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PODCAST

The Tech Trek

The Tech Trek explores the intersection of People, Impact, and Technology — how engineering leaders build high-performing teams, deliver real outcomes, and shape the future of innovation. Hosted by Amir Bormand, founder of Elevano, the show features CTOs, VPs of Engineering, and technical leaders sharing candid insights on leadership, scaling, and building technology organizations that last. Each episode uncovers the decisions, lessons, and mindsets that separate good teams from great ones — and

technology

All Episodes

00:23:42

Why This Ex-Wall Street Banker Left It All to Build...

The Tech Trek ·

2025/08/20

Sara Wyman, founder and CEO of Stackpack, joins me to share her journey from investment banking and a Wharton MBA to launching a company that’s redefining how finance and operations teams manage vendors. From surviving the Bear Stearns collapse to scaling Etsy and Affirm through IPOs, Sara’s career has been built on spotting patterns and acting with conviction. In this episode, she breaks down how she validated her idea with 75 CFOs before writing a line of code, why timing and conviction matter

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00:34:18

The Startup Tackling Healthcare’s Hardest Problem

The Tech Trek ·

2025/08/19

Troy Astorino, co-founder and CTO at Picnic Health, joins Amir to unpack one of healthcare’s most stubborn problems: fragmented medical records. Troy shares how Picnic Health is using AI to unify patient data, cut through friction, and improve both individual care and clinical research. This conversation dives into the technical, regulatory, and human sides of healthcare data—and why accuracy matters more than ever.Key Takeaways• Why interoperability in healthcare has failed despite billions

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00:27:33

Will AI Replace Knowledge Workers?

The Tech Trek ·

2025/08/18

Pritesh Patel, Director of AI at Fisher Phillips, joins The Tech Trek to unpack how AI is reshaping knowledge-based businesses and what that means for industries like law, consulting, and beyond. From shifting revenue models to practical adoption challenges, Pritesh shares how firms can embrace AI early, stay competitive, and unlock new opportunities. This episode is a roadmap for leaders who want to move from incremental efficiency to real transformation.Key Takeaways• AI is disrupting the

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00:21:01

Outputs vs Outcomes in Tech Leadership

The Tech Trek ·

2025/08/15

Udhay Durai, Executive Director of Data Platform and Engineering at Evolus, joins the show to unpack his journey from consulting to leading enterprise data teams. He shares how the high-pressure, quick-delivery mindset from consulting can be a secret weapon in a corporate setting, and what changes when you shift from delivering outputs to owning long-term outcomes. From navigating different types of pressure to building sustainable systems that scale, Udhay offers candid insights for anyone

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00:25:45

AI Is Changing How Engineers Work

The Tech Trek ·

2025/08/14

Allan Leinwand, CTO at Webflow, joins me to explore how AI is reshaping engineering workflows, from code generation to team structure. We dig into how AI tools are boosting productivity, enabling faster onboarding for junior engineers, and freeing up senior talent to focus on distributed systems and business-critical challenges. Allan shares real examples of automation in action, how his team measures success, and why the future of software engineering will be even more dynamic than its past.Key

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00:25:25

Inference: AI’s Hidden Engine

The Tech Trek ·

2025/08/13

Nikola Borisov, CEO and co-founder of Deep Infra, joins the show to unpack the rapid evolution of AI inference, the hardware race powering it, and how startups can actually keep up without burning out. From open source breakthroughs to the business realities of model selection, Nikola shares why speed, efficiency, and strategic focus matter more than ever. If you’re building in AI, this conversation will help you see the road ahead more clearly.Key Takeaways• Open source AI models are advancing at a

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00:25:04

AI Dev Tools Change Everything

The Tech Trek ·

2025/08/12

Zach Lloyd, CEO and founder of Warp, joins The Tech Trek to unpack what it really takes to build tools that transform the developer experience. From rethinking the terminal to balancing product focus with user growth, Zach shares hard-earned lessons from scaling products that developers actually want to use. This is a conversation about building with empathy, understanding workflows, and making deliberate trade-offs that move the needle.Key Takeaways• Why deep focus on the developer workflow leads

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00:24:23

Why Most Edge AI Fails to Ship

The Tech Trek ·

2025/08/11

Sek Chai, CTO and cofounder of Latent AI, joins The Tech Trek to talk about what it actually takes to get AI running on the edge. We explore the real-world constraints of power, compute, and hardware diversity, why an agent-assisted workflow can accelerate MLOps, and how to choose models that are good enough to ship. Sek also breaks down lessons from selling into the federal market and explains why a clear guiding principle beats chasing every shiny opportunity.Key TakeawaysEdge AI is a different

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00:34:04

Why This Ex-Google Exec Became a First-Time Founder

The Tech Trek ·

2025/08/08

Berit Hoffmann, CEO and co-founder of Korl, joins The Tech Trek to share her candid journey from big tech leader to late-stage startup founder. With a resume that includes Google, Dell, and Sisu, Berit could have landed any top role—but she chose the riskier path of building her own AI company while raising two kids and fundraising while seven months pregnant. In this episode, she opens up about the internal tug-of-war, the realities of balancing family and founder life, and how she’s navigating the

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00:24:44

How to Build a World Class Analytics Team

The Tech Trek ·

2025/08/07

What does it take to lead analytics at a truly global scale? In this episode, Amir sits down with Anant Veeravalli, Global Chief Data and Analytics Officer at Media Brands (part of IPG), to unpack how he built and scaled a Center of Excellence (COE) that spans regions, brands, and disciplines. Anant shares the real-world challenges of aligning thousands of data professionals under one strategic vision—and why analytics is far more than just reporting.If you're leading data, analytics, or

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00:27:55

Your Phone Doesn’t Need Your Data

The Tech Trek ·

2025/08/06

What if your phone didn’t need to hold your data at all? In this episode of The Tech Trek, Amir sits down with Jared Shepard, CEO of Hypori, to explore how virtualization at the edge is transforming security, mobility, and data ownership. Jared breaks down Hypori’s secure virtual mobile OS, originally built for the Department of Defense, and how it’s now entering the enterprise and consumer spaces. From eliminating mobile device management to protecting sensitive data from AI exposure, this

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00:28:26

The Security Gap No One’s Talking About

The Tech Trek ·

2025/08/05

Feross Aboukhadijeh, founder and CEO of Socket, joins The Tech Trek to pull back the curtain on software supply chain security, why legacy tools are failing, and what it really takes to build trust into modern development. Feross explains how Socket is tackling vulnerabilities most vendors can't even detect and shares why they made a rare early-stage acquisition—and how it’s reshaping their roadmap.Whether you’re an engineering leader, security pro, or founder eyeing M&A moves, this episode

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00:30:42

The Hidden Key to Innovation: Timing

The Tech Trek ·

2025/08/04

What does it take to deliver innovation at just the right moment? In this episode of The Tech Trek, Amir sits down with Eric Hoffert, CTO at Kargo and former video leader at Apple and Spotify, to unpack the art and science of innovation timing. From building QuickTime at Apple to launching video at Spotify a decade before the market caught up, Eric shares stories that blend conviction, timing, and deep tech insight. This episode is a must-listen for anyone thinking about where AI, video, and

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00:28:47

How AI Actually Helps DevOps

The Tech Trek ·

2025/07/31

What if your infrastructure could predict demand before it happens? In this episode, Nilo Rahmani, CEO and co-founder of Thoras AI, breaks down how predictive scaling is transforming the Kubernetes landscape. With over a decade of experience in site reliability engineering, Nilo shares why the observability market is slower to adopt AI—and why that might finally be changing. If you're navigating the pressures of DevOps or building AI tools for technical teams, this conversation is a

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00:29:21

AI-First UX Is Coming—Are You Ready?

The Tech Trek ·

2025/07/30

What happens when UX design collides with generative AI? In this episode of The Tech Trek, Amir sits down with Mickey Alon, CEO and co-founder of Usera, to explore how AI-first design is redefining SaaS product experiences. Mickey shares his vision for conversational UX, why menus are becoming obsolete, and how intelligent agents will soon become the most valuable “team member” in your product. If you build, lead, or design in tech—this one will get you thinking differently.Key Takeaways•

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00:31:00

Code Faster, Review Smarter

The Tech Trek ·

2025/07/29

How do we ship code faster without sacrificing quality or accountability? Greg Foster, co-founder and CTO at Graphite, joins the show to unpack how AI is reshaping code reviews, developer workflows, and the very definition of software engineering. From AI-assisted reviews to the challenge of maintaining context in a world of auto-generated code, Greg shares hard-won insights from the front lines of dev tools innovation. If you care about shipping fast, staying secure, and evolving your engineering

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00:31:03

How a Serial Founder Builds Enduring Companies

The Tech Trek ·

2025/07/28

What does it take to build startups that last and come back for more? In this episode, Amir sits down with Russ Fradin, serial founder, longtime investor, and now CEO of Larridn. With nearly 30 years of experience and billions raised across multiple ventures, Russ shares what he’s learned about founding companies, hiring the right people, navigating pivots, and representing other people’s money with integrity. This isn’t a highlight reel. It’s a grounded, real-world look at what actually makes a

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00:24:31

Why the Boring Business Wins

The Tech Trek ·

2025/07/25

What do founders get wrong when trying to build a startup? Jeff Gibson, CTO and co-founder at Kintsugi, joins the show to break down how he approaches building around real business problems—not flashy features. Drawing from pre-IPO roles at Atlassian and his journey scaling Kintsugi, Jeff shares why understanding cash flow, revenue mechanics, and operational bottlenecks is critical for building something that lasts. Whether you're a startup founder or tech leader, this one’s full of sharp

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00:25:08

How Great Engineering Leaders Show Impact

The Tech Trek ·

2025/07/23

Ashok Srinivas, SVP of Engineering at Aledade, joins The Tech Trek to break down what it really means to have impact as an engineering leader. With experience at Microsoft, Snapchat, Indeed, Dropbox, and now Aledade, Ashok brings clarity on how to assess your value, earn trust, and align technical strategy to business outcomes. Whether you're leading at a scrappy startup or an enterprise giant, this conversation offers a grounded and practical lens on leading with purpose, adjusting your

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00:24:41

Left Facebook at 41 to Start From Zero

The Tech Trek ·

2025/07/22

Vijaye Raji, CEO and founder of Statsig, left two decades of success at Microsoft and Facebook to start from scratch—at age 41. In this episode of The Tech Trek, we unpack the mindset, planning, and trade-offs that come with becoming a first-time founder later in life. If you've ever wondered what it really takes to leave the safety of big tech to chase a startup dream, this one’s for you.What You’ll Learn• Why Vijaye treated the decision to become a founder separately from the idea for Statsig•

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