This week on That Tech Pod, we're doing something a little different. We don't usually talk to influencers, but we wanted to find out what really goes into turning your life, personality, and opinions into a career online. So we sat down with Lindsay Perrin, a content creator with more than 100,000 followers and millions of views, to get the inside scoop on the business behind the posts.

How much of being an influencer is talent, and how much is figuring out what the algorithm wants? Is it really a job, or just posting videos and hoping the internet likes you? Lindsay shares what it takes to build an audience, make money, and keep creating when the algorithm seems to have a mind of its own.

We also bring in our college intern, Emily, a Marketing major, to get the perspective of someone from the generation these platforms are built around. Does she see influencer as a legitimate career, or does the whole thing sound a little ridiculous to her?

Because there's a lot more to being a creator than getting free stuff and hoping you go viral. Or at least, that's what they want us to believe.

Lindsay Perrin is a content creator, storyteller and LGBTQ+ community organizer based in Indianapolis, Indiana. A graduate of Indiana University with a degree in journalism, she has built an online community of more than 100,000 followers across TikTok and Instagram through her authentic storytelling, infectious enthusiasm and passion for bringing people together. Her content has generated more than 20 million views across TikTok, Instagram and Threads. She was hired by Rolling Stone to cover the closing night of Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour and has been featured twice in PEOPLE, with both stories originating from viral social media content. Known for her viral “Are You Gay?” videos and for creating Scissor Slam at Lollapalooza, which attracted hundreds and received national media attention, Lindsay has turned online connections into real-world community. She also uses her platform for independent storytelling and commentary, including extensive coverage of the Lindsay Clancy case and her “Live from the Living Room” series. Despite her viral success, Lindsay has experienced firsthand the challenges of social media monetization, platform algorithms and creator compensation. Her approach to content creation is rooted in authenticity, curiosity and the belief that social media’s greatest value is its ability to connect people and amplify voices. You can find Lindsay on Instagram and TikTok at @laperrin10.

This week on the pod, we’re talking about whether the little guys can actually compete with Big Tech in the AI race. Harry Godfrey, Executive Director of the Little Tech Association, joins us to talk about the advantages smaller AI companies have, whether smaller language models can level the playing field, and whether AI is really lowering the barriers to entry or just shifting where the barriers exist. We also get into a bigger question: if the platforms hosting these startups can see what’s succeeding, should they be allowed to build competing products? Plus, we talk AI startup acquisitions, Chinese open-weight models, national security, and what Harry would do with $10 million to build an AI company from scratch.

Harry Godfrey, Executive Director of the Little Tech Association. He is a Washington veteran who previously served in the office of the Majority Whip, James Clyburn, and the White House Office of Legislative Affairs during the Obama Administration. He spent over a decade working on state and federal policy with disruptive clean tech firms, most recently as Managing Director for Federal Affairs at the trade association Advanced Energy United. He is a graduate of the College of William & Mary and Princeton University.

This week on the pod, we talk with investor, entrepreneur and longtime market strategist Frank Holmes about gold, Bitcoin, geopolitics and one of the oldest forces in economics: scarcity. After more than four decades investing in gold and commodities, Frank was an early investor in Bitcoin and saw it as a digital store of value with some of the same characteristics that made gold valuable for centuries. We dig into what traditional investors missed about Bitcoin, whether gold and Bitcoin are really competitors, and what geopolitical conflict, sanctions, inflation and currency uncertainty can tell us about both assets. We also get into Frank’s bigger thesis: in an increasingly digital economy, the things that become scarce, whether they are gold, Bitcoin, energy or computing power, can become increasingly valuable.

Frank Holmes is an investor, entrepreneur and longtime market strategist with more than four decades of experience in gold, commodities and global markets. He is CEO and Chief Investment Officer of U.S. Global Investors, which he has led since acquiring a controlling interest in 1989. Frank was also an early investor in Bitcoin, recognizing its potential as a digital store of value alongside gold. His involvement later expanded into Bitcoin mining and digital infrastructure. Today, as Executive Chairman of HIVE Digital Technologies, he focuses on the intersection of Bitcoin, high-performance computing and AI, and the growing demand for the power and compute behind them. His career gives him a unique perspective on the evolution from traditional hard assets like gold to digital assets like Bitcoin, and what may become scarce in an increasingly digital economy.