Main Street Minds: Success Beyond Limits with Amish Munshi

In this episode of The Mainstreet Minds Podcast with Amish Munshi, we sit down with Dona Maria Jose, Senior Software Engineer at Slack, for a heartfelt and inspiring conversation about navigating a successful tech career, embracing change, and staying passionate along the way. Dona shares her path from studying computer science in India to pursuing a Master’s in the U.S. and building a dynamic career across top tech companies like ...

In this episode of The Mainstreet Minds Podcast with Amish Munshi, we sit down with Agbai Iroha — a driven software engineer, startup co-founder, and community youth leader with roots in Nigeria and a heart in New Jersey.

Agbai shares his path from high school football fields to Monmouth University, where a chance campus tour led him into software engineering. He opens up about building a career in Salesforce development, staying a...

Frank Kanu joins Amish Munshi for a compelling episode about the evolution of a tech career that started in the most unexpected way. From navigating Germany’s military draft to entering the world of IT through hands-on experience, Frank shares how his early career in sales and hairdressing actually laid the foundation for success in software systems and ERP development.

In this conversation, you’ll hear about:

• The massive com...

In this insightful episode of The Mainstreet Minds Podcast, host Amish Munshi welcomes David Thrower, the visionary CEO and Acting CTO of Cerebros—a company that’s revolutionizing how AI assistants are built and personalized. David breaks down the technical innovation behind Cerebros’ new platform, which allows users to build custom AI models from the ground up, starting at the foundation model level.

He explains how Cerebros goes ...

Bryan Guinn joins Amish Munshi on The Mainstreet Minds Podcast to explore how small businesses and startups are fueling innovation for the U.S. military through programs like SBIR. From building SharePoint tools for EMS services to advising the Air Force on secure, rapid software deployment, Bryan’s journey is one of constant evolution and mission-driven tech.

We dive into how companies can transition from commercial markets to def...

In this episode, Manish takes us through his unique path from early tech passion to corporate leadership, startup success, and now helping early-stage founders build AI-driven solutions. We explore his early days coding with legacy systems like COBOL, his transition into fintech, and how he sold his first company. Manish also dives into current trends in AI, what it means to build domain-specific large language models, and how spee...

In this exciting episode of The Mainstreet Minds Podcast, Amish Munshi sits down with Neethu Elizabeth Simon, a Senior Software Engineer at Intel, to explore her journey from studying engineering in India to driving innovation in AI and computer vision in Arizona.

Neethu shares how her love for science (and a few helpful cousins) led her into tech, and how she's now helping shape the future of intelligent hardware and software opti...

In this insightful episode of The Mainstreet Minds Podcast, Amish Munshi sits down with Siddharth Dalal, an experienced technologist and serial startup contributor, currently leading the way as a fractional CTO and co-founder of Broke Robotics. Siddharth shares his journey from his early days in the U.S., his work with startups spun out of the University of Virginia, and how he’s scaled tech teams across the globe.

He opens up abou...

In this value-packed episode of The Mainstreet Minds Podcast, host Amish Munshi sits down with Keshav Kolur, a former Amazon and Meta software engineer turned real estate and private equity investor. Keshav shares how a single book changed the trajectory of his life, prompting him to explore financial freedom through real estate syndications and oil & gas ventures.

You'll hear about:

• Keshav’s leap from tech to finance

• W...

In this episode, host Amish Munshi chats with Ankur Mathur, a lifelong learner, passionate builder, and current CTO at Expirator. Ankur walks us through his fascinating story—from growing up in Calcutta, diving into sci-fi and neural networks, to working with giants like Macy’s and IBM, and now building intelligent marketing agents like Zyra.

You’ll hear about:

• The early seeds of Ankur’s AI passion through Isaac Asimov’s book...

In this insightful episode, Fernando Fernandes joins Amish Munshi to talk about his journey from a small city in Brazil—fittingly named Natal (which means Christmas!)—to creating impactful enterprise systems across continents. Fernando discusses his early years learning Pascal, his deep technical experiences with Java and enterprise systems, and what it takes to develop software that genuinely improves lives.

They dive into some of...

In this fascinating episode, Amish Munshi welcomes AI pioneer and computer vision expert Christopher Stauffer, whose journey through MIT, DARPA projects, Facebook, and startups is a masterclass in applied innovation. Christopher shares his evolution from working on foundational AI problems to co-founding Your Move, a platform revolutionizing video editing using AI and personalization.

Listeners will get a rare peek into the early d...

Adel Danandeh, Global IT leader at DataStax, shares his journey from tinkering with tech as a kid to transforming enterprise IT systems with AI and automation. In this candid and insightful conversation, Adel reflects on the evolving role of IT, the importance of curiosity, and the mindset shift from traditional troubleshooting to proactive problem-solving.

Adel discusses the tools and frameworks he uses to stay organized in a fast...

In this episode, Karlo Kilayko shares his journey from game development to leading cutting-edge iOS mobile applications. A veteran of THQ, Skyward, and Bluevine, Karlo discusses the importance of native app development, why businesses shouldn't overlook mobile-first strategies, and how working in games prepared him to build successful teams in fast-paced environments.

The conversation covers:

• Karlo’s evolution from indie game...

What happens when you blend deep technical knowledge with business smarts and fearless leadership? In this episode of The Mainstreet Minds Podcast, Amish Munshi sits down with Ronnie Mack, founder of Mirror Progress, to explore exactly that.

Ronnie shares his unconventional path from studying physics at Berkeley to leading a tech solutions firm that helps organizations—from government entities to law firms—modernize their systems t...

In this episode of The Mainstreet Minds Podcast, Amish Munshi sits down with the incredibly insightful Julie Chatman, Deputy Chief Information Security Officer for Finance at the Virginia Information Technologies Agency. Julie’s journey from the U.S. Navy to cybersecurity leadership is nothing short of inspiring.

Julie shares how her early beginnings in medical technology and her federal experience with the FBI laid the groundwork ...

In this episode of The Mainstreet Minds Podcast with Amish Munshi, we sit down with Ajay Murali—a data science leader whose journey spans roles at Meta, Atlassian, and several other industries including healthcare, startups, and government consulting. Ajay shares how his passion for mathematics and early exposure to data infrastructure set the foundation for a career that now blends storytelling, technical skill, and strategic thin...

In this exciting episode, Amish Munshi sits down with gamification expert and founder of Blue Rabbit, Bernardo Letayf. Broadcasting from Miami, Bernardo dives deep into how we can make education fun, engaging, and meaningful through game-based learning platforms.

He shares the winding journey of starting Blue Rabbit, how he navigated through major ups and downs—including losing investors and pivoting into new markets—and why gamifi...

On this episode of The Mainstreet Minds Podcast, Amish Munshi sits down with Casey Carlton, a tech industry veteran turned venture capital enthusiast, based in San Francisco. From working at enterprise giants to navigating fast-paced startups, Casey shares how his curiosity led him to the dynamic world of venture capital.

This candid conversation covers everything from Casey’s early tech career, his unexpected path into VC, the imp...