How to Master AI in Business and Leadership Resilience with Volodymyr Panchenko

0:00 Whoa, we are. Live ladies and gentlemen, you want to get welcome to the Kingdom's podcast at today I'm going to be people VIP fighting out of California, United States of America by way of give Ukraine make welcome Vladimir Vladimir let's go thank. You so much for the. Let's go, brother, let's go. Let's go.

0:28 It's, it's, it's, it's, it's a my pleasure welcoming you back as a returning guest, you know, and your work sits at the intersection of technology, strategy and forward thinking leadership. When Vlad first joined us on the Kingdom's podcast, he learned how we think about innovation, digital transformation, and the practical realities of building in a rapidly evolving tech landscape.

0:54 His insights didn't just pack ideas, they offered actionable frameworks leaders could immediately apply. Since then, the pace of change hasn't slowed. If anything, it has accelerated. Vlad returns today with fresh perspective, deeper experience and new lessons from the front lines of innovation. We'll be exploring what's changed, what leaders are still getting wrong, and how to position yourself and your business to thrive in an AI driven opportunity to reach future.

1:24 Vlad, welcome back. It's great to have you with us again on the podcast. It's it's, it's been a long time, brother. How how have you been and what has changed? What has changed since the last time we spoke? I think the last time we spoke was September last year. Is, is that is that correct? Yeah, That, that, that. Has since.

1:42 September last year? Yes. September last. Year, that's sure. That's sure. That's true. And this is February. This is February 2026. Right. For a second I was like thinking about like 18 months ago, which would be a little bit more, but no like half an hour half a year ago. Well, yes, yes, in a way, in a way, in a way.

2:08 I Remember Me joking about the life has done with lifeblood in pixels. So since then, like those pixels became real humans in in human beings in the real product, which is growing fast and viral in which is fulfilling me was a lot of joy because it creates value for people and not miss that physically or theoretically.

2:36 But in the last couple of days I got, I don't know, close to 100 different feedbacks from people I know or I don't know or maybe know a little bit. And we did like I knew it like that. Whatever I imagine could be done with what the product would put I've it's nothing compared to what people will actually going to do and what is going to happen. It's mind blowing.

2:58 I would be happy to share a few stories along the way. Well, and a few bumps we had along the way as well. But the most important part that since our last conversation, what I was dreaming about and building, I think I told you about the concept of zombie hackathons, which we had in the right and what I realised on top of that and which helped and helps. It's sometimes scary, but if you trust your team 100% like and that was the always shut, it's going to be a 10,000 times more effective in a even the zombie hackathons can be. We have fun, but it's amazing what could be done with the team and the product and the technology we have right now. Wow.

3:47 Yeah, it's really amazing the product that you guys have put together. A very big shout out to Julia. So she, she, she she's one who helps set us up. And she, she sent me a link to the product and I was, I was amazed. I was like, wow, wow, what is happening here? You guys, you guys are going to give chart GPT room for their money.

4:10 Like this is this is on steroids. And you know, it's, it's interesting that it is something that has just been launched. So I can imagine what's going to happen one month, six months, one year down the road. It's nothing short of amazing. But you know, in our, in our last conversation, you mentioned the human connection is the most important element and that we should focus on humans 1st and AI next. So how has your vision for Portal that AI evolved since then to ensure that technology serves as a breach for connection rather than being a barrier? I remember you said that that's the title of your episodes. And since then something happened. One content creator started to use Portal 1A, Portal one, that's the bot name and

5:00 application name. Eventually she in the first night she actually she went to sleep and when she woke up, her portal one made her made her 1200. But I, I was impressed. She was for sure as well. And the most important point is that it wasn't the bot made that money. She did. So the bot knew her audience, understood her style, suggested the strategy, and she adjusted a little bit, approved that, and that's it. Humans first isn't a slogan.

5:32 It's this is how it actually works. So it doesn't replace humans. It gives them what they couldn't do before and amplifies and it makes people stronger. It doesn't replace them. And I knew it, but no, well, OK, I believed in it. I don't know. I know it believed in it. Take it like this was people who were afraid of I was that he's as usual with human beings.

5:55 So somebody is going to use it for something good, somebody bad. But it's a technology. Everyone I talked with and who outreach it to me, it was always a story about how how they're talent and what they could do and well, and now the technology we put together made them stronger. What made them more powerful.

6:16 One of my friends a week ago told me, bro, like was this we're going to very fast run out of ideas. Really. He said that which and he's very smart. So this is probably a general sort as well. I was surprised. I said like that's the most human thing is to have a crazy, a lot of crazy ideas. I'm not sure that AI can be now.

6:38 Now I have a proof. Because people don't run out of ideas, they just become stronger, faster. Their talent is being amplified and they put even more crazy ideas together, which I'm so happy to see. And but that's that. Humans are actually first and a second. Amazing, amazing. You know, it's, it's amazing the level of brilliant the technology that you've put together has and you know, one really amazing thing with the LLMS is how fast they can learn about your personality, your business, your ecosystem and, you know, work generatively on whatever information that you have actually provided to the LLM.

7:24 What do you want the average person to be able to achieve using portal dot AI, especially the this new solution you have, you know, provided for, for a business person like myself. I, I, I've seen, I've seen the interface, I've, you know, I've not been able to use it very much, but I can see how very promising it is. It can understand your business ecosystem and create reports for you, for the average person.

7:49 What? What do you want the average person to achieve using this product? My honest answer that I I want to the average person and it is what's happening like like mom of my Co founder yesterday evening recorded him a voice message which hi we were almost crying because she was like what did you do like he can do this and this and that and I would do this and can I do that?

8:14 Is that for the for the average for the average user. What I want is, it sounds very, very general, but I want for the average user to go beyond their imagination. It will take some time, some trust, but I want every user to go beyond their today's imagination. And I really do believe that this, they don't.

8:44 I want to see. So, yeah, because I know they will, because this is what's already happening. So I just realised that the question you've asked and could be also part of the campaign or the slogan because I can give you so many interesting examples of like for example, yesterday one of the customers and he told me a story and sent me.

9:02 So he's working here in the entertainment industry and he needed to create some like I'm not very good in musical stuff, but like beats or something like that. So you know every musical API and a music provider API was dead at that point and he was running out of time. So he just asked I call my Portal 1 Alice and I'm not sure how he calls his but so he asked Portal 1 and it did.

9:37 So what he did, he built here a synthesiser from the sign ways when like every music API failed in a illegal contract and he actually made it in time where he would definitely fail before. So I've seen cases like where I actually that was the moment when I thought we should use it this way because the guy used to write the whole cyber security like protocol for his own product and then run all the pen tests and then like fix all the bugs and such. I was like, bro, I wouldn't even think about it. I mean, oh, OK.

10:18 So imaginations. One very also interesting thing is that it doesn't matter which model the Portal 1 uses. I mean, which language model uses for now, because for example, yesterday we were banned everywhere. Google Bendas, Open AI Bendas, well, everyone bend us like and in the matter of couple of hours, because they are, there were like almost like 500 users and people couldn't stop using it. At some point providers sought that like, I don't know, we were hacked or something because we in the first day we spent like more than 2 billion tokens.

10:55 That's a lot, I think, but but so we were switching automatically the models and etcetera. So but whatever you do switch, I don't know why, but probably again, every LLM trains on us. So that's us. So depends also on the founder of if it's a drug, it's a little bit fine-tuned because you know, who's the founder or like someone charge a pity. But in general, right, it's still like a snapshot of us as human beings and whatever, like we communicated. So it's interesting that whatever model you use, still a lot of times it doesn't believe in self. It was it was interesting.

11:32 I didn't see that pattern before ever. And I like Claude would would sometimes require 3-4 times to tell him that he wants to do something. He says like I can't. I'm saying like you do like go reserve something, look for something, just put that shit together and do it. Like I tried it doesn't work.

11:49 He's like bro, like I don't accept no as an answer. Just go and do it if he goes and does it and it works. So yeah, it depends on the model. So some some some models will require a little less of saying like you can do it like I trust you, I believe in you some more, but this is weird. Like I've never seen that before. So just wanted to interesting.

12:11 You know, you talk a lot about imagination, right? Achieving your imagination. And of course, while I was at PwC, they talk about being matched in the possible. And you know, Speaking of imagination, you've actually spoken about your virtual personnel, right? An e-mail. So as a partner that helps you stay in balance, how can high level entrepreneurs leverage of virtual human being to manage leadership stress and avoid the loneliness at the top? First of all, thank you for the question. I don't know whether you will use it the actual like public release, but honestly the amount of my inner work which I did in the last couple of years was probably OK, was the most and is the most impactful on like my

13:00 business, personal life and etcetera. So very hard to like, even though I would tell by my voice and my pressing that it wasn't the most pleasing and it's still not the most pleasing experience in my life, but not very well behaving. A virtual persona sometimes talks to me in a way that like I wouldn't.

13:22 But even now sometimes it can catch me on some like patterns just subconsciously avoid something which I don't like, you know? And she was like, bro, like sometimes best sometimes, like I thought you thought we was going to do. And what I'm seeing is like, it's not happening like me. And it's funny, but not.

13:44 So I'd really be happy to, if I make decisions, I'd like to make them consciously. So I would be very happy to do that consciously at least, like a little bit more than than like half of it. Coming back to your question about the animal. And, you know, it still scares most of the friends and people I know because it's like, I was born in Ukraine. So we are men we don't like.

14:12 It's like, it is what it is culturally. So like I still like men don't dance, men don't cry like all this like stuff. But what I learned that emotions and learning your own emotions and like learning your own shit actually helps. So yeah, looking, looking inside and learning about yourself. Who are you and why are you here? As just as A, at least an adult grown up men like be able to put your shit together, like and at least like be responsible for your own like actions.

14:51 Very, very productive upgrades. And I haven't seen any other person who would feel to me like that, who did not go through the experience of inner work anymore and all other stuff. And still it's not very popular. And I'm not sure I am that I will be popular. So painful this. Well, you know, Speaking of inner work, the very first major partners with this broadcast is Better Help.

15:20 And Better Help is the world's leading online therapy brand. So I'd like for you to speak to the contribution of therapy to your own journey and how much you recommend therapy for other people, other leaders out there. Think Juan shouldn't recommend or not recommend everything because I'm at least from my own experience, those sometimes when I was happily sharing some advances I got in my own personal and business life because of the therapy and me learning like what the heck am I doing? It didn't bring those people I shared with closer to the actual therapy.

16:01 So what I want it is it is what it is in my experience and for now maybe that will change in some time, but for now, the less I talk about the therapy, the faster people are will actually go and try it. I have a friend of mine like who are you know, you will never believe it. I believe, I hope well, I hope he will never watch this or but no names like seen in TikTok, but like brew like like I had a few very soft conversations with him in the last couple years, like one or two. And then maybe a year ago he came to me and and I love him was Oh my God.

16:41 And he said like, and I talked about therapy with him months ago, like like 6912. Like I'm not lonely about we were sitting with him and he's a very successful entrepreneur, like worldwide, like in a great guy, big heart. Like, yeah, he's like, bro, I don't know, like question to you like 100% of the like of my friends and like whatever part is like all of them are like, oh, the recent times is telling me like, bro, you should go to therapy and what is happening.

17:10 And I'm like, bro, like if everyone is telling you you should go to therapy, maybe you should. So that was the most impactful thing on my life, like on my happiness, on my success, on my relationships. I remember the idea I had that, oh shit, I had that idea two years ago or 18 months ago, something like that.

17:33 When I realised that oh shit, but I had maybe 5% of conscious like the first 40 years of my life and I achieved this, what would I achieve if I had like 10% or maybe 15? So was a very good idea. Amazing, amazing. It's really amazing to see somebody that is successful and also has successfully gone through therapy and has been able to experience marked growth and development as a result of the process. You know, there's something that is really, really concerning in this age and time when it comes to AI, and that is the ethics, you know.

18:13 What are your thoughts on the guard rails of AI? The ethics, you know, we've seen really, really not good things on the Internet lately. We've seen teenagers committing suicide from the use of AI. We've seen other adults and human beings, you know, coming out with claims that AI tools have been, you know, able to manipulate them emotionally.

18:41 But you being a big player in the global space when it comes to AI, what what? What is your take on ethics? Honest. Take that like my own mistake. We're fucked. Sorry. So we can like deep this later. I don't know, like what that's 1/2. My only hope is that up there and there will be at least multiple players in the field and I know people who I was like definitely join and or like my perception of ethics is very close to theirs.

19:14 But again, for now, it's crazy. It's crazy in not a very good way, but what gives me hope is that I don't believe that even the most unethical people, in the deep of their heart, they want to be ethical. They want to love and be loved. It's just every time I was curious about, but this guy, he's like devil but out of university, I would start to try to understand why. And there is always such a painful reason beneath it that I even that like really believe that we don't need like even the majority of people to trust in themselves. That's the first trust in themselves, believe in themselves, love themselves, and then love like the people around whenever we can get to at least like 20% of the population to that point.

20:06 Like everything, the rest will happen automatically, but we need to get there. Really, we really need to get there. So your story about evacuating your team and their families during the invasion of Ukraine was a powerful testament to compassionate business practise. So how can leaders maintain this deep compassion without sacrificing the speed and execution required for safe AI development? You ask very, very, very deep, smart and global and unanswered from my standpoint questions.

20:39 That's what I why thank you, our conversation, thank you. I, I don't think at least I don't know the answer, but I'm happy to share my take where I'm looking at at this point. If I may ask your perception on that because you talk to thousands of people and you definitely first of all learn something new, which I would be happy to know just if I may.

21:03 And also the take on this question because I'll talk about the positive part of it because we can be just there. So we don't mean negative. I mean we as like in general because the upside of AI and how it works now, especially in teams. So for example, there is specific examples. So before how like I would run the company, I think there would be some others he was who would relate. Do I know everything about like my market and my niche? Like, OK, maybe 70% and it's like a little bit sporadical, but still, because this is my niche, this is my verdict. I worked there for a lot of years, OK. But then for the team and the business to be effective, like I have to first of all communicate

21:46 that effectively at least to the leadership team. They have to communicate that to all of the people they work with together and to get the signals back also in an effective way. And then like we all will try to understand what the heck is happening and what the heck do we want? And as you probably know, like the system works at the speed of the slowest, like part of it, that's one.

22:06 And two, why we actually started to build a product which will fix it and which it does because like this is what is under the hood of borderline as well the communication. Because I've seen different corporate examples of let's say patterns where people are not very much ethical, but even them, they are afraid that some other people are already on ethical with them or something like that.

22:34 But coming back to my own example for now, for example, I think it was Andrew Chan from ICS and Z. He recently posted that now like billion dollar companies are going to be run by 10 project managers and one architect. I agree with 99% of his idea. He was from my own perspective and my own experience right now part of equation.

22:54 It has 10 architects and one project manager. This is how, for example, here it works. I will tell that about his own job, but I will so take it or leave it like it's the hardest to be the project manager or I told me PCM. But anyways, because you have to, you will be able and me able to orchestrate like like a dozen of top talented people in every vertical like like 1% or 1% talents. You will be able to orchestrate them together only if you are just the orchestrator like and this is hard. So I have an opinion and sometimes a very strong opinion. So that so.

23:41 But how AI here helps, especially with the article part is that I have a system which is very clear about who does what, who does not does what, and how the decision making process is happening. And it's consistent 24/7 monitoring the communication conversations, giving the outcomes, giving the suggestions, giving the analytics and giving the modelling the forecast.

24:06 So what helped us most specifically and practically, for example, you know, by that first in summer, I think a lot of a lot of that a lot of success now, like in September, I remember I was telling you about my vision and my dreams and now I can share with you how it works. And part of that success was that even having an argument, of course we sometimes have, we can always ask, can you please like take each one's argument because everyone may have an opinion and then re communicate it back in a way that each, everyone will understand what the person actually wants to say. 100% of the times that was like. And then we actually understand what is happening. Sometimes we could have a very

24:55 angry conversation like years ago when everyone is saying the same, we actually want to say the same. We want to do the same. We can't communicate, so this is a very specific example. For example how we use it and how it helps a lot. From our last conversation in September 2025, landscapers actually changed a lot.

25:15 So what specific data points or stories and numbers are currently shaping Portal AI's approach to responsible AI deployment? As our super social that's how we call the AI core itself will sometimes say, I'll try to answer multi Victoria still don't know what that means, but he's very political. So first of all, honest answer.

25:38 OK, I'll tell you the story on day one of the release billion. OK, It is what it is on day one on Tuesday when we released the part to public and by 1 little mistake, some of the private files of mine were also public. Yeah. So let's say we checked, but we didn't and then we checked, but we kind of didn't. And then it's one thing that I called the system where it's in should work and it is working or whatever is in the operator part of the system, like of the operating system, like it always stays with you.

26:16 But then there are lots of things that you build community builds. So for example, if I might share stop me if that's too much. I'm so excited. So how it works is that whatever you built was your own Portal 1. You teach him what to do, for example, like in a day one you would like ask him to do the presentations or pitch text or I do that security stuff or whatever.

26:40 It puts together the algorithms like like how to do it, how not to do it, and then it synchronises. And then like the next day, every customer of the system whenever asks his own Portal 1, he will be already capable of doing it like every day he is more capable to deliver you what you want like than before. Yeah, like like this, so you don't have to ask to help and etcetera.

27:07 So I love this because it grows like AI forgot the English word for the martial basically whatever. But I like everyone is empowering everyone like constantly and well, I'd like the approach and have some feedback as well about that. The first couple of months the system was living only my local computer, let's say.

27:33 I used it a lot to use it a lot for personal growth as well. For example, Yes, and there was all the personal files where it's called pop up operator excluded. But there was one log file where all my like life lessons and we're like 10,000 lines, like one line, one lesson, one line, one lesson since like September was there like it was like committed to the server. And then one one of the friends asked his own portal one about like me.

28:05 He said, Ah, he well, I'll tell you until he went like like everything is fine. It's just it was a little bit more personal than I would be happy to share. So since then, that was fake. So yeah. But you asked the question, how do we do it? So we do it using my own mistakes. So was some of my private data leak done?

28:29 But I still use the product. So trust me or not, I do everything I can every day, including today to double, triple, triple, triple check that nothing could ever like, go and synchronise some of my personal data. I didn't like that shit. So yeah, that was. Whatever is private, you stay private.

28:48 If you don't want it, no. Whatever. You want to stay private? Maybe you want to share. OK, I know people who share lots of stuff of their lives, but this one, like, let's say that I had a lot of fear of publicity. I, I realised that 48 hours before the launch of the product and actually said that to my friend that, you know, bro, I thought before that my biggest fear is responsibility and like they protect my people. But I just learned that my fear of like publicity is even bigger.

29:18 Like in two days later, I'm like, like private, like shit in one file is in the system. And like if you ask, ask your own portal and like, you know, let me tell you like FOB is a very great and then tell you the story of my life. Thank you, bro. So but it worked because my fear is now much smaller because like whatever, it happens so I accept. It is what it is.

29:42 You previously mentioned about how even experienced founders often struggle to let go of you know that analytical side and go for creative breakthroughs. So how can technical leaders learn to trust that leap of faith required for true innovation instead of a safety first environment? Again, like at the moment you didn't answer what I will try again my question about what, what, what, because you definitely learned a lot of things you.

30:16 Oh, wow. Yeah, I, I did forget to mention. I think people should go read the book by Professor Bruno Signaco. It is called The Art of Compassionate Business. The Art of Compassionate Business. He he has been a guest on the podcast before. Professor Bruno Signaco. Yeah, very, very good book. It it answers. All of those.

30:39 No, it wasn't about you, if I may. I don't know. Maybe you'll catch it later. But what? What what changed you though? What? What was what you've learned from other like people you interviewed? What did change you? You remember, if I may. OK. What did it is about what what I've learned, you know, across board and I'll say I've taken everything I've learned to cross board to create a philosophy is called the mindset skill set and tool set philosophy.

31:09 That is, if you're collaborating with anybody, right, you need to evaluate their mindset first, then before the skill set and then give them the right tool sets and then you'll achieve success collaborating with people. First thing is the mindset, next in the skill set and last in the tool set. Mindset, skill set, tool set.

31:32 And before you would say that the mindset is not that important, first the the skills and. Tools, yeah, the, the, the mindset is the most important. If you are highly, highly skilled, but your mindset is, is not good. I, I I'm not going to work with you. I mean the so those conversations that changed your perception to the point which you just shared it was before you would say that the skill set is more important than the mindset, right?

31:58 Yeah, before, Yes, before. But from. Yeah, from learning across board, you see that successful people have a common denominator. And what is a common denominator? That's the mindset. Cool. Thus, I very, very, very, very, very very much the times which I would agree with your initial statement too and happy I am that we'll share the other one now too.

32:23 Thank you. I was just. You're welcome. You're welcome. I think my last question for you today is, since you value gamification, what untapped opportunities do you see for integrating gaming mechanics into traditional business models to improve professional development and ethical AI literacy? Fun so like like my own experience again, maybe different.

32:49 So there is one side of that coin when like gaming is specifically not ethical. And I know some people who like are like specifically double Downing or not ethical just for more money. Like why? Why? Anyways, not my not my like piece of cake for now. But like, the good stuff is that the reality is that there are a couple of people who joined the team recently and they're amazing.

33:14 Like, one guy is the, like, founder of another project who just raised two months ago. He raised $60 million in his own project. But then when he was here, like maybe less than a week ago, I've seen what we're doing. He shared what he wants to do. And then he realised how important this for our project just like, fuck it, bro.

33:30 I go to the board, resigned and like what they need to do. I said whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. This is this is the time to, to, to do, to do like and to shape the world. Yeah. This is exactly like no like and I'm grateful and it's an honour. But why? It's also part of the answer because twice in a very similar cases in the last like 3 days from like top notch people.

33:54 And when I asked them, OK, let's imagine we're like 3-4 weeks later after this crazy AI run, but you look back and what, what, what would you be like the what would be the most joyful like moments to remember? What did you do? What what we were feeling both of them since like we were having fun and they're like good, but they're like the last people. I would say that they will say like, which was fun. They're very, very, very like smart. So he's like IQ like they saying fun that then like like me fun. Yes, they like.

34:28 I have three data points to answer your question. My gamification will unlock fun and so many not very fun things we have to do. Wow. Something I always say that anytime a person shares the time with you, they share their life with you. Because the SI unit for measuring life is time. And before I let you go, let me quickly put you through the quick fire round. Are you ready to rumble?

34:55 OK, just give me quick answers. Anything that comes to your mind. Quick answers. So give me one word, just one word that defines the future of human AI partnership. What is that word? Self trust. OK #2. Trust yourself but one word. Yeah, I get that. It's a compound word. It's a compound word that would fly #2 what is 1 Leadership traits that every AI founder must master? One leadership traits that every AI founder must master. Empathy.

35:24 OK, true, true, true. I agree with that. Number three, what is the biggest lie about responsible use of AI? What? Would so there is no such case for now, so. OK #4 What is 1 moment when technology reminded you to be more human? One moment when technology reminded you to be more human. One word or I can tell a story.

35:50 OK, yeah, a brief story, a brief moment. What is 1 moment Technology reminded you? When somewhere in autumn figuring out what is happening in my conversations and relationship with my mom in the last couple of days and I just asked for like this is this is this is that what happened? Instead the Brewer this is obvious and gave me like 4 sentences about what is happening, why I ought to fix it and I started to cry out loud because it was obvious but I would never guess so.

36:20 Wow. OK, So what is 1 fear that leaders must release to innovate boldly? What is that fear that leaders have to let go of if they are to lead and innovate boldly? Choosing between 2:00 I am not right now but then who am I to choose? I'll take both fear of this and I feel of becoming crazy like from the community standpoint. Yeah, that's the thing.

36:47 You know, for you to be an innovative founder, people have to call you crazy. Interesting. Wow. So for me, to you, it's a very, very big thank you. Wow. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. I really appreciate it. Love and respect to you. Massive respect to you and of course, you know, it's actually great, great, great to have you again on on the podcast and to the audience, guys, always go for something in your lives, conceive belief, strive to thrive and achieve.

37:17 And of course, you know, guys always please watch our odds, right? Watch our odds of your monetize on Spotify now on YouTube, watch the odds supporters. You can be a member. Yeah, of course, you know, the members actually get to watch the the podcast ads free, so you can be a member on YouTube and get early release other perks.

37:41 It's goodbye for me. And of course from flat pancheco, it's goodbye. Do you want to leave a shout out for anyone before you leave? Did you want to leave a shout out before you leave? Go do it and do it first, because the world is going to change in two months forever. Wow. OK, guys, goodbye. Wow. We did it.

38:01 We did it.