Scaling Tech - The Blueprint for Successful Tech Teams

Stride’s Michael Carlson and Michael Wytock join this week’s episode to share how Stride’s groundbreaking 100x service is transforming legacy code modernization. They explore how Generative AI and automation are breaking down the barriers that have long made updating outdated systems slow, risky, and politically challenging. The duo shares how Stride 100x streamlines the modernization process by a...

Mark Kasdorf, a serial entrepreneur and founder of Forge, joins today’s conversation on the transformative power of generative AI in traditional industries. Mark previously founded Intrepid, a pioneering mobile agency that he successfully scaled to a $25 million exit with Accenture.  Mark explains Forge’s approach to addressing real-world challenges in the trades, from recruiting and training...

Stride’s Rob O’Brien and Stephen Meriwether join this week’s conversation highlighting the impact of AI on software development. The duo demonstrates how Stride Conductor, a multi-agent GenAI tool, differs from single-user CodeGen tools like GitHub Copilot by offering tailored solutions for team-based workflows. Unlike cloud-based tools, Stride Conductor operates within a secure company environmen...

Building and scaling startups involves numerous uncertainties and complexities, from ideation to exit. Many entrepreneurs and tech leaders struggle with innovation risks, team cohesion, and the fear of failure. Today, serial entrepreneur David Hersh shares his lessons from founding and exiting four large companies. David discusses key tech startup challenges, such as product ideation, early moneti...

Over the past 18 to 24 months, temporary labor usage in the U.S. has dropped by 15%, despite the strong economic performance. This surprising decline in temp labor penetration highlights a critical shift in workforce strategies and the need for companies to evaluate their labor mix.  Hugo Malan, President of Kelly Science, Engineering, Technology, and Telecom, is here to discuss one of the mo...

As AI continues to shape the future of tech, leaders must ensure they're using it responsibly while maintaining human-centric values. Navigating the ethical complexities of AI is crucial to avoid costly mistakes that could compromise both teams and technology. Today’s episode features Ken Judy, a partner at Stride. Ken has over 30 years of experience in the tech industry, with 15 years spent in ex...

AI's rapid evolution is impacting the project management profession. It’s shifting the focus from manual crisis management to strategic oversight, enabling tech leaders to deliver higher-quality outcomes faster and more efficiently. Today’s guest, Adam Roberts, is a seasoned project management expert with over 20 years of experience at major companies such as Disney, Viacom, and NBCUniversal. We a...

The Harvard Business Review once called data science the “sexiest job in the 21st century.” A decade later, a significant gap exists between academic training and the practical demands of data science in business. Educational programs focus heavily on technical skills without preparing students for real-world challenges. Marco Morales, a seasoned professional, has spent the last decade at the inte...

How do you decide between ditching and reusing software? Nolan Frausto, the CTO of AdaptedMind, discusses his experience leading a complete software rewrite at the education technology startup.  AdaptedMind experienced rapid growth during the COVID-19 pandemic, exposing significant issues with its outdated codebase, which had been developed over ten years by a very small team. Nolan explains...

Are you a tech leader struggling to control tech debt while navigating the rapid advancements in AI? Stride’s Head of AI, Dan Mason, is here to help us unravel the complexities of using generative AI to manage and prevent the tech debt spiral. Dan explains that GenAI's effect on tech debt largely depends on how organizations use it. With proper guidance and context, GenAI can improve code quality,...

Did you know that some principles of code debugging can transform your tech team's productivity? Lisa van Gelder, a tech veteran with over 25 years of experience, shares her journey from debugging code to debugging entire teams. Lisa explains the concept of 'debugging' a tech team, akin to debugging code, which is crucial to identifying and resolving productivity and performance issues. She outlin...

In a world where traditional programming skills are evolving faster than ever, tech leaders must adapt to stay ahead. Today’s guests, Rob O’Brien and Moin Haque, discuss the emerging concept of "English is the new Python." Rob is a partner at Stride and has over 10 years of experience in product and management consulting. Moin is a lead technologist at International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF)...

Remote work became increasingly attractive to employees after the pandemic because of its flexibility. Consequently, organizations now have easy access to the best talents worldwide. However, managers have to constantly deal with the overlap of the employees’ home and work life. How can managers help remote workers achieve work-life balance and create objective performance measures to optimize the...

Getting a new job in today’s labor market is challenging, especially for senior tech leaders exploring new domains. New technologies have emerged, making it harder for job applicants to prove their skills. How do you transition to a new industry as a tech leader without domain expertise? Today’s guest, Kevin Lupowitz, is a seasoned tech leader with over 20 years of experience. He shares his story...

Is your performance review process hindering your team’s optimal performance? In assessing performance, companies often share OKRs equally among team members and then review individual performance at the end of the year based on these shared OKRs. But this approach seems to offer no incentive for teamwork or higher performance. So, how should tech leaders review team performance without hurting te...

How do you achieve a company’s mission and financial success in tough economic times? My guest, Anil Beniwal, is here to help us navigate this balance. Anil is Arcadia's CTO and has over two decades of experience in the tech industry. He shares valuable insights on why financial understanding is crucial for CTOs, VPs of Engineering, and Heads of Products. Financial literacy enables CTOs and o...

In times of financial constraint, how can tech companies strike the right balance between innovation and efficiency? As budgets tighten and resources become scarce, leaders must make tough decisions about where to invest their time and money. One strategy that has proven effective for many organizations is platform reuse. By building internal platforms that can be leveraged across multiple teams a...

How can we effect change in our tech teams to become more agile? Perhaps you've tried Scrum Agile and found that you're stuck with new vocabulary for the same old problems. If so, you may be ready for Agile Kata!  Originating in martial arts, a 'Kata' involves deliberate, repetitive practice to master a form. By practicing business agility with Agile Kata, an organization can build new habits...

How can we break down dev team silos for increased communication and a better-quality end product? Reversing Conway's Law is one way to go about it, and today's guest has a wealth of experience on how to do just that!   Krishna Bala is the Senior VP of Engineering at Proscia, a medical imaging startup that is fighting cancer with AI-enabled Digital Pathology.  Using the case study of Pro...

Given the challenging times that we live in, how do we scale tech teams that stand the test of time? Brian Lanehart is President, CTO, Chief Risk Officer, & Co-Founder at Momnt.  Pronounced 'moment', Momnt is a fintech platform that makes lending easy for your business and financing easy for your customers.  Launching in March of 2020, this is a fascinating story that involves coders...

How do you build your tech stack so that your underlying systems are strong enough when you scale? Today's guest has 20 years of experience building scalable and robust technology stacks for companies across the board – he’s ideally suited to answer that question. Heman Duraiswamy is the Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Circa, building stronger communities through payment innovation...

What is it like being a female founder in a post-COVID business landscape, trying to raise venture capital while also trying to raise your kids?   Jean Smart is the founder and CEO of Penelope, a venture-backed 401(k) platform that's focused on serving the five million American micro and small businesses.  Those of us who have worked for a small company will know what a struggle setting...

What is DevSecOps, and how can we embrace it as we continue improving our systems development cycle? To answer this important question is Sean D. Mack, a transformational technology leader who has literally written the book, ‘The DevSecOps Playbook: Deliver Continuous Security at Speed’. Appreciating the crucial role that security ( at speed! ) plays in your DevOps process begins with understandin...

What does it take to build a high-performing technology organization? For Nick Maiello, it's a combination of data-driven decision-making, having cross-functional teams, and getting your culture right. And Nick should know. He has a range of experience, from starting technology companies to scaling out multiple digital transformations in a number of different industries, including consumer travel...

How do we come together and share and learn? And combine that with planning for what we want to do next. Or, to put it another way, how do we take feedback and then actually act on it? Anthony Coppedge is the principal global Digital Sales Agile Lead at IBM, where he guides the training, facilitation, and coaching of sellers, marketers, product owners, and executive leaders globally across all of...