The Better Build

In this episode of The Better Build, host Steven Markow sits down with Nuri Cankaya , VP of Commercial and AI Marketing at Intel, for an in-depth and nuanced conversation on the latest in AI. Nuri draws from decades of experience in engineering and AI, from early machine learning experiments in the ’90s to today’s cutting-edge LLMs and agentic workflows. The two explore the practical and philosoph...

In this episode of The Better Build, Mission’s Steven Markow sits down with Wade Bruce , CTO of Fetch , America’s top rewards app with over 10 million users, to talk leadership, resilience, and how growing as a person can help you evolve as an engineer. Wade shares candid stories from his career journey, including the bold career move he made while expecting his first child. We explore the strengt...

In this episode, host Steven Markow sits down with Steve Lindsey , founding partner and CTO of LiveView Technologies (LVT) , to explore how his early hands-on experience—from fiber optics to engineering—shaped his mindset and led him to develop scalable security solutions at LVT. Key moments: 🔹 The importance of hands-on technical experience (01:40) 🔹 How scarcity fuels resourcefulness and drive...

In this episode of The Better Build , host Stéphane Rossi , CEO of Mission , sits down with Fernando Paz , Senior Director of Software Engineering at CAMP Systems International and a seasoned engineering leader with decades of experience at companies like Motorola, Dell, and Cox Automotive. Fernando shares his inspiring career journey, from a pivotal first job at a movie theater to delivering a TE...

Join Mission CEO Stephane Rossi in an engaging conversation with Eugene Khvostov , the Chief Product Officer of Apptio, as they delve into the intricacies of product leadership and strategy in the realm of software engineering. Eugene shares his extensive experience from leading roles at MasterCard and AWS to steering Apptio's product vision, post its $4.6 billion acquisition by IBM. Tune in to di...

Host Gabriel Sundaram of Mission sits with guest Iana Vitkova, Senior Director of Engineering at Wiser Solutions, to discuss her journey from software engineer to leader, highlighting her passion for team development and high performance strategies. They discuss Wiser's innovative approach to leveraging data and analytics for retail optimization, the logistics of managing a global workforce, and t...

Mission CEO Stephane Rossi sits with Loren Verheyden, Engineering Manager at SailPoint, to get into her effective managing strategies and professional journey. From building a supercomputer during her college years to navigating the challenges of remote team management, Lauren shares her unique experiences and insights. We discuss her transition from software developer to manager, the importance o...

This special episode was taken from a recent virtual panel held by Mission with special guests Naomi Goldapple (SVP of Data & Intelligence at Alayacare | Digital Strategist | Entrepreneur) and Fred Chanay (AI & Data Science most recently at UKG | Product Executive | Tech Ventures), hosted by Mission Co-Founder Gabriel Sundaram. To join us for events like these, follow us on LinkedIn and co...

Mission Co-founder Gabriel Sundaram sits down with Yevgen Reztsov (currently working on a stealth mode startup, formerly Walmart Global Tech, Intuit, Bison Technologies) for one of our most technical deep dives into AI yet! Listen to this episode whether you're an expert on the subject or just want to become one, as Yevgen is excellent at making even dense subject matter accessible without dumbing...

Mission CTO & Co-Founder Fred Brunel sits with Raymond Luk (Hockeystick, Flow) for an insightful conversation into founding, investing, AI, and the importance of making time to be around people in our increasingly remote world. Key Takeaways The unintended consequences of remote work (11:18) Spending time with founders (26:02) The "no pain, no gain" mindset (38:25) The challenges of finding "A...

In this episode of The Better Build, hosts Stephane Rossi (Mission CEO and Co-Founder) and Fred Brunel (Mission CTO and Co-Founder) sit down with Kaj Van de Loo, a seasoned engineering leader and CTO at UserTesting, to explore his journey through the software engineering landscape and discuss the present and future of AI. From his early days at SAP Labs to leading innovative projects at Oracle and...

In this episode of The Better Build, Mission CTO Fred Brunel sits down with David Subar , Founder and Managing Partner of Interna , discusses the challenges and strategies in enhancing product development processes for technology companies. Subar highlights the common pitfall of engineering teams becoming mere feature factories and cost centers, emphasizing the importance of aligning engineering a...

In this episode of The Better Build, we sit down with Martin Kess, Head of Engineering at Fractal, a venture studio on a mission to launch vertical B2B SaaS companies into billion-dollar industries. With an impressive background that spans from Google and Lyft to now steering the ship at Fractal, Martin brings a wealth of experience and unique insights into building successful tech startups. Fract...

Mission COO Gabriel Sundaram sits with Sophea Loche (VP of Engineering at Egencia, an Amex GBT company) to discuss how things have changed for women in tech (3:30), how she made a big career decision that required moving to another country (9:08), how she goes about building teams remotely (12:08), the importance of building a leadership pipeline (15:05), how to build trust and get aligned across...

Even if you don’t own a vehicle, you know the name Ford . Over 120 years after selling its first vehicle, Ford remains one of the world’s largest automotive companies. What’s kept them going is a willingness to innovate and change with the times, often topping the charts of best selling cars in America well into the 21st century. Within Ford Pro , which oversees Ford’s commercial and fleet vehicle...

David Catuhe is the creator of Babylon.js , a powerful real time 3D engine using a JavaScript library, and has worked for Microsoft for over 12 years, both as an engineering lead and now as a Partner Group Engineering Manager, leading hundreds of people, with the Babylon.js team being his main priority. He sat down with longtime friend Fred Brunel , Co-founder and CTO of Mission , for a casual but...

Matthew Chan is the CTO of BlackCart , a company revolutionizing "try before you buy" software for e-commerce. In this episode, Matthew talks with Mission COO and Co-founder Gabriel Sundaram about the tech education program he started for kids, how his engineering background helps in his current leadership positions, and the many ways he's giving back the kind of mentorship he received on his prof...

Mission CEO Stephane Rossi is joined by Gabriel Lespérance (Paltap) to talk hard-learned lessons on entrepreneurship, what we should actually be excited about in regards to AI, and the importance of emotional intelligence in tech leadership.

In this special episode, the Mission co-founders - COO Gabriel Sundaram, CTO Fred Brunel, and CEO Stephane Rossi - talk about what makes the ideal engineering environment, the true value of data, and how even the best engineers can leverage that data to keep leveling up.

Mission COO & Co-founder Gabriel Sundaram catches up with his former Bus.com colleague and friend Martin Provencher , Senior Developer Manager at Shopify . Martin shares his experienced perspective on what he looks for when hiring engineers for his teams, as well as the best strategies he's encountered to keep remote teams feeling connected. Key Moments: The benefits of leading the Ruby on Rai...

The Better Build's debut episode features a stellar conversation between Mission CEO Stephane Rossi and the widely accomplished Raif Barbaros . Currently a seed-stage VC at  Mistral Venture Partners  in Canada, Raif has a deep CV of startup founder and CTO experience, including at Nuula, Infuitive, and Loblaw Digital. Stephane and Raif cover topics such as how technical expertise can inf...