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PODCAST

The Tech Trek

The Tech Trek is a podcast for founders, builders, and operators who are in the arena building world class tech companies. Host Amir Bormand sits down with the people responsible for product, engineering, data, and growth and digs into how they ship, who they hire, and what they do when things break. If you want a clear view into how modern startups really get built, from first line of code to traction and scale, this show takes you inside the work.

technology

All Episodes

00:28:04

Factory operating systems and the AI hardware crunch

The Tech Trek ·

2025/12/10

Karan Talati, cofounder and CEO at First Resonance, joins me to unpack what modern manufacturing really looks like inside factories that build rockets, drones, reactors, and other complex hardware. We dig into why only a small slice of factories run on real systems today, what a true factory operating system unlocks, and how that connects directly to national security and the AI boom.If you care about where all of this new compute, energy, and defense hardware will actually come from, this

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00:25:06

Inside the Business of Modern Waste Management

The Tech Trek ·

2025/12/09

Michael Marmo, founder and chief executive of CurbWaste, joins The Tech Trek to share how he went from catching fastballs in Europe to building software that runs the daily work of waste haulers. We walk through the very human side of leaving a sports identity, starting at the bottom in a family waste business, and finally asking a simple question about founding a company. Why not meIf you are sitting inside an industry and quietly seeing the gaps that no product seems to solve, this conversation is

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00:38:14

How data teams are rebuilding insurance from the inside

The Tech Trek ·

2025/12/08

Jason Ash, Chief of Data at Symetra, joins the show to unpack how a mid sized insurer is rebuilding its data stack and culture so business and technology actually pull in the same direction. He shares how his team brings actuaries, product leaders, and engineers into one data platform, and why opening that platform to non technical contributors has been a turning point. If you work in a regulated industry and are trying to move faster with data, this conversation gives you a very practical view of

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00:28:00

Data Culture That Actually Delivers With AI

The Tech Trek ·

2025/12/05

Chris Morgan, VP of Data Science at Lincoln Financial Group, joins me to unpack what a real data culture looks like inside a complex, highly regulated business that has policies on the books for decades. We talk about how to turn Gen AI buzz into real value, why governance and quality suddenly matter to everyone, and how to tackle data technical debt without stalling delivery.Chris shares concrete ways he finds champions in the business, balances centralized and federated models, and keeps

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00:24:09

How AI Role Play Levels Up Public Speaking Interviews...

The Tech Trek ·

2025/12/04

Varun Puri, CEO and cofounder of Yoodli, joins the show to talk about using AI role play to transform how people practice for high stakes conversations, from sales calls to job interviews to tough manager chats. He breaks down how Yoodli went from a consumer public speaking tool to a serious enterprise platform used by teams at Google, Snowflake, Databricks, and more, all while staying anchored in one mission, helping humans communicate with confidence. We dig into product led growth, honest

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00:29:26

Opening Venture Capital Investing To Everyone

The Tech Trek ·

2025/12/03

Mike Collins, CEO of Alumni Ventures, joins Amir to unpack what it really means to democratize venture capital and why the next wave of value creation will happen in private markets long before it hits the public exchanges. He explains how Alumni Ventures lets accredited investors build a meaningful venture portfolio, why diversification and time matter more than stock picking, and how this model changes the game for both founders and individual investors.If you are a tech professional who cares

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00:25:43

How New Engineering Leaders Win in the First Ninety Days

The Tech Trek ·

2025/12/02

Chinmay Barve, VP of Engineering at Nooks AI, joins the show to break down what the first sixty to ninety days look like when you step into a senior leadership role at a fast moving AI company. He explains how to build trust quickly, how to find real problems worth solving, and how to avoid the trap of either rushing change or waiting too long to act. This conversation is a practical playbook for engineering leaders who want early impact without losing alignment.Key Takeaways• The listening phase

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00:31:10

How Digital IDs Will Rewrite Online Trust and Agent...

The Tech Trek ·

2025/12/01

Digital IDs are about to reshape how we prove who we are online. Peter Horadan, CEO at Vouched, joins the show to break down what this shift really means for trust, privacy, and the rise of agent driven systems. He explains why digital IDs will remove huge amounts of friction, stop common fraud paths, and change how we secure everything from bank accounts to AI agents acting on our behalf.This is a clear look at what is coming in the next two years and why it matters to every engineering and product

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00:34:23

How an AI doctor helps you get care faster

The Tech Trek ·

2025/11/24

Most people still think of AI in medicine as a novelty. Matt Pavelle sees it as the new first step in patient care.In this episode, Matt breaks down how Doctronic built an AI doctor that can gather history, follow clinical guidelines, produce full treatment plans, and then hand everything to a real physician who can review it in minutes. It is private by default, aligned with top primary care doctors, and already helping millions of people move faster through the healthcare system without lowering

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00:26:55

The Mindset Shift Behind a True Zero Bug Policy

The Tech Trek ·

2025/11/20

Chris Church, VP of Engineering at Rainforest, breaks down why a zero bug policy is more than a technical choice. It is a mindset, an operating model, and a culture shift that shapes how engineering teams build, release, and support software at scale.In this conversation he goes inside the habits that actually make quality a strategic advantage and explains how small releases, strong visibility, and healthy engineering practices create real impact over time.Key Takeaways• Quality is not a feature

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00:31:07

The Skills Veterans Bring That Most Hiring Teams Miss

The Tech Trek ·

2025/11/19

Snehal Antani, co founder and CEO of Horizon3 AI, joins the show for a conversation about how veterans bring rare leadership strengths to fast moving companies. He pulls back the curtain on the world of special operations, shares what industry leaders often miss when interviewing former service members, and explains why these leaders are some of the most prepared problem solvers you can hire.This episode helps any listener understand the real strengths behind military experience and how those

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00:23:10

How Engineering Leaders Inspire Ownership

The Tech Trek ·

2025/11/18

Chandni Jain, VP of Engineering at Checkr, joins the show to talk about what it takes to build a real culture of ownership. She explains how clarity, trust, and true empowerment help teams move faster and work better together. You will also hear how leaders can bring out stronger initiative and confidence in their people.This episode gives a simple and useful guide for anyone who wants to lead with intent and build teams that think and act like owners.Key Takeaways• Ownership grows when clarity,

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00:31:38

The Future of Autonomous Transit Is Not What You Think

The Tech Trek ·

2025/11/17

Shawn Taikratoke, CEO and co founder of Mozee, joins the show to unpack one of the biggest questions in mobility today. How close are we to real autonomous transportation and what will actually move the needle in our cities. Shawn breaks down why the future is not a single robotaxi dream, but a more human centered shift in public transit that solves the first and last mile in a smarter way. If you care about how people move, how cities evolve, or how autonomy will reshape everyday life, this one is

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00:28:17

How AI Is Changing the Way We Talk to Computers

The Tech Trek ·

2025/11/14

Mike Hanson, CTO at Clockwise, joins the show to break down how our relationship with computers is changing as language based systems reshape expectations. We explore why natural storytelling feels so intuitive with today’s AI tools, how context is becoming the new currency of great software, and why narrow AI is often more powerful than the industry hype suggests.This conversation gives tech leaders a grounded look at what is real, what is noise, and what is coming fast.Key Takeaways• Natural

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00:29:32

The Truth About Starting Again After a Big Exit

The Tech Trek ·

2025/11/13

Soham Mazumdar, CEO and co founder of Wisdom AI, joins the show to talk about what it really takes to build again after major exits at Facebook and Rubrik. We get into the mindset shift required for a new startup, the danger of relying too much on past playbooks, and how to stay grounded when expectations rise.If you want a real look at repeat founder decision making, this is the conversation to listen to.Key Takeaways• The biggest advantage of being a repeat founder is the ability to attract talent

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00:42:28

How One Startup Is Cutting the Cost of Borrowing Money

The Tech Trek ·

2025/11/12

In this episode of The Tech Trek, Amir sits down with Sadi Khan, Co-Founder and CEO of Aven, to unpack how technology can make capital fairer for everyone. Sadi explains how Aven is tackling one of the world’s biggest inefficiencies—the trillion-dollar burden of consumer credit card debt—and why the solution lies in reducing the cost of capital through innovation. This is a deep dive into building products that require not just engineering skill, but endurance, conviction, and a long-term

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00:27:15

How Data and Engineering Make the Impossible Real

The Tech Trek ·

2025/11/11

Svetlana Zavelskaya, Head of Software Engineering for Data Platform and Infrastructure at Quanata, joins the show to unpack what it really takes to make the “impossible” possible in tech. From re-architecting a startup codebase to scaling innovation inside an insurance giant, she shares how her team turns complex R&D challenges into production-ready systems. This conversation dives deep into engineering discipline, AI tool adoption, and why the next wave of insurance innovation is powered by

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00:25:20

The Future of Voice AI: When Machines Start to Sound...

The Tech Trek ·

2025/11/06

Nikhil Gupta, founder and CTO of Vapi, joins Amir to talk about how voice AI is reshaping the way we connect with businesses. From customer support to healthcare, Nikhil explains how voice agents can bring back the human side of digital interactions. This is a look at where real conversation meets real technology and what happens when machines start to understand us like people do.Key Takeaways• Voice AI creates genuine, human-like engagement instead of the usual scripted support.• The next wave of

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00:33:21

Building a Startup Culture Where No One Wants to Leave

The Tech Trek ·

2025/11/05

Alex Daniels, Founder and CTO at Predoc, joins the show to share how he is building a mission driven healthtech company that is changing how medical data is accessed and used. He opens up about the personal story that inspired Predoc, how he keeps culture authentic while scaling, and what zero turnover really looks like in a startup. From hiring philosophies to equity design to managing context switching, Alex brings a deeply human view of leadership in engineering.Key Takeaways• Building culture

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00:32:35

Building Infrastructure Startups: Why Everything...

The Tech Trek ·

2025/11/04

Jordan Tigani, CEO and cofounder of MotherDuck, knows what world class infrastructure looks like. He spent years building Google BigQuery before taking those lessons into the startup world. In this episode, he breaks down why building infrastructure products is fundamentally different from typical SaaS and why founders who don’t understand that difference are in for a painful surprise.What You'll LearnThere are no shortcuts in infrastructure. You can’t just wire together existing open source

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622 results

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