Beyond Coding

Tailoring to a user group which hasn't traditionally been tailored much to, Emilie aims to create the biggest sex-positive marketplace in the world with Konfettie!  Like any other founder, she's had to overcome challenges, but not everyone deals with being slandered and banned from social media. The way she picks back up in the face of adversity is admirable and I'm really happy she's sharing her learnings along the way. Enjoy! 🎙 Connect with Emilie Wiersma: https://nl.linkedin.com/in/emiliewiersma https://twitter.com/sextechsavvy Full episode on YouTube ▶️ https://youtu.be/Pz3xe4Y10cA New episodes every Wednesday with our host 🎙Patrick Akil!   Big shoutout to Xebia for making this episode possible! OUTLINE: 00:00:00 - Intro 00:00:28 - Emilie has 3 mentors 00:03:47 - Emilie's first business 00:05:24 - Not working for a boss 00:06:37 - Creating fantasies for people 00:09:37 - Sex toys are unregulated 00:11:14 - Etsy and censorship 00:14:10 - Cheap materials 00:15:07 - Onboarding sellers on Konfettie 00:16:23 - Issues with products 00:17:46 - How to set up a marketplace 00:18:48 - Failing to deliver 00:19:57 - Everything custom 00:21:17 - People don't know what they want 00:24:15 - Emilie was doing everything 00:26:02 - Getting kicked off of social media 00:28:37 - Sex toy collectors 00:30:41 - Marketing that doesn't scale 00:33:04 - Airbnb was funded with cereal boxes 00:34:07 - Smut Slam 00:36:18 - Finding a co-founder 00:39:14 - Investment rounds 00:42:22 - Different dynamics with a team 00:44:18 - It's just a company 00:45:54 - Listening to customer feedback 00:50:34 - What is the end goal?

“What people want the most is to be useful, be effective and have an impact on the world. The specific responsibilities that come with it, tend not to be as important as that.“ Serge Beaumont shares how to achieve dedicated teams, the importance of autonomy and how to be effective together. A great listen for those that love effective teams! Enjoy! 🎙 Connect with Serge Beaumont: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sergebeaumont https://mobile.twitter.com/sbeaumont Full episode on YouTube ▶️ https://youtu.be/bfEA96mGe1A New episodes every Wednesday with our host 🎙Patrick Akil!   Big shoutout to Xebia for making this episode possible! OUTLINE: 00:00:00 - Intro 00:00:26 - 20 projects 00:01:18 - Unclear priorities 00:04:50 - Teams and common goals 00:06:18 - Sociocracy 3.0 Delegation Canvas 00:07:52 - Delegating power 00:11:21 - Who are we as a team? 00:13:04 - Clarity and responsibilities 00:15:11 - Sanitisation canvas 00:18:54 - Role and Soul 00:23:09 - Responsibility and accountability 00:25:01 - Why does scrum only have 3 roles? 00:29:04 - Shared mental model 00:31:42 - Teams that are big 00:34:44 - Autonomy 00:36:17 - Partitioning a team 00:39:17 - Technical autonomy gone wrong 00:41:27 - Loose coupling 00:43:17 - Falling back to old behaviour 00:45:17 - Agile transformation at bol.com 00:48:30 - Leadership vision 00:50:33 - Keepers of the culture 00:52:22 - Lack of mandate 00:53:53 - Psychological safety 00:54:50 - Fear is the great killer 00:56:29 - How interesting

Dat Tran shares how he co-founded Priceloop, what problem it solves and how he's choosing to open source the core product. I've seen more and more organisations choose this open core strategy. It removes lots of the hurdles for customer and developer adoption. On top of that, you join forces / create a community to make the product better. Enjoy! 🎙 Connect with Dat Tran: https://dat-tran.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/dat-tran-a1602320 https://twitter.com/datitran Full episode on YouTube ▶️ https://youtu.be/5DbJhv7ikIk New episodes every Wednesday with our host 🎙Patrick Akil!   Big shoutout to Xebia for making this episode possible! OUTLINE: 00:00:00 - Intro 00:00:23 - Playing around with ChatGPT 00:02:11 - ChatGPT is a building block 00:03:38 - AI Product Development 00:08:05 - What problems does Priceloop solve 00:14:49 - Different visualisations than spreadsheets 00:20:02 - Building the right thing 00:24:31 - Open sourcing the code 00:31:26 - What parts are still closed source? 00:34:14 - Managing services 00:36:04 - Sticking to your core 00:37:15 - The open core model 00:40:37 - How much time is spent on coding as CTO 00:44:26 - Hiring the first person 00:47:46 - How did Dat grow his network 00:53:47 - Dat wants more tech founders from Europe

Engineers can get promoted to leadership positions without knowing what is expected of them. It's less of the same and more of a sidestep. Pat Kua and I discuss the tech lead and engineering manager roles and what makes a person effective being in that role. On top of that we give perspective for people interested in those positions. Enjoy! 🎙 Connect with Pat Kua: https://www.patkua.com https://twitter.com/patkua https://www.linkedin.com/in/patkua Pat's newsletter: https://levelup.patkua.com Full episode on YouTube ▶️ https://youtu.be/QMS4anI_oJo New episodes every Wednesday with our host 🎙Patrick Akil!   Big shoutout to Xebia for making this episode possible! OUTLINE: 00:00:00 - Intro 00:00:42 - Different problems in coaching CTOs 00:02:08 - Problems when it comes to team structure 00:03:47 - Coaching aspects 00:06:14 - The tech lead and engineering manager paths are sidesteps 00:08:21 - Mismatch in expectations 00:10:05 - Skills a tech lead requires 00:12:54 - Dealing with people 00:16:44 - Communication challenges 00:18:13 - When is the right time to step into a leadership position? 00:20:51 - Leadership positions are not for everyone 00:23:42 - Learning from others 00:26:21 - Relationship between tech lead and engineering manager 00:31:58 - Pitfall of splitting tech lead and engineering manager 00:34:27 - Conversations about roles and responsibilities 00:36:51 - Leadership teams 00:37:43 - Who is responsible for team effectiveness? 00:40:23 - Pat's favourite role in the past 00:43:47 - Figuring out what you like and dislike doing 00:44:46 - What do you want to do? 00:46:54 - Growth mindset

A diverse work culture is what companies are striving for to gain an edge in innovation and to stand out as workplace environment. However, this is easier said than done. Priska and I explore the diversity and inclusion she's seen in the Asian work culture in comparison to the European work culture. On top of that, she shares her advice to organisations in hiring and accommodating for a diverse work environment. Enjoy 🎙 Connect with Priska Burkard: https://www.linkedin.com/in/priskaburkard https://techface.ch https://twitter.com/pm_burkard Full episode on YouTube ▶️ https://youtu.be/bTQ7ZWOZz8w New episodes every Wednesday with our host 🎙Patrick Akil!   Big shoutout to Xebia for making this episode possible! OUTLINE: 00:00:00 - Intro 00:00:28 - Priska's experience in Asia 00:02:21 - Differences in the Asian work culture 00:06:04 - Education in Asia 00:06:37 - Diversity differences with Asia 00:11:20 - How organisations can grow to be more diverse 00:14:22 - Offering flexibility for your employees 00:17:47 - Transparent and honest work culture 00:18:35 - Diversity starts in hiring 00:23:25 - Opportunities for women vs. men 00:27:04 - Changing company culture 00:29:09 - Inclusion vs. deadlines 00:31:26 - Diversity from an outside perspective 00:37:01 - Organisations need to distinguish themselves 00:38:19 - How to grow your network 00:44:15 - Final thoughts

Mental health is often overlooked until it's too late. When that happens, it's a long way back to recovery. Stacy Cashmore shares her story involving mental health problems and how trusting people and asking for help will lead you to a better state mentally. Finding out what works for you and accommodating for yourself should not make you feel bad. It's completely healthy to look after and take care of your mental health. My favourite quote: "Everybody has mental health. Some people have mental health problems, but EVERYBODY has mental health and if you don't look after your mental health then you're going to get mental health problems" Enjoy! 🎙 Connect with Stacy Cashmore: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stacycash https://twitter.com/Stacy_Cash https://www.twitch.tv/stacyclouds New episodes every Wednesday with our host 🎙Patrick Akil!   Big shoutout to Xebia for making this episode possible! Full episode on YouTube ▶️ https://youtu.be/Yrd3RGEMb-Y OUTLINE: 00:00:00 - Intro 00:00:42 - Relistening to yourself 00:03:01 - Not recognising yourself on screen 00:05:24 - Speaking in front of a big audience 00:07:28 - Anxious before going on stage 00:09:27 - Struggling at work and at home 00:11:23 - Attending Techorama lead to Stacy's first conference talk 00:19:44 - Committing to do something 00:21:49 - Metal health issues from a young age 00:24:30 - Mentally and physically running out of steam 00:25:28 - Reaching out for help 00:28:38 - Taking care of your mental health 00:33:10 - How people want to be interacted with 00:36:02 - Acommodating for your mental health 00:37:53 - Taking care of yourself and saying no 00:41:25 - Stacy's therapist gave her an order 00:44:37 - The people that guard us from doing too much 00:46:41 - Not overstepping boundaries 00:48:41 - How to ask for help for your mental health 00:52:39 - Find what works for you 00:56:12 - Someone that can give you support

First of its kind on the beyond coding podcast, an episode with just me answering your questions. Let me know if I should do more of these 💬 New episodes every Wednesday with our host 🎙Patrick Akil!   Big shoutout to Xebia for making this episode possible! Full episode on YouTube ▶️ https://youtu.be/Q6VJg98ERoU OUTLINE: 00:00:00 - Intro 00:00:43 - Should I go for a master's degree in computer science? 00:02:35 - How do I get my first job in the tech market? 00:04:35 - Why don't you tweet more? 00:04:50 - How do new engineers entering the tech field cope with the recent layoffs from companies? 00:07:05 - Favorite podcast episode so far? :) 00:08:13 - Hi Patrick, would love to know what was the inspiration behind the podcast? 00:11:33 - Podcast names we didn't end up going with 00:12:19 - Back to how we created the podcast 00:17:59 - Committing to the podcast too quickly 00:19:20 - Curious to know what goes into creating a podcast episode 00:23:25 - When is person X coming on? :( 00:23:51 - What’s your favorite podcast? 00:25:24 - What’s it like being a guest on a podcast? 00:26:40 - What’s your take on hiring in tech? 00:28:53 - Do you hate your own voice? 00:29:56 - How did you get into software development? 00:40:05 - Wrapping up

Product Leadership has always been a topic that I've found interesting and wanted to explore more of. Pair that together with the wonderful Chiedza Muguti and you have an amazing episode! 😊 She is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to product, leadership, teamwork and more! Had an amazing time learning from her and I finished this episode feeling energised and inspired. Enjoy 🎙 Connect with Chiedza Muguti: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chiedzamuguti https://twitter.com/chiedzajm New episodes every Wednesday with our host 🎙Patrick Akil!   Big shoutout to Xebia for making this episode possible! Full episode on YouTube ▶️ https://youtu.be/i5t4PlGvYmI OUTLINE: 00:00:00 - Intro 00:00:29 - Product Leadership 00:04:56 - Challenges in inspiring people 00:06:51 - How to get comfortable when you're uncomfortable 00:09:45 - The effect of how you come across as leader 00:10:57 - Piling up emotions 00:13:56 - How to get effective teams 00:16:27 - Who is responsible for effective teams? 00:19:14 - How to manage deadlines and pressure 00:22:43 - When are things flashing amber? 00:26:19 - Moving from business analyst to product owner 00:32:27 - Familiarising yourself with a domain 00:36:16 - How to prioritise value as PO 00:41:16 - Challenging value and priority 00:44:22 - Not overcomplicating solutions 00:46:44 - technoloby problems are business problems 00:49:30 - Issues with big teams 00:54:39 - Investing in relationships 00:58:22 - Success is in your environment

This episode is all about coaching and leadership. If you want to get better at either of those, this is the episode for you. 🙌 Sumit shares the value of having a personal coach, how listening is a gift and how each coaching skill is also a leadership skill. My favourite learning is how he breaks down communication into different conversations. Doing so allows you to focus on which conversations are most challenging for you, and get better at having them. Enjoy 🎙 Connect with Sumit Gupta: https://linkedin.com/in/sumit4all https://www.deployyourself.com https://twitter.com/sumitgupta4all New episodes every Wednesday with our host 🎙Patrick Akil!   Big shoutout to Xebia for making this episode possible! Full episode on YouTube ▶️ https://youtu.be/iDVY07k9SNs OUTLINE: 00:00:00 - Intro 00:00:25 - Why Sumit coaches people? 00:02:21 - Sumit's journey with Entrepreneurship 00:03:59 - From creating software to helping people 00:08:27 - Realising you can do anything 00:10:29 - How to inspire and motivate 00:11:58 - The value of a personal coach 00:16:07 - How do you create a safe space? 00:20:07 - Leaders being open and vulnerable 00:24:05 - 100% transparency and openness 00:30:06 - Allowing others to contribute 00:32:15 - Gradually taking on leadership responsibilities 00:35:47 - Can leadership be learned or taught? 00:39:15 - No judgements and nothing is negative 00:42:54 - How do you get better at coaching? 00:44:43 - coaching and leadership skills 00:49:13 - Asking for help 00:51:21 - Leadership is about giving

Denise Edwards comes on to share how to find the right team, the right product, scale correctly, get funding and much more. If you've ever had thoughts of starting your own business like me, I'm sure you will love this episode. Enjoy 🎙 Connect with Denise Edwards: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edwardsdenise https://twitter.com/deniseedwardsco https://saaslaunch.io New episodes every Wednesday with our host 🎙Patrick Akil!   Big shoutout to Xebia for making this episode possible! Full episode on YouTube ▶️ https://youtu.be/-wavaCe3LDQ OUTLINE: 00:00:00 - Intro 00:00:36 - Giving presentations and growing 00:04:16 - From sales to owning a business 00:11:35 - Why B2B SaaS startups? 00:14:49 - How to find co-founders 00:17:58 - Hiring and forming a team 00:24:52 - When to stop building and start selling 00:27:48 - Incorporating feedback and fixing bugs 00:30:26 - Getting your first customers 00:33:14 - Why 90% of startups fail 00:35:48 - Falling in love with your own ideas 00:42:36 - How to scale your solution 00:48:24 - Hire just before it becomes a problem 00:52:16 - How to get funding 00:56:54 - Unnecessary spending in a startup 00:59:12 - Pitching to investors and who pitches? 01:04:37 - Don't be afraid to get help