Please join me in celebrating the 44th, and final episode of Season 1, with a very, very special guest. We'll be back soon with more stories of innovation and entrepreneurship from founders, CEO's and Product Leaders of disruptive and innovative products. - Nathan C.

Leslie Shannon, Head of Trend and Innovation Scouting at Nokia, reveals how a 160-year-old company continues to lead by relentlessly adapting, trend-spotting, and cultivating innovation.

From sawmills and rubber boots to Bell Labs AI and immersive virtual meeting agents, Leslie shows why the “pipes and infrastructure” backstage of global connectivity are more innovative—and more fun—than most people imagine.

Key Takeaways

• Reinvention DNA: Nokia constantly reinvents itself by leveraging core expertise, enabling pivots from sawmills to global telecom infrastructure and beyond.
• Enterprise Innovation: Leslie’s trend scouting bridges the worlds of customers, executives, and technologists by bringing outside insights directly into product and network strategies.
• AI With Safety Nets: Nokia’s unique approach to generative AI—using models for internal efficiency while assuring staff they’ll never be replaced by AI—demonstrates a future-forward, humane corporate playbook.
• Infrastructure as Opportunity: True innovation—whether in network tech, XR, or AI—is built on the patient, modular assembly of “building blocks” and is tested through customer feedback, not just internal enthusiasm.
• Tools for Human Collaboration: Shannon spotlights Arthur, a VR meeting tool with an AI moderator that streamlines feedback, crystallizes friction points, and helps teams focus on creative solutions instead of wasting time on consensus-building.

Leslie’s journey weaves together Nokia’s multi-generational legacy with modern foresight. She surfaces blind spots, diffuses hype with real customer needs, and ensures Nokia (and its customers) make bets that prepare them for what’s next, not just what’s now.

About Leslie Shannon

Leslie Shannon is the Head of Trend and Innovation Scouting for Nokia. A Silicon Valley-based futurist, she focuses on identifying connectivity-related tech disruptions and opportunities, including developments in robotics, drones, visual analytics, cloud gaming, generative AI, and especially augmented and virtual reality, the foundations of the Metaverse.

Leslie has a BA from the University of Virginia, a Master’s Degree from Yale University, and was a five-time champion on Jeopardy!. She does all her daily fitness work in virtual reality.

Leslie is the author of Interconnected Realities, a look at the current and future development of the Metaverse, and, with Catherine D. Henry, Virtual Natives, an examination of how Gen Z and Gen Alpha’s use of digital technologies is revolutionizing how humans relate to both computers and each other.

A "glow up" signifies a positive transformation, reflecting the journey of becoming a better, more successful version of oneself.

At The Tech Glow Up, we humanize the startup and innovation landscape by focusing on the essential aspects of the entrepreneurial journey. Groundbreaking ideas are often ahead of their time, making resilience and perseverance vital for founders and product leaders.

In our podcast, we engage with innovators to discuss their transformative ideas, the challenges they face, and how they create value for future success.

If you're a founder or product leader seeking your own glow up, or a seasoned entrepreneur with stories to share, we invite you to join our guest list via this link.

With over a decade in XR and a career that began in marketing and product development, Thaisa Yamamura is dedicated to bridging the gap between complex engineering and creative user needs, bringing innovative 3D, XR, and spatial computing technologies from prototype to market.

Thaisa Yamamura is the Head of XR Products and Business Development at Sony Electronics, where she leads the creation and launch of XYN, Sony’s new end-to-end ecosystem of 3D tools for creators.

Key Takeaways:

• End-to-End 3D Ecosystem: Thaisa spearheaded the launch of XYN, a suite of creator-first tools including easy 3D capture (using Gaussian splatting, iPhone & Sony cameras), real-time motion capture (mocopi sensors), and high-resolution glasses-free 3D spatial displays—a pipeline designed to bring 6DoF content creation to professionals and beginners alike.
• Customer-Obsessed Product Development: From conducting on-the-ground CES research to incorporating real user feedback (like PC streaming for mocopi), Thaisa’s approach is deeply user-driven and iterative, often involving direct partnerships with engineers, the creative community, and early adopters.
• Versatile Applications: The XYN ecosystem not only supports creators in entertainment and gaming, but is already impacting industries such as virtual production and healthcare (e.g., using Sony’s Spatial Reality Display to view medical DICOM files in true 3D).
• Collaboration & Partnerships: Thaisa advocates for leveraging industry partners and existing tech—rather than “solutioning” for its own sake—to deliver integrated, rapidly evolving products. She sees her role as “the messenger and connector,” translating user insights into engineering action and aligning stakeholders for maximum impact.
• Empowering Women in Tech: As one of the only women at the table for much of her career, Thaisa is committed to mentoring globally and creating more opportunities for women in XR and tech—while celebrating her diverse, women-led team at Sony.

Thaisa’s current focus is on gathering feedback for XYN’s spatial capturing solution and broadening its real-world adoption from virtual film sets to next-gen indie content, with plans for expanded collaboration and community engagement in the near future.

About Thaisa Yamamura - Sony Electronics.

Thaisa Yamamura is the Director of XR Business and Product Development for Sony Electronics, with a career spanning over 20 years across Brazil, Japan, and the United States. She currently leads XR initiatives from Los Angeles, focusing on immersive technology, strategic product and business development.

She played a central role in launching the new 3DCG solution XYN™ (/zin/)—an integrated software and hardware platform that supports the creation of spatial content. Thaisa introduced XYN™ on the main stage at Sony CES 2025, mar

A "glow up" signifies a positive transformation, reflecting the journey of becoming a better, more successful version of oneself.

At The Tech Glow Up, we humanize the startup and innovation landscape by focusing on the essential aspects of the entrepreneurial journey. Groundbreaking ideas are often ahead of their time, making resilience and perseverance vital for founders and product leaders.

In our podcast, we engage with innovators to discuss their transformative ideas, the challenges they face, and how they create value for future success.

If you're a founder or product leader seeking your own glow up, or a seasoned entrepreneur with stories to share, we invite you to join our guest list via this link.

Aidan Wolf is the Co-Founder and CEO of DreamPark, a company reinventing the future of theme parks by bringing massive, multiplayer, mixed-reality experiences anywhere—malls, parks, or even your own backyard.

With a background spanning games, social apps, and AR, Aidan and his team are proving that immersive play can spark joy, community, and real-world revitalization.

Key Takeaways:

• Downloadable Theme Parks: DreamPark turns any large space into a "downloadable" theme park—no physical props, just a handful of headsets and compelling digital worlds. Experiences range from whimsical coin-collecting adventures to wizard duels and mixed-reality races.
• Designing for Immersive Play: The magic is in the details: seamless onboarding (no headset straps), worlds that feel alive whether you’re observing or playing, and player-driven, non-linear exploration inspired by theme park and classic video game design.
• Serious Growth, Real Impact: From all-in bets like forgoing rent to buy more headsets, DreamPark landed a commercialization breakthrough with successful public tests, a Shark Tank appearance, enthusiastic VCs, and rapid expansion into malls and parks in Seattle, LA, and soon, Long Island.
• Community and Accessibility: DreamPark is on a mission to revitalize real communities—bringing families and kids to empty malls and parks and creating new opportunities for play, learning, and belonging in overlooked spaces.
• Lessons in Iteration: The team credits their success to relentless user testing, honest feedback, and learning from customer behaviors in live settings. DreamPark’s vision is about lowering barriers for both players and aspiring creators—the next goal is to let anyone build and launch their own DreamPark.

Aidan’s personal journey—from childhood world-builder to AR founder, to DreamPark CEO—shapes every product decision around creativity, accessibility, and the belief that play can transform both places and lives.

With a growing suite of games and partners, DreamPark is shaping the future of spatial entertainment and the power of collective imagination.

About Aidan Wolf

Aidan Wolf is the award-winning creator behind hit viral AR apps like DoodleLens, Blue Sky Paint, and RPG for Snap Spectacles and is now on a mission to make an Earth Worth Playing at DreamPark, the downloadable theme park company.

A "glow up" signifies a positive transformation, reflecting the journey of becoming a better, more successful version of oneself.

At The Tech Glow Up, we humanize the startup and innovation landscape by focusing on the essential aspects of the entrepreneurial journey. Groundbreaking ideas are often ahead of their time, making resilience and perseverance vital for founders and product leaders.

In our podcast, we engage with innovators to discuss their transformative ideas, the challenges they face, and how they create value for future success.

If you're a founder or product leader seeking your own glow up, or a seasoned entrepreneur with stories to share, we invite you to join our guest list via this link.