The Business of Open Source

Joe Bignell, the Kubernetes recruiter at InterQuest Group, joins me for an interesting conversation about the current job market in the Kubernetes space and his role and vision as a talent seeker.In this episode, Joe and I go into the rabbit hole as we explore the global talent shortage and its impact on the Kubernetes ecosystem. Joe shares invaluable insight and perspective on recruiting for startups, what founders can do to attract talent, and why transparency from all sides (company, recruiter, and candidate) is vital. We also discuss remote work and its increased value and how companies can leverage their Kubernetes talent.Highlights:What is Joe’s responsibility as the Kubernetes recruiter? (00:19)The current hiring challenges in the Kubernetes talent space. (01:00)Joe’s perspective on recruiting best practices - and his thoughts on companies that seek Kubernetes experts. (06:30)A look at the founder/recruiter relationship, how founders can enhance their recruiting positioning, and the evolution of remote work. (12:31)The pros and cons of recruiting for a startup – and why certain hires can ruin a startup. (19:33)What companies can do to create Kubernetes experts and the role InterQuest plays in closing the talent market gap. (23:06)Links:Joe’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joebignell/?originalSubdomain=ukJoe’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/joe_bignellDevOps for Everyone: https://www.meetup.com/DevOps-For-Everyone/InterQuest Group: https://www.interquestgroup.com/

Jonathan Ellis, CTO and co-founder of DataStax, has always had a startup mindset. In this episode, Jonathan joins me to discuss his journey and entrepreneurial roadmap thus far.In our conversation, Jonathan shares how he became involved with the Apache Cassandra project and his transition to founding DataStax. He also shares insight on the importance of hiring a go to market team, why hiring executives proves to be more challenging than engineers, building a company based around an open-source project, and more.Highlights:Jonathan’s views on his identity as a founder and scratching his coding itch through art. (00:23)A look at Jonathan’s journey from Mozy to the Apache Cassandra project. (05:40)The history of DataStax - and Jonathan explores the benefits of building a company around open source. (11:33)  Lessons learned: the importance of implementing a go-to-market team, DataStax Kubernetes adoption, and why hiring executives is a challenge. (15:58)Jonathan’s advice to technical founders - and his perspective and insight on remote work. (27:39)Links:JonathanLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jbellis/Twitter: https://twitter.com/spycedDataSTax: https://www.datastax.com/

Guy Podjarny, co-founder and President of Snyk, has seen the world of startups through the lens of an employee and as a founder. With two companies under his belt, Guy has excelled as an entrepreneur as Snyk proves to be a leader in developer security. In this episode of Cloud Native Startup, Guy shares insight on his first startup, Blaze (acquired by Akamai), and his current company, Snyk. He lends perspective on key traits to master when building a successful company and why it’s an exciting time to be an entrepreneur. We also explore why there are major gaps in security, what it will take to fix them, and how Snyk is helping close the gap by decentralizing security. Highlights:Guy’s interesting evolution from working at startups to finally founding his own. (00:14)Exploring the differences between two worlds: security and DevOps. (05:40)Why Guy sold his first company, Blaze - and lessons learned along the way. (10:27)  Guy’s perspective on embracing Snyk’s “failures” - and he reflects on the journey towards identifying their opportunities within the market. (17:27)A discussion about major gaps in security and how Snyke aims to be a solution. (27:39) Links:GuyLinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/guypo Twitter: https://twitter.com/guypod Podcast: The Secure DeveloperSnyk: https://snyk.io/ 

For Vidya Raman, technology has always been close to her heart. As an investor at Sorenson Ventures, Vidya is guided by this passion and plays an impactful role in helping technical founders build and grow successful businesses. Vidya serves as a leader in early-stage startup investing and thrives on optimizing companies.In this episode of Cloud Native Startup, Vidya talks about her transition from engineering to venture capital investing, important criteria to consider when evaluating companies, what founders should look for in VCs, her lessons learned, and more. Highlights:A look at Vidya’s background and the journey that lead to her leap into venture capital investing. (00:11)Exploring Vidya’s role, her passion for partnering deeply with founders, and misconceptions that founders often have about VC. (05:37)What to identify when evaluating companies - and how Viyda measures good fit. (10:41) From the lens of a founder, Vidya shares top criteria founders should consider when seeking VC. (18:58) A discussion about conflicts of interest and managing disagreements between investors and companies. (23:09)Vidya shares her top three lessons learned. (29:23) Links:VidyaLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vidya-raman/Twitter: https://twitter.com/veenormous Sorenson Ventures: https://www.sorensoncapital.com/ 

Glasnostic is a cutting-edge observability solution that enables DevOps, SRE and security teams to effectively control emerging disruptive behaviors. In this episode of Cloud Native Startup, I chat with Glasnotic’s co-founder and CEO, Tobias Kunze.As a trailblazer in the world of cloud-native technologies and a two-time startup founder, Tobias brings a wealth of insight. Prior to Glasnostic, Tobias founded Makara, which was later acquired by Red Hat Open Shift. In our conversation, we explore his journey from Makara to Glasnostic and his shift from engineering to entrepreneurship. We also discuss why sales and people management are core skills needed to become an entrepreneur, the importance of actively stepping out of your comfort zone, and the staggering pace of technology.Highlights:A look at how Tobias shifted his focus from engineering to entrepreneurship. (00:15)Tobias’ perspective on applying lessons learned from his first startup the second time around – and the similar challenges he faced with both companies. (09:00)A discussion about the first dollar and why it is important to step outside of your comfort zone as an entrepreneur. (14:16)Why sales and people management skills are core traits of a successful entrepreneur and startup founder – and why these skills are more difficult for engineers to cultivate. (18:19)Tobias uses air traffic control to illustrate his journey towards founding Glasnostic – and shares insight on current challenges in the technology sector. (26:31)Links:TobiasLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tkunzeTwitter: https://twitter.com/tkunze Glasnostic: http://glasnostic.com/

Laurent Gil is by no means a novice when it comes to founding companies. As the Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer at CAST.AI, Laurent marks this as his fourth company. As a repeated entrepreneur, Laurent comes with valuable insight, which he brings to this conversation on Cloud Native Startup.In this episode, we discuss Laurent’s entrepreneurial journey, which has taken him across the globe and he shares his opinion on why entrepreneurs should hear the word “no.” We also discuss the importance of simplifying product features, the bond he’s built with his co-founders, product-market fit, and more.Highlights:Laurent shares his entrepreneurial resume and what led to the founding of CAST.AI. (00:12)How a conversation over coffee in France led to building a company in Ukraine – and why rejection should fuel entrepreneurs to keep going. (03:31)Challenging moments Laurent faced while building startups – and how he has been able to work with the same co-founders throughout different companies. (08:58)Laurent explains why simplicity is CAST.AI’s leading principle. (12:49)A discussion about CAST.AI’s pivot to optimizing the one single cloud. (17:16)Defining and measuring product-market fit. (23:21)Links:LaurentLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurentgilEmail: laurent@cast.ai.Twitter: https://twitter.com/laurentgilCAST.AI: https://cast.ai/

As the Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer at Kong Inc., Marco Palladino takes great pride in the company he has built from the ground up. Marco’s story begins with his move from Italy to San Francisco with no money and a 3-month visa. Today, he and his fellow Co-Founder, Augusto Marietti, have undoubtedly earned that pride.In this episode of Cloud Native Startup, we explore Marco’s life journey, and he reflects on how his obsession with building Kong led to its innovative success. We also discuss why Kong’s pivot was a risk worth taking, compare building companies around open source, dive into the importance of releasing trust as a technical founder, and more.Highlights:An overview of Marco’s role as Co-Founder and CTO, how it has evolved, and the origin of Kong. (00:10)Why Kong pivoted from an API marketplace to a technology vendor – and Marco looks back on the wins and challenges in the early days of Kong. (05:56)A discussion about building a company around open source – why Marco embraces mistakes as he reflects on Kong’s global impact. (13:20)Key pieces of advice for technical founders (22:15)Marco talks about his experience as a young entrepreneur and provides insight into why this journey has defined him as a leader. (27:49)Links:MarcoLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcopalladino/Twitter: https://twitter.com/thekonginc  Kong Inc.: https://konghq.com

In this episode of Cloud Native Startup, Ihor Dvoretskyi, Developer Advocate at Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF), joins me for a conversation about contributing a project to CNCF. We discuss the benefits of contributing an open source project and Ihor shares insight on the key metrics for success. Ihor also defines each of the three project stages; sandbox, incubating, and graduated, and takes a deep dive into the history of this fascinating open source foundation. Highlights:A closer look at the history of CNCF and the benefits of contributing a project for both contributors and end-users. (00:18)What it means to donate a project and the responsibilities and continuing services CNCF provides. (08:11)Exploring the different maturity levels of CNCF’S projects – sandbox, incubating and graduated. (12:41)How the CNCF Technical Oversight Committee evaluates projects in consideration for contribution – and Ihor provides insight on the stage that requires the most time and commitment. (18:23)Understanding what a successful open source project looks like and how it is measured. (22:42)Links:IhorLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/idvoretskyi/Twitter: https://twitter.com/idvoretskyiCNCF: https:// www.cncf.io/

In this episode of Cloud Native Startup, Justin Borgman, Chairman and CEO of Starburst Data, takes us through Starburst’s evolution as it speedily makes its mark in the enterprise software space. As a two-time startup founder, Justin illustrates his journey towards founding Starburst, alongside his fellow co-founders, and we explore how they built this unique company. He also shares his advice and lessons learned and we discuss what’s in store for Starburst as the company ventures into its next phase.Highlights:Exploring how Starburst came into being and what led to the realization that a business would be built around Presto. (00:14)Why Starburst has 12 co-founders and the factors that contribute to the strength of the founding team. (05:53)Starburst’s journey towards raising venture funding. (08:19)The evolution of PrestoSQL and how it became Trino – and Justin shares advice for anyone developing an open source project. (13:49)More on Starburst’s shift towards venture funding and how the founders came to that decision. (21:15)Differences between Justin’s first and second experience as a startup founder and how he applies what he’s learned. (24:53)A look at Starburst’s transition into its third phase. (28:13)Mistakes and lessons learned. (32:02)Links:JustinLinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinborgman/        Twitter: https://twitter.com/justinborgmanStarburst: https://www.starburst.io/

This week on Cloud Native Startup, I’m joined by Tobi Knaup, CEO & Co-Founder of D2iQ.In this episode, Tobi provides insight on how D2iQ helps its customers change the world through open source and how it is reflected in their core mission. We also explore what led to the creation of this pioneering technology company and how the cloud native space has changed since. Highlights:Tobi provides an overview of D2iQ and how it came to be - and he walks through their pivot from Mesos to Kubernetes. (00:11) More on the core mission of D2iQ - and how solving technology challenges at Twitter and Airbnb led to the creation of D2iQ. (04:05) How DQI2 partnered with companies in its early days - and the common mistake that D2IQ and most companies make early on. (13:30) Tobi reflects on his journey from an engineer to founder and CEO - and shares his perspective on the evolution of the cloud native ecosystem. (18:44)Tobi’s advice to the younger version of himself and his fellow co-founders. (28:17)   Links:TobiLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tobiasknaup/Twitter: https://twitter.com/superguenterD2iQWebsite: https://d2iq.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/D2iQ