Disruption sounds exciting until it wrecks your margins and burns your runway. With innovation veteran Costas Papaikonomou, we get practical about what actually works: protecting your core with calendar-driven updates, growing into real openings, and saving transformation for when the house is truly on fire. We unpack how to make change feel inevitable by aligning ideas with the line you already have, the retailers you must persuade, and the way buyers really shop.

Costas reframes factories as kitchens, where small, thoughtful tweaks produce a surprising range of new “recipes” that run on day one. We explore pace layering—why fast-moving trends fade, infrastructure moves slowly, culture moves slower, and nature barely moves at all—and how ignoring these layers creates five-years-away fantasies. From S-curve convergence in phones to the folly of biscuit brands building apps, we separate theatre from throughput and show how to launch products that stick.

We also go deep on TRIZ and the Ideal Final Result: four vectors that predict the next right move—more perfect, more instant, more autonomous, cheaper. This lens helps you spot inevitable shifts (think wireless over mechanical) and invest ahead of the curve. Finally, we step into the circular economy thesis: cutting material and energy inputs to reduce pollution while improving cost and performance. As digital growth collides with energy limits, cleaner power, better materials, and smarter manufacturing will define the next decade.

If you’re ready to trade slogans for shipped value, this conversation will reset how you think about innovation. Subscribe, share with a colleague who needs a reality check, and leave a review to tell us which pace layer you’re building for.

Fat Tony's is more than a podcast - it's a community. Join our community at FatTonys.net.

The digital world we inhabit grows more complex by the day, with threats evolving at breakneck speed. In this profound conversation, I'm joined by the legendary hacker known as Gummo - a figure whose journey from desperate teenager to Bitcoin billionaire to digital guardian defies easy categorization.

Gummo's story begins with heartbreak. Left alone at 13 after their mother's death, they turned to technology not as a rebellious act but as a means of survival. "I started learning how to manipulate technology for financial gain... it wasn't for fun, it was to take care of myself," they explain. This origin story sets them apart from hackers driven by curiosity or mischief— their skills were forged in the crucible of necessity.

What follows is a masterclass in modern digital security concerns. Gummo provides chilling insights into state-sponsored hacking programs that operate with governmental immunity, the wholesale erosion of privacy in exchange for convenience, and the alarming rise of AI-powered scams that can now replicate voices and faces with frightening accuracy.

Despite amassing a fortune in Bitcoin during its infancy (mining over 180,000 coins), Gummo continues fighting cybercrime from hotel rooms rather than beaches. When I ask why they persist despite having the means to disappear completely, their answer is disarmingly beautiful: "Seeing families together, playing with their children, to see two people in love holding hands and kissing—there's so much that goes into preventing that from not happening." Their passion for protecting ordinary people from digital predators transcends wealth.

The conversation culminates with Gummo's current fascination: quantum computing. Beyond its technical applications, their interest springs from a deeply personal place—the possibility of time travel to see their mother once more. This poignant revelation perfectly encapsulates the person: technically brilliant yet profoundly human, shaped by loss yet dedicated to protecting others from harm.

Whether you're a technology professional or simply someone navigating our increasingly digital world, this conversation offers rare wisdom from someone who's seen both the darkest corners and brightest possibilities of our connected future. Subscribe now and join us for more thought-provoking discussions with extraordinary individuals who challenge our understanding of the world.

Fat Tony's is more than a podcast - it's a community. Join our community at FatTonys.net.

Ever wondered why traditional education still looks largely unchanged since the industrial revolution? Chris Rawlinson, founder of 42 Courses, takes us on a fascinating journey from his days as an Ogilvy advertising executive to revolutionising online learning through behavioural science.

Rawlinson explains how applying advertising principles to education led to a breakthrough approach - creating bite-sized, engaging content with immediate feedback rather than simply digitising academic lectures. This cross-industry innovation forms the foundation of 42 Courses, which partners with thought leaders like Rory Sutherland to deliver learning experiences designed for how people actually absorb information. The discussion reveals surprising insights about educational psychology, including the counterintuitive discovery that higher-priced courses are actually valued more highly by users, creating a tension between accessibility and perceived quality.

The conversation shifts to exploring how artificial intelligence is transforming personalised learning. Rawlinson shares how 42 Courses already uses AI to tailor content to individual learners' needs and industries, while acknowledging both current limitations and extraordinary future potential. Both host and guest share optimism about technology's democratising effect, not just on education but on entrepreneurship itself, as tools for creation become increasingly accessible to everyone. They envision a world where robotics and AI will do for manufacturing what digital tools have done for software - creating near-zero cost entrepreneurship opportunities across all industries.

What skills will matter most in this rapidly evolving landscape? According to Chris, critical thinking, curiosity, and an entrepreneurial mindset will be essential as we navigate a world of increasing technological capability and complexity. For a fascinating glimpse into the future of learning and work, this episode delivers powerful insights about how education is being reimagined for the digital age.

Chris has generously agreed to give Fat Tony's listeners a discount on any of the courses offered on 42courses.com - Use the code 'fattonys' on checkout.

Fat Tony's is more than a podcast - it's a community. Join our community at FatTonys.net.