From Org Charts to Pods: Builders, Sellers, Operators, and AI Agents

In episode two of Old School New Tech, Ran Aroussi and co-host Muximus debate shifting from traditional org charts to a system-driven “pod” model where early-stage companies primarily need builders and sellers, with classic middle management deferred. 

Ran argues that under ~20 people startups should avoid coordination-heavy roles, adding that middle management becomes useful around 20–30 headcount, with a key early exception being an operator/chief-of-staff-style role that bridges build and sell. 

They discuss AI agents handling coordination and grunt work, while junior developers function as apprentices learning orchestration, specs, and production debugging rather than syntax, with “learned” experience shrinking faster than “gained” experience. On the sell side, a hybrid pipeline role manages AI-driven prospecting and follow-up while handling calls. 

Administrative functions should be outsourced early, later becoming shared resources at the firm level across multiple pods.

00:00 Welcome Back
00:29 Builders And Sellers
02:45 When Management Returns
03:11 Chief Of Staff Operator
04:27 Junior Dev Apprentices
08:08 Learned Vs Gained Experience
10:26 Sales Pod Mirror
13:32 Outsource And Shared Resources
17:10 Is Middle Layer Relocated
20:32 Wrap Up And Takeaways

-----

🎧 Brought to you by Automaze

This podcast is sponsored by Automaze, the fractional CTO partner for founders and operators. Whether you’re building a high-tech MVP or modernizing internal ops with AI and automation, Automaze can help you scale without the overhead of a full-time team.

Learn more: automaze.io

Old School New Tech Returns: Live Format, MUXI Agent Server, and Open Source Licensing Debate

The host relaunches his podcast Old School New Tech in a live, no-edit format to reduce production overhead and avoid “talking to himself,” introducing an AI co-host, Muximus, built on his agent infrastructure project MUXI. He explains he paused the podcast for a year while writing the free book "Production Grade Agentic AI" and building MUXI (a production agent server), Cloop (an autonomous engineering control plane), and working for his software agency Automaze. 

Discussing MUXI, he argues for treating agents as reusable server primitives rather than repeatedly rebuilding frameworks, and highlights key failure modes: observability/traceability/debuggability and LLM hallucinations, addressed via extensive observability events and SOP-driven verification, with a UI planned. They also debate licensing, explaining Elastic License v2’s SaaS restrictions to prevent hyperscalers from reselling hosted versions, and propose a “fair source”-like category. 

Future episodes will feature live debates on shifting from software teams to software systems.

00:00 Podcast Relaunch Intro
01:03 Live Format and Co-Host
01:56 What I've Been Building
03:39 Meet Muximus
04:54 Why Build MUXI
07:01 Failure Modes and Observability
09:12 Screen Share and Request Lifecycle
10:08 Open Source Licensing Debate
17:21 Future Episodes and Sign Off
18:47 Tech Demo
20:50 Full Circle Closing

-----

🎧 Brought to you by Automaze

This podcast is sponsored by Automaze, the fractional CTO partner for founders and operators. Whether you’re building a high-tech MVP or modernizing internal ops with AI and automation, Automaze can help you scale without the overhead of a full-time team.

Learn more: automaze.io

The Contradiction of AI Agent Workflows: Why Your Systems Might Be Breaking

The Agent Workflow Paradox

In this episode of Old School New Tech, host Ran Aroussi explores the inherent contradiction in building AI systems with agent workflows. He argues that combining autonomous agents with predetermined workflows creates complexity and brittleness, making these systems difficult to scale. Ran provides examples that highlight the pitfalls of this approach and advocates for a shift toward giving AI agents context and knowledge to enable reasoning and adaptability within defined guardrails, rather than rigid workflows. This episode is sponsored by Automaze, offering CTO-as-a-Service for startups and businesses.

00:00 Introduction to AI Contradictions
01:31 The Oxymoron of Agent Workflows
02:42 Concrete Example: Financial Service Incident
03:54 Guardrails vs. Workflows
05:24 The Alternative: Context and Knowledge
07:19 Evaluating Your AI Systems
09:19 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

-----

🎧 Brought to you by Automaze

This podcast is sponsored by Automaze, the fractional CTO partner for founders and operators. Whether you’re building a high-tech MVP or modernizing internal ops with AI and automation, Automaze can help you scale without the overhead of a full-time team.

Learn more: automaze.io

The Illusion of Progress: Avoiding the Faster Horses Trap in 2025

In this episode of Old School New Tech, host Ran Aroussi delves into the difference between real progress and the illusion of progress, using historical examples like the retail industry's initial forays onto the internet and mobile phone companies' reactions to the iPhone. He discusses how today's 'make me an AI' mentality mirrors past missteps and emphasizes the need for true transformation rather than superficial changes. Aroussi challenges companies to ask the hard, transformative questions necessary for genuine progress. Sponsored by Automaze, this episode urges listeners to reconsider how they integrate new technologies into their business strategies.

00:00 Introduction and Sponsor Message
00:52 A Look Back at 1997: The Illusion of Progress
02:14 Nokia and the iPhone Revolution
03:20 The Real Revolution: Beyond Incremental Improvements
04:36 AI in 2025: The New 'Make Me an Internet'
05:33 Asking the Hard Questions for True Transformation
06:49 Conclusion and Call to Action

-----

🎧 Brought to you by Automaze

This podcast is sponsored by Automaze, the fractional CTO partner for founders and operators. Whether you’re building a high-tech MVP or modernizing internal ops with AI and automation, Automaze can help you scale without the overhead of a full-time team.

Learn more: automaze.io

In this episode of 'Old School New Tech,' I interview Sumit Vekariya, the founder of ZKred, a company specializing in Web3-based, privacy-preserving, verifiable credentials. The episode explores how Sumit's lean team operates remotely, leveraging various AI tools to enhance productivity. We also delve into the challenges and potential improvements in AI technology, highlighting Sumit's vision for the future of decentralized identity management.

You can find Sumit on X/Twitter @Sarkazein7

Chapters

00:00 Welcome to Old School New Tech
00:28 Introducing Automaze: Your Modern Business Partner
01:09 Meet Sumit Vekariya: Innovator in Privacy and Identity
01:37 Exploring ZKREDA: Simplifying Identity Management
03:01 The Future of Verifiable Credentials
05:41 Lean Operations and Smart Tooling
14:02 Balancing Stealth Mode and Growth
14:45 Team Dynamics and Remote Work
16:30 Future Goals and Ambitions
18:35 Final Thoughts and Advice for Founders
20:25 Connect with Sumit Vekariya

-----

🎧 Brought to you by Automaze

This podcast is sponsored by Automaze, the fractional CTO partner for founders and operators. Whether you’re building a high-tech MVP or modernizing internal ops with AI and automation, Automaze can help you scale without the overhead of a full-time team.

Learn more: automaze.io

In this episode of Old School New Tech, host Ran Aroussi interviews Yuval Keshtcher, the founder of UXWritingHub.com. Yuval shares his journey from a graphic designer to a tech-enabled entrepreneur, highlighting how he identified a gap in UX writing and built an education platform for designers, writers, and product teams. 

The discussion delves into the no-code tools and automations Yuval used to scale UX Writing Hub, including Airtable, Kajabi, ActiveCampaign, and Make.com. Yuval also discusses AI's profound impact on his business operations, dramatically reducing manual tasks and enabling rapid growth. 

The episode provides insights into creating a seamless user experience, the importance of content design, and how AI is transforming business operations and user research. Tune in for valuable tips on leveraging modern tools to blend traditional business sense with innovative technology.

00:00 Introduction and Sponsor Message
01:01 Meet Yuval Ke: Founder of UX Writing Hub
01:43 The Evolution of UX Writing Hub
03:40 Understanding UX Copywriting
05:20 Building a No-Code Tech Stack
11:29 Automation and AI in Business
21:07 Future of AI and UX Design
25:17 Conclusion and Contact Information

You can find Yuval on LinkedIn at https://linkedin.com/in/yuvalkesh and at https://UXWritingHub.com

-----

🎧 Brought to you by Automaze

This podcast is sponsored by Automaze, the fractional CTO partner for founders and operators. Whether you’re building a high-tech MVP or modernizing internal ops with AI and automation, Automaze can help you scale without the overhead of a full-time team.

Learn more: automaze.io

Old School New Tech: Bridging Traditional Business and Modern Technology

In the inaugural episode of Old School New Tech, host Ran Aroussi, also known as 'Code Daddy,' introduces the podcast tailored for business owners who are not focused on building the next big tech startup but understand the importance of incorporating technology into their operations. Ran shares his extensive background in web development and his motivations for starting the podcast. He highlights the gap in tech content for traditional businesses and outlines what listeners can expect in future episodes, including discussions on automation, AI, useful tools, and real-world success stories. Ran emphasizes the importance of integrating tech into business workflows to save time, reduce stress, and grow efficiently, without necessitating a deep tech background.

00:00 Welcome to Old School New Tech
00:18 The Purpose of This Podcast
01:55 My Journey in Tech
03:20 Introducing Automaze
04:28 What to Expect from Future Episodes
05:36 The Importance of Tech in Business
06:52 Wrapping Up and Call to Action

-----

🎧 Brought to you by Automaze

This podcast is sponsored by Automaze, the fractional CTO partner for founders and operators. Whether you’re building a high-tech MVP or modernizing internal ops with AI and automation, Automaze can help you scale without the overhead of a full-time team.

Learn more: automaze.io

How real-world businesses are using modern tools to work smarter — without becoming tech companies.

In this short intro episode, host Ran Aroussi sets the stage for Old School; New Tech — a podcast for business owners, operators, and founders who want to modernize their operations without losing their edge. 

You’ll hear what the show is about, who it’s for, and why “leveraging technology” doesn’t mean becoming a tech startup. 

Subscribe now to hear how real-world businesses are saving time, scaling faster, and staying competitive using tools you already have access to.

-----

🎧 Brought to you by Automaze

This podcast is sponsored by Automaze, the fractional CTO partner for founders and operators. Whether you’re building a high-tech MVP or modernizing internal ops with AI and automation, Automaze can help you scale without the overhead of a full-time team.

Learn more: automaze.io