The Miami Tech Pod

Alex Wilson has already built and exited one crypto startup. Now he's doing it again. After co-founding The Giving Block and selling it to Shift4 in 2021, Alex spent four years leading crypto at the payments company before leaving to launch Miami-based Cyclops. Less than a year in, Cyclops has raised $28 million and grown to more than 30 employees, with a mission to change how money moves around the world. In this episode, Alex shares what he's doing differently as a second-time founder

What does it actually take to win in venture capital? Harlem Capital co-founder and Managing Partner Henri Pierre-Jacques joins Maria to unpack a decade of lessons. They talk about how to identify exceptional founders, why the best VC deals can take years to build, the growing importance of an investor’s personal brand, and why founders should reference-check their VCs. Henri also shares Harlem Capital’s approach to investment decisions, what it takes to make partner, how AI has changed th

Skin cancer is the most common cancer in America, yet millions of people never receive the annual skin exam doctors recommend. So what if your primary care physician could detect suspicious moles in seconds using AI? In this episode of the Miami Tech Pod, Maria sits down with Cody Simmons, Co-Founder and CEO of DermaSensor, the company behind America's first FDA-authorized AI-powered skin cancer detection device. Cody shares the incredible eight-year journey from research project to commer

In this episode of the Miami Tech Pod, Maria sits down with Ricky Rosa, founder of Miami-based Oasis, the startup building what it believes is the next computer interface. Ricky shares how years of work led to a product that caught the attention of Marc Andreessen, generated millions of views worldwide, and is rethinking how we interact with AI. In this episode, you'll learn: Why Oasis says it's not building a smart ring — it's building the next computer interface The long-term vision for

As AI-generated content floods the internet, one question is becoming increasingly important: How do we know what's real? In this episode of Miami Tech Pod, I sit down with Zach Meltzer, Founder & CEO of VeryAI, a Miami-based startup building technology that helps prove you're a real human online using nothing more than a scan of your palm. Zach shares how his experience scaling Galxe to more than 32 million users exposed a growing problem with bots, fake accounts, and digital identity—an...