E146: "My Technical Degree Is Basically Useless Now" with Naomie (Amzallag) Halioua

<p>Naomie Amzallag Halioua spent years training to become a technical specialist - then watched AI make that specialization nearly worthless overnight.</p><p><br></p><p>As co-founder and CEO of Cleo Labs, she&#39;s building an AI-powered product compliance company in a world where technical skill alone is no longer a moat. In this episode, she explains why she believes generalists - not specialists - will win the next decade, why human judgment is now the only real competitive advantage, and why Cleo walked away from a profitable product that nobody actually used.</p><p><br></p><p>We also get into:</p><p>• Why AI is quietly making deep technical training less valuable</p><p>• The difference between using AI and thinking with it</p><p>• How Cleo found a problem worth solving after abandoning one that wasn&#39;t</p><p>• Building a company (and a family) without waiting for the &quot;right&quot; moment</p><p>• What confidence actually requires - and where it comes from</p><p><br></p><p>If you&#39;ve ever wondered whether your hard-won expertise still matters, this conversation will change how you think about it.</p><p>Naomie Halioua is the technical co-founder of Cleo Labs, a Paris-based startup that uses AI to help brands sell their products around the world without getting blocked by regulation. She&#39;s a Polytechnique-trained engineer, and she built the multi-agent architecture behind the product. Before Cleo, she co-founded Women in Web3, Europe&#39;s largest community for women in Web3. Cleo raised a 1.5 million euro pre-seed and counts Decathlon among its clients.</p><p><br></p><p>Connect with Naomie: https://www.linkedin.com/in/naomiehalioua/</p><p><br></p><p>Hosted by Zivi: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zivileeinikyte/</p><p><br></p><p>Chapters</p><p>00:00 Introduction to Naomie&#39;s Journey</p><p>02:03 Pregnancy and Fundraising: Naomie&#39;s Experience</p><p>04:15 Role Models and Inspiration for Women in Tech</p><p>05:34 Naomie&#39;s Background in Web3 and Community Building</p><p>08:12 Pivot from AI Education to Product Compliance</p><p>13:34 How Naomie Onboards Clients for Compliance</p><p>15:45 Human in the Loop as a Competitive Advantage</p><p>17:06 Risks and Perceptions of AI Usage</p><p>20:14 Evolving Workflows and Team Skills in AI Era</p><p>21:50 Hiring for Technical and Legal Expertise</p><p>23:35 Learning and Adapting to AI Tools</p><p>25:54 Bridging the Educational Gap in AI Skills</p><p>27:31 Community Building and Support for Women</p><