Elixir Mentor

In this episode, I chat with Alex Koutmos, author of Elixir Patterns and creator of numerous open source libraries, about building EagleMMS—a SaaS platform helping collision repair shops accurately calculate consumable costs for vehicle repairs. Alex shares his journey from two failed startups to building a profitable business with nearly a thousand customers. We discuss the outdated methods insur...

In this episode of the Elixir Mentor Podcast, I chat with Nathan Hessler, an Elixir developer and organizer of the ExMex conference in Austin. Nathan shares his experience launching a successful regional conference just two weeks prior, offering invaluable insights for anyone considering organizing their own tech event. We explore the intricate logistics of conference planning, from choosing the p...

In this episode of the Elixir Mentor Podcast, I sit down with Daniil Popov to discuss CyanView, a system that brings Phoenix LiveView to embedded devices for professional video production. We examine the challenges of creating unified camera control systems that work across 27+ different protocols from manufacturers like Sony, Canon, and RED. Daniil shares how CyanView enables real-time camera sha...

In this episode of the Elixir Mentor Podcast, I chat with Mike Hostetler, creator of the Jido agent framework and ReqLLM library. Mike shares his journey building a unified interface for calling multiple LLM providers in Elixir, addressing the frustrating inconsistencies between different AI APIs. We dive into ReqLLM's architecture, exploring how it normalizes the differences between providers...

In this episode of the Elixir Mentor Podcast, I sit down with Bobby Clayson, CEO of Crofter Market, who's tackling one of America's biggest challenges: food system centralization. Bobby shares his journey from building Tax Bit in the cryptocurrency space to creating a marketplace that connects local farmers directly with consumers. We dive deep into the technical and business challenges of buildin...

In this episode of the Elixir Mentor Podcast, I sit down with Barnabas Jovanovics, a core engineer on the Ash framework team. Barnabas shares his unique journey from working as an electrician and automation engineer to becoming a key contributor to one of Elixir's most powerful frameworks. We explore how Barnabas discovered Ash while building a booking platform, initially skeptical but quickly...

In this episode of the Elixir Mentor Podcast, I welcome back Michael Lubas, founder of Paraxial.io, where he's building comprehensive security tooling specifically designed for the Elixir ecosystem. We explore how AI-generated code is impacting application security and why traditional scanning tools aren't catching critical vulnerabilities. Michael shares his experience with the most commo...

In this episode of the Elixir Mentor Podcast, I chat with Chris McCord, creator of Phoenix Framework and LiveView. We dive deep into Phoenix 1.8's groundbreaking AI features, including the revolutionary AGENTS.md file that's transforming how developers work with LLMs in their Elixir applications. Chris shares the fascinating evolution from Phoenix channels to LiveView, explaining how his early exp...

In this episode of the Elixir Mentor Podcast, I chat with Adam Kirk, CTO and co-founder of Jump, where they're building AI-powered meeting intelligence for financial advisors. We dive deep into scaling Elixir applications, managing LiveView at thousands of concurrent connections, and building high-performance teams in competitive markets. Adam shares his fascinating journey from PHP and Rails to E...

In this episode of the Elixir Mentor Podcast, I sit down with Mike Hostetler, creator of Jido, a powerful framework for building autonomous AI agent systems in Elixir. We explore why Elixir's actor model and OTP make it the ideal platform for creating massive agent swarms. Mike shares his vision of "10,000 agents per human" and explains how Jido's architecture leverages Elixir's strengths to build...

In this episode of the Elixir Mentor Podcast, I sit down with Zach Daniel, the brilliant creator of Ash Framework, for a fascinating discussion about the intersection of AI and application development. We dive deep into LLM workflows, explore the revolutionary usage rules system, and get an exclusive look at Ash AI - the comprehensive toolkit that's changing how we integrate AI capabilities into E...

In this episode of the Elixir Mentor Podcast, I welcome back Greg Medland, a recruiter who specializes in connecting talented developers with companies seeking expertise in the Elixir ecosystem. We dive deep into the current state of the Elixir job market and explore what developers can expect in 2025. Greg shares valuable insights on how the market has evolved since the post-COVID correction, rev...

In this comprehensive episode of the Elixir Mentor Podcast, I sit down with Brian Cardarella, CEO of DockYard, to tackle one of the most critical topics facing our community: Elixir adoption. We dive deep into the challenges and opportunities that shape how developers and companies discover and embrace Elixir. Brian shares his extensive experience from the consulting world, discussing everything f...

In this episode of the Elixir Mentor Podcast, I sit down with Henry Saint-Juste, Solutions Architect at NetJets, to explore his philosophy of rapid prototyping and moving fast to validate ideas before committing to tech stacks. Henry shares his unique approach to staying 2-3 sprints ahead of engineering teams and building proof of concepts that drive real business decisions. We dive deep into Henr...

In this episode of the Elixir Mentor Podcast, I talk with Elliott Clark, former engineer at both Facebook and Microsoft, who now runs Batteries Included. Elliott shares his rich background from working on the .NET team at Microsoft and infrastructure and developer efficiency at Facebook to creating a platform that simplifies cloud deployment for developers of all sizes. Elliott explains how his ex...

In this episode of the Elixir Mentor Podcast, I chat with Kimberly Erni, a software developer who has found balance through contract-based work. We explore the often-overlooked topic of burnout in the tech industry, where "grind culture" is normalized but comes with significant personal costs. Kimberly shares her personal journey, including how taking a break from full-time work helped her overcom...

In this episode of the Elixir Mentor Podcast, I chat with Tristan Kildaire, a systems programmer who works on low-level projects including his own programming language. We explore LoRa radio technology, Reticulum mesh networking, and how Elixir can revolutionize IoT development. Tristan explains the fundamentals of long-range wireless communication using LoRa, which operates in unlicensed spectrum...

In this episode of the Elixir Mentor Podcast, I chat with Andrea Leopardi, Elixir core team member and author of "Network Programming in Elixir and Erlang." We dive deep into the fundamentals of network programming and how the BEAM's process model is perfectly suited for building robust networking applications. Andrea breaks down complex concepts like the TCP protocol, the OSI model, and the accep...

In this episode of the Elixir Mentor Podcast, I chat with Chris Nelson, co-founder and principal engineer at Launch Scout, about leveraging AI tools for Elixir development and how these technologies are transforming developer workflows. Chris brings over a decade of Elixir experience to the conversation, sharing valuable insights on how consultancies can integrate AI to dramatically increase produ...

In this episode of the Elixir Mentor Podcast, I chat with returning guest Daniel Bergholz about leveraging AI tools like Windsurf and Claude to dramatically improve Elixir development workflows. Daniel shares his journey from skepticism to becoming a power user, demonstrating how these tools can help developers build faster without compromising quality. Daniel walks us through his practical approa...

In this episode of the Elixir Mentor Podcast, I chat with Isaac Tsalicoglou, author of Northwind Elixir Traders. We explore database modeling techniques, working with Ecto, and his fascinating transition from mechanical engineering to Elixir development. Isaac shares his experience creating a practical guide for database modeling in Elixir, explaining how the Northwind Traders project helps develo...

In this episode of the Elixir Mentor Podcast, I chat with German Velasco, creator of Elixir Streams and Phoenix Test. We explore test-driven development practices, the benefits of pair programming, and consulting experiences within the Elixir ecosystem. German shares his journey into Elixir development and discusses how adopting test-driven development has improved his coding workflow. He explains...

In this episode, Christopher Grainger, founder of Amplified.ai, joins me to discuss the intersection of Elixir and AI, particularly focusing on Lang graph functionality and agentic workflows. Christopher shares his journey from academia to founding a successful patent search platform, and how Elixir's unique characteristics make it particularly well-suited for AI/ML workloads. We explore how O...

In this laid-back episode of the Elixir Mentor Podcast, Alex Koutmos and Peter Ullrich return for another engaging conversation. The discussion covers various topics, including Alex's recently completed Elixir Patterns book, experiences with AI tools in development, and their thoughts on different CI/CD platforms. They share their experiences using tools like Broadway, GitHub Actions, and ObanPro,...

In this episode of the Elixir Mentor Podcast, I chat with Ellie and Josep, co-authors of "Engineering Elixir Applications: Navigate Each Stage of Software Delivery with Confidence." They discuss their journey into Elixir development, their experience writing the book together as a couple, and dive deep into DevOps concepts for Elixir applications. The conversation covers their approach to teaching...