Can you really lead a tech company if you’re not technical yourself?

David Windley has done exactly that.

He’s the former CHRO at Yahoo, held senior HR roles at Microsoft, Intuit, and Activision, scaled a startup from <$1M to $50M as CEO, and now leads HootRecruit — a recruiting tech company.

David has spent his career at the intersection of people, technology, and leadership.

Listen to this episode to learn:

• How non-technical founders blow it when hiring their first developers
• Why a startup CTO is nothing like a corporate CTO
• The “Windley Rule” — why engineers must make sure you understand, not the other way around

If you’ve ever felt shut out of the tech conversation because you don’t code, this episode will show you how to step up as a leader.

Resources from this Episode

Tech for Non-Technical Founders course https://www.techfornontechies.co/tech-for-non-technical-founders

Growth Through Innovation

If your organisation wants to drive revenue through innovation, book a call with us here.

Our workshops and innovation strategies have helped Constellation Brands, the Royal Bank of Canada and Oxford University.

Follow and Review:

We’d love for you to follow us if you haven’t yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast.

Episode Credits

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you.

For the full transcript, go to https://www.techfornontechies.co/blog/271-what-big-tech-taught-me-about-leading-without-code

Most people think you need to be a Silicon Valley insider — or have millions in funding — to start a tech venture.

That’s just not true.

In this episode, Sophia Matveeva shares the journeys of four Tech for Non-Techies alumni who built products and startups without writing a single line of code. You’ll learn:

• How a dentist turned lockdown frustration into a healthtech app (and how you can spot opportunities in your own field).
• Why a fund manager realised he didn’t need to code — and the mindset shift that freed him to start building.
• How a CFO uses tech knowledge to make smarter investment decisions (lessons every business leader can apply).
• The simple framework a banker used to launch her startup on the side, while keeping her day job.

You’ll hear directly from Tech for Non-Techies alumni Dr. Marilyn Sandor, Musi Skosana, Gustavo Juarez, and Zahra Almahoozi — and walk away with practical takeaways you can use to move your own idea forward.

If you’ve ever caught yourself thinking “someone like me couldn’t do that,” this episode is proof that you can.

Resources from this Episode

FREE class: Build a Startup WITHOUT Learning to Code

https://www.techfornontechies.co/freeclass

Tech for Non-Technical Founders course: https://www.techfornontechies.co/tech-for-non-technical-founders

Growth Through Innovation

If your organisation wants to drive revenue through innovation, book a call with us here.

Our workshops and innovation strategies have helped Constellation Brands, the Royal Bank of Canada and Oxford University.

Follow and Review:

We’d love for you to follow us if you haven’t yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast.

Episode Credits

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you.

For the full transcript, go to https://www.techfornontechies.co/blog/270-real-people-real-startups-lessons-from-our-alumni

Most founders think you need to be technical to build a billion-dollar company.

But some of the world’s biggest tech giants were started by people who never wrote a single line of code.

In this episode, Sophia Matveeva unpacks the journeys of four non-technical founders who rewrote the rules of business.

In this episode, you will hear:

• How Steve Jobs proved that design instincts can beat coding skills
• Why Jack Ma’s 30 job rejections became his unfair advantage in building Alibaba
• The broke rent payment that sparked Airbnb’s $80B global empire
• What Katrina Lake’s Stitch Fix IPO teaches about trusting customers over investors

Resources from this Episode

https://www.techfornontechies.co/blog/how-companies-really-use-ai

FREE CLASS:

Build a Startup WITHOUT Learning to Code

https://www.techfornontechies.co/freeclass

Growth Through Innovation

If your organisation wants to drive revenue through innovation, book a call with us here.

Our workshops and innovation strategies have helped Constellation Brands, the Royal Bank of Canada and Oxford University.

Follow and Review:

We’d love for you to follow us if you haven’t yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast.

Episode Credits

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you.

For the full transcript, go to https://www.techfornontechies.co/blog/269-4-non-technical-founders-who-built-billion-dollar-tech-empires

Most founders think securing investors will solve all their problems.

But fundraising often creates a new set of challenges—misaligned expectations, endless reporting requests, and pressure that pulls focus from building the business.

The truth is, raising capital isn’t just about money.

It’s about relationships, trust, and knowing when to push back.

In this episode, you’ll learn from Jeffrey Fidelman, founder and managing director of Fidelman & Company, which is on Inc.’s list of America’s fastest-growing companies.

Jeffrey has worked at Morgan Stanley, been a partner at a venture fund, and now advises early and mid-stage companies on growth and fundraising strategy.

He shares what founders should realistically expect from investors, how to set boundaries without burning bridges, and why today’s tools—like AI and no-code—make it possible to show traction before raising a single dollar

In this episode, you will hear:

• Why some investors secretly derail startups — and how to spot them early
• The hidden risk of over-delivering for your investors (and how to say no)
• How no-code and AI tools can replace your first $250K in funding
• The newsletter strategy smart founders use to turn interest into investment

Resources from this Episode

Free class: Build a startup without learning to code https://www.techfornontechies.co/freeclass

Fidelman & Co https://fidelmanco.com/

Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection https://amzn.to/3HPMHRG

Financial Times: Being an angel investor is tougher than it looks
https://on.ft.com/4oDoQFD

Growth Through Innovation

If your organisation wants to drive revenue through innovation, book a call with us here.

Our workshops and innovation strategies have helped Constellation Brands, the Royal Bank of Canada and Oxford University.

Follow and Review:

We’d love for you to follow us if you haven’t yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast.

Episode Credits

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you.

For the full transcript, go to https://www.techfornontechies.co/blog/268-how-to-align-founders-and-investors-before-things-go-wrong

Most non-technical founders dream of building a game-changing tech product—without learning to code.

But bridging the gap between vision and execution? That takes more than just a good idea.

In this episode, Sophia Matveeva breaks down 7 essential lessons from the rise and fall of BlackBerry, a tech company that revolutionized communication, then lost it all.

You’ll learn why great engineers aren’t enough, how clueless sales pitches kill trust, and why falling in love with your invention might be your biggest risk.

Whether you’re planning your first app or scaling your second startup, this episode is packed with real talk and timeless wisdom, straight from a founder who’s been there.

In this episode, you will hear:

• How BlackBerry went from world-domination to irrelevance — and what every non-technical founder can learn from its rise and fall
• Why mutual respect and tech fluency between business leaders and engineers is non-negotiable
• How poor communication between sales and technical teams can sink even the best products
• The hidden risk of falling in love with your invention — and how to avoid it

Build a Startup WITHOUT Learning to Code

https://www.techfornontechies.co/freeclass

Follow and Review:

We’d love for you to follow us if you haven’t yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast.

Episode Credits

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you.

For the full transcript, go to https://www.techfornontechies.co/blog/267-7-startup-lessons-from-blackberry-s-rise-and-fall

Most founders dream of creating a product so good it sells itself.

That’s the promise of product-led growth: customers discover, share, and adopt your product with little to no sales effort.

Sadly that's rarely the reality.

In the early stages, almost every founder has to do the hard, unglamorous work of founder-led growth: building trust, making offers and facing rejection.

In this episode, you will learn from Vijay Rajendran, author of The Funding Framework: Secure Startup Funding With Confidence.

Vijay previously led portfolio value at 500 Global, a venture capital firm with $2.7 billion under management, where he supported startups in more than 80 countries.

Vijay has helped hundreds of founders grow, scale, and raise capital.

Listen to learn:

• The difference between founder-led and product-led growth — and when each approach works best.

• How design partnerships and pilots can win your first customers (and even get them to fund product development).

• Why “influence” is a better mindset than “sales” — and how listening to customers creates trust.

• Stories from Airbnb to enterprise startups that reveal what growth really looks like behind the scenes.

Whether you’re launching your first product, leading innovation inside a corporate, or backing founders as an investor, this episode is for you.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, Robert Cialdini
• Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as if Your Life Depended on It, Chris Voss

Chapters

05:24 — The seductive dream of product-led growth (and why it rarely works early on)

07:52 — Design partnerships: how customers can fund your product

13:39 — The Airbnb toilet photos story: why every founder must talk to customers

18:55 — Stop pitching, start listening: turning sales into influence

23:23 — Empathy and persuasion: the human skills behind tech success

28:48 — When to move from founder-led growth to a professional sales team

If your organisation wants to drive revenue through innovation, book a call with us here.

Our workshops and innovation strategies have helped Constellation Brands, the Royal Bank of Canada and Oxford University.

For the full transcript, go to https://www.techfornontechies.co/blog/266-founder-led-vs-product-led-growth-how-to-pick-the-right-path-for-your-startup

If you’re a non-technical founder building your first product, this episode is for you.

In today’s lesson, Robyn Exton shares the real story of how she went from branding agency employee to founder of a global tech company — without writing a line of code.

She didn’t raise millions on day one. She learned by doing, made all the early-stage mistakes, and got her first users with vodka shots in nightclubs.

Now, her app has millions of users and she’s been through Y Combinator.

Robyn is the founder of HER, the dating app for queer women.

Listen to this episode to learn:

• How to build a tech product without knowing how to code

• What to do when your first version fails

• The difference between product design and graphic design (and why it matters)

• How to work with developers when you don’t speak tech

Whether you’re dreaming up your first MVP or struggling through version two, this is your honest guide to building in the dark — and making it work.

Chapters

00:00 — Vodka shots for downloads: the hustle begins

03:10 — From branding job to building a tech product

10:30 — The wake-up call: “You’re doing too many things”

14:00 — Fake research, failed MVP, and what she learned

27:20 — How a non-technical founder led a dev team

33:45 — Hiring a CTO, letting go of ego, and building trust

45:35 — Raising $1M before YC — and why she joined anyway

51:10 — Final audience Q&A: churn, product, and user feedback

If your organisation wants to drive revenue through innovation, book a call with us here.

Our workshops and innovation strategies have helped Constellation Brands, the Royal Bank of Canada and Oxford University.

For the full transcript, go to: https://www.techfornontechies.co/blog/265-from-vodka-shots-to-y-combinator-how-a-non-technical-founder-built-a-global-tech-company

If you’re the kind of leader who is “on” all the time — even on vacation — this episode is for you.

In today’s lesson, Sophia Matveeva shares a practical, honest approach to taking time off without pretending you’ll fully unplug.

Because when you're in charge, not checking work emails is often a pipe dream.

Listen to this episode to learn:

• Why inner peace isn’t realistic for early-stage founders

• How to structure your break without lying to yourself

• The one rule you must follow if you get a great idea mid-vacation

• Why learning to trust your team now will set you up to scale

• How to use downtime to spot blind spots and reset your strategy

Whether you’re heading to the beach or just trying to unplug for a weekend, this is your guide to making rest work for your ambitious brain.

Chapters

00:00 — The founder brain that never stops
01:50 — You don’t need inner peace, you need creativity
04:52 — Structure your vacation like a pro
07:15 — What to do when inspiration strikes on holiday
09:35 — Smart founders use vacations to train their teams

If your organisation wants to drive revenue through innovation, book a call with us here.

Our workshops and innovation strategies have helped Constellation Brands, the Royal Bank of Canada and Oxford University.

For the full transcript, go to https://www.techfornontechies.co/blog/264-the-vacation-strategy-for-people-who-can-t-switch-off