Built by Humans

In this episode of Built by Humans, Zhenya Rozinskiy sits down with Giorgos Ampavis, Fractional Technology Leader and former VP of Engineering, to discuss what it really takes to build successful remote engineering teams across different cultures.

They explore why great engineering leadership goes far beyond technical skills, how communication shapes high performing teams, and why hiring for cultural fit often matters more than hiring for the perfect tech stack.

They discuss:

• Managing multicultural remote engineering teams
• Why leaders should focus on outcomes instead of outputs
• The difference between leadership and management
• Hiring for cultural fit without sacrificing technical excellence
• Why healthy disagreement leads to better engineering decisions
• How clear communication prevents remote team failures
• Treating contractors as real members of the team
• Building trust across distributed software teams

Building great software is rarely a technical problem alone. The strongest engineering teams are built on communication, trust, accountability, and shared values.

🔗 Connect with the guests

• Zhenya Rozinskiy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rozinskiy

• Giorgos Ampavis: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ampavis/

🌐 Learn more about Mirigos

Website: https://mirigos.com

Contact: [email protected]

🔔 Subscribe for honest conversations about engineering leadership, remote teams, software development, and building technology companies that put people first.

Remote work has become the standard. AI is changing how companies build products, hire talent, and structure their teams. The challenge is no longer choosing between people and technology. It's learning how they work together.

In this episode of Built by Humans, Zhenya Rozinskiy sits down with Gala Iefremova, Founder and CEO of W7G, to discuss what it really takes to build effective remote teams while preparing for an AI native future.

They discuss:
• Why remote work isn't the right fit for everyone
• How communication and accountability shape successful distributed teams
• The biggest mistakes companies make when managing remote employees
• How AI is changing software development and team operations
• Why AI native companies will outperform those that resist change

The future of work isn't humans versus AI. It's building teams that know how to use both.

🔗 Connect with the guests
• Zhenya Rozinskiy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rozinskiy
• Gala Iefremova: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gala-iefremova/

🌐 Learn more about Mirigos
Website: https://mirigos.com
Contact: [email protected]

🔔 Subscribe for honest conversations about remote work, engineering leadership, hiring, and building better teams.

Most engineers think they build software.
They don’t. They provide a service.

In this episode of Built by Humans, Zhenya Rozinskiy sits down with John Schulz to break down what separates average engineers from the ones teams actually depend on.

They get into:
• Why engineers who ignore the customer create broken products
• The real problem behind useless error messages and bad UX
• Why communication matters more than individual output in remote teams
• The danger of engineers who just execute instead of thinking
• How ego kills better solutions before they even surface
• Why speed without alignment just creates faster mistakes

One engineer working fast does not make a team effective. Clear thinking and communication do. If your team treats engineering like isolated work instead of a service, the product will show it.

🔗 Connect with the guests
• Zhenya Rozinskiy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rozinskiy
• John Schulz: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnaschulz/

🌐 Learn more about Mirigos 
Website: https://mirigos.com 
Contact: [email protected] 

🔔 Subscribe for honest conversations about building real tech teams in a changing world. 

Speed is not the problem. What you build is.

In this episode, Zhenya Rozinskiy sits down with Ryan Johnson, Chief Product Officer at CallRail, to talk about how product and engineering teams actually work together and what changes when AI enters the process.

They break down:
 • Why tension between product and engineering is necessary
 • The real reason teams ship features nobody needs
 • AI as a productivity tool, not a decision maker
 • Why leaders must prepare people for what comes next
 • Why there is no “end state” for AI adoption

This is a conversation about building useful products, not just building faster.

🔗 Connect with the guests
• Zhenya Rozinskiy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rozinskiy
• Ryan Johnson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryandjohnson/

🌐 Learn more about Mirigos
 Website: https://mirigos.com

Global team problems are not timezone problems. They are attitude problems.

In this episode, Zhenya Rozinskiy sits down with Christopher Carter, Founder at Approyo, to talk about what actually breaks global teams and what fixes them.

They cover:
 • Why “us vs them” thinking kills trust fast
 • The difference between hiring talent and hiring button pushers
 • Why service businesses cannot hide behind keyboards
 • Why trusting your gut matters more when you hire across borders
 • AI as a tool. And why the person using it will replace the person ignoring it

This is a conversation about hiring adults, building respect across cultures, and avoiding the slow damage that comes from keeping the wrong people too long.

🔗 Connect with the guests
• Zhenya Rozinskiy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rozinskiy
• Christopher Carter: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-carter-885159/

🌐 Learn more about Mirigos
Website: https://mirigos.com
Contact: [email protected]

🔔 Subscribe for honest conversations about building real tech teams in a changing world.

Culture problems are not about intent. They are about expectations.

In this episode, Zhenya Rozinskiy sits down with Vanielle Lee, CTO and Co-Founder at OdeCloud, to talk about what changes when teams work across the US and Asia, especially Japan. 

They cover:
 • Why being on time means different things in different countries
 • How hierarchy changes feedback, trust, and decision making
 • Why American-style communication can feel casual or confusing to others
 • How independent work and consulting are shifting with AI

This is a real-world conversation about managing people across borders, avoiding cultural misreads, and working with humans instead of assumptions.

🔗 Connect with the guests
• Zhenya Rozinskiy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rozinskiy
• Vanielle Lee: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanielle/

🌐 Learn more about Mirigos
Website: https://mirigos.com
Contact: [email protected]

🔔 Subscribe for honest conversations about building real tech teams in a global world.

Some companies still blame remote regions for their security risks.

In this episode, Zhenya Rozinskiy sits down with Yash Kosaraju, Chief Information Security Officer at Sendbird, to talk about what actually creates risk in tech companies. And why location is rarely the problem.

They cover:
 • Why most breaches come from inside the office, not overseas
 • How mature security works with engineering instead of slowing it down
 • Cultural differences in giving feedback and pushing back across the US, Europe and Asia
 • The real basics companies still ignore while chasing AI hype

This is a blunt conversation about security, culture and what companies get wrong when they fear global hiring.

🔗 Connect with the guests
• Zhenya Rozinskiy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rozinskiy
• Yashvier Kosaraju: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yashvier

🌐 Learn more about Mirigos
Website: https://mirigos.com
Contact: [email protected]

🔔 Subscribe for honest conversations about building real tech teams in a changing world.

In this episode of Built by Humans, Zhenya Rozinskiy talks with Dr. Brianna Rhue, optometrist, Co-Founder and CEO of Dr. Contact Lens, and Co-Founder of TechifEYE.

With her unique view, they discussed how values drive culture, accountability, and decision-making, whether the team is in the same building or spread across countries.

They talk about:

• Why leaders fail when they don’t set clear values
• How values shape accountability in both clinics and SaaS teams
• What happens when teams don’t know what “good work” looks like
• Why consistency matters more than goals
• How value-driven hiring beats experience-driven hiring
• Why many medical offices fall behind on tech and process
• How delegation and personal clarity free leaders to actually lead

A direct conversation about how values guide teams, behavior, and culture in two completely different industries.

🔗 Connect with the guests:
• Zhenya Rozinskiy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rozinskiy/
• Brianna Rhue: https://www.linkedin.com/in/briannarhue/

🌐 Learn more about Mirigos:
https://mirigos.com
[email protected]

Working with remote teams is easy. Getting alignment is the hard part.

In this episode, Zhenya Rozinskiy talks with Michel Baldin, VP of Product at milc group, about building software when half your team is in-house and the other half is outsourced.

They cover:
 • Why classical outsourcing struggles without ownership
 • How incentives shape quality and accountability
 • Getting engineers to ask clarifying questions instead of guessing
 • Culture gaps across regions and communication styles
 • How product and engineering share responsibility in remote environments
 • Why meeting in person still matters

A direct, real-world conversation about how remote product teams actually work, not how people wish they worked.

🔗 Connect with the guests
• Zhenya Rozinskiy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rozinskiy
• Michel Baldin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michel-baldin-5ba925ba/

 🌐 Learn more about Mirigos
 Website: https://mirigos.com

 Contact: [email protected]

🔔 Subscribe for blunt conversations about building real tech teams.

Remote work did not start with COVID. Some companies were fully distributed long before it became mainstream.

In this episode, Zhenya Rozinskiy talks with Cody Rogers, Chief Product Officer at Hubstaff, about what it really takes to run global teams without slipping into surveillance culture.

They cover:
 • How remote work shifted before, during and after COVID
 • Why global contractors opened a new way to build teams
 • How to build real culture when everyone lives in Slack and WhatsApp
 • Time tracking, screenshots and the line between data and micromanagement
 • Using productivity data without killing trust
 • Cultural differences across Eastern Europe, Latin America and North America

This is a conversation about trust, tooling and keeping remote teams productive without watching their every move.

🔗 Connect with the guests
• Zhenya Rozinskiy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rozinskiy
• Cody Rogers: https://www.linkedin.com/in/codyrogers/

🌐 Learn more about Mirigos
Website: https://mirigos.com
Contact: [email protected]

🔔 Subscribe for honest conversations about building real tech teams in a changing world.