About the Speaker

Maximilian Werk is head of Engineering at Jina AI, a leading technology company in Germany and Europe. With a background in software engineering and a proven track record of successfuly leading teams, Max brings a wealth of expertise to the field of leadership. Throughout his career, Max has demonstrated exceptional communication skills, making him a highly effective leader.
 
Synopsis

In this episode of The Technology Leadership Podcast,  we are joined by Maximilian Werk, head of Engineering at Jina AI. Max shares his thoughts on the importance of leadership in the space, offering valuable insights and tips for career growth. Max shares his journey from being a software engineer all the way through to becoming head of department. Max emphasises the significance of social intelligence in understanding and effectively communicating with team members as well as building trust and creating a purely collaborative work environment.

Key Takeaways

• When faced with disagreements, it is essential to create a calm and relaxed atmosphere within a team to facilitate productive discussions.
• Making the time to understand the motivations and goals of individual team members can be paramount for collective performance
• Observing how people communicate and interact with each other allows leaders to better assess the dynamics within a team.
• Taking time to self reflect helps you identify areas of improvement within your leadership and communication

Episode Outline

[00:09] Meet Max
[03:08] Effective communication and conflict resolution in a business setting.
[11:59] Managing upwards in a workplace
[15:27] Leadership, communication, and understanding team members' states
[20:32]  Social intelligence, and project ownership in tech..
[26:14] Career growth and effective work habits.
[31:06] Leadership lessons and time management struggles.

About Georgij

Georgij Georgij Oroschakoff is the Head of Product and IT at Frootss, a digital asset management company based in Vienna. With a background in business development, Georgij brings a unique perspective to his role as a product leader. He believes in the power of problem-solving and simplifying complex issues into manageable tasks. Georgij is passionate about creating open and collaborative environments within cross-functional teams. As a non-functional CTO, he focuses on understanding system architecture and making pragmatic technology decisions. 


Synopsis

In this episode of The Technology Leadership Podcast,  we are joined by Georgij Oroschakoff, head of Product & IT at Froots, A digital asset management company. Georgij shares his insights on product management, the challenges of being a non-functional CTO and the importance of problem-solving in the field. Alongside this, Georgij emphasises the need for clear and concise product strategy, the ability to translate business needs into technical requirements and the importance of collaboration with cross-functional teams.


Key Takeaways

• By grasping the underlying principles of a system, product managers can make technology decisions to solve business problems effectively.
• Empower your teams to make decisions and find solutions on their own accord. This approach fosters a collaborative environment and encourages innovation.
• Before building a product, it is crucial to define the purpose, mission and core values at the centre of the company
• Starting with a large vision and breaking it down into small achievable goals and objectives. This approach coupled with strategic alignment allows the team to focus on the most critical aspects of production.

Episode Outline

[00:09] Meet Georgij
[06:54] Product management and technology leadership.
[16:07] Product development process and infrastructure planning.
[18:27] Agile methodologies and team empowerment as a tech company.
[24:05]  Design thinking workshops and empowering engineers.
[29:43] Involving developers in product roadmapping and decision-making.
[35:06] Tech challenges in 2023 for SaaS companies.

About Simon

Simon Müller is a seasoned entrepreneur with a background in both computer and mechanical engineering. He founded and exited a startup and built the digital lab of a mid-sized company, which fuelled his passion for the startup world. Simon strongly believes that the combination of innovation and agility of the startup world is where the true potential for growth lies. As a company builder, Simon and the team at wattx partner with mid-sized companies to help them build new products and businesses. They approach ideation and research with the goal of identifying the unique space and competitive advantages of their partners, in order to create something truly new.


Synopsis

In this episode of the Technology Leadership Podcast, Simon Müller, CTO at wattx, shares his insights on company building, the importance of combining business and tech, as well as the focus on deep tech and climate within his work at the company.
 

Key Takeaways

• The key to starting a successful venture is to find a competitive advantage and build upon it. This involves identifying the unique value proposition of the product or service and using that to differentiate it from competitors.
• wattx combines both the business and tech sides of company building, providing inspiration and guidance for those looking to build their own businesses or startups.
• wattx's recent shift towards climate tech emphasises the importance of addressing environmental issues through technological advancements, inspiring listeners to consider the role of tech in creating a sustainable future.
• Simon explains the different approaches to starting a new product or venture with wattx, offering listeners a better understanding of the various paths to success in entrepreneurship.

Episode Outline

[00:09] Meet Simon
[02:40] How Simon started his tech journey
[11:33] How to screen for a good fit
[17:52] Broadening your knowledge
{23:02] The challenges of switching domains
[27:50] When to kill off a product
[32:52] The importance of sustainability in tech
[38:05] Building and scaling, the green way

About Chiedza

Chiedza Muguti is an experienced product leader, coach, and mentor, currently working as Chief Product Officer at Alteos. With a background in business analysis, she has extensive knowledge working with engineers, QA architects, and delivery teams. As a product leader, she emphasises the importance of understanding engineers' technical needs and empathising with them to create a cohesive business unit.


Synopsis

In the latest episode of the Technology Leadership podcast, Chiedza Muguti, Chief Product Officer at Alteos, shares her insights on product leadership, based on her experiences. Chiedza talks about how her career took a pivotal turn when she transitioned from being a team member to a leader and had to work on self-validation for confidence. She stresses that product managers should have empathy and curiosity towards both customers and engineers to ensure the success of a project. By having empathy, patience, and effective communication skills, product managers can optimize their relationship with engineers and create successful products.


Key Takeaways

• As a product manager, it's important to optimize the relationship with engineers and collaborate with them for the best possible outcome.
• Empathy and curiosity towards engineers is just as important as having it towards customers. Understanding the challenges that engineers face can help product managers create better solutions for the product.
• Technical skills can be learned on the job with patience and time. Product managers should not be afraid of not knowing everything about the technical aspect of the product.
• To break down walls and build bridges between product managers and engineers, it's important to understand the product development process and ask the right questions. This way, product managers can better understand the engineers' work and collaborate more effectively.
• Communication is key to successful collaboration between product managers and engineers. The language and tone used in communication can greatly affect the success of those conversations. Product managers should be mindful of how questioned are positioned and worded.

Episode Outline

{00:09] Meet Chiedza
[02:22] Managing confidence
[10:52] Challenges between Engineers and Product Managers
[17:20] Being patient with yourself
[20:01] The Importance of asking the right questions and setting expectations
[26:30] The first 100 days of your career
[29:18] Product management guidance
[38:36] Advice to new product managers

About Borna:

Borna Pourhossein is the Engineering Manager at Friendsurance. He's been with the company for over seven years, being promoted to team lead and engineering manager after starting as a senior frontend engineer. His experience  has shown him the importance of having an environment that allows you to grow and where you are challenged. Borna has also been instrumental in setting up engineering guilds at Friendsurance, which can drive developer-friendly topics in parallel with user-friendly features.

Synopsis:

In this episode of the Technology Leadership podcast, Borna Pourhossein , a highly experienced engineering manager from Friendsurance, takes listeners on a journey through his successful career growth story. Providing valuable insights along the way, he discusses how he established an engineering guild in his company and how it It is important to have an open environment where employees can voice their concerns and suggestions. Borna also highlights the importance of fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation, and continuous learning in today's fast-paced technological landscape.

Key Takeaways:

• To grow in your career, you need a challenging environment with supportive colleagues and managers who can mentor you and give you feedback.
• Improve projects by not only pointing out flaws but also providing feasible solutions that senior management can understand and implement. This requires technical expertise, communication skills, and an understanding of the project's objectives and constraints.
• Engineering guilds are horizontal communities of practice where people with similar skills can exchange ideas and make collective decisions. Joining a guild enhances technical skills and builds relationships with colleagues.
• Guild meetings provide a regular forum for members to discuss technical issues and share best practices.
• Anyone interested in the topic can join the guild to learn from experienced professionals, get exposure to new ideas, and build their network within the company. Guilds can also serve as a platform for recruiting new talent and identifying potential leaders and mentors.

 Episode Outline:

[00:09] Meet Borna
[01:10] Borna's journey to becoming an engineering manager
[06:16] What is an engineering guild?
[10:47] When should you start an engineering guild? 
[12:42] The importance of guild communication and meetings
[24:31] How to improve your communication skills as an engineer
[27:57] 5 Years ago, what would Borna have done differently?
[32:37] Growing future leaders and management
[37:02] How to be comfortable as a leader

About Lukas:

Lukas Grillmayer is the Chief Technology Officer at craftguide, a Munich-based software and content provider that has set itself the goal of redesigning the interface between education, industry and craftsmen.

Synopsis:

In this episode of The Technology Leadership Podcast, Lukas Grillmayer discusses providing engaging digital learning content through step-by-step tutorials in video, AR, and VR. Coming from a background in the space industry, Lukas highlights the process-driven nature of the industry, emphasizing meticulous documentation due to the high stakes involved. He applies this experience to introduce structure and processes at craftguide, both in technology and business operations. Lukas advises aspiring CTOs to build relationships, maintain a network of potential collaborators, and consider joining entrepreneurship programs and incubators. The conversation underscores the importance of processes and documentation in companies, particularly for software updates and building independent systems.

Key Takeaways:

• The space industry operates in a highly process-driven manner due to the high stakes and unforgiving environment of space. Meticulous documentation and adherence to procedures are crucial in ensuring the success and safety of space missions. 
• It’s crucial to build relationships and maintain a network of potential collaborators in the startup world. Networking allows for partnerships, knowledge sharing, and access to resources that can contribute to the growth and success of a startup. 
• One of the challenges faced by technology startups is the uncertainty and insecurity surrounding the role of artificial intelligence (AI). Many products, like GPT and neural networks, have raised questions about their capabilities and how they can be effectively utilised in businesses. Understanding the potential impact of AI and identifying suitable applications for startups are essential challenges that need to be addressed.
• The shift towards cloud-based solutions is an important trend. While there are benefits to moving operations to the cloud, such as reduced infrastructure management, the biggest is probably the reliance on subscription-based models where businesses don't own their resources but rent them. This raises questions about the long-term sustainability and ownership of assets. Precautions, such as regular backups and procedures for transitioning between cloud providers, are necessary to mitigate potential risks.
• It’s important to develop a culture of processes and documentation in a company. It extends beyond technology-related processes and includes all aspects of the business, such as purchasing procedures and business operations. Clear instructions, guidelines, and documentation enable efficient execution of tasks, knowledge transfer, and minimise repetitive work. Implementing processes and ensuring meticulous documentation can enhance efficiency, reduce errors, and promote a system with high uptime.

Episode Outline:

[01:02] Meet Lukas
[02:42] How did Lukas get into the space industry? 
[10:17] Advice for those interested in getting to CTO positions
[15:27] Step-by-step process to prepare for an update
[20:46] Vacation times in the startup world
[22:49] How to create a troubleshooting procedure, document a task, and validate the procedure step by step
[27:51] An overview of the process of setting up processes and the importance of documenting processes.
[30:39] The biggest challenges to technology in Germany and globally
[35:13] How does one prepare for the future of technology? 

About Tamer:

Tamer El-Hawari is the CPO at Project A Ventures and has been with the company for 11 years. He has a background in information systems, studying computer science and business. After founding his own company and gaining valuable experience, Tamer went on to work at Rocket Internet GmbH, where he helped scale up e-commerce companies worldwide. However, he felt that the emphasis on product management and customer centricity was lacking. So, when the opportunity arose to join Project A, Tamer was eager to be part of the journey. Over the past 11 years, he has worked with around 50 different ventures across various industries, and he finds it fascinating to see how these companies operate.

Synopsis:

In this episode of The Technology Leadership Podcast, Tamer discusses product management and leadership. He outlines six key areas to consider when working with early-stage startups, such as problem-solution fit and the competitive landscape, and emphasizes the importance of understanding user needs and motivations. He stresses the importance of having a solid product manager who can focus on user research, strategy, and product development and highlight the challenges of shifting from growth to profitability. To build a successful company, companies must give importance to being close to the customer, having a strong product vision, and the need for caution when adopting methodologies and frameworks.

Key Takeaways:

• To develop a successful value proposition and marketing strategy, it's crucial to understand the user's needs and motivations.
• Tamer's six key areas to consider when working with early-stage companies are: problem-solution fit, customer/user profiles, product capabilities and strategy, competitive landscape, and commercialization approach.
• When starting a company, focus on the problem solution and uniqueness of your product. Conduct user research and customer research to gain a deep understanding of their needs and "jobs to be done". Understand your competition and where your product can make a difference in the market.
• Follow a four-step product management framework: generate insights, give direction, design collaboration, and create the product. Within each step, there are various elements that a product manager needs to get right to be successful.
• Collaboration is essential, as product managers work with a variety of stakeholders and need to design effective communication channels.
• A solid product manager is essential for successful product development, and they should focus on user research and strategy.
• The changing market dynamics and advancements in AI present challenges for product managers.
• Product managers need to be close to the customer and have a strong product vision.
• Going from growth to profitability requires a change in strategy and evaluating the roadmap.
• It's important to focus on solving small problems and cleaning up the product.
• Understanding the underlying principles behind every framework is crucial.

Episode Outline:

[03:08] Understanding product venture capital
[05:55] How to look at early stage companies and the role of their product managers.
[11:44] Understanding customer needs and value propositions.
[14:45] Product development: how to start with a problem, figure out the differentiation factor, and carry out product management
[20:15] Four main areas for product managers to focus on + how to give direction to product managers.
[22:55] The process of creating and integrating a product and solving customer problems.
[25:00] How do you create a product strategy?
[29:05] The importance of understanding the market and product managers.
[31:21] The importance of understanding the underlying business principles.

About Jürgen:

Jürgen Vogel is an Engineering Leader and Co-Founder of Solvemate (now acquired by Dixa), a customer service platform for businesses. Juergen has in his career built and scaled multiple companies and led their teams to noteworthy success.

Synopsis:

In this episode of the Technology Leadership Podcast, Jürgen Vogel discusses the significance of an open culture in a company's success. He explains that open culture has two sides: individual and collective. He attributes the success of Solvemate, his most recent company (now acquired by Dixa), to its open culture, which helped with conflict resolution, team cohesion, and recruitment. Jürgen believes that an open culture is essential for building high-performing teams, as it addresses core needs such as belonging, improvement, choice, equality, predictability, and significance. He shares how companies can cultivate an open culture by starting right at the recruitment process and how it gives them an edge in the competitive market.

Key Takeaways:

• Open culture is an approach to making the culture of an organization explicit and shareable, and is not just something that happens organically over time.
• Spending time with your team, understanding their values, and bringing everyone together is crucial for a progressive company. Allowing everyone to have a say in decision-making can lead to high retention rates.
• Open communication and an open culture are essential for a company to succeed. A process should be developed for taking decisions, and everyone who will be affected by a decision should be consulted.
• In times of economic hardship, transparency and communication are even more crucial. Openness is a multiplier for shared understanding in the company of why things are the way they are. Companies that communicate well during difficult times can come up with better solutions.
• Reducing salaries instead of laying off employees can be an option in times of economic hardship. An open culture and communication with employees can lead to better solutions.
• The core needs of a team, called psychological safety, include Belonging, Improvement, Choice, Equality, Predictability, and Significance, represented by the acronym BICEPS. 

Episode Outline:

[00:09] Meet Juergen Vogel
[02:37] What is an open culture? Why is it important to have an open culture in your company?
[06:39] Reinventing organizations, a book by Frédéric Laloux, and what it teaches about open culture
[08:27] Developing the company vision, progressive vs. traditional companies, and company culture
[10:39] The importance of having an open culture
[16:04] Covid-19 and getting back to strength + the importance of accountability
[18:47] The positive impact of having an open culture.
[23:39] Having a culture deck for candidates + how to build high-performing teams.[26:33] The core needs of a high-performing team.
[31:13] Building a high-performing team with an open culture.
[33:13] Book Recommendations from Juergen

About Adriana:

Adriana Ellice Flint is an accomplished product leader with a wealth of experience in senior roles. Adriana's career in financial services began as a product advisor, and she has since risen to become a Vice President of Product. Currently the VP of Product at receeve, Adriana's expertise in connecting the vision and mission of a company to short-term goals and objectives is essential in achieving success. Her ability to navigate the bigger picture while keeping an eye on the details makes her an invaluable asset to any team. 

Synopsis:

In this episode of The Technology Leadership Podcast, Adriana discusses the importance of product strategy and the pillars of strategy. Product strategy helps connect a company's vision and mission to its short-term goals and objectives, allowing for both the consideration of the bigger picture and the navigation of details in the short term. She breaks down the four pillars of strategy: participants, subjects, processes, and dimensions and emphasizes the importance of partnerships, which can be commercial or non-commercial. Furthermore, she suggests that businesses should look at their long-term strategy at least once a year, during the annual planning process, and that product strategy should always be a subset of the overall business strategy. Adriana suggests that by bringing together product strategy and business strategy, product leaders can ensure that their companies hit their goals for the next three to five years.

Key Takeaways:

• Product strategy is a concept that connects a company's vision and mission to short-term goals and objectives to achieve success.
• Product strategy ties together product management and the rest of the company. It allows for the consideration of the bigger picture while navigating the details in the short term.
• A product leader can influence or help a company build an adaptable and flexible strategy that can adjust execution, speed, and investment as necessary.
• The four pillars of strategy are participants, subjects, processes, and dimensions.
  • Participants include investors, employees, and customers, while subjects refer to entities that influence the business.
  • Processes are the methods used to bring up ideas and create a tangible plan, and dimensions refer to different aspects of a business.
  • Partnerships, both commercial and non-commercial, should be considered in a product strategy.
• Long-term strategy should be looked at least once a year during the annual planning process, and inputs like competitive research and market analysis should be continuous.
• Having a framework and processes set up correctly allows for more confidence in planning resources, investments, and deliverables.
• Product strategy should be a subset of overall business strategy, and a product leader should always start by asking about the business strategy.
• Product strategy and business strategy should be brought together to hit goals for the next three to five years.

Episode Outline:

[00:15] Meet Adriana Ellice Flint
[00:09] Why is product strategy important?
[02:43] Goals: From operational and executional levels
[05:19] How product leaders step in to plan and execute product strategies
[08:38] How to plan out the next steps of a product strategy without losing continuity.
[13:49] Macroeconomics and strategy: The biggest shifts and changes in the macroeconomic climate over the past few years
[15:50] Breaking down the four pillars of a product strategy
[23:59] How often should businesses be thinking about their product strategy?[24:39] How often should business leaders stay back thinking about risks, changing market conditions, and competitions?
[28:04] How to come up with a product strategy

About Christian:

Christian Rebernik is an accomplished entrepreneur with a plethora of professional expertise and experiences under his belt. He’s been an experimental startup founder and advisor, served as the CTO and MD during the early days of the 2006 group, and co-founded Vivy as its CEO. Christian has also served on the boards of various startups over the years. Now, he's the CEO and founder of Tomorrow University of Applied Sciences, an institution dedicated to helping individuals develop the skills and competencies necessary to thrive in the modern world. 

Synopsis:

In this episode of The Technology Leadership Podcast, Christian discusses the factors that lead to startup success. He emphasizes the importance of team, execution, and problem solution fit and tells how to identify the most immediate next step and build a solution that fits the customer's needs despite being tight-resourced. He also discusses striking a balance between over-engineering and under-engineering a product, citing iteration and optimization. Further, he emphasizes the need for startups to pivot and iterate frequently to succeed, but to also be persistent and customer-focused. Finally, Christian highlights the importance of communication, iteration, and ownership in increasing the speed of development and getting products to market. His mission is to help people develop 21st-century competencies.

Key Takeaways:

• To be successful in life, it is important to have a growth mindset and focus on learning from failures rather than avoiding them.
• When it comes to building healthy relationships, communication and empathy are key. It's important to listen actively, express your needs and feelings clearly, and show understanding and compassion towards others.
• Maintaining good physical and mental health is crucial for overall well-being. This includes getting enough sleep, exercising regularly, eating a healthy diet, and managing stress.
• To succeed in a professional setting, it's important to develop strong time management and organizational skills, be proactive, and take ownership of your work. Additionally, networking and building strong relationships with colleagues can be helpful in advancing your career.
• Cultivating a positive mindset and practicing gratitude can have a significant impact on happiness and well-being. It's important to focus on what you have, rather than what you lack, and to appreciate the good things in your life.
• To be an effective leader, it's important to communicate clearly and authentically, set a positive example, and empower and inspire those around you. Additionally, being open to feedback and willing to learn from others can help you grow as a leader.
• Pursuing your passions and finding meaning and purpose in your life can bring great fulfillment. It's important to identify your values and interests and pursue activities and opportunities that align with them.
• Developing resilience and the ability to bounce back from setbacks is an important skill for navigating life's challenges. This can involve cultivating a growth mindset, building a strong support system, and practicing self-care.

Episode Outline:

[00:25] Meet Christian Rebernik
[02:18] Nailing product solution fit / problem solution fit
[09:05] The dangers of building an all-in-one solution
[10:19] How not to under or over-engineer your products
[14:20] Scaling vs. Retention and how not to overdo them
[19:28] Conscious periodization of development cycles
[23:57] Creating an account for parents with teenagers
[26:52] The best time to pivot is when the customer shows you that you need to
[32:39] Why you must have confidence in your decisions
[37:10] Advice for early-stage startups
[42:58] How to figure out your strengths and weaknesses

About Jorrit:

Jorrit Enzio Posor is a seasoned technology professional, who currently serves as the Tech Lead for the centralized data team at FINN, a fast-growing car subscription company. With his deep-seated passion for utilizing data to drive business growth, he leads a team responsible for defining and maintaining the tooling necessary for data analysts and other data teams to effectively access the data warehouse and gather key performance indicators, reports, and insights. Jorrit also has a deep understanding of data management and a commitment to excellence. He is poised to drive Safin's continued success through innovative and effective data solutions.

Synopsis:

In this episode of The Technology Leadership Podcast, Jorrit discusses the Data Mesh strategy that aligns both the technical and organizational aspects of data management. He shares the bottlenecks caused by the traditional centralized data team structures and explains how a Data Mesh solves this by decentralizing data teams, with each department having its own data team. The centralized data team builds a platform for the decentralized teams to use and focuses on bringing engineering knowledge and capabilities closer to each department. Software-as-a-service (SaaS) tools such as Fivetran and Google BigQuery are combined with a data mesh approach to manage this data architecture and prevent technical debt. Jorrit also explains data analytics and management using this structure before getting into the business benefits of it.

Key Takeaways:

• Jorrit discusses the Data Mesh concept, which is about aligning the technical and organizational aspects of data teams.
• When does a centralized data team become a bottleneck? How can you overcome the challenge? When a centralized data team receives too many requests from different departments, it becomes a challenge to use. The solution is to decentralize data teams, and assign each department with its own data team. The infrastructure can still stay centralized.
• Central data teams can provide support to decentralized teams and aid in faster speed of execution and shipping of insights.
• Use a combination of Fivetran, Google BigQuery, and DBT to manage data from multiple sources.
• The most important aspect of building a data platform is focusing on the central data team and balancing centralization and decentralization.
• An essential business benefit of using a decentralized data team is being able to avoid bottlenecks in shipping insights and having data that accurately reflects changes in the business.
• You can determine if a data mesh is the right strategy for you by understanding the trade-offs involved. This can be done by evaluating your current problems and future growth plans.

Episode Outline:

[00:37] Meet Jorrit
[01:48] What is meant by scaling a decentralized organization?
[03:12] How data mesh impacts data and other business teams
[07:03] The benefits of decentralized data teams in business
[08:55] How to implement decentralized data teams in your company and the bottlenecks to centralized data teams
[16:37] How Jorrit implemented decentralized data teams in his company
[24:31] 3/4 things Jorrit would’ve told himself a year ago that would help him become more successful 
[27:32] How can a technical lead communicate the benefits of a decentralized data team in his company?
[30:18] One piece of advice Jorrit would like to leave you with

About Daniel:

Daniel Paulus is the Director of Engineering at Checkly. He started his professional career in the German Air Force as an officer for 13 years, where he studied computer science at a military university. Throughout his time in the forces, Dan held various roles such as team lead, engineering manager, project manager, and IT manager, and valued the sense of purpose the military offered. In 2017, he transitioned from the military to the startup tech world in Berlin, starting as a lead developer at Sauce Labs, and later joining Contentful as an engineering manager before finally getting into his current company Checkly.

Synopsis:

In this episode of The Technology Leadership Podcast, Daniel Paulus discusses hiring in technology companies. He goes over Checkly's global hiring process and what it has taught him. The most important lessons include working with local recruiters to benefit your hiring process, conducting live coding challenges rather than take-home tests to find the right fit, and focusing on stability over aggressive growth in light of the current economic situation. In addition, he talks about building cross-functional engineering teams and the importance of mentoring and coaching junior engineers, which brings positive energy to the team. In Daniel's view, having a diverse team of engineers leads to challenges, innovation, and better understanding.

Key Takeaways:

• Working with local recruiters is effective if you’re looking to hire globally.
• Live coding challenges are more effective than take-home tests for hiring purposes.
• It is important to ensure engagement and quickness in the hiring process.
• The biggest challenge in technology in 2023 will be the economic situation.
• Mentoring and coaching junior engineers is important for growth and retention.
• Hiring people from bootcamps helps you find good candidates who’re not only talented but confident.
• A diverse team with a mix of junior and senior engineers is important for innovation and understanding.
• Mentoring and coaching junior engineers can bring positive energy to the team.
• Junior engineers from bootcamps bring a combination of confidence and technical ability.
• University graduates have a strong computer science background but lack professional experience.

Episode Outline:

[0:09] Meet Daniel
[2:30] How did Daniel get into tech?
[02:57] What does Checkly do?
[6:53] Hiring juniors vs. senior engineers.
[07:38] Why do companies hire junior engineers?
[12:33] The importance of diversity in an engineering team.
[14:33] Learning to code as a kid and pursuing tech going forward.
[18:06] The importance of interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence for professional growth. 
[19:38] Helping juniors become future engineering leaders.
[22:54] Performance Framework for engineers.
[25:35] How to hire junior and senior engineers: the tips.
[27:54] Lessons from hiring junior and senior engineers at Checkly.
[30:30] Daniel’s thoughts on technical recruitment.

About Thorsten

Thorsten Spieker ,Director of Engineering at Avi Medical,  is a seasoned engineering leader with a strong background in building and empowering engineering teams. With over 10 years of experience in Silicon Valley and Germany, Thorsten has worked with both large companies and startups, honing his skills in software development and product engineering.

Synopsis

In this episode of the Technology Leadership Podcast, Thorsten Spieker, Director of Engineering at Avi Medical discusses the importance of building an empowered engineering culture. Thorsten shares his journey from being a back-end engineer to becoming a director and highlights the differences between Silicon Valley and German-based tech companies. He emphasises the need for engineers to be involved in the entire software development lifecycle and shares his experience transforming Avi's engineering culture.

Key Takeaways

• The importance of execution, building things quickly and shipping them to increase learning cycles.
• Invest in high quality software to avoid future challenges and enable faster development
• Empowering engineers to take responsibility for the success of the company and the software they build
• Recognising the importance of automating processes to reduce errors and improve efficiency.
• Establishing a culture of continuous learning by involving engineers in decision making and promoting a strong feedback loop.

Episode Outline

[00:09] Meet Thorsten
[05:02] Building an empowered engineering culture
[09:04] Engineering values and culture for fast learning and product development
[15:42] Empowering engineering culture and overcoming initial challenges
[21:03]  Prioritising customer needs in a non-tech first company
[26:38] Prioritising technical debt in a startup
[32:044] Engineering culture, product development, and technology trends

About Kaylie:

Kaylie Boogaerts is a remote culture and processes consultant with over 5 years of experience in people and culture in remote-first companies. As the Director of People at Checkly, she leads a team of 31 people across 13 countries, and also consults with startups to help them attract and set up their first people person for success.

Synopsis:

In this episode of The Technology Leadership Podcast, Kaylie discusses onboarding in startups. She gets into various aspects of onboarding for new hires at a company, including setting up profiles and access to tools, compliance training, and establishing office hours and boundaries. She emphasizes the importance of breaking down larger goals and tasks into smaller, manageable chunks that new hires can quickly contribute to and set expectations early on, among other things, to create a safe and supportive environment for new hires. She also explains how and why not to discourage failure and support junior employees who may not yet have the necessary skills and knowledge. Kayleigh also doesn’t hold back on sharing her onboarding strategies and why every company must implement them.

Key Takeaways:

• Kaylie’s Notion template for onboarding new employees has three parts that contain a) a high-level overview of the new employee’s role, manager, and onboarding buddy, b) a clear overview of expectations, c) mandatory documentation/handbooks to go through and details about the employee’s pay.
• Break down tasks and goals into smaller, manageable tasks so new hires can quickly contribute to the assigned project.
• For more senior engineers, try to give them a more challenging task or project within the first month to three months to keep them engaged and motivated.
• Make sure new joiners have access to accounts and know where to go for communication and company events on their first day.
• A good onboarding strategy for a startup should start with preparation and being intentional. The onboarding process includes setting up profiles and access to tools, compliance training, and establishing office hours and boundaries.
• Create a safe and supportive work environment where failure is not discouraged.

Episode Outline:

[01:16] Meet Kaylie
[02:26] Why is onboarding so important?
[05:14] Kaylie’s onboarding strategies for company success
[13:40] The process of onboarding new hires: Kaylie shares her top 3 steps
[23:06] How to enable your new hires to add value to the company
[23:27] For engineers, give the first coding task on their first day at work 
[28:20] How to ensure you provide your employees with the right environment for work
[33:17] The most important aspects of onboarding
[36:22] Kaylee’s top three pieces of advice for you

About Mirza:

Mirza Beširović is a group PM at Dixa, a B2B SaaS customer service platform. As a poetry translator turned tech professional, Mirza's career journey has been non-linear and unique. He began his journey a decade ago translating poetry, but eventually found his way to Germany and a part-time student gig at a tech company. This opportunity later led to a team leadership position and a full-time focus on the tech industry. Though his initial focus was on data management and working with machine learning teams, his career path also included roles in business development and consulting. Eventually, he discovered his passion for product strategy and moved into product management, rising to a group product manager role at Dixa, where he currently leads teams in the development of automated customer service software and messaging products.

Synopsis:

In this episode of The Technology Leadership Podcast, Mirza Berisovic discusses growth in product management and leadership roles. He elaborates on the two tracks in product management: an individual contributor track and a management track. While the individual contributor track is focused on becoming an expert in the craft of product management, the management track is more focused on people management, strategy, and mentoring. Mirza emphasizes the importance of self-realization and actively seeking to upskill oneself in order to grow in product management and leadership roles. He suggests finding a mentor, being part of a community, and educating oneself as key ways to improve. He also stresses the importance of constantly learning and growing in not only product management, but in life in general. According to Mirza, due to the current economic climate, companies may be hiring less, and it may be more beneficial to develop within one's current company, and seek mentorship to advance in one's career.

Key Takeaways:

• There is no standard path into product management, and many people find themselves in the role through accident or by showing their transferable skills.
• It is important to understand that there are two tracks in product management: an individual contributor track and a management track.
• Moving into a leadership role in product management requires different skills and focus than working as a PM.
• Find a mentor, be part of a community, and educate yourself to improve in a product manager role.
• Strategy and metrics, specifically financial metrics such as annual recurring revenue and net retention rate are key areas that senior PMs should focus on developing and becoming more familiar with.
• It's important to understand how a business develops strategy and how it trickles down to departmental strategy and how it affects product and department at large.
• One way to move into a leadership role is to develop within one's existing company by being proactive and explicit about one's career goals with their manager and creating a growth plan.
• Seek mentorship from networks such as ADP list, the mentoring club, mentor mesh, and My mentor path as they can be very valuable in helping people evolve into leadership roles.
• Be proactive and intentional in communicating and working cohesively with other teams such as sales and marketing.

Episode Outline:

[00:24] Meet Mirza
[01:42] How Mirza got started in tech
[06:36] Understanding leadership and management.
[11:08] Advice for people moving into leadership.
[13:37] The importance of upskilling yourself.
[18:23] Advice for senior PMs (Product Managers).
[22:14] Breadth of experience vs. depth of experience.
[24:47] Advice on how to hire for a leadership role.
[29:52] The importance of speaking to your manager.
[34:15] Advice for people who want to become product managers.

About Glyn:

Glyn Roberts today is the CTO of Digital Solutions at iTechArt Group, a leading software development company that helps VC-backed mature startups and fast-growing tech companies build successful, scalable products. He’s worked as a CTO for many startups in the past, helping them with successful solutions to business problems. In addition, Glyn founded his own technology solutions company, called Zappit, that focused on bringing innovation to the OOH industry, retail space and events by heavily incorporating NFC, BLE and QR for payments coupons and personalised experiences.

Synopsis:

In this episode of The Technology Leadership Podcast, Glyn Roberts discusses what it takes to be a CTO or technology leader in today’s times. He talks about the technology trends he’s witnessed in life so far, what he learned from founding his own technology solutions company in the past, the work-from-home culture and its benefits, and when and how to approach recruiters for your company. Glyn also shares what he means by building high-performance distributed teams and how they help in the growth of your organisation.

Key Takeaways:

• You need to have a deep understanding of technology trends, be client-focused, and direct your company from that standpoint as a CTO. 
• Working from home gives you more flexibility to structure your day how you need to structure it. You get to suit your life goals a lot more. 
• You can't be fully reliant on the organisation you work for to be training you; you also need to take additional responsibility for your own path from that standpoint.
• Try to make technology as simple as possible. Utilise those services that make your job easier.
• How you phrase things and convey your ideas has a lot to do with diversity and inclusion within your organisation.
• Before you decide to work with a recruiter full-time, you can set goals for a trial period working with them. For example, as Glyn does, you can set a two-week window at the start to see if they're able to get you your desired candidates.
• A distributed team is one that's based in multiple locations. Though there are barriers to communication and exchange of information in such a situation, you can use available technologies to ensure they work proactively in streamlining the project vision.

Episode Outline:

[00:53] - Meet Glynn
[04:44] - Glynn’s most significant achievements in life so far, including the factors that led him to become successful as a CTO
[13:07] - Why the things that look hardest at the start are sometimes rewarding in the end
[13:58] - How working from home gives you more flexibility to structure your day
[16:37] - Taking responsibility for your growth
[17:53] -  How to pick up the right startup as a leader
[21:43] - The first startup Glynn worked with and his experience being in it
[28:43] - Five things to keep in mind while approaching a startup to work with
[31:39] - How can you build high performance distributed teams?
[34:57] - How Glynn works with recruiters to find the best employees for his company
[41:19] -  Glynn’s experience switching to his new company amid COVID
[48:30] - What is a high performance distributed team?
[52:02] - How can you avoid burnout at work?
[01:00:13] - Why self-awareness in so important, especially in today’s times

About Turan:

Turan Rustamli is the CTO at One Dome, a platform that enables home movers to conduct an end to end property transaction via a single interface. Previously, Turan served as the CTO of an early-stage startup, Landmax Software, focused on innovation around the property in the street. As someone who’s always been into mathematics and AI, Turan has successfully established himself in the software engineering industry without any engineering degree.

Synopsis:

In this episode of The Technology Leadership Podcast, Turan discusses new models of work and how to develop an employee-friendly and vision-led structure of working, to keep up with the changing times. Turan also talks about building a successful startup and why open source softwares offer huge advantages to developers to launch their startup ideas. We look into the role and skills of a CTO and how technology leaders today can discover the right opportunities for them. In addition, Turan talks about the importance of having an enthusiasm to learn, shares how his learning curve looks like (and the most challenging parts of it), and the softwares he uses (including Rom Research) to help save time and increase efficiency.

Key Takeaways:

• If you have an idea that you want to try building your startup on, you need to first invest in your learning.
• If you already have a solid idea about your startup, there are creative ways to start with it. You can use open source technology ideas or implement a basic version of it and put it in the open-source community.
• Invest in knowledge management and communicate asynchronously. Let your team get on with things, and don't micromanage by constantly tracking the deliverables.
• The advantages of building open source software are that you get feedback quickly, people are genuinely interested in making them better, and you encourage participation authentically.
• As a leader looking for opportunities in startups, it would help if you never compromised on the team, saw if the company's product was an interesting challenge for you, and foresee the opportunities in there for you to learn and grow. 
• Turan explains that a bottom-up approach works best for engineers in most cases. It also ensures easier collaboration with the team members.
• While working remotely, you need to avoid looking at the working model as similar to an office setup.

Episode Outline:

[02:51] - Turan’s most significant achievements in life so far
[03:30] - The things you need to practice to reduce written code 
[05:34] - What are the foundations to lay down to make sure your company gets the right funding?
[08:17] - Turna’s advice for engineers and CTOs wanting to start their own startup
[12:17] -  Turan’s Personal Learning System and what you can learn from it
[13:33] - What is Rom Research?
[17:35] - What are the advantages and benefits of open source and starting a project in open source?
[19:39] - Turan’s advice for leaders wanting to pick a startup to work with
[22:28] - Turan’s thoughts on learning from challenges
[25:09] -  Turan’s learning curve and the associated challenges
[31:21] - Turan’s advice for managing remote teams and his critical learnings out of that 
[34:24] - Some softwares and applications Turan uses to enhance productivity
[41:08] -  Turan’s thoughts on the new work culture post-pandemic and the changes we need to bring in for hiring and work to adapt to the changing times
[43:52] -  How do you cultivate a culture of excellence within a team? 
[51:42] -  Turan shares about his work culture and team
[55:10] - Laying the foundations for remote working culture
[58:30] - What are the most significant challenges technology leaders will face in the years to come?

About Josh:

Josh Cole is the CTO at InsideOut, an award-winning mental health platform for employees across organisations. He has worked in the technology industry for over a decade doing software engineering, team and performance management, cloud infrastructure, secure development lifecycles, shiring, and product development, to name a few.

Interestingly, Josh has never studied in an engineering school. He explains that coding was always the thing he knew better and believes that schools and universities need to better focus on the other aspects of the industry like innovation, management, and hiring. Josh, in fact, graduated from the University of Portsmouth with a First Class Degree focused on entrepreneurship and innovation in business.

Synopsis:

In this episode of The Technology Leadership Podcast, Josh discusses creativity and innovation as pre-requisites to hiring in the technology industry. He talks about employee well-being, and the steps companies could take to ensure their associates are in good health. Josh also explains the metrics for evaluating new candidates, including problem-solving, creative thinking, and programming fundamentals. Additionally, Josh explores emerging programming languages and frameworks and explains how they compare with native languages such as JavaScript and what we can expect of them in the near future. Listen to this episode to learn what it takes to be a solution-driven engineering leader in today’s times. 

Key Takeaways:

• Innovation and creativity are at the heart of engineering. 
• Mental health issues are a common occurrence in workplaces. Even if you are mentally resilient, it is possible that the individuals around you are not. It is especially true for males, who are conditioned to believe that they should not be vocal about their mental woes.
• Practising meditation, journaling, gratitude, and setting goals can greatly benefit your mental health. 
• TypeScript has massive benefits in terms of increasing productivity and reducing the number of bugs for developers. 
• Go developers have to follow specifics while writing code in the language. Although it’s an easy way to write code, it’s harder to reason and understand the language.
• Today, you cannot build a complex application without automated testing. Many tests, including unit feature integration, end-to-end testing, UI testing, regression testing, have to be performed to ensure code optimisation.
• Education in schools or colleges rarely ever teaches problem-solving. And that’s the thing most engineers need to aim for.

Episode Outline:

[04:41] - Do you need a computer science degree to get into coding and development?
[05:45] - What are the skills you need to make a more significant impact in the world?
[08:04] - How are Josh and his company helping employees manage their mental health?
[10:04] -  Why men find it more challenging to talk about mental health than women
[12:29] - What is Josh doing with InsideOut to innovate and create something different to help employees' mental health
[13:43] - Steps taken by InsideOut does for the mental health of employees across organisations
[18:22] - How does InsideOut function?
[21:50] - Josh explains his role in helping InsideOut grow  
[23:57] - What does Josh’s tech ecosystem look like right now?
[27:04] - What are the benefits of introducing TypeScripts to their code?
[29:44] - What technologies or tools does Josh plan on introducing at InsideOut in the future?
[37:54] - Will JavaScript be replaced in the next few years?
[40:24] - Why are Go Developers very specific about how they want developers to handle exceptions and errors in Go?
[58:36] - The biggest challenges to technology in the next few years, according to Josh.

About Jules:

Jules Decol is the Engineering Lead at The Big Search, an organisation that helps manage recruitment for growing organisations. He was the Co-Founder and CTO at Chosen AI, a company that used AI to provide people analytics to optimise the workforce at any organisation. Chosen AI was acquired by The Big Search in 2020.

Jules is also involved in the Technical Advisory of startups, managing them on the technological front of launching their product. He uses his vast knowledge of the recruitment industry and a people-first approach to help solve complex business issues around hiring and innovation.

Synopsis:

In this episode of The Technology Leadership Podcast, Jules Decol discusses leading engineering teams in a startup. He shares why it’s necessary to establish a clear line of communications within the company, stay up-to-date about various technological developments, and master your skills before venturing into leadership roles to better guide your teams through changes and innovation. He also shares the challenges to recruitment in any startup, why hiring passionate and skilled talent is especially important in their cases, and the steps to take to ensure your startup is continually growing.

Key Takeaways:

• It is necessary to implement weekly or monthly catch-ups between data scientists and engineers. This way, you get to learn what's going on in both areas and discover how you can solve problems together as a team.
• It is essential to implement a clear line of communication within any company. It ensures you have a safe and healthy working atmosphere where concerns can be raised and discussed respectfully and promptly.
• A few things to take care of when joining a company
• How Jules introduced a clear line of communication within their company - asking queries, concerns, and work-related questions between engineers in public channels.
• Jules explains the hiring process and ideas for a startup. In the case of startups, the initial hires matter a lot to the company, and it's difficult to get established candidates to join in because of the absence of branding.
• For an early-stage startup, hiring passionate candidates is equally important. You need to aim for a collaborative and friendly work atmosphere.
• Jules explains why you should know what happens when you don't do something you're supposed to. 

Episode Outline:

[02:45] - Jules shares the most significant challenges in his career so far
[06:12] -  What are three things every startup founder or aspiring data science and human engineer working in a startup should implement in their lives?
[09:00] -  Jules walks us through their acquisition experience. How did Jules manage the acquisition as a CTO? What were the rules, lessons and changes observed?
[13:40] -  The architecture Jules and his team used to help their products integrate to necessary platforms quickly. How did they set up their products?
[17:11] -  How did Jules, as the technical lead and head of engineering, build trust with a new team, implement new tools, technologies, and processes, while also keeping his teammates informed on them?
[23:46] - Jules talks about getting along with a well-established team and how to integrate yourself within it, even when you're working remotely
[25:45] - Apart from introducing unit testing, what other things does Jules think he could've done differently as part of an engineering team?
[28:39] - Tips to smoothen the recruitment process in a startup 
[38:35] - Why is it important to set expectations, keep track of what you're doing, and find out the reasons behind doing anything?
[42:28] - What is the best way to move forward as a young startup?
[43:37] - Why is it important to keep a good balance between optimism and pessimism? 

About George:

George Good is the CTO at Healios, a leading digital healthcare services company based in London. He has over two decades of experience in the technology industry and has explored different programming languages, tech stacks, and roles. George also serves as the Software Engineering Team Leader at Board Intelligence, a product-based company that helps transform how you read, write, and manage board reports.

Synopsis:

In this episode of The Technology Leadership Podcast, George Good talks about remote hiring and collaboration. We discuss why you need to devise innovative ways of conducting interviews, focusing on assessing a candidate’s problem-solving skills and creativity above syntactic knowledge. He also talks about the essential skills engineers need, including the importance of effective communication, the different routes an engineer can pivot to at the later stages of their career, and how to establish yourself as a highly sought-after engineer in the competitive world of tech. Tune in for greater insight into the various challenges to technology in the upcoming years and why AI and ML would drive most business processes as we advance. 

Key Takeaways:

• Communication is the key to your growth in any role in the tech space, especially since the advent of online working methods.
• The different paths to choose from as an engineer - leadership and management, development, mentoring, and others.
• Blame culture could be detrimental to your company’s growth. To handle it well, you need to stay composed, find out ways to solve problems when they arise and refine the process of moving forward.
• How the hiring process looks like at Healios - about their hiring team, innovations involved, the refining process, and interview rounds.
• Why you need to be open when conducting interviews - the key is to assess a candidate’s problem-solving skills and ability to be creative with their methods.
• Learn about the importance of test-driven development and how to assess candidates on that skill.
• How to build an effective remote team - communicating and understanding employee concerns, staying connected, and practising effective management.

Episode Outline:

[00:31] - Meet George Good, CTO at Healios.
[01:45] - Why did George decide to take the leadership route in his career?
[04:18] - What are the most significant challenges for a CTO within the startup world right now?
[08:57] - What processes have Healios brought in to bridge the gap between its tech and non-tech wings?
[13:31] -  What does the “Healios’ Way” stand for at their company?
[21:22] - What are the top three or four things George could do to build a successful remote team over the past few years?
[25:39] - Healios’ process of remote recruitment
[24:06] - Why problem-solving is the core of engineering and why you shouldn’t be limiting people during their interviews
[30:47] - As a CTO himself, what does George look for in an engineer? 
[35:36] - George’s advice for people plateauing in their career and how they can polish their skills to become quality engineers.
[39:31] - As someone in the technology industry for several decades, what is George’s approach to solving problems?
[42:28] - Why George wishes to hire a diverse range of developers always 
[45:09] -  How can you assess and train candidates with Bootcamp or relevant university experience?
[39:55] - George talks about their company, Healios and how they hold relevance in the world today.
[51:45] - The importance of personal touch in understanding and being there for your employees. 
[55:50] - How to become successful in a non-tech focused business
[58:36] - The biggest challenges to technology in the next few years, according to George Good.

About Ali:

Ali Haidar is a senior threat intelligence analyst at UBS, a Swiss multinational investment bank and financial services company founded and based in Switzerland. He started his career in security services in 2003 and has been in the industry for over 18 years. 

Starting in the small country of Lebanon, Ali was a security consultant for a prime minister. He went on to do private consultancy for companies. Over the years, Ali offered his services to many known organisations and gradually expanded his work to take international clients. Prior to joining UBS, Ali also did his Master's in Computer Security and Forensics.

Synopsis:

In this episode of The Technology Leadership Podcast, Ali Haidar discusses the need to strengthen information security practices in companies and the most significant challenges faced along the way. By digging deeper into the different security attacks we’ve seen in the past, Ali explains how to overcome the known and unknown roadblocks to securing information transfer and how to stay in line with the latest technology always. He also touches on the eight disciplines of information security, how they differ in the implementation for big and small companies, and ways to help small businesses create enhanced security controls by investing smartly.

Key Takeaways:

• The greatest challenge in information security is staying up to date with emerging technologies.
• The benefits in the security aspect for a small business is - it can start to set information security practices from the ground up. The downside of it is the monetary expense incurred. Companies could minimise this with well-thought-out investment choices.
• The eight disciplines of information security
• It’s essential to hire people with a good understanding of security controls to avoid mismanagement. 
• The most significant investment you need to make for your company’s information security benefit is hiring the right people. 
• For any small-to-mid-sized company wanting to implement information security, keep in mind to hire security consultants and have your architectural and business workflow documents ready.
• The connection between 5G and cyberattacks - Since 5G gives a greater bandwidth to devices, it can cause bigger DDoS attacks.
• Learn the math behind encryption and decryption

Episode Outline:

[02:48] - The biggest challenge Ali has ever faced in his career
[04:40] - Ali shares the most significant achievements from his career so far - keeping people safe, securing a job at one of the best organisations in the world
[06:32] - Some general security measures every company can take - email encryption tips and sharing confidential information
[12:13] - Security tips for a small-to-mid-sized company
[16:30] - How to optimise authentication, authorisation, and accountability practices in your company
[19:52] - Learn about the eight disciplines of security
[27:12] - Planning and investing in the case of startups
[29:11] - What can be the costs associated with setting up security for a small company?
[32:34] -  Common misunderstandings that small business owners face occasionally
[37:44] - What are the repercussions of not handling cybersecurity properly in the initial stages of setting up your company?
[41:55] - What steps can you take to get security issues quickly sorted out in a company?
[44:34] - Why do you need to meet a security specialist for your company?
[45:43] - What are the different attacks happening in the tech space today? 
[50:13] - About different ransomware families, their ways to attack, and how to keep away from them 
[53:58] - What are remote access attacks?
[57:21] - What do you mean by quantum computing?
[01:02:59] - The security aspects behind self-driving vehicles

About Alexey:

 Alexey Tschudnowsky is the Head of the Software Development department at gematik GmbH. He is a PhD holder with extensive experience working as a Research Associate and has managed many students during the period.

Alexey works on national healthcare solutions and is responsible for the technical excellence of more than 30 software engineers. He is an expert in technical leadership, agile development processes and software architectures.

Synopsis:

In this episode of The Technology Leadership Podcast, Alexey discusses hiring strategies and the techniques to retain employee motivation in your company. He shares the competence model practised at gematik while also outlining the ways to discover and grow into roles that suit your interests the best. Alexey details the different security and development practices at their company and shares the importance of staying up-to-date with recent technological and methodological advancements in the industry. 

Key Takeaways:

• How to check if your startup idea would take off - check if your idea solves a problem, check if you have the team and resources to build the idea, and figure out if the market really needs your idea.
• Learn more about Neural Jam - an e-learning community that educates people on new technology and business skills.
• Interdepartmental knowledge and cross-functional skills can help you significantly in growing your career.
• Communication is an essential skill to have if you aim to grow in more significant roles in your company.
• Career growth becomes even more straightforward if your individual goals align with your company’s vision.
• It is important to know the strengths and weaknesses of every member of your team.
• You need to give your employees the space to think and act freely for optimal performance.
• As a leader, you need to focus on your entire company - including every department - micromanagement could hamper your overall growth. 

Episode Outline:

[00:39] - Meet Alexey
[02:27] - Alexey introduces their team of 22 members at gematik and what growth plans are discussed with them before they join the company
and startups to partner with or invest in
[03:06] - Career growth at gematik - how the hierarchy of roles look like
[04:44] - What kind of engineers does gematik look for in their hiring process?
[08:10] - How do you then ascertain a candidate’s mindset through the interview process?[09:52] - What are the first skills that senior engineers need to build to get to the next level in their career?
[11:37] - How do conferences work in a company?
[13:02] - Alexey’s conference recommendations for you
[15:17] - How to keep your engineers motivated on long-term projects year-on-year within your company?
[23:47] -  What are the differences between someone suited to architecture as compared to an engineering manager?
[26:56] - Some lessons learned along Alexey’s professional journey 
[29:57] - What will be the biggest challenge for engineering leaders and software engineering in 2021 and beyond?
[32:02] - What expertise are they building in their employees at gematik?

About Peyman:

Peyman Pouryekta is the Co-Founder and CEO of the House of Creative Entrepreneurship, a company that helps creative entrepreneurs around the world grow their businesses.

He has extensive experience working as the CTO and Director of Engineering in different companies, co-developing AI-operated products for the real estate industry and organising IT Departments. Peyman holds a Master of Arts in Management and has worked in the IT industry since 2005. 

Peyman identifies himself as a quiet leader who’s also held several management positions at Startups and consulted companies to identify and implement fit-for-purpose solutions.

Synopsis:

In this episode of The Technology Leadership Podcast, Peyman Pouryekta discusses creative entrepreneurship and how to assess if your startup ideas would sustain in the long run. We learn about the importance of expanding your knowledge beyond your zone of genius, the critical role of soft skills and decision-making skills, and why to understand the strengths and weaknesses of every team member before designating their responsibilities. Having led several startups in the past, Peyman explains the most significant lessons he’s learned along the journey and what engineering leaders and entrepreneurs of the future need to look up to.

Key Takeaways:

• How to check if your startup idea would take off - check if your idea solves a problem, check if you have the team and resources to build the idea, and figure out if the market really needs your idea.
• Learn more about Neural Jam - an e-learning community that educates people on new technology and business skills.
• Interdepartmental knowledge and cross-functional skills can help you significantly in growing your career.
• Communication is an essential skill to have if you aim to grow in more significant roles in your company.
• Career growth becomes even more straightforward if your individual goals align with your company’s vision.
• It is important to know the strengths and weaknesses of every member of your team.
• You need to give your employees the space to think and act freely for optimal performance.
• As a leader, you need to focus on your entire company - including every department - micromanagement could hamper your overall growth. 

Episode Outline:

[00:39] - Meet Peyman
[06:43] - Peyman explains what he does currently and how she chooses companies and startups to partner with or invest in
[09:34] - How Peyman chooses the startup ideas to back up for
[11:24] - Peyman talks about their creative entrepreneurship learning platform, Neural Jam
[13:40] - Learn more about Neural Jam
[16:16] - Peyman talks about the tech stack he’s currently using and why
[17:59] - Learn about the new tools, libraries, and frameworks that are emerging in the market
[24:06] - Peyman explains the possible skills and situations that helped him scale up into seniormost positions in organisations
[28:13] - Learn about career growth and learning and how to find your path 
[31:01] -  Book recommendations from Peyman
[34:09] - Skills needed by engineering leaders today and why cross-functionality is an important skill for every engineer
[36:32] - The importance of soft skills in engineering leaders
[38:13] - The importance of communication and problem-solving skills among engineers
[39:55] - Peyman talks about the biggest challenges faced by him in his career
[43:00] - What are the most important responsibilities of a CTO?
[45:40] - The biggest challenges to engineering leaders of the future

About Stefan

Stefan Anca is the co-founder and CTO of Likeminded, a tech startup in the mental health space. Originally from Romania, Stefan has been living in Germany since 2004. He studied computer science and advanced computer science in Bremen. Stefan's career began as an engineer in a small family-owned company, but he soon realised his desire for growth and development. He moved to Berlin, the startup capital of Germany, and started working in startups, specialising in programming mobile applications, before moving on to management level positions.

Synopsis

In this episode of the Technology Leadership Podcast, Stefan Anca, co-founder and CTO at Likeminded, discusses the challenges of raising funding in the tech industry, especially during difficult economic times. He shares his career journey, from studying computer science to working in startups and eventually becoming a people-focused manager. Stefan highlights the success of Likeminded, a mental health tech startup, and how they secured funding by showcasing their unique selling point and market potential. The episode emphasises the importance of understanding user needs and creating a user-friendly platform for accessing mental health services.

Key Takeaways

• The significance of self-awareness, seeking mentorship, and continuously enhancing  skillset as a CTO.
• The success of the tech department relies on a product team with a strong focus on user needs, versatile engineers capable of addressing various aspects, and a deep commitment to the field.
• Likeminded successfully raised funding in a difficult economic climate by showcasing the untapped market for mental health services and demonstrating their growing revenues.
• Evaluate and understand your own skills and identify any gaps that need improvement.
• Seek feedback from mentors and experienced professionals in order to determine the skills necessary to progress in your career.

Episode Outline

[00:09] Meet Stefan
[02:16] Career growth and fundraising for a mental health tech startup
[08:57] Building a digital platform for mental health support.
[14:35] Career growth and success as a CTO
[16:48] evaluating skills for career growth
[30:51] Common pitfalls for young engineering managers.
[37:05] Career growth and management tips for young engineers
[42:51] Mental health and work-life balance in the tech industry

About Stefan:

Stefan-Theodor Popescu is the Head Of Engineering at Smava GmbH, a leading loan portal in Germany. He graduated from the Imperial College, London, with a Bachelor's in Computer Science.

 In his career spanning over a decade, Stefan has extensively worked on automotive and software technologies, also exploring full-stack engineering and scrum mastering. He's experienced in both the tech and sales side of the business, and has leveraged the same for his role at Smava.

Synopsis:

In this episode of The Technology Leadership Podcast, Stefan-Theodor discusses the past and present of recruitment and the massive drive to digitalisation in tech today. Stefan shares his take on collaborating with outsourcing companies and how to establish a connection with them, so their hiring strategies align with your company's goals. We discuss revolutionising work practices and cultivating new ways to connect and communicate in the virtual space to help improve employee productivity and well-being. Stefan also clearly explains why effective communication and team skills are deciding factors for any passionate engineer to grow in the industry today.

Key Takeaways:

• There's a big drive to digitalisation today - companies are increasingly adopting online work methodologies.
• There's a great scope for innovation and improvement in Berlin
• The right outsourcing company would allow you to use their skills to solve YOUR problem.
• smava managed to create an atmosphere of connection and support by carefully analysing how their employee life was segmented in the remote working scenario and bringing in innovative ways to work and collaborate.
• Productivity levels of people have grown considerably during the pandemic. It could be attributed to the time saved from commuting and spending more time with family.
• It's essential to stay in touch and listen to your employees.
• Do not confine your employees to limited space. Encourage your workforce to think outside of the box and innovate.
• It's important to respect a person's mental health, especially during these trying times of the virus.
• The only way to learn something new is by trying and failing.
• Engineering is more about people than technology.
• It matters more how you work as a team than how you work individually.
• Communication and team skills top the list of skills needed by engineers today.

Episode Outline:

[00:21] - Meet Stefan
[06:02] - Why there is a massive push to digitalisation today
[07:56] - Why Berlin invites a plethora of entrepreneurs to its innovative community
[13:33] - Stefan's ideas on working with outsourcing companies and how to cultivate healthy relationships with them
[14:33] - How do you find the best outsourcing company for your requirements
[15:37] - The difficulty working with remote teams today and ho  Smava managed that effectively
[18:44] - How Smava analysed employee working constraints and mentality to devise effective means to work remotely
[20:36] - How to reinvent your process, work and meetings to offer your employees more flexible ways to work
[23:12] - How do you ensure your employees stay motivated at all times and encourage them to come up with innovative ideas?
[26:58] - The importance of understanding and respecting individual mental health today
[30:50] - The right way to bring changes in working technology or ways
[34:31] - It is only when you fail that you learn something new. Here's why.
[37:48] - Why Stefan feels that the most significant thing in tech today is cloud migration
[38:55] - Why engineering is more people-focussed than tech-oriented
[40:00] - Why communication and team play are the critical skills for any engineer presently
[43:16] - Expanding beyond geographies to grow your talent

About Vinoj:

Vinoj M. Zacharia is a Senior Engineering Manager at FloQast, an accounting workflow automation created by accountants for accountants to work smarter, and not harder.

 Vinoj is a developer-turned-engineering-leader who builds data-driven, empowered, accountable, collaborative teams from the ground up. He is passionate about scaling people, processes, and tech and working with products to make customers happy. He’s worked with many successful and non-successful startups in their early stages, and has a wealth of experience learning and working with them.

Synopsis:

In this episode of The Technology Leadership Podcast, Vinoj Zacharia discusses hiring and retaining employees, explaining how they do it at FloQast. We learn about the changes in hiring that have happened due to the pandemic and how to adapt ourselves to remote hiring and working methods, which would probably also continue in the future. He also explains the shift from EC2 Instances to Lambda, the concept of lead time and how it can help companies grow even further today.

Key Takeaways:

• How Standardization of language (programming) can help engineering teams
• Bring your tech lead PM, engineers in early because having them part of the process of building is essential.
• Many companies have switched to remote hiring methods today and these will continue to be the future for most of them.
• Remote companies attract the most candidates today.
• We need to optimise ourselves around any challenges in software that we haven’t yet already.
• Focus on those pain points, so that it becomes easier for engineers on product teams to focus on their product and customers.
• When you find people that match the type of work that you're doing, and the style of organization you are in, you've already set yourself for success.
• One essential skill for engineers is their ability to drive others to clarity.
• Failure is only part of the process - learn to accept it, as it’s a natural happening, especially in your early stages as an engineer.

Episode Outline:

[01:04] - Vinoj explains his childhood and his fondness for computers
[06:42] - Vinoj explains what FloQast does
[11:13] - How FloQast has scaled, and the themes and patterns of what makes engineering teams move forward.
[15:57] - Vinoj shares how people and team management are done at FloQast
[20:36] - How the hiring process has changed after the pandemic
[24:22] - Vinoj talks about Remote Hiring from the perspective of a company
[28:49] - How do you retain employees for multiple years?
[34:04] - Vinoj explains what leadership means to him
[35:50] - How to scale engineers and cultivate the next leaders
[41:53] - Vinoj shares the shift FloQast has taken from EC2 Instances to Lambda, the concept of lead time and how it can help companies.
[46:03] - Is there something that you would do differently if you were to start over?
[48:16] - What would be the biggest challenges in technology and startups right now?

About Khalil:

Khalil Dimachkie is the CTO at Youtility, a startup that helps consumers save on their home finances without leaving their mobile banking or digital finance apps. Khalil has been in the tech sector for over 17 years now, with expertise in all phases of the software development and Agile delivery.

He is an experienced tech leader and CTO who’s held positions where managing expectations and relationships have been equally important as delivering a robust product. He’s worked with global brands such as BP, VISA, TfL, and Debenhams on technical strategy and go-to market planning.

Synopsis:

In this episode of The Technology Leadership Podcast, Khalil Dimachkie talks about the huge role of CTOs in the growth of any organisation. He explains the hiring strategies companies could adopt for junior, mid-level, and senior engineers and why they need to be extensive and optimized for your organisation's requirements. We also look into the importance of virtualisation, inviting healthier team collaboration, the lesser-known facts about hiring expert testing engineers, and the benefits of recruiting through a contingency recruiter. Understand why a CTO's growth strategy is critical for any organisation that wants to scale from a small startup into a global brand.

Key Takeaways:

• Inputs from general user experience of your product are paramount to understanding your design strategies
• It is important to communicate what exactly your team needs to do and what they need to aim for
• Offering a framework for development eases the process of engineering a product
• As a CTO, you need to value the business case first
• Optimise your hiring strategies to align with your business goals 
• Open communication and collaboration becomes easy when you have an encouraging team
• Empower your new team members to communicate and engage better
• While working with fresh minds helps invite new ideas, it’s also easier to work with experienced professionals
• When it comes to hiring for a senior position, it helps if you evaluate on their ability to engage with a team and agile skills
• Hiring a good testing engineer is extremely challenging in today’s times
• The benefits of using a contingency recruiter for your hiring process
• The link between data and machine learning and why the two are here to stay

Episode Outline:

[00:38] - Meet Khalil
[05:13] - Khalil explains the vision and thoughts behind Youtility and the reasons for its success
[09:35] - Khalil expands on the technical details of Youtility product building and how it became an enterprise-scale product
[14:36] -  How did Youtility scale its business?
[19:38] -  What are the benefits of utilizing a virtualized platform?
[23:06] - Why is it important for tech organisations to introduce para-virtualisation?
[25:10] -  Khalil’s key learnings as CTO
[36:12] -  Khalil’s thoughts on hiring good engineers
[38:49] - The importance of communication among engineers
[41:46] - Cultivating a cooperative work environment where no one is afraid to speak up their ideas
[42:26] -  How do you build a collaborative and nurturing environment?
[49:23] - Leveraging professional relationships
[51:13] -  Khalil shares how Youtility built their junior and mid-level teams
[52:20] - Khalil talks about Youtility’s interview process for a software engineer
[55:42] -  How do you improve your team collaboration?
[57:37] -  Why is it the hardest to hire testing engineers?
[01:06:51] - Khalil’s thoughts on hiring through a contingency recruiter
[01:13:53] - What would be the biggest challenges to CTOs in the next couple of years?

About Dragos:

Dragos Nedelcu is the Founder and Expert Software Trainer at Code With Dragos, a renowned software training institute in Berlin, Germany. His passion lies in helping other software developers become industry leaders. Dragos started as a self-taught software developer and spent the first years building custom software for small businesses in Madrid before moving to Berlin.  He progressed quickly, getting promoted to Senior Developer in record time and joining a top technology company, Mister Spex. 

Dragos became a known figure on Linkedin after his posts were read by thousands of software developers, making him one of the most sought-after experts in the industry on the topics of programming and software development.


Synopsis:

In this episode of The Technology Leadership Podcast, Dragos Nedelcu talks about building effective communication skills as a software engineer.  Dragos explains that gaining technical expertise comes first if you are in the initial stages of your career. However, your growth and progress in an organisation are largely dependent on your ability to collaborate with your team, break down suggestions from your peers, and align with the company’s overall vision. Communication is key to achieving all of this in the later stages. Tune in as we also jump into exploring the need to develop technical muscle memory and the points to keep in mind while moving companies - for an engineer at any level!


Key Takeaways:

• Gaining technical expertise should be the primary focus for junior-level engineers anywhere.
• Communicating and establishing relationships with other developers is essential to ease your workflow and collaborate in any environment.
• If you feel you’re an engineer with average technical skills, you could grow into a consultant with exceptional communication skills.
• Effective communication could also translate to faster promotion in any company.
• Engineers often get caught in the spiral of negativity because of their inherent problem-solving and digging-out-bugs nature. 
• Communication skills enable transparency. That, in turn, allows you to deliver more and align yourself better with the company’s vision.
• There is no roadmap/ hierarchy to growing as a software professional. 
• With limited in-person meetings today, the online working atmosphere is demanding practical communication skills more than ever.
• It’s important to build muscle memory for your technical skills - the 80/20 rule applies well in software engineering.

Episode Outline:

[01:43] - Meet Dragos
[04:14] - Dragos talks about helping engineers improve their soft skills
[06:31] - How important are communication skills for engineers?
[10:19] -  Understanding the collaborative side of software engineering
[13:07] - Why should you build effective communication skills as an engineer?
[15:36] -  What do you mean by effective communication?
[17:32] -  Better communication = faster promotion?
[27:35] - What are the skills you need to keep handy to grow as a manager?
[32:27] - There is no roadmap to growing as a software engineer. Understand why and how to make your way yourself.
[37:16] -  The struggles of building effective communication skills as an introvert
[41:10] -  What can junior level engineers do to grow in their career?
[42:53] -  Why is it important to continue to upskill yourself on the technological side?
[43:43] - About building muscle memory
[45:48] - How can you, as a mid-level engineer, grow in a better role at your company or others?
[49:16] - How can you become successful as a software engineer?
[53:08] - Advice for engineers wanting to switch roles or companies
[58:07] - Should money be the key factor to make you move?

About Juha:

Juha Ristolainen is the Chief Technology Officer at Upvest. He is a software leader and technologist with over 20 years of professional experience in delivering and building digital services and applications. Juha has worked for companies of every scale - from startups and operators to mid-size corporations and even large OEMs. He's built high performing software delivery teams using efficient and well developed processes within organisations of varying sizes from tens of employees to several hundreds and thousands of driven professionals.

Juha has extensive experience as a software engineer and app developer, building mobile apps to traditional backends and microservices. Juha is a hands-on leader who can take up coding or DevOps or CI/CD on demand. He’s also passionate about blockchain technologies. 

Synopsis:

In this episode of The Technology Leadership Podcast, Juha Ristolainen discusses modern leadership and onboarding skills for top-rated professionals in the tech industry. While expanding on his experience scaling up as a developer, Juha details the responsibilities that come up with every role in a team. We learn why onboarding lies within the core of a successful organisation, view modern leadership as servant leadership, and mention hiring smart minds to drive towards the organisational vision and mission. On the technological front, Juha gives a quick picture of the various software and methods he’s used, including apps, microservices, and domain-driven designs. Listen in!

Key Takeaways:

• The roles and responsibilities of growing as a senior in your team.
• Onboarding as the fundamental process to building an effective team - unless you’re certain they’re a good fit for your team, it would be hard to have them in your company for long.
• Enabling new joinees to take charge of their onboarding and upskill themselves
• The benefits of having “onboarding buddies” in your organisation
• Modern leadership as being a servant-type leadership - you show them the greater purpose and encourage them to drive forward to it
• Why your future workforce could be largely remote and global
• Empowering employees to exercise their judgement and bonding as a team
• How to keep driving the organisational mission and vision to everybody
• The importance of OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) and KPIs (Key Performance Indicators)
• The benefits of microservices over monoliths
• Why the war for talent is bigger right now, post-COVID

[00:41] - Meet Juha
[09:27] - Juha talks about the biggest challenges of his career
[11:45] - How do we challenge individual contributors to get to the level of VP of Engineering or Head of Engineering?
[14:38] - How do you quickly and efficiently grow a team?
[17:11] - Juha discusses a brilliant method of onboarding
[17:48] - About the first day stepping into a company as a fresher and modern leadership
[12:20] - What are the traits and skills that leaders need to start to cultivate earlier in their career to be able to become a CTO?
[21:24] - Why hire smart people?
[23:31] - Juha’s thoughts on recruitment and hiring in the coming year
[25:14] - Letting people exercise their judgement and creating a healthy working environment
[27:13] - Aligning employees with the company vision
[28:55] - About KPIs
[30:36] - How do you measure your meeting success?
[32:50] - What advice would you give to people working in startups?
[34:21] - What are your reasons behind building a monolithic and then moving to microservices?
[37:46] - What are your thoughts on bringing on a non-executive director or board member to your company?
[42:21] - Where do you see yourself in 5-10 years?
[44:34] - Juha’s weapon of choice
[47:25] - How difficult is it to hire talent within a team?
[50:02] - The biggest challenges

About Iryna:

Iryna Zhovtobryukh is the Chief Technology Officer at Element Insurance AG, a leading digital insurance company based in Berlin, Germany. She has a decade and a half’s worth of experience building technology teams and companies and has expertise in software development, quality assurance, and end-to-end product development. 

Starting her career as a software developer, Iryna has worked with the likes of Ciklum, Yapital, Censhare, and Element, to name a few. Proving time and again that it’s possible to seal your forte in the tech industry as a female, Iryna clarifies that none of the pervasive male domination needs to startle you if you have the curiosity and willingness to devour new skills. These can glide you forward in any tech-enabled company.

Synopsis:

In this episode of The Technology Leadership Podcast, Iryna and I discuss the workflow and processes at Element, also Germany's only 100% cloud-based InsurTech company. Speaking as both a recruiter and a candidate, Iryna shares why an enthusiastic and cooperative environment needs to be developed by both parties to create a healthy work environment. We also learn how a two-way interview process, transparent work requirements, and supportive work culture can help retract and retain the best gender-neutral technical talent in any company.

Key Takeaways:

• The importance of Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery for enabling faster product development.
• Deploying with very small batches to support the culture of embracing mistakes and ensuring transparency.
• The formula to retracting and retaining exceptional talent - autonomy, mastery, and purpose.
• Pointers to attracting new people to your company - make your company a good place to be in, aim for a direct connection between candidates and recruiters from the beginning, be honest and let them know what they’re signing up for.
• Ensuring a gender-neutral workforce - empowering female employees by providing leaves, knowledge transition, and pre-integration plans to support them through their maternity periods and motivating females to join the tech space.
• Continuous learning to stay ahead in the game always.
• Holding your systems together to avoid a collapse.
• Securing your systems and processes at all times and staying updated with any technological advancements to keep away from fraud.

[00:32] - Meet Iryna

[01:51] - Iryna gives an overview of Elements and her role as the CTO there

[03:10] - Do insurance companies get a competitive advantage by building their own tech?

[04:53] - What is the role of a CTO in getting the business and teams ready?

[06:34] - How did Iryna's tech team help ensure the stability of their platform?

[09:32] - What are the benefits of not having a QA team?

[12:20] - How do companies function without a QA team?

[15:38] - How do you retract and retain the best technical talent for your company?

[20:09] - The decentralized structure of operation at Elements and how it helps them.

[22:55] - What can you do to encourage more women to join the tech space?

[28:42] - What can you do to help entry-level or university-level women feel motivated to grab their dream jobs in the tech space?

[32:48] - Advice for people who're at the start of their careers in the tech industry. 

[40:55] - How do you keep yourself motivated to work longer hours even, sometimes?

[43:34] - Iryna's talks about her most significant achievements in her career so far

[46:45] - Some important lessons that helped Iryna grow into a strong leader

[53:22] - What is the biggest challenge within the technology and startup space 

About Chris:

Chris is Director of IT Operations, Previously Head of Database at Adjust GmbH. His team is responsible for managing data and building the next generation of products for Adjust, a leading global marketing analytics platform.

With 20+ years of experience, Chris takes us through how he moved through the ranks at Adjust, from starting as a Data Admin to building teams directly without the use of recruiters - something that can be very difficult in the data industry! His management style quickly got him noticed and he started taking over a number of teams until he found himself responsible for all the teams managing data and data admin.

Synopsis:

During this episode, Chris shares his experience on recruitment without using agencies and how to grow and develop teams who can arrive at innovative solutions to problems as well as sharing his experience of working remotely and dealing with mental health challenges. He talks about the benefits of contributing to open source technology and attending conferences and events to engage with the tech community. 

Key Takeaways: 

The power of Postgres

The importance of contributing to the open-source community to be a market leader

Showcasing your tech at conferences, events and the tech community

Building a team through networking at events and conference talks and saving on recruitment fees

Managing mental health in your team

The benefit of a remote, global team servicing clients 24/7

Motivating remote teams - decision making, smart hiring choices, ownership of duties across the team

Investing in recruitment to get the right candidates for the role, bringing greater long-term value

Advice on being a successful engineering leader

How to foster a good attitude of innovation and risk-taking that helps teams keep up with technical changes

The importance of communication between teams in scaling start-ups successfully.

0:40- Introduction to Chris-

2:05- What was living in Berlin like

3:40- What Chris is doing with the Data team that allows Adjust to become the leading marketing analytics company

5:15- What Chris is doing with PostgreSQL to help manage data, benefits of PostgreSQL

7:53- Benefits of using PostgreSQL and giving back to the opensource community.

10:40- How does Adjust attract the best talent

16:00- What does Chris’s team look like right now

17:15- How has the past year of Covid and going remote affected the team?

20:40- What has Chris learnt as a manager and implemented to help his team overcome mental health issues during Covid

23:10-  How Chris coaches through stress, anxiety and burnout

25:52 - Benefits to having a global remote team

29:00- How to keep engineers motivated in a remote team.

31:40- Biggest learnings from Chris careers- recruiting is hard, challenges and wins in recruitment

39:45- What advice could you give someone moving into a leadership engineering position.

41:40- What Chris see’s to be the biggest challenges in technology right now in 2021 & beyond.

45:18 How do we find and grow engineers to allow them to find innovative solutions

49:36- Chris’s final thoughts on growing teams, how communication is important between departments

Clemens Peters is currently a Technical Team Lead at Honest Food company Part of the Delivery Hero Group. With close 10 years experience in successful start-ups, building products, building teams and helping innovate.

During this episode Clemens takes us through his career, why he joined Honest Food, Why he decided to pursue a Masters and several tools he’s used in his team such as Heroku, Kubernetes and Datadog. He also gives advice on how to choose your next startup, whether you’re a CTO or an Engineer.

Some key take away from this episode include, why you should be nice to everyone you come across in your career as you never know where you will ended up. Important of being bringing in experts to help you with certain aspects of your technical landscape. How to successfully deliver a cloud migration, how to manage teams remotely and bring people together. He then takes us through what are the advantages of breaking down a monolithic architecture and moving to microservices.

This episode is packed full of helpful information to help make your team/company and product more collaborative and efficient!

00:55 Introduction to Clemens and his career so far

05:40- Why did you join your first start-up and what it was like in your first 6-12 months

08:40- What were they key learnings as a technical in the first 6-12 months in a start-up

11:11- Why did Clemens pursue his master

15:00- How pursuing his masters was able to improve his analytical skills

16:55- Advice to people choosing their next start-up

22:30-  What was your challenges in the first 6-12 month joining a start-up as technical lead

24:25- Why would a start-up in it’s infancy choose Heroku over GCP/ AWS/ Azure

27:00- Power of Kubernetes

29:10- Advice to successfully manage a cloud migration(check the timing is the same)

33:30 – What are the advantages of breaking down a monolithic architecture and moving to microservices  

37:30 – Introduction of Datadog, why did they decide to use it and advantages of using it

41:35- How to cultivate learning and development within engineering teams.

50:55- what have you incorporated into your interview process to find the best people and culture right

53:26- Challenges of working in a remote team and how to manage a remote team.

57:50- What do you do at The Honest Food company, Delivery Hero to share knowledge, tools and technology

1:02: 30` what does Clemens think is the biggest challenges in technology right now. 

"Successful people will lead to the success of the company”

 About Rashid:

Rashid Shobaki is a Technology Entrepreneur and Leader. His passion is helping individuals and companies succeed and achieve their goals. He has over 10+ years within tech companies, start-ups and now Management positions. 

Rashid is currently an Engineer manager at Forto, leading multiple teams responsible for transforming the way supply chain processes are being taken care of. His role it to lead and manage teams, nurturing engineers so they can become the best they can be. 

Synopsis:

During this episode, Rashid Takes us through his experience of Forto so far and the importance of managing your team, not only in a professional setting but also in their mental health. He takes us through how he’s growing his team, supporting his staff in their personnel and professional goals and also how to motivate Engineers. 

Key take away’s: 

- Important of looking after the mental health, and the wellbeing of your staff.  

- How to double the size of the team remotely

- How to manage multiple teams rather than just one

- How you can support your team’s personnel/ professional goals 

- Passion and enthusiasm will always prove successful over pure tech skills 

- How to hire remotely, building a friendly recruitment process and make people feel comfortable during interviewing and the first few weeks. 

- The need to keep engineers motivated and How to use OKR’s and progressive achievement criteria to retain staff. 

-How Hackdays can bring the team together and also create new internal tools.

00:38- Introduction 

1:35- Why did Rashid Join Forto and what is unique about them

3:29- What challenges has Rashid faced in the last 18 months

6:51- How did you start to look at your staff’s wellbeing

9:00- What has changed in Rashid’s team and his structure

11:25- Difference to managing multiple teams rather than just one

16:38- How did Rashid strategically adapt his recruitment strategy from pre/ post covid. 

20:19- Process of remote hiring and importance of making candidates feel comfortable 

28:19- Process of remote/ virtual onboarding

39:00- How to manage remote teams and keep them motivated day in day out. 

43:40- How Rashid likes to develop & motivates his engineers within his team. 

55:00- Hackdays- how they can help teams learn technology and create new tools 

59:40- What do you think makes a good engineer and what are the key none technical skills a good engineer needs to have

1:05:33- What are the key challenges engineering need to address moving forwards

About Simon:

Simon Munch- Anderson is CTO at Ultimate.AI, A Series A tech company based in Berlin that offers a virtual customer service agent builder bringing multilingual customer service automation to businesses. He has over 20+ years of experience in building innovative products and teams. Mostly focussed on early-stage start-ups. 

Simon loves technology and how it can shape our future. In his own words he likes to worry about technology, as he believes if we want to have a great future, we have to start thinking about it in the present because when the future is here you won’t have time. Spoken like a true technology leader.

“ A couple of sentences about what you’re focus is right now as a CTO at ultimate.AI. If you could write down your own job spec in 2 sentences, what would it be basically”

Synopsis:

During this episode, Simon takes us through his experience so far with Ultimate.AI, the importance of cross-functional teams. Remote working and keeping teams motivated. Common mistakes in managers and engineers and how you can become better engineers. We also discuss at length what it takes to an engineering leader.

Key Takeaways: 

What are cross-functional team and how to implement them. 

Managing remote team, building teams remotely and also motivating staff remotely. 

Remote interviews/ onboarding. 

How to build social connections in a remote setting.

How to be a good engineering leader and what you can do to become better

How to improve communication between teams. 

00:34- Introduction to Simon Munch-Anderson and Ultimate.AI 

01:35- Why did you join Ultimate? (Team, product, upwards trajectory)

02:46- What does your first 6 months of a new role as a leader look like? 

04:02- What have you introduced in the first 6 months in terms of new tools/processes?

06:40- Cross-functional teams 

Cut out 7:46- What is a functional team?

10:50  First steps to introducing cross-functional teams

15:30- What does your team growth look like?

16:20- how do you keep productivity and momentum when you’re hiring so much? 

19:35- How are you managing your interview and onboarding process remotely? 

21:45- How do you embed staff into your team remotely?

25:29- What skills do you see harder to find in the talent market? 

27:30- Stance on remote work

29:40 How do you build social relationship in remote teams?

33:40- How do you motivate your team?

35:50- What do you see as a common weakness in managers and engineers?

39:35- How do you improve communication between team members 

41:15- what makes a great engineer? 

42:55- What characteristics and traits make an exceptional leader? 

44:25- what advice would you give someone moving into a leadership position? 

48:05- What would you like to tell yourself at the start of your career to better prepare yourself? 

50:30- What do you see to be the biggest challenge for technology companies moving forwards? 

About Scott

Scott Weiss is the Chief Product Officer at XO Life, a leading technology company specialising in healthcare solutions. With a diverse background in design and product management, Scott has worked across the globe in the UK, US, and Germany.

Scott began his career at Apple, where he worked on interface. He then transitioned to Microsoft, where he served as a program manager and worked on products such as Schedule Plus, which eventually became Outlook. Throughout his career, Scott has held leadership positions in design and product at various companies.

Synopsis

In this episode of the Technology Leadership Podcast, Scott Weiss, Chief Product Officer at XO Life shares his interesting career journey, starting from working at Apple and Microsoft to becoming a product leader. He discusses the intersection of design and product, highlighting the importance of understanding user needs and the skills he brings from his design background. Scott also talks about the evolution of XO Life's product, focusing on drug efficacy and providing users with personalised medical records. The episode explores the design sprint approach used by XO Life for rapid iteration and market fit, as well as the benefits of incorporating design in product-focused companies.

Key Takeaways

• Design plays a crucial role in product leadership, as showcased by Scott Weiss's journey from design to Chief Product Officer at XO Life.
• Effective communication and collaboration are vital for building a strong product team and fostering a culture of learning and growth.
• Hiring and mentoring junior talent can be a strategic investment, allowing them to learn from experienced professionals and contribute fresh perspectives.
• Hiring challenges in the current competitive environment require smarter hiring practices and finding candidates who are genuinely passionate about the product.

Episode Outline

[00:09] Meet Scott
[02:26] The career progression from design to product leadership
[08:01] Personalized digital health platform for medication management
[10:37] Product management approaches and design sprints
[23:28] Design sprint process and problem-solving framework.
[32:03] Hiring and evaluating talent in a tech company.
[34:44] Hiring and mentoring junior product managers.

About Oleksii:

Oleksii has more than 15 years of experience in building and leading development teams, as well as collaborating with other business departments to build amazing products. With 10+ years of those in start-ups, his previous roles have spanned a multitude of sectors including insure-tech, healthcare, gaming, real estate and fintech. His knowledge encompasses engineering, web and cloud based applications and developer operations - managing multiple teams and setting strategy and goals.

Synopsis:

During this episode Oleksii explores his career and talks about joining Dentolo, the importance of pivoting, getting product features delivered quickly to enable iteration, the power of hackathons and his role as Head of Engineering during a period of massive change resulting from acquisition.

Key takeaways:

• Perfecting constant communication with your team
• Gathering valuable feedback from users
• Developing iterative process and workflows
• Creating productive remote environments and removal of distractions
• Nurturing empowered teams with a strong sense of ownership, accoutability and decision making responsibility
• Using the power of hackathons 
• Trying out new technologies and tools to improve systems and products

Episode Outline:

[00:58]  Introduction, experience and background

[03:44] Pivoting strategy at Dentolo from price comparison to insurance. 

The importance of building and rapidly launching an MVP

[05.07] Olekskii’s experience of getting funding from Zurich Insurance 

[08.04-11:39 ] Managing rapid iteration, getting products out quickly, the power of Agile and understanding your customers 

[12:24] The importance of empowering your team and giving them decision making responsibility including the example of deciding the best Agile framework to use

[18.26] Reflections on his experience working as a remote developer in eastern Europe and how that prepared Oleksii to manage his team remotely during the pandemic

[24:40] Staying productive, removing distractions and the power of Leapsome (performance management and engagement tool)

[31.28] Moving from a monolithic application to a micro-services architecture 

The advantages of hackathons and trying new technology

[33.28 ] The power of Graphql

[35.43] Using Elixir and why he’s found it particularly useful when working in Ruby

[42:30] Experiences of coping with acquisition when working with Zurich

[50:20] The power of bringing in experts and consultants to help you through the acquisition process

[54:35 ] Areas of focus for development to be a strong future leader 

[57:56] Recommended books: The Culture Code, The Five Dysfunctions Of A Team, The First 90 Days

[59:50] The biggest challenges facing technology right now

About Katarzyna

Kasia Malolepszy is the Head of Product at Expatrio and a seasoned product professional with a strong background in the German tech industry. With extensive experience in building and leading product teams, Kasia has successfully brought multiple products to market and has a deep understanding of the finance and insurance sectors. Her passion lies in solving real customer problems and driving innovation in the fintech space. Kashia's expertise in communication, analytical skills, and customer-centricity has been instrumental in her career as a product leader. She believes in creating high-performing teams and empowering them to deliver value.


Synopsis

In this episode of the Technology Leadership Podcast, we are joined by Kasia Malolepszy , Head of Product and engineering at Expatrio. Kasia shares her experience in product management and discusses what makes a great product lead. She emphasises the importance of effective communication and active listening, as well as the analytical skills and customer-centricity required for success in product management. Kasia also highlights the significance of collaboration between product managers and engineers in delivering valuable solutions to customers.

Key Takeaways

• Collaboration and effective communication are crucial for product managers. Actively listening to stakeholders and customers, as well as articulating problems clearly, can lead to better solutions and alignment within the team.
• Data analysis and customer centricity are essential skills. Analysing customer data can provide valuable insights and drive innovation in the finance industry, which is in need of disruption.
• Building a strong relationship with engineering teams is vital for product managers. By involving engineers early in the product development process and articulating problems effectively, product managers can leverage the expertise of engineers to find innovative solutions.
• In the first 100 days as a head of product, it is important to observe and understand the organisation, its processes, and the product. Evaluating the skills of team members, analysing product management processes, and optimising the product development life cycle are key steps to drive improvement and success.

Episode Outline

[00:09] Meet Kasia
[02:08] Product management skills and culture
[07:36] Product engineering collaboration and leadership
[12:42] Product management and delivery evaluation
[24:52] Identifying and developing employees strengths
[33:11] Product prioritisation and analysis tools
[48:46] Product management challenges and future trends

About Thomas

Thomas Berszieck is a seasoned product management lead with over eight years of experience in the field. He began his career in consulting and later transitioned to product management by chance. Thomas has a strong background in enterprise companies and has successfully navigated the B2B SaaS industry. Currently, he serves as the Product Management Lead at HeyFlow, a small interactive Flow Builder that enables companies to create conversion funnels without any coding experience.

Synopsis

In this episode of the Technology Leadership Podcast, we are joined by Thomas Berszieck, product management lead at Heyflow. Thomas shares his journey in product management and discusses a pivotal moment in his career that taught him the importance of being hypothesis-driven. He also talks about his role at Heyflow, a small interactive Flow Builder that helps companies build conversion funnels without coding experience. Thomas discusses the challenges he faced in setting up product management processes and building trust within the organisation. He also shares insights on improving onboarding and increasing activation rates.

Key Takeaways

• Through personal experiences, Thomas has come to understand the importance of making wise decisions in product management, as any poor choices made can have long-lasting consequences. This realisation has led him to adopt a more hypothesis-driven approach in his work.
• Placing a strong emphasis on establishing trust and implementing efficient processes enhances product management and improves the way customer problems are addressed.
• To facilitate a smooth onboarding process, Thomas employed the bowling alley framework, which aims to minimise obstacles, define clear objectives, and maximise user engagement.

Episode Outline

[00:09] Meet Thomas
[01:43] A/B Testing and product development lessons
[05:42] Building product management processes
[12:18] Challenges in product leadership
[18:11] Improving your onboarding process and tracking key metrics
[27:41] Implementing OKR's
[41:06] OKR's and their benefits
[46:46] Shortening sprints to improve product delivery

About Catalina

Catalina Turlea is a seasoned technology leader and one of the three co-founders of the mental health startup nilo.health, based in Berlin and Munich, Germany. With over 10 years of experience as a software engineer, Catalina has predominantly worked in startup environments. Her passion lies in driving innovation and creating solutions that address mental health challenges. Catalina is also dedicated to mentoring and supporting aspiring developers, particularly women, in their career journeys.


Synopsis

In this episode of the Technology Leadership Podcast we are joined by Catalina Turlea, one of the three co-founders of mental health startup nilo.health, based in Berlin and Munich, Germany. Catalina, with over 10 years of experience as a software engineer, shared insights into the success factors behind their startup. She highlighted the importance of timing and how the COVID-19 pandemic created a more receptive market for mental health solutions, breaking down the stigma around mental health. Additionally, Catalina emphasised the critical role of a passionate and motivated team in achieving success, with team members drawn to nilo's mission of removing the stigma from mental health and making support more accessible.


Key Takeaways:

• nilo.health's remarkable journey towards success can be largely attributed to its ability to draw in a team that was not only highly skilled but also incredibly motivated. This team was not confined by homogeneity; instead, it was a diverse group of individuals from various backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. 
•  A critical element in nilo.health's journey was its unwavering commitment to technology that directly and positively impacted its users. Rather than chasing the latest trends in technology for its own sake, the company prioritized solutions that addressed real needs.
• In the ever-evolving landscape of business, startups, must be nimble and adaptable. This readiness to pivot and change direction in response to market shifts is a crucial factor in a company's ability to thrive. 
• nilo.health recognized the immense value of building a team that reflected a diverse array of backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences. By prioritising diversity in hiring practices, the company achieved more than just a demographic mix; it created a work environment characterised by empathy, support, and open-mindedness.

Episode Outline:

[00:09] Meet Catalina
[01:48] The Challenges within a mental health based startup
[06:58] Product development, tech stack, and operational efficiency
[17:31] Leadership, growth, and team building
[22:24] Balancing technology research with customer value
[25:38] Motivating and hiring diverse tech talent
[37:12] Balancing parenthood and entrepreneurship
[42:33] The significance of work-life balance

About Jeff

Jeff Glasson is an experienced technology leader with a diverse background in enterprise and startup environments. Originally from Silicon Valley, Jeff began his career as an engineering manager at Apple before moving on to serve as the VP of Engineering at VMware and Cloudera. He then relocated to Germany, where he held the position of VP at Contentful before assuming his current role as the CTO of TWAICE, a leading battery analytics software company.


Synopsis

In this episode of the Technology Leadership Podcast, Jeff Glasson, Chief Technology Officer at TWAICE brings a wealth of experience from Silicon Valley, having worked at Apple and VMware before moving to Germany to work at Contentful and now TWAICE. The discussion covers leadership, innovation, and various other topics.

Jeff introduces his work at TWAICE, a battery analytics software company. The company focuses on developing efficient battery systems for mobility and energy storage, while providing real-time analytics to enhance system health and safety. Jeff's role as CTO involves leveraging his enterprise cloud experience to deploy their battery technology as scalable SaaS applications.


Key Takeaways:

• By providing continuous data analysis, TWAICE's analytics solutions enable proactive maintenance, early detection of potential issues, and effective management of battery health and safety.
• Introducing new technologies, such as advanced battery systems, often faces resistance in established companies. Overcoming this resistance requires effective communication and demonstrating the value of the tech.
• Jeff's extensive experience in enterprise cloud technologies allows TWAICE to leverage scalable SaaS applications for deploying their battery technology. This enables the seamless integration of their solutions into existing systems.
• Success in developing and implementing innovative battery solutions relies on building a diverse team with a combination of software expertise and deep knowledge of battery technology. This multidisciplinary approach ensures comprehensive problem-solving.
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Episode Outline

[00:09] Driving innovation and introducing new technologies in a young startup
[05:27] Leading a team through technical changes and architecture design
[10:06] Fostering a culture of innovation and taking calculated risks
[20:59] Building trust and empowering team members in a startup
[32:05] Leadership, technical expertise, and staying up-to-date in technology
[37:27] Career success factors with a former CTO
[42:19] Leadership, empowerment, and challenges in the tech industry

About Yaniv

Yaniv Preiss is the Head of Engineering at NewStore, a company that works with retail brands worldwide to accelerate their digital transformation. Yaniv has held various roles in testing automation development, DevOps, and management at different startups and corporates. He consults privately to engineering managers and leads the engineering team at NewStore. Yaniv is passionate about management and has established a curriculum to teach managerial topics to engineering managers.

Synopsis

In this episode of the Technology Leadership Podcast, Yaniv Preiss, Head of Engineering at NewStore, discusses his experience in the industry and his passion for engineering management. Yaniv shares how he started his journey in programming and eventually transitioned to management. He highlights the importance of learning management skills and how he mentors other engineering managers through his curriculum.

Key Takeaways

• Skills can be learned no matter where you are in your career.
• Management skills are just as important as functional skills in the tech industry.
• Yaniv's engineering management curriculum can help engineering managers become more effective in their organizations.
• How to match the culture of the person to the group or the company in an actionable way to get the best candidate.
• Time is the most precious resource, so it is important to focus on the most important things and prioritize them all the time.

Episode Outline

[00:09] Meet Yaniv
[08:37] The Importance of building the Right Thing
[10:55] How to create an engineering culture for success
[19:22] Aligning Cultures
[27:04] Managing one to one feedback
[37:31] The Difference between Delegation and Assignment
[46:59] Managing your time