“What if we could read every piece of customer feedback, every single day?”

In this episode of Tech Scenes Santa Barbara, Jeff Martin sits down with Ryan Millner, Co-founder & CEO of Unwrap, to explore how AI is transforming how companies truly understand their customers.

Ryan’s journey spans early startup experience at Graphiq (acquired by Amazon) and years at Amazon helping scale Alexa’s intelligence systems — giving him firsthand insight into the power and limitations of natural language processing. That experience led to a simple but powerful idea: companies struggle to understand customer feedback at scale — what if AI could solve that?

Unwrap was built to do exactly that.

The platform ingests massive volumes of customer feedback — from support tickets, calls, surveys, and social channels — and turns it into clear, actionable insights for product, engineering, support, and executive teams. Companies like DoorDash, Stripe, and Southwest Airlines use Unwrap to stay in sync with what their customers are actually experiencing.

The conversation dives into the rise of AI-native products, the acceleration of learning loops inside organizations, and the growing gap between those building with AI and those unaware of its capabilities. Ryan also shares insights on pricing, moving upmarket, and why the bar for product excellence is rising faster than ever.

They also explore the realities of building in AI — from guardrails and data privacy to deciding when to build vs. buy — and why focusing on core competency is more important than ever in an AI-driven world.

Chapters

00:00 The Rise of AI and Customer Understanding

01:28 What Unwrap Does and Why It Matters

04:40 The Evolution of AI Interfaces and Chat

07:48 Guardrails, Data Privacy, and Enterprise Complexity

10:43 Founder Journey and the Idea Behind Unwrap

13:20 Learning Loops in the Age of AI

15:16 Why This AI Moment Is Different

17:31 Build vs Buy in an AI World

20:19 What People Still Don’t Understand About AI

26:19 Startup Lessons: Pricing and Moving Upmarket

28:37 AI Coding and the Future of Product Development

29:29 The Ever-Rising Bar for Product Excellence

Watch now to understand how AI is reshaping the feedback loop between companies and customers — and why the teams that learn fastest will win.

🌐 Visit Collective Genius™ to build your growth team with the Peak OS™ 👉 https://www.collective-genius.com/

📘 Learn more about the book Peak Teams – Mastering the Habit of Unstoppable Venture-Backed Companies 👉 https://a.co/d/hp5Jtnu

⏱️ Got 5 minutes? Take the Peak Teams Assessment to see where your team can level up 👉 https://www.collective-genius.com/peak-teams-assessment

#TechScenes #UnwrapAI #AI #CustomerExperience #ProductDevelopment #Startups #Leadership #NLP #Innovation #PeakTeams

“Start deep and narrow.” - Casey Allen

In this episode of Tech Scenes Malibu, Jeff Martin sits down with Casey Allen, founder of Enterprise Rising, to talk about grit, failure, and building the Midwest startup ecosystem from the ground up.

Casey’s journey didn’t start with privilege. Raised by a single mom and determined to create opportunity, he became an entrepreneur out of necessity — launching his first company at 18. He went on to start four more profitable companies, but without major exits. His reflection? Early success without mentors left him stuck below the $1M revenue ceiling.

Now, he’s committed to changing that for the next generation of founders.

The conversation dives into the rise of Midwest SaaS, the launch of Enterprise Rising as a focused room for enterprise tech founders, and why community matters more than hype. They explore the impact of AI on entrepreneurship, the increasing importance of unit economics, and why founders must raise their bar for metrics and discipline in today’s funding environment.

Casey also shares candid lessons on failure, ego, and what it really takes to build something meaningful outside Silicon Valley — emphasizing that the future of innovation isn’t coastal, it’s distributed.

Chapters:

00:00 The Midwest Startup Landscape

02:09 Enterprise Rising Conference: A Celebration of SaaS

04:50 The Impact of AI on Entrepreneurship

09:05 Unit Economics and the New Funding Landscape

11:48 The Importance of Metrics in Startups

16:16 Embracing Failure in Entrepreneurship

19:46 The Journey of a Founder

27:02 Creating Community for Entrepreneurs

32:29 The Art of Hosting Meaningful Events

Watch now to hear why the Midwest startup ecosystem may be one of the most underrated forces in tech — and what founders must master to thrive in today’s environment.

📘 Learn more about the book Peak Teams – Mastering the Habit of Unstoppable Venture-Backed Companies

👉 https://a.co/d/hp5Jtnu

🌐 Visit Collective Genius™ to build your growth team with the Peak OS™ Software

👉 https://www.collective-genius.com/

⏱️ Got 5 minutes? Take the Peak Teams Assessment to see where your team can level up

👉 https://www.collective-genius.com/peak-teams-assessment

#TechScenes #EnterpriseRising #MidwestStartups #SaaS #Entrepreneurship #FounderJourney #StartupMetrics #CommunityBuilding #AI #PeakTeams

“Leadership isn’t about having fewer fears — it’s about learning how to lead with them.” - Peter Brack

In this episode of Tech Scenes Beverly Hills, Jeff Martin sits down with Peter Brack, a trusted executive coach to some of the world’s most accomplished founders and CEOs.

Peter works with high-performing leaders backed by firms like Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, General Catalyst, and Y Combinator, helping them build enduring companies while navigating the internal and external complexity that comes with growth. His career spans the full arc of company-building — from launching CNN and Turner Broadcasting in Asia at Time Warner, to serving as President of Time Inc. Asia Pacific, to co-founding and leading two companies through IPOs on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Now, as a credentialed executive coach (ICF), Coaching Fellow at the Institute of Coaching, and co-founder of an early-stage venture firm and startup studio, Peter brings rare perspective into what truly shapes great leadership over time.

The conversation explores fear, confidence, and decision-making at the highest levels, the methodologies behind effective coaching, and how founders and CEOs can scale themselves alongside their organizations. They also dive into team dynamics, organizational growth, and why the inner work of leadership becomes more—not less—important as companies grow.

Chapters

00:00 Leadership at the Highest Levels

04:12 The Role of Fear in Leadership

09:03 Confidence vs Certainty

14:27 Founder and CEO Dynamics

20:41 Coaching Methodologies That Work

27:18 Scaling the Leader as the Company Scales

33:56 Team Dynamics and Organizational Growth

41:02 Decision-Making in Complexity

48:15 Preparing for the Next Chapter

Watch now to hear how elite founders and CEOs think about leadership beneath the surface — and what it really takes to build companies that endure.

📘 Learn more about the book Peak Teams – Mastering the Habit of Unstoppable Venture-Backed Companies 👉 https://a.co/d/hp5Jtnu

🌐 Visit Collective Genius™ to build your growth team with the Peak OS™ 👉 https://www.collective-genius.com/

⏱️ Got 5 minutes? Take the Peak Teams Assessment to see where your team can level up 👉 https://www.collective-genius.com/peak-teams-assessment

#TechScenes #Leadership #ExecutiveCoaching #CEOLife #Founders #TeamDynamics #BusinessStrategy #PersonalGrowth #PeakTeams