Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots

Jordan Berke, CEO & founder of RepOne Strength, discusses finding your customers, working in the world of open source hardware, sourcing materials, relentless work pace, and bootstrapping. RepOne Strength Open Source NYC "Bill Gates says startup founders should not take weekends or vacations in the early days of building a company"- Business Insider Jordan on LinkedIn See open positions at thoughtbot! Become a Sponsor of Giant Robots!

Courtney & Tye Caldwell, Co-founders of ShearShare, discuss their journey from salon owners to startup founders, defining an MVP and maintaining a narrow focus for your product. ShearShare Mentored by Failure- Tye Caldwell ShearShare Simplifying Financials Tech.Co Startup of the Year 2016 Courtney on Twitter Tye on Twitter See open positions at thoughtbot! Become a Sponsor of Giant Robots!Special Guest: ShearShare.

Tess Posner, CEO of AI4ALL, gives an overview of the field of AI and discusses representation in AI careers, the ramifications of not having diversity in tech, the role of allies, and the future of work. AI4ALL AI4ALL Summer Programs "Decoding Diversity"- Intel study on the financial and economic returns to diversity in tech "Tech Leavers Study"- from Kapor Center for Social Impact "There is a diversity crisis in AI, but together we can fix it."- Tess Posner Algorithms of Oppression- Safiya Umoja Noble Automating Inequality- Virginia Eubanks The Gender Shades Project AOC on Automation (SxSW 2019) Opportunity@Work Open Learning Tess on Twitter See open positions at thoughtbot! Become a Sponsor of Giant Robots!

Jon Werner, CEO & Co-Founder of KOYA Innovations, discusses running a startup with his family, protecting one's intellectual property, the importance of forethought, and developing a platform for kindness. This episode of Giant Robots is sponsored by: ISL Online Indeed Prime Links & Show Notes Koya Jon on LinkedIn See open positions at thoughtbot! Become a Sponsor of Giant Robots!

Rob Zuber, CTO of CircleCI, discusses prioritizing product direction, scaling, slow iteration to introduce major changes, and what's next for the platform. CircleCI Chaos Engineering Orbs Rob on Twitter See open positions at thoughtbot! Become a Sponsor of Giant Robots!

Kate Brigham, VP of Product, Design, & Research at ezCater, discusses organizational design, roadmaps, user-research, designing to solve the needs of several groups at once, and, as a leader, empowering others to solve problems. This episode of Giant Robots is sponsored by: ISL Online Indeed Prime Links & Show Notes ezCater Stefania Mallett on Giant Robots PatientsLikeMe Kate on Twitter Kate on LinkedIn See open positions at thoughtbot! Become a Sponsor of Giant Robots!

Morgan Evans, organizational designer and CEO & Founder of Business Casual, discusses developing systems to holistically design a company, building a culture that is receptive to feedback, conflict mediation, acknowledging emotions while at work, and early days at Etsy. Business Casual Morgan on Twitter See open positions at thoughtbot! Become a Sponsor of Giant Robots!

Vanessa Bruce, co-founder of Dough, discusses affecting change through individual purchase-power, how she handles context-switching, choosing a platform to optimize for content creation, the challenge of visibility, and the decision to launch nationally. This episode of Giant Robots is sponsored by: ISL Online Indeed Prime Links & Show Notes Dough Dough Membership Open Salaries at Buffer Vanessa on LinkedIn See open positions at thoughtbot! Become a Sponsor of Giant Robots!

Karyl Fowler, CEO & Co-founder of Transmute, discusses utilizing block chain for decentralized identity-management, exploring finding the right customer profile fits, education around data-security, her time at Techstars, and the startup community in Austin. Transmute Transmute ID Techstars Transmute News Blog Karyl on Twitter See open positions at thoughtbot! Become a Sponsor of Giant Robots!

Kristy Wallace, CEO of Ellevate Network, discusses cross-industry community building, utilizing tech to facilitate connections, scaling without losing personal impact, and becoming a certified B Corp. Ellevate Network The Five Love Languages: Gary Chapman Pipeline Angels B Corporation B Impact Assessment Ellevate Podcast: Conversations With Women Changing the Face of Business Kristy on Twitter Kristy on LinkedIn See open positions at thoughtbot! Become a Sponsor of Giant Robots!

Paloma Medina, performance coach, trainer, and owner of 11:11 Supply, discusses translating her brick & mortar store experience to an online shop, the themes around her coaching, design thinking, and how equity is linked to our long-term physical health. This episode of Giant Robots is sponsored by: PricingWire: Monetization & Pricing Strategy for Software & Technology Innovators Links & Show Notes 11:11 Supply CW Pencil Enterprise Paloma @ TEDx Portland Paloma on LinkedIn See open positions at thoughtbot! Become a Sponsor of Giant Robots!

Stefania Mallett, CEO and co-founder of ezCater, discusses non-compete agreements, maintaining an entrepreneurial spirit, codifying values, advice on building a marketplace, and the nuances of expanding globally. This episode of Giant Robots is sponsored by: PricingWire: Monetization & Pricing Strategy for Software & Technology Innovators Links & Show Notes ezCater EBITDA CaterUp! Conference Stefania on LinkedIn See open positions at thoughtbot! Become a Sponsor of Giant Robots!

Harold Hughes, Founder & CEO of Bandwagon, discusses utilizing blockchain for security and personalization in event ticketing, data-transparency, his key to entrepreneurship, the importance of investment firms funding underrepresented groups, and speaking to the SEC. This episode of Giant Robots is sponsored by: PricingWire: Monetization & Pricing Strategy for Software & Technology Innovators Links & Show Notes Bandwagon Facebook Pixel Founder Institute Accelerator PayPal Mafia Arlan Hamilton - Backstage Capital Story Backstage Capital Small Business Week JOBS Act Aura Harold on Twitter See open positions at thoughtbot! Become a Sponsor of Giant Robots!

Bruce Daisley, VP EMEA at Twitter, discusses the international focus of Twitter, the importance of psychological-safety on workplace culture, diversity & striving for fulfillment for all workers, and fleeting happiness vs enduring purpose. This episode of Giant Robots is sponsored by: PricingWire: Monetization & Pricing Strategy for Software & Technology Innovators Links & Show Notes Twitter Eat Sleep Work Repeat Podcast Netflix Culture Statement Previous Netflix Culture Deck Psychological Safety Crew Resource Management Fraternity Experiment: "The Advantages and Liabilities of Agreeing With Socially Distinct Newcomers" "Positive Affect" in Doctors Study Blue Monday The Joy of Work- Bruce Daisley "How Millennials Became The Burnout Generation" Bruce on Twitter Bruce on LinkedIn See open positions at thoughtbot! Become a Sponsor of Giant Robots!

Chris Sullens, CEO of CentralReach, discusses needing to be cognizant of company culture while introducing new systems and a management team, the difficult task of hiring for culture, and how technology can help shape the future of ABA therapy. This episode of Giant Robots is sponsored by: PricingWire: Monetization & Pricing Strategy for Software & Technology Innovators Links & Show Notes CentralReach Caliper Assessment Chris on Twitter See open positions at thoughtbot! Become a Sponsor of Giant Robots!

Ben Furber, Developer at thoughtbot London, presents a panel discussion around striving for professional fulfillment, as individuals, managers, and organizations. The panelists touch on bringing your authentic self to work, finding organizations with value alignment, an environment where you're able to make mistakes, 'process' vs trust, rethinking retros, giving appreciative feedback, and honest conversations. Jo Franchetti - Web Developer Advocate for Samsung Internet Ben Furber - Developer and consultant for thoughtbot Melody King - Product Owner for Ieso Digital Health Kay Lack - Director of Academy at Makers Itti Singh - Frontend Developer for Ieso Digital Health This episode of Giant Robots is sponsored by: PricingWire: Monetization & Pricing Strategy for Software & Technology Innovators Links & Show Notes The Fulfilled Developer- Event Details Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs See open positions at thoughtbot! Become a Sponsor of Giant Robots!

Lara Hogan, co-founder of Wherewithall, discusses finding her ideal job coaching and mentoring, evaluating for management alignment, what makes for a strong manager, the value of role-play, constructive feedback, and her upcoming book, Resilient Management. This episode of Giant Robots is sponsored by: PricingWire: Monetization & Pricing Strategy for Software & Technology Innovators Links & Show Notes Wherewithall Not Lack of Ability but More Choice: Individual and Gender Differences in Choice of Careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics "On Being A Senior Engineer"- John Allspaw Resilient Management Voltron Lara on Twitter See open positions at thoughtbot! Become a Sponsor of Giant Robots!

Scott Orn, COO of Kruze Consulting, talks about podcasting, early stage pain-points, favorite tools, the trade-offs of remote work, and last minute tax-day advice for startups. This episode of Giant Robots is sponsored by: PricingWire: Monetization & Pricing Strategy for Software & Technology Innovators Links & Show Notes Kruze Consulting Scott on Giant Robots #43 Founders & Friends Podcast Ben's Friends thoughtbot Playbook Come work from our San Francisco Office! Kruze Startup Tax Returns Scott on Twitter See open positions at thoughtbot! Become a Sponsor of Giant Robots!

Chelsea Moore, co-founder & CEO of BoxFox, discusses quickly going from idea to launch while doing everything from design to fulfillment in-house, their approach to growth, learning to say 'no', letting branding & social media evolve from itself, and reinforcing the human side of e-commerce. BOXFOX Chelsea on Twitter See open positions at thoughtbot! Become a Sponsor of Giant Robots!

Art Papas, CEO of Bullhorn, discusses the business of temporary staffing, the danger of doing a marketing push before finding product market fit, focusing early on culture, adjusting to his role as CEO, communication techniques for company-wide messaging, and having enthusiasm for the future. Bullhorn Winning- Jack Welch The Innovator's Dilemma- Clayton Christensen Art on Twitter See open positions at thoughtbot! Become a Sponsor of Giant Robots!

Gareth Burrowes, Co-Founder & Head of Product and Marketing at The Tech Connection, discusses employment screening focused on candidate strengths, removing unconscious bias from the hiring flow, and the importance of diversity at every level of a company. The Tech Connection Gareth on Twitter See open positions at thoughtbot! Become a Sponsor of Giant Robots!

Erica Windisch, CTO and co-founder of IOpipe, discusses serverless architecture and how it can provide a clearer user-interaction story, the state of automatic code generation, and her experience in Techstars. IOpipe Techstars NYC 2016 An introduction to Wardley (Value Chain) Mapping IOpipe Community on Slack Erica on Twitter See open positions at thoughtbot! Become a Sponsor of Giant Robots!

Alec Stern, startup founder, entrepreneur, mentor, investor, and advisor, discusses founding Constant Contact, the early days of SaaS, the importance and utilization of 'channels', and pursuing customer feedback. Constant Contact Point2Point Global Alec on Twitter See open positions at thoughtbot! Become a Sponsor of Giant Robots!

Jamie Howard, Director of Engineering at TransLoc, discusses hiring, solutions-driven engineering, leadership in the military vs the private sector, and Agile methodology. TransLoc The Ride Spotify Engineering Culture See open positions at thoughtbot! Become a Sponsor of Giant Robots!

Siobhan Green, co-founder & CEO of Sonjara, discusses finding good tech solutions for organizations in the social-benefit space and developing countries, merging her passions for tech and international development, GDPR, and the ethics and security of various technological solutions. Sonjara ICT4D The Ethics of Data Workshop Siobhan on Twitter See open positions at thoughtbot! Become a Sponsor of Giant Robots!

Mike McDerment, co-founder and CEO of FreshBooks, discusses reimagining the platform with a system-wide A-B test, experiences with scaling, the value of customer service, and the art/science of change. FreshBooks Mike on Twitter See open positions at thoughtbot! Become a Sponsor of Giant Robots!

Ellen Chisa, CEO and cofounder of Dark, discusses building a complete programming platform from scratch, the benefits of a private beta, and making programming more accessible. Dark Philip2 Ellen on Twitter See open positions at thoughtbot! Become a Sponsor of Giant Robots!

Ben McRedmond, CEO of Consider, discusses his time as Senior Director of Growth at Intercom, teases his plans for fixing email, and discusses the importance & difficulty of product validation. Consider Ben on Twitter See open positions at thoughtbot! Become a Sponsor of Giant Robots!

Natalie Nagele, Co-founder and CEO of Wildbit, discusses product updates, operating with more meaning and purpose, user research, bootstrap vs VC funding, and experiments in productivity (like a 4-day work week, turning off Slack, and strategies for remote work). Wildbit Natalie on Giant Robots Ep #66 Conveyor Deep Work- Cal Newport Natalie on Twitter See open positions at thoughtbot! Become a Sponsor of Giant Robots!

Margaret McKenna, Software Engineer at Devoted Health, discusses joining a team based on their mission, building systems from scratch, and evolution on a new, rapidly growing team. Devoted Health DJ Patil on Giant Robots Margaret on Twitter See open positions at thoughtbot! Become a Sponsor of Giant Robots!

Sam Clemens, Partner at Accomplice VC, discusses utilizing his product experience to nurture new companies, advice for where businesses should focus in various stages of growth, what should really be in an MVP, and his feelings around leaving a company as it's founder. Accomplice VC Sam on LinkedIn See open positions at thoughtbot! Become a Sponsor of Giant Robots!

Aatish Salvi, CTO of Teikametrics, discusses building a service for 3rd party Amazon sellers using data science, being wary of pre-mature optimization, integrating data engineering research into the team, and working with Amazon as both a partner and a competitor. Teikametrics Aatish on LinkedIn See open positions at thoughtbot! Become a Sponsor of Giant Robots!Special Guest: Teikametrics.

Jennifer Lum, COO and co-founder of Forge.ai, discusses building a company and platform that transforms unstructured information into machine-readable data in real-time, avoiding biases in data collection, and evolving & defining company values as one's team grows. Forge Jennifer on Twitter See open positions at thoughtbot! Become a Sponsor of Giant Robots!

Millie Blackwell, President & Co-founder of Showcase Workshop, discusses differences in business culture between California and New Zealand, pursuing tablets as a business tool early in the lifespan of the iPad, experimenting with SaaS pricing, and providing value to both enterprise buyers and end-users. Showcase Workshop Showcase Forest Releaf Fund Millie on LinkedIn

DJ Patil, Head of Technology at Devoted Health, discusses his time as the U.S. Chief Data Scientist, scaling healthcare to meet modern data demands, and the process of architecting a health care company. Devoted Health U.S. Government’s open data The Fifth Risk- Michael Lewis "Do Things That Don't Scale" DJ on Twitter See open positions at thoughtbot! Become a Sponsor of Giant Robots!

David Kloba & Rob Meinhardt, Co-Founders of Furious Collective, discuss the mindset and methodology of their venture production studio, recount their adventures over the past year of growing FormKeep after having acquired it from thoughtbot, and offer advice to founders preparing to sell their product or company. Furious Collective FormKeep See open positions at thoughtbot! Become a Sponsor of Giant Robots!

Andrew Bialecki, CEO of Klaviyo, discusses building systems to process and get insight from business' data, scaling personality and humanity to mass communication, and translating customer feedback into concrete product improvement. Plus, the debut of 'Ask thoughtbot'! Klaviyo David Cancel on Giant Robots The Innovators- Walter Isaacson Andrew on Twitter See open positions at thoughtbot! Become a Sponsor of Giant Robots!

Jonathan Kim, CEO of Appcues, discusses building better onboarding and personalization to apps, starting a company as a solo founder, lessons learned from his time in journalism, and core culture values. Appcues David Cancel on Giant Robots Jonathan on Twitter See open positions at thoughtbot! Become a Sponsor of Giant Robots!

In this special crossover episode, Chad is joined by Chris Toomey, Development Director at thoughtbot and host of The Bike Shed podcast, to discuss the content, history, and the process of making Upcase, thoughtbot's online learning platform, FREE. The Bike Shed Upcase Test Driven Rails Mastering Git Fundamentals of TDD SOA on The Bike Shed Onramp to Vim thoughtbot Purpose Statement Chris on Twitter See open positions at thoughtbot! Become a Sponsor of Giant Robots!

Sandra Richter, Co-founder and CEO of Soofa, talks about redefining the infrastructure of out of home advertising, purpose vs business motivation, and learning from setbacks. Soofa MIT Media Lab Soofa Sign Soofa Talk Sandra on Twitter See open positions at thoughtbot! Become a Sponsor of Giant Robots!

Lindsey Christensen, VP of Marketing at thoughtbot, discusses shaping thoughtbot's marketing strategy, team, and future. Purpose-built Resource Center The Bike Shed Podcast Lindsey on Twitter See open positions at thoughtbot! Become a Sponsor of Giant Robots!

Heena Purohit, Product Manager of IBM Watson IoT, discusses how they are tailoring custom solutions with IoT data, building business acumen for better product managing, and iterating at scale. IBM Watson IoT Stryker Vehicle Intrapreneurship Trusted AI Heena on Twitter See open positions at thoughtbot! Become a Sponsor of Giant Robots!

Mike Trotzke, CEO of Cheddar, talks about the future of billing models, when is the right time to do seed investing, and finding your value pricing metric. Cheddar Pricing Bootcamp "SaaS Pricing: Strategies, Frameworks & Lessons Learned"- Chad Pytel Building Splitfit Mike on Twitter See open positions at thoughtbot! Become a Sponsor of Giant Robots!

Jameson Toole, founder of Fritz, discusses AI & Machine Learning on mobile, the process & ideology of launching a product from scratch, and the business of developer tools. Fritz Core ML TensorFlow InstaSaber Heartbeat Jameson on Twitter See open positions at thoughtbot! Become a Sponsor of Giant Robots!

Yoav Shapira, an Engineering Manager at Facebook with a long history in Boston startups, discusses early technology choices for startups, balancing product needs/wants with technical limitations, the role of Capital-D 'Design', and common startup advice. CarGurus HubSpot Happier Jana David Cancel on Giant Robots thoughtbot Playbook Internet Access a Basic Human Right Building a Crucial Conversations Culture at Facebook Managing Unconscious Bias Yoav on Twitter See open positions at thoughtbot! Become a Sponsor of Giant Robots!

Sarah Cooper, comedian, speaker, and author of 100 Tricks to Appear Smart in Meetings, joins Chad to discuss management burnout, the creative process, and her latest book. 100 Tricks to Appear Smart in Meetings The Cooper Review "10 Tricks to Appear Smart in Meetings" The Oatmeal How to be Successful Without Hurting Men's Feelings "9 Non-Threatening Leadership Strategies for Women" The Bubble: Crushing It Sarah Cooper McSweeney's Sarah on Twitter See open positions at thoughtbot! Become a Sponsor of Giant Robots!

Stephan Ango, Co-founder and Head of Product at Lumi, discusses merging creative and scientific mindsets in industrial design, the logistics of packaging, developing custom solutions by slowly replacing 3rd party tools, and building your ideal culture while balancing operational needs. Lumi Inkodye PureScript PureScript and Haskell at Lumi Well Made Podcast Shipping Things "1,000 True Fans"- Kevin Kelly Stephan on Twitter See open positions at thoughtbot! Become a Sponsor of Giant Robots!

Jerry Talton, leader of the Machine-Learning Services team at Slack, talks about picking up after a failed startup, design-thinking for machine learning, and important lessons from managing. Slack "Doggfooding" StarSpace General Management Course The No Asshole Rule- Robert Sutton Creativity, Inc.- Ed Catmull West Wing- Down in a Hole Giant Robots ep 256- Stay Hungry, Stay Learning 'A Few Useful Things to Know About Machine Learning'- Pedro Domingos 'Naive Bayes Models for Probability Estimation'- Lowd & Domingos Jerry on Twitter See open positions at thoughtbot! Become a Sponsor of Giant Robots!

Clara Vu, co-founder & VP of Engineering of Veo Robotics, shares her story getting into the world of robotics, designing perception systems for industrial robots, and 'First-Principles Thinking' in all aspects of business. Veo Robotics T-Shaped Skills Time of Flight Cameras Clara on LinkedIn See open positions at thoughtbot! Become a Sponsor of Giant Robots!

Joe Ferris, CTO of thoughtbot, joins Chad to discuss Data Engineering, what it is, when you need it, and some of the challenges thoughtbot has faced while using it. Machine Learning on Giant Robots Joe on Twitter See open positions at thoughtbot! Become a Sponsor of Giant Robots!