PLAY PODCASTS
The Unsung Visionary: Inside the Founder-Adjacent Role

The Unsung Visionary: Inside the Founder-Adjacent Role

From CTO leadership, founder-adjacent roles, remote engineering teams, and AI in logistics, this episode of SaaS That App: Building B2B Web Applications dives into it all. Matthew Benzel, Chief Technology Officer at DeliverThat, joins Aaron Marchbanks and Justin Edwards to share his journey building high-performing tech teams across enterprise and startup environments. This podcast is brought to you by Delta Systems, your one-stop shop for front-end, back-end, and full-stack software development. At Delta, Justin and Aaron share the same philosophy when it comes to clients: they treat people like colleagues, not just customers. Maybe that’s why Delta typically spends years working with the same companies: how many software engineering firms can you say that about? So, if you’ve got a big SaaS project in mind but have no idea where to start, come and get a free scope and estimate from Delta Systems on their website. Got a burning idea for an episode, or a SaaS question you absolutely must know the answer to? Leave us a voice memo at SaasThatApp

SaaS That App - Building Tech-Enabled Businesses · Delta Systems

July 29, 202533m 13s

Audio is streamed directly from the publisher (media.fame.so) as published in their RSS feed. Play Podcasts does not host this file. Rights-holders can request removal through the copyright & takedown page.

Original episode page

Show Notes

From CTO leadership, founder-adjacent roles, remote engineering teams, and AI in logistics, this episode of SaaS That App: Building B2B Web Applications dives into it all. Matthew Benzel, Chief Technology Officer at DeliverThat, joins Aaron Marchbanks and Justin Edwards to share his journey building high-performing tech teams across enterprise and startup environments.

What You’ll Learn:

  • The Founder-Adjacent framework for technical leaders
  • Why trust-building between founders and technical leadership is crucial for startup success
  • How to build and manage remote development teams across cultural and linguistic boundaries
  • Why choosing the right tech stack matters for long-term scalability
  • How to cultivate team culture and prevent turnover 

Matthew Benzel is the Chief Technology Officer at DeliverThat, the leading catering delivery platform operating across all 50 states with over 25,000 drivers. With vast experience in enterprise software development at companies like Onosys, GoDaddy, and Spotify, Matthew specializes in transforming complex logistical challenges into scalable tech solutions. As a self-described founder-adjacent leader, he has spearheaded major technological innovations at DeliverThat, including the launch of their new driver app and strategic integrations with platforms like Cartwheel.

This podcast is brought to you by Delta Systems, your one-stop shop for front-end, back-end, and full-stack software development. At Delta, Justin and Aaron share the same philosophy when it comes to clients: they treat people like colleagues, not just customers. Maybe that’s why Delta typically spends years working with the same companies: how many software engineering firms can you say that about? So, if you’ve got a big SaaS project in mind but have no idea where to start, come and get a free scope and estimate from Delta Systems on their website.

Got a burning idea for an episode, or a SaaS question you absolutely must know the answer to? Leave us a voice memo at SaasThatApp


Highlights:

  • [00:00] Introduction
  • [01:47] From Enterprise to Startup
  • [04:25] Why Matthew Left Spotify for a Food Delivery Startup
  • [07:48] Founder-Adjacent Leadership Defined
  • [10:19] Career Growth Through Wearing Many Hats
  • [16:25] Building a Remote-First Dev Team
  • [20:50] Focus Time vs. Meetings
  • [23:23] Cross-Cultural Collaboration and the Power of In-Person
  • [29:02] AI and ML in Logistics Tech


Episode Resources:


We’d love your feedback. Please take a moment to fill out our audience questionnaire:

https://forms.gle/DN8hWFDcE9jwvNKo6

Your input helps us shape future episodes and continue bringing you practical, real-world insights into building B2B web applications.
← All episodes of SaaS That App - Building Tech-Enabled Businesses