Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur Bridging the Gap Between Product and Development: Building Better Foundations with Greg Lind
In part one of this Building Better Foundations interview, hosts Rob Broadhead and Michael Meloche talk with Greg Lind, founder of Buildly and OpenBuild, about bridging the gap in software development through AI, automation, and collaboration. Greg shares how modern teams can overcome silos, strengthen communication, and build transparency into their workflows — creating stronger, more adaptive foundations for success in today's fast-paced, AI-driven world.
"We wanted to bring developers and product managers into one tool—so they could build together rather than as two separate teams." — Greg Lind
About the Guest — Greg LindGregory Lind is an American software developer, author, and entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience in open-source innovation, software efficiency, and team transparency. He's the founder of Buildly in Brooklyn and co-founder of Humanitec in Berlin, helping organizations modernize systems through collaboration and automation. A frequent speaker at Open Gov and Open Source conferences, Greg advocates for open, scalable solutions and smarter software processes. His upcoming book, "Radical Therapy for Software Teams" (Apress, 2024), explores how transparency and AI can transform how teams build software.
Bridging the Gap Between Teams and ToolsGreg's journey toward bridging the gap started years ago while working with Humanitech in Berlin, where he saw firsthand how poorly connected processes caused frustration and inefficiency. Traditional Agile frameworks, while once revolutionary, began to buckle under the pressure of multi-repo, multi-cloud, and AI-driven development.
"Agile started to break under the pressure—especially when we introduced AI-driven tools and CI/CD pipelines. The cycles just weren't fast enough." — Greg Lind
To solve this, Buildly introduced a Rapid AI Development (RAD) process — a modern evolution of Agile that supports faster, release-based cycles rather than rigid sprints. It's an approach designed to keep pace with today's distributed teams and complex workflows.
Bridging the Gap Through Automated CommunicationAt the heart of Buildly's philosophy is a belief that communication shouldn't slow developers down — it should empower them. By integrating tools like Trello and GitHub, Buildly connects product and sprint backlogs into one transparent view. Developers' commits, issues, and updates automatically feed into team dashboards, reducing the need for endless meetings and manual updates.
"You shouldn't have to explain what you did yesterday. Your commits already tell that story." — Greg Lind
This approach allows teams to focus on outcomes rather than overhead — building trust, visibility, and true alignment across departments. It's automation as a bridge, not a barrier.
Using AI to Bridge the Gap Between People and ProcessWhile Greg embraces AI's potential, he warns against depending on it too heavily. AI is great at identifying tasks and patterns, but humans still bring creativity, empathy, and strategic thinking to the table.
"AI can tell you what's urgent, but it can't understand what's important." — Greg Lind
In Greg's view, AI should be a co-pilot — helping teams filter information, automate repetitive work, and focus on higher-value decisions. By balancing automation with human insight, teams can bridge the gap between efficiency and innovation.
Empowering Developers to Bridge the Gap ThemselvesGreg encourages developers not to wait for leadership to fix broken processes — but to take initiative. Automate your own workflows, visualize your backlog, and demonstrate how better systems can look in practice.
"Even if you have to automate your own backlog—do it. Show your team what better looks like." — Greg Lind
This proactive mindset transforms teams from reactive to adaptive, ensuring that everyone contributes to bridging the gap between communication, accountability, and delivery.
Bridging the Gap Toward the Future of DevelopmentGreg Lind's insights remind us that bridging the gap in software development isn't about adopting the latest framework — it's about reconnecting people, process, and purpose. When teams share context, communicate openly, and use AI responsibly, they build stronger foundations for innovation.
As this episode shows, the future of software isn't about faster code — it's about better collaboration. And bridging the gap is where that future begins.
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