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Why Your First Hire Isn't an Engineer Anymore — Michael Batko, ex-Startmate CEO
The first hire used to be an engineer. Michael Batko thinks that's now backwards — and that's just the start of how AI is rewiring the way you build a tech team.
In the first episode of Building Tech Teams, James MacDonald sits down with Michael Batko — who spent eight years as CEO of Startmate backing 240+ startups, and now runs the AI-native venture batko.ai. They get into what actually changes when the cost of building drops to near zero: why go-to-market now comes before engineering, why the 10x engineer is finally real, what "AI-native" means for a person and for a company, and how to lead a team through it without torching your culture.
It's a practitioner-to-practitioner conversation with real opinions and real scar tissue — hiring for attitude over skill, the rise of the AI chief of staff, the squeeze on middle management, and why your hard-won experience is the one moat AI can't copy.
Chapters- 0:46 — Why James launched the show, and why Batko is guest #1
- 2:00 — The first hire has flipped: go-to-market before engineers
- 3:49 — Where real software engineers still matter (and the "vibe-coding" ceiling)
- 9:01 — What "AI-native" actually means — building your personal, then company, "brain"
- 12:06 — Agent hierarchies: one agent / one job, and the AI chief of staff
- 14:50 — Getting AI into a traditional business: permission to play + an AI policy (and the IP-leak risk)
- 17:25 — Quick wins: process-mapping by voice, and the dictation tool that changes the game
- 20:54 — Your first 5–10 hires: attitude over skill, hungry over proven, junior over senior
- 25:58 — Team size, layoffs, "AI-washing", and the shrinking PM-to-engineer ratio
- 34:55 — The one skill AI can't replace: people management
- 48:07 — Why you still want humans in the room: inspiration, fresh eyes, first-principles
- 51:40 — Facing the fear: lean in, automate yourself out, take the skills with you
- 58:33 — Taste, authenticity, and experience as your real moat
- 63:54 — Batko's playbook for any company starting now
About the Guest
Michael Batko spent eight years as CEO of Startmate, where he backed 240+ early-stage companies, and now builds AI-native tools for founders and businesses at batko.ai.
Links- Michael Batko — batko.ai · LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/batkomichael
- James MacDonald — LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-macdonald-au · NTP Talent: https://ntptalent.com.au
Hosted by James MacDonald, Managing Director of NTP Talent.
Building Tech Teams is produced by Day One®, trusted partners in the technology space and the production partner behind Blackbird Ventures' Wild Hearts. Sister shows include First Cheque, Oversubscribed and In The Blink of AI. Episodes are cross-promoted across the network.
View all episodes
By Day OneThe first hire used to be an engineer. Michael Batko thinks that's now backwards — and that's just the start of how AI is rewiring the way you build a tech team.
In the first episode of Building Tech Teams, James MacDonald sits down with Michael Batko — who spent eight years as CEO of Startmate backing 240+ startups, and now runs the AI-native venture batko.ai. They get into what actually changes when the cost of building drops to near zero: why go-to-market now comes before engineering, why the 10x engineer is finally real, what "AI-native" means for a person and for a company, and how to lead a team through it without torching your culture.
It's a practitioner-to-practitioner conversation with real opinions and real scar tissue — hiring for attitude over skill, the rise of the AI chief of staff, the squeeze on middle management, and why your hard-won experience is the one moat AI can't copy.
Chapters- 0:46 — Why James launched the show, and why Batko is guest #1
- 2:00 — The first hire has flipped: go-to-market before engineers
- 3:49 — Where real software engineers still matter (and the "vibe-coding" ceiling)
- 9:01 — What "AI-native" actually means — building your personal, then company, "brain"
- 12:06 — Agent hierarchies: one agent / one job, and the AI chief of staff
- 14:50 — Getting AI into a traditional business: permission to play + an AI policy (and the IP-leak risk)
- 17:25 — Quick wins: process-mapping by voice, and the dictation tool that changes the game
- 20:54 — Your first 5–10 hires: attitude over skill, hungry over proven, junior over senior
- 25:58 — Team size, layoffs, "AI-washing", and the shrinking PM-to-engineer ratio
- 34:55 — The one skill AI can't replace: people management
- 48:07 — Why you still want humans in the room: inspiration, fresh eyes, first-principles
- 51:40 — Facing the fear: lean in, automate yourself out, take the skills with you
- 58:33 — Taste, authenticity, and experience as your real moat
- 63:54 — Batko's playbook for any company starting now
About the Guest
Michael Batko spent eight years as CEO of Startmate, where he backed 240+ early-stage companies, and now builds AI-native tools for founders and businesses at batko.ai.
Links- Michael Batko — batko.ai · LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/batkomichael
- James MacDonald — LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-macdonald-au · NTP Talent: https://ntptalent.com.au
Hosted by James MacDonald, Managing Director of NTP Talent.
Building Tech Teams is produced by Day One®, trusted partners in the technology space and the production partner behind Blackbird Ventures' Wild Hearts. Sister shows include First Cheque, Oversubscribed and In The Blink of AI. Episodes are cross-promoted across the network.