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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

00:23:31

The Hidden Fintech Behind the Compute Boom

The Tech Trek ·

2026/02/11

Gabe Ravacci, CTO and co-founder at Internet Backyard, breaks down what the “computer economy” really looks like when you zoom in on data centers, billing, invoicing, and the financial plumbing nobody wants to touch. He shares how a rejected YC application, a finance stint, and a handful of hard lessons pushed him from hardware curiosity to building fintech infrastructure for compute.If you care about where compute is headed, or you are early in your career and trying to find your path without

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00:29:14

Data Fabric Meets AI, The Trust Layer Most Teams Skip

The Tech Trek ·

2026/02/10

Data leaders are being asked to ship real AI outcomes while the foundations are still messy. In this conversation, Dave Shuman, Chief Data Officer at Precisely, breaks down what actually determines whether AI adoption sticks, from hiring “comb shaped” talent to building trusted data products that make AI outputs believable and usable.If you are building in data, AI, or analytics, this episode is a practical map for what needs to be true before AI can move from demos to dependable, repeatable

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00:26:26

Cloud Costs vs AI Workloads, The Storage Decisions...

The Tech Trek ·

2026/02/09

Cloud bills are climbing, AI pipelines are exploding, and storage is quietly becoming the bottleneck nobody wants to own. Ugur Tigli, CTO at MinIO, breaks down what actually changes when AI workloads hit your infrastructure, and how teams can keep performance high without letting costs spiral. In this conversation, we get practical about object storage, S3 as the modern standard, what open source really means for security and speed, and why “cloud” is more of an operating model than a place. Key

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00:50:35

AI Is Changing Art Faster Than You Think.

The Tech Trek ·

2026/02/06

This is an early conversation I am bringing back because it feels even more relevant now, the intersection of AI and art is turning into a real cultural shift.I sit down with Marnie Benney, independent curator at the intersection of contemporary art and technology, and co-founder of AIartists.org, a major community for artists working with AI. We talk about what AI art actually is beyond the headlines, where authorship gets messy, and why artists might be the best people to pressure test the

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00:23:35

AI in the Enterprise, Why Pilots Fail and What...

The Tech Trek ·

2026/02/05

Most teams are approaching AI from the wrong direction, either chasing the tech with no clear problem or spinning up endless pilots that never earn their keep. In this episode, Amir Bormand sits down with Steve Wunker, Managing Director at New Markets Advisors and co author of AI and the Octopus Organization, to break down what actually works in enterprise AI.You will hear why the real challenge is organizational, not technical, how IT and business have to co own the outcome, and what it takes to

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00:25:08

AI Is Rewriting Manufacturing Quality, Here’s What...

The Tech Trek ·

2026/02/04

Manufacturing is getting faster, messier, and more expensive when quality slips.Daniel First, Founder and CEO at Axion, joins Amir to break down how AI is changing the way manufacturers detect issues in the field, trace root causes across messy data, and shorten the time from “customers are hurting” to “we fixed it.”Episode SummaryDaniel First, Founder and CEO at Axion, explains why modern manufacturing is living in the bottom of the quality curve longer than ever, and how AI can help companies spot

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00:26:18

Synthetic Data Explained, When It Helps AI and When...

The Tech Trek ·

2026/02/03

Synthetic data is moving from a niche concept to a practical tool for shipping AI in the real world. In this episode, Amit Shivpuja, Director of Data Product and AI Enablement at Walmart, breaks down where synthetic data actually helps, where it can quietly hurt you, and how to think about it like a data leader, not a demo builder.We dig into what blocks AI from reaching production, how regulated industries end up with an unfair advantage, and the simple test that tells you whether synthetic data

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00:25:52

The Real Learning Curve of Engineering Management

The Tech Trek ·

2026/02/02

Tom Pethtel, VP of Engineering at Flock Safety, breaks down the real learning curve of moving from builder to manager, and how to keep your technical edge while scaling your impact through people.You will hear how Tom’s path from rural Ohio to leading high stakes engineering teams shaped his approach to leadership, hiring, and staying close to the customer. Key Takeaways Promotions usually come from doing your current job well, plus stepping into the work above you that is not getting done Great

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00:30:58

Retention for Engineering Teams, What Keeps Top...

The Tech Trek ·

2026/01/30

Phil Freo, VP of Product and Engineering at Close, has lived the rare arc from founding engineer to executive leader. In this conversation, he breaks down why he stayed nearly 12 years, and what it takes to build a team that people actually want to grow with.We get into retention that is earned, not hoped for, the culture choices that compound over time, and the practical systems that make remote work and knowledge sharing hold up at scale.Key takeaways• Staying for a decade is not about loyalty, it

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00:23:26

Data Orchestration and Open Source Strategy

The Tech Trek ·

2026/01/29

Pete Hunt, CEO of Dagster Labs, joins Amir Bormand to break down why modern data teams are moving past task based orchestration, and what it really takes to run reliable pipelines at scale. If you have ever wrestled with Apache Airflow pain, multi team deployments, or unclear data lineage, this conversation will give you a clearer mental model and a practical way to think about the next generation of data infrastructure. Key Takeaways• Data orchestration is not just scheduling, it is the control

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00:30:53

How Great Investors Spot Real Moats in AI

The Tech Trek ·

2026/01/28

Sandesh Patnam, Managing Partner at Premji Invest, breaks down how long duration capital changes the way you evaluate companies, founders, and moats. We talk about what most growth investors miss, why product strength still matters, and how to separate real AI businesses from thin wrappers in a noisy market.Premji Invest is a captive, evergreen fund built to grow an endowment that supports major education work, which gives the team flexibility on time horizon and partnership style. Sandesh shares

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00:25:11

Outsource the Typing, How AI Agents Change Software...

The Tech Trek ·

2026/01/27

Software engineering is changing fast, but not in the way most hot takes claim. Robert Brennan, Co founder and CEO at OpenHands, breaks down what happens when you outsource the typing to the LLM and let software agents handle the repetitive grind, without giving up the judgment that keeps a codebase healthy. This is a practical conversation about agentic development, the real productivity gains teams are seeing, and which skills will matter most as the SDLC keeps evolving. Key TakeawaysAI in the IDE

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00:30:12

Turning Compliance Into Product

The Tech Trek ·

2026/01/26

Deborah Hanus, Co-founder and CEO at Sparrow, joins Amir to unpack the founder journey from academia to building a scaled company. They dig into why leave management is still a messy, high stakes problem, and how Sparrow is turning it into a clean, guided experience for both HR and employees.Sparrow helps companies provide employee leave across the United States and Canada, and Deborah shares what it really takes to scale a compliance driven business without slowing down. From founder resilience and

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00:24:31

Why Insurance Is a Goldmine for AI and Data

The Tech Trek ·

2026/01/23

Max Bruner, Founder and CEO of Anzen, joins Amir Bormand to break down why insurance is quietly one of the biggest data and workflow opportunities in tech right now. They dig into Max’s unconventional path from foreign policy to building an executive liability marketplace, and what it really takes to modernize a slow moving industry with AI.If you care about building in real world markets, scaling with discipline, and using AI for more than content, this one will sharpen your thinking fast. Key

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00:29:12

Defending Against Bots At Scale

The Tech Trek ·

2026/01/22

Stu Solomon, CEO of HUMAN, joins Amir to unpack a blind spot most teams underestimate: a huge share of online activity is not people at all, it is automated traffic. They break down how verification really works at internet scale, why agentic workflows change the rules, and what it will take to build trust when bots transact with bots.If you have ever wondered how fraud, fake clicks, account abuse, and synthetic behavior get caught in real time, this episode is a clear, practical look behind the

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00:26:11

Trust but Verify, How Great Tech Leaders Delegate

The Tech Trek ·

2026/01/21

Mek Stittri, CTO at Stuut, breaks down a leadership skill that sounds simple but gets messy fast, trust, then verify. You will learn how to delegate without losing control, how to stay close to the work without becoming a micromanager, and how AI is changing what it means to review and own technical outcomes. Key takeaways• Trust and verify starts with alignment, define success clearly, then keep a real line of sight to outcomes• Verification is not micromanagement, it is accountability, your team’s

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00:23:24

Insurance is really just a big data problem

The Tech Trek ·

2026/01/20

Michael Topol, Co-founder and Co-CEO at MGT Insurance, explains why insurance is quietly becoming one of the most interesting data and AI problems in tech.We get practical about turning messy legacy data into usable signals, how agentic tools change decision making, and why culture and team design matter as much as the models.MGT Insurance is building a fully verticalized AI and agentic native insurance company for small businesses, pairing experienced insurance operators with top tier

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00:25:54

How VCs Really Pick Winners in Open Source and AI

The Tech Trek ·

2026/01/19

Marco DeMeireles, co founder and managing partner at ANSA, breaks down how a modern VC firm wins by being focused, data driven, and allergic to hype. If you want a clearer view of how investors evaluate open source, mission critical industries, and AI categories, this is a practical, operator minded look behind the curtain. Marco explains ANSA’s focus on what they call undercover markets, from open source and open core businesses to defense, intelligence, cybersecurity, healthcare IT, and

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00:28:51

AI That Actually Improves Customer Experience

The Tech Trek ·

2026/01/16

AI is everywhere, but most teams are stuck talking about efficiency and headcount. In this episode, Dave Edelman, executive advisor and best selling author, shares a sharper lens, how to use AI to create real customer value and real growth.We get into the high road vs low road of AI, what personalization should look like now, and why data has to become an enterprise asset, not a bunch of disconnected departmental files.Key Takeaways• Efficiency is table stakes, the real win is using AI to build new

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00:25:03

The New Go To Market Playbook

The Tech Trek ·

2026/01/15

Amanda Kahlow, CEO and founder of 1Mind, joins Amir to break down what AI changes in modern sales and go to market, and what it does not. If you lead revenue, product, or growth, this is a practical look at where AI creates leverage today, where humans still matter, and how teams actually adopt it without chaos.Amanda shares how “go to market superhumans” can handle everything from early buyer conversations to demos, sales engineering support, and customer success. They also dig into trust,

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621 results

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