How is AI changing the relationship between business and technology — and what happens when even great tech fails to deliver business value? On the Innovantage Podcast, Gediminas Zalys from Accenture UK & Ireland unpacks what digital transformation actually looks like inside large enterprises.

Gediminas Zalys is an engineering leader focused on AI, machine learning, and business transformation. With experience spanning engineering, consulting, entrepreneurship, and enterprise technology at Accenture, he has seen both sides of the equation: ambitious technology built without the right business case, and business decisions transformed by what new technology suddenly makes possible.

0:00 Introduction 0:27 How Gediminas became an engineering leader at Accenture 5:16 What is Accenture Song and why does it exist? 13:39 Consulting across completely different industries 23:31 How to handle business pushback 32:19 How great technology failed billion-dollar brands 38:38 Can technology change the direction of a business? 43:33 When emotion beats rational business decisions 45:28 Why Gediminas’ restaurant startup failed 50:11 How AI is disrupting the corporate world 54:48 Is SaaS really dead? 58:29 How enterprises need to transform for AI 1:03:31 The future of business and technology 1:08:30 Where to find Gediminas

Connect with our guest Gediminas Zalys – https://www.linkedin.com/in/g-zalys/ Connect with Max Max Golikov – https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxim-golikov/

🎧 Listen Now Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/19M3HKc1pbeTkYcOeOkJc0?si=aab60a9ec2864ba2 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/pl/podcast/innovantage-podcast/id1749330437

Follow for More Insightful Episodes Innovantage Podcast: https://www.linkedin.com/company/innovantage-podcast/ Sigli: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sigli/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sigli.gang Did something surprise you in this conversation? Drop a comment below — we read every single one. Subscribe so you don't miss the next episode of Innovantage Podcast.

Sales and recruiting rarely get discussed together, even though they shape each other constantly. This episode, Max sits with Edvin Vosylius, founder of European Sales Headhunting Agency, a Vilnius-based recruitment agency focused specifically on sales talent, to unpack how those two functions collide in practice.

Edvin brings 19 years of hands-on sales experience to the table, having worked as a rep, a head of sales, and a chief sales officer before building a business around placing salespeople for a living. That path, including a failed corporate venture and a startup collapse, shapes everything he now looks for when hiring or advising others in the field.

In this episode, hear about mid-market versus enterprise sales, the mechanics of building a profitable recruitment agency, the traits recruiters look for in top salespeople, and how AI is reshaping CVs and interviews.

Chapters 0:00 Introduction 1:00 How Edvin founded a recruitment agency 3:56 Why mid-market deals beat enterprise sales 9:27 Is the agency business still relevant? 15:00 What companies get wrong about hiring salespeople 21:07 Different types of salespeople explained 24:41 How to identify a great salesperson? 29:31 Why great salespeople fail in new industries 33:16 Do you really need to start a business? 51:06 How recruitment agencies actually make money 56:11 Advice for salespeople and hiring managers 57:48 AI in sales 1:03:30 Where to find Edvin

Connect with our guest Edvinas Vosylius – https://www.linkedin.com/in/edvinasv/ HEMES – https://www.wearehemes.com/ Connect with Max Max Golikov – https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxim-golikov/

🎧 Listen Now Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/19M3HKc1pbeTkYcOeOkJc0?si=aab60a9ec2864ba2 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/pl/podcast/innovantage-podcast/id1749330437

Follow for More Insightful Episodes Innovantage Podcast: https://www.linkedin.com/company/innovantage-podcast/ Sigli: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sigli/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sigli.gang Did something surprise you in this conversation? Drop a comment below — we read every single one. Subscribe so you don't miss the next episode of Innovantage Podcast.

What does it take to build a defense tech startup, raise €1.1 million, and manufacture drone technology in Europe? In this episode of the Innovantage Podcast, Elvinas Kukys, CEO and Co-Founder of Luna Robotics, shares how the Lithuanian hardware startup is building advanced vision systems for unmanned platforms without relying on Chinese supply chains or unnecessary AI.

Drawing on his military background and startup journey, Elvinas explains how Luna Robotics grew from an idea into one of Lithuania's emerging defense tech companies, developing dual-use technology designed for both military and civilian applications. Learn what investors actually look for, how to become better at pitching, when bootstrapping becomes a mistake, and why building a hardware startup requires a different mindset than chasing the latest AI trend.

Introduction 0:00 Luna Robotics and Elvinas' journey 0:31 How AI hallucinates drone camera images 05:51 Why Luna Robotics is China free 07:34 Manufacturing hardware in the Baltics 09:52 How Luna Robotics raised €1.1 million 15:34 Mastering the art of startup pitching 21:41 Why you shouldn't bootstrap too much 27:13 Building a startup with dual use technology 33:33 Never build custom features for only one customer 38:15 What metrics investors actually pay attention to 46:20 Lithuania's defense tech boom and AI's future 50:23 Advice to my 20 year old self 56:33 Where to find Elvinas 57:37

Connect with our guest Elvinas Kukys – https://www.linkedin.com/in/ekukys/ Luna Robotics – https://www.lunarobotics.eu/ Connect with Max Max Golikov – https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxim-golikov/

🎧 Listen Now Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/19M3HKc1pbeTkYcOeOkJc0?si=aab60a9ec2864ba2 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/pl/podcast/innovantage-podcast/id1749330437

Follow for More Insightful Episodes Innovantage Podcast: https://www.linkedin.com/company/innovantage-podcast/ Sigli: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sigli/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sigli.gang Did something surprise you in this conversation? Drop a comment below — we read every single one. Subscribe so you don't miss the next episode of Innovantage Podcast.