In this episode of Tech Teams Today, host Matthieu McClintock sits down with Hongbo Tian and James O’Brien, co-founders of Ducky.ai, to explore what it really means to build an AI-native startup, from engineering stack decisions to team structure and GTM strategy.

Hong shares key lessons from his time at Scale AI, while James brings a founder-operator lens on building fast, lean teams in high-stakes environments.

They dive into how AI is reshaping the traits we look for in engineers, what it takes to ship production-ready LLM systems, and why startup leadership must evolve to keep pace with rapid AI cycles. They also share bold predictions for the future of infra, team design, and agent-based systems.

It’s a candid look at what works—and what doesn’t—when building tech teams in 2025.

🎧 Subscribe to Tech Teams Today for weekly episodes with engineering leaders shaping the next era of software.