John Klymshyn & Isaac Naor join Federico Ramallo for a special episode: three voices, three lessons, and three stories inspired by Open the Valve, the third installment in the “Intersections That Illuminate” series. They unpack how creativity shows up at key intersections—like rest and risk, language and music, and brain and mind—and why this book is meant as encouragement for creative practitioners, not a step-by-step “how-to.”

The conversation moves from big themes to real moments: gratitude as a daily posture, a shooting star as a reminder to grab what’s fleeting, and how collaboration can sharpen (and lovingly challenge) the work. Federico shares how co-authoring the Spanish adaptation, Abre la Válvula, became more than translation—bringing cultural context, humor, and meaning so the ideas truly land across Latin America, Spain, and beyond.

They also explore a core idea: creativity can be solitary, but it doesn’t have to be lonely—solitude can mean focus, purpose, and momentum.

The episode closes with a simple invitation: start anywhere, take notes, and then go make something—because the point is to open the valve and let the work flow through you.

About Open the valve:

- https://openthevalve.com/

About Federico Ramallo ✨👨‍💻🌎

🚀 Software Engineering Manager | 🛠 Founder of DensityLabs.io & PreVetted.ai | 🤝 Connecting 🇺🇸 U.S. teams with top nearshore 🌎 LATAM engineers

- 💼 https://www.linkedin.com/in/framallo/

- 🌐 https://densitylabs.io

- ✅ https://prevetted.ai

🎙 PreVetted Podcast 🎧📡

- 🎯 https://prevetted.ai/podcast

- 🐦 https://x.com/PrevettedPod

- 🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/company/prevetted-podcast

John Karsant shares the unexpected path that took him from college tennis and coaching to sales, remote work, and ultimately founding LevelUp Leads in 2021. John explains how a bold life move—quitting coaching and moving to Argentina to learn Spanish—pushed him to find one of the rare remote roles available in 2015, where he became the first SDR at a small startup and learned sales by wearing multiple hats.

In this conversation, John breaks down what appointment setting really looks like today and why many companies choose outsourced SDR support instead of building an internal team. He explains the real costs and risks of hiring in-house (tools, management, ramp time, churn) and why SDR turnover makes consistency hard to maintain. John also walks through the different ways teams use outsourced outbound: testing new markets, launching new products, expanding internationally with native English speakers, or covering peak demand around conferences and events.

Federico and John dive into what’s working now across outbound channels. John shares why cold calling is the strongest single channel today, and why a multi-channel approach (calls + email + LinkedIn) can improve conversion by adding touchpoints and awareness. They also talk about common mistakes companies make—especially setting unrealistic meeting goals without prior outbound data—and why outbound should often start as a testing and learning process, not an immediate ROI play. John offers a practical view on when to adjust campaigns and how to avoid overreacting too early.

Finally, John tackles the big question: SDRs in the age of AI. He shares why most buyers assume messages are AI-written, how to keep personalization human, and why real relationships—podcasts, events, in-person connections—matter more than ever. He closes with his outlook on the future of SDR work: outbound is getting harder and more crowded, but the need for human-to-human selling isn’t going away.

About John Karsant:

- https://levelupleads.io

- https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnkarsant/

- https://x.com/Jkarsant

About Federico Ramallo ✨👨‍💻🌎

🚀 Software Engineering Manager | 🛠 Founder of DensityLabs.io & PreVetted.ai | 🤝 Connecting 🇺🇸 U.S. teams with top nearshore 🌎 LATAM engineers

- 💼 https://www.linkedin.com/in/framallo/

- 🌐 https://densitylabs.io

- ✅ https://prevetted.ai

🎙 PreVetted Podcast 🎧📡

- 🎯 https://prevetted.ai/podcast

- 🐦 https://x.com/PrevettedPod

- 🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/company/prevetted-podcast

Michael Green explains why he co-founded Athena Security and how a real, heartbreaking incident in 2023 reinforced the urgency of their mission: saving lives by detecting and denying weapons—and sometimes dangerous people—before they enter facilities. He shares how targeted violence can slip through gaps in coverage and how that reality pushed his team to deploy faster and more widely.

Federico and Michael unpack what it takes for security programs to work in the real world. Michael explains that detection is only part of the system: outcomes depend on disciplined processes, well-designed secondary screening, and consistent officer performance over time. They discuss the core tradeoff every organization faces—accuracy, speed, and convenience—and the “necessary friction” required to keep environments safe without overwhelming staff with alarms or fatigue.

Michael breaks down Athena’s approach to weapons screening using multi-frequency electromagnetic detection to identify metallic contraband, with customers setting the “threat target” based on what they want to keep out. He describes how most teams handle alerts through secondary screening (often with hand wands), and why higher sensitivity (like detecting small blades) inevitably increases alarms and workload. They also cover the challenges of 24/7 operations versus event venues, where staffing is concentrated for a short window.

The conversation goes beyond weapons: Michael highlights rising concerns like phones and smart devices as new forms of contraband and data risk, and explains why schools face unique challenges due to large perimeters and the creativity of students. He also outlines how Athena uses AI to increase accountability—confirming officers are present, resolving alarms with documented reasons, and providing audit trails and system health monitoring.

Finally, Michael shares his vision for the next 3–5 years: a convergence of systems—weapon screening, X-ray, visitor management, access control, and video—into a unified security operations view, moving toward a more seamless, less manual “tunnel of truth” experience.

About Michael Green:

- https://www.athena-security.com/

- https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelleonardgreen/

About Federico Ramallo ✨👨‍💻🌎

🚀 Software Engineering Manager | 🛠 Founder of DensityLabs.io & PreVetted.ai | 🤝 Connecting 🇺🇸 U.S. teams with top nearshore 🌎 LATAM engineers

- 💼 https://www.linkedin.com/in/framallo/

- 🌐 https://densitylabs.io

- ✅ https://prevetted.ai

🎙 PreVetted Podcast 🎧📡

- 🎯 https://prevetted.ai/podcast

- 🐦 https://x.com/PrevettedPod

- 🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/company/prevetted-podcast

00:00 Introduction to Athena Security and Its Mission

00:58 The Importance of Threat Detection Technology

05:25 Innovative Screening Solutions for Public Safety

07:23 Challenges in Different Environments

11:45 Balancing Accuracy, Speed, and Convenience

14:12 Common Failures in Security Technology

16:37 Choosing the Right Detection Setup

19:47 The Future of Threat Detection Technology