Scaling Software Teams

Skyler Nesheim is the VP of Engineering at Dwolla, a fast-growth FinTech scale-up. They’ve raised over $50M in venture dollars to connect enterprises to the US banking system. The Dwolla team has built one of the most disruptive products in the enterprise FinTech space, all from Des Moines, Iowa.

In this episode, we talk about how to build a microservice architecture as we scale, how to incorporate customer feedback into our product vision, and why we’re not Google… and that’s a good thing.

For notes and a full transcription of the episode, visit (woventeams.com/26).Special Guest: Skyler Nesheim.

Jake Miller is the CTO and Co-Founder of MetaCX, an Indianapolis-based startup that raised a $14 Million dollar initial round to revolutionize the Customer Success industry. Before starting MetaCX, he was an engineering leader at ExactTarget and Salesforce.

In this episode, we talk about why we should never say no to PTO, how algorithms make diversity worse, and how he focuses on building a balanced team instead of a senior team.

For notes and a full transcription of the episode, visit woventeams.com/25. Special Guest: Jake Miller.

Ron Lancaster is the CTO of Structural, a Minneapolis-based platform that allows clients to create an internal people network powered by both data science and people science.

In this episode, we talk about making hard decisions as a leader, building a hiring plan that adapts as you grow, and hiring the best available player instead of a less talented specialist.

For notes and a full transcription of the episode, visit woventeams.com/24. Special Guest: Ron Lancaster.

Jason Wong is an engineering leadership consultant who focuses on Diversity and Inclusion. His past lives include engineering roles with Yahoo! Sports, Etsy, and Blink Health.

In this episode, we talk about the difference between diversity and inclusion, and why that difference is important. We also touch on some of Jason’s favorite management and hiring practices.

For notes and a full transcription of the episode, visit woventeams.com/23. Special Guest: Jason Wong.

Kyle Gunderson is the President and CTO at Revel Health, a Minneapolis-based software company that uses advanced analytics and AI to create health action programs that improve the health of people on an individual-basis. He’s a tech veteran, with over 20 years of leadership experience and multiple high-growth teams under his belt.

In this episode, we talk about how he uses data to navigate tough conversations about his product roadmap. We also learn about how he attracts top-talent without building a remote team, and how he uses a score card to make smarter hires.

For notes and a full transcription of the episode, visit woventeams.com/22.Special Guest: Kyle Gunderson.

Charity Majors is the CTO at Honeycomb, a startup that builds observability for distributed systems, and this week, we’re diving into part two of our conversation with her.

Charity’s team is on a mission to make monitoring less cumbersome so that being on-call can suck less.

In this episode, we talk about how to hire the right seniority mix for your team and ensure you see everyone at their best, both when they’re interviewing for a job and once they’ve started.

For notes and a full transcription of the episode, visit woventeams.com/21. Special Guest: Charity Majors.

Charity Majors is the CTO at Honeycomb, a startup that builds observability for distributed systems.

Occasionally, we have a conversation that’s so much fun, we need to break it into two episodes. This is one of those weeks. We recently sat down with Charity, and the result is one of the most thoughtful discussions we’ve had on our show to-date.

Charity’s team is on a mission to make monitoring less cumbersome so that being on-call can suck less.

In this episode, we talk about when pain and discomfort is okay in your professional life (and when it’s not). We also talk about hiring practices and why more people should quit their job.

Charity's Blog on stepping aside as a CEO: https://charity.wtf/2019/04/30/on-pain-careers-and-doing-things-the-hard-way/

For notes and a full transcription of the episode, visit woventeams.com/20Special Guest: Charity Majors.

Bob Lauer is the VP of Engineering at Lambda School. Lambda School has been in the news a ton for the way they’re revolutionizing the financial model of education. Today, we get to talk with one of the architects of this revolution.

For those of you who aren’t familiar, Lambda School is a coding academy that aims to help anyone, from any background, get a high-paying job in software development.

In this episode, we talk about the importance of speed at an early-stage startup, why deliberate communication is essential for remote teams, and how we can be more productive by removing distractions.

For notes and a full transcription of the episode, visit woventeams.com/19.Special Guest: Bob Lauer.

John Harden is the Principal Software Engineer at Kerauno. Kerauno is a workflow and communication software company that just raised a $25M Series A. When he’s not leading a high-growth development team, he’s mentoring for two coding academies, Eleven Fifty and Kenzie Academy.

Hiring coding bootcamp alumni is a controversial subject in development circles, and I’m excited to dive into it.

In this episode, we talk about his experience both hiring and mentoring coding bootcamp alumni, finding mentorship early in your career, and the importance of “tech jams” when scoping a project.

For notes and a full transcription of the episode, visit woventeams.com/18. Special Guest: John Harden.

Max Yoder is the founder and CEO of Lessonly, a team learning and training software company that raised a $8M Series B in late 2017. Max’s team is dedicated to helping people “Do Better Work,” which is where he got the title of his new book, Do Better Work: Finding Clarity, Camaraderie, and Progress in Work and Life.

In this episode, we talk about vulnerability, sharing work before you’re ready, and why leaders don’t always know the answer (and that’s a good thing).

For notes and a full transcription of the episode, visit woventeams.com/17.

Max’s book is available here.

You can subscribe to Max’s weekly note here.Special Guest: Max Yoder.