In this new episode of the 0P podcast, we welcome back Spencer Kimball, co-founder and CEO of Cockroach Labs, to discuss the evolving landscape of software licensing in the cloud era. Spencer shares insights on how companies are innovating with new licensing models to bridge the gap between open source ideals and sustainable business growth.Drawing from his experience leading Cockroach Labs, a distributed database company, he offers a unique perspective on finding equilibrium between community collaboration and commercial success.👉 👉 Don't forget to join us at Data Council - where hundreds of data geeks, founders & investors join each other in building the future of data.

Vijay Subramanian, an engineer-founder and visionary behind Trace, shares insights into the transformative power of metric layers in business. He breaks down the differences between metric layers, metric trees, and semantic layers, emphasizing their significance in data analytics. Vijay discusses how tech giants like Uber and Airbnb leverage these systems for operational excellence. He also stresses the need for a data-driven mindset among analysts and highlights the potential of generative AI to revolutionize business data storytelling.

In this episode, I sit down with Paul Dix, the founder and CTO of InfluxData to explore his journey from a self-taught programmer to a leader in database systems. We discuss his role in building the NYC Machine Learning meetup, the creation of InfluxDB and the strategic move to make it open source. He shares insights into the decision to rewrite InfluxDB in 2020 and the power of community in tech development. We also touch on his transition from CEO to CTO and his advice for founders on making business-driven decisions. This discussion left me inspired and excited for the future of InfluxData.Highlights:[00:48] - Paul shares his circuitous route towards getting to school after working in technology directly out of high school[04:41] - Getting involved with Ruby meetups and developing applications on Rails[05:50] - Paul talks about his motivation behind starting the New York Machine Learning meetup[09:22] - We dive into how Paul's early experiences translated into what he built with InfluxDB[15:08] - Paul shares how InfluxDB has approached open source and, later,  commercialization, including how they've navigated challenges presented by the cloud providers[21:57] - Paul talks through some of the changes they’ve made to InfluxDB recently and what motivated those changes[27:40] - Digging into how the Influx team has taken a different approach to open source over the last few years[28:42] - Paul shares advice for engineer-founders considering CEO vs. CTO roles👉 👉 Don't forget to join us at Data Council - where hundreds of data geeks, founders & investors join each other in building the future of data.

In this episode, I sit down with Alex Mashrabov, the visionary CEO of Higgsfield AI. We journey through Alex's impressive career, beginning with his time at Yandex where he witnessed the early implementations of neural networks. We explore what ignited his entrepreneurial spirit and delve into the stark contrasts between the Russian and American educational landscapes.Our discussion then moves to Alex's experiences in building generative AI products, starting with AI Factory, which focused on innovative face animation technology and strategic planning for mobile devices. We also examine his time at Snap, where he addressed the challenges of balancing scale and cost. Finally, Alex highlights Higgsfield AI's groundbreaking approach to efficiently training text-to-video models. He discusses the common challenges organizations face when scaling models and allocating resources and emphasizes the importance of rapid experimentation in AI development.Highlights:[01:07] - Alex discusses his time at Yandex and what gave him the confidence to leave and become a founder[03:29] - Differences between American and Russian educational systems and how Yandex leveraged these differences for recruitment[06:57] - Alex describes what he built at AI Factory and his experiences on the Snap team[10:10] - Alex shares the engineering efficiencies he introduced at Higgsfield AI[14:03] - Exploring how experimentation influences the AI stack[15:52] - Alex talks about Higgsfield’s architecture and world models[21:32] - We delve into Alex's views on copyrighted material, deep fakes, and other ethical challenges of generated video[26:20] - Alex outlines the long-term vision for Higgsfield AI👉 👉 Don't forget to join us at Data Council - where hundreds of data geeks, founders & investors join each other in building the future of data.

In this episode, I chat with Jordan Tigani, the dynamic engineer-founder of MotherDuck who previously led Google's BigQuery team and headed up product at SingleStore.  Jordan shares the inspiring origin story of MotherDuck, which emerged from the overlooked analytics' long tail, focusing on serving small users in data analytics. Our conversation delves into thought-provoking topics such as the conundrum of big data, bridging the gap between unstructured AI data and traditional data structures, the impact of scale-up data warehouses on customer decisions and MotherDuck's relationship with the open-source DuckDB. Tune in to uncover more gems from the founding story of one of the hottest data infrastructure startups in the market today.Highlights:[00:45] - Jordan shares his “aha” moments working at Google BigQuery that gave him the inspiration to start MotherDuck[3:14] - Jordan digs into where we’re at in the era of data evolution and whether big data is still an issue[6:14] - We discuss how data and compute requirements are shifting with the rise of AI & ML[8:15] - Jordan shares the significance of scale up vs. scale out and how it impacts user experience and the speed of development[12:52] - We explore MotherDuck’s relationship with the open source project DuckDB and how they work together[15:45] - Jordan talks about the user progression from DuckDB to MotherDuck[18:20] - Quantum Round👉 👉 Don't forget to join us at Data Council - where hundreds of data geeks, founders & investors join each other in building the future of data.

In this episode, Pete speaks with Alvaro Morales, the co-founder and CEO of Orb, who shares his journey from being an engineer to becoming the founder of a flexible billing engine for modern software pricing. Alvaro traces his path from Lima, Peru to San Francisco, discussing the rise of startups in his home city as well as his early engineering experiences at Yahoo, Palantir and Asana.  His early days founding Orb were not without challenges, especially when it came to signing up customers and building trust. However, Orb’s customer-centric and collaborative approach helped them build strong relationships and turn early customers into champions. Pete and Alvaro also discuss the shift to usage-based pricing in the AI world and how Orb supports customers in implementing these pricing schemes. Listen in for a fantastic conversation!Highlights:[00:45] - Alvaro discussed his origins in Lima and what the tech world is like in Peru.[3:36] - We dig into what Alvaro learned from early engineering internships at Yahoo, Palantir and Asana.[6:55] - Alvaro shares the key insight that led him to start Orb.[10:16] - We discuss encouraging flexibility and experimentation of pricing and any downsides it can create.[12:27] - I ask Alvaro how he worked with design partners and started signing early customers.[17:42] - We talk about who was involved in their customer-acquisition and relationship building conversations.[18:20] - Alvaro shares insights into usage-based pricing and how it applies to the AI world.[22:35] - We discuss the biggest challenges in transitioning from engineer-founder to CEO.👉 👉 Don't forget to join us at Data Council - where hundreds of data geeks, founders & investors join each other in building the future of data.

In this enlightening episode, I have the privilege of hosting Craig McLuckie, a tech industry veteran who has made significant contributions to the cloud computing industry and is currently the Co-founder & CEO of stacklok. We begin by exploring his journey from Microsoft to Google, where he co-authored Kubernetes, a pivotal project that has shaped the industry.  We also delve into his post-Google venture, Heptio, and the strategic planning that led to its success. Craig offers valuable advice on building and commercializing open source projects, highlighting the importance of understanding the trade-off between reduced activation energy and value extraction. Finally, we discuss stacklok, Craig's latest company focused on enhancing the security and sustainability of open source projects.  This episode is chock full of insights for anyone in the tech industry, especially those interested in cloud computing, open source or GTM strategy.Highlights:[1:10] - Understanding the origins of Kubernetes[2:38] - Exploring distribution and GTM challenges, insights and concerns[5:49] - How the competition evolved in the Infrastructure-as-a-Service landscape[7:08] - Diving deeper into startups and GTM strategies based on Craig’s experience at Heptio[10:47] - Advice to founders building OSS projects who are looking to commercialize[13:11] - Thoughts on optimal sales/engineering/product teams in seed stage companies[16:16] - Digging into stacklok, what Craig and his team are building and why[23:00] - Craig elaborates on his quote “Let’s make infrastructure really boring”👉 👉 Don't forget to join us at Data Council - where hundreds of data geeks, founders & investors join each other in building the future of data.

In this episode, I chat with Erik Bernhardsson, co-founder and CEO of Modal, about his journey from Spotify engineer to startup CTO to startup founder. Erik takes us back to his early days as a software engineer and shares how his transformative years at Spotify ignited his startup mindset. We discuss the challenges he faced during his transition from engineer to founder, including overcoming self-doubt and stepping into a leadership role. Erik also talks about his experience building open source projects and what he's built so far at Modal, outlining challenges they've encountered and what he's most proud of to-date. This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in tech entrepreneurship and personal growth.Highlights:[00:40] - Erik shares about his early jobs and how they shaped his career and future desire to be a founder[2:05] - When Erik realized he wanted to be a founder (or gained the confidence to be one)[3:55] - Diving into the people management side of building founder confidence[5:50] - How open source projects can aid in building your technical leadership skills [7:55] - Erik shares his thoughts on what can be done with data and how data is key to successful consumer products[10:15] - Paradigms and pitfalls about the open source world[13:52] - Digging into Modal, why Erik started Modal and what he’s most proud of so far[17:30] - Figuring out where the MVP line is in startup engineering[21:33] - Differentiating yourself with stronger moats[22:17] - Erik shares the most surprising thing about becoming a CEO👉 👉 Don't forget to join us at Data Council - where hundreds of data geeks, founders & investors join each other in building the future of data.

Barry McCardel, Co-Founder and CEO of Hex, shares insights on building Hex, emphasizing design, rapid feature development, and scaling challenges. He discusses the future of data tooling and emerging trends in data, infrastructure, and AI.

In this episode, we explore Guillermo Rauch's path from a teen hacker in Argentina to the founder of Vercel. We touch on his engineering roots, the role of open-source in his success and Vercel's creation to simplify deployments with Next.js. We compare Vercel's innovations to the evolution of electric cars, discuss the significance of speed in edge computing and peek into the future of building data-intensive applications with the help of AI.Guillermo, balancing roles as an engineer and CEO, reveals how he's shaping Vercel to develop products that let developers focus on their passions. The episode concludes with insights into AI's impact on Vercel and the soon-to-be-launched V0.dev.Highlights[01:01] - We discuss how Guillermo's parents' humble beginnings, their engineering backgrounds and exposure to technology early led him to the world of open source and working in engineering from an early age.[03:32] - Guillermo shares how the open source community has helped him and how it has shaped his career.[05:50] - Guillermo's insights on what it takes to build a modern infrastructure company, having been involved in many open source projects throughout his career.[09:08] - Guillermo details how the strategy behind Next.js began in real time.[13:00] - We talk about whether edge computing was around when Guillermo was building Next.js and how Vercel fits into the contemporary landscape of edge computing.[22:10] -  Why React and Next.js have unlocked all kinds of data-intensive applications and how  the flexibility in today's environment enables users to pick the right backend for each problem.[23:35] - Guillermo's experiences as an engineer CEO: understanding his audience and building better products and features that developers truly care about[26:06] - How Guillermo is still able to "scratch his engineering itch" while serving as a Founder/CEO.[27:58] - Guillermo's views on how AI will impact Vercel and how that ties with Vercel's overarching mission 👉 👉 Don't forget to join us at Data Council - where hundreds of data geeks, founders & investors join each other in building the future of data.