Pushing Tech Forward With Soft Skills

Written by Murph Phi

Welcome to the world of artificial intelligence in business and creativity. An industry that caught a sharp climb of interest in 1980 after Stanford held the first Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) conference a year after forming a small board of freethinkers to share ongoing processes, analysis and visions in many different fields of computing. In the same year, XCon, the first expert configurer program was birthed and in the 43 years following have advanced so far to where you are now able to read this article created from pairing two ideas through handheld devices with your own. 

A.I. is now a daily player in society and pretty much irreplaceable. No longer responsible for niche gadgets and appliances enhancements, artificial intelligence is now embedded in most of what you consume, explore and use for leisure and gain. 

Where do you stand on its presence in everyday function and the workplace? Humanity has taken great lengths to remain as practical as possible. In regards to solutions, creative and corporate, artificial intelligence works to support this idea of collaborative productivity within human-computer relationships when finding your way in business.  

There’s a balance of scare and craze in most conversations around technology, A.I. and data for obvious reasons. The handling of what’s new is always the forefronting topic in invention and innovation. But, how often do we mention the companies who are directly in service of entrepreneurship and structure. 

I wanted to take time and examine one of the good guys of this growing field so I recently caught up with a longtime friend, Ionna Mantzouridou Onasi, co-founder of the new start up, Dextego. The platform uses soft skills to democratize access to soft skills and empower the underserved solopreneurs and small to medium sized businesses that can’t afford an executive coach.

Murph: “Who is Ioanna Mantzouridou Onasi?”

Ioanna: “I am a community builder, talent development strategist and an Applied AI Evangelist. I am also the Co-founder and CEO of Dextego, the ultimate AI coach for power skills development, building a community of life-long learners for multi-skilled learning. I am passionate about using technology to help individuals develop essential skills and reach their full potential and have committed to empowering individuals and organizations to unleash their inner genius.”

M: “What’s your background in Tech?”

I: “A couple of years ago I joined Aptivio which was the beginning of my tech/AI journey. Aptivio is the most advanced automated network sales platform on the planet, combined with real buyer intent. I started as an HR & Partner Lead, then I became the Chief of Staff and VP of People and I got to work with amazing people creating the future of sales. I am amazed at the rate of technology and privileged to be born in this era. I can’t wait to see how the world will be in 10 years from now!”

M: “Progression is always recipe for success. Let’s jump into some of your current personal endeavors. You’ve been able to climb in the corporate reigns pretty fast through and after university studies. What’s Dextego?”

I: “A massive paradigm shift in the market is creating a $159B whitespace of underserved solopreneurs and small to medium sized businesses with a dire need for soft skills development. Dextego is solving it with the most advanced AI coach for soft skills development, specifically designed to boost revenue and productivity for solopreneurs and SMBs.

In a post COVID world and Zoom era where young professionals can’t observe their superiors in person to learn how they negotiate, present and lead others, Gen Z is lost and they need a Business & Life Coach to teach them soft skills. Dextego is the most advanced AI coach for soft skills in the market. We are building the future of Edtech leveraging cutting-edge technologies to help the underserved community of Gen Z solopreneurs and SMBs become better communicators, collaborators, and leaders.”   

Dextego is the only multi-skilled, video-first and adaptive-learning application in the market focused on soft skills development. 

M: You take a very interesting approach in your start up. It seems like an app that could be used by anyone as no matter your role and industry you can benefit from developing your soft skills. Could be a big game changer. 

What inspired the creation of Dextego?”

I: “Working as a Talent Developer and a Recruiter in a tech startup, but also talking to tons of Founders, I realized that they hire young talent that they desperately need to develop fast for them to achieve their business goals. However, there are so many competing priorities that soft skills development goes on the backburner. The problem, though, wasn’t only time. The problem was that no good tool created personalized and interactive soft skills training for professionals to keep them engaged over time. Workshops that cater to the average group don’t work because employees don’t know what to take away and how to implement it in their work the next day. Additionally, when it comes to solopreneurs and small to medium-sized businesses, there is no Talent Development Department and no budget to hire an executive coach or do an MBA etc. So, we created a very interactive, time and cost-effective AI Coach for multi-skills learning in 2 mins a day.”

M: “How can Dextego’s AI coach improve soft skills?”

I: “By engineering daily challenges to our users' lives personalized to their role and industry, we are helping them grow their skills exponentially over time. For example, if you are an artist, you must learn how to communicate with various stakeholders when dealing with galleries, clients, and collaborators. Your AI coach could challenge you to handle a difficult situation where the owner of a prestigious gallery asked for a deal you found unfair. You would then give your answer by filming yourself, and your AI coach would analyze your response, facial expressions, tone of voice, pitch etc, and would give you personalized suggestions on how to improve your response. This would give you a different perspective and help you better prepare for when that scenario happens.”

M: “You recently received the Young Leadership Award by Education 2.0 Conference 2023 in recognition of your contributions in education and learning and development on behalf of Dextego so the skills are proven. My question is, with a great plan comes a great need for strong infrastructure. Who makes up the team at Dextego and what are their roles?”

I: "Our leadership team consists of myself, co-founder and CTO, Sean Vazquez, chairman and angel investor, Guy Mounier.  We are well-versed in Edtech, Talent Development, AI, and ML. Our employees and advisors all share the same passion for democratizing access to soft skills and seeing a world with better communicators, collaborators and leaders."

M: “How does the relationship between tech & art look in the near future?”

I: “The future of the tech and art relationship holds great potential. It includes digital art, AI-generated art, interactive installations, virtual exhibitions, art conservation with technology, and ethical considerations. Technology will continue to provide new tools and mediums for artists, leading to innovative and transformative experiences in the art world.”

Dextego is a NYC based startup that is revolutionizing Edtech by democratizing access to soft skills, the skills needed for success no matter your role and industry.

The world of AI is here and is being integrated into our society. 

Subscribe to Dextego here.