Kick-Off: Bridging the Gap Between Traditional Business and Modern Technology

Show Notes

Old School New Tech: Bridging Traditional Business and Modern Technology

In the inaugural episode of Old School New Tech, host Ran Aroussi, also known as 'Code Daddy,' introduces the podcast tailored for business owners who are not focused on building the next big tech startup but understand the importance of incorporating technology into their operations. Ran shares his extensive background in web development and his motivations for starting the podcast. He highlights the gap in tech content for traditional businesses and outlines what listeners can expect in future episodes, including discussions on automation, AI, useful tools, and real-world success stories. Ran emphasizes the importance of integrating tech into business workflows to save time, reduce stress, and grow efficiently, without necessitating a deep tech background.

00:00 Welcome to Old School New Tech
00:18 The Purpose of This Podcast
01:55 My Journey in Tech
03:20 Introducing Automaze
04:28 What to Expect from Future Episodes
05:36 The Importance of Tech in Business
06:52 Wrapping Up and Call to Action

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This podcast is sponsored by Automaze, the fractional CTO partner for founders and operators. Whether you’re building a high-tech MVP or modernizing internal ops with AI and automation, Automaze can help you scale without the overhead of a full-time team.

Learn more: automaze.io

Creators and Guests

Host

Ran Aroussi

Building software and AI for companies that can't afford to guess | Automaze •VarOps

What is Old School / New Tech?

Old school thinking meets new tech — an unfiltered podcast, hosted by Ran Aroussi and a co-host you won’t see coming.

​Live every episode. No production lag, no editing. Business, AI, tech, startup ideas, and whatever's worth talking about — through the lens of someone who's been building production systems for 35+ years

Ran: Hi, and welcome to the
first episode of Old School New

Tech.

I'm Ran Aroussi and some people
know me as Code Daddy, and uh,

we'll get to why in a minute.

For the record, I didn't give
myself that name.

This show is for business
owners, operators, people who

are building something real, who
aren't trying to build the next

hot tech startup, but still know
that if they don't understand

tech, they'll get left behind.

If that sounds like you, cool,
you're in the right place.

I'll be honest, I didn't wake up
one day and, uh, thought to

myself.

I should have a podcast that
came out of dozens, probably

hundreds of conversations that
I've had with business owners

over the years.

Some ran 30-year-old businesses
and some are just starting out,

but they all say the same thing.

I know I need to use tech better
or more tech but I don't know

where to start, and that's
totally fair.

Most of the content out there is
either full of jargon or is

trying to sell you on the
latest, shiny thing, or it's

aimed for tech people, you know,
developers, startup founders,

people who are already living in
that world.

But what about the rest of the
world?

What about real businesses?

The ones fixing teeth, uh,
shipping freight, designing

kitchens, running events?

What about them?

The great news is that you don't
need to be a coder to build a

great business today, but you do
need to understand how tech fits

into what you're doing because
otherwise you are just flying

blind.

And that's why this podcast
exists.

It's, uh there to be a guide for
business owners who aren't tech

nerds, but still want to play
smart.

At this point you're probably
thinking, who am I to be talking

about this?

Well, I've, been building stuff
online since the late nineties.

Uh, my first business was
actually a web, uh, development

firm that I started in 97.

Uh, web development firm is kind
of a, maybe an exaggeration

because back then, we were just
coding HTML with Notepad and

using FTP to, put those files on
a server.

There wasn't, this notion of a
web application yet.

but since then I've had my hands
into a bit of everything.

I ran marketing agencies and
advertising companies I've built

enterprise software.

I've launched SaaS platforms,
and I've built open source tools

like, uh, yfinance for example,
that, uh, if you've ever pulled

stock data into Python, you've
probably used.

So I've been the developer, the
designer, the founder, the CTO,

the CEO, the product lead.

I've shipped things fast, I've
shipped things slowly.

I've failed.

I've succeeded.

I've learned, and over time
because of that, people started

calling me Code Daddy, not
necessarily because I'm the best

coder out there, but because I
get it, I know how code fits

into business.

I know how to make tech useful,
strategic and profitable.

If I'm honest, that's what I do
best.

I'm connecting the tech stuff
with the real world stuff.

I currently run a company called
Automaze that's a software

development studio where we help
businesses bring their ideas to

life.

Sometimes that means building a
product from scratch.

Sometimes it means helping a
team automate their customer

onboarding.

Sometimes it is just jumping in
as the CTO on demand when a

founder needs a second brain,
and I'll be honest, working with

clients at Automaze, is what
actually pushed me to start this

podcast'cause I kept seeing the
same patterns.

Smart people, great businesses,
stuck in the same places.

They're either using tools that
don't fit or drowning in manual

work, and they're afraid,
rightfully so, by the way, of

messing something up if they try
to modernize or change the

underlying technology that
they're using.

So I thought, okay, what if we
just had a space to talk about

this kind of stuff?

You know, in plain English with
no fluff, no pitch deck energy,

just useful stuff from someone
who's been in the trenches.

So here's what you can expect
from old school, new tech.

Some episodes would be just like
this one, me walking you through

an idea, a trend or a tool I
think you should know about.

Others would be interviews, with
business owners and operators

and builders who are doing real
work and figuring out how to use

technology along the way, We'll
be talking about things like:

What automations can actually do
for small businesses and how AI

fits into traditional
industries, which tools are

legit and which are just noise.

And we're gonna have real
stories of people who've

modernized their operations and
are seeing results.

think of this like sitting down
with someone who've done this

thing before and can help you
avoid the usual landmines.

There's not gonna be any
buzzwords, so don't expect any

episode with a title like"10 x
or ROI with this one weird

trick".

So none of that stuff.

It's gonna be just honest
conversations with practical

takeaways look, whether you like
it or not, every business is now

a tech business.

Just think about it, right?

does not mean that you need to
build an app or start hiring

developers.

But it does mean that your
systems, your workflows, your

tools, they matter.

They're part of your
infrastructure now, just like

rent or electricity.

And if you ignore that, you're
giving up leverage, you're

literally leaving money on the
table, maybe even risking the

whole business.

But if you lean into it, even
just a little, you can buy back

time.

You can reduce stress and grow
faster without hiring a small

army.

And the best part, you don't
need to become a tech person to

pull it off.

You just need to know what to
look for and where to start.

So here's what's coming next.

I plan on dropping new episodes
weekly.

Some will be short and tactical,
like,"Hey, here's a tool I've

been using that can probably
save you 10 hours a week".

Others will go deeper.

There'll be interviews with
folks who have done the work and

have stories to share.

So if you're trying to future
proof your business without

falling into the startup echo
chamber, this show is for you.

One last thing before I go.

If this feels like something
that could help you or someone

you know, do me a favor.

Subscribe to this podcast.

Leave a quick review, share it
with a friend or a colleague,

and if you are a business owner
with a story about how you've

used tech to solve something,
reach out.

I'd love to bring you on.

That's it for episode one.

You can find me on X at aroussi.

A-R-O-U-S-S-I.

Find me, fight me.

We'll have a good time.

That's it.

I'm Ran, your Friendly
neighborhood, Code Daddy, and

this is Old School New Tech.

I'll see you soon.