Days Of Futures Passed

A podcast with guests who share the grand visions of the future from history and science fiction that inspired them as children.

Host

Theo Priestley

Keynote speaker, fractional CxO, advisor, startup mentor, storyteller, technology evangelist, author, futurist, entrepreneur, gamer, cat slave, sci-fi aficionado.
 
For all speaker enquiries please visit: https://www.theopriestley.com

Keynote Speaker, Fractional CxO

HackerNoon

Winner - Most Read Stories of 2023
Nominated - Contributor of the Year 2022
Nominated - Tech Storyteller of the Year 2022
Nominated - Contributor of the Year 2021

Contributing Writer

Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

A comprehensive history of tomorrow, exploring groundbreaking topics including Virtual Reality, AI, Privacy, Education, Economics and the Future of Work.

"The more people that read this, the better the quality of debate and planning going forward. If you have any interest in the shape of the future then this is a must-read!"
 
"This book is a fantastic collation of ideas, insights and analysis on what the future holds. It will challenge you and make you think about how your actions impact the future."

Order the book - now available through Bloomsbury directly, Amazon, Target, Waterstones, and many other international booksellers.

Author - The Future Starts Now

Metanomic

Raised venture capital to build a web3 and video game real-time analytics platform using AI. Led a fully remote, international team to deliver two products in rapid succession (one MVP, one full v1.0), built the client and partner pipeline before handing over to Sales.

Acquired in 2023.

FutureOn

Driving marketing, branding and PR for a unique cloud-based real-time visualization and collaboration platform – FieldTwin – helping Integrated Energy Companies make smarter and faster decisions throughout the lifecycle of a project.

Vice President Marketing

We Didn't Start The Fire

A 13 episode podcast series that covered a multitude of business and technology trends leaving no stone unturned.

CSignum

Ownership of marketing, branding and PR for an offshore engineering company that manufactures patented wireless and cable-free data communications systems for the energy, environmental, transportation and aquaculture sectors.

Rebranded from WFS Technologies following a management buyout.

RawShark Studios

Bootstrapped game design studio working on web3 game projects.

Founder/ Head Of Studio

HTC Vive

Startup Mentor

Please note I no longer use LinkedIn on a regular basis. 
Visit theopriestley.com for contact details, or medium.com/@theo for articles.

Cameo Doran

Cameo Labs

Most founders don’t struggle with ideas. They struggle with getting them built.

You know the feeling:
→ Customers are demanding features your team can’t deliver fast enough.
→ Competitors are launching what you’ve had on the roadmap for months.
→ Investors are pressing for traction while your team is still planning and complaining about tech debt

It’s frustrating. Every month of delay feels like you are slipping further behind: burning runway, missing deals, losing confidence.

That’s where we come in.

At Cameo Labs, we specialize in building the software that founders need shipped yesterday. Using a process we call Insight Driven Development, which combines AI acceleration with senior engineering talent we can turn urgent product ideas into production-ready platforms in 4–6 months. 

And because our process bakes customer insight into every stage, what we deliver isn’t just fast, it’s software your customers actually adopt and stick with. The kind that drives revenue, not churn.

The result isn’t another fragile product that crumbles under real use, or months of your team still stuck in planning. It’s real, revenue-driving software your business can put in front of customers right away.

Proof?
✔ An EdTech founder closed $3M in contracts on a platform we delivered in under 5 months.
✔ An infrastructure company saved $6M after we migrated 1,000+ servers with zero downtime.
✔ An AI training company hit $1.5M ARR in 9 months after we built their custom education platform.

We’re not a typical agency. We’re the partner founders trust when the stakes are high, the team is stretched thin, and the clock is ticking.

If you’ve got a product that can’t wait, let’s talk.

Founder

Nerd United

Nerd United is a Web3 venture studio focused on building blockchain enabled startups that solve real world problems. 

As SVP of Product for the Studio, I lead a high-caliber product team responsible for bringing highly innovative blockchain products to market.  We teach brands to accelerate the pace of product ideation and leverage concept validation methods to evaluate new product ideas and ensure the success of product launches and the startups as a whole. 

At Nerd United, we are systematizing innovation. I am responsible for building processes that allow teams and founders within our incubator to be learning and discovery focused. We teach repeatable processes for problem and solution validation, user discovery, market research, and other aspects of new opportunity evaluation.
I also work with individual brand product leads and founders to define and own product vision and strategic roadmaps. I act as a strategic partner and advisor to both the brands in the incubator and our portfolio companies, and I'm always looking for ways to create value and support the growth of our startups.

SVP of Product - Venture Studio

Theory of Anything Podcast

Co-Host

LeadingAgile

Leading Agile is company that specializes in agile and digital transformations for Fortune 50 companies. As a Managing Consultant, I was responsible for consulting with executive teams at enterprise companies on implementing agile processes and moving towards a product-driven model. 

I coached C-suite executives and their teams on best practices for modern product management, including design thinking tools and lean startup methodologies. I also trained executive teams on OKRs and leveraging an OKR mindset to empower product teams and create more successful outcomes.

Managing Consultant - Product Management & Strategy

SolutionStream

As Head of Product and Delivery, I focus on building innovation & agile development processes that help our clients create world class products.  With our SolutionMap™ process we keep clients laser focused on building the most valuable product features and exploring potential issues and roadblocks before we start writing code. 

I manage and deliver large, complex products from initial engagement to production launch and ongoing enhancement.  I provide product strategy and agile & lean operations training to our clients and employees while focusing on rapid delivery and top-notch user experience.  

I have helped clients from small startup to enterprise implement agile in transformative ways. I guide and train organizations on cutting-edge product management process. I also coach executives and product teams on strategy and process to deliver products that drive business results. 

I have built a framework that uses rapid agile product development processes and focuses on market research, user testing, refining and validating product ideas based on market and user data.

VP Product & Innovation | High-Growth Product Strategy | Worldclass Execution

LogMeIn

Recruited by the CTO as the first VP of Product, I owned all product-related activities including market definition, Product Strategy, User Experience (UX) and User Testing, and product roadmap and planning activities.  I was responsible for improving and managing product management processes speed up product time to market, deliver enhancements that improved user experience and ensure ROI on product development investments. 

▷ Directed a unified product team including product managers, UX/designers, and agile coaches.
▷ Collaborated with executive leadership to evolve product roadmap to match the overall product strategy.
▷ Introduced Design Thinking methodologies to enhance development processes.
▷ Ensured predictable delivery of features/products by using internally published roadmaps and measurable value of product department work
▷ Managed product planning processes with internal and external stakeholders
▷ Collaborated with customer/partner stakeholders to validate the effectiveness of the product team and communicate upcoming priorities
▷ Analyzed and prioritized future product opportunities based on Jive’s unique software platform
▷ Conducted tactical product management functions as needed - including gathering high-level requirements, developing user stories, etc.

VP Product Management ☆Product Innovation | Culture Transformation | Execution Strategy

Kartiva 

We make videos instantly shoppable. 
The future of everything is video and we make the technology that allows consumers to shop directly inside live video.

Advisory Board - Product

As the director of Product Management & Operations, I provided strategic advice and technology expertise to deliver the products and solutions our clients need to be successful. Oversaw strategy, design, development, production, and execution of complex programs for this well-known custom software development firm.
▷ Managed all development and production for Modere.com, a $2.5 million program introducing an all-new name and brand, but also a complete overhaul of their e-commerce system. 
▷ Oversaw creative, account, client, and technical teams to develop comprehensive products and product campaigns for various B2C and B2B clients
▷ Created budgets and maintain dynamic timelines for multiple interactive advertising campaigns simultaneously for various brand/agency clients
▷ Responded to proposal requests; Generate competitive bids, estimate level of effort and technical requirements, and develop project scope to create comprehensive statements of work for clients

Director of Product Delivery | Product Management & Strategy | Agile/Scrum Mentor

OrbSix Software

As a founder of this SaaS startup, I wore many hats. Since we were bootstrapping, every dollar was vital. I was responsible for almost everything that touched Product management and Product Strategy. I was also responsible for Project Management and Customer Experience.
As part of my role, I had to learn how to successfully manage projects and products and teams. In an attempt to develop more successfully, we implemented XP as an agile methodology. This was my first introduction into agile and it changed my perspective on how software should be built. 
I developed and implemented project and product Management guidelines and policies across the organization and monitored effectiveness and geared changes to optimize budget and time and ensure success.

Orbsix Software specializes in Loyalty Programs and Compensation Management software for the Retail and Network Marketing Industries.

Co-Founder | Head of Product 

FedEx Office

Worked directly with Project stakeholders to define project requirements and success criteria.  Coordinated with project teams to ensure on time project delivery.

Sr Project Coordinator

Chief Product Officer ⇢ Fractional Prices with Full-Time Impact ◆ Digital Transformations ◆ Advising Startup Founders and Executives Building Innovative Products ⇢ AI / XR / Web3

I’ve always been fascinated (and a little frustrated) by how many great companies can’t seem to ship great software. I’ve sat inside teams where brilliant ideas died in Jira backlogs, and I’ve watched the opposite too: features rushed out fast, only to flop because they were poorly executed or customers didn’t care. Both hurt. Both waste time and burn cash.

Cameo Labs is my answer to that problem. I started it because I couldn’t stand watching founders lose momentum on ideas that should have changed their business and their lives. 

My mission is simple: help founders build the right product, fast enough to matter.

Since starting, I’ve led projects that:

- Shipped an EdTech platform that closed $3M in contracts in under five months.
- Migrated 1,000+ servers with zero downtime, saving $6M.
- Built an AI training platform that scaled to $1.5M ARR in 9 months.

I’m dorky about this stuff. I love the messy early product conversations, poking at assumptions, figuring out where speed really matters, and then helping a team pull off what feels impossible. That’s what gets me up in the morning.

If you’re a founder under pressure to ship something that can’t wait, I’d love to hear about it.

Chief Product Officer / Fractional Product Management

As the owner and founder of Cameo Labs, I am dedicated to helping CEOs and executives of $100M - $500M businesses in the Edtech, Fintech, and SaaS sectors achieve rapid and transformative innovation. 

At Cameo Labs, we understand that staying competitive in today’s market requires more than just innovative ideas—it demands strategic execution and a customer-centric approach.


I founded Cameo Labs to empower our clients by streamlining their product development processes, aligning their business strategies with technological advancements, and fostering a culture of continuous innovation.

We operate differently than most agencies. 

Our holistic approach combines technology, strategic foresight, and customer insights to create cohesive and impactful product visions. Our clients have experienced faster innovation cycles, improved product success rates, and higher customer satisfaction.

With a proven track record of success, we are committed to turning your challenges into opportunities for growth and success. Our goal is to be your trusted partner, helping you achieve your business vision and lead your industry.

Let’s Connect:
Discover how Cameo Labs can transform your business. Visit http://cameolabs.com or reach out to me directly to explore how we can work together to drive your business forward.

Everyone wants AI, but almost no one is ready for it. 

And it's not just one thing holding companies back. It's a whole laundry list of problems. 

Companies are rushing as fast as they can to implement AI.
Add it to development. Embed it in the application. 
Hell, embed it in everything and use it to replace headcount.

But so far, the data is pretty clear. Most companies struggle to see tangible, long term impact. I mean beyond more causing dysfunction and confusion

Because AI depends on how well your system already works.
It's the well-worn phrase, "Garbage in, garbage out" at scale and lightening speed. 

the companies seeing the greatest impact are the ones with good foundations. 

If you want to compete seriously with AI, you have to fix the flow of data, decisions, and ownership first.

li_at

LinkedIn Login, Sign in | LinkedIn

JSESSIONID

Talks about #agile, #innovation, #leadership, #leanstartups, and #productmanagement

From Vision to Execution | Faster Products, Better Results, Bigger Impact | SaaS Companies | Strategic Software Partner

"If you continue to improve a product enough, eventually you'll ruin it."
- David Pogue


What’s your favorite product that got ruined by improvement?

So many teams fall into the trap of new feature chasing and the. they don’t understand why customers stop using their product..

Friendly reminder:
The code was never the bottleneck

Did you know that even before AI, as much as 60% of code was never used?
Complete waste!

And now AI can spit out code in minutes. But that speed doesnt make it inherently useful. No matter how quickly you can debug it. 

The hard part in product development is:
--> Identifying a clear urgent problem
--> Making real product decisions
--> Keeping your code flexible enough to allow for change
--> Closing the loop between what you ship and what your customers actually want/use

If you want AI to be a multiplier instead of a mess, Treat code as the cheapest part of the system and discipline as the real scarce asset.


Are you using AI to actually improve your product development process, beyond “we make more code faster”?

When everything is #1, nothing is. 
Everyone knows it's true. 

But I bet your organization is still guilty of this: Trying to make everything a top priority.

“But it’s all critical” you say. Sorry friend, it just doesn’t work that way. 

Balancing multiple critical projects seems like the way to get ahead. And especially with AI, everyone is convinced that they can add more and more and more work into the queue.

It almost always results in everything moving slower. 

It’s why effective prioritization is critical. 
It's why the key responsibility of leadership is to effectively decide and communicate what is the most important thing. 

Instead of spreading your resources thin, focus on what truly matters. 
Remember, clear priorities lead to clear outcomes. 

Choose wisely.

AI doesn’t hallucinate. 

It is working as designed. 






Hi, I am Cameo👋

I help transform “we just added AI” into 
”customers now pay more for this.”

No alternative text description for this image

Your company’s data situation is probably way worse than you think.
(this cake meme doesnt begin to do it justice)

You’ve got plenty of data, but it’s scattered across tools and sources and no one agrees on definitions. 
And half the metrics were made up by some long-gone employee named Bob, and never fixed.

Your Dashboards may look polished, but underneath, it’s messy. 
Employees are stitching numbers together just to keep things moving.

And most people don’t even trust what they’re looking at.

And now you want to talk about AI, or automation? I'm sorry, friend, you're just not ready. 

If your data foundation isnt solid, nothing you build on top of it is going to work

I guess this is an effective way to know your meeting could/should have been an email. 

At least people read emails still (mostly) 
No one is even going to skim the meeting summary.

What I often see is a bit different. 

The CEO announces a bold AI vision and tells the CTO to make it happen, but refuses to allocate any additional budget and insists that they can make do with Copilot. 
The CTO knows this won't work but can't push back because the CEO already made the announcement at the last all-hands.

Meanwhile, there's no training, but everybody is still using it in the day-to-day, but usually only ChatGPT, and they hide it because they're supposed to be using Copilot. They are sharing prompts in Slack DMs, and getting shit done despite the lack of support. 

They're not hiding because they're rebels. They're hiding because admitting they need better tools means admitting the company's "AI strategy" is a joke.

The real problem isn't that we need more Jacks. It's that Jack is forced to work around a leadership team that thinks AI transformation happens through proclamation instead of investment. 

You can't transform a company with vibes and a press release.

🤖 Generative AI Lead @ AWS ☁️ (150k+) | Startup Advisor | Public Speaker | AI Outsider | Founder Thinkfluencer AI

The real reason AI is failing inside companies (and nobody wants to say it)...

Here’s what the org chart looks like in most companies “going all-in” on AI:

- The CEO announces a bold AI vision and tells the CTO to make it happen.
- The CTO nods, shifts priorities, and hands the CIO the budget to “become AI-first.”
- The CIO gets excited and starts building a brand-new AI empire:

A Chief of AI? Of course.
An AI Center of Excellence? Mandatory.
An AI Ethics Officer? Absolutely.

And yet… you already know the punchline.

Everyone is talking about AI.
Almost no one is building with AI.

Except Jack.
The intern.
The only person actually shipping anything.

And then leaders wonder: “Why isn’t our AI strategy working?”

The answer is simple.
We don’t need more AI committees.
We need more Jacks.

#ai

Sampling bias is the quiet killer of product decisions.

The people who answer surveys are almost never “customers.” They are a specific personality type with spare time, strong opinions, or a grudge.

So a team builds and ships a new feature because: “We asked 200 users and 92% wanted it.”

No you didn’t.
You asked the 200 people who felt like answering.

Meanwhile, the silent majority:
	•	ignores the survey
	•	never opens the feature
	•	churns with zero explanation
	•	complains to peers instead of your inbox

That is how feature bloat happens.
That is how AI turns into product clutter.

You know what kills trust faster than a bad product? A great pitch followed by a mediocre product.

I bet you have seen it again and again. 
Sales overpromises. Product underdelivers, and the customer suffers.

And here is what I rarely see mentioned: Sales overpromises because the product is already underdelivering.

The sales team is out there trying to close deals with a product that doesn't meet customer needs. So they start selling what they wish existed. Because what does exist isn't good enough.

So why are companies building products that are so obviously underwhelming in the first place?

Companies waste 69% of their development investment on features customers don't use. And AI is making this worse. 

Sales teams are pitching AI capabilities that don't exist yet or wildly overstating what the technology can actually do. Product teams are scrambling to deliver on promises that were never realistic in the first place.

But the problem isn't Sales. The problem is companies are building the wrong things and wondering why nobody's excited about them.

Your customers deserve better than this.

Next week I'm running a training for founders who are tired of wasting capital on products their customers don't want. Come learn how to validate what to build before you build it.

Send me a DM if you want an invite.

Everyone is optimizing for speed.

And believe me, I think that speed matters more than ever. 
But dont mistake picking which way to build the wrong thing faster as a strategic choice.

Hey, that new feature was cheap to build with AI, right?

Cheap code almost always has an expensive outcome.
- A surge in support tickets.
- Feature bloat in your app
- Disgruntled customers churn.

And now your team gets to babysits a feature nobody wanted anyway....forever

Just my weekly reminder:
Code was never the bottleneck. Value still is

In the professional world, Is it ok to say, “I am learning something new. I am still bad at it.”?

The rise of AI is crazy. I don’t think we’ve ever had a moment where so many experienced people have to pick up something new at the same time. 

Lots of people talk like they are experts. Most people quietly feel like beginners.

Most business cultures still reward polished confidence over honest, in-progress learning. So people fake it and quietly fall behind while AI is reshaping how real work happens.

So I am am here to tell you, if you want to truly learn and grow, you have to do new things even when you are still bad at them.

With AI, you cannot wait until you feel ready. Be willing to learn in public. It is okay if you feel you are not ready or lack the in-depth experience. 
That is still true of almost everyone. 

What are you going to push yourself to be bad with AI at this weekend?

Hey! That's not my music! This is all wrong! 

That was my immediate thought when I saw my Spotify wrapped. 
I suspect that a lot of parents with younger kids had a similar reaction. 

But then I remembered how every time my 13 year old gets in the car she asks, "can I put on music?" And of course I say yes and hand her my phone. 

And so we drive to and from school, or to run errands, or up the canyon late at night while we eat ice cream and listen to the music she loves and for a few precious minutes a day she lets me into her world. 

Of course my Wrapped would reflect that. 

I see the same thing with companies and their data all the time. 
They do not trust it. They argue about it, or second guess it. 
They say, “That cannot be right,” anytime the numbers do not match the story in their heads.

But data remembers the small moments we forget. 

So yeah, maybe those arent the songs I would have chosen, but I wouldnt change them for the world. 

Where are you looking at your data and saying, “That cannot be right,” when it absolutely is?

Trusting Spotify_Cameo Doran

2018: Our Development teams are slow, we need to add more developers.

2025: Our development teams are slow, we need to add more AI
Different moment in time, same organizational mistake.

Executives keep assuming that more engineering firepower solves slow delivery.

Wrong ⚠️ 

Without changes to systems and process, more code generation usually slows you down because you just run into the same constraints, faster.

Instead, look at the real roadblocks:
↳ No real customer feedback loops
↳ Vague requirements and shifting scope
↳ Stakeholder chaos and unclear ownership
↳ Release anxiety and brittle delivery pipelines
↳ Governance bottlenecks (security, legal, compliance)

Fix those problems instead. And watch productivity soar.

“Stop mining our souls”

Fiery speech by Utah Governor Spencer Cox today at Utah AI Summit. 

“We will not continue to allow big tech companies to abuse us. 

We own our data and can take it anywhere we want

We are going to tell you (big AI companies) what we will and won’t allow.”


I don’t always approve of the Utah political landscape, but I like the vision of the Utah Pro human AI initiative he announced today.

Albert Einstein famously said, “It is not that I’m so smart. But I stay with the questions much longer.”

When we are building products, success doesn’t require that we have all the answers, 
But it is critical that we are asking the right questions.

The best leaders and teams embrace curiosity. 
They dig deeper when something doesn’t feel right. They ask “why?” Over and over when others stop at one.

Ultimately our goal in product development is to: 
- Discover root causes
- Challenge our assumptions
- and Find insights and opportunities others miss.

The truth is most breakthroughs don’t come from what we know. 
They come from what we’re willing to uncover by asking better questions.

How do you approach curiosity in your work? Do you push past the obvious to find the real insight?

This headline cracks me up. 

I am glad to see Spotify is the benchmark for successful subscriber growth.

Interestingly Open AI currently has 35 million subscribers after 3 years and is giving themselves 4 years to get to 220 million (not quite the 280 million that Spotify currently has)

I would be curious how Spotify classifies users on their family plan. It allows 6 users for $19. 
Do they count those as 6 different subscribers? Or one? 

Will OpenAi try and create a comparable family type plan to drive up their subscription numbers to reach this milestone? 

A lot of people are claiming that we are only a couple of years away from AGI or ASI or whatever name for artificial super intelligence they are using. 

But apparently they think super intelligence will happen before this Spotify subscription milestone is achieved. Lol

Maybe their super intelligent version of ChatGPT can help OpenAI figure out increase subscriber count fast. 

What do you think? 
Will Open AI drive a Spotify level of growth over the next 4 years?

Do you want a key to more happiness?

Start with gratitude.

It is Thanksgiving, so hopefully you are already thinking about what you are grateful for. But gratitude changes your entire life, not just your mood for one day. 

Years ago during a dark time, I started a purposeful gratitude practice, and now being thankful is a constant mindset that has transformed my life. 

Being appreciative of the goodness in my life opens me up to joy. 
Gratitude helps me refocus on my blessings rather than my trials or frustrations. 

People who regularly practice gratitude: 
- Sleep better
- Feel more alive
- Have stronger immune systems.
- Experience more positive emotions
- Express more compassion and kindness

Here are some simple ways to incorporate gratitude into your life:

𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲.
- Focus on the present moment without judgment 

𝗞𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗮 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲 𝗷𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹. 
- Try and be specific about the sensations you feel when good things are happenings.

𝗪𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗮 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸-𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲.
- Find excuses to formally express enjoyment and appreciation to the people around you. 

Lastly… on a day dedicated to gratitude, make sure to openly express thanks to the people around you and to your creator for your blessings and fortune. 

Have you incorporated a practice of gratitude into your life? I am curious to hear how it has impacted you.

Did yall get your ChatGPT wrapped yet?

mine just dropped and its a little unhinged. 

- 87,502 minutes with ChatGPT
- 129,247 prompts
- 6,879 “try again” requests
- 1,119 “finally, yes” moments
- 824 hallucinations caught

What do your stats look like? Did you use AI the way you wanted to? 
What were you most surprised about? 


No...
This isnt real. There is no ChatGPT wrapped. LLMs dont work this way. 
In fact, as I was making this, I asked ChatGPT if it could provide me with any of this data, and it told me:

"Usage stats live on OpenAI’s side, not inside me.
I don’t have a memory of “being” the same agent across your sessions or any direct access to account data, logs, or billing. 
Each conversation is basically a fresh brain that only sees what’s in the current thread plus whatever you explicitly share or store as “memory.” 
So I literally don’t know."

taplio

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Theo Priestley

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