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PODCAST

The Tech Trek

The Tech Trek is a podcast about how founders, operators, and technology leaders build and scale technology companies. Each episode explores the decisions behind building products, teams, and technical organizations, with conversations spanning engineering, AI, data, product, hiring, leadership, and growth. Guests share what they are building, what they are learning, and how they are navigating the challenges that come with turning technology into a successful company.

technology

All Episodes

00:20:49

Data Governance for Data Offense

The Tech Trek ·

2023/07/05

In this episode, the host interviews Peter Kapur, the Head of Data Governance and Data Quality at CarMax. They discuss the importance of data governance as an offensive strategy rather than just a defensive one. Peter explains his role in making data an asset that drives business and improves profitability, customer experience, and associate experience. They also touch on privacy as a component of data governance and the need to change the mindset around data governance from a defensive weapon to an

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00:25:17

Exploring the SRE Function

The Tech Trek ·

2023/06/30

In this episode of the podcast, Peter Teitelbaum, director of site reliability engineering at Peacock, discusses the SRE function and the business impact of building it out. Peacock is a TV streaming service that offers both video-on-demand and live offerings. Peter's role at Peacock was to build out the SRE team and define what SRE meant at Peacock. The discussion covers the importance of resiliency, stability, automation, infrastructure management, and observability in ensuring the platform is

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00:25:26

Building AI Native Products

The Tech Trek ·

2023/06/27

In this episode, Amir Bormand interviews Karan Uppal, EVP of Engineering at Evolution IQ, about building AI native products. They discuss the difference between building AI native products and what goes into it. Karan's responsibilities include hiring and growing the engineering team, ensuring technology strategy aligns with business goals, and ensuring the organization can execute and deliver on product commitments. Highlights [00:02:23] AI native products. [00:07:16] Thinking about higher

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00:21:08

Improving performance through OKRs

The Tech Trek ·

2023/06/22

In this episode, the host interviews Jordan Adler, Head of Product Engineering at OneSignal, a customer engagement platform. Jordan discusses how his team sets up and measures objectives and key results (OKRs) from a team, company, and personal perspective. OKRs are used to drive retention, revenue, re-engagement, resurrection, and other major kinds of lifecycle marketing metrics. Jordan also explains how his team operates independently with their OKRs. This episode is a useful guide for anyone

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00:37:37

Inheriting an organization and it’s transformation

The Tech Trek ·

2023/06/20

In this episode, Amir Bormand talks with Ashu Agte, the CTO at Artera, about dealing with an exit and its impact on organizational transformation and design. Artera is a messaging platform for health systems that aims to improve patient experience and satisfaction. Ashu shares his experience and insights on the responsibilities of an engineering leader, organizational restructuring, and the challenges of managing a team during an exit. He also highlights the importance of communication and

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00:19:49

Onboarding and building a BI Team

The Tech Trek ·

2023/06/16

In this episode, the host interviews Chris Majka, staff VP of Business Intelligence at FM Global, a commercial property insurer. Chris shares insights about his team's structure, which includes ten analysts with a mix of experience levels. He also explains how they approach working with stakeholders with a centralized and advanced data analytics team. The discussion also touches on onboarding new team members and making them valuable contributors. Overall, the episode provides valuable insights

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00:41:21

Creating a Culture of Feedback

The Tech Trek ·

2023/06/13

In this episode of the podcast, the host interviews Anna Chalon, Head of People at Runway, a content creation platform powered by machine learning. The discussion focuses on building a feedback culture, with Anna defining it as ingrained in the day-to-day without additional efforts. Topics covered include the benefits of a feedback culture, the steps to building one, and lessons learned from implementing it at Runway. The episode offers insights into creating a healthy culture where employees can

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00:19:51

The Future of Attack Surface Management

The Tech Trek ·

2023/06/07

In this episode, Amir Bormand interviews Aruneesh Salhotra, Nomura's global head of application security. They discuss the future of attack surface management (ASM) and the additional risks posed by shadow IT. Aruneesh explains the differences between ASM and other components of security and shares his experience as a fractional CISO for his own consulting company, S&M Consulting, where he advises organizations on setting up security programs. They also touch on Aruneesh's experience

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00:27:25

Scaling Best Practices for Early Stage Startups

The Tech Trek ·

2023/06/01

In this episode, Amir Bormand interviews James Turnbull, SVP of Engineering at Sotheby's, about organizational design. James shares his experience working with early-stage startups and emphasizes the importance of scaling best practices. He also talks about dealing with cultural changes and logistics while working with legacy companies. James explains his role as the owner of all engineering functions, including mobile and data engineering, at Sotheby's. They touch upon Sotheby's diverse

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00:25:26

Observability Best Practices

The Tech Trek ·

2023/05/25

In this episode of the podcast, Amir interviews Matt Drozdz, the Engineering Manager of Observability at Okta. They discuss best practices for observability, differentiation with SRE teams, and hiring challenges. Matt explains Okta's role in simplifying security for developers and shares his journey as a new observability manager at the company. Highlights: [00:01:43] Observability and its importance. [00:03:07] Observability in SRE teams. [00:08:56] Cost reduction in observability. [00:09:36]

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00:30:15

Exploring Leadership Growth

The Tech Trek ·

2023/05/23

In this episode of the podcast, Amir talks to Vlad Eidelman. Vlad is the CTO of Fiscal Note and joins this podcast to discuss his journey toward becoming CTO. Fiscal Note is a software-as-a-service company that collects, analyzes, and refines policy and regulation data from local to global levels to help its customers understand how laws and regulations can impact their businesses and nonprofits. Vlad has been working in the industry for 15 years, focusing on building machine learning systems,

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00:21:34

Balancing Quality and Speed in Delivery Value

The Tech Trek ·

2023/05/19

On this episode of Tech Trek, Amir asks Suresh Teckchandani, the VP of Product and Engineering at Ancestry, how to balance the need for speed with quality when delivering value at scale. As companies grow and expectations increase, quality becomes crucial to making or breaking a product. Suresh explains that the key is to focus on automation and establishing good communication channels between teams to ensure that quality is not sacrificed for speed. Highlights [00:01:15] Balancing quality and

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00:28:00

Tailoring Cybersecurity Strategies for Startups and...

The Tech Trek ·

2023/05/17

On this episode of Tech Trek, Lisa Hall, Chief Information Security Officer, talks about her experiences building a security program at the genetic testing company. The program covers infrastructure security, application security, product security, governance, risk, and compliance. Lisa discusses the challenges and strategies in building and maintaining a security program in a constantly evolving landscape. Highlights [00:02:29] Building security strategies. [00:03:42] Adapting to different company

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00:26:19

Understanding the Cloud Cost Puzzle - FinOps

The Tech Trek ·

2023/05/12

In this episode of Tech Trek, the host interviews AJ Wasserman, Portfolio Product Owner of Cloud FinOps & Tech Data Insights at Liberty Mutual Insurance, about the financial aspects of cloud computing. She discusses the challenges and cost considerations that come with cloud migration and the importance of monitoring and optimizing cloud usage to maximize cost savings. She provides valuable insights for businesses considering or currently utilizing cloud computing. Highlights: [00:02:34] Cloud

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00:26:11

Dealing with Cloud at Scale

The Tech Trek ·

2023/05/09

On this episode of The Tech Trek, Shiva Parinandi, SVP of Cloud Infrastructure and Advancement at Paramount+, joins as a guest to discuss the challenges of dealing with the cloud at a large scale. He discusses the scale of his company and how they handle the technical aspects of dealing with cloud operations at a large scale. He explains that the amount of preparation needed depends on the size of the event. Shiva guides us through the significance of both the science and art of scaling for such

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00:25:57

Following Your Passion and Building a Business

The Tech Trek ·

2023/05/04

In this episode of Tech Trek, Amir interviews Charlie Greene, the co-founder, and CEO of Rimento. This mobile app allows users to collect and enrich their family's most treasured stories and memories. Charlie talks about his journey of chasing his passion and turning it into a business. He shares details about Rimento's science-backed framework for uncovering stories and how it provides the tools to record, organize, and share memories with loved ones. Charlie also discusses his

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00:25:08

Upskilling your team for better execution, efficiency...

The Tech Trek ·

2023/05/02

This episode of Tech Trek features Susan Dikramanjan, a member of the IT leadership team at John Hancock, a Manulife company, who shares her insights on upskilling and ensuring optimal team efficiency, performance, and execution. Susan discusses her experience setting up an upskilling program at Manulife and the benefits of promoting a culture of lifelong learning within a team. As a lifelong learner, she highlights the importance of constantly seeking new knowledge and developing new skills for

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00:32:17

How Do You Know When You're Ready to Start a Company?

The Tech Trek ·

2023/04/25

How do you know when you’re ready to start a company, especially with few resources or capital? Ken Babcock, Co-Founder and CEO of Tango, offers his insights on this episode of The Tech Trek. Ken also discusses several key moments in his career with host Amir Bormand. Show Notes 03:23 - Ken discusses his past experiences with Uber and Atomic. 08:05 - How do you know when you’re ready to start a company? 11:43 - Going back to school vs. searching for more opportunities. 20:26 - How can you resolve

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00:25:58

Why is Data-Driven Leadership Important?

The Tech Trek ·

2023/04/20

Allan Cutler, Director of Engineering at Endpoint, discusses why data-driven leadership is important on this episode of The Tech Trek. Allan also shares several standout moments from his 15 years as a technology leader with host Amir Bormand. Highlights 00:47 - Allan explains what data-driven leadership means to him. 06:03 - Finding the right software for the right job. 11:17 - Using data to overcome tech debt. 16:35 - The impact of high-level metrics on data. 21:12 - Allan’s best practices for

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00:32:14

Simplifying Shared Services

The Tech Trek ·

2023/04/13

This episode of The Tech Trek features Harish Parwani, the VP of Platform Engineering at CarGurus. Host Amir Bormand and Harish discuss the intricacies of shared services and how teams can maximize their productivity. Highlights 00:56 - Harish offers his perspective and experience with shared services. 03:12 - Why do we need shared services? 06:37 - How do shared services impact team structure? 13:02 - Demonstrating the value of shared services to leadership teams. 16:45 - Prepping shared service

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