From Plumbing Disaster to Tech Disruptor: The Story Behind CleverMoe

Every homeowner knows the feeling. A pipe bursts, a circuit trips, or a roof leaks, and you’re suddenly thrown into the chaotic world of finding a reliable contractor. You scroll through lead-generation sites, make endless calls, and hope the person you hire is trustworthy. For Frank El-Masry, a seasoned engineering leader with a background at Intel and Cisco, this wasn't just an inconvenience it was a broken system he was determined to fix.

In a recent episode of the Tesoro AI Podcast, Frank sat down with host Darius Gant to share the personal story of the plumbing disaster that led him to create CleverMoe, an innovative platform built to restore trust and transparency to the home services industry.

The "Aha!" Moment in a Flooded Home

Frank's journey from a corporate career to a startup founder began with a catastrophe. While on a family vacation, he received a call that a pipe had burst in his home, flooding the first floor. The disaster that followed was a masterclass in the failures of the modern contracting system.

"You're calling people and you're at their mercy," Frank explained. "They tell you, 'I'll be there in three hours,' and they don't show up. It was a nightmare."

He found himself dealing with contractors who were unreliable, and a system where he had no control or transparency. After a frustrating and expensive experience, a friend asked him a simple question: "You're a problem solver. Why don't you do something about this?"

That question sparked the idea for CleverMoe.

Fixing a Broken System

Frank realized that popular platforms like Angi, Yelp, and Thumbtack weren’t solving the core problem. They are primarily lead-generation tools, where contractors pay for leads, and homeowners are flooded with calls from unvetted strangers.

"The business model is broken," Frank stated. "It’s a race to the bottom. The person who gets the lead is the fastest finger, not necessarily the best person for the job."

This system creates a transactional, low-trust environment that fails both the homeowner and the skilled tradesperson. CleverMoe was designed to be the antidote.

The CleverMoe Difference: Quality Over Quantity

CleverMoe flips the script by focusing on trust, quality, and relationships.

"We don't call them contractors; we call them problem-solvers," Frank emphasized. By thoroughly vetting every professional on the platform verifying licenses, insurance, and background checks CleverMoe ensures that homeowners are connected with people who are qualified to do the job right.

The Future is AI-Powered

As the name suggests, CleverMoe is built on intelligent technology. The platform already uses AI to match homeowners with the right professionals based on their specific needs. But Frank's vision goes much further.

He plans to build a "digital twin" of a home, using AI to analyze photos and videos uploaded by the homeowner to provide accurate, upfront quotes. This would eliminate the guesswork and surprise costs that plague the industry.

"You take a picture of your problem... and we've trained our models to tell you, 'Hey, that's a five-inch crack. It's going to cost you X,'" he explained.

The Loneliness of the Founder

Frank’s story is not just one of innovation, but also of resilience. He spoke candidly about the "lonely" journey of a founder and the importance of having a strong "why" to push through the challenges. For him, it’s the burning desire to solve a problem that affects millions of people every day.

Frank El-Masry's journey with CleverMoe is a testament to how personal frustration can fuel groundbreaking innovation. It’s a story about challenging a broken system and rebuilding it with trust, technology, and a deep-seated desire to help people.

To hear Frank's full story, his advice for aspiring entrepreneurs, and his vision for the future of home services, listen to the complete conversation on the Tesoro AI Podcast. Follow us for more inspiring stories from the founders and innovators building the future of technology.

From Trauma to Triumph: How DeShuna Spencer Built Kweli TV, A Global Home for Authentic Black Diaspora Stories

In the world of media, a dark mantra often dictates the headlines: "If it bleeds, it leads." For a young DeShuna Spencer, working as a daily news journalist, this wasn't just a phrase—it was a traumatizing reality. Tasked with reporting on crime, she found herself on the front lines of tragedy, a position that ultimately forced her to question the very nature of her profession.

In a recent episode of the Build Tech Stack Equity Podcast, Spencer sat down with host Darius Grant to share the powerful story of how a heartbreaking moment as a reporter became the catalyst for building Kweli TV, a global streaming platform dedicated to authentic Black stories.

The Breaking Point

As a young journalist, Spencer’s days were filled with covering the grim realities of crime. The turning point came during a call to the mother of a murder victim, a call she was pushed to make by her editor.

"I said, 'I'm sorry, I'm Deshawna. I'm with Oakland Tribune, I'm sorry for your loss,'" Spencer recalled. "And they were like, 'Sorry for your loss? We just left the hospital that says she was still alive.' And then the woman starts crying hysterically."

In that moment, Spencer realized she wasn't just reporting the news; she was an instrument of trauma. "I realized that I was a part of a problem," she said. "I wasn't impacting my community through storytelling."

Building a Home for the Global Black Community

That experience ignited a new mission: to create a space that celebrated the vast, diverse, and nuanced reality of the Black experience, free from the stereotypes and trauma-porn that dominate mainstream media.

That vision became Kweli TV (Kweli means "truth" in Swahili).

"From day one, it's all about the Black people from around the world," Spencer explained. Today, Kweli TV hosts over 800 titles, featuring stories from the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe, Australia, and Africa. It’s a platform built on a few core principles:

• Authenticity: Telling stories that are true to the culture they represent.
• A Safe Space: Creating a platform where the community won't be bombarded with traumatic content. There is a strict "no reality TV" policy.
• Representation for All: A significant focus is on children's programming, ensuring Black children can see themselves represented authentically on screen.

The Unfiltered Reality of a Non-Technical Founder

DeShuna’s journey was far from easy. As a non-technical founder, she faced a steep learning curve. After winning a $20,000 journalism competition, she hired a developer to build the first version of the platform.

"He was about 90% done," she recalled, "and I never heard from him again."

Left with an unfinished product and no technical co-founder, Spencer was inspired by a quote from the co-founder of LinkedIn: "If you're not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you launched too late." She decided to release the buggy, 90%-done beta to the world.

For nearly three years, she ran the platform through sheer will, manually resetting user passwords via email and learning from a constant stream of customer feedback. "It was horrible," she admitted, "but it's the joys of being a startup."

Taking Control of Her Destiny

Tired of waiting for a technical savior or VC funding that rarely materializes for Black female founders, Spencer decided to take matters into her own hands. She entered a pitch competition at Harvard Business School and won, providing the capital needed to partner with a professional third-party tech vendor.

This shift was crucial. Spencer learned that even giants like Netflix don't build everything in-house. Her advice to other founders is to find a tech partner who believes in your mission and can grow with you.

"I decided to not rely on other people to dictate my destiny," she stated. "How do we allow our community to keep ourselves alive versus relying on someone in Silicon Valley?"

DeShuna Spencer’s story is a masterclass in resilience, mission-driven entrepreneurship, and the power of creating the change you want to see in the world.

To hear her full, inspiring journey and learn more about her advice for non-technical founders, listen to the complete conversation on the Build Tech Stack Equity Podcast. Follow us for more stories of the incredible entrepreneurs and investors shaping the future of technology.

Aleph: Transforming Finance with AI-Powered Workflows

In the latest episode of the Tesoro AI Podcast, host Darius Gant sat down with Albert Gozzi, co-founder and CEO of Aleph, to explore how AI is revolutionizing financial data management. Aleph aims to become the single source of truth for finance teams by automating—and accelerating—the tedious 80 percent of low-value tasks that consume professionals’ time. Here’s what we learned.

From Spreadsheets to Startup

Albert began his career at Bain & Company, where early on he found himself moonlighting for CFOs—cleaning messy financial data and building ad hoc models in Excel and VBA. Those experiences exposed him to the universal pain points of finance: data ingestion from disparate systems, version control headaches, and endless reconciliation loops. A stint as COO/CFO of a high-growth startup only deepened his conviction that these workflows needed a permanent, centralized solution .

The Core Problem: Reinventing the Wheel

Every finance team—whether in a Fortune 500 or a bootstrapped startup—faces the same laundry list of challenges:

• Data Cleansing: Vendor names in QuickBooks or NetSuite are inconsistent, making accurate reporting a multi-day chore.
• Version Control: Multiple spreadsheet iterations lead to confusion and errors.
• Reconciliation & Discrepancies: Manual matching across systems invites human mistakes.
• Time-Intensive Analysis: Simple tasks like variance analysis can take hours per account.

Albert’s insight: why rebuild these solutions in every department when a unified, AI-driven platform can solve them once—and push updates to all users?

Aleph’s Solution: Platform over Point Products

Rather than offer isolated “AI add-ons,” Aleph has built an end-to-end finance and data platform that:

1. Ingests & Cleans Data Automatically Aleph connectors pull raw transactions from systems like QuickBooks or Stripe. Its first AI layer standardizes vendor names, deduplicates records, and harmonizes accounts overnight—tasks that once took weeks of manual effort .
2. Enables True Version Control By storing plans, forecasts, and actuals in a centralized data warehouse, Aleph lets teams lock and branch “snapshots” of their models, ensuring everyone works from the same baseline.
3. Combines Multiple AI Agents – Data-Cleaning Agent refines raw inputs. – Analysis Agent performs variance and trend analyses. – Co-Pilot Agent assists users in building scenarios like discounted cash-flows. Each agent’s output feeds the next, multiplying accuracy and speed.
4. Supports Co-Pilot & Auto-Pilot Modes – Co-Pilot: AI suggests steps, but users retain control and oversight—ideal for complex tasks like scenario planning. – Auto-Pilot: Fully automated workflows (e.g., monthly variance reports) complete end-to-end with minimal human intervention.

High-Impact Use Cases

• Variance Analysis at Scale: What once required 1,000+ manual row checks can now be completed in minutes, with clean explanations generated for each significant variance.
• Financial Planning & Forecasting: Teams can spin up new scenarios by tweaking drivers, leveraging the same cleaned data—no re-ingestion necessary.
• Revenue & Operations Analytics: With integrations into CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot), Aleph surfaces insights on customer cohorts, churn drivers, and pricing impacts.

Building Trust: Traceability & Auditability

Albert stressed that in finance, “hallucinations” are unacceptable. Aleph’s design ensures every AI-generated output is fully traceable back to raw transactions. Users can audit each change—just as they would review a junior analyst’s spreadsheet—before trusting AI-driven insights .

Getting Started: Fast, Modular Deployment

Unlike legacy ERP rollouts that take months, Aleph’s modular architecture lets teams onboard in days:

1. Connect Data Sources: Link accounting systems in under five minutes.
2. Activate AI Workflows: Choose high-value modules (e.g., vendor planning) and run initial cleans overnight.
3. Iterate & Expand: As teams see tangible ROI, they can unlock additional modules—from financial close to tax reporting.

The Future of AI in Finance

Albert envisions a world where 95 percent of routine finance tasks run on autopilot, freeing professionals to focus on strategy, risk management, and value creation. Emerging advances in large language models promise ever-smarter agents—fully capable of end-to-end workflows like variance reporting, scenario builds, and compliance checks.

Conclusion

Aleph’s journey from spreadsheet hacks to AI-powered platform underscores a powerful lesson: true innovation in finance comes not from occasional point solutions, but from unifying and automating the entire data lifecycle. As AI continues to mature, platforms like Aleph will be essential partners for finance teams striving to work faster, more accurately, and at scale.

From Ghosted to Engaged: The Rise of Two-Way AI Chats | Humanly.io (TAIP)

Have you ever sent out a job application, poured your hopes into it, only to face silence—being "ghosted" by recruiters? You're not alone. Prem Kumar, co-founder of Humanly, faced this exact frustration, igniting a spark that led to the creation of an AI platform designed to revolutionize how companies interact with candidates.

In a recent episode of the Tesoro AI Podcast hosted by Darius Gant, Prem shares how Humanly is turning passive applications into meaningful dialogues using AI-driven conversations. Gone are the days of one-sided, impersonal interactions. Humanly’s AI facilitates authentic two-way engagement via SMS, email, voice, and chat, ensuring no candidate is left feeling invisible.

Real Conversations, Real Transparency

Humanly’s AI platform incorporates local compliance seamlessly, providing candidates immediate and clear answers tailored to their specific questions, even sensitive topics like salary expectations.

An Invisible, Integrated Experience

Humanly doesn't force recruiters to juggle multiple tools or complicated interfaces. Instead, it integrates smoothly into existing applicant tracking systems (ATS) and HRIS platforms, streamlining candidate management effortlessly.

Ethical AI: Auditing and Accountability

One of Humanly’s standout innovations is its commitment to ethical AI usage. With embedded auditing processes, Humanly actively detects and mitigates biases in real-time, ensuring fairness and inclusivity are at the forefront of every interaction.

Your Personal Career Coach

Beyond initial interactions, Humanly introduces groundbreaking tools like a voice-activated career coach, preparing candidates thoroughly for interviews and guiding them proactively through the hiring journey. This proactive support transforms candidate experiences, enhancing confidence and readiness.

Engaging Candidates at Scale

At its core, Humanly isn't just tech—it's a new approach to meaningful human interaction at scale. It demonstrates how empathy, transparency, and two-way dialogue can coexist powerfully with advanced technology.

Is the Key to Your Health Hidden in Your Eyes? | Prosperia Health (BTSE)

What if a simple photo of your eyes could reveal crucial information about your overall health? This isn't science fiction—it's becoming reality sooner than you might expect.

In a recent episode of our acclaimed podcast, we sat down with Cristina Campero Peredo, co-founder of Prosperia Health. She shares her fascinating journey and explains how cutting-edge technology could detect serious health issues long before conventional methods.

From Consulting to Healthcare Revolution

Cristina's path wasn't always aimed at healthcare innovation. After working as a McKinsey consultant, she felt drawn toward creating meaningful impact—a journey that took her through Cambridge University and into entrepreneurship. What drove this pivotal change?

An Unseen Epidemic

Cristina reveals an alarming truth: diabetes is silently destroying vision for millions, especially in Mexico. Through a condition called diabetic retinopathy, people are losing their sight irreversibly—often without knowing they're at risk until it's too late.

AI: A Silent Savior?

Could artificial intelligence help detect this hidden threat early enough to prevent blindness? Prosperia Health has created innovative technology that analyzes retinal images quickly and efficiently in early stages, without requiring an ophthalmologist.

Intrigued? There's more.

Your Eyes: A Gateway to Detecting Other Diseases?

The conversation explores how the retina might reveal clues about other serious conditions, including cardiovascular disease, kidney failure, and Alzheimer's. This opens up exciting possibilities for preventive healthcare.

Collaboration, Not Replacement

Will AI take over doctors' roles? Cristina offers valuable insights on the essential partnership between technology and healthcare professionals.

Explore the Full Story

We've only scratched the surface. To understand how Prosperia Health and Cristina's team are transforming healthcare's future, tune in to the complete episode.

Ready to view healthcare through a new lens?

Listen Now