QuantLayer Podcast

As software teams begin to migrate to serverless, they will require more in the way of serverless specific tooling: cost tracking, alerting, monitoring, and so on. Here, we look at a number of serverless tooling providers and discuss what they bring and how they will compete with traditional tooling services.

Topics:

• Installable versus Hosted Platform
• On Hosted Platform
• Tooling providers - CloudZero - Dashbird - Hasura GraphQL Engine - IOpipe - Iron.io - lumigo - Node Lambda - SCAR - Sigma - Stackery - Thundra
• On framework
• On security - Protego - Threat Stack
• On Installable Platform

Links:

Hosted Platform - https://landscape.cncf.io/category=hosted-platform&format=card-mode&grouping=category Tools - https://landscape.cncf.io/category=tools&format=card-mode&grouping=category Framework - https://landscape.cncf.io/category=framework&format=card-mode&grouping=category Security - https://landscape.cncf.io/category=security&format=card-mode&grouping=category Installable Platform - https://landscape.cncf.io/category=installable-platform&format=card-mode&grouping=category

Serverless has caused a massive shift in approaches to application design. On this episode, we explore what serverless gives teams, and the tradeoffs involved in going the serverless route. We cover players like Amazon AWS, Google GCP, and Microsoft Azure, and what else is in store for the space.

Topics:

• What Serverless is
• On their benefits
• Monolithic versus microservices architectures
• How might development teams work on serverless applications versus traditional ones
• On tradeoffs of Serverless
• Business benefits of Serverless
• The drawbacks

Links:

Serverless - https://serverless.com What is Serverless? - Squadex - https://squadex.com/insights/what-is-serverless/

Relational databases versus NoSQL is of interest today given growing data requirements for businesses. Real-time, internet of things, storing geodata, financial data are examples where traditional relational databases don’t make the cut required for modern systems. We discuss the successes and failings of relational databases, and how MongoDB’s approach to NoSQL data structures allow them to serve specific customer problems with specialized solutions. We look at some customer case studies and finish up with their business model.

Topics:

• What MongoDB is
• Their database
• Their overview
• What are the benefits
• Customer case studies
• On their solution
• Growth Strategy

Links:

Last 10K - https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1441816/000144181619000067/mdb-013119x10k.htm Last 10Q - https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/1441816/000144181619000187/mdb-073119x10q.htm Prospectus - https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1441816/000104746917006446/a2233574z424b4.htm Ycharts financials - https://ycharts.com/financials/MDB/income_statement/quarterly MongoDB - https://www.mongodb.com/

Edge computing is a topic that isn’t getting enough coverage. We’ve covered CDNs like CloudFlare before, but we wanted to look at Fastly, an edge computing player that went public early in 2019. On this episode, we cover edge computing topics like rapidly purged caching. We run through a few case studies of the value edge computing brings some of Fastly’s customers. We discuss major risks that the company might face and postulate on why we think they’re trading at a discount compared to other SaaS companies like CloudFlare ($NET) and Elastic ($ESTC).

Topics:

• QuantLayer Mission Statement Analysis
• Case studies they mention in their prospectus
• On their section called, "Our Solution: The Developer's Edge"
• How they categorize their strenghts
• Who are their competitors and how to they sit there
• Major differences versus Cloudflare
• On their sections called, "Factors Affecting Our Performance"
• Faizaan's major concerns about Fastly

Links:

• Prospectus - https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1517413/000119312519150526/d702138d424b4.htm
• Latest 10Q - https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/1517413/000151741319000022/fsly-10qx93019.htm
• Fastly is An Under Appreciated Growth Story - https://www.cmlviz.com/2019/11/12/FSLY/fastly-nyse-fsly-is-an-under-appreciated-growth-story.html
• Fastly Blog - https://www.fastly.com/blog/build-on-fastly-with-code-blocks-and-tutorials

There has been a lot of interest around developer-first banking APIs recently. On this episode, we go over recent tech IPO Silvergate Capital (ticker $SI), which is a digital currency focused bank and settlement network. We discuss their business, particularly around digital currency initiatives and their Silvergate Exchange Network (or SEN). We get into the weeds of what it means to claim to be an API first financial services company.

Enjoy the episode.

Topics:

• On Silvergate Capital
• QuantLayer mission statement analysis
• Overview of Silvergate Capital
• Digital Currency Initiative
• Silvergate Exchange Network
• What their API offers
• Growth strategy
• Risk factors

Links:

• Prospectus - https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1312109/000119312519288512/d568616d424b4.htm
• Silvergate Capital - https://www.silvergatebank.com/
• Banking APIs - Open Banking Platform by Silvergate Bank - https://www.silvergatebank.com/api/developer-tools.html
• Silvergate Sandbox API - https://silvergate.portal.azure-api.net/docs/services/5aec9e3121b53188f5be9853/operations/access-token

Recently, there has been a lot of recent interest in customized semiconductors. Bitcoin mining has highlighted the interest in ASICs, or application specific chips, and as we move up the customized application layer stack, discussion of AI and ML chips becomes necessary. On this episode, we look at Canaan Mining, a chinese Bitcoin mining chip manufacturer. And we look at them in the context of growing trends in AI and ML chips. We compare and contrast AMD and NVIDIA and discuss the new growth in startups in the traditionally capital intensive space. We finish up with what you should be on the lookout for when considering investing in chip manufacturers.

Topics:

• Canaan F1
• On their mission statement
• Quick overview on Canaan
• Industry overview
• Overview of bitcoin and blockchain mining economics
• AI and ML chips
• What CPU is
• What GPU is
• What ASIC is
• What TPU is
• On their risk factors

Links:

History and Corporate Structure - https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1780652/000119312519276263/g773846g13c91.jpg Canaan.io - https://canaan.io/ IPO prospectus - https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1780652/000119312519276263/d773846df1.htm#rom773846_1 Canaan Creative - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canaan_Creative SEC Form F-1 - https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/sec-form-f-1.asp Specialized AI Chips Hold Both Promise and Peril for Developers - https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/semiconductors/processors/specialized-ai-chips-hold-both-promise-and-peril-for-developers NVIDIA Gross Profit Margin - https://ycharts.com/companies/NVDA/gross_profit_margin

On this episode, we speak with Barney Mannerings, founder of Vega Protocol, which is a blockchain product initially focused on derivatives markets. Barney understands this space really well, and it was a pleasure talking to him about what he’s building at Vega. Broadly, we discuss the DeFi, or Parallel Financial System, space, and Barney talks to us about why he thinks this space is important. He explains how Vega, in many ways, augments and replaces some exchanges, and how it serves as an integration layer with other protocols. We finish up with some areas of tech that Barney is excited about outside of crypto.

Topics:

• Barney's background
• All about his company, Vega
• Parallel Financial System
• Why DeFi is important
• Thoughts on building ETH versus BTC
• Which derivatives does Vega support currently
• Types of derivatives users could create
• Market map
• How ETH moving to ETH 2.0 would affect DeFi business
• Upcoming product roadmap

Links:

• Vega Protocol - https://vega.xyz/
• Twitter - Vega Protocol - https://twitter.com/vegaprotocol
• Twitter - Barney - https://twitter.com/barnabee?lang=en

On this episode, we dig into Datadog’s (Ticker: DDOG) IPO prospectus. We discuss their approach to analytics and monitoring, and how companies can benefit from using them. We look at a few case studies of how companies derive value from their product, and one in particular, that can generate value from its use. We also run through their developer-friendly offering and how quickly the product can be incorporated into a system. We spend a little time with their financials and then discuss our view of thinking about them as a product versus an ecosystem.

Topics:

• What Datadog is
• Anecdotes of personal use with Elixir
• On their IPO prospectus - Industry Background - Opportunity - Solution and Key Strengths - Key Benefits to Our Customers - Growth Strategies - Risk Factors

Links

• Datadog - https://www.datadoghq.com/
• IPO prospectus - https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1561550/000119312519249577/d745413d424b4.htm
• Chart - https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1561550/000119312519249577/g745413g15v58.gif
• #54: Content Delivery Networks, DDOS Protection and Bot Fighting: CloudFlare as a Web Performance and Security Company - https://quantlayer.libsyn.com/content-delivery-networks-ddos-protection-and-bot-fighting-cloudflare-as-a-web-performance-and-security-company
• #38: A Look at CrowdStrike’s IPO Prospectus and Their Approach to Endpoint Security - https://quantlayer.libsyn.com/a-look-at-crowdstrikes-ipo-prospectus-and-their-approach-to-endpoint-security
• #15: Open Source as Revenue Driver: How Elasticsearch Uses Open Source for Revenue Growth, Tech Investing and Crypto, a Cautionary Tale of Bad Crypto Trading Psychology and Flash Crashes - https://quantlayer.libsyn.com/15-open-source-as-revenue-driver-how-elasticsearch-uses-open-source-for-revenue-growth-tech-investing-and-crypto-a-cautionary-tale-of-bad-crypto-trading-psychology-and-flash-crashes

We go over the CloudFlare IPO prospectus, which calls itself a “Web Performance and Security Company.” We discuss their mission statement, their stated competitive advantages, risks they may face and a quick overview of their financials.

Topics:

• The Web Performance and Security Company
• Cloudflare's mission
• Companies putting mission statements int their prospectuses
• How would an early stage startup use Cloudflare versus a Fortune 500
• On "Our Industry" section
• On "Why We Win" section
• Disruptive Business Model
• Ease of Use
• Efficient Go-to-Market Model
• Product Innovation and Velocity
• Integrated, Global Offering
• Trust and Neutrality
• On "Growth Strategy" section
• List of concerns that the company and the company's lawyers have
• Talking about the section title, "Key Business Metrics and Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Links:

Cloudfare.com - https://www.cloudflare.com/ Cloudflare IPO Prospectus - https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1477333/000119312519244325/d735023d424b4.htm Yogababble | No Mercy / No Malice - https://www.profgalloway.com/yogababble Google prospectus - https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1288776/000119312504143377/d424b4.htm

Software Consultant Ron Lichty joins us to talk about all things software management. Ron has a treasure trove of experience helping teams accelerate and amplify their software practices. We look at the history of waterfall-style projects transitioning to Agile projects. We talk about his time as a product manager at Apple and his work with Charles Schwab at the time they launched their electronic trading platform. Ron articulates his views on the different types of developers out there and how to motivate them. We finish up with a couple areas Ron is excited about: Blockchain and Virtual Reality.

Topics:

• Ron's background
• History of waterfall-style projects transitioning to Agile projects
• Charles Schwab interactive tools
• Talking about Extreme Programming
• On Scrum
• Software development is a team sport
• Differences between this notion of "being agile" versus "doing agile"
• Case of estimating
• Talking about Brooke's law
• On being a good managers
• Motivators versus de-motivators
• Effective management at different stages of companies
• Some interesting technologies and trends that he's optimistic about

Links:

• Ron Lichty's website - https://ronlichty.com/
• Managing the Unmanageable: The Book - http://managingtheunmanageable.net/
• Managing the Unmanageable: Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Managing-Unmanageable-Insights-Software-People-ebook/dp/B009CFV8BY
• Waterfall Software Development - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterfall_model
• Agile Software Development - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agile_software_development
• RUP - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rational_Unified_Process
• Harvard Business Review case study on motivating employees - https://hbr.org/2003/01/one-more-time-how-do-you-motivate-employees
• Drive by Daniel H. Pink - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004P1JDJO/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1