The Better Build

In this episode of The Better Build, hosts Stephane Rossi (Mission CEO and Co-Founder) and Fred Brunel (Mission CTO and Co-Founder) sit down with Kaj Van de Loo, a seasoned engineering leader and CTO at UserTesting, to explore his journey through the software engineering landscape and discuss the present and future of AI.

From his early days at SAP Labs to leading innovative projects at Oracle and UserTesting, Kaj shares insights into the evolution of software engineering, the impact of AI and machine learning, the critical role of AI in transforming engineering practices, and the importance of user feedback in driving successful AI adoption.

Key takeaways:

The system analyst process (02:42)

Not seeing the value for the customer during the dot-com era (06:50)

The challenge of explaining one's value (07:50)

Pinpointing the big takeaways and real value of professional experience (14:50)

How user feedback is the key to successful adoption of AI products (20:59)

Are coding skills becoming irrelevant? (33:08)

In this episode of The Better Build, Mission CTO Fred Brunel sits down with David Subar, Founder and Managing Partner of Interna, discusses the challenges and strategies in enhancing product development processes for technology companies. Subar highlights the common pitfall of engineering teams becoming mere feature factories and cost centers, emphasizing the importance of aligning engineering and product management to drive company growth and create value for investors.

Key topics:

The challenges of going back to an in-office setup with 100% remote teams (3:42)

Tips for maintaining esprit de corps among team members (4:42)

Why you shouldn't "cut to a number" if layoffs are necessary (12:16)

The importance of historical knowledge and taste when using AI effectively (17:28)

Why we can be optimistic about the transformation of software languages (26:58)

Reach out to work with us or join our network of product building and engineering talent at mission.dev

In this episode of The Better Build, we sit down with Martin Kess, Head of Engineering at Fractal, a venture studio on a mission to launch vertical B2B SaaS companies into billion-dollar industries. With an impressive background that spans from Google and Lyft to now steering the ship at Fractal, Martin brings a wealth of experience and unique insights into building successful tech startups.

Fractal's innovative approach to identifying and capitalizing on hidden opportunities in niche markets has led to the launch of over 140 startups. Martin discusses the qualities they look for in founding CTOs, the importance of grit and adaptability in the startup world, and how Fractal supports its companies through the journey from idea to market leader.

Listeners will also get a behind-the-scenes look at the challenges of remote work, the advantages of a distributed team, and how empathy and curiosity play crucial roles in understanding and solving real-world problems with technology.

Whether you're a tech leader, a startup founder, or simply fascinated by the art of building impactful companies, this episode offers valuable lessons on leadership, innovation, and the power of looking where others aren't.

Key Moments:

The essential traits of a founding CTO and how to scale from a solo engineer to leading a dynamic team. (03:10)

The unique model that Fractal uses to identify billion-dollar opportunities in overlooked industries. (13:41)

Insights into the challenges and triumphs of scaling over 140 startups (19:43)

The impact of remote work on startup culture and product development. (43:35)

Mission COO Gabriel Sundaram sits with Sophea Loche (VP of Engineering at Egencia, an Amex GBT company) to discuss how things have changed for women in tech (3:30), how she made a big career decision that required moving to another country (9:08), how she goes about building teams remotely (12:08), the importance of building a leadership pipeline (15:05), how to build trust and get aligned across teams (19:45), and how different country cultures deal with failure (22:17).

Learn more about how Mission can help you hire senior-level software talent backed by a powerful insights platform at mission.dev.

Even if you don’t own a vehicle, you know the name Ford. Over 120 years after selling its first vehicle, Ford remains one of the world’s largest automotive companies. What’s kept them going is a willingness to innovate and change with the times, often topping the charts of best selling cars in America well into the 21st century.

Within Ford Pro, which oversees Ford’s commercial and fleet vehicles, is a hub of innovation: the Ford Pro technology team and its 600+ workers, including over 300 software engineers. And managing these top developers is this episode’s guest, Scott Erkkila, Head of Software Engineering at Ford Pro.

Scott sat down with Mission CEO Stephane Rossi to talk the latest at Ford Pro, with a particular focus on extreme programming, the methodology being implemented by over 100 software engineering teams within Ford Pro tech. Scott talks benefits and dispels myths around the “controversial” methodology, while giving clues as to how this massive company founded over a century ago continues to meet their customers’ needs and effortlessly stays ahead of the times.

Key moments

What is extreme programming? (10:00)

Key features of extreme programming (11:56)

Pair programming (15:20)

Why did Ford Pro adopt extreme programming? (15:45)

The importance of inclusivity and collaboration (21:42)

David Catuhe is the creator of Babylon.js, a powerful real time 3D engine using a JavaScript library, and has worked for Microsoft for over 12 years, both as an engineering lead and now as a Partner Group Engineering Manager, leading hundreds of people, with the Babylon.js team being his main priority.

He sat down with longtime friend Fred Brunel, Co-founder and CTO of Mission, for a casual but deeply insightful chat on AI and the ever-evolving role of the engineer. As Microsoft is one of the key companies developing and using AI currently, this conversation is a can't-miss window into the latest and most exciting aspects of this paradigm shifting technology.

You can buy David's art book here:

- English: https://lnkd.in/gX5p4ANP

- French: https://lnkd.in/g9VbTnma

Key Moments (click the timestamp to jump to that point in the conversation)

The creation of Babylon.js (1:50)

Predicting code in context, the engineer as architect (13:54)

The real magic of ChatGPT (19:22)

Every business has "core happy stuff" (27:08)

How Microsoft embraced the remote work from the beginning (28:59)

How Microsoft works across timezones (29:43)

Working in a hive style and the problem with Waterfall (31:41)

Matthew Chan is the CTO of BlackCart, a company revolutionizing "try before you buy" software for e-commerce. In this episode, Matthew talks with Mission COO and Co-founder Gabriel Sundaram about the tech education program he started for kids, how his engineering background helps in his current leadership positions, and the many ways he's giving back the kind of mentorship he received on his professional journey.

Key topics:

Advice for anyone transitioning from IC to manager (02:53)

Founding a tech program for kids to give back (03:54)

On dealing with "unknown unknowns" (06:50)

Seed stage CTOs (9:08)

Where's the value - the technical or the team? (10:05)

Your relationship and your role as an executive versus a VPN or an engineering lead (11:20)

Do you think it is that as an IC there's less of this holistic picture or connection to business outcomes? (13:53)

A function of environment and time (14:03)

Building the right environment (18:28)

The project champion (21:55)

Paying it forward through an internship program (23:15)

Product role with engineering knowledge (24:50)

...

As promised in the episode, here are a couple ways you can get in touch with Matthew:

Twitter: @mcschan

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mcschan/

Mission CEO Stephane Rossi is joined by Gabriel Lespérance (Paltap) to talk hard-learned lessons on entrepreneurship, what we should actually be excited about in regards to AI, and the importance of emotional intelligence in tech leadership.

In this special episode, the Mission co-founders - COO Gabriel Sundaram, CTO Fred Brunel, and CEO Stephane Rossi - talk about what makes the ideal engineering environment, the true value of data, and how even the best engineers can leverage that data to keep leveling up.

Mission COO & Co-founder Gabriel Sundaram catches up with his former Bus.com colleague and friend Martin Provencher, Senior Developer Manager at Shopify. Martin shares his experienced perspective on what he looks for when hiring engineers for his teams, as well as the best strategies he's encountered to keep remote teams feeling connected.

Key Moments:

• The benefits of leading the Ruby on Rails user group (2:09)
• The difference between managing engineering at early stage vs enterprise (5:07)
• Hiring engineers for your stage and culture (7:01)
• The Shopify engineering culture (10:13)
• Managing remote engineering teams (including one of the best exercises he’s seen for remote teams) (14:39)
• Using data to manage engineers (17:09)
• The relationship between product and engineering (24:05)