Navigating AI Evolution and Startup Dynamics

Madrona Managing Director Soma Somasegar hosts Temporal Co-Founders Samar Abbas and Maxim Fateev in studio. Temporal was founded in 2019 based on an open-source microservices orchestration engine project but is the result of a more than decade-long partnership between the two co-founders that spanned their time working on different iterations of the same thing at AWS, Microsoft, and Uber.

In this episode, Soma, Samar, and Maxim dive into the challenges of building an open-source ecosystem while also working on a commercial offering and scaling a successful company, how to navigate and adjust a product roadmap in an ever-changing world of AI and large language models, and how to successfully build an early startup team, navigate through a CEO transition, and bring on a startup's first independent board member. It's a very compelling conversation and a must-listen for every builder out there. 

Full transcript available here: 

(00:00) Introduction(01:55) What is Temporal?(04:30) Temporal's Unique Advantages(07:37) Building a Commercial Entity from Open Source(11:15) Balancing Open Source and Commercial Goals(14:51) Temporal's Annual Developer Conference: Replay(16:41) Impact of AI on Temporal's Roadmap(22:35) Choosing the Right Co-Founder(25:56) Seamless CEO Transition(31:27) Bringing on an Independent Board Director