alphalist.CTO Podcast - For CTOs and Technical Leaders

Latest Episodes:

#58 - Uncle Bob Martin // The Clean Coder Behind Test Driven Development, SOLID Principles and the Agile Manifesto Sep 01, 2022

Show notes

Software Architecture in 2022

Get clarity on how to build great software in 2022 in a world exploding with methodologies and languages with the legendary software craftsman Uncle Bob Martin. The Clean Coder ✨is known for Test Driven Development ✅ and his contribution to SOLID 🧰 and the Agile Manifesto 📜 and he is here to share how to incorporate it into a professional setup.

Listen to find out:

How to do Technical Debt ⚖️ the right way.
Why your hiring 📜 should be language-agnostic 💬
Why pair programming 🤼🏻 is better than code reviews
How Agile 🎛️ came about
the 🔮 Future of Software

With over 60 years of experience and many books and courses under his belt - this is the technical architecture overview you have been waiting for.

Listen here

BROUGHT TO YOU BY: ROQ Technology and MOIA

ROQ Technology Getting your unique web application off the ground is now faster and cheaper than ever.

Focus on what makes your business really stand out in your next application without wasting time developing the same common components.

With ROQ you get a powerful and flexible customizable Kickstarter application on day 1. All important features such as login, user management, notifications, mailing, chat, and many more are already integrated.

There is no vendor lock-in as it is open source and available via Github and runs on your own laptop within minutes thanks to Docker.

Built by web app experts Fabian Wesner (former Spryker CTO and alphalist podcast guest) and Tim Niemeier (Ex-CTO Rocket) - ROQ is a headless Feature-as-a-Service (FaaS) that is designed to scale.

Learn more about ROQ Technology

MOIA Make cities better, safer, and more beautiful places to live in by partnering with MOIA.

MOIA is on a mission to partner with public and private mobility partners to make urban mobility so demand-oriented, flexible and convenient that - together - the mobility revolution can succeed.

Join MOIA on a mission to reduce our carbon footprint, obliterate traffic jams, and make better use of our transportation infrastructure. Learn more about MOIA

#57 - Kathryn Koehler // Director, Developer Productivity Engineering @ Netflix Aug 18, 2022

Show notes

Implementing the Right Internal Tooling for Developer Productivity

Find out what it takes to enable developer productivity in a highly autonomous environment 💪 like Netflix where there are no rules ✌️- only trust and accountability . Kathryn Koehler, Director of Developer Productivity Engineering @ Netflix shares insight into lean teams, internal tooling, and yes, developer productivity.

Listen to find out:

How to decide between Build 🛠vs Buy 🛒 in internal tooling
How to measure 📏developer productivity (SPACE vs NPS vs DORA)
How to support developer’s choice in language 💬(context vs. control)
Why the ideal team 👥 size is n-1
+ Why she never says she is ‘busy’ 🤹

Netflix is known for its unconventional fast-paced culture - so get ready for a wild ride.

BROUGHT TO YOU BY: Haufe HR Services

Haufe HR Chatbot Haufe HR Chatbots allows employees to get answers fast for all queries relating to HR without disturbing the HR team each time. Your HR team can focus on other things while the bot automatically answers all questions based on 300 pre-formulated answers (continuously updated to be legally compliant) and your own legal content. Very little IT time is required to set up this tool which allows employees access to the HR information they need 24/7. Plus the Haufe HR Chatbot can also act as a mood barometer - giving you regular insights on which topics are frequently requested in the company. There are so many integrations and it works 'out-of-the-box' plus you get a FREE setup when you use the coupon code alphalist.

Learn more about Haufe HR Services

#56 - Ken Coleman // America’s Career Coach & Ramsey Personality Aug 04, 2022

Show notes

How To Attract, Retain and Engage Tech Talent

Learn how to be the CTO that everyone wants to work for by listening to this talk by Ken Coleman. Known as America’s Career Coach, this Ramsey Personality is also the bestselling author of books like ‘From Paycheck to Purpose’, ‘Proximity Principle’, and more. Discover the winning recipe you need to attract and retain talent in today’s market from someone who has spoken to over 5000 people live-on-air who are looking to leave or join leaders. Plus, find out how to hone your servant-leadership skills by asking your team the right questions, balancing patience and progress, and choosing the right mentor.

Listen to find out:

What are the 6 Rules of Engagement that will help you retain 🧲(and attract) talent in today’s market
The difference between Purpose 🧭, Vision 🔭 and Mission and how to use them to create a future-proof company.
What is the secret to leading successful autonomous and remote teams?
How to attract the right talent with a winning job description.

This is a golden talk for technical leaders looking to up their game.

Listen here

BROUGHT TO YOU BY: Haufe HR Services and OfferZen

Learn more about Haufe HR Services

AND

OfferZen) Accelerate your developer hiring with OfferZen, a community-first developer job platform. OfferZen connects curated, actively-searching developers with exciting job opportunities at over 2000 companies in Europe and Africa. Of the over 600 developers on-platform monthly, more than half have 4+ years of experience. Candidates are encouraged to respond to interview requests within 48 hours, which gives companies using OfferZen an average of 25 days to hire. The best part? No upfront commitments required: you only pay once you hire. Alphalist listeners get 2 months of free hiring with OfferZen.

Learn more about OfferZen

#55 - Rachel Potvin // VP Engineering @ Github Jul 21, 2022

Show notes

Tips on Developer Productivity for Rapidly Scaling Teams

Find out how to maintain developer productivity 🧑‍💻 in a fast scaling team in this CTO podcast featuring Rachel Potvin, VP Engineering at GitHub (formerly of Google and Ubisoft). She shares how GitHub uses things like fan-out processes, design reviews, and DevSat surveys to stay on track even as the team 3Xed💥.

Listen to find out:

Why you should focus on team 👥 productivity metrics (+which ones)
How they are using the ‘Layers of the System’ 🍔 approach to work out GitHub’s future architecture 🏛️ (SPOILER: It might not be entirely monolithic forever)
How they prioritised build 🏗️ queues to minimise context switching

Listen here

BROUGHT TO YOU BY: Haufe HR Services

Haufe HR Chatbots allows employees to get answers fast for all queries relating to HR without disturbing the HR team each time. Your HR team can focus on other things while the bot automatically answers all questions based on 300 pre-formulated answers (continuously updated to be legally compliant) and your own legal content. Very little IT time is required to set up this tool which allows employees access to the HR information they need 24/7. Plus the Haufe HR Chatbot can also act as a mood barometer - giving you regular insights on which topics are frequently requested in the company. There are so many integrations and it works 'out-of-the-box' plus you get a FREE setup when you use the coupon code alphalist.

Learn more about Haufe HR Services

#54 - Cal Henderson // CTO @ Slack Jun 23, 2022

Show notes

How to Build Sticky Products

Cal Henderson, CTO of Slack, creator of Flickr, and author of ‘Building Scalable Websites’ (O'Reilly Media, 2006) shares how Slack was built from both a tech and product perspective and what you should be doing to reclaim your focus time ⏱️.

Listen to find out:

How Slack does focus time
What tech stack👩‍💻 powers Slack across platforms
Why Twitter 🐦 has allowed for better products to be created
why you need to disconnect to produce

Listen here

#53 - Mikko Hypponen // Chief Research Officer @ WithSecure Jun 10, 2022

Show notes

Open Source Vulnerabilities; Cybersecurity in the Russian/Ukrainian conflict and AI-aided cyberattacks

Find out what is new in the world of cybersecurity in this CTO podcast featuring cybersecurity expert Mikko Hypponen, the originator of Hypponen's Law (if it's smart📲, it's vulnerable😨) and Europol 🇪🇺 board member. Tune in to hear what he has to say as an expert with more than 30 years of experience in protecting users’ cyber security and privacy.

Listen to find out:

Why you should see open source vulnerabilities as a supply chain problem (and why it's your job to contribute an audit 🧐).
How Bitcoin makes a great quantum-proof encryption 🔏 solution.
Should we be scared of AI-aided cyberattacks? 🏴󠁢󠁯󠁴󠁿🤖
Cybersecurity and the Russian🇷🇺/Ukrainian🇺🇦 conflict

Listen here

#52 - Oren Etzioni // CEO of Allen Institute for AI May 27, 2022

Show notes

Opportunities in AI, Computer VIsion and NLP.

I spoke with Oren Etzioni - CEO of Allen Institute for AI (a leading AI research institute). Get an insight into what's new in the world of AI from the person whose company's incubated startups worth $300 million+ and released a number of AI tools and technologies.

Listen to find out:

How to get the scientists 🧪 and engineers 🔧on your team to work together
What opportunities await you 🦸 in the latest developments in Artificial Intelligence?
What is going to be the next big thing in the world of AI🧠, computer vision👁️ and NLP👄?
Is AI good or bad? 🤔

Listen here

BROUGHT TO YOU BY:

Sastrify

Sastrify helps companies to optimize the cost of software procurement by negotiating with suppliers of each software.

They saved OMR around €20.000 a year. A lot for a company of 150 people using tools like GSuite, Adobe Creative Cloud, NewRelic, and more.

It is a simple and hassle-free process.

They promise to save more money than they cost. And as an alphalist.CTO podcast listener, you get a 50% discount for the first 3 months!

So give them a try.

Learn more about Sastrify

#51 - Eben Upton // Co-founder & CEO of Raspberry Pi Ltd May 13, 2022

Show notes

The Ins and Outs of the Semi-Conductor and Hardware Industry

Eben Upton, Co-founder & CEO of Raspberry 🍓 Pi Ltd Foundation (which produces low-cost, high-performance Raspberry Pi single-board computers and microcontrollers for kids - and adults) shares what it’s like to build hardware that makes computing accessible to more people (Did you know that some components are camera shy 📸??). In the past decade, they have made 45 million Raspberry Pis while improving on the original’s performance 40X!!! Learn top tips about building great hardware (it is called hard for a reason) and why you need 10 domain experts, $1 million dollars, and a risk appetite to ⚙️ power the creations of millions of people.

Listen to find out:

Why technical leaders with multiple demands on their time should stay away from the code 👩‍💻
Why do they no longer manufacture hardware in the Far East 🌏
What will outdated semi-conductor manufacturing facilities 🏭 be used for?
How they are handling the supply chain disruptions 🚢 and the conflict in Eastern Europe (e.g. bot scalping, rerouting, prioritization).

P.S. If you like gambling - try the semi-conductor industry.

BROUGHT TO YOU BY:

Sastrify

Sastrify helps companies to optimize the cost of software procurement by negotiating with suppliers of each software.

They saved OMR around €20.000 a year. A lot for a company of 150 people using tools like GSuite, Adobe Creative Cloud, NewRelic, and more.

It is a simple and hassle-free process.

They promise to save more money than they cost. And as an alphalist.CTO podcast listener, you get a 50% discount for the first 3 months!

So give them a try.

Learn more about Sastrify

#50 - Niilo Säämänen // CTO at Wolt Apr 28, 2022

Show notes

How to Build Impact Driven Organisations (autonomy + ownership + accountability)

Niilo Säämänen, CTO of Wolt (best known for their delivery platform) ⚡, shares how he leads an engineering organisation of 40+ autonomous product teams through hyper-growth to serve millions of customers across 23 countries 🚀.

Learn how to structure your team and product across domains, platforms, and countries while putting employee satisfaction at the forefront of your work ⭐. You’re bound to learn a thing or two from his unique approach to building impact-driven tech organisations built on autonomy, ownership and accountability 💪.

Listen to find out:

How to build & maintain a company culture 🤗 in a hyper-growth company
Why autonomous teams allow you to attract and retain the most talented 🏆 engineers
How to measure engineering performance (hint: engineer satisfaction is more important than you think)
Why they use semi-annual tiered team-owned roadmaps at Wolt (and their process ⚙️ for creating them)

Listen Here

BROUGHT TO YOU BY: Sastrify and Dell

Sastrify

Sastrify helps companies to optimize the cost of software procurement by negotiating with suppliers of each software.

They saved OMR around €20.000 a year. A lot for a company of 150 people using tools like GSuite, Adobe Creative Cloud, NewRelic, and more.

It is a simple and hassle-free process.

They promise to save more money than they cost. And as an alphalist.CTO podcast listener, you get a 50% discount for the first 3 months!

So give them a try.

Learn more about Sastrify

Dell Dell Technologies offer IT-Technology solutions for companies of any size, tailored to their needs. The experts that guide you are equipped with both the know-how and a huge product portfolio of possible solutions. Their end-to-end IT Solutions range from laptops, PCs and workstations to server, storage, cloud and IoT solutions.

Learn more about Dell

#49 - Mike Perham // Creator of Sidekiq Apr 14, 2022

Show notes

How to build sustainable open source projects by commercialising them

Mike Perham, the creator of Sidekiq 🦵🏼 (a background job managers for Ruby) shares how he commercialised the open-source as a solopreneur doing what he loves 💙 without the costs & management headaches 🤦 of a team or the pressures of a VC investment. Discover tips for building sustainable software (e.g. minimise dependencies) and choosing the right business model that enables you to support and maintain your software for years to come.

Listen to find out::

How to get to $4M ARR with 20% YoY growth by creating a helpful add-on ➕ to a popular open-source framework (i.e. Rails).
Why you should avoid dependencies originating from a 💸VC-backed company or non-commercialized OS project
Why you activate a ticking time-bomb 💣 when you get VC funding (better to bootstrap and get the revenue without the pressure)

Listen here

BROUGHT TO YOU BY: Deazy and Sastrify

Deazy Scaling? Not enough devs around? Thinking of nearshoring but not sure how to make it work? Deazy makes nearshoring work for you with their global ecosystem of vetted developers to flexibly augment your team. Even after their platform matches you with the right developers for your tech and cultural needs, their experienced UK-based team remains at your side proving oversight and support.
Now you can deliver your vision with ease with nearshore devs who work well with your in-house core team. Kick off your next project in as little as 2 weeks with Deazy's streamlined hiring. Plus , you can get a10% discount on your first 3 hires with the code EasyDev2022 Try it out and see why many European scale-ups trust Deazy with their nearshoring needs.

Learn more about Deazy

Sastrify

Sastrify helps companies to optimize the cost of software procurement by negotiating with suppliers of each software.

They saved OMR around €20.000 a year. A lot for a company of 150 people using tools like GSuite, Adobe Creative Cloud, NewRelic, and more.

It is a simple and hassle-free process.

They promise to save more money than they cost. And as an alphalist.CTO podcast listener, you get a 50% discount for the first 3 months!

So give them a try.

Learn more about Sastrify