What happens when you stop waiting for perfection and put your work in front of the people who might actually use it?

On this episode of the BIT Voices Podcast, B Donald Harris and Major Phillips welcome Yohlanna Cort, a U.S. Navy veteran, full-stack software engineer, and founder of CortNova Technologies.

Yohlanna's journey into technology began with LEGO robotics, grew through software engineering, and eventually led her to building physical technology designed to solve real-world problems.

She shares how she developed an offline-resilient guest-request system for hotels and resorts, used Claude Code to accelerate development, and assembled a working Raspberry Pi prototype while visiting Jamaica.

Then came the moment every builder eventually faces: showing someone what you've created before you feel completely ready.

Yohlanna took the shot.

What followed was valuable feedback from hotel staff and an opportunity to continue the conversation about her product.

But her story extends well beyond entrepreneurship.

We explore her transition from military to civilian life, the lessons she learned through setbacks, her passion for neuroscience, and her belief that artificial intelligence should expand human potential rather than replace it.

We also discuss:

• Building reliable software with AI-assisted development tools

• Why architecture and data integrity still matter

• The evolving relevance of coding boot camps

• Neuroplasticity and the future of human intelligence

• Responsible AI development and human oversight

• Building technology for healthcare, agriculture, and hospitality

• Finding the courage to pursue opportunities before everything is perfect

Yohlanna leaves builders with an important message:

"Don't be afraid of AI, trust your brain."

Technology continues to evolve. Our responsibility to think, create, learn, and build evolves with it.

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Yohlanna Cort

Founder, CortNova Technologies

Website:

https://cortnovatech.com

LinkedIn:

Yohlanna Cort

Instagram:

GT Mixology

Yohlanna welcomes introductions to hospitality operators and hotel decision-makers interested in exploring a demonstration or pilot of CortNova's guest-request system.

ABOUT BIT VOICES PODCAST

BIT Voices Podcast is a NotableBIT production dedicated to Amplifying Black Excellence in Tech.

Hosted by B Donald Harris and Major Phillips, the podcast documents the journeys of Black builders, founders, engineers, and innovators shaping technology and creating opportunities for future generations.

CONNECT WITH THE HOSTS

B Donald Harris

https://bdonaldharris.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/briandharris/

Major Phillips

https://www.instagram.com/bi.leader/

JOIN THE COMMUNITY

BitVoices Network

https://bitvoices.network

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#BITVoices #BlackBuilders #NotableBIT #SoftwareEngineering #AI

BIT VOICES PODCAST

BIT Voices Podcast brings you the people behind the work: builders, technologists, founders, and leaders creating what's next.

Become a Founding Builder:

https://bitvoices.network

HOST

B Donald Harris

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/briandharris/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notablebit/

Website: https://www.bdonaldharris.com

NotableBIT: https://www.notablebit.com

CO-HOST

Major Phillips

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/major-phillips/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bi.leader/

As AI systems become increasingly capable of acting on our behalf, what must humans become more conscious of retaining?

LaMont Wheat returns to BIT Voices Podcast for a conversation with B Donald Harris and Major Phillips about executive AI orientation, human discernment, governance, pre-delegation literacy, relational intelligence, and the responsibility that comes with giving intelligent systems greater autonomy.

LaMont argues that learning how to prompt or use an AI tool isn't the same as being oriented to the kind of intelligence you're interacting with. That distinction leads the conversation into what happens when organizations deploy AI before their people and processes are ready, why AI governance and data governance aren't the same thing, and why humans need to understand exactly what they're delegating before judgment, authority, authorship, and responsibility begin shifting to intelligent systems.

The conversation also explores organizational readiness, the limits of using token consumption as a productivity metric, LaMont's concept of relational intelligence, and a live demonstration from his Mirror Lab.

Then the discussion turns toward education and stewardship: What happens when younger builders enter an AI-first world without the experience that taught previous generations to validate their work? And what happens when organizations automate away the experienced people who carry the institutional knowledge needed to steward whoever comes next?

It's thoughtful, practical, occasionally challenging—and still BIT Voices, so somehow Major also invents AI insurance along the way.

LaMont closes with a challenge for builders in this accelerated era: collaborate, share knowledge, preserve human creativity and ingenuity, and focus on what we can build together.

Connect with LaMont:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lamontwheat

Website: https://www.uhmum.com/

Learn more about BitVoices Network:

https://bitvoices.network