn.Grow.Deploy Show

What if your best sales coach wasn't a person — and your biggest competitor wasn't another rep, but your own inability to think strategically? In this episode of the Learn Grow Deploy Show, I sit down with Ioanna Mantzouridou, founder of Dextego — an AI sales coaching platform for complex sales and a member of the Google for Startups program. Ioanna's path here is anything but conventional: she was deep into a PhD studying soft skills and coachability when she realized the classroom couldn't move fast enough. So she built the solution herself. Dextego uses computer vision, agentic AI, and proprietary emotion analysis to help sellers prepare for real calls, handle objections, and understand their own verbal and nonverbal patterns — all in a way that actually adapts to the individual, not a one-size-fits-all course from ten years ago. In this episode, we get into: The Emotion Engine — How Dextego uses computer vision to analyze tone, pace, eye contact, and nonverbal cues in real time, giving sellers coaching that goes far beyond what any human manager could catch. Agentic AI Behind the Scenes — Why Dextego is built on bands of AI agents handling distinct sales workflows, and why a partner at Insight Partners told a room full of founders: "If you don't have agentic models on your platform right now, don't count on us." The Future of Sales Careers — Why SDRs are becoming AEs, frontline managers are becoming VPs, and the skill being sought after right now isn't execution — it's strategic thinking. The Real Cost of Building AI — Talent and compute costs are the two walls every AI startup hits. Ioanna breaks down how Dextego navigates both without burning through runway. The Misconception She Can't Stop Hearing — AI does not have feelings. It is not your friend. And the rise of humanoid avatars — especially for children — is something she believes we need to take far more seriously. Whether you're in sales, building an AI product, or just trying to figure out where the human still fits in an increasingly automated world, this conversation will challenge how you think about both.

In this episode, host Mark Johnson sits down with Franco Monsalvo, Co-founder and CTO of Revolt, to demystify the rapidly evolving world of Artificial Intelligence. From his early beginnings as a young computer enthusiast to leading product development, Franco shares his unique perspective on how AI is reshaping industries.     Together, they dive deep into the technical and cultural forces driving innovation, including the creative influence of Argentina’s multicultural tech landscape. Beyond the buzzwords, Franco breaks down the critical role of data engineering, the untapped potential of computer vision, and why open-source models are essential for future progress.

In this episode of the Learn, Grow, Deploy podcast, host Mark Johnson welcomes Dora Boussias, a data strategy expert who recently pivoted from a 30-year corporate career to solopreneurship. Dora shares her mission to empower data leaders and women in tech, offering a candid look at the differences between driving transformation in massive enterprises versus building a business from the ground up. The conversation dives into the practicalities of using AI tools like ChatGPT and Opus Clip for content creation while maintaining a "human in the loop" approach. Dora also issues a critical warning about the risks of "cognitive offloading" and emphasizes why soft skills and business acumen are the secret weapons for anyone looking to break into the data industry.

In this episode, host Mark Johnson sits down with Nicole Jones-Gerbino, a veteran healthcare leader with over 27 years of experience, to discuss the transformative impact of AI on the healthcare industry . From her deep roots in healthcare operations to leading innovative projects in revenue cycle management, Nicole shares her insights on navigating the complex intersection of technology and patient care . They explore the critical challenges facing healthcare today, including the need for strategic AI integration and the importance of data quality . Nicole emphasizes that technology isn't a silver bullet but a tool that requires solid workflows to be effective . The conversation also covers the ethical considerations of AI, the future of healthcare consolidation, and why the next generation of professionals must be both tech-integrated and data-driven .