In this special ThinkData episode, I catch up with Cal Al-Dhubaib, founder of Pandata (now Head of AI & Data Science at Further).

🎧 What we cover:

• Where AI actually is right now, and how to separate hype from real disruption
• The decline in data & analytics job openings, what's behind it and how leaders should adapt
• Advice for data professionals worried about AI replacing their roles
• How companies can build trust in AI systems, both with employees and customers
• What the future of AI-native teams might look like

This one’s honest, insightful, and packed with takeaways for anyone navigating the AI and data space today.

In this episode of ThinkData, in partnership with Dataworks, we sit down with Sandeep Mennon, co-founder of Auxia, an AI-driven growth platform reshaping how companies activate, engage, monetize, and retain their customers.

Sandeep brings a wealth of experience from over 15 years at Google, where he led marketing for Android, Chrome, and Google Play. Now at the helm of Auxia, he’s focused on helping businesses harness AI to drive smarter, faster customer growth.

We dive into the shift from Big Tech to startup life, how Auxia is building AI agents for modern marketing teams, and the future of personalization, privacy, and AI-first marketing.

🧠 Key Talking Points:

• From Google to Startup: What motivated Sandeep to leave Google and build Auxia? What lessons did he take from Big Tech into startup life?
• The Auxia Mission: How Auxia is helping marketing teams automate and scale customer engagement with AI.
• Personalization vs. Privacy: Navigating the balance between deeply personalized marketing and growing data privacy expectations.
• Future of AI in Marketing: What emerging trends, tools, and technologies are likely to disrupt marketing in the next 3–5 years?
• Advice to Future Founders: Sandeep’s take on building in AI today, and his one piece of advice for anyone entering the space.

In this episode, we sit down with Cameron Behar, Co-Founder and CTO of Sprinter Health, a startup using AI-driven logistics to deliver clinical services directly to patients’ homes.

With a background at Google and Facebook, Cameron shares how his technical expertise is helping redefine in-home preventive care.

Topics covered include:

• The founding story of Sprinter Health and Cameron’s journey into healthcare
• What Sprinter does and the core problem it’s solving in the U.S. healthcare system
• The operational and technical challenges of delivering care at home
• How Sprinter ensures its technology works for both patients and clinicians in real-world settings
• The role of AI in logistics, scheduling, and driving better clinical outcomes
• How Sprinter differentiates itself in a fast-growing digital health market
• Cameron’s vision for the future of at-home healthcare, and how Sprinter is shaping it

A great listen for anyone interested in the intersection of AI, logistics, and healthcare innovation.

In this episode of the ThinkData Podcast, brought to you in partnership with Dataworks, we sit down with Kinshuk Mishra, Chief Technology Officer at Cedar, a Series D healthtech company working to transform the complex and frustrating world of healthcare payments in the U.S.

With an impressive background spanning leadership roles at YouTube, Houseparty, Spotify, Amazon, Expedia, and EA, Kinshuk shares what drew him away from big tech and into the mission-driven world of healthtech.

He breaks down Cedar’s vision, the challenges of healthcare billing, and how the company is leveraging AI to make the patient financial experience clearer, faster, and more empathetic.

We dive into:

• What Cedar is and the real-world problem it's solving
• How AI is helping demystify the billing process for patients
• The launch of "Kora", Cedar’s AI assistant, and how it simplifies bill understanding and management
• Building trust in AI for sensitive use cases like healthcare and financial data
• How Cedar keeps pace with the ever-changing healthcare landscape
• What’s next on the roadmap as Cedar continues to innovate with AI

A must-listen for anyone interested in the intersection of AI, healthtech, and real-world impact.

In this episode, I'm joined by John Beadle, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Aegis Ventures, a New York-based venture studio that builds HealthTech companies in partnership with some of the country’s leading healthcare systems.

Aegis is taking a unique approach to digital health innovation, blending venture building with deep healthcare collaboration, whilst helping to reshape how care is delivered.

We cover:

• How Aegis Ventures differs from traditional VCs and incubators
• The Aegis Digital Consortium and its mission to put health systems at the center of innovation
• How do they choose which healthcare challenges are worth solving
• What founders must get right in the first 100 days of a new company
• Why some startups struggle to gain traction with health systems, and how to avoid the same fate
• How AI is influencing the kinds of companies Aegis is launching
• The biggest mistakes early-stage healthtech founders make

Whether you’re a founder, investor, or operator in digital health, this episode offers real insight into how the future of care is being built.

In this episode of the ThinkData Podcast, we’re joined by Brandon Atkinson, CEO of CareRev, a nurse-founded, tech-enabled staffing platform reshaping the way healthcare facilities connect with clinical professionals.

We delve into how CareRev is redefining the traditional nursing model by providing nurses with more flexibility, autonomy, and control over their schedules through a shift-based marketplace. Brandon shares the origin story of the platform and how it supports nurses with different life needs.

We also explore the role of AI and data in determining shift pay rates, balancing nurse attraction with hospital budget constraints, and delivering cost-effective staffing at scale.

Brandon walks us through the recent launch of IRP+, a solution designed to help hospitals build and manage internal resource and float pools, reducing reliance on expensive travel nurse contracts.

As the conversation continues, we address one of healthcare’s most urgent issues: nurse burnout. Brandon discusses how CareRev is tackling the root causes by promoting work-life balance and supporting long-term workforce stability, especially in the post-COVID landscape.

Finally, we unpack the operational and GTM challenges CareRev faced during its growth journey, offering insights into healthcare sales cycles, platform adoption, and Brandon’s leadership style through it all.

In this episode of the ThinkData Podcast, I sat down with Eli Ben-Joseph, Co-Founder and CEO of Regard. This Series B health tech company uses AI to transform EHR data into actionable clinical insights.

We covered a wide range of topics, including:

• How Regard is solving one of healthcare’s biggest data problems, and what makes their product stand out
• The challenges of selling into a complex market with long sales cycles and how their go-to-market approach evolved
• Building trust in AI with clinicians and administrators, and the early hurdles they faced in getting buy-in
• Why so many startups get hiring wrong, and how Eli approached building a strong, mission-aligned team
• Where AI in healthcare is headed next, and the role Regard plans to play in shaping that future

A great conversation with some honest insights on scaling in one of the toughest industries out there.

On today’s episode, the team is joined by Hamid Tabatabaie, President & CEO of CodaMetrix, a Series B HealthTech company using AI to transform clinical coding.

Hamid brings deep experience from the healthcare technology space and has been at the forefront of driving operational efficiencies in some of the most complex health systems in the U.S.

The conversation kicks off with a look into Hamid’s background, followed by an overview of CodaMetrix, how it began, what problem it solves, and why it matters.

Key Discussion Points:

🧠 The Origin Story & Problem Solving

Hamid shares a brief introduction and explains the mission behind CodaMetrix, and the pain point they set out to fix in clinical coding and revenue cycle management.

📈 Finding Product-Market Fit

Many founders talk about product-market fit, but Hamid reflects on the exact moment he knew CodaMetrix was solving a real need for hospitals, and how that realization shaped their strategy.

🧭 From Internal Tool to Market-Ready Product

CodaMetrix was born out of Mass General Brigham. Hamid walks through how the company’s go-to-market strategy evolved once they moved beyond internal use and began selling to other healthcare systems.

⚙️ Navigating GTM in Complex Health Systems

Selling AI into large healthcare systems is no small task. Hamid discusses the toughest challenges, from long sales cycles to navigating multiple stakeholders, and shares what’s worked (and what hasn’t).

🤖 The Evolution of AI Thinking

Since launching CodaMetrix, how has Hamid’s perspective on AI shifted? He talks through lessons learned, where the tech is headed, and how CodaMetrix is staying ahead.

A big thanks to Hamid for joining the show and sharing his insights. For more conversations like this, follow The ThinkData Podcast wherever you get your podcasts, and stay tuned for more interviews with the founders and operators shaping the future of AI and HealthTech.