In this episode of Project Gamma, Warner Moore sits down with Robb Winkle, technologist and Co-Founder & CTO of Doohickey AI, to explore what happens when the abstractions meant to simplify software start getting in the way.

Robb shares his journey from enterprise consulting to running a services business, then building a venture-backed product, and ultimately deciding to shut it down. Along the way, he breaks down four major pivots, the decision to raise outside capital, and the realities of being “profitable but stuck.”

We discuss:

-> Why services often surface product-market fit faster than product alone

-> How pivots signal abstraction failures, not founder mistakes

-> What “language is the best abstraction” really means in practice

-> How agentic coding and rapid feedback loops change how teams build software

-> Why removing layers like OpenAPI specs and workflow schemas can unlock speed and clarity

Robb also explains how modern AI makes it possible to move directly from business intent to working code, and what that shift means for teams building complex, integrated systems.

Whether you’re a founder, engineer, product leader, or security professional, this episode offers a grounded look at systems thinking, tradeoffs, and the hard decisions required when abstractions break.

💡 Guest: Robb Winkle

Connect with Robb on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robbwinkle/

🎙 Hosted by: Warner Moore

Technologist, cybersecurity leader, and Founder of Gamma Force

👉 Learn more about Gamma Force: https://gammaforce.io

In this episode of Project Gamma, Warner Moore sits down with Ray Bohac, serial entrepreneur, technologist, and Co-Founder & CEO of Spearfish.AI. Ray has built multiple companies from zero to one, including CallCopy (Uptivity), and now he’s redefining how contact centers understand their customers through AI.

We explore the hard-earned lessons of a 5× founder, the real meaning of product-market fit, how to avoid costly scaling mistakes, and the hidden operational signals inside customer conversations that companies never knew how to measure…until now.

Ray explains why contact centers sit on a goldmine of unstructured data, how Spearfish extracts actual intelligence instead of vanity metrics, and why concepts like Time to Relevance can save millions in churn and service inefficiencies.

Whether you’re a founder, technical leader, AI practitioner, or customer experience professional, this episode gives you a new lens for building better companies and for truly understanding customers.

Books Mentioned:

Give and Take — Adam Grant

The Innovator’s Dilemma — Clayton Christensen

Mastering the Rockefeller Habits / Scaling Up — Verne Harnish

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People — Stephen Covey

💡 Guest: Ray Bohac

Reach him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raybohac/

🎙 Hosted by Warner Moore

Technologist, cybersecurity leader, and Founder of GammaForce

👉 Learn more about GammaForce: https://gammaforce.io

What happens when a lifelong engineer ends up running HR?In this episode of Project Gamma, Warner Moore sits down with Alan Gilbert, a technology executive who turned structure into culture and helped build startups like CoverMyMeds into billion-dollar success stories.

Alan shares how he transitioned from corporate life at DuPont to startup chaos, why he believes great leaders “make the right way the easy way,” and what it really takes to build teams, manage founders, and eventually step back to focus on impact.

We talk about:✅ Moving from engineering to people leadership✅ Working with founders and managing startup chaos✅ Decentralizing engineering teams✅ Lessons from retirement and mentoring entrepreneurs

Books mentioned:

• The Innovator’s Dilemma – Clayton Christensen

• What Got You Here Won’t Get You There – Marshall Goldsmith

• Slack – Tom DeMarco

💡 Guest: Alan Gilbert Reach him at: [email protected] Learn more: https://graniteball.com

🎙️ Presented by Gamma Force Fractional cybersecurity leadership for tech and healthtech companies. 👉 Learn more at https://gammaforce.io

#Leadership #Startups #EngineeringCulture #ProjectGamma #GammaForce

How do you scale a startup team, tech, and product without burning out or breaking things? In this episode of Project Gamma, Kevin Mack (CTO at RVMP and Co-Founder of BYBE) shares what he's learned from building startups the hard way...and the smarter way.

We dive into:

• The transition from technologist to leader

• Building teams that don’t depend on you

• Using AI internally to boost productivity

• What makes a startup product sustainable

• Why community impact matters in tech

If you're a CTO, founder, or engineering leader scaling a startup, this episode is packed with insights you won’t want to miss.

🎙 Hosted by Warner Moore, technologist & Founder of Gamma Force

🔐 Learn more at https://gammaforce.io

📚 Mentioned books:

• Essays of Warren Buffett by Lawrence A. Cunningham

• Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0 by Jim Collins

👇 Subscribe for more smart conversations across cybersecurity, startups, and tech leadership.

#StartupCTO #ProjectGamma #TechLeadership #ScalingStartups #Cybersecurity #AIProductivity

In this episode of Project Gamma, Warner Moore welcomes Rob Zwink, Co-Founder & CTO of Razi Title and former JPMorgan “Expert Engineer,” to unpack what it really takes to ship AI startups that last.

Together, they explore:

• Why speed to market can determine whether a startup survives

• The hidden costs of emerging tech like blockchain and GenAI

• Why GenAI prototypes without architectural foundations stall at scale

• Lessons from moving from corporate skunkworks at JPMorgan to founding startups

• The story behind VendGuard, age-verified beer vending machines launching at Ohio Stadium

Rob shares candid insights on tradeoffs, compliance, and building systems you’ll still be proud of five years later. Warner reflects on the founder’s challenge of balancing speed and scale while staying grounded in real business problems.

You’ll also hear book recommendations, including:

📚 Algorithms to Live By by Brian Christian & Tom Griffiths

📚 Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture by Martin Fowler

📚 Web Operations by John Allspaw & Jesse Robbins

If you’re a founder or startup leader working with AI, this conversation is for you.

Learn more about Gamma Force: https://gammaforce.io/

Connect with Rob Zwink: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zwink/

In this episode of Project Gamma, Warner Moore welcomes Chad White, Founder of Rogue Talent, to talk about something that doesn’t show up on a resume: how relationships drive career momentum.

Together, they explore:

• Why tech executives – CTOs, CISOs, and startup leaders – should take ownership of hiring

• Why executive candidates should build community outside of their organizations

• What makes a recruiter truly valuable in a field flooded with automation

• How best in class recruiters can create competitive advantage for candidates

• Time-to-hire realities (from 8 weeks to 18 months) and how to “create luck”

• The importance of alignment between personal values and career moves

Chad shares what it means to run a human-first recruiting business in an age of AI, and why never using an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) has been his edge over the past 10 years. Warner reflects on the importance of proactive networking, internal clarity, and why building your team isn't something you can delegate.

You’ll also hear book recommendations, including:

📚 Give and Take by Adam Grant

📚 The Go-Giver by Bob Burg & John David Mann

If you're a tech or cybersecurity executive thinking about what’s next, this conversation is for you.

Learn more about Gamma Force: https://gammaforce.io

Connect with Chad White: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chadcwhite/ 

What do The Mythical Man-Month and Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance have in common with AI systems and startup architecture?

In this episode of Project Gamma, Warner Moore sits down with Pete Gordon (longtime Columbus technologist, startup CTO, and Co-Founder of CyberContext) to unpack what “quality” really means in software. They explore the value of conceptual integrity, how early feedback shapes products, the rise of GenAI in compliance, and why classic system design principles still matter in a fast-moving world.

Topics include:

• Finding product-market fit in startup ecosystems

• AI, identity, and access management

• Prompt injection and evolving security paradigms

• UI frameworks and system design tradeoffs

• Why “Automated Inference” might still be a better term than “AI”

📚 Books discussed:

• The Mythical Man-Month – Fred Brooks

• Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance – Robert M. Pirsig

• The Lean Startup – Eric Ries

🔗 Learn more about Gamma Force: https://gammaforce.io

📨 Connect with Pete Gordon: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petegordon/

If you enjoyed the episode, don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more deep conversations on technology, cybersecurity, and building resilient software.

What really changes when a CTO steps into the role of President & COO?

In this episode of Project Gamma, Warner Moore sits down with Tony Milne, President & COO at CredHub, to talk about leading through change, from startup scale to strong process, team culture, and product direction.

This isn’t just a tech leadership conversation; it’s about making smart calls as your company grows.

They discuss:

✅ Moving from services to SaaS

✅ Building processes that actually scale

✅ What makes a tech team high-trust and high-performing

✅ Lessons Tony took from engineering into operations

✅ A few book recs worth reading twice

🔗 Connect with Tony: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonymilnepmp/

🌐 Learn more about Gamma Force: https://gammaforce.io

Generative AI is changing how we scale teams—and how attackers exploit them. In this episode of Project Gamma, Anthony Spiteri, Co-Founder and CTO of battleface, breaks down how GenAI is reshaping his approach to tech hiring, org structure, and security risks—including the rise of deepfake scams.

We also dive into the story behind battleface, a travel insuretech startup that grew by serving customers others wouldn’t—like journalists and missionaries traveling to high-risk regions. Anthony shares how the company turned a pandemic-era challenge into an opportunity and built a modular, embeddable insurance product that partners with global travel brands.

💡 You’ll learn about:

• How GenAI is influencing tech org design and scaling.

• Security risks of deepfakes and AI-generated scams.

• Building competitive advantage in the insurance industry.

• Structuring and growing a 30+ person engineering team.

• Why battleface thrived when others paused.
  

🎧 Tune in for a CTO’s take on building fast, staying secure, and leading through disruption.

Shawn Price’s journey from coding to leadership, scaling a SaaS startup, and navigating the challenges of COVID-19.

In this episode of Project Gamma, Warner Moore sits down with Shawn Price, Co-Founder & CTO at Healthy Roster, to talk about the real-life journey from corporate careers to startup leadership.

Together, they explore what it takes to pivot, survive, and grow a SaaS company in challenging times—including how Healthy Roster navigated the COVID-19 crisis when team sports came to a halt. Shawn shares his personal transition from being a full-stack engineer to leading a team as a CTO, the mindset shifts needed to move into leadership, and how to build the right product capabilities at the right time.

We also dive into:

• Leaving corporate life for the startup grind

• Identifying a market problem before building product

• Managing spikey scale and scaling tech in SaaS

• Transitioning from engineering to management without losing the technical edge

• Solving the right problems without over-engineering
  

Books mentioned in this episode: 

📚 The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz📚 Trillion Dollar Coach by Eric Schmidt📚 Escaping the Build Trap by Melissa Perri

Tune in for an honest and insightful conversation on leadership, resilience, and building smarter tech companies.