Arizona Tech Week 2026
CEO, Exponent Labs | Engineering Manager, Elysium Health · Exponent Labs
From MySpace themes in middle school to engineering AI agents at a longevity company. I build, mentor, and show up wherever the future is being made.
Origin
My start in tech wasn't formal; it was Myspace. In middle school I noticed that people were paying other people for premium custom themes. I wanted the cool person theme, and I figured out I could build it myself. So I taught myself how to code, started making themes, and eventually people were paying me to make them too. That's also when I built my first PC and got deep into StarCraft - observation, decision, action. That pattern stuck.
At my local church, a worship drummer and young adult leader noticed I could make websites. He asked me to build one for his hospital consultancy. That first real ask, from someone who saw what I was building and took it seriously - changed my trajectory. I'd been a biology major planning to transfer out of state for pharmacy school. But I looked at what was happening in tech, I saw the trend getting more digital, I knew I was good at this coding thing and I liked it. So I changed to computer science and graduated.
The early years were humbling. Agency life was high-pace and stressful. The first big project I built, I was probably working for $3 an hour because I didn't know how to scope it or charge for it. But that's how I learned exactly what I sucked at and exactly what to work on next. I had a plan: agencies, get better, hop to brand. I mostly stuck to that plan - and I was remote before COVID, so when the world shut down, nothing changed for me.
Thanks, Myspace
In this interview hosted by Michael Jagdeo, Founder, Exponent Labs LLC, Rocky Nguyen discusses how Myspace custom themes transformed him from a middle schooler into a self-taught developer, marking the start of his career in tech. He reflects on the impact of early online platforms on his skills and aspirations in the technology field.
Present
Exponent Labs
Right now I'm engineering manager at Elysium Health, a longevity supplements company, and CEO of Exponent Labs, the syndicate I run where deals, companies, and relationships emerge from the network.
The work I'm most excited about is building with agentic AI. I've been deep in Claude Code - building skills, designing workflows, thinking hard about how context management and memory architecture actually need to work for agents at scale. My framework is the three Ds: design, development, distribution. I see a massive shift in what it means to be a designer or engineer in the age of AI. The designer who can ship code, test in production, and iterate on a hypothesis in 48 hours. That's the new shape of the role. Even a loss tells you what not to build. That's the signal.
I'm also mentoring Aiden, a college student finishing his last year of computer science. Recent grads are waiting a year or more to land their first job right now. So I take him to every event I can - Arizona Tech Week, Twitter Spaces, all of it. That's what Exponent Labs is at its core: a graph of people who show up, build things, and make introductions for each other.
RockyGPT
In this interview hosted by Michael Jagdeo, Founder, Exponent Labs LLC, Rocky Nguyen discusses what it looks like when an engineering manager starts building agentic AI tools from the inside out. Rocky shares insights on the development process and the impact of these tools on the tech landscape.
Future
The architecture is clear. Now it's about building the primitives that won't change.
The system I'm building toward - context management for agentic AI, long and short-term memory, access control at the project level. I know how it should work. I haven't built the whole thing yet because the space is still moving fast enough that over-building now is a mistake. But the primitives are stable: skills as markdown and bash files, context as version-controlled and access-controlled, memory as a graph that understands decisions over time. That doesn't change.
Where we're headed is still becoming clear. Phoenix is near the top of my list. But business takes you where it needs to. What I know is that the culmination of all of this - the interviews, the carcast, five years of relationships built at events like this - there's no way I could have done any of it two years ago. That's what showing up looks like over time.
Where to Next, Rocky?
In this interview hosted by Michael Jagdeo, Founder, Exponent Labs LLC, Rocky Nguyen discusses the future direction of Exponent Labs both geographically and professionally. He provides insights into what the future of agentic AI work looks like from an insider's perspective.
Fast Facts
Companies
Exponent Labs (CEO) · Elysium Health (Engineering Manager)
Specialty
Agentic AI systems · Frontend engineering · Shopify e-commerce
Framework
Design · Development · Distribution
Mentoring
Aiden (last-year CS student preparing for an AI-native job market)
Origin
Orange County, CA · Vietnamese-American · self-taught via Myspace
Event
Arizona Tech Week 2026 (Host & Interviewer)
Watch More
In this interview hosted by Michael Jagdeo, Founder, Exponent Labs LLC, Rocky Nguyen discusses his role as the host for Arizona Tech Week's Exponent Labs coverage. He shares insights into what attendees can expect from the event and his vision for the future of technology in Arizona.
In this interview hosted by Michael Jagdeo, Founder, Exponent Labs LLC, Rocky Nguyen discusses his experience watching a finance documentary while others napped and the insights he gained about credit cards. He shares the importance of staying engaged in learning, even when it seems challenging.
In this interview hosted by Michael Jagdeo, Founder, Exponent Labs LLC, Rocky Nguyen discusses his transition from biology to computer science. He shares insights on his decision-making process and the clarity he found in his new trajectory toward a career in tech.
In this interview hosted by Michael Jagdeo, Founder, Exponent Labs LLC, Rocky Nguyen discusses his career path from agency freelance work to becoming an engineering manager and syndicate CEO. He shares insights on the challenges and milestones that shaped his professional journey.
In this interview hosted by Michael Jagdeo, Founder, Exponent Labs LLC, Rocky Nguyen discusses setting the scene for Exponent Labs' coverage of Arizona Tech Week 2026. He shares insights on the event's significance and what attendees can expect this year.
In this interview hosted by Michael Jagdeo, Founder, Exponent Labs LLC, Rocky Nguyen discusses the significance of Arizona Tech Week and what attendees can expect. He sets the scene for Exponent Labs' coverage of this exciting event.
In this interview hosted by Michael Jagdeo, Founder, Exponent Labs LLC, Rocky Nguyen discusses how he and Michael first crossed paths through Twitter Spaces. This mutual introduction significantly impacted both of their trajectories in the tech industry.
In this interview hosted by Michael Jagdeo, Founder, Exponent Labs LLC, Rocky Nguyen discusses his experience on Totally Uninformed Opinions, a 24/7 Twitter Space that ran for three months. He shares insights on Web3, finance, and healthcare, highlighting the platform's impact on these industries.
In this interview hosted by Michael Jagdeo, Founder, Exponent Labs LLC, Rocky Nguyen discusses the deals and relationships forming at the edges of the Arizona Tech Week network. He shares insights into the evolving landscape of technology and collaboration within the event's framework.
In this interview hosted by Michael Jagdeo, Founder, Exponent Labs LLC, Rocky Nguyen discusses what actually makes a job worth doing and how that framework applies to the AI-native work world. This conversation delves into the essential elements of job design and their relevance in today's evolving workplace.
In this interview hosted by Michael Jagdeo, Founder, Exponent Labs LLC, Rocky Nguyen discusses the seemingly random connections that turned out to be load-bearing relationships. He shares insights on how these relationships shaped his journey and the importance of networking in the tech industry.
In this interview hosted by Michael Jagdeo, Founder, Exponent Labs LLC, Rocky Nguyen discusses the trajectory of agencies, Shopify, remote work before COVID, and Elysium Health. He reflects on how these experiences have shaped his vision for the future of work and innovation.
In this interview hosted by Michael Jagdeo, Founder, Exponent Labs LLC, Rocky Nguyen discusses the people doing real work in the Arizona ecosystem who don't get the credit - the gardeners of the tech community. He highlights the importance of recognizing these unsung heroes and their contributions to the tech landscape in Arizona.
In this interview hosted by Michael Jagdeo, Founder, Exponent Labs LLC, Rocky Nguyen discusses his framework of Design, Development, and Distribution, highlighting why distribution became the missing piece. He elaborates on the significance of each component in the tech landscape and shares insights from his experiences at Arizona Tech Week 2026.
In this interview hosted by Michael Jagdeo, Founder, Exponent Labs LLC, Rocky Nguyen discusses who is responsible for designing the interfaces that AI agents interact with and why it's the designer's moment. He emphasizes the critical role of designers in shaping user experiences and the future of AI interaction.
In this interview hosted by Michael Jagdeo, Founder, Exponent Labs LLC, Rocky Nguyen discusses how to think about context windows, project-level access control, and the architecture of agentic memory. He shares insights on the importance of context in developing effective agents and managing their memory systems.
In this interview hosted by Michael Jagdeo, Founder, Exponent Labs LLC, Rocky Nguyen discusses long-term vs. short-term memory for agents, and why it's the same problem as RAM vs. hard disk, one layer up. He delves into the complexities of memory management and its implications for technology and artificial intelligence.
In this interview hosted by Michael Jagdeo, Founder, Exponent Labs LLC, Rocky Nguyen discusses what it means that all of this - the interviews, the skills, the relationships - converged at this moment. He reflects on the significance of this convergence and its impact on the future of technology and collaboration.
In this interview hosted by Michael Jagdeo, Founder, Exponent Labs LLC, Rocky Nguyen discusses designers who can ship code and the vanishing excuse of 'the developer said no.' He explores the evolving role of designers in tech and how this shift is impacting collaboration and project outcomes.
In this interview hosted by Michael Jagdeo, Founder, Exponent Labs LLC, Rocky Nguyen discusses the physics of desert driving and the genuine constraints posed by tires in Arizona. The conversation dives into the unique challenges faced by drivers in desert conditions and how technology can help overcome these obstacles.
In this interview hosted by Michael Jagdeo, Founder, Exponent Labs LLC, Rocky Nguyen discusses why pool design in Arizona is actually a UX problem and shares insights on the people-want-water perspective. He delves into the intersection of design and user experience in creating functional and appealing pool spaces in the desert environment.
In this interview hosted by Michael Jagdeo, Founder, Exponent Labs LLC, Rocky Nguyen discusses the geography of Southern Arizona. The conversation dives into the unique characteristics and distinctions of Tucson and its surroundings, exploring the complexities of the region's identity.
In this interview hosted by Michael Jagdeo, Founder, Exponent Labs LLC, Rocky Nguyen discusses the economics of snack sponsorships and the fine line between tokenomics and taconomics. This conversation delves into how brands like Doritos navigate the evolving landscape of sponsorships in the snack industry.
In this interview hosted by Michael Jagdeo, Founder, Exponent Labs LLC, Rocky Nguyen discusses what's next after Arizona Tech Week and what staying current actually requires. He shares insights on the evolving tech landscape and the importance of adaptability in the industry.
In this interview hosted by Michael Jagdeo, Founder, Exponent Labs LLC, Rocky Nguyen discusses the challenges of predicting the future of AI and provides an honest perspective on what might come next. The conversation delves into the complexities of technological advancements and the uncertainties that lie ahead in the AI landscape.
In this interview hosted by Michael Jagdeo, Founder, Exponent Labs LLC, Rocky Nguyen discusses the Claude Mythos announcement - what it means for AI capability, nation-state interest, and who gets access to the best models. Rocky provides insights into the evolving landscape of AI and the implications of this announcement for various stakeholders in the tech industry.
In this interview hosted by Michael Jagdeo, Founder, Exponent Labs LLC, Rocky Nguyen discusses how the designer's role is expanding into UX engineering, incorporating motion, psychology, and code all in one seat. He explores the multifaceted nature of modern design and its implications for the future of the industry.
In this interview hosted by Michael Jagdeo, Founder, Exponent Labs LLC, Rocky Nguyen discusses what the designer of the future looks like when AI removes the excuse that the developer said no. He explores the evolving role of designers in an increasingly automated landscape and how they can adapt to new technologies.
Interviews
Rocky personally interviewed every speaker below at Arizona Tech Week, except Suresh Kolpuru — that one was Michael's.
How co-founder Rock brought him into Lunar Digital Assets
His philosophy on learning from every opportunity
How a Vietnamese immigrant became Rocky, shared by the interviewer during the conversation
Bringing DeFi summer to Litecoin's layer 2
On meeting builders IRL and Arizona's growing blockchain scene
The global pitch network where Aztec is a city leader
What makes a great pitch, from someone who's on both sides
AI is 50% of his workflow, and it's changing everything
On college, communication, and learning to lead
His unfiltered take on business school
CFO at 25: thrown in, no playbook
Why every builder needs to speak CFO
The crisis Clinix AI was built to fix
How going barefoot drives innovation
The ledger built to make crypto accounting as clear as a bank statement
Moving from single-player AI productivity to enterprise-grade agent orchestration
Eric on the Superman roller coaster, and what learning to let go instead of grip taught him about navigating change.
Eric explains PropertyShares, Zillow meets Coinbase, and how AI insights are making fractional real estate investment accessible for the first time.
Eric on why showing up and participating, even when it's uncertain, is where all the action is.
Eric and Michael on how to think about the relentless pace of AI change, and why staying new matters more than understanding every new release.
Seven years of building toward a moment, and the mentor who finally made it real
On the passion that kept him building through seven years of uncertainty
How AI gave a solo game designer access to art, production, and development they couldn't do alone
A Claude Code tool that swaps in Warcraft sound effects for notifications, shared by the interviewer Rocky during the conversation
Bringing ideas to life using English: how AI bridges the gap between vision and code
Where AI, lip sync, and animated characters are taking games, and the Cyberpunk 2077 example that proves it works
From the University of Guelph to NIH to uGenome, the mentor who made it possible
On mentoring the next generation through Covid, economic headwinds, and a changing job market
The multi-omics software company making genomic data interpretable
Why women's health is dramatically underfunded, and how genomics changes that
The multi-omics pipeline: from DNA variants to drug reactions to clinical decisions
If AI could solve one thing instantly, Marco's answer about multi-pathway disease analysis
The new direct-to-consumer genomics division, and why functional medicine doctors are paying attention
Marisela on the summer program that landed her in Dr. Jason Yuan's lab and the moment she fell in love with research.
Marisela explains why NAD is the foundational energy molecule and what happens when your body stops making enough of it.
Marisela breaks down NAMPT, the rate-limiting enzyme to NAD production, and how it transforms into an inflammatory biomarker when secreted from the cell.
Marisela on her work in the longevity space: the Alliance for Longevity Initiatives, Longevity Global, and her role translating science for non-specialist audiences.
The conversation turns to personalized health AI, a Baymax or Jarvis for your own DNA and health records.
Marisela goes deeper on the NAMPT pathway: the seesaw between NAD production and chronic inflammation, and how to think about shifting it.
The mentor who taught him Lean Startup and the investor who bet on him before he could explain himself
Quick buck vs. defining technology: advice for students entering the AI era
Knowledge, skills, and abilities: what Rob looks for when evaluating builders
Identity chaos: why your digital identity is living through someone else's rules
On building the Jarvis for your health data, and why it has to stay on your device
On finding the right problems and the team dynamics that make or break startups
Protocol skills: standardizing AI agent capabilities across platforms
AI primitives: why skills, abilities, and agents are the building blocks
The Attention Marketplace and getting paid for your own data
Rob on his actual first job — stacking chairs and tables at his local church — where he met the mentor who built database systems for hospitals across Southern California.
Rob on Mark Symons, Giant Spoon, and chasing the media puck from Vine to 360 cameras into immersive tech
Rob on why distribution alone isn't the moat, AI and eroding trust, and where blockchain can actually help creators
Rob on the Meta license that pushed him toward Web3 — why provenance, not hype, is what actually pulled him into blockchain
Rob on Coffee Lava, an El Salvadoran coffee startup building a circular Bitcoin economy and verifying its own provenance on-chain
Rob on archiving real moments on-chain into perpetuity, the Univision partnership, and his own first (accidental mainnet) mint
Tina on the hotel front desk in Tulsa, the moment a hotel owner sent her to Pennsylvania, and how it launched her career in technology.
Tina on taking her first solo trip to attend the AI Film Festival in Arizona, the decision that changed her life and network.
Tina on representing her veteran client with three Purple Hearts and the AI film projects, voice-driven media, and space tech work on the horizon.
Zach on the second family who welcomed him unconditionally and the moment that taught him the power of being present.
Zach on how uGenome's intern program, 150+ alumni now at Amazon, Abbott Laboratories, and beyond, was built to produce great humans, not just great engineers.
Zach explains the half-trillion-dollar adverse drug reaction problem that uGenome was built to solve.
Zach continues: what it means to sequence once and let your genetic profile guide a lifetime of better health decisions.
Rocky shares his dream of a personalized AI health companion, a Baymax or Jarvis for your DNA.
Zach's personal example: his dad developed a shrimp allergy as he aged, and what genomic medicine means for understanding how your sensitivities shift over a lifetime.
Zach on why he showed up to Arizona Tech Week and what draws him to spaces where passion and technology intersect.
“Even a loss is a win; it's telling you what not to build.”
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